(A/N) Edit: So apparently FFN erased my italics the first time. I've fixed it now. Hopefully this reads better now!

Ladybug and Chat Noir fought off a new akuma, Heartbreaker. Apparently she'd confessed to her crush and he hadn't believed her - something about thinking she was joking? - so now she was shooting blasts of light at everyone.

It wasn't quite clear what her power was. Some people were totally unaffected, while others keeled over on the ground, unconscious. Sometimes when one person was hit, a second person would fall asleep, even though they weren't anywhere NEAR the first person. It was very strange and made Ladybug antsy.

If she didn't know WHY some people were falling unconscious even though they hadn't been hit, she couldn't guard against it. She or Chat - or worse, BOTH - of them could be knocked unconscious with no warning.

Luckily she'd called in reinforcements. Carapace and Rena Rouge were keeping Heartbreaker busy while she attempted to come up with a plan. It meant that she also had to worry about THEM being knocked out, but since only a maximum of two people seemed to get knocked out at a time, there should be enough of their team left to drag the unconscious members to safety. Hopefully.

"Ladybug! Watch out!"

She turned around just as a blast of light fired towards her.

It didn't get her.

She was suddenly aware of Chat hugging her, having taken the blast. She was about to say something, chastise him for sacrificing himself AGAIN, maybe, perhaps prepare to carry him away to safety until the akuma was defeated, when she felt suddenly dizzy. She felt Chat start to slump at the same moment.

The last thing she saw were Rena Rouge and Carapace rushing over towards them, Carapace activating his shield.

Then everything went black.

What just happened?

Ladybug had expected to pass out. What she HADN'T expected was to be awake and STILL not see anything.

She attempted to get up, thinking that maybe she'd been struck blind somehow, or perhaps just put in a really, REALLY dark room. She didn't move.

She tried to wiggle her fingers. Nothing was there.

She tried to raise a hand. Still nothing.

She tried to kick her legs. Nada.

She tried to open her mouth to scream. It didn't respond.

She attempted to concentrate on her breathing. And then realized that she WASN'T.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH LET ME OUT LET ME OUT HELP ME SOMEONE ANYONE PLEASE CAN ANYONE HEAR ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

It took Ladybug a moment to realize that wasn't HER shouting. Well, it wasn't shouting per se. She didn't really HEAR it, so much as sense it. Like… telepathy?

She shook herself (mentally). Whoever was shouting, they NEEDED someone to respond.

She tried to send out a message.

I'm here. Are you trapped in this dark place too?

She waited for a moment, hoping that the other person heard her.

A response came quickly. ...Ladybug?

Yes! But how did you know? I can't recognize 'voices' in here, can you?

She heard a relieved chuckle. I can't either, but if anyone was going to help me, it would be you, milady.

Wait, Chat?!

Yeah. I'm sorry you're in this situation too, but I'm really, really glad I'm not here alone.

Me too. She thought about how panicked he'd sounded when he thought he was alone. She'd been on the verge of shouting, but the level of terror in his voice… she would've managed alone. She wasn't so sure that HE would have. She'd never known her kitty was this afraid of being alone.

Color returned to the world.

Ladybug was relieved. She could feel her body again!

She attempted to speak, to move, SOMETHING, but her body didn't respond.

Then she noticed some other oddities.

Like the giant rock monster on the Eiffel Tower hacking up akumas.

…Did I time travel?

She heard an answering thought. Wait, milady, you're in here too?

She would've jumped if she had any control over her(?) body.

Chat? You're still here?

Yeah. I can't control my body though. It's doing everything on its own.

Wait, YOUR body…?

As Hawkmoth monologued, a suspicion formed in Ladybug's mind.

Watching HERSELF slowly walk towards Hawkmoth, clapping, confirmed it.

Oh CRAP, Chat, we're both trapped here in YOUR body, in the past.

It took a moment for him to answer. I guess we are? That's… really, really weird. How would the akuma do this. WHY would the akuma do this.

Ladybug's mind whirred, trying to come up with an answer. She felt like one was close, but she needed more info. I don't know. But we'll figure it out.

Of course we will, milady. We always do. So long as I'm with you, I know everything will be okay.

She didn't know how to respond to that, so she settled on watching, hoping that she could figure out what was going on, and more importantly, how to get out of it.

She watched her past self start to run towards the Hawkmoth cloud. She couldn't help it anyway, she couldn't close her eyes or move her head. She was trapped doing whatever Chat had done all those months ago.

"Nice try, Hawk Moth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawk Moth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and YOU will hand us YOUR Miraculous!"

She could feel her - could feel past Chat's - breath catch as he watched her make her proclamation. As she watched HERSELF make her proclamation.

He was awestruck. She could feel it in the way he held himself, the way his eyes widened, his heart beat faster.

And… maybe something BEYOND awestruck.

This is when I fell in love with you.

She could 'hear' the wistfulness in his thoughts.

I'd thought you were cute when we first met. I thought you were crazy awesome when you came up with that plan to defeat Stoneheart that first time. But this? This is when I fell for you. Your courage, your commitment, your refusal to let Hawkmoth have his way… I was a goner.

She would've blushed if she was able to.

Chat… Chat, I wish I could return your feelings. You're a great guy, but…

I know. There's another guy, right? The boy you like. I'm not going to push you. Just… know I'm here, if that doesn't work out. And if he ever treats you badly…

She gave a mental laugh. I don't think that's possible. There's not a mean bone in his body.

She settled into a companionable silence as they watched Ladybug's past self purify the akumas.

Past Ladybug stood on a beam on the EIffel Tower, declaring to Paris, "Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!"

As the past Ladybug released the swarm of purified butterflies, she felt the past Chat Noir rise from his stupor.

"Wow. Whoever she is beneath that mask, I love that girl."

And I still do.

Ladybug startled. That's it!

What's it?

I think I know what the akuma did!

I knew you'd figure it out! What did it do?

The akuma was mad because her crush didn't believe her confession, right? So I bet she thought that if everyone could see, could experience, what their crushes did when they first fell in love, they'd REALIZE they were sincere. That's why it only affected some people! It probably only affected people who had crushes on someone. And that's why two people were sometimes affected, when only one was hit! I bet in the cases where we only SAW one person being affected, it was because the second person wasn't in the area!

Chat was quiet for a moment. …So it's my fault you're trapped in this too?

Oh, kitty… She tried to reassure him. You were protecting me. I would've been affected either way. Besides, I couldn't stand it if you had to go through this alone.

She felt him mentally smile. Thank you, milady.

A sudden jarring feeling ripped through her. It felt like someone had jerked her suddenly to the side, so fast that it blurred her vision.

When she jerked to a halt, she was in a far more familiar situation. The height, the weight, her gait.

This… this is my body! I'm back in my body!

She attempted to say that out loud, but her mouth didn't move.

That's great, milady, but I'm still here. I'm guessing you can't control anything either?

No… oh NO.

What is it? What's wrong?

She started to panic. This is me as a CIVILIAN. You might learn who I am!

…I'd close my eyes and plug my ears, Ladybug, but I can't do that right now.

I know kitty, I know. Just… I'll try not to panic too much. Whatever happens, happens. Not much either of us can do about it now.

As past Marinette walked towards the entryway of the College Francois-Dupont, Chat perked up.

Is this… is this your school?

You know I can't answer that, kitty.

But is it?

She ignored him. If he found out, then he found out. But she wasn't going to hand the answer to him.

Her past self reached the entranceway - or exitway, in this case.

It was raining outside. Stuck out a hand, feeling the rain.

Oh. OH. I know why we're here. We saw when you fell in love. Now you'll see when I did.

So I'll learn who my competition is, then.

Kitty!

Kidding, kidding…

"Hey."

Marinette's past self looked away, grunting slightly. She caught a glimpse of a white shirt and blond hair out of the corner of her eye, but not much more than that.

She heard Adrien give a quiet sigh, then the sound of his umbrella opening as he walked forwards.

"I just wanted you to know…"

Her past self looked at Adrien.

What…?

Marinette would've frowned if she could. Chat sounded… surprised? Amazed? Maybe even a bit disbelieving.

"… that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear."

Marinette felt herself blink, her heart starting to race as Adrien looked back at her, trying to persuade her of his sincerity.

"I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of… new to me."

He looked back at her, giving her that soft, kind smile she'd grown to love so much.

Then he held out his umbrella, giving it to her.

She looked up and down, from his hand, to his face, smiling at her with those damnably gorgeous green eyes.

Slowly she reached her hand out, attempting to take the umbrella. It took her a moment, as the first time her fingers collided with his. But at last she grasped the umbrella.

Then it closed on her.

She heard Adrien burst out into laughter, and felt herself joining in a moment later.

"See you tomorrow."

Adrien turned and walked away.

That's… that's the guy you have a crush on?

Marinette couldn't quite place the tone of Chat's thought. He definitely didn't sound upset, or sad, which was kind of strange. He seemed almost breathless. Disbelieving, but… in a good way? Hopeful maybe?

Yeah…

Chat seemed almost confused. Why… why did you fall in love with him? He just apologized and handed you his umbrella…?

He still had that strange tone.

She tried to explain as best she could.

When I first met him, I jumped to conclusions. I accused him of putting gum on my chair, when he was actually trying to take it off. He tried to tell me he didn't do it, but I'd already made up my mind.

And then… and then he walked out here with me. He told me with such sincerity that he didn't do it, that I HAD to believe it. He trusted me enough to open up to me, telling me something private, showing a vulnerability I didn't know was there And then… and then he handed me his umbrella. To me, a girl he didn't know, a girl who'd written him off when he'd only tried to help me. He gave it to me and walked through the rain himself instead, because I had farther to go. His sincerity, his kindness… I couldn't help but to fall in love with him.

Chat was quiet for a moment.

…When we get out of here, can I show you who I am?

Chat, you KNOW our identities must remain secret…

Marinette, please?

Y-you know who I am? But no one said my name!

If I show you, it'll become clear why I know who you are.

…Fine. Come to my balcony after 9 pm. Then we'll talk.

Thank you.

The world whited out.

Ladybug came to. Rena was staring down at her, relieved. "Ladybug! You're up!"

Ladybug looked to her side, where Carapace was watching over Chat Noir. He started to stir as well.

Satisfied that he would be alright, she turned her attention to getting more info from Rena. "How long were we out? Is the akuma still on the loose?"

"You were only out for about five minutes. Carapace and I grabbed you and Chat as soon as you went down and took you here to hide in the hopes you'd recover. Most of the people who were hit earlier are awake by now, but Heartbreaker's put a bunch of new people to sleep in the meantime."

Ladybug stood up. "Then there's no time to waste. Chat, you ready?"

Chat stood up. "Always, milady."

As they walked out of the building, preparing to face Heartbreaker once more, Chat breathed in her ear, "Your place, 9 pm, right?"

So he DID remember.

She gave a small nod.

Hopefully she'd be able to concentrate well enough to finish this fight without getting hit.

She had a lot to think about.