Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Night I first saw you

The warehouse had been transformed into a dance club at some point and had stayed that way for as long as any cat could remember. Large rolling garage doors were thrown open to allow music and smoke and whoever else wished to flow freely between the spaces. Such a setup was ideal for the Cats, who the people barely noticed had taken to having a dance party of their own in the alley just behind the club.
Rum Tum Tugger leaned against the brick outer wall of the building, watching the dancers attempt to keep in rhythm with the music and the lights that streamed in from the human festivities. It was spring but still chilly at night. Tugger considered getting back in the middle of the dance floor as cold wind began to blow through his leather jacket. He also considered dipping out and seeing what else was going on that night. Neither the DJ nor the patrons were very impressive and aside from Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer he hardly knew anyone there. The club was a ways outside Jellicle territory, but Jerrie had insisted “the folk out there are cool as long as you don’t cause trouble.” Now he was here, not causing trouble, and he wasn’t sure where the twins had run off to. He was bored.
At least he was until something new on the dance floor caught his eye.

The music shifted to a faster song and he saw a shimmer on the dance floor as the lights hit a black and white figure wearing an iridescent coat that seemed to come alive as he danced. His movements were so well timed with the music it seemed like some kind of an enchantment. It was a beautiful perfection that caused those around him to stop, leaving him in a circle of spectators delighted by the display but too intimidated to join. The figure wore a top hat and a black mask to match the black and white tuxedo jacket. The ensemble was so comicly out of place among the glow sticks and neon accessories and electronic music, but his movements were so bold and unapologetic the whole thing seemed absolutely right.
'Cheeky' Tugger thought with a smile. He swaggered out to the dancefloor. He watched the Cat for another few seconds with the crowd, getting account of his style and movements before launching himself past the watchers and into arms reach of the dancer. He was a lot smaller than Tugger. Even with the top hat he barely reached Tugger's chin. The dancer faltered ever so slightly upon turning and seeing the much larger cat in his space. He took a step back. He seem to consider conceding the floor to the bigger and older newcomer without a fight. Tugger’s smile widened and he followed the backstep, coming in close enough to cause the smaller cat to arch his back as Tugger leaned forward, his face just above his. Tugger cocked his head to the side playfully and mouthed the words “Stay.” It was part invitation, part challenge. He held the dancer’s eyes locked with his own, curious to see what he would do. There was fear in them, but something else as well…
They spent a moment frozen in each other's gaze. The crowd around them cheered and laughed and shouted, just as enthralled by what the little cat would do next as Tugger was. Then, the black and white dancer smiled back at him, his boldness returning. To the delight of the crowd the two began to dance together. Their playful, improvised movements worked flawlessly with the music and while Tugger forced himself into a lead position the smaller cats movements were so quick he seemed to be anticipating Tuggers moves rather than following them. It occurred to Tugger that this kid was a better dancer than him. Tugger realized that while Tugger was pulling out his best tricks and moves for the display, the other cat seemed to be holding back. He could have easily outdone at best and humiliated Tugger at worst, but instead he chose to meet Tugger and move in a way that made him look just as good. Though the dance was framed as a playful contest for those watching, the two were working as a flawless team.
The spectacle they created seemed to bring the club to life. Eventually the song changed and the crowd began to dance again. The electric excitement reinvigorated the alley. Tugger and the stranger continued without much care or notice to what anyone else was doing. Neither wanted to be the first to break away. They shifted their rhythm each time the song changed but they stayed.
Tugger didn’t know how long they had been dancing for when Mungojerrie grabbed his arm and pulled him around.
“What the hell!?” Tugger yelled breathlessly over the music, seeing the twins standing on the dance floor looking up at him. He saw his partner stop and stand a step behind him, panting and looking confused. After half a second to reorient himself Tugger regretted snapping. Something in both there faces wasn’t right. “Sorry, what’s wrong?”
“Tugger we gotta go now!” Jerrie yelled back over the music. Tugger could see the usually carefree twins had a look of panic on their faces.
“Why?”
“Macavity is here.”
“Shit.” He scanned the crowd and sure enough there he was, chains and spikes and fist full of lackeys flanking him, standing out by the entrance. It had been years since he’d seen him, but he was unmistakable. Before he could think to duck, Macavity locked eyes on Tugger and he saw the cat's eyes narrow. Tugger cursed under his breath and stole a glance back at the masked cat, who looked confused and concerned.
“I’ve got to go. It's been fun, kid.” And Tugger, not able to help himself, raised two fingers to his lips, kissed them, and touched the fingers to the Tuxedo cat’s forehead. He then turned back to the twins, all his self control used to break his eye contact with him without waiting to see his reaction.
“Let's go!”

Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer pushed through the Dancers, out the back alley and raced out into the night.
“The Hell is he doing here!” Tugger yelled as they ran.
“Apparently this club is his territory.” Rumpleteazer said.
“His Territory? Thought he was gone! Why didn’t you tell me!”
“Didn’t know! Shit!” Mungojerrie looked behind them and then sped up. Tugger and Rumple looked back as well and saw five cats coming their way. They were big and fast and did not look like they were here to talk. “Shit. we’re dead.”
“We’re not dead yet, come on!” Tugger made a hard turn down a back alley and hoped it led to where he thought it did. Several blocks worth of narrow streets lined with dumpsters.
“Dumpsters, good plan!” And before Tugger could explain that was absolutely not the plan The twins dove into two different dumpsters on the street.
“Absolutely not” Tugger said mostly to himself as he continued to run. He heard taunting shouts behind him. Ahead of him he saw a chain link fence. ‘Just need to get over it’ he thought. He continued his dash and managed to leap about half way up in a single bound and shimmy his way up the rest of the way with speed that impressed himself. At the top he flipped his way around and slid down the back side, ignoring the sensation of his hand being torn open by the rusted metal. As soon as his feet touched the ground he kept running, now on the grass of a public park. He ran across an outdoor basketball court and could hear the running water of the river just beyond it.
“Rum Tum, why are you running?” A painfully familiar and disconcertingly calm voice cut through the cold night air as Macavity stepped out from behind the shadows of a maintenance shed, so quick Tugger nearly ran into him. How did he get here so fast? He attempts to shift to the side but a hand shoots out and grabs him. Long fingers dig into the flesh of his arm. “I just want to talk.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to you. We’re done with you. Go find some other kittens for your racket.”
“In due time of course, but we have unfinished business and it looks like you’re daddy and brother aren’t here right now. What a shame.”
“You leave them out of this.”
“I’d love to. But a debt is a debt. And you owe me.”
Tugger was weighing his very limited options as he caught sight of the rest of the goons running towards them.
Suddenly the night seemed to explode into smoke and the sound of explosions. A gun? Only a few feet from them something hit the ground just before exploding into a nest of whistling fiery snakes that slithered up and lit up the night. Fireworks? Macavity was startled enough that his grip loosened and Tugger took the opportunity to continue running. Light in every color or the rainbow exploded around him but he heard the sound of pursuit behind him. The fireworks and whoever had set them off had afforded him an escape and a couple seconds head start, but that was all. He remembered the river just beyond the basketball courts and ran for it. When it came into his vision he saw that it swelled with the last of the winter snowmelt and rushed with intimidating speed below him. He heard Macavity only a few steps behind him. Not entirely sure if this was a plan of brilliance or pure stupidity, he jumped.

