((AN: Welp, it's been a little bit since I've added anything here, but I'm still writing. x3 I'd simply come up with another short, sweet little Demestrap story that was too short to really make its own separate entry, so I simply placed it here. This takes place a bit back in time, not long after the Jellicle Ball, when Munkustrap and Demeter are still getting used to their newly-defined relationship, and are only realizing how much they balance each other out.

I also had a new little headcanon pop up when I asked myself, "who would the Guardian have been before Munkustrap?" The answer might surprise you. x3 Do enjoy this short and sweet story!))

Help You, Help Me

Deep in the semi-darkness of his human's guardhouse, late one night, Munkustrap sat on the desk with an absent gaze, listening to his breathing more than anything else around him as he meditated on the earlier evening's events. It had been another one of those days that not only left him physically, but mentally exhausted, as he now just tried to relax and let himself turn off. Sleep never came too easily to him on these days, try as he might.

But as he was preparing to think about retreating to his cat bed, the silver tom suddenly heard the sound of the window on the far left side of the building quietly unlatching. His gaze turned and his ears folded back, making sure that the intruder wasn't some human scavenger picking around the junkyard (as had sometimes happened, though seldom)...and calmed down to the sight of a cat's silhouette on the other side.

The window opened to admit a queen with whom he had started becoming quite familiar in the past weeks, but more so after the Jellicle Ball. Demeter hadn't yet noticed that he was there, looking around in the darkness. The cautious tortie seemed to have come from sleep in her den, since she wasn't wearing her spiked collar. From what he could see of her face, her eyes looked sullen and tired, and her posture looked almost fragile and collapsible. His brow rose instantly with concern.

Knowing that a sudden noise would spook her, Munkustrap tried not to call attention to himself, and instead crouched down on the desk to wait for her wandering gaze to meet him there.

When it did, she bristled for a minute, before squinting to better see him, visibly relaxing (which made him smile, still loving how much she came to trust him lately). "...Munk? I thought you'd gone with your human for the night..."

The silver tabby let out a humming sigh. "...He left without me tonight. I had been called upon last-minute to help Alonzo break up a fight...which had ended up burying poor George under a collapsing junk tower. It took all of us to get him out."

Demeter's head tilted slightly. "I thought I'd heard a noise earlier...with whom was George fighting?"

"Nobody...Mungojerrie and Tumblebrutus had a scuffle, just being young and rambunctious toms, and George was caught in the middle suddenly." He took a deep breath and sighed it out again; it was then that Demeter noticed how utterly tired he sounded. "At any rate, it was solved, no injuries...but I did not get here in time to leave with the guardsman. A pity, but, it happens. I shall see him again at dawn," he said with a resigned note.

The gold-mottled queen, now having forgotten her own troubles, gave a soft, concerned hum. "Oh, dear...do you want me to leave you in peace, then? I did not mean to intrude."

Munkustrap sat up immediately. "No, no, please...you aren't intruding in the least. I promised you that the guard-house is yours to come to if need be, and that still stands. Please, do come in," he said, extending his paw in invitation.

She gave a shy smile and did so, still lightly closing the latch behind her and leaping down next to the cat bed under the window, padding up to leap on the chair in front of the desk. "I thank you...I just did not want to trouble you, being as tired as you are."

"I always have time for you, even when I am tired," the silver tabby assured, leaning down to give her brow a soft bump with his.

She responded in kind, even adding a bit of a nuzzle. His touch made her feel warm and comforted, and her heart wanted to pick up its pace. "Well...you shouldn't just sit in the dark like this. I feel we could both use some tea, if there is still some in the drawer."

"Oh, yes, by all means," said the tom as he turned around and flicked on the desk lamp, bathing the space in a cozy orange light. "It's the middle one. I'll prepare the kettle."

It was a fortunate thing that the guardsman kept tea for himself in the drawers of his desk to partake in around his midday break; the cats, if they needed some, helped themselves at times, since he kept the desk unlocked. He never seemed to notice that any of his bags would go missing at random intervals...or if he did, it didn't seem like a thing to fuss about (perhaps even there would be more there than he had previously, as the cats were very polite in keeping it stocked for him in return). The kettle was just a small metal one, to be used with a portable burner that only needed to be plugged in and turned on.

