Past

When it came to Alya and Nino, the two were unmatched in the sheer amount of rambling they could get up to. Pick any topic, any day of the week, even something that neither one of them knew a lick of fact about, and they'd pick it clean with the precision of a drunk surgeon. Sometimes, Marinette would joke that the best part of the two getting together was sparing innocent people from getting caught up in the crossfire of a particularly tedious and pointless debate sparked by nonsense.

So, when Nino dragged Adrien to hang out and talk about 'relationship drama', Adrien knew he was probably gonna be here all day.

"-and I just think she has no right to say something like that."

Adrien felt himself nodding for the sixth time in the past ten minutes. He didn't know why he did it outside of social instinct – Nino, who he watched over the cusp of his milkshake powerwalking just ahead of him, wouldn't even see it.

"I'm sure Alya didn't mean it. She was just angry." He said passively, "You know how she gets when you steal the last slice of pizza."

Nino came to a dead stop at the corner of the street, whipping around to shove his wagging finger in Adrien's face. "It was the second to last slice, Dude." He chided, his voice cracking slightly. "And that doesn't excuse such blatant misinformation. She's a journalist for pete's sake!"

Adrien pushed Nino's finger aside and let out a heavy sigh. Firmly, he took hold of Nino's shoulders, staring into his eyes with an expression of the upmost seriousness. "Look, some people don't consider Die Hard a Christmas movie, you're just gonna have to accept it."

Nino let out a low whine, his eyes shimmering with fresh betrayal. "…Bro, is this how you wanna end our friendship? Disrespecting John McClane?"

Adrian looked away, stifling a snigger to wistfully stare into the distance. He patted Nino's shoulder. "We had a good run, Nino."

Nino backed away, his face morphing from horror to acceptance. He slowly moved his hand over his wounded heart. "That cuts me deep, man."

There was plenty to tease about Nino's over eagerness to share whatever unfiltered thought rattled inside that brain of his, but Adrien would never accept him any other way. Nino was as open as he was driven, an easy going and carefree attitude that made him a perfect balance to the invasively inquisitive force of personality that was Alya.

It made hanging out with him a somewhat refreshing experience in the face of an emotionally exhaustive set of days. In a way, it reminded Adrien of his conversation with Chloe (and he would take any comparison between Nino and Chloe to his grave), in that Nino overwhelmed the senses with good natured nonsense, making it hard to focus on what was dragging Adrien down.

In the days since his meeting with Luka and Su-Han, Adrien had busied himself with a new project, finding it surprisingly easy to throw himself into the new plan he pitched to Luka. He had a new vision for Team Miraculous, but there was a lot of things to get up and running before he could show it off, and hopefully convince the rest of the team.

It was his first time managing a project much bigger than a school assignment, yet it was almost relaxing to work. He was taking to it much easier than his new responsibilities as Chat Noir. Luka described it as 'mini victories', that having solid short-term goals to finish every day allowed him to feel more productive than the vague long term goals of hero work that had no hard end condition.

Though, maybe he just liked having something that he was confident in. He just hoped that confidence lasted until the team meeting tomorrow, where he'd show them-

"Hey, is that Chloe?"

Adrien came back to reality to find Nino peering around the street corner. He scrambled to join Nino's side, trying to stomach a groan at how instinctual it was to think 'What has she done now?'.

A sigh of relief escaped him when his vision homed in on Chloe sat just a few metres away under the shade of a café's entrance, a completely mundane setting with no possible akuma victim in sight. However, that didn't mean it was a positive sight. It was, for lack of a better word, awkward. Like he was catching a glimpse of a private, tragic moment that wasn't meant for his eyes, yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Chloe wasn't alone sitting at the small table, a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold sitting forgotten in front of her. Zoe sat across from her. The awkwardness arose in their body language. Chloe was hunched over, arms awkwardly wrapped around her stomach, as if nursing an ache. Her eyes lingered over her sister, her lips opened to release words that never came only to clamp shut whenever it looked like Zoe was glancing at her.

Everything about her screamed unsure, a child looking for the support of their parent on their first day in a new environment. Chloe Bourgeois was nervous. It didn't make Adrien happy, of course, not even the petty part of him that sounded like Chat Noir – but it did at least cast aside any lingering doubt about their last conversation being genuine.

Zoe was uncharacteristically passive, leaning back in her chair, all her limbs hanging loose except for the one that pushed her phone into her face – The world around her only existing as an interruption.

