Pouncival smiled to himself as he walked. His date with Etcetera had gone incredibly well, and he was thrilled that she had enjoyed herself as much as he had. He hadn't expected to ever fall for Etcetera in a million years; after all, for most of her life she had been madly in love with the Rum Tum Tugger and he himself had had his sights set on Bombalurina. Life had been so different back then… everyone had seemed so carefree, and had completely different ideas about how they wanted their lives to turn out. Despite how much he thought that Etcetera felt the same way towards him-how much he hoped- he needed to be sure. But actually mustering up enough courage to tell her how he felt was another story; telling a queen about his feelings had never been his area of expertise. So he decided to go in search of the one cat who had always seemed to be the queen of relationships.
"Hey Bomba," he greeted as he found the queen brooding on top of an old dryer. "What's the matter?"
"Hmm? Oh hey Pounce. Nothing, don't worry about it," Bombalurina said as she shook herself out of the trance she had been in.
"Okay, if you're sure... So, how have you been doing?" He was unsure about how to approach the queen about his problems, so he decided that small talking his way into them was the right move to make. He was wrong.
"You looked pretty happy, snuggled close with Etcetera last night," Bombalurina purred.
Pouncival cringed. "You saw that?"
"Yes. Tugger and I both did."
"Great," he frowned. Now that Tugger knows, he'll probably go after her. "So, err- nice weather we're having, isn't it?" He desperately began to try and change the topic. He should have thought this through; this was such a bad idea! Bombalurina's mouth curved up into smirk. "Yes, it's quite lovely. Now knock it off and come clean. No tom comes to me to talk about the weather. What's this really about?"
She knows. She always knows. Pouncival sighed and sat down beside the red queen, deciding that there really was no point in lying to her. She would always see right through it anyway. He fiddled with his tail. "Err Bomba, how do you let a queen know that you really like her… but are afraid of getting rejected because you don't think that she's completely over someone else?"
"What do you mean that Etcetera isn't completely over someone else?" Bombalurina didn't like the sound of that.
"Look Bomba," Pouncival stated, "I just don't think that she's ready to move on into a serious relationship yet! I really, really want to ask her but-"
"You both looked pretty happy last night."
"It's not that!" he was getting exasperated. " I am happy with her, but I just don't think that she's over Tugger yet!" There, he had said it.
Bombalurina felt her stomach churn. She was afraid that he'd say that and she didn't really understand why. "Um Pounce, that's a lot to assume about someone, don't you think? I mean, Etcetera is almost a full grown queen, and I think that she finally realizes that Tugger isn't for her."
" I thought that too, for a while. But come on, Bomba! She was gaga over him for ninety percent of her life; do you honestly think that those feelings are going to go away, just like that?" Pouncival hissed, irritated. His situation seemed to be getting more hopeless by the minute.
"I just think that you should give her some more credit," Bombalurina tried to reason with him. " If you keep acting suspicious, you're going to get dumped."
"I'm going to get dumped? It's my right to act suspicious, I'm her tomfriend for crying out loud!"
"Pouncival," Bombalurina warned, turning the young cats face to hers. "You need to give her a little room to grow and adjust to this new situation. You need to trust her."
The young tom looked down, ashamed. "I know, Bomba. I guess that I'm just nervous. I didn't mean to snap at you."
" It's alright, don't worry. I understand. I was young once too, you know," she smiled as Pouncival got up to leave. "Just trust her and everything will be fine- and don't you worry your handsome little head, Tugger and Etcetera are nothing to worry about!" At least, she hoped not.
"Ah, there he is!" Tugger grinned as he approached his brother. "So, how does it feel to be father of the year?"
"So you heard our good news," Munkustrap beamed as the Maine Coon pulled him into a bear hug.
"Sure did, bro! So how does it feel to almost be a father?" Tugger asked as he jokingly yanked the tabby's tail. "It would feel better if you'd stop doing that." Munkustrap swatted at his brother.
"And here's our lady of the hour!" Tugger yelled as Demeter rounded the corner.
"Hello to you, too- Rum Tum," she froze as he congratulated her by pulling her in for a warm hug. He was never so affectionate! "Congrats babe. I can't believe that I'm finally going to be an uncle!"
"Well look at who's all fired up. You do have a kitten of your own, you know," Munkustrap chuckled as he exchanged a funny glance with his mate. He was thrilled that his brother was so excited, but he wasn't used to seeing him this happy for another cat.
"Yes Munkus, I know that I do," Tugger's mood deteriorated quickly. He sat down, obviously annoyed.
