Chapter II: Marinette

She stared at Chat and lowered her arm.

"Fist bump?" She asked, praying that he was just kidding around with her. "Chat, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that you…" her earrings blinked and she lost her thought, "Oh, gotta bug out before I change back. See you later, Chat." She gave him one last glance before swinging off on her yoyo. She knew something was up with him, he had been acting strange all day, she would have to wait and do some investigating later.

Marinette made it to her room just in time to change back. She was exhausted. Not only was she now worried about Chat, but she had embarrassed herself in front of Adrien. Her face flushed just at the thought. He had smiled at her, that was her chance, and she completely blew it. Adrien would never like her now.

"Marinette," Tikki spoke, "You look worried. Is everything alright?"

"I totally embarrassed myself in front of Adrien today! That was my only chance, what if he never likes me now? What if he thinks I have some kind of disease that keeps me from walking straight? What if he thinks I don't know how to speak? Oh gosh, Tikki…"

"Calm down, Marinette, I'm sure he doesn't think that. You'll get another chance."

"Maybe," she sighed. "And what was up with Chat Noir today? He was acting so weird."

"You did break his heart."

"You really think that's what it was?" Marinette looked down. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal…"

It was true, she had broken his heart. But she had only told him the truth, she wasn't unreasonable. And he had said everything was alright. It was Chat Noir, after all, she was sure that he would move on quickly. Besides, he didn't even know the real her, he had fallen in love with a mask. He had fallen in love with the girl she pretends to be while shielded by the actions of a superhero. The disappointment he would feel by knowing the truth would be worse than any broken heart. He had fallen in love with someone who was too much of a coward to even come out from behind her mask. And love like that could never last.

Chat was one of her best friends, she didn't want to lose him to something as petty as love. Marinette knew she would have to keep an eye on him, and maybe she owed him an apology too.

"Marinette," her mother called from downstairs, "I need you to watch the bakery while your father and I run out to get some things."

"Okay, I'll be right down."

Being in charge of the bakery wasn't her favorite thing to do, and it was most definitely not what she wanted it to be doing right now. The bakery was empty other than a few customers that roamed about, and Marinette was sure that she really didn't need to be watching it. Alya had gone out to the movies with Nino, so she wouldn't be able to keep her company. Instead, in the company of pastries, Marinette flipped through some of the older fashion magazines to see if there were any noteworthy designs to inspire her. But she couldn't bring herself to look at anything that Adrien wasn't wearing, everything he was in looked stunning. She hoped that maybe one day she could try some of her designs out on him.

The bell rang as the door opened, Marinette didn't raise her head until someone stepped up to the counter.

"What can I help you with?" She asked out of habit.

"Well," the voice was familiar, "My father is leaving for a business trip tomorrow and I was hoping to surprise him with something at dinner tonight. Any suggestions?"

"A-Adrien!" Marinette shrieked with joy, unable to compose herself quick enough. "Pastries? For my father, or, I mean, you-your father?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "I was hoping to get something special before he leaves. I had a quiche your dad made one time, it was great—I don't know if you remember—and so I thought, maybe, my dad would like something from here too."

"I-I remember," she blushed. "Um, Adrien! I can make you something, I mean, my dad taught me how to make the quiche, if you want I can…"

"Really? That would be great!" Enthusiasm radiated off him. "Here, I'll give you my number, you can text me when it's done. Or, I guess you could just drop it at my house. Which is easier?" Her brain officially stopped working. Was she about to get Adrien's number? How did you speak again? What was language? C'mon brain! This is not the time to space out! Marinette blinked and tried to regain the ability to speak, her hands twitching at her side.

"N-number…" that was about all she could manage. Adrien's phone rang and he bit his bottom lip.

"Oh, crap!" He set his number on the counter and waved goodbye, "I forgot, I have a huge photo shoot in ten minutes. Just text me when you're finished with the pie and I can come pick it up. Thanks again, Marinette. It means a lot to me." He smiled one last time and the door shut behind him. Then he was gone.

