𝑱𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 {Louis x F!Reader}

Chapter Ten

It was the next day and I was sitting on the bed next to Louis, legs crossed. The doctors are unhooking him and he's getting ready to leave the hospital. I update him on how they practiced until late last night. I also make a comment about how Bill is being all high and mighty about his new role. Louis rolls his eyes at that and I snort, uncrossing my legs. "It's like you declared him the king," I say as I wave to the doctors leaving the room. "Need me to carry anything for you?" I ask. Louis shakes his head no and I shrug, picking up the Adler hat and plopping it onto my head. I feel the air enter the holes that were made for Louis's antlers, watching as he stands with his crutches. The costumers at the school had to make Bill an entirely new costume. There was no way he was going to fit in Louis'

"The hat suits you." He says simply and I smile up at him.

"Thanks! I don't really wear hats often." I say as we leave the room and walk down the hallways of the hospital. A curious thought pops into my head. "How often do your antlers shed anyways?" I question. I see Louis pause for a moment before giving me a side-eye.

"Has your mother never told you? I assume she would inform you in case you were to marry your own species." I shake my head, smiling at the irony of the situation.

"Nope, my mother is a tiger so she wouldn't know actually. That's why I'm asking you. I don't really know anything about our species." Louis looks intrigued at my statement. I explain to him my whole backstory and how I don't know my biological parents. I also explain how we think I'm a runt along with the fawn spots.

"Well, you are smaller than the average deer, the fawn spots I'm not sure though. I don't believe I've heard of that happening before. As for my antlers, it's once a year. The process takes about two to three weeks and it takes a few months for a new set to completely grow." My eyebrows furrow.

"I've never seen you with your antlers shed though.

"I use fake ones during that time." I make an ah sound as we walk over to a limo. Louis opens the door to get in and I smile at him. I say my goodbyes and he gives me a look of confusion. "What do you mean? You cannot possibly think I'm having you walk back to the school. Please, get in." My ears flatten in embarrassment as I slide into the limo. I smile at the driver as he looks at me through the rear view mirror, he smiles back before looking to the road again.

Louis and I awkwardly sit in silence, both of us looking out the window of the side that we sit on. The driver reaches into the passenger seat and hands Louis a bouquet of flowers. Louis clears his throat as he takes them and hands them over to me. I raise an eyebrow taking the flowers. "Aren't you supposed to be the one getting flowers? You did just come out of the hospital." Louis sighs.

"I remember you telling me that your mother couldn't come this time. You always have flowers at the end of the shows from your mother so I decided to get you some. Take it as my thanks for helping me these past few years with the shows." I smile, tucking the flowers into my chest.

"Well thank you, I really appreciate it. I promise to take good care of them." He gives me a small smile before we go back to sitting in silence. This time the silence is comfortable, like a cozy blanket.

~~~~

I clap my hands together to gain the attention of all the other animals backstage. "Alright everyone, the show is in a few minutes! It's sold out again so that means we need to impress again. We have to put what happened yesterday behind us, today is a new day and we have a show to do yea?" Everyone exclaims their words of agreement and excitement. My eyes scan everyone before they land on Legosi going over his lines again. I roll my eyes, standing next to him as he sits on the box and reads. He looks up at me as my shadow casts over him. "You'll be fine," I state simply, nudging him with my leg to scoot over. He does and I happily sit on the edge of the box.

"I only just learned the lines yesterday though." I shrug.

"You didn't have many lines to begin with really. Anyways, if you did mess up a line Bill will be able to easily improve his way out.

"Nearly showtime! Sleep well?" My eyebrows furrow and I look over my shoulder to see that Bill has walked in from his dressing room, I shrug before turning back to Legosi, leaning forwards a bit when I see him sniffing the air. I go to speak but then he stands and turns to Bill. Sanu and I give each other confused glances as Legosi sniffs Bill. Is this a carnivore thing? I look back at the two males as they rush out into the hallway. The show is in ten minutes! I groan and rub my face, walking off to go find Louis.

He honestly wasn't very hard to find, looking around at all the backstage stuff intriguingly. I casually walk up to him and he turns to look at me.

"Is this what always happens?" I look around at the slight chaos and nod.

"Yup, last-minute checks to make sure everything is in place. You're usually in the dressing room." I shrug, my eyes light up. "Hey! Do you want a headset? Get a glimpse into what I do for the shows?" Louis's ears flatten and you can easily tell he's intrigued by the notion. He nods and I smile with glee before rushing off to grab the spare headset. I hear Louis chuckle quietly at my excitement. I look through the storage closet and huff seeing it isn't there. I open the door to the hallway and begin to walk down it to check the costume room for the headset. I gasp as Bill knocks into me from storming out of the bathroom. The sheer force of the tiger knocks me to the ground with a harsh landing on my tail. I let out a cry of pain before quickly moving so my tail is no longer being crushed. Bill looks down at me in shock, sputtering over his words.

"I'm sorry, are you okay? I heard the sound of pain." I nod, rubbing my tail between my two fingers.

"I'm okay Bill, really. I just landed on my tail." Bill winces before offering me a hand to take. I easily accept and he pulls me up.

"Your hands are really small." He comments in fascination. He turns my hand this way and that in his gently, being mindful of his claws. I laugh slightly as he lets go.

"Part of being a runt. Now, go do your show." I nod my head behind me and Bill's eyes widen before he rushes off. I shake my head with a fond smile on my lips. A glint on the floor catches my eye and I look down to see a vial. I bend down, picking it up and holding it to the light. "Is this?" I question quietly, watching the dark red liquid slosh around in the glass. My smile turns to a frown as I tuck it into my back pocket. Looks like Louis isn't going to get that headset. I shake my head as I head back to the backstage area and to Louis. The whole backstage is quiet as the show has begun.

I walk up to Louis, tapping him on the shoulder from behind, he spins around and looks down at me, raising an eyebrow. I gesture for him to follow me and he turns completely as I begin to walk out of the backstage area again. This is something that we shouldn't be around others for. I lead him into the dressing room, talking in my headset every now and again to make sure things are still going smoothly. I look around to make sure everything is empty and I sigh. Louis leans on one of the tables, resting his crutches against it as well. "Mind telling me what this is all about?" I close my eyes and reach into my back pocket.

"Bill and I bumped into each other and I think he dropped this in the commotion." Louis's eyes widen as he takes in the vial, grabbing it from me and observing it in his hand. "I know it's his because Legosi was sniffing him earlier, I had no idea what for until I found that," Louis smirks, placing the vial on the table.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised. Bill is a carnivore through and through. It seems that Legosi thought too highly of the cat." I roll my eyes, crossing my arms and popping my hip.

"But still, we can't let this slide. We both know it's against the rules." Louis sighs, picking the vial back up and placing it into his back pocket. He grabs his crutches as he stops leaning against the table.

"I will think of something. For now, let us continue to watch the performance. I nod, rubbing my temple before following him back out of the dressing room and to the backstage area once again.