Chapter 1
In which Chloe cries a lot, Adrien has an identity crisis, and Plagg is there.
Despite what most of her classmates would assume, Chloe Bourgeois adhered to a very strict schedule. Every Tuesday she had her nails done at her favorite salon. Every Friday, after she was given her generous allowance, she spent the afternoon going to the same expensive stores, in the same order, to ensure that her wardrobe was stocked with the latest fashions, even though her white blouse and yellow cardigan never went out of style. Every Sunday afternoon was spent with Sabrina, either playing superheroes or making plans to keep their "peers" in line. Every second Thursday of the month she attended her father's staff meeting so that she knew what to say and how to act at the next public address. And every year on the fourteenth of May, she cried.
No matter what day of the week it was, no matter what obligations she had scheduled, Chloe Bourgeois disappeared from the eyes of the world on May fourteenth, and was not seen again by anyone, until the next day when she went back to her normal, self-centered, intolerable self. She always made sure to fake some generic illness building up the day prior, in case she had class or some important function she was supposed to attend as the mayor's daughter that day. So far, no one seemed to have caught on that she always got food poisoning on the same day every year, but anyone that knew Chloe Bourgeois knew better than to be anywhere near her when she was feeling ill and even more irritable than usual, so she was always left alone.
Completely alone.
She spent those long twenty-four hours sitting in her room and crying until she had no tears left. She didn't put on makeup. She didn't shower. She didn't see or speak to anyone. Even on the rare occasion that her father came to see her, her personal butler would tell him that she was asleep and not to be disturbed before he had even reached the elevator. She only ate at the end of the evening right before she fell asleep from emotional exhaustion, and even then, it was only some simple bread and expensive mineral water. She couldn't stomach anything more than that with the guilt and anger churning in her stomach.
All she did was cry and think. She thought about all the unnecessarily horrible things she had done to random people that year. She thought about all the completely necessary horrible things she had done to Marinette that year, though she almost felt a little bad for some of the meaner stuff. She thought about how horrible a daughter she was, about how she couldn't really be the perfect little political asset her father needed her to be. She thought about Adrien, and how they had gone from being practically family, to rarely speaking unless she was throwing herself at him to convince the world she was smitten with him. And most of all, she thought about how disgusted Sophia Agreste would be with the monster she had become, and how much of a complete coward she was for not doing something to change it.
In fact, despite all the monsters, bad guys, superheroes, and all-around magic that had forced its way into Chloe's daily life, she had stubbornly done her best to keep to her regularly scheduled life of being a rich and vindictive brat. She forcibly ignored any hint of magical consequence that may have flared up from time to time, despite the innumerable chances she had had to change her ways. Only once a year did she allow herself to even consider doing something that could upset her life of luxurious monotony.
Every May 14th, at around four o'clock, Chloe's hand would hover over her phone for a good five to ten minutes. She spent that entire time trying to will herself to pick it up and make a call that she had been trying to make for the past ten years. A call she hoped might finally be the start of her turning her life around. But every year, fear and her own obstinace would ultimately win out over her guilt, and she'd give up in disgust.
Or her arm would get tired from hanging in the air for so long and then she'd give up in disgust.
It was just another part of her strictly scheduled life. But a schedule was a good thing. It meant safety and predictability. It meant control, and she needed control. If she didn't have control then the carefully maintained lie that was "Chloe Bourgeois" would collapse. Even when she was facing near certain death at the hands of some punny named super villain, she always kept control. Whether she was whining about how the worst her would be murderer was doing was ruining her hair as she hung suspended over a pool of boiling soup, or complaining that she was going to be late for a spa appointment while she was being chased around by a dozen mind controlled minions, she always kept up the uncaring rich girl persona.
Granted, most of what she complained about really did get under her skin to a degree, so it was easy to just play it up a little.
However, on one particular May fourteenth, well over a year after the first Akuma attack and the appearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Chloe had finally picked up the phone. She had even gotten as far as opening her contacts list and finding the name she wanted. It was the closest she had ever come to making the call, but even though her finger was trembling less than an inch above the screen, she knew she wouldn't do it. She could already feel her courage drain as she looked at the smiling face of Adrien Agreste.
What would he even think of her calling him on the anniversary of his mother's death? He probably didn't even have his phone on anyway. He was probably with his father placing flowers on her grave, something she should have done years ago.
She curled her finger back into her fist and closed her eyes in defeat. There would be no call this year either. No heartfelt apology and tearful reunion with the only real friend she had ever had.
But there is a saying that fate helps those who help themselves, and while Chloe's courage had failed at the last second, it seemed that the world had either taken pity on her, or simply had enough of her attitude and was willing to provide that little bit of help she needed to get started.
And it started, fittingly enough, with a bit of sarcasm.
"You know, as advanced as those things are, I think you still have to push the buttons to make them work."
Chloe's head jerked up in surprise. The phone slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor as she stared at what, impossibly, seemed to be Adrien Agreste himself leaning against the satin draped archway leading into her bedroom. Her jaw fell open and she stared bewilderedly at him from her seat on the bed. She blinked several times as Adrien, or at least what looked like Adrien, smiled casually and waved at her. The two stared at each other a long time until Chloe finally closed her eyes and took a deep, collective breath.
"You are not Adrien," she said finally.
"Really?" the not Adrien asked in surprise, looking down at himself. "I certainly look like him."
