(A/N: I don't know what it is about CATS that makes me want to write so much fan fiction! Granted, I did used to write some AATC fan fiction before I was introduced to CATS, but it sucked heavily, and I didn't write nearly as much as I do for CATS. Anyway, this is just a little one shot I thought up from who knows where. And yes, it's MistoXVicky. Isn't everything I write? *giggle* P.S. This takes place pre-Ball. P.P.S. This is also for ' contest.)
Summary: Victoria realizes just how much a certain tom cares for her in the scariest of places.
Disclaimer: You know, if I actually OWNED CATS, I wouldn't have to put these stupid disclaimers at the start of all my stories. How 'bout them apples? Hmm, now there's a thought; if I actually owned CATS...
You Love Me That Much
A Victoria/Mistoffelees Fanfic
by Jill Diamond
Victoria awoke when she was thrust against the hard floor, but she did not give any sign of such. She didn't even open her eyes. Her side felt incredible pain, and she thought she was even bleeding. Not very much, but just enough that she could tell she was bleeding. The scents she smelled were very unfamiliar, and in a bad way.
"Boss, we got her! It nearly cost us our pelts, but we got her!" she heard a voice say over her.
There was a deafening silence, and it was broken by a harsh crack of lightning. "IMBECILES!" a second voice shouted, this one much more harsh and evil sounding than the first. "Can't you do anything right?"
"B-but (cough) but Boss! What'd we do wrong? You said to bring you the most beautiful queen in the Jellicle Junkyard! We-"
The voice was cut off by another crack and a lot of painful shouting.
Victoria kept her eyes shut and her breathing steady. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or horrified.
"This wasn't the queen I was talking about! Fools! The queen I was after is black and golden! And she is much older than this wee thing!"
That was nearly enough to send Victoria's eyes flying open. Now she knew where she was. Her heartbeat increased heavily. She was in Macavity's lair, mere crawling distance away from the horrible cat. He had sent his henchcats after (who he thought was) Demeter, but they had kitnapped her instead, thinking she was the most beautiful queen.
"Ouch, our bad, Boss!" a second henchcat apologized hoarsely.
"You've got that right!" Macavity spat.
"Oh, but Boss, if this was the wrong queen, then getting the gold one's gonna be living heck!" the first henchcat whined.
"And why is that?" the Hidden Paw asked, testily.
"Well, when we tried to nab this one, not only did we have half the Jellicles claw us to high Heavyside trying to get us to release her, but this one tom in particular looked like he was going to murder us!"
"And you'll never get this, Boss," the other piped up, "but the guy was a conjurer! Just like you!"
Victoria's heart skipped a beat, and her ears perked up. Luckily, the three cats didn't seem to notice.
"We know 'cause he kept blasting electricity at us! Nearly fried my tail, he did! And boy, was he persistent! He followed us across half the city, still trying to zap us! We called in reinforcements, and we still couldn't hold him back! We sure were lucky when that Pollicle jumped him on 53rd St., weren't we?"
"Yup," his partner answered.
Victoria's heart sank, nearly feeling his pain.
"But you gotta admit, the guy hit the sweet end of the gene pool!"
"Yeah, he had this coat that made him look like he was wearing a tuxedo! He looked sharp!"
"Very sharp! Was it me, or did his coat look almost...sparkly?"
"A little, when the sun hit it just right. Otherwise it just looked kind of like it just had this sheen. You know, like just after you give yourself a bath?"
Victoria heard the crack of the lightning again, but she didn't care. She was too busy caught in her own dreams, created by the henchcats describing Mistoffelees' beautiful coat. She could almost feel herself stroking it, hearing his glorious purr. Snap out of it, Victoria! He's just your friend! Your closest friend. That knows all your secrets. And you feel totally comfortable nuzzling. And whom you think is extremely handsome... Oh, Everlasting Cat!
It was made clear to her right then and there. In Macavity's lair, no less. She was in love with the magical Mr. Mistoffelees. And from the enthusiastic way he had tried to save her, she guessed that he loved her in return.
"Will you two queens kindly shut up?" Macavity cried. "She is not the queen I asked for, so I'll have to go and get her myself. I'll go next week, when they're having that atrocious Ball of theirs. This one is far too young to be used, so we'll just have to...get rid of her."
Victoria cringed inwardly as she heard a great CLANG, as if the door had been kicked in.
"No, you'll be returning her. Now!" called out the sweet, yet distressed voice of Mistoffelees. Victoria let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"CHARGE!" Munkustrap's voice bellowed. In an instant, five toms by the names of Alonzo, Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie, Coricopat, and Admetus, along with Munkustrap, pounced on Macavity and his henchcats, showing no mercy. Little Mistoffelees ran straight for Victoria, who had curled her limp, white body into a ball.
"Vicky?" he asked, concern filling his voice as tears filled his eyes.
The pure white queen looked up at him, her eyes finding their way open again. "Misto! Thank the Everlasting Cat!" She clung onto him for dear life and inhaled his scent deeply. He wrapped his paws around her too, but retracted them when he felt the blood on her side.
