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During the first few weeks of arriving in their new home, things have been strange and hectic. After being told that their former boss wouldn’t return to this dark world and the initial shock of it, the three didn’t quite know what to do with themselves. On one hand, Tenna could be a downright pain in the ass to work for, but they’d done their job to keep him in check, to keep him from breaking down completely. Even if at first it was to keep them and their home world from any potential bodily harm – or maybe more realistically, from being fired – they came to feel more and more bad for him the more time elapsed. Quitting was simply not an option any of them could rationally consider, even if they wanted to.
But all things considered, the trio somehow got over it. If Tenna wasn’t here to boss them around, their disguises obviously weren’t needed anymore either, and there were no worries of him ever catching them in their room out of costume and suspecting anything. Everything was alright now, right?
But even if the big boss hadn’t been there at all, Battat still wasn’t keen on showing his disguised self around town. After all, Mike was only seen if Tenna needed him! If the guy who this whole charade was for hadn’t been there at all, why would Mike be?
It had gone so far that the Pippins forbid the donning of the costumes altogether, to the quiet relief of the Zapper who always dreaded having to wear that way too tight outfit. But also to the dismay of the Shadowguy, who had fallen in love with how they appeared, who they really were when inside the costume. It wasn’t just a disguise to them, this was what they wanted to be, this was their ideal self. Taking that away was like stripping them of their real identity.
So of course they’d been upset when their partner would scold them for wanting to go outside with it on, and subsequently forced them to go back and change into their regular clothes.
And for a while, Pluey accepted it, even if it made them feel miserable. For their boyfriend’s sake.
It wasn’t until they’d had an awkward encounter at the cat cafe that the topic came up again. After having to tell the trio’s friends Patch and Button that they’d “broken up” with Mike, effectively explaining his absence in Castle Town, being seen in any of their disguises would be even more detrimental! This whole thing couldn’t get to the surface, not under any circumstances! What if Tenna returned one day and saw Mike living his life as if nothing ever happened? Or worse, the truth could somehow reach his metaphorical ears and then he’d probably kill them or something!
It still made Pluey miserable to think about. He’d sneaked out in the middle of the night just to put on his Mike outfit and just hang out in it for a while to get a small taste of that nice euphoric feeling again, before slipping out of it and returning to his partners’ sides. It had become somewhat of a routine for a while, get out of bed, don the costume for a minute, return to bed, repeat on the following night.
And that was that for a while. Some nights it would occur more often, especially after the Pippins had become even stricter about the rule. He hated not being able to feel like himself anymore, he missed feeling like an adorable little kitty, at times he swore he could even feel his tail sway from side to side, his ears pin against his head, his whiskers twitch in excitement. Only for the dread to overshadow that short lived happiness.
It was one of those nights once again, and Pluey made its way to their closet as quietly as it could. Its partners were always difficult to wake – especially Jongler – even if it took a while for the smallest of the three to fall asleep in the first place. Once he slept, though, he slept.
It stepped into the costume, closed the zipper, pulled the foam head over its own. A sigh of relief escaped its lungs, running its fingers through its fur as if it’d been the first ever time it wore the getup. By the Angel, it felt so nice, so freeing to be a cat again.
And then the light turned on.
Pluey flinched, slowly turning to face none other than the green Pippins standing behind him, expression a mix of irritation and confusion. It let out a nervous string of notes, scratching the back of its head.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”, Battat returned the question, leaning against the door frame as he crossed his arms over his chest, “You’re not planning to go out in your costume right now, are you?”
The cat shook its head and waved its hands in front of itself, tail pinched in between its legs. Even if it was a little tempting, the darkness of the night giving it an additional layer of security, hidden from the eyes of other darkners, it knew not to tempt fate like this. And breaking its boyfriend’s trust wasn’t something it was willing to do either.
The Pippins sighed as he approached, his expression softened, “You really miss wearing that thing, huh?”
Pluey’s head sunk as he let out a shameful note of confirmation. He wasn’t sure why he was so embarrassed about it, his partners both knew he loved to be a cat, and they’d both indulged him from the very beginning.
“Look, I know you love that thing, but you know you can’t be wearing it anymore”, his words made Pluey just deflate more, a deep frown on his costume’s head. It seemed like he was close to tears at this point. Battat hated seeing him like this, it broke his little heart to see him so miserable when he was usually so silly and cheerful, like nothing could ever bother him.
He stepped closer and laid a hand on the other’s shoulder, “Come back to bed. I’ll think of something tomorrow, okay?”
Pluey hesitated before showing a small grateful smile, nodding before he nuzzled into his boyfriend with a low purr.
“Okay, okay, I get it! Come on now, you overgrown fur ball.”
