Chapter 40 - Boy's Night 6: Three Shared Meals

Bill looked around. "That name's pretty on the nose, huh?"

Pina walked past him. "Don't know what you're talking about."

The deer looked to Legosi. "I say that all the time..."

Legosi nodded. "That's right, he does!"

Kai brought his phone out as they were guided to an appropriately sized table, snapping pics whenever he could and explaining to the possum guiding them that he was going to show them to the LGBT club he ran but was told to refrain anyhow.

Everyone sat down and Louis looked at the large rodent. "Is this place really called We're Only Animals?"

The server nodded. "Yes! That's the philosophy of the owner."

Legosi sat down next to Louis. "That's the mantra for our relationship, too!" He snaked an arm around the deer's shoulder, feeling more and more comfortable as he saw that the other patrons of the establishment seemed to be in similar relationships.

The possum grinned. "It should be everyone's motto, yeah?"

"Well, considering Legosi and Louis are the OG gays of Cherryton, we could probably apply that motto to our whole group," Kai suggested, slipping in next to Dom.

Pina and Bill joined them all, the dall sheep stumbling a bit into his chair. "Guh, fuckin' Kai..."

The mongoose looked up. "What? What did I do?"

Pina looked at him in confusion before he realized. "Oh, that's the name of my prosthetic now. Kai the leg."

"What!? No, I won't allow you to use my name for that!"

"Too late, right Bill?"

The tiger grinned with his teeth. "You weren't there when it happened, so you can't stop it now." He looked down at Pina's leg. "Don't worry, Kai. Other Kai won't take your name away."

"You guys are fucking weird," Kai scoffed.

"Wow, I almost forgot about the leg," Legosi noted. "Even with those tight pants..."

"Leggings," Pina corrected.

The waiter just stood, staring, as he blinked. "What happened?"

"Just an incident," Louis said. "Nothing to worry about now!"

Dom spoke up. "Can I just start with some water?"

The server's head turned. "Oh, right, right. Sorry, your outfits are just lovely."

"Thank you!" Pina answered for everyone. "I'll have some Thai tea, please."

Louis looked up. "Cola for me."

Bill spoke next. "Ooh, yeah, yeah, I'll try Thai tea."

"Dr. Spice for me," Kai said, still looking peeved about the leg incident.

"Apple juice," Legosi's pick.

The possum nodded, then turned and left.

Louis looked at all of his friends. "We should move around and sit across who we're sharing with."

"Oh, yeah. That." Kai sighed

"We'll have to move the chairs then, too," Legosi concluded.

"Only one person gets to sit next to their boyfriend. Who's it gonna be?" Pina asked.

"Who's separated the most?" Bill asked.

Dom raised a hand. "That would be us. We don't sneak out like you two do."

"But don't you meet at club?"

"Well, it sure as hell isn't Legosi and Louis," Kai argued.

The deer snorted. "Well, yeah...We live together."

"So it should be me and Dom, duh." Kai's strong argument hung in the air.

Everyone agreed and they shuffled around. On one side of table sat Bill, Pina and Louis and across from them was their eating partners. Legosi across from Bill, Kai across from Pina, and Dom across from Louis.

"Looks like your calculation was wrong, Pina! Only Legosi and Louis are separated." Kai grinned at what he saw as a victory over the sheep. "Guess math isn't your strong suit!"

The sheep squinted at him. "What? That's math?"

"Sure it is!"

Pina looked over at Dom. "Hey, reign your boyfriend in."

Dom turned his head to Kai. "Calm down, hon."

"It is math though, right?" The mongoose looked into his boyfriend's dark eyes for any form of solidarity.

"I don't even...I don't know." The bird shook his head.

"Yeah, I think it might be but I don't know what it'd be called..." Legosi weighed in.

"Spacial...something," Louis added.

"Doesn't fucking matter," Pina concluded.

Dom nodded. "True."

"...So." Legosi's deep and gentle voice caught everyone's attention. "Let's all find out what we want to eat, since we're sharing and all."

Everyone picked up a menu and scrolled through it with their eyes.

"What sides does everyone want? Just two should probably feed us all," Kai said.

"Not really sure," Louis said, pursing his lips.

"Oh shit, I want fried pickle slices!" Pina announced. "Would anyone eat those?"

Legosi's ears perked up. "That sounds good."

Kai made a disgusted face. "Uh, you guys can have that and I'll just get fries. Who's on Team Fries?"

"I'm on Team Pickles," Louis smiled at his mate.

Bill leaned on his hand. "Team fries here."

Dom sighed. "Team fries, I guess."

Louis nodded. "So half and half."

"Well, that worked kind of perfectly." Legosi placed the menu down in front of him for Bill to see. "So what should we get, Bill? It will need to be pretty big to satisfy both of our hunger."

The tiger turned his head, looking down at the menu. "We could split a meal for four. Wait, who's paying?"

"We are," Louis said. "Thanks to my father."

Kai cocked his eyebrow. "Really? I thought things were...not great with him."

"What's the budget?" Bill asked.

The deer shrugged. "My father sent me more than enough. Eat up."

Pina set his menu down in front of his sharing partner just as Legosi had. "Say, Kai? What do you think of rice pilaf with broccoli and cheddar cheese?"

The mongoose craned his neck to look. "Uh, I dunno. I don't really eat much fancy stuff."

"I'm getting it. You can pick from someone else if you don't like it."

Legosi made a high pitched noise as his eye caught something. "Oh! They can serve a bowl of minestrone soup and bowls made of bread to serve yourself in!"

Bill raised a brow. "Eh? Soup? To share?"

"Yeah! It says they bring out a big bowl of soup that you can then serve smaller portions of for yourself using the hollowed-out bread. And there's a carnivore version with plenty of beans for protein!" Legosi pointed his clawed finger to show the tiger.

He leaned in, squinting at it. "We can always order more if we're still hungry, I guess, yeah?"

Dom looked down, his long neck arched. "Hm...What to get..."

Louis' eyes scanned the laminated menu. "What do you like?"

"Noodles..."

"So something with noodles..."

"Of course Dom would get noodles," Pina grinned. "Cuz, uh, noodle neck."

"That's not why, Pina," Dom smiled. "They're good!"

"Yeah, lay off him! We noodle necks stick together!" Kai linked his arm with Dom's and looked at him with a proud grin.

"Oh so that's why you're dating," Bill nodded. "I never knew."

"Yeh." Kai strained said noodle neck up and looked around. "Wonder when our drinks are coming."

As he said that, the possum returned with a tray of six drinks, handing it to their respective customers.

Everyone thanked him and he grinned, holding up his notepad. "So...Everyone ready to order?"

Everyone requested the sides and main meals they had planned on, the waiter writing each one in a flash. Once they were done, Legosi held his finger up. "Excuse me, but this establishment is very nice. How long has it been around?"

The possum looked around. "Hmm...Twenty years? Twenty years."

The wolf looked around the place. The soft, dim lighting lent it a very comforting and laid back atmosphere. Booths and tables lay in a disorganized yet logical manner, and the place seemed to bustle even though it seemed to be at quarter capacity. Behind the small bar were glimpses of the kitchen, which could also be heard from where they were. Legosi turned back to their server. "It's really nice knowing animals like us aren't alone."

Louis turned his head. "Do you think everyone here is queer?"

Dom shrugged. "I don't even know how this place stays open, to be honest."

The waiter tilted his head. "It's a normal restaurant like any other. We actually have a good amount of business since you know, we're like the only LGBT friendly restaurant."

"Also interspecies and carniherbis like us," Legosi smiled. "Do you know if most carniherbi couples end up okay? Like, without one eating the other?"

Pina held his hand up to the wolf. "Woah, Legosi, let the guy do his job. Enough with the heavy questions."

The possum raised a brow. "Yeah, sorry, I have to get back to work. I'll talk to you guys later." He walked off.

"Just Zoozle the place later, Legosi," Kai suggested.

Legosi hummed in thought. "We're Only Animals, huh?"

Pina rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, stop running it into the ground."

His deer smiled at him reassuringly and he looked to Pina, who was sitting next to him. "The atmosphere is nice, huh?"

"Really nice." The sheep turned and faced him as well. "Hey, your antlers are coming in nicely! I mean, I assume they are."

Louis tilted his head forward. "You think?"

Pina reached up to grab the nubs. "I think so! Granted I know nothing of the subject. I wasn't able to see your previous new ones before they got taken away. Do they grow into different patterns?"

"Not really," he explained. "But I like how my antlers look!"

"So weird! Like they have a genetic predisposition for it, or something. Guess you don't have to fix what's already perfect." Pina's hands moved around Louis' head and face while Legosi looked between them and Bill, trying to bring the tiger's attention to what was happening. Dom and Kai were busy chatting over Rex knows what.

The deer turned his head. "So, what's your favorite Gnarled Crown song so I can listen to it later?"

Bill's eyes moved over to the two, smiling a bit. He looked at Legosi. "Don't worry about it. They're just being friends."

Legosi just looked on with worried eyes, unaware that Bill knew all about the kiss.

"Oh, well I think I'd either show you Stained Prey or Forest of Void. Be glad you don't have antlers because the breakdown in Stained Prey would blow them off again!" As Pina spoke his hands trailed down Louis' shoulders and arms until he held his hands excitedly.

The cervid laughed. "More cuddling positions for me!"

"Oh? We're gonna cuddle while listening to it? I'm gonna headbang and knock you out with these bad boys!" Pina freed one of his hands to point to his horns.

"Ah ha? I thought I would just listen to it tonight..."

"Oh what? I wanna be there when your virgin ears are deflowered by the crushing rhythms and unrelenting blast beats of my favorite band!"

Kai turned to the two with a face. "Okay, I don't know what you two are talking about but I heard the words 'virgin' and 'deflowered' and I'm gonna have to ask you to stop!"

Dom looked at him. "Just because you're asexual, doesn't mean everyone else is."

Bill spoke. "Well, they weren't even talking about being sexual."

Louis smiled. "Just music. I need to get into more music."

"Eww, don't talk about music like that!" Kai turned over to Legosi, who was quietly listening to everything. "Look, you guys are making Legosi uncomfortable!"

The canine shook his head at the sound of his name. "Uh, what? No? It's fine."

The buck looked back to the sheep. "What do you think of jazz music?"

"Oh! Jazz is great! It's the foundation of sooo many different genres and really paved the way! Its freeform nature just lead into the creation of music as we know it!"

Louis smiled. "Really? My favorite band is Golden Sunset. Ever heard of them?"

"Oh, I haven't! Guess we'll exchange fave bands."

"Now that's a good band for listening to while cuddling."

Legosi cocked his head. "Oh, is that the band you had on that one time?"

"It is. You even said you were loving the mood it created."

"I can't imagine Legosi liking any music, honestly." Pina faced the wolf, silently asking to prove him wrong.

"Oh, well there's some solo artists I like. I made up a playlist of a lot of different songs but I don't actually know the names of them off the top of my head..." The dog folded his ears back in embarrassment.

Louis smiled. "Don't be embarrassed. Some animals are like that."

"You guys should really hear the nerdy shit Kai listens to," Dom laughed. "He's such a dork."

"Hey, video game music is still music," the small carnivore huffed.

"I haven't really heard any metal and Pina seems excited to show me," Louis said to everyone.

"Damn right I am! Although, just saying 'metal' kinda dilutes it, considering just how many subgenres fall under that," the skinny herbivore scowled.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Nerd."

Louis' eyes flitted to the mongoose. "Pina doesn't only listen to video game music."

Legosi looked over from that conversation back to Bill. "So, uh, how's Cherryton been? I mean, if you want to talk about it. I bet it sucks."

The cat rubbed a hand across his face. "Oh, it's hell, man. I can't stand being apart from Pina so often. And the energy there is so...bleh!"

"It sucks being around other carnivores constantly, right?"

"Man, it really does. They have...really strong energy."

Legosi smiled. "Right? It's like they live life harder than us, sometimes!"

Bill sighed, huffing. "It's like we need herbivores or something..."

"It's why coexistence is so important. Things will only get worse with segregation. Animals won't understand each other anymore and the rift will deepen. It will be easier for predation to occur too if carnivores see herbivores as something so different..."

"Exactly. Having a line between us...It hurts more than helps." Bill smiled at Pina.

Louis sighed. "Yeah, I'm kind of crazy about carnivores so being without them would kill me."

"How ironic," Pina commented.

