Note: Italics means it's Marinette typing.

oOoOo

Forget me not (because I will)

What a relief it is to finally turn on your phone again - after it hasn't been charged for two days!

.
oOo

The sun wasn't shining. There were not chirping birds either. But Marinette felt better. She did not, by any means, feel good – but better. She felt...tentatively alright. And when Tikki assured her that everything was going to be ok, Marinette believed her. Maybe it was the conversation she had had with Chat, maybe it was the night of rest she had had or maybe it was just because today the sun might not be shining but the clouds seemed just a little bit less looming and dark.

Regardless. It didn't matter. Marinette felt better. Though her parents had asked her to stay at home and Marinette still did not dare to leave her room, too scared of the many noises that filled her parents' bakery once more.

But she felt better.

And she had promised Chat to talk to her friends.

It wasn't often that Marinette found herself staring at her switched off phone. In fact, most of the time she stared at a very much switched on phone, waiting for a message from some guy or another.

Today she wanted the exact opposite to happen. She wanted to not look at a very much switched off phone, hoping that not a single message was sent her way. But she knew better than that. Alya was probably already spamming her phone after she had realized Marinette hadn't come to school today either. And Alya deserved an answer too, because Marinette hadn't said a single word to her ever since she had begged her best friend to turn off her camera.

.x.x.x.

"Marinette?"

Ladybug's entire world shattered in that single moment. She had been revealed during a live stream. And she had been called out too.

Alya only knew one Marinette.

She had been in a few of Alya's videos.

Alya had thanked her, by name, after she had organized an interview with Ladybug for her.

If that wasn't the most damning evidence, Marinette didn't know what else could be.

"...nette, Marinette, oh go, Mari, I-I'm so sorry, I-I-I...Please, Marinette, talk to me!"

Alya's phone clattered to the floor and suddenly, her best friend was shaking her and all Marinette could do was slowly look up as she felt her vision fill up with horror and her ears with that goddamn white noise.

"...something, please! Please! I-I didn't do it on purpose, I swear girl!"

Marinette wanted to say something. Wanted to calm Alya but she couldn't, because she was still frozen to her spot, shaking and unable to properly hear what Alya was telling her.

"Marinette! Marinette, please, the Akuma!"

It was Tikki's voice that pulled her from her thoughts and she glanced sideways at her Kwami who looked at her from pleading eyes.

And then she heard the footsteps again and turned around, watching the towering giant come closer and closer.

"...we can still make things ok, we can...

"…transform, Marinette!...need to stop the Akuma! Please!"

Right. Transform. They needed Ladybug right now. And just when Marinette wanted to say the magic words a pained voice cut through the fog, screaming her name.

"LADYBUG! LADYBUG!"

And then she saw another shadow come closer with two cat ears on top and a tail agitatedly swishing behind him.

Chat came to a stop in front of them, eyes wide in panic and widening even more when he saw them.

"Alya? Marinette? Wh-What are you doing here? There's a dangerous Akuma on the loose!"

And before Marinette had a chance to say anything, Chat had swooped her up, carrying her away bridal-style while berating her for being so close to an attack.

.x.x.x.

She knew it wasn't truly Alya's fault – the reporter had never wanted this. As much as her best friend had always wanted to know Ladybug's secret identity, she had given up on that dream a long time ago.

And Alya was a hero unmasked herself. The crowd hadn't left her home for days before they had accepted that Rena Rouge did, in fact, not know anything noteworthy and, surely, she would never want to put anyone else through that.

Least her idol.

But Alya had livestreamed it and Alya's blog had shown her de-transform and as much as Marinette knew that she couldn't fault Alya – she should have rested earlier, should have transformed twice, shouldn't have been so goddamn stubborn – it felt like she should. Like she should be mad at her and – and Marinette had been too scared of her own response.

She hadn't answered her phone, hadn't responded to any messages and simply let herself be. She could hear the crowds downstairs. They had come back today and if anything, there were more now.

Marinette hugged her knees and bit her lip, before letting out a sigh.

This wasn't Alya's fault. It was as much Alya's fault as it was hers so there was no reason to be mad or angry or scared.

