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The two canines are on an evening stroll through the forest.
Lupin, the blue wolf invited his best friend, Belfort a royal spaniel on this special walk. This was the day he decided to confess his feelings for Belfort.
Of course, the dog didn’t expect anything, to him this was just another walk with his dearest friend.
Belfort was a smart dog, but he never experienced true love. The only love he got was from his beloved master Louis XIV, which made Lupin even more nervous.
What if this all goes wrong? What if Belfort didn’t feel the same way? Those questions were in his mind for quite some time now. However, there was no going back now. Today was the day!
As they kept walking they noticed that everything became darker.
“Looks like it’s going to storm.” Belfort said.
The clouds above them were dark and ready to pour any moment now. “We should head back” he continued.
“NO!” shouted Lupin.
The easily scared spaniel jumped at his friends reply. “Why not? We will get wet and the way back will be dangerous.”
“I-it will be fine. We don’t know if it will really rain. There’s a chance this is just a temporary thing.”
The wolf clearly didn’t want to move the date of his confession. After all, he had everything planned.
Lupin continued. “Don’t worry! I will get you back to the palace if it starts raining. I know this forest like the back of my paw. You have nothing to be scared of.” He said confidently.
“If you say so, my dear Lupin. I trust you.”
The words melted the wolf's heart. He could not disappoint his friend no matter what. This day had to be perfect!
The clearing Lupin set everything in was merely 10 minutes walk away. They were so close, nothing could go wrong now.
“We’re really close now,” he said, “You will love it!”
The words got Belfort excited, what could his best friend be planning? Whatever it was, the dog knew he was going to love it. He gave a big smile and was about to say something but a loud thunder interrupted him.
And right after that heavy rain started pouring down on the entire forest.
“No no no!” said Lupin. This wasn’t supposed to happen! The wolf proceeded to start running towards the direction of the clearing. They were so close after all “Belfort follow me!”
Belfort in shock of Lupin’s sudden outburst didn’t give it any thought and just started following his friend.
They ran as fast as they could. The muddy ground under their paws threatened to make them slip at any moment.
The spaniel arrived a few seconds after the wolf.
“No, this wasn’t supposed to happen.” Lupin’s heart threatened to shatter. The picnic he had spent so long preparing was gone. The wind was too strong so the blanket and food were scattered across.
Belfort came close to his friend and nudged his chest with his snoot “Hey, don’t worry my dear. I’m really sorry this happened but you couldn’t help it. And now that I know what you were planning I can help you with setting it up another day.”
“You know what I was planning?” Lupin was shocked.
“Well, it was a picnic yes? I can see the blanket on that tree right there.” He replied naively.
“Oh, yes… sorry” Lupin let out a massive sigh. There was no way Belfort figured out he was planning his confession.
“There’s no need to apologize my friend. We’ll just do this again another day”
“NO! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TODAY!”
Belfort’s blue eyes went wide. He can count on one paw how many times Lupin has raised his voice. This was way out of character for him.
“ I understand why you’re upset, but I’m sure we can do this again another time”
“NO WE CAN’T-…” After seeing Belfort’s face Lupin stopped himself. He went too far. “Let’s just go back to the palace.” He said shyly.
“Is everything alright with you my dear Lupin?” you could see the concern on Belfort’s face.
“I’m fine. Just follow me”
Belfort knew something was wrong. A small obstacle like that shouldn’t have caused his friend to shut himself off like that. However, that was a problem for later. Right now they had to get out of this forest, so he followed suit.
After about 15 minutes of walking in awkward silence, Belfort finally spoke.
“My dear Lupin. Do you wish to talk about what happened there? Why were you so angry?”
Lupin stayed silent just walking along the path back to the palace.
“Lupin please talk with me. What happened?” more silence. “Alright, if that’s how you want to play this game then I’m not moving from this spot until you say what’s wrong.”
“What? You have to move, you’ll get sick. We’ve been in this rain for so long already!”
“Not until you say what’s on your mind!”
“It’s nothing let’s just keep moving”
“No.” the spaniel stood firmly.
“Belfort!”
“I want to hear it.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“You’re clearly not, so speak with me.” The thunder rings in the sky as the argument between two close friends started.
“What’s your problem? Just come with me!”
“My problem? I don’t have a problem! You’re the one with something stuck on your tongue!”
“It’s fine!!! Let’s just go!!!”
“No.”
“UGGHHHH! I LOVE YOU OK?? THAT’S WHAT’S STUCK ON MY TONGUE! THERE ARE YOU HAPPY?”
“What?” as soon as he said that a thunderbolt struck the tree next to him.
“WATCH OUT!!”
*THUD*
“BELFORT!!!” Lupin hurried over to where the spaniel was standing in protest. What lay in front of him was his love, the one he cared about the most, unconscious. His hind paw was crushed under the tree.
