It had been an act, shoving himself away from her.

The miraculous cure cured everything, including what the akumas did to them. Except for this time. He remembered everything vividly. He knew full well why he was cuddled up to his bug. But Alya had her phone, meaning the whole world was there watching as witness. So, he did what had to be done and lied to the entire fricking world that he'd forgotten his partner's identity and had no memory of that kiss.

But that lie had haunted him for a full 31 days now.

He hated lying. He really did. Knowing that he was lying to his partner every day from when they walked past each other in the halls to when they patrolled the city was growing too big a burden to shoulder. He couldn't do that to her. Even though at the time he had forgotten everything, that kiss was real as could be. He still meant it. He loved Ladybug. And Ladybug… was Marinette.

Therefore, by default, he loved Marinette.

It wasn't hard to reconcile in his mind. Marinette was an incredible girl in her own right. Knowing she was the one that dawned the mask only made her more perfect. Somehow, fusing the two women together was shockingly easy.

But that made it harder for him to face her.

"I can't keep doing this."

"Can't keep doing what?" Plagg asked around a mouthful of cheese.

"Plagg, claws out."

He felt Chat Noir's suit wash over his body, but he couldn't move for a good moment. He had to do this. He had to. This was his lady, his princess, the love of his life. He couldn't not be honest with her. Not when the kiss ran vividly through his mind, replaying over and over again in his dreams; not when he could feel the ghost of her hand in his, squeezing him and making him look down at it a couple times a day.

She was haunting him unlike ever before.

"So this is what it's like," Adrien mumbled to himself. "To truly be in love."

It hadn't been an act, her pulling away from him.

When her memories came rushing back, she felt like she'd been doused with ice water. Her reaction was real. As was her reaction to the picture, but it wasn't because she was upset over the kiss.

It was because she was furious that Alya not only captured that moment with a picture, but she posted it online.

That was a moment for her and Chat alone. That was as raw as it could be, and how dare Alya jeopardize them by posting that photo online. Hawkmoth now knew where her heart lied. He now had the ability to hurt her more than ever before.

"Damn it."

Tikki was wisely staying away from her wielder. Marinette was in no mood to talk. If she were honest, she wasn't in much of a mood to do anything but cry and mourn the fact that her beloved Adrien was now her exposed weakness.

Somewhere in her mind, she realized that she had been exposed as Chat's weakness, too, but to her, that wasn't quite as bad. After all, she wasn't constantly throwing herself in harm's way without a care about herself. No, that was Chat's doing, being her shield as he was. A task she never asked of him, yet a role he willingly played.

And now Hawkmoth knew her heart rested at the center of her shield, making it the perfect target for him to hit.

A knock from her skylight broke through her thoughts, and her heart clenched painfully at the realization of just who it was. It couldn't be any other person.

She opened the trap door to reveal a very nervous Chat. A nervous Chat was never a good thing.

"I can't lie to you anymore," he began.

Her heart broke. "You remember everything, don't you?"

He locked eyes with her, and she knew him well enough to know the answer held within that green gaze.

She sighed. "Come in… Adrien."

She moved back just enough for Chat to slip into her room and shut the trap door behind him. From there, he sat before her on the bed, his ears lying flat back in shame and his eyes downcast. She didn't have the energy to move meaning that their talk would take place here.

Chat reached forward to grab her hands, pulling them out of her lap and squeezing them tight.

Marinette looked at her hands engulfed by ones covered in black leather and felt a flood of memories rush back. "Let me hold your hands," she said, giving his hands a squeeze. "Let me feel you without the suit."

He gave her a bittersweet smile. "Plagg, claws in."

In a flash of green light that left her tingly, Marinette looked down to see a pair of tan hands holding hers. He began rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles, and Marinette relished the feeling.

"We shouldn't know," she said. "The Miraculous Ladybug should have taken all those memories away."

Adrien shrugged. "Well, it didn't," he responded quietly. "And now I know who my lady is."

She finally looked up to meet his eyes. Eyes she knew so well. Eyes that knew her so well.

Soon enough, her eyes began filling with tears.

"Hey, hey." His hands let go of hers so as to cradle her cheeks. "Why the tears, bugaboo? Are you mad at me? That I came? I'm sorry for lying to you this long. I should have, but I was terrified to tell you the truth. I just… you always said you wanted our identities to stay secret and that's ruined now and I'm sorry."

Marinette bit her lip, trying to formulate her words. "Why are you sorry?" she asked, tears choking her up a bit. "You did nothing."

"I lied to you," he countered shamefully.

"How so?"

"Thirty-one days."

"Thirty-one days?"

"That's how long I've known you're my lady, Marinette," he said, swiping gingerly under her eyes to wipe the tears away. "And I never came forward and told you I knew."

"I knew, too," she countered. "I knew who you were, and I lied day in and day out to you."

Adrien smiled, but it was fake.

"I was so hard," she said, wrapping her hands around his wrists and leaning into his touch. "To look at you in class and face you in school and know you were my kitty and pretend I didn't know a thing."

"I know," he said. "I felt the same way. It was so hard not to stare at you, knowing who you were. I'm surprised I held my tongue this long when all I wanted to do was confess to you properly."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Confess?"

His eyes fell closed, and when he opened them, he released her cheeks to grab her hands again. "Marinette." Slowly, he pulled her hands closer to his lips. "I have to confess this. Selfishly, I have to let you know that kiss meant the world to me."

Her cheeks turned crimson, and she found she'd lost her ability to say anything.

