SWAT KATS: Take A Chance on Me Ch.13
Take A Chance On Me
Chapter 13: Cold Shoulder
The summer season passed by like a breeze, many memories taken with Jake and Chance as spent time with one another, friends and family alike. Many of their photographs now stored in their scrapbooks underneath the television set in the living room, about 3 books worth of photos were stacked one on top of the other. The winter weather was upon them, blowing winters cold wind their way as the snow started to fall sticking to the ground piling up slowly, the SWAT Kats were called upon as usual when a psycho threatened the city and its citizens, but as always they were they to thwart any evil plans they had. Jake's kittens were developing nicely, and so was his body. His stomach was now a decent plump size, an "orb of love" inside of him as Chance put it, it took a lot of energy for him to do a lot of things that would seem easy to other kats, but they never had to go through pregnancy like Jake did, it was mid December as the kats strolled about the mall of MegaKat City, a large 4 story complex full of shops and attractions for the shoppers, Chance had on his blue denim jeans and a gray sweater along with a white scarf that hung from his shoulders, Jake had to start wearing Chance's clothes to cover up his stomach. His orange sweater trailed past his hands a little bit but fit unusually snuggle Jake though, his blue pants sagged at his heal some cutting and ripping the fabric.
"I LOVE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!" Chance smiled as he shook Jake by the shoulders walking behind the smaller kat, Jake tried to balance himself when he let go but found it quite hard. Chance hugged him from behind and planted a kiss on top of Jake's head.
"You can be such a kitten sometimes, you know that?" Jake smiled as he continued to walk towards the elevator, it wasn't as crowded as Jake though it would be, but he always liked to go shopping for gifts early in the season. They reached the elevator to get down to the second floor of the mall, Jake leaned against the glass window that let the shoppers view the mall from inside the lift, in the center was the large food court with a buffet of food choices for the hungry kats. Jake looked onto the other shoppers in the food court and though he saw someone he knew was familiar, but couldn't get a clear image of her from his view. The elevator stopped as the doors opened and Chance grabbed onto Jake's wrist spinning him around and dragging him out of the lift.
"Chance, can we please find a bench or something to sit down for a bit? We've been here for hours and got enough things for the family, what more do we need?" Jake panted as their walking pace quickened into a power walk, Jake's thighs were sore and burning from their stride. Chance looked back at his mate.
"We'll, I just wanna check a few things out before we leave, o.k. love?" Chance said as he slowed his walking and went inside a clothing store, Jake saw a bench outside next to the railing, he freed himself from Chance's grip and walked on over to his desired destination.
"I'll wait out here while you finish up shopping Chance, I'm beat" Jake said as he sank down onto the cushions of the bench, he liked that this mall had better chairs and benches that didn't irritate your bottom or made you uncomfortable after a while, these seats were nice and comfortable to a kat. Chance smiled as he nodded and went inside the store, he was looking for a particular gift to give to Jake, something special and something he knew Jake would like more than anything. Chance already bought the crib and baby clothing for their kittens with the help from Mr. Clawson, they found out around late September it was going to be a litter of kittens, which brought Chance so much joy. It didn't matter much to Jake, as long as Chance and he could raise the kittens; that was all he really wanted, to have a family and be together. Chance combed through the products trying to find something for Jake, he had already purchased some clothing and shoes for his love, not to mention a very expensive necklace from the jewelers, but Chance made sure to hide that somewhere special in the house before shopping with his love. The creamy colored kat saw some cologne on sale by the ounce, he sniffed some and like a couple but didn't get really into their scents. There was a tall blue bottle, about the height of a water bottle that caught his eye, Chance picked it up and sprayed it on his wrist. He read the name of the brand.
"Deep?" Chance took a sniff, his ears slowly perked up in the air as he continued so sniff his arm, he was in love with this cologne and it would be perfect for Jake. Chance's tail twirled around like a helicopters blades behind him as he sniffed some more. "This stuff is amazing!! This is what I'll get for him" Chance said as he found the largest container of the cologne in a box and went to the cash register to purchase it, the nice male worker bagged it with a smile and handed the product to Chance.