"So...what did bring you to the guardhouse so late? If I may curiously ask," Munkustrap inquired of Demeter as he filled the kettle with water from a jug nearby.

There was a pause as the tortie set the bags for him to take, and closed the drawer. "...I had a nightmare," she timidly admitted, her gaze set to her paws.

The tabby's brow furrowed slightly, and he left the water to boil with the tea leaves inside and leaped down to the chair, laying on it to meet her gaze from where she stood on the floor. "What was it about?"

But it was the look in her eyes that gave him her answer. Sad, broken eyes, empty and dark, even when the lamp's light shone softly in them. The kind of eyes that told a thousand words of pain and abuse. Ever more, Munkustrap wanted to hurt Macavity for ever taking the light from such a vibrant gaze as hers.

She took a breath and broke her stare, casting it again to her paws. "Sometimes they are so real that I wake up feeling trapped, even in my own den that I've created. Just like that first night you showed me this place. So I come here to sleep...like now. Bomba comes too, sometimes...I hope that is okay."

"Of course it is," he murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulder, which made her shiver a little, as if she wanted to recoil from his paw. "You are both most welcome. She isn't out there now, is she?"

"No," her head shook. "For once I didn't want to disturb her, either. I feel like such a burden most days when I get like this."

"No...don't think like that," he softly ordered. "This place is a sanctuary, and there will be no room for such talk." He leaped beside her on the floor, and reached out both paws to her shoulders, to which she flinched. He paused, not wanting to frighten her. He instead took her paws in his, warmly squeezing with his pads. "Remember what I said: you are safe here, completely. No burden to be had."

Demeter couldn't help the feeling of tears welling in her eyes, drinking in his close warmth, his touch and scent like it was holding her up from the brink of falling, his voice an anchor for her stormy mind.

"How embarrassing is this?" she sniffed. "To be weakened by such things as nightmares. I want to be stronger...especially in front of you."

Saddened for her, remembering the nights that he could hear her weeping in her den with nothing to do but listen, he lifted his paw and touched her cheek. Again she flinched, but she didn't lean away. He caught a stray tear with his pads.

"Nightmares can be powerful. Just like bad memories," he agreed warmly. "It is not a weakness to react to them like this. Don't be afraid to cry, and especially not in front of me. I am here to help, you know."

She nodded, sniffing again as she finally allowed herself to be embraced, clinging to the fur on his chest. One paw rested on the back of her bare neck, smoothing the prickly hairs down.

He couldn't hear her voice breaking, but her breath was hitching into him as she tried to let out her emotions and gather herself, her face hidden. Munkustrap just held her there and let his head rest on hers, his eyes closing. Her closeness was enough to also calm him down and make him forget about the rest of the day, focus returning entirely to where they were now, to helping this queen that he cared for so deeply.

It didn't take long for Demeter's breath to return, long and deep, before she lightly broke out of his arms, reaching up and smoothing down his fur dampened by her tears. "Thank you, Munk...I really shouldn't have to bother you with my problems, knowing how rough a night you've had already."

"Oh, come now," he lightly scoffed, his paws still resting on her shoulder blades, "I am more than happy to help you. Surprisingly...no matter the reason you are here, I become very much at ease when you are. Like my troubles are lifting from me." He huffed out a laugh. "Must be corny to hear, but..."

Demeter snorted the lightest of laughs of her own, with a smile upturning her lip as her paw lifted his chin. "The words of a love-sick tom...but then again, I must be too, because as soon as I'd seen you brooding in the dark, I'd forgotten my nightmare and wanted to help."

"I wasn't brooding," he smirked back. "I was meditating."

"Same thing."

"Is not."

The two of them broke into giggles, and the atmosphere all at once felt lighter. It was a funny thing to suddenly recognize how truly alone they'd felt before, when together everything would just melt into the background.

"Well," Demeter said as her chuckling faded and she playfully straightened his collar, "You still shouldn't be doing it in the dark. It feels like a depressing thing to do before bed."

