Chapter Text
Ladybug tapped the corner of the plastic card on the desk, frantically, as she waited for the lady with the ridiculously long nails to look up from her computer screen.
She pursed her lips and looked around the lobby of the hotel which—if it wasn’t for Paris’ generosity—she most certainly couldn’t afford to be in. Grand chandeliers hung down from the ceiling, their crystal droplets almost blinding passers-by as low sunbeams hit them and decorated the walls with magical, multi-coloured rainbows. The lowering sun was having quite the impact on the lobby’s floor as well, making it shine so brightly it would have almost been confused for an ice rink. Embarrassingly, she may have tapped it twice with her foot before walking in—just to make sure.
The whole place made Elsa’s ice palace look boring.
After what felt like forever, the receptionist finally looked up, a smile so vibrant and bright it could easily rival the shine of the marble floor.
“So, you’ve booked in for a one-bed villa, complete with a private pool? Is that correct?” The woman’s Italian voice was like thick cream, oozing with sensuality and pleasure. Italian accents really were something else… Now, if only she would be so kind as to take the credit card and give Ladybug the key to the room .
She tapped the card faster. “Yep!”
“And you do realise this is a couples hotel? Si?”
Ladybug nodded, her head challenging the speed of the card. “Si,” she mimicked, her voice coated with a thick, French accent, completely opposite to the authentic Italian feel of the resort.
“Sooooo…” the receptionist drew out. Not so inconspicuously, she looked around Ladybug. It was obvious she was trying to see if anyone was with her. Unfortunately, all she would see was the very pale British couple making out behind her. They hadn’t stopped since they’d boarded the boat from the mainland.
Disregarding the need to turn around herself, she smiled brightly at the receptionist and finally stopped tapping the card, placing it down flat and sliding it over with her fingertips.
“My–” She coughed and cleared her throat…“My other half will be here through a different method of travel. Secret identities, you know?”
She leaned forward and punctuated her question with a wink.
Why was she lying? She was here for a break, goddamn it! It didn’t matter if she were here alone or with a soccer team, she was entitled to this rest! She’d worked hard for it and she was well and truly going to take advantage of it—partner or no partner.
“Oh, right! Si, of course.” The receptionist returned the wink and continued to tap away on the computer. Did it usually take this long to check in?
“I bet it’s Chat Noir.” A nosey couple to the left of her said. They looked over to her, causing her cheeks to heat up. Her partner didn’t even know where she was.
“Nah, have you seen her with Viperion? Playing favourites, or what?” Mrs Pale standing behind her said.
“If it’s based on favourites — it’s Rena Rouge.”
Ladybug blinked. Unable to keep up with the conversations surrounding her, when someone else spoke.
“No way! It’s totally Ryuko!”
“Is my room ready yet?” Ladybug slammed her hands on the desk rather aggressively, causing the receptionist to jump out of her chair.
“Yes, of course. Is it two key cards you wanted?” The receptionist gave her another wink… Really?
Ladybug was just about done with all this. She picked up the card and flung it forwards. “Just one key please. Chat Noir will come and collect the second when he gets here. Can I see my room now, per favore?”
The receptionist looked a little taken aback, and, to be honest, Ladybug couldn’t care less. If throwing her partner's name out there as her ‘romantic getaway’ partner then so be it. It’s not like he’d choose to come to a place like this anyway. He was probably at Walt Disney World or in Australia. Or, knowing how extra he could be, maybe he’d flown to Mars for a long weekend!
“Yes, sure! I’ll call the concierge now.”
The receptionist picked up the phone, and Ladybug was surprised the woman hadn’t accidently poked her own eye out with her nails. Everyone in this resort was beautiful. The caramel eyes of the receptionist were a perfect compliment for her dark chocolate hair and olive skin—and Ladybug couldn’t help but compare herself. She was nothing like the people here and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
San Valentino island, off the coast of Italy, was beautiful. It was a favourite for honeymoon couples and couples with quite the change in their back pockets. Both of the reasons appealed to Marinette when she’d found it online and booked it…as her alter ego, of course. Coming here as Marinette was a complete and utter no-go.
At eighteen, this was the first break she was taking alone, and if this checking-in process was anything to go by, it would be the last one too. She just wanted her room, she wanted to sleep, and she wanted to finally have time to chill out. She’d been fighting crime for four years; she needed this break more than anything.
“This is Antonio. He will take you to your villa and check everything. Here is your key and a map of the island, and our welcome gift basket has already been delivered into your villa—complete with vouchers for the bar and a free couples massage.”
Great! She watched as Antonio picked up her bags, barely balancing all she’d brought with her.
