Chapter 5: Alone Time
Street lights began to snap on as T-Bone navigated through sparse traffic to Feral's modest apartment building a mile from Enforcer Headquarters. Reaching the old fashioned brick edifice, he slowed his speed until he spotted what he was looking for and gunned the bike briefly as he quick turned into an alley running beside the building. Finding a cluster of dumpsters along one wall, he cruised by them then parked his cyclotron on the far side of them, pulling close to the wall before turning off the engine.
Soft sounds of the evening filled their ears once his special bike went silent. Distant traffic, a dog barking, people talking from somewhere out of sight, and the soft ticking of the bike's cooling engine were all they heard as they sat there for a moment.
On the ride over, Feral had let himself relax and enjoy the feeling of satiation but it didn't last. As the endorphin high left his body, the emotional issues he'd tried to shove to the far reaches of his mind began to sneak insidiously to the forefront once more, tormenting him with cries of anger, shame, and the newest voice...grief at the loss of his freedom. He wanted to hide...hide from the world, his mate, and most of all from himself.
T-Bone's pleasant endorphin high was slowly being pulled away from him. At first he hardly noticed since his attention was on his driving, but by the time he parked, a very noticeable wave of pain, anger, and unrelenting sorrow crashed in taking away the last traces of his good feelings.
He grit his teeth against the emotional tidal wave that flowed through their bond making him sick at heart and a little bitter as well.
'Damn it! Why couldn't he have stayed in a good mood until tomorrow when we could have seen someone that could help him? No, we have to crash now which leaves me trying to keep him from self destructing. I can tell he's already trying to withdraw,' he sighed unhappily to himself.
It was hard, but he managed to block some of the grief that was wailing loudly in his head. Trying to ungrit his teeth, he took off his helmet and turned as far as he could, considering he was squished rather tightly in his seat by the tom's body, and stared into Feral's eyes.
Those golden eyes were unfocused, reflecting only deep emotional pain. It was obvious he wasn't even aware they had arrived at his home.
Sighing aloud, T-Bone leaned close and nuzzled the bigger tom's face while at the same time sending soothing emotions into that troubled mind. Feral blinked in surprise as that feeling of warmth and comfort he'd felt at the plant poured over him, easing his anguish somewhat.
He found himself staring at the tabby's masked face, confused, then realized in a rush, they had stopped and T-Bone was twisted halfway around to study his face, the tabby's reflecting deep concern.
"Sorry!" He muttered feeling his face burn with embarrassment that he'd been so out of it he hadn't noticed he was home. He removed the helmet and prepared to awkwardly get off the bike.
T-Bone put an arm out to stop him. Feral eyed him, puzzled.
"You sure you don't want me to stay?" T-Bone asked softly, caressing a cheek with his finger. "I can feel you crying inside. I'm not so sure you should be alone right now."
Feral looked away uncomfortably, swallowing hard, disarmed by T-Bone's genuine tenderness and concern for him. He turned his attention inward and immediately got a sense of wrongness. It felt as if his emotional controls he'd worked all his life on developing were being stripped from him somehow. Yes, he was feeling unhappy but falling into a depression this intensely, so quickly, just wasn't like him. What was happening to him?
A warm arm wrapped around his waist jerking him from his introspection. He sucked in a breath and stared at his mate, questioningly.
"Your emotions are all over the map there big guy. I'd better stay. Come on, let's get up to your place. However, I don't want to leave the cyclotron here so... you got a better place that will be out of sight from everyone?" T-Bone asked, gently releasing the tom.
Shaking himself mentally, Feral got a grip and focused on what was asked right this moment and left the rest alone. "There's an underground parking garage. Entry is at the front of the building. Park in my spot," he told the tabby in a rather staccato fashion.
Nodding, T-Bone gestured for Feral to put his helmet back on while he did the same. He started the engine then took off to go around the building. Moments later they were going down the ramp. Feral indicated his spot which was not far from the elevator shaft. He pulled in and shut off the engine, taking off his helmet. He climbed off and aided Feral in doing the same. He stowed the helmets in a storage area of the bike while Feral went over to a storage box in front of his parking spot and retrieved a tarp which T-Bone draped over the cyclotron.
