"For the last time. No, Alya."

"Oh come on, Marinette! You simply must see him! The poor thing's so cute, and we just got him from the pound a few days ago."

"You know how I feel about cats Alya, and you own a cat cafe!" Marinette countered, the cell phone pinched between the crevice of her neck and shoulder as she rushed to organize the last of her papers, scattered in a mess across her home desk.

"Oh, don't you pout at me, Ms. Veterinarian. Aren't you supposed to be able operate on all animals?"

"Just because I operate on them doesn't mean I like them!"

"Oh come on, please Marinette! Just for a little while…! I'm starting to get worried. It's been three days and he hasn't even come around. The other cats adore him but all he wants to do is sulk in a corner and stare at the dried paint on the walls. He doesn't engage any customers and barely eats! I need a doctor Marinette! I cat doctor!"

Despite how she hated to admit it, Marinette simply couldn't turn down a friend in need, no matter how trivial their requests. She sighed, finally acknowledging her defeat. The vet could almost feel her best friend smiling against her ear through the phone.

"Alrighty fine, you just want a free vet check up don't you?" And so rolled her blue bell eyes.

"Maybe…?" Alya chuckled nervously.

"Okay, I'll be there in a couple of hours alright? Your cafe closes at 6:00pm right?" She arranged, pulling her schedule planner out of her drawer and monotonously etching in the appointment in pen.

"Correct-amon-do!" Alya cheered.

"Good to hear, see you in a jif then!" Just as the young veterinarian was about to hang up the phone, her friend's voice stopped her.

"Oh, and Marinette, I am really worried about him… He's scrawny and skinny to the bone. He's depressed Marinette, and I've tried to cheer him up with all the food, treats, and toys in the world but nothing seems to work."

Marinette felt Alya's words tugging at her heartstrings, the strung sad tone causing her lips to involuntarily quiver before she composed herself once more from the slight jarring.

"… I'll do what I can Alya, I promise." She declared, surely but softly in her own sympathetic way.

"Thanks, Marinette. I owe you one."

"Hmm, does that 'one you owe' come in the form of a free drink?" She snickered, once again recovering her humor from the past discussion. After all, Alya was her best friend even after all these years. Even though it was normal, she couldn't help but detest the way she would sometimes unconsciously put barriers between her companions, a doctor's professionalism she supposed. But this was a favor, and definitely not a serious case that needed surgery or stitching. So, breaking down her own walls, her resolve resumed.

"Haha! Gurl, I'll treat you to a whole meal on the house if you can manage to fix this kitty up for me!"

"Alrighty, I'll be there in a bit then!"

The vet sighed after hanging up. And this was supposed to be her leisurely day off from a week of strenuous work. "Hah… Guess that spa treatment will have to wait then."

It didn't sound like a large, urgent case, but none the less, the raven haired girl found herself packing her medical duffel bag with over the counter pills, fluid injections, vitamins, gauze, bandages and other first aid essentials for her little patient. She didn't have any cat treats on her, but she thought perhaps a little meal of salmon would work wonders for a tricky feline stomach. She packed it raw, after all, the cafe did have a kitchen. And with her stuffed duffel, she hopped into the SUV and started up the engine with an inclining inquiry in the back of her mind. Why was she getting so excited over a cat of all things?

. . .

A knock tap danced across the door.

"Ah! She's here!" Alya squealed, moving a plump, little white Persian from her lap and into Nino's stuffed arms, already meowing with duo of cuddling shorthairs.

"H-Hey!" Come on, I'm juggling three kittens here now!"

"Nah-ah, I have to be the one to greet our very special guest, you stay here and continue feeding them for a moment." She ordered with the flick of her wrist. Nino rolled his eyes, but none the less continued drizzling dry food onto the large trays of food and mashing the canned tuna in with the mix as the cats started swarming into the cafe's kitchen.

Alya jogged to the door, unlocking it before swinging it wide open.

"Marinette! Good to see you, gurl!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around the collar of her best friend."

"Good to see you too, Alya." She returned the embrace with tight hug of her right arm while clutching the duffel bag in her left hand. "So, where is the little guy anyway?"

"Ah, come on follow me." She urged, tugging her along into the lounge. It was indeed a cat and cat lover's paradise with rug metropolises everywhere stacked to almost kiss the ceiling. Spiral cat staircases travelled up and down the floors as well as many paths of tunnels and platforms that zigzagged and crisscrossed throughout the ceiling and room. Cat toys were scattered like debris everywhere like a pet store explosion on the pastel carpeted floor along with pillows and miniature cushions knocked off the cloth sofas and chairs.

"Ugh, sorry about the mess, we just closed up shop, so just watch your step for now." Alya apologized.

"No problem," Marinette nodded, tiptoeing across the obstacles in a similar fashion behind Alya, although thankfully her friend made a little way for her by kicking some of the soft toys away from the beaten path.

