Ladybug sat in the corner of the small room, her fingers restlessly tapping the arms of her chair as she stared at Chat Noir's unconscious body. She brought her other hand to her mouth to bite her fingernails, only to realize that she couldn't because her hands were gloved. A frustrated sigh left her lips as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts.

Why oh why was she stuck with such a reckless, careless partner? She wished more than anything that she wouldn't have to worry about the idiot every single time they fought together. It wasn't good for her health.

Chat's chest moved peacefully under the white hospital blanket but the movement did nothing to soothe Ladybug's nerves. Something strange and unfamiliar scared her on a level she had never even known existed. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Chat had got injured during a fight. Physically injured, which was new to both of them. He got mind controlled often, yes. He had been erased from the timeline once, correct. But not once had either of them been knocked unconscious before. Ladybug hadn't even thought that it was possible. Clearly, she had been wrong.

Sure, it hurt a tiny bit when an akuma kicked you in the face, but the pain only lasted for a few seconds. They were superheroes after all, with superpowers and supersuits and super kwamis who protected them. They never got injured seriously, the small scratches healed almost immediately.

Not this time though. After shaking and shaking his body without getting any response, Ladybug had had to carry her partner to the hospital. The moment she had stepped inside the building the place had filled with reporters and curious Parisians. Luckily, the nurses had given them a private room where no one else was allowed.

That had been 20 minutes ago. And Chat still didn't show any signs of waking up. Ladybug felt like she was about to lose her damn mind. She would even listen to her partner's insanely lame puns if it meant that he would wake up and be alright.

"Please, be alright", she couldn't help but whisper.

Nothing but silence answered her.

The nurses and doctors had told her that, externally, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Chat Noir. They couldn't find any wounds or bruises or blood on his body that would even indicate that he'd been hurt, but Ladybug knew that this was serious. The doctors told her that they would wait for him to wake up and then examine him again. They had told her to wait.

And that was exactly what she was going to do. She would not leave this room until Chat woke up.

Although... the akuma was still running around free, creating chaos by attacking every single bakery and café it could find. One of the least scary villains Ladybug had met so far if she was completely honest. The akuma victim had apparently been furious that his favourite pastry had already been sold out before he could buy any, and Papillon had decided that yes, he was desperate enough to create a villain who wants to steal strawberry cheesecake from every single bakery in Paris, and name the villain 'Sweet Tooth'. The akuma's speciality was to throw sticky cake dough at people.

That was probably the lamest part. The akuma was so terrible at its job that it had not even once tried to take their Miraculous and still... The memory of Chat getting punched by the dough, flailing for a second and then hitting the back of his head on the ground with an audible crack made a shiver run through Ladybug. As pathetic as it had looked, the sound had been gut-wrenching. She could still hear it echoing in her ears.

But honestly. What kind of superhero got knocked out because chocolate filled dough hit their face? The fantastic Chat Noir, evidently.

Oh well. As long as the akuma didn't touch her home and her parents' bakery she would remain here until Chat Noir woke up. Then they'd kick the villain's ass.

Chat... was going to wake up soon, wasn't he?

As if on cue, Ladybug heard movement – the quiet rustle of the bed sheets. Her eyes snapped back to the sleeping boy, who wasn't asleep anymore. Gasping, she jumped up, instantly rushing to his side. She took his hand – why was it so cold? – panic and relief shining in her eyes.

"Chat? Can you hear me?"

His eyes were only half open, and for a moment Ladybug was sure that he was just going to fall back asleep. But then nervous blue met hazy green, and a small, sleepy, adorable smile spread across the boy's lips. Ladybug's heart fluttered when another trickle of relief went through her body.

Yep, Chat was going to be fine.

Opening his mouth slowly, Chat Noir mumbled something. Ladybug's ears just couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Hey, it's okay, take it easy", she quickly reassured him and squeezed his hand.

Chat's unfocused eyes wandered around the room slowly. He looked like he understood nothing that was going on. He probably had no idea where he was or why he was there.

