Chapter 13: Plans and Promises

Three days went by, and like Max had predicted, his mom wasted no time in making sure that no one else would enter the lab, without her knowing. And during those three days, nobody came up with an idea to get inside the laboratory, without getting caught. Though they did not come up with one, because of the lack of time. On Sunday, a huge fire broke out in Pigalle, and they all hurried to help putting it out, leaving them exhausted, both physically and mentally. And the following days, they had school, which meant no time to even think of a plan.

But even if she did not have the time or the patience to think of a plan, Marinette made sure to find both of those, when it came to sewing. Before starting to make Nebula's jacket, she cut and sew one which she named "jacket's prototype", made out of raw cloth, so Miss Bustier could try it on, and for her to see if she needed to make any changes to the patterns.

During recess, Marinette asked Miss Bustier to try it out, to see if it looked good on her. Upon trying it, Marinette's teacher felt like it fit her like a glove. Even if it was just a prototype made out of raw cloth, she could not help but to admire the way it looked on her. Looking at her teacher, Marinette noticed she looked a little bit nervous doing that, which did not surprise her. Other than her and the rest of the class, only the principal knew about Miss Bustier's secret. And as far as she knew, that was the first time she tried on anything cosplay-related, in the school. Putting it on, Miss Bustier's first thought was that Marinette had done a very good job with it, and that she would certainly make an incredible job with the finalized jacket.

"So, what do you think, Miss Bustier?" -Marinette asked her, hoping she would approve it.

"I think you're doing a very good job, Marinette." -Miss Bustier said as she used the mirror app in her cell phone to look at herself wearing the prototype. –"I feel like it fits me like a glove." -she praised her.

"It took me almost all night to sew it properly, but hearing you say that, makes me feel it was worth it." -Marinette said. –"Though, I have to thank Mylene for going on patrol with Adrien, last night. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to finish this for Miss Bustier to try on… and I'll probably have to ask someone else to go with Adrien, the next time it's our turn to patrol, if I want to finish this in time. Maybe I'll ask Nino, if he doesn't mind. Oh, who am I kidding, of course he doesn't mind patrolling with Adrien. They're best buds, after all." -she thought to herself. –"I'm doing my best, so you can have a jacket, worthy of the rest of your cosplay, Miss Bustier."

"I'm glad to see you're having fun with this, and that you're giving it your all. But still, I don't want you to exhaust yourself, Marinette." -Miss Bustier told her. –"You still need to focus on school. And as your teacher, I'd rather have a jacket that isn't absolutely accurate to the one Nebula wears in the movies, than seeing you fail academically, because you were too busy, or fatigued to study." -she smiled at her. –"I wouldn't be much of a teacher, if I allowed you to slip on your grades."

"Don't worry, Miss Bustier. I can still find the time and the strength to continue to study, while doing this." -Marinette said. –"I promised you I would get this done, and I'm going to do it." -she smiled, when she noticed something in the jacket that needed a little . –"And now that I'm looking at it, I see that I need to do something about this sleeve."

Running to her place, she quickly opened her backpack and pulled out her sketchbook, as well as a pencil, her pin cushion and her measuring tape, which was handed to her by none other than Tikki, who smiled at her. The scarlet kwami had been observing the whole thing, from inside Marinette's backpack, and was happy to see her so excited about all that.

"I'm glad that Miss Bustier loved that prototype." -Tikki thought to herself, as she continued to peek from inside Marinette's backpack. –"Marinette is working so hard to make that jacket look like the one worn by the character. And I know that if it's up to her, it will look like the real deal. Marinette is just the kind of perfectionist, who doesn't leave nothing to chance." -she thought. –"Most people would say that her focusing on this project can hardly be considered a breather, but that's because they don't know Marinette or what she goes through as Ladybug. It's a nice change of pace for her, even if it's just until she finishes the jacket. She truly does deserve a break from all the crazy things that happen to her. Sometimes, I really wish she didn't have to be Ladybug, and could live an ordinary life, like every other teenager. Then again, I know just how much she enjoys being Ladybug and helping others, so I guess that even thinking about wishing for that to be true, is a bit unfair to Marinette. Best not to think about it."