"You are not Adrien," Chloe insisted, keeping her eyes shut. "Because Adrien isn't here."
"Ah, I see," not Adrien said. "Although the evidence would seem to say otherwise."
"On the contrary," Chloe said coolly, opening her eyes and fixing him with her best look of daunting bravado. "I know Adrien isn't here because it is impossible for anyone to be here. Nobody could open my door without the key, and nobody has a key except for my butler and he would have announced you if he had let Adrien in, which he wouldn't because he's not supposed to let anyone in. So, you are not here."
"Fascinating," the person who logically wasn't there replied. "So if I can't be here, even though I obviously am, then that can only mean…"
Chloe took another steadying breath and finished, "You're a hallucination. I've finally lost my mind, and I'm hallucinating Adrien Agreste in my bedroom."
"Well, technically I think I'm still in the hall leading to your bedroom," the hallucination corrected, looking down and adjusting his feet so they were completely behind the potted plants. "And how do you know I'm not the real Adrien Agreste just coming to visit my oldest, dearest friend?"
Chloe glared harder at whatever or whoever was with her and growled back, "Adrien doesn't want to see me. Not after the way I've treated him. Especially not today…"
The anger left her voice at the end and she had to look away. She felt the tears coming again and she let them fall, not caring if she had imaginary company.
"So you do remember," the fake Adrien said softly. He sounded slightly surprised, and she scoffed at him.
"Of course I remember," she said. "I was there."
Silence hung in the air and Chloe began to wonder if the hallucination had disappeared. Turning around, she saw that he had simply moved. He was now sitting in profile on the loveseat at the foot of her bed. He looked at her and gave her a quick uncertain smile.
"Well, all the more reason for me to be here," he said brightly. Then his face fell and he added, "Maybe I'd like to spend her anniversary with someone who loved her too, for a change…"
"You," Chloe shook her head, "Adrien has his father. I know he always complains about Uncle Gabriel being heartless, but he couldn't just leave his son alone on… on today. I'm sure they're…. having dinner or… visiting her or… something…"
It was the hallucination's turn to scoff at her. "You have no idea what he's like, Chloe."
"Shut up!" She snapped, turning away to face the wall again. "I don't have to listen to someone who doesn't even exist make me feel even worse about today!"
There was another long silence as Chloe felt the hot tears building up again. Beating up on herself was one thing, but hallucinating Adrien to make her feel even worse about leaving him alone like this, that was really crossing a line with herself, she thought.
"Why not just call me and find out?"
Chloe sighed and she wiped her eyes.
"Because you hate me," she said quietly.
"I don't hate you, Chloe," the hallucination argued but Chloe spun back to face him and stood up yelling,
"The real Adrien hates me! And if he doesn't hate me he should! All I do is throw myself at him and creep him out like some kind of creepy stalker creep! He's the nicest boy in the world and I take advantage of him nearly every chance I get! He used to be my brother, and I nearly kissed him at his own birthday party! Ech!"
Chloe nearly retched and sat back down on the bed, burying her face in her hands to try to hide from the memory.
"Yeah, about that…" the hallucination said, also sounding quite uncomfortable. "Glad to hear you don't think of me that way, but why did you suddenly start acting like I was your boyfriend once I started going to school?"
"Because I'm a Lesbian and I knew I could use you as cover without you ever wanting to actually go out with me," Chloe replied, still distracted from the horrific and shameful memory.
"Well, you could have at least asked me about it first," the hallucination replied rolling his eyes in annoyance.
There was another pause and then Chloe slowly straightened up and quietly repeated,
"I'm a lesbian."
She looked almost bewildered by her own statement and she said it again, though this time with more confidence.
"I am a lesbian."
"Yeeessss, I heard you the first time Chloe." the hallucination said slowly, arching an eyebrow at her.
Chloe smiled and ducked her head back down to her hands. Her body began to shudder and it became clear that she was giggling for some reason.
"Uh… Chloe?"
"I'm GAY!" Chloe exclaimed, throwing her arms and legs out and falling back onto the bed in a fit of laughter.
"Yes. Yes, you are." The hallucination agreed, awkwardly watching as the girl on the bed continued to laugh and laugh until fresh tears began to form in her eyes.
As she lay there completely oblivious to everything but herself, a small black creature with lime green eyes flew out from the hallucination's shirt to stare at her as well.
"Uh, you sure this is the one you want to pick?" it asked, looking at Chloe uncertainly. Hallucination Adrien gave it a warning look and shoved it back into his shirt pocket.
Eventually, Chloe's laughter ran its course and she simply laid on the bed, still smiling and giggling every so often as she tried to catch her breath.
"Enjoy your new discovery?" the hallucination asked, but Chloe just dismissively waved him off.
"Please, I've known I was gay since I went to the Agreste swimsuit fashion show when I was eight. I just… I've never said it out loud before." She gave another contented giggle and smiled. "It feels… nice."
The hallucination smiled back too. "Well I'm happy to be the first one you've said it too."
"Please, you don't count," Chloe countered. "You're not even real."
The hallucination huffed, and crawled forward onto the bed, the mattress sagging under his weight.
"Chloe."
"Hmm?"
The hallucination reached forward and flicked her sharply on the nose.
"OW!" Chloe sat up rubbing her nose and glared at Adrien. "What the hell was that fo-" Her voice faded out as she stared at the satisfied smile of the boy sitting next to her.
