[Analogical] Zoo Trip
Title: Zoo Trip Ship: Analogical Warnings: Pure domestic fluff. You have been warned. Words: 3,793 Series: Baby of Mine AU
Summary: Baby!Janus’s first trip to the zoo!!!
Read on AO3
-----------------------------------------------
Virgil double checked the baby bag to make sure they had everything. He needed today to go as smoothly as possible.
It was Janus’s first visit to the zoo and Virgil would be damned if he let the toddler’s first time be a bad one.
Nope. Not on his watch. Not with Virgil and Logan as his daddies.
Today was going to be fun and that was the only intention he was putting out into the universe.
Deciding a few extra pull ups would be good just in case, Virgil rushed back to Janus’s room to grab a handful from the box. He caught sight of Logan zipping up Janus’s little coat before working to tie his shoes, making certain that Janus watched as he did it.
“One day, you’ll be able to do this all on your own, little one.”
Janus clapped his hands and grinned, giggling.
“Shwoos!” he babbled happily, clapping his newly-shod feet together from his spot on the bed.
“Shoes indeed!”
Virgil sighed happily.
Ever since they had adopted him as a small infant—not quite a newborn—Virgil had loved every moment of parenthood. Even the hard parts… they were just part of the experience and both he and his husband had known what they were signing on for.
Nothing, however, was loved as much as watching Logan become a dad.
He was a natural.
Virgil… not so much, but he was a good dad. A really good dad, even.
Logan, though… Logan was amazing.
So amazing that Virgil knew in his heart that Janus would not be their only child. It was still much too soon for more kids, of course, but it was a happy feeling knowing there would be more some day.
And to think Virgil had thought once upon a time that he would never want kids. Falling for Logan, loving him, growing with him—that had all changed his previous desires and now he could never imagine not having Janus to share a life with them.
“You two are too cute… stop. Just stop,” he said, tone teasing as he grinned at them. “But seriously, we should be going. Do you think we have everything?”
“Dwaddy!”
“Hey there, buddy! Did you help Dad get your shoes on?”
“Shwoos!” he exclaimed again, tapping the shoes together like he’d seen on Wizard of Oz, and giggling.
“Yes! Shoes!” Virgil agreed.
“Daddy’s right though, Janus!” Logan said, voice getting excited to help get Janus excited. “Time to go! We’re going to the zoo today!”
“An-mals! Zwoo!”
With that he was running out of his bedroom door toward the front of the house. Logan was after him a second later but Virgil wasn’t worried. Janus knew well not to go past the front door without a trusted adult present.
Heading back to the kitchen, Virgil pushed the extra pull ups into the bag and zipped it up. He did a quick mental checklist and was content with the number of snacks and juice boxes and waters he’d packed.
Joining his boys in the entryway, Virgil leaned in to steal a kiss from Logan before offering his arms to Janus. Janus lifted his hands to sign that he would walk, then offered his hand to Virgil.
Virgil’s heart squeezed just the littlest bit as he smiled up at Logan before taking Janus’s hand in his own. Logan opened the door and let them pass before joining them.
Waiting for Logan to lock up, the three headed to the car. Once Janus was safely buckled into his car seat, Logan and Virgil got in and the three headed for the zoo.
»»———— ☠ ————««
“Alright, so where do we want to go first? We have all day if we want.”
Logan glanced at Virgil, who was settling Janus into the little snake push cart they had rented from the ticket booths after purchasing tickets. Logan watched happily as Virgil nuzzled his nose against Janus’s before taking the baby bag off his shoulder and setting it into the front seat of the little car so that Janus had access to his snack bowl and water cup.
“Oh my god!”
“He’s so cute!”
Logan glanced at the two ladies who had been passing them only to stop and beam at Janus, who was beaming back, eyes shining at the attention.
“Thank you,” Logan said, a polite smile on his face, as Virgil pushed Janus over. Virgil too was smiling, though his eyes were guarded. One with children could never be too careful.