But it seemed he didn't need her to speak at all. Instead, he pressed his lips to her knuckles, sending her heart pounding pounding pounding in her chest. Her breath was coming in heavy pants, and she couldn't stop it. She was enraptured by him: her Adrien, her Chat , her love, her partner.

Hers.

Slowly, he lowered his hands, hers falling with it. "With you, bugaboo, my heart is on my sleeve," he said, locking eyes with her again. "I love you. I do. I love your spunk and creativity and leadership skills and how amazingly powerful you are." His expression shifted to a pleading one. "So, I'm here to confess all this and beg for you to be my girlfriend."

The tears poured out before she could stop them. "I…" she paused, struggling for words. "I…"

Slowly, his expression fell.

"I want to," she said with a cringe, "But I… we can't."

The look on his face was one of shock, reminiscent to if she had slapped him. She honestly felt like she just had. "Trust me," she said, squeezing his hands tightly. "I want nothing more than that."

"Bug…"

She couldn't take it anymore. In one swift motion, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and shoving her face into his chest before the tears began. "You're my Adrien," she cried. "You're my Chat. My partner. My kitty. I can't—my everything. I can't lose you. I can't. And and and the world knows now that we're a thing because Alya—dammit—put up that picture of that kiss and—"

His arms pulled her close as a rumble started up in his chest. He was purring. How, she didn't know, but the vibrations that shot through her were the most oddly comforting thing. They rattled her lungs and heart, yet, they calmed her. Slowly, in his tight embrace, her tears stopped falling and her breathing evened out.

And that's when she chirped.

It was an odd little sound, and if she weren't so exhausted and hurt, she might be embarrassed of it. As it were, she felt the urge to do it again. So she pressed her face against Adrien's neck and sent the sound out against a pulse point.

She felt him jump, but his arms immediately got tighter and that purr revved a little louder.

"Mine," he said on a rumble.

"Mine," she whispered with a chirp. "I want you as mine."

"I am yours," he stated. "I am and I will be for as long as you let me be."

"But we can't."

"Why?" he challenged, squeezing her tighter. "Why not?"

"Hawkmoth," she said. "What if… what if he takes you away from me?"

His purring stopped, much to her disappointment.

"Because he always gets you first," she continued. "You always get hit first. You're my shield."

"Don't guilt-trip me," he warned. "I will protect you at any cost; you know that."

"So does Hawkmoth."

Adrien's expression fell.

"And now…" Marinette leaned up so she could take Adrien's cheeks in her hands. "Now, he knows that my heart's on my shield and if he destroys that, he wins."

"Marinette."

Her heart pounded painfully at the way he said her name. Reverently. Preciously. Adoringly.

If his feelings poured out in a single word affected her this much, then she was doomed.

"We can't do this."

All hope melted from Adrien's face. He grabbed one of her wrists, holding it there so he could turn and press a kiss to her palm. "I understand," he whispered, sending shivers through her. When he looked back at her, she saw a fire in those green eyes and knew instantly she was in trouble. "I understand that that means Ladybug and Chat Noir can't be together. As far as the world knows, they don't remember anything that happened during Oblivio, and they don't remember their own kiss."

Marinette nodded. "It has to be that way. I can't… I can't lose you."

His eyes widened, and his smile soon grew. "I can't lose you either, bug," he said. "But we're in the same boat: Hawkmoth knows our weaknesses and unfortunately, it's each other."

Marinette grimaced.

"So I understand that Ladybug and Chat Noir need to prove to the public they aren't together. That things never changed between them. But… but what about Marinette and Adrien?"

"What about Marinette and Adrien?"

"What do they get to do? Hawkmoth doesn't know Chat Noir is Adrien or Ladybug is Marinette, nor does the world. So, does that mean Adrien is free to ask Marinette to be his girlfriend?"

Words lodged in her throat. She croaked out half a sound before her mouth closed.

His expression turned pleading. "Bugaboo," he whispered.

"You can't call me that," she quietly chastised. "Not like that."

"Like what?"

"Reverently," she said. "Like you love me."

His smile turned sweet. "Princess…"

She was not ready for how hard that word hit her. Or how that word could be an answer, a declaration, and a chastisement all at once. "Stop that," she whispered, no real weight behind her words.

His smile widened, as he pulled her against his chest once again. She gave in with no resistance. Tenderly, he placed a kiss on top of her head, letting it linger for a long time.

She whined.

He chuckled. "I've always been in love with you," he said. "And I always will be. Apparently, even if I lose my memory, I'll still chose you."

Her heart was swollen with emotion, and it was going to burst if she didn't let some out. "And it seems I'll chose you, too. You… you've always meant so much to me, as both Chat and Adrien. I… I don't want to give you up."

Adrien began his purr again. "So," he said, "Does that mean Adrien can pursue Marinette?"

She had to be rational. She had to be. Too bad being rational was made really difficult when she was turned to putty by her partner's purr. "Dang it, kitty," she grumbled. "You never make this easy."

A smile crossed his face. "Well, you're worth causing trouble."

She knew she was fighting a losing battle. She wasn't even sure she wanted to be fighting in the first place. "Fine," she relented. "But we can't start dating right away. We have to make it look realistic. Not like we just fell into each other's arms."

"But we did."

Marinette felt her face flare red. "But the world doesn't have to know that."

"Fair enough," he relented. "But just so you know, Adrien Agreste is going to start chasing headlong after Marinette Dupain-Cheng immediately."

"Is that a promise or a warning?"

"Both."

She sighed, though she couldn't keep the grin off her face. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me forever?"

With a chuckle, she squeezed him tighter, letting off a clicking sound. "I think I can manage that."