It's been a couple of chapters since I've thanked everyone for reading/favoriting/following, so I'm doing it again now. Thank you!

And special shout out to Grima, Dani Mite, Entu, Bees_in_a_davidbowie_shirt, and BecomingFearless1F for leaving reviews. I read and cherish every single one :)

Now's here's on to chapter 15, aka the one where Munk finally gets a break.

Demeter was the one who woke first, still firmly pressed against Munkustrap's soft outer coat.

It took her a second to get her bearings, mainly for why she wasn't in her den in the first place. It must be around noon now, far too late to be sleeping in, but she found she didn't mind at all.

In fact, she'd probably be content in laying there all day, but she could already feel Munk slowly coming back around to the world of the living.

He blinked open his eyes and immediately recognized that he was not alone. Glancing at her for the briefest of seconds, he then looked to see the sun shining brightly in the sky before turning back around.

"When did you get here?" he finally mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

She chuckled.

"You don't remember?"

"I...uh...no. Not really."

Demeter leaned in closer, smoothing a couple of strands of fur that were sticking up from his head.

"I came this morning," she answered in between licks. "Tugger requested I check in on you."

"Tugger?"

She nodded.

"He cares for you, you know. He may not show it, but he does. So I came in here, and you were a bit loopy from Jenny's poppy seeds, but-"

"Wait!" Munk interrupted frantically, suddenly looking much more awake. "Quaxo! Where's..."

"He's fine," Demeter cut in. "I sent him to the nursery..."

"But did you follow him there? Did you make sure he..."

"Munk!" she cried. "Honestly, he's not a newborn and is perfectly capable of finding his way back."

Munk shook his head, pacing the room.

"You should have woken me up," he muttered, mostly to himself. "I mean, it's what? Noon now...I shouldn't have slept that long..."

"What are you-"

"We're in trouble, Dem," he interrupted, looking back at her. "The tribe is in danger and it's my fault. We need to-"

"Alright, hold on!" she responded firmly. "You want to tell me what is going on? Why was Quaxo in your den anyways?"

"It's com-"

"I swear to the everlasting cat if you tell me it's complicated I will kick your ass to the nearest junkyard!" she hissed. "I'm sick of being left out of everything. Your problems are my problems, do you understand?"

She could see his eyes widen, probably unaccustomed to hearing her raise her voice in such a way.

But...she was mad. Macavity was lurking, Munk was driving himself to exhaustion, something was up with Quaxo, and...

Oh.

Demeter wasn't an idiot. She had known about Quaxo for a while. Well...she had presumed about Quaxo for a while. About his magic, about his parentage. But it was something that she had tried to push to the back of her mind, or it would threaten to overwhelm her.

But now...

She had a pretty good idea of why Macavity had found a sudden interest in the Jellicle tribe once again.

"Munk," she said, softening her tone. "Is there anything you would like to tell me? About Quaxo?"

It was a loaded question, she knew. But Munk was no idiot either. She could see it in his eyes.

He knew.

He knew that she knew.

"How long?"

It was the only thing he managed to spit out, looking decidedly uncomfortable at saying even that.

She sighed, sitting back down.

"About the magic or about his father?"

Silence permeated the room.

"You knew about that too?" he finally whispered.

"His eyes, Munk. Those eyes are his eyes."

He stood frozen for a second, his response not immediate. Demeter didn't dare speak, waiting for the protector to say something. To say...anything.

And what he did manage to say broke her heart.

"Would you condemn the life of one cat if it saved the lives of many?"

The question just hung there in the air, almost as though it was laughing at them.

Demeter couldn't think of an answer. Not really. At first, it looked quite obvious.

Yes.

Sacrificing one life for the survival of many others would be the logical thing to do.

But again, Demeter wasn't an idiot.

Macavity wanted Quaxo, that much was clear. For what purpose? That was more muddled.

She knew Mac wanted kittens. She knew how difficult it would be for him to have kittens. And she took comfort in that. In the knowledge that maybe his bloodline would stop with him.

But it hadn't.

And now they were here.

Would he treat Quaxo with kindness? With respect? Did he have any paternal feelings at all?

These were questions she couldn't answer.

And looking at Munk now, even after sleeping all morning he still looked so...tired.

He was far too young to look so worn down.

Perhaps that was the nature of his job. He must protect those that couldn't protect themselves.

She came in near to him and gently squeezed his paw.

"In the end," she said softly, "would you have ever forgiven yourself if you had handed Quaxo over to him?"

This time, his response was immediate.

"No," he whispered. "Never."

"Alright then. So whatever's done is done. The question is, where do we go from here?"

"He's going to come back, Dem."

"So we'll stop him."

"How?"

She crossed her arms.

"For one, not standing here looking sad. You can call a meeting with the seniors and we'll figure out how to bolster our defenses."

He raised his eyebrows, and what could almost be considered a smile formed on his face.

"You sure you don't want to be in charge?" he asked weakly.

She gave him a gentle nudge.

"We'll be okay," she murmured. "And...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for avoiding you this week. With Mac showing back up, and Quaxo's situation...it's just been a lot. And I hate how even the scent of him affects me so deeply."

"It's understandable, Dem. And I'm sorry too, I mean...from not keeping you updated on everything. I just wish we didn't need to be so secretive about Quaxo's condition."

"They'll find out eventually."

"I know," Munk responded sadly. "He's getting bigger every day. Soon I won't be able to protect him any more."

"He'll always have us," Demeter insisted. "And Tugger. And Jenny. He won't be alone."

"That's assuming Mac doesn't snatch him first."

"We won't let that happen."

"He has magic, Dem."

"Tell me this, then," she started. "Mac wants Quaxo, correct?"

"Yes..."

"Did he tell you this in person?"

"Um...well no, actually. He...I'm not exactly sure. We met in a dream or something. He wasn't actually here."

She gave him a reassuring smile.

"So he doesn't have the resources yet to attack. That gives us time."

"But he has magic, Dem," he repeated, louder than the last.

"Munk!" she exclaimed, grasping his shoulders. "Magic is fickle...it's temperamental. It doesn't always do what you want it to do. There are many variables that can prevent it from working. Mac is smart. He won't attack the junkyard until he knows that he will succeed. We just have to beat him to the punch."

He stared at her in silence for a second, looking rather lost on what to say.

"Munk?" she prodded gently.

"I think I'm in love with you," he said, almost absentmindedly.

We're doing this now?

Oddly enough, she found that she didn't mind. She knew his feelings for her were strong - and hers were for him - it was just a matter of time before they were said out loud. Maybe he was still loopy from the poppy seeds. Still, Demeter felt herself growing rather warm. But a good kind of warmth, one that spread from her chest all the way to the tips of her paws.

She helped him off the floor, the Jellicle protector still looking rather dazed.

"How about," she said, brushing the dirt from his chest fur, "we save the love confessions until after we sort out the Macavity problem?"

"Oh."

She smiled again, perhaps the widest one she had given in a while.

"Come on," she beckoned, stepping through the exit of Munk's den.

It was going to be an interesting day.

#

The meeting itself wasn't long. They gathered everyone they could - Jenny, Skimble, poor George who had to be woken up once again. And surprisingly enough, Tugger.

There wasn't a terribly large amount that Munk was able to say, mainly that Macavity was planning an attack, but they didn't know when and they didn't know how. Questions were asked - why now?, what is he after?, how do we plan on stopping him? - questions that neither Demeter nor Munk were able to give an answer to. They knew the why, of course, but they weren't prepared to tell the tribe of Quaxo's abilities just yet.

Tentative plans were made at least, making the impromptu meeting not a complete waste of time. They would be sending the chaos twins out to spy on Macavity's headquarters, giving them a good idea of how many henchcats they may have to prepare for in case of future encounters. Future physical encounters. Skimbleshanks would be accompanying them, of course, for he was the only cat that Jerrie and Teazer would listen to. The railway cat's excellent nose would not go to waste during that endeavor.

