Chapter Text
Kenji's impromptu visit to the Creations Lab, though pleasant, had been cut short. Word had quickly spread of their visit, and Dr. Wu had wasted no time in making an appearance at that wing of the building. The mechanical swish of the lab door opening, followed by the sound of calculated strides, had ushered his arrival.
The man had been pleasant, if somewhat distant, as was his prerogative. Always formal and straight to the point, Kenji had learned to appreciate those qualities in a work environment as stress-inducing as the one he now lived in, but the unpleasantness of these interactions when he had been a teenager lingered in the back of his memory—how cold and methodical the doctor had seemed then. But as it stood, their roles had quickly been reversed with the passage of time, and it was now Kenji who held the position of authority.
“Mr. Masrani, Mr. Kon, what a delightful surprise to have you visit our side of the lab. I hope you are finding everything to your standards?” Dr. Wu had asked, extending a hand first to their senior and later to Kenji. Ben’s presence had gone either unnoticed or ignored, a detail Kenji had silently filed away.
Both CEOs had greeted Dr. Wu and had allowed the man to escort them both out of the lab, but not before Kenji had thrown a casual wave to Ben, signaling his departure. The kid had done the same, if more shyly—a little smile had still been present on his face. Both he and Masrani had been chaperoned around the Genetics Department for the following hour. More blood had been acquired from amber-trapped mosquitoes, and new species of dinosaurs were emerging from the findings. There was much to be discussed.
The following day, Kenji had been on his way to the Visitor Center. Main Street was as crowded as ever, and the swarm of tourists eager to experience the Jurassic adventure clogged the roads. Navigating through the crowd was nearly impossible for Kenji. People from all around the world could be seen bustling down the well-paved street. Kenji found himself assaulted by the smell of freshly popped popcorn, the fabricated coconut scent of sunscreen, and the repulsive but expected smell of sweat. He felt suffocated by the custom-cut suit he’d opted to wear, the heat of the tropical sun beating down on him relentlessly.
Security guards and guide counselors were stationed at kiosks that had been erected every 300 meters, a safety protocol to ensure the guests' comfort. All seemed fine. People were being annoying, and Kenji found himself annoyed by them. Over the speakerphone system, a female voice rang out, synthetic in the way all AI voices were—the T-Rex’s feeding time would commence in ten minutes. It was as if an electric current went through the crowd. All able bodies immediately moved in the direction of the T-Rex enclosure. Parents were pulled by the hand by their kids, and teenagers were being dragged by the wrist by overly enthusiastic parents. Kenji found himself trapped in the jostle.
An overeager child stepped on his foot, making Kenji wince—not at the unexpected pressure, but at the scuff mark that surely marred his newly polished leather. A grown adult, dressed in the most sweat-drenched wife beater he had ever had the displeasure of witnessing, bumped into him from behind. The ensuing contact left the back of his suit jacket drenched, and Kenji was fully disgusted; that alone had him moving, rushing into motion, eager to escape the mass of moving bodies that cared little to help maintain his polished image intact. He walked in a diagonal line to the outskirts of Main Street until he was safely standing at the curb. Behind him, MargaritaVille bustled with movement, cocktails, and loud music.
A little way ahead, the sound of laughter reached his ears. It was high and carefree, the way all children's laughter was—free of life's pains and burdens. It caught his attention and prompted him to look over. He spotted the sign that signaled one of the park's interactive zones, the GENTLE GIANTS PETTING ZOO, and amongst the cluster of kids and slowly growing hatchlings was Ben. He was sitting cross-legged on the hay-covered ground, grinning stupidly as the children and dinosaur hatchlings played together. His eyes never wavered from the children he was overseeing, his hands gentle as he corrected theirs, instructing them on how to properly pet the dinosaurs.
Kenji wasn’t even sure when he’d gone from silently observing to purposely stalking over to Ben and his daycare of mixed species, but before he knew it, he was casting an uneven shadow over the group. Ben blinked up at him in surprise, the halo of sunlight around Kenji temporarily blinding him.
“Kenji?” Ben raised a hand above his brow, shielding and squinting his eyes, trying to garner a better look.
“Hey there, Ben.” Ben could practically hear the laughter in Kenji’s voice, despite being partially blinded by the morning sun. Taking mercy on the younger man, Kenji stepped over the corral’s walls and into the hatchling pit. He hesitated a moment before mentally shrugging and crouching down to Ben’s level, resigning himself to a disheveled appearance for the rest of the day.
“How’s daycare going?”
Ben let out a scoff and did his best to suppress the smile that was fighting to grow on his lips. Two ankylosauruses, one triceratops, and three six-year-olds came bounding over to his sat form at full speed and did nothing to stop their fast approach. Ben had little more than a second to let out a gasp before he found himself lying on the dirt- and hay-covered floor. Their unexpected ambush had resulted in Ben finding himself tackled to the ground.
He’d been rendered a glorified play mat, trampled on and nudged and licked at when it came to the dinosaurs, and Kenji, smug bastard that he was, did nothing to help the downed caretaker. Kenji, dressed in his fancy suit and polished shoes, had doubled over in a wheeze of laughter.
“I guess that answers that!” was all Kenji could manage to say between breaths. The beeping of his iPhone had him scrambling for composure. He pawed at his back pocket, struggling to free the device. Once in hand, he blinked away tears that persistently clung to his eyelashes. He’d gotten a message from Claire—he was late for his meeting.
Disappointment settled in, not at being late, but at having to end his conversation, or what had passed off as one, with Ben. The kid was turning out to be endearingly cute. How he had landed a job as Owen’s protégé was still a mystery to Kenji, but he supposed only time would tell, and seeing as he still had a few weeks left on the island, he figured it wouldn’t take long to figure it out.
“Guys, please get off of me, I can't breathe!” The plea came from beneath the dog-pile of baby herbivores and overexcited preschoolers. The only parts visible from the young man's body were his booted legs and flustered face. Ben was pouting, again.
Kenji visibly swallowed before standing up and dusting off his pants as best he could, pausing in his exit from the corral to bend over and ruffle Ben’s fluffy hair into further disarray. There was a private smile curling at the edge of his lips. The kid glared at his actions—or rather, inactions—to help him, the blue of his eyes practically sparkling under the sun in righteous fury.
“Well, I hate to cut this short, but duty calls, Benny.” If possible, the pout became more prominent.
Kenji spared him one last glance before turning away and exiting the corral, immersing himself in the chaos that was Main Street.