Work Text:
“Psst, what are you doing?” A boy who looked like he was just about her age whispered to her.
Marinette looked at her parents to see if they needed her help at that moment and then turned to the boy. “I’m helping my parents with the sweets. What are you doing?”
“Hiding from my parents.” He snickered and looked around then ducked behind the table next to the sweets table.
“How come?” She whispered.
“They want me to dance.” He groaned and Marinette laughed.
“You don’t want to?” She looked at her parents and her mom smiled at her.
“They want me to dance with these old ladies.” He crept closer. “Maybe I could dance with you?”
“I don’t even know your name.” She smiled at him. “And, I’m supposed to be helping my parents.”
“My name’s Tim.” He held out his hand. “What’s yours?”
“Marinette.” she shook his hand. “Let me go ask my mom, maybe I can dance one dance with you.”
She turned to where her parents were setting out even more sweets on the table. “Maman.” Her mother turned to look at her and smiled with her.
“Who’s your new friend Baobei?” She asked.
Marinette looked at him and then back to her mother. “His name is Tim. Is it okay if I go dance with him? I’ll come right back.”
Sabine smiled and nodded. “Go dance Marinette, come back when you’re done, and be careful. M. Pennyworth would be sad if you couldn’t come to tea tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, Maman.” She turned back to her new friend and he offered out a hand.
“This will be so much better than dancing with the old ladies.” Tim led her to the dance floor and they turned to each other.
“I don’t know many dances.” She bit her lip and looked at him.
He gave her a brilliant smile. “That’s okay, I’m a really good partner. Just don’t look at your feet okay? It’ll just make you fall.”
She laughed and followed his lead. “I can do that then.”
They danced through the end of the current song and then the next one. It had been five songs before a lady came over and tapped Tim on the shoulder.
“Timothy, who’s your little friend?” The lady asked him.
Tim looked at her and then looked at the ground. “Her name is Marinette.”
The lady turned to her and held out a hand that Marinette shook. “What an unusual name.”
“It’s not that uncommon in France,” she responded. She did not like this lady at all, she seemed mean.
“Ah, you’re French, my mistake. What was your last name? I’m not sure I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your parents.”
“Dupain-Cheng. They are handing out the pastries. If you haven’t tried one you should try the macarons, Papa’s recipe is the best in all of Paris.” She gestured to the table where her parents were keeping up with the demand for pastries.
The lady’s mouth turned ever so slightly down and Marinette knew that she didn’t like her one bit. She was the kind of lady who cared about social status and Marinette hated people like that.
“Of course, I will try one of them. Timothy, there’s a couple that I would like for you to meet. Say goodbye to Ms. Dupain-Cheng and come along.”
She turned and Tim looked at Marinette with a worried look. “Sorry about her, my mother can be really mean sometimes.” He looked around and then pulled out a pen. “Can I give you my email address? You’re really nice and I’d love to be your pen pal when you go back to Paris.”
Marinette smiled at him and reached into her pocket to pull out one of her parent’s business cards. “Here, you can write it on the back of the card.”
Tim scribbled out his email quickly and then turned back to his mother. “Write to me the moment you can and I’ll write back!”
“I promise.” She gave him a quick hug and then turned back to her own parents. “I better go. I hope we get to see each other again someday!”
“We will, I’ll make sure of it.”
---
That was the last time that Marinette saw Tim in person. They emailed constantly that whole summer, and then into the next school year. When she turned twelve she got to go back to Gotham for another of M. Wayne’s parties, but Tim couldn’t come because his parents were on an expedition and he wasn’t allowed to come by himself.” Marinette still wrote to him at least every other day and they were best friends. Tim shared with her his secret pictures, and Marinette showed him the designs she was working on. The two of them could tell the other anything, until one day everything changed. Tim stopped responding quickly, sometimes she wouldn’t hear from him for weeks at a time, she had no idea why he had pulled away, but it was like he was holding a big secret that he couldn’t tell even her. She kept writing to him though, every day, and when he responded he would respond to all the things she sent, so it wasn’t like he was totally ignoring her, but he was pulling away.
Then her world turned upside down. Stoneheart happened, she was chosen to be Ladybug, and she no longer had time to write to Tim every night. She was lucky if she had a chance to write once a week. They still exchanged letters, but now she was hiding her own secret and it was hard to balance what she could tell him, so she sent very little about the Akuma’s at all and just focused on her fashion career. He was so excited when she told him about Jagged Stone, and she got to hear more about his photography.
Then the letters became more and more sparse. They were both writing about once a month, Hawkmoth took up most of her time, and she was losing her first best friend, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.