And it was with those thoughts that Tikki continued to observe Marinette and Miss Bustier, as the blue-haired girl used her measuring tape and then, used a couple of pins to mark where she needed to make some adjustments. Once she did that, she wrote on her sketchbook the adjustments that needed to be made, so she would not forget about them.

"There. I think I already have everything I need to start the real jacket." -Marinette told her teacher. –"I'll go buy the materials after school, and get started on it today, or maybe tomorrow."

"Why don't you start on it tomorrow?" -Miss Bustier said, as she took off the raw cloth jacket, carefully, so none of the pins would come out. –"I'm going to give you all a little bit of homework today, so it's best if you take your time and focus on doing them, instead of sewing." -she advised her. –"Remember, you still have time to finish this."

"Okay, Miss Bustier." -Marinette said. –"But I'm still going shopping this afternoon, and I'm going to ask Alya to come with me… either her, or Mylene. She also has an eye for fabrics." -she thought to herself.

After what happened, Claudie Kante started to turn on all the alarms there were, inside and outside the laboratory, every time she left the laboratory. And she warned Max not to try and enter it, without her authorization, still believing it had been him, who had broken inside the laboratory the first time. She told him that if he did such a thing again, she would ground him until he was 18. The poor boy felt like he was being treated unfairly, but could not risk tell her what really happened. If he attempted to tell her that a tiny little magical creature, had been the one lurking inside her laboratory, and who accidentally activated the quantum spectrum camera, which photographed him, before he went back to Max's bedroom, she would call him a liar and force him to get rid of all the action figures and collectibles he had, as a punishment. Furthermore, if he continued to tell her that, she would send him to a psychiatrist.

Ever since Ari was photographed, that Max tried to come up with a way to enter the laboratory, and check if there were any other gadgets inside that allowed one to capture the image of a kwami, which until then, he and his friends, along with the kwamis, thought would be impossible. And once he found out that, think of a plan of action.

Entering would be easy, because Max knew the lab's door security code, along with the codes of the two different alarms that had been installed outside laboratory. The biggest problem was the alarms inside the laboratory, which he did not know the codes to disarm them, once inside. And if he could not disarm them, his mother would know that he had disobeyed her, and he would be in trouble.

He had unofficially been assigned to come up with a way to enter the laboratory, without his mother knowing, so he was determined to come up with a way. The others told him that they would help to think of a plan, but he had taken that task to heart, and was determined to find a way to get inside the laboratory, without his mother finding out. But every idea he came up with, either was not good enough, or was not feasible. As he walked home, his mind was swarming with countless ideas. But none seemed good enough. Max was beginning to believe that he would not be able to come up with an idea to get inside his mom's lab. But that changed, when he received a phone call from Master Fu, telling him to stop by his place, saying that he might have an idea for the dilemma he and the rest of the team were facing.

"Well, it won't hurt to listen to what the old master has to say." -Max thought to himself. –"It wouldn't be the first time that he would come back with a plan that saves our bacon." -he thought.

Making his way towards Fu's apartment, he wondered what kind of idea the old master had had, that could save their bacon. One thing, he knew. Whatever the idea he had, it would most likely be different, from all the other ideas that he had come up with, until then. And the truth was that it was different. As he heard the idea Master Fu had, Max realized that it was something so simple, yet so effective, that the odds of working, were incredibly good.

"So, what do you think?" -Master Fu asked Max, after telling him the plan he had come up with.

"It's quite the idea… a very good one, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. But will it work?" –Max asked the old master, as he held a jar the old master had given him.

"I believe it will. A handful of the leaves you have in that jar, are powerful enough to put an elephant to sleep for a whole day. Not only it works on animals, but also on humans." -Master Fu told Max. –"All you need to do is to lightly season something your parents will eat with those herbs, and I can assure you that they will sleep through an earthquake, an erupting volcano and a thunderstorm combined." -he said. –"Once they are asleep, you can deactivate the alarms outside and just go in, where you can take your time, analysing things. That is, after you deactivate the alarms inside the laboratory."