"Mm... Ma–"

"Don't speak", Ladybug said, shaking her head with a gentle smile on her lips. "Take your time. It's going to be alright."

Blinking sleepily, Chat sighed at her soothing words and stopped murmuring. Then he closed his eyes. In seconds, he was asleep again.

Ladybug's yoyo beeped. A new update on the Ladyblog.

The akuma was heading towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Ladybug cursed under her breath. For a long moment, her eyes moved back and forth between the closed door and her partner. In the end, she huffed.

"Sorry, Chat", she said as she stood up, "but I have to go. I'll be back soon though, so don't worry."

Slow, deep breaths were his answer. Ladybug showed her partner a quick, sad smile and left.

On her way out, she told the nurses to let Alya Césaire in and ask her to wait outside Chat's room. The girl who ran the Ladyblog would surely be the first one to let her readers – and Ladybug, too – know if Chat Noir woke up before the heroine could get back.

.-.-.

"Ahh, Tikki, I'm exhausted!" Marinette whined as she fell face down on her bed.

Tikki just nibbled her cookie happily. "But didn't you say that this was one of the weakest villains so far? You managed to defeat it even without Chat Noir's help. Good job, Marinette!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

"It's because of Chat", Marinette confessed, mumbling quietly against her pillow. "I'm worried. Did anything like this ever happen to any of the past Chat Noirs?"

Tikki tapped her chin, thoughtful, and a few chocolate chips fell to the floor. "Hmm, can't remember. But if something like this did happen before and I've already forgotten about it, it must mean that it was nothing too serious. I'm sure your Chat Noir will be alright, too."

Tikki calling him her Chat Noir almost made Marinette's cheeks turn pink, but she fought the feeling. Instead, she shook her head lightly and smiled at her tiny friend.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're right."

Tikki smiled back, waving her cookie – or what was left of it anymore. "I'm almost done and then we can go straight back to the hospital."

"Sounds good."

While waiting for her kwami, Marinette opened the Ladyblog. The latest update was from 7 minutes ago, informing the citizens that the danger was over, Ladybug had single-handedly taken care of Sweet Tooth. 20 minutes ago Alya had uploaded a shaky video of the hospital's empty waiting room where she explains, overly excited, that Ladybug had trusted her enough to let her keep an eye on the injured cat.

Marinette sighed. So, Chat still had not woken up.

"Alright!" Tikki exclaimed then, flying around the room. "I'm good to go!"

Nodding, Marinette opened her mouth, but before she could say the magic words, her phone started ringing. The girl quickly raised her index finger, telling Tikki to wait a minute. The caller was Alya.

Marinette frowned with momentary confusion before answering. "Hello? Alya?"

"MARINETTE, HOLY SHIT, GET YOUR ASS HERE IMMEDIATELY!"

A startled shriek left Marinette's lips. Holding the phone away from her ear to save her hearing, she briefly met Tikki's worried gaze. Marinette shrugged. She wasn't too surprised, this was Alya after all.

"Marinette? Hey? Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah, are you trying to make me deaf?" she finally asked, annoyed as she rubbed her damaged ear. "What's wrong? Aren't you at the hospital with, ah, Chat Noir?"

"Oh, so you watched the video? Good. Yes, I am, and you need to come here, too. Right now."

Marinette frowned again. "Why?"

"It's about Chat Noir."

Her heart immediately missed a beat. A very important beat, she thought, because suddenly there was a sharp pain in her chest and her throat felt uncomfortably dry. Her worry grew.

"Is..." She took a moment to gulp. "Is he okay?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think so." Marinette could hear both confusion and excitement in her friend's voice, which in return confused her. "He's awake..."

Marinette couldn't help but exhale loudly, endlessly relieved.

"...and has been asking for you."

Marinette's breath caught painfully in her already dry throat. She was quite sure that this time her heart skipped so many beats it was going to be damaged permanently. The short silence seemed to last for hours as Alya waited for her reply.

What what what? Surely she had heard wrong?

"For... For me?" Her voice was small. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes. Apparently, he's pretty out of it, doesn't remember what happened or how he got here. I heard the nurses wondering who this 'Marinette' might be that he keeps asking to see. I told them that I know you and they asked me to call you."

