Chapter 38 - Plants for the Soul

Legosi made his way to the door, glancing back and motioning for Louis to fold up the futon so Haru wouldn't see the old bloodstain. They still needed to do something about that.

The buck was quickly at work, lifting it up and tucking it away behind their couch after it was rolled up. He had totally forgotten she didn't know...

"Hey, Legosi!" Haru hugged him by the midsection as soon as the door opened.

"Haru-chan!" Legosi hugged back, being careful as always. "Hi!"

The rabbit pulled away and peeked past him. "Yoohoo, Louis! I see you! Or are you that robot one?"

Louis couldn't keep up the ruse. Seeing her again was just too good. "Yo, Haru-chan. It's just me. I'm not sure where the robot went."

"I'd rather talk to you, anyway." Haru hopped toward the animals and hugged Louis before pulling away and looking around. "Wow, you two are really good at interior space management. Or was that just Legosi?"

"We both worked on it!" Legosi beamed.

"We did. It's our little together project," Louis grinned. He also realized she didn't know they were married yet. When was the last time they had seen her...The dance? No way...

"Yeah..." Legosi scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry again about all the plans that fell through..."

Haru waved him off. "Hey, I get it! I still can't believe what you two did with that murderer. I'm just glad the two of you aren't traumatized." She looked at them with concern. "Right?"

Legosi shrugged. "Uh, we're planning on seeing a therapist, but that's just for general issues."

Louis nodded. "Yeah. That's true. I'm so sorry we haven't been talking to you more. We've just been so caught up in all this. To be fair, we haven't talked to Dom and Kai recently, either."

"Plus, you two moved here and I'm in college, now. Which! It's such a breath of fresh air from Cherryton! I'm so glad I got out before the segregation. I've even made friends!"

"Really?" Louis sat down in a chair.

"Yep! Since I'm studying botany and actually have classes in it, I'm meeting so many animals who share my interests! And I was able to shed all those nasty rumors and start fresh!" Haru put her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly. "Speaking of the plants, you guys are gonna have to help me lug some of them up. I left everything in the lobby."

"Oh, okay, Haru-chan!" Legosi looked back at Louis, tail wagging.

The buck smiled, getting up just as soon as he sat down. "We should probably discuss where everything is going, just so we know where we are carrying them to."

The trio made their way down the steps while Haru made it very clear how she felt about the interior of the building. "It just makes what you two did with your room even more impressive," she offered.

"And it will be a thing we all did together. I still feel really bad we haven't talked much, but I'm glad you're meeting new friends," Louis smiled softly.

"Really, it's alright! Besides, I don't wanna interrupt your fairy tale romance any more than I have." Haru chuckled. "I still remember when we were dating, Louis, and how much you talked about Legosi. First, you were saying how much you hated them, and then one day you were talking about how you admired him. I think that's when I knew there was something afoot."

"Dating...?" Louis blinked.

Haru laughed. "What? Did you forget?"

"I, uh, didn't know you considered it dating, Haru-chan."

"Friends with benefits then? That's a mouthful, though."

"I guess I would say so," the buck nodded.

"Although honestly, I suspected something when I noticed I never made you finish."

Louis reddened. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged. "You were the only guy who seemed to care about my needs. Also, part of me thought maybe it was a medical thing and I shouldn't pry."

The deer covered his face at that. "Haru-chan..."

"I assume Legosi is fulfilling your needs?" She smiled, innocently.

Louis looked to his mate. He thought back to the night of the roof party. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."

Legosi blushed while Haru gave a hearty, "Good!" in response.

They entered the lobby and found the potted plants and seed packages where Haru had left them. "Alright, Legosi told me that we're bringing some of these to a room on the second floor?"

"That's right," Legosi nodded. "To a friend of ours."

Everyone grabbed what they could and headed to Shogi's room, who let them in after a few knocks. It seemed he had already bought some furniture and was moving it around.

The sheep grinned. "Welcome back!" His eyes shifted to the rabbit. "You must be Haru-chan."