Chapter Text

Tugger felt the shock of cold water in the same instant he felt the sensation of moving both with the current and down. It knocked him around as he sank, too shocked to do anything about it at first. Going from the loud club music to the shouts and sounds of pursuit, to the fireworks exploding into the night, the quiet beneath the water was mesmerizing. His lungs burned, but even that seemed far away.
'Wake up!' His brain shouted at his body. 'You need to breathe. You need to swim.' It took a several second long conversation to coax his limbs into action, fighting up towards the moonlight. Through sheer survival instinct he convinced his body to work. He shot out towards the surface, gasping. Fireworks were still going off above the treeline and he heard Macavity and his goons shouting in the distance. Whatever or whoever had come to his rescue seemed to be still keeping them busy. He fought to stay above water and in the current as it dragged him down river. Despite hating water he was a decent swimmer, but between the cold and however far he had already run, the adrenaline was beginning to betray him. Still, he stayed in the current until he could no longer hear the shouts in the distance or see the lights of the field. Staying in the current became fairly easy once he managed a rhythm.
Finally satisfied that he was not being followed, or at least too frozen to want to spend another minute in the water, he fought his way out of the current and towards the shore opposite from where he had jumped. Easier said than done. Even fighting the current perpendicular was nearly impossible as he sensed it was speeding up. 'Is this going to be one of those waterfall escape cliches?' He wondered. He hoped not. The thought of how absolutely atrocious his dead body would look after being found in the mud below a waterfall was just the motivation he needed to kick free of the current enough to drift into a tangle of rocks and branches sticking out from the bank. He grabbed blindly and came up with a fistfull of branches and leaves that thankfully remained attached to their fallen tree. He pulled himself the rest of the way across the foliage, feeling the branches dig into the injury on his hand he’d forgotten about until just then. The scraps and cuts from the fallen tree seemed very far away. He finally reached the shallows and then the sandy river bank. He collapse in the mud and rocks and leaves, panting, coughing and shivering, but apparently alive. Some still functioning part of his brain shouted at his body that he needed to move, run, get away from the river but his body was having none of it.
“Pssss. Hey!”
Tugger wasn’t sure how long he had laid there, shivering before a voice from above him had snapped him back to reality. Panicked and not sure who or what was calling, he rolled under the fallen tree that had saved him and clapped a hand over his mouth to quiet his breathing. Was this one of the goons? Had he been seen? He felt the tree he was tucked under shake slightly.
”They’re gone, don't worry.” The same voice whispered. A figure jumped down into his line of vision. A small, dark figure crouching down to peer in his ineffective hiding space. It was too dark to see more than a silhouette, but the voice was gentle. “You okay?”
“Never better.” He managed to croak before coughing up water in what he was sure was a mortifyingly unattractive way. Once he started he couldn’t seem to stop coughing or shaking. The figure kneeled and hooked his arms under Tuggers, pulling his mostly dead weight out. He struggled to lift him into a sitting position. The stranger positioned himself behind Tugger, the bulk of his own body supported the larger cat while his right arm came around him for further support while he coughed up water and whatever else happened to have been in his stomach. 'This is not my best day' Tugger thought dully as he fought for air. He decided he would be mortified later and instead willed his mind to shift to more pressing concerns, like breathing.
After a minute he managed to stop coughing and took in some even breaths of painfully cold air. He took a more calculated assessment of the body that was holding him. It was smaller than him but his grip was firm.
“You know there was a bridge, like, 20 feet from where you jumped in.” The voice said softly, once Tugger seemed to have his breathing under control.
“Please, all of this was according to plan.” He felt the body that was still pressed against him vibrate slightly with nervous laughter that Tugger joined in on. Tugger’s laughter was interspersed with more coughing, but it was drier and less painful then the previous at least. Not wanting to break the moment with more concern from his rescuer he took the opportunity to turn his body around and get a better look at the smaller figure. It was the Dancer from the club.
“You followed me?” Tugger asked, trying hard to push out the words through chattering teeth. His Tuxedo and top hat still sparkled in the moonlight.
“Seemed like the thing to do” His voice was as soft and casual as the shrug he offered with it.
“You fought Macavity and his goons? That was you back in the park?” Tugger asked.
“Fought is a strong word. Distracted, more like. Come on, let’s get you warmed up.” He stood effortlessly and reached a hand out to Tugger.
“Why are you helping me?” Tugger asked, coughing and looking dumbly at the outstretched hand. The Dancer smiled.
“Would you rather I leave?” He said, but made no effort to remove the hand. Tugger took it and stood shakilly and still shivering. It was hard to fully assess how injured he actually was but his legs seemed fine. A few cuts and scrapes around his body and hands, but nothing seems broken. That was something. “Come on. I know a place just up here.” He kept a hold of Tugger’s hand and led him up a muddy path in the dark that widened into a trail. Tugger hugged his torso with his free hand in a futile effort to get himself to stop shivering. It probably would have been more effective if he let go of the mysterious cat's hand but…he didn’t want to.
“I don’t even know your name.” Tugger said, following up the trail.
“Mistoffelees.” He said, pushing a low hanging branch out of their path and gesturing for Tugger to go up ahead of him. Beyond the patch of trees just above the river bank Tugger saw that it opened up into an empty parking lot lit by a few flickering street lights. In the distance he spotted a small wood and stone building. He stood under a streetlight and waited for Mistofolees to join him from the trail a few seconds later. The light showed his features for the first time all night. Even though he still wore the mask Tugger was sure he was younger then he’d originally thought. Not a kitten, despite his small frame it was clear he was fully grown. He had some white patches but had mostly short black hair to contrast Tuggers Long orange and Tan coat. Damn he was cute. He paused in the light, looking up at Tugger.
“Like the Demon?” Tugger asked in response to learning his name. Mistoffelees smiled.
“If you like.” He said with a wink. Tugger tried to formulate a witty and equally seductive response, but he was shivering so bad that neither his brain nor his body were interested in formulating any more words. The black and white Cat’s smiled sunk, noticing. “Come on, almost there. Just hold on a bit longer.” Mistofolees slid an arm around Tugger's torso and led him across the pavement towards the building.
“It’s a nature center.” He explained as they walked. “They keep the doors locked but not the windows to the basement.” He led them around to said windows. Mistofolee knelt down and lifted the old window that sat at ground level. It was a squeeze for the smaller cat but he managed to slide in gracefully enough.
“Go down the stairs to the back door.” He whispered from inside, pointing to a set of concrete stairs about 10 feet away. “I’ll open it up.” The masked cat hopped down from whatever he had landed on and disappeared into the room. A table maybe? Tugger jogged across the outside of the building and down the stairs to a door in bad need of a paint job. He leaned against the wall and took some slow breaths. There was a musty smell in the concrete entryway and Tugger was caught in a sneezing fit just before the door opened and Mistofolees head poked out. The light behind him was still off, so he was back to being a silhouette.
“Hello” Tugger managed dumbly, rubbing his nose. The black cat pushed a towel into Tugger’s still very wet chest. Tugger grabbed at it and stumbled into the room.
The basement was set up mostly as a storage space, with boxes stacked around interspersed with furniture, old animal displays and books. Brilliantly there was a couch just left of the door and Tugger clumsily wrapped the towel around himself and unceremoniously collapsed onto it. It smelled of mildew and the springs dug into him as he laid down, but he did not care. He sneezed again and curled in on himself and the towel, though it offered him little warmth.
He heard the door close and footsteps next to him.
“Don’t fall asleep yet. You need to dry yourself off. Plus you might have a concussion. I’ll turn the heat up and find some more blankets.”
He grumbled something incoherent and attempted to burrow himself farther into the couch. He heard quick footsteps moving away from him. Tugger could feel the water from his fur and jacket seeping into the couch below him. It occurred to him he should take off the ruined coat and grudgingly forced himself to sit up and maneuver it off. He threw it to the floor and set to trying to dry off hair that he did not even want to know the state of.
Soon he heard the clicking of a radiator coming on and felt heat coming from a vent on the left of the couch. He sank down to the floor and crawled over to it, loving the foul smelling hot air more than life itself in that moment. He wrapped himself in the towel as much as he could and sat in front of the heating vent. He sat shivering, curled in the corner with his eyes closed for another few minutes before Mistoffelees came back.
“Found a space heater and, well, whatever is in here.” Tugger opened his eyes. Mistoffelees was struggling to push a large cardboard box that was bigger than him across the floor. There was a metal space heater sticking out of the top. Tugger crawled over to him on stiff limbs and helped him pull the heater out of it. Mistoffelees unwound the plug and plugged it into the wall. A friendly red glow and heat came from the metal contraption and Tugger pulled it over closer to the wall by the vent. Between the heat sources Tugger’s muscles finally began to relax. Mistoffelees shoved the cardboard box closer to Tugger and then plopped down next to it. Tugger peered curiously into the box. It had “lost and found” written in black marker on the outside of it. Mistoffelees grabbed a red plastic container from the top. Tugger started digging through the contents. He found a red knit hat and a blue scarf on top and put them on. He found another towel and threw off the wet towel wrapped around himself and replaced it with the dry one. There were sharks on it. There were a few forgotten jackets and sweaters and a blanket in the box as well and Tugger set to the task of building himself a nest out of anything he could find that was soft and warm. At the very bottom of the box he found a pair of pink sunglasses. He put those on as a final touch and buried himself in his nest. Only his head stuck out, watching Mistoffolees.
Meanwhile, Mistoffolees had opened the red plastic container, which appeared to be a first aid kit. He was inspecting the contents quizzically.
“I’m okay.” Tugger assured him which was mostly true. Now that he was relatively dry and warmer things were seeming much better. He sniffed and rubbed his running nose with the towel.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Mistoffelees said matter of factly, pulling a small flashlight from the box and flashing it onto Tugger. “Sit up. And take off those glasses.”
“Boo” Tugger obayed besides the protest, and Mistoffelees shined the flashlight into his eyes, looking at them inquisitively. Tugger raised an eyebrow. It was hard not to laugh with him so close.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“Checking to see if you have a concussion.” Mistoffelees said.
