Chapter 8 - Louis' Babysitting Service
Back to the beginning of the day...
After Louis had left the house, he used his phone to find the address that Selena had sent him, finding that it was relatively close by, which was good. He didn't have to take the train. He arrived a bit early and knocked.
The apartment complex was a bit dingy but looked like luxury compared to the Hidden Condo. Heavy footsteps lead up to the door. When it opened, Louis was face to face with an older wolf.
"Oh! You must be Louis!" The middle-aged man refrained from holding his hand out, instead bowing politely to the cervid. He was shorter than Legosi, and his fur was brownish and patterned differently.
"I am. It's nice to meet you, sir. Sorry if you're disappointed I'm an herbivore or something, but I'm sure you don't mind since your child is a hybrid? Well, a hybrid of carnivores...I'm rambling."
The wolf laughed, albeit a bit awkwardly. "No, no! Selena told me all about you. Well, Lee did, mostly. Please, come in." He ushered him in quickly. "I have to tell you everything before I have to leave. Oh, I'm Eiji, by the way."
"I'm Louis," the deer said. "But you, uh, knew that."
Eiji laughed again. The door opened right into the kitchen area, and the wolf pointed to the island in the middle. "So, Selena wrote up this schedule, although I don't think you'll need to really follow it. It's more like suggestions." He pointed his filed down nail to a few points. "Only things you need to really do are meals and his nap. Also, he's going to want to watch this DVD at some point." Eiji indicated the plastic box that was also on the counter, titled The Amazing World of Dinosaurs.
"Oh wow. I'm about to experience what having a childhood is like." He looked at the box with a sad smile.
An awkward silence fell after that statement. "...Well, Lee is still asleep," Eiji said, plowing through the deer's attempt at a joke. "We should wake him up now to tell him what's going on, since he doesn't take sudden changes well. Since he likes you, though, it shouldn't be too difficult to get him to warm up."
The deer nodded. "I'll make sure I stay quiet while you do that."
Eiji nodded and dipped out, leaving the deer to explore the apartment.
Louis, being the polite soul he is, immediately went to the couch and sat down with his hands on his knees, rubbing them a bit nervously. He noticed some toys on the floor and thought about what all he could do to keep this hybrid child entertained.
He made note of the place. It was definitely small, the kitchen having led into a living room, which in turn led into a hallway with 3 doors, most likely two rooms and a bathroom. The place was well kept, if not a bit musty. The walls were covered in photographs of wolves and tigers, and many of a certain hybrid of the two. So this is what a real happy family is like...It's such a shame I'll never know it.
Eiji appeared once again, putting on a jacket. Light footfalls followed him and from the hallway appeared a sleepy wiger in his jammies. He was rubbing his eyes as he yawned, not taking notice of the deer yet.
Louis smiled seeing him again. He never learned to enjoy being sleepy as a kid. It was always get up and go. He supposed that's why he did it so much now as an adult who was free.
The boy's father crouched down and held him by the shoulders. "Now, I know mom is usually home on Sundays, so I hope you can behave yourself for Louis-san. Can you do that for me, champ?"
Lee nodded sleepily before looking over. He audibly gasped, a huge smile spreading over his once sleepy face. He started to jump up and down frantically, waving and flapping his arms as his strangely shaped tail didn't seem to know whether to wag or flick.
Louis raised a hand. "Hello, again, Lee!"
Lee started to laugh, rubbing his cheeks with the backs of his hands before falling to the carpeted floor and rolling about. Eiji stared in absolute amazement. "Wow...I haven't seen him like this since we took him to the archeology museum."
"Oh? He likes learning, then?" Louis asked.
"Anything to do with ancient animals, yes." Eiji smiled fondly at his son, a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Lee, I've gotta go now, alright?"
Lee managed to stop for one second, looking up at his dad. "Okay!"
The wolf bowed again to Louis and went out the door, leaving the two alone. Lee sat up, staring at Louis while kicking his feet against the floor.
"So? What do you want to do, Lee?" Louis asked, keeping his smile and adjusting his eyepatch.
Wordlessly, Lee scrambled up from his sitting position and scurried over to him, climbing up into his lap and hugging his chest.
Louis hugged back. "How have you been?"
Lee squirmed excitedly. "I saw Spidew-Monkey 2 in the theatew! He fights the Gween Gwemlin and-and the Gween Gwemlin takes away his spidew powews!"
