Slashathon: MungojerrieQuaxo

"Oi!" Rumpleteazer hissed from the window. "Dog's in!"

The two toms inside froze for a moment to listen for the German Shepherd they'd bypassed in the garden. Mungojerrie sniffed at the door, picking up the scent of the dog on the first floor. They may have been on the third level, but there was nothing more than stairs to keep him from tearing them to shreds. At least outside they had trees and fences to scale, in here there was just a vanity table and a dresser to shelter them.

Wanting to play it safe with the young teen tagging along, Mungojerrie shovelled the last stack of exotic coins into his pillowcase. "We shou' go." Across the room, his young assistant was perched on the vanity, rummaging through a small, wooden case.

"There's so much here!" Quaxo gawked, scooping up an armful of pearls, emerald jewelry, and diamonds. Struggling with the knotted gold chains, he awkwardly began stuffing them into his own cloth bag.

Rumple shuffled at the window. Staring at the crack under the door, she caught sight of a faded, creeping shadow shifting into the dim light. "'Jerrie!" she growled, nodding towards the door.

Glancing between the door, the tux on the vanity next to it, and his twin, the calico gritted his teeth. Hopefully, Quaxo wouldn't do anything--

"Hey! I found that ring you were looking for!" Quaxo cheered, thrusting an Alexandrite ring above his head. Grinning like a fool, he turned to bask in the glory of his mentors' approval for finding the one gem they've continued to search this human's den for. Instead of smiles and praises, they watched him with wide eyes and held their fingers over their mouths. "...What?"

Mungojerrie brought his finger from his mouth to motion the tux to stay put. "Keep quiet, kit!" the queen whispered from the window, keeping  her eye on the darkening figures on the other side of the door.

Swinging over the ledge of the dresser, the calico tom started climbing down as quietly as possible. He could already hear the low rumblings from the dog just outside the room. He'd made it almost halfway down when the cloth sack slung over his shoulder slipped and tumbled to the carpet with a soft thud and a shower of clinking coins.

The door burst open with a howl and the room exploded with light from the hallway. Mungojerrie clambered back up the dresser, stumbling and scarping his knees and legs to get away from the dribbling jowls.

"Everlasting!" Quaxo yelped from the vanity, stumbling backwards until he tipped the weak, shuddering side extension. With a loud snap the ledge broke off and sent the tux and his box of treasures crashing to the floor.

Immediately the dog twisted around to jeer at the tiny tuxedo cat: a prey much more vulnerable and accessible. Wide, adrenaline charged eyes stared back like a cat caught in the headlights. A loud bark glued him to the carpet, eyes searching; darting about until they caught Mungojerrie's stare. Even Rumpleteazer watched on in horror.

Making a dash for the window, Quaxo stumbled in the tangle of chains and necklaces, hissing at the upturned earrings stabbing into his hands and feet as he crawled.

The dog chuckled. "Where you do you think you're going with those, pussy-cat?" As he crept closer, the tux cowered lower to the ground, raising his hackles in a last-ditch effort to intimidate the nasty pollicle. The German Shepherd laughed lowly.

Cowering, Quaxo closed his eyes, said a quick prayer to the Everlasting Cat, and braced himself for the digging of teeth into and breaking his skin. The room suddenly shifted around him and a cacophony of noise; yelping, screaming, hissing, and growling alike. The last sound to die off was a pair of panting bodies and an airy, high whine. It was only once he was sure he'd survived that he dared look.

Above him, Mungojerrie panted hotly, fangs bared and claws unsheathed to strike. The mutt, a mere foot away, had a small trickle of blood leading from his nose and blood-tingled drool pooling on the carpet. Bright white teeth glinted and shimmered in the moonlight from the window. Quaxo shuddered and shrunk into the calico cat's underbelly, ducking his nose behind the burly tom's paw.

"Let us leave," Mungojerrie growled. Pressed against his chest, Quaxo could hear the low rumbling in his chest and trace it back up his throat. It was a handsome sound that was much more low, threatening, and reassuring, than his own not-quite-adult noises. "There's more in da bag. You can 'ave it."

"What!" The dog guffawed. "You can't just come in here to take my humans' things and just walk out as you please." Another gruelling step forward. A string of slobber swung forward and splashed Quaxo's foot; he shuddered and bit back a sob.

Staring down the dark, empty hole of the pollicle's mouth, the tiny tux had completely lost track of the calico queen. Stealing a quick glance at the window, he barely caught a glimpse of her slim, curvy silhouette as she launched off the sill onto the dog's back. "Ya gonna 'have ta deal with me, first!" she hollered, claws anchoring into his brow; barely avoiding his eye sockets.

It was almost familiar now to witness a Jellicle in battle with such a horrendous creature, though he couldn't say he'd ever seen a queen step up to the plate before. It made him feel like a coward: that his cowering under another tom and relying on this cheeky queen to save him made him that much less of a tom. Having to be saved was a horrible blow to the ego to say the least.