“Where did you learn that?” Tugger asked.
“TV.”
“So what does it look like if I have a concussion?”
“No idea.” Mistoffelees frowned and Tugger laughed. He took the glasses that were still in his hand and put them on Mistoffelees’ face.
“They suit you,” He said. Mistoffelees, not looking nearly as amused as Tugger, grabs Tugger's hand and looks at it with the flashlight. Tugger’s hands had been so numb with cold he hadn’t noticed before, but there was a deep cut in his palm that went down to his wrist. Blood and dirt was running down his arm. Mistoffelees took off the sunglasses and went back to digging in the first aid kit. He pulled out some gauze, alcohol wipes and bandages. He tore open a gauze pad and used it to wipe the blood up and see where the cut was actually coming from. Turns out the gash wasn’t all that big, but it looked deep and Tugger flinched when he touched it.
“Hold it like this” He instructed, holding the gauze in place over the cut. Tugger took it with his uninjured hand.
“Yes sir.” He said playfully. Mistoffelees tore open an alcohol wipe as he rolled his eyes.
“What are you going to do with that?” Tugger asked suspiciously.
“Don’t be a kitten.”
“No really I’m good! Just put a bandage on it. It will be fine!”
“Rum Tum Tugger tonight you were chased down by a gang of thugs and jumped into a flooded river. You’re really afraid of a little alcohol?”
“Come on, all that was just a normal Saturday night. Ow!” Mistoffelees grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the gauze and twisted it away from the palm on his other hand. Before Tugger could even register what was happening he pushed the alcohol wipe on to the wound and was gently attempting to clean the dirt out of it. Tugger whined dramatically but kept his hand steady.
“I am betrayed!”
“You are ridiculous.” Mistoffelees did his best to clean out the wound in the dark before putting the largest bandage he could find in the kit over it. “There you go. See, not so bad, right?”
“You really are a demon.” Tugger grumbled, burying himself further into his homemade nest. He went back to only his face sticking out. “How did you know my name?” he asked suddenly, his still defrosting brain slow to register that he’d said his name before, and Tugger did not remember ever actually introducing himself. Mistoffelees was repacking the first aid kit, still sitting cross legged. He paused for a second when the question came.
“Your friends back at the club. Twins I think? Hey, what happened to them? You think they’re okay?” Tugger laughed.
“Those two are always okay. Not sure how many lives they ended up with but it’s more than nine and I don’t see them running out any time soon. Will probably hide in the dumpster for a while then slink home. They can take care of themselves.” He sneezed twice, rubbed his face in the nest and coughed.
“Bless you.” Mistoffelees said. He picked up the fallen sunglasses and put them on. “What do you think?” He said, smiling at Tugger. Tugger couldn’t stop himself from smiling back sleepilly.
“Very cool.” He said without sarcasm. There was a silence that suddenly felt awkward. Finally warm, Tugger could have easily drifted off to sleep but that seemed rude, all things considered. Despite Tugger being a complete disaster, this mysterious cat had not only saved him twice, but stayed with him. He considered if he would have done the same.
“Hey, um, thanks for saving my life.” Tugger said, propping himself on an elbow to look at the cat. He gave a shrug, looking shy all of a sudden.
“I…you’re welcome. If you don’t mind me asking…” He trailed off but Tugger knew where he was going.
“Why is Mr. Bad news and his brute squad after me?” Mistoffelees nodded. Tugger sighed, trying to find the straightest and most concise line through the story. He sat the rest of the way up.
“A long time ago, when I was younger and much stupider I used to run with his gang. Rumple and Jerrie, and a few others from the Jellicles too. Looking for something more exciting I guess. Looking to rebel and all that. We were kind of the Jellicle misfits anyway, Most of them saw us as troublemakers, or embarisments or both. Heard the older cats saying they were worried we’d bring the cat catchers down on the lot of them if we didn’t learn to behave, so it seemed better to leave. Macavity gave us a place to go. Jobs to do. Pats on the head for things that always got us in trouble before. Was fun for a while. Playing at being bad guys and all.” Tugger paused to cough into the towel. “But then things just started going too far. Macavity hated the Jellicles, especially my father, Old Deuteranomy. Never was sure what went down between them but it was enough that Macavity wanted him dead. He wanted me to lure my brother out…and my father. Take them all out eventually I think.
“I couldn’t do that. So I ran back home and told them what was going on. Apologized, though I thought for sure they would tell me to go and never come back. But instead my father hugged me and told me he missed me. That was almost worse.
“But anyway, Munkustrap got all the Jellicles together to go after Macavity and his gang. Run them off once and for all. Jerrie and Rumple managed to steal about half the contents of his den before he realized they’d turned on him. Dad kind of hand to forgive them after that. It was a tough fight, a lot of cats got hurt, but in the end we won and Macavity and all those who stayed loyal to him ran off. Didn’t see him after that. Rumor was he left town. Until tonight anyway.” He stopped to cough again, this time it shaking him for almost as long as it had on the riverbank, though not quite so violently. Mistoffelees scooted over to him, offering a supportive arm again. Tugger put his arm around the smaller cat's shoulders without thinking about it, turning away from him so as not to cough in his face. He felt a cold hand on his forehead.
“You might have a fever.” Tugger grabbed the hand and pulled it gently off his head, wrapping it in his own.
“Naw I’m okay, your hand is just like ice.” He turned towards mistoffelees when he was confident he was done coughing. Now that he was closer, he saw that the little cat was shivering. “Good lord kid, get in here. Why didn’t you say you were cold?” Tugger rearranged the jacket/towel/blanket nest to position several layers of it around Mistoffelees. He chuckled sheepishly through chattering teeth.
“I guess I didn’t notice. Was worried about you.”
“Look, you’re supposed to be the smart one in this scenario.” He pulled Mistoffelees closer and the black and white cat rested his head on the maincoon’s shoulder.
“I’m not that smart.” He murmured, half into Tugger’s shoulder.
“Clearly, if you’re risking your life for my dumb ass. But you’re smarter than me. And a better dancer.”
“Naw. I wish I could dance like you.” Tugger chuckled and squeezed the Cat’s shoulder. He looked down to see his eyes were closed and a few seconds later his breathing changed to indicate that he had fallen asleep. He looked like barely more than a kitten when asleep. No sassy confidence to hide behind. Tugger leaned his head against the couch. It only now occurred to him that they were sitting on the floor next to a perfectly good couch, but there was no chance to act on the realization before he too was fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Light flooded into his bedroom, vaulting Tugger out of sleep with a protestful whine. He opened one eye to see his brother, Munkustrap standing by the window he had just thrown back the curtains on. Tugger turned on his side away from the light and coughed into the bed sheet beneath him. His throat was dry and burned with each spasm.
“Proud of yourself?” Munkustrap asked. Tugger never ceased to be impressed with how judgy His brother always sounded when he talked to him.
“Should I be?” He asked, feeling around for a blanket to pull over his head.
“Staying out all night? Fighting in another gang’s territory? Coming back here at dawn smelling and looking like a feral? You tell me.”
“I’d rather not.” He sneezed. His head and sinuses felt like they still had most of the river in them. “Can I have some water?” He mostly expected the request to go ignored, but he heard the exasperated sigh as a response followed by footsteps and water running from the attached bathroom. Tugger forced himself to sit up when his brother returned with a glass. His first instinct was to chug it, but the shock of how much it hurt when the water hit his throat caused him to nearly choke on it. He sipped at it cautiously, fighting against the urge to cough.
“Victoria and Quaxo are coming over in about an hour.” Munkustrap told him.
“Who?” He croaked out. He was pretty sure he remembered Victoria. Cute little white kitten. No idea who the other one was.
“They’re coming over to rehearse for the show next week. Which you should also be doing.”
“Not to worry, my bagpiping skills are ready.” He put the half full glass on the floor next to the bed and laid back down.
“I already told you, you are not playing the bagpipes.”
“Come on, Father will love it.” He murmured. Munkustrap rolled his eyes.
“Whatever. I recommend getting yourself presentable.”
“Counter offer. I’m going back to sleep.” Tugger closed his eyes and Munk surveyed his brother. He looked even worse off than he thought he had when he saw him slink in that morning. He noted the bandage on his hand and a collection of other scraps as well as bits of leaves and dirt stuck around his fur. He could probably count on one hand the number of times he’d seen his brother so unconcerned with his appearance.
“Are you going to tell me what you were doing last night? What happened?” Munk asked, his arms folded.
“Is that the only way to get you to leave me alone?” Tugger tried to unfog his brain and piece together the main points of the night before. 'Dance party. Cute dancer. Macavity…, cute dancer again.
Right, Macavity,
Shit.'
Tugger ran through a quick debate with himself over telling his brother what had happened last night. He didn’t want to worry him. And he didn’t want to get more of a lecture.
But he also didn’t want to keep secrets. Not like this anyway. Not anymore.
“I would like to preface this with none of this was my fault.” Tugger said, pushing himself into a sitting position again. He sniffed and rubbed at his face, trying to focus. “I went out with Rumple and Jerrie last night.”
“Off to a great start.”
“Macavity was there.” Munks eyes went wide. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that.
“Macavity?” He repeated. “Macavity is back?” Tugger nodded, coughed, and managed;
“Chased the three of us down. We managed to lose him. I got separated, hid out for a while, then came back.” He wasn’t sure why he left out the part about Mistoffelees. Maybe because he knew it would be something else to get interrogated about and he’d just rather not.
“Were you followed?” He asked. His voice softened a bit. Maybe almost concern in his voice? Tugger shook his head.
“No. Clean getaway. Jumped in the river and lost them.”
“Well that explains why you look, sound and smell like death.”
“Love you too brother.”
Munk sighed and pushed back his salt and pepper hair from his face.
“This is just…The Ball is in a week. If he’s planning something, If he knows father will be there…”
“ None of us told him anything. Seemed like he had turf established on the other side of the river so he may not even care about you all anymore. He has it out for me and the Twins because we dicked him over back in the day, but he’s not stupid enough to attack on our own territory.” Munk didn't seem to be listening.
“Maybe it’s best if we tell father not to come. If Macavity tries something…”
“No way! This is your big night! You’ve been working on this for months! Macavity isn’t stupid enough…” He paused to cough again. “Stupid enough to come at us like that again. He doesn’t have the numbers he used to, if he did he wouldn’t be trying to chase me through the streets like a groupie. Trust me. Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong. The ball will be fabulous. Now I am going back to sleep.” Exhausted by the efforts of the peptalk, Tugger flopped back onto the bed and buried himself in blankets. He heard Munkustrap sigh.
“Fine. Just…please be careful.” He was barely out of the room before Tugger was fast asleep.

