Chapter 68 - Now, We're a Real Family

The next morning, Louis got up early to make the omelete, still using his phone as a guide. He was smiling quite a bit, though. It was almost like he was cooking for his family.

The coffee machine had been brewing throughout, seeming to be set on a timer. That was the only sound to be heard that early in the morning, that is until clawed feet clicked on the linoleum of the hallway.

The deer had found an apron around and was wearing it. It wasn't his signature apron, but he made do. His head turned to the noise as he saw a groggy Gosha appear from the hallway.

The lizard yawned, spying the carvid in the kitchen, as he expected. He smiled, recalling the conversations they had had the night before. "G'morning, Louis! Did you sleep well?"

Louis smiled. "Very well."

"Must be when you have a big, soft, furry cushion to sleep on every night!" He walked forward, grabbing a mug from the cupboard.

"This is the first night I slept on him, actually."

"Oh? Something you will be revisiting, I'm sure." The lizard poured some of the coffee into his mug.

"Hopefully. But, how did you sleep?"

Gosha waved his hand. "Oh, like a log! In fact I haven't slept that well in years!"

"You must be happy to have your grandson back."

The reptile smiled wide as he got his drink ready. "You have no idea. Seeing him again...oh, I'm going to be a wreck when he leaves again. But, don't tell him that."

"We still have time, sir."

"Oh, I know, I know! And I'm sure we'll keep in contact after this. Those years were very long..." Gosha put his sugar in cream in before glancing over Louis' shoulder to see the food.

"Why did you never call him?"

The lizard sighed. "I wanted to give him space. It was right after his mother died, after all, when he left for school. I said I would wait for him to make the move. And...that's what I did."

"I don't think I would have kept that promise," Louis blushed.

Gosha chuckled, placing his large hand on Louis' shoulder. "Of course not!" He retreated quickly, moving to the table to sit down, facing the deer.

"I'm sorry it's been so long for you, sir." He continued making his food.

"...Me too. But it's okay now. He walked back into my life...and he brought you."

"Yes."

Gosha took a sip of the coffee, the first rays of sunlight now illuminating his face. "You know...not to sound insulting or anything, but I always hoped to myself, that Legosi would find a wolf girl to settle down with and start a family. Something safe for society, that he wouldn't have any problem with. I didn't want him to have to go through what me and his grandmother did, after all." He set his mug down. "Yesterday, seeing you, well, it tipped everything on its head. But I quickly saw just how good you are for him. To him. He loves you very much, and I can tell you love him just the same. I'm so glad that you were the animal that chose him..."

Louis blushed immensely, a hand going to his cheek.

"I'm looking forward to calling you my grandson-in-law." Gosha put a clawed finger to his chin. "Or, if that's even something animals say. It is quite a mouthful."

The deer chuckled. "I'm already getting comfortable."

"That's good! I'm glad! Don't want to scare you away, or anything!"

"Nonsense. You couldn't scare me away."

"Boo!"

"Ah!"

The old lizard cackled in his seat.

The deer laughed as he kept cooking.

Gosha quickly quieted down. "O-oh, I hope we don't wake Legosi."

"He's a heavy sleeper. We won't."

Legosi's grandfather smiled, sipping again. "So...how did you two find out what you felt for each other...was this?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Well, you're both males, of different species, and a carnivore and a herbivore on top of that. Must have been confusing to realize what you were feeling for each other, since animals aren't told they're able to form relationships like that when they grow up."

"I honestly don't care about what we are. We're only animals. Yes, we may be physically a carnivore and a herbivore, but in the end we're just trying to survive together."

Gosha laughed again. "Too true! So, did you always know you loved him?"

"In the beginning, I hated him."

The lizard rested his chin on his folded hands. "Hmm, I know a few relationships that started like that. What changed?"

"I used to be a future Beastar," Louis explained. "And I never talked to anyone about anything, because I wasn't really allowed to make friends."

Gosha just nodded. "I felt like you looked a bit familiar. I must have seen you in the paper, once."

"You have. I was in it when I got kidnapped."