And Alya would understand why she had kept it a secret. She had to.

With shaking hands, Marinette finally grabbed her phone, turning it on and waiting the agonizing thirty seconds (it felt like an hour) until it was fully switched on.

And then it exploded with messages she had received.

She completely ignored Instagram and Twitter. Anyone could have found her there and her friends wouldn't have contacted her that way.

She skipped the millions of voicemails as well, simply because she didn't dare to face their voices yet – text could only convey so much disappointment, sadness, regret, anger or whatever else her friends had felt yesterday.

And today. She had just gotten another message, from Adrien this time, asking her if she was ok.

Usually Marinette would have at least smiled and maybe blushed (and a month earlier, she might have squealed into her pillow), but right now she simply stared at the message.

She wished Chat were here.

Marinette checked Alya's messages first – she was her best friend, barring her partner, after all.

She had sent her 76 messages.

77. 78. 79.

|I dont know if you want to talk to me right now but I wanted to tell you that Chloe tried to claim she were your best friend in front of a crowd and Rose
|Yes, sweet kind rose
|Just wnet there
|Full aggro mode
|And basically slammed that girls mouth shut.

The corners of Marinette's mouth twitched. That must have been hilarious.

|In. Front. Of. Everyone.
|Girl, I tell you it was amazing Chloés still mad about it and is all huffy and puffy in the front seat.

This time, Marinette snorted before wiping her face with her sleeve, because her eyes were tearing up once again. She should have been there instead of hearing it second-hand from her friends. They were going through just as much as she was. They were being accosted on her behalf, all just because she hadn't showed her face yesterday.

Would the news be talking about it? She didn't know.

Tikki didn't let Marinette check the news.

"It's not good for you!", she had told her, claiming that any wild theories would only sour her mood and make her more prone to akumatization.

Ping. A new message had been sent.

|I just saw you read my messages

Shit.

Marinette eyes widened when she read the latest text Alya had sent her, that message. She had forgotten to change her settings and now everyone could see that she had read their messages. Shit, shit, shit. Now she had to answer otherwise Alya would now she wasn't just not looking at her phone but really ignoring her and she would get super-duper mad and…

|I know youre probably completely losing it right now because you didnt want me to know that youre reading this rn
|You dont have to text me back
|Im just glad you read my messages at all I was kinda scared youd ignore me

Marinette bit her lips, averting her eyes for a few seconds. She hadn't want Alya to think that. Not at all.

|For all its worth, I'm sorry. I dont know if you read all the messages I left you before
|I real am though
|Really*
|the first fifty message are just apologies because your my bestie and didnt deserve that
|well, noone does but especially not you
|the others are just stuff that happened at school and pictures of my notes
|and Adriens, hes better at physics

Marinette smiled at that. It reminded her off that time she and Chat had gone on patrol and Chat had brought his physics homework along.

"I don't want to go home after patrol and though I might do it out here. I mean, who else can claim they learned for their next test on top of the Eifeltower?"

Marinette had left him there and then she had returned, bringing her own homework and Chat had explained the conservation of momentum to her. She had joked that he should become a teacher because he was really good at it and Chat had looked away, wistfully, saying that he wouldn't mind.

|Also thank you
|For letting me be Rena Rouge
|Also for saving the city all the time, but thats obvious
|I just wanted to say thank you for trusting. I know I was still trying to find out your identity back then and you still believed in me
|I know I failed you and I know I cant be Rens rouge anymore but I hope you can still trust me.

|It's ok, Alya. I still trust you. Don't worry.

Marinette's fingers where shaking when she had sent the message and they were shaking still when she dropped her phone again, settling her head on her knees and waiting for a response.

