Disclaimer: I do not own the musical Cats or any of its characters.

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Shrieks and giggles rang out through the junkyard. Munkustrap's ear twitched in annoyance. Weren't cats supposed to hate the rain?

But despite the downpour, the tribe seemed determined to enjoy the day. And while there were cats out of their dens, so the protector must be, watching over things from his perch high atop the junk-pile.

"Headin' for the high ground already, Straps?"

Munkustrap bit back a sigh and flicked his dripping tail in the direction of the intruder.

"I thought you would be inside moaning over how the rain makes your mane frizz, Tugger."

The Tugger grinned as he padded over to Munkustrap and flopped down next to the tabby tom, ignoring the irritated tone of voice. He was used to it by now.

"Nah, chicks dig the wet-tom look." He appeared to think for a moment, though no doubt he'd anticipated Munkustrap's sarcastic comment and thought up an appropriate reply long before scaling the mountain of rusted cars. "'Sides, if I get sick, I can always get Bomba to do the nurse thing with me."

Munkustrap rolled his eyes. "Of course. Because she seems the nursing type."

"Hey, bro, that's my babe you're dissin'."

"Not 'dissing'. Stating the facts. She didn't even like being around Demeter when she was sick, and you know how protective of Demeter she is."

Tugger fell silent, turning to face the center of the junkyard with a pout. For a few moments the two brothers lay there, side by side, without saying a word. Below them, kittens ran about and played in the puddles while frazzled mothers did their best to herd them back into dens. Little Etcetera was proving particularly troublesome, squealing and shrieking as she ran circles around Jellylorum. The poor queen looked as if all her patience had run out long ago—and that was saying something. With Cettie as a daughter, she'd gained quite a bit of patience over the years.

"You know, Jelly might appreciate your help down there," Munkustrap mused aloud, watching the two pale queens. The Tugger turned to look at him oddly, and he continued. "You know, with Cettie. I doubt you'd even have to say anything to her. Just appear and wander into a den. She'll follow."

"Yeah, guess you're right," Tugger mumbled, but made no move to rise.

"So maybe you should go help her," Munkustrap prompted, annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'," the leopard tom mumbled, rising slowly and turning to pick his way cautiously down the back of the junk-pile. He glanced back just before disappearing over the edge. "Be back when the floods start," he promised, pretending he hadn't noticed Munkustrap's sudden hiss as he descended.

Moments later Etcetera's squealing paused, then began again with renewed enthusiasm. Jellylorum's relieved sigh came soon after, and when Munkustrap looked back towards the area, both had disappeared.

He let loose his own sigh of relief. Etcetera and Jellylorum were inside. Jennyanydots followed her moments later, one paw clamped onto Jemima's arm and the other towing Pouncival by his tail.

Tumblebrutus took only five seconds to decide that he would rather not stay outside.

Plato and Victoria, abandoned by their friends, turned to wander back towards their own den, where no doubt new games would find them.

Cats began to retreat inside, laughing as they reunited with soaking-wet mates and friends, ready to groom the mud out of their fur.

Munkustrap smiled, standing and stretching stiffly. The downpour continued, but no matter. Soon he would be inside his warm den, snuggling up to a nice, dry Demeter, a towel wrapped around his soggy fur…

"Whatcha doin' up here, Munkustrap?"

The silver tabby's eyes fluttered closed and he just barely bit back a groan.

Of course. He'd forgotten to look for the last kitten.

"Why aren't you with Jenny and Jelly and the other kittens, Electra?" he asked patiently. For some reason, the dark tabby had taken a liking to him, and he always had to be careful not to be too harsh with her. Most of the others would ignore his sarcastic remarks or bounce right back from their hurt, but the one time he'd snapped at this little kitten, her eyes had gone wide and she'd started sobbing. It had taken a week and a sincere, heartfelt apology from the protector himself to make her feel better.

So he had to be careful.

He couldn't see her with his back to her and his eyes closed, but Munkustrap imagined Electra shrugging, an innocent expression on her face.

"I dunno. I got bored with running around and saw you up here and thought that maybe you'd want some company! Did you want some company, Munkustrap?"

