Set to Love

Chapter 5

The flight touched down at six o'clock in the evening, and after going through immigration and finding her luggage, Marinette located Luka. While the crew's minibus delivered their luggage to the accommodation, Luka downloaded WeChat and ordered a Didi Premier, which took them straight to the Thousand Delights restaurant. Would Marinette have rathered to have a shower first after that twelve-hour flight? Yes, but because the call time was seven the next morning, their evening would be rushed enough as it is.

"So, this is your great uncle's place?" Luka placed his hand on her shoulder, leading her to the entrance. Marinette had her maman call ahead yesterday to tell Wang Cheng of their arrival. If he had been notified earlier, he would have closed down the restaurant to host the two personally, but now he could only offer a last-minute reservation. He also insisted that Marinette must come to visit another night when the restaurant was not so busy.

"Yeah, it's definitely busy today. We might not catch Uncle Cheng tête-à-tête today, but the food will still be amazing," Marinette replied with a smile, trying to maintain a positive attitude despite the jet lag.

"I bet, I can smell it from out here –– but tête-à-tête isn't quite right if it's the three of us." Luka pointed out, enthusiastic as the aroma of delicious food wafted from the restaurant.

"You know what I mean, Monsieur French Mick Jagger. Three's a crowd, unless we're starting a band," Marinette quipped back as Luka held the door open for her.

Seated at the table, Wang Cheng had already organised a special set menu for them. There were five dishes: a dim sum platter, crab stew, black truffle roast duck, Cantonese style pigeon with pigeon egg, and egg custard nest.

So, definitely too much food for the two of them.

Marinette chuckled as she glanced over the collection of dishes, realising they might need to take some leftovers back to the hotel.

"As a Parisian, I can't believe I'm eating pigeon right now," Luka remarked, a mixture of surprise and delight. "And it's so good," he added, clearly impressed by the dish.

Marinette picked up another piece, nodding in agreement. "I know, right! It's like chicken, but a bit softer. Who knew the rats of the skies would taste so good. Mr. Pigeon would throw a fit!" she joked, impressed by the five spice and texture as she easily chewed through it.

Luka took another sip of his stew, contemplating Marinette's words. "Hopefully not nowadays. There hasn't been an Akuma in the past three years, right?" he asked, referring to the lack of supervillain attacks in current times.

"That's right," Marinette confirmed with a nod. "It's been quiet," she added, reflecting on the peace that had settled over the city in recent years. It was good for her–– less stress in her life and it allowed her to dedicate her time to herself instead of constantly having to save the city.

"Good. Ladybug and Chat Noir deserve a break. With everything they've done," Luka said. "But let's talk about you. How have you been?" he asked, shifting the conversation to focus on Marinette.

"Getting by. Did my fashion degree about a year and a half ago, and spent a year in New York. The place I did a 2-month internship for offered me a place on contract, but they decided not to renew after 10 months. Something about it not being in the budget to put me on permanently, or something. So I came back to Paris," Marinette recalled with a hint of disappointment. She was finally making a name for herself, only for it to be taken away from her as she was forced back to Paris with no connections. It was so disheartening and frustrating, Marinette admitted.

"How did you end up in film production then?" Luka questioned, offering her the last dim sum. He's so thoughtful and considerate.

Marinette declined politely with a smile and shrugged, "The same way you did, a friend asking me for a favour. You remember Nino –– turns out he's close with M. Agreste, and they needed to expand the art department, so here I am."

"Well, I'm happy you're here. And that you agreed to this date," Luka smiled warmly at her, genuine and content.

"I'm happy too. And because we'll both be stuck here for the next few months, we could maybe catch up again?" Marinette suggested. She was excited at the prospect of spending more time with Luka, so it's better to be straightforward about it, right?

"Like something less impromptu and when you're less sleep-deprived?" Luka basically read her mind, prompting Marinette to wonder how did he do that? "I get it, I guess I got a bit too excited," he admitted with a sheepish smile, recognising his eagerness.

"No, it's okay. I enjoy being with you," Marinette said warmly, reassuring Luka with a smile, "No matter the circumstances."

As always, conversation with Luka flowed so easily, but unfortunately, so did the time. Exiting the restaurant at around ten o'clock, they decided to go for a second round at a teahouse on the same street and sipped on Anji White Tea until twelve. Great, Marinette was going to be so sleep-deprived tomorrow! Hopefully, her youth of no sleep thanks to late night Akuma attacks would prepare her, right?

Eventually, at one o'clock in the morning, they arrived at the accommodation, which turned out to be a large upscale hotel with the 13th and 14th floors completely booked out for the crew, all given access to the executive lounge–– to be used for meetings and such. Apparently, they would be moving to various types of accommodations and districts over the next half year, but this was not a bad start. This Agreste guy must be made of money! And Marinette was not complaining. She was not expecting it to be this flash .

With their luggage collected from the luggage hold, Luka walked her to her room, "Here, take this," he said, holding her hand and putting something in her palm. A guitar pick?

"Jagged Stone? These are.."

Luka finished her sentence, "The same ones I gave you nine years ago when we first met? Yes."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

Luka smiled, looking away. "Well, it's the only guitar pick I have with me, so I'm going to need it back before I head to the studio tomorrow after lunch..."

"So it's a lunch date?" Marinette assumed, hoping she was right.

"Yeah, that'll be great," Luka answered. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his torso for a hug. "Good night, Luka."

"Good night, Marinette."

Sitting down on her bed, Marinette took to Instagram to inform Alya that she was okay and to show off the art deco-inspired room. She knew Alya would be jealous. Then, after setting multiple alarms to try and manage her jetlag, Marinette headed off to sleep, prepared for her first day on set tomorrow.