Alfred looked at the teens in the back of the car that conversed in French, glad to finally meet the duo that were Amira's latest addition to her circle of friends.

While Amira called them mere conveniences, Alfred knew that they were anything but that. After all, she would talk about them during half of their weekly calls.

Shortly before leaving for Paris, Amira had asked if she was able to do weekly calls with him, Alfred quickly agreeing and even giving her a private line for their calls.

Around two and a half weeks ago, Amira had told him about her two friends going to Gotham and asking if there was some way to ensure their safety.

Amira suggested the family hosting their stay, in which Alfred found it to be a marvelous idea.

"If I may ask Miss Amira, why did you suggest this idea?"

"I need to make sure they're safe." She told him. "Paris' Victims are one thing, Gotham's villains are another. Seeing as I'm not allowed to even be near a gala until I'm officially introduced to society, I need to do what I can to ensure their safety...I don't want to lose them."

"Pardon me for suggesting this Miss Amira, but why don't you just come to Gotham to ensure their safety?

"As much as I know that I can, you know I really can't. Paris needs me here. They need Ladybird to remain in Paris until the Hawkmoth threat is lifted. Until then, I am to stay here..."

"M.Pennyworth, is this really okay with M.Wayne? In regards to hosting our stay, that is." Chloe asked, feeling Adrien squeeze her hand.

Despite already being teens, there were still habits the two still shared. After all, Chloe was the only other child Adrien knew growing up. She was his safety blanket during events they were forced to attend as kids... just like he was hers.

She still remembers them as clear as day.

"Have no worries about it, Miss Chloe, Master Adrien. Master Bruce and Master Dick were delighted to hear about the two of you attending tomorrow's gala, Master Dick more so than Master Bruce."

"Master Dick?" Adrien decided to ask. His father never told him about there being another Wayne.

"Master Bruce's son. Adopted, of course." Alfred elaborated, not once taking his eyes off the road. "Seems like we have arrived. Welcome to Wayne Manor."

-----

Tim peeked from behind the doorway when he heard two accented voices join Alfred's upon the manor door opening.

Tim watched as the two blonds gawked at the manor interior, setting their luggage beside themselves.

He jumped when a hand landed on his head, Tim turning to see Dick looking at him with a tired smile.

Tim frowned.

"You should be in bed."

"I have to make sure everything goes according to plan. For everything to work out as if he was here with us."

"Dick, stop pushing yourself like this. You have to rest."

Dick simply smiled at Tim as he chose then to approach the two guests.

"Welcome! The two of you must be Adrien and Chloe! Marinette speaks so much about you two!" Dick cheerfully said, stretching out his hand towards Adrien.

"You know Marinette?" Adrien asked, wondering- that's right. He must know about her if Marinette knew Selina. "That must've sounded stupid. Marinette knows Mlle Kyle, so it must make sense if you knew her as well." Dick let out a chuckle.

"Not at all! Sometimes we forget the connections we have with one another, so things like this tend to happen. Now, I'm pretty sure the two of you are tired from your flight. Alfred, if you would show them to their rooms?"

With a bow, Alfred ushered the guests to their rooms, Adrien and Chloe taken aback by the massive portraits in one of the halls that they passed by.

While the two wanted to ask Alfred who the smaller boy in one of the portraits was, they couldn't bring themselves to ask when they saw M. Pennyworth look at it with sadness in his eyes.

In one particular photo, Adrien couldn't help but notice a small girl in the distance, feeling as he had seen that girl before.

Or maybe he was just drawn to her bright smile that warmed up him as he walked through the chilly manor.

"Here are your rooms, Miss Chloe, Master Adrien. I hope they are to your expectations." Alfred said, signaling towards the two rooms across from each other. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

-----

Barbara sat in class, tuning out her professor as he talked about the different sectors of the brain.

That's when she saw a notification on her phone, making sure to not let a sigh escape her as she read it.

Grabbing her things, Barbara left the lecture hall without another word, dreading the fact that she is going to have to ask someone else for notes in her next class.