What the hell was going on...

"U-um, shouldn't we first let Ladybug know about this or something?" Marinette tried, her thoughts a mess. "Because I don't understand. Why would Chat Noir want to see me?"

"I was hoping you would tell me that."

"Bu-but what if it's not me? What if he's talking about someone else who is also named Marinette?"

A deep sigh came from the other end of the phone. "I don't think so. Besides, didn't you tell me that you helped him once? When Nathanaël got akumatized? And he has saved you plenty of times, you two are practically friends!"

"But –"

"No buts. I'll post an update on the Ladyblog so that Ladybug can know he's awake. I'm actually surprised she's not back yet..."

"Ye-yeah, but –"

"Marinette, listen. Chat Noir, theChat Noir, the hero of Paris is asking to see you. You have tocome here immediately."

"I know, but..." she started again but only ended up biting her lip when she realized that she didn't even know what to say. She couldn't say that there were alarm bells going off inside her head. She couldn't tell Alya that if she was there then Ladybug wouldn't show up. Even the thought of Chat somehow knowing her identity crossed her mind, making nervous goosebumps prickle across her back.

A quiet snort escaped her. What was she thinking? As if. There was no way Chat could have figured out who she was when she herself had no idea whatsoever who Chat could be. There was nothing to worry.

But, warned the small voice in her head. Why else would he want her there?

Marinette shook her head lightly, getting rid of the voice. She turned to look at Tikki and they both nodded.

"Okay, you win", Marinette told Alya. "I'll be there in about 10 minutes."

"Good. Oh, and Marinette?" Alya stopped her right when she was about to hang up. She could almost see how her friend raised an eyebrow. "You do know how suspicious this looks like, right? I want to know everything."

Shaking her head again, Marinette sighed. "I promise you that I have no clue what's going on."

.-.-.

Marinette ran. Of course she did. She ran as fast as her legs let her, the sound of her worried steps echoing through the hospital as she rapidly headed down the hallway towards Chat's room. Alya was there waiting for her with one of the nurses Marinette had already met once today as Ladybug.

"Wow, you were quicker than I thought you'd be", Alya praised, genuinely surprised. "You got here in less than ten minutes. This must be a miracle."

Panting and tired, Marinette resisted the urge to glare at her friend. She turned to the nurse, completely ignoring Alya's remark. The woman before her looked tense and troubled, and it made something immediately twist in the pit of Marinette's stomach, sweat almost trickling down her face.

"You're Marinette, correct?"

"I am."

The nurse nodded, silently giving her the permission to enter Chat's room. "Let's hope that Ladybug shows up soon. We... we don't really know what to do with him. We need to make sure everything is okay, but he won't let us even touch him until he has seen you. It would be greatly appreciated if you could convince him to let us help."

Marinette could only laugh nervously. She promised to do her best, silently grateful that the nurse didn't ask her any questions.

Her whole body was stiff when she knocked on the door, afraid of the chaos she might see inside. Alya immediately took out her phone, ready to film. The nurse stopped her before she could follow her friend into the private room.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you have to wait here."

Alya pouted, crossing her arms across her chest and looking like a little child who was throwing a tantrum. Her curiosity was almost killing her. Marinette was her best friend, which automatically meant that she had the right to go in, too, right?

Alya waited for the nurse to disappear out of sight before leaning against the door, wishing she had super ears. No use. It was like the room was sound proof.

Alya huffed loudly. This didn't mean that she was going to give up, oh no. Once Marinette had had her chat with the superhero, she was going to drown her in questions.

.-.-.

At first glance it looked like Chat had once again fallen asleep; his eyes were shut, breathing steady. But the moment Marinette closed the door as softly as she could, his cat ears twitched and his eyes opened. Their gazes met. His green wasn't hazy anymore.

Marinette didn't like the way her heart stilled for a second. She wished she could have transformed before coming here but even so, it was good to see him awake.

"Hi", she greeted cautiously, voice quiet. She didn't really know what to expect.

