Chapter Text
★ - emetophobia warning
The Zoo on 118 Street is a pretty tight knit group. Hard to get into, and even harder to leave. The animals, the keepers, the volunteers–really everyone–are a family. With that, not many new people join.
Which is where Albert Han now finds himself. At his locker, absolutely terrified. He had tried and failed at his previous job, and with Chimney’s help and a little (half-failed) studying he now finds himself with a new job.
As a Giant Tortoise keeper.
Yes, Chimney laughed at him for hours because how could someone so incredibly impulsive and restless work with animals that barely go a mile an hour. And then so did Buck.
Maddie.
Ravi.
Hen.
Pretty much every single person Albert met because of Chimney laughed. Granted, he did too.
But it just feels right. Something about the rough and wrinkly skin, the way they just love to soak in the sun, feels right for him.
“Hi. You’re Albert Han, the new tortoise keeper right?”
He's taken out of his thoughts by a blonde-haired older woman with a clipboard.
“Yes, that's me,” he flashes a cheesy smile.
“Alright. I’m Myrtle. Follow me.” Huh. Like turtle.
She takes off in a brisk walk not even waiting for his acknowledgment as Albert just stares blankly for a moment before following her.
“Today will just be the basics, gauge how you work as a team and independently. We will start with having you meet the adults, and we also have new hatchlings that you can help name. They have to be approved by Bobby first, but he’s a good guy.”
She opens up what looks to be quite a heavy metal door, before waving him inside. Albert follows, nodding along as she goes over the basic feeding schedules, bathing schedules, and just boring stuff that he really should be paying attention to, but he absolutely is not.
In the slightest.
But it's fine. He will totally be able to catch up.
Myrtle grabs a basket that's filled with greens before looking at Albert, “Can you grab that other basket behind you, please?”
Albert spins around (maybe too aggressively) before he grabs the basket. “Got it.”
She smiles before directing him to follow again, pushing open yet another heavy door, the sunlight streaming in, followed by a grunt from one of the tortoises that is waiting right there.
“That’s Perry, he’s the hungry one. Will try and nip at your ankles if you take too long.”
That’s a boring name.
“I don’t blame him honestly.” Albert grabs a leaf of lettuce before bending over and handing it to Perry, who is very quick to take it.
“So, just sprinkle around the lettuce and other greens, I believe that basket also has a few vegetables on a rope that you just tie up to a low branch.”
“Enrichment, right?”
She nods, and Albert gets to work.
It’s a little weird being at a zoo so early where there is no one else around but other keepers and guides. Which, on that, one of them, May, walks past holding hands with a girl as she turns and waves to him before they continue on.
As does his step-brother and Ravi, both arguing over fish and squids? A likely thing for them both to do.
“Albert!”
Oh yeah. He’s working, not watching.
“Yes Myrtle?”
“Dump the rest, and then come fill up the pool please. The hose is right around the corner and the key is hanging above.”
“Got it!”
Albert dumps the rest of the basket right at his feet and looks at the other tortoises very slowly stalking over as he kicks the lettuce off his boots and continues to the corner.
He grabs the key that's hanging off a hook with a little cartoon tortoise painted with it, before squatting down to unlock it.
The casing falls open and he cringes at the slug that's moving along the inside, leaving a trail behind. His hands tighten over the hose as he drags it to what he assumes is the pool. Because why else would there be a small brick hole?
A few moments later, and one accidental boot bath, he's finally got the pool filled and now being directed on how to clean up after them.
The really really not so glamorous side as he's given a rake to go through the hay of where they sleep at night and he can’t help but grimace a little. This is nasty.
Once that's over and done, Albert finds himself in front of a shallow dish that has four tiny hatchlings that are eating on even smaller bits of kale. He holds one out in front of the smallest which seems very happy to be there.
“These little guys were found on the side of the road with a few minor injuries so will be hand-reared here.”
He jumps slightly, forgetting Myrtle was there. She's smiling at him, for once.
“You can name them if you’d like.”
“Well there's four. I think it would be illegal if we didn't name them after the teenage mutant ninja turtles.”
“Touche kid. I’ll forward that to Bobby.”
Albert gently scratches the head of the one he's now named Donatello, who moves his head into the finger.
Yeah. This is where he's meant to be.
May did not want to be here. At all. Literally nothing could be lower than her patience to deal with Karens, rowdy children and just all over, people.
She lets out a groan as she pulls her legs up and rests her forehead on her knees. Why did she listen to Bobby and her mum and decide to pick up a job here as well. Or two jobs both that involve talking to people constantly.
She can help but grumble again and sigh.
“Babe. You are being very dramatic right now.”
Oh yeah. Alia. Her girlfriend of 6 months who is currently sitting in the drivers spot next to her. The light is glowing around her head, giving her a halo that makes the pastel ends of her hair even brighter. She's gorgeous.
And currently looking at her with her eyebrows scrunched with a soft smile on her face.
“Al. You don’t understand! These people are like, evil?!” May can't help but end it with a whine. She pushed her head back into the headrest, closing her eyes before opening one to look at her girlfriend and smile back.
“I think that's quite the exaggeration, how bad can some zoo-goers be?”
She sits up straighter, pushing her right knee down into the seat and her left leg onto the ground as she turns to her. “They try to feed the animals. Pat them. They litter. They yell, they scream, they seem to think down on us all as if we aren’t running the place they are in.” She places her head on Alia’s shoulder. “Baby. They are downright evil.”
“Okay I think I get it. That's dumb.”
“No shit,” May groaned.
“Why don’t we head in– and don't you grumble at me again– we can take a walk around, maybe see the butterflies before you start.”
May just nods before opening the car door and climbing out. She opens the trunk of the car pulling out her brown shoulder bag that is covered in little trinkets. There's a rainbow flag pin that her mum brought her, a little seal pin, a tiger keychain hanging on the zip. It’s a little scuffed up, but it’s one she found in the hospital gift shop after she attempted.
She softly smiles at the little tiger, running her thumb over it before shutting the truck and walking over, her bag jiggling as she moves.
Alia meets her at the front of the car, hand out extended.
May takes it, a flutter in her stomach as they walk towards the employee entrance.
“What’s on the agenda today?”
“Well, I have a few tours, one animal experience, oh and Bobby wants me to help out with just general cleaning duties.” Their hands swing as they walk, feet falling into steady steps. “What about you?”
“I get to tattoo real skin for the first time today! My trainer said my line work is getting steady enough.” May looks down at Alia’s chunky rings, her white skirt and colour blocked pastel cardigan and can't help but chuckle.
“I always forget. You’re like a walking art class yet an aspiring tattooist”
“Hey you like colour too!” Alia looks down at May’s admittedly sad khaki shorts and button up uniform. “Just…not at work.”
May just rolls her eyes, squeezing Alia’s hand as they round the corner to the butterflies. They both are silent as they walk under the wings and open up the first door.
“Ladies first,” Alia jokingly says, opening the door with a bow.
May rolls her eyes again as she giggles (yes, she giggles now apparently) and walks in. As the door shuts behind them, they open the second and the warmth instantly hits them. And hard.
It is extremely stuffy in here, with a few zeepers moving around adding nectar and pollen in the little flower shaped feeding zones. There's butterflies everywhere, one instantly coming down to land on May’s shoulder.
“See? Worth working here right.” Alia is grinning, a butterfly perched on her shoe.
“Yeah there's no prams, no screaming kids, and it’s actually just silent.”
There's a slight crash and a hiss from Ana, one of the keepers who just hit her toe on the railing.
“You okay over there?” May calls out.
Ana just laughs before nodding and picking up the bottle she was using and continuing on with her job.
Alia takes May’s hand and drags her over to the enclosures in the corner that have an array of caterpillars and chrysalis.
They stop in front of it, peering in at all the little bugs in various stages of their life cycles undergoing changes. The soft flaps of the butterflies around them adds to the experience, and it was just what May needed before work.
After a bit, they leave the enclosures through the same two door system and walk back to the entrance as May’s shift time starts to creep in. The walk is relatively quiet. The buzz of opening lingering in the air, and the stillness that is the animals waking up. They stop quickly at the tiger exhibit, May watching one of the keepers throw in a hunk of meat and a tiger–Aludra–pouncing on it before rolling on her back like the oversized kitten she is.
May really loves tigers.
Aludra is then brought into the back, likely for a routine check up and they continue on, just enjoying their time together.
As they round the entrance Alia leans over, holding May’s chin and giving her a closed mouth, gentle kiss. “Shift ends at 6 right?”
“Yeah.” May can’t say much else, feeling weak in the knees.
“I’ll be there.”
With one last hand squeeze, Alia is turning and walking away, May gripping the handle of her bag tighter as she just stares.