So it was a surprise when she woke up to an email from him. They hadn’t written to each other in over two months, so what was even more shocking was the content of the letter.
Dear Marinette,
I know that we haven’t talked in a while, but I wanted to try to reach out. I’m coming to Paris in a week and wanted to see if maybe we could see one another again. I know that it’s been years since we’ve talked regularly, and I know that that’s been my fault for drawing away from you, but I want to see you again. You were my first friend, and you’ll always be my favorite friend. I’m coming to Paris on business so I won’t have a lot of time to see you, but I would love to see your home city the way that you do. I hope that you also don’t mind one of my friends tagging along, he doesn’t speak much French and I will be translating for him most of the time. He’s a really nice person and I know that you’ll love him.
Your forever friend,
Tim Drake-Wayne
He signed off the same way he always did and she smiled. They were really forever friends, and she was so excited that after ten years they would get to see one another again.
Dear Tim,
I would love to see you while you are here! I’m not sure how long you will be here but starting next week I also have some business to attend to so our time might be cut short. I very much look forward to seeing you once again. You have a promise to keep, and I have a city to show you. I hope you don’t mind if one of my friends tagging along as well. He will probably have to wear a disguise as his father doesn’t let him out of the house very often, but I am sure that you and he will be fast friends. He’s my second best friend, and he is one of the nicest people I’ve ever known.
I truly do look forward to seeing you once again, and I hope that our schedules line up well so that I can show you all that the City of Lights has to offer. If we’re lucky there won’t even be any Akuma attacks while we are together. I can’t wait to see you.
Your forever friend,
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
---
“Girl, you haven’t seen him since you were six, how do you know he’ll be the same?” Alya was helping her pick out an outfit to meet Tim at the train station. “How do you even know that he’ll be the same person? You’ve been exchanging emails, those can be hacked.”
“That’s why Adrien is going with me.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “And I have Tikki with me, what’s the worst that can happen?”
“I still don’t like it.” Alya was pouting.
Marinette laughed. “No, you don’t like that you can’t meet Tim the first day he’s here. Alys, I already told you, we’ll all go to the zoo together so that you can meet him. I don’t want to overwhelm him with all my friends at once.”
“You won’t even give me his last name so I can google him.” Alya gave her an expectant look like she might break.
Marinette laughed again. “Because it’s weird, and we promised each other, no more stalking.”
Her alarm went off and she scrambled to grab her phone. “Okay, I gotta go. Adrien should be here any moment.” As she said that she heard a thump on her balcony and then a knocking at the skylight. “Come in Kitty.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to come in via skylight.” Alya cocked a hip and gave Marinette a look. “Something about your parents not figuring it out?”
“You see Alya, I’m over here so often lately that they don’t register when I’m not here,” Adrien responded before Marinette could speak.
Marinette punched him in the shoulder. “More like, he was here before you and had to pop home for his cover story before he could come back. So my parents have seen him come into the house but not out of it.”
Alya laughed with her at Adrien’s face and he dropped his transformation. “Alright, laugh it up, aren’t we going to be late?”
Marinette looked at her phone and panicked. “Oh shit! Yes! We need to go now!”
Adrien and Alya both laughed but followed her down the stairs. She popped her head into the bakery for just a moment to wave goodbye to her parents and then grabbed Adrien’s hand and set off towards the station.
---
She was starting to hyperventilate as they waited by the train stop.
“This is gonna be fine M’lady. Trust yourself, you both know each other better than anyone else on this planet.” Adrien squeezed her hand and smiled at her.
“Besides you of course. He doesn’t know the big secret.” She deflected trying to not panic.
“Do you even know what he looks like?” Adrien suddenly asked.
“...” She paused for a moment and then looked at him in fear. “Oh no, we never exchanged pictures!”
“And you didn’t make a sign?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No! I didn’t want it to be a big thing!” She pulled out her phone and started composing an email as fast as she could type.
“Give me his last name, I’ll see if I can find him on the internet. You said he’s from Gotham right?”
She groaned as she was still typing out a message asking for a picture of him and sending a selfie that she had taken with Adrien last week. “Okay sent. Fine, It’s Tim Drake-Wayne.”
Adrien paused and looked at her. “Oh. Uh, we won’t need a picture, Bugaboo, I know who he is. His family is kinda famous. They’re Gotham royalty, Chloé has been talking about them coming to stay at the hotel all week. How have you not heard her?”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “I haven’t seen her in two weeks, I’ve been having meetings with the YJ and working on my commission pieces for Jagged.”
Adrien looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes. “You know she’s gonna kill you when she finds out that your childhood best friend is a Wayne and you never told us.”
“I don’t throw your last name around, I wasn’t about to start throwing his. I knew he was wealthy, but he’s just Tim to me.” Her phone chimed and she smiled at the email.
Tim looked the same and yet so different. His jawline had become more defined and she could see a little scar on his eyebrow. His eyes were the same icy blue that she remembered and she knew instantly that this was the same boy that she had become fast friends with. Next to him was another boy, he was rocking a punk rock look and looked like he could have walked on stage with Jagged and been right at home, but his smile was genuine and he looked as nice as Tim had told her she was.
“Marinette?” She turned around and then broke out into a run. Tim was there, in the flesh.
He caught her in a hug and spun them in a circle. “Tim!” She pulled back to look at him. “I can’t believe you’re really here!”
He set her down and let out a soft laugh. “I can’t believe it either, it’s been so, so long!”
His friend let out a soft cough and Tim pulled back a little more so that he could see her properly. “Marinette, this is Connor, we call him Kon for short. Kon, this is my best friend in the whole world, Marinette.”
Connor held out a hand and she shook it politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Tim talks about you all the time.”
She blushed a little at that but let her smile grow. “It’s nice to meet you too, I’m afraid he hasn’t done the same for you, so no reputation to precede you.”
She gestured to Adrien and he took a step forward. “Tim, Connor, this is Adrien, my second best friend in the world.”
“Nice to meet the guy that I’ve been competing with this whole time.” Adrien let out a laugh and shook both other boy’s hands. “Marinette has spoken about you often, I feel like I almost already know you.”
Tim looked between the two of them for a moment and then blinked. “Marinette… are you best friends with Adrien Agreste?”
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “Yep, since collège.”
Both boys looked at him a little confused. “You call it middle school,” Marinette explained. “We were thirteen when we met, but it wasn’t till a year later that we really became inseparable.”
“Ah, so this is who Tim has been competing with for your time. That’s around when you stopped emailing so often right?”
Tim elbowed Kon in the side. “I told you, I was the one who got busy first.” He hissed out.
Marinette laughed and moved on. “You’re staying at Le Grand Paris right?”
Conner gave her a careful look. “How did you know?”
She blushed and gave a little giggle. “Well, I didn’t until I finally told Adrien Tim’s last name earlier. Our friend Chloé has apparently been talking about it for a week.”
“Chloé?” Tim asked. “The girl who used to torture you?”
“Yeah!” Marinette grabbed his hand that wasn’t holding a suitcase and started walking. “She and I had a rocky start, but we’re close friends now. She’s one of my closest friends in Paris. She’ll be joining us at the zoo tomorrow if you guys can still make it.”
“Tim has been talking about spending as much time with you as we can,” Connor said politely and Tim blushed almost as red as Marinette did.
“I just meant-” Tim started and Adrien laughed.
“That’s okay, you should see the schedule that Mari has. She has you guys booked out for all the times that Tim said you’d be free.”
“Not all the time, I do have that meeting with Uncle Jagged.” She reminded Adrien. “And you’re supposed to be at that so don’t tell me you forgot. Luka would kill you.”
“Uncle Jagged?” Connor asked.
Marinette nodded. “Yeah, he’s meeting with me for a final fitting of his wardrobe, and Adrien is recording with Kitty Section so he has to be there too.”
“Wait… when you say Jagged, you mean Jagged Stone? Like the rock star? He’s your uncle?” Connor was gaping at her and Tim was snickering. Connor turned on him and glared. “You knew about this?”
“He’s not technically my uncle, he decided he was when we were still in middle school and now it’s just stuck. I’m really just his designer.”
“He’d kill you if he heard that.” Adrien chimed in and looked at her. “He’s her uncle in every way that counts.”
“Can we meet him?” Connor asked her. “Like, is that a possibility?”
Adrien laughed. “Well, you’re gonna meet his son at the zoo tomorrow, so maybe he can arrange something.”
“That would be so wicked!” Connor was excited and Tim laughed. Marinette decided that his laugh was infectious.
“Well, here we are.” Marinette gestured to the hotel. "I’m sure that you will be able to check-in easily. We have to get to a meeting, but we will see you tonight?”
“Count on it!” Tim pulled her in for another hug. “It really is so good to see you.”
---
“Ugh, why do we have to meet in the clubhouse again?” Chloé complained.
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Because we don’t have another hideout and I’d rather that it wasn’t known that Superboy and Red Robin are in the city.”
“Also, Bugaboo said that we would do an identity reveal if things go well.” Adrien chimed in.
“Which I think is a bad idea.” Alya was tossing a ball in the air back and forth with Trixx.
“Trust has to go both ways, and if I’m asking them to be civilians while they are in Paris then the least we can do is meet them halfway.” Marinette waved to Tikki. “Besides, it’s not like we’re going to reveal mine and Adrien’s identities.”
“I don’t know Dudette, Alya could be right. I feel like it’s way too easy to guess who you are when they know any of us.” Nino chimed in from where he was having tea with Wayzz.
“And how do you know that Red Robin will even agree to reveal their identities if you two won’t?” Chloé pointed out.
Marinette rolled her eyes. “First off, the magic protecting our identities is way stronger than you’re giving it credit for. Remember how none of you figured out our identities until we told you?”
Adrien draped himself over Marinette. “And second, Red Robin agreed already.”
“He couldn’t have!” Alya exclaimed.
“Well he did,” Marinette responded. “It was one of the things I was negotiating for in my meetings.”
“When are they getting here?” Chloé asked.
Marinette smiled. “Adrien and I are meeting them on the roof tomorrow after the zoo. So when we’re done you all need to get back here right away and suit up.”
“Fine, but I’m picking out your outfit for the zoo.” Chloé flipped her hair and looked at her mirror. “You look fine, I guess, but if you really want to impress this boy then you’ll have to up your game.”
---
“Tim, there’s something about them.” Kon was sitting on the bed staring at Tim.
“What do you mean?” Tim turned around from where he was getting ready for the zoo not-a-date.
“I’ve never seen someone so in sync with another without the threat of battle.” Kon looked at Tim. “Did you see the way that Adrien was watching everything as we walked? And Marinette kept you on the right side of her so that Adrien could be on her left.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “I mean, they have grown up under the threat of becoming a supervillain's puppet. Of course they are going to be a little hypervigilant.”
Kon laid back. “I don’t know man, it’s just, well it’s like when we walk the streets of Gotham together.”
“Are you going to get ready for the zoo or not?” Tim asked.
“I’m ready, you’ve been messing with your hair for twenty minutes. We’re gonna be late.” Kon laughed as Tim hurried to grab his jacket.
“Okay, let’s go then!” Tim grabbed the keycard and opened the door to see Marinette walking out of another room.
“Come on Chlo, we’re supposed to be meeting them in like three minutes.”
Tim stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her. She was wearing a black miniskirt with a dark red blouse and matching leggings and he couldn’t speak. She was wearing his colors, and the yellow belt and backpack finished off the look.
She turned around and blushed deeply and Tim swallowed. “Oh, uh, hi!” She stuttered out and he smiled.
“Hey,” he responded and could feel Kon’s mirth from behind him. “I thought that you were meeting us in the lobby.”
Marinette turned on her friend and he could feel her glare. “Yeah Chloé, I thought we were meeting them downstairs.”
Chloé laughed and gestured to their room. “Well, maybe if you had come and listened to me at all this week you would know that they were rooming in the penthouse across from mine.”
“I already told you, I needed to be in those meetings.” Marinette hissed at her and then turned back to Tim. “Uh, well, this is Chloé. Like I said, we’re friends now.”
Tim laughed, “I guess I can forgive her if you have.” Tim winked at her and Marinette’s blush was gorgeous. They walked over to the elevator and he pressed the button for the first floor.
“Dupain-Cheng, what have you been saying about me?” Chloé asked indingintly and Tim couldn’t help but laugh with Marinette.
“Well, Chloé, this is my friend Connor.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Tim hasn’t said anything about you.” Kon smiled and Chloé huffed and flipped her hair back.
“Well, my reputation should precede me, but if it’s Dupain-Cheng’s friends then I guess I can try to make a good first impression.”
“Okay Queenie, if you say so.” Another girl was waiting for them in the lobby next to a guy who was looking around the ground floor like it was a battleground waiting to unfold.
“Alya, Nino, this is Tim and his friend Connor.” Marinette introduced them.
“Nice to meet you.” Tim held out a hand that Alya shook with a grip that was a little stronger than the average person.
Nino did a little half wave. “Sup.”
Kon stepped forward and shook Alya’s hand next and gave a little bit of a surprised look.
“Okay, let’s get this show on the road!” Alya took the lead position right in front of Marinette while Nino followed them closely behind. This time Marinette kept him on her right, but left her left side open like she wasn’t worried at all. Chloé was on Kon’s right and He realized that they had formed a circle around them.
Tim wondered why the group had them in a protective circle. It wasn’t like there was an active akuma, but they were all acting like there was, or would be one any moment.