"Here kitty, kitty kitty~" Alya cooed, clapping her hands near the floor.

"Where are all the other cats? I was kind of expecting a little ambush like on opening hours." Marinette giggled.

"Oh, they're just with Nino, he's feeding them currently."

"Alya, he's a prosthetist, not a cat care giver." Marinette scolded.

"He's also my boyfriend, and my boyfriend's job is to take care of me as well as my lovely cats that please the customers." She countered, which no doubt earned a sigh from the young vet.

"Agh, here he is… He hasn't budged since morning." Alya crouched over a small feline bed blanketed over with a soft black, pashmina cloth, pulling it back to reveal a very frail, very scrawny black cat. Marinette gawk at its smooth ebon pelt nestled deep inside the cocoon of warm wool. A beautiful, pure, and flawless darkness that spread across his pelt was, she had to admit, enchanting. He was a lean and lithe shorthair cat and when her friend lightly tapped the kitty awake, a pool of hypnotic emerald eyes slowly peered behind the heavy, lazed curtains. However, the protruding ribs and shallow breathing stole her attention and she became aware that this animal did indeed need her help.

"Poor guy," She commented, settling her duffel bag to the side of his bed. Marinette and Alya switched their positions so that now the dark haired girl was the one sitting crisscross directly in from to the cat while her brown haired friend peered over from behind. "Hey there little guy, I'm Marinette." She greeted, extending her hand towards him, limp and slightly curled with palm facing downwards and offering her middle finger first as a nose of some sorts. He blinked slowly and his nose twitched taking a good sniff of her extended limb before finding comfort in the scent and closing his eyes. He was to weak to act upon her advances, but she could tell that he desired to return the greeting so she softly ran his fingers over the cat's crown and rubbing under his chin. And to her delight, a small hoarse purr escaped his vocals, rumbling her fingers before she retracted them.

"Oh my god, Marinette! Look at that, he really must like you! Nino and I have worked with him from the day we adopted him from the pound and he never, I repeat never, opened up or even purred at us like that." Alya gasped.

"Hehe, I'm kinda surprised too, normally cats don't really like me too much, plus I guess they kinda scare me with all that hissing and scratching." She giggled.

However frail he appeared, Marinette was glad to see that he was not emancipated, deducing his response to her as a positive sign. She drew out her stethoscope from the duffle pinching her ears with ear tip before gently placing the diaphragm against the cat's chest before sighing in relief.

"Well his vitals seem to be steady, so I'm just gonna conduct a few more little procedures before I prescribing him anything." Marinette smiled toward a beaming Alya whom hurried back to help a Nino in need inside the kitchen once she was given the okay from her friend.

Marinette did all that she could, checked his pupils with a precision light, felt over his skin for any pests, rashes, or bumps even double checking his dental to see if he had a tooth ache. The feline didn't seem to be complaining and at first thought to be bad sign, Marinette soon realized that he was allowing her to do this after reacting to being injected some nutritional fluids into his arm.

"Shh… You're okay kitty…" She soothed, gently cupping a trembling paw in her palm as she slowly eased in the rest of the serum. He was looking at her with a gaze that even Marinette could not explain. It was half lidded and lazed with purrs, surely if one could it could translate onto a human expression she had no doubt that it would reflect a dreary, but content smile. The expression was so human to her that the raven haired lady couldn't help but return the smile with a light, innocent chuckle. "Silly kitty, you'll be coming around soon, don't you worry."

At some point in time, Marinette found herself softly massaging the black cat in the middle of her lap. Well… It was really just another check up test, her fingers expertly probing and prodding at certain vital points that would hopefully tell her more about his condition. Much to her curiosity, he was purring throughout the entire time, clearly taking this as more of a treatment than an exam and purred his heart away in her gently caresses and kneading.

"Well, you two seem to be enjoying yourselves~"

"Ah-!" Marinette flinched at Alya's voice like a boom mic directly behind her, she whipped her head around just for reassurance before sighing at her friend leaning against the door frame. "You scared me, Alya!"

"Oh, don't mind me interrupting your private time with your lucky boy~" She drawled, winking her chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh! Hey Marinette, good to see you!" Nino joined the room from behind Alya, the two coming around to sit beside her, Nino settling down near her left side while Alya perched with her legs tucked underneath her on her right.

"Good to see you too, Nino." She chuckled, smiling to her friends on either side of her. "Where are all the other cats in your care?" She inquired

"Ah, they're all asleep in their beds now, didn't want them to disturb this poor fella here." Nino stated. "So how is the little guy?"

"Honestly, everything seems to be fine." Marinette stated. "He's not sick or anything like that. It might be a strange deduction, but I just thing his eating and behavioral problems just as o do with stress."

