"Whaaaat's up Zootube! It's Yeendude99 here with the crew! Gonna have a fun time today at the beach!"
Miguno swung his camera from facing himself to pan across the myriad of animals walking in a disorderly blob on the sidewalk. Durham and Collot waved with a smile, contrasted by Voss flipping the camera off from Collot's shoulder and Jack giving a blank but tired expression. Legosi flicked his ears in confusion and all Louis could do was hide behind the wolf in an attempt to avoid being recorded.
"Today we're joined by Legosi the gray wolf, who used to room with us before he dropped out mysterrrrrrriously!" Miguno brought the camera in closer to said wolf. "Say 'hi', Legosi!"
"H-hey." Legosi waved his hand limply, which seemed to satisfy Miguno, who then moved to his next target.
"And-"
"You are not putting me in your video."
Miguno put a hand over the camera lens, frowning in an exaggerated way. "Aw, really Louis?"
"Really."
Miguno retreated, mumbling something about if Louis's face was in the thumbnail it would rake in a ton of views. Louis groaned internally. When he wanted them to treat him as an equal this is not what he meant.
That line of thinking lead him to recall how he ended up there, walking to the beach with the group of canines.
It was after Legosi had gotten out of the hospital and visited Cherryton. Louis didn't go with him because he didn't want to bring any attention toward himself. When he came back, he asked Louis if he wanted to join him on an outing with his friends. Louis, not exactly wanting Legosi to be out of his sight since being shot, agreed before listening to the details.
And of course it had to be the fucking beach.
He couldn't use the excuse of not having swim trunks, either, because Durham lent him an extra pair of his own, since they were around the same body type (although he did have to tighten the drawstring quite a bit to keep it from falling down). The things he did for Legosi…
He looked over at the wolf, letting his presence calm him. He could handle anything as long as Legosi was with him, right?
"So...what's with the camera, Miguno?" Legosi pointed a clawed finger at the camcorder the hyena held.
Before he could speak, Durham answered for him. "He's tryin to become a Zootube-famous vlogger."
"Ugh! It sounds stupid when you say it like that!"
Legosi and Louis exchanged a look, and Louis had to use every ounce of strength not to burst out laughing.
The beach appeared sooner than anticipated, and due to the unusually hot weather it was, unfortunately, quite crowded. Louis debated telling the group they should find a spot on the sand away from most of the animals, but Legosi seemed to lead the group to such a spot anyway, separated from the rest of the beach by a large, outcropped rock. Only a handful of other animals were around, and they seemed to pay them no mind.
Collot set up the umbrella he was holding, and everyone set out their towels and bags underneath it. Miguno had his camera out again, getting a panning shot of the ocean as everyone else made their way to the water, save for Legosi and Louis. Louis had taken his prosthetic off and placed it in his bag, not wanting to get sand in it. He then proceeded to lay on his towel, bringing the sunglasses he had on his forehead down to his eyes. Legosi stood over him with his arms stiff and a weird bug eyed expression on his face.
"You okay?", Louis asked, pulling the sunglasses back up to look at Legosi more clearly.
"Oh, yeah. I just." Legosi fumbled, scratching at his arm as he so often did when he was embarrassed. "I thought it'd be fun to go in the ocean with you."
Louis frowned. "I told you I wasn't going in there."
"I know."
"I'll be right here, Legosi. Have fun with your friends."
Louis lowered his glasses once again, and Legosi nodded, turning slowly around and making his way to the water. Louis laid his head back with a huff.
He felt like a dick, but he knew what would happen if he went into the water. He was a one legged deer who didn't know how to swim, surrounded by a group of canines. He didn't need to be coddled in public today.
He breathed in deep, letting the atmosphere wash over him. The sounds of the dogs splashing in the water was distant but apparent, and the salt in the air was unpleasant, but in a pleasant way. The heat bearing down on him relaxed his muscles. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.
This line of thinking went on for maybe ten minutes before the sun started to become an issue. Louis moved into the shade of the umbrella, but even that did little to alleviate his discomfort. He sat up, gazing upon the canines splashing happily in the water, hitting a beach ball back and forth to each other. He moved onto his hands and knees, crawling out from under the umbrella.
Legosi, noticing the movement, turned to face him. His tail started to wag, breaking the last bit of Louis's pride. He took the shirt he was wearing off, trying to ignore the feeling that his scrawny body was being scrutinized as he walked toward the water on his knees. Legosi waded to the shallows to meet him.
"Louis! Are you coming in?" Legosi cocked his head as he asked this.
"It's too hot out." Louis sat down and scootched himself slightly into the water. "But, I don't know how to swim, so..." He grimaced, hoping Legosi would pick up on what he was asking without him actually having to say it out loud.
