Always the Guardian
A special fic written for mah special CrazyIndigoChild. :)
Not much worth warning about in this part, aside from slashiness and Misto hurt/comfort- but why should I warn about something so sweet and wonderful?
Part One
The shack was a small, wooden thing, tucked away in a poorly-travelled wooded area just outside London. Munkustrap always imagined some humans had built it and later abandoned it, though he couldn't imagine why. To think that they left perfectly good building material behind!
Once a month or so, Munkustrap trekked out into the woods, collecting the loosened planks of wood from the shack's floor and walls and dragging them back to the junkyard. They were perfect for patching up collapsed dens or covering up holes in the yard's surrounding fence. He usually brought Alonzo on these trips, needing a second pair of strong paws to help him bring the wooden planks back home. But the patched tom had bowed out of this month's trip, claiming a sore paw, though Munkustrap suspected that it had more to do with Cassandra being in the mood for a little attention.
As a result, it was another black-and-white cat who'd insisted on coming along for the trip this time, with an emphasis on insisted.
Munkustrap made a show of considering Mistoffelees' offer, hemming and hawing about the tux being a tad too small to trudge through the woods and drag the needed wood back to the junkyard, while on the inside, he was all but leaping for joy. For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, because he had never been very good at articulating his feelings, Munkustrap found himself wanting more and more of Mistoffelees' company these days. Unfortunately, he didn't exactly have the means to indulge his- dare he say it?- crush on the young tom.
It was a well-kept secret of Munkustrap's that he envied his brother. Tugger had a knack for making his every little quirk and indulgence look wholly natural. Nothing could be out of character for him because doing the weird and the unexpected was his character. If Tugger had a crush on someone, it would be the most natural thing in the world for him to just sidle up to the object of his admiration, squeeze a rear end or whisper some obscene little nothing, and enjoy every moment of it.
Munkustrap, unfortunately, was the exact opposite. He'd nursed a crush on Alonzo a few years ago, but had been too reserved to say anything, and soon Alonzo ended up mated to Cassandra. That was always his failing: too cautious to give in to emotions, too self-conscious to embarrass himself. Too aware of his responsibilities to let his guard down, if only for a moment, despite what it always seemed to cost him.
He'd spoken to Tugger at length about it, confiding in him everything (well, everything but his secret envy of his brother's character—he wasn't about to let the other tom have that satisfaction) and had sworn him to secrecy about his, yes, crush on Mistoffelees. Tugger had gone as far as to give him a few helpful pick-up lines ("Beautiful fur you've got. Do you have some tabby in you? …. would you like some?") But it seemed like too much of a challenge to teach a reserved tom some boisterous tricks.
Still, that didn't mean he wasn't about to enjoy Mistoffelees' presence as much as he could. He wasn't quite sure why the young tux had insisted on coming along, but he certainly seemed happy enough to be walking through the woods. Munkustrap had insisted he stay close, if only because the woods were dense and it was easy to get lost. Mistoffelees had taken the recommendation to heart, following Munkustrap so closely that their tails often brushed and their hips often bumped.
"I see it!" Mistoffelees beamed.
The enthusiasm made Munkustrap smile. He'd long stopped thinking of the shack as anything but a source of materials for den repairs, but Mistoffelees' excitement was contagious.
The shack had a large open gap on its south side, from where Munkustrap and Alonzo had already torn out planks of wood. It had two unboarded windows on its other side, and a roof that looked a bit ratty and ready to collapse.
As they approached it, Mistoffelees ran ahead, quickly bounding up to the roof, tail happily flicking. Munkustrap was the stronger of the two, but Mistoffelees was the better jumper. While it was probably safer for the lighter tom to be up there, it still made Munkustrap nervous to see him so high up.
"What do you suppose the humans used this for?" Mistoffelees asked, as he happily stepped over and tested the planks of wood by tapping his foot on them. "A house?"
"I think it's a tad too small to be a house."
Mistoffelees gaped. "Not for me! Can you imagine if we all lived in dens like this? Can you imagine if your den looked like this?"
"I think," Munkustrap said demurely. "This would be a bit too big for just one of me."
