"Why don't you ever listen to me?"
Misto ignored his brother.
"Look, I can't make you not like him, so go big or go home. If you want him, then get him. If not, then don't even bother." Quaxo sighed. "I'm going for a walk." Quaxo stormed out of his den and climbed atop the junk piles. He hopped from junk to junk gracefully. He spotted Tugger sitting in the back in a crate. He hopped down and joined him.
"What do you want Quaxo?" Tugger asked, not in the mood.
"Heavyside forbid I can talk to you," Quaxo mumbled.
"What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Nothing in particular." Quaxo was slightly embarrassed to ask Tugger for flirting tips, so he was going to ask in a superior way.
"Do you like me?" Tugger asked.
"What?" Quaxo replied, surprised at the random question.
"Do you like me, like, in general, as a cat? You don't actually hate me do you?"
Quaxo was stunned to see this vulnerable side to Tugger. "Of course I don't hate you, Tugger. No one hates anyone in the tribe, and no one hates you," he said gently. "You can get annoying, but everyone gets annoying. I just like to tease you is all."
"Why?"
"Well, I dunno, cause I like to see you lose your cool I guess. You're always so selfish and I just want to let you know that not everyone is impressed by you."
"Well I'd like to piss a lot of people off but I don't do it. Sure, I act out and that annoys Jenny and Jelly, but I'm not hurting them. I want to do nothing more than cuss them out, but I don't. People think I'm the mean one, but then there you are and you're nothing but a bully."
Quaxo frowned, not liking this conversation. "Well, sorry, Tugger. I didn't think you felt that way. You never act like you care what others think of you, just as long as they're actually thinking of you."
"That's why you don't judge people."
Quaxo frowned. He was about to say something but then he saw his brother walk by, Misto not noticing them. He frowned more, not liking that his brother was out and about without him. He stood up and hopped down quietly. He turned to Tugger. "Are you coming?"
Tugger raised a brow but decided to go, not sure why, though. The two followed the small tux to the back of the Junkyard. Misto hopped over the fence and Quaxo nearly went into coniptions.
"Where the hell is he going?" he whispered, snarling.
Quaxo and Tugger hopped up onto the fence and stayed there. Misto was standing in the empty alley behind the Junkyard, no one running about. He didn't know Tugger and his brother were watching. He thought he was entirely alone. He bent to the left and then to the right with his limber body. He spun quickly, and slowly began to dance around the alley, the moonlight basking his raven fur. As he did this, he left trails of sparkles behind him. He unleashed his magic the more he danced, sending blasts of magic like fireworks, incorporating it with his dancing.
Tugger stared on, amazed. He always thought his brother was the only magician, but he was wrong. He looked at the graceful tom below him, stunned at the majestic sight he portrayed. He looked at the whimsical tom dance so freely, so raw and refreshing to see, to see that someone else just wanted to get away from it gazed at the magic that the tux emitted, dazzled at the elegance and beauty of it all. He couldn't keep his eyes from the tom's face, the vulnerable, fragile, and desperate face that looked so despaired, like he was just wanting something but wasn't accomplishing it.
"Amazing isn't he?" Quaxo asked, seeing the awed face on Tugger.
"He's beautiful," Tugger whispered.
Quaxo smiled lightly at Tugger, his view of him changing. "He is, very beautiful." Quaxo climbed off the fence slowly, disappearing from Tugger's sight. Though he leaned back up and whispered into Tugger's ear, "And he likes toms, too."
Misto fell to his knees, frustrated that he felt so empty. He sighed and looked around him, seeing his magic fade. He held his knees, resting his head upon them, just wishing. They say not to wish because it doesn't get you anywhere, but Misto didn't believe that. He wished he wouldn't feel so empty, that he knew where his parents were, that he could just have something to look forward to in life. He wished that Tugger would notice him, that Tugger wasn't as bad as he seemed, that Tugger would just talk to him once.
"Misto?"
He spun around quickly, startled. "T-Tugger," he said, surprised, and ecstatic. Wishing is real. "H-how long have you been there?"
"A long time," Tugger said. He couldn't get Quaxo's words out of his head. He likes toms, too. I don't like toms, Tugger thought, but why do I just want to feel him? Tugger couldn't help but think of how beautiful this tom was. Quaxo looked like him, and yet he didn't find Quaxo beautiful. As Tugger looked at Misto, his belief that he didn't like toms became less and less true. "That was amazing," he told Misto.
Misto looked down. "I-it's nothing, really."
"How come you don't do magic in front of anyone?" he asked, sitting next to the younger tom.
"Well...I figured they'd be scared."
"Scared? What? Because my brother had magical powers?"
"Yeah...everyone was scared of him for it and I just figured that they'd be scared of me, too."
"Scared of you? Misto, you are the kindest cat living in this entire Junkyard, really. Even kinder than Jemima. You are small and frail and sensitive and there is no possible way anyone could be scared of you. And your magic? From what I saw, you just emmit light. Sparkles really."
"Well, that's mostly what it is. I can create things, but they don't last long. I can disappear sometimes, but that takes a lot of my magic. It really is mostly creating light and sparkles," he said as he created a glittery butterfly.
It flew around Tugger's head and he swatted at it, glitter falling all over him. He laughed, causing Misto to smile and to relax. Tugger smiled down at Misto, forgetting about everyone else, enraptured by the tom's mystical aura, as though his aura were colliding with Misto's. "It was beautiful to watch you Misto."
