Chapter Text
A sudden light interrupted Puss' slumber. He could feel the absence of his hat's weight, which until then had been obscuring the bothersome sun. His eyelids opened, slowly and with impossible heaviness. The dark smudge in front of him gradually molded into the figure of an unmistakable cat with a large black hat and a fluffy feather that drifted with the breeze. Kitty had a smug look to her, the same one she posed whenever she stole something of his. He had a love-hate relationship with this habit of Kitty's, one that inclined more towards the first.
Puss closed one eye to enhance the image of Kitty. He thought she looked rather mesmerizing with his hat, to the point where it fit her just as well as it did him. Not that he would ever be caught dead admitting that.
"You interrupted my nap." he said, voice slightly hoarse.
"Stop sleeping on the deck," she told him.
The ginger cat snickered. "Por favor, you always complain about my snoring, you should be happy I am resting here,"
"Ha! So you do know about the snoring. Señor I never snore," she said with exaggerated air quotes.
"I retract the last statement,"
Kitty rolled her eyes with forged exasperation, not really trying to conceal the smile. Almost at once, her expression became grave and her eyes drifted downward in thought. They found Puss' eyes again and a question lingered in them.
"You've been...very tired lately."
Puss shifted uncomfortably—a split second of vulnerability before he closed up and regained his easy manner.
"Heh, I am not much of a sea person, you know?"
His partner's eyebrows shot up, skeptical.
"Puss-"
"You know-" he interrupted, "I will admit to the snoring if you admit that you kick in your sleep."
He was well aware that Kitty noticed the desperation behind his emerald eyes. Most people couldn’t see it, but Kitty knew where to look. Besides, it was plain as day that he was attempting to divert the conversation. Thankfully–after a moment of indecision–she went along with it.
"I think you're confusing my paws with Perrito's. He kicks furiously in his sleep. Como si estuviera peleando sus demonios," she stole a glance at the dog settled in the wheel, tail wagging with happiness and oblivious to the conversation. "Hablando de eso, I should get back to Perrito and make sure he doesn't crash us,"
Perrito always seemed a little too concentrated on studying the map than steering the ship. More than once he'd left it unattended or became distracted with some bird and almost had them thrown off course. Why did they let him steer again?
Kitty turned to leave but Puss rose in turn, coughing dramatically to get her attention.
“Kitty, I think you are forgetting something," he beckoned at his bare head.
The cunning cat shook her head. "I'm not giving it back until you tell me what's wrong, which by the way, I can tell."
Puss scrunched his face in discontent. This one quickly changed into a grin as an idea formed inside his jumbled brain.
"Fine then..." Puss turned around and took a few paces in the opposite direction.
A jiffy later he sprung back and leaped at Kitty, but she was too swift in her feet and bounced back in time. She chuckled maliciously at his feeble attempt. Puss smirked and braced himself on all fours. He reached for his hat a second time, this time his finger brushed the brim. That was before Kitty pulled away and nearly made Puss tumble.
"Give it up, ginger."
Puss laughed audiably with his hands on his waist. "Puss in Boots never gives-"
Kitty launched forward before he had a chance to finish. They both tumbled down close to the railing, side by side and panting with breathy laughs.
Puss was reminded of the first time they had played like this on the clouds outside The Giant’s Castle. He wondered if Humpty was watching them from the skies. It was both unsettling and comforting to think about.
Kitty sat up and dumped the hat on Puss' head, obscuring his vision. He feigned a sound of irritation that drew a laugh out of Kitty. She took the edge of the hat, lifting it slightly so his eyes could meet hers. Her expression had softened.
"I'm not going to force you to tell me. Just know I'm here,"
He got so enthralled in the iridescent sky-blue of her eyes that it took a moment before the words registered.
Kitty leaned back as Puss sat up heavily.
"I know," he uttered quietly, "I…I am trying."
He hoped his words made sense, and fortunately Kitty nodded.
There were certain things he loathed acknowledging about himself. So much so that he still couldn’t say them outloud. One of these was that he had a tremendously hard time asking for help. Mostly because it involved him admitting he needed such a thing. It was something Kitty had been bringing it up more consistently as time passed.
When the wind began to sound awfully similar to Death's whistle, the sound would brush against his brain, sending a signal of panic to his entire being until his fur stood on its end and he could not move. Or when he looked in the mirror and the cut on his forehead reminded him of his mortality, making him relieve the sensation of blood sliding down his face for the first time. More often than not, he would look for Perrito, who would then whisper words of comfort or let him pet his shabby head until he calmed.
After the fourth time he'd woken from a dream sweating and scarcely breathing, Kitty offered to share a bed with him. He refused at first, not because that didn't sound heartwarming, but because he knew that Kitty would be compelled to wake up when he did. And more importantly, he didn't want Kitty to see him that way–weak, helpless, and scared.
Eventually though, he gave in, using the cold weather of the sea as an excuse to justify why he changed his mind. And now, whenever this occurred, Kitty would find his paw and squeeze it until his breathing regulated. He never even had to utter a word. (It wasn’t long before they found Perrito sleeping at the foot of the bed).
Puss still refused to talk about his dreams or about how scared he really was of losing his last life. He would insist he was fine even if everything from his twitching ears to the low wagging of his tail contradicted him. Whenever Kitty or Perrito brought up the subject he would change it immediately.
It was slow progress but he really was trying. Sometimes that's what mattered most.
A consoling smile from Kitty quieted his thoughts. She extended a paw towards Puss and pulled him up. The two stood together on the deck, their paws intertwined as they beheld the endless blue. The line separating the sky and ocean was so concealed that the scene appeared like a single canvas. The forlorn sea was noiseless but for the crashing waves combined with chirps of the occasional bird.
Puss leaned in slightly towards Kitty, as if telling a secret. "The hat looks good on you,"
Kitty acknowledged the compliment with an amused smile and stepped closer, now slightly under the shade of his hat.
"Is that so?" she said lightheartedly.
This made Puss tittered blissfully. His heart beat loudly in his ears, almost the way it had been when he was running away from Death. Only this time, it didn't feel terrible.
He had mustered the courage to ask a pending question.
"Kitty, do you think that maybe-"
Perrito's excited shrill pierced the air–and the moment.
"We're here!"