Love Is Patient || Book Two

Chapter Two

~Two years later~

Almost two years after the funeral had passed by, there were moments of pure defeat for Marinette but caring for their only son was one of the best things of her entire day. Hugo would be turning two soon, only a few months left. She would lay next to him, dark blue hair matching her own and emerald green eyes matching Adrien's, her hand placed softly on his back as he slept and her mind would wonder to an imaginary world where Adrien was next to her, his hand on top of her own. The tears would trickle down her cheeks as she gazed lovingly at her son.

"I may not know it, but I'm always going to remember this." She mumbled to herself, taking a gentle hand through Hugo's hair. Marinette had been through the most in the group, losing the guy she loved twice being the most prominent. But while some would be sitting around and feeling sorry, Marinette was looking in the direction of other upcoming obstacles, the main one being her son. She would soon have to fight against other mother's to ensure that Hugo was accepted into a great preschool along with making sure they both looked presentable, even if it meant calling in a professional makeup artist and stylist.

To those who had heard about the single mother's struggles would've warned her about the future and asked her what her plans were for Hugo. In her mind, she knew he would be all right but with everyone's comments and concerns, she secretly doubted her parenting ways and found herself confirming to their demands. It would all come to a stop when mother Alya found out and dragged the girl back to her usual self.

"You're a great mother, Marinette! You just have to keep being yourself, not every parent is supposed to be an exact replica of the others."

Alya and Nino had their own son, Devan, he was the same age as Hugo, maybe a few months younger but both girls had secretly made a plan of their futures, insisting the two would be the best of friends like their fathers were. Eileen and Lucas had a child of their own as well, Elliot who was the same age as the others. Most of Marinette's old classmates had gotten married and children of their own, including Nathanael. He and Lila, of all people, had gotten to know each other well after school and soon became a couple. They were great together and as the months turned to a few years, Nathanael gathered the courage to ask for her hand which she gladly accepted. Years later, they welcomed twins, Lilibeth and Noah, who would be two in the months to come. Mason had found his future bride almost a year after Marinette and Adrien were married. They welcomed their first and only child as the wife had a difficult time conceiving their daughter, Izabella. Izabella was born on the same day Hugo was, yet they were in different hospitals since Mason had moved to be closer to his wife's family in England.

Behind closed doors, Marinette had turned into a worry-stricken mother who ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. She wanted to make sure Hugo would know who his father was and what kind of man he was. Alya and Marinette had countless conversations about when Hugo would first mention his father and they would almost always end in Marinette crying.

The funeral played again and again in Marinette's mind daily and even though she knew the outcome, it didn't stop her from trying to imagine it differently. She had tried to picture Adrien waking up miraculously and hold her in his arms as she clung to him but no matter how many times she imagined the scene, she knew it would never be a reality.

Marinette would often sit in silence and think over their time in college, how angry she was at him for lying and how caring he was when she finally forgave him, resulting in her putting the poor boy into the friendzone. All she wanted then was for Adrien to notice her and return her feelings, but when he finally did, she cowered and labeled him as a mere friend. A friend wasn't the correct word for him and now looking back on it, Marinette cringed at how she treated him when their feelings for one another came out and mentally hit herself time and time again for not making a move when she spent the night in his damn dorm room.

When asked if she would ever move on, Marinette would simply smile at the person asking and tell them,

"No, I could never love someone else as much as I did him, no one except our son. He's the only exception."

"But you deserve to be happy, Adrien would understand if you fell in love with another guy."

"I think you're wrong. Adrien was my one and only and you can't replace a one and only. They're special, there's no one in the entire world like them, which is how it should be. If Adrien was replicated, someone who shared his hair and eye color, had the exact face and figure, that person wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't have Adrien's amazing personality which is why I fell for him in the first place. Sure he has looks and all but personality is what matters most to me. Even if that person sounded, acted, and was meant to replace him, it would not be Adrien in the slightest."

~•~•~•~

"She is, even though she has those days where she doesn't even want to get out of bed, she does. She makes sure that Hugo is taken care of regardless of how she feels." Eileen sat outside, her attention glued to the conversation she was having.

The person on the other line sighed happily before responding. "That's great. How's Hugo doing? Has he started to ask about anything yet?"

"Not that I know of. Marinette hasn't mentioned anything about it."

"Do you think he ever will?"

"He won't have to. Marinette will make sure he knows who you are, what you look like, and what happened. But also, he'll get to see you when you come back."

The once happy sigh had turned sad making Eileen frown. "You said so yourself that Marinette would shut down if I came back. How can you be so sure things would be all right in the end?"

"You remember what happened when you returned last time right? She was ecstatic to see you and when you said you wanted to marry her right then, she didn't say no."

"But she also didn't say yes. She had to think about it first."

"Then she did say yes. Look, all I'm saying is that it's time, Adrien. Everything needs to be said now and not later. She's in a good place now and we both know she'll be understanding like always. You have nothing to fear--"

"Eileen! Can you come help me with Elliot! He won't lay down for a nap and he's drving me cra-- Elliot lay down!" Lucas yelled from the living room, interrupting Eileen's reply. She let out a sigh and gently close her eyes.

"I've got to let you go. Lucas needs help. We'll talk later."

After the two said their goodbyes and the call had ended, Eileen stood up and shoved her phone into her pocket, walking inside right after. Elliot stood in the center of the living room, a giant grin on his chubby face and Lucas had fallen onto his stomach with a glass vase clutched in his hands. He looked up to see Eileen's unamused face and grinned sheepishly.

"Heh, hey h-honey!" Lucas greeted as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Come on Elliot, it's nap time." She kneeled in front of the toddler with both arms stretched out. The boy ran towards his mother who then scooped him up, Elliot giggling when she did.

~•~•~•~
{A/N: I've made sort of a schedule for when chapters would be posted so it's not a mystery when the next chapter comes out. I'll be posting every Wednesday and if I have the time, I'll post a chapter on every other Sunday.

Basically:
Wednesday: new chapter
Sunday: might have a chapter, might not 50/50 chance

~miraculousduo♥️