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Chapter Text

To the untrained eye, Ladybug looks calm and dignified, if appropriately sad. She stands on the small stage behind the podium, hands held loosely at her sides, and addresses the crowd of journalists with a steady voice. Chat Noir shadows her, his expression a mirror of Ladybug’s. He hasn’t spoken yet, and in fact, though those listening don’t know it, he will not be saying anything at all.

For the occasion, they are everything the city of Paris could want – and that’s good, Chloé tells herself, even as she presses her hand more firmly to her chest and shifts her position a bit. The discordance in her chest is so heavy that breathing is a struggle, yet she can’t really blame Ladybug or Chat for it right now. They had to make a statement, even if it means facing the reality of Lila’s death head on.

“ – and so, we did everything we could to try and save Lila Rossi,” Ladybug says into the microphone. “As soon as we figured out who Mayura was, we confronted her. We also tried to talk to her before we knew who she was.”

She pauses, clearing her throat. Chloé stares avidly at the screen, willing Ladybug not to say anything stupid. This is why Chloé thought it might be better if Chat made a statement – Adrien has plenty of experience with the media, whereas Marinette has very little. Paris usually thinks so highly of their heroes that they’ll forgive any blunders Ladybug may make, but not today. However, Marinette was adamant that she wanted to do it. Chloé wonders if Marinette is regretting that right now.

“The person you should be blaming is Hawkmoth. Although we don’t know the full story, it is safe to assume that he manipulated Lila Rossi into accepting the Peacock miraculous under false pretences and that ended up costing Lila her life.” Ladybug pauses again, licking her lips, and, for a few seconds, her pain is so great that Chloé literally can’t breathe.

But then Ladybug straightens up a bit, and the pained lines in her face smooth away as she says again, “What happened was not our fault. We did everything we could to save Lila.”

And this time, she believes it.

Chloé breathes easier for the first time since the funeral. A soft buzz draws her attention away from the screen, and she realizes that the source is, of course, Pollen. Her kwami can clearly feel the difference in the hive as well. Pollen’s happier smile is enough to make Chloé smile a little too, at least until the sound of someone else’s voice has her snapping back to her phone.

“Ladybug, if I could ask a question?” Nadja Chamack says, putting her hand up.

Ladybug tenses slightly before nodding. “Go ahead.”

“Are the miraculous dangerous?”

It’s a question they’re expecting, yet the corner of Ladybug’s mouth twitches. She takes a moment before she answers – hopefully, the crowd will see it as Ladybug carefully contemplating the answer and not Ladybug trying to remember what Nathaniel came up with for her to say.

“The Peacock miraculous was damaged some time ago. It’s the only miraculous that is not safe to use. We’d like to warn everyone in Paris that if Hawkmoth approaches you with the Peacock miraculous, please do not use it,” she says, and Chloé gives an approving nod. They’re relying on people to take their word for it, but it’s the best that they can do.

Another reporter raises a hand and speaks without waiting for permission. “Can you tell us why Hawkmoth has the Peacock and Butterfly miraculous in the first place?”

Shit. Chloé bites her lip, exchanging a worried glance with Pollen. They aren’t prepared for that question, though she supposes in hindsight that they should have seen it coming.

“He stole them,” Ladybug says without skipping a beat. “But we have made sure that he won’t be able to get his hands on anymore.”

“But the way you’re talking, Hawkmoth still has the Peacock,” says the journalist. “Why did you let him take it?”

“I didn’t let him take it,” Ladybug snaps, her eyes flashing. Chat stirs beside her and Ladybug bites her lip, obviously realizing that she let her temper get the best of her. She inclines her head and draws in a breath to say something else, but, before she can, there’s a loud crash in the distance.

“We need to go,” Chat says, putting a hand on Ladybug’s shoulder, and she nods. They’re gone before Chloé can blink.

Chloé needs to go too, but she lingers for a second and examines the faces of the crowd. Everyone is dispersing quickly – they’re journalists, so of course they want to know what’s going on too – but despite that she can tell that no one is especially happy with what Ladybug said. That makes Chloé nervous. Their job as heroes is easier because of the trust that Paris puts in them; anything that tarnishes that trust is going to make things considerably more difficult.

“That didn’t go very well, did it?” Pollen asks, hovering beside Chloé’s shoulder.

“Not really, but I don’t think there was much Ladybug could have said to make people happy,” Chloé admits. With Lila dead and Hawkmoth hiding, Ladybug and the other miraculous holders are the easy targets. People want answers. Answers that Ladybug can’t give.

Pollen frowns disapprovingly. “That’s not very fair.”

“Life never is. Pollen, buzz on!” Chloé calls out. Yellow light glimmers around her. Queen Bee slips out onto the balcony, taking in the cool, early evening air, before she jumps off the balcony.

She uses her stinger to make her way towards the source of the problem, but it turns out that there’s no akuma tonight. Just a run-of-the-mill car crash. Queen Bee joins Chat and Ladybug on a nearby roof; there’s not really much they can do in a situation like this, where paramedics and the police are already on the scene. All of the people involved are standing around talking, so it looks like no one’s been hurt.

“So that was a total disaster,” Chat says to no one in particular.

“I think it was just an accident. It looks like someone turned when they weren’t supposed to,” says Ladybug, pointing to one of the cars.

“He meant the press conference,” Queen Bee tells her, not needing Chat’s nod to know she’s right. “I was watching. It was a disaster.”

Ladybug’s face crumbles. “I know. I didn’t mean to snap. I just wasn’t expecting him to say it like that.”

Chat reaches out and puts an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Mari. You did fine.”

Queen Bee begs to differ, but she’s not stupid enough to say it. She just says, “I think we should cut down on how much we talk to the press for the next little while. I know you guys have a policy about sticking around after battles and making nice, but that’s dangerous right now.”

“Dangerous?” Ladybug says, looking at Queen Bee like she’s crazy, but Chat nods in understanding.

“QB is right. I could tell that no one there was very happy today. Right now there’s just a lot of speculation running around, but it wouldn’t take much for one of us to say something that can be misconstrued,” he says, exchanging a wry look with Queen Bee. Even Adrien Agreste, who is usually the apple of the press’s eye, has come under fire once or twice.

Ladybug presses her lips together into a thin line and wraps her arms around herself, walking away from them. Queen Bee glances at Chat, expecting him to follow, but Chat just watches Ladybug go with this kicked puppy look that makes Queen Bee’s chest squeeze.

“Shouldn’t you go talk to her?” she says pointedly.

Chat sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I should or not. I tried to talk to her last night and she got mad at me. I don’t want to fight with her, but I never seem to say the right thing anymore.”

Queen Bee doesn’t really know what to say. It’s not like she’s an expert in relationships, and things between Adrien and Marinette are always so easy ever since they found out each other’s identities. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen tension between them, much less any sign of a real fight. But then again, they’ve never had to deal with something like this before either.

The sensible thing to do would be to leave it alone and let the two of them work it out themselves.

So naturally, Queen Bee sighs explosively and stalks over to Ladybug.

“Go away,” Ladybug says before Queen Bee can say a word.

“I’m not Chat. You can’t order me around,” says Queen Bee, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ladybug shoots her a glare. “I don’t order Chat around.”

“Uh yeah, actually, you do, but that’s beside the point. What’s wrong with you?” Queen Bee looks Ladybug up and down critically, but of course Ladybug’s red, black-spotted suit is the same as ever and gives no hint as to what Ladybug is thinking.

For a long moment Ladybug is quiet, and Queen Bee starts to think she shouldn’t have bothered. She and Marinette aren’t exactly close, so it’s silly to think that Ladybug would open up to her when even Chat is getting blown off. But just as Queen Bee is ready to tell Ladybug not to bother, Ladybug speaks.

“I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” Her voice is soft, too soft for kitty ears to pick up on. “I’m working on accepting that what happened to Lila wasn’t our fault, but… I still feel like I should have known.”

Queen Been says nothing, unsure of what to say.

“And on top of that, I don’t know what our next move should be. I feel like all of Paris is watching us, waiting to say what we do next. They want me to get justice for Lila. But I’m no closer to figuring out who Hawkmoth is, or who the original Mayura was. I’m no closer to anything!” Ladybug throws her hands in the air out of pure frustration; Queen Bee dodges one of said flailing hands just in time to avoid being smacked in the face.

They look at each other for a moment, and then Ladybug says quickly, “Oh shit, I’m sorry.” She clutches her hands to her chest.

“It’s fine,” Queen Bee says, though she makes sure she’s standing outside of flailing distance. “Look, I’m going to be blunt. You’re being dumb.”

“Hey!” Ladybug frowns. “That’s rude.”

“The truth hurts. Do you hear yourself? Paris wants you to get justice for Lila. You’re no closer to figuring out who Hawkmoth and Mayura are. You’re no closer to anything. What the hell are Chat and I, chopped liver? Not to mention you also have Filou and Artemal and whoever Chat ends up choosing on your side as well, plus all of our kwami and the guardian. You’re not alone in this,” Queen Bee says crossly.

Ladybug blinks for a few seconds. “I didn’t know you cared,” she says finally.

“Of course I care!” Queen Bee all but shouts, stamping her foot. “Do you think I’m here because this is fun?! I get that you’re under a lot of pressure because you’re the leader of the team, but you need to stop internalizing that pressure. We’re supposed to be a team. That means no one stands on their own, right?”

Very slowly, a small smile crosses Ladybug’s face. “Yeah.”

“And that means you’re not personally responsible for figuring all this shit out, right?”

“Right.”

“And that means you need to go hug your pining partner, right?”

“Ri – what?” Ladybug looks a little caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. Queen Bee points behind her and Ladybug turns. They both look at Chat, who is sitting on the edge of the building with slumped shoulders. No doubt he’s trying to think of ways to help his lady.

“The only thing worse than you two being lovey dovey is when you’re not,” Queen Bee says. “So will you please put me out of my misery and make up?”

Ladybug nods, but she lingers for a moment to give Queen Bee a curious look. “So this was all for Chat. You weren’t worried about me at all.”

“Of course not,” Queen Bee says quickly.

“Sure,” Ladybug says with another smile, and then walks over to Chat. She puts a hand on his shoulder and Chat’s head snaps up immediately. Ladybug leans down to press a kiss to his mouth, then sits down beside him. Queen Bee sighs as she watches them start to talk, rubbing absently at her chest.

A bee’s work is truly never done.

Chapter Text

School closes for a few days following Lila’s death. On the morning that Collège Françoise Dupont reopens, Chloé stands in front of her full-length mirror and stares at herself with a critical expression. It feels like her outfit today will be important, so she needs to choose wisely. As the only miraculous holder with a known identity, she thinks a lot of people will be watching her today.

But nothing seems quite right. She sighs to herself and reaches out to finger a yellow sundress before pushing it aside with a shake of her head. It’s getting colder out now, and something as cheerful as a yellow sundress doesn’t seem right for the occasion anyway. Neither does a black dress, though. Or a pair of black pants and a white shirt. Or a yellow blouse and a white skirt. Or a –

“Are you okay, My Queen? I’ve never seen you have to search this hard for an outfit,” Pollen says, sounding a bit worried. She flies up behind Chloé with a soft buzz, and Chloé turns to look at her.

“I’m fine. I’m just – I don’t know.” Chloé gives another sigh.

“Are you worried?” Pollen asks in this kind, gentle voice that simultaneously makes the hair on the back of Chloé’s neck prickle while also making Chloé want to spill her guts. She thinks it’s a kwami thing. Marinette has told her that Tikki is capable of doing the same thing.

Normally she would brush off the idea of being worried as ludicrous, but the truth is that Chloé is worried. Her classmates rallied around her at the funeral, but it’s been a little while since she saw any of them besides Adrien, Marinette, and Nathaniel. The mayor has insisted that Chloé stick close to the hotel for the past week and Chloé hasn’t argued with that. She hasn’t even seen or spoken to Juleka yet.

“I wouldn’t call it worried,” Chloé says after a considerable pause, which is one of the things she loves about Pollen. Everyone else expects Chloé Bourgeois to be able to fire back a response immediately, and they love to jump to the conclusion that she’s stupid when she can’t. But Pollen always gives her the space to think about what she wants to say. It’s refreshing.

“Then what would you call it?” Pollen alights on the little yellow pillow that Chloé keeps on her make-up table and looks up Chloé expectantly.

Again, Chloé is quiet for a moment. Truthfully, she doesn’t really know how to put what she’s feeling into words. The last few weeks have been absolutely exhausting. First there were all those akuma attacks, then Alya got akumatized again and almost killed Queen Bee, then Chloé had to go meet with the guardian, then Lila turned out to be Mayura, then Lila died… it’s all been so much.

“I don’t know if people will blame me for what happened,” she says at last. “I’m an easy target because they all know I’m Queen Bee. And that’s my own fault, and I have no one to blame but myself for that…” She looks at the mirror again. If only she hadn’t been so stupid when she found the Bee miraculous. She should have kept her mouth shut. Life would be a lot easier now if she hadn’t been so obsessed with earning Audrey’s approval.

“No one should blame you, least of all yourself,” Pollen says, and Chloé gives a bitter smile.

“If only it were that easy, Pollen. And really, I can’t even complain much because it’s for the best that I’m in this situation,” Chloé says.

Pollen tilts her head cutely in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think the others could handle it,” Chloé admits. “Marinette would freak out if people knew she was Ladybug. The pressure would get to her in like a day. Adrien would hate being under so much scrutiny; he already has a hard time getting away from people to be Chat Noir. And so much public exposure and attention would drive Nathaniel and Juleka crazy. They’re both private people. So I guess it’s best that I’ll be the one drawing the attention, right?”

Even if the thought of it all just kind of makes her want to crawl back into bed.

Still, she can’t do that. The hive will need her today. The discordance in her chest has remained lessened since the press conference, but she expects that to change now that they’re all going back to school and will be face-to-face with the reality of Lila being gone. Chloé has to be there to make sure that the hive is okay. So she doesn’t have a choice. She just has to handle whatever comes.

“You’re not wrong,” Pollen says slowly. “But my Queen, I don’t think that means you have to handle this alone. The hive will be there for you too.”

Chloé laughs a little and shakes her head. “No, they won’t.”

“Yes, they will!” Pollen says, more firmly this time. “A hive goes both ways. A Bee protects her hive and keeps it cohesive; she keeps the hive going and prevents rot from within. But at the same time, the other members of the hive are there for the Bee to lean on when necessary.”

“Maybe in a normal hive,” Chloé says distantly. She doesn’t think that’s how her hive works. That day that Chloé figured out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are, the only reason Ladybug gave her the Bee miraculous was because Alya and Nino were both busy with some class project. It would’ve been too hard for Ladybug to separate them from everyone else without making it obvious why.

That’s why Chloé is here. Because the better choices were busy. It’s never bothered her before, but it gets to her a little bit now. She and Marinette aren’t friends. She and Nathaniel barely even talk to each other outside of uniform. Adrien is her friend, of course, but Chloé will always be second to Marinette. She can accept that, even if it still stings a bit, but leaning on the hive? The idea is a little ludicrous.

It just means there’s a heavier weight on her own shoulders, but isn’t that what a Bee is for?

“They came to help you at the funeral, right?” Pollen persists.

“Because they had to. They felt guilty,” Chloé says. Marinette especially.

“They were worried about you,” Pollen says stubbornly. “Because you’re their friend.”

“Right,” Chloé says, not believing it for a moment, and finally takes out a black, knee-length skirt and a white blouse. She pairs it with a black sleeveless vest that the same length as the skirt and some black ankle boots. Then she looks at herself in the mirror.

Except for the Bee miraculous, there’s not a spot of yellow on her.

It looks like she’s trying to pretend she’s not Queen Bee.

Chloé bites her bottom lip. She is Queen Bee, and she’s not ashamed of it. She refuses to act like she is. So he grabs a bright yellow infinity scarf and fusses around with it until the fabric is draped around her neck just right. Then she looks in the mirror again. Better, but not quite right. She grabs a yellow belt, puts it on, and then finally gives a nod of satisfaction to the mirror.

“You know that you’re not alone, right? You have me,” Pollen says, flying right up in front of Chloé’s face. Her little face is full of determination, and it makes the hard knot of apprehension in Chloé’s stomach ease up a little. Because Pollen is right. Ladybug won’t take her away and neither will the Guardian. Chloé will always have her kwami.

She lifts up her hands, palms up, and lets Pollen settle on them, then brings her hands up and nuzzles Pollen. “Thank you, Pollen.”

Pollen gives a happy buzz. “You’re welcome. Now hurry! You’re going to be late for school.”

Chloé laughs a little. “Yeah, okay.” She grabs a black purse and slips a few honey crackers into it, then walks over to the door. Pollen flies inside as Chloé opens the door and makes her way down to the elevator. Her good mood lasts all the way downstairs until the doors open to reveal Mayor Bourgeois.

“Chloé,” he says happily. “Good morning!”

“Daddy,” Chloé says, a little cool. They haven’t spoken much since the mayor told her that he wanted her to stop being Queen Bee, and she pretty much told him where to go.

“I have some wonderful news,” Mayor Bourgeois says, either not noticing or not caring about her attitude.

“Oh?” Chloé says, curious in spite of herself.

“Your mother is coming for a visit!”

Everything seems to grind to a halt. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloé notices both her father’s personal assistant and Butler Jean grimacing at the same time. They wipe their expression the instant they notice Chloé looking at them, but she can’t exactly fault them. At one time she probably would’ve flown into a rage at the disrespect, but now she just feels kind of numb.

“She’s going to arrive within the next couple of days. Her itinerary was still up in the air last I spoke to her, but isn’t that exciting?” Mayor Bourgeois beams like he’s just told Chloé that he’s won a million dollars.

“Mom is coming… here?” Chloé says.

Mayor Bourgeois nods enthusiastically. “It’s going to be lovely,” he gushes.

Chloé stares at him for a moment, wondering how anyone can be so oblivious, and says, “Are you sure the timing is right? Everything is kind of… sensitive right now.”

He looks at her cluelessly. “What do you mean?”

“After what happened, we don’t really need anyone around who can cause akumas,” Chloé says bluntly.

Mayor Bourgeois’s smile finally fades. “Chloé, what on earth are you talking about? Your mother has rearranged her schedule to be able to fit us in.”

“Right,” Chloé says. She doubts that’s true. There must be another reason that Audrey is coming. An event of some kind, maybe.

“What happened last time was a fluke. Your mother’s visit will be lovely,” he says firmly, looking at her like he’s daring her to argue, and Chloé is just too tired for this. Nothing she says is going to make a difference now when the plans are clearly already set in stone… even thought the thought of Audrey Bourgeois coming to visit makes Chloé want to tear her hair out.

The only silver lining is that at least here in Paris, there are way more opportunities for escape. She can pretend to be busy with school and miraculous stuff. It’s not like her parents will know the difference. Audrey won’t have the time for her, and the mayor will be so busy sucking up to his wife that he won’t notice. She’ll barely have to see her mom. Chloé tries hard to believe that.

“Great. Thanks for the warning,” she says. Mayor Bourgeois blinks at her and Chloé gives him a cold smile before sliding past him and hurrying towards the doors.

When will her father figure out that surprises involving her mother are not happy surprises?

The information about her mother makes her feel like she’s off her stride, so she foregoes the usual car ride to school and opts to walk so that she can stop by a small café and buy an extra-large cappuccino. She sips at her drink slowly as she walks towards school, trying not to think about what’s coming. A big part of her wishes she could just go back to bed.

But then the school is within view, and the alternative is going back home to an empty bedroom, so Chloé squares up and heads inside the gates. She’s a little late so the yard is empty, which Chloé is grateful for right up until she opens the door to her classroom and realizes that everyone else is already there. Madame Bustier and all of her classmates turn to stare at her.

In spite of herself, Chloé can’t help looking at the empty seat beside Sabrina where Lila used to sit.

“Chloé, you’re a bit late but I’ll forgive you today. Please take a seat,” Madame Bustier says.

For a split second, Chloé feels torn with indecision. She always used to sit beside Sabrina at the front before Lila came. It’s a bit tempting to throw herself down beside Sabrina and let life go back to the way that it used to be – and then common sense kicks in. Of course she can’t do that. She doesn’t even want to. She averts her eyes from Sabrina and climbs the steps to sit beside Nathaniel like usual.

Chapter Text

“It’s nice up here.”

Chloé twitches at the sound of the voice right behind her, knowing who it is without looking. After a whole morning of listening to Madame Bustier drone on, she needed a break. But she didn’t want to go home in case she risked running into her father, and she didn’t want to sit in the lunchroom and be stared at, so she’s found her way up to the roof in the hopes of getting some privacy and a quiet few minutes with Pollen. She supposes that she should’ve remembered that tigers will stalk their prey.

“I was hoping for some privacy,” she says without turning around, but it seems that’s not enough to deter Juleka.

“Luckily, it’s just us,” Juleka says, moving to sit down beside her. She puts her bag on her lap and wraps her arms around it, leaning back against the railing that surrounds the roof.

After a moment of quiet frustration during which Chloé weighs trying to chase Juleka away with the knowledge that it probably won’t work even if she does try, Chloé sighs and succumbs to the inevitable. It’s really not fair to dodge Juleka anyway, she realizes sulkily, given that she’s the one who gave Juleka a miraculous in the first place. Chloé’s the one who brought her into the fold, so technically she’s Chloé’s problem.

“You know you can’t tell anyone, right?” Chloé says bluntly, deciding that there’s no point in beating around the bush. She’s sure that Juleka’s received the whole spiel from Ladybug already, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure that Juleka totally gets it. No one knows better than Chloé that there are way more disadvantages to having your identity know than there are advantages.

“I know. I won’t even tell my brother or Rose,” Juleka says. “I don’t want anyone to know. I kind of like the idea that it’s just for me.” She pauses for a moment, then gives a little smile. “Well, me, you, Adrien, Marinette, and Nathaniel. And your kwamis.”

Pollen pokes her head out of Chloé’s purse. “Hi Juleka!”

“Hi,” Juleka says with a smile.

“Pollen,” Chloé supplies, unsure if Juleka remembers. “Come on out, Pollen.”

“I’m hungry,” Pollen says, flying out of the purse and looking at Chloé expectantly. Chloé frowns back. She didn’t bring lunch with her today, and she didn’t stop in the cafeteria on the way up here either. The honey crackers she stuffed in her purse after getting dressed this morning are long since demolished.

“You’ll have to wait. I’ll get you something on the way back down to class,” Chloé tells her.

“I can share. I have plenty,” says Juleka, opening up her backpack.

Chloé looks at her awkwardly. “You don’t need to.”

“I want to. Rose and I used to share our food a lot, but… umm, that hasn’t happened as much lately.” Juleka lowers her head so that her bangs hide her eyes, unzipping her bag and pulling out some containers. She opens each one, revealing bread, cheese, some sliced-up fruit and veggies, diced chicken, and cut-up cubes of ham.

“Because of Lila?” Chloé asks knowingly. She really doesn’t think that Marinette or Adrien realize just how much damage Lila did the classroom, but Chloé does. Almost everyone was on Lila’s side at first, but then, as time went on, Chloé’s noticed more of a divide. It became especially apparent after Lila got sick. People like Juleka, Ivan, Kim, Max, Alix, and Nino didn’t seem to be as interested in Lila, whereas Alya, Sabrina, Mylène, and Rose were still obsessed with her.

“Yeah. Rose is really upset about what happened to her. She keeps going on how about Hawkmoth must have tricked Lila into taking the miraculous,” Juleka says, nudging the fruit closer to Pollen. With a happy buzz, Pollen grabs a fat piece of a peach and chows down.

“You don’t think that’s true?” Chloé says, interested.

“Umm… I don’t know. What do you think?” Juleka glances up at Chloé.

“Honestly, I think he probably did trick her to some extent. But I also know what Lila Rossi is like. She had a huge ego,” Chloé says. “Hawkmoth might have played to that, but he wouldn’t have had to work very hard for it. He may not have hold her what the Peacock would do to her in the end, but Lila wanted to fight against us. Mayura was loving it, I could tell. People think he offered her something, but I think she might have done it just for the chance to get back at Ladybug.”

Juleka sighs and picks up a piece of cheese to nibble on. “That’s kind of what I thought too, but I didn’t want to say that where Rose could hear me. She’ll get mad.”

“Let her get mad,” Chloé says carelessly.

“It’s not always that easy. I actually care about what people think of me,” Juleka says, though there’s a small smile playing around her lips.

“Sounds exhausting,” Chloé says, reaching out to grab a grape. “People are exhausting.”

“Yeah, I noticed that they’ve been staring at you a lot. I’m surprised no one has said anything yet.”

Chloé smirks. “They’re not brave enough.” She chews on her grape, looking away from Juleka and Pollen and towards Paris. It’s a beautiful afternoon, sunny with a just a hint of a chill. She wishes she didn’t have all this crap weighing her down so she could enjoy it more.

“Well, it’s not like you have anything to tell them, right?” Juleka says. “Ladybug did that press conference. There’s nothing else, right?” She looks at Chloé curiously.

“This is part of what you can’t tell anyone,” Chloé tells her, and Juleka nods. “There’s not much else, but there’s a Guardian for the miraculous and he’s in charge of the rest of them. He’s hiding them from Hawkmoth. Ladybug is keeping the Fox miraculous with her, and I have the Tiger.” Chloé pats her purse as she speaks.

Juleka’s eyes brighten. “You have it? Can I see it? I’d like to see Roaar again.”

Ah, it’s starting already. It’s funny how quickly the attachment to a miraculous can grow. Amused, Chloé digs it out and passes it over. Juleka slides on the panja bracelet with ease. One flash of magenta-colored light later, there’s a little tiger kwami making a dive for the container of chicken. Juleka laughs with delight, looking so happy that Chloé’s mouth twitches into a smile.

“Hi again, Roaar!” Pollen says, looking pleased.

“Hi Pollen. Juleka. Bee.” Roaar nods at each of them.

“Tiger,” Chloé says in acknowledgement, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Juleka, after everything that’s happened, I have to ask you… do you still want to be a miraculous holder?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Juleka says, seemingly startled by the question.

Chloé shrugs at her. “Rossi did die because of the Peacock. The Tiger isn’t dangerous, but some people would still be worried about using it considering everything that happened. And of course, you could get hurt in a battle.” A little chill runs down her spine, remembering the fight with Ursa Major, but she controls her reaction and keeps going. “There’s also the fact that you have to hide this from your friends and family. That can get awkward, or so I’m told. Being a miraculous holder isn’t easy.”

“I know,” Juleka says quietly.

“Do you? Because you’re already having a hard time with how tense things are between you and Rose thanks to Rossi. It might get a lot worse,” Chloé tells her.

Juleka frowns. “Is there any chance that Rose could become a miraculous holder?”

“No,” Chloé says bluntly. Adrien hasn’t made his choice for a second yet. He hasn’t even brought it up again, but Chloé knows he’s thinking about it: she’s seen the way he looks over their classmates sometimes, like he’s mentally classifying them. It’s a matter of time before he decides.

But Chloé truly doesn’t think that Rose is on that list. It’s not that Rose couldn’t be a miraculous holder, but she would be better suited to a defensive miraculous than an offensive one. Like the Fox, for example. Filou isn’t afraid to get up close and personal with akumas where necessary, and neither was Rena Rouge for that matter. But the Fox could easily be a miraculous that keeps its distance and only uses Mirages where necessary.

There are probably other miraculouses like that. In fact, Chloé is certain that there are. But that’s not what their team needs right now. They need another heavy hitter. Someone like Chat who, using his baton, can get right into the heart of the fight. That’s not Rose’s style at all: there’s no way she would be comfortable with that, and they don’t have the time to be kind. They need to choose the right person for the job now.

Juleka looks a bit crushed by Chloé’s immediate rejection. Chloé stares at her and sighs.

“Not right now, anyway,” she amends. “Maybe later, when we have more time or if we needed someone to operate a defensive miraculous… But Juleka, that’s just not what we need.”

“What do you need?” Juleka asks, tilting her head.

Chloé taps her fingers on her arm and thinks out loud. “Ladybug and I can fight hand-to-hand, but I personally think that our weapons are best designed for a distance. Filou has his flute, but it doesn’t have the same impact as Chat’s baton. Now we have you. Artemal’s claws are a great counterpoint to Chat, but I still feel like we need someone else. A heavy hitter.”

She purses her lips. It’s Adrien’s choice, but Chloé definitely has a few people in mind. The real question is, which miraculous would be best? Some people would be better to suited to one miraculous over another. She has no idea whether Adrien has put any thought into which miraculous he wants to use as a second. Given the choice, he’d probably choose the Tiger – but there’s no way Chloé’s giving it up.

“Wow,” Juleka says.

“What?” Chloé says.

Juleka shakes her head. “I just never realized how much thought you put into all of this. It always seemed like Ladybug did all of this.”

“She does,” Chloé says. “But… I can see the hive in a way that Ladybug can’t. She’s the leader. I’m just… support.” She shrugs. “I’m all about the details. I look at the way the hive fits together, and I see the gaps where we’re missing things and I can tell what we need to best support the hive from the inside out. The bigger picture is… not really my thing.” She exhales, unwilling to talk about the Turtle today.

“Huh. It’s a lot more complicated than I expected,” says Juleka. “Was it always like that?”

“No… I think Ladybug used to choose people based on who she thought she could trust,” Chloé says as delicately as she can.

“So how did you get one?” Juleka asks bluntly, and Roaar snorts.

“I found mine. Ladybug was trying to give it to another ally, but an akuma interfered,” says Chloé. “It wasn’t intentional.”

Juleka watches her for a moment, then smiles. “Sounds like Ladybug really does have all the good luck.”

“What?” Chloé says again.

“Where would they be without you?” Juleka says, like this is the most reasonable thing in the world to ask. “You helped pick out the new Fox, right? And you got me when the others needed help.” She points to herself. “Sounds like you have a much better way of picking out new members than anyone else did. I’d say Ladybug is really lucky to have you as a member of her team.”

Chloé blinks.