She looked him up and down several times and then reached out and poked him. He let himself lean back a little with the poke. Still smiling he said,
"Hello, Chloe."
Her face went as white as the silk sheets they were sitting on.
"You can't tell anyone!" She screamed, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "I'll give you whatever you want! How much do you- Shit! You're richer than me. I'll, Ah, Uhm. I'll destroy your- um. No one will ever- crap. My father will hear of- NO!"
Chloe was hyperventilating and panicking so much she seemed to be terrifying herself with her own threats. Her eyes were unfocused and she was shaking badly as she held on to Adrien with all her strength. Scared that she might hurt herself, or at least traumatize herself, Adrien did his best to calm her down before she passed out.
It took several minutes of rubbing her arms and pleading with her to just breathe before Chloe seemed to come back to reality again. She was still crying and trembling, but he had gotten her to let go of his shoulders and take one of his hands instead. He used his other arm to pull her into a slightly awkward one armed hug. She continued to tremble, but he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze every so often and eventually she started to squeeze his hand back and nod when he talked to her. Her tears began to slow, and her breath evened out a little.
"Just breathe Chloe," he asked again, giving her hand another squeeze. That was what you were supposed to do to comfort someone wasn't it? It was what he had always done for his mother when she was in the hospital. "It's going to be all right. Okay?"
Chloe sniffed, and tried to dry her eyes. "I'm just… I'm sorry, I… Please don't tell anyone about me. If my father ever found out I could be disowned and have to live off the streets in a box and… and have to eat pizza or starve or… something I don't know, just please Adrien, you have to keep this a secret!" She looked at him with such sincere fear, although it was hard for him not to grin at some of her more specific worries.
"Chloe, I… Look, I promise I won't tell anyone," Adrien assured her.
"Really?" she asked. He had never seen her look so vulnerable before. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying, and her face was completely bare of all make up. She didn't look like Chloe Bourgeois anymore, just a terrified girl who was in dire need of a hug and a fresh box of tissues.
He squeezed her hand again and gave her a comforting smile. "Come on Chloe, am I the kind of guy who would out anybody like that? Much less my oldest, dearest, most gayest friend ever?" He added, jokingly grabbing her around the shoulders with both arms and very awkwardly hugging her in mock plaintiveness. Despite her recent panic attack, she laughed at his overly dramatic theatrics.
"Okay I believe you!" she tittered, putting her hand on his face and shoving him off when he tried to jokingly rub their cheeks together. He laughed and let go, leaning back to give her space and look her over. She stuck out her tongue and then began fixing her hair so she could pretend to ignore him. He chuckled. They were both being childish, and it felt wonderful.
"It's not like this is news to me anyway," he said, sitting up and straightening out his shirt.
Chloe stopped part way through redoing her pony tail and looked at him quizzically. "...What?"
He gave her a deadpan look. "You've never been exactly 'subtle' about your love of other women, Chloe."
Chloe scoffed in mild outrage and looked at him with her mouth agape. "Excuse me? I have never once let even the slightest hint slip, to anyone, that I was anything less than straight. In all of my sixteen years, never once have I so much as let my gaze linger to long on another female."
"When we were kids you always insisted that you were the one who got a kiss from the princess whenever we played superheroes." Adrien countered flatly. Chloe just scoffed again.
"I was the hero, you were the sidekick. Everyone knows the hero is the one who gets the kiss."
"You pestered dad constantly if he could design matching wedding dresses instead of a dress and tux after you saw him designing the autumn wedding line one year."
"That could have been for a double wedding! They were… quite popular at the time I remember. Anyway he drew it up for me didn't he? So, he couldn't have thought it was a bad idea."
"You had him wrapped around your little finger the same as mom did."
"Oh, what-ever."
"And then there's your oh so well hidden crush on Ladybug-"
Here Chloe actually put up her hand to stop him. "Okay, Ladybug doesn't count. There isn't a man, woman, or cat in Paris that isn't in love with Ladybug."
Adrien opened his mouth to argue, but upon reflection simply said, "…touché."
Chloe gave him a victorious smirk and lowered her hand. They both savored the nostalgic feeling of bickering with each other for a minute or two.
"I'm glad you came here today," Chloe said quietly. "It's… I just miss her a lot, you know? And I really missed you too, even if I'm the reason we…" She started to cry again, and Adrien pulled her into a hug without a second thought. She wrapped her arms around him too and buried her face in his shoulder.
"I missed you too, Chloe," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes too.
The two of them hugged and cried for a long time. After they finished they reminisced about their times together, about their memories of Aunt Sophia and, to a lesser extent, Uncle Gabriel. He had never been the most attentive parental figure to either of them, spending most of his time in his office working on designs until Aunt Sophia drug him out to spend time with his family, but Chloe was still shocked when she heard the extent to which he had distanced himself from his son.
"I'm so sorry, Adrien. If I had known I…"
"It's okay." He said, after taking a deep breath. "You had your own problems to deal with. It can't have been easy growing up alone in here either." He said, looking around the luxurious, but coldly impersonal looking penthouse. Aside from a few stuffed animals on the bed, there wasn't much visible in the apartment that showed off any actual personality.
"It's not that bad." Chloe said, following his gaze around the room. "I've got everything a girl could ask for, literally."
