Work Text:
June 2011
*Bzzrt*
My phone chimes on the kitchen counter and I look up from the meal I'm cooking on the stove to grab it.
Leo: runnin l8t srry babe
I let out a small sigh while reading the text. “ Late “ is a bit of an understatement even by Leo standards, He was supposed to be here an hour ago. I grumble to myself a tiny bit more before beginning to type.
Chase: Alright, just remember this is our night and you were supposed to be here an hour ago. You don’t wanna keep me waiting right? ;)
Leo: Srry again. Passed lake now, see u soon luv u
Satisfied with his answer, I'm putting my phone down and going right back to cooking. Leo had asked beforehand if he should pick up something from the dinner but I had told him not too. We’d been planning to hang out together since finding out my parents wouldn’t be in for the weekend. Two days ago I went to this special market in Payton and brought these El Salvadoran tortillas. I have no clue if there’s a difference because I’ve been saving them to use for tonight. I stir around the ground beef and vegetable mixture on the stove to stop it from burning. After about 3 minutes and when I'm pretty sure it's finished I turn off the stove and slide the pan on another burner.
* Knock * * Knock * * Knock *
Three recognizable bangs sound out from the front door. And I can’t stop the grin that’s forming on my face as I'm strutting over. The door swings open and I'm gazing up at the red wolf before me. His face is also plastered with a goofy grin, before he can even let out so much as a hello, I close the distance between us and quickly wrap him up in a hug. Struggling a bit as my arms can’t completely wrap around his torso. Leo’s tense in my grasp for a moment, clearly having not expected that to be my first reaction to him. But thankfully he snaps back to the reality of the situation soon enough, his arms quickly wrap around my torso. He has to lean down slightly in order to even hug me properly.
“ Hey chula.”
He coos into my ear softly as he holds me. If we weren’t outside in a place like Echo I’d like to stay like this for a while. Unfortunately this isn’t Payton so I quickly tug on his arm pulling inside shutting the door behind me.
Leo sniffs the air as we head over to the kitchen counter.
“ What did you make? It smells good.” He still speaks softly. As if his voice may break something if it were too loud.
“ I uh…Made Tortillas.. Or the filling for them at least.” I'm not quite sure why I'm struggling to put the words together. I’ve never been good while on the spot.
His ears perk up and his grin somehow manages to get even larger. Seeing him so happy is worth the world. I think about how much he means to me and how he makes it worth waking up in the morning. A fuzzy feeling invades my chest and I know my face is burning underneath the fur on my cheeks. I snap back to reality and hope I haven’t been gawking at him like an idiot for too long.
“ You should see for yourself.” I'm adding while turning quickly.
My paw pads make a small peeling sound as I step on and off the kitchen tile until reaching the fridge. I'm pausing, Struggling to take out some sour cream and salsa. After fumbling for a few moments, I finally got a grip on both of them and quickly set them down on the counter. I dash over to the cupboard grabbing two plates and handing one to him.
*****
My nose isn’t nearly as powerful as Leo’s but he’s right. The food smells really really good. I look up at Leo as he's mid bite of his tortilla. There's a bit of ground beef on the corner of his muzzle and it makes him look really silly. We make idle conversation for a few minutes talking about what I'm going to do over the summer break and how Alvarez Auto is doing. Eventually the topic that is weighing heavy on Leo's mind comes up
" Uhhh.. Do you- Uhm.. Know what you want to do after you graduate?" Picking up the worried inflection in his heavy baritone voice as he stutters through the words makes my brow furrow.
I'm starting to think it through for a moment. I'm really just wanting to leave Echo. This place was never meant for me… Or anyone for that matter, I just want to leave. And frankly? I’ve got no qualms with how.
" I'm not really sure.. I want to move out of here, Might go to Pueblo like Jenna suggests."
I catch the grimace on Leo's face despite his best attempt to stifle it. So I keep talking before he can say anything.
" I mean-...I'm not completely sold on the idea either but it's something to go off of right? And even if I did go I'd never leave you behind. Carl has that online girlfriend of his from Europa right? Long distance relationships are all the rage right now, no? We’d make something work, We always have before. If going to Pueblo doesn’t pan out, which it probably won't, I'd love to stay with you in Payton of course.”
Leo lets out a heavy sigh and I can feel my face drop slightly.
