Louis slowly approached the large, metal gates of Cherryton High. He recalled the last time he had been there, delivering his graduation speech to the student body who all believed he was the animal responsible for Riz's arrest. That was also the day Juno had kissed him. He recalled the memory with humor, as his thoughts had drifted to Legosi after the fateful smooch. Of course, now he knew the reason why.
The guard at the gate was the one Louis had always remembered. He lifted the bill of his baseball cap up to make eye contact with the badger, who sat in a little booth reading a magazine. The animal looked over and his eyes widened in recognition. Louis simply put a finger to his lips and the badger nodded, opening the gate for him.
Louis strolled in, lowering his hat once again. It might not have been an effective disguise, but it was Sunday, so most of the student body was either off campus or studying in their dorms. The uncomfortable heat of the day further guaranteed that most animals would not be outside today. Louis undid another button on his shirt.
Louis had returned Juno's call earlier that morning, but even talking to her directly the wolf remained vague. She told Louis how she had found Haru staying in the Gardening Club shed, and said the rabbit could tell him the story herself. She also wanted Louis to get in touch with Legosi, but Louis had no such luck. Calling the hidden condo's front desk did confirm that Legosi returned home last night, and had not left, so that eased Louis's mind enough. Legosi was Legosi, after all. He needed to tend to Haru right now.
He ascended the steps up to the roof where the garden was located, noting how he had never climbed them with his prosthesis. He tried to even remember the last time he had been up there. He and Haru had been dating then. It felt like ages ago.
Sorry Haru, once you've bedded a large breed carnivore there's no going back. The taboo thought caused Louis to chuckle to himself. It was funny whenever he realized how odd their relationship was to the rest of society. To him, it was just Legosi. It made sense.
He ascended the steps more slowly, the niggling thought that had pursued him the past few months making itself known again.
What was their future? Even if Legosi did choose to stay with him, what then? Marriage? Louis had been avoiding doing the research for that. Would they just go back to being friends after all they were to each other? That thought hurt the deer's heart.
But what was even scarier was the thought that they might not even survive their current situation. Could Legosi live on if Louis died? Probably. He had a lot of friends, and made them naturally. By Legosi's own admission, he was antisocial and hard to love, but Louis knew that was all in the wolf's head.
Louis slowed to a stop. If Legosi died, what would he do? It was a terrifying thought, and forced him to realize that he was, consciously or not, planning a future with Legosi. The only future he ever planned for himself. Not a future as the Beastar, or a future as CEO of Horns. Not a future with Azuki, or any other prearranged stale relationship his father decided. He wanted a future with this male wolf. And because of that, he couldn't let him die.
...that was, of course, if Legosi felt the same.
I want to be with you like this forever.
The wolf's words from weeks ago rung in his head. Wasn't that the answer? Why did Louis doubt Legosi's own word? Was it because the wolf was often so indecisive and unsure of himself?
Louis clutched his head and shook it. He shouldn't get lost in his thoughts now. The present is what mattered. He continued up the stairs and pushed the old metal door open, his cap thankfully keeping the sun from assaulting his eyes.
He blinked. A sheep and a mongoose were standing a few meters away, tending to some plants. They both looked toward him at the creak of the hinges.
"Oh...hey Louis.", Kai looked away, while Pina walked up to him with a confident stride.
"Juno said you'd be stopping by." The sheep smiled, somehow managing to look pretty despite only wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts. "Come along. They're in the shed."
"O-okay."
Pina lead him along, Kai's eyes lingering on the door Louis had entered from.
The door to the shed opened before they reached it, a disheveled Juno now standing there. "Oh, I thought I heard you."
"Hey, Juno." Louis stepped toward her, holding his arms out as she predictably hugged him. He returned the hug quickly before moving into the room, quickly locating Haru, who sat on the bed with her back to the wall and her legs curled up. The deer sat down on the bed too, flashes of their sexual rendezvous in his mind, which soon replaced themselves with scenarios involving Legosi on that very same bed. He tried to push those thoughts from his mind as he spoke to the rabbit. "Haru..."
