Title: Invisible No More
Summary: One day Sabrina arrives at school with a cheap, half size too large black ring on her middle right finger.
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.
Chloe is the first to notice.
"Good god Sabrina, what is that?" she asks, her nose wrinkled as she stares at the clunky black band wrapped around Sabrina's right middle finger.
Sabrina breathes out quietly through her nose. Deep in her heart, she wishes Chloe had ignored her just this once. Not that she's really surprised Chloe was able to pick out the new addition in less than twenty-four hours. Chloe's detail oriented like that.
Sabrina startles when Chloe grabs her wrist and brings her hand up for inspection. "Ugh Sabrina, it's cheap, half a size too large, and it doesn't match anything else you're wearing. Take it off."
Sabrina flinches, her fingers curling into a fist protectively. "I like it Chloe," she says, her tone a tad too cold to be neutral.
Chloe's deep blue eyes snap to hers and her eyebrow arches. "Even though it doesn't match my brooch?"
The delicate silver flower sits heavy over her heart. Sabrina almost pulls the ring off; her nails dig deep into her palm as her stomach rolls in protest at the prospect. Chloe's disapproval hurts, but it's nothing compared to the dread over losing her ring.
After an eternity under Chloe's sharp gaze, she finally mutters, "Drop it Chloe," and turns to face the chalkboard.
She can see Chloe arch her eyebrow even further, but the blonde doesn't say another word on the subject. Not that she needs to.
Sabrina sees every sneer Chloe shoots at the cheap, half size too large black band for the rest of the day and it's like splinters in her heart.
The next day, Sabrina arrives at school with the cheap, half size too large black ring on her finger and her hands curled into fists.
The brooch is nowhere to be found.
"Sabrinaaaa, why didn't you text me last night?!"
The homework doesn't make a sound as Sabrina slides it in front of Chloe, who doesn't even spare it a glance. "Sorry," she says, oddly calm. "My phone died and my charging cord broke."
(That's a lie.)
(Sabrina just hadn't been able to deal with the constant dings as she explored her new world in comforting purple webpages.)
Chloe huffs and starts rooting through her bag. She pulls out a charger cord and hands it to Sabrina, her blue eyes narrowed. "Really? Then why were you on your phone just now?"
Sabrina doesn't even blink as her eyes slide to her phone and it's now dark screen, mentally cursing her poor foresight.
"I arrived early. Rose let me borrow her charger for a bit."
The lie rolls off her tongue as easily as the first did. Sabrina should probably be disturbed by that.
(She's not. Not when the truth will lead to rejection and pain.)
Chloe hmphs, her eyebrows by her hairline. She nods purposefully towards the cord. "Don't let it happen again."
Sabrina pastes on a smile and nods. "Of course."
(Sabrina breaks that promise five more times over the next two weeks, her excuses disturbingly easy to create. She wonders if the lies are wrong, but as she clicks the link to her purple safe haven, Sabrina can't bring herself to care.)
Chloe remains to be the only one to notice the changes.
Sabrina isn't surprised. Chloe's the only one who ever bothers.
But just this once, Sabrina wishes she wouldn't. Her fingers curl into fists to protect her cheap, half size too large black ring and she pretends she doesn't see the way Chloe's lip curls in disdain. She pretends Chloe's eyebrow isn't raised when she shows up to school with more purple in her wardrobe, pretends Chloe doesn't grimace at the purple clashing with Sabrina's hair, pretends she isn't silently screaming for someone to just ask and listen.
Because while Chloe notices the changes, she never asks.
It's not surprising. Nothing gets by Chloe, but Chloe never cares about the change unless it affects her. Sabrina ponders the inevitable rejection- she can't decide if the lack of questions is a good thing or a bad thing.
She also wonders if she should've gotten better friends, ones that would notice and care to ask. Then she remembers how Chloe's the only one who bothered to notice her in the first place.
Guess aces really are invisible.
Her thumb rubs over her ring, the warm band a small comfort that there's still hope.
A few weeks after that first confrontation, Sabrina arrives at school missing her cheap, half size too large ring and her right middle finger stained green.
Turns out said cheap, half size too large ring is just made of cheap nickel painted with cheap black paint. Sabrina doesn't know if she's allergic to the nickel or the paint but either way, her finger's too itchy to justify wearing it.
The ring is small and clunky, an awkward thing Sabrina thinks she shouldn't have been so attached to. It's just a ring, she insists, even though she knows she's lying to herself.
It had been more than just a band of metal. Without it, she feels naked and she scratches finger until it's an angry, raw red, seeking the missing ring's comfort.
I should've worn it anyways.
"Sabrina," Chloe says curtly as she plops down in her seat, her eyes glued to her phone.
Sabrina startles, her back straightening as she focuses on Chloe. "Hello Chloe."
Chloe's eyes dart from her phone to Sabrina and back again. A moment of silence passes, only disturbed by Chloe's nails clicking her screen and their classmates background chatter, and then Chloe snaps upright. Her head whips around, eyes narrowed, and Sabrina tries not to flinch with only marginal success.
"Finally."
Sabrina blinks and scoots back a few millimeters. "…What?"
