Started uni yesterday and had one hell of a therapy session this morning so I decided the only way to heal my battered and bruised soul was to write some more domestic Buckley-Diaz zoo trip. Please enjoy!
Buck and Christopher walk side by side, dodging small clusters of families with screaming children, mothers dragging their little cherubs along on those weird toddler leash things, and exasperated fathers trying to make head or tails of the less-than-helpful map. As they walk, Buck begins to hum the first song that comes to mind, one that’s been stuck in his mind since they left Eddie’s house, actually. Christopher looks up at him, brows knitted in confusion as he clearly doesn’t recognise it, so Bucks starts over, singing softly under his breath.
“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do. No crocodiles, or rhinoceroseses, I only like hippopotamuseses!” he sings, finishing with a flourish. He’s not the words best singer, can barely carry a tune if it’s gift-wrapped and handed to him, but the lyrics are appropriate for the occasion, and they have the exact effect he’s looking for: Christopher cringing and whining about how embarrassing he is.
“Buck, it’s April. Why are you singing Christmas songs?” Christopher groans, nudging Buck with a pointy elbow.
Buck pokes him back, making Christopher wriggle away as he hits a ticklish spot. “I’m putting in my request early. Do you know how long it takes to grow a hippo?”
“Eight months.,” Christopher replies instantly, not missing a beat. “Or around 240 days, to be exact.”
Buck stares at him, a little shocked at how readily Christopher had this information, before shaking himself and continuing his teasing. “Yeah, exactly. And what’s in 8 months?”
Christopher counts on his fingers, murmuring each month under his breath, until he reaches 8, at which point he deflates a small amount. “Oh. Christmas.”
“Exactly, Christmas,” Buck replies with a grin, looping an arm around Christopher’s shoulders. “Want me to ask the big guy for one for you, too? Or do you think you dad won’t like that too much?”
“Buck!” Christopher groans, shrugging off Buck’s arm, but Buck can see the smile pulling at the pre-teen’s lips. Christopher might like to act like he’s too old to hang out with his dad and Buck, but Buck knows that deep down, Christopher still loves his time with them, if the way Christopher quickly nudges his head against Buck’s tricep is any indication.
Eijirou invites you to go to the zoo with him, and even though it's getting late, who are you to say no to that wonderful idiot?
Dedicated to: @nakunakunomi
Warnings: mentioning of blood (but it’s just a scratch, i promise it’s all fluffy)
Word count: 4K
"Eijiro," you called out to the red head in front of you, "wait up!" The boy turned around, flashed a toothy grin and then stopped in his tracks, nodding towards the small food stand that sold fries and other types of snacks.
"It's nearly six o'clock," he stated, eyeing his phone before he glanced back at you. "We should probably grab a bite to eat before the zoo closes and we have to get back to campus. I'm sure the others will have eaten without us."
With a purse of your lips and a determined nod, the two of you walked towards the food stand. It was a pity you the two of you had missed the bus and then arrived at the zoo much later than you had first anticipated. Arriving a mere two hours before closing time almost seemed like a shame, like it was hardly worth it, but Eijiro had insisted. He had a year pass and could come back whenever he wanted to, so even if the two of you didn't get to see everything, you could always continue your adventure some other day. "The weather's too nice to stay inside, Y/N, we shouldn't waste it," he had said. That's how the two of you burst through the zoo's entrance gates a few minutes past four in the afternoon, with the sun warming your skin and Eijiro's hair looking even brighter than usual. Just looking at it made you smile.
"What do you feel like having? My treat!"
Your eyes widened and a surprised chuckle forced its way from your chest, "Oh no-! No, no, that's really not necessary, I can-"
"Nope! Not going to happen! I said what I said!" he insisted with a nonchalant shrug.
Defeated, you gave him a look. "You're incorrigible. Fine, I'll pay next time. I'll have- I'll have a slushie!"
This time it was Eijiro's turn to give you a look. "A slushie? That's all you're having?" He rolled his eyes and nodded towards the benches. "Wait for me over there, I'll be right over.”
You found a spot on the benches and pulled your phone from your pocket. Kyoka had sent you a meme and asked how things were going. After you threw a glance towards a very enthusiastic red head who was waiting for the line to get shorter, you typed out a quick reply and snickered at the way Kyoka immediately sent a message back stating that Bakugo was yelling at first years, much to the amusement of everyone present, except for maybe Ochaco.
It seemed that time had passed faster than you had realised, because Eijiro suddenly took a seat next to you. What you saw made you do a double take at the man sitting there. He had a hold of two servings of chili cheese fries and one big, blue flavoured slushie.
"So- you're hungry, huh?" You laughed, taking the slushie from him so he could get started on his fries.
"Not so much, these are for you." He handed over one serving of the chili cheese fries and shook his head, closing his eyes and speaking solemnly, "One doth not skippeth dinner in this household."
You blinked at him. First of all, the nerve. Secondly-
"I know you're the Shakespeare connoisseur, but let's pretend that was a direct quote and skip what I'm sure would have been an amazing argument. I also know for a fact that you love these, Kyoka told me last time we were at Birgor Kung, and slushies are not food, so you'll need to eat anyhow."
Your shoulders sagged. Eijiro was an idiot, but an attentive one. "Fine, but I'm sharing my slushie with you whether you like it or not," you huffed.
After a quick dinner, you decided to head towards the tigers, they were near the back of the park and you had enough time to take a quick peek at them before you headed out. Once the both of you got there, the sun was still high enough in the sky to shine golden rays onto the orange beasts who were lazily lounging in the grass. They were honestly mesmerizing.
"It's funny, isn't it?"
It was only when Eijiro looked at you that you realised you'd said it out loud.
"What's funny?"