Several hours later Tugger woke up again. He stretched, whole body aching but feeling marginally less like death then he had a few hours ago. His mouth was dry and his nose was stuffed but despite that he smiled slyly to himself. Tugger wasn’t one to dwell too much on the negatives and lucky for him he had a very pleasant positive to think back to. Mistoffollees, the little dancer. He vaguely remembered falling asleep next to the little Cat, only to be gently shaken awake some time later, hearing him whisper.

“There’s someone here, we need to go!” Tugger had jolted awake, tearing his way out of the blankets.
“Macavity?” He asked. Mistoffolees shook his head.
“No, rangers.” As he said it, Tugger heard the footsteps above his head. People wearing big boots. He heard human voices too.
“Did you forget to turn the heat off last night?” He heard through the ceiling.
“Could have sworn I did. Whatever, go grab the box of trail maps from downstairs, we’re almost out.” That was all the motivation the Cats needed as they both scrambled across the room and out the door, leaving the rangers to puzzle at the mess left in their wake.
They had raced through the bluish gray of predawn, Tugger letting Mistoffolees lead the way. They ran back across the parking lot and towards the exit of the park, ducking under the gate that's position told human patrons they were not yet open.
On the sidewalk parallel to a road Tugger had finally recognised as only a few blocks from home, the two had stopped, looked at eachother, and for reasons neither could fully understand collapsed into laughter. Tugger stopped laughing only to start coughing, but as soon as he regained control of that he would simply start laughing again and the cycle would continue.
“Well, that was a fun adventure.” Tugger said, still laughing.
“It was, we should do it again sometime. Maybe with less of the almost dying.” Mistoffelees said, standing up. He offered Tugger a hand that he took and stood. Tugger wasn’t entirely sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but he took it as an invitation.
“I feel like tonight was not my best. It was in fact…the opposite of that. You should let me have a do over. Let me take you out tomorrow night. I will be far more charming and attractive, and you will absolutely not have to save my life.” Mistoffollee raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds pretty ambitious. You sure you’ll be up for all that?” Tugger clicked his heels together and bowed with a flourish.
“Anything for you, my magical demon hero.” Tugger internally prayed that the theatrics would come off as charming and not weird and desperate. He was relieved to see what he interpreted as a blush come across the little Cat’s face.
“Alright.” He said, smiling. Tugger thought he would do just about anything for that smile.
“Meet me tomorrow at the drive-in at midnight. By the lamp post that still has christmas ribbons on it.” Mistoffolees nodded. “Excellent. Well until then, good morning, and thank you again for saving my life.” Tugger turned and started down the path towards his home while Mistoffelles ran off in the opposite direction. Tugger waited until the little cat had been out of sight before sneezing three times into the stolen scarf he was still wearing and then blowing his nose into it. He then threw it off to the side of the sidewalk and continued his stumble home.

A messy sneeze into his arm brought him out of the memory and he scrubbed at his dripping nose with the back of his hand.
“Alright” He said to himself, annoyed at the hoarseness of his voice. “Time to get yourself together.” He managed a maneuver somewhere between a roll and a fall out of the bed. He of course landed on his feet, and stumbled into the bathroom. He found some tissues there and sneezed into one two more times before going through several more in an attempt to clear out his blocked nose. He glanced up at himself in the mirror and was mortified. Had Mistoffelees really agreed to go on a date with me looking like this? Was he crazy? Was it all a dream? Good lord Tugger, get it together!
He discarded the tissues and turned the hot water on in the bathtub. The thought of water again was not overly appealing, but his current state was completely unacceptable. He only waited until the bathtub water was a few inches high before climbing in. He noticed the bandage on his hand and decided to leave it for now, doing his best to keep it out of the water. He coughed again, the steam breaking up the congestion and allowing him to breathe easier, even if it did trigger coughing every half minute. He layed back and let the tub fill about half way before turning it off. He laid in hot water for a while, and almost fell asleep again, but stopped himself. Focus, Need soap. A Lot of soap. He scrubbed at himself meticulously, wanting to remove every trace of last night's embarrassment. Tonight would be a new night. He tried to remember what movies were playing at the drive-in. Usually there was some kind of black and white disaster of a B movie. Tugger always found them funny but he wondered if Mistoffollees would. He wondered a lot of things about him. 'Where was he from? Why had Tugger never seen him before? How had he gotten a hold of fireworks? Did he even like drive-in movies? What else did he like?'

“Tugger, are you here?”
“Tugger, are you alive?” He was pulled out of his thoughts by two voices that sounded extremely similar to each other through the wall.
“Think he’s in the bathroom.” The slightly deeper of the two voices said.
“Or he’s dead in the bathroom.” The higher voiced one replied. “We should check on him.”
“I’m not dead you idiots!” He called out to the twins. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“See, I told you he wasn’t dead. He’s got at least another life or two left.”

