To Lyger 0: I do enjoy humanizing characters that seem to get a bad rap in the fandom!


Sitting down at the dining table across from her father, Chloe selected an apple from the stack of fresh fruit, along with a couple croissants from the hotel kitchen. Without glancing across at her father, she took her teacup and drank half of it in a single swallow before carefully refilling the cup. The warm steam soothed her face, the caffeine driving away some of her exhaustion. Sun streamed into the large dining room through the blinds, illuminating the far-too-clean interior of her parents' penthouse, all the decorations placed just so by their interior designer – for the last four months, the penthouse had been made-up to exacting specifications, as though her father expected at any minute to give a stirring and tearful interview, with his loving daughter and devoted wife on either side. On the far side of the living room area, mostly hidden from her angle behind the couch, Chloe could just pick out the corner of another potential campaign poster. That's what her father needed, at least for this election: an image, not a reality. Taking another sip of her tea, Chloe schooled her expression. Growing up, Chloe had always wanted a loving family, just like the one they portrayed in public; it had taken her far longer than she cared to admit to realize that she didn't have that kind of family. But still, the illusion had to be maintained, at least as far as the "voting public" was concerned. Afterward, everything would return to normal, of course. Her father cleared his throat, but Chloe studiously ignored him, staring down at her plate.

If her father not only requested that she come here for breakfast but also sat down to eat with her, then he wanted something.

"How are you this morning, Princess?" her father asked, holding his coffee in both hands.

Chloe broke off a piece of her croissant and split that in half, giving the smaller piece to Pollen and dropping the larger one off the table for Bee-atrice, who pounced right away. Watching the puppy tear the roll apart, Chloe bit of a piece herself, enjoying the flaky, buttery layers. Pollen glanced up at her with concerned eyes. Chloe studied the pattern on the tablecloth – yellow, blue, black, all in a swirl of pink and red – and thought back to the slight alterations she had noticed in Queen Bee's suit since the last time she had transformed… sixteen months ago. A little less black, the yellow slightly tinted with orange. According to Marinette, it actually looked a little closer to her last Sent-Bee suit in its pattern, though with the muted yellow-orange replacing the blue. Marinette liked it; the Ladyblog had raved about it. But why was it different? According to Pollen, the suit reflected the holder's view of herself – had her view of herself really changed that much?

Perhaps that was yet another reminder that things would never return to "normal."

Her father coughed awkwardly. "You know, the city has very nearly recovered from that nastiness with your fr–" Chloe turned a withering glare on him, and the words died in his throat and he went pale. There was a pregnant pause in which her father looked away before clearing his throat. "Er, that is, your former classmate, Mlle Rossi," he corrected himself. Plowing ahead, he gave her a smooth professional smile. "Mlle Rossi is safely ensconced at the Nouvelle Bastille Prison. The lion's share of the damage she caused has been repaired. The Italian diplomatic mission published a formal apology for Mlle Rossi's actions. Mme Rossi's recall to the Italian home office went without a hitch, leaving very few lasting reminders of this latest… unpleasantness."

"Good." Chloe's mouth set in a thin line, and she stared at the table in front of her. When she had first met Lila, Chloe had assumed that she was little more than a nuisance with an overinflated ego. And yet, she had tried to dig her claws into Adrien – to hear him speak about the few occasions when they had modeled together, Lila's actions had flirted with sexual harassment. And of course, they had suspected Lila of working with Hawk Moth voluntarily, though she had not been convicted of anything – she had been Akumatized each time. Even with all that, however, it still sometimes surprised Chloe to remember just how close Killer Bee had been, all this time. At any time, if she had only looked, perhaps she could have discovered Lila's secret, rescued Pollen, and spared the city yet more pain and suffering at Killer Bee's hands.

Her father looked across the table at her with a benign smile. "Of course," he mused, raising an eyebrow, "the well-publicized wedding of two of Paris' darlings – at which another of her darlings was a bridesmaid – certainly helped to deflect the public's attention away from the question of how we allowed something like Mlle Rossi's rampage to happen in the first place. I should send young M. Agreste a thank you for that."

Glancing up at him, Chloe arched an eyebrow dubiously. "Because Adrien planned his wedding last year to serve as a public distraction from Lila's insanity and help you get reelected," she deadpanned. "Ridiculous," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Pollen glanced up from her fruit cocktail, a strawberry half-sticking out of her mouth as she grinned in amusement.

"Well, no," her father admitted, color appearing in his cheeks. "But it certainly helped." He chuckled benignly. "The last two weeks, at least three-quarters of the pictures and newspaper stories about our family have been in regard to you: your dress, the pictures of you dancing with M. Graham de Vanily… Why, the papers have been so wrapped up in questions about your mysterious date to the wedding, I haven't had a single question about Mlle Rossi or the Lynchpin since then!"

"You're welcome," Chloe retorted sarcastically, taking a bite out of her apple. "You know I invited him purely for your benefit."

"All the same, I do wish you would tell me who he was," her father pressed, leaning forward. "I wish I had been able to meet him at the reception. The gossip columnists aren't the only ones with an interest in his identity, you know. As your father, it's only right for me to know him."

Chloe shrugged. "I'm sure you would have liked to meet him," she acknowledged wryly. "It really was unfortunate that he had to leave before you two could meet. He just… had other matters to attend to."

"Nothing… scandalous, I hope?"

Chloe gave him a look.

Her father nodded, sighing regretfully. "Oh, well. But perhaps the next time you see him, you can arrange a meeting," he suggested.

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "You assume there will be a next time."

"You will need to find a date for the inauguration ball after we win the election," he reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

"And you think I'll bring the same man."

