Care for a dip?
A Bagheera and Shere Khan Slash fic!
DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!
There were only so many watering holes in the jungle. One of the best laid between the territories of Bagheera the panther and Shere Khan the tiger. Chilled under the canopy of green, the crystal clear water flowed softly between the two borders, a refreshing drink for any creature in the humid jungle.
Bagheera, if asked nicely, often allowed animals there for a drink or a swim, though the fact that Shere Khan protected his side of the shore just as vigorously as any other part of his land kept them from lingering long.
On a particularly hot day, when the air burned as it was breathed and the fruit drooped from the trees, most every jungle creature clustered in the shade of their homes to sleep the hot day away. In his cave, Bagheera flopped around in frustration. Despite being under several layers of solid rock, the air in the cave was chokingly dry, withering his thick black fur and forcing him to swallow each raspy breath. With another angry huff, Bagheera rolled onto his paws and headed out the entrance of the cave. The jungle around him was still in the heat, not even a cool breeze passed to ruffle the leaves of the trees. As his paws threw dust into the air, Bagheera prowled silently through the empty jungle, his breaths slowly getting more difficult. By the time he reached the watering hole, his tongue had flopped free of his mouth, desperately trying to catch any water in the air.
Crouching at the edge of the river, the panther lapped thickly at the cool water, slowly feeling his temper cool as his mouth came alive again and his body relaxed. Knowing if he went back to his cave the heat would torture him again, he laid down on the bank, moist soil sinking in between his fur. What did it matter if he had to clean himself up later, when it felt so good now! Dozing lightly under the shade, he felt the prickle of the heat creep up on him again. Looking around, he scanned the jungle for movement or color, and spotting none, slowly began to pad into the water. He rarely went swimming, the state being too relaxed and open to attack for his liking, not to mention how long it took him to dry his fur later. But today, the dip was heavenly.
Sighing with bliss, he rolled onto his back, floating like Baloo had taught him, tail wafting lazily like a snake and fur wonderfully wet and cool. Letting only his nuzzle above water, Bagheera's thoughts drifted under the cool surface to a certain tiger. Shere Khan had been acting very strange towards him lately. Whenever they met, rather than the stare downs and shows of dominance, the tiger would greet him civilly, often striking a conversation. On top of that, the tiger would share his kill with the panther, or share some shade as they napped. It seemed that the tiger had at the very least given up on hunting the man-cub, though Bagheera didn't let his guard down…often. Recently, it had become difficult to remain alert around the tiger when they met, and he often found himself relaxing as their conversations grew, even going so far as to sneak a few glances at the tiger's strong form when they relaxed in the shade, or shared a meal. Wondering at the feeling that grew in his chest as he thought of the tiger, he continued to drift along, the cool water helping him keep a cool head, at least until he heard a water-muffled chuckle right above him.
Flipping over suddenly, he sank, splashing water everywhere, and swallowing deep torrents uncontrollably before he regained some control of his position and was able to shake the water out of his eyes enough to recognize his visitor.
Shere Khan sat at ease on a small rock formation overlooking his half of the waterway, looking down at the waterlogged panther in amusement. Without realizing it, Bagheera had drifted to the other end of the river.
"enjoying your swim Bagheera?" Shere Khan chuckled out, golden eyes slowly taking in the panther's lithe body floating in the clear water, fur shimmering ebony in the soft light.
"I was" Bagheera stated breathlessly before turning and starting to swim back to his side of the river, "my apologies for crossing into your territory unawares." While Bagheera doubted Shere Khan would attack him, and he knew he could take the tiger on, in the water and half drowned, was not a location in his favor.
"Don't pay it any mind, I often enjoy a swim myself on such burning days" Shere khan purred languidly, watching the black tail skim along the water behind the cat, "so, for today, why not share the river?"
Curious, Bagheera turned in the water to stare questioningly at the orange jungle cat, watching with surprise at the tiger climbed down from the rock formation and began to wade into the river, stopping when he was about chest deep. "After all, where's the pleasure in a swim if one must be on constant alert? What do you say Bagheera?"
Wondering for a moment if the larger cat was trying to fool him into a lull state, but not wanting to start a fight in the heat, Bagheera simply nodded his head, making water cling to his whiskers as he complied, "…agreed."
Without further ado, Shere Khan completely entered the water, head sinking under for a moment as he kept himself afloat in the water, legs kicking languidly. Bagheera returned to floating on his back, this time, keeping his ears above the surface, listening to the tiger's soft splashes in the back of his head. As he felt currents underneath him change, he opened his eyes to meet the sight of Shere Khan swimming slowly toward him. It didn't look as though the tiger would attack, so instead Bagheera hummed questioningly.
"How do you float like that?" the tiger asked, head tilting in a manner so adorable it actually caught Bagheera off guard. Pausing for a moment to taking in the question, he floated closer to the other cat, feeling the force of the soft thrusts under water.
