ADRIEN

I toss and turn on our bed but I can't go back to sleep. I open my eyes and look around the room. It's like around six o'clock in the morning.

Marinette is sleeping peacefully beside me with drool coming from her mouth. I grab our blanket and wipe the drool from her face. Just looking at her, I'm trying to recall the last time we ever had time just to each other. No baby in the way, no friends or family in the way either; just Marinette and I.

I lean down and softly kiss her lips.

"Wake up, my lady..." I mutter and kiss her again. She pushes me away and snuggles the blanket closer to her.

"Let me sleeeeeeep." she whines and starts to 'snore' again.

Marinette, don't you leave me hanging here. And I know that you are just acting like you're sleeping.

I try different methods of trying to wake her up but she wouldn't even budge or even open her eye just to glance at me.

"You're trying my patience, my lady..." I whisper. Suddenly, I think of something that might just do the trick.

"Wise men say..." I sing to her ear, "Only fools rush in..."

I play with one strand of her hair and lean closer to her, "But I can't help falling in love..."

I see a smile creeping up her face, "with you..."

"Shall I stay?" I continue, running my left hand on her body. "Would it be a sin..."

I cup her cheek and kiss her nose. "If I can't help falling in love..."

"With..." I close my eyes and lower my lips to hers.

"You." Marinette whispers and she passionately kisses me. I wrap my arms around her as we kiss. I push myself in order to hover over her. Both of my arms are supporting me as I am on top of her. She runs her hands through my body. Sneakily, she tries to take off the shirt I am wearing. And I allow her to take off my shirt, she grins as she starts to roam her hands through my body. I can't stop myself from smiling as we kiss.

For weeks I have been waiting for this. I have been waiting for this moment. A moment with just my wife and no one else in the picture. This is the moment, and I shouldn't waste it-

"WAAAAHH!!!" Thomas bawls in his crib.

Damn it.

I stop kissing Marinette and grumble in frustration.

"Darn, Tommy..." I murmur and Marinette also whines in frustration.

"We were just getting into the good part..." I hear her whisper and I teasingly peck her on the lips.

"I'll take care of him, love..." I coo and grab my shirt from the floor. I put it on and I catch Marinette biting her bottom lip. "What?" I ask and she just smirks.

"I like you better without the shirt on..."  She seductively winks at me, leaving me flustered and conscious over my body.

I walk to the other side of the room, avoiding Marinette's stare, and I grab Tommy from his crib. I carry him as he wails and I move around the room, hoping that my movements would stop him from crying.

"Shh...it's okay." I whisper to his ear. "You don't need to cry. I got you, I got you..."

I look back at the bed to see Marinette falling back to sleep. I laugh lightly as I watch her struggle to keep her eyes open.

"You ruined the moment, my boy." I scold my son by using a soft voice. "Your mother and I were in the mood and you just had to ruin it...but don't worry." I assure him, "I still love you."

I kiss him on the cheek and he opens his eyes. His eyes have the same shade of color as his mother's and they peer into my eyes. I can't help to smile at him and bring him closer to me.

"Are you looking at your daddy right now?" I ask while gently shaking him. "Can you see your daddy, Tommy?" I rub my nose on his and he starts to cry again.

"Oh shoot. Please don't cry again." I plead but he doesn't even stop. I let him lie on my shoulders but it is still not effective enough to stop him from crying.

"How about you bring him to our bed, Adrien?" Marinette suggests and I comply with what she said. I walk back to the bed and I let Tommy lie on his stomach on the middle of the bed. His wails have already quieted down and we would occasionally hear him whine.

"There, that's much better isn't it?" Marinette asks and I nod my head as a reply.

I lie down on the bed and I softly rub the back of Tommy, hoping that he would go back to sleep.

"Have you ever thought of having another child?" Marinette asks curiously, peering into my face.

"All the time." I answer, marveling our son. "I would love to have a baby girl..."

Marinette utters something incoherent and I ask her to repeat what she just said.

"Emma." she says clearly, "I want her name to be Emma."

"Emma," I try to make the name seem comfortable for me to say, "Emma." I say once again and I grin.

"And if the next baby is a boy?" I ask Marinette.

"Hugo." she says without any hesitation.

"Have you prepared those baby names already? You seem like you know them by heart."

