Dear Marinette,

I'm sitting across from you, watching your face as you work on a design that you swear isn't for me, except that you keep looking up at me when you don't think I'm looking, and I'm just so happy I could burst. You're doing that little thing with your tongue where it's sticking out of the corner of mouth that you've always done when you're thinking really hard, and it's utterly adorable. And I know that you think that I'm utterly ridiculous for writing this letter when I'm sitting right across from you, but it means something to me that I can put these words down on paper. They have more permanence this way. If something were to happen to me tomorrow, you'd have these letters. I know they would not hold much consolation for you, but you would know that you fill my thoughts every day.

You still worry me, my Marinette. You've only been out of the hospital a few days, and already you are trying to push yourself to hard. You don't have to take on the burdens of the world, love. You have all your friends with you, now. You have me with you now. We can shoulder this burden together and~~~~~

Ink dragged across the page as Marinette pulled the letter Chloé was working on off of the lap desk she was working on. It was early evening and the pair was sitting in Marinette's room; Chloé was trying to relax, while her girlfriend was taking a break before diving back into her missed assignments. Marinette's eyes danced across the page while the blonde pouted at her, but she was seemed not to notice. Then she looked up with a loving expression on her face. "You are such a dork, Chloé," she said with a giggle, "but you're my dork."

Chloé blushed. "Look who's talking," she muttered.

The blunette dropped down next to her and pulled her into a hug. "What's really bothering you, Chlo?" she asked, with concern in her eyes

"Papillion," the blonde said softly.

Marinette nodded. "He's never gone this long without an attack."

"It really bothers me, the longer it goes, the more…the more I'm afraid that the next attack will be my fault. That I'll do something stupid and…" she stopped speaking as Marinette put a finger to her lips.

"If anything you did had caused an akuma, it probably would have been with Alec or Bob, and that didn't happen, so I don't think you're in any danger there, dear," Marinette told her.

Chloé snorted. "Alec Cataldi and Bob Roth were too scared of me to have enough anger to become akuma," she replied.

"I cannot dispute that," the blunette said with a smirk. "Mom is still giggling about it. She must have called every friend and relative she has so that she can tell them that story. My uncle Wang is amazed at the changes you've gone through."

Chloé blushed brightly. "I still owe him an apology. I was truly horrid to him."

"You defended his sister, Chloé," Marinette replied, "he said your actions have done more to apologize than any words ever could. He's willing to put the past behind him, but don't expect to be allowed into his kitchen anytime soon." She giggled, and Chloé pouted.

"Still," the blonde said, bringing the conversation back to its original path, "I really am worried about the lack of attacks."

"This is the first time that any of his attacks actually almost killed anyone," Marinette replied. "Before, for all the nastiness of the attacks, it was kind of a game. He would attack, and Ladybug and Chat Noir would stop him. I'm not sure that he really had been thinking about the long-term consequences of what he's been doing. Not until now, anyway."

"You don't know what he wants the Miraculous for, Mari," her girlfriend countered. "Maybe he doesn't care, but the lack of Ladybug at the last attack has worried him. Maybe he's waiting for a sign that Ladybug is back before he attacks again."

"Nooroo might be fighting him," Tikki interjected as she floated over. She and Pollen had been trying a cookie neither had never had before, a thick german gingerbread-type cookie called lebkuchen that had honey as a major ingredient. "we can't fight the will of our Miraculous holder, but there are things we can do. We can refuse to eat, which greatly lengthens our recharge time. Although that might explain the normal gap between attacks. And the weaker we are, the less time we can spend transformed. He might not be able to find a victim before he's forced to revert back to normal."

Pollen flitted over. "This cookie is okay," he said. "Not my favorite, but it would work in a pinch, I suppose."

Marinette nodded. "These are supposed to be emergency supplies. If Chlo and I both carry them, then either one of us can feed both of you, if we need to. Rather than either of us running out. Besides," she added with a teasing grin, "I'm less likely to eat these than I am Tikki's regular cookies. Much too dense."