"What happened then?" Louis asked.
"Spidew-Monkey leawns to be a supew hewo without his powews, and it was sad cuz he was pwoud of his powews."
"Wow, you can understand a complex story like that?"
Lee's face went blank, clearly showing he didn't understand the question. "...Yeah." He slid off of Louis' lap and beckoned him to follow. "Let's go to my woom."
The deer got up and followed. "Alright." He looked at some of the pictures on the wall closer, feeling such a strange feeling inside. The feeling of being in a house that wasn't yours.
Lee's room was small, made even smaller by the myriad of drawings, toys, and various doodads that took up the space, all placed in a somewhat meticulous fashion. The boy jumped up onto his bed, pulling out a fairly large, well-worn plastic dinosaur from under his covers. "This is Bwonto! He's a bwontosauwus!"
"Awww! He's cute!" Louis smiled, standing in the doorway and looking around. I can't imagine having a kid with a room like this...
The wiger beckoned him in. "Come and see him!"
He proceeded into the room further, sitting on the bed and looking at the dinosaur.
The hybrid placed the dinosaur on the bed, hopping the green plastic toward him. "Feed him leaves!"
"Leaves? Uh...okay." He pretended he had baby spinach in his hand. Those were like leaves. He gently moved his fingers to pinch a leaf, moving to the toy's permanently shut mouth. "Eat up, Bronto."
Lee moved the toy up and down, mimicking eating noises. "Homfomfomfomfomf!"
"Does he like it?" Louis asked.
"He loves leaves!" Lee exclaimed. "Bwontasauwuses awe hewbavows!"
"Just like me!"
The kid beamed at him, marching the dinosaur onto Louis' thigh and up his shirt.
The buck chuckled. "He likes me."
"Yeah, he likes nice animals." Bronto continued to make Louis his stomping grounds.
"It's only because I fed him," the deer explained.
Lee said nothing, instead reaching the toy's head up to Louis' shoulder and making that eating noise again.
"Ah! Not my shirt!" the deer cried.
"You dwopped leaves on it," the young animal explained. After the toy's second feast, he hopped off the bed and walked around his room. He pointed to an old rock on one of the shelves. "I got a fossil!"
Louis raised a brow. "Really? From when you went to the museum with your daddy?"
"Mommy and daddy! We got this fwom the shop. It's a fossil of a shell."
"It looks really cool," the deer nodded. "I wish I had one at my house."
Lee turned to look at him. "What kind of house do you live in?"
"In an apartment, like this one, but...Different."
Lee looked around the room, as if trying to imagine it. "Does that wolf live with you?"
This made Louis blush. "Yes."
"What's his name?" It had been a few months, so the boy clearly forgot.
"Legosi."
Recognition flashed in the young boy's eyes. "Le-Legoseee. He's your husband."
"God, I wish."
Lee seemed to not hear this comment. "I was telling evewyone, that Louis the deew had a husband who was a wolf, and they didn't believe me! They said I was making up a stowy!" His voice was more high pitched than usual from the exasperation.
"But they believe that your mom has a husband who's a wolf?"
"Ya, cuz theiw the neighbows and they know them."
"Hmmm..."
Lee set Bronty down and bounced out of the room. "I'm hungwy," his voice echoed down the hallway.
Louis followed him. "What do you want?"
Lee pulled himself onto one of the chairs in the kitchen. "I want Fwosted Fwuit Flakes."
"Alrighty." The deer walked into the kitchen. "Can you point to where it is?"
"Ummmm." The boy's eyes went to the ceiling. "It's in one of the cabinets."
Louis started looking through them, finding the box of cereal and taking it out, setting on the counter. He grabbed the milk and began pouring it over the breakfast. "You must love milk, considering you're part cat."
"I like stwawbewwy milk," the half-feline stated.
"The most?"
"No...I like owange juice the most..." Lee sat patiently as the deer prepared breakfast. "Deews have little tails," he pointed out.
Louis craned his neck back to look as his tail wiggled. "Yeah, we do. They're cute and puffy so big wolves can appreciate them."
Lee brought his hands up above his head, splaying his fingers out. "Look, I have antlews!"
"Wow...Those are a lot better than mine," the older animal smiled.
The wiger giggled, leaving them above his head as he eagerly awaited his feast.
