After a couple of days, it was finally the weekend. Adrien was packing some things for the sleepover at the Grand Paris with Chloe and Sabrina, both of them being really surprised when he texted them to confirm he was coming Saturday to the asked if theywould needanything, but Chloe said room serviceprobably could cover , Adrien thought to bring some of Chloe's favorite ice cream, same with Sabrina, not wanting to leave her out.
"You have everything ready, Adrien?" Nathalie asks as she enters his room.
"Yes, pajamas, a change of clothes, "Hesays with a nod.
"Your driver will take you to the Grand Parisandjust text him tomorrow once you are ready tocomeback" The assistant informs him.
"By the way, how is the old man?"He asks, remembering the old Agreste hasn'tcome back from his visit to the hospitalafter his accident.
"Your... Father willbe dischargedtomorrow after heis giventhe clearance from the doctors and plastic surgeon, hisnose should be likeit wasbefore his...accident" she explains.
"Hopefullythe painkillers will help him relaxfor abit"The blonde jokes.
The assistant almost lets out a snort at that.
"Or at least he will take care of himself for once. Sometimes I think if itwasn'tfor you, he would have starved himself to death working onsomething"
"You know he just heavily focuses on his job, hecares aboutyou" Nathalie tries to assure.
"Sure… Anyways, I'mready"Hesaysliftinghisduffle bag overhisshoulder.
"Your driver should be waiting for you outside" Nathalie said as they walked outside his room.
"You have work todaytoo, Nathalie?" the blonde asks.
"I have to take some of your father's duties plus mineandbefore you said, I am taking it easy with the amount of work I do. Hopefully, I will be able to do it from mybed" Nathalie says with a smile, knowing thecare the blonde hasfor her.
"That's good to hear, Nathalie. Need any help, you can callme"
"I don't know if youwould be able tohelp with the business work, Adrien. But I appreciateit" she says.
At theentrance of the mansion, Adrien says goodbye to Nathalie with a hug and kiss on the cheek, to which the assistant gives the boy a motherly smilewavingher hand as the car exits the mansion grounds. Once in the car, Adrien tells his driver to make a little stop to buy some ice cream and other treats for thesleepoverto which the bulky man nods with a grunt. The first stop was Tom and Sabines, Adrientold Gorilla to wait as he would only take a second to order the treats. Marinette was right in the front.
"Adrien! What brings you here?" The girl asks.
"Hi, Marinette. Came for some treats, havea sleepover at Chloe'stoday" Adrien responds.
"At Chloes?"
"Yeah, it had been pretty long since the last time me, Chloe, and Sabrina did something like said back at school the other day, I'm trying to be a better friend toher" He explains.
"That's pretty nice, Adrien" Marinette says with a smile.
"Thanks, I hope it won't be the only one. I also hope to have sleepovers with Alya, Nino, and in the future do one all together, if you guys are ok with Chloe and Sabrinaofcourse"
"I think maybe we will, with enough time. You know our history andall"
"That'sfair"
"Anyways, what will you order? I can see your driver still waitingoutside"
"Ohright"
Adrien ordered some croissants and some fruit for himself, some honey for Chloe, and some abricot for Sabrina, hehoped Sabrina still liked that flavor, though he also ordered some extra in other flavors just in case. After paying and a goodbye to Marinette, Adriengoes backto the car for his next stop and buys some ice cream before the final stop at the Grand Paris.3large ice cream tubs of their favorite flavor eachlater, he arrives at the hotel. Chloes butler was waiting for him at the entrance.
"M. Adrien, glad you are here. Mlle. Chloe informed me of your plans for tonightandI'm here to receiveyou"
"Thanks…. Sorry to ask now, but I always forget. What's your name? I always heardcalledyou calling somethingdifferent" Adrien asks.
"My name is Armand, M. Adrien. The Mlle tends to be a little forgetfulbutI dontmind" He says as they walk to the elevator.
"I guess that's something she took from her mother" Adrien says, rememberinghowthe blue-eyed blondes mother's personalityis.
"I would be lying if Ididn't agreeon how Mme. Bourgeois treatment of others is. But at least I can say I have seen some change in Mlle. Chloe from some timenow" The butler sayspressingthe button on Chloes floor.
