Chapter 37 - In An Alternate Universe 2: The College AU

Thursday

Legosi took some of the leftover curry and scooped some into his bowl of rice before putting it in the microwave. He swore he could eat the stuff for every meal of the day. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Louis lounging on the couch, watching the TV, and the cardboard still propped in the windows. He sighed. "Lou, do you think it'd be okay to let some light in? Do you think we're still being watched?"

"We can let some light in. But yes, I still think we're being watched." He was laying on his back, legs lifted on the top of the couch with his head turned toward the TV.

"Still taking advantage of the antlerless head, I see," the wolf smirked as he moved to take the cardboard down.

"How couldn't I?" Louis asked. "I won't be able to have these freedoms when they grow back."

"They are beautiful, of course." Legosi unblocked the other window. "I guess there's a price to the beauty. They're supposed to be weapons though, right?"

"I mean...I took out Alpha's eye with them, so I guess I'm thankful for that," the deer said, looking at him.

"Maybe you'll learn to use them at this organization?" Legosi laughed, nervously. He had been trying his best to approach the situation as if it were normal.

"I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot even though I want so little. Is a life with you really so much to ask?"

"You'll be able to find ways out of it easily if you go there and see what's going on," Legosi assured. It had been what they talked about last night, too, as they snuggled up to sleep.

"I know...I'm so anxious for that call."

As if on cue, a phone in the room began to buzz. Both animals jumped as they looked around.

Louis looked to Legosi. "Are you kidding me? Maybe he really is listening..."

"Uh, uh, where is it? Phone, phone..." The wolf scurried around the small room, hands held limply in front of him as he tiptoed around the still rolled out futon.

The deer was distracted by his mate's movement. "You can't find it with your canine hearing?"

"No! Oh, found it." Legosi reached into the covers and pulled out the vibrating phone. "It's my phone!" He turned it around and looked at the screen. "Haru-chan!"

Louis' ears perked and he rushed over, looking past his arm at the phone. "Answer it! Answer it!"

Legosi did so, his tail wagging. "Hello, Haru-chan!"

The rabbit's voice came through once Legosi put the call on speaker. "Hi, Legosi! And Louis, I can only assume!"

"Louis moved away," the deer said, in his robot voice. "He has been replaced by a mechanical version of himself. Beep, boop."

"Oh, nooooo," Haru lamented in fake shock. "Legosi, how do you feel about this?"

"Uh, well Robo-Louis gives really good scratches..."

"You're such a dog!" The small herbivore laughed.

Louis' hand moved to the back of the wolf's right ear and started scratching. "This does compute."

"Well, I'm just calling because my Thursday classes end early, so I'm free to come over with those plants and seeds and stuff you were talking about, Legosi."

Legosi managed to tear himself away from the ecstasy that was ear scritches long enough to respond. "O-oh! That'd be nice, Haru-chan! You can come over today!"

Louis nodded, staying in character. "I do not understand what a plant or seed is, but I am ready to process this valuable data when you arrive." The buck was so different than the Louis she used to know.

"Oh, I guess I get to meet Robo-Louis, too." The smile could be heard in her voice. "I do hope regular Louis might be able to stop by so we can talk about what we've all been up to."

"I can communicate that there is an 80% chance he will be there."

"Alright, I'm gonna hop on over, then. Seeya!"

"Bye!" Legosi ended the call and wiggled around. "We haven't seen her in so long!"

Louis raised a brow. "Did she really just say 'hop on over'?"

"What? Isn't that just a rabbit thing?"

"Is it?" He curled his hands in front of him. "Want me to 'hop on over', Legosi?"

His husband smiled and held his arms out, tail wagging. "Go ahead!"

Louis hopped three times, mimicking a rabbit, but not really. He ended it by jumping into his mate's arms.

The wolf entrapped him tightly. "I got you!" His tail was wagging even harder, somehow.

The deer nuzzled his neck, kissing it softly. "You got me."

Legosi turned to the microwave, which had long since beeped. "Oh, my curry." He maneuvered Louis around his body, making the deer cling to his back as he went to retrieve his meal.

Louis dragged his feet along the ground behind him. "Where are we even going to put these plants?"

