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Once Upon A Fall

Summary:

It's my birthday month, so I'm doing a series of connected one shots for fall and Halloween!

Chloe of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir will be in the center as this is part of an alternate universe I want to write (and is in the process of being written). I hope you enjoy!

Notes:

Day 1: Spiders!

Chapter 1: Spiders

Chapter Text

Switching between sips of her hot chocolate and eating a pumpkin breakfast cookie Marlena pre-made the night before, Chloe stopped walking with Sabrina when they heard a scream in the halls of Dupont.

They paused, staring at each other as they waited for the crashes that heralded an akuma. Her brows rose as nothing happened and focused on Sabrina. "I guess as class rep I should check that out," she noted, reluctant. She may hate the class representatives meetings, but she hated dealing with weird stuff more. Hawk Moth made it even worse upon arrival.

Sabrina cast her a sympathetic smile, sliding the folders from Chloe's arms into hers. "Good luck. I'll tell them you're checking on a classmate."

"Thanks," Chloe said, watching her leave with a deadpan expression. Sighing, she ate the rest of her cookie and headed towards the scream. She sipped her drink as she walked. It would be a waste if she let it get cold.

She peeked in the classrooms as she walked, finally coming upon Mendeleiev's and seeing it had an occupant. One that was unleashing a flood of foreign curses while standing on a desk.

Opening the door and cocking her hip against it, she crossed an arm as she held her drink close. "If Mendeleiev were here, she'd be tearing you a new one for standing on her desk, Kim."

The jock jumped and almost slid off. "Wha — Chloe!" Kim looked uncharacteristically flustered, gaze ping-ponging between her and something on the other side of the desk. "Uh."

"Did you scream just now?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

She watched as his face matched his hoodie. He let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, uh. Heh, that's a good question."

Staring at him, watching his gaze bounce between her and whatever he was looking at, made her sigh then walk around to his desk to see what he was staring at. She deadpanned, seeing what was freaking him out.

"A spider?" She looked at him, disbelieving.

He grimaced, face paling. "It's on my workbook!" He tried in a weak voice, wilting beneath her stare.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Hold this." Sliding her cup into his hand, she bent to pick up the workbook. Holding it carefully, she made her way to the window. She had to kick a stool closer to climb it and open a window. Once opened, she shooed the creature off and closed it again. "There. Geez."

Hopping down, she rejoined Kim and switched the workbook for the cup. She took a test sip, scrunched her nose, and popped off the lid to drain the cooling liquid.

"Th-thanks." The odd stutter made her look at him, blinking. The paleness vanished. Now his cheeks were back to being red.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, I think I'm getting hives from helping. Ugh," she huffed and made her way out of the lab. "Bye."

"Bye," came the dazed reply and she tossed him an odd stare. Weirdo.

Hopefully, the rep council let Sabrina present their choice for field trips. They were limited enough thanks to Hawk Moth and she was already done with people.

If there was an akuma at the school, she was going to throw a dictionary at them. She had a new French to Korean dictionary in her bag, she could do it.

Chapter 2: Jinx

Chapter Text

Chloe was gnawing on her tablet stylus as she peered out the window, watching the clouds aimlessly. 

It was a nice day out. Sure, there were clouds but not a whole bunch. The sun shone brightly between them, sending warmth to those by the windows. It matched with the gentle breeze she felt walking into the school a few hours ago, sending fallen leaves across sidewalks that the custodian was raking into bags. She had seen Alix and Kim begging the man for the bags earlier, most likely for a dare, and she could hear them buzzing behind her as the clock ticked down to lunch.

No wonder it got ruined when they were let out. Good days were jinxed nowadays with Hawk Moth flapping around.

The stairs jerked beneath her feet and her hands flew out, one to the rail and the other grabbing Kim when he missed a step in front of her. Jerking him back upright, Chloe looked around as she yelled. "Off the staircases. Off!"

Teens rushed off, zooming for a safer area. Chloe walked briskly after Alya and ignored how Marinette almost knocked her down in favor of following Alya's gaze. 

The newest akuma, in a horrid clash of purples, browns, and oranges was blocking the way she planned to take to a restaurant nearby. She considered her options as she watched Ladybug and Chat Noir appear only to get knocked down by a large leaf blower. She snorted at how their hair stuck up.

"Chloe?" Sabrina murmured from her elbow. "Is there something you want to do?"

"Well," Chloe started, mind going back to this morning. "I do have a dictionary in my bag."

"What? Wait, Chloe, no—"

"Hold please," Chloe spoke in her best customer service voice as she pulled out the dictionary and dropped her bag over Sabrina's head. The ginger was exasperated as she darted off.

Even if the heroes did scold her, it was fun throwing the dictionary at the akuma. And it came back in perfect condition, too! It was turning out to be a good day after all.

Chapter 3: Pumpkin

Chapter Text

Chloe pouted, shuffling through her clothes. She knew that the washers at the hotel were messed up, needing both repairs for some and total replacements for others due to an incident. But did she really not have any of her usual shirts? Seriously?

And no capris! Just because it was fall didn't mean she wanted to wear actual pants just yet. Bad enough she forwent her usual stripes for the seasonal change. Ugh, ridiculous.

Grabbing her phone to message the head of housekeeping, she focused on her outfit for the day.

She found a short-sleeved soft blue shirt with black stars printed all over it. She paired it with a pair of white skinny jeans and a yellow jacket that was a bit thicker than normal. A pair of long black boots finished it off with her signature accessories, ponytail, and her bag. Perfect for the windy day she would be facing,

On the way out, she grabbed a thermos of hot pumpkin spiced hot chocolate and a bundle of apple slippers to share with Sabrina. Did they usually eat breakfast before school? Yes, but no one turned down Madame Beauregard when she made her special apple slippers. No one.

——————————————————————————————————————

Chloe was sliding through her email account, thinking. "We need blood," she told Sabrina, who was settled beside her and looking through her own emails. She jumped when somebody tripped and smacked their palm against the desk top. 

When she looked over, it was to a pair of wide eyes. "Blood?!" Mylene squeaked.

The blonde nodded, oblivious to the horror on her face, turning back to her cellphone. "Blood. I've been talking to the hospital boards in Paris on behalf of Papa to figure out how we can ensure hospital safety. One of the directors mentioned how low blood supply could potentially lead to an akuma being made in the event an emergency happens." She moved her finger in a circle. "Stoneheart, Stormy Weather, Bubbler, and Pharoah were nowhere near the hospitals to cause trouble, but future ones could. And hospitals are practically breeding grounds for akumas if Hawk Moth decides to take advantage of that." Opening another email, she paused and looked at Mylene again with a curious expression. "Hey, do you do food drives?"

Mylene wiped away her thoughtful visage and peered at Chloe. "I participate in some. Why?"

Chloe twitched, thinking of the dre—no, nightmare she experienced a few days ago after watching Alice in Wonderland. A woman dressed like Marie Antoinette and the Queen of Hearts being the focus along with the hollers of "Off with their heads!" and "Let them eat cake!" while literally cutting people's heads off like that one movie with them still being able to talk and urgh. Urgh. "Let's just say I have a personal investment in making sure we have plenty. Are any coming up?"

Biting her lip, Mylene shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'd have to check my calendar at home. I can message you later, though?"

"Please," Chloe rushed because that nightmare would NOT be real, dangit. "Any other charity topics you think might cause akumas as well. I know only so much can be done between people like environmentalists and animal welfare organizations, but anything to lessen the weight... What?"

She snapped the answer at Alya, the blogger having just arrived. The ombre brunette was gazing at Chloe over her phone.

Alya lowered her brows and shrugged. "I didn't think you cared about that kind of thing."

Chloe bore her eyes into her, pointing to herself. "Politician's daughter." She pointed at Sabrina, the ginger still focusing on her own emails. Chloe could see her drafting an email for the animall shelters. "Policeman's daughter. Our fathers have been working hard to figure out policies on akuma prevention, victims, and the akumas themselves—"

"They can't help being tempted by Hawk Moth!" Marinette blurted out from behind Bustier as the two arrived. She puffed up like a balloon, ready to release hot air in defensiveness.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe drawled, "Obviously. Otherwise none of this would be happening. But it is and I don't know if you know this, Dupain-Cheng, but emotions can be irrational and even if there is a cure the heroes can cast, people will still be blaming the akumas. That's why Papa made it illegal for any purified akumas to be harassed in case someone gets it in their thick head to try and start something. People have already been arrested for it."

Ivan released a sharp noise at the reminder as he dropped in his seat. Mylene immediately fluttered up to him, sliding in beside him. His eyes flicked between Chloe and Sabrina.

The blonde looked at Sabrina who was already turning towards him, setting her phone down while adjusting her glasses. "Dad already knows you weren't in your right mind and he's never blamed you for it," she assured him, eyes calm. She offered him a wry smile. "I would think it the other way around anyway considering he was contemplating drastic measures against Stoneheart."

Weirdly, Ivan relaxed at her words. Personally, Chloe would be freaked about having guns pointed at her no matter what state she was in. But then she remembered the rough rock that dug roughly into her limbs, scratching through her clothes, and air hitting her like she was a baseball... If she had once been made of stone, she would probably feel the same.

She noticed his eyes on her and simply shrugged at him as Bustier called for attention. Maybe the few nights after that were filled with nightmares of being crushed into pavement, but knowing there were different powers given to akumas gave her a new perspective.

One thing to have a food drive akuma. Another thing to have one for blood when many people had things against blood and needles and hospitals. Talking heads were easier to get over than hospitals. HOSPITALS. Deities, she hated them.

Rather lose her head than get stuck in a hospital room again. No thank you, sir, she will happily refrain from entering one if she could help it.

... wait, wasn't Prince Ali coming in December for annual toy drive? Shit!

Chapter 4: Maze

Chapter Text

Chloe crossed her arms, curling into her scarf and jacket. She looked at Sabrina with pursed lips. "We will be getting cinnamon rolls after this, right?"

Sabrina nodded. "Monsieur Dupré is baking them now." She glanced towards their teacher, Chloe copying her. The woman seemed to be discussing something with Madame Dupré. Probably their entry order into his hedge maze. The man had been working on it since he first moved to Paris four years ago.

Currently at two meters, it was pure boxwood hedge and he had it forming a large maze that filled up one of the three square acres he owned. He had a staff of gardeners solely for it and she could admit that it was worth it, especially when he set it up for seasonal holidays. Her, Sabrina, and Adrien visited the previous year for winter and it had been both gorgeous and awe-inspiring. Red ribbons lined the pathways, bells were at dead-ends, and mistletoe popped up randomly. They had had fun going through it.

And this year they were experiencing it with their classmates. Yes, they were more than likely to be split up —Bustier was insistent on everyone getting along with Hawk Moth's arrival— but they could still have fun.

She wondered if he went full spooky for fall or went with things that were actually fall related. A sudden thought returned to her and she looked towards where the majority of their class was, eyes narrowing. "You know, I could buy some of the treats for the tea party here."

Sabrina brushed their arms together. "I think I see cider? That has to be in those jugs."

Chloe nodded in agreement, linked their arms, and they headed over. The jams were noticed earlier, the glass sparkling beneath the sun. Apple and pumpkin were the main ingredients she noted as they got closer, joining Rose and Mylene as they looked at them. Apple jam and apple sauce, pumpkin jam and pumpkin butter. Pumpkin cider, apple cider, and a mixture of both were offered. Pear and cranberry were also options. She looked thoughtfully at the cranberry sauce. That could be used for the Halloween tea party and the pumpkin cider served for the fall tea party. All non-alcoholic, of course. If Papa wanted alcoholic for the adult parties, he could place the order himself though she doubted it. He tended to stay sober for any public occasion. 

With Sabrina providing the list of allergies and intolerance on her phone (received whenever their class had new students and she was class representative), they told the eldest Madame Dupré what they wanted to order for both parties and the elderly woman cheerfully placed them in a crate for Jean the butler to receive. Chloe in turn handed over a check that earned her wide eyes from Rose and Mylene.

It was the shyer girl who spoke. "Chloe? Are you throwing a party?"

Giving her a side eye, she debated for a moment then sighed. "Here." Digging through her bag, she pulled out four invitations with the correct names on them. Two went to Mylene, two to Rose, and both were different.

For the first, it said: "You are cordially invited to Chloe Bourgeois's fall tea party on Saturday the 19th of October, 2013." It then said the time (2:30 to 4:30), the location (her hotel, obviously), and how to RSVP (preferably by the sixth, which the calendar also declared as Alix's birthday (she'd probably be dragged there by Sabrina and Adrien)). There was also a request of semi-formal to full-on formal apparel. She didn't want to see any sweats or ripped clothing. 

For the second, it read: "You are bewitchingly invited to Chloe Bourgeois's witches tea on Saturday the 26th of October, 2013." The time was the same as the fall tea party and a week after for the RSVP, but unlike the fall tea party (which would be held in a private meeting room, usually used by outside businesses for meetings) it would be held in her personal rooms, namely the living area and the kitchenette, plus her balcony would be available in the event someone needed away for a bit (her bedroom would be locked up). Her furniture would be moved down to storage for the party and other furniture would be brought in, enough for them to sit at and less for them to move around. The apparel would still be semi-formal and formal as long as it was Halloween themed.

She personally had a ghost costume she would wear and Sabrina had gleefully accepted her offer of dressing as a female Chucky. The girl loved scary doll movies as much as they terrified her so it would be a treat for her to have. They'd dress as something else on Halloween.

Adrien still refused to tell her what he would dress as. Probably something Gabriel was helping him with.

They were both secretive when it came to costumes and it infuriated her because they didn't even give her hints! Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous of them!

Rose made an "ooh" noise as Mylene rubbed her thumb along the fall invite edges. Her eyes were wide. "Is this real gold?"

Chloe shook her head. "Metallic paint," she corrected. "A friend helped me with it." As annoying as his theories could be, she wasn't going to rat Jalil out to Alix. He still needed to help her with the historical accuracies she needed for her ghost dress and he would refuse if his sister found out he was getting lessons ("They're not dates!") from the guy who was making the Ladybug and Chat Noir sculpture.

"Can I answer now?" Rose asked, looking at her with growing excitement. 

She considered that, then shook her head. "I'd rather wait until I get back to the hotel. My RSVPs will be written off there." 

Rose bobbed her head and looked at Juleka. "Do you want me to pass out the rest?"

The offer gave Chloe some warmth and she accepted it, pulling out the rest to hand over. "Sure. And don't bother looking for Adrikins'. I had to go through Nathalie to get both approved." Her eyes darkened as she glowered at nothing. She didn't notice the three blanching nor the eldest Madame Dupré casting her a worried glance. "Uncle Gabriel's already been warned about taking it back, so he knows the consequences he'll face if he does."

Sabrina gently patted her shoulder. "Yes, he does," she agreed.

"Chloe!" 

Turning towards the voice, she dropped her scowl in favor of raising a brow at Max as he approached with Kim and Alix beside him. She sidestepped the skater as she darted to the stand, asking about cider. "Yes?" She raised the other when she saw Kim miss a step and heaved him back upright.

Max paused in front of her, adjusting his glasses. "You and I are partners for the maze," he told her. "Sabrina is with Nino, Kim is with Rose, and Mylene is with Adrien."

She could see the other two boys heading over. Marinette was partnered with Ivan and Alya was with Nathaniel. Juleka was heading over, so she assumed she was partnered with Alix. "Okay. Is there an order or do we go whenever?"

"We're going first. Then it's Alya and Nathaniel, Kim and Rose, Mylene and Adrien, Juleka and Alix, Sabrina and Nino, and Ivan and Marinette are last," he listed off in one long breath.

"Asthmatics first, huh?" She observed, crossing her arms. "Will you be okay going through the maze?"

He patted his bag. "My inhaler is with me."

"So is mine. Let's get this over with." She glanced at Alix and Kim, riling each other up. Rose and Juleka were looking more and more like they were facing the gallows. "Especially since you have to time them."

A sigh escaped. "Yes, I do."

They shared a look before heading to the entry. Bustier smiled brightly as they were told the rules of the maze (which she heard the previous year) and Chloe got permission once again to record their time in the maze.

Her phone up and running as they stepped through, she intoned, "And so begins the adventure of Chloe Bourgeois and Max Kante as they face navigational distress. Will we prevail? Will we have to make an SOS beacon? Who knows. ... what?"

Max turned his head away, lips twitching like he wanted to smile. "Nothing. I suppose you really have become different."

She eyed him as they ran into their first dead-end. "As long as you don't call me nice. It'll give me hives. And here we have our first dead-end with a very disappointed hedgehog..."

Chapter 5: Seeds

Chapter Text

Chloe surveyed her options carefully, sliding through her tablet. A knock on her door had her hollering, "It's open!"

The door slid open and close with an audible swish (something done after Lady WiFi broke in) and quiet feet padded over to her couch. She watched from the corner of her eye as a dark figure pulled on the snuggle she had made for personal Chat Noir merchandise, complete with a built-in hood. A green flash heralded his detransformation as he slid on the half face mask she bought last year for her Phantom of the Opera costume (hers covered everything from the hairline to the nose and it had the mesh in the eye holes) and Plagg practically dove towards the plate of food on the counter, freshly arrived.

His ears went back as he froze just a bit above it. "What is THAT?" THAT being cranberry sauce.

"Camembert crowned with cranberry-port sauce," she answered, looking up fully and resting her chin on her fist. "Madame Cesaire has been going wild with everything I bought from the Duprés."

The kwami picked up a tiny spoon she bought after the first time they met a month ago and Chat broke her sunchair when he was trying his baton out after Stormy Weather. Plagg poked the cheese covered cranberry skin and it broke apart. She made a face at the smell and watched him squeal with delight.

"Got any non-camembert treats?" Chat asked and she motioned to the fridge. 

"Cranberry cheesecake in the fridge. Leave a quarter for me." He tilted his head, hesitating. She rolled her eyes. "I had quite a bit of apple pie earlier and I've got a ton of pumpkin seed energy bites. I'm good." There were also lemon meringue cookies, but he knew not to touch those.

The cat hero lit up and scurried towards the fridge, snuggle floating behind him in a Snape-like manner.

As he got settled in, she went back to her tablet. She considered what she wanted to do. Plan ahead for spring? Or go for some herbs for the moment? She knew she wanted to plant ahead for tulips and hyacinths. She definitely wanted some pansies and violas. Would she have enough time for roses? Maybe those miniature roses...

"Hey, Plagg?" She called, turning to watch his cheese and cranberry covered face pop out of the food. It was halfway gone already, yeesh. "If I do a herb garden, what should I avoid?"

He tilted his head. "Whaddaya mean?"

"Well, you're a cat. Which makes him," she pointed at Chat who was returning with his a quarter of cheesecake on his plate, "Part cat. So what should I avoid?"

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot." Plagg swept the rest of his treat into his mouth (she ignored how eldritch his mouth became) then plucked a napkin to wipe his face. "Well, Chat won't really end up allergic to any herbs and they won't be toxic. But he will get high on catnip, so I guess avoid that? Unless you want the both of us out of it."

She blinked, tilting her head while Chat chewed slowly, watching with wide eyes. "Seriously? Even you?"

"Yup. It ranks just below Camembert," Plagg answered with a content sigh. He spotted the shelf she bought and zoomed to it to curl on the cushion. She deadpanned when he promptly began snoring.

Rolling her eyes, she looked at Chat. "Want anything? I'm going to add lavender to the cart along with pansies, violas, and miniature roses."

He seemed surprised by her offer but she simply held her tablet between them. "Umm... what color roses do you plan on getting?"

"Yellow, obviously. Some of those multicolored roses. But probably no red or white, those are too Valentine's Day. Unless you want them?" She watched as he debated internally.

