Chapter 7

p Mungo watched his love shuffle around as he lay near the side of the basket. Tomorrow was the ball and he still hadn't asked her. He was a bit confused at what she had done earlier. Yes, he had enjoyed it immensely, but what did it mean? Did it mean that she liked him? He waited until she closed her eyes and then softly got up. He padded out of the room and over to the couch where he had hidden the jewels. He pulled them out and walked over to the un-shaded window. He admired how they sparkled in the moonlight and thought about how nice they'd look around her neck. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, that he didn't realize she had joined him. She couldn't, however, see the jewels.

p "Hey, whatcha doing?" she asked.

p "Bast! What?" he jumped at her voice and turned around quickly. But luckily the paw that held the jewels didn't go with him. They were still hidden behind his back. "I'm sorry Teazer. I didn't see you." he looked at his paw.

p She giggled. "Obviously. I heard you get up and then you didn't come back. So I went looking for you. Whatcha doing?" she asked again, cheekily.

p He looked up and his breath caught in his throat. Her coat was bathed in moonlight and she looked as angelic as she did the night when he realized he loved her. Her pearls were still glowing with the moonlight. The white parts of her fur were smooth like delicate porcelain. "I, I, I was looking at the moon and thinking." He stammered as he stared at her beauty.

p She cocked her head and stared back at him. There it was again! An intensity that she couldn't understand. Was this what Bombalurina meant? "What were you thinking about?" she scooted a bit closer to him, noticing that he was still staring at her. It was beginning to unnerve her a little.

p "Oh, nothing really. Just the Valentine's Day Ball and other things." 'Like how beautiful you look, how much I want you to be my mate…' His mind continued silently.

p Her face fell a little. Maybe he wasn't thinking of her. "Oh, just curious. So… do you have a date for the ball?"

p He froze. "N, no, not yet." He took a deep breath. "There's this queen I want to ask, but I don't know if she'd go with me."

p Rumpleteazer tentatively put a paw on his shoulder as her heart fell. Now she'd done it. She'd lost her chance to tell him how she felt. "I'm sure she will. Why wouldn't she? You're one of the best toms out there." She immediately blushed and pulled her paw away. 'What had made her say that?' she wondered. Here he was going to ask another queen and she had all but thrown herself at his feet. How humiliating! She turned away from her partner in crime.

p 'She thinks I'm one of the best toms?' He was shell-shocked. He had taken a chance when he spoke those last words. Her response wasn't what he'd expected. He watched as something that looked like embarrassment flashed across her features and then she turned away. Was that a positive sign that she liked him? He had to find out and there was only one way: he was going to ask her. He put a paw on her shoulder and made her turn around. "Rumpleteazer, I have to tell you something." He put his other paw behind his back and fingered the diamond bracelet. "I… that is… um," he blew air out through his lips as she looked at him expectantly. He sighed and tried again. "What I mean, is that… the queen I was talking about is… well, it's you, Teazer. You're the most beautiful creature I know and… I love you." he took another deep breath and didn't meet her gaze. He knew that if he looked into her blue eyes, he'd get so lost that he'd forget what he was saying. "I… I would like, you to go with me to the Valentine's Day Ball. As… as my mate." He looked into her shinning eyes. "I love you."

p Rumpleteazer stared at her partner as he spoke. So he did like her! And he wanted her as his mate. She smiled as his eyes met hers. She stepped forward, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on the mouth. She ran her tongue over his lips and they opened.

p When she put her arms around his neck and kissed him, he felt as if he could fly. He dropped the bracelet behind him and wrapped his arms around her waist. He felt her tongue on his lips and he parted them. They continued to kiss passionately beneath the moonlight. He pressed his body against hers. They only stopped when Teazer groaned in pain and he realized that he'd backed her up against the windowsill. He pulled his face back, but kept his hands where they were. "Is that a yes, then?" he asked breathlessly.

She nodded happily and kissed him again.

