Prologue

In which we start towards the end, questions are raised, Ladybug talks to much, and Chloé has a tea party.

Ladybug didn't like being the bad guy. She didn't like having to tell people no, or that they couldn't do something, especially when it was her friends. However, she was the unofficial team leader, although the other three Miraculous users already considered it pretty much official anyway. That only made it harder when it became clear that subtle hints weren't going to cut it and, for the good of the team, she was going to have to take a more direct approach.

It wasn't that she necessarily had anything against Queen Bee having an overtly romantic relationship with her best friend. In fact, if circumstances were just slightly different, she would have loved to see them together. Since Queen Bee had joined, all four of them had made it clear to the public that the superheroes of Paris were, and would always be in support same sex relationships and the LGBTA community. She would like nothing more than to be happy for the first overtly gay superhero couple of France and give them the same approving smile Chat Noir gave the two of them every time they so much as held hands, (though she noticed those looks of approval were mostly directed at Queen Bee.) She might even have been able to tolerate, nay, embrace their sickeningly sweet giggling whenever she caught them make bedroom eyes at each other, and might not even have wanted to tear her own pigtails out with her bare hands every time Volpina made another "pollination" innuendo to get Queen Bee to blush, if it weren't for one small detail;

The relationship was completely doomed from the start.

Ladybug blamed herself. She should have seen it coming, and really should have done something to stop it. Alya had always had a thing for superheroes, and when Marinette had reveled who Ladybug really was, she had been… heartbroken wasn't the right word, more like… unpleasantly disillusioned. Of course, any slight resentment she may have felt towards her best friend was quickly forgotten once Marinette explained why she chose to reveal herself, and asked Alya to join her as the new Volpina. Looking back, it should have been obvious that Alya would be "in the rebound" after her old superhero crush was no longer an option. But in her defense, Ladybug couldn't possibly have foreseen that Queen Bee would make her grand entrance into the superhero scene by saving Volpina's life. Or that Queen Bee would be an even bigger flirt with the ladies than her "brother" Chat Noir was. And it shouldn't have been a problem when Volpina very passionately returned those attentions except for the fact that, as Marinette kept having to remind her, Alya was still dating Nino.

At least, she was supposed to be dating Nino. "Volpina" seemed to completely forget that her civilian self wasn't single as soon as Queen Bee entered the room. Or swooped in to whisk her to safety. Or was so much as mentioned in passing conversation.

Ladybug was beginning to regret choosing her best friend to be the next Volpina, though only ever so slightly. Truth be told, in almost every other area of heroism, Alya had done far better than Marinette had initially. She was brave, quick witted, caring, and even managed to keep up on the Ladyblog despite being personally involved in a fair number of the Akuma attacks she was reporting on. True she still tended to leap before she looked at times, but she was getting better at thinking before acting, even if she did enjoy letting Queen Bee come to her rescue. She worked well with the rest of the team too. Though that really just meant she worked okay with Chat Noir. The two were on friendly enough terms with each other from what Ladybug could tell. They weren't as close to each other as either of them were to Ladybug or Queen Bee, nor did they seem interested in becoming so. They had paired up on their fair share of missions when the situation had called for it, just as Ladybug and Queen Bee had, and had worked together well. But once the Akuma was dealt with, or whenever the group met up for patrol, Volpina made a "Bee" line right for her partner.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. They were a team, just like Ladybug and Chat Noir. It certainly didn't make Ladybug just the teensy tiniest bit jealous every time her best friend just left her to go slid up next to some aliased blond they'd only known for a few months. She wasn't jealous in the least. It was just unprofessional. Flirting like that with team members was a no-no, everyone knew that. Especially when at least one of said team members still technically had a boyfriend. Even if said team member had never actually gone on a real date with said boyfriend in the seven plus months they had been considered a couple. And even if said team member had confessed shortly after meeting other said team mate that she had never really felt a connection with said boyfriend like she had with other said team mate, it still had to stop didn't it? And if said "said team mate" wasn't going to listen, then she'd just have to talk to said "other said team mate."

That was how Marinette had explained it to a confused looking Tikki earlier that day, and was why at little past ten o'clock she found herself standing nervously in front of an uncertain looking Queen Bee. They were supposed to have met up at the Eiffel Tower that night to do their patrol, but Ladybug had called her shortly before they were supposed to meet up and told Queen Bee to meet her on a rooftop not far from the school instead so that they could talk privately. Ladybug didn't want to take the chance that either Chat Noir or Volpina might decide to suddenly join them. Queen Bee had agreed and shown up only a few minutes later but apart from their initial greeting, neither of them had said anything yet. Taking a deep breath, Ladybug decided it would be best to just get this over with.

"Look," she began, ironically unable to look at Queen Bee, "I need to talk to you about you and Volpina."

Queen Bee seemed to relax a little and actually did look at Ladybug. "Good. Because I need to talk to you about you and Chat Noir."

"…Huh?" Ladybug asked, completely confused.

"Chat Noir," Queen Bee repeated. "Cat ears, magic leather jump suit, big green eyes? Been completely devoted to you for like, the last two years?"

Ladybug blinked again. "Umm, yeah? What about him?"

Queen Bee suddenly rolled her eyes and stamped her foot in an eerily familiar way, demanding "When are you going to ask that poor boy out already?"

"W-what?!" Ladybug took a step back. This was not how she had expected this conversation to go at all.

"Oh come on, even a blind person can see the way he practically worships the ground you swing over." Queen Bee huffed, crossing her arms in an expectant, and again hauntingly familiar way.

"He's almost as bad as I was," she added quietly, then shook her head. "Look, the point is that boy is the best thing that's ever going to happen to you. Trust me, I've known him nearly all my life and there isn't a man in this city who would make as perfect a boyfriend as him. He's brave, kind, dashingly handsome, and trust me on that, when the lesbian says a boy looks good without the mask, he looks good without the mask," Queen Bee added confidentially. "Let's see am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah, he loves you so much he's willing to die for you, and has, if that Timebreaker thing last year happened like he said. So what are you waiting for?"

Queen Bee looked at her expectantly while Ladybug tried desperately to figure out what was happening, and how she had so immediately lost all control of this conversation. Her lips floundered as her mind attempted to catch up.

"Well, I mean… We're… partners?"

Queen Bee rolled her eyes. "So hurry up and become domestic partners too!"

Ladybug felt her face heat up and stammered, "I mean were professional partners! We're friends but… but that's all! There's absolutely nothing else between us."

The look Queen Bee gave her brought to mind a time when Marinette was 4 and had tried to deny to her mother that she had eaten a missing cupcake, while it's remains were still smeared all over her face and hands.

"You feel absolutely nothing for him?" Queen Bee asked dryly.

"Not… romantically, no." Ladybug replied, crossing her arms and turning away slightly as a mysterious, but certainly not guilty, shiver ran up her spine.

"Hmmm, so I guess Vix and I'll be getting chin scratches and told were a 'good kitten' next time we track down an Akuma or come up with half way decent plan, huh?"

"Th-that's just… positive reinforcement!" Ladybug was quite sure the rest of her face was the same color as her mask now. Though really there was no reason for it. She honestly didn't have any feelings for Chat Noir. Sure, he was a loveable goofball sometimes, and yes she may have had a nightmare or dozen after the Timebreaker incident, and yes, he was completely irreplaceable to her, but still…

Queen Bee sighed and her posture lost that infuriating (and still horribly familiar) air of smugness and superiority. She walked over to the low wall of the roof and sat down, patting the spot next to her indicating for Ladybug to do the same. Ladybug complied with the silent request, though hesitantly, as if she expected Queen Bee to sting her at any moment. Instead, Queen bee gently took her hand as if to reassure Ladybug she meant no harm, and began to speak to her gently.