“Is there anything else we can do for you?” The woman smiled so warmly that Ladybug couldn’t help the feeling of guilt from the cold welcome she’d given the receptionist. But she really just wanted to get to her room.
“Nope, all good. Grazie.”
Resisting the urge to wrestle her bags from Antonio’s hands so he didn’t drop them, Ladybug followed him out of the foyer and towards a golf cart that was waiting under the veranda. She placed her bags in the back before hopping in and closing her eyes. Finally, she could relax.
Antonio began to drive, pointing out some of the main attractions of the resort and island. However, her mind was only on one thing. Sleep. And lots of it! The tiny lights of other villas passed by in a blur. Couples dining together on their patios, couples drinking up on their terraces…couples, couples, couples.
Her heart flipped at the thought of being here with a significant other. She could just imagine it now, romantic dinners at the restaurant, holding hands and walking along the moonlit beach, kissing on the balcony…
The recent developments with Adrien had thrown her for a loop, and the Swan Island make-out with Chat Noir had her head spinning. She was dizzy from the constant back and forth. Two guys affecting her one, single heart.
She grabbed the phone from her pocket and texted her mother to let her know she was at the resort safely. She may have told a little white lie to her parents (with the help of Alya, of course), and instead of spending the taxes of Paris’ citizens on a vacation in the sun, her parents thought she was currently having an all-inclusive vacation for a fashion competition she ‘won’ on the Ladyblog. It was amazing what you could get away with when you knew the right people!
A couple more turns and Antonio was driving her down a tree-lined road and towards some villas hidden amongst the trees. It was quiet and secluded—exactly what she’d requested.
As the forest opened out, soft lights attached by string hung around the area outside two secluded villas. Both two stories, both with a balcony, and both beautiful terracotta-tiled Mediterranean buildings. It was like entering her own fairy tale.
The golf cart slowed to a stop in front of the wrought iron gate, and she took a moment to soak it all in.
The moonlight glistened off the pool, and shimmering ripples caressed the top of the water. It looked so appealing. If she wasn’t so tired, she’d be straight in–clothes be damned.
“Here’s your villa,” Antonio said in broken English. “And your piss in.”
She smiled and nodded gratefully, trying not to giggle at the guy's poor attempt at French. “That's great. Thanks.”
He took her case, snatching it before she could, and dragged it to the doorway. He fumbled around with the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door before finally pushing it open, flicking on the light switch and introducing her to the villa.
She stepped in before him, looking around at the modern, white room. It was almost as vibrant as the lobby of the resort.
“You need to see sleep?”
In more ways than one, she thought, smiling politely at Antonio. “No, it’s okay. I’m sure I’ll find it.”
“And toilet?”
She felt her mouth gaped. “Yes! I’m sure I’ll find that too.”
“You use toilet okay?”
Ladybug was slightly worried he was about to give her a step by step demonstration of using the toilet, followed by a bidet. Something she was quite certain she didn’t need.
“Yes. We have toilets in France too.” She tried to keep the smile on her face, one which must have been borderline demonic.
She stretched her arms over her head, faking a yawn with it. “I think I’m just going to unpack and head to bed. Thank you for your help.”
He stood staring at her for a moment, Ladybug unsure what she should actually do. Does she need to give him a tip? She didn’t have any euros on her…not in her suit anyway—but she did have a yo-yo. Grabbing the object from her hip, she opened it, shoving her hand in and pulling out a couple of euros, before handing them over to Antonio.
“Grazie,” he said, before turning around and walking back out of the sliding doors and to his golf cart.
She followed him, closing the doors and standing staring out of the window. She studied the pool for a couple of moments, looking at the lights beaming through the water and feeling an excited flicker in her stomach. She was finally here, and the next two weeks were all hers. She pulled the curtains across the windows and took a deep breath. “Tikki, spots off.”
Pink light danced around her body, relieving her of her super suit and leaving her in her denim shorts and pink cropped tee. She stretched up, popping her back as she turned back towards her suitcase, Tikki following behind her.
“This is beautiful, Marinette.” The small godlike creature darted and dived around her, looping around the crystal lights and flying back down to Marinette’s suitcase.
“It’s quite the hotel, isn’t it?”
She spun around in the lounge area, collapsing on the sofa, her legs coming up in the air before she started to giggle. Reaching for her phone, she pulled up Alya’s number and opened FaceTime. In a matter of seconds her best friend was on the other end of the call.
“Hey girl, how’s paradise?”
Marinette sighed and lay back on the sofa. “It’s wonderful. How’s Paris?”
Alya moved the phone around a little, obviously getting more comfortable herself. “Well, since we have this period of peace, I’m not actually in Paris at the moment.”
“Where are you then?”
