Chapter 36 - Seeing Old Friends With New Hearts: Part 1

It was after classes, so many animals were roaming around campus. They quickly took notice of the one eyed deer. There was lots of staring and talking amongst themselves. It was so strange that a deer that used to be met with cheers and applause was now met with...this.

Legosi gripped Louis' hand tight as they went to club, trying to talk about anything he could think of to get Louis distracted.

The deer listened, looking around the school. It was so foreign but so familiar. They made it to the drama club room after dodging a few animals that wanted to question them about what happened. They stood in front of the door and his hand started pulling away.

Legosi looked down at him. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't we...go in without holding hands? They'll know..."

Legosi counted on his fingers. "Well, Dom, Bill, and Kai know that I like you, and you know Bill would have told Aoba. Honestly the whole drama club probably knows...so hiding it will only make them more suspicious..." He really just wanted everyone to know. He was proud of what he had accomplished.

Louis' ears perked. "You told everyone?"

"I-I only told Dom, but Bill said he already figured it out and then Kai butted in." Legosi looked away in shame.

"I think it's cute you told everyone." He grabbed his hand again. "We should go in full swing, then."

Legosi smiled. "Sure thing!"

Louis kissed his cheek one more time before they opened the doors, everyone immediately looking up.

There had been buzz that Legosi had come back from his trip to find Louis, but nobody had known if Louis was back too or not. But now, lo and behold, both animals were there, standing hand in hand.

Bill nudged Aoba, pointing his finger at them. "See? See? Told ya!"

Dom clapped his hands together, a sound of pure joy escaping his beak.

Pina whistled.

Juno stared in disbelief. That's...impossible…

Kai blinked. "Woah, congrats you two!"

Riz sat in silence.

Juno stared in disbelief.

Fudge nodded.

Kibi scoffed. "So, you're out of the single guys' club?!"

Shiira smiled. "Well, well, you two."

Ellen put her hands to her cheeks. "Awwww!"

Els did the same.

Zoe had no clue what was going on.

The duo was soon surrounded by the members, asking all sorts of questions, but the most common one being whether Louis was back in school and if so, was he was coming back to the club.

Louis raised a hand. "Please, calm down." He wore that face he had when he was wearing his future Beastar mask. "I am no longer attending school and I can help with the club sometimes, but I can't be a part of it for that reason."

Juno was just looking at them. But...they're males! Legosi is mine!

"So, what's the deal with you and Legosi, then?", Bill asked, raising an eyebrow. Of course, he knew. He just wanted to hear it from Louis.

"We're a couple now and no, he did not draw stripes on my ass and grab it." He squinted. This must be a joke Legosi missed.

Everyone burst out laughing. Some of the animals looked confused but most were whooping and cheering. Legosi rubbed the back of his head, smiling. He let go of Louis' hand and used that arm to grab him around the shoulder, pulling him closer.

Everyone went "Ooooh~"

Juno looked to the side.

Els giggled at them. "You guys are the cutest couple ever!"

Louis looked down at her. "I'm glad you're all taking it so well. Truth is, my heart is still pounding."

"Ho hum, looks like Legosi-senpai's got another herbivore guy to play around with~" All eyes turned to Pina.

Louis raised a brow. "Another?"

Legosi's face went blank "...We never did anything." He leaned toward the deer's head. "Honest, senpai, we never did."

Pina walked over to Louis, extending his hand. "Pina the dall sheep. Pleased to meet the legendary Louis."

Louis shook it and squeezed a bit. "You shouldn't say things like that. If you're lonely, you should get kidnapped and see who comes to save you. If you're still alive after that you might have a lover." He leaned in.

"Hmm, maybe I will." Pina flipped a long lock of hair out of his face. "You guys sound pretty hardcore, so I guess I can't compete."

Bill leaned in. "Don't listen to him, Louis. He just likes to get a rise out of people."

The dall sheep raised a brow. "Oh, kitty cat, do I get a rise out of you?"

The tiger covered his ears. "NOT LISTENING!"

Pina giggled.

Legosi smiled weakly, looking over at Louis. "Well, this is pretty much what the club's been like since you were gone."

