Work Text:
"You are making a fool of me."
"No. For once I'm serious," Adrien said, brushing off a loose piece of fluff from the front of his shirt. He looked up at Chloé who looked like a unique mix of offended and curious. Adrien smiled smugly and leaned forward slightly, leaning on his elbows on the bed. "Please, I'm your childhood best friend."
Chloé rolled her eyes. “Adrien we have known each other for 17 years, You can't keep using it as a reason why I have to do you some favors. "
"I can continue to use it as a motif for as long as I want, plus I have to forget the last few times ...", said Adrien with a shiver, remembering the last time he met Chloé and Marinette in a position that he also doesn't he was brave enough to give it a try.
"This wouldn't have happened if you had knocked," Chloé stressed.
"That's not the point."
"Or you keep showing up at the hotel and picking the lock when we don't answer."
"I just want to make sure you're safe ..."
"Even when there's a sign on the door saying Adrien, don't enter-"
"But the akumas don't wait for you to open the door, just come in! But that's okay. Good. I understand your little point," Adrien said firmly. "Come on, it'll be fun."
Chloé arched an eyebrow at Adrien, leaning back in the chair. "I don't know if fun is the right word."
"It is," Adrien insisted. “You can show off and win. How fun will it be, and above all how much do you love attention? "
"So let me get this straight," Chloé sighed. "Do I turn into a wolf for a day so I can enter this ridiculous dog competition just because you want to humiliate Lila?"
“Yeah,” Adrien said, with a wide smile and maniacal eyes, “it's fucking perfect. He will surely lose ".
"Isn't that a bit like ... cheating?" Chloé said tilting her head.
"Get off your moral workhorse, Bourgeois. Technically it's not a scam," Adrien said, pursed lips. "Because technically you are a dog."
"Wolf."
"Dog."
"Wolf."
"Tomato, tomahto, the same things" Adrien said with a wave of his hand. "So? Are you there? Or are you there?"
Chloe sighed, but Adrien knew she had it. Chloé was also competitive in wolf form.
"Plus," Adrien said, deciding to sweeten the deal. "Imagine the look on Lila's face when we win that stupid fucking trophy."
Chloé had a distant look in her eyes and Adrien clenched her fists gleefully. The blonde had a lot of unfinished business with Lila, both to avenge her and her girlfriend and knew that Chloé wouldn't be able to resist. Adrien raised her eyebrows at her childhood friend who rolled her eyes.
"Good."
Adrien's fist pumped the air in victory
"YES."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, Bourgeois," Adrien said as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Remember, just be the best."
He looked at the big ... blonde wolf sitting in the passenger seat. Adrien patted his jacket pocket to make sure he had the extra syringe of the medicine that made Chloé docile. Her current dose should last her all day, but the last thing they needed was for Chloé to become a real wolf and destroy everything she saw.
Chloé sat in the passenger seat, still in perfect posture, as she looked out the window. She had made Adrien awkwardly put his seat belt on her despite Adrien claiming he would have been perfectly fine without it.
As they stopped in the park behind the town hall, Adrien saw all the other owners and their dogs. Mostly little cheeky looking things with weird outfits.
"Shit," Adrien swore. "I should have put you in a tutu or something." Chloé growled, her blue eyes turning to Adrien. She snorted as she pulled into a parking lot. “Don't act like I haven't seen you wearing that cop costume Marinette bought! Super weird, anyway. I don't need to know what weird things you guys do about sex- "
Chloé growled again and Adrien just raised her hands in surrender. "Okay okay. Do you have your period today? You're so sensitive, girl."
He unfastened his seat belt and then Chloé's, watching the giant wolf leap out of the open window instead of waiting for Adrien to open the door. Chloé sat patiently in front of the car, waiting for Adrien as he observed the scene around her. There was a table set up for the judges and an area bounded by a ribbon between the cones where Adrien thought the competition would take place. He stopped beside Chloé, leaning against the hood of the car as he searched for Lila.
"These things really bring out the cream of the Paris crop don't they?" Adrien muttered sarcastically. Chloé just sighed doggy style. "Okay, Chlo-broh, let's go in and destroy Lila and her dog with a weirdly human name I can't even remember right now."
Chloé let out a faint bark and followed Adrien as she approached the recording table. She squinted at the sun, but then rolled her eyes when she saw Marinette sitting at the table, waving at them excitedly. Chloé's steps got a little faster and Adrien groaned.
"Really, Mari?" Adrien asked as he approached the table. "What are you doing here?"