"Because we can't have you getting any denser than you already are," Chloé said with a smirk.

"Hey!"

"Chloé," Pollen hummed softly, "that wasn't very nice."

"I didn't mean it, and Mari knows that," the blonde defended. "I don't have much I can tease her about. The only thing I have up on her is my brains."

"You're prettier than me, Chlo," Marinette protested.

"I am not!" Chloé countered. "You have that pale, exotic look going on. You have your father's height and coloring, and your mother's facial structure and build, and the combination is stunning."

"You have this golden blonde thing going on," Marinette replied. "Your skin tone is amazing, and your hair is so silky soft that I just want to run my hands through it all day."

"I wouldn't protest," the blonde murmured.

"Sadly, I need to get back to my assignments," Marinette said. "I'll never catch up otherwise."

"We'll all help you."

"I appreciate it," the blunette replied, "I need to get caught up enough that I don't have to worry about my mom getting mad if I leave for a bit. I really, really want to go out patrolling."

"I don't think…" Chloé started.

"No, Chloé," Marinette cut her off. "I'm feeling better. It wasn't a head injury. Yes, I'm a bit weak, but I'm pretty sure that a few nights of running around as Ladybug will have me feeling back up to one hundred percent. And I need to be seen. If I'm gone too much longer, people will start to think that something really has happened to me. We're lucky that Alya is on our side, and has been using her archives to create articles about Ladybug sightings. We need someone besides her to report a Ladybug sighting. And not those two college students she has working on the blog now." She shook her head. "I can't believe she finally agreed to get help."

"I can't believe Alix's effectiveness at being a forum mod," Chloé admitted. "She's not the most dedicated or studious, and I always thought she was, well, kind of dim. But she's a dab hand at managing the idiots on the forums, and for those that the cute factor doesn't work on, her capacity for violence and her sharp tongue works wonders." She sighed. "If I'm not careful, she might take my title as queen bitch of Collège Françoise Dupont."

"Oh, god forfend," Marinette said with a giggle. "Maybe that's a crown you should hand off."

"Maybe," Chloé agreed. "What is it about our class that the small girls have the greatest capacity for violence? Between Alix and Rose…"

"Mylène is a complete softy," Marinette countered. "But I mostly agree. You would think it would be Ivan and Kim, but Ivan's just a huge teddy bear."

"Kim's a muscle head, though," Chloé said. "He's still holding a bit of a grudge against me. He really had a crush on me, I guess."

"As much of a bitch as you were during the Dark Cupid incident, you'd think he would be over that," Marinette said. Chloé winced but nodded.

"I was pretty bitchy," the blonde admitted, "but he should have gotten the message. Why he's still carrying a torch…"

"Boys can be dumb," her girlfriend told her. "I mean, look at Adrien."

"That's because you couldn't speak to the boy, of course he wouldn't know," Chloé replied. "His social awareness was completely stunted living inside the cage his father had him in. You would have to hit him in the head with a football with 'Marinette likes you' written all over it for him to notice, and maybe not even then."

Marinette nodded. "At least my sweet, wonderful girlfriend made sure I was aware of how she felt."

"By telling Ladybug," Chloé replied, her face in her hands. "It's still so embarrassing, I don't know how you put up with me."

"Because you watched the bakery every day so my parents could be with me at the hospital. Because you made your father let Juleka and her family stay at the hotel while they found a new houseboat. Because you told Alec and Bob where they can get off, and got Alya's mom some great exposure at the same time. Because you decided to change, and you did it. And because your butt looks great in those short shorts you're wearing." Marinette grinned, and Chloé grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.

"Your butt is way better, and you know it," the blonde countered.

"Just wait," Marinette said, "six months of roof-hopping and Queen Bee with have the best Bee-hind in Paris." She thought about what she said, and then smacked herself in the face. "I just had a Chat Noir moment, didn't I?"