Louis finished preparing the cereal, adding a glass of orange juice on the side and setting it down, leaning on the counter. "How has school been?"
Lee scooped some cereal into his mouth and grimaced. "Evewyone thewe keeps asking why I have stwipes."
"Why?"
"They say wolves don't have stwipes..." Another spoonful of cereal disappeared into his snout.
"Well, that doesn't make sense. They don't know you're a hybrid? Or...understand?"
Lee shook his head. "They don't undewstand." A few more spoonfuls and a gulp of juice.
"Well, don't worry about what they think. I think your stripes are awesome."
The young hybrid smiled at that, milk sticking to his whiskers.
"But do you enjoy your classes?"
He nodded. "I want to leawn to wead so I can wead all of ouw dinosauw books."
"Ooh! That will be fun! Can you read yet or still getting there?"
"A little bit." Crunch crunch. The rest of the cereal was eaten, leaving him to drink the milk from the bowl.
"That's good! Do you want me to read you something?"
Lee nodded, enthusiastically. "Fiwst I need to take my gummy!"
"Gummy? Oh." He went to the fridge to check the instructions Eiji had left.
Gummy vitamin after breakfast. Cabinet above microwave was written under breakfast. The wiger waited eagerly.
Louis reached up into the cabinet, pulling out the gummies and taking out one, holding it in his palm. "You have to take this every day?"
"Yeah! They'll make me stwong!" He flexed his arms to show this.
"You're already strong! They'll just make you stronger."
Lee just nodded, now getting off the chair and walking over to Louis with his hand held out.
Louis handed him the gummy.
The child grabbed it and chewed it enthusiastically, after which he stomped around the kitchen, making laser and crashing sound effects while swinging his arms.
"Woah, slow down there!"
The little animal ignored Louis' caution, stomping into the living room and kneeling beside a box of small, colorful bricks, which he started to put together.
"Oh, you have building blocks here, too?"
Lee remained quiet, totally transfixed with his task. He rustled through the box of bricks, trying to find the right piece.
Louis came over and sat down criss-crossed. "What are you making?"
The answer was blunt and to the point: "Supew Wolf Tigew."
"You as a superhero?"
Lee nodded. "When I eat my gummy I become him." He held the mass of bricks up to Louis to evaluate. They vaguely formed the shape of an animal.
"What powers does he have?"
"Lasew fists and he can summon dinosauws." Lee moved to the side, giving Louis access to the box.
"Giant dinosaurs?"
"Any kind of dinosauw."
"Wow. He sounds really strong."
Lee nodded. "He pwotects good animals."
"Well, hopefully he will protect me."
"He will!" The wiger looked over at the box, again. "You should build something, too."
"Hmmm..." Louis reached forward and grabbed it. He began putting something together, quietly.
Lee scooched up next to him, watching curiously.
It took a few minutes, but finally he had a little anthropomorphic wolf in his hands. "It's a mini LEGOsi. It doesn't look that great, but at least you can still tell what it is..."
The two played with their blocky creations for a while. Lee kept making convoluted storylines that Louis could barely keep up with, but it was fun in a way that was foreign to the deer. Would he have played like this if his childhood weren't robbed from him?
Louis pulled out his phone, noticed that there was a text from Legosi there.
Legosi: Thanks for the sandwich. Have a good day too!
Louis: Thanks, Legosi! I know you can do it!
Lee, having abandoned his blocks, walked over to Louis. "Do you have games on yowe phone?"
"Not really."
"Who awe you talking to?"
"It's Legosi," the deer smiled.
Lee looked at the screen, despite his inability to read. "What's he doing?"
"He's at work," Louis explained. "First day on the job."
"What's his wowk?"
"He works at a bug store and sells pets!"
"Oh!" Lee shot up, hands flapping again. "I want a bug fow my biwthday!"
"Maybe if you ask your parents they can get Legosi to get you one."
"I told them I want a bug, and they want to know what kind of bug, but I don't know what kind of bug yet!" The kid seemed to not have heard Louis.
"Well, Legosi can tell you about all kinds of bugs."
"You know, thewe wewe all kinds of diffwent bugs back when the dinosauws wewe awound!" Of course he found a way to make it about dinosaurs.
"Giant bugs," Louis grinned. His phone buzzed and there was another text from Legosi.
Legosi: My bug presentation is almost starting
He sighed, messaging back.
Louis: Ooh, hey. You're going to do amazing. I wish I could see it.