"Good Choice sir, have a good one" He said waving to Chance as he left.
"Thanks, you too buddy" Chance replied as he left the store and saw Jake rubbing his stomach on the bench looking down at it, he stood over his lover watching him look right back up at Chance smiling. "How are you doing?"
"They've been kicking a lot lately, I think they're hungry...so am I" Jake winced as he felt another kick from the inside, Chance helped Jake up to his feet as they went back to the elevator. Once they got to the bottom floor Jake grabbed a seat at one of the tables, his bottom slowly touched the metal seat as he laid back onto the frame, Chance was carrying all the bags of gifts they bought; Jake felt like his arms were about to fall off from his shoulders. A couple of kats started to walk towards the two, it was Adam and Daisey holding hands as they stopped at the table.
"Hiya guys!" Adam gave his brother a hug in delight, Chance returned his affections and gave his brother a slight noogie on the head. Daisey scooted over to her older brother and gave him a hug as well, kissing him on the cheek. "How have you guys been lately?"
"Just fine, we're FINALLY done shopping for you picky kats" Jake stuck his tongue out, Daisey slapped him on the shoulder smiling as Jake laughed.
"What about you two? By the way you were holding her hand there Adam, I would wager you young kats are dating or something" Chance laughed patting his little brother on the back, Adam only blushed along with Daisey and that's when they caught on. "Adam you dog, when did this happen?"
"Yeah you two, spill! Especially you Daisey" Jake held his sisters hand as she sat down at the chair next to him, the others took a seat as well, Adam was finishing up his beverage he had in his hand.
"Well, a couple months back at that cookout when Ian got hurt, Adam asked me for my phone number and I gave it to him. I had a thing for him back then and so I went for it. We've been dating for a while now, sorry we haven't told you two but you're always so busy with work and all" Daisey explained, Jake and Chance looked at one another for a moment, their SWAT Kat adventures kept them busy for most of the summertime, either with stopping a villain or testing out new upgrades on the TurboKat's engines or weapons. Daisey put her paw on Jake's bloated stomach. "Will it be soon Jake??
"Almost, don't worry I'll keep the family informed" Jake smiled, he winced and bent over in some pain as the kitten kicked again. Jake placed his hands on his own stomach as Chance went to his side; he took out his medication and gave it to his love, who swallowed the chalky pill dry without hesitation.
"Well it looks like it wants to come out now" Adam laughed, he threw his empty can in a trash can next to him and came back to the table. Chance went over to get something for Jake to eat as Daisey got up and held onto Adam's hand again, they had to leave and do some shopping of their own today as they left Jake saying their goodbyes. Jake looked in the distance and saw Chance in line for some pizza, Jake could have eaten about 12 at the moment, his hunger increased a lot during the months, he would sometimes have to have midnight snacks that would make Chance go to the store the next morning for new food. Jake really did feel bad about having to stay home on missions and always eating everything in sight, he couldn't even help out in the garage anymore; Chance had to kick him out because he couldn't stand up a lot, his love was doing so much work with keeping Jake healthy and well nourished. But Chance was feeling stressed too, his appetite and sleep have been lost some days and he always seems to be working on something to keep him busy around the house or the subbasement. Missions were hard on him too since he did them solo, he would come home sometimes bruised and cut up, or he would fall asleep in the TurboKat once it landed. He crashed in the back of the hanger once and it felt like an explosion in Jake's room, Jake had to go wake his mate up to show him what happened, Chance cursed under his breath with bloodshot eyes as he got out of the jet and looked at the damage. He was fussy that whole week, so Jake didn't bother him much, or tried not too unless he needed his help. Jake stopped staring off in the distance as Chance came back to the table with two trays of food, Jake's portions were tripled as food almost fell off their plates on the edges of the tray. Jake looked at Chance's tray, it was weird that he only grabbed a small salad and some chips, Jake looked into his eyes but Chance didn't return his stare, he just started to chow down on what he called a meal and kept to himself looking lifeless and bothered by something. Jake scooted his chair closer to Chance, making a loud sound on the floor that echoed in the food court, but no one paid attention to it...not even Chance. Jake was now side by side with his mate as they had their backs to the other tables and picked up his fork to poke Chance's hand; the plastic prongs didn't awake him from his daydreaming though. Jake looked at Chance's face, so blank and yet so tired as his eyes continued to shut on their own, he tried to keep them up the best he could but gravity was not his friend ever. He didn't even realize that he basically finished his food within five minutes of getting to the table, he only moved around the two small tomatoes in his salad bowl along with small shreds of lettuce that he missed when he gobbled down his food. Jake finished his pizza and cleaned his mouth off with his napkin, he looked at his ice-cream cup and removed the lid as he grabbed for the spoon and got a small amount of vanilla on the utensil. Slowly he moved it near Chance's mouth, but he only closed his mouth letting the cold treat touch his lips, Chance turned his head slightly as he closed his eyes. Indeed he was tired, all of his energy had been spent, Jake though Chance was full of it earlier during shopping, but time eventually got a hold of the poor kat.
