Everyone thought he was crazy, that all I would do was break his heart over and over again until he came to his senses. A handful had threatened me, warning me of what would happen if I hurt him. Of course, I've since proved them all wrong. I loved Mistoffelees. I loved him from the first time I saw him dance. Okay, maybe it wasn't the very first time, but I certainly felt something that day.
He'd heard there was a new cat that went by the name Mistoffelees in the yard, and being the curious cat he was, Tugger simply had to seek this new cat out. Rumor had it this new cat was quite the dancer, but also rather solitary and shy, which was why only a select few had already met him. Rumor also had it that he'd already found a spot where he'd go to dance, and Tugger made his way there directly once he'd milked the information out of his brother.
He approached the clearing quietly, hoping to see this new cat's dancing for himself before making an entrance. He looked down into the clearing from atop a pile of junk, and immediately was taken aback. From the moment his eyes fell upon the small svelte tuxedo tom they were glued to him. The way his body glided over the earth as his black fur shone in the sunlight had Tugger completely transfixed.
"You keep staring at me like that, you'll need to hunt for my dinner."
Tugger had been so mesmerized by the tom's performance that he hadn't even noticed that he'd stopped dancing, and was now casually grooming himself. The tom's voice startled him so badly in fact, that he tumbled down from the top of the junk pile into the clearing. The tux looked over his shoulder, giving Tugger his first clear view of his face. His features were a perfect blend of soft and chiseled, as if they'd been sculpted by one of the masters. His eyes were a shocking shade of blue and sparkled like sapphires in the summer sun. His lips were small and tender, and when they weren't curved up into a teasing smirk as they were now, Tugger was certain they would give him the most adorable smile he'd ever seen.
"Guess I'll be needing a new place to rehearse." With a sly wink he stood and left the clearing, leaving Tugger lying there on the ground.
I remember feeling completely upended after that encounter, wondering what the hell happened to me. There wasn't a thing or a cat in the entire junkyard that could throw me off my game, or so I'd thought. The only thing I knew for certain at that point was that I had to see him again. Whatever it was I felt that day changed me. The only thing I knew at the time was that I needed to feel that way again, and that that little tux was the only one who could make that happen.
It took him a week of searching to find him again. He'd spend all day trying to find him going clearing by clearing, hoping to catch another glimpse of his dancing, to no avail. But when Tugger finally found him again, it was worth it.
He'd begun to give up hope as he climbed up another pile of junk, expecting to be once again disappointed by an empty clearing. His heart skipped a beat as he looked down and saw the tux dancing. Just one look had Tugger completely transfixed once again. He hadn't thought it possible, but the tux was dancing ever more spectacularly than he had the last time Tugger had seen him.
"I must say I'm impressed you found me. I thought you would have given up your search days ago."
"You never gave me your name Mistoffelees, nor the opportunity to properly introduce myself. Of course I was going to find you."
"I assumed, correctly as it turns out, that you already knew my name Rum Tum Tugger and that you'd make a point of introducing yourself at another time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to. See you around, Rum Tum Tugger," he said tauntingly before vanishing in a plume of white smoke.
Tugger sat there a while, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. His heart was racing, his stomach was doing backflips, and all he could think of was Mistoffelees. But that was impossible, because that would me he was in love with him, which would mean he was bisexual, which was certainly not the case. Sure he flirted with toms, but it wasn't like anyone thought it meant anything. It was just part of his persona. He wasn't queer. He didn't want to run his hands up and down the tux's lithe body, to pull him close and press their lips together, to... At that point, there was no denying it anymore. He was head over heels in love with Mistoffelees.
As much as I wanted to fight what I felt, to convince myself I was straight as an arrow, I knew it was pointless. Luckily for me, after that Mistoffelees started hanging around with the others more after that, so I didn't have to stalk him anymore and we ended up becoming rather close friends. It was a doubled-edged sword, though, since it meant that I had to hide my feelings more and more often. That said, every secret comes out eventually and after a few months of spending most of our waking hours together, I decided I had to get it off my chest.
He bit his lip nervously, waiting for the right time to finally speak up. He and Mistoffelees were sitting on the boot of TSE1, their favorite spot in the junkyard. There was a beautiful serenity to the area once the moon was high and most everyone else was asleep. They'd spent many a night there just sitting there talking until the horizon began to shift colors as the dawn broke. Mistoffelees was resting his head on Tugger's shoulder as they sat together in silence. Tugger always felt at least a little uncomfortable in extended silences, but he knew Mistoffelees enjoyed the silent companionship, so he toughed it out.
