Femslash February 2/4: Matching outfits: Ladybug checks up on a distraught fan after coming to terms with her emotions.
Marinette was in love with Chloé.
No matter how many times she repeated the sentence, her head refused to accept it and her heart refused to deny it. She loved Adrien, right? But then again, all she'd done was obsess over him without really getting to know him. She had known Chloé for years, but she hated her, right?
When Chloé had kissed her, it forced her to rethink everything she knew about her and also reawakened memories of a time when Chloé wasn't so cruel, so cold. The change wasn't immediate, but all Marinette could remember was this little blonde girl sticking chewing gum in her hair years ago, and she'd never forgiven her. Some quick research aided by Alya told Marinette everything she needed to know: a mother who died young and a father who was never there. She was acting out because she was lonely. She just wanted attention.
A few questions to Adrien confirmed that Chloé was almost as big a comic book fiend as Alya, if not more so, and had always wanted to either be a superhero or befriend one. Her favorite characters included Black Widow, Ms. Marvel (both Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan in recent years), Wonder Woman. She'd never shown any interest in male characters, and Marinette was pretty sure she knew why.
Chloé was gay, but didn't know how to express it.
Just...just like Marinette.
How long had Marinette ignored just how scared and vulnerable Chloé was? Her cold demeanor was just a front to keep people at a distance, her obsession with material possessions an effort to distract her from just how lonely she was. So when Ladybug entered the scene and protected Chloé, gave her the attention she craved, and was a beautiful female superhero, Chloé couldn't help but become obsessed, perhaps even enamored.
Marinette should hate her. She should hate Chloé for all the misery she put her through, but now...she can't. She can't bring herself to gate Chloé. In fact, all she wants to do is help her, reach out to her, show her that she isn't alone and that she does have someone willing to love her. Unfortunately, Marinette can't do that because Chloé still hates her.
But Ladybug...
Chloé sat on her bed, her Ladybug suit in her hands, rubbing at the thin material with her thumbs. It was obvious she'd been crying, probably because she was convinced Ladybug hated her. But that decidedly was not the case, not when the heroine herself had pulled herself out of bed and swing out to check up on her. Ladybug sat perched on a rooftop across from Le Grand Paris with her yoyo in hand, zoomed in on her former nemesis. It made Ladybug's heart hitch to see Chloé like this, a sensation that would have felt foreign and unwelcome just a few days ago. She had to do something, but what?
...well, the answer was obvious. She had a fan to cheer up.
Chloé's head snapped up when she heard something drop onto her balcony. It was too dark to see who it was, but there were only so many people it could be, especially at this time of night. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve because there was no way she would let her hero see her crying, then stuffed her Ladybug suit under her blankets and walked over to let the heroine in.
"If there's another Akuma, I swear it wasn't–"
Ladybug held up a hand. "There's no Akuma. And I believe you. I've...noticed you reigning in your attitude, and I appreciate it. I actually wanted to...apologize. I shouldn't have blown up on you. I shouldn't have–"
"No, I deserved it." Ladybug would have found Chloé's response out of character if she hadn't seen the girl trying to change firsthand. Chloe's shoulders slumped and she crossed her arms, pulled in on herself. "You're right. All I've ever done is cause you trouble, make doing your job harder. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and then I made it even worse by kissing you, and..."
"Chloe," Ladybug settled a soothing hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. I know you're sorry and I see you sincerely want to change. And as for the kiss..."
This kiss was little more than Ladybug settling her lips on Chloé's, but the message was clear: I want this. I want more of this. I want you. And Chloé was more than happy to reciprocate. However, just as she began to settle her hands on Ladybug's hips, the heroine pulled away and strode into Chloé's room.
"Uh, where, what are you doing?"
Ladybug pulled back the blankets on the girl's bed, picked up the spotted suit, and tossed it to Chloé. "Suit up," she said. "I'm gonna take you to my favorite spot in all of Paris."
The smile on Chloé's face brightened Ladybug's day. She immediately threw of her coat and began to pull her shirt over her head. Despite whatever feelings she may have developed for Chloé, Ladybug still had some sense of decency. She turned her back and waited for Chloé to finish pulling her costume on. At the sound of a zipper being pulled up, Ladybug turned back around and opened her mouth to ask if she was ready to go, but paused when she saw what lay at Chloé's feet among her other clothes: a yellow pair of panties and a matching bra.
Ladybug's face reddened the same shade as her suit. "You, uh...you're not wearing...underwear?"
Chloé smoothed out the wrinkles in her suit at set about affixing her mask with a bottle of spirit gum. "I never wear underwear with this suit; it's horrible for showing panty lines, and if I'm going on a date with Ladybug, I'll be damned if I..." She paused, her own face running red. "Oh, um, I didn't mean to assume this was a date."
"N-no! It's fine! It, uh, kinda i-is." She glanced back down to the underwear, her entire body warming at the thought of how many times she had seen Chloé in her Ladybug suit.
Hoo, time to get a hold of yourself, Marinette.
"Ready!" Chloé planted her fists on her hips, looking exactly like Ladybug save for her hair. Ladybug nodded and took Chloé's hand, pulling her outside onto the balcony. Chloé threw her arms around Ladybug's neck and the spotted hero wrapped her arm around Chloé's waist before casting out her yoyo and pulling the pair off into the distance.