Several more months passed and during that time the two couples settled into a regular routine.
Chance and Ulysses were more comfortable being seen together though they were careful not to flaunt the relationship. It just wasn't a very good idea for Chance to be in the public eye too much, putting his secret identity at risk and, even though nearly eighty percent of his enforcers were accepting of his new mate, there were still some in a position to cause Feral some grief even months later so for the safety of them both, they kept a very low profile.
As for Callie and Jake, their's was a very discreet relationship. Except for the ball, they were never seen in public together. Surprisingly, it wasn't Callie's choice but Jake's. He didn't tell her the real reason of course, just something that would make sense to her and not have her asking him uncomfortable questions.
"So why don't you want to be seen with me?" She asked as they were relaxing in her apartment some weeks after the ball.
He winced mentally but had an answer already prepared, knowing she was going to ask this eventually. "Because you're under such intense media scrutiny which is what your job entails and I'm uncomfortable with that. Sorry."
Callie sighed but nodded in resignation. "I sort of guessed that. You're a shy sort in the first place so I shouldn't be surprised you'd feel overwhelmed in the spotlight."
"Thanks, glad you understand. Hope that doesn't upset you too much?" He asked cautiously.
"No it doesn't but I won't pretend I'm happy about it. However, I do understand and won't push you on the subject." She said with a sad smile.
He felt guilty not telling her the truth so he made love to her by way of apology. Who he really was wouldn't stand up under such scrutiny for long so it was better to not be there at all. Someone could eventually ferret out the fact that he and Chance were the SWAT Kats, so the risk was just too great for that kind of honesty. Besides the fact, it would place their significant others at even greater risk from their enemies.
But this constant secrecy was becoming a strain for Jake. Whenever Callie was in trouble and he rescued her as Razor, he had to work hard to maintain the friendly but distant behavior he'd always had with her. It made him feel like a split personality and hiding his emotions were taking its toll on him.
There were too many times lately that he had wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her for some dangerous thing she'd done. It was just getting far too difficult to ignore his increasing need to protect her. It wouldn't be long before she sensed the tension in him and get suspicious as to the cause
It was at those times, he envied his partner. Not having to hide from his mate made things a little easier for Chance or so he thought until he brought up his concerns one day after a particularly harrowing rescue of Callie and Feral earlier.
After listening to his partner's complaint, Chance could only shake his head. "Look buddy, it might seem easier that Uly knows who I am but no one else does so I have to pretend just like you. Acting like he and I are still antagonists is damn hard especially with some of the incredibly fool hardy things he does that make me want to pull my fur out. We fight about that at night sometimes and, hell yes, its stressful."
Jake sighed. "You're right. I failed to realize that would be your problem as well. The only thing you have different is you can yell at him later in privacy but I can never tell her I think she's a fool except if I had heard of the incident on the news and even there, I have to be very careful it had made the news or give myself away immediately." He said unhappily.
Neither said anything for a long moment.
"You know, Chance, we're going to have king size ulcers before too long but worst of all, we could be setting ourselves up for a mistake that could get us killed because we're soo distracted by the ones we love being in trouble rather than focusing on the danger we're there to handle." Jake said in concern.
"Crud! You may be right about that but I can't see how we can solve it." Chance said in frustration.
"Neither do I." Jake said grimly.
"I think I'm going to talk to Uly about this tonight. We just can't go on like this." Chance sighed heading for his bike for the ride home.
"Good idea. I just might do something similar with Callie." Jake said thoughtfully.
His partner nodded in agreement, put on his helmet, started the bike's engine then raced out of the hangar for home.
When he reached home, his mate wasn't there, which really wasn't a surprise. The incident today meant Ulysses was chained to his desk completing the reports such things generated.
Sighing, he set about making dinner. For occasions like this, he would prepare Uly's plate then set it in the microwave to keep warm.
Meanwhile, Jake was making a solitary dinner of his own. As he waited for the microwave to ding, the events of earlier that day, filled his mind.
Flashback...
"Crud! What are those things?" T-Bone yelled as he tried to avoid a flying whatsis.
"They are some kind of gargoyle." Razor said distractedly as he aimed for the one carrying the Pastmaster. The ugly little gnome shot his watch at the Turbokat, spoiling his shot.
Cursing he tried to set up another when his partner shout in horror.