He drained the now murk water and pulled himself out of the bath. He felt significantly better, despite a headache and sore throat he blamed primarily on dehydration. Still, when he stepped out of the bath he raided the medicine cabinet for whatever drugs looked like they would be helpful. Cough syrup, Pain killers, cold medicine, a whole lot of water. Check.
A few minutes later, still drying himself with a towel, he opened the door to the bathroom. Steam escaped and behind it he saw Rumpleteaser and Mungojerrie sitting on his bed. Rumple was holding a large basket on her lap, Jerrie had found a fashion magazine somewhere and was looking at it.
“See.” Jerrie said without looking up. “Not dead.” Rumple put the basket down and practically jumped on Tugger, who staggered back a step into the wall.
“I’m so glad you’re not dead! When you disappeared I thought you’d gotten caught for sure!” Tugger patted the dramatic cat on the back. “If you’d died! Munk would never forgive me!” there it is. Tugger pulled the cat off of him and redisposed her onto the bed.
“Well no worries on that front, he already hates you.” Jerrie said, discarding the magazine and turning his gaze towards the basket. He reached in to begin pushing aside the cloth napkins laying on top, but Rumple smacked his hand away with a thwack.
“Not for you!” She said. Tugger turned his attention away from them and out to the back garden where Victoria and Quaxo were practicing. It was a ballet number. Not really Tuggers style but he could see the two young cats were talented. He was right that Victoria was the white cat he’d thought she was, but as it turned out Quaxo was a little black cat. Older then Victoria but not by more than a year or two. He remembered seeing him around occasionally, though couldn’t remember him ever saying much. He had to give his brother credit, he appreciated how good he was with the younger cats, and how willing he was to include them in the jellicle ball presentations. He had memories of being a kitten and being told that the ball was no place for anyone but the best. Now it seemed anyone willing to put in their best would be given a place. Well, mostly.
“What are you two trouble makers doing here?” He heard his brother's voice in the doorway behind them. Rumple stood up and grabbed the basket on the bed. Her movements were so quick that she jolted it and it tipped, causing a rogue sandwich to fly across the room. Munk looked at the sandwich on the ground, then back to Rumpleteazer.
“Hello Munkustrap. I brought some sandwiches for you and the dancers! I figured you’d be working up an appetite with all you working hard and all that.” She held out the basket to him and he eyed it suspiciously. Rumple smiled at him and Tugger thought he saw her blushing a bit. Jerrie crawled across the bed so he was tucked behind her.
“Ask him!” He whispered in her ear, but loud enough they could all hear him.
“Right, yes, so…My brother and I were wondering. If we could. Be in the show.” Rumple said. Jerrie leaped out in front of her.
“We’ve got the routine all worked out! We’ve been practicing! Old Deuteronomy is going to love it! Come on!”
“Absolutely not.” He said flatly.
“Come on!” They both said in unison.
“Just let us show you before you decide.” Rumple added. Then together; “Pleeeeease!”
“You did say any of the Jellicles were welcome.” Tugger said, his arms crossed leaning against the window. Munkustrap looked between the three of them and rolled his eyes.
“Okay fine you can show me. Victoria and Quaxo need a break anyway. But no funny business and no promises.”
“Good enough!” They said in unison, and then high fived. Munk turned his eyes back up to Tugger.
“You look better.” Tugger gave him a thumbs up. “Alright, you two idiots come with me. Tugger…do whatever you want.”
“Always do.” Tugger chose to follow them though, mostly because he was bored and that was where the food was going. He managed to grab a few tissues on his way and discreetly wipe his nose on the way down.

Tugger sat against a tree in the garden, watching the twins dance for his brother. Turns out the routen they’d been working on was a rather silly but thoroughly entertaining vaudevillian number, containing the type of perfectly coordinated stunts that only they could pull off. Victoria and Quaxo sitting cross legged a little ways from him. Victoria kept stealing shy glances up at him while Quaxo seemed to go back and forth between watching the twins and being very intent on his sandwich.
“Hey” he called to Victoria after seeing another shy glance up to him. He cleared his throat and scooted a bit closer to them. “You look good out there.” She blushed.
“Thank you.” she said. Tugger grabbed one of the sandwiches out of the basket.
“This is your first ball performance?” He asked. She nodded. “You’ll do fine. Don’t let my brother scare you. Just have fun. You too Quaxo. You look too nervous when you dance.” The black cat looked over at him for the first time, but didn’t meet his eyes. His expression was hard to read. He shrugged.
“Because I am nervous. I keep messing up the lines.” He said.
“You keep messing up the lines because you’re nervous. Just like, don’t be.” Victoria giggled.
“How do you do that?” She asked. Tugger smiled.
“Just don’t think so much. Don’t worry about what you have to do, don’t think about what happens if you don’t. Just do it. Don’t give your brain any other options.”
“Easy for you to say.” She says playfully. “You’re never scared of anything.” He laughed.
“Yep. Because I don’t think about things. I just let the moment happen. No one can say you made a mistake if you never had a plan in the first place.” Victoria giggled again, but Quaxo raised an eyebrow.
“Thats stupid. And also I don’t think it’s even true.” He said. Tugger chuckled, stood up and stretched, yawning.
“Maybe. But I will leave you kittens back to your practice.” He bowed to both of them and headed back towards the house.

“Seriously?” Munks voice came from behind. Tugger was in the middle of blowing his nose when he saw his brother reflected in the bathroom mirror, standing right behind him. He cleared his throat to respond.
“Is there an open house in my room today that I wasn’t told about?” Tugger threw the tissue in the rapidly filling trashcan and went back to combing out his long hair. He’d been messing around with it for over an hour. After leaving Quaxo and Victoria he’d only intended to lay down for a little while, but when he woke up he found that they were all long gone and it was dark again. There was a slight moment of panic before he looked at the clock and saw he still had a couple hours before he had to go meet Mistofolees. His head ached and his chest felt tight, but he had vaulted out of bed with an excited and nervous energy that made all of that seem irrelevant. The biggest annoyance was having to stop his grooming to cough or sneeze or wipe his nose every few minutes, making the task of looking perfect far more difficult.
“You’re seriously going out tonight?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe because a psychotic crime lord is after you? Also because you’re sick.”
“I'm not hiding here. I’d die of boredom. And anyway I’m not sick.”
“Tell that to the half a bottle of cold medicine you just drank.” Tugger looked down at the collection of drugs sitting on the sink. He shrugged, sniffed, and went back to his hair.
“You know the whole nine lives thing isn’t a challenge right?” He held the tissue box out to his brother who at first rolled his eyes, then a tickle in his nose forced him to grab one and sneeze into it violently. He coughed, the effort making his chest hurt more. Munk sighed. “Seriously, stay home.”
“I don’t know why you keep saying ‘seriously’. You’re always serious.” He took another tissue for the latest attempt to clear out his sinuses. He cursed in his head. 'Why now?' He prayed that the cold medicine would kick in soon. He tossed the remains of the tissue in the bin and popped a few cough drops in his mouth.
“Your adoring fans can do without you for one night you know. What could possibly be so important?”
“I’m just going to the drive-in with Rumple and Jerrie. Nothing crazy. I’ll be fine.” He went back to his hair, ignoring the tickle that still lingered in his nose and throat.
“Bull shit.” Munk said. “You are one of the vainest cats I know, but you have never cared this much about how you looked for those two delinquents. Or anyone for that matter. Not since you were a kitten. Not since before…” Munk trailed off, then an insufferable smile grew on his face. “You met someone, didn't you?”
Tugger coughed. “I meet a lot of people.”
“No I mean, someone. Someone you actually care about. A someone you actually want to impress!”
“Could you be just a little less annoying? For me? As a treat?” He turned back to the mirror and his hair. All things considered he didn’t look all that bad. His nose was a bit red and his eyes looked a bit glassy, but it would be dark where they were going. He pushed past his brother and went looking for a jacket to complete the look. He remembered that the one he was wearing last night was gone. He found a slightly heavier than necessary leather jacket with spikes around the collar and put it on. He did a spin and pose for the thoroughly unimpressed Munkustrap.
“So who are they? Someone I know?”
“No.” he said, taking a handful of cough drops and tissues and hiding them discreetly in an inside pocket of the jacket. The pressure around his sinuses was starting to lessen, indicating that the cold medicine was at least marginally working. He had absolutely nothing to worry about.
“It’s not…it’s not one of Macavity's gang is it?” That made him stop and turn towards his brother. The accusation stung, though he shouldn’t have been surprised by it.
“How stupid do you think I am? Nevermind don’t answer that. No! It's not Macavity or anyone in Macavity’s gang!”
“Are you sure? Did you meet this Cat before or after Macavity showed up?” Anger flared at the implication.
Tugger yelled, “Can’t you ever just trust me? I’m not going back there! Not now or ever! I’m done with them! How long are you going to treat me like…you know what, forget it! Good bye.” Tugger turned without waiting for a reaction from his brother, stormed out the bedroom and out of the house.

Chapter Text

Tugger stomped down the street for about four blocks before he got back some semblance of control over his anger. He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself, but that just sent him into a coughing fit. He fumbled for the tissues and cough drops, trying to dig them out of the right pocket..
“Okay body.” He said to himself between wracking coughs, “Not cool.” He sat down on a sidewalk curb and put his face in his hands. His hands were cold and felt good on his face. He forced his breathing to even out. He attempted again to find the tissues and cough drops and this time was triumphant, blowing his nose into most of them. He momentarily considered going back home to get the rest of the box and the rest of the cold medicine but there was no way he was dealing with Munkustrap again tonight. Absolutely not. This was his chance to make it up to Mistoffelees. Provided the cat hadn’t come to his senses between last night and now. He could count on one hand the number of cats who had seen him as anything but his charming, ne'er-do-well self. Tonight had to go perfectly.
He stood slowly, giving his equilibrium a chance to balance and then took a few slow steps. That seemed to go ok. He blew his nose a final time and coughed into the wad of snotty tissues before dropping them in a nearby trashcan and popping a handful of cough drops in his mouth. It was only a few more blocks to the drive-in and he still had time to clean himself up in the bathroom before he was meant to meet mistoffelees. Still had time to make an entrance.

