The Cat's in the Cradle
Snow falls like white ash, blanketing the ground and everything in its path. It's as though magic is raining down from the heavens. The clouds' small star-shaped parts are fascinating. Looking out the window at the white blanket that covers the area is one of my favorite things to do. Everything vanishes beneath mounds and mounds of white ice water as the sun gleams, highlighting glittering gems in the cold landscape. Or would that be the case if the sky wasn't shrouded in clouds with the snow falling from above accompanied by the wisping wind.
Such was the case for Claude Cat and Pete Puma as they made their way through the bitter cold. The wind whirled about them in all directions, nipping at their bodies and leaving a chilly sting that seemed to numb their noses, ears, and hands.
"Why did it have to be today", Claude complained through his scarf, "this weather's horrible. It's like being near Hubie and Bertie all over again."
"Really, I'd think this was better than being around those little demons", Pete said as he tried to warm his paws by rubbing his gloves together, "at least you're not being tortured to death."
"I suppose you're right there", Claude admitted before giving a shiver, "I just hope this party's worth coming all the way from the comfort of our own home."
"I'm sure it will be, you know Pepe never fails to deliver on presentation", Pete replied, "not to mention, we've not seen Sylvester in ages, it'll be nice to catch up on the news."
"Oh, yeah, we really need to do another get-together with him sometime", Claude realized, "you know, if we can tear him away from his hubby."
"Hehe, that skunk never lets go of someone easy, does he?" Pete chuckled, "I wouldn't mind a bit of attention like that."
"Oh, I'm not gonna become that clingy", Claude huffed.
"Awwwww, is it because I'm not good enough?" Pete asked in a melodramatic manner.
"Wait, I didn't say-" Claude tried to say before the puma cut him off.
"Is it because I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, is it because there's too much of me to handle, is it because-BEH!" Pete continued to dramatize before his lips were clutched shut by an unamused Claude.
"No need to milk it", the yellow feline said plainly, taking his paw off the taller male's mouth.
"Well, you can't say I'm not a good actor", Pete grinned cheekily while Claude rolled his eyes. It was a few more minutes before they reached the residence of Sylvester and Pepe Le Pew. It was a quaint little place, nothing particularly fancy about it, though the color scheme seemed to match its inhabitants. On the top floor was a single balcony while the front yard which would have been a spot to see the beautiful flowers and greenery was now all covered in a thick blanket of snow, though it didn't make it look any less appealing. The two felines stepped up to the front door and Claude knocked on the handle several times, hearing voices from inside. The door opened to reveal Sylvester on the other side, his face perking up.
"Claude, Pete, there you are, come in, come in", The tuxedo cat said brightly as he ushered his two friends into the house, watching them shake off the excess snow on their bodies before hanging their coats, scarfs, hats, and gloves on the racks, putting their boots on the mat next to the door.
"Brrrrrrrrr, hooooo, it is so nice to be in some place warm after all that cold", Claude said as he hugged himself.
"You never were much of a fan of winter, were you?" Sylvester asked teasingly.
"Nah, give him a beach any day", Pete added with a noogie to the yellow cat's head.
"Aaaaaaah, you're ruffling my hair", Claude complained as he tried to pry Pete's paws off him. He then surveyed the other guests in the room, Wil E. Coyote was sitting on the couch drinking a cup of tea while Bugs and Daffy were listening to something that Cool Cat was saying near the Grandfather clock, and by that, they looked positively uninterested about what the lanky tiger was saying. Pepe's cousin Pitu was on the staircase talking to Ralph and Sam, presumably bragging about something with the way he kept flexing his muscles. Lola was talking to Tina, Penelope, and Petunia in the hallway, and by the looks of things, she was off on another one of her tangents as the tan duck retained her usual bored expression while the female tuxedo cat tried to look semi-interested with the pig-tailed pig looking the most interested in what was being sat. Porky and Marvin were in the kitchen as the martian seemed to be rambling to the pig about another one of his desires for success in the name of Mars. Claude then noticed Sylvester's son Junior walking through the hallway, hiding something behind his back.