Haru looked up at him, offering a weak smile. "Hi, Louis! How've you been?"
Louis regarded her with a stern look. "I'm here to see how you are."
"I'm fine."
Juno soon inserted herself. "You are not fine. You were assaulted by one of your professors!"
Louis's eyes widened. "What?"
"I-it was nothing! I mean, Le-", Haru cut herself off, sulking and looking out the window.
Louis placed a gentle hand down in front of her, leaning forward. "What happened?"
Haru looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. "Well, I went to meet with one of my professors because I was having trouble with the material. I ate lunch with him, and after that we...", Haru swallowed, still looking up at the ceiling. "I went to look out a window, and he grabbed me from behind and..." The small herbivore hunched over, wrapping her arms around nothing. "He held me, sort of like this. N-not romantic at all!" She laughed humorlessly. "So, I ask him what his species is! Oh, by the way he's a gazelle, or at least I thought?"
Louis's eyes widened. "Was he missing an antler!?"
Haru blinked rapidly. "Wh-what? No!"
"Tell me everything about him! His name, what he looks like, everything!"
Both Haru and Juno stared at him in confusion. Haru spoke again. "Well, his name is professor Crenshaw. He's my history professor, and he always wears a mask. Hypochondriac, I guess, ehehehe."
Louis held a hand to his mouth, looking away as he mused. He himself used antler prostheses when he shed. Nothing was stopping Melon from using one to mend the injury the deer had given him.
"Wh-what's that look, Louis. Do you know something?" Haru was on her hands and knees now, getting in Louis's face.
Louis removed his hand form his face, looking at Haru somberly. "I think I do." He looked over to Juno. "Close the door and sit here. I need to talk to you about something."
Juno did so, and crawled onto the bed, plopping down next to Haru, who took her hand.
"So, if my hunch is right, and I have no reason to doubt it is, your 'Professor Crenshaw' is actually a gazelle-leopard hybrid named Melon. The only reason I have to doubt this is the fact he had both his antlers, but he probably got a replacement."
Haru's mouth was agape as she listened. "Wh-what are you talking about? How do you know this?"
"Well, Yahya the Sublime Beastar tasked Legosi with apprehending him, and I got caught up with it."
The two girls sat there in silence, mulling over the information they were just given. Their gazes slowly turned to each other, and then back to Louis. They seemed to come to the same conclusion, but only Juno voiced it. "So...back in July...when Legosi was shot..."
Louis simply nodded. "Yahya was told to keep the whole thing under wraps, so we couldn't spill the information. But now it seems pertinent to let you two in on it."
Juno stared at a point on the floor, her eyebrows creased with worry. Haru's expression was the opposite, and it was one Louis had never seen on her small face: unbridled rage. She stood up on the bed. "Why the hell are you encouraging him to do this!?"
"Wh-what?" Louis looked up at her, unused to the new perspective. "I was against it! I don't want Legosi to have anything to do with Yahya or Melon, but you know how stubborn he is!"
"Then why is he doing this? What's he get from it?" Haru's little fists were clenched at her sides. Juno just watched it unfold.
"Yahya promised to remove his criminal record if he helped."
After Louis told her that, Haru seemed to deflate like a balloon, turning and falling facefirst into a pillow, groaning loudly. Juno placed one of her hands on her back, rubbing gently. "It's okay, Haru."
Haru sniffed, dragging her face out of the pillow to address the two animals. "It really isn't. Legosi's love for Louis and his attachment to me is going to get him killed." She wiped her eyes. "Louis, you need to talk some sense into him, or hell, let me do it. Go get him and bring him here."
Louis looked down at the comforter he was sitting on. Maybe that was the best idea. Of course, he was leaving out everything to do with the Shishigumi, and they were a pretty substantial figure in this whole situation, and what bound Louis to this too. To Haru's perspective, Louis was an unrelated third party that was only connected through Legosi. He realized he would have to play that part, now. He nodded. "Alright. He hasn't answered my calls either, so I'll go over to his place and see if I can get him to come over."
