Notes: ...um.

So when I was abruptly plunged back into Cats hell a week and a half ago, after more than twenty years of barely giving this musical a second thought, I was absolutely certain that I wouldn't have anything I wanted to write fic about.

Then I gave the Japanese version of "Magical Mister Mistoffelees" a listen and... whooooops. Definitely some ficcable lyrics in there.

I'm still new to this fandom and this is unbetaed so please be gentle if I got anything wrong! uvu

Beckon the Night

The Rum Tum Tugger had a tendency to seek out shelter as soon as he could sense oncoming rain. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy water as much as the next Maine Coon, he just usually preferred water sources that were more predictable and consistent than the skies—spattered raindrops made it so much more difficult to keep his mane properly groomed, to say nothing of the humidity in the air and all the muddy puddles that would gather in the junkyard.

So as soon as the storm clouds had begun rolling in that evening, Tugger had bade his adoring fans a fond farewell and retreated to his den. Now, not more than fifteen minutes since the sky had begun spitting, the rain had quickly intensified into a downpour, a curtain of water cascading across the entrance to his den. But it had also been a full fifteen minutes that he had been holed up in there, and the Rum Tum Tugger wasn't one to stay still for so long. Maybe a quick romp outside wouldn't be so bad after all? Just to see if there was something more interesting to take up his time. It would easily be worth the extra grooming if he could track down Munkustrap and—

At that moment a black shadow all but scrabbled into his den, and at first Tugger thought that a rather big, rather stupid rat had walked right in to offer itself as a cure for his boredom. But no, on second glance, he was mistaken.

"Well, well," Tugger grinned, gazing down at the water-logged cat depositing puddles just inside the entrance. "If it isn't Mister Mistoffelees."

Mistoffelees spared him a calculated glance as he tried shaking the water from a paw. "Sorry to just barge in," he mumbled. "I had planned to return to my humans tonight, but at this point, well..."

"Not a problem at all," Tugger purred, watching in amusement as the younger tom began trying to lick himself dry. And it wasn't a problem, really; while Mistoffelees' indifference was certainly part of his charm, the rare instances that he took the initiative to approach Tugger himself were novel and intriguing. The idea that the magical cat had been in such dire straits in the rain that he had dared to intrude in Tugger's den unannounced was downright fascinating.

(And if all went well at the ball the following month, perhaps such intrusions would become wonderfully more frequent.)

Tugger stood up from the bed of blankets he had been lounging on and prowled over to the black cat, grinning. "Curious that you got caught in the rain, though. Usually you're one of the first to sense an oncoming storm."

Mistoffelees actually flushed a bit, pausing mid-grooming. "I... was too focused on practicing to notice," he admitted.

Chuckling, Tugger sat himself next to his friend. "Practicing your magic?"

Mistoffelees hummed in affirmation. "I don't want to humiliate myself at the ball."

"You won't." Without another word, Tugger leaned in and began licking the top of Mistoffolees' head dry.

For a moment the smaller tom went still before sighing. "Tugger..." he growled softly.

"Hmm?"

Mistoffelees batted Tugger away when he moved on to his ears. "I'm not a kitten, I can dry myself."

"A kitten! Do I really seem the paternal sort?" The corner of Tugger's mouth quirked in amusement. "I'm just helping out a friend in need."

"Since when is the Rum Tum Tugger helpful?"

Tugger clapped a paw to his breast in feigned offense. "You don't believe the Rum Tum Tugger can be a considerate friend when he wants?"

Mistoffelees huffed. "'When he wants' being the key phrase here, I'm sure." With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, he stretched his body, lightly nuzzling Tugger's shoulder with the movement. "But if you insist. Having both of us on the job will get me dry faster, I suppose."

Tugger couldn't fight the triumphant smirk that threatened to break across his countenance; Mister Mistoffelees, cool and aloof as he was, was openly accepting affection—albeit pretending it was anything but. Tugger roughly licked Mistoffelees' face, just to hear his irritated mewl in response, before returning to work on his ears still dripping with rainwater.