“Alleycat incoming.” Chloé said and Marinette let out a peal of laughter.
“You know that sunshine hates when you call him that.” Alya turned around and started walking backwards. Her eyes flickering to Nino’s every few seconds.
Tim looked back at the other boy and realized that Alya was trusting him to not let her fall over anyone. It was like the whole friend group was so in sync and that they trusted each other implicitly. Maybe Kon was right, maybe there was something weird about them.
Suddenly there were footsteps gaining on them but the whole group still was relaxed.
“Sorry I’m late. Had to shake Gorilla.” Adrien fell into step on Marinette’s left side and then immediately turned around so that he could also see the group better. Tim watched as his eyes also flickered to Nino’s face every few seconds.
“At least you got here before we made it to the zoo.” Alya laughed and then reached out and grabbed Chloé by the arm. The other girl still didn’t look up from her phone, just moved where Alya wanted her too and then returned to her spot next to Kon.
Tim watched Chloé purse her lips and then turn to look at Adrien. “Adrikins, would you be the best and go back for my phone charger? I totally forgot the backup battery in my room. It’s sitting next to my Ladybug doll.”
Adrien rolled his eyes and laughed. “Yeah, alright Chlo. I’ll grab it.”
Adrien ran off and Tim watched him go. Something just happened in front of him but he couldn’t tell what. The whole group seemed to tense after Chloé’s statement and then there was an alert from Alya’s phone.
“Oh shit. Ladyblog alert!” She seemed to be faking something, but Tim couldn’t tell what it was. “Manon has been akumatized again. We need to take shelter, like now.” Alya grabbed Tim’s hand and Chloé grabbed Kon while Nino shoved them forward.
“There’s a shelter right around this corner.” Nino said, still taking up the rear position.
In all the commotion it took Tim half a second to realize that Marinette wasn’t next to him anymore. He stopped in his tracks and Alya had to pull him along. “Where’s Marinette?”
Alya kept dragging him but Nino answered. “I have Adrien’s phone, so he might not have gotten the alert yet. Marinette ran to get him.” Tim tried to turn around but Alya kept her vice grip on him. “It’s okay dude, she’ll be fine, the two of them will get to safety.”
Tim looked at Kon who was also trying to turn around but Chloé kept dragging him and he was trying not to show his super strength. “Come on, we need to get to safety.” Nino pushed them forward again and then they were getting into a small building.
“It’s a tornado shelter?” Kon asked and Tim looked around to see how many people were in there.
“Yep, they are safe in most cases, but keep a lookout. Someone might still be in trouble. Especially if Manon can get her hands on her akuma dolls.”
“Puppeteer?” Tim asked.
“Yep,” Nino responded, popping the ‘p’.
“She’s gotten worse as she’s gotten older. She was already susceptible to Hawkmoth, but now it’s like he specifically targets her.” Chloé sat down against the wall and pulled out her phone again. “Might as well get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.”
Alya leaned in and kissed Nino. “Gotta go babe, I need to get this footage for the blog.”
Nino gave her a look and then nodded. “Just be safe okay?”
“You know I have some tricks up my sleeve.” She pulled her phone out and then ran out the door. Nino pulled out his phone and turned on the ladyblog.
Tim watched as the live stream started. He saw Alya’s hands as she set up her phone and then get in front of it. “This is Alya Césaire on the scene! It looks like Puppeteer is back out, but Ladybug and Chat Noir are on it already! Just a reminder, but please stay on the lookout and when in immediate danger please get to an Akuma Shelter.”
Alya grabbed the phone and turned it to get a shot of Ladybug doing a flip and calling for her Lucky Charm. Tim couldn’t see what it was but Ladybug got a determined look on her face and looked around. Suddenly there was a small loop on the tape and then the recording went on. Alya’s voice was still there, but Tim saw the minor loop. If you were watching Ladybug’s face closely enough then for just a moment you could see her look to the right twice before the recording went back to live.
“And Raposa is on the scene now!” Tim knew that he was a suspicious man, but something was off. It was like Alya was talking through a bad mic suddenly, or, like Jason’s voice through the helmet filter. It still sounded like her , but there was a slight mechanical hint to it.
“Shit!” Chloé winced from where she was watching with her own phone. Tim had to agree with the sentiment. Chat Noir had been slammed into a building and wasn’t moving. “Get up you mangy cat.” Chloé whispered under her breath.
“There she is!” Nino elbowed Chloé and Tim kept his watch on Nino’s phone. Raposa landed in front of Chat Noir and held out her flute twirling it like a shield.
“Took long enough.” Chloé snarked.
Nino gave her a glare. “You know she was getting civilians safe.”
