Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this bit of fanfiction nor do I receive any sort of monetary value from writing this. Cats belongs to both the wonderful T.S. Eliot and the amazing Andrew Lloyd Webber in conjunction with the Really Useful Group.
A/N: This is my very first time writing Cats fanfiction and my very first time writing fanfiction with cannon characters. This is about my third or maybe fourth time writing for others to see period. So if you see any errors or anything feel free to point them out.
I like to think of the Cats in Cats as being anthro-like but at a much smaller size.
There's also one little swear word and a minor sexual comment but I don't think that should affect the rating.
And I'm terrible at titles and summaries.
Out of Sight
Quiet made Mistoffelees nervous, or rather, it was the distinct lack of familiar noise that made his fur stand slightly on end and his ears swivel back against his black-furred head. The day was at its peak and even with the sun at its highest point in the cloudless sky it remained comfortably warm. Which is why it made no sense that on such a perfectly beautiful early summer's day the junkyard, that was usually brimming with energy and life, was now nearly suffocating in dead silence.
Calmness, such as that exhibited on this day was never a good thing, especially when it was due to the absence of one very flamboyant and boisterous maine coon Jellicle cat. Mistoffelees didn't mind that Tugger was out of sight, in fact, at times he welcomed it. He cared deeply for the older tom but there were certain sides of him that the tuxedo cat could only take in small doses, the one attached to his parade of lusty queens and excitable kits was one of them. No, it was the things that he did when he was under wraps that slightly frightened and annoyed him. The actions themselves were usually harmless and peevish in nature and could be dealt with rather easily. It was the REactions that he wasn't looking forward to.
A few months prior to this day Tugger, and subsequently his fan club, had gone missing. Needless to say the result of this had been slightly disastrous, especially for the large male's elder brother and his mate. Then, for reasons still unbeknownst to Mistoffelees, said brother, Munkustrap, and Demeter, had taken it out on the young black and white tom forcing him to listen as they loudly complained about Tugger's irresponsible behavior. The poor Jellicle could do nothing but nod and politely agree until he quietly excused himself citing tummy troubles. To this day the two still got worked up over the incident, which unfortunately was a general theme around the junkyard although the fur around their loins had fully grown back many weeks ago.
Wishing to avoid a problem altogether the short-haired magical cat shuffled to his feet. He would nip this issue in the bud and locate Tugger before he put any potential scheme into action. Or so he hoped. The multicolored maine coon had gained a solid reputation of being rebellious and doing as he pleased, there were times where Mistoffelees could get the other tom to bend to his will but that was a rarity and usually required something in exchange. Mistoffelees sighed and made a mental note to speak with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer later on, he had come across some lovely trinkets that would probably be enticing enough for them to retrieve whatever guilty pleasure Tugger would be craving in exchange for Munkustrap's sanity.
Half an hour came and went and Mistoffelees was becoming more and more distressed by the minute. There was still plenty of daylight to be had but with each passing second the young jellicle was sure the older tom was coming closer and closer to completing whatever ridiculous stunt that had him preoccupied this afternoon. Unfortunately finding Tugger was turning out to be a bit more of a challenge than he had initially anticipated. The leopard spotted cat hadn't been in any of the usual places, the old tire in the clearing, the trunk of the rusted old brown car, Bombalurina's overturned refrigerator or his own spacious bureau den. Mistoffelees had even checked in with Demeter to see if she and Munkustrap had gotten to the missing tom before he could, Munk nearly had a stroke when he learned of his brother's absence.
Mistoffelees smiled softly as he left Munk and Demeter's den, he had to give it to the older tom, he did a pretty good disappearing act, perhaps he would get some pointers when he got a hold of him.
The black and white cat traversed the junkyard, he was sure it had been at least an hour since he began searching and he had seen neither hide nor hair of the cat. He had been prepared to give up and deal with the consequences of Tugger's actions when he walked into Skimbleshanks.