The wolf had to do something. “Get the tree off of him”. That was the main thing on his mind. He got close to it and pushed with all his might. The tree moved slightly, but the ground was too muddy to push it off of his friend. He went around the tree and bit one of the branches and started pulling with his entire strength. The ground was way sturdier here and the fallen log started moving! He got it off of the royal dog but he was still unconscious.
“Come on, we have to get you to the palace medic!” The wolf managed to get the spaniel on his back and he proceeded to carry him. The walk was still long and he was already tired from getting the tree to move. And having a dog the size of himself on his back didn’t help. But he had to get to Versailles before something worse happens. “This is all my fault.”
After some time he finally made it to the gardens. He had to hurry. He feared that Belfort was in a really bad state.
As he got to the walls of the palace he spotted someone sitting in the closest doorway.
“help” He barely could whisper it. With a few more steps, he could see who it was. Diane, Belfort’s mother. After seeing her son on the back of the lowly wolf she runs out into the heavy rain.
“What did you do to him?!” She asked with anger and concern in her voice.
“A-a tree fell on him while we were in the forest! I got him here as fast as I could, please help him!” His voice was shaky the entire time. With how scared and cold he was it was only natural.
“We’ll have a chat later. Now follow me to the medic.”
“Yes ma’am.“ He did as instructed.
Shortly after they were at the door to the medic.
“Leave him here and leave. I expect you to show up here tomorrow and explain everything to me.”
“Of course” He placed Belfort gently on the ground.
“No, please… don’t leave” Belfort replied weakly.
“Belfort!! You’re awake! Are you ok!?” Lupin asked with a smile, seeing his friend finally awake.
“Now is not the time, leave the palace so Belfort can get help” Diane was unyielding.
“No Mother, please. Let him stay in the palace. *cough cough* It’s still storming outside.” Looks like Belfort had inherited her genes.
Diane looked at Lupin and scoffed. “Fine, we don’t have time for this. You need to see the medic. You can stay in the palace wolf.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He bowed. “I will be around Belfort, so get well soon, please.”
As Lupin proceeded to leave, Belfort kept his blue eyes on him. “Did he really mean what he said?” he asked. Diane looked between both of them confused.
Lupin went to the kitchen and hid under one of the many tables. He didn’t expect to get any sleep, but if he does he knows it will be filled with nightmares of what was supposed to be a perfect day.
The next morning Lupin is woken up by a bunch of humans entering the kitchen to start preparing the king's breakfast. He didn’t think of how he was going to get out of here. But the opportunity presented itself when one of the cooks dropped some plates and they all cluttered on the floor.
He managed to run out and get to the dog house, but he hesitated to go in. He thought about all the possibilities that could happen. Getting kicked out of Versailles. Never seeing Belfort again. And worst of all the way he confessed to him… it was on his mind the entire night. That day was supposed to be perfect. How did it all go so wrong?
“Come in. I can tell you’re outside the door.” Said, Diane. Lupin was used to Belfort’s lack of sense of smell, so he didn’t expect Diane to smell him out. Well… there goes the time he wanted to use to prepare. With nothing else to do, he went inside.
As he walked in he noticed Diane sitting in the middle of the room. Her eyes stared like daggers at him. The two sisters appeared to not be here. At least that’s good news. And then there’s Belfort. He’s looking so much better than yesterday. For once he’s dry. That alone makes him look healthier. His leg is covered in bandages. Let’s hope it’s not broken.
“BELFORT!” Lupin shouted his eyes tearing up. “Are you ok? Does anything hurt? I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault. If I didn’t drag you to that clearing none of that would have happened. I’m sorry, I’m sorry please forgive me.” Tears flowed freely down his face now.
“My dear Lupin,” Belfort replied, his eyes also watering. “I’m fine. My leg is just strained but it will heal quickly. It’s all thanks-“
“Ahem,” Diane cleared her throat. Looks like the reunion had to wait a bit longer.
“Mother.”
“Ma’am”
“Know this wolf. The only reason why you’re still allowed in the palace is because of Belfort. If it were up to me you would already be long gone. Your kind is not welcome here.” Lupin lowered his ears. “Now please explain. What did you do to get my son in that condition?” Her glare left Lupin speechless. He was too scared to say anything.
That’s when Belfort decided to speak up. “It wasn’t Lupin’s fault Mother! We were just on a walk when lightning struck a tree I was standing close by. Lupin had nothing to do with it!”
“He said himself that it’s his fault that you got hurt. So what do you have to say for yourself wolf?”
Lupin hesitated for a second before speaking up. “I had planned a picnic for us… There was this beautiful clearing deeper in the forest, so I led Belfort there. Because of me, we didn’t stop even tho it started raining. If we just turned around this wouldn’t have happened.”
“That’s not true! I followed you of my own accord! You had nothing to do with that!” Belfort started feeling a little bit of anger at how easily his friend blamed himself for something that no one had control over.
