"Ten bucks says the she-devil tries to take credit."

"Twenty says the sheep assume it was her doing without her having to even say a word."

Mar'i and Marinette shook their heads with amusement at Alix and Chloe who were now shaking hands. The two were currently betting about how Lila would manage to take credit for their trip to Gotham that Mar'i and Marinette had planned. The sisters had somehow managed to land the role of co-class presidents despite being hated by a good majority of their class. It didn't help that Mlle. Bustier used their position to shirk off her own work and push it onto the two teenagers. Of course, they normally received help from their friends, but it was still a lot of work.

A lot of work that they rarely received credit for. 

Over the past few years, their classmates and teachers and even their parents had become taken in by Lila's lies. Friends turned into enemies, and enemies turned into friends. It was difficult, but it showed them who they could really put their faith in. 

"Do we still have the 'get-together' tonight?" Alix asked as the four girls walked into their classroom, ignoring the glares coming from their former friends and making their way to the back where Felix already sat with his large cup of coffee that Mar'i was sure to swipe at some point. 

"Yup!" Mar'i practically skipped to her blonde boyfriend whose face seemed to soften ever so slightly from its icy exterior at the sight of the girl. "Same time we mentioned before, and we're meeting up beforehand at the regular place."

Now, to explain this little 'get-together.'

It had been a few months since Hawkmoth had been defeated. Afterwards, they'd had to send a message to the Justice League lifting the ban on other heroes coming to Paris. The ban had originally been created after one of the more minor heroes had come to investigate only to end up akumatized and had created literal hell on Earth. Team Miraculous as well as the entirety of Paris decided they didn't particularly feel like dealing with that again, so foreign heroes were banned. Now that Hawkmoth was gone, however, there was no reason to keep them out.

One thing led to another and they somehow found themselves as honorary members of the Justice League. 

They had the strangest feeling that whatever magic hid their identities also hid their age…

Anyways, the 'get-together' was actually a meeting with the Justice League that they had somehow managed to get themselves roped into, and the regular meeting place was the top of the Eiffel Tower which was where they'd be teleporting from. What really sucked was that they'd have to leave at around one in the morning which left less than a desirable amount of sleeping time. 

By the time Mlle. Bustier arrived, Mar'i had already gulped down half of Felix's coffee and was pulling out any homework that they had had out of her bag that smelt of camembert cheese. Now, Mar'i was a fairly cheerful person herself, but she absolutely abhorred the cheery smile that Mlle. Bustier always seemed to walk in with. After dealing with years of her enabling and condescending attitude, though, anything the woman did these days seemed to grate on her nerves. 

"Alright, class!" The sad excuse of a teacher clapped her hands as she tried to gain the students attention which wasn't working out very well as quite a few of them were still listening to another one of Lila's tales. "I have exciting news!" That seemed to get a few of their attention. "Next week we will be leaving for a two week trip to Gotham, New Jersey!" Now she had everybody's attention. "All of your parents have already signed the necessary forms, so make sure to come bright and early Monday morning! All information and scheduling should be sent out to you all via email later today! We should be very thankful to those that made this happen, okay?"

The class seemed to burst in excitement and noise as the woman finished speaking.

Mar'i only cringed when she could hear the voice of Alya over all of the noise. 

"I can't believe you got us a trip to Gotham!" The brunette exclaimed, pulling everybody's attention towards the tabloid reporter and the liar next to her. 

"Well, I wasn't planning on saying anything…" Lila looked away with fake modesty and shyness. Mar'i's lips twitched up a bit when she noticed Alix slam some money into Chloe's outstretched hand while mumbling something about how she was already rich enough. "But I suppose I should mention that it's only thanks to Damiboo that we could even get this trip…"

Mar'i choked.

Feeling Felix pat her back with slight concern, she couldn't help but stare at Lila with complete disbelief. Glancing over at Marinette, she could tell her sister was in a similar state. You see, before planning the trip, the two had looked up everything there is to know about Gotham, and they had a dreadful feeling that they knew exactly who Lila meant by 'Damiboo.'

