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“What a day..." Wise sighed and headbutted against the counter of check out.
Looking at his phone he reread the messages he sent to Lycaon. A week's worth of messages were sent but never responded to.
"Hey, I know you left me in a hurry but I'm curious if you are open to grabbing a bite."
"You might have been busy, but what about hanging out?"
“I’m here if you need to talk.”
“Hey, can I call you?”
“Hey, everything okay?”
“You’re starting to worry me.”
"Please text or call me when you see this.”
And it gets left on read, no reply again.
All of them were seen but not responded, not even given a reaction. This lack of response is what left Wise in such a downer mood.
'Maybe I should not have said anything to him.' Wise thought to himself before his eyes not even flicked to his sister, Belle, walking with a box in hand. Behind her is Bangboo 18, who was also carrying a box. Both were filled with movies. Closing the door behind 18, Belle let out a sigh of relief.
"Man, what a lucky find on that garage sale. So many movies that we don't have in stock, it’s perfect for us." She said with a smile as she placed the box on the counter and noticed Wise staring at his phone.
"Nothing from Lycaon?" Belle asked softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. He shook his head. "Not a thing. Miss Rina hasn't heard from him either."
"Well, before we do your party, could you do something for me?" Belle asked as try to keep his mind off of Lycaon.
Letting out a sigh but he nodded: "Sure thing sis." He said with a defeated smile, straightening his coat. "What do you need?"
With her face lighting up like the sun, she pulled a small list from her coat pocket. "First, I need you to pick up new screws from the convenient dollar store. Then, I need something picked up from the bakery on 10th Street, called Sweets for a Sweet. They have a package that needs to be delivered. Which leads to, finally, a box that has to be delivered to central Eridu Park."
Without saying a word, he took the note and walked out the door.
“Wait!” Belle called out. He stopped before closing the door. Belled ran upstairs in a blur. A few moments later, Belle came running down with a suit all ready for him to wear. “After you get the screws, could you put this on before getting the package?” Belle asked, handing it to him.
Taking the hanger and looking it over. It was a gray-colored Joe Joseph Abboud Slim Fit Suit, and looked brand new, right out of the store. “How did you get this?” Wise asked, with a curious look on his face.
“Oh, I saved some money after each commission we do. It took a while but I know it is gonna be worth it!.” She said with a smile.
Letting a small sigh but with a small smile on his lips. “Alright sis, but please let me know next, we are struggling with money currently.” He told her before stepping out and heading to the convenience store.
Unlikely for him though the store was in a bit of rush hour so all the staff was busy. Luckily the department area of the store was pretty empty. The screws were easy to find but there was a brief pause for Wise just thought of it.
‘She never told me what kind of screws we needed.’ Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone and sent a text message.
“Hey, you did not tell me what kind of screws you needed!”
“Internal Hex. 16 of them.”
A quick look around he was able to find the kind he was sent for but they only came in packs of 4 and each pack cost 10,000 DENNIES EACH!
Throwing his head back he let out a groan. “Belle, you gonna owe me for this!” He muttered to himself as he grabbed 4 packs of them and headed to the checkout. Unfortunately, he had to wait in line.
As he waited, his ears picked up laughter, giving a glance to the side. In another line was another human around his age, laughing as he was holding a bouquet of followers in his hands and standing before him as a male fox Thiren. He looked as if he was one to have given them to the human.
“Happy anniversary!” The fox as before brings the human in close for a hug and kiss. The human wrapped his arms around the fox and kissed him back.
Wise could only stare as he could not help but feel envious of those two. Shaking his head as he looked back forward, doing his best to ignore the happy couple.
The line went relatively quickly for him and after paying an absurd amount for the screws. He headed back to the video store to drop off the screws and change into the suit. Stepping inside he noticed that it was very quiet.
“Belle? Are you here?” He called out but no response from anywhere in the building. Not even 18 was around.
‘Odd, she did not send me a text on where she went.’ Wise thought to himself as he locked the front door and dropped the screws on the counter.
He walked into his bedroom and began to change into the suit. Started taking his clothes off but stopped when his hands rested on his shoulder. Feeling the marks that were left by Lycaon…the night before he left.
“Lycaon…” He muttered before continuing to change. It took Wise nearly 20 minutes to get the suit all tidy up and look presentable. “Still don't know why I'm wearing this. It's just gonna be us, Nicole, and the others.” He said aloud to himself, feeling he might be overdressed for such a simple thing. But Belle did pay for this.
After going through the final touches, Wise stepped out into the parking lot and found their business car was still there. ‘Nicole must have picked her up.’
Starting up the car, Wise had to look up the address for the bakery and put in his GPS. The drive was thankfully quick, there was little to no traffic on the road, and an open parking spot right in front of the baker. Looking up from the windshield, Wise took in the sign. The sign was of Bear Thiren holding a cake that looked like a bee hive with only a slice missing showing that it was indeed a cake.
“Sweets for a Sweet eh?”
Stepping out of the car and headed inside, before even walking in, his nose was assaulted with the sweet smell of bread and cakes.
‘It smells amazing.’ Wise thought to himself as he stepped up to the front door. The door is darkened glass so hard to see inside but faintly can see aisles and what he assumes to be loaves of bread. Opening the door the smells before were even stronger.
His eyes widen as he sees bangboos, bear thirens, and humans running around in baker outfits, carrying newly cooked cakes, cookies, loaves of bread, and other bakery goods. He could not help but stare at the works, hearing calling out on orders.
"Excuse me, but are you here for a pickup?" A voice called out, snapping Wise out of stupor. He looked around but couldn't see who spoke to him. "What?"
“Down here!”
Wise looked down to see Bangboo before him. It wore a baker's suit but what colors itself had were like cotton candy pink and blue.
“Oh yes, I am here to pick up a package?” Wise said as he pulled out the note and offered to bangboo. It read the note before running off to the main counter and calling out.
“Grandma Nita! The special cake pick-up is here!” It called out as it ran out of sight. Loud sounds can be heard from the back as a pair of cafe doors on the side open up and stepping out is an old female bear Thiren. Her clothes indicated she was the head baker and had glasses that covered her eyes. She turned to look at Wise and gave the friendliest smile he might ever have seen from a bear. She screams grandma vibes
“Oh hello dear, I'm sorry but your cake is currently still being worked on. It should be done in a few minutes” She said sadly before pulling out a tray of cookies. “Here have some complementary cookies as you wait.” She offered them up with a smile.
Very hesitantly Wise grabbed a couple and walked to the side to free up the counter in case someone came in. The Thiren gave a friendly wave as she left to continue working in the bakery, leaving Wise to think to himself as he waited.
As he munched one Wise began to think back to the last time he spoke to Lycaon…the night he mentioned his birthday.
—
A week ago from today.
Wise and Lycaon just got done with their seventh date. They just had gotten at going to a movie. An old rerun of Lust for Life.
“Wow, I've never seen such an old movie before! Where did you find out about it?”
“During my early years of training for Victorian housekeeping, sometimes our teachers if were not up for the task, let us watch old movies. One of them is which seen. I figured it would be appropriate to share a movie of my youth.” Lycaon said with a smile as they walked down the street, heading back to Random Play.
“Well I am glad I saw it, now I got to find a copy of it.” Wise told Lycaon as he hooked his arm around Lycaon’s, giving him a little push to the side playfully. Lycaon only chuckled as his tail wagged and he pushed back. Almost knocking themself over. Both let out cheerful laughs as Wise rounded in front of Lycaon, with careful steps, the teen made sure his feet wouldn't get stepped on by his arms wrapped around Lycaon's neck.
“So my birthday is coming up in a week and I wanted to invite you.” Wise said as smiled, thinking of how it would be, not seeing Lycaon's face change.
“We were also thinking of inviting the rest of the VHS, Belobog team. Maybe a few others.” Wise went on but he then caught the look of the wolf Thiren's face.
“Lycaon…you okay?” He asked, stepping off of the wolf's feet. The one red eye snapped out and looked at his human partner. “Yes, I was just in thought. Master Wise…think you could walk the rest of the way home? I have some important affairs I must attend to.” The wolf said as he brought Wise’s arms off of him and held one of Wise’s hands.