"If the press sees you with a different date every few weeks, they will have a field day."

"What does it matter, if it's after the election?"

"People will still be asking questions," he pointed out.

Chloe scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Then I guess Jean-Claude will just have to find your tap shoes so you can dance around the issue."

Her father pursed his lips, the humor and warmth leaving his expression. "Or yours; I'm sure you will get questions about it at the rally today."

Chloe shook her head. "No, I won't." Her father cocked his head, his brows furrowed, staring at her in confusion. Chloe suppressed a smirk, glancing down at Pollen and reaching down to pet Bee's head under the table. "I'm busy today – Heroes of Paris business."

"Yes, you are," her father agreed with a nod, smiling broadly though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Queen Bee needs to come to the rally. The people will love seeing their hero back in action, standing strong with her family after defeating that monster, Killer Bee."

Chloe's expression froze, masking the subtle clenching in her stomach and around her mouth. She let out a breath, forcing herself to relax. "Well, I guess they'll just have to be disappointed," she told him, giving a too-innocent look. "I have important Heroes of Paris business to attend to outside of Paris."

"Follow up from that fight in Lyon?" her father asked, cocking his head to one side and leaning forward interestedly. Chloe shrugged, sipping her tea and staring back at him with a smooth expression. His smile broadened, his eyes lighting up. "Excellent! Another win is just what the people of Paris need right now! You know, if you are bringing Liberté into the Heroes of Paris fold, that would be a huge victory for us!"

A huge victory for you, so close to the election, you mean. Chloe sipped her tea, giving him a smooth look without betraying anything. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the Heroes of Paris are doing. Security. You understand."

He sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Well, we will miss you at the rally today. Your mother will be so disappointed that you aren't there with us."

Chloe's nostrils flared. "I'm sure." On the table in front of her, Pollen quivered, looking up at Chloe in concern. Chloe's mouth set in a thin line. A soft whine came from the floor, right next to her seat, as Bee-atrice headbutted Chloe's hand. Unconsciously, Chloe returned to scratching Bee behind her ears. Would her mother even notice that she wasn't there? So much of her life, Chloe had been trying to get her mother's attention, hoping that maybe her mother would love her. But it had never been enough. Nothing she ever did would be enough for Audrey Bourgeois to care about anyone other than Audrey Bourgeois.

But as Chloe found the calm, reassuring gaze of her Kwami staring back at her, she relaxed. Yes, Audrey would not love her. But there were so many other people who did. She had Pollen again. She had Bee-atrice, who loved her unconditionally. Adrien and Marinette and Sabrina and Alya and… all of her friends. They had accepted her. They had forgiven her for all the crap she had put them through in school. They helped her to be a better person. Marinette especially had accepted her and trusted her again, even after all her failures. She had trusted her with the Bee Miraculous three times now: once when she stopped her Akumatized father, once when Ladybug had rescued her from Hawk Moth, and now, after they had reclaimed the Bee Miraculous from Killer Bee. Every time, Marinette had given her the miraculous and trusted her to use it the right way.

And then there was Tante Emilie. She had still been in a coma when Chloe had been captured by the Lynchpin, when she had lost her miraculous. But growing up, she had been the closest thing Chloe had to a mother. She had accepted her and loved her unconditionally. She has urged Chloe to do the right thing, instead of whatever she thought Audrey would want. Maybe her own mother wouldn't love her for who she was… but Emilie always would.

Maybe she needed to stop in and see Emilie before today's trip.

Finally, Chloe let out a breath and stood up, as Pollen flitted off the table and alit on her shoulder. "Well," Chloe told her father wryly, "as much as I enjoy our chats, I do need to be going. Important Hero business to attend to."

Her father nodded, a hint of disappointment in his face. "Very well, Princess," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Be careful. And I will see you when you get back."

Chloe nodded, a tightness in her throat. "I will."

Twenty minutes later, Chloe stepped off the penthouse elevator in the lobby, Bee-atrice leashed and padding along at her side as quickly as her short legs could carry her. Taking a moment to double check that her purse was secure on her shoulder, Chloe ran her fingers through her hair, feeling for the ever-present miraculous. Her fingers brushed it, and she let out a breath, the tightness in her chest easing marginally. Even after all this time, it still amazed her that she really had it back – and after so long!

Lila had done her worst, but in the end the Heroes of Paris had taken her down.

Several groups of guests milled about in the hotel lobby, some checking out of their rooms while others wandered in the direction of the hotel restaurant, following the smell of cooking bacon. On the far side of the lobby, just ducking down the hallway toward the maintenance area, Chloe caught a quick glimpse of Yamina Ouazani as her hijab disappeared around the corner. A few camera flashes went off from closer to the hotel entrance. Chloe pulled on her sunglasses and took a sip of her coffee before crossing the lobby, ignoring the paparazzi waiting just outside the door. Just inside the entrance stood a girl a few years younger than Chloe, with blonde hair, a thin streak of pink framing her face on one side, though the roots showed blonde. Chloe's step hitched slightly, and she cocked her head to one side as the girl met her gaze. The eyes… why did that shade of blue feel so familiar? And something in the girl's nose and mouth… had she seen her before? But where would she have seen her? The girl wore a pair of slightly-distressed pants with an old jacket, over a t-shirt with a couple small stains. Bee-atrice looked up at the girl and yipped. Her eyes widening in surprise, the girl backed away a pace and opened her mouth to say something, only to turn toward the concierge desk as Chloe pushed through the door and out into the bright morning sunlight.

Chloe frowned, her brows furrowed together in thought, but shrugged, letting out a slow breath before turning her footsteps toward the distant Agreste Mansion.