#SOFT CRYPTID MISTO ANYONE????

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Omg omg ong you're doing shorts again!?!?! Yessssssss I'm so excited! Could I request "I don't care about everyone else! I care about you, Misto!", for tuggoffelees?

Again, cannot stress enough how pumped I am for this 🙌

I AM DOING SHORTS AGAIN I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE EXCITED :D

(also hope you don't mind but i added in my Urban Legend!Tugger AU into this!)

Tugger paced anxiously around the room Bustopher had given to him, waiting for Mistoffelees to return.

The magical tom melted out of the shadows, his blue eyes piercing as he materialized in front of Tugger.

"Are you okay?" the Maine coon exclaimed, rushing towards his companion. "Where did you go?"

Mistoffelees glanced at him with confusion, primly brushing his fur down. "I'm fine. No one saw me."

"You went to look for Macavity." Tugger sighed. "You could have gotten hurt!"

"Why do you care?" Mistoffelees questioned, cocking his head.

Tugger reeled back, golden eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Mistoffelees gathered the shadows around himself to sit. "You never act like this. Not even in the moments you're with your brother." His eyes bored into Tugger's soul. "Why do you care?"

"I don't care about everyone else! I care about you, Misto!" Tugger shot back tersely.

This threw the black cat off, his tail twitching slightly. "What?"

Tugger sighed heavily. "After everything happened with Macavity, the tribe started treating me differently. I wasn't Deuteronomy's son, brother to the next leader. I was Grizabella's son, and the brother to the deranged magical cat who attacked every now and again." He pawed at the ground. "You're the first cat to look at me like I'm something else... like I'm my own person. I can act like myself around you. I don't have to be the perfect son, or try to act a certain way so I don't scare cats."

"You think I act like this around everyone?" Mistoffelees asked quietly, motioning to the shadows surrounding him and the quiet whispers that had filled the room. "I love my uncle, and I know he loves me no matter what, but he doesn't truly understand these things. Vicki does, to an extent, but I'm always fearful of hurting her or that tom she likes."

"You won't." Tugger answered automatically, making Mistoffelees smile gently.

"That's exactly what I mean." he said, amusement in his voice. "You're so confident that you're safe here, that I won't hurt you. No one's ever treated me like a regular tom before."

Tugger nodded. "Even after learning about me, Misto, you never changed the way you saw me. Why?"

Mistoffelees hummed, the sound like bees swarming, but was incredibly comforting to Tugger. "I didn't see your status, or your appearance. I saw a tom who, despite his struggles and anger at himself and his tribe, continued to do good, to protect those he still cared about." The cat stood, approaching Tugger. "You, Rum Tum Tugger, are what your eldest brother wishes he could be. Macavity gave into his anger and hatred, his magic encouraged him to hate. But you? You never once spoke ill of those cats who hurt you. You've never spoken ill of your mother, your father, or your brother."

"They're my family." Tugger answered immediately. Mistoffelees placed a paw on his cheek, stroking the fur there.

"You see the good in everyone around you, you see not just one action. You see if they are worthy or not of your love." he explained. "That is why I stay, and that is why I care about you. We look at one another for the way we treat others, and how we look at the world. We are similar, you and I, and that is why I love you."

Tugger's face split into a wide grin, and he wrapped an arm around Mistoffelees' waist, drawing him and his shadows closer. "I love you too, you fantastically creepy magician."

Mistoffelees laughed, thousands of voices joining his, and Tugger simply beamed, eyes shining gold.

[rice-pudding-slaps]

I woke up,,, with my favourite cryptids in mind,,,,

Just imagine Misto looking down from the ultradimensional spot he is hiding on. And coming as quietly as he can into his den so not to wake up Tugger.

And finding Quaxo in Tugger's arms.

Half crying, half sleeping. Curled up just like he would, comfortable in Tugger's lovely mane. While he lovingly strokes his back.

He's conflicted to say the least. That's the obly spot in the world that he wouldn't want anyone else to be. Tugger's arms. But he knows this is not a nice situation. This has to be serious coming from Mister Don't Care For a Cuddle.

So he melts in the shadows and tries to listen. To understand what can this mean. He knows he is supossed to be gone. But he misses Tugger. He misses his voice and feeling that he is safe in his arms. Is a feeling no other place in any dimension can mimic. He misses Tugger's soft and warm love now that he is in the coldest place in the universe.

"It's the same nightmare..."

"If just a nightmare, Sparkles... You're okay. You're here with me"

Tugger slowly fixed a little of his head's fur and gave him a soft nuzzle. Quaxo fainted a soft smile and Misto could bet that the nickname made him sparkle even more warmly.

"Tugs..."

"Mhn?"

"Would you... Sing for me?"

"Of course, Sparkles..."

Misto's heart gets crushed under the sound of the loving spell of Tugger's voice. So familiar. So far away. The same that he heard softly in his ears when he felt like the world was replacing him.

"Oh, well... I never- was there ever? A cat so clever as-"

He did not want to hear it. Not when it was for Quaxo. The cats that were supposed to love him. The only ones. And Tugger replaced him too. Not only in the eyes of the tribe like he so dumbly had hoped. No. Also in the privacy of his den. He flees. A small shadow on the corner on the eye. And he's gone.

Macavity was right

"-Mister... Mistoffelees..."

"... Tugger?"

"..."

"Tugger what's wrong?"

"... I just... Miss him..."