Til there’s a whistle from behind her.
“Oh fuck off Buckley, go climb a tree!”
★
Ravi was lying to himself.
He was not at all fine and hadn't been since morning, but here he was still helping Lucy with weighing the seals and trying desperately to ignore the churning in his stomach from the fish smell. Oh, and the pain.
He had woken up with a dull ache that settled low in his abdomen, brushed it off with Sebastian even knowing the likelihood he throws up today is high. As the time passed the pain only got worse, making his intestines feel like they were twisting and the cramping started pretty quickly.
He’s not sick as such, but turns out undergoing years of chemotherapy as a child has a habit of sneaking up and fucking you over when you grow up. It’s not a pretty sight. At all. Ravi’s used to it but still here he finds himself trying to power through it and do his job.
Which is where he is today trying to direct Xavi onto the platform, a fish in his hand and the smell warthing up his nostrils.
“Panikkar? You good?” Lucy asks, staring at him quizzingly.
He swallows down what absolutely feels like bile as his stomach protests again.
“Yeah. Fine. Totally and utterly fine.” He turns his back to her, and grimaces as his hand instinctively presses down on his stomach.
He turns back around, way too fast and lets off a pained smile as he grabs another fish, honestly having no clue what happened to the last one. His head feels like he's in a fog.
Ravi looks around the room before directing over one of the newbies, “Hey you. Come help Lucy?” It comes off more as a question but he really just can’t deal with the fish at the moment. His stomach tugs and cramps again, making him bite his lip.
He doesn’t wait for an answer, turning around and stalking outside. As he pushes the door open, the fresh air smells a lot better. What doesn’t help is all the people now out and about. Including a small barely 3 year old who had his face pressed up against the glass and currently watching Sam bob her head in time with the kid.
He takes a breather, which his stomach doesn't like, and angrily sends a wave of pain and the sticky feeling of saliva pooling in his mouth.
Like an idiot, he pretends that doesn't mean danger and goes to talk to the kid.
“Hey kid, like the seals huh?” His voice is waving and his stomach hurts.
“Seals!”
“Yes buddy, that’s Sam.” Ravi twirls his finger and Sam does a spin.
“Seals! Seals! Seals! Seals!”
An older sibling walks over, “This is Max. He’s autistic, and will only say the word seals.”
“It’s all good. I was just the same as a kid, only said seals and drove my amma crazy.”
“Hahaha, it drives our dads crazy too.”
“Seals.” The kid is now wiggling around and Sam, oh the baby, is copying the kid.
Ravi smiles, one he absolutely knows is weak now considering how bad he feels and the belt he's wearing is digging right into his stomach and it's tight. Like, too tight. Pressing right down in all the wrong spots. He feels like a pit of dread.
His hands are shaking as he waves goodbye, not trusting himself to speak as he steps back inside. His breaths are shallow and his mouth feels like the same pool the seals are in with how much spit is in his mouth.
He shakingly swallows, and the sensation goes away for a moment, thinking he’s all good now.
Nope.
His stomach lurches and he gags. He's going to puke. Now.
Ravi’s bends over hand coming to his mouth as he whimpers as the feeling of bile travels up his throat and he pulls back upright and bolts off to the bathroom.
Any other time he would be thinking about everyone around watching him, knowing what he's doing, perceiving him– but today he can’t think of anything but how bad he needs to throw up.
His shoulder collides with Chimney’s harshly, who's moving out of the bathroom. Ravi can briefly hear him saying ‘what the’ before Ravi’s slamming the stall door open with a loud clash. He has exactly zero seconds to close the door, instead just dropping painfully hard to the ground, knees already throbbing as he leans over and starts to retch. The acidic taste fills his throat and he can’t help but just groan as he heaves.
His stomach cramps painfully again and one of his arms comes around to rest over it well he squirms.
He had absolutely lied to himself. He doesn’t feel good in the slightest and he’s so uncomfortable as his stomach cramps forcing him to throw up the small breakfast he did have.
Ravi feels a hand on his back as he just sighs and gags again.
“What’s going on kid?”
Ravi just shifts, his throat burning and his stomach clenching, “Ugh, chemo long term effects.”
Chimney nods in understanding, hand rubbing Ravi’s back leaving and handing him bottled water.
His hands pitifully shake as he takes it, taking a moment before he’s even able to get it open. Ravi takes a swig, trying to clean out the taste in his mouth before he spits it out. He takes another, swallowing this time, easing some of the burn as his stomach grumbles unappreciative.
Chimney shifts on his feet and that's when Ravi finally looks up at him. He’s holding a penguin in a soft pink blanket. Ravi chuckles, groans, and tries to not just cry cause ow.
“I’m going to call Sebastian to get you.”
“No I’m–” He has no chance to finish his statement before he's doubling over again, stomach contracting.
“No buts. You’re going to the break room, I'll have Athena or someone get out the heat pack and you're not moving till we don’t have an expensive cleaning bill.”
The penguin chirps in agreement.
Ravi just whines as his hands go to undo his belt because the pressure against his stomach is really not helping at all. It’s a deep ache now, just there, full and sore. He hears a flush from the toilet and there's a hand reaching out to help him up.
He takes the hand, trying to not sway on his feet as Chimney directs him out of the bathroom, handing over the penguin, and taking Ravi’s phone from his back pocket and dialling Sebastian as they start the way too long walk over to the break room.
He would really like to lie down for a bit and take a nap.
It’s about noon when Hen finds herself after a busy morning going to the break room, intending to have lunch with her wife. However, like always the zoo sucks her in and she finds herself in front of the aviary with a little girl. She couldn’t be older than five, in a little white bird patterned dress, talking her ear off.
Reminding her of Nia.
“Why do they have so many colours?” Lilibeth, the little girl, asked bouncing on her heels at Marie the Macaw.
Hen kneels down to her height, looking at her with a grin. “Well, the colours help them blend into the rainforest. They look just like the colours of the flowers and trees, helping protect them and their friends from danger.”
Lilibeth is absolutely enthralled with it all, “Like superheroes since they hide everywhere? And ‘cause they can fly too?”
“Exactly because of that. They can hide and fly which makes them the ultimate rainforest superheroes.”
Lilibeth moved around trying to get closer to the birds, “What do they eat? Could they eat fries like us?”
“They could, but they actually like to eat nuts and fruits. Makes them big and strong.”
“Oh is that why my grandma makes me eat my fruits and vegetables at dinner?”
“Absolutely it is.”
Lilibeth continued to ask numerous questions, very much testing Hen’s ability to recall information, but honestly? She wouldn’t love being anywhere else.
The time moved forward quickly, spent answering questions, showing her the birds and even some of their tricks. She was so absorbed that she didn’t notice a certain someone coming up behind her till she heard a voice.
“Henrietta.” Karen says with a smirk and playfully crossing her arms, “I seem to remember you saying we could have lunch together today yet you were nowhere to be found.”
Hen smiles sheepishly, “Uh oops? Got carried away talking to this little one.”
Karen smiles softly at the kid, giving her a wave and watching her bounce off to where her grandparents were eating. “Come on. You promised me a proper break today.” Hen puts her hand out helping Hen up off her feet, as they walk hand and hand to the break room.
As they pass the Wild Sea part, Hen shoots a glance at Chimney on the phone and who seems to be holding Ravi up. She goes to ask something but Chimney shakes his head, doing a slashing movement as he keeps talking into the phone. Likely to Ravi’s finace.
Karen turns to Hen, getting her attention with a soft “You’re such a big softie with kids.”
Hen looks at her with a lovesick grin, “Can’t help it. She reminded me of Nia.”
They weave through the crowds and Karen makes a sudden stop at a staff storage area, sending a suggestive glance towards Hen, tugging her into a barely used closet.
“You know,” Karen threads her hand up to the nap of Hen’s neck, cradling her head, fingers splayed, “I think we have plenty of time for some…alone time.” As the door closes behind him, the dim light leaves it feeling like they are the only two people to ever exist.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Karen gently pushes Hen up against the wall, brushing her lips against Hen’s. Hen’s hands pull on Karen’s scrubs, pulling her closer and pushing a gentle yet rushed kiss to her lips.
Karen gently bites down and pulls Hen’s lower lip before releasing with a hushed giggle and soft whisper, “I’ve been thinking of you all day.”
Hen’s breath hitches. Being around her wife, being with her soulmate, makes everyday feel special and every moment just that much better. She feels like eternal fireflies, like flying through a rainforest, like the warm sun on a lazy Sunday morning. She feels like Home.