She didn't get one immediately. She watched a minute tick by and then a second and then she got worried. Was Alya mad at her? Did she expect Marinette to write more, had she maybe just been caught in the middle of class, texting her had, she…

Alya called. And hang up again herself. And then, Marinette's phone started beeping like crazy.

|Omg girl, I just broke down crying in the middle of the class and Miss mendeleiv didnt even get mad or anything but instead let me go outside
|Gosh, marinette, im so glad you texted back you hav eno idea how happy that makes me
|Are you ok? The news is wild rn most of them saying you got akumatized or kidnapped and shit like that but I told them all to shut up
|On my blog of course
|And to the jerks that are waiting in front of our school
|Anyway, I told them youre not kidnapped or akumatized or noth because youre marinette dupain cheng and marinette dupain cheng is way too badass to let herself get akumatized or kidnapped

Marinette let out a sob at that, because of course Alya would say that. Her eyes shone with warmth and a smile played around her lips, but it didn't last. It didn't last at all.

|But are you ok, girl? Are you mad?

Marinette didn't know how to answer that. Because she was mad. But Alya didn't deserve that and she didn't want her to feel guilty even if a part of her did. Maybe she could lie? Make up an excuse? Maybe she could...

Marinette glanced at Tikki who was reading along. Let out a sigh. Glanced back at her phone.

She needed to be honest. Alya deserved her honesty.

|I'm mad but I know it wasn't your fault
|I'm just working through some things at the moment

She knew she wasn't mad at Alya. She really wasn't. Deep down she knew it wasn't her best friend's fault and she wouldn't blame her but that didn't reflect what she was feeling now and Alya would know she was lying anyway.

"It was the right thing to do", cheeped Tikki, looking at her wielder proudly, Marinette smiled back.

|Im sorry. Really am.
|And, hey, for all that's worth, Adrien seems to be really worried about you ;)

Marinette stared at the message for some time, before shaking her head.

|He's my friend
|Of course he's worried

. O .

The next person on Marinette's list to answer was Adrien, simply because he was the second to last person who had messaged her. The message had been from this morning and been fairly simple:

|Good morning, Marinette! I hope you feel better today and had a good night's rest!

She didn't bother to read the messages he had sent before. There were a total of ten (should she-should she feel disappointed?) and most of them were comforting messages without much to them. They were friends, of course, and she would count him among her best friends, but talking could still be awkward sometimes. Nino had told her Adrien still wasn't sure on how to act around other people sometimes and had difficulties expressing himself the way he wanted to. And it wasn't like she herself was making it any easier for him.

"He doesn't want to disappoint people. He has this image to live up to and it's hard to let go off it whenever he's supposed to be "Adrien Agreste"."

Marinette had understood, of course, and was simply happy she let her see the "real" him from time to time – the way he laughed sometimes or when he punned or made dumb jokes or when he was moping for days because of something someone had said to him.

She didn't mind. She was just happy he saw her as friend even if she wanted more.

|Good morning Adrien. And thank you for being there. It means a lot to me

He didn't answer directly and Marinette didn't mind because he was probably busy.

. O .

She looked at Nino's messages. At Rose's, Mylene's,

. O .

Luka's message made her heart flutter and her cheeks blush and it reminded her of when he had confessed his love to her, during and after he had been akumatized. And just like back then it pulled at her heartstrings and made her want to squeal like the 14-year old highschool student she deserved to be.

|Marinette. When I first saw you, I could hear your melody as clearly as no one else's. It was sweet and soft and had this air of mystery – I have never heard anything quite as beautiful. I love that you keep giving me reasons to try and listen to that melody more closely, because there are still so many notes and parts that I have missed – and I'm glad for every part you let me hear.
|I know your melody is thrown off at the moment, because I can hear it all across Paris, but even now it sounds as clear as the ocean's waves or a bird's song.
|It sounds beautiful, Marinette. Just let me listen once you're ready to let the world know. I'll always be there for you.

Marinette hugged herself and bit her lip, smiling from one corner of her mouth to the other.

. O .

|Marinette. I'm Kagami. My deepest condolences for what happened. If you need someone to talk to, I am sure my mother will give me some time off. Or I can sneak out.

Marinette smiled when she read the first of Kagami's messages. It sounded robotic and not heartfelt at all, but to Marinette it was because she knew that sneaking out wasn't something Kagami offered easily – she was ready to go against her mother's wishes and she was ready to simply listen to Marinette cry. Something that Kagami didn't do because it was pointless – crying didn't make the situation better after all.