Finally he turned to face her and saw her eager, hopeful face, lit up with the prospect of spending time with her favorite tom. He bit back the caustic reply that was on the tip of his tongue, reminding himself to be gentle. It wasn't her fault the rain had him in an awful mood.

"I'm afraid not, Electra," he said as kindly as he could, but her face still fell. "I was just going to go inside, now that everyone else is safe and warm in their dens…where you should be, too. Why don't you go in with the others?"

Electra nodded, tears filling her eyes. She muttered a soft "'kay," her voice thick with sobs that she wouldn't let free until he was gone…

"But, tell you what. Next time I'm up here and it's not raining, you can come spend the day with me. How about that?" the protector asked desperately. Jenny would murder him if Electra came in crying.

The tears were gone in a flash. "Oh! Really, Munk? Really? That would be great! I'll see you tomorrow, Munkustrap!" she squealed, her voice high-pitched with excitement. She scrambled down from the pile, slipping and sliding in a way that made the silver tabby nervous until she hit the ground. The dark tabby was a blur as she raced into the den currently occupied by her friends, no doubt eager to tell them of the promise Munkustrap had made.

And the rain continued to pour.

But it didn't matter. Munkustrap was going to go stay inside with his mate, and nothing at all was going to stop him now!

"Where was Electra off to in such a hurry, Munk?" a soft voice asked, and a golden head appeared from the edge of the junk-pile. Carefully, Demeter climbed up onto the slippery perch, managing to look graceful and beautiful even with her fur matted down from the rain.

"Off to a nice, warm, dry den, no doubt," he growled in answer, ears flattening with irritation. Why was she out here? She was supposed to be in the den, ready to cuddle with him and help him get dry! Not dripping wet out here!

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Demeter asked in concern. She was used to sarcasm, perfectionism, obsessive behavior, and much more from the silver tabby, but she didn't often get to see him angry.

"Yes! Cats are supposed to hate the rain, aren't they? Well, someone failed to tell that to the tribe, because they all seem determined to keep me out in it! All day, there's been someone outside playing, or who just had to talk to me right now and couldn't do it inside, or just wanted to come up and bother me up here, or who wanted attention, or—" He broke off, embarrassed suddenly.

Demeter just giggled, surprised at his vehemence but amused by the situation nonetheless. "Oh, Munk. You have had an awful day, haven't you? All cold out in the rain?"

"Yes, I have," Munkustrap huffed, sighing. A thought hit him suddenly. "You don't like the rain any more than I do. Why are you out here?"

Demeter rolled her eyes, padding over to Munkustrap's previous place of occupancy and lowering herself onto her stomach. Munkustrap followed after a moment, hesitantly laying down next to her. He didn't want to be out here any longer than absolutely necessary, and laying down seemed to indicate that Demeter was intending on being here for a while.

"Oh, Bomba and Tugger got into another one of their fights," she began, her tail swiping behind her. It was obvious she was annoyed with her older sister. "So kicked him out of their den."

"That explains why he was up here!" Munkustrap yelped. "I knew there had to be a better reason…"

Demeter eyed him oddly for a moment before she went on. "All right, dear…but then she didn't want to be alone in the den, so she came to visit ours."

"But why wouldn't you be in there with her now…oh…" Munkustrap's eyes widened as realization hit him.

"Yes," Demeter confirmed. "Tugger came to apologize to her. They're making up in our den right now."

"Perfect," Munkustrap snarled, rolling onto his side and shutting his eyes. "Absolutely perfect. Just when I was free to go inside, they take over our den!"

A soft touch to his side made him start, his eyes popping open. He was surprised to see Demeter standing above him, purring and nuzzling him cheerfully.

"Well, we can always go take over their den…or we could stay out here…" she suggested, smiling coyly. Munkustrap smirked, a purr starting to rumble in his chest.

And the rain kept falling.

But it wasn't so bad.

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A/N: Really quick piece here, but I just wanted to write something and this was what happened.

Inspired by events yesterday, when the rain decided "Nope! Don't like you!" and started pouring just as I began my fifteen-minute walk back from class. Fun times. The umbrella didn't work, since the rain was pretty much coming at me sideways. It didn't make for a happy Penguin.