IC CONTACT.

[meouch]

video / voice / text / action

Hey, this is Adrien's voicemail. Sorry I couldn't get to you, leave a message. OR THE MORE EMBARRASSING EDITION: Chat Noir here! Or, well, not here. Crimes to solve, people to save, don't take it personally. Leave a meowssage! [ beep. ]

Comments

[meouch]

[ haha. that gets a worn smile from him. steven did say that, and sure, that's thinking back on the events from a couple of days ago that he honestly... doesn't want to, the fact that steven said that is one of the brighter points. ]

You're saying that even after the sudden hugging?

[ that's his light joke, even if he is still a bit self-conscious about that and everything. but the approval does help. ]

[geophile]

[ once you take away the dying, the dehydration, the hunger, the exposure to the elements, the monsters, and the intense mental trauma, being underground wasn't so bad! there were some good times, man. gooooood times. ]

I wouldn't quite call it a deal-breaker. You're safe for now.

[ he finds himself smiling, too. this is why he likes you, kid. ]

[meouch]

[ look, sometimes you've got to compartmentalize what's happening to keep from kaboooming. that steven's smiling is... nice, and adrien is honestly relieved, more relieved than words can say--that for a moment he forgets the heaviness and the guilt as he thinks, again, that he didn't lose steven. ]

For now, huh?

[ there's a pause that adrien fills with an obvious pensiveness.

and then, quietly and heartfelt with his head slightly dipped: ]



... I'm really glad you're back.

[geophile]

[ he takes note of that pensiveness, and hopes that he's at least managed to make him feel a little better. it'll take some time for both of them to get back to complete normalcy, but this is a start.

he hesitates for a moment, but he takes that dipped head as an opportunity to give his hair a little ruffle. it's brief, but a gesture of familiarity. ]

It's good to be back.

[meouch]

[ .... oh.

that's unexpected, and both hands go up to rest on his head as he lifts it to look at steven. there's a warmth that spreads across adrien's chest with that one simple action; even when it settles, his mind is still registering that event. it's honestly not much, but these aren't gestures he's used to.

judging from the smile that settles on his face, though, it's not a bad kind of surprise at all. ]

Did—

[ .... ]

—Should we go do those things you need to do? So you can get some rest.

[ ah.... ]

[geophile]

[ with a smile like that looking at him, it's easy to resolve himself - he can't be reckless anymore, even if it's for the sake of others. adrien is someone that he wants to protect, and he can't do that if he's incapacitated.

he's tempted to ask if he has anything else on his mind, but holds back. they've had enough heavy talk for today. ]

Yes. Let's go.

[ it'll be an emotionally-charged trip, but one that he can't even consider putting off. his team has been through enough as it is. ]