Marinette knew that it was heartfelt because Kagami had sent her a text in the first place and she would be eternally thankful for it.

|Will our meeting over juice still be taking place? I understand if you were to cancel.

It was the second message Kagami had sent, only one of two, and Marinette smiled again.

Kagami hadn't waited for her to text back first. She must have been worried. Without hesitating (Kagami would have been so proud), Marinette texted back.

|Maybe not this week? But I still want to go on our juice outings.
|Can I let you know on short notice? I know you have a busy schedule.

She didn't have to wait on an answer for long.

|My mother said you are a good influence and that she will make space in my schedule to meet you. I am glad she lets me go. Furthermore, I want to thank you for entrusting me with the "Dragon Miraculous". I may not be able to be "Ryuko" any longer, but serving with Longg was an honor unrivaled by any of my ancestor's earnings. I know we were not friends when you allowed me to transform into a better version of myself and I will forever be in your debt for believing in me, even when we were still nothing but mere rivals.

Marinette smiled softly once more.

|I'm glad your mother is making space for me. And don't worry. You were a great Ryuko and will always be a hero, even without a Miraculous.

. O .

|Hey, Mari, sorry for not texting you back earlier. I had fencing and you know how Mr. D'Argencourt can be.

She knew indeed. And she wasn't mad at him because she knew, probably better than himself, how hectic his schedule could be.

|I know you're busy. I wasn't surprised
|Not that I'm saying you're unreliable or a bad friend or anything! You're a great friend and I'm really, really glad were friends!
|But you have a busy schedule, you should have fencing right now after all
|I think. Not that I would know for sure. Because that'd be crazy and stuff
|Anyway, what I was saying is that I'm not mad or anything
|I couldn't be mad at you for anything!
|Because you're our residential sunshine child of course! Not because of anything else, obv.
|Also, you're way too nice to just ignore me!
|And others too!
|Others too, of course!

And then Marinette glanced at Tikki and Tikki shot her a look telling her she had to calm down and Marinette tried.

And failed, so she closed WhatsApp and buried herself in her blanket ford, silently waiting for an answer.

She didn't get one immediately.

Disappointed, Marinette bit her lip. She had overreacted, had fallen back into old habits and had successfully driven him off. She was a human disaster. Discarding her phone, Marinette hugged her knees, ignoring her Kwami's worried glances.

Maybe Adrien and her just weren't meant to be. He had Kagami after all and she had Luka and honestly, could she truly be in love with a boy who she felt so nervous around she could hardly form a sentence?

It was Tikki who picked up her phone when it chimed, signaling another message had arrived and it was Tikki who forced her to read it.

"You started this conversation, Marinette! Don't just leave him hanging!"

And when Marinette read the message, she blushed.

|I can hear your stutter from your messages alone, Marinette.

Marinette blushed harder and then she giggled. Then she texted back:

|Marinette Dupain-Cheng: the only girl that can stutter in a text message

Marinette smiled to herself thinking back to that one time she had stolen Adrian's phone to erase that one text message. Ladybug, the phone thief. And, oh god, Alya had seen it! Had helped her!

Marinette tried to shake off the memory and turned her attention back to her phone, still smiling because somehow, it was just so easy to talk to Adrien – now that she had finally gotten rid of her horrible stutter (most of the time – she still tended to relapse sometimes).

But when she read his next message, she didn't stammer or blush or mix up her words. Instead, she froze.

|To be honest, I always found your stutter cute
|I just wonder where it went…? =p

At first Marinette was confused and then she couldn't help but wonder:"Is he flirting with me?"

No. There was no way he was flirting with her. This was just Adrien being Adrien and being a bit awkward.

|Liar. It wasn't cute at all. It was super embarrassing and I felt like a fool after every conversation we held
|"Conversation"

She smiled. That was a good answer, right? Right?

It seemed to be.

|It wasn't that bad. You used to get this cute blush and you're eyes would grow super wide and I could always get a better look at them.
|You have really beautiful eyes, did you know that, Mari?

As if she had been burned, Marinette dropped the phone in her hand immediately, unable to fully process what was happening.

