Black Alley

Just Breathe

Marinette did not end up on the bus. She ended up in an alley about a block away. She couldn't believe luck. Why? Why did the Joker have to come to Gotham academy? If he wasn't already in Arkham she'd-

And then her emotions caught up to her and the tears started to well up. She didn't want this to happen. She was supposed to tell them (if she was going to tell them). She buried her head into her knees, tears and anxiety were let out in silent sobs and moans.

"Is there any reason you're in an alley?" a voice came from out of nowhere.

She jumped out, not expecting anyone to be in the alley. She looked up to see a man in a red helmet ((?) She didn't know) and a tan sweater. Underneath was gray padding (Leather?), his abs showing. He was wearing black jeans and wore black combat boots that covered his calves.

"You're Red Hood!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Unless I have a reason to," he added. "No. I'm innocent. I swear," she said, showing that her hands were empty. "So then what is a teenage girl like you doing in a dirty alley?" he asked.

"Running away from my problems. Although I probably should've just stuck to my original plan of staying on the bus because I'm getting cold," she said.

"Bus? There's no bu- Are you not- Oh! You're part of that French class. From the Bruce Wayne competition right? The ones that won?" he said.

"Yeah. It was my idea. My class just helped with the actual details," she said. "Wow. I'm impressed. It was really creative and smart, I was surprised when I found out about it," Red Hood said.

"I thought they didn't announce it yet," she asked, curious in her tone.

"I have my sources," he said and Marinette could tell he was smirking. "Hmm," she mumbled before looking down again. "So what's got you down?"

"Are all of Gotham's heroes this... friendly?" she asked. "Nah, I'm special. So what's up?"

"Fam-... Family issues, I guess. Just stressed out about life. There's more to it but I don't feel like talking about whatever science calls 'family'," Marinette said, rubbing her temples.

"I know all about that," Red Hood said. "You do?" she asked. "I would say more but secret identity and stuff. Just remember, you don't have to be happy and love them all the time. Hell, I still fight with my family more than I talk to them," he said.

"I don't think that's healthy," she said. Red Hood just shrugged.

Her phone beeped, interrupting their conversation. "I better go. It was nice to meet you, M. Hood," she said. "Do you know where to go?"

"Yeah. Goodbye," she said, walking out of the alley. Red Hood peeked his head out of the alley as she got to a certain distance. He had never met anyone like her, it was refreshing. Oh, well. Time to finish patrol.

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"Are you okay, now?" Adrien asked, sitting next to her as she stared out the window, her mind elsewhere. "Yeah," she said. Adrien wrapped his arm around her waist, careful to make sure no one else saw, and made her lean into him.

"Whatever happens, it's you and me against the world," he said, sticking his fist out. Marinette smirked. "You and me against the world. Pound it!" she bumped her fist with his.

The bus driver started the bus once Ms. Bustier finished her head count, in which Marinette let out a breath of relief. It wasn't until a few seconds afterward she saw Dick looking at her, both of them making eye contact, before Marinette pulled away and leaned her head on Adrien's shoulder.

____________________

"So, does anyone know why Ladybug actually showed up? Or how she knew where we were at?" Alix asked.

"She's never been so secretive about something like this with me," Alya said. "Yeah, she literally just said, 'Can't say. Bug out!' like it was normal! Adrien, what do you-" Kim stopped. "Where is he?"

Alya turned around to see Marinette leaning her head against the window but no model there. "Is he-"

"Shhh," Alya said, bringing out her phone to take a picture. The class all sat up, leaning behind their chairs to see what Alya was taking a picture of.

Adrien and Marinette were sleeping on each other just like Startrain, except the roles were reversed. Adrien fell asleep on Marinette's breast, his body weight making them both lean. Marinette's hand was covering her cheek as she leaned her head against the window. No one noticed Lila's growl.

The class let them be after getting millions of pictures, Alya still taking time to stare at the two people.

Nino gently woke them up when it was time to get off the bus and back into the hotel room. They both blushed hard when the class kept showing them the pictures they took.

When Adrien, Marinette, and Chloe got into their room, Chloe announced that she was going to go take a long bath to wash the 'freak' off her.

"I can't believe he found out! Now he's going to tell Bruce Wayne and he's gonna be mad because I didn't tell him right away and he'll disown me and then blacklist me from every fashion house!" Marinette said as Chloe shut the door.

"Marinette, breathe," he said as he rubbed her lower back. "I didn't want them to find out!" Mari said.

"Marinette, stop yelling at me. I'm right here and I know you didn't want this to happen," he said.

There was a knock on the door and Adrien perked up. "I'll go get the door. Stay here, okay? I'll bring you back some water," she nodded her head, her breathing still shallow.

Adrien walked to the door and answered just as the visitor was about to knock again. "Hell-" Adrien stared at him in shock.

"I need to have a conversation with my sister," Richard Grayson said.