The next morning, Louis woke first once again, but instead of leaving Legosi, he just admired him, stroking his cheek and thinking about their future as husbands.
Legosi stirred and yawned in his slumber, seeming to press ever so slightly into Louis' hand.
The deer scratched gently. "Hey."
The wolf breathed out roughly through his nose. "Mmph...I want my...egg sandwich..."
Louis made a crooked face. "What?"
Legosi continued to talk in his sleep. "One million yen...that's too much..."
The buck laughed and just listened.
"No...can't make Louis pay for it. His money is gone...I'll give you...my bug sticker book..."
"Not the bug sticker book!"
Legosi paused, as if he had heard Louis in his dream. "...the bug sticker book...costs five million yen." He continued. "Even though...you can't taste them..."
"Don't do it, Legosi!" He couldn't help but snicker.
"...I love you, Louis..."
"I love you."
"Hmmmm...I'm going to...lick your butt..." His tongue stuck out, landing on the pillow next to him.
"O-oh?"
Legosi licked the pillow a few times. "Mmm, don't worry. You...did it for me...and canines lick each other anyway...not there but..." His tongue returned to the pillow.
Louis laughed and rubbed a hand on his back. "I'm not a canine."
The dog stopped, and suddenly his eyes opened. He looked around frantically for a bit, before his face relaxed as he gazed upon Louis. "Mmmph...morning."
"Morning." He put his nose to his. "Quite a dream you were having, hm?"
Legosi looked around. "Uh...hm? How..."
"You speak~" Louis tugged his ear.
"O-oh. Do I...usually talk in my sleep?"
"Sometimes. You are the cutest animal ever...Didn't know you liked licking butts, though~"
Legosi groaned. "Well, you put the idea in my head. Who would have thought that was even something that both animals would enjoy..."
He rubbed his ears back. "Whoever came up with it."
"What a crazy animal it must have been..."
"Apparently not since it apparently feels so good."
"Well, crazy to think of it. Probably an herbivore, since they weren't afraid of losing themselves to their instincts."
"Maybe it was like a...weird carnivore that liked licking all over their prey..."
"Th-that's kind of scary."
"Some of the craziest animals have invented the best things."
Legosi just nodded, reaching for his phone and checking the time. He yawned. "We should probably get going."
"I'm excited. I love Gosha-san, but our bed is at home."
The wolf pulled the covers off himself as he sat up. "Yeah...and the sooner I'm back to school, the sooner I can go and graduate."
"Sort of."
"Well, that's how I see it." The canine stood, walking over to his suitcase to change into his day clothes.
Louis took more time getting out of bed, slowly getting out of it and getting dressed. "School still ends at the same time, no matter what."
"Yeahh, but I'm more aware of the progress, I guess."
"Haha. I can't wait to be back. I love our home. I just want to get back and get used to being home again."
Legosi smiled. "Yeah...it smells nice there." He finished changing, shoving the rest of his stuff in the suitcase. "I hope our home after that will be as nice."
"Me, too. Let's make sure there isn't anything...unwanted around the room."
"Well, we put those towels in the laundry. Gosha's sense of smell won't pick up on it. And we packed away the lube..."
"Okay, good." He grinned. "This is exactly what I want..."
"What is?"
"This kind of life. Simple and comfortable."
Legosi's ears perked up. "Oh. Yeah. That's...everything I want."
"We sort of have it, now!"
"Well, I want to keep it. I'll protect it with all my strength." The wolf looked out ahead of him with an intense gaze.
Louis grabbed his hand. "I know you will."
All packed up, they made their way out. Gosha was out by the door, getting ready for work.
The herbivore looked to his mate so Legosi could say goodbye first.
Gosha looked up at them from under his hard hat. "Oh, good morning you two! I'm about to leave, so you'll have to fix your own breakfast before you go."
Legosi shook his head. "We'll eat when we get home."
They stood there silently, before Legosi approached, and Gosha closed the distance, wrapping his grandson up in a big hug.
Louis felt quite sad they were leaving the lizard behind. This...also felt like home, sort of.
"It was so good seeing you again, Legosi." Gosha's voice wavered.
"It was good seeing you too, grandpa. I'll...I'll call you. I'll talk to you, okay? I'll be a part of your life again. I'm so sorry..."
The lizard smiled. "It's alright. Do what's most comfortable for you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Gosha pulled away and looked over at Louis, smiling. His eyes looked wet.
"Gosha-san. Don't be sad. We'll be okay."