"Who says you'd have to live in it alone?"
Munkustrap looked up in shocked bemusement and was rewarded with a shy, mischievous grin as Mistoffelees quickly retreated out of sight on the shack's roof.
"So, do I just knock these down to you?"
"Yes," Munkustrap said, still a bit flustered about Mistoffelees' seemingly innocent remark. Yet another case of Mistoffelees being endearingly kittenish, or was he trying to signal more? No, Munkustrap resolved. No, Mistoffelees could surely not be flirting, and surely not with him, of all toms.
"But be careful," the tabby added needlessly.
"Munk," Mistoffelees chided, still out of sight on the roof. "When am I not careful?"
Munkustrap was all set to agree, at least until a loud burst of light surging out from behind the angle of the roof made him flinch.
"Everlasting! Misto?!"
Mistoffelees' serene but confused face popped into view to peer down curiously. "What?"
Munkustrap blinked sheepishly. "… oh. I-I thought…"
"Magic, Munk. Makes it easier to loosen the wood. Here's one!"
The tux disappeared out of sight again, though Munkustrap kept his eyes riveted to the roof. A second later, a plank of wood came delicately floating down towards the ground.
"That is efficient," Munkustrap said with admiration. And much safer than having to dodge the planks as Alonzo threw them down.
"Told you!" Another flash of light, another plank was gently levitated down to the ground.
"Just… watch your footing up there, all right?"
Munkustrap could practically hear the eye-roll. Mistoffelees' petulant, kittenish attitude could be endearing sometimes, but right now the tabby was more concerned about Mistoffelees not breaking his—
He wasn't sure if he heard the wood cracking, or the scream first. Either way, Munkustrap flinched as the weak wood of the roof suddenly collapsed, taking Mistoffelees down with it in a puff of dust and splinters.
"Misto!" he cried. Taking only a second to confirm that the tux had fallen through the roof with the wood, Munkustrap sprang for the shack, squeezing through the entrance and coughing at the floating splinters and sawdust. He saw only the pile of broken wood, and no tux. Was he buried?
"Mistoffelees! Are you hurt? Everlasting, say something!"
"... you know, if you'd get out of the way, I could jump down."
Munkustrap whirled up towards the voice. As the dust and wood particles began to clear, he could see the silhouette of one very cheeky-looking cat, dangling from his front claws from a broken wooden board on the roof of the shack.
"One of the planks broke," the tux calmly explained. He blew a puff of dust from his whiskers and nose.
"I thought you'd fallen through!" Munkustrap said. He tried to judge how far up Mistoffelees was- at least once and again Munkustrap's height from the ground.
"I did!" Mistoffelees casually said, flicking his tail and swinging his hind legs as though he was simply doing some morning gymnastics. "And then I took care of myself. See? Now if you'd move, I could get down from here."
Munkustrap shook his head. "You're not going to jump. You'll break a paw. Why don't you... use your magic? Teleport? Levitate down?"
"Because it's a waste of magic? I can jump."
"Don't jump! Not to the ground." With another careful look, Munkustrap shifted his position slightly and held out his arms. "Now go on, I'll catch you."
"What if I land on your head and knock you out?" Mistoffelees mock-gasped. "I can't roll you back to the junkyard! I'll get bored with no conversation. What with you being knocked out and all."
"Just jump, will you?"
With a shrug, Mistoffelees loosened his claws from the plank, letting his slight form drop down. He landed rather easily into Munkustrap's arms, the tabby grunting only slightly from the sudden weight. He had to admit, it felt rather nice to have this rare opportunity to cradle Mistoffelees in his arms.
"What an adventure," Mistoffelees sighed dramatically. He blew another puff of dust from his now-dirty face, whiskers twitching. "Honestly, Munk, you are such a worrywart."
Munkustrap really couldn't argue with that. Now that he knew Mistofelees was safe and unhurt, he was more preoccupied with the dusty smudges all over Mistoffelees' white-furred face.
"The dust got everywhere, you look a fright," Munkustrap said. "Let me…"
Acting on impulse, and without quite realizing the implication of what he was doing, the tabby leaned in to Mistoffelees, still cradled in his arms, and began to gently lick the soft fur clean.
