The thing is, Chloe doesn't know how to be friends with Adrien anymore. In between the lying and pretending, they drifted apart. And now, the truth has shaken the dynamic of their relationship and Chloe can't quite figure out how to navigate these new waters.
So they walk in silence under the sun, bumping shoulders as they avoid other people on the sidewalks.
They wander smaller streets, relearning Paris after years of being stuck in the same places, the same routines, the same sadness.
A small river comes into view, lined with potted flowers and tiny wooden bridges connecting the sides. It's nothing like the Seine; it's not extravagant and vast, filled with tourists, but quiet and clean. Sunlight glitters on the surface, and Chloe wants to sink into it, float in the quiet and let go of everything.
She sits at the edge of the river, her feet just barely skimming the water. Adrien sits besides her.
"I don't think I know how to talk to you anymore," she confesses.
"That's okay," Adrien says, "We have time to relearn it."
"We've both changed a lot," Chloe comments.
Adrien nudges her shoulder and smiles. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. I like who you're changing into."
She sighs and leans back on her hands. She tilts her face up to the sky and wishes on the clouds that things will always feel this nice. Words bubble under Chloe's tongue, fragments of sentences and thoughts and emotions lay stuck in her throat; she has so much she wants to say, and that's why she can't say any of it.
Chloe opens her mouth, trying to figure out what to say. She comes up frustratingly blank and closes her mouth again.
"Cat got your tongue?" Adrien jokes, attentive as always.
"Clawed it off, more likely," Chloe mutters and kicks the surface of the river.
"Me-ouch," Adrien laughs, "What an image."
Chloe rolls her eyes and pushes Adrien. "I forgot how awful you are with puns."
"Purr-lease! They're my best quality!"
"I hate you."
Adrien laughs. It's hard not to want to laugh with him, so Chloe stops fighting the urge and giggles like she's five again. It dies down quickly into something quiet, something comfortable and calm. Chloe watches the ripples that spread out over the water when her shoes skim the top of the river. She moves her foot back and forth, again and again and again and again-
There's a beehive in her mind, thousands of thoughts buzzing into incomprehensibility, filling her skull with angry noise that pounds against the back of her eyes. With Adrien, she's at the best she's ever felt in years, but her heart's still heavy with all the things she can't find words to say. Even with their jokes and laughter, the time spent with Adrien only punctuates the empty space besides her.
Sabrina should be here too.
Chloe sighs and lets herself collapse against Adrien's side. Even though she lost her best friend, she got back her oldest friend. No exactly a fair trade, but she'll take what she can get.
"You're gonna chase off all your happiness with sighs like that," Adrien says, nudging her. He sounds worried, but understanding.
"Already done. Not much else sighs can do besides show my teen angst."
He smiles awkwardly. "Not the best saying for either of us, huh?" There's nothing she can say to that, so Chloe just nods her head once and keeps her eyes on the ripples of the river water.
"Still thinking about Sabrina?" Adrien asks, because he still knows her better than anyone else, even after all this time.
"Have you ever been in love?" Chloe asks, in lieu of an answer.
He freezes, then turns his gaze to the water with a thoughtful hum. It feels odd to have someone consider her question, really think about what she says, when Chloe's so used to the world treating her as the ditzy blonde bully who was a shallow as a puddle. It feels odd, but it feels good, too. It's a silence she revels in; somehow, Adrien's thoughtfulness makes her feel like she's worth more than she thinks.
"I don't really think," he says, slowly, "That I've ever loved someone like you do. I love my friends. And I love my father, even though I wish I didn't. But I don't think I've ever been in love with someone romantically."
Chloe offers him a bitter smile. "It's awful," she says, "I was happy with her, you know? And now it feels like a part of me is missing. Even if I wasn't in love with her like this, it would feel the same. Like someone ripped off my arm and it's just empty space, even if I feel like there should be something there."
"People like us are rarely lucky in love. We're lucky to have any sort of love in our lives."
"That's a heavy thought," Chloe comments, glancing at Adrien. He shrugs and tilts his head back to look up at the sky.
"I've spent most of my life alone. Plenty of time for thinking." He pauses, and a soft smile crosses his face. "It's better now, though. Nino always seems to know when I feel down and distracts me from thoughts like that. He's really observant, even if he doesn't look it. I don't know where I'd be without him."
"You love him."
"He's my best friend," Adrien shrugs. "I love him and I love you, even though you're more a sister than a friend, at this point."
