A/N: A Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse ficlet that I wanted to write based off of the ending of "The Mouse from S.O.M.P." and from reading a Law and Order: SVU fic called "I Will Be". That fic ships a pairing I like (Rollins/Carisi), but this fic's not about shipping! Also, I wanted to try out a new writing style after reading it. This eventually turned into a three-shot because of the ideas ^^
Odd truce fluff abounds-you've been warned.
Enjoy!
Title: Temporary Truce
Category: Hanna-Barbera
Series: Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse
Rating: T (due to darker themes in part 2)
Genre/Tags: Humor/Friendship/Eventual Drama/Eventual Angst/Family Drama/Tragedy
Summary: It was supposed to be a temporary truce, after which they'd go right back to feuding. What ends up happening instead forces the two to rethink their rivalry. A one-shot-turned-three-shot Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse fic.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. made it very clear that I don't own Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse.
Temporary Truce
Chapter 1: I Don't Hate Ya...Well, That Much Anyhow
The smell of potatoes, ham and savory gravy tells him that Punkin' Puss was making mashed potatoes and red-eye gravy and country ham-again-and he sighed. "Can't ya make somethin' other than that dish, Punkin'? We ate that last week!"
Punkin' scoffed. "Oh, like you can talk, Mushmouse. I hasn't forgotten how you made macaroni an' cheese four nights straight. 'sides, I has yet ta go to the store, so we'll eat what we've got." He picks up a saucer and a fork, which was tailored for Mushmouse's size. "You all go 'head an' eat yer ham an' gravy. I's still makin' the taters."
"Sure thing, Punkin' Puss," Mushmouse says, taking the saucer and sitting on the nightstand with his plate. One hand slices the ham while the other hits the up button to change the channels. Honestly, he thought to himself, can't that cat make something other than his red-eye gravy?
A little while later he finds something-a supernatural show that looks like a low-budget ripoff of The Twilight Zone. The actors were stale, their costumes and set designs looked like something a monkey hyped on sugar would've put together, and the special effects...goodness, those were terrible. In fact, it was so terrible, it was laughable, if the mouse's uncontrollable laughing was of any indication.
"What's so funny, Mushmouse?" Punkin' Puss came in, a bowl of mashed potatoes in one hand and two bottles of root beer in the other. His eyes widened when he saw what was on the television. "What in the Sam Hill is that?!"
"I-It's some show called 'Supernatural Mystery Theater'," Mushmouse said, trying to control his laughter.
"Looks like some mish-mash o' those monster movies an' The Twilight Zone," Punkin' Puss said. "Let me take a look at this."
He sits in the rocking chair and they split the mashed potatoes-although their food's quickly forgotten due to both of them laughing and riffing at the show's attempts to tell a story, because seriously, how can you tell a story with effects like that?
They talk after it's over, followed by Punkin' Puss changing the channel to a reality show he likes, Motocross Madness. Mushmouse at first mocks the cat for it, but he took it back when two racers get into a full-out brawl in the middle of a race. They argue about who's the best motocross racer, who has the best bike, who's the best team-they can't agree on anything except that Powerful Pierre is one of the worst racers ever, not because of his skill, but because his whole attitude was so darn infuriating.
They don't change the channel for three hours, because three episodes came on back to back, and Mushmouse was so enthralled he didn't feel like sleeping, and Punkin's choices in snacks-molasses cookies, caramel popcorn and soda-don't help. He sits on Punkin' Puss' knee to get a better look at the race and explain to the cat how Jubilee James is cheating with his new bike, and Punkin' Puss only laughs at his explanations, saying he knows nothing about motocross.
And for a while, it's peaceful. For a while, they're enjoying themselves. For a while, they forget the fact that they're enemies.
And then Punkin' Puss goes to bed, and Mushmouse goes to his mousehole, and he knows in the morning it'll be like the last three hours never happened.
A couple of weeks later, Punkin' Puss runs out of ammunition, and his gunpowder keg is destroyed by his neighbor Tennessee Tabby-he obviously hasn't forgiven him for trespassing onto his property-and it rains for a few days straight, leaving him cooped up inside the house and feeling rather bored.
He's not really thinking when he knocks on the wall where Mushmouse's hole is and says, "Hey, Mushmouse, you can come out. I's run outta ammunition."
"This had better not be one o' your tricks, Punkin' Puss," Mushmouse replies.
