Chapter Text
“We need to get you out of here before Andre or Jean come to find you.” Lady Noire said after she stopped gingerly shaking Chloe’s hand. “I’m really not sure I want to subject you to my Chloe’s life if it can be helped.”
Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion. She still wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but the cat holder had just welcomed her to a different reality. Now, she wasn’t into all that science fiction stuff she heard Nathaniel and Marc talking about at lunch, but she did understand the concept of alternate realities. After all, what girl didn’t dream of suddenly finding herself in a different, better life? Or, well, who knows, maybe it was just her that wanted that…
But from the looks of it, this other life was not something to want for. She glanced at Lady Noire, who still seemed to be looking at her with an unhidden level of affection of which Chloe was unfamiliar. So, maybe there was actually something here to be happy about after all.
“Alright, if you think that’s for the best. But… I’ve got to ask. Am I really a miraculous holder here?” Chloe asked, looking at Pollen as she climbed out of bed, excitement bubbling up inside her. “Which one do I… er, does the other me, normally carry?”
Lady Noire looked down at the box in her hands and grimaced.
“She is the wielder of the Ladybug.” Noire said, her lips pushing together to form a tight line. “A true soul of creation.”
Chloe felt her throat close at the girl’s words. She, Chloe Bourgeois, was Ladybug in this reality? That very thing had been her dream since the day that the hero had first appeared. She had even pretended to BE Ladybug that one time Jagged Stone had seen her in her faux Ladybug costume. Although looking back on that, she could feel the guilt of that act eating away at her. Had she really always been willing to push things so far to fake her way into happiness? It was a wonder that her bridges hadn’t been completely burned with Ladybug long before she had become Miracle Queen and tried to steal the Miracle Box.
“...They aren’t here.” Lady Noire said in almost a whisper, pulling Chloe out of her thoughts. The box in the cat hero's hands was open now, and she seemed to be searching for something inside. “And you aren’t wearing them, so where…”
“What are you looking for?” Chloe asked.
“Ladybug’s earrings.” Lady Noire replied, her voice getting an edge to it. “They are missing, and without them, we have no way to purify akuma, or undo any damage done to the city.”
“Maybe your Chloe is still wearing them wherever she is now.” Chloe offered.
Lady Noire looked up at her once more and seemed to contemplate her words, but before she could reply, there was a click at the nearby bedroom door that caused Chloe to look away. In a flash, the kwami all zipped out of sight and Lady Noire moved so fast that by the time Chloe looked back she couldn’t even make out where the cat had gotten to.
Chloe looked around quickly in a vain attempt to also find a place to hide, but it was too late.
“Chloe, my dear.” Her father’s familiar voice came from the door, drawing her gaze back toward it. There, wearing his usual mayor’s garb, was the man himself. “I heard a dreadful rumor from the front desk staff that you came into the hotel late last night, much past your curfew, and wearing exactly what you are now.”
Chloe grimaced before she could catch herself. And her reaction didn’t go unnoticed.
“So it’s true then?” her father asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. Suddenly Chloe felt trapped again. Normally the man didn’t instill fear in her, but somehow his posture and his expression spoke volumes towards confirming what Lady Noire had suggested. This man was not the same one she was used to dealing with. No, this man was dangerous.
“I- I was attacked by an Akuma, so my being outside was not my fault.” Chloe attempted a defense, and seeing that it was the truth, she hoped it would stick.
“Excuses? Chloe, you know that I find those to be unbecoming of anyone of our superior pedigree.” Andre replied, growing even closer to her, causing her to flinch involuntarily under his hardening gaze. “Stop trying to redirect blame and just admit you were out without permission. Then all you will need to do is apologize to me so we can put this behind us.”
“Apologize! For something out of my control?” Chloe spat, unable to hold in her anger at the man’s ridiculous stance on the matter. “I will do no such-”
The sound of the slap resonated in her ears before she even noticed the sting on her cheek.
Chloe’s breath became rapid but shaky as she slowly turned her face back toward him from the position it had been forced to by the impact. She felt a few things inside herself at the shock of what had just happened. First, she felt fear at what this man might be capable of. Then, her mind shifted to pity at the notion that a version of her had to put up with this kind of assault on the regular. And finally, she felt rage.