Her finger hovered over the name of the person who was the subject of the text, wondering if this was a good idea.

She was glad to know she was sent to voicemail.

"Hey, Tim just filled me in. Are you sure this is a good idea? Please call me when you get the time."

With that said, Barbara pocketed her phone and directly headed to Wayne Manor, not liking the heavy premonition weighing in her mind.

What were they thinking?

Didn't they realize that all of their secrets were in danger by having two outsiders within the manor?

Sighing, Barbara prepared herself for the possible danger that may ensue from this.

-----

Chloe just couldn't stand doing nothing, so when she asked Alfred what places they were allowed to roam in, she wasn't expecting a gym as an option.

Of course, there was no way in hell Chloe was going to expose herself by going to the gym, so she asked to be guided to the manor's library. Adrien happily tagged along, talking about wanting to start on some of their homework before heading back to Paris in two days.

"Chlo! I found us a place." Adrien squealed, dragging her to a spot near the library windows where a perfectly placed desk with floor seats there, beckoning them to sit.

Adrien quickly sat down on the tri colored one while Chloe hesitated to sit on the other one that was black with golden threads.

"This feels wrong." Chloe ended up blurting out, quickly getting up from it. "I feel as if-"

"Chloe, you're just nervous about being here. Just take a seat and do a bit of homework, it'll take your mind off the uneasiness."

But the uneasiness wouldn't leave her. She felt as if they weren't supposed to be sitting there...as if the seats weren't meant to be used by anyone but those who usually sat there...

With a sigh, she complied. "I guess you're right." Maybe she was uneasy.

-----

An hour passed until Adrien got up, stretching his legs a bit.

"And where would you even get help? We can't reach Marinette without using a phone from this home. Our phones don't work here, remember?" Chloe said, gesturing to her phone. "I totally forgot to get my other phone that works abroad. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous." She muttered, going back to doing her chemistry work.

"We're in a library Chlo. I'm bound to find something that could help us."

Adrien walked off to the front of the library, going from bookcase to bookcase, baffled to not even find a single book on chemistry.

It wasn't until he got to the second level where he found some chemistry textbooks, when a certain workbook caught his eye.

Taking it off the shelf, Adrien opened up the French workbook, surprised to see full marks on every page.

As he kept turning the pages, a photo slipped out, Adrien managing to catch it as it fell.

When he picked it up, the same girl from earlier smiled back at him as well as a boy her age.

The two children were covered in grass and dirt, Adrien noticing how the girl looked oddly like Marinette.

"Did you find anything?"

"Oh. Um, yeah! Just one though." Adrien fumbled, putting the photo and the workbook back into their place before grabbing the chemistry textbook he had found earlier.

"Just one?" Chloe scoffs. "Some library this is."

"At least it has one?"

"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous."

Adrien smiled at Chloe's antics, sitting back down, only for his mind to trail back to the picture he saw just minutes ago.

Why did she seem familiar?

-----

After a few hours of studying, the duo were called for dinner.

The two managed to sit in comfortable silence, not questioning the fact that they were the only ones at the table.

After all, Adrien was used to it while Chloe enjoyed not having to talk to any Wayne.

Not having a Wayne meant a more at ease Adrien, meaning not having to listen to Adrien forced to butter up a rich man just to please his father.

Stupid Gabriel.

Thank the kwamis Chloe was never trained to do that. Then again, maybe she should have.

Maybe it would've been a chance to learn etiquette from her mother...

Who was she kidding...her mother wouldn't even waste her time doing such a trivial thing.

Dinner lasted just half an hour and soon it was time to call it a day...or so Chloe thought.

-----

Chloe tipped toed out of the kitchen, Pollen having gone ahead of her with a napkin filled with some flowers she found in the kitchen.

She had woken up with a jolt due to hunger and not wanting to bother Alfred so late at night, Chloe decided it was best to go herself.

Confident in herself, Chloe walked to where she believed her room was located, turning corners as she made her way back.

She proudly stood in front of what she believed was her room, turning the knob and letting out a sigh of relief. She closed the door behind her, only to realize it wasn't her room.

