During the Ball
the1andonlyofo, I know exactly how that feels too. I'm sorry you had to deal with it as well. Now here's some friskiness to cheer us up! HGP, thank you! Enjoy. :)
A big thank-you to CrazyIndigoChild for beta-reading!
5. Under the Moon
(This chapter takes place during "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" and contains naughty, naughty sex. NOT FOR KITTENS.)
He'd started running automatically, the moment the loud crash reverberated over the junkyard. While several of the other Jellicles merely ran for cover, Mistoffelees' first instinct was to sprint for Jezebel's den, and look in on his kittens, with Tugger close on his heels.
Macavity. Mistoffelees hadn't bothered to think rationally; the moment he heard Demeter's cry, he sprang into action, terror and anger melding into one. If Macavity dared to come anywhere near his kittens… anywhere near his home…
But something was… a little off now. He'd gotten so used to Macavity's scent, and to the dreadfully familiar aura of the Hidden Paw. He thought he'd sensed it a few moments ago, but to his growing relief, Mistoffelees realized there was nothing left to sense. Macavity wasn't there. Not in the junkyard, anyway.
He skidded to a halt, with Tugger nearly crashing into him. He needed a moment of concentration instead of blind panic; he directed his senses towards the recently-vacated clearing, and relief grew even stronger as he felt only the presences of two very mischievous cats.
At his side, Tugger was shuffling impatiently, clearing wishing to continue the dash to the kittens. "Misto-?"
"It's all right," Mistoffelees said. "It's not Macavity."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," he answered after another moment's concentration. "It's just Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. I suppose we should just let them have their bit of fun."
Mistoffelees slumped down on a nearby wooden crate, heart still racing after the recent scare. Around them, some of the other fleeing Jellicle also began to slow down and relax as they too realized they were under no threat.
Tugger, however, was not so easily convinced. "Demeter thought it was him."
"Me too, at first," Mistoffelees shrugged lightly. "I'm not sure… I thought I felt him for a moment, but it's gone now. He's not here. I'd know."
"We should see the kittens anyway…"
"Tug, no. Trust me, they're fine. I'd know if anything was wrong with them. Besides, you're on edge. You'll only upset them. And if they see us, they'll want to come home now. Do you want to cut your evening short?"
"But…"
"It's all right, anyway. Look."
He nudged Tugger in the right direction; a few paces away, Alonzo and Cassandra were engaged in a quick, hushed conversation. After a few seconds, Alonzo quickly nuzzled his mate and walked off in the direction of Jezebel's den.
"See? He'll let us know if anything's wrong with the kittens. But they're fine, I know it. Trust me."
Tugger heaved a dramatic sigh and plopped down on the crate next to Mistoffelees. "I suppose you're right."
"And to think I was the one worried about leaving them alone tonight."
"I'm not worried," Tugger protested. "I'm just…"
"Being a mother hen?"
"Shut it."
With a small smile, Mistoffelees nestled his head against Tugger's shoulder and relaxed, idly twining his fingers into Tugger's mane as he watched two Jellicles slowly stroll by the otherwise-deserted area: Victoria, leading the way with a coy smile, and Plato, who followed her with a love-struck look on his face. They were conversing too quietly for Mistoffelees to hear but even from a distance, it was clear they were smitten for one another.
"Those two will be so happy as mates," Mistoffelees remarked.
"Mm, I just hope Victoria doesn't plan to give up her spot in my fan club after they've formally mated," Tugger said. "It's bad enough Plato doesn't hang around like he used to. I can't believe they're both old enough to be mates."
"Can you imagine next year's Ball? At least one of our kittens will be taking a mate by then, I'm sure."
"Don't say that!" Tugger said, with a start that nearly knocked Mistoffelees off his shoulder. "They're much too young to be thinking of that!"
"What?" Mistoffelees frowned. "They'll all be old enough by then."
"They'll still be much too young to think about mates."
"Tug, they'll be about the same age as I was when you and I became mates. And it wouldn't surprise me if Tourmaline decided to take Verismo as-"
"Everlasting, no! She'd better not."
