Chapter 81 - The Bug Shop (Legosi and Louis)
The six boys all moved in an amorphous blob while staying close to their significant other. Kai and Dom brought them into a candy store, which everyone seemed to like except Legosi. Next, Bill dragged them into a manga and anime merch store. After that, Pina found a jewelry store and went running toward it, Bill shaking his head and walking after him.
Legosi, who had been quiet since his outburst at the table, sighed softly and turned his head to the indoor fountain, not following the others.
Louis began walking toward the store, but stopped when he felt that Legosi wasn't next to him. He turned his head back and saw his mate. He didn't even need to argue with himself to go back to him.
The wolf stayed there, staring, remembering all those months ago when he and Louis could spend those precious few minutes together at night.
The deer looked to where he was observing. "I always think about those nights."
The canine looked down, a bit startled as he had been spacing out. "Yeah. They were really important to me..."
"I know." He wrapped his arms around one of Legosi's and leaned his chin on him, looking up. "Hey."
Legosi let a small smile creep on his face. "...Hey." A cat walked by and hissed at Louis' affection. The dog's instinct was to grab Louis and hold him closer.
The cervid still looked up at him. "I really would have seen you every night. Don't pay attention to animals like that."
Legosi blinked and shook his head. "Yeah...yeah." He gripped Louis tight, rubbing his back.
"Something on your mind?"
"...I miss you."
"Huh? But I'm right here!" He squeezed his arm more.
Legosi just looked down at the shiny floor, seeing their blurred reflections. "It seems like forever since we could just be alone together."
"I thought you liked our friends?"
"I do...but..." Legosi's ears folded, and he blew air out his nose slowly. "It's a lot. Especially with the...murder stuff."
"I get it, babe."
The wolf brought his hands to his head, shaking his head and groaning.
"Hey, hey. You're okay." He kissed his cheek.
Legosi suddenly grabbed his shoulders and kissed him squarely on the lips, eyes closed with some tears coming out.
Louis was taken aback. Spectators gleamed the sight and shook their heads.
HIs fiance pulled back, staring at Louis with an intense gaze, a pain clear in his wet eyes. "I will marry you," he whispered.
"Wh-whaaa?"
"W-we'll get married and live together and be happy. I swear."
"Have you lost it?"
Legosi cocked his head at him. "Lost what?"
"Like...your mind? Where did this come from?" He was still clinging to him.
"I...I...I..." The wolf sputtered. It was the most Louis had seen him emote in days. "I'm scared."
The deer saw the tears now and made a small gasp. "Let's go somewhere more private."
Legosi nodded, looking around. Animals were now trying to ignore them, it seemed.
"I'll leave it up to you to find somewhere," Louis said.
The carnivore cleared his throat. "Let's...let's find that pet store."
"Think we can talk alone amongst the insects?"
The wolf shrugged, now moving forward in no direction in particular.
Louis was the one who stayed practically on top of him, now.
They found one of the many mall maps and looked it over. Legosi pointed his clawed finger to it, trying to find the store.
Louis' eyes were quick and before his slower mate could find it he shot his finger forward. "There."
The bigger animal followed the finger, and then looked around them to try to gauge where they'd have to go to get there.
Once again, the deer was first. He grabbed his hand. "This way."
Legosi looked down at the smaller male leading him confidently and blushed.
Louis' arm was hooked back as he walked forward, pulling the larger animal as if he was a trolly. His antlers stuck out above the crowd.
A long walk and escalator ride later, the two were in front of the store.
"Big Bundle of Bugs," Legosi read the name of the store under his breath.
"Go on. We don't have to talk in there if you don't want to."
"I just want to be with you," the wolf said before leading them in.
A seemingly middle-aged chameleon man greeted them. "Hello, gentlemen."
Legosi waved slightly, looking around at all the terrariums.
Louis did the same. "Just browsing."
A rhinoceros beetle caught Legosi's attention. He walked over to it. "I used to have one like this."
"Kabu-chan, right?"
The wolf smiled, a bit sadly. "Yeah." He leaned down to look at this particular one. "They die after mating. Could you imagine that?"
"We'd be dead."
Legosi snickered. "It's worth it."
"Yeah?" Louis smiled more. They were finally alone.
Legosi wrapped his arms around him, at an awkward angle since they were still standing side by side looking at the bug. "I...I miss you in...uh...bed." He mumbled and blushed.
