Rummy

"You stupid ass, Tugger."

I was shoved into the den roughly, almost loosing my balance and falling to the floor. "Oh, look, I hear the triumphant return of my darling love muffin," Bombalurina's voice sailed in through the back room mockingly, "what was the ruckus about then?"

Munkustrap followed in shortly afterwards, a sour expression on his face. "Nothing to concern you," he replied shortly, and stormed past me into the main living area. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say that his mood had more to do with the mention of Demeter than my kicking the shit out of one of the toms assigned junkyard watch.

"Fine," Bombalurina shot back casually, "I'll stay at my place tonight and you can have fun screwing yourself!"

"Who said anything about it being myself?" Munkustrap's voice held more than a hint of annoyance, then gestured for me to take a seat. "This might take a while," he told me blandly.

"Like you could get any."

"Go get some ice, bitch!" Munkustrap roars in her general direction, and it strikes me that these two obviously have a very unusual relationship.

Pawsteps stomp their way into the room and Bombalurina appears, paws clenched, looking ready to hurl abuse at her tabby-striped lover. She pauses, a little stunned, as she catches sight of me, and changes pace to saunter over semi-seductively.

"Oh, Tugger," Bombalurina purrs warmly, a smirk on her face, "I didn't expect to see you around here. This time of day aren't you usually screwing Jemima... no, wait, I'm sorry... chasing after Demeter?"

Munkustrap growls. "Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" He snaps at her, and whips around, his paw lashing out dangerously. She fell back, a paw clasping her face where he'd hit her, and crawled back a few steps, her expression a mix between shock and fear. It was obvious that this was the first time he'd hit her. Munkustrap glared down at her coldly, "Tugger needs some ice for his face. Go get some."

Bombalurina nodded, eyes still wide. She stood stiffly and disappeared out the front entrance.

Munkustrap turned to face me, his expression still steely hard, but his voice was almost casual as he spoke, "so... now that Bom-bitch is out of the way, care to tell me why you did that in public? And what the fuck you thought you were doing?"

I hesitated, "uh..."

"What?" Munkustrap asked impatiently.

"You... hit her." Not even I'd do that. Not even to her.

"Yeah," the silver tabby replied casually, "she'll never learn if you don't teach her."

I took a seat on a pile of cushions, and raised a paw to gingerly feel the extent of bruising around my eye. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised at Alonzo's ability to pack a punch. Speaking of which... my knuckles were killing me. I ran the tips of my fingers over the back of my other paw.

Thinking back... I shouldn't have done that... "Demeter..."

"Yes, Demeter," Munkustrap agreed bluntly as he sat down beside me, which made me realise that I'd spoken aloud. "She's the reason Alonzo is out of commision, isn't she? She's the queen you're supposedly in love with."

"I saw her with him," I confessed quietly.

"You got jealous."

Yeah... fuck me, I got jealous.

"What did you do to her, Munkus?" I asked, scowlding down at my paws.

"Nothing." His reply sounded strangely forced. I looked up to see him turn his face away distastefully, "you want to know what I did to her, you ask her for yourself."

"No, I want to know what the fuck you did to her," I insisted, and turned around to face him. Twinges of pain from my eye alterted me to the fact that I was glaring at him angrily, "and I want to hear it now."

"Lets rather not," Munkustrap shakes his head, a slight scowl on his face.

"Nuh, I think we will. What did you do to her?" He doesn't answer, looking away.

"Why did she dump you?"

I think he's ignoring me.

"Did you slap her around, too? Is that it?"

"You think if I'd hit her she'd be so Rumpus-damned quiet about it?!" Munkustrap demands. "Or if I fucked her? Wouldn't she be shouting it from the fucking treetops!?" He's suddenly on his feet, and so am I--- one of his paws yanking the fur of my mane painfully. "I was a fucking pushover! A gentletom! I never even touched her!" Munkustrap shouts into my face, startling me so much that it doesn't occur to me that I could retailate. "The bitch dumped me! The stupid little whore dumped me, and you want to know why!?"

