A/N: Why hello there. Welcome to rawrrkitty's entry for Jellicle Week March. I didn't think I'd be doing this again, but I really couldn't resist the temptation. The central pairing is Pouncebrutus, because I feel the need to show their adorableness some more. :D Er, just a warning, this will be rather fluffy. I think. (unlike my normal stuff, huh?)
This is only longer than the word limit because I feel the need to write long author's notes. No shooting of the rawrrkitty please. ;~;
Disclaimer: I own cats. They're called Maui and Drake. lol, I gotta wonder how many times people have tried that joke… but no, I don't own CATS the Musical.
1 – Blood and Baths (set at home)
Tumblebrutus knew that there was a reason why he never brought Pouncival over to his house.
It was okay when Tumblebrutus went to Pouncival's house – he was good. He'd wipe his feet on the mat before entering, make sure not to break anything, be tolerant to the baby.
But on the rare occasion Pouncival managed to guilt Tumblebrutus into allowing him into his home, something always managed to go wrong. There was the time Pouncival ate half the birthday cake that was meant for the kids. And Tumblebrutus would never forget the day that the family had noticed that the goldfish was missing.
For whatever reason, though, he was allowing his best friend back inside. Pouncival beamed as he trotted through the catflap, eyeing the lounge he'd stepped into with his trademark grin.
"Your place is as nice as ever," he commented with a chuckle.
"It is, so don't you dare be bad today," Tumblebrutus grumbled.
Pouncival swung round from where he was prodding at the new couch and flashed a mischievous look. "Oh, Tumble, you don't want me to be a bad boy today?" he purred. "I thought you… liked it."
Tumblebrutus just rolled his eyes. No wonder Electra thought the pair of them were gay. Of course, they weren't actually. Tumblebrutus ascertained that in his head as he watched Pouncival literally prance out into the hallway.
"Hey, watch out!" Tumblebrutus called, wincing as he heard a bang and a shout. What did he destroy this time? He made his way into the hallway to find Pouncival trapped beneath a painting of some picturesque landscape. How did he even… ah, nevermind.
"Help?" Pouncival smiled weakly. With a sigh, Tumblebrutus grabbed Pouncival's outstretched wrists and heaved.
"I don't know what the family's going to say when they get home," Tumblebrutus said with a shake of his head. "You need to be out before they get home, remember."
"I promise," Pouncival laughed quietly. "You kick me out every time. What's with your aversion to letting them see me?"
"They'd probably be angry," Tumblebrutus said evasively. There was no need to bring up what had happened the last time they'd found him mock fighting with Plato. He shuddered inwardly.
While he'd been mulling over his memories, Pouncival had been on the move. Tumblebrutus' friend was now busy batting at the family's resident parrot, who was squawking merciless insults at him.
"Ugly! Pest! Bad boy, bad bad!" the parrot screeched indignantly as Pouncival poked a paw through the bars of the cage.
"Watch out," Tumblebrutus warned. "I don't think you've met Cheese yet."
"What sort of a name is Cheese?" Pouncival sniffed, just as said parrot bent and closed his beak upon Pouncival's waving paw.
About ten minutes later, Pouncival plopped down in the kitchen, settling against the fridge as Tumblebrutus dug about in some draws for something to wrap Pouncival's bleeding paw in.
"Pouncival, if you ever try to kill the parrot again, I'm going to have to write up a restraining order," Tumblebrutus mumbled, head stuck within a draw containing several envelopes and letter-writing paper.
"It was self-defense," Pouncival murmured in protest, cradling his paw against his chest. "And you didn't mind when I ate the goldfish."
"Oh, I minded," Tumblebrutus said with a grunt as he scrabbled up onto the bench to take a look in some of the higher draws. "Especially when Charlotte spanked me."
Pouncival, forgetting his bleeding paw, smeared blood onto his face in his effort to smother his laughter with a paw. Tumblebrutus, turning around, saw an abysmal sight. Pouncival, blood drying on his paw, his chest, his face-
"Come on," Tumblebrutus groaned. "You could at least try and stay clean."
Pouncival, looking down, made a face. "Oops."
Tumblebrutus narrowed his eyes. "I'll get you bandaged up… and then it's bathtime."
Pouncival, Tumblebrutus thought, had never quite looked more frightened.
The first aid kit was scattered all over the floor, but at least Tumblebrutus had managed to secure a white cloth around Pouncival's paw. Now the injured tom was backed up against the pantry as Tumblebrutus advanced with a sopping wet cloth.
"C'mon," Tumblebrutus cooed.
"No," Pouncival said firmly.
The two of them fell into a laughing and yelling bundle as Tumblebrutus wiped Pouncival's face with the cloth and somehow managed to get both of them wet in the process.
"That's it!" Pouncival said, stepping away. "I'll clean myself, cat style."
Tumblebrutus wasn't sure why they hadn't thought of it sooner. The cloth lay forgotten as Pouncival stretched in ways that looked impossibly painful and licked himself clean.
"You've missed a spot," Tumblebrutus pointed out . It was just behind the ear – probably somewhere even Pouncival couldn't reach easily, he noted. "Here, wait a second." He leant forward, gripped Pouncival's chin and licked furiously at the spot, blushing furiously all the while.
Pouncival was oddly silent as Tumblebrutus pulled away. His eyes were wide, his mouth pressed firmly shut.
And from behind them came a sing-song voice. "Billie's got a girl-friend!"
Inside, Tumblebrutus thought that a part of his soul was dying. At the very least, his stomach was shriveling up into nothing. The family was home.
The rest of the evening was spent with both Pouncival and Tumblebrutus pressed together in horrified silence. The family's little girl, Charlotte, was positively delighted by their so-called "love life", so much that she failed to note Pouncival's gender. First she locked the two of them in her room and made up love stories for them. Now, she was insisting that they both ate from Tumblebrutus' bowl.
"This is disgusting," Pouncival muttered, breaking the silence. "I'm not eating from there. You slobber on your food."
"So do you," Tumblebrutus retorted.
Just then, Charlotte chose to come back, waving some unidentifiable pink object about madly. "I'm ba-ack," she squealed. "My, I've got a lovely surprise for you!"
And so it was that Tumblebrutus was tied to Pouncival by a huge, pink ribbon. The two of them were too mortified to even speak until Charlotte tucked them into a doll's pram and sternly told them they were not to leave. Finally, she left them in peace.
"I'm never coming back to your house again," Pouncival mumbled.
"I'm never inviting you back," Tumblebrutus shot back. "This is why I kick out my visitors before she gets home, see?"
"I wish I'd taken your advice," Pouncival said mournfully.
"Just shut up and sleep," Tumblebrutus sighed.
That was the first night that the two of them slept in each other's arms.