"Ahem", the older tuxedo cat cleared his throat, causing the smaller feline to jolt, "what's that behind your back?"
"Oh, nothing, father dear", Junior replied with an innocent smile, clearly fibbing as Sylvester eyed him suspiciously.
"Okay then…" His father said as he began to walk forward before spinning around as his son did the same thing, Pete and Claude noticing a large chocolate chip cookie in his paws. Suddenly, Junior felt something take the cookie out of his paws from behind.
"I thought I saw someone stealing from ze jar earlier", A distinct French voice said as Junior looked up to see Pepe holding the cookie in his hand, "eating sweets before dinner, naughty, naughty."
"Awwwww, I was gonna save that for later", Junior huffed, crossing his arms with a pout.
"Oh, sure you were", Sylvester said from behind, "no cookies before dinner, you'll spoil your appetite."
"Zat is right, besides, you don't want to miss ze meal that I've prepared for tonight", Pepe announced proudly, "it is positively divine."
"Heh, I would know, I have the pleasure of being served such", Sylvester smiled with a wink to the two fellow felines.
"Would you come and help me in the kitchen, mon cher, I'd like a bit of assistance…" Pepe cooed with a kissing face at the feline.
"Oh, why didn't you say so, I'll be sure to give a taste test", Sylvester purred as he bumped up his brows, following his husband into the kitchen with their paws linked. Junior continued to pout as he leaned against the staircase, before a cookie was hung in front of his face.
"I don't like rules very much", Pitu said down at the small cat before whispering with a wink, "I snagged a couple when zey weren't looking."
"Oh, Uncle, you're the best", Junior thanked with a bright smile before snuffing the cookie into his nonexistent pocket.
Claude and Pete had taken to the living room where they were conversing with Wile, the coyote explaining in great detail about a science project that the two had some interest in…initially before Claude began to nod off on Pete's arm.
"One of the most common instances of volcanic lightning is that during an eruption, ash picks up so much friction that the build-up of static electricity causes lightning", Wile rambled with a paw for emphasis, "and furthermore...are you even listening?"
"Huh, what", Claude asked, blinking twice to come back to his senses before seeing that Pete was also leaning on his face, "oh, yeah, something about lightning, yeah…"
"You're very comfortable, you know", The puma said with a big grin as he continued to press against the smaller male's face, Claude gaining a shade of red as he did so.
"You really like making our affection public, don't you?" Claude replied with a sheepish rub to the back of his head.
"Hey, lets me see that cute blush, doesn't it?" Pete teased with a grin.
An hour or so later, it was time for dinner, and all the guests had sat down to eat. Pepe wasn't lying in terms of the cuisine that was being served. The table consisted of Boeuf bourguignon, Bouillabaisse, steak frites, French onion soup, and salomn en papillote.
"I have to hand it to you, Pepe, you, duah-duah, really know how to cook", Porky complimented.
"Wise choice not to have anything made from bacon or bird, cuz otherwise, I might have done something", Daffy added, not taking any notice of his microaggression.
"Well, you are all friends, so naturally, I took everyone's choices into consideration", Pepe said with a smile.
"And what a delicious set at that, dear", Sylvester said to the skunk's right as he and his son on the left were eating the salmon.
"Oh, I cannot take all ze credit, you were a great help in de kitchen", Pepe replied with a kiss on the feline's paw.
"I can tell he made zis, it was made with love", Pitu emphasized with a press to his chest while giving Sylvester a seductive expression.
"You know he's never getting into bed with you like that", Tina deadpanned as she took a sip of her soup, a few snickers being heard around the table.
"Hehe, please, there's a child present, table manners", Penelope reminded through her giggling.
"Awwwww, he doesn't mind a little fooling around, I don't, especially for that burn", Lola chuckled heartily.