"Hah! So even cats can go through emotional angst, that's hilarious!"

"Alya…" Marinette scolded, frowning at her tease. In times like these, it was easy for the raven haired to feel almost parental when paired with the maturity of her two best friends, but they did make a perfect, rather enthusiastic pair together she had to admit.

"But it is amazing how he can just curl up in your lap like that, before we would end up in a scratching contest whenever I went to pick him up to hug him." Nino laughed.

"Same," Alya agreed. The little black bundle of fur indeed started to come around. Perking up his head, his ears twitched and flickered to the sound of foreign voices beside him that didn't come from the warm lap that he was curled upon.

"Oh, look who's finally awake~" Alya grinned, clucking at the cat while giving a good rub behind his ears, surprised to hear a pleased purr rather than a claw to he face. "Marinette my girl, you must've used magic or something."

"Huh? U-Um, why would you say that?" The vet giggled sheepishly as Nino plucked a little feather toy from the carpeted floor and baited it over the black cat. And the feline found himself with his back against her lap, pawing at the dangling feathers albeit with sluggish reflexes, but a clear joy in his eye.

"God Marinette, you sure are a miracle worker! Before this, he would've never allowed us to even pet him let alone play with him," Nino thanked, enticing the kitty enough with the colorful array of feathers enough to roll off Marinette's lap and onto the cushioned floor. She chuckled as the impact left him in disarray for a few seconds before once again being distracted by the dancing bundle of feathers in his face.

"I've actually got some raw salmon in here," She reach over, fishing the container of meat from the white parcel. "Do you guys mind if I borrow the kitchen?" She smiled goofily, almost guiltily if one were to ask a seemingly an impolite favor.

"Nah, not at all, go ahead! I was wondering whether or not the picky kitty would come around to your cooking skills Marinette~" Alya allowed, shooing her off towards the culinary room while she and Nino remained on the floor to keep the recovering kitty company.

As soon as Marinette was in the kitchen, she immediately went to work as she grasped the handle of a nearby pan and lighted the stove above it. The raw piece of meat needed no dressing, besides it was silly to feed a cat fancy herbs and spices that could derail the appeal of the meal through a sensitive nose. With the palm-sized portion sizzling on the metal, she gracefully covered the pan with its fitted lid and waited.

"Alert! Alert! Incoming kitty at 9 o'clock!" Alya announced, her hands forming a mock megaphone speaker with her hands so that her 'alert' echoed around the white-walled kitchen. Nino peered around behind her back with both hands on her shoulder as they crouched to observe the tipsy kitty waltzing his way over to the black-haired vet. Hobbling on his thin, ebon stilts, his green eyes attempted as hard as ever to lock onto her bluebell gaze, averting his gaze only to the floor to aid his wobbly balance. Marinette suppressed a giggle behind her wrist as she awaited the arrive of her noir knight whom swayed in and out of a straight line as he staggered towards her legs. Such blue bell eyes were certainly amused, although Marinette also found it really quite comical to play hard to get with this cat, pretending to only acknowledge his presence when he had finally made it to the twin towers of her legs. And then came the irresistible wanton gaze of deep peridot green pleading into her soul and a soft forepaw that clawed incessantly at the skirt of her jeans.

"Hah… Okay, silly kitty come here," She relented with a sigh, gently plucking the light heap of feline off of the hard kitchen floor and into the bed of her arms. And so came the endless string of purrs that erupted from his throat, nurtured by the warmth of her chest.

"~Can you feel, the love tonight~"

"Oh my gosh, Alya, no!" Marinette shrieked. The couple erupted in laughter in the corner before finally catching their heaving breaths and joining her space in the kitchen.

"Haha! You should've seen it! As soon as you left he was like 'Huh? Where oh where did the love of my life go?' It was hilarious!" Nino chuckled with his hands as his waist.

"Nah, you're just a little flirt, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes at the cat curled into a comfy bundle atop of her chest happily purring his heart his away with his eyes comfortably lidded. She playfully tapped her small fingers across the skull of the feline, earning her a single, half-opened curious eye and wha she could only describe as a smirk, to her limb before it closed again and the purring ensemble continued once more.

"Does he have a name yet?" Marinette inquired, stroking the of his soft coat while supporting his weight in her left.

"Nope. Since he was a recent addition, I don't think they even bothered to name him. That, and he hasn't even been neutered yet. Can you believe it?!" Nino scoffed.

"Hmph, some pound." Marinette said. "Does he have a name?" She asked.

"Nope! Since we knew you were going to take such good care of him, we're letting you decide on a him for him, Marinette!" Alya offered. Her dear friend chuckled, raising raven brow all the while smirking.

"Hmm…" She contemplated, deep in thought all the while looking down upon the slumbering noir pelt. "Noir… Chat Noir…"