"You two have chemistry. Whether you want to admit it or not, I can see how much you both mean to one another. Look, I love that boy. He's some of the only family I have and we… He's been through a lot. You'd never know it by the way he acts, both in and out of the mask but he… he may seem goofy and care free as Chat Noir but if something ever happened to you it would kill him. You've done so much for this city, and he's done so much for you. I was serious when I said there is nobody in Paris that can compare to him. Forget that, there's nobody in France, or the world for that matter who would be a better match for you! You have to see that. You both deserve each other, so what are you waiting for?"

"You… You don't even know who I really am. I don't really know who he is!" Ladybug argued back. She felt slightly uneasy that their identities were the first excuse that came to her mind so she quickly added, "Plus, I'm already in love with someone else."

Queen Bee's eyes went wide. "What!? Who?"

"Um… well…" Ladybug had to fight the urge to pull at her collar, Queen Bee was still holding her hand.

"Like, Seriously! Who?" Queen Bee exclaimed. "I just told you, nobody can compare with my boy for you. So… wait…" Queen Bee suddenly looked very worried and let go of Ladybug's hand. "It's… It's not Vixen is it?"

Ladybug's jaw dropped. "W-what!?"

"Well I mean, you always look all angry whenever Vix gives me a kiss on the cheek or anything, and I just thought…"

"No!"

Ladybug threw her arms across her face in a large "X" in an attempt to call for a time out to what was rapidly becoming one of the most mortifying nights of her life. Queen Bee seemed to get the hint, and sat silently for a moment looking worried while Ladybug took a very slow, deep breath.

"Okay, first of all, her name is Volpina. Not Vix, or Vixen, or whatever other weird, cutesy nicknames you made up for her. So… Stop calling her that. At least while I'm around. Second, I am not dating Volpina. She's my best friend, but that's it! We're not like that. At all." Queen Bee seemed to relax a bit at this, but Ladybug sensed an opening and deciding that it was high time she gained control of this conversation added, "We're never going to be like that because she's already dating someone."

Queen Bee blushed and smiled happily so Ladybug added flatly, "Who isn't you."

Queen Bee looked confused for about half a second before saying "Huh? Oh yeah, the civilian thing! Yeah, I already know about that," Queen Bee said, her smile coming back. "Vix told me she had been seeing someone before we met but it wasn't really going anywhere so she was trying to find a good way to break it off with them. She wouldn't tell me any details about who it was though, so I thought… well I mean, I just figured if it was you then that would… well, I'm just glad it's not," Queen Bee finished happily. Then her expression darkened again. "So who do you think is better than Chat Noir?"

Ladybug gaped at her. She blinked several times. Even considered pinching herself to prove she wasn't trapped in some horrible nightmare, but no. This was actually happening. Without even the grace of a transition or a five second breather, Queen Bee had turned the entire conversation on its head again. Just gone right back to the topic she wanted like she hadn't just been worried she might have been making moves on her (unofficial) leader's girlfriend. Just gone right back to her original conversation without batting an eye.

Ladybug was quickly learning that Queen Bee was as ruthless and resourceful in the field of socializing as she was on the battle field. Her mind flashed back to the expression Mr. Damocles had made in his final moments as an Akuma cowering before Queen Bee. Suddenly the thought of trying to dissuade Queen Bee from Volpina seemed suicidal.

That plan abandoned, she was still left with her current predicament. Ladybug ground her teeth as she considered her options. When she finally accepted that swan diving off the roof to land on her head came with no guarantee that Queen Bee wouldn't continue asking her who she was in love with, (even as she was being loaded into the ambulance) Ladybug conceded to option two: Compromise.

