Dear Marinette,
This is the fourteenth try at writing you. To be fair, thirteen was going quite well. Then I took a bath to order my thoughts, and when I came out of the bath was when Ladybug visited, and somewhere in all that I managed to knock my glass of water all over the letter. I suppose I could just recopy that letter, but that seems to me like cheating, somehow. Besides, things have changed to the better since I wrote that letter, so perhaps a fresh start is best.
Thank you for going along with Alya's idea for us to go to lunch together yesterday. I am realizing how much I missed out on, being a prissy princess as I was. Your family is amazing. Your dad is a dad, approachable, kind, wise, and I can tell how much he enjoys teaching you things about his craft. And that you have him completely wrapped around your finger. Your mom is – I have no idea how you can keep coming in late and forgetting assignments, because I would never want to disappoint that woman. I would feel terrible if I disappointed her. I can easily see how much she loves you and supports you, but I can also see that she's definitely the one in charge. I was amazed watching her in just that short time.
Also, is that the sort of lunch you eat every day? I would be the size of Ivan if I could eat food like that. It's nothing like food at Le Grand Paris. That's not a jab at Mme. Césaire at all, by the way, but she's a chef at a two star restaurant (which will soon be a three star, I am sure), and as good as the food is, it comes in small portions, and that's what I am used to. Your dad makes a big lunch of delicious food, and the bread, and the muffins – I think I ate more at lunch than I did all day the day before. And I didn't want to stop. Please, can we get lunch together again soon? I'll love you forever
Chloé gasped and dropped her pen as what she wrote struck her. She had been writing colloquially, but the words resonated. I'll love you forever. She'd used similar phrases before, but writing it down, in a letter to Marinette…it was different. Much different. We've just started to try to be friends. It's just a crush right now. Isn't it?
"Shit." She turned to grab her phone, then realized she had left it on her nightstand. She got up and pulled her robe tightly around herself. She felt cold this morning, like something was wrong. Maybe it was just everything in her head. She needed to talk to someone about this, and the nosey busybody who set up her lunch date was first on her list. When she picked up her phone, there were already half a dozen messages on it, four from Alya and two from Sabrina. She checked Sabrina's first, and almost dropped her phone. Adrien kidnapped by a giant gorilla? Gorilla? Oh, shit.
Ladybugsno1fan: It's adriens bodyguard he always calls the man the gorilla because he refuses to tell adrien his name
Bestredheadgirl: Well then, that might be a problem. Ladybug is on the case, but no sign of the black kitty
Ladybugsno1fan: …its not my fault again! I didn't cause the akuma!
Bestredheadgirl: I'm not sure if i am proud that you didn't or annoyed that you're celebrating instead of doing something
Ladybugsno1fan: What can I do? I don't have any superpowers and i'm sure your father will have the rest of it under control. Ladybug doesn't need distraction
Bestredheadgirl: Okay i'm definitely proud. If i find out about anything that happens that doesn't make the news i will let you know
Ladybugsno1fan: You are best redhead girl, Sabrina
Bestredheadgirl: Of course i am. I'm fabulous. Message if you need anything, but i might be a bit busy
Ladybugsno1fan: Don't do anything stupid
Bestredheadgirl: That's alya's job, i am totally not doing anything stupid.
Chloé frowned even as her hands trembled with worry. Something was not quite right with that response. She pulled up Alya's message queue.
Mlle. Ladyblog: You never told me how lunch went why are you holding out on me?
Mlle. Ladyblog: Apparently the city is going a bit nuts about the new cologne adrien is promoting. He's been chased around the city all morning, #adreinagreste is trending like crazy
Mlle. Ladyblog: Okay so not to make you panic or anything but it looks like adrien has been kidnapped by a giant gorilla akuma
Mlle. Ladyblog: You must still be asleep what is wrong with you Chloé?
Chloé struggled for a moment then reconciled the meaning of the messages. What in the hell, does she think she can send messages like that without explaination?
