No rights to this fabulous show have been bestowed upon me. Neither Thomas Astruc not Jeremy Zag lost their memory during Oblivio, and allowed me to convince them that I needed a belated birthday gift.
Adrien couldn't focus during his afternoon classes. He made it back to school at lunchtime, and sat with Alya, Nino and Marinette. Marinette. He couldn't get her out of his head. Every night since the akuma named Oblivio had erased his memory, he'd been having these dreams about her. They would be sitting in class, as usual, listening to Ms. Mendeleev talking about exothermic reactions, and all of a sudden, his everyday clothes would be gone, replaced by black leather, his Chat Noir mask firmly in place. His cat ears would hear Marinette whisper something to Alya, but when he turned to look at her, Ladybug would be sitting there in Marinette's place.
The strange thing was, that the more Adrien thought about his dream, the more similarities he saw during waking hours between his love and his good friend. Both were amazingly kind and generous, neither hesitated to defend a friend (or stranger, for that matter), or to help anyone in need. He'd even referred to Marinette their Everyday Ladybug, for her thoughtfulness. Once his mind had honed in them, the physical similarities were undeniable. Both were short and slender, with dancing blue eyes, and hair so black it shone blue, which they wore pulled back into twin pigtails. He didn't know Ladybug's true age, but Alya had hypothesized on the Ladyblog that they were in the same year at school.
And now, Ladybug wanted to meet with him. He was sure that it had something to do with the kiss that they'd shared; the one that he couldn't remember. As she'd swung off that day, she'd told him that their conversation wasn't over, after he'd annoyed her by calling them a couple one too many times. He wondered if she remembered what had happened, or found some clue that could unlock their memories. What if she'd been having dreams, too, and if so, what did it mean? Or could this discussion be about something else. Maybe the boy that she claimed to love told her that he loved her back. NO. He wouldn't think about that.
Adrien had spent the past week looking for clues. While he'd been unable to make it back to the Montparnasse tower, he had checked out his phone (no new pictures, voice recording, and a completely blank call log). He'd spent his free time scouring the internet for any news or amateur footage of the fight with the akuma, or for comments from anyone, either on the Ladyblog or other sites about what might have happened that day. There were lots of theories. Some were completely outrageous: Hawkmoth had turned up in person, once their memories were erased, to try to recruit Chat Noir and Ladybug, then gave them a love potion to distract them when they refused. Others were plausible, but untrue: Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and secretly dating, they just forgot that they couldn't tell the world. Unfortunately, he was no closer to learning what had truly happened, or to figuring out how to make Ladybug fall back in love with him.
Adrien turned for what must have been the tenth time that class period to check and see if Marinette had magically turned into Ladybug in class (she hadn't). Marinette was paying him no attention, her hand furiously flying over her notebook, pausing occasionally to stare hazily at the board, then dropping her head back down to her notebook, appearing to the outside observer to be a model student.
Nino, however, had noticed his distraction. "Dude!" He whispered. "What is going on with you and Marinette? Are you that interested in her design?"
"Design?" Adrien looked at his friend, confused.
"Yeah. That look on her face. The one of complete concentration on something only she can see? That's her 'inspiration has struck' face." Nino snickered. "So if it wasn't her design, why were you looking?"
Adrien blushed, but was saved by the bell, and the teacher reminding them that their topics and outlines for the upcoming project were due that Friday. As they packed up, Nino gave him a look that said their conversation was not over, but he would drop it for now.
Nino and Adrien followed Alya and Marinette out of school, Adrien staring at Marinette trying to picture her in red and black spots, instead of her normal pink, but being distracted by the red ribbons she had tied around her pigtails. Just like Ladybug, he thought.
His Chinese lesson that afternoon was a disaster, he wished it had been fencing, at least then he would have been able to get out his nervous energy, instead, he had to keep asking his Chinese instructor to repeat himself, as his mind would wander to the meeting that evening. He was able to keep his nervous movements to a minimum, tapping his fingers or pencil in rhythm to the latest piano piece he was working on, but he really just wanted to climb his rock wall, or throw himself down his skateboard ramp.
Finally, dinner came, and he picked at his food, alone as usual, then headed back upstairs to do his homework. Adrien paced his room, unable to focus on anything while he waited for his rendevous with Ladybug. The closer it got to 9pm, the slower time went. At 8:15, he couldn't wait any longer, tossed Plagg some cheese. The instant it disappeared, Adrien called for his transformation into Chat Noir, and threw himself into the Paris night.