"Chance..." Jake said lowering the spoon back inside the cup and letting it sit there standing tall like a statue, he placed his left hand under Chance's chin and turned his face towards himself, they were staring at one another now. "What's wrong Chance? You were so full of life earlier, now you're like a zombie or something...talk to me" Jake looked into his deep blue eyes, red lines covered his once pearly white eyes.
"Just thinking on what to get now Jake, there's nothing to worry about" Chance lied trying to turn his head and be released from Jake's hand, but it only held on tighter as he was still facing Jake who held his hand with his free paw. He wasn't going to let go until Chance answered him.
"You're lying Chance, I'm your mate and you should trust me to be there for you, no matter what's wrong with you" Jake said, Chance turned his head hard making Jake let go of his chin suddenly, Jake's hand was brushed off by Chance's other hand as he picked up both trays and stood up.
"Its nothing Jake, just leave it at that" Chance said as he yawned softly tipping the trays over a bit, the ice-cream up fell on the floor making a small mess, Chance opened one of his eyes to look at the small spill. His ears lowered and his tail stopped moving, Jake heard a small groan from under Chance's breath as he just went to the garbage bin, Jake got up and knelt down on the floor to clean up the mess and place the cup on the table. Chance came back about to pick up the bags until Jake stood up and grabbed the bags before he could, he started to walk towards the exit wobbling as he walked. "Jake, you're not suppose to be lifting anything heavy. Give me those" Chance followed his lover out to the truck; the wind blew hard and stung their faces like a thousand paper cuts. Chance wrapped his scarf around his neck as he saw Jake put the bags into the truck already and go into the driver's seat buckling himself in. Chance just went to the passenger side of the truck and got in, rubbing his arms to generate some heat and friction in his clothes. "You're not suppose to be driving either", Chance's words were turning into stutters thanks to the cold, the burly tom cat massaged his arms and started to create friction for heat.
"I can handle myself thank you, and besides we're going to get you home and into bed" Jake said as he started the truck, turning on the heat as they got out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
"Yeah, like you handled yourself with Cliff..." Chance stopped himself, having realize what he said as he shut his eyes tight and looked over at Jake who was still driving, the snow made it a little hard to see so he had to squint. Jake sighed as he leaned back on the cushion seat and shook his head slowly.
"That was uncalled for" Jake whispered, Chance just looked out the window lowering his ears again, he fastened himself in the car and crossed his arms, leaning against the door. The arrived after a short while and Jake was the first one out of the house with the bags, Chance got out seeing his love wobble in the snow and chuckled to himself for a minute before walking to the door. The snow stopped but it was still freezing outside, Chance's feet were wet as he stepping into the house and closed the door behind himself taking his scarf off simultaneously. He went upstairs into his room to change out of his wet shirt, the house was warm and comfortable to the kats after they left the heat on when the left on their shopping adventure, he opened his door to see Jake making his bed and fluffing his pillow. Chance didn't want anything done to his room right now, he liked it as it was.
"Jake...what are you doing?!" He rushed over to his bed and snatched the pillow from Jake's hands, brushing it off with the back of his own hand and blindly tossing it on the bed not caring where it landed. Jake looked up at Chance getting angry.
