"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Chat says, holding his hands up, palms out, as he scrambles away from her. "I've never heard the name Adrien in my life."
"Get out of the latex cat suit, Adrien," Chloe orders, holding out the crust of her sandwich like a weapon.
Chat's eyes dart around the room wildly, visibly trying to come up with either an explanation or an escape plan, when his ring starts beeping. They both freeze, and look down at his finger.
"What?" he says, "How is that possible? I haven't-"
The ring beeps again, counting down faster despite that fact that a minute most definitely did not pass. Then again, almost mockingly. Chat stares at his ring with a look of absolute betrayal on his face, too stunned to move.
Chloe turns around to grab her cup and takes a quick sip of her tea. "That doesn't seem good," she states idly. The ring beeps again, as though in agreement.
She eats the last of her sandwich and decides that, as of that moment, she would accept anything that would happen and not worry about anything for the rest of the day. This Tuesday feels like it lasted six years and it's only noon. Sabrina had the right idea in moving out of Paris; everyday felt like a circus that never ended and was also on fire.
Just as Chloe turns to face Chat again, the ring beeps one last time and a flash of green fills the room, bright enough to force Chloe to close her eyes with a wince. When she opens them, Adrien stands before her, pale and horrified, with a strange… floating cat? Besides him.
Sure, she thinks, why not.
Chloe clears her throat when the silence stretches and gives Adrien a pointed glare. "Hi Adrien," she says so mockingly sweet that she nearly gags on her own words, "I'm so glad you could join me for lunch today."
He sighs. "Surprise?" He gives her some jazz hands then asks, "How did you figure it out?"
"Adrien, I love you dearly and you're my favorite brother, but you are so bad at playing cool. You kept knowing things as Chat that only Adrien would know, and mentioning things as Chat that Adrien would do. Don't ever go undercover because you will be found out immediately."
"Wait, so how long have you known?"
Chloe shrugs. "A few months? I tried not to think about it because I didn't want to be right. I kept ignoring all the very obvious signs but you mentioned my crush and I couldn't keep quiet."
"Haven't you talked to Chat about Sabrina?"
"Maybe, but I've only mentioned that I have a crush on her to Adrien."
Adrien's eyes widen and Chloe can see the exact moment the realization hits him. "Oh, I'm so bad at this. I kept forgetting who I was when I was with you because you're equally rude to both my identities."
The floating black-cat-thing flies around Adrien's head then moves to hover in between them.
"Man, it's so nice to hear you sass him in person," it says, smiling gleefully.
"No," Chloe says, pointing a finger at it accusingly, "You wait your turn. I'll deal with you after I deal with Adrien."
The black-cat-thing cackles but remains quiet and flies to the table. Chloe takes a moment to reel over the fact that it can talk, then shoves that away and focuses back on Adrien. She takes a deep breath, then another as Adrien fidgets nervously in front of her.
"You won't tell anyone, right?" he asks, wringing his hands.
"What? No! God, Adrien, do you really think I'd do that to you?"
"Well, I don't know! I didn't think you'd ever find out! And you're mad at me for being Chat Noir!"
"I'm not mad at you for being Chat," Chloe snaps, "I'm upset that you keep getting hurt! And I can't do anything about it! I watches you get hit by a fucking car this morning! Of course I'm upset!"
Adrien winces, then says, "Yeah, that's fair. But I'm fine now! Ladybug's magic fixed me up in no time!"
"That doesn't change the fact that you regularly get injured. Like, to a ridiculous degree."
"She's got a point, kid," black-cat-thing's voice pipes up, "You gotta stop getting hurt like that. Getting put out of commission during an akuma fight is gonna get a lot more people hurt."
"I said I'm fine!" Adrien argues, and the way he easily shifts his attention to the black-cat-thing tells Chloe that this is hardly the first time he's had this conversation with his floating cat. It says a lot that, somehow, that isn't the strangest revelation Chloe's had today. "And anyways, you don't get to act concerned right now when you revealed my identity!"
"She figured it out anyways, it's not that big a deal."
This is the most stressful conversation she's had all year. Chloe can almost feel herself getting older.
Adrien waves an arm angrily into the air, getting louder as he says, "Didn't you say no one would figure it out? You have magic that keeps that from happening!"
"Hold on," Chloe interrupts, "The floating cat has magic?" What a question. Now that she's said it out loud, it seems obvious. Of course a floating cat has magic. How else can it float and talk. She feels silly asking that, but it's too late to take the question back now that she's got both their attention on her.
The black-cat-thing floats out from somewhere behind her to hover besides Adrien again. "So you'll deal with me now?" it asks, amused.
