Ok, you know what? Fuck it, we ball:
Adrien was Chloe's. Chloe had known that nearly as long as she'd known Adrien. Before she even had a concept of romance, or dating, or marriage, Chloe understood that she wanted this strange, mildly inhuman ray of giggling sunshine in her life until the day it ended.
When they'd just been pudgy little four year olds, she had taken his tiny hand in hers on one of their then-frequent playdates, and, with a look far too serious and imperious for a child so young, told him very simply:
"You're my friend now. Mine. Stuff that's mine, I don't lose. I keep all mine. I keep you, Ok?"
And of course, being a four year old himself, Adrien happily agreed with a big toothy smile.
But Chloe never forgot that moment. She might not really remember the details of it of course, but she very distinctly remembers the day she decided Adrien Agreste would always be with her, no matter what.
Chloe Bourgeois takes very, very good care of what is hers. She might be a spoilt brat who gets everything she demands, but if she has it, she takes care of it. All of her possessions are always pristine, and Chloe despises getting anything she owns dirty in the slightest, not wanting anything to damage her things.
And Chloe Bourgeois is thrice as protective of the people that belong to her as she is her trinkets and possessions.
As showcased by the absolute public decimation of the first fan to ever break past a barrier and actually touch Adrien at a fashion show. Her dirtiest secrets were found and leaked within the night, and suddenly even the pettiest and most minor places of business in Paris wouldn't even look at her resume. Her sentences for assault and trespassing were set at the highest possible bar for the charges, and despite being just sixteen, a creative exception was found to try the girl as an adult. Not to mention that she was also made the face of a very public and successful campaign from a charity that was dedicated to raising awareness about sexual assault on men.
Those that even questioned what happened to that girl all assumed it was Gabriel Agreste that had organized the systematic destruction of her life and future. They were wrong, of course. Gabriel considered banning her from all future events and a public statement sufficient enough to deter repeats of this behavior.
Chloe Bourgeois however, did not. Because Adrien was hers, and she refused to give anything but her best in destroying anyone that hurt what belonged to her.
Chloe isn't crazy. Really, she isn't. She's watched Adrien's anime enough times to know what a yandere is, and she's positive that doesn't describe her. Sure, she's protective of her Adrikins. But she's not gonna murder anyone who talks to him, or kill his entire family just for being close to him(she'd certainly never hurt auntie Emilie for any reason, but she might kill uncle Gabriel if he doesn't get his shit figured out and stop hurting her Adrien, but that's because he's an abusive dick, not anything else)
Chloe is just a very powerful young woman with extreme influence, and basically zero limits on her privileges while in the city of Paris. Who wouldn't use those connections to protect the people they cared about most? Or to humiliate and torment people they didn't like. Yeah, sure, it isn't nice, but Chloe is the first to admit that she's a bully, the Queen Bitch of her school(and possibly all of Paris), but that just makes her an asshole rich person, not a psycho monster. Chloe can live with that quite happily, after all her mom is a psycho rich person who ruins everyone she dislikes, and her life is great.
Besides, it isn't like Adrien is the only person she protects like this. Sabrina is just as safe as her Adrikins, after all. Sure, she certainly doesn't love Sabrina like she does Adrien, but deep somewhere in her heart, she very much appreciates her only real female friend. Sure she never says it. And sure, she's a bitch to Sabrina too sometimes. But she never forgets 'Brinas birthday, and she never misses on what will make her loyal lackey beam with the biggest smile and wrap her in a bone crushing hug she pretends to barely tolerate.
And Sabrina knows it, too. This is just how Chloe is. She's not soft or explicit in her affections with anyone except Adrien. And really, after everything her best friends ray of sunshine has been through, and is still going through, she can't exactly blame her.
So yes. Adrien Agreste is Chloe's. Her first friend. Her first love. The man she's going to marry. The only person who's ever made Chloe feel like she's enough, like she matters without all the protections and acts and manipulations(even if she would never admit it). The only person that has ever seemed to help heal the gaping hole left in her heart the day a little Chloe realized her mother would never love her-
But yes, Adrien was hers.
That's why she bullied uncle Gabe, as only she could, into letting Adrien finally attend school with them. That's why she set everything up to be absolutely perfect, perfect seats, perfect classmates(accept one...), perfect teacher, perfect day- everything was absolutely stunning and fabulous!
And then Hawkmoth appeared. And everything changed.
Because with Hawkmoth, came her.
The Scarlet Queen of Paris, enemy of evil, vanquisher of nightmares, and savior of pretty blonde heiress's who get thrown off of the Eiffel tower:
Ladybug. Paris's first, and best, superhero.
(And the only one, as far as she was concerned. The mangy cat could fucking shove off.)
And this, was a problem. A massive problem. An Utterly Ridiculous problem.
Because Chloe had done something she didn't think was possible. She'd found possibly the only person in all of Paris who was out of her league, completely and totally better than her and entirely unobatainable.