Pollen grins. “I like your new cub,” she says to Roaar.

“She is pretty great,” Roaar says smugly.

Unsure of how to deal with this, Chloé settles for just shaking her head and returning back to the previous subject. “So… do you still want to be a miraculous holder? This is your chance to back out.” She’s half-expecting Juleka to do just that, given what Chloé’s said about Rose’s chances as a miraculous holder, but Juleka surprises her by nodding.

“Yup. I definitely do.”

“Seriously?” Chloé says, startled.

“Seriously. This isn’t something I want to give up. I have to see this through.” There’s a familiar, determined look shining in Juleka’s eyes that Chloé recognizes, because it’s a feeling that she’s felt before too. A stubborn desire to be seen, to make a difference, to matter.

“Okay,” Chloé says quietly, a little unsettled, and hides it by grabbing another grape. “Then let’s make a schedule so you can train with Roaar.”

Chapter Text

They both spend a little while munching away on Juleka’s lunch while Juleka flips through her phone. Chloé takes her own phone just to make a show of looking, but she already knows that she’ll be more than willing to show up whenever Juleka is free. She doesn’t know exactly when Audrey will show up – it could be tomorrow, or it could be two weeks from now or it could be Audrey changes her mind and doesn’t come at all – but Chloé wants to be as busy as possible.

At last, Juleka pops a tomato in her mouth and looks up with an expectant look, saying, “My nights are pretty open. So I’m good with whatever works with you.”

“I think we’re patrolling tonight. You can meet Chat and Filou officially. Meet me at the café where you were eating right after the last battle at 8pm,” Chloé tells her, scrolling back down to her latest set of messages from Marinette. She doesn’t really want to go by Juleka’s place anymore if she doesn’t have to. It’ll be better for Juleka if her family doesn’t see her associating too closely with a known miraculous user.

“Great. I can’t wait. I really liked transforming last time, and I bet it’ll be even better if there’s no akuma to deal with,” says Juleka.

“Don’t curse us,” Chloé says wryly. There hasn’t been an akuma since Lila died, but she knows it’s only a matter of time before Hawkmoth is back in business. And honestly, she’s dreading it. She doesn’t think the city will react well to seeing the miraculous heroes out and about. Hopefully, the appearance of Artemal will be enough to distract them all.

“Oops, sorry,” Juleka says with a small smile. “So… you don’t have any plans after school?”

Chloé looks over at her and frowns. “Not really. Why?”

“I just thought maybe you and Sabrina might be doing something,” Juleka says, trying too hard to sound causal.

“No, we’re not,” Chloé says shortly, putting her phone away. She stuffs a big piece of bread in her mouth so that she’ll have an excuse not to talk: she doesn’t want to talk about Sabrina. They were friends, or at least Chloé considered them friends, until Lila showed up. For a long time there, what with Adrien drifting away, Sabrina was Chloé’s only friend.

But then Sabrina began to pull away. At first, she claimed she just wanted to be nice to the new girl. It didn’t take Chloé long to notice that Sabrina was fascinated by Lila’s stories. And Lila, of course, loved having a good listener, so she was willing to dote on Sabrina, who soaked up whatever attention Lila gave her like a sponge. In the process, Chloé’s pretty sure Sabrina got a lot close to the other biggest Lila fans in the class, i.e. Rose and Mylène.

And now… Chloé just doesn’t know. She still likes Sabrina just fine, but she doesn’t know if Sabrina wants to be her friend anymore. It’s not like Chloé was why when it came to giving her opinion on Lila, and for a little while there, the class was divided in two: either you liked Lila, or you didn’t. Chloé’s not really sure that has changed much yet even though Lila isn’t around anymore.

She realizes that Juleka is still looking at her and shrugs, saying, “Sabrina has new friends, right? That’s for the best. It’s not safe for her to hang out with me.”

“What do you mean?” Juleka says, frowning. Both Pollen and Roaar look up at Chloé too.

“I’m Queen Bee and everyone knows it. Hawkmoth could use people against me. I mean, he hasn’t so far. But he could. I don’t want Sabrina to be a target,” Chloé explains. Marinette, Adrien, Nathaniel, and now Juleka can all protect themselves if they’re attacked. Sabrina isn’t so lucky.

“I guess I didn’t think about it like that,” Juleka says slowly. “That doesn’t seem very fair.”

“It’s my own fault,” Chloé says softly. She doesn’t exactly regret announcing her identity to the world. She doesn’t think the hive would’ve gotten to this point otherwise. But at the same time, that impulsive decision has definitely made her life more complicated in ways that the others don’t have to deal with.

“Chloé…” Pollen says, a funny look on her little face.

The bell rings before Pollen can say anything else, and Chloé jolts a little in surprise. Their lunch break flew by, but she doesn’t even mind going back to class if it means that she can avoid the rest of this conversation. She even helps Juleka clean up the remainder of Juleka’s lunch, slipping one last wedge of peach to Pollen and cube of ham to Roaar before she snaps on the lids.

“I need that back,” she says, gesturing to the Tiger miraculous that Juleka still wears on her hand. She feels a tiny bit guilty asking for it back, remembering how hard it was to give up the Bee miraculous each time. Every time she transformed, or even just saw Pollen, it got a bit harder.

However, she also knows she doesn’t have a choice. There is zero doubt in her mind that Master Fu would freak out if he discovered that Chloé was abusing the deal they worked out. She doesn’t think he’ll try to take the Bee miraculous back at this point, but he might take back the Fox and Tiger miraculouses so that she, Marinette, or Adrien has to go get them each time they need them. That’s a system Chloé does not want to return to.

“Oh, right. I’ll see you again tonight, Roaar,” says Juleka, reaching out a finger. She lightly taps it against Roaar’s paw before she slips the Tiger miraculous off of her hand. Roaar vanishes in a flash of magenta light, and Juleka hands the miraculous back to Chloé.

“Thanks,” Chloé says, slipping the miraculous back into its box and then the box back into her bag. Pollen smiles at Juleka before flying over to Chloé and into Chloé’s bag.

“Do you come up here every lunch?” Juleka asks as they stand up, and Chloé looks at her in surprise.

“Erm… not every lunch,” she says. “Sometimes I go home, or I eat with Marinette and Adrien… but honestly, sometimes those two are so gushy that I can’t handle it.”

Juleka snorts. “Oh my goodness, yes. Did you see them reach for the same pencil this morning?”

Chloé lets out a sigh. “Yeah, it was pretty hard to miss.” Only Adrien and Marinette could turn a two-second contact overreaching for the same pencil into a ten-minute-long session of holding hands and staring at each other lovingly. It’s honestly as sickening as it is cute.

“Maybe I’ll come up to join you again,” Juleka says as Chloé reaches for the door of the school. Chloé blinks at the handle for a moment before turning to her.

“You probably shouldn’t be seen with me either,” she points out. Not only could it put Juleka in danger, it could also mean someone might figure Juleka out if Chloé and Juleka are seen together right after Artemal shows up.

“We’re on the roof. No one will see us,” Juleka says calmly, meeting Chloé’s eyes squarely. She looks like she’s fully ready to strike down every argument Chloé might make; like she’s not going to take no for an answer, and Chloé isn’t really sure how to deal with that. Juleka isn’t terrible company by any stretch, but –

But she doesn’t know if she wants anyone else in the hive.

Unfortunately, she also thinks it might be too late.

“Now come on, we’re going to be late.” Juleka gently pushes Chloé’s hand out of the way and opens the door herself. She walks inside and Chloé follows, not really sure what just happened, but knowing that somehow she’s ended up with someone else to worry about. It’s a discomforting feeling. What will she do on the day that all of the miraculous have holders? Her head is going to explode.

“What’s wrong?” Nathaniel says when Chloé sits down beside him.

Chloé looks over at him. Not too long ago, Nathaniel never would have asked that of her. The two of them barely spoke at all. Nathaniel was just the quiet, somewhat geeky boy who always had his nose stuck in a sketch book. Now he’s the Fox. Still quiet, still geeky, but also confident, intelligent, and sly. She doesn’t know when things changed, and it’s a bit overwhelming.

“I’m fine,” she says, trying to make her voice sound steady. “We’ve got someone else joining us tonight.”

Nathaniel’s eyes flick briefly in Juleka’s direction. Juleka, it turns out, is good at acting. She walked into class like it was pure coincidence that she and Chloé entered at the same time and went right over to Rose. Now she and Rose are sitting side by side with their heads close together, having a whispered conversation. It would be enough to make Chloé think Juleka isn’t suitable as a miraculous holder were it not for the fact that she knows better now.

Perhaps other people in their class are equally good at hiding behind masks, Chloé thinks, looking around at their other classmates. She pays a lot of attention to people, but recently she’s been way more consumed by Adrien, Marinette, and Nathaniel, plus the miraculous and all of Lila’s shenanigans, than anyone else.

“Has Adrien picked anyone?” Nathaniel says, drawing Chloé’s attention back to him, and Chloé shakes her head.

“Not yet. So far as I know, he’s still thinking about it,” she says, setting her books on her desk.

“Who are you going to tell him to pick?” he asks.

“It’s not my choice,” Chloé says.

Nathaniel snorts. “Come on, Chloé. This is Adrien we’re talking about. He’s not used to choosing miraculous holders. He won’t go with Nino, at least not for now. The only other two people he would logically pick are you and Marinette, and I can think of at least two problems with that plan.” He raises an eyebrow playfully.

“I have a few people in mind if Adrien happens to need my opinion,” Chloé says loftily, rather than admit that Nathaniel is totally right. Adrien hasn’t brought it up again, which probably means he’s been stewing over it in between dealing with everything else.

“Right, that’s not much of an if,” Nathaniel says, smiling.

Despite herself, Chloé smiles back: the more time she spends with Nathaniel, the more she uncovers a wry sense of humor. But before she can say anything, Madame Bustier starts their class. Adrien and Marinette come barrelling in the door a couple of minutes later. They’re both pink-cheesed and giggling with messy hair, and Chloé rolls her eyes. There’s no need to wonder how the two of them spent their time during lunch.

“You two are late,” Madame Bustier says, folding her arms.

“We’re sorry, Madame. We lost track of time,” Adrien says, flashing their teacher his cutest smile. Madame Bustier visibly softens. It’s pretty hard for most adults to stay mad at Adrien, unless their name is Gabriel Agreste.

“It’s alright. Just make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Now sit down,” Madame Bustier tells them. Adrien and Marinette come up the steps, hand-in-hand, exchanging smiles and trying not to keep giggling.

It’s nice, Chloé realizes, seeing them like this. They haven’t been this carefree since before the new Mayura came on scene. For once, she can take a deep breath and feel no tightness or discordance in her chest. For the time being, the hive is at peace. Maybe even happy.

Plus, she’s doubly grateful for Nathaniel now. Because without him, she would be the third wheel to Ladybug and Chat Noir. That would be beyond awkward, and Chloé can’t even fault them because those two fought alone together for so long. But now there’s Juleka too to help with that, so maybe having Juleka be a part of the hive won’t be such a bad thing.

Her good mood lasts right up until she checks her phone, and she sees a text from the mayor’s assistant telling her to come right home after school because Audrey will be in town tonight.

Chapter Text

Rather than go home and deal with the mayor, Chloé opts to go shopping after school. She trails through the boutiques without actually buying anything, too restless and distracted to focus on what they have to offer. Some people obviously recognize her, because there’s a lot of hushed voices and whispers wherever she goes. The attention is annoying; she has to stop herself from telling them all that if they have something to say, they should just say it to her face.

At least she gives up the charade and just ducks into a small café to get dinner for her and Pollen. Once she picks out what she wants – or rather, what Pollen wants given the constant stream of squeaks coming from her purse – she seeks out a secluded spot along the riverbank for them to share. Pollen comes out of Chloé’s purse then as Chloé lays out the fruit salad and sandwich that she picked up, but much to Chloé’s surprise, she doesn’t make a dive for the food.

Instead, she says, “I’m worried about you, Chloé.”

“Worried? Why?” Chloé says, opening up her bottle of water and taking a little sip. She carefully doesn’t look at Pollen, instead staring out at the Seine. It looks unusually peaceful today, probably because there’s no wind.

But the fact that Chloé isn’t looking at her doesn’t stop Pollen from saying, “You’re keeping everything bottled up inside. That’s not healthy.”

“I am not,” Chloé objects, turning back to her kwami.

“Yes, you are. You’ve been there for Marinette, Adrien, Nathaniel, and now Juleka, but no one is being there for you.” Pollen looks at her with the sort of naked, open concern that always makes Chloé’s throat close up. She’s not used to someone caring about her the way that Pollen does, and it always leaves her feeling a little wrong-footed. Like she’ll somehow say the one stupid thing that could push Pollen over the edge and make the kwami leave.

“I’m the Bee. Isn’t it my job to keep the hive functioning harmoniously? That’s what you told me the night I figured out who Ladybug and Chat are. You said that a good Bee looks for any potential cracks in the formation of the hive and smoothes them out before anyone else even notices, because the health of the hive is paramount above all else.”

The words come to Chloé so quickly and so easily that it’s almost disorienting because she feels the truth of them down to her soul. If Lila’s death had happened while it was just Ladybug and Chat Noir, she’s almost positive that the two of them would have let things fester without really talking about it. And that probably would have been the end of Paris’s superheroes.

“Yes, that’s true, but you are also a part of the hive. So you have to look after yourself too in order to keep the hive functioning at its best,” says Pollen.

“Well, that’s great because I’m fine,” Chloé says, stabbing a piece of melon with her fork a little too hard. The melon skids out from under her fork and shoots out of the plastic bowl to land in the grass a few feet away. Both she and Pollen look at it for a moment.

Then Pollen says, “Oh yeah, you’re living your best life. I can tell.”

“Pollen! Ugh.” Chloé drops her fork and buries her face in her hands out of sheer frustration. A moment later, she feels a light weight land on her shoulder.

“I would like to talk to Tikki tonight during patrol,” Pollen says. “Could you arrange that?”

Chloé lifts her head, looking at Pollen suspiciously. “Why?”

“You’re not the only one in the hive who has a very important role. Ladybug does too, and I feel that both she and Tikki have been neglecting some of their duties,” Pollen says bluntly. “I want to address that with Tikki.”

“You’re not going to get Tikki upset at Marinette, are you? Because I don’t see how that helps anything,” Chloé says.

“Of course not,” Pollen says, shaking her head. “I don’t think this is Marinette’s fault. It’s no one’s fault, really. It’s been a very long time since we had a functioning hive. Over the past couple hundred years, it’s just been the Ladybug or the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculous who were activated. This is a new learning curve for all of us, and I want to make sure we do it right.”

“Well… okay, I guess,” Chloé says finally. She’s not sure that’s a great idea, but she also doesn’t think there’s much point in saying no considering that Pollen could just talk to Tikki tomorrow during class. And what Pollen is saying does make sense.

“Good. Now, I’m starving. I need lots of energy for patrol tonight.” Pollen hops off of Chloé’s shoulder and buzzes her way down to grab a strawberry. “You need to eat up too! You’re going to be training Juleka, remember? You have to go meet her soon!”

“I do? Oh shit, I do,” Chloé says, checking her phone and realizing that Pollen is right. There are no texts yet letting her know that Audrey is in town, but she’s sure it’s only a matter of time. That thought is not appetizing in the least, but Chloé still makes herself eat. Between her and Pollen, they finish all the food on.

Streetlights come on as Chloé walks towards the café where she’s supposed to meet Juleka. Paris at twilight is lovely, but right now it’s the darkness that Chloé craves. No one will be able to see them out on the rooftops once it’s darker, and this time Chloé knows better than to announce a new miraculous holder to Paris through Instagram. Who knows what kind of storm that would bring up?

Juleka is waiting for her just outside the café. Chloé beckons to her and walks off towards the nearest alley, and of course Juleka follows. Once Chloé makes sure that no one is watching, she pulls the familiar box out of her backpack and hands it over to Juleka. The brilliant, excited smile on Juleka’s face makes Chloé feel a tiny bit better as Juleka opens up the box, takes out the Tiger miraculous, and slides it on.

“Good evening, Cub!” Roaar says, appearing in a flash of fuchsia light.

“Hi Roaar,” Juleka says happily.

“We’re late; let’s go. Pollen, buzz on!” Chloé calls out.

“Roaar, let’s hunt!” Juleka says.

Two bright bursts of light later, Queen Bee nods at Artemal and throws her stinger into the air. It catches around something and yanks Queen Bee off her feet. Artemal follows, and the two of them land on the roof of the nearest building at the same time. Queen Bee starts making her way north towards the Eiffel Tower, but they don’t get far before a familiar black cat joins them.

“Bonsoir, QB! And our newest member.” Chat Noir lands on the rooftop, causing Queen Bee to stop.

“Where’s Ladybug?” Queen Bee asks him.

“She went to get Filou,” Chat replies, looking at Artemal with interest. “Hello there. I have to say your costume is purr-fect.”

Artemal giggles. “Thank you,” she says shyly, and Queen Bee blinks at her.

“Oh no,” she says with dawning horror. “Don’t tell me you’re a Chat Noir fan.”

“What? No! Not at all,” Artemal says, and it’s so blatantly a lie that Queen Bee just puts her hands on her hips and gives Artemal a deadpan stare.

Chat, on the other hand, grins. “Well, of course she’s a cat fan. Look at what she’s wearing! Finally, I have more feline representation around!” He holds out his fist towards Artemal. After a split second of hesitation, she forms a fist with her weaponless hand and gently bumps his fist.

“If I’d known you didn’t have any taste, I never would have picked you,” Queen Bee tells her.

“Now, now. There’s no need for that sort of cat-ttitude. Just because she likes me the best doesn’t mean she has in-fur-ior taste. In fact, I would say that her taste is paw-some,” Chat says, his eyes twinkling. “And I’m not kitten-ing around.”

“Oh my god,” Queen Bee says, wondering if she can still be a miraculous holder if she murders Chat Noir. Yes or no, would that cause trouble in the hive?

“Oh my god,” another voice echoes. “Did you have a ton of sugar today or what?” Ladybug has arrived, Filou in tow, and is looking at Chat in a way that is somewhere between amusement and disgust.

“Guess what, My Lady! Artemal likes this cool cat the best!” Chat exclaims, pointing to himself with both thumbs.

“Seriously?” Ladybug says.

Chat pouts. “You look just like Queen Bee when you make that face.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ladybug exclaims.

“You should come with me,” Chat says to Artemal, ignoring Ladybug. “I can teach you all the tricks. Cats need to stick together!”

Artemal tilts her head. “Does a fox count as a cat? I know they’re part of the canine family, but they tend to act more like cats…”

They all look at Filou.

“Sure, why not? Come on, Filou.” Chat beckons to Filou too as he holds out his baton with his free hand. He extends the baton, boosting himself into the air, and starts heading for the tower. Filou and Artemal look at each other, shrug, and then follow.

“I think I made the wrong choice,” Queen Bee says into the silence, watching the three of them go. She doesn’t know how she didn’t see that coming.

Ladybug sighs. “I guess it’s not a bad thing. Most people like me better, so it’s nice to see someone who really appreciates Chat for a change.” Despite her words, she sounds a little disgruntled. Queen Bee glances over at her curiously and snorts when she realizes what’s going on.

“Oh my gosh, you’re jealous,” she says.

“What? I am not!” Ladybug says, so flustered and blushing so brightly that Queen Bee knows it’s true.

“Oh, you totally are,” Queen Bee says, amused. “You know that’s Juleka, right? And that she and Rose have been dating for like six months now?”

“I know. I wasn’t sure if Lila had changed that,” Ladybug says.

The mention of Lila makes Queen Bee sober slightly, but she still shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. As far as I know, the two of them are still going out… and even if they weren’t, that doesn’t mean Artemal would be interested in Chat Noir that way. All of Paris knows you two are an item.”

“You’re right,” Ladybug says, nodding. “And honestly, I really am happy for him. Like I said, it’s not very often that Chat gets appreciated the way he deserves.” Her expression softens a little as she looks after them.

“Okay, but you do realize that you’ve just left it to Chat Noir to give orientation,” Queen Bee says.

A look of horror crosses Ladybug’s face. “Crap. He’s going to tell her that the middle of akuma fights is the perfect time for puns.”

“That is absolutely what he is going to do,” Queen Bee agrees. “But it’s too late now. If you go over there, he’ll think you don’t trust him. You’re stuck.” She can’t help grinning, and Ladybug pouts.

“You don’t need to enjoy this as much as you do,” she whines. “Now I’m going to three times as many idiots fooling around and making puns during fights.”

Queen Bee shrugs. “I guess you’ll have to get use to them being on their worst beehive-iour.”

Ladybug stares at her for a moment. “Was that – was that a pun?!”

“Hey, I grew up with Adrien. If I hadn’t learned to pun, or at least learned how to take a pun, that boy would’ve died a long time ago,” Queen Bee replies. “Besides, you pun too. I’ve heard you.”

Ladybug just facepalms, muttering something about her choices in life that Queen Bee pretends not to hear. She looks around and spots another little café just below them and decides that some coffee sounds really good right now.

“Hey, Pollen wanted to talk to Tikki. Want to grab a coffee while they chat?” Queen Bee says, gesturing to the café.

“Why do they want to talk?” Ladybug asks, looking up with a puzzled look.

“No clue. Pollen wouldn’t tell me.” Queen Bee shrugs again.

Ladybug looks at her for a moment longer, then shrugs too. “Sure, fine. Why not?”

Chapter Text

“So who do you think I should choose as my second?”

“Shit!” Chloé doesn’t mean to yelp as loudly as she does, but she can’t help herself. It’s not every day she walks into her bedroom and finds that it’s not nearly as empty as it’s supposed to be. Her backpack hits the floor as Adrien rolls over onto his belly, lifting himself up onto his elbows to pout at her.

“That’s not helpful,” he says.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Chloé hisses, pressing a hand to her chest in an effort to calm her suddenly racing heart. They all had a late night last night thanks to Chat Noir’s insistence on sharing every cat pun he knows with Artemal, and so now Chloé is completely exhausted. As much as she wants to avoid her mother, she doesn’t think she can take another day of mindless shopping.

So she transformed and took the sneaky route onto her balcony, hoping that no one will even realize she’s home. Can’t exactly talk to her mother or her father if they don’t even know she’s here! But the one thing she didn’t factor into that equation is the black cat lounging around on her bed like he owns the place. She narrows her eyes in annoyance even as Adrien sighs.

“My photoshoot finished a little early, so I snuck out,” he replies. “I could tell that Nathalie was getting ready to shoo me off to a lesson, and I’m tired. I don’t have the brain capacity to focus on Mandarin right now. This is the one place they definitely won’t find me.”

“Photoshoot… I wondered why you weren’t in class today.” Chloé nudges her backpack aside and pushes the balcony door shut behind her. As tempting as it is to boot Adrien’s butt out, she won’t do it if he’s trying to hide from Nathalie and Gabriel. Short of transforming and hanging out somewhere as Chat Noir, he’s right that this is the one place where they won’t bother to look.

“It was a reshoot, actually. Something about how one of the outfits wasn’t exactly the way my father wanted it or something like that. Honestly, I stopped listening after he and the photographer got into a twenty-minute-long argument about the color pink and how it can look too much like red on camera.” Adrien rolls his eyes.

“Your father was there?” Chloé says, startled.

“Nah. Appearing on video, as always. You know that he wouldn’t lower himself to making a public appearance just for us peons,” Adrien says, which sounds about right.

“At least that makes it easier for you to leave,” Chloé points out, and Adrien smiles.

“Can’t argue with that logic. Did I miss anything interesting at school today?”

“Uh... no, not that I can think of,” Chloé says after a moment of thought. “Madame Bustier started talking about some kind of project in English, but honestly I wasn’t really listening.” She was preoccupied with watching Nathaniel drawing an absolutely hilarious comic about Chat Noir, Artemal and Filou, not that she’s going to share that fact with Adrien.

“I can get the details from Marinette later,” Adrien says, unconcerned. “Did you talk to her today?”

“To who? Marinette? Not really. Why?” Chloé frowns and slips off her cardigan. Pollen flutters out of her purse as she sets both items down on her dresser, making a beeline – ha! – for Plagg.

“Just curious,” Adrien says. He’s trying hard to sound innocent, but Chloé is way too familiar with him for that. She narrows her eyes again, wondering if Marinette talked to him.

She never did get a straight answer about what Pollen and Tikki talked about last night. Pollen was in surprisingly good spirits considering the late hour when Chloé got home but had merely shaken her little head and said something about ‘kwami things’ when Chloé tried to press for more details. The thought of being left out of the loop rankles in ways Chloé can’t quite put into words.

She’s not stupid enough to think that Ladybug and Chat Noir don’t have secrets they can’t or won’t share with the rest of the team. But she likes to think that, after those two, Queen Bee is the most informed member of the team. Regardless of whether that’s true or not, that makes it no less frustrating to be confronted with the fact that Adrien might know something he doesn’t.

This is why she’s so, so glad to have Filou and Artemal around. They make it a lot easier to deal with the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir are, at their core, still partners. They can function very well in a team environment, but it always come down to the two of them. Queen Bee doesn’t necessarily want that sort of arrangement for herself, but it does get exasperating to be on the outskirts of that all the time. At least now she has company.

“Right,” Chloé says, skeptical but unwilling to push it – sometimes it’s just not worth the mental headache. She lets her hair down and runs a brush through it, watching Adrien in the mirror. He’s fidgety enough that she can tell something is definitely on his mind.

“So, what do you think?” he says finally.

“About what?” Chloé says blankly.

Adrien throws his arms up dramatically. “About who I should choose as my second!”

“Oh, right,” Chloé says, spinning around on her stool to face him. “It’s your choice, Adrien. I told you that. Marinette kind of picked Nathaniel, and I definitely picked Juleka, so…” She waves a hand expectantly.

“I know, but I’m having a really hard time with this. Too hard.” Adrien sighs and flops backwards across the bed.

“He really is,” says Plagg, looking up with a bored expression. “He was up half the night making a pro and con list for a bunch of people. It’s eerily reminiscent of when he used to make a pro and con list for who Ladybug could be, except with a lot less sappy swooning.”

“Plagg!” Adrien exclaims, cheeks going pink.

Chloé swallows a laugh. “A pro and con list isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re taking this seriously, which is exactly what Ladybug would want you to do,” she points out.

“It is when it doesn’t actually help you get any closer to a decision,” Plagg mutters, and Adrien groans.

Pollen buzzes softly in amusement. “Who are you thinking about, Adrien?”

Adrien sits up and puts on a serious expression. “Well, Nino is always going to be my first choice. But he’s complicated for a lot of reasons. I know Marinette isn’t ready to put her trust back in Alya, and Nino and Alya are so close… he would have to keep this from Alya, and I think he would have a really hard time with that knowing that Alya used to be Rena Rouge but isn’t now.”

“That’s reasonable,” Chloé says with a nod. She doesn’t want to comment much on Nino’s suitability for the team. She personally thinks that neither Alya nor Nino are ready to be miraculous holders again – maybe not even in Alya’s case, depending on how Alya reacts to Marinette over the next couple of months – but she’s not sure that Adrien will be okay with hearing that.

“So then I thought about Kagami, but then I remembered what you said about why she isn’t suitable… but I also think that Kagami would be really amazing if she had the right miraculous,” Adrien says.

“True,” Chloé allows. Kagami isn’t her favorite person – though that’s mostly because Chloé doesn’t like sharing Adrien’s attention – but she can see where Adrien is coming from. Kagami has some incredible fencing skills that would translate very well to any miraculous that uses a sword or a staff. Right now, Chat Noir is really the only one on the team who has any prior weapon experience. Someone else with those skills wouldn’t be amiss.

“And if it’s just a question of getting her the right miraculous, then maybe it could be done. What do you think?” Adrien looks at her with hopeful eyes. Chloé almost hates to poke holes in his balloon of happiness, but it has to be done.

“I don’t think there is a miraculous that could do what you’re thinking,” she says as kindly as she can. “You know that Kagami’s mother is on top of her even more than your father is with you. She literally escorts Kagami to all of her lessons, so if there was a fight there’s no way Kagami would be able to get away.” Chloé screws her nose up at the thought. She doesn’t know how Kagami doesn’t lose her mind and run screaming out of pure suffocation.

Adrien sighs. “I know. I just thought… something like the Fox…”

“Well, Nathaniel is the fox and he’s a very good one. But really, even if you did give Kagami the fox, she would have to use her power to create an illusion of herself to stay behind. So that wouldn’t really help us in a fight,” Chloé points out. “Maybe when Kagami is a little older, and her mother loosens up some?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Adrien looks disappointed, but not surprised. “I guess the only way it would really work is if Kagami told her mother that she’s a miraculous holder, but we can’t do that.”

“Not unless you want Ladybug to have a heart attack,” Chloé says. “I mean, I’d happily go head-to-head with Fu for you, but Ladybug? Not happening.”

“Your Bee is smart,” Plagg says to Pollen, who nods with a satisfied smile.

“Okay then. Help me!” Adrien wails, dramatically falling backwards. “I’m out of people I know well. Hell, I even considered suggesting Rose because of Juleka… but she’s so broken up about Lila right now. We need people who can focus in a battle.”

“Rose is more suited to a defensive miraculous. We need an offensive miraculous holder,” Chloé tells him.

“What about Marc?” Adrien asks the ceiling. “For Nathaniel?”

Chloé purses her lips, considering this. That would definitely make Nathaniel a lot happier, though that means Chloé will have to put up with two gross schoompy couples instead of just one. She doesn’t know Marc that well, but he’s quiet. Loyal. Highly creative. Shy. Ironically, he would probably be ideally suited to the Butterfly miraculous. But there are other ones that could work for him too…

“He could make sense. I could see him being a functioning part of the hive,” she says after a long moment. “But maybe Nathaniel would rather bring Marc into the fold himself.”

Adrien pushes himself up on his elbows. “Wait, what? I thought Master Fu said that the three of us could choose a second, and that’s it?”

