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[...] tonight - Akutagawa swore to the moon, facing its light head on, it would be different.”
Plagg was not sure what it meant, but seeing his valiant partner prepare for an act of such cruelty against his lady, he was compelled to agree. As the human continued to play this stupid game, which would mark their end, steel balls reflecting the moonlight, he made up his mind, too.
It would be different. The next time he chose to play with humans, he would make a better choice.
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Uno, due, tre, gatto
Plagg peeked out over the bookshelf, more hungry than curious. His ears twitched, as his eyes scanned the gym locker room, thoroughly inspecting it.
One of the boys there stunk like cheese, his cheese, and he was eager to find out which one.
Was it the muscular blond, wiping sweat from his forehead? Or the lanky teenager in a hurry to get away? Or the little boy, heaving the much-too-big duffel bag over his shoulder to follow his big brother’s lead?
The bag had an embroidered cat face on it and Plagg saw it as a sign. Little things like this always led him to good people.
With Tikki out and about already, Plagg was eager to find someone to partner up with. Helping humans in exchange for a stable income (paid daily in food and entertainment) and a shelter was fun, especially when said humans had bigger ambitions. Like saving the world or taking it over.
The fae found immense excitement in the latter. Those people were capable of sourcing more magic, allowing the creatures to do more with the gifts they had, sharing their skills and power with the select few.
Plus, Plagg could never turn down running around with his best friend Tikki.
That's why, swishing his tail, the little chaos sprite followed after the boys.
He found the youngest alone, which was perfect, as it made approaching him easier. Humans always reacted in the most bizarre ways, screaming and squirming, as though it were ghosts they were seeing and not the fabulous fae. It was insulting.
Plagg could get behind fearing ghosts. But sweet-loving fairies? Cheese-devouring goblins? They were more common than daylight in winter!
Plagg knew that better than anyone simply because he was one, and though he was one of a kind, he had firsthand evidence that fairies, in general, weren’t very picky unless they could afford to be.
They usually could.
But if only the ability to feed fairies their favorite foods were the only criteria for choosing a human companion!
“Hey, kid!” Plagg twirled around the boy. “Got any cheese?”
Without waiting for an answer, he dove into the bag and scrummaged around, finding nothing but stinky socks and a half-eaten bag of multicolored gummy bears. Plagg threw one into his mouth, then spat it out almost immediately. Sour apple was not one of his favorite flavors.
Adrien’s eyes widened and he stumbled backward.
“Are you a fairy?” Adrien caught himself, changed gears, and tried to capture the being, who evaded his grabby hands with a nervous chuckle.
“Plagg! Nice to meet you!” He sniffed Adrien’s pockets. “Got anything to eat? I’m starving .”
Adrien pulled his hand out of the pocket and offered him a chocolate bonbon that he had been saving for later. It was slightly melted and stained his hands.
Plagg gobbled it up, grimacing at the nutty filling—not his favorite. He clawed at his tongue, trying to get rid of the lingering sweetness, stopping only when a shadow crossed above them.
“Ladybug!”
Adrien noticed her first. His eyes glazed over with unspoken affection, turning him dreamier than the Paris poster boy. He had the kind of smitten look on his face that Plagg could not resist taking advantage of, even if he wanted to. Excitement flashed through his luminous green eyes.
“Want to go after her?”
“I’d be so grateful,” sighed the boy. He was so enamored with Tikki’s chosen that Plagg had hope they would make a good team. “She is so cool!”
Plagg circled Adrien energetically, trapping him in the trail of looping magic, which couldn’t disperse for as long as the goblin kept overwriting it. With nowhere to go, it amplified and grew inwards, spreading as a bubbling darkness, engulfing the young blond until they became one.
The Cat shot from his spot, going after his Lady. He moved in twirls, tripping over the roof tiles, young and reckless.
What he lacked in skills, he made up with enthusiasm.