Louis looked at Pina again. "Charming."

The club activities commenced as usual, with Louis hovering around and looking at the new production. It was a bit odd to see another Adler production being made with so many alterations.

Legosi climbed the ladder to his workspace. He got to the top and noticed a pair of antlers coming up as well. His ears perked up.

Kai looked nervous.

Louis had followed Legosi, eager to see his passion. He figured it would be fine now that he wasn't really a part of the club. He was also looking forward to Legosi hopefully rambling about his stage work.

"Senpai!" It's all he said. His tail was wagging as he scooched backward to allow Louis room.

"Hey, don't you guys make out up here while I'm here!" Kai whined.

Louis looked at him as he finished climbing up the ladder. "We haven't even made out in private." He crossed his arms. The mongoose made a gagging noise jokingly.

Legosi blushed. "Then, what kind of kiss did we do earlier at your dorm?"

Louis blinked. "A regular one?"

"Yeah, but it was...longer than the first time..." Legosi scratched his head. "I guess it seemed more intense to me than it actually was."

"Guys, seriously.", Kai hissed.

The deer's head turned to him. "Like you wouldn't want to make out with your own mate, if you had one."

He pouted. "Yeah, but I wouldn't talk about it in front of people."

Legosi shuffled a bit. "Sorry, Kai." He turned back to his boyfriend. "So, you've never been up here before, have you?"

The herbivore shook his head. "No. I don't even remember that this place exists sometimes..."

"Huh, privileged Louis-senpai doesn't even think about where his spotlights come from~" Legosi poked Louis in the side, while Kai covered his mouth in reaction to what Legosi just said to Louis.

Louis poked him back, still holding a serious face. "I only think about the light it makes, not the light itself."

"There's an outlet up here to plug yourself in, by the way."

Kai looked on in total confusion.

Louis chuckled and the mongoose thought it was weird seeing him be so open and not ordering everyone around.

"Anyway, this is the main spotlight. I've had to fix and maintain this thing for years, but they won't get me a new one...So I have to." He turned it back and forth a few times. "I'm fine with that, though. I've grown attached to it." He smiled fondly.

Louis stayed next to him, listening intently.

"These supplementary lights alternate red, green, and blue. When they're all on they make white light, but other combinations can make different colors. This dial controls it. We used a lot of red for Adler. I'm thinking we'll tone it down a bit for this one."

The deer had his hand under his chin as he took in the info. "Pink might work better for this version."

"That's what I said." Kai piped up. "Legosi thought it should be blue, though."

"Well, maybe a purple. I just say that because you can't really get a good pink with the lights," the wolf explained. His tail was wagging a bit, knowing Louis was up here with him.

"We could put some pink plastic wrap over some white lights?" Kai offered.

"Hmm, where would we get that, though?"

"Online?"

"Maybe..."

"My second idea was blue," Louis smiled.

Kai leaned back. It was so strange. He remembered that fateful day Louis removed him from the actor team, and Legosi had been there to defend the deer from him when he tried to punch him in a fit of rage. Now they were all just up here...talking.

Louis really had changed.

He looked at the mongoose. "I'm glad you stuck with the stage crew, Kai. You know you could have gone back to the actor team as soon as I was gone. I'm proud of you for choosing your passion instead."

"Th-that's not it! They told me I had to stay!"

"Nobody said that, Kai. You really love making the costumes," Legosi laughed.

Kai pouted.

"I admire that decision," Louis told him.

"Did you know he was the one to set the spotlight on us after my...encounter with Bill during the second performance?" Legosi stated.

Louis raised a brow. "Really...? Well, you did a fantastic job. This dumb wolf might have ruined that performance, but his heart was in the right place."

Legosi nudged Louis. "You keep going on about how I saved you, but you did save me that night..."

Louis rolled his eyes. "I guess I did save you first."

Kai crossed his arms. "Pfff, it's not like Bill woulda killed him or anything."

Legosi lifted an eyebrow at him. "Well I'm glad I didn't find out."