"Except freedom to be yourself," he argued. Chloe looked away.
"Everything has a price…"
"Chloe,-'
"So how did you get here?" she asked suddenly. "I was serious, nobody is supposed to be allowed up here. Serge's not even supposed to let my father up here today."
Adrien looked unhappy about her defensive change of topic for a second, but then he seemed to change his mind and gave her a mischievous smile. "Well, you should probably lock your terrace door if you don't want visitors."
Chloe blinked and looked at him as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "…huh?"
"The terrace." He repeated, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "Or veranda or whatever you call it in a hotel. You really should put a lock on it or something. Any half decent cat burglar can just walk right in."
Chloe looked from him to the glass doors just visible through the large windows of her bedroom.
"I guess, but what does that have to do with… Wait… do you mean you?" She laughed. "Adrien, please. There is no way you climbed up five stories to my balcony."
"It's easier than you think," he said with a smile. Her laughter died a little but she still looked at him skeptically. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually, uh… I didn't come here to talk about mom. Though I'm really glad we did."
Her expression softened.
"Me too," she told him. She gave him a grateful smile. "So what did you come here to talk about? However you came here, anyway."
He didn't answer at first, but instead he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small wooden box. The wood was so darkly varnished it looked almost black, but it was streaked with bits of deep red highlighting along the sides. On top was an almost oriental looking design painted, no, carved in to the wood and given that same blood red color. On one side were two hinges that she could tell at a glance were made of real gold.
From the size and hexagonal shape, she quickly guessed it was some kind of jewelry box, but while the design looked antique, the shine of the varnish and the dark rich color of the red paint made it look new. She was sure of three things however:
First: old or new, it was definitely handcrafted, and very expensive.
Second: it was part of a set. The design and craftmanship was exquisite but not overly ornate. The creator could have gone into far more detail but chose not to. The only time Chloe had seen such restraint used on something as ornamental as a jewelry box was when it was part of a set, and all the pieces had to be identical. Going by the level of detail, she guessed there were around six, at most seven boxes like this in existence.
And third: it wouldn't go with a thing in her wardrobe.
She looked from him to the odd box with a questioning eyebrow. Adrien just gave her an apologetic smile for some reason.
"Since you're trusting me with your big secret, I guess it's only fair if I tell you mine?"
He didn't sound entirely sure of himself, so Chloe gently put one hand over the box.
"Adrien, it's okay. I trust you." Even she was surprised by how sincere she sounded, but it was true. It was a little scary actually, trusting someone not because she had paid them off or had threatened them to keep quiet, but simply because she believed that they wouldn't hurt her if given the chance.
"Besides," she added with a shrug. "I doubt you could be involved in anything even remotely scandalous."
Adrien looked honestly offended.
"What? I'll have you know I have one of the most scandalous secrets in Paris. Something everyone in the world is just dying to know!"
"In this little box?" she asked, plucking it from his hand and holding it up for closer inspection. "What's in here? The designs for your father's fall line?" She made to open the lid but Adrien quickly stopped her.
"Actually, that's for later," he replied, carefully taking the box from her and setting it on the bed behind them. "But I think you're going to want to try on what's inside way more than any of my dad's designs."
"Oooo," Chloe said, reaching for the box again. "Now I have to know what's inside."
Adrien caught her wrist again and tutted at her. "First things first Chloe, there's someone I want you to meet."
He stood up, pulling her attention away from the tempting box and standing in front of her as he reached into his inner shirt pocket again. At least, that's what she thought he was going to do. Instead he just held his shirt open slightly and a small black… thing flew out of his shirt and did a few quick loops in the air before saying,
"Finally! If I had to listen to you two be all 'happy family' any longer I was gonna start throwing up rainbows."
Under normal circumstances Chloe would probably have screamed and begun throwing the closest object within reach at the site of any strange, black, flying, and potentially magically corruptible creature, regardless of whether it seemed to be literal bosom buddies with Adrien or not. But between wallowing in her grief most of the day, her accidental step out of the closet, and her long awaited reconciliation with Adrien, she was just too emotionally drained to make such a dramatic reaction so she instead settled for,
"…oh."
"Chloe, I would like to introduce you to Plagg, my Kwami."
"Cool," she said, watching the little creature give her a dismissive wave as it looked around. "…What's a commie?"
"Kwami," Adrien corrected, watching Plagg as he ignored Chloe and flew about the room, probably looking for something to eat. "And he's kind of a… guardian spirit sort of thing?"
"Oh…" Chloe said again, watching Plagg fly around. "You know, I'm starting to think I'm hallucinating again."
"Well could you hallucinate me up some Camembert," Plagg asked as he checked under the bed. "I'm starving here!"
"Camembert?" Chloe repeated, looking from Plagg to Adrien in confusion, and slight disgust. Adrien put his hand to his own face in embarrassment.
"Plagg, would you cut it out already! There is no cheese here so could you please just join the conversation?"
Plagg grumbled at him, but flew back to hover next to Adrien as requested.
"Thank you," Adrien said, exasperatedly. He turned back to Chloe. "Chloe, you are not hallucinating, but you are about to see something amazingly unbelievable," he added with a grin.
Chloe just frowned at him pityingly in response and looked over at Plagg. Plagg looked back at her before looking at Adrien and also gave him a befuddled look.
"…What?" Adrien asked.
