Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Hello, Adrien."

"Hello, Father," Adrien replied automatically– his father standing by the doors waiting for him to get home quickly becoming his normal over these last few weeks. He loved seeing his father there, waiting for him– and he wanted to embrace the change, to embrace his father. But it was the person that was now missing that made a pit settle in his stomach– and he didn't know how to address it.

That was Nathalie's job. It was what she had done since school had started, unless she was in the car to pick him up herself. She sent him off in the morning, and greeted him in the afternoon, but ever since Ezra's akumatization she had seemed to vanish from his life. He got an email from her every day with his schedule, and he knew she was still around– sometimes he got glimpses of her heading to her room, or the cook bringing her a meal, but he had not talked to her in days.

And it just felt so wrong.

"Father, wait!" Adrien blurted out as his father turned to head back to his office, and the man paused, hand on the door. "Wait, I... I want to know... know why..."

"Adrien, please don't mutter," Gabriel said with a sigh. "What is it?"

"Where is Nathalie?" Adrien said, squaring his shoulders.

"...In her room, I assume," Gabriel said after a moment, not turning, a tension in his voice.

"No, why isn't she doing her job?" Adrien asked. "I don't see her in the office, I don't see her going into town, and I don't see her taking care of me like she always has. Did... did something happen between the two of you? You... you can't still be mad at her, right?"

"This is between me and Nathalie," Gabriel said stiffly, pulling the door open.

"You didn't blame Ezra for his akumatization!" Adrien cried. "You can't blame Nathalie just because she sent that message, that isn't fair– this is Monarch's fault, not hers–"

"How I handle my employees is none of your concern, Adrien," Gabriel growled.

"Employee?" Adrien cried. "You're– you're really calling her an employee? She– she's been here my whole life! Since before I was born, she's been more involved in my life than anyone in our family, she– she is family, you have no right to treat her like an employee!"

"'Family'? Tell her that," Gabriel sneered, pushing the door open as he stepped into his atelier. "Because she most certainly does not act like it."

Then he pulled the door shut with a snap, leaving Adrien standing there in the foyer, breathing heavily. Tikki slowly peered up out of his pocket, looking up at Adrien worryingly, who didn't know what to make of the emotions running through him. He was angry... yet everything hurt. He closed his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing, fighting back the sting in his eyes. He then looked up at his father's office once more, gaze hardening.

"F-fine!" He growled. "I will– because you won't!"

With that he turned on a heel, marching up the stairs, turning past the two doors that lead to his room, making his way up to the next level. Tikki flew out of his pocket, flying along next to him. "Adrien–"

"He doesn't get to treat her like this," Adrien muttered, hands closing into a fist. "Not after everything she's done for the family. She– she helped raise me, Tikki!" He looked up at the kwami. "I'm not blind, my friends' parents always do what Nathalie does for me and– and– and just because he's finally decided to be there again doesn't mean he gets to shove her aside for one little text!"

He stopped outside of Nathalie's door, the light coming from within showing that someone was inside, but it was quiet. He hesitated for a moment, because despite this being part of his house he had honestly never spent much time in or around Nathalie's room. He closed his eyes, knocking on the door.

"...Yes?" A voice said after a moment, Nathalie sounding quiet.

"Nathalie?" Adrien said, laying a hand on the door. "Can I come inside?"

There was silence for a moment, before she spoke again. "Adrien, I don't think your father wants you here right now."

"He said I could!" Adrien blurted out. He was sure his father's snapping words hadn't been intended for him to actually act on, but he didn't care. "I miss you, Nathalie, and I want to talk to you. Father doesn't have the right to treat you like he has."

"Yes he does, Adrien," Nathalie said, and she sounded worn. Not tired or bored, but a quiet exhaustion. "You should head up to your room, alright?"

"No, he doesn't," Adrien said, not moving where he stood. "You… you're an amazing person, Nathalie, but you're allowed to make mistakes. You shouldn't do this to yourself because of this. I… I know Father demands perfection, but that's not realistic. It's not even possible."

"Adrien," Nathalie whispered, voice hoarse. "You almost died. Because of me."

"No, because of Monarch," Adrien said firmly, placing a hand on the door. "This is her doing, and no one else's, and I'm not going to stand here and let you take the blame."

Silence.

"You're part of this family, Nathalie," Adrien continued softly. "You've been here my entire life, and you've done so much. I love you, Nathalie, and I miss you. Please, come back, we need you."

Adrien was almost pressed against the door as he waited, wishing that he could see her. Wishing that he was in there with her. He didn't hear anything, and he carefully put his hand on the door, wondering if he should open it, when suddenly the sound of a sob came from the other side of the door. He stiffened up as he heard Nathalie begin to cry, and he tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Panic rushed through him, because Nathalie never broke. She was steady, unyielding, a foundation that couldn't shatter. Again he tried the door, guilt flooding him. He shouldn't have come here, he should've left her alone, he shouldn't have pressed her so far. He–

"Nathalie?" He called. "Nathalie, I'm sorry–"

"Adrien, I–" Nathalie's words were short between her tears, the waver sounding so strange in her voice. "You– You should go."