Alya moved again, taking the phone with her into another room, or another area of the same room. “Nino has treated me to a little trip! We’re in Barcelona.”
Barcelona?
“Oh, wow! That’s…wow!”
“I know,” Alya readily agreed. “He’s just down at the front desk getting us booked on some excursions. This is so exciting.”
Marinette smiled. It really truly was. “Make sure you look after yourself, okay? And tell Nino to keep vigilant, I’ve heard about the pickpockets in the city.”
Alya laughed. “Yes, Maman. So show me what Paris’ most idolised star gets with the mayor’s credit card.”
Marinette sat up and flipped the phone around, taking Alya on a tour of the large open plan dining and entertainment area, before venturing upstairs for the first time to show her the bedroom and incredibly fitted ensuite. This place was a dream. Somewhere that she could only dream of coming as Marinette. A stay here would only come from robbing a bank or marrying Adrien Agreste. She knew which was more favourable (marrying Adrien) and which was more likely (robbing a bank).
There was a knock at the door on the other side of the call, and Alya suddenly jerked the camera again as she stood to answer the door. “Listen, Mar, I’ve got to go, but text me please. And don’t forget, Italian Stallions are always good for stress-relief.” Alya winked as Marinette cringed.
“Alya! No! I’m here to relax and recharge, not… you know!”
Alya let out a delighted cackle. “Well, sometimes ‘you know’ covers both of those goals.”
“Get out of here.” Marinette started laughing. “I’ll text you. Love you.”
“Love you too, girl. Bye!”
Ending the call, Marinette sighed and looked around the room she now found herself in. The windows were huge and on both sides. Heading over to the ones at the front of the villa first, she looked out the window. There were a couple of parking spaces, then nothing but trees, a beautiful atmospheric forest, which she was quite sure held some sort of hidden fantasy—maybe pixies, or goblins, or something else equally as mesmerising. She made a mental note to try and visit it at some point. The walk would probably do so much for her stress.
As she closed the day on that side of the villa, she considered who else would want to know she was there safe. Luka, maybe? She could always transform and contact Chat Noir, checking in on his break too? She couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to and who he was with.
And then there was Adrien.
She sighed, her head turning to the huge queen-size bed in the middle of the room. Just thinking about boys gave her a headache. She was here for a boyfriend- and villain-free break and be damned if she was going to spend it thinking about Adrien or Chat Noir, or, in a completely different way, Monarch. The drama had been left back in Paris, and she made a mental note that there would be no thinking about boys—or villains.
She headed past the bed and to the window on the other side, opening the patio door and stepping out onto the balcony. It overlooked the pool and deck, and, in the not so far distance, the Mediterranean sea. She couldn’t wait to go down to the beach, to just have some self time. Her, herself and I…just the way she wanted it and not at all lonely.
She didn’t believe a word of it.
Venturing back down into the main communal space, she grabbed a hold of her suitcase and rucksack, and took them upstairs into the bedroom, swinging them onto the bed and beginning to unpack.
“So, how will this work?” Marinette asked, grabbing her toiletries and taking them into the en suite. She looked at the bath and couldn’t wait to climb in and soak herself up with bubbles and, maybe, a little glass of bubbles, too.
“When you transform, you say ‘power down’. That way the quantum masking will cover you and so will your mask, but the rest of you is free to wear what you want. It doesn’t drain much of my energy either, as it’s only a partial transformation. No super strength or lucky charms needed.”
Marinette nodded, placing her toothbrush and toothpaste beside the sink before noticing the little shelf for them. They had their own shelf!
“But no one will be able to place me as me.”
Tikki swooped around checking out the vanity and the small toothbrush shelf. “Nope, Marinette Dupain-Cheng will not be seen here, unless you go out like you are now.”
“And I definitely won’t be entertaining that idea,” Marinette laughed.
It didn’t take long to empty her bags into the drawers and wardrobe before she could get changed and ready for bed. She climbed under the cool sheets and snuggled down with Tikki beside her, her eyes remaining open.
“I’ve never been away from home by myself. Not without anyone here that I know,” Marinette whispered.
“You’re going to be okay. I’m here with you.”
Marinette nodded, placing her hands underneath the pillow and turning to look at her kwami. “Do you think I made the right choice?”
“You never really had a choice. Maybe, if you get too lonely, you could see where Chat Noir has gone, and you could meet up or ask him to come here?”
Marinette rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “Maybe. Goodnight, Tikki. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams, Marinette.”
It didn’t take her small friend long to fall into a peaceful slumber, but as Marinette stretched out in her too-big bed, she suddenly realised how lonely this actually was.
Her hand stretched out to the bare space beside her, her heart yearning for someone to be laying there with her… She just didn’t quite know who.