"The passwords for the alarms outside the laboratory, it'll be easy, because I know them. But the ones for the alarms inside the laboratory, I have no idea which are they." -Max confessed. –"I'll have to ask Mylene to lend me Pin to get them." -he said. –"Because of her invisibility power, she can stay close to my mom and memorize all the passwords, so I can then use them, once inside the laboratory."

"That is a good idea." -Master Fu said. –"It complements the idea I gave you, quite nicely." –he said.

"It really does." -Max admitted. –"It's too bad none of us came up with it, earlier." -he sighed. –"I mean, it's so basic that I should've thought about it earlier, master."

"Things happen when they need to happen, Max. Not before, nor after." -Master Fu declared, in his usual wise tone. –"Besides, nothing bad happened, since the moment Ari there, was accidentally photographed." -he said, pointing at the spider kwami, who was hovering next to Max's right shoulder. –"I know you wanted to have this problem solved, as quickly as possible, but sometimes, one must take things slowly, if possible."

"I know, and you're right, master." -Max sighed, as he placed the jar on the floor. –"Still, the faster we have this solved, the faster we can all relax, and focus on just fighting Hawk Moth and his minions, while also trying not to flunk at school." -he admitted.

"That I must also agree." -Master Fu smiled. –"I may say that things must take time to get solved, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like them to get solved a little faster, I admit it." -he chuckled.

"Hopefully, it will, soon. But that still leaves with one issue to solve. What are we going to do, after I find out if that camera is the only thing that can capture the image of a kwami, master?" -Max asked the old man. –"I mean, we still need to figure out that part, especially because I can't take anything from inside the lab, or even break it." -he sighed. –"If I do that, I'll be grounded until I'm as old as you are, master."

"One step at the time, my boy. One step at the time." -Master Fu said. –"One should worry about the problems that exist now, and not about those that might come later, because if he does that, he might not be able to solve them all." -he declared.

"That's deep. Who said those words? Confucius?" -Max asked, intrigued.

"No. This one is a Wang Fu original." -Master Fu joked. "Just because Confucius has some of the best quotes ever, doesn't mean he owns the monopoly." -the old master joked once more. –"For now, just focus on finding a way to get your parents to eat some of those herbs, without them knowing it. But remember, you mustn't use too much, or they will sleep for days in a row."

"It shouldn't be too hard." -Ari said. –"Max's parents are always eating salads at dinner. We could put them on a lettuce and tomato salad, and that will be that." -he suggested.

"That could work." -Max said. –"Remember that Jumbo-sized avocado, tomato, chickpea and cucumber salad my mom served the other day?" -he asked Ari. –"It had so many spices and herbs, that I could put a good portion of these herbs on it, that they would've never seen the difference."

"Yeah, totally! That was one really big salad!" -Ari laughed, as he remembered it. –"Oh, I know! If your mom makes lasagne or meatloaf, you could also put the herbs in them, that they won't know about it either!" -he said,

"But then, I would also eat the herbs, remember?" -Max reminded Ari, with an amused voice. –"It has to be something that I won't eat, and the only thing I don't eat at dinner is salad." -he said.

"Then, salad it'll be." -Ari said. –"Now, all you need to do is to tell Mylene to lend you Pin for this plan to go ahead. Do you want me to contact Pin and tell her the whole plan?" -he asked Max.

"No, I rather do that tomorrow, in person. This is one of those things that I prefer to discuss face to face with both Pin and Mylene." -Max said.

At the Agreste Manor, dinner had just been served, but the table had been set for only one person. With his father out of the country on a business meeting in Argentina, Adrien was eating alone that night. Or that was what he thought. He was on his way down towards the dining room, when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw that it was Marinette calling. Answering her, he asked her if there was something wrong, to which she said no, and that she only called to hear his voice, because on that day they hardly had the time to talk to one another. It did not take long for Adrien to tell Marinette he was dining alone that night. But it took even less for Marinette to suggest something that was going to make Adrien feel in good company. She told him that they could make a Skype call, and that way, he could have dinner with her and her parents.

Adrien was no stranger to that kind of calls, especially during dinner. More than once, he had had dinner with his father like that, using an iPad. But on that night, instead of his father, he was going to have dinner with Marinette and her family, and he was happy about it. He enjoyed both Marinette's company and of her parents, and dinner in their company, even if it was not presential, was something he was looking forth.

