Chapter 6 - Louis' Equivalent of a Park

After the park, the two realized they had gotten way too messy to continue to waltz around looking that way, so they began to make their way back down the other sidewalk toward the condo, finding that the laundromat was relatively close. It was annoying that they would have to walk over here every time they wanted to do the laundry and pay for it, but cheap adult living had its sacrifices.

Louis pointed. "Looks like we found where we can do laundry." He stopped, peeking in the window. "It seems big enough, at least." Unlike almost everything else in the area. Even the park was on the smaller side.

Legosi peered in as well. "Hope we can fit a whole futon into one of those. I think we scrubbed it pretty well last night, at least."

The deer blinked. "You want to...shove the futon in a washing machine?"

The wolf looked over to him, leaving a smudge mark on the glass. "Isn't that how they wash them?"

"I don't know! I've never had a futon. At Horns, my sheets were washed for me, and back at Cherryton, we still had sheets. This is a first for me..." He scratched his chin. "Do you think we'll be having a lot of sex?"

"Uhhh...not sure."

"I need an answer."

"Well..." Legosi scratched his arm idly as he often did in situations like this. "Do you think anyone heard us?"

"...Um, well..." His voice came out high pitched.

"I think we were louder since it was our first time doing that..." The wolf looked deep in thought.

"Our neighbor Sebun heard us..." He blushed, red. "I didn't realize the walls were that thin."

Legosi froze, saying nothing as his eyes followed the turning of clothes inside one of the driers inside.

"So...looks like it will just have to be like the time at Gosha's where we had to stay quiet."

His mate sighed, lowering his head. "That's not the kind of first impression I wanted to make..."

Louis felt his face grow hotter. "And yet, I don't regret it at all."

Legosi blushed in turn, a big smile creeping up his muzzle. "Me either. Of course not." He shook his head and looked over at Louis. "Wait, so you really thought I did good? Even though I hurt you?"

"The better question is 'would I let you do it again?' and the answer is more times than you can count. I'm just hoping that my body gets used to it so it's not super rare because I don't want to be hurting after every time."

The carnivore stood there, his tail starting to wag. "Thanks, Louis. I promise I'll always treat you with the most care I can."

"Of course. I'm thinking we should probably get you some play clothes and some play sheets. First paycheck?"

"Sure." Legosi looked down at the dirty deer. "You need play clothes too."

"Oh..." He looked down at himself. "That was more rolling around in the grass than I thought I'd do."

"Did you have fun?"

"That was some of the most fun I've ever had!"

Legosi couldn't help but give Louis a few more licks. "I'm so glad you finally played with me! We never got a chance to at Cherryton."

"You never brought it up, even though I felt like we were playing around all the time."

"Well, this is proper playing. With a canine, at least." The two moved along again, Legosi going more in-depth. "That sort of thing makes up canine rooms at B-Strike."

"You've mentioned that place before. Is it close by?"

"Oh, there's one in the city! I'm not sure how far it is from here, though. We wouldn't be able to share activities since a species can only go into their respective rooms..."

"So we'd be separated. Is it really worth it, then?"

Legosi's head shook. "We can just keep going back to that park."

"Well...I am curious to know just what the deer activity could even be, considering we aren't like canines."

"That's right...really...I don't even know much about deer..." Legosi's head hung a bit in shame as they continued on.

"You can always do research," Louis stated.

"I...sorta did. With that...underwear magazine." His partner blushed, once again.

"How is that research?" Louis asked. "You were probably too distracted, uh...Yeah."

"Wh-whatever!" The two continued to walk, subconsciously adding more distance to their original plan. They continued to hold onto each other, as well, ignoring any negative attention.

Eventually, they discovered the grocery store that they would henceforth purchase all of their ingredients from. Louis' ears perked when he saw it.

Legosi made note of the movement and followed his gaze. "Oh! Should we go in?"

"Mmm...Well, I am very curious to see what's inside...But we are also covered in grass stains and dirt..."

"So? Animals are already staring at us, anyway." The wolf's signature goofy grin was plastered on his face.