"Yes'm, I'll remember next time," he said with a smiling, sincere tone, though it still made her giggle. They had a moment where they simply gazed into each other's eyes with tired, but adoring expressions.

Then, Munkustrap's ear quirked back up to the kettle; he could hear the boiling water just a moment before it was due to whistle. "Tea's just about ready," he hummed and smoothed down her fur again as he let her go, "Why not get cozy in the cat bed? I'll serve it up for you."

"For us," Demeter corrected with a chuckle. "And...much obliged, Munk, but...I hate to steal your bed from you, knowing you need rest just as much."

"Nonsense. You are my guest, and a lady, besides. I will not deny you a warm spot to sleep." He leaped up to the table to turn off the burner just as the kettle was steaming.

The tortie let out a yawn, feeling her weariness coming back, and she gave him a grateful smile...with perhaps a little twinkling in her eyes. "Well...would you be endeavoring to join me to sleep in said warm spot...?"

Munkustrap nearly spilled the kettle when the question was posed to him. Sure, they had shared the cat bed once before, when sleeping off the exhaustion of the Jellicle Ball...it had been nice, and warm, and close...but they hadn't been alone at the time either. The other times she slept in the guard-house, either he hadn't been there, or he had taken the chair instead. To have Demeter, the queen he'd been falling in love with for a while (and who'd had a bit of a reluctance to be so close to toms), ask him that all of a sudden...he could hear his own heart racing.

"I...ah..." he gulped and tried to form his words. "...Are you sure you want me to join you? I don't want to be improper."

She gave a soft chuckle. "Nothing improper about it, I should think...I am not in my throes, so all we would be doing is having a nice cuddle." The gold tortie sauntered to the cat bed, flicking her tail. "Besides...it was very comforting, the last time. I feel we both could use it."

"In your..." he gulped again and cleared his throat. "Yes, true. I suppose you're right...uh, oh, the tea."

Demeter couldn't help but snicker under her breath when he all but scrambled...she'd never seen a tom get so flustered. It actually felt a little empowering to be able to do that to Munkustrap of all cats. But then, she immediately felt a little guilty...perhaps she was the one making him uncomfortable...and she couldn't do that to him, ever.

There was a bit of a long silence as he prepared their tea. But as she heard him approaching with the cups, she looked up to see the silver tabby with his usual warm, comforting smile back on his face, with a dash of humor twinkling in his expression, making her relax a little. "You are a bit of a minx, you know."

She snorted. "I suppose Bomba rubs off on me at times." She kept her gaze to the tea as she took it from him. "My apologies, I just realized it was probably a little improper of me. I suddenly just felt the need to tease you."

He sat closely next to her in the cat bed with his own cup, legs touching; the feeling was reassuring. "It wasn't improper (and I've had improper flirting directed at me)...it was a little surprising, more like. That you've gained enough confidence to tease me...well, honestly, it's pleasant to see. I'm glad to see you showing that confidence in yourself...and that you seem to be feeling better tonight as well."

The queen couldn't help but chuckle, leaning against him a little. "And it's not also because it's with you I want to flirt?"

His lop-sided smile with a nervous bite of his lip was nothing short of adorable as he peered back sideways at her. "Perhaps that too."

They spent the next few moments in companionable silence, lying and leaning against one another in the bed, lapping up their tea once it had cooled a little. Munkustrap was feeling his day's exhaustion long behind him now, in favor of just feeling the warmth of the queen slowly nestling against him.

At some point, Demeter felt his tail having wrapped around her, and she too had forgotten her anxiety and her nightmares. The negative voices in her head were silenced, as if cowed by the presence of the Guardian, ever steadfast in his kindness and trust.

"Munk...tell me," the mottled queen began after gulping down her mouthful of tea, "How difficult is your job, exactly? I mean, what does it really mean to be a Guardian?"

Munkustrap glanced at her, and then upward in thought as he paused and licked his lip. "Well...I dunno if other cat colonies have the same kinds of rules and titles...but for the Jellicles, being a Guardian means...taking charge. Not only training and commanding the Protectors, but being there for everyone. The leader appoints you, you don't inherit it...despite how it may seem. It is only a coincidence that Old Deuteronomy gave me the task. Do you know who was Guardian before me?"