"Change how?" Adrien asks.
"As you know, after her incident as Miracle Queen, everything better or worse, Mlle. Chloe was left broken after her mother basically disowned her and went back to New York, Itried to help as best as I could. I suggested to mayor Bourgeois about getting her some professional help, heevenafter everything, cared for his daughter. But Chloe refusedandtrying to force her to it wouldjustmake things worse, so we just left her be.
Still, I gave her books that could help her. She has been reading them, andher state hasn't changed that much over time, but I had seen someprogress"
"Like?" Adrien asks.
"She actually calls me by my name now" Armand says as the elevators doors open with a ding.
"Huh, that's… good to hear" Adrien says, a bit surprised by that. He wonders if Chloe has changed in other regards apart from that.
"If you excuse me, M. Adrien. I will take these treats to the kitchen so they don't melt in the Mlles room, Iwill bring them here at your requestlater" Armand says, taking the bags from Adriens hands.
"Thanks" He says to the butler as hemakes his way backto the elevator.
The Bourgeois was empty, Chloe was probably in her roomandthe mayor was at his office working. Adrien questioned himselfas towhy he would be working on a Saturday, but heremembers Mayor Bourgeois overworking himself to make things better for everyone in the city since this was his final mandate as mayor of to make things easier for the next one when he hands off the position.
Adrien walks towards Chloes door and knocks. Sabrina opens the door, theginger girl has been there since early morning.
"Adrien! Youcame" The gingersaidsurprised.
"Hi, ?" he says, entering the room.
"Good! At least Ithink,we were waiting foryou" Sabrina says as they walk, Adrien dropping his bag in Chloe's bedroom.
"And Chloe?" He asks.
"We finished some homework before you arrived, sheis in thebathroom"
"Did she or she mad-"
"She did her own homework" Sabrina says just in time as the other blondein the roomappears.
"Adrien, you came" She says.
"Why do you guys say that? didn't expect me to come or something?" Adrien asks in a mockhurttone.
"Well… knowing how Uncle Gabe can be…" Chloe says slowly.
"Oh, yeah, that would make sensehaha. No need to worry abouthim, Itook charge over my own life and sent the old man to poundsand" He says in a shrugging manner.
"What?! Really?" Chloe and Sabrina ask at the same time.
"I know it's kinda surprising knowing how I was with him and all,but,I guess I just reached my limit of how much I would take from him after so long. I will not take anything that stands in the way of myfreedom" Adrien explains.
"That's good to hear, Iwouldn't blame you to be honest. You finally have some backbone, Felixwould be proud ofyou" Chloe says with a sigh and a tiny smile.
"He probably would" He says with alaugh
"Now I can spend my time doing whatever I wantandright now, I want to spend it withfriends"
"That's… sweet of you, Adrien. Even after…everything Idid" Chloe says.
"Is like I said in school, Chloe. I'm trying to be a better friend and be there foryou,the same way Sabrina has been there foryou" He says with a smile.
Chloe nods at that.
"So! What plans do we have for today?" Adrien asks, clapping his hands together.
What followed wasan afternoon and eveningfullof Disney movies and junk trio revisited their all-time favorite animatedmoviesand some others, Adrien finding a new appreciation for "Treasure Planet",even singing "I'm Still Here" atfullvolume to Chloe and Sabrina in awe. That movie really took the spot right next to "The Aristocats" as his all-time favorite movie. He surprised both girls with their favorite ice creama little laterplusTom and Sabines pastry treats after some pizza brought by room ,apretty good time thatthe three of them needed, one more than the with nostalgia, the only one missing there was Felixto fully recreate their childhood times before everything went dark. Maybe if he and Adrien are able to fix things soon, they probably will be able to do that, timewill tell. Nowthethree of them, already changed into their pajamas, lay on their makeshift beds in front of the television in Chloe's room. The three drifted to sleep, or at least that's what Adrienthoughtuntil he heard the sound of Chloes door being open and then closed.
Adrien wondered where she was going out this late, peekingoutside, he saw her taking the elevatordownto the lobby. Knowing he wouldbe caughtif he followed her as Adrien, he transformed and stealthily jumped out of the balcony to the next buildingkeepinga close eye to the hotel's entrance to see if the blonde came out of it. With a fade-out yellow hoodie, Chloe was easy to spot leaving Le Grand Paris, thecat's night vision also helped.
