Part of a oneshot fic trade with missus Delphicoracle-Cat. You are able to find this wonderful person on DA (DeviantART) or on here as well. Please check out her story as well!
It seemed like fireworks to the young tom. The brilliant blues, soft yellows, vibrant greens, mellow reds, every flash of sparkling light caught the eye of the jet-black tuxedo as he watched the two graceful teenage felines twirl and seemingly glide through the air. They were in perfect harmony; probably just one of the many perks of being twins with telepathic powers.
The two cats finished off their number by spinning like tops and releasing a fountain of electricity through their fingertips into the air. The mesmerizing display won the immediate attention of Old Deuteronomy, whose weathered face cracked into a smile. As soon as the twins stopped spinning, the deity of the Everlasting Cat went over to both of them and spoke in such a manner, the city around them would have stopped to listen to the tom's ageless voice.
Mistoffelees grin couldn't have been greater after Tantomile and Coricopat's dance. He immediately stood before anyone else could to applaud the fantastic display of coordination and beauty the twins performed that year. It was the greatest pas de deux the Jellicle Tribe had ever seen in all its years of the ball, and to be performed by two teenage felines was an amazing feat.
No sooner had Mistoffelees crossed his legs on the ground when a silver-and-black striped tabby tom walked up to the young magician. "Did you like the show, Mistoffelees?" he asked, his voice rich with empathy.
The tux looked up at the tom with a grin wider than the world was round. "Of course, Munkustrap. It was fantastic."
Munkustrap laughed and sat down next to Mistoffelees. "When your time comes, you will be able to perform feats just like these two." He explained.
Mistoffelees's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "By myself?"
"By yourself," the tabby laughed, his pearly white teeth flashing in a dazzling smile.
The little tom opened his mouth to ask Munk another question, but Old Deuteronomy had finished his small speech given to the twins, both of whom had seemed to become drunk on his words. The two both had small smirks on their perfect tabby faces, and they swayed slightly from side to side.
The leader raised his hands into the air for silence, and every feline in the clearing immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their utmost attention to the old cat. "I would like to recognize these two cats for the tremendous pas de deux they have performed for our entertainment tonight," he said. "Congratulations on this wonderful performance, Coricopat and Tantomile. You will be the tribe's new magicians."
Gasps echoed around the clearing. Mistoffelees's expression was one of complete surprise, his small white hand covering his open mouth. Munkustrap was beaming as bright as the sun. Even the Rum Tug Tugger was smirking from the old car he lounged upon.
Awakened from their stupor, the twins' eyes transfixed themselves onto Old Deuteronomy. The ragged tom smiled and slowly nodded his head once. At that point, the Jellicles sprang from their seats on the ground and massed around the new magicians, congratulating them and clapping them on the back.
Mistoffelees was a little too late to get to the two, and the crowd was far too thick for the little tom to push his way through. He tried to get a glimpse of the two cats, but they were nowhere to be seen. A bit saddened, he backed away from the mass and walked over to a clay pipe, where he curled up inside and laid his head on his hands. He would have his chance of congratulating the two cats. At some point.
Sighing, Mistoffelees gazed over at the still-eager crowd. Munkustrap appeared from the throng of felines and sidled over to the young tux. "Come now, Misto. You'll give your thanks to them soon enough," he said, sitting crossed legged in front of the pipe. He reached out and scratched the tom behind his black ears, making Misto begin to purr softly.
"I know, I know Munku." He smiled up at his guardian. Mistoffelees's parents had unfortunately abandoned the poor tom when he was no bigger than a newborn kit. Munkustrap found the little tux mewing pitifully near the border of the Junkyard. He took the little tom home to his mate, Demeter, and from then on, the two took care of Mistoffelees as if he were their own son.
"Munku," the tom started, "you said earlier that I could do things just like these two could do." He shook his head in amazement and disdain. "I don't believe that I can."
Munkustrap laughed and shook his head. "My dear Mistoffelees, you can't be serious." He moved so their faces were only inches apart. "You can do anything your heart desires, if you only try, my dear."
The black tom's expression was still caught in surprise. But, the more Misto thought about what his guardian said, his expression shifted. He did have a point. What was the use of saying he couldn't, when he never really did try?
