huh, this took a while.

Anyway, here is chapter 9, roughly:

Adrien.

Not Chat Noir.

Marinette yanks her hand back with a yelp.

Adrien.

She almost wants to ask him why he pretended to be Chat Noir. But she's not that stupid. Deep down, she knows he wasn't pretending, but that doesn't change the fact that she wants to deny it. Wants to scream. Wants to run.

Maybe she is the one stuck in a parallel universe because there is no way Adrien Agreste could ever be her Chat Noir.

Marinette takes a few steps back.

Adrien's eyes tell her that he's also panicking. "Marinette, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to –"

The world turns dark again. They can hear the akuma laughing; she's near. The customers still left in the cafe start screaming again and Marinette can feel a strong headache coming on.

Adrien's hand finds hers again, but this time she's too frozen from the reveal to pull back. She's actually thankful she can't see him right now.

"Please, my lady, we need to go. We have to stop the akuma."

-/-/-

Ladybug and Chat Noir soon learn that today's villain has the power to control the sun. While everybody else is completely blind, the akuma can still see in the dark, making it easier for her to steal the ring and the earrings.

The heroes have to figure out ways to move in pure darkness and Ladybug spends most of the fight protecting her partner, acting as a shield for him.

Chat pleads her to stop. He says that that's his job.

Stubborn and desperate, Ladybug shakes her head. "I can't let anything happen to you."

-/-/-

They win.

The moment she is sure the akuma victim is okay, Ladybug flees. She goes straight home, detransforms, and hides under the covers.

"You shouldn't have run like that. And what about Alya and Nino?" Tikki scolds her but with a gentle voice. She understands that it is going to take some time for her to adjust. "It is not too late yet. Don't you think you should go back and talk to Adrien?"

Marinette shakes her head under the blanket. I'm an idiot! she starts scolding herself once Tikki goes quiet. Chat is my partner! Adrien is my friend! How did I not see it?

She feels like she has, in a way, lost both Chat and Adrien. After all, he does not think he belongs here. It makes her heart ache.

All of a sudden, the trapdoor that leads to her balcony opens.

Marinette squeaks, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

Chat moves quietly like an actual cat but when he sits on her bed, she feels it. Her breath hitches in her throat when he grabs the blanket.

"Hey", her partner says so softly she can hardly hear him. "It's okay. It's just me."

Marinette lets him pull the blanket off her. It is a relief he came to see her as Chat Noir and not as Adrien. Somehow, it is easier to face him when he looks like her superhero partner of five years. They've been through a lot together.

She accepts his hand when he offers it and sits up. Chat lets out a long sigh.

Tikki leaves in order to give them privacy.

"I'm sorry, Marinette", Chat starts, ears drooping. "I wanted you to know who I am but not like this. I should have been more careful."

It takes her mouth a moment to function properly. "How did this... reveal happen before? You know, according to your memories?"

Chat turns his head. "It doesn't matter. My memories are fake."

"Tell me anyway."

"Well... After we defeated Papillon, we both agreed that it was time. We were about 17 or 18 at the time and we knew we were ready – or actually, I knew I was ready and you thought you were ready." Chat chuckles. "I don't know if this makes you feel any better but you didn't freak out any less back then than you did today. But yeah, it was... the happiest moment of my life."

Marinette cannot believe that Adrien Agreste is saying these things to her, cannot believe that Adrien Agreste has been flirting with her ever since she was fifteen.

Then, she pales. "Oh god, I already forgot! You believe your father is Papillon!"

Chat's smile fades, too. He gives her one serious nod.

Now she understands why Adrien did not want to live with him anymore and why Chat had wanted to spend the nights at her place.

"Adrien, I am so sorry I didn't connect the dots sooner. I should have. I –"

"Hey, calm down. It's okay, I understand", Chat assures her. "Oh, by the way, I told Nino and Alya that Ladybug took you home so... you don't need to worry about them."

Marinette lets out a frustrated huff, grabs her pillow and buries her face in it. "I've been so blind! You're Adrien, you've been Adrien this whole time! No wonder you knew so many things about me after the accident!" Not to mention the fact that he also thought they were dating and living together... "Am I seriously supposed to believe that Chat Noir is a super famous, super cute fashion model?"

"Fashion meowdel, you mean."

"Are you sure you're really Adrien?"

Chat throws his head back and laughs. A shiver runs through Marinette but in a good way. This is a lot to take in.

"So. What now?" he asks.

A good question.

Is he finally ready to seek medical advice? Or is he still holding on to the hope that other universes exist? And what about her? What does she want?