Tim studied their body language and the way they were both attached to their phones. There was something he was missing, but he couldn’t figure it out. It was like there was a fog in his brain that he couldn’t see past.
Ladybug appeared next to Chat Noir and pulled him up by the back of his suit like she was scruffing him, Nino and Chloé both snickered.
Kon tapped his shoulder and nodded towards Nino. He leaned in to whisper quietly, “they know them. They know the heroes, personally. Their hearts tick up when one get’s hurt.”
Tim nodded and went back to studying the battle. The three of them worked together well, but they just didn’t have the training that they needed to miss some of the blows that Tim knew he could avoid. But that’s what they were there for, right? To help train the team and work on tracking down the maniac who was doing all of this.
Chloé sucked in a deep breath and Tim watched as Ladybug took a bad hit and was knocked into the tower. The breath had been knocked out of her and she wasn’t getting up. He looked over for a moment and saw that Chloé’s phone seemed to be just a little faster than Nino’s, like she was watching a different stream.
“Come on.” Ladybug held out her Lucky Charm again and Tim gasped as he was finally able to see it. That was the R-cycle keychain, it was in his pocket right now.
Both Nino and Chloé looked over to him. “What?” Nino asked him.
“I know that keychain,” Kon responded for him.
Both of them looked between Kon and the screen. Chloé opened her mouth and Nino cut her off. “She’ll kill you if you’re wrong.”
Chloé stood up and glared at him. “My hive needs me. I’m not going to let it down.” She grabbed Tim’s hand and glared at Kon. “Follow me. Now.”
Chloé dragged them through the shelter until they got to a little corner. She looked straight at the camera above it and nodded. “Let us in.” A portal opened in the wall and then they were standing in a room with a full computer set up. It reminded him of the clock tower in some ways.
“She’s gonna kill you.” The man in the chair said as he turned around. “Hi, I’m Hippokampos, nice to meet you. I’m the guy in the chair and emergency backdoor.”
Nino sighed and rolled his eyes. “Chlo, she’s really going to kill us.”
She shook her head, “Not if I’m right.” She looked Tim straight in the eyes. “You’re Red Robin.”
Tim nodded. “You’re still Queen Bee then?”
“Honeybee now.” She responded. “But that’s not important. You said you know the keychain?” She turned to Kon and he nodded.
“It’s mine.” Tim reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. “It’s the key to the R-Cycle.”
Chloé nodded. “Hip, get them to their room.” She glared at them. “If you’re not ready to be picked up in three minutes then I’ll kill you. They’re struggling out there, and I won’t let them down.”
“Shit!” Nino swore as he watched the screens in the room. One of them was playing live to the Ladyblog, but the rest were of different views on the area including the one that Chloé had been playing. They all watched as Puppeteer used her wand to put Raposa into marionette strings and start moving her.
“Okay, that’s it! Wayzz, shell on!” The Iron Turtle was standing before them. “I’m headed out. Extraction in five.”
Chloé nodded at him and he jumped out the window. A portal opened up behind them. “Go, get changed, and be ready. I’ll be flying by in three minutes and you better be ready to follow.”
Tim nodded and followed Kon through the portal and then Tim was scrambling to get into his uniform. “Kon, like now!” Tim looked at him where he was standing still.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to be seen!” Kon argued.
“And I thought that the love of my life was a civilian, sometimes we’re wrong.” Tim paused in place where he had been putting his mask on. “Oh shit…”
“Tim?” Kon asked him and that got him moving. “You good?”
“I’m in love with her.” Tim responded and finished getting his mask on. “Like, for real… how did I not see this?”
Kon laughed and finally got into his uniform. “No clue dude, we all did.”
“Look at the little songbird,” Chat Noir said from where he was hanging by their window. “Honeybee already got us up to speed. We needed her in a different role now though, so I’m here to escort you to M’Lady.” He held out a hand. “You wanna jump with me, or grapple?”
Tim looked at Chat Noir. “I feel better grappling.”
“Just make sure you keep up.” He grinned and looked at Kon. “Keep up as well. Would hate to see you left behind.”
---
“Chlo spilled the beans.” Nino spoke through the Hivemind the moment Adrien sensed Chloé activate it.
“Way to sell me out. But I was right.” Chloé responded and glanced at Marinette who was glaring at where Nino was now facing off against Alya.
“Someone get me up to speed.” She dodged Puppeteer’s attack and Adrien saw Chloé flying towards the hotel.
“Your crush is a little birdy and his best friend is a super.” Max responded. “And I think I’m the only one suited up whose name they don’t know now.”