AND THEN SHE'D GONE AND FALLEN IN LOVE WITH HER!!!
And so she'd moped, but contented herself with being Ladybugs biggest fan and supporter instead. She still had Adrien, at least. Even if he had more friends now, and spent more time near Marinette than Chloe approved of.
But then she'd found the bee miraculous, and it had felt like maybe, finally, everything was lining up for Chloe Bourgeois. She'd be a famous hero now, too, on par with, or at least within spitting distance of, Ladybug.
The Bee miraculous, and it's adorable Kwami occupant, Pollen, we're going to be her ticket to the life she always deserved. Ladybug would love her, and her relationship with Adrien would go back to what it had once been before progressing into romance( and her mother would finally notice her and remember her name-).
And then, just in a snap, ladybug took it back, told Chloe she'd put everyone in danger because of her ego, and took away Chloe's chance at showing everyone how amazing she really was.
Chloe hated ladybug so much, but also loved her, and hated her even more the way only someone who loves you can.
And yet she held out hope. False hope. Hope she knew would eventually be crushed. Hope that, in another world, would crumble right in time for Hawkmoth to swoop in and take advantage of her.
But this is not that world.
Here, Chloe does not take the knowledge that she can never again be Queen Bee gracefully at the end of the Miraculer incident. She instead loses her temper on Ladybug and storms off to wonder the streets of Paris, fuming. Adding to the fire of her anger is that she fought off an Akuma for ladybug, and yet she couldn't even get a "good job" before her miraculous was taken from her for good.
Unaware that Chloe has already fought off an Akuma today, and isn't likely to be a prime target for hawkmoth, Marinette follows Chloe in secret as Ladybug, to make sure she doesn't get akumatized with how angry she is.
After a bit though, Ladybug loses sight of Chloe, and decides she'd be better off looking for her as Marinette so as not to arouse suspicion or stand out.
Following this logic, Ladybug ducks into an alley to transform, and unbeknownst to her, the bright red flash attracts the attention of Chloe, who wasn't as far away as Ladybug had thought.
Chloe sneaks into the alley, curiosity aroused by the flash, and, hidden behind a dumpster, she observed Marinette conversing with a red and black spotted Kwami she keeps calling "Tikki".
Now, Chloe may not have seen Ladybug enter the alley, but she isn't actually an idiot, despite what her classmates think. She, unlike most people, knows what a Kwami is. And Pollen had actually mentioned the name of Ladybugs Kwami a time or two. She knows who and what Tikki is. So if Marinette is standing there, feeding this little floating creature a macaron the same way Chloe once fed Pollen spoonfuls of honey, after the same kind of flash Chloe remembers from her own transformations and de-transformations....
Well, it can only mean one thing.
Ladybug is Marinette. Clumsy, stupid, nerdy little Marinette. Chloe's easiest target, her most ridiculous(and virtually only) rival for Adrien's affections.
Marinette is Ladybug. Gorgeous, brave, perfect ladybug, whose only flaw is trying to protect Chloe and her family from her own mistakes....
Caught between screaming in rage and bursting into tears, Chloe lets Marinette leave the alley unaccosted. She needs time to think. To plan. To know what she even wants now.
It takes time. Hell, it takes nearly a week and a half, but through her death spiral of conflicting opinions and ideas, Chloe comes out the other side with a surprising conclusion:
She isn't certain yet how she feels about all of the stuff this brings up for her, in fact she's almost positive these feelings will always be messy and complicated, but she has landed on thre things she is completely certain of.
Firstly, she is positive she still loves Ladybug, despite all her messy, complex feelings over Marinette Dupain Cheng, all the anger, derision, and contempt(and the jealousy she refuses to acknowledge), her intense near obsessive love for Ladybug outweighs her old grudges and feelings for Marinette, mostly anyways.
The second truth she akcnowledges is that Ladybug was always an unnatainable goal for her, even when she pined after her and stared dreamily at her photos, even when she was Queen Bee and fought right beside her, some part of her always knew it would never be. Because for someone like that, how could Chloe Bourgeois ever be enough? Hell, how could anyone be enough for Paris's perfect savior?
The third and final thing she realized, though, is the most important. Ladybug is unnatainable, Ladybug is perfect, ladybug is so much better in every way than Chloe Bourgeois that there is no reason for her to even tolerate the blonde girls mere presence, and the fact she had even done so at all was a blessing.
But Marinette Dupain Cheng?
Marinette "Bakergirl" Dupain Cheng?
Maritrash herself? The clutsiest, clumsiest, whackiest little weirdo nerd in Chloes entire school? The chief Peasant herself?
Chloe Bourgeois knows in her deepest heart that she's better than Marinette, at least at most things(it was damned unfair that someone so ugh, ordinary, was such a good designer. Bleh.). Marinette is far from perfect, she has none of Ladybugs grace, none of her confidence, and none of her nearly divine presence.