"I–" Adrien began, wanting to do something, wanting to say something– but the best thing he could do was what she was asked. "O-okay…"

There were tears of his own in his eyes as he pulled away from the door. He slowly backed away, wanting to do something more, but he didn't know what that was. Adrien swallowed as he turned and hurried down the stairs to his room, vision blurring.

"Adrien," Tikki whispered, flying alongside him as he hurried away.

"I just made things worse, didn't I?" Adrien said as he pulled his door open. "I hurt Nathalie, I shouldn't have said anything, I shouldn't have–"

He shut the door behind him, and Tikki flew in front of his face, paws on his cheeks. "Adrien, don't think that, please. Those words were so sweet, and I'm sure it meant so much to her."

"I–"

"Adrien, she's clearly going through a lot," Tikki soothed, small chime-like sounds echoing between her words. "I am sure your words were only a comfort, something she needed to hear."

"She wanted to be alone and I pushed her," he whispered.

"Sometimes people need someone, even when they feel they should be alone," Tikki landed on his shoulder. "And maybe your push was just what she needed to hear today."


Plagg laid on top of his iPod touch, curled up and quiet, one ear flicked up as he waited. He wasn't a creature of routine, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of it. He knew exactly how this worked, Marinette being home from school and done with helping in the bakery, the rest of the afternoon looking open to get through her to-do list– but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

So he waited patiently, tail flicking, knowing what was to come.

He heard the beginning of the vibration moments before Marinette did, and zipped to life just as the alert went off. IPod in paw he raced over to her desk as she reached for her phone, timing his landing so he slid across her desk, slamming into her phone before she could grab it, having her pick up the iPod touch instead, his holder blinking in surprise.

"Can we make this?" Plagg asked, tapping on the screen on the tablet. "Please, Marinette, please?"

She looked down at the page on the screen, blinking. "Camembert cheesecake?"

"Yes, it takes the delicious recipe of cheesecake," Plagg said, curling around the iPod, tail brushing by her finger. "But then adds the most delicious cheese of all time to it– an absolute must!"

"I mean, we can most certainly try it," Marinette said, frowning. "I've never made this kind of cheesecake before, though, so hopefully it's not too different."

"So we can make it? Right now?" Plagg asked, leaning forward.

"Um, sure?" Marinette said. "I mean, Mom and Papa are here so you'll need to stay alert in case they come upstairs. Also we're using your current camembert stash for this."

"Yeah yeah, sure, whatever," Plagg said, before zipping away with the iPod. Marinette shook her head, before reaching for her phone, looking down at her message. Plagg had hoped she had forgotten about it– but either way he would win this round against Annoying-girl.

"Oh," Marinette said, pushing herself away from her desk. "Lila wants to come over. She says she's going to be here soon!"

Plagg's ears went back– the girl wasn't even asking anymore?

"You promised we could make the cheesecake," Plagg said, crossing his paws.

"We can do it another time, is that okay?" Marinette asked quickly, hurrying over to her sewing machine. "I'm almost done with Lila's shirt, maybe we can finish it on this visit, then–"

"Yeah, until she wants a dress to go with it," Plagg said, flying in front of her face. "Anyways, tell Annoying-girl that she can't come over– we got a cheesecake to bake!"

"Could– could we do it another time?" Marinette asked, looking up at him, and he felt his ears go back.

"Why?"

"Because Lila is coming–"

"Did you invite her over?"

"No–"

"Did you plan this at school?"

"Well–"

"Then you have every right to say no," Plagg said, putting the phone in her hand. "So send your little messages over and tell her that you already made plans with someone much more important."

Marinette stared down at her phone, hesitating, before texting Lila. Plagg let out a small sigh of relief, going to grab his iPod to deposit it back into the purse that Marinette had made for him, its job done for now. As he came flying back over he found Marinette chewing on her lip– looking guilty, so he flew over and looked at the messages between her and Annoying-girl.

[I'm sorry Lila, but I can't hang out today– but I'll work on your shirt tonight and you can try it on next time you come over, hopefully it will be done by then!]

[Are you sure you can't hang out today? I was really looking forward to it, and I don't know when my schedule will open up again.]

[Not today, I'm really sorry.]

[Alright then. Have fun, I guess.]

"Ooo, I really hate this girl," Plagg muttered.

"Plagg!" Marinette cried. "She has every right to be upset about canceled plans."

