#timdrien

Tim recognised the other boy as Adrien Agreste, French model for his father’s, Gabriel Agreste’s, brand. Said blonde’s cheeks were turning a worryingly red and Ms. Milson took no notice as she continued to coo about how cute he is.

Once Adrien realised that Tim was looking at him, he widened his eyes so comically and mouthed at Tim for help. His pleading green eyes, similar to that of a sad kitten, made Tim cave in to help despite the potential damage Ms. Milson will inflict on his cheeks.

 Tim sighed and tried his best to make sure his smile didn't look like a grimace, “Ms. Milson.”

“Timothy, darling, where have you been hiding? I have been looking for you everywhere …” Ms Milson babbled on as she predictably reached for his cheeks after letting go of Adrien’s. Tim tried to stay still and not flinch at her approach.

Holy crab pincers, Batman. It hurts so bad. Why was he doing this again?

Adrien, behind Ms. Milson, rubbed his cheeks and gave Tim a bright smile in gratitude which made Tim’s stomach feel funny.

Are all models this pretty? Honestly, he could see why Gabriel would openly try to break child labour laws and use such a pretty face.

“... and you have grown so big. Timothy dear, have you met this boy yet? He’s your age. His name is…erm….what was it again, dear?”

“Adrien Agreste, Madam,” he replied.

“Well, Adrien, this is Timothy,” she said as she pulled said boy’s cheek and Tim grimaced from the pain, “and his parents are the one hosting this lovely gala.”

“Oui.”

“Ms. Milson, can Adrien and I go play?”

“Of course, dearie,” She finally released Tim’s cheek from her grip and gave it one last pat, “I remember when my boys were your age. Oh look, there’s Richard. I haven’t seen him in a while. He’s growing up into a rather smart young man. You boys go have fun now.”

By then, Tim had already grabbed Adrien’s hand and dragged him across the room, out of Ms. Milson’s sight.

“Sorry, about dragging you, Adrien. But if we don't get out of there, she will come pinch us again.”

“It’s fine. No cheeks being pinched is good.” Adrien said in a slight mix of French and British accent.

“I was afraid that you might not understand me.”

“I have a family in London so I learn it but there are some things about English that I find confusing.”

“Don’t worry, even Americans sometimes find the language confusing.”

They stood there and stared at each other. Tim used that opportunity to study Adrien. His blonde hair was well-combed and all of his clothes were all obviously Gabriel branded. So another reason for Gabriel coming was to promote his new line. 

“Do you want to be friends?” Adrien bursted out asking.

“Yeah,” Tim absentmindedly answered, deep in thought about his observations of Adrien before registering the question, “Huh, I mean, sure. We can be friends.”

“Adrien, what are you doing here?” A blond woman who is likely to be Adrien’s mother called out due to their resemblance.

“Mama, this is my new friend, Timothy.”

“Nice to meet you, Madam. My name is Timothy Drake. My parents are the hosts of today’s gala. I hope you are enjoying your evening.”

“Such a polite boy. But you don’t need to be like that with me. Are you boys having fun?”

“Timothy was going to show me around.” Adrien exclaimed, before lowering his head and quietly asked, “Can I go with him, Mama?”

Emilie smiled and bent down to pat his head, “Of course, you can, mon cher. Stay inside the mansion at all times. I will be staying in the Ballroom the entire time. Come find me when you want to go back to the hotel.”

“Okay, Mama!” Adrien smiled brightly, causing the funny feeling in Tim’s stomach to increase and his face felt hotter. Tim held out his hand (why was it sweating so much? ) for Adrien to grab.

Emilie tried to resist the urge to squeal as she watched the two boys walk away, giggling like the children they are supposed to be. She was going to persuade Gabriel to let Adrien keep in touch and be friends with the son of the Drakes.

------

Adrien tuned out Lila’s voice as he stared out the airplane window of his first class seat. Lila was also somehow in first-class and she was making as much use of it as she could. As soon as the seatbelt sign was off, she had spent every second of her time sitting next to him, stating that first-class chairs were big enough for two. All of his requests for her to go away fell on deaf ears. (Does she actually have tinnitus or is it selective hearing?)

Many of the other passengers had put in earplugs or headphones to avoid her but Adrien had not much luck as Lila stopped his every attempt to do the same. 

On paper, the class was on their way to Gotham City for their school field trip. As an Agreste, he got a seat in first class and unfortunately along with Lila, who by some miracle managed to get his father to get her in.

The truth was that it was just a cover for the Miraculous Court, who were sitting in business class along with the rest of their classmates, to get into Gotham to escape Shadowmoth’s scrutiny and discuss with the Bats about the Paris situation. For Adrien, it was an excuse to see his boyfriend, Tim Drake-Wayne again. Or also known as Red Robin.

The two boys had kept in contact over the years. Tim began to reach out more after he learned about the akuma situation and patiently endured Adrien’s crush on Ladybug. Luckily, one identity reveal later, Marinette and Adrien decided that they were both better off as friends. Marinette had long moved on from her own crush on ‘Adrien Agreste’ and in the suits, Chat Noir no longer flirted around Ladybug.

Soon after, Tim and Adrien confessed to liking each other and started dating in a long distance relationship.

After a long talk with the rest of the Miraculous Court, they agreed to let Adrien tell Tim about his identity. They thought that as a Wayne, Tim would be able to connect them to Batman and get them the help they needed. It hasn’t been long since the Court was formed and properly established. Between school and the akumas, they don’t have the proper manpower or resources to investigate Shadowmoth.

The second identity reveal was more chaotic than the first.

—--

Adrien, transformed as Chat Noir, was nervously standing in front of his computer screen where a shocked Tim was frozen for the past few minutes.

“Tim?” Adrien asked worriedly, “I know this is a lot to spring it much on you and you might not believe it-”

“No. No. Babe, I believe you. It’s just… wow, my brothers are not going to leave me alone if they find out about this.” Tim looked down thoughtfully and tried to process the fact that his boyfriend wears a leather catsuit on a regular basis to battle.

“Tim, are you okay?”

“I am fine. So you are Chat Noir. I know that but my head can’t seem to get around to that fact.”

“Oh. Wait. Plagg, claws in.” Adrien said and a green light flashed over him. Tim takes a double take as the camembert on Adrien’s desk starts floating.

“On second thought, I think I should get some sleep if I am hallucinating floating cheese.”

“Tim! What have I told you about your sleep schedule.”

“Relax, Adrien,” a nasally voice was heard, “your boyfriend’s fine. He just couldn’t see me because kwamis don’t show up on cameras. Remember Kwami Buster?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Who was that?” Tim asked.

“Plagg, he’s basically a god that allows me to transform into Chat Noir. Cameras can’t seem to work on him and that’s probably why you think that there is a floating cheese besides me.”

“Right. Right.” Tim placed his head in his hands, “So to recap, you are a cat-themed superhero. Specifically one of the main heroes that are fighting that Butterfly Man.”

“Shadowmoth.”

“Okay. And you are powered by an invisible god.”

“He looks like a black chibi cat actually. You can’t see him because of the cameras. I think there’s a picture Marinette drew of him somewhere. Hold on.” Adrien went out of frame for a moment before returning with a sketch of Plagg.

“Wow.”

There were points in Tim’s life when he thought that things can’t get weirder and they did. His boyfriend confesses to being one of the heroes that the JL had been trying to make contact with for the past year but couldn’t, due to a frustrating combination of magic and politics. That is making its way to the top ten weirdest.

“Tim?” Adrien’s hesitant voice brought him back from his thoughts.

“I am fine, Adrien.” Tim reassured, “It was a lot to process but I believe you. You should be glad that I have made this line so secure that even Lex Luthor would have trouble listening in. I don’t think you would like your father knowing about this.”

“Oh thank kwamis. Well, the other reason I am telling you this is because I need your help contacting Batman. As a Wayne, you probably know how to do that. At least I hope you have a way.”

Oh. Tim wanted to laugh.

After many months of failing to get into contact with the Miraculous Court, an opportunity simply landed on Tim’s lap in the form of his boyfriend. Now, he had a decision to make.

“Tim?”

“Adrien, I also have something I have been keeping a secret.”

“It can’t be that you are also a superhero, right?” Adrien joked, “Cause what are the chances that both of us are heroes.”

Adrien’s smile faded, upon seeing Tim’s completely serious face.

“No. No. No. No way. Non. Non.”

“Adrien, I am Red Robin.” Tim interrupted Adrien’s denial session. Cackling was heard through the speakers which Tim assumed was from Adrien’s floating cat god.

Adrien went silent for a moment before asking, “Who’s Red Robin?”

It was Tim’s turn to be shocked into silence. His boyfriend didn’t even know who his hero identity. Granted, he never talked about the Bats of Gotham in detail to Adrien besides mentioning that they ‘save’ him a few times and his family’s alter egos weren’t as public as the Parisian heroes. But still.

Tim slapped his hand to his forehead in despair, “My boyfriend doesn't even know who I am. Granted, I am not that much of a big deal but that hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien apologised, “I only know about Batman and his sidekick, Robin.”

“I’m fine. Don’t let Damian know that you called Robin a sidekick.”

“Your brother is Robin?”

“My entire family is in on it.”

“Is Alfred Batman then?”

Tim laughed.

“Come on, Tim. I want to know who he is.”

“It’s Bruce.”

Adrien felt his brain trying to process the information. “What?”

“Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

“Are you sure you are not making fun of me for being honest and telling you my superhero identity?”

“Nope. Completely serious. I am the hero, Red Robin. If you search up about the Teen Titans or the Young Justice, you will see my name beside them. I am best friends with the older Superboy and Kid Flash.”

They spent the rest of the call, talking about their alter egos.

—--

After months of planning over video calls to somehow get most of the Miraculous Court out of Paris so they can discuss the Shadowmoth problem. A class trip to Gotham was what they came up with.

Adrien was jealous of Marinette, Kagami and Luka who went ahead of the class a few days prior, using Jagged Stone’s tour as a cover.

Marinette had came clean to her parents about Ladybug and they pulled her out of Dupont to be homeschooled. (The official reason was so she can focus more on her career since Jagged named her his favourite designer and she had more work. The real reason was so she can focus on taking down Shadowmoth.) She was there as Jagged’s costume designer.

Luka had persuaded his father to take a detour in Gotham so it coincided with the class trip and Kagami was a tagalong as Luka’s girlfriend. How they managed to persuade her strict mother Adrien didn’t know. 

Chloe and Zoe had stayed behind, partly because the sisters didn’t want to go to Gotham and partly so there would be someone to hold off the akuma until the others portaled back. The final three members of the Miraculous Court, Alix, Alya and Nino, were in business class with the rest of the class.

“Adrien~” The sickly sweet voice which felt like bugs crawling up his skin, called for his attention, “Can you tell this lady who I am so I can get my drink?”

There was an attendant who looked frustrated and tried her best to hide it behind a professional smile. Adrien knew that look all too well, seeing it on many of his co-workers’ faces when Lila was on set for a photoshoot.

“What seems to be the problem?” Adrien asked the attendant, a practised smile on his face.

“The young lady wants wine but we can’t do that because she’s underage.”

“See, Adrien, she’s being unreasonable. I already told her that I am 18 and I can drink.”

“Lila,” Adrien said gently, “I am sure the nice lady is working hard to make sure you are comfortable but unfortunately, it is the law in America that the drinking age is 21. She doesn’t want you to get in trouble.”

“But, Adrien-”

“ You can drink when we get back. It’s only for a few days. You don’t want to get kicked out of this trip for causing trouble. Right, Lila?”

“Fine. Can you get me a soda then?” Lila asked the attendant, who nodded and walked away in relief. (She was gonna tell the others to be watch out of the entitled girl in first class)

“And can you get out of my seat please?” Adrien interrupted, “I want more leg room to myself right now so I can sleep.”

Lila dropped her smile and her lips began to tremble, preparing to cry and cause a scene.

Adrien looked at where Gorilla was sitting. The bodyguard was getting ready to intervene if Adrien wanted him to. He gestured to show Gorilla that he had it handled.

“This flight will take hours and I think both of us having our own space instead of being cramped in one seat for that long will be more comfortable.”

“But Adrien, I want to be together with you.”

“And I don’t.”

“Adrien, how could you?” Lila started crying.

“Lila, we aren’t even dating. I don’t like you getting into my personal space. I only tolerate you because you are my classmate and for some bizarre reason, my dad deemed you good enough to be my friend.”

“I thought we had something,” Lila sobbed.

“Hey, girly,” a dark-haired man from a seat over snapped, “The guy’s reasonable in wanting his own space so quit your whining and get over your delusions before I drag you back to your seat and gag you.”

Lila immediately went silent and looked at Adrien with an expectant look. He simply tilted his head in the direction of her seat. Lila turned to find the man glaring at her.

Knowing she lost, Lila slowly went back to her seat.

Adrien sighed in relief and turned towards the man with a look of gratitude,

“Thanks a lot for the help.”

“No problem. She was getting on my last nerves too.”

“I am sorry that you had to deal with her.”

“It’s fine. Us bros got to stick together on things like this.”

Finally, peace and quiet. Adrien put on his earphones to listen to the playlist Nino had made for him and enjoy the rest of the flight.

------

Tim rocked his heels nervously as he waited for Adrien and his class to show up. Bruce had put him and Dick in charge of the tour of Wayne Enterprises for the Dupont class. Dick was there to do the actual tour guide duties while Tim was there to pass on the meeting details to the Miraculous Court by discreetly blending in with the class.

And also because he was a sap who missed his boyfriend. Jason and Dick would never stop teasing him about how he spent 40 minutes in the bathroom to get ready. Was it wrong to look good in front of his boyfriend who he hadn’t physically seen in 1 year, 3 months and 23 days?

The bus carrying Adrien and his friends finally arrived. Dick elbowed Tim in his ribs to focus because Tim couldn’t stop staring at his love. Adrien immediately brightened when he spotted Tim besides his brother. Tim had to wonder if Gotham was sunnier than usual.

Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted when a brunette girl latched onto Adrien’s arm, blabbering about why ‘Adrien-boo’ didn’t help her when she needed help getting off the bus. She reminded the Waynes of the gold diggers who would throw themselves at Bruce and only viewed him as a trophy and money dispenser.

Adrien had an uncomfortable smile as he tried in vain to make the girl let go of his arm. She instead doubled down and gripped harder on his arm, making him grimace. The rest of the class was oblivious of Adrien’s pain as they huddled around the two and cooing about how cute they look and underhandedly berating Adrien for not helping Lila out. Thankfully, the one Tim recognised as Adrien’s best friend, Nino, stepped in while his girlfriend, Alya, smoothly redirected the class attention to the tour.

Dick gave them a bright smile and introduced himself as the tour guide. He shook hands with the teachers while Tim made his way towards his boyfriend, careful to not be noticed. He found Nino fussing over the marks on Adrien’s arm a little bit away from the group who were distracted by the fact that they were meeting the eldest Wayne child, Richard Grayson. Seeing the marks, Tim saw red.

Tim was aware about the girl, Lila Rossi.

She was a manipulative liar who had been causing a lot of trouble for the Miraculous Team by trying to isolate Adrien from his friends and slandering the rest of them with false lies. She also nearly got Ladybug akumatized which made the over-stressed Marinette finally decide to tell her parents about the Miraculous to ease the burden. However, once her main target and who she perceived as a ‘rival’, Marinette, was gone, Lila was hell bent on making Adrien hers.

Gabriel, the only person who Tim thinks can beat his parents for ‘Worst parent of the year’, had employed that snake as a model because apparently she was a good influence on Adrien and the reason why Adrien’s actual friends are no longer allowed at his house.

Overall, Lila was a person that should be taken care of immediately. Already, Tim had formulated many plans to get rid of her, preferably somewhere as far from Adrien as possible.

While Dick started the tour and Lila left Adrien in favour of trying to gain favour with a Wayne, Tim sidled up next to his boyfriend who was in the back with his friends.

“Hey, love.”

Adrien lit up and hugged him, “Tim!”

Nino and Alya gave the two thumbs up before shielding the two boys with their bodies to give the couple some privacy and prevent Lila from seeing.

Tim hugged him back and gave him a peck on the lips, “Are you okay?”

“Great. I am doing fine.”

Tim did a small frown at the answer. He laced their fingers together and slowly brought Adrien’s hand up to his lips which made Adrien’s cheeks turn pink at the gesture.

“You made me promise to not lie about not sleeping,” Tim said, “So I wish you won’t lie to me about the wounds that girl inflicted on you.”

“Tim, it’s nothing.” Adrien tried to reassure his boyfriend.

“It’s not. I have seen this kind of thing on a lot of people from Gotham. I don’t want what happened to them happen to you too. People who leave these kinds of marks are bad news. Besides as your boyfriend, I have the right to be worried about anyone who hurt you. I want to unleash hell upon her but I am not doing it now since you guys suspect that she has a way to contact Shadowmoth. So what can I do for you?”

Adrien smiled gently, touched by his boyfriend’s sincerity and squeezed his hand, “I want Lila to leave me alone.” His voice, soft and vulnerable. “Everyone else in the class is pushing for me to be with her. Father is not helping. I wish he didn’t send Lila to breathe down my neck and report back my every move to him. I want to be able to relax without her hounding me when I want to be alone. I don’t want my arm to hurt because of her nails. I want to be able to hang out with my friends without having to sneak around. I wish I could say I love you to you in public and tell people I have a boyfriend without the worry that my father would lock me up in the mansion.”

"As you wish.”

Adrien snorted, “Does that make me Buttercup, Westley?”

“You are beautiful enough for the role,” Tim flirted, making Adrien blush.

The blond cleared his throat to recompose himself, “So about tonight?”

“We will meet you on the rooftop of your hotel.”

“Marinette, Luka and Kagami can portal over with the horse.”

Tim looked towards the group in front of them, “Would they notice if you were gone for a moment?”

“Alya and Nino would cover for me. I can tell Gorilla that I am meeting up with you.” Adrien said, wanting to know what Tim had planned.

“I can tell Tam to not let anyone into my office for a while. My office has a rather comfortable sofa. How about we spend some time catching up,” Tim suggested and he kissed Adrien.

Plagg peeked out of Adrien’s jacket pocket and interrupted them, “Hey, kit, if you are going to go lip-lock with your lover boy, I am going to join Trixx and Wyazz in blogger girl’s fanny pack. I heard that they were going to play cards.”

Adrien spluttered but didn’t refute Plagg’s request.

“Don’t cause trouble and I will leave some cheese for you to eat. Please behave, Plagg.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go enjoy your tryst.”

Adrien tapped Nino’s shoulder to grab his attention as Tim grinned. He texted Dick to drag out the tour as long as possible. 

Was it mean of him to throw his brother to the wolves while he go and make out with his boyfriend?

Yes.

But Tim never had any guilt throwing his brothers under a bus and wasn’t starting now. He dragged Adrien into his office which he had cleaned every surface beforehand in anticipation of this and dear god, Heaven has never tasted so sweet.

—---

Chat Noir paced back and forth nervously on the rooftop. It was easy to slip out when Adrien and Nino shared a room while Alya and Alix were the same and they had stuff pillows under the blankets in case one of the chaperones does a bed check. They managed to get up to the roof, unseen with the help of the Fox miraculous.

There was a slightly muted thud which he heard thanks to his enhanced hearing and alerted Chat Noir to the arrival of the Bats.

“Ti- I mean Red Robin.” Chat Noir ran and hugged his boyfriend.

Until he heard throat-clearing and realised it came from the Batman.

Chat Noir hoped that his embarrassment wasn’t visible as he slightly moved away from Red Robin.

“Ummm, bonjour, Monsieur Batman, sir. I- um We- errr,” Adrien stuttered under the intense gaze from Batman, “So anyways, LB called me and they were a bit late because Shadowmoth had the worst timing. Am I right?” He gave a nervous chuckle, “It’s one of the recurring akuma which are easier to deal with unless Shadowmoth gave them a power up. Which might take a bit longer. But they will definitely be here. Definitely. So um-” Adrien babbled, nervous because while he had experiences with Jack Drake and the Brucie Wayne persona, Batman was on a different level than the other two and he was losing his cool.

“Relax, Batman’s not going to hurt you.” Red Robin rubbed his shoulders.

Just then, like the miracle she is, a blue portal opened to allow three people Chat Noir was very happy to see pass through.

“LB! I am so glad you showed up.” Chat Noir hugged his best friend.

A cough came from where the two other heroes were standing from the sides.

“Sorry, I am glad to see you too. Viperion and Ryuko.”

“Yeah, sorry for being late,” Ladybug said in a professional tone, bringing her hand out towards Batman for a handshake, “Shadowmoth has been very active these days. Anyways, thank you for meeting us.”

Batman accepted it, “The Justice League has been wanting to make contact with you for a while now. Sorry that we haven’t been unable to find out about the situation in Paris until this year. We have monitored you from afar and I see that you have done a great job keeping the akumas under control by yourselves. What can we help you with?”

“Yes. First-” Ladybug stopped mid-sentence as she stared at Robin.

“Ladybug?” Batman asked, confused.

The heroine ignored him and glared at Robin who also looked confused.

“You!” Ladybug pointed at him menacingly, “Al Ghul, you fucking bitch. Why are you still alive?!”

Robin lets out a curse in recognition to which Batman reprimanded with a “Language”. “The same goes for you, Cheng. I thought you blew yourself in Taiwan,” Robin hissed.

“Whatever. You owe me for saving your life.” Ladybug retorted.

Chat Noir made a time-out gesture, “Hold on, you two know each other? And what is this about blowing yourself up, LB?”

Ladybug sighed, “I will give you the long story later but Al Ghul and I do know each other. That’s because we were once engaged.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone looked back and forth between the bird and the ladybug.

“Those weren’t rumours?” Red Hood said, voice filled with disbelief.

“You knew Baby Bat was married?” Nightwing turned his head towards Red Hood.

“I am not married, you idiots. Only engaged. Grandfather wanted to unite the power of the Chengs with ours so he proposed an engagement between the two of us.” Robin explained.

“The old man got too greedy. The engagement got cancelled and our clans had been feuding until the League’s fall.” Ladybug continued.

“Is this a Romeo and Juliet kinda thing?” Rena Rouge asked.

“Fuck no. I think we are cousins, something-times-removed through our grandmother or something.” Ladybug looked disgusted at the idea and Robin had a similar look of disgust on his face.

“And I am not marrying a child,” She added.

Robin scowled, “Just because you are three years older than me, does not mean you can call me a child. But I will express a similar sentiment about not marrying you.”

“That’s effed up. I thought Ra’s can’t get more crazy.” Red Robin shuttered at the thought.

“Hello,” Bunnyx cut in, “I thought we are discussing the Shadowmoth thing and not about what family problems LB and Robin has with the crazy grandpa.”

“Right,” Ladybug cleared her throat and went into details about Paris and what help they required.

—--

“Monsieur Batman, there is one last thing I need to talk to you about,” Ladybug said, her eyes telling him that it was important. The others had left for patrol, joined by a few of the Miraculous Court so the Bats can assess the Court’s ability. The only ones left on the rooftop were Batman, Ladybug, Chat Noir and Red Robin.

“Robin, you can come out,” Ladybug called out.

“Tch.” Robin appeared from where he was hiding after he had done his rounds, mad that he had been discovered.

“Chat, how about you go with Red Robin? It’s not about Shadowmoth.”

“You okay, LB?” Chat Noir gave her a look of concern.

“I am fine, Chat. Just family secrets.” She gave him a small smile as an apology.

“It’s fine. I get it.” Chat Noir reassured her and turned to Red Robin, “So about this place you said you would show me.”

“Oh you are going to love this.” Red Robin grabbed his boyfriend tightly and grappled away.

Once they were out of sight, Ladybug turned back towards the father and son pair, “Okay, I lied. It was about Shadowmoth’s potential identity. I just didn’t want Chat to know about this.”

“And you used me as an excuse to get rid of them?” Robin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“A very convenient one,” Ladybug replied, causing another round of bickering.

“Back to what you were talking about. This information is somehow related to Chat Noir.” Batman cuts in to which Ladybug nodded.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that it was family secrets. This will break Chaton if he knew,” Ladybug nervously said, “Since I started home-schooling and getting the support of my parents, I have been using my free time and family’s resources to investigate who Shadowmoth might be. We already know that he is in regular contact with Lila Rossi and Felix Fathom, Adrien’s cousin, is aware of who he is. There’s not much evidence but the only one with the connection with the two is…” She trailed off.

“You already have a suspect.”

“Gabriel Agreste might be Shadowmoth.” Ladybug revealed before going into more details about her theory.

Somewhere a little far from the rooftop, sitting together on a perch, hidden by the shadows, Chat Noir covered his mouth with his hands as tears flowed down his masked cheeks while Red Robin hugged him tightly to offer comfort.

—--

The saying ‘Curiosity killed the Cat’ could be said of Adrien.

There were many things he wanted to know. Everyone in his life had their own secrets and Adrien had come to learn that secrets were secrets for a reason.

Pushing Ladybug’s boundaries to reveal hers and her unwillingness to tell him anything had cost them their easy-going partnership and broken to the point of Shadowmoth nearly winning. It was then that they had their identity revealed to each other. Their friendship as Marinette and Adrien also took a hit.

Luckily, thanks to the two kwamis’ stubbornness, they were able to build their relationship to the way it was before although there was a bit of tension here and there.

Marinette learned to be more open with Adrien and other people instead of keeping it all to herself and Adrien learned to not be so pushy about revealing them and wait for them to be told when the time comes.

That said, Marinette’s family history is one of the things that everyone in the Court wanted to know about. They knew there was something off and there were times when something didn’t fit quite right with the image of a very friendly family that runs a bakery business. The Dupain-Chengs told all of them to keep it to themselves for their own safety.

However, the interaction between Ladybug and Robin had aroused his curiosity.

“Tim,” Adrien asked as they admired the Gotham skyline, “can you find out what they are talking about?”

