It was morning, and Tugger woke with a start to a crack of lightning that couldn't have been more than a few hundred feet away. One thing Tugger was known for was his keen hearing, even superior to a cat's already-excellent auditory perception. This was a good thing when it came to detecting if Macavity was around, but in situations like this, it was just a downright pain. That crack of lightning startled Tugger so much that he sat bolt-upright in his makeshift bed of blankets, in his den that consisted of a partially-overturned oven missing its door. Through something akin to magic, even though he just woke up and his fur was messed up beyond belief, he looked fantastic with that black-and-orange coat that was exclusive to tortoiseshell Maine Coons. It always had been a mystery to the other cats as to the fact that, no matter what, Tugger maintained ultimate attractiveness all the time.
He jumped for a second time when he heard someone knock on the baking sheet that served as his door. Wanting so desperately to go back to bed, he cursed under his breath and called for the unknown cat to enter. A rather wet, shaken Mistoffelees sauntered in, looking cold, wet, and scared. Mistoffelees had only officially become a Tom last year, and thus still exhibited remnants of kitten behaviour. Tugger had always been a friend and a mentor to the black-and-white Tom, who had been abandoned as a kitten by parents whose identities were currently unknown.
"Hey kit, what's going on? You look like death warmed over."
Trying to stop his teeth from chattering, Misto replied, "I hate lightning. I really, really hate lightning. And I thought I saw Macavity outside my den, but I think that was just a trick of the light combined with my sleepy haze. Would you mind if I hang out here a while? I feel awful for disturbing you in the middle of the ni-"
Tugger cut the soaked Tom off and said, "Sure, don't even worry about it. What are friends for?"
"Thanks, Tug. Hey, would you happen to have a cloth or something that I could dry myself off with? It's pouring outside, and if I try to lick myself dry, I'll be here all week."
"C'mon over here." Tugger patted a spot on his makeshift bed, then grabbed a quilt and wrapped it around the shivering tuxedo cat. He pulled the covers back and said, "Get in and warm up with me. You can sleep here for the rest of the day if you want."
Misto started, "But Tugger, I'll get your bed all wet..."
"It'll dry. C'mon, I won't bite."
Misto climbed in and curled up next to Tugger, who got closer and let Misto's head rest in his mane. They fell asleep that way, Tugger subconsciously stroking Misto's shoulder.
When Mistoffelees woke, Tugger was still lying next to him, snoring. Even with his mane disheveled from sleeping, the Maine Coon seemed to always look incredibly attractive. Misto had been friends with Tugger for years, but in the past few months, the slender black Tom developed what seemed to be a bit of a crush on his long-time friend. He had quelled these feelings, bottling them up, because he knew Tugger didn't go that way.
Oh, but how Tugger looked so fantastic there. Misto thought to himself, What if I just kiss him lightly and gauge how well he takes it... No! Damn it, I can't think like that. He doesn't swing both ways, but even if he did, the likely result of a display like a kiss would be rejection, and the fallout would include an exploded, irreparable, broken friendship.
But if I don't do anything, I'm going to end up growing old alone... I've got to do something. I've got to make Tugger fall for me and think it was his own volition. How the hell am I supposed to do that?
Maybe if I show him some ambiguous affection that would be pushing the limit of friends, but still within boundaries. Something small to start with... got it!
Misto got a bit closer to Tugger under the blankets and located a particularly disheveled area in his mane. He started to lick it, while subconsciously purring. Tugger was pretty used to attention and stayed asleep. Misto started to become a bit overzealous and progressed to cleaning Tugger's face, which woke him up pretty quickly. He didn't pull away, since he was addicted to any attention he could get, but instead said, "Hey kit, whatchya doing?"
Misto felt his cheeks go bright pink and was suddenly extremely glad of his fairly-thick white face fur that came with being a tuxedo cat. He stammered, "Your fur had a particularly disheveled spot... I fixed it."
"Ah, okay. Thanks, Misto."
Mistoffelees felt his blush deepen even further.