Haru simply nodded. "Tell him what happened to me if you have to."
"I'll try my best."
"Please do, Louis.", Haru's voice was tired now, and Juno moved onto the bed more, offering her lap to the rabbit, who gladly accepted it, nestling in. Louis smiled at the sight and opened the door to the shed. Shutting it revealed a dall sheep leaning against the outer wall with his arms crossed.
"Thin walls.", Pina commented, looking up at the sky and smirking.
"Only for someone who's eavesdropping.", Louis scowled. "What do you want?" He noticed that Kai had taken off.
"I want to come with you. Legosi-senpai never invited me to his place, after all."
"Maybe there was a reason for that."
Pina scoffed. "Don't take your bad mood out on me, buck."
Louis sighed, realizing once again he barely knew this animal. "Sorry. You're right, I am in a bad mood."
"Forgive you.", Pina offered Louis a sweet smile. Like an artificial sweetner.
The two began walking. "So, what's your relationship with Legosi, anyway? He doesn't talk too much about anyone outside of his old roommates."
"We're friends. Or, at least we were." Pina's cheery disposition suddenly dwindled.
"Has he not been texting you like I told him?"
"Not much. But he was never a good texter."
Louis chuckled. "True." He pulled open that heavy metal door once more, plodding down the steps with the younger herbivore in tow. It was silent as they descended, and while they walked through the hallway. Soon, they were outside again, the sun bearing down on them.
"That hat looks pretty stupid.", Pina commented suddenly. Louis turned to him with a deadpan expression.
"It's to avoid recognition. I'm taking it off as soon as we leave the campus. Why do you care, anyway?"
Pina bought a curled finger to his chin. "Looks are one of the few things we herbivores should excel at, I feel."
Louis glanced over at him. "You've got dirt on your wool and your shirt."
"Oh, yeah, I was just at gardening club, huh? Mind if we stop by my dorm so I can change?"
"If you do I'm leaving without you."
"Fiiiine."
They made their way off the school grounds, Louis taking the hat off even though it would have helped deal with the sun, shoving it uncomfortably into his back pocket. "What were you two doing on the roof, anyway?", he asked.
"Oh, Juno's gotten a lot of the guys from the drama club to help tend to the garden now that there's no official members of that club."
Louis raised an eyebrow. "Just guys, huh?"
Pina just shrugged and laughed. "Well, yeah. She's got that hustle. Didn't you have a swing with her?"
Louis coughed. "For a little bit. How did you know?"
"Some animals saw her kissing you after your big graduation speech. Word travels fast."
"Ah." Louis cringed.
"Seems she's moved to greener pastures, though. Does that metaphor work for carnivores...", Pina mused to himself.
Louis turned his head to the sheep, ears flopping a bit. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you know, carnivores aren't the most keen on plants, and sort of just eat them as a formality, right?"
Louis groaned and held a hand to his temple. "No, I mean, what are the greener pastures she moved to."
"Oh. Haru, of course." Pina flipped a lock of wool from his eyes and kept on walking.
"Oh, you know about them?", Louis asked, hoping he wasn't the one that just gave away the girls' relationship.
Pina gave him a sly look. "Juno isn't the best at, ah, let's say, hiding feelings?" He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I wish I could have said I figured it out through intuition, but you should have seen her when she found Haru in that shed. She was doting over her and hugging her and wouldn't let me or any of the other guys inside."
Louis let out an amused huff. "Canines are just like that."
"She also called Haru her girlfriend."
"...you should have lead with that."
Pina laughed and silence fell between them once again. They made their way to the trains as Louis took an occasional glance at his companion. He was tall for an herbivore, having a few centimeters on the deer despite him being a sheep. Of course, Louis was small for his species, which he had found himself not minding much lately. Pina's wool looked remarkably soft, and his aqua colored eyes were large and attentive, but with a charmingly lazy quality to them. There was a strange wrenching in Louis's gut, and Pina broke the silence.
"So...how did it feel?"
"...how did what feel?"
Pina rolled his eyes. "When Legosi-senpai ate your leg, of course."
