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“Actually… I miss you.”
Holding her phone away from her ear, Marinette watched her screen and let the last few seconds of the voicemail faintly play out. With her thumb hovering over the delete button, there was a moment of hesitation, before she moved to press play again. The message was practically memorized at this point, and yet as she raised the phone to her ear again, there was still a breath held, as if the words would change.
“Hey, my – Marinette. Marinette, I… I just want you to know I didn’t mean to find out this way. Or, for that matter, for you to find out. I really didn’t, and I want you to know that in case you think I’m still the curious cat I was when we first started out doing this all those years ago.”
Marinette smiled, remembering all those times he would lean in close to her and pester her with questions, whether they were in the middle of an akuma attack or interview. It had been some time since he had attempted one of those, and now, hiding away from the world on some random rooftop, she would almost trade anything for another one of those moments.
That is, if he still didn’t know her identity. Looking off into the distance, she watched the sunset, wondering if he was looking out as well.
“I’ve changed, I really have, and I’ve spent so long trying to avoid the obvious, to ignore every sign pointing towards you being her and to hope you ignored every sign that pointed to me being him. But… I guess the universe decided it was time we finally face the truth. And yeah, leaving for London for a week to do some fragrance promotions wasn’t exactly ideal with the reveal just springing up on us but… it’s given me a lot of time. And I mean a lot.”
Here, he enunciated the last words of the sentence, and with each replay, Marinette never failed to flare her nostrils in an attempt to stifle a laugh. It was just so him that she could visualize it, eyes comically widening and arms extending, with just enough of a pause that he knew she’d find humor in what he had to say.
He always did that, now that she noticed, both in and out of the suit.
“But to be honest, I’ve just spent most of this trip thinking, and wondering how much things are going to change when I come back home and we have to talk about this. It’s scary for sure, and I’m nervous even now while I’m leaving this message for you, but… I’m also really excited Marinette. I can’t lie about that, no matter how hard I try to ignore that part. I’m happy, and excited, and beyond overjoyed to know that out of everyone, it’s you, and it’s always been you.”
“It’s always been me,” she says, voice low and her free hand coming up to twirl at her hair. In the distance, the sky was turning to shades of pink, pastel touches by an unknown painter’s hand. It was beautiful, and had it been a normal day, it would’ve been enough for Marinette to call a break mid-patrol, swinging her legs from a roof’s edge and using his shoulder for a pillow.
But for now, it seemed fine enough to be used as a backdrop to this confession. Of sorts, at least.
“So, call me back when you can. Or don’t. I don’t really know what you’re thinking about, or how you’re dealing with all this, but it’d be nice to hear my lady give some advice. And actually…”
Here, Marinette felt her heart rate rise, still not used to the sudden change in his voice with his parting words.
“Actually… I miss you.”
It ended. Pulling the phone away from her ear again, Marinette looked down at her screen, staring at the voicemail. There was no push to delete this time around, nor was there the urge to replay it again. She wouldn’t put herself to hear his voice again, and to wonder what he was thinking while she sat and listened.
She could do better than that. She would, right now. Tapping at her screen, Marinette didn’t have to search hard in the contacts to find him.
Adrien’s name was the first one listed, of course.
Clicking onto the call feature, Marinette pressed the phone to her ear before she gave herself any more time to think about it, heart pounding more and more the longer she waited for him to pick up.
Luckily, as if her miraculous itself helped her out, she didn’t have to wait long.
“Marinette?”
“Adrien,” she says, eyes flickering to watch the sunset again. “Hi.”
“Hi… Did you get my message?”
“Yeah. I did.”
“And…” Adrien stopped himself, then continued on. “Do you have anything to say?”
“Yeah.” Taking a deep breath, Marinette exhaled her truth. “I miss you too.”