Forgotten

11

Out of pure shock, Chat Noir immediately pushed her back. "What are you doing?" he asked incredulously.

She blinked at him. "I'm kissing you."

"Well, yeah. I figured as much. But I mean, why?"

"Because we're together."

He shook his head slowly. "But you're in love with someone else. And now you remember him. You two should be together."

Now it was her turn to shake her head. "Things will never work out between me and Adrien," she replied sadly.

"But he loves you, and you love him..."

"It doesn't matter," Marinette interrupted. "We can't be together." She paused for a moment while she looked away. She stared out at the city before turning back to him. "Kitty, I've made a decision."

"Wha... what decision?" he asked, having a bad feeling about what was happening.

She shrugged defeatedly. "I'm going to give up the guardianship again."

Silence while Chat Noir stared at her. "But... but you can't do that. You'll lose your memories just like last time."

"I know," she admitted. "That's why I'm doing it."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out.

"It will be okay," Marinette continued. "I know someone who will be perfect for the job. I trust her with my life, and I trust her to be the guardian."

"No," Chat Noir finally said. "No Marinette, you can't do this."

"I'm sorry Kitty, but I've already made up my mind. And I've already put my earrings back. It will be okay..."

"No, it won't. If you give up the guardianship you'll forget everything again. And what about the memories from this past week? Will you lose those too?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm assuming that I'll at least forget everything that happened after you gave me my earrings."

He tried to catch his breath. "M'lady, I can't lose you again. I need you. And Paris needs you too."

"But you'll still have me," she said, putting her hand to his cheek. "Even if I forget everything, I can relearn how to be Ladybug, just like I did before. You'll be there to guide me back."

"No," he repeated. "I can't lose you again. You won't remember me..."

"But I'll know you. And I've realized that we're meant to be together. That's why I felt that way when I saw you on my balcony. I knew you, and I'll know you next time too."

Chat Noir kept shaking his head. "I don't understand. Why would you want to do this again? You were miserable when you couldn't remember what happened."

Marinette tilted her head at him. "I was only miserable until I saw you." A moment passed as they looked at each other. "Ever since Master Fu named me as guardian, I've been different. I've been stressed, and scared, and lonely, and depressed, and so many other horrible things. And you're right, I felt miserable when I first lost my memories. But not as miserable as I had been feeling for weeks before that," she admitted quietly.

He stared at her, his heart breaking as he realized what being the guardian had done to that beautiful, loving spirit of hers.

"And then I saw you," she whispered with a weak smile. "And I felt like my normal self again. You gave me my earrings. You taught me how to be Ladybug. You stayed with me as we read through my diary. And then you kissed me."