A long sigh fell from her partner's visibly chapped lips. Chat sat up, waved his hand and offered her a warm smile, looking like nothing was out of the ordinary. The relieved look on his face was confusing to her to say the least. Of course she was happy to know that he was okay, but...

"It's so good to see you", he said, sighing again.

Slowly, she walked forward, her blue eyes guarded. "Um, you said you wanted to see me?"

He simply nodded, that dumb smile still lingering on his face.

Marinette bit her lip. "Okay, uh. Why exactly did you want to see me? I'm... um, Marinette?" She didn't know why the last words came out as a question.

It was Chat's turn to look confused. He eyed her for a moment, frowning. Finally, his eyes widened when he seemed to realize what the problem was.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that." He really did look apologetic, head bowing a little, cheeks turning slightly pink under the mask. "I know I should have been more careful, but I panicked when I woke up here alone! It probably seemed pretty weird to others that I asked to see you."

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, you think? Alya is waiting for me outside, hoping that I'll spill all your secrets once we're done."

Chat let out a soft chuckle. It was raspy, still heavy with sleep. Also, the fact that he had hit the back of his head pretty hard might have had something to do with his hoarse voice. Maybe he was still so out of it that that was why he had asked to see Marinette.

Pausing for a moment, the girl thought about what Chat had just said. 'Should have been more careful'? Huh?

She waited for him to continue, to explain why he wanted her there. Chat said nothing. He just leaned back, closed his eyes and hummed softly, like he had just wanted to be in her presence, like that was enough. Marinette frowned harder.

After a few minutes of really strange silence (because when did Chat ever keep his mouth shut this long?), Marinette felt like she should leave, her whole body almost itching to transform into Ladybug so that she could talk to Chat Noir properly. She couldn't help but feel uneasy just standing there, looking at the small smile on her partner's lips. It was quite obvious that he didn't really need her there for anything.

So, she decided to open her mouth. "Well, uh, what did the doctors tell you?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Chat shrugged. "I appear to have lost some of my recent memories, like memories of today's fight, but otherwise I'm completely healthy. The doctors are pretty sure that my amnesia is only temporary so no worries!"

Opening his eyes for a second, he winked at her and flashed a charming smile. Marinette was just so, so baffled. Out of all people, why was Chat telling her all of these things? They had talked, what, four times in total? Why wasn't he more worried about Ladybug not being there?

"The nurse wanted me to tell you that they're still going to need to run some tests, just to make sure. You really should cooperate."

A fond smile appeared on Chat's face. "Okay", he agreed instantly, surprising Marinette. "If that's what you want."

Then he shut his eyes again, which was good because that way he couldn't see the look that formed on her face. He didn't see how her mouth opened slightly on its own or how her eyes grew bigger or how her cheeks flushed. Her stomach did another flip again, but it was different this time. She liked this feeling even less, this feeling that made her heart involuntarily skip a beat and the skin around her face turn pink.

She needed to get out. It was too much to see Chat smile so affectionately at her civilian self.

"A-anyway!" she blurted out all of a sudden rather awkwardly, slapping herself mentally. "I-I really don't mean to sound rude but should I, um, go?"

Chat only opened one eye to look at her. "No?"

A frustrated sigh wanted desperately to escape her lips, but she forced herself to swallow it down. "But don't you need more rest? And besides, I would hate to be here when Ladybug arrives and ruin your, uhhh, partner moment?"

Silence followed her words.

Tilting his head to one side, Chat looked at her funnily. An amused grin was almost creeping over his mouth. Marinette couldn't stop her muscles from tensing, instincts telling her to leave.

She had to get out. Now. She had to.

"I really need to go. Right now", she squeaked, voice way too high-pitched to sound normal, to sound like she wasn't panicking. "I have... things I need to do, yes, lots of important stuff waiting for me. Mhm."

The superhero didn't look too pleased with the idea. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes, very", Marinette nodded her head vigorously, already turning towards the door. "You know me, I'm aaalways busy. I mean, not that you actually know what I do all day long, but I can guarantee you that whatever it is, I'm always in a hurry. Always. Like right now. So!"

