After an hour of milling about and doing her best to avoid the other heroes, Sabrina made her way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. She honestly didn't want to. In fact, she had considered just heading to the train station and getting the fuck out of Dodge. She was half-expecting an intervention, or to see Faunus standing here with her own awkward explanation.
Sabrina cringed. She didn't want to have to apologize, but she knew she probably should. She also knew that Marinette was probably never going to give her a miraculous again after what she'd done, but she didn't care.
'I probably ruined everything with Chloé,' Sabrina thought. 'I mean, if she's into this other girl, I shouldn't be like, like me. I should be happy for her. If I love her, I need to be happy for her. I… God, I messed this up!'
Sabrina hopped from beam to beam, making her way towards the top of the Tower. 'She's not going to trust me after this. Not after I attacked another hero. Why didn't I just talk to her, first? She looked so broken when I accused her. I messed up. I messed up so bad.'
She made her way to the top observation deck, expecting to see a group of people ready to reprimand her.
Instead…
The deck was completely lined with lit candles. In the center was a picnic blanket, complete with an overflowing basket of goodies. There were two plates, some cheese, bread, a bottle of something that looked suspiciously like it had come from the hotel's private reserve, some fruit, and in the middle of everything, Chloé, now standing nervously as Queen Bee.
"Chloé?" Sabrina asked, confused. "What… What is all this?"
"This," Chloé said as she gestured around them, "Is what I can accomplish in an hour. By the way, Marinette is completely pissed off at you for what you did but also understands because of fucking course she does. I managed to talk the team down, but they're still pretty upset. We're hosting a pool party this weekend to help smooth things over. Also? You'll need to apologize to everyone, including Goat Girl."
Sabrina nodded, still confused. "I, yeah. Okay. That's fair. Um, Chloé? Why did you do this?"
Chloé bit her lip and stared at Sabrina for a moment. "So, I've been a shit girlfriend. I should have just told you I was feeling conflicted, but I didn't want to put you off or make you feel bad. You didn't do anything wrong, like, before you straight-up attacked someone at least, and you didn't deserve to feel, well, like you obviously did. And I'm sorry."
"Why aren't you still Ladybug?" Sabrina asked. "Did Marinette take the miraculous back? Did I get you in trouble?"
Chloé shook her head. "I just feel more confident as Queen Bee. I've been her longer, so, um, yeah. And, um, I wanted to feel like that if I was going to apologize to you."
Sabrina felt herself becoming overwhelmed with emotion. "Oh, Chloé. You didn't, you did nothing wrong. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I…"
Chloé held up a hand. "You asked about the list you found."
Sabrina paused. She nodded, her face falling slightly.
Chloé took a deep breath. "Well, what you didn't see was your list."
"My list?" Sabrina asked.
Chloé nodded and reached into the picnic basket. She took out a well-worn red book and handed it to Sabrina.
"Chloé, this is your diary," Sabrina said, confused.
"Read it," Chloé said.
"What? No! Chloé, this… This is private I can't…"
Chloé nodded. "You can. Open it. Take a look. Any page"
Sabrina carefully opened the book. Even with permission, it still felt wrong to look in what she considered Chloé's most private possession.
"Go ahead and read it out loud," Chloé said.
"Jan 16th," Sabrina read at random. "Sabrina met me at the café again for lunch. I was so excited! She listened to me go on for at least half an hour and then took a walk with me by the river. I know she gets edgy about PDA, but this time, she was the one to grab my hand! I can't tell you what a victory it was to feel her lace her fingers in mine. I think she knew, too. She saw me looking at her and then she kissed my hand! Diary, she kissed me! She even called me a dork. She's utterly ridiculous, but so kind."
Sabrina looked up, but Chloé gestured to the book. "Pick another."
Sabrina flipped to another page. "March 20th. Why am I nervous? I can't breathe, my cheeks are burning, I'm acting ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! Sabrina was cuddling against me all night long while we watched a movie. Seriously, I watched the whole thing and I don't even remember what it was! All I could focus on was her. Do you know she smells wonderful? Is that creepy? I don't care. She smells like lavender and cotton sheets and home. I just remember she looked up at me midway though and kissed me. When she pulled away, the movie was over. Would watch again."