They weren't sure whether they were looking forward to seeing Damian Wayne kill Lila or not.

Would it be bad if they kind of were?

"Damiboo?" Rose asked, leaning in curiously with a bit of excitement at the blush that began to seep into the Italian's skin. The pink clad girl always had been a sucker for anything romantic. 

"Oh!" Lila covered her mouth, looking away 'apologetically.' Meanwhile, Mar'i and Marinette had to cover their mouths in an attempt to keep from snickering at Alix and Chloe's display of gagging at Lila's words. "I think I've said too much already."

Let's be honest, though. 

When did she not say 'too much?'

"Oh, come on, girl!" Alya nudged her good-naturedly. "You can tell us! Some of us," she sent a glare towards the back where Mar'i and Marinette were, "can keep a secret!"

Mar'i rolled her eyes at the blatant jab towards them. Personally, she thought she did an excellent job of keeping secrets. Hell, her entire identity seemed like a secret at times. 

"Wellll~" Lila 'gave in.' "Have you guys ever heard of Damian Wayne?"

"No way!" The sheep looked at Lila in awe.

Mar'i leaned over to whisper in Felix's ear. "Is it bad that I hope she has the audacity to lie like that in Gotham?"

Felix's lips twitched up a bit, also leaning over a bit so that he could whisper in her ear. "I would say no if it didn't mean that we'll probably end up as the target of villains."

"Oof, fair point."

The two shared an amused glance. 

Honestly, they weren't all that worried about villain attacks. They could handle themselves, but still… they'd rather avoid any possible innocents getting involved in the crossfire. 

"Should we make bets on how long it'll take for us to be targeted?" Chloe asked, joining the couple's conversation. 

"Five says we don't even make it a week."

"Coward," Chloe turned to Alix, referring to the measly amount that the girl bet. "Thirty says we don't even make it three days."

"You're on!"

To be frank, Mar'i wasn't sure how she felt about their trip to Gotham. On one hand, it's sure to be very educational, and it will give Marinette the chance to check out the city she'd be moving to after graduation. On the other hand, she'd be in the same city as the family she'd been with for only three years of her life. 

Don't get her wrong, she loved her birth parents. Well, as much as she could considering she hadn't seen them in over twelve years. However, a part of constantly wondered why they had never come back for her. They had always come back for her before. It wasn't as if she was trying to hide or anything, so why hadn't they come back? Had they given up on her? Did they just not want her anymore?

It was those insecurities that kept her from going back to America and attempting to find her family. 

She wasn't sure she could handle the rejection. 

The half-Tamaranian was nudged out of her thoughts by Felix, who was looking at her with concern. Somehow, he could always tell when she was starting to get lost in her self-deprecating thoughts. Mar'i was grateful for Felix almost the same way that she was grateful for Marinette. He always seemed to be able to read her in a way that nobody else could. And the opposite applied as well.

Mar'i Dupain-Cheng could read Felix like an open book. Then again, people were slightly convinced that the couple were mind readers with how well they seemed to be able to read each other as well as others. Maybe that was why they got along so well. They never seemed to misunderstand the other's intention.

In any case, Felix raised a brow in question once he finally got the girl's attention. She just shook her head with a small smile in response. Felix was the only other person besides Marinette that Mar'i had told of her parentage and life before Paris, but she didn't feel like spilling out her doubts about their trip right in the middle of the classroom. 

She says that like she isn't going to see her father in the mask in less than twenty four hours. Granted, she had done her best so far to completely avoid any of the batfam, and she thought that she was doing pretty good. Did it matter that they always got really suspicious whenever she came up with some weird new reason to avoid them?

No. No, it did not. 

Mar'i will not be accepting any constructive criticism.

******

1646 words excluding A/N's

Finished- August 30, 2021

Bye~