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It was midnight when he called.
Marinette was bundled up in blankets, a cup of jasmine tea in her hands as she relished the silence. It wasn’t that she hated how big and loud family meetups were, but she had to admit they took up a great deal of energy.
So she allowed herself to stay up a little longer than perhaps she should, languishing in the stillness of the night. If she strained her ears she could just about hear her grandfather snoring away three rooms down. Marinette smiled to herself, content and relieved that she’d been able to have her own room for a change. Usually she had to share with her cousins, but one of them couldn’t make the reunion and the other was at university.
It was as she was sipping on the last dregs of her tea that her phone began to ring, the vibrations creating a violent echo on the desk in front of her. Marinette sat up in her chair, blankets tumbling from her shoulders as she snatched the phone, eager to not wake up Tikki.
A smile burst onto her face when she saw who was calling her, her heart flipping as though she were a middle-schooler all over again.
“Hello?” she hummed, placing her mug down and leaning her elbows on the desk. She rested her cheek on her hand, feeling a flood of warmth rush through her when she heard her fiancés voice.
“Ah Princess,” Adrien replied, his tone soft and gentle as it passed through her phone receiver. Marinette’s smile grew, “I’m glad you answered, it must be late there right?”
“Not too late, and you can call me anytime handsome! You know that,” Marinette giggled, “although I am curious as to why you’d be calling me when it’s just past midnight over here.”
“I… I just wanted to hear your voice,” he paused, his breathing laboured. Marinette didn’t think much of it, he usually called her when he was busy, and honestly she was too focused on trying not to melt at the sincerity of his words. When he spoke next, his voice was even again, “I miss you, how is Shanghai?”
“Aww kitty, I miss you too,” she cooed, “and Shanghai’s great, my family are all going crazy- well they’re already crazy- but I mean they’re like specifically going crazy about the wedding. They can’t wait for it, and Gran’s asked me to show her the ring about a bajillion times. But I don’t mind,” Marinette leaned back, sticking out her free hand to admire her engagement ring. Although she loved looking at, it made her long for the man on the other side of the phone even more and- for a split second- her chest felt hollow, “it’s a lovely ring after all.”
“Not as lovely as the Princess wearing it.”
The hollowness in her chest became a cavern, and she tucked herself back into her blankets, as if they might protect her from her pining. She missed him so much, but it was ridiculous to feel like this, after all she’d be back home in a few days. There was no reason to be so love sick.
“Marinette?”
She waited, listening intently. He only ever used her actual name when he was feeling incredibly romantic, or something was terribly wrong. She hoped it was the former.
“What’s up?” she asked before she could help herself, only then did she notice just how quiet his voice was, “are you ok? Did something happen on patrol?”
The silence that followed made her sick, made her throat close and her lips dry. She was just imagining things right? The gut feeling, stinging like acid in her stomach, was just her mind playing tricks. It had to be. It had to be.
“No,” he chuckled softly and Marinette exhaled relief, “although I certainly felt my lady’s absence.”
Marinette smiled again.
“She’ll be by your side again soon,” she replied, “and I’m sure she must feel terrible being away from you- the cutest cat in all of Paris.”
Marinette heard him sigh, content, almost purring, and the urge to hold him intensified. She longed to wrap her arms around him, to bury her fingers in his soft hair, to feel his warmth. For now, she had to make peace with the blankets instead, pretend they were him.
“I want you to do something for me,” he requested and the way he said it put her soul at ease. There wasn’t a problem, he really was just being romantic.
“Oh?” she teased, “but I’m thousands of miles away, what would you possibly have me do?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Adrien insisted sounding so tired and Marinette felt a stab of sympathy. Whilst she’d been gone, he’d had to do his patrols, hers and their joint patrols all on his own. She made a vow to make it up to him when she got back home, “I just want something simple. I want you to look at the sky.”
Marinette frowned.
“Ok?” she complied, pulling her curtains open. The glow of the city enveloped the room, causing Tikki to moan and roll over in her sleep, “may I ask why Chaton?”
“It’s been hard to sleep without you by my side,” he explained, and for a second she though she heard him gasp, but the sound was gone before she could pinpoint it, “I’m going to- to take a nap now. It’ll make me feel better if we’re looking at the same sky whilst I fall asleep.”
Marinette bit her lip, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. God she loved him so much, her adorable, soppy kitten.
“You sap,” she whispered fondly, “of course I’ll look at the sky with you. If it will help you go to sleep.”
“It will,” Adrien replied and she could practically hear his soft smile, “I’m already feeling drowsy. You must be magic.”
Marinette chortled as they fell into a contented silence, tucking her legs up on her chair as she stared up at the sky. Being at the edge of the city meant the light pollution wasn’t as heavy where she was. It was a clear night, and the moon glowed pleasantly, a mysterious pale silver that only appears in the very depths of winter.
“I can see stars,” she said, hoping her voice was a lullaby for her poor hardworking kitty, “not many, but there are some.”
“Think of me when you look at them,” Adrien uttered, his voice growing fainter by the second, “and I’ll… think of you… as I watch the clouds go by.”
Marinette pressed her ear harder into her phone, it was getting difficult to hear him.
“All right mister sleepyhead. Get some rest,” she chuckled, shaking her head fondly. He was hopeless, really, “I’ll see you soon.”
The final pause was so long she wondered if he’d already fallen asleep.
How could she have known that her fiancée, thousands of miles out of her reach, was lying in a crumpled heap in a forgotten alley way; Fighting not to let out a sob, fighting against the will to close his eyes, fighting against the blood which drained from the gash in his abdomen.
Adrien’s hands trembled, his face devoid of colour, his finger bare. His miraculous was gone, Plagg was gone…and soon he would be too. He was leaving her. He was leaving her all on her own.
“I- I can’t wait to see you again,” he confessed, gritting his teeth, meaning it, knowing it would be far longer than she thought before they saw each other again. I’m sorry. I’m sorry my lady, my princess, my love. I failed you. I’m sorry, “but until that time keep…keep looking at those stars ok? Pretend that’s where I am.”
“I will, and I can’t wait to see you either.” Her voice was both a balm and a bomb in his heart, soothing it and ripping it apart simultaneously. He tried not to think about leaving her behind, tried not to think about how very sad she would be, of the wedding that would never happen, all their plans, hopes, dreams… He couldn’t think about that, could let her worry.
No. If this was to be the last time they spoke, he wouldn’t let it be marred by the tragedy of it all. Let him be the one to bear the brunt of it. He would give her this one last gift. He would make her smile. One last time.
“Goodnight Princess,” he said, silent tears streaming down his blood-stained cheeks as he stared up at the clouds, “I love you.”
He slumped further down the wall, the last of his strength finally giving out. Before his last breath disappeared alongside the winter breeze, he heard her respond in kind, knew she loved him too. It was all he’d ever needed.
Adrien thought of her, his first and only love, miles away, staring at the stars.
That’s where I’ll be.
His vision became blurry.
That’s where I’ll always love you.
He no longer felt any pain.
That’s where I’ll be waiting.
He closed his eyes, felt himself fading away- to be where he said he’d be, where he promised her he’d be.
Amongst the stars.