As quickly as she'd mounted, Rumpleteazer was thrown off onto the carpet by the door. In the blink of an eye she was off into the house, the pollicle not too far behind her.

"Get up!" Mungojerrie snapped, yanking him to his feet and tearing at the chains. With a loud groan, he gave up on the chords of twisted gold and tangle of stringed pearls to sling the tux over his shoulder.

Quaxo blinked out the door as they hopped up to the window sill, the distant sounds of Rumple's shrieking droned out by hysterical barks and human hollering. "What about 'Teazer?!"

Mungojerrie paused to listen. "Nah, shes fine." And out the window they went. Before the younger tom could consider the fair leap from the house to the adjacent tree, they were already airborne. The landing was rough and jarring, nearly throwing the young tux off the calico's shoulders and the tree branch they'd landed on. Caught by the scruff, Quaxo knew he wasn't going anywhere.

Safe in the leafy privacy of the tree, the two toms set to work at untangling the expensive jewelry. Quaxo could almost see the saddened look in the thief's mint-shaded eyes when he realized they had lost more than any amount of necklaces he could tie around his legs or earrings he could pin into his hands. Especially their prized ring. Quaxo had been so close to solidifying his place with the adventurous duo, but it was lost with the ring.

The tux smiled. The least he could do was offer some sort of gratitude for leaving with his hide intact. "Mungo... What you did for me back there was really-- I mean I would never have been able to... I—OW!" The hair on his elbow pulled and tore as the other tom pulled a handful of chords down from his arms.

Looking up from his work, Mungojerrie watched him expectantly. "...You wha'?"

"...I would have never made it out alive," Quaxo finished with a sigh. "You saved my life."

The other tom smiled: a grin that stretched ear to ear. "I did di'int I! Oi, thas for sure!" The tux smiled, relaxing when he returned to untangling the brilliant mess of shimmering golds and bold platinums.

"I don't suppose I make a good bandit."

A snort. "An 'orrible, cat burglar!... But you make it fun,"he finished with a sly wink. "I ain't never 'ad a scare like dat befoa'!"

Quaxo chuckled with him. Once his hands and arms were free he began tugging at the ties. He blushed hotly when the notorious cat reached up to unclasp a snapped ornament from his ear, chuckling and leaving his hand to gently rub the red earlobe.

Unbeknownst to the tux, he started to purr softly, biting his tongue when the gently fingers pulled away from his ear to rest lightly on his cheek. Now he wasn't one to jump to conclusions, but he couldn't help but notice how much longer his hand lingered on him; much longer than necessary, surely.

"Do- do you think Rumpleteazer's alright in there?" They turned to the house that had just recently fallen quiet, save for the human chatter and the dog's incessant whimpering along with the odd bark.

"She's been through worse," Mungojerrie shrugged dismissively. He'd learned to trust his sister's skill and cunning brilliance to keep her alive throughout the years. If anything, he worried about himself and his sturdy hide more than he did her.

Standing up, Quaxo started working himself out of his restraints, shimmying his hips and pulling them over his thighs. Still on his knees, Mungojerrie gladly reached out to offer another set of strong hands. It seemed innocent enough when he'd reached down to grab the orange, yellow, and black headfur to steady himself, but the wicked grin he'd got as he stepped out from the pile immediately sent his mind reeling into an unknown gutter of its own. He'd nearly broke out into hysterical laughter from the mere thought, but instead he sunk to his knees so they'd be at eye level again.

Nervous and in the second most awkwardly vulnerable state he'd been in that night, he retreated to picking the knots from his tail. "Hey, Jerrie..."

Curiously, the calico leaned over to watch as the tux began threading something through his tail. Turning back to face him, Quaxo proudly revealed the glorious Alexandrite gem. The bigger tom's eyes went as wide as saucers, staring at the ring as though it were merely a conjured trick and would burst into a cloud of smoke the minute he'd reach for it.

"I love ya, ya sad 'scuse of a tief!" he exclaimed, yanking him into a tight bear hug. "Oi, I can almost kiss ya!"

Taking a chance, Quaxo leaned back in the tight embrace. "Alright," he grinned before lunging in for an unexpected kiss. He was instantly met with an equally eager response, if not a bit more fervent than he'd expected. With an excited yelp Quaxo rolled back into a romantic dip. Like the master thief he was, Mungojerrie stole the opportunity to slyly slip his tongue past soft lips and run the rough side along the rippled roof of  the tux's mouth.

Forgetting the ring in his hand, Quaxo vacantly let it slip from his grasp onto the narrow branch, barely noticing when it tumbled over the edge to the garden below. He'd barely had enough time to entangle his fingers in the soft fur on the other tom's shoulder when  they were disturbed with a loud. "Ow!"

"Eh, Rumple!" Mungojerrie called, breaking the kiss but still gazing down at the tuxed tom, face slightly aglow from the peeking slivers of moonlight through the leaves. "We got da ring!"

"I see dat, 'Jerrie," she replied saucily, turning over the ring in her hands greedily; running her fingers over the smooth stone and giggling, "You can com 'an join us when yous two are done."