"Well, most of them are for Shogi-san, but we were also talking about growing some vegetables on the roof, maybe."

"Oh really? That could be nice. You have to remember to actually take care of them, though. If I recall, you helped Haru with Garden Club while I was at Horns?"

Legosi nodded. "I did, and she taught me a lot about them? I mean, I had already known some things about plants. At least, the parts that intersected with entomology..."

"Now you know even more," Louis said. "Which should help you keep them alive."

Legosi took his bowl of curry to the table and attempted to sit down with Louis still dragging off of him. "I'll keep them so alive. You'll see!"

"If you do good at that, you might be able to get another beetle," the cervid smiled, kissing the back of his head and removing himself from him.

"Well, me losing a beetle kind of...started all of this, huh?"

"Wow...Yeah..."

Legosi shoveled the food into his mouth, attempting to drown the memory of the night he almost ate Louis with actually eating something.

The deer sat down. "But we can come full circle and you can have a new Kabu-chan."

"I'd name them something different," the wolf spoke with his cheeks full. "Probably one of the beetles from the shop!"

"Have you named them there? How is work anyway?"

"Well, last time went pretty well! And Mel-san said this Sunday he'll give me a new schedule so I'll be working more days. General upkeep and store duties for those days. I'll get to know the bugs well enough to name them, then, I bet! Plus, more money."

"More money on top of what my father is sending us," Louis sat back, crossing his arms and chuckling. "I was about to say I still need a job, but..."

"Ichi said he'd pay you to try and fool me." Legosi spoke quieter, then. "So, it'll kinda be like you have a job. Kind of."

"Yeah...that's true...I can't believe my job is lying to you."

"If you get paid more for lying to me than I do at my bug job I'm gonna fight you," Legosi joked.

"And win."

"I didn't tell you what kind of fight it'd be." The canine smirked at him before lowering his face to his food again. "But yes, I'd win. Because it'd be a licking fight. Can't beat a wolf at that."

"Licking fight? That sounds interesting."

"It does." The wolf dipped his snout into the bowl and licked up the rest of the curry.

"You really love that curry. More than anyone. Wow." He leaned on his hand. "Are you excited to see Haru again? It's been forever."

"I am!" Legosi looked up and pushed the bowl aside. "I want to hear how college is going for her and everything!"

"Imagine us in college...I see myself studying quietly at a desk and...Eating...Chips. We haven't met in this mind world."

"Oh, we're doing this again, hm?" Legosi leaned his head down and placed it on his hands, tail swaying. "What are you studying?"

"Canines. For class! Biology."

"Wow." The dog stood up and walked over to Louis, kneeling by his side. "What are you going to do with that degree?"

"I...guess I...Will become a businessman! Like my father. I was raised with the knowledge...Maybe. Even so, I keep to myself in class and I usually don't look at anyone and I walk alone in the halls and just enjoy the feeling of being on my own, I guess. Also, it's really cold in the hallways there for some reason."

"You're shivering every time I see you and I notice that." Legosi placed his head in the deer's lap. "Studying canine biology for business?"

Louis covered his face. "It's not like I'm very good at world building..."

"You'll never guess what I'm studying," Legosi challenged sarcastically.

"Rabbits," Louis raised a brow, bringing a hand down to stroke his head.

"Entomology." Legosi shoved him, playfully. "Quite different from business."

"Fine, scrap the canine studying...For accounting...Blegh."

"You can't follow your dreams. That's sad." The wolf reached up to stroke Louis' face. "But it's accurate to how your life was."

"Ugh, then I'll swap it for cooking!" He gesticulated wildly, smacking his lover's nose. "Oop! Sorry!"

His nose snuffed and twitched, but Legosi remained put. "We might not have classes together, but I'd probably see you in the library."

"Oh, I would definitely go there often to study...cookbooks."

"And I'd go there to study...bug books." Legosi blinked and looked up at the ceiling. "Me in college. Maybe one day I'll go..."

"What happens next...? You just...watch me?"