Chloe snatches Sabrina's hand, her fingers squeezing as Sabrina's hand trembles, and taps the green ring of skin with her thumb. "You finally got rid of that horrible ring you've been wearing."
Sabrina's hand jerks in Chloe's grasp. "Hey…"
Chloe's brow arches. "I liked it," Sabrina insists, ducking her head and peeking up at Chloe through her bangs.
"Honestly Sabrina, it was an atrocity." Chloe rolls her eyes as she drops Sabrina's hand and returns to her phone. "I can't believe it took an allergic reaction for you to finally realize I'm right."
Anger, hot and bright, flashes through Sabrina. "It's not."
Chloe's head snaps around and she stares down Sabrina. "It was too large, cheap, and clashes will all of your other jewelry." Her eyes narrow to slits. "Even you could tell that ring was wrong."
Sabrina's breath catches in her throat, her eyes itchy and her vision swimming with unshed tears. She opens her mouth to protest, her hands curling into fists and her thumb pressing against her ring-
Her tongue freezes into dead weight as she rubs naked itchy skin. Right.
Chloe stares at Sabrina, her brow arched and expectation stamped across her face. Sabrina's mouth opens but the words don't come out, her thumb clawing at itchy skin.
"Well?"
Sabrina flinches. "I-I…" She gulps and her eyes fly down. The itchy green ring stands out on her pale hand, bright against the one clawed-red finger.
Maybe Chloe was right… Sabrina chews her lip. I wouldn't have an itchy finger if not for-
"Are you going to say anything?"
Sabrina's eyes snap back to Chloe, who's face is pinched in an inscrutable look. "No-I-" Sabrina swallows down the lump in her throat, though her words still only come out in a hushed whisper. "You're right Chloe."
"Hmph, I always am."
Within a week, the itchy green rash disappears.
It had been horrible and irritating and wrong but god Sabrina misses it so much.
There's something skewed with that line of thinking but Sabrina can't focus on it. She feels lost and confused and doubting and while she knows intrinsically that she's not alone she's not wrong she's fine her feelings are valid…
It's hard to remember that when she's caught up in feeling so different and isolated.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Sabrina wishes she could just get over herself.
It's weird, to her, to be so attached to something so small. Ring or no, it's not essential to her, not really. She knows it's just metal, just a ring- it's not a sign of validation, she's still ace even if she doesn't have the marker. She knows this.
But without it, she can't help but feel naked as she stares at her bare hands, not even a tan line or itchy rash to show for something she loves so much.
You're fine you're fine you're fine you're ace not weird ace not wrong you're fine-
Chloe slides into the seat next to her.
FinefinefineFINE-
"What's with you?!"
Sabrina startles, her head snapping up to face Chloe's dark scowl. "…huh?"
Chloe's eyes narrow to blue slits and her mouth presses into a thin line. The disapproval is like a tidal wave over her and Sabrina nearly drowns in it.
A hiss escapes Chloe, her face twisted with some emotion Sabrina can't identify even as it sends shivers down her spine. "You're being weird," Chloe whines, eyes dark with irritation. "You're always lost in thought, you say rude things, you hardly speak to me! What's wrong with you?"
I'm wrong but I'm not but I can't remember I'm not I shouldn't care this much I should stop but I can't I can't I CAN'T-
Her tongue feels like lead in her mouth but Sabrina forces it to move anyways. "I'm…"
Sabrina takes a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I'm fine. I…"
Sabrina trails off, oddly breathless and her chest squeezing and she's fine- she should be- she is-
"I'm fine," she insists under Chloe's scowl.
Chloe stares at her for another minute, the silence heavy and thick. Just when Sabrina's about to crack, Chloe huffs and turns away. "Fine. Stay fine for Papa's dinner in two weeks," she grouches, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and turning back to the front, her shoulders tight with some emotion Sabrina's too scared to identify.
I'm fine I'm fine I'mfineI'mfineI-
"I will," Sabrina promises as she forces her rolling nerves away.
The days keep passing, though Sabrina hardly notices. It's stupid, she feels horrible for overreacting like this but she can't help it-
She shakes her head and forces the thought away. Stop wallowing-
A car horn screaming past her jerks Sabrina out of her head. The older man to her left gives her an odd look as she fidgets nervously on her feet but she ignores him and keeps her eyes firmly fixed on Le Grand Paris across the street. The building is almost a blinding white in the noon sun but Sabrina refuses to look away as she anxiously waits for the light to turn.
Chloe had asked-demanded Sabrina come visit her half an hour ago. Sabrina hadn't been doing anything really important (ring shopping can always wait) so she had hopped on the next bus going by her house and had hoped Chloe wouldn't be waiting too long. Chloe had said it was an emergency- Sabrina only hoped it was an I-need-help-picking-my-outfit-for-Papa's-dinner emergency rather than an actual emergency.
The light turns and jolts Sabrina out of her spiralling thought process. She jogs across the street and gives the doorman a small wave as she passes through. She didn't realize how fast she had been going until she's knocking on Chloe's door and her chest is heaving slightly. Sabrina manages a few gulps of air to calm her racing heart before Chloe swings open the door and grabs her wrist with a loud, "There you are!" before dragging Sabrina into her suite.