Legosi's ear twitched before a small smile formed on his face. He crouched down to Louis's eye level, reaching both of his hands out, which Louis grabbed firmly. Legosi backed into the ocean, pulling Louis along with him. The water enveloped his foot, then his legs, then his stomach. Soon he was standing at his full height and the water reached up to his shoulders. Aside from his unease, it felt infinitely refreshing. The handsome wolf also helped matters.
Legosi moved to hold him firmly by the shoulders, allowing Louis to get used to the feeling of being submerged so deep. "I'll let go when you feel comfortable, alright?" Legosi's voice was low and steady, complimenting the soothing aspects of being in the water.
After a few moments, Louis nodded. "I'm okay. You can let go." His thin body was suddenly left to the mercy of the ocean. Having only one leg to stand on, it made it difficult to remain upright, but he instinctively used his arms to keep himself from tipping. Legosi observed him, looking pleased. Louis grew bold, hopping on his foot to move forward, making use of his arms to propel and balance himself. Legosi followed closely. The other dogs would pay them a glance from time to time, but gave them their space.
"There you go.", Legosi said encouragingly. "That's pretty much swimming, just without touching the ground." He swam in front of the deer, presenting his back to him. "Here, get on."
"O-okay."
Louis pressed his chest to Legosi's back, wrapping his arms around his neck, draping the rest of his body off him loosely. Legosi then started to swim with Louis on his back. The deer looked around, seeing if anybody was staring, but couldn't see anyone. He focused his attention out to sea, staring at the horizon. The sound of the water caused him to relax his grip around his boyfriend, and he noticed how soft his fur felt underwater, and the flexing of his back muscles against his own body as he swam. He rested his head against the back of his neck, his antlers still not grown to such an extent that they could harm Legosi.
The ocean wasn't so bad after all.
Legosi swam out to the buoys that sectioned off the part of the ocean the land animals could swim and back again. Once they were back in shallower water, Legosi stood and Louis slid off. The wolf turned around suddenly, smiling at Louis. "Hold your arms out!"
"Hm?" Louis complied. "Like this?"
Legosi answered by jumping into Louis's arms, tipping him back a bit but he was still able to keep balance.
"Woah woah woah, what the hell!" Louis held onto Legosi tight to prevent him from falling. He could feel his tail trying to wag underwater as he laughed softly.
"You're holding me, Louis!"
Louis looked down. Legosi was in his arms, bridal style, with his hands held limp at the wrists as he looked up at him with those big eyes and a slight grin.
"Huh, I am."
"Only time you'd be able to. I thought you might like it..."
Louis grinned. "I do, but maybe not as much as you do."
Legosi turned away, unable to stop smiling. Louis looked around once again before kissing him on the side of his mouth, making Legosi's ears perk up.
Louis retreated, smiling devilishly before placing a hand on Legosi's muzzle and dipping them both under the water. His eyes were screwed shut, but he used his hand to find Legosi's mouth, and he brought himself in for a deeper kiss, one out of sight under the water. He stood once he was done, the two of them sputtering from the salt.
"L-Louis! I thought you didn't know how to swim!", Legosi coughed.
"Was that swimming?"
"N-no. Just very bold of you."
Louis smirked. "You should know this about me by now."
Eventually they pulled themselves away from each other and joined the other boys in their game of beach ball. There didn't seem to be any rules other than making sure it didn't hit the water. They stayed near the shore to accommodate Voss, who, to his credit, was an amazing swimmer.
The camaraderie of the group radiated off them, soaking into Louis. Soon, he was splashing along with them, hitting the ball with his fists or his antlers, laughing freely. The dogs didn't hide their strength from him, but they didn't use it to overpower him either. He truly felt like their equal.
Louis suddenly felt a little lighter. Less restricted.
Oh dammit.
He quickly shot down into the water so only his head was above water, using his hands to cover himself.
"Legosi!", he tried to shout and whisper at the same time. Legosi hit the ball back and looked over at him. He waded over.
"What's wrong?"
Louis looked down, embarrassed. "I, uh, lost my swimsuit."
"Oh." He ducked down to Louis's eye level. "Should I tell the others to stop so we can look for it?"
Louis shook his head. "Maybe you could take care of it yourself?"
Legosi nodded, plunging underneath the water to search for the trunks. Louis scrunched his body up more in an attempt to cover himself, even though it wasn't exactly something Legosi hadn't seen before. It just felt different in public.
A few moments later, Legosi emerged, the trunks draped over his face. "Found them!"
Louis barked out a laugh. "Really? You have hands, you know!"
Legosi smiled. "I know." He peeled the swimsuit off his face and handed them to Louis. "I just like making you laugh."