"Red? I mean, if that's okay." He turned his attention back to the plate. His cheeks were kind of pink beneath the mask.

"Sure, that's fine. I just don't want both." She added red miniature rose seeds to the basket and placed the order. Then she switched to Théodore Barbot's pottery site. "Now for the plant pots. Think I should go animal theme or insect theme?"

"That's a good question." He leaned closer as they began to pour over the choices. "Wow, he has a lot..."

"I can't do holiday themes. I don't think plants should be moved to different pots so much," she muttered, dismissing those options to focus on the animals and insects. Many of them were small, more for succulents. She needed something a bit... bigger...

Her eyes widened and she lunged past Chat for her phone. He yowled in dismay, but she ignored him in favor of sprawling over his lap and typing out a text. She can't buy any pots until she measures out how much space will be available on her balcony! She'll need to measure around her sunchair and the small table where she sometimes ate breakfast depending on the weather. 

Maybe she could put one on the table? Smell some flowers with her breakfast...

Ugh, so much work just for a balcony garden. Blegh.

Chapter 6: "We're all mad here"

Chapter Text

"Chloe, sweetheart, is everything alright?" Her papa's worried voice had her tearing her gaze from her plate to look at him. His eyes were filled with warm concern.

She was happy to enjoy dinner with him so why was he asking? She voiced her confusion.

His brows rose and he motioned to her plate. "You're tearing your garlic bread to pieces." 

Blinking, she looked down and saw he was right. She popped a piece into her mouth before wiping her fingers on a napkin. "I accidentally akumatized someone earlier. Alim Kubdel's daughter, Alix? She had given Marlena's daughter the pocketwatch her dad gave her who passed it off to the Dupain-Cheng girl who nearly dropped it until Adrien caught it. He showed it to me when I asked and my thumb accidentally opened it. There was a flash, I flinched and and it flew right into the path of her skates, breaking it. Ladybug fixed it but I still feel bad," she confessed. "I want to do something, but I've already got her birthday gift and her akuma t-shirt and why are you staring at me like that?"

She squinted at the soft, mushy expression on his face. His smile got wider and he chuckled, reaching to pat her hand. "I'm proud of you, Chloe." Her eyes widened at the non-sequiter, feeling a sudden blush fill her cheeks. "I know you've had trouble with your schoolmates in the past but you've come so far."

Averting her eyes, she shrugged lightly. "Ivan's pretty good at keeping me on track," she admitted. "And Sabrina slides me notes whenever I do something she's uncomfortable with, mainly the domineering."

"She's setting boundaries which is good," her papa noted with approval. He pulled his hand back, pressing his fingertips together with a small sigh. "I... will admit that I have been too willing to cover for you which I shouldn't be doing. And I know Officer Raincomprix insists on being there for the people and insists on Sabrina doing the same, which didn't help."

"If you forgive my language, Papa, we were basically a match made in hell," she informed him wryly. "My demanding servitude and her being a "yes, ma'am" is a horrible thing from what Ivan's said."

He nodded in agreement then beamed. "But you're both getting better," he said cheerfully. "And I'm sure you'll figure something out." His smiled faded and he glanced at his plate. "I've taken the chance to talk to Head Chef Cesaire and she pointed out that while apologizing with material things is good and all, verbal apologies are better. Maybe you should take that in consideration. I had Fiona buy me a few sticky note pads that I can leave on your inner door should anything come up. I won't always be able to call or message you while I'm in a meeting and you in school, but I can always send Julien to you."

She smiled, feeling a bit shy as she looked at him. "I think I'd rather that than an employee having to tell me."

They shared warm smiles before continuing dinner. A thought came to mind as they were given miniature pumpkin tarts and resolved herself into going on a late-night buying spree.

——————————————————————————————————————

She plopped the box down in front of Alix, sliding back into her seat.

The skater eyed the rather large box. "What is this?" Alix was acting like Chloe was trying to force her into a dress.

"Your birthday gift," Chloe responded, acting nonchalant even though she was internally fussing over whether she would actually like it (Jalil better not have been lying to her; she had Theo's number now!). "I meant to give it to you Friday, but they ran out of the proper band fabric."

Alix eyed her then reached out. Chloe could feel the eyes of her classmates on her some more welcoming than others. Sabrina brushed her sneaker against Chloe's boot and she relaxed minutely. 

Tilting her head as she pulled the ribbon loose, she slid the ribbon to Mylene who immediately began playing with it. Then she opened the box, deadpanning at all the tissue paper Chloe placed inside — Chloe probably overdid how much green paper she put in there but oh well. She tugged them out, becoming more exasperated with each piece that came out, and giggles started around the room. Chloe refused to be ashamed as she hit the first part of the gift, careful as she lifted it out.

"Woah. Are you for real?" Alix asked, looking excited as she held up a very similar top hat like the Mad Hatter wore in the live action film Alice in Wonderland. "I've been needing this for my costume! How'd you know?"

"A magician keeps her secrets," Chloe answered neatly, thinking of how she heard her grumping about it to Kim and Max from time to time and Jalil confirming it for her when asked. She wagged a finger at Alix. "That's not all to the hat, though."

Alix cast her a baffled look and began looking it over. "What do you mean...?" She trailed off as she held the hat interior to the light and reached in, flipping it over the desk. She gawker as amigurumi fell out.

"I was very bored during the weekend," Chloe told her, watching as Rose practically scurried over her desk and Kim and Max's to join Alix and Mylene in looking them over.

Small amigurumi of Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts spilled out. They were all about four and a half inches with little loops on them so they could be turned into keychains or even Christmas decorations. Jalil had told her about how they had gathered many strange ornaments over the years from their parents' previous trips on archeological digs or when lending out museum items to foreign museums. She was tempted to try out actual Christmas amigurumi since she had leftover material.

"These are so cute!" Rose squealed petting the Cheshire Cat.

"These are really cool," Alix agreed, cradling the White Rabbit and prodding his pocketwatch. She glanced at Chloe, smiling. "Thanks, Chloe."

She offered her a smile of her own. "You're welcome. There's one more part to the hat, but you'll need to keep out the light."

"A hat of all trades, I see," Adrien observed, leaning over her to poke at Alice. He grinned at her. "Any way I can get a Ladybug and Chat Noir pair?"

Considering it as Alix peered into the hat, Chloe said, "Maybe. I'll need to look up some patterns before I try it."

Alix cut him off as she cracked up. Inside the hat at the very top, Chloe had asked them to embroider "We're all mad here" in glow-in-the-dark thread since she figured it was that spot or the band. 

Bustier came in them, sending the others hurrying to their seats, and Alix carefully put away her gifts. Chloe planned on giving her apology after class during lunch break. It was a simple matter of making sure she caught Alix alone and not in front of the masses. Gift giving was one thing, apologies was another.

And hopefully, Alix accepted. Chloe needed another partner since Sabrina wanted to do something else other than play video games with her. Not that she blamed her. Chloe had her own activities and hobbies that Sabrina didn't have in common and she wanted to play a game of football with a group of teens that did. They were trying to find things that they preferred so it was becoming a thing. At least they still did cosplay together. It was always fun dressing up as characters they liked.

Chapter 7: Bizarre

Chapter Text

Chloe arranged the plant pots absent-mindedly as she waited for her guests to arrive.

For her apology offer to Alix, she offered the use of her gaming systems, TV, and room service. It had been just a guess of an apology but it would show she's willing to open up and Alix accepted as long as Kim and Max could join her. Chloe agreed so long as they kept the volume down since there were some guests on the floor below.

Still, she couldn't stop from making herself busy. It was one thing to invite other rich kids she wasn't close to for a "personal party." But her classmates? People she saw five days out of seven? Completely different, especially when only she, Adrien, Alix, and Nathaniel were a part of the elite. It was just strange. Uncanny, maybe even a little bizarre for her to invite them over. But she did invite them to her two tea parties. And everyone, even Marinette and Alya had RSVP'd. Bizarre was an understatement.

But then, Ivan saw her room before during the first week of Hawk Moth's presence. He seemed more bewildered back then and relieved to find they had some favorite games in common. Maybe she could find some with the daring trio.

Well, not Mario. Mario was asking for a fight to happen since she was competitive and since Alix, Kim, and Max were coming over...

Yeah. No Mario for today.

She tore her gaze away from the planet pots she had bought with Chat and looked at the interior door when a knock sounded. "Come in!" She called, brushing any loose dirt from her palms then headed over as Jean-Sebastian (she finally got his name when she shamefully asked; he'd been kind enough to not get upset when he made note that she had simply copied her mother when she used the wrong names for people).

The butler opened the door, letting her guests in first before following with a tray in hand. She perked when she saw it held her honey banana bread smoothie with whip cream, chocolate drizzle, and a cherry. 

"Hi," she barely greeted her guests before she was accepting the smoothie. She waved a hand at Jean-Sebastian then her guests who were looking around.

He understood and turned to them as he cleared his throat. "If I may ask, what would you like to drink and snack on? Mademoiselle Chloe has placed a request for various fruits and dip."

Chloe saw the look in Alix's eye and reluctantly pulled away from her drink. "Legal drinks and food," she attached quickly.

Alix pretended to wilt then shrugged. "Raspberry smoothie and a veggie tray, then."

Pulling his gaze away from the TV, Max requested, "Something with veggie rolls, please. I'm allergic to mushrooms." Jean-Sebastian visibly took note of that on a notebook he pulled from his pocket.

Kim bounced. "Can I get banana bites? The dip and toppings down matter to me!" He grinned at Jean-Sebastian with hope.

Chloe nodded when the butler glanced at her. She had some pre-prepared but she didn't mind sharing them since she could always have more made.

"I'll be back shortly with your drinks," he assured before slipping out.

With one last fortifying sip as the door clicked shut, she looked at the trio and her eyes landed on Max's bag. "Did you bring your own games?"

Max nodded. "We weren't too sure what you had available. What consoles do you have, exactly?"

"The major ones," she answered as she headed over to the TV stand and slid it open. "Wii, XBox, GameStation 4, Game Cube if you want the original. My PSP, GameGuy, and DS also connect to the TV along with my laptop if you want those." She paused, considering and wavering before giving in. "And this is my Cabinet™."

Hearing nothing after opening the doors to the cabinet beside the stand, she turned around. She blinked when she saw Alix and Kim gawking at it, Max frozen beside her couch.

"Guys?" She ventured hesitantly. Were her games that different from what they usually played?

"Holy crap, Chloe," Kim finally said, leaning down to look at the lower shelves. "Holy crap."

"You have so many!" Alix breathed, nudging him over to look over the cases. She pulled one out and held it up. "Alice: Madness Returns? You actually played this?!"

"Still play it," Chloe corrected, looking at the case herself. She pointed a finger at the side. "See the sun sticker? Means it's one of my favored games. Moon stands for holiday games and stars are those that I found okay, but probably will not play the game too much."

"That's a good system, though I have to admit I'm surprised you don't use gold stars," Max observed as he joined his friends. 

Chloe hung back, sipping occasionally at her smoothie. "It would have gotten confusing since I mix up the stickers. Some holiday games may not be used so they get a star sticker as well as a moon." 

"Why so many? Do you just buy whatever looks good?" Alix asked and Chloe glanced at her gaming systems.

"I get bored pretty fast and have a lot of free time since Sabrina tends to do our things for the class rep council." Alix turned to her, brows furrowed as her mouth began to open, and she jabbed a finger at her. "Don't you start! I already know how that sounds, but Sabrina insists on it since I actually suck at making presentation slides and prefers to do the research herself. She usually asks me for the topics and that's all she'll let me do." She glowered at the short girl as she chewed on her rubber straw. Self righteous idiots who don't know crap (pigtails and puffed cheeks came to mind and just irritated her further).

"What about all the DS, PSP, and GameGuy games? Why do so many have stars?" Kim asked, leaning away to let her see the shelf full of game cases.

She paused her chewing, eyes sliding between him and the cases. A small frown formed as she pulled away her straw. "I was hospitalized twice when I was younger," she finally said and earned three surprised gazes. She shifted uncomfortably beneath their gazes. "I spent a while in the hospital both times and it's pretty hard for a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old to be alone in a quarantine room. Those games got repetitive pretty quickly."

Sucking a long sip as they absorbed that, Max glanced at her. "Is that why you have asthma?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. There's a reason why the hotel hires outside people to sort through letters and I got Cesaire suspended for looking through my locker." A small, cold smile formed on her lips as she turned to Alix. "Remember Isabeau Sauveterre back in Vigrass ecole maternelles?"

Alix's eyes went wide and she reeled back. "The rumors were true?!"

Kim and Max looked between them. "Rumors?" Kim parroted, riveted like he was watching TV.

The shorter girl appeared nauseous as she nodded. "Isabeau got expelled for doing something bad that sent someone to the hospital. That was you? Why? You weren't horrible back then!"

Chloe scrunched her nose — she was being better! — then shifted her smile to something more wry. "I got the part as Clara in The Nutcracker over her and she was jealous. She stole from her older sister who was planning her own revenge against an older girl. Both were caught and expelled. From what I know, they are both still at St. Antoinette's." Her smile dropped for a scowl. "Hence my actions against Cesaire. She brought it on her own self."

Alix shook her head, grimacing. "Even if Isabeau hadn't caused you to have a thing against lockers and peekers, it's still not right of Alya to do that." Shaking her head again, she gazed at the cases then turned to Chloe with a grin. "Wanna see who gets the most zombie kills in Left 4 Dead one and two?"

Chloe perked up, grinning. "Yes! Adrien doesn't care for zombie games and Officer Raincomprix doesn't want Sabrina to play the violent games too much."

"Ooh, let's make bets!" Kim cried, shooting onto his feet with a wild grin. "Person who ends up last has to eat something bad!" He looked at Chloe. "Does your kitchen stock wasabi or hot sauce?"

"I'll tell Chef Cesaire to prep a confounding charcuterie board," Chloe told him even as she went to find her phone while Max set up the game. "Loser has to have a piece per loss. You'll either love it or hate it."

"Sounds interesting," Alix observed with a grin. "Let's do it!"

"As long as my allergy is remembered," Max added.

She sent the message and joined Kim on the floor, letting Alix and Max take the couch. Accepting Zoey as her character, they started the game and their bet. A smile tugged her lips up as she enjoyed herself and their antics.

Chapter 8: Costume Swap

Notes:

Miracle Merch is indeed inspired by Cornerverse's Miraculous Merchandise! I'm sorry for not making note of that before I posted.

Chapter Text

When they left her place, Chloe ensured they got a ride from her driver as it had started to rain near the end of their games.

Cleaning staff were moving around her room after banishing her to her couch so she was going over her embroidery kit pieces while they cleaned up the small mess that they had made. The trio had actually liked her confounding charcuterie board, so she wondered if they would like the other things her and Xabi came up with. She'd ask some other time.

She looked away from then glow-in-the-dark beads as the glass door swisher open and Chat Noir paused upon seeing her staff. 

One simply pulled towels from nowhere and descended upon him like an eagle, ruffling his hair dry with one and patting at his feet with another. "Do you want tea or hot chocolate?" Sarah asked him, perfectly nonchalant, and Chloe loved her staff a little more as Giovanni ushered Chat Noir to the bathroom for a proper shower, staying outside for his order.

If there were two things you could expect from the Le Grand Paris staff, it was indiscretion and top service. All of the staff were good at keeping quiet about what they heard from the guests (possibly helped by some of the major guests like Jagged Stone who cheerfully signed things for them when a good job was done). Any who slipped up were, depending on how much was given up, either warned and quietly let go with a severance package. The hotel received good reviews from guests and employees for a reason.

It was that that showed her just how-how wrong her mother was when it came to employees. They couldn't just be fired at the drop of a hat. Papa told her when she figured it out that he simply rotated the staff when her mother did that as she didn't actually have a say in the staff management. Only he, Jean-Sebastian, HR, and Chloe did. She'd been surprised but when told she was his heir apparent at the moment she understood.

That was the reason her cleaning staff and kitchen staff knew about Chat Noir being her permanent visitor, so they knew to always assist if it seemed like it.

She glanced at him and snorted when she saw how both his hair and Plagg resembled fluffballs and approved of the half-mask Chat now wore with eye mesh (another thing bought on a whim). "Hey, Tomcat, Plagg. Did you place your orders?"

Plagg prodded at a spool of thread, hovering over it. "Yep. Did you tell your staff about me?"

"You're a Fae who's been turned into a magical partner and that's all they wanted to know. Well, that and if you eat. No guest starves here," she answered.

He nodded thoughtfully and accepted the yarn ball she gave him. He looked at her, eyes analyzing, then grinned before zooming away to mess up the ball.

She squinted at him then at Chat Noir when he squirmed. "Something I need to know?"

Chat Noir pursed his lips, fiddling with a purple bead container. He took a deep breath. "Plagg and I were talking earlier. I won't go into details, but I'm very busy in my personal life and we figured that one day I might not be able to leave at all if an akuma happens. You're the opposite, so I wanted to see if you would be my back-up black cat."

Her eyes widened briefly. "Seriously? Me?"

He lifted his eyes and smiled. "Yeah. I know you're probably worried about previously being... well, horrible, but you've improved. And honestly, it would be a burden of my mind to know I've got back-up."

Chloe carefully considered his request. "Before I agree, I want to know how, exactly, Plagg will come to me."

Chat Noir perked up, turning to her. "I have a secondary email account I made so I could have a Ladyblog account. We can set up a system on that or we can exchange emails."

She reached for her laptop, unlocking it and checking her own. "Well... I have a secondary as well but it's more business focused." Turning to him with a sharp gaze, she inquired, "You will keep it between you and Plagg, right?"

"Of course! I know how to keep my mouse trap shut," he assured with a hand over his heart. She snorted when he plucked a tied up Plagg into his hand. "Right, Plagg?"

"As long as I get more yarn. This is fun!" He squealed as he slipped off Chat's palm and dangled by the strings like a puppet.

Laughing at the sight, she agreed. "I'll do it. But I refuse to carry rechargeable food that isn't packaged properly and has no obvious scent so I hope you're good with crackers with cheese, Plagg."

Rotating slowly, he dropped his head to look at her upside down. "Can I choose?"

"Yes, you can," she agreed and slid her laptop to Chat Noir so she could grab her tablet. "Here. Do the email exchange while I decide on my alter ego. I know I'll have to swap the costume around..."

"Swap the costume? You make it sound like something's wrong with mine," he observed, typing away.

She side eyed him. "I don't know if you or Ladybug have really noticed since you've been against akumas less than a dozen times, but as much as I adore Ladybug... She's wearing a onesie. I am not wearing a onesie unless it's to bed. And it's close-fitting! I say no to both. And you... I don't plan on becoming Catwoman anytime soon, so I'll definitely be making some adjustments. There are different breeds of black cats, so maybe... Hey, I can make my costume how .i want it, right?" She grinned when Plagg nodded.

Titling the file Katida, which was from the Esperanto language and the female form of katido meaning kitten, she began to draw. She could draw manga characters so that was the base. Her face came first, eyes going green to match Chat's and Plagg's. She wore a similar mask with green edges. And her hair would be in a bun, held by a ribbon with two bells on either end, and have green highlights. 

The costume would have the markings of a Bengal cat in a dark green almost black that would show only beneath the sun or when the light hit just right. She'd have pockets along her out thighs like cargo pants but her pants wouldn't be baggy. Combat boots that came up to her knees, no laces nor buckles. Cats were supposed to be quiet and the bells could potentially be like the bells from that one fanfic she read a while back. For above, a vest with padding to both hide her figure shape and for protection. Plagg said the glamour would prevent Chat Noir and Ladybug from revealing their identities in near misses, but it didn't hurt to add to that. Like Chat Noir, her arms and hands were covered up and she would indeed have claws. Cats always had claws. And the staff on her back; it could be on her hip, hut she wanted to try out this version first before making any changes.