“Have you now?” Hen doesn’t give her a chance to respond, just tugging and pulling her closer, bringing her lips to hers, melting in the strawberry chapstick. Hen’s other hand finds her way into Karen’s hair whilst Karen’s hand traces its way over the curve of Hen’s waist, untucking the shirt as she goes along. Skin meets skin and nothing has felt better.
Job be damned.
Bobby sighed. Hen was due back from her lunch break ten minutes ago, and she had promised him that she would help him set up some new computer accounts for the team. But, here she was, not in his office.
With her track record, he knew where she was. Between her and Karen, and Buck and Eddie, he’s very quickly realised working with your partner is more distracting than it is good.
Yes, he works with his, but it’s different.
Bobby heads out of his office, smiling at said wife who’s looking at the security cameras.
“Have a look at storage closest 43. I have a feeling you’ll find who you are looking for.” Athena answers without a question, getting up off her seat and walking over to Bobby.
Bobby’s arm finds her waist as he looks down, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, “I had a feeling.” He says as he pulls back.
They linger a little (okay maybe he is just as bad) before hushed little goodbyes are said and Bobby steps out into the sun, and goes on a hunt for the missing vet and bird keeper.
It didn’t take too long to find them or well, hear them specifically. As he nears the storage rooms, he can see the door of a closet ever so slightly cracked open, and the sounds of giggles and hushed conversation becomes louder.
Bobby sighs again. He moves closer, bracing for a second before he pulls the door open.
What a sight that awaited him.
Karen’s thigh is between Hen’s legs, leaving little to imagine, alongside the newly purpling bruise on Karen’s neck. With an untucked shirt, a stretched scrub, Hen’s head tilted back against the wall, her chest heaving with gasps of air around a giggle. Yeah, look it wasn’t hard to know what was going on.
Bobby cleared his throat loudly, his expression exasperated but understanding.
“Hen? Karen? Well I hate to break up your lunch plans but you were both due back 20 minutes ago.”
Karen jumps back ever so slightly as they both turn to look at him Karen’s eyes wide before breaking into laughter, thigh moving and Hen pouting. Neither trying to act nonchalant.
Karen spoke first, “Hey Bobby, we were just… finishing up.”
Hen is trying so hard to stifle a laugh but very much fails as she bends over. It doesn’t take long before Karen is joining in, hand on Hen’s shoulder.
Bobby just rolls his eyes, putting his hands up, “I don’t need details. Just, let's actually take a food break before we get back to work okay” He left it at that, very quickly leaving the storage room to a sound track of laughter.
The infamous break room was a somewhat cluttered yet cosy space that was littered with remains from quick meals, quiet conversations, and a lot of laughter. The walls were decorated with zoo posters and photos of various animals–some current residents, others long gone but not forgotten. A whiteboard was in the centre, a ton of reminders, important dates and random notes on it, with a coffee machine on the benches next to it, sputtering away from overuse.
Hen was sitting on an oversized and worn out armchair by the window, sipping on coffee and nibbling on some fries. Occasionally she glanced up, checking to see who else was coming in as she read an article about bird conservation on her phone.
The peace was broken quickly when Chimney burst in, his phone out in his hand and seeming to vibrate in his steps as he bounces over to Hen.
“Have you seen the baby penguin at Melbourne Aquarium?” Chimney excitedly said, showing Hen a picture of a brown fluffy baby penguin, who also was absolutely massive. “His name is Pesto and he’s like, twice the size of his parents.”
Hen drops her own phone, taking Chimney’s and grinning, “He’s so cute. And large.”
“I should totally name one of our penguins like Sage or Basil in his honour.” Chimney, seemingly having a thought, “Even though they are like, 10 times smaller.”
“They are called little penguins for a reason.”
Chimney pouted before flipping to another photo and holding it way too close to his face. “Maybe Cilantro will be a cool name.”
“Now you are just being ridiculous, Chim.” Hen adds, shaking her head.
“Hey it could work! I mean, just think about the work having a viral penguin could do for conservation and funding.” Chimney put his phone away, pulling over a wooden rickety chair as he sits back to front, “It’s doing wonders for Melbourne, I bet it would do even better here.”
Hen opens her mouth to add something only to be cut off.
“We should totally ask Bobby about collaboration or something.”
“With an Aquarium on the opposite side of the world. Sure totally works.”
Chimney sighs. He totally thinks this is a good idea.
As they continue to talk, debating things that only they would, the doors are slammed open. Buck and Eddie trudged in, covered in dirt, boots leaving shoe prints. Buck flopped down on the couch near Hen, flopping his lanyard off his neck and dramatically sighing loud enough for everyone to hear. “Anyone got food? I’m starving.”
Eddie, a lot more dignified, sits down next to Buck, interlocking their legs. “You ate like half an hour ago.”
Buck just raised one brow looking at him like he had grown two heads. “Monkey’s are exhausting okay. And it wasn’t you that had to chase around the baby squirrel monkey now, was it.”
Eddie just rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone to check on Christopher.
“Speaking of babies, you guys just have to see Pesto.” Chimney is already thrusting his phone in their faces before either gets a word out.
“Okay he is one cute big baby.” Buck admitted. “But have you seen the baby red panda Bobby’s been spoiling, that is the softest little dude.”
Eddie scoffed. “He won’t even tell us his name!”
Terry, a snake handler, piped up, “Apparently babies are on the brain today.”
“Blame Chimney and his penguin addiction!” Hen adds chucking a fry at Chimney’s face.
Meanwhile, in the other corner of the room it was far quieter. Sebastian had his laptop open balancing on a small table he brought closer, deep into editing and revising his thesis on Latin culture and history. The soft sounds of classical music playing through his oversized headphones.
Ravi was curled up next to him, his head nestled on Sebastian’s lap, dead asleep.
Sebastian’s hand curled in Ravi’s hair, his focus unwavering despite the chaos around, the gold engagement band with soft engravings of symbols across it. After his proposal, Ravi had just about demanded they get one for Sebastian too. A heat pack was also placed over his stomach, helping ease the cramping from earlier. An empty packet of zofran sat by his drink bottle, which was covered in seals.
Ravi softly sighs, wiggling a little as he drifts deeper into sleep, having decided before to hold off going home. Last thing he wants is to throw up on the side of the road again. Really, it was clear that Sebastian’s presence held a healing effect to him, the gentle rise and fall of his chest that indicated how content he was.
Chimney smiles from where he’s sitting, honestly proud of himself for getting Ravi help and admitting he wasn’t feeling good. That wasn’t an easy fit.
Hen follows Chimney’s eyes, landing on the duo in the corner. “Stomach issues again?”
“Yeah, chemo affects, apparently.” Chimney answers.
“Poor kid,” Eddie adds, poking Buck for seemingly no reason, earning himself a glare.
“The conservation work can’t be helping either. I swear he’s been running himself ragged trying to get people to understand dangers with things like boats. It’s a lot of pressure”
Buck adds in, “It’s hard with the primates too. I don’t think the general public seem to understand how much we are doing to just make sure these animals don’t go extinct.”
“But we do good. We were able to bring the Giant Panda back.”
They all nod, agreeing. Whatever the animal, they all held a similar viewpoint, a want, a responsibility to help the animals and the greater ecosystems.
As if on cue, the door swung open, and Bobby entered the break room, looking around with a mock-stern expression.
"Am I interrupting something, or are we all pretending we don’t have jobs to do?" Bobby asked, his voice carrying that tone that made everyone chuckle.
“Don’t worry, Bobby," Hen said with a smirk. "We were just plotting how to overtake you."
Bobby rolled his eyes, though there was a small smile tugging at his lips. "Well, if you figure it out, let me know. In the meantime, maybe get back to work before the animals think we’ve all abandoned them."
Everyone groaned as they started to gather their things, teasing Bobby as they headed back to their respective enclosures. As they left the break room, Hen glanced back at Sebastian and Ravi, still curled up in their little corner, and smiled.
Somehow, even in the midst of all the work and chaos, they had managed to create a space that felt like family—a wild, wonderful family where everyone was doing their part to make a difference.
Chimney loves his penguins.
Arguably more than anyone else could love anything. The little blue feathered guys are his pride and joy, and he will treat them as such.
Which is where he finds himself, in the backroom with his or well, the penguins, lunchbox open at the treats he had made last night for them. Maddie did complain about the smell but Jee? She loved joining. It was two against one.
He grabs the purple container filled with fish and the orange one, filled with plankton frozen ice cubes, and shoves the tin back into the freezer.
Bobby can be damned, his penguins deserve extra treats.
He moves past Lucy who seems to be seeing how many seal pups she can fold in her arms (she's at three) and presses his back to the door with the penguin art. Using his elbow, he manages to get it open, stepping out and immediately being greeted with a bunch of twirls and chirps. That sound never gets old.
“Hey buddies. We ready for some treats?”
At that simple word, they freak out.
The small group of penguins start jumping around, doing little twists, making happy little noises as they try to do everything in the book to get those containers open.
Chimney starts with the plankton one, throwing the cubes into the pool in front of him, watching both the penguins and the public. There’s so many people watching, loving to see what’s going on, especially when it’s feeding time.
He places the container at his feet, stifling a laugh at the few penguins who start pecking at it.
But it’s opening the purple one that really gets their attention. They love their fish more than anything.
He spends a good few minutes making them perform some small tricks and watching them happily gobble the fish down when he hears a voice.
Followed by himself saying oh shit.
It’s Bobby.
Who keeps telling Chimney to cut back on the treats so the penguins don’t become too round. Which is how they’re meant to be!
Chimney shoves the container behind his back, giving a grin at Bobby, praying that he can’t tell what he is actually doing. “Hi Boss man! What brings you here today?”
Bobby sighs as he walks over to the glass barrier, leaning over it and crossing his arms. “Chim. I am not a ‘boss man’. And I know what you were doing.”
Chimney shrugs trying to play dumb but really, his penguins are selling his soul.
They are currently jumping to try and get the fish from his hands and they’re actually getting so high they may as well start to fly. Which, is like, impossible. But his penguins are amazing so of course they are.
But it’s totally blowing his cover. Especially with the fact some of them are still in the water diving from the plankton cubes.
“I have no idea what youre talking about boss man.”
Bobby looks fed up. His hand comes to his face and he just lets out a low groan. “I seriously can’t have them being overfed.”
Chimney has a look of mocked horror, his hand coming up to his chest, and before he can speak the container is on the floor spilling fish everywhere. He forgot he needed at least one hand to hold it.
The fish are now covering the patch of sand behind him, the penguins are making so many noises in joy and he’s turned around to see them happily eating. He can hear Bobby groan and the sound of a not so happy owner.
He very slowly turns back to Bobby, shrugs his shoulders again and slinks back through the door before he can get in trouble for this.
And Lucy now has five seals in her arms and is bragging to anyone who looks at her.
Buck is standing in front of the gorilla enclosure, a wide grin plastered against his face, and a excited glint in his eyes. He is in his element, gesturing to the crowd around him that had gathered for this afternoon's keeper talk. There was a soft warm glow across the greenery, with the gorilla’s happily lounging in the sun, unfazed by the attention.
Buck fiddled with his microphone, double checking it’s on, “Hello everyone, let’s meet our troop!” He enthusiastically points towards the gorillas. “These amazing creatures are our Western Low-land Gorillas, a critically endangered species, each with their own personalities. Just as unique as me and you.”
A little kid came up to him, hand in the air and waving so hard. Buck, who loves kids, grins harder and points to him, “Yes buddy?”
“Do they fight like those on TV?” The kid is wide eyed, excited and staring at Buck like he holds answers to everything.
“Well, they are super strong and can be protective, especially to their silverback, but actually, they prefer to fight in a different way. See, they are gentle giants, and like to resolve issues by showing off or by posturing. See that big guy over there?” Buck points just far back to where a massive gorilla is currently eating some leaves, paying no attention to the crowd.
“That’s Cinder, the leader. He’s the silverback because if you look closely, his back is covered in silver hairs. This shows that he is the boss. His size might be scary, but really, he’s pretty chill. He keeps everyone safe, and well, his favourite food is celery.”
Parts of the crowd chuckled, and his grin just kept growing. He really loves his job. The connection and interaction with the people never fails to make him feel good, especially when he can share his passion with others.
“He’s pretty calm, but he will stand up and beat on his chest if anyone is misbehaving or in danger. Which, the little ones do a fair bit!” Buck stalks closer to the glass, pretending to beat on his chest and makes a gorilla-like roar. “It’s his way of telling everyone ‘I am the one in charge’.”
The kids giggle, some mimicking Buck’s motions, the energy electric and filling him with joy. The small parts of this just makes it feel right. Sharing facts, educating them without fear.
As he stands there, one of the other gorillas comes up close to the glass, peering at the audience. It’s Ariel. The crowd murmurs with excitement and she turns and looks up at Buck. He softly smiles at her, and she gives him a nod, the bond between him and the troop evident.
“And here is Ariel. She’s a very curious girl, loves to watch people, and is one of the best mums. Her little one, Melody, is likely up in a tree. Most gorillas prefer to stay on the ground, but she’s a little explorer and likes to climb up high.”
Scanning the trees, Buck does indeed find her. She’s up high, pretty camouflaged by the dense leaves. He points out to her, “There she is.” He turns back to the crowd, “Now she’s still pretty young, reliant on her mother. Gorilla’s are really family-oriented, so everyone actually pitches in to help out and look after the young.”
The crowd are busy snapping photos of Ariel, who is posing perfectly for them all, content to observe them like they are observing her.
Buck continued, passion sparkling in his blue eyes, “These fellows share around 96% of their DNA with us, we are so much more similar than most people actually realise. They use tools, have emotional bonds, and even communicate through their body language. We are still continuing to learn so much from them.”
As he speaks, the crowds fill with nods, even adults joining in and having fun, really making him feel like he is making a difference to the world, helping in one small way at a time. This was always meant to be his call, sharing conservation knowledge and helping these animals grow and thrive in their environment. Leaving the public with the important notice.
He moves away from the glass, taking on a more serious tone, “Conservation is key. These guys are heavily endangered, because of habitat destruction, poaching, and diseases. It’s zoo’s like us who are trying to fix this. Through breeding programs, spreading awareness, public campaigns like our recycling phone batteries, one you would've seen around and supporting efforts to protect their habits. The more we learn, the more we can help them not disappear.”
Buck makes eye contact with as many people as he can, scanning the crowd. “I hope when you guys leave today, you remember this part the best. Every small action helps. From recycling, sharing knowledge, and donating to conservation efforts, every small action does more than you ever know.”
A little girl tugged on her parent’s sleeves and in a hushed whisper he could barely make out, “I want to save the gorillas.” Buck smiles. It’s a win in his book. It was everything.
He waits around a bit more, answering questions, chatting easily, taking the thank yous that come his way. The crowd slowly dispersed, moving on, others joining in as well.
An older man leaned in, “You really love what you do.”
“I do. I really do.” Buck smiles wildly as he turns and waves goodbye to a kid who was waving as well.
It was true. All he wanted was to help people, and in this way he’s both helping them and helping the animals thrive again. He really loves it all.
Buck walks back over to the glass where Ariel is waiting, and he gently taps on it. She tilts her head, nudging the glass, watching him.
“Thanks for turning up today, big girl.” He smiled at her, watching her smile back, as he stalks over to the ranger area, always more work to be done. He unclips the microphone from his ear, turning it off and just smiling as he walks back.
Eddie did not like the zeeper talks. He was much more content to stay hidden from the public, focusing on the animals only. It was easier, less performing.
He grabs another banana from the pile, cutting into it roughly. He was almost done here, preparing another round of food for the white-cheeked gibbons. They seemed to eat endlessly, reminding him of Christopher. That kid would not stop eating.
Eddie likes this part, the soft routine of just cutting into fruits and adding them to a bucket of insects and nutrient powder. It was calm, quiet, and no one really disturbed him. It was peaceful.
He puts the banana pieces in the bucket, grabbing a few more scoops of the powder considering Buck’s tendency to give way too many fun treats. He looks around briefly, having actually zero idea where the bucket lid was.
Eddie sighs. Grabs the monkey spatula (it actually looks like a monkey as well.) He stirs the mixture, cringing at the squelch. He then grabs the handle and walks over to the door, his keys jingling from his belt.
Pushing open the door and pulling up his mask, he’s greeted by multiple monkeys squealing. He softly smiles at them before kneeling at the first dish and spooning some in. A few monkeys start to eat, and he can’t help but feel like he’s being watched. Granted, considering he’s in an animal enclosure, you would think this was normal.
But no. This was weird. Like a different sensation, not one from the public, not from the animals.
He’s jolted out of his attention by a feral call and Daisy falling on his back and making him stagger a little. Sometimes the animals are just simply too friendly. He stands up, pulling her off his back and placing her down.
“No climbing today please, I'm trying to feed you guys.”
As he walks over to the higher up dish, he hears giggles? And really does feel like he’s being watched. He turns towards the sounds, seeing a mid teens girl staring at him and laughing with her friends.
Turning around he sees exactly what’s happening.
Hildy.
The monkey is standing on her hind legs staring right at Eddie. He moves his hand to his hip and to his dismay, she copies him.
He doesn’t like this. At all.
The monkey is staring at him with an eerily look in her eyes, so damn focused.
“Come on. Seriously? You’re not meant to be this smart.”