Ladybugsno1fan: What the hell? I was working on a letter if you must know. Sabrina told me about adrien. You aren't doing your ladyblog thing, are you? She isn't with you, is she?
The response was immediate.
Mlle. Ladyblog: Oh thank god i was beginning to wonder
Mlle. Ladyblog: No I'm with rose juleka and Mylène we were supposed to go swimming with marinette but she hasn't shown up. I saw her in a couple of pics with adrien, i can only guess that she got dragged into the shenanigans. He should know by now to use a good disguise if he sneaks out
Mlle. Ladyblog: Why did you think Sabrina is with me?
Ladybugsno1fan: I thought she was being too clever for her own good, but its more likely she was just trying to mess with me. She has gotten much sassier recently
Mlle. Ladyblog: I don't think that's a bad thing Chloé
Ladybugsno1fan: I suppose you're right
Ladybugsno1fan: I'm not going to be able to do anything at all until i know adrien and marinette are safe
Mlle. Ladyblog: Aww that's so sweet
Ladybugsno1fan: Shut up i am not in the mood with them being in danger
Ladybugsno1fan: When this is all over can you come see me i need someone to talk to
Mlle. Ladyblog: Feelings talking?
Ladybugsno1fan: Much feelings talking
Mlle. Ladyblog: Okay it might not be til evening but when i get done with the girls i will come over
Ladybugsno1fan: Thank you alya for being a better friend than i deserve
Mlle. Ladyblog: I'm just trying to make you into the best girlfriend marinette deserves
Ladybugsno1fan: Aadflkjgvliaursebfgakj
Ladybugsno1fan: Damn it alya i'm to much of an emotional mess right now for your shit okay?
Mlle. Ladyblog: I'm sorry Chloé you're right that was rather mean of me, i know you're worried. It will be okay, ladybug will take care of it
Ladybugsno1fan: I know she will but until it's over i will worry
Mlle. Ladyblog: Try not to think about it, it will be over soon now that ladybug is there. I'll message when it is
Ladybugsno1fan: Thanks alya
Chloé dropped her phone on the bed and flopped backwards next to it. She should turn on the news but whenever something involving adrien happened she just couldn't watch it on the television. If something did happen, she didn't want to have to watch it in real time.
Damn it, she knew that she would end up having to scrap that letter, too. If she tried to write anything today it would be an emotional mess, and she was sure that once she talked with Alya she would have a better feel for what she was thinking. For what she was feeling. God, she was such a mess. She sighed and reached up for a pillow, drawing it down so she could hug it. She hoped this would all be over soon.
LFC LFC LFC
Marinette flopped down on her chaise. It was only 2pm and she was absolutely exhausted. Damned akuma. She sighed and sat up, opening a drawer and pulling out a small pack of cookies. She heard Tikki squeak and then one of the cookies was missing from the box, while the red form of Tikki sat next to the box, munching on the cookie. "Thank you, Marinette!"
Marinette giggled. "No thanks needed, Tikki. We're partners, we take care of each other."
"Speaking of partners…" Tikki began. There was something in her Kwami's tone that Marinette was sure she would come to regret.
"Is this going to be about Chat Noir again?" she asked in resignation.
"What?" Tikki asked. "Oh! No, not that kind of partner, silly."
"Oh thank goodness," Marinette said with a sigh. Then she rewound the reply and thought about it again. "Tikki, what kind of partner are you talking about?"
"Oh, I wanted to talk about Chloé!"
"WHAT?" Marinette half shouted.
Tikki floated up even with Marinette's eyes. "I wanted. To talk. About Chloé."
Something in Tikki's tone gave Marinette pause, and so she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Okay, what about Chloé?"
"You like her," Tikki said, "a lot. And it is bothering you that she thinks you are two different people."
