(it's almost 4am here so I'm so sorry for any mistakes!)


"Evening, my lady."

"Sorry I'm late!"

It was always a bit chilly on top of the Eiffel Tower, even in summer. Despite that, Ladybug couldn't remember the last time she had felt this cold while transformed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just had a rough day. Kind of. Today has definitely been better than yesterday, and I didn't have to spend the whole day rotting inside."

"You don't look too great."

"I don't... want to complain."

"You have amnesia, Chat, you are allowed to complain a little."

"Maybe."

Her partner looked like he had just survived a thousand apocalypses and starved for months. Ladybug hated everything. She had the urge to pinch herself to see if she was only dreaming. Unfortunately, this was all real.

Why Chat? Why them?

"Um, how was your day? You went on a picnic with your friends, right?"

"Yeah, it was nice, it's been a while since we – Wait, how did you know that?"

"Know what?"

"I didn't tell you I was going on a picnic with my friends."

"Yo-you didn't?"

"Nuh uh."

"I-I just, uh, happen to know everything? Si-since I'm your fiancé?"

"Chat."

"Since I'm your best friend?"

"Chat. Did you follow me?"

"What? No! Maybe? Sorta?"

"God, that's so creepy!"

"Says the girl who hacks into other people's phones."

"How did you –"

"Nevermind. The point is that... Is that I just get so lonely when I'm not with you, Ladybug! You're my source of happiness! My motivation! The reason my heart keeps –"

"Okay, that's enough. Listen, I would love to take you with me everywhere, but then my friends would figure out I'm Ladybug. Or even worse: Papillon might figure it out, too."

"'Everywhere'? Aww, you'd like to be with me 24 hours a day?"

"You're turning this into a joke."

"Is that a bad thing? You're smiling, Buginette."

There were so many things she had meant to talk to him about. There were so many questions that needed answers, too many mysteries that needed to be solved. But she couldn't bring herself to ask those question, couldn't do that to him, not now. They both deserved a break, Chat especially.

Lighthearted banter. Easy smiles. The darker skin under Chat's eyes fading for a moment whenever he laughed at his own puns. Everything felt so normal that it almost made her falsely think nothing was out of the ordinary. It almost made her feel like she could forget her worries.

Almost.

"So, do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Why do you wanna know? Would you like to take me out on a date?"

Keep it light, Ladybug told herself and exhaled slowly. She couldn't understand why Chat's smiles, even the genuine ones, now made her heart ache.

"No dates, just thought that maybe, since you apparently have nothing better to do, you should go see one of the doctors again tomorrow."

Chat's memories had not come back and the new ones had not disappeared. Amnesia was something no one should take lightly, and Ladybug was so hopeless and confused that she found herself desperately wishing for a miracle to happen. She wished that everything could just be fixed with their Miraculous powers or magic or something.

Because what an earth was she supposed to do? They were the only ones who could unravel this mess yet they were both lost.

Chat's mind was damaged. There was nothing Ladybug could do about it. Internally, she was constantly struggling with anger.

"Okay, I'll... consider it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Another smile that made Ladybug's chest hollow.

As Marinette, she could afford to make a few mistakes. She could be her normal clumsy self without the constant fear of disappointing every single person in Paris. As Ladybug, she was supposed to have things always under control. As Ladybug, it was her duty to fix things and help others.

To Chat she was now both, Marinette and Ladybug at the same time, and honestly? It was tiring. She definitely didn't feel very heroic at the moment, asking Chat questions that seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable.

"Chat, um, I need to know something... How did you figure out it's me?"

"I know you don't believe me, but you were to one who told me. To be honest, I'm actually surprised I didn't realize it sooner. No offence, but Marinette and Ladybug look exactly the same, pigtails and all."

Puzzled, Ladybug tilted her head to the side. So... did that mean the real reason he found out was because her transformation didn't change her appearance enough? That sounded a bit... alarming, actually.

The question 'Do you also know who Papillon is', got stuck in her throat. The words were trying to get out, clawing at her tongue almost painfully, wanting to escape her mouth.

Besides Chat's health, defeating Papillon was the most important thing. Chat had told her that there were no evil butterflies in his dream world anymore and since he had figured out her identity, Ladybug had thought that maybe... Maybe.

On the other hand, talking too much about his fake life could be a really bad idea. She didn't want to take the risk that she would hurt him somehow or make the situation even worse.