"Except there were no canceled plans when they didn't exist in the first place," Plagg said, stretching out. "Speaking of plans– forget about the cheesecake thing, I don't wanna wait for anything to bake, I'll just eat some camembert."

"...Are you serious?"

"I mean, unless you really do wanna bake that cheesecake," Plagg said, sitting up and alert– because it did sound delicious. "But if not, well, there's plenty else we can do in our plans to hang out. We could take a nap in the sun, do some cheese tasting, or watch those cheese making videos I found on the internet..." He looked down at Marinette. "So, what you wanna do?"

"Um..."

"Cheese tasting it is!" Plagg said in excitement. "I'll go grab a few that Tikki's holder gave to me, you get two blindfolds for us! We try the cheese and try to guess which kind and how long it's aged for– winner gets a whole wheel of camembert!"

He didn't mind betting his camembert, because he knew that Marinette didn't like it– which meant it would be all his either way!

Not that anyone could beat him in cheese tasting.


"Hello, Marinette. Do you have a moment to talk?"

"Kagami?" Marinette said, blinking in surprise, smiling as she turned around. "Of course I do, what's up?"

It had been a while since she had been able to hang out with Kagami– between her responsibilities and Kagami's carefully planned schedule, most of their interactions had been limited to school. Her eyes fell to Kagami's hands as she approached, where she held an unblemished red rose in her hands. She didn't think much of it at first– but the moment the flower was held out to her she felt her mind going blank as she stared down at the rose.

"I wanted to give this to you," Kagami said, voice even and sure as always, though pink dusted her cheeks. "I have for a while, actually, but after what happened to your desk I chose to wait." She took a deep breath. "The flowers that were left in your locker were from me, but to prevent any further misunderstandings, I will give this one to you myself."

With that, the rose was carefully pressed into Marinette's hands, who stared down at it in shock. She tried to say something, but her mind was trying to catch up with what was happening, and she could only manage a small squeak. Kagami's hands were placed on top of hers, not moving away after giving her a rose.

"I have admired you as a person since we first met," Kagami said, and Marinette looked up to meet her gaze. "You showed an honesty that gave me the spot we were both competing for, and still reached out to be my friend after the fact. You always try to be there for others, and I've seen how those around you know they can trust you. Your friendship has been very special to me, Marinette, and has made my time here in Paris much more pleasant than what I was expecting."

Marinette could feel the heat flooding her cheeks.

"I would like that friendship to become something more," Kagami said softly. "And I would love the opportunity to take you on a date."

"D-date?" Marinette squeaked, and she was sure her entire face was red.

"If you would like to," Kagami said.

Marinette's head spun slightly, and she just looked up at Kagami. The last time she had been asked out, it had been an akuma. Even before he had been akumatized, she hadn't been interested, her heart having set its sights on Crimson– and it still did. But as Kagami stood there in front of her, she found that she didn't dislike what was happening, either. She felt flustered, surprised, but she did not feel uncomfortable. Suddenly, her mind was considering what she hadn't realized was an option, but an answer was needed now. She couldn't just stand here, keeping Kagami waiting, she–

"Marinette," Kagami said softly. "I don't want to put you on the spot. If the answer's no, then just say so."

"I... I d-don't know," Marinette whispered– because she truly didn't. "I– I–"

Kagami gave a small smile. "That's just fine."

"I wouldn't mind trying!" Marinette blurted out moments before Kagami pulled away. "I... I don't know what I feel, but I... I don't dislike this." She grabbed Kagami's hand, the other holding the rose tighter. "I... I'd like to see where this could go?"

Kagami's smile grew warmer. "In that case, could I take you to the school dance?"

"Y-yes," Marinette whispered.

Kagami smiled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, Marinette."

Marinette could have stood there forever, face as red as her rose, unmoving and still– but the sound of a bell echoed through the school. Both of them looked up at the offending sound, and Kagami let out a soft sigh.

"I'll talk to you after school?" She asked.

"Y-yeah," Marinette said, bobbing her head. "Good sounds it– um– it that sounds– that sounds good!"

Kagami smiled, turning to head downstairs to her own class. "See you soon, Marinette."

"See you," Marinette whispered back– and it took a jab from Plagg to remind her that she needed to get to her own class. So she slowly turned, backing her way through the hall as she looked down at the rose, heart pounding as she took in everything that just happened.

"Marinette!" A voice called as she entered the classroom, shaking her out of her stupor, and she looked up to see Lila hurrying towards her. "I'm so glad to see you, I really missed you since you had to cancel yesterday, but I was wondering if we could hang out today– ooo, is that a rose? How pretty, who is it for?"

Lila beamed at her, and Marinette felt her face grow red. "It– it was given to me."

Lila's gaze turned concerned. "Was it left at your locker like those other flowers? Is it from that person that ruined your desk? Let's go find Miss Bustier–"

"No no no," Marinette said quickly. "It... it was given directly to me, it Kagami from– I mean it's from K-kagami!"

