So this is my part of a trade with CrazyIndigoChild. It was supposed to be a drabble but I got carried away because I was having too much fun with it. Oops. :p

Care for a Cuddle

"How long did you stay out?"

"For hours. I've never been out to that particular garden, but the flowers there are unbelievably gorgeous. I've never seen so many different colors in one place before! And then later, we had dinner under this huge oak tree. And after that, he took me out to the lake and we hitched a ride on one of those bird-shaped paddleboats."

"Wow…that sounds really romantic," Mistoffelees remarked in a soft voice.

"It was!" Victoria gushed. "He works hard to impress. It's so cute. And he is the absolute best cuddler, Misto. During our bedtime cuddle sessions, he'll sometimes sing to me. It's strange he doesn't sing more often, he has such a lovely voice."

"He's probably just too shy to sing in front of other cats." Mistoffelees shrugged indifferently. "It's sweet he serenades you to sleep though." He levitated a car antenna, magically pulling it into his paw and using it to draw a circle in the dirt. "Munk's never done that."

"Never?"

Mistoffelees shook his head, focused on adding other shapes to his ground art. "Nope."

Victoria frowned. "Well does he at least cuddle you?"

He gave another shake of his head. "Nah, sometimes, but not often. Munkustrap…isn't exactly the outwardly affectionate sort. Especially not in front of others. It's not really in his nature."

"Oh…" The ivory queen pursed her lips, quietly folding her paws in her lap. "Well, I suppose that's alright," she said after a long pause. "Not all toms are romantic cuddlebugs like my Plato."

Just then, a patched face happened to peek around the side of the nearby junk pile. "There's my white angel!"

"Plato! We were just talking about you!"

"Oh dear," he chuckled as he ambled over to her. "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all! It was nothing but good things."

After a giggly greeting, complete with a warm hug and quite a few nuzzles, Plato scooped Victoria up and whisked her away for another romantic outing.

After waving goodbye to his sister and her smitten tomfriend, Mistoffelees decided it was time to call it a night and headed back to the den he shared with his mate, as a cozy bed of blankets was calling his name.

Unbeknownst to the magical tom, a pair of contrite green eyes watched him saunter away. Eyes belonging to a certain silver tabby himself.

Munkustrap remained in the same spot for a long time, head lowered as he repeatedly wrung his paws, feet shuffling a time or two. Was Mistoffelees dissatisfied with the tabby and his lack of affectionate displays and romantic endeavors?

The last thing he wanted was an unhappy mate on his paws. He'd need to rectify this.

So after he'd finished his chores for the evening, Munkustrap returned to their den. Slipping inside as quietly as possible, he shut the door with a small 'click' and made his way over to their bed, crawling over to the middle. He then pulled the sleeping tux close and coiled his arms snugly around his slender waist. Nuzzling into irresistibly soft head fur, he kissed the space flanked by black ears again and again until the tux stirred.

Mistoffelees opened his eyes and stretched out a bit, stopping as he noticed the strong striped arms holding him in place. His brow furrowed sleepily at the repeated kisses he received. "Uh…hi?"

"Hi," murmured the tabby, placing a few kisses along his shoulder, tongue lapping each ear from base to tip. "Mmmm, I missed you."

"I…missed you too…" He blinked in mild confusion. "Erm, anything to report from tonight's work load?"

"No," Munkustrap answered, continuing to lavish his little tux's ears with attention. "It was all very boring and I'm glad I'm done for the time being, because now I get to be with you."

At first, Mistoffelees didn't know what to say. Where had that come from? Normally after he got back from doing his daily chores, Munkustrap would flop down onto their bed with little more than a swift peck to the cheek and a mumbled 'G'night' to the tux before passing out. Tonight however, his apparent enthusiasm was impossible to ignore.

"That's sweet, Munk," Mistoffelees said as he turned to face his mate. With a warm smile, he reached up to lightly pet the tabby's cheek.

Munkustrap took hold of the white paw on his cheek and tenderly kissed every individual digit and knuckle on it. From there, he worked his way up the tux's arm, shoulder and neck until he reached his lips. The gold at the end of his own personal rainbow.

At this point, Mistoffelees was overcome by a sudden wave of shivers roused by claws dancing along his neck. Quickly becoming enticed by his mate's actions, he hummed against Munkustrap's eager lips. "Mmh—Munk, ahh…a-am I forgetting an anniversary of some sort?" he asked, giggling breathlessly.

"No, I just missed you. Do I need a reason to want to hold you?"

"Of course not," the tux gasped, shuddering at the feel of teeth sinking into an ear. "I-I just…wasn't expecting it, is all."