She looked it over with satisfaction, feeling Chat Noir lean against her shoulder. "Nice, right? I'll want to see if it's functional, but I think it'll work."

"It's meow-velous," Chat assured her and she huffed at the pun. He considered something, looking at Plagg as he rolled himself into a yarn ball. "Do you want to try it now?"

Chloe looked at him, startled, then at Plagg who stopped rolling to stare back. She pursed her lips then shook her head. "Trial by fire. If there's an akuma, I can just be tossed in head first. I learn better by doing when it comes to physical activities. Oh, and you should probably tell Ladybug about me. Say I'm a cousin of yours." She saved the file and set her tablet to the side. She glanced at him. "Stars or ghosts? I'm making beaded embroidery handkerchiefs and the beads are glow-in-the-dark along with the white thread over there."

Chat Noir thought about that then brightened. "Ghosts! 'Tis the season to be spooky!"

"Spooky it is." She began to pick out what she wanted to use, eyeing her options. "I wanted to do butterflies since I have the templates, but I guess that will wait until the Hawk Moth situation simmers down. I actually wanted to try selling these, like on Etsy or something."

"Hawk Moth is ruining a lot of things," Chat Noir noted, tilting his head. "What if you sold exclusively outside of Paris? Would that interfere with the Miracle Merch?"

Contemplating the blue beads, she moved her head from side to side. "I don't think so. I've got people running it. Good people, I promise."

"I never doubted you," he assured and she smiled, warmth filling her.

"I'll use these," she murmured and collected the black thread. She gathered everything closer and slid down onto the floor, getting absorbed in her work. She never noticed how Chat Noir cast her a wistful look from time to time nor how Plagg cast her another considering look.

Chapter 9: Decor

Chapter Text

"So... I'm seriously not trying to be rude, but... I'm still surprised you invited me here," Chloe admitted, feeling a tiny bit alone since Sabrina had a practice to get to instead of joining her. She stepped off the gangway and onto the deck behind Juleka, crossing her arms self-consciously. Rose wasn't there either since she was at her scrapbooking club.

Juleka shrugged, her hair shading her face. "You... like things authentic," the goth girl murmured in a low, almost husky voice as she made her way through a path only she could see through all the things in deck. Chloe carefully followed, taking care to not step on anything. "We have things Ma bought years ago and Rose thought you may want to use them for the parties' decor."

Chloe pursed her lips. "That's true," she agreed, blinking as they got below deck and it got a bit darker. "But I don't want to put you out—"

A sudden bark of laughter made her jump and she looked to where Anarka Couffaine stood behind a counter. A boy with black hair and blue tips stood beside her, facing away as he went through cabinets. Juleka's brother? She muttered something about a twin on the way to the Liberty.

Anarka leaned over the countertop, smiling wide and toothy. Chloe couldn't tell if she was trying to be intimidating or was simply vivacious (she was reminded of Sabine Cheng, a dragon hiding behind sweet treats; there was a similar sharpness to Anarka, a pirate dressing as civilian to go unapprehended (she held back a shiver), and despite that she seemed familiar somehow, outside of Parent's Day). "Ye won't be puttin' us out," the woman said in a nonchalant manner. "Go ahead to storage. Mosta the things are down there."

Chloe nodded, briefly catching gazes with the boy when he turned, but she simply tilted her head in greeting beneath his unblinking stare and followed Juleka further into the ship. She watched as it got slightly dimmer the deeper they went into the ship. Past a dual bedroom, past another bedroom, and into the storage room.

It was more packed than anywhere else she'd seen on the ship and she hesitated, eyeing a tower of boxes. "Nothing will fall, right?"

"Not if you're careful," Juleka replied, very much not reassuringly despite how calm she seemed. She headed deeper into the room, Chloe close behind. "Antiques are over here... we have candelabras. There are a bunch of wreaths, too..."

Making to join her, Chloe paused. A long case caught her eye. "What's that?" The form of it looked familiar.

"Hm? Oh. Ma thinks it's a violin, but it has a lock on it and she hasn't wanted to try and break it open since it could break the inside." Juleka straightened and moved over to it, pulling it off the shelf. She turned slowly to give Chloe time to move then set it on the floor. "Do you want to try?"

A combination padlock was set in the case, eight digits. She crouched and sat criss cross in front of Juleka as the goth went back to the boxes. Fingers running over it, she did her best to estimate when the case could have been made.

Sturdy leather in good condition. No creases or cracks on the crocodile pattern. No indentions, so it hadn't been used as a writing surface. The metal pieces shined pretty silver. She turned it over carefully, running her fingers over it. Then she ran her fingers over the edges, testing them carefully. She felt something on the end of the case at the bottom and lifted it. The light was too dim to see so she pulled her phone out and turned that light on. 

She squinted at it and saw something like a flower lightly pressed into the case. Snapping a picture, she set the case down and went to edit the photo. It took some messing around with the settings and drawing a line before she made what looked like an asclepaide. That was two letters too long.

She stared the word down then translated it into Chinese. That was one letter short. Italian was the same as French. Swiss? Swiss, using German then Romansh, used ten and she couldn't find one for Romansh. She frowned deeper then tried good old plain English.

Milkweed?

Mouthing the word to herself, she tried combinations that resembled it then went with a wild guess.

M as 4.

I as 9

L as 3.

K as 2.

E as 5 two times in a row.

D as 4.

Her lip curled down when it didn't work and looked at the photo again. Her eyes went wide when she realized there was an A in the middle of the flower, barely seen until she used contrast again. She looked up asclepaide again, seeing what it connected to. Then she got an idea and searched for logos.

"I wonder," she muttered. Before fashion, it was violin... Uncle Gabriel's mother had been a violinist...

A as 1.

G as 7.

R as 9.

E as 5.

S as 1.

T as 2.

E as 5.

S as 1.

1-7-9-5-1-2-5-1 was slid into and she tried it. It clicked open and she grinned. "Hey, Juleka," she said, getting the girl's attention. "I got it. And I think you just might have a bargaining chip."

——————————————————————————————————————

Chewing on a hoagie she ordered for the four of them and swinging her legs, she watched the Couffaine family pour over the violin and the papers that were inside.

The violin was in good condition, a fact Anarka delighted in as she played many sea shanties and bounced around her twin children.

Luka (she had been told his name after they brought the case upstairs) poured over the music sheets while Juleka tenderly went through the letter pages and envelopes. 

Juleka lifted her gaze to Chloe, who stopped swinging her legs. "Chloe? What did you mean by bargaining chip?"

Holding a finger up as she swallowed and became the center of attention, Chloe shifted. "I can't remember that much since I was only five back then, but Uncle Gabriel's mother Yvonne Agreste's violin went missing. It's a heirloom, from the Napoleonic Wars, and passed down. He was really furious when it went missing since it was sold by an employee. So if you give it back, he'd be willing to bargain for it..." Chloe trailed off with a shrug. 

The goth girl retained a considering expression. She began putting away the letters carefully and glanced at Chloe with bright copper eyes. "Would you like to go for a walk, Chloe?"

Curious at what she planned, Chloe nodded. "Sure."

Anarka wilted when she put away the violin and Chloe didn't blame her. It was a thing of a beauty, shiny as if it were still new. The pirate had even pulled polish from somewhere to give it a glossy look and rosin for the strings. Even the bow was in good condition.

She was privately jealous the woman got to touch it, but it made sense. Anarka found it, whether or not by accident, so she deserved to play it.

And if Chloe happened to record it for Gabriel, well... He would be the only one to hear it.

Chapter 10: Fallen Leaves

Notes:

I need to apologize if the ending bit doesn't make sense because some of it was in my head, but it didn't get typed down properly and I forgot how I wanted it to go.

Chapter Text

"Why am I here?" Chloe asked, making a face when she heard how rough her voice was. She took another sip of her ginger honey lemon tea. Maybe she stayed up too late. But there were five finished handkerchiefs on her desk and she couldn't be prouder. 

"Kim is very good at swindling people into doing things," Max replied from his big brown coat. The nerd bundled up even more than her, his voice muffled by a green scarf.

She looked at the male athlete, watching him pour collected fallen leaves out of bags. "That explains a lot," she said, thinking over the years when Kim got out of trouble in école élémentaire. He wasn't that charismatic, but he had enthusiasm. She looked back when Alix hollered, Kim having dumped a bag over her head. "Wanna go get some food?"

Kim ran from Alix, diving into the leaf pile. She burrowed after him faster than a rabbit. Yelps of mercy erupted from the leaf pile. Leaves flew into the air like a leaf blower was inside instead of a pair of teens.

What a rabbid lass.

"What kind of food?" Max asked, drawing her gaze.

"Anything. I may have had breakfast, but I want something to snack on," she replied.

He considered something, glancing at her. "The Dupain-Cheng patisserie is selling angel food cake and devil food cake items for the month. We can decorate them however we want as long as we pay."

She thought of the options and nodded. "Sounds good. Let's go before they decide they want to join and we get kicked out."

His head bobbing in agreement, they hurried away. 

——————————————————————————————————————

Her jacket draped over the back of her chair and hair pinned up in a messy bun, Chloe looked up when a pair of shadows covered the half dozen cupcakes her and Max had frosted and decorated.

Alix and Kim bore looks of betrayal, the latter opening his mouth but Chloe's big mouth opened first.

"Sit down, losers, we're having cupcakes," she released and Max let out a giggle-snort in surprise. "I'm doing devil food cake cupcakes, Max's doing angels. Which do you want?"

They shared a look then plopped down at the four person table in the Dupain-Cheng patisserie. 

Kim reeled away from beside her when she held out an angel one with a spider. He paled as she stared him in the eye. "It's edible. Eat it." He accepted it with silent dread and she smirked as she got one over the jock.

Alix plucked a devil one with a leaf one it, peeling the wrapper. "Have you guys been doing this the whole time?"

"Yes," Max answered, ironically putting a mushroom on an angel cupcake. Chloe giggled herself when she saw it. "We decided it best after you two left us in the cold."

Kim smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. We didn't mean to get carried away."

"Sounds fake, but okay," Chloe mumbled, earning another giggle-snort from Max. She focused on her cupcakes as they began to chat, pressing in ghost marshmallows on her devil cupcake. Then she pulled over the strawberry drizzle and began to run it over the cupcake in zigzag. Child friendly bloody ghosts for one.

"Oh, great, it's you."

The voice was unfortunately familiar and she smirked when she saw, upon looking up, Alix was flailing angrily for her older brother's coffee. "What's that supposed to mean, you jerk?!"

Easily holding the double cup holder above her hands, Jalil blinked at her then frowned. "Not you. You. Why are you here?"

"Decorating cupcakes," she answered, blinking at Alix when she twisted to her in surprise.

Alix twisted her head back and forth. "You two know each other?!"

"Unfortunately," Jalil muttered and Chloe beamed at him. 

"Aww, don't be too upset. You'll always be my favorite Turkey Lord," she teased, shit-eatting grin on her lips.

He scowled. "I know where you sleep," he warned in a hollow manner.

"Boss Lion," she continued unheeded. She eyed the double cup holder, knowing his father didn't care much for coffee, and ginned wider. "Mister Hound Dog."

The exasperation was building and he dropped the scowl. "Chloe." He tried to hide the laughter in his voice and somewhat succeeded. It paid off to make fun of his akuma form, especially when Hawk Moth was very much not a history nerd and failed the Egyptian gods on a high basis.

Her grin widened. "Professor Baboon," she insisted, shaking with held in laughter. He pursed his lips stubbornly, resembling one very much as he adjusted his glasses.

"That reminds me," Jalil started. Chloe bristled a bit when he smiled at her, alarmed. "Due to the break and my own assignments, your lessons will be during Mondays and Thursdays from 1:00 P. M. to 3:00 P. M."

Her smile dropped, eyes widening. "What? But I don't know where my notebooks are!"

"Then I suggest you find them," he replied with a serenity that was a lie. "Because we have a lot of cramming to do for chemistry."

Horror built in her body, voice going high. "Chemistry?!" Chemistry was the worst!

He beamed at her, reflecting her previous attack. "Cheers, Chloe. I'll see you at home, Alix. Kim, Max." Dipping his head at them, he snatched up her ghost cupcake and vanished with the tinkle of a bell.

She stared speechlessly after him, making her hands clench. That heathen, that uncultured swine — he knew she usually threw her notebooks around the room after the lessons were over! Thrown because she was freed from the science and their crazy equations that were just as bad as dealing with fractions. And he knew her skills lied in linguistics, that-that bumbling baboon. Horrendous hound dog, liar lion, tremulous turkey—

"Chloe?" Max's voice broke through her alliterations. 

"Yes?" She said, distracted.

"You killed my cupcake," he informed her and she blinked, staring at him.

"What? Oh, darn it," she hissed when she saw the mess she made in her not empty hands. At least it hadn't been frosted, she thought wryly as she tried to sweep the angel food cupcake off her hands and onto her plate. "I'm sorry."

"I take it you know Jalil well," Alix observed over her cupcake. "Any reason why you never mentioned that?"

"Never saw the need," Chloe answered absently. "You and I only saw each other at school before this year and if he hasn't mentioned the tutoring himself, then I usually don't either. Only Sabrina and two others know he's tutoring me outside of my staff and Papa."

"Why him and not Sabrina?" Alix bit her cupcake, boring her eyes into Chloe.

"Sabrina and I have different learning methods," Chloe responded, shrugging a little. She used a wet napkin Kim slid to her to get the cakeness off her palms. "I mentioned it to Jalil when collège first began and Sabrina and I realized it would be bad if we tried studying together. He offered a free trial and he became my tutor. We usually hang out together at galas to bicker over his theories."

Alix stared at her, twitching. "You listen to his theories?" She sounded absolutely baffled as she spoke with a sudden loud voice. "Why?"

Chloe looked up from her hands, seeing Kim and Max watching them with riveted eyes. Eyes burned in her back and she frowned a bit when she realized Sabine Cheng must be keeping an eye on her.

"Because with some fine tuning they make sense."

"You do know he tried to sacrifice Alya when he was akumatized, right?" Kim pointed out before he nibbled on the spider.

"Yeah, and that was pretty stupid of him," she scoffed. "Necromancy always has a high price in stories and that spell has a big one. He should test that crap out on bugs first."

Max was torn between amazement and horror. "What about his alien theory? The one with them making the pyramids?"

"Parasitic aliens," she answered promptly. "Humans have been using squares, rectangles, and circular domes for architecture so where do the triangle shapes come from? Aliens."

Alix stared at her in horror, reeling in her seat. "You're a conspiracy theorist?!" She nearly shrieked, gathering attention in the nearly empty patisserie.

Sabine Cheng popped up beside their table, eyes cool as she surveyed their table. They landed on Chloe. "Is everything alright?"

Chloe nodded. "Yes, Madame Cheng," she assured then turned back to Alix. "I'm not a conspiracy theorist—"

"That's what a conspiracy theorist would say!" Alix practically howled and Chloe gave into the urge to (gently) kick her, earning a surprised squawk.

"I'm picky," she stressed. "Things have a logical order and parasitic aliens coercing humans into making a triangular shaped building makes sense."

"The Greek pantheon has groups of three," Max pointed out over Alix's weird noises. "The big three, the fates, the furies."

"Those are deities," she dismissed and jabbed a finger at him. "Give me ancient building architecture that forms a pyramid and then we'll talk."

"Signs don't count?" He clarified, wiping his hands clean to grab his phone. There was a gleam in his eye that both unnerved her and excited her.

"Absolutely not," she shot down and dragged Kim from his seat to switch, looking over his shoulder.

As they began discussing (read: arguing) over the pyramids of Argolis, Alix clutched at Sabine. "There's more," she wailed. "I though I only had to deal with Jalil!"

"There, there," Sabine soothed, patting pink hair.

Kim watched as Chloe snatched Max's phone, typing quickly. "I wonder what they think about the heroes, Hawk Moth, and their powers," he mused.

He shrieked in dismay as Alix tackled him. "Don't get them started!"

Chloe and Max ignored the tussling duo in favor of the phone. "If aliens have spaceships, what would stop them from simply going from country to country and making pyramids?"

"Climate. Heat might be what they thrive in..."

"What about the colder planets?"

"I don't know. Maybe they have their own kind of spacesuits."

"Alien technology would need to be adaptable for the environments they could face..."

Chapter 11: Sacrifice

Chapter Text

Even though the lessons were from one to three, Jalil sometimes hung out an extra hour so they could wind down from the tutoring.

She was personally flopped over her couch in a dramatic widow manner, complete with her arm over her eyes and hair fanning out, while he took her armchair. He was of course less dramatic, but even he was zoning out.

"Do you think ghosts will appear?" Jalil inquired idly and she rolled her head to let an eye focus on him.

"What?"

"Ghosts," he repeated, twisting like a coiled snake in his seat. His hands pulled his hair back into a low ponytail after setting his thermos on the side table. "I mean, magic is being tossed around Paris. The black cat is symbolically attached to bad luck and witchcraft. But in Egypt they're protectors. Sometimes they're benevolent and sometimes not. Hecate even has a connection, but it varies. And they're connected to death, hence my curiosity." He paused to breath having spoken in one breath and picked up his thermos.

She lowered her arm, gazing at the ceiling with pursed lips. "That's a good question," she admitted. Especially if Plagg is a deity that's been hanging out at the hotel. "Hey, Tomcat! Get in here and detransform I've got questions!"

A crash heralded the death of her second sunchair and Jalil choked on his drink, coughing and sputtering. 

Swish came the door and Chat Noir looked in with wide eyes and lowered ears.

She shifted so she was half laying down. "Hurry up, slowpoke."

Chat Noir stared at Jalil as he coughed and Jalil coughed as he stared back.

Jalil managed to catch his breath and leaned forward. "Will ghosts appear? Samhain is coming up." His blue eyes were bright and shining.

Green eyes drifting to her, Chloe gave him no help as she stared expectantly at him. He slowly picked up the snuggie from the hook, pulled it on, and then detransformed with a scream.

Chloe burst out laughing as he flung a shocked Plagg at Jalil screeching "SACRIFICE!" at the top of his lungs then bolted for the bathroom. 

Jalil looked like he won an award as he held Plagg with gentle hands. "Are ghosts going to appear since your magic is around Paris?"

Plagg stared up at him then turned unhappy green eyes on her. "I want three wheels of camembert."

She nodded with a wheeze, wiping at her eyes to send off the message. More tears slid free as Jalil dropped even more questions and Plagg looked ready to die himself.

Karma would bite her for this somehow but it was worth the look in Jalil's eyes.

A deity that's been around for years would know more than her anyway.

Chapter 12: Movie Night

Chapter Text

"Why are we outside?"

The question was asked distaste dripping from it and she shot Jalil a flat look. "Because it was easier to meet here than the hotel. You're getting coffee out of this, don't complain."

"It's cold, I'll complain all I want," he grumbled into his scarf, leaning towards Theo when the sculptor shifted closer.

She hid her smile in her scarf. "That's fine."

Sabrina rubbed gloved hands together. "What are we doing exactly? All you did was message me at 3 AM about a shopping trip."

"I messaged you that early?" Chloe wondered then shook her head. "Sorry. Papa and I have been talking and after my visit to the Liberty we had two different business ideas as we want to expand past the hotel. One involves his dream of being a film director — prop rental."

They stared at her in confusion. "Prop rental?" Theo repeated, blinking.

