Neil and The Evil Brush

      Neil was pretty content with his life now. He had a comfortable bed he could share with Jean, hunger and cold were not an issue anymore, and his owners were good to him. He even got clothes to wear for the times his service wasn’t required. Overall, Neil didn’t complain.       There were exceptions though, like brushing time. Neil sat at the top of a wardrobe – his favorite spot for napping or hiding – and stared at Kevin. The man was glaring at Neil from below, arms crossed at his chest. In his hand he was holding the absolutely horrible weapon of destruction – a brush.       “Neil, come down here,” Kevin commanded with a scowl on his face. They were at this for the last fifteen minutes and he was annoyed.       “No.” Neil shook his head, a bell at his collar jingling with the movement.. His tail was all puffed out and ears flat against his skull. “I’m not going near that thing.” He eyed the brush with disdain and hissed for good measure.       Kevin threw his arms. “It’s just a brush! Don’t be stupid.” Kevin was getting red in the face. “You need your tail brushed.”       “But my tail is fine,” Neil whined. “I don’t need any brushing.” He curled up more on his perch at the top of the wardrobe.       Kevin seethed. “Suit yourself,” he said and walked out of the room, closing the door with a bang. Neil flinched at the loud sound.       “Asshole,’ he muttered under his breath. He decided that staying at his current spot was the best idea, so he lay down. A nap couldn’t hurt, he thought. He snuggled up in his (technically Jean’s) hoodie and drifted off to the comforting scent of his companion.       A sound of rustling foil woke Neil up. His ear twitched in the sound’s direction but his eyes stayed closed.       “Hey, wake up.” Kevin’s voice came through the sleepy fog in Neil’s mind but he ignored it. “I got your favorite treats.” And now Neil was awake.       The catboy stretched lazily and rolled onto his side to see Kevin. The tip of Neil’s tail swished from side to side.       Seeing that he had Neil’s attention, Kevin stretched out his arm holding the bag. “If you come down, I’ll give you some.”       And wasn’t it a generous offering. Neil inspected carefully if the brush was hidden somewhere. He wouldn’t fall for an easy trick like this.       “I want ten,” said Neil with a grin. He folded his arms in front of him and rested his chin there.       Kevin spluttered. “You can’t eat that much!” he protested. A scowl was back on his face.       “Goodbye then,” said Neil and started turning away from Kevin, but a quick ‘Wait!’ stopped him. He glanced back and raised his eyebrows.       “Fine,” said Kevin, defeated. “You can have ten. Just come down.” He looked at Neil expectantly.       What a delightful turn of events, Neil thought. He slowly climbed down from the wardrobe, not in a hurry at all. Soon he was standing before Kevin.       “Well?’ Neil reached out for the bag, but Kevin pulled it away from him.       “Not here. You’ll get crumbs on the floor,” said the man sternly and started walking towards the door. Neil pouted but followed him.  He was playing with the hem of his hoodie and noticed too late that another person was standing next to the door, hidden behind a wall. He yelped as arms encircled him from behind, trapping him in someone’s embrace. Any escape attempts proved unsuccessful.       The familiar scent of vanilla soap informed Neil that it was Riko trapping him. He hissed but Riko wasn’t impressed by it. A chuckle resonated in the man’s chest.       “Hi there, kitten,” Riko said in Neil’s ear. “You are a little troublemaker, aren’t you?” He tightened his embrace and Neil wheezed from the constrictive feeling. He glared at Kevin standing in front of him.       “You traitor.” Neil hissed, showing his fangs.       “You’ll get your treats after brushing.” Kevin smiled and petted the catboy’s ears. He quickly took his hand away when Neil tried to bite him.       “Watch it,” said Kevin, a warning clear in his voice.       The slap Neil received left a stinging feeling on his cheek. He looked at the floor, seething.       “What’s with all the ruckus, boys?” Renee’s voice drew everyone’s attention. She was standing in the doorway of her room with her arms crossed. The commotion probably interrupted her work. Renee looked expectantly at the men, awaiting explanations.       “We are sorry, miss,” said Kevin apologetic. “We’re trying to give Neil a brushing, but he’s fussy.” He looked at Neil like it was all the catboy’s fault., which was rude, in Neil’s opinion.               Neil glared at Kevin and wriggled in Riko’s embrace, but the hold didn’t let up one bit. Fine, he can play it out differently, he thought. If he couldn’t fight them, he could do something else.       Neil slumped in Riko’s hold, pulled back his ears a bit, and then looked at Renee with wide eyes, tears ready to fall down. He tried to look as pitiful as possible. That was his special trick he used to get his own way.       Renee cooed at Neil, and walked up to him. She cupped his cheeks. “Were my boys mean to you, darling?” Her thumbs massaged Neil’s cheeks.       Riko and Kevin started protesting, but Renee cut them off. “I’m not talking to you.” Her eyes stayed locked with Neil’s. She smiled at him. “But your tail needs to be brushed, otherwise it wouldn’t be so pretty anymore.” Renee took Neil’s tail in her hand and petted it. The tail twitched at the sensation.       “Also,” Renee continued, “I think you need a bath.” She ruffled the catboy’s curly hair.       Neil’s heart skipped a beat. No! It wasn’t what he meant at all! He let out a whine as the last resort, but Renee remained unmoved.       Riko snickered behind him. Neil’s failure at deceiving Renee greatly amused him. “We’ll take care of it, miss,” said Riko with a grin.       Kevin wasn’t that thrilled at the situation’s development. Getting Neil into a bath was ten times worse than brushing him, in his opinion. He kept his opinion to himself, though.       “Off you go, then,” said Renee and observed as her boys wrenched the struggling catboy to the bathroom.

***

          Neil threw himself on the bed where Jean was stretched out on his stomach. Well, it was more like a giant pillow, but they often slept there, curled up together.       Jean opened one of his eyes as Neil groaned into the bed. A smell of soap drifted to his nostrils and it could mean only one thing       “So you got caught.” Jean grinned. He didn’t even try to hide his amusement.       Neil rolled onto his side. “They forced me into a bath!” he said, indignant. “But you should see the other guys.” he sounded pleased.       Jean chuckled. He could only imagine that at the end of the bath time Riko and Kevin were drenched in the water as well as everything in the bathroom. Neil didn’t go down easily, that’s for sure.       “It could be avoided if you just let them brush you,” said Jean and combed his hand through Neil’s curls.       “The brush is evil.” Neil pouted and crossed his arms.       Jean barely contained his laugh. Instead, he smiled widely. “Sure it is.” He pulled Neil closer with his arm and hugged him.       Neil snuggled into his companion’s touch happily. He felt tired after the whole ordeal. A nap was what he deserved for his efforts.       Soon, both catboys drifted off into a light sleep. And that’s how the others found them: lying in the bed, a patch of sunlight warming their bodies, and their tails intertwined.