Chapter Text
Chloé Bourgeois was laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, when she heard the thump on her balcony. At first, that didn’t phase her much. She was used to birds occasionally landing on the railing. So she didn’t move, and kept on staring at the ceiling, until the sound of something else reached her ears.
Was that... someone crying?
Chloé sat up to listen better. It did sound like the sound of someone softly crying. But it could also have been birds cooing. Curious, she swung her legs off the bed and stood up. It was cool enough out at night now that she grabbed her robe, sliding it on quickly, before she walked over to the partially open doors.
“Chat Noir?” Chloé said, genuinely baffled when she pushed the door opened and spotted none other than Paris’s second favorite superhero sitting on her lounge chair, crying into his hands.
Chat jumped. “Ch- Chloé! I didn’t – I didn’t know you were home,” he gulped, hastily wiping at his face.
Chloé frowned, pulling her robe shut. It was late, and she felt a little self-conscious standing there in only a robe with her hair down around her face. No make-up or anything. Didn’t superheroes know that there were appropriate visiting hours?!
“What are you doing here?” she asked finally, confused.
“I was just – ” Chat drew in a quivery breath, then exhaled slowly. His shoulders slumped. He looked so sad and miserable that even Chloé felt a tiny bit bad for him.
She took a step forward, then stopped short with a quick yelp. The balcony floor was freezing, and she had no slippers on.
Chat jumped up, his hands up to stop her. “Don’t! It’s cold out. I shouldn’t have interrupted your evening. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“Stop!” Chloé commanded, and it was her turn to hold up a hand. “You came for a reason, right? Just – come inside. I know the suit helps you not to feel the cold, but still.”
“I should go,” Chat said quietly, but he didn’t move to leave.
Chloé shrugged at him and turned on her heel, walking back into her room to find some slippers. Somehow, she was not surprised to glance over her shoulder and see Chat Noir slipping into her room. He blended well with the shadows but for his luminous green eyes, which gleamed like a cat’s eyes.
“Shut the door,” Chloé requested, and he did.
She put some slippers on and then looked at him, standing there, watching her in return. She still didn’t know why he was here. There was no akuma – and even if there was, he wouldn’t have come seeking her help anyway. She tried not to feel bitter about that.
“Why are you here?” she asked again, but gentler this time.
“Because...” Chat was quiet for a moment before he sighed. “I didn’t know where else to go. I didn’t want to be alone at home.”
“Why not go see Ladybug?” Chloé asked, her confusion deepening, and was startled when Chat’s face closed over.
When had Chat Noir stopped lighting up like a lightbulb at the mention of Ladybug’s name?
“Ladybug was busy,” Chat said shortly. “She had plans with Rena Rouge.”
“Okay,” Chloé said slowly.
“Plans as civilians.”
Oh. Chloé honestly did not know what to say to that.
She stared at Chat for a few seconds, her mind racing. Literally everyone in Paris knew that Ladybug was a major stickler when it came to their identities. She was always the first to shut down interviews, and had sometimes scolded reporters for being too nosey. Furthermore, that was one of the reasons she had taken the Bee miraculous away from Chloé permanently.
Chloé had always imagined that if anyone would know each other’s identity, it would be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Not Ladybug and Rena Rouge. It was kind of hard to wrap her mind around the fact that Ladybug would trust anyone more than she trusted Chat. How on earth had that happened?
“How on earth did that happen?” Chloé asked out loud.
Chat shrugged, looking tired and sad. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know it had until tonight. And when I found, I just – ” He cut himself off, averting his eyes. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“Wait,” Chloé said when he went to leave, and again Chat stopped. But he stood facing the door, not looking at her. The tension in his shoulders suggested that he was sorry he’d come inside to begin with.
Chloé stared at his back. She understood why he was upset now. Of course he was. This must have felt like a pretty major betrayal.
But why had he come here?
It just didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t like she had a pre-existing relationship with Chat Noir. He didn’t seem to like her very much the few times she’d worked with them as Queen Bee, although he was at least more cordial than Ladybug was.
“Why come here?” Chloé asked finally. “Because Ladybug hates me? To get back at me?”
“No!” Chat said, turned around with a shocked look, and she believed me.
