Chapter Text
Legoshi found himself standing outside the drama club storehouse. Club had ended nearly an hour ago but he knew he'd find Dom inside. After Louis laid claim to the office the department heads were supposed to share Dom had been using the storehouse as the base of operations for the production crew, he was well-known to be there at nearly all hours, and Legoshi had something he desperately needed to ask him.
But he was nervous.
He had been telling himself all day he wasn't going to overthink this, he overthinks everything and that's bad for him, but that was doomed to fail and now minutes away from the moment truth the ridiculousness of this was hitting him full force. For months Legoshi had thought that he was in love with a female rabbit, as in love as anyone has ever been, until a couple weeks ago. He'd been driven into a literal lion's den for her, he made himself at least an accessory to murder to save her, but as soon as he was given the chance to actually make the relationship official? With a gorgeous rabbit spread before him, practically begging him to let her make him a man? Legoshi realized that he was never in love with her, he just felt guilty for that night at the fountain.
He also realized he was very, extremely, undeniably gay.
And he intended to do something with that newfound knowledge before he lost the nerve.
He couldn't tell his roommates yet. He had no reason to think they'd be anything but accepting, nor was he afraid of how it would shift the dynamic in their friendship, but he knew it would come with a barrage of questions and a renewed interest in pestering him about his love life, and he just wanted a little more time to figure things out on his own. He could try talking to Haru about it, but after the most awkward coming out in history going to her with boy trouble seemed beyond rude, it was amazing enough they even managed to stay friends. The only gay guy he actually knew at Cherryton was Dom but something felt weird about going to him for help, almost tokenizing. He was always his upperclassman more than his friend, it's not his job to walk every questioning animal through their sexual awakening just because he was out.
...Still, the idea wouldn't leave him, not after a few nights of racing thoughts, recontextualizing how he saw the people in his life, thinking about what he wanted in a mate. He could imagine dating one of his roommates, but it felt a little too much like imagining dating a sibling. Bill was hot conventionally attractive but way too boisterous. Riz was a little on the scary side, and seemed to be dealing with some demons of his own. Maybe it was selfish, and it's not like he doesn't want to bring anything to a relationship, but you can't have a healthy relationship without knowing your limits. Aoba had a mystique about him, and a sensitive side that he didn't think many other people had seen, that beautiful beak, such inspiring dreams for the future, but...
Well the problem with Aoba was the problem with everyone, wasn't it? He was straight. Kibi was maybe his best friend outside his roommates, but he had a crush on a girl in his calculus class. Kai was interested in a hyena girl he'd seen around campus. Mokichi, Sanu, Dolph, even club members he doesn't think he's even spoken to, he just knows they'd all be none to pleased getting hit on by a male. The further down the list he got the more depressing it was because it just drove home that he can't even have what he doesn't want, and he doesn't want to feel like he has to settle for anything.
So, he kept thinking about Dom. They've never talked about his life outside the club and suddenly that felt like a shame. He started feeling bad for thinking before that Dom was a little too prancy, effeminate, extra, because now he could only see it as bravery, existing unapologetically in a world that still hasn't quite come around on people like him. Like them. No matter what had been keeping him up, every night now seemed to end with him drifting off thinking of soft, blue feathers, if the hints of red around his eyes meant there were hints of red anywhere else...
So what if it was an attraction born of convenience? Attractions all have to start somewhere, right? So why shouldn't he shoot his shot, what's the worst that could happen?
Turns out thinking up worst case scenarios was a lot easier outside the storehouse door than it was sequestered in his bunk last night.
Legoshi grabbed the doorknob...
This is a gigantic mistake and he's gonna kick me off the production team.
...And opened the door.
No one had gotten around to properly putting away all the props and stalls and lights from the Meteor Festival leaving the front half of the storehouse somewhat difficult to navigate. Some distant part of his mind started complaining because he knew it was gonna be put on him to clean it all up. Another, less distant part of his mind was focusing on staying quiet as possible, reasoning that if Dom didn't hear him come in he'd have another few precious seconds to panic and back out. A third, very familiar, very loud part of his mind was reminding him that sneaking up on an herbivore was in fact creepy and threatening as hell, just to make sure he didn't accidentally feel good or hopeful about anything. All three thoughts were drowned out by his heart pounding in his ears.
We've never even hung out outside of club, and why would we? And now I think I even have a chance because I got a crush on the first gay male I know and hope he'll do the same? Am I really that entitled or am I just stupid.
