FSE

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Hey everyone,

I'm deeply sorry for this huge hiatus of my work ^^' As said in my last journal, I went to Lyon for being a few days with my love, then I came back and life asserted itself with lots of work and no time for the wolfy! But here it the new chapter, if you like it why don't show me that with a fave, a vote or a comment? My thanks go to my boyfriend, Gritou, who is always by my side and gifted me such an awesome time!

Nobody spoke for ten seconds, even Carlo seemed to be astonished by this revelation, then chaos broke in.

"You were here to talk with me!?" A bewildered rottie exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

"Why do you want to do that?" Luca demanded in a confused tone.

"I don't understand ...." The squirrel uttered softly.

That much havoc gained the attention of the old ladies passing by to get into the basilica, and even of some furs from the piazza, though it was just a brief moment since they kept going toward their destination without further look. One old vixen with a very narrow face stared at them with deep disapproval before going inside with a fiery pace.

That, of course, wasn't even noticed by the quartet, with the three restorers in different degrees of amazement and surprise. On the other paw there was the tiger, the buff feline in a suit not saying anything, his head lowered and his ears flicking at an insane pace, his long tail coiled around one of his legs.

That was kind of adorable, and the lupo would have aw'd or felt sympathy for him in another occasion, but right now his mind was working correctly, all taken by the curiosity and the need to know what the tiger was up to. Plus, he was prevenuto1 with Carlo, he had attempted to lure him into dating again, maybe this was another move for that ...

"So? Speak up!" Luca said with a forceful tone, while Ale repeated in a much quieter one: "You want to talk with me ..."

"Uhm, well, uhm, I, uhm..." The feline hesitated, not sure what to say and with the feeling of being cornered still there thanks to the looming canines with perked ears and tail still. The only one who had desisted in pressing him was Sara, and she seemed to have cooled down too, any lingering anger being swept away by the image of a tiger uncharacteristically being passive and not fighting back.

"Luca, Ale, just calm down and let him breathe a bit." She commanded. "He won't say anything if you urge him like that."

The two stopped there, ears a bit flattened by the words of the rodent. After a second, the lupine opened his mouth.

"You are right, Sara. We are getting heated up too much. Let's take a walk, shall we?" He proposed to the others. The black canine just nodded, probably because he didn't trust what he would say.

"That would be a lovely idea." The only girl of the group agreed.

"But-but you don't have to work right now?" The tiger asked, shyly, still not raising his head and his ears ever in motion.

"Sure, but the Professor won't be here today, we can take a longer pause after all." Sara innocently replied. "So, are we going or not?"

That ushered the other two and in no time they were all walking through the piazza and toward a not precise destination in the colorful rione2. There wasn't the throng of furs of various ages that usually haunted those streets since it was still too early for them, so the streets were calm and the various pubs and bars were still closed, probably preparing to satisfy the need of alcoholic beverages their patrons asked.

This passeggiata3 was much needed for Luca, with every step he cooled off a bit more and made some order in his mind. He was still curious to know for what reason the tiger wanted to talk with Ale, and specifically only with him, but he was a bit less suspicious now. Sure, Carlo could be headstrong and a bit manipulative at times, but he needed to be granted il beneficio del dubbio4, the lupo shouldn't already think him guilty of some schemes.

They keep walking in the narrow and twisted vie5 of Trastevere, one of the oldest parts of Medieval Rome, with its characteristic houses almost remained untouched by the passing time, apart from some sign advertising the name of the pubs.

They finally arrived in piazza Trilussa, a bigger square with the Lungotevere6 on one side and a monumental fountain in the other, lined by much more recent building put there during the construction fever that took the new capital of Italy back in the late XIX.

He continued to walk, zigzagging the furs and the pigeons, so he didn't noticed that the tiger had stopped and with him his friends.

"Luca!" The black canine shouted, drawing the other dog's attention. The lupine turned and blushed slightly because of his distraction, then paced back quickly to join the others.

Carlo seemed a bit more in control of himself, and a bit less bashful, his ears regaining their usual occasional flick, the one that every feline always have going, and his tail wasn't coiled anymore, just jerking a bit behind. His head was still a bit lowered, but now he had more the look of someone with something embarrassing to tell, not of a scolded school pup.

They waited, with the canines trying to bit as less menacing as possible, just two curious dogs waiting to see what would happen. Sara, of course, was still there, though keeping a little distance to show that she was there only to keep things fair and normal.

"So." The striped began, nothing coming after that single word. The three restorers were patients and waited for more, the squirrel just because she could, Ale surely because he didn't want to be scolded by the petite rodent, Luca both for the same reason as Ale and because he didn't want the tiger to clam up again.

Their efforts were rewarded since, after an initial silence, it seemed that Carlo took courage and started to talk along.

"So, I wanted to talk with Ale about one thing." He said, gaining nods from the three others. He focused on Sara and spoke again. " I would prefer that you weren't present, is kinda a personal thing between us..."

