During the Ball

The epic tale of Mistoffelees, Rum Tum Tugger, and their seven kittens continues! In a way. Before I launch into the true sequel story, here is a multi-part interlude of sorts, a look at the Jellicle Ball from the movie with the events of Mysterious Ways in mind. I've tried my very best to have everything fit in near-flawlessly, and I assure you I spent many hours watching the DVD to notice where Misto and Tugger were off-screen together, because I firmly believe that new parents would take every possible moment to enjoy some 'alone time' without the babies, if you know what I mean.

So obviously: this fanfic WILL contain scenes of naughty, naughty sex. Those chapters will be clearly marked as NOT FOR KITTENS. And beause this directly follows Mysterious Ways, mpreg will be referenced over and over again.

The only original characters in this one are Jezebel (who of course won't be seen much, because she's babysitting the kittens—which is why you never saw her in the DVD, ha!) and the seven kittens.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and if you would like to leave comments, I will enjoy reading them!

A big thank-you to CrazyIndigoChild for beta-reading!

1. Before the Ball

(Please note that the first half of this chapter repeats the epilogue from Mysterious Ways. It worked too well not to use it! The second half is new content.)

"Everlasting Cat," Jezebel sighed good-naturedly. "How do you keep track of them all?"

As he watched the kittens running around in front of Jezebel's den, with Jenny kindly directing a few to sit down in a semi-circle, Mistoffelees had to admit that the last year had been an exercise in chaos, and it was due in no small part to keeping track- as Jezebel put it- of seven growing kittens.

To watch them now, it was astonishing to remember how small and helpless they had seemed as newborns. Just a few short weeks after their birth, they had outgrown their cherished hat and had started tottering around on their small legs, causing both Mistoffelees and Tugger no small amount of panic attacks as they set about exploring first their den, and then the junkyard.

It seemed they had inherited both Tugger's single-minded determination to be contrary, and Mistoffelees' uncanny ability to sneak and squeeze into any hiding place. It had become a common sight in the junkyard for one of them to yell at the kittens to either get down or come out from wherever they'd scampered off to. With the soon-after arrival of Cassandra and Alonzo's two tom-kits, Verismo and Serapis, the junkyard had indeed become overrun by a herd of boisterous young kittens.

Caring for the kittens had been both exhausting and exhilarating, and despite the rather accidental manner in which they had come about, the experience was not something Mistoffelees would have traded for anything. His body, after changing to allow him to naturally give birth to the kittens, had changed back as soon as the kittens no longer needed to nurse. Now back to normal, he and Tugger had been all over each other that night.

Of course, there had been times in the last year when he was ready to tear his fur out and pray to the Everlasting Cat for the little ones to be quiet and still for just a few moments.

The only quiet ones at the moment were Tourmaline, the tuxedo queen, who sat in Mistoffelees' arms; Josephine, the fluffy calico, who stood by Jezebel's legs and glared at her roughhousing siblings; and Mandragora, who was only quiet because Tugger had taken her aside to finish grooming her unruly fur before they left the kittens in Jezebel's care for the night before leaving to attend the Jellicle Ball.

A few paces away, Augusta gave a mighty roar and leapt onto Cyrano's back, determined to bring him to the ground. The brown tabby queen had developed an affinity for playing roughly, and had nearly succeeded in pinning her bigger brother to the ground, until the authoritative Josephine stomped over to them.

"Stop that!" she yelled. Her voice was already bigger than she was. "It's not proper!"

"I'm not sure who taught her that word," Mistoffelees remarked to Jezebel, shaking his head. "But she doesn't seem to think anything is proper. Anyway, are you sure these aren't too many to handle, on top of Cassandra and Alonzo's kittens? Tugger or I can stay behind and help you watch them."

"Not Tugger," the older tom said, spitting out a white fluff of fur from Mandragora's mane. The small black-and-white kitten whined and squirmed restlessly in his lap.

Cappella and Aloysius sat a clear distance away from the small wrestling match; both had become inseparable, always playing, huddling, or making grand plans with one another. Both now sat with Verismo and Serapis in front of Jenny, giggling kittenishly as the old queen told them an animated story. Verismo, a sleek brown tom-kit, kept shyly glancing in Mistoffelees' direction between giggles.

