Tango
Chapter 19: Mu Khan
"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
-W.R. Wallace
"Do you really think your mother will like me?"
"Bagheera, she will adore you. Just worry about my nieces and nephews giving you a hard time. You're not much older than them."
"Oh, thank you for those words of inspirational wisdom." Bagheera hissed as the door to the large house opened.
At the door was a small girl with white fur and tiger stripes, a few wayward spots spattering her face and arms and tail. She blinked up at the couple with wide blue eyes before squealing loudly.
"Uncle Khanny!" She launched herself at the enormous tiger, who caught her with a laugh.
"Hello Jenny, who is your mother?"
"Daddy says she's being ho-mon-al because she's carrying the baby in her tummy."
"Ahh… that would explain it." Shere Khan chuckled as he walked in, grabbing Bagheera's paw and pulling him in after him, Jenny positioned on his hip. "Mother, we're here!"
"Get your ass in here, Shere Khan!" A shrill voice called and bagheera jumped in surprise. Was that Shere Khan's mother?
"Mommy isn't happy." Jenny whispered and Shere Khan grinned.
"I am so sorry." He whispered back, placing her on the ground and smirking as a heavily pregnant femme waddled in. She was an elegant looking snow leopard with green eyes and wearing a blue maternity gown with seashells and starfish in bright yellow.
"Get over here, Shere Khan!" She called, grabbing the enormous tiger and hugging him tightly.
"Hello to you too, Lessie." Shere Khan smiled. Lessie pulled back and smiled, grabbing Jenny's tiny paw, her other paw placed on her heavily distended stomach.
"Come on, you can introduce your friend in the living room, everyone is playing a game of Mahjong."
Bagheera followed Shere Khan, the tiger smiling at him reassuringly.
There was a murmured comment and a laugh as the two entered and Bagheera shrank, hiding behind Shere Khan slightly.
"Shere Khan! It's very rude to not introduce someone you've been fucking."
"Mother!" A tiger slightly smaller than Shere Khan gasped and Bagheera stared at the femme.
"Sorry, Mother." The large tiger bowed respectfully at the waist, stepping aside. "Everyone, this is Bagheera. Bagheera, this is my family."
Bagheera fidgeted for a moment before smiling and bowing awkwardly.
"Straighten up." Mu Khan barked, standing and grabbing hold of an elaborately carved cane and standing up, straight and tall despite being so small compared to her sons and daughters-in-law. "Let me get a good look at you. Get over here!" Bagheera nervously stepped forward, allowing the femme to turn him and poke at him, her thin, bony hand on his wrist as she looked him over critically from behind her half-moon glasses.
"He's skinny." Mu Khan poked at Bagheera's ribs before tugging at his dreadlocks. "What are these? Dreadlocks? Meh, disgraceful." Bagheera bowed his head, his ears flicking back and his tail curling between his legs with shame. "He's far too leggy as well, look at them." Bagheera jumped as a claw poked at his thigh, blushing as every imperfection on his figure was pointed out.
"I have come to the conclusion that my lame little son's taste is impeccably sophisticated." Mu Khan stated loudly before hobbling back to her chair. "I whole-heartedly approve of him."
Bagheera blinked, staring in shock at the older femme. Had he just been… Accepted?
"Um… Thank you?" Bagheera asked as Shere Khan sat beside his mother, smirking.
"Sit! Here, we'll begin again. Shere Khan, shuffle the tiles!"
"Yes, Mother." Shere Khan began to shuffle the small rectangular tiles.
"Now. Bagheera." Mu Khan turned to peer at Bagheera with her amber eyes that looked so much like Shere Khan's. "How long have you been with my youngest son?"
Bagheera tried not to panic, looking at Shere Khan.
"Umm… I… I couldn't really say… we've…"
"Almost four years." Shere Khan stated for him, smirking. Bagheera scowled. He did not consider being called up to a swank hotel room to have sex as being the beginning of a relationship.
"Hmm… Good, good. And do you plan on continuing this relationship?"
"It's gone on this long, every time I think I've gotten rid of him I find him back at my door." Bagheera smirked at Shere Khan this time, the tiger grinning to himself.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-One in July." A few surprised looks, but no one said anything.
"Hmm… Can you cook?"
"Reasonably well."
"Can you entertain."
"That's how I used to make my living before I moved in with Shere Khan."
"And what caused you to move in with him?"
Silence. Bagheera and Shere Khan stared at each other. They could twist the truth with any other question but this one.
"We…"
"I…"
"Truth, boys, I want the truth."
"I… Was arrested… For assistance with drug trafficking… Shere Khan bailed me out."
