Welcome to the Jungle: Chapter 2

Warnings: Attempted rape

When Bagheera woke up, his head was pounding and he just wanted to slip back into a peaceful slumber. This was hard to do, however, as he looked around and recognized that it was not his own bedroom that he was in, though he recognized it as Baloo's, so it wasn't too great of a shock. As he got up to look for the tenant of the apartment, the previous night's memories came rushing back to him; the fight with Shere Khan, drinking far too much with Baloo, and returning only to fight again and this time actually getting hit from it. Bagheera rubbed his cheek, which hadn't really been hurting until he touched the sensitive skin. The rest of him was sore, however, from walking such a distance, and in a drunken stupor to boot (though he could not recall how he ended up at his friend's place).
Trying not to think about how to handle the situation, he exited the room and went exploring the flat, finding his friend in the kitchen. When Baloo noticed his presence, he gave a small smile and poured Bagheera a glass of water and gave him an aspirin, already aware of how miserable Bagheera must've felt from the alcohol the night before.

They sat down at the table next to each other, not speaking, as Bagheera eagerly guzzled the drink. Finally, Baloo spoke, "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Bagheera swallowed and nodded, slowly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Bagheera let out a sigh and said, "He hit me."

"Why?"
Bagheera remembered that Khan had been angry and jealous that he had gone out with Baloo, who Khan believed liked his boyfriend. He thought it best to leave that out. "It's not important."

"And you left?"

Bagheera nodded.

"Good." He ruffled Bagheera's already messy hair and gave a weak smile, "I'm proud of you. Though I'm sorry he treated you like that."

"It's alright…I'm sad and angry, but I'm done with him now. Really, I'm just worried about how I'll get my stuff that's in our apartment." Bagheera chewed on his lip in thought, "He was apologetic after…I guess he's not so crazy that I'd be in danger if I went back, though he'll probably try to convince me to stay."

"I can go with you," Baloo offered, "I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you again."

Bagheera smiled sadly at him, "It's alright, I can—no, I need to—do this myself. Thank you. I'll call you if there's any problems."

They ate breakfast together and Baloo left for work. Bagheera called in sick and then got ready to go return to his apartment. He was a mess, so he took a shower and walked to his apartment, swimming in an oversized but fresh outfit of Baloo's.

Bagheera opened the door to the apartment slowly, checking to see if Shere Khan was anywhere to be seen. While he didn't think there'd be any serious problem if they ran into each other, he still preferred to avoid conflict. Khan wasn't in sight, so he walked in, but his footsteps were silent and he moved with caution.

He made it to the bedroom and grabbed a duffel bag and a suit case from the closet, cramming his clothes and other junk in them as best as he could. When they were packed full of his favorite things and as much as he could of the rest, he let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave the place.

Just as his hand was about to grab the doorknob and turn it, it fled from him as the door was opened. Khan towered over him, blocking out the light of the hall with his large physique. His eyes met Bagheera and his apathetic face went to an angry frown and he entered the apartment, shutting the door behind him. Before Bagheera could protest, he'd locked the deadbolt and the chain.

Bagheera's heart started to race and he made an attempt to reopen the door and flee, but Khan snatched his arm and held it with force, grumbling, "Where did you run off to?"

Bagheera gulped, "To B-Baloo's." He winced as Shere Khan's nails dug into his forearm.

"Did you call the cops?"

Bagheera frowned, he hadn't even thought of that. "No."

Khan looked unconvinced and he conveyed it in his actions as he bent Bagheera's arm behind his back and shoved him against the door, forcing him to turn his face, his cheek pressed against the structure. Bagheera heard a "snikt" and shortly after felt a cool, sharp edge on his throat, just under his chin. The taller man leaned forward and Bagheera could feel his warm, moist breath on his neck and ear.
"Why should I trust you? Why should I let you go? I wouldn't want you calling the cops and pressing charges….and I certainly wouldn't want you to end up with that bear." An extra gust of air from Khan's scoff sent shivers down Bagheera's spine, "And we've had so much fun together. Why should it end? Just 'cause I knocked you around a bit? You'll learn to love it."

Bagheera whimpered as Khan grabbed him by the arm and swung him around, letting him fly roughly into an armchair. Khan quickly came near him, returning the knife to his neck. "Don't make a sound, or I'll have to slit your pretty throat." Khan climbed on him and kissed down the side of his neck that he didn't have the knife pressed to. When he reached Bagheera's clavicle, he stopped and moved the knife down to slice open the borrowed shirt.

He made a noise of disgust, "You smell like him. It's sick. We'll have to fix that." The blade was back again and Khan moved to his chest and nipples, sucking and biting. Even if they had been in a pleasurable experience with mutual consent, Khan was being far too rough. It was clear that his goal was to leave as many marks as he could cover Bagheera in. Bagheera squirmed a bit at the thought and Khan put pressure on the blade. Bagheera yelped and felt a wet stickiness on his neck, letting him know that he had drawn blood. "Don't fight, you'll only make this worse for yourself."

Before Khan had a chance to continue his ministrations, there was a loud bang and a crack and shouting as the door was broken down and several cops burst through the splintered entrance. Both men jumped.

"FREEZE! DROP YOUR WEAPON, PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND STAND!"

Shere Khan grumbled and glared at Bagheera, begrudgingly throwing the knife to the ground and raising his hands, fingers spread to be level with his head. He turned around and stared at the intruders and saw Baloo hanging in the back by the door. He shot a dirty look at him, baring his teeth, and returned his focus to the officers.

Bagheera and Baloo locked eyes and both let out a sigh of relief. Bagheera followed it with rapid breaths of hysteria as he started to cry and Baloo rushed over to console him. As Shere Khan was handcuffed and escorted out of the apartment, the medics came in and swaddled Bagheera in a shock blanket.

The cops began to search the flat and Bagheera called out to them, telling them where Khan kept his stash; in a box in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe in their bedroom.

"Thank you, sir," One of the policemen nodded to Bagheera in gratitude and continued, "We've been after Khan for a while now. We've known he was a drug dealer, but we hadn't had enough evidence to arrest him. When your friend here," he gestured to Baloo, "came and informed us that you'd been gone for a few hours and you and Khan had had a physical fight last night, it gave us an opportunity to strike. He'll be going to court not only for his drugs, but for assault and attempted rape. You won't have to worry about him for a long time."

Bagheera was too petrified to celebrate, so he just leaned against Baloo, weeping and shivering, until he was taken to the hospital to be assessed and have his wound bandaged.

Author's note: Thank you, to those of you who are reading or following this story! I hope I haven't scared you away with this chapter, but I promise, that's the worst it'll get. I'm hoping you're getting all of the little parallels with the original movie that I'm putting in the story. For example, Shere Khan uses a switch blade on the neck, just like his classic and intimidating clawed chin scratch.
Once again, thank you so much for reading, and now that I know there are actually people reading this, I'm encouraged to keep writing.