"Oh please, my dears, I'm quite equipped to handle a few kittens for one night," Jezebel airily said. After a quick moment of scrutinizing her charges, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't suppose any of your little ones have figured out magic yet, have they?"

"Er- not that we know of."

Jezebel nodded, relieved. It was probably wiser, Mistoffelees mused, to not mention how Cappella had levitated her favourite toy ball last week.

"No! Let me go! Help!" Mandragora cried, evidently tired of Tugger's efforts to groom her mane. She'd begun squirming in his arms with renewed energy and mewling dramatically.

"Sit still, Mandra," Tugger grumbled. "Your fur's a mess. You look like a pollicle."

"You look like a pollicle!"

"She definitely has her father's wit," Jezebel smirked. "I can't believe he lets her talk to him like that."

"You have no idea," Mistoffelees sighed, re-adjusting his hold on Tourmaline. "Tugger would let her get away with murder."

Tugger finally abandoned his efforts and released Mandragora; the small kitten made a desperate bid for freedom by running over to where her siblings and friends sat, cuddling up to Cappella. Once more, Verismo peeked out from the group to look in Mistoffelees' direction, trying to catch the eye of the kitten in his arms.

"That kitten has no sense of style," Tugger huffed, walking up to Jezebel and his mate.

"Look, Tourma," Mistoffelees said to the kitten still huddled in his arms. "I think Verismo wants you to go sit with him. Why don't you go join him?"

The small brown tom-kit had caught Tourmaline's eye some time ago; of course, they were both young kittens, much too small to think of anything to do with mating until at least next year's Jellicle Ball, but it was sweet to watch their mutual kittenhood crush.

"I guess so," Tourmaline said shyly. "You and daddy won't forget us here, right?"

"Of course not," Mistoffelees said, giving the small queen a light nudge with his nose. "Remember how we discussed it? We're just going to the Jellicle Ball, and Jezebel's going to take good care of you until we come get you after the sun rises. Now why don't you go sit with the others?"

Tourmaline nodded quietly. Mistoffelees set her to the ground and watched her totter towards the group, bumping Aloysius out of the way so she could sit next to her friend.

"I suppose that's it, then," Mistoffelees said. "Jezebel, thank you for—Augusta! What have I told you about pulling your sister's tail?"

"I wasn't!" Augusta pouted, though she still held the white-and-orange tip of Josephine's tail in her little hand.

"Everlasting, kittens, behave for Jezebel tonight, all right?" Tugger said, giving the wide-eyed kittens a stern look.

"Run along and sit with the others," Jezebel instructed. "I've got some wonderful new toy mice to show you in a moment."

Cyrano, Augusta and Josephine eagerly scampered off to sit with the rest of the kittens. With a soft titter, Jenny rose up and petted their heads as they ran past her.

Mistoffelees shook his head. "As I was trying to say, Jezebel, thank you for watching the kittens this year. I'm sorry you'll miss the Jellicle Ball."

"Oh, think nothing of it," Jezebel said. "There will be plenty more Balls for me, and someone needs to watch these sweet dears." She gave Mistoffelees a teasing jab to the ribs and cocked her head in Tugger's direction. "Are you two planning on trying for a second litter tonight? I'm quite certain I'm feeling magic in the air again this year."

"You know," Tugger said with a triumphant smile. "This will be our first full Jellicle Ball as mates. We'll have a lot of catching up to do at the mating dance."

"Oh really?" Mistoffelees said, giving his mate a pointed look. "Are you ready to end up with another seven kittens?"

"I'll take my chances."

Jenny and Jezebel both tittered softly at his side, and it certainly didn't help when Tugger wrapped an arm around his waist and playfully growled.

"Victoria and Plato are dancing their union this year," Mistoffelees said, putting a hand to his mate's chest to push him away. "I surely wouldn't want to take any attention away from them."

"You're my mate," Tugger purred. "You'll always get attention now."

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes. "No mating dance. Everlasting knows you could use the break."

"Don't worry," Jenny interjected, patting Tugger on the arm. "I'll make sure Tugger dear stays close to me at the mating dance."