Louis blinked. "We share the bed every night."
Legosi pulled Louis closer, blushing more.
The cervid looked at him for a moment. "Did you want to talk after all?"
Legosi shrugged. "I just want to spend time with you alone."
"Hm. I think we should go back to living alone. Feels like we have no privacy."
"Now that all the students are back, it should be fine," the gray wolf agreed.
"I don't want to just kick them out suddenly, but..."
"It will make us easier to find."
"What do you mean?"
The deer considered this, then nodded. "You're right." He pinched his cheek. "My smart wolf."
"Hehe." Legosi's tail spun like a pinwheel, slapping the deer's back.
"Wait until we get to be completely alone."
"Y-yeah!" the dog looked at the beetle again. "I love you."
Louis had a thought and traced a finger up his chest. "No Bill...No Pina...No Gosha...Just us~"
Legosi all but shook with excitement. It was almost enough to get his mind off the murder.
"Feels like it's been forever since we've been completely alone," the deer continued.
It was true. The last time they were completely alone was the night of the dance. Legosi's tail wagged faster at the memory.
"I'll have you all to myself."
The wolf swayed back and forth. "What will you do with me?" he whispered.
"Whatever your heart desires, my knight~"
Legosi laughed again and poked the deer's nose. "So romantic."
"So...what do you want?"
"I..." Legosi's ears perked up at a hissing sound. He walked over toward that sound, which was coming from an open terrarium. "Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!" he exclaimed.
Louis' head went back again, the romantic mood shattering. "Weh?"
"Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!" Legosi turned around, one of the large, flat insects now on his large fingers.
The deer gulped. "Eheh..."
Legosi poked it gently, eliciting the hiss of its namesake. "They're one of the largest species of cockroach, but they're wingless, unlike most species. This one is a male, because he has thicker antennae. See?" Legosi turned his hand over, allowing the cockroach to crawl around it. "They're really good climbers compared to most cockroaches, though."
Louis observed it, skeptically. "Mhm..."
Legosi just kept talking, moving toward the deer when he noticed he wasn't walking over. "Now, most insects make noise by rubbing their exoskeleton together, like crickets, in a process called stridulation. But this guy can hiss by expelling air. They hiss when they're disturbed, when fighting, or when attracting a female. You heard the first one when I poked him." He held the bug up to his eyes for a better look, giving a toothy smile.
Louis looked past the bug at Legosi's face, filled with childlike innocence. He really loves bugs...
The clerk peered over at them. "Do you work for an insectarium or somethin?"
Legosi was a bit startled by the other voice. He looked back at the lizard. "Ah, no..."
Louis' head turned toward the clerk. "Are you hiring?"
The lizard responded. "I have been looking for someone to help with educational presentations here. Helps boost sales."
"What about care of the bugs?" the horned animal continued.
"Yep. All that good stuff."
Louis blinked and looked to his mate. The perfect job for him.
"Well, I'm still in school." Legosi carefully deposited the cockroach back into its enclosure.
"It'd be on Saturdays," the reptile explained. "I'll write the store's number down if you're interested and I can set up an interview."
The wolf bit his lip thoughtfully.
"What about the pay?" Louis asked.
"We'd offer 2000 yen an hour. Usually a 6 to 8 hour day," the green animal said.
Legosi nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to see how it works with my homework and stuff." Not to mention the investigation.
The deer grinned. "Thanks for the information, sir."
"No problem." He looked around. "I...have a friend who's in a carniherbi relationship. I know how hard it is."
Louis sighed.
His mate looked down at him. "Oh, I was hugging you pretty tight when we were looking at the beetle."
"Yeah...It's fine."
Legosi walked over and took the slip of paper with the number on it, thanking the man. He went back to Louis and considered him for a moment. "You know, I never asked you what your favorite bug is."
"Uh...the beetle," he made a face that definitely showed he had no idea.
"Oh, just beetles in general?"
"Y-yep."
"Oh, I know one you would love!" He grabbed Louis' hand firmly and set off into the store.
The deer blinked and went along with him. "Uh?"
They weaved in and out of the displays, the wolf seemingly homing in on what he was looking for. "Ah!" Legosi brought them over to a case which contained a few beetles sporting a brilliant rainbow color. "Jewel beetles!" Legosi beamed at Louis, expectantly.