A soft laugh rolled off your tongue, you felt a little stupid for being so-- well, almost philosophical. "It just seems funny to me that kids come here and look at them and think about how strong and beautiful they are. They don't see danger; they just see something to look up to. When you ask a kid what kind of animal they'd like to be, nine out of ten will say something like a lion or a tiger because they associate them with strength, not danger."
Eijiro said nothing, his lips slightly parted and his pointy teeth peeking out from under his top lip as he simply listened to your words.
"When we grow older, however, we start realising that what we used to think was simply beautiful and strong, might also be harmful if we have no control over it. I wonder if-," you paused, unsure of how to continue.
The last time you were able to speak your mind about something similar, Eijiro had been just as quiet, which was a huge change to his usually bubbly persona. In the end he had smiled and pulled you into a tight hug. You might have teared up a little, and at that moment you realised that what you felt for Eijiro, and what made you feel so comfortable around him, definitely reached beyond the boundaries of friendship.
"I wonder if other people would look at us the same. I can image that some people - people who aren't heroes - look at us and wonder if we will ever be dangerous instead of strong and striving for justice. What if they're afraid of us like they're afraid of a loose tiger, because they can't grasp what we are and they can't control us?"
Eijiro looked out in front of him, at the tigers in the grass. He seemed to mull over the words in his head and let out a soft hum, like he was about to say something he wasn't quite sure how to phrase.
"They- They seem kind of chill, though? I don't think they'll hurt anyone?"
For a moment you had no idea what he was talking about, until you followed his gaze and saw the tigers. You closed your eyes and let out the deepest sigh. "That's not-"
Eijiro laughed, and the sound caused you to open your eyes.
"I'm just joking, Y/N, no worries." He sighed, "But honestly, when I look at them lying there like that, all I know is that they are strong, that they will use that strength to protect their friends whenever they can and that their strength does not - you know - define them?"
You didn't know how to react to that.
"Do you think that people might fear your quirk?" he asked.
The question seemed to appear out of thin air, and yet it didn't. You looked at him, your eyes wide yet soft and full of doubt. "I'm not sure. Sometimes. I've heard people - talk. They think I might use my quirk to influence people in a bad way, and I don't know how I should feel about that."
This time, Eijiro was quick to shake his head. "I don't think that's true. I think people see our quirks and hope that we'll prove to them that we use our strengths to protect those who can't protect themselves. It's not about what kind of quirk you have, it's about what you do with it. I think we're proving that we're the good guys by working hard, both in school and during the internships." He grinned as he sent a cheeky wink your way. "We're at UA, you know? We're the bestest ones in the game!"
He continued, "I get it, though. Sometimes I feel weird about it, too. I don't exactly look very cuddly when I use my quirk. But those guys over there are pretty tough, and kids look up to them, too, no? That's what you said."
You had to agree with him on that one. "Y-Yeah - I guess you're right."
He tilted his head to the side, his trademark grin stretched across his features.
"Feel better?"
With a firm nod, you let out a heavy breath, feeling some of the stress from before lift from your shoulders. You decided to head back to the entrance. Without realising how late it had become, the two of you strolled towards the iron gates at a leisurely pace. When you got there, however, the gates were closed and there wasn't a person in sight.
"What the-" Eijiro frowned, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Uhh—Y/N? It's... It's seven o'clock. The park's been closed for over an hour."
Your eyes widened. "What? What will we do now? Should we call someone? We could call Aizawa-sensei, maybe he can come and get us!"
Eijiro seemed to have something else in mind. He pursed his lips and looked back at the empty park, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Well... Would be a shame if we didn't stick around and enjoyed having the park to ourselves for at least a little while, no?"
You groaned, "Eijiro, we'll get into trouble..."
"Because of what? Because of who? Who's going to tell on us? The penguins? I'm pretty sure they're cool with it." He took your hand in his and grinned that goddamned grin. "Come on, just for a little bit."
Five minutes later, you were both heading towards the side of the park, and you would've wondered where exactly you were going if you weren't so focused on the fact that Eijiro was still. holding. your hand. You arrived at a wooden fence that separated that part of the zoo from the next, where you could already see a charming little bridge crossing a narrow stream that lead from one pond to the other.
"That's unfortunate," you chuckled. "I don't think we can-"
Eijiro had let go of your hand, put his hands on the fence and climbed over it. You blinked blankly, staring at the idiot on the other side of the fence who was motioning for you to follow him. "You're-," you sighed, "You're going to be the death of me."
Half a minute, some effort and lots of huffing later, you were standing next to the other red head and smiled when he didn't hesitate to take your hand again and pulled you towards the bridge. Once you stepped onto it, you playfully squeezed his hand, causing him to flinch.
"What's wrong?"
Looking down at your intertwined fingers, your eyes grew wide. "Oh my god!"
"You're bleeding!"
He let go of your hand and carefully inspected your fingers. There was blood smeared across both your hand and his, but the fact that he had been the one to flinch made it evident that it wasn't you who was bleeding.
"I'm not bleeding, you dummy, you are!" You took his hand and turned it over to take a look, discovering a long, thin cut across his middle finger.
Eijiro frowned, looking back at the fence, "I must have cut myself climbing over."
You were already steering him towards the middle of the bridge, where you motioned him to take a seat. You opened your bag and pulled out a packet of tissues and a small bottle of water. Carefully, you cleaned the cut and got rid of the smears on his skin. You retrieved a band aid from your wallet and gently wrapped up Eijiro's boo-boo.
When you looked back up, Eijiro was already smiling at you. "Thanks- And, sorry, I got-" he sighed, "I got blood all over you." He reached down, pulled a new tissue from the pack and poured a little water on it. "Uhh- