Heaving a sigh, Micky set down the bucket of soapy water. He placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the GTO. How he got stuck washing it, he had no idea. Davy was supposed to help him but he'd somehow wormed his way out of it. No doubt he charmed Mike into letting him off the hook. Needless to say, Micky was jealous of him.
Micky leaned against the hood of the car. It was already sweltering out and, despite having lived in California all his life, Micky still wasn't used to the heat.
Now, he loved summer as much as the next guy (for various bikini'd reasons) but some days the heat was too much. He felt like he might melt. All that would be left of him would be a puddle of Micky colors.
Micky dipped a hand into the bucket to retrieve a sponge. He slapped it onto the car and set to work. It was only eleven in the morning and Mick figured, if he knocked the work out quickly enough, he could go out on the town afterward. Grab a bite, maybe chat up a girl or two.
Odds of a fundraiser carwash being in town seemed pretty high. He stopped scrubbing to think. He could go get the car washed there and later tell Mike he had done all the work. And maybe even get a cute blonde reward on top of it all.
No. He thought better of it.
Micky started scrubbing again. Mike would definitely know. He had a strange kind of intuition about that sort of thing. Anyway, Micky already had everything started.
It was easy going at first. Thankfully, the car hadn't gotten too dirty since its last wash. The only complaint he had was the sun.
Micky pulled his shirt over his head and stuffed it into his back pocket. He figured he may as well get a tan while he was at it.
After scrubbing every possible inch of the GTO, Micky stopped to stretch. Not too much longer and he would be done. Talking to pretty girls was just a short rinse away.
Davy stepped outside at that moment. But, as soon as Micky made eye contact with him, he slipped back inside. Micky rolled his eyes. It was his own problem if he wanted to miss out on some special 45ers bonding time. Micky didn't care.
...Okay, he might have. Just a little bit.
Micky made the trek to turn on the water and picked up the hose. As Micky rinsed the car, he heard a small squeak-like sound. He kinked the water hose and listened. Well, at least he thought he had heard something. He rounded to the back and began to rinse off the tail lights.
Then he heard it again. Micky peeked around for the source and, sure enough, he found it. It was a kitten. Possibly the teeniest, cutest kitten he'd ever seen.
A grin spread wide across his face, instantly lighting up his features.
Soap slowly dripped from the side of the car and covered the kitten. Micky abandoned the running hose and rushed over, coming to the rescue. Micky sat on the ground and picked the tiny thing up, cooing like he hadn't seen a baby animal in ages.
"Aww," he laughed. "You're all covered in suds!" Micky took his shirt from his pocket and tried to dry the kitten off. The kitten meowed and Micky meowed back at her.
"I could call you Suds, huh?" he smiled. He set the shirt aside and held her to his chest. "Suds..."
He wasn't sure how long he sat there goo goo-ing at his new friend but he finally put her to the side, safely resting on his dampened t-shirt, so he could finish his job.
Mick made quick work of rinsing, and then of disposing of the bucket and hose. When he got back to the kitten, he found her curled up, snoozing in his shirt. She looked up and meowed when he touched her. He gasped at how cute it was.
He hadn't seen a possible mother cat around so he decided, right then and there, that he would care for her.
"No Pets" rule or not, Micky was going to take her in. He'd set his mind on it and that was that.
A/N: Will there be a sequel all about Micky keeping Suds a secret from the other Monkees and Babbitt? I have no idea. I wouldn't even know where to start.