Work Text:
Adrien Agreste was perfect. Not so perfect, of course, that Chloé wouldn't try for someone better if the opportunity presented itself, but who could blame her for trying to become a princess? That hadn't worked out, and Chloé took that as proof that she'd been right in her pursuit of Adrien. Really, who could be better? He was rich, heir to the Agreste fortune, handsome, people paid good money and spent a lot of effort to look as good as he did carelessly, famous, even beating her out for fame with all his fangirls, and best of all, he had access to everything the Agreste name implied, clothing, perfume, jewelry, all her favorite things. She could be on the arm of no one less, not without debasing herself. Acquiring him was a bit of a battle, he was playing hard to get for some reason, but it was a battle half won. She knew him in a way no one else ever could, and Adrien was loyal to a fault, even more loyal than Sabrina, who'd turned Akuma just because she'd been punished a little. The traitor. They were already friends for life, all she had to do now was get him to be romantic with her and she'd have him. He wouldn't even have to want it, he was so loyal that if she forced the issue just right he'd be her boyfriend for as long as she wanted. He would never betray her by breaking up first, even if it had never actually been his idea. But that was how men worked, they had to be guided to the things that were best for them.
He was proving slippery about it though. She hadn't managed to force a kiss or corner him into a romantic confession or anything. He'd even been trained to never agree to anything while distracted, so she couldn't even try that tack. She'd gone to great lengths just to get that signed poster that had unluckily been destroyed during an Akuma attack. Still, she could force a few things before he could protest or slip out of it, his loyalty to his father making him always be extremely polite and never make a big fuss about anything. So she would drape herself on him and pepper his face with kisses any chance she got. He pretended to not like it, but really, who wouldn't want that kind of attention from someone as beautiful, powerful, and strong willed as herself? She'd wear him down eventually.
Adrien had been paying attention to Nino all day, and it was time for that to stop. It frustrated Chloé a little, Adrien shouldn't be associating with people so far beneath him, really, but it did well for his image and Nino was no threat. At least he wasn't spending time with Marinette today. Chloé would tolerate anyone, even Lila over Marinette. Lila was easy enough to stop, she might have a way with words and some foreign mystery on her side, but in the end it was the same game Chloé had played all her life. Chloé had more experience and power. No, Lila wasn't a real threat. Marinette however, had always been one. Thankfully the little chit was too wound up in herself to realize how much control she had over Adrien, and Adrien was too caught up in the newness of everything to realize how enamoured he was. But that was why Chloé had to be there for him, to save him from himself. Thankfully no one else had realized that he was entranced by her, only Chloé knew him well enough to recognize how he was holding himself back. How all his encouraging shoulder touches were him wishing he could hug her, how a wink was really him wishing to put an arm around her shoulder. How he'd sit patiently and listen with every ounce of attention as she rambled on and stumble over her own words. How he'd say yes to anything she suggested and jumped at the chance to be anywhere she was. How he'd purposefully move himself into her path when he saw her fumble so that she'd run into him. Really, this poor boy needed an intervention before it was too late.
"Adrikins!" Chloé called out and draped herself on him. Adrien flinched and tried to disentangle himself, but Chloé held on tighter. He didn't use to try and pull away. Chloé figured it must be puberty, he had realized she was a girl and didn't know how to deal with it. Which meant Chloé had to press that advantage. "You've barely paid attention to me at all lately? Aren't I your friend?" She pouted and batted her eyes at him.
"Er, yeah. But--"
"Perfect!" She gave him a large kiss on the cheek. "Now, what should we do then? Shopping? Oh, Adrikins, you wouldn't believe what happened to me the last time I went shopping!" Adrien sighed, realizing he wasn't going to be getting away any time soon. Chloé didn't revel in the success, a win over such a small battle was expected. Instead she geared up for a really nice rant. "You know how Loui Vuitton came out with a new bag? Of course you do, how could you not? It was so perfect! The latest designs have been experimenting with closures and with this one he used them almost like jewelry for the bag, so if I had one it would be like wearing twice the jewelry without looking gaudy or overdone. It was perfect for me! But when I went to get one, they had sold out. SOLD OUT! The nerve of the store! They were just selling them to anyone who had the money, like idiots. They should have known I was coming and held at least one in reserve. So instead I had to go look at shoes, and I still don't have the bag!"
"Question for you Chloé." Adrien interrupted smoothly, before she could get started talking about shoes.
Chloé frowned slightly, not liking being derailed, but recovered quickly. "I've got loads of answers for you, Adrikins. Most of them are yes." She batted her eyelashes.
"A serious question, Chlo." He said, rolling his eyes.
She huffed. What was it going to take with him? "Alright already, spill."
"Say you had a crush on a guy, but he was already in love with someone else. Would you want him to tell you so you could move on or would you prefer he just didn't tell you and stayed friends?"
What an odd question. Maybe he was asking for Nino's benefit. "That would never happen, everyone loves me." She waved a hand dismissively.
"Hypothetically."