Plagg could tell from the second he launched them off the ground that as fun as this was, it would not work out between them long-term.
This Cat could do more damage than good, and Tikki would kill him if he let that happen. This time, everything would be different!
He would not ally himself with a newborn. Simple as that!
Enthusiasm wasn’t everything.
Still, for this one ride, Adrien was fun. Ladybug didn't seem to mind him either—she stopped on the roof of a fancy hotel, letting him catch up before dashing away again, her bell-like laughter carrying further with the wind.
Oh, how he loved the chase! Loved the thrill! The wind in his face!
“Are you the kitten my bug told me about?” she called from afar, a teasing note in her voice.
Adrien melted on the spot; in the background, Plagg rolled his eyes.
The Cat batted his eyelashes. “Even your voice is purrfect, milady!”
Ladybug's face twisted in a mix of disgust and disbelief. “You've got to be kidding me.”
“You mean, kitting me?” The Cat hopped closer.
“Nope. No way. Not going to happen.”
She threw her yo-yo and was gone in the blink of an eye, returning to only a spot of red in the distance, which disappeared before he could follow.
Plagg waited until they were down on the ground, hidden behind a tree, before letting go. They separated painlessly, the Cat's suit popping off, turning into a worn-out black blob that fell in slow motion toward the ground.
Plagg was being dramatic.
Adrien caught him in his palms. “Plagg! Are you alright?”
“H-hungryyy…”
“Ah!” Adrien looked around, panicking. He noticed the bakery across the street.
“Wait here!” He placed Plagg on the ground before running off.
He was so genuinely concerned that Plagg, who had planned to use this chance to make his sneaky exit, reconsidered. He closed his eyes with a sigh, hoping the boy would return soon and with something Not Sweet.
He opened his eyes a few moments later, smelling the delicious cheese crust and rich chocolate. It was not the worst combination in the world.
“I got you these!” Adrien said, pushing the pastry samples toward his little friend. Plagg swallowed the cheesy bits in a single bite, his stomach growling with pleasure. It was not enough but it was a start. “Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Great!” Adrien beamed. His smile filled Plagg with regret. “That was awesome! Can we do this again?”
“I'm sorry, kid,” Plagg shook his head, his tiny heart sinking like the Titanic. “It was fun but you know...” He puffed up his chest to appear more convincing. “I'm a stray! And not looking to change that!”
Adrien's smile dimmed. “It's okay. I understand. You want someone who can take care of you better… I could see it in your mind.”
Plagg approached his face slowly and gently touched it, his tiny hands leaving behind sooty prints on his skin.
“No, kid. I'm just trying to do things… differently this time 'round.”
“I understand.” And Adrien really did.
It was hard to say goodbye to such a good kid. They departed on good terms, Adrien to go home, Plagg to search for someone else to bully for food.
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Paris had changed a lot since the last time Plagg was there. That’s why, instead of the landmarks of old, he followed his nose. It took him from dumpster to dumpster, from which he dug out scraps of food before continuing his hunt for that other boy.
He was in no hurry. That other boy was older, therefore also probably more mature. He would be a good match for Plagg!
The chaos goblin found the oldest blond browsing magazines in a supermarket. He was completely immersed in one with a voluptuous lady on its cover. She was wearing nothing but a blue swimsuit.
A girl was hovering not far from him. She had hearts in her eyes and she was clearly building up the courage to approach him.
With her vague resemblance to the cover model (both being females), Plagg had no doubt she’d be successful in garnering his attention. He could not have that. This golden opportunity was meant for him to find a suitable vessel for his chaotic energy.
He circled closer to her, his movement creating an invisible trail of chaos behind him in which another unlucky customer got tangled up on their way out of the store. It would wear off—it always did—dispersing into thin air within seconds of appearing. Maybe the victim would find a 2€-coin with a rare design. Maybe they would step into bird poop. It could go either way.