"Oh..." Louis looked up at the sky. It felt so long ago. "Well, shock set in pretty fast. It hurt a lot more later. At the time I was more concerned about him dying."
"Almost dying seems to be a skill of his.", Pina nodded. "How does it feel for everyone to think Riz is the one that ate it?"
"It doesn't matter to me."
Pina cocked his head at Louis curiously. "Really. How about my and Legosi-senpai's efforts in catching Riz all being falsely credited to you? Does that bother you?"
Louis slowed his pace down and shot a side eye to the sheep. "Wait, you helped Legosi with Riz?"
Pina sighed. "Answer the question first."
"Fine. Yes, it pisses me off that Legosi couldn't be recognized for what he did that night. Pisses me off that false strength was credited to me."
Pina just hummed in thought.
"What, do you want more? Are you mad at me for what happened?"
Pina turned his attention back to the deer. "I just thought that maybe the highly esteemed Louis of Cherryton would make the most of that situation. Maybe those six months you were gone changed you, though."
"You're prying. But yes, they did change me. Now tell me how you were involved with Legosi's investigation with Riz."
Pina laughed again. "Oh, I'm the one prying? Fine. I'll tell you." The two entered the train station and swiped their cards, dodging the variety of animals milling about.
Louis waited expectantly, but the sheep held his tongue as they continued along. "Pina?"
"What?"
"Weren't you going to tell me?"
Pina smiled. "Sure. It's just a good story to save for the train ride."
Louis rubbed his eyes and groaned. This herbivore boy was impossible to read. Legosi, on the other hand, was completely transparent and forward with all of his feelings. At least, that's how Louis saw him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the wolf had many, many secrets. His relationship with Pina was just one of the few. The fact that he had feelings for Louis before his own confession was another, as well as how Legosi and Haru even met. Not to mention Gosha and his past.
Of course, Legosi had every right to keep things from Louis. His life was his own and what parts he chose to show people were ultimately up to him. But did that mean Louis truly knew Legosi? Or did he just know the version of Legosi he chose to present. Was that even a conscious choice on Legosi's part? What about Louis did Legosi not know? There were many, many things, now that Louis thought about it. Who exactly did Legosi think Louis was, then? What was he to him?
It was a question that appeared all too often in the deer's mind.
He was snapped out of his mental stupor when Pina started talking. Louis looked around, noticing that they were now seated in the train that had pulled up just a minute before.
"I always thought Legosi-senpai was interesting. I mean, he was a huge carnivore that kept to himself, was soft spoken, and never let himself be imposing. Yet, he had these huge scars on his arm. I spent a lot of time around him when I first joined the drama club, trying to push his buttons and see who he really was."
Louis shifted in his seat, noting the pause Pina left. "And?"
"Well, I found out the day of the accident what he was really doing."
"Wait, what 'accident'? I didn't hear about this."
Pina crossed one of his legs, leaning back with his arms spread out on the back of their seat. "Oh? You didn't hear about Tao-senpai tearing off Kibi-senpai's arm during practice? It was a big thing in the club for a while, understandably. Everything turned out fine, though. It was an accident."
Louis was speechless. Just how much did he miss when he was with the Shishigumi? "Wow..."
"Anyway, when it happened, everyone was shocked and scared. That is, aside from Legosi-senpai and Riz. Senpai just scooped Kibi-senpai up off the ground and carried him to the nurse's office while Riz took the arm and followed. Once we all got our bearings, I took Kibi-senpai's stuff to him, mostly because I wanted to see what was going on with those two."
Louis leaned in, soaking in every word he was told. It was strange, hearing these things about his boyfriend that he was not around for.
"I heard them before I saw them. Legosi-senpai flat out accused Riz of the murder, and Riz confessed. They were about to rip each other apart when I stepped through and delivered the bag. It was all I could really do to stop the disaster that was about to happen." Pina swallowed audibly as he adjusted his legs so they were crossed the other way. "After that, Legosi-senpai pulled me aside to ask if I heard them. I said I did, and that's how I got officially roped in. I kept Riz at bay while Legosi planned."