The wiger held a thoughtful expression. "Wewe thewe giant bugs?"
"There were!" Louis nodded. "You'll learn all about them in school."
Lee stared up in wonderment. "How big wewe they?"
"Way bigger than your or me."
"I could wide a bug to school!" the wiger exclaimed. He started to gallop around the room, making Louis a bit dizzy.
The cervid laughed, chuckling. He looked back down at his phone.
Legosi: I think Mel-san will let me know if he'll hire me for more positions after he sees how I do today. Nervous
Louis: Come on! You know a lot about bugs. You even taught me. The Madagascar Hissing cockroach hisses when it's frightened, the jewel beetle is more for decoration than a pet, rhinoceros beetles die after mating.
Lee switched from gallop mode to arm flapping mode, as the bug he was riding must have taken flight. That was Louis' best guess, at least. He checked his phone again, noting that Legosi didn't respond to his compliments. Legosi always liked his compliments...
Then, the wolf sent a picture of himself. The camera was above him, showing off his whole body. Sure enough, he wore the floral-patterned shirt that Louis suggested, paired with brown khakis rolled up at the ankles as he loved to do, right above his tan, rubber-toed shoes. A smile adorned his scarred face, and it was clear he was nervous. His fur was a mess, sticking up in a few spots, and he held a peace sign close to his chest. The table below him had plastic containers atop it, probably housing some horrid bugs.
Louis sighed dreamily, staring at the pic for a few moments. "Hey, Lee? Wanna take a pic for Legosi?"
"Mroooom!" The kid shot into Louis' lap, clutching his stomach.
The deer got his camera ready and held it up. He was wearing a grey shirt and dark jeans today and he seemed truly happy to be babysitting the hybrid. "Smile!"
"Cheeeeese!" Lee showed his small, white fangs, raising his tiny paw up in a wave.
Louis grinned a bit more as he took the picture and then looked down at it. "Now to make it look prettier..." He went into the effects and started messing with the options that made it look better but not like he had edited it at all. That's the kind of photo taker he was. After he was done with that, he sent it, eagerly awaiting Legosi's approval.
Louis: :)
The response soon showed up on his phone.
Legosi: YOU ARE SO CUTE
Louis' face reddened. "Look, he said you're so cute, Lee!" He typed back.
Louis: DON'T MAKE ME BLUSH
The wiger smiled at his words, rubbing his cheek into his shoulder and rolling his head back, gently falling off his lap and onto the couch where he squirmed in that way restless little kids do.
The buck texted him again. He wanted to see him.
Louis: What time do you work until?
Legosi: The last presentation will be at 6. Home around 7? I don't know if Mel-san needs me after
Louis huffed. Damn.
Louis: Late. Later than when you get off of class…
Legosi: We can relax tonight and sleep all morning tomorrow though 3
Louis: Very true. Maybe some more of that cat anime?
Legosi: Yeah! I wonder when we'll finish it
Louis set his phone down after that, thinking he didn't need to comment further. He looked at Lee, still laying back on the couch.
The boy kicked his feet. "I wanna watch The Fascinating Wowld of Dinosauws."
"Oh? Is that your dinosaur DVD?"
He sat up. "Yeah!"
Louis got up, going to the counter and grabbing the case and setting the movie up.
Lee sat on the couch, tail waving as he waited eagerly. "Louis, you'll like this movie!"
"You think so?" The deer asked, coming back and sitting down.
"Yeah! It's sooo cool! It's my favowite movie ever!"
"You think so? Well, I can't wait to see it." He navigated the poorly animated menu, clearly a product of the early DVD age. He selected Play and it started, Lee bouncing in excitement. Louis sat back, imagining his mate at work and all the stuff he could be doing.
The program was quite charming, with its bad 3d renders of dinosaurs and cheesy voiceover. Even though it was probably Lee's hundredth or so time watching it, he remained enthralled. It was the most still Louis had seen the kid the entire time.
The deer was completely distracted, imagining Legosi in many, many different situations. He just missed him so much. Is this seriously how it would be every time the wolf went to work? That would be torture.
Lee turned to look at Louis. "I'm thiwsty."
The deer turned his head. "I'll get you something to drink." He got up, moving to the kitchen and opening the fridge.
Lee's eyes glassed over once again as he became mesmerized by the dinosaur program.
Louis looked around. "What do you want?"
