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My story begins in Paris, not so very long ago. Yet, so much has happened since then that it seems like an eternity. At that time, I lived with my pet, in a bachelor flat just off the Jardin des Tuileries. Although for a cat, the main attraction in our small part of Paris was the local indie cat cafe, “Cataclysm.” The cafe storefront was right across the street from our little “bachelor’s paradise.” Outside, it was a beautiful spring day, a tedious time of year for bachelors.
Turning from my scenic window view, I gazed blandly at my pet, Adrien Agreste. He’s a musician of sorts. Currently, he was tickling the ivories as it were. Although it was more like he was sitting on his piano bench, playing music from his phone.
I’m the one with the sleek black fur. My name’s Plagg.
As far as I could see, the old notion that a bachelor’s life was so glamorous and carefree was all nonsense. It was downright dull. It was plain to see that my clueless pet needed someone. But if it were left up to Adrien, we’d be bachelor’s forever. He was married to his work, writing songs. Songs about romance, of all things, something he knew absolutely nothing about. Oh, he’s intelligent enough as humans go. And I think you could say that Adrien is a rather handsome animal in his own way. His face used to appear in billboards and posters all over the parts of the city I could see from my window. I could sort of see what the humans were going on about. His golden hair and bright green eyes like mine were nice enough. I could see no reason why my pet didn’t deserve an attractive mate.
At least I was determined to do my best. Of course, cats are a pretty poor judge of human beauty. But, I had a rough idea of what to look for. Of course, a mate with a pet would be ideal. A love of animals is a requirement. But, in these dire times, I wouldn’t totally exclude options with pets other than cats. Although a cat-lover would be best. Thus, with my task in mind, I settled myself on my window cushion and got to work.
Down on the street, the early afternoon traffic streamed by. Hmm! Unusual breed. A fox wearing an orange plaid bandana had seemingly managed to domesticate a young woman in matching print. Very unusual. Hmm! Surely not.
Well now, what have we here? Hmm. Well, a little short couple. A short man with red hair was walking towards the cat cafe with a tiny grey cat. Ah, the owner of the cafe and an already mated human. Nope!
Well, I do say! Now there’s a fancy breed. A woman clad in bright yellow walked alongside a diminutive golden-colored toy poodle. Both wore collars of shiny gems, Perhaps a little too fancy. Yes, much too fancy.
A elderly man with a cane, walked exceedingly slowly beside a tortoise. Too old.
A young girl being pulled down the road on rollerblades by her large black dog. Too young.
It was a problem, a real problem.
Well, now that’s a bit more like it! Strutting gracefully on the sidewalk was a bronze Egyptian Mau. Her reddish fur was covered in dark spots, speckled all over her lithe form. The most beautiful creature on four legs! Now, if only the girl… It was a young woman with shiny black hair, wearing a white sunhat and a soft pink swiss dot sundress. She’s very lovely too. It was almost too good to be true. I’d never find another pair like that, not if I looked for a thousand years.
Ah, they’re heading to the Cataclysm cafe. A perfect meeting place...if only I could arrange it. Uh, oh. But Adrien never stopped work before at least 3:00. That would be too late - it’s only 2:15. Alright, I must take the situation into my own paws.
Quiet as a cat can be, I crept my way over to the mantle clock using the piles of sundry books, anime box sets, and bound music scores as stepping stones. With a deft push of my nose, the clock now read 3:15. A perfectly acceptable time for a break. I meowed softly. My pet glanced at me briefly before returning to the keys, not seeing the clock. I meowed again, louder. Ignored. Typical. More extreme measures were required. I stood and swiped a copy of a shoujo manga - one Adrien had wept over - off the mantle. He looked up at the sound of the resulting thud on the floor.
“Plagg!” I only swished my tail in response. “What is it, boy?”
I moved to nussle against the mantle clock. Adrien looked at the clock face. “Is that really the time?” He raised his arm to look at his watch. The digital screen was blank. “Dead, must have forgot to charge it… yes, yes okay, Plagg. I see that it’s past cheese-o’clock. Let’s get you your snack. C’mon.” Adrien turned to walk to the kitchen and opened the cheese cabinet. “C’mon, Plagg,” he called, “come get your stinky camembert.”
Resisting the temptation of cheese, I ran for the door. I reached up with my paws towards my harness hanging from a hook on the wall. Adrien came around the corner, calling for me again. “What are you doing, buddy?” I mewed and continued to paw at the wall. “Plagg, no I do not want to deal with the hassle of putting you in your harness right now.” Ah. A snag in the plan. While I loved that the harness allowed us the freedom to explore Paris, wearing it was torture. Must behave for Adrien’s sake. I dropped down and stood very still, head raised, ready to go out. Adrien chucked. “If you’re sure, one protest and I am going back to work.”