It was only a moment into the grooming that Munkustrap realized just how intimate this gesture was, realized how close he was to Mistoffelees, how he was now tasting and smelling him rather intimately, and his heart skipped a beat. Mistoffelees' gentle, growing purr made the whole thing even more exciting.
The content purr suddenly stopped, however, and soon Mistoffelees squirmed in his arms like a kitten demanding to be placed down. Munkustrap set the tux down to his feet, though he didn't stop the grooming, licking the outside of a twitching ear,
"Munk..." Mistoffelees sighed, leaning away from the grooming with an unimpressed look. "Do you ever stop being… well, being a protector?"
Munkustrap stared at him, a little hurt. Was that a bad thing? "What are you talking about?"
"If anyone else was holding me in their arms and licking my face- let's just say the whole thing would be a lot more exciting, you know? But that's not how you mean it. I don't want to be taken care of, Munk. I don't need to be taken care of."
"I just wanted to help you," Munkustrap said, frowning.
"You waste so much energy making sure everybody's safe. Doesn't that get awfully boring for you?"
"It doesn't," Munkustrap weakly protested. "And I don't."
"Yes you do," Mistoffelees said. He grinned as though Munkustrap had said exactly what he expected. "And you're even worse with me! Do you think I'm a bloody kitten?"
"Of course not! I-I... I just don't want anything to happen to you."
"Oh yes? And why is that?" Mistoffelees asked. He crossed his arms and gave the tabby a sassy look.
Because, Munkustrap thought, when you look at me like that, I want to kiss you, and take you to my den and stay there with you for days.
Damn it. Now would have been a perfect time to channel a bit of Tugger quality. Instead, he said, "Because I care about you."
"Oh Munk," Mistoffelees chuckled. "You're such a romantic." And with that, he uncrossed his arms, stood up on his toes, and pecked a quick kiss on the tabby's mouth.
Munkustrap drew back, but it certainly wasn't from disgust. In fact, he couldn't help the rather goofy smile he suddenly sported, and judging by Mistoffelees' kittenish grin, he saw it for what it was.
"I got tired of waiting for you to do something," Mistoffelees explained simply. He ran his claw-tips up Munkustrap's arms, but stopped there, shyly waiting for Munkustrap to take the lead from here.
Munkustrap smiled dazedly, leaning in for a proper kiss, before stopping short. "Wait… what do you mean, you've been waiting? … you knew that I-?"
Mistoffelees shrugged innocently. "It's really no use confiding in Tugger. He can be trusted to spill any secret if he thinks it will lead to mating. He told me ages ago how you felt."
Shaking his head, Munkustrap chuckled. "I'll have to remember to be very upset with him later."
And he took the lead now, leaning in to kiss Mistoffelees. It was much more than a chaste peck this time, much less tentative now that he knew Mistoffelees was not only aware of his affections, but also wholly returning them. This was too good to be true.
Mistoffelees eventually parted from the kiss, friskily running his claws up and down the tabby's strong shoulders. "Much better," he giggled, then sighed as Munkustrap returned the touching by caressing the fur over his ribs. "I love it when you drop your guard."
As they kissed again, Munkustrap decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to stop being a protector for a few minutes.
It still felt rather surreal to be kissing Mistoffelees, too much like a dream for comfort. But then again, even Munkustrap's most vivid erotic dreams never tasted so real, or sent such heated shivers straight to his groin. He was almost embarrassed to be getting so excited so quickly, but Mistoffelees only moaned appreciatively at the feel of the hard flesh against his belly.
One long, fluffy white leg sensuously curled around Munkustrap's hip, flexing as though the small tom was hinting that his other leg should be hoisted up, and his weight supported while they kissed (and more). Munkustrap spared a few seconds to ponder his next move- the wooden wall was a bit weak, but it should hold Mistoffelees' weight if he were hoisted and pressed against it. A more rational Munkustrap would have thought it absurd that they were getting ready to mate in a dusty, broken shack, when five minutes ago the tabby had been certain that Mistoffelees had no idea how he felt. Of course, it was a little difficult to be rational while Mistoffelees' tongue explored his mouth, with the faint flutter of the other's tail against his legs and feet…
All of a sudden, Mistoffelees spasmed and shrieked into his mouth. Still hazy, Munkustrap wondered if something about their kissing suddenly felt really good, or if the small tom had simply climaxed very quickly from the light stimulation. Mistoffelees then tore his mouth away, face crumpling in obvious pain while he tried to get enough breath to scream.