Louis blushed, putting the trunks back on. His eyes caught the small round scar on Legosi's abdomen as he stood up and turned around, a matching scar on his back as well. Louis reached out and tugged his tail lightly.
"Hm? Yeah?" Legosi turned, ear twitching like usual.
"Hey, uh..." Louis cleared his throat. "I think we should tell your friends about...us."
Legosi's eyes widened a bit. "Are you sure?"
Louis just nodded, wiping some water from his nose.
Legosi fumbled with his hands. "I'll...think about it."
Louis smiled, and the two joined the other canines. Whether they had noticed the reason for their slight absence was unknown, but all of their tails wagged in unison as they approached again.
"Hey!" Miguno called out suddenly. "Can deer wag their tails too?"
All eyes turned to Louis, who crossed his arms and flattened his brow. "No, we can't."
Legosi suddenly reached down and hoisted Louis out of the water with one arm, using the other to reach out and pull some of the fur on the tip of Louis's tail, which instinctively moved quickly from side to side to free itself from the foreign attacker. Legosi looked up at his friends and smiled. "It wags!"
Louis shoved Legosi, who let him go without much trouble. Louis followed up with a volley of jabs to his chest. "I will kill you and mount you on my wall, you little bastard!" The words were mean, but the way he delivered them while laughing the whole time showed his true feelings. All the other animals laughed with him.
…
The hours melted away in the hot summer sun, and in the late afternoon the group packed up, showered off, and made their way back into town to get some food. Miguno's camera came back out, but he made sure not to include Louis in any of the shots. During their trip, Voss had climbed from Legosi's shoulder to ride in Louis's antlers.
They eventually found a food stand and got their late lunch, which they ate on a nearby picnic table. Collot, Durham, and Miguno were all talking about some new video game that had just come out, while Jack and Legosi were chatting about something that was probably none of Louis's business. He looked up, still feeling the weight of the fennec fox on his head. Voss licked his tiny ice cream cone, which thankfully did not dribble on Louis's head. If any had he would probably buck the guy off.
The dogs took a moment to catch Louis up on the happenings of Cherryton, as well. It turns out that there was a vote by the school board to completely segregate the school, but it thankfully did not pass. The votes were scarily close, though. The implications still made Louis nervous.
He chewed on his fries, looking at all of the faces around him. He felt happy, even though he wasn't active in any of the conversations at the moment, and it wasn't just because his boyfriend was next to him.
It was a thought he had before, but one he tended to avoid. But between this and his time with the Shishigumi, there was something he just couldn't deny anymore.
He really, really liked carnivores. Like, actively preferred to be around them. He looked over at Legosi.
Guess that explains why I fell so hard for him, he thought.
It was then that Legosi cleared his throat, and then opted to knock on the table when that obviously didn't get anybody's attention.
Everyone looked over at him, and he smiled nervously. "Well, uh, just kind of wanted to tell everyone...uh."
Wow. It was painful to watch, but Louis knew Legosi needed to do it himself. He nudged him gently, giving him a subtle nod. Legosi smiled at him and addressed the group again, this time with his arm around Louis's shoulders.
"Louis and I…we're dating."
The reactions from everyone were varied, and some switched and changed from canine to canine. None seemed negative, at least.
Durham spoke up first. "Yeah...well we were all kind of trying to figure it out but...yeah that makes sense."
Legosi's ear twitched. "It does?"
"You two grew close really quickly, so yeah.", Collot offered.
Jack just looked confused. "W-wait, what about Haru?"
"Well...that's complicated." Legosi pulled the collar of his shirt. "But, Louis and I have been dating for over a month now.
"Wow." Miguno whistled. "You've come a long way from that skinny wolf we all met years ago. Now you're a high school dropout with his own place and a job, and you're dating Cherryton's former most popular student!" He smacked his head. "Man, Legosi! Let the rest of us catch up!"
Louis laughed softly. "Well, we're both out of high school now, so things like popularity don't even matter anymore." He reached out and rubbed Legosi's arm. "Besides, you all know Legosi. It's not too far fetched to believe that anybody could fall for him."
"Fetch?" Their eyes were all saucers gazing upon him, ears twitching in unison.
"Oh my god." Louis covered his face, laughing.
They finished their meal, and they soon made their way to the bus station, where the room 701 dogs departed, tails wagging the entire time.
Legosi and Louis made their way home, and Louis turned the fork to his dorm, turning to say goodbye to Legosi, only to notice he was following him.
"Oh, coming with?"
"Yeah, um." He fiddled with his claws. "I've been having trouble sleeping alone since...y'know." He touched the side of his abdomen lightly.
Louis smiled warmly, taking his large hand in his and dragging him along. "C'mon, then! I have studying to do!"
"Thank you, Louis!"