Hildy only looks at Eddie, opening and closing her mouth but thankfully no words come out. Though she is clearly trying to act like him.
He walks over to the dish hearing more giggles and little crunches of monkey foot steps. As he scoops out some of the mixture, he catches Hildy doing the exact same thing. Scooping nothing, but scooping nonetheless.
Eddie really tries to ignore her, but it’s hard when he sighs and she lets out a small monkey like huff of air. He spins around so hard, stumbling backwards and wide eyed.
Hildy does the same, down to the way he braces himself on the tree. This is…unsettling. Majorly so. This was not what he signed up for.
Eddie looks at her, crossing his arms. “What’s your problem?” He glares at the little primate, looking up and down.
Hildy takes one look at him, crosses her arms, stares her beady little eyes at him and looks up and down. Mirroring him perfectly.
Eddie’s eyebrows scrunch up and he can’t help but look horrified. “Absolutely not. Nope. nope. I’m not doing this today. Are you some sort of security drone?”
He sounds absolutely idiotic but look, if a monkey was copying your moves you would be concerned too. Eddie can handle a lot of things. He was in the army for fucksake, but a copycat monkey is where he completely draws the lines. He shoots a glance at the door, absolutely expecting Buck to make fun of him but thankfully he’s still busy.
He turns back towards the gibbon. “Look. I am working here–can’t you just go, like eat?” Eddie gestures towards the dishes, earns a gesture in return, and sighs, reaching up and running his hand through his hair.
Meaning Hildy runs her hand over her own head in a comical way, staring at him with almost a smirk. He can still hear the teen girls laughing at him.
“You are creeping me out.” He steps back towards the door, deciding the rest of the dishes can just wait and be filled by Buck.
She copies him. He shouldn’t be surprised but he is and this is madly concerning.
“I can’t do this, nope.” He pretty much runs to the door, stopping as it opens and Buck walks in.
“Woah, what’s got you so spooked?”
Eddie, just lost for words, gestures at Hildy, who gestures back, and groans. He shoves the bucket at Buck, who’s now half bent over laughing. He laughs harder when Hildy shoves an invisible bucket at Daisy who looks at her in confusion.
“Oh my,” wheezes, “god, you have a copy,” wheezes, “cat monkey.” Buck is barely holding onto the bucket trying to not kneel over and pass out from the extent of his laughter. This is too good.
Eddie rolls his eyes and just pushes past Buck. “This is no longer my job. Go finish feeding them.” He doesn’t bother checking if Hildy copied him again, he already knows by the sheer fact Buck laughed harder. Any other day he would love that sound, but today he is done with it.
He turns to the side and jumps back in surprise with a yelp that Buck definitely heard.
Fucking Hildy was perched on the window looking into the enclosure and now mimicking the same startled look. Eddie’s heart just thuds in his chest as he clutches it (yes so did she) as he just sits on the floor.
He’s so done with monkeys today.
The first lights of dawn softly peak through the curtains, engulfing the living room in a glow. Hen sits on the couch, the house wrapped in a sleepy silence. In her arms is a scarlet macaw, named Elizabeth. She had come to the zoo with an injured wing, and Hen took her in to rehabilitate her and get her stronger, despite the fact she can’t fly.
“Good morning beautiful,” Hen states as she gently scratches the top of Elizabeth's head, the bird nuzzling into the hand content. Her strong talons gripping Hen’s arm to keep herself upright and balanced.
With a smile Hen asked, “Ready for our morning flight?”
Elizabeth twirls happily, hoping on her arm. Hen lifts her up, gently holding her belly and back, the wings out spread. Hen lifts her carefully into the air, sways her arms and starts moving around the house, moving her gently up and down. Elizabeth caws and flaps one of her wings, the other staying unmoving as the wind brushes through her feathers. The wing flaps with excitement, she truly loves this routine, the weightless feeling.
Hen turns a corner, tilting her slightly and she squawks before flapping harder as if she's controlling herself. “You’re a natural darling.” Elizabeth looks back at her, tilts her head and sings.
“Looks like she’s actually flying.” A voice came from the hallway. Karen stood there, hair tousled and wearing one of Hen’s old hoodies, the logo faded from use.
Hen flys Elizabeth over to her, before placing her on her shoulder this time. Elizabeth does little foot taps before going to peck at Hen’s head. “You know she always feels like she is.”
Karen reached her hand up to gently stroke Elizabeth's belly, “She deserves too.”
Hen smiles softly, pecking a small kiss to Karen’s cheek before they go to sit on the couch together, Elizabeth hoping down. She perches on Hen’s lap, Karen offering her a small cat belly toy. She loves to throw it around.
Which she does.
It’s quiet for a few more minutes before a door opens and Mara walks out half dozed. Sleepily rubbing her eyes, still clad in her pjs, “Mamas?” She trods closer, climbing onto the couch next to Karen resting her head. She had really started to fit in, becoming closer to them.
Karen moves her arm, pulling her in closer as Hen smiles. “Good morning Mara.” Elizabeth joins in with a squawk, making Mara’s face light up.
Her hand fidgets with her top before asking, “Can I hold her?”
Hen grins. It always makes her happy when her kids show an interest. “Of course you can. I’ll put her in your lap.” Hen puts her arm out for Elizabeth to climb on before moving her past Karen and letting Elizabeth climb off.
Elizabeth hopped over to Mara, tilting her head both ways before starting to pick at the lint on Mara’s shift. She giggles, tentatively putting out her finger and scratching her head like she's seen Hen do countless times.
“She can’t fly right?”
“Right. That’s why I help her feel like she is in the mornings and at night. Sometimes you just need someone to help lift you up.”
“Like you did with me.” Mara has a sleepy smile and Hen looks at her with love in her eyes.
Karen looks at Hen, half looking like she’s about to sob. Her wife has always been a big softie, and this really just solidifies it. Hen gives her a small kiss, holding her hand with a tight squeeze.
Mara is enjoying herself, playing with the cat toy and feeding her some peanuts that permanently live on the table. Elizabeth holding on with one talon, the other holding the nut and Mara is grinning like she got given a puppy. Which, in some way, she did.
“Hey Mara?” Hen asks, having a sudden thought.
Mara looks at her, that small flash of fear that still stays but quickly leaves, “Yes Mama?”
Hen smiles at her, disintegrating any other negative feelings, “How about you come to the zoo with me today? I could use a hand with some new enrichment activities.”
Mara’s eyes widen, all traces of sleepiness or fear leaving as she sits upright, Elizabeth hopping to Karen’s lap. “Really? You would let me?”
Hen grins, “Of course. You could meet some of the other animals as well,” Mara’s eyes widened even more, very clearly intrigued with the idea. “We can go get ready now, leave in about an hour.”
Mara doesn’t answer, getting up so quickly and racing back to her room, door shutting with a thud and a small squeal heard from inside.
Karen chuckles, standing up herself, Elizabeth protesting till she is carried onto Hen’s shoulder. “Have fun today. I’ll make you guys breakfast so you can leave pretty quickly. She seems very keen to do so.”
Hen stands up, heading to the pile of washing to look for her uniform. “I could tell. I think it'll do her some good. Plus Chimney wanted to show her the penguins at the last barbecue.”
Now from the kitchen, Karen pulls out some bread from the bird printed bread container, Elizabeth making the same similar sound in return. She’s now taking her time to preen Karen’s hair. “He’s obsessed. I’m not surprised.” She places some slices in the toaster, pulling down before adding, “I’ll be home late tonight. Have to head to Ravi’s to give Bonnie another vaccine.”
Hen pulls out her uniform, heading to their room, “Makes sense. Let me know when you’re on your way back, god knows she's a handful.” Bonnie is the baby racoon Ravi is currently rehabilitating, and they’ve all heard numerous stories about the adventures and chaos she causes.
Karen nods, laughing lightly before opening the fridge door and Hen lingers for a second. Staring at her wife, at the soft laugh, at the sun glowing around her like she’s an angel herself. She smiles, stomach fluttering and heads into the bedroom, door closing with a soft thud. She really loves her family. Even Denny who would rather stay up late than wake up early with them.
The zoo wasn’t as peaceful. Athena was scanning the crowds of people, her eyes sharp as she peers around. It was busy as per usual, bustling crowds and people just about everywhere. But she was looking for someone specific. A parent had come to the security desk hysterical, talking about a missing child. A little girl, about 5, named Ella who had wandered from her parents near the lion enclosure.
Athena, of course, was the first to jump into action, it’s what she was born for afterall. Her mind was calm, clear and calculated as she scanned the environment. This wasn’t the first time and nor the last, kids in a zoo are always a cause for trouble. The animals, the fun snacks, the crowds.