"Consarn it, I'm tellin' ya the truth!" Punkin' snaps. He sighs. "Well, fine. Reckon I'm gonna have ta watch the new episode of Motocross Madness by m'self."
He heads over to the television, a smirk hinting on his face. A second later, he hears, "The new episode's on today? Shoot, why didn't you say so?" A blur of blue races out of the wall and soon Mushmouse is perched on the arm of Punkin's rocking chair. "Reckon we's gonna have to have some food iffin' we're watchin' that."
"So we are, Mushmouse." Punkin' Puss makes his way into the kitchen. He should've used this weak spot a long time ago, he muses. "I'll whip up somethin' quick."
"Somethin' quick" ends up being skillet cornbread and beans, as well as a few leftover ham hocks stewed in red-eye gravy. Mushmouse complains that he's getting fed up with red-eye gravy, although he drowns three pieces of cornbread in it, to which Punkin' Puss can't help but laugh at. Since the show isn't on yet, they have to settle for watching the soaps, including a popular one called The Old and the Restful that Mushmouse had briefly followed but later dropped. Throughout the whole show, Mushmouse explains who the characters are and what crazy storylines had happened before. Even Punkin' agreed that the last one Mushmouse had described was the dumbest thing the writers could've done-why break up a popular couple just so some fan-favorite could come back, and then break them up?
They almost miss the new episode because Mushmouse's trying to figure out what's going on on the show-seriously, whose great idea was it to make the main character think he's a vampire of all things?-but thankfully, Punkin' Puss gets fed up with it and changes the channel. They soon get wrapped up in that, and they're soon back to talking about motorbike parts, the city they should race in, and of course, how stupid Powerful Pierre is.
And just like that, it starts a tradition.
Well, it's not like it can really be called a "tradition", Mushmouse notes. After all, it's kinda hard to keep a tradition when majority of his time is spent either outsmarting or outrunning Punkin' Puss.
It's more of a thing they do when they either fought to a draw or were so bored they ended up having each other for company, which starts to happen a lot more often lately. Punkin' Puss would cook anything he felt like making for dinner or lunch (dirty rice, Hoppin' John, sausage and beans, and yes, lots of red-eye gravy), while Mushmouse would find shows to watch on TV, and then they'd eat in front of the TV and watch whatever he'd picked. Very rarely did they switch-Mushmouse was not as masterful in the kitchen as Punkin' and Punkin' didn't as many favorite genres as Mushmouse; everything else annoyed him except reality TV shows about cars.
And soaps, he couldn't forget that. Mushmouse still laughs at how he'd caught the cat looking at the end of this week's episode of The Old and the Restful.
Sometimes, though, when there was nothing good on TV, they'd just talk-not about anything in particular, but certainly not about their feud. They banter and poke fun at each other-he loves shooting Punkin' Puss down when he acts like the world's greatest expert-but it just felt...natural, like they were good friends just talking and having fun.
And that was the weird thing.
In regards to this odd hobby of theirs, Mushmouse has mixed feelings on it. On one hand, he's happy that he wouldn't be shot at or chased around to the point of exhaustion and he could just relax and enjoy things. Plus, he and Punkin' Puss can actually get along and have fun together when they weren't fighting to boot each other out of the hills.
On the other hand, he's slightly annoyed at Punkin' Puss. These TV nights showed him that he wasn't just an ornery cat who was quick to fight with anybody. Thing was, he'd have a hard time asking Punkin' to tell him just what he thought about this crazy sort-of truce they had. The cat was stubborn and quick to attack at a moment's notice, and he'd lose his fur for his trouble. So he keeps his thoughts to himself, although every time Punkin' Puss calls him over for TV night makes him dwell on those thoughts.
Punkin' Puss notices his quietness during the marathon of season 2 of Motocross Madness, leading up to the season finale. Normally, he'd be leaping with excitement and chattering about the hearty dinner Punkin' Puss had made-he'd finally gotten his paws on some beef, leading to beef stew with brown gravy and rice-but he couldn't bring himself to come up with one witty line, even though it'd been two hours after they'd eaten.
"You's alright, Mushmouse?" Punkin' asks during the commercial break.
"Hmm?" Mushmouse turns to Punkin' and gives him a small smile. "I'm fine, Punkin'. I's jus' savin' up my energy for the second half. Don't need ta fall asleep on the final race, right?"
"Yeah, ain't it the truth?"Punkin' replied. "That race had better be as good as they've been toutin' it. I've had lotsa disappointments regardin' those."