"Oh, yeah, you are right. I will go there and call il mio ragazzo7." She graciously granted to the tiger, giving a "You-will-tell-me-all-about-this-later" look to her friends and then going up the flight of steps leading to the fountain. Luca saw that she had already fished her phone before turning his attention to his ex, saying nothing with his mouth but urging him to speak up with his eyes. Ale wasn't that quiet on the other paw.

"Now we are alone, what is that you need to tell me?" He asked, his ears giving a couple of flicks before stabilizing.

"Probably he is surprised that it's THAT personal". Luca thought, staying silent.

"Uhm, yeah, well, I have been thinking lately... I met Luca the other day, after he was done with touring some tourists and..." The big cat trailed off again, not sure how to continue, or so the lupine thought.

"Yeah, I know that." The rottie filled the silence with his remark.

"You know?" The feline repeated, with frank surprise plastered in his short muzzle.

"Of course he does, I tell him almost everything. He is my best friend, after all." Luca explained to him, feeling that it was his duty to clarify that.

"Oh. Yeah, I understand..." The feline said, looking like he face-palmed himself in his mind. The look was quite funny, and the lupine couldn't resist but chuckle.

"Why that laugh?" Carlo asked, stung by that cheerful sound.

"Sorry, but it's typical of you to forget stuff like that, you always have this funny expression on you when you realize that!" The lupine chuckled again, followed by Ale on his side.

"Ahahaha, remember when you asked Cinzia if she knew her boyfriend?" The black canine recalled with mirth.

"Hey! I was quite tired that night, that detail slipped my mind!" Carlo protested, but a smile had appeared on his face, and the general mood had lifted up a bit. "We are derailing, I didn't want to talk about the good old times! Or at least not yet!"

"Well, forgetful kitty, go on and sputa l'uccello8!" The rottie invited his once friend to talk, and for Luca the fact he did such a lame pun was a good sign.

"Oh, yeah, well, as I said, I've been thinking since that day. Luca told me about a few things that I should have considered a long time ago." He stopped, his smile wavering.

"What kind of things, Carlo?" The rottie asked, knowing perfectly what kind it was, and so did Luca. The lupo now could imagine what the tiger was going to say, but still, that was so incredible that he couldn't believe it yet.

"How I treated you, how... Immature I have been, with the whole not wanting to see you and go out with you. I was a bad friend to you." He paused for a second, maybe to gather some drama, or just to take a breath, the lupine didn't know. Then, the words he already figured out that were coming, the ones that he didn't expect his ex to ever utter, came out. "I'm sorry Ale, deeply sorry."

Carlo's eyes became a little watery, but not the brown ones of the rottweiller. He was just there, serious expression on his muzzle, but his voice was soft when he talked.

"I am happy to hear that. I've waited for a long time, since I realized how you were behaving with me. You were one of my close friends, and you rejected me without a true reason."

The tiger opened his maw, on the verge to say something, maybe apologizing again, but a raised black paw prevented him to do so.

"I'm not finished. I felt terribly, betrayed, confused, like shit. More so since Luca left you because of me. I appreciate your apologizes, but don't think that's enough to mend things."

He stared at the tiger in his eyes, and surprisingly Carlo didn't avoid that, he stared back.

"I know that. These are just words right now, but they are a beginning. I have to prove you that I'm not lying, and I'll try my best to do so." He said, determination coloring his words.

"It's nice of you to say that." The rottie simply said, it was evident that he didn't trust those words completely. Neither did Luca.

"It's hard to believe that Carlo. You passed from thinking you didn't do anything wrong to that too quickly." The lupine spoke his doubts.

The feline's gaze passed from Ale to the taller canine, and the tears in the corners of his eyes were genuine. The lupo knew that his ex couldn't act that well, but that didn't win over yet.

"I know that, Luca. I sincerely thought that, not once even considering I could have wronged Ale. But you were pretty ... frank. I saw how things really are."

He paused, maybe to gather his thoughts. He passed his right paw through his head-fur and then carried on. "I've been dumb to not see the truth. But then, you said it, and it was kind of like the last piece of the puzzle for me. I finally understood why you broke up with me. And what a jerk I can be."

"Yes, a big jerk." Ale pointed out, earning a frown from Luca for interrupting.

"You are right. I don't pretend to be completely changed- see what I said about your professor. But I am trying to change, and I'll keep trying. That I promise you." He finished solemnly. He looked younger than he was, even younger than the dogs he was apologizing to, but his words were powerful and felt.

"I ... I see." The lupo concurred, not sure of what to say.

"You... explained yourself well, Carlo." The rottie uttered.

"Thank you. I hope we can start again now, with our friendship, both of you." The tiger shyly proposed, blushing a bit.

"That would be nice, but it's up to you to prove us you have changed and you want to be a genuine friend to us." Luca said, a bit amazed to see how different the tiger acted. Maybe he did have a big epiphany, and now he was a changed fur. Deep down, he wanted to believe that, to see him improving himself, becoming a better fur. He wanted that not because he wanted to get together with the feline, that was a closed chapter, and even if Carlo could smooth the edges of his personality, he knew now that he wasn't the right fur for him.

