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Rumpleteazer wasn't sure when she first started feeling that way towards the white queen, they were somewhat childhood friends but not best friends, surely not best friends, but still somewhat close especially when they were younger. Then the calico twins got adopted which meant that they spent less time around the junkyard, Victoria was also a few months older so since Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie were usually off doing their own things Vicky had started hanging out with Jemima and Etcetera and even Electra but she was shyer at first. In all honesty, Teazer never thought she'd want any cat around her that much other than her brother but now that both her and the white cat had grown up more she couldn't deny her interest.
Of course she wasn't like Tugger who fawned over Quaxo and followed him around all day, no she wasn't desperate nor that obvious, but she had told her brother and she found her eyes observing the white queen often.
“I mean ya either get over it or do somethin' 'bout it-”scoffed Jerrie as he stretched and looked up at the sky, it was a nice afternoon, the sun was shining bright but it wasn't one of those heat haze days, yet all the couple had done was sit outside their parents' den all day and glance at the other cats around them. “It's not that easy you know!”huffed Teazer in annoyance as she glanced at her brother.
Jerrie returned the look with an annoyed expression on his face “We 'aven't done anythin' all day Teaz!”he complained before he moved his paw to gently throw some dust on his sister who hissed and flicked him with her tail “Don't do that!”she whined and Jerrie huffed “I get it's important ta ya, but we can't stalk 'er all day-”he whispered close to his sister so that no one else would her “We're not stalkin', we're observin'!”corrected Teazer with a gentle nudge. “Tell me what's really holdn' ya back from talkin' to 'er-”asked Jerrie quietly before laing right next to his sister who sighed.
“What if she's not into other queens?”she asked him anxiously.
“Well 'er brother Quaxo is the gayest tom in the world, I'm sure she's not any different!”said Jerrie with a goofy grin on his face only to get a nudge from Teazer. “I'm serious!”protested Jerrie “N' they seem pretty close, even if she's straight she won't judge ya!We’re also childhood friends n’ all...”
Then a smirk spread across Teazer's face “Ya can ask 'er for me!”she said happily being too excited about her own idea.
“But I don't like 'er-”
“Ya will act like me, n' ask 'er out!People confuse us all the time!If she rejects me sayin' that she's not into girls ya will politely tell 'er that ya are Mungojerrie, not Rumpleteazer, so i'll be safe!”explained the calico queen excitedly.
“But what if she knows it's me?”
Teazer shrugged “Ya might get a date with the cat I 'ave a crush on, or she could reject ya but you don't care 'bout that!Yer my cool twin brother right-?”she asked with a pleading look on her face as she turned to face her brother who was avoiding her gaze.
“Fine!”groaned Jerrie with a chuckle “But you owe me!”he said and his sister shrugged, they always asked each other for favors but never really kept count, they were a team and they helped each other, that's what partners do. Strictly siblings and partners in crime though, they never liked it whenever cats would ask them if they were together, they couldn’t see each other in a sexual way and it disgusted them.
Jenny yawned and walked out of her den only to see her kittens, they weren't kittens anymore but they'll always be kittens in her eyes, still standing on the same spot as she had left them before she went to take her nap “What are you two up to again-?”she asked with a sigh as she sat next to Teazer gently pawing her fur to make it look ress messed up and rough. She saw Jerrie fidget “I'm grooming your fur as well Mr-”she said, giving her son a warning look as Teazer fidgeted under her paw.
“Ma' I'll do somethin' now, but don't say anythin' a'right?”asked Jerrie much to his mother's confusion who just nodded, getting involved in whatever devious plans her kids had in mind was not a smart option, but she was curious, especially since she saw Teazer's face lit up at the mention of Mungojerrie's 'plan'.
Taking in a deep breath Jerrie made his way towards Victoria who was sitting with her friends, luckily his little sister Electra wasn't there, she would be able to tell him and Teazer apart in a second. “Excuse me, Tori!Can I ask ya somethin'?”he asked the white queen who looked at him with a confused expression on her face. “Sure!”replied Victoria and by now both Etcetera and Jemima had their eyes glued on the calico cat in front of them.
Jerrie was sure to make his voice a little higher, much to Teazer's annoyance who couldn't hear what they were saying but she felt it as if Jerrie was mocking her voice, “Would ya like to go out with me?Tomorrow night?”he asked her and Victoria gasped.
Next to her friend Etcetera was holding back a scream and Jemima was just plain shocked, Victoria though smiled softly “Sure!I'd love to, thank you!”she replied and Jerrie heaved a relieved sigh before walking back to his mother and sister.