"I know they needed a hand so I offered my help," Marinette said with a little pout that soon turned into a smile. "Also I wanted to come and watch and cheer on my puppy" she cooed to Chloé whose tongue was happily dangling out of her mouth.
Adrien pretended to gag. "Ugh, stop. People will think you have a thing for my dog, ”he said looking around.
Marinette glanced at Adrien before returning to the newspapers in front of her. She scanned the list with a highlighter until she crossed out Adrien's name. She handed Adrien a bracelet and a bandana.
"What is this used for?" Adrien asked, lifting the bandana. It was bright pink and featured "Annual Paris Dog Day!" printed on it with little dogs cheesy clip art all over the place.
"Chloé has to wear it," said Marinette giving the wolf an apologetic look. Chloé put her long snout on the table with a sigh and Marinette took the bandana from Adrien to put it around Chloé neck's. "Sorry, I know pink isn't your favorite."
"She's color blind, she can't see," Adrien said scornfully as he managed to pull the paper bracelet on.
"Adrien?" Adrien's spine straightened at the familiar voice, his face hardened as he turned to face Lila. He had tucked his tiny thing into a sailor suit, complete with a hat, and was wearing a matching suit.
"Lila," Adrien said with a quick wave of greeting. She turned to the thing in his arms that was barking at him. "And ... what I'm not entirely convinced of is a dog."
She just whimpered again.
"I didn't realize you had a-" Lila looked at Chloé who was sitting obediently beside Adrien. "-... dog. Is it a dog?"
"I might ask you the same thing," Adrien said, squinting at the little sailor in his arms.
Lila laughed at him. “Mark is a Yorkshire Terrier breed. What is this?"
"Oh Bourg-um ... Puff here is a ..." He looked at Chloé who stared at her with wide eyes. “Irish… Labrador… Hound. And partly ... Schnauzer. "
Lila frowned at him and looked at Chloé. "I ... I've never heard of it."
Adrien nodded triumphantly. "Very rare. And difficult to train. Obviously."
Chloé glanced at her but turned back to Lila as Mark started babbling at her, struggling to free himself from Lila's arms. Lila struggled for a moment, trying to hold the little dog over her and off the ground, away from Chloé.
“Don't worry, Puff doesn't bite here. Hard, ”Adrien chuckled, watching Lila's eyes practically protrude from her head. “I also fed her an extra large meal this morning. So you can rest assured. "
"Are you sure this dog isn't part wolf?" Lila asked. "Because the rules say ..."
"No! All dogs," Adrien said with a nervous chuckle, stroking the top of Chloé's head. He growled softly and Adrien stopped, quickly pulling his hand away.
Lila looked at her, squinting at her. "Did you sterilize it?"
"Excuse me?"
"Is it sterile?"
Adrien let out a belly laugh. “Ah! Of course, yes, obviously isn't it? "He snorted, turning to look at Marinette who seemed anything but amused. Adrien let the smile fall from his face. Everyone was so damned serious. Jesus. He turned to Lila, straight face." Yes, of course it is. Because I'm a responsible dog owner. "
Lila was humming, Mark still barking in her arms. She walked past Adrien and walked over to the table for Marinette to check on her, Mark barking only getting louder than her as he got closer to the two of them. Chloé o stared with a deadly stare and growled at him. Lila's head snapped at her.
"Did she just growl at my dog?" she asked.
Adrien straightened up, shrugging his shoulders back with a mockery and chuckle. "No. she's a very good dog!"
"Thanks, Lila!" Marinette said with false sweetness, staring at her with her biggest smile from "The kindest person in Paris". She then she said "I'll be cheering on Mark today."
Lila smiled at Marinette before giving Adrien and Chloé another nasty look and then walking away. Chloé leaned against the table and watched her go.
“Dude, I hate that girl. And the dog mouse thing about her. "
"Mark is just a product of her upbringing," Marinette said as Chloé approached her and rested his head on her lap. Marinette stroked her head affectionately and Adrien just groaned at the mawkish nature of the whole thing. * even though he found them extremely cute *
"Okay, okay," Adrien said, pushing himself off the table. "Let's go kick that dog in the ass, Bourgeois."
Both Marinette and Chloé groaned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first race of the day was just a basic obedience test which Chloé obviously passed with flying colors. Though she glanced at Adrien every time he called her "Puff". Every sit, stay and heel, Chloé nailed. The crowd cheered and Chloé's chest swelled a little. Adrien rolled her eyes at the way Chloé preened as they walked past the judges and returned to training.
"Nobody likes an arrogant bitch," Adrien said in the corner of his mouth as they stood and watched Lila and Mark walk into the center of the fenced area. Mark performed the movements, heel then sit down and then stay. Adrien laughed, "Wow, Mark, that living room looked very shaky."
