A/N: Hi friends! This is something I started writing for fun, but it turned into something a lot longer. New parts will be updated every Sunday and as of right now I'm writing part 10 and we're not really close to ending, but we'll see how things go. Hope you all enjoy!

Aspik had turned back time using his power, second chance, what, ten - no, thirty times? He'd lost track. He'd been trying so hard to save Ladybug that these second chances had all conjoined and melted together. Was he doing this to prove how cool he was? Maybe to gain her approval or adoration? At this point it didn't matter why; he just didn't want to accept defeat and embarrass himself after showing such confidence. He'd keep doing this for months if he had to.

A few times he'd tried again to humor himself he'd do something dumb on purpose, then use second chance. Sure, it was an abuse of his powers - but then again, who would know? After several more humiliating defeats, he decided that this would be yet another one of those times.

Aspik went over the same dialogue with Ladybug - he practically had it all memorized by now. He said everything she did to him the first few times, plus that they'd been through this before. This time was very similar to some of the others. Ladybug hadn't been captured yet, but he didn't have much hope in his abilities at this point, so he took the chance to do something a little crazy.

"Ladybug, I'm actually also Chat Noir and I've been in love with you since–"

"Watch out!" Ladybug said, cutting him off. She darted to one side as he jumped to the other. A puff of smoke appeared between them. "We'll finish this conversation after we capture the akuma, now help me distract her," she said with a smile before bouncing off somewhere behind Desperada. The two jumped here and there, swiftly evading Desperada's shots.

Somehow this iteration was going well and he wanted to turn back time, but seeing her get captured each time hurt him so much. He whispered to himself "please let this be the time." Thoughts of how he was going to explain himself plagued his mind. Surely she was going to be upset that he abandoned her as her faithful partner Chat Noir only to become a slightly less reliable teammate who she kept tripping over herself around. He obviously made her uncomfortable; what was he doing? First Marinette couldn't seem to form a sentence properly and now Ladybug kept stumbling over her words around him? What were the chances?

Despite his confused and rambling state, he noticed his bracelet tick back to the locked position. His five minutes of safety were up. His heart skipped a beat - now it was the real deal. "I've got you now, snake boy." Desperada called out, readying her horn. Before it could shoot anything Ladybug pulled it away with her yo-yo, tossing it far from Desperada's reach.

"Nice distraction, Aspik!" Ladybug called out to him.

Aspik ran toward the horn, picking it up just in time and shooting it toward Desperada. He wasn't sure if it would work since he wasn't the akuma, but it was worth a shot. Heh heh, a shot, he thought, smirking and chuckling internally before sounding the horn. To Ladybug and his delight, it worked. He hit Desperada and she disappeared into a cloud of yellow smoke and the guitar case that hung from her back hitting the ground.

"Good work!" Ladybug picked up the guitar case and, in an impressive display of strength, broke it over her knee. "No more evil-doing for you! Bye bye, little butterfly." With a throw of her lucky charm everything returned to normal and Vivica sat on the ground before them. Peace had been restored.

Aspik, although in shock, managed a slight smile. Unbelievable, I finally did it. It worked this time, it actually worked!

"This is usually reserved for Chat Noir..." Ladybug began, but trailed off.

Aspik froze. Oh yeah, the confession. He told her he was in love with her, that he was Chat Noir. Oh no, ohhhh no. This wasn't going to end well. Surely she was going to lecture him, it wouldn't be the first time, she'd lectured him when he was Chat Noir plenty of times before, but this was different.

"Pound it?" Ladybug asked, holding up her fist.

Aspik brought up his own, hesitant, and touched it to hers. "Pound it." he replied nervously.

"You did fantastic today, Aspik," Ladybug acknowledged, smiling. "Thanks for all your help. It's too bad Chat Noir wasn't here, sure would have been a lot easier with him. Ugh." Ladybug huffed and continued to mutter about the missing cat.

Aspik blinked a few times. Did she forget? Was he safe? Oh thank god! As soon as a wave of relief washed over him, Ladybug stopped mumbling about the cat.. Silence settled over them for several seconds, long enough for both of their miraculouses to sound their second chime.

Ladybug looked up at Aspik with wide eyes. "That's right!"

Aspik's stomach plummeted and his body froze.

"Y- yes, Ladybug?" He yelped, knowing she may have remembered again, remembered that he was Chat Noir.

"You," Ladybug said, her voice low. A stern look fell over her face as she grabbed his wrist, whisking him away. She was silent as they flew through the air, then landed on a nearby roof safe from public eye. Aspik's heart thudded painfully in his chest.

She definitely remembered.