Jennyanydots gasped in surprise as she saw what her son had just done, but just as she was about to ask questions and hug him Jerrie rushed inside her den not wanting to screw things up. The gumbie cat and Teazer soon followed behind him. “Ma' don't say anythin' please-”said the calico tom and his sister placed a paw over her mother's mouth. A few minutes passed in silence before Teazer let her mother speak up.
Instead of words though Jenny just huffed and looked away “What's wrong-?”asked Teazer worriedly and Jerrie rushed over to his mother gently poking her “Ma'!”he asked in an even more worried tone than his sister's, he kept poking her anxiously.
“I'm sorry I didn't tell ya anythin'!' 'apologized Jerrie, he wasn't going to tell on his sister, she should come out whenever she wants to, her secret was safe with him. “It's just that it's your first date, I wanted to prepare you and talk about it-”whined Jenny before she wrapped her hand around Jerrie who sighed in relief. Gently she started grooming his fur, mainly using her paws in a caring manner “Ma' it's my fault!”said Teazer much to Jenny's confusion.
Of course when they were done explaining their little scheme quietly their mother scolded them, for lying, for messing with Victoria's feelings and for being afraid to tell their parents. “What do I keep telling you?”she asked with a long sigh as the twins looked at each other and shrugged “That honesty and integrity are the most important qualities in a young tom or queen!Do you think Sir Bustopher Jones got his name from lying to the other cats!?”she scolded and the twins looked away in embarrassment, but one of the mice showed up and Jenny didn't want to cause a scene in front of her little student. Jerrie couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the mice but the daggers his mother glared at him were enough to send shivers down his spine. He’d rather starve to death than eat one of his mother’s mice and he knew that all too well from past experiences .
“I have to go but you two aren't going home tonight!You're staying here and telling your father what you've done while you think about it!”she said angrily before walking out of the den. “Dad's gonna kill us when 'e gets back from the train station-”mumbled Jerrie before gulping, his mom scolded them, sure, but he was always closer to his mom and she was never too harsh, at least in his eyes.
“Well pa' doesn't yell at us as much as ma' at least 'e's quieter!”said Teazer, who was probably a little closer to her father.
But then it dawned on both of them, their biggest issue was that Victoria hadn't said any names, they didn't know who she had agreed to go out with, was it Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer? The look they shared was enough to make them realize that they had messed this up and that they were both realizing it now.The door of the den opened and Electra walked in glancing at her older siblings “Nice!”she said with a smile as she sat across from them.
The twins shrugged, they couldn't screw this up now by revealing their mistake, they had to be as vague as possible and try to figure out what Victoria had said to their little sister, if Elrctra talked to Jerrie that meant that their trick hadn't failed and Victoria had a date with Jerrie and if not then Teazer's plan had indeed worked.
“So a date with Victoria!I'm so happy for you!”said Electra with a smile as she looked at her paws nervously as she played with the edge of a small pillow the den had.
“Yeah!”replied Jerrie and Teazer in union trying to reveal as less details as possible and they looked at their sister, “Tomorrow night huh-?”asked Electra with an awkward and nervous chuckle as she averted her gaze to look at Jerrie and Teazer as she was trying to keep everything vague too. The twins simply nodded as a reply “Tomorrow!”replied Jerrie and as soon as Electra smiled a little Teazer spoke up “Night!”she added leaving their little sister confused again.
Everything was so awkward, they just looked at each other until their dad walked inside several hours later, it was night and none of them had realized, but they weren't new to this, whenever they wanted to avoid a scolding or even explaining something to their dad they all closed their eyes and pretended to be asleep. As always it worked, Skimble smiled softly and stretched before walking over to a corner of the den and falling asleep himself, usually he could tell that they weren't sleeping, especially Electra, she was too obvious and not a good liar unlike her siblings, but still he wouldn't ruin it for them, he was tired himself after all.
Sometime during the night Teazer woke her brother up and they left, many cats were up at that time but the twins were careful and no one really saw them leave their junkyard and make their way back to Victoria Groove to return to their human house and raid the kitchen for something to eat. Not having to search for food or hunt was the best thing that had happened to the twins. They were skilled quick-change comedians, tightrope walkers and acrobats, they weren't hunters, they didn't catch mice and despite their rough and uncombed furs they were really clean.
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As soon as the twins and their mom were in their den Etcetera squealed and looked at her white friend who was blushing slightly as she still processed what had happened, the one that spoke first was Jemima who playfully nudged her friend “That's nice!Getting a date with Jerrie and all!”she said smiling nervously, “Jerrie!?No no that was Rumpleteazer!”protested Etcetera as she glanced at her friend. “You're just thinking it was Teazer only since Vicky might like her-''mumbled Jemima with a sigh “This was clearly Mungojerrie!”she added but her friend just shook her head and huffed.
