Eighty-One: Staycation

With Master Fu's trip going into its third month, Chat begins to wonder if they will be stuck with Miracle Box permanently – more so as it's putting a bit of a crimp in his plans to get out of town with Marinette.

Life fell into a somewhat normal pattern for us after I assumed the reigns at House of Gabriel – at least, as normal as they could be, given we were superheroes. In the months that followed, I slowly started to turn my company toward the direction of success, cancelling some of the projects my father had been favoring and replacing them with the brilliant designs my staff had been, essentially, hiding from him in fear of triggering a tirade. I had a hand in more than a few, too, including one outfit that may or may not have been inspired by a bug-themed heroine.

Hawkmoth seemed to have hit a manic period again, though, filling our days with one or more akumas; more than a few nights were similarly interrupted, forcing us back to a pattern of working nearly around the clock for weeks at a time, catching as much rest as we could in the small breaks he provided. In some ways I felt as though I were back in my teenage years once more, trying to fit my life in and around Hawkmoth's latest exercises. What made it different this time around was my ability to fall into the arms of my girlfriend each and every time we fought him back yet again.

It also meant I was back to spending more time as Chat, given how regularly I was being called to action. Marinette didn't seem particularly upset at the side benefit of being able to curl up into her favorite feline after a particularly difficult battle, but I was starting to run a rather sizable tab at the cheese monger for the super-deluxe Camembert serving as my never-ending apology to Plagg. My kwami was surprisingly far more understanding than I expected and was even concerned enough at the heightened activity from Hawkmoth to keep his good-naturedly grumbling to a minimum.

One summer evening found me cuddled up next to Marinette on the chaise lounge out on our large balcony facing the Eiffel Tower, three months or so into our new reality and an hour after the latest akuma rampage. The sun had barely set, allowing the lights on the magnificent structure we had rescued yet again to blaze toward the heavens in warm, romantic way. Adding to the coziness was my girlfriend's head laying on my costumed chest, one finger idly tapping at my bell letting out little tinkling chimes at irregular intervals; the glass of wine in my paw seemed to have given everything that gentle glow of relaxation, something both of us sorely needed.

"We need a vacation," I said, my voice just slightly louder than the purring Marinette seemed able to tease out of me at will. "I can book the villa for the weekend, if you think we can get away."

Mari sighed and twisted a bit so her deep blue eyes could connect with my masked feline ones. "i don't disagree. I can't even remember the last time we took time off, but I'm not sure we can."

Shifting my wineglass to the other paw, I reached down and tapped her engagement ring with a claw. "That was the last time, Milady," I said softly.

Marinette frowned. "That was several months and two babies ago," she sighed again, holding the ring up to what little light we had on the balcony. Glancing over my costumed shoulder in the general direction of the Miracle box, she sighed again. "I can't believe how much has changed since then."

Catching the thread of the conversation like a good cat, I asked: "This is the longest Master Fu has been absent from Paris since we've known him." Brushing back a lock of her raven hair from her beautiful face, I continued. "Should we be worried?"

"Maybe. But we don't have any way of reaching him. Or even how to retrace his steps." Putting her head back into my chest, she listened to the rumbles of my purring for a moment. "I'm starting to wonder if we should assume the worst and treat the Miracle Box accordingly."

I squeezed my masked eyes shut and blew out a breath. "Meaning no vacations any time soon."

"Partially accurate," Marinette said softly. "While I agree we probably shouldn't leave the box unguarded any longer than we have been, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy some time off."

I cracked open a masked eye. "Are you suggesting an in-home vacation?"

Marinette looked at me slyly. "If I recall correctly, despite the villa's location on the beach, we didn't leave it all that often the last time we were there."

"True," I agreed. "But it was also not this apartment," I emphasized. "It was exotic. Which was kind of the whole point."

Mari sat up a bit. "You don't think we could re-create that atmosphere here?"

I didn't need my enhanced feline senses to know there was a wrong answer, so I smiled weakly and hedged. "It would take a miracle to craft a beach in our living room. But since miracles are right up your alley..."

Tapping me on the tiny part of my nose not covered by the mask, she smiled. "Indeed."

I cocked my head at her expression. "You're actually looking forward to the challenge, aren't you?"

"Clear next weekend," she smiled wider. "We're going to the beach."

"I'll do better," I replied. "I'll pray to every kwami that Hawkmoth decides to take the weekend off, too."

The rest of the week flew by in a blur of akumas and soul-crushing meetings at House of Gabriel, but Friday night I arrived back at the apartment exactly at five o'clock in the evening, carefully landing on the balcony outside of Marinette's design studio. My timing wasn't accidental, for that morning I'd been given rather explicit instructions, which had also included stopping at two small shops on the way home and, oddly, the commandment that I was to remain transformed until told otherwise. That last part had resulted in my transferring a significant quantity of the super-aged cheese I held in reserve to the Bank of Plagg prior to leaving work that evening.

To my surprise, Marinette was waiting for me just behind the slider to what had originally been my suite; she had put her hair up in a neat side bun, festooned with a beautiful exotic flower. She was wearing a bikini top of her own design, paired with a festive wrap tied at her waist and hiding what I suspected was a matching brief. My masked eyes widened, though, when my feline sense of smell picked up a fragrance so amazing, I felt a little dazed – and, perhaps, more than a little concerned she'd found a variation on the pheromones I'd stumbled onto many months earlier.