Misto blushed tremendously and looked away. "I wouldn't say beautiful."
"You're so modest, and bashful and coy. Whimsical, too, very whimsical. Phantasmagoric."
"What?" Misto asked.
"It means having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination. That's what you are Misto, so dream-like."
Misto smiled shyly at Tugger, his heart fluttering at Tugger's words. "How do you know French?"
"I'm a lot smarter than you think," Tugger said. "I knows Spanish, too. I'm probably one of the smartest cats in this entire tribe." He sighed. "But nobody knows it."
"Why doesn't anyone know it?" Misto asked.
"Because I wanted people to like me, and I thought that if I was smart then no one would like me, but I was wrong."
"Well why can't you tell people now?"
"Why can't you tell people about your magic?"
"Oh, so...you're scared?"
Tugger nodded. "I just want people to accept me, and when I act this way, like a stupid, selfish slut, then I feel like if I change I won't be accepted. I don't feel entirely accepted, but I feel tolerated, and to me that's as close to acceptance as I'm gonna get."
Misto looked at Tugger, relishing in the moment they were having, the intimate and revealing words they spoke to each other. Misto smiled. "I always knew there was more to you, Tugger," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"People told me you were stupid and a slut and selfish and would never look at me, but then I'd look at you and I'd see something different. I'd see the hurt expressions you got or the curious glances you'd give when you tilt your head. I'd notice how you'd roll your eyes when someone said something stupid and how you'd use a word that doesn't seem like something you'd say. Or I'd see you walk alone and you'd seem so serene and at peace with yourself. I just knew there was something you were hiding. I didn't think it was your real self, but I'm glad I got to see it."
"You like my real self?"
"Yeah."
Tugger smiled faintly. "And I like your magic."
Misto smiled, too, looking away from his golden eyes.
"You wanna play a game?"
"What?" Misto asked, turning back.
"Truth or Dare."
"Okay. You go first."
"Fine. Truth or Dare?"
"Uh...dare."
"Okay, let's see, I dare you...to...scare the Junkyard."
"What? How would I do that?"
"With your magic. Just give a big blast of sparkles and freak everyone out."
Misto was hesitant, but then he saw the grin on Tugger's face and wanted to keep it there. "Fine." He stood up and hopped onto the fence. Tugger hopped up next to him and Misto rubbed his paws together. He counted to three, and then he unleashed a massive gust of light into the Junkyard, glitter falling everywhere. They stayed to see everyone run and freak out. Then someone pointed towards the fence and Misto and Tugger hightailed it out of there.
"Come on!" Tugger laughed, pulling Misto behind him. They rounded a corner and climbed through some boxes. "Shit!" Tugger said when he fell into a glass jar, pulling Misto down with him. He laughed, covering his face. "It's kind of cozy in here," he said.
The jar wasn't that small. It was pretty big, big enough to let Tugger stretch a little. Misto sat next to Tugger, unable to keep his body from pressing against his and in order to be comfortable he had to place his legs over Tugger's, but neither minded.
"Well, there isn't much to do in a jar, and I don't wanna get out, so I'll go with truth."
"Okay...uh...is it true that...you've slept with, like, everyone in the tribe?"
"No," Tugger said casually. "I just flirt around a lot to get attention, something I regret. Anyway, truth or dare?"
"Uh, dare."
"Sheesh, what am I suppose to dare you to do in a jar?"
"We could always leave the jar."
"But I like it in here." Tugger tilted his head as he thought. "Oh, I know. I dare you to sing for me."
"Sing?"
"Yeah, sing."
"Sing what?" Misto asked.
"I don't know. Elvis maybe?"
Misto smiled shyly. "Uh..." He looked to Tugger and then sighed, looking at his lap.
"Love me tender, Love me sweet, Never let me go. You have made my life complete, And I love you so.
Love me tender, Love me true, All my dreams fulfilled. For my darlin' I love you, And I always will.
Love me tender, Love me long, Take me to your heart. For it's there that I belong, And we'll never part.
Love me tender, Love me true, All my dreams fulfilled. For my darlin' I love you, And I always will.
Love me tender, Love me dear, Tell me you are mine. I'll be yours through all the years, Till the end of time.
Love me tender, Love me true, All my dreams fulfilled. For my darlin' I love you, And I always will."
Tugger smiled as the tom sang. His voice was much higher than Elvis's, but he thought it sounded much better than the King's.
"There? I sang for you," Misto said.
"Yes you did, quite wonderfully, too. Now, ask me."
"Okay, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Alright, uh...do you...like anyone?"
Tugger smiled and looked at the small tux. "Yes, I do."
"Who?" Misto asked, looking down.
Tugger smiled and got close to Misto's face. "You."
Misto looked at Tugger, trying to find any hint that he was lying, but couldn't.
"Truth or dare?" Tugger asked.
"Uh, dare," Misto said quickly, still looking at Tugger.
Tugger got closer and whispered into Misto's ear, his breath hot against his neck. "I dare you to kiss me."
Misto turned and looked at the bigger tom. Then he leaned in, and they kissed.
Aw, talk about a cliffhanger =)
You know, I was thinking, and I suddenly had the great idea that Cats should become a TV show. With that big cast, it could last for years, and I'd watch every episode. It'd be like fanfiction come to TV. Genius!