Chapter Text
Friday night. Or, in Room 701, Supreme Fight Siblings tournament night. But not for Legosi. He’s choosing to sit this one out, just digging in his closet for his nice clothes, and turning around to watch when the laughing and shouting becomes louder than normal. Everyone except Jack is too absorbed with the game to notice him quietly humming to himself, seemingly in a better-than-usual mood.
Since he was the first to be eliminated, Jack has been absentmindedly scrolling through his Feddit feed since then, occasionally looking up at his roommates. Being a dog, he’s naturally good at recognizing patterns, as well as the emotions of others. Having nothing else to do, the lab decides to satisfy his curiosity about the wolf. “Hey Legosi… whatcha dooooing?”
The sudden question snaps Legosi out of his dreamland back into reality. “Huh?! Wha- I uhh…I’m getting ready to go hang out with Louis.”
“...Where at? I know Louis dresses like that all the time, but you probably don’t need to dress up for him.”
“It’s this place called Silver Rose. He said you need to dress up for it.”
Hearing the name of the restaurant, Jack’s curiosity goes from a simple question, to a full-on inquisition. “Waitwaitwait. The Silver Rose? That’s like, one of the fanciest places in this part of the city! Are you sure you’re just ‘hanging out’?”
Heat rises in Legosi’s cheeks as he defensively stammers out, “Y-Yeah, I’m sure of it. Do you really think Louis would ask me out like that?”
“You never knooooooow… Maybe he likes you back!” Jack is the only one who knows exactly how his best friend feels about Louis, and despite being hard-wired to be a model citizen, is open to the socially radical concept of carnivore/herbivore relationships.
“Please don’t get my hopes up. It would be nice, but we all know how he is. For how rich he is, this is probably just his version of Udon Bebebe.”
“But if it were just a hangout, then he’d just actually take you to Udon Bebebe! Silver Rose is the type of place you take someone on a date to! I spent two weeks’ pay from my café job just to take Shiira there!”
“That sounds nice, Jack, but Louis’s father is a literal billionaire. He eats there all the time. Drop it. ” Legosi normally likes Jack’s bubbly attitude, but he’s now starting to get irritated at him for it.
“Okay, okay, sorry. Just have fun, and by the way, the pasta e fagioli is really good.” Even though Jack still thinks there’s more to this ‘hangout’, he knows he won’t be able to get Legosi to believe it, and he doesn’t want to lose a friend by pushing it.
“...Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll tell you how the hangout goes.” Slipping on a suit jacket, he steps out of the loud dorm room and into a hallway, which is quiet at this time of day.
Louis’s dorm, on the contrary, isn’t nearly as loud or crowded as the other students’. Perks of having good enough grades include getting one’s first choice in both rooms, and who one shares it with. A third-year elk named Kenichi is Louis’s only roommate, and not necessarily because they’re friends; in fact, it’s because they don’t talk to each other most of the time.
Tonight, Kenichi is making an exception. His roommate may be a rich kid who dresses up all the time, but he seems even pickier than normal tonight. “What’s the occasion? Shareholder meeting or something?”
Louis is almost startled by Kenichi asking about his night all of a sudden. Huffing out a breath he was holding, he sits down on his bed while deciding on a pair of shoes, half of which look the same. “No, no, it’s not that. Just trying to make a good impression on someone.”
“Ooooooh, hot date? Tell me about her.”
I’d rather not. “Her, uhhh… name is… uhm... Bela.”
“Is it though? You’re a great actor, Louis, but I’m not buying it now. And weren’t you talking about your girlfriend Azuki a while ago?”
“That’s just a political marriage, like I’m some kind of prince of the Horns Conglomerate or something.”
“Sounds rough.”
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. We normally only say like one full sentence to each other a week.” The deer, having chosen a pair of shoes, moves on to a tie.
“Maybe because you’ve been bottling a bunch of shit up. We all gotta vent once in a while, you know.”
“Yeah, but the problem is that I can’t. Not now at least. I just hope my date with him goes-” Louis slams a hand over his mouth upon realizing which pronoun he let slip to Kenichi, whom he barely knows.
“Oh, ‘him’? Didn’t know you swung that wa-” Even though Louis is almost a foot shorter than the elk, his eyes are still enough to burn a hole in his head, and his grip on Kenichi’s shirt is strong enough to make him stumble a little.
“Don’t. Tell. A. Fucking. Soul. Got it?” Nobody can know about this. I’ll be ruined. Bill and Pina, as happy as they are together, made the same mistake, and they’re now pariahs outside of the drama club. It’s a shame. Society just isn’t ready for this kind of relationship.
“Woah, okay, sorry. I don’t judge; I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you. I’m already gossiped about enough.” At least he doesn’t know Legosi’s a wolf.
“It’s no problem, really. I don’t even know what to gain from saying anything.” Kenichi stands up from his bed, swaps out his anime t-shirt for a nicer polo shirt, and rubs on some cologne that just screams ‘mall kiosk’. “Aaaanyways, I’ve got a date tonight too. I’ll get off your ass now.” With only his phone and keys, he leaves the room.
I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend… With a small shake of his head, he buttons his jacket, takes a deep breath, and begins his short walk to the gate.
Louis: Are you almost here?
Louis really has no right to be upset at the wolf, since he’s the one who is five minutes early. He stares at the ‘Sent’ icon in the corner of the message, just hoping it’ll change to ‘Seen’ rather quickly. All it takes to snap him out of his stupor is a tap on the shoulder from his chauffeur.
“Mr. Kaneshika? Are you okay?”
“Oh? U-Uh, yeah, just a little anxious.” Now looking around himself instead of down at his phone, he spots the lanky wolf he pines for approaching the gate.
Legosi, noticing Louis looking at him, breaks into an awkward half-jog in order to catch up to his friend. “Louis! Sorry I’m late!”
Louis takes a short look at Legosi’s outfit, making sure it’s appropriate for their night out. He’s wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, purple tie… and possibly the gaudiest watch ever. Neon purple, and the hour markers are golden beetles? “Hey, Legosi! You look… nice.” Still, despite the wolf’s questionable choice in jewelry, Louis can’t help but be endeared by him and his unconscious goofiness.
A flash of pink appears on Legosi’s face, but he tries to push it down. “Uh… y-you too, senpai.”
“Don’t call me that. We’re not in school right now.”
“R-Right.”
After the short greetings, the chauffeur speaks up once again. “You’re the Mr. Kagemuko I’ve been told will be accompanying Mr. Kaneshika tonight, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. But please, call me Legosi.” He’s never liked being referred to by his last name; not only because it brings up his family, but also because he’s not used to being addressed so formally.
“I can do that, Legosi.” She motions them to the company limo allotted for the night and opens the door for them. “Let’s begin, gentlemen.”
Having to hunch down slightly to fit through the door, Legosi sits down in one of the faux leather seats. Woah. Really comfy…
Louis follows him in, being much more graceful than his date. The door closes, and a moment later, the car starts to roll forward, quiet as a whisper thanks to the soundproofing in the cabin. “Juke, Edward Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, please.”
Seemingly from everywhere around them, deep piano notes and high violin notes fill the cabin, as the lamps in Cherryton dorm rooms and lights from office buildings float off into the distance behind them, and vibrant lights from the city center come up from the front.
Louis scoots a bit closer to Legosi, and instead of anxious, he’s in a hopeful mood. “Thank you for spending time with me tonight, Legosi.”
“It’s no problem… Your car is really nice! Thanks for having me…” The wolf keeps facing away from the buck, in order to hide his growing blush. Stop it. It’s not like that. Think of it just like, a… um... business meeting or something like that.