"Nooooo...Ulysses'"
Razor quickly looked out the cockpit's window and saw Feral being held some fifty feet in the air by one foot, his uniform coat had been sucked downward, trapping the dark tom's arms to his side and covering his head so he couldn't see as he swung in the air from the clawed foot of one of the gargoyles.
Ignoring his partner's frantic curses, he focused his attention on his weapon's console.
"Bring us about to the four o'clock position now!" He ordered his partner. T-Bone responded quickly despite being distracted by his mate's precarious situation. Razor shot a spider-chain missile just as the gargoyle released Feral to plummet to the ground.
"Bingo!" He cried in triumph when he saw his missile deploy and envelope Feral safely in its net. He quickly retracted the line until the Commander was left swinging just below the jet.
"T-Bone, hurry...get us over to that roof so I can release Feral." He shouted to his upset partner.
"Oh God! Thank you Razor." T-Bone said with heartfelt relief as he flew the jet over the building nearby and gently lowered his mate to the ground.
Razor released the cable and as they soared up to engage the Pastmaster, he could see Feral struggle to get loose of the net and his coat. His attention was jerked forward when he felt the jet suddenly accelerate.
"T-Bone! What are you doing?" He cried in shocked surprise as he watched in horror as his friend aimed the jet toward the gargoyle the Pastmaster was riding.
T-Bone ignored him as he plowed into the creature, destroying it and sending the sorcerer plummeting in the same fashion as his mate had done moments before. Unlike Feral though, the Pastmaster aimed his watch and opened a portal, quickly escaping.
As he vanished, there was a look of stunned disbelief on his hideous, one-eyed face as he disappeared into his vortex. Razor had been just as shocked by his partner's behavior. The tabby had become nearly suicidal in his attempt to kill their enemy for daring to harm his mate.
When they had returned to the hangar, Razor had a few choice words to say but they lacked conviction. He really couldn't be that mad at T-Bone as he would have more likely acted the same if Callie had been in such danger.
As it was, T-Bone was still very upset and wouldn't say anything more but change his clothes and return to the garage to work until it was time to go home.
The microwave's ding woke Jake from his unhappy reverie. How many times would the scenario that happened today, happen again? Would Chance lose it again? It scared him to think how murderous his partner could be in defense of his wondered if he should drop a word about this concern into the ear of the dark tom? Or would that cause even more problems?
Jake shook his head to clear it of all the questions he simply had no answers for. He was faced with the same problem but he wasn't certain he would lose all control like his partner but then again, he wasn't mated to Callie even though he did care about her a great deal. Was that the magic button? Being mates?
'Crud! I need to get busy fixing the jet. Hitting the Pastmaster's stone beast dented its nosecone but Chance was so upset he never noticed and I didn't have the heart to tell him what he'd done.' Jake sighed to himself, resigned to working late to repair their jet.
Chance had just finished making dinner when his mate surprised him by appearing earlier than expected. Feral was tired and had just dropped his coat and weapon on the couch before Chance came up behind, turned his mate, and hugged him hard.
The dark tom sighed and hugged his mate back. He knew why the tabby was so upset. What happened earlier had scared him too.
Chance finally released him a bit and leaned back so that he could look Ulysses in the face. "Are you alright? I saw that thing holding you by the foot."
"Yeah, bruised but okay. That had been very quick thinking on Jake's part. It took me a bit to get out of that net though. I didn't see what happened to the Pastmaster. Where did he go?"
Chance blushed in embarrassment, not happy about how he'd acted but he had promised himself he would always be honest with his mate so he told him what he'd done.
Ulysses stared at him a long moment. "I guess I can see how you'd feel that way. I would have loved to have seen that crud's expression when he saw the Turbokat bearing down on him though." He grinned.
Chance sighed in relief and grinned back. "Yeah, it was priceless."
Giving Chance a kiss to ease his tension, he pulled back and sniffed the air. "Hmmm, dinner?"
"Yeah, its in the microwave and hasn't been there more than a few minutes. I thought you'd be stuck doing paperwork."
"Well, I should have been but I just couldn't get in the mood to stay and look at that tonight when I have something much better to do at home." Feral purred, nuzzling his mate before letting him go.
"That's nice to hear that I'm more important than reports." Chance mocked him while feeling pleased Ulysses' did feel that way.
"Always, my love and this tastes good." Feral mumbled around his food.
Chance laughed and sat down at the table to eat his own meal and try to put the terrible day behind him.