"Do you know who Papillon is?"

The words were out of her mouth before her brain even had time to register what she was about to say. Gasping, Ladybug slapped her hands over her lips.

She was not supposed to ask that!

Chat's eyes went wide at the question, his whole body stiffening, like he had not thought she would ever ask that. Ladybug winced at his panicked expression. There was something painful behind Chat's eyes, something so sorrowful that she hoped she would never have to experience.

A beat passed between them.

It was too quiet, and Ladybug knew very well that she had messed up. She had caused Chat more unnecessary pain, again.

The boy dropped his gaze at the same time as his cat ears flattened against his fluffy hair. "Ladybug, I... I can't..."

Chat was building a wall between them, she could feel it. It was a wall that, normally, she would have wanted to exist. But right now... it only made her sad. Chat was always so honest and open with her. How could she ask him to tell her these things when she herself wasn't even ready to know his identity?

"I'm not sure I –"

"It's okay!" Ladybug cut him off and placed both of her hands on his shoulder. Chat didn't look up. "I'm sorry I asked. We can talk about that later."

Her partner nodded, albeit a little hesitantly.

"We'll talk about it when you're ready", she corrected herself.

That worked. Ladybug felt how the tension in Chat's shoulders left, at least a little bit. The boy nodded again, firmer this time. She returned the nod, dropping her hands and taking a step back.

Taking a deep breath, Chat turned to look at the sky with those unique eyes of his, watching the summer clouds roll by. A surprisingly peaceful smile started to play on his lips.

It was a calming sight. Still, a sharp pang of sadness hit Ladybug.

What now?

"So, what should we do?" Chat asked then, like he had read her mind.

"What else can we do but wait?"

A soft sigh filled the air. Without taking his eyes off the cotton candy clouds, Chat rubbed the back of his neck. Slowly, clearly unsure.

"I don't know, Ladybug... Nothing's changed. I don't remember Sweet Tooth – although I so wish I had met him because, hilarious – and I still think I somehow got transffered to a parallel universe."

"Or maybe you're just going crazy."

At last, Chat turned to look at her, hurt evident on his face. The look made something twist in Ladybug's stomach. She swallowed.

She had meant that as a joke.

"Sorry", the heroine said, bowing her head a little, shoulders slumping. Everything seemed to go wrong. "I didn't mean it like that, not literally."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I know."

Oh how she wished she could stop worrying.

The sun was starting to paint the scenery with bright orange and red, soon leaving the heroes in pre-moon darkness. Finally, the clouds disappeared as the moon peeked behind them, and the world around them got darker. It was getting late.

Ladybug studied her partner's relaxed expression. She bit her lip. "Hey, Chat?"

"Mm?"

"You do know that you can always come and stay the night at my house, right?"

Because from what she had heard, he didn't really have a home to go to.

Immediately, his eyes brightened. His ears perked up, fake tail swishing behind him, excited. Their gazes locked. Chat nodded, his smile actually reaching his eyes this time. A wave of relief went through Ladybug at the sight. She returned the smile.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering what Tikki had told her. "Almost forgot! My kwami is worried that, now that you know who I am, you'll end up revealing my identity to Papillon if he manages to control you again."

Amusement flashed in Chat's glowing eyes. "Yeah, Tikki is always worried about these kind of things, isn't she?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

Or... what if he did?

"Hmm, I don't think that's going to be a problem." Chat shook his head. "I mean, after all those times he has used me as his minion he's never even asked to know who I am. It would be pretty easy, don't you think? Papillon has had more than enough opportunities to find out my identity."

"Oh, that is true", she agreed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Besides, he always tries to use you to get my earrings, but I think it would be better for him if he just took your ring first. That way, even if he didn't catch me, he would still have your Miraculous. One is better than none, right?"

Chat laughed, his eyes twinkling in a way that made it almost impossible for Ladybug to look away. Grinning, she gladly accepted this familiar, carefree Chat, hoping to see more of that in the future.

"We would make better villains than him, wouldn't we?"

In the end, they came to the conclusion that Papillon must be a fucking moron.

(Chat wasn't going anywhere. They had all the time in the world to sort things out.)

.-.-.

Marinette was getting ready for bed when her partner knocked on her window. Wearing an excited grin, the cat basically pressed his face flat against the glass, crushing his nose and leaving a wet mark with his lips. The grin had turned his bright eyes into happy crescents.