"Kid, how exactly are you going to convince her that she isn't hallucinating, if you're about to show her something unbelievable?"
"Yeah, sorry Adrikins, but you're not really helping your case here."
He looked at her flatly before reaching out to flick her on the nose again.
"Okay okay already!" she yelped, scooting back on the bed and covering her smarting nose with her hand. "You're real I get it! Now stop hurting your poor oldest dearest friend already."
He smiled and held up his hands in a show of peace while Plagg very animatedly rolled his eyes at them.
"Alright, let's get a move on already. The sooner we finish here the sooner we get to the food!"
"Fine," Adrien conceded. He and Plagg moved around to the foot of the bed and made sure he had ample space. "Now watch closely. You are the only person to ever see this."
"Well, aren't I the lucky one?" Chloe said, rolling her eyes. Then her brain caught up with her snark instinct. "Wait, see what? Plague isn't your big secret?"
"Plagg," Adrien corrected. "And kind of, but he's only part of it."
"Will you just show her already!"
Adrien grumbled something about no one appreciating a proper build up and finally proclaimed,
"Plagg, claws out!"
Chat Noir always loved the transformation process. Putting on the ears and mask with a swish of his hand, directing the sparkling energy from his chest outward to form his suit, and finally feeling his tail burst into being to complete the ensemble. He felt unbelievably cool nearly every time he transformed. He expected his first audience to be stunned into silence, or perhaps gasping and stammering in shock and confusion. He certainly didn't expect laughter.
And yet, that was exactly what Chloe was doing. Laughing. She saw his confused and slightly hurt look and tried to stifle her laughter.
"Sorry," she said unconvincingly, still smiling from behind her hand. "Sorry just… you actually choreographed a whole transformation sequence for Chat Noir? You even struck a pose at the end and everything. I just… wow. No honestly, it's super impressive how dedicated you are. I should totally come up with one for Ladybug too! Of course, I actually have to put on my suit."
Chat Noir let his arms fall to his sides and stared at her. "Uh, Chloe? You do understand what's going on, right?"
"Of course I do Adrien. I understand completely," she replied earnestly. "And really it isn't that big a deal. I mean, yeah you went way more into it than most, but that kind of dedication is something to be admired."
"Chloe, I think you're missing something here," Chat said carefully. "I mean, you did see the whole thing, right? Plagg sucked into the ring, magic sparks, Adrien Agreste turning into Chat Noir right before your eyes?"
"And an excellent performance it was," Chloe replied, smiling encouragingly. "Seriously, I'm blown away. You've gone just all out on this. It's almost like I'm looking at the real Chat Noir."
Enhanced senses or not, Chat Noir couldn't believe his ears. Stammering he frantically gestured at himself and exclaimed,
"You are looking at the real Chat Noir!"
Chloe gave him a patient look. "Adrien, I've spent quite a bit of time around the real Chat Noir and know for a fact that you aren't him. It's a very good costume, and I'm not quite sure how you did the actual change, but I can tell it's you under that mask. I mean it only covers your cheek bones."
Chat Noir continued to gape at her in disbelief. With a sigh of pity, she stood up and walked over to him.
"Look, mask aside there are a couple other little details you missed. Just a couple little things."
"Like what!?" Chat Noir screamed. Chloe pursed her lips and gave him a look that said she did not appreciate his attitude.
"Well, for a start, your hair's all wrong," she snapped, reaching up to take one of his stray locks between her thumb and forefinger. "Chat Noir's hair looks like a bunch of bananas turned into a wig. Yours is much to… uhm…" She faltered, blinking at the "banana" styled bundle of hair she was holding as if she only just realized it was there.
She quickly let go of it and shook her head dismissively. "Never mind. You're off on the eyes too of course. Chat's eyes are much more… uhm…"
As she looked into his eyes she blinked again, as if suddenly able to see them properly for the first time. "Well, er… Chat Noir is much taller than…" She paused, holding a hand level with the top of Chat's head.
"…Shorter?" she tried again, moving her hand up so it was level with the tips of his ears. She faltered there too. And on the next correction she tried to make. And the next. And the next.
Chat Noir's confidence began to come back as Chloe began circling him, pointing out a flaw, and then trailing off when she realized it wasn't a flaw at all. After the twentieth time, where she tried almost desperately to say that his bell was crooked, she stopped and just stared at him in wonder.
'About time,' he thought.
"What's the matter" he asked, giving her his best Cheshire grin. "Chat got your tongue?"
The pun seemed to be the last straw, and Chloe took a step back, clutching at her head and said, "But you can't be… Adrien?"
His triumph was short lived as Chloe stared at him in shock just a moment longer before suddenly wincing in a contorted grimace and clutching her head with both hands. Her knees buckled and she would have collapsed on the floor had Chat Noir not cried out in alarm and bolted to her side to catch her. As he steadied her, she put one hand on his shoulder, while the other remained clutched to her head in pain. He helped her back to the side of the bed again and let her sit down. She refused to lay down completely when he tried to make her, but after a few seconds she was able to open her eyes again.
"Are you okay?" Chat Noir asked. He felt stupid the moment the words left his lips.
"No," Chloe spat, rubbing her temples and keeping her eyes pointedly fixed on her own lap. "I feel like someone just cataclysmed my head."