"I still can't believe you're eating by yourself again." -Marinette commented.

"Yeah, I know. You would think I would be used to it, by now, but guess what? I'm not, and I really hate eating alone." -Adrien said. –"But thanks to you and your family, this dinner won't be as boring and as lonely as one might think." -he joked. –"Thanks for inviting me to have dinner with you, over Skype."

"Well, thanks for accepting it." -Marinette said, as she placed the tablet in a way that would allow Adrien to see her and her parents at the table. Once she did that, she sat at the table, where her mom was beginning to serve the dinner. –"What are you having for dinner?" -she asked Adrien.

"One lamb chop with white asparagus covered in Bechamel sauce." -Adrien said, as he showed her, his plate. –"It's not exactly my favourite dish. But I know that for dessert I'll be having one delicious éclair." -he admitted, as he looked at the tasty treat on a plate, next to his glass. –"What about you? What are you having for dinner?"

"Today was my dad's turn to cook, so we're having Italian cuisine." -Marinette giggled, as she showed him, her plate. –"Behold, Seafood Lasagne, with extra tomato sauce." -she said.

"Looks good. Can I trade with you?" -Adrien asked her. –"Your dinner looks way more delicious than mine." -he said, while looking at his plate.

"Sorry, but this whole plate is mine." -Marinette joked, as she took a bite from the lasagne. –"And it's really good… I bet you really wanted a little bite from it, am I right?" -she asked him, in a playful tone.

"Honey, that's so mean." -Sabine said, while giggling. –"You're making your boyfriend feel jealous he's not here with us." -she said.

"Oh, Adrien knows I'm just joking, don't you, Adrien?" -Marinette asked him, to which he nodded. –"But the next time you're allowed to come over for lunch or dinner, I promise you that my dad will cook his famous seafood lasagne, so you can try it." -she said. –"You'll cook it for him, won't you, dad?"

"Of course." -Tom said. –"It'll be my pleasure to cook it for you, my boy. I mean, it's only fair, since in the near future, we're going to be family. You need to taste it and get to know its distinctive taste, so you can learn how to cook it, because this is a special recipe in the family, and must be passed on to the next generation. We need to be sure the women in our lives are well fed, and let me tell you there hasn't been a woman in our family that doesn't love this delicious lasagne" -he said, with a jolly voice.

The way Tom talked about all that, made Adrien wonder what he was talking about, and why he was talking about it that way. He felt like he was trying to tell him something, but the boy did not understand what. Luckily, Sabine realized that, just from looking at Adrien's face, and decided to straighten things out.

"In other words, Tom wants to teach you to cook his special lasagne, sweetheart." -Sabine told Adrien. –"He just used a lot more words to tell you that, so it's okay if you didn't understand it." -she giggled. –"But a word of advice, Adrien. Don't allow him to pour every spice there is on the spice rack, on the tomato sauce. Tom tends to use too much of everything, when cooking it."

"Are you saying that I use too much spices on my tomato sauce, Sabine?" -Tom asked her, feigning shock.

"Yes, I do, honey. You're a great chef, but if I don't go behind you and add a little bit of water to the tomato sauce, it would be too strong." -Sabine told her husband.

"All I'm doing is giving it a little bit of flavour." -Tom said innocently.

"Yes, a little bit… the problem is that your little bit is hardly little." -Sabine said, before laughing, with Tom and Marinette joining her.

It was times like those, when he looked at Marinette's family, that Adrien could not help but to feel a little jealous of her. She had the chance to share a warm meal with her family, every day of the week, in a happy and fun-loving mood, while he himself, would be lucky to share one or two with his father, and even when that happened, dinners would not be the jolliest of times. He knew it was not his father's fault. He was just not the kind of person, with whom he could talk the way Marinette talked with her parents. Still, he wished he could, because it would mean that his relationship with his father was better, than the one he had right then.

"If only dad was a lot more like Marinette's parents… well, maybe one day he might be." -Adrien thought to himself. –"I mean, he's not as distant as he once was. The last time I told a joke at dinner, he even chuckled… I know it's a little childish to think this, but maybe having Marinette in my life, will prompt him to change a bit too. I mean, she can light up a whole room with her smile, and she tends to put anyone who talk to her in a good mood. Maybe that's what dad needs… people who can put him in a good mood." -he thought, when he heard his name being called, snapping him back to the reality. –"Uh… what did you say, Marinette?"