Marinette sighed. "It's not that she thinks I'm two different people. It's that she told something to Ladybug that was a secret, about Marinette. And I feel awful about it, because it feels like a lie. Is think what Alya felt like when she read Chloé's note?" She sighed again. "I have to lie enough as it is, Tikki. I have to keep secrets to protect people. I disappear all the time, I come in late, I look like a total space case. How can I have a real life if I look so unreliable?" Marinette was agitated now. "How can I be a fashion designer? How can I even work in the bakery? How am I ever going to pass all my classes? Or how am I ever supposed to fall in love, if I can't tell anyone about who I really am?" she wailed.
Tikki had started to deflate, but perked right up at the last. "Fall in love?"
Marinette looked at her Kwami, and then ran back over what she had said. "Oh, no, don't start getting ideas, Tikki."
"Oh, Marinette, I think it's sweet," the red Kwami said. "I know that it will be hard, but I'm sure you can…"
"No." Marinette said with finality. "No. I will not do that to Chloé. She really likes me. It was so cute how she was trying to hide it yesterday, but she really, really likes me. Me. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I don't know how I feel about her. Now that she's not being awful, she's actually fun. She knows a lot about fashion, about the structure and the style and what makes things good, and timeless. She's sweet. She's really, really pretty. She's also really, really smart. And she has put her heart out there for me, and if I pull all the usual Ladybug bullshit with her, vanishing and coming up with lame excuses, just when she is trying to open up to me, just when she is coming to accept herself, do you know how much damage I could do? Do you know how much I could hurt her? She's smart enough to see through all the excuses, I'm surprised she hasn't already. She would think I didn't care, that I was playing with her. If she was awful before, what do you think would happen if I broke her heart like that?"
Tikki looked solemnly at her partner. "You really have thought about this, haven't you?"
Marinette shrugged. "I thought about it all long before now. Thought it about Adrien. Maybe that's why I liked the idea of him so much. I liked having a crush, a love from afar, because Ladybug can never have a relationship. She is married to her job."
Tikki's eyes went wide, and she began to shiver. "Marinette, no, don't start thinking like that. You could attract him."
Marinette's eyes widened. "Papillion?" Tikki nodded. "Alright. I'll try not to dwell on it. But Tikki, I don't know what I can really do."
Tikki looked at her Ladybug for a long, long moment. "Are you really serious about this?" she asked.
"I'm serious enough to stop it before it begins, rather than breaking Chloé's heart when it falls apart," the blunette girl replied.
Tikki hmmmm'd. "Okay, Marinette. I think…I think we should go see Master Fu again."
LFC LFC LFC
Chloé looked around as she walked down the street. She felt off. She wasn't wearing her favorite jacket, or any makeup. Her hair was pulled back in a half-bun, half-tail mess. She knew she was an emotional wreck. Maybe that was the reason why, when Alya and the girls had found their pool and invited her to join them, she had accepted. She didn't want to sit all alone in her empty suite. The pool was actually fairly close, which made her wonder just how the girls had gotten lost finding it, but she was going to be nice and not mention it. She hadn't been to a public pool in years, and wasn't sure what to expect. As she walked in, the first thing that she noticed was that the smell was…different. It didn't have that awful, acrid chlorine smell. Maybe they had replaced the chlorine with bromine salts, like the pool at the hotel had? She had been worried about the effects of the water on her hair, but maybe it had been for nothing? She should just try and enjoy this. She should just relax, and try to mend some bridges.
She walked into the changing room and saw the girls all waiting for her. "I didn't think you would wait, you should have gotten in," she told them.
Alya looked at the other girls. "I told you," she said.
"What?" Chloé asked.
"Well," Rose said, "she said that you'd say what you did. That we shouldn't have waited on you. She says you're trying to change." She nodded. "And I think so, too. So." The tiny blonde stood up, and walked over to Chloé, holding her hand out. "Hi, I'm Rose Lavillant. I like flower arranging, angels, the color pink, and Juleka." She nodded to the taller girl, then looked back to Chloé. "She's mine, by the way."
