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alverrann · 9 months

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Kitty!Tubbs

No one asked for this, and possibly no one wanted it, but I've been writing a bunch of useless Miami Vice clips and this one is too cute not to share.

In this, I have turned Tubbs into a cat. This particular clip is from the middle of whatever conceivable story would be written around it, because writing middle clips is far easier than writing beginnings or endings, lol.

Anyway. It isn't my best work, but it's also a cat!fic, so I'm somewhat unapologetic. If you do happen to have any questions about this ridiculous AU I'd be happy to answer them, and in the meantime, enjoy!

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It didn’t take long for attention to be drawn when Sonny walked into the office, a fluffy and extraordinarily dirty cat following at his heels. Any distraction was better than the somber mood that had dominated the office since his partner's disappearance, though, and it was uncommon for an animal to get in. Most eyes went to Castillo’s office, but Zito spoke up with a smile, “You’ve decided to adopt?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Sonny wasn’t about to tell them that the cat was Tubbs. That would land him in even worse trouble than his partner, and neither of them could afford that.

“He’s adorable!” Gina stopped to crouch next to Tubbs, who looked as though he didn’t know what to do about her incoming hands. In the end he merely stayed there as she scratched his head. “But he needs a bath.” Then, to a panicked and extra fluffy Tubbs' surprise, Gina was picking him up, “I wonder how he and Elvis will get along.” Tubbs seemed to be frozen in panic, indecision in his eyes, and Sonny couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.

“He doesn’t really like to be held, Gina.”

“Oh, but he’s hurt, poor thing!” She had twisted him a little and Crockett felt his blood run cold when he spotted the large gash on his partner’s underbelly. How had he missed that before? “He must have been in some kind of fight!”

“Gina, put 'im down before he scratches you.” Trudy was shaking her head, and Switek grinned,

“At least put him down before the Lieutenant sees him; Sonny brought 'im in, Sonny can deal with the consequences.

Crockett might have laughed, but now he was just staring at his partner, determined to get a look at the gash. It had scabbed over, but it looked awful. And now that Gina mentioned it, Tubbs did look terrible. It had been almost a full half hour since he’d discovered and accepted that the stray cat from the crime scene was Tubbs, and now he was coming away from the shock of it enough to realize that his partner was not a healthy cat. “Here, quit manhandlin’ him.” He reached out and took Tubbs from her, pulling him back into his arms, where he knew he was safe.

“Have you decided on a name for him yet?” Gina asked, still concerned with Tubbs, whom Sonny gently deposited on his desk.

“Naw, not yet.” Crockett only had eyes for his partner, who immediately began nosing his way through the files that Crockett had left there earlier.

“Hey, he’s a regular detective, look at ‘im go!” Zito laughed, “You should call ‘im Sherlock!”

“Would that make Sonny 'Watson?'” Switek got in on the joke as well, but the mood was killed when Castillo's voice interrupted.

“Crockett.”

Everyone froze, looking over at the lieutenant. Castillo was standing at the entrance to his office, as severe-looking as ever, but his eyes were on the cat. Tubbs had frozen as well, crouching lower on Sonny’s desk over the files that he had been going through.

“Look, I can explain-”

"My office. Now." Castillo walked back through his door, and Crockett realized that all eyes were on him. When he met their gazes they all looked away, leaving him feeling almost exposed. He turned around at a soft meow, and met Tubbs' eyes.

His partner may have been a cat, but when Tubbs looked meaningfully at Castillo's office, Sonny knew what he was asking.

"Don't worry about it, pal. I'll think of something." He spoke softly, aware that he already looked crazy enough without talking to the cat. "Do you have what you need?"

Tubbs looked down at the desk, his tail twitching, and then pawed at the top drawer. Sonny opened it and Tubbs nodded.

"All right, hang tight. I'll be back." He turned towards Castillo's office just in time for everyone to focus on their work and pretend that they hadn't been listening. He didn't say anything, heading straight to Castillo as he frantically tried to come up with a reason for the cat that wasn't the truth.

When he got into the office Sonny closed the door behind him, meeting Castillo's gaze as calmly as possible. The Lieutenant was standing in front of his desk, hands in his pockets, unblinking eyes pinning Sonny where he stood.

"What have you found?"

Out of everything that the lieutenant might have said, Sonny hadn't expected that question at all. "What have I found?"

"You've been working on this case non-stop since Tubbs disappeared; this is the first time I've seen you in the office during decent hours in three days."

Sonny wasn't sure how he felt at the assessment, but he had a feeling that Tubbs would have laughed - or at least smiled. "That cat was at the crime scene, Marty." He began, not quite sure yet where he was going, but at least certain that Castillo was in a forgiving mood.

"I remember. It got into the squad car."

