JB || Disney || JB || Sheregheera || JB || Courting || JB || Sheregheera || JB || Disney || JB

Title: Courting – How Their Love Could Have Bloomed

Fandom: Walt Disney; Jungle Book; Jungle Cubs

Disclaimer: All rights concerning the movie reserved to Disney. The book said movie is based of though is property of Rudyard Kipling. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, animal relationships, mating, anal, explicit intercourse, mpreg

Main Pairing: Sheregheera

Side Pairings: HathiWinifred, BalooBaghee (one-sided)

Jungle Book Characters: Bagheera, Shere Khan, Louie, Hathi, Kaa, Baloo, Winifred, Hathi Jr., Mowgli

Own Characters: Bashiri, Batuuli, Roshahr Khan, Sheena, Bara Shalimar Khan

Sumary: It's mating season and Bagheera is finally off-age. How one little coincident would change his future forever (and would make the Jungle Book rather impossible).

Courting and Loving

How Their Love Could Have Bloomed

Finding, Raising, Loving

The tiger cub sat there in the high grass, hind held high in the air, head lowered onto the ground, trying to hide from the elephant cub obliviously running around.

"Oi, oi, oi... I have a very bad feeling about this...", muttered the elephant a bit worried.

A big grin spread over the tiger's lips and in one swift movement they crashed into each other, tumbling over the ground for a little while.

"I don't know why you're having a bad feeling about this, Hathi...", drawled the tiger on top of the other, a victorious grin on the muzzle. "Aside from you always loosing, of course."

Hathi pouted a bit, not really angry since he knew they were friends. Kaa laid on a tree above them, observing their every movement, rolling his eyes at their little game.

"We ssshould get back to the lair", noted the snake and raised his head. "Louie is waiting for us."

"Yes, we're running late. Come, Khanny!", nodded Hathi, trying to get free.

The feline sighed and got up to give the elephant the benefit of moving.

"Sure", grinned the tiger and jumped off. "Who's last is a rotten melon!"

"Unfair! You had a head-start!", screamed the elephant and tried to follow his feline friend. Kaa only shook his head and crept slowly after them, silently wondering when and how exactly the jungle had changed so much. And then it came to him...

Bagheera was slowly tiptoeing through the thick greenery, not really on the hunt, rather just taking a little stroll through his home, enjoying the peace and quiet for a change.

Until a horrible screeching interrupted said peace. The feline jumped wide-eyed and looked around, his eyes scanning his surroundings until they stopped at a little wicker basket. Curiosity got him and he scooped closer, sniffling the little bundle. It was a cub. Though not an animal cub.

Oh, Kaa remembered very well what a ruckus the human cub had caused. Especially so in the house of Khan. He himself had played mouse back then, eager not to miss the outcome...

The panther with the wicker basket in his muzzle was hard to miss, he had drawn much attention to himself with that. The attention of a half-asleep snake, too. Kaa opened one eye curiously and contemplated if he should follow his friend. Though since the jungle was rather dull these days, he decided to do so. They soon reached the cave of the big felines.

"Baghee? Are you finally back?", called the booming voice of the tiger.

Shere Khan emerged from within the darkness, a very tiny kitten in his muzzle. The unique cat, black fur though with stripes shining through in the light, gave a happy yelp as it saw Bagheera.

"Your daughter had been a real little nuisance", grunted Shere Khan.

"How come she is always my daughter when she annoys you, but otherwise she's your little angel?", chuckled Bagheera and sat the basket down.

He walked up to the tiger and pushed his head against the taller cat's before taking the kitten from him, laying it down between his front-paws, licking her head.

"Hello, my princess", purred the black feline.

"Say", grunted the tiger with a critical look. "What is it you brought with you there?"

"I, uh...", stuttered the panther and tilted his head nervously. "I found it all on it's own. I couldn't leave it all on it's own, it would have died otherwise... And it's just a mere cub, probably not older than ours, how could I leave it alone...?"

"An abandoned cub?", hummed Shere Khan understandingly and nodded. "Of course you couldn't, love. Your motherly instincts are still in overdrive..."

The tiger laughed at his mate's behavior, walking up to the basket to look at the cub. His humor died however as he laid eyes on the naked, hairless worm. A growl escaped him.

"This is not a cub. It's a human", spat the tall cat angered.

The tiny tigress started crying at her father's growl and the panther did his best to calm her.

"Please, Shere, lower your voice. You know how sensitive Bara is", pleaded Bagheera.

Khan sighed and shook his head. "Still, this is not a cub. It's a human. You know how much I despise humans. I will not tolerate one in my jungle."

"Then what do you want to do?", growled the panther now, standing up, leaving his daughter on the ground to walk up to his mate. "Do you want to kill it? Just because it's a human. Even though it's not to be blamed for what it is? Try killing a cub in front of me, Shere, I dare you."

The tiger gulped slightly at that. This motherly treat was making his Bagheera dangerous.

"It may a cub now, but it will grow into a killing human all to soon", grunted Shere, acting as if he was unimpressed by his mate's threatening stance. "It's in their nature to kill."

"Just as it is in our nature to mate with females?", asked the panther. "I remember just perfectly how your father used to preach to you about your nature. But if you were willing to trust our love, why are you not willing to trust this innocent cub?"

"Because it's human and I won't trust a human. And that's final", roared Khan loudly.

"If you can't trust it, then trust me!", hissed Bagheera. "It only needs guidance. If we raise it to be good, it will be good. It'll only grow into a dangerous human if it has contact with humans. We could raise it to be one of us, we could..."

The happy, giggling sound of their daughter stopped his preach. The couple turned to the wicker basket, where Bara was half hanging in, her paws patting the human cub which reached out for her, both of them giggling gleefully at that. Bagheera smiled and walked up to them.

"Just look at them, Shere", whispered the panther. "They're just cubs. They don't know wrong from right. They don't know if they're supposed to be enemies. Just as we didn't know that we weren't supposed to be lovers not all that long ago. At least give it a chance, love. Please, for me."

Shere Khan heaved a sigh and stood next to his mate, observing the cubs critically.

"How could I ever deny you, my panther?", muttered Khan and shook his head.

"Uncle Kaa! Hurry, or we'll be late!", screamed the tiger cub sitting in front of the lair.

"I'm coming, Bara, don't russssh me", hissed the snake, irritated that she interrupted his musings.

Loud music could be heard from within the lair and the snake nearly feared to enter it at all. The two cubs he had been babysitting though couldn't wait and hurried inside. He followed close, watching how the elephant cub ran up to Hathi and Winifred, telling them all about his day. Apes and monkeys were playing music, their leader dancing in the middle of the lair with a bear wearing a bask skirt, both whirling a young human in their midst, who was obviously having lots of fun. The human boy spotted the black tiger cub and brightened significantly.

"Big sister!", called the boy with a bright smile. "Grandma just said you would come soon!"

And true, Bashiri was laying in a shadowy corner, her once black fur tainted the slightest bit gray, her eyes soft and full of love. She laid cuddled close to her mate, both of them observing the party.

"I told you to not play so long!", chided Bagheera from above, he and Shere laying on a bolder together. "You two shouldn't have come too late to your brother's birthday party!"

"I know, mom, I'm sorry", whined Bara and tilted her head.

"No pouting at my party!", interrupted Louie them. "Come here and dance with us, little princess!"

Baloo grinned at her and waved her over invitingly, the human on his shoulders. She grinned broadly and ran up to the bear, the human and the ape. Kaa smiled sentimentally.

"Mowgli Khan, prince of the jungle. Who would have thought a human would ever be one of usss?"

~*~ The End ~*~