“He did. For now,” Chloé says airily, examining her fingernails so that she doesn’t have to meet Adrien’s eyes. Nathaniel hasn’t met Fu yet, mostly because the Guardian hasn’t deemed it necessary yet. Once he does, she’s pretty sure she can make an argument that Nathaniel is no longer a second. He’s someone they rely on consistently, so it makes sense for him to keep his miraculous.

And then Ladybug will need a new second, and so will Filou.

It just makes sense.

Plagg snickers. “No wonder Master Fu doesn’t like you.”

“Yeah, well, the feeling is mutual,” Chloé says dryly.

“Master Fu doesn’t hate Chloé,” Pollen objects. “It’s true that Bees and Turtles often clash, but at the end of the day they both want what’s best for the hive.”

“So… if not Marc, then who?” Adrien says, turning back to Chloé.

And she’s about to tell, she really is –

“Chloé! You’re home!” Mayor Bourgeois throws her bedroom door open with a magnificent crash. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloé sees Plagg and Pollen scrambling to hide.

“Daddy,” Chloé says coolly.

“Your mother has been waiting for you all day,” the mayor says impatiently.

“What?” Adrien says, looking stunned. “Chloé, your mom is in town?”

“Yes,” Chloé says without looking at him. Her heart is thudding so hard that it hurts. She really, really doesn’t want to see Audrey.

“Tell your friend to go, Chloé, and come on,” Mayor Bourgeois says.

“Bye Adrien,” Chloé says, getting and walking over to her father. She hopes against hope that Adrien will be gone by the time she comes back; she has the feeling that she’s going to be in a horrendous mood.

Chapter Text

Seeing her mother again goes about as well as Chloé thinks that it will.

Mayor Bourgeois steers her down the hallway and into the sitting room. Much to Chloé’s surprise, Audrey Bourgeois is actually there. She’s sitting in one of the chairs with one leg crossed over the other, a glass of wine clutched in her right hand. Chloé stops in the doorway, folding her arms over her chest, and the mayor slips out around her and walks over to his wife.

“There now. We’re all here,” he says with a stupid smile, as though having the three of them in the same room actually means something.

“Mother,” Chloé says coolly.

Audrey’s eyes flick in Chloé’s direction, and then she very openly looks Chloé up and down. She’s so clearly judging the black skirt, white shirt, and yellow cardigan that Chloé’s wearing, and it makes Chloé want to punch something. There’s nothing wrong with what she’s wearing. She likes what she’s wearing. But somehow, her clothing has never matched up to Audrey’s idea of fashion.

“Charlotte,” Audrey says at last.

“It’s Chloé,” Mayor Bourgeois says quickly. “Chloé, my dear, remember?” He pats Audrey’s shoulder gently.

“Hmm,” Audrey says, taking a sip of her wine. She’s clearly losing interest in the conversation, which suits Chloé just fine.

“Why are you here?” Chloé asks bluntly. She can count on one hand the number of times she’s seen her mother more than once in the span of a year. Given that she and her father just spent a week in New York not that long ago, it’s no coincidence that Audrey is here.

“Your mother is considering doing some work with Gabriel Agreste,” says the mayor.

“Really,” Chloé says, skeptical.

“And I also thought this would be an excellent time to revisit the idea of you going to live with your mother for a while. Get you away from all this miraculous nonsense.”

And there it is. She’s almost expecting it, yet it still feels like a slap to the face when it comes. Chloé draws in a sharp breath, her chest tightening. Suddenly, she wishes that Adrien had come down with her. His presence would be really nice to have right now.

“It would also give you and your mother a chance to spend some quality time together, right?” Mayor Bourgeois says to Audrey.

“Hmm,” Audrey says again, eyeing Chloé over the top of her wine glass. She looks at Chloé the way that Chloé used to look at Lila, like Chloé is so far beneath her notice that Audrey is doing Chloé a favor just by acknowledging her. It’s sickening.

“I don’t want to spend quality time with her. I like it here in Paris,” Chloé says, and for the first time in years that’s actually the truth. “My friends are here. My school is here.”

“There are schools in New York!” the mayor says eagerly. “Excellent schools. Boarding schools, even. You would make new friends. Better friends.” His eyes are pleading with Chloé to start playing along.

And maybe if this were a year ago, Chloé might have. Back then she was obsessed with trying to make her mother like her. That was before she met Pollen. Before she became Queen Bee. Before she realized that there actually were more important things in the world than herself. Before she almost died trying to save Paris. Before she became a part of the hive, and before she had something valuable she needs to protect.

“I don’t care. I don’t want to go, and you can’t make me,” says Chloé, looking him in the eye.

The mayor looks flustered. “Chloé, darling, come on now. I just think that you should give the idea some thought. Don’t say no to it right away. Your mother is very excited over the idea of getting to spend more time with you. And I would visit as often as I could.”

“The answer is no,” Chloé says as firmly as she can, and that’s about the politest thing she can say when Audrey is clearly a hundred times more interested in her glass of wine than she is in the conversation her husband and child are having.

“Good. Chantale would only embarrass me,” Audrey says, a cruel glint in her eyes. “Your lack of fashion sense is utterly ridiculous. I need to surround myself with people who understand my vision.”

“Audrey,” the mayor says, somewhere between placating and frustrated. “I’m sure that having Chloé around would be very beneficial.”

“Being a family man is good for your career, not mine,” says Audrey, getting to her feet. She carelessly tosses her glass down at the chair, apparently not caring that the remainder of the red wine promptly splashes all over the cushions.

“What do you mean by that?” Chloé asks, though she can guess.

“Your father needs a wife and a child to look good to the voters. I don’t. People want to work with me because I’m incredible at what I do. There is no one out there who can match my level of expertise when it comes to fashion. It’s why Gabriel Agreste himself has been begging to work with me.” Audrey smiles and smoothes out her dress.

“Right,” Chloé says shortly. She’s pretty sure that Gabriel Agreste has never begged for anything in his life, and that Audrey is fooling herself. It’s way more likely that the mayor set up the meeting between Audrey and Gabriel as a ploy to get Audrey to come to Paris. He probably pulled in a bunch of favors with Gabriel to do so. In that moment, she spitefully hopes that Gabriel ends up refusing to see Audrey. It would serve both of her parents right if he did.

“That’s not true,” the mayor says, now even more flustered than before. “Chloé –”

“Save it. I’m out.” Chloé turns on her heel and leaves the room.

“Chloé!” her father yells after her, but Chloé just keeps going. She strides back down the hallway and doesn’t stop until she’s back at her room. Adrien and Plagg are gone, so there’s just Pollen. It’s just as well. Chloé’s not interested in seeing anyone else. She closes and locks her bedroom door to prove it.

“Chloé? What happened?” Pollen asks, flying over to her. “I’m sorry. Your dad ushered you out so fast that I didn’t get the chance to get to you. I didn’t think you’d want him to see me.”

“I don’t,” Chloé says. She hasn’t introduced her father to Pollen, and she doesn’t plan to. It’s bad enough the mayor knows that the Bee miraculous is the source of her powers.

She walks over and takes a seat on her bed, feeling a little shaky now that she’s away from her parents and doesn’t have to put up a strong front anymore. Part of her can’t believe that Mayor Bourgeois is still trying to send her away to New York. Doesn’t he understand that she has important things to do here? That it actually matters whether Chloé is here or not?

“Chloé?” Pollen says again, softer this time. “Are you okay?”

“My dad wants me to go live in New York with my mother. And my mother doesn’t want me. She pretty strongly implied that the only reason they had me was to make my dad look good in his career,” Chloé replies. Saying it out loud stings more than she thought it would.

Truth be told, she’s always kind of wondered if that was the case. After all, it’s not like André and Audrey Bourgeois are model parents by anyone’s standards. Audrey doesn’t even remember Chloé’s name 90% of the time, and the mayor is much more interested in his job than he is in his child. So it makes total sense that they had Chloé just to make Mayor Bourgeois that much more appealing in the eyes of the citizens of Paris.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Some part of Chloé will always want to be wanted, and knowing that she’s not wanted by anyone? Well, that hurts more than she wants to admit.

Pollen gasps softly. “Oh, Chloé. I’m sure that’s not true.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that it is. My parents don’t even like kids. My father doesn’t even like photo opportunities with them,” Chloé says dryly. “It’s not surprising. I’m not even the only one. I think that’s probably why Gabriel Agreste agreed to have a baby too. Made him look more approachable and helped to sell his designs.”

“That’s horrible,” Pollen says hotly. “People should have babies because they want them!”

“I don’t disagree, but that’s not how it is.” Chloé sighs and lets his shoulders slump. “Pollen… why doesn’t anyone want me? I know I’m a horrible, awful person, but…” She trails off, realizing that she’s answered her own question.

“You are not a horrible, awful person,” Pollen disagrees, flying over to Chloé. “It’s true that you can be cruel, and that you don’t always think about other people first. But Chloé, for as many bad points as you have, you also have a lot of good points. You’re courageous and loyal. You almost died to protect the city. Not many people would’ve kept on being a miraculous holder after that, but you did.”

“I couldn’t give you up,” Chloé says quietly, blinking rapidly to hold the tears at bay. No one has ever been as kind to her as Pollen is. And Pollen doesn’t even have to be. She doesn’t work for Chloé’s parents. It’s true that she and Chloé have to work together, but Pollen doesn’t have to be kind about it. She could be cold or formal or temperamental or worse.

Pollen lands on Chloé’s knee, looking up at her. “I wouldn’t give you up either, Chloé. You’re the perfect Bee for me. I haven’t had anyone like you for a long time. You might sting harder than anyone else, but you also have a wonderful heart. That’s exactly what I need in a Bee.”

The sob escapes before Chloé can bite it back. She claps a hand over her mouth, but a couple of tears spill over and start sliding down her face. Pollen makes a soft, distressed buzz that Chloé’s never heard before. It makes Chloé hurt in ways she can’t properly express, like somehow she’s letting Pollen down too just by feeling this way and that makes her feel even worse.

“Chloé,” Pollen says, sounding distressed. “Don’t cry. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Chloé sobs, clenching her other hand into a fist at her side. “Pollen, everything is such a mess, and I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“We’ll figure it out together. You’re not alone, Chloé, I – oh no!” Pollen’s terrified exclamation makes Chloé’s head snap up, and her heart jumps in her chest when she sees the dark purple butterfly hovering around her balcony doors.

“Hawkmoth,” Chloé breathes, her heart racing. She stands up as the akuma flies a little closer to her.

“You need to get out of here!” Pollen cries. “Hurry, Chloé!”

“Right. Pollen, buzz on!” Warm yellow light surrounds her. Queen Bee backs up from the akuma, unlocking the door behind her by pure feel. As soon as the door is open, she turns away and darts down the hall. There’s a window at the far end that’s half open and she jumps through it, throwing her stinger out as she goes.

Can someone outrun an akuma? Queen Bee has no idea. She’s not sure anyone has ever tried. By the time an akuma gets to them, most people are so lost within the depths of their emotion that they don’t even notice it. And honestly, Queen Bee can’t be sure that she would have noticed it either if it weren’t for Pollen. Her gratitude for her kwami’s presence deepens as she swings her way to a rooftop a few blocks away.

When she finally stops to catch her breath, she looks around intently for the akuma – but there’s no sign of it. Either she managed to outrun it, or her emotions have stabilized enough that she’s no longer a good target for Hawkmoth. Queen Bee stills feels utterly miserable but being transformed always has a positive effect on her mood. So for the time being, at least, she’s safe.

She’s just not sure what will happen when she inevitably has to de-transform.

Chapter Text

Being akumatized feels like being dipped into a vat of cold water, except that the water isn’t just cold: it’s icy to the point that you can’t breathe. That’s what Queen Bee feels when she feints left and the akuma calls her bluff, and then the next thing she knows the damned butterfly is landing on her stinger and the whole world gets swallowed up by inky-purple darkness.

”Queen Bee, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Hawkmoth’s silky voice slithers into her head and Queen Bee wants to grab her hair and scream. All of the negative emotion swirling through her seems to be magnified by tenfold. The feelings are so heavy that her knees would go weak if she weren’t locked in place. All she can do is stare forward vacantly as Hawkmoth keeps talking.

”Tsk tsk, it’s so hard when parents don’t understand. You deserve better than them. I can give you the power to teach them both a lesson. I can give you power beyond your wildest dreams. You will never have to bow to the whims of anyone!”

And then the pressure just – stops.

Queen Bee laughs.

It’s a bitter, empty sound.

But it’s enough to give Hawkmoth pause.

She can sense something from him for the first time. Uncertainty. Queen Bee luxuriates in the feeling even as she clenches her hands into fists and pushes back at Hawkmoth with everything that she has. There’s a flash of yellow-and-purple in her head, a confusingly chaotic riot of colors that makes her eyes fill with blinding tears even though it’s all in her head -

And then she says, “You’re a fucking moron, Hawkmoth.”

”What?!” The fury in his voice, in his mental powers, is painful in its intensity. But Queen Bee holds firm.

“I don’t want revenge on my parents. I don’t care about them,” she says, realizing that it’s the truth.

”Fine then. I’ll give you the power to impress your parents.” The fury has magically fled and he’s back to being seductive, but it’s too late.

The time where Chloé Bourgeois wanted to be good enough for Audrey Bourgeois has long passed. She doesn’t really want anything from her parents right now except for them to stay out of her way, and for them to stop making demands. There is no power on Earth that Hawkmoth can grant right now to make that happen, short of making her into an akuma that can drop Audrey and André Bourgeois into a dark hole – and she’s smart enough to know that’s a temporary measure at best.

Because Ladybug would stop her.

More than anything, Queen Bee doesn’t want Ladybug to have to do that. Screw Audrey Bourgeois. In a stunning moment of clarity, Queen Bee realizes she wants Ladybug to be proud of her. Not her parents. Not Adrien. Ladybug.

“I don’t care about my parents,” she says again, stronger this time. “There is nothing you can give me that I want… because right now, all I want is to take you down! I will never join you!”

She throws her stinger away from her and suddenly the encroaching darkness is gone. Queen Bee bends double, panting for breath like she’s just run a marathon. Her whole body suddenly feels shaky and cold right down to her bones. She momentarily lacks the strength to lift her head and see where the akuma is gone, and she has the terrifying feeling that it might loop back, and she won’t be strong enough to stop it –

And then someone’s grabbing her, hugging her so tightly that it forces a squeak out of her empty lungs, as a familiar voice shouts.

“Gotcha! I free you from evil!”

“Wh-what?” Queen Bee stammers, looking around. In disbelief, she watches as Ladybug reels in her yoyo. Just like always, Ladybug draws her index finger across the top of her yoyo. The top vanishes and a butterfly, now pure white instead of that awful purple, flutters out and away on the wind.

“Chloé, thank god.” This voice is familiar too, but desperately shaky, and she belatedly realizes that Chat is the one hugging her.

“What?” Queen Bee says again, now thoroughly confused.

Ladybug bends down to pick up Queen Bee’s stinger as she walks over. “Chat was texting you… or trying to. He was worried.” Her voice is sort and comforting and nothing like Hawkmoth’s.