"I was making your bed because its time you got a good night's sleep" Jake snapped back, Chance started to get angry as he clenched his fists together at his sides.
"I'll sleep when I'm good and ready to"
"Chance, you were practically falling asleep in the mall, not to mention this moody attitude of yours...it's like your bi-polar or something"
"If I say I'm fine then I"M FINE" Chance yelled as he went to his closet to find another shirt to put on, he removed his sweater and tossed it on the ground before looking for a new one.
"Let me just take care of everything, alright? I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, working yourself to death Chance. You have to relax now and then or you'll burn out!" Jake said walking towards the closet, Chance only moved away as he rubbed the back of his neck huffing angrily.
"Just drop it" Chance whispered.
"You're not eating enough, you're losing weight rapidly..."
"Stop it" He repeated.
"You're not paying attention to what you're doing sometimes and make mistakes..." Jake continued sticking up a finger every time he listed something.
"Knock it off Jake" Chance let out of his rapid breathing.
"You're getting irritable at everyone..."
"Don't push me Jake..." Growled hard, gritting his teeth.
"And your becoming distant...Chance I..." Jake was cut off when Chance yelled loud flexing his muscles, picking up one of the night lamps that sat on his nightstand next to his bed and launching it to the wall. It shattered into pieces, the glass and the bulb all together scattered about the floor. The only light left was the ceiling fanlight that gave them energy they needed to see in the dark; Jake took to steps back after returning his gaze on Chance. Chance stood where he was panting heavily as he head towards the door, Jake followed close behind. "Where are you going??"
"Leave me alone Jake, o.k.?" Chance said as he grabbed the keys to the truck from the kitchen, then walked to the front door only to be blocked by his mate standing there arms extended in the air like a traffic bar. "Do you honestly think you can stop me? Heh, don't make me laugh Jake" Chance snorted as he moved towards Jake, he placed his hand on the smaller toms shoulder and shoved him to the wall before grabbing the door handle and stepping out into the cold. Jake just leaned against the wall and sighed to himself, his head lowered as he sniffed the cool crisp air then entered their house.
"No" Jake sighed to himself, he felt so weak and helpless when the fact of the matter was...that he is. With the kittens growing he's missed out on so much exercising and training, he would be in no condition to hold off anyone, not even his own mate if his life depended on it. Jake locked the door to the house and turned off all the lights, he made his way up to his room and entered the dark loneliness as he shut the door behind himself.
~Kim's Bar~
Chance entered the pub seeing the large crowd of kats there tonight, some were drunk and others were already passed out where ever they sat at. Chance walked up to the bar and grabbed an empty seat next to a couple of shekats who were talking to one another, Chance looked their way for a moment until he saw Kim come out from the back of the kitchen with a tray of clean mugs for the customers, she saw Chance at the bar and stood in front of him placing the mugs in their appropriate places.
"Chance! What brings you here on a cold night like this?" She smiled as she finished her job and began to wipe down the bar of any liquids. Chance gave a weak smile and brought out his wallet to pull out a 50 bill and slid it on the polished wood in front of them.
"Just need to be alone right now, keep the drinks coming until this is done hun" Chance said as he held his hand on his forehead, he leaned his elbow on the bar to have support for his limb, Kim looked at the kat and slowly took the bill before putting it in the cash register. She took out a sheet of paper and pen for his tab, she made sure to write his usual drink down that he always had. "No, this time get me something strong...for the whole night" Chance moaned as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
"What's the matter big guy? Having troubles in your life?"