"I was saying, that my mom was asking you, where your father went." -Marinette told him.

"Oh, he went to Argentina, and should be back after tomorrow." -Adrien said. –"He usually takes either Nathalie or Nina with him, when he goes on these business trips, but this time, he went alone." -he declared.

"Do you know why he went to Argentina?" -Marinette asked him.

"Not really. Nathalie didn't tell me the reason, when she warned me that he had left in a hurry." -Adrien answered her. –"But if I had to take a guess, he probably went there to talk with someone he wants to make business with." -he said. –"I know for a fact, the Agreste brand has been trying to get into the South American fashion market, for the past few years, but for some reason, it hasn't been able to do it, like in the North American and Asian markets. So, I wouldn't be too surprised if he had gone there, to try and see if the brand finally has a chance to triumph in that market."

"Well, let's hope that if that's the case, that he manages to score a big win." -Marinette said.

"You know that if he happens to finally launch the brand on South America, I'll probably have to go there, and do a couple of photoshoots in Buenos Aires, don't you?" -Adrien asked her. –"That means, you'll probably won't see me for at least one or two weeks." -he declared.

"Then, it's a good thing we're dating, because that way, you can ask your dad to allow me to accompany you." -Marinette smiled at him. –"We could go and see the views, once you were finished with your photoshoots." -she suggested. –"It would be a shame to go to Buenos Aires, and not visit the city, which I've read about and think it's a beautiful city."

"Are you trying to make me take you on a date, out of the country, just because my dad owns a private jet, Marinette?" -Adrien asked her, with a mischievous smile on his face, while also raising an eye at Marinette.

"And what if I am? I mean, I'm your girlfriend, after all. It would be wrong for me not to take advantage of you." -Marinette told him, in a playful tone, before they both burst into laughs.

"You… More and more, I miss the times, when you were this shy girl, who blushed, whenever I praised you, and you were too afraid to tell me that you had a crush on me." -Adrien smiled at her.

"Those were good times." -Marinette chuckled. –"But admit it, you like seeing this side of me." -she smiled at him.

"I would be lying if I said no, milady." -Adrien declared, calling her by the nickname he had given her.

"Do you kids want us to leave for a minute, so you can continue this conversation?" -Tom playfully asked them, as he helped himself to another plate of lasagne.

"N-No, dad." -Marinette chuckled, as she realized that she and Adrien had been flirting in front of her parents.

"Y-Yes, there's no need." -Adrien smiled, feeling a little embarrassed. –"I guess we've got a little carried away." -he said, before eating a bit of asparagus.

"It's okay, kids." -Sabine said. –"We know that you didn't do it on purpose." –she said. –"But if you want to spend some time alone, your father and I can always go for a walk. That way, you can…"

"Mom!" -Marinette exclaimed, as she began to blush, just from thinking of what her mom was implying with that speech of hers.

"Now, there's the Marinette Dupain-Cheng I fell in love with." -Adrien thought to himself. –"Sweet, beautiful, courageous, talented, adorably clumsy at times, and probably the person who blushes the fast in the whole world… in sum, the perfect girl with a heart of gold, who makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world." -he mused.

While Adrien was having the time of his life, at the Le Grand Paris, dinnertime was far from being that, with Chloe getting scolded by her father, the Mayor, after what happened between her and her violin teacher that afternoon. The blonde tried to explain to him why she did what she did, but he was not in an understanding mood that night, after spending the whole day locked up in his office, listening to his advisors. In the end, he apologized to Chloe for being in such a lousy mood, but still told her that if she repeated the stunt, she would be grounded for a week.

Already in her suite, Chloe tried to let out some steam, with Pollen hearing all she had to say about what happened. The bee kwami had been present, when the whole scene between her and the violin teacher happened, so she knew what had happened. But knowing Chloe needed to vent off some of the anger she had inside her, she listened to her, throwing a comment or two, when feeling the blonde needed to hear something a little more constructive.

