Requested by @Morrielle_4405

When I tell you I've never written anything based on just one song and nothing else, I really mean that. But y'know what? That's the whole point of the challenge.

I apologize for the wait, but I hope you enjoy this!

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"Do you hear me?"

The world around her was quiet and white; so white that it was impossible to see anything else. And a white void was never a good place to be... or was it? If white was the opposite of darkness, then she should have nothing to fear.

But Marinette was terrified. She didn't know where she was. She could hear a faint voice somewhere, but everywhere she looked, she couldn't find the source of the voice anywhere. She didn't even know if the voice was male or female. It was simply there, and it was always whispered.

When she tried to open her mouth and respond to it, she found that she didn't have a voice to speak with. Her throat was sore and her eyes stung—not just from the bright white that surrounded her, but from the tears that were beginning to collect.

Where was she? She felt like she was in a dream. She couldn't remember what had happened before this.

"Do you hear me?"

Again she heard the voice, and the question it asked couldn't have been any clearer. Yes, she could. But she couldn't respond verbally no matter how hard she tried. She could hear the pain behind that whispered question, and she wasn't sure why they were hurting. But she wanted to do something to help.

Then, something warm tingled her. At first she had no idea where the feeling had come from. Until she realized it... someone had grabbed her hand.

"I'm talking to you... please... can you hear me?"

She heard the voice again, and in response, Marinette slowly flexed her fingers, hoping that if the voice couldn't hear her, they could feel her instead. A smile pulled at her lips as soon as she heard a gasp, and a chuckle of relief shortly follow.

Someone returned her squeeze, and the voice continued on in a low whisper, but she couldn't understand anything else it said. Everything that followed sounded mumbled.

But even then, she was able to help somehow, even if she still had no idea who the voice belonged to.

Since that day, the voice no longer sounded sad. For a long time, the voice would be frequent. It would come and go at different times, and most of the time, all it sounded like was like a distant humming.

She liked the humming though. It was peaceful. The only way she could tell the voice that she enjoyed it was to squeeze its hand.

And every time she did, she would always receive a gentle squeeze in return.

But one day, the warmth of the voice's hand left like it always did... but didn't return for a long time. It's absence felt like an eternity. Without the warmth or the sound of the voice, Marinette found herself slowly feeling consumed by the endless of white. For what felt like a century, she stared into nothing.

And then one day, she felt the hand slip back into hers. But she couldn't feel the warmth of it anymore.

She couldn't really feel anything.

"I swear on my life she heard me." This time the voice was incredibly clear, and she could make out every word it said. But unlike all the other times it spoke, it's words weren't directed at her this time. It was talking to someone else.

And she could hear the person it was talking to just as clearly. "Are you sure? The doctors say there hasn't been any sign of brain activity."

"I'm positive," the voice said, and even squeezed her hand just to emphasize its point. "Just watch. She'll squeeze my hand back."

She knew the voice was talking about her, and yet, Marinette didn't have the strength in her to do what he wanted. Her hand remained lifeless in his.

She was somewhat sad; annoyed even, at the comfort the voice had given her. It left her alone in this white world she was trapped in, and now it wanted her to do something for it?

"Are you sure you weren't just... imagining it?" The other voice she didn't recognize asked.

The voice she was familiarized with responded in nothing but anger. "No I wasn't! She really did squeeze my hand! More than once, I swear!"

"Adrien—"

"I'm telling the truth, Nino! I wouldn't lie about that!"

Adrien. Marinette quickly stored that name away in her brain. Somehow, that name sounded familiar to her. But she couldn't remember who it belonged to. Did that name belong to the voice?

"I'm not saying you're lying." The other voice replied, "But maybe you just need some rest."

"You're saying I've gone delusional then." The voice deadpanned.

"The best of us can, Adrien."

But instead of leaving, the voice squeezed her hand again, as if it knew she was purposely ignoring it. Marinette frowned at the touch. She wanted to pull alway out of stubbornness, but knew she was physically incapable of doing so.

"I haven't gone crazy. She can hear me, I know it."

Yes, she could. In fact, the voice no longer sounded like a whisper or a hum. It was loud; perfectly clear, but no longer peaceful. And it was starting to hurt her ears.

"Adrien, I know this has been really rough on you—"

"If you try to tell me one more time that I've lost my mind—"

Finally, Marinette felt as if she'd had enough. Screw being stubborn. She squeezed the voice's hand as hard she could, hoping that her response would get it to shut up.

"WOAH hey! Look look!" The voice exclaimed excitedly, and then it went silent. Both voices did. As soon as they quieted, she released its hand, allowing hers to lay lifeless in its hold.

"Did you see that?!" The voice asked in a hoarse whisper.

The other voice's response was just as amazed. "Yeah... I did."

To that, Marinette couldn't help but smile, her sadness slowly vanishing into thin air.

"Look! She's smiling, oh my god, she's actually smiling!"

That was the voice she deemed was Adrien, sounding so happy just to see her smile. She couldn't remember what importance he held in her heart, but she did know that the voice held some kind of fond familiarity.

And she wanted to remember why.

"I love you, Marinette." The voice said, his tone gentle and kind. When Adrien squeezed her hand again, she finally felt the warmth again—the one thing she'd longed to feel since it had disappeared. "I'm so lucky to still have you with me, and when you wake up, I can't wait to hear your voice again."

So... she really was stuck in a dream. A nightmare was a better word for it. But with the voice at her side, it wasn't as scary as before. Marinette returned his squeeze, smiling contently at the warmth his touch brought.

In that case, she couldn't wait to wake up again.

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A little angst, sorry not sorry 😅

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