Her radio cackled, and she lifted it to her mouth, “Any signs?”
“None yet. Lion’s area has been cleared, moving down the trail,” One of her guards stated, slightly breathless.
Athena sighed. She had a feeling the child wouldn’t be anywhere near the lions or the trail. The parents already stated they came in the other end, and saw those animals. She likely continued on, no idea she was lost, as she continued to move around to see the new exciting things.
She kept moving, weaving through the crowds and looking at the smaller, enclosed places. It's then that she sees her rookie stumble as she runs over to her, clearly breathless.
“Athena? A guest reported seeing a child that matches her description over by the giraffes.” Dove, the rookie, pants, kneeling over slightly.
Athena raised her eyebrow, before gesturing forward, “Lead the way.” It was always the giraffes, their calm nature bringing in the children. They rush across the zoo, people staring and moving out of the way.
And there she was.
Sitting on the bench, watching a giraffe with a wide stance drinking some water. Ella looked completely unbothered, licking an ice cream cone like this was any old day, and not her being lost.
Athena lets out a relaxed sigh towards Dove before kneeling down next to the kid. “Hey sweetheart. Are you enjoying that ice cream?”
Ella grins, chocolate coating her face, “Uh-huh! The giraffes are so tall!” She looks positively happy, “Did you know they have PURPLE tongues!”
Dove laughs, as Athena smiles, heart warming by the child's innocence. “I did know that. They’re pretty amazing huh.”
Ella only nods, licking the ice cream and swinging her legs harder, completely oblivious to the worry and panic. And the fact no one actually knows where she got the ice cream for.
“Your mum and dad have been looking for you,” Athena gently says, “They were worried because you ran off.”
Ella looks around, suddenly only now realising that she was alone. “Oh. They’re gone?”
“I think the one who was gone was you, kid.” Dove smiles, grabbing her radio to let the guard with the parents know.
Ella just shrugs, looks around clearly trying to spot her parents now. “Are they coming?”
“Yes they are,” Athena answers, “I know the animals are fun but next time let’s ask first, okay?”
Ella nods as she climbs off the chair and moves closer to the fence to have another look. Athena stands back up, looking at Dove.
“Alex said we can meet them at the front entrance.”
Athena nods, before going over to Ella, holding out her hand. Ella takes it, and Athena tries to not cringe at the sticky feeling. “Let's go get your parents.”
Ella skips alongside them, happily talking about all the animals she's seen today, mood turned light and airy. Once they arrived at the entrance, the parents rushed past to kneel down and hug their daughter, chants of thank yous.
Tears in the parents eyes, Athena just looks on fondly. “She’s okay. Enjoy the sugar rush, we have no idea how she got a hold of the ice cream.”
There's a watery chuckle from the dad as they both grab Ella’s hand and move forward, one last thank you.
Dove looks positively brimming with energy, clearly excited about her save and the fact she didn’t fall into a puddle again. She holds her hand out and Athena rolls her eyes fondly, before finally giving her the high five she had been trying to do since she joined.
Dove fist pumps the air before moving back into the zoo, radio flinging around. Athena stands there for a second, just breathing before she heads back in again. All in a day's work.
May sat on one of the park benches outside the macaw cafe, a cardboard container filled with fries, topped with melted cheese, sour cream and bacon bits. Just what she needed to get through the day. With her own fork from home, because there's no way she was using that wooden one.
Across from her sat Ravi, balancing his seal themed lunchbox. He sat down with a thud, opening it to reveal a cucumber sandwich, some fruit, a packet of chips, and a few random bits he threw in.
“Let me guess,” May’s voice dripped with amusement, “Sebastian packed you a lunch again.”
Ravi’s cheeks heat up, and his sheepish grin is all the confirmation she needs. “Fine, yes. Sebastian was adamant to pack my lunches because apparently I'm incapable of feeding myself.”
“Considering last time you only had a lunch box filled with fish, I'm inclined to believe him,” May doesn’t even bother suppressing her laugh as she spears a fry, “Otherwise it’s just seal treats and a packet of skittles.”
Ravi pouts, “Hey at least my seals are very well fed, okay!”
May leans back, popping the fry into her mouth and dwelling in the flavours, a mumbled so good over a mouth full of food.
Ravi rolls his eyes, grabbing his sandwich, “Let’s not spit food everywhere this time.” He takes a bite and rolls his eyes again as May flips him off.
“I do what I want,” she adds, “At least I don’t look like I’m from kindergarten, probably have a little note too.”
Ravi just playfully glares at her, “You’re just jealous Alia hasn’t done it for you yet.”
It’s May’s turn to blush, as she sheepishly smiles and instead of answering just shoves a mouthful of fries in her mouth.
Before either can respond, Albert saunters over, balancing a hot dog and can of soda while trying to figure something out on his phone. “What’s this? Are we making fun of Ravi again?” He drops into the seat next to Ravi, carelessly throwing his phone on the bench.
“Oh god…Here we go.” Ravi mutters, shoving the last bite of sandwich in his mouth instead.
Albert took a bite of his hotdog, and through a mouthful of food, pointed at Ravi, “Man someone needs to make me lunch. It’s just me, my ADHD and a fridge of very questionable leftovers.”
May stares at him well pointing her fork, “You and leftovers? You forget about them and then they turn into a science experiment gone wrong like, 90% of the time.”
Ravi is just glaring at them both, “Do either of you guys have manners? Like I don't know, don’t eat with your mouth full.”
At Ravi’s stumble, Albert’s eyes brighten up. “How else do you want us to eat than your highness?”
May cackles, Ravi’s head meets the bench, and Albert joins May in laughing.
“I hate you both.” Came Ravi’s muffled voice.
Albert reaches over, taking some of Ravi’s berries, earning himself quite the annoyed look from Ravi.
“Hey, that’s mine! My fiance prepared that, not yours!”
Albert pops it into mouth anyway, taking another bite of his hotdog, “And? Sharing is caring.” He swallows way too soon, “You should know that, aren’t you learning it in kindergarten today?”
“Or are you too busy focusing on your shapes and colours?” May adds, smirking.
Ravi groans. “I will have you know I am older than you both, the seal’s leader, and about to be married, so.”
May scoops off just the sour cream and bacon, putting it in her mouth, “While also needing a packed lunch otherwise you won’t eat, or will just eat snacks.”
Ravi opens his mouth, maybe to retort, who really knows, but is cut off by Albert. He does it a lot. “Wait, wait, let me guess, does he cut off the crusts on your sandwich too?”
May bursts out laughing again, dropping a fry, as Ravi throws a bit of cucumber at Albert.
“No he does not, thank you very much, I’m not a five-year-old like you.”
Albert lets the cucumber hit him square in the forehead, a mocked look of surprise on his face. “And apparently you aren’t five. Wow. Didn’t know not five-year-olds need a lunchbox so they don't live on gummy bears.”
May, still laughing, shook her head. “Albert, you’re one to talk. At least Ravi doesn’t set off the fire alarm twice a week from toast.”
“Hey it was once actually!” Albert protested, grin never fading.
“One time?” May scoffed, “You set the kitchen actually on fire last week!”
Albert looked thoughtful for a second, “Okay fine. But at least I can make cookies unlike you.”
Ravi shakes his head, piping in, “Yeah I’m going to stick to Sebastian’s lunches.”
May leaned in with a smirk, spearing one of his berries, “Just don’t let him cut your food into fun shapes. If I see a seal sandwich, you’re never living it down.”
Alberts eyes glitter and he smirks, “Like you are with your little dance by the elephants.”
Ravi looked at him in horror, a carrot stick half way to his mouth, “How did you know about that?!”
Both May and Albert double over laughing again at Ravi’s shocked expression, laughter that only continues and turns into curses when Albert’s elbow knocks over his can of soda. Ravi shrieked, making a macaw copy him, May banging her hand on the table as she can’t breath from how hard she’s laughing.
Lunch breaks have never been so fun.
Chimney’s penguins are great. Fairy penguins are generally, they like sand more than snow, like warm water, and burrow under bushes instead of sharing rocks or living in the cold snow. Chimney prefers it, it’s warmer, he doesn’t have to wear 5 layers like he does when he helps out at aquariums and zoos. It’s great.
Which is where he finds himself, standing in the sand watching his penguins swim around as he cleans up. It’s late, a low but still warm sun in the sky. There's very little public around, so it’s just him and his shovel as he cleans up droppings, makes sure no nests are disturbed and just keeps his little fellows nice and happy.
The routine is pretty basic. Refill the water dishes, check the pool pH levels, check for any un-penguin animals, clean up etc. It’s mind numbing, but it’s just another thing he will happily do for his pride and joys.