"Daddy could've at least tried to understand my side!" -Chloe exclaimed, as she continued to walk around her living room.

"Well, what did you expect, after you talked to the man the way you did?" -Pollen asked her.

"I expected daddy to heat me out, Pollen!" -Chloe shouted into the air. –"I mean, I was right to tell that teacher of mine those things, when he insulted me! What kind of teacher insults its own student the way he did?!" -she asked the little kwami.

"Far from me to tell you, you were wrong, but don't you think you overreacted a little bit, Chloe?" -Pollen asked.

(Flashback)

It was the fourth time that Chloe failed to play the piece she had been taught by her violin teacher, Monsieur Ernest Thibaud. He was a skinny middle-aged man, with slicked-back blond hair with a receding hairline, green eyes, and a chinstrap beard with a goatee. When it came to his clothes, he was wearing a beige suit, white undershirt, along with a red bow tie, and brown moccasins. And right then, he was fumigating, because he was not enjoying the blonde's performance, which he deemed mediocre, at best.

"You haven't been practicing, Miss Bourgeois!" -Ernest told Chloe, with a disapproving voice.

"But I have been practicing!" -Chloe protested. .

"No, you haven't. Those mistakes are proof of it." -Ernest said. –"If you had practiced, those mistakes would have not been a part of your performance." -he said with a serious voice.

"But I'm telling you that I've been practicing! It's not my fault that you can't see that I've been practicing!" -Chloe exclaimed, angry at her violin teacher.

"Then, you have not been practicing enough!" -Ernest scolded her. -"By now, you should be able to play that piece, without much effort! And from what I've seen, you barely attempted to learn to play the piece, which to be fair, even a 5-year-old would be able to do, without much effort!" -he continued to scold her.

"Well, if you knew just how busy my life is, you would give me a break! And let me remind you that you can't talk to me like that!" -Chloe shouted at the man, upset. –"My dad's the one who's paying these private lessons, and he happens to be the mayor of this town! So, you should watch out how you talk to me!" -she warned him.

"Miss Bourgeois, I don't care if your father is the mayor of Paris! He could be the President of France, for all I care!" -Ernest told her, angry. – "The issue here is your lack of practice, and not who your father is." -he declared.

"You keep talking to me like that, and I can guarantee you that I will make sure that he'll find a way to have you thrown out of that Conservatory!" -Chloe shouted at him. –"I won't allow you to disrespect me like that, especially when you're being paid to teach me, not to insult me!" -she pointed out.

"I am not insulting, I am pointing out what is more than true, which is your lack of practicing! Practice is the core foundation of any good musician! How do you expect to get better at it, if you don't practice it?!" -Ernest questioned Chloe.

"And there you go with that again!" -Chloe sighed, upset. –"I've been practicing the violin! Why would I be lying about something like that, when I don't have the need?! You tell me, why?!" -she asked Ernest in a challenging tone.

"No, you haven't! I don't know why you're lying about it, but either you stop lying and behaving like a spoiled brat, who can't hear the truth, and who thinks she's always right, or I'll give you a reason to be upset about, Miss Bourgeois!" -Ernest told her.

"A spoiled brat, who can't hear the truth, and who thinks she's always right?! And you dare to also call me a liar?! That's it! You've crossed the line, mister!" -Chloe berated at Ernest, furious –"Get out! That's the last insult I'll hear from you!" -she exclaimed, enraged.

(End of Flashback)

Thinking about the whole thing, Chloe realized that she might have allowed herself to be guided by her anger. But even realizing it, she still believed she was in the right, and Ernest in the wrong, and that was making her blood boil, almost uncontrollably.

"I know I shouldn't have gotten that mad at him, and yelled at him the way I did, but what was I supposed to do, Pollen?!" -Chloe sighed in exasperation. –"He insulted me! Ge called me a liar and a spoiled brat! And you know that I hate when people insult me!" -she said, as she played the whole argument in her head.

"I know that. But you should've just heard what he said to you, without complaining and without yelling, just like you do when Miss Bustier says you did something wrong." -Pollen told her. –"Not to mention that telling him to get out of this suite, wasn't the best course of action." -she added.