Chloe cringed as she spoke, as if she feared she'd set off the apathetic woman in front of her. "I like your earrings. They go great with the whole outfit." Her smile was too wide, too desperate.

"Thanks." Zoe replied, not a hint of emotion in her voice.

The only indication that Chloe heard the reply was the way her eyelids twitched, a modicum of restraint stopping her from fully cringing in pain. Chloe continued on like nothing happened. "Did you like the tea? I heard all the best actors raving about this stuff, it's like…" She looked down at her hands, her smile creasing as she fiddled with the thought. "Filled with inspiration or something."

"Cool." Once again, a deadpan reply, not even worth looking up from the expensive-looking hairpin twirling between her fingers.

"To be honest, it kind of tastes like soap to me, but…" Chloe forced out a chuckle, her voice hitting a high pitch before petering off. She shifted in her seat, letting her arms drop on her lap and curling her body to look even smaller. "I don't know where I was going with that."

Zoe nodded. "Uhuh."

Nino let out a whistle, cringing. "This is painful to watch."

Adrien pressed himself tight against the corner, as if it would make it any less obvious that the two men were spying on the girls. "I feel like we shouldn't be watching."

"We shouldn't, but I can't look away." Nino said, eyes glued to the scene like it was a television screen. "Never seen Zoe so dismissive before. Even when she's pissed at someone."

"There's a first time for everything." Adrien shrugged, "And Chloe's pretty good at bringing out the worst in people."

Nino tilted his chin up slightly with a light scoff, the closest he could get to looking towards Adrien without looking away. "Geez, I thought you said she was trying to be better?"

"Trying still means she has bad habits left to curb."

Minutes rolled by in silence, a social trainwreck unravelling before their eyes. Too gruesome to look away, but too big to intervene. That didn't stop Nino from speaking up though.

"Should we like… Help?" He reached out, exasperated as he watched Chloe spilled her coffee cup over with no reaction from Zoe. "Chloe looks like she's dying out there."

Adrien shook his head. No matter how bad it looked, this was Chloe's fight. "We shouldn't intrude. We'd only make it worse; Zoe would think we were forcing Chloe to be nice or something."

"I guess." Nino said slowly, any confidence wavering in the face of the events unfolding before them.

Chloe had taken to idly twirling her hair, any gesture to busy her trembling fingers, anything to look casual. But the crack in her voice gave away the game – not that Zoe seemed to care enough to notice. "Don't you want to tell me about your day? You must be doing so much… Uh... Stuff now that you've graduated."

Zoe shrugged, her voice like sandpaper. "Yeah. A lot of stuff."

"Like?" Chloe leaned forward, wide desperate eyes on full display.

"You wouldn't be interested." Zoe said quickly, like she was just running through programmed dismissive responses.

"I could be!" Chloe snapped, losing her composure for a moment in one burst of desperation before sinking back into her seat. She continued, quietly. "Only way to find out is to talk about it."

"I'm good."

"That's an absolutely darling hairpin." She spoke through gritted teeth; eyes narrowed, glaring at the hairpin as if it were the true culprit behind her pain. "Where did you get it? Ooo, maybe you got it from an admirer?"

"Sure."

Choe's lips trembled, pleading eyes prickled with tears and echoing the vulnerable, scared little girl that opened her heart to Adrien just a few nights ago. "Can't you at least look at me? Please."

Adrien didn't hear her really; she said it in such a delicate, strained whisper that it was impossible to make out from this distance. Yet he could hear it clear as crystal in his mind, it was carved into her eyes, the message ripping through her snobby façade, through her pride, and exposing that raw nerve to the sister she hoped to reconnect with.

I know she never treated you well, Zoe, Adrien pleaded in his head, his heart going out to Chloe. But she's trying. She's really trying. Give her a chance, please…

But the cold shoulder continued, Zoe's face only emoting to display her irritation with Chloe's presence. Now, Adrien didn't know Zoe that well, she drifted more towards Alya and Marinette's side of the friend group, but he couldn't connect this persona of hers to the bubbly, beaming girl he'd last seen at graduation. Even when Chloe originally left after the Mayor Bee fiasco, he starkly remembered Zoe wishing nothing but the best for Chloe's future.

He couldn't see that person sitting before Chloe now, blowing off Chloe's every desperate attempt to mend their relationship. Did Marinette's death change something in her? He did remember Marinette mentioning that Zoe had a crush on her once. But even then, if she had no interest in Chloe at all, why would she even meet with Chloe in the first place?