Wait a second. Had he actually figured out that he liked Marinette? No, of course not. He'd just figured out that Marinette had a crush and he was going to let her down gently so that he could be with Chloé, like he was meant to be. "Well, I don't know what it be like if it'd happen to me, because it wouldn't, but there's no point in dragging it out. The girl's going to be hurt by it some time, might as well get it over with and be done with it. Friendzoning someone without telling them would be torture."
Heh, torture. Marinette deserved a little drawn out pain, but Chloé really wanted to see her put in her place.
"But wouldn't that be disappointing?"
"Oh, Adrien, you are so innocent. Of course it would be." She laughed, thinking of poor, sad Marinette. "Come on, you can't go through life without disappointing someone. Especially when you're as fabulous as we are." Chloé posed briefly, then looked at him. Ugh, he was really torn up about this. Was it really so hard to hurt Marinette? She sighed heavily. "Look Adrien, we both know this isn't really a hypothetical question. So, who's the girl?"
Adrien blushed and cleared his throat. "Marinette."
Woah, wait a minute. That wasn't how you reacted when talking about a girl you were going to turn down. Was he really trying to turn Chloe down to be with Marinette? Impossible, she was Chloé Bourgeois! No one was better than her! "Marinette?!" She laughed derisively. "Why are you worried about her? She's a nobody. Do you know she even makes her own clothes? She can't even afford one designer item, and this is Paris. The fashion capital of of the world."
His body language changed slightly. He wasn't blushing due any sort of shyness now. He was embarrassed and angry on her behalf. Ugh, just how caught up by this girl was he? "My dad makes his own clothes, Chloé, and all of mine. That's not a bad thing."
"Makes? You mean designs. Not the same thing, he has people to make things for him. What was it your dad said about her? Laboring hands of a hat maker?" Chloé had hated how Marinette had turned the tables on her during the competition, but she'd loved hearing that line. It was such a perfect balance of appropriate praise and complete derision. Marinette had been put in her place with that remark and had been too proud of her little accomplishment to realize it. "It's different for your dad anyway. He's a famous designer. Marinette is just," she made and exaggerated disgusted face, "Marinette."
"My dad wasn't always famous either and he didn't always have employees. Marinette is really talented, she wins contests and gets attention from rock stars for it and she's still just a teenager in school." Adrien's fists were clenched and his shoulders were creeping up towards his ears. Great, he was getting angry about this. Chloé ignored it, this was something he needed to hear.
"Like that's even hard. I can do the same thing without talent. There's nothing special about her at all. Come on, Adrien, you don't actually like her."
She shouldn't have said that.
"Of course I like her! She's sweet and kind and funny and interesting and brave and adorable and yes, talented! Why are you always like this with her? Why do you hate her so much?"
So, it was true. Adrien really was trying to let her down so he could be with Marinette. How could he? Marinette was her worst enemy. "Tch. Of course I hate her. Marinette is the worst. She doesn't understand anything. She's so common! If she was smart and paid attention to me she'd know how to use her charisma to get anything she wants, but she doesn't." Chloé had tried once to be her friend, and they had been for a while, but things had blown up after a few short months of being inseparable. Really, the lie she'd told that day hadn't been that bad, but Marinette couldn't let it go, so instead of the lie destroying someone in her way like it was supposed to do, it had rebounded on her. Marinette had betrayed her, for the sake of someone who she hadn't even liked. Chloé had hated Marinette ever since. "Marinette spends all her time doing things herself, trying to keep people happy, and do what she's told. That's not what you do with power. Power is supposed to be used. That's what it's for. That's why I like Ladybug, she's got power and uses it to her advantage. Marinette has all this power and she squanders it, then has the audacity to be upset when things don't go her way. Of course they don't, she doesn't ever want to do what it takes to make certain that it does. Our fathers have taught us better though, haven't they?"
Adrien's expression became bitter. "Yeah they did. But that doesn't make it right. There's a right and a wrong way to use power, Chloé."
Seriously? Was he really going to take Marinette's side on this? This was like her fight with Marinette all over again. He was supposed to be the loyal one, the one that would never betray her just because it was "the right thing to do". It was disgusting. "You agree with her, don't you? Ugh, of course. You've always been a people pleaser. They're just people Adrien. Walk all over them. That's how you get what you want. If you do it right they'll even thank you for it."
"I like people. I want friends."
Helping Adrien come to public school had been a mistake. He'd been corrupted by commoners and their stupid right vs. wrong, help everyone mentality. This wasn't her Adrikins, not anymore. "You want Marinette you mean." Chloé said darkly. "I get it, okay? Go have your little romance with Marinette. I wasn't really interested in you anyway." She tossed her hair into his face and stalked away.
Chloé kept her face blank and haughty, and kept her emotions in check, like a true Bourgeois, all the way until she got home. Well, almost. The stupid driver of her limo had taken far too long to do anything, and had caused her to trip and break the heel of her shoe. A few hot tears had escaped her eyes at that point, but it was over the loss of the shoes. Not the boy. Never the boy.
She wasn't going to miss him. She wasn't. He wasn't worthy of her, not anymore. But despite all her denials she'd sobbed into her pillow all that night.