Two Sides of the Moon. (Beastars AU)

Chapter 23: Reflections

Legosi ran as fast as he could. Having finally won the confidence that he searched for, he headed straight for the empty pool with a fire in his heart. At last the nightmare that had been keeping him and Jack apart was coming to an end.

As he made his way up the stairs he could hear the sound of footsteps walking back and forth on the roof, clear indications that Jack was panicking about their meeting.

Legosi made it to the top of the stairs, opened the door and there... on the other side of the pool was Jack staring back at him with great distress.

"JACK!" the wolf called out.

Jack said nothing. He simply looked to the side, took a deep breath and looked at Legosi with a forced smile.

"Hey Lego-face, sorry for the sudden invite. I just figured that maybe... I mean, if you wanted to... we could talk... for a bit," the labrador said as cheerfully as possible, not realizing how awkward he was being.

Legosi walked over to him. "Jack, it's alright. I know that you're nervous about this and so am I. The truth is, I wish we could avoid this all together. But if we ever want to be friends again we need to grit our teeth and confront it head on."

Jack's ears and tail jumped. Legosi had said everything that the golden retriever was thinking and then some.

Jack clenched his fists and looked up at the wolf with a stern look on his face.

The dog then brought his fists up to which the wolf looked down at. Suddenly, Jack threw a punch straight at the larger canine's face. Not hard enough to send him flying, but enough to make the wolf stagger back a bit.

Legosi shook his head as he recovered from the surprise attack. He placed a hand on the cheek that Jack hit and could feel that it wasn't gonna leave a mark. After all, Jack wasn't nearly as strong as Gohin and his punch didn't hurt anywhere near as much. It also helped that Jack avoided the side of the wolf's face that had the black eye.

Legosi looked back at Jack whose eyes were full of determination. The wolf closed his eyes and took a deep breath of his own. He opened his arms as if he was offering himself to his friend. His eyes remained closed, knowing full well that he deserved what was coming he resigned himself to Jack's judgment.

Jack looked at his crush as he took the pose of a martyr. A part of him was surprised that Legosi would surrender himself to the yellow dog so easily while another part of him wasn't surprised in the least. He knew the wolf would do anything to fix things between them and now it was time for him to do the same.

Jack ran full speed to Legosi who just stood there. Rather than punch him however, the labrador tackled the larger canine to the ground with a full body dive.

As soon as they hit the ground Legosi felt something wet on his chest. He looked down and saw Jack crying into his shirt while he wrapped his arms around the now surprised gray carnivore.

Legosi put a hand on Jack's head. "Jack, why are you crying?" the wolf asked as he comforted his best friend with the special petting technique that only he knew.

"I've missed you, that's all," Jack answered. "I'm just... happy to have you back."

The two picked themselves up and went to their usual spot to sit. They looked forward for a bit then looked up at the sky and simultaneously let out a long sigh. They looked at each other and after a minute of staring they started laughing as their tails wagged.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Legosi questioned.

"What is?" Jack asked.

"It's amazing that despite everything that's happened, this place is still a peaceful spot for us," the wolf answered. "It's like this rooftop is a sort of safe haven for us, completely separated from the rest of the world."