It still took Mistoffelees a few moments to relax in the face of the attention being lavished upon him. By the time Tugger had moved down his neck and to his shoulders, though, the tuxedo tom had more or less settled, content with working on his own legs and belly while allowing the Maine Coon to get the harder-to-reach areas. Before long, Tugger felt a gentle rumbling through Mistoffelees' fur and he nearly bit his own tongue with the strength of his grin. To think that the standoffish cat would actually deign to let himself purr in front of—

A sharp crack of thunder made them shoot up ramrod straight, fur on end and staring wide-eyed at each other.

They were both quick to collect themselves after just a beat of awkward silence, Tugger patting down his mane as he suggested, "Why don't we get out of the doorway, yeah?"

"Yes, that's probably for the best." Mistoffelees stood up gracefully, shaking the worst of the water from his paws before stepping out of his puddle and into the dry interior of the den. Already plenty familiar with the layout, he easily made his way over to the pile of blankets and settled down to dry off his tail.

Eagerly, Tugger tossed himself on the blankets behind him, but before he could so much as touch the magical cat—

"I can handle the rest on my own at this point."

Tugger pouted, poking playfully at Mistoffelees' spine. "Your back is still wet, though."

Mistoffelees gave a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose I can't stop you..."

Victorious yet again, Tugger ran a feather-light paw down Mistoffelees' back and side—which, sure, was maybe entirely unnecessary for the task at hand—before situating himself to lick down the expanse of black fur.

Maybe Mistoffelees really could have dried off the rest himself, or maybe Tugger was purposely drawing it out, because it wasn't long before Mistoffelees had apparently run out of areas to work on. Tugger could see that his forepaws were lying idle, flexing nervously as if unsure what to do with the situation, so Tugger gave his shoulder a light-hearted nuzzle before returning to the last patches of damp fur. Within a minute, the tuxedo tom had relaxed again, and with that came the return of his rhythmic purring.

There was another crackling boom, and Mistoffelees started again, but this time Tugger just sat back and laughed, hard.

Smoothing his fur down, Mistoffelees glowered at the larger tom. "What's so funny, exactly?"

Tugger held up a paw, shaking his head. "Nothing, nothing," he managed between chuckles. "Just... maybe you should stop doing that, yeah?"

"Doing what?"

"You know." Tugger twirled a finger in the air vaguely. "That whole thunder thing."

Mistoffelees' expression was one of utter condescension as he blinked once, then twice at his friend. "Tugger. That's not me. That's the sky."

"But it happens every time you purr."

The black cat flushed indignantly, as if the mere mention of his purring was off-limits. "A sample size of two times. That's what we call a coincidence, Tugger."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's your powers."

"I still can't do much more than some light tricks and sleight of paw," Mistoffelees huffed, curling up with his back to Tugger as if to say that he was quite dry enough now, thank you. "Your expectations of my abilities are entirely too high."

Tugger stretched himself out on the blankets behind the smaller cat. "I think they're probably not high enough."

"Really."

"Mark my words," he declared, raising a paw in the air, "and this is the Rum Tum Tugger saying it, so you know it's true. One of these days you'll even be able to create the stars in the sky."

Mistoffelees looked over his shoulder, a flimsy mask of disdain not quite concealing his embarrassment, to which Tugger responded with a toothy grin.

"Wait a second," he said, turning over entirely to jab Tugger in the chest with a paw. "Tugger..."

"Yeah?"

"We already finalized the lyrics for my song."

"Hmm..."

"I swear, if you make last-minute changes..."

"I make no promises."

"Tugger!"

Notes: Part of the Japanese lyrics (stage musical version) are as follows: "When he purrs, it causes thunderclaps / and someday he'll (be able to) beckon the night and create stars in the sky."

I just... couldn't not write about that stanza, you know?!

So uhhhh I hope you enjoyed reading this!