It was the rage she clasped onto, shattering her fear and pity completely, along with the silence in the room as she brought her own palm to bear.
Her slap wasn’t as powerful as his, mainly due their size difference, yet it still seemed to have the desired effect as Andre stumbled backward, clearly surprised that she had even done it.
“HOW DARE YOU! You will never! NEVER! Strike me again!” Chloe screamed, moving forward as she sharply pointed her finger at his face. “What kind of man hits a child! Let alone his own DAUGHTER! Are you such a weak minded COWARD, that you have to stoop to such things to feel like a MAN?”
Andre, for all of his earlier posturing, actually seemed afraid of her for a moment, and continued to stumble backward.
“You. Are. Ridiculous.” Chloe spat, emphasizing each word with a snarl, the skin around her eyes tightening as she sneered at the man who didn’t even deserve the title of father. “Utterly. Ridiculous.”
Andre seemed to regain his backbone suddenly and straightened, once again towering over her. For a split second Chloe felt small again, but she quickly fought to keep her indignant expression sturdy and indicate she wouldn't back down.
The tension in the air was palpable as the man straightened his mayor's sash, refusing to make eye contact with her all the while.
“While I do not condone you speaking back to me in such a tone, young lady, I am glad to see you have finally found a modicum of courage.” Andre said as if it had been his plan all along to get her to fight back. Chloe wasn’t fooled, however. She knew this desperation, this feigning of diplomacy after a failed hostile act, misdirect, or subterfuge. All he cared about now was coming out of this situation maintaining a sense of power, and even in the light of what had just occurred, he wanted to appear to still be in control.
Chloe recognized the tactic so readily because it was hers . Everything about this man in this moment screamed, Chloe Bourgeois, queen of the class, daughter of the mayor, she who will make you regret living if you cross her. And the realization made her sick to her stomach.
“But do try to not pair courage with stupidity and assume that your actions will go unpunished.” He said as he turned to walk away. “Because that would be a mistake on your part, young lady.”
After the man reopened, exited and then slammed the door to the room without another word beyond the obvious threat, her right eye twitched. The recognition of what she could likely become if she kept on the path she had always traveled consumed her in that moment. It wasn’t every day that you found yourself face to face with someone throwing your own terrible habits back in your face.
Chloe breathed out hard as she touched her face, only now realizing how much it hurt. Suddenly, another hand was there along with her own and she looked over to find Lady Noire standing beside her.
“Are you alright?” She asked. her expression full of concern.
“I- I’m not sure.” Chloe answered while trying to get her heart rate under control. She hadn’t even realized that her body was reacting as if she had just run a marathon. She was tense and feeling exhausted from the sudden loss of adrenaline. “Does he... hit her often?”
“Yes… more often than I would like to think about.” Lady Noire said, anger flashing in her eyes. “I didn’t even know at first because she has such a practiced hand at using concealer.”
Why… why hasn’t she reported him?” Chloe asked, feeling suddenly desperate.
Lady Noire frowned, her eyes darting toward the ground.
“He’s the mayor.” She said flatly, as if it explained everything. And honestly, Chloe knew what she meant.
The man likely had a self-assured and carefully crafted diplomatic immunity to fall back on. Bribery, fearmongering, manipulation and control, you name it, he probably used it to keep himself out of the papers and out of jail. Even his own daughter’s word wouldn’t be good enough to change anything, and clearly the heroes of Paris couldn’t either, not even to protect one of their own. It made her wonder what the man had hanging over them to keep them from acting.
“Chloe has a strength inside her like none I have ever known, built up from years of enduring her father's wrath. And in many ways it has made her into a very successful Ladybug, one that all of Paris is proud to have watching over them.” Lady Noire explained, now caressing Chloe’s cheek gently, and to her credit it was actually soothing the ache. “But, she has never been able to stand against her own father. It’s like she becomes jelly when faced with his particular form of… parenting .”