Misto's mouth cracked into a smile. "You're right Munku." He nuzzled the silver tabby affectionately. "And you know what," the tux smiled, "can we work on my magic early tomorrow morning?"
Munkustrap laughed. "Of course, my dear."
Misto squealed like Etcetera at the foot of the Rum Tug Tugger. "Thank you, Munku!" He placed a quick kiss on the tabby's head, and scuttled out of the pipe. "Where in the world are you escaping to?"
"I'm going to bed early so we can get up earlier!" the ecstatic tom said. "You should retire soon, too!"
"Oh, Misto," Munkustrap chuckled, "I'll try!"
"Good night Munku!" he waved to the tabby and dashed through a hole in one of the massive junk walls and scampered down the dark passage behind it to his den.
The tom's mind whirled as he ran to his den. He would have the chance to become the tribe's magician someday! What an honor. Being the magician for the tribe was one rank lower than the Guardian of the tribe, which was Munkustrap's position. The rank was much esteemed due to the fact that a tribe magican came along only once every couple of years. And Misto would have a chance to gain that position!
The tux rounded the last corner of the pathway and quickly scurried up to his den, a broken, ornate, mirrored bureau lying on its back. Passing through a hole on the bottom of the bureau, Misto somersaulted and landed in his swath of blankets. He giggled, and stretched his sleek body out onto his bed.
Lying on his back, Misto took in a deep breath. Clearing his mind, the tom slowly gestured in the air in front of him. "Per noctem illuminat spatii!"
From the partial darkness that enclosed the tom in his den, small specks of light seemed to materialize from the gloom and begin to swirl into a small ball in between Misto's two white hands. When enough specks materialized to make a small ball, the tux let go of it. The light floated above Mistoffelees, sending soft streaks of light swirling around the den.
Even though Misto knew almost nothing about his magic, he remembered one spell. That spell was one his mother and father used when he had trouble sleeping as a kit. They called it the "night-light", and it always managed to give Mistoffelees easy sleep and sweet dreams.
The "night-light" was one of the handful of memories Mistoffelees had of his parents. It was a harsh subject for Misto; he didn't like to talk about it, and he made sure that everyone knew it. When 'parents' came up in conversation, everyone made sure that Misto was nowhere within earshot.
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed outside of the den. The tux immediately scrambled up into a defensive crouch, ready to pounce. The night-light fell apart and the room was plunged into darkness. "Who's there?" he demanded, his hackles raised and a dry hiss escaped past his lips.
From the doorway of the den, two shockingly emerald green eyes appeared in the darkness. "Mistoffelees, please calm down." Coricopat's strong baritone voice rang out.
The little tom's expression melted into one of worry. He sat back and quickly groomed his fur before crawling over to the doorway to see the new magician. Coricopat sat stiff-backed a few feet away from Misto's door. "I apologize for disturbing you."
"It's quite alright, Coricopat." He answered. "Oh! By the way, congratulations on getting tribe magician with your sister!"
Coricopat groaned and shook his head. "Please, enough of the 'Congrats!'. I barely escaped that hoard that engulfed my sister and me." The tom blatantly licked the back of his white-spotted hand. "I don't mean to be a bother, or a nuisance, but my sister is soaking up all of our thanks for us." He rolled his eyes. "Always the show type…anyways," he continued, "I would like to stay away from our den for the night, considering that Tumblebrutus has some…plans with her tonight. I wanted to ask you, would you mind terribly if I stayed the night here?" Coricopat's expression was blank, his emerald eyes empty.
Misto blinked and stepped back. "Sure, Cori." He gestured for the magician to come inside.
"Thank you very much, Misto." The tom got to his feet and entered Misto's den. As the tux turned to watch Cori come inside his home, his tail caught Misto's cheek and slipped under his chin. Misto's expression turned to one of wonder as he rubbed the place where Cori's tail touched his fur. What in the world was that?
"Uhm…Cori?" the little tom stood up, and squinted into the pitch-blackness that engulfed his den. "Oh, hold on one minute." Quickly, Misto whipped up the night-light and let it float about the room.
Cori watched the ball float around the room aimlessly. The teenage tom was well-built for his age, with a slim figure and the beginnings of a fairly broad chest. His brown, white, and tan fur spread out along his body in geometric patterns. A white thunderbolt pattern ran down the tom's neck and a white streak ran from the right side of his mouth to his relatively smooth head fur and stubby ears.
