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The royalty checks for the commercial continued to arrive in the months after Howard’s return from Denmark.
The first time Howard received it he almost tore up, the video was very humiliating and apparently it wasn't being shown not only in England but in several countries in Europe and even in the United States, the way things were going he would soon acquire global fame for the most embarrassing reason possible. But money was never something he had in abundance so he put pride aside and cashed the checks.
And they just kept coming, apparently it was also appearing regularly on television from homes in Latin America and Asia. To the point where he no longer has to work in a store and share a room with Vince. But that's what he keeps doing.
And he rarely allows himself illusions about why he's doing it.
He was good at self deception but in this case the reason was usually right in front of him most of his waking hours and also in his dreams.
The reason also seemed strangely distant despite its physical proximity.
Howard wasn't sure how exactly this had happened, it was gradual but the way things were now he and Vince could hardly be called best friends.
He is sure that if they stopped living together and working together their relationship would completely fade away.
.
.
.
On the morning of his birthday Howard is afraid Vince is going to suggest they have a party like last year, but he doesn't. He just gives Howard a jazz record. The record in question was one Howard already owned but he doesn't mention it, just says thank you.
And he expects an attempted hug like Vince usually does on his birthday, but it doesn't come, Vince just says:
“You’re welcome.”
And then he goes to the living room.
After the end of his shift at the store Howard goes to Lester's house, and they talk about jazz but he can't keep up with the conversation and leaves just before nine o'clock.
But leaving Lester's house he finds himself not going back to the store but to the opposite side of town, he only realized where he was going when the dusty sign reading Zooniverse was in front of him.
The gate chain was loose so he manages to make room to enter.
He walks around the abandoned property, looking at the empty cages, and remembering his time there.
He mostly remembers Vince, with little blond streaks in his hair, smiling and looking at him like he was the whole world.
He saw Vince just a few hours before and he's going to see him when he gets home again, but it was not the same thing.
He walks for hours.
He's not sure exactly when he started crying, and he's even less sure when he's going to stop.
He sits on the bench in front of the lions' cages, and he can see Vince so clearly beside him, but there's no one there in reality and he knows.
It's past midnight, it's not his birthday anymore, but Howard decides to buy himself a really big present right then and there.
.
.
.
When Vince heard rumors on one of his nights out that animals were being brought back into the Zooniverse and that soon the place would open again he knew he had to go check it out. He got in pretty easily, and he spent a lot of time catching up with the animals he already knew and introducing himself to the new ones.
He hadn't realized how much he missed talking to the animals.
Of course there was Bollo, but Bollo already spoke normally so it took some of the fun out of the whole thing.
He thinks about maybe asking if they're hiring there, but he doesn't see anyone on his first few walks around the Zoo, but he is seen.
Howard was in the office that used to belong to Bob Fossil when he saw Vince appear on the monitor screen, he thought maybe he had been followed but Vince didn't come into the office. Through the cameras he sees Vince walking through the zoo, and smiling in a way he hasn't seen in years
. He could see the boy who grew up in the wild playing with the animals in that smile, it had been so long since he last saw him.
And Howard decides he needs to go take a closer look.
He is discovered almost immediately and the lightness in Vince is suddenly replaced by confusion and tension.
“What are you doing here Howard? Did you follow me?”
“No, I was here before you arrived.”
"Why?"
"I am the new owner. I bought the place with the money I made from the commercial.”
Vince swallows hard.
“Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?”
“Because I wanted to surprise you, and show you when everything was ready.”
“Okay, sure.”
"You do not believe me?"
"No, I don’t. I think you were planning to go away and leave me behind and now you're trying to pretend that wasn't the case since you've been caught."
“This is the opposite of what is happening, I want to hire you.”
“Why? Just for you to boss me around?”
“Well I would be the senior zookeeper, I have more time at work than you after all.”
“Then I think I'll pass, thanks for the offer Howard”
“No...um you don't need to be my subordinate, you can be senior co-zookeeper with me.”
"I am not-"
“If you don't want to I'll just close the zoo again and leave.”
Howard knows how desperate he sounds. He feels his cheeks flush, but he doesn’t take it back.
Vince looks at him suspiciously before saying:
“Howard… are you trying to say that you bought the zoo for me?”
“Well, not quite. I bought it for myself, because I think I was the happiest I’ve ever been when I was here and I didn't realize it and I kept focusing on things that weren't important. But yes I did for you too, I think you were happy here, lighter, not trying too hard, I miss that. But I think mostly I did it for us together, I don't know exactly what happened to us as we drifted apart so much despite being close all the time, but I want to go back to how it was when we were here.”
Vince moved for a second like he was going to hug him, but then he stopped. Howard remembered dozens of times he'd told Vince not to touch him, but none of them had been in the last year, that's because Vince hadn't tried once.
“You can touch me if you want…I want you to touch me.” Howard said.
Vince didn't go into the hug he was expecting, but rather he placed his lips very lightly on Howard's cheek.
"Is that a yes?"
“It's a I'll think about . And if I say yes I will want a very high salary.”
“I kind of spent all the money on buying the zoo, it was pretty expensive.”
“Idiot.” Vince said, but in his voice there wasn't the same venom as it had lately and strangely shyly he continued “But Howard what if we can't go back to how things used to be?”
“So I'm ready for whatever comes next. Or if you don't want to change, I can learn to be okay with how things are. What I said when I got back from Denmark was true, I figured I had everything I needed here, but what I didn't say is that the list consists of a single item. And it's not Candem, or the store, or this zoo. It's just you. So I want to be with you, any way you want. I really have no illusions about ruling here, you are the boss of my life and my heart little man.”
Vince stayed quiet for a few seconds looking at him, then asked:
“Howard, can I still touch you?”
"Yes you can."
"I will kiss you. And not like I did just now, but like I did on the roof at your party, and if you don't want that you need to tell me now and stop me."
"..."
"So?"
“I’m not stopping you.”
As soon as he stopped talking Vince was on him.
The kiss however wasn't quite like it had been on the roof over a year ago. It was pretty desperate on Vince's part and he was kissing him back this time.
The kiss ended rather abruptly, with Vince pulling away and saying:
“Howard I swear if you take back everything you just said in five minutes. You and I are finished forever."
“I won't little man, you don't have to worry. This, you and me and our zoo is going to be forever, or at least as long as you want.”
Vince smiled.
“So forever will it be.”