Marinette couldn't help her giggle, but the gasp that left her kwami's mouth when she saw Chat Noir was so overly exaggerated and dramatic that her giggling soon changed into eye-rolling. Tikki looked like the embodiment of that one emoji that has its hands on its cheeks as it screams in horror slash fear.

Finally, when she got over the initial shock, Tikki turned to look at her human friend with an angry pout. Marinette didn't let it faze her.

"I told him that he could come here anytime", she explained and shrugged. She could see how, behind the window, Chat jumped up, away from the view and onto her balcony.

Tikki's already big eyes got even bigger. "You what?"

Marinette moved closer to the skylight in order to let Chat in. She couldn't stop her quiet chuckle.

She thought about telling her that Chat had already spent one night here before. In the end, though, she decided that it was better not to say anything, it could upset Tikki too much and that's not what she wanted. Besides, Marinette was glued to her kwami 24 hours a day, it was nice to have some secrets.

"Marinette", Tikki's voice was suddenly pleading as she followed her. "Do you not understand how serious this is? I'm only trying to keep you safe..."

"I know that and I understand why you're worried. I'm worried, too, but I promise it's going to be alright. I swear."

Tikki squinted her eyes. She didn't look too convinced.

Marinette sighed. "Fine, I'll get you extra cookies tomorrow if you promise to leave Chat alone while he's here."

That seemed to do the trick. Immediately, Tikki's expression got ten times brighter. She even did a little flip in the air before clapping her hands.

"Deal!" the kwami chirped, excited.

Marinette couldn't help but shake her head, fondly. She knew that Tikki only wanted what was best for her and she was always grateful for that.

Marinette opened the trapdoor and Chat jumped inside. He greeted her with a bow and a smile.

"Heeello! How a–"

Marinette rushed to cover Chat's mouth with her hand, afraid that he was going to wake up her parents. There was confusion in his eyes so she gestured towards the trapdoor on the floor with her head. She let go when he nodded.

Sighing, Marinette sat down on her chaise lounge. Chat followed her and did the same. It was quiet, peaceful.

"Hello, Chat Noir", suddenly came a high-pitched voice. "Nice to finally meet you."

Immediately, Marinette groaned because what the hell was Tikki doing? She prayed that her kwami wouldn't mess this up.

"Oh, hi, Tikki." Chat didn't look one bit baffled by Tikki's appearance. It was like he had already seen her a thousand times. "How are you?"

"Good, my Ladybug is getting me extra cookies tomorrow."

Chat chuckled softly. "That's very kind of her."

Narrowing her eyes, Tikki turned to look at her chosen for a moment. Marinette shook her head furiously, waving her hands to make an X in front of her chest.

Their guest followed the silent conversation with curiosity, one eyebrow raised. "Is everything okay?"

Tikki turned back to him. "Listen, I like you, Chat Noir –"

"Thank you."

"– but you are not supposed to know Ladybug's name until you two have defeated Papillon –"

"Tikki", Marinette interrupted, groaning again. "You promised –"

"– and if anything happens to her because of this –"

"– I will never forgive myself", Chat finished for her.

"Exactly what he said – wait what?" Marinette turned to stare at her partner, taken aback by the words, mouth wide open in shock. For a moment, she could only gape at his serious expression, frozen.

It was clear that Chat cared a lot about her. He seemed to always be ready to comfort her, make her laugh and even sacrifice himself for her. But the way he had just declared that, it made her feel uneasy but loved at the same time. It was a strange combination, to say the least, but she knew for sure that she did not like the idea of Chat never forgiving himself.

If the look on Tikki's face was anything to go by, she was also surprised by Chat's words. Eventually though, the kwami nodded her approval.

"Alright", she said, brightening up a little. "Have a good night." Then she yawned and floated to her tiny bed that Marinette had built specially for her.

A few seconds went by in silence as both Marinette and Chat Noir stared at the spot where the kwami had just been. All Marinette could do was blink her eyes in confusion.

Beside her, Chat chuckled quietly but loud enough to break the silence. "She's not usually this hard on me. I actually think we get along pretty well. Not as well as you and Plagg, though."

Marinette turned to look down at her legs, her mouth turning into a thin line. She wrapped her arms around herself, not really knowing what to say to him.