"What's wrong Tug? You've hardly said a word tonight and you've got a look on your face."
"It's uh, um, nothing. It's nothing." He knew that he' promised himself tonight would be the night, but the words stuck in his throat.
"Come on Tugger, we both know something has you preoccupied. Just tell me. Maybe I can help?"
He took a few breaths to steady his nerves, readying himself to give the speech he prepared. "Misto... I..." His nerves got the best of him and he ended up eating the rest of his words.
"What was that Tugger? I didn't catch anything after you said my name." The tux wore a look of concern on his face.
"Misto I love you. There. I said it. I had a huge long-winded romantic speech planned but there it is. I've loved you since that first time I saw you dance." He braced himself for Mistoffelees' reaction, expecting him to freak out.
"I didn't know you felt that way Tugger... I- I love you to."
The two looked at each other, both still processing the fact that the other shared their feelings. When they'd finally processed the information they began kissing each other heatedly, in a flurry of passion and groping paws.
I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him. I still get a bit giddy every time I think about it, though I'd appreciate it if you didn't go spreading that around, it wouldn't do my image any good. Then again, neither will what I've got planned for tonight.
We've been a couple for eight months, and I've decided that since this is kind of a special day for us, I want to ask him to be my mate tonight.
"You know what today is, don't you Misto?" Tugger asked eagerly, waking the sleeping Mistoffelees.
"No, but I'm sure you'll be enlightening me," Mistoffelees replied drowsily.
Tugger's face fell at his response, but he quickly pulled himself together. "It's our first anniversary!"
"What are you talking about Tug? That's not for almost four months."
"One year ago today you startled me so badly I fell off a pile of junk and tumbled all the way down into the clearing you were grooming yourself in."
"The day we met. Everlasting has it been a year already? On one paw it seems like we've been together forever, and on the other it feels like that happened yesterday."
"Funny how that works, isn't it? Tell you what, cancel any plans you have for tonight. I want to make tonight special for us."
Mistoffelees smiled and rolled his eyes. "Alright then, though I think I already know what you mean by special."
"I wouldn't count on that," Tugger said before giving him a wink and a kiss.
They parted ways for the day. Mistoffelees went to practice dancing and have tea with Victoria and Cassandra, and Tugger began preparing for that night. He'd known for some time that that was the night he wanted to ask Mistoffelees to be his mate, and had made arrangements for Jerrie and Teazer to acquire a few items for him. Thankfully they'd gotten everything he had asked for, and he was able to get everything laid out before Mistoffelees returned to their den.
The moment Mistoffelees entered the den, Tugger ambushed him with a passionate kiss. "Well I missed you too, Tug," he said wryly.
"I got you something," Tugger said, handing him a small rectangular box. "Open it!"
Mistoffelees complied, slightly apprehensive about what Tugger had in mind, and worried that Tugger had actually gone out of his way when he hadn't even remembered. He gasped when he looked inside and saw a black silk bow-tie with a small crystal attached to the knot. "Tugger this is... I don't even know what to say! It's gorgeous!"
Tugger gave him a quick kiss before replying. "Put it on! And get ready, we really must get going!"
"Get going where?"
"You'll see."
Once Mistoffelees had prepared himself, Tugger wrapped his bandana over his eyes making sure Mistoffelees was properly blindfolded. He led him through the junkyard, to the spot where he prepared everything else.
When they entered the clearing, Mistoffelees' nose perked up. "Do I smell fish paste? And rice pudding? And is that a scented candle as well?"
Tugger removed his bandana, allowing Mistoffelees to see the dinner and candles he had laid out, which Mistoffelees had correctly identified. "Recognize this place?"
"Of course I do! This is where we met." He turned to Tugger and kissed him. "All this is amazing. I feel horrible for not realizing how special this day was to you."
"Don't. I didn't want you to, because there's one last thing," he took a deep breath and bent down on one knee, taking Mistoffelees paws in his. "One year. Three hundred and sixty-five days. Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. Three point one five million seconds. That's how long we've known each other, and from that first second I knew you were special. From that second meeting a week later I knew I loved you. You made me the happiest tom on the planet when you told me you loved me eight months ago. Now I'm going to ask you to do that again tonight, Misto. Five hundred thousand minutes, three million minutes, this past year, and every one I didn't spend with you was one wasted. So please, Mistoffelees, will you be my mate?" Both toms were shedding tears as Tugger finished his proposal.
"Tugger I love you. Of course I'll be your mate!"
They kissed again passionately, tears of joy still running from their eyes. Tugger broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Mistoffelees'. "Happy anniversary Misto."