Then there was the issue of fortifying the junkyard. Sealing off every hole, every crack, every possible entry point, strengthening any weaknesses in the fence - it wasn't going to be an easy task, and the junkyard was strained enough as it. Tugger of all cats actually came up with the rather ingenious solution of letting the kittens join in on the fun of picking through the scraps of metal and other objects that would be used to help reinforce their defenses.

Demeter couldn't say that she was completely sated, but at least progress was being made on some front.

It was late afternoon by the time the meeting finished, many cats were with their humans, others were milling about without a clue of the latest proceedings. She noticed Munk looking quite high strung, and her heart went out for him. She couldn't recall the last time he had ever sat down and just...well, did nothing. Rested. Relaxed. He was always so terribly tense, and his pain was hurting her.

"Munk?" she asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Come out with me."

It wasn't a question, really. More of a command. And she hoped he wouldn't pick up on the desperation in her voice.

"Dem," he sighed, needing the ground. "You know I can't..."

"It's just for tonight," she insisted, standing firm. "It's Sunday, you know. The day my humans go shopping."

He raised an eyebrow.

"They always bring back a can of tuna," she continued hopefully.

"Dem..."

"We can share," she interrupted.

"I told you..."

"Are you really going to let that tuna go to waste?"

"...that I'm busy..."

"...when there are starving cats on the street..."

"...and the junkyard is in danger..."

"...who wish they could get a meal like that..."

Munk groaned, throwing his arms up.

"Alright, alright. You win."

Dem smiled, prodding his shoulder.

"You act as though going out with me is an act of torture."

"I...oh, Dem, you know that's not true…"

"I was joking."

Munk paused for a second, looking as though he was losing an internal battle.

"I guess at night out wouldn't be such a bad thing..." he eventually mumbled.

"We have cats on watch," she reminded him.

"I know but..." he trailed off, looking towards the ground.

Taking his paw in hers once again, she guided towards the exit of the junkyard.

"They'll be fine," she repeated.

Munk gave her a weak smile, but nothing else was said on that matter.

#

Demeter had to admit, it had been a while since she'd went inside her human's house.

Well, a while being relative. A few days would be the more accurate term. Her human boy was off at summer camp, which she had to explain to Munk in great detail.

"You mean...they can just send their kits away for months at a time?" he had asked rather confusedly.

She knew he was still sad over his own human kit, who would shortly be moving out from his home. He hardly seemed to visit anymore.

Her house wasn't a terribly long walk, and they arrived there pretty quickly. The process of getting the tuna, however, was anything but quick. Her humans weren't downstairs, and she spent a fair amount of time meowing her head off next to their bedside before the human female finally got annoyed enough to get up. She prepared the tuna in her bowl before giving her a quick pet to the head and disappearing back up the staircase.

Demeter didn't mind so much. She was never particularly close with the adult humans. It was her boy that she missed.

Dragging the bowl through the cat flap at the bottom of the door, she met Munk on porch. He bent down to sniff at the tuna, looking a bit hesitant to put any of it in his mouth.

"Your humans never fed you this?" she asked.

"Uh...no. They have me these weird brown...flakes. The fish I eat is the fish I catch."

She rolled her eyes.

"At least try it. I promise you'll like it."

He still didn't move.

"Please?"

Grimace still present on his face, he bent down again and took the smallest of bites.

"Well?"

"It's...yeah, I suppose it's fine."

She could help but laugh.

He ended up eating plenty for someone who only thought it was only fine. But Munk was clearly hungry, so perhaps his belly was overriding any thoughts of disgust.

Demeter dragged the now empty bowl back into the house, and after leaving it in the middle of the kitchen floor - serves my human right for ignoring me - she went back outside and took her tomfriend around to the backyard.

"You mean we aren't going back now?" he asked desperately.

"Nope."

Her human's backyard was marvelous. Spacious and green, a cat's perfect playground. There was a large basket of toys that she used to play with quite a bit, but had far outgrown. Still, it was rather amusing to her when her boy would wave a colorful string in her face and expect her to paw at it. She did, of course, because it made him happy. If only he knew that she was capable of so much more.