"Prop rental. Most movies either have to make their own props or rent them or order specific things, right? Well, I told him how Captain Couffaine tends to buy and collect things and he thought we could do the same. The rental part came because of Lahiffe." Chloe nodded when she saw dawning realization on Sabrina's face and looked at the older teens. "He wants to do a film for the Spooktacular Film Fest that's coming up, some sort of mystery thing with a monster. If could find something that would fit with the script he sent to the class chat, we could use it for the movie."

"We'll need to message him," Sabrina advised, pulling her phone and stylus out. She began tapping away. "He's the director so he has the ability to yay or nay something."

They began heading towards the thrift shop, Chloe leading Sabrina with the boys ahead of them. Theo held the door, blinking after Jalil who promptly detoured to the decoration area. Sabrina slowly trailed after him, typing still.

Theo glanced at her as he let the door slide shut. "Not that I mind, but why did you invite me?"

Chloe surveyed the thrift store, squinted at the clothing, and headed towards the furniture as she gestured for him to follow. "I am not the best with self-control when it comes to shopping. Sabrina tries, but..." She trailed off, thinking of that shopping spree she went on, dragging Sabrina and Jalil in her trail. A spree that left Jalil dizzy and Sabrina exhausted to tears. Shaking her head, she continued. "Jalil's mentioned that you helped him back in school when he goes on his theory rants, which means you can stop me, too. Or at least slow me down enough to talk some sense to me."

"Are you that bad?" He wondered and she wondered if he was being rhetorical.

Most likely rhetorical, she thought when a large mirror with a fancy looking peacock on top. "Ooh, look at that!" She vanished from his side to reach up and run her fingers over the filigree. "I want."

"For personal use or a prop?" Theo inquired, amusement bubbling in his voice.

"Both," she all but hissed and, after smacking a personalized teacup sticky note to the peacock, went to find an employee. Her papa had was going to use a townhouse near the hotel to act as storage until they got the prop rental up and running. He gave her full reign over it since it would also be hers since it was his mother's inheritance. And she could stuff it to the gills with all the things—

A soft, pale green caught her eye. The green of a lunar moth and she detoured to the dress, staring at it. It was silky beneath her fingers. She lifted the dress up, considering. The green was lighter than Adrien's eyes, more like Emilie's.

Gabriel was always up to mend clothing. Maybe... if she commissioned him... and spammed him with emails...

Pulling it from the rack, she sidestepped Theo and scurried to the counter, startling the older teen behind it. "Can I leave this here or do you have carts?" 

The girl blinked then nodded after looking around. "Since it's just you and your friends, you can leave it here," she answered. 

"Thank you. And I wanted to get that peacock mirror. Should I continue to leave sticky notes?" Chloe asked, gently putting the dress down.

"Since you've got that, sure. Otherwise I'd offer a notebook," the girl agreed. "Do you have people to pick up the items or do you need delivery?"

"I have people," Chloe confirmed and then she was off. 

Theo watched her zoom towards the jewelry, bemused. "Ellie, I think I just became a babysitter," he told his classmate. He glanced towards Jalil and Sabrina, who seemed to be debating energetically as they stood by a versace couch.

"There are worse occupations," Ellie pointed out with cheer. She made a face. "Like architecture. Bleh. You could always distract her with a movie night."

He cast her a wry look. "Movie nights work only if the watchers can sit down." He turned his gaze back to Chloe when she smacked down a sticky note and got distracted by a large wardrobe. "She's like a hummingbird, geez."

"Good luck!" She called when he hurried after Chloe, giggling when the blonde crawled beneath a lamp to check its lampshade.

Chapter 13: Headless Horseman

Chapter Text

Chloe flinched as something flew out in front of her and Sabrina, stumbling as Jalil yanked her back. Sabrina instinctively ducked behind Theo when he pulled her.

They stared at the pumpkin, orange goo sliding down the brick.

Exchanging a glance with them, Chloe tiptoed over to peek past the corner. "That's new," she observed, feeling Jalil loom over her to see what was flinging pumpkins. Sabrina crouched by her knees and Theo loomed over all of them.

"That is very new," Jalil agreed. They watched as a Headless Horseman akuma rode a black moped around with pumpkins in a cart behind them.

They were silent. 

"I'm sorry," Sabrina finally whispered. "I can't take whoever that is seriously."

"They make me want something with pumpkin," Theo confessed sheepishly.

"That sounds like a good post shopping snack." Chloe began shooing them back to go another way. "C'mon, let's go find something with pumpkin."

"Pumpkin soup?" Jalil offered slyly, dodging her punch.

"Pumpkin macarons?" Sabrina offered and giggled at her sharp scowl.

"No. Chef Cesaire is making quiche. We can have that and watch a movie or something. Oh, unless you need to leave, Theo?" Chloe glanced up as Chat Noir flew by overhead, Ladybug right behind him.

"I have today free," he corrected, twisting to watch the heroes. She automatically reached to guide him along the sidewalk. Sabrina did it sometimes when they were near but not in danger.

"We could also check out a game I found," Jalil offered, glancing back and taking Theo's other side. "It's called The Witch's House. Have you seen it?"

Chloe shook her head as did Sabrina and Theo. "No. What's it about?"

"It's an RPG horror where a young girl finds herself heading to a manor in a forest," Jalil answered, glancing at Chloe. "I want to know the lore and I have it on Steam."

"Sounds interesting. Let's do it." She wanted to do something relaxing before hosting a tea party. At least Jalil was willing to stay the night in a guest suite and help her in the morning. He was nice like that.

They ended up doing both, playing the game and watching Coraline before Sabrina and Theo headed out. She watched an episode of Goosebumps with Jalil before they fell asleep.

Chapter 14: Tea

Chapter Text

With a cup of peppermint tea in her hands, Chloe gave herself one last look over.

As it was the fall tea party first, she was dressed in an autumn floral dress with red, blue, green, and pale brown decal on a beige background that came to her knees and had sleeves to just above her elbows. It had a collared neckline she buttoned to her throat and wore a string of pearls around it. She had considered a bowknot, but couldn't decide on a color. A pair of dainty white gloves covered her hands up to mid-forearm, forgoing any bracelets. Her usual belt was switched with a brown buckle belt. On her feet were a pair of low brown ankle boots and on her ears were amber earrings. 

Her makeup was light, her lips peach and eyeliner making her blue eyes stand out with neutral shades. On her head was an autumn hair piece holding up her hair in a twist.

She looked lovely and confident, mimicking a woman from the 1950s.

She looked lovely and confident, but damned if she weren't secretly shaking in her boots. 

Not when she would be hosting her classmates in the convention center instead of the private room. Not when she had to switch plans out around to adapt. Not when she would be stuck in a room filled with people she had-had bullied years previous.

"Chloe?" Her papa knocked gently on her bedroom door and she hummed. He peeked in then walked up behind her, smiling. "You look lovely."

"Thank you, Papa," she said, moving to lean against his side.

He hugged her. "You'll do great, just remember the rules of xenia."

"I will," she murmured, watching and feeling him kiss the top of her head.

They left her rooms and she escorted him to the hotel exit so he could leave for his meetings. Then, clasping her hands together, she entered the elevator to make her way to her own.

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"I didn't know bears wore glasses," Chloe noted as she stepped into the room.

Jalil glanced at her, rolling his eyes. "Not all of them have good eyesight."

The older teen was dressed in a brown bear onesie and bear slippers, settled at a table. A bundle of books and stacks of papers were in front of him and she recognized them as origami paper. "More activities?" A part of her relaxed as he stood and nodded.

"Some people may not want to participate in the physical ones," he answered, coming to join her and looking around the room. "Although, I think they'll all participate in the s'more station."

She nodded in agreement. It was why she brought in a little burner and had Jean-Sebastian on standby as the man in charge if it along with a fire extinguisher. A table was near it with s'more fixings.

A glance around the room showed little pumpkins around the room for decoration (real, so they could be used afterwards in the kitchen). Fall foliage decorated the convention center, the scent of cinnamon and pinecone filling the air. Around the room, chrysanthemums added to the smell pleasantly and scentless candles added to the atmosphere. A pale tablecloth with vines embroidered on the edge lined the circular table she was using for the occasion. Fourteen chairs were tucked in, the place settings out. The plates were small and thick in the event they were dropped and there were enough teacups at the respective seats. She had two teapots on the table for her usual ginger honey lemon tea and a cranberry autumn blend. Two pitchers of the apple and pumpkin cider were also available since not everyone cared for tea.

She planned on food in the second hour, though that would always be available on the tiered platters. Pumpkin based quiche, spinach puffs, and various petit four. She had miniature croissants, iced and plain, as well for Adrien since she knew he loved croissants. She hoped everyone else enjoyed the fruits of her labor.

Jalil bumped his side against her shoulder. "Do you want a quick waltz?"

Nodding quickly, she pulled her phone out. "Do you have any special plans today?" She questioned as she scrolled through her music. Xabi's "Along The Beach With You" worked pretty well as a waltz song.

He hmphed. "Only schoolwork," he replied, knowing she meant with Theo and she grinned impishly at the pink in his cheeks. "Periodic table, let's go."

She made a face as she accepted his hand and placed the her free hand on his shoulder, his free hand on her back. "Noble gases, halogens, nonmetals..."

They swept over the floor with experienced and practiced ease, him quizzing her the whole time. It kept her attention as they went through the motions and by the time Xabi's not publicized songs were over she was calmer. And just in time to notice that her classmates had arrived. Jean-Sebastian didn't blink when she glanced at him — he could have warned her.

"Hello," she greeted, making them in as she retrieved her phone and slid it in a hidden dress pocket. "I'm sorry for not noticing you."

Rose bounced forward, beaming as she held her pink coat. She looked adorable in her beige floral dress with bell sleeves. It came to her knees so she wore matching beige leggings beneath it and had on a pair of pink flats. There were pink flower clips in her hair, matching her dress. "Hello, Chloe! You two were amazing."

Behind her, Jalil whispered a horrified, "She's peppy." Louder, "I'll see you in a few days, Chloe. I hope you all have a good tea party." He hurried to the door, patting Alix's head on the way.

The skater stared after him blankly then looked at Chloe. "Please tell me he won't be back." 

"He won't and thank you, Rose," Chloe responded as she took in the skater. As expected, she wore a pair of black slacks over a pair of neon faded pink heelys. She wore a matching green vest over a long-sleeved white shirt. Glancing around, she added, "And for those of you wondering, you don't need to dance unless you want to. Come on in. I have a few things planned — and don't you dare ask me about Mario, Adrien Agreste." She hissed the last part when he perked up.

"Mario isn't that bad," he wheedled, eyes twinkling as he came to greet her with air kisses. He dressed similar to Alix with a soft orange button up below a grey vest, matching his usual shoes and bow tie. His slacks were grey as well.

"I am not falling for that," she said firmly, passing on her own air kisses.

"Why would we play Mario anyway? There aren't enough controllers nor spaces," Sabrina wondered as she came over to greet her, cream kitten heels clicking. She was pretty in a green plaid dress and she had a yellow bow knot around its collar. Her braided hair was held back by a hairband lined with cream blossoms. In her hands was the Polaroid camera they found at an antique shop. Most likely, she would be taking pictures aplenty. Rose was already asking her questions about it.

Juleka followed Rose to Chloe, startling different in a navy mesh sleeved flare dress. Her long hair was pinned, being held by an orange rose, and her bangs were arranged to frame her face. A silver necklace draped around her neck with an amethyst pendant shaped like a swan. Along with her black lace gloves, those were her only accessories. A pair of knee-length black boots with silver chains adorned her feet above dark grey leggings.

She brush air kisses of Chloe's cheeks and she returned the favor. "You look amazing," the blonde told her, earning a soft blush.

"You do, too," Juleka murmured and held her hands up, revealing a small gift box. "Here. Luka wanted to pass it on to you."

Chloe didn't take it, staring at it. "Should I be worried?" Luka didn't seem to care for Chloe when she had popped by a few more times for decor. She hadn't been nice to Juleka whenever the goth girl had been unfortunate to catch her attention years previous. Unless he had resting bitch face like Xabi. Maybe? She wasn't going to ask.

Juleka smiled. "Luka doesn't dislike you and I did look at it before he wrapped it. It's a gift for the host, like you brought for us."

"That was food," Chloe pointed out even as Juleka slid the box into her hands. She held it for a second, feeling how light it felt, and slid it into her empty pocket. "If there's a mouse in there, I retain the right to shove him overboard."

"Of course," Juleka agreed and glided over to join Adrien and Alix at the s'more station. It warmed her, knowing Juleka had bargained for Adrien to have an open invitation to visit the Liberty anytime instead of anything else.

She squinted after her, unable to not be suspicious of Luka, then turned to greet Mylene. "Hello, Mylene." She skipped the air kisses for them, choosing to coo obnoxiously and pinch their cheeks lightly. "Hello, Ivan."

Mylene flushed adorably at the act, looking sweet in a thick grey knit dress. The hood, the skirt, and the sleeves had faux white fur trim on it. "Hi, Chloe." She wore white leggings and a pair of black flats. Her usual pins were on the hood.

Ivan suffered her antics with grace. "Hey, Chloe. It's nice to see you, too." He wore a black button up beneath a grey vest that matched Mylene's dress and black slacks. His normal boots stuck out from the pant legs. 

"Go ahead and get some s'mores," she urged. "I'll talk when everyone has one."

"Okay, thank you," Mylene said quietly and Kim bounced into her spot as the couple left, Max behind him.

The athlete was red, slacks a sharp maroon and matching the vest over a white button up. He greeted her with air kisses. "Nice decorations, Chloe! It looks cool!"

A smile formed and she preened, greeting him back. It had been fun decorating so to know people were enjoying it made her happy. "Thanks. It was fun doing set up with Sarah and Giovanni." It had only been the three of them and Jalil since she wanted to do it on her own and then Jalil picked at it until they were all pleased with the result.

"Chloe, is that a karaoke machine?" Max after offering and receiving his own air kisses, frowning towards the machine. He looked trim in a pair of brown slacks, green button-up, and his usual suspenders. He wore his usual shoes and had a fedora in his hands.

He let her take it and situate it back on his head, used to her adjusting his clothing when he got distracted. "Yes, but don't worry. Only those who want to sing will sing. If anyone tries to force you, they'll have to eat a chocolate-covered conundrum."

Kim perked up, turning towards the table. "Wait, you mean like the charcuterie board?"

"Like the charcuterie board," she confirmed and wagged a finger. "But only if people act out, so don't even think about testing me."

He blinked wide grey eyes at her. "Would I do that?"

She made a face at him. "You're worse than Adrien. Shoo, begone with ye."

Laughing, he bounded away to the s'mores station as Nino stepped up beside Max. He was dressed similar to Max, only his slacks were as green as his vest and he wore a yellow bowtie instead of suspenders. "Hey, dude." When she stared at him, he corrected himself. "Chloe. Sorry."

She pinched his cheek like a grandmother and he willfully suffered through it. Max reeled when he saw it and hurried away. "Hey, Lahiffe. Ready for later?"

Later being the sleepover she would be "holding," only it was for him and Adrien for the most part. It was to make up for Adrien's birthday fiasco.

He flashed a pair of thumbs up. "Yes, ma'am. Everything is set." 

"Good. Let's behave properly this time," she said, stressing her words and he smiled sheepishly. 

"Of course. Mind if I get ahold of your sound system?" He asked, pulling his phone out slowly.

"Go for it." She watched him rush off with a gleeful smile and sighed when he nearly skidded into a speaker. "DJ Hazard..."

Shaking her head, she saw a shadow on the nearby floor and turned to face Alya and Marinette. Alya wore an orange plaid jumpsuit with a white long-sleeved shirt beneath it. She wore a pair of low white strappy sandals and her usually wavy hair was tucked up in a braided ponytail. Marinette had similarly skipped her usual pigtails and they were exchanged for space buns with pink scrunchies holding them. She wore a simple black dress that had pink flowers dotting the trim and a white cardigan over it, her usual shoes on her feet over black tights. Her usual pure hung from her shoulder.

"Hello," she greeted them, forcing down the urge to scrunch her face as she air kissed their cheeks as quickly as etiquette allowed. "Welcome to my fall tea party."

Alya copied her, looking towards the table with a smile. "Are those my mom's quiches?"

"And spinach puffs. Madame Beauregard made the petit fours and croissants," Chloe answered, linking her hands in front of her dress.

"Not from my parents' patisserie?" Marinette inquired, frowning as if Chloe purposely slighted her. Which was ridiculous considering Chloe was both trying to be nicer and even if she wasn't she would be more upfront about it.

Chloe stared back at her, calm. "Madame Beauregard has been the hotel's patissier since its conception. Ordering from your parents' patisserie tends to happen when she is unable to work in the kitchen." It tended to happen more often than not in recent years, the woman's leg acting up with the weather change. Chloe had been happy the woman had been able to do what she loved and accepted her offer for pastries.

Marinette pursed her lips, disbelieving. Chloe couldn't care less about whatever slight she was making up in her scatterbrained head.

Her eyes drifted to the lone figure hanging closer to the exit. "Excuse me, I have one more guest to welcome." She glided past them, calling out. "Tomato-head."

Nathaniel looked up, arms crossed over his chest. He dressed just as snazzy as she expected. Black dress coat and black vest over a royal blue button up that made his eyes more green turquoise, black slacks, and a tie that shimmered from black to green to blue to black beneath the lights. "Chloe. Nice dress."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you. I got the idea from your maman's fall forest painting." Being taller naturally and orangically, she spotted some small leaves in his hair. That was probably from the lobby's foliage, it just wouldn't stop falling and she didn't know whether or not the decorator planned that on purpose. He probably did, he was weird.

He stepped forward when she crooked a finger, stilling when she picked the foliage from his hair. "Thank you." He was used to her messing with his hair when they were stuck together at galas and Jalil was lucky enough to vanish from sight.

"You're welcome," she replied, rearranging dark red strands. When she stepped away, she saw his fingers flexing on his arms. "Do you want to use my drawing tablet?"

Blinking at her, he tilted his head. "Really? I didn't think you'd want me to draw during your party..."

She pulled her phone out and sent a message. "It is my duty to make sure my guests are comfortable and if you're uneasy, I will do something to fix that." She sent him a look after putting her phone away. "Just please keep the s'mores away from it, please."

He smiled shyly. "Thank you, Chloe."

"No problem. Let's get our s'mores and get this tea party started. I have plans for it." He accepted her arm when she offered it, letting her guide him to the others. "I hope you don't mind tea games."

"I already feel alarmed," he murmured, making her snicker. "I've seen what you and Xavier-Yves get up to, Chloe, and I don't want to be involved."

She patted his arm. "It's okay. He isn't here."

"But you are." 

"I'm better alone."

"If you say so."

"I do say so, now have a s'more."

Chapter 15: Acorns

Chapter Text

Chloe waited until everyone had their mouths full of s'more before she spoke, holding her teacup. "I have a few activies planned, including the obvious s'mores, other snacking, karaoke, and croquet."

"I was wondering why you had that set up," Alix cut in, looking down the room to where Chloe had set up a miniature croquet course.

"I wanted to do mini-golf but I know how some of you are." Chloe looked between Alix and Kim in an obvious manner, earning a few chuckles. "And I won't force anyone to play croquet or sing, you can choose to watch instead, but there is one activity I want everyone to participate in."

They followed when she gestured, Adrien and Sabrina falling into step. She led the way to the long table that was further in, two feet away from the wall. Fourteen bumps lined up beneath a long cloth and she felt giddy. It had been an interesting endeavor figuring out what she wanted to do, but when it went through successfully she knew it would have to be for everyone.

"This is something I thought everyone would be interested in," she spoke as she stood at one end of the table and Adrien, taking note, stood at the other end before Jean-Sebastian could. "I got the idea after seeing a kid get a piñata a few days ago. Not quite a piñata and I haven't figured out what it's actually called but..."

