Sighing reluctantly, Feral gave Chance a final deep kiss then pulled away. "Time to get up love."
"Yeah, I know but somehow I feel we should just call in and stay together." His mate said, stretching and shoving the bedding off.
"Hmm, I sort of feel the same way but it's Friday so we can survive until tonight." Feral soothed as he padded to the bathroom.
Chance followed him but inwardly he still felt wrong about leaving now. He shoved away the feeling not wanting it to ruin his sated and happy feeling.
In the shower, they played a little but nothing heavy as they washed each other, dried and quickly got dressed. Feral pawed through his bureau and pulled out a nice dark green t-shirt.
"Here, your shirt is too bloody and torn to wear."
"Hmm, nice. Thanks." Chance grinned as he took the shirt and pulled it on. Uly's scent lingered on it. "I'll be able to have you close with this on." He said taking a deliberate sniff of the shirt.
Feral snorted, laughing at his mate. "It matches your beautiful eyes as well."
"Are you flirting with me?" Chance purred hotly, nuzzling his mate, hampering him from getting dressed.
"Not right now, you randy thing! Just stating a fact is all." The dark tom chuckled and pushed his mate away reluctantly.
Chance laughed then grimaced at his jeans. "Yuck, oh well, at least there's no blood on them." He sighed as he pulled them on then shoved his feet into his tennis shoes.
Feral was putting his tie on when Chance completed dressing.
"Want me to make us something for breakfast?" He asked.
"If you want to, that would be great." Feral said warmly as he finished dressing.
Chance gave him a hug and then went off to the kitchen. He managed to find the makings for some eggs and bacon sandwiches with a side of milk so that they could eat and leave quickly.
Feral gave his mate a kiss for the excellent meal as they finished up, put their dishes in the sink then hurried out the door.
It was decided, Chance would catch a bus a little ways from Enforcer Headquarters so no one would see them together. About a half mile from the enforcer building, Feral let Chance off. They traded a brief kiss inside the car before the sandy tom jumped out and caught the bus that was just arriving. Feral pulled out into traffic and continued on to work, a small smile of contentment on his face.
When he arrived at work, he was in a great mood and it was noted by all he passed including Sgt Fallon, who sighed mentally in relief.
Feral settled into his seat behind his desk with a fresh cup of coffee and dug into his work with gusto. But sometime after lunch, his elevated mood began to crash. He shocked himself by nearly snapping Fallon's head off then yelling at Felina. After that last incident he quickly took himself in paw and walked down to the flight line and into the brisk air sweeping across the apron.
'What is wrong with me? I should be dancing on a cloud but I feel uneasy...antsy as if there's a threat in the air I can't see.' He berated himself, frowning. As he blindly looked out over the city, he listened to his body and finally came to a startling conclusion. 'Well, crud! It's the bond. I forgot about the fact that one has to stay with ones new mate for several days to prevent separation anxiety. How stupid of me to forget. Well now that I know what's going on, I can monitor my tongue and temper.' He decided firmly. It was a relief to know he wasn't going crazy. He turned about and walked more confidently back to his office.
The rest of the day went better, though Sgt. Fallon and Felina still tread carefully around him. He didn't try to explain to them why he was so touchy since, no way did he want anyone to know he was mated, at least not yet.
He sighed in relief when quitting time came around and the building emptied of its day shift workers. Now he didn't have to try and hide his discomfort and irritability. So he spent the next few hours until he was supposed to meet Chance by clearing out his backlog of reports.
By nearly eight o'clock, he smiled tirededly as he put the last report in his out basket, locked his desk and turned out his desk lamp. Yawning, he stepped down from his pedestal and went to the coat rack. Buttoning his coat as he walked out of his office, pausing long enough to lock the door then made for the elevator.
It was a twenty minute drive to the salvage yard and when he drove through the gate on his arrival, he was dismayed to see a huge pile of salvage in front of the garage and a fight going on.
Earlier that day...
The bus trip was about twenty minutes long and during the ride, Chance thought about what he was going to tell his partner. It really shouldn't be too difficult as Jake was the one to tell him to make up his mind. The cinnamon tom had apparently thought about what would happen if his partner accepted being mated to their antagonist...at least he hoped he had.
Well, he'd know soon enough, the bus had arrived at his stop. He hopped off and walked the block to the salvage yard entrance. The gate was open but the garage wasn't. Chance walked to the door and tried it and found it unlocked, so he entered the waiting area then took the stairs up to their apartment.
Passing through the living space, he entered the kitchen and found Jake eating breakfast.
"Well good morning, partner."
Chance just grinned and nodded but kept on going toward his bedroom. He tossed his jacket to the bed, threw his shirt in the laundry basket and changed his pants. He paused a moment, wondering if he should change his borrowed shirt but decided he wanted Ulysses scent close so he left it on and went back downstairs. He went to the fridge to fetch a can of milk then sat before his friend at the table.
Jake was just finishing his food but stayed seated and waited. It was obvious to him that his friend had something important to discuss. He also noted the overlarge green shirt Chance was wearing. Eyeing the shirt, he gave his buddy a questioning look.
"Yeah, I was with someone last night and I have a feeling you've guessed who already." Chance said, chuckling lightly at the look on his friend's face.
"Feral?" Jake asked, hesitantly.
"Yep! We've bonded!"
"You did?" Jake blurted, sitting back in his chair in shock.
"Well, you did say to make up my mind..." Chance said, eyeing his friend, uncertainly, wondering why Jake was this surprised.
"I know what I said but somehow I thought you wouldn't take him up on it. What changed?" Jake asked, still shaken.
Frowning a little with concern, Chance told him what had happened last night.
"It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, Jake. It was absolutely mind blowing."
Jake shook his head, but he smiled to ease his friend who was becoming worried about what Jake was thinking about this.
"I'm happy for you...no...seriously...I am really happy for you both now maybe he won't be such a hard ass toward us and you look really contented. It's going to be a bit of a problem for all of us but I think we'll manage somehow." Jake told him soothingly.
Chance relaxed. One hurdle down...still more to go. "That's good. He thinks of you as family and has no problem accepting you as a part of his life now. But there's something else I have to tell you." He paused nervously, Jake wasn't going to like this. "He knows who we are..."
"What?" Jake exploded, jumping to his feet in anger, cutting his partner off.
"Easy, buddy. I didn't give it away. Last night when I left the club, I was so bummed about this thing with Feral that I didn't pay attention to where I was and got jump by three punks. Feral came upon us while I was beating the crap out of them. He had them arrested but then he looked at me strangely, he wasn't happy about how beat up I looked. That just confused the hell out of me but not as much as when he said he would give me a ride home rather than have me find another way. I thought he was nuts and refused, he got angry and the next thing I knew he was in my face and we were kissing. Well, I was in so much shock at his behavior and how good the kiss was I didn't argue when he took me to his place. I finally got my head together and demanded why he was being so intimate with me, when I knew it had been my T-Bone persona he'd been taken with, and that's when he dropped the bomb on me. He'd known all along that I was his mate since he pinned my wings on me when I graduated from the Enforcer Academy. He hadn't wanted to risk the problems of a high ranking officer mating with a low ranking officer then we got booted out and when we clashed that first time, he caught my scent. Well now we were on opposite sides so he didn't make his claim, just ignored it." Chance explained hurriedly.
Jake's thunderous look leaked away during his friend's report of last nights shocking revelation. His shoulders slumped and he sank back into his chair. When Chance had finished and looked at him anxiously, the cinnamon tom could only stare at his friend for a long time.
The tabby was getting worried as time passed and still Jake was silent. He was about to say something when Jake finally spoke.
"So how does this effect us now?" He asked quietly.
"Nothing changes but he'll be coming over to talk to us about what we do now that he and I are mated. If he was going to arrest us or do anything else to us he's had ample time to do it. It's because of who I was to him that stayed his paw and I guess because he truly loves me but just refused to admit it to himself. I really don't know but I do know he's been miserable and lonely all this time. But listen, something really good came out of last night. He made an incredible suggestion that I can't believe we didn't think of." Chance said excitedly, hoping this would smooth over the shocking news of their identities being known by Feral.