"That's so cute!" Rose cried, clasping her hands together. "When did she give it to you? Just now?"

"Y-yeah," Marinette said, ducking her head slightly as her classmates' attention turned towards her. "She... she said she's the one that was leaving me the flowers in the first place, actually."

"Awesome," Juleka said.

"I was wondering when she was going to tell you," Alya said.

"You knew?" Marinette asked in surprise.

"She might have mentioned a thing or two," Alya said with a smirk. "Anything else happen?"

"Um... we're going to the dance together?" Marinette said quickly– and someone let out a whoop. "And see what happens from there..."

"Congrats, dudette," Nino said, offering Marinette a fistbump, which she returned. She was overly aware that the entire class was watching her, and she took in a deep breath as she looked down at her rose. She would need to put it in water soon, or maybe she could press it, or maybe both–?

"And you're sure you're okay?" Lila asked, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder, speaking quietly.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"After what happened to your desk," Lila said quietly. "You're just positive that this isn't connected to that in any way, right? I don't want you to get hurt."

Marinette stared at Lila, not sure how to reply to this. This... this was Kagami– Kagami would never do something like that. And Marinette was sure that if Kagami was upset with someone she would simply tell them directly to their face with no hesitation. Whatever had happened with the flowers and her desk had not involved Kagami in any form.

"Kagami would never do something like that," A voice snapped, she and Lila looking up to see Adrien standing there. "Kagami, she– she cares a lot about Marinette, if that wasn't obvious." Adrien looked at Marinette, offering a small smile. "Um, congratulations, Marinette. On you and Kagami, it's... awesome."

Adrien's expression seemed slightly different, the smile not quite reaching his eyes– and she imagined that he wasn't too fond of what Lila had said about his friend. Lila and Adrien... things had always seemed quiet between them, not quite connecting like they had with the rest of their classmates.

"Thank you, Adrien," Marinette said softly.

"Congratulations, Marinette," Miss Bustier said, standing behind her desk. "I don't want to rush things, but we do need to get started with class, so if everyone could please make their way to their seats..."

Marinette took a step forward, and she felt a hand wrap around her upper arm, and she looked back at Lila– who still looked worried. "Can you hang out after school today?"

"I, um, already told Kagami I'd meet up with her," Marinette said. "Maybe this afternoon if I get all my homework done?"

"We can do our homework together," Lila decided. "Spend time together and make some progress– I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," Marinette said, and with that Lila let go of her arm and hurried off to her seat in the back. Marinette walked up a few steps and slid into her own desk– catching a half second of Adrien looking back at her before he turned towards the front of the classroom before she could say a word.

She wasn't sure what to do– if something was wrong or if he wanted to talk to her, but Nino beat her to it, bumping up against his best friend and asking him a question that she couldn't quite make out. Adrien gave a short nod, and before Marinette could watch the conversation any more Alya tapped her on the shoulder.

"We'll have to go on a double date sometime, girl," Alya said with a grin.

"You knew Kagami liked me?" Marinette asked– and that grin only grew. "W-why didn't you tell me?"

"Wasn't it better with Kagami telling you herself?" Alya said, and Marinette felt herself flushing. "Besides, I haven't known for that long. We... we were talking about what could have happened to your desk and she mentioned that she had left the flowers at your locker."

"You don't have to worry about that," Marinette whispered, dropping her voice as Miss Bustier called the class to attention. "It... it doesn't matter anymore."

"I don't like to see you hurt, Marinette," Alya said softly. "I... I won't press it if you don't want me to, but if I hear anything... no one is allowed to mess with my best friend." Marinette smiled at her, and Alya hesitated. "Do you want to hang out sometime? Then we can talk some more?"

"Today won't work," Marinette said. "I, um, will text you another time."

"Okay," Alya said, so quietly that Marinette almost didn't hear it.


Marinette seemed to be in a daze the rest of the day, and Plagg could only roll his eyes. As soon as school was over she began stuttering when she found Kagami waiting for her, the two of them heading to the bakery together. That meant that Plagg had to stay hidden after school, but he didn't mind too much. Of those who had their eyes set on his kid, Fencer-girl was the least of his worries. So he relaxed in his purse, chuckling as her parents happily congratulated Marinette, warmly welcoming Kagami.

Plagg took his time to make his CamebertKing24 account, scrolling through the BeetleBlog for a while, sneering at the articles he came across. It did take some time to find something to scoff at in a good chunk of the articles, but Plagg was a pessimist and could make it work. He was banned several times in the process from a few innocent comments he had posted, which led to the creation of CamembertKing27.