"Yup! We got the plants that are gonna cheer your room up right here! A Yucca plant and a Kalanchoe, to be specific. They're really low maintenance but I included some instructions for them." Legosi and Louis followed in behind her and looked around, noting a new table and futon, among other things.

Shogi chuckled. "I get it. It will be really nice to have something...else to take care of." A silence fell, one of understanding between them all except Haru.

Louis sighed. He wanted to suggest using the money for therapy but he didn't want to bring down the mood with the rabbit there.

Said rabbit cleared her throat. "Alright, then! I have tomato seeds and green bean seeds here, along with some soil. Where did you want to grow this stuff?"

"Oh, I thought we could try the roof but we'd need something to hold the dirt in." Legosi looked down at the bags. "We can drop the stuff in our room until we buy something like that. Louis' recipes will probably taste a lot better with homegrown vegetables!"

The buck nodded. "Okay, now I'm excited."

"With some more work, that roof could grow more things too! Maybe like melons and stuff." Haru stretched her arms over her head. "Well, that depends on how long you guys are gonna live here. Do you have jobs?"

"Legosi works at a bug shop and I..." He thought for a moment. "Don't have one."

"Yeah." Legosi swooped in. "I'm going to get more shifts starting next week, and Louis' dad is helping us out a bit!"

Haru cocked an eyebrow. "What, really?"

The deer nodded. "Yeah. There's a lot that happened since the last time we saw you. We even broke up for a while."

The small animal blinked. "R-really? You two?"

"That's the main reason we're going to see a therapist," Legosi admitted.

Shogi nodded, slowly. "I'm sorry again. I feel like it's my fault."

"Don't apologize, Shogi-san. It was something the both of us learned from." The wolf patted the wool on his head gently.

The sheep grinned, bashfully. "Even so..."

Louis waved his hand. "It was my fault, anyway. I was just in a weird place and it's over now."

"Ahh, I didn't wanna bring up bad memories!" Haru picked up her stuff and walked toward the door. "Let's bring this stuff back up to your room, okay?"

The buck nodded. "We can talk more, then." He turned to Shogi. "We'll be back to check on you, like we promised at dinner."

The small herbivore grinned. "Thank you both for helping me get my life back on the right track. When did you say dinner with your father was?"

Louis scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I'm still not sure. I haven't really talked to him about it, yet."

"Goodbye, Shogi-san! It was nice to meet you!" Haru's front teeth showed as she grinned at him and waved.

Legosi waved, too. "See you later, Shogi-san!"

And once again, they left and all returned to their room. Louis knew they would have to recount past events to her, but he dreaded visiting it, once again.

Back upstairs, Haru set the seeds down on the table as well as a small potted succulent plant. "There, doesn't that look really cute in the middle like that?"

Legosi brought his two big hands together next to his face. "Oh, it really does!"

Louis crossed his arms. "It does. It's nice to have some color in here."

"Aside from the shirts we have hanging up by the wall." The wolf gestured to them and Haru nodded.

She then walked over to the couch and flopped on it. "Hope I'm not invading, but I need to take a breather."

The two shook their heads and Louis sat back in the chair. "I guess we should update you on our life."

"Only what you two are comfortable with sharing, Sounds like I missed a rough patch..."

"You did," Legosi sighed. He walked behind his husband and crouched down to embrace him from behind and bury his face in the crook of his neck.

Louis began what seemed like the umpteenth retelling of their story.

Legosi only gripped tighter as he recounted it, chiming in when needed. A look of concern painted the rabbit's face the entire time she listened.

"Wow...You guys, that sounds awful. I wish I could have done something, but, well, I didn't know. I'm glad you two are back together, though. If you're going to run away with someone else, you'd better stay with him!" Haru attempted a joke at the end there followed by a quiet apology.

Louis sighed. "But we're doing everything we can to be better."

"That's good! Again, any way that I can help, please let me know."

Legosi walked over and sat next to Haru on the couch. "How about you? You said you've made some friends at college?"

