𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞- 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟓- 𝑾𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒚, 𝑾𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒚, 𝑬𝒈𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒚

Edited

Please forgive me for this being a day behind schedule I decided it needed something more. I really like the idea of them all trying to connect with their cultures and roots while healing. I feel it is a totally normal trauma response to try and reconnect with your roots, and not something we see enough in characters. Also, I added an extra 1,000 words to the original 1,000 for being late. Enjoy :))))))

It's strange how the world appears to have returned to normal after the battle and Hawkmoth's—well, Shadowmoth's—defeat. The city sounds are still there like they have always been, and if you listened hard enough, you could hear the whirl of the air conditioning in the Agreste mansion. Chloe had heard these sounds her entire life, and yet somehow, the familiarity made everything worse.

She had grown up with Adrien spending so much time in his home. Emilie used to come here four days a week to play with Adrien before she disappeared. She remembered their adventures.

They traveled all over Paris with Emilie tugging on her hands, pulling her towards every bright, exciting thing. The best nights were when Gabriel wasn't working and they could all watch movies together and build giant forts in the living room.

This house had always felt more like home than her father's hotel. That was when Adrien was a happier, freer boy and didn't know all the dangers of the world.

Chloe was more pleasant then. Emilie always helped her and cared for her like a mother, so her own workaholic mother's absence hadn't meant as much. Emilie had sheltered her from all of that, she realized; she had never felt unseen with her there. Losing her felt like losing her childhood, her sense of self-worth, and even her mother. Emilie would have known exactly what to say to make everything better now; they really needed her now more than ever.

The familiarity of the house just reminded her that things could never actually go back to the way they were before everything. If you truly paid attention in the city, you could see it there too. The people seemed a tad bit dimmer than before, and even the lights didn't seem to twinkle as brightly. The people of Paris were not allowed to feel emotions for so long that there was no guarantee they could ever really learn to be as expressive in their entire lifetimes. The years of emotional terrorism would forever affect the people of the city in subconscious and obvious ways, whether they realized it or not.

Sitting here in the silence, the house felt tainted. Everything here, all of the memories, would forever be tainted because of Gabriel's actions. How could he have done that to her, to Adiren, to all of them? He forever immortalized the bad deeds and the fear of the city, and it was trapped in this very house. The walls seemed to whisper, "I know, I've seen everything." A small part of every victim of his would always be trapped here, including her.

He knew all of her weaknesses; he had known her since she was a little girl, and that still never stopped him. Had he truly felt no guilt in turning her against friends and the only people who trusted her? Was he really that heartless? Looking into his eyes the day he was dragged away, she saw no trace of the man she once knew. What scared her the most, though, was the crazed look in his eye; he never looked sorry even as he stared into her eyes. He casually looked into the eyes of a girl he'd known for years, whose life he'd repeatedly ruined, and then away as if it hadn't meant anything to him.

This house was tainted, and it always would be. The longer she sat there, the louder the walls seemed to scream. They seemed to call out in desperation and agony until she could no longer take it. She threw off her covers and walked down the stairs as fast as she could, right into the arms of Marinette. Marinette asked no questions and just held her tightly, stroking her hair affectionately.

Chloe had pulled herself together after a moment, and no one spoke of the events again. It was not uncommon to see someone express a random emotion very spontaneously, then turn it off very quickly. They were still trying to get used to expressing themselves now that the moth was safe. They still needed the peacock, but its ineffectiveness made it harder to find.