"That's what I want to try to do, and I'll put all my efforts in it, I promise." Carlo said, his facial features showing how determinate to do so he was. He looked at his watch and that elicited yelp form the big cat. "Cristo9, it's so late, I have an appointment in half an hour! I had to go"

"It's okay, Carlo, you managed to say what you wanted to say after all." The lupo reassured him, passing the opportunity to tease him about his obliviousness.

"Yeah, if you have to go, go." The rottie said, with a small smile on his muzzle but without mockery in his tone.

"I'm sorry! Well, I'll call you next week, maybe we can do something together, right?" The tiger almost pleaded, though the lupo wasn't sure if because he was late or because he wanted to hang out with them so desperately.

"Sure, why not." The rottie agreed.

"Awesome, see you soon Ale! And you too Luca, I can't wait to spend some time with you!" Carlo hastily saluted, and he waved goodbye to Sara too before hastily making his way toward the river and, most probably, his car.

As if for balance the absence of the striped cat, Sara rejoined her friend, some perplexity knitting her brows.

"So, he wanted to apologize with you Ale, didn't he?" She asked while looking at the feline quickly disappearing. The two dogs jumped from the surprise.

"How do you know he wanted that?" Ale asked her, his ears giving a couple of flicks.

"Typical of you big predators." The petite rodent snorted. "You always assume that we herbivores don't have a good hearing. But we do, and mine is particularly keen."

"But-but you were up the stairs, and calling Franco!" The black canine protested vehemently.

"And? It's not much of a distance, I was only acting with that, plus you were really, really loud, believe me, half the square eavesdropped you three!" She specified to the incredulous dog.

"But-but-but!" He stammered before quieting, defeated by that amount of evidences. Luca had been silent through all of that, thinking about what happened and easily accepting that Sara listened to their conversation, or at least guessed correctly.

"So, what does your feminine instinct tell you about that?" He asked her. "Was he truthful and genuine?"

"Uhm, I'm not sure...." She began to think aloud. "I don't know him, so it's hard for me to discern that, and you told me very little after all, but he did admit his shortcomings, he apologized to Ale AND for badmouthing the Professor, even if it had been accidental. Plus ...."

"Plus what?" Both canines said in sync.

"Plus, he sounded like he genuinely wants to amend for what he had done and to change. Only time can tell if he will manage or not, for now I can say that he was truthful." She sentenced, a queen passing judgment form her high throne.

"Uhm, yeah, I agree with you, we shall give him a chance to redeem himself." Luca concurred, even if some doubts lingered in his mind.

"But we won't fall that easily for that, we will watch and see if he has really changed or not." The rottie spoke those doubts.

"Awwww, he really did hurt your trust, didn't he?" Sara sympathized with him, sizing one big biceps to show that, or at least trying.

"Yep, he did, that's why we will be careful, won't we Luca?" He said, turning toward his friend.

"Yes, we will. Plus I'm not sure if this is a move to get near to me or not ..." He reasoned aloud, one paw hold high to scratch his chin.

"Do you think it's that?" The black canine asked, showing some concern.

"Maybe, he did want to get together again that infamous time ...." He kept considering.

"Uhm, maybe you are right, maybe you aren't." Sara interrupted his reasoning. "Just now, we can't say anything, we can just wait and see what happen."

The other two nodded in agreement. "Now that everything is set, we should go back to work, no?" The lupo proposed.

"Yeah, why not, we are paid for that after all!" Ale joked, making Sara giggle.

"Let's go to the church!" She yelled merrily. It didn't take much time to get to the basilica, they didn't walk that far in the first place, and all the while they kept talking.

"You should be a mediator Sara, you were good today!" Ale praised her.

"Years and years of helping my friends going through arguments, crisis and break-ups helped me to gain such a talent." She boasted, and rightly so, since Luca thought that, without her, things would have gone south faster and in a much nastier way.

"I'm glad that you will be tomorrow, you can tell me what you think of Clara and maybe save me from embarrassing myself!" The hunky dog said, his tail wagging at the idea of the on-coming date.

"We will need you, after the dinner I will need some back-up, else I won't make through the night." The lupine chuckled, while finally entering the piazza.

"What's that suppose to mean!" His friend protested.

"Lo sappiamo io e Sara10." He answered before bursting into laughter, accompanied by the silvery laugh of the squirrel.

"That's not fair, I want to know too!" The rottie lamented, but he managed only to increase the laughs of the other two. Those laughs died when they looked at the two furs in the colonnade, the black-clothed priest of the basilica, the short hedgehog with a disapproving expression on his muzzle.

That wouldn't be a good sign by itself, but at his side stood the Professor, and the badger didn't look pleased with his assistants.

"Fuck, siamo nella merda11!" Ale gave voice to their thoughts.

Translation:

1) Biased. Though it has a stronger meaning.

2) Old Roman neighborhood.

3) Stroll.

4) The benefit of the doubt. Namely, giving someone a chance and not condemning him so easily without proves.

5) Streets.

6) The long and broad roads at the sides of the Tiber.

7) My boyfriend.

8) Literally, spit the bird. A very, very bad pun of "Sputa il rospo", which is translated with "spit the toad" and means "spit it out".

9) Christ.

10) Sara and I know it.

11) We are in the shit.