" I- ok. But I just want plenty of heads up so I can prepare no matter what the case is. I can’t bear the thought of losing you too..." His voice is meek as he gazes down at the small anchor bracelet on his wrist. More instinctively than anything my hand starts fiddling with mine too.
" Of course Leo. But I’ve still got plenty of time to make a choice. Can we just drop this please? We can have this conversation some other time when we are more prepared. For now I just wanna spend time with you." I try not to whine out the words. This already feels hard to talk about and just the thought of having to make such a definite decision for once in my life is making my stomach lurch.
Leo looks like he wants to say more to me but he instead shakes his head gazing towards the floor instead.
" Okay otter."
*****
Time passes for a while as we hang on around the house. We play some games on the console in my living room before eventually just settling to watch some Tv. We watch for probably five minutes before we start cuddling and making out on the couch. I try my best to rest on Leo not wanting my oily fur to ruin the sofa. God knows dad would kill me if he did. It reminds me of when I was little and we had these bed sheets type protectors we put over it to stop it from getting ruined. They hardly worked and one time my dad got so pissed off cleaning out the stains he took a whole tarp out from our garage and draped it over the whole thing. It lasted two days before mom got sick of our living room looking like a prepped murder scene and forced him to put it back. I'm chuckling as I think back on those times. A part of me wonders now if in the future I’ll be chuckling thinking about all the time me and Leo spend together now. The fuzzy part of me honestly hopes so. I do have an idea on how to make this night a bit more memorable. I’m pushing myself off Leo despite his protests and making my way to my room.
Scanning my closet I spot it, grabbing them hastily. Slipping my shorts off, and quickly putting it on. While I'm struggling with the waist I hear my phone buzz in my shorts pocket. I fumble around for it, my paw pads struggling to find perch for a moment. Finally after an embarrassingly long time it slides out and I'm gazing over my messages.
Jenna: Hey Chase, I hope you are having a good summer break. I'm just wondering if you’ve given what I told you about doing journalism at Pueblo another thought?
I wince slightly at the memory of the conversation with Leo that only occurred an hour and a half ago now. Quickly typing my reply.
Chase: I did… But I'm still not really sure to be honest. I'm not completely sold on the idea. I'm also worried about Leo. I really don’t wanna leave him behind here. We keep each other sane after all.
It's probably two minutes of dots coming from Jenna’s side of the screen. They disappear a couple times before quickly reappearing. She seems to delete her message a few times before typing it.
Jenna: I understand your concerns, Chase. But you shouldn’t let him limit your choices. They start taking applications in December. Should get the results back in January. Even if you aren’t completely sure you should still try to give yourself as many options as you can. And If they don’t accept you ( Though I'm sure they will) well you can stay with Leo. But it should be non negotiable with him if you do stay that you both leave Echo. Why? Has Leo been guilt tripping you about it?
Now that Jenna types it out like that. I can see where she’s coming from and honestly? She might be right. I'm not sure what she means about guilt tripping though. Me and Leo are both worried about this after all. My paws type quickly now
Chase: Yeah no you’re right. I’ll definitely send an application and go from there. And no, Leo hasn’t been getting on my case about it. I can tell he’s worried though.
Jenna: Sounds good. If Leo does start bothering you or about it or anything just let me know. I'm here for you always :)
Chase: Ofc thanks, I need to go now. Have a nice night and let me know how your final exams went.
I sigh as I toss my phone towards my bed. Instead it misses completely, hitting the carpeted floor with a *thump*. I wince slightly and rush over to it. I look down at the phone screen. It looks alright, There’s a small hairline crack on the top that I have no clue is new or was always there. I'm cursing myself internally as I turn to the doorway only to be met with the hulking frame of Leo.
“ Is…Everything alright Chase?” I look up at him and quickly nod.
“ I just dropped my phone. Sorry.” My voice sounds meek as I gaze up at him.
“ You were gone a few minutes and then I just hear a bang. Can’t blame me for worrying, Eh Chula?” He pauses suddenly. Studying me up and down for a moment as if I'm from another planet. “Why are you in swim trunks?”
I look down at myself, wincing knowing the surprise is ruined. I used to swim around all of the others growing up a lot but after what happened in lake Emma…I only ever swim by myself now. Not that the others mind. we collectively haven’t even been within 300 feet of the lake in probably seven years now.