“They still have their comms in so I can. I was going to do it anyway because I want to know what their deal is.”

After a few minutes, Ladybug’s voice can be heard through Red Robin’s ear piece which the two boys huddled around.

“...didn’t want Chat to know about this.”

“And you used me as an excuse to get rid of them?”

“A very convenient one.”

“What did LB want me to not know about?” Chat Noir thought out loud as the pair bickered.

“Back to what you were talking about. This information is somehow related to Chat Noir.”

Batman’s gruff voice cuts in.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that it was family secrets. This would break Chaton if he knew. Since I started home-schooling and getting the support of my parents, I have been using my free time and family’s resources to investigate who Shadowmoth might be. We already know that he is in regular contact with Lila Rossi and Felix Fathom, Adrien’s cousin, is somehow aware of who he is. There’s not much evidence but the only one with the connection between the two…”

Tim connected the dots about what the topic was about. He looked over at his boyfriend to find his cat green eyes watery.

“You already have a suspect.”

“Gabriel Agreste might be Shadowmoth.”

Adrien took in a sharp breath and choked. Tears started to fall. Tim caught him before he accidentally pushed himself off the ledge and held Adrien tight. Tim muted the comms and whispered a mantra of ‘It’s going to okay’ as he rubbed soothing circles into Adrien’s back. (A part of him idly wondered why the ones he dated have supervillain daddy issues.)

------

The next day, Adrien met up with Tim at the Gotham Museum of Antiquities. He had told Mme. Bustier and Gorilla that he was expecting to meet with a friend who lives in the city. It took a lot of work and Nino and Alya’s help to convince Lila and the class to leave him alone. Tim showed up in the middle of it and Adrien didn’t like the way Lila’s eyes lit up when Tim introduced himself.

“Adrien~ you didn’t tell me that your friend was a Wayne,” Lila gripped Adrien’s arm and leaned on it, “Why didn’t you want us to meet him?”

Adrien pushed her away and got closer to Tim instead. He positioned them in a way that used Tim as a human shield against Lila.

Tim  grabbed Adrien’s hand behind his back, hidden from the eyes of the class, and squeezed it in reassurance. He gave a glare to Lila who tried to make a grab for his boyfriend.

She took a step back at the sudden show of hostility.

The glare was replaced so quickly, that Lila wondered if she had imagined it, by the polite mask reserved for formal events and interviews.

“That’s on me. I told Adrien not to tell anyone about it. Didn’t want to attract unwanted attention and all that. The price of fame is big as I hope you will understand, Miss.”

“Oh, I am Lila. Lila Rossi. You might have heard of me.”

Tim lets his grin turn sharper, “Oh, I didn’t ask but I am very aware of who you are, Miss Rossi.”

Lila opened her mouth to say something, only to be ignored as Tim turned towards the rest of the class with a charming smile, “And if you guys don’t mind, I would like to join you on the tour.”

As predicted, Lila latched onto Tim while Adrien stuck to Tim’s other side.

Tim dropped his smile and gave her a cold look that can freeze the Sahara, “Miss Rossi, would you mind letting go of me?”

“You don’t mind Adrien touching you.”

“I have known Adrien since I was a kid. You however are a stranger and I don’t like strangers touching me.”

“But you are Adrien’s friend and his friends are also my friends.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t see the same and I feel rather uncomfortable with your advances. My boyfriend might not appreciate you hanging on to me.”

Lila made some excuses about Italians being affectionate and needing support in case she fainted due to her poor health. (No way was Lila letting a golden ticket go that easily. Famous people have paparazzi following them and a break-up might be bound to happen if there are pictures of Wayne with a girl in his arms floating around.)

The class backed her up but Tim wasn’t going to deal with this bullshit. 

“Well, if you are that concerned for your classmate, I have no choice but to help her out.” Tim sighed in defeat. Lila tried not to smile too widely and show her glee at the victory but the smirk on his face gave the girl an uneasy feeling.

The next minute, Lila found herself in a wheelchair pushed around by Gorilla while Adrien and Tim were nowhere to be seen and supposedly exploring the VIP section together which Tim had reserved earlier only just for the two of them.

Tim had gone up to the Receptionist desk and returned with a wheelchair that had an annoying squeaky wheel, muttering about getting better disability aids at the Museum. He managed to reason with the whole class that this was a better way in case Lila passed out and they would just have to bring her back with the wheelchair instead of dragging her unconscious body around.

Lila had tried to stop the boys from separating from the group but Adrien already had permission from his father to go hang out with Tim since Gabriel was not going to miss the chance to be on good terms with a Wayne. There was nothing she could do but sulk as she listened to the boring tour and cursed Timothy Drake-Wayne.

Meanwhile, Tim and Adrien were having a nice time, looking at the exhibition of the history of the entertainment film industry. Tim had used his connections as a Wayne to arrange the exhibition for their date.

After looking around for a fair while, Tim felt that it was safe to approach about what happened last night.

“So did you and Marinette talk it out?” Tim asked as he caressed Adrien’s face which had concealer on to hide his eyebags from crying and little sleep.

When Chat Noir and Red Robin returned, Ladybug immediately knew that they knew and took Adrien away for a private talk.

“I sort of get why she didn’t tell me. Like she said, there was little concrete evidence and it was just a theory. One of the many possibilities but just a little more plausible than the others,” Adrien replied, closing his eyes and resting his head on Tim’s shoulder while Tim wrapped his arm around Adrien to pull him closer. Plagg flew up into Adrien’s hair and purred.

“There is something else that is bugging you, isn’t there?”

“It just- It feels like she doesn’t trust me. Marinette had told me that she does but I can’t help and feel that way.”

“Why?”

“There was time during our first years as heroes and Ladybug thought that my father could be Shadowmoth because we found out that he had the Grimoire in his possession. Ladybug wanted to investigate it and I threw a fit because I didn’t want to believe my father could be the ‘bad guy’. Then, he got akumatized and we dropped the subject.”

“So because of what happened back then, you think Marinette doesn’t trust you.”

“From her point of view, I stopped her from pursuing one of the big leads we had since we began and I am the son of our prime suspect. It’s understandable if she wasn’t able to trust me completely.”

Plagg stopped his purring and somehow gave Tim a look that said, ‘don’t fuck this up’.

“I don’t think she thinks that way.” Tim soothed Adrien, “The way I see it, she kept it from you because she knew you would be hurt if you knew that Shadowmoth might possibly be your father and she was trying to have it confirmed to see if it was true or not by collecting more solid evidence. I would have done the same in her shoes.”

“You think so?”

“We love you, Adrien. Although her love is different from mine,” Tim kissed Adrien and touched their foreheads together, “we just don’t want to see you hurt. I already dated people with supervillain for fathers so this won’t change a thing. I will still love you because you are still Adrien, the one for whom I would give my everything to see you smile.”

“Tim, I love you too.” Adrien whispered as he returned the kiss.

“That’s my cue to leave. It’s getting to lovey-dovey here for my taste,” Plagg grumbled. The kwami was disgruntled to be ignored by the two boys and then took off through halls devoid of people for something to entertain himself with instead.

As time went out, the kisses became longer and heavier.

Adrien thanked Tim’s genius idea to reserve the exhibition just for the two of them. Between the vigilante work, akumas and the thousand miles between Gotham and Paris, they never got to do makeout sessions like this often and they were going to make every moment of it count.

—----

When Tim and Adrien showed up from their own private tour, Adrien looked a little flushed. Alya and Alix wolf-whistled while Nino put his fist out which Tim fist-bumped.

After a few quick whispers, Tim broke off and walked towards Mme. Bustier with whom he exchanged a few words.

“Attention, class,” Mme. Bustier called, “Tim has some exciting news for us.”

“Thank you, Madam. So this is a last minute change to your plans and we weren’t able to confirm it yesterday during your tour of WE but you are all invited to our annual Thomas and Martha Wayne Charity gala this Friday, which is two days from now,” Tim announced, causing the class to burst into excited chatter.

“Since I know that you might not have brought along formal wear, we have arranged a shopping trip tomorrow and contacted your parents or guardians to send you money to buy something to wear. We will also arrange for you to rent something if you want. That is all.”

Alix leaned towards Adrien and whispered, “Dude, your boyfriend is awesome.”

“I know, right?” Adrien agreed.

“Thank kwamis that Fluff made me ask Marinette to make a formal suit for me a month ago.”

“I think my father hoped that something like this might happen and that’s why he made Nathalie pack a tuxedo. Just in case.”

“Do you know why he invited the entire class and not just you?”

Adrien put his index finger on his lips, “You will find out in due time. Tim told me to keep it a secret. But here’s a hint. It starts with a L and ends with an A and rhymes with Liar.”

Alix mock-punched his shoulder, “You are making all the single people jealous.”

Adrien just laughed.