"Oh! What was that?" Jake asked, still a bit leery.
"He wasn't happy about you being blacklisted and tried to find out why but politics and secrecy shut him out. To protect his position, he had to back off. What he suggests, though, is that you sell your ideas as Razor and not just here in Megakat City but to other countries. He figures you could make millions." Chance said excitedly.
Jake's eyes widened in shock. He was speechless for several minutes before he could finally say anything. "Crud! He's right! I don't know why I never thought of that avenue! What an idiot I am. We'd already be out of debt and away from this crummy business if I had done it in the first place." He berated himself.
"Hey, I didn't think of it either and, besides, it gave us time to learn what we wanted to do and make it happen and you had to make a name for yourself as Razor, first." He soothed his friend. "Now, I know you'd rather be known by your real name but since you can't do that, Razor is your call sign so its still you."
"Yeah, it's a bit of a downer that I can't use my real name especially since I tried so hard to make a name for myself and get the prestige, but you're right, I can still get that with my call sign, writer's do that too. And I don't have to look far for buyers, they've been hounding me already, begging for my designs." Jake agreed, thoughtfully. His mind already working on how to get started.
Chance grinned in delight and finished his milk. He could already see the wheels turning in his friend's brain. His getting mated to Feral was already benefiting them. It seemed his decision to bond had been the best thing he'd done next to becoming a SWAT Kat.
"By the way, Ulysses is coming over at eight o'clock tonight to talk about us and how we'll behave from now on as well as other things." Chance told him.
His friend blinked and refocused his attention. "Oh...okay...hope neither of us have an emergency call because we do need to talk." He agreed. "But that's for later, let's get to work buddy. We've got a lot of cars waiting and personally, I'd rather not work tomorrow."
"Yeah, I agree. I have plans for my mate and they don't include getting greasy in the garage." Chance nodded, grinning, getting up and throwing his can away. "See you downstairs."
Jake nodded, getting up to put his dishes away.
The day was long and busy. But by late afternoon, Chance was feeling antsy and tense. He couldn't figure out why. He tried to shove the growing discomfort away but it kept intruding. As they broke for a very late lunch, he pushed his food around without eating much.
Jake frowned, "Chance, what's wrong buddy?"
"I don't know. I feel uneasy and tense. Its been getting stronger over the past hour or so and I can't shake it." His partner said in annoyance.
"Hmmm. You were happy this morning. I'm not really familiar with bonding so I don't know if this has anything to do with that." Jake said thoughtfully.
"I doubt it." Chance said flatly. "Forget it. It'll just pass or not. Let's get finished." He shoved the rest of his lunch into the fridge and headed back out to the garage, determined to ignore the strange anxious feelings he was having.
Jake eyed his partner in concern but since there was nothing he could do, he joined his friend and they worked hard to finish up. By seven o'clock, the last car was heading out of the yard. Glad to be done, they cleaned up and got ready to close the yard.
To Jake's dismay, Burke and Murray rumbled in with a load of salvage. He knew just what was going to happen next. Chance had been getting more and more irritable as the afternoon wore on and was now really touchy.
The nasty duo didn't have a clue that this was going to be the worst day of their lives. Snickering, Burke pulled the lever and their load tipped up and dumped right in front of the garage. Then the two of them got out and prepared to hassle Chance. Big Mistake!
Chance roared in fury and lit into Burke without warning. The bigger of the pair was taken by surprise and didn't put up a defense until too late. The two went down in a heap, pounding the crap out of each other. Murray stood frozen in shock then tried to help his buddy. Chance wasn't having any of it as he kicked out and sent Murray flying through the air to hit their truck.
Jake tried to pull Chance off but his partner was completely out of control. As he continued to try and yank his friend off his victim, suddenly a large form loomed over them and a huge paw reached down and firmly yanked the furious tom off the huddled garbage kat.
"Enough!" Roared a far too familiar voice. Silence fell immediately.
Feral put his mate back on his feet then glared at the pair of garbage Kats.
"He attacked me for no reason!" Burke bellowed, as he climbed to his feet with the help of his friend, while trying to stop the bleeding from his nose and mouth.