Plagg occupied himself with the girl's shoes. He was disappointed to find them laceless. Thinking quickly, he opted to trip her up with a can of pizza sauce, which he pulled from the bottom shelf she was hiding behind.
It landed with a clunk, then rolled across the floor, splattering as it came open. The girl decided to deal with it rather than leave it be, just as Plagg had expected, leaving the boy wide open for a quick introduction.
The black creature phased through the magazine, causing the boy to drop it, as though burned. He wrinkled his nose and tried to smack Plagg, going after him like a fly.
Plagg was squished into a black puddle that stained the newspapers stuffed into the magazine rack. It took him a moment to reemerge from it, annoyed though a little amused too.
He liked the boy’s spirit!
“I’m Plagg!” he introduced himself, following the boy out of the shop. He struggled to keep up with the blond’s long strides—Nathan refused to run. “I can give you cool superpowers!”
That made Nathan stop. “Superpowers, you say?”
“Uh-uh,” Plagg nodded, switching from being eager to make conversation to pretending to be disinterested. “Got any food?”
The boy caught him in his fist. “What sort of superpowers could you give me?”
Plagg bit his hand. His release was accompanied by curse words and a very effeminate ow .
“Oh, you know,” the goblin became evasive, not quite liking the change in the boy’s attitude. “Leather suit, cool mask, the whole shebang.”
“When?”
Plagg could not think of an excuse to escape fast enough and threw all caution to the wind. Maybe this was the different he was looking for? “Oh… now?”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Nathan shrugged, but his eyes gleamed with desire for power. It scared Plagg as much as it excited him.
Still, he enveloped the boy in the black fog, transforming him to the best of his abilities. He was only a boy, a child—how bad could it be?
Plagg realized a little too late that the answer to that question was “very bad”.
The boy’s head was full of Ladybug!
They shot toward the sky. For the second time that day, a cat boy drew the attention of the people just trying to get another dull day. This Cat was much more in control than the first one. Plagg could feel his mind poke around, eager to learn and bend the goblin’s will to his own.
It was too bad Plagg didn’t like being poked like that.
Ladybug’s appearance was suspiciously quick but the creature made a point of not thinking about it, lest he accidentally figure out her identity and reveal it. The way she was tripping over her yo-yo string was a clue he couldn’t ignore regardless; there were really only two viable candidates, and Plagg was willing to bet it on the pizza sauce girl.
So he thought about pizza: Mmmmm, the taste! The smell! Dripping mozzarella! So much cheese!
The Cat wiped the drool off his mouth with the back of his wrist. His eyes were on Ladybug, who kept her distance, resting her back against the guardrail. She was curious about him in a way that was cool and confident. It thrilled him.
“Milady,” he bowed to her, the epitome of charming. It nauseated Plagg. How cheesy this was! “How are you this fine afternoon?”
“Pretty good,” she answered lightheartedly. It was as though she had seen this play out before. “What brings you here?”
The cat boy shrugged. “Just trying out… stuff.”
He flexed his muscles, inspecting the effect it had on the skin-tight suit which he already didn't like. The way he saw it, the suit didn't do him justice—there was no way in hell he was still this scrawny.
He's been training so hard!
His refusal to accept his body as it was, ruined his mood.
He kept his mouth shut, though it was in vain, for his face still betrayed the inner turmoil brewing underneath. His nose twitched, nostrils flaring, and he pressed his lips into a thin line.
Ladybug decided it wasn't too bad. She found him kind of charming, and at the very least, he seemed to be around her age.
“Are you the kitten my bug told me about?”
“Sure,” he agreed without thinking about the question.
Ladybug scoffed at his tone, then took off. He was not Plagg's chosen if he didn't know the secret word the fae had agreed upon.
The Cat took after her, pushed forth by an instinct that promised him everything he ever wanted as long as he could catch her. Even Plagg couldn’t tell how much of it was his own longing for Tikki and how much was Nathan’s longing to be better than anyone else.