"Yup," Mushmouse replies, although he's half-listening to Punkin's rants about disappointments in advertisements.
He has no idea who's really disappointed right now.
Punkin' Puss notices that something's off with Mushmouse when he announces that Motocross Madness was not being cancelled and would be returning for a third season. He'd figured the mouse would be ecstatic about this, since he'd seemed genuinely disappointed upon hearing rumors that it would be cancelled.
"Oh...well, that's great, Punkin' Puss," Mushmouse says, giving him a small smile. "I'm a-gonna set the calendar to remind myself ta tune in."
"I thought we was gonna watch it together like always," Punkin' Puss brings up, his suspicion becoming apparent.
"Uh, well...I was thinkin' of usin' the TV I've got in my mousehole," Mushmouse answers quickly. "'sides, I was plannin' on watchin' it by myself anyhow. Now iffin' you don't mind, I'm gonna head in an' watch The Old and the Restful."
Punkin' starts to ask something, but Mushmouse has already ducked back into his mousehole. This confounds him even more. "Now wasn't that jus' odd...Mushmouse ain't actin' like himself."
He heads back into the kitchen, picking out the key ingredients for his famous red-eye gravy. However, he can't bring himself to start cooking just yet. He found it odd that Mushmouse would skip out on the show like that. After all, he was letting him watch shows on his TV and fixing his favorite food, and he wasn't even getting mad about it! He could stand to be a little bit grateful-he was treating the mouse way nicer than he normally did or what he deserved, for crying out loud. He'd been having fun with him on these TV nights. They'd been having fun, riffing on bad reality TV, eating food, running commentary-
When he realizes what he'd just thought, he almost utters something he wouldn't be caught dead uttering to his mother.
...Did he just admit to having fun with Mushmouse of all people? The rodent who'd not only barged into his house, but was intent on eating him out of house and home? That was impossible. Cats live to chase mice, not have fun with them. And in the case of Punkin' Puss, they just got on his nerves. He couldn't live in the same space peacefully with Mushmouse; it never worked out.
But for the last month or so, they had been living peacefully off and on, far more than how they used to. Not only that, but they'd actually had fun together on these little TV nights. And he'd also noticed that he's losing his touch when it came to his shooting-he'd always shoot to scare, not to kill, but some of them were deadly close to blowing Mushmouse's head off. Before, this wouldn't have concerned him, but now he can't help the little start he gets when he barely misses Mushmouse.
Was he actually concerned about Mushmouse's well-being? Or was he enjoying the mouse's company a lot more than he would ever care to admit?
For the first time in his life, he has difficulty cooking his red-eye gravy and ham.
It's the first time in several months where they don't have a TV night.
It's also the first time in several months where they don't feud at all, either. Both of them are in their corners of the house, too deep in thought to do anything.
For Mushmouse, he's resolved to keep his distance from the cat until he can somehow make up his mind. He isn't about to go back to the same pattern of this odd-truce, where they fight for half of the week or year, and hang out the next. Either they're rivals or not-there couldn't be an in-between.
For Punkin' Puss, he's still torn over what to do. A part of him was admonishing himself for being soft on Mushmouse, his enemy of all things,but another part of him was admonishing himself for trying to restart conflict. The last few times they'd tried to truly end their feud, they'd gone right back to where they'd started as they'd been too lonely and too restless without it. And being friends with a mouse was unheard of for cats-his family had already gotten on his case about not killing Mushmouse, but they would skin him alive if he'd become friends with him. He wasn't about to start calling the mouse his friend, though, but he was unsure about keeping him as a lifelong enemy, either.
There is one thing they're both thinking about: things weren't supposed to get this complicated.
Two days later, Mushmouse has had enough.
"How long is we gonna go on like this, Punkin' Puss?" He looks up at Punkin' Puss, who is idly playing with his rifle. It's the first thing he's seen him do aside from sitting out on the porch and sleeping.
"Go on like what, Mushmouse?" Punkin' Puss asks.
"You know! This whole thing where one half's spent feudin' and the other half's spent bein' friendly with each other!" Mushmouse says. Honestly, how can he forget something like that? "I'm tired of goin' through this over an' over again."
"What, you means to tell me that you wanna restart our feud?" Punkin' Puss questions, one eyebrow raised.