“Is this your first time to the zoo, little man?”
Janus glanced at Logan and Logan smiled and nodded. Janus nodded at the ladies, showing off his teeth as he grinned brightly.
“Zwoo!!” He exclaimed, kicking his feet and bouncing in his seat. The ladies ate him up for the next few minutes before heading off to let Logan and Virgil do the same with Janus.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that part of it,” Virgil said. Logan thought he had a point. While, for the most part, most adults had no ill intent, the statistics of those with ill intent were far too high for his liking.
“Agreed,” Logan said, leaning in to kiss Virgil before they fell into step together. “Why don’t we just head this way and make our way around… also we have to be sure to visit the snake exhibit. I’m getting a theme with the choices Janus has been making recently.”
He nodded at the snake cart. This was definitely not the first snake thing their son had shown interest in.
Making their way along the path, they both watched Janus to take in his reactions, making sure to stop and take lots of pictures.
Logan knew well that if he did not, Virgil’s dads would rip him a new one. That was saying a lot, as both Thomas and Nico were generally mild-tempered. Still, as fairly new grandparents and enjoying all the new things that come with childhood from a grandparent’s point of view… Logan couldn’t really blame them.
With a quick stop at the lawn with the geese and ducks, Logan was able to get many videos of Janus chasing the birds while he and Virgil laughed from behind the lens. After that, the little family continued on.
»»———— ♞ ————««
Virgil bemoaned his forgetting to consider lunch around noon when his stomach grumbled loudly. Logan either heard it, which would not be surprising considering the fact he was certain everyone heard it, or had been thinking the same, as he spoke up a few moments later.
“Do we want to stop at the restaurant for lunch?”
When Janus then let out a sound that imitated Virgil’s stomach rumbles, Virgil was certain everyone around them had heard it and blushed, quickly nodding at Logan’s question.
They back tracked a little to the area where the restaurant was located only to find a few options to choose from. When Logan pulled them to a stop off to the side, Virgil lowered himself to Janus’s level and made sure he had his attention.
“Hey, bud. What do you want to eat?” He backed up his question with the signs for ‘what’ and ‘want’ and ‘eat’, his gaze holding Janus’s.
Janus quickly returned with the signs for want, eat, and food as he spoke. “Fwench fwies, pease!”
Virgil beamed and signed ‘good job’. “Thank you, Jay. Alright, Lo. You heard our son. French fries!” He cheered as Janus clapped his little hands and kicked his little tennis-shoes in pure childhood happiness.
Logan laughed, lifting his hands up to slip off his glasses. Virgil could tell the day was catching up with him and made a mental note to suggest heading for the spider and snake exhibits before heading home after lunch.
Cleaning his glasses, Logan spoke up.
“I’m afraid that french fries don't really narrow down our choices, starlight. Is there anything in particular you are craving?”
Virgil snorted before considering.
“A burger sounds good. How about the burger bar just over there? Bound to be cheaper than the actual restaurant. The lawn isn’t too far back, we could set up the blanket and eat out there.”
Logan smiled at him. Virgil could see the fondness in his loving gaze. They had been married for six years, nearly seven, and it always took his breath away to see that pure adoration. He hoped he never grew used to it.
“That sounds perfect, darling. Shall we then?”
Virgil leaned in and rubbed his nose against Janus’s. Their son’s nose scrunched up as he rubbed his nose back against Virgil’s, babbling happily. A quick kiss to Janus’s head of curly hair and Virgil stood, taking a moment to lean in and kiss Logan deeply.
“I love you.”
Logan didn’t ask about Virgil’s sudden need to profess his love. Virgil didn’t expect him to. By now, he was used to Virgil’s seemingly random declarations of love and affection. Instead, he leaned in and rubbed his nose to Virgil’s before kissing his cheek.
“I love you.”