The young tom sucked in a breath through his teeth and rubbed his forehead where it had made contact with the ginger tabby.
"Oi laddie, careful there" Skimble reached out and grabbed Misto's shoulder giving it an affectionate squeeze. "Where's the fire?"
Mistoffelees gave him a sheepish smile, "nowhere, just looking for Tugger."
"Really now? I was just at Jenny's getting my pocket mended" and as though as to prove an alibi the ginger tabby tugged on the newly stitched pocket. "I saw that troublesome tom there chatting with Jenny's mice."
"Thanks Skimble," Mistoffelees gave the railway cat a slight bow and a smile.
"No problem laddie, now scamper along and be careful where you're going from now on."
A frown replaced Mistoffelees' smile as he hurried towards Jennyanydots' den. The older gumbie cat had a knack for training lesser creatures. A few times in the past Tugger was able to use his artfulness and charm to use this skill to his advantage, but of course, not without complications. One time he had charmed Jenny into loaning him a few of her better subjects, he had instructed the mice to gather some mystery substance and slather the viscous material in the foyer of the Jellicle Ball clearing.
The golden maine coon had intended to use the slippery oil-like matter to create a more exciting entrance for himself. That was until Munkustrap unwittingly became Tugger's test subject, he hadn't seen the mice working and could not see nor smell the clear odorless substance, as soon as he stepped into the foyer the tabby had gone sliding into the large tire.
Seeing the potential repercussions Tugger ordered that the clearing be cleaned, he was wild, but not mad, and would not risk injuring himself. Poor Munk spent a week and a half in bed nursing a sprained ankle and several dislocated tailbones, due to this Tugger had been spared his brother's chiding. Mistoffelees had not been as lucky and sat by the jellicle protector's bedside as he berated his younger sibling.
The black and white furred tom arrived at Jenny's den, a patchwork of modified cabinets and a stove, and briskly knocked on the door before entering. He gave the older queen a quick greeting and she knowingly pointed him to the back 'room' that served as her crafts studio. Sure enough, just as Skimbleshanks had said, Tugger was there sitting on the floor with his back turned to the magical cat. Mistoffelees walked up behind the tom and looked down at him, his hands came to rest on his hips.
"Rum Tum Tugger you oversized hairball! Just how are you planning to try to execute your brother today?"
The maine Coon's tail thumped the floor behind him, he looked over his shoulder at the small tom and his lips curled into a smirk.
"I assure you dear Mistoffelees, I'm only oversized where it counts."
Mistoffelees blushed beneath his fur, he felt his ears burn and turn bright red.
Tugger grinned.
"And I promise you I have been on my best behavior today" the tom gave him the most innocent smile he could muster. "As for Munkustrap I have never attempted to execute him. He just happens to have a nasty habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time"
Misto sighed heavily "Its always the wrong place when you're around."
The large tom's right hand grasped at the thick fur of his chest, the corners of his mouth drooped and his eyes grew wide. His voice dropped down to barely a whisper, "Mistoffelees..." He turned away from the younger cat.
The black and white tom's eyebrows knitted together and his ears swiveled back slightly ashamed, he hadn't meant to hurt the tom.
"Tugger...I'm sorry..I didn't mea-"
"No...,I don't know if I can accept your apology" Tugger's shoulders slumped. "But, I may reconsider..., if you give me a kiss" he turned back towards Mistoffelees with his brow shrugged suggestively and his lips pursed.
"You! You insatiable flirt!" the tux tom couldn't help but chuckle relieved that he hadn't truly harmed his friend.
Mistoffelees studied the other tom's face, from past experiences he knew that the cat would gain a 'twinkle' in his eyes when he was up to no good. Luckily, today his amber eyes only reflected a good humor and the ever present underlying lustiness framed by the intricate pattern of the white, black, oranges and red of his fur.
Red?
