Chapter Text
Normally Tugger was quick to fall asleep, even if it was a night before such a big ball. But tonight he just couldn’t. Even with Mistoffelees lying against him, which normally offered a great deal of comfort, wasn’t enough and he didn’t want to take him for other activities that might help. Mostly because it was thoughts of Mistoffelees that were currently keeping him up.
They’d begun seeing each other six months ago…well, they’d begun hooking up six months ago. It didn’t take long for Tugger to catch feelings, and luckily for him Mistoffelees returned them. Even if it took them two months for one of them to say it, and they’d been officially together ever since.
They’d also been successfully hiding it from everyone as well. Not a single soul knew about the two of them, and Tugger had originally liked keeping it that way. It made the sex a little hotter with the risk of being caught, and then it was because they both wanted their privacy. But now, Tugger wanted the world to know that he was with Mistoffelees, he just didn’t know how to approach it.
“I know you’re not sleeping.” Speak of the devil. Tugger glanced down at Mistoffelees, who adjusted themselves so that they were now looking at Tugger while still laying against his chest.
“Maybe you just woke me up.” Tugger suggested. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” This earned him an eye roll.
“I know where your blood isn’t rushing, so what is actually keeping you up?”
Tugger let out a sigh. “I was thinking that we could tell everyone.”
“Tell everyone?”
“About us.”
Mistoffelees sat up at that. “Babe. Everybody already knows.”
Tugger paused, and quickly became confused. “No they don't.”
“Yes they do. We are not subtle.”
“What are you talking about? How would anyone even find out?”
“By walking in on us.” Tugger couldn’t help but smirk. Their early relationship involved a lot of sneaking around to hidden corners of balls, and yeah it wasn’t impossible that someone could have walked in on them.
“We would have seen them. Or heard them, because you know that someone would be shrieking about it.” They’d also probably tell everyone which was why Tugger was pretty sure that no one knew, or if anyone did, they were so small fry people would think they were making shit up for attention.
“Not if that person was my bestie.”
“Skimble? When?”
-
Mistoffelees would have been lying if he said Tugger pulling him into the nearest empty dressing room to ravish him between categories hadn’t been his fantasy for the past few months. The fact that it was now true still didn’t feel real. That Tugger’s idea of celebrating after a win was to get Mistoffelees off rather than whatever random person he normally did this with.
The two possibly getting caught in such a compromising position was also a big turn on for Tugger. He never said it exactly that way, but Mistoffelees could tell from how often he said that they could get caught with a very excited smile. Everyone knew that Tugger loved attention, and Mistoffelees was pretty sure that the one thing that would get him more would be getting caught hooking up in a place he wasn’t supposed to be, with the cat who never gave him the time of day.
He was a perfect gentleman afterwards as well, making sure Mistoffelees was always ready for his next category before Tugger was for his own. This time they’d had enough time between Body and Mistoffelees competing in New Way for a bit of alone time. Mistoffelees accidentally found a new thing that turned Tugger on in the process. Turned out that he had a bit of a degradation kink. Afterwards, Tugger decided to be a prince charming and did up Mistoffelees laces on his boots.
“How do you get these on so fast?” Too bad he'd never done it before.
“Practice.” Mistoffelees had laced up the other boot before Tugger had even made it halfway through the first one. “Haven't you ever laced up a figure skate?”
“No. I’m not exactly graceful.” Tugger had messed up again and needed to redo several laces.
“I’ve seen you dance.” Tugger looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes, and Mistoffelees would be melting if he hadn’t spent months keeping his composure together. Hiding his attraction to the things Tugger put on display for everyone had become easy, but the little things that had nothing to do with sex, that was hard. “So you do have a point.”
“Don’t turn me on right now.” Tugger gave him a smirk, but returned his attention to the laces. “I think I got it.”
Mistoffelees looked over Tugger’s work. They were a little messy, but they’d be covered and it at least matched the tightness of his other shoe. “Not bad.”
“I'll take that as a win. Now,” Tugger stood up and placed his hands on either side of where Mistoffelees sat on the dressing room table and gave him a kiss, Mistoffelees lazily wrapping his arms around Tugger's shoulder in turn. “I'm going to get dressed, and while I’m doing that, you go out there and then I'll come out to watch you win.”
“You think I'm going to win?”