The sudden need to leave left Wise confused but somewhat understood. “Oh…of course. You have clients to attend to.” He said and smiled softly as Lycaon kissed his hand before letting go and walking off in the opposite direction that Wise heading was home.
And that was the last time he saw or heard of Lycaon.
—
Wise finished off the last cookie, he was so into his thoughts he could not even think of how they tasted. The sounds of feet walking up to him made him look up to see the Bangboo from before walking up to Wise. in its hands was a metal container used to keep this cool, it was like a mini ice box. On it was a note.
“Dont open till 9 PM”
Looking at the clock on the wall and sees that it is 6:49.
‘Won't be for a while longer.’ Wise said as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet but the Bangboo stopped him.
“No need, the cake is already paid for!” Bangboo said with a happy expression on its screen. That perked Wise curiosity. “Oh? Who paid for it?”
The Bangboo tilted its head as he began to think, its eyes swirled around like buffering icons. “Think a man by the name of Jacob, he paid for the best service and even tip twice the worth of the cake.”
Wise is now very curious about who this person is and why they paid such money for this cake. He gently picked up the cake and thanked him before heading to the car.
Carefully place the box on the passenger side before driving off on the main street. The park that he needs to go to is nearly a twenty-minute drive and even longer for he is now caught up in a small pile-up.
As he waited for the traffic to slowly move, he looked at his phone. Mainly look at pictures he had taken. Some were work-related, others with Nicole and her team fooling around. But the next pic stops in his tracks as he sees a picture of him and Lycaon together in bed.
This one he did not take but his sister did. She had walked in on them just as the sun was peaking through the horizon.
‘Lycaon stayed the night due to the storm shutting down the metros.’ Wise thought to himself as he looked at his shirtless top, with Lycaon had wrapped his arms around his body, The claws had somehow left marks on his shoulder, the same ones that not yet gone away.
Both himself and Lycaon were deep in sleep in the pic, he did not wake up to Belle, and neither did Lycaon. Who is always alert and ready. Both woke up after Belle's giggles finally stirred them.
He let out a chuckle as he remembered the embarrassed shout before burning himself in Lycaon's chest. Lycaon himself rose to look at Belle and said something of greetings. He could not remember what he said but something about breakfast.
Then both siblings were treated to breakfast made by the wolf. He also remembered that Lycaon wore an apron. Wise watched as Lycaon made them a 3-course breakfast on what food they had.
HONK!
Snapping his head as he looked around to see traffic was mostly cleared up. ‘Shit!’ Shifting drive, Wise moved forward and made towards the park.
‘He made the best breakfast ever.’ Thought to himself as he recalled the pleased smile on the wolf's thiren face.
—
Getting to the park took longer than he thought for a small wreck stopped him for a second. A group of bangboos held up traffic for a group of kids crossing the road. “Could that have gone any more wrong?” Wise said to himself as he reached the parking lot. After parking next to the park gate. A white note was placed on the stone part of the gate and on it, said for cake delivery.
“Hm?” Plucking it and opening it up, it had directions for which part of the park to go to.
“Head to the southeastern corner, next to the pond under the giant willow tree.”
“Okay…” Muttering to himself as he grabbed the cake and walked down the path that should lead to the southeastern corner. As he walked on, the sun had set and the street lambs for the park began to light. Pulling out his phone and see it just four till nine.
“Hope it's not too late.” Wise said to himself as he picked up the pace. Noticed though the lamps around the pond were not turning on. And even with the lights of the building in the distance, the park can get pretty dark.
However, in the distance, he sees a row of candles leading to where he is meant to go.
“Well…this is something.” Wise said he followed them. The pond soon began to come into view and the faint sound of piano can be heard. ‘I must be delivering date cake.’ Wise thought to himself as he walked around, still following the candles. The candles soon led to the largest willow tree in the park, it was at the furthest top of the pond in the park.
The candles passed between the reeds without catching them on fire. Stepping under the branches of the tree, Wise paused to see a picnic set had been laid out and the music was being played by a band of musicians sitting to the side, a little bit away.