Dupain Cheng is cute where Ladybug is beautiful, giggly where Ladybug is stoic, scared and vulnerable with poisoned self confidence where Ladybug is boundless courage.
The point is, Marinette Dupain Cheng is human and normal where Ladybug is anything but.
But most importantly for Chloe?
No, no she's certain she'd never be enough for Ladybug.
But for plain old Marinette? Chloe could be worth Marinette, could get Marinette with no make up, a second hand dress, and with zero cups of coffee.
And if she has Marinette....well wouldn't you know it, Ladybug comes with, free of charge!
And on top of Mari being, well, Mari, Chloe has another advantage in her little quest. She knows who Ladybug is. She has leverage, power, control over Paris's greatest hero. So long as she's careful, and uses that leverage at just the right time, in just the right way, she can have everything she's wanted and more.
Adrien. Ladybug. Pollen and her miraculous.
(Maybe even her mothers love? No, no beggars can't be choosers....)
it could all ber hers. But she has to be careful, she has to be smart, she has to plan until everything she does is 100% fool proof.
So, in furtherance of her new plan, the first thing Chloe does is go to therapy.
Not because she wants to, but because she needs it. She needs to get in control of her emotions, she needs to get techniques to calm herself down. She needs complete control of her reactions to upsetting turns and results. Because now, she keeps the most important secret in all of Paris, and she cannot risk Hawkmoth getting it. She cannot risk Hawkmoth hurting what she has already decided is rightfully hers.
She keeps all her plansa and desires from her new therapist, of course. And the jury is out on how much she can truly get from a professional with all the information she leaves out. But to her credit, she never lies to the therapist. She tells as much as the truth as she can, and she leaves it not truly a fixed person(not by a country mile), but with an understanding of some of the reasons she upsets people and(more importantly) how to calm herself down and remain in control.
Armed now with the knowledge of how to more easily make people like her(important for making Marinette actually like her despite the blackmail, because she doesn't just want Ladybug, but her love as well), how to better control her emotions, and a completely unwilling awareness of some of her deepest flaws(which she is doing her best to ignore, and failing at miserably), she sets off to bag a bug.
It's important to note that though this story starts directly after Miraculer, Chloe doesn't make a move until at most a week before the season 3 episode Ladybug, which if you don't recognize it off the top of your head, is the episode with the Sentimonster Ladybug, and the episode where Lila frames Marinette for pushing her down the stairs. And Ladybug itself happens like, the episode before the season finale and Miracle Queen.
This has gotten really long, and taken me like 3 days to write, so I'm gonna end this here. But coming soon will be me covering the actual meat and potatoes of this little AU, specifically Chloe and Marinettes interactions and what goes down when Chloe reveals that she knows her identity and lays out demands, as well as how this whole thing changed the series as a whole, and some of the wider effects it'll have.
We'll also get more into Adrien's role in this, and how/what happens when Chloe finds out he's Chat Noir.
The last thing I'll add is that this is going to be a Chloe Redemption idea, but I'm not doing it at any kind of speed. Chloe's improved some even by the time she confronts Mari, but it's mostly subtle stuff. She is, after all, still blackmailing her bullying victim into doing what she wants, with the intent of effectively seducing her.
This is because, at least to me, it makes sense that Chloe's idea of love is wrapped up in control and power. Her mother bullies and controls her father. She excerpts control over her kids, too. Chloe has basically zero idea what healthy love and relationships look like. Chloe is desperately trying to do better, whether she notices that or not, but she doesn't truly have a concept of what that would even look like. So a lot of her is defaulting to her instinct to just take what she wants, with a vague plan of showing Marinette, and eventually Adrien, how amazing it is to be hers, and how much she can love them, after. The important part is getting them, in her mind, and then she'll be able to fix any problems after the fact.
Is this absolutely unhinged behavior? Yeah, kinda. But Chloe's love map is all kinds of fucked up. If it helps at all, do note that Chloe isn't going to be forcing herself on anyone. She really is trying to date them and convince them to love her, she just doesn't feel safe doing so, feel safe being vulnerable, without total control of the situation. Is that despicable to do to people you claim to love? Yes. And the goal is to get to the point where she's confronting that and actually working on it. But at the start, Chloe is grasping at straws here.
How do you even make regular people love you when all you've known is neglect and emotional abuse, let alone someone who you've personally and intentionally hurt and harassed for years?
Chloe sure as hell doesn't know. And since she can't risk letting anyone else know Ladybugs identity, she can't ask Sabrina or her butler for advice. So, blackmail feels like a safe first step, that's logical, right?
(no girl, no it is not. đ)
Obviously none of this is something I condone in real life, but it's something I find fun to explore in fiction.
Thinking of calling this the "Queen of the Hive" AU, for organization purposes in case this goes beyond my two total planned posts. Is that a good name? Please do let me know!
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