Virgil slipped his hand into Logan’s and Logan pushed the cart with his free hand as the little family made their way to the burger bar to order lunch.
»»———— ☠ ————««
Logan lounged out on the blanket after lunch, watching Virgil get chased by their little toddler. It was quite possibly the cutest thing he had ever seen and he had seen a lot since becoming a parent.
Then again, almost every moment with Janus seemed to be ‘the cutest’ but he supposed, with an adorable child like Janus, that was to be expected.
As if proving his point, Logan blinked as his attention was grabbed by an older lady who stopped by his blanket, beaming.
“Sorry to bother… I just wanted to say how cute your little family is. Your son is lucky to have two great fathers. I have to say it is a breath of fresh air to see parents, of any kind actually, playing and spending time with their kids.”
Logan beamed at that.
“Thank you,” he said politely, hoping that his appreciation was not lost on the lady. She beamed once more and nodded, waving before joining whom Logan assumed was her husband. The man nodded at him with a smile before the two took off down the path.
“What was that about?”
Logan glanced over to see Virgil returning with Janus, hand in hand. Logan grinned.
“She just wanted to say how wonderful she found it that we actually spend time with our son.”
Virgil grinned, glancing in the direction of the lady before turning back with a shrug.
“I mean, she’s got a point there. I swear every time I’m in the grocery store with Janus I see so many kids around Jay’s age with child tablets and their parents just doing their own thing. There’s no interaction anymore.”
Logan nodded. Both the lady and Virgil made very good points. Unfortunately, they could only do what they could with Janus. If the rest of the world didn’t catch on to the problem… that was on them.
“Are you guys ready to check out the spiders and snakes?”
Virgil grinned, starting to gather the trash from their lunch.
“You don’t gotta ask me twice,” he said.
While Virgil worked on the trash, Logan signed for Janus to come to him. The toddler walked over and beamed at him.
“How about we run to the potty before we go, Janus?”
Janus shook his head. Logan frowned.
It seemed as if the day was catching up with their son.
Making a mental note to make the two exhibits their last, Logan stood.
“Well, I’ve got to go and I’m sure Daddy does too. Are you sure you don’t think you can go?”
He made the proper signs to convey this and finally, Janus nodded.
As Logan thought, Janus would not want even the slightest chance that he was missing out on something. Even a potty break.
Virgil snorted softly, folding up the blanket and putting it in the baby bag. He then placed the bag in the cart as Logan lifted Janus.
Logan carried their son as Virgil pushed the cart, making a beeline for the restroom. As Logan had suspected, Janus had definitely had to go.
With that taken care of, he led the way to the spider exhibit, Virgil with a clingy Janus in his arms.
»»———— ♞ ————««
Virgil was more animated here among the spiders than he had been at any other exhibit. Then again, he had a pet spider and loved all things spider, so that was to be expected.
More than once, he caught Logan just smiling warmly at him and he felt so grateful to have someone that appreciated him and all his weird interests and passions.
In fact, Logan took moments to voice some really interesting facts on spiders that may or may not have been on the placards around the glass enclosures. Even if they were, however, Virgil definitely preferred hearing them spoken by his husband.
“Tarantulas' hairs are irritating to human skin… also, I am not certain on this, however, I’m pretty sure they can throw their hair.”
Virgil snorted at that, imagining his own tarantula throwing her hair. He then wondered if, perhaps, Jack Webbington had ever done that before.
Deciding to watch her a little more closely in the future, he grinned as they continued on to the next set of enclosures. He grinned at the Black Widow they found in one of them.
“Look, Janus... “
Janus stared sleepily at the spider but was a trooper, smiling even as he rubbed an eye with a little fist. Virgil’s heart gave a little squeeze at that. Janus could obviously tell that Virgil was excited and was trying to be excited with him.
Making a mental note to skip the next few spiders in favor of the snake exhibit, Virgil turned to Logan just as his husband raised a hand to readjust his glasses. Knowing Logan was about to voice another fact, Virgil waited, wanting to hear the knowledge Logan had to share.
