Without his lucky charm

1

Clutching his baton tightly, sweat dripping down his forehead and his breathing becoming shaky, the black cat darted across Paris, keeping his eyes peeled for any suspicious activity happening. His breathing grew rapid as he ran faster, trying to block the memories from his mind. Too much trauma, too much sadness. Recognising the area he was in, he abruptly came to a halt, eyes wandering down to a familiar house, a familiar bakery, a familiar balcony. A familiar girl.

Her bluebell eyes shining in the midnight sky, lighting up the darkness with her light. He followed her gaze to the night sky and sighed, allowing a moment, a brief moment, for the memories to flood back in.

"Chat Noir, do you trust me?" Ladybug had asked, her eyes pleading for him to listen.
"Of course m'lady. I would trust you to the moon and back. You're the most amazing girl in the world and as much as you hate it, I love you!" Chat Noir exclaimed.
"Do you love me Chaton?" she asked, her voice laced with anxiety and concern. To what, he was unsure.
"I just said I did m'lady but if I need to-"
"Do you love me?" she interrupted him, irritation noticeably present in her voice this time, tears welling in her eyes.
"I do," he said with a nod.
"Then I'm sorry for what I have to do," she said, closing her eyes firmly shut as she whispered the chant to release her of her guardian powers and hand them to the black cat of destruction.

"Why did you do it Marinette?" he asked himself, mumbling every word to try and not attract the girl's attention. "What was happening that you didn't think to tell me about but instead gift me this burden?" He sighed sadly, recalling the way she looked at him after she had. Whilst she was saying the long speech, she took off her earrings. Seeing Ladybug- Marinette... her reaction on her face would haunt him everywhere he went. She didn't even know her name.

And then the interviews were piling up. All asking the same questions. What happened to Ladybug? Where is Ladybug? Who will be the new Ladybug?

No one. No one could replace his lady like that. He didn't want to work with anyone who wasn't his lady... who wasn't Marinette. Sadness filled him like a tap pouring water. When he spotted her staring at him, he chuckled nervously and decided to say hello.

"Hey prin-ma'am!" he quickly corrected himself. "Is everything alright?"
"You're that guy," she said with a happy but confused smile. "The one who helped take me home when we first discovered that I had amnesia."
"Oh.. oh of course! I remember you now!" he said with a fake chuckle, perching down on the railing of her balcony.
"Thank you so much for that. Who knows what would've happened to me," she said with a chuckle.
"So did you find out who you are?" he asked with a faint smile.
"Mhm. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I live with my parents who are bakers. I have a best friend called Alya and her boyfriend is Nino. His best friend is Adrien Agreste who I apparently had a crush on," she explained, a little sadly. This news was a bullet to the heart.
"You seem a little sad about this," he said, looking away from her.
"As do you, sir," she said, looking away from him. "I guess I'm just sad because I can't remember my life and now I feel like an outsider to any inside jokes or that now people expect me to try and live my life but that wasn't my life."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, it was my life but now it feels like it's someone else's. And I wanna live my own life!" she answered, feeling passionately about this.
"I understand. My life has just been changed and I know that the way I used to live was my life but now I want to live a different way," he said, recalling the traumatising memories.

"You've lost Hawkmoth," Ladybug said, snatching the miraculous from him before he could stand up to fight. As the blinding light travelled down his figure, it revealed the man to be Gabriel Agreste. He felt a lump form in his throat and his palm get sweaty.
"Gabriel Agreste?" Ladybug questioned, feeling shocked about the news. He just looked at the heroes with a bitter look in his eyes.
"I hope you realise that you'll be arrested," Chat Noir said, swallowing any sadness and fear, trying to keep them hidden from the people he loved.

"Wow. I guess me and you are similar in some ways then," Marinette said with a happier smile, trying to comfort the hero. And it worked. Her smile lit up his whole world. She was his whole world.
"I guess we are," he said with a half chuckle.
"Have you ever thought about running away?" she asked, thinking aloud.
"Not happy?" he asked. Marinette shrugged with a sigh. "I used to all the time. And I did run away. But I always came back because I knew I couldn't go anywhere. And then I became a superhero, allowing me to run away and feel excitement for a mere few hours."
"That must be fun, huh?" she asked.
"It is. It used to be anyway. Now I don't have my partner," he said with a sigh.
"Maybe you should find a new one?" she suggested but he shook his head.
"No one can replace her," he said.

"Did you love her?" she asked.
"Do you love me Chaton?" He shuddered at the memory and nodded.
"I did... so much," he said, pausing a little in his sentence.
"I'm sure she loved you too," she said with a half smile.
"If she did, she wasn't very obvious about it," he said with a chuckle. Marinette stared up at the sky again and smiled.
"I've got to go inside now. Goodnight sir!" she said, heading back into her bedroom. Chat Noir sighed softly before returning to patrol.