Adrien shook his head. These thoughts made him feel like an intruder, pushing his way into a conflict that was none of his business, making assumptions about a person he truly didn't know that well, just because spying on it made him feel uncomfortable. And yet he couldn't stop himself.

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard Chloe's chair hit the floor, the girl now standing up with her hands pressed flat on the table. The pressure of her inner turmoil had given ways to tears, causing her reddening face to strain itself shifting between different expressions; as if the prospect was as alien to Chloe as it was to Adrien.

The sudden action had managed to break Zoe's hairpin focus for a moment, at least, pulling her eyes to Chloe. It looked like Zoe was gritting her teeth.

Then Zoe scoffed, rolling her eyes with a slight sneer, before trying to turn back to the hairpin. Naturally, this only further spurred Chloe to lunge forward, snatching the hairpin out of Zoe's hand and letting out a sob.

Zoe's expression melted away. Replaced not by shock or anger. No, what caught Adrien's attention immediately is that she suddenly looked utterly terrified.

"Yes, I admit it, I'm not the best sister ever." Chloe began, her own tears blurring Zoe's expression. "Yes, you're so much better than me and Daddy probably likes you more. Yes, I have no room to complain about anything."

Chloe pressed her hand tightly against her chest, a deep exhale following, like the gasp for air after being submerged for eternity. "But I'm trying, okay? I want to… To start over." Her free hand went over her hair, making a paltry attempt to smooth over all the wild locks that had popped up during her meltdown. "I spent hours reading about all those depressing plays and indie movies you and Daddy were bonding over. I even bought these ugly shoes and a mismatched outfit just to make sure you'd obviously be better dressed."

Her eyes couldn't decide whether they were frustrated or despaired, so they squeezed shut instead, leaving only a quiet, trembling voice to carry on her meaning. "You could have at least just denied the invitation, told me to go away and never come back, instead of coming along and just… Ignoring me."

Chloe hesitantly held the hairpin out, a child who knew what they were supposed to do, but was terrified of the scolding they'd get if they did it wrong. "I just want to talk, okay? It can be about all the words I can't spell, or how dumb I am, or about how much you hate me, anything! I just want a chance to start over. So that we can be sisters again."

Zoe's face went blank, all tension dissolving as her body slumped into a more casual position. Like a computer getting rebooted. And then, in the most deadpan, blank, emotionless tone Adrien had ever heard, she obediently replied. "Oh. Okay. We are sisters after all."

Even Adrien could pick up on how ungenuine that was.

Chloe scoffed, throw her head back to hide her tears, "If you don't want to be here, just go and-"

Zoe shot to her feet and made her way down the street.

"Hey, come back!"

Zoe turned on a dime and returned to her seat, her eyes locked onto the hairpin every step of the way.

Nino's elbow pushed against Adrien's arm. "That was weird, right?" He whispered.

Adrien craned his neck back to look to Nino. "What? Chloe making an effort? Yeah, it takes some getting used to, but it's good to see."

Nino rolled his eyes in a very familiar gesture of exasperation in the face of Adrien missing the obvious. "No, Zoe."

He nudged Adrien again and pointed at the table. Adrien followed his finger, pinpointing the hairpin as Nino's object of interest. "Look at her, she's staring at that hair pin like her life is depending on it. And she obviously doesn't want to be here, but…"

Adrien froze, the pieces starting to come together in his mind. Zoe had been scared, not of Chloe, but of Chloe having her hairpin; only to suddenly become almost robotically compliant. "She keeps following Chloe's commands."

"It's like she-" The two boys shared a look, their curious eyes communicating the same worrying conclusion. "No way."

Without hesitation, Adrien stormed forward, suddenly energized as a man on a mission. If they were right, Chloe was in serious danger.

"Hey there, you two!" He called out on his approach, waving and trying his damndest not to let his fear break through his fake smile.

Chloe sheltered her eyes behind her forearm, squirming in her seat. "Adrikins, this isn't the best time."

"I know, but we really need to take a look at-"

Before Adrien could finish, Nino darted past him and snatched up the hairpin, allowing Chloe's eyes to finally decide on anger.

Adrien was at a loss for words at first, letting out a few gargled throat noises before rounding on his friend. "Nino! What is wrong with you?"

Nino looked back with a sheepish grin, wiggling the hairpin for emphasis. "We just need to take a look at the hair pin."