"Just need to drink some of them out, that's all" Chance said, Kim patted his arm and went to get him some shots of 99 Apples as a starter, those had a high proof of alcohol in them and would hit Chance right away. She brought back three small but tall shot glasses and placed them in front of Chance, he took one and quickly downed it, feeling the after burn in his throat as his body tensed up for the effect of the liquor, it was tasty but strong. He grabbed his second one and repeated the action, harshly placing the empty glass back onto the bar ledge lowering his head as his body got another round from the drink. Chance was panting, he didn't think it was going to be this strong on him, he's a safe drinker and knows his limits but tonight he didn't want to have a one. The stress he was dealing with got to him hard and he's said things he shouldn't have, done things he's regret and want to take back but knew he couldn't. He remembered how he treated his mate before he left and closed his eyes tight before grabbing onto the third shot glass and quickly swallowing the contents, hissing at the sharp sting it made. The shekats glanced over at the handsome tabby and snickered to one another batting their eyes at the burly kat, his muscles showed through his wet shirt and they all loved it. One of the shekats, a tall blond furred kat herself strolled over to the other side of Chance and leaned on him making body contact as she brushed her shoulder on his arm.
"Hey handsome, my name it Rebecca. Would you like another drink?"
"I'll make due on my own thanks" Chance replied as he caught a glance at the female, she looked cute and maybe Chance could have seen talking with her to be enjoyable, but he wasn't in the mood right now.
"Well, let me get us some nice drinks anyways, as a act of kindness then" Rebecca smiled as she made an order to another bar tender for 2 Long Island Ice-Teas, they came after five minutes of waiting. The long glass were placed in front of the two, Chance didn't feel like making an argument so he thanked the woman and began to sip on the cool refreshing drink, he thought it tasted pretty good. Later in the night Chance was declared by the other customers as boarder line drunk, he's speech slurred and he was talking real loud as the shekats surrounded him rubbing his back and arms, his tab ran out about an hour ago but they kept on buying him drinks. The bar was packed tonight, it was only 11pm and kats were pouring in for some fun and drinking. At the entrance Ian came into the bar, his blue pants were stiff from the wind and his leather jacket dripped water, it began to snow again outside. He took off his coat showing his green shirt underneath and walked on into the bar, Kim waved him over with a smile.
"Ian, my you've grown so much. What new?"
"Just gonna have a drink or two, it has been a while hasn't it Kim?" Ian smiled leaning over the bar and giving the shekat a hug.
"We'll Chance is all the way in the back of the isle, he came in looking real down and now his tabs out, but some nice girls are paying for his drinks."
"Well I'm sure Chance can handle a drink or two, besides that he's a natural born charmer like the rest of his siblings" Ian laughed, Kim reached into her pocket and took out the tab sheet for Chance and handed it to Ian. He cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the list of drinks he ordered over the past hour and a half, he looked at the list and was surprised; Chance hardly ordered any of these drinks. He's usually a beer or two, maybe a couple of shots...but not all of this. "Is he still drinking?" Ian asked as he stood tall in front of the bar.
"Those girls have been paying for his drinks for about a 45 minutes now" Kim pointed to the back of the bar, Ian could see over the other kats thanks to his height an saw a small circle of shekats at the end. "I think they want something more than his attention" Kim sighed as she poured some beer into a mug filling it to the top until the foam started to flow out.
"I'll go get him then, excuse me" With that, Ian started to make his way to the end of the pub, it was a crowded inside so he had to squeeze past some kats who were walking and standing in the isle. Some of the kats gave Ian a mean look as he passed them, they were probably envious that he was much taller and more built than most of them were, their dates just laughed or smiled at the kat. Ian felt his phone vibrate in his pants, he stopped for a minute to get it out, he looked at the screen and saw it was the garage.
"Must be Jake" Ian thought as he flipped his phone open. "Jake?"
"Ian? Hi, where are you?? Sounds kind of loud" Jake had to yell into the phone so Ian could hear him, the drunken talking and laughing of the kats did make it seem like he was a concert, not to mention the music coming from the juke box was higher than normal and got louder in the middle of the pub.
"I'm fine, I'm at Kim's bar. Chance is here and I'm gonna talk to him for a bit"
"He's there?!" Jake yelled. "I've been calling all the Furlongs and his friends to see where he ran off to"
"Ran off to?" Ian saw an empty seat at the bar and quickly sat down, closing his other ear with his free finger as he listened closely.
