So, Gina lost.

It was still pretty cool, though.

Gina had been making good time until she jumped towards a ledge that mysteriously disappeared, courtesy of Rena Rouge. She yelped and course-corrected in midair, but not before Chloé got to her. The blonde slammed into her side and sent her tumbling into an adjacent rooftop.

"Oops," Chloé said, smirking. "Was that too rough, Babybug?"

Gina rolled into a crouch and flung her yoyo straight at Chloé. The blonde cried out in shock and ducked as it missed her.

"Nice shot," Chloé said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Gina yanked the yoyo back, cracking Chloé in the back of the head. Chloé face planted right into the rooftop as Gina caught her yoyo. "Thanks."

Chloé got up and spit out some asphalt. "Oh, that's it. You're dead."

"Bring it, Bee," Gina mocked.

Chloé screamed and tackled her, sending both of them off the rooftop.

Gina grinned.

Okay, she was loving this.

In the future, sparring sessions, games, even regular patrols always felt so… Stilted. Gina was continually on her best behavior in front of her mom and her extended family, and everyone always seemed to be holding back for fear of hurting her. As a result, unless it was just her and Emilie, she never felt like she got to cut loose.

And yeah, they beat the Hell out of each other, but fighting the same person over and over tends to get old. Also, with Emmy at University, Gina hadn't had a good scrap in what felt like ages.

Gina punched Chloé in the jaw before kicking off her in midair and doing a backflip. She landed on her feet while Chloé reached out and slowed herself by digging her fingers into the brick side of an apartment building. She left grooves all the way down.

"Dude," Carapace said as he landed beside Queen Bee. "I thought this was tag."

"It is," Chloé spat. She lunged at Gina and decked her. "Tag!"

Gina stumbled back, and then charged Chloé. They collided and crashed to the ground as they kicked and punched at each other. Eventually, Chloé got her feet between them and kicked Gina off and across the alley as Chloé kickflipped up.

"Like I told you," Chloé said as she tried to catch her breath. "I should be the one in charge. I've been doing this longer."

Gina wiped some blood off her face. She grabbed her yoyo and quickly wrapped it around her fist as she lunged forward and punched Chloé in the gut as hard as she could.

Chloé doubled over and wheezed. The second she did, Gina reached around and grabbed the blonde's ponytail.

"Then why do you suck so hard?" Gina growled. She tightened her grip on Chloé's hair and yanked hard. Chloé cried out as Gina swung her around before launching her face-first into the side of a dumpster. The sound of the crash echoed throughout the alley as Chloé slumped against the dented metal.

"You're it," Gina panted. She tossed her line and zipped the Hell out of there.

"You okay?" Nino asked as a bleeding, disoriented Chloé stumbled to her feet.

"I feel like there's some unchecked aggression that needs to be addressed," Chloé muttered as she rubbed her jaw.

"She does seem meaner than our Ladybug," Nino said.

Chloé shook her head and tossed her top. "I wasn't talking about her." She gave her line a yank and took off.

Nino stood and watched her go. "Oh."

Gina cleared the rooftop and was making good time. Her jaw was smarting from where Chloé had gotten her and she could taste something coppery in her mouth, but she didn't mind. She was having fun. She was…

Gina screamed. A bolt of lightning ripped through her as she was leaping for an apartment building. At that moment, Chloé got Gina's feet with her top while Rena slammed into her from the side. Nino was kind enough to catch them as they fell.

As soon as they were on the ground, Gina dropped to one knee and dry heaved as Alya patted her back. "Dude! You… You electrocuted me!"

Kagami stood staring at her, unimpressed. "You didn't say I couldn't."

Gina stared at her for a moment. "So, like, when I suddenly start charging you double for babysitting in the future? This shit right here is why."

Kagami's eyebrows went up at that. "I have children?"

Gina ignored her and looked to the others. Behind them, Chat Noir was sliding down his pole to join them.

"Geez, guys. It's just tag," he said.

Alya eyed him. "Thanks for the help," she said sarcastically.

Chat cringed. "I just… I didn't want to have to explain any bruises." He nodded at Gina. "She's scrappy."

"He's right," Gina said, still coughing. "Um, so, yeah. You all win. Looks like Chat's buying."

Gina looked to Chloé, who was eyeing her.

Chloé rolled her eyes and walked over. She held out a hand. "You're alright," she said. "Your mom's always taking the high road with me. It's respectable, but also infuriating. Like, it would be a welcome change if she'd just try to deck me once in a while."

Gina eyed her for a moment and then took her hand. She grunted as Chloé hoisted her up.

"Yeah, well, I'm not her." Gina found herself still clutching Chloé's hand.

"I can respect that," Chloé said.

Gina smiled. "Hey, like, the you being a total bitch thing aside? For what it's worth? You're still one of my favorites."

Chloé blushed a bit. "I want that in writing."

"Hundred bucks and we've got a deal."

'She's violent AND greedy.' Chloé thought. She noticed Gina's eyes were green, and the sheen of sweat across her pale cheeks made her freckles stand out. She was grinning.

'She smells like cinnamon,' Chloé thought idly.

Gina stepped back and stretched a bit. She ran her fingers through her hair to move it back and away from her eyes. Smiling, she opened her yoyo and took out a bottle of water.

"Catch," she said as she tossed one to Chloé and then to the others. She then pulled out one last one, twisted the cap, and downed half of it, letting the excess water run down the side of her mouth as she chugged. She gasped as she came up for air. "Let's get a bite. I'm starved." She looked at Chloé and winked. "It's not every day someone can kick my ass. We should play again sometime."

Chloé's blush deepened. She forced a nervous smile.

'…Oh.'

She watched as Gina took off towards the taco stand, the others following her.

'Oh no.'

"You coming?" Gina called out.

Chloé felt her cheeks burning as she let out a frustrated sigh.

'…Oh shit.'