When Kagami left and Lila came, he put his device away, spending his time listening in on their conversation instead of passing time. Marinette was putting the finishing touches on Lila's shirt, while Lila was asking her question after question about Kagami. Judging by the look on her face when Marinette was looking down at her sewing, Plagg decided he'd need to keep a closer eye on this girl. He had spent thousands of years around humans, and the newly dubbed Liar-girl wasn't as subtle as she believed herself to be.

"Liar-girl is not happy about you and Fencer-girl dating," Plagg declared as soon as they were alone.

"…What did you just call Lila?" Marinette said, staring at him.

"Just about everything about you and Fencer-girl she said today was a lie," Plagg said with a shrug. "I think she might have wanted to be courting you instead? I'm not too good with the human concept of romance, but she definitely didn't like you with Fencer-girl."

"I don't think you have a good grasp on a lot of human things," Marinette said after a moment, shaking her head.

"I watched your species evolve," Plagg said with a snort. "Just because I don't know what's happening in that head of yours doesn't mean I can't read each twitch and scowl."

"I believe you, but I also think you're too harsh of a judge," Marinette said, scratching the top of his head, and he pushed her finger away.

"Maybe," Plagg agreed. "But I watch people their whole lives, know just how your kind can turn, how they change, what they hide."

Marinette paused for a moment, considering his words. When she turned to face him there was a soft smile on her face, and she scooped him into her hands.

"I've seen how people treat me because of the powers we have," Marinette said softly. "And I can imagine that it was the same in the past. How you and other holders might have been judged for it, but that doesn't matter."

She scratched his head again, and this time he didn't push her away.

"We know how our powers work, and we're not alone," Marinette said. "You have Tikki, and I have Crim. There's the Guardians, the other kwamis, and we have each other." She smiled. "And that's the most important."

Marinette set him down as she turned away. He watched her as she got started on her homework, ears back. Oh, how little young humans understand, how brightly they looked at this world. She may have thought it was the others he worried most about, and while outsiders did concern him, that was not his fear. Guardians not trusting him was expected. Bugs growing wary was nothing new.

No. What Plagg feared most was the day he would see that hurt on his Kitten's face.


"Adrien."

Adrien looked up from his dinner, Gabriel sitting on the other end of the table. He and his father had not said much to eacher aside from casual greetings since their last argument. He wasn't sure what his father was going to say now, and with his mind swarming with the events of today he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about what happened. "Yes, Father?"

"Are... are you feeling alright?" He asked after a moment. "You've seemed... off, today."

Adrien blinked, surprised at this. Yes. No. I should be but I'm not because I'm jealous and I feel horrible for it because I should be happy for my friends but that doesn't mean this whole thing doesn't hurt and I don't know what to say or do.

"School was long today," Adrien finally said, taking a bite of his dinner without looking up.

"One of your friends told me that you might be upset today," Gabriel said.

"Chloe?" Adrien asked.

"...Yes, Chloe," Gabriel replied. "She asked if she could come over, so I have invited a couple of your friends over to accompany you for the evening, if that would help. If not, I can cancel the arrangement, however."

"...That's fine," Adrien said after a moment. "It would be nice to get my mind off of everything."

He gave a nod, setting down his fork, and pushing himself to his feet. "I will be in my office if you need anything."

And with that, Gabriel left the room, leaving Adrien alone at the table. He let out a long sigh, and Tikki came flying out of his pocket. He pushed his bowl of fruit towards her, though the kwami didn't go for it, just sitting down on his napkin as she looked up at him.

"Do you want to talk about what happened, Adrien?" She offered.

"Nothing to talk about," he said quietly, poking at his plate. "Everything's fine."

"You're upset, and you don't have to hide it," Tikki said.

"But I shouldn't be upset," Adrien snapped. "Marinette can go out with whoever she wants– and I feel horrible that I feel this way and I don't know how to get rid of this feeling!"

Tikki's gaze softened. "Adrien, you're right, Marinette can date whoever she chooses– but you have every right to be sad that things didn't work out how you hoped, your feelings are real, and they matter."

Adrien closed his eyes. "But– but she doesn't owe me anything–"

"I know."

"So then why do I feel like this? How do I make this go away?" Adrien asked, looking at his kwami desperately. "I want to be happy for Marinette. I don't want anything to come between me and Kagami, I don't–"

"Adrien," Tikki said softly, drifting up. "You're looking at this the wrong way. Feelings exist, and they aren't something you can just snap away. You cared a lot about her, and it hurts to know that she is going with someone else– and that's okay. You're respecting her choice, and that's all you need to do."

Adrien looked down at his plate.

"Now," Tikki said, nuzzling up against him. "Why don't you go get ready for when your friends get here, if you're up for that. If not then there's nothing wrong with canceling these plans, and it can just be me and you for the evening."

"Thanks, Tikki," Adrien said, pushing himself to his feet, leaving his half eaten dinner. "I... I don't know how I feel, to be honest. I guess I'll just take things how they come."