"Baloo taught me how" he stated, using his tail and back legs to push softly along the water. "Would you like me to teach you? It's much more relaxing then having to keep swimming" he asked, watching the tiger's expressions calmly. At the tiger's confirming nod, he flipped over, with much more control this time, and swam towards the closest bank, "come on then, we need to start at the bank"
Once their paws were able to touch the ground, Bagheera turned to face the tiger, crouching low in water, "first you need to get level in the water, and then your turn slowly onto your back" he demonstrated. "it will feel as if you're sinking at first, but just take deep breaths and relax, you'll float" pulling himself upright again, he returned to where Shere Khan sat in the water watching. Sitting up next to him he, held out his paws, making sure to keep his claws retracted, "I'll help you until you get used to the feeling, if you like"
At Shere Khan's confused stare, the panther let out a small chuckle, "I'll just hold you up in the water." For a moment, Shere Khan stared at his out stretched paws, and Bagheera wondered if the cat would refuse, out of simple distrust. He was, essentially, giving the other cat an opportunity to claw out his back. But Shere Khan simply bent into the water, and slowly attempted to turn onto his back.
His first few attempts were failures, where he panicked last second and would have drowned himself had Bagheera not been holding him afloat. After a few attempts however he was able to bobble in the water, and float as he relaxed in the pool. He didn't notice Bagheera had removed his paws until he was halfway out the river and the panther said, "now you've got it"
Opening his eyes, Shere Khan noticed where he was, and smothered down the panic like the last few times. Smirking in satisfaction, he watched the panther join him in the pool before sinking back into the water himself. Both cats just floated around each other for a few moments, enjoying the light coolness of the river, almost as if they were flying, before Shere Khan spoke up, "I would like to apologize Bagheera." Just keeping himself from drowning again, Bagheera looked over at the tiger, clear confusion urging him to continue. "I have been reflecting these last few weeks, and realize that my dislike of the man-cub was nothing more than petty jealousy…" he continues, gazing into the panther's green yellow eyes.
"What could you possibly be jealous of Mogli for?" Bagheera asked, kicking himself of bit closer to the other cat to show he was listening.
Shere khan slowed in the water, turning his gaze into the glowing green canopy. His paws clenched and unclenched on his chest while his tail skittered around apprehensively underwater. "He had you Bagheera…" he whispered softly, "the man-cub had you. You who would have died for him, who cared about him…who loved him…he had you…and I wanted you too…but the only way I knew to gain what he had was to take it from him…and I realize now that nothing could have been more ridiculous… " he finished, dunking his folded ears into the water, and closing his eyes against the bright glow of the sun through the tree tops.
As Bagheera bobbed in the water, the tiger's behavior over the last few months finally became clear…he was being courted! With two swift kicks, he pushed himself to the tiger's side, and planted a sweet and soft kiss on the larger cat's cheek, making the orange feline burst forward and drop into the water. With a hearty chuckle, Bagheera wrapped his paws around the sinking tiger, pulling him up to plant another kiss on the cat's lips, pulling a deep rumbling purr from him.
Pulling away, Bagheera smiled contently, "you are most certainly forgiven! And I hope you will forgive me! For being a ridiculously oblivious cat and not realizing your feeling sooner"
As the truth set in, Shere Khan's signature smirk spread across his face, "I'm sure I can be…persuaded…" he purred before making Bagheera loose his cool head with another mouthwatering kiss.
In a mass of paws and wet fur, the two cats swam towards the shore, not even taking the time to shake the heavy water off their coats as they scrambled to get to high land. Shere Kahn pushed the panther back with heavy kisses, eventually managing to topple Bagheera onto his back on the soft grass. Climbing over him, the tiger immediately ravaged the smaller cat's neck, huge paws framing the panther's moaning frame as he pawed the larger cat's barreled chest.
Bagheera suddenly froze as he felt something brush against his inner thigh, but wasn't able to smother the groan of want that bubbled in his throat. "Shere Khan" he whimpered out hoarsely, though still incredibly tense.
"You need to relax" Shere Khan whispered huskily, using every ounce of willpower not to simply thrust, "don't worry, I'll be gentle." With that, the tiger returned to lapping at the panther's throat, pulling out a heavy rumbling purr and his tongue ran over damp fur, making him drunk on Bagheera's scent and taste. As the black cat was lost in pleasure, he suddenly felt a sharp pain run though his back, and he gnashed his teeth together, smothering the pained roar. Claws flexing into his partner's shoulders, Bagheera shook, shocked at the size and pressure of the other cat inside him.
Swallowing a moan, and numb to the claws on his shoulders, Shere khan kissed away at the panther's face, nuzzling his neck so that his light purr vibrated through to the other cat's chest.
"Move" begged Bagheera, hind legs kicking at the larger cat's thighs. Slowly, Shere Khan began to move, distracting Bagheera from the pain with deep wet kisses, hushed whispers of passing pain and promises of pleasure. Pain quickly melted into burning heat, spreading throughout the jungle cats with each increasing thrust before they peaked. Lost in wanton pleasure, both wildcats roared out their releases into the empty jungle…
The sun had set, but the air was still stifling when the two cats awoke…
"Care for a dip Bagheera?" smirked the tiger