“You didn’t answer,” Chat chokes out. A tear falls on her neck. He’s crying, she realizes.

“So we decided to come see if you were okay, and we just – we saw the akuma land on you.” Ladybug looks up. Her eyes are too bright. “Chloé, why didn’t you come find us? I could have purified the akuma before it got to you.”

“I couldn’t,” Queen Bee whispers. Ladybug looks at her with this awful expression, and Chat goes tense, so she adds, “Hawkmoth would’ve seen you, right? As your civilian selves? I didn’t know you were transformed, and I guess the thought of sending a text never crossed my mind.”

“I don’t care if Hawkmoth saw us. You still should’ve come to us,” Ladybug says, so fiercely that Queen Been can’t help jolting in surprise. “Chat could’ve destroyed the akuma if I wasn’t around to purify it. Do you realize what nearly happened? You almost got akumatized!”

And the implied accusation is almost more than Queen Bee can bear because she knows how damn hard that Ladybug and Chat have been working. That’s the whole reason Queen Bee even has her miraculous: because for a little while there, the akumas were coming so hot and fast that neither Ladybug nor Chat had time or energy to keep running to Master Fu every time they need help.

There hasn’t been an akuma since Lila’s death, so they’ve all – theoretically, anyway – had some time to rest and recharge. But that doesn’t mean anyone is anxious to take on an akuma. Queen Bee is the main back-up. If she gets akumatized, that puts the onus back onto Ladybug and Chat Noir. She has no idea what kind of akuma she would be, but she doubts it would be an easy fight. The realization settles heavily into the pit of her stomach.

“I know,” she says, and it’s on the tip of her tongue to apologize, but she can’t bring herself to. Because she didn’t ask to be akumatized; she should be allowed to feel the way she feels without having to worry about asshole in a purple cape taking advantage of that.

“But you’re okay now, right?” Chat pulls back so quickly that Queen Bee almost stumbles, but his hands land on and grip her upper arms to steady her. Queen Bee stares at him. She knew he was crying, but the sheer distress in his expression leaves her breathless.

“Chat, don’t hold on so tightly,” Ladybug says, materializing beside them, and it’s only then that Queen Bee realizes his hands are holding on with what would be bruising force were it not for her costume.

“Sorry,” Chat says, ears folding, but he doesn’t let go. It’s like he can’t make himself let go. He’s looking at her with so much fear and worry, and it’s just too much.

“I’m fine,” Queen Bee lies. The words taste bitter on her tongue, but it’s nothing more than what she’s used to. No one ever cares how Chloé Bourgeois is feeling. It’s part of why she used to push her wants on people – because no one ever bothered to ask.

But rather than make Chat feel better, the platitude just makes his face crumble. He lets out a sob and crushes Queen Bee against him again. Totally baffled, Queen Bee looks to Ladybug for help. But Ladybug is just standing there, wearing a very grave expression that makes Queen Bee’s stomach do flip flops. She thinks back to her earlier realization, that she wants to make Ladybug proud, and has the sickening feeling that she may have done the opposite.

“I won’t give you my miraculous back,” she says, and it probably doesn’t come out as challenging as she hoped, but it still makes Ladybug look at her in complete horror.

“What?! Of course you won’t! Why would you even think – oh my god, Tikki was totally right.” Ladybug claps her hand to her face with a faint groan.

“Uh, so you’re not mad I almost got akumatized?” Queen Bee says cautiously.

“No!” Ladybug and Chat shout at the exact same time. Given that Chat is clutching Queen Bee against him, that means he shouts right in her ear. Queen Bee flinches and finally manages to wriggle out of his grip, quickly putting a couple feet between them just so he doesn’t try to grab her again. She has no idea what’s going on here and she’s getting pretty tired of it.

“What is going on?” Queen Bee says, planting her hands on her hips and looking between them. Ladybug and Chat exchange a long look before Ladybug turns back to her.

“Come back to my place. We need to talk,” Ladybug says. It should sound vaguely ominous, but Ladybug has already said she doesn’t want the Bee miraculous back. Truthfully, Queen Bee realizes she doesn’t mind. The thought of going home isn’t exactly appealing, since there’s a 50-50 change that her father is trying to find her so they can ‘talk’ more about the whole idea of New York. That conversation is just going to lead right down the road to another akuma.

“Alright,” Queen Bee says, and doesn’t miss the fact that both of them look relieved.

“Here.” Ladybug holds Queen Bee’s stinger out, and honestly a little part of Queen Bee is reluctant to touch it. But she’ll be damned if Hawkmoth takes anything else from them. She grabs the stinger and throws it out, letting it catch on something in the distance and haul her off the roof. The thin whistle of Ladybug’s yoyo echoes through the air, following by the familiar thwack of Chat’s baton hitting the roof, telling her that they’re both following.

When she touches down on Marinette’s balcony, Queen Bee sinks down onto one of the chairs and mutters, “Buzz off.”

“Chloé! My queen, are you alright?” Pollen is buzzing with anxiety before the golden flash dissipates.

“I’m okay,” Chloé says, holding out a hand to let Pollen rest. She feels a little queasier now that she’s detransformed, but at least she’s not rampaging around the city trying to target neglectful parents.

Though, in retrospect, perhaps she should’ve taken Hawkmoth’s offer: it sure would’ve been fun to punch Gabriel Agreste in the face.

Ladybug and Chat land on the balcony a moment later, and both of them detransform too. Adrien walks over and sits down next to Chloé. Marinette hovers, wringing her hands with that look on her face that means she wants to say something but doesn’t know how. Chloé thinks about telling her to spit it out, but honestly, she’s not sure she wants to hear it.

“Marinette, why don’t you go get some refreshments?” Tikki suggests at last, breaking the silence.

“Oh! Refreshments. Right.” Marinette scuttles over to the window and quickly disappears inside with Tikki right behind her. That leaves Chloé alone with Adrien, Pollen, and Plagg – well, not so much Plagg. The cat kwami disappears into Adrien’s pocket with a mumble about waking him up for cheese.

“Chlo,” Adrien says, quietly but intently, and then says nothing else until Chloé reluctantly looks up at him.

“What?” she says.

“What did your dad want? What did he say?” Adrien is staring at her. It’s obvious he thinks that whatever her parents wanted is the reason why she almost got akumatized – and in a way, he’s not wrong. But it’s not just about her parents either.

“He was on me about moving to New York again,” Chloé tells him. “He thinks it’ll be safer.”

Adrien makes a face. “I thought you told him no. Did you say that again?”

“I did, but I didn’t have to. Audrey spoke up and said she didn’t want me because me and my terrible taste would cramp her style,” Chloé says dully. “Then she told me that she and my dad only had me because it made my dad look more like a family man, which was good for his career. They never wanted me. No one wants me.” That last bit slips out before she can stop it.

But it’s the truth, isn’t it? Why shouldn’t she say it?

Chapter Text

There's a look on Adrien's face that Chloé's never seen before, and so she's not really sure how to quantify it - sort of, but not quite, like the look he got the day his mother disappeared. He doesn't say anything, just sits there looking at her, for so long that Chloé grows uncomfortable and starts to think that maybe she shouldn't have said anything. After all, it's not like Gabriel Agreste really wanted a child either. Anyone looking at the way he treats Adrien would definitely assume that Gabriel had a child for the same reason as André Bourgeois.

And maybe that's the conclusion that Adrien's drawn too, and now Chloé feels guilty churning around in her stomach on top of everything else. She's opening her mouth to apologize for bringing it up, or maybe just to change the subject, when Adrien lunges forward and pulls her into another hug. It's so unexpected that Chloé just sort of squeaks and freezes. Adrien's always been the more physical one between the two of them, but this many hugs in one day is unusual even for him. So she's not really sure what to do.

"You're wrong," Adrien says, so loudly that Chloé startles.

"What?" she says, confused.

"You're wrong. So wrong. I need you, Chloé. I want you." His voice breaks. "I know I haven't been a very good friend to you lately... actually, I haven't been a very good friend to you for a long time. And I'm so, so sorry."

"Adrien..." Chloé's not sure what to say to that, because he's technically not wrong. For a long time, she and Adrien were each other's only friends. That changed after Chloé met Sabrina, but she's always considered Adrien to be her most important friend. However, after Adrien started going to school, she knows that Adrien stopped seeing her the same way. There was Nino and Marinette and Alya and the rest of their classmates, though thankfully not Lila, and for a long time that hurt...

But as much as it hurt, Chloé can't really blame him for feeling that way either. Lost and stupid and lashing out, she knows she turned into a real bitch for a while there. It's not until she got the Bee miraculous and finally realized that her mother will never care that Chloé started being someone who was worthy of being Adrien's friend again, which is what has led them to this moment: where their friendship is better, but not what Chloé wants it to be. Honestly, she's not even sure what she wants it to be now. She just knows she wants to matter to someone.

"You're the whole reason I was able to become Chat Noir in the first place, you know," he says in her ear. "When I was a kid, I was scared to do anything wrong. You remember that?"

"Yeah, I do," Chloé says. It's almost hard to reconcile that small, apprehensive kid with the man who is hugging her now.

"You used to push me to do stuff with you. Stuff I knew my parents, especially my father, would never approve of. You weren't scared at all, and seeing you act that way made me want to be braver too. So I tried to be more like you. I tried to care a little less about what my father thinks. And because of that, I was able to ignore what he said and go to school anyway. Even though I knew he'd be mad, I was able not to care. You taught me to be rebellious." There's a hint of laughter in his voice, a little bit of that spark she's always loved so much, and Chloé feels her own eyes getting wet.

"You were such a silly little kid," she says shakily, blinking hard. "I remember not even understanding why you would be scared of your father. It took me a long time to understand what an asshole he is."

Adrien chuckles wetly. "Yeah, he is an asshole. I'd probably be just like everyone else, bending to his every whim, if it weren't for you. So don't you dare say that no one wants you around, Chloé Bourgeois. I want you around, and so does Marinette."

"Marinette wants Queen Bee around," Chloé corrects him.

"No, I don't," Marinette says, and Chloé jumps and jerks back to find that Marinette is standing there - without any refreshments. But before Chloé can question her, Adrien clears his throat and shoot Marinette a look.

"I think that came out wrong," he says pointedly.

"What? Oh! Oh, that's not what I meant," Marinette says, going pink. "I meant I want Chloé and Queen Bee around. Chloé, you defended me against Lila. I know you only did it because you found I was Ladybug and I was in your hive, but you still did it."

Chloé shrugs, avoiding Marinette's eyes. "It's a Bee thing," she mumbles.

"That doesn't matter. You still did it. That means a lot to me. I know we didn't get along for years, but - that day, I realized for the first time that you had changed as a person and I just wasn't able to see it before then," says Marinette. She's still pink in the cheeks, but she meets Chloé's eyes squarely because she means it.

And then Chloé knows what she has to say. It sucks, but it needs to say.

"Marinette, I'm sorry I bullied you all those years," Chloé says, forcing herself to keep meeting Marinette's gaze. She wants to add excuses, like saying how hard it was to see Marinette with such loving parents when Chloé doesn't have that, but she doesn't. Excuses, Chloé has found, don't matter in the end. What matters is the sentiment behind what's she saying.

Marinette's eyes widen. "I - wow. Thank you, Chloé."

"And I'm not just saying that because you're Ladybug. You're... a good person," Chloé says reluctantly.

A smile crosses Marinette's face. "You're a good person too. Or at least, I think you are. And our team would be totally lost without you, and I'm not just talking about Queen Bee. You keep us all going. You kept me from falling apart when Lila died and I was feeling so guilty. Queen Bee didn't do that, you did. You're the one who picked out Nathaniel and Juleka. You're the one helping Adrien out with picking his second. That's not a Bee thing, that's a you thing. You're an integral, necessary part of our team and I am so sorry that I haven't told you all of this before."

Chloé genuinely doesn't know what to say to all of that.

"Pollen told me the other night that you've been having a hard time," Marinette adds, and Chloé immediately shoots a glare at Pollen. Pollen merely shrugs, unrepentant.

"It's the truth, My Queen. You have been having a hard time. The function of the Bee is to oversee the hive, but that doesn't mean that you can't lean on the support of the hive when you need it. The strongest hives are capable of supporting all of its members," Pollen tells her.

"I should have noticed, but I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm the leader and it's my responsibility to pay attention." Marinette looks down, so she misses Adrien shaking his head.

"No, Bugaboo. It's not your fault. I didn't notice either. We all missed out on the fact that Chloé needed us."

“And I was not attempting to blame you, Marinette,” says Pollen. “I apologize if that’s what it seemed like. You have a lot on your shoulders right now. No one expects you to be a perfect Ladybug. You’re allowed to lean on the support of the hive too, and frankly you should lean on everyone else as the leader. I just wanted you to know that that Chloé was having a hard time and needed all of you. I had hoped to avoid what happened earlier.”

“Pollen, you shouldn’t have said anything!” Chloé says.

“Yes, she should have. Pollen is right. The hive is for everyone,” says Adrien, holding a hand out to Marinette. She walks over to them and takes Adrien’s hand. Adrien slides his other arm around Chloé’s shoulders and urge her to stand. Chloé does so reluctantly, and quickly finds herself enveloped in a three-way hug.

And honestly…

It feels good.

Really good.

She genuinely can’t remember the last time anyone other than Adrien gave her a hug. It might have been when she almost died from the akuma, and Nathaniel, Marinette, and Adrien were freaking out over it for a couple of days afterwards. But aside from that? Chloé doesn’t remember the last time she got a hug. Certainly, it’s been years since either one of her parents did.

This isn’t a parental hug, of course. But it’s good in its own way. Especially because this time, Chloé brings her arms up and actually hugs the both of them back.

“You’re not alone, Chloé,” Marinette whispers in her ear. “I know that things haven’t always been great between us, but we’re friends now. You’re not just my teammate. If you’re having a hard time, I want you to be able to rely on me to support you.”

Chloé can’t answer that without crying, so she just bites down on her lip and gives Marinette an extra-tight squeeze.

When at last they all separate, and Chloé has surreptitiously wiped her eyes while Marinette and Adrien kindly pretend not to notice, Marinette actually does go get some refreshments. She comes back with tea and freshly baked blueberry and strawberry scones, with a side of sliced cheese for Plagg. They all sit on the chair, squished in against each other, and talk.

And that’s weird, but also good, because usually when Chloé talks? No one listens except for Pollen.

Marinette and Adrien listen with identical grave expressions as Chloé talks about her visit to New York and how awful it was, because her parents spent the entire time ignoring her. It’s really awkward to visit a city and be left to your own devices when your grasp on the native language is tenuous at best. And then she tells them about how the only reason Audrey is here is to make some weird, pseudo attempt at being a family.

“Your father is a jerk. I can’t believe he sprang this on you,” Adrien says angrily. “You’re not going, right?”

“Of course not. Even if my mother did want me, I have more important things to do here,” Chloé says.

“But could he make you go?” Marinette says. Her genuine concern is touching, and Chloé shakes her head.

“No, not really. There’s nothing he can offer me to tempt me into going,” Chloé replies, because honestly there’s nothing either of her parents could offer to her that would make up to what’s happening right now.