"Yeesh. Everyone is going to know who we are by the end of the week, at this rate..."

The automatic doors slid open for the pair, and they were greeted with an interior much larger than the outside suggested.

Louis gasped. "Oh!" He quickly sped off, looking at all the fruits and vegetables in the produce section. "I can make a salad with this...A smoothie with these..."

Legosi scrambled after him, being reminded of the time they helped Gosha at the hybrid daycare. "H-hey!"

"Ooh, these would be good on their own," the deer said, looking at some apples in crates. "I know how much you love apples."

"I do! We need to come back when we have money." Legosi's eyes flitted over the wide selection of them. "Could you even make a smoothie without a blender?"

"We have a blender, silly. Remember, that was part of making the cream of celery soup!"

"Oh! I guess we have to unpack everything, still...I totally forgot about it."

"Of course, we shouldn't spend our money on smoothies right now."

"Unfortunately..." The wolf perked his head up. "Well, let's see what else this place has."

Louis kept going around excitedly, naming the endless amount of dishes he could make with all the items around. For him, this was his park. Unfortunately, he wasn't a canine, so he wouldn't react to any "stay" command, which means Legosi had a hard time keeping up with him.

"Ahh, wait, please! Louis! My legs are tired!" Every time they managed to stay in one spot for more than a few seconds, Louis went off again.

"Ooh, I could make a lovely pasta dish with this, and maybe some lasagne with this," he continued. It didn't seem to end. Legosi wondered what Louis would do if he still had money.

Louis added more things to their imaginary shopping cart, and the canine imagined the customers must think they look insane. It felt like they had circled the building three times, but they still kept finding new parts of the store.

"This area isn't so bad after all!" Louis deduced. "I'm actually really excited. Well, more excited than before, that is."

Legosi agreed. "Yeah, this place looks really nice! We lucked out."

Unbeknownst to the boys, a small squirrel had been following them throughout the store. Once they were back by the entrance, she decided to show herself. "Hey, you two! Need any help?"

Louis turned his head, smiling with eyes closed. "I have no money!"

"Oh? Haven't seen your faces around here! New in town?" She smiled wide, showing her buck teeth.

"We just moved into the Hidden Condo," Louis explained. "It's nearby."

The small employee made a face. "Explains the 'no money' part then," she muttered under her breath, before continuing. "Well, if you're living in the area you should sign up for a member's card! It's completely free!"

"Oh? What are the benefits?"

"You get discounts on all of our sale products, and if you shop with us long enough, we'll start sending coupons in the mail!" The girl beamed at them, seeming genuinely happy, somehow.

"We could really use that," Louis said, turning to Legosi. "What say you?"

The dog nodded. "Yeah, of course! Anything we need to do?"

"Oh, well just follow me over to the computer over there and I'll get all your information put in!" She started off, before turning around to face them again. "...So, do you both need a card?"

"That would be ideal, yes," Louis said. "What about the policy of losing a card, because I know my fiance and he would definitely lose it."

About a dozen gears turned in the small herbivore's brain. "Uhh, you can have replacements made! The account really exists in the database. The card is just a way to access it."

"Oh, so we can have two cards on the same account?" Legosi asked, following her.

"Yep!" She turned to Louis. "So...will it just be you and your fiance? Or will this big guy also be on it? Or, do you want a separate account?" So many words and factors, her head felt like it was spinning.

"What?" Louis raised a brow. "This big guy is my fiance."

A storm of emotions flashed across that tiny face, before landing on happy again. "...Righty-o! Let's get you two an account! I'll just need one of your IDs."

The deer took his card out and bent down, handing it to her. "Here you go."

She brought it over to the tiny computer and started inputting the data. Her eyes widened when she saw the address. "Th-this is...what's the address of the Hidden Condo? I forgot!"

Louis reminded her.

"Ah, okay then. How about a phone number?"

"555-423-4444."

The squirrel whistled. "Wow, talk about an unlucky phone number. Easy to remember, I guess!"

Tell me about it," Louis rolled his eyes. "Do you really believe that the number 4 is unlucky, as well?"