Chat could sense that she was acting strange, she knew that. Still, he decided to ignore it, like he had witnessed her awkwardness many, many times before.

Marinette's eager fingers touched the door handle, more than ready to get away from Chat's tender smiles and warm voice. Somehow her brain registered that behind her, Chat was chuckling.

He can't know, he can't possibly know it's me, he can't –

"Okay, Buginette. See ya."

Marinette froze so suddenly that it physically hurt.

She couldn't breathe, her lungs just stopped working. It was like Chat had punched her in the gut with that nickname. As her blood ran cold, the only thing she could do was listen to the chaotic beat of her heart. Marinette tried to calm it by inhaling and exhaling slowly. It didn't work.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

Marinette was too scared to turn around and face him, but she had to say something. "What did you call me?" she managed eventually, her voice weak. Suddenly she felt so tired.

"Uh, 'Buginette'?"

So, she had not heard wrong.

Finally, channeling her inner Ladybug, Marinette had no choice but to turn around and face the problem head on. "What. Did you. Call me?" she asked again through gritted teeth.

The boy's brows furrowed slightly with concern. "Buginette", he repeated, "is everything alright?"

No, everything was not alright.

"Why would you call me that?"

"Wha-what do you mean?"

How on earth could he be so calm? Before Marinette had time to scream, scream so loud she would surely have disturbed every patient in the building, Chat squinted at her. He pointed at her left hand, pouting a little.

"Hey, where's your ring?"

Mouth hanging open, Marinette decided to save her screaming for later, too confused by the strange question. "What are you talking about? What ring?" she cried. "You're the one who is wearing a ring!"

A deep frown took over his face, gloved fingers unconsciously gripping the sheets so tightly his knuckles must have turned white. Chat's eyes suddenly started avoiding her horrified expression. Marinette could tell that he was slowly getting nervous, too.

"Your... engagement ring?" he clarified, clearing his throat. He almost sounded unsure. "The one that I bought for you?"

Before she was able to stop it, a strange, panicked laugh escaped Marinette's malfunctioning lungs. Oh boy, could this get any better? And by better she meant worse.

"An engagement ring!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Are you joking? I only just turned 20! Why would I be engaged?"

Chat looked hurt, her words clearly stinging deep. He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but no sounds came out. His eyes snapped to his own ring finger. Chat stared and stared at his left hand, the light in his eyes quickly fading. It felt like the longest 30 seconds of Marinette's life.

Then, something like recognition crossed Chat's face. His breathing picked up. Something inside him was cracking, Marinette could feel it. Her own heart ached, too.

"Wh-where is it?" Chat mumbled to himself, alarmed, the small amount of hope he had had left slowly dying. His hands flew to the pockets of his suit but he found nothing. "I always tell Plagg not to keep the ring hidden, I... I never take it off, it should be here!"

With wide eyes he looked around the room, apparently trying to spot his 'ring' somewhere, until meeting her eyes again. It felt like a staring contest. Green eyes bored into her soul, searching for something on her face.

Nervous seconds went by. Finally, Chat's fake ears drooped, his big eyes widening even more. It seemed like he had not found whatever he had been looking for.

He nearly choked as he asked, "Do you really... not know who I am?"

A brutal realization. Just like that, Chat's soft smiles and hums were replaced with this scared, miserable expression. Marinette's heart screamed when she saw her partner like this. He was devastated, that much she could tell, and she wanted to comfort him, she really did, but...

The tension settled over them, thick and suffocating. Marinette couldn't do it anymore, couldn't stand to look at the hurt in his eyes. She turned to stare at the floor.

"Of course I don't who you really are, that is how it's supposed to be", she mumbled. "How long have you known it was me anyway? How did you even find out?"

"How long have I...? Marinette, what are talking about? A-are you sure I'm the one who lost their memory?" he asked, trying to mask his panic with a joke, his tongue clearly thicker than it was a moment ago. His eyes, unfocused and burning with unshed tears, moved to stare down at his own hands, which were shaking. It looked like he wasn't able to control his own limbs.