Marinette's heart leapt into her throat. She couldn't believe she had gotten Adrien's number! He had come to her for a favor, he had asked her to help him, he had given his number to her, and that was just about all Marinette had ever wanted in the whole world. She squeezed the piece of paper in between her fingers, afraid that if she let go it would turn out to be just a dream. The redness of her cheeks stayed even while she texted Alya, and lingered long even after that.

She could not bring herself to stand still for the remainder of the time she had to watch the bakery. Her foot tapped nervously behind the counter and she stuttered to just about every customer. Her mind was elsewhere. Filled with fantasies and dreams, that she now knew had a sliver of hope to come true. Her fingers twitched with anticipation, and longed for the moment when they could text him. How long will it be? She wondered. I should probably start making the quiche now. Oh no! What if I screw it up and Adrien hates me forever? She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

It was just like making any other quiche, she told herself, for any other customer. Except this customer was Adrien Agreste, and this quiche had to be the picture of perfection and taste like heaven had fallen to earth, Marinette knew. She would have to pour her heart and soul into it, and make it the best one she had ever made. She knew. She knew that she could not mess up this opportunity. Determination filled her and she stood up a little straighter.

"I will do this," she said to no one in particular. "I am not going to disappoint Adrien, I'm going to do this!"

"Marinette," Tikki whispered, "You had better get started on that. You don't know how long it will take, and you must prepare for your, you know, clumsiness…" Marinette took a sharp breath in.

"You're right! This quiche of perfection will probably take forever to make. And who knows how many times I'll mess up. I have to get started right away!" She watched the last customer leave and then turned the sign to closed. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind if I close up a little bit early." Granted, it was a little bit before a bit early to close up, but business was slow this evening and she had made a promise to Adrien. A very important promise, she might add.

She wiped down the counter and made sure the door to the bakery was locked, then she headed up to her kitchen. Marinette had just laid out all of the ingredients she needed when her phone rang beside her.

"Alya?"

"Girl! Tell me everything," her friends voice shrieked through the phone. "Do you actually have his number? How did you get it! C'mon spill the details, Marinette. Don't keep me in the dark!"

"He came to ask me for a favor, can you believe that?" The words poured from her mouth like they belonged there. Like her whole life had lead up to this one moment when she could finally say she had Adrien's number. The only thing that could have possibly made this better was if he had handed her a ring and a kiss. "I'm making him a quiche, and I'm supposed to text him when it's done, and he'll come to pick it up! I can't believe it! Adrien…and me…oh, Alya, I might need some help, to make sure it's perfect. Would you…"

"Of course, girl! I'll be right there." Alya hung up the phone. Marinette let out another cry of excitement.

She stared blankly at the ingredients that were spread across her kitchen counter. Her mind raced, searching for the steps her dad had told her before. Marinette paced nervously as she got the pan out and started to make the dough, every step she finished was a step closer to the perfect quiche, and a step closer to Adrien. When the dough was done, she placed the bottom of the crust neatly into the pan and started on the filling. She wasn't sure it would taste exactly like her dad's did, but she had seen him make it enough times that she felt confident in her abilities.

Before long, the doorbell rang and Marinette rushed to greet her friend.

"Alya! Hurry and come, it's almost done, and then I need you to taste test."

"But don't you need the whole thing to give to Adrien?" Alya stepped in and took off her shoes. Marinette could barely contain her growing excitement as she spilled all the details of her master plan to Alya.

"Well I was thinking that I'd cut up the quiche and place it in a cute design on the plate," she smiled widely, "That way I can taste test, and make it look cute and professional for Adrien! What do you think? Think it'll work?"

"Sounds good to me, girl," Alya gave her a thumbs up.

Marinette ran ragged around the kitchen, grabbing plates and serving knives to cut the quiche. She cut a thin slice for her and Alya to taste test, then set the rest on a plate in the shape of a flower. With the pieces centered around the middle she placed a note between them. Alya updated her blog while she waited for Marinette to calm down. With so much going on, Marinette wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings, and just as Tikki had warned, her clumsiness got the better of her.