"Well...my usual spot is at a table in the corner where it's quiet...but a certain deer is there one day." Legosi's ear twitched as he continued the scenario. "And I'm feeling stubborn that day and despite my shyness and your handsomeness, I take my books and sit at the chair farthest from you at the table."

"I definitely wouldn't pay attention to you or pay any mind to it and keep looking at my cookbooks."

"I think that would catch my attention, honestly. Because an herbivore that's not bothered by me being there would intrigue me. I'd go about my studying, and notice that you're not leaving. I get more and more curious about you." Legosi reached out and grabbed one of Louis' hands and nuzzled it.

Louis stroked his cheek, gently. "I can see you looking at me a lot and I start to think about what your plan is in my head."

"As usual, I make myself look as non-threatening as possible. I want an excuse to talk to you. About anything. I want to know for sure if you're actually not afraid of me."

"Of course you don't know it, but I don't fear carnivores and I have a keen interest in canines. And you're a canine..."

"Oh~ This Louis has himself figured out." Legosi looked up at him and pressed a cheek to his stomach. "And you know you like guys?"

"And I know I like guys," Louis smiled.

"I'm probably still trying to figure things out. I think I'm curious about you because you're a herbivore that's unafraid of me, but deep down there's another reason." Legosi shifted so he wasn't putting all of his weight on his knees. "I get an idea. I start to tap my pencil on my snout, and 'accidentally' drop it so it rolls over to you."

"I would look down at it and then look up at you, furrowing my brows..." He started scratching behind his ear.

"I'd apologize and reach over for my pencil." The wolf mimicked the slow movement to show Louis how it'd look.

Louis kept his smile, tilting his head in interest. "I think I'd just watch you..."

"That'd make me nervous," Legosi admitted. "I'd take the pencil back and get back to my work. Now I'm intimidated by you but I don't want to leave. Like you're...a rare bug that I don't want to scare off somehow."

"Oh, I'm a bug now?" His smile became a smirk. Wow he was obsessed with this wolf.

Legosi shrugged. "I don't know! Anyway, let's move over to the couch where it's more comfortable."

"Okay! Take me there," Louis grinned.

The carnivore scooped the deer up and brought them to the couch. He fell back onto it with Louis on his chest. "Oof! Well, after a while of neither of us moving, I try to talk to you. I ask what you're reading, even though I can clearly see what it is."

"I tell you what it is and try to mind my business and go back to reading," he blushed. "But once I hear your voice, I'm intrigued."

"You love my voice," Legosi mused to himself with a smile. "I say that I love food, and I think it's cool that you're studying to be a chef."

"I tell you that I recently got into it before college and now I have a small passion. I keep my voice soft and quiet because I don't talk to many people and I like it that way."

"I'm the same, in a way. I don't know too many animals since it's my first year, so getting to talk to a possible new friend is exciting to me. I'm hungry, though, so I get up and announce that I'm going to the vending machine to get something to eat, and ask you if you want anything."

Louis thought for a moment. Does he want anything? Is fiction him hungry? He probably had something to eat before studying...Maybe. "I'd say I'm okay."

"I'd nod, and to secretly make sure you don't go anywhere, I tell you to watch my books and backpack and off I go." Legosi stretched up and poked Louis with his nose.

"I nod and nonchalantly turn back to my book and then wait for you to return so I don't have to be responsible for your things."

"What if I shook my butt in your face, huh? You're so hard to get." The canine laughed and lightly pinched Louis' cheeks.

"If you shook your butt in my face when we just met, I think I'd be confused, to be honest."

"I know." Legosi lightly smacked him on the head. "I leave and return soon with one of those vending machine rice cakes and some water. I try to eat quietly so as to not disturb you."

"I keep my eyes trained on my book, but sometimes I look up at you and at one moment, I give you a small smile."

"I catch it and smile back, keeping my teeth in my mouth. My tail can't stop from wagging of course and I get flustered."

"I ask if you're okay, considering your tail is wagging and you're blushing."

"And I laugh nervously and say I am. I say I'm happy." Legosi's tail was wagging in real life, now.

Louis moved closer to him. "'What are you happy for?' I ask."

"I decide to be honest, and say that a lot of herbivores don't like to be around me. I'm glad that you're not bothered by me sitting there."