The pain of pairing with someone like that was fresh in Plagg’s memory. He did not want to go through it again.
The Cat chased his Bug to the top of the Eiffel tower, the most romantic place in the whole of Paris in his opinion (and the least if you asked her) where she stopped.
Ladybug turned around to him, face spasming with annoyance, “Why are you following me?”
“You wanted me to.” He stepped closer, genuine confusion twisting his features. He shook it off, telling himself that he was right. There was no way he was wrong. He could never be wrong.
Reassuring himself of that, he leaned in to kiss her. She leaned backward, evading his pursed lips.
“That's why you brought us here… the most romantic place in Paris. Isn't that right?”
Ladybug ducked and flung herself off the edge, unafraid of the long fall. Plagg held together for a couple of moments more, allowing her a safe escape route, then let go, tearing himself free from Nathan and his troubled mind.
This behavior would not fly with him. The boy could take the stairs down.
Plagg mmmmmmed, already tasting his freedom, “I must follow the call of pizza~!”
He danced out of Nathan’s reach, following the nonexistent scent, leaving the boy’s hopes and dreams of being The Coolest Guy Ever unfulfilled.
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Finding the last boy was remarkably more difficult—it was as though he didn't want to be found, slinking in the shadows and hiding behind bigger things, invisible to inattentive human eyes. A bit like a fairy, now that the goblin thought about it.
Plagg found him in the library, engrossed in a heavy tome, still standing by the shelf where he had picked it up from. According to the title, he was reading fairy tales. Plagg snickered at the irony of that.
As he passed by the books, he caused them to tumble down, forcing the blonde to look up from the pages when they landed, each thunk louder and more disruptive than the previous.
Félix winced, cursing his bad luck, and began picking them up, apologies ready on the tip of his tongue in case a mad librarian came to see what had happened.
“Hello there!”
Plagg's head popped out from the pile that had buried him. He expected the boy to screech or yelp, but instead, his prank went completely ignored.
“Hello?”
Plagg wiggled himself free and circled the boy. The more time passed, the more he began to question whether the boy could actually see him or not. Climbing onto his open book, he was determined to get a definite answer.
He got it when the book closed around him, pressed together in a humane trap, not to crush him like a scary spider.
“Gotcha!”
Plagg crawled across the pages and peeked out through the gap large enough for his head. “Hello!”
“Hello.” Félix studied him curiously. His voice was soft compared to those of his brothers. “Who might you be?”
Sparkling blue met glowing green, honest and curious, jolting through the goblin's body.
He wondered if that's what Tikki meant by finding the one.
“Plagg. Nice to meet you!” he pulled out his tiny paw and held it out for a handshake.
The boy accepted with only a finger. “I'm Félix.”
They shook on it.
“Got any food?” Plagg looked around, assuming the answer would be no. They were in a library after all!
Félix looked around, too, (to make sure there was no librarian in sight) before sliding a hand into his pocket and pulling out an open bag of dried salmon jerky.
“Would this do?”
Plagg sniffed the food. It smelled different than the pungent cheeses he adored. He picked out a small piece, hesitating perhaps for the first time in his long life.
He popped it in his mouth.
Salty like the sea. Smoky like a campfire.
It was not bad. He could get used to it.
He chomped down the rest of the bag, half-expecting to be reprimanded for it.
“I guess you were hungry.” Félix could relate to the feeling.
“Got any more?”
“That was all of it. Sorry.”
Plagg squinted at him, gauging the genuity of the apologetic look on his face. It was sincere, the goblin deduced and his expression softened.
But through the thorough inspection of the boy’s facial features, he also noticed the dark circles around his eyes and how angular he was, less flesh than bone. He was scrawny, concerningly so, and in desperate need of someone to show him some love.
Plagg felt fish swimming in his stomach. He could not, in good conscience, leave this boy to his own devices.
