It was very late in Milan, Italy, a little after one in the morning to be exact. And Miranda Priestley sat in a hotel room of the finest quality, wrapped in a robe made of silk that whispered against her skin each time she moved to fill her glass of wine. God, she'd filled that glass so many times and it just wasn't enough.

Miranda didn't often get drunk. She found that it was distasteful and below the standard that she held herself. And God forbid anyone ever actually saw her drunk. The threats were often so swift and vicious that the person resigned from Runway immediately. She kept it under the radar.

But she had been thinking on this particular night. She had been thinking too deeply and much too long for her own goddamn sanity. She found it impossible to stop thinking without the aid of the wine she was downing like it was water. Even then, even now, it was only managing to make the memories flow uninhibited to torture her with each of their nightmarish likenesses. One, in particular.

One assistant that she'd had before, one that she had called her greatest disappointment. But she still thought about you much more often than she'd have liked. Her temper had only gotten worse after you left. Now she fired girls left and right because they could never be you. Could never meet the standard that you had nudged just a little higher.

And with her own inhibitions lowered... well, she picked up the phone. And then she dialed. She listened to it ring impatiently, but not with the usual impatience she felt when her assistants waited too long to pick up their phones when she called. No, this was almost desperation with which she waited. Even if it was just your voicemail. She wanted to hear your voice just one more time.

She felt pathetic. Bare-faced. Alone in a luxurious hotel room. Still missing you.

Her heart leaped into her throat when your voice answered the phone. She nearly dropped the wine glass in her hand, suddenly feeling horribly foolish for having called you.

"...Hello." Her voice was quiet, but she couldn't hide the slight slur.