"I can't tell you who it is, that could jeopardize my identity, but to answer your question, it's… It's not that its anything that Chat is lacking it's just… Chat's Chat and he's him. Their totally different people and I just… I fell in love with him first that's all. He's so kind and thoughtful, and he's like that to everyone! Even people who probably don't deserve it…" She added, thinking of a particularly mean and blond example. "And he's so amazingly talented. He speaks like five different languages, plus he's a great athlete! Not to mention he's the most handsome guy in Paris. Especially his smile, and those eyes and-"

"Wow," Queen Bee said softy, as Ladybug looked off into the distance and continued to list all the attractive features of the unspecified "luckiest man in Paris." Though it broke her heart for poor Chat, it was obvious to Queen Bee that Ladybug was absolutely head over heels for this guy, whoever he may be. She only hoped she didn't act like this when she was talking about Vixen. She couldn't recall ever looking off into the void and just listing off all her partner's best qualities, though she could easily spend an hour on Vixen's eyes alone. Not to mention those hips and curves…

Queen Bee snapped herself back into reality and was about to try to do the same for Ladybug when something caught her attention. She had seen enough public-address speeches to be able to tell when someone was looking vaguely out at an audience, and when they we're reading off a teleprompter. Ladybug may not have been going off of a script but her eyes definitely seemed to be moving like she really was looking all the details her lips were rattling off. Queen Bee turned to look over her shoulder as Ladybug continued to about how cute "his" bangs were. There was nobody there that she could see. Just some rooftops, a weathervane, a couple of pigeons, a billboard for the new Agreste fall line that of course featured Adrien Agreste for the umpteenth time, and…

Her gaze lingered on the image of Adrien as Ladybug described "his" deep green eyes. A hint of suspicion crept into her mind and then quickly grew to the size of a bull elephant as Ladybug continued to wistfully sigh and prattle on behind her. Queen Bee turned her head back to look at Ladybug, who continued to keep her gaze fixed dreamily on one place. Queen Bee followed her gaze and sure enough it to landed right where she thought it did.

"…Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Queen Bee's voice finally shook Ladybug out of her gushing and back to reality. She quickly realized that Queen Bee was now looking back at the same billboard she herself had been staring at, and had an uncomfortable feeling that the other girl had just put one and two together and gotten three. Her suspicions were confirmed when Queen Bee said,

"You're in love with Adrien Agreste."

It wasn't a question, or an accusation. Queen Bee sounded dazed and almost disconnected, as if she couldn't quite wrap her head around the meaning of the words, despite them coming from her own mouth.

"It's not what you think." Ladybug blurted out.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you don't know what I'm thinking right now." Queen Bee said, looking from Ladybug to the billboard of Adrien. "Because I'm not sure I know what I'm thinking right now…"

Ladybug closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look I… Yes. Okay? Yes, I am hopelessly in love with Adrien Agreste! I have been for nearly two years now. But it's not some celebrity crush or anything like that! I know him, he's kind and chivalrous and smart and… I just… Look just stop looking at me like that!"

Around Ladybug's second sentence or so Queen Bee's jaw had nearly dislocated is shock. She snapped it shut after Ladybug rounded on her, though she continued to stare. Ladybug glared back and crossed her arms in a huff.

The two sat there in silence for a good five minutes until Queen Bee suddenly stood up.

"I…" She began, then shaking her head she said, "You… Don't ever change." And then flew off before Ladybug could say anything.

Left alone on the roof top, Ladybug briefly considered doing the patrol by herself for the night before deciding it might be best to just head home. Better to get some sleep and try to shake off whatever that mess of a conversation had been. Making a quick swing over to her house, Ladybug opened the trap door and stepped inside, wondering who she was going to get more of an earful about this from, Tikki when she changed back into Ladybug, or Alya when Queen Bee inevitably told her about tonight.

Queen Bee landed back on her balcony and dropped her transformation before she had even stepped into the penthouse proper. Chloé's mind was still racing, and she began talking almost before Pollen had finished popping back into existence.

"Ladybug is in love with Adrien!"

"Yes. Yes, she is." Pollen replied patiently, pointedly landing next to the thermos holding their tea.

"But Adrien is in love with Ladybug!" Chloé continued, beginning to pace up and down the living room.