"You wouldn't dare," Tugger gaped.

"All right, please have this discussion away from the young ones," Jezebel said, shooing the three away from the semi-circle of chattering kittens. "Now go and have fun at the Ball. Jenny, I will expect to hear everything from you and Jelly at the end of the night. And I mean everything."

Jenny nodded happily and led the way. Though Mistoffelees meant to bid the kittens good-bye, they were already preoccupied with giggling and whispering among themselves. Maybe it was best to leave before one or two or three of their litter decided to start being fussy.

He followed Jenny away from Jezebel's den, batting away Tugger's tail as it mischievously wound its way around his thighs.

"Do you suppose you'll feel exhilarated again after the Ball this year?" Tugger whispered to his mate.

"I doubt it," Mistoffelees said. "Last year was unusual."

"You know what they say; unusual things always happen at the Jellicle Ball."

Before Mistoffelees could protest in any way, Tugger wrapped a loving arm around his shoulders, and together they walked to rejoin the group of Jellicles with their kittens safely cared for behind them.

Jezebel watched them leave with a small smile on her face, until a small tug to her leg fur made her look down.

"Jezebel?" Mandragora asked. "What's a mating dance?"

The old queen shook her head. "Ask your father."

It was strange, Mistoffelees reflected, to be spending an entire night without the kittens around. While other Jellicles had happily watched some of the kittens here and there over the past year—Tourmaline often spent a day at Cassandra and Alonzo's den to play with her friend, and Munkustrap and Demeter were always willing to take in a kitten or two for a few hours—they'd never dared ask anyone to sit for all seven of them at once.

This would be the first time, in almost exactly a year, that both he and Tugger would be completely free from all seven kittens for the whole night. Mistoffelees sighed a little regretfully at the thought; he couldn't believe he already missed Tourmaline clinging to his tail, or Josephine screaming about whatever had most recently upset her, or Cyrano and Augusta yelling as they chased one another around the den.

Tugger's arm was still around him, and he felt the droop in the smaller tom's shoulders. "Misto, what's wrong? You're starting to look like you swallowed a mouse sideways."

"Nothing's wrong," Mistoffelees murmured. It was a little embarrassing, especially with Tugger's gaze still on him, pressing for an explanation. "But, well… Tug, aren't you going to miss them?"

"What?"

"It's the first time we've left all seven kits for so long."

To his surprise, Tugger laughed. "You had me worried! I thought it was something serious."

Mistoffelees glared up at him. "It is serious."

"Come on, Misto, I love the little furballs, you know that. But they're fine and happy with Jezebel, and I plan on enjoying myself tonight. We haven't really had time to ourselves in months."

"That's true," Mistoffelees relented. "I suppose it will be nice to dance without worrying about stepping on a little tail. Or worrying about you teaching them the wrong dance moves."

Tugger gave a shocked gasp. "I swear to the Everlasting Cat, I don't know where Aloysius learned that pelvic thrust. I never dance like that in front of them."

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes. "You know he wants nothing more than to dance like his father. If he sneaks off, it's usually to practice being just like you."

"Fancy talk. I've seen the way you hold Cappella's toys just out of her reach, to see if she'll work a little magic."

Taking advantage of Mistoffelees' brief look of guilt, Tugger seductively dropped his arm around the small tom's waist, pulling him closer. "But you know they'll be fine for tonight, so enough worrying about the kits, all right?"

"A-All right," Mistoffelees gulped, suddenly a bit self-conscious as they stepped towards the growing gathering of Jellicles, attracting a bit of attention.

Etcetera, Electra and Jemima were huddled close and chatting around a beaming Victoria, all four pausing to stare dreamily as the pair walked by. Etcetera in particular squealed lightly as she noticed how closely Tugger was holding his mate.

Tugger being Tugger, was unable to resist the attention, and flashed a winning grin as they passed the foursome of queens.

Mistoffelees couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I get the feeling you're definitely going to enjoy yourself tonight."

"You'd better believe it," Tugger said, dropping his voice to a rumbling whisper as his hand travelled lower, slowly stroking the base of Mistoffelees' tail. "Wait until I really start enjoying myself."

