This is entirely for anonymousauthor406, who suggested this couple and beta-read this story. Thank you, darling, again. :D
I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you like it too. :3
I took a deep breath trying to contain the shiver that made my fur stick out as I felt the lean, strong body press against mine, just for a second, and the tail curling on my thigh as he stepped away, going back his place in the dance. He did it on purpose so no one noticed. Nobody may have known what he did, but no one failed to see my reaction after it.
I'm not sure when this game he'd been playing with me started, but in the course of the last year, every time I saw Mungojerrie my belly would coil and my heart would fasten. At first there were small things, so common I thought I was imagining it. A touch that lingered a bit too much, a couple of flirty smiles or jokes, a soft caressing hand when he greeted me. Little things that made me shudder and had me thinking that I was no better than a pervert for having such reactions to a young Jellicle, a tom nonetheless, and because of innocent, most likely accidental, interactions too. But I found out quickly that nothing he did around me was unintentional. Everything seemed calculated to the tiniest detail to drive me mad and draw out the most embarrassing reactions from me. Soon enough, he began to be more confident and the touches would last longer or would be in more and more inappropriate places.
It didn't take long for the whole tribe to think I was beginning to lose my mind. Seemingly out of nowhere I would get all hyped up, my pupils taking over most of my eyes, my fur so frizzy it looked like I'd been electrified, my claws popping out, my tail twitching strongly and breathing so hard someone would think I had just run away from a pollicle. I thought it was also a matter of time until someone, anyone, caught him in act but he wasn't one of the best thieves in London for nothing. His timing was always perfect, he was always silent and unassuming and the only evidence of what he had done was the satisfied smirk he had on his face when I was left to the point of a nervous breakdown and someone would ask me if everything was alright. Not even his sister seemed to notice and, while that gave me a little peace because at least it meant I wasn't being laughed at by the younger Jellicles, it still didn't get me anywhere near to finding out what the bloody hell he was doing.
"Munk… Munk… Munkustrap!" Alonzo hissed, clawing lightly at my arm and I jumped up, startled.
"What?" I pulled my arm from his grip, rubbing it until the tingle went away. He pointed to Mistoffelees who had an annoyed look on his face, ears pressed to back of his head, fore paws on his waist, tail thumping loudly on the ground and tapping one of his hind paws furiously. "Oh… I'm so sorry, Misto."
"Did you even listen to what I said?!" He demanded and I flicked my ear, falling to remember anything from the last few minutes that wasn't Mungojerrie. "Of course you didn't. Because if you had listened you would know you're supposed to be over there with Cassandra, not here looking like a stupid pollicle." He almost growled and I nodded rushing over to the queen who was trying to hold her laughter, choosing to ignore his rash comment because I knew how stressed he was. "Alright, we only have another week to get this right and I'll be damned if the first routine I make for the Jellicle Ball is less than perfect. Rumpleteazer! Electra! Stop talking to each other! You have all the time in the world for that! And Tugger, I swear on the Everlasting Cat herself if I see you swinging your hips during of the queen's fouettes I will murder you! Now! From the top!" He growled and started counting the steps of again.
After starting over three times because someone was in the wrong tempo, once because the kittens started to run all over the place we were using for rehearsal and a couple dozen times to send a shock towards Tugger's rear because he kept making the younger queens lose their focus, we were breathless, sweaty and Misto had his fur sticking up in every direction but seemed satisfied.
"So much for shy and aloof…" I heard Tumblebrutus say angrily once we started to scatter and get ready to go back to our normal activities, but before I could reprehend him Misto hissed.
"Instead of complaining you should be working on your dancing. Weren't you supposed to be really good? All I could see today was bent knees and flexed hind paws. Not to mention your arms flailing all over the place. Were you drowning? I didn't think so." The tux fur started glowing as he bared his teeth to the tom who was trying to make himself look smaller. "Straight knees and pointed feet. If I see any angles that I didn't specifically say should be there, you'll be getting the same treatment as Tugger and believe me…"
"Tumble, I think I heard your sister calling you." I jumped in, touching the tom's shoulder before he ran off away from the angry tux. "Misto…"
"Don't! I'm mad at you too!" The tux huffed, crossing his arms on his chest with an angry look, his tail flicking around, but he was so ruffled and sparkly it was actually adorable.
"I know, kit. I'm sorry about today, I really am." I said, pulling him into a hug, smoothing over the fur on his head but he didn't bulge. "You know how much I hate when you're angry at me. Can you forgive me, hum?" I asked, pawing his ear lightly as he finally looked up, uncrossed his arms and hugged me back, burying his muzzle on my chest. "Am I forgiven?" I asked nipping his ear lightly, knowing he was ticklish and he chuckled, moving his head.
"Only if you promise not to do it again."
"I promise." I said dutifully and he nodded, sighing.
"How do you do this every year, Munk? And with every single song? I just have one and I think I'm going to lose it!" He leaned back, looking up to me with big tears in his big blue eyes and I pulled him back to my chest, holding back a laugh. He looked exactly like I did the first time I had to organize the Jellicle Ball, and sometimes still do by the last week of rehearsals.
"Well. First of all, I get stressed, you know I do. But I try to make the best out of it, even if in the end things don't go as planned." I explained, twisting my face at the memory of last year's Ball. "And I make a particular effort trying not to strangle Tugger."
"Ugh, you're telling me! Please, don't ever let me take over The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles or Growltiger's Last Stand, because I'll murder someone and end up banished." He whined quietly and I chuckled, licking his head.
"Don't worry. Leave that stress to me, alright? You're already helping so much choreographing the first dance, I couldn't even dream of asking you more than that." I said and he looked smiling at me. "Now, I do believe you own Tumble an apology." He groaned, hiding his face on my chest again. "You know you were too harsh."
"But his knees were bent." He mumbled.
"But you could've been more gentle. Now, off you go, apologize to him. Then go and have some tea or something. Take a break for the rest of the day and destress as much as you can." I said holding his shoulders and looking at him in the eye. He pouted at me, ears glued to their heads "Go on." He did as I said, pawing Tumblebrutus' ear lightly to get the tom's attention and apologizing quietly. In no time they were talking and laughing joyfully and I smiled.
"Cats really can't hold grudges, can they?" I tensed feeling every fur on my body stick up as a warm hand caressed my lower back and a tail curled up a bit too high on my thigh. "I suppose that's for the best, otherwise no one would ever talk to each other, don't you agree?" He nuzzled my neck lightly and I closed my eyes, repeating to myself I shouldn't be enjoying this. "You look delicious, by the way. I always take great pleasure in seeing you…" His hand drifted down my back, only stopping on rear to give a hard squeeze and I bit my lip to hold back a moan. "dance…" He licked my jaw before stepping away.
"Munk…? Hey, are you alright?" I felt a hand on my arm and jumped up, seeing Misto look at me with a frown and I've never been more thankful for having a fur thick enough to hide my more than inappropriate reaction. "Munk…?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm just a bit… dizzy." I shook my head, smoothing my fur the best I could.
"Are you sure?" He eyed me suspiciously and I smiled at him, nodding. "Alright… We're going hunting. Do you want to join us?"
"Hunting…? Uh, who's… Who's going?" He pointed over to a group of toms and I scanned over them. "Sure. Sounds good." I smiled, noticing Mungojerrie was nowhere to be seen. It would be a good distraction.