Chloé made a strange sound in the back of her throat that Adrien could only assume could be laughter. He looked at the crowd and saw Marinette standing at the volunteer table, greeting the two. Adrien replied with a short, embarrassed greeting even though he felt a smile tug at his lips. He could hear Chloé's tail flutter at the sight of Marinette and put his hands in his jacket pockets.
He felt the familiar pain in his chest as he saw those little moments between Marinette and her childhood friend of hers. As much as he teased them, Adrien was happy for Chloé. Happy and jealous and disgusted and worried. Worried that Chloé would get hurt.
Adrien felt an elbow on her leg and saw Chloé watching him, curious look on her face. He cursed the curious nature that Chloé also wore in wolf form.
"Yes yes," Adrien said, tapping a heavy pat between Chloé's ears. Chloé thrust her head into Adrien's hand. "Okay, there's no need to get mushy." Even if he continues to caress her.
Next was the agility course and Adrien, again, wasn't worried. When he was sleeping in the hotel, he saw Chloé training in the morning, even in freezing weather. Also, was being a werewolf supposed to grant her some sort of funny physical powers or what was the point of her?
“Okay, Chlo,” Adrien said, crouching beside her as they watched Mark as he crossed the course. Lila ran alongside Mark, her face flushed as her little legs seemed to be working very hard to get around the path, not unlike Mark. She ran up the A-frame and back down, tripping over the bottom and barely touching the colored contact pad she needed for stitches. Adrien laughed. “I don't know how this asshole wins every year. He has made himself comfortable, his form is sloppy. Plus, you know there's no way in hell I'm running right next to your ass, so I'll stand in the middle and yell at you things that sound awesome. Good?"
Chloé bowed her head with a snort. Confirmation. They were called to the ring and Chloé sat down on the starting line. She bounced back and forth on her front paws and Adrien chuckled.
"All right, impatient miss," Adrien said. "Make dad proud."
The whistle blows and Chloé leaves. Adrien did what he did best, standing in the middle of the path and pointing as if he was actually directing Chloé into her movements. Chloé raced the course with precision, making sure she touched every necessary contact point and darting between the posts. Adrien applauded as Chloé came to an end, raising her hand for a high five. Chloé got up on her hind legs and put her paw on Adrien's hand giving her a high five and the crowd went crazy.
Chloé turned in an excited circle and strut past the rest of the dogs back to their seats. Adrien smiled broadly at Lila whose face was practically purple, frowning on her face. He winked at the nastiest girl and Mark just yelled her usual yelp.
"Good work, Chlo," Adrien muttered as they straightened up. "This test is certainly ours."
As the races went on, Lila kept turning different shades of red. Even Mark seemed to grow happier as the day began to wane, his little sailor suit looking rumpled and Lila's matching hat just a little crooked. At one point, Adrien looked into the crowd to see Marinette, Nino and Alya all there cheering for them. Well, Alya and Marinette cheered enthusiastically. Nino had decided to clap his hands politely, with small smiles on his face.
The final race was a baseline evaluation. The judges would pass and rate the dogs solely on the basis of appearance. Adrien felt he should have been offended by this, but he decided to keep his comments for later. For once.
He knelt next to Chloé again and frowned at her.
"Okay, Puff, -"
Chloé growled at her name, but Adrien continued.
“-There is nothing we can do about it, you just have to be your big, wolf, beautiful self. All right, White Fang. "
Chloé snorted.
"Balto?"
Chloé covered her nose with an embarrassed paw and Adrien rolled her eyes.
"You are so dramatic. Well, we'll stay with Puff. Anyway, just ... be calm. Good? I feel that we are head to head with Mark and I really want to bring this victory home ”.
Adrien looked over his shoulder to see Lila frantically brushing Mark's coat, his glittering eyes practically staring at them. Adrien showed him her tongue and his body vibrated as he growled.
"Yap yap! Yup! Yup!"
"That little dog shit," Adrien said to Chloé. "I'll need you to translate it for me later, Bourgeois."
Chloé cocked her head to the side in a way that was not entirely unlike when he did the same in his human form. Adrien looked at her for a moment and felt a wave of affection rise in her chest. He looked at Marinette, cheerfully encouraging them in even the most ridiculous plan of stealing a trophy from a sad, liar with too much time, alone except for her dog. Adrien at times like these is overwhelmed by... love.
He quickly turned to Chloé.
"Anyway," he cleared his throat and closed his eyes briefly in an attempt to banish her feelings. “Um… thanks for um… for doing this, Chloé. I appreciate it."
