Chapter Thirteen

Ladybug landed on the deserted street next to the Eiffel Tower. An announcement would soon go out that the akuma had been defeated, and people would start trickling back within moments, so she detransformed while she still had a chance and took off in the direction of Anatole's apartment. Tikki ducked into her bag, and Marinette grabbed her phone. The texts from Alya were still there. That probably wasn't a good sign.

She'd gone two blocks before she stopped to catch her breath and check her direction. No one honked their horn at her. No one waved at her as she passed them. No one even looked twice at her. No one, except for Alya.

"Hey! There you are! Can you believe this?!"

Marinette caught her friend in a tight hug as the tightness in her chest started loosen. "Believe what?" she asked.

"I can't believe it! Argh!" She let go of Marinette and shook a fist at the sky, a fist that held her phone. "I texted her! I had her yoyo number in my phone, and it's gone! There were videos, comments, blog posts, all wiped!"

Marinette barely contained her relieved sigh. Everything on the internet was gone, too? That was one problem taken care of.

"So, how much do you remember, exactly?" she asked. "Uh, because I'm not sure... what I forgot?"

"Almost everything, I think." She grabbed Marinette's arm and started walking in the direction of home. With the sun down, the sky was getting darker by the second, and the wind had picked up even more. They probably had only minutes until they started getting wet.

"Almost everything" was more than Marinette had assumed, based on Cat Noir's reaction. He probably remembered most of it too, then. Would he remember where she lived? That he confessed to her? A piece of her was upset that she wouldn't be able to talk to Alya about that.

"Super frustrating," Alya said.

"Tell me about it. But you seem to be taking this well."

"To tell the truth," Alya said, leaning in, "I do remember one thing. That I wasn't surprised. You know what that means?"

Marinette shook her head, concerned. Alya gave her an evil grin. "She's already on my list of suspects. I'll let you know what I find out."

Deep internal sigh. Well, it hadn't been so bad having her best friend know, right?

Alya spent the first half of the trip home alternately telling Marinette to hurry up and picking her brain for what she remembered about the past few days. They were waiting at a crosswalk when Cat Noir landed on a lamp post right next to them.

Marinette put a hand to her mouth to try to cover her gasp. He looked bad. His face and ears were both drooping, and he seemed to be moving with the least energy possible. "Are you okay, Cat?" she said, then added quickly, "Noir?" Ladybug might be on a first-name basis with him, but Marinette wasn't. Not anymore. It felt weird.

"Oh, sure," he said, trying to straighten his shoulders and giving her a quick smile that was so sad it nearly broke her heart. "I was just looking for Alya, making sure she got away safely."

Putting others first, doing his job, even when he was obviously in pain. How like her Kitty. She couldn't help but wonder if he would have been more honest if she'd been in costume. There was a gap between them, and she didn't like it, didn't like it, didn't like it.

"I'm fine," Alya said with a smile. "Thanks for checking in on me." At least someone was happy.

"What about you, Marinette?" he asked. "That was probably pretty scary for you, too."

She smiled at him sadly. "I'm fine. Thank you." No familiarity. No nicknames. He was professional and perfectly polite.

She hated it.

A few fat raindrop plopped around them and splattered on their faces. Alya put her hands over her head, but Marinette covered her purse instead. She didn't want Tikki to catch a cold again.

"I should let you two get home," Cat Noir said and left without another word.

"Wow." The light turned, and Alya strode into the crosswalk. "He looked pretty heartbroken. I'm sure he'll be okay, though. He seems pretty resilient."

"I hope so."

"He must have forgotten, too," Alya continued. "I can't believe everyone forgot!"

"Yeah, it's a shame."

Despite the rain, Alya got her phone back out, shielding it with a hand. It wasn't very effective. "I've got to make a post about everything I learned, though. Chantal totally spilled her guts. She was dying to tell somebody."