"Misto!" Munkustrap cried. He was still holding the small tom up, though now it felt more like he was keeping him from collapsing. "Everlasting, what's wrong?!"
Mistoffelees could only manage a strangled whimper, limply dropping his leg from around Munkustrap's hips. Backing away from the agonized tux, Munkustrap finally saw the source of the problem, at the exact same moment Mistoffelees drew in enough breath to properly cry out in pain: there was a long, large snake biting the tux's leg, and Munkustrap realized with horror that the flutter he thought he'd felt had not been Mistoffelees' tail at all, but this impossibly large creature slithering around at their feet. How had he not noticed?!
The snake was thick-bodied, covered in slick gray scales peppered with dark amber. It had wrapped itself twice around Mistoffelees' calf, its mouth wide open and fangs stuck into the fur of his right thigh.
"Bloody hell!" Munkustrap hissed.
Mistoffelees writhed against the wooden wall, ineffectively kicking out his leg to dislodge the creature, eyes wide open in terror. "G-g-get it off!"
With no thoughts to his own safety, Munkustrap pounced on the creature. His first instinct was to yank it off the tux's leg as hard as he could, but he realized that wouldn't be a very good idea. He'd seen what a snake's fangs looked like: curved, like a cat's claws, and tearing them from flesh instead of sliding them out would only cause more damage.
"Try to stay still," he said to the panicked tux as he wrapped his paws around the snake. It was thick-bodied and strong. He had to be quick; if it was venomous, he had to stop it from pumping too much poison into Mistoffelees' body.
Mistoffelees nodded shakily. His breaths came in shallow pants, either from pain or from effects of the venom.
Pulling on the snake didn't do anything. Struggling not to panic himself, Munkustrap did the only thing he could think of- sinking his claws deep into the snake's head. It worked; the snake opened its mouth to either hiss in pain or try to bite its attacker, pulling its long, glinting fangs from Mistoffelees' thigh.
Mistoffelees continued taking in small, strangled breaths for a few seconds, before releasing a long moan and staggering away from where Munkustrap was still struggling with the snake. The tabby was trying not to get bitten as well, and trying to dispose of the snake as a threat. He finally settled for slamming the snake into the wall of the shack and letting it drop to the ground, where it dazedly slithered away and back into the woods.
"M… M-Munk!
Heart pounding, the tabby hurriedly turned back towards his companion. The snake was gone, but the threat wasn't over yet. He dropped into a crouch next to Mistoffelees, who'd crumpled to the ground, swaying back and forth while his paws clutched at his thigh.
"The... th-the thing, it… it…!" Mistoffelees slurred.
"It's gone, the snake's gone," Munkustrap quickly said. He put his paws on Mistoffelees' back, trying to keep him calm until he could figure out how badly he was hurt. "How do you feel?"
Mistoffelees coughed a few times, shaking his head. "... bad."
Damn it. Munkustrap was no expert on snakes, but he knew enough to know which ones were dangerous and which ones weren't. The junkyard had its share of small, harmless snakes, mostly snakes that the kittens were warned to stay away from because they bit, even though they wouldn't make you sick. This snake wasn't small and harmless, though. Munkustrap had had a decent look at it while trying to pry it away from Mistoffelees' thigh, and it looked like an adder to his inexperienced self.
"It really burns," Mistoffelees said through clenched teeth. A moment later he began to shiver, though Munkustrap couldn't tell if it was from cold or pain or fear. Munkustrap wanted to curl up and tremble too.
Stay calm, Munkustrap ordered himself. Mistoffelees needs you. "All right, let me see," he said, gently pushing the tux's hands away so he could look at the bite wound. "And keep talking, tell me what you're feeling."