"Come on Tugs, I didn't mean it like that. What's eating you?" Munkustrap asked, sitting down beside the large tom who seemed to be trying to burn a hole in the ground with his eyes. "I don't know, I guess I thought that this would sort of be a second chance for me."
"What would?" Demeter asked, sitting down beside the two toms.
"Well, this might sound stupid and stuff but do you two remember when I found out that it was my kitten Bombalurina had, and not some alley cats?" Tugger asked the cats who nodded at him in response. "I couldn't handle it… I couldn't believe that it was actually my kitten… that she hadn't been fooling around on me… I thought she was trying to rub her affair in my face… and I chased her out to live on her own, away from everyone!" he sighed. "I thought that by bringing her back to the junkyard, I would make everything right again. That it would be easier for me- for both of us! But it's only gotten harder and made things worse. I want to make things right again and I don't want to act like how I did before, when I found out Bomba was pregnant. I guess, I want to start over again and patch up the things that I've done wrong. I'm probably making no sense."
"I think that I understand what you're trying to say," Munkustrap said, looking toward Demeter."Tugger, what do you mean that it has only gotten harder?"
Tugger slumped down further into his seat. "I thought that everything would go back to the way it was before she got pregnant and that Bombalurina would be happy… I thought that she- Oh, never mind. Forget it." He got up to leave.
"You thought that she'd what, Tugger?" Demeter caught his eyes. "Tugger…"
"I thought that…That she'd want to, I don't know, stay with me. For good."
"She is staying with you," Munkustrap chidded. He knew, of course, what his brother really meant by saying that he wanted Bombalurina to stay with him for good, but he had to get him to confess it first before anything could happen. Tugger rolled over, aggravated. Pitying him, Demeter decided to help the conversation along.
"You thought that once she had been living with you for awhile, that she'd fall for your charms and I don't know…" she said, "Want to become your mate?" Tugger looked down at the ground, ashamed.
" I don't understand why I care so much about what happens to her… I mean, I have everything anyone could ever want, and on top of that, I have my son back, which is all that I wanted." He didn't understand why the very thought of Bombalurina kept tormenting him.
"Tugger, did you ever think that perhaps it's not Tristram that you've been fighting to keep?" Demeter said gently.
"What?" He was confused.
"Maybe, all of these months it's not your son that you've been trying so hard to win over," Demeter put a paw over his. "Tugger, all of your life you've had an image that you've tried hard to protect. You don't have to do that anymore; you can move on. We've been watching you enough now to know for a fact, that it's not Tristram you keep trying to fight for."
"Demeter, it's not exactly that easy, you know! She doesn't want anything to do with me! Every time I try to be serious for a second and have a deep conversation, she just laughs it off or changes the subject!" Clearly these two just didn't understand the predicament that he was in!
Demeter put her head on top of her paws. "Well, did you tell her?"
"Tell her what?"
"You cannot be serious right now! I can't believe you," Demeter growled. If he wasn't going to admit to having feelings for her sister, what was the point of even talking to him? Why was he wasting her time?
"I don't- I mean I can't possibly-" Tugger blanched. "I don't love anyone."
Munkustrap smacked his forehead. "Tugger! You knucklehead! Why the hell are you being so stubborn about this? For once in your life can you get over your stupid ego and man up? She's not going to wait around forever, and if you keep acting like this you're bound to loose her!"
Munkustrap sat up and began to lead his mate away from the spot. He had finished trying reason with his brother. If he was going to continue to be a stubborn ass, he was just going to let him. Bombalurina deserved better, anyway. Tugger shook his head in defeat. He knew that they were right. Munkustrap was always right.
"Fine! Have it your way! I love her!" he moaned as he rushed after them. "Happy? I love her. I've always loved her! I'm afraid, Munkustrap. I'm terrified out of my wits! I'm afraid that she'll reject me- afraid that she'll laugh in my face if I tell her; afraid that I won't be able to be a good enough father to Tristram, or mate to her! Is that what you want to hear? Because I've said it now! Happy? " he screamed at the two cats, terrified about what he had just declared. He had admitted it. There. They knew the truth now.
Relieved to be finally getting somewhere with the tom, Demeter trudged over to him. "Tugger, do you mean that? Truly mean that? You would commit to my sister, fully? No more flings, no more flirting, you'd be happy with her and her alone?" Demeter crouched next to him.
"Yes, of course I would!" He looked at her sheepishly. "In all honesty, I never wanted another queen. I was afraid."
Demeter looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. For the first time in her life, she found herself fully believing the tom. Smiling, she ruffled his head fur. "Then by all means, Rum Tum, I'll help you get her."