The deer raised a brow. "Ironic?"

"Most herbivores think the presence of carnivores will kill them."

"More like fill them...with happiness!"

Pina and Kai squinted at Louis while Legosi laughed. "Yeah, you do fill me with happiness!"

Bill cleared his throat. "Slow down, lovebirds. This is an SFW environment."

Louis blinked. "What?"

"Stands for 'safe for work'," Kai explained. "Like, if you'd get fired for looking at a picture while at work it's 'not safe for work'."

"Why would you get fired for looking at a picture?"

"If it's porn at work you'd get axed!"

"Why would I be looking at porn at work?" He turned his head. "Do you do that, Legosi?"

"No!"

Kai laughed. "That's why you'd get fired over it! Nobody in their right mind would do that!"

"Oh. Not safe for work. Because you wouldn't look at it at work."

"Exactly."

Louis nodded. "Nothing without our carnivores."

Kai turned to Dom. "You gonna weigh in?"

Dom raised a brow. "Weigh in?"

"Appreciate your carnivore! C'moooon!"

"But he's tiny! Not much to appreciate."

"What? Really?" Kai's face softened and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly.

Dom, realizing he went too far with that one, reeled back. "Except the way he smiles and his pretty eyes...And his dumb dorky voice I can't get out of my head."

Placated, Kai leaned into his bird again.

Louis groaned. "It's hard to believe herbivores are terrible most of the time."

"It's the culture we grow up in," Pina sighed, taking a sip of his tea. "They only listen to what the herbivore 'experts' say and it gets passed on to their kids."

"Well...Not all herbivores are assholes." He gave a little smile.

Pina put his tea back on the table and stared at the antlerless deer's face. He felt his chest flutter. Fuck.

Bill put his arm around him and rustled him. "Yeah! Dom is a really great herbivore, huh?"

"I'll drink to that!' Kai raised his soda up in the center of the table.

Everyone raised their cups. "To carniherbi!"

Louis took a sip of his soda after that. "To be clear, you're not an asshole either, Pina."

Dom chuckled. "Most of the time."

"I take great pride in my asshole abilities, thank you very much." Everyone at the table grew silent.

The tiger laughed at that. "Oh my god, can this one top. One of the best sexual experiences I've ever had."

Louis raised a brow. "What was that like?"

Bill smiled. "Loud, for one."

Kai took refuge with Dom as the discussion continued.

"Hey it was my first time fucking a dude like that. It was amazing," Pina stated, well, sheepishly.

"We're ahead of you there, huh, Legosi? Day we moved in."

Legosi fidgeted and nodded. "Ah, yeah, but we can just leave it at that."

The deer felt his stomach grumble. "Oogh...I'm so hungry."

"The sides should be coming out soon," Pina predicted. "Legosi, use your sniffer to see if you can smell them."

Legosi did so, standing up slightly with his nose wiggling in the air. "Too many smells to be able to tell."

"Then why did you even try, dude?" Bill asked.

"I can focus on different smells sometimes! I felt I should try."

Dom huffed. "Wish I had a nose like that."

"Then you'd have to deal with Kai's smell, more," Pina joked.

The bird rolled his eyes. "Lay off my boyfriend. He actually has very good hygiene, mind you."

"We all do," Legosi observed nonchalantly. "I can smell it after all."

"Well, good for us! Still would like private showers, though..." Louis mumbled.

"Eh? You don't have your own shower at your place?" Kai sipped at his soda.

"Or bathroom," the canine sighed.

"Yeah...If you wanna shower, you basically have to do it in public," Louis explained.

"Sounds hot," Bill exhaled.

Dom raised a brow. "Yeah, I don't think so."

Legosi blushed, remembering the shower they had taken after the roof party.

After a bit, all of the food came out, filling up the table. Louis inhaled. "Wow...smells so good. I bet Legosi is in heaven right now."

Said wolf was already popping fried pickles in his mouth and serving himself some soup.

"Weird that it all came out at once. Usually the sides come out first then you get the main meal later," Kai observed. He shrugged and took the portion of rice pilaf he wanted while Pina did the same.

Bill looked at their soup, lips curled to the side. He grabbed an empty bowl and the serving spoon. "It looks good, but I dunno if it's enough, Legosi."