“I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell us this before,” says Marinette. “It’s a lot to handle on your own.”

Chloé shrugs, looking down at her tea. “We all had a lot going on,” she says, which is the truth. Lila’s death and the subsequence theft of the Peacock miraculous didn’t leave much room for personal issues. Plus, there was Juleka to deal with too.

“I know, but we’re a hive. We need to be better at being there for each other.” Marinette gets this weird look on her face, and Chloé exchanges a look with Adrien.

“Why do I feel like we’re going to be having some weird, huggy training sessions in the future?” Chloé asks, resigned.

“Probably because we are,” Adrien says. “But if it’ll make us a stronger team, I can’t complain. Marinette is right. You’re like the only so far who has actually been paying attention to everyone else, and that’s not okay. I think…” He pauses like he’s trying to get his thoughts in order. “I think that Marinette and I are still too used to it just being the two of us.”

“What do you mean?” Chloé says, but Marinette’s nodding in agreement.

“I was just thinking the same thing, Chaton. We’re not just a duo. W have a team now. That means we have to do a lot better at taking everyone into consideration, and not getting wrapped up in our own world,” Marinette says determinedly.

Which is a little funny. Because watching them, Chloé can’t help thinking to herself that, even detransformed right now, the way they’re nodding at each other and sharing a determined look… they’ve never looked more like Ladybug and Chat Noir. She didn’t even realize that bothered her until right now when it doesn’t anymore. Because she actually feels like she belongs her with them.

Weird… but good.

Chapter Text

"Marinette, I have some snacks for you and Adrien!"

Chloé startles at the sound of what must be Marinette's mom, but Marinette and Adrien don't. They just exchange resigned, amused glances like they both knew it was only a matter of time until they were interrupted - and maybe they did, Chloé doesn't know. She's pretty sure this is the first time she's been anywhere near Marinette's house in... well, actually, this might be the first time she's ever been to Marinette's house. Marinette's parents probably don't even know she's up here and honestly, it's better to keep it that way.

But before she can get up and transform to leave, Marinette reaches out a hand to stop her. "Adrien will be right down for them, Maman," she calls out.

"Sending the lamb to the slaughter, then?" Adrien asks with good humor, and Marinette shoots him a smile."

"Sorry, Kitty. I don't want Maman to come up here, and if you go down, she'll get the chance to fuss over you and forget all about it," she says.

"The sacrifices I make for this team," Adrien says, getting up. But the way he walks over to Marinette's window makes Chloé think it's definitely a joke. After all, Gabriel Agreste is on about the same par as Audrey and André Bourgeois. She can't blame Adrien for relishing the chance to be fawned over. It's not like Adrien doesn't deserve all the motherly affection he can soak up.

Marinette waits until he's gone before she turns back to Chloé. "It occurred to me when I saw you and Adrien talking that you might feel like I stole Adrien from you. I wanted to ask if that's, um, the way you felt." Her eyes are bright with concern.

"I did at first," Chloé says slowly, deciding that it doesn't hurt to be honest. But the more she sees Adrien and Marinette together, the more she wonders if she was ever really in love with Adrien. Or was she just in love with the idea of him?

Did she love him? Or was she just afraid of losing him?

Did she love him? Or was it just that she didn't know any other way to keep Adrien around other than being his girlfriend?

"I'm sorry. I kind of didn't even think about you when the two of us started dating," Marinette says, putting her hand over Chloé's. It's the kind of gentle touch that Chloé simultaneously wants to pull away from but also, somehow, craves.

Chloé shakes her head. "You don't have to apologize for that, Marinette. Adrien was never mine. Not really. He didn't love me like that. I was just too dumb to see it." Or too causing up in the fantasy in her head, maybe. But she's not going to say that to Marinette. There might be a long of things that Chloé is willing to share now, but that is definitely not one of them.

She'll never tell a soul how she used to dream about her and Adrien becoming an ultra successful couple, and someday coming back to Paris to rub their success in the faces of their parents. It's such a stupid, embarrassing dream now that she realizes Audrey wouldn't care no matter how successful Chloé becomes. And she doesn't think Gabriel would care either, for that matter. Honestly, even if Marinette weren't in the mix, Chloé still doesn't think she and Adrien would have ended up together. They're too different.

"But Adrien does love you," Marinette says, so gently that Chloé can't help looking over at her. "Chloé, he talks about you constantly. You're his best friend."

"Nino is his best friend," Chloé corrects her. That hurts to say, but it's the truth.

Marinette considers that for a moment, then says, "You may be right about that, but you can't fight me when I say that you're Adrien's oldest friend. You’re like his sister. The one who has known him the longest, and the one who has stuck by him no matter what else happened. That means a hell of a lot to Adrien considering everything that's happened to him. It really bothered him when he started going to school and he wasn't as close to you."

"You mean, when he started seeing what a shallow bitch I was and didn't want to be as close to me. You can say it," Chloé says. It makes her cringe to think about what a spoiled brat she used to be, so desperately wanting attention but not knowing how to get the right kind of attention. All she ever thought about was herself. Meeting Pollen and getting a miraculous made her start seeing the world a little differently and realizing that there are actually other people who deserve some consideration. She doesn't know where she would be otherwise.

"Well... we've all grown up a lot," Marinette says diplomatically. "That's partly our fault. We kind of made Adrien choose between us and you when he first started going to school. But the point is, no matter how he felt about you then, he cares about now more than he ever has before. You're like a sister to him."

Those words pierce Chloé's heart in ways she doesn't want to admit to. All she's ever wanted is to be loved, and it's seemed like a pipe dream for so long. Between a mother who can't even remember her name and a father who just gives her money to keep her quiet, Chloé's chances for love seemed bleak. But now there's this, an actual superhero sitting on a balcony with her and telling Chloé that another superhero loves her like a sister, and it's a lot to take in.

"And you?" Chloé says before she can stop herself. "You really want me around for the foreseeable future?"

"I really do. Because..." Marinette hesitates, her expression slowly changing as though some great realization is dawning on her. "Oh my god."

"What?" Chloé says, baffled.

"I just realized that you're not Adrien's best friend. You're mine," Marinette says, looking a little horrified.

Chloé opens her mouth to renounce that absolutely ridiculous notion before pausing.

Because...

Marinette might be a little bit right.

Well shit.

"I did not see that happening," Marinette says, more to herself than to Chloé. "But without Alya, I've been spending more time with you... you and Adrien are like the first people I reach out to for everything. I can't believe I'm best friends with Chloé Bourgeois."

"Maybe not best friends yet," Chloé says, trying hard to hide the way those words are making her heart race. Best friends with Ladybug? Surely it can't be. No way is Chloé ever going to be lucky no matter how long she lives. A sister to Adrien and best friends to Marinette? It’s two titles she never thought she would be able to claim, and yet here is Marinette looking at her with this look…

“Close enough,” Marinette says. “Wow. If you had asked me a year ago if this moment would come, I would have laughed in your face.”

“You and me both,” Chloé replies. “So… you don’t mind that Adrien cares about me?” She tries to sound casual, but it’s a question she really wants the answer to. She doesn’t want this to cause more tension in the hive just when it seems like things might be getting closer to settling.

Marinette shakes her head. “No. I’m glad you have Adrien, and I’m glad Adrien has you. You both need all the friends you can get as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of the reasons why I’m really happy that we have Nathaniel and Juleka now too.”

“Right,” Chloé says, thinking about that. Marinette really is astonishingly selfless. There are not many people that Chloé can think of who would make friends with their childhood bully – or even better than that, be accepting of the fact that their boyfriend is really close to said former bully. And not just that, but some girls would be really wary of Chloé even without that baggage after all those years that Chloé spent going on about how she was in love with Adrien. Some people would see her as potential competition.

Even though those people would be stupid because no one could seriously look at the heart eyes that Adrien makes towards Marinette and think that Adrien would be interested in literally anyone else.

“Would you ever be okay with Alya being in the hive?” Marinette asks, and Chloé blinks at her. The question seems like it’s out of left field, but maybe it’s not after Nino as brought up.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Chloé says slowly. “I would never feel about her the way I do about you and Adrien… the way I might feel about Nathaniel and Juleka in time. I don’t know what that would mean for the hive.” Maybe that’s not a bad thing. She can’t imagine being this deeply connected to too many people. It would be seriously overwhelming.

And she’s not sure about Césaire ever becoming a part of the hive either, but at the end of the day she knows it’s not really her decision to make. She can council Marinette on the right people to choose, but it’s Marinette’s decision to make because she’s the leader. So Chloé watches her closely, wondering if Marinette is seriously thinking about Césaire or if this is a sudden burst of melancholy after some high emotions.

“That’s okay. I’ll never feel the same way about Alya again, either” Marinette says, looking a little sad about that. “But I think to myself sometimes that I miss her. If she wanted to mend things between us, maybe someday I could trust her again.”

“Would she be okay with not having the Fox?” Chloé wants to know, feeling a little protective on Nathaniel’s behalf. He makes for an amazing Fox – a better Fox than Alya Césaire ever was, if you ask Chloé.

“She would have to be,” Marinette says, a stubborn glint in her eyes. “There are lots of other miraculous that Alya could choose from, or maybe you could choose one for her if it ever came to that. But I wouldn’t take Trixx or the Fox miraculous away from Nathaniel. They’re working really well together.”

“Good,” Chloé says, relaxing slightly. She supposes there could be a miraculous that would suit Césaire, but it’s not something that she’s spent a lot of time dwelling upon. Based on how stubborn Césaire can be, Chloé thinks it’ll be a long time before Marinette and Césaire make up – and an even longer time before Marinette feels comfortable enough with Césaire to even think seriously about giving her a miraculous. All of which means it’ll be a long time before Chloé has to seriously worry about Césaire joining the hive, which is fine with her.

“It’s just a thought, anyway. I’m not anywhere ready to give Alya another miraculous. She has a lot of making up to do before that could happen, and I don’t know if she even wants that.” Marinette sighs, her sadness deepening into something an awful lot like wistfulness, and Chloé makes a face as a sudden realization hits her.

She’s going to have to talk to Césaire about Marinette, isn’t she? Ugh. Just the thought is annoying, but she also knows that Marinette won’t do it and Adrien can’t do it and that pretty much leaves Chloé. The thought of making things better between Marinette and Césaire is kind of worrisome – what if Marinette goes back to being all about Césaire? – but she also knows it has to be done for Marinette’s sake.

Double ugh. Maybe life was better before she cared about other people.

Or maybe not, Chloé thinks, as Adrien finally clambers back out to join them. He’s beaming and carrying a big tray of sweets and cups of tea. Marinette laughs at him and gets up to help him, taking the tray and putting it down on the table. Plagg, Tikki, and Pollen all pounce on the food, with Plagg hoarding all of the cheese croissants for himself. Maybe this is better.

Chapter Text

“I have to get going,” Adrien says a couple of hours later, checking his watch. “I’m definitely going to get caught if I don’t.”

“I guess I should go too,” Chloé says reluctantly, setting her empty cup of tea down. The thought of going back to the hotel is not a happy one. One of two things will happen: either her parents will want to continue the conversation she ended so abruptly, or they’ll have forgotten all about it and won’t even be there. At this point, Chloé honestly can’t decide which of those two options is more depressing.

“You don’t have to go,” says Marinette, and at first Chloé assumes that Marinette is talking to Adrien. But when she looks up, Marinette is looking right at her.

“Me?” Chloé says, and even goes so far as to point at herself just in case Marinette is talking to someone else.

Marinette smiles. “Yeah, you. We could… I dunno… have a sleepover tonight. You know, if you wanted to.” She looks a little awkward, but not so much that she rescinds the offer.

“I… sure?” Chloé says. She doesn’t mean to make it sound like a question, but somehow it comes out that way anyway.

“Aw, now I really wish I could stay,” Adrien says mournfully.

“You just want to see us both in our underwear,” Chloé tells him.

Adrien smirks. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Pervert,” Marinette says, rolling her eyes. “Be gone, cat, before I get the newspaper and start smacking.”

“So rude,” Adrien says, but he does get up. “Plagg, claws out!”

One flash of green light later and Chloé looks away while Marinette and Chat Noir kiss each other goodbye. She wonders if Marinette’s parents ever find it strange that they don’t usually see Adrien coming or going from the bakery. From their perspective, Adrien must just randomly appear from Marinette’s bedroom sometimes. If the balcony weren’t so high up, they’d probably assume he was climbing up that way – or maybe they assume that anyway.

“What shall we do first?” Marinette says, and Chloé turns back to her as Chat leaps away. “Well, I guess I’ll take this tray downstairs and let Maman know you’re staying.”

“Should you?” Chloé says.

“What do you mean?”

Chloé shrugs. “We didn’t like each other for a long time. Won’t your parents find it weird?”

“Oh.” Marinette frowns for a few seconds before shrugging. “Well, they were going to have to see you sometime. It was inevitable. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Chloé says, somewhat doubtfully. She’s never really met either of the Dupain-Chengs in person, but she’s pretty sure they won’t like her. Surely they’ve heard stories from Marinette over the years, which means they’ll think that Chloé is the same awful person she used to be. They might even think that she’s blackmailing Marinette somehow, or that she’s here to cause trouble…

Suddenly the thought of returning to the hotel isn’t quite as bad after all.

“It’ll be alright, Chloé,” Tikki says kindly. “Marinette’s parents are really nice.”

“I’m sure,” Chloé murmurs, rather than give voice to her thoughts. Because honestly, if Marinette’s parents do hate her, then Chloé has no one to blame other than herself. She’ll just have to grin and bear it for the sake of the hive, because she’s sure she’ll be in this position again in the future.

Staying quiet seems like the best option, so Chloé says nothing as she trails Marinette down the steps and into the apartment. It’s the first time she’s seen their place, and she’s genuinely surprised by how… homey it is. It’s not pristine like the hotel or filled with pretty things that are meant to be looked at but not touched like Adrien’s place. The furniture is obviously meant to be comfortable, and the walls are covered with family pictures.

“Maman, I have a friend staying for dinner,” Marinette says, walking into the kitchen.

Rather than follow, Chloé stays in the living room and tries to calm herself. Another akuma reappearance is really the last thing they need at the moment. She picks up one of the pictures as a distraction, looking at it. It’s of Marinette at maybe five or six, helping out her father in the bakery. Marinette is covered from head to toe in flour and giggling, while her father blinks in surprise.

It’s a cute picture.

Chloé has nothing like it.

She’s not even sure there are any photos of her in the whole hotel, much less one with her and her parents.

“Hello, Chloé,” says a voice from behind her.

Shit. Chloé quickly sets the photo down and turns around to see Marinette’s mother standing behind her. Marinette is hovering in the doorway of the kitchen, looking so nervous that it automatically makes Chloé twice as apprehensive. She swallows hard and pastes on a nervous smile, wondering why she agreed to stay. At least with her own parents, it’s familiar territory.

“Hello,” Chloé says softly, uncertain as to what she’s supposed to say or do.

Sabine doesn’t smile back. “You can come sit down at the table. Dinner will be ready shortly.”