"Sorry," he said meekly. He sat next to her awkwardly, unsure of what to do or if he was even still welcome in her company. Chloe stopped rubbing her head and looked up at him. Her eyes looked frustrated, then confused, then amazed.
"It really is you," she said, sitting up and staring at him in awe. "You're Chat Noir."
"The one and only," he said, masking his anxiety with his signature charm. She gave him a single scoff and shook her head, smiling.
"How did I not see it? How did I not recognize you immediately! You don't even change your voice!"
Chat Noir Shrugged. "Ehe, it's all in the attitude." This only made her look more worried and confused so he added, "I think there must be some magic that keeps people from recognizing me. I mean, both of my faces are on TV nearly every day, but no one's ever put them together. I should probably ask Plagg about it actually..."
"Well, thanks for using me as your guinea pig," Chloe grumbled, going back to rubbing her temples.
Chat winced at her tone. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I swear, I had no idea it would hurt like that!"
Chloe took a deep sigh and put her hand back in her lap. "It's alright. I'm not mad at you, I just… I feel so… blonde right now. It's like there was this wall separating Adrien and Chat Noir in my brain. They just couldn't have any correlation with one another at all. But when I started looking for reasons why they couldn't, when you were right in front of me, it was like that wall just… broke. I'm fine now, but… wow."
Chat Noir hummed in response as he thought about her description. It certainly sounded like magic alright.
After a while Chloe broke the silence.
"So…" she said, innocently looking around and casually swinging her feet. "Chat Noir huh?"
"Yep," Chat confirmed.
"Hmmm." Her eyes slid over to him with a hopeful glint in them. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me who Ladybug is too, huh?"
Chat gave her a playfully chiding look.
"Hey," she said with a shrug, "a girl's got to have her priorities."
"…touché," he conceded with a nod, then added with a sigh, "and between you and me I'd love to know too."
"Wait." Chloe blinked in surprise. "You mean you don't know who your own partner is?"
Chat Noir shook his head sadly. "Our kwamis are pretty big on us keeping total secrecy, even among other miraculous bearers."
Chloe gaped at him.
"Hold on, you two protect your secret identities so much you don't even know who each other is? But you're telling me?"
"Because I have a very important reason to," Chat Noir said excitedly. He adjusted himself so his entire body was facing toward her. "Chloe, do you know why I became Chat Noir?"
"…So you could hit on Ladybug?" she ventured.
"No. Though being close to my lady was an unexpected perk," he admitted. "I got my miraculous the same day I tried to go to school for the first time. My dad wouldn't let me though, and he made Gorilla and Nathalie bring me back. I felt like a prisoner! Then I found my Miraculous and met Plagg. Becoming Chat Noir gave me the freedom I wanted for so long! I can do anything like this! Be anyone! Adrien Agreste has to be Paris's poster child and be a perfect little gentleman twenty four seven, but Chat Noir can do anything he wants!"
"As long as he's being a hero," Chloe reminded him. Chat smiled.
"Everything has a price," he parroted. "But it's so worth it, Chloe. I get to be dashing, charming, funny, and most of all free! All I have to do in return is fight some bad guys once in a while and hang out with the most wonderful woman in Paris."
"While nearly getting killed in the process," Chloe added while rolling her eyes. Still, there was a wistful look in her eyes as they settled on his ring, and that was all the encouragement Chat needed. He grabbed the ornate wooden box from behind them on the bed. She looked from him to the box curiously.
"It is amazing, Chloe. And I can't think of anyone else in Paris who would appreciate that freedom as much as I do." He offered her the box.
Chloe looked confused a second longer before her eyes went so wide they seemed in danger of popping out of her face.
"You mean this is a…"
"Uh hu," he said, grinning.
"You want me to…"
"Yeah!" He nodded enthusiastically.
"Are you…"
"I am," he cut her off again, looking her in the eye and letting his excitement give way to certainty.
Truth be told, he hadn't come there expecting to offer it to her that night. He had just meant to see if he could lay some ground work with her, maybe test her to see if she really was as bad as she made out to be with their classmates, find out why she acted so flirty with him. She had far exceeded all of his expectations and he was certain she was the one for the job now. He just knew it in his gut. Now all he had to do was wait for her to accept.
"Are you out of your mind!" she yelled furiously, standing up and staring at him in horror.
Of course, Chloe always had a way of surprising him.
"…What?" he asked, completely lost as to where he had gone wrong.
"I'm Chloe Bourgeois!" she said in way of answer, gesturing to herself franticly.
"Yes," Chat said slowly, not seeing the problem. Chloe groaned and slapped her face.
"Chloe Bourgeois, the queen bitch of Paris!"
"Language," Chat chided, but Chloe was in no mood for it.
"I am the single most horrible person in Paris, Adrien! I have bribed, blackmailed, and bullied every man, woman, child, and retail worker to ever cross my path. I publicly humiliated a boy for asking me out with a jeweled broach! Then I had a girl locked in a bathroom so that I could stand next to you in a picture to prove how straight I was! I've gotten other students suspended by threatening the principle. Hawkmoth should give me a medal for the amount of Akumas I've made for him! There isn't a person in Paris who hasn't wished that Chloe Bourgeois was dead."
She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor. There was a glow of light and a crackling sound and she turned to see Adrien Agreste standing in front of her again.
"I never did," he told her.
Chloe actually gasped. She was sure that if she had any tears left she would have started crying again, but they had been spent. He walked over to her and took her hands gently.
