Chapter 97 - A Cruel Callback to a Very Sick Joke
The days passed slowly. Legosi spent most of the time in bed with Louis tending to him. He knew he should have been taking walks, but the risk of Riz knowing he was back at school kept him inside.
Louis was actually quite happy with having to take care of his mate. Didn't spouses take care of one another in sickness and in health? He had to be there for his mate, no matter what. It just meant more alone time for both of them. They got to watch a bunch of movies since they were pretty much stuck at home and Louis got to make as many meals for his lover as he wanted.
It was almost perfect minus the fact that Legosi couldn't really do anything physically and the deer had to make sure he was careful whenever he handled him. It was still nice even if they couldn't do things like that and it basically reassured the buck that this was who he wanted to spend his life with. Once he was sure, he made sure Legosi knew that this was what he wanted and that he couldn't be more excited for the future.
It was Monday when Legosi woke up and knew they had to finish this for good.
He had just woken up from a strangely vivid dream of Louis and him living in a cozy house in a small town where every animal knew who they were. They also inexplicably chased down random thieves and had a shop that exclusively sold light bulbs shaped like fruits, but he chose to ignore those parts. He wanted his life to start. With the deer that was currently spooning him.
Legosi grunted, moving forward and out of Louis' embrace. He was stiff still, but that was to be expected. He got to the edge of the bed and stood up, feeling the blood rush to his head. There was a pang of pain but he ignored it. He made his way to the bathroom, trying his best not to think about all the warning signs his body was still giving him. He was good to go now. They had to finish this.
The deer soon felt the absence of Legosi's warmth and got up to find him, joining him in the bathroom and wrapping his arms around him from behind. He had been a lot more affectionate than usual lately. "Mmm...Come back to bed."
"I'm...peeing." Legosi wasn't sure if Louis was too tired to notice or just didn't care.
The buck closed his eyes. "Well, then."
They stood there for a few more seconds as Legosi finished up. He flushed and washed his hands, not able to get too far with the herbivore life preserver he now wore.
Louis rubbed his cheek against his back. "Come back to bed, Legosi..." He moved his hand down to grab his mate's squeezing. "You shouldn't be up for too long."
The wolf looked down at him. "We should do it tonight."
"Oh, finally...You feel good enough to do it again. I hate having to use that toy to get off..."
The canine gawked at him. "I...uh...I meant...the plan."
"Is there any way you can mean the other thing...? I'm feeling lazy." This was another side effect of their situation. Other than taking care of Legosi, Louis pretty much didn't want to do anything but stay home. He even gained a few more pounds.
"Wait, when have you been using the toy? We've been here together the whole time."
"A lot of the time when you're sleeping."
"R-really! Right next to me?"
"Uhhh...Too tired to even think about the specifics..."
Legosi looked straight ahead, mind filled with images of Louis and the toy. He couldn't even remember what he was talking about before. He also couldn't fight off the weird jealousy he felt. Was that why Louis was so angry about it when they first bought it?
"But hey, at least I'll be prepared for...mmm...you know." He felt like he wasn't even awake right now.
"Y-yeah...but that's not what I was talking about before!" A flustered Legosi sat on the bed, Louis clinging to him on the ride down.
The deer rubbed his face against him more. "Ehhhh..."
Legosi grumbled, falling on his back onto the bed. His nose found Louis' forehead, nuzzling into it.
His lover smiled. "See? We can just stay here."
Louis felt that familiar large, canine tongue press onto him. "I love you so much...and that's why I want to finish this thing." Legosi's voice was all but a whisper.
"I love you too, so let's just stay here together where nothing can touch us..."
"Segregation will touch us."
"Mmm, not if we run away." He moved down to kiss his chest.
Legosi's breathing grew rapid as his body anticipated what was coming. He shook his head. "What about Riz!"
"Mmm...what about him?"
"The plan you came up with to catch him! Pina's going to be risking his life!" Legosi desperately tried to get through to his fiance, partly because a large part of himself just wanted to lay around with Louis as well.
"Do we really have to do it now, though, I mean...you can't even have sex yet."
"S-sure I can! I just want to wait until this is all over!" Even as Legosi said that, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
"Sure you can," Louis mocked. "Then let's do it right now."
Legosi sat up quickly, the herbivore being pulled up with him again. "N-no! We need to focus!"
"Careful with my antlers!"
The carnivore growled in frustration. "C'mon, Louis! I'm trying to take advantage of my motivation and I need you to back me up!"
"But I'm comfortable and we'd have to get dressed and...bleh."