“No I'm telling you it was Rumpleteazer!I can tell them apart I swear!”
“Trust me!It was surely Mungojerrie!”
“I hang out with Electra a lot!I know her siblings!”
“We ALL hang out with Electra-”mumbled Jemima with a chuckle.
“Tori, please tell me I'm right-”said Etcetera as she turned to the white queen to solve this matter, Jemima's eyes then turned to look at Victoria as well who just chuckled nervously before shrugging which earned a soft gasp from Jemima and a pout from Etcetera. “If only Electra had been here-”mumbled Cettie as she heaved a long really dramatic sigh. “Look look we can figure it out, do you have no clue who it was?”asked Jemima nervously and her friend shrugged. “At first I thought it was Mungojerrie, but he wouldn't ask me out and he was acting a little more like Rumpleteazer.”admitted Victoria.
“Awww if it was Rumpleteazer it'd be so cute!!!”squealed Etcetera once again happily and her friends giggled.
“ELECTRA!”yelled Etcetera as she saw her friend in the distance who looked down, not liking how loudly Cettie was yelling her name, too much attention.
With a groan escaping her mouth but a kind, warm smile on her face Electra approached her friends. "What's gotten you all excited?" she asked with a chuckle as looked at Etcetera
"One of your siblings asked Victoria out!"explained Jemima with an excited tone in her voice earning a gasp and a smirk from Electra "Well, which one!?"she asked and her friends looked at her nervously "We're not sure - "mumbled the pure white cat with a sigh.
Electra chuckled in disbelief
"What do you mean 'you're not sure', how can you not be sure??"
"They look alike! And the voice was weird it didn't sound like either of them -" said Victoria as she heaved another sigh, she had said to her friends that she probably liked Teazer, but she didn't want to make this a big deal, not to her friends, not even in her head. What if it is not true? She doesn't want to be let down by her own feelings by having high hopes.
"Vic! Are you listening!?" asked Cettie as she kept nudging her white friend who blinked a few times in confusion. "W-What?" asked Victoria nervously, her face heating up a little due to her being so lost in her thoughts previously. "We will send in Electra to get some information!" explained Etcetera with a smirk on her face "Jem came up with it!" she added happily and Victoria gave a grateful look to Jemima who smiled warmly and nodded "Now go on! Learn some info and spill the tea!!" said Cettie who seemed to be even more excited than Victoria herself. In reality though Etcetera wasn't half as ecstatic as Victoria innerly was at the prospect of going on a date with Rumpleteazer.
At first she felt guilty for liking another queen who was also her childhood friend, it was far more common for toms to be homosexual, but Quaxo had helped her come to terms with the idea. She had now accepted the concept of having a crush on Rumpleteazer, but she never planned on acting out on those feelings, her brother kept telling her that she should try it out but Victoria refused to do so. When she saw the calico cat asking her out though her heart skipped a beat, she wasn't sure if she loved Rumpleteazer but now she had the chance of finding it out.
Electra had left by now and her friends waited for her return, but seeing as she was taking too long they were rather disappointed. Soon Etcetera was forced to leave by her mother dragging her away asking for help with something in their den, sadly Etcetera had no human owners and a really caring mother so she couldn't protest. Then Demeter came to take her daughter to their human house for the night, they didn't sleep during the night necessarily but the humans did and the family enjoyed knowing that their cats were there for the night "Goodnight Vicky!" said Jemima with a smile as her and her mother walked away with Bombalurina.
"NIGHTY NIGHT SPARKLES! SWEET DREAMS!" yelled Tugger as he ran behind the three queens to catch up, but his gaze was fixated on the magical tuxedo tom who chuckled but didn't directly reply much to Tugger's disappointment yet excitement, Quaxo wanted to be all 'vague and aloof' on him and Tugger was up for the challenge.
Quaxo sat beside his sister as he watched Tugger walk away with the other cats. He caught himself smiling softly but soon made sure to erase that smile from his face, but Victoria nodded and playfully nudged him "You have Tugger running around you all day long for about a couple of weeks now, yet you're still trying to hide your feelings -" she pointed out with a soft smile. "He knows that I like him to some extent." replied Quaxo with a sly and proud smirk on his face before laying on the ground, his sister soon copying him "You already miss him!" teased Victoria and her brother sighed "It makes sense you two have been spending every minute of your day together for the past weeks!I can't wait for the two of you to become mates" she added softly and gently leaned against him, Quaxo just chuckled, normally he would deny such words but around Victoria he didn't feel the need to "I'm not done with him yet" he replied with a smirk and his sister nudged him.