"That was kind of her deal, telling secrets." And she had a captive audience. Ugh! Stupid Cat! "So what happened?"

"University stuff," Alya said. "She had a really good interview with the ParisTech people, and she thought she had it in the bag, so she let everyone know. She thought she was just waiting for the confirmation letter. But she got accepted to Dauphine instead." The wind blew sheets of water all around them. Marinette could feel it starting to soak through her clothing and drip from her hair down the back of her neck. "She thought it was a mistake, that she could fix it. She didn't have the heart to disappoint everyone."

Alya bent over her phone, trying to use her body to protect it from the elements. Marinette had to steer her away from walls and keep her from walking into the street.

"Meanwhile, her boyfriend started applying for jobs down there and got a really good one near the campus. He put a security deposit on an apartment and everything."

"Oh," Marinette said. That's why Chantal claimed it had been her fault. She was the one who started the whole thing. "So that's what they fought about."

"Yeah," Alya said. "He surprised her with the good news, and she finally had to come clean. They both started accusing each other of hiding all sorts of things. The trust was broken." She stopped typing to look up at her friend. "Her secret ruined their relationship."

She turned back to her phone and continued to type. Would Marinette's secret ruin her relationship with her partner? Well, not relationship relationship... Maybe, if it weren't for Adrien.

Adrien! Oh, no! He would have forgotten too. She was back to being just be that awkward girl at school to him. Too bad she couldn't let him know her secret identity. They'd actually been getting somewhere!

Alya's voice brought her back to the present. "I love getting kidnapped by akumas."

"That makes one of us," Marinette grumbled. "I worry about you a lot. Every time." Alya squinted at her phone and didn't hear her.


By the time Marinette had gotten back home after dropping Alya off, she was soaked to the bone and it was dark outside. The last time she'd come home in a rain storm, the bakery had been closed, and her parents and Cat Noir had been waiting for her upstairs. When she came home this time, they were safe behind the counter of the empty shop, starting to close for the night.

"Oh, good," Sabine said. "We saw it on the news. We were hoping you'd be back soon."

Saw what on the news? What were they talking about?

"How's Alya handling it?" her mother continued.

"Did Cat Noir forget, too?" Tom asked.

"Uh..." Marinette stopped breathing. "Forget what?"

"That you're Ladybug," they said together.

"Uh, no? I'm not- don't know what you're-"

"It's all right," Sabine said, coming around the counter and putting her arms around her daughter. "We already knew, so there wasn't anything to take away." Marinette squirmed and almost got out of the hug before her father wrapped his arms around both of them. Her parents finding out was uncomfortable, but... actually, this wasn't so bad.

"Alya's fine," she said eventually. "Cat Noir forgot, too. He'll be okay." I hope.

"A shame," Tom said. "I would have liked to have him around more often."

Sabine let go and held Marinette's face in her hands instead. "We know this is a dangerous job that you've taken, but it's comforting to know that you've got a good partner to help you."


There was only so much of the news reports she could handle. She'd watched people's reactions for over an hour. There was speculation on her identity. There were questions about why it had taken so long. There were theories on Chantal's motives. All were wrong. Rain pelted her dark skylight and thunder pealed outside. She hoped Cat Noir had gotten home okay. She couldn't text him to ask.

"Why are you still unhappy, Marinette?" Tikki asked, thoughtful. She'd come out of hiding as soon as Marinette closed the trapdoor and had immediately made sure that everything was back to normal. The pictures were back. The diary was in its case and locked up. She'd spent most of the evening watch Marinette grow increasingly restless while munching on cookies. "You should be happy. Chantal is safe, and Hawk Moth's been stopped for now. Everything's fine now. You got everything you wanted."

Marinette just shrugged. She'd gotten most of what she wanted. She'd never wanted Cat Noir to get hurt, especially not because of her.