"Mmm… Tugger, no!" Mistoffelees said, shivering for a moment before catching himself. He glanced around frantically, relieved when it seemed as though none of the surrounding Jellicles had noticed the little display. "Not here, for goodness' sake. We're not exactly alone right now!"

"We have time to find a quiet spot before the Ball starts," Tugger whispered hotly in his ear.

"No," Mistoffelees sighed, squirming away from his mate, though it was difficult to ignore how badly he wanted to stay close. "Munkustrap asked me to open the Ball with Victoria; I don't want to risk being late for that. Later though, definitely."

Tugger grinned. "At the mating dance?"

"No, you have a date with Jenny," Mistoffelees said, grinning back.

Tugger's look of dejection was truly pathetic; he looked as though someone had dumped a bucket full of water over his head. "All right," he sighed melodramatically. "But you owe me a very nice time later, and I will hold you to it. I want to hear you screaming my name."

"Tugger!" Mistoffelees said, desperately glancing around once more to make sure nobody had overheard. Etcetera, Jemina, Electra and Victoria were sauntering close to them, but were still chattering away among themselves.

"Like that, but with more passion," Tugger cheekily said. "Later."

The four young queens were still cheerfully staring at the two mates; Tugger quickly ambled off to join their group and bask in a few more stares, though not before mischievously winding his tail around Mistoffelees' rear.

Victoria, Etcetera and Jemima happily followed their idol, with Etcetera dreamily following the swishing arc of Tugger's tail as he wandered away. To Mistoffelees' surprise, Electra hung behind, smiling shyly as she fell into step next to him. Though she was the quieter of the gaggle of young queens, she was usually happily among Tugger's admirers.

"Misto?" she timidly said. "Could I ask you something?"

"Of course! Anything."

"I didn't mean to overhear, but you said that Tugger was going to sit with Jenny at the mating dance?"

Mistoffelees blinked curiously at her question. "Well, yes. I don't think it's a good idea for us to mate there in front of everyone. Too much attention… er, why do you ask?"

"I was hoping you could lie with me at the dance, then," Electra said. She hastily added, "Not mate, of course. Just lie with me and cuddle, whatever you'd like. I don't want the others to see me alone there."

"Of course," he said. It was a bit of an odd request; she was certainly old enough to seek a mate of her own, if she wanted to, and she was definitely an attractive queen who shouldn't have trouble finding someone. "There's nothing wrong with being alone at the dance, you know. I was alone last year. You haven't found a tom yet you'd like to ask for the mating dance?"

Electra nodded, a little uncomfortable as she glanced around, as though to make sure nobody was about to overhear. The young queens had long since left, giddily following Tugger; Rumpelteazer lounged nearby, whispering something in Mungojerrie's ear that made the tom snort; Alonzo was engaged in speaking with Admetus, throwing up his hands dramatically as he did so; the other closest Jellicle was Plato, who was stretching nervously and not paying them any attention. Surely he was more preoccupied with his upcoming dance with Victoria.

Electra looked distinctly embarrassed as she lowered her voice and said, "I'm not so sure I want to ask a tom to mate… um, ever. Maybe… maybe a queen, if one of them ever wants to…"

"Oh," Mistoffelees said, somewhat relieved that it was nothing more serious. "Don't worry, I understand… obviously."

"I thought you would," Electra agreed. "I'm not quite ready to tell everyone yet, and I don't want the other queens to know that something's up, so… maybe we can pretend you asked me to sit with you at the dance, and that's why I didn't ask anyone else?"

"Of course, Electra," Mistoffelees smiled. He leaned in to give her a quick, comforting nuzzle. "Come find me at the mating dance and we'll lie together. Don't worry about anyone noticing; I'm sure they'll all be staring at Victoria and Plato."

"Thanks, Misto," she said with a relieved sigh. "I hope Tugger isn't too disappointed about sitting without you at the dance."

"I think his ego will eventually recover."

Electra gave a shy, mischievous smile. "I suppose that means you won't try to make more kittens this year?"

"Probably not," Mistoffelees coughed. "Not at the Ball. We haven't seriously discussed—anyway, shouldn't you be going back to your friends? And asking them embarrassing questions about their intimate life?"