"He's tired Ian...and something was bothering him earlier. I tried to talk to him but he kept on pushing me away, he hasn't eaten well lately or had a good nights rest in weeks. He lashed out at me before heading out the door a while ago and I didn't want to make him more upset, but he's been out for a long time without calling, and he usually calls by now" Jake was pacing the kitchen floor twirling the cord on the phone around his finger, he was worried for his mate badly. "Please, ask him to come home"
"I'll see what I can do, don't worry Jake" With that Ian closed his phone and got up again to head towards Chance, he finally made it to the end of the bar and tapped his brother on the shoulder, he didn't respond as he just stared off into the distance once again, the shekats continued to massage his body giggling and laughing at one another.
"Excuse me ladies, I need to speak with him for a moment"
"Sure, we're done our "hands" on studying anyways. Thanks for helping us studly" Rebecca laughed as they gathered their purses.
"What do you mean?"
"We're therapeutic back specialists at the community college in the city, we needed to find someone who looked like they needed a good upper body massage and he was perfect when we saw him enter the bar." The shekats gathered their things and left, Ian couldn't help himself and laughed underneath his breath, he sat in the stool next to his brother, Chance looked over to see his eldest brother looking down at him. He felt somewhat ashamed as he raised his glass to his mouth, he didn't realize the contents were pouring out of the glass and onto the bar until his pants got wet at the leg. Ian quickly took the cup from his hand and placed it on the bar.
"What's the matter Chance? Can't hold your alcohol?"
"L.l.l.l.eave em me alonnnnne Ian" Chance stuttered out, his ears lowered as he covered his face with his hands.
"You know I'm only joking brother, now what's eating you?" Ian patted Chance on the back, only to be brushed off as Chance stood up quickly, holding his arms at his side trying to balance himself. He was on the verge of falling over, had it not been for his tail holding onto the bar stool to help, Chance started to make his way to the door, pushing with his shoulders past anyone who got in his way, he knocking into a biker who dropped his mug on the floor smashing the glass.
"Watch where your going faggot" He yelled, Chance stopped in his tracks as he stood up and turned around to meet the eyes of an angry red kat. His nostrils flared as his breathing became erratic.
"I don't like your tone pal" Chance said clenching his fists hard.
"Deal with it bitch" With a hard shove on the chest by the biker, Chance fell backwards onto the floor hitting his head. He stumbled to get up quickly but was kicked back down again and again. Ian got up and went to Chance's side helping him up, only to be pushed away by the younger kat as he lunged for the biker and pinned him to the ground choking him with his hands. The small crowd gasped as the two fought, Ian scooped his arms underneath Chance's and pulled him off the biker, dragging his enraged brother out of the bar. Yelling and laughing came from inside, but it was muffled by the cold whistling wind that blew outside, Chance struggled to get free of Ian's grasp, he finally managed to get loose only to stumble onto the snow below him. The cream colored kat shivered on the ground as the snow melted into his fur and clothing, he tried several times to get up but continued to slip and fell down again and again. Ian was about to help him up when he could hear some faint crying coming from his brother as Chance held his body up by his arms and looked at the gray and blue sky, tears flowed down the side of his face. Ian knelt next to his brother and put his arm under his shoulder and lifted him off from the ground, Chance stood sideways as they walked to Ian's car. Ian got Chance in first before going to the driver's seat to start the engines.
"I'm scared...of what's to come Ian" Chance said, eyes half way closed as he spoke. "I don't know how to deal with all this stress, I want to sleep but cant, eat more but my stomach feels full...I cant even make love to Jake because he's pregnant. I have so much work to do around the garage and the house, I just can't do it all...I'm just one kat!"
"Drinking wont help anything Chance, and you know that"
"I just wanted to escape for one night, just one night" Cried leaning back in his seat as he felt the heat fill the car warming their bodies. Ian rubbed the top of Chance's head and began to drive off.
"One night or a million, it wont change a thing brother, this stress will go away sooner than later. You just have to do what you can and not do what people expect. I know Jake doesn't want you to exert yourself to hospital standards, does he?" Chance shook his head; he remembered how he shoved Jake out from his path before he left the house.
"I know, and I'm sorry...oh Jake" Chance's head was spinning as it finally leaned on the window of the car as he blacked out.