"Oh, yeah! Weird, right? Me? Making friends?" She laughed at the self-deprecating joke.

"What are they like?" Louis asked.

"Oh, well there's this group in my herbology class that I'm really getting along well with! There's Lucy, who's a Holland lop rabbit, Miyuki, a spotted deer, and Rei, a Russian blue cat. We all partnered up for a group project but ended up being friends!"

The eyepatched grinned. "That's really nice. Any boyfriend yet?"

Haru rolled her eyes. "No! But it's honestly nice to just have friends who don't just want to sleep with you. So, I'm on a bit of a relationship break, I think."

"Well, that's fine. You'll find someone eventually."

"If a socially awkward gay wolf can find the love of his life, then so can I." Haru nudged Legosi playfully, who just wagged his tail and fell onto his back, an invitation she gladly took. "Oh, alright. C'mere, you!" She climbed onto him and put her small hands all over his cheeks, petting and scratching as the dog giggled beneath.

Louis watched, smiling affectionately. "We both did."

Haru looked over to the deer. "C'mon, Louis! Help me out here!"

The deer came over and began rubbing all over Legosi's head and adding some pecks in the process. The three were laughing as they gave affection to the wolf.

Eventually, Legosi got all tuckered out, and that's when the two herbivores retreated. They both looked at the messy-furred, panting wolf and both wondered how any animal could be afraid of him.

Haru looked over at the kitchen area. "So, chef, how's it been cooking with this setup?"

"Painful," Louis said. "It's not the greatest."

"Too bad there isn't a fully outfitted community kitchen here like the bathrooms. Would that be worse, though? You'd have to deal with everybody's mess."

"Yeah, plus everyone using it at the same time...I prefer to cook in peace. It's better for me to focus on. I know Legosi likes watching me, too."

"How can there be peace when he's over your shoulder?" The rabbit laughed.

"I give him space now!" Legosi fired from his laying position.

"I like it either way!" Louis chuckled. "He's adorable."

"He is!" Haru agreed.

"I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I hope this doesn't sound weird, but...I was afraid you two would be dating by the time I got out of Horns. I had a nightmare about it."

Legosi sat up, quickly. "What?"

Haru just laughed. "Wh-what, seriously?"

"I didn't know!"

Legosi and Haru looked at each other and Haru laughed again, this time joined by the canine. "Could you imagine!" Haru managed between giggles. "The first day we met, he admitted to having a crush on you!"

"R-really?" Louis raised a brow.

Legosi nodded. "It was right after Gon-san told us what happened to you. Everything felt hopeless then..." The wolf rose his view to his mate and smiled wide, showing his teeth. "But look at us now! We're married!"

Haru tipped her head to the side. "Wait, wait, wait. What?"

The wolf looked back at her excitedly. "Oh yeah, we got married! We're husbands." He held up his hand with the ring, even though it used to be his engagement ring.

"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?"

Legosi and Louis covered their ears at the noise.

"A few days ago! Calm down!" Louis winced.

Legosi nodded. "Yeah. It's not legal, but we just decided we should be married if we really want to be."

Haru's look of confusion turned to a genuine smile. "Oh, of course, you two would do that."

"What do you mean?"

"Ignoring all of society's set in place rules like that! It's really admirable, really."

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Legosi looked to his husband, once again reminded of all the hurdles they had overcome, and the ones that laid ahead.

"It just made sense at the time," Louis explained, shrugging. "And it was totally worth it."

"It's definitely very cute," Haru smiled.

The three of them chatted as the late morning turned to afternoon. At one point Haru was served the leftover curry and joined in the universal opinion that it was amazing.

Louis rolled his eyes at that. Would he ever make something better?

Eventually, Haru departed, having to get back so she could get some of her school work done. She hugged them both and left, promising to bring more seeds if they were able to get the right accommodations.

After Louis closed the door, he turned around, smiling. "Well, that was nice."

"Yeah! We have good friends." Legosi walked over and observed the succulent Haru left.

The deer came and joined him. "I read somewhere that plants are good for the soul."

"So are deer." Legosi bumped his hips against Louis.

"Oh, are you sure about that?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you even believe in souls? I think I do, but I'm not sure."

"It's a nice thought, but..." Legosi shrugged.

"Mm. Souls are about as real as Imaginary Chimeras, huh?" Louis smirked.

"Oh, yeah. That thing. I guess our understanding of the world isn't all there is..."

"Next thing we know, ghosts exist."

Legosi sighed. "If they did...I think she would have come to see me."

Louis took a moment to process that. "...Maybe there are ghost rules about seeing animals who are still alive." His hand went to his wolf's shoulder.

The canine's big hand clasped over it. "I want to talk to the head ghost, then."

The deer moved his nose to his neck, burying it in the fur. "I just can't help but think about what else is out there if Imaginary Chimeras are possible."

"I guess learning about them is one thing we can look forward to in this whole mess. I kind of want to see one but...it sounds scary."

"Well, if I can do it...I'll be able to show you once I learn."

"It still might just be an illusion trick or something. Maybe he had mirrors set up?" Legosi scratched his head.

"Uh...I don't think so," Louis blinked. Just then, his phone buzzed and he took it out. "It's from Oguma. He asks when we want to have dinner."

"Oh!" Legosi's heart was pounding at the sudden mention of the event. "Well, Sunday won't work because I have work, and after that, I'll be working more days. A day before Sunday...and today is Thursday...so probably Saturday?"

Louis began typing. "Sa-tur-day..."

"Will he tell us what to wear? Should we bring a dish? Should we arrive early?" Rapid-fire questions came from the wolf.

"Just wear something nice. We definitely won't need to bring a dish. And arriving early might nice."

"I'll get to see the whole building without having to sneak!"

"Perhaps. And the food there is quite good, so I'm sure you'll enjoy the dinner too, huh?"

Legosi's tail wagged. "Yeah! I'll have to be careful not to eat sloppy, though..."

"Unfortunately."

The wolf cocked his head. "What? You like it when I'm sloppy?"

"You said it, not me."

Legosi's response was to simply lick his husband. "Well, I look forward to it! Even if I'm also anxious."

"Oh, he texted back. He says to be there around 6."

"Okay, okay." The carnivore shook his hands at his sides.

Another text came through a few seconds later. "Oh! It's from Pina!" Louis grinned. "He's asking if we are free tomorrow."

"Wha-really? Wow, our days are just filling up, huh?" The wolf's tail was wagging like crazy. "Yeah, we can do something!"

The deer texted the sheep and waiting for him to respond. When he did, he smiled. "Oh! He says he wants to have another boy's night tomorrow, with Dom and Kai! He already texted them and they are free after classes."

"Oh, that'll be great! We'll have to think of something to do!" As was typical of Legosi, he was now bouncing along with his tail wags.

"Oh wait, he's still typing." A moment passed. "He says there's this hot spring he found he wants to go to." He sighed. "That sounds like something I need."

"Oh, definitely. I've never been to one. Have you?"

"Of course not. It's just always sounded nice."

"Well, it does sound like a Pina idea. We're definitely going!" Legosi's excitement waned shortly after. "Wait, do you have to get naked at a hot spring?"

"I don't know. Maybe? That sounds like a Pina idea."

Legosi chuckled. "Should I, uh, be worried about you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe not you, but him. With how he kissed you and stuff."

"I thought you paid no mind to that?"

"Yeah, but we need to let him know we don't want to get involved. We're not an open couple."

"Where did this come from?"

The wolf shrugged. "It would be good to stop a misunderstanding from happening."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that," Louis shrugged. "He just wants to hang out and be comfortable."

"Well, okay! I hope it's not awkward being naked around them. I can't imagine Kai being a fan."

"Oh, boy. Well, he probably knows. But if he doesn't...It could be good for a laugh."

Legosi headed back to the couch and plopped down on it. "Well, it seems like our next two days just got busy."

Louis came and laid his head down on his lap. "Yeah."