Following Chloe, Chat starts to worry a bit about where she is face was mostly hiddenthanks to the hood of her hoodie. The blonde went downstairs to walk alongside the Seine, just following theflow of the river. What's she even doing? Chat asks thoughts. She continued her walk for a while, Chat not losing sight of her. She walks past the Liberty and continues until she stops and sits under abridge close by.
Chloe wasjustwatching theflow of the waterin the river go, her mind thinking about today. The sleepover with Adrien and Sabrina made her feel good, ithad been a long time since she felt was a different type ofgood, one shehadn't felt since forever ago, even before Miracle makes her feel guilty. She doesn't deserve to feel good, even with the help of the books and Sabrina, itdoesn't feel hasn't done anything to deserve the feeling. Maybe she should just-
Before she could continue that thought, the sound of the water in the riverwas cutby the sound of a violin resounding in the tunnel under the bridge. It was amelancholictune that pulled the strings of her heart as much as the calming sound of the river. Looking for the source of the violinmusicshe looked around until she saw a boy that shedidn't noticewas there playing the violin, heprobably had come after her as he wasn't there before. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a Jagged Stone logoon it, a hoodie tied around his waistandhis hair had teal dyed ends. He looked familiar to Chloe like she had seen him before. She focuses on his faceandthen it hits her. He was one of the heroes she helped unmask when she was Miracle Queen, the hero known as Viperion if she remembers correctly.
Thiswas just herluck,she tried to find a quiet place tojustbe inandshe just turned in one of the heroessheblew their identity over to Hawkmoth when she was throwing a tantrum,perfectjust perfect-
"Do you have any requests?" the boy asks, catching Chloes attention. She thought he didn't notice her.
Chloe was quiet for a little bit before speaking.
"... what you were already playing was… fine" She says in an unsure voice.
"Alright then" He says before starting to play again.
As themusic of the violinfilled the tunnel, Chloe was losing herself in the sound of waythe music was making her feel, a way that it's hard to can be saidthat the music was calming the storm that was currently in her mind, way better than the sound the water of the Seine made that usually left her alone with her thoughts.
"Feeling better?" The boy asks.
"Yeah… thanks, how could you tell I needed that?" Chloe asks.
"Your melody was disrupted like an orchestra in chaosmakingthe sound of astorm" He answers.
"What? What does that even mean?" She asks, confused.
"It's something I have, like a talent. I can hear how people are from the inside. Their inner melodyyoucouldsay" He explains.
"...Surethat makes sense" Chloe says with a bit of sarcasm in her words.
"I guess mine probably sounds like trashy music" she says with a huff.
"I wouldn't say that. I can hear a storm, born from trying to find out what toplay"
"Like finding who I am?"
"Yeah, something like that" He says with a nod.
"I guess that's a fair guess on how I amfeeling,most of thetime"
"It's quite a normal thing to feel,Chloe"
"Maybe, but after feeling so sure of who I am for so long- wait, how do you know my name?"
"My sister told me after Miracle Queen happened, when she saw it was you, she explained who youare"
"And your sister is?"
"Juleka, she is in your same class. I am Lukabytheway" He says.
"You are Couffines brother? I never knew she hadone"
"That wouldn't be rare, iwas always a grade up than youguys,Juleka was supposed to be toobutshewas held backayear"
"So you already graduated?"
"Yes"
"Hmmm…" Chloe hums back into silence as Luka resumes his playing.
They stay like that for a bit, just the sound of the violinbeing heard.
"So… What's troubling you? I don't think you usually go for walks at thistime" Luka asks.
"Just… I couldn't sleep. I just come close to the Seine to hear the water, ithelps" She explains.
"Ha, I get that. The lullaby of the Seine helps anyone, meand my sister usually have a hard time sleeping away from it. We are so used toit,that it's weird not to hear it when we don't sleep at theLiberty"
"You live around here?"
"We move around, welive in that ship over there" he sayspointingat the ship thatwas dockedclose by.
"huh…"
"But there's something else, isn't there?that doesn'tlet yousleep" Luka pushes a little bit.
"... Today… I had a sleepover with my friends, it was great. It…made me feel good, ithad been long since I felt like that."