“He’s not my crush!” Marinette yelled and then looked at the field again. She turned to him and tossed him her Lucky Charm “Chloé get back to Nino, we need you on Alya, Adrien, go get the boys.”
“Yes M’Lady.” He didn’t need to be told twice, and Marinette was clearly going to be combative until after they all sat down and talked.
“And I thought that the love of my life was a civilian, sometimes we’re wrong.” Adrien had gotten close enough to the window to hear Tim. “Oh shit…”
“Tim?” Connor asked him and Adrien got closer to the window to be just outside it. “You good?”
“I’m in love with her.” Tim was putting on his mask and Adrien stifled a laugh. Leave it to Marinette to fall in love with her best friend and then him turn out to be a hero. “Like, for real… how did I not see this?”
Connor laughed as he spun through the air. “No clue dude, we all did.”
“Look at the little songbird,” Adrien finally spoke up. “Honeybee already got us up to speed. We needed her in a different role now though, so I’m here to escort you to M’Lady.” He held out a hand. “You wanna jump with me, or grapple?”
Adrien bit back a laugh as Tim assessed him before shaking his head. “I feel better grappling.”
“Just make sure you keep up.” He grinned and looked at Connor. “Keep up as well. Would hate to see you left behind.” Adrien decided he liked the tinge of pink that Connor turned. Maybe this whole thing could be even more fun.
“Keep your thoughts to yourself lover boy.” Chloé chastised him and he blushed when he realized he’d been thinking too hard about it.
He kept jumping from building to building aiming for the bakery where he had left Marinette. “Be there in just a moment Bugaboo, where do you want us?”
“She had to recharge. She’ll be back in a moment.” Nino answered him and Adrien heard his gasp as he took a bad hit. “If we can get me out of here soon that would be nice. Alys hits hard and my shelltor is about to fall.”
“Boss lady is back, everyone look alive.” Chloé chimed in.
“Where do you want us Bugaboo?” Adrien looked around for her.
“Chlo, if you can get close to them do you think that you could add Red Robin and Superboy into the hivemind?” Marinette popped up on the next building over and waved at him.
“Not sure about alien boy, but Robin should be easy to add in.” Chloé responded. “But Nino is in bad shape and I haven’t been able to get close enough to sting Alya or Manon.”
Marinette nodded. “Adrien, send Superboy to me, take Red Robin to Chloé. The three of you should be able to release Alya. Save the cataclysm for a moment though. I think we’ll still need it.”
“On it!” Adrien stopped suddenly and turned to the boys. “Red, you’re coming with me, we have a Bee to see and a Fox to save. SB, LB wants you with her.”
“And you’re gonna tell us how you know all this?” Tim asked him.
“Hivemind, very useful to keep the team on track.” He laughed at their faces. “Short version, it’s like having communicators, but without having to worry about losing one in the field.”
Tim nodded once and then looked at Connor. “Defer to Ladybug. I’ll give you a signal if I need you.”
Connor gave an easy smile and flew off to see Marinette.
Adrien started off towards Puppeteer. “We’re gonna get you close to Honeybee, she’s gonna add you into the hivemind, she wasn’t sure if it would work on Superboy so LB is gonna have him help with the main part of her plan.”
“And keep you from flirting with him.” Chloé added in snickering.
Adrien got them to where Chloé was waiting and she turned to Tim. “This shouldn’t hurt, but it will feel funny. You’ll get used to the voices pretty quickly. Keep your thoughts under control, because things will come down the line if you don’t.” Tim looked wary but stepped closer so that Chloé could tap him on the head. “Hivemind.”
“You in here Red?” Adrien tested it out.
“Oh you’re right, it is a little weird.” Tim’s voice came through and Adrien grinned.
Marinette interjected. “Please call him Robin, we already call Raposa red.”
“Shelltor going down!” Nino yelled and Adrien swooped in to get between him and Alya.
“Bee, on my signal freeze Raposa. Robin, vault to the side and cut the strings. Chat, be ready to catch.” Marinette suddenly swung into Puppeteer’s line of sight again. “Honeybee! Now!”
Three things happened at once. Chloé was finally in close enough to freeze Alya, Tim took a running leap and cut her strings, and Connor grabbed Puppeteer around the middle while Marinette stole her wand and snapped it in half.
Once she was free of her strings Chloé unfroze Alya and Adrien grabbed her flute from where it had fallen and threw it to her as he rolled to the side to catch Manon where Connor had let her fall when the bubbles went over her body.
“Raposa, cover up! Now! Hip, did you scrub the footage?”
