Chapter 4

Mistoffelees wandered off, not returning to his den or going after Tugger to tell him the news.

He wasn't sure how Tugger would react to it. He remembered his talks about kittens and forming a family, and he knew that Tugger didn't fully rejected the thought of it, at least one day in the future, but… This was something else.

They hadn't planned it, at all; they didn't have an actual conversation in which both of them made that decision together.

No, Mistoffelees had gotten pregnant because his magic wanted him to.

He wasn't even sure how that worked, but he had to agree with himself that it was possible; Mistoffelees had a lot to learn about his own magic. Despite training his use of it since kittenhood, he would still lose control of it from time to time and he knew well how his magic could be influenced by his feelings or thoughts, especially if they were powerful or loud enough to take over his mind.

But kittens…?

Mistoffelees looked down at his flat belly once more. There wasn't anything to see. Yet.

He had already stressed and panicked over it inside Jenny's den; but by now he felt almost tired, a bit confused maybe, but surprisingly calmer. That is, until the thought of telling Tugger reached him once again.

Mistoffelees climbed and sat on top of the old, rusty oven. He was almost positive that that was the place where it had happened, when Tugger offered to "try" and make kittens with him - Mistoffelees couldn't help but blush at the memory. Well, now look where they were; guess they didn't just try it, they succeeded.

And Mistoffelees knew that after accepting that they had kittens on the way, Tugger would be proud; well, at least if the tuxedo was a queen. But since he was a tom, he wasn't sure of what Tugger would do or how he would feel about it.

He knew he shouldn't think about his mate like that. Being someone who knew Tugger better than most other cats, he knew that the Maine Coon would be a bit confused and very surprised, but probably understanding – as he had always been when related to Mistoffelees' magic. Maybe he would be happy with the news.

The thought of Tugger's beautiful smile growing after hearing the news of kittens made Mistoffelees' heart skip a beat.

The magician kept that image in his head, while reminding himself, with surprising fondness, of his dreams and fantasies about having kittens.

He remembered the idea of tiny little Maine Coons and Tuxedo cats following him and Tugger around the junkyard; he wondered how many of them would take after his or Tugger's dancing skills; how many of them would be magical, like him; would they have his mismatching eyes, or Tugger's beautiful amber ones?

"Misto!"

The tux froze, startled out of his thoughts by the voice of his mate.

"Hey! Are you feeling better?" Tugger climbed on top of the oven with one quick, strong jump, taking a sit beside Mistoffelees. He studied the small tom with caring eyes, tilting his head to the side and making the curl on top of his forehead bounce. "Please tell me you went to see Jenny. You said you would."

"Yeah, I did." Mistoffelees said and cringed at his toneless voice.

Tugger noticed it as well, his brow furrowing and expression turning serious.

"What's wrong…?" He asked, softly, but with an edge to his voice that showed he would not relent until he got a good answer. "Did… Did Jenny say something?"

Mistoffelees hesitated, wondering how he was going to explain. He raised a paw and scratched his right ear and Tugger picked up on the nervous gesture.

"Misto?" The Maine Coon called once more, resting a paw on Mistoffelees' shoulder. The touch, despite tense, made the tux relax ever so slightly.

"Yeah, we have an idea of what is making me sick…" Mistoffelees forced himself to speak.

"Okay… And? Is it something serious?" Tugger asked.

Mistoffelees pondered on how to answer that question. It was serious in a way or another; he was pregnant and kittens were hard work, they needed to be cared for, fed and so many other things. It was a good thing they would have the help of the other cats from the tribe, but they were the parents, and most of the work would fall on their shoulders, as it should.

"Yeah, it is..." He finally said.

"What?!" Tugger's voice cracked slightly and Mistoffelees cringed, startled. Suddenly, the tux found himself wrapped in two long arms, face pressed against a warm and fluffy mane. "Please, Misto, tell me you're not… Dying or something! I wouldn't-"

"No, no, I'm not dying!" Mistoffelees quickly interrupted, pushing against Tugger's hold in order to straighten himself, looking his mate in the eyes. There was no reason to beat around the bush, Mistoffelees didn't want Tugger to get even more stressed than he already was – no matter how exaggeratedly dramatic he acted. "Tugger, I'm pregnant."