As he approached the Musee, he realized that Ladybug must also have had trouble waiting, because he saw a figure pacing back and forth, gesticulating wildly, then slump in frustration, only to jump back up and repeat the process. Chat Noir wanted to laugh at her antics, but, at the same time knew that if Ladybug was nervous about what she wanted to say, then it had to be something serious. He continued to watch her for a few more minutes, not sure whether to interrupt her musings. After a particularly rough-looking landing when she threw herself down, Chat slipped out of the shadow he'd been hiding in, and nimbly crossed the rooftop to join her.
She didn't startle as he landed on the roof, instead smiled up at him from her seated position, and after a moment's hesitation, patted the spot next to her in invitation. Chat Noir took up his partner's offer, and gracefully dropped next to her, drawing one leg up and resting his chin on his knee. Together, they gazed out at the city, side by side in a comfortable silence. Knowing she was gathering her thoughts, Chat let the silence spin out around them for several long minutes, until Ladybug, eyes still focused on the horizon, started to speak. "Do you remember anything?"
He knew that she was referring to their time that Oblivio had taken from their memories, so he just shook his head. "No. Do you?" He held his breath, waiting for the answer.
"I don't think so, but that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been going over everything trying to figure out what happened. We'd both used our powers, so we must have been detransformed. I know I used my cell phone, both my mother and Master Fu confirmed as much, but there is no record of me having made any calls. 'Miraculous Ladybug' must have taken care of that, too. "
Chat nodded. "My call history was completely blank. I don't know what happened, but I don't think I called anyone. I guess Hawkmoth must have slipped us that love potion after all."
Ladybug burst out laughing. "You saw that theory, too? Well, it's nice to know that even with no memories, we aren't going to hand over our Miraculous or join with Hawkmoth!"
They laughed together for a few minutes more, swapping some of the more outrageous theories they had come across, before lapsing into a companionable stillness.
Once again, Ladybug was the one to break the silence. Turning to face him, she said, "The other thing we need to talk about is that kiss. It shouldn't have happened. It definitely shouldn't have happened in front of Alya and her camera. Chat, I care about you very much, but even if there was not somebody else, Chat Noir and Ladybug could never be a couple. Hawkmoth could use one of us to get to the other. It's bad enough as partners and as friends, if it were more, if WE were more, Hawkmoth wouldn't hesitate to exploit our feelings to trap or trick the other. Remember Volpina on Hero's day? She created the illusion that I was akumatized and killed you. Hawkmoth wouldn't hesitate to use an illusion, or ourselves to lure the other in. We have to remain professional, for safety. Although that picture may have already planted seeds in his mind. If we can show that it was the work of an akuma, and not how we truly feel, maybe we will be able to stay safe. Kitty, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Chat's ears drooped as she shared her thoughts with him. Tonelessly, he said "None of that really matters, anyway. You've told me you're in love with another boy, and I respect that."
Ladybug blushed pink, but remained quiet.
Chat turned to look at her. "Bugaboo?"
Ladybug took a deep breath, turning her face away from him, to look out over the skyline. Chat dropped his eyes to his hands, where they were clasped around his knee.
"One of the more interesting theories I read online was that the boy I am in love with is actually you outside of your mask. When I first read that, I laughed it off, because you are nothing alike. Then I realized that you are alike. The dreams showed me how similar you really are."
"Dreams?" Chat sat up straight, turning towards a fiercely blushing Ladybug. "Like ones where you are sitting in class, then all of a sudden, you're in the mask, and you realize that Ladybug is in your class, is in fact one of your friends?"
Ladybug's eyes went wide. "Almost. I start out as Ladybug, out saving Paris with you, then, all of a sudden, I turn into my normal self. And you turn into, well, HIM. Is that even possible? Do you think some part of us remembers?"
Chat smiled. "It's like you said. The classmate I see turn into you… the more I think about it, the more alike the two of you are. She is our Everyday Ladybug."
He felt Ladybug stiffen at the last two words. "What's wrong? I didn't mean it as any offense to you. It was a compliment to the strength and kindness of a very good friend."
At that, Ladybug chuckled softly to herself, all doubt about Chat's identity erased, and she dropped her head into her hands. Without looking up, and before she could talk herself out of it, she said, "One guess. If I'm right, you tell me. If I'm wrong, we never speak of this again."
Chat looked startled for a moment, then a grin split his face as he nodded enthusiastically. "Does this mean I find out the name of the boy you are in love with?"
Ladybug blushed again and closed her eyes for a moment. She nodded, then she opened her eyes, caught his gaze and said, "Adrien. You are Adrien Agreste."
Chat's heart was hammering so loudly in his chest that he almost missed the softly spoken words, but he caught his name, and his smile grew even brighter. Taking her hand in his, he bowed his head over it. "At your service, Milady." He kissed the back of her hand, as he'd done hundreds of times before. Straightening up, he leaned closer to her, breathing a name into her ear, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng."