(A/N: I'm just one for future fics, aren't I? I actually wrote this a while back, like, back when I was writing the first chapter to "One Last Jump", but it got squished in my notebook and I forgot about it. Anyway, enough excuses – enjoy!)
Summary: Even in his older years, Tugger is still a drama queen. It's just a fact.
Disclaimer: T.S. Eliot and ALW own "Cats", I do not.
Look at Us Now
A Cats Fanfic
by Jill Diamond
Bombalurina stepped out into the sunlight and rolled her back slowly. The day was cool and she could sense a rain shower coming later in the afternoon. But in this day and age, the scarlet queen needed her fresh air whenever possible.
She padded over to the tire where she saw her friends. With time, that swing that had flowed with every step had faded away, and the others had noticed that she walked more like a robot. But if this was spoken out loud, they would surely feel the wrath of her scarlet temper, so everyone kept silent.
"Morning, you two," she mused as she took her place next to them on the tire.
"Hi, Bomba," Demeter greeted happily. Munkustrap gave his typical casual smile, then noticed an absence.
"Tugger sleeping in again?"
"Yep," Bombalurina answered quickly, looking over the clearing as she spoke. "He woke me up with that snoring of his at exactly the crack of dawn, and I mean the crack. I couldn't take it anymore."
Demeter giggled slightly.
"Hey, you mated with him."
"Don't remind me," she moaned bitterly. "I thought I was taking one for the team." She thought she heard Munkustrap mutter something about more like five or six, but she decided to spare him. She didn't have the energy.
"Well, knowing him, he won't be outside until-"
A loud, girlish shriek from the east side pierced through the air and cut Demeter off. From a distance, the three could see the image of the Rum Tum Tugger coming towards them faster than he'd ran in years. His seducing brown eyes were wide with panic. He reached his friends out of breath, and leaned against the tire without a word, his leopard chest heaving in and out.
"For Everlasting's sake, Tugger! You could brake something like that!" his older brother scolded.
The Maine Coon acted as he didn't hear him, and with impaired breath, held a section of his mane close to his mate's face.
"Look at this! Look at this!" he wailed.
"If you're mane." Deadpan.
Tugger looked exasperated, and pointed a gloved paw to a specific place within the jungle of fur.
"That! Right there!"
Bombalurina squinted her eyes to focus in on his target, and once it became clear, they rolled back to the sky with a groan.
"What is it?" Demeter hesitantly asked.
The scarlet queen covered her eyes with her paw before she answered through gritted teeth.
"It's a discolored hair."
"It's gray!" Tugger dramatically corrected, throwing his paws above his head. "It's gray! My voluptuous mane is turning gray!"
Demeter turned to look at Munkustrap, whose ears had flattened agaisnt his head and his tail twitched wildly.
"It's not the end of the world," he muttered.
"Oh, that's easy for you to say!" Tugger was indignant. "You're supposed to look like this! I'm not! I'm not made for this!" He dramatically clutched at his heart and feigned faint, falling over in Bombalurina's lap with his tongue hanging out, eyes closed. "No offense."
"Some taken."
The queens only patted their mates with looks, some more sympathetic than others, as they continued to watch the kittens play excitedly in the clearing.
The End
(A/N: ^^ Oh, I wuv my widdle Tugsie-wugsie. *glomp* Yeah, I'm pretty sure that cats' fur can't actually gray with age, but I liked the concept so DON'T JUDGE ME. You have to admit – overly dramatic Tugger is pretty hilarious. Hope you enjoyed!)