Noticing that the temperature seemed to plummet around them, Chat coughed awkwardly. "Um, what I mean is that I'm sure she'll warm up to me soon. Anyway, what do you wanna do?"

Sighing, Marinette looked up again. There was sadness in his eyes that had not been there a few minutes ago. Homesickness had engulfed Chat again.

Biting her lip, Marinette wondered how it felt to be told that everything you thought was real was actually a lie. She wondered how it felt to feel so out of place that you thought you were in a parallel universe. It had to be awful.

"To be honestly, I'm just really exhausted. I need rest", she admitted. "And so do you, by the way."

"I'm fine –"

"You're not. Go to sleep."

To her surprise, Chat didn't argue. He nodded with a small smile on his lips, but she didn't miss the way his fake ears drooped slightly.

She had already gathered a bunch of pillows and blankets on the chaise lounge beforehand. She had even thrown in the handmade Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls in hopes that seeing them would make Chat feel a little better, a little less lonely.

Marinette went to turn off the lights, leaving the room to bask in moonlight. The dull light hit the boy's face, and Marinette watched as he struggled to fit on the chaise lounge without dropping any of the blankets. There was a deep frown on his face, and she couldn't help grinning at his distressed expression. They fought supervillains almost daily, but a mountain of blankets ended up being Chat Noir's downfall.

Still giggling, she freed her hair from the pigtails and headed to bed. But before she could get there, something made her pause. For a moment, she just stared at the ladder in front of her.

The wall Chat was unconsciously building between them invaded her thoughts. Marinette couldn't help but wonder if her actions were helping him create it. Frustrated, she blew out her cheeks with a hard breath.

An idea formed in her head, but even the thought of it made her heart beat a little faster. Anxious, she fidgeted with her hands for a few seconds. Or maybe it was closer to 30 seconds. Or a minute...

Finally, when she thought she was ready, she took another deep, deep breath, turned around and marched up to her already sleepy partner. Chat looked up from his castle of pillows and blankets. She held out her hand.

"You can sleep with me in my bed tonight if you want", she offered, a bit embarrassed.

Chat said nothing. All he did was stare at her hand, blinking his eyes every two seconds. He stared and stared, processing her offer, making Marinette feel almost stupid just standing there.

Slowly, finally, after what felt like a short eternity, the biggest smile she had seen on his face today spread across his lips. The kind of smile that could easy light up the whole room. The kind of smile that after seeing it, you knew that everything was going to work out just fine.

Taking her hand, Chat looked almost excited. The sight didn't help her heart calm down, but still she bravely smiled back, channeling her inner Ladybug. She needed to look confident.

But no matter how 'Ladybug' she tried to be, her heart was still racing. Her palms were still sweaty. There was also something squirming in her stomach, but Marinette refused the call them butterflies.

Why was she so stupidly nervous? They had known each other for five years. They were best friends. She had shared a bed with Alya a thousand times so why would this be any different?

She could do this. No big deal.

...Oh god, oh god, she was about to sleep in the same bed with Chat Noir.

A small, horrified squeak filled the room. Ashamed, Marinette let go of Chat's hand and slapped both of her hands over her lips. Behind her, Chat stopped.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

"Yes!" Too loud. "I mean... yes, everything's fine. Wonderful, actually. We're going to sleep in the same bed, which is perfect. I'm definitely not freaking out."

She mentally slapped her forehead. Great, she was babbling again and now Chat definitely knew she was nervous. Maybe this really was a bad idea. Chat had a crush on her anyway and oh no, perhaps her own feelings weren't as clear as she had initially thought and –

A gentle hand touched her shoulder, freezing her thoughts. She turned around, meeting her partner's worried gaze. The already luminous green in his eyes seemed to shine even brighter in the dark room.

A blush quickly took over her cheeks as Marinette felt herself flush from head to toe. She cursed in her mind. Great, as if the situation wasn't already awkward enough. Well, at least Chat couldn't see her blush because the room was so dark.

"Hey, your cheeks are pretty red. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Oh right, Chat and his cat eyes. This time, Marinette cursed out loud. She turned to look at the floor.

"I'm good", she mumbled, sure that he could read the frustration in her voice. "Just great. Fine. Just like you're fine. Not fine like good-looking kind of fine, but, you know, pretty. P-pretty ugly! You're fine, which means ugly, just like me. Oh god, what am I saying..."

