Ten: Nice and Again
Author's Note: So Chat actually does get his long weekend with Marinette after all! Of course, getting there is half the fun, right? But how, exactly, does a human-sized black cat get from Paris to Nice? Naturally, Chat has given this more thought that you would have expected. -ep
I wasn't overly upset when I got the phone call from Marinette.
Waiting atop the building opposite the headquarters of Chateau Le Blanc, I'd intended to spirit her away toward our off-again, on-again weekend getaway in Nice – an unusual aftereffect of the akuma attack the company had suffered just an hour earlier which had resulted in all of the employees getting the rest of the day off. Unsurprisingly, though, when Marinette had ducked back into the building to collect her things, she'd wound up going into full counselor mode; by the time her chagrined face appeared on my baton phone, I knew she would be another couple of hours helping her shaken workmates cope with the rather unique experience foisted on them courtesy of Hawkmoth.
"I'll be another hour at least," she said. "Can we still make the train?"
"Our tickets are for the 1620 departure," I said. "So yes, but we'll have to hustle. You want me to continue to wait?" I asked, knowing I could carry her back to the apartment faster than her usual route on the Metro.
"No," she said thoughtfully. "Head home so you can finish packing, and I'll be along as quickly as I can."
"I'm holding you to that, Purrincess," I smiled as I clicked off and leapt into the blue sky toward home.
Marinette's original cancellation of our long-planned getaway had been so last minute, I'd not had a chance to rebook the tickets, so we were, indeed, still booked on the 1620 bullet train that ran nonstop from Paris to Nice. Assuming she wasn't delayed a whole lot longer, I had enough time to re-pack everything I'd unpacked earlier. It wasn't much, to be sure – I was likely going to have to stay transformed a bit more than normal – but my intention was to allow Plagg to roam, since he deserved a break as much as any of us. To that end, I'd borrowed a number of items from my favorite makeup artist, as well as a few goodies the internet had been able to provide.
Actually, I hadn't told her I'd splurged for a First Class compartment, mostly because I'd planned on surprising her with it. Her first months had been pretty hectic, so I'd justified the luxury as a way to jumpstart Marinette's ability to unwind for the weekend. Obtaining the tickets had required a bit of legerdemain and use of Chat Noir's Black Card, which I thought myself rather clever in obtaining just after graduation from University. I hadn't quite figured out how I'd be boarding the train, however; while Chat may have been an elite credit card holder, he didn't have an official national photo ID to go with it. I'd have to hope they'd believe I was the real feline.
The other problem – being seen in public with Marinette – was partially taken care of with the First Class ticket. We were guaranteed our own waiting lounge and subsequent private boarding. That would only work, though, if I managed to avoid the paparazzi on our way into the train station. I had a plan for that, though, provided Marinette was reasonably on time.
I smiled at the final part of my weekend package. Unknown to Marinette, the Agreste Family had a rather large mansion we euphemistically referred to as "the cottage" along a secluded beach in an exclusive part of Nice; when not in use by us, House of Gabriel made it available to discriminating clients wanting to keep a low profile. As Father was essentially a recluse these days, it was rented quite regularly. I'd used Chat's Black Card to book the cottage for the weekend, hoping it would appear to be just one more high roller guest in the long history of the location.
Explaining it all to Marinette, though, was going to require some finesse. My rather evasive answers to her questions about where we were staying had been along the lines of getting "an amazing deal on an AirBNB" I found online. As I'd not been to the cottage myself in years, I was a little worried some trace of my civilian identity might be in the space. Getting Marinette out of Paris for the weekend seemed worth the risk.
As I landed on my balcony, though, it occurred to me that I needed to re-clear my long weekend with Ladybug. It had taken quite a bit for me to ask her for the time off initially, more due to the fact that I really didn't want to leave her alone in case Hawkmoth decided to pull something. She'd covered for me before when I was out of town on business, but knowing that didn't make it any easier for me. Leaving her unprotected went against every fiber in my feline body.
The baton was still in my hand from travelling, so I slid it up to call her. Surprisingly, Carapace chose to take that moment to call me. I smiled a bit seeing my turtle teammate, for I was becoming increasingly convinced I knew who wore those bubble goggles. "Cap," I smiled. "Did Ladybug call a meeting?" I asked, knowing he didn't ordinarily keep his Miraculous.