Tugger spotted the black and white cat sitting cross legged on the ground by the street light. He wore the same jacket and mask he had the night before. At least Tugger knew he was real, which he had once again begun to doubt as he made it the last few blocks. He’d snuck into the bathroom to splash water on his face and fix his hair for before deeming it showtime. It helped, as did finishing the last of the cough drops.
Tugger was perched on top of a jungle gym that was located a few yards from where he was sitting. Just seeing him made his heart race. Time to make an entrance.
“Hey there demon boy.” He called out from the shadows behind the slide. The cat jumped and stood up. Tugger hopped up on top of the slide, and walked down it with long strides. Mistoffelees smiled and walked towards him. The light above caught the sequence on his jacket and sparkled as he walked. Tugger pulled a red rose from behind his back and presented it to Mistoffellees with a bow. The cat blushed hotly and took it, tucking it in one of the button holes of his jacket. Tugger looked down at him with his most charming smile.
“Too much?” He asked. Mistoffelees laughed.
“Maybe a bit. But thank you. I was worried you wouldn’t come. How are you feeling?”
“Of course I came, I’m a cat of my word. And thank you but I’m just fine. You?” Tugger knew his voice sounded hoarse but he worked at keeping it sounding at least even.
“Fine. I’ve never been here before.” He admitted turning to the giant screen. It was currently playing some old road runner cartoon.
“Most of the Cats tend to hang around near the concession bleachers, but I know a better spot. Come on.” He grabbed Mistoffelees by the hand and led him along the back of the rows of cars lined around the space. He noticed a few Cats he recognized and gave them a friendly wave or a wink as they passed. A few shouted greetings or commented loudly on who his partner was. But Tugger held his hand tight and pulled him through the crowd, not stopping for any introductions. The Roadrunner cartoon ended just as they reached their destination; a ten foot tall concrete triceratops. It was flanked on either side by a much larger T-rex. Mistoffollees laughed, looking up at it.
“What are they?” he asked. Tugger cleared his throat.
“No idea. But they’re comfortable and have a good view of the screen. Come on." He took a few steps back to get a running start up the tail. He’d done this a million times but his breath caught and he started coughing, throwing off his rhythm and causing him to stumble off after only a few steps. He leaned against the side of the statue, coughing into his arm, face hot with embarrassment. Mistoffelees walked over to him, concerned.
“Are you okay?” he asked. Tugger wiped his eyes and nose as quickly and discreetly as he could. He stood up again with a smile.
“Yep I’m fine.” To his annoyance his voice had all but given out at this point and pushing for anything more than a whisper left his throat burning. Still he fought through it to say, “Must have swallowed a bug or something. Let’s try that again.” He walked back over behind the tail and reattempted the climb up. This time he made it, barely. Whereas he was usually able to get the momentum to run up the whole tail to the back, he faltered a foot short of the top and fell to one knee. Pain radiated through his leg but he managed to recover the rest of the way up in a half crawl that he didn’t think would look too bad from a distance. He shifted himself to a sitting position and turned back to Mistoffelees. He was standing at the base of the tail, looking a bit nervous. Something about the way he stood there seemed familiar but he couldn’t figure out why.
“Come on.” He said as loud as he could manage, but it was barely above a whisper. He added a “come here” motion with his hand.
“Not sure I can do that.” He said. Tugger cleared his throat.
“Sure you can. You can do anything.” He managed to yell with such genuine belief that it made Mistoffelees smile. He turned and coughed again. He stood and walked a bit closer to the back of the creature, then crouched, stretching his hand down. His knee hurt, but he ignored it. “You got this, come on!” Mistoffolees bit his lip, then nodded, he took a step back and with the running start vaulted his way up tail. Because he was smaller it took him twice as many strides to make it, but he was quick and light and when his hand made contact with Tugger’s the bigger cat managed to pull him up and into his arms with a quick motion. Both of them laughed and without thinking about it Tugger wrapped his arms around the Cat’s middle, holding him close. Mistoffelees, also seemingly without thinking about it, stood on his toes to reach his arms around Tuggers Neck. Tugger leaned down and pressed his forehead against his.
“See I knew you could…” Tugger's statement was cut short when Mistoflees practically jumped up on Tugger, their lips touching. The kiss was soft, as if despite what seemed to have been pure impulse the smaller cat half expected Tugger to pull away, dropping him to the ground. Tugger pushed just a bit harder, like poking at the edges of a dream to make sure it was real. This was by no means the first time he’d brought someone on top of that dinosaur for this purpose, but it felt different this time. It felt comfortable. Once they both seemed to realize it was real, it was happening, it was what they both wanted, nothing else seemed to matter. Mistoffelees hands moved up to Tugger's hair. Tugger considered lowering his hands from their firm grip on his waist but thought better of it. He still knew so little about the Cat, he didn’t want to move too fast. Mistoffelees moved away from his mouth and kissed his neck lightly a few times. Tugger gasped for air when he did so, having held his breath and not noticing the ache in his lungs until that moment. A few coughs escaped, but he managed to swallow them down, though the effort made him dizzy and despite his best efforts he swayed and his grip faltered. Mistoffelees, feeling his unsteadiness, shifted to brace himself and Tugger with the graceful strength of a dancer.
“You are sick aren’t you?.” Mistofolees whispered. Tugger was about to protest, but instead turned his head to sneeze. He reluctantly pulled away and sneezed three more times into his sleeve before he remembered the tissues he still had. He fumbled with his coat pocket, but began coughing so hard He stumbled and nearly fell. Mistoffelees, again with the speed of a Cat and a dancer grabbed his arm and pulled him to a sitting position before he could fall off the back off the dinosaur.
“Sorry.” Tugger struggled to say through coughing. Mistoffeeles wrapped an arm around him to steady him and used the other to pull a fresh packet of tissues out of a pocket somewhere. Tugger pulled one out and covered his face with it. Sure his chances were now thoroughly ruined he blew his nose into the tissues and contemplated how to disappear forever. Mistoffelees was clearly magic so maybe he knew.
“Thanks.” He managed, taking another Tissue from the pack. Mistoffelees dropped them on Tugger’s lap and held him with both hands. “How did you…” That was as far as Tugger got before Mistoffelees moved his head around and kissed him on the cheek.
“I mean, I kind of figured. I’m not an idiot.”
“I apparently am.” Tugger muttered, blowing his nose again.
“You’re not an idiot. Stubborn, arrogant and lacking in self preservation? Maybe. Overly dramatic? Absolutely.”
“This from the Cat wearing a mask.” He said with a playful chuckle.
“Touche.” After going through another tissue Tugger managed to regain control of his breaths, though Mistoffelees could hear the raspiness to them. Mistoffelees' fingers moved softly along his shoulders. He rubbed at Tuggers tense muscles and seemed to magically will them to relax.
“So before I ruined everything…again…How’d I do?” Tugger asked. He could see that the movie had started and red lips were taking up most of the screen. He could hear the humans laughing and yelling and singing along with the opening credit music.
“The entrance? impressive. I’m sure it works every time.” Mistoffelees said.
“Usually but…It's not like that.” Tugger said suddenly, flustered by the implication. “You’re not... You’re different.”
“Am I?” He scooted behind him and kissed the back of his neck, causing Tugger to shiver. “You tell that to everyone you take up here too?”
“No.” He whispered. “I’ve never…it never mattered so much before.” They were both quiet for a while, aside from Tugger occasionally coughing or sneezing into one of the tissues. Mistoffelees continued to rub Tugger’s shoulders and back, frowning at the tense muscles and scrapes and bruises from the night before. He was really lucky he wasn’t worse off, Mistoffelees thought.
“Don’t go.” Tugger whispered suddenly. Mistoffelees’ hands faltered, and then he wrapped his arms tightly around Tugger.
“Who said I was going anywhere?” The smaller cat said, sounding genuinely confused.
“I’m a disaster. I wouldn’t blame you for leaving. But…I don’t want you too.” His voice was barely a whisper. Mistoffelees wasn’t sure if it was just strain, but the older cat seemed almost panicked. Mistoffelees sighed and put his hand on Tugger's forehead.
“You have a fever. You should really go home.” Tugger pulled away from Mistoffelees and pivoted around to look at him.
“I’m okay to stay here, really. We’re already here. Plus I love this movie. And it’s comfortable up here. We've got everything we need. Look.” He pushed himself up and walked over to the head of the Triceratops. He pulled down a blanket and pillows from the space between the horns. He set down the pillows. Mistoffelees couldn’t help but chuckle at the set up. “See. Comfortable.”
“You really do think of everything.”
“Only the things that are important. And you are important.” Tugger sat down onto one of the pillows, exhausted. While he did his best to keep his expression neutral, he thought for sure the Cat was about to turn and leave. He wouldn’t blame him if he did. Instead, Mistoffolees shook his head and crawled over to him. He leaned up and kissed Tugger on the forehead before sitting.
“We can stay. But you need to rest. And stop talking, I can tell it hurts. If you start to feel worse tell me and I’ll take you home okay?” Tugger noded. and gave a thumbs up.
The two arranged themselves with Tugger wrapped in the blanket, head on Mistoffelees shoulder as he lay against the neck of the Triceratops. For a while Tugger tried to explain the movie to Mistoffelees, who had never seen it, or sing along with the movie and the humans below who also all apparently knew all the words. But it got to the point where every few words would set him off coughing. Mistoffeeles took to giving him a playful flick on the ear or shoulder whenever he started talking to get him to stop, though it usually just got him to start laughing, or shove the smaller cat in retaliation. It was apparent that Tugger was terrible at resting or just following directions in general.
“You know, I was never going to leave.” Mistoffelees said, holding him close after another playful bout of shoving ended with Tugger coughing. Tugger scoffed and blew his nose.
“Not sure why. Again, you’re meant to be the smart one.” Tugger laid his head down on the smaller Cat’s lap. Mistoffelees ran his fingers through Tugger’s hair as they continued to watch the movie. There was a silence between them, heavy with what was unspoken. Tugger fell asleep about halfway through, occasionally waking up to blow his nose or cough, or attempt to start singing along with whatever song was on.
“Go back to sleep darling.” Mistoffelees would say each time, stroking his hair.
“Wasn’t asleep.” Tugger would rasp or mutter, usually before falling asleep a few seconds later. On one occasion towards the end of the movie though, he instead turned to look up at Mistoffelees.
“Do you like it?” Tugger whispered. “The movie. Do you like it?” Mistofolees smiled.
“I like the music. I don’t really understand the plot.” He admitted. Tugger chuckled, then turned back over and was quiet for a while longer. Mistofelees assumed he was asleep again.
“It's like I was saying before.” He said suddenly and unprompted during an odd scene involving a pool. “Just don’t think about it. Just be it. Don’t worry so much. That’s what the movie’s about. That’s why you’re such a great dancer. You just have fun.” Mistoffelees smiled, running fingers through his thick hair. He couldn’t tell if Tugger was actually awake or not. “You should dance like that all the time, not just when you’re Mistofolees.” Mistofolees stopped and froze. Tugger coughed and shifted so he curled up around Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees half thought that he had fallen asleep again, or was possibly not awake to begin with and was just talking sleep nonsense. But he had to ask.
“What do you mean?” He whispered. Tugger didn't open his eyes, but he cleared his throat and responded.
“When you’re Mistoffelees you dance like you’re having fun. You’re in the moment. You’re magic and no one can touch you. Quaxo is afraid of messing up. Afraid what people will think of him. But like, you’re Mistoffolees, so Quaxo can be too.” Tugger grabbed the frozen Cat’s hand and kissed it affectionately.
“How did you…?How long have you…?”
“Don’t worry about it. I love you no matter what your name is.” Then Tugger turned back over and was snoring again.