"It won't be until later!" Legosi argued. "You were so concerned about this before. What happened?"
"What do you mean? Nothing happened! I'm just taking care of you, like I have been." He rubbed his chest, smiling.
"But I feel better now! We need to catch Riz before he makes another move!"
"As long as no one gives him a reason to, it'll be fine." He moved his hand down to Legosi's thigh. "So, you said you could do it?"
The canine looked at him in a wide-eyed horror. "Louis! Snap out of it!"
"What? I just want to have some fun. It's been forever!" He rubbed his thigh closer to his crotch.
"Later!" Legosi moved off the bed in one swift motion, managing to release himself from the deer's grasp. "This is serious! There's a carnivore out there who murdered his friend and hasn't faced justice!"
Louis turned to him from the position where he was sitting with his legs bent under him. "We can deal with that later, too!"
"No! I want to get this done so we can move on and truly live together! Free!" Legosi was practically pleading now.
"Fine. We can do that tomorrow?"
The wolf's stance relaxed slightly. "Wait...do which?"
"Both, if we're really feeling it," Louis purred. "Though we could do the better one tonight and save the work for tomorrow."
The injured wolf could feel his body creak at the suggestion. "W-we'll see! You should check with Pina to see if he's ready, though!"
"I can check tomorrow, too. It's fine." Louis opened his arms. "Come back to me."
Legosi stomped his foot. "We can't keep putting this off! Today, Louis!"
"We haven't been putting this off. You've been recovering from an attack he did to you." The buck was frowning now.
The dog's body began to itch at the sight of the naked deer on the bed. He wanted so badly to go to him. He inched forward.
Louis grinned a bit more and opened his legs so he could wrap around the wolf when he got there, much as he did so often to him.
Legosi swallowed, looking down at the view. He remembered what Louis said about using the toy, and his whole body went flush. He started trembling slightly.
"Well? Are you coming?" Louis smirked.
Legosi found that he had been looming forward slowly, and he turned around, his back to his mate. "N-no! We need to get to work."
"Aw, come on..." The deer got up and got behind him, rubbing his shoulders. "Just a little fun?" He pressed his hips closer. "Let me take you away from here. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"N-not until we finish this! It'll be done tonight! It'll be easy, right? Your plan..."
He kissed his neck, softly. "I can make...other plans..."
"...We can't run away from this, Louis."
"I'm not! I just want to have some fun with my big, strong wolf~" he cooed.
"Well, I'm not in the mood!" He was, of course, but he now saw it as a challenge to overcome. If he could overcome this, he could overcome the encounter with Riz.
"I bet if you turn around, I'd see otherwise~"
Legosi not-so-subtly put his arms down in front of him.
The smaller animal made a pleased sound. "Why don't you turn around?~"
The wolf turned around and bounded onto the deer in a flash. He loomed over him, panting, almost drooling.
Louis grinned. "Hello there~"
Wasting no time with words, Legosi reached down and grabbed Louis' thighs, hoisting them up and taking him into his maw, licking and sucking the entire area frantically.
The deer groaned. "Mmm!~ Legosi~"
Legosi pushed forward more, bending Louis and spreading him so his tongue could get into every crevasse.
The cervid groaned and gripped the sheets. He was so glad this worked.
It only lasted a minute, however, before the wolf retreated and turned his back to Louis again, leaving him panting on the bed.
The deer furrowed his brows, huffing. "What? What is it?"
Legosi turned back with a mischievous smirk. "Y-you don't get any more until w-we finish the business with Riz!" He hoped Louis wouldn't notice he was still quivering with excitement. It took all his willpower not to be on top of him again.
Louis made a hissing sound with his teeth. "So it's like that, huh?"
The canine's shoulders slouched. "It's...like that."
The cervid quickly sprang up and jumped at the wolf.
Legosi tried to absorb the impact as best he could, but Louis had caught him off guard.
The deer knocked into him and wrapped his arms around his mate. "Ha!"
Legosi locked up, refusing to look at Louis.
The buck pressed his hips against him. "Come on, big boy, we were just getting started~"
"N-no! Louis!"
"You started something! You should finish it!"
"Which is why we need to finish our business with Riz!" Legosi stood up once he said this, Louis dangling from his back.
The deer groaned. "Legosi."
"It's important! Are you giving up, like Bill?"
"No. Just waiting until tomorrow."
"But..." The wolf slouched, sighing. "I'm getting so impatient. I...we need to confront Riz as soon as possible. What he did was beyond wrong. I want to hear what he has to say for himself..."