"Hey, I'm gonna go out for a walk, so I'll see you later." Tugger ruffled his mane and walked out the door to take his evening stroll. Misto just stared after him and wondered how he'd ever get through without blatantly professing his feelings.
Once Tugger reached the outer limits of the junkyard, he started circling it as he always did for his nightly walk, and exhaled hard, letting out some tension. He had been Bombalurina's mate for years, but Mistoffelees was just so... Damn it, he thought. Mistoffelees was just so... perfect. There, I admit that to myself. But I can't be seen swinging that way... ugh, who the hell cares? That slender, black-and-white body, that occasionally mischievous smile, the way he danced... It was just all so awesome. And I could definitely live without Bombalurina's ultimate ability to beat any cat down with her fiery words. Misto had attraction, mysteriousness, and depth covered in an all-encompassing package of what, in Tugger's eyes, was perfection.
That settled it for Tugger, who was already aware that Misto liked him - he could smell the pheromones from miles away. And if I display my feelings unexpectedly, I'll even be able to maintain my reputation for being unpredictable in the eyes of the other Jellicles.
He walked through the junkyard to Mistoffelees' den, which consisted of a large number of flattened cans fused together to form something not dissimilar from an igloo. He wondered how Misto had gotten all those cans situated like that, and the answered himself with a laugh, He's the magical, marvellous Mr. Mistoffelees. Of course he can levitate cans.
It was time to call Misto out so that he could make his intentions known. Tugger never usually had a problem asking other cats out, but this time, his heart felt like it was somewhere around his ankles; after all, the previous encounters were meaningless to him anyway. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and called out, "Hey, Mistoffelees, can I see you for a minute?"
Misto called back, "Be out in a second." He had been in the middle of practicing his magic, working on making rain, and in the process had accidentally made one huge raindrop that fell on him and soaked him to the bone. And now his ultimate crush was waiting outside. He thought to himself, Perfect, just damn perfect. He couldn't get the water off himself very fast, and Tugger was right outside, which left him with no other option than to summon some wind to dry himself off. He closed his eyes, focused, and conjured. Unfortunately, he hadn't practiced this one very well, and the wind he summoned was far too strong. Sure, it dried him off, but it also ruffled his fur to a point where tufts were sticking out every which way. I give. He'll never go for me anyway, so what's it matter? He called for Tugger to come in.
Tugger strolled into Mistoffelees' den and looked at the black tuxedo cat whose fur was ruffled beyond what one would conceive possible. Misto had figured Tugger would laugh hysterically at what had happened, but instead, the most unexpected thing happened. Tugger strode over, pulled Misto towards him, and kissed him. Mistoffelees just about melted with a feeling of surprise and happiness. He returned the kiss, and the two of them stood there, joined, for quite some time.
Victoria, a close friend of Mistoffelees', had always been told to feel free to let herself into Misto's den. Inconveniently, she seemed to be predisposed to terribly bad timing. Today was one of those bad timing incidences, and Victoria sauntered in right while Misto and Tugger were holding each other and passionately kissing. Victoria stifled a giggle with her paw, but it was still all too audible.
The two Toms broke apart abruptly, both horrified that their secret was out before they wanted it to be, and Misto stammered, "I... I was just, ummm... Well, we were, uh, well..." Tugger cut in, seeing Misto fumble for the right words, and said, "Victoria, as you know, Misto and I have been best friends for years. Well, I've harboured a crush on him for ages, but never expressed it for fear that he wouldn't return the sentiment. And to boot, I've been trying to convince everyone that I'm straight, though that's kind of out the door now, though. And it seems that, to my elation," Tugger held Misto's hand, "he has feelings for me, too. So there you have it."
"Awww, that's wonderful; congratulations! But wait, aren't you mated with Bombalurina?"
"Ummm, well, yes, but it's not what one would call a serious relationship. We both sleep around - or at least she does, and I pretend to. All that doesn't really matter to me if I could be with Mistoffelees and see where it takes us, but only if he's interested..."
Misto pressed himself into Tugger's side and said in a low, contented tone, "I'd like that."