"We can get dessert then." The dog tipped the newly filled bread bowl into his mouth, recoiling a bit from the heat.

The tiger served himself, sipping gently with his spoon. "Well...it fills my throat with warmness and...I'm never saying that again."

It was Louis who laughed at this.

"I'mma fill your throat with warmness later, Billy~" Pina cooed.

"YEAH! That was implied already without you saying it, thank you!" Kai dug into his meal and his attitude did a complete 180. "Oh shit, this is really good."

The feline reddened and he just kept eating.

The deer laughed. "Maybe Legosi and I will do the same. We don't want him acting up, though."

Legosi put his food down and tipped an ear at Louis. "Huh?"

"Oh, uh...Nothing. Just don't want to get you excited at the table."

Dom looked at Kai. "Let's talk about something else. How's everyone's food?"

Bill let out a small moan. "It's...really good, actually. Nicely done, Legosi."

Legosi's tail wagged behind him. "Thanks, Bill!"

"Ish good," Kai managed between bites.

"Aren't you glad you partnered with me?" Pina fluttered his eyelashes, but Kai didn't answer.

Louis looked at their meal. "Mm...that looks good. Maybe I regret not sharing after all."

The taller herbivore slid the plate over. "Here, have some."

The buck wasted no time digging in. "Mm. Oh yeah, super good."

The group fell into a temporary silence as they focused on enjoying their food, which was of high quality all around.

After a while, Louis looked up. "So, Dom. What are you up to these days anyway?"

The bird swallowed a bit and sighed. "Well, as you know, I graduated, which means I don't even go to Cherryton anymore with Kai. In between that and fashion design school, I got to see my mom and her wife and...It was just really nice."

The deer smiled. "That is nice. How about you and Pina, Bill? Been good since we last talked?"

The tiger frowned. "You kind of already asked that, but I still hate being separated from Pina...Which is why...We're pulling a Louigosi and dropping out."

The buck blinked. "You mean Lougosi. Dropping out? But you don't have a place to stay!"

Pina looked over at Bill annoyed. "And we don't really have a way of dropping out because we won't be able to get our parents' consent. We're trying to think of a way to go about it, but for the time being, we're still at Cherryton."

Kai groaned. "And there would go one third of my club! Or at least regular members..."

Louis sighed. "Ah...That makes sense. Well, I hope you figure it out." He looked at Pina. "So...you said you wanted to get lunch or dinner sometime? Breakfast is too early."

"Oh, yeah we should. Go to a yogurt shop or something. I'll let you know when I'm free."

"Ah...I guess...Me, too. I'm not doing anything on Sunday, if you wanted to share music and hang."

"Ah, yeah because I'll have work," Legosi chimed in.

"So it's the perfect time for herbivore time," Louis nodded.

"I guess that'd be at you guys' place then." Pina reached over and grabbed some fries.

"Yep. If that's okay with you. Unless public bathrooms scare you." This was a joke.

"Hey, I'm game as long as Bill can go that long without me."

The tiger sighed. "I can...tag along if you want."

Louis gave him a look. "Uh...I think we're fine."

"Maybe you could come with me to work?" Legosi suggested to Bill, immediately followed up with, "Uh, just kidding."

"That would be NSFW," Louis said.

Bill furrowed his brows.

"Uh...Not safe for work?"

"How?"

"What? It doesn't make sense?"

Legosi chuckled as he watched the two.

"We're not doing anything pornographic! But yeah, no, going to Legosi's work sounds boring. I'll just find something to do in the dorm. Make sure you get some vids, Pina."

Now Louis furrowed his brows. "I'll think of some ideas so we get you something creative...I guess."

Legosi blinked and cocked his head. Kai and Dom were once again checked out of the conversation.

The deer cleared his throat, smiling at the sheep. "Ooh, I'm excited. New music, good food, good company."

"It's a date then!" Pina agreed.

The married cervid looked at his husband. "Our days are getting even fuller than we thought."

"Yeah...before..." Legosi swallowed and turned back to his food.

"Before what?" Bill asked.

Louis sighed. "Before Legosi starts working more and I get a job! That's all." He smiled, but both he and his mate felt dread in their hearts. Oh well, better enjoy the night.