There was a beat.

Mistoffelees waited, growing more and more nervous as Tugger continued staring, amber eyes wide and expression unreadable - but definitely confused.

"No, babe, no jokes…" Tugger finally spoke, letting out a small, nervous chuckle. His hold on the tux's shoulder tightened a tad more. "Seriously, what's up with you?"

Mistoffelees sighed.

"It isn't a joke, Tugger." He said as matter-of-factly as he could. "I am pregnant."

Tugger opened his mouth to speak, but closed it after gaping in silence for a few seconds. His eyes drifted from Mistoffelees to nothing in particular, then returned to his mate, staring into his eyes with confusion for just a moment, before traveling down, more precisely to his mate's flat stomach. Mistoffelees felt uncomfortable and self-conscious under the stare, moving in order to put his arms in front of his stomach, paws tucked in between his legs.

"You're… Serious…?" Tugger asked, barely audible.

Mistoffelees' whiskers shook and his tail swished.

"Yes." He said, ears pulled back.

Tugger was silent once more, before he got up with a quick and sudden movement. Mistoffelees snapped his head up and followed his mate with his eyes, afraid to see the Maine Coon running away from him. But all Tugger did was start pacing, tail flicking violently as he moved.

"The talks we had…" He shook his head, turning a shocked expression to his mate. "Did you plan this…?"

"No, I didn't. It just happened." The black and white cat said, trying to keep his cool while his mate continued moving back and forth on top of the oven.

"It just happened?!" Tugger repeated, sputtering as he processed the whole information. "Ah- How?! You're a tom!"

"I know!" Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, growing annoyed at his mate's raising voice. "It was my magic. It did the work!"

"What do you mean your magic did the work?" Tugger shook his head, paws resting on his hips as he leaned forward. "How?"

"I don't know." Mistoffelees shrugged, rolling his eyes at Tugger's loud exasperated gasp. "You know magic is hard to explain!" He sighed. "I have been thinking so much about kittens, that I think it just took the wrong idea…"

"So it just decided that you would have a kitten? Like, inside you?!" Tugger was getting louder by then and Mistoffelees couldn't help but feel nervous, looking around to make sure no other cat was around to listen to their arguing.

"I would say it was you who gave my magic the idea that you were going to put a kitten in me." Mistoffelees threw back, in no particular tone, but maybe a bit harsher than he meant it.

Tugger was taken back, eyes wide.

"Wha- So it is my fault?!" He said raising his arms exasperatedly.

"It's not anyone's fault, Tugger!" Mistoffelees hissed, annoyed by his mate's dramatics. "You know I cannot control it sometimes!"

"You can't control it when you're-" The offense on Tugger's expression disappeared almost immediately and he looked down at the tuxedo cat with his brow furrowed, almost confused. "Misto… Have you been wanting to have kittens with me?"

Mistoffelees felt himself blush under his white fur and raised a paw to scratch at his ear.

"I wouldn't say so." He said in all honesty. "But I've been thinking about it lately. With Victoria having kittens and our talks about it…" And stopped, looking around the top of the rusty oven, the tip of his tail twitching. He looked up at his mate. "Do you remember? Right here?"

Tugger clearly needed a moment to process it.

"Oh… Yeah…" He nodded, looking around with his paws on his hips. He side-eyed Mistoffeless, as if shy. "Do you think it was here that…?"

"Yeah." The magician nodded as well.

Tugger was silent after the affirmation, he averted his eyes, still keeping the pose and looming over his small mate.

For Mistoffelees, Tugger had always been an open book, someone that was surprisingly easy to read, no matter how hard he tried to conceal his thoughts and feelings to himself only. But right now, Mistoffelees was having a hard time understanding the Maine Coon. Maybe his mind just wasn't working as it should, with too many things overwhelming his senses. He could pinpoint that Tugger was nervous, maybe anxious, by the soft picking of claws on his furry mane and the quick movements of his long tail.