Trailing off, she grabbed her side of the cloth and waited for Adrien to copy. He did and they lifted it up and off the table. She grinned at the "oohs" some let out.

"Acorns?" Alya spoke, getting closer to the table. "What are they?"

Chloe looked at the table. "Cookie acorns," she answered, looking over the table. Her sous chef, Monica Combes, had assisted her in figuring out how to copy sugar domes and caramel cages and they figured it out a day before the party. They all had mallets so they could be broken. "My sous chef helped me figure out how to make it similar to the gingerbread houses and those sugar domes you see on those fancy dessert shows. We made enough for the whole class and I had a friend take my card to fill them with knickknacks. I don't know what will be inside, but I did give him a list of things fall related so it shouldn't be too wild or lame."

Alix fingered her mallet, glancing at Chloe. "It wasn't Jalil, was it?"

She shook her head. "It was not." It was Xabi, actually, and he was already gone on tour again. "Anyway, head to your acorns and prep your mallets for whacking. Please don't smash them, I do not want to know if the pieces will go flying."

Taking her spot at the end, the line went like this: Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien, Nino, Alix, Mylene, Marinette, Alya, Max, Kim, Ivan, Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel.

Picking her mallet up, she gave the go ahead and began tapping at her cookie. It was gingerbread since they didn't want to try out any other kind and the cookie acorn was frosted to the plates to keep them from moving. The cookie broke slowly under her hand until a piece broke off. She picked it up and ate it as she continued to break it, almost choking when she saw what was inside and swore to ask Theo to do it. He could be normal at least.

She stiffened her jaw as she looked over the plastic miniature teacup, ginger root, lemon slices, and honey jars. There was even a tea blend for them. Honestly, was he trying to blow her cover? Oversized rat.

Looking at Sabrina's, she saw plastic gingersnaps, cameras, bows, and footballs. She had a cinnamon tea blend in front of her.

Sabrina rolled a football around, tilting her head as she made her fingers act as legs. "This was Xabien, wasn't it?" She asked, calling Xabi by his second alter ego.

"Unfortunately," Chloe grumbled with a pout. Then she began snacking on the rest of her acorn, moving to stand where the rest of their class could see her. "I'll have these in treat bags for you to take home along with leftover treats if there are any and they're split evenly." She paused, watching the other go through their own little knickknacks. "I plan on playing croquet, so if three others want to join me you can."

"I do!" Kim cried, throwing his hand in the air and accidentally throwing his cookie mallet. Fortunately, it hit the ground in front of the table. "Oops."

"I'll join, too," Alix added, sharing a grin with Kim. The sight sent a spike of dread through Chloe,

"If you two break anything, Monsieur Beauregard will have your hides," she warned and looked at the rest of her classmates. "Anyone else?"

The rest shared looks and Rose beamed. "I will! Prepare to lose!"

Alix and Kim grinned and Chloe resigned herself to dealing with competitive morons (she ignored the fact that she too was competitive). "Alright then. Let's have fun."

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Chloe (who had yellow and was last) leaned on her mallet, watching Alix (who claimed blue) give her ball a whack. It bounced off the wall set up around the hoops and they watched it go zooming past the first hoop. "Is that a foul?"

Rose (who had black) looked at her. "Do you not know?"

"Nope. I chose this game because it seemed like a tea party game and less likely to be more dangerous than golf," Chloe admitted shamelessly, earning a giggle.

Kim (with red) looked at the hoops with his nose scrunched. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to go through the hoops one by one, kinda like how mini-golf has numbered holes."

The taller blonde glanced over the hoops. "The hoops aren't numbered, though," she pointed out.

"We'll wing it," Alix declared, moving back to let Kim go. "Show us what ya got, muscle head."

Kim shot her a cocky grin. "I bet I'll get through the hoops," he boasted, moving to line up his shot.

Chloe leaned both hands on her mallet, considering. "On one hand, we're going against a pair of competitive monkeys." Rose giggled into her hand. "On the other, I really want to put their money where their mouths are. What do you think?c

Rose smiled, holding a fist out. "Blondes do it better."

"That they do," Chloe agreed, fist bumping her. She looked at the monkeys. "Hey, what do you guys think about bets?"

They looked at her, Alix uneasy at her grin while Kim lit up. "Conundrums?!"

"Conundrums," Chloe agreed, checking on the others. The majority were at the karaoke machine. Max, Nathaniel, and Ivan were at the table. The redhead was absorbed in her tablet, stylus moving rapidly over the screen. The nerd and the drummer were struggling through origami, repeatedly checking the book. "I hope you're good with weird food, Rose."

The small blonde clenched her hands into fists. "Let's go!" She squealed. 

Chapter 16: Cranberry

Summary:

So begins Chloe versus Marinette: the banes of each other's existences.

Chapter Text

Kim was face down on the floor, having overdone it, and ate ten of the conundrums they used for their bet. The remaining ten were split between the three girls and Rose kept wiping her mouth.

"I can't tell if I had sweet potatoes or carrots," she said as the three headed to the table to have some better tasting snacks.

Chloe sipped her tea, a bit nauseous. "At least you didn't get pea baby food," she muttered. She didn't know Marlena had used baby food as chocolate filling and regretted not getting a hint from the woman.

Alix was smug as she plopped beside Max. "And here I thought bananas were bad."

A few feet away, Kim groaned. 

Blonde brows rose. "Better than what he had," Chloe hummed and sat beside Nathaniel. She eyed his plate and teacup then poked him. "Hey, did you eat?"

"Huh?" He jolted when her finger impacted his nose, blocking his vision.

"Did you get food and drink?" She asked, pointing at the teacup with the purple petals. All of them had different colored petals so as to be recognized by their drinkers. Hers were yellow.

His eyes went to the teacup, eyelashes batting. "Oh. Uh, no?" He shrank beneath her narrowed eyes.

"Apple cider, pumpkin cider, cranberry tea, or ginger honey lemon tea," she listed off and he held up three fingers. "How many sugar cubes?"

"Just two," he answered.

She prepped his cup then went down the table to do the rest. Rose and Alix wanted a mixture of both pumpkin and apple cider. Max wanted the cranberry blend with three sugars, the menace. Ivan wanted the GHL blend with one sugar and she made Kim the same with no sugar. Once the tabled teens were set, she did a cider mix for Adrien and a cup of cranberry blend with two sugars for Sabrina. She carried them to the karaoke station, clearing her throat during a song switch.

Passing on the cups, she looked over the eyes staring at her. "Who wants a drink?"

Nino rubbed his bowtie, thoughtful. "I am pretty parched. What do you got?"

Successfully wrangling them over to take a break from singing and hopping around like rabbits, she prepared their cups as well for her hostess duty. While she was up, she figured she could set their plates as well and it was with practiced ease from her restaurant staff practicing with her that she fluttered around to set up their plates as well.

She made small talk with those willing (Juleka, surprisingly, and Sabrina) and left those unwilling (just Marinette) alone. No need to make forced conversation.

It was frustrating though. She hadn't even done anything recently, she was making amends the best she could, even surfing the American forums for reform advice (this wild kid from the States was really helpful even if he did delve into science terms a lot). It wasn't like she even meant to be rude now! She was just blunt and practical and she didn't even talk to Marinette since the beginning of the year, she left that to Sabrina so she didn't fall into bad habits when she got into situations that used to involve them.

And since she was being hostess, she had to keep repeating her mantra every time she saw Marinette looking at her with that scrunched up expression that made her want to erupt.

Be patient, restrain your temper, refrain from anger, and keep quiet if you can't do any of that

The rules of xenia say to be hospitable to your guest(s) and provide bath, food, drink, gifts and safe escort to their next destination. She didn't think anyone would want a bath, but everything else she could provide and as soon as she could she'd have a driver ship Marinette out so they wouldn't have to deal with each other anymore until the next time they saw each other. Probably Chloe's Halloween tea party. No, wait, there was Nino's film they'd both be at. 

It was still tempting to pour Marinette's cider in her lap for ignoring her attempts for small talk. Chloe was trying to be good, dammit. She could at least say she didn't want to talk. Have some manners, geez.

Finishing with Mylene, she slipped into her seat and stared down Nathaniel, pushing the plate into his hands repeatedly until he conceded and set the tablet and stylus down. "Tomato-head, Tomato-head, Tomato-head—"

"I'm eating, I'm eating," he grumbled, but her duty was done and she turned to face forward making sure everyone was at ease.

She cocked her head seeing Marinette glancing between her and Nathaniel then averted her gaze to continue her examination. It seemed everyone was sated for the moment, Max and Ivan pulled away from the origami by their friends and Sabrina was sliding around Polaroid photos for people to look over.

A small content smile formed and she clasped her hands on the table, fingers rubbing the satin gloves absently. This was good. Everything was—

"Why do you call him that?" A displeasing voice broke through her thoughts and she looked to see grey-blue eyes narrowed at her.

"Pardon?" Chloe said, forcing away a frown so her lips formed a line as she locked eyes with Marinette.

"Why do you call him that?" She demanded, scowling and puffing herself up to look bigger than she really was. "He has a name!"

Her voice rose, earning all eyes on them, and Chloe's heart began to thrum.

Chapter 17: Villain

Notes:

Content warning: talk of corporal punishment, a horrible teacher, and mentions of scars.

If you think there's anything that needs to be tagged or added to this note, please tell me!

Chapter Text

Chloe stared at Marinette, internally refusing to wrinkle her brows. She didn't want to show any weakness. "It's a nickname," Chloe said slowly, unblinking as Marinette puffed up further.

"That's not a nickname, that's an insult!" Marinette insisted stubbornly, shooting to her feet and planting her hands on the tabletop. The glassware rattled from the force.

Breathing in slowly as her heart's thrum caused ringing in her ears, she repeated her mantra. Be patient, restrain your temper, refrain from anger, and keep quiet if you can't do any of that. She would not give in to the anger slowly roiling in her chest.

Her posture straightened, her legs neatly crossing at the ankles. She pushed her fingertips and palms together. Slights weren't tolerated by her, not easily. And Marinette Busybody Dupain-Cheng just seemed to love shoving them in her face. It was like she asked to be her target all these years. Too much like a distant "well-meaning" family member who wanted in on her papa's fortune, too much like the kids who wanted in simply for her parents, too much like reporters and their incessant need to know details that were personal and did whatever they could to get a scoop.

No wonder she was friends with Alya.

"Have you ever heard of Guillaume Baudelaire?" Chloe asked, voice polite and stiff.

At the name, Adrien broke his cup with a sharp crack! Alix released a snarl and Nathaniel tensed beside her. His hands slid beneath the tabletop, clenching inward and flexing outward.

Marinette saw most of it, gaze hopping between the three as uncertainty took over self-righteousness before focusing on her. "No...?"

Chloe smiled, a ghost of something cool. "He was a teacher who once worked at Vigrass ecole maternelles. He believed in firm teaching and if one asked, he would be compared to Severus Snape from Harry Potter in his attitude to children. A very strident believer in corporal punishment and a penchant for metal rulers." Marinette blanched. Her smile got bigger even as old anger bubbled to the surface. "When I returned from my hospitalization, it was to find he had run out the one friend, my uncle and aunt horrified to see the red marks on him. I wasn't told beforehand because I was a child after all and it would be too difficult for me to understand.

"So I asked during lunch. I was perfectly polite and unaccusing but Baudelaire acted like I insulted his mother. He grabbed my arms, nails digging in until he broke skin, and screamed at me for being a dreadful child. That I should be lucky I was still attending myself for being stupid enough to get hospitalized and that my friend was an idiot for even thinking he could attend Vigrass." The marks still stained her skin, seen only in the right amount of lighting. It was the same with Nathaniel's hands and Alix's forearm when he had swung it around once in the classroom. She hated him. There were few people she hated, but he stood out.

She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "I call Nathaniel Tomato-head because he threw spiced tomato salad in Baudelaire's face to make him let go. If he doesn't want me to call him that, then he can ask me. He doesn't need someone to barge their way in if he is fine with it."

As she carefully slid her boots off, them sliding off with ease, Nathaniel said quietly, "It's never bothered me."

Marinette faltered. "I-I..."

Chloe ignored the guilt on her face when she looked between the Vigrass alumni, pulling the hairpiece from her hair slightly trembling hands and let her hair fall.

Juleka spotted it, turning to her fully. "Chloe?"

Bourgeois did not bow. Bourgeois did not concede to preposterous demands. Bourgeois did not break promises.

If she were akumatized, she would break it. Yes, Ivan said Hawk Moth was persuasive. But she was stubborn and proud and full of spite and pettiness.

And she would not fall for his bullshit.

Her earrings dropped beside her hairpiece and she slid her chair back, gloves sliding off and onto her unused plate. Her pearl necklace fell on them. "Excuse me," she said quietly when everyone turned to her. Adrien was beginning to stand. "Continue to enjoy the food. I need to check on something."

"Chloe," Adrien tried, falling quiet beneath her cool gaze.

"If you need anything, just ask Jean-Sebastian," she advised before sliding her chair in and heading out.

Persnickety little rat, she thought viciously as she stalked down the hallway to the elevator, her skirt swishing with her movements. Busybody, flour brat, Gabriel Agreste wannabe, judgemental know-it-all who needs to know everything and shove her nose where it doesn't belong—

She was fuming as the elevator opened and spat her out on the rooftop. Her fury settled like a lava ball in her chest and she swept over to the roof wall. The October breeze hit her legs hard, making her shiver slightly as goosebumps raced up her bare legs. She regretted not wearing any leggings but her knee length socks would have to do.

As she sat down beside the stone wall and leaned against it, dark purple danced in the corner of her eye. Faster than a Venus flytrap, she snapped her hands around the butterfly and tried to breathe through her nose.

The breeze cooled her off, but her temper was still bubbling. She would not be akumatized by some ridiculous villain who created terrible outfits for his minions.

Positive affirmation was one of the things practiced for anger management, something she looked up when Ivan told her how he was akumatized (guy did not like humiliation and she had firmly apologized to him for her own addition to it). She could do that, right? She had ten phalanges. 

Closing her eyes and ignoring the tickling feeling the wings sent through her palms and up her arms, she concentrated on herself and summoned up her internal strength.

Left thumb. I will not give in to my anger.

Left index. My fury will be let go.

Left middle. My body autonomy is mine to control.

Left ring. I can refuse his persuasion.

Left pinkie. I am in charge of my psyche.

Something brushed over her shoulders, applying a grounding pressure she didn't know she needed until she felt it. Energy seeped into her and she braced it like a shield. She breathed in slowly, simmering down.

Right pinkie. I am calming down.

Right ring. I can be in control. 

Right middle. My will is stronger.

Right index. My guests are counting on me.

Right thumb. I will not let Hawk Moth win.

Her shoulders slumped as a voice whispered, "Good job." The pressure dissipated from her shoulders.

When her eyelids opened beneath a sudden wave of exhaustion, she looked around to see she was alone. Blowing out a breath, she opened her hands wide.

A purified akuma quivered when the wind acted up again and she shooed it on. "Go home, little butterfly. It's cold outside."

Its wings fluttered rapidly until it lifted itself into the air and flew away. She slumped further into the wall. A nap sounded nice right about now.

"Chloe?" The voice of one of her oldest friend's sounded softly, nearly vanishing beneath the wind. She turned her blue eyes to green, Adrien squatting beside her. "Are you okay?"

"No. I hate socializing with people," she deadpanned and made grabby hands at him. He obliged her, sitting beside her and throwing an arm around her shoulders. She slumped, curling her legs towards his, and let her head drop on his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure I left you in charge."

Adrien hummed. "Sabrina kicked me out," he replied and yeah, she should have expected that. "Right after she gave Marinette a lecture about proper etiquette at tea parties and the rules of xenia before having Jean-Sebastian lead her out."

She nodded absently, breathing in the weird mix of pungent and floral he had on. She remained silent for a moment before speaking in a small voice. "You were gone. You were gone and nobody would tell me anything." Old tears burned as she recalled that day, recalled how confused she was at not seeing Adrien at their usual table of for with Alix and Nathaniel. Recalled how Alix seemed to burn with a quiet, furious energy, how Nathaniel's eyes had been shiny and avoided her stare. Recalled the madness in Baudelaire's everything when she spoke to him. Recalled the tomato pieces that flew over her head and into his face, Nathaniel shrieking high notes to get the cafeteria minders' attentions. Recalled how Alix barreled into his legs, making them buckle when she bit him with only canines since her incisors had fallen out during Chloe's time away. Recalled the worried and furious apologies from her papa, Fiona bellowing at the school staff at their lax ways. Recalled Julien siccing lawyers on the school board. Recalled seeing Adrien when it all settled and being told he would be homeschooled from then on and burning with spite when she signed him up for Dupont after Emilie vanished because the woman promised before he would be able to Dupont with her and she didn't want the woman to break a promise whether or not she was there. 

He didn't say anything. He couldn't even if he had the words because he hadn't been there, forced into a gilded cage that caused him to go for modeling since it was his only way out of the house unless he was at an elite party or a visit to Chloe's home. He had no way of smoothing over events in the past.

She didn't need him to speak anyway. She was trying to be more open about things and that was one major thing off her shoulders. Plus, he was a warm weight beside her and that was all she needed at the moment.

"Who's still here?" She asked, shivering when the wind hit again. 

He scooted closer. "Only Nino and Nathaniel. They figured it was best to let you calm down with less people around. Juleka did want me to remind you about her brother's gift?" He lifted his voice in a question but she was more distracted by something important.

"Nathaniel's still here?" She twisted her head to look at Adrien.

His head move back as they could look at each other. "Yeah. Is that so weird?"

She lifted a hand to seesaw it. "Last time we held a gala here, I threatened to put makeup on him if he lingered."

He was quiet for a moment. "Ariel the little mermaid?"

"Absolutely." She perked up briefly but then slumped. "But I wanna take a nap..."

He patted her head. "I'm sure you'll get the chance someday."

Absorbing his warmth, she sighed and pushed away to stand. "Come on. I'm cold and you have a guest waiting for you."

Chapter 18: Catacombs

Chapter Text

They headed to the elevator, Adrien fell into step beside her and let their shoulders brush. "Hey, Chlo?"

The old nickname had her smiling. "Yes?"

"Did you... somehow purify the akuma?" He asked, glancing down at her.

She stepped into the elevator, leaning against the wall as he pressed a button. Running through her affirmations, she came to a conclusion. "More like neutralized it," she said. Casting him a look, she added, "I've been trying anger management tips. One of them is positive affirmation." She looked at the doors. "I know that he's persuasive and sly, but I know myself better than he does and he had nothing to offer me. Baudelaire is in the past. Marinette will continue to be suspicious of me. And nobody, not even me, knows everything about myself." She paused again, grimacing as they arrived at the penthouse floor. "And I'm sorry, but I'd rather die than turn into some fashion disaster that Alya would post about on her blog. That will never happen."

Adrien laughed as they walked to her room. "Of course that's your major concern."

Chloe paused before her room door, turning to him with raised brows. "You did see Bubbler, right? And the Leafer?"

He winced, easily recalling both. "Okay, those are good points."

"Of course they are, they're mine," she huffed and opened the door.

Nathaniel and Nino looked away from her TV, both relaxing when they saw her. Chloe spotted the accessories she left behind on top of her coffee table.

Nino got off the couch, coming closer. "You okay, Chloe?" He asked.

"Just a bit tired," she answered, moving to pick up her accessories. "You're off the hook for now, Tomato-head, but I'll get you next time."

Nathaniel smiled faintly. "We'll see." He held up her tablet. "Is it okay if I stay longer?"

"As long as Nino and Adrikins are okay with it, I don't mind."

Adrien brightened, glancing at Nino who raised his thumbs up. "Not at all!" He cracked a wide grin, ecstatic. "We can discuss anime!"