"Really, Nino? You're that hard up for cash that you're trying to mug us?" Chloe stormed up to the pair with a predatory growl, her arm lashing out to grab the exposed half of the hairpin. "I can't believe it."

"Hey, it's not like that!" Nino whined, the two pulling back-and-forth on the hairpin like two children playing tug-of-war with their toys. "Just give it already, I'm not gonna break it."

After two or three hard yanks, the two's hold broke at the same time, sending the hairpin skyhigh before plummeting back down onto the table.

Right in front of Zoe.

Adrien carefully crept towards the table, noting how that fearful expression had returned to Zoe's face, how her eyes darted between the hairpin and him; a wild animal cornered and assessing their options.

"You okay there, Zoe? You look a little under the weather." Said Adrien.

Nino held his hands up in submission. Well, he held one up, the other was too busy trying to keep a peeved Chloe at bay. "It's alright, we just want to look at you new bling, Dudette."

Zoe looked to Adrien.

Zoe looked to Nino.

Zoe closed her eyes and sighed.

It all happened so fast. In the time it took Adrien to take his next step, Zoe upended the table and smashed it over his head with a simple slap. As he was struck to the ground, the table exploding into broken pieces, he saw her dive forward, creating a crack where her foot met the pavement, and slam her fist into Nino's throat before chucking him and Chloe aside with ease.

An impressive feat of strength for a human, but nothing out of the norm for a sentimonster.

Adrien felt his shoulder throb as he willed himself back to his feet, picking splintered wood out of his as he went. He was lucky Senti-Zoe hadn't put more effort into her throw, or he wouldn't be getting up.

He made his way over to Nino, pulling the spluttering man up.

"Holy crap, she got me right in the throat." Nino gasped in a horse whisper, clasping his neck and hacking up a storm.

Adrien wished he could stay and make sure nothing was damaged, but he couldn't afford Zoe escaping. A scared sentimonster with their identity exposed was a threat to everyone she crossed.

He moved on to Chloe, pulling up her discarded chair to give her a seat. "Chloe, stay here. I'm gonna go get help."

Chloe was disorientated. Her eyes rapidly darted back and forth, grappling with the now empty space in front of her. Before Adrien could slip away, her hand grabbed his forearm, desperately grappling for him to make the world stop spinning. "W-What's going on? Why can Zoe do that?!"

Adrien shook his head, pulling his arm away. "That isn't Zoe."

Next Time - Accelerator:

"A sentimonster pretending to be Zoe, I know." He called back, stabbing his baton into the ground and extending it to launch himself across the next gap, the concrete jungle unravelling below. "I was in the neighbourhood, sleeping on someone's car; saw the whole thing go down."

Carapace followed suit, running up the wall stretching over the gap instead of making the jump himself. "Ah, good. Never was any good at exposition." There was an extra, quiet, wheeze to every word – this was the absolute worst time for breathing problems.

All the more reason to end this quick and end it hard. If they let this play out too long, the sentimonster could escape, or worse, Hawkmoth 2.0 could decide that it's too much hassle and snap her away. In either case, their only lead on the real Zoe – if she was even alive was a question Chat wasn't willing to entertain – would be gone.

"So, what, you're just going to blindly charge the enemy again?" Ladybug's voice scoffed in his ear. "How'd that turn out last time?"

That was different. He argued back, Disruptor surprised me.

"And she can't?" He imagined his perception of her would be more aggressive, more insulting, that it would hit him over the head with his doubts and fears. Like his own mental voice was.

But his lady's voice was one of familiar concern wafting a light warmth over his ears. Perhaps even his insecurities couldn't stain Marinette's memory. So, he listened.

"You know even less about her than Disruptor." He could imagine her crossing her arms, pouting. "She has no regard to anything that gets in her way, and Tikki is all the way back at your house. Any damage she inflicts is sticking around."

"I'm not saying to stop chasing her, but you need to think about more than getting to her. Assess the situation, Chaton."

I don't know if I can. I'm not as smart as you.

"You've always been smart, Kitty. You just need to apply yourself."

The jump over the next gap seemed to stretch on for minutes, leaving Chat frozen in mid-air, Senti-Zoe caught ducking through a balcony, and Carapace lagging a few feet behind him. Chat took a breath, steadying his heart and his mind. By the time he reached the ground, he needed a plan.

Adrien walked around Chat, his eyes closed and fingers busying themselves tapping his forehead. "What do we know?" He asked.