It’s one of the most uncomfortable dinners Chloé’s ever had, and that’s saying something. It rapidly becomes clear that both of Marinette’s parents think that Chloé is here under false pretences. Neither one of them is rude, but they’re not friendly either – not that Chloé can blame them for that. Given hers and Marinette’s history, it’s a miracle they didn’t toss Chloé out on her butt.

Chloé retreats upstairs as soon as she can, leaving Marinette downstairs with her parents. She doesn’t even realize that Tikki has snuck into her pocket alongside Pollen until she’s shut the door to Marinette’s room and both kwamis emerge from Chloé’s pocket.

“Are you okay, my Queen?” Pollen asks, looking at Chloé with too sympathetic eyes.

“I’m fine,” Chloé says, even as she’s struggling with the feeling that she doesn’t belong here. Queen Bee and Ladybug can be friends, sure. But Marinette and Chloé? Now that they’ve put it into words, it feels like the sort of gulf that can’t be crossed.

“Chloé, Marinette’s parents will come around. They’re both very friendly people. They just don’t know you,” says Tikki.

Chloé shrugs a shoulder. “It’s fine. Parents don’t tend to like me much,” she says.

Tikki looks a little mad at that, but all she says is, “You shouldn’t give up. It’s important for the hive that you be here.”

“What?” Chloé says, caught off-guard by that.

“Tikki’s right. The bonds of the hive will be deepened by you all spending time with each other outside of patrols and akuma attacks,” says Pollen.

“I’m not sure I want the bonds to be any deeper,” Chloé mutters, rubbing ruefully at her chest. It’s only recently that she’s stopped feeling like she was being suffocated by the grief and despair of the hive over Lila’s death.

“There are good parts to this too, Chloé. I promise,” Pollen tells her, but before Pollen can say anything else the door opens, and Marinette comes up. Much like Tikki, Marinette looks mad.

“Sorry about that,” Marinette says crossly, slamming the door. “My parents are a pain sometimes.”

“I can’t blame them. It’s not like you told them we were friends,” Chloé says, still feeling a little awkward about using the word ‘friend’ to refer to Marinette.

“Okay, yeah, but still.” Marinette huffs and crosses her arms, and it takes Chloé longer than it should to realize that Marinette isn’t mad at her. Rather, she’s mad at her parents on Chloé’s behalf.

“They love you, Marinette. That’s not a bad thing,” Chloé tells her. She thinks about what would happen if she tried to bring one of her classmates to the hotel for supper. Her parents wouldn’t even know whether it was one of Chloé’s friends or enemies, much less care enough to react on her behalf. Hell, her parents wouldn’t even be around for the dinner to happen in the first place!

“I guess,” Marinette says, her face softening slightly. “What do you want to do? Watch movies? Play a video game? I have no idea what you like doing in your spare time.”

Chloé shrugs. “I don’t do a lot,” she says evasively. She’s not like Marinette, who designs and sews, or Nathaniel, who loves to draw. She doesn’t really have any hobbies.

“You like to experiment with make-up,” Pollen pipes up, and Marinette brightens.

“Oh really? Could we give each other makeovers? I tried to talk Adrien into doing that with me one day and he started muttering something about getting enough of make-up during his photoshoots and then he ran off.”

“Sure,” Chloé says, a little surprised by Marinette’s enthusiasm. But Pollen’s not wrong – Chloé does enjoy sitting at her vanity and experimenting with different looks and hairstyles – so she shrugs and nods.

“Okay, you sit here. I’ll do you first,” Marinette says, pointing to her desk chair, and Chloé obeys. Marinette rummages around in her closet and comes up with a great big toolbox, which she thunks down on her desk. When she opens it up, Chloé sees that it’s full of things like nail polish, hair accessories, and make-up.

“You don’t really wear make-up. Why do you have all this?” Chloé says, baffled.

Marinette grabs some foundation. “Sometimes I like doing photoshoots with my designs. It gets a little boring when your model looks exactly the same. I find that the right hairstyle and make-up can really give a design that finishing touch. That perfect little je ne sais quoi that takes it from meh to amazing.”

And yeah, okay, Chloé can see that. “Did you do makeovers a lot with Césaire?” she asks.

“Umm… not really. Once in a while. But make-up isn’t really Alya’s thing,” Marinette says absently, kneeling in front of Chloé. “She used to say that it’s because it takes too long and she has to be ready to report to an akuma attack at any second, but I think she’s just not that into it. Which is fine. Close your eyes.”

Chloé does as requested, trying to ignore the weird little flutter of excitement in her stomach at the realization that she and Marinette have something in common that Marinette and Alya don’t. She keeps her eyes shut as Marinette works. There’s something soothing about having someone else paying attention to her like this. For these few precious moments, she’s Marinette’s sole focus and it’s nice.

“Okay, done!” Marinette says too soon. “Now for your hair. Can you take the Bee miraculous out? But don’t look!”

“I won’t look,” Chloé says, reaching up to unpin her miraculous. She keeps it cupped protectively in her hands, weirdly pleased that Marinette asked her to do it rather than Marinette just grabbing it herself.

But of course, if anyone could understand how personal a miraculous is, it’s Marinette.

Marinette unties her hair and starts by brushing it. “What do you think of having your hair down? You look really pretty this way. Actually, you look a lot more like Adrien with your hair down.”

“I don’t really care either way,” Chloé replies. A ponytail is convenient and sassy, and makes it easy to hide the Bee miraculous, but she’s not opposed to something else temporarily.

For several minutes Marinette fusses around, tugging gently here and there, before she makes a sound of triumph. “Okay! You can look.”

Chloé opens her eyes quickly, filled with curiosity, and is shocked by what she sees. Marinette’s used subtle colors to make her blue eyes pop. Her cheekbones have been delicately shaded to make her look a little older, and her lips are painted a really nice shade of pale pink. Her hair is down around her shoulders, but Marinette has pulled back some of her hair to braid it while leaving some strands free to hang around Chloé’s face.

“Beautiful!” Pollen chirps, and Tikki nods.

“What do you think?” Marinette says happily. “I also thought about pulling your hair up, but I really do like it down.”

“It’s great,” Chloé says quietly, staring at herself.

She’s not sure she knows who that girl in the mirror is…

That girl looks older, calmer, and sure of herself in a way that Chloé just… isn’t.

“Okay, now it’s my turn,” Marinette says, wiggling with glee. “Do something creative with my hair, okay? I want something different than pigtails.”

“Right. Got it,” Chloé says, shaking herself out of her stupor. She gets up to trade places. Marinette plunks herself down and closes her eyes, giving Chloé the chance to do whatever she wants.

It’s a lot of trust.

Chloé exhales and picks up the foundation. Hoping she doesn’t sound as shaky as she feels, she says lightly, “Keep your eyes closed. No peeking.”

Chapter Text

Sunlight in her face wakes Chloé up the next morning. She rolls over her side to try and ignore it, but by that point she’s awake enough that more sleep isn’t going to happen. Muttering a curse under her breath, she pries open an eye to see how the hell the sun is managing to seep around her very expensive curtains. It’s only once she sees the window above her that she remembers.

Right. The akuma. Adrien. Marinette. The sleepover. The memories crash over her so quickly that it’s a little dizzying, but it’s enough to make her grasp that she’s laying in Marinette’s bed. Marinette is still sound asleep, seemingly unbothered by the light, head cushioned against the frankly ginormous stuffed cat that takes up a quarter of the bed. Tikki and Pollen are snoozing away too.

“Ugh, too early,” Chloé mumbles, rubbing at her eyes. She muffles a yawn, wondering if it’s worth the effort of trying to go back to sleep. She and Marinette were up pretty late. They did makeovers on each other until Marinette started getting too tired to be able to put make-up on correctly.

Then they retired to Marinette’s bed with a plethora of snacks and Marinette’s laptop. If Chloé remembers correctly, they got through a movie and a half before Marinette passed out. Chloé thinks she probably wasn’t too far behind because she doesn’t remember the end of the second movie. She meant to go down and sleep on Marinette’s chaise, but somehow, she fell asleep in the bed.

Is that weird? Chloé doesn’t know. It feels like it should feel weird, but it doesn’t. Marinette’s got a big bed. There’s ample space for two teenaged girls and two kwamis, even with the stuffed animals that Marinette has. Of course, had Chloé moved down to the chaise, she wouldn’t have gotten woken up by the sunlight – so in that respect, it’s not so great.

“Marinette?”

The sound of Marinette’s mom’s voice makes Chloé sit up, her stomach clenching with nerves. She shoots a panicked look down at Marinette just as the trap door lifts. Sabine’s head appears first, followed by her shoulders and torso, as she pushes the door up more. She looks at Chloé with wide eyes, clearly surprised to see that Chloé is sitting in Marinette’s bed.

“Good morning,” Sabine says after a split-second pause.

“Hi,” Chloé says awkwardly, reaching to down jab at Marinette’s shoulder.

Marinette, damn her, just mutters something about Tikki and squirms away.

“You’ll have to try harder than that to wake Marinette up. She’s a pretty solid sleeper,” Sabine says, watching this.

“Oh, uh, right,” Chloé says. She’s never had to wake Marinette up before. Usually Adrien does that, and his tried-and-true method is out of the question: Chloé is not about to kiss Marinette.

Sabine looks at her for a long moment before she says, “I love my daughter very much, Chloé Bourgeois. If this is your way of trying to set Marinette up, I want you to stop it right now.”

“It’s not –” Chloé starts, but Sabine cuts her off.

“I don’t want to hear it. Marinette seems to think you’ve changed, and I don’t want to upset her. So I’ll treat you the same as I do her other friends. I just wanted to warn you that my daughter’s feelings are not some game for you to play around with. I don’t care that you’re one of Paris’s superheroes.” Sabine’s expression is very stern.

“I won’t hurt Marinette,” Chloé says, very quietly. Her stomach is churning so badly that it hurts, a sickening combination of shame and disgust and indignation and anger. If it weren’t for the miraculous, she wouldn’t even be here. If Marinette weren’t Ladybug, then Marinette never would have given Chloé a second chance. If it weren’t for Lila being such a brat, then the hive wouldn’t be where it is today.

But she can’t exactly convey that to Sabine. Not without risking Marinette’s secret, and Chloé won’t do that.

“See that you don’t,” Sabine says briskly. “Marinette! You’ve got ten minutes to get up before I come back with a glass of water. You’re running late. I need your help in the bakery.” She ducks down, letting the door fall back into place.

At first Chloé thinks the threat is an empty one because Marinette is still sleeping, but she’s proven wrong when Marinette rolls over again and sits up. There’s a ferocious scowl on her face that takes Chloé aback. She hasn’t seen Marinette look like that since the time an akuma was stupid enough to throw Chat off a building, and Ladybug lost her shit.

“That was so inappropriate. She never would have said something like to Alya or Adrien,” Marinette says.

“In all fairness, you don’t have the background with Alya and Adrien that you do me,” Chloé says. It feels weird to recognize that Marinette’s mad on her behalf.

“But still! My parents aren’t aware of everything that happens in my life. For the longest time, they didn’t even know that Alya and I weren’t really friends. So my mom should be able to trust me when I say that you’re my friend now,” Marinette replies. She still looks mad, and Chloé’s not really sure what to say to alleviate that anger.

Frankly, in a way she can’t help thinking that Marinette is lucky. Her own parents don’t even know who Chloé’s friends are, much less who Chloé doesn’t get along with.

“You should get downstairs. Your mom said you had to help with the bakery,” Chloé says, deciding that a subject change is probably her best option.

“Right.” Marinette sighs and crawls towards the ladder. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Chloé says, following.

“About your parents.”

Right. Chloé holds in a sigh as she realizes that she’s going to have to talk to her father again. She really needs him to drop the whole idea of sending her away once and for all. It’s just too stressful to have to hear about that over and over again. She lands on the ground and turns to look at Marinette. All of Marinette’s anger seems to have faded and now she just looks worried.

“I guess I’ll tell him once and for all that I’m not going,” Chloé says finally. “And hope that it finally sinks in. My mom doesn’t want me there, so it’s not like she’ll fight me on it.” She pauses for a moment, thinking, before adding bitterly, “Maybe I’ll point out to him how bad it would look if the mayor of Paris is sending his daughter away. That wouldn’t look very good for his precious image.”

“Oh, Chloé.” For the second time in as many days, Chloé is suddenly being hugged.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Chloé mumbles, even though that’s a lie. It still stings to know that neither of her parents really wanted her, even though in retrospect that’s obvious.

“I’d tell you not to get so upset you risk getting akumatized again, but I know that’s easier said than done,” Marinette says in her ear. “So if you do start feeling that way, make sure you come find me or Adrien. Promise me.”

“I will,” Chloé says, swallowing. “Would you…” She stops.

“Would I what?” Marinette says, pulling back. “Do you want me to go with you?”

Now that Marinette says it, Chloé realizes that having Marinette’s support would be really nice. But she still shakes her head. She doesn’t want Marinette to get a first-hand look at how awful her parents can be. It’s one thing for Adrien to see it, because Gabriel Agreste can be just as bad if not worse. But Marinette’s parents? They’re good, loving people. The comparison is just too bad.

“No, I wanted you to do my hair again like you did last night. The first time,” Chloé says.

Marinette looks surprised, then pleased. “Sure! Sit down in my desk chair.”

Chloé does as asked, taking a seat and watching as Marinette does her hair. Marinette takes her time, but it still happens too fast, and in no time Chloé is dressed and leaving the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The weight of her hair on her neck is unusual but not unpleasant. The lack of her normal ponytail feels like a reminder that she isn’t alone, and that’s something that she sorely needs right now.

“Are you just going back to the hotel?” Pollen asks, poking her head out of Chloé’s pocket.

“Probably. I don’t even know if my parents are there, but I can try,” Chloé says.

“I’m really proud of you, Chloé,” Pollen says seriously. “I know that sharing your feelings with Marinette and Adrien wasn’t easy, but it was really important. The hive isn’t a one-way street. Everything has to go both ways. Everything needs to be –”

“In balance,” Chloé says at the same time, and Pollen grins up at her.

“That’s right! You’re going to be my best queen bee yet, Chloé.”

“I already am the best.” Chloé goes to flip her ponytail over her shoulder, only to remember that her hair is done. Pollen’s playful giggle just makes Chloé roll her eyes and pick up the pace.

But she never makes it to the hotel.

She’s about five minutes away when she gets a text on her phone from Nathaniel. The information about an akuma attack makes Chloé confused – everyone around her is still acting normally and she hasn’t heard anyone so much as breathe the word akuma – and the warning to bring Juleka with her is just plain alarming. She stops walking and texts back a confirmation.

“Something’s wrong?” Pollen says, peeking at Chloé’s phone.

“I guess so.” Chloé sighs, realizing she’ll have to put aside her stern talk with her father for now. Maybe it’s just as well. She can work out some extra adrenaline kicking an akuma’s butt, and then maybe have a cooler head when she’s squaring off against her parents.

“Ready when you are!” Pollen chirps. Chloé nods, glancing around. There’s a lot of people around and transforming out in the open could stir up a panic, so she slides into a nearby alley instead.

“Pollen, buzz on!”