Louis cocked an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Well, Riz just wanted to kill both of us, but I told him then he'd definitely get caught by the police. So, if he didn't attack us, I wouldn't call the cops. Easy."
"You probably should have called the police anyway." Louis looked down at his leg. Would things have gone this way then? Would he have still been with the Shishigumi? Would he have ever seen Legosi again?
Pina kept on talking. "Well, we didn't really have anything concrete to nab him with. Besides, Legosi was being really weird about it. Like, how he had to settle it with him from an ideological standpoint. What a weird guy."
Louis smirked, looking straight ahead. "The weirdest."
They both seemed to have decided the conversation ended there, as they spent the rest of the ride in silence. Pina brought his phone out and scrolled through various social media sites. Eventually, they found their way to the station closest to the back alley market. They departed, and Louis led the younger herbivore along. He only spoke up once again when the deer gestured toward the dilapidated hidden condo.
"Wait. You're not serious." Pina's face screwed up in confusion.
"What?"
"Like, it's a joke, right? It's a fake building?"
"What do you mean? Of course it's a real building. Legosi lives there."
"Oh...god. Is this why he didn't want me to visit him?"
"Maybe. C'mon, let's go get him." Louis sighed. He hoped the wolf was just sleeping. For 24 hours.
After some trepidation, Pina followed Louis inside. The bird that usually worked behind the counter gave the deer a casual wave, which Louis returned. Pina wrinkled his nose as they ascended the musty stairwell, the click of Louis's prostheses reverberating off the walls. Once on the appropriate level, they marched down the hallway to Legosi's room.
Louis stared at the closed door for a moment before bringing a single knuckle to it. Three quick raps. "Legosi. It's me."
There was silence in the room beyond, but then a shuffling sound. Blankets, probably. He tried the door, but to his surprise it was locked. He jiggled the knob a few times to make sure.
Pina joined in. "Hellooooo? Legosi-senpai?"
More shuffling was heard.
"I can hear you, Legosi. I told you to let me know when you got home safe."
The noise stopped and Pina spoke up again. "Haru-senpai sent us to get you. She had a run in with this 'Melon' character. The guy that shot you?"
Louis whipped his head to the sheep. "Hey!"
"What? It's the truth!"
Louis huffed, not even sure why he got angry.
Clawed feet clicked on the wooden floor behind the door and the lock clicked. The feet then retreated, and Louis opened the door slowly. He hadn't seen the small flat in a few weeks, but the two of them had done a good job making it livable for the wolf. Proper furniture had been brought in as well as some curtains for the window. He still had his futon, however, which he now sit on as he eyed the two herbivore guests warily. The t-shirt he wore was stretched up over his nose. If Louis weren't so worried right now he would have found the image to be utterly adorable.
"...Legosi?", Louis ventured into the room slowly, only to have Pina blow past him.
"Wow, so I finally find myself in Legosi-senpai's new place. I honestly don't know what I was expecting."
Legosi simply glanced between the two of them, eyes wide with concern.
"Hey." Louis stepped toward him. "What's with the shirt?" He made a move to pull it down, but Legosi backed up instead.
"D-don't!"
"What? Please, talk to me, Legosi!"
The wolf's eyes darted quickly down to Louis's shoulder and then back. "You...are you...okay?"
"What? Of course I'm okay. That was barely anything." Of course, Louis left out the immense soreness and stiffness he was experiencing, but he had also walked for days on a fractured ankle without anybody knowing, so this was child's play.
"Oh? What happened?" Pina attempted to butt in, but the other animals ignored him.
Louis crouched down to be eye to eye with the wolf, who retreated further. In a flash, Louis shot out and grabbed the shirt and pulled it off his snout. Legosi gasped and grasped at it with both of his hands.
The deer's brows creased with worry. "Legosi, what's wrong?"
Legosi stopped thrashing on the bed and grew oddly still. He sniffed the air and slowly removed his hands. He looked slowly between the two animals who had barged into his apartment and blinked. "I...didn't want the meat hunger to come back..."