“Hey, Tugger, wake up. Movie’s over we’ve got to go.” Mistofolees was shaking Tugger softly until his eyes opened with a groan. Below them cars were funneling out of the lot leaving tire marks and boas in their wake. “Come on, you need to get home. Can you move?”
“Can.” He coughed. “Don’t want to.” He winced after speaking, clear that the effort of getting out audible sounds was painful. Mistoffelees kissed the top of his forehead. It was warm, but he thought maybe less warm than earlier. It was hard to tell.
“Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He gave Tugger a gentle push up to a sitting position, holding on to him long enough to be sure that he was steady and knew he was ten feet in the air and not going to fall off the edge. He grabbed the blanket and pillows and stood to tuck them back up on the Dinosaur's head. Tugger stretched and blew his nose again. He seemed a bit foggy but mostly coherent.
“Did you like the movie?” Tugger whispered. He began making his way carefully to the end of the dinosaur.
“Darling, stop trying to talk, or you’ll never get your voice back.” He opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. Instead he sat on the base of the tail and slid down to the bottom. Mistofolees followed suit and slid down as well. Tugger was waiting at the bottom to offer him a hand up. Mistofolees took it and smiled. He slid his arm around Tugger's waist and Tugger put his arm around Mistoffelees shoulder, trying not to lean on the smaller cat but appreciating being close to him. His throat burned and his chest ached with each breath, but it all seemed far away and unimportant.
“I liked the music. I'm still not really sure what was happening with the plot. You think Munkustrap would let us do some of those songs for the Jellicle ball?” Tugger laughed and shook his head.
“Munk. Hates. That. Movie.” He managed, laughing.
“I can see that. I can kind of see what you were saying about the ‘don’t dream it be it’ thing. ” Mistoffelees was curious to see how Tugger would respond to that. Did he remember? If he did he didn’t respond. They walked together for a few minutes in silence. They walked slow, partly because Mistofolees worried about Tugger's raspy breaths and coughing and didn’t want him to overexert himself, but partly because neither really wanted the night to end.
When they were only a few blocks from Tugger’s house, Tugger reached out his hand and started to pull at the mask the smaller cat wore. He jumped back, startled. Tugger mouthed the words “sorry” to him, and the two stood looking at each other. “It’s okay” he mouthed, and he didn’t need to finish the sentence for Mistofolees to know it. He smiled slightly, somewhere between embaserment and courage, and took the mask off. He handed it to Tugger. Tugger smiled back, looked at the mask and then pointed to Quaxo in a gesture towards all of him. “Why?” He mouthed. Quaxo shrugged.
“I…It started as kind of a joke. I was playing around in Uncle Gus's costume room. Trying things on and I found the coat and the hat and the mask. I really liked the way it looked. So I started wearing them when I practiced dancing. It felt… safer. Like I was someone else. Someone magical and mysterious and cool. Someone people would notice.” Tugger kissed Quaxo on the forehead and took his hand. They continued walking as he talked. “I started going to the dance club a few weeks ago. It was far enough away so no one knew me there. I was so nervous but when I put the mask on, it wasn’t me anymore. And it was just for fun. I never stayed very long, would sneak in late, would sneak out. Never really talked to anyone. When I saw you, I thought my cover was blown. But then you danced with me, and I was nervous but…it was the most fun I ever had dancing with anyone. I never wanted it to end.
“When I saw you were in trouble I didn’t even think about it. I just acted. That park down the street where I found you, I was born there. Lived there when I was a kitten. That's how I knew about where they kept the fireworks and the ranger station. I was scared, but I knew I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I’ve always.…I was afraid to talk to you. Scared what you would think about me. I always, you know, wanted to. When I saw you at the club I thought I could finally be someone worth your attention.” Tugger stopped again, tilted Quaxo’s chin up and kissed him. Quaxo wrapped his arms around him and squeezed hard, standing on tiptoes to reach. Luckily he was a dancer so he could stay on his toes for a long time. Tugger pulled away from him only slightly, so he could whisper. “I see you.”