There were two crashes, one followed by the other. The first, was when Mari bumped into Alya, her friend jumped out of shock and knocked over the taste testing plate. Which would have been fine, had Marinette not responded the way she did. The second, was when Marinette knocked over the plate made for Adrien, sending both plates to the ground with a shattering clang. She was almost brought to tears as she slowly brought her head up to look at Alya.

"Marinette…"

"Oh Alya!" She cried, "What am I going to do now? I've totally ruined the quiche I made for Adrien! I'm such a klutz."

"It's okay, it's okay," Alya seemed to be muttering more to herself than to Marinette, she leaned down and started to pick up the pieces of the broken plates. "We can just make it again. You've already made it once, all the ingredients are out, I'll help you and we'll get it done. You'll see, everything will be fine. I'm sure it will go faster with the both of us anyway, and we can taste test as we go along…"

"Alya." Marinette could feel a tear run down her cheek. "It's ruined…"

"Please, Marinette. Just try?"

Her friend looked up at her. Alya's eyes seemed more vibrant than usual, she had seen this look plenty of times from someone else. She has baby doll eyes, Marinette thought with a smile, just my luck, huh. She nodded affirmatively and helped Alya with the broken plates. A smile rested on her face as Alya turned and gave her a strange look.

"What are you smiling for?" Alya laughed.

"I was just thinking that you and Manon both have baby doll eyes," Marinette said. "And you know I can't resist the baby doll eyes."

"It's a gift," Alya continued to laugh.

Alya was right. It did go much faster the second time, and with double the hands too. The quiche was made again and plated just as beautifully. Marinette made a new card and placed it at the center of the masterpiece.

"Like heaven fallen to earth," she said, it was more of a prayer than a statement really.

"Okay, well I should probably be going," Alya looked at the time, "My parents want me home in time for dinner, and before dark too. See ya! Good luck, tell me all about it tomorrow, promise?"

"Promise."

It was almost seven thirty by the time Marinette was out the door. She had texted Adrien and received no reply, so she decided to go deliver the quiche personally to his front door. To make it in time, she would have to do it as Ladybug for most of the trip, but she'd make sure to give it to him as Marinette. After all, that was the whole reason she had gone through all of this in the first place.

The night air was cool, and jumping from roof to roof was more exhilarating than usual, her heart pounded just a little faster. She held the box tight to her chest, under no circumstances was she going to drop it, not when she had already come this far. Not when she was so close she could practically taste it. A familiar shadow made an appearance as she passed by the buildings, and she slowed her pace. The figure caught her with ease and gave a flirtatious bow.

"Ladybug," Chat said. "May I ask what you are going out so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. Remembering the apology she owed him, Ladybug corrected herself. "I am delivering something to a fr-friend of mine. I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Oh, what is it?" He kept his distance, which was odd, and he had yet to make a cat pun. He did not kiss her hand. And his tone was as if he regarded her as a stranger. If she hadn't already known it before, now she knew something was up with him. Most definitely something was up with him, she just couldn't place a finger on it yet. Was it just aftermath from the battle with Memory? Or was it more than that? She could not say.

"It's a pastry," she said proudly, "I made it myself."

"Lucky him," she could feel Chats smile, even through the shadow of night. "I would love to try something sometime. One day, maybe?"

"Maybe." She said.

"Well, I have a previous engagement and must excuse myself. Goodbye, Ladybug."

"Goodbye," she whispered to herself, "Chat Noir."

She reached Adrien's house a few minutes later. Mari transformed back into herself and mustered up the courage to ring the doorbell.

"Who is it?" A robotic voice spoke.

"Um, yeah, hi. I'm Marinette, I'm in Adrien's class. He stopped by my, uh, I mean, my parents bakery earlier and placed an order," she held up the quiche box, "I came to drop it off." She smiled shyly.

"Adrien is not home at the moment. Place it in the box." It slid out from the wall just like it had the time she delivered his birthday present. She placed the quiche carefully into the box and jumped back as it slammed shut. There was no other sound, only the silence of the streets. She thought about waiting around for Adrien to come back, but she ended up walking toward home. Something told her she was not going to get to see Adrien tonight.

"Pleasure to talk to you too," she mumbled to herself. She threw her hands up as she walked away. "I can't believe Adrien wasn't there! Ugh… but I'll still get to ask him about it tomorrow in class, I suppose."

Marinette took the long way home, enjoying the stars and the cool breeze that brushed her face. Her mind was filled with daydreams about the conversation tomorrow. She figured that if she practiced enough, maybe she wouldn't stutter so much this time. Who am I kidding, Marinette laughed at herself. She could practice for her whole life and still stutter at the sight of him. He was perfect in every way, and she…well, she wasn't. The only way she could hold a conversation with him was behind that silly mask, and he would never like her that way. Besides, she wanted him to like her, not the girl she pretended to be while behind the mask.

When she got home her parents were waiting. She explained what happened with both excitement and an apology for the plates. Then she waved goodnight and headed up to her room. Marinette threw herself on the bed, taking a long deep breath in. She hoped Adrien liked the quiche, and she hoped it tasted okay. She hoped that his father liked it, and she hoped that Adrien would come back to ask her to make him another one. She hoped a lot of things. But mostly, she hoped that tomorrow, she would be able to talk to him. Maybe this was the spark she needed to light their relationship and bring it to the next level.

"Marinette!" Tikki flew in front of her face, "You were right, something was really off with Chat Noir tonight. And I don't think it was just a broken heart."

"Right?" She sat up, "I mean he was acting totally different than usual today. Do you think it's because he got hit by Memory? I mean, he forgot to fist bump me, he didn't call me "My Lady" today when we met, he didn't kiss my hand, and he didn't tell any cat puns! Something is totally up with him. But, I turned everything back to normal, Memory's amnesia shouldn't have any effect on him anymore. I mean, that can't happen, right?" Tikki looked down.

"Actually," her eyes widened as she looked up, "He had a broken heart, and people will do anything to stop hurting, he might have wanted to forget the feelings he had. … And if Chat wished that he could forget, even subconsciously, then it's possible that the amnesia still stands. Because at that moment, his heart accepted the memories being taken from him. It's never happened before, but if Chat wanted to forget, then I'm not sure your lucky charm would have sent him back to normal."

"But Chat wouldn't do that," Marinette assured herself. "He'd never wished to forget about me. He wouldn't…"

"He had a broken heart," Tikki repeated, "And broken hearts don't heal like normal wounds. Anyway, if Chat really does have amnesia, it will only get worse from here on out! He'll start to forget more than just silly nicknames and a fist bump. He might even…he might…Marinette! We need to keep an eye on Chat Noir." The kwami sounded panicked and Marinette could feel her heart race as well.

"Oh gosh, Tikki," she said. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't… oh gosh… if I hadn't said those things to Chat then…"

"Marinette calm down," Tikki sat on her shoulder. "Getting worked to won't help anyone. This is serious, but I need you to be calm or we won't be able to help anyone. We need to find Chat and figure out if that's really what's going on, if he really does amnesia or not. And if it is what we think…well, I guess we'll just have to try and get him to remember. But we need to do that as soon as possible. The longer we wait…"

"The worse he will get," Marinette finished. She knew what would happen if they waited too long. And she didn't want to lose her partner. She didn't want to lose Chat. Because Chat was…he was…a home. Home was the only word that came to mind. She felt at home with him, and she didn't want to let go of that feeling no matter what.

A sixth sense was never something Marinette considered herself to be particularly strong in. But right now, she felt like she needed to go outside. Maybe it was because her lungs craved fresh air, the air in her room had become heavy and stale. Or maybe, it was because she wanted to see the stars again. But maybe, just maybe, it was because she was hoping there would be someone out there to meet her. Marinette climbed the ladder to her balcony, lifting the hatch slowly. The stars were the first to greet her, the Moon was the next. And the third thing…

Marinette let out a breath of relief. Sure enough, there was someone there to meet her.

She looked into his green eyes and felt her heart clench as she saw them spill tears. Marinette watched him stand across her balcony, and the urge to run into his arms was almost too much to bare. He has his own kind of baby doll eyes. She smiled softly and walked over to him, tears spilling from both their eyes now.

"Chat."

. . .

A/N: Apologies for the late entry! Hopefully this chapter was good, though. Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me.