"You're hurt!" he cried, the tears nearly spilling over. Before she could protest, though she didn't really want to, he had bent down and started licking her wounds. She just held his paw in hers and sighed contently.
"You really care about me, don't you?" she asked thoughtfully. Mistofelees' head drifted away from Victoria's side, his eyes looking scared, but also hopeful. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by a cry from the cat fight. (A/N: XD I is witty.)
"Hey, watch the mane!" This was followed by a growl and an especially loud cry of pain from Macavity.
"We should probably get out of here," Misto said in a low voice, trying to hide a giggle.
"Agreed."
The tuxedo tom cradled Victoria in his paws. She happily agreed, but her voice said, "Misto, I can walk."
"I know," he replied simply. The white kitten gave him a genuine smile, and they breezed through the door to wait until the fight was done.
When they had finally gotten back to the Junkyard, Jennyanydots ushered Mistoffelees (still carrying Victoria) into her little treatment box and laid Victoria down on one of the small piles of pillows.
"Just some scratches and bruising, nothing serious," she mused after she examined the kitten. She waved her paw at Misto, thinking that it would shoo him away, and started to lick Victoria's side clean.
"Uh...allow me," Misto offered. He stepped in between Jenny and Victoria awkwardly, picking up right where Jenny had left off. The tabby cat was skeptical, but when she saw how gentle Mistoffelees was with the white queen, she quietly exited the box, leaving the two youngsters alone.
"You're good at that," Victoria said, half teasing. Mistoffelees blushed, but continued cleaning her without a word.
"How bad did that Pollicle get you?" she asked, the conversation now turning serious.
The tom's eyes widened. "What Pollicle?" he echoed, though he knew what she was referring to.
"The Pollicle on 53rd St. The one that jumped you while you were trying to save me," she explained simply.
There was a silence between them. All Misto could do was stare into Victoria's eyes, looking almost scared to admit that he failed. "Not terribly bad," he answered finally. He gestured to his shoulder and chest with his head, indicating a series of small scratches and bite marks. Now Victoria's eyes widened. How did I not notice those before? she thought to herself. Without warning, to either Misto or herself, she leaned over and started to lick his wounds.
He didn't even protest. His breathing increased and he wrapped his paws around her back protectively.
"More than anything," he whispered.
"What?" Victoria asked innocently, looking up at his face.
"I care about you more than anything," he repeated.
Victoria remembered her question from earlier. Her cheeks flushed and her heart rate picked up again.
"I would go so far as to even call it love."
So it was true. Victoria gave a flicker of a relieved smile.
"And when those...fiends took you away, it...it nearly killed me to think what they were going to do to you..." His tears found their way back to his eyes, and started to gently fall. "I...I tried my hardest to stop them, Vicky. I really did. I even used my magic, and you know how I feel about using it for violence. But...but..."
Victoria gently placed her paw on his cheek, making him look her straight in the eye.
"They didn't do anything to me," she soothed. She reassured him of this by gently placing her lips on his for a full minute. When she tried to break away, she felt Misto wrap his paws tighter around her, and deepened the kiss. She happily agreed, lifting her other paw from his scarred chest and placing it on his other cheek.
They were interrupted by a sniffle from the direction of the door. The both broke apart gently, easily finding the source of the noise.
It was Skimbleshanks. He had a look of pure happiness on his face, and his paw was tentatively reaching for the kerchief tucked in his waistcoat. He was huddled in the doorway with Jenny (who was busy trying to fan the tears out of her eyes), followed by Munkustrap, a grand smile on his face. Alonzo looked a little teary too, but mostly proud of his little brother, and he had his paw wrapped around Cassandra's waist. Jerrie had his paws intertwined with Rumpleteazer's, both of them looking very hopeful, and, for the first time, a little embarrassed that they had been caught.
Victoria hung her head with a smile, her paws sliding down to Misto's shoulders. "Don't you people knock?" she cried.
"We're cats, Vicky," Alonzo countered. Cassandra playfully poked him with a sleek brown paw.
"Not mere cats!" Skimble piped up. "We are Jellicles!" The light orange tabby finished with a hard blow of his nose into the kerchief.
"Here here!" Mistoffelees exclaimed half-heartedly. "Now, can you all be Jellicles somewhere else?"
The pack of cats dispersed with playful moans of disappointment.
"Oh, and Munkus?" Victoria called. "You might want to tell Demeter to keep on her toes this next week." The silver protector gave her a serious nod, as if he knew exactly what she was talking about.
When they had finally gone, Victoria gave a quiet giggle and kissed her tuxedo tom again.
"I love you, Victoria."
"I love you, too, Mr. Mistoffelees."
The End
(A/N: Yay! Happy ending! I think this is the fluffiest thing I've written. I was a little skeptical of having the henchcats keep talking about Misto after they said he was a conjurer, but in the end it actually made sense! *cue party poppers popping* And you guys knew I had to throw in that Tugger line, didn't you? I thought you did. 'Cause you are smart people.)