A/N: Fluff warning. With marshmallows and unicorns and rainbows. Sorry for anyone who dislikes fluff. Oh, also, tom/tom affection. I don't really care if you're not into it- but there's been a slash warning for, like, 9 chapters. Seriously.

"You decided to ask psychics for relationship advice?" Quaxo asked incredulously. He chuckled while he tried to decide how that made any sense.

"Hey- you talked to my sister-in-law."

"Who else can I trust to be completely honest?" The older tom could not argue with this. If there was anyone who would be scathingly critical while begrudgingly accepting his good points, it was Demeter.

"I actually really enjoyed talking to them," Tugger insisted, "I wouldn't mind talking to them more often, although I don't think Cori' would appreciate that." Quaxo was certain that Coricopat would appreciate that nickname even less.

Tugger grinned to himself, glad that he'd decided to talk to the tux about this. It was a few days later, as he figured it'd be a good idea to give the conversation some time to sit in his mind just in case he realized something about it that he wouldn't want to mention to the other tom. Sure, he could have spent time trying to take it apart himself or talked to an older and wiser cat, but taking advantage of Quaxo's being more open around him seemed like a much better plan. And it turned out he was right.

"Did they help you at all, or was it just an interesting talk?" the tux asked curiously, snaking his way under Tugger's paws to get warm. It was nice to be able to do that and know they were both comfortable with it. And since everyone was already familiar with how often Quaxo disappeared, no one (except perhaps Victoria, who knew to keep it to herself) really noticed that the two were spending time together. They weren't doing anything, of course, but the tux still felt his paranoia was fairly justified.

The Maine Coon scratched Quaxo's head for a moment, "Before I answer that- I gotta ask. You never seemed like a cat who's that big on affection, am I just that special?" He couldn't help but grin cheekily, his cocky nature taking over a bit.

The tux chuckled at this, shaking his head. "You didn't know me as a kitten. It was mostly with Victoria, but sometimes a few of the other queens, but we spent so much time cuddling that most people th—" he paused, the conversation with Demeter coming to his mind. "Oh."

"What?"

Quaxo coughed gently, "Well, ah, while I was talking to Demeter she mentioned how mature it was that I wasn't upset about Plato and Victoria… and I just realized why."

"Ah…"

"Yea- but even if I did like queens, that'd be too weird. She's like my sister," Quaxo insisted, scrunching his nose up at the idea.

"So basically what you're saying is that there are two toms who'd castrate me if I ever so much as wink at her? Well, that's good to know," Tugger agreed with a nervous chuckle.

The tux grinned at this, nodding. "And one of them can get close to you without a problem," he reminded with a nuzzle, "So you better watch yourself."

"Eh heh, yeah…" Tugger said, scratching behind his ear, not really sure what else to say about that. It was an unpleasant concept. He was grateful to have a very easy way to change the subject handy, "But back to Tanti & Cori- The only thing either of them said straight out is not to confuse love and sex."

"I guess that makes sense with your reputation," the conjuring cat agreed. "I don't know how useful it is, though."

"Mm." Tugger agreed, adjusting so that he could lay down without squishing his friend. "It kinda got me thinking, though. If you could have sex without love- couldn't you have love without sex?"

"Sure, that's what friendship is," he agreed, a bit confused by this line of thinking. Tugger shook his head, trying to think of the words, which confused Quaxo further. "Tugger- don't you think that, y'know, mating is kind of a big part of being mates?"

"Don't you think having kittens is a big part of mating?"

"So what? Because I like toms I'm not supposed to like mating?"

Tugger gently swatted Misto's head at this, glaring at him. "Hey- that was oversensitive and you know it. We both know toms who've been spayed and like mating just fine. That ain't what I meant. I just mean that even if there were a cat who didn't like mating, that doesn't mean they couldn't find a mate and be happy."

The tux nodded, rubbing his head awkwardly. The swat itself didn't hurt any, but his pride was a bit bruised that he'd reacted like that. He nodded numbly, not wanting to answer that.

"It doesn't matter, anyways, just something I was thinking about," Tugger muttered awkwardly.

"Hey- is it okay if I ask you a question?" Quaxo asked quietly. The Maine Coon stared at the tux, not certain he liked the question that was undoubtedly going to follow.

"Do I have to answer?"

"I guess not." Tugger nodded at this, still apprehensive. "Do you want to… y'know… sleep with me?"

The coon's paw now moved to his chin, which he scratched awkwardly, avoiding the tux's eyes. "Um, no, actually. I mean…I don't not want to, it just isn't really a priority.