"I asked, didn't I?" I spat, just daring him to break down and tell me.
Munkustrap doesn't answer and for a moment I think he might actually hit me. His dark eyes are intense, as though trying to figure out whether to throttle me or just let me go.

Movement at the doorway causes him to freeze, and then he releases my mane and takes a step back, muttering to himself. Bombalurina's back, with some ice wrapped in a wet cloth. Without saying a word she simply walks over and hands me the ice, then continues over to Munkustrap who waves her away with a paw. The red and scarlet queen shrugs, looks at me, then turns to leave. She pauses near me momentarily. "Jemima wont be along tonight," Bombalurina says, a sickeningly sweet element to her voice, "says she's feeling ill. Oh, and Demeter is hiding somewhere crying. Just thought you might like to know."

"Whatever."

She leaves with a smirk on her lips and a self-satisfied strut that makes me wonder whether I'd been hallucinating when I saw her fall to the ground earlier. "Come find me when you're ready to stop playing kiddie-games," she calls back over her shoulder, and I know she's not talking to Munkustrap, "I'm the only one that will ever really love you."

"Fuck you, bitch!" Munkustrap's voice sounds immediately after hers, a dark grin plasters itself across his face, "reminds me of me, that queen."

I shake my head at him, "you're a bastard, Munkus."

"So are you, Tugger," he replies calmly.

### S ###

"An' if dat doesn't get ya higher den a koite Oi'll eat me master's 'at."

I squeezed the bag of catnip in my paw and smiled slightly at the small cockney theif. "Thanks, 'Jerrie. Everlasting Cat knows I need this."

"Jus' wot tha doctah ordered orroight," Mungojerrie agreed with a wink, before disappearing back into the pipe, "don' let any of tha'otha cats catch ya wif dat."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill."

### S ###

I stumbled through the front entrance of my den, cursing as I stood on something painful that had been left in the doorway. I froze as I heard the sound of quiet sobbing, and straightened up curiously. "Babes?"

A gasp sounded from the darkness, followed by the sounds of hurried movement.

"Babes, are you in here?"

"How dare you!" Demeter's voice suddenly sounds from my left, and a flying cushion makes contact with my face.

"Oi!"

"You didn't even stop and think, did you?" She cries, and claws fly out of the darkness towards my face. "You bastard!"

"Hey, hey, calm down..." I catch her wrists and hold them in one paw, using the other to draw her close to my chest where she breaks down and starts sobbing. "Calm down, sweets. I'm sorry, baby..."

"You bastard," she whispers again, and buries her face in my mane. "I hate you."

Catnip fogged, and still feeling the bruises from earlier I let her paws grasp my fur a little more painfully than I normally would have, feeling as though she were about to tear chunks of it out. My arms wrap around her softly and I walk her gently back inside the den and to a comfortable arrangement of cushions and blankets.

"Yeah, I hate me too," I agree quietly, "so that makes the both of us." I fumble around for a moment and finally hand her a handkercheif to dry her eyes.

"I'm not with him," Demeter speaks up after a few awkward moments of silence. "Alonzo, I mean. I'm not... I'm not with him."

"Then why do you go with him?" I ask, and I must look pathetic because her face cracks and she looks like she's going to cry again.

"It's... I'm not sure I want to tell you now." Demeter looked away.

"Babes...?"

Demeter blinked and hurriedly wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of a paw. She stood up awkwardly and turned back to me. "Tugger... I---I don't think I'll be watching the sun with you anymore."

"Demeter...?"

I stared at her in stunned silence as her eyes darted left, then right. "It's not fair," she said, for once her expression so clear, and the mild pain and frustration in her voice plain for me to hear. Then she left.

### S ###

Ever running, ever running...

Rum, strange and unusual thing that he is,
Spent days alone wandering like this,
Took a trip to a faraway place-
And only came back with the scars on his face.
Rummy, stranger than before in his head,
Came back ashore and found a ghost in his bed-
With an eye for a lay-
Found himself cursing that very day...

Ever running, ever running...

Pirate songs. Sometimes they seems to have more sense than you'd think. Shit! I wish I'd never come back here...