“Then why?”
Chat hesitated for a long moment before sighing. “Like I said, I didn’t know where else to go. You’re – you’re my oldest friend, Chloé.”
Chloé blinked, and stared at him, and then blinked some more.
“Plagg, claws in,” Chat said softly.
There was a green flash of light, dizzyingly bright in the otherwise dim room, and then Adrien was left standing there with a tiny black, green-eyed cat kwami floating beside him.
“Adrien,” Plagg said, shocked. He looked uncertainly at Chloé.
Adrien didn’t say anything. He bowed his head and clenched his shaking hands into fists at his sides.
Chloé didn’t know what to say or do. She was stunned from the realization that Adrien was Chat Noir. It so much sense in retrospect, yet it was also the very last thing that she expected. A million things were suddenly falling into place, and it was overwhelming.
“Kid,” Plagg said, softer this time, and flew close enough to Adrien to rest a tiny black paw on Adrien’s cheek. Adrien let out a choked sob.
Chloé was moving before she’d fully registered it, stumbling across the room towards Adrien. She had no idea if he would accept a hug from her; over the past few years, Adrien had shied away from her touch. He used to like it when she hung off his arm in public. Now he hated it, and actively shook her off if she tried. She couldn’t remember the last time she had touched him.
For the first time in years, he reached out to her.
Adrien grabbed onto her like a drowning man grabbing at a life ring. His right arm encircled her waist, crushing Chloé against his body, while his left arm slid around her shoulders to hold her in place. He buried his face in her hair. She could feel the moment when he began to shake as sobs overtook him.
There had been a few times in Chloé Bourgeois’s life when she had a choice to make. Moments where that pivotal choice could take her in two very different directions. Chloé could admit, if only to herself, that she usually made the wrong decision.
She didn’t want that to happen now.
Somehow, she managed to get her arms around Adrien’s neck, and whispered, “Shh, Adrien. It’s okay. I’m right here.”
His shaking worsened and he gripped her even tighter, like he was trying to use Chloé as a way to avoid completely breaking down. Chloé hugged him back as tightly as she could, and caught a glimpse of Plagg quietly flying away over Adrien’s shoulder. She didn’t see where he went after that; all her focus was on trying to keep Adrien Agreste from shattering into a thousand pieces.
She lost track of how long they stood for. Adrien cried for a long time. When he finally stopped, she sensed that it was because he was too exhausted to cry anymore, not because he was done crying. It broke her heart to know that this cheerful, sunshine boy had been carrying so much pain and grief around inside of him, all of it hidden behind a sweet smile.
“Adrien, come on,” she whispered. He was leaning more into her, and he was heavy. Her knees were threatening to buckle under his weight.
Slowly, she managed to coax him over to her bed. Adrien sank down onto the mattress and rubbed his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Then he looked up at her with a lost expression. Chloé met his gaze and reached out to brush away the hair that was matted to his forehead. She had so many questions, but Adrien didn’t look like he was in any state to answer them.
“Go to sleep,” she said instead. “You look like you could use a really good night’s sleep.”
Adrien sighed. “Can’t,” he mumbled. “Got a photoshoot tomorrow.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wake you up in lots of time to get home before anyone notices,” Chloé said. “Go on. Take your shoes off and slide under the covers. Just like when we were kids, remember?” She pulled the covers back and waved a hand invitingly.
He didn’t hesitate anymore. He kicked his sneakers off and laid back. Chloé drew the covers up over him and sat on the bed beside him. It took less than a minute before Adrien was asleep. He put his head on her pillow, took a deep breath, and then sighed again. It was like all the fight went out of him with that sigh, and he passed out before it even ended.
“Finally.”
Chloé jumped, her head whipping around. She’d nearly forgotten about Plagg. The little cat kwami was hovering right behind her. His bright green eyes bored into Chloé’s for a moment before Plagg looked past her, towards Adrien.
“Finally?” Chloé repeated in a whisper.
“Finally, you got him to sleep,” Plagg elaborated. “Kid’s barely been sleeping for the past few months. He’s so torn up about Ladybug.”
Chloé frowned at the mention of Ladybug, and asked, “I don’t exactly understand what happened here. Did Ladybug choose someone else?”