"Well, why not?"
It was amusing to watch the torment on Tugger's face as he struggled to think of a good reason. "They're just kittens, Misto," he sighed after a while. "They shouldn't be growing up so quickly and thinking about mates."
"And kittens of their own?"
"And kittens of their—they'd better not! I'm not old enough to have grandkits!"
"And if our kittens have grown up," Mistoffelees cheekily said, pointedly glossing over the fact that if anything, he was the one much too young to have grandkits. "Then that means you have to grow up, isn't that right? No more flirting, no more fan club…"
Tugger groaned and buried in face in Mistoffelees' head fur. "And I was just beginning to enjoy my carefree youth. Please tell me I'm not getting old."
"Tug, you are the most ridiculously dramatic tom I know."
Tugger murmured something into his fur that was either an agreement or a protest.
With a smile, Mistoffelees snuggled into Tugger's broad chest and playfully lashed his tail against his mate's legs. "This has been an interesting night so far, hasn't it? First Demeter's aunt shows up unexpectedly, and now this Macavity scare…"
"Well, you know what they say about the Jellicle Ball and interesting things," Tugger said, peeling his face from between Mistoffelees' ears and resting his cheek against the top of his head.
"Mm-hm… I seem to recall last year's Ball well enough…"
Before Tugger had a chance to respond, Mistoffelees gracefully swung one leg over Tugger's thighs and straddled his mate, leaning in for a kiss. He groaned softly as Tugger reached up to gently knead his rear, already so worked up that it was as though they hadn't enjoyed each other less than an hour ago.
Mistoffelees' only regret, as he rolled his hips against Tugger's, was that they had very little time at the moment. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer's impromptu performance wasn't going to last forever and already, he could sense a few impatient Jellicles heading back towards the clearing to put a stop to it and resume the night's festivities. It wouldn't be long before someone came looking for them both.
Not that those facts were about to stop Mistoffelees. Or Tugger, for that matter.
The flimsy wooden crate creaked slightly under their combined weight as Mistoffelees stopped his rocking and sat back on Tugger's thighs, grinning mischievously as he reached down to grasp his mate's hardening flesh, pumping it gently for a few moments.
With a groan, Tugger reached up to tightly grasp his neck scruff, pulling on it; it wasn't a bite, but the pressure was enough to make Mistoffelees shiver slightly in pleasure and increase the pace of his stroking.
Still holding his scruff, Tugger brought him closer, breathing hotly into his ear before whispering, "I want to be inside you." He punctuated the statement by gently slipping a finger beneath Mistoffelees' tail.
The thought made Mistoffelees pause, loosening his grip around Tugger's member. Everlasting, it wasn't that he didn't want to, but… "No, Tug… maybe we'd better not. I-I don't know if… if it might make more kittens."
"It's not as if we haven't already mated since… and it hasn't happened again."
"I know that," Mistoffelees quickly said. "But maybe the Jellicle moon had something to do with me getting pregnant last year. I'm not sure if I'm ready to risk having another litter. I mean, are you?"
"I suppose not," Tugger said evenly, though Mistoffelees didn't miss the small droop of his shoulders. He wondered if the disappointment was due to the lack of proper mating, or the lack of possibility of having more kittens.
Mistoffelees resumed the stroking, almost as an apology, and leaned in to place a kiss on Tugger's jaw. "We can still enjoy ourselves. Would you like me to do something else-?"
"Mm, no," Tugger said, reclining back slightly on the crate to watch the motion. "This is nice. Don't stop."
Mistoffelees was all too pleased to obey, and met Tugger's gaze as he braced one hand by winding it in his mate's thick mane while his other hand continued to move up and down the rigid flesh. It amused him that Tugger wasn't usually in the habit of closing his eyes while they mated; he usually liked to keep an eye on whatever they were doing, though he'd sometimes lose himself and stare off with a glazed look in his eyes. It was both endearing and occasionally disconcerting, especially since Mistoffelees was a tad shy about being, well, watched.