"Yeah!" Murray said, still a bit shaky from the suddenness of the attack and his collision with the truck.
"Did you dump your load here?" Feral asked, eyes narrowed coldly at the bleeding tom.
"Uh...yeah!" Burke said uneasily, something telling him his complaint wasn't going to get the sympathy he thought it would. The Commander was an intimating individual but when he was this angry he was terrifying.
Feral's eyes glittered with anger but his voice remained level and cold as ice. "Is this where it is supposed to be deposited?"
"No sir." Burke said in a much smaller voice, fear racing up his spine. Murray shifted his feet nervously, sorta hiding behind his larger companion.
"Though Furlong had no right to attack you, his anger is justified. You will pick this up and deposit it exactly where it belongs and I don't want to hear you've repeated this behavior again or your pay will be docked significantly. Understood!" He growled warningly.
"Y-y-yes sir!" Burke stuttered. Murray muttered the same behind him.
"Get to it!" Feral barked.
The pair scrambled as if their tails were on fire and began reloading the junk back on the truck. Since he couldn't be seen with Chance in any but an official capacity, he turned to the tabby, preparing to 'chew' him out. He winced mentally at his now dirty shirt and the cuts and scratches on Chance on top of the ones from last night. Keeping his face firm and professional he lit into his mate.
"Furlong! Attacking city employees can get you arrested for assault and a night in a cell. As much as I'd be willing to entertain such an action, I need you here more so I'll let this go this time. Got it?" He demanded sharply.
Chance growled and balled his fists, still irritable and upset by the fight, so he didn't have to pretend belligerence and anger. "Yes sir! Loud and clear!" He grit out.
"Good." Feral said gruffly then turned to Jake. "I came by because I'm having problems with the transmission in my rig. When can you deal with it?" He asked Jake.
Jake answered promptly. He knew Feral was using the car repair as a ruse so that no one would know the real reason he was here. "We can get to it tomorrow, sir, if you'd like?" He asked.
"Can you get it back to me that day as well?" Feral asked as he followed Jake back to their office.
Chance stayed outside to watch the pair finish loading then he would lead them to where he wanted it unloaded. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face still held a scowl.
As soon as Jake and Feral disappeared in the office, Feral dropped his pretense and asked in some concern, "What the heck started that? Those two are irritating, certainly, but I wouldn't have thought Chance would lose his cool like that?"
"I don't know. He was in a good mood until late this afternoon then he complained of being antsy and tense but didn't know why. By the time those two arrived, he was like a lit powder keg." Jake explained, shaking his head. He was a bit weirded out that Feral was talking to him so easily as if they were old friends. It was hard to wrap his mind around the fact Feral knew who they were.
"Ahhh, poor Chance. I'm new at this too and I just didn't realize we couldn't really be apart so soon. But it being a work day, there was no way we could just lock ourselves away for the time needed to adjust." Feral sighed in dismay.
"Then it is the bond causing this? I told Chance I thought it might be." Jake said excitedly.
"Humph, Yes, it's at fault because I too was feeling a bit anxious all afternoon and was nasty to my staff. I took a breather and realized what was wrong. It was hard guarding my temper after that so I can sympathize with my mate. Well, we have the whole weekend to ease the separation anxiety before it gets worse and by Monday we should be fine." Feral sighed, shaking his head at the far reaching affects of being newly bonded.
"Well that's a relief! I'd really hate to have to deal with him like that for too much longer." Jake sighed, glad it was something fixable.
Outside the office, they heard the huge truck start up and move off. They went out the door and watched as the truck followed Chance then dumped their load where it was supposed to go. Once done, the pair got out of there as fast as they dared. Soon, only the dust of their passage was left and Chance locked the gate with Feral's military sedan inside the yard.
He came up to his mate still feeling tense and irritable. Feral didn't meet him but stepped back into the office forcing his mate to come all the way inside first. They couldn't risk anyone seeing them together. Jake closed and locked the door behind his partner and watched as Chance stood before his mate and frowned.
