When Chloe showed up at her door sobbing, Marinette wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do. In a way, though, she did invite it, but she hardly thought she'd have to follow through on that promise. But there Chloe stood, sobbing in the doorway of the bakery while customers passed and stared at the disgruntled mayor's daughter in disgust.
It all started a week earlier. An akuma was attacking and Marinette, in a panic, excused herself to the bathroom. The teacher reluctantly agreed, but insisted that she hurry back in case the akuma made its way into the school. Usually, the bathroom was a good enough place to transform, especially in the middle of class when it was empty. But, in hindsight, Marinette should've remembered seeing Chloe and Sabrina excuse themselves to the bathroom just minutes prior. However, that detail must have slipped her mind in the chaos of trying to get out of class fast enough to catch the akuma, because when she finally made it to the bathroom, she was met with a surprise.
Chloe was pushed up against the wall by a redhead who Marinette realized with a start was Sabrina. Chloe's long, manicured fingers laced through Sabrina's short bob, holding her face close. Sabrina had her hands on either side of Chloe's head, keeping her pinned to the tiled bathroom wall. Before Marinette could even react, the akuma shook the entire building, causing her to stumble against the nearby tiled wall.
Sabrina and Chloe broke apart, each one breathing heavily for a moment. The blonde's eyes found Marinette's immediately, going wide in shock before filling up with tears.
"M- Marinette! What are you doing here?" Chloe's voice shook while she tried desperately to wipe away the tears from her eyes.
"Um...the...I hade to...you know...it's the bathroom," Marinette cringed at her attempt to find an excuse. Her eyes traveled to Sabrina, who stood perfectly still, looking between Marinette and Chloe in horror.
Suddenly snapping out of her disbelief, Chloe stormed up to Marinette, opening her mouth to say something before the building rumbled once again.
"Chloe, come on, we've gotta get out of here!" Sabrina took Chloe by the hand, pulling her out of the bathroom before she could say anything.
And just like that, Marinette was aware of a secret - and a big one, at that. That day, after the akuma attack, neither of them dared look Marinette in the eye. In a way, it was nice. She was given a break from Chloe's constant cloud of drama, but at what cost? All Marinette could think about were the two girls (who Marinette had always assumed were simply best friends) with their lips on one another's.
By the time class was dismissed, Marinette had already had enough, and it's only been 5 hours. She nearly had to sprint to catch Sabrina and Chloe before they could get away.
"Leave us alone, Marinette!" Chloe hissed, turning quickly when Marinette reached out to grab her arm.
"Chloe - "
"I said leave us alone! I can't-" the blonde suddenly realized how loudly she was speaking, her voice immediately falling to just a whisper. "If anyone found out...my dad is...I just can't, ok?"
Sabrina stood behind Chloe, inching closer and discretely wrapping her arm around Chloe's arm. Chloe leaned back into Sabrina for comfort - so subtly, Marinette would've missed it if she hadn't been watching for it.
"You're secret's safe with me," Marinette looked between the two, a sense of dread settling uncomfortably over her stomach. If Chloe was implying what she thought she was, then that meant that she was lying to her dad. And if anyone knew how difficult it was to keep a secret, it was Marinette.
Sabrina let out a breath of air she'd been holding and Chloe physically relaxed. "Thank you," the sincerity in the blonde's voice surprised Marinette.
"Of course. If anything ever does happen with your dad...I'm here for you, ok? I know how hard secrets are. Just talk to me if you need to," Marinette laid a hand on Chloe's shoulder, smiling slightly.
Despite their differences, Marinette could see how much this bothered Chloe and Sabrina. She wasn't heartless, after all. Even after everything that had happened, she couldn't let Chloe and Sabrina become victim to the homophobia running rampant in their own families. She'd never do anything to jeopardize Chloe or Sabrina's safety, no matter what the circumstances.
Chloe pushed her away, despite the layer of mist in her eyes, gleaming with gratitude.
And just like that, Marinette had unknowingly set into motion a chain of events that would lead to Chloe standing in the doorway of her parents bakery in tears.
After their run in with Marinette, the two decided to move their make out spot to something much more subtle and private - the janitor's closet. Marinette could hardly believe how cliche their new choice in hiding spot was, but couldn't talk the couple out of it either.
Nearly a week after the initial incident, all hell broke loose. Another akuma was attacking the school, and just after the attack, reporters flooded the hallway where it had been purified. Unfortunately, that happened to be the same hallway that the janitor's closet was located. Chloe and Sabrina, who apparently hadn't heard the attack through the thick doors, walked out while fixing their hair and makeup, causing all the reporters to turn to them.
Marinette - or rather Ladybug, in the moment - looked between the reporters and the couple, watching each and every one of the media representatives' face light up with realization. And, as the press does, they pounced on the new, juicy story.
"Hey, guys, maybe we should leave them alone," Ladybug tried to persuade, looking to Chat for any kind of support, but instead finding a dumbfounded look of disbelief painted across his face. She elbowed him lightly, drawing his attention from the frontline frenzy in front of them.
"Uh, yeah, um, don't you have any more questions for us?" Chat asked. None of the reporters paid any attention to the superhero team. They focused instead on what they knew would be a bigger story - 'Mayor's Daughter Secretly a Lesbian'.
Despite the hero's attempts, the press refused to look away from the couple, and eventually, they had to flee before their miraculous' forced them to transform.
After the media blow-up, things only got worse. First, it was the news stories. They were everywhere. The tabloids were the worst, depicting their scandal as if it was the mayor's daughter spitting in the face of God.
Then, it was the mayor's response. As much as Marinette hoped Chloe was only exaggerating when she said her dad wouldn't react well, that wasn't the case. He told the press he could never condone this kind of behavior, going as far as to kick his own daughter out of his house in the form of a press conference.
And then there Chloe was. Standing in the entrance of Marinette's parents' bakery, tears running down her cheeks.
Hi everyone! New account, same old dork (my old acct is ectophandom, go check it out?)
this story is honestly all over the place, so bare with me, BUT I have written over half of it. I'll post chapters as I finish editing them, which means probably 1-2 times a week.
I'll probably post chapter 1 later this week, so stay tuned!
~ash