Munkustrap chuckled. "I have my moments of spontaneity, Misto." A few more expertly placed licks and a nip or two to the neck combined with a bit of amorous caressing had Mistoffelees panting and squirming in his embrace. Success! Going in for the kill, he mashed their lips together, working them into a fervent kiss. The tux made no attempt to resist. Swept away by the undertows of received passion, he happily accepted his fate and let the tabby express just how spontaneous he could be.

[]

Mistoffelees awoke the next morning, blinking blearily and rubbing his eyes. When the world around him came into focus, he sat up, immediately noticing the bouquet of daffodils that had been placed on his side of the bed. With a deeply furrowed brow, he plucked the bouquet up, tugging at the red cloth ribbon holding the flowers together. "What…"

"Good morning, love!"

Mistoffelees looked up in time to see his rather chipper mate crawl over to gather him up in a warm cuddle and press a loving kiss to his forehead.

"Uhh…morning," the tux replied, putting a paw to his mouth to cover a yawn. "Did you put these here?" he asked, gesturing to the freshly picked daffodils.

"I did. Do you like them?"

Mistoffelees blinked, studying the flowers. "I…yes. They're lovely." He looked over his shoulder up at him. "You got them for me?"

Munkustrap nodded, giving his mate a tender nuzzle. "Just a little something to brighten up your day. And since yellow is your favorite color, I figured I couldn't go wrong."

There was a beat of silence before Mistoffelees set the bouquet down and turned to face him. "Okay…out with it, Munk. Last night…and now the flowers. I've clearly forgotten a very special occasion and I cannot for the life of me remember what it is. Help me out here."

"No, no special occasion," Munkustrap answered, displaying a soft smile. "I just…felt like giving you a little something, to remind you how much you mean to me." He winked.

As touched as Mistoffelees was by the tabby's words, he couldn't help feeling that something about this didn't add up. Why was he being so affectionate with him all of a sudden? Did he want something? Did he think he was mad at him about something and was trying to soften the blow before Mistoffelees could strike?

"…if you say so," Mistoffelees finally replied. He cupped the tabby's cheek and gave him a kiss to show his gratitude. "Thank you. That was really nice of you." He decided it was best to leave it at that for now. If there really was another reason for these random acts of affection, he'd find out sooner or later.

[]

The following evening, Mistoffelees and Victoria were chatting away in the center clearing. The perky white queen was right in the middle of giving her brother all the juicy details from her most recent date with Plato the night before.

"And then we waltzed to slow piano music on the veranda. He's the most graceful tom I've ever danced with. No question."

"I take offense to that," came her sibling's lighthearted ribbing, followed by a gentle nudge to her side.

She tittered. "Ok, let me rephrase: second most graceful cat I've ever danced with, and the most graceful mate I've ever had."

"He's also the only mate you've ever had."

Victoria gave her brother a playful shove and he laughed in return, holding his paws up. "Only teasing, Vicky." He sighed as he settled in his spot on the car hood. "Sounds like you had a great time though. I can't remember the last time I waltzed. I think at last year's Ball, maybe. It's been a terribly long time, that's for sure."

"We should fix that."

Mistoffelees jumped at the husky voice, turning to see none other than Munkustrap climb up and join them on the hood. He wasted no time at all slipping both arms around his mate and nuzzling his shoulder and neck in sequence.

"H…hi, Munk," the tux murmured, a hot blush of crimson pooling in his cheeks. His ears lowered self-consciously when he heard his sister's amused chortle. To her credit, she did cover her mouth to muffle the sound. But nonetheless, the damage was done.

"Hey there," Munkustrap answered, pulling his blushing lover into his lap.

"What, um…what are you doing here?" Mistoffelees asked, the back of his head meeting a broad furry shoulder as he looked up at him.

The tabby frowned I response. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I just meant…I thought you had a lot of chores to do today. You said helping Jelly move into her new den would take all day."

"It's going to take a bit longer than a day, but I thought, after lugging crates of blankets and crocheting supplies around for her all afternoon, I deserved a little break. And she agreed."

Mistoffelees felt…strangely awkward as whiskers tickled his ear, a striped cheek lowering to fondly nuzzle a forest of black head fur. It was sweet, but…strange all the same. And seeing Pouncival and Admetus point and snicker from across the clearing only added fuel to the awkward fire.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation," Munkustrap said in between nuzzles.

"Oh no, it's fine," Victoria assured him, beaming at the mated pair. "I was just telling Misto about my date with Plato last night."

"Your date, huh?"

