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Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at the bubble in the sky that had been intended to wipe the memories of everyone in Paris. But Oblivio hadn’t succeeded thanks to the two superheroes.
“What do we do about that?” Chat Noir asked, looking back at her.
“This is where my other power comes in,” she said, walking over to the teapot on the floor and kneeling down to pick it up. Lifting it up and preparing to launch it up into the air, Ladybug faltered on the inside. Her voice was sounding more confident than she felt and that didn’t seem like a good sign. Something felt wrong and there was a bitter taste in her mouth.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she vaguely knew of a Chinese proverb: eat bitter, taste sweet. She and Chat Noir had done the grunt work, and them prevailing was a reward in itself, so why didn’t it feel good? Why did it feel off?
But what could it have been? They had saved the day and she had even fallen in love along the way. What was wrong about any of that? That was a wonderful, warm and fuzzy-feeling thing. She steadied herself, keeping her facade intact, and shook those feelings away.
“It fixes everything back to how it was originally,” she continued, winding her arm back so she could get a stronger throw, but before she could, Chat Noir caught her wrist. Light enough so that he wouldn’t hurt her, but firm enough so that it would draw her attention. Her eyes flicked to his hand and then to his eyes.
“Wait. Do you think we’ll remember all this… afterwards?” he said tentatively. There was a dull ache in her chest that was making her heart hurt. She forced her eyes to stay open, willing herself not to cry, and stared at the teapot in her hand. Cause time wasn’t in our favor. That’s what she would have to tell herself.
Be strong. Be strong. She needed to be strong. Memories weren’t everything and today had proven that.
“Apparently, my Miraculous Ladybug reverts everything, so I’m guessing we won’t,” she said. They wouldn’t remember. Panic flooded through her. They wouldn’t remember. She didn’t need memories to know that she loved him, but still, she wanted these memories, she wanted to remember. The clip of them fighting together that they had watched earlier flashed to the front of her mind.
She hadn’t seemed too sold on Chat Noir suggesting that they were together. Why hadn’t she reacted happily? Which just left the question: had they been dating before or not? Had their relationship been a secret that Chat had let slip? Or had they just not been dating?
And if they weren’t dating, did that mean that she would lose him if she forgot everything? Would her love just fade away like it had never happened? Because they had happened. They had fallen in love and why should she have to let that go? No. No. You could erase memories, but you couldn’t erase feelings.
How else had they fallen in love in under twenty minutes? That had to mean something. The feelings would still be there even if she didn’t remember what they were about. But still she couldn’t help but wonder: would her future self feel the echoes of what she was feeling, would she understand what they meant, would she want to understand what they meant?
Because otherwise, did their short time spent so, so deeply in love, amount to nothing? There were just too many questions left unanswered, too many loose ends. And she didn’t have enough time to solve them. All she knew was that she didn’t want to lose her memories. She liked the ones she had now, even if she didn’t have all the others that had come before.
Chat Noir looked away for a split second only to give her a soft, heart-melting stare.
“All right then. With your permission, m’lady…” he said, trailing off at the end, as he moved towards her and tenderly took her hands in his. His words cut through her many, many worries and a smile bloomed across her face before falling as her lips parted slightly into a soft, but not spoken oh shape, and then settling back into a smile. Their eyes locked and all she could do was just stare lovingly into his eyes.
Maybe they wouldn’t remember this, or them, or their love in a few short moments, but he was there and so was she and maybe that was enough. It had to be. Time was ticking away and this was all they had.
Slowly yet somehow all at once, they leaned in, wanting to savor the minutes of the borrowed time that they were living on. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up (or maybe he was tilting his head down, but did it really matter?) and gently pressed her lips to his.
Their hands clasped together tighter, both of them wanting to make sure that the other was still there with them and not floating away. His lips were soft and smooth like silk and moved slowly against hers in a way that made her heart pound. Her insides twisted and turned with butterflies and it was nice to follow her heart, turn off her head, and just feel instead of think.
He helped her mind feel a little less cluttered, he helped her feel safe, he helped her feel like she could be, no that she was, someone. And… And she loved him and nothing would ever make her forget that. Some part of her had to remember this feeling.
Nothing could ever make her forget this feeling. That she was sure of. What was a Miraculous Ladybug against the magic happening in their hearts? Love conquers all (when had she learned that, again?), and it would continue to if she had anything to say about it.
She inhaled a little, memorizing his scent and the way he made her feel and just him in general, because what if they did forget and this moment was just one to be lost in time? Lavenders, freshly plucked mint, all mixed with just the barest hint of vanilla.
He smelled like home, even if she didn’t quite know where that was right now, but it didn’t matter because he was her home. She deepened the kiss, hoping that this moment would last forever, until finally, they both regretfully pulled away.
With his hand still holding hers, they gazed longingly into each other’s eyes and he smiled at her, looking a little sad, a little hopeful, and reminding her that she still had a job to do. Even if it broke both of their hearts in the process.
This isn’t goodbye. Because she was looking at him right now and how could that just be the end? Yeah, their story wasn’t over, they were just moving onto the next chapter, but how reassuring could that be—could that feel—if moving onto the next chapter meant that they wouldn’t remember any of this?
With a pang and a choked sob that she made sure had died before it could escape her throat and a smile, because this was a happy moment too (she had just kissed the love of her life), Ladybug let go of his hand and threw the teapot.
“Miraculous Ladybug!” she shouted, as she took Chat Noir’s hands into her own and held on even tighter and leaned in close again. Lavender, mint, vanilla. Her heart was bursting with love and from the look on his face, his was too. They were in love. And she wanted her last moments of this perfect, perfect memory to be with him. This is simply see you later.