Chapter Text
Marinette looked out the plane window at the cityscape in the distance. It was dreery but beautiful; then again, a lot of people said that about Gotham. Just like they said that unless you could stay in the nice part of Gotham, you were better off not going at all. But when the Paris class of Françoise Dupont High School decided that they wanted to go on a end of year school trip, well, off to Gotham they went.
There was a small commotion behind her and Marinette turned around to see Lila amd Chloe getting into one of their infamous insult competitions. Marinette was still suprised at how Lila and Chloe became friends with each other and the rest of the class. Chloe was originally disliked for her past bullying of the students and Marinette had originally disliked Lila because she was a liar. But then something amazing happened; Marinette (with Alya being the driving force behind the incident) was trapped in a classroom with Lila and refused to let them out until they worked through whatever issues they had. Marinette expected for her to stay in that classroom forever but, after blowing up at each other (and how did neither of them get akumatized?), they sat down and talked. Marinette realized that Lila truely did want friends but she thought she had to earn it and as such, she lied and lied and lied in order to get people to like her. Amd Lila realized that Marinette didn't necessarily hate her, just the fact her lies could hurt their classmates future.
It was after that long talk that, when Alya let them out, they marched to the classroom and Lila came clean about her lies, admitted she just wanted to impress them, that they gained a new friend who gave them something they desperately needed. Madam Bustier's class was bright and amazing students but they were too trusting and were easily taken advantage of. And so Lila taught them how to be a little more jaded, to see when people wanted to use them for their own gain in subtle ways. But the thing Marinette was most pleased about was when, through a combined effort of herself, Rose, and Lila, they cornered Chloe and tried helping her understand why her actions were wrong. Marinette and Rose would be kind in their endeavor but it was Lila, who cared but could be vicious when needed, who tore down attempt after attempt by Chloe to push her superiority that was the catalyst. Chloe could only stand there as she finally faced how her actions affected her now and in the future; everyone knew she wanted to go into PR or politics and with the reputation she was building now, it would cause problems.
After that, Chloe began taking small steps to be better; she would never be nice like everyone else but they didn't want her to be. At that point, everyone could admit they were naive and too trusting; they needed friends who could balance them out and help them discern who was really their friend and who wasn't. And so, a year passed. The class was closer with a more wary look on the world. Things were going well for them and they felt on top of the world. So Marinette brought up having an end of year trip; a great way to close up the year. As a class, they researched different locations before settling on Gotham. It was the location of Wayne Enterprises Headquaters and nearby to Metropolis where the Daily Planet was for them to go on tours. It was a good way for the class to go somewhere interesting and help look at the careers many of the class was interested in. Sprinkle in going to a couple museums, the park said to be maintained by Ivy, and dining at a fancier restaurant would make it an amazing trip all around. So with work being pitched in from all corners, they raised the money while Marinette filled out the paperwork and argued with the school board on why they should be allowed to go to such a dangerous city. It was only when Marinette pointed out that Paris could be considered almost as dangerous with all the akumas that the board relented, seeing her point (and remembered the fact that it was Madam Bustier's class who dealed with akuma's the most and could hold their own well).
But that wasn't all that happened in Marinette's life; her Ladybug side was coming together just as wonderfully. Her and Chat, Adrien, found out each other's identity which found them getting closer and, eventually, dating. Her heart did break a little when, during a mind control akuma, Master Fu was forced to give up the Miraculous Box to her. She felt sad when he lost his memory but helped him by getting in contact with Marianne and reuniting them. Adrien was there and held her when she cried about their lost mentor.
But that was in the past now and Marinette was sitting in a plane with her class, watching as more creative insults would fly out of Lila and Chloe's mouths, none of them holding any heat. Finally, noticing some other passengers on the plane were beginning to look annoyed, Marinette spoke up. "Now, now. You both are queens in your own right. Let's calm down a little before we get scolded by plane staff."
"As if, they would hear from my daddy for the disgrace of scolding me for being amazing." Chloe said, smirking while flicking a piece of her hair behind her.
"Oooo, high and mighty princess coming out to play." Lila teased.
Adrien turned around then. "Come on children. You heard your mom. No more fighting now." He said and everyone laughed as Marinette's face turned bright red.
Marinette glared at Adrien before a gleeful look crossed her face. "If I'm the mom, since I'm dating you, does that make you the dad? If so, look at your children. For shame kitty, you enabling them by teasing me." Adrien spluttered as Nino popped up from his seat.
"Daaaaaad, Kim is betting with Alix again." Nino joked, enjoying the chance to wind his bro up.
"You all are ganging up on me. How could you all? The betrayal stings so deep." Adrien drapped himself across Marinette dramatically.
Marinette giggled, kissing him on the nose, before turning back to everyone. "But we really should settle down, we don't want to cause a big ruckus. And Kim?" Kim poked his head up. "No more bets until we land and are at our hotel. We know how crazy you and Alix can get." Marinette told him before winking and settling down in her seat
Adrien laughed quietly, shaking his head before wrapping an arm around Marinette and kissing the top of her head. "The kids are just the worst aren't they?" Adrien joked.
"Mmmm, they're yours when they're trouble." Marinette joked back before hearing the intercom crackled on, the pilot announcing the planes arrival to Gotham. With one quick shared kiss, they began checking that everything of theirs was securely in place and then buckled up.
The plane landed quickly and soon everyone was crowding the aisle while Madam Bustier and a TA named Orchid Chanalles tried to herd everyone together. Marinette took a deep breath and smiled; this was going to be a great trip.