Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 37: Pt. 3

It had been a week since the fight with June, and the pack was already almost fully repaired. Of course, that didn't include the extension to the hospital or the stronger gates around the border, but according to Oscar, the pack was almost in the exact condition it had been a few months ago, thanks to the help of their allies in Bourdier.

Speaking of Oscar, Ananya hadn't seen him in a long time. She'd witnessed him passing through the rooms now and then, and occasionally she'd be semi-awake so that she'd see him clamber into bed or trudge out, but it was so seldom that she wondered if he slept at all. She was tempted to text him, but she didn't want to disturb his work.

The doors slammed open, nearly startling the life out of her. Ananya pushed herself up with her elbows, blinking blearily and rubbing her eyes. "Eh...?"

"Ananya, what does the eggplant emoji mean?" Oscar questioned, pattering into the room and absently closing the door behind him. "Every time I want to use it, Cai makes fun of me."

"Eh? Eggplant?" Ananya yawned. "It's supposed to represent your penis like the peach represents a woman's butt. Why?"

"It does?" Oscar was incredulous. "But how? An eggplant fluctuates in width. A penis doesn't. And why do you use a peach to represent a butt? Why are you using food? Why not use something else, like a pole?"

"I don't know. It's just something that everyone uses." She patted the space beside her. "Do you have time to sit?"

"I do. We finished the last of the repairs yesterday, and since it's Sunday, everyone has the day off," Oscar said. "I had to do some paperwork today, but I'm done with all that now." He plopped down on the bed and wrapped his arm around Ananya, nuzzling her shoulder. "For the rest of the day, I'm all yours."

"Really?" Ananya beamed. "What do you want to do, then?"

"Not sure. Talk? We haven't had a normal conversation in a while."

"In our lives, Oscar, I doubt anything is normal." Ananya fell on the bed and Oscar came beside her, their legs dangling off the edge. She turned her face toward his. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

He sighed. "I'm alright," he admitted. "I'm...I'm a bit out-of-sorts and stressed, but I'm okay. I've been doing this for ten years, so I'm used to this by now." He kissed her shoulder. "Most of the work is almost done anyway. After that, we just have to organize the alliance ceremony and..." he stopped.

"And?" Ananya's tongue flicked over her dry lips. "Alliance ceremony? What's that?"

"It's what we were supposed to do in Bourdier. Each leader stands in front of their people and signs a document pledging allegiance to each other." Oscar's gaze searched hers. "And...there's something else."

"Something else? What else?"

Oscar's breath hitched. "Well...you don't have to say yes, obviously, because it depends on your comfort and willingness to do this but..."

"But...?"

"The pack wants to do a crowning ceremony again," he said at last. "It's to officially recognize an Alpha pair as the leaders of the pack."

"Aren't you already recognized as the leader of the pack, though?"

"I am...but you aren't." He noticed the surprise that widened her eyes and quickly backtracked. "Like I said, we don't have to do this. I understand if you're not ready to be officially recognized as Luna. Of course, I'd like for you to be official with me, but again, it's all up to you. If we don't, that doesn't change your authority. It's just unrecognized by the higher government, which would be Jackson, but I don't think he'll have a problem with it."

Ananya listened to him speak, nodding and saying nothing. Her mind was swarming, though. Be a Luna? Officially? I'd have a job...responsibilities...everything is going so fast...but in a good way? My heart is jumping, am I excited? I want this...I do want this...

She met his shifting eyes confidently and grinned. "I think we should do it," she said. "I want to be by your side officially, and I know that even if I don't do the ceremony, it won't change my supposed authority, but...I want to do this. I'm confident in that decision."

"You are? Really?" Oscar's body jolted in excitement, and he seemed to be at a loss for what he should do with his hands. Eventually, he cupped her face, smiling. "You...you want to be my Luna, officially? You want to say that in front of everyone?"

"I'm not ashamed to. I love your pack, and I think they've accepted me as well. I want to do this." She poked his chest teasingly. "Then I'll be able to boss you around."

He laughed. "Sweetheart, you can already boss me around." He leaned in and kissed her, their lips molding passionately. He held her close to his chest, their waists pressing against one another, and Ananya tangled her legs with his, savoring the warmth of both his mouth and body.

"It feels nice to be able to relax," she said, resting her head under his chin. "I can't remember the last time I've gotten to hear myself breathe."

Oscar hummed. "It is nice, isn't it?" He stroked her back, over the bandages that Samiya had wrapped around her wounds. "When do you think we should hold this ceremony?"

"In a while. Let everything get back to normal. I think people just need a break to spend time with their family and get their lives back together."

"That's true." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I need a nap. I think I'll head to bed early tonight."

"You should. Your face looks exhausted." Ananya dragged her index finger along the deep, tired lines of his face. "I'm surprised you had time to shave, though."

"I hate having hair around my mouth. My genes make it so that I get a wispy mustache, so I look like a teenager in puberty when I have facial hair," Oscar grumbled.

Ananya laughed. "That's an amusing image," she said.

"For you, maybe." He yawned. "You don't have to be anywhere, right? I can just lay here and enjoy a nap with you?"

"That sounds nice. It's been a while since I've slept during the day, though I think it's almost evening at this point." She cuddled him, and she realized then that she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a private, comforting conversation with Oscar. The past weeks had been overwhelmed by work and locating June to take her down, and even before that, Ananya and Oscar's relationship had only started because a human had been killed (the human that was Ananya's estranged cousin, she eventually remembered). She wondered if Egon and June hadn't put their plan into action, would she have met Oscar?