A broken sob suddenly echoed through the room. It was the sound of a person whose whole world was crumbling right before their eyes.

In that instant Marinette knew that this was something bigger, something more serious than Chat just knowing her identity and joking around like the clown he sometimes was. He was serious about this. It wasn't a joke when he said he thought they were engaged.

A cold shiver ran through her, but she wasn't exactly sure why. All she knew was that Chat's amnesia was so, so much worse than any of the doctors had thought. His brain had made up a bunch of false memories, strong false memories. Or was this just the akuma's doing?

Marinette grimaced in her mind. Yeah right. There was no way Sweet Tooth the Pastry Thief was capable of this. Besides, even if it was, everything should have gone back to normal after Ladybug defeated the villain.

Inhaling deeply, Marinette collected her disorganized thoughts, reminding herself that she was the hero of Paris and her favourite person had just suffered a bad head injury. This was still Chat, her goofy, insufferable but loyal partner in crime.

She crossed the room to him, hesitated only for a second and then took his hand in hers. His breathing was strangely shallow, but she knew now was not the time to alert the nurses. While waiting for Chat to calm down, she drew gentle circles with her thumb against his leather glove. It seemed to work, at least a little, because soon Chat's breathing evened out.

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked as softly as she could when he leaned back, trying his best to relax.

Chat didn't say anything for a moment, just bit his bottom lip. Refusing to look at her, he shook his head slightly. "Don't want to say."

"Tell me, please? I want to help, but right now I'm just as lost as you are."

Chat bit his lip harder, but gave up soon. Shoulders slumping, he sighed. Marinette barely heard him when he whispered, "The last thing I remember... is waking up this morning, next to you."

Blinking, Marinette jerked back in surprise, but didn't let go of his hand. Her mind was empty for a minute. Okay, that definitely wasn't what she had expected to hear.

Her partner scoffed at her reaction, but the noise was not malicious, mostly just tired. "Told you I shouldn't say it out loud."

"So-so you mean you really don't remember anything that happened during the fight today?" she asked next, trying to keep herself as cool as possible.

"No, I don't." He shook his head again. "What happened?"

"Well..." Marinette started but faltered, wondering where she should start. "Okay, so, today's akuma was a –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chat cut her off immediately, eyes once again going wide. "Did you just say akuma?"

In response, she wrinkled her nose a little bit, annoyed that she had been interrupted. "Yes, obviously. Now, you and I were –"

"Bu-but we have not dealt with those in years!" Chat cried out, cutting her off again. "What is happening here? I feel like I've woken up to a completely different world!"

This time his words made her freeze. She was absolutely clueless how to handle or fix this situation. Just how many false new memories had the injury created?

"Wha–"

There was a knock at the door, the sound interrupting Marinette for the third time. Chat squeezed her fingers a bit tighter, pursing his lips together, eyes moving to look behind her. She did the same, her nervous eyes turning to look at the door as it opened.

The nurse she had talked to earlier walked in, clearly hesitant. The woman looked briefly at their intertwined hands before showing them a small smile. "Excuse me, miss, but we would like to speak with Chat Noir. It's private, I'm afraid."

"No, no, it's fine", Marinette replied and got up from the bed, already preparing herself for Alya's questions. "Um, any word from Ladybug?"

The nurse shook her head, which Marinette already knew she would. But before she could even take a step towards the open door, Chat desperately tugged at the hem of her shirt. She looked down and only now realized that his other hand was still holding hers. Chat's eyes, fearful and worried, begged her not to leave, begged her not to leave him alone in a world where he felt like he didn't belong.

"I'm sorry", she mouthed and watched how tiny tears gathered in his eyes. The look in his eyes made her feel like she was trying to crush his heart. "You should wait for Ladybug."

She yanked herself free and left, not allowing herself to look back because if she had, she knew she would have stayed. They needed Ladybug more than they needed Marinette.

.-.-.

Chat was released from the hospital with a warning to take it easy. Somehow Marinette knew that nothing was going to be easy for them for a while.