"Of course I don't wanna restart this feud! You's forgettin' the times I tried ta end it!" Mushmouse shouts. "It's jus'..." He sighs in an effort to calm down. "Look...I knows we're technically supposed to be on a truce."
"Yeah. An' this truce has gone on for a long time," Punkin' adds. "I was wonderin' when it was gonna end."
So he had been thinking the same thing. Mushmouse is unsure about asking this, but he knows he has to. "So, this means ya still hate me an' wanna...you know...get rid of me fer good, right, Punkin' Puss?" he says, and his voice takes on that high-pitched note, the one that he always gets when he's either in a playful mood or upset.
Punkin' Puss sighs, sets his rifle down and looks straight at Mushmouse. "Ya know, you's a pain in the behind sometimes, Mushmouse, but I don't hate ya...well, that much anyhow. An' although I shoots at ya often, I don't aim to kill ya."
This surprises Mushmouse, who stares at Punkin' Puss with wide eyes. He wasn't expecting something like that. Come to think of it, he was expecting the cat to turn that rifle towards him and let him have it. A long silence follows this statement, and then Punkin' Puss' look turns uncomfortable. "So, uh..."
"So?" Mushmouse prods.
The next sentence is practically a mumble. "...I reckon I wouldn't mind iffin' we still hung out, Mushmouse."
"Y-You wouldn't?" Mushmouse asks, hopefulness in his tone.
"No, I wouldn't. A-An' don't make me repeat that again, alright?" Punkin' Puss returns to cleaning his rifle with renewed fervor. It's Mushmouse's way of telling how embarrassed he was to say that. "You know I don't like sayin' what's really on my mind most of the time..."
Seeing as that was the end of the conversation, Mushmouse turns and heads into the kitchen for a snack, although he can't help but grin.
His cousins are going to flip when they hear about this.
Punkin' Puss had thought that this friendship would be awkward. After all, this is Mushmouse, the person he'd shot at day in and day out for years during a deadly, destructive feud. He knows from experience that, for all his talk of being a peace-loving person, Mushmouse is very cunning and full of guile, and when riled up he'd be a formidable foe for anyone. He wouldn't be surprised if Mushmouse had a plan to stab him in the back for all that he's done to him over the years. And in truth, he'd deserve it for being such a mean-spirited person.
But it never happens, and that's the odd thing. They still hang out together, watch whatever's on TV and riff on anything terrible, and still talk about whatever comes to either of their minds. They find that they have similar interests in music and food, as well as similar experiences with family, jobs and money. And their personalities balance each other-Mushmouse was the voice of reason when Punkin' Puss fell to his temper, and Punkin' Puss was the one who helped Mushmouse bounce back whenever he felt down. And when it comes to pranks or tricks, no one is their equal.
Punkin's been waiting for a few months for it all to come crashing down, for Mushmouse to suddenly pull out a gun and shoot him when he least expects it, and nothing happens.
He eventually meets all of Mushmouse's family when he invites them in the summer for a visit. His house has never been this flooded with this many mice, and for a moment he has to remind himself to keep his instincts under wraps. A few of them haven't truly forgiven him for beating up Mushmouse, but most of them are just as friendly to him as Mushmouse is, and he's relieved to hear that.
He has yet to introduce Mushmouse to his own family, but that can wait for another time. Right now, he's listening to the toast that Mushmouse is giving in honor of him, surrounded by all his cousins.
"Well, I never thought I'd say this after all our years of feudin', but Punkin' Puss, I considers you ta be a great friend, an' one I should've made a lot sooner," he said, lifting up his tiny glass of cider in the cat's direction. "To Punkin' Puss, a true an' loyal friend. Cheers!"
"Cheers!" The sound of clinking glasses fills Punkin' Puss' ears as the rest of Mushmouse' family toasts him too. He remembers what he'd said to Mushmouse when their truce had first started: If everyone got along like this, it'd be a better world.
Punkin' Puss smiles. "Aw, thanks, Mushmouse," he says, before downing his own glass of cider.
It already feels like the world's gotten better.
It's a few months later, during a rare daytime showing of Motocross Madness, when Mushmouse finally meets Punkin's family. Or rather, one of his family members.
The door slams open and Punkin' Puss whirls around so fast, Mushmouse swears he hears a few bones snap in his neck. "What in the-"
"Punkin'! Shucks, I was wonderin' where you was! You haven't shown up since the family reunion!"
