π β‘ @chataclysmic your choice of adrien or chat
( let chloΓ© kiss your muse / accepting !! )
πππ πππ'π πππππ ππππππ ππππ ππ πππππππ, only that she had suddenly grown accustomed to Chat Noir's near-nightly visits. On the nights when she wasn't patrolling with one of the other Miraculous holders as Queen Bee, she'd sit out on her balcony and wait. Like clockwork, he'd show up. He never stayed too long; only a few minutes as he did his own patrols with Ladybug, but she liked the company. Some part of her wondered if he only checked in on her to make sure she didn't betray them all. It wouldn't have surprised her if that were the case.
ChloΓ© had done herself little favours in fostering trust with her teammates. Between her tumultuous emotions, which resulted in either herself or someone else getting Akumtaised, and the number of awful things she had said and done over the years, she could hardly blame any of them for being cautious around her. But Ladybug trusted her enough to be Queen Bee again. And they all trusted Ladybug. So. For now, ChloΓ© was an ally.
She was determined, this time, not to mess it up.
They had been talking for a while. Idle chatter that filled the void. Chat Noir was surprisingly easy to talk to, once she got past all of his annoying puns and flirtations. ChloΓ© found herself opening up more and more, despite how little she actually knew about her teammate. But the little she did know, the little that he did reveal β sometimes on purpose, other times perhaps without realising it β she filed away for safekeeping. Kept them as clues to a puzzle that was slowly, but surely, beginning to take shape.
She had her suspicions.
β You know, this is totally unfair. β She watched Chat carefully from his perch on her balcony railing, and when he didn't say anything, she barrelled on unperturbed. β It's just... you know who I am. But I know so little about you. The real you, I mean. β
She could see his mind working, trying to come up with an excuse. A reasonable explanation for his reticence; but ChloΓ© already knew the why. It was the same reason why Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't known each other's identities for so long. And the only reason she even knew that much was because Marinette had told her. Marinette trusted her.
If she were still her old self, she might have taken this opportunity to be nasty and mean about his secrets. She hated keeping secrets and she hated people keeping them from her. But that was old ChloΓ©, and she wasn't going to be that manipulative, self-serving person anymore.
Chat didn't say anything, but she noticed how his posture had shifted. Less self-assured as he folded in on himself, arms wrapping around his middle. She'd seen that posture before. Knew of someone else who did the same thing when they were upset. ChloΓ© pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and plunged.
β Adrien... β She was careful not to react when he did. Her eyes had averted, her gaze forward and resolute. She felt, more than saw, him jolt next to her. As if he'd been electrocuted. Gotcha. β Adrien sits like that too, when he's upset. Or when he feels alone. He thinks I don't notice, but I do. I just... I don't know how to help him. β ChloΓ© made a show of yawning and stepped back from the balcony. β I haven't been a very good friend to him in recent years, but... I'm trying to do better. And I would hope he knows he can always talk to me. About anything. Anyway... it's late. You should get back to patrol. β
ChloΓ© turned, but instead of going back inside she stepped towards him. With more confidence than she actually felt, she planted a kiss on his cheek, just under the bottom of his mask.
β ββBut that does go for you, too. I hope you know I'm here to listen if you need someone. I-I know I'm not Ladybug, but... well, goodnight, Chat Noir. β
hi, headcanon prompt time. what is the progression of chloe's relationship with zoe like? specific talk points, but feel free to add on if you get brainworms:
how did she feel about learning she has a younger sister?
how did she feel about zoe coming to paris (ie. did it give her difficulties when she was trying to learn to be Betterβ’)?
how did she feel about zoe becoming the new bee?
how did she feel about being entrusted with the bee again after zoe had been established as the new bee (and sharing the role)?
how does she feel about there being two bees going forward?
unprompted asks / always accepting !!
Chloe has a lot of complicated feelings surrounding Zoe, especially in the beginning. Finding out she even had a younger sister that she didn't know about previously meant that she had to acknowledge her mother left to start an entirely new family. Chloe has always had a very distant, strained relationship with her mother, Audrey, in trying to live up to her impossible expectations; so finding out she had a sister living in New York just kind of added another layer to her already struggling questions of whether she was a good enough daughter.
I think that when Zoe first arrived in Paris, Chloe still would have been a little unfair and certainly jealous. She wouldn't have been as cruel, but there would definitely be feelings of jealousy and comparison β again, going back to the fact that Audrey left to create this other family outside of the Bourgeois. For instance, in Zoe's introduction episode, I think a lot of Chloe's behaviour would have been relatively the same, except perhaps a touch less cruel, and that only at the end of the episode, and seeing the way Zoe was able to reach out and make friends despite trying to emulate Chloe, would have helped Chloe to realise that she, too, could still have a chance to make friends. And that, I think, would have been the start of trying to build the bridge between her and Zoe.
When Zoe became the new holder for the Bee miraculous, it definitely stung ( no pun intended ). In a lot of ways, Zoe is Chloe's foil. She has Chloe's potential for cattiness and meanness, as we see when she tries to emulate her sister, but she actively chooses β going forward β to be kind, considerate, and to not let other people dictate how she should present herself, even her family. These are all things that Chloe, herself, struggles with. She struggles to let down her guard and be kind. She struggles to live up to her parents' "perfect" image and reputation. She struggles to let people see her true self ( and it can certainly be argued that even Chloe doesn't know who her "true self" is anymore, either ). But, going back to Zoe being the new Bee holder, it kind of reinforces everything about Chloe's own struggles and why she decides to make a significant change for the better. She wants to be someone that can make and keep friends. She wants to be someone Ladybug trusts again. And yeah, admittedly, she wants to be the holder of the Bee miraculous again β she won't say she doesn't keep that thought in the back of her mind when she's trying to build trust with her peers again β but ultimately, as the story progresses and Chloe learns more about herself in relation to her peers, she comes to accept that Zoe is the rightful holder of the Bee miraculous.
Which is why, when she's presented with the opportunity to be the holder of the new, second Bee miraculous, she's initially in shock. At this point, she's made her peace that she probably wouldn't get that opportunity again, so to be presented with it and that a second Bee miraculous was even created for the purpose of Chloe taking on the role? That's a huge exercise in trust.
There is this fanart ( that, of course, I can't find when I actually need it ) and is actually one of my favourites and it perfectly illustrates how I think Chloe feels about taking on the role of Queen Bee again. It's basically her as Queen Bee standing next to Viperion and she's saying something like "I won't let Ladybug down again."
That's how Chloe feels. When she accepts the role of Queen Bee again, it's because she wants to be a team player. She wants to be someone Ladybug and the other holders can count on. I think, initially, it takes some getting used to, knowing there are two Bee holders going forward. This is Chloe, and at her core, she is always going to be a bit vain, selfish, and want the limelight. She's just learned to have more empathy and compassion for others along the way. But, at the end of the day, it's more important to Chloe that she was given this second chance as Queen Bee and she'll do everything in her power not to mess that up again.