Plagg let out a sigh and moved a little closer. “It does seem that way. Ladybug and Chat Noir started out as equal partners, but... due to...” He hesitated a bit. “... Circumstances, they’ve drifted apart. Ladybug has chosen to confide in just Rena Rouge from the sound of it.”
“Poor Adrien. That’s so unfair,” Chloé whispered, shocked by Ladybug’s cruelty.
Chat Noir had been with Ladybug since the very beginning. It had just been the two of them for months. Chloé herself had witnessed how Chat, and only Chat, could bolster Ladybug when she hit rock bottom. So why on earth had she chosen to confide in someone else and leave Chat Noir out of it? Why didn’t she trust him? This must have been driving Adrien crazy. Didn’t Ladybug care? Didn’t she notice?
“It’s more complicated than that, but it’s not my place to tell you the whole story,” Plagg said. “But... even I have to admit that finding out Ladybug has told Rena Rouge about her identity is a low blow.” He stared at Adrien with a sad expression, tail drooping. “That must have cut the kid to the bone.”
“I don’t understand why she would do that,” Chloé said. But then, there were a lot of things about Ladybug that she didn’t understand.
Plagg shook his head. “I don’t understand it either. Ladybug has always insisted on keeping their identities secret for safety reasons. That she would now confide in someone else...” He frowned deeply, folding his paws over his chest.
It was Chloé’s turn to sigh. “Poor Adrien,” she said again, reaching out to smooth the hair away from Adrien’s face again. His expression, tense in sleep, eased at her touch.
Plagg watched this, then said slowly, “I was surprised that Adrien came here.”
She could have been insulted by that; instead, Chloé shrugged. “I was too. I didn’t think we were really friends anymore. But he said he didn’t know where else to go, and he knows that I would never turn him away.”
She gazed at Adrien for a moment, taking in his face for the first time in a while. Adrien was growing up, she noticed with a pang. Stubble was forming across the lower portion of his face. He’d lost what little baby fat he had, his features turning slightly more angular. Yet there was something soft about him too that made her remember Adrien’s mother. He was even more handsome as a man than he was a child.
Slowly, her hand slipped from his forehead down to his cheek. Chloé brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek, her heart twisting. She’d been in love with Adrien Agreste since they were children. She had always hoped that someday he would feel the same. How far they’d drifted apart hurt every day.
And now she knew why Adrien was so into Ladybug. He was Chat Noir, and everyone in Paris knew that Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug.
There was really no chance for Chloé in his heart, was there?
She swallowed shakily and pulled her hand back, suddenly remembering that Plagg was right there. It felt like she had allowed Plagg to witness a moment that was too intimate for anyone else’s eyes. Chloé cleared her throat, feeling a little embarrassed, and turned back to Plagg.
“Do you need anything? Food?” she asked, remembering that kwamis liked to eat.
Plagg just looked at her for a few seconds, his green eyes considering. Then he said, “I like cheese.”
“Cheese...” Chloé didn’t have any cheese. And it was the middle of the night, so it would look a little strange if she called the front desk and ordered just cheese.
“Is there a restaurant here?” Plagg wanted to know.
“Downstairs on the first floor,” Chloé said. She hesitated, glancing at Adrien. Even though it was unlikely that he would wake up, she still wasn’t sure she wanted to leave him alone.
As though reading her mind, Plagg said, “Don’t worry about it. I can find my own way.”
“Are you sure? We have security systems,” Chloé said uncertainly.
Plagg grinned, showing all of his sharp little teeth. “It’s all good. Just keep an eye on the kid for me.”
“Okay,” Chloé said, realizing that there really was nothing else to do. She didn’t want to leave Adrien, and it would be mean to make Plagg sit around hungry. She watched as Plagg flew over to the door and phased soundlessly through it.
Then she looked down at Adrien again. It was late, and she was tired too. Getting under the covers with him seemed like a step too far, but maybe it would be alright if she laid down on top of them? She had a queen-sized bed that was more than big enough for both of them. She laid down slowly, pulling another pillow over for her head, and looked at Adrien for a moment.
“Good night, Adrien,” she whispered, and then closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.