"You're family Chloe. I could never wish you were… We've lost to much of our family already." He wiped his eyes. "But you're right. You are pretty terrible to people. I'm the one who has to clean up your mess you know. I've fought every Akuma of every person you hurt. I've heard every one of our classmates talk about how you ruined their life. I watched the caring girl I used to love like a sister and play super heroes with be called pure evil by my friends! It broke my heart every time I heard someone try to say your name, because your right, Chloe Bourgeois is the most hated person in Paris. I can't even argue that anymore!"
Chloe looked down at the floor between them, ashamed. "I can see why you'd think I'd make a good superhero," she quipped, bitterly.
Adrien looked at her carefully for a moment and then said, "You know, I've been meaning to ask you something for a long time, Chloe."
"Are my sunglasses prescription?"
He actually was curious about that, but Adrien refused to let her change the subject this time.
"Why? Why do you act like this, Chloe? What happened to you?"
"…Why shouldn't I act like this? I'm rich, I'm beautiful, I'm the Mayor's daughter. Why not enjoy it?"
Chloe tried to cross her arms again but Adrien kept his grip on her hands. She wriggled awkwardly for a second but still refused to look at him.
"Is it because if me?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Is it because I left you alone for so long?"
Her heart nearly stopped when she heard the anguish in his voice. "What? No! Adrien no, I left you alone after she died, remember? I'm the one who stopped visiting and left you alone in that house!"
"But I could have gone after you!" He argued desperately. "Something happened to you to make you like this, and I should have been there to help you after mom…"
"…Life happened to me, Adrian." Her voice was mournful as she turned and looked out the window and gazed out over Paris. "There's nothing you could have done to protect me from that. Most kids get normal families and like the people their supposed to, but they have to work till they're eighty just to afford a carboard box to live in. I get a penthouse and some magic words that get me whatever I want, but I have to be the person I'm told to be. That's how life works. You read your lines off the teleprompter, or you sit in the audience."
Adrien watched her and the city for a minute before asking, "Did you ever want the box and the family instead?"
"No." Chloe's expression hardened. "I wanted it all. The family, the penthouse, the girlfriend, even the box too just so it's mine. I wanted all of it, Adrien." She scowled. "But you're not supposed to have it all. So, I make do with what I have and hate the people who have what I don't."
"Chloe,"
"I hate them, Adrien! I hate all our stupid perfect classmates with their perfect little families. I hate all those stupid peasants who don't have to worry about their father disowning them because having a gay daughter might hurt their chances of becoming prime minister someday. I hate Marinette for being the perfectly perfect back stabbing bitch that everyone thinks is so wonderful! I hate you and Ladybug for saving me all the time when I don't deserve it! I hate everything!"
She practically screamed the last words before collapsing onto the floor. Her body was wracked with dry sobs and her mind was dizzy with hate, pain, and dehydration. Adrien looked at her helplessly. He had no idea what to say, or what to do. Fortunately for both of them, there was still one person left in the room.
"So the world sucks and it's not fair," Plagg said, floating off from his spot on the bed where he had been watching them. "Congratulations, you've already figured out what takes most of you humans' half your life span." He landed in front of Chloe, who looked down at him with a tired, and angry expression.
"Look," he told her seriously, which came as quite a surprise to Adrian. "I'm the Kwami of destruction, so I'm not really good at the whole comforting thing but here goes. You're going to die."
To his credit, that did get Chloe to stop sobbing. All she could do was stare at him, then look over at Adrien, who looked like he wanted to die too now rather than be affiliated with Plagg in anyway.
"Just hear me out here," Plagg insisted. "You are going to die right? You're human, that's what humans do. They live for a little while, and then they die. We Kwami's have pretty long life spans, but we spend most of it asleep in our miraculous until some human needs us, and even then we usually only stay awake until their done with us. So you know what I do when I wake up? I enjoy it. Every second of it. No matter who owns me, if we're on the good side or bad, I try to enjoy it, cause my time is limited, and so's yours!
"I'll be honest, cause life is too short to beat around the bush you know, I thought Adrien's brain had gone overripe when he said he wanted you to have the miraculous. But after gettin' to know you better tonight, he's right. You should have it. Because you're miserable. You get what life's all about, having fun, and you can't join the party so you gotta make it miserable for the folks that can. I can respect that. But,"
Plagg flew back to the bed quickly and returned carrying the box. He placed it on the floor between them and continued.
"What the kid tried to explain before, is this is your ticket in. Everybody hate's Chloe Bourgeois right? From the sound of things, you want a break from her more than anyone. Well with this you'll get a second life! Sure you'll have to risk it fighting a few monsters, but Ladybug's magic fixes everything anyway. But for a little bit of work, you get a clean slate. No fathers, no expectations, you really do get to be whoever you want. And trust me, the ladies love the mask."
"You should know," Adrien added to Chloe, giving her a knowing smile.
She was stunned however. Clean slate? It was impossible. Everyone in Paris knew who she was, she'd be recognized instantly. But then, she hadn't known who Adrien was even after he showed her, so maybe no one would know who she was too. Still, was Plagg really suggesting that she could be…
"A gay super hero?" Even when she said it out loud it sounded ridiculous.
"Why not?" Adrien asked excitedly.
"Seriously, it's not the first time it's been done," Plagg told her.