"Me too," Louis said. "Though, I think I wouldn't be as affected back then…"

"Maybe." Legosi remembered that time period. It hurt his heart to recall it, but things were different now. Things were so much better.

Louis grabbed his hand again. "You should keep showing me around." He knew exactly how to calm him down.

"Sure..." Legosi moved the two of them down, having to crawl in the tight space. "Here's where all the wires plug in. I have them all labelled with some tape." Legosi gestured at some masking tape tied to each wire, his unkempt but steady handwriting apparent on each one. "The breaker is up here too, which I have to fiddle with occasionally. Sometimes, I think I'll be able to get a job as an electrician if I keep up at this..."

Louis chuckled. He had such a good laugh.

Legosi moved toward the back, where some cardboard boxes laid. "Here's some filters for the spotlight." He flipped through them. Some looked homemade. He reached into another box. "Here's some old fake snow we used last year. Remember that?"

"I do!" The deer grinned. "It's so strange to be back." He looked down below. "Just seeing things at a different angle..." Then his smile faltered. "But I'm not really back. Everything's different now. I guess it's all a different angle for me." He had a sad gaze.

Legosi snaked his arms around his shoulders from behind. "It'll be okay, senpai."

Louis leaned his head back. "We're at a new angle, too."

"And it's a good angle." Legosi kissed his cheek.

"...Okay, that was cute." Kai mumbled.

Louis turned around on his butt. "Sorry, it's just so...different to see everything from up here. It makes me miss it, honestly, and this is gonna sound feminine of me, but I'm more excited to decorate our home and get new furniture now." He had a glint in his eyes. "Maybe some paintings, or maybe there's some pictures of my Adler performance, we definitely have to get some of you and I, a bigger couch, a TV...Maybe a fridge so we can keep food? Do we need any updates to the bathroom, I might have enough money to make the shower bigger..." It turns out he was the one who'd ramble up here. "Of course, we don't have to do that, I just assumed at some point you'd want to do it together and-" He covered his face. "This sounds strange coming from my mouth, doesn't it?"

"Your shower was fine! And I'd love to go out to shop for that stuff with you!" Legosi nuzzled the side of his face. "...Mmm, you smell so good."

Louis blushed. "You think the shower enough is big enough for both of us? Or do you consider showers more a private thing?"

"O-oh! Well I mean, we can try! Getting a new shower might be extensive if we're just gonna move out in over a year though..."

"Then we can definitely try to squeeze in there," Louislaughed. This would be the perfect chance to see Legosi...naked...In a non sexual way, of course. His mind wandered.

"Okay, bye guys." Kai promptly descended the ladder.

Louis snickered. "Guess he isn't ready for Feelings Louis yet..."

"I am," Legosi muttered into Louis' neck.

The deer blushed and moved his arms around him. "I can tell...'

Legosi turned him around, going in for a deep kiss, picking up where they left off.

Louis kissed him once again. He loved his wolf. He clutched his shirt in his hand. Cheers and cooing came from below.

The carnivore pulled away, ears drooping. He scanned below, trying to see who might have pointed them out.

Everyone was looking up.

Bill gave them a thumbs up.

Dom smacked his hand.

Aoba looked at Dom and Bill, confused.

Kai rolled his eyes.

Pina gave them that "You gonna bang up there or what" face.

Juno wanted to be the one up there with Legosi getting cheered on. What had she done wrong? Why did he love Louis, of all animals?!

Louis averted his gaze, embarrassed. "Erm...Do you forget about all the little animals down there when you're up here...?"

"Sometimes, yeah. It's like, my own little world." He covered his face. "I think that's why I kissed you like that. I didn't think anybody would see..."

Louis shook his head. "They all did." His eye trailed to Legosi's. "I suppose now that they've seen it….we don't have to hold back," he joked.

The wolf immediately went in for another kiss.

Louis put his hand up. "Legosi!"

"Hm?"

"You thought I meant it?" Louis looked back down at his wolf's muzzle. Did he mean it?

"Ah, sorry senpai...I just...like to kiss you…"

Louis rolled his eyes, grabbed him by his tie and kissed him that way.

The whooping returned from below.