She turned to another. "April 19th. We had dinner outside on the patio. Does she even know how beautiful she is? Her eyes were cutting into me and I could barely focus on my food. I ended up spilling my juice all over myself when her foot bumped mine. I felt ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, diary! She makes me feel like I'm the only person in the world. When I'm with her, I feel like I'm where I belong."
"I remember that," Sabrina said, a small smile on her lips. She turned a few pages. "May 28th. This one has a red NO at the top."
Chloé tensed up and started to reach out, but then stopped. Sabrina saw her and paused. "Do you want me to skip this one?"
Chloé looked away for a moment. "No, it's okay. You can read it."
Sabrina looked at her for a moment and braced herself. She expected to see something about Marinette, or some other hero. Possibly a lament about Rena Rouge and her outfit?
Instead…
"I had the dream again," Sabrina read aloud. "The one where mother left. I was six again and she was so big. She looked like a giant, and her eyes… I honestly couldn't remember her eyes. They were just… There. It was weird. I tried to speak, but my words kept tripping over themselves. My stutter was back, and I couldn't say anything. My throat locked up. All I could do was watch. And then I saw Mom, and I tried to go to her and tell her what was wrong, but she was leaving, too. And then Sabrina. They all looked at me like mother did. They all looked so disgusted. It's hard to put into words, but I could feel their look. It was like it was forming inside of me. It's weird, I know. And I couldn't stop them! That was the other thing. I tried, but I just couldn't. I just sat and watched, just like when mother first left when I was a kid. And then I was alone again. Like, completely alone. I just remember sitting on the floor of our suite, my stomach so cold it hurt. And then the lights went out, and I just felt so alone. I woke up sobbing. I never do that, diary. Never. I was a wet, blubbering mess. I tried not to wake Sabrina up, but she heard me. Sabrina didn't even say a word, she just wrapped me up and held me the rest of the night. I don't even know when I fell back asleep, but I didn't dream the rest of the night. I can't go through that again. I can't lose her. I can't lose either of them. They're everything I have, and I love them so much. I'd die without them."
Sabrina looked to Chloé and sniffed back the thick, hot tears she felt in her eyes.
"Keep going," Chloé said.
Sabrina wiped at her eyes and flipped to another section.
"June 5th. She's out with her father and I am climbing the walls. I want to be there for her, to protect her, to hold her hand and kick his ass if I need to, and I can't. It's my job to protect her. She's the smartest person I know, but I'm the one who can slay monsters. I should be there to slay hers, even if she doesn't need me to. She's never needed me to. Why isn't she home yet? She needs to be here where I can be with her. She needs to be with me. I can slay monsters, diary, but I can't do anything without her. I have a miraculous, but she's the source of my strength."
She flipped forward. "July 8th. I've said it before, but Sabrina has the most beautiful heart. She took care of me non-stop while I had the flu. Seriously! She was by my side the entire time. I fell asleep holding her hand. It's so silly, and don't tell anyone this, but it felt like it was the most wonderful thing she's ever done for me and it's so ridiculous! It's just holding my hand! She's an angel. I don't know why I deserve her."
"August 12th. Mom helped me pick out the ring, but I'm so scared to ask. Also, she made me promise to wait. I asked her if she was okay with it. You know what she said? She said Sabrina is already her daughter. She hugged me and said that, and I just started crying. She said I just better let her dance with both of us at the wedding. She's been so accepting I don't know what to do with myself. I would die for that woman. And yes, diary, I know it's early, but I can't do this anymore. I can't not let Sabrina know, now and forever, how I feel. I told mom I'd wait until we were both ready, but the thing is, I'm ready now. I love her with everything I have. Her fire, her passion, her kindness towards me, everything. I'll love her until the stars go out. I've loved her since I met her, and I'll never stop. But I'll wait if I have to. I'll wait forever if I have to."
"Chloé, I…" Sabrina felt tears running down her cheeks as she looked up to see Chloé standing directly in front of her. The picnic basket was scooted to the side to make room as Chloé knelt down.