"Quite so." Pollen agreed, tapping on the thermos.

Chloé failed to notice and instead continued to pace about, waving her arms and continueing, "But Ladybug won't admit she loves Chat Noir, but Chat Noir is Adrien!"

Pollen sighed and floated over the sit on the top of the thermos. It appeared tea would have to wait until their chosen had calmed down. "Yes, each one is pinning after the other's alter ego. I believe Wazz was referring to it as a… 'Love Square of Ignorance' or something like that. Apparently Chat Noir's are usually much faster at uncovering their partner's identities, however Adrien has been raised to be a gentleman and has pointedly refused to do so. Despite Plagg's insistence."

Chloé sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah well, that's Adrikins for you. Polite to a fault. Wait, Plagg knows about this?"

"We all do actually," Pollen replied, not looking at Chloé and longingly stroking the thermos lid they were sitting on. "Plagg, Wazz, Trixx. This miraculous masquerade has even begun to test Tikki's patience, and she's always been the most adamant voice for our chosen to maintain total anonymity. 'Reap what you sow' I suppose."

Chloé stared at her Kwami in surprise as she digested this information along with everything else she had been given by Ladybug. Then she noticed the object of Pollen's attention gave a self-berating grumble. She went over to the thermos and Pollen quickly took flight so she could open it for them. "Sorry," she mumbled, grabbing the tea cup Pollen had designated as their own, and poring a generous amount of Earl Grey for her tiny friend. Pollen sipped at their beverage of choice happily, but as always, with royal edict. Chloé poured herself a cup and sat down in a nearby chair, only nursing her tea as her thoughts began to steep in her swirling mind.

The two sat quietly in Chloé's luxurious though solitary apartment, the silence only broken by the occasional 'clink' of Pollen's tea cup. When Pollen had finally had their fill, Chloé set down her own cup as well and voiced the bitter thoughts she had been left with.

"Ladybug said she knew Adrien. Like, she knew him personally."

Pollen politely dabbed at their mouth with the corner of a nearby napkin, but offered no input of their own, so Chloé continued.

"If she knows Adrien personally, that means she probably goes to school with him."

Pollen put down the napkin and leisurely sat down on the edge of the table, but still said nothing.

"And if Ladybug goes to school with Adrien, then she knows Chloé Bourgeois. And if she knows Chloé Bourgeois, then that… explains a lot." Chloé said sadly, as Pollen became oddly fascinated with the floor. "And if Ladybug knows Chloé Bourgeois, then Vixen knows Chloé Bourgeois, and that," Chloé collapsed back into her chair and stared forlornly up at the ceiling for a moment before concluding,

"…and that means Queen Bee's kind-of-a-girlfriend, definitely hates her guts, but just doesn't know it yet."

Pollen let the sentence hang in the air for a moment as they carefully chose their own words.

"To quote your father, I can neither confirm, nor deny these allegations at this time."

Chloé slapped one hand over her face without looking down from the ceiling and gave an exasperated moan.

"Chloé this is not the end of the world. Or of your love life for that matter." Pollen told her, flying up to hover closer to Chloé's head. Something they only did when their concern for their chosen outweighed the royal decorum of observing personal space.

"It may as well be," Chloé replied, taking her hand off her face to speak but turning away from looking directly at Pollen. "When this all ends or we all come clean with each other, Adrien's love problems are going to disappear a puff of red polka dot smoke. While my chances with Vix are going to go up in flames the moment she learns she's been spit swapping with the world record holder for indirect Akuma creation."

"You've gotten significantly better since I've known you." Pollen argued, flying around so Chloé had no choice but to look at them. "You may not be the nicest person in Paris but you have gotten much better at only being mean to people who deserve it."

"People like Marinette?" Chloé asked bitterly, turning away again.