Chloé chuckled, and took the girl's hand. "Chloé Bourgeois. I like fashion, the color yellow, being snarky, and Ladybug." She thought about it for a moment, and blushed. "But not like you like Juleka. Wow, wouldn't that be awkward…" she said to the side.
"She's crushing on Marinette," Alya put in.
"ALYA!" Chloé yelled, turning to face the girl. Rose was giggling, though.
"We already all knew, Chloé," Rose said. "You were following her around like a lost puppy when you got back from lunch. It was absolutely adorable."
Chloé folded her arms and grumbled. "I didn't think I was that obvious," she muttered.
"Chloé," Juleka offered in her quiet voice, "Max and Kim noticed. And they are the two most obtuse boys in the whole school. Max, because he's way too into his interests to notice, and Kim because, well…" Juleka paused, not sure how to say it.
"He's dumb," Mylène interjected, and the other girls all turned to look at her. Mylène shrugged. "I'm sorry, but he is. Everyone thinks my Ivan is stupid, but he's not. He's shy, and he's convinced that because he's big, everyone will assume he's not that bright. But he writes all the time, and his poetry is getting better. He's getting more confident." She giggled, then looked at the girls again, her face sobering. "Kim is just a muscle head. Maybe he has a brain, but he doesn't bother to use it. He thinks he can get by on looks and talent, because he doesn't understand that successful athletes have to be smart and dedicated and disciplined. It really makes me angry that people look down on my Ivan, who tries his hardest, and look up to Kim, who doesn't give a damn."
The other four girls looked at Mylène. It was the longest any of them had ever heard her talk, and it was quite passionate. "You really love him," Rose said, a shy, sweet smile on her face.
Mylène nodded. "I do," she said.
"Keep practicing those two words," Alya quipped, "You'll be saying them to him some day."
Mylène looked up at Alya, her eyes going wide, and she turned the most alarming shade of red.
"Alya," Chloé put in, "even I know better than to tease Mylène like that. She might have a meltdown."
Alya nodded. "Sorry, Mylène," she apologized. Mylène nodded, her face still red. The girls picked up their bags, and went further into the changing room. Chloé hadn't really paid attention to the other girls in her class in a long time, and when they came back together in a group, she had a surprise. The first was Juleka; the girl had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, revealing that the left side of her head was shaved up to about an inch over her ear, but that was secondary in Chloé's mind. Foremost was that when the left side was flipped up, the underside was dyed in a continuous rainbow, from purple at the front, the tips of which could normally be seen, to red at the back, and all the rest of the colors in between. It was striking, and Chloé walked around the girl to look at the other side of her head, but while the side was shaved there as well, there was no riot of color present.
Rose smirked at Chloé, an expression the taller blonde had never seen on the girl's face before, and she said, "Juleka is my girlfriend, Chloé, so don't be making moves on her, or checking her out so blatently."
Chloé blushed, and shook her head. "I didn't mean to, I just…her hair is…cool. I'd never be able to wear something like that, even if I wanted to. Daddy would have a stroke." She thought about it for a moment. "I – I'm sor – I'm sorry, if I bothered you, Juleka," Chloé stammered out. She really wasn't used to apologizing.
"Not going to apologize to me?" Rose asked.
"Only if Juleka asks me to," Chloé replied. "She was the one I was looking at – checking out, if you please. If I offended her, it's her business. If you trust her, then you shouldn't be a jealous bitch, Rose." Alya and Mylène both cringed, wondering if there was going to be trouble between the girls, but then Rose laughed, and she bounced forward to hug Chloé.
"I am so proud of you, Chloé!" the tiny girl said. "I set you up, and then baited you, and you responded just about perfectly! You apologized to Juleka, and you told me to push off for a perfectly good reason!" She let the taller girl go, and stepped back. "I'm sorry, too, for testing you like that, Chloé. I really want this new you to be true, but…we have a history. And you…you hurt Juleka. You deliberately excluded her, for petty reasons. I was absolutely furious when you did that. I don't care what you do to me, but if you hurt Juleka like that again, I. Will. End. You." This was said with so much icy fury that no one there doubted that Rose would carry through with her threat. Why Chloé had ever thought of Rose as a mousy pushover, she had no idea. Then the blonde was smiling again, and she grabbed Chloé's and Juleka's hands. "Now, let's go have fun!" She pulled them along, letting go so she could turn around, and as she retook their hand, Chloé had another surprise.