She nodded, brimming with as much enthusiasm as before as she retold the events of her night on the town with Plato, this time for Munkustrap. And she didn't skip a single detail. Ever the patient tom, he listened on, not seeming to appear bored or uninterested. Of course, he could hardly be bored, considering there was a rather attractive tuxed tom in his arms.

"Sounds like you both had a lovely time," Munkustrap stated when she'd finished. "Perhaps one day I'll take your brother here for a romantic night out. We could go to the ritzy hotel uptown. Partake in some ballroom dancing. Not in the ballroom, of course, but I'm sure we could find a spot out on the balcony." Chin resting on his shoulder, he met his gaze, palms gently rubbing the fur above each of his hips in smooth circles. "What do you think, Misto?"

"I think…I think you and I should talk." He got to his feet and took Munkustrap by the paw. "Privately." He looked to his sister. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Vic?"

"Sure!" she chirped, gracefully sliding off the hood and wandering over to where the other younger queens were gossiping underneath a large patio umbrella.

Mistoffelees led Munkustrap out of the clearing and into a quieter section of the yard. The farther they walked, the more nervous the tabby grew.

When Munkustrap couldn't bear it any longer, he broke the uncomfortable silence. "I'm…I'm sorry," he said, not really knowing what he was apologizing for yet, but figured it would be good to get a head start.

Mistoffelees walked ahead a few paces before turning to face him, arms crossed. "Okay Munk, what's going on? And don't play dumb with me. You've been acting really strange and I want to know why. Do you think I'm mad at you about something? Because I'm not. Unless there's something that's happened that you think I'd be mad about, in which case, I'd prefer you tell me instead of trying to persuade me out of being angry with gifts or by promising to take me on extravagant dates."

"No! No it's…it's nothing like that."

"Well what is it then? I mean, the flowers…and all the cuddling. You're never this…outwardly affectionate."

A set of striped ears flattened, the tabby's eyes cast downward. "I know…I thought…I thought that's what you wanted."

"….what?"

Munkustrap stared down at the ground with a remorseful expression. It took him a few moments before he could gather up the courage to look his mate in the eye again. He wrung his paws as he spoke. "I…overheard you talking to Victoria the night before. She was going on about how romantic Plato was and how he always holds her and cuddles her and sings her to sleep…and you mentioned how I…don't, with you. And I just…I thought—"

Small black furred arms slipped around his waist, making Munkustrap forget where he'd been going with that last sentence.

"So that's what this is about?" Mistoffelees smiled and shook his head. "Munk, I never said that was a bad thing. I was just mentioning that it's not something you like to do. And that's perfectly fine. Everyone expresses love differently. What one cat does or doesn't do to show it doesn't make what another cat does or doesn't do wrong or less meaningful. So you're not big on cuddling." Mistoffelees shrugged. "So what? Neither is Tugger and no one loves him any less for it. You're not the lovey-dovey sort, but I don't hold that against you. I would never. You don't have to be overly affectionate to show me you love me because you show me in much more profound ways." Standing on his toes (oh the dreaded curse of being short), he gave Munkustrap's collar a light tug, pulling the taller tom down far enough that he could put his paws on either side of his face. "And that's what I love about you." Smirking warmly, he brought his lips to the tabby's.

Though they'd shared countless ones before, a kiss from the tux could still make Munkustrap weak in the knees, could still render those wiry muscles of his completely useless. A deep purr began to build in his chest, striped limbs slowly encircling a slim torso, his purr growing louder as he felt Mistoffelees' body press closer to his.

Even after they'd parted, Munkustrap still held him tightly.

"I'm sorry…" Munkustrap sighed. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. I should've just come and talked to you about it."

"Yes, you should have, you big blockhead." Mistoffelees gave him a playful swat to the chest, but amended it with a soft nuzzle to the same spot right after. "I really do appreciate the flowers though. And the date idea…while it was a very nice thought, I can think of a few things we could do together that would be much more fun."

Munkustrap's eyes lit up and his ears perked with renewed enthusiasm. "Okay okay, scratch the ballroom dancing idea. I think I may have something better in mind. You wanna go snag some food from the short-tempered chef who works in that new Indian restaurant?" he asked, pulling away so he could hold his paw out to him. "And then maybe afterward, we could go throw a few pebbles at the Rottweiler in the yard over on Richmond."

Now the tabby was speaking his language!

Batting his lashes, Mistoffelees feigned a bashful look, the back of his paw pressed to his forehead. "Ohhh Munkus, you're going to make me swoon!" With a chuckle, he took the offered paw and nodded, tail flicking contentedly. "How could I possibly refuse?"