“Really?” Quaxo was shocked awake so fast by the voice he jumped and nearly fell out of the bed. The Bed that wasn’t his in a house that wasn’t his. Where was he? Had it all been a dream?
“Why do you never knock!?” Tugger croaked, throwing a pillow across the room at Munkustrap. He caught it easily and tossed it back onto the bed, laughing.
Quaxo was breathing heavily from the shock while he looked around the room to try and assess where he was and what was going on. He was in a room. Judging by Munkustap standing in the doorway and Tugger laying in the bed next to him, he assumed it was Tugger’s room. His brain caught up with the details of last night slowly. So it wasn’t a dream?
“Sorry Quaxo, didn’t mean to scare you. I went over and told your Uncle Gus you were here so he wouldn’t worry. He said he hopes you had fun at the costume party. I did not mention this.” He made a sweeping gesture towards the bed and its occupants. “You’re on your own there.”
“Thank you.” He managed, sitting cross legged on the bed. Tugger sat up and rubbed at his face as he coughed into his blanket. Quaxo wanted to move over to him but it felt weird with Munk there. Munk walked over to his brother and put a hand on his forehead, frowning. Tugger tried to bat his hand away, but Munk ignored him.
“So you’re the mystery Cat?” Munk asked. Quaxo noticed a bag in his hand that he opened as pulled a bottle of water and a small pill bottle out of it.
“Apparently.” Quaxo said, unsure what else to say.
Munk tossed the pills and the water bottle on Tugger’s lap. Tugger stared at them dimly.
“Antibiotics. For the very obvious respiratory infection you’re trying to turn into pneumonia. Also compliments of Quaxo’s Uncle. Luckily he has more incase whatever river plague you caught is contagious. I swear to the entire heavy side lair if you two are not both 100% for the show next week Macavity will be the least of your worries. Understood?” Quaxo nodded. Tugger gave a non committal groan as he fought with the top of the pill bottle.
“I, I should go.” Quaxo said awkwardly. “S…sorry” He stood up and grabbed his jacket off the floor.
“You’re free to go if you want to, but I’m making breakfast, you’re welcome to stay.” Quaxo was very unclear about whether or not he was in trouble. He sat back down on the bed. “Will be ready in ten minutes. In the meantime, make sure my idiot brother takes that medicine and drinks water. If he tries to leave again, tie him to the bed.”
“Nice.” Tugger said with a chuckle. Munk picked up the pillow off the foot of the bed where he’d tossed it and chucked it at Tuggers head. He ducked, and it hit the backboard. Tugger smirked childishly, seeming trying to hold in laughter that he knew would be painful. Quaxo on the other hand was mortified and blushing furiously. He grabbed the pill bottle Tugger was struggling to open, desperate for something else to focus on. Munk took a few steps towards the door and then turned back to the two on the bed.
“Tugger?” Munk said, his voice softer and somehow more serious. Tugger grudgingly looked up at his brother. “I’m sorry about last night. The accusations, not, telling you not to go out. That was entirely stupid. But, I should have trusted you.”
“Fair enough.” Tugger whispered with a small smile, sipping at the water bottle. He winced when the cold water caught his raw throat, coughing a bit. Quaxo handed him one of the pills from the now open bottle. Munk looked between the two of them on the bed and shook his head, but couldn’t help but smile.
“Quaxo, let the record show you can absolutely do better than him.” he says, pointing at his brother. “Tugger, do not mess this up.” And Munkustap was gone. Quaxo blinked at Tugger, who forced down the pill with a large gulp of water that caused him to gasp. He then laid back against the backboard of the bed with a tired but satisfied smile that turned into a laugh.
“It’s not funny,” Quaxo said indignantly.
“It’s a little funny.” Tugger said, still laughing. He extended an inviting hand out to Quaxo, who scooted across the bed to lay against Tugger's chest. He couldn’t help but smile and grudgingly agree.
“It’s a little funny.”

Chapter Text

Two days before the Jellicle ball the junkyard was full of cats practicing their various parts. Different groups or individuals had claimed spots around the space to go over songs or dance numbers, while others were digging furiously through piles and bins for usable props and last minute costume pieces. Munkustrap circulated through the groups, giving approval or advice or encouragement to each group. His mood oscillated between intense pride for how much improvement he had seen over the last few weeks, and panic at every misstep, off note or crash from somewhere off in the junkyard he didn’t dare investigate. Even he wasn’t sure how he could be simultaneously convinced that this would be the best Jellicle ball in history, and a disaster.
He rounded the corner and saw his brother Rum Tum Tugger leading a group of younger cats in one of their dances. He stayed back to watch them without them knowing. He’d worried about that particular group when they’d first started rehearsing. They weren’t kittens, but they were young and energetic and easily distracted and had a constant need to try and outdo each other. Just getting them to focus enough to learn the parts and stick to them rather than improvising or asking a million questions had brought him to the end of his patience on a daily basis. Until a stroke of genius led him to the idea to put Tugger in charge of them. He held their attention in a way Munk never quite could, with charisma that was equal parts mesmerizing and infuriating. He talked fast, moved fast and had the cats fighting to impress him rather than worried about outdoing each other. At first glance it seemed like every bit as much chaos there had been before, but as Munk watched with a well trained eye he saw cohesion and skill where there had been none a few days ago. He allowed himself a smile before walking over. His brother had just set them to go from the top and was watching them when Munk came over to him. The two watched together.
“How’s it going?” Munk asked him quietly.
“Like herding Cats.” Tugger whispered, and laughed at his own joke. Aside from a lingering cough and his voice not yet fully recovered Tugger had gotten over his illness from earlier in the week. He assumed thanks to the medicine from Gus’s stores, and Quaxo’s uncanny ability to get him to actually stay in bed for as long as he did.
Quaxo was definitely not on the short list of cats he’d expected to find in bed with Tugger a few days ago. Or a long list for that matter. Munk had always liked Gus’s nephew, he was a hard worker and an excellent dancer, if not a bit stage shy. He’d had him in mind for an apprentice, hoping that was what he needed to boost his confidence. He’d worried that their relationship would cause Tugger’s bad habits to rub off on him but so far the opposite seemed to be true. For both of them.

The morning before, Munkustrap had found Rum Tum Tugger, Quaxo and the twins in the Junkyard just after dawn, working on set pieces. He had no idea how long they had all been there but Munk was speechless as they excitedly went through everything they’d finished. Tasks he thought would take right up until the day of the show were flawlessly done. His shock peaked at seeing a brilliantly constructed train made out of scraps, boxes and broken wheels set up against the wall. It was big enough for a dozen cats to fit inside.
“Who made this?” He’d asked, looking through it. He could see how it was designed to allow Cats to operate the different parts. Even the wheels would turn.
“Jerrie did! Well I painted the wheels, but it was his idea!” Rumple said proudly, the little Calico cat covered in paint. Munk looked over at Jerrie and gave him an impressed nod.
“It’s brilliant.” He’d said genuinely. Jerrie looked uncharacteristically embarrassed.
“I thought Skimbleshanks would like it. Wanted to surprise him. It comes apart so we can hide it until it's time for his number.” Muck cocked his head to the side at Jerrie’s blush, but didn’t comment on it.
“I’m sure he’ll love it.” Munk caught sight of a flash of lights above and spotted Quaxo and Tugger on top of the brick wall that surrounded the junkard. Tugger seemed to be untangling christmas lights while Quaxo was stringing them around the lamppost just next to it.
“Tugger you’re supposed to be in bed!” Munk called up to him. He'd had a feeling his brother wasn't going to last another day of house arrest, even with Quaxo's seeming endless patience.
“No fever since yesterday! I’m fine!” He yelled down. His voice was still hoarse but he definitely sounded and looked better.
“Quaxo?” Munk looked at the smaller cat.
“It’s true, I checked.” He hopped onto the lamppost and slid down, wrapping the Christmas lights as he did. Tugger fed him the lights as he did so and then tied the end off so it was secure on the top.
He then hopped down to land next to Quaxo. The two gave a synchronized bow. Munk’s eyes narrowed at his brother. His nose was still a bit red and chapped, but he looked much brighter, almost back to his energetic self. Even more than that. He looked happy. More than Munk had seen him in a very long time. Granted, Tugger was excellent at appearing happy, cultivating a reputation for not having a care in the world, but Munk knew better. He felt a twinge of guilt about it too. He’d realized in the last few days how hard he’d always been on his brother, and what was worse realized that deep down his brother really did care.
“You’re sure you’re feeling up to being out?”
“I am ready and at your command! Please don’t let me spend another day in that house. I will go literally insane. It’s been a whole week!”
“It’s been three days.”
“Come on, let me help you today! I’ll do anything!” Munk looked over at Quaxo, who was trying to hold back laughter.
“What did you do to my brother?” Quaxo chuckled and shrugged.
“He’s twitterpated!” Rumple yelled from across the yard where she was constructing what looked like a dog mask out of potato sacks. Her and her brother laughed, and Munk couldn’t help but join them. Quaxo was blushing furiously and Tugger grabbed the little cat and pulled him into a playful hug that made Quaxo yelp in surprise and everyone else laugh all the harder.

He spotted Quaxo among the other male dancers. He was smiling, which he’d never done without prompting while dancing until a few days ago. Despite talent and skill that rivaled any of them he’d always looked hesitant and nervous. Now he was owning the space around him, not in the showy, boisterous way the other cats his age did, but with a mature confidence.
“He’s really good.” Munk commented, with a subtle gesture towards Quaxo. Tugger smiled.
“He is.”
“You’re doing a good job.” Munk said, patting his brother on the back.
“Hey I learn from the best.” Tugger coughed a few times to clear his throat and swaggered out into the dancers to give direction to some cats in the back. Munk moved on to the next group. The next couple days would be long, but they would be worth it.