Punkin' Puss stares at the cat striding in, as does Mushmouse. If Punkin' Puss weren't sitting right here, Mushmouse would've sworn it was a double. "Cousin Horatio?" Punkin' asks.
"The one an' only!" Horatio pauses when he sees Mushmouse sitting on Punkin's knee and the TV blaring. "What's goin' on? Last time I was here, you was sayin' how much you wanted ta clobber that little varmint."
Punkin' Puss starts to say something, but Mushmouse speaks up for him. "Well, that did happen a few years ago, but we's friends now!" he says cheerfully.
Horatio's face curls into a frown, and Mushmouse notices that Punkin' gets tense for a brief second. He looks up at the cat. "We is friends, ain't we, Punkin' Puss?" he asks.
Punkin' clears his throat with a nervous chuckle. Mushmouse can't help but wonder why he's so nervous. "Heheh, um, yeah," Punkin' Puss answers. "We is friends now, Horatio."
"...that so, huh?" Horatio says, and again, Punkin' tenses-his tail is as stiff as a board. "Well, I'd like ta say that I don't mind, but...you know back home there's only one way we deals with mouse-lovin' cats."
"Uh, an' how's that?" Mushmouse asks.
He doesn't hear Horatio's answer, for Punkin' Puss shoves him to the ground. A gunshot rings out, and Punkin' Puss lets out a yowl of pain as a bullet crashes into his shoulder, sending him to the ground right along with Mushmouse.
Mushmouse stares in horror at the cat, who is gripping his wounded shoulder with one paw, his face twisted with pain. "Punkin' Puss!"
A loud cock fills his ears. "He wouldn't have been shot iffin' you didn't move!" Horatio snaps at him, his face twisted with disgust. "Ta think my own cousin's a mouse-lover-"
"R-Run, Mushmouse!" Punkin' Puss shouts. His eyes are filled with desperation. "Git outta here!"
Mushmouse stares at him as though he's insane. "But-"
"Run, an' don't come back!" Punkin' shouts again, and his voice takes on that commanding, angry tone that he used from their feuding days. But he knows that he's not doing it to assert his authority. He's doing it to tell him to get the heck out of here fast.
And even though Mushmouse doesn't want to, Horatio makes that decision for him. Pure instinct is to thank for him missing the bullet that nearly blows him apart, and he runs for his mousehole, bullets racing after him.
He races out the back door and into the open field, safe for the moment, but safety being the least of his concerns. He runs down the trail, and in the distance, he hears he sounds of gunfire...and they were coming from outside the cabin. Mushmouse dives for a bush in order to hide and to catch his breath, and it's then that he hears wood snapping off. He gulped. Horatio was coming after him.
"Where are ya, ya dad-burned mouse?" Horatio bellows, stomping through the ground. "Ya can't hide in these bushes forever!"
Mushmouse backs further into the bushes, hoping beyond hope that he can get out of there alive and get back in time to help Punkin' Puss, but he could only go so far before Horatio spots him and shoots him down.
He spots a clearing...and before he can take another step, light shines down on him, and he squeaks in terror. Horatio's hand fills his vision and soon pain fills his body as the cat begins to squeeze him, his claws digging into his body. Punkin' Puss' squeeze holds were nothing compared to Horatio's; the air was trapped in his lungs and he couldn't breathe. Struggling only made it worse.
"As I was startin' to say before my cousin' interrupted..." Horatio starts, smiling as he watches Mushmouse struggle. "Back in the hills, what we did ta mouse-lovin' cats was ta get rid o' what they loved the most...betcha you can figure out what that is, huh?" He laughs and then tightens his hold on Mushmouse, bringing a strangled cry of agony from him. "Consider this as payback, you tricky little varmint."
"An' consider this as payback, you double-crossin' traitor!"
That was Horatio's only warning. He's soon knocked down by a left hook, and his grip on Mushmouse loosens as he falls to the ground. Mushmouse spills out on the ground, gulping down precious air. The cocking of a gun fills his ears, and Horatio gasps.
"You'd better get, or else I'll stomp you good for messin' with Mushmouse!" Punkin' Puss has his rifle aimed at Horatio; he's using one arm due to his shoulder injury, and Mushmouse notices that he's beads of sweat on his brow. Whatever pain he was feeling, the anger hid it all. "An' don't think of callin' any of our other cousins to come by here, or I'll deal with 'em how I's fixin' to deal with you!"