The tabby put a comforting arm around the tom and they walked to the elevator, stepping on when the doors opened.
For reasons he could no longer fathom, Feral found he didn't want the tom to leave after all. It had felt incredibly wonderful to be held and cared for, something he'd not had in far too long. He was relieved the tabby refused to be put off by his mate's emotional overload. Rather than be a bad thing, Feral realized it was the single most important thing his mate could have done at this difficult time.
As the elevator rose to the third floor, T-Bone asked, "Do you have something we can whip up to eat or should we order out?"
"Uh, I think we should order out. Chinese or Italian?" Feral asked distractedly.
"Hmm, Chinese sounds good with ribs on the side," the tabby answered, amused by the sudden look of disgust on Feral's face.
They reached his apartment door without encountering any of his neighbors, to Feral's relief. He didn't want to try and explain why the SWAT Kat was here. He unlocked the door letting T-Bone quickly slip in past him. He followed and tiredly removed his coat and weapons harness, hanging them up. He slowly removed his tie as he walked to his bedroom to put it away and to remove his boots. Taking a whiff of himself, he grimaced at the nasty smile from the plant that had exploded over him and decided to ditch the clothes. After stripping, he slipped on a robe.
He returned to the living area to find T-Bone had removed his own weapon's harness, backpack and gloves so he was just wearing his G-suit. The SWAT Kat had found the remote and was tuned into the news. On the screen, Ann Gora was just coming on with a late breaking story. He froze when he heard his name and T-Bone's.
"Kat's Eye News has just been informed that a new Sabren couple has supplied the city with two years worth of electricity. Mayor Manx is naturally ecstatic about this windfall and has informed me that the savings will be passed down to the katizens in the form of reduced electrical bills. This is certainly good news. Ever since the introduction of the Sabren Project, Megakat City has been enjoying the benefits of a nearly constant renewing resource.
The big story though are the identities of the newest Sabren couple. Even I was totally shocked by who they were. Our own Chief Enforcer Ulysses Feral is the Sabren and his new mate is none other than T-Bone of the SWAT Kats.
One wonders how this is going to work out considering their history of antagonism toward each other. According to Deputy Mayor Briggs, who was on hand for the bonding, it wasn't a happy union but necessary since Commander Feral was carrying a dangerous level of energy. We here at Kat's Eye News will keep you informed about this most unusual pairing. This is Ann Gora saying goodnight."
Both males stared in stunned disbelief.
T-Bone recovered first, "Uh, I guess they had to announce it because of who we are but... Crud!...couldn't they have waited a little longer?" He said, feeling his privacy had been invaded.
"If they had, the release could have been laced with far juicier tidbits about our mating we really didn't want aired on TV. So this was probably for the best, although, it still makes me feel violated in some way," Feral said thickly unable to process this new turn of events, sending his already overloaded emotions tumbling even further.
Unable to move, he remained standing behind the couch, rubbing his temples with his eyes closed. A painful throbbing had taken up residence inside his skull to go with his empty stomach.
Blocking the pain as best he could, T-Bone got up quickly and went around the couch so that he could pull Feral into a tight, comforting hug...once more sending soothing emotions to try and ease the pain as best he could.
Feral didn't open his eyes but he did hug back and put his head on T-Bone's shoulder trying to breathe and not think at all. He could feel the tom's paws caressing his back in soothing circles which felt so good. Suddenly both their stomachs growled.
Pulling back a little, T-Bone smiled in tired amusement and nudged Feral's face up with his chin until the bigger tom was forced to raise his head and open his eyes.
"Think we better order the food and try to get some rest. You know a hot bath might be just the thing to help ease you more. Why don't I go get it started and you order the food, take some aspirin and sit for a little while we wait for it, okay?" T-Bone urged him quietly.
Squinting his eyes in pain, Feral took a little longer than normal to actually understand what T-Bone had said then nodded his agreement, heading for the phone in the kitchen to order dinner.