There's nothing Chloe has to say to that, so she nods and keeps quiet. It was a short conversation, but it helped. The words for all her issues still tumble around her mind, but the knot in her chest has loosened. It's easier to breathe now. It hurts, but she can breathe.
Adrien phones trills, and his pulls it out of his pocket with a look of surprise. Whatever he reads has him biting his lip in worry; he's tense, suddenly, full of nerves that disrupt the tranquil atmosphere over their little edge of the river.
"What is it?" Chloe asks.
He doesn't answer, not right away. Instead, he stands and pulls her up a moment later. He grabs her wrist and starts power-walking away. There's no strength left in her to fight back, so Chloe lets herself get dragged down the street.
"Adrien!" she snaps, starting to panic and his almost frantic behavior, "What is it?"
"Akuma," he states, grim. "According to the news, it's destroying everything in its path and targeting men and attractive women."
"It's like 8AM! Who has the energy to be this upset so early in the morning?!"
The ground beneath their feet shakes. Behind them, Chloe catches a glance of a woman in the sky, screaming in rage, as she throws glass hearts to the street. The screams are raw and full of emotion that makes Chloe want to press her hands to her ears in an effort to make them stop. Her legs shake with sudden adrenaline as Adrien keeps pressing onwards at a steady pace, throwing worried glances back every minute.
The akuma floats over the street they're on. She's close enough that Chloe can see the dark red streaks that go down her cheeks, like tears. Her skin is cracked, like glass, and she's blindfolded.
"Come on!" Adrien yells, running faster. Chloe forces herself to look away and push herself to keep going. Behind them, the akuma howls.
Down the street, there's a flower shop. The florist is stuck outside with a watering can, frozen with fear. Adrien pushes him inside with Chloe, then dashes out of the shop.
Chloe scrambles after him, yelling, "Adrien! Get back here! You'll get hurt!"
"I'll be fine!" he calls back, "There are people farther up the street that need help getting inside! I'll be with them!"
She doesn't remember seeing anyone else on the street.
Adrien is gone, though, so there's nothing she can do, especially with how hard she's shaking.
"Oh dear," the florist says, an old man with a soft voice. "That was dangerous. Are you alright?" He reaches a hand out to her.
"I'm fine," Chloe snaps, "Keep your hands to yourself." The old man draws his hand back and Chloe sighs. "Sorry. I'm still tense from that akuma."
As if on cue, the akuma screams again.
"Not to worry," the old man says with a smile, "It seems we are stuck here until the heroes can save the day. Come, sit." He leads her to a back room, where the floor is lifted for tatami and little plants decorate the space. Following his lead, Chloe toes off her shoes before stepping onto the tatami and sits on a dark green cushion at the tea table.
"What is this room?" she asks, glancing around curiously. Everything is so calm. So quiet. It's almost as if the room exists somewhere outside of the world, away from the akuma and Sabrina and all her troubles. In the room, there are only plants and tatami and peace.
"My quiet room," the old man says, "I use it for lunch, and for any guests or customers that need space. It lets me keep a piece of my home from Japan in Paris."
"It's very nice," Chloe comments, staring at an altar that cut into the wall. A scroll hung on the wall, depicting a mountain with a dragon. A vase full of flowers sat in one corner, while a large glass bottle sat opposite of it.
The old man follows her gaze and smiles. "That is a shrine," he explains, "for my family. My ancestors. They help the plants grow."
Chloe nods and turns back to the old man. He's a stranger, sure, but somehow she feels safe with him. It's an unusual situation they're stuck in, but it could be worse.
"I am Takahogi Sho. It is nice to meet you, though the circumstances are unpleasant."
"Chloe Bourgeois. It's nice to meet you too. How did you come to run a flower shop in Paris?"
Takahogi smiles and settles into the cushion. "I have always loved plants. I used to work in the garden with my grandparents, then tended to it after their deaths. When my town was bombed in the war, I left to Matsumoto and began to study plants."
Chloe is wide-eyed at his story, despite how little he's said. "The war? As in, World War Two?"
He nods. "The very same. It was devastating to my town. But that is a story for another day. I studied plants and wanted to open my own flower shop. Japan had turned to technology and entertainment to recover from the war; my flowers had no place there. So I came here to France to help people recover with my flowers."
Flowers. Growing flowers to help others heal. There's something beautiful about the thought, and Chloe finds herself drawn to it. To help something beautiful grow no matter the terrible things that happen; after all the hurt she's caused, it's all Chloe wants.
"Did it help?" she asks, "Did the flowers help?"
And as though he knows, Takahogi smiles. "They did."