“Cow-bot stopped recording when Puppeteer got too close to the safehouse.” Max responded and Adrien sighed as he watched Connor grab Tim and fly them off behind a building. “I’m ready to make the extraction when you give the word Ladybug.”
“We’re at the door you sent Supeboy to Ladybug.” Tim’s voice was calm and collected and Adrien smiled. He was going to be perfect for Marinette.
“Get them out of here.” Marinette threw the second Lucky Charm, a superman figure, into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” Marinette walked over to him and smiled at Manon who was just starting to wake up again.
Manon groaned. “It happened again didn’t it?”
Marinette nodded at her. “I’m sorry Manon, did you need a ride back to practice?”
She stood out of Adrien’s arms. “Nah, they aren’t gonna get back to it if this happened. Guess I better go say sorry though.”
“You never have to apologize for your emotions.” Marinette handed her the pen that had become her wand. “The people who matter will understand.”
“Thanks Ladybug, Chat Noir! I’ll head out now. Hope I didn’t hurt too many people.” Manon said the last part under her breath but Adrien’s advanced hearing still caught it.
Adrien walked over to where the others were standing. “Pound it!”
“Be back in the club house in ten minutes.” With that last command Marinette ran off and Adrien followed her while the others went their own ways. “Robin, Honeybee will drop the Hivemind in a moment. Can we meet you in your rooms?”
“I think that would be for the best, Ladybug.”
“Bee, drop the call.” Adrien grinned as he and Marinette landed on the roof of Le Grand Paris and they dropped into the corner that Chloé had set up specifically for them to detransform in.
“Guess we aren’t going to the zoo.” Adrien joked and Marinette slapped him.
“What am I going to do?!” She was spazzing and Adrien grabbed her hands.
“Be yourself Bugaboo.” Adrien grabbed her hands. “You both already like each other.”
“But what if he doesn’t like me me?” She asked and he grabbed her in a hug.
“He will.”
---
“Oh my god she’s amazing.” Tim was taking off his mask and suit and couldn’t stop grinning. “The whole thing with distracting Puppeteer by taking Raposa back! That was amazing and quick thinking. And getting us out of there so fast!”
Kon laughed and patted him on the back as he shrugged on his t-shirt. “Yeah Tim I was there.”
Tim laid back on his bed. “You don’t understand dude! You didn’t hear her! Her mind was so sharp and kept her team on track.”
“So she’s you.” Kon laughed again.
Tim nodded. “But so, so, so much better. You should have heard the respect the team has for her.”
Kon started to laugh.
---
“You should have heard how much respect Connor had for him.” Adrien started to laugh at her and she glared at him. “What’s so funny?”
Adrien shook his head. “You wouldn’t get it.”
“Kitty, so help me!” Marinette turned on him before the door behind her opened and she spun around blushing. “Hi.” She gave a shy little wave that Tim returned over Connor’s shoulder.
“Welp, I think I’m gonna take the punk rocker out to coffee. You two have a lot to talk about.” Adrien shoved her into the room and grabbed Connor’s hand and then the door was shutting and she and Tim were just staring at each other.
“So, uh, hi.” She stumbled over her words and bit the inside of her cheek.
“Hi,” he responded, looking at her with trepidation as well.
“So, uh, you’re…”
“Yep… and you’re…”
“Yeah…” She ran a hand through her hair and then walked over to sit on the bed next to him. “Does this make things weird now?”
Tim shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think maybe it makes them easier?”
She turned to look at him. “You think so?”
He licked his lips and nodded. “Well… it’s just… I’ve had the biggest crush on you since we first met, and then I started crushing on Ladybug while she worked with us… so… I guess what I’m saying is… Marinette, will you go out with me?”
She smiled at him and grabbed his hands. “You know, I thought I was betraying you by having a crush on Red Robin, even though I knew that there was little chance that I would actually get to see you in person again.”
“Why do you say that?” He asked genuinely.
She gave a sad smile. “Well… you never seemed to leave Gotham… and I can’t leave Paris.”
“I’d leave Gotham for you,” he whispered into the space between them and then she surged up to kiss him.
The kiss was a little messy, they were both smiling too much and it was fast, but Marinette had never been more sure about anything.
“I think I’ve fallen for you,” Tim said when they pulled apart.
“I hope that you have, because I’m head over heels for you,” she whispered back.
There was a sharp knock at the door. “You two better not start making out, I thought there was a meeting going on.” Chloé’s voice came through the door and Marinette groaned.
“We better go before she gets Max to get us.”
“Put a pin in it?” Tim asked her.
“Yes please.” She held out a hand and they walked to the door. “Can’t wait.”