After all, she didn't have a wall filled with notes and photos. This was her first day at Gotham, this collection belonged to someone who obviously lived here for longer than a day.

Turning to leave, Chloe did a double take on what caught her eye.

Slowly closing the door with a soft thud, Chloe walked towards the wall, slowly making out the subject of the photos thanks to the moonlight seeping into the dark room.

As Chloe got a closer look at the photos, a giggling little girl in different frilly dresses were in each one, showing different milestones in her life.

Her first steps, her first pet, her birthdays, a few displaying some drawings or baking.

In each one, Chloe couldn't help but notice that it was only M. Wayne in them, never once the girl's mother being there.

As the girl grew, she began to resemble her father even more, the smile vanishing and now wearing a scowl on her face. Her midnight hair got longer by the photo, her emerald eyes sharper.

The girl was always shown with the same uniform from Gotham Academy in these later photos, but the photos were always taken from different events.

Assemblies, science fairs, art galleries, math decathlons, trips, award ceremonies...the girl was practically in every Gotham Academy event!

But then those photos completely stopped.

Soon, two boys entered the picture and the perfect model student from Gotham Academy vanished completely.

Whenever the two boys were in the frame, the girl was smiling, grinning, baking, running, in sport competitions, and just...simply being a kid.

There was even one where she was dripping blood from her nose as she was shown winning a dodgeball competition, the boy beside her holding it as well. Meanwhile, the teen behind them ruffled their hair as he, too, smiled at the camera.

This toothy grins from the children cause Chloe's chest to twist for some odd reason.

As for the teen, he looked like a more younger version of Dick. Maybe it was him.

But just like the other school photos, those soon vanished as well...or to be more honest, all the evidence of this girl growing stopped completely.

There were no more photos on the wall, the wall barren.

Chloe noticed a photo album on the floor, picking it up. It was empty.

Looking back at the photos, Chloe wondered what exactly happened to the girl, to the boy her age.

Deciding to take this as her cue to leave, Chloe noticed a photo peering from under the bed, only managing to see the tip of it.

Upon picking it up, Chloe felt her heart stop.

The photo looked back at her with an all familiar scene.

A scene only Queen Bee and two others should only be able to see.

Looking back at her, her favorite view of Paris was staring back at her.

Paris at its most gorgeous view, from on top of the Eiffel Tower once the sun has set and the moon rises, stars that peppered the night sky.

Chloe didn't know how long she had been staring at the photo until Pollen poked her forehead.

"My Queen! There you are! You had me worried sick when I noticed you weren't behind me!" Pollen cried, hugging Chloe.

"Sorry about that. Got a bit distracted." Chloe patted Pollen's head, assuring her that she had meant what she had said. "We should probably head back. We got a long day ahead of us and we're going to need our beauty sleep if we want to survive tonight's gala."

Smiling, Pollen agreed, Chloe placing the photo on the dresser before closing the door behind her, never noticing the pair of eyes that caught her leaving the room.

-----

Chloe huffed as she tucked a loose hairstrand behind her ear, regretting putting her hair into a messy low bun. Despite her bangs being in place, having the rest of her hair in a mess was ridiculous!

Then again, she wanted it this way, the only way she could think of wearing her hair tonight. After all, it paired decently with her black pantsuit.

She couldn't help but fall in love with the way the pantsuit fit snuggly, how she didn't have to bother with worrying if she'd trip over the hem of a skirt or get it caught somewhere.

Now she got why her mother loved wearing these things.

Of course, her mother also wore a large sun hat no matter where she went, but Chloe wouldn't dare wear such a hideous thing.

To think her mother called herself a designer and fashionista.

Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

"Chloe, Earth to Chloe." Adrien whispered, Chloe looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"I know, I know." Latching on Adrien's arm, she plastered a smug smile on her face as she watched a few girls walk back from where they had come from. "To think this is the only reason why you want me around."

"It's not like that!" Adrien squeaked, pulling Chloe towards the punch bar.

Chloe looked at the suit he was wearing, pursing her lips as she grabbed his jacket's cuff.

