Chapter 42 - A Snap of the Fingers

"Wow, Louis. I never expected you to do something like that," Legosi said, turning his head back in the direction of the scarf store they had just come from.

Louis turned to him. "All my life I've learned how to be this way. I guess my old self is still a part of me. One moment I started talking and the next I had all these ideas in my mind and it escalated from there."

"Maybe that's something to look into. Like, for a job…" Legosi suggested.

He looked up. "I don't think it will ever really go away, might as well use it for something that will benefit me." He looked back in the direction of the store. "I hope she at least listens to my advice..."

"She seemed like she was listening. She didn't argue or dismiss you. I think she will." Legosi looked back down at his boyfriend. He was learning something new about him every day. It was thrilling.

Louis put a hand on his hip. "God, you look great in that scarf."

"So do you!" Legosi had to use all of his willpower not to hold Louis' shoulders and dance around him. The sun had gone down and everything was lit up at this point. The wolf admired all the lights and the colors that surrounded them. His eyes would be caught on any flashing or moving lights. He would stop momentarily every time they passed some.

Louis sighed and tried not to let what happened back there get to him.

They moved on, going into shop after shop for hours. finally they left a jewelry store. "What's next? Hungry?"

"Yeah! I'd love to eat something. Where should we go, though?" The wolf tilted his head.

The herbivore thought for a moment. He pulled out his phone and looked at it for a bit. "There's a ramen shop near here. Do you like that stuff?"

"I love ramen!" Legosi licked his lips. "Let's definitely go there!"

Louis chuckled. "Come on, then."

They made their way to the ramen shop, finding it with relative ease. There was no one there. "All this walking made me pretty hungry. We should share one anyway." The deer said, looking at the row of seats and sitting down at one on the end.

He sat down on a stool, enjoying the scent of the shop.

A gazelle who was behind the counter looked at him. "You're the deer from the paper."

Louis looked at him with a blank expression. "Just a deer now."

His mate sat next to him, leaning onto the counter, looking pointedly at the gazelle.

The herbivore turned to Legosi. "I read about you too. You saved him, didn't you?"

Louis lifted a hand. "Are you going to do your job, or not?"

The gazelle looked at him. "These things will always follow you, you know. Why are you still hanging around one another, anyway?"

Legosi furrowed his brows. "Because...We're friends."

"What does it matter to you?" Louis asked.

"I just think that what they say is right. It's way better if carnivores and herbivores are separated. Less people get hurt that way."

"You don't know that," Louis said.

"How does it feel to always want to eat your friends, wolf?" The chef asked.

Legosi blinked. "I...Don't…"

Louis leaned forward. "Leave him alone. We're just here to eat."

"I had a friend who was a deer just like you," the gazelle explained. "Became real close with a carnivore. Found him one morning in a bloody mess on the sidewalk. What does that say to you?"

Louis buried his head in his hands. "Stop it! Don't say that!"

"My friend would still be alive if he had never become friends with that tiger," the gazelle said.

Louis looked over to see Legosi in misery at hearing such words. He looked over. "What's your problem? We were just trying to have a nice dinner."

"I'm just warning you, kid," the kid shrugged. "Your friend there is going to kill you when you're not looking."

Legosi shook his head violently. "NO! I won't! I will never eat a herbivore! Ever!"

The deer became angry. "Fuck you. We're on, hon." He felt a shattering in his mind. Oops.

The gazelle raised a brow. "Oh, so you're dating this wolf."

"What's it to you what I do with my life?"

"So a pair of interspecies carniherbi homosexuals come to my shop and think they can talk down to me?" He hissed. "Get out."

Legosi didn't move. I won't eat Louis! I love him! There's no way I could do something like that...But he was even more frightened after hearing that story. He was lost in the pit of his mind.

Louis raised a brow. "And if we don't?"

The gazelle crossed his arms. "I refuse to serve two gays. Animals like you are useless."

Legosi sniffed. "Louis...I think I want to leave…"

The deer stood his ground. "So if I kissed him right now, what would you do?"

The chef squinted. "Just try it and see what happens."

"Maybe I will."

Legosi tugged his shirt. "Louis…"

"I'm waiting," the gazelle stepped forward.

"How about I just come back there instead and show you just how "useless" I can be?"

"Oh, yeah? You wanna come fight me, fag?"

Louis stood up. "Maybe I do."

Legosi stood up, quickly, his stool falling over from the force. "Don't, Louis! Let's just leave! We'll never come back."

The deer squinted. "What if I don't want to leave, yet?"

The gazelle smirked. "You should listen to your killer boyfriend, there. He knows what's good for you."

"If you say anything about him killing anyone one more time, I'll-"

"Why defend it when you KNOW it's going to happen!"

Louis moved to go after him but Legosi grabbed him, wrapping his arms around him. "Louis, no!" he cried. "This isn't you! Remember, you were trying to change!"

The gazelle laughed. "You guys are pathetic!"

Legosi shot him an angry look as Louis struggled in Legosi's arms.

"Let me go, Legosi!"

"No! I won't let you hurt that guy! Even if he is mean, let's just leave it, Louis!" He squeezed him tighter.

"But!"

"Please!" he begged.

The deer stopped moving after that, both of them panting. "Okay. Fine. We'll leave."

Legosi sighed, holding him still. "Thank you…" His arms slid back and Louis straightened out his clothes and adjusted his new scarf. He slowly gathered their items along with Legosi and the two started walking away.

The wolf was flooded with relief. Louis had almost gone back to his old ways.

"Hey, Legosi, can you hold these for me while I do something real quick?" Louis asked, holding out the bags.

"Um, okay…" He took them, the handles easily slipping on and fitting on his large arms.

Louis turned back and moved toward the ramen shop.

"What are you doing?"

The deer sped up his pace and before anyone could see it coming, he lifted a stool (thanking the fact that they weren't bolted to the ground, like usual) and chucked it at the gazelle, who got smacked with it and fell backward, knocking into his ramen pot and causing it to fall to the ground with a loud clang. The liquid spilled out and began moving and snaking along the floor.

"Gah?! What the fuck?!" the gazelle shouted. "Get back here!"

Louis quickly ran back to Legosi. "Let's get out of here before the cops are called."

He took the bags as quickly as he could and they turned and sped off into the night. Legosi looked down at his boyfriend. He was learning something new about him every day. It was...thrilling...