Amnesia [MARICHAT]

27

   Marinette practically ran home from school, Chat watching from the rooftops, and when she got inside the bakery, let out a screech.

   Everyone inside swiveled their heads to look at her.

   Blushing, Marinette mumbled an apology and thundered up the stairs and into the apartment, where she proceeded to her room. She opened her purse to let her kwami out.

   "Tikki! What do I do? I can't get Ladybug and Marinette in the same room!"

   The little red bug flew out and clasped Marinette's cheeks with her tiny fins. "Calm. Down. We'll figure something out, Marinette. We always do."

   Tikki was right. She needed to breathe, and think of a way to fix the unfortunate situation she was in.

   Chat wanted to speak to Ladybug. In Marinette's bedroom. Ladybug was supposed to be watching Marinette. Marinette was supposed to be there. 

   Ladybug and Marinette were the same person.

   Oh, jeez. This was a disaster. 

   "We need a plan," Marinette said.

   "Yes," replied Tikki. "Good start."

   "Maybe...maybe I could pretend to be in the bathroom!"

   "Yes! But... how would you get inside the bathroom after you leave as Ladybug?" 

   "Oh, good point. There's no window in there." 

   Tikki opened her mouth to say something else when Marinette's mother called her name through the trapdoor to the rest of the apartment. "Marinette! Would you come down here please?" 

    "Yes, mama!" Marinette answered.

   Marinette gave her kwami an exasperated look before she ran downstairs into the kitchen where she met her mother, fussing over some paperwork. "Honey, I'm afraid your father and I are going to need some help in the bakery today."

   Marinette practically deflated. "Um...for how long?" She asked.

   "We'll see. We're thinking only an hour or so right now, until the afternoon rush is over."

   Oh no. "I, uh, I have lots of homework to do, and -"

   "Oh, hush." Her mother said. "You'll have plenty of time for that later. Quickly, go get your apron and meet me downstairs."

   Sabine disappeared down the stairs into the bakery and Marinette groaned. "What am I going to do?"

//

   An hour later, Marinette was forced to pretend that she was sick. She felt bad for lying to her parents, but she had to get back upstairs and transform before Chat got there - and she still had no idea what she was going to do.

   She rushed up the steps into her bedroom and burst through the trapdoor. Tikki was already there. "Hurry, Marinette!"

   Quickly locking the trapdoor just in case, she called her transformation and Tikki vanished into her earrings after a quick "good luck." 

   She checked her yoyo and found that there weren't any missed calls, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

   Sometimes, Chat was a little late, but he had told her that he may be longer than an hour. The other day, he had been gone three hours - but he had checked with Ladybug via call before to make sure she could stay that late.

   Every time Chat Noir returned, he looked so exhausted. She couldn't tell if there were bags under his eyes because of his mask, but the way he moved...the way he spoke told her that whatever he had been doing when he was away was a lot of work. In addition to that, he was always awake. Honestly, Marinette hadn't seen him sleep. 

   But he had to sleep sometime, right? 

   She was worried about him. 

   She checked her yoyo again. He usually called when he was on his way back, but only so Ladybug could leave. If he expected her to be there when he arrived...then, well, he probably wouldn't call.

   She felt herself panic. She tugged at her hair. Pacing back and forth across her room, she said, "Get it together, Marinette."

   She decided it was better if she waited on the balcony. Then she would be able to see him coming and he could assume that Marinette was inside.

   But how would she get back inside?

   This was an absolute disaster. 

   She lifted herself onto her balcony, closing the trapdoor behind her. She scanned Paris, looking for a black cat, and -

   There!

   Oh no, oh no, she didn't know what to do, and he was going to find out -

   Her plan came so fast that she didn't have a moment to spare in thinking it over. She jumped, throwing her yoyo and flying towards her partner. "Chat," she shouted. "Chat!" 

   He slowed to a stop on a roof of an apartment. She landed before him, looking frantic. "I think I saw the akuma!"

   She pointed behind him, and he whirled around. "Where?" he asked. "What did it look like?"

   "I'm not sure, but I saw something and it didn't look natural."

   She took off in the direction she had pointed in. "Let's spread out! Call me if you catch it!"

   She swung between buildings, Chat vaulting across rooftops, veering away from her.

   Good.

   Waving to civilians that shouted her name, Ladybug swung back towards her home as fast as she could. When she landed on her balcony, she opened her yoyo and called Chat Noir. He answered immediately. She couldn't see where he was. "Did you find it? Where are you?"

   "Sorry," she winced, turning the screen away from her house. "It was a false alarm."

   He gave a grim smile. "Alright."

   Before he could say anything about meeting her, she smiled and said, "Okay, bye," and hung up. By the time he made it back there, she would be Marinette, and Ladybug would be gone. Sighing heavily, she opened her trapdoor and fell onto her bed. She released her transformation.

   "That was so close," she groaned, rubbing her eyes.

   "Closer than you think," came an angry male voice.

   Chat Noir stood in her bedroom, arms crossed, glaring up at her. 

   And as she sat there, realizing that her Chat Noir knew what she had been trying so desperately to hide, Marinette Dupain-Cheng could only think one thing.

   Would he still care for her after learning that she had lied to him for so long? 

Part Three is finished,

but stay for more,

because the finale is coming,

and its name is Part Four.

E N D  O F  P A R T  T H R E E