"Dude, I hear you're going out of town!" he said, the quasi-surfer lilt to his voice nearly confirming my suspicion. "Your main girl, LB, decided this would be a good weekend for Rena and me to be in charge. We're on duty the whole weekend!" he said proudly.
I was torn between how happy I was that he was happy, and wondering how Ladybug knew I was still leaving town. "That's great, Cap," I smiled. "Yeah, I'm taking Marinette to Nice. But if you run into anything, call me immediately and I'll be on the first train back. Faster, if needed," I added, knowing I could likely call on the House of Gabriel private jet for a real emergency.
"Don't trouble your mind, Chat," he said. "We've got it covered. Now have a good time!" he said as he clicked off.
I stared at the tiny screen for a few seconds before speed dialing Ladybug. She picked up almost immediately. "Hey Chat," she smiled. "You caught me out and about. What's up?"
"I just talked to Carapace," I said.
"Ah," she smiled wider. "You know about my plan, then?"
"Yes," I said, "but how did you know I was still going out of town?"
"You are?" she said, genuinely puzzled. "I thought you had to cancel?"
"I did, but with the akuma today, Marinette managed to get the weekend off. So we're still going."
"That's great!" she replied. "I confess to a tiny white lie; I told Carapace and Rena you were still going out of town. I thought it might be good for them to have some time in the hot seat." She smiled wider. "This is even better that you are going. I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks," I said, unsure of why her answer felt hollow to me. "But if you need me—"
"I won't," she said quickly. "But I know where to find you. Now, go relax."
"As you wish, Milady," I laughed as we both hung up.
I de-transformed so Plagg could get a break and top off on his cheese; I hummed to myself as I pulled my luggage out of the closet and re-packed what I was taking, then buzzed through the shower. As I came back out of the bathroom toweling my hair, I heard the apartment door close.
"Chat?"
"Out in a moment," I said, muffling my voice in the towel. I'd tried variations on pitching my voice to sound more like Chat when I was not transformed, but each time Plagg had doubled over in laughter. My eyes caught his and he floated toward me. "Ready?" I whispered.
"Am I ever," he smiled. It warmed my heart that he was looking forward to this as much as I was.
"Plagg – claws out!" I whispered, and the green wave of transformation quickly washed over me. Once my cat vision appeared, I pulled the door open and bowed to Marinette. "Purrincess," I said. "Are you ready?"
"Am I ever," she laughed.
My eyes snapped up toward hers. Had she heard me talking to Plagg? "Indeed," I smiled.
Normally, I'd simply carry her wherever we were going, but with our luggage, we'd agreed that Marinette would call for taxi and meet me at the train station. I gave her a quick kiss as I started back toward my balcony. "I'll see you in a few," I said.
"Last one to the station buys the most expensive cocktail on the menu," she said as I hurled myself off the railing.
"You'd better get your credit card ready then, Princess," I chuckled as I soared back into the afternoon sky. She had no idea what she was about to experience.
I worked my way to the train station, and then perched on the ornamental façade of the grand structure. I'd not intended to race her at all and had, in fact, paralleled the taxi all the way to the station; I watched as it pulled up to the curb and then slid further to the VIP section. I couldn't help the massive Chat grin as she opened the door and found herself swarmed by porters; two took our luggage while the third whisked her through the exclusive First Class side entrance.
That was my cue.
Backflipping, I trotted across the rooftop and located the skylight I'd found a few days earlier while scoping out my plan. It gave directly into the First Class waiting lounge, and I crouched beside it to confirm that Marinette had entered the space. Smiling when I saw her, I popped it open just enough to slip through and drop down to the tile below in a crouch.
She was alone in the space, and per the part of the plan she'd known about, quickly pulled out my hoodie and sweats from the oversized carryall she had. But her eyes were dancing slightly with bemusement as she handed them to me. "This is not what we discussed," she said.
"It's not?" I replied innocently as I threaded my boots through the sweatpants and tried not to snag an ear on the hoodie.