"Well," she shrugs her shoulders, "I have been thinking of those names ever since we were in high school." she informs me nonchalantly.

"That long?" I ask, clearly showing my disbelief.

"Yes. That long, Adrien."

--------------------

"Good Morning, Mister Agreste." Karla greets as I enter through the main entrance of my art exhibit the next day.

"One more month and then this closes, Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir." Karla replies as she walks beside me. "Actually, there is someone who is waiting for you in your offi-"

"Mister Agreste!" Marinette runs toward our direction, with her right arm still in a cast, and she almost loses her balance once she reaches me. Thankfully, I grab both of her shoulders and hold her steadily.

"Woah, easy there!"

"Good morning, sir." Marinette greets, rushing her words.

"Good morning to you too...I'm sorry but what's going on right now?" I look at the two of them and Marinette is the first to speak.

"Adrien, Ivan is waiting for you in your office." She says using a hushed voice. "Why is he here?"

"I'm sorry. Who is here?"

"Mr. Ivan Bruel from the Internal Revenue Services is waiting for you in your office." Karla clarifies for me and I am taken back a little.

"Did he set an appointment?" I ask and Karla shakes her head.

"I'm afraid that this is what you call an 'unscheduled check-up', sir. This is what the services do."

"Why is the IRS here? What does it have to do with you?"

I totally forgot that Marinette was still with us.

"It's nothing of your concern, Marinette." I harshly utter at her.
In all honesty, I don't want her to know about my problems regarding the Internal Revenue Services because I have been keeping this from her for 4 years already. And I plan to keep it that way.

"Do I also have the right to know?" She asks, trying to push her point of letting her know too.

"I told you my answer. And my answer is-"

"MISTER ADRIEN AGRESTE!!" I get interrupted by a booming voice heard by everyone in the building. I see Ivan, coming from my office, walking toward me wearing his work clothes.

"Ah, Mister Bruel. Good to see you today-"

"Should we be having our small gathering right now? Ah, the last time I saw you was 4 months ago. I'm here to talk about the same thing we always talk about when we see each other." He recalls as he wraps his hands around my shoulders and brings me to my office.

"Yes. Let's talk, Ivan." I reply and I usher Karla to follow us. Karla tells Marinette to go back to work before she walks alongside with us.

We enter my office and I have the liberty to sit on my seat.

"Karla, please fetch us two glasses of water." I ask.

"Will do, sir." replied Karla and she leaves the room.

"Please Mister Bruel, take a seat." I gesture Ivan to sit down and he raises his hand, denying my offer.

"Dude, just call me Ivan. And, I won't sit down because I have been sitting on that chair for an hour just waiting for you."

"Oh, I didn't know that you would be coming early, Ivan. The art exhibit isn't even open yet. But still, forgive me for making you wait long for me." I apologize and he gives me a worried glance.

"You are in your work clothes, but you aren't at work..." I continue.

"Oh, I am at work alright." Ivan says. "If you have forgotten, my work involves tracking down those who don't pay their taxes..." he brings out a piece of paper from his coat and he unfolds it and read its content.

"4.5 million euros." he says, stressing the number, "That is how much you owe us. And that is only for this year!" he continues to mock me.

Damn it. They track down and record everything.

"12 million euros from 2 years ago are added...you have a total of more than 16 million euros that you need to pay." he hands me the piece of paper and I leave it on top of my table.

"I know." I bitterly spit and Ivan scoffs.

"If you knew then why are still not paying? Adrien, listen to me." he leans on my table and stares right at me. "You should know that you have become one of my favorite people these past few years... I actually have a list of my favorite people and you're part of that list."

"Oh, that's good to hear." I sarcastically utter, "I'm in your list."

"Yeah, and take a note that those 'favorite' people of mine are those that evade their taxes and most of that list is comprised of people that are also part of the 'Most Wanted' list."

My hands turn cold just by the thought of the 'Most Wanted' list.

"Am I part of that list?" I whisper.

"Thankfully, you are not." he answers and I sigh in relief. "But I'm scared that you will be..." he continues woefully.

"Why are you saying such things?"

"Adrien, let's face it. You don't have money." he bluntly says and I look down in shame. "How are you going to get 16- scratch that, 17 million euros on such a short notice? Your might steal a large amount from the bank or a big corporation. Worst case scenario would be you scamming other people for their money."