"But Miss Bustier doesn't yell at me or calls me names, Pollen! If he hadn't yelled at me, not to mention insult me, by calling me spoiled brat and liar, I wouldn't have yelled back at him." -Chloe told her. –"I mean, it's not like I haven't been practicing! I practice the violin, each day, for an hour." -she said.

"Then, maybe you should practice for two hours, instead of just one." -Pollen said, as she hovered in front of the blonde's nose. –"I'm sure you don't mind practicing the violin for two hours." -she smiled at her. –"And if you practiced for a little longer, you would get better faster, and your violin teacher wouldn't scold you for not practicing."

"But what if I don't feel like practicing for two hours, instead of just one?" -Chloe asked the little kwami, as both made their way towards her bedroom.

"Then, why don't you practice it, while talking online to Sabrina?" -Pollen suggested her. –"She likes to hear you play, and you don't mind playing for her. It's the best of both worlds, as they say." -she told her.

"Are you really using the "girlfriend trick" to persuade me to practice the violin?" -Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"If the shoe fits, my queen." -Pollen joked.

The truth was that Chloe was not a big fan of practicing the violin after dinner. She liked to practice it after lunch, or at the beginning of the afternoon, which was when she felt more inclined to create music with it. But she usually only had time to practice it at that time of day, during the weekends. So, practicing the violin, after a long hard day of school, was the last thing she wanted to do. But she knew that if she practiced it, while Sabrina was watching, it would not feel as a chore, but as a pleasure. There was nothing she would not do for her girlfriend, even doing things she deemed too hard or boring to do, after a long hard day; and Pollen knew that.

"Fine, I'll do it." -Chloe sighed. –"You and Sabrina are such a bad influence on me." -she said in a playful voice, feeling a lot more relaxed, opposite of how she felt a couple of minutes earlier.

"We try to, my queen." -Pollen smiled.

"Well, then keep doing the great job you're doing. I wouldn't be who I am today, if you two weren't by my side, the whole time." -Chloe said, as she sat at the desk. –"Still, I should convince my dad to get me another violin teacher. I don't think things are going to work with this one." -she commented.

"Or maybe, you should try and give him a chance. I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but I'm only looking out for you." -Pollen told her. –"Give the man another chance. Who knows, maybe he'll turn out to be the teacher you need, instead of being the teacher you want." -she said. –"And if you start practicing the violin a little bit more, he'll probably won't yell at you again, and instead praise you for the talent I know you have. Also, the next time he comes for one of your lessons, apologize to him to smooth things over with him. Tell him that you were having a bad day, and that you'll try your best for it to not happen again. That ought to make things easier between the two of you."

"Fine…" -Chloe sighed. –"I'll do it, but I'm not going to like it!" -she stated.

"I know you won't like it, Chloe. But it's the right thing to do, and I'm glad you have matured enough to see that and do what must be done." -Pollen thought to herself.

"By the way, and changing the subject, I finished writing a letter to my mom. Do you want to read it, before I send it?" -Chloe asked her, while holding the letter in her hand. –"I even printed this photo of me and Sabrina, to send it along with the later, so my mom has a photo of me." -she said, pointing at the photo, where you could see Sabrina and Chloe smiling at the camera. –"That was actually Sabrina's idea, not mine. She said it would be a nice gesture, if I sent my mom something that would remind her of me.

"And I think that's a great idea. It'll show your mom that you care for her, and that you want her to get to know you better. -Pollen said, with a smile. –"On top of that, it's a really cool souvenir. You and Sabrina look so cute in that photo." -she said. –"Now, let's see that letter."

"I'm not very used to writing letters to anybody." -Chloe admitted, as Pollen landed on her shoulder. –"I even had Sabrina help me with it, during lunch, but I'm not sure if it's good enough to send it to my mom." -she said. –"Daddy's just waiting for me to finish mine, so he can send both our letters to my mom."

