Chapter 39 - Return to the City, Let's Try This Again

It had been about two weeks since Legosi started living with Louis. There were hiccups, to be sure, but Legosi didn't recall being this happy ever before in his life. He always thought about dating and living with someone as a hypothetical, or just something that happened to other animals. Now, he was living it. He opened the door to the small building, humming to himself as he stepped inside.

Louis looked up from his recipe book. He had been starting to really get into cooking as a hobby. He had even begun actually cooking stuff pretty quickly!

"Hey, welcome home." He smiled. He said this every day and made sure of it.

Legosi took his shoes off and walked over to the deer, trying to find a good angle to approach that wouldn't get him poked by his antlers. Once he found the optimal path, he gave Louis a kiss on the cheek. "What did you learn to cook today?"

"I spent my time with sweets today. Lots of recipes with peanut butter." He scratched behind his ear.

Legosi wagged his tail at the prospect, licking his lips just thinking about it. He leaned into Louis' hand, sighing in contentment with his eyes closed.

"If only I could cook everything I saw." He laughed. "Or...anything I saw."

"Those pancakes you made the other day were good. I like them well done." Legosi kneaded his shoulders. His hands were so large, but gentle.

"Thanks. They weren't the best. I'll get better for sure. I just need to actually get off my tail."

"I can help with that." Legosi scooped Louis up, holding him under the arms. Aforementioned tail was right under Legosi's view. He loved how short and puffy it was.

Louis laughed. "H-hey! Hahaha!"

Legosi laughed with him. The deer was definitely the first herbivore to get shown the fun side of Legosi. He set him down again, using one of his horns to scratch an itch on his shoulder blade before going into the kitchen area.

Legosi looked through the cabinets. Louis had ordered a lot of food and ingredients online. Legosi opted for one of the bran muffins he had made the other day. They were made with too much flour, and crumbled before they touched his tongue.

Louis watched from the bed. "Damn it..."

Legosi looked up from trying to catch the crumbs falling from his chin. "What is it?"

"It's not supposed to crumble like that..."

"I still like them! I'll eat anything you make." And he would.

"Well, yeah..." Louis crossed his arms, then looked to the window. It was still afternoon. "Do you want to go out with me?"

Legosi cocked his head. "Aren't...haven't we been going out...?"

Louis shook his head. "I mean to the city. I want to try again."

"Oh! I'd really like that! But only if you're absolutely comfortable!" Legosi walked over to Louis and rubbed his shoulder.

Louis looked up. "Maybe not the subway..."

"Should we walk? It'll take a long time to get to the city." Of course Legosi knew Louis knew that.

Louis nodded. "It might be nice, honestly. This time I won't try to avoid everyone..."

"I hope animals can leave us alone this time..." The wolf added. He walked over to where he kept his clothes, undressing from his uniform and switching over to casual clothes.

Louis didn't even try not to stare as he changed.

Legosi pulled on his heavy jacket, since it was getting much colder now. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Just to do some shopping."

Legosi froze, his tail now wagging furiously. "Oh, okay!" He tried to hide his immense excitement. He knew what today would be. He had been thinking about it ever since Louis had mentioned it offhand months ago.

The deer grabbed his satchel and keys, then stretched. "You look really excited to shop. I didn't take you as a shopper."

"Well, not really. But it's with you! Outside of the school." He wanted to go to so many places with Louis, he fantasized about it all the time.

Louis nodded. "Beep boop. It's. Gonna. Be. Fun." He spoke in a mechanical voice.

Legosi laughed, his deep voice reaching surprisingly high octaves. Robot Louis was a joke that could get a guaranteed laugh out of him. "I hope you can be warm enough out there today."

"What. Do. You. Mean? I'm. Metal. I'm. Always. Cold." Louis moved his body in very rigid motions.

Legosi walked over to him and wrapped him up in his arms. "I'll keep you warm."

"Error. Unknown heat detected."

Legosi smirked. "Heat from Legosi the gray wolf."

"Heat registered." Louis said. "Hello, Legosi the grey wolf."

Legosi kissed him on the cheek. "You're too silly."

The herbivore's face softened. "Somehow. I'm still not used to it."

"You'll get there." Legosi walked toward the door, looking back with a big toothy grin and wagging tail. "So, ready to go?"

The deer nodded, trailing him. "And this time, we don't need to sneak past anyone."

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Legosi walked alongside Louis closely, but not touching him. He wanted to let Louis dictate what he was comfortable with here.

The deer was talking about stuff he learned and about the history of certain buildings and roads. He seemed to ramble on, but that was no issue for the grey wolf. He loved his boyfriend's voice.

Legosi recalled the other time they had left Cherryton together. Louis was clammed up, looking over his shoulder and bowing his head the whole time. Now he was talking loudly and gesticulating. It was so nice to see.

The path to the city was pretty barren, since it was cold out and most animals used public transit to get there.

Louis' hand slid into Legosi's. "Would you ever go to a couple's hotel? Not that I want to. I'm just curious."

"Oh? What's there that isn't at your dorm?" Legosi squeezed Louis' hand.

"Uh...I guess that's true."

Legosi's ear twitched. "What are they like? Couple's hotels."

"I've never been in one, I've just heard stories of couples going there."

"Oh, so you want to go see what it's like with me? I would do that with you, Louis!"

Louis looked to the side. "I don't want our first time to be in some hotel you pay to have sex at."

Legosi blinked. "O-oh, that's what it is! I thought maybe it was just a nice hotel for dates..."

"What would you do in a hotel bedroom that you can't do at home? The only thing that changes is the lighting, probably," Louis exclaimed. "They wouldn't let a gay carniherbi in, anyway."

Legosi's ears drooped. "Yeah, I guess so." Legosi spaced out for a moment. Ever since their second night back at Cherryton, they hadn't gotten that close again. And whenever Legosi thought about it, he remembered Louis' comment about getting a muzzle.

Louis turned his head. "But not many can say they share a home together."

The wolf smiled. "Even if it is on a school campus."

"Most have to hide, especially in the city..." He looked down. "But we earned this."

Legosi smiled, a bit sadly. He knew more than anybody how much pain could come from a relationship like this. "When we get there, we should probably lay some ground rules. Like how close we can be to one another."

"For sure. Should I have brought my gun?"

"N-no! Of course not!" Legosi held his free hand up, waving them back in forth in a 'no!' motion.

"I don't know. Animals are ruthless." He scoffed.

"I'll protect you, like always."

They continued walking along, the city growing closer and closer. They passed some assorted buildings that lay on the outskirts, and there were more and more animals around as they got closer to the city.

Louis' hand slipped away. "Here's where we make boundaries."

"Of course. We'll just be friends." Legosi nodded. "That's the most I ever thought we could be, anyway, back then..."

"I still don't believe it sometimes…" Louis commented, looking ahead. "So...No holding hands, hugging, or kissing. No pet names, but you can keep calling me Louis."

Legosi put his hands in his pockets, grinning, but his ears were drooped. "Okay." It was disheartening to see Louis have to strip their relationship back one by one like that. They began to enter the city proper.

Louis kept space from him, leaving a small distance between the couple. "Alright, now to find the shopping centre."