"Yeah. Sure. Why not, you know?"
Adrien sighs and gestures to the black-cat-thing. "This is Plagg. He's my kwami and the reason I can turn into Chat Noir."
Plagg waves. "I'm a god of destruction."
"You gave Adrien powers of destruction?" Chloe asks.
"Sure did!"
"Hmm," is all Chloe can manage in response. Adrien's not the worst choice for super destructive powers, but he's also not the best. Get him curious and he'll have no impulse control at all. Curiosity killed the cat and all. "Now why's Adrien yelling about magic?"
Plagg's ears twitch as he perks up and says, "Well, you see, kwami's are what give Miraculous holder's their powers. But part of our powers is keeping our holder's identities hidden. So even if they told someone who they are, no one would remember what they said."
"Then how did I figure out Chat was Adrien?"
"I stopped using that magic on you."
"Plagg!" Adrien yells, "Why would you do that? Without telling me?!"
"Cause it'd be funny! And it was!" Plagg laughs, gleefully somersaulting in the air. "Besides, I got the feeling you needed a friend in the know. Someone who'd make you take better care of yourself cause you sure don't listen to me."
"Why Chloe?" Adrien pauses, then adds on, "Uh, no offense Chloe."
"That hurt a little, not gonna lie, but he's right. Why me?"
"Sorry," he says, "That was really rude of me."
Chloe shakes her head. "No ,it's fine, I'm definitely not the person to trust with this."
Plagg floats closer to Chloe, tilting his head as he thinks. "You were a brat last year," he says, "I would have loved giving you bad luck back then. But you're tolerable now! That's a big improvement."
"I'm not sure if I'm being insulted or complimented right now."
"These days, you remind me of some of my past holders."
And that's something Chloe never expected to hear. Adrien wasn't expecting it either, judging by the shock on his face. Because really. Her? Similar to a past superhero? Not likely. Heroes, even ones with powers of destruction, put other people first and sacrificed far to much just because it's the right thing to do. Chloe has always been selfish and that hasn't changed. She thinks only of herself and doesn't consider the needs of others and always, always makes things worse instead of better.
So no, Chloe can't see herself being similar to any hero, much less like Plagg's holders.
"She's like past Chats?" Adrien asks, reverent.
"Sure is, kid," is the answer. "Some of them are like you: needing freedom to be yourselves and a good heart that likes to cause trouble. Others are like her: withdrawn and careful with the power they hold because they care about the people around them more than themselves. Those ones were my most dangerous Chats because they were the most loyal."
"That sounds nothing like me," Chloe interjects, shaking her head.
"Are you sure? Because you sure looked ready to hunt down Hawkmoth for getting Adrien hurt today."
She grimaces at the reminder and says, "Anyone who's decent would want to hunt down Hawkmoth for all the horrible things he's done to us."
"You'd hunt down Hawkmoth for me?" Adrien asks with stars in his eyes. This boy really acts like he's never been shown kindness before and that makes Chloe want to riot, because despite how good he is as a person, he's always surprised when people care about him. As if he doesn't have Marinette and Nino and Alya by his side, showing him what a real friendship looks like. As if he doesn't have Plagg and Ladybug looking after him.
'Gabriel Agreste needs to meet me in the pit,' she thinks rather viciously, because there is no doubt in her mind that Adrien's issues with self-worth come from his own father treating him like a commodity instead of a person.
Plagg flies up to Chloe's face and gently bonks his head against her nose, then backs up again. "You've got a fire in you that always makes the best holders. You might not have been before, but you're a good kid now."
And fuck if that doesn't make her want to cry. A tiny god of destruction said she was a good kid, and after the stress of the day, that's what makes her eyes water.
Adrien finally moves back to her and sits down besides her. He looks so happy knowing that his kwami approves of her that Chloe has to look away. She focuses on counting her breaths to try to get herself back under control and barely flinches when Adrien throws and arm around her shoulder and pulls her into a hug.
"You know," he says conversationally, "You would make a good Chat Noir. Maybe even as a backup?"
"Don't you dare," Chloe gasps out, "I absolutely cannot handle that responsibility. I'm not a hero!"
"You don't need to be a hero, you're Chloe!"
"That's even worse, honestly."
Adrien moves his hand up to her hair and starts ruffling it, trying to make a mess as roughly as possible. He laughs as she shrieks and tries to elbow him away, but he keeps his hold on her and doesn't let up for a good minute.
"None of that now," he says. "I think you can do it and Plagg thinks you could do it. Trust us on this, okay?"