“Also, for the record it’s hard not to miss him, that tom never shuts up you eventually get used to the noise-”he huffed.
They stayed there in silence, Quaxo knew his sister wanted to tell him something so he just looked at her, Victoria being unable to keep her mouth shut especially around her brother, so it took her only a few seconds to start talking.
"Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer asked me out -" she blurted out and she expected a big reaction from Quaxo but he just laughed "How did you confuse them? I thought you were able to tell them apart!" exclaimed Quaxo teasingly but as soon as he saw his sister's gloomy expression he frowned and sighed "Don't feel bad! Firstly it is hard to tell these two apart, everyone has been confused at least once" he said soothingly.
"But what will I do? I don't want to go out with Mungojerrie -"
"I'm sure you won't be able to tell the difference ~" purred another cat and the two siblings jumped as they saw Tugger running up to them.
"Oh tell me you're not spending the night here -" mumbled Quaxo with a groan as he tried to hide his excitement upon seeing the maine coon again.
Tugger nodded proudly "Remember how I told you that i got stuck in the bureau drawer and I knocked the furniture down? Yeah well Demeter reminded me that I'd spend the night in the yard and if I have to be outside I might as well be by your side ~" said Tugger in his smooth flirty tone as he laid next to Quaxo wrapping himself around the tux's body. Quaxo huffed but gave Tugger a soft smile.
"How much did you hear?" asked Victoria as she glanced at Tugger trying not to blush, she had grown over her 'Tugger phase', unlike Etcetera who still fangirled over the maine coon, but she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous around him especially since he was so intimate with her brother. "Enough to be able to tell you're stuck between a rock and a hard place -" replied Tugger grinning widely at her as he muzzled against Quaxo who didn't seem to care much about Tugger's antics. "Look Tori, just go and see who shows up!" said Tugger with a shrug "No! I don't want to mess with their feelings, if it is Teazer I'll gladly show up -"
"OHHHH so you and your brother are both gay~ i wonder if it's a family thing ~" cooed Tugger teasingly as he smirked at Quaxo before nuzzling against the smaller tom once again. "Try not being a bore for once -" muttered Quaxo, normally he'd try to get out of Tugger's grip but he knew it'd be pointless, he also didn't want to make this about himself and lastly he enjoyed having Tugger around him, it was a chilly night and the maine coon was a perfect blanket. Yes, a blanket that’s all the other tom was to him.
Victoria heaved a sigh and looked at them "My feelings towards Teazer are… Complicated” mumbled the white queen “Look, Tugger is right, you need to show up, you agreed and if it was Mungojerrie you can find a way to slowly cut ties or even pretend you’ve found a tom outside of the yard to get him to back off”mumbled Quaxo nervously as he felt unable to help out his sister. Then the tux felt Tugger slowly getting off him and moving to sit next to Victoria with a smile “Look no need to stress over it, it’s hard but just see how it goes, feelings are weird you can’t always give them a name. Just act with honesty and the way you feel, trust me I’m having much more fun whenever i do whatever i want! And i know you’re a good kit, you won’t hurt Mungojerrie if he’s the one you have a date with” said the maine coon smiling softly at Victoria and leaving both her and Quaxo speechless.
The tuxedo kitten looked at Tugger and gave him a smile before mouthing a ‘thank you’ to him.
“Now how about we go eat something?I’m not sleepy anymore!”said Tugger breaking the silence as he stood up and stretched. The three of them spend the night together walking around London and with Quaxo they were even able to eat from one of Bustopher Jones’ clubs, they weren’t allowed inside especially the large clumsy maine coon but due to Quaxo’s resemblance with the cat about town they were able to get a nice fancy meal. This walk meant a lot to Quaxo as it showed that Tugger genuinely cared about him since he was helping his sister out, and it helped Victoria relax, spending many hours around THE Rum Tum Tugger had helped her confidence.
By sunrise Tugger and Quaxo had left Victoria at her human’s house letting her take a nap some hours before her date, then the two of them continued their walk before falling asleep on a rooftop enjoying having the London streets as their view.
The morning found them laying on top of the chairs of the dinner table, but they were woken up by the chef's steps, quickly they both ran away hoping that the chef wouldn't tell on them or start yelling again about them taking food. Jerrie wanted to go on a stroll see some of their stray cat friends but instead he just went along with whatever his sister had in mind, she was clearly anxious about the date, she wasn't even sure if she'd go or not. “Ya don't mind if we nap do ya?”she asked him, she was worried that her love life was getting in her brother's life. But Jerrie smiled softly and shook his head “Nah not at all!”he replied and she gave a grateful smile at him.