"Heh, well don't blame an old man for worrying a bit." He sniffed, and he drew closer to Louis, enveloping him in his arms. The hug was tight, and despite Gosha being a reptile, it was soft and warm.
The deer froze. No one, not even Oguma, especially not Oguma, had hugged him in such a fatherly way. It took him a moment, but eventually he slowly wrapped his arms around the dragon, sighing.
"Thank you, Louis..."
"What for?"
"Bringing Legosi out of his shell. And, I'm sure he's done the same for you..."
"He saved me so many times."
"And he'll keep saving you. And you'll keep saving him. That's how relationships are kept." Gosha pulled back, smiling proudly.
Louis smiled at him. "I'll miss you...grandpa."
The dragon continued to smile. "I'll miss you too, Louis. But don't worry, we'll stay in touch."
The deer nodded. "I...look forward to it."
Gosha smiled and tipped his hard hat. "Well, don't want to be late. I'm off! Have a good rest of the day, boys!"
"Bye, Gosha-san!"
The old lizard left, and soon after, the two of them did, as well. Thankfully, on the train ride home, they managed to find seats.
Louis sighed. "..."
Legosi pulled him closer, their arms already intertwined. "Are you okay?'
"I don't want to leave him alone..."
The wolf felt a rush of happiness, as well as sadness. "I know..."
He frowned. "If we had a house, I would let him live with us."
Legosi smiled. "Maybe one day. Reptiles live a long time, you know."
"Thank goodness. He deserves it."
The canine looked up at the ceiling of the train. "I wonder...if maybe I'll live longer than the average wolf..."
"You always bring me back to my least favorite thought."
"...I'm sorry."
"It's just a fact."
Legosi kissed his cheek. "It's not for a long time, yet."
"I know."
BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT!
Legosi jumped, and by extension, also Louis, as his phone went off. He reached into his pocket and showed Louis who was calling him.
The deer raised his brow. "Maybe he's just checking in."
Legosi just nodded, and accepted the call, placing the phone to his left ear so Louis could listen too. "Hello?"
"Legosi-kun..." A familiar tiger voice spoke.
"Yes, Gon-san?"
"Where are you right now?"
Legosi looked at his fiance. "I'm on a train headed back to Cherryton with Louis. We were at my grandpa's."
"Oh, thank goodness..." The deer leaned in to listen, but he couldn't really hear.
Now the canine started to worry. "Wh-why? What's wrong?"
Gon swallowed. "There's been another incident."
Legosi's blood ran cold. He swallowed. "I-i-incident? Wh-what do you mean?"
"Another herbivore has been killed."
Now, Legosi completely froze. All of his herbivore friends flashed in his mind. Was it Dom? Pina?...Haru? "...Wh-wh...who was it?"
"I'm sorry...It was Els. You may know her from the drama club..."
The phone dropped from Legosi's hand and clattered on the floor.
Louis looked down at it, then at his mate. "What!? What!?"
Legosi turned to face him, tears running down his face. "E-Els..."
"Calm down. What happened?"
The wolf swallowed, trying to regain his composure. He picked his phone up, which had hung up when it fell. "Els...she...there was another murder..."
"What does Els have to do with it?" Louis blinked.
Legosi couldn't hold back anymore. With a choking sob, he buried his face into his mate's chest. All the animals around them continued to watch quietly, but kept themselves from saying anything.
Louis held him. "Wait...Is Els..."
The dog choked and whined, nodding into Louis' chest. When Tem had died, he took it. He took all that sadness and shoved it deep down inside him. But now...his emotions were flowing so freely.
Louis just clung to him. "I'm sorry...I..." He looked to the ground. This would put a strain on everything.
Legosi clung tighter. Tem, and now the girl he had fallen in love with. Els had been so nice to Legosi ever since he had delivered the letter Tem meant to give her while he was still alive. She was so kind and harmless. How could anyone want to kill her? How could anyone want to kill Tem? How could anyone kill an herbivore?
The night he had almost eaten Louis flashed in his mind. Truly, it was a sad existence carnivores had.
The deer just stayed quiet. He couldn't form words. This came out of nowhere. When? Where? How?
The rest of the train ride was spent in silence. By the time it ended, Legosi had stopped crying, but his face was stone. Serious.
Legosi's phone started buzzing again. He slipped it out of his pocket and stared at it numbly. Messages were rolling in from their friends, asking if they knew what happened. He put the phone back in his pocket.
Louis swallowed, dryly. He just couldn't speak.
The walk home was silent.