The dragon's cheerful expression grew dour. "...I do remember that. I figured, I wasn't contacted by the school, so Legosi probably wasn't involved, so I didn't look into it further. I am very glad that you are alright, of course."

"He was actually very involved..."

Gosha's eyes widened. "Wh-whaaat?"

"Yeah...He fought a psychotic wolf for me. I was barely alive at the end of it and...I lost my eye." He looked to the side.

The older animal was dumbfounded. "L-Legosi fought someone? I...I guess I really did miss him growing up. I'm...proud of him for doing that for you, but I am scared when I think of him fighting."

"I didn't see it...I was in too bad of a condition. It sounded...Really intense...We weren't even together, then..."

Gosha breathed out slowly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can imagine how a situation like that could get you attached to someone, though. Plus, you don't seem like a herbivore that's afraid of carnivores to begin with."

"I never was. I was raised by them...In the black market." He paused. "I'm not afraid to talk about it anymore."

"Louis..." It was quiet, but the word could be heard from Gosha's lips.

"..."

"It's...very clear you've had a very rough life. I will do everything I can to help you with anything you need. Legosi too, but you know that already. We're family now."

"We are. There's more than that. After...Legosi took me into the city and we had dinner. It was harmless, but at that point, I no longer wanted to be a Beastar. I thought they were a lie. In the end...I...Lost my cool and got attention from some animals in the restaurant. They started asking me questions and fiming and I ran off. He calmed me down and we came home, but my dad found out and I was immediately dropped out of school and taken to live with him."

"Your dad?"

"Well...He isn't really my father. He adopted me from the black market to become his successor and eventually a Beastar..."

Gosha scowled. "That's too much work on a young boy..."

"I...actually didn't want to...Let's just say...Exist anymore. I almost jumped out of the window...Then...I remembered Legosi was waiting for me. I think that's when I knew I loved him."

The lizard just sat there silently now, listening intently.

"It was three months before we saw one another again. In that time, I made friends with my personal butler...My first real friend...I realized I was homosexual...And...erm...I shot my father."

Gosha blinked rapidly. "I...I'm not going to get into trouble with the police for having you here, am I?"

Louis sighed and shook his head. "I think...My father was proud of me, in the end. I had hated Legosi for having such a natural strength, when I had to work so hard to be strong...But, then I realized we're both very strong in our own ways."

The komodo dragon nodded. "That you are. It sounds like you've been through hell. Both of you have. And now you're helping each other get through it all."

"I want to live, now. For him."

"That's good...he needs you. Please take care of him."

"I promise, I will. Knowing how important you are to him, I would take care of both of you. And I will! With this omelette!"

"It smells really good!" Gosha licked at the air. "...So, Legosi really has never tried to...eat you?"

"..."

"...I noticed his silence last night when you brought it up. I didn't want to say anything..."

"Once..."

"...I see."

"I think...I think that was the beginning of all of this," Louis said. I hurt my leg when it happened, which meant I had to get a replacement actor-I was the lead actor at Cherryton at the time-and Legosi got into a fight with Bill on stage, but in the end it got us closer. And from there we just kept getting closer until we realized we were one another's balance."

"And...it started with him trying to eat you?" Gosha asked.

"It did."

The lizard put his head in his hands. "I had hoped he would never succumb to something like that...thank God you were both okay. I'm surprised you even let him near you again after something like that..."

"I...Didn't know it was him."

"That makes sense. Most predation incidents take place at night, after all. Do you know what stopped him?"

"He told me it was because he realized it was me."

"Wow, you must have been special to him even then." Gosha furrowed his brows. "Legosi wasn't...he wasn't just...hunting animals at night at school, was he?"

"No! Gosha-san!" Louis exclaimed. "He said his beetle got out!"

"So...his beetle got out and while he was looking for it...he attacked you?" The reptile blinked.

"It must have been his instincts."

"It must have...but you said you two have been working on that, and now it's mostly a nonissue?"

"It's almost not an issue at all...I think."

Gosha's smile finally came back. "That's good...you two are so good together. I can tell you both worked so hard to get where you are now."

"We've had many little arguments, mostly my fault...One big fight...Also my fault..."

"All couples do. It's nothing to get too worried over unless they happen all the time."

"They've almost completely stopped since then...We've even inspired other animals to be more comfortable..."

"Legosi mentioned...I think that's wonderful. You two really are inspiring!" Gosha puffed his chest out proudly.

"Thank you, sir!" Louis thought back to the previous night. "Legosi...told me what happened to his mother..."

Gosha's smile remained on his face, but it became a twinge sadder. This hurt Louis more than if he had frowned. "Leano...she shone so brightly. She always stood out in a room full of animals, and they were all drawn to her. She was beautiful...my pride and joy." He drank from his mug again.

Louis stopped moving. "...So I heard."

The dragon sighed. "I wish she could have seen him now. He's grown to be such a fine young man, and soon to be husband."

"I saw the door. I tried to imagine my own mother reaching out and touching me through it. It made me want to burst into tears..."

"That was a very difficult time for Legosi. He'd always ask me when his mom was coming out of her room again. I always told him...it would be soon. It broke my heart."

The deer already felt emotional. "Y-yeah...that must hurt more than never knowing your mom at all..."

Gosha hunched his shoulders. "A different kind of pain, to be sure." He flicked the air again with his tongue. "Oh, I can tell that's going to come out great, Louis!"

The deer whipped back to cooking. "I've...gotten a lot better..."

"Much better than Beastar stuff, eh?"

"Oh, for sure. A lot less stress. If you mess up you can just try again."

Gosha chuckled. "Believe it or not, I was aiming for Beastar when I was younger."

Now, Louis was interested. "Truly?"

"Yep! It was after my service in the military, but I was still quite young. Me and my friend did a lot of vigilante work, and one of us was slated to become Sublime Beastar. They treated it like a competition, but we didn't want that. We were aiming to become Beastars...together. Of course, that was until I met Bela, Legosi's grandmother. I fell in love with her and settled down, while my friend went to become the current Sublime Beastar."

"Yafya..."

A pained smile crossed Gosha's face at the mention. "Ah, so you're familiar with him. Some animals regard him as a legend. There was never a Sublime Beastar that operated quite like him."

"I hate him," Louis said, bluntly. "End of story."

The lizard's eyes widened, then he sighed. "I haven't spoken to him in years. He never said it outright, but I knew he hated me for the path I chose. I wish we could reconnect, but that's a far fetched dream." He looked back up at the deer. "And, I don't blame you for feeling that way. The way he operates is very polarizing."

"It doesn't seem like he operates at all."

Gosha groaned. "He was always an action sort of guy. He's always going out taking down criminals, while he leaves politics to other animals."

"Who is that helping in the end? Himself?"

The old man shrugged, finishing his coffee. "After we started drifting apart, I could never tell what was going through that head of his."

Louis sighed. "Food's almost ready."

"Good! I'm starving."

"That's another thing Legosi helped me with. I used to struggle with eating so badly."

"Oh? I think you look quite healthy. That's good that he was able to help."

The deer nodded. "I owe my life to him." He held up his ring. "I guess I will fulfill that, someday."

"Do you have any idea when you want the ceremony? Have you looked into all of the marriage laws?"

"Well, um...It's been two days, Gosha-san..."

The dragon held his hands up. "I know, I know, but you must have some ideas, right? You haven't thought about it at all?"

"I didn't even plan to marry him, yet!"

"Of course, you're not unhappy, correct?"

"No!"

Gosha continued to laugh. That laugh that was so similar to Legosi's. "Alright, alright! No pressure! Can't blame me for being curious, though."

"I am very excited, though..."

"Of course! And you're both still so young." Gosha stopped, thinking. "Say, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, sir."

"Ah, so one year Legosi's senior. You would have graduated this year, then?"

The deer nodded. "That's correct."

"Do you know where you two will go after Legosi graduates? I don't think the principle will let you live there forever."

Louis chuckled. "He still has a whole year to complete first."

"Of course." The lizard suddenly looked bashful. "Uh...this is none of my business, but how far have you two gotten? I know I would never get an answer out of Legosi, so I'm asking you."

"We've...just gone all of the way. Same night we got engaged. Took a lot of training and preparation...That's...Actually what the training was meant for..."

"Oh...well I'm happy for you two. I know there's some interspecies couples where it's never a reality. Now, I know that neither of you are going to feel deprived of anything." Gosha peeked his head up to try and see the food.

Louis blocked it. "Uh uh uh, Gosha-san. Not until it's ready."

The dragon pouted. "You're letting an old man starve, here!"

"It's so close to being done!"

"I hope you made enough for yourself, too. Here, let me get some orange juice." Gosha stood up and retrieved glasses from the cupboard, after which he retrieved a jug of orange juice from the fridge.

Louis kept blocking his view as he finished the omlete and then set it on a plate. "And...It's done!"

The lizard returned to the table with glasses of orange juice, tapping his claws on the table in excitement.

Louis smiled and came over, setting the plate down. "There."

"Ohh, this looks really good, Louis! Should we get Legosi up?"

"Should we?"

"We should at least ask him. If he hasn't changed in the last five years, I know he won't like being up this early. But he might be upset that he missed your breakfast."

"Alright, alright." He walked to find Legosi, still sleeping in bed. He sat down on the edge and admired him for a moment. "Legosi."

Legosi was sleeping on his side, as he usually did, his cheek fur pushing up against his face. He was snoring softly before Louis sat down and said his name. At the disturbance, his eyes slowly lifted open, looking up at the deer. "Mmmph...Lou...is..." He smiled sleepily.

Louis put a hand on his shoulder. "Good morning."

"Mooorning sweetie..." The wolf rubbed his eyes.

"I made breakfast. Your grandfather is waiting at the table...Unless he ate it already."

Legosi's tail thumped underneath the covers as he slowly sat up, fur matted all over his body. He yawned. "Mmm, I'll get up. I liked you sleeping on me."

"Me too," Louis smiled. "Imagine if I wasn't wearing anything."

Legosi huffed, eyes screwed shut. "Let's...do that tonight. I'll lock the door."

"You could have locked the door this whole time?"

"Y-yeah, but it's a bit mean..."

"Well, oh well."

The wolf stood up, picking up his t-shirt from the ground and slipping it on before pulling up his plaid pajama pants. He followed Louis back into the kitchen.

"Morning, Legosi! Your Louis made us breakfast!" Gosha beamed.

The canine eyed the omelets hungrily as he sat down.

His mate sat as well. "It was nothing."

Gosha had already taken a bite, it seemed, and he went for another. "A damn fine omelet, it is!"

Legosi took one, and took a bite. "Mmmm." It was all he could manage in his sleepy state.

Louis smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Tahahaa. So poliiiite." Legosi swayed in his seat sleepily. "Sit next to me Louuuuis."

The deer did so. "There, hon."

Legosi held his hand under the table. "Gonna have some too?"

His partner picked up his fork and dug in. "I did well."

The wolf hummed happily, bouncing his legs up and down as his tail wagged behind him. He ate a few more bites as Gosha observed.

"...Wow." The old lizard breathed out the word.

"What's that?" Louis raised a brow.

"I haven't seen Legosi so animatedly happy since he was a young pup..."

"I've seen it a lot."

Gosha held a hand to his chest, his eyes wet again just as they had become last night. Legosi seemed too busy eating to hear anything.

"Don't cry, Gosha-san..."

The wolf seemed to pick up on that. He put his fork down and turned to the lizard. "Grandpa? You okay?"

"Y-yes! Of course I am! I'm just so happy for you," Gosha sniffed, looking Legosi in the eye and pointing at Louis. "You hold on to this boy and you don't let him go, alright? And you appreciate him."

Legosi tilted his head back a bit. "Grandpa...I already do."

Louis blushed. "Heh..."

The large carnivore let go of the deer's hand and wrapped his arm around him. "I'm holding on to him." He smiled a big toothy smile.

"Literally," Louis grinned.