So unlike their usual activities the twins just lazed under the sunlight, Rumpleteazer had forced herself to sleep in order to worry less about the upcoming date as Jerrie just lazily yawned and glanced around him.
Victoria soon woke up and walked over to the junkyard, she had been avoiding going there but it was afternoon he couldn't hide much longer. Upon entering Quaxo and Tugger were the first ones to spot her and rush by her side offering her support, obviously with Tugger there it didn't take too long for Etcetera to find them. "TUGGER!?" she squealed as she walked over, much to her surprise Tugger and Quaxo were right next to each other and out in public. As Tugger's number one fan Cettie knew that the Rum Tum Tugger had been hanging out with Quaxo but they were never in large groups or in public they always sat in their own private places.
Squealing even louder she smiled goofily "Aren't you two adorable!" she exclaimed blushing madly as she saw them together, Tugger smirked proudly and Victoria giggled softly as Quaxo huffed and looked away.
Jemima and Electra soon walked over as well, "Uncle Tugs!!" said Jemima happily as she sat next to her favorite uncle and told them everything that had happened in the house while Tugger was out.
"Hey Tori, sorry for yesterday i couldn't get much information out of them -" apologized Electra nervously but her friend just smiled "It's fine!" she said quickly and Electra nodded "thanks, but I'm sure it was Teazer! Mungojerrie has never been too interested in actual dating and he usually has 'work' during the night so he wouldn't ask you on a night date!" said Electra smiling widely trying to comfort her.
Upon hearing that Victoria's face lit up now feeling a sudden rush of hope.
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer walked side by side in the junkyard and Mungojerrie was trying to convince Teazer to go herself on the date." "Why don't ya go today n' act like me!?" asked Teazer pouting as she looked away "I can't spend ma days pretending I'm ya! Plus Electra will tell 'er!" he said with a sigh before playfully nudging his sister "I'm sure she likes ya!" he added trying to cheer her up but Teazer sighed. "Look I'll sound just like ma', but lying got us into this mess n' Tori deserves an honest mate!" he said heaving a sigh, he did feel bad for lying to the white cat or actually just tricking her. "Ya 'ave a point -" mumbled Teazer smiling a little and her brother chuckled "Now keep that smile on and let's wait for yher date to start!" he said before walking ahead leading the way to a quiet isolated clearing of the yard which gave them a perfect view of Victoria and her friends.
The moon was up, it was night and Victoria was shaking,"Hey, Tori look if it's Jerrie and if you feel uncomfortable we can have a code!" suggested Etcetera cheering her up and Jemima and Tugger nodded in excitement. "Ohh if you want i can say that mom needs help with her mice and drag Teazer and Jerrie away?" asked Electra and Victoria nodded hesitantly it did sound comforting.
"Nah nah kits, she has to be honest with her feelings!" said Tugger grinning and of course the girls nodded, Tugger's word meant a lot to the younger queens. "I actually agree!" added Jemima quickly but she wasn't just copying Tugger she actually agreed with him. Victoria turned to look at her brother who shrugged nervously "I like the idea of a backup plan, but I do agree with Tugger -" he admitted with a sigh and Tugger smiled happily.
"Yeah I mean, I've always found Quaxo magical but I just dropped the subject whenever he played hard to get but now I follow him around all day which is my honest and initial reaction. It turns out it's better when I'm direct with him, for the both of us!" explained Tugger proudly as he nuzzled against Quaxo "He even shows me magic tricks sometimes ~" he added. It was true actually he always wanted to be by Quaxo’s side, hang out with him daily and see his magic but he cared about his reputation. What would the queens say if he spent all day running around the young tom, but turns out that they were both enjoying it, sure Tugger had given up part of his fame but his life was better now.
"I can't argue with that -" mumbled Quaxo with a soft smile on his face.
"It's time!" said Jerrie before pushing his sister out of the clearing "it's just weird, we've always been a team that's the first thing I'm doing without you -"mumbled Teazer and Jerrie shrugged "This is a change for you and I you're not alone Teazer!" he said smiling at her, that gave her much more confidence than she thought. The twins hugged quickly before they walked out and then for the first time in many weeks parted ways, but it was a different way of parting, Jerrie walked over to his mother who gave him a proud smile as Teazer approached the cats, she had never been so awkward in her life but she looked back Jerrie and her mom who smiled at her, so she made her way confidently with a smirk on her face. She was going to go out with the queen she liked, this is what she wanted to do and felt proud.
Electra covered Cettie's smile to prevent another squeal