Stuck in his head, the day had already been long, but the short walk to Dom's "office" had been even longer. The path snaking between paper mache dinosaurs, dusty clothes racks, half empty buckets of paint, and heavy crates of Rex-knows-what seemed to stretch on forever, but it was still too soon that he reached his destination in the far corner. A few discarded flats propped precariously against stacks of boxes were all that separated him now from the current object of his affections.
Not wanting to give himself any more time to second guess himself, Legoshi took a deep breath, and poked his head around the corner.
The high windows of the storehouse let sunlight shine in like a spotlight down on Dom, motes of dust swirling around him as he was hard at work prepping for the next production. Sitting on a splintered crate, working off a desk of plywood set between two sawhorses, and feathers catching the light and reflecting it like stars in the night sky, iridescent green weaving through the typical blue, he seemed almost ethereal, out of place between the years of paint-stained scrap wood and forgotten half-finished costumes. Legoshi indulged, just a moment, in watching this beautiful specimen fully in his element.
This is a the best decision of my life and it'll be worth getting kicked me off the production team.
"Hey, Dom?"
Dom looks up from his current sketch, expression startled for a moment before settling into a warm smile upon recognizing his underclassman. "Oh, hey Legoshi! What can I do for you?"
Legoshi stepped fully into the office, "Oh I, I wanted to ask you," his hand reaches for the back of his neck, a nervous habit, but his tail begins waving in spite of himself, "Would you want to..." His smile creeps up his face, and eyes pointing down and away in a vain attempt to hide the blush moving up his cheeks, "...Go out sometime?"
"Oh! Legoshi I never would've expected! But I think that depends;" Dom sets down his pencil to prop his head on his hands, eyes narrowing, "Are you actually interested in me? Or are you finally having your little self-discovery moment and I'm just the only gay animal you know of?"
Time froze. If there were any onlookers it would look like for all the world that Legoshi had been shot, and he wasn't feeling much better. Any confidence he thought he had evaporated like a drop of water on the sun. Eyes wide, fur standing on end, cold sweat running down his back, Legoshi was rooted to the spot and unable to do anything but open and close his mouth like a muppet. Even if he had words to say his throat felt like it was threatening to strangle itself. There wasn't a single more raw nerve to be hit and Dom zeroed in on it instantly, Legoshi must have been so transparently insensitive, he even knew how stupid and selfish it was and he went for it anyway. All he wanted to do was run, but he needed to apologize, but he needed to be anywhere but here, because he needed to cry, but he didn't deserve to, but-
"Hey, hey, breathe." Dom was in front of him before he could notice, pulling Legoshi's hands into his. "That was mean of me, I wanted to tease you but I know you're sensitive, and probably going through a lot right now. Close your eyes and just breathe with me Legoshi-kun. In, and out."
He let Dom lead him for a minute or two, until he was calm enough to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was his hands in Dom's and his blush returned, before trailing his gaze up his torso, past the long, slender neck, to his unwavering smile.
Legoshi's emotions had been tick-tocking all day between his stress and euphoria and now finally seemed to settle on both, looking at the peacock's face telling him everything will be alright without affecting his slumped posture and the scolded-puppy look in his eyes.
Dom would, though. He bent his neck and got his head under Legoshi's muzzle, pushing him til he was standing upright, closing the already slight gap between them as he did. Moving one hand to Legoshi's shoulder and the other to his chest, he said, "I'd love to."
The bird's hand snuck under Legoshi's vest to slip something in his breast pocket. He had a brief flashback to the gardening club shed, but the emotions this time, while no less intense, were much less confused. This time he didn't think he'd run if Dom went for his belt.
"Text me later tonight, we can work out the details."
With that Dom broke contact, walking back around his makeshift desk, leaving the phantom of another animal's warmth down the length of Legoshi's body. "Now I'd love to play it all cool and walk away, leave you wanting more, but you did actually catch me in the middle of something."
"...Oh! Oh right ,yeah, I'll," Legoshi startled like he was waking up from a dream, "I'll talk to you later, text, text you later," he took a step forward, turned around, turned back, and offered an overly-formal bow, said "Thank you, Dom-senpai!" and scurried back the way he came.
The trip out of the storehouse was much easier than the trip in and Legoshi was outside before he knew it. Back against the storehouse door, chest heaving, the whap, whap, whapping of his tail against the brick siding could be heard clear across the courtyard. He pulled out the note Dom had left in his pocket, it was just a phone number, one Legoshi already had in his phone, but looking at it left him feeling lighter than he had in years. The zeroes were little hearts.
I have a date!