"Yeah, but not in Paris?" Chloe chided him. "Being gay isn't illegal, but they aren't exactly openly welcomed either."
"It's the city of love," Adrien said, making a dramatic swoon. "Nobody really cares. Besides, what better way to meet the ladies of our fair city then by swooping them off their feet to safety."
"Yeah, because that's worked so well for you, hasn't it lover boy?" Chloe replied, rolling her eyes at him again. Adrien wilted somewhat.
"Well… It's kind of hard to sweep a girl to safety when she's actively fighting the danger."
"The point is," Plagg said, trying to keep them from getting side tracked again. "If freedom to flirt is what you want, this is how you get it." He tapped on the box again.
Chloe looked from him to the box and bit her lip. She looked to Adrien but he just smiled and nodded. Nervously, she reached down, and picked up the box. Slowly, she began to open it.
"I am a cat! Just hanging out!"
Everybody jumped as the second verse to Jagged Stone's number one hit began blaring through the air. Chloe nearly dropped the box on Plagg, and had to clutch at her racing heart while she glared at Adrien as he frantically searched his pockets for his phone to silence the alarm.
"Seriously Adrien?"
"Hey, it's a good song" he said, finally fishing the phone out and silencing it. "We gotta go. Nathalie will be calling me down for dinner soon."
Plagg made his enthusiasm for the evening meal well known, as Chloe shook her head and stood up to escort them out. A few minutes later, Chat Noir was strolling out onto the terrace with Chloe following behind with an amused expression.
"So, you do the whole dance every time?"
Chat Noir looked up at the sky and sighed exasperatedly.
"It's not a dance it's… You know what, forget it. You'll understand soon enough."
Chloe hummed in agreement and looked at the box she was still carrying.
"You know I'm still not sure about this, right?"
"It's worth it Chloe," Chat told her, hopping up onto the railing. "Look, why don't you spend tonight just relaxing and taking it easy. Just hold on to the box for now and we can get started on teaching you the ropes tomorrow after school?"
Knowing it was Adrien under that mask, Chloe suddenly felt very uneasy seeing him balance precariously over a five-story drop. She knew Chat Noir never fell, but she still reached up and grabbed his arm anyway.
"You know you could just walk across the street. We can literally see your front door from here," she suggested. He smiled at her and squatted down on the rail to look her eye to eye.
He carefully removed her hand from his arm and held it between his.
"True, but remember what Plagg said. Our time is limited, so enjoy it." And with that he let go of her hand and launched himself backwards into the air. Chloe almost screamed out his name, but caught herself before she did. Instead she just huffed and shook her head as she watched Paris's favorite cat pole-vault and backflip his way to the back of the Agreste Mansion.
"Show off."
With an affectionate smile she turned and went back inside. Chat was right, it was nearly dinner time, and for the first time she was ending Sophia Agreste's anniversary without her stomach churning with bad butterflies. She grabbed her mineral water and drained the whole bottle in one go. Not very lady like, but then, who cared really? Catching sight of herself in the reflection off one of her windows she cringed. Had she really spent the entire afternoon with Adrien looking like that? It was a good thing he was family, anyone else would have to be killed for seeing her in such a state. Making her way back to the bedroom, she grabbed another bottle of mineral water and put the box in a place of honor atop her Ladybug pillow before stepping into the bathroom to freshen up.
She thought about what she would like Serge to bring her for dinner as she ran herself a bath and tried to keep herself from dry sobbing again after getting a good look at her swollen red eyes. She didn't notice the heavily varnished box begin to slip from atop the round and fuzzy ladybug pillow. No sooner had she closed the door than the box fell off the pillow and the bed and bounced off the stairs, popping open and releasing an orb of golden light.
Author's Notes:
Regarding the lateness of this chapter: As you can tell, this chapter took a lot longer to write than was anticipated. I blame Chloe. Entire pages were deleted and completely rewritten several times because the girl would just not stop talking I kept losing the plot thread. I think I must have written another chapter's worth of just rambling between Chloe and Adrien. Several times I'd have to stop writing the conversation I was working on and go back to see if I have already written it somewhere else in that draft. There was a lot of Chloe's character that had to be gone into, or at least touched upon in this chapter, and I'm still worried that too much was crammed in at once.
Regarding Adrien: Adrien is a cinnamon roll. He's got a bit more of a lip on him now after spending a year with Plagg, but he is still a cinnamon roll. Just to clarify, he knows which Kwami is in the box, although he hasn't met them personally. A bit more about this will be gone into in later chapters, but that is one of the key reasons he picked Chloe over, say, Nino or Alya. The moment he heard "Queen" he thought Chloe.
Regarding Plagg: Plagg is a really fun character to write once I figured out how I wanted to write him. I can summarize my take on him in one word, nihilistic. In two words, positively nihilistic. As he said, he's the Kwami of destruction. He understands better than anyone how fragile and fleeting life is, and rather than despair at it, he embraces all the time he has and encourages those around him to do the same. I think this maybe a fairly cannon interpretation of him too, though I'm ashamed to say that he only clicked with me as I was writing the final draft of the ending. Originally, I just had him complain that they kids were wasting time and he sped of the process so he could go eat finally.
Regarding Chloe's hatred of Marinette and her fears of being disowned and of Pizza: Two of these will be gone into in detail in later chapters, one not so much. I leave it to you to guess which.