Second fic! W00t! It's a Cats one again but to be honest it's the only story I like writing with at the moment. Now there are some bits to explain…

First off, it feels much more right to me to make Mistoffelees gay. Don't get me wrong I can see him as straight but I prefer him gay. Tugger goes both ways and overall I love the Misto x Tugger pairing. It's just kinda heart-warming.

This story is about Misto discovering he has feelings for a certain curious cat and trying to deal with them. I've decided how I want it to end I just need to figure out how to get there so expect a few chapters when I get around to writing them. I intend for this to get slashy so fair warning.

Okay then, hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Cats or any of the characters, duh!

Unlikeliest of Lovers

1. Strange New Feelings

Mistoffelees was quite a deceiving cat. You might think you had figured him out only to find shortly after that what you thought couldn't be more wrong. His fur was a tuxedo pattern and being mostly jet black allowed him to hide in the most unlikely of places. It was said that he could squeeze through the tiniest crack and more than one Jellicle certainly knew this was true, after all he was magic cat. His signature number at the Jellicle Ball listed many of his exploits such as being able to pick any card from the pack and being equally cunning with dice. He was clever in that way. Many had claimed to actually have seen him pull seven kittens out of a hat not long ago and he loved to let them believe it even though only he knew whether it was true or not. He loved the song sung for him though, 'The Magical Mister Mistoffelees'. He loved being able to perform in front of everybody. Spectacular feats of dance and magic really let him get noticed by the others. He wasn't a quiet or boring cat – although he could be if he wanted to be, remember he was deceiving, - just still a little young and still had the demeanour of a kitten even though he had been a tom for a few weeks now. It meant many of the other Jellicles hadn't quite seen him in an adult light yet. It bugged him from time to time but he didn't hate the idea of being perceived as a little juvenile, it allowed him to get away with some of his more kittenish traits and afforded him the luxury of being rather playful.

Today though was different for Misto. He was sitting in his pipe, watching the everyday goings on of the junkyard. Munkustrap was being vigilant as always, Bomba and Demeter were chatting away as they always did, Jenny was bustling around tidying and interfering with the kittens and Skimble was enjoying a nice cup of tea. Everything seemed pretty ordinary and Misto considered slinking away to practice some magic. Something stopped him in his thoughts though. His mind froze as he saw Tugger pacing across the clearing in the junkyard followed by his ever-hollering fan club. Misto stopped and stared for a moment, trying to figure out why he was staring to being with. He knew he was peering over at Tugger, his long-time friend who he playfully bantered with everyday but this time something was a little off. Tugger seemed different. Maybe it was the way the sun was hitting him or maybe Misto had bumped his head but Tugger looked amazin. His gazing had caused him to let down his guard of mystery for Tugger had seen him sitting stock-still and gawking.

"Girls, please!" Tugger asked of his fan club,

"You know you're all beautiful, but this cat's gotta take a while and chill". He said silkily with a gyration from his hips.

The kittens surrounding him all simultaneously swooned and then just seemed to get all the more talkative.

"When will you be back Tugger?"

"Can we come with you?"

"You're the sexiest thing alive Tugger!"

He smirked at that last one.

"I'll be back soon girls, take a break!" Tugger told them in his sensual fashion.

The kittens dispersed slowly leaving the cat free to go see his friend in the pipe. He started sauntering over to Misto who then realised he had been seen and knew he couldn't hide away now. He was like a deer in the headlights as the sexy cat got closer.

"Hey Misto." Tugger offered casually jumping up onto the top of the pipe in looking in from above.

"Uh…yeah…uh…I mean…Hi Tug" He chastised himself internally for stumbling over his words.

Tugger looked down and smirked "Is that it?"

"Uh, I mean, how's it going?"

"What can I say? Adoring public, every queen in this place like putty in my paw and the looks of a god!" he said ruffling his mane a little.

Misto thought about what Tugger said for a second and felt a little swoon himself before he jumped back into his usual person, "You know you're too modest sometimes."

"I don't have a problem with knowing I'm beautiful, everyone loves the Rum Tum Tugger!"

'I can see why' Misto thought.

"I rather thought you were a terrible bore actually" he countered with a wry smile.

Tugger stuck his tongue out at Misto. It made him look surprisingly cute for such a renowned sex symbol and the tux felt the corners of his mouth turn up a tad.

"Don't you ever think about settling down?" the magic cat asked constantly trying to keep his head out of the Heaviside layer.

"Come on Mist, you know I'm not a one-mate kinda guy"

'Shame'

"Wouldn't it be nice though? I mean being able to care and look after someone?" the black cat asked curiously. He wondered from time to time whether he would ever see the biggest player in town tied down to one cat. He pictured for a moment what life would be like mated to Tugger, then shook himself out of it realising what it was that he was thinking.

"Are you alright? You've been acting weird the whole time we've been talking."

"No I haven't!"

"Yeah you have. Something on your mind?"

'Yeah, you' his brain said to him,

"No, nothing much. So what are you gonna do today?"