"Who?"

"Skimbleshanks."

"No."

"Indeed! Knowing him now, you'd have never thought it so; he had to pass it on due to his own busy schedule, among other things..." His chuckle was short, and his expression turned serious again. "...Sometimes I feel Father could have chosen better than me, but...nobody questions his wisdom. He saw me as the best for it—Skimble agreed, everyone did—and I embrace it wholly, despite how, indeed, difficult it can be." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. "Very much so."

Demeter tilted her head, brow raised as she took it all in. She never really thought about the specifics of his title before. It seemed like he was carrying so much more than it seemed on the surface. "So...you are the leader, in essence."

His head shook. "Deuteronomy is the leader. I am merely his right-hand cat."

"No," Demeter disagreed. "Deuteronomy cannot be here all of the time...he lives too far away. Perhaps he is a leader in the spirit of the tribe, yes, his word may even go above yours when he is here...but you do the work when he isn't, Munk. You are the leader."

Munkustrap briefly felt like he needed to defend his father...but he paused and mulled over her words. They were, after all, true, and she wasn't saying any of it in malice, but in gentle insistence. Perhaps even with a bit of concern, the way her paw had reached to cover his.

"I guess...I would at least be acting leader, yes. And even if that is true...it is hard for me to see it that way. I've always looked up to Old Deuteronomy. I can't see myself ever being at his level...even when, someday, I might be."

Demeter put her cup to the side and sidled closer against him. "Even so, you work so very hard, to the dearth of sleep at times...it must be humbling to think about, how much you have on your shoulders."

"Sometimes," he nodded with a breath. "But...I won't falter. I can't. The others depend on me."

"Well...then we'd expect you to be at your best. I don't want you to exhaust yourself so, Munk. You should rest when you need to."

Munkustrap's heart started faster again, and he put his own mostly-finished tea to the side to nestle comfortably against her body, nearly curled around her, his paw turning so that hers rested in it, pads touching. "You really do worry about me that much?"

"...More than I worry about anyone. You give so much to the others...to me...I would endeavor to help you in return. However I can."

He huffed a small laugh and nuzzled his brow against hers. "You needn't feel that you have to go out of your way. I can live."

"You aren't living if not happily," she pointed out, her head nestling in his neck below his chin. "You've been telling me that. You should heed it yourself. And I feel it necessary to make sure that you do."

The tabby felt a welling in his eyes and a sweet, painful ache in his chest. It was in his manners never to argue what was true with a queen...and one with such a strong and tenacious will as he had seen, besides. His resolve for once was crumbling, and a part of him was all too happy to see it falling, allowing himself to be helped by someone else.

"Thank you for that, Deme...I suppose I'll have to take that as an order," he chuckled as he started to lightly groom the top of her ears.

"You had better," she remarked with a grin, and then let out a sigh as she felt his calming attention. "Goodness, me giving the Guardian orders, what are you turning me into...?"

He couldn't help but nip at her ear playfully as he answered. "I would hope that I am helping you turn into the strong queen that I know you already are inside." He briefly turned his head to yawn, and then started to get up from the bed. "Now...perhaps we can try to sleep. No more nightmares for you. I forbid it."

She laughed, and hearing her chiming voice, he felt like he could walk on air as he went to the desk to turn out the light.

There was a pause, before Demeter spoke up again. "You know...if you are uncomfortable with it...you do not have to stay in bed with me."

Munkustrap's answer was a gentle smile from the top of the desk as he flicked off the light. When the tortie's eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was to still see his green eyes glittering with what she could swear was coyness as he returned. "To be honest, my dear, I think right now that the two of us would rather be happy than proper. I want to stay...if you want me to as well."

Her heart was thundering again as she replied with a smile and a nod. "...Please."

And so she closed her eyes and felt his warmth as he made his way inside and nestled back into the nook where he had been, sidling until he was against and curled about her like a protective barrier, arm over her shoulders, cheek on her head. For once, the silver tom just let go of his troubles and sank into sleep, her scent lulling him there faster, especially once she relaxed completely into him.

This would definitely have to happen more often, that on their bad days, they could depend on each other to pull themselves out of the darkness.