Chloé's tongue lolled out of his happy mouth and placed her large paw on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien rolled her eyes and looked away with a smirk. "Yeah yeah. I'm just glad you can't hug me in wolf shape, flea bag."
"Now I introduce you, Puff and his manager, Adrien!"
Adrien got up and they took a short walk around the ring. He could tell that Chloé had a swollen chest and she was trying to look as graceful as possible. They approached the table set up in the center where the judge was. Chloé jumped onto the table and stood there as the judges ran their hands down her back and examined her teeth.
Chloé's ears flattened and a small snarl formed in her throat as they began to examine her back half, even going so far as to lift her tail.
"Hey!" he heard Marinette scream in the distance.
Adrien gave Chloé a sympathetic look and patted her head. He whispered, "I owe you so many favors."
The judge frowned and looked at him, so Adrien just giggled to joke. He jotted something in his notes and stepped aside so that Chloé could jump off. They lined up and waited, watching Mark settle down on the exam table. When the judge went to the center with his little notes, Adrien was surprised to feel really nervous.
Chloé was standing beside him, her tail banging against the ground as the judge waved to the crowd.
"We have our decision," he said aloud and with more importance than he should have had. "Third place, we have Taffy and her owner Jenna!"
There was a polite applause, Adrien gave an unenthusiastic applause as he watched the little brown dog and its 12-year-old owner go to collect their prize. Adrien chuckled and muttered under his breath.
"Look at that little trophy," whispered Adrien. “Did you see Taffy's high five during the trick contest? Pathetic. My grandmother gave her high five after her stroke. "
"Second place," continued the judge, "is-"
Adrien held his breath and was sure Lila was holding his too.
"-Mark and his owner Lila!"
Adrien clapped his hands aloud with a little applause as some of the nerves in his chest were dissipating. There was no way they were losing now. Hell, even if they did, the incredulous look on Lila's face for taking second place was enough for a win. Her face was tight in a hard line, Mark struggling in her arms as he held him very close to her chest. He looked at Adrien who smiled at her and then at the judge who looked at her waiting for her.
"This leaves the top spot," said the judge with a big smile. Adrien scoffed and shook his head. He wasn't supposed to get enough attention at home, he thought. This must be the only time a year that he gets any appreciation. "And the first place goes to ..."
He took a deep breath.
"Puff and his manager Adrien!"
"Fuck yes!" shouted Adrien with a fist pump. Lila let out an offended little cry and Adrien walked over to the judge with Chloé trotting beside her. She made sure to throw Lila over her shoulder as she walked and the crowd giggled in a mixture of offense and amusement.
The judge frowned at him, but he still snatched the trophy from his hand and held it over his head. Marinette and Alya were bouncing in place as they cheered and Chloé spun around in a tight, excited circle. Adrien reached out to high-five and Chloé certainly didn't leave him hanged. She took another look at Lila and Adrien could practically see her mentally writing all the insults she wanted to throw at him and Chloé.
"We did it, Chlo," Adrien said with a broad smile. "It's time for ice cream".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adrien, Marinette and Chloé were overlooking the Seine, with their ice cream in hand, they were silently smiling until Adrien spoke
“Anyway,” Adrien said, pulling out the 's' and turning back to Chloé. "I meant ... thank you, Chloé, for having as many moral scruples about cheating to take away the joy of an annoying harpy in the world."
Chloé blinked at Adrien,
"It's not ... I mean, we worked very hard for that trophy," she said, her tongue thick with ice cream. "We deserve it."
"I agree," Adrien said. Suddenly with a big smile he raised his sundae and loudly said "To ... teamwork."
Chloé smiled stupidly. "We are a really good team, aren't we?"
Adrien pointed to Chloé. "Don't be too sweet with me, Puff."
Chloé wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I can't believe you gave me that stupid name."
“I think it's cute,” Marinette cooed, turning Chloé over to her side and squeezing her cheeks in her hands. "Is suitable. Especially when your hair is all messy in the morning. "
They giggled and their faces came closer. Their lips had barely touched when Adrien pretended to gag and get their attention.
"Hey and ew! Keep it in your pants for three seconds, guys. I'm trying to have a good time and you're ruining it with your love."
Marinette glanced at Adrien, but Chloé straightened again with a blush and looked at him again.
"As I was saying. Teamwork and beating Lila."
"To team up and beat Lila", have repeated Chloé and Marinette.
"So," Adrien said with a wink. "What else can we do to fuck with Lila?"
Chloé looked at it exactly 3 seconds before throwing the finished cup and running away.