Deer

Deer / Ari

Summary:

Ari, a Fox, has a crush on the handsome Red Deer, Soren, who has no idea who he is. Ari up until this point has been fine to pine for Soren in secret... but a huge misunderstanding soon turns things ugly between them.

With Predator and Prey living together in society, upheld by a centuries old peace treaty, it's no surprise that sometimes, things can get a little messy.

Archiveofourown: DarklingDarling

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"Ari... again?"

Neo sighed, his thumb and forefinger grasping Ari's chin and examining his bruised face with exacerbation.

"They're Prey, Ari, just a few moronic Wildebeest."

Ari chanced a sad smile, wincing a little when Neo's thumb brushed across his split lip. Of course Neo would think a few Wildebeest were nothing to worry about, he was a Lion, he towered over most Animals.

"You can't let them bully you, Ari. You're a Fox, it's... it's not a good look."

"Why does it matter?"

Ari murmured quietly, gently tugging his chin out of the Lion's grip. Neo crossed his arms and sighed again, the sheer size of his body dwarfing Ari's, almost hiding him entirely from the midday sun. Lions were of course already massive in stature compared to a lot of other Animals, but with Ari's smaller than usual size, the pairing always drew curious eyes.

Neo was his best friend, had been since they were children, and the gentle Lion had always looked after Ari like a brother... but now that they were in college and Neo was in the university on the other side of town, they hardly go to see each other.

Neo couldn't protect him anymore.

"It doesn't look right, Ari, a Predator being pushed around by Prey. If you continue to let them get away with it... well, it just... it wouldn't be good, alright? Just promise me you'll stand up for yourself?"

Ari nodded, drawing in a slow breath as he wound his small hand around his friend's larger one and squeezed.

"You're too innocent, Ari, you don't realise how bad it can get."

Something in Neo's tone had a slight shiver running up Ari's spine. It wasn't the first time Neo had called him that, innocent... but the way he said it felt different this time. 'How bad it can get'... why did those words make him so nervous?

"Thank you for always looking out for me."

Neo squeezed his hand back, gentle, always so gentle.

"Always."

***

Surprisingly, it had been an entire week since the Wildebeests had bothered him, and it was a nice change to be able to walk to and from each class without being pushed around by the larger Animals.

His last lecture had been on Prey History, his favourite class. Of course, he enjoyed it for the interesting course material... but that wasn't exactly why it was his favourite.

Soren. His long-time college crush... also took the class.

Ari spent most of the lecture trying not to stare at the handsome Red Deer, but somehow his eyes were always drawn to the Stag. He was... magnificent, his body large yet graceful, with great big antlers that bloomed from his tawney hair and dark eyes that seemed to see everything.

Sometimes Ari imagined what it would be like to be held in the Deer's arms... how safe it would feel to curl up in Soren's lap and nuzzle into his neck.