Chapter Text
For ten years, Chloé didn’t have a Soulmate. She was fine with that. She had a best friend, Adrien Agreste, and he was better than any Soulmate could ever be.
However, even the things in life that appear constant can change on a whim. The universe had the audacity to give Chloé an unwanted Soulmate - and not just any unwanted Soulmate. The universe gave Chloé a fully grown, adult Soulmate. He lost threadbare jackets, mismatched socks, and pens with the ends chewed up. He misplaced half-full soda cans that spilled on her bedroom floor and fast-food wrappers that left greasy stains on her carpet. Chloé kept none of it. Later, he got careless, condoms and bullets and half-full cartons of cigarettes arrived on Chloé's bedroom floor. Those items, incriminating pieces of evidence she very much intended on using as leverage against him when they finally met, she kept hidden away in a box in the back of her closet.
Chloé wasn't sure how to feel about her Soulmate. Half of her was angry at him. He lost things carelessly, without any thought as to how she would feel, receiving them. Chloé, on the other hand, lost proper things. She very carefully chose the things she wanted to lose. A necklace from her jewelry box, a handwritten note on perfumed paper wishing him a good day, a Polaroid picture of the Parisian sunset, a chocolate croissant from the Dupain-Cheng bakery (though she wasn't fond of Marinette, with her perfect family and perfect left, she had to admit that their pastries were the best in Paris). Everything that Chloé lost was something that she cared about; they were all things with real emotion attached to them. She put in the effort to be nice to him and he didn't even seem to care.
The other half of Chloé was scared. She learned about asexuality a few days before her thirteenth birthday, and the label felt as natural to her as breathing. Her Soulmate situation, however, complicated things. She could see herself entering a romantic relationship, but not with the adult who lost bullets, condoms, and cigarettes for his child Soulmate to find.
In the end, much to Chloé's embarrassment, she found herself going to Marinette Dupain-Cheng for advice. Marinette was the de facto Soulmate expert of their class, due to her complicated Soulmate relationship. She lost things but had never found anything in return, and had spent years researching Soulmate bonds to try and figure out why she never found any Soulmate objects. However, while Marinette and Chloé both had Soulmate problems, Marinette's were already solved. Chloé had overheard Kim and Alix at the beginning of the school year, discussing a gift that Marinette's Soulmate gave her.
Marinette was at her seat, drawing something in her sketchbook when Chloé decided that it was time to approach her for advice. Taking a deep breath, Chloé refused to let herself back down, no matter the humiliation. It was now or never. She flipped back her hair and confidently walked forward towards Marinette's desk. "Marinette, can I speak with you after class?" Chloé put on a nonchalant expression, giving Marinette a bored, impatient look.
"Why?" asked Marinette, giving Chloé a suspicious look.
That wasn't an easy answer. Chloé was prepared to spill her guts to Marinette, but not until they had some privacy. "It's important."
Marinette sighed. "Fine. You can meet me at my parent's bakery after school."
Chloé spent the rest of the school day miserably waiting for the day to end. Not even Sabrina could cheer her up, though she tried her best, fawning over Chloé's new sunglasses at lunch. When the school day finally ended, Chloé lingered by her locker for a few minutes, uncomfortable with the idea of waiting for Marinette at her bakery. She walked to the bakery in silence, mulling over the decision to tell Marinette about her Soulmate. If Marinette could shed any light on the situation, it would be worth it, but the humiliation of admitting her biggest secret to her mortal enemy was almost too much to bear.
Chloé walked through the bakery doors, feeling uncomfortable in Marinette's home. "Hello, Marinette," Chloé greeted quietly.
“Hi, Chloé. I got macaroons for us to share. The pink ones are raspberry, the yellow ones are lemon, and the green ones are green tea.”
Chloé gritted her teeth. If Marinette were a little less nice, it would be a lot easier to hate her. “Thanks…” Chloé took a bite out of one of the cookies and then continued, “I overheard Alix and Kim talking about your Soulmate. Congratulations.”
Marinette tensed up. “How much did you hear?”