If Battat had been secretive before, it was amplified by a hundred now. He’d get out to visit the town all by himself, come back with bags full of stuff he didn’t want anyone to peek into, immediately hiding whatever was in that bag somewhere only he knew. Maybe he’d discovered something about himself he wasn’t ready to admit yet, Pluey thought, so he wasn’t going to pry. He’d come out with it sooner or later anyway, like he usually does.
Even if he was a little more passive recently, he’d try to make time with his partners, on some days more than on others. After all, he tended to get absorbed in whatever new thing that entered his life, be it some kind of errand or work, new evidence on Mike (even though that topic hadn’t been touched in a while), or a new interest of his.
One some days, though, his absence was very noticeable. He wouldn’t have even joined his partners for dinner if Jongler wasn’t forced to drag him out on multiple occasions. He’d looked apologetic each time, and still Pluey couldn’t help but feel like he was trying to avoid the two of them for some reason. Had this new interest of his taken over to such a high degree that he’d rather spend his time with that instead of his partners?
They pushed the thought aside, surely this would pass, right?
Yet, one night, doubt only grew stronger within the Shadowguy.
They awoke in the middle of the night to find the Pippins missing from their shared bed, when he’d been by both their sides as they’d went to sleep. He usually wouldn’t get up like this anymore like he used to before the three were even together, or in the first few weeks of their relationship. He’d sneak out to either work on his Mike board or sleep on the couch instead, but now he didn’t really have any reason to leave the bed, unless this new hobby threatened to become an obsession, if it hadn’t done so already.
Pluey furrowed their brow and left the bedroom. He must be around somewhere, right? Unless he went outside for some reason, but why would he do that? They decided to keep their search within the house for the time being.
With quiet steps, they passed the kitchen, bathroom, living room, yet no sign of the Pippins. When they stopped in front of the door to the closet, they hesitated, feeling themselves drawn to the room that held their precious cat costume. Putting it on for a minute wouldn’t hurt, would it? They could continue to look for their partner while wearing it as well.
As it was about to reach out to the handle, a quiet gasp on the other side of the door let it freeze. It then heard a sigh, some mumbling, what sounded like the subtle rustling of clothes, and it felt its cheeks heat. Did it really want to disturb… whatever it was that was going on in there?
Before it could think about that any longer, its hand answered that question for it, pressing down the handle and opening the door to reveal the green Pippins hunched over on the floor, different fabrics strewn about, which he hastily shoved behind himself once he’d noticed the additional presence in the room.
“Pluey! What the- s-shouldn’t you be sleeping??”, his cheeks practically glowed a venomous green, visible even in the darkness of the closet. Why hadn’t he turned on the light if he was working in there anyway?
The Shadowguy crossed its arms, tapping its fingers against its upper arms in light irritation. Why was he allowed to do whatever with their costumes, but it couldn’t hang out in its own for a minute? this was hardly fair!
“I-I’m sorry, okay? I’ll come back to bed, just gimme a minute.”
But Pluey didn’t buy any of it. They stepped closer, grabbed the Pippins by the back of his shirt and pulled him up without another word.
“Wait, don’t look! It’s not finished!”, he squirmed in their hands, waving his arms in front of himself. Wait, finished? What did he mean, finished?
Despite the smaller one’s words, Pluey’s gaze fell to the floor, where various articles of seemingly hand-sewn clothing were sat on the floor, some still had sewing needles in them to hold the fabric together. There were fluffy, fingerless gloves with paws sewn on them, a cat ear headband with extra fluffy ears, a cat tail with a white tip, what looked to be a cat themed onesie, among a few others. Gears turned inside their head, until they seemed to realize what exactly it was they found him doing.
A quiet string of notes, rising in octave at the end like a sarcastic question, and Battat looked mortified, hiding his head in his hands.
“That was meant to be a surprise…”, he mumbled in a somewhat defeated tone, and Pluey couldn’t help but flush a little. A moment of silence with the taller still holding onto the Pippins, a wide grin plastered onto their face.
“Don’t look at me like that”, he huffed, crossing his arms as he still dangled from the other’s grip, “you love that stupid outfit so I thought I could make you another one. That you could wear around and all” a short sigh as he finally looked back into his partner’s face, “And now the surprise is ruined.”
The other tilted its head before squeezing the other tightly to its chest, swinging the both of them from side to side as it peppered his cheek with several little kisses.
“Okay, I get it, you’re excited!”, the Shadowguy nodded eagerly, pressing a quick kiss onto the Pippins’ lips and nuzzling into him with a loud purr. It never wanted to let its boyfriend go in this moment, so much love had bubbled up inside of it.
“L-look, let’s just… go to bed. You’ll get them soon, okay?”
Pluey let out a short note before it kissed him once more.
“Y-yeah, love you too, you dumbass.”