"...Milk..."
"Didn't you have that in your cereal already?"
Lee didn't answer, his attention now completely taken.
Louis rolled his eyes and grabbed the jug, pouring out a glass of milk for him. "You have to drink it in the kitchen, Lee. I don't want any milk getting spilled on the carpet."
Lee kicked his feet on the couch and whined. "But mom let's me dwink in heeeeewe!"
"But I'm not your mom and I want to be respectful."
His little legs kicked more and sobs bubbled up from his throat. "I-I wanna w-waaaatch."
"You can't see from the kitchen?"
"It's too faw awayyyy!"
"I can see it," the deer crossed his arms.
Tears filled Lee's eyes, torn between still trying to watch the show and debating with Louis.
"Do you want me to pause it?" Louis asked.
I can never have kids. I'd go insane.
Lee hiccupped. "B-but you'we s'post to watch it all the way thwough!"
"That's why we unpause it, silly."
"B-b-b-but it'll take loooongewww!"
"It's either the milk or the movie. Aren't you thirsty?" He wiggled the glass a little, the white liquid sloshing around inside.
Lee wiped his eyes, trying to push away the tears so he could still see the screen.
Louis leaned on the counter. "Well?"
The little wiger let out one last whine and reached for the controller, looking over the buttons.
The deer smiled, having won the argument. I bet Legosi would have let him have his way...
Lee hit a button and the screen went blue. He stared at it, horrified, before he started to wail.
Louis' ears perked and he came over. "What? What is it!"
The boy couldn't talk, overtaken by his sobs of anguish. Looking at the TV, Louis could tell that he had hit Stop instead.
Louis put a hand to his forehead, sighing. "Don't worry, I can fix it." Louis was still holding the glass of milk and, he had to calm the child down somehow, so he held it out. "Here, will this help?"
Lee shot his hands out, trying to grab the milk and hug the deer at the same time. Understandably, this didn't turn out well.
The cold drink splashed out, all over the deer, who yelped at the feeling and dropped the glass to the ground. Luckily, it was saved by the carpet, but he was nonetheless covered in the stuff.
The boy was so shocked that he stopped crying, just looking at the mess he had caused with red eyes.
Louis looked down at himself, still dripping onto the carpet. "Shit!" Of course, that was the time he received another text. Lee just sat there, unsure of what to do with himself. The deer looked down to see what Legosi had said, because who else would it be?
Legosi: First presentation is done. Nerve-wracking...
The deer wanted to talk with him, but he couldn't stay like this.
Louis: Hold on. I'm covered in milk.
Lee finally managed to speak. "I'm sowwy, Louis..." He sniffed.
"No, no. It's okay," the buck said, as soft as he could.
His little hands reached out again, trying to grab onto the herbivore despite his drenched state.
Louis let him, looking down at the wiger. "I'm going to need to get cleaned up..."
"C-can we watch The Fascinating Wowld of Dinosauws again?"
"After I clean up? Sure. And I'll get you more milk."
Louis left to the bathroom shortly after, got himself cleaned up, then came back out with his clothes not smelling very good and wishing he had a spare. He came back and poured another glass of milk for Lee, the two making sure the handoff was more careful this time. He got the movie running once more, skipping to the part they were at and then he stood to the side of the couch, not wanting to get any of his messy clothes on it.
Thankfully the educational video concluded without any further incident. As soon as it ended, Lee shot up from the couch and ran over to the bookshelf, pointing at it. "Now it's stowy time!"
"Hooray!" Louis clapped, to please the child.
Lee slapped one of the shelves, gently. "Pick one out!"
The other animal came over, taking a while to look at all the children's books. "I can't decide. What do you want to read?"
"...Louis, can you make one up?"
"Make up a story?"
Lee nodded, already heading back to the couch.
Louis came back, sitting down on the carpet in front of him, making sure his shirt didn't touch it. "Once upon a time, there was a wolf and a deer. The wolf was very quiet and the deer was very popular, but he didn't want to be popular. He told the wolf and they started to become friends."
"One night, the deer was kidnapped by bad animals and the wolf became a hero and saved him! They became even better friends after that. The deer eventually became brave enough to ask the wolf to go out with him to the city, so they did! But since the deer's father wanted him to stay popular and not go into the city, so he had to keep his face hidden."