Chat squinted his eyes. "Wait, are you... are you blushing, Marinette?"

She didn't need to see him to know that a smug grin had spread across his face. Her cheeks turned from light pink to bright red.

"You are blushing."

"I'm not."

Chat had the nerve to actually lean closer to examine her embarrassment. Wait, was that... Was that adoration twinkling in his eyes?

"Aww, man, I haven't been able to make you blush in such a long time. I mean, as Chat Noir at least."

Marinette wrinkled her nose at him. She whirled around, keeping her chin up, hoping that Chat thought she was irritated. To tell the truth, she only did it so that she wouldn't have to see the look on his face. The look that clearly screamed 'wow, you're so amazing'. Her stomach fluttered even more and she really didn't want to deal with feelings of all things in the middle of the night.

"Let's just go before I change my mind!" she huffed, unnecessarily angry, and stomped up the stairs as quickly as she could. Chat followed her, humming some happy tune, practically dancing his way up. He even started singing, but the lyrics were so random that she was quite he was just making them up.

Ugh, why did he have to be so infuriating...

"You're super cute! I'm super cute! Can't you see that we're meant to be! Ha!"

...and so damn lovable?

She pursed her lips tightly together, not saying a word. She was supposed to be annoyed after all.

"Hey..." Chat stopped singing, genuine concern leaking from his words. "We really don't have to do this if it makes you uncomfortable. I can sleep on the chaise lounge, no big deal."

Marinette had to exhale through the nose, slowly. Even then, she couldn't stop her smile.

God, the truth was that Chat was so much more lovable than he was infuriating.

"Nah, it's okay." She could do this. They'd both sleep better knowing that the other was safe. "Just stay on your side of the bed. Don't even think about cuddling."

"You would enjoy it, though..."

"Chat."

Closing his eyes, the boy placed his hand over his heart, grinning widely. "You can trust me. I don't move around much while I'm asleep anyway, so you don't have to worry."

It was strange how he didn't look at all uncomfortable when he climbed into the bed. Frowning, Marinette couldn't help but think that Chat Noir lying on her bed looked kind of... unnatural? Maybe it was the suit.

Telling herself that there was no reason to be nervous, she finally got into the bed, too. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Neither of them could fall asleep. It was nice and warm under the covers and the extra body in the bed doubled the warmth, but there was too much tension in the air for them to truly relax. At least that's how Marinette felt. So, she just stared at the ceiling, wide-eyed.

The clock on the wall was suddenly too loud. The room wasn't dark enough. Chat's gentle breathing was distracting and her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

Sighing, she held her left hand up and for some reason stared at her ring finger like she had done the night before. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Chat looked down at his own.

The air around them turned even heavier. Marinette's thoughts were whirling.

"Can I ask you something?" she heard herself ask out of the blue.

"Sure", Chat whispered back, but she was pretty sure she saw him gulp.

"How old are you?"

"Uh, 20."

"Same here."

Chat smiled. "Yeah, I know."

Propping her head in her palm, Marinette turned on her side so that she could properly look at him. "Ok, so, you're still pretty young. Here's what I don't get: out of all the things your memory got wrong, it decided that you're already engaged at the age of 20. Why on earth would two 20-year-olds get engaged? Not a single sane person would do that."

Her words caused a frown on his face. It was Chat's turn to look at the ceiling. For a moment, he was quiet, clearly deep in thought as he pondered his answer. Finally he turned to study her face with a serious look in his eyes.

Marinette had a hard time maintaining eye contact. Chat was looking for something that just wasn't there.

"What if it was Adrien Agreste?"

The question took her completely by surprise. Something incoherent left her mouth as she stuttered, almost choking on her own saliva. She opened her mouth but closed it soon after, speechless. An imagine of Adrien's kind eyes flashed in her mind.

"Wha– he's just – I do not like him – how did you –? Argh."

The look in her partner's eyes softened. "Yeah, I know about your crush."

Inhale, exhale. Slowly, Marinette told herself. If Chat already knew then there was no point in denying it. Once she got over her initial shock, Marinette took a moment to really think about it.

She really liked Adrien. That, to be honest, wasn't a secret. She reeeaaally liked Adrien. He was so wonderful and dreamy and nice... But having him as her fiancé? Right now? When they were both still so young?

A long sigh filled the quiet room as Marinette closed her eyes. "No", she replied. "Like I told you, I just turned 20. If he proposed to me, I would say no."