"No," she said. "And you also owe me a cocktail."
I chose not to correct her assumption. "It was an honor to lose to you," I said, bowing.
Whatever response she had on her mind was interrupted when the conductor appeared at the entrance on the platform side of the room. "Monsieur… Noir? Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng?" His eyes flicked up from the tablet he was reading and caught my masked face beneath the hoodie.
I smiled my megawatt million-dollar model smile. "We're trying to keep this on the down-low," I said confidentially.
He returned my smile, his eyes rising higher to confirm the ears. I groaned inwardly; the mask was sometimes hidden in the recesses of the hood, but the ears were always a problem. "Of course," he said, "this way, please."
Quickly, he whisked us across to the waiting First-Class car, and showed us into a rather spacious compartment replete with a comfortable looking couch, two easy chairs and a sizable window. I'd thought to keep some Euros in my costume and heavily tipped the conductor as he bowed out. Once the door was closed, Marinette turned on me.
"What in heaven's name did you do?" she asked.
I hopped onto the couch and folded myself into a cat-like stance. "Would you believe me if I told you I had a coupon? One free upgrade when travelling with a cat?"
"No."
Flipping the hoodie back to free my ears, I shook my mane out. "I may have splurged," I said. "It seemed prudent in that we'd be guaranteed some level of privacy. I'm still acutely aware of my need to protect you; I didn't want us to appear on social media if I could help it."
She looked a bit worried. "Where on earth did you get the money? This had to have set you back—"
"You are worth every penny," I said, reaching for her and drawing her into me on the couch. "Besides, I had that extra income from the cat burglary I did last week-ooof!" I cried as she punched me in the chest.
"Not funny," she frowned, but she was quickly grinning. As the train began to slide quietly out of the station, she snuggled into me there on the couch and stayed there for the entire trip to Nice.
We reversed the process once the train pulled into Nice late that evening; Marinette took the taxi to the address I provided her, and I trailed along as best as I could; unlike Paris, the buildings were a bit shorter and spaced further apart, making it more difficult to run across the rooftops like I was accustomed. In the end, I wound up hitching a ride on a delivery van that was headed in the same direction, leaping off when it was within shouting distance.
The darkness covered my actions nicely, so much so that Marinette didn't see me perched on top of the fence ringing the cottage as she came up the steps from where the taxi had dropped her. "Princess," I said warmly.
Marinette jumped back with a shriek, and dropped the luggage. In a flash, I was down to her side immediately. "Sorry!" I said, holding her tightly. "I forget sometimes you can't see as well as I can."
"Don't do that again," she said, breathing deeply.
"I won't," I agreed, picking up the luggage and pushing my way through the gate.
From this angle, the cottage looked smaller than it was, but I could still hear Marinette's intake of breath as she caught sight of what little was illuminated by the small accent lights. I punched in the code for the door and went in, holding it for her as she followed.
Marinette stopped two steps into the space. "You said this was a cottage…"
"I know, right?" I whistled. "I think they undersold it a bit."
A wide space opened in front of us, two steps down from the door, with floor-to-ceiling glass facing the beach. Even with the panes closed, the crash of the surf below us was still evident but in a subtly muted way. An open plan kitchen was off to the left, and a small staircase leading to the loft was on the right; couches and other comfy seating were sunk two more steps into the center of the space, surrounding a small coffee table. I knew the two master suites on the loft were each bigger than our entire apartment in Paris, and came with their own jacuzzi tub. I'd be lucky to get Marinette out of her bedroom at all.
I smiled. When the Agrestes did something, they did it reasonably well.
Groceries were stacked on the counter per my order, and I could see the wine I'd requested was already in the rack. Despite the late hour, I led Marinette over to the breakfast bar and made a show of looking for the wine glasses before uncorking a bottle with my claw.
Decanting into her glass, I gazed into her blue eyes. "Surprised?"
"Seriously," she replied as I moved to fill my glass.
"You've been working pretty hard," I said as I pushed the cork back into the bottle. Holding my glass up, I continued. "Here's to you unwinding and enjoying your success. So far."
"So far," she said, clinking her glass to mine and sipping before turning that dazzling smile on me.