He was flirting with her. Adrien was most definitely flirting with her.

The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she blushed anyway.

|Thanks?

|No problem =) But I have to get back to fencing now – if there's anything I can help you with, please let me know!

And then he was gone and their conversation had ended as abruptly as it had started. And this time, Marinette did squeal, even if she felt bad about it.

And even if she still couldn't get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth.

. O .

She checked her chat with Alix, Kim, Max, Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling.

She grew tired of the constant "I'm sorry"s and "If I can help you"s, but she couldn't be mad either because what else were they supposed to say?

. O .

The last message she checked belonged to an unknown number.

|Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it's Chloé Bourgeois.

Marinette frowned when she read the message. There wasn't anything else and she didn't understand what Chloé wanted. But she hadn't insulted her yet and Marinette was sick of comforting words. Her friends were sweet, but she wanted a normal conversation right now. And Chloé – who knew what she might want.

Shoot.

Marinette's message was short and simple and (hopefully) let Chloé know she was still mad at her – she had betrayed her trust for Hawkmoth and she'd never be able to forgive Queen Bee for that.

But maybe that wasn't the important part.

|I want you to know that our class is inept when it comes to listening – I did not claim to be your friend at all, I simply claimed I would try my best to be a friend to you. And it is ridiculous that Sabrina is expecting me to apologize to you for my supposed bullying – as if telling the truth is bullying, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! - but she is helpful, sometimes, so I will, for once, do as she tells me.
|I apologize for occasionally making fun of you, Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette blinked at the message she had received. It sounded like Chloé, but somehow she had expected more. She waited a few minutes but Chloé didn't text anything else and Marinette definitely had other things to do than to wait for a message by a girl she didn't even like.

So she pushed her phone away and tried to concentrate on the design in front of her. She had had an idea, but Tikki hadn't allowed her to design anything black or gray and now she was all out of options.

She wondered whether she could get away with black if she said it was Chat Noir themed.

Marinette's phone dinged, startling her and she glanced at it, frowning when she saw another message from Chloé.

I wanted to apologize to Ladybug too.

Marinette sat up straighter at those words. Would she beg her to give her her Miraculous back?

|I know you can't give me back my Miraculous, after all my identity has been revealed to Hawkmoth.
|And I sided with him because of a lapse of judgment, but, like, whatever
|That comb looked terrible anyway

Another silence. This time, Marinette waited patiently. Whatever this was – it was more than she would have expected from Chloé and she wouldn't destroy whatever this was by not letting Chloé say her piece.

|I messed up and I truly do feel sorry
|I want to apologize to you – maybe I can buy you some decent clothes – and I hope you can forgive me
|And – please talk to Pollen for me? I never got the chance to apologize to her and I terribly miss her I hope she can forgive me too.

Marinette waited another five minutes in case Chloé wanted to say anything else.

She didn't.

And Marinette chucked her phone away because she didn't know what to say. Chloé – Chloé had been nice. In Chloé-terms, she had been incredibly nice.

But that didn't mean Marinette was ready to forgive her. It didn't meant Marinette would try her everything to become Chloé's friend. And she decided to tell Chloé as much.

|Thank you for your message Chloé. It means a lot to me that you apologized, but I can't forgive you yet
|You didn't just side with Hawkmoth, you revealed the identities of our team and we still haven't recovered from that blow. Especially now that Hawkmoth can transform into Shadow Moth.
|But I'm not Pollen and maybe she should speak for herself

And then Marinette removed the Bee Miraculous from the Miraculous Box and called for Pollen. Pollen had a right to speak for herself after all and whatever bond she had had with Chloé must have been something because the Bee Kwami was still devastated, even a month after the incident.

And Pollen spoke.

-Chloé, my queen. I-I'm upset. I know you had your reasons, but I felt betrayed when you helped Hawkmoth. But you are my – former – wielder and you are my friend, even after what you have done. I know every queen's weakness is her pride and I'm glad you have overcome it by apologizing. And while the guardian may not forgive you yet – I do. I know you won't ever be my wielder again, but thank you. For your apology. It means a lot to me.-

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