Luka lets her continue.
"... And then I felt like…. I didn't deserve feel something after what I did as…Miracle Queen…After what I did toyou"
Luka continues to watch her in silence.
"I was fully aware of what I did…. When Ladybug did not reach for me to help when the Akuma were my parents… I felt so….rejected"
Chloe hugs her legs and hides her face behind her knees.
"I was so angry I let that bastard use me… I didn't care how I was going to put Ladybug in her place and…in the end, I proved she was right, I didn't deserve to be Queen Bee"
"She was right… I was, probably still am, just a spoiled child throwing a tantrum just for attention from a parent who would never give it back tome"
Tears start to form around Chloe's eyes as she speaks.
"After my mo- after Audreywent away, I was… lost. I tried so hard to be like her just for love for solong,that…I don't even know who Chloe is.
I have some help at least, Sabrinahad been a great friend staying by my side, even if I don't know why, after how I had treated her foryears"
Chloe was making her best effortto not lether emotions get the better of her and risk being akumatize.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I did to you. Make you reveal your secret identity tohawkmoth"Shesays, cleaning the droplets fromhereyes withherhoodies sleeves.
Luka was surprised by that, going by what Juleka had told him about Chloe. She wasn't the type of person who would apologize. He could tellshewas being sincere by the sound of her voice. Chloe knows, of all the heroes she did dirty that day, this is the best opportunity she has to apologize to any of them without them giving her the stink eye or avoiding her like the plague.
"I… won't say what you did wasn't your fault but I can see you are feeling remorse over it. Which isgood" Luka says, walking over and sittingnext toher.
Chloejuststays in silence.
"Take it as the start of the journey to find yourself, everyonegoes through that journey in life, myself included"
"... Did you find yourself?" she asks.
"I haven't. I'm still going throughit"
"But you look so sure of who youare"
"It's more about the journey than the know that Iwant to help those in need, even without a if I never wear one again, I still will help those in need with whatever I can, just likenow"Heexplains.
"I don't deserve any help" Chloe says in a low voice, almost a whisper.
"We will find the right melody for you, I promise" Luka says, reaching for his violin to resumehisplaying.
Chloe stays in silence once again, cleaning some tears from her eyes as the sound of Lukas music fills the tunnel, still amelancholicmelody but one that fills her heart with hope.
Right now, Adrien was cursing his enhanced hearing as tears fell from his eyes. That probably was a conversation he shouldn't have heard. That definitely was a conversationheshouldn't have heard. He couldn't stop himself from prying into the conversation.
" Fuck, Did Chloe have been going through all that this whole time? " He asks himself.
Even before his change, Chloe was dealing with all thatandhe didn't know anything about it. What kind of friend was he?Hereally was never there for her, even with how she was before Miracle Queen, hejust gave up soeasily. He is a pathetic excuse of a childhood friend. But will not gain or fix anything by beating himself over it. He said before, thathe would be a better friend to her. and help her in any way he could, that's a promise. He was also sure he could trust Luka on ittoo.
He stayed vigilant on the pairfor a while before both stood from the ground and parted ways. He followed Chloe back to Le Grand Paris to keep her safe. Just as she entered the front doors, he slipped back to her balcony and quietly detransformed back into his pajamas. Adrien debated with himself for a bit on whether he should wait for her to enter or use an excuse of him leaving the bathroom and returning to bed at the same time she was entering her room. Either way, he wants to talk to her before going to sleep. And it didn't take long before he heard the door open to catch Chloe returning to the room.
"Adrien? What are you doing up?" She asks, seeing him standing in front of her door.
"Went to the bathroom and saw you weren't on your bed, Iwas about to go out and look for you, wherewere you?" He says.
"I was just… out for some fresh air and a walk, I couldn'tsleep" She answers.
"Hey, it's fine" He says getting close to her and hugging her.
Chloe freezes at that.
"If you need anything, me andSabrinaare here for you. Even if you don't want to say anything, we will still be here for you, " Hesays as he tights the hug and tears form in his eyes again.
"I'm sorry I haven't been a better friend to you all thistime" He continues.
The only thing thatcould be heardfrom Chloe were sobs as she was also friends embracing in a tight hug with the promise to be better.