"Besides, I'm sure my dear cousin knows to keep his paws off my beau without my permission, doesn't he?" Pepe said to the larger skunk with a semi-serious tone.
"Oh, for sure, I'd never dream of coming between you and Sylvester", Pitu said dramatically.
"I'll believe that when I see it", Bugs murmured under his breath with an eye-roll.
"After this, I believe you had something you wanted to show me?" Sylvester quizzed to Pepe.
"Ah, yes, it is something very special to celebrate our anniversary", Pepe cooed with a kiss to Sylvester's paw, the feline blushing with a smile.
After dinner had finished, Pepe gathered the group in the living room where they were all sitting before a large projection screen. On the couch, Claude and Pete sat farthest to the right next to Ralph and Sam, Bugs and Daffy sat farthest to the left next to Cool Cat, and Wile, Lola, Tina, and Penelope sat in the middle with Sylvester and Junior sat down on the ground with the latter in the former's lap, and finally, Pitu, being one of the taller people, had chosen to sit rather than standing on the right side next to Sam. Pepe meanwhile stood in front of the audience and the screen.
"As you all might have gathered, this marks the anniversary from when me and my lovely husband were wedded, and so, to show my appreciation for all zat our love holds, I made zis special presentation in ma' spare time, and I hope you will all enjoy", Pepe announced before he turned the projection on and the title rolled on like it did for the traditional theatrical shorts.
The scene opened up with a lovely canvas of a cat sitting down all on his lonesome under a tree, looking forlorn. At that moment, a skunk came into the shot from his right and a question mark appeared over his head as he looked at the cat, wondering why he was so sad. A lightbulb then appeared over his head as an idea had struck him. Reaching behind himself, he pulled out a big heart and on the inside had a whole collection of little birds and mice. The cat perked up at this almost instantly, leaping up for joy before glomping the skunk before him. The two began to cuddle in each other's embrace while the sun shone an evening sky behind them. After the credits had rolled, everyone clapped at the presentation, Sylvester in particular having a tear of joy in his eye.
"Marvelous, simply beautiful!" Ralph called out.
"A masterpiece!" Sam added.
"Not bad for such primitive technology", Marvin complimented in the most polite manner he could muster.
"Yo, man, that's some real snazzy art skills you got", Cool Cat praised.
"Awwww, that was adorable", Petunia cooed chirply.
"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, hun", Sylvester smiled as he stood up to give Pepe a kiss, to which the French skunk gladly accepted.
"I am happy zat you enjoyed it, I thought about you ze whole time", Pepe purred before returning another kiss to Sylvester,
Claude had found himself drawing a tear from his eye at both displays of affection, so he wasn't expecting a kiss on his cheek from Pete while he was off-guard. He looked towards the puma giving him an innocent expression before the yellow cat gave him a look and pulled on his cheeks into a more confident smooch on his lips, Pete making a goofy lovestruck expression after this while Claude crossed his arms with a satisfied expression. Eventually, everything died down and the guests began to leave for home, Claude and Pete being one of the last ones to leave.
"So what do you say to another get-together sometime soon?" Pete asked Sylvester as he got his scarf and hat on.
"I wouldn't mind it, especially if we can squeeze in a double date between me and the hubby", The tuxedo cat smiled.
"Well, if he can match our grind, he's more than welcome to join", Claude said as he got his coat on, "see you on the flip side."
"You too, thanks again for coming", Sylvester called out as he watched the two leave and then shut the door.
"Wish someone would make something like that for me", Pete said absentmindedly.
"I gave you that kiss, that counts as a surprise in my books", Claude replied simply.
"Mmmmmaybe, though I wouldn't mind another surprise when we get back home", Pete grinned cheekily, "I call shotgun!" The puma rushed forward into the snow with a spring in his step.
"You doofus, you're gonna slip and fall and I'm gonna have to carry you all the way!" Claude called out as he chased after the taller male, not expecting the sudden adrenaline rush, but taking full advantage of it as he chased Pete all the way home, if not most of the way.