—----

On the day of the gala, Adrien found a suit delivered to his hotel room with a note.

It was from Marinette saying, ‘Tim ordered me to make this in a week. So you better wear it instead of what basic white monochrome piece your father made.’

Nino laughed when he read the note as Adrien opened the package to reveal a red tuxedo jacket with a gold floral pattern. Its collar and inner lining were black. There was a similar vest, a white shirt, a black bowtie and black suit pants. As he examined the suit, he saw robins and cats hidden among the floral designs.

[Dear god, help me how to describe clothes better.]

Adrien blushed when he saw the words ‘Property of Tim Drake-Wayne’ and a downward arrow stitched near the bottom of the jacket’s inner lining. Plagg and Nino both cackled at Adrien who buried his face into the jacket.

“Oh, camembert, Pigtails is evil. This is perfection. Why did Tikki get her and not me?”

“Quiet, Plagg, before someone hears you and comes in.” Adrien admonished him.

Plagg quieted down but snickers still escaped him.

“You have to admit that it’s funny.”

Adrien’s phone dinged and he checked to see it was a text from Marinette, ‘I better see you wearing it because I pulled three all nighters to finish it on time.’

“She must have worked a lot for her to be this pushy about it,” Adrien observed.

After changing their clothes, the boys headed down to the lobby after meeting up with Alya and Alix on the way. (Marinette had also sent the others MDC originals.) Only a few of their classmates were done but they all complimented Adrien on his suit.

The only chaperone following with them to the gala was Gorilla and the rest, including Mme. Bustier, had opted out for a spa day since the gala has good security and nothing to be worried about.

Soon, two limousines arrived and Tim came out of one.

The black-haired boy was wearing a suit, similar to the one Adrien was wearing except his colour scheme was black and the same green shade as Chat Noir’s eyes, instead of Adrien’s red, gold and black. However, his bowtie was a golden-yellow like Chat Noir’s bell. Adrien laughed as he realised that they were wearing each other’s colours.

“Tim!” Adrien happily greeted and hugged his boyfriend.

“Hey, Adrien. Your ride is here.” Tim resisted the urge to kiss Adrien’s hand. He couldn’t yet because of the Plan.

“Wait, we get to ride in a limo?” Kim asked excitedly.

“Courtesy of Wayne Enterprises.” Tim explained and then asked, “Where are the rest of you?”

On cue, the elevator door opened to let Lila and the rest of their noisy classmates out. Their chattering stopped upon seeing what Adrien was wearing.

“Adrien?” Lila sounded angry for some reason.

“Didn’t you say that Gabriel made matching outfits for the two of you to wear to the gala?” Rose piped up, confused.

Ah. So that’s explained a lot. The dress design itself was beautiful, made of purple silk and white laces and elaborate patterns. Adrien could say it was one of his father’s finer pieces. However, it still would have looked better on a mannequin than it would on Lila and just screamed expensive and pretentious. Adrien remembered the suit his father wanted him to wear and realised that it indeed would have matched the dress Lila was currently wearing.

Adrien straightened his suit and with the most innocent and clueless face he could muster, told them, “I was told to wear this one.” 

“Don’t you have another one? A spare one? One that is white?” Lila insisted..

Adrien tapped his chin for a moment as if in thought before replying with a, “Nope.”

Since he had enough fun out of Lila’s reaction, Tim clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and announced, “Since everyone is present, it’s time for us to go.”

Lila’s complaints were unheard over the cheers of excitement as everyone walked towards the limos.

It went according to Tim’s plan when Lila threw another tantrum about not being in the same car as Adrien and stating there wasn’t enough room on the larger and more spacious limo the class was given while Adrien, Tim, Nino, Alya and Alix went on the other. Tim calmly explained that Adrien had only been allowed to name three people to go in the same car as him and Lila wasn’t on the list. Lila cried about her ‘Adri-boo’ not choosing her as she held Adrien in a desperate grip. However, Adrien had the courage to do whatever he wanted and face no immediate consequences since his father was thousands miles away in another country.

He pushed her off, “Lila, I never said this before but you make me uncomfortable. You may say that it’s because Italians are affectionate people or whatever but it doesn’t change the fact that I hate the feeling of you touching me everywhere. I also don’t like that you go around telling people that we are dating when we are not and you ignore me when I say not to do that. I also have someone else I like.”

“It’s Marinette, isn’t it?” Lila accused him.

Adrien rolled his eyes.

“Marinette isn’t even here. And no, it’s not her. He is someone very special to me.”

The class gasped in surprise at the reveal.

Adrien continued, “He listens to what I want and does everything to make me happy. He doesn’t care about my looks, or money, or fame. He only sees me as Adrien. Not Adrien Agreste the model. And I am very happy that he likes me back. So fuck off, Lila.”

Adrien hurried and got into the car while Lila stood there in shock. Alix, Alya and Nino quickly followed. (trying to hold in their giggles.) Gorilla got into the front passenger seat.

“We will see you at the gala,” Tim cheerfully waved at the class before closing the door and the limo drove off.

-------

Camera lights flashed as they exited the limo and reporters tried to grab their attention. While the Miraculous Team was used to it as heroes, it was different from the attention they were being currently given.

The class later arrived and were mostly flustered by the reception. Lila tried to ignore what had happened at the hotel and just enjoyed the red carpet moment that she believed was for her. However, there was less enthusiasm from the sidelines than she was pleased with. But you have to take what you can get.

Suddenly, the reporters stopped their barrage of light when they were given a piece of news in their earpieces and they rushed to the other end of the carpet near the entrance where Adrien and Tim were posing side by side, with arms wrapped around each other.

Lila’s heart stopped when she realised what the reporters were shouting at the couple,

“Tim and Adrien, is it true? Are you two dating? How long have you been together? Why come out now?”

Tim raised his hand for silence and the reporters quieted down like obedient dogs eager for treats, “You must be talking about that post Adrien made earlier this evening so to answer your questions,” He and Adrien leaned towards each other for a passionate kiss which had Lila screaming internally in rage and the crowd roaring in delight.

“I hope that will suffice.” Adrien threw out before Tim dragged him inside. Nino, Alya and Alix rushed after them to not be caught by the media burning with questions.

Around Lila, the class was in a similar state and interrogating her if she had known or giving her empty words of comfort.

Lila wanted to scream but she didn’t want to look like a mad woman in front of the cameras and tried to hurriedly get the class inside. “We should get inside. Then, we can ask Adrien what this is all about. It was so mean of him to pull a prank like this without telling us.”

The crowd started up again when Jagged Stone exited from the next limo in all his rock and roll glory. He was accompanied by his son, up and coming musician and heartthrob for teenage fans everywhere, Luka and his girlfriend, one of the youngest Olympic gold medalist fencers, Kagami. They were followed by MDC, Jagged’s favourite and mysterious designer, a young prodigy in a fashion world and whom many notorious and tough fashion critics only have praises and compliments for. Many have tried to speculate who she might be but to no avail.

The reporters erupted a flood of flashing lights at the rockstar’s group, Jagged Stone, drawing most of their attention. Lila seethed that she was outshone and the attention she ‘rightfully’ deserved was stolen by someone else. However, since there were cameras everywhere, she couldn’t act out but just continued to smile and wave despite no one focusing on her.

“It’s Jagged Stone!” Ivan pointed out. Most of the class turned around to look at the rockstar behind them who had a look of impatience.

“Can you kids move? You are holding up the line.” Jagged said impatiently.

“Hey, dad. Luka. Kagami. M.” Juleka waved awkwardly from where she was standing next to Rose and Jagged’s face morphed into a smile.

“Jules, my daughter. Why didn’t you tell me you were in Gotham? I would have come to see you if I knew. Anyways, I am glad to see you….” Jagged chattered on as he hugged Juleka who fist-bumped with Luka as a greeting while in her father’s embrace. The rockstar kept on talking about meeting Brucie again.

“Hello, M. Stone.” Rose greeted.

“Rosie, hope you have taken good care of my daughter.”

“Of course. And these are our classmates.”

Luka cleared his throat to get their attention and said, “ Dad, how about we move along so the people behind us can get in?”

The former Kitty Section members felt a little awkward, considering they broke up because Luka didn’t like how the class treated Marinette and falling so easily to Lila’s lies.

“Sure. Let’s go, kiddos.” Jagged walked past the class with one arm around Juleka’s shoulders and the other around Luka’s. Rose and Kagami followed closely behind. MDC, who wore a mask to conceal her identity, didn’t spare a glance to the class as she sashayed past in her gorgeous blood red evening gown.

Lila felt indignant about being ignored and tried not to show it as she followed the other group, cheeks burning from humiliation. Luckily for her, the class was in awe of meeting one of their favourite celebrities to question why Lila wasn’t mentioned at all during the conversation.