Sighing in worried concern, T-Bone headed for the bathroom. Opening the door and stepping in, he was pleased to note the tub was very large and would be able hold both of them. He turned the taps on full. He looked around for something to add to the water and finally found some Epsom salts that should help with Feral's soreness and both their aching muscles.
As the tub was filling, he tried to get used to the fact he could sense Feral's emotions. At the moment blank despair was the overwhelming one making an appearance. It drowned out all the others he had been exhibiting on the ride home.
It was so intense, T-Bone found himself rubbing his own temples trying to get some relief. He wasn't a shrink but he was the only thing Feral trusted right now and that was just weird.
How had he gone from hating this kat's guts this morning to feeling an intense need to protect and care for the obviously depressed Sabren. This bond thing between them was strong and he guessed it had to be to keep a Sabren's mate from wandering or leaving altogether. He really needed to talk to someone about this more.
He sighed and shook his head. All that would have to wait. Right now they were just plain tired. When the tub was filled, he closed the door to keep it warm and made his way back to the living room. He noted the food had arrived and was sitting on the dining room table. Feral was sitting with his head lying back on the cushion of the couch with his eyes closed.
Walking over, T-Bone stood behind the tom and began rubbing Feral's temples gently. The big tom didn't move but T-Bone was grateful when he began to feel some relief from Feral's unrelenting pain. Removing his fingers, he leaned down and nuzzled the tom, cheek to cheek.
Golden eyes opened and looked sleepily up at him.
"Come on big guy, let's get our food and take it to the bathroom. We can eat and soak at the same time," he coaxed, managing to get the big kat up and moving toward the bedroom.
T-Bone left Feral to undress while he went to serve up the food and pour glasses of milk. He ferried one meal into the bathroom where Feral was already in the tub then left for his own food. He set his dishes on the dresser while he stripped his clothes off, except for his mask, then walked back into the bathroom.
Meanwhile in the bath, Feral was groaning at the wonderfully hot water that was bringing blessed relief to his sore body. It even managed to force his mind to stop running in circles and rest, at least so he could eat without getting an upset stomach. The food tasted great and was just what he needed right now.
He was nearly halfway through his meal when T-Bone came in nude and carrying his own plate of food and glass of milk. He froze with his fork nearly to his mouth as the tom climbed smoothly into the tub with him.
T-Bone sighed in relief as the hot water eased his body. He put his milk on the tub edge and dug into his food. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Feral go back to eating after his momentary shock. The tabby smiled to himself, he wasn't surprised Feral had not heard him when he said they would share the tub but was glad he didn't raise a stink about it when he did realize it. In his mind, he could tell the bath was giving the big tom much needed relief and that was all to the good as far as he was concerned.
They ate companionably until every drop of food was gone and milk drunk. Setting their plates on the floor outside the tub, they lounged back and enjoyed the silence and warm water.
Feral felt so relaxed that he nearly slipped down completely into the water. A soft chuckle jerked him alert.
"If you're trying to drown yourself, you're going to succeed really soon. How about coming over here and laying on me," T-Bone coaxed in tired amusement.
Staring at the tom rather blearily, Feral began to do as asked, moving to the other side of the tub, muttering, "Uhmm, maybe should call me Ulysses since we are mates."
"Huh! Yeah, you're right. We are about as close as two kats can get, except you don't know who I really am," T-Bone agreed as he pulled the tired Commander around and leaned him against his chest. Grabbing the soap nearby, he washed Uly's fur.
"I'm going to dump some water over your head," he warned so Feral wouldn't be surprised. His mate sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. T-Bone poured water over the dark head, soaped it and rinsed it out. Finally he got the nasty smell from the tom's fur.
Finished with the wash, he settled back and began a soothing caress up and down Feral's soft furry chest and nuzzled his neck tenderly. Feral purred in pleasure at all the attention, feeling at peace for the moment. They stayed that way until the water began to cool.
Sighing in regret, T-Bone murmured, "time to get out, I guess.