She turned the news off, only to find herself on the Ladyblog a few seconds later. Alya had posted her information on Chantal, in a little more detail, along with her analysis of what the miraculous cure had done. What it was supposed to. Undone the damage the akuma had caused. All of it. Everyone's memories had been erased, along with anything that would remind them of what they'd forgotten. There were no hints, and no clues left anywhere. She was completely safe.
Marinette skimmed the post and then the comments. Nothing new. She almost closed it to go back to the news when she saw a new comment near the bottom with Cat Noir's name in it. The poster reported that Cat Noir was still transformed and was running around in the rain.

Her heart sank. Had he been out there that whole time? She knew was upset, but she hadn't realized he was "run around in the rain for over an hour" upset. The poor boy was probably drenched and freezing. And lonely.

"Tikki, we're going," she said. The kwami looked up in confusion but didn't complain when she was pulled into the miraculous. His dot on her locator was close by and wasn't moving. There had to be something she could do to make him feel better. At the very least, she could let him know that she was going to be there for him.

Thunder cracked above her. They were both going to be soaked. She did have an umbrella, the one that Adrien had given her so long ago, the one she'd never had the desire to return. She grabbed it and pushed herself out into the rain.

She found Cat Noir in under a minute, sitting on the ledge of an apartment building, shoulders hunched, tail flopping over the edge. Ladybug landed behind him quietly, hoping that she wasn't going to upset him further by coming.

"It affects miraculous holders too," he said without turning toward her. "I've forgotten, so you should be safe from Hawk Moth." Even his hair looked sad. Instead of its normal crazy, carefree style, it was slicked down against his head. His cat ears were pressed flat, too. She brushed a hand against her hip, which had stopped hurting as soon as she'd used her miraculous cure. It wasn't fair that it had taken away her physical pain, but given him emotional pain.

There was plenty of room on the ledge, so she sat with him and opened the umbrella. It was too late to keep them dry, but maybe she could keep him from catching a cold. As soon as she was settled, he laid his head on her shoulder. Below them, the lamp posts gave off puddles of soft light.

Would it really be so bad if he knew who she was? Everyone already assumed that they did. Was it true what he'd said earlier? That she was just afraid of who he was underneath the mask? Was she afraid it would change their partnership? She'd spent so much time lately reacting in fear, but she shouldn't let fear make decisions for her. So what did she actually want? She rested her cheek on his head. It was freezing.

"How much do you remember?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. There's so many holes. A lot, I guess? That I was happy you were... you. That I met your family and really liked them. I don't remember anything about them, though. I remember-" He stopped to take a deep breath, like he was bracing himself for more pain. "That you like someone else. But I can't remember who it is."

She glanced down at him. There it was. The pain that she'd always expected. His face twisted with sorrow and with the effort to hide it from her, but it was too much for him to mask, and it was killing her. Why now? Why did this only bother him now?

They'd be safer with secrets. Their partnership was strong enough to survive keeping them. It wouldn't be ruined like Chantal's had been. But if they did, Cat Noir, the partner who loved her (and whom she loved back, just not the way he wanted) would be in pain. He lifted his head and wiped what she hoped were only raindrops off his cheeks. What should she do?

"I have to go," he said, getting up suddenly.

"Wait!" She scrambled to her feet, dropping the umbrella, which spun lazily near on the ledge. A gust of wind blowing the wrong way would send it over the edge. Cat Noir didn't stop.

"Wait!" she called again. She wasn't ready to make this decision yet. He crouched, preparing jump.

"MARINETTE!"

He froze, back still to her. Maybe this wasn't a smart idea. She felt like she'd swallowed all of the akumas she'd ever purified. There was no way to undo it this time. Despite how nervous she was, this still somehow felt... right. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she took a steadying breath.

"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You know... Princess?"

He finally turned around, all shadow of hurt gone. His face held an odd mixture shock and elation, like someone had just proved that Santa really was real. "I remember," he whispered. "I remember everything." He started walking back toward her. "Thank you for trusting me, My Lady." He picked up the umbrella before it got blown into the street below and handed it to her. She took it from him hesitantly, shielding them both, and had a strong sense of deja vu.