“You're too marvelous not to.” Mistoffelees couldn't help but blush. Tugger flirting with him was different than when he did it with the audience. Tugger had done it a few times with him before he’d realized that he would be getting a response. He found Tugger hot, but he could never engage with it if it was an act. But when it was just the two of them, all the shallowness dropped from his voice. His compliments got more specific, and he knew the exact words to make Mistoffelees blush despite his best effort not to.
He sometimes wondered if Tugger was like this with all his partners, but a small part of him hoped that he was the one to bring it out in him. Mistoffelees then gave Tugger a kiss, this one more tender than the previous.
“I’m going to wish you luck now.” Tugger said when they pulled apart. He then gave Mistoffelees a kiss on the cheek. “Good luck.”
“Thank you.” Tugger just looked him over for a moment before heading to the back half of the dressing room blocked by a black curtain. Once it swished behind him, Mistoffelees hopped off the table, and turned to leave and immediately froze. Skimbleshanks was standing in the doorway, late for the ball, on time for her category, which was considered early for her, with shock plastered on her face.
Mistoffelees didn’t even think, just quickly moved and pushed Skimbleshanks through the door. Closing it behind him, he looked to either side of the hall to see if anyone else was there. Luckily no one was coming from either side, and turned back to Skimblshanks who was starting to make small sounds of surprise.
“I know what you're thinking-” Mistoffelees started to whisper but that was all Skimble would let him say.
“You and Tugger!” Her words both a yell and whisper. “Of all the cats, Tugger! And you didn’t tell me!”
“Look-”
“Don’t you dare ‘look’ me! You’re in a relationship with a guy who anyone else would be screaming from the rooftops about. You’re officially the envy of most of the ballroom scene. And again, you didn’t tell me!” Mistoffelees gave a startled blink when he realized that she had used the R word to describe what he and Tugger were doing.
“I don’t know how you got ‘relationship’ out of that, but you’re wrong.” She glared at him like a house mother who caught her child breaking the rules. “Tugger’s not my boyfriend. There’s nothing romantic about us.”
“I have seen Tugger flirt, and it is never like anything I just saw in there. Which was luckily for me, the end of whatever it was you guys were doing. Remind me not to put my stuff in the dressing room anymore.” Mistoffelees couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “Chill, everyone has hooked up somewhere in this place at least once. But I’ve never seen Tugger be so sweet to someone he’s just flirting with for his act.”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not going to be real. That’s the irony of him walking Realness.”
“Yet you looked, completely smitten. Nothing about your face said that that was anything besides romantic.”
“We’re not dating!” Mistoffelees quickly covered his mouth, hoping that no one heard him. Skimble was surprised and Mistoffelees couldn’t look her in the eye. Looking at the floor instead and crossing his arms. “We’re just…we’re just hooking up.”
“The Next Category is New Way.” Munkustrap’s voice rang over the loudspeakers. “Competitors get ready.”
Mistoffelees quickly turned from Skimbleshanks and walked down the hall, hoping she would take the hint that he didn’t want to talk anymore about this. He got to the end of the catwalk as soon as possible, which ended up not working in his favor, as Skimble wasn’t taking the hint, and the two of them were the first one’s to be ready.
“Look,” Skimble quickly took her place beside Mistoffelees and he could see the shock on several members of the audience as she was there on time. “You can define what you two have as whatever you want. But I can tell you have some issues whatever it is.”
“There are no issues.”
“No one looks that disappointed when they tell their best friend that they’re getting laid.”
“Did you consider that cornering me over this just makes me uncomfortable?”
“I would if you weren’t lying. I also don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Trust me,” Mistoffelees saw Tugger coming from backstage and sneaking into the audience, taking his usual spot close to the back. He could also see one of the new Dots clearly eyeing Tugger, only to be repeatedly pulled back by Jenny. That one clearly didn't get that he was putting on an act. “I won't.”
“Skimbleshanks, glad you're on time to lose for once.” Noilly Prat said as she took her place on Skimble's other side. Skimble quickly turned her attention to Noilly.
“Or I'm on time to remind you what happens when you go up against me.” Noilly gave an eye roll and turned to face the runway. Skimble did the same but was getting up on her tiptoes to try and whisper to Mistoffelees. “Whatever you two did better not affect your dancing. I'm gonna need you to kick her ass so that I can kick your ass fair and square.”
Mistoffelees couldn't help but smirk. “Oh honey. I'm pretty sure what we do makes me better.”