Recently, I saw a movie called A Monster in Paris and fell in love with everything about it. So this is a series of drabbles about little moments in Francoeur's life during and after the events of the film. Because I dearly, dearly love the giant flea. I will be writing these sporadically and probably infrequently when school starts back up. Just to let any readers know, I don't want you to be checking every week when I don't know myself when the next one will be out.
Lucille walked into the office, standing with dignity and purpose despite the hushed (and not so hushed) murmurs that went through the other Parisians in the waiting room. She walked over to a section of the room where there were two chairs available side by side and gestured to her companion to sit in the one beside her. Unlike Lucille, her friend was nervous and cringed away from the people who stared openly. She gestured again and he darted over, sitting beside her with his hands on his lap.
She took a newspaper from the table and began to read, tilting it to the side so that her friend could read too. The front page story was about the recent election of the new police commissioner, Páte, and he stooped over her shoulder to read it eagerly. She smiled at him and earned a contented hum, and then both began reading again. They were scheduled for an appointment at two and it was one forty-five; they had plenty of time. One of them began to hum a familiar tune, followed quickly by the other, and soon they'd forgotten who started humming first.
"Pardon me, Mademoiselle," a voice said, startling them both into looking up from the paper and falling silent, "There is a sign posted on the door that says animals are not allowed."
Lucille looked up and saw a middle aged woman with brown hair, a cashmere shawl, and a disgusted and fearful expression. The woman's eyes were locked on her companion. Lucille felt heat coming to her face and repressed her gut reaction, which would have led to an arrest for assault. Instead she took a deep breath.
"That is too bad," she said, meeting the woman's eyes with a challenge and a calm tone of voice, "I suppose you'll just have to wait outside, yes?"
The woman sputtered a bit and rallied.
"I mean to say," she said, trying to match Lucille's calm tone, "That your pet is making some people, including myself, very uncomfortable."
Lucille's eye flamed but her tone remained perfect and polite.
"I have a pet?" she asked, looking around her, "I don't remember bringing one in. Francoeur, did you see an animal follow me in?"
She turned to her companion as she said this and met his eyes, trying to be stable for his sake. He looked terrified, his wide eyes searching behind his mask. He just blinked for a second and then shook his head hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure whether or not the question was rhetorical.
"There, you see?" Lucille said, looking back to the woman, "No pets here. Perhaps the animal bothering you belongs to somebody else."
The woman huffed and looked as if she wanted to start again but didn't know what to say. Lucille just looked back down at the newspaper, ignoring the woman entirely. She cringed when the woman made a fearful sound and walked swiftly away. Out of the corner of her eye she'd seen Francoeur smile at the lady, trying to be friendly. Some people just couldn't understand.
Lucille looked up at him as soon as the woman left and saw a heartbroken facial expression under his white chapeau. She reached for his left glove, feeling the two hands inside it as she squeezed it comfortingly. Francoeur tightened his fingers around hers for a moment and then released her hand with a purring sound that was sweeter than any "thank you" Lucille had ever received. The two began to read again, finishing the article before the office opened and their names were called. She stood and Francoeur followed her lead, stooping through the door to enter the office.
"Thank you for coming today, Mademoiselle," the lawyer said as they entered, "And of course, Messieur. We only have one more issue to settle before the citizenship claim can be validated."
"Of course," Lucille said, sitting in one of the two armchairs before the desk, with Francoeur doing the same, "What is the problem?"
"His age," the lawyer said, returning to his chair after shaking their hands, "It seems that, on a technicality, someone less than a year old cannot become a French citizen without having a legal guardian."
"I see," Lucille responded, here eyebrows going up in surprise, "What should be done, in your opinion?"
"Well," the man said, smiling somewhat now, "Since his biological parents are not an option…"
Lucille rolled her eyes.
"...a human guardian must be chosen, preferably a French citizen," he finished.
Lucille didn't have to think; she spoke quickly and surely.
"I will be his guardian then," she said, earning a surprised look from the lawyer and a questioning chirp from Francoeur, "I found him, took him in off the street, dressed him, and gave him a place to live. I think all of those qualify as the duties of a guardian."
"Of course, Mademoiselle," the lawyer said, thumbing through the papers on his desk, "If you're certain?"
"I am," Lucille answered, smiling at the happy chirp beside her.
The paperwork took her an hour to finish, even with the lawyer guiding her through every step. Francoeur had begun to improvise a new song on the nearby crystal paperweight by the final time she signed her name. But, when they walked out of that office with all of Francoeur's papers in order, announcing to the world that he was a legitimate citizen of France, Lucille needed no prompting to smile.
Just an idea that came to me. If they brought Francoeur back to his big size permanently and wanted to employ him at her nightclub, he'd have to be a French citizen. : ) Ideas are always welcome, I do love suggestions. Oh, and I will be sticking to the cannon pairings of all the characters in the movie, just to let you guys know. I love the cannon parings too much to ship otherwise! No offense to those who do, just know that I don't want to do alternate pairings in this one. Thanks guys, see you soon!
