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128355
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2791d2e98f3eb1d231ad542a3149f7ee
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jack (beastars) directed by xenonlight
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Description

Jack and the Quiet Burden

The dormitory of Cherryton Academy was silent, save for the faint scratch of pencil against paper. A warm desk lamp cast a circle of golden light over scattered textbooks and notebooks, forming an island of focus in the otherwise dim room. Outside the tall windows, the last blush of twilight had surrendered to the deeper indigo of night. Stars pricked the sky in shy constellations.

Jack sat hunched at his desk, ears drooping slightly as he tried to concentrate. His notes sprawled with neat lines of ink, equations, and bullet points; his paw held the pencil firmly, though his eyes betrayed fatigue. The Labrador was diligent, even obsessive in his study habits, yet tonight, concentration came in broken fragments. His body betrayed him, tugged at his attention with a discomfort he struggled to ignore.

He shifted in his seat, adjusting his hips. The elastic of his gray briefs dug into his waist. They had stretched thin over weeks of wear, too small for the steady swelling brought on by the mandated abstinence. The Academy’s rules weighed heavily on everyone, though Jack had always thought himself lucky. He didn’t carry the same burning libido as his peers; for him, desire had always been a whisper, not a roar. Yet abstinence wasn’t merciful—it was a slow, relentless tide. Even those who tried not to think about it eventually drowned in the awareness of their own bodies.

Jack closed his notebook and sighed. He glanced at the window, the reflection of his own tired eyes meeting him in the glass. He muttered softly to himself, half in jest, half in defeat.

"These damn briefs. Maybe they’re shrinking on purpose just to remind me I can’t escape this."

The sound of the door creaking startled him. He turned to see Legoshi stepping into the room. The wolf’s tall frame seemed even larger in the quiet glow of lamplight, his posture uncertain, ears slightly flattened. Legoshi carried his unease like a second skin.

"Still awake?" Legoshi asked, his voice low, as if wary of disturbing the silence.

Jack smiled faintly. "When am I not? Someone has to keep their grades above water in this place."

Legoshi offered a sheepish chuckle, stepping further into the room. His eyes lingered on the desk, the tower of books, then drifted back to Jack with a seriousness that betrayed his restless thoughts.

"You study too much," he said.

Jack leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. "And you think too much. Between the two of us, maybe we’re balanced."

Legoshi didn’t reply at once. He moved toward his own bed, sitting heavily at its edge. For a moment, silence filled the space again, punctuated only by the faint buzz of the lamp and the rustle of paper. Then, almost reluctantly, Legoshi spoke.

"I saw Louis at the infirmary today. His numbers keep climbing."

Jack tilted his head, pretending innocence, though he already knew what Legoshi meant. "His… numbers?"

Legoshi gave him a look, ears flicking. "Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean."

Jack chuckled softly, setting his pencil aside. "Of course I know. Everyone knows. It’s hard not to, with the way he flaunts his pride."

The Labrador’s eyes softened as he studied his friend. Legoshi looked exhausted, not just in body but in spirit. The wolf’s tall shoulders carried more than muscle; they bore doubt, expectation, and the quiet shame of questions unspoken.

"Does it bother you?" Jack asked carefully.

Legoshi hesitated. His gaze dropped to the floor. "I don’t know. Maybe. He’s… different. Strong in ways I’m not. And yet—" He stopped himself, biting the inside of his cheek.

Jack leaned forward, ears perked with quiet curiosity. "And yet…?"

Legoshi’s claws tapped nervously against his knee. "And yet I can’t stop thinking about him. Not just as a rival. Something else. Something I don’t want to name."

The Labrador felt a pang of sympathy. He’d suspected it for a while; the tension between Louis and Legoshi was palpable, a current that ran beneath every encounter. It wasn’t purely antagonism. There was fascination, maybe even attraction, though Legoshi was too honest with himself to dismiss the possibility and too fearful to embrace it.

Jack tried to lighten the mood. "You’re telling me you’re haunted by a deer while I’m haunted by my own underwear. We all have our demons."

Legoshi blinked, startled by the remark. Then, for the first time that evening, he laughed—a genuine, soft laugh that made Jack’s tail thump against the chair leg.

"Your underwear?" the wolf asked, incredulous.

Jack lifted one brow, playing along with mock seriousness. "Don’t underestimate it. Two pairs, both gray, both overworked. They’ve become… my silent oppressors. Every night they remind me I’m still growing even when I don’t want to."

Legoshi tilted his head, watching his friend with a mix of amusement and sympathy. "Why not just wash them more often? Or buy new ones?"

Jack spread his paws helplessly. "Time is scarce, money scarcer, and besides, these briefs are practically veterans of this war. They’ve seen me through late-night studies, early classes, and now… abstinence. You could say we’re bonded."

The wolf shook his head, lips twitching with reluctant amusement. "Only you would romanticize your underwear, Jack."

"Someone has to," Jack said with a shrug. Then, more softly, he added, "It’s easier to joke about briefs than to admit how much this… pressure is getting to me too."

The honesty hung between them. Jack wasn’t one to dwell on his discomfort, but Legoshi’s vulnerability had opened the door. For the first time, he admitted aloud what he usually buried under study sessions and late-night exhaustion: that the abstinence was grinding him down, wearing at his composure.

Legoshi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes, golden and troubled, fixed on the Labrador. "So even you feel it."

Jack nodded. "I’d be lying if I said otherwise. But the difference is, I don’t let it define me. I keep my head down, drown it out with books, with routines. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine."

Legoshi’s ears drooped. "I wish I could do that. But Louis… he doesn’t let me forget. Every time I see him, it’s like a reminder that I’m failing at something I never even wanted to compete in."

Jack’s tone softened. "Maybe that’s the real trap. Competing in something you don’t believe in. Louis needs to win—he feeds on it. You, on the other hand, you’re burdened by the idea of losing even though the fight was never yours."

Legoshi looked down at his paws, silent. Jack’s words weren’t sharp, but they cut through the fog of his doubts with quiet precision. The wolf exhaled, long and weary.

"You make it sound simple," he murmured.

"It’s not simple," Jack admitted, "but it is clearer when you step back. Don’t mistake Louis’s war for yours. You’ve got enough battles in your own head."

For a while, they sat in silence, each lost in thought. The room felt heavier, yet also more honest than before. Jack leaned back in his chair, stretching again, the lamp casting soft highlights along his fur. He looked at Legoshi with a small, reassuring smile.

"And besides," Jack added with mock levity, "if things ever get too heavy, just remember: at least your underwear still fits."

Legoshi laughed again, a low, rumbling sound that eased some of the tension in his chest. "That’s true. And I guess I should be grateful for that."

"Gratitude is underrated," Jack said. "Even for something as humble as underwear."

Their eyes met briefly, and in that exchange lay an unspoken promise: of friendship, of understanding, of the kind of bond that endured through silence as much as through words.

The clock on the desk ticked past midnight. Jack yawned, setting his pencil down for good. Legoshi lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The air between them was still, but it no longer felt burdened.

Jack reached to turn off the lamp. "Goodnight, Legoshi."

"Goodnight, Jack," came the quiet reply.

Darkness embraced the room, but the warmth of their words lingered, a quiet shield against the night.

| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |

Felt good with this one, let me know what you think and be free to drop some ideas/suggestions for new works in the future.

Blacklisted
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