Mushmouse backs away in case Horatio gets the stupid idea to do just that. However, the cat seems to think better of it and gets up, although the glare he sends to Punkin' Puss is full of betrayal and anger. "This ain't over, cousin," he spits out. He then glares at Mushmouse, and the anger becomes pure vengeance. "You'll get yer due soon, mouse." He marches down the trail, his tail stiff and his paws balled into fists.
Mushmouse turns to Punkin' Puss, about to tell him how relieved he is to see him and how grateful he is-but those words quickly disappear when Punkin's rifle hits the ground, and he clutches his right shoulder, a hiss of pain escaping his lips. He rushes over to the cat, just in time to barely stop him from stumbling into a tree and making his injury worse. He picks up Punkin's rifle, and tries to guide him back to the cabin as best as he can. He has a lot of questions on his mind, but those can wait. His friend needs his help, and darn it all if he's going to let him die.
Several hours later, when the bullet's safely out and his wounds are stitched up, Punkin' Puss calls Mushmouse inside.
He notices how worried he looks, as though the cat's on his deathbed and he's going to hear his last words. He has to reassure Mushmouse that he's not going to die and that he's lucky that he'd stopped to take care of his arm before running out after Horatio-things would've been much worse. Mushmouse is relieved, but slightly. A tense silence follows before he asks him, "How come ya didn't say anythin', Punkin' Puss?"
"Ya saw why jus' now, didn't ya?" he answers. "My family, 'specially on my paw's side, where all my cousins come from...they got ideas 'bout how catses and mouses should be. An' that's nothin' more than enemies. For a while, I believed that. An' I admit, it's the main reason I was chasin' an' shootin' at ya."
"But Punkin', you's never shot to kill me," Mushmouse points out. "Horatio on the other hand..."
"Yeah, they all like ta extinguish mice. As for me...I can't stand the sight of blood, 'specially my own," Punkin' Puss says. "And I don't like the idea of killin' someone, whether it's for fun, or if I'm defendin' myself. Jus' the thought of doin' that..." He can't help but shudder. "That scares me more than anythin'."
"Oh." Mushmouse climbs up on the nightstand to better face Punkin' Puss. "I guess I can understand why Horatio's mad. My cousins weren't terribly fond of the idea of you bein' my friend, either."
Punkin' Puss nods. "There's standards in these yar hills."
"So...does this mean we's gonna have ta stop bein' friends?" Mushmouse asks. "I don't think yer family's gonna put up with you bein' friends with a mouse..."
His tone is sad, and Punkin' Puss can't help but feel sad, too. They'd finally, finally ended their feud, had proven to be pretty good friends...and now someone's determined to break it. A part of him thinks, This was a stupid idea, trying to be friends with a mouse! Look what you've done! You've made an enemy outta your own family! You need to show that mouse his place!
But another part of him also thinks, Now that's a stupid idea. Why would you want to go back to being enemies again, after how well you've gotten along? If your family doesn't like it, they'll have to put up with it. Standards do exist in these hills, but you don't have to follow them.
What he does surprises even him. He gives the mouse a pat on the head with his good hand, which prompts a look of surprise. "Well, they's gonna have to put up with it. 'Cause iffin' there's anythin' I hate, it's folks who turn their back on their friends," Punkin' says. "So no, we ain't gonna stop bein' friends, Mushmouse."
Mushmouse's face brightened with a grin, before he gave the cat a hug. Granted, it's not really a hug-due to being smaller than him, it's more like mashing his cheeks halfway inside his mouth and pulling on his whiskers to the point of tearing them. This would've bothered him, but in truth, he's happy, as he knew now that he did have a true friend in the small mouse. There was that old saying-you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends.
And he knew, from that moment on, that he'd made a good choice in friends.
Several weeks later, the two are back to normal. Well, as normal as could be-Punkin's shoulder keeps him out of the kitchen, so Mushmouse has been ordering takeout from the restaurant farther down the hills, because he's not going to risk burning the house down. He does hope that his shoulder gets better soon, though; after having homemade red-eye gravy and country ham, restaurant-style doesn't taste the same.
Of course, he doesn't dare mention that to Punkin' Puss.
He's been wondering what happened to Horatio and the rest of Punkin's family members-they must've heard of what happened by now. He had expected an army of cats to come flooding the house, rifles aimed at him and Punkin' Puss-or at the very least, threats of doing so coming in the mail. But there hasn't been news for almost month, so they might have let it blow over...or they might be planning something.
