There was a haze over Marinette's mind. All she really knew, was that she was walking again, and she no longer felt pain. She often lived with pain, it was her constant companion, ever since that fateful day. Since the lorry crash, so it was more unusual for her not to feel pain, than it was to feel pain. But now, it felt like that day had been erased from her life. That loss. No pain, no fear, she was a normal girl again. She could just see it, running track, winning again and again. Being whole, being who she wanted to be, when she met Chat for the first time. Then she wouldn't be afraid. She would tell him who she was, and he might love her back. She would have her happy ending. She would be happy again. She hadn't been happy for so long…

But there was one thing that was clouding her happiness, and that was the fact that she knew it was wrong. Even though she could walk again, it wasn't her controlling her body, it was the akuma. The pain had been wiped away, but only temporarily. And she wasn't the hero. She was Marinette, and she was failing her job. She was supposed to fight the akumas, not join them. And so, even if it killed her, she was going to fight against it. Fight against having everything she wanted. Fight her own happiness. And that alone was painful enough to bring her almost to tears.

It was as if she was floating in an ocean, with no sight of land. She had no clue how to get ahold of herself, how to fight the akuma off. She needed to help Chat. She couldn't leave him in a lurch. She had to find dry land, even if she was afloat in an endless ocean.

She had never known anyone to get out of an akuma's control on their own. It was always because of an outside source. So she wasn't even it was possible to fight the Akuma's influence on her own, but at least she was going to try. The more she fought, the more the haze cleared, but also, the more pain she felt.

She… She was there again. On her way to the track meet. Her parents were in the front seats, they were singing road trip songs. Marinette was antsy, it was getting close to the time they were supposed to be there. But they had been stuck in traffic for a good fifteen minutes, so they were running behind. Now that they were getting closer to the track meet, the traffic was going much better. Everything was good, and Marinette could breathe easy…. Well, that was until there was a sudden stop. There was an articulated lorry behind them, and when they stopped so suddenly, the lorry didn't stop…. It happened in an instant, and Marinette's life was changed forever.

As the haze was lifting, the pain returned full force. Worse than it had been before, even. She felt the pain of the crash, and everything went white. She could hardly breathe, hardly think.

Chat Noir was fighting with Dark Swan, apparently a skilled ballerina, by how she moved. She was surrounded by her dancers, sending them to fight Chat. Everything had been normal, well, as normal as it could be without Ladybug, until one of the dancers started collapsing. One that looked a lot like Marinette. Tears were streaming down her face, a look of pain on her face. Thinking fast, Chat Noir caught the girl, and started running, as her akuma given costume dissolved, and she became, once again, Marinette. He started jumping over buildings, running as fast as he could, to get the girl in his arms away from the akuma.

He only stopped when he had landed on Marinette's balcony, where he laid her down on her lawn chair. He'd noticed how much the young girl was shaking. Her eyes were red with tears, and she was sobbing. He held her, for a little while. For as long as he could. Sitting near her, the entire world disappeared. And all there was in the world, were those two.

"Ch…. chat….?" Marinette said through sobs.

"Sh, princess, don't talk," Chat responded, soothing her hair. It broke his heart to see his princess cry. He wanted to help. He wanted to make her smile again. He loved her beautiful smile. Marinette let out a few more sobs, before she pushed Chat away. It felt to him, as if she ripped out his heart, by the simple act of pushing him away, but he schooled his expression, so she wouldn't know how much it had hurt him.

"Chat, did you… did you get the akuma?" Marinette asked, through tears and hiccups.

"No, but don't worry about that, you're safe now. You're safe Marinette. The akuma won't hurt you anymore," he said, reassuring himself as much as he was reassuring her.

"Then how…. How am I?"

"You fought it, Princess. You fought it off yourself, and got out from under its power,"

"But…. Then it's alone, destroying Paris…. You… You have to go, Chat….. You have to go….."

"Princess, I want to make sure you're okay. I don't want to leave until I know you're okay. I want you to be safe Princess."

"I'll be alright, you need to save Paris. That's what you do… You're… you're a hero,"

"But…"

"I'll stay with her Chat, keep her safe. If that makes you feel better. Just bring the akuma to me when you catch it, and I'll purify it for you," Tikki chimed in, stopping Chat's protests. "I'll make sure she's alright, make sure is safe, you can trust me." Chat studied Tikki for a second, cocking his head to the side, before nodding.

"Marinette, this is Tikki, she is what is known as a Kwami. She'll stay with you, for as long as you need. And I'll check on you after the akuma is caught. If you need me, let her know. She'll let me know if you're in trouble," Chat explained. "I have to go save the world now," he laughed, winking at Marinette, before jumping off the roof towards the akuma.

Marinette watched him go with mixed feelings. She hated herself for not being the hero, for letting herself be controlled by the akuma. She was in pain, physical and emotional. Pain that made it hard to breathe. She was disappointed in herself. Disappointed, but giddy at the same time. Giddy because Chat winked at her. Giddy because he called her princess. Giddy because he cared.

Tears were running down her face, tears of joy, pain, hate, and disappointment. But she knew she had to get over it, she had to stop feeling sorry for herself, and be the hero. She needed to be Ladybug.

"Marinette, are you okay? What happened when you were under the akuma's control?" Tikki asked, worried. Snuggling up to Marinette's face, and wiping away her tears.

"I'm… I will be okay. What happens doesn't matter anymore," she responded, wiping her tears, and sitting up. Tikki buzzed around her with concern. "It's time for Ladybug to make her appearance,"

"But Marinette, don't you think you need to rest? You've had a pretty rough time. Chat and I can take care of it. And if you transform now, Chat will probably figure out who you are,"

"I need to help him… I need Ladybug right now," Marinette told Tikki, looking her straight in the eyes. "Please, Tikki,"

"Alright, Marinette, but we're going to talk after this, okay?" Tikki responded. "And promise me you're coming straight back here, as quickly as you can. Chat is going to check up on you after all,"

"I promise," she replied. "Tikki, spots on!" She called, transforming into Ladybug.

Yep, I'm back. A bit sooner than I was last time. I've seen some of you say that you love Marichat, and I have to say, Marichat is my favorite ship of the love square. I love the idea that they will become friends, then fall in love. I also like the idea of a reverse crush. I want Adrien to fall in love with Marinette, for Marinette's sake. Since that is the real her. And I want Marinette to fall in love with Chat, because that is who Adrien really is. So that's why I'm doing this as a reverse crush, instead of regular. I've also heard some people wonder if she is going to be in the chair forever, or if she is going to be healed. With what the accident was, there is the chance that she will be able to walk again. But I at least don't want to do that during the run of the story. Because part of this story is about her accepting herself, with her disability. And I think making her able to walk again, would cheapen that aspect of the story.

This month, I actually got to go to ALA, and I met not only Ezra Weisz, but I also met Bryce Papenbrook. It was so cool to talk to them, and get Ezra's autograph. I went to the miraculous panel, and nerded out with my friends about the season 3 pictures they shared. I also got to ask Bryce if he preferred voicing Adrien or Chat Noir (I know they're the same person, but how he speaks is different as Chat). It was really cool, and it is what encouraged me to get back to writing this fanfiction.

As always, I would love to hear from you. If you have ideas for this story, or any commentary on it, I would love to hear it. Love you all! - Alice