It seemed that Marinette still had some problems in the Soulmate department. “Just that they gave you a bracelet or something.” Chloé shrugged. “I was wondering… I know you’ve done a lot of research about Soulmate bonds. I was hoping that maybe you would understand what’s going on with my Soulmate bond.
Marinette looked confused. "I thought you didn’t have a Soulmate?"
"When I was younger I thought I didn’t either. Then, almost three years ago, I started to lose things. At first, I thought that maybe my Soulmate was just born, but then they lost things no infant or toddler would ever have. Fast food wrappers and cigarettes and-" Chloé flinched. "Condoms." After a deep breath, Chloé continued. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
Deep in thought, Marinette replied, "I've never encountered anything identical to what's happened to you. There were a few reported cases where when someone's heart stopped completely and restarted, they realized that they lost their Soulmate bond in the process. Maybe what's happening to you is similar to that, but instead of losing their bond, maybe your Soulmate gained a bond."
Chloé shrugged. "Maybe that's it." She picked up another macaroon and started picking it apart bit by bit, letting the crumbs fall back onto the plate. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I just don't want to talk to Sabrina about it because her Soulmate bond has always been perfect. Sabrina's perfect Soulmate from Quebec video chats with her every other weekend. All I have is a ridiculous, seemingly sex-obsessed Soulmate I never even wanted in the first place because I'm asexual." Chloé blurted out, her face flushed. She hadn't meant to tell Marinette about her asexuality, but in her growing frustration, the words just came out. Chloé wasn't ashamed of her asexuality - what she was ashamed about was her complete inability to have a normal Soulmate relationship.
"You can be asexual and have a Soulmate, Chloé. It's actually a very common occurrence in the asexual community. Romantic and platonic Soulmates are becoming more and more accepted in society."
Chloé shook her head. "We aren't going to be romantic Soulmates. I could never be romantic Soulmates with someone who loses condoms for their underage Soulmate to find. However... I suppose we could be platonic Soulmates if he learns to be a little more cautious over what he loses." Chloé started thinking about the possibility of having her Soulmate relationship be platonic and found that she didn't mind the idea. "I guess I never really considered that we could just be platonic Soulmates..." The only problem was that Chloé had no idea what to expect from a platonic Soulmate. "I don't know anyone with a platonic Soulmate."
"I'm sure if you asked around on the school forum you could get connected with other students with Platonic Soulmates."
Chloé gave Marinette a genuine smile, forgetting that she was supposed to be mortal enemies with the dark-haired girl. "That's really good advice Marinette." Grabbing one last macaroon off of the plate Chloé stood up, ready to take the first step in figuring out her Soulmate relationship. "I have to go home, but thanks for talking with me. And I'm sorry for all the times I've been unkind to you. It wasn't fair, and I apologize."
"I forgive you, Chloé." Marinette didn't sound like she was lying, which Chloé took to be a good sign in repairing her relationship with her classmate.
As soon as she got home, Chloé called Adrien Agreste, her childhood best friend, to tell him the news. She was going to make her first serious attempt at contacting her Soulmate. No more candies and well-wishing notes. She was going to send him a letter telling him exactly how she felt about him.
"Adrien," Chloé dramatically cried out as soon as he answered the phone. "I need you!"
"What's wrong?" Adrien said with a sigh. He was experiencing in telling the difference between distraught Chloé and dramatic Chloé.
"I need you to help me write a letter to send to my Soulmate. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."
"I'm coming right over!" Adrien exclaimed. "I've been waiting forever for you to finally tell him off."
"It's well deserved," proclaimed Chloé. "He's been nothing but a scoundrel to me. Can you believe the nerve of him, sending his Soulmate condoms and cigarettes, of all things? It's disgusting!"
It felt nice to know that she and Adrien agreed. While she waited for Adrien to arrive, Chloé got out her best stationery and a fountain pen to write the letter. She was going to tell her Soulmate exactly how she felt.
However, her firm intentions soon left her, as twenty minutes later, Chloé was stuck. She held the pen in her hand, pressed it against the stationary, and couldn't get the words to form on the paper. "I can't do it."