"Then that settles it. I'll talk to Bombalurina tonight and break it off with her. She's been getting on my nerves lately anyway. But Victoria, you can't breathe a word of this to anyone until I do that; I want Bombi to hear it from me."
After Victoria left, Mistoffelees gave Tugger a worried look and said, "What if Bombalurina loses it when you tell her and tries to tear a strip off me?"
"Don't worry. I'll be honest with you: she'll be furious. But she wouldn't try to harm you, because she knows how badly she'd get yelled at by Old Deuteronomy if she did. She'll probably swear and pace and hiss and yell, but you'll be fine - trust me." Seeing Mistoffelees with an expression of dissatisfaction, Tugger added, "Hey, even if she did lose it, I'd knock her unconscious before she could get within five feet of you, okay?"
"Okay, but I'm going to stay really close to you just in case."
They both walked over to Bombalurina's den, an old water pipe, and Tugger knocked twice, firmly, on the side. He portrayed a sense of confidence, but deep down, his heart felt like it had fallen to a location at about the height of his knees. Bombalurina sauntered out, glancing once at the moon, and said, "Hey, Tugger."
"Hi Bombi. Mind if we step inside? I need to talk to you."
"Sure, but why does he have to be here?" She indicated Mistoffelees, who was trying to stay close to Tugger and be nonchalant at the same time.
"I'll explain in a minute." The three of them entered the den and sat down. "Bombi, you remember how we came up with a no-strings-attached deal when we started seeing each other, right?"
"Yeah..." A glint of fiery temper crossed her eyes.
"Well, I'm invoking it now. It's not that I don't like you, but rather it's because Misto and I, well, kinda connected. It's hard to explain, but anything short of being together and, at the very least, seeing where this goes, would feel horribly wrong for both of us. We're taking this relationship-in-testing seriously, which means no more one-night-stands."
Bombalurina's eyes fixed on Mistoffelees and she rose to her full height, fur bristled, making her seem a lot larger than she actually was. "You think you can steal Tugger away from me? With what, the flash of a few sparks and a cute little smile? You're unbelievable! Un-freaking-believable! You have no real sense of right and wrong, do you? You just get what you want, because you're the magical, marvellous Mr. Mistoffelees! But my amazing voice doesn't mean anything, oh no. Years of practice out the window for a few flashy tricks!"
She turned to Tugger and continued, "And you. You unfaithful thing, you. You think you can just march around and sway your hips and get whoever you want whenever you want. You don't even think of your lovers as fellow cats - you regard them as conquests, as trophies to be won. Am I just-"
Something strange happened as Bombalurina ranted, something that had happened only once before with a street cat that bullied Misto a few years ago, an instance he had never told anyone about. He drew himself up to a height equal to Bombalurina's, his fur standing on end, and said, "Shut up while you're ahead. Don't you ever speak to him like that. Got that?"
"Excuse me? How dare you use that tone! You're just a pathetic-"
Misto summoned wind of high strength and let it loose towards Bombalurina, whose fur was ruffled beyond recognition. "I told you to shut up."
"You think pissing me off with a bit of wind will get rid of me? As I said before, you're just a pathetic little-"
A dangerous glint of fiery anger flashed through Mistoffelees' eyes, and he proceeded to make a grand gesture, squeezing his hands together. He pointed his clenched fists to the space above Bombalurina's head and opened them, conjuring an orb of water. "You don't seem to listen very well. Now say you're sorry about insulting Tugger, and I'll make this orb disappear as fast a s it came."
"Are you kidding? No way you're that powerful. This is just some elaborate illusion. I'd seek out Macavity before I'd say I'm sorry."
Mistoffelees let the water slip a few inches, just enough to wet the tips of Bombalurina's ears.
"Woah, okay kit, calm down. I'm sorry about everything, okay? I take it all back. Just leave me alone and I'll leave you alone, please?"
The black-and-white tuxedo cat snapped his fingers, and the conjuration was gone. He held Tugger's hand and said to Bombalurina, "Next time, hold your tongue." With that, he and Tugger disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Bombalurina just sat there, stunned.
More chapters to come; subscribe to this story to be alerted when I add the next chapter.