Sabrina dropped the book and brought both hands to her mouth to stop a scream. She watched, shaking, as an extremely nervous Chloé fumbled for something in the dimensional pocket in her top.
"I, um, I di, di, I didn't mean for you to be hu, hurt," Chloé stammered. She was so nervous that her words were locking up.
'Oh, my God. She hasn't stuttered since we were six,' Sabrina thought, her eyes huge with shock. A year of aggressive speech therapy and constant reprimands courtesy of Audrey Bourgeois PR team had taken care of that, or so Sabrina had thought.
"You ha, have no idea how important y, you are to me. I'm sorry I even lo, looked at that other girl, and that's, that's all I did! I just… You're my entire world."
Chloé reached out for Sabrina's hand. Sabrina, still shaking, offered it.
"I, I, I would have asked you at the wedding if I'd thought you'd say yes," Chloé said. "You're all I think about. You're all I've thought about for two years. I don't want anyone else. And I don't care if you need time, that's fine. I'll wait if you want me to. An, and it won't matter, because I'll still be here. I'll always be here. But, I have to know. I have to let you know. I, I…"
Chloé was shaking so hard Sabrina thought she was going to drop the small box in her hand. With violently trembling fingers, Chloé finally managed to open it. Inside was a golden band with a large, gorgeous diamond.
Chloé was breathing so hard Sabrina thought she was going to pass out. "Sabrina Raincomprix, wou, would you, um, would you ma, marr…? Dammit! DAMMIT! Okay." Chloé took a second and cleared her throat. "Okay, right. Marry me, Sabrina." Chloé finally switched gears and put some force behind her words. Like magic, the stutter disappeared.
Sabrina did her best to answer, but her words were locking up. Finally, she choked out…
"…I don't know if we should."
Chloé stumbled.
"Wh… What?" the blonde asked.
"I said, I, I don't know," Sabrina replied. She was shaking, but she did her best to steady herself by clinging to the railing. "Chloé, we're so young. We're too young for this."
"But, but that doesn't… How I feel isn't going to change," Chloé said. Her vision was growing blurry from the tears forcing their way out. "Do you not want to?"
Sabrina nearly tripped. "Of course I want to! I love you with everything I am! But, like, 48% of all teen marriages end in divorce within less than ten years," Sabrina said. "We've got so much coming up. I just… I don't want to hurt you. Or us. I… I don't know if I should."
Chloé went quiet. She thought about it for a moment.
"Okay then. Two years."
Sabrina looked to her.
"I refuse to take you to the altar for at least two years. I don't care how much you and I want to, I refuse. We finish school, we go to University, we get our lives on track. But then?" Chloé looked at her. "Then all bets are off."
Sabrina sniffed and wiped at her face, her laugh coming out as a half-broken sob. "I gotta admit, two years sounds like forever," Sabrina quietly said.
Chloé held up the ring again. "Two years. But this is still yours now. If… If you want it."
Sabrina felt her chest tighten. She reached out a hand and smiled as she let Chloé slip the ring on her finger.
Chloé stood and the two embraced, both laughing through their kiss.
"You're sure?" Chloé asked, holding her. "Because I meant what I wrote. I'll wait for you if you want. I'll wait forever."
"Of course," Sabrina said, kissing her over and over. "Of course I'm sure. Yes, I'll marry you, you dork! I was always going to marry you! Chloé, I thought, God, I thought I'd lost you! I was so angry! And scared! And I know I overreacted, but I just… I'm sorry about everything!"
"I'm sorry!" Chloé countered. "I was being ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! I should have just talked to you and put things to bed. That would have been the right thing to do."
Sabrina held her close. "Well, you still can."
Chloé looked at her. "Can what?"
Sabrina ran her fingers through Chloé's hair. "Put things to bed. If… If you want to."
Chloé blushed. "Here? Now?"
Sabrina leaned in and started kissing her neck. "MmmHmm."
Chloé's eyes rolled back a bit as Sabrina found that magical spot riiiiigggt there where the neck meets the shoulder. "… Were you going to beat that other girl up because of me?"