"Well, I'm sure you did a great job." -Pollen said, as she looked at the letter. –"Dear mom. I'm happy to know that you're doing well, and that your treatment is going well. I have to admit that it's a little strange to be writing a letter to you, especially since I never wrote letters in my life. But I'm not saying it's a bad experience, it's just different. I miss you too, and just like you, I hope that you, dad and I can become a real family again, once you finish your treatment. I won't lie, when I say that it won't be easy, but you're my mother and I want to believe that we can find a way to be happy as a real family. After everything that happened between us, I thought that I would not miss you, because you hurt me a lot. But I was wrong. I do miss you a lot, and I wish you were here, so I could be telling you these words in person. But hopefully, the day when that happens isn't too far, and when it happens, we'll have all the time in the world to talk. But I don't want to just talk. I also want to do things that daughters do with their mothers, and get back the time that we didn't have together. I want to get to know the real you. For now, that's all I have to say. I will wait for your next letter, to hear about you. Lots of kisses, from your daughter. Chloe Bourgeois. P.S. Since you wanted to get to know me better as well as my friends, I'm sending you a photo of me and Sabrina, my best-friend, whom you might remember from the last party. She helped me write this letter to you. On the next letter, I'll talk about her, how we met and just how important she is to me." -she read. –"This is…"

"It's awful, isn't it?" -Chloe asked her, heartbroken. –"Sabrina helped me with it, but even with her help, I still feel like I haven't expressed what I really want to tell my mom." -she sighed.

"No. On the contrary, I think it's a wonderful letter." -Pollen said. –"It's only natural that it's not easy for you to write to your mom. You both need to create a bond, which is something you never truly had. And that takes time, Chloe." -she told her. –"I'm sure that in time, your letters will become more personal, and it won't be as hard to write to her. You just need to give it time. Time makes things easier."

"I guess you're right… Time will make things easier." -Chloe smiled, as she folded the letter and placed it on an envelope, along with the picture of her and Sabrina. –"I would rather send her emails, because they arrive faster, and I could send her tons of photos, instead of just one." -she said, while closing the envelope. –"But for now, this will have to do."

"I'm sure you would. But this is all part of your mom's treatment. If the doctors say that it's best if she writes and receives letters, we must trust them. After all, they're doing everything they can to get your mom better." -Pollen said.

"Quoting Rose, "You kwamis always know what to say, and how to say it.", Pollen." -Chloe told her. –"For being able to calm me down, make me realize that I was wrong and cheer me up, you can ask me anything. Name what you want, and I'll do it." -she declared.

"Then, I know what I want… I want you to practice the violin, right now." -Pollen answered her.

"Right now?!" -Chloe asked her, baffled with that request.

"Right now. You said I could ask you anything, and that's what I'm asking. I'm asking you to practice the violin." -Pollen said.

"Yes, but I was thinking that you were going to ask for a jar of honey or something overly sweet." -Chloe declared.

"Well, I'm sorry, but this is what I want." -Pollen told her, with a serious face. –"Now, go get the violin and start practicing it. I demand a private concert, Chloe." -she said, as he serious look, turned into a mischievous smile.

"I'll go get it." -Chloe sighed, as she went into her wardrobe. –"Next time, I need to say something like that, I need to add "Except practicing the violin, because I don't really feel like it, right now.", so Pollen doesn't get the chance to ask me that." -she thought to herself. –"That kwami is a lot more cunning than she seems. It's that cute adorable smile of hers. That smile allows her to get away with so many things… just like me. Our smiles do get us away with a lot of things. No wonder we're the perfect match of kwami and holder."

Happy anniversary! Yup, today, September 1st, 2021 marks the 6th anniversary of Miraculous. Now, I know that I'm always saying that the series isn't the best in the world, for a ton of reasons, but even I can't deny that the characters in it have become like good friends to me, and have helped me through some rough patches in life, like other shows have in the past. It's hard to believe that six years have gone by already, and that this AU is already 4 years old... anyways, regarding this chapter, the hardest part to write must have been Chloe's letter to Audrey, though the bit between Max and Master Fu wasn't easy to write either. the easisest part to write must have been the dinner bit, because it allowed me to go into full "Adrienette mode". xDDD

Initially, this chapter was initially going to be dedicated to Carla García, the portuguese voice of Marinette/Ladybug, whose birthday was on August 30th, but I couldn't finish it in time, so this ended up becoming a birthday present for both her and the series, dedicated to both.

So, as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this fic and future ones.