"I want you to know who I am," he said. "I want you to know all of me. Can I... can I tell you now? Please?"

She should have expected that question, honestly. "I still think it's dangerous, but it's your identity. It should be your decision."

"Really?!" Cat Noir was ecstatic, and it started to rub off on her.

She grinned up at him, unconcerned with how wet they were getting or how closely they were standing together. "Go fur it."

"You just made a cat pun!"

"Oh, just tell me who you are already."

He didn't tell her. In a flash of green light, he detransformed for her. Ladybug stood transfixed as his clothes changed and his black ears and mask dissolved. A black kwami spun out of his ring, which had changed to shiny silver.

"FFFFIINNNAALLLY!" the kwami said.

In front of her stood Adrien Agreste.

Wait.

Waaaaait.

"So Cat hadn't- you weren't- not teasing me about having a crush on Adrien." They were the same person? That couldn't be right. "He- You were just r-really happy?" In what crazy universe was this possible?

"Pfft. Understatement of the year," the kwami said. "Now he can gush to you about how much he loves you instead of me!"

"P-Plagg!" Adrien's blush was so deep she could see it in the dim light. "You can't say things like that!"

"What? You gush all the time."

"Hey!"

"Not my fault it's true."

Ladybug was still trying to get her brain back online. Cat Noir was Adrien? Adrien was Cat Noir? This was insane. Well, Adrien would make a great superhero, true, and Cat Noir's kindness rivaled Adrien's, sure, but the two were so different!

Her thoughts were chaotic. Fragments of ideas and reactions crowded her mind until they finally crystalized into one bright spot of clarity.

"OH MY GOSH YOU'VE BEEN IN MY ROOM!"

The two boys stopped arguing to look at her. After a few seconds of silence, Adrien started to laugh and gave her a very Cat-like grin, and she could finally see her partner in his face. It was better proof that they were the same person than seeing him transform had been.

"Yeah," he said with a growing smirk. "I love your décor."

Ladybug gasped. She reached out to smack his shoulder, but her caught her hand. "I've had some secrets of my own that I've been wanting to tell you. One was my identity." He gestured down at himself. "The second one, well, I hope I've made it clear that I like you, a lot. You're wonderful. My favorite part of any day is the part I get to spend with you." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. Ladybug was having trouble breathing. Was this actually happening? "What I'm trying to say is... I love you. I have from the very beginning."

Adrien was Cat Noir. Cat Noir was Adrien. She glanced up at the umbrella she still held over them, and he followed her gaze.

"Is that the one I gave you?"

"Y-yeah," she admitted quietly. "I kept it. I've loved you from the moment you handed it to me. I guess you already figured out how I feel, though."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Their noses were almost touching. His other hand reached up to the umbrella and covered her fingers gently. "You can tell me as often as you like." He closed the gap between them and kissed her softly.

For the first time in three days, she felt truly warm. She let herself melt against him, felt the texture of his collar as her free hand reached up to cradle his head, the softness of his hair as she let her fingers run through it, and felt his lips on hers.

And then she felt a sharp pain on her forehead and jerked backward. "Wha-"

Plagg had a few strands of her bangs in his paws. "I want to see Tikki."

"Plagg! Seriously?!" How was Adrien still adorable when he was mad?

"You can see her later," Ladybug said as she flicked him away. "I'm busy."

She pulled Adrien back down to her. They kissed until the umbrella closed on them.

THE END


Author's notes: Wow. Thank you. Thank you for reading, and for loving my story. This is the first thing I've written that I've ever shared with a lot of people. Normally, I'll only show a few close friends or family members, if that. This whole experience has been amazing, and a huge confidence boost. So thank you! I've got more stories planned for this fandom (mostly reveals, because I NEED IT TO BE CANON), so I'll be back. ;)