"My head is spinning," Mistoffelees murmured, limply dropping his hands from his lap. He coughed suddenly, and shivered as though caught in a gust of winter wind. "My leg hurts so much—it feels like it's on fire!"
Frowning, Munkustrap leaned it to examine the tux's thigh, gently parting the fur to see the injury. The puncture wounds were bleeding, but not too badly. The fur and skin under his hand were growing hot and swollen, and this was cause for concern. Adders were venomous. He'd been taught that, but he didn't know the first thing about treating something like this. Jenny or Jellylorum might know, with their years of experience, but he didn't. What if he made things worse?
He'd helped injured cats before, though. All he could do was keep Mistoffelees calm, treat whatever he could, and get him back to the junkyard as quickly as possible for proper help.
Munkustrap furtively looked around the shack, searching for anything that could serve as a bandage for the puncture wounds. Mistoffelees continue to shake like a leaf against him, eyes glazed as though he'd had too much catnip. "I'm thirsty," Mistoffelees said plaintively. "There's a strange taste in my mouth."
Munkustrap wasn't sure what that meant, but he had a feeling it wasn't good. He gave up on trying to find something to bind Mistoffelees' leg and gently urged the small tom up.
"Can you stand up?" he asked. "We need to get you home right away. That snake, I think it was an adder—you've got venom in you and I don't know what it'll do."
Mistoffelees was shaking his head, limp and unbalanced in Munkustrap's arms. "… hurts," he whimpered, lifting his leg off the ground with a pained hiss. The swelling had already gotten so bad that Munkustrap could see the bump beneath the fur. "… I don't feel good."
Shaking from adrenaline, Munkustrap nearly stopped to ask him what he meant, but his answer came a second later. With another sad whimper, Mistoffelees staggered into his arms like a drunken pirate, gagged once, and vomited all over the ground.
Bloody hell, Munkustrap growled to himself. This was getting dire and he couldn't waste any more time. He stopped trying to keep Mistoffelees from toppling over onto his face and instead scooped him up into his arms, in a rather sad recall to how he'd cradled the small tom just a few minutes before.
Mistoffelees started and groaned as Munkustrap slid his arm around his legs. "It hurts," the tux said, voice raspy. "It… it feels like my leg is going to split open."
"Just hang on," Munkustrap urged. He carefully manoeuvred over the broken planks of wood on the shack's dirty ground and stepped back out into the wood. After a few seconds, he added, "Try to stay awake."
Taking in shallow breaths, Mistoffelees coughed weakly and wound his fingers into the tabby's fur.
"This isn't how… how I planned this."
"You ended up my arms," Munkustrap said with forced humour, breath halting as he jogged through the woods back towards the junkyard. "I suppose that's something."
"I w-would have picked a different—uuhh," he whimpered, urgently tugging at Munkustrap's fur. "Put me down. P-Put me down, now."
Munkustrap skidded to an awkward stop, breathing hard as he shifted Mistoffelees out of his arms and onto the ground fast as he could. It was just barely fast enough, as the moment Mistoffelees touched the ground, he fell to his knees heavily, at once crying out in pain and gagging as he vomited again onto the leaf-covered ground.
"I'm sorry, Misto," Munkustrap sighed miserably. He rubbed the heaving tom's back as gently as he could. He urgently wanted to keep moving, but also wanted to give Mistoffelees a break from the pain of being jostled around as they ran.
Mistoffelees spat drily on the ground, in obvious agony both from the venom's effects, and from kneeling on his swollen leg. "… I'm s-sor..ry…"
He coughed weakly once more, though instead of getting sick again, he slowly slumped back into Munkustrap's arms.
The tabby's blood ran cold—he feared the worst for a horrible second—but he could still see and hear Mistoffelees' laboured breathing, feel the heat of his body. He'd only fainted. Not dead- not yet. Not anytime soon, if Munkustrap had anything to say about it.
He had less need to be gentle, with Mistoffelees unconscious and momentarily spared from pain. He quickly hoisted the tux back into his arms, feeling yet another pang of guilt at the pained frown on Mistoffelees' unaware face, and ran to the junkyard as quickly as he could.
To be continued soon...!