"An honorable deed." Mu Khan stated calmly, not even batting an eyelash at the admission. Bagheera and shere Khan could breathe again after that. "Now, Bagheera, do you know how to play Mahjong?"
Bagheera laughed as he stood in the kitchen with Mu Khan, learning the perfect way to make sticky sweet rice from the older femme. She was a very open-minded person and Bagheera found he enjoyed her company. She always had a humerous story or saying and accepted anything he said without question or comment. She commanded respect, but was someone easy to talk to despite that.
"Now, when the rice is finished we will serve it in individual bowls for each person."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I am not a "Ma'am", young male, call me Mu Khan."
"Yes, Mu Khan." She was a femme after his own heart.
"So, what was your mother like?"
"I never recall seeing her cooking or cleaning yet the house was always impeccable and my father always ate well."
"You never ate well?"
"I was taught at a young age to support myself. I never had anyone cook for me unless my parents took me out to a friend's home. Which was rare. They would have been happy if no one had any clue as to my existence."
"Hmm… Well, I am certainly proud that my youngest son has found someone he can share his home and heart with."
"His heart?"
"Yes, my dear, you hold his heart in the palm of your paw." Mu Khan smiled. "I see the way he looks at you. He's never looked at another that way, not even his ex-wife."
"Mu Khan… I… I have… I can't…"
"He loves you, Bagheera, and I know that you love him too." Mu Khan smiled at the panther, who looked away as she left the room. He was silent for a few moments, thinking things over.
Mu Khan was very perceptive, but Bagheera still couldn't bring himself to admit anything.
"Bagheera?"
"Gah!" Bagheera jumped and slammed his hand down on the hot stove, knocking the pot and bamboo steamer of rice off the stove and to the floor with a clatter.
"Bagheera! Are you alright?" Bagheera clutched his burned paw, biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain.
"I'm fine." He ground out, Shere Khan walking over to him and taking his paw. The skin and fur were burned badly.
"Here…" The tiger turned on the cold tap, pulling Bagheera towards the sink, the panther allowing him to do so.
"It's fine, you don't have to-" Bagheera hissed as Shere Khan placed his paw underneath the tap. The cold was soothing on his paw and he relaxed, slumping against the tiger's shoulder.
"What happened?"
Bagheera jumped and straightened, his unburned paw to his mouth. The kitchen floor was covered with rice and water.
"I am so sorry! I was surprised and I accidentally knocked it over and-"
"Oh dear, are you alright?"
"Let's get some salve on that."
"Boys, you clean up and start some more rice, we'll take care of this."
Bagheera was shocked as he was herded away from the kitchen, Shere Khan and his two brothers remaining behind and beginning to clean up with the children.
"Careful, it's hot, Jenny."
"Adder, go get the broom and dustpan."
Bagheera sat down in the living room, Lessie and Corinne fussing over his paw while Mu Khan hobbled over.
"Lessie, get the aloe vera and bandages, Corinne, stop fussing, he'll be fine."
"I'm so sorry about the rice, I really am."
"It was an accident, Bagheera, no use crying over spilt milk. Or rice as the case may be."
Bagheera smiled as Lessie brought the salve, Mu Khan carefully spreading it over his right paw, fairly slathering it in the sticky substance, before wrapping his digits and paw with thin bandages.
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing!" Mu Khan barked. "It was no one's fault, merely an accident." Bagheera bowed his head.
"I'm sorry… My father would have beaten me for clumsiness… I… I guess hold habits die hard."
"Well, they eventually die, that is what matters."
Bagheera smiled at the femme.
"Yes… I suppose that is what matters."
They talked for a few more minutes before Bagheera felt eyes on him. He looked towards the kitchen and blushed beneath his fur when he saw Shere Khan smiling at him.
Dinner was an entertaining affair with all of the Chinese food, Bagheera blushing at the sight of chopsticks at every place. He felt very embarrassed when the five year old male could use the chopsticks and he was still struggling with them. Shere Khan couldn't very well feed him. The family laughed when a piece of chicken went flying from his chopsticks and he blushed, one of the children running into the kitchen and coming back with a fork for him.
"Here ish a fork." The child smiled a gap-toothed grin, talking with a lisp.
"Thank you." Bagheera accepted the fork and began eating with gusto, the conversation jumping from topic to topic before it stopped at children.
"Bagheera, do you want any children?" Bagheera jumped at the sudden question.
"I... Well, that is I… I've never thought about it… I… I like children, I suppose, but… I don't think I would be a good parent."
The group seemed a bit disappointed but Shere Khan looked thoughtful as well as Mu Khan.