"I can pay." I announce, "I can earn that amount. Just give me time-"

"We, in the service, do everything in such a fast pace. We deal with money, and we are aware that money truly makes the world go round. And one weak link can break that cycle...in this case, you are the weak link."

"Why can't you just wait a little longer? Please, just wait a little long-"

"Never in my life have I ever thought of the one and only child of the late famous Gabriel Agreste begging me to extend his due date..." He didn't look conceited and arrogant as he said that. Instead, he looked pitiful and worried. "Adrien...why is this happening to you?"

I stand from my chair and pace around my area. I massage my temples as I walk around my room. Ivan decides to sit on the chair and he joins his hands together.

"It happened all at once..." I quietly answer, deciding to look outside through the window. "Everything happened all at once, damn it!" I say, enraged. "The funeral, my other debts because of the school, our house loan, the divorce...the divorce."

"You paid for everything, didn't you?"

"Every bit of it." I reply, sadly.

"Does Marinette know about your debt?"

I look at him and I can tell that he is truly curious about the issue.

"She doesn't and I plan to keep it that way."

"Are you serious? You kept that you owe the IRS from her for 4 years and counting? Why are you doing this? She can help you!"

"That time when I knew that I was evading our taxes, she was also suffering. I couldn't let her feel more stressed when I knew that she was grieving over our dead son." I start to feel lightheaded. I grip my table and close my eyes. Taking my time as I inhale and exhale slowly.

"You sure are good at keeping secrets..."

"Stop it." I plead but I feel Ivan's presence towering over me.

"No, listen. First, the only people who knew about your divorce would be us, your high school classmates and Marinette's family! Second, you never told Marinette about your debt!"

"And what's wrong with those secrets?"

"Sometimes you have to tell others of what you are keeping...so that it's not heavy here." He says, gesturing to his heart. "Yuck. I have never been this sappy before, but I would do it for you because you need it."

I sit on my chair again and start to contemplate on what is truly happening right now.

I'm a coward, and I know that.

And I am mad at myself for being one.

We don't talk for a while. His presence started to make me feel nauseated. "I think that you should go." I hiss, ignoring his advice.

"Adrien-"

"I believe that your co-workers are waiting for you back at the service..." I interrupt him. He looks defeated as he grabs his bag and gives me a half nod with his head.

"I will be seeing you next month, Mister Agreste." he says, being all formal again. "I hope that by that time, you would have found another solution. By the way, your idea of holding an art exhibit and an auction is genius. I hope that your other solution is like that."

"I'll try." I sigh and he looks at me, disappointed.

"Because if you can't find one, we would have to proceed with Plan B."

Plan B? There's a Plan B?

"There's Plan B? How come I am not aware with Plan B?"

"Actually, it is our plan. The service also formulates plans for those who have a hard time making one." he informs me.

"Then what is your plan if I can't pay my debt?"

"Well, it's simple." he calmly says. And he continues,

"We will shut down your school for good."

-------------------

I lie down on the grass beside the headstone of Tommy.

"Why is this happening to me?" I whisper to no one but myself. "Why now?"

I look up to see the sky changing its color to a shade of orange. I have been here for hours. And I have just been sleeping, ranting and crying the whole time.

"I bring dishonor to my family..." I mutter, "I bring dishonor to my name." I cover my face with my hands and for the first time in such a long time, I break down.

My chest is in pain right now making me have a hard time breathing. I cry silently as tears flow freely from my eyes.

"I wish that you were still alive..." I cry, "None of this would have happened if you were still alive. Your mother could have still been my wife if you were here..."

I change my position and kneel in front of the headstone. I look down at my hands resting on my knees.

"Is this my fault?" I ask bitterly, clenching my chest.

Is it my fault that you passed away?

"I-I miss you so much, my boy...Your mother and I miss you so much.

"I would trade my life with yours. Or I would do anything just to see you again, just to hold you again. But is that possible?"

No.

It's not possible...

And it never will be.

I lean on the headstone and allow myself to wallow in grief, despair, sadness and bitterness.

"I can't do anything to bring you back..." I feel lightheaded and nostalgic. "I'm useless..."

"I'm sorry, Thomas..." I whisper, tracing the outline of his headstone, "I am so sorry!"

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