"Rose, is that a tattoo?" The girl was wearing a one-piece with a low, open back, and along either side of her spine were pale, ghostly feathered wings. They looked just like the wings on the back of her favorite shirt.
"Mmhm," Rose replied, nodding.
"Where did you even find a place that would tattoo a fourteen year old? And why did you get them?" Chloé asked.
"Spain," the pixie blonde replied. "Had to get my father to sign off on it, but they will do tattoos that young in quite a few places in Spain. I wanted to get the wingtips done in rainbows, but Daddy said I have to wait for that until I'm old enough not to need him to sign off on it. He doesn't really criticize me, but he really doesn't understand that I love Juleka. That I like girls. He thinks it's just a phase I'm going through, and that as I get older I'll start liking boys instead." She snorted. "I've loved Juleka since I was about six. I knew we would always be together. Even if I had no idea what that meant back then. I was her prince, and she was my princess. And as for why, it's because they inspire me to be strong."
Alya laughed. "I've always pictured you as the more girly of the two of you," she told Rose.
Rose giggled. "I mean, sure, I like pink and all that, which is stereotypical as hell I know, but Juleka has always been the shy, quiet one. I like that people underestimate me. I'm cute, tiny Rose, there's no way that I've been taking Systema since I was eleven and Kenpo since I was seven."
"Damn," Alya said, as the girls reached the poolside. Rose let go of Juleka and Chloé and jumped into the water in a graceful arc.
"I am so glad that her akuma form was Princess Fragrance and not something based on her martial arts. She would have killed me," Chloé said softly. Juleka just nodded.
"Why does she always use your full name?" Alya asked, as Mylène lowered herself into the water.
Juleka gave a soft smile. "Because she thinks a nickname will diminish me, or make me think I'm less than I am. She wants me to be big and bold and as fearless as she is." She looked at her girlfriend with affection as she splashed in the water. "She does call me 'Koi' when we snuggle. It's Japanese for 'Love'. Her Kenpo instructor is a complete anime nerd. He went to Japan because he was a nerd and somehow managed to swing it into a ten-year deal, until he was ranked high enough in Kenpo to move back to France and open his own dojo. He is the most anime man in France, I think," she concluded.
"The things you learn," Alya grinned.
"I had no idea Rose was so colorful," Chloé added. Juleka just nodded, and then she turned and sat down and slid herself into the water.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get Marinette to show up," Alya said softly. "She said after running around with Adrien for a couple of hours – in her pajamas, no less – that she just wasn't up to being in public anymore."
Chloé nodded. "I get it. I always feel like passing out after dealing with an akuma incident. Don't tell anyone, though," she added. She looked more closely at Alya. "Is that a new necklace?" She looked more closely at the hooked pendant. "It's pretty," she added.
Alya nodded, smiling. "It is. I really like it. I feel…stronger somehow, when I wear it."
Chloé smiled back. "If that works for you, I'm glad."
The tall redhead cocked her head. "If you had told me a week ago that I would be having this kind of conversation with you, Chloé, I would have laaaaaaaaughed…"
The blonde nodded. "Oh, I completely understand. I feel the same way. It's still really weird, but…I kinda like it." She smirked. "Don't get used to me being this docile though. It's been a rough day. I'll be back on stride tomorrow."
Alya nodded. "We can talk more later," she said. "For now, let's jump in the water, forget about all this drama, and be normal kids that don't deal with akuma and superheroes and are entangled in confusing feelings."
"I'm all for that," Chloé replied, and the two girls dived in, splashing their classmates and shrieking like they were little girls again. It was just what Chloé needed.