Chloé nodded. "That was a truly awful pun, my dear Mari."

"I have no excuses."

"I just blame Chat," Chloé told her. "If something happens, it's Chat Noir's fault. Always."

"…now that I know what he's been hiding behind that quiet exterior, I agree. When all else fails, blame Chat Noir." Marinette stretched. "Now, can you get us some more cookies and milk while I get back to my assignments? If you do, I'll brush your hair afterwards."

"Deal."

LFC LFC LFC

Chloé, Alya, Marinette, and Adrien all lay on the roof of Collège Françoise Dupont the next evening, panting and exhausted. First had been the zoo animal escape near the end of the school day, with the four of them helping to catch the loose animals. Then the rest quartet had been led by Marinette to meet the Guardian, so that they could find him if it was needed, such as if Marinette was in hospital, for example. Master Fu was not completely thrilled, but he acquiesced to the visit and met all of the young Miraculous holders. Then they had gone to meet most of the class at the movies, and things went south from there.

The only good thing in any of their opinion was that, as tough as the akuma fight had been, they knew that Papillion hadn't given up. Chloé was of the opinion that Ladybug being seen helping with the zoo escape had let the villain know that she was back, and that had given him the impetus to attack once more. Upon hearing the theory, Adrien had enthusiastically backed her up. Alya countered that she had been maintaining a cover story with the Ladyblog, and Marinette was unconvinced, but thought that something strange had been going on. Now they were just taking a moment to recover.

"So what I want to know," Alya said suddenly, "is where Kim has been hiding that girl, and how in the world he didn't know that she likes him. The dumbass. It was practically written on her face when she saw him after we freed her."

"It's Kim," Adrien and Chloé said at the same moment.

"You are not allowed to comment on this matter, Adrien," Marinette interjected.

"Mean," the blond model said, but then he fell silent.

"She's a first year in lycée," Marinette said. "She was a troisième at Françoise Dupont last year."

"I'd ask how you knew that," Alya said, "but I expect that it has to do with your mysterious class rep powers." She heard Marinette sputter, and drew a one in the air, denoting a point for her.

"Did you see her shoulders?" Adrien said. "I think Kim's afraid of her. Swimmer girls are scary."

"The only girl I know that's as muscled as that girl is our Mari," Alya said.

"I'm right here," Marinette reminded them.

"We know," the other three replied in unison.

"So whatever the reason, Papillion is back," Chloé brought up. "Adrien, can you and Al handle patrols for the rest of the week? I think Mari and I can get caught up with her assignments by the end of the day Saturday if we don't have any interruptions. I may get Sabrina to come help."

"The way she helps you?" Alya asked.

Chloé spluttered. "She told you?"

"Wait, what?" Marinette asked, sitting up. "What does Sabrina do?" Chloé mumbled something, and Marinette glared at her. "What was that?"

The blonde sighed. "She can write in my handwriting, or close enough to fool the teachers. She fakes some of my assignments, the ones that I already know the material for."

"Chloé," Marinette said, "you're left-handed."

"And?"

"Sabrina is right-handed. How does that even work?" the blunette asked.

"She can write with either hand," Chloé told her. "In fact, she can't actually write in her own handwriting with her left hand. She can write in three different hands with her left hand though. I don't know who the other two are."

"She's a forger?" Adrien asked suddenly.

"She wants to be a forensic handwriting specialist. She takes samples of both real and fake when she visits her father at work, and if the lab technicians have the time, they help her break them down and point out the flaws." Chloé grinned. "They know what she's doing, and they have enough samples of her work that she'd be caught out in a week or two if she tried to go pro. It's not exactly ethical, but she isn't hurting anyone, and she only does the make-work assignments. Well, and she used to do some of our cooperative papers, but she stopped that a while back. She's not a budding criminal, I promise you."