And MDC, there was something about the way the designer stare at her throughout the conversation between Jagged and the class that made Lila feel uneasy.

—------

The class stepped into the large ballroom, looking like they had stepped into a movie. Elegant crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, a pyramid made of champagne flute glasses, a buffet table laid out with mouth-watering appetisers to snack on, a fountain with a statue of a nearly naked woman pouring out water from her golden pitcher, classical music softly played by musicians from a balcony while rich and fancy danced, chatted and mingled among themselves.

Lila’s mouth was wide open in shock. The events she had been attending as Adrien’s plus one, thanks to Gabriel, weren’t as lavish as the one before her. While Timothy might be out, Bruce Wayne had adopted several over the years and she just needed to catch the attention of one of them. Then, she can go to galas like these all the time. With her becoming a legal adult that year, she won’t have to go through the tedious process of convincing her mother to move here. She could just apply at one of the local colleges.

Lila had unconsciously rubbed her hands together like a typical scheming villain which Sabrina noticed.

“Lila, are you cold?” Sabrina asked worriedly.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were cold. You seemed to be rubbing your hands together for warmth.”

“Don’t worry. It's just a little chilly. I am fine.”

“Really?”

“Well, the truth to be told, I still can’t believe what Adrien did earlier. What was he thinking?”

“About him being boyfriends with Tim?”

“Yes! He pushed me away and told me that he didn’t like me. Now he is kissing a boy just to prove a point.” Lila covered her eyes as if to hide her tears, “He didn’t have to go that far to hurt me.”

Sabrina pursed her lips and said nothing as she rubbed Lila’s back to comfort her. She exchanged doubtful glances with Mylene.

Adrien’s declaration of not liking Lila had given the class the realisation that they had never considered his feelings when plotting to bring the two of them together. Right now, seeing Adrien contentedly swaying to the music with Tim made them feel guilty about how they treated him and only encouraged Lila to get closer to him.

—---

While the class might be gullible, they weren’t entirely stupid. The Wayne Gala was attended by many famous faces, many of whom the class admired.

After the initial starstruck awe of the situation faded away, it didn’t take long for the class to realise that Lila was ignored the people she claimed to know and have ‘helped’. Ignored wasn’t quite the right word. There was no hint of recognition when they look at Lila. Only smiling and nodding before walking away.

Then, Lila would tell them that the person was busy these days or they had something on their mind or she would backtrack and say that they weren’t as close as she had said. Lila really loved making excuses. Sometimes, the class had to point out who certain people are when Lila once claimed to have known them to be like ‘family’.

There was a sense of dread among the Akuma Class as the night went on. There was voice in the back of their heads that sounded a lot like Marinette whispering, “She lied. She lied to you. She can’t do what she said she can. She lied. She lied and you believed her.”

The doubts and suspicions built up. The class didn’t want to believe Lila would lie to them. If so, was she ever really the nice sweet girl they thought she was? While Lila went around trying to find a Wayne child to suck up to, the class exchanged quiet words about their suspicions.

“Guys, I don’t think Lila is who she says she is.” Sabrina blurted out.

“Oh thank human’s common sense, I thought I was the only one,” Max exclaimed.

He brought out his phone, “I had Markov run searches for if Lila had done anything she had said to have done in the past year based on Markov’s recordings of her claims. There’s nothing.”

“What? What do you mean, Max?”

“There should be at least some traces of Lila on the internet, like paparazzi pictures, a post mentioning or hinting at her involvement, some credit given to prevent copyright lawsuits or news articles on the events Lila said to have attended. There’s nothing. Not a single thing. I even told him to run facial scans on pictures of parties that many celebrities attended. Other than the ones that Gabriel was invited to, there is not even an accidental shot. Either Lila loves her anonymity so much that she will edit herself out of pictures which is unlikely given how much she loves being in the spotlight or she lied to us.”

“Marinette!” Mylene cried out in realisation, “She was telling us the whole time.”

“We should have listened when she told that Lila was lying to us,” Kim added.

“Oh my god, what have we done?! We made her drop out.”

Someone slow clapped, drawing their attention.

“I suppose I didn’t give you enough credit. You aren’t complete morons if you still have enough brain cells to work out that you were being played like puppets on a string.” Tim Drake stood before them, smirking like some evil mastermind about to reveal his schemes.

The class spotted Adrien hanging out with Luka, Kagami, a blonde girl in a stunning purple gown and an Asian girl in a gorgeous midnight blue dress.

“Tim. What are you doing here?”

Tim made a displeased expression and explained, “I was going to introduce you to some of your idols that I invited for this purpose and subtly shift the topic towards Rossi. One by one. So all of you will figure out that Lila Rossi is nothing but a lying snake. No offence to the snakes.”

“How do we know that you didn’t set the whole thing up?”

Tim rolled his eyes, “Oh please, some of these people have enough wealth of their own that I can’t even bribe them. It would just be a waste of everyone’s time. The most I did was just sent some invites and made sure that they would come. Can you believe how hard to was to get a hold of Tony Stark? And he didn’t even show up. I bet if any of you go ask any one of them if they knew Lila Rossi, they will say no. So either a whole lot of people are lying or your ‘friend’ lied to you. I don’t know why. For the popularity.  Fame. Or just some lap dogs she can use to get through school. I don’t know but I know that everything that came out of her mouth is not true.”

“Why are you doing all of this?” Ivan asked.

Tim held up two fingers, “Two reasons. Reason one is of course Adrien. He’s my boyfriend and I don’t want her around him. Reason two is also why I don’t want her around him. But first.”

Red heels clicked across the marble floor as they approached the group.

“Let me introduce you to the lovely Mademoiselle MDC,” Tim gestured behind him towards the masked woman who they saw with Jagged Stone earlier.

She removed her mask, revealing a familiar face that made the class gasp her name.

“Marinette.”

“Hello. It was nice seeing you again,” Marinette said in a way that reminded them of the evil smart assistant to Tim’s evil mastermind.

“We are so sorry,” Mylene apologised, “We drove you away because we didn’t want to believe you about Lila.”

Marinette gave her a small smile that didn’t look forgiving, “Save your apologies until this whole fiasco is over.”

She took out her phone and all of their phone dinged as they all received the link she texted.

“What’s this?” Kim asked as they all opened it. Sabrina dropped her phone in shock at the news articles about Lila’s past victims. Chills went down their spines as they kept scrolling, unable to look away in horror because this was someone they went to school with every day and smiled at them so innocently. They were all playthings to her.

“Lila wouldn’t. She wouldn’t do something like this.”

Marinette’s face remain neutral as she replied, “But she did. She just hadn’t had the chance to go that far yet. I got out before I became one of them.” Marinette pointed to the phones to show what she meant.

Suddenly, Tim and Marinette looked in the same direction and the class followed their gazes to Lila was making her way through a crowd towards them. Marinette put her mask back on and the two blended into the surroundings like they were never there.

Lila grinned, happy that Duke Thomas-Wayne, newest addition to the family, gave her his fake number. He was still a little green and awkward but she can work with it.

Now, today she just got ‘dumped’ by Adrien and got the class’s sympathy. She could play into that and milk it for all it’s worth for the last few months until graduation. Then, she could make an effort of moving on from Adrien and slowly introduce Duke as her new love interest.

The only problem might be Gabriel. He might terminate her modelling contract since she let something like Adrien’s boyfriend slip through. Once she managed to get Duke to be her boyfriend that problem might be easily solved. Bruce Wayne was said to love his kids, going to as far as to built a zoo for one of them as a birthday present. So if one of his kid asked for his girlfriend to get a modelling gig..

Lila sipped the champagne she managed to snatch from a passing waiter and mentally patted herself on her back. She drained the flute and made her way towards the class, a tad wobbly from the alcohol she had. She made sure her face was one of heartbreak and say she drunk out of despair.

However, the atmosphere around her minions were so chilly, that Lila almost immediately sobered up.

“Guys, there you are…” her voice trailed off upon seeing their glares. “What’s going on?” She tried going for meek and confused. The weak ones like Mylene wavered but Kim pointed at her with anger, “We know, Lila. Drop the act.”

“Know? Know what?” Lila tried to think, assessing the risk of keeping the act up or moving to another school and starting all over again.

“Lila, stop. We know that you lied.”

Lila stopped like they asked and grinned so smugly that the class felt like there was someone else instead of Lila in front of them.

Lila opened her mouth and hell broke loose.

------

A year later, Adrien laid in Tim’s arms and sighed in contentment. Finally peaceful days were upon them. With Batman’s vast resources, they were able to confirm Shadowmoth’s identity as Adrien’s father. The final fight was not only physically exhausting but emotionally draining considering who he had to fight. Both Marinette and Tim offered the option for Adrien to sit out since it might be painful for him while Tim fights as Chat Noir on his behalf. To which, Adrien declined.