Nino blinked at how Nathaniel immediately lit up, shooting out different titles and Adrien pounced on the couch, replying just as fast. "Uh..."

Chloe patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck with the anime nerds, Lahiffe. You'll be corrupted in no time."

He glanced at her then the babbling duo. "Do they have good music?"

"Mm. I'm personally a sucker for Angel Beats and Uta no Prince-sama. The first can be heart-rending and the second is really sappy," she admitted, holding her stuff in one hand as she went to the DVD cabinet and searched through the anime section. "Here. You can look through the others if you don't want to watch those."

"Neat. Thanks!"

"No problem. I'm gonna go take my nap. Knock or call Jean-Sebastian if you need anything." She ventured away when Adrien began gushing over Ouran High School Host Club, sliding through her doorway. Her face would need to be wiped off and her clothes changed for bed. At least those three were warily distracted from her now obviously exhausted state. 

Maybe she could call Xabi later. The time difference would be better after she napped.

——————————————————————————————————————

"Why did I want to be a musician again?" Xabi asked, voice muffled by his face squishing against the bed of the hotel he was staying at. It was funny because he was dressed in a Pokémon onesie, so he looked like a pouting celebi.

"Because your mother is very convincing and needed your dad distracted," Chloe answered, lying on her side on her own bed. Like him, she was dressed in a onesie, but hers was a shaymin. She could hear Nino snoring from the living room through her headphones. The two boys (Nathaniel left a while ago) had chosen to stay in her living room instead of a guest suite, so she was doing her best to be quiet.

"I don't even know where she is," Xabi grumbled, moving his face to speak clearer. "She's off schmoozing with Judith Kubdel somewhere."

"Aren't they in Malaysia?" Chloe wondered, toying with the gift box Luka gave her.

"Dunno. Is that near Vietnam?" He looked at the phone, squinting with confusion.

The sudden geography question had her freezing, ribbon pinched between her fingers. "Uh." Was it near Vietnam? "I don't know, either. I suck at geography."

"I do, too." They remained quiet for a second and Chloe pulled the ribbon loose. "We'd get lost in the catacombs if it weren't for Sabrina and Jalil."

"Our guides," she agreed. She tugged the lid off and peeked inside. A necklace silver with a black and white teardrop-shaped pendant was revealed and she lifted it out. The teardrop was about the size of her thumbnail, the chain for a matinee necklace. She considered the pendant then glanced at her phone. "Hey, do you recognize this kind of crystal?"

"Crystal?" Xabi straightened, lifting the phone. Chloe helpfully dangled it in front of the camera. "Hmm... give me a second."

She waited as he rolled off screen and she perused the box in the meantime. Luka had left a note, simply saying "For your stability." No idea what that meant, but she hoped he meant to be auspicious and not ominous.

"It's a moonstone," Xabi said, returning to the phone. He rolled to let the phone hover over him. "Supposed to help balance you and some other stuff. Reflection and crap like that."

Looking at the necklace, she said decisively, "I'm gonna wear it with my ghost costume."

He perked up. "Did you choose what kind of ghost you wanted to be?"

She nodded. "A pirate one. The Couffaines, mostly the females, were very inspiring." A shameless grin formed on her face. "Plus, I have Mémé's sword. I might not wear it, but I will display it."

"Nice. I want pictures since we won't be staying past the Fall Ball," Xabi hummed and she focused on the camera.

"Wait, you're coming back?" She asked, a smile forming when he nodded. 

"Madame Sartre is hosting it and Dad is hoping to schmooze her for Clara's future album," he answered, rolling his eyes. "Dunno why since he'll just go to Gabriel."

"It helps build a rivalry," she responded, thinking quickly. "Wanna be a duo?"

He cocked his head, thoughtful. "Sure. But only in a loose manner. Madame Sartre will get ideas otherwise."

She giggled quietly. "Aw, what's wrong? Don't want to be my dandy, dashing darling?"

Smothering a loud laugh at his cringe, he spoke. "Geez, you're acting like her. Are you sure you don't want to be her for Halloween?"

"Only if you'll be my dead husband," she wheezed into her hand.

"Hah! As if. Monsieur Sartre was too cheery." He looked away at a call. "I have to go. Make sure you calm down before Tuesday. I won't dance with you if you're on a sugar high."

"I won't be," she assured, running through different ideas to lower her pre-ball excitement. "I think I'll invite some of my classmates to this new escape room on Monday. It has ten levels to it and I'm sure Max would love the challenge."

"Have fun with that. If there're some noises," he started and she rolled her eyes.

"I'll be recording if they accept and the place allows it," she cut him off. "Otherwise, you'll have to deal with description."

"Ugh, fine. Want some weird souvenirs?"

She hummed, smiling a bit. "You're in Salem, Massachusetts right? The place with the witch trials and vampires?"

"Yep. You want some figurines? Think I can custom order before we leave." Xabi dropped the phone to face the ceiling so he could get ready. 

"Yeah. I have an idea..."

Chapter 19: Trapped

Chapter Text

Chloe still felt tired when she woke up Sunday, pulling a robe around her onesie. She previously experienced a second wind with Xabi (and her accidental three-hour online shopping trip), but she remained on her bed the whole time, leaving for the bathroom once before falling asleep again. 

She sent messages to Max, Nathaniel, and Theo (because it was morning now and she didn't want to wake anyone else up at 3 AM) before actually leaving her bedroom. Once outside her bedroom, she joined Adrien and Nino on the couch. There was a third covered plate for her and she curled in the corner of the couch to eat her breakfast turnovers.

"Good morning," Adrien said, casting her a smile over his croissant. His smile faded slightly as he tilted his head. "You okay? You look tired."

"I woke up from my nap yesterday and stayed up too late because of it," she explained, biting into the pastry and tasted cheesy eggs and bacon. She peered past him to Nino. "Sleep well?"

Nino nodded above his crepe. "Yeah. I didn't realize this was a pull-out couch."

She smiled a little. "Sometimes I'd rather watch something on the TV than my laptop and a bed will always be more comfortable." Taking another bite, she checked her phone. Affirmatives from the three boys had her smiling more. "What are your plans for today?"

Adrien stretched, checking his phone. "I have to go home at three."

"And I need to leave then to watch Chris," Nino continued and wiped his hands free of apple jam. "Is it okay if we stay in here until then?"

Nodding, she said, "I'll be heading out to join Max and Nathaniel at Enigma, the escape room that started a month ago. They're doing a Halloween special."

Nino twisted to lean against the other arm of the couch. "No Sabrina?" He seemed more curious than anything and she shook her head.

"She's boycotting anything cop-related," she informed him while reaching for her hot chocolate thermos. "Her dad is trying to convince her to change her Halloween costume for my Halloween tea party, but she's been wanting to dress like that for a while. He keeps trying to supply her with a miniature police uniform or a detective's outfit and she keeps pulling out the horror." Chloe paused to drink. "Honestly, if she isn't the reason he gets akumatized before or during Halloween, I'll eat a whole wheel of Camembert."

Nino laughed while Adrien wagged a finger at her. "Chloe, you shouldn't say thinks like that." He lowered his finger, grinning. "Besides, my dad might be akumatized when he realizes what I actually have planned."

She stared at him, puzzled at the glint in his eye. Then a slow, evil grin formed on her lips. "You don't mean...?"

"I promised and I plan on keeping it." Adrien grinned wider as she cackled.

"I need to buy Sabrina more film. I want all the pictures," she said wiggling in glee. 

Nino bounced his gaze between them. "What?" He asked, lost in the midst of their childhood secrets.

Chloe nudged Adrien. "Show him the album," she urged with a giggle. "Let him see how trapped he is with us now."

"He's not trapped," Adrien said with an eye roll and stood to get it. "He's just... going to experience some new things."

The bespectacled boy stared after him, glancing at Chloe. "Is it Hell?"

Tapping her nose, she said, "Sabrina's good with photography."

Chloe befriended her in the first place for that very reason and her information gathering skills. She was lucky to have the ginger in her life and she knew it.

——————————————————————————————————————

Running on energy drink fuel and sugar, Chloe flapped her arms in an uncharacteristic manner when she spotted a familiar head of red hair and a fedora. "Max! Nathaniel! Over here!"

They approached, Max looking at her critically. "Are you alright? You're acting very... odd."

"I'm a bit tired from yesterday, so you guys get me on a sugar high," she answered, ushering them into the building. "I read the site and it said there are ten levels. And I accidentally glimpsed the reviews and there was mention of a hellevator—?"

Muffling her mouth with a hand, Nathaniel furrowed his brows. "I really hope you don't crash halfway through," he murmured when she blinked at him.

She wrinkled her nose as they headed to the front desk. "I won't," she complained.

The trio paid for their entry (more like Chloe hipchecked Max away from the counter while Nathaniel and the receptionist watched a safe distance away) and headed to the first room.

Now, to escape their (pretend) entrapment.

Chapter 20: Hell

Chapter Text

The hellevator turned out to be an actual elevator and Chloe belatedly and internally realized the place had ten floors. She didn't tell the two boys because if she did it would be admitting to missing the obvious. So closed her mouth remained as the cobweb filled elevator rose tfrom the ground floor the first.

They stepped in, peering around. A short hall lead to a room called "Limbo" in block letters.

"I suppose Enigma is basing it off of Dante's Inferno," Max mused, watching Chloe open the door. "Which means the first nine levels will be based on the circles."

Stepping after Chloe, Nathaniel hummed. "Do you think level ten will be Hell-inspired?"

Chloe let them theorize as she wandered the floor. Limbo was supposed to be for deceased non-baptized souls and people from Non-Christian religions and though she hadn't read the book (she only knew the nine circles because Fiona compared politics to them a few times), she figured the room was probably inspired by the first circle. She spotted a small Romanesque temple, heading over to it. There was a Greek temple near it and she looked them over. 

Both seemed like basic temples, no deity statues inside. The Greek one had a small shelf with three books on it. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid were lined up on it and she pulled out the Iliad to look it over. She placed her thumb against the pages and pushed to watch them fly. The pages flew by, symbols on the corner of some pages. Doing again in a slower manner, she used her notebook the receptionist had passed on to them and her pen to jot them down. She labeled the page for the Iliad before trying the same to the Odyssey and the Aeneid.

On the Roman side, a statue of a wolf nursing a pair of twin boys stood on the shelf. She gazed it, at a loss, before scribbling down Remus, Romulus, and Lupercal.

Straightening up, she checked on the others. She could hear Nathaniel as he went over a bunch of figurines, moving them around a large table. Max was searching through a bunch of fake plants, lifting a pot from time to time, and made notes. 

She looked around before settling on a "marble" safe (a rap on it with knuckles proved it to be steel) that resided in the middle of the room. The lock bore numbers and she walked around it. Nothing on the back.

Considering the symbols, she walked around to look for a Greek dictionary and a Latin one or something that would tell her the handful of letters that existed in Latin but not Greek. She couldn't think of them off the top of her head.

Shrugging to herself, she bounded to Max when he seemed done going over the plants. "Got anything?"

He slid his notebook to her. "Yes. I have some symbols that seem to correlate to numbers." He looked over her notebook when she passed him hers.

Nathaniel joined them at the plant table, his notebook plopping in front of them. "I have more symbols with numbers," the redhead said as he overheard the bespectacled boy.

Comparing them, Max made a list of the book symbols. The majority of the symbols and numbers matched up. She looked between the lists, something bugging her. Then Nathaniel raised a hand to move his hair out of his eyes and it clicked.

"I'm an idiot," she said, snagging Max's notebook as it held the list and went back to the books. She dropped beside the shelves and with her pen, labeled what color the symbols were. When she was done, she shoved it at them. 

"Colors," Nathaniel muttered, eyes brightening. "This must have to do with the figurines."

They trailed after the excited artist and watched him lift up figurines to check the circular bases. He wrote down stuff before straightening with a thoughtful expression.

"I think the order is green, orange, and purple," he spoke as he began heading to the safe. 

Chloe stood behind him as he crouched to fiddle with the lock. She watched him do it with curiosity. The only type of locks she used herself were key locks, locks with the twist piece, locks with numbers like with the Agreste violin case, and digital locks. The safe had a spinning combination lock like she saw on TV, so she was curious to see how he did it.

Once clockwise, once counterclockwise, and clockwise again. The safe beeped and opened, revealing an elevator key card. As Nathaniel grabbed it, she pursed her lips. "If I had to do that, we would be trapped here."

Walking back to the elevator, Max glanced at her. "Have you not used that kind of lock? I see them at Kim's pool a lot."

"Maman uses them for her supply closet," Nathaniel added absently. 

"No. We use digital keys at the hotel. Make it less difficult for people to break in since we have advanced cyber security." She sighed as they entered the elevator and it closed. Nathaniel offered her the card to swipe so she did. "I've been advocating for locks for the locker room since we started Dupont but Damocles has been hedgy about it. Same with the security cameras."

They gave her disbelieving looks. "Really? Isn't that really sketchy?" Nathaniel wondered.

"Trust me, I have a lot of issues with him and the locker rooms. Not to mention Bustier," she grumbled, shaking her head as the elevator dinged and they stepped onto the second floor.

"I have many questions," Max murmured, "But I'll save them for a later time. Let's start."

"Lust" was placed on the door in cursive.

"Aye, sir," she said, bouncing to throw the door open.

Chapter 21: Phobia

Chapter Text

Lust had fans whirring at different speeds in the four corners and Chloe sputtered when her ponytail hit her face and went in her mouth. Pulling the strands into a bun, she looked around, the room was dull and dim. Anything that should have been shiny was covered whether by paint or cloth. The room smelled like a mix of chemicals and citrus.

"Interesting," Max said then wandered away. Nathaniel had already headed over to a corner with paintings and sculptures, pulling out a hair tie to pull his hair back. It made him look weird.

She headed to where a bar lined the wall. Wine and champagne lined the wall behind it and she crawled onto the counter to look them over. There were no words on the labels only fruits and she wrote down the barcode numbers to the fruits.

Clicking her pen when she was done, she slipped down and got a few feet away. A shriek of surprise halted her, vanquished the vestiges of exhaustion that were creeping up on her, and she staggered as something slammed into her. Notebook and pen hit the floor as she braced herself while Max crawled up her like a tree, swaying on her shoulders.

Locking wide eyes with Nathaniel, she grabbed Max's legs as she turned her gaze to Max. "Uh. Max?"

His face was shades paler as he pointed a shaky finger at one of the wardrobes he had been going through. "S-snake," he croaked.

Glancing at Nathaniel once more, Chloe walked backwards until her arm hit a bar stool and shoved Max towards the counter. He released his clenched claws to crawl onto it.

Freed of her burden, she looked around before finding an easy reach hook leaning against the first wardrobe. She grabbed it.

Knocking the wardrobe door open, she shuffled through tagged clothing. Poking and prodding through ridiculous feathers and frills, exasperated relief ran through her as she lifted out Max's "snake."

Turning to him and ignoring Nathaniel as he slunk over, she held up the hook. "Really?" A dull silver snake belt hung loosely from the hook.

Max's face slowly returned to normal then a darker shade. He buried his face in embarrassment. "It looked real."

Nathaniel pulled the belt from the hook and looked it over. "No obvious clue unless it's supposed to resemble a breed of snake."

"Don't ask me. The only thing I could tell you about reptiles are crocodiles prefer salt water and alligators prefer fresh water." Her brow twitched. "Jagged Stone has a permanent suite for his crocodile and his salt water baths."

"I'm learning so many things today," Nathaniel said thoughtfully as he put the belt back and continued Max's area. "Max has a snake phobia and Jagged Stone stays at Le Grand Paris."

"We are literally the only hotel willing to put up with that walking handbag," Chloe huffed as she ventured to the art area. She made a face at the not-quite-explicit paintings and sculptures and tried prodding them. The statue bases could be twisted so she did that until a click sounded.

Nathaniel yelped as he got burrowed beneath a bunch of dresses and Chloe snorted as a feathery hat landed perfectly on his head. He blinked balefully as she sniggered and tried moving the paintings. "Thanks for the assistance, Chloe."

"Anytime, Tomato-head." A silhouette of Eros (it had to be him, his arrow had little broken hearts bubbling off it) moved and she watched as a safe was revealed. There were four slots in it and she saw a pink butterfly above them. "Hm..."

It had to mean Psyche, she thought as she left to check the rest of the room. Psyche was connected to butterflies and her story had her going through four trials after seeing Eros' face.

Sorting seeds and assisted by ants. A river deity showed her to harvest dangerous sheep wool from bushes. Water from the Underworld was gathered by Zeus' eagle. Persephone's beauty was to be gathered for Aphrodite and was freely given inside a rosewood box.

Going back to the wine and champagne, she looked them over until she found a wine in front of a slot tile. It had a box engraving. Grabbing it, she gave it to Max for safekeeping. 

The wardrobe went next and she went over all the woolly clothing until she discovered a second one with sheep wool on it. Again, she gave it to Max.

"Chloe? Do you know the puzzle?" He asked as he followed her back to the bar counter.

"Yeah. It's Psyche's trials given to her by Aphrodite. We need a seed one and a river of eagle one." She checked the champagne, found nothing, checked the bar itself until she hit a hidden button and a tile slipped out of the spout area. That one had a river symbol.

Rolling off the counter, she saw Nathaniel wiggle a tile from behind fake climbing vine.

They headed to the safe and she slid them into their correct slots: seeds, sheep, river, box. Another click sounded and a key card slipped from a hidden slot.

"This is really cool," she murmured. "It'd be fun to set up hidden spots like this for my sentimental things."

"Fun until you forget where you put the spots," Nathaniel pointed out and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah."

——————————————————————————————————————

The third floor of "Gluttony," written in chicken scratch, was cold and smelly.

Guarded by a mechanical Cerberus, they had to find "offerings" for him. 

If Chloe were honest, she wouldn't be able to tell anyone what happened on that floor. She was too busy smothering herself with her scarf and shrieking when a brown ooze escaped the false kitchen's sink.

It was a very gross floor and she wanted off.

Rushing into the elevator, she breathed in the light perfume that she had sprayed on her scarf. Again, she couldn't be more thankful that Monica made her own perfumes and dropped off samples for Chloe and Sabrina. The lemon vanilla never failed to settle Chloe. 

"I can taste it," she complained as the boys stepped into the hellevator. 

Nathaniel smiled a bit when he looked at her and Max swiped the card. "We could always hit a snack place after leaving here," he offered.

"We could get nachos and pretzels," Max supplied, glancing at them as the hellevator moved. "Alix introduced Kim and I to this bowling alley and we could stop there."

She cast him a long stare, raising a brow. "Shouldn't we bowl too then?" Lowering her scarf, she added, "We can always bowl with snacks."

"Would you two be okay with that?" Max wondered, tilting his head. Then he frowned. "Didn't you say you were on a sugar high? What if you crash?"

"You underestimate my stubbornness." She peered at Nathaniel. "Are you up for that?"

"I don't mind, although..." Nathaniel trailed into a pause as they reached four floor, "Greed." It was written in a calligraphy-manner. "I haven't been bowling for a few years."

Chloe patted him on the shoulder as they headed to the door. "I've never been, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Really?" Nathaniel was surprised. "I would have thought you went with Sabrina at least once."

Shaking her head as she opened the door, she said, "Sabrina almost got hit by a bowling ball her cousin was using. It put her off."

"We should go after this," Max said, almost determined. "Us three, Kim, Alix, and Sabrina. It could be fun."

"We can message them after," she replied, looking around. The Greed floor was full of metal bars and weighing scales stood in the middle of the room. "Right now, we have work to do so let's get to it."