“ I was going to uh.. Go swimming… I wanted you to join me…” The words drag out in the air, the silence is incredibly awkward.
“ Oh? Okay.” Leo shakes his head quickly and steps out the doorway letting me pass behind him.
Leading the way and walking out the doors and towards our backyard. I'm feeling incredibly embarrassed somehow with Leo’s eyes on my back as we walk. I’ve been seen by him in far worse ways but this still is making me so flustered. I know the insides of my ears are neon red by the time we make it outside to my family’s inground pool. Maybe it's just because it's such an intimate thing for me? I haven’t had an audience who wasn’t someone of my species for about half a decade now.
Once we reach the pool the pressure is too much and I just dive straight in. I splash Leo a little and I can see the wry smirk on his face as I grin up at him from the water. He just pulls up a chair from our deck and just watches me swim. Doing laps around the pool over and over. The sun has long set and the desert’s temperature is made far more tolerable with the moon high in the sky. The only thing I’ve ever liked about Echo besides my friends is the way the sky looks. Past the moon I can see every single star shining up there. They all look so pretty and my eyes become slightly misty while I’m gazing up at them. It's such a disposition that such beauty could ever exist in such a desolate place like this. I'm just doing laps in the water over and over. Diving under and resurfacing in a calm consistent pattern. I'm at peace, I'm safe here with Leo, and I'm trying to hold onto the small feeling of sanctuary as the cold water glides past my fur. It's like everything in my life. All the anxiety I'm feeling, the fear of leaving and the excitement it brings along with it didn't follow me into the water. And I'm letting out a sigh I wasn’t even aware I was holding. It feels like…Something is being tempered and released, Like a car gradually slowing down. Not quite stopping but reaching a calmer steady pace. My heart rate is going a bit faster despite how mellow my thoughts are and I feel as though…Something big happened but I'm not sure what it is. I shoot a glance up at Leo to find he’s just looking at the moon that hangs over us. Did he feel that too? I’m only pondering that question for a few moments. I quickly return to my laps. My thoughts going on autopilot as my body just enjoys the water.
A loud splash rouses me from my brooding. Sparing a glance over to see Leo has climbed into the water. A goofy smile plastered on his face as he presumably starts basking in the cooler feeling of the water. Diving under the water, I close the gap between us quickly, popping back up wrapping my arms around his torso, nearly latching onto him.
“ Eh!” He yelps out as I coil on him.
After a second he calms down. I untether myself from him and we begin to swim in tandem. I'm having to slow slightly as Leo isn’t nearly as graceful in the water as me. This continues for a few more minutes when Leo stops and just stands in the shallower end of the pool. I break from the lap and once again close the distance between him. He wraps me up in his embrace and our muzzles meet. Neither of us pull back. Just letting my tongue lull in his mouth. Unlike most of our make-out sessions where we’d wrestle our tongues together in some misguided battle for dominance this time he keeps his stationary. Only moving as it lulls in my mouth. I can see our reflections in the moonlight reflected off the water along with the stars above. After a long time we finally pull back from each other muzzle. I'm gazing up at him now, a small grin spreading across my face. Just wanting to giggle and jump up and down like a lovestruck teenage girl in the shitty movies we all loved watching growing up, I gently tug him out of the water. Leaving his sopping wet self as I rush inside to grab him a few towels. I watch as he struggles to towel dry himself while I only have to shake a few times and I'm dry. Being an oily webbed freak has its benefits I suppose. Once he’s finally dry we walk back inside. And are triple checking that all the doors are locked before walking into my room.
We don’t do anything however. Just being with him and in his presence is enough for me. At least for tonight anyways. Laying flat on his stomach and being cradled by arms that are larger than my head makes me feel so calm. I'm already being rocked to sleep. Before lulling off to sleep however I make sure to take his paw in my own. It's always been a part of my instincts to.. Fall asleep holding something. It used to be a stuffed toy, Then it was a pillow, and now it's my boyfriend… I’ve really lucked out with Leo haven't I? It's almost picturesque, do we count as high school sweethearts? I cut these questions off by plopping my head on his chest and curling up into him so my face is resting against his chest while still keeping grasp of his paw. I spare a glance out the window to stare up at the moon and stars beyond it. Feeling content and comforted for the first time in a long long time while drifting off to sleep at peace in his embrace.