"The things you learn laying on a roof," Adrien said.

"This is nice," Marinette said suddenly. "We need a place like this. A place we can all meet up."

"As soon as Juleka's family moves into their new houseboat at the end of week, we can use the pool deck at the hotel. It's just hard to do that when I'm not supposed to be at the hotel right now," Chloé told them.

"You're still staying with Marinette's family?" Adrien asked.

"She is," Marinette comfirmed.

"I've seen Marinette's room," he said. "Where are you sleeping, Chloé?"

Chloé blushed bright red, she hadn't counted on Adrien of all people asking that question. "I've been snuggling with Marinette, if you must know," she murmured.

"OOOOOHH?" Alya asked loudly, sitting up. "You didn't tell me that, Mari. You've been holding out on me!"

"Because I knew you would react like that!" Marinette replied. "We aren't doing anything!"

"She squeezes my ass in her sleep," Chloé said.

"I think you're mistaking the roles there, Chlo," Marinette said, deadpan.

"La la la I don't need to hear this," Adrien said, his hands over his ears. "I'm sorry, but Chloé is like my sister and Marinette is my partner! Totally don't need to be hearing about that. Not because I have problems with a girl with another girl, but…Chloé! Marinette! There are things I would rather not know about either of you!"

"Boys," Alya said, "they are so delicate."

"You suck, Alya," Adrien told her.

"You could only wish, pretty boy," Alya replied wickedly.

"GAH!" Adrien shouted. "What is wrong with you, Al?"

"We wouldn't want you getting too comfortable, now that Mari and Chloé aren't chasing after you," Alya told him. "Need to keep you on your toes, or some aggressive girl will just smash through your defenses and ensnare you before you know what happened."

"I don't have a problem with that part, I guess, but…lewd!" the model said. "Besides, don't you like Nino?"

"Nino's cute," Alya replied. "He also is shy, a fourteen year old boy, and not a Miraculous holder. I don't think I'll be dating for a while, not until Papillion is defeated. Then, I might give the Fox Miraculous back." She heard Trixx squeak, and felt abashed. "It's not that I don't love being Rena Rouge, or being your partner, Trixx, but I already know that I'll need someone I can trust with the secret. If I find that person, that's great, but if I never do, then I would probably give it back. But until Papillion is defeated, I can't tell anyone, because if that person gets possessed, they could do immeasurable damage." She stretched, and fell back onto the roof. "In a way, Chloé and I have safer identities than you and Adrien, Mari. Both of us have been akuma, while both of you haven't. You're still the only two in class that haven't, besides Mme. Bustier."

"Well," Alya put in, "you aren't being the bitch queen of the class anymore, so that can be used to explain why neither of them has been turned."

"Weak, but plausible," Chloé countered. "I can live with that excuse, since it's my past reputation, if anyone ends up commenting. Adrien's my oldest friend, and Mari is just way too sweet to ever become an akuma."

"Agreed," Adrien and Marinette said.

"Why didn't you move Juleka into Jagged Stone's suite?" Alya asked.

"He says he's coming back," Chloé replied. "He's gotten so much writing done while here in Paris that he wants to stay a while longer. He's looking to book some studio time; Penny asked me to help her look up studios here in Paris, she was hoping to find one close to either the hotel or the bakery. Apparently Jagged wants food from one or the other catered in every day."

"Mom and Dad won't complain," Marinette said.

"I'm sure my Mom would glad of the endorsement of her food. It's not another star, but being Jagged Stone's favorite restaurant has a certain prestige of its own," Alya put in.

"She found one about three miles away from both," Chloé said, "so hopefully it will suit his needs. He's kind of fun to be around if that asshole Bob Roth isn't around. I like Penny, she's pretty cool for a nominal adult."

"Agreed," Marinette said.

"Far be it from me to interrupt this evening of camaraderie and fun, but…my butt's getting cold. And I'm sure Alain is going spare trying to find me," Adrien said.