In the end, he got another closure of what had happened to his mother and buried her. The Waynes helped with the media fallout of him being Shadowmoth’s son. Adrien was seen as Shadowmoth’s naive and sheltered son who had no idea what his father id although there were still some wary eyes when he goes out in public. He had donated most of the wealth Gabriel spent decades accumulating to akuma relief and therapy for the trauma his father caused the whole city. He only kept the amount that was left by his mother for college and savings to use until he found a source of income from a job he likes doing. 

The Miraculous Team announced their retirement but agreed to come back if the Justice League calls on them.

Marinette had gone to the Order’s Temple to complete her guardianship training and kept them updated with a reassuring text once a month. Luka and Kagami were engaged while Alya and Nino were each focusing on their careers and college before deciding to get married or not. Alix was the only one of them still using her Miraculous to do Bunnyx stuff. Chloe and Zoe were kicking ass and taking name as the Bourgeois sisters. A pair more terrifying than their mother.

The Akuma class or the part of the class that listened to Lila were steadily getting their lives back on track after the number the she-devil had inflicted on them.

As for the Italian herself. She was nothing but a distant nightmare.

The night of the gala of where she was exposed, it was attacked by Two-Face and Lila got shot while trying to escape. Luckily for her, she was only shot in the leg and just  needed a surgery and weeks of physical therapy. Lila was very upset about her perfect body being marred and the bloodstain on the expensive dress. The class gave her the cold shoulder so she had no one to help her with her very real disability as she recovered.

Lila’s mother went to the school to complain about how her daughter got shot when she was reassured that Lila would be safe and all of Lila’s lies came to light. Turns out Signora Rossi was aware of her lying habits but not that she had Lila was capable of forging her parent’s signature on documents and doctor’s notes, and the many months she skipped schools. That day, Signora Rossi came home to a anonymous thick manila envelope that contained evidence of Lila bullying and harassing people from the her past school and until now. The akuma fight was a tough battle but the Miraculous Team managed to defeat her within an hour.

By the end of next week, Lila was gone and Tim investigated into the matter to see she had been sent to some disciplinary school.

 Life was peaceful..

Finally, about twenty minutes later, a young man in a leather jacket with multiple face piercings shifted a piece of rubble that was blocking them in. Adrien would have had to be blind to miss the obvious way the guy gave Marinette a thorough once over and he just knew he was going to be teasing her about it when this was over. But until then, he was going to run interference on the guy that was about to hit on his best friend. 

“Thanks so much,” Adrien said with a wide smile, throwing his arm over Marinette’s shoulders and staring the man down. He could tell that the hero got the wrong idea about their relationship, exactly as intended from the way he stepped back and indicated his head for them both to follow. 

“Glad to be of service, I’m Superboy,” he replied, hovering off the floor just a little as he walked them to a completely safe area. “Sorry you almost got squished, hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!” 

He was gone before either of them could say anything else, and Adrien immediately turned to start teasing Marinette for catching the eye of a local hero. Superboy wasn’t a hero he’d heard of before, but he sure wasn’t going to let that stop him from ribbing his best friend for being a hero magnet. The moment she looked up at him he could tell that she knew what he was thinking because she groaned and tried to shove his arm away, even as he tightened his grip and laughed. 

“Can’t even take a holiday without some poor sap falling in love with you,” he said, shaking his head. “How many is that now? Basically everyone on our team, Lila…who am I forgetting?” 

“Nobody! Because you’re being ridiculous and there is no way everyone you claim has had a crush on me has,” she argued, finally succeeding in shoving him away before grabbing his arm and pulling him down the street. “Come on, we need to find Tim and see if he’s free to grab lunch at last, or if we need to make our own plans again.” 

“Chloé! I forgot Chloé,” he said, snapping his fingers and laughing out loud as she scowled at him. “Come on, Bugaboo, you know I’m right! You just don’t want to admit that so many people get the hots for you.” 

“Because they don- you know what? I’m not getting into this argument with you again. Let’s just find Tim and see if he and his friend are available,” she muttered grouchily, pulling out her phone and staring intently at the little blinking dot that showed where she would find Tim - or at least Tim’s phone, which he would never be without. “Okay, it says he’s…two streets that way, so let’s get a move on. I don’t know why he felt the need to run off.” 

“It’s a mystery,” Adrien agreed, although he had a sneaking suspicion that he did know. The chances of Marinette miraculously befriending a random guy in Gotham, who had similar eye bags to her and never seemed to get enough sleep even though he ditched out of events early, and him not being a hero was slim. Plus, he’d run off as soon as it became clear that the local heroes could use a hand. Hell, if Adrien didn’t have to worry about Chat Noir showing up in the USA then he probably would have jumped at the chance to help too. 

Rounding the corner that Marinette said Tim was around, Adrien felt the idea that he was a hero solidify in his mind. There was a guilty, panicked look on his face and he was standing in front of a motorbike that he hadn’t said he owned with a large back compartment. Somewhere to store a suit? But Marinette just bounded over to him, apparently oblivious to the fact that her new bestie was likely a spandex warrior too. 

“Sorry I ran out on you like that,” Tim said as they got within touching distance. And lord, did Adrien want to touch. The moment Marinette had befriended the young man, Adrien had been struck by his good looks and deadpan humour, and was trying very hard not to get too attached. None of his other relationships had gone smoothly, and he was actually trying to focus on himself rather than getting stuck in another relationship that didn’t go anywhere. “But Conner says he’s free to get lunch with us, if you’re still up for it?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Marinette grinned, looping her arm into his and turning to Adrien and raising an eyebrow. There was a silent question, that Adrien was one hundred percent ignoring, about whether he was also going to hook arms with Tim, because he wasn’t looking for anything. No matter that Tim was cute, sweet, and smart, it wasn’t the right time and he hadn’t even shown one iota of interest yet. “Did you say your friend is single?” 

“Ye~s,” Tim said slowly, shooting Adrien a bemused look before leading them back out of the alley. “Come on, Conner’s just over-” 

“Hey, isn’t that Superboy?” Marinette said, head tilting in confusion. Adrien desperately tried to fight back the snort that wanted to burst out of him, shoulders shaking slightly as he turned away. Sure, Superboy could probably hear his giggles, but there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. “You know Superboy? Jeez, Tim, could’ve warned us.” 

“You know who Superboy is?” Tim asked, glancing between them all. “How?” 

“He freed us from where you left us,” Marinette said drily, her eyes not leaving the man in front of them who looked vaguely uncomfortable at being recognised by Tim’s friends. Probably because he didn’t want to accidentally give away Tim’s identity, but there was no way for Adrien to tell Superboy, or Conner, that he already knew without tipping Marinette off. Honestly, it was a miracle she hadn’t worked it out yet, though that might have more to do with the fact that she tried not to work that sort of thing out. She pitched her voice ever so slightly louder as she addressed Conner. “Nice to meet you.” 

“You too,” he replied, moving closer to them all and exchanging a look with Tim. “Is there, like, a throuple thing going on here?” 

“What? No!” Marinette cried out, dropping Tim’s arm like he was made of something disgusting and taking a big step forward and away from him. “We’re all friends. Why, something going on between you and Tim?” 

“Oh, so you two…” he said, eyes flickering from Marinette over to Adrien with a questioning look that had just a bit more interest in than Adrien would have liked. Tim had been warning him about what a huge flirt his best friend was, regaling him with tales of the exploits Conner had gotten up to, but apparently Marinette hadn’t been treated to the same talks. “Huh, that’ll teach me to make assumptions. Pleasure to meet you, I’m Kon.” 

“I wasn’t trying to set you up,” Tim replied instantly, walking through to the kitchen in the Tower and starting the coffee machine. “I just wanted you to meet my two new friends, is that such a crime? You’re the one that decided to start…whatever this is.” 

“We’re getting to know each other,” Kon shrugged, glad Tim wasn’t looking at him so he didn’t see the redness that crept up the half Kryptonian’s neck. “But she feels bad that she hasn’t been spending time with Adrien, so she wants us all to hang out again because she’s worried he’ll feel like a third wheel if it’s just the three of us.” 

Not that that was the only reason. Marinette was still very much in matchmaker mode, and was using her friendship with Adrien as a convenient excuse to force the two single men together. If Tim was suspicious of their motives he didn’t mention it, apparently thinking the offer over as he waited for his drink to finish. 

“What film?” he asked after a long sip of coffee, and Kon smiled victoriously.

_ _ _ 

“Thanks for inviting me over,” Adrien said to Kon when they were making the popcorn for their film night. Hanging out at the Tower made the most sense, just in case Kon was needed for something. Tim too, Adrien thought but didn’t say. Because he hadn’t told anyone that he’d worked out the connection between the two best friends yet. There just didn’t seem to be a point when things were fine as they were. “Are you sure you didn’t want to have this movie night just with Nette? She seems pretty happy just hanging out with you most of the time.” 