Knowing exactly how his mate felt, Feral pulled Chance into his arms and nuzzled him hard, scent marking him which was the first step to regaining their hold on their bond. Chance groaned, wrapped his arms around Feral's waist and did the same scent marking motions. They held each other tightly until the worst of the symptoms eased a bit.
"It's alright love. When you were reluctant to part this morning, you had a reason for it. Bonding requires a few days of being together. Parting like we did caused a nasty case of separation anxiety." Feral murmured softly, caressing the tom's back soothingly.
Chance pulled his head back and blinked at his mate in surprise. "The bond? This was caused by the bond?" He asked in bewilderment. "Then Jake had been right."
"Yes he was, unfortunately. Anyway, staying together from now until Monday will take care of the problem so we don't have to be glued to the hip every moment." Feral snorted in rueful amusement.
"So you were feeling a bit murderous today too, huh?" Chance muttered softly.
"Oh yeah! I nearly snapped Sgt Fallon's head off as well as Felina's but I guessed what it was and pushed it aside, burying myself in my work and guarding my temper."
"Oh that must have been fun." Chance snorted sarcastically in commiseration.
"To think it started off as such a nice day. Let's make it a better night, okay?" Feral murmured seductively.
"Sounds like a great idea." His mate rumbled in agreement.
Before they could get too amorous with him around, Jake cleared his throat to get their attention. "Well let's go upstairs and get comfortable." He suggested as he flipped the security switch for the yard then turned for the stairs.
Pulling Chance along, Feral climbed the stairs to their small living area. He and Chance took the couch. Jake eyed the pair and was certain talking wasn't going to be done until they took care of their anxiety from being separated. Sighing mentally, he left them alone and went into the kitchen to make dinner. He would turn on a radio so he wouldn't hear them while he worked.
They never noticed when Jake left as Chance sighed and cuddled up against his mate not willing to let go for a while. Feral kissed him tenderly. Soon they were making out rather heavily.
They rolled against each other desperately. Chance wanted to feel his mate's naked body against his and he wanted it now. He quickly stripped Feral who was doing the same for the tabby. In very little time they were naked.
Feral was on his back on the couch with Chance looming over him. Without making much time for foreplay, the tabby positioned himself carefully then thrust forward urgently. Feral groaned as he was penetrated deeply. He raised his legs over his mate's waist and they were soon flying high.
It really didn't take too long before they were roaring their completion Silence fell soon after as their twin roars faded. They lay panting and waiting for their brains to get back on line again having been short circuited by the intense release.
Recovered, Feral pushed his mate off him gently, retrieved his pants, ignoring his underwear, as he put them on and his t-shirt. Chance gave him a lopsided grin as he too put on pants and t-shirt. He felt much better and completely relaxed. The anxiety was gone.
His nose twitched at the smell of food. "Ummm, smells like Jake is making dinner. Shall we go see?"
"Good idea! I'm starved." Feral rumbled good-naturedly as the two of them got up and wandered into the kitchen.
"Something smells good, buddy!" Chance said, sniffing the air appreciatively.
Jake turned his head from his cooking and smiled warmly at them. "Glad you think so. Why don't you set the table and get us some milk to drink?" He requested.
"Sure, have a seat Uly." He told his mate as he did as Jake had asked.
Soon they were sitting down to a meal of chicken casserole and peas with slices of bread. They ate in silence except for sounds of appreciation of the food.
"Wonderful meal Jake." Feral rumbled, satisfied and full.
"Yeah, I love it when you decide to make this. Take out does get old." Chance chimed in as he finished the last bite on his plate.
Jake grinned with pleasure at the compliments. "Well, its not like we ever get enough time, buddy." He snorted.
"I can cook a mean chili but also don't have much time to cook either." Feral commented, pushing his plate away and finishing his milk.
"You can cook?" Chance asked in surprise.
"My mother made sure I and my brother knew our way around a kitchen and could take care of ourselves." Feral said with a shrug.
"Smart she-kat." His mate said with a smile. "You'll have to whip something up for me sometime."
"Hah! If we ever have time." Feral snorted.
They cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink.
"Leave them. We need to talk." Jake said more solemnly.
"Yes, we do." Feral said quietly as they adjourned back to the living room.