"I tell you you're not doing anything, so what's the point of leaving?"

"My tail wags more. I ask what year you're in."

"1st year. I actually took a gap year in between high school and now. I'm guessing that would put us in the same year?"

"Yeah! I see that as an opportunity to ask what you think of everything, since we're both new." Legosi's arms ran down Louis' frame as they laid out their alternate meeting.

Louis nuzzled his neck. "I tell you I think it's really nice and...quaint in a way. I enjoy being alone and even the cold sometimes. And I say that with a chuckle."

"I agree that being alone is nice, although I admit I miss my old friends. I don't mention how I would see you shivering while passing you. I don't think you'd ever have noticed I was there. I just say my thick coat of fur means I'm always nice and warm."

"I tell you that must be nice. I use some of my canine knowledge—ha, bringing that back—and tell you that you must enjoy the cold, being a wolf and all."

"I nod, and I'm impressed by your knowledge. I ask how you know about wolves and cold."

"I tell you I did some...research." He moved his hand down to rub circles on his stomach.

"Oh?" Legosi reacted to the sudden rubs and cleared his throat. "I make a joke saying I don't know much about deer."

"I laugh and say I know a lot about canines, and then I regret it."

"I try another joke, saying I can teach you more about canines by telling you my name."

"I raise a brow and ask how that teaches me about canines."

"I'm embarrassed, and say 'because I'm a canine.' Obviously you know that."

"'Whaaaat? Really? You're a canine?' I smile. 'I had no idea!' I'm probably questioning how dumb I'm being right now."

Legosi laughed. "I laugh, just like I am in real life! I tell you my name anyway."

"I tell you my name, with a soft smile."

The larger animal felt his heart flutter as if he was actually there. "I just sit there...wondering what will happen next."

"Wait, wait. What do you think of my name?"

"I think it's a nice name, of course. Just like I do in real life."

"We have our silence together but I feel like you still want to talk to me."

"Because I do!" Legosi kissed Louis, unable to deal with the tension they were creating in their scenario.

Louis kissed back. "Let's try to speed this along, huh.? Try and get me into your dorm. No, wait! You come to mine. A herbivore in a carnivore dorm might be...Yeah."

Legosi blinked. "Wh-what? Already? That's not realistic, Louis."

"It's a story!"

"But it's us. We're not just some characters. We're real!"

"Come on...I'm a cute deer. You don't wanna slink on over to my room? That's not a first day experience every man gets!"

"D-does this lead to us actually having sex? Like roleplay sex? Haru's coming over soon..."

"Wh-what?" Louis burst out laughing. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know!" Legosi exclaimed. "I was just taking it slow and realistically and you're saying I should go home with you!" He huffed. "Well, you could always invite me..."

"What? No! You have to solve this puzzle!"

The canine grumbled. "I'm too shy and I don't realize what I want yet...why would I go to your dorm?"

"And if I invited you? You'd say no?"

"W-well, no, since I want to be your friend."

"Then why don't you take a risk! Okay, fine. Flirt with me some more and get me to invite you over so it's not weird."

"Well!" Legosi reached up and scratched his ear idly. "I think...I could ask you if you wanted to be friends, since we're both lonely. Even though you like being alone you said...I want a friend."

"Then ask me. I'm still sitting there reading my book."

"I do! I did!"

"Okay, then. I blush and look up at you. I joke and ask you that if I like being alone, what's the point of being friends?"

"I say we can be alone together," the wolf chuckled. "I don't sound too sure of myself, probably."

"I tilt my head and then lean on my hand. I am super into canines so my heart is racing fast. I tell you being friends sounds like it would be great." He was completely picturing the entire scene in his mind.

"I smile again, only this time my fangs poke through. My tail is wagging. I ask you if you want to grab dinner after we're done studying."

"I agree, smiling more. I...definitely enjoy seeing your fangs. I might have a thing for them."

"I know you do," Legosi crooned, before backpedaling. "Uh, in real life, not in the story. I guess we finish studying and go...somewhere to eat. I don't know where to go. I joke and say you could make something."

"That's when I invite you back to my...dorm. Which I live alone in! Um...off campus!"