He headed out from the dining room, wondering whom exactly his father had invited. He knew Chloe would be here, considering she was the one that had reached out to Gabriel in the first place. But while Adrien was allowed to go be with most friends, he didn't get to invite them over to his own house all that often. There were only a few people he imagined his father would let in without much hesitation. Chloe and...

The doorbell rang as Adrien headed into the foyer, and he stopped and stared at the door. He took in a deep breath, heading forward to open up one of the grand doors, and was unsurprised to see Kagami standing on the steps. She seemed composed as always, though her eyes didn't quite meet his.

"Hi, Kagami," Adrien said quietly. "You want to come in?"

"If that's okay with you."

"Of course it is," Adrien said, stepping to the side, allowing her to enter. "Chloe's going to be coming over too. Um... so your mom was okay with you coming?"

"Only because your father requested it," Kagami said, moving to close the door herself when Adrien just stood there. "Now, I would rather not talk ourselves in circles, so shall we get straight to the point?"

"There is no point to get to," Adrien said, shrugging. "Er, let's go up to my room, I guess. We can play some games or something."

Kagami sighed. "I know you're upset about me and Marinette, and I would rather set things straight between us than act like nothing's happened."

A small smile tugged on Adrien's lips. "I imagine it would be hard for you to get things straight."

"...Really, Adrien?"

Adrien turned towards her as they reached the top of the steps. "I'm not upset, Kagami. Well, I... well, to be honest, I am jealous, I suppose. I have been wanting to ask out Marinette... but I know you did as well, and I'm happy for you two." He offered a small smile. "Just give me a bit of time, and I'll be fine."

"If I were to offer you advice, it would be not to hesitate next time you find yourself developing feelings, because standing around gets you nowhere." She paused as he opened the door, saying nothing. "And I mean that sincerely, not mockingly. Marc says I can come off blunt at times."

Adrien headed into his room. "Hard to ask when you don't know what someone will say."

"That's simple," Kagami said. "If someone says no, then you know it's time to change targets."

He didn't have time to reply to that, as the front door was thrown open, a voice calling out. "Adrikins!" He looked down the steps, and saw Chloe hurrying up the stairs towards him, several bags slung over her arms. "I came as soon as possible, I saw what happened today and I know exactly how you feel."

She threw her arms around him as she reached him, hugging him tightly, before pushing past him and hurrying into his room, setting her bags down and beginning looking through them. "Anyways, I brought things for manicures and facemasks– an absolute must. I also brought some ice cream, just don't tell your dad. I also brought my Zelda game, you said there was one part you couldn't get past and I thought I could show you how and– what is she doing here?!"

Chloe let out a shriek, pointing at Kagami the moment she realized it wasn't just them in the room. Adrien shut the door behind him, watching as the two girls stared each other down. Chloe was scowling, and Kagami merely raised an eyebrow.

"I was invited," Kagami said.

"When you're the one that broke Adrikin's heart?!" Chloe shouted. "I think not– you should leave immediately, and know when you're not wanted."

"Chloe!" Adrien cried, eyes widening slightly. "I'm– I'm fine with Kagami being here, she's my friend."

"She asked out Marientte when she knew you wanted to!"

Kagami sighed. "I asked out someone I was interested in. That's not a crime."

"It is when your girlfriend is who Adrikins wanted to be with," Chloe snapped, throwing one arm around Adrien, holding him tightly. "What are you here for, to rub it in his face?"

"First of all, Marinette is not my girlfriend yet– we are going on a date, and see how things progress from there," Kagami said. "Second of all, I came to see how Adrien was doing, because he is my friend and I care about him."

"More like throw it in his face–"

"Chloe!" Adrien said, and she fell silent– before giving a huff.

"Fine. She can stay if that's what you want, but we're going to stick to the plan I have and not whatever nonsense she wants to bring up," Chloe said, picking up her bags and hauling them over to Adrien's bed. "Adrikins, go get some warm water for us to soak our hands in, we're doing manicures. I have this new cream that does wonders on the skin, it's a must have."

"Does it smell?" Kagami asked.

"It's a peach blossom, if you must know."

"I need something without a scent, my mother–"

"Just tell her Adrien had a lot of perfume on," Chloe huffed.

Adrien had a small smile on his face as he went into the bathroom, pulling out the tub he and Chloe usually used when they did manicures and pedicures, turning on the hot water. He saw a flash of red in the mirror, and saw Tikki hovering above his shoulder.

"I'll get you some of the ice cream Chloe brought, if it isn't all melted," Adrien promised.

"Do you think it's strawberry?" Tikki asked hopefully.

