☆× Lights in the Dark ×☆ (Carneline×Panther)

• Chapter Fourteen •

After running as fast as they could through the laboratory, they finally made it back to the den. April sat down on the floor, panting to try and regain her stamina. Once she could stand up again, she walked over to Akira, who was using her claws to scrape drawings into the wall.

April walked up beside her then sat down on the floor. Sighing, she looked up at her. "So, what do I do now? I think that I've finally achieved all my goals." April paused before adding, "Well, except one. But I figure that one is a lost hope..." Akira stopped drawing and sat down infront of April.

"And what would this 'impossible' goal be?" April fluffed her cheek fluff up to hide her blush. It was to be with Akira. She thought that it was impossible. There was no way that someone like her would love her back. She had to be lying if she actually said yes. If she did mean it though, then-

"Hey April, are you going to answer me or..?" April was snapped out of her thoughts by Akira's voice. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not really a big deal. Doesn't matter to me too much." But it really does matter to me... April thought to herself.

"Judging from your tone of voice, I think it really does matter to you. So go on, tell me what it is." April shook her head and sighed. "It's kind of... well... I'm going to say embarrassing to talk about." Akira shrugged. "Alright then. I'll leave you be."

Just as Akira was getting up, April remembered something. "Hey Akira, you said you had something to tell me when we were going to sleep the other day. What was it you wanted to say?" Akira looked back at her with widened pupils. "Uhm.."

Just then, an figure came bursting in from the den enterance. "Hey April!" From what they sounded like, she knew it was Sol. April quickly looked back at Akira, who's teeth were now bared and her fur ruffled. "Akira, calm down. This is the human that helped us escape when we fell through the vents. Remember them?" Akira seemed to calm down after hearing that. "Yeah... But if they are that human, why are they a goo?"

April stood up and turned around to face Sol. They were now what looked to be a Ghost Fox. April had only seen them once when crossing the facility during her first blackout. "Uhm... Sol, what happened for you to become a Ghost Fox?"

Sol smiled, looking proud of themself. "Well, after guiding Mrs. Gold to the safety bunker, I ran around the facility a bit. I eventually found a tazer, which I thought would be useful if a gootrax decided to try and kill me instead of infect me. The thing is, I didn't know it was broken. After seeing the sharks glowing, I decided that I would like being one of them. But being as I didn't know the tazer was broken, it zapped me, turning me into this."

After finishing off, they floating to the ceiling, trying to show off. After coming back down they started to pad towards the den enterance. "Just wanted to stop by and say hello. Anyways, I'm going to go find a place to stay. See ya around!" April blinked as they left the den. "Bye..." Akira coughed. "Well, that was a bit awkward." "Really was, wasn't it?" Akira nodded.

After standing there for a bit, April finally spoke up. "Well if you don't mind, would you go on and tell me what you wanted to say?" Akira sighed and nodded, finally giving in. "Well, yknow, I know this'll be a bit weird but here I go." Akira sat down, April following after her.

"So, ever since that day I saved you from those humans, I thought you were a cool gootraxian. I thought that 'Hey, maybe I'll finally get some company around this boring place.' And I certainly did! I enjoyed your company for awhile. But then that enjoyment grew into something... bigger. I started to like you more and more. When you got caught by the humans, I was distraught. I didn't know what I was going to do without you. But thanks to Ozone, you came back!" Akira paused to laugh. "And you ended up saving my life from the wraith of those gootraxians aswell. But all this time, I've have a feeling towards you. A feeling I didn't know how to describe until today. I finally figured it out." Akira took a deep breath before finishing it off.

"April, I love you. I love you more that anything else I've had in my life. I finally have come to admit that." April blinked, her whole face red. So... She confessed first. So what do I do in this situation..? Akira was looking nervous. "Uhm... April? Are you going to say anything?"

April then tackled her into a hug. "I love you too Akira. I've decided that staying here with you is better than staying anywhere else. I've also had feelings for you for awhile aswell. I'm happy that you love me just as much as I love you."

April then was shocked by what she heard. Was Akira... purring? April smiled. She knew that was probably the first time Akira did that in her lifetime. Staying like they were for awhile, they both purred in contentment.

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Akira eventually had to get up to go get dinner for them. Being as the humans still hadn't fixed the wires, it didn't take long for her to get back. Carrying two pups, she gave one to April. But instead of sitting infront of her like she normally does, Akira sat beside April. While eating, Akira felt April's head on her shoulder. "I have to thank you for confessing first. Being honest with myself, I don't think I could've said anything about it to you. Something inside of me was making me too nervous." Akira set the remaining mask of her slime pup down and smiled. "No problem! I would've done it sometime if you didn't anyways, no matter what the circumstances were." April smiled and purred as Akira went to throw away the masks, her tail swaying in happiness.

After dinner, the pair got in the nest. But being the cuddly thing that she is, April curled up against Akira's chest, their tails twining together. As they drifted off to sleep, they said their final words of the day to each other.

"Goodnight Aki." Akira smiled, liking the nickname April gave her. "Goodnight April... Look, I'll think of a nickname later, okay?" April laughed. "Alright, take your time." And with that, they fell asleep together.

(Awww look at them being cute together) 1128 words