"Ooh...My heart is pounding. This is moving faster than I thought, but being around you makes me feel good and I think you're cute and don't want you to leave. And we're friends now. I follow you off campus to your place with a wagging tail."

As if on instinct, Louis reached down and grabbed his tail, stroking it. "I'm definitely very nervous, but I walk close to you, perhaps on purpose, perhaps not."

Legosi shivered at the touch, as always. He'd never get used to it, and he never wanted to. "I notice you walking close to me, and it makes me feel good, because I get the feeling that you feel safe near me. I talk about my classes to fill the silence, and about bugs. You don't have to try very hard to imagine that, do you?"

"Not at all," Louis smiled. "I talk about my classes and my experiences at school."

"What kind of place do you live at, Louis-kun?"

"Wow. I haven't heard that in forever. It's small. Kind of like where we live now. It's really tidy and there is a shelf full of books and a small bed with a mattress and a little kitchen, too."

"I walk in and take off my shoes. I don't want to sit anywhere without being invited to, so I stand. I ask what you'll make us."

"I say I'm thinking about making egg sandwiches, that way I can retain some semblance of fantasy here. "I tell you about how they used to have them at my old school."

"Ooh, you know my tail is wagging like nuts at that! I get so excited I get a bit loud and talk about how I love egg sandwiches so much." Legosi licked Louis' nose.

The buck put their noses together. "I laugh at how excited you are and take my shoes off, going further into the house and beginning to make the food. I ask you more about where you grew up and we talk about our pasts. In this version I was going to be a Beastar and instead of forcing me; when I quit, Oguma let me. And...I still have two eyes here." He looked to the side.

Legosi just nodded, sadly. "Because you opened up to me, I decide to let you know about how I'm one quarter komodo dragon. I'm afraid you might think it's weird, but I want you to know."

"I tell you that now I get why your eyes aren't like other wolves. I'm glad you told me. I finish the egg sandwiches and we eat and talk and I sit next to you on the couch. I'm surprisingly calm, watching you eat. I have no reason to believe you'd hurt me."

"The more I hang out with you, the closer I want to get to you. Part of it scares me, but also it feels right. It's what I've craved for so long: connection and understanding with a herbivore. And you're giving it to me." Legosi kissed Louis again. "In real life, too!"

"Yeah! Now hush, I'm invested in these characters. We eat and drink and then afterward, we sit back on the couch and talk just about all kinds of things. It's crazy, an herbivore and a carnivore synergizing so well."

Legosi smiled, fondly. "It's getting late, but I don't say anything. I just want to stay there with you."

"I tell you I almost never have visitors. This is really nice...And the way I'm imagining this, my lights are pretty dim."

"I bet that makes me sleepy. I remember I have classes, but I don't feel the need to say anything. I tell you this is the first time in a while I hung out with another animal. I thank you for everything, of course! The food and agreeing to befriend a big, scary wolf you just met."

"I wave my hand and say it's no big deal and that I had a lot of fun. Well, am having, since you're still there."

"I apologize for staying so late, and mention I should probably get going. But I stay," Legosi laughed. "This is just like when I came to your Cherryton dorm for the first time after...yeah."

"So romantic..." Louis mumbled. His mind went back to the fantasy. "I notice that you aren't moving and me, deciding to take a risk, scoots just a little closer, hoping you won't notice. Most of all, I'm after that soft fur." At this, he ruffled the fur on his head.

"I notice, since I'm hyper aware of all of your movements. I stay sitting, wondering what subject I should bring up so we can talk about it without me leaving."

Louis made a face. "You could just move closer, you dumb dog."

Legosi shook his head, slightly. "Wait, did college Louis say that or you?"

"I said that. He's not that forward."

"W-well, I move a bit closer, too. You look so soft and huggable and I just want to be close to you. You're letting a carnivore get so close to you...I can't resist. I'm fiddling with my hands because I'm so nervous."

"At that point, I reach my hands over and grab your hands together. I tell you that it's okay to be nervous."

Legosi could feel his heart leap just as the other Legosi's would. "I ask, uh, what's going to happen next?"