"Probably chocolate, knowing Chloe," Adrien replied with a smile, turning off the water and lifting the tub up, and Tikki zipped over to open the door for him, before vanishing into his pocket once more. He found that Chloe had set up a blanket on the floor, and had dragged Kagami onto it– various bottles of cream and nail polish surrounding them.

"I am not painting your nails red."

"You asked me what color I wanted, and I like red," Kagami replied.

"You like, wear some form of red like nearly every time I see you," Chloe said, looking through her collection of nail polish, holding them up to Kagami's fingernails.

"I would say the same about you and yellow."

"Yellow looks good on me!" Chloe said defensively. "Besides, I don't go painting my nails bright yellow, I choose a color to complement it. I usually go for sky blue, a nice soft tone– or white sometimes. Now, what color do you think would look nice with your abundance of red?" Chloe looked up, beaming. "Oh, Adrikins, you're back! Come on, you need to pick out some polish for you!"

He set the tub of water down in the middle of the blanket, before sitting cross legged. As soon as he was seated Chloe grabbed his hand, comparing it to the nail polish she had lined up. Kagami picked up a bottle, frowning slightly, before holding up a bottle of black polish.

"I would like this one," she said.

"No!" Chloe snapped, snatching it from her hand. "Who are you, Juleka? I only use this bottle for detailing anyways. Now, let's see, oh, this would be perfect!" Chloe held up a bottle of golden nail polish, beaming. "This will match perfectly with your style."

"I'm not painting my nails yellow," Kagami said.

"It's gold, not yellow," Chloe snapped. "And we're not going to paint it all yellow, it's going to be for the pattern we put on top! The base can be the black you wanted so badly, but then we'll actually have something to brighten it up so it's not so emo. I mean, haven't you ever painted your nails before, it needs to be fun."

"I do on occasions I can be far enough from my mother so she won't smell the polish before it dries," Kagami said, picking up a bottle of lotion, sniffing it. "She doesn't like me painting my nails, she says it will take my focus away from my fencing if I'm too worried about messing up my appearance."

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe snapped. "Adrien cares about his appearance, but that doesn't stop him!"

"I am aware," Kagami said. "My mother does want my appearance to be presentable– just not my sole focus."

"Must sound like a crime to you, Chloe," Adrien said with a grin– and Chloe flicked some of the water at him.

"Have you picked a color out yet?" Chloe asked.

"I like this one," Adrien said, holding up a bottle that held a vibrant blue– the same shade as Lady Noire's eyes.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

He frowned, not sure what brought on that reaction, but even Kagami gave him a glance. He tried not to think too much about it, however, just letting himself get lost in the conversation as they took turns soaking their hands in the water, Chloe carefully filing their nails with expert care, slathering their hands with what she insisted was a miracle cream.

"–And then after all was said and done, she had the gall to demand an apology!" Chloe said with a huff. "Jean had her thrown out right away, of course, he's always on top of everything like that."

"I would have punched them," Kagami replied.

"Thank you!" Chloe exclaimed. "Adrien always says I overreact."

"Usually, you do," Adrien agreed. "But I will say that was justified. Father would have sued."

"Don't worry, Daddy has already pressed charges," Chloe replied. "Anyways, do you want a pattern on your nails, Adrikins?"

"I'm good," Adrien said, his bright blue fingernails stretched out in front of them so they could dry.

"Boring," Chloe said, holding up her nail stencils. "Here, Kagami, pick out what pattern you want, since Adrien doesn't want to do anything adventurous, even though I have a pink that would go perfectly with that blue."

Adrien smiled. "How about this, you can do my nails for the dance if you'd like, however you want."

Chloe scowled slightly. "Is that stupid dance all anyone's thinking of? I swear that's all the class was talking about today."

Adrien glanced at her. "...I thought you were looking forward to the dance?"

"Don't exaggerate, Adrikins," Chloe said with a scoff. "It's not that important, it's just the school throwing things together, not even worth going to."

Kagami frowned as Chloe laid a stencil over her nails. "Aurore said you were very involved in the planning of the whole thing. That you were very... 'convincing', I believe is how she put it, when you told the principal that you wanted to put on a prom for the dance."

Chloe twitched. "Whatever. Proms are so... American. I could honestly not care less." She stared down intently at Kagami's nails as she ran the golden nailpolish across it. "If you want to go to a real dance, I can get Daddy to throw a proper one at the hotel."

She wasn't making eye contact with him, and Adriien frowned slightly. "Is everything okay, Chloe?"

"We're here to worry about you, Adrikins, don't ask silly questions."

"Chlo," Adrien said quietly.

Her eyes darted around the room, not liking his and Kagami's eyes on her. She became very fixated on painting the gold across Kagami's nails, making no effort to reply.

Kagami sighed. "Adrien is trying to offer support and help, because clearly something's upsetting you. If you would like me to leave so this conversation is private, I can."