When she opened her eyes again, she didn't expect Chat to look so surprised. He was blinking those vibrant eyes like she had completely misunderstood something.

"If he proposed...? Oh, no, no, Buginette." Chat shook his head furiously, his fluffy hair hitting his cheeks. "It was your idea. You were the one who proposed."

Marinette's mind blanked for a second. She didn't even realize she was shrieking before she felt her voice vibrating in her throat. "WHAT?"

Chat shrugged. "I proposed to you three days later, though. So that we'd be even."

Oh. Well, that explained why – according to Chat – they both had engagement rings. But ok wow, now she knew for sure that Chat was just imagining things. His brain was definitely messing with him.

"You're lying."

"What? I'm not!"

"Yeah, but just because you think it's real, doesn't mean it actually is."

That stung. Deep. Marinette could see it in the way his eyes dulled and the way his body seemed to instantly flinch away from her. And to be honest, she winced at her own words, too. What she had said wasn't fair.

Instinctively, she reached for his hand but stopped before she could touch him. What was she supposed to do? Chat was usually the one comforting her.

The invisible wall! Marinette reminded herself. The wall between her and Chat was getting bigger and bigger, and was only going to make things more complicated and painful than they needed to be. If she kept screwing up like this, one day it would be too late to fix their relationship.

Looking at Chat's hurt expression, Marinette knew that she had to be the one to take the first step. Gathering up courage, she inhaled deeply, hoping that her voice wouldn't tremble.

"Chat, do you really think that you don't belong here?"

Even in the darkness she noticed how the boy tensed, his discomfort evident. Oh crap, she had shaped that question so wrong. It had sounded a lot better in her head!

"What... do you mean, exactly?" His voice was so small that she barely heard it.

"I mean, uh, do you think you're from another universe?"

He hesitated. "You said that that's crazy."

"Maybe, but... You aren't. So..." Slowly, giving him enough time to pull away in case he didn't want to be touched, Marinette cupped her partner's face in her hands. She caressed his cheeks with her thumbs as tenderly as she could. "Do you think you're in the wrong universe or not?"

There was a long pause.

Chat avoided her eyes. Marinette wondered if his heartbeat was anywhere near as loud as hers was right now. She wanted to press her head against his chest while holding his hand, but instead, all she did was listen to his nervous breathing. Her ears were quietly ringing.

She didn't even know what she wanted his answer to be. No? Yes? Did she even want him to answer at all?

Finally, after what felt like hours, Chat breathed out a small "yes".

Marinette didn't expect to feel relief, but that's what she felt anyway. Knowing that Chat could see her face thanks to his excellent night vision, she smiled and nodded at him.

"Alright, then I believe you", she announced, serious. "And we're going to fix this, I promise. Tomorrow. Right now we need sleep."

Sadly, because her eyes weren't as amazing as his were, Marinette couldn't tell for sure if he returned the smile or not. Until, suddenly, his hand found hers. And when Chat squeezed her fingers firmly, Marinette was quite sure she knew the answer.

Maybe it wasn't so bad to let Chat close after all, no matter who was right or wrong here.

But right before she fell asleep, Marinette heard his tiny, broken whisper.

"I just want to go home."

.-.-.

When the sunlight woke her up, Marinette was alone in her bed. Tikki was still asleep on the nearby bedside table. Whining and grumbling the girl sat up and blinked her eyes open, still only half awake.

Blinking again, Marinette looked around. For a minute, she thought that Chat had left again until she heard footsteps. The next moment the cat had already jumped up and onto her bed. Marinette couldn't have stopped her inhuman shriek if she had tried.

"Good morning!" Chat beamed, unaffected by her wide-eyed expression. He offered her a box of macarons. "Did you sleep well? I did!"

Seeing the pretty turquoise box shocked her even more. This was too much for her sleepy heart.

"Did you go downstairs? Oh no, did my parents see you?" she croaked, horror shining in her eyes. Her voice almost cracked, still hoarse from sleep.

"Nah, I went to their bakery to get this."

More surprises. "Wait, you went there as Chat Noir? Or as..."

"I would have gone as 'myself' but I don't have any money with me right now, so..."

"You stole these?"

"What? No, no, of course not! I got the box for free."

She gave him a long, flat look, eyeing him skeptically. "In other words, you took advantage of my parents."