"Well it turned up at the boat this morning. By itself." Castillo's eyebrow twitched, and Sonny forged ahead. "I think-" He stopped himself before telling the truth. He couldn't, could he? He glanced out at Tubbs. Who had somehow managed to pull out one of the files, and was staring down at it intently. Many of the Vice team had stopped and were openly watching, and Sonny decided that the risk was worth it. If Castillo was on their side then things would be much easier. "Lieutenant, could I show you?"

Castillo followed Sonny's gaze. "The cat?"

"Yeah. The cat." Sonny waited until Castillo nodded to open the door, watching as Tubbs looked up from the file. His partner meowed, pawing the paper, and Sonny headed over quickly to look at it.

Tubbs looked almost smug as Sonny's brow furrowed. "Lazard? That hokey sideshow?" A quiet hiss came from his partner and he gently took the file from under Tubbs' paws. "All right, okay, I'm sorry. I believe you." He sat on his desk for a moment, meeting his partner's eyes and lowering his voice to a murmur. "Listen, I think Castillo will believe us."

Tubbs pulled back with a hiss, his ears folding back and Sonny shook his head.

"Not your call, man. I'm the one doing the talking, but I'll need help."

Tubbs' tail had begun to twitch, and Sonny held up his hands in surrender.

"Please?"

For a long moment Tubbs glared, then he hopped off of the desk, heading for Castillo’s office on his own. Sonny got up to follow, tucking the slightly chewed-on file under his arm.

At this point most of the other people in the office were staring openly. Sonny ignored them, closing the door behind himself when he reentered Castillo's office. Castillo was staring at Tubbs, who was sitting on the floor a few feet in front of him. He looked up at Sonny after a moment. "Tell me about the cat."

Tubbs gave Sonny a meaningful look, and Sonny steeled himself for what he was about to do. If Castillo decided that he'd cracked then it was all over. He bent over and picked up Tubbs, who meowed with alarm as Sonny put him on Castillo's desk. He murmured an apology before turning back towards the lieutenant—who was clearly not a fan of having a cat on his desk—but seemed willing to hear the explanation.

"All right, I know this is gonna sound ridiculous, but I swear it's true." Sonny began, stopping when a small paw swatted his hand where he was leaning on the desk. Tubbs' expression was that of disapproval, and Sonny surmised that his partner disliked how he was explaining things. He forged ahead anyway, knowing that if he didn't say it right then then he never would. "This cat is Rico Tubbs."

Silence descended on the room as Castillo stared, not even asking for clarification. Sonny didn't wait for more than a few seconds before he continued.

"Someone turned him into a cat; I don't know how, but I do know that he showed up at the Miamarina this morning, which means he walked all the way there from the crime scene." He held up his hands to stop anything Castillo might have said, "Now before you put me away just watch this." He turned to his partner, "Rico?" Tubbs nodded, and so he continued, feeling ridiculous. "Were you turned into a cat?" Another nod. "Who did it?" Sonny knew that the question was open ended, but hoped that his partner would know what to do. Tubbs gave a small meow, reaching to paw at the file under Sonny's arm.

Sonny obliged him by putting the file down next to Rico, closed. Rico gave him a light glare, and then clumsily bit the edge of the top flap and pulled the file open, before resting his paw right on top of Lazard’s picture with a self-satisfied purr. Sonny looked over at Castillo, who appeared unmoved. The lieutenant took a step forward and Tubbs tapped Lazard’s photo again with another meow.

“Lazard?” Castillo asked, and Tubbs nodded. Castillo kept his eyes on Tubbs for several seconds of silence, then he finally said. "Are you all right?"

Tubbs made a dramatic show of looking down at himself, and then shrugged. Sonny had never seen a cat shrug before, and sort of hoped that he never had to again, but he wasn't about to let his partner get off with the lie. "He's got a pretty nasty cut, but it looks like its healin'."

Castillo looked at Tubbs, who glared at Sonny. Then he said, "Has he eaten?"

"I don't know." It was another thing that Sonny hadn't even considered. "Have you eaten anything in the past three days, man?"

Tubbs turned to the side to nod, almost like he was embarrassed or ashamed, and Crockett frowned.

"Take the rest of the day off." Castillo said, and Sonny looked over in surprise. "Go eat and get cleaned up, and we'll work on finding Lazard."

Tubbs seemed annoyed, but while Sonny understood why, he really wanted to take a look at the gash and make sure that Tubbs was all right.

"I'll expect you both in office tomorrow morning." Castillo walked around to sit at his desk, clearly dismissing them. "Call if anything else happens."

#miami vice #ricardo tubbs #sonny crockett #crack fic #fanfiction #my fanfic #just a clip #I was picturing Tubbs as a LaPerm cat #very fluffy #very cute #if Sonny is a puppy or a doggo kinda guy #Tubbs is definitely a kitty-cat #kitty!Tubbs

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