With an audible pop from the gum he always chews, he grabs the rake leaning against the wall to move around some of the sand, when he hears a very similar yet exciting sound.
Braying.
The sound of courtship. It’s around that time, and it makes Chimney giggle with excitement. He loves watching his penguins pair up, especially when the youngest find their forever partner. Which is absolutely what's going on.
Chimney turns around quietly, not wanting to disturb and scans the sea of blue and white, when he spots it. Banjo is standing upright, a little out of the crowd, his flippers above his back, neck stretched and face to the sky. He is making the sound, flapping his flippers in front of quite the impressive nest he constructed. He is a very vocal guy, very friendly and loves to try and steal food.
Chimney looks around for the penguin in interest and his jaw drops.
It’s Jeeves.
Another male penguin.
Chimney stands there in silence, hand pointing, gum threatening to fall out of his mouth, as Jeeves moves towards Banjo. Banjo is trying his hardest to impress him, bobbing his head and doing his little mating dance. When it happens. Jeeves brays back, tilting his head, as Banjo bows his head. They nuzzle together for a second, before they both start to walk in circles around the nest, braying as they go. Chimney is in silence as he watches.
He had read about this in multiple articles, two male penguins pairing up, becoming amazing foster parents. He honestly never thought he would see it, but here he is.
If you asked Chimney he would say this didn’t happen, but it absolutely did. He squealed, did a hop and pulled out his phone to record this. He has never felt so excited over seeing anything in his life.
Chimney ends the recording, watches them continue, and gasps again, “YES! GAY PENGUINS.”
He can’t help but bend down to be on their level more, watching them intently to see if they take, if he should talk to Karen about trialing them with a fake egg before they move to a real one.
They do take.
Banjo flops into the nest, Jeeves flopping next to him and they both let out content sounds, Banjo leaning over to preen Jeeves and tweeting in his ear. Chimney snaps a photo, stands up right and giggles before he’s racing over to the door and slamming it open. Cleaning has been truly abandoned.
“RAVI? RAVI, I HAVE NEWS!” Chimney is looking around wildly, spotting Ravi over in the corner on his phone, headphones on.
He skids to a stop in front of him, gesturing for Ravi to take his headphones off.
Ravi raising an eyebrow, “Chim–What is it?”
Chimney doesn’t respond straight away, shoving his phone in Ravi’s face. Ravi moves back a little, has a look at what just looks like two penguins in a nest together.
“It’s you,” Chimney can’t contain the excitement anymore, “WE HAVE GAY PENGUINS AT THE ZOO NOW.”
Ravi stands up harshly, already making his way to the penguin door, “You have to be fucking with me. No way?” There’s a bounce in his step, and a grin that shows just how excited he is.
They both move back into the penguin enclosure and they’re both still in the nest together, Banjo still fixing up Jeeves feathers. “You have to be joking, Chimney, this is amazing.” Ravi exclaims, bringing out his own phone. “I have to tell Sebastian this.”
“I know right? This is amazing.” Chimney is vibrating with excitement, “I have to call my wife, this is so amazing.”
Chimney races back inside, unable to stay still on his feet as he calls up Maddie. This is truly one of the best days of his life. Beside’s from his daughter being born.
He clicks on Maddie’s profile, waiting for her to pick up as he buzzes. When she does, he can’t help but scream down the phone, “BABE WE HAVE GAY PENGUINS.”
Maddie chuckles, slightly alarmed by the sudden screaming, “You have to send me a picture.”
Chimney is blabbing now, so many thoughts but no words as he sends Maddie a photo. She coos at her phone, swiping through the pictures and videos. It really is a precious sight.
“Oh babe that is amazing, they’re so adorable,” Maddie huffs, trying to fight back tears, “I might cry honestly.”
Chimney nods despite the fact Maddie can’t see him. “Me too. This is precious.”
“It really is,” Maddie adds, showing her phone to Josh, who grins.
“I need to see how they do over the next few days, but Maddie, they could become parents.”
Maddie is keen with that idea, face lighting up, “I want baby penguin photos.”
They continue to talk, Chimney going back out to the penguins at one point and seeing them both curled up asleep together. He really needs to get back to cleaning, but honestly, he won’t. He has his wife on the phone with him, has his penguins, has the new couple around him and honestly? It’s all he needs. He can’t wait to show Jee tonight.
Hen was stressed.
She had turned her back for one second, took an extra half a second to shut the door and one of her birds, Zulma, had decided to fly out. She had been bred in captivity, and absolutely would not survive in the wild. I mean, she sometimes refuses to eat unless Hen hand feeds her.
So, this isn’t exactly ideal.
Hen sighs as she looks at her phone, expecting a call from someone about the bird. The post had gone up only 5 minutes ago, but these birds are her children. If something happened, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.
She continues walking around the zoo, holding the bag of seeds that the great green macaw loves best. Best case, she was around here, maybe watching the other animals as she does seem to enjoy that quite often. Worst case, she tried to fly to the Wilson’s. Which has happened before.
As she’s moving around, Buck comes bouncing over. “Heard you had a lost bird. I can help!”
Hen smiles, “Aren’t you meant to be doing orangutan enrichment right now?”
Buck nods, “Yes, but I don’t need to right now.” At her puzzled look, he adds, “There’s a guest that’s been coming to the zoo everyday to hang out with them. Brought slime, has done paintings. It’s kinda cool. The animals are loving it.” Buck is grinning even harder, clearly excited over this.
“That’s pretty cool. It must be what Denny was talking about yesterday, kept seeing it on TikTok.” Hen admits. “Do you want to get started with the red panda’s than the sea creatures?”
Buck already nods as he moves on, vibrating relentlessly. He is never still.
Hen wanders around for what feels like hours, but is likely just a few minutes when her phone starts to ring. Fumbling, she grabs it to see a number she doesn’t recognise flashing back at her.
“Hello, Hen Wilson speaking?” She crosses her fingers, holding out hope it’s about Zulma.
“Hi, are you the keeper at the LA zoo?” The person on the line seems slightly weirded out, “I think I found your bird? It’s like, staring at me?”
“Oh god yes, it’s Zulma. Thank you so much, send me the address and I'll be on my way.” Hen is already turning and swiftly walking to the entrance. “Please try and keep her with you.”
“Ah...okay?”
About half an hour later, a call to Buck, stress and music, Hen is finally turning up at some random tree in the middle of a neighbourhood. There’s a guy sitting under the tree, and Zulma perched on the branch staring at him.
“Zulma? Come here girl.” Hen whistles, calling out as she gets out of her car.
Zulma perks up, lets out a shrill before she’s flying to Hen, landing on her shoulder with a small thud. Hen reaches into her pocket, handing her a few nuts to keep her put.
Hen turns towards the guy who’s now standing up right, blue hair sparkling. “Thank you so much.” Zulma turns to her, talons digging in, and nudges her face towards Hen’s head. “Okay, I get it darling you missed me.” Hen reaches up, giving her some scratches along her head.
The guy raises an eyebrow, “You’re welcome,” before sceptically adding, “Are you sure though? She did like, run away?”
Hen stares at him. “Fly away, actually.” She turns to him, giving him a small flick on the shoulder, “And I'll have you know she just likes to explore.”
“Okay, sure.” The guy doesn’t look convinced. Like, how could a bird miss someone? Written across his face. “I'm just going to like go.” He points behind himself before picking up a skateboard Hen didn’t notice and skate away.
The sound of the wheels turning across concrete makes Zulma happy, squawking and bobbing her head. “Oh? You like that huh?”
Zulma nods in return, before trying to look around for more food.
Hen looks at her fondly, before walking back to her car. “Maybe I should get you a skateboard huh? Look good for the shows?”
At the car, Hen opens the back door, grabbing the carrier cage and opening it. Zulma does a little spin before going in oh so easily, and biting on the seeds for her. Hen shuts the door carefully, taking a moment to rest against her car, sighing. Thank god she was found.
Ravi fidgets with his keys as he unlocks the door to his and Sebastian's apartment. He was, admittedly already feeling a little anxious about this. Bonnie can be…a menace. She’s a ten week old raccoon who Ravi was rehabilitating after the mother passed and she fractured her leg during a car accident. Plus, he was mostly just worried about how he was going. Is he treating her right? Is he feeding her correctly? Is she going to actually heal properly?
Ravi opens the front door with a little too much haste. It will never get old coming home to him. The apartment is bathed in the setting sun, Sebastian’s college bag already sat by the door with his high tops indicating that he’s finally home. He sets his backpack down next to Sebastian’s, dropping his eyes on the island by the door. His fingers instinctively find his thigh, tapping away.
Ravi turns around, gestures for Karen to come in. Karen has her med kit, still looking professional, but a lot calmer than Ravi feels.