Tugger blinked lazily once and looked off into the distance beyond Mistoffelees' shoulder, biting his lip to keep from making any more noise than his quiet panting. After a few moments, Tugger suddenly gave a snort of laughter between breaths.
"Are you laughing at me?" Mistoffelees huffed.
"No, no—Admetus just walked by," Tugger gasped, bucking his hips into his mate's grasp. "Took one look at us and just ran off. You should have seen the look on his face."
"I think he always has that look," Mistoffelees said with a smile. It was, however, a reminder that they were hardly in a private area, and pressed for time. In an effort to hasten things, he increased the speed of his stroking and leaned in to roughly lick at Tugger's jaw line.
It had the desired effect; Tugger growled loudly and bucked a few times in his grip, coming all over Mistoffelees' hand and arm.
"Oh, Misto," Tugger groaned, once he had been released. He slumped back a bit on the crate with a lazy, satisfied smile on his face. "You have no idea what you do to me."
Mistoffelees smiled and sat back on Tugger's thighs, licked his arm fur clean. "Oh, I think I do."
For all his talk of getting old, Tugger certainly had the energy of an adolescent cat. He was instantly recovered, sitting up to kiss Mistoffelees and grasp his rear, spinning their bodies around so the small tom was now seated on the crate. A moment later Tugger broke the kiss and sank down to his knees, purring loudly as he buried his face in Mistoffelees' chest fur.
Mistoffelees hissed softly in pleasure as Tugger worked through the fur, slowly and deliberately running his barbed tongue over a nipple, moving around so he could reach and lick another one. He groaned softly in protest as Tugger's mouth soon left him, the sound quickly replaced by an enthusiastic gasp as Tugger found his rigid organ and began to lick and then suck at it.
Mistoffelees leaned back on the crate, bracing his thighs on Tugger's shoulders and sliding his claws into the wood to keep from falling off. When he glanced down, he met Tugger's sly eyes, looking up at him as he twisted about on the crate under the caress of Tugger's tongue and teeth.
Quite purposefully, Mistoffelees tilted his head back to look up at the sky while he groaned loudly, tail twitching against the wood and thighs tensing against Tugger's shoulders. He blinked a little dazedly at the brightness of the Jellicle moon, closing his eyes against its light. It reminded him of last year's Ball, of how he'd laid at the mating dance and stared at the moon as it filled him with its odd, all-consuming energy. If only he'd known what fate had in store for him then.
He gasped suddenly as Tugger reached up to feel through his fur, rubbing at his chest, finding a sensitive nipple and pinching it lightly. That was all it took, and orgasm struck suddenly like a lightning bolt, shaking him from head to tail as he spent himself in Tugger's mouth.
He was easily caught in Tugger's arms as he slumped forward to catch his breath, contently nuzzling the warm fur of Tugger's shoulder.
"That was nice," Mistoffelees said after several minutes, voice heavy and lethargic. "But we should go back."
Tugger's arm went tighter around him. "No, stay."
"Someone will come looking for us if we don't go."
"They'll know why we're not there."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
It was so difficult to pull himself from Tugger's arms, especially with the way he began to nuzzle at Mistoffelees' neck. He gave his mate a quick kiss and said, "Come on, Tug. Don't be difficult; I don't want to miss another song."
"You can go ahead," Tugger huffed. "I'll join you in a moment. I don't have your energy."
"No, you have the energy of three cats," Mistoffelees grinned, gracefully leaping to his feet. He gave Tugger one last kiss and, headed back towards the clearing.
When he turned back to glance at his mate, Mistoffelees smirked knowingly as he noticed Tugger had already gotten to his feet, but instead of following, was surreptitiously heading for Jezebel's den.
Honestly, Mistoffelees thought. Such a mother hen.
Aaah, that's better. They earned that. ;) I love this song—it gives Tug and Misto plenty of off-screen time together. I figured there was also a reason why Tugger showed up a bit late to the Old D song.