“That's okay,” he said complacently. “So what do you do for fun here?”
“Uh… read?”
“What, these?” Plagg pretended to be shocked. “Doesn't that get boring ?”
Félix shrugged. “I guess.”
“Wouldn't you rather be out there? Going on adventures, saving damsels in distress?” Plagg hid the mischievous glint in his eyes by simply not looking at Félix. “You know, being the hero?”
“Not really.”
Not an answer Plagg had hoped for.
“Isn't there anything you would do if you had, for example, a secret identity?”
“Well, there is something , but…” Félix's face burned up with embarrassment. “You're going to think I'm boring.”
Plagg cackled, jumping onto the nearest shelf. It had superhero comics on it. “A bit too late for that.”
Félix considered it, then sighed. “Rumor has it that there's an abandoned arcade near Montmartre. Hard to access, locked up… I… I would check it out.”
Plagg twirled around him, his excitement growing. “What if I told you you could?”
Félix snorted. “As if!” He laughed awkwardly. “ As if!”
Plagg was almost offended.
“You don't believe I can, do you?”
“No, I believe you,” Félix nodded matter-of-factly, sobering up. “I just don't see how I 'd be worthy.”
The way he said it, voice full of sensible confidence, not self-pity, startled Plagg. It made him laugh manically.
This poor kitten! To be so confident and so wrong at the same time!
The goblin was in his face instantly, bumping affectionately against his nose. His decision was made.
“Let's pretend, for a moment, that you are.” He twirled around the boy once. Félix turned his head, following Plagg's movement with his eyes. “Relax! It's not going to hurt!”
“I didn't think it would.”
Darkness engulfed him, bitter and sweet. Félix was not afraid of the shadows—to him, they were like a second home. Soft. Warm. Comforting.
Plagg's affection for the boy grew with every microsecond. Félix's head was a fascinating place, and despite the chaos, there was order: thoughts neatly packed up and shelved, untapped potential and memories better left forgotten, unexplored.
It was the kind of order that, with a dash of disorder, could be turned into something magnificent.
Exactly the way the goblin liked his humans! If the suit could make him pretend, it could make him believe.
“Woah!”
Félix was in awe. For a moment, he just stared, wide-eyed, at the black leather-suit, at the claws on his fingers and his tail. It wiggled with a mind of its own, bumping into bookshelves, though not hard enough to cause a ruckus.
His ears twitched, but to his grand surprise in the wrong place. His hands moved to clutch his head, covering the rugged cat ears, as blood rushed to his face, heating it up faster than the spiciest fanfiction.
Plagg cackled in the back of his head, adoring his embarrassment—it was cute in an innocent sort of way—while the boy nervously glanced around to make sure no one had seen him change. He scrambled away, exiting through an open window, taking refuge in the cover of the night slowly falling on Paris.
The superspeed threw him off balance at first, but after a couple of blocks, he found his feet and became one with the wind. The smile on his face grew wider and wider with every jump and every leap.
He was free! He was finally free!
Even if only for a moment!
His bouncing feet took him to Montmartre, past the rows of easels with canvases of the setting sun (orange-pink), up the hill and past the basilica, following an instinct that guided him straight to a chained warehouse with a busted neon sign calling it Arcade Sacré-Cœur.
Félix didn’t need to use magic to break the lock; it came apart on its own.
He figured it was because it was old and rusty.
The door opened with a creak. He let himself in, heart fluttering every time his sensitive ears picked up on the sound of mousy feet scratching the floor, as their owners scattered.
It was dim inside, with the only light coming in through the windows up above, but he could tell that it was an arcade alright. Rows of unpowered machines lined one side of the room while tables decorated the other. They were all covered with a layer of dust.
Félix made his way through the hall, crossing the distance in short, careful steps. He wiped one screen clean with a hand, wondering briefly if he could turn it on. He realized quickly enough that without electricity, there was no point to even trying.