After getting the harness on, down the hall to the elevator, across the lobby and we were out in the city. Just a jaunt across the road between us now. Adrien and I often partook of the human and animal delights at Cataclysm - and my pet had been too caught up in his work for a sizable lunch today - thus it wasn’t hard to convince him to head straight for the cafe. I was afraid we’d missed them. Perhaps they had just come in for a to-go order and had continued on their way, and we had missed them in all the hullabaloo with the harness.
Entering the quaint establishment, I immediately spotted them. They were sitting at Adrien and my usual table, in the corner by the window, the girl’s sun hat was resting on top of her bag. The lovely Egyptian Mau was sitting on the chair closest to the window, basking in a spot of sun. It was a perfect situation, if only I planned it right. I couldn’t depend on Adrien. I knew what he’d do. He’d order his usual iced coffee and croissant and my cheese danish - none of those hard and flavorless cat “treats” for me. Disgusting. He’d wait for the red-head at the counter to get our order. Then he’d see our usual spot was occupied, choose another, sit down to eat and read a book, and that would be it. No, it was all up to me.
Well, at first I had no particular plan, just anything to attract attention. You know, stir things up a bit. I bolted and broke free of Adrien’s loose hold on the leash while he was picking up his order. Running for the window ledge, I jumped up and over to our usual table. Adrien turned and followed, “Plagg, you silly thing.” I leapt onto the young ladies table, dodging her cup of some violently pink drink. The woman looked up in shock, seeing first my handsome self, then looking up higher to lock eyes with an embarrassed Adrien. For a while, it seemed to work. At least they had seen each other. Things were going first rate. But for some strange reason, Adrien tried to pick me up and leave. “C’mon Plagg, this table is already taken. I know it’s our usual place, but we have to sit somewhere else today.”
But I wasn’t giving up. I was determined that somehow they just had to meet. I arched my back to make it impossible for Adrien to pick me up properly and used the table as leverage to leap onto the bookshelf halfway up the wall. Interestingly, the beautiful Mau hopped up to the shelf after me with a hiss and a swipe of her paw. To escape her, I jumped back down towards the seat she had vacated. As I was in midair, Adrien attempted to catch me. And resultantly let loose our pastries and his coffee, which tumbled - ice cubes and all - onto the girl’s lap. “Oh!”
She stood up in protest, accidentally bumping the table and sending her pink drink spilling rapidly across the table and down Adrien’s pant leg.
Adrien immediately erupted with a mix of “I beg your pardon”’s, “I’m so sorry”’s, and “Please excuse me”’s. The girl looked down at herself, seeming oddly resigned. She muttered softly to herself, “C’mon Marinette you know better than to wear a new design out in public.” In his worry, Adrien didn’t hear her. “I am terribly sorry. Please let me help you. I don’t know what’s come over him. I’m so sorry. He’s never acted this way before.. Well, actually that’s a lie, he’s a bit of a disaster.” The girl straightened up. “Please, it's fine. I can clean this up. Not my first public clumsiness accident.” She moved to pick up her napkin to wipe off her dress, only to find that it was sopping wet. “Oh, dear,” Adrien said. “Here, take mine.” Shifting me to only one arm, he held out his equally wet napkin. Looking at it, the pair of humans started laughing hysterically. “It is really a bit of a cat-astrophe, isn’t it?”
The girl snorted but rolled her eyes at the offensively bad pun.
She reached out a hand, “I’m Marinette.” With her other hand she gestured behind her. “And this is my cat and spirit guide, Tikki.”
Adrien chuckled, gazing upwards at Tikki, who had maintained her spot on the bookshelf during the chaos, quite literally above it all. “Well, she certainly seems like she would do a better job of it than my feline scoundrel.” Shaking Marinette’s hand, he said, “I’m Adrien, and this alley cat is Plagg. He is a fiend for cheese and destruction. And he’s not always the friendliest, so take no offense.”
Marinette reached out towards me, offering the back of her hand to sniff. Mhm. A stronger smell of baked goods than the cafe surroundings could account for. Then she reached a finger to rub behind my eyes just the way I like it. I was purring in moments. This girl had the goods.
Adrien laughed. “Well, okay then. He’s never done that with anyone before. I believe that necessitates that I get this cleaned up, buy us some replacements, and get to know you better. Would that be okay, Marinette?”
Marinette looked up into Adrien’s eyes and blushed crimson. “You’re so fine...uh...no, that would be fine. Let’s do that.” The blush had gotten even more red as she talked. Adrien chuckled and placed me down on the seat so he could get more napkins. Tikki decided to come join me, giving me a cursory once over before sitting next to me. As he was walking away, Adrien turned to look over his shoulder, a slight blush to his cheeks. Ah. Yes... the beginnings of love. I think my pet would be just fine now. All in a cat’s day's work.