"I'm gonna try and slip away for a bit. I love my girls but they can be a pain in the arse sometimes. And sometimes even the boys can be a nag, I tell you Mist, when you bat for both teams everyone wants a piece of you" he laughed. "I fancy some place quiet, you know?"

"Perhaps you should whittle down their numbers a little" Misto suggested.

"You want one of 'em?"

"Wha? You… I mean I… Uh, no thanks, I'm fine." Misto spluttered being caught off guard, his mind only on one particular cat at the moment.

"You sure? I got plenty to spare."

"Thanks Tug, but I'm okay"

"Well alright. Hey, I'm gonna split while the kittens are away, catch you later huh?"

"Yeah sure, see you later."

Tugger jumped down and started to quickly stalk away. He stopped before he got too far though and leaned back, "Offer still stands by the way. You want me to set you up I'm there for ya buddy."

"Cheers Tug" Misto said with a hint of anxiety as he watched the maned coon wink at him and slip behind a junk pile. His heart fluttered for a second.

'What the hell are you thinking Misto?'

He sat back and put his paws over his eyes trying to make sense of what just happened. He knew he and Tugger had been talking but all he could remember was just how fine the tom looked today, and everyday now come to think of it. The look of his fur, his eyes, his smile, his arms, his hips, his body was just spectacular. He'd never really felt like this before about anyone. Sure there were times when he'd liked the look of a passing cat and thought about them in 'that way', but never did he think he might feel the same way about Tugger. How was he meant to even deal with this?

He slumped over in despair feeling stupid at not knowing what to do. He let out a small groan as he recalled a few flash moments from their conversation and how stupid he must have sounded. Why would Tugger ever be interested in him? He could have the pick of the tribe and beyond and it was certainly true that he did just that on a nightly basis. How could a small black cat like him even come close to catching the eye of the Rum Tum Tugger? Besides, he'd said he could never be mated to just one cat.

He thought he was supposed to be able to handle these kinds of feelings, but he couldn't. He felt stupid. Really really stupid and was beginning to get frustrated, although these two emotions just led to sadness. He curled up in pipe with his back to the junkyard where the Jellicles were going about their day and let a silent tear slip from his eye. Misto's teardrop sparkled ever so slightly in the dark of the pipe due to his magic and in any other situation one might think it was quite beautiful. How could he have allowed himself to feel like this though? He let his sadness consume him for a while. He tried to think if there was any way he could talk to Tugger about what he felt but in the end he just ended up where he started. This only upset him more.

Outside the pipe, Munkustrap was strolling by making sure everything was in order. He flicked his ears when he thought he heard a soft whimper coming from somewhere. He looked around but couldn't see anyone anywhere. He kept hearing the sound though and started to look harder. The soft crying was so gentle he wondered if perhaps a kitten had fallen and scraped his or her knee. He eventually pinpointed the noise as coming from the pipe. Misto's pipe. Puzzled, he looked in. Misto startled at the sudden intrusion to his solemn privacy.

"Go away!" he yelled before realising who it was. "Oh. Sorry Munk" he said trying to hide his face and stifle his sobbing. Munk could definitely see the young tux was upset.

"What's wrong, Misto?" he asked delicately as he climbed into join the tom and block the view from anyone that might happen to pass by.

"It's nothing", Misto said trying his hardest not to look silly in front of the Jellicle protector.

"Well it's certainly something. Cats don't cry for no reason" he pried as gently as he could. "If you tell me what's wrong then maybe I can make it better"

"I don't think you could." The tux said starting to tear up again. "Please just go away" he pleaded feeling mortified that Munk would see him like this.

"Come on Misto, I'm only trying to help. You've trusted me with a lot before and I'm sure there's nothing you can say to shock me".

Misto swallowed hard, knowing he was right. How, though, was he supposed to tell the Jellicle protector that he might have the hots for the silver tabby's younger brother?

"I'm not totally sure why I'm upset" Munk nodded as he listened, "it's really confusing."

"Just try and say it as simply as you can."

"Well…I…um…well I think…I feel like I like someone whose always been my friend before" he managed to squeek out.

"Well that's not so bad. Who's the lucky queen?" Munk said adopting a relaxed attitude.

"Well that's the thing" Misto stammered, "she's not a queen, I mean he's not a queen, I mean…ugh!" he felt stupid again.

"You're saying there's a tom you like?" Munk enquired. Misto nodded meekly, "you know there's nothing wrong with that right?"

"I know it's okay to like toms, it's just who I think I like that's the problem"

"And who is that?" Munk said very tenderly.

"It's…It's…Well, it's…"

"Go on Misto, you'll feel so much better when you sa-"

"Tugger!" he blurted out finally.

They sat there in silence for a few seconds, Munk's eyes shot open wide, his body quite rigid. Misto instantly felt regret. Had he made the tabby angry now he'd told him he liked his brother? What was going to happen now?

His mind screamed, 'Oh Misto you idiot! Why did you say anything?"