"I'm sorry," Sabrina said. She abruptly stopped and pulled away.
"Hey," Chloé said. She put her hand under Sabrina's chin and raised it so their eyes would meet. "Don't you ever apologize for being angry. You're just as entitled to your feelings as anyone else."
"Dad always said a real lady keeps her anger in check," Sabrina muttered as she looked away.
"That's the same dad who called me a tramp? The same one you beat half to death for mentally abusing you for years?"
Sabrina nodded. "You get told something enough…"
"…It has an effect. I know. But hey," Chloé said, smiling. "That just means I have to keep telling you that it's okay to be you. That you're perfect, rage issues and all."
"I don't have rage issues."
Chloé stared at her. "So, you didn't brutally attack that girl?"
Sabrina bit her lip. "Okay, fine. I… I was going to kill her. I didn't know how else to take care of her. No name, no ID, I couldn't deal with her like I'm used to, so I was just going to keep hitting her until she stopped moving. Maybe step on her neck…" Sabrina pulled back a bit, her expression shifting to one of worry. "Um, is she okay? I realize now I may have slightly overreacted."
Chloé snorted. "Overreacted? You… Jesus."
Sabrina looked at her with a frighteningly level gaze. "You're mine. End of story."
Chloé nodded, feeling both frightened and turned on. "Well, it's a good thing she's tough. Still, you really did a number on her. I… Wow." Chloé looked Sabrina up and down. "I just realized; you took down a miraculous holder just because you were jealous of me?"
Sabrina nodded. "Sorry."
"Um, so, uh," Chloé traced a finger along her cheek. "What all did you do, exactly?"
Sabrina looked off to the side. "Well, I slammed into her midair, and then I tried crushing her, but she dodged. Then I tried choking her to death, but she got out of it. Then we fought, and I tried whipping her, and then I just started beating her down, over and over and over." Sabrina shivered. "I don't know how bad I got her, but there was some blood. God, I really did a number on her, I think. And before you say it, I know, okay? It was stupid, and selfish. I could have killed her, and I shummmMMMMmm…"
Sabrina was cut off by Chloé pinning her to the railing and kissing her.
"Buzz off!" Chloé said between kisses. In a flash, she was back in her regular outfit.
"Detransform," Chloé said, her voice urgent. She was pulling off her own jacket and continuing to kiss while talking, which was admittedly impressive. "Now."
"Shouldn't we return the miraculous?" Sabrina asked. She noted that if Chloé wasn't careful with where she was throwing things, she was going to lose some clothing over the railing.
"We can do that later. Right now…"
"What?" Sabrina asked, laughing between kisses. "You want your Bug Time?"
Chloé looked sat her. "No. I want Sabrina Time. I want some time with my fiancé," Chloé breathed. "Detransform. NOW."
Eventually, they got to the picnic basket.
Three hours later, both heroes landed on Marinette's balcony. Marinette had actually passed out in her patio chair and was startled awake by them landing.
"WAAAAGH!" Marinette articulately greeted them as she fell out of her chair.
Chloé cringed. "Sorry! Sorry. Um… Are you alive?"
Marinette popped up and dusted herself off. "Yeah! Yes. I just, um, passed out. I was a bit more exhausted than I thought."
"Are you drinking enough water?" Chloé asked. She looked Marinette over. "You should be drinking more water. What about beans? Mom ate tons of beans. Said it's all she could keep down after a while."
Sabrina was listening but not quite following along. "What are you even talking about? Oh, um, hi Marinette." She detransformed and held out the necklace. "I'm sorry I stole your miraculous."
Marinette's smile dropped as she took the necklace back. She looked to Barkk. "You encouraged this?"
The dog kwami dropped. "I am a bad dog. I am sorry." He looked to Marinette. "I love you very much."
Marinette rubbed her forehead. "Look, just go inside with the others, okay? Put this away."
She handed him the miraculous. He took it and slowly flew down into her room.
"So," Marinette said as she turned to Sabrina. "After I told you I'm thinking about making you a hero, you lied to me, robbed me, and then you beat up my daughter. Were you trying to get banned?"
Sabrina's eyes went wide. "Your… Oh God!" Her thoughts went back to the list.