"And you will!" Louis nodded against him. "Tomorrow."
"Why not today?" Legosi countered. "I want to do it today..."
"And I don't."
"...Ask Pina and we'll go with what he says, then!"
"Will it get you off my ass about it?"
"He'll be a fair tie-breaker!"
"Fine. I'll text him." He looked around and grabbed his phone, messaging the sheep and asking if he was ready to take down Riz.
The response came fairly quickly:
Pina: shit kinda short notice. i can be ready for tomorrow night
"Ha! He said tomorrow!" Louis smiled.
Legosi breathed out slowly. "Fine." He sat down, unsure of why he was so adamant about today, anyway. That dream had just been so cozy and ideal...
Louis opened his arms and legs again. "So...you coming back?"
Legosi's ears folded, and he turned into a bashful young man again, crawling over to his lover. "Yeah..."
His fiance wrapped around him. "Are we going tooooo...?"
"...Let's see where our bodies take us..."
"Good boy..."
Both boys satisfied, they spent the day lounging, eating, and fooling around. They ate their dinner, the sun went down, and they proceeded to keep up their nightly tradition of snuggling in bed watching TV.
Louis sighed, snuggled as close to Legosi as he could be. "I can't stop thinking about earlier...The way we traded-off was nice...Don't think we've ever done it like that before."
"There's so many ways to love an animal...I can't wait to try them all with you." Legosi dipped his head down and took another sniff of his deer. That scent...Always intoxicating.
Louis mumbled something as he did so, huffing after.
"What's that, hon?"
"I said you always take me to the most magical places..." He paused and pressed a palm against his forehead. "It still sounds weird when I say things like that."
The unmistakable feel of a thumping tail was felt. "I love when you say things like that, because they're just for me." Legosi gave one of Louis' ears a lick.
"Ha! No one else even comes close to deserving words like that from me."
A multitude of flashing, colorful lights appeared on screen suddenly and Legosi's head perked up, alert as he stared.
Louis smiled more and more until he was laughing.
Legosi drooped down after he realized what happened. "S-sorry! Canines get distracted by stuff like that..." He explained, despite his mate having seen it many times from him.
"That's why I'm laughing!" The deer chuckled. He scooted closer and grabbed Legosi's tail with two fingers and then his whole hand, wrapping it around his waist. Despite all they had done, this had been the first time he messed with his tail like that.
"H-hey!" The tail wiggled desperately, attempting to come free, but to no avail. This caused the large carnivore body next to Louis to squirm quite humorously.
The deer's shoulders moved up and down as he laughed more. "I always forget that happens when your tail is grabbed!"
The wolf's back hit the bed hard, and he rolled back and forth, his mouth open and eyes wide. The noises coming from him were pants mixed with growls mixed with whines.
Louis straddled his stomach and rubbed his chest with both his hands. "Good boy! Good boy!" He reached a hand up to scratch behind his ears.
Legosi kicked his big feet on the bed, laughing the whole time. His injuries hurt but they were easily ignored just from the pure dopamine his brain was producing from the attention.
The herbivore smiled and his hands stopped, resting on the wolf's pecs. He leaned down to connect their lips.
Legosi snaked his large arms around Louis' back. At that moment, he was glad that Pina wanted to postpone the plan.
The deer's muzzle almost met his, but he stopped right before it. "I wish I could look at you with both of my eyes..."
Legosi's expression shifted. "Oh...honey." He leaned up and kissed the uncovered scar.
Louis sighed. "Sorry..."
"Well...I don't know if this helps..." Legosi took a breath and looked at the ceiling. "But...I can't really picture you with two eyes anymore..."
"You...can't?"
The canine bit his lip. "W-well, when I think of you...The Louis that fell in love with me...The Louis that I saved from horns...The Louis that made love to me for the first time in my life...He's a deer with one eye."
That made the other animal tear up. "I...had a dream...I was taking care of you and you looked at me and you told me you wish I still had both of my eyes..."
Legosi shook his head. "That was just a dream. I'll love you no matter what." He brought the deer to his chest, stroking his back.
Louis sniffed. "You save me every second of every day...I don't think about killing myself anymore. I know what my purpose is now and it's being by your side."
A weight that had been in Legosi's chest lifted when he heard those words. He breathed rapidly and smiled, hugging Louis even tighter. "I'm so glad...I'm so glad."
The cervid scratched behind his ear lightly again. "We should get married as soon as we can."
"Absolutely." Legosi's ear twitched. "I had a dream last night...that we lived in a comfy little village where everyone knew who we were and they liked us. It was...really nice."