“We’re sure,” Kon assured him, picking up the now popped corn and tipping it into two large bowls. “Marinette wants to hang out with you, she’s just been a little…preoccupied. Besides, I haven’t had the chance to get to know you yet, either, so this does both!” 

“Oh, I know she’s been preoccupied,” Adrien said with a grimace. Kon was clearly trying not to smirk but it looked like it was a losing battle. But Marinette seemed genuinely happy with how things were going with Kon, constantly gushing about the time they spent together and sighing that he was almost unbearably gorgeous. “So I suppose now is as good a time as any to let you know that if you hurt her, they won’t find your body.” 

“Uh-huh, sure,” Kon said, an eyebrow raised amusedly but not denying it. And Adrien guessed that he wasn’t exactly intimidating when you didn’t know that he had a miniature god of destruction hiding in his pocket. So he merely smiled sharply and headed on through to the seating area to start the film. “What did you choose to watch?” Kon asked, dropping into the seat next to Marinette and half pulling her into his lap. 

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” she chirped, settling her head on his shoulder and looking up at him through her lashes. Adrien could have sworn Kon gulped but maybe it was a trick of the light. After all, Tim had promised him that Kon wasn’t interested in relationships…though Marinette always did have a talent for wrapping people around her finger. “Timbit said he hasn’t seen it, and it’s not something we’ve ever seen in Paris so…it’s supposed to be kind of scary, right?” 

“I’ll protect you,” Kon whispered into her ear. Adrien was pretty sure he wasn’t meant to hear it but his hearing was sensitive enough that he heard plenty of things he never intended to. Then Kon shot Adrien another smirk and said, “Tim might need protecting, though.” 

Adrien couldn’t stop the blush that took over his face but he sat down next to Tim anyway. The more he saw Marinette and Kon together, the less convinced he was that he shouldn’t at least try flirting with Tim.

_ _ _ 

“Who directs films like that?” Adrien asked, voice slightly harsh from the shouting they’d all been doing. “No, really, why would anyone do that?” 

“Is it over?” Marinette squeaked from where her face was buried in Kon’s neck. Tim was holding Adrien’s arm in a grip tight enough he thought he might be leaving bruises but he couldn’t make himself let go. Why had he let Marinette convince him that this was a good idea? Sure, he had spent a lot of the film practically cuddling with the blond, but it wasn’t what he would call a positive experience. 

“It’s over,” Kon said, though he stayed exactly where he was. “Come on, why don’t you teach me how to make cookies?” 

Tim started, staring more openly at the pair as Marinette peeked out from her hiding place and nodded meekly. When had Kon learned what sorts of things calmed Marinette down? Tim had been fairly convinced that the whole fooling around thing was more to wind both Adrien and him up, but obviously they were actually having conversations as well. 

“Well I don’t think I’m going to sleep properly for the next several months,” Adrien muttered, wriggling his wrist slightly. Tim finally released the arm only for Adrien to grab onto the offending hand and pull it towards him. Then the blond flushed and let go of it just as suddenly, violently focusing on the credits scrolling across the screen. “Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to- I mean, your hands are pretty strong, aren’t they? More calloused than I would have guessed, but I suppose that makes sense- You must train pretty hard to keep up with Superboy-” 

“Yeah, training takes up a lot of time,” Tim agreed, still staring at the hand Adrien had held. Was there a chance that Adrien felt the same way he did? No, it was probably reflexive, nothing to get worked up over…unless it was more. “But I still have spare time! To, like, go out and stuff, so I’m not- it’s not all work and no play, you know?” 

“That’s great! We should- I mean, if our best friends are going to date, we should play together- I mean, hang out! Hanging out together would be fun, right?” Adrien babbled, hands wringing together as he spoke. “Well, we’ve already been hanging out, but that’s been more of an accident. Do you think we could kind of…do it on purpose?” 

It was the reason he warned Adrien about Kon’s colourful romantic history, and proclivity for hitting on anything that moved, but not Marinette. It didn't matter if Kon hit on Marinette because, firstly, she was capable of making her own decisions, and secondly she wasn't Adrien. Of course, he hadn't told Kon or Marinette his reasoning but as long as Adrien steered clear… 

Being confronted with the reality of Kon and Marinette hooking up was different though, and he would be outright lying if he said he wasn't envious. How could he not be? Of course Kon, who had been raving about Marinette since he met her a week before, would already have made a move. There was nothing stopping Marinette from dating, or fooling around. 

“Um, do you mind?” the woman in question demanded, cheeks flushed and an annoyed scowl on her lips. Kon looked half sheepish and half like he was willing them to turn around. And if it weren't for the fact that Adrien was the whole reason they'd shown up he probably would have, gladly. Instead, he looked at Adrien and motioned for him to talk to the pair. 

“I do, Nette,” he said, stepping forward and frowning as he waited impatiently for her to join him. “Can I talk to you? Because I think we should talk about some things before-” 

“Before what?” Marinette asked, sounding thoroughly exasperated but moving out of Kon’s arms. “I swear, you’d better have a good reason for interrupting.” 

“What was that about?” Kon demanded once the pair were further away, looking at Tim with pure confusion. Tim gave a sigh and ran a hand down his face as he tried to think of how to explain any of this without admitting how he felt about Adrien. 

In the living area of Titans tower, Adrien had given Marinette a highly condensed version of the information that Tim had given him about his best friend. It was short because she was scowling still, her arms crossed as she listened to him, but he thought he was giving her an appropriate cliff’s notes version. A short silence followed his explanation, so he was hopeful that she understood his concerns. 

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Marinette said, her head tilted and eyes narrowed as she looked directly into Adrien’s eyes. “You rushed all the way over here and interrupted my fun all because Tim told you Kon was a flirt? Do you think I can’t handle a flirt after the years we worked together?” 

“No, it’s not- look, the stories Tim told me-” Adrien fumbled, feeling increasingly like he had not only overstepped but had also, maybe, overreacted. Just a little. Groaning and trying to organise his thoughts, he sat back against the back of a sofa. “Okay, so I can see how this might look a little bad- no, wait, please! I just…after everything with Phillipe, and before that with Kagami…I don’t want to see you get hurt, too.” 

“Adri, this isn’t the same thing at all,” Marinette replied, much more gently than before. She rested her hand on his arm before pulling him into a hug. “Thank you, for trying to look out for me, but I’m okay. And I would really like to go back to what I was doing before you showed up-” 

“Yeah, I don’t need to know any more than that,” Adrien grimaced, which made her laugh and shove him lightly instead. “But since Tim and I are already here…” 

“Fine, but you owe me,” she glared. “Come on, let’s go out and make a double date of this instead.” 

_ _ _ 

Adrien didn’t deserve this. Marinette and Kon hadn’t picked up where they’d left off exactly, but they were definitely very in each other’s spaces as they sat in a local tapas restaurant. Tim didn’t look overly upset with this turn of events, though he also didn’t look overly thrilled. The pair of them exchanged looks often, apparently unnoticed by either of the other two, and Adrien felt an excited flutter that he violently tried to stamp out. Even if his heart thought he was ready to move forward, his head was screaming at him to be more cautious this time. 

“Adri, tell Kon I’m not a damsel in distress,” Marinette said suddenly, a pout on her face while Kon was smirking. “Hey, don’t laugh at me! I’m small but I’m mighty, mister.” 

“Of course,” Kon said teasingly, hand on her opposite hip as he picked up another piece of food. She growled and slapped his hand away playfully, though a smile was playing on her mouth. Adrien really hoped that Kon wasn’t as much of a playboy as Tim had told him because, as much as Marinette pretended she could do casual relationships, Adrien knew she fell hard and fast when it came to love. “Maybe you can show me some of your moves sometime.” 

“Kon, please remember that my friends are one hundred percent normal,” Tim complained, rolling his eyes. “Are you almost done with food? Because I was doing work before Adrien asked me for a ride to the Tower to talk to you both and I’d really like to get back to that.” 

“Why don’t you both go back to what you were doing before rudely interrupting us, and we can go back to what we were doing?” Marinette suggested sweetly, smirking at Tim when he made a noise of disgust. “Hey, you’re the ones that burst in on us! We were minding our own business before that.” 

Kon gave a bark of laughter and Marinette looked smug at having amused him, though she flushed and looked away when he smirked at her again. Adrien felt his suspicion of the Super lessen slightly when, after Marinette looked away, Kon’s face morphed into something more affectionate, his smile softening momentarily before he leaned down to tease her again. 

“Fine, Tim and I can tell where we’re not wanted,” Adrien sniffed, pointedly ignoring his best friend’s scoff to look at Tim again. “Come on, we might as well leave them to their own devices, it’ll only get more uncomfortable from here on. Nette likes to prove a point.”