“I can actually understand that.” Chloe said after a moment. “It’s one thing to find courage to help others in need, but another entirely to make efforts to help yourself. Especially to change the only thing you have come to know as normal, because what if the outcome of that change is actually something worse?”
Lady Noire actually smiled softly at her and then tilted her head.
“I suppose you are right.” She said and then took Chloe’s hand, beginning to lead her toward the closet. “Come on, let’s get you dressed and get out of this dreary prison . We can head over to the bakery. I’m sure Maman won’t mind if you join us for breakfast.”
Chloe was surprised at the sudden change in Lady Noires demeanor, as if she was so used to this kind of thing that she was able to push her feelings aside and just move on to the next thing. She wasn’t sure that she liked the implication of that.
It was then that something clicked, bringing Chloe to stop fully in her tracks, Lady Noire turning in question at the resistance to her guiding pull.
“Bakery?” Chloe asked and then gave Lady Noire another once over with a scrutinizing gaze. Her eyes slowly widened as she found familiarity in the girl’s features after a moment of focusing. It was almost like a fog lifted from her vision and she could suddenly see more clearly because of it. “Wait… Marinette?”
Lady Noire’s lips curved up ever so slightly and then she nodded.
Chloe felt a sudden flush on her face as she remembered what Lady Noire had said to her earlier.
“... You… Marinette… love Chloe?” Chloe stammered.
The smile that spread across Lady Noire’s face at her words was bright, so bright that it could have lit up a completely dark room given the chance. Chloe felt herself seize at the sight, a feeling of awe washing over her. She had seen Marinette’s smile before, hell she craved it in many ways, but it had never been like this, and definitely never been for her.
“We haven’t really declared it out loud to each other yet, but we are dating. In fact, today is our three-month anniversary.” Lady Noire offered, still beaming. However, her smile quickly faltered. “And I was hoping to… Well, when I see her again, I plan to tell her that I love her.”
Chloe swallowed hard, yet again faced with something that made her own life seem as if it was off track to the one she wanted for herself. Sure, this was another reality, and who knew what had led this Marinette to love her Chloe, but none of that mattered in that moment. No, all that she could focus on was that somehow, there was a way for her to be seen by Marinette as something more than she was… as someone worth loving.
“I take it from how you are reacting to this that you and your Marinette are not together?” Lady Noire asked, starting to look through the clothes in the closet.
“No.” Chloe said, stiffening at the question. “If anything, she hates me.”
Lady Noire stopped her search for clothes and looked over at Chloe.
“Hate is a strong word.” She said, furrowing her brow. “Why would you think that she-”
“Because I deserve it! Okay?!” Chloe snapped, a feeling of wetness forming in her eyes as she was overwhelmed by her own guilt. She quickly grabbed the outfit that Lady Noire happened to be holding and stormed out of the closet toward her ensuite bathroom so that she could change, and more importantly regain her composure in private. Perhaps if she regained some semblance of poise then she wouldn’t have to explain what she had meant by deserving it. Because God knows if she did, then this Marinette would likely also not want anything to do with her, so why risk it?
She quickly shuffled from pajamas and into her daywear, only then catching her face in the mirror as she finished changing. She saw that her cheek was still red, and she mused that it would likely bruise later, and part of her… part of her felt like she deserved it.
But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? No one deserved to feel oppressed, neither emotionally nor physically, especially not in their own home. So, then why was she herself someone who committed acts that enforced such negative emotions on others? Sure, she had never outright raised a hand to another person directly, but she had knocked things out of people’s hands, tripped them, stolen from them, lied about them, belittled them…
… no, that was just a list of things she had done to Marinette specifically.
Chloe lost all of the composure she was hoping to regain, quickly curling up in on herself, tears flowing as she began to sob against the sink, slowly collapsing into a kneel, hugging her own legs close in an attempt to comfort herself.
But it was to no avail.
The pain that had started on her cheek had blossomed into her whole body as if she had been struck everywhere. What she was feeling now felt like grief, but it carried itself like anger wearing a mask, overwhelming her to the point of inconsolability. She was angry, so very angry at herself. And it wasn’t because she knew her own Marinette hated her, and for good reason, no, that wasn’t the thing that had finally broken her.