"Oh, no I was just making a joke! Stuff like that is superstitious nonsense." She laughed nervously, hoping she didn't see this deer's name in the obituaries at the hand of this wolf.

"Yeah...Superstitious..." Louis mumbled.

A few more clicks and two scans later, they each had a plastic card to call their own. The gregarious squirrel walked them out, hoping for their swift return.

"Well, I liked that store!" Legosi stated, loudly.

Louis was still limping as they walked out, as he had been since the park. "I can't wait to get home and rest my butt. Looks like we definitely won't be doing anything for dessert tonight."

Legosi's stomach growled. He looked at the time on his phone. "Oh...we were out for a while, huh. It's already almost 5pm."

"It's already that late?! Well, considering we ate breakfast pretty late, I guess I'm not surprised. Not sure how I feel about it being so late, though. That's unfair, time!" He raised a fist and shook it.

The other animal wrung his hands, nervously. "That means tomorrow is closer..." He glanced down at his plastic bag of papers and pens he purchased hours ago.

"First day on the job!" Louis cheered. "And there will be a lovely dinner waiting for you when you get back."

Legosi kissed his cheek. "I had so much fun today! Living here is going to be great!"

Louis nodded. "Very true."

Sebun boarded the hybrid train like usual after work, being the only small breed herbivore to ride it. As soon as the train started she was jostled and thrown, none of the larger animals even aware of her presence. She insisted, of course, that she ride this train, even when her coworkers told her it was dangerous.

The 10-minute commute ended and she had a few new bruises to add to her collection. Sighing, she set off toward her new home at the Hidden Condo.

"I'm telling you, Suki! It was a wolf and a deer! It's like he had him under a spell! Well, I'm not sure...uh-huh...oh, no I think something else was going on..."

Sebun's ears caught the wayward phone conversation from a nearby bench. What had that wolf done?

"I swear, I thought he was gonna eat him."

The sheep swallowed, picking up her pace. Had something happened while she was gone?

She kept hearing it from passerby: something involving a young male wolf and buck. What exactly the "something" was, she couldn't determine. Soon, the tall, dusty visage of the Hidden Condo poked into view. She hurried in, only to find the subjects of her thoughts standing by the front desk.

"It would definitely take less space if we did it together," Louis explained. "Waste less water, too."

"Plus look how dirty we are!" Legosi added to the argument, noting their fur.

"Well, yeah I see that, but..." The animal behind the counter was obviously trying to find a valid counterpoint but was coming up blank.

Sebun had walked over, planting her feet and simply staring at them as they spoke.

Louis put his hand on the desk. "I think we're just going to do it, anyway. He's my fiance, and it's not like I'm not going to shower with my fiance."

The bird raised her wings up. "As long as you just shower, I won't tell anyone. Don't take too long."

"Yes!" Legosi turned to Louis, his large hand held up, expectantly.

"Just shower..." Louis blushed, taking his hand.

The wolf giggled, noting that Louis still didn't know what a high-five was. His eyes soon turned downward, noticing the small merino sheep. "Oh...hullo..."

Sebun flinched, as if snapped out of a trance. "Hello." She turned to Louis. "Hello, Louis."

The deer raised his other hand. "Yo, Sebun."

"A-ah! Sebun-san!" Legosi bowed, quickly. "S-sorry to have disturbed you last night!"

Sebun turned red, facing away. "A-ah, don't worry about it. Just remember sound carries far in this building..." What the hell...they're so polite...

"Don't worry, we won't forget," Louis nodded.

Don't pry, Sebun! "Um, on my way home I heard a few animals talking about a male wolf and buck raising some sort of ruckus today? Would you two know anything about that?"

"We weren't at home, so no," Louis said. He turned to Legosi. "Another wolf and deer couple like us?"

Legosi tapped his foot and looked up at the ceiling. "We just explored the area and played in the park, really."

"I...see..." Sebun ran a small hand through the wool on her head. "Well, you two enjoy your...um...shower."

"Just shower," Louis corrected, chuckling.

The small animal started her long trek up to her room as her head spun. Those two were going to be quite the puzzle.