He really, really hopes that it's the former. The last thing he wants is to get killed, or even worse, for Punkin' Puss to get killed. Now that he thinks about it, the cat almost died because of him. If he hadn't been there, Punkin' Puss wouldn't be hurt. He wouldn't be caught up in a family war over him.
These thoughts of guilt came to him at the worst times...like right now, when they're watching the Motocross Madness marathon that's supposed to lead up to the season four premiere. He's facing the TV, but not really paying attention to it, as he remembers what happened the last time they'd been watching a marathon of this show.
"Hey, Mushmouse?" Punkin' says during the commercial break.
Mushmouse snaps out of his troublesome thoughts to answer. "Yeah, Punk?"
"Iffin' any more of my family gives ya trouble, I'll handle 'em personally," the cat says. "An' if they come 'round here, I'll give 'em all what for."
Mushmouse turns around to face the cat, who looks at him with a calm, half-lidded expression. How he could be so calm after announcing that he'd go after his own family was beyond him. But what stunned him even more was that he'd somehow known what he'd been thinking. "Punkin', I-I hasn't been worried 'bout that..."
"Mushmouse, it ain't like ya to not talk during one of these marathons. An' I can figure out what you all are thinkin' 'cause I was thinkin' the same thing," Punkin' replies. "I meant what I said ta Cousin Horatio, an' I'll say the same to any of my kinfolk. So you's got nothin' to worry 'bout."
"Well, I appreciate it, Punkin', but...reckon yer sayin' that to forget that it's my fault you is hurt in the first place," Mushmouse says.
"I got off lucky, an' so did you. Ya wouldn't have a shoulder if'n I hadn't shoved ya, much less a head," Punkin' answers. "So don't go 'round thinkin' that what happened back then was yer fault. I did that to save ya. An' you know me. I woulda said somethin' if I did think it was your fault."
"That's true." Mushmouse chuckles. "Reckon this whole situation has gotten me wound up."
"I can tell," Punkin' Puss replies. "But at least you's can unwind with a little bit of television, right?"
"Yep!"Mushmouse pauses when he hears the theme for Motocross Madness. "I hopes Pierre gets booted out of this season!"
Punkin' Puss laughs. "Yeah, ain't it the truth? Another fella I hope they get rid of is Sven."
"Sven? He's an alright feller! How can ya say that?!"
"I'm jus' sayin', he's gettin' up thar, Mushmouse. He can't race forever!"
"That's what makes him a great racer! He don't let age define 'im!" Mushmouse huffs. "Honestly, you've got bad taste when it comes ta competitive sports, Punkin' Puss!"
"Hey...!"
They miss majority of the season opening because they're arguing who's the best competitor, which soon shifts over to who's the best racing team. It simmers down when Pierre does get booted off, to which Punkin' insists they celebrate with a bottle of apple cider and, surprisingly, some pizza from farther in town. He's got some extra spending money saved away, and he decides that today's as good a day as any to spend it on something luxurious.
Mushmouse can't help but laugh; only Punkin' Puss would call pizza a luxury. But he readily agrees to this idea and orders extra cheese on their six-cheese meat lover's pizza when he gets on the phone. The thoughts that he'd been thinking of earlier have disappeared, partly due to his excitement, and partly because of Punkin's words.
Tonight, neither of them would have anything to worry about.
End of Part 1
This was the only idea that I was working on during this whole week-and that was in between working on my project and the assignment I had this week. See, I can multitask!
This fic's not connected to "Big City Tabby", by the way-it more or less takes place during the cartoon series.
The pic that I have as this fic's cover was taken from the episode "The Mouse From S.O.M.P." Unlike Tom and Jerry, moments where Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse actually interact peacefully for a little while barely happen, so it was kinda cool and rather cute to see that. Seeing as Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse have the second most violent rivalry after Tom and Jerry, I was working on a way to see how they'd actually become friends. I was trying to keep it cute and fluffy, but you know how my mind works. I did reference a couple of characters from previous PP&MM episodes-Horatio's from "Callin' All Kin", Tennessee Tabby's from the episode "A Tale of Two Kitties" and Mushmouse's many cousins are from various episodes. There's also a character from a Huckleberry Hound episode called Powerful Pierre who's mentioned in here.
I did that on purpose with the ending: Horatio may have been chased off, but it really isn't over for Punkin's side of things. I don't think I'll do a sequel fic to this...but if you like it enough to do one, then be my guest.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think!