"Then...let's make that our goal. A small town where we can see the stars...And every little thing that happens is a big thing." Louis' phone began to buzz on the nightstand. The deer rolled his eyes and he reached for it.
"Who is it?" Legosi asked, head tilted.
"Oh, it's Pina." Louis held the phone to his ear. "Hey, what's up?"
Silence. Maybe breathing? Legosi moved up closer. "Maybe he pocket-dialed you."
"Oh, maybe. Hello?" Louis asked again.
The breathing transitioned into a deep voice, way too deep to be Pina's. "Bring everyone involved and meet me under the main bridge in town."
Louis' smile completely disappeared and his body went stone cold. "Riz."
"Riz!" Legosi repeated, only much more loudly.
The deer swallowed, dryly. "What did you do to Pina?" He didn't want to know the answer.
"Bring everyone involved with your investigation and meet me under the bridge. I have the sheep here."
Louis blinked. There was no choice but to listen. "It will only be Legosi and I."
"...Everyone." The bear hung up after that.
The deer lowered the phone. "He has Pina."
"I heard." Legosi rolled out of bed and quickly reached to grab a change of clothes, despite the pain.
Louis was quickly up and in serious mode. As much as he would have loved to stay with his mate in bed, nothing was as important as saving Pina, now. "Shit, Bill is going to lose it."
"We need to tell him," Legosi stated, plainly, pulling up a pair of jeans.
"Already on it." The deer dialed the tiger.
"Hello, Louis? You never call me. Oh god, is Legosi hurt again?"
The deer sighed. "Meet Legosi and I at the fountain. Right now."
"Wait...why?"
Louis hung up. "Let's go."
"Hope he comes."
"He will. Trust me." The buck quickly found his gun and bullets, loading it up. "I can't believe this shit. What happened? How did he figure him out?"
His partner just shrugged, in his full outfit now. He stared ahead, looking a bit menacing with his serious expression and scars.
"Do you have everything you need?" His fiance asked. "Before we go...Remember, someone could die. And...Let's try not to let it happen." It was different than when he usually told the wolf he was the one that had to live. Now, they both had to live.
Legosi looked down at his claws. Tem and Els flashed in his mind, followed now by Pina. "I'm ready."
They made their way to the fountain as swiftly as they could. Bill wasn't there quite yet. Louis sat down on the edge, looking at the ground. He had sat here so many times, but now it just felt foreign. This didn't even feel like it was happening.
Legosi sat down next to him, tapping his foot anxiously. He reached out and gently grabbed an antler, anchoring him to reality.
Louis turned his head. "What?"
The wolf said nothing, not letting go.
The deer sighed. "Here we are again. Our fountain." To him it was.
Legosi nodded. "We really haven't done this since before the Meteor Festival..."
His partner scooted closer and, despite their situation, smiled. "Remember what would have happened if I never left? We would have met every day we could and...had our first kiss here."
"Even if I never saved you...You would have had that eye you loved so much though."
"...I don't need it. I'm still alive and I'm still me. But...imagine how romantic it would have been kissing under the moonlight here."
"...Kissing after that mad dash out of the Horns building was still pretty good." Legosi smiled too, nostalgically.
"It was amazing...but I still like to imagine it." Louis chuckled. "The few stars in the sky...The full moon...The risk of being caught...Two males, a carnivore and a herbivore, a second year and third year..." He looked up at the sky. "It's all so different now."
"Pina..." Legosi whispered.
"I know. Bill should be here any minute."
"What if he doesn't come? You didn't tell him why..."
"He will." Louis put a hand on Legosi's, blushing lightly. "Can you...kiss me here? I don't need to say why." They both knew exactly why.
Legosi cleared his throat before leaning down over the deer. He licked his lips before pressing into him. He savored the herbivore's taste more than usual, soaking in every sensation.
Louis closed his eye and pressed against him, feeling those rough carnivore teeth he loved more than dearly. The kiss wouldn't feel the same without them. And it was perfect. This was the kiss they could have had...The deer pulled back and sighed. "Thank you." He leaned against Legosi as they waited.
Minutes passed and Bill...wasn't showing up. At all. There wasn't even a text. Louis stood up. "We need to go." He quickly typed a text to the tiger.
Louis: Riz has Pina under the main bridge in town. Legosi and I are heading there now. Please come. We need you.
He turned his head to the wolf.
Legosi stood up, holding his hand out to him. "I know a section of the wall we can climb over to avoid the gate."
"Lead the way. I'll think of a plan," Louis said. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "It will be fine."