In all the time he had been acquainted with Tugger he hadn't known for him to have any red in his coat.
"Tugger, your cheek, are you hurt?"
"What?" the tom brought his hand to his cheek swiping a finger through the red patch. He studied it and rubbed it between his fingers briefly before pointing the red stained appendages at the young tom.
"Paint, just Paint"
"Paint? What for?" Mistoffelees' ears came forward, his curiosity peaked.
"Well wouldn't you like to know." Tugger teased and leaned forward slightly puffing up his mane.
"Why yes I would, that would be why I asked now wouldn't it?" the black and white tom attempted to see past his the leopard spotted cat's broad shoulders and fluffy plume, he produced no results.
"Patience kit, you'll see soon enough" Tugger motioned for the younger tom to sit.
Mistoffelees reluctantly obliged choosing to sit on a makeshift stool made from a stack of discarded newspapers, he crossed his legs and folded his hands neatly in his lap.
For the next 20 minutes the two sat in silence, with Tugger working on his mystery project and Mistoffelees watching him quietly from behind. Twice while the young jellicle was waiting Jenny's mice came in and handed Tugger different materials which the maine coon seemed to use with vigor.
"Tug? Wh-.."
"Almost done!"
"Ok, but I just wanted to ask..."
"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate!"
"But!.."
"Done!"
The taller tom jumped to his feet excitedly and turned to face Mistoffelees, he thrust his arms out towards the young tom and in his hands he held a slightly damp piece of paper.
"Happy Birthday Kit!"
Mistoffelees' eyes widened, he was surprised. Tugger had been the only cat he had shared the date of his birth with, he hadn't expected the older cat to remember let alone do something to commemorate the day. He gently took the paper from between the black-furred hands and turned it over.
The gift was a hand painted poster featuring both toms, Tugger took center stage in the painting with his pelvis thrust forward and his thumbs in his signature belt. At least he assumed the anatomically incorrect scribble was Tugger basing the assumption solely on the colors and him knowing of the tom's huge ego and mannerisms. In the background, slightly to the right was an equally atrocious Mistoffelees, his body was posed in a way that suggested he was about to strike and his black and white coat was dusted with shiny blue and white speckles that he guessed represented his magic.
Tugger was many things, an exhibitionist?, yes. A natural showcat?, certainly. A slightly insufferable flirt?, definitely. But an artist was not among those things.
This thing he was given could hardly be called art, he had literally seen garbage juice soaked candy wrappers with better color and form. But he dare not tell the proud jellicle that, instead he stood making sure to carefully lay the drying picture on his seat and nuzzled the taller tom beneath his chin genuinely thanking him for the wonderful gift. It didn't matter that it lacked a considerable amount of skill, or that it seemed to be more about the maine coon than the birthday cat, the young tom loved it anyway simply because the other tom had made it for him.
Tugger's arms encircled the tux drawing him closer and he nuzzled the tom's headfur between his ears.
"You're welcome kit, although Jenny is partially to thank for idea."
Mistoffelees nodded rubbing his cheek against Tugger's chest fur. He'd have to thank the gumbie cat later for keeping the tom out of trouble today and in the future as part of him knew he'd be receiving more of Tugger's 'masterpieces' later on down the road.
"TUGGER! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! GET YOUR BLACK FURRED ASS OUT HERE THIS INSTANT!" Munkustrap's voice rang out through Jenny's den.
Mistoffelees pushed away from the larger tom and frowned deeply, he folded his arms across his chest. "I thought you were on your best behavior today!"
"Believe me Misto I was on my best behavior today," a look of innocence came across his features. "I didn't say anything about yesterday though."
A/N: So there we have it! Comments and critiques are welcome! I rather like the outcome although I personally think the spacing and pacing is a bit wonky but I'm still learning.
I also already have two other stories in the works that are a bit saucier than this one.
Of course if you really liked this one I'm open to suggestions and ideas for other projects.