"Same on the butt issue," Alya admitted.

"Who's Alain?" Marinette asked, curious. She didn't remember hearing the name before.

"The Gorilla," Adrien said. "I finally got him to tell me his name. I'm supposed to call him M. Dupont to his face, and I do, but thinking of him as Alain makes him less scary."

"I would have to agree," Alya said, standing up.

"Agreed," chorused Marinette and Chloé. They stood up as well.

"See you in class tomorrow," Adrien said. The others nodded, and they all quietly transformed, and bounded on their way home.

LFC LFC LFC

Chloé popped up through the trapdoor to Marinette's room to see her girlfriend trying, badly, to imitate the dance moves of some music video she was watching. Chloé listened, and she wanted to giggle, so she did. "Clara Nightingale? I didn't think she sang your type of music. I thought you were more rock and roll than that."

Marinette flushed. "I have eclectic tastes," she replied. "I like lots of music. Besides, I heard you singing in Japanese the other evening, so you shouldn't judge. You really are all kinds of dork, aren't you, Chloé? Ladybug cosplay, manga in your room, listening to J-pop…"

"You hush about my J-pop!" Chloé yelled. "Besides," she said more quietly, "I'm trying to find a duet we can sing."

"Awwwww, at least you're a sweet dork," Marinette said. Then she turned to the screen. "A Miraculous themed music video? Did I hear that right?"

Chloé climbed the rest of the way up, and dropped the hatch before getting close enough to hear the announcement. "Huh," Chloé said. "That's kind of cool." She thought about it for a moment. "We should make an appearance," she stated with conviction.

"What, to be in the video? That has all kinds of potential to go wrong," the blunette said. "That's practically asking for an akuma attack."

"No," the blonde replied. "Just to make an appearance. Give it the Team Miraculous stamp of approval." Chloé blushed "And maybe ask for an autograph."

"There's the Chloé I know and love, finding ways to abuse her authority," Marinette giggled.

"Shush."

"Why don't you audition to play Ladybug?" Marinette asked suddenly. "You have the costume, and you have the right attitude." Her grin grew mischievous. "And I could audition to play Queen Bee!"

Chloé gave her girlfriend a look like Marinette had just grown two heads. "Because that couldn't possibly go wrong."

"No, no!" Marinette objected. "We can't play ourselves, because that's definitely asking for trouble, but if we switched parts…"

Chloé's phone buzzed, and she opened the messenger app when she saw she had a message from Adrien.

BesteAgreste: Father is making me play chat noir in the next clara nightengale music video

BesteAgreste: I can't even right now

BesteAgreste: This is going to be the most awkward thing ever

Chloé couldn't help herself, she smirked.

Mari'sGirl: That is rather awkward. Mari and i were thinking of auditioning for LB and QB. Me as LB and her as QB

BesteAgreste: That's kind of clever actually

BesteAgreste: Apparently clara's usual body double for her music videos is going to be rena

Mari'sGirl: Ah. Too bad, alya would be a great fit for that role, but maybe she could appear as herself, she is pretty well known as the ladyblogger

BesteAgreste: She would die i'll message her and then tell father he should get her in on it. Clara would probably be all for it, more authentic and all that

Mari'sGirl: There is something wrong with us

BesteAgreste: The best things are wrong with us

Mari'sGirl: Totally

LFC LFC LFC

Queen Bee and Ladybug watched as the Miraculous cure washed away all the damage from Frightengale's attack. Clara was sobbing on the ground, and Queen Bee whirled on Mayor Bourgeois. "What in the hell is wrong with you? Chasing off your own daughter and her girlfriend because they kissed each other during a break in filming? Upsetting Clara, telling her that she had to recast or you wouldn't let her shoot the video? What. The. Fuck?"