Quaxo raised his eyebrows, "Neither was I, actually, the thought hadn't really crossed my mind…" a doubtful look came on his face. The young tux sighed heavily, "I know what you just said- but that still seems a bit iffy."

"I suppose. It's not like we have to," the Maine Coon pointed out with a shrug, his tail twitching unhappily was the only sign of his actual feelings on the matter.

The tux glanced up at Tugger. "Hey- can you look at me for a second?" The other tom obliged, and the bright blue eyes of the tux studied the golden eyes of the maine coon for a moment, thinking.

"What matters is what I want, right, Tugger?" he asked gently, turning his gaze to his paws as he tried to think this through.

The Maine Coon nuzzled Quaxo gently, "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

The tux grinned with a pur. He nodded, leaning over and kissing the Rum Tum Tugger's cheek, pulling away with an affectionate nuzzle.

"Does that mean--?" Tugger asked before getting ahead of himself, blushing gently.

"Yeah," Quaxo said softly. "Even if you aren't sure how you like me, we get along enough that I can't see this ending badly. So… um… yeah… I'd like to give us a try, if you don't mind, that is."

The Maine Coon placed a paw on Quaxo's cheek and turned it toward him delicately. He beamed at the smaller tom, sincerely hoping that the joy he was currently feeling meant that his feelings were genuine. It seemed like a good bet. Quaxo grinned back.

"I guess we've got some things to figure out then, huh?" Quaxo said happily, burrowing closer to Tugger, enjoying the warm fuzzy feelings that were embracing him.

"Yeah…" Tugger agreed, purring. "Did you mean what you said about not caring if I still flirted with… well… everyone?"

The tux paused at this, "No- actually, I just said it to trap you even though it'd be a waste of both of our time." He said with a chuckle, "Yeah- that's fine. Just… don't try it with me, it's really creepy."

Tugger scooped the tux into a close hug, squeezing him close as he laughed, "Everlasting cat- I'm going to have to get used to sarcasm now." Quaxo didn't reply to this, instead gesturing vaguely to try and express that he was not quite able to breathe as a result of the squeezing. After a moment, the maned tom loosened his grip, smiling apologetically as the tuxedo sputtered for breath.

"You do realize we can't exactly tell everyone though," he pointed out, still refilling his lungs while trying not to laugh.

"Because you don't want anyone to know," Tugger agreed bitterly, he knew he'd have to deal with that from the first time it came up.

"No," the tux shook his head, although that was a bit of it. "We both know you couldn't get away with flirting if you were in a known relationship- we'd both get hell for it. You for being so insensitive- me for putting up with it."

"Oh… right…" he agreed uncertainly. Maybe he could try seeing how long he could go without it and see if that would be okay permanently… "Wait- is there any benefit of telling other people?"

"Not really. I'll probably tell Victoria just because…" he didn't have a reason for that. To thank her for sticking her nose where it didn't even belong, thus reinforcing that this was a good thing to do, which he was certain Plato wouldn't forgive him for. "Well, because she's Victoria. So she, and possibly Plato, will know. But beyond that- I don't think there's much of a reason to. How often will it come up? You know I don't like attention enough for it to." He thought for a moment. "You can mention it to your brother if you want- although I'd really rather Demeter didn't know."

Tugger nodded at this, smiling. "Sounds like it's better just not telling anyone who doesn't need to know either way," he said gently, placing a kiss on Quaxo's head. As much as he wanted to tell everyone who would listen- it would probably just bring unwanted attention to the tux, which really wasn't worth it.

"You alright with that?" the conjurer asked, concerned at how put-off the Maine Coon had been when he first mentioned this.

The tug squeezed him affectionately again, "As long as I still get to do this, I really don't care if we have to actively hide it in public." Quaxo blushed at this, pleased.

The tom delicately placed a paw on Tugger's face and drew himself towards it. He realized he was shaking, and saw the concern in the other tom's eyes. Shyly, he placed a kiss on the Tugger's lips.

The two sighed heavily after they parted, the tux looping his arms around Tugger's neck, burying his face in it as his face burned red about it.

"This is going to work out," Tugger insisted happily, stroking the tom's, no, his tom's back. That felt good to think, right to think. "I guarantee it."

*** Ah.... L'amour. Next time we get to find out exactly how Victoria feels about how her plan came out.

I also noticed that I pretty much stopped calling Quaxo 'Misto'/'Mstoffelees'. I'm not really sure why, I just noticed this. Sorry for any confusion.