He carefully pushed Feral to an upright position and encouraged him to climb out of the tub. Feral groaned reluctantly but did get out and move toward the dryers. T-Bone grunted and heaved himself out, careful not to step on the dishes then turned to pull the plug to the tub. He stepped over to join Feral under the dryers, combing the tom's fur with his claws to help it dry faster since the dark tom had longer fur than he did. As soon they were both dry, T-Bone pushed Feral to the bedroom and toward the bed.
Once the tom was situated under the covers, T-Bone went back into the bathroom, picked up the dishes and took them to the kitchen. Insuring the apartment was locked up and lights were turned out, he returned to the bedroom.
Feral was already asleep when T-Bone slid under the covers behind him. He flicked off the light then spooned Ulysses, placing an arm around his waist and quickly surrendered to sleep as well.
Dawn's early light was spilling over the entwined toms when Feral stirred. His bladder was urging him to get up. Pushing the blankets off, he registered the arm and leg twined around his body. Foggily, he remembered he was no longer alone and gently moved his mate's limbs off him. He staggered to the bathroom to relieve himself.
Cold, he hurriedly climbed back under the covers and snuggled closer to his mate's warm body. T-Bone rumbled in his sleep as he wrapped himself around his chilled mate once more. Sighing, Feral drifted quickly back to sleep, strangely happy to be sharing his bed with someone for the first time in his life.
It was hours later, when the two tom's finally began to awaken. Feral groggily realized it was some three hours past the time he normally would have been at work. Shocked, he attempted to get up but was prevented by a powerful arm pulling him back down.
"Where do you think you are going?" T-Bone rumbled.
"I'm late for work!" Feral stated angrily and tried to get up again.
"You're the boss and you've just been through a traumatic event. They can handle things for a little while. We need to spend a little more time together. Now come here and let me show you what I mean." T-Bone growled, suddenly pushing Feral flat on his back and climbing on top of him. Before Feral could react or protest he was being kissed passionately.
Any protest he might have had went out the window as his body reacted to the SWAT Kat's determined efforts to make love to him. He moaned and writhed under T-Bone's powerful body as their tongues dueled. A hard cock was pressing into his belly with his own stiff member rubbing against it. He groaned, undulating his hips to increase the rubbing sensation. T-Bone moaned at the sensation of Feral's body fur brushing against his swollen member.
Growling with desire, Feral raised his legs to wrap around T-Bone's waist in a silent demand for his mate to take him now. Accepting the invitation, the tabby pulled his hips back enough to free his cock then plunged it into Feral's female sheath.
He groaned hotly as T-Bone began a steady, deep thrusting. It didn't take long for them to reach completion together. The warm rush of energy fired Feral's orgasm and sent him flying, dragging T-Bone along for the ride. A brief flash of light accompanied the orgasm but neither male noticed.
They lay panting, gently caressing each other and trading light kisses.
"How are you feeling now?" T-Bone purred warmly as he groomed his mate's face.
"Wonderful. You do that soo well." Feral purred in return. "I still need to get going but thank you for the pleasant wake up call." He kissed his mate deeply then, with regret, pushed him off and once more tried to climb out of bed but once again T-Bone stopped him.
"Crud, T-Bone! I may be the boss but I have to set an example. I need to get to work." He huffed getting irritated.
T-Bone sat up but didn't release Feral, giving his mate a serious expression. "No! It's more important that we discuss what we're going to do with our lives now. The press are going to be all over you when you get to Enforcer Headquarters and I wouldn't be surprised if they asked how we intend to handle being mates when we are technically on opposite sides of the Enforcer fence."
Feral stilled as he realized T-Bone was correct. They had many things to talk about with that being just one of many important matters they needed to iron out between them before others demanded answers from them.
Sighing in resignation, Feral conceded his mate was right. "Alright, let me call my office and sign out for the day as well as call Ms. Briggs. She had said she wanted to see me this morning."
"Oh yeah, that's right, she did. I should contact Razor too, he'll be concerned," T-Bone nodded as he climbed out of the bed, relieved Feral had understood the importance of their needing to talk.
It was going to be a long day and not necessarily a pleasant one.