Chapter 22: Pain

Chapter Text

Chloe and Max ruled the fourth floor of Greed, figuring out the money balance for Plutus in no time. She grew up with accounting being her time-out and he was a number nerd so the puzzles were pretty simple. 

Poor Nathaniel's eyes glazed over as they threw mathematical terms at each other and followed them away from the scales as hidden slot gave the fifth key card.

"That was crazy," he voiced as Chloe pulled him behind her into the hellevator. "You did math."

She snickered at the horror in his voice, leaning against the wall. "Only because it was the only thing to shut me up when I was having a tantrum. Those problems with the "How much would such and such have if they did such and such" usually had me quieting in moments. Papa usually gives our accountants bonuses for it."

"Do you still do that?" Max asked, looking at her.

Nodding, she grimaced. "Yeah. Usually when I go too far on spending. My non-online shopping trips are limited to once a month because of it." She didn't bring up Sabrina or Jalil since neither would be pleased if she did.

"Like when I go overboard with my painting. Maman is never happy when I accidentally waste supplies," Nathaniel said as they got on the fifth floor. "Wrath" was written jaggedly above the door.

They stepped in, looking around. The whole place looked like a chemistry lab, one Mendeleiev would have a heart attack in from how derelict it was. Nine large tubes were in a stand, labeled from one through nine. 

"One for each circle," she guessed as they walked up to it. "I bet five are connected to the Greek Underworld rivers."

"Do you remember them?" Max asked, pulling out his notebook. "The puzzles may be associated with them."

She paused, not looking at either of them. "Well."

When she stayed quiet for too long, Nathaniel spoke idly. "It's okay to admit your nerdiness. Neither of us can say anything."

"That's not as comforting as you think," she muttered wryly then added, "The Styx is the river of oaths and Percy Jackson has it polluted, so that's probably dirty brown salt water. The Phlegethon is the river of fire, so spicy red water. The Cocytus of lamentation, dark blue and smells of sulfur. The Lethe of forgetfulness, milky white. The Acheron of pain, I think it's green."

Max finished writing the rivers and the colors down. He contemplated them.

Nathaniel stretched his arms. "Well, let's see if there are any vials around."

——————————————————————————————————————

At least they had paper towels in there, Chloe grumbled internally as they left the fifth floor and went up.

They had to dig into a clogged sink of dyed water for a vial. Fortunately it was corked shut. Unfortunately, Chloe had been the one to notice it and she had to remove her coat and roll up her sleeve for it. There were false ones at the bottom and she hadn't been pleased to see a fake snake in it.

At least Max didn't do it, she wasn't ready to hear another scream.

"Heresy" was an easy floor if you ignored the heat. All they had to do was make half the room mirror the other half with items from the finished half. It was pretty strict too since it needed precision. An inch here, a certain angle over there.

"Violence" had three rings inside it like a large venn diagram. One ring was for neighbors, one for self, and one for God, art, and nature. Nathaniel had been near tears when he sorted out the ripped paintings related to the respective topics. 

"Fraud" nearly made her fall asleep. She could balance checkbooks easily, but they had to match receipts to checks and match those to what was bought. Reading the diary logs, real clues mixed with red herrings, were boring with their drawn out sentences and she foisted the majority off on the boys. Max had to shake her back into the present. 

"Treachery" was definitely the most difficult out of the ones they did. They had to sort the types of treason (country, government, business, etc.), put them in the file cabinets, and check them off hidden lists. Her hand was slowly becoming sore and she envied how Nathaniel was ambidextrous. 

Stuffing her hair in a proper bun, they entered the final floor. "I wonder how they decided on the final level. Do you think it's purgatory?"

Max clasped the door handle. "Let's see." He swung the door open and they froze, eyes widening.

Gaping, they took in the nine sections labeled the nine circles. Each was labeled by a respective circle and she could see that the items (like the vials) were in other sections. A thud was felt through the door as Cerberus and Plutus statues lit up. 1:30:00 glowed red.

"I think it's Hell," Nathaniel answered quietly and they jumped as a ding! sounded.

1:29:59

1:29:58

Chloe realized they finally had a timer and bolted for Greed. "We have a countdown!"

"Shit," Nathaniel blurted out and bolted for Heresy

Max raced to Wrath. "Skip the notebooks, resort to yelling," the bespectacled boy advised as he began going over his section. "Scream if you're stuck and think someone else can do it, we'll trade."

"Yes, sir," Chloe answered while Nathaniel said, "Aye, sir."

She began scrawling down the bank math, writing getting worse with every number. They would succeed, dammit, or die trying!

——————————————————————————————————————

Sabrina followed Alix and Kim warily into the bowling alley, looking for the familiar head of blonde hair. She spotted her best friend quickly enough and hurried to her.

She slowed when she saw Chloe was asleep at the table, face buried in her arms and hair loose and everywhere. "Chloe...?" She turned her gaze to the empty nacho and pretzel platters and the drained soda cups. "What happened?"

Nathaniel turned his haunted gaze to hers. "Math," he whispered, eyes shiny with tears.

Turning to Max for a better explanation, he sighed and put his glasses back on. "I'll explain after you get your shoes and balls. But let's just say Chloe has finally crashed from her sugar high."

Eyeing the blonde, she nodded. "I'll call Jean-Sebastian so he knows to come here later."

She scurried away, shoving down terror when Kim hefted a bowling ball over his head. She would be staying far away from him when he swung, she was not going to get in the way again!

Chapter 23: Ball

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

By the time Madam Sartre's fall ball came around, she was fully recharged and ready to mingle.

Kind of.

Mostly Xabi, Jalil, and Adrien since she knew those three would be there for sure. Alix was a maybe since Jalil said she typically refused to go to the galas and left them to him to be the good kid. Nathaniel rarely came in general.

Chloe just wondered who else would be there. Gabriel probably wouldn't since he barely got along with the woman. Emilie usually sidled her way into greeting Madam Sartre so Gabriel could loom behind her. Seeing them together at galas and receptions usually left her wondering if she too would have a socially inept spouse.

Shaking her head, she adjusted her headband and fluffed her curls. She needed to go join her father before she made them late.

——————————————————————————————————————

Awed, Chloe watched as Pauline Sartre spun Gabriel Agreste on the floor, the late middle-aged woman oblivious to the way his face had gone as grey as his suit.

"He's in public," she voiced, not looking away to her childhood friend as Gabriel was dipped by the vivacious woman. "He's in public and he's dancing. How?"

Words could not describe her glee and confusion as she watched her godfather and uncle get tornado spun by one of his rivals. She took as many pictures and videos as she could, sidestepping people to catch it all.

"No idea. I just know it was Madam Sartre's doing," Adrien answered. She finally looked at him to his giddy grin. He blushed a little when he saw his stare and scratched the back of his neck. "First time in public since."

She softened, turning back. "Right," she murmured as she recalled the last time she saw him in public. Only a month before Emilie's disappearance and it was at the Valentine's Gala held at the Schott manor. She easily remembered the pastel pink suit he had worn with a tie that matched Emilie's eyes, wearing her brooch as she had been too tired to attend with him but still wanted the hosts that she was thinking of them. The only ones he was willing to dance with had been her, Cressida Roth, and Judith Kubdel. Pulling her mind back to the present, she surveyed the man in question. "You should intervene before she makes him sick."

Adrien perked up, glancing towards the dancing duo only to blanch. "Oh, dear." He zoomed away, giving the woman a charming smile that made her titter and latch onto him. Nathalie appeared in a black dress with red highlights and collected her boss before vanishing. 

"You just threw him at a wolf," Jalil said from behind, making her glance over her shoulder to see him, his sister, and Nathaniel. The redhead wiggled his fingers in greeting and she returned it.

Alix looked weird in a skirt, she thought decisively. The pink haired girl tossed her a sharp glance like she could read Chloe's mind. "It's a skort," she said firmly.

"That makes sense. And yes, I did. Madam Sartre adores him, so he'll be fine." Glancing around the room, she slid her phone away. "Have you seen Xabi?"

Jalil nodded. "He's placating his father then he'll join us." 

They shared an eyeroll. "Bob can be just as bad as Gabriel," she grumbled. "No wonder they're friends."

Looking between them, Alix raised a hand and waved it. "Uh, info for the ignorant?" She raised a brow and crossed her arms.

"Xabi is Xavier-Yves Roth, Bob Roth's son, who you guys probably know more as XY," Chloe answered. "Bob is friends with Papa and Uncle Gabriel. He's like, one of my many godfathers."

"She's got a lot," Jalil confirmed. "Our father isn't as close, but Maman is close to Bob's wife Cressida."

"The scary blonde lady with the thick accent? Who's German or something?" Alix tilted her head with obvious confusion, unlike Nathaniel who simply took the information in stride.

"Greek," Xabi corrected as he popped up on Chloe's free side and made Alix jump in surprise. "She's Greek, but she visited Germany a lot in the past since her second cousin became the inheritors of their grand-uncle's art."

"Art?" Nathaniel asked, lifting his head up.

"Weiss Guertena was a relative. Speaking of Guertena, Gary and Clive are here with the Layton gang," Xabi drawled, slouching a bit as he gazed curiously at her classmates.

Chloe froze before slowly spinning to him. "And you didn't tell me?" She hissed, stomping on his foot as stealthily as she could. Jerk was wearing steel toe.

He gave her a smug smile as she whipped out her phone. "And you said you weren't crushing on them anymore," he mused, sidestepping another stomp.

"I'm not, but I'll be damned if they don't make me godmother of their children," she growled even as she checked herself over. "And I still need to talk to the Professor about Flora joining him properly on his travels. She's close to becoming a cross-dresser." Assured she was in pristine condition, she linked arms with Nathaniel and caught Alix's wrist. "C'mon, I'm going to throw Nathaniel at Gary and you at Flora. If anyone could make her less of a passive damsel, it's you."

Letting her heelies do the work, Alix spoke in bemusement. "Uh. Thanks?"

"Just don't make Luke cry. The Professor with give us that look," Chloe advised as she weaved them through the crowd. She looked at them, blue eyes serious. "You know how Mylene gives Kim the Look™? That look."

They grimaced. "I'll do my best," Alix muttered, face almost nervous.

"Gary is the Guertena heir?" Nathaniel clarified and nodded at Chloe's nod. "I'll stay near him, then."

"Cool. Oh, also Flora is the heiress of St. Mystere, so if you want to ask about that she won't mind," Chloe added as they neared the younger members of the Layton gang. A small head of dark hair had her brightening and she released them with an excited squeal as she switched to English. "Eve!"

The dark haired girl with red eyes brightened and accepted the spinning embrace from Chloe. "Hi, Chloe," she murmured as she swung in her arms.

Setting her back down, Chloe smiled shamelessly at the amusement aimed at her. "It's like it's Christmas."

Luke laughed as he and Flora approached to greet her. "Only with less snow," he joked as he hugged her. They wheezed as Flora wrapped herself tightly around them.

"Oh, I've missed you!" The older girl gushed with bright eyes. Then her eyes dimmed. "Clive needs to tell you something, Chloe."

The blonde blinked, taking in how Gary and Eve had corralled Jalil, Xabi, and Nathaniel with talks of Weiss Guertena's gallery. Alix hovered nearby, eyes sharp as she looked between them all.

And Clive...

Uneasy, Chloe shooed Flora and Luke away to step up to the man Professor Layton had taken on as his first apprentice Clive Dove. "What is it?"

Ruffling his blond hair, Clive tipped his head to the side. "I hope you have contingencies in place for that insect menace, Chloe," he murmured.

She pursed his lips as she followed him to her father. "I have a few, yes. Please don't hold anything back. It's better to get it all out."

"Pretty sure that's for when you're physically sick," he mused and she huffed. "Sorry, sorry. Mayor Bourgeois, I'd say it's good to see you if it weren't for the bad news I bear."

"Better out than in," her father answered as they stepped onto a closed balcony.

Clive smiled briefly. "So I've been told." His smile vanished. "As you know..."

Notes:

Cross-o-ver, cross-o-ver!

Featuring Eve and Gary from "Ib" and Clive Dove, Flora Reinhold, and Luke Triton of the "Professor Layton" series. The Professor himself is unfortunately offscreen but know he is indeed there. They won't be tagged since this isn't a full crossover but they will make mild cameos in the future especially power couple Clive and Gary.

Chapter 24: Statue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Crash!

Thud! 

Bang!

She dropped on the springy mattress, choosing to bounce a rubber ball off the wall while she sat down.

Not even a week since she'd been furious enough to earn Hawk Moth's attention. Not even a few hours since she almost caused an akuma with Mylene before straightening things out after shoving her anger to something more neutral.

It wasn't like Clive wanted to drop a bomb on her or her papa but he knew it was better to get information first-hand than to let things fester into a boiling point. And Mylene couldn't know what happened since she hadn't even been at the ball and Chloe was good at masking emotions. The only ones who could were the boys she knew well and the Layton gang.

Still frustrating though. At least she sorted things out with Mylene, too.

A zii alerted her to another akuma being zapped and she sighed. At least magical bugs could be stopped by good old bug zappers. 

She let the ball bounce past, hitting the cracked statue Eduardo had passed on to the Bourgeois for the rage room, and pressed her fists to her masked face. Her knuckles brushed the protective goggles as she made herself suck in deep, calming breaths.

She was pissed. She was hurt. She was envious. She was stuffed full of betrayal and the complex feelings that burned with it and she just, she just—

Throwing herself back and jerking as a spring jabbed her through the jumpsuit, she shrieked as loud and as long as she could.

Her lungs felt shredded after her outburst. She only then noticed how her goggles were fogged up and a lump larger than a watermelon was forcing its way into her throat. Her lips were quivering. She couldn't control the trembling in her fingers. Every breath was stifled and she tugged the mask down even though it didn't help much.

She didn't remove the goggles. It wasn't like anyone was around to notice her eyes turning red.

——————————————————————————————————————

Settling on her papa's couch and leaning against him, she looked at the glowing white screen of his tablet, black words ddarkand ominous against it.

He looped his arm around her, squeezing. He stared at the screen some more before confirming the email and sending it off. "Fortunately, your mother has never been interested in the hotel," he murmured, voice just as ragged and low as hers after she returned. He dressed down, too, looking much different in a pair of striped purple pajamas. "And we have a prenuptial agreement in place."

Nodding quietly, she asked a question that had been bouncing around in her head. "Can we refuse her service when she comes here? I don't... I don't want to see her anytime soon."

The next fashion week was in spring. Her ma—Audrey hadn't come for it, instead sending a team for her magazine. She probably wouldn't be at the spring one since Gabriel wasn't presenting anything anytime soon, but it didn't hurt to be sure.

"She won't be allowed on the premises," he assured then paused. She turned her head to see him in thought. "Sweetheart... you know how she tends to bring her own luggage here?"

"Yes?"

"Well..." He said nothing more, instead giving her his suite key card.

She stared at with confusion before understanding dawned. "Oh. Really?"

"She should have take care of her stuff," he said simply and she smiled for the first time since Clive spoke to them. 

Her fingers curled around the card. "I agree." She began to contemplate the things her mother left behind. There was quite a bit of jewelry left behind, maybe she could use some for her costume...

Notes:

Next chapter will be late, I need to edit it.

Chapter 25: Poltergeist

Chapter Text

She was going over the jewelry Audrey when a knock sounded on the door. "Come in!" She called as she lowered her music and surveyed the jewelry sorted and the jewelry that still needed to be sorted.

When she turned her head, she saw it was the Couffaine twins, Rose, and Nathaniel Jean-Sebastian was helping with their coats. The artist was quick to take her chair, kicking his shoes off to curl up with his drawing tablet. She eyed him from her spot on the floor. He better be careful with his feet because if he shoved them in her face...

"Not that I mind having guests, but why are you here?" She moved some of the earrings to the side, making a face at how gaudy they were. Then she jolted as Rose dropped to her knees and hugged Chloe.

"Mylene said you got bad news the day before the filming and that was why you were so snappy," Rose answered, giving her a squeeze. "Juleka and I wanted to check on you and Luka tagged along. Nathaniel was already here."

"Oh," Chloe said blankly, watching Juleka and Luka sit across on the other side of the table. She hadn't expected Mylene to really say anything after they returned to filming. Rose squeezed her once more before dropping beside Chloe's right side. "Alright then."

Juleka began sorting them, understanding how she wanted it done without a word. Probably from her mother's chaos. Luka seemed more interested in her and she flipped him off on principle. Beside her, Rose let out a noise, but he simply tilted his head.

"Is that the necklace we gave you?" He inquired.

Touching said necklace in surprise, she nodded before going back to the jewelry. "Yes. Needed a change." Needed to get rid of something she got from Audrey (or her then assistant, she couldn't remember for sure).

"What's all the jewelry for?" Rose asked, figuring out the jewelry and assisting with good cheer.

"Just stuff that needs gone through," Chloe answered breezily. "If you see something you want, go ahead and take it. Anything you don't want, I don't want, and I won't break apart, it'll be going to the Bourgeois Rental."

They paused, looking at her with varying degrees of surprise. "Break apart?" Juleka repeated in a slightly louder rasp.

"I like some of the gemstones and — look at this one! Look me in the eye and tell me you would wear it. You wouldn't." She lifted a gaudy necklace that had clashing gemstones on it and twisted metal roses that were more like spikes.

Rose winced. "That's reasonable. Are those real rubies?"

Chloe looked it over and nodded. "And darkened carnelian and obsidian. The metal is copper, too. It's just..." She shook her head and pulled her pliers from beneath the table. "Ugh."

They seemed dazed as she began twisting the copper, snapping it and making them jump. Nathaniel grumbled in surprise and she rolled her eyes. Rose giggled and the other three began again.

Things continued in that pattern. Juleka began sorting them by gemstone then by metal. Luka and Rose copied her, double checking with her or Chloe. Nathaniel's stylus lightly slid over the tablet surface, barely interfering with the personal song playlist she set up once with Jalil and Xabi.

She looked up from time to time between Rose's pauses in chatting and replies from Chloe and the rest. The host couldn't be certain but she thought there was a poltergeist in her rooms. From time to time her things would be adjusted just so. Not the furniture, thankfully, but her shoes would go from kicked off in the living room to being situated neatly at the door. Or her coat picked off the chair and onto the coat hanger. Simple things to make her room neater.

The night before, she had even asked Plagg when he and Chat visited after the filming. Plagg had agreed on her theory of having an invisible guest but assured her it didn't seem malicious. As long as it wasn't that and had the ability to be akumatized, she didn't care so long as they stayed out of her room and bathroom.

Hopefully they didn't act when she had non-superhero guests over, it would be difficult to explain when only Jalil and Xabi knew she had Chat Noir over. She really didn't want to explain to her classmates. Adrien and Sabrina didn't even know.

"I hope you guys don't mind pasta and pizza for dinner," she said when she saw the time.

Rose flinched when she checked her phone. "Uh oh," she winced. "My grandmother is supposed to be coming over for dinner and I'm late!"

Chloe sent a message off, already guessing rides would be needed. "Eduardo can take you home. Does anyone else need a ride?" She stood and pulled Rose up.

"Yes, please. We still have things to do," Luka answered as he stood from the couch with Juleka.

"Tomato-head," she sing-songed, prodding him.

"I'll stay," he answered in a distracted manner as he allowed her to drag him from his seat. "I have an idea."

"I can see that. Do any of you want a treat to take home?" She asked as she began guiding them from her room after collecting their coats.

When she turned to shut the door the last thing she saw were Nathaniel's shoes moving to rest beside her boots.

Chapter 26: Zombie

Chapter Text

Staying in her bedroom for five more minutes, Chloe went over her costume.

Faded black boots over a faded pair of red and black striped ripped pants. A maroon corset top over a grey long sleeved peasant blouse. Atop her loose curls was a black tricorn and she had a red sash around her waist that held a fake flintlock and movie prop dagger. 