"All I do is get a nice, long, look at you. I hope that isn't weird."

"Of course not. My ears wiggle and I squirm. You know how I get. I tell you that you're making me, a big wolf, feel like prey."

"I ask you if you feel like I'm a predator at that point."

"I chuckle and say no. No, I'm right where I want to be. I do ask, though, what I should be nervous about, since you said it was okay to be nervous."

"I tell you that it's okay to be nervous since it's not every day you're alone with an herbivore on his couch."

The wolf could feel every ounce of weight from the imagined situation. "I move closer. Our shoulders and arms are touching, now. And our legs."

"There's just something between us. It's undeniable! And we both feel it..." Louis was blushing in real life.

"I intertwine our legs, and I'm looking at the floor. I know that if I look up at you, we'll kiss. And it'll be my first kiss, so I'm hesitant."

"And I don't understand why I want to kiss you so bad."

"Even though you know you like canines, already," Legosi teased.

"But we just met! But even so...I say your name, as soft as I can."

"I answer with your own name, just as soft. I look up and look into your eyes."

"I look back, just like I'm doing now. And I realize...You're the most gorgeous animal I have ever seen."

"I think the same of you. And I even say...that your eyes are beautiful."

"And since you are the one with hybrid eyes, I tell you that your eyes are unique and unlike any I have ever seen. And it feels good to be intertwined like this with you..." Louis rubbed down his arms, staring deep into his lover's eyes.

"My tail is wagging so fast now, and my canine genes are telling me to be affectionate. I ask if I can hug you."

"Of course you can." He squeezed his wolf.

"I wrap my arms around you, and I pull you down and we're laying just like this." Legosi smiled up at Louis.

The deer looked down, grinning affectionately. He couldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't a little excited..."My heart has to be beating so fast at this rate, but your eyes are like pools I can drown in."

Legosi stared up. "Louis...you feel safe with me, right? Even if we just met..."

"I...I do. Do you feel protective of me, Legosi?"

"I do. I noticed how you stuck closer to me as we walked here. I really liked that." Legosi moved his mouth up a bit closer. "I won't hurt you..."

Louis' eyes grew half-lidded, fully enraptured in this fantasy. "I never thought you'd hurt me...Do you think this is wrong?"

The wolf shook his head. "My komodo dragon grandpa married a wolf. It runs in my family. What about you?"

"I don't know...I know it's dangerous, but I feel so safe in your arms. And your eyes are luring me in..." He kept the tension going. This was almost thrilling.

Legosi moved his mouth forward, shuddering a breath over Louis' lips. He couldn't do it, instead moving his nose to nuzzle under Louis' jaw.

The deer quivered at the slight touch. "What do you want from me, Legosi?"

"Uh..." The wolf swallowed, finding it hard to breathe. "I want to keep seeing you. I want to be close to you like this."

"Why?"

"Because you make me feel things I've never felt before."

"You've never been so close to an herbivore."

"I haven't...and I never thought I'd feel this way about one." Legosi tried to get his breathing back under control. "I've never, uh, kissed anyone before, either."

"Who said anything about kissing?" Louis smirked, rubbing down his spine with his middle finger.

Legosi turned away and mumbled, "I want to kiss you..."

Louis' hand moved back up his back. "Maybe I want to kiss you, too."

"Have you ever kissed anyone before, Louis?"

"I never thought there was a reason to."

The canine pushed their mouths together in an instant, and an instant later they were apart again. He blinked and whispered, "There..."

Louis leaned back in and kissed him again, passionately, rolling a bit with him on the couch. "Mmnnnn..."

Legosi brought one of his legs up to wrap around Louis as his hands got familiar with his back. It was amazing and surreal. It felt like he was kissing him for the first time all over again.

The sheer amount of electricity moving through their bodies and the sensual touches between them...It was everything. And it was so distracting that they hadn't even realized they fell off the couch until they were on the floor, Legosi on Louis now.

Before they could do anything, they both jumped as there was a knock at the door. "Hey guys, it's Haru! I hope this is the right room..."

Legosi looked down at Louis in a daze, and their apartment faded back into reality. They were husbands living together now. The wolf got up. "Coming!"