"Princess," I said softly, dropping the bags I'd been carrying to whisk over and pick her up. "What on earth are you wearing?" I asked as I took in another lungful.

"Do you like it?" she asked, eyes searching mine.

"It's purrfect," I said appreciatively.

"I made all of it myself," she said, "including the perfume. It's a test, really – my boss was thinking of branching out into fragrances like House of Gabriel, and I gave them some pointers. What do you think?"

I sniffed again. "It's pretty complicated," I said thoughtfully. "Daisies? And some kind of tropical orchid, mixed in with raspberries and a hint of peach."

Marinette nodded her head. "I knew you'd be the best one to test this for me. That's exactly what I mixed together – it was based on something you described to me ages ago."

My eyes widened again. "Our trip to Versailles?" I asked. "Last spring?"

"Exactly. Is it close?"

I closed my eyes and hugged her to my costumed chest. "It is," I said, accessing the scent memory that came with being Chat. Over the years, I'd catalogued literally thousands of different scent notes, a helpful skill that allowed me to track nearly anything across the city. Including, of course, a certain human I was desperately in love with. "Is that what it's called?"

"Springtime at Versailles, yes," she smiled wider. "Good guess." She nodded toward the door. "Your escape awaits, kitty."

Tilting so she could slide out of my arms, I retrieved the bags and followed her into the apartment. My feline nose immediately went into overdrive at the cavalcade of savory scents coming from the kitchen; trailing Mari into the larger space, I had no time to indulge my feline curiosity at whatever it was my girlfriend was cooking, for the living room had become this wild exotic space – literally. The couch had been moved somewhere, replaced by two comfortable looking beach chairs and a veritable jungle of dwarf palm trees, ferns and potted flowers ranging from orchids to birds of paradise. Our television seemed to be on a looping video of a wide, sandy beach, with waves gently crashing along the shore. There was a small, round table sitting in between the two beach chairs, with a small octagonal box on top.

I dropped the bags on the breakfast counter and turned toward Marinette, masked eyes wide in amazement. "This is... wow! How did you pull this off?"

"Chateau Le Blanc has a healthy prop warehouse," she smiled, pleased with my reaction. "Like House of Gabriel, we use it for our photo shoots. It took some doing, but I managed to borrow the beach setup for the weekend."

My feline eyes fell on the box. "What is that?"

"Just a little something," she smiled. "Go ahead and open it. Wine?"

"Sure," I replied as I moved to the lounge chair and hopped onto one, perching.

Slowly, I reached out for the box, hyperaware that it was suspiciously similar to the one I'd found in my bedroom many, many years earlier. It took a moment to open the box, but when I did, I pulled out a small sculpture of what for all the world appeared to be a slice of Camembert cheese; the tiny plastic doppelgänger was perched on a clear plastic base, which appeared to have something etched into it.

Squinting my feline eyes, I read it aloud: "'The big cheese?'"

Marinette came over and sat on the lounge next to me, then reached out to put a hand on the paw holding the small sculpture. "We never really celebrated the next chapter in your career, kitty," she smiled. "I thought this might be a nice reminder for your desk, one to keep everything in perspective."

Arching a masked eyebrow, I cocked my head at her. "Purrspective?"

Mari laughed a little. "Well... maybe it's also a tiny reminder that it's okay to use your inner Chat when you need to." She wrapped her hand around my paws. "Plagg had a hand – or paw, I suppose – in this one. He's quite proud of his holder." Leaning forward, she lowered her voice a little. "As proud as I am of my partner."

I smiled before leaning down to kiss her. "Wow," I said as we pulled apart. "I am the luckiest stray feline in the universe."

"No," Marinette replied as she reached up to pull my head closer to hers. "I think I am luckier. Especially," she grinned mischievously, "seeing as though I'm Ladybug and all."

"You've got me there," I nodded, my forehead just bumping hers. Going with the moment, I set the box aside and pulled her toward me, eliciting a squeak of joy.

"Hey!" she cried out as I leaned back against the beach chair, hugging her close. "What are you doing?"

"I intend to see if I can pinpoint every location on your gorgeous body where you dabbed that perfume," I said huskily. "And then-"

"Whoa, kitty," Marinette laughed. "We've got a long weekend ahead of us. Pace yourself. At least have some dinner first; I've been cooking most of the afternoon."

I blinked. "You took a half day? And didn't tell me?"

"I needed to prepare," she smiled.

"Wow." I seemed to be saying that quite a bit that evening. "All of this? For us?"

"I know it's not your villa in Nice," she said with a smile, "but it's still just the two of us, in the most exotic getaway Paris has to offer."

"That it is," I said, hugging her close. "And exactly what the doctor ordered."

"Good," she said as she stood. "I hope you're hungry! I think I made enough for the two of us, plus all of our kwami friends and then some."

"I am," I replied.

"Excellent." She paused, a twinkle in her eye. "And just to make you aware... you are dessert."

"Ah," I smiled. "As you wish, Milady. I do what I must to keep my princess happy."

"That you do," she said softly. "All that and more."