Chapter Text
The sun was climbing higher up in the sky as the early morning hours passed. In the local zoo, Dr. Curt Connors (former geneticist and scientist at Oscorp) was already at work, walking towards the Reptile-house on the pavement, clad in his working clothes which were a dark green t-shirt with the zoo's logo at one side of the shirt and light brown bermuda pants with his working boots. He had his walkie-talkie hanging from his belt, it made it easier to communicate with his colleagues. He enjoyed the early warmth of the sun and the singing of the birds. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny with a few clouds in the sky. The blond man glanced at his wristwatch, it showed 8:45AM.
"Ah, almost time for opening." the doctor thought.
When he arrived to the building, he unlocked the doors and went inside, taking a look around. With some time going on, Connors realized that there are two kinds of people who came to the house of the reptiles. There were those who were quite fond of the animals there and those who were...not so fond of them.
The zoo employed Curt five days a week officially and more often unofficially. His title was Reptile and Amphibian Specialist (he prefers calling himself a herpetologist, because it's shorter), which was unnecesarily grandiose for someone whose primary responsibilities included feeding the reptiles, checking humidity gauges, replacing heat lamp, cleaning the enclosures, and convincing visitors not to knock on the glass...the job suited him because it required precision without demanding perfection. He took care of the reptiles and also maintained the place. The animals did not care about his reputation, they didn't watched the news on the TV, they didn't ask what happened in the city, and they did not looked at him with pity. A tortoise was either hungry or it wasn't. A snake was shedding or it wasn't. Not a single bit of judgement...
Peter arrived at sometime in the afternoon to the zoo, he mostly went there to shoot a few photos about the animals into the local nature magazine, as a freelance photographer. He came by skateboard but at one turn, he unfortunately lost his balance and took an ugly fall. He scraped his knee pretty badly. He walked towards the reptile house and from a distance, he saw Curt talking with one of his colleagues.
"...yeah, okay. I'll fix it tomorrow. Have a great afternoon." Connors told the woman and they parted. The older man noticed Peter.
"Oh, hi Peter. What brought you here?" the doctor asked his younger companion, smiling warmly at him.
"Dr.Connors. I just dropped by, to see how things are going." the brunette said.
"And because I missed you terribly..." he thought.
"Oh, okay. You can come anytime, you know. I...enjoy your company." the older man said, blushing lightly. Peter nodded.
With that, they went into the Reptile-house and while they were walking beside eachother, the doc noticed something concerning: Peter was limping.
"Is everything alright? I kinda see that you are limping..."
"I...got banged up."
"Doing what?"
"Stuff.."
"Peter."
The younger gave a sigh.
"Fine...I fall with my skateboard on my way here." Parker admitted.
"We have to go to the break room to get the first-aid kit for you." Connors told Peter.
They walked to the building and Curt fetched the small red box from a shelf.
"It is for the staff and for the visitors."
"I see."
Curt opened the kit and helped Peter rolling up his pant leg. The bruise was quite ugly, not catastrophic, but ugly. Curt cleaned the scrape beside it and Peter hissed.
"Sorry" Curt said with soft eyes.
"It's okay."
Then Curt applied some bandage, Peter watched his hands working, they were rough but soft at the same time. For some time, neither of them spoke.
Then, Peter started in a quiet voice:
"You ever think about leaving?"
Curt looked up.
"The zoo?"
"Yeah."
Curt considered it.
"Sometimes..." the doctor said and Peter's expression changed.
"Oh...and where would you go?" the younger man asked.
"I'm not sure, to be honest with you...somewhere smaller, perhaps." the blond answered and the brunet nodded.
"Somewhere nobody knows you."
"Yes."
"Would you like that?"
Curt thought about that...he thought about the reptile house, the smell of damp soil and the endless low hum of the ventilation systems. All the reptiles he liked. The anoles, the crocodiles, the alligators, the tortoises, the snakes, and all the other reptiles he really grew fond of. He also thought about the children and people who came to him afraid and left fascinated by those beautiful and unique creatures.
"No." Connors said eventually and he could see the relief on Parker's face.
They walked to the Reptile-house and enter, Curt walks up to the enclosure of the crocodile. The animal is perfectly still beneath the heat lamp and Peter peered over the barrier.
"Is it asleep?"
"Probably..."
"How can you tell?"
"I can't."
"Then how do you know?"
"I don't." Curt says curtly and Peter looks at him. The other man looked back at him. Then, the crocodile opened an eye and Peter leaned even closer.
"See? He likes me."
"He is assessing whether you're edible."
"Rude." the other says, straightening. Curt rolls his eyes.
"I should get going...I have to drop some photos to the journalist company I'm working for."
"Okay, if you want, you can come back at noon or when we're closing."
"I'll think about it, thanks." Parker said and looked into Curtis's eyes.
"...what? Is something wrong?"
"No...no. Just...it was good to see you...I-I missed you." Peter stammered shyly.
Curt blushed and Peter scratched the back of his head, smiling sweetly at the older man in front of him. They said their goodbyes and went on to their own business.
By ten, the zoo became busy. Childen stood in front of the enclosures curiously watching the animals on the other side, their parents reading the placards near them. Curt met with a lot of questions on a daily basis. For example, today, someone asked him if turtles can hear through their shells or if all snakes are venomous. He answered kindly to all of them. Sometimes he had to tell children to not knock on the glass because it disturbs the animals and that they shouldn't put their fingers through the mesh. At lunchtime, Curt ate in the staffroom of the zoo, he brought some chicken and rice with steamed vegetables. The other zookeepers were there too, he had some smalltalks with one of them, Marcus.
By noon, the doc had the expression of a man who has heard the same question six thousand times and is determined to answer every single one of them. He absolutely loves to hold presentations about the reptiles to the visitors, a lot of people like the way he explains things, with such enthusiasm, people are always fascianted about how he adores this job. Soon, when the closing time, the zoo slowly emptied itself, the last children were dragged towards the exit, the woman at the gift shop was also packing inside the booth. Curt and the other keepers began their final rounds. After a bit of a time, when the herpetologist was fully done with his work for the day, he changed into his civil clothes, packed his stuff and went to the exit.
"Have a great afternoon and night, Connors." Jimmy, the zoo's ticket clerk said.
"You too."
Peter was already waiting for Curt there, a smile appeared on Connors's face when he saw the younger man coming into his view as he walked closer.
"You came back." the blond said and Peter nodded.
"Yeah...um, it was good to be with you, Dr. Connors."
"Curt."
Parker stopped. Curt isn't entirely sure what he just said...perhaps because Peter still calls him Doctor when he is tired. Perhaps because there are some distances that people maintain without realizing it..or because Curt has spent enough time of his life being defined by titles.
"Just...Curt." the blond told the brunet in a soft voice.
"O-okay." Parker smiles.
"Curt." the younger man said, testing as if he would be uncertain about the pronouncing the name of the other man.
"Then, see you tomorrow, if you want to come."
"I do." Peter said with enthusiasm in his voice and Curt flashed a smile.
"Night, Curt."
"Goodnight, Peter."
-tbc-
🦎