This time, however, he had other ideas. He broke away and detached himself for a minute. "Close your eyes, love. I've got a present for you." she complied and he turned around and gathered up the diamond bracelet. He turned back to her and then said softly, "Ok, you can open your eyes."

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a lovely sight. Mungojerrie was grinning idiotically and he was holding the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen. "Oh, Mungo!" she breathed.

p "Here, let's see what it looks like on you." he approached her rather shyly and slipped the pearls off her neck and clasped the diamond bracelet in its place. "It really suits you." he then kissed her again and they both began purring loudly. It was then that they heard a low throaty laugh. The two tigers blushed and turned towards their baskets. There, watching them, were Anglina and Firewind. He was on his back and she was on top of him. They had obviously been kissing, among other things.

p "Bravo! I told you so, Rumpleteazer." Firewind said smugly as Anglina gently cuffed him. He looked at her indignantly. "What! I did!"

p The red and pink queen just laughed and kissed him.

p "How long have you guys been watching?" Rumple asked as she and Jerrie jumped down.

p "Oh, not long. But that must have been one hell of a kiss, huh?" Firewind waggled his ears back and forth. (Equivalent of wagging eyebrows up and down.)

p Anglina nodded from her position on his chest. "Mmm-hmm. I wish someone would take a hint and kiss me like that." She gave the red and black tom a sideways glance. He just looked at her wide-eyed. "But, I'm glad to see that you're together now. Now we can all go the Ball together. Your friend here has asked me to be his mate."

p Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer climbed into their basket and curled up. "That's wonderful. We'll see you guys in the morning." Teazer said as she turned towards her mate.

p The tiger tom smiled and drew her in for a deep kiss and she returned it.

p Soon the four of them fell asleep in the arms of their mates.

p The next day, the four of them were the last ones to arrive at the junkyard. When they did arrive, it was near evening. They had been too busy earlier to come.

p "Hey, Rumpleteazer! Anglina!" Demeter called happily. "Come here, we need your help." Demeter, Bombalurina, and Jemima were trying to hang pink streamers and not having much luck with it.

p The two queens kissed their toms and sauntered over to the other queens.

p Bombalurina smiled knowingly. "So… I see someone had a good time last night." She was looking mainly at Anglina, who was blushing, but then did a double take when she noticed Teazer's necklace. "Everlasting Cat, Teazer! Where did you get that ice?"

p Teazer looked down and smiled. "Mungojerrie asked me to be his mate last night and then he gave them to me."

p The other queen's jaw dropped. "He did what? Wow! You are one lucky girl. Hey Demi! Jemima!" she called to the others. "Look what Jerrie gave Teazer!" They rushed over.

p "Damn, girl!" Demeter exclaimed.

p "So does that mean he asked you?" Jemima asked, her eyes glinting.

p Rumple nodded happily. "Yep. He asked me last night. Are you guys going to the ball?"

p All three of them nodded.

p "Munkustrap asked me this morning." Demeter blushed.

p Jemima rolled her eyes. "Plato came to my house and brought me a rose." She giggled. "It was from his pet's garden."

p "Lucky. Tugger kind of asked me, but got interrupted when Jennyanydots started to accuse him of giving them moldy cheese. (Yes I know cheese is mold to begin with.) But that's how he is. He'll probably go with me." Bombalurina said off-handedly. It was well-known around the junkyard about how the Bombalurina-Rum Tum Tugger relationship worked.

p "Aww, you'll be fine, Bomba. He's just unsure of how to approach you." Demeter said gently.

p "Yeah, sure." She didn't seem convinced, but let it slide. "Ok. Enough yakking. We have to get these steamers up or Munkustrap will be upset."

p The queens finally got the streamers up. They looked around the junkyard. It was pretty. There were pink and red streamers all over. There was something that looked like a disco ball hanging from Pouncival's chair and one could see little white lights all around.

p That night, underneath the glittering disco ball and the Jellicle moon, the felines danced. They danced with their loved ones and everybody was blissfully happy.