Now that Marinette knows Chat Noir and Adrien are the same person, it is quite obvious what her heart wants. All those times she secretly thought Chat was insanely attractive, all those times she denied her feelings for Chat or felt guilty for "betraying" Adrien... All this time she thought she was going crazy, but no, she really was in love with Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste, still is in love with both of them.

"Can you take off your mask? Can I", she stops to swallow, "see you?"

The boy blinks, surprised by the request, but complies.

Chat Noir lets the transformation drop in front of her for the first time and Marinette can barely breathe. Adrien still looks like an exhausted mess. He's so, so beautiful, and Marinette doesn't even realize she's moving until she has cupped his cheeks with her hands.

"Hey, you two, don't ignore me!" the black kwami whines, stretching his tiny arms. "I'm starving!"

Marinette and Adrien ignore him, only focusing on each other. Marinette has a hard time reading his expression. It brings frustrating tears to her eyes.

Her partner might not love her back anymore, not really, but she knows she has to tell him. "I love you", she whispers. "I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you since I first met you as Chat Noir."

The moment she says it, she feels enormous relief. Her lips have been waiting for this for years, her heart has never been this light.

The moment the words leave her mouth, Adrien's hands fly to his head. Without any warning he's suddenly hissing in pain, yelling his lungs out, thunder and lightning inside his brain.

Marinette screams his name, terrified, and Adrien loses consciousness.

-/-/-

Later that evening, Marinette finds herself beside Adrien's hospital bed, gripping one of his hands, pressing his fingers to her lips. She had not actually thought she would have to call an ambulance today.

She looks down at her partner. His breathing is steady, his expression peaceful. A few doctors took a look at him earlier but none of them could find anything out of the ordinary.

One of the nurses contacted Gabriel Agreste and told him that his son was admitted to the hospital. Apparently, Nathalie is on her way. Marinette doesn't know if the assistant is aware of mr Agreste's secret but she's not going to take the risk. No one working for that man is allowed near Adrien until she has made sure they have no ill intentions.

Then, Adrien stirs awake.

Marinette gasps, her hold on his hand tightening.

"Marinette?" Frowning, Adrien takes in his surroundings. "What happened?"

"You passed out."

"I did?"

"Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. A bit confused, maybe. I don't remember blacking out."

"What is the last thing you remember, then?"

"Um, we were about to go shopping for groceries, right? Yeah, after we went to your favourite fabric store to buy something for the dress you're currently designing, remember?"

No, she doesn't because that never happened.

Marinette tries not to panic. "No, you passed out in my room."

Groaning, Adrien sits up. "You mean, at your parents' place? I seriously don't remember any of that." Then he takes a look at their intertwined hands. "Huh. You're not wearing your ring."

That is the moment Marinette's heart sinks. She drops his hand, feeling numb.

Her partner has lost his memories. A second time. He must think they are living together, about to get married. She is going to have to watch him go through all that heartache all over again once he finds out that nothing is real.

What kind of head injury gives you vivid memories of something you've spent a long time wanting? What if he's stuck in an endless loop? Things are never going to go back to the way they used to be, are they? And she's always going to lose the love of her life to an imaginary version of herself.

Marinette only realizes she's crying when the first tears hit the bed with a soft sound.

Adrien gets up immediately, resting a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? Please, don't cry..."

It takes her a moment, but finally she gets herself together. She sniffs and wipes her tears. "Kitty, listen... I-I know that you think we're engaged and that we share an apartment and that we have adopted a cat that you love dearly, but I don't want to lie to you. You need to know that... that none of that is true."

Adrien stares at her as if she had grown two extra heads. "We don't live together?"

"No." She bites her lip so hard it hurts. "We're not even dating. That is why –"

"WHAT?"

"I'm so sorry, Adrien." Her tears return. "You hurt your head about two weeks ago and you've been suffering from fake memories ever since, and I haven't been able to fix you, I –"

"Wait, wait, wait", he interrupts her. "We're not together?"

She shakes her head, unable to meet his eyes.

"We're not engaged?"

She shakes her head again.

"You're still living with your parents? I'm still living with my father?"

She nods.

He stares at her, eyes wide. Then he whispers, "Sweet Tooth?"

Her tears stop. She meets his gaze. "What did you say?"

"Sweet Tooth", he repeats, almost pleading, his body visibly shaking. "Do you remember Sweet Tooth?"

Finally, it clicks.

"Sweet Tooth", she confirms, out of breath.

And before she knows it, Adrien has already scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around and around as tears well in his eyes. She doesn't waste any time wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him back as tightly as she can. Her head is full of questions, but right now all she cares about is that she has her Chat Noir's arms around her again.

"I'm back!" he laughs. "I'm back!"

Marinette buries her face in the crook of his neck, whispering loving words against his skin. "Welcome home."

Aaalmost dooone! Thank you for reading!