The buck just blinked.
"Um..." the canine looked back at the insects. "As you can probably guess, the more iridescent elytra of these beetles attracts many bug collectors. They're more decoration than pets."
"Oh?"
Legosi nodded excitedly. "Aren't they beautiful?"
The deer leaned in. "They're...interesting."
"Y-yeah." Legosi's ears wilted slightly. "The iridescence on display is the same kind you get from the bottom of a CD. I mean, structurally at a molecular level, I think. I forget the specifics, heh."
"Huh..."
They stood there in silence, watching the colorful critters. The big carnivore sighed.
"What is it?" Louis asked.
"I'm sorry..."
"What?"
The wolf rubbed his arm. "You don't like any of this stuff, do you..."
"What?"
"Insects. I'm just dragging you around."
"I drag you around all the time."
"Do you?" Legosi's ear flicked.
"I do! You're my big lug."
"But...you don't even like bugs and I'm just telling you all this stuff you don't care about..."
"But I do care about it!" Louis argued. "You're passionate about it and that means I care about it."
"...Do you?" The wolf blinked slowly, head tilted.
The deer nodded with a warm look in his eye.
Legosi's phone went off just then. The wolf pulled it out and read the message. "'Where are you guys?'' It's from Pina."
"Ugh, I'm not ready."
The dog typed on his phone. "I'm telling him we wanted to spend some time alone."
"Good."
Legosi put his phone away and smiled at Louis, the sides of his mouth pushing his eyes up into a squint.
"I want like a whole day alone."
"We'll get that soon," Legosi said, but his ears drooped after. "Oh, classes start tomorrow."
"You'll have to go back."
Legosi nodded and sighed again. "I just wish...we could skip ahead."
"What if one of us dies in that time?"
"Louis!" He grabbed him by the shoulders, tears already lining his eyes.
"I mean! We have to accept the risk!"
"Okay! But can you stop talking about it, please!"
"That's not how you accept things!"
Legosi grabbed his head with his large hands. "Uuurgh! I can't accept it!"
"You have to!" He shook him.
The wolf turned the question around. "So you've accepted it?"
"Yes! I could die!"
"And you've accepted that I could die?"
"Yes!"
The canine stood there, breathing. He eventually crouched down on the ground, eventually moving to a sitting position with his head hidden in his arms.
"Legosi!"
The wolf was unresponsive.
He kneeled down. "We're making a scene."
Legosi looked up to see the store clerk standing a few paces away. "Uh, yeah, this isn't something you should be, um, talking about here."
He sighed and stood up, turning to walk out of the store.
"Ah, you can still call back about the job!" The clerk called out.
Legosi turned right and walked over to the railing of a balcony, leaning over it.
Louis joined him and crossed his arms on the railing, looking at the animals below.
"How can you accept it so easily?" His fiance eventually whispered.
"I have to."
The wolf was quiet. He reached out and gripped the deer's hand firmly.
"We have to..."
"...Okay."
"I want to kiss you forever and just forget this," Louis sighed.
That caused a smile to form on Legosi's face once again. He turned to his deer and tilted his head up, fingers on his chin.
His mate looked into his eyes. "Promise me something."
"What is it?"
"You'll make it out of this."
Legosi nodded. "I'll be fine, and I'll protect you."
"You're the only one of us that has to make it."
The dog's fur bristled, but instead of countering the comment, he leaned in and kissed Louis again.
The deer kissed back, their rings clinking together.
Legosi kissed his fiancé, not caring who saw them. If he was going to accept one or both of their futures being cut short, he could accept the animals that would hate them for who they were.
Louis put a hand on his chest. This could be one of our last kisses.
Legosi pulled away, their spit falling on their shoes. He looked down at Louis. "So...anything else you wanted to do today?"
"I want to leave more than anything now."
"With the others, or alone?"
"Alone. I don't think I can take much more of this."
Legosi just nodded. "I'll tell them we're leaving then. I guess Bill and Pina are going back to their dorms tonight, too. They'll need to pick up their stuff before they go."
"Is it...selfish to do it so suddenly?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"Is it bad I don't care and that I just want it?"
"I don't think so..."
"I can't help it..." He clacked his ring on the rail.
The wolf rubbed his shoulders. "Let's go home, then."
The deer nodded, exhaling again and they escaped, starting the journey home to finally be truly alone.