She looks like Marinette.
"OHMYGOD! I didn't know she was your daughter! I swear!" She looked to Chloé. "Why didn't you tell me it was her daughter?"
"I thought you knew?" Chloé said.
"Obviously, I did not!" Sabrina snapped. She turned back to Marinette. "I am so sorry. I swear it will never happen again!"
"Why did you attack her?" Marinette asked, obviously upset. "She was just out on patrol, minding her own business and helping out. She said you were going on about her being a homewrecker, which really confused her, by the way."
Sabrina turned beet red and locked up. Marinette looked from Sabrina to Chloé and back again.
Sabrina flashed red and black.
Chloé flashed red and black.
The earrings flashed red and black.
"…Are you FUCKING kidding me?" Marinette asked in a drained voice.
"Nothing happened!" Chloé said, her hands in front of her.
"SHE'S MY DAUGHTER!" Marinette snapped.
"I really didn't know!" Sabrina pleaded.
"I didn't touch her!" Chloé said in a frantic voice as Marinette advanced.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Marinette yelled.
"Honest!" Chloé said, her hands up. "It was nothing at all! It was just…"
"If you say Bug Time, so help me God, I will kill you right here and now!" Marinette yelled. "She is off-limits, do you understand me! OFF! LIMITS! IF YOU EVEN THINK OF Oh my God is that a ring?"
Marinette quickly derailed and zoomed in on Sabrina's hand. The ginger held it out for her to see.
"Um, yeah. Chloé just asked me to marry her!"
Marinette's eyes went wide. She broke out into the biggest grin either girl had ever seen as her hands balled up and went to her chin. "OH, MY GOD! She asked you!"
"She asked me!" Sabrina said in a slightly higher, more excited voice.
"And you said yes?"
"AND I SAID YES!"
"YOU SAID YES!"
Both girls erupted into a high-pitched cry that only dogs could hear as Marinette hugged her. "I am so happy for you! This is so wonderful! Never steal from me again! Oh, wow! You're so perfect together! And seriously, I will end you if you ever do that to me. I am so happy for you!"
Sabrina stared, completely thrown off. "Um, thank you and I am so unbelievably sorry."
"Sorry," Marinette said, blushing. "I've been a bit all over the place lately." She took Sabrina's hand and examined the ring. "This is so beautiful! You are so lucky!"
Sabrina grinned. "I know! Maybe someone will ask you soon, too?"
Marinette looked to Chloé.
"You didn't tell her?"
Chloé shrugged. "I don't blab."
Marinette held up her hand to show off the white gold ring.
Sabrina's eyes went wide. "OOOOOH! MY! GOD! HE ASKED?"
"HE ASKED!"
Both girls screamed and hugged again.
"Oh wow," Sabrina said, overwhelmed. "Is this why he's been so happy lately?"
Chloé coughed and pointed at Marinette's stomach. "Well, that and the other thing."
Sabrina looked down at Marinette and really examined her for the first time that evening. Marinette sighed and pulled her sweater against her body, showing off her pooch.
Sabrina's hands went to her mouth.
"No!" Sabrina said.
"Yes!" Marinette said.
"NO!"
"YES!"
Both girls screamed and hugged again.
Chloé rolled her eyes.
Notes:
This chapter was almost called Sabrina Time, but I didn't want to spoil things.
Well now, that was nice and neat, wasn't it? Everything wrapped up with our heroes, so we can finally put this story to bed.
What do you mean, I forgot to follow up with Gina?
What do you mean, I still need to do a reveal?
I... Yes, I promised one section on top of that, but...
ALIX: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?
Okay, yeah, fine. This isn't over yet. Might be some slight timeline stuff to clean up.
NEXT TIME!
We go back... TO THE FUTURE!
SEE... Gina get in trouble! Again!
SEE... A cameo from our favorite insane time travelling hero! The adult one!
SEE... Hot! Domestic! Action!
ALL! NEXT! CHAPTER!
Be here tomorrow for the wrap up, same Bug Time...
SABRINA: ...you know what? I don't care anymore.
...Same Bug Channel!