Chat crossed his arms over his chest. She had to admit, his pout was actually kind of cute.

"You make it sound so horrible. But since I work for them, it should be fine. I'll just work twice as hard when I get back!"

Rubbing her eyes, Marinette yawned, her brows drawing together. For a moment, she was confused. Then it clicked. Gosh, her brain was really slow today, wasn't it?

"Oh, right", she mumbled, failing to stifle another yawn. "In the other reality, you mean."

"Yep." If he noticed the hidden doubt in her voice, he didn't let it show. He was clearly in a good mood. "But if you want, I can pay for the macarons later. With real money."

She rolled her eyes when Chat winked and finger-gunned at her.

The only thing that had changed, really, was that her partner now knew her real name. Apart from that, everything was the same. He was still his goofy old self.

The thought that this person wasn't actually her Chat Noir... Honestly, it was a lot to take in and was probably going to take a while before she actually believed it. If what Chat was telling her was the truth.

Marinette scolded herself quietly. She had promised to trust him, promised that she would help him get back to his own life. What he was telling her was the truth.

And she would get her Chat back. She missed him.

"So, this is how I wake up my fiancée pretty much every day." Gosh, he sounded so proud. "Although, usually I also bring her hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows."

Her favourite.

"She's, uhh, very lucky?"

Macarons for breakfast truly was quite unusual. Not to mention unhealthy. If the other Marinette really existed, she had better stop eating sweets every damn morning and go back to fruits and breakfast cereal.

Chat hummed happily, smiling so wide it must have hurt his cheeks. The look was so full of love that it somehow made her chest empty. He was thinking about someone else, someone who wasn't really her.

Marinette allowed herself a moment to look at him. Chat was still humming, his blond hair sticking everywhere like a hurricane had hit him. The smile on his face reminded her of sunshine, and as much as it made her hollow, it was also contagious. Soon, Marinette found herself full on grinning at her partner, mirroring his expression.

It was a surprisingly good look on him.

Then she remembered that she had just woken up, too, and must have looked like an absolute mess. Why had she decided to wear her ugliest pajamas today of all days?

"Um, thank you for the macarons" she thanked him while unconsciously trying to fix her hair.

Chat nodded, still smiling. Then his eyes moved to her head.

Marinette's hand froze. Her cheeks started to feel alarmingly warm again. Laughing awkwardly, she dropped her hand to her lap before it started to look too suspicious.

Chat tilted his head slightly, confused by her flustered state. Marinette wanted to bury her face in the pillow – she was definitely blushing again. Suddenly, Chat's eyebrows shot up and he threw his head back in a loud laugh.

BANG.

And hit the back of his skull with the bed's headboard.

While he rubbed the sore spot, Marinette's cheeks started to recover and turn to their normal colour. "You deserved that", she said, a little pissed.

"Ow", was all he managed.

"That's what you get for laughing at me."

"Ouch."

It took her embarrassingly long to realize that he had hit the back of his head twice this week already. And the last hit had caused him amnesia.

Gasping, Marinette leaned forward to see the injury spot. She reached for his head, touching his soft hair. "Are you okay? Let me see."

"It's fine", Chat insisted. "I did deserve that. It's just... You look stunning, so don't worry about it."

Marinette leaned back, surprised by his words. She raised an eyebrow at him. He did the same.

"Anyway", Chat said as he got up, still covering a part of his head with his hand. "See you later. I need to go home before my father or Na– I mean, um, only my father realizes that I'm gone. No one wants that, trust me."

That sounded kind of worrying, but all she said was, "Oh, okay."

Chat smirked. "And then we can start planning on how to get me out of here and back to my Buginette."

Marinette couldn't help grimacing. God, this was all too crazy.

Before Chat could open the trapdoor that lead to the balcony, Marinette's phone buzzed. The sound finally woke Tikki up. Marinette glanced down to read the text.

A new akuma had appeared.

Groaning loudly, she threw herself back on the bed. "It's too early for this, agh..."

Chat, however, seemed excited. He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "Wow, Papillon and his butterflies... I feel pretty nostalgic."

That earned another groan from the tired girl.

"Rise and shine, my lady! It's time to save Paris!"

Oh well, said a little voice in her head as she transformed. Maybe a good old fight with an akuma would bring his memories back.


Thank you so much for reading and thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'd love to hear what you thought this time, too^^