"M. Pennyworth wasn't kidding when he said he was a jack of all trades. His embroidery is impeccable! And to think he did this in one afternoon." Chloe couldn't believe the detail on the golden design, how it was sewn so elegantly onto the black suit. It was just as professional as the design on her belt, just as precise as well.

A matching set.

Chloe let go of the cuff, holding her head high as they passed by a group of older teens.

"I feel bad for making him do it, but after considering what you had told me this morning, I knew I had to get it done."

To prevent from other families trying to impose their children onto Adrien or Chloe, the two thought of making their wardrobe to match, to give the impression that the two were already an item with each other.

So far it was working, even though a few people didn't buy it.

"There you two are. So, are you guys enjoying the gala?" Dick managed to snap the two of them from their french conversation.

"Dick!" Adrien said with a grin. "To be honest, it's kind of draining. Never had to run from so many adults wanting to introduce their daughters to me."

"You're telling me." Dick said with a chuckle, cringing at the many times he had to talk to older adults who had once sneered at him when he was young. But upon hearing that he was to inherit all of Bruce's wealth, they all tried to get into his good graces.

As if he would. Plus, love wasn't in his mind at the moment.

Burrowing those unpleasant thoughts to the back of his head, Dick noticed a pair approaching them. "Chloe, Adrien. I would like to introduce you to my father, Bruce Wayne." He gestured behind them before leaving the teens with the adults.

Turning around, Adrien and Chloe were faced with tonight's host, Selina pressed snuggly against his arm.

"Good evening, Adrien. Chloe. It's a pleasure to finally meet the two of you." Bruce smiled at them, Adrien having to tilt his head back a bit. Chloe now understood why all the ladies of Gotham fell for him. "Care to join us for a drink?"

-----

Tim watched as Amira's friends stirred up a conversation with Bruce, the two blonds chatting as if they had known Selina for years.

"Shouldn't you be there?" Tim jumped when he heard Barbara talking from behind him, almost falling out of the computer chair he was in. "Careful there! Wouldn't want to give Dick a reason to scold you for being down here without one of us with you."

"I could say the same to you. I thought you wanted to know more about the two Parisians."

"Touche." A silence fell between the two. "Come on, Tim. Bruce is going to come looking for us if we don't hurry and make an appearance."

Huffing, Tim straightened out his tuxedo and followed Babs out of the Cave, dreading tonight's events.

On one hand, he had yet to tell Bruce and Alfred of what he saw last night. What would they say when he tells them of one of the Wayne secrets being exposed? On the other hand, he had to deal with seeing something he never thought Bruce was capable of doing.

How did Dick let him do this?

-----

Adrien and Chloe were grinning from ear to ear as they listened to Selina's retelling on how she beat Bruce in poker during their first date when Bruce's attention was drawn to something across the hall.

Selina managed to see what caused Bruce to become distracted, noticing that Adrien and Chloe also caught onto Bruce being signaled by Dick from across the hall.

"Seems like it's almost time for the speech." Bruce muttered, turning back to the two teens. "It's been nice talking with the two of you. I hope to speak with you two soon."

"Pleasure was ours, monsieur." Adrien said with a bow and a grin.

"It was a pleasure meeting you and getting to talk to you. I can't wait to rub it into my mother's face the next time she calls. To think she has yet to talk to you while I have." Chloe puffed out her chest as she took a sip of her drink, Selina laughing at her words.

"Please tell me how that goes. Can't wait to hear how she reacts to that." Selina said, giving her a piece of paper.

"I promise I will." Chloe said, giving the woman a grin as she accepted the paper and stuffed it into her pockets.

With that, Bruce and Selina walked away from the two teens, Chloe and Adrien watching as they were left alone for possibly the rest of the night.

They watched as they waved as they passed by people before seeing Bruce become a bit grim when he got to Dick.

Seeing Bruce's face didn't sit well with Chloe, taking a sip of champagne as she watched the Waynes walk together to the front of the hall.

Just what were they hiding? Did it have to do with the kids in the photos she saw last night?