"Cori," Misto began, "why did you want to sleep here?"
The tom turned his head toward Misto. The little tom craned his neck to look up at the magician, who towered over him. His emerald eyes were now alive with wonder, but his expression was blank. "I don't know. I had the feeling you would understand what I would be going through."
Misto's expression clouded over with confusion. "I still don't understand—"
"You can perform magic?" Coricopat interrupted quickly, his emerald gaze boring into Misto's sapphire eyes.
"Well, yes." The tux blinked quickly. "Didn't you know?"
Coricopat shrugged. "Surprisingly enough, I did not." He gazed once more at the night-light, which bobbed around the top of den. Letting out a great yawn, the magician turned and headed to the mass of blankets which sat in the middle of the room. "Are you opposed to sleeping with me?" he looked over his shoulder lazily, his eyes slightly closed, a bored expression on his face.
Mistoffelees stiffened and his mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious!" he exclaimed, taking a step back.
Cori sighed and fell onto the mass of blankets. "Look Misto," he said, turning onto his stomach and facing the tom, "it's not that big of a deal. Seriously. I just need a place to stay for the night, and then I'll be gone in the morning. Besides, I sleep with my sister all the time." Misto's surprised expression seemed to be plastered to his face.
The tom sighed and continued. "If it makes you feel better, think about this; at least every tom in this tribe has slept with another tom before, either in times of hardship, matehood, or just for random occurrences."
The tux was still apprehensive. "Well, okay," he started, "but how can I make sure that you're not like the Rum Tug Tugger…?"
Coricopat snorted. "C'mon Misto. You think that I'm like the Rum Tug Tugger?" he shot a 'Really?' look over to the tom.
Misto shrugged his shoulders and blushed. "You can never be too careful." He pointedly rubbed his arm. An awkward silence passed between the two cats.
"Well," Coricopat broke the silence, "I think we should get to bed." He rolled onto his side and gestured for the tux to join him. "If it makes you feel better, we can sleep back to back."
The little tom was standing stock still. Coricopat was devilishly handsome, and Misto had a habit of sometimes swooning for older toms, such as the Rum Tug Tugger and Alonzo. But, those were just kittenhood crushes, nothing too serious. What young tom didn't have kittenhood crushes? And besides, Coricopat wasn't too much older than he was. He wouldn't fall for someone practically his own age.
Misto moved from the place he seemed to be rooted to. Moving across the floor, he climbed into the bed, blushing slightly. Coricopat watched the little tom intently. "Could you please turn your back now?" his blush moved from a soft pink to a violent red which seemed to stain his fur.
"Of course, Misto." Coricopat bowed his head and turned and lay on his side. Satisfied, Misto smiled slightly and lay on his side the opposite way, making sure that there was a couple inches of space between the toms. "Good night, Cori." He whispered.
"Good night, Misto." The baritone voice whispered back.
Settling into the blankets, Misto sighed and closed his eyes. 'This isn't so bad,' he thought pleasantly.
"Oh, Misto," Cori sat up. "Do you mind terribly if the light was put out?"
The tux gulped. Luckily, the older tom couldn't see Misto's expression, because it was now one of worry. The tux had slept with the night-light ever since he was a kit. Without it, he either didn't sleep, or barely slept. To be all the more honest, Misto was basically afraid of the dark.
"Well," Misto sighed, "alright." He waved his hands and muttered, "Nox!" and the light extinguished, leaving the two toms in complete darkness.
"Thank you Misto." The tux felt Cori readjusted himself on the blankets and soon he heard the rhythmic breathing of the sleeping tom.
Misto glanced nervously around the darkness of the room. He hated the dark. It reminded him of those few dark days as a little kit, abandoned by his parents, left completely alone…
Lying back on his side, the tux bit back bitter tears as the memories of those days were brought back to his mind. He remembered those few days clearly; he wandered aimlessly around those alleyways of the city, mewling pitifully. He tried to search for his parents, he called for them, but they never came. On one of those few days, it down poured and the poor tux was caught in the rain. He remembered finding shelter under a dumpster and crying over his parents, stomach growling and heartbroken.