Chloe slumps against him, suddenly worn out. "I don't want to be a hero though."
Plagg settles on Adrien's shoulder and nods. "That's fine kiddo. It's good that you know your limits. But if Adrien ever can't transform, I'll be going to you."
And that's… not awful. It's not making her a hero, it's making her a last resort. Should Paris ever need Chat and Adrien can't do it, Chloe could. It would keep him from getting hurt, at least.
"Fine," she sighs, "But only if there's no other option."
Beaming, Adrien says, "You'll make a great Chat!"
"Don't push it."
And he doesn't, even though he laughs about it.
They spend another hour just spending time together. Now that the secret's out, Adrien regales her with tales of fighting akuma and leaping over rooftops in the dead of night while Plagg continuously interjects with playful insults and insists that Adrien wasn't cool and in fact made a fool of himself. Chloe hasn't felt this close or relaxed with Adrien since the day they both came out to each other.
It feels nice. Adrien has seen all of Chloe's worst sides that she tries to keep hidden to everyone but him, and now she gets to be a part of another aspect of his life. It's not like she feels like Adrien doesn't care for her; she knows very well how much he cares for everyone, including her. It's just that he's always been closer to others.
He and Plagg bicker like it's all they've ever done. And when Chloe interjects with her own thoughts, they seamlessly include her in the conversation and trade insults and jokes until Chloe's laughing so hard she can't breathe.
The stress of the morning disappears completely. The shock and horror of seeing Chat — Adrien — tossed through the air after being hit by a car slowly fades away. He's not hurt; he's here, with her, laughing in the back room of Takahogi's flower shop.
When Adrien's phone rings and he sees that he has to go, he calls out, "Plagg, claws out!" and Chat Noir stands before once again.
"I'll see you later, Chloe!" he says, "Text me if you need anything. Now that you know, I can hang out with you more easily!"
"Get going loser," she says in lieu of goodbye, and doesn't stop smiling even after he jumps out the window.
Chloe stretches and groans when her back pops loudly, then stands up and picks up the empty plates on the table. She lets herself feel proud that she managed to eat a whole meal, then heads to the upstairs of the flower shop to Takahogi's kitchen so she could wash the dishes.
Once the plates are in the sink, Chloe turns on the water to rinse them, then pauses. Her hands are so different compared to how they were just a year ago. Where once her hands were pristine and manicured, now the nails are cut short and her palms slowly developing calluses from all the work she's doing. She looks at her hands, thinks about how Plagg said she reminds her of past holders, and curls them into fists.
The Chloe a year ago would have fumed at the thought of washing the dishes on her own. Now, she washes them without being asked to, just to make things easier for Takahogi. She almost can't recognize the person she once was anymore.
Once her hands are dried, Chloe drops by the back room for a moment to grab her phone, then go back out into the shop and make herself useful.
A quick glance at her phone shows new messages from Sabrina.
sabrinana: Im looking at recipes and I Do Not think I can cook
sabrinana: I could ask grandmere to teach me and then I could cook for you!
sabrinana: Chloe youve been quiet for a while and Im a lil worried that youre caught in another akuma attack
sabrinana: Txt me back so I know youre alright!
It's almost hard to believe that Past-Chloe would have forces herself to be annoyed by these texts and not find Sabrina's care and commentary endearing. Now, Chloe lets herself feel the warm wave of affection that comes with every new message from her.
She snaps a quick photo of a bamboo palm and sends it before writing:
officialchloebee: ill trade u plants for food
She shoves her phone into her back pocket and takes a moment to check on the soil in some of the pots to make sure that the plants that need water were taken care of. And since the soil was suitably moist, Chloe goes to the cash register where Takahogi is looking through the accounting books.
"Chloe," he says, setting down his pen, "Did you get enough to eat?"
"Sure did. Didn't have any leftovers to give Chat today."
"That's good to hear. Now, are you heading home or staying?" he asks, and Chloe can't help but smile because that's not even a choice.
"You getting tired of me, old man?" she says instead of giving him an actual answer.
Takahogi waves a hand. "Oh, I could never. Now, we have three orders for arrangements if you want to get started on that."
"On it, gramps!" Chloe says and heads to the cutting counter to begin.
She checks over the requests for each order, then sets out to gather the flowers. Lilies, irises, delilahs, and more are carefully cut out of pots until Chloe has a decent pile that she can just barely hold. She gets to work on cutting the stems into various lengths and arranging flowers based on color and shape.
Just after finishing the first arrangement, as she's looking it over, she thinks that her hands are much better suited for caring rather than destroying.