"Just write how you feel," Adrien urged.
"What if he gets upset with me?"
Adrien scoffed. "He's been nothing but insensitive towards you. You deserve to give him a piece of your mind."
Chloé nodded. "Alright." She put pen to paper and started to write.
Dear Soulmate,
I don't appreciate the fact that you've been losing condoms, cigarettes, and bullets for me to find. Due to the fact that I am thirteen years old, those aren't the sort of items that I look forward to finding on my bedroom floor. If you ever want there to be even the slightest of possibilities that we someday pursue a romantic relationship, I expect you to clean up your act. I won't be seen around someone who acts the way you do.
Sincerely,
Chloé Bourgeoise
Chloé signed the letter with a flourish, spritzed a little bit of her favorite vanilla perfume onto the paper, put the letter into an envelope, then threw the envelope out her window, to be taken away by the wind. "Done."
Adrien grinned. "See, that wasn't too hard."
Chloé nodded, taking a deep, calming breath. "Now all I have to do is wait for his response."
Chloé's Soulmate's response came in the form of a note, sent to her hours after she delivered her own. His note was written in pencil on the back of a takeout menu from Gotham, New Jersey. He wrote in a dark, messy scrawl that took up most of the page without any concern for going back and fixing spelling errors.
Chloe. Sorry for my behavior these past few years. I'll work harder on making sure I don't lose anything inappropriate or offensive.
Chloé narrowed her eyes as she examined the note. Huffing angrily, she grabbed a notecard off of her desk and quickly penned. It's Chloé, not Chloe. Your apology is not adequate. I am still very annoyed with you.
For three days, Chloé didn't receive a response from her Soulmate. Not a single lost item was found on her floor - an uncommon occurrence since her Soulmate was usually very messy. Over those three days, she got progressively more upset. It seemed that she was destined to drive away the people closest to her. First, her mother, who hadn't spent more than a week in Paris since Chloé was five years old, then her Soulmate, who couldn't stand to communicate with Chloé more than once. Then, just as Chloé was beginning to give up on ever having a relationship with her Soulmate, she found a book sitting at the foot of her bed.
It was a pristine copy of Pride and Prejudice, with heavy, cream-colored pages and a sturdy red and gold foil cover. At first, Chloé assumed that it was a gift from Sabrina, who often gave Chloé gifts when she was feeling down until she opened up the book and spotted the message written inside the front cover.
To Chloé, my very annoyed Soulmate. Sorry about the bullets and the cigarettes. Please remember that first impressions aren't always everything. - J.T.
Chloé smiled. It was a touching gesture, a sign that J.T. wasn't the scoundrel that she had feared him to be.
J.T. I accept your apology, as it was a gesture sufficient to the crime that you committed, exposing my innocent eyes to the vileness of grown men. - Chloé Chloé sent off the note, hoping that her teasing tone would come across over paper.
I'm so sorry I offended your delicate sensibilities - J.T.
Chloé rolled her eyes, imagining a teasing tone of voice to go along with the note. My sensibilities are perfectly adequate. I think you'll find that you are simply too crude and brutish to understand that some people don't want to wake up and find a condom in their shoe. - Chloé
At least it wasn't used. - J.T.
Chloé recoiled, revolted at the thought. Her next words were penned in all uppercase for emphasis. THAT'S REVOLTING! - Chloé
Chloé then wrote a second note, to make sure she got her point across. I would never forgive you if you pulled something like that. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and forgive you for everything you lost before, but for now on I'm holding you accountable. - Chloé.
Satisfied that she had made her point, Chloé put her pen down and got ready for bed. She had school the next day and she knew that Jean Clément wouldn't let her skip school tomorrow, no matter how much she whined about being tired.
One final note sat on her pillow as she went to get into bed. I promise I'll work harder to be better, for you. - J.T.
Chloé went to sleep that night with a smile on her face, ready to start the process of getting to know her Soulmate. As Chloé drifted off to sleep, she let her mind wander to a future where she was able to take on the world with her Soulmate by her side.