“Um. I am just gonna…” Wise said as he placed the cake box down and began to back away.
“Greetings Master Wise.”
The voice stopped Wise in his tracks, his eyes widened before he turned around to sure his ears had not deceived him. “Lycaon?”
Standing from where Wise had walked through stood the wolf Thiren. Instead of his VHC uniform, he dressed up in the form of a tux, not much Wise own suit, but he was black with silver linings. His legs are not the ones he normally wears but looked as if he has normal legs for the tux pants covering them. Lycaon looked to lay out a picnic blanket
“It's great to see you again, I do apologize for the setting. I felt this might feel appropriate since I did not know what you liked so I…gotten…everything…” He stopped to see Wise looking away from him.
“Is…everything okay Master Wise?” The thiren tilted his head as he walked up to Wise, his ears picking up the start of heavy breathing.
“Why?”
The thiren ears folded back. “Pardon?” He stopped just a foot away from Wise. Then Wise turned his head to look at Lycaon. Tears were already forming in the greens.
“I sent you messages, I tried to make sure if things were okay, that you were alright. But you ghosted me! For an entire week!” Wise cried out as he gripped the help of Lycaon's tux. “You made me feel as if you did not care for me, or that you disappeared or worse…you chose to be with someone else.”
The tears rolled down as Wise rested his head on Lycaon's chest, trying into it as he hit the wolf's chest with a clenched fist. Lycaon wrapped his arms around and soothed him by rubbing his back. The band had stopped as they felt not good to play at this time
“My most sincere apologies. I did not intend to make you feel this way. I had intended to give something truly remarkable but I could not allow you to know.” Lycaon said softly as rested his head on Wise's. Wise eased up on crying and looked into the red eye of the wolf.
“Then why didn't anyone else know what you were doing?” Wise asked, trying to find out about his ghosting.
“Well Master Wise, you were the only one who did not know. Everyone who helped to take part in this swore this non-disclosure of the intentions I had planned, which your sister was part of.”
The reveal of this news made Wise think back and made him stunned.
‘She knew of this? Is this why I am in the tux?’ Wise was thinking about all that, but he did not notice Lycaon pulled into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He pulled away, snapping Wise out of his stupor to see Lycaon offer the box to him.
“You see, I had this entire week to plan this out, I had Miss Belle, lady Rina, and a few others to help call in a few favors to help set this up. And from your sister, learn about you like.” He said as he opened the box revealing a ring. A ring made with a gold frame and a sliver streak wrapping around it. On top of it was a crescent moon-shaped emerald.
“With this ring, I would like to properly engage with you in courting you. This is if you wish to.” Lycaon asked, with a hint of hope in his town but he understood that what had happened might been the breaking point for it
Wise stared at the ring box before picking it up, the wolf's thiren tail gave a small wag, and the human looked it over before plucking it from the box and giving it once over.
It was a tense moment before Wise placed the ring on his ring finger on his right hand. “I think I do lycaon…Just don't do that again.” Wise said with a tearful smile.
The wolf smiled as he brought up Wise’s hand that held the ring and kissed it.
“A mistake I would not dare to repeat.” The wolf said as they entangled their fingers together. Lycaon looked at the band and gave them a nod to continue.
“Now if this is too much for you, then please stop me.” Lycaon said with a smile before clearing his throat.
“One perfect moment, Just one humble stone. But, oh, what a stone can do. It means that I have one love forever and one love alone. A now and forever with you!”
Wise could not help but turn red from secondhand embarrassment. Shaking his head in amusement as he joined in the song, singing the other partner's lyrics.
‘Belle must have told him that I loved Pebble and the penguin’ Wise thought as Lycaon began to pull him into a dance around under the tree. They continued to dance and sing. During the peak of the song, Lycaon lifted Wise and brought him close to his face, their nose touching before both leaned in for their first official kiss as a couple. The kiss was short but had meaning before Lycaon brought his forehead to rest on Wise’s.
“Happy birthday Wise.” He said, dropping the title.
“Thank you, Lycaon.” Wise said softly closing his eyes and holding the fur cheeks of the Thiren.