But aside from it, the Maine Coon wasn't giving him any more information.

And his silence was starting to scare Mistoffelees.

"Tugger…?" He called.

Tugger turned to him, startled, as if he had forgotten he wasn't alone.

"I'm sorry, I just…" He stopped picking on his mane and ran a hand over his head fur. "I just need a moment to think…"

"I do too…" The magical cat nodded, feeling his stomach doing a flip or two, making him scared of puking right then and there. He reached for Tugger, pawing at his leg in a similar way to what his fan-club used to do. "But, please, come back."

Tugger blinked at Mistoffelees, surprised by both the request and the shy touch. He squatted in front of the tux, tenderly licking his forehead and letting his paw linger on a black shoulder for a moment, before getting up again.

"I'll meet you back in our den." He said with a nod towards his mate, which made the curl on forehead bob up and down. Then turned around and jumped down the oven, walking away with slow steps.

Mistoffelees watched Tugger until the Maine Coon disappeared behind a stack of junk and let out the breath he had been holding.

It was best like that. Sometimes Tugger needed a moment alone with his thoughts, Mistoffelees knew that very well, and he always allowed his mate to have his space – just like Tugger did for him.

But the magical cat could feel himself growing more nervous and stressed. Mistoffelees trusted Tugger and he knew he would return; he always did. But the tux still felt scared.

Mistoffelees jumped down from the oven, walking back to their den. On the way, he saw Victoria, Plato and their kittens; his sister was smiling while having a silent conversation with the little white kitten, waving her arms and paws in what Mistoffelees learned was her way of communicating.

Victoria noticed her brother and waved, her smile shrinking slightly at what she saw. Mistoffelees recomposed himself as best as he cold, waving back at her before hurrying to the old bureau where his den resided. He entered by the hole on the lower drawer and sighed to himself.

Mistoffelees crawled to the center of the den, stretching before sitting on the green and yellow blankets that served as his and Tugger's bed. The place felt a bit too empty without Tugger; the larger cat's scent lingered in the air, making the tux feel as if he himself didn't belong there – at least alone.

Mistoffelees looked down at his belly.

The den surely wouldn't be empty for too long…

"Misto?" Mistoffelees snapped his head up, watching as his sister hesitated by the entrance of his den, little Miangellica was practically camouflaged against her mother's white fur, large and shiny blue eyes focused on her uncle. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" He nodded simply.

"Plato told me you were acting… Strange, earlier today…" Victoria said, taking careful steps inside, not wanting to intrude.

Mistoffelees sighed, he should've expected that Plato would tell his sister about that. He wondered what the tabby had mentioned, feeling self-conscious with the memory of both Plato and Cassandra smelling him with confusion and curiosity.

"He doesn't need to worry about me." Mistoffelees said as a matter of fact, smiling at his sister.

Victoria stared at him, letting go of Miangellica once the kitten started squirming in her arms.

"I don't believe you."

Mistoffelees nodded. His sister knew him better than anyone else in the junkyard, maybe even better than Tugger did, so lying to her would be worthless. He raised a paw and scratched at his ear.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Victoria asked tentatively, sitting at the edge of the blanket, giving her brother enough space for himself.

"No. Not now, at least…" Mistoffelees shrugged. He knew that Victoria would be understanding of him and his situation, and being someone who had gone through the whole work of growing three kittens inside herself, she would have a lot to tell to him. But he didn't feel like having that talk yet.

He wanted to wait for Tugger to return.

"Okay…" Victoria nodded, watching as her kitten crawled over to her brother. Mistoffelees followed her gaze. "Would you like company?"

Miangellica reached her uncle and smiled at him, patting his leg and raising her paws, asking without words to be lifted in his arms. And as Mistoffelees watched her, he thought of his own little fantasies, of the kittens that right now were growing and developing inside him.

"Sure…" He smiled at his niece, lifting her on his arms.

Might as well train already, he decided.

With… Or without Tugger.