Chloe gritted her teeth. "Maybe I just don't want to talk about the stupid American dance they're doing, but if that isn't bad enough, Sabrina's going with some boy from New York, of all places, and now she just keeps talking about New York and how wonderful it must be! Now I can't avoid it because Daddy's talking about stupid New York as well, and he's acting like nothing's wrong, even after what she did to him–"

Chloe had tears in her eyes, jaw clenched, and Adrien immediately knew what was wrong. This wasn't the first time he had seen her upset about her mother, but it wasn't often she got this way before the woman even arrived. But it was a predictable cycle– Chloe being excited for her mother to visit, only for it to turn to anger and disgust by the time she left. It would fade within a few months, however, with her happily looking forward to seeing the woman once more, so sure that things would be different this time. Holding onto a hope he knew she shouldn't have in her mother, yet couldn't help but cling to it regardless.

"You... you said Sabrina was going to the dance with someone?" Adrien prompted quietly, not sure if she wanted to talk about her mother.

Chloe let out a loud sniffle. "Y-yeah. An exchange student from another class."

"Delmar?" Kagami asked, and Chloe cringed. "He's in my class, he did mention he had found a date."

"Whatever," Chloe muttered. "...Sabrina's happy, and if he hurts her, I'll make sure he's thrown out of Paris myself." She gritted her teeth. "New York. Of course he has to be from New York."

"What happened with your mom?" Adrien asked when he saw she wasn't just upset, but clearly hurt– and Chloe immediately froze up. "I thought she wasn't supposed to be coming until Father's show, surely she... she couldn't have done anything yet?"

Chloe looked up at Adrien bitterly, tears forming. "Oh, she just went and ruined my whole life– b-but that doesn't matter, Daddy's still so happy she's coming, even after what she d-did to him..."

Adrien held out his arms, and Chloe immediately tucked herself against his chest, and he held her closely. This wasn't the first time he had comforted her about her mother, he had watched that woman disappoint Chloe time and time again as they had grown up. He had watched Chloe admire the woman that wouldn't even remember her name, talk about trips to New York she had been promised despite them never being fulfilled.

"What did she do?" Adrien whispered.

"She cheated on Daddy!" Chloe wailed– and Adrien's eyes widened. "She– she– she went behind his back– k-kept it hidden for years– and she acts like she did nothing wrong and Daddy's doing the same even though he's hurting and I can see it but I can't talk to him about it because he just tells me to leave whenever I bring it up!"

"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry," Adrien closed his eyes.

"Y-you know when she did this?" Chloe cried, pulling away and looking up at him. "You know when this happened– right after I was born! For all these years she never told Daddy what she did and now... and now... and now she wants to bring her bastard child here to Paris when she comes!"

Adrien's eyes widened.

"Sh-she never wanted me to come to N-new York because she already had a d-daughter in New York!" Chloe sneered. "She didn't need to stay in P-paris because she still had 'family' when she went home. D-daddy would have given her anything and she just goes and–!"

"Chlo, deep breaths," Adrien said, grabbing her hands, rubbing his thumbs across them. "Breathe, okay? In and out, I need you to do that for me, okay?"

"It's not fair!" Chloe cried, her breaths between sobs being more like gasp for air. "I– I– I hate her, I hate her so much!"

"I know."

"She thinks she can just come here after dropping this on Daddy like n-nothing happened?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Chlo..."

"Daddy says that I should be h-happy that I have a sister," Chloe muttered, her breathing now slightly ragged. "I– I don't want to meet her. I don't want to see her. I hate her, I–"

"Chloe, that's not fair," Adrien said quietly.

"Especially considering that she literally has no control over the situation." Kagami agreed.

Chloe said nothing, still leaning against Adrien.

"Now, judging from your attitude when you first came here, I suspect you wanted tonight to be one to forget your woes," Kagami said, digging through one of Chloe's backpacks, pulling out a case. "Here we are– Twilight Princess– how do you play?"

Chloe snorted, eyes puffy. "Never heard of Legend of Zelda? Ri-ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous..."

"I've heard of it, I've never played it," Kagami replied. "Now, are you going to tell me, or is that a pass?" Kagami asked. "Or do you have anything else in here that you would find more distracting?"

"Don't go through my stuff, Tsurugi!" Chloe snapped.

"You're not making much of an effort to prevent that, are you?" Kagami said, pulling out a container of ice cream. "You want this?"

"Give that to me!" Chloe said, lunging forward, as she wrenched the ice cream from her hands.

Adrien watched them, in silence, not quite sure what to say. Kagami wasn't exactly cheering up Chloe– but it was a distinction from it all. And knowing Chloe, she would be more than happy to take such, because she probably hadn't planned on opening up like this in front of Kagami in the first place. His heart felt heavy, however, knowing that Audrey's bond with her family had just been severed deeper.