Chapter Text
"Keep your eyes closed, no peaking."
"Legoshi, there's no way I can see past your hand, even if I open my eyes."
"Keep them closed anyway."
Legoshi was escorting Haru downstairs to the restaurant, crouching awkwardly to keep his hand over Haru's eyes. He was also holding Cress in his other arm as to not leave her upstairs by herself. The act of going down the stairs was a trip in itself but the three of them managed to do it without any trouble. Legoshi veered off towards the kitchen where he lifted his hand off of Haru's eyes. "Go ahead, you can open them now."
Haru opened her eyes and gasped. Before her was a brand new, sparkly stove. The old one was nowhere to be seen. She presumed that Legoshi took it out back. "When did you..." She was at a loss for words. "Legoshi!"
He shrugged. "We needed a new stove. This one is electric. No more worrying about the burners catching on fire. I installed it last night."
"By yourself?" Haru blinked twice in succession. "Is that why you look all beat up?"
Legoshi instinctively touched a hand to his face where he has been bruised previously by Hoka. "Yeah..." he lied. "Hit myself one too many times on the corner."
"You know you could hire people to do that for you, Mister Legoshi-san."
They turned to see Fido entering for his shift. He had heard their conversation from far with his exceptional hearing.
"Good morning Fido-kun." Haru scratched at her head. "You're about half an hour early."
Fido's tail wagged energetically, hitting it against the chairs and tables nearby. "I like being here," he said, "I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. Maybe I could have helped Mister Legoshi-san not look like he lost a battle with the stove. We could have installed it together. Say, that's a fancy looking stove, I bet it cost a lot of money."
Fido had the proclivity to talk fast and ramble on, paying no mind if anyone was following along or not.
Haru caught on to his last statement, however. "You know, Fido-kun. I was wondering the same thing. We can't afford brand new things for the restaurant, especially when there's something important we should be saving up for."
As if Cress understood what was being said, she babbled.
Legoshi thought about telling Haru the truth, but Fido was standing right there and being the young male he was, didn't need to hear anything about murders.
That and he would probably tell everyone he knew.
"Oh uh, I got a raise at work. Thought I would surprise everyone with a new stove so..." Legoshi raised his hands unceremoniously. "Surprise...!"
"Legoshi, that's so sweet of you." Haru tugged down on the hem of his shirt, prompting him to lean down so she could kiss his cheek. He suppressed a whince from how sore his face still was.
"Does this mean we'll finally replace the leaky fridge?" Fido asked, cutting theo the touching moment.
There were so many things in the restaurant that could use upgrades, now that Legoshi thought about it. They haven't owned it for very long, buying the building itself was hefty. All the other funds towards equipment and appliances lent them towards buying the cheapest they could afford.
"I don't suppose why not," he said. "It's time for me to start giving to the restaurant. My name is on the lease offer all."
"Are you staying today, Mister Legoshi-san?"
He nodded.
On Legoshi's days off that coincides with the restaurant being open, he helped out. His experience at Udon BeBeBe had been quite helpful. It also helped that Haru didn't have to pay him.
"Fido-kun, go fetch one of the high chairs for Cress." Legoshi wanted to speak with Haru for a moment. "Set it up at one of the tables."
"Yes sir!" Fido saluted him and scurried off.
Haru laughed. "He respects you a lot. I think he likes you more than he likes me."
Fido liked her quite a bit as it was. He always did what she told him to with overeagerness and a smile on his face. He didn't treat her like a helpless herbivore, but as his boss that he wanted to please.
"Young canines tend to look up to a strong male figure, like an alpha."
With Fido's dad dead, Legoshi somewhat filled that void. He didn't mind it though. Fido was a good kid if not a little annoying.
"Oh please, alpha?" Haru shoved him playfully. Of course, Legoshi didn't move an inch. "Are you saying you're an alpha wolf now?"
Legoshi blushed. "Would you like that?" I'm getting off track, I'm supposed to tell her what I'm doing! "Would it be hot if I was?"
Fido soon returned for the baby, grabbing her out of Legoshi's arms. "High chair is all set, sir and ma'am! You know... If you can't find a babysitter, my mama could do it. She loves pups!"