“IT WAS MY FAULT!! If only-“
Belfort had enough of this. He had to shut him up and explain to his mother properly what happened before Lupin gets himself banned from Versailles. So he thought of the fastest way to do just that.
Diane’s eyes went wide. She was left in complete shock.
Belfort had his eyes closed. His lips pressed close to the snoot of his beloved wolf. Lupin confessed his feelings to the spaniel yesterday, right before the disaster. His words replayed in Belfort’s head the entire night. He never experienced anything like this, so this was completely new to him. But he realized he loved him too. They’ve been friends for so long, that it was only natural that deeper feelings would start to form. He thought of all the moments he spent with the wolf and how happy he made him. Their lips separated. Belfort opened his eyes to find Lupin’s wide eyes staring at him in shock. This was his chance. “Mother, Lupin did nothing wrong. It was I who decided to follow him. As you could probably guess he matters to me a lot, so please, don’t banish him from the palace. Please. I’ll take any punishment for staying out so late but spare Lupin. He saved my life, if not for him pushing himself to the limits… I could have died under that tree.”
Diane was speechless. Her royal son just kissed a lowly wild animal. This wasn’t how he was supposed to act. But something tugged at her heart. “…Do you love him, Belfort?”
Belfort was caught off guard by the question. But he knew the answer. “Yes, I do.” The blush on his face was obvious. It was also obvious on Lupin’s face.
She hesitated for a moment, but then she remembered the face of a certain dog. Prosper. Belfort’s father, and Diane’s love. She was in love before, she understood what it was like. It was time to let her son experience it as well. “Very well. I accept this wolf as your partner. But you two will still get punished.”
“Thank you, mother, but please remember that his name is Lupin.” He replied with a stern face.
Diane smiled at his son finally getting some confidence in him. “I apologize. You are welcome in the palace at any time Lupin. Welcome to the family.” Belfort’s tail started wagging like crazy. She finally accepted him! “I shall take my leave now, you two seem to have a lot to talk about.” With that, she passes by Belfort and Lupin, the wolf still gobsmacked. What just happened? Did Belfort’s mom accept him??
“We did it Lupin!!! She accepted you!!” Belfort practically jumped on the wolf. The wolf caught his love before they both fell to the ground.
“Hey! Be careful! You’re hurt!” Lupin instantly got worried.
“It’s fine, I knew you would catch me. You always care so much about me.” Belfort replies with a chuckle and proceeds to leave a canine-like lick on Lupin’s cheek. The blush on both of their faces was obvious.
“H-hey!” Lupin’s ear fell. “Are you… Are you sure you want to be with me? I mean… I’m just a wolf and after yesterday… I just…”
“Yesterday didn’t go too well. But I could see how much it meant to you. You tried your best, like you always do. That’s one of many of your traits that I love about you.” Belfort nudged the wolf with his head getting a smile out of him. “But why did it matter to you so much that it happened on that day?”
Lupin looked away. “Y-yesterday was the anniversary of us meeting for the first time.”
Belfort’s eyes went wide. “Oh my, I had no idea! I’m so sorry Lupin.”
“It’s fine. I just wish you didn’t get hurt.” Lupin looked at the ground.
“Don’t worry my dear Lupin! The medic said I will be back to running normally in a few days. We will set up a nice romantic picnic then and have a perfect evening.” Belfort gave Lupin a big smile. It warmed his heart so much.
“We will, I promise it will be so much better than what I had prepared yesterday! And I promise I’ll make sure you won’t get hurt. If dark clouds will start forming we will go back to the palace instantly!”
“Heh, that’s my Lupin. For now, I guess you will have to take care of me while I can’t walk.” Belfort gave his love a look of mischief.
“What do you have planned?” Lupin asked curiously.
“I think that seeing my sister's reaction to you being in the dog house will be hilarious.” Belfort gave Lupin a small push.
“Oh gods, this will not be fun.”
“I’m sure Mother will prevent them from doing anything bad.”
“But will she prevent me from giving you all the cuddles I want?” As he said that he got on Belfort’s bed and laid beside him. His warmth was so nice to the wolf.
“Aw my dear Lupin, you are the cutest animal in the palace.” He said with a chuckle.
“Me? Cute?”
“Well of course! You should see how cute you look when you sleep.”
A deep red spread across Lupin’s face. “You watch me when I sleep?”
“I… I may have had these feelings for longer than I realized” Belfort replied sheepishly.
Lupin snuggled closer to Belfort. “I’m glad to hear that my dear.”
“Heh. Did you get any sleep last night?”
“No, I had too much to think about. How about you?”
“Me neither. Why don’t we get some sleep then?”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
Belfort bent down and kissed Lupin on his forehead. “Goodnight then my love.”
Lupin was feeling over the fool when he got called that by the dog he loved. “Goodnight. I love you.”
“I love you too.”