“Thank you again, you can set your stuff down here.” Ravi bends over, unlacing his boots. “I will go find where she is?” He’s a tad confused as well. Usually Bonnie would come bouncing over when he gets home, eager for food.
“She’s likely hiding. It’s okay.” Karen softly smiles at Ravi, and he tries to match her smile.
Kicking off his boots, he turns down the apartment into the small room to the left that is the dedicated rehab room. There’s blankets everywhere, small dishes, plenty of toys and a pen, but no animal.
Turning back around he frowns. That’s when he hears the door to their bedroom open. Ravi walks out, pausing near Karen who is pulling up the injection.
Out of the door comes Sebastian, wavy hair tousled, and in a pair of plaid pants and a light blue sweater.
And in his arms rests Bonnie, leaning against his chest.
She’s eating a grape, wiggling and clearly very very pleased with herself.
Sebastian clears his throat, looking down at her. “Uh,” He seems just as confused, “So she came to college with me today?” He scratches Bonnie behind her ears, “I went to grab my laptop out and she was sleeping in the pocket.”
Ravi blinked, momentarily frozen by the sight of Bonnie looking perfectly content in Sebastian’s arms. His brain caught up with the information slowly, processing what Sebastian had said.
“She... went to college with you?” Ravi repeated, his voice rising in disbelief. His eyes darted from Sebastian to Bonnie, then back again, trying to reconcile the idea of his tiny, recovering raccoon attending a college lecture like it was a normal thing.
Sebastian chuckles as walks over to the island, just as bewildered. “Yeah. Apparently she likes higher education.” He places her on the bench, earning a hiss, “She’s a good study buddy.”
Ravi’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to form a response. His thoughts are just completely disrupted by the idea of Bonnie sneaking off to join Sebastian for a class without him even knowing. And yet, Bonnie seemed perfectly calm, maybe even a little proud of her mischief, if the way her little paws clutched onto the grapes was any indication.
Karen laughs, grabbing the star blanket Ravi set out in the morning, “A raccoon at college. That’s a new one.” She leans over, wrapping Bonnie up, giving her some chin scratches and muttering baby talk at her.
Ravi’s eyes widened. “Wait, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sebastian looks at him. “Baby. If I told you, you would’ve panicked.” He comes over to Ravi, kissing him gently, before pulling away. Their hands join together, and the cold metal of Sebastian’s ring against Ravi’s finger grounds him.
Ravi feels the anxiety dissipate as he breathes calmy, the warmth of Sebastian making everything feel okay. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Sebastian really knows him well. Ravi leans his head on his fiance's shoulder. “She could’ve told me she was going at least. I could have packed a raccoon lunch.”
Sebastian smiles, watching Karen moving Bonnie’s fur out of the way. “Yeah, instead she had my grapes.” He pouts, a look that Ravi finds oh so beautiful.
Bonnie is far too comfortable in Karen’s arms, which makes sense. When both boys are busy or working, Bonnie will spend the day at the vet getting absolutely dotted on. She’s so well loved at the zoo. And also incredibly spoiled.
Sebastian pulls Ravi in closer and Ravi sighs. The scent of the woodsy cologne Sebastian wears is feeling his nose, and he’s already planning which sweater he’s going to steal tonight.
Karen pulls the needle out gently, Bonnie not even flinching. Karen gives her some more pats before putting her on the ground. The blanket falls around her, and Bonnie goes speeding down the hallway into her room. When she comes back out, she has another grape.
Ravi laughs.
He really likes his life. A thought that only grows when Bonnie stops at his feet and growls. She wants to be picked up, per usual. He leans down, grabbing her. She cradles in his arms, one paw clutching a grape, the other paw clutching his shirt.
Karen packs up her stuff, smiles at them both. “I’ll get going. Have a nice night boys and Bons.”
In unison, they both answer, “You too Karen.”
As the door shuts, Ravi hands over Bonnie to Sebastian. “I need to go change, this uniform is gross.” As he stalks to the bedroom, Sebastian follows.
Bonnie has now moved to his shoulder, picking at his hair. “Yeah? Why don’t you give me a show?”
Ravi stares at him. “Well I smell like fish?”
Sebastian stops, thinks for a second. “Maybe not. Or maybe that should come in the shower.” He sends a wink his way as he follows Ravi again.
“You’re an idiot.” Ravi sighs before planning to do just that. Okay, look, sue him but he has needs.
The zoo had since closed, the sun slowly setting casting long shadows as Bobby does his final rounds of the night. Making sure all visitors had since left, all animals in their enclosures.
Bar one.
Who he had found curled up by a maintenance shed.
Little Mochi, his all time favourite red panda. And an escape artist at that.
Which is where he is now, with a zipped up jacket and a small fuzzy face peeking out from just below his collar. As always, she's blissful and unaware that she's not meant to be roaming the zoo grounds. Instead she's quite content against his chest, tiny paws gripping the fabric of his jacket, hidden tucked in like she’d found the perfect little nest.
“You’re trouble, you know that?” Bobby murmured, glancing down at her with a gentle smile. Mochi blinked up at him with her big, round eyes, her tail flicking lazily as if to say, Who, me?
As he walked, he made his way over to the tortoise enclosure, intending to drop Mochi back off at her habitat nearby. But as he approached, he spotted something unusual—or rather, someone. There, in the middle of the grassy tortoise enclosure, was Albert, sprawled out on his back, sound asleep, his mouth slightly open and arms spread wide like he’d been stargazing. Bobby stopped, raising an eyebrow as he took in the sight.
Mochi squirmed in his jacket, intrigued by the scene as well, her little head poking out farther to get a better view.
“Yeah, I know, Mochi,” Bobby muttered with a chuckle. “He looks pretty comfortable, doesn’t he?”
Albert was completely oblivious, conked out amidst the tortoises, who were slowly making their way around him, undisturbed by his presence. One of the larger tortoises had settled near his outstretched arm, as if taking part in this unexpected nap time.
Bobby shook his head, stepping into the enclosure carefully, trying not to disturb the tortoises. He walked over to where Albert lay, biting back a smirk as he crouched down beside him.
“Albert,” Bobby said softly, giving him a gentle nudge. “Rise and shine, buddy.”
Albert stirred slightly, mumbling something unintelligible before blinking his eyes open. He looked up at Bobby, squinting in confusion. “Huh? What… Bobby?” he said, rubbing his eyes and propping himself up on his elbows, still half-asleep.
Bobby chuckled, pointing to the red panda nestled in his jacket. “You’re not the only one getting cosy today. Mochi decided to take a little field trip herself.”
Albert’s face lit up as he noticed Mochi. He’s still not quite used to all the friendliness of the animals as well. “No way,” he whispered, eyes wide. “She’s just… hanging out in your jacket?”
“Yep,” Bobby said, reaching up to give Mochi a gentle scratch behind the ears. “She’s a bit of an escape artist. And it looks like you’re a bit of a nap artist.”
Albert grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I was, uh, just taking a quick break. The tortoises were so calm, and, well… the grass looked comfy.”
“Comfy, huh?” Bobby chuckled. “Looks like you’re fitting right in with the tortoises. Next thing I know, you’ll be slow-walking your way through the zoo.”
Albert laughed, finally sitting up and rubbing his eyes, jaw cracking with a yawn. “Hey, they know what’s up. They take their time, get some sun, and chill. I could get used to that.”
Mochi, seemingly encouraged by Albert’s reawakening, wiggled her way out of Bobby’s jacket and scampered over to Albert, sniffing at his hands before nudging her head against him, clearly curious about her new friend.
“Hey there, Mochi,” Albert said, his face lighting up as he gently petted her soft fur. “You’re even cuter up close.”
Bobby watched the two of them, shaking his head fondly. “I swear, Albert, if you fall asleep with the red pandas next, we’re going to have to start putting up ‘do not disturb’ signs around the enclosures.”
Albert grinned, still scratching Mochi’s chin. “You gotta admit, Bobby, it wouldn’t be the worst job perk. Maybe I’m just building better relations with the animals.”
“Uh-huh,” Bobby said, giving him a sceptical but amused look. “If I catch you napping with the lions, we’re going to have a problem.”
Albert laughed, giving Bobby a thumbs-up. “I promise to stick with the tortoises. They’re more my speed.”
Bobby chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, well, now that you’re awake, you mind helping me get this little escape artist back to her enclosure?”
Albert nodded, carefully cradling Mochi as he got to his feet. “You got it, Bobby.”
As they walked together back to the red panda enclosure, Bobby couldn’t help but smile.
Life at the zoo was never dull, especially with a team like his—and whether it was red pandas in jackets or keepers napping with tortoises, he wouldn’t have it any other way.