Tears trickled down the tom's white face as everything was brought back to mind. He shivered and convulsed unconsciously as the crying threatened to become vocal. "Misto?" Cori's hand appeared on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" two emerald eyes glinted in the dark, filled with worry.
Misto caught his breath. "I-I-I'm fine." He wiped the tears away from his face. "The dark brings back b-b-b-bad memories for me," he explained through stutters.
Cori's eyes glinted in the dark. "Do you need anything right now?"
For Misto, if he ever had an episode like he was having now, he usually flitted over to Munkustrap's den, where the older tom calmed him down with reassuring words and embraces. But right now, he couldn't possibly go and ask Cori to get Munkustrap during sleeping hours.
"Right now…" Misto started, looking up into Coricopat's eyes, "I could use some c-c-comfort."
The older tom stared down at Mistoffelees for what seemed to be an eternity. Slowly, Mistoffelees felt the tom's arms wrap around him and pull him into his body. Misto laid his head on Coricopat's chest and listened to his steady breathing. He felt the tom rest his head on Misto's own and he let out a sigh. His hands rubbed Misto's back comfortingly, calming the little tux.
Mistoffelees didn't care what happened right now. He was hurting and needed comfort. That's all there was to it. And Coricopat was a pretty good substitute for Munkustrap. His arms held Misto close to him, not crushing, but protectively. The tux could feel the rippling muscles in Cori's chest.
He slowly caught his breath and managed to push the horrible memories to the depths of his subconscious. He then began to trace pointless shapes into Cori's chest fur, taking in deep breaths of his masculine scent. Coricopat was so…so comforting, so protective, so distinctly solid that Misto felt calm and safe in his arms. He let out a small purr and nuzzled closer to the older tom.
"Are you feeling better?" Cori's smooth voice passed over Misto like sweet, golden honey, engulfing him and pulling him closer to the tom.
"Yes…" Misto sighed and nuzzled the tom once more, his purring now obvious.
Slowly, Coricopat moved so that Misto rested completely on his chest, his arms still wrapped protectively around the little tom.
The little tux purred contentedly on Coricopat. All of his thoughts and feelings meshed together into a swirling, twirling wonderland of perpetual serenity and comfort. He didn't want this to stop for at least awhile.
Coricopat kept rubbing Misto's back, soft circles, comforting motions which helped the tux unwind and relax into his arms. The little tom moved his head, trying to gaze into Coricopat's eyes. "I can't see your eyes…" he murmured softly.
"Here," Coricopat rolled Misto on his side and faced him, their gazes locked on one another's. "Better?"
"Mhmm…" the tux whispered. Slowly, oh so slowly, Misto moved closer to Coricopat's lips.
"You don't mind, do you?" he asked, his half opened eyes searching Cori's gaze for answers.
"No." he said. His breath smelled sweet to Misto.
Misto closed his eyes, sighed, and closed the distance between the two of them. Their lips met and he breathed out, Cori's mouth opening ever so slightly to catch Misto's breath.
Time seemed to slow down as the kiss went on and on. The tux's hands made their way up to Cori's jawline, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. His mouth opened and the older tom's greedy tongue slipped inside and explored.
Misto's breathing picked up as the kiss intensified. The toms' mouths meshed together and the tux was soon back on top of Coricopat. His supple hands lying on Misto's back worked their way back to the sides of his face and pulled him closer.
At the same time, both of the toms broke the kiss, keeping their foreheads pressed together. Their ragged breathing echoed in the empty room. Emerald met sapphire as the couple gazed at one another.
"Everlasting…" Misto said between breaths. "What happened to sleeping back to back?"
Cori let out a laugh and replied, "It got screwed over. Besides," he reached up and pecked Misto on the lips, "I like sleeping this way MUCH better."
The tux giggled. "I think I do too…" He leaned down and caught Cori's lips again. The older tom immediately opened his mouth and allowed Misto to explore. His hands moved from the tux's face and traveled down his slim frame, down his spine, and stopped on each of his thighs.
Misto pulled away from Cori and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Touch me wherever you want to…"
Where could this behavior have come from? Misto's body was moving in ways it never had before, his mouth was even more curious. A voice screamed in the back of the tom's mind that this was wrong, wrong beyond all words. But that voice was shut out by an overwhelming desire to pleasure the older male beneath him. He didn't care what it took. All he knew was that it felt SO right…