Sabrina stumbles into the room, Chloe letting go of her wrist a second too early and accidentally leaving Sabrina flailing. Chloe doesn't seem to notice though as she makes a bee-line for her bedroom and shouts over her shoulder that Sabrina can wait on the couch.
Sabrina blinks after her, mentally picturing the cartoon zoom lines where Chloe used to be. She shakes her head and trots over to the couch, still a meter away from it before Chloe bursts back into the room and zooms towards Sabrina.
(It's rather like seeing a storm barreling towards you at eighty kilometers an hour. Sabrina hopes her terror isn't apparent on her face.)
Chloe shoos Sabrina onto the couch and sits down next to her. Chloe looks uncharacteristically nervous as she fiddles with a small bag in her hands and licks her lips several times.
Sabrina clears her throat nervously. "Uh. Chloe?"
Chloe straightens automatically, an automatic sneer twisting her face to hide her nerves. "Right. So…" Chloe trails off, brow pinching as her sneer melts into something more…vulnerable?
Sabrina blinks rapidly in her surprise.
Chloe gulps and then charges right on ahead. "You've been weird ever since you started wearing that ugly ring."
Sabrina flinches.
"You were!" Chloe protests. "You kept ignoring me, you were weirdly attached to the thing, you were all spacey, and it was just…weird." Chloe shrinks in on herself marginally, so slight Sabrina wouldn't have noticed if she weren't scrutinizing Chloe right now. "You weren't my best friend after it," Chloe mutters.
Sabrina frowns. "Yes I wa-"
"You weren't acting like it!" Chloe's lips twist in frustration and she scowls at Sabrina. "I didn't know what I did."
Sabrina gapes at Chloe. Didn't know? Ever jeer and sneer flashes through Sabrina's head and her nails dig into her palms hard enough to leave marks.
Chloe shifts minutely, eyes flashing in the face of Sabrina's stone face. "Look, I just- uh-" Chloe shoves the little bag out in front of her, the tissue paper poking out of the top quivering with Chloe's trembling hand. "I didn't get what the big deal was so I…I looked up what black rings meant."
Sabrina jerks back, her hands automatically cupping the bag in her surprise. "…what?"
Chloe nods towards the bag, eyes wide, before looking off to the side with flushed cheeks and a pout. "I did some research and I stumbled across that AVEN website," she muttered. "So I, um, I wanted to say sorry. And that I don't- I- uh- and sorry."
Sabrina is vaguely aware of her dropped jaw as she gapes at Chloe. Chloe's cheeks burn a brighter red for a minute before she impatiently gestures to the gift bag. "Well open it!"
Sabrina's mouth snaps shut with a loud click. Her attention drops to the little bag sitting innocently in her grasp. It's only now that she realizes the bag is a bright, sparkly purple and the tissue paper grays and white. Her breath hitches as her mouth falls open again. Her eyes dart between the gift and Chloe as she pulls out the tissue paper with trembling hands.
A small silver box sits at the bottom of the bag. Sabrina dumps it into her hand, pausing briefly to look between it and Chloe before she pulls off the lid to reveal ring with two twisting bands and a gemstone overlaying them. Sabrina gasps softly as she pulls out the ring and admires the delicate silver bands, one set with small clear stones and the other with black. Both band frame a bright purple, heart-shaped gemstone.
Sabrina's hands shake as she puts the ring on.
"I-I-"
"A simple thank you would suffice," Chloe snaps over Sabrina's stuttering.
Sabrina jerks her eyes away from her finger to Chloe, smiling gently at Chloe's profile. Chloe's facing away from her, cheeks flushed and shoulders hunched with embarrassment, but her eyes dart from her wall to Sabrina before jerking away again. Sabrina's grin widens and Chloe's cheeks darken the next time her eyes land on Sabrina.
"Thank you," Sabrina says. She wants to say more, simply gush over the giddiness rushing through her, but Chloe still looks vaguely uncomfortable with the vulnerability and gratitude so Sabrina swallows it down and just beams instead.
Chloe straightens her shoulders with a haughty flip of her hair. "Of course," she says dismissively, though there's a pleased grin pulling at her lips and pink still dusting her cheeks. "I even made sure it would match your brooch so you could wear them together."
"Thank you Chloe," Sabrina says again, her left hand cupping her right middle finger and the ring close to her chest. She hopes Chloe hears all the little thank yous, her gratitude for the acceptance and no-fuss acknowledgement. "You're amazing."
"Duh," Chloe says automatically. Her thin haughty mask flickers. "Friends?"
Sabrina leans against Chloe's shoulder and grins. "Best friends."
Chloe's mask slips, the two girls' smiles like suns.
AN: A tumblr request fic I'm cross posting to here because you can never have enough ace stuff. And this one is one of my few miraculace drabbles that didn't stay under 500 words like it was supposed to lol. Anyways, if you're interested in more ace/aro/a-spec ml stuff, y'all should check out the tumblr blog miraculace or my AO3 (same username), there's a surprising amount of content for it.
77-cookies . tumblr . com