"This is more fun," she grinned, though she nuzzled him back and began to leave. "I'll see you at the dance, Misto!"

Mistoffelees watched her leave, nudging her way through the growing crowd of Jellicles until she had found Tugger and his semi-circle of admirers. The sight was a bit of a mixed blessing; Mistoffelees guessed it was only a matter of time before Electra gathered the courage to share her preference with the others in the tribe, which would be lovely for her. And on that day, Tugger would lose a member of his fan club. He would have to remember to treat his mate kindly that day.

Above the junkyard, the sun had finished setting and a bright new Jellicle Moon was out. Mistoffelees glanced at the sky and smiled to himself; he was excited about the Ball, but not overwhelmed with frantic energy as he'd been the previous year. Finally, things were getting back to normal.

Ah yes, normal, he thought to himself. So says the tom who gave birth to seven kittens a few months ago.

The Ball would be officially set to start soon, from the looks of things. From across the crowd, Mistoffelees caught Demeter's eye; she was standing close to Munkustrap, watching him with an amused expression as he bustled about to make sure everyone was present and ready to begin. Demeter answered his gaze with a smile, and to Mistoffelees' relief, she looked fairly lighthearted on this night. Though Mistoffelees had been quick to make himself forget about their time spent in Macavity's clutches, Demeter had had a tougher time recovering from the experience, and on top of everything, it was the anniversary of her father's ascension to the Heaviside Layer. But she seemed cheerful and serene now, and that was enough to make Mistoffelees happy for her.

Munkustrap continued his quick inspection, preoccupied as always with the smooth running of the Ball. Mistoffelees watched as he gently pulled Victoria apart from the grouping of queens and whispered a question to her, to which she happily nodded and smiled. When Munkustrap moved on, she stayed on her own, stretching out a limb here and her tail there, warming up for her dance. Both dances, actually, Mistoffelees remembered.

He slipped past a few Jellicles until he had reached Victoria, who brightened when she saw him approach. She had obviously taken great care to groom her pristine white fur and prepare herself for her upcoming mating dance.

"You look beautiful tonight," Mistoffelees said.

"Oh, come on," Victoria said, though she smiled demurely at the comment.

"Nervous?"

"About opening the Ball?" the white queen asked, shrugging lightly. "Maybe just a bit. But I've been practicing. And besides, I'll be with you."

"Not that," Mistoffelees said, gently flicking her on the ear. The gesture was more affectionate than teasing. "You know exactly what I mean."

She smiled wanly. "All right. I might be just a little nervous about the mating dance."

"If it's any comfort, I think Plato's a great deal more nervous than you are. I think he's about to lose all his fur."

"Misto, be nice," Victoria giggled. "You know how shy he is; he's just terrified about dancing in front of everybody."

"Don't worry," Mistoffelees warmly said. "He absolutely adores you, Vicky. I'm sure once your dance starts, he won't think of anything but you."

"Well, that's a lot of talk from someone who didn't even bother to formally dance a union with his mate," Victoria chided, flicking him back on the ear.

"Would you believe, I'm also rather shy?"

"Oh yes! Misto the magician, performing great and phenomenal feats, is definitely shy," Victoria said, then got a terribly wicked gleam in her eyes. "Speaking of great feats of magic…"

"Please don't ask-"

"Do you plan on trying for more kittens?"

"I said don't ask," Mistoffelees sighed. "Don't you think we have our paws full already with this litter?"

"Oh, but they're so adorable! Aloysius is such a good little dancer already, and even Mandragora's been learning! How could you not want more?"

"Here's a deal: you and Plato have some of your own first, and then we'll talk about Tugger and I having a second litter. What do you say?"

Victoria smiled, a happy, faraway look in her eyes. Clearly, she had been dreaming about her own kittens for a while now. "Deal."

The conversation stopped short as Mistoffelees first smelled and then felt Munkustrap touching him on the shoulder. He was all business once the Ball started.

"Misto, Victoria," he said. "Are you both ready? We're going to open the Ball soon."

"Of course, Munk," Mistoffelees nodded. He extended a paw to Victoria. "Ready?"

"To dance?" she said with a smile. "Always."

More to come soon. Thank you again for reading!