What was burning her up inside now was her own countenance of hatred for who she was. But why would she accept that she hated herself so openly, even to the point where she considered it a good thing? Well, perhaps it was because she knew that it wasn’t like the hate built on a desire to harm or belittle like she had done so openly to others, instead it was like a wake up call to push that version of herself away and strive for something better.
Part of her felt foolish at the fact that it had taken falling into another reality to show her just who she had become, and just what life could be if she wasn’t trying to achieve her goals using the tools taught to her by her parents. Hell, she had long been fighting her own subconsciousness and her own deep seeded desire to change things for the better, but why? Her inner voice was clearly right all along, and the real Chloe was frantically trying to climb out of that deep chasm which was born from her desire to hold station above everyone else.
Ironic that she aimed for a perch of power and ended up equally as far down into a hole of weakness in a supremely opposite fashion.
And now that she was literally slapped backward and saw it from a distance, she couldn't help but wonder why anyone would even want to perch upon a pillar of power in the first place, as you will just find yourself unable to see eye to eye with those who you climbed over to get there. And it seemed lonely up there too. So, perhaps it was better to simply ignore the pillar altogether and focus on standing upon the solid ground, after all, it was definitely a more stable place to linger.
Yes. It was time to change her outlook, her goal, and the efforts she put forward. No longer would she aim for greatness at the expense of normalcy and companionship, instead, she hoped to find greatness IN normalcy and companionship.
But what if she was stuck here in this reality? What if she never had a chance to go back? What if she could actually change using the lesson she had just learned here, but never had the chance to show her own Marinette, to show herself, who she could be in that life back home?
She truly hoped it wasn’t too late.
Marinette shifted uncomfortably when she heard the crying start. Part of her wanted to open the door to the bathroom and go in to comfort Chloe like she always did, but another part of her knew that she wasn’t her Chloe. But did that really matter?
Sure, there was the chance she would tell her to get out and leave her alone, but there was also the chance that she could do some good and help calm the girl, easing whatever pain was gripping her. She doubted it was as simple as her reacting to the fact she had been slapped, because if that was the case, she would have cried out here after it happened.
No, it was more likely to do with what Chloe had said before storming off. She truly felt like she deserved to be hated.
Marinette shook her head and wondered exactly what could drive someone to think that about themself. She knew her own Chloe well and couldn’t imagine the girl thinking she deserved to be hated by anyone, not even her parents who tormented her daily. So, what could drive this girl to think that? She had mumbled that she considered herself a villain, but judging by her words and actions since saying that, Marinette just couldn't see it.
Sure, she had been able to stand up to Andre in a way that her own Chloe never could, even getting physical in return, not that Marinette’s would approve of that as a proper response, but she couldn’t deny that she had been impressed by the fire behind it. But maybe that was it? This Chloe COULD bring herself to get physical if push came to shove, and that was what she felt made her deserve being hated.
Marinette breathed out and reached for the door handle as the crying she was hearing got more intense. She didn’t know if this Chloe deserved the hate she claimed to own, but she was certain of one thing, and that was that she didn’t hate her. She had no reason to, and until she did, she would do everything she could to help this girl. Hell, even if she did come to hate her, she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to ignore her suffering just because of that hate.
When the door opened, she found Chloe curled up against the sink, close to the floor, shrinking away from everything as if it would hurt her. Marinette slowly moved closer in an attempt to not startle her, and when she was close enough, gently wrapped her arms around her.
Chloe mumbled something and Marinette could only just make out that she had said ‘ I don’t want to be alone anymore .’ which made her heart hurt.
“It’s alright.” She whispered softly as she ran a hand through the girl’s hair. “You aren’t alone.”
Chloe began to shudder as she leaned into the embrace, her cries becoming deeper and more guttural in reaction to Marinette’s words.
And as she sat there, on the bathroom floor comforting this relative stranger who wore the face of the one she loved, Marinette couldn’t help but hope that wherever her own Chloe was in that moment, that someone was there for her too.