It underwhelmed him somehow. The thrill of discovery faded, replaced with a melancholy that came with places like this. The air hung heavy with memories that he couldn’t bring back. It was quiet.
Félix poked curiously around until he found a carefully crafted board in a corner, screwed to the table. Brass pins stuck out from it, arranging baskets marked with different points. A row of steel balls glinted in the dark. It reminded him of pinball.
Curious, he picked up one of the balls and inserted it into the shooting channel. He poked around until he figured out how to send it flying into the board, breaking the nostalgic silence with its rattling sound. He scored 30 points.
He sighed, as the silence settled in again. It lasted only for a moment before something crashed, filling the air with quietly uttered curse words followed by Ouch! Ow! and Eek!
Félix jumped a foot in the air and spun around. He landed elegantly on his feet, face to face with the spotted superheroine, dangling from the half-open roof window. She swayed dangerously, tangled up in her yo-yo string, which would have broken under her weight were it normal.
“Hello there?” She called nervously into the darkness. “I know you’re there! Could I get a little help?”
“Uhh, sure?” He called back just as awkwardly. “What do you… What do you want me to do?”
“Look behind the pink machine,” she instructed, craning her neck. “There should be a cue behind it.”
Félix checked and pulled out a wooden rod, which was in suspiciously good shape considering the rest of the arcade’s state.
“Maybe you can use it to unhook the yo-yo from the window?” she suggested, tugging at the string. It wouldn’t budge.
Félix rose to his tiptoes to reach it with the stick. He poked it—getting a suspiciously good amount of serotonin out of it—until it came loose. It fell fast, returning to its owner with a loud whoosh, as the string rolled around it.
Ladybug twisted herself free and landed on her feet.
“Thanks,” she said, giving him a once over. “Are you the kitten my bug told me about?”
Flustered, Félix blurted, “How am I supposed to know?” before spinning around, eyes returning to the pinball-lookalike.
Ladybug shrugged, joining him on his right side. Swiftly, she stole a ball from the storage channel and inserted in the shooting one. The way she pulled the lever indicated experience and he was not surprised to see her ball land in the basket for 100 points.
“Lucky,” he commented dryly.
“Eh, it’s the only machine that works here,” she disregarded the compliment, cheeks rougeing. “So I have a lot of practice! I’ve been working on the wiring to get the electricity running again. I’m better at the machines. But this is fun, too!”
His second ball did a lot better than his first, though it gave them both a scare, threatening to fall off the board first. Ladybug exhaled in relief when it landed at 70 points.
“Great job!” She cheered, hand reaching out to complete her turn. “I don’t even know what it’s called.”
“Bugatelle,” he said automatically.
Ladybug whipped her head around. “Pardon me?”
Félix cleared his throat, so embarrassed he could die. He had no idea where the word had come from. It was suddenly just there, in his mind, waiting to be said.
Redder in the face than a ripe tomato on the sunny side of the greenhouse, he corrected himself.
“Bagatelle. It’s called bagatelle.”
“Huh.” She turned back to the game. “That’s such a cute name! Bagatelle. Bagatelle! Baga-telle.” Each time she said the game’s name, she shot another ball into the board. “Or how was it you said it the first time? Bug-atelle.”
Félix cringed at the pun. “That was—”
“Kinda funny,” she grinned, quickly looking away. “But don’t tell anyone! It would look so bad on me!”
“Sure.” He didn’t question it.
He stole the last two balls from the tray and played them, not bothering to count the points. They were probably not playing by the rules anyway.
The last balls both earned him a 100 points.
He collected them all up from the board and placed them back in the storage tray. He was afraid to ask for a rematch, suddenly feeling like an intruder in her space, running out of oxygen which seemed to avoid his brain despite all the blood flooding his face.
Ladybug picked the balls up and turned to him, her smile brighter than the rose red lighting up her cheeks.
“Fancy another round?”