“Black Widows eat their mates and sometimes the male spiders want them to do it.”
Virgil made a face before grinning.
“That is both seriously disturbing and crazy sick,” Virgil said. He then realized Logan might be confused by his use of the latter adjective. “Sick as in the slang.”
Virgil watched Logan pause, knowing he was accessing his saved database of slang.
“Ah, right. Urban Dictionary defines it as something that is ‘exceptionally cool’, I believe.”
Virgil sighed, beaming at the taller male.
“I love you, you know that?”
Logan beamed back at him, his oak brown eyes warm with love.
“I do, dearest, but I will never tire of hearing it. And I, as I am sure you are quite aware, love and adore you. But I’ll never tire from telling you so.”
Virgil blushed, having to look away. Even after all this time, Logan still affected him so much.
Not that Virgil minded.
Janus yawned before letting out a little whine that caught both of his fathers’ attention.
“Snake exhibit,” they said in unison with a little laugh. Janus, not about to be left out, forced a laugh as well but it ended in a large yawn.
“There’s a species of spider that makes little traps in the ground, like burrows made of web, and they sit there and wait for prey and pull them into the trap. They are called Trapdoor spiders,” Logan informed them as they headed in the direction of the snakes.
Virgil snorted at that as they left the exhibit.
“Patton would love that… well, the pun. Not so much the spiders.”
Logan laughed, nodding in agreement.
»»———— ☠ ————««
The moment they reached the snake exhibit, Janus’s sleepiness seemed to disappear. Of course, Logan knew it was just from the excitement of seeing the snakes.
He had been right. Their son definitely loved snakes.
“Sssssss!” Janus sounded out before giggling. It wasn’t his full giggle but rather more soft due to the sleepiness.
“Snakes,” Logan agreed. Janus looked at him and held his arms out for Logan. Virgil grinned at Logan before passing Janus to him.
“I think he wants some snake facts, Professor Logan.”
Logan beamed. He really loved Virgil. He never made Logan feel as if he was being a know-it-all and furthermore, genuinely seemed to enjoy the knowledge Logan shared.
Resettling Janus in his arms, Logan waited for Virgil to go ahead, following him to the first large window.
Inside the enclosure was an Anaconda. Janus immediately started to bounce in his arms. “Snek! Dwad! Daddy! Snek!”
Logan and Virgil laughed, their smiles blissful as they watched their son more than the extremely large snake in the enclosure.
Logan cleared his throat.
“Snakes do not have eyelids. Instead, they have scales that cover their eyes. That’s the last scale they shed usually,” Logan said.
Janus had a look of wonder on his face even if he couldn’t fully understand everything Logan had said. He knew, at the very least, that what Logan was saying was about the snake and whatever it was, it had to be pretty cool. At least, that was what Logan hoped. It would be more preferable than his son finding him boring.
They walked on, looking at a few of the smaller enclosures where there were littler snakes.
“Baby!!” Janus cried out, a little loudly. No one around them seemed to mind, smiles on their faces growing wider seeing the little child enjoying the zoo.
“Little snakes!” Virgil said, nodding. “Just as cool as the humongous ones.”
Janus looked at Logan, meeting his gaze. He said nothing but Logan knew what he wanted.
“Snakes smell with their tongues. That’s why they are always poking them out.”
He then stuck out his tongue and made snake sounds which had Janus giggling. Then, of course, it was Janus’s turn. He stuck out his little tongue and made snake sounds. Finally, he looked at Virgil who snorted but did the same.
With that out of his system, for the moment at least, Janus pointed at the next big enclosure. Virgil and Logan laughed again and made their way to the large exhibit.
Inside, a Python was lounging on a large smooth rock. Pythons and other snakes didn’t really have facial expressions but if they did, Logan was positive this one would look completely relaxed.