Haru crinkled her nose at the thought. She never met the female but she didn't like the sound of her. "Fido... I don't think I want to do that. Didn't you say your mom wrapped you in aluminum foil?"
"Oh yes. I was a very naughty boy. Cress-chan is an angel though, isn't that right?" Fido pressed his nose to her cheek, making her giggle. In turn, she grabbed onto his long ears and pulled on them. "Ow—"
"I was thinking we could do daycare," Haru suggested, looking up at Legoshi. "Your grandpa volunteers at one, we should ask him about it."
"I guess we could do that..."
"Great!" Haru smiled. "We'll call him up!"
The door chimes would ring before Legoshi could get another reply in. "Hi, welcome to Furtastic Feasts!" Fido greeted the guest in his happy-go-lucky register. "We're not open just yet, would you like to come in an another hour?"
"Oh, I saw people in here and I just thought..."
Haru quickly put on her apron. "Let him in, Fido-kun, it's okay!" She then turned to Legoshi and more quietly addeded, "Business is business."
Legoshi peered over the counters, getting a good look at the guest. From afar, he looked like a wolf. Only, he was a bit on the smaller side, at least compared to him. Could just be a smaller breed. Though, something didn't smell quite right about him. It was the same kind of smell that reminded him of Cress.
A wolf, but not quite.
"Fido, make sure the tables are set," Legoshi instructed, deciding to investigate further. "I'll take his order." He approached the customer with a notepad. "This your first time?"
He nodded, licking his chops. "Oh yeah. I've heard a lot of things about this place. I figured that a restaurant that cooks a lot of veggies that's owned by a rabbit would be pretty good. A rabbit would know their veggies, huh. You're her husband, aren't you? Never thought I would see it. A rabbit and a wolf together, the rumours were true."
"Forgive my asking," Legoshi peered at him from behind the notepad, "but are you mixed?"
"Legoshi!" Haru scolded him from the kitchen. "You can't just ask people if they're mixed! Especially if they're a customer!"
The customer chuckled. "No, it's okay. I get that a lot. I'm a Siberian Husky. I get told I look like a wolf often."
"Pretty big for a Husky," Legoshi remarked.
The customer eyed him. "Pretty big, even for a wolf." He then started laughing, easing the tension. "I guess we all have a bit of mutt in us."
"Yeah..." Legoshi poised his pen. "Your order please, Mister..."
"Kosaku."
"Kosaku, right." Legoshi smiled. "What could I get for you today?"
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Louis had watched as Azuki and her personal servants left their home. She had packed all of her personal belongings and left without so much as a complaint. It didn't matter to her if she wasn't living under the same roof as Louis. As long as they still had their shared business, all was well.
Their son would have to do a lot of traveling between households but it was agreed that Louis would have most of the custody. Louis thought she would put up more of a fight, but she hadn't. Azuki perceived that she had lost before they could truly butt heads.
Was this what it was like when she was little? Her mother always folding to what her father wanted to do?
He couldn't help but feel bad for her.
Maybe the time away would help her sort out whatever she had going on. It's not as though she was the worst mother ever. Louis felt that she deserved happiness all the same.
He felt LJ tug on his pant leg.
"Where Mommy going?" LJ asked innocently.
"She's... Going somewhere else," Louis answered, unsure of how to put this in terms a two-and-a-half year old would understand.
"She not like us anymore?"
Louis eyes widened. "No, Louis," he assured him. "She still loves us. Mommy just needs to be in her own house. You'll get to go see her sometimes."
LJ nodded as if he understood. "Our house not big enough?"
Louis chuckled. "Not big enough for all of Mommy's clothes."
"Daddy... Mad at Mommy?"
Louis turned and kneeled down, brushing his hand over LJ's heads. "Not at all. You'll understand when you get your antlers. Now... Who wants to sit in Daddy's spinning chair at the office while he does some work?"
If anyone from school could hear him talk like this or God forbid the Shishigumi saw him like this, Louis would never hear the end of it. It was embarrassing.
Little Louis was cute though.
The fawn deserved to feel like he was loved.