"What's this all about?" Pina tried once again to glean some information from the other two, but once again Louis pushed it aside.
"Legosi, you're fine. That was only temporary."
The wolf regarded his words quietly before his ears perked up. "Haru...and Melon? What happened?"
Louis sat down in front of him. "Turns out he's her history professor. He tried to eat her, or something, outside of class but she's okay. She's at Cherryton with Juno."
Legosi soaked in what he was just told, his face blank but his ears folding and rotating as he sat quietly. Louis took this opportunity to continue.
"So...Haru and Juno...", Louis looked behind him at their guest. "...and Pina...all know about Melon. We should all go back and decide what to do next."
Legosi looked fearfully at Louis. "I-I don't know..."
"Legosi! It's. Fine." Louis pressed his temples, unsure of how to proceed. What Legosi needed was gentle coaxing and affection, but Pina was right there.
"You don't know that.", Legosi mumbled quietly, looking down at the blanket he sat on. He brought an idle claw up to feel around his teeth.
"But I do! This was the only time you've ever given into your feral instincts, and it was due to an outside agent which is now out of your system. You're back to the way you were. Hell, even when you ate my leg you kept composure! I trust you, Legosi! We all do!"
That pep talk didn't have the effect Louis expected. Legosi brought his legs against him with his arms and looked away, eyes wide in terror. He mumbled something into his shoulder.
Louis blinked. "What?"
Legosi remained silent.
A hand was placed on Louis's shoulder and Pina stepped forward. "Allow me?"
Louis simply blinked at him, which Pina took as confirmation. He advanced on the wolf, ignoring his attempt to move away and grasping his shoulders firmly. "Senpai! Why didn't you invite me to visit after you dropped out?"
Legosi looked in any direction but Pina's. "Uh...um..."
"I think I get it.", Pina continued, "You think you're doing some high, noble deed as a carnivore, but in actuality you're just being plain selfish."
"Wh-wh..."
"Don't you see you're hurting the animals that care about you? Herbivore or not, you can't just ignore your friends and loved ones." Pina looked over at Louis before speaking again. "Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but it's pretty clear that Louis isn't holding a grudge, or is afraid of you."
"B-but..."
"Nope! Don't wanna hear it! You love him, don't you? You need to show it by being there for him when he asks!"
Legosi whipped his head to Louis in confusion, but all the deer could offer was a confused look back and a shrug.
Pina stifled a laugh. "What? C'mon, you guys. You're the least subtle couple ever." He released Legosi and stood up, brushing off his hands as if he had just performed manual labor. "Now, we're gonna march your hairy ass back to Cherryton so we can sort all of this out, capiche?"
Legosi just stared up at him, dumbfounded. Louis had used this opportunity to sidle in next to the wolf, entwining his arms around one of his, feeling his body relax for the first time in days. "Please, Legosi."
The wolf hung his head and sighed. "I...need to get dressed."
"Fair enough! We'll give you some space." Pina turned and made his way out, stopping when he realized Louis wasn't following. He looked back. "Oh...I see how it is. Well, don't you two take too long..." With that, the sheep exited, leaving the couple alone.
Louis leaned into Legosi more, causing the carnivore to stiffen. "Is...is this...really okay?"
Louis gazed up at him. "Why wouldn't it be?"
A sigh was Legosi's response. He turned and slowly embraced Louis, gently laying them both to rest on his futon. "I didn't get any sleep last night..."
Louis quickly got to work, stroking Legosi's furry cheeks and ears. "It's okay. Yesterday didn't change anything. We'll just have to do research as to what else could possibly cause your meat hunger to flare up." He planted a soft, long kiss on the top of Legosi's snout.
Legosi grumbled softly, nestling into the deer. "I'll...I'll trust you, Louis."
"Good." Louis cleared his throat. "As much as I'd love to lay here and nap with you, we need to go back to Cherryton."
"...yeah."
Louis removed himself from the wolf and stood up, offering him a hand, which Legosi took to stand up. "All right!", Louis exclaimed. "It's a hot one out there today, so I hope you still have those summer clothes I bought you!"