Her make up made her look pale and worn out, lipstick a very pale peach color. She had purple eyeshadow to make her eyes appear bruised like a zombie. Across her neck was a slash mark to symbolize her "cause of death."

A knock sounded on the door and Sabrina peeked in. Chloe held back a shudder, she still couldn't get over how on point the gingers makeup was for Chucky.

Sabrina's smile made it creepier. "Jean-Sebastian sent a message saying Juleka, Luka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene are here with Alya."

Chloe nodded. "Okay. Try not to scare Mylene too much, okay?"

"I'll try my best but since I'll be waiting for Kim..." The ginger trailed off, giggling as she darted to the chair she had claimed earlier on.

For a second, Chloe wondered if she should have put limits on the scariness, then shook her head. It wouldn't hold up with Kim and Alix coexisting in the same vicinity.

She left her bedroom and locked it. Noticing Sabrina was distracted with situating herself on the chair, she shot a sharp glance at the TV. "Don't even think about acting up," she hissed quietly and watched part of the spider web garland bob up and down. She jabbed a finger briefly at them then headed to the door.

For the party decor, she took a page from the Addams Family but skipped the taxidermy animals. The furniture was Victorian with ebony wood and green velvet seats. A couch faced an ebony coffee table with matching arm chairs on either side. A taller ebonybtable made for four people had smaller matching chairs as an ouija board sat on top of its polished surface. She had been hesitant to use it with her invisible guest around but figured she could go ahead and try it.

There was an outdoor table set for anyone who wanted to be on the balcony with an antique lantern hanging from a stand. That was from the Couffaines, who accepted her trade since she was taking a light of theirs. 

Cobweb garland lined the TV —lacking spiders for Kim—, skeleton decal were on the now purple wallpapered walls, and, as done by Giovanni the dork, little pumpkins were hidden all over the living room, kitchenette, balcony, and bathroom. Tiny ones full of little resin accessories Giovanni organized with Theo and she just gave up on the young adult males in her life. At least Julien hadn't got involved.

Shaking her head once more and focusing, she went to greet her guests after Sabrina stilled into a statue.

Chapter 27: Cauldron

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chloe greeted them with ease, brushing air kisses over her classmates' cheeks. She didn't greet Luka the same way, merely giving him a nod before she looked over their costumes.

Alya was dressed like Majestia, her hair pulled back into a bun. Chloe was more of a fan of Sting, but she liked Majestia's style so she approved of Alya's costume.

Ivan was comfortable in a minion's outfit, matching with Mylene's fluffy unicorn outfit from the same movie. Chloe decided she would have to get a picture of them. They were so cute together.

Juleka looked solemn in her combat nun costume, a slit on either side of the robe and revealing her black skinny jeans. She even wore combat boots that went up to her knees with shiny zippers and weaponry along her fabric belt and a strap bandolier. A silver rosary hung from her neck and when the light was just right she could see silver studs on her ears. The whole outfit suited her somehow.

Rose sparkled in a fairy costume. She was wearing some of the jewelry Audrey left behind, a pair of delicate gold earrings with butterfly wings. The iridescent pieces matched the small pair of wings on her back. Her hair was styled in a slightly messy manner with a flower crown on her head. She was adorable and pulled it off well.

"You all look nice and I am giving a polite demand to have pictures of you all later," she told them, absently deciding she would have to get Jean-Sebastian to take pictures before the party ended. She focused on them, mainly on Mylene, Luka, and Juleka. "So when I was organizing this, I went on a shopping binge and bought some things that reminded me of you. Luka, I asked Juleka to bring you here so you could take this home."

She swept over to the kitchenette counter, mainly the stools.

Patting a medium sized box, she looked at Luka. "I know you guys can't really have a chandelier on the Liberty in case something happens, but I saw another version of it in lantern form so I bought that. It's a Hilden & Diaz inspired lantern that makes the light look like a forest."

Luka smiled faintly, leaning forward to touch the box. "You bought the chandelier for yourself, didn't you?"

"Oh, absolutely. I plan on putting colored bulbs in it depending on the mood I want," she admitted with ease and Mylene shared a giggle with Rose. She stepped closer to the counter. "This is for you, Mylene. Various tea bags in the form of goldfish. I was reminded of your tea addiction."

Mylene pouted as she picked up the box. "I am not a tea addict," she whispered angrily while Ivan mouthed she was. Chloe was thankful for years of practicing her poker face so she wouldn't laugh. "Thank you, Chloe."

"You're welcome," Chloe said, the words easier on her tongue. Then she made a face at Luka, making him smile wider. "You can go home now."

Juleka held a hand to her mouth to hide her smile as Luka hummed. "I don't know. I might visit the restaurant before I go."

Twitching a brow, she picked the box to slide into his arms. "Good day, Luka," she said through gritted teeth. Juleka began to giggle as she spun him around and began pushing him to the door.

"Good day, Chloe," Luka returned and she shoved him out in a restrained manner.

"Good day."

She huffed after shutting the door then spun around to face Juleka, flailing her hands in the boy's direction. Juleka had to put both hands on her face to smother her giggles.

Alya crossed her arms and raised a brow, smirking. "You good, Chloe?"

"He's exhausting," Chloe declared and set Rose off, too.

He was exhausting with the way he was way too damn unreadable. At least with Xabi she could read between his words and follow his thoughts process since they shared one. But Luka. Blegh.

She motioned them to the counter where a "cauldron" (electric carafe) stood. "Hot chocolate is in this. You can add whatever you want just don't go overboard. Apple cider is in this, pumpkin cider here. This is dragon's breath tea if you want to try it."

They chose as more of their classmates arrived. Chloe left them to it to greet the others.

Those who showed up were Alix, Kim, Max, Nathaniel, Nino, and Marinette. Adrien must be making a dramatic entrance, she thought as she walked up to them.

Alix was sporting a Mad Hatter's outfit, wearing the hat Chloe gave her. She approved of the thread bandolier crossing her jacket.

Kim kept going with red, wearing a Spiderman outfit. He had the hood off so he could see. Braces on his wrist mimicked the web shooters and Chloe could tell they were altered. Probably by Alix and Mad, both were always messing with the thing Max had in his bag and bickering quietly until someone other than Kim got too close.

Max was dressed as Sherlock Holmes, absently twirling a fake plastic pipe between his fingers. He had his coat removed to place on the coat rack which revealed a waistcoat instead of suspenders, a white button-up, and black slacks above his usual shoes. He kept the hat on. 

Nathaniel dressed as a magician and she pressed her lips together when he caught her eye, lifted his hat off, and pulled out a small sketchbook. 

Nino was dressed as an old-fashioned vampire and she got distracted by how he was wearing a crucifix. He grinned when he noticed, showing false fangs. "What can I say? I love dramatic irony."

She snorted as she glanced at Marinette, seeing her in an orange witch's dress. Her white boots had orange accents and her hat was yellow rather than orange. She looked like a candy corn witch.

"You should go talk to Juleka," she told Nino and he perked up when she pointed at the combat nun. "Good choices, by the way. Nice hat, Alix."

Alix grinned and pretended to preen. "Positively bonkers, right?" She attempted a British accent and succeeded pretty well. Better than Felix's anyway.

"The best things are." Chloe ushered them to the drink station before eyeing the door. Adrien was becoming too late.

Of course, right as she thought that, Jean-Sebastian opened the door with a flourish and she pressed her lips together.

"Really?" She finally said when she had a handle on herself. "How dare you ruin my comfort character like I want pictures."

Adrien laughed with delight, lifting gloved hands to his mouth for a moment before coming into the suite further to spin. "So you approve?"

Admiring the beautiful green gown, she took in just how well he dressed as Elizabeth Midford. A wig with corkscrew curls and a black, green, and pink ribbon with a small hat adorned his head and completed his transformation. He shifted and arm and her eyes caught on nearly hidden silver thread. She caught him by the waist and positioned his arm up, eyes widening.

"Madam Sartre made this?!" She asked, delight and awed horror in his voice. "Your dad's gonna kill you!"

He giggled in delight. "He can try, but Madam Sartre knows him well."

As she shook her head in disbelief, Nino said in bemusement, "Adrien?" 

The two blonds turned to see the others staring (Sabrina, Chloe noticed, had slid her eyes over, too). Her old friend tilted his head, pigtails swaying. "Yes?"

Nino opened and closed his mouth, blinking at his best friend. "I have so many questions, but I just want to know if you're dressed like that to upset your dad." Adrien nodded. Nino threw his hands in the air. "That's all I wanna know, let's take a picture."

Chloe snatched his phone when he asked and snapped a few pictures of them posing in varying states of ridiculous (including one where Nino mock swooned and Adrien cradled him like a damsel in distress; she loved it, it would be her background scree for a few weeks). When she saw Kim nearing Sabrina, she immediately turned away from them to start filming.

The scream he let out when the ginger stood in an abrupt manner would be lingering for years in the room. Her ears were ringing as he launched himself Scooby-Doo style at Ivan who was deeply unimpressed by Kim.

"Nice costume," he told Sabrina after dropping Kim.

She had to send that to the group chat, she had no choice. Alix was cackling beside Alya, both girls wheezing. Rose giggled as she calmed Mylene with Juleka. Max and Nathaniel were trying to get Marinette to breath as she goggled Adrien.

Chloe cast her a side eye before she decided to herd her classmates into less chaos. She had things to show them and food to serve.

Notes:

●Sting is a gender ambiguous hero from Miraculous: New York.
●Mylene is the fluffy unicorn from "Despicable Me."
●Juleka is this (you'll need to copy and paste): https://www.pinterest.com/pin/681169512406592125/
●There's this fanart with Nathaniel in a white outfit with a cloak that has a galaxy underside which is what I envision him to be wearing in this but with a large white Layton style top hat.
●Nino and Marinette are both inspired by two different Halloween themed fanart, Mari having some very obvious differences.
●I've always enjoyed the idea of Adrien cross-dressing no matter the reason and Elizabeth Midford is (as I HC) a comfort character to Chloe so he dressed up even further for his oldest friend.

Chapter 28: Candy

Chapter Text

Buying Halloween themed petit fours from the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie, she served them alongside RIP sandwiches, Halloween themed chocolate-covered pretzels, and cheesy pumpkin puffs.

As everyone chose what they wanted, she talked. "As you guys probably saw, there's an ouija board for four spots if you want to try and connect with any spirits. Just, you know, don't piss them off to the point where they curse the hotel." A few snickers sounded out, but she merely shrugged when Mylene cast her an uncertain look. She was serious but if they weren't, she hoped whoever angered the ghosts got cursed instead. "I'm going to be playing a Halloween movie if you want that. I'll let the viewers debate what to watch but I assure you, nothing gory will be shown nor something too traumatizing. Kiddy Halloween basically. There are Halloween origami templates if you want to try your hand at them and I have Cluedo for a little mystery of six. My balcony is open if you want fresh air."

"Cluedo," Max said promptly and vanished to where she pointed.

Adrien lit up and dragged Nino after the detective, calling, "I call Madamoiselle Scarlet!"

Juleka slunk after them with Ivan and Sabrina. They discussed how they would play and got settled. Kim, Alix, Alya, and Marinette went to the ouija board. She was a little curious to see how that would play out and turned her focus to Mylene, Nathaniel, and Rose.

She smiled at them, clapping her hands. "Wanna pick a movie with me? I can have popcorn sent up and I've got a ton of candy since I splurged on it."

"Sure!" Rose chirped, bouncing to her TV and movie shelves with Mylene and Nathaniel close behind.

"Do you have popcorn seasonings available?" Mylene asked, turning a little pink when Chloe glanced at her. "I like to season mine with cheesy jalapeño."

"I think so. I put white cheddar on mine," Chloe replied and went to go search for her phone. "We can make up our own bowls after they bring up popcorn."

She began messaging the kitchen staff while they went over the movies. Maybe she could have Jean-Sebastian order a bundle of movie trays. A movie night seemed like a good idea for the future...

Chapter 29: Ghost

Chapter Text

Chloe leaned back against the corner of the couch as she, Rose, Mylene, and Nathaniel settled to watch the Corpse Bride. Her legs had been pulled over Mylene's lap so the other girl could use her legs and a tray as a tabletop for her origami. Nathaniel was being used the same way by Rose on the opposite side of the couch.

Personally, she was more interested in trying out different popcorn seasonings. She usually stuck with white cheddar and sometimes Xabi would tempt her into having ranch as well, but she hasn't had popcorn with cheesy jalapeño or (since Rose liked her food with a spiced kick) buffalo wing sauce before. It was a good different at least. Soup wasn't involved, after all.

Deciding to check on the others, she wiggled free of a distracted Mylene and put her socked feet on the floor. She ventured to the board game, lurking over Adrien's shoulder. "Who's winning?"

"I am," Sabrina and Max said in unison, sharing a sharp glance after with narrowed eyes.

Ivan blinked up at her balefully. "I have no idea," he admitted. "Personally, I think it's Juleka."

The combat nun smiled faintly. "I think it may be Adrien," she murmured with a glance at the blond.

He smiled brightly at her then tilted his head back to look at Chloe. "I think Nino's the killer," he told her in a stage whisper, grinning at the mock look of offense Nino put on.

"Me? A killer? I would never!" He exclaimed outrageously, tossing his arms wide and baring his fangs in a smile. His next sentence was said through withheld chuckles. "I'm a vegan, after all!"

Chloe smothered a chuckle with Sabrina and Juleka as the boys burst into boisterous laughter. She shook her head, straightening. "Well, I hope you get your murderer," she said and wiggled her fingers. 

She headed over to the ouija four. It wasn't surprising to see Marinette looking the most uneasy among her, Alix, Alya, and Kim. Alya looked the most excited as she lead the questioning while Alix and Kim threw in obnoxious and inane questions.

Marinette cast her a wide-eyed look as she approached, face pale, and Chloe furrowed her brows. "What's wrong?"

"Y-you don't have anyone moving this from somewhere, do you?" The candy corn witch asked, making the other seated member pause and look at her then Chloe.

She shook her head, folding her arms. "Nope. I don't even have a clue on how to do that and everyone on the staff refused to touch the ouija board, including your mother, Alya."

She watched with some amusement as all four paled, three smiles fading fast, then flinched as they erupted.

"What?!"

Rubbing an ear and waving at the others not at the table to calm then, she focused on the quartet. "So, like, Jalil and I came up with a theory that Hawk Moth kickstarted the ambient magic in Paris after..." She drew out the word, thinking. "The Pharaoh. We were going over what Alya filmed when he pointed out that he wouldn't dare touch any of the artifacts without gloves and he didn't even remember finding the scroll let alone translating it. Said he found it on his desk after he crashed from a bunch of energy drinks."

Alix gaped at her, flailing her hands hard enough to knock her hat off. "Are you telling me my brother was possessed?!"

Chloe paused, considered that, then sighed. "Not exactly." She pointed at the ouija board where the pointer was spinning in a circle. Marinette wheezed. "Say hi to the ghost who's been cleaning my room for the past week and a half, maybe longer."

On the board, the pointer spelled out:

H E L L O 

M Y 

N A M E 

I S

R E M I

L A V I G N E

A N D

J A C Q U E L I N E 

B O U R G E O I S 

Chloe froze as she took in the name of her ghosts, swallowing. "Or two for a long time," she mumbled, unblinking as the pointer was lifted in a wave.

Chapter 30: Thief

Chapter Text

Ignoring how the four were whispering Remi Lavigne and Jacqueline Bourgeois to each other, she considered how well that actually fit.

Before Sarah, Remi had been her primary maid and part-time keeper when Jean-Sebastian had to do other things. Being half Japanese had her insistent on putting shoes away and putting up her coat so it wouldn't drip with rain on the floor. She always insisted on having a tidy space even if Chloe had a different way of sorting from her so she would be happy when doing her activities. Until she was seven, the woman had always been with Chloe. And apparently, even after death...

And her Mémé...

"This explains the food thief," Chloe said in a non sequitur and earned confused blinks.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked blankly, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Somebody keeps bringing food to Papa whenever he's busy in the office," she answered, shrugging when they gaped at her. "Remi makes sense since she was —is?— my maid. And only Mémé would sneak food for Papa to eat under the kitchen staff's noses."

"Is that why Manman was worrying about today's party food?" Alya wondered, multiple eyes turning to the pointer that clattered on the board to spell out "S O R R Y." "I'll take that as a yes."

Chloe gazed at the board, thoughtful, then lurched over Alix to plant her hands on the tabletop. She ignored her disgruntled noise, "Hey, Mémé, wanna do me a favor?"

YES

She grinned. "Take one of the old red lipstick tubes from the neighboring suite and take it to Papa's bathroom. Remind him he has a meeting with Song-sshi for the cancelation tomorrow."

W I L L 

D O

"Thanks." She straightened again and watched as the pointer moved again.

F I G U R E S ?

Chloe blinked. "That's what I forgot," she muttered and hurried towards her bedroom, unlocking it to grab the trunk Xabi brought back. "Hey, I almost forgot. I have party favors for you all!"

She felt a rush of air as Remi shut the door and locked it once more while she headed to the couch. She popped it open and grinned when she saw the labeled boxes.

Adrien reached her first, eyes wondering, but she simply shoved his at him. "A friend of mine was in Salem, Massachusetts —yes, that Salem, Juleka— and he placed an order for me while he was there." She continued to pass the boxes on, moving around the room as a few hadn't left there spots though Rose had paused the movie. "I custom ordered vampire and witch figurines for everyone except Juleka. Juleka is both because I couldn't decide."

"Rad," the girl whispered as she opened hers to find a resin cylinder containing a figurine of herself as a vampire witch.

"These are so cool," Kim said, grinning at his vampire one. "Thanks, Chloe."

As the others added their own gratitude, she waved it off. "I'm letting my creativity flow in a safe way, so thank you all for letting me use you in it. It was fun ordering them."

Even in death, Remi is helping me, she mused as they got on with the tea party. She looked at the ouija board, now abandoned for a movie. It moved in a swaying motion and she smiled as she took her place back on the couch. This year was definitely going to be different.

Chapter 31: Halloween

Notes:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! 🦇👻🐈⬛🕷🎃

Even if you don't celebrate Halloween, I hope you have a great day!

Chapter Text

Bzzt

Bzzt

Bzzt

Groaning into her pillow and dragging her comforter cocoon off, she glowered at her phone. If that was one of the idiots she associated with, bugging her at whatever'o'clock in the morning...

Snatching her phone, she scowled as she unlocked and swiped open her messages, retreating into her cocoon. Her eyes went over them quickly.

Nyeo-nyeo: 🎉🎉🍯🍋🍵

She snorted despite herself, turtling further in her comforter to reply.

ChloTea: smart-ass 

Swiping her screen a few more times, she landed on Juleka's chat.

ChloTea: hap birf🎉🎉 I'll bring you and Loser a thing later

Jewelka: ty, Chloe 🎉🎉 Also, Loser?

ChloTea: not gonna curse my phone with his name

Jewelka: of course. you want anythin?

Chloe blinked in surprise, not realizing Juleka knew they shared a birthday. She didn't celebrate it herself, but did celebrate others' like Adrien and Sabrina. She smiled a little.

ChloTea: nah. hve a good Halloween tho

Juleka sent back a similar response and she rolled onto her back, feeling warm beneath her comforter. Her eyes began to close as sleepiness crawled over her once more.

Bzzt

Opening an eye, she saw she had a text from an unknown number. She opened her other eye for use and squinted at the screen.

Unknown: this is Loser. Happy Halloween 

"Mother—!!!"

She screeched and chucked her phone across the room. Forget a gift, I'm gonna shove him off the Liberty!

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