Pollen sighed and flew around to face her again. "So you have made some mistakes. You are still quite young even by human standards, and you have begun to learn from those moments of poorer judgment rather than simply repeat them. Granted you may still be having some difficulty finding or asking forgiveness from some of those you've wronged unjustly, but it is not hopeless. I seem to remember you and I having quite a strained relationship too at first."

Chloé huffed, but smiled at the memory. "Strained and sore you mean. I still remember the looks I got when I showed up to school with a black eye."

"We imagine they were nothing to the ones your peers gave you after you, how did that article put it? Oh yes, 'decimated' that Lila woman when she attempted to attacked your people."

Chloé huffed again. "Rose and Juleka were just my former victims and classmates back then. And I didn't even mean to help them at first, I told you I just… reacted."

Pollen landed on the back of the chair and smiled. "And though We may have missed that particular 'reaction' as you put it, We have seen you 'react' on quite a number of occasions," Pollen said fondly. "You may not be a forgiving or gentle hero Chloé, but you are a strong and devoted Queen. Remember that."

Chloé had no choice but to smile back as she recalled them learning that particular lesson, but her thoughts drifted even further back when her eye caught sight of her open laptop over Pollen's shoulder. Her lock screen was set to show a short slide show, and she watched at the images cycled through. The first was of a professional looking man in a tuxedo with a small mustache, standing at attention though he was looking into the camera and giving it a small smile. Then came two teenage girls, one tall and wearing punk-gothic looking pajamas, with her dark purple hair partially covering her face, and the other short, blond, blue eyed, and clad in the most gagging pink night dress any camera had ever captured. The girls were asleep, leaning against one another, the smaller one's head resting on the taller girl's shoulder, and the taller girls cheek resting on shorter ones head. Their hands were interlocked between them, and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn off to one side. Next was the familiar face of Adrien Agreste, posing along with Chloé in what was supposed to have been a funny picture, although Adrien somehow still looked fantastic. And finally, the screen changed show a beautiful blond haired, green eyed woman, laughing while she held two young kids in her arms, one a green eyed boy and the other a blue eyed girl.

"She would be proud of you, Chloé." Pollen said, not needing to turn around to know where she was looking.

Chloé began to blink back tears and her vision blurred, forcing her to close her eyes. Even as she felt the tears fall, she smiled. She had come a long way since first getting her miraculous. As a person, as a leader, and as a member of a family. An unconventional and broken family to be sure, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. It was still a family that accepted her, and pushed her to be herself instead of the hateful monster she had become in order to please her father. Her mind floated back to the day she had first begun to realize she still had that family. The day she had been offered Pollen's miraculous for the first time. The day that marked the death of the only mother she had ever known.

Mrs. Sophia Agreste.

Authors Notes:

Regarding the A.U. tag,

This fanfiction was written before the release of season 2. I began to outline this story while watching season one however so key points have changed from the actual cannon, hence the A.U. tag. The biggest change is that Mrs. Agreste is dead, not just missing. She also died many years before the start of the show's events. Apart from that change, and some slight changes to the order of a few events (but then the show has never been strong on the exact continuity of the episodes anyway) the cannon leading up to this fic are the same as the show. All the past Akuma's are the same, Chloé's behavior towards the other students, Alya and Nino's relationship, Princess Fragrance, ect.

Regarding the next Chapter,

The next chapter will start the story properly off from the beginning, and will take place a few weeks after the end of season one.

Regrading Pollen,

As of writing this fic, no one knows very much about Pollen so my take on the character is pretty much an O.C. When I was originally outlining the story, Pollen's name was first Embllem, and then Reegal. I actually grew fairly attached to Reegal, as it fit the personality I invented for them perfectly. However, the name doesn't look right with the double letter rule, and Pollen is admittedly a much better name. Their personality stayed however, and we'll be learning more about Pollen later. There are two things I think I should address here however.

First, Pollen speaks with the Royal We. Second, they are referred to with the gender neutral "they." Kwami's do not have sexes, but Tikki identifies as female, and Plagg identifies as male. Pollen identifies as royalty.