"What's that?" Munk asked, pointing to the tree near the far end of the backyard.

"A tree?"

He shot her a glare.

"Not that. What's in the tree?"

"Oh. That's a treehouse."

"Huh?"

"It's exactly how it sounds. A house in a tree. The adult humans made it for my human boy. It's where he keeps his toys and books and such."

"Wow," he whispered. "Can you imagine living that high up?"

"Oh Munk," she chuckled, cuffing his shoulder. "He doesn't live up there. It's just a place to hang out. I can show you if you want."

He turned to her.

"Really? But what if the humans..."

"They never go inside his treehouse. And my human boy is gone, remember? We'll be fine."

He hesitated, risk-taking not really in his nature, but eventually acquiesced and the two of them nimbly made their way up the rope ladder.

It was...messy in there. Her boy was not nearly as neat as his parents, with toys and electronics spread across an old carpet on the floor, one that was much more comfortable than it was aesthetically pleasing. There was a shelf that contained several books, many of them aimed for children much younger than her boy was now. On the wall was a poster with what looked like a big green human with black hair throwing a punch at some other strange creature. A couple of stuffed animals, a bean bag chair, and some crumbled up t-shirts made up the rest of the treehouse. It wasn't terribly spacious, but it was comfy.

Munk looked out the window, which was positioned in such a way that the rays from the setting sun were able to stream through and light up the room.

"This is amazing, Dem," he whispered. "My house doesn't even have a backyard."

"Oh, you poor soul," she teased. "Some cats don't even have a human."

He sighed, turning back around without giving any indication that he had even heard her last statement.

"I wanted to ask..." he trailed off, looking a little...was it embarrassment?

"What?" she prodded.

"Um...about this morning, or...I guess was it this afternoon? It doesn't matter. About what I said..."

Oh. So now was when they were going to talk about it.

"I meant it," he continued, "I meant what I said about..."

"Loving me."

He looked down.

"Yeah, that. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or..."

"Munk," she interrupted, coming in closer to him. "I love you, too."

That got his attention back.

"You do?"

She smiled, nuzzling his side.

"I always have, you dolt. I've just been waiting for you to catch up."

"Wait, by always, do you mean..."

"Since we were kits? Yeah. But you were always so...restless. So distracted by everything. I didn't think you cared."

"I always cared, Dem. Seeing you with him..."

"I don't want to talk about him, okay?" she cut in gently.

He nodded, going silent for a second as the two of them watched the sun sink further in the sky.

"So where do we go from here?" he asked lightly.

She pondered an answer to that. Demeter wasn't a wordsmith, maybe she'll reserve that to Quaxo, but what she was feeling right now was more... a longing, perhaps. A deep seated desire.

So that was what she acted upon.

By kissing him.

It was a chaste thing at first, it always was with them. Munk was always so very gentle with her, so very understanding. And she appreciated it tremendously. She knew he was an adult tom and had desires just like everyone else, but never thought to push it in any way. Even now, she could feel his hesitance. His fear.

She broke apart, her eyes locked on his.

"Munk, I'm not made of glass."

And there it was. The invitation. She could see something pass through his eyes, something she was just beginning to comprehend.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, grasping her paw in his.

Her simple nod was all it took, and for the first time in their relationship, he was the one to kiss her. It...it had been so long, so terribly long since she'd been touched in this way...so intimately...so personally. She was not his first, she knew - nor was he hers - but it would be their first, together. She knew some may think it silly to wait this long, but their relationship developed from something deeper than just the physical.

There were so many things to worry about. Macavity, the safety of the clan, the incoming autumn months that would bring along the cold and illness...Munk was right. There really wasn't the time to take trips such as these. They had things to do, plans to make, goals to achieve. Lives were counting on them. But maybe….

Maybe she deserved this.

No.

Maybe they deserved this.

Now, she thought, deepening the kiss and letting the protector gently ease her onto the carpet, they had all the time in the world.