"Bee, don't," Ladybug said, stepping between her and the Mayor. She turned to the man. "I am most disappointed in you, Mayor Bourgeois, putting politics before family. Chat Noir is friends with Marinette, and I know your daughter, and count her as a friend. I know that she moved out because of your continued political ambitions. I think that you should think about the consequences of Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the rest of team Miraculous endorsing your opponent in the next election." She heard the beeping of her timer, and she turned away from him. "We have to leave, we're almost out of time. I suggest that you think about this, M. Mayor. We don't want to get involved in politics, we don't want to take a stance. We're here to help the city. But if you hurt our friends, we will take a stance." With that, the pair bounded off. Chat Noir and Rena had already taken their leave. They practically fell into an alley as their timers ran out. Chloé was hyperventilating, and Marinette took her into a strong hug. "It's okay, love."

"You threatened Daddy, for me," Chloé murmured.

"I'm sorry if that upset you, Chloé, it's not my place to…"

Chloé pulled her girlfriend into a kiss. The same kind of kiss she had given Marinette the night that everything changed. Marinette melted against her, then took Chloé's face in her hands and kissed her back with equal fervor. It was timeless for them, but after too short a time, they broke apart. "Never apologize for loving me. Never apologize for defending me. Even from Daddy."

"Do you want to go back?" Marinette asked her.

"Yes. I want to face him. And I don't want Clara to have to give up on her video," Chloé said. "Besides, you look kind of hot as Queen Bee."

"Narcissist."

Marinette took her hand, and ten minutes later, they were back on the site of the music video. As soon as Clara Nightingale spotted them she ran over, pulling both into a hug. "Thank you for coming back. I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve that! I don't care, if the Mayor won't let me finish, I would rather give up my video than let him treat you like that," she said, sniffling. "I was just so angry, and distressed, I don't know what happened…"

"It's okay," Chloé said, patting the woman's back. "I've been there, I know what it's like. It's awful, I know. If you need to talk about it, I'm here." She stepped out of the hug, and Marinette did as well. "I wasn't always as good a person as I'm trying to be now, and I caused a lot of people to become akuma before I grew up and took responsibility for myself. So I truly understand." She took Marinette's hand, and smiled at the singer. "My father is my father, but Mari is my love. We don't understand it either, but…we resonate with each other. We're part of each other, and even though we're young…I think we're together forever." She heard Marinette inhale sharply, but her girlfriend just gave her hand a quick squeeze, and then leaned into her slightly. "We won't do anything else to disrupt your video. If they'll let us come back, we're ready."

Clara nodded. "We'll make this the best video ever. Ladybug, and all of Team Miraculous, deserve our best effort." She grabbed them each by their free hand, and the two girls separated so they could walk with Clara as she lead them back to confront the Mayor. She was going to shoot this video her way, and damn if she would let anyone tell her otherwise. Now more than ever, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge were her idols. She wouldn't let anyone stand in her way. Just because she wasn't Miraculous, didn't mean she couldn't be a miracle on her own. It was her dream to make this video to honor her heroes, to make it a tribute to them, to show them how much she, and all of Paris, appreciated what they did.

They already knew. And even though she didn't know it, Clara Nightingale had four new friends. Mayor Bourgeois had things to think about. Nathalie Sancoeur saw how much Adrien had grown, how he looked out for his friends, and how he protected them from the Mayor's scornful words, and wondered if Gabriel could understand what a fine young man his son had become. Papillion seethed at one more defeat. And as Marinette and Chloé watched the video, with the two of them back to back, Adrien and the dancer playing Rena flanking them, they smiled at each other and took each other's hand.

"You know," Chloé said softly, "despite everything, today was kind of awesome."

Marinette grinned. "Personally, I think it was kind of miraculous."

"Shush, you."

"Make me," Marinette challenged.

Chloé leaned in and did just that, in the best way possible.

"Kiss me like that always," Marinette whispered when they broke the kiss.

"Always," Chloé promised. And she kissed her again.