“Sssss!” Janus said again, sticking his tongue out like a snake. The snake, whether it heard them or not, lifted its head slowly and looked at the glass. Though the snake wasn’t necessarily looking at them, Janus got really excited.
“Snake!!” He said, pointing at the snake which was sticking its tongue out, likely to smell out any danger. Once the snake was aware there wasn’t any, it laid its head down once more.
Janus wriggled excitedly.
“Snakes live on every continent but Antarctica,” Logan informed them both. Janus smiled before he gave a heavy yawn, rubbing his eye with one little fist. Logan smiled at him.
“Let’s see one more snake, then it’s time to head home.”
Virgil nodded and led the way to another large exhibit where a Boa Constrictor was sliding about. He was impossibly huge and Logan was grateful that the exhibit was so big as it still allowed for so much growth.
“Final fact for the day,” Logan announced with a grin. “Snake charmers use movement to direct snakes, not the music.”
With that, the three headed out of the exhibit and toward the front. Virgil stopped them as they started to pass the gift shop.
“I know they are probably extremely overpriced, but we should see if there’s a little snake plushie in there for him.”
Logan grinned and nodded, glancing at Janus who was resting his head on Logan’s shoulder.
“Let’s make it quick though.”
Virgil agreed, slipping his hand into Logan’s free hand. Together, they headed into the gift shop.
»»———— ☠ ————««
Virgil was about to ask one of the cashiers for help in finding a snake plushie but his gaze caught something else.
"Uh oh," he heard Logan say as Virgil made his way to the stuffed animal wall. "Daddy found spider stuffies. Guess he will be getting one as well."
Virgil didn’t quite hear what Logan had told Janus but could hear the fondness in his words. Sticking his tongue out at Logan, he turned back to the stuffed snakes. Reaching out to touch the tarantula stuffie, he looked back at Logan, his lower lip poking out.
"It's so cute!"
“I already said you can have one too, my love.”
Virgil grinned. “Oh. Well, good.”
He took the spider off the wall and then glanced further along it. He spotted the snake plushies in no time but grinned at what he saw next to them.
“Aww, look, Lo. They’ve got unicorn stuffies too.”
He glanced back at Logan in time to see his eyes widen as he went to look. His heart clenched to see his husband so excited about the mythical creature he somewhat secretly adored.
“You know,” Logan began, reaching up with his free hand to adjust his glasses. “Unicorns are the official national animal of Scotland.”
Virgil snorted. “I am well aware. This cute astronomy major once told me when we went on our first date.”
Logan blushed at that but beamed. “He sounds very cool.”
Virgil nodded. “He was the coolest. Still is.”
The blush deepened, Logan beaming at him. He couldn’t help leaning in for a kiss.
A little whine interrupted them and they both glanced at their son who was most definitely pouting.
“Let’s get these stuffed animals and head home. Janus will likely sleep on the way.”
Virgil nodded, leading them to the snake plushies. They let Janus pick the one he wanted which was unsurprisingly the largest they had. It was just a little bigger than him but was surprisingly well made. Virgil was sure it would last a few years at least even with the wear and tear Janus was likely to put it through.
“Pick out a unicorn, Lo.”
Logan didn’t need to be told twice. As he did with everything, Logan considered each one before choosing a white one with a silver shiny star on its back. It’s main and tail were a mix of blue and purple fibers. Virgil couldn’t help but smile. It was not lost on him that Logan likely chose it because purple was Virgil’s favorite color while blue was Logan’s.
The three having chosen their stuffies, made their way to the cash register to pay.
The cashier ate Janus up and wished them a good day.
Janus was out before they even reached the car and slept the entire drive home.
-----------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Thomas Sanders or Joan, nor the rest of their group. I do not own or make money off of these characters. I only own the story as it is written.
Super uber thanks to my beta reader for this fic @superweebside and the two that preread my stuff to make sure its up to par: @biromantichopelessly & @sunshineandteddybears.
