This story was originally posted on my former account, FurtherAway, however, I lost the email and password for the profile so I've had to re-write it and upload it all over again, sorry for the trouble and/or confusion.. but this was the only way to continue the story I was falling in love with. I tried everything I knew to get that account back, but I can't seem to do it. Hope you understand.
Tugger was curled into a ball beneath the captain's bed, one eye lazily cracked open, keeping watch as the girl and her little kit rested above him. The sun hadn't risen yet, but through the pained glass window, Tugger could see the cool blue of early morning sky. He yawned lazily and pawed at the crook of his eye where sleep had gathered. He hadn't gotten much rest, but his drowsiness wasn't too much to handle. They hadn't been guests aboard his captain's ship for even a week yet, and already he was becoming accustomed to waking up at the foot of the bed, guarding them throughout the night.
The girl, Alice, for his master's sake, and the kit for his own.
A light meow over him caught his attention, he lifted his head to see Mistofflees poking over the edge of the mattress, grinning down at him shyly. "Good morning Tugger." he greeted, stretching his paws out over the ledge and letting out a rather large yawn as his tail raised.
Tugger hummed softly in return, burying his mane back between his paws, "Five more minutes..."
He was jolted awake violently as Mistofflees jumped down from the bed, landing just over him. "Wake up!"
"Stupid kit..." he grumbled, batting the tux away with a tired arm. "Go back to sleep."
Mistofflees nudged Tugger's cheek, "Didn't you sleep?"
"I slept fine. Five more minutes..." he repeated, pulling the tom down into his arms and holding him too tight for any hope of escape.
"Tugger. Let go of me." Mistofflees protested, "Come on..."
Tugger nuzzled into the fur between the kit's shoulder blades and purred, comfortably basking in the tux's warmth. It contrasted greatly with the cold wood paneling of the floor, and made him even more drowsy. "Five more..."
Mistofflees huffed in a pout, but gave in all the same, shifting a bit so that he and Tugger were flush against one another, "Fine." he replied, a faint brush of pink dusting his cheeks, "Just five minutes."
Tugger hummed once more before letting his muscles relax, his tight grip fading. Mistofflees stayed, and turned to lick Tugger's cheek happily.
"Shift the mast a few degrees west!" The captain ordered, shouting to the men who began to scramble around the deck, pulling on ropes and tying the fastens tightly to the brims of the ship. "Hurry it up, you dogs!"
Alice, the ship's residing cast away, was sitting in the captain's bed, listening to the voices outside the door, and turning to glance out the window every so often. She cringed at the messy state of the cabin. Clothes, bottles and seemingly random scraps of paper were spread all over the floor. Apple cores and turkey bones littered the large table that filled the empty space in the middle of the room. It was filled with food, some good and some rubbish that hadn't been cleaned away. The room smelled something awful, and when she'd finally noticed the state of the sheets she was wrapped in, she'd gasped.
It was filthy.
"Mr. Mistofflees..." she called, peering over the edge of her bed to see the two cats curled up next to one another, sleeping peacefully.
She smiled then, reaching down to gently grope the tops of their heads. "I see you two made fast friends." she giggled, watching the two stretch and yawn as the woke. "Good morning."
Mistofflees meowed happily up at her and jumped back up onto the bed, rubbing himself against her lovingly. She gave the room another look over and clicked her tongue, "What do you think? Isn't it an absolute mess?"
Another meow came from Mistofflees twitching snout as his sensitive whiskers gave out a jolt of twitchy nerves. Alice grinned and ruffled the top of his mane with gentle, slender fingers. "I feel like we should repay the captain's kindness and clean up a bit."
Tugger growled in protest, annoyed when she took it as his agreement, popping off the bed and immediately setting to work. "What does she think she's doing?"
"Only trying to be helpful." Mistofflees purred, rubbing his face against the fur of Tugger's neck happily.
"Don't objectify me." Tugger protested, closing his eyes to the pleasant feeling nevertheless.
The tux grinned and bounded off, taking side by his mistress as she started scooping discarded clothes off of the ground. She smiled whole-heartedly and dumped the clothes into a pile in the corner of the cabin. She stacked plates from the table and threw the old food out of the window. The bed was made and surfaces were wiped down with a cloth, as Mistofflees tugged socks from under the bed over to the pile of clothes Alice had created.
Tugger, who was lounging contently on top of the little mountain of tunics and trousers, let out a playful growl when Mistofflees dropped the sock over his face with a mischievous grin. "Watch it kitten!" he warned, pulling back into a pounce-worthy position. Mistofflees and Tugger tumbled back once he launched, landing with laughter before Tugger bit down on the tip of his ear. "Warned you!"
The tux licked Tugger's cheek and smiled happily, pulling back slowly with tired, doey eyes.
Alice came and sat by them, crossing her legs before pulling Mistofflees up into her lap and reaching over to offer Tugger some affection as well. She scratched his head in all the right places and held her own companion in her other arm, loving the two cats as they meowed at one another and started to bound around. "I'm glad you've found yourself a new friend, Mr. Mistofflees." she smiled.
Mistofflees replied with a giddy noise and pawed at Tugger's head playfully. He was very happy.