"Unfortunately, the deer and the wolf were caught by the deer's father and he locked the deer up in a tower where the wolf couldn't reach him. This made them both very sad. While he was locked up, the deer thought about how good of a friend the wolf was and realized he was in love with him! But they were separated and the deer couldn't see him..." His ears flattened as he remembered sitting out of the window, contemplating jumping. There was no way he would include that part, though.
"Eventually, the wolf missed the deer so much that he became determined to save him! He travelled to the tower and he made his way past the guard and got inside to see the deer and because the deer was smart, they stood up to his father together and escaped the tower! They went back to where the deer lived and now that they were reunited, told each other how they felt and figured out that they felt the same! They loved each other. The deer kissed the wolf and they became mates and lived happily ever after. The end."
Lee had focused very intently on the words, and when the story finished he was quiet for a few moments. "Did they get mawwied?"
Louis looked down at the engagement ring on his left hand, smiling warmly. "They will."
"...Is that stowy twue?"
"It is."
The gears turned in that little head. "Did that weally happen to you?"
"It did."
Lee's face lit up in shock and excitement. "Wow! You'we weally stwong! Is that how you lost youw eye?"
"When I was kidnapped by the bad animals, yeah."
"Why did they kidnap you?"
"It's very complicated..."
Lee cocked his head. "What was the towew like? Wewe thewe skeletons?"
"It was full of butlers that worked for my father."
"Wewe they mean?"
"Most of them were just following my father's orders."
"Why is youw fathew sound like such a meanie?"
Louis sighed, turning his head. "Not all parents love their children…"
Lee's ears wilted a bit at this, continuing to bombard the deer with questions, who did his best to answer them in a way he could understand. Once the questions ran dry, the two went back to playing with toys before Lee ate a late lunch and took a nap.
After the hybrid was asleep, Louis decided that he would like to nap as well. He sat with his back against the couch (no milk having been there) and thought about Legosi and sent him mental hopes that his day was going well. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, seeing the wolf there and he smiled a bit as warm thoughts pulled him to unconsciousness.
Louis awoke to the sound of the door to the kitchen being unlocked. He peeled his eye open and looked up, seeing Selena there, who looked over at them with a smile.
"Hey," she whispered, noting the still sleeping Lee.
"You're home early," Louis yawned. "Sorry you had to come home to see me sleeping, I swear this isn't all I did."
The tiger smiled. "I was able to leave a bit earlier. And it's fine! I usually take a nap when Lee does as well." She walked over to the counter and set her stuff down. "How was he?"
"He's a really good kid. I'm glad I was able to do this for you," the deer grinned. "I hope you'll call me again."
"Oh, I sure will! This was a great help, Louis. Really!" She reached into her purse and and pulled out two 1000 yen bills, holding her hand up to preemptively stop the deer from fussing. "Please, just take this! Couples like me and my husband and you and your fiance have to look out for one another."
Louis blinked. "A-are you sure? It's really no issue."
"You said you just moved into a new place, right? I'm sure every little bit helps."
The deer took the money, blushing. "Well...thank you, ma'am. Tell Lee I had a great time. I was going to go home and cook Legosi a nice dinner, but I really want to see him. I'm thinking I should go surprise him at work."
Selena looked down at his shirt, smiling. "You might wanna clean yourself up a bit, then. What happened?"
"Oh. I got Lee a glass of milk and he spilled it on me. Some got on the floor...I'm terribly sorry."
She smiled, reassuringly. "Oh, that's fine, Louis. Don't worry, I won't hold you up any more. Go see your wolf man. I know how much I miss mine when I'm away."
"Haha. We can relate there." He bowed. "See you next time, Selena-san. You can always call me."
"I know, Louis! Thank you!"
Louis left, feeling a little sad he couldn't say bye to Lee. He checked his phone, noting that Legosi had sent him a text after each one of his presentations. The deer decided not to respond, to maintain some element of surprise.
He traveled home, quickly changed into a light pink button up, then immediately headed toward the mall. It took him until around 6:15 to arrive. He trekked to the bug store and his eyes lit up when he saw his large wolf mate tower above all the terrariums around the store. He was looking down at his phone and typing. Just then, he received a text.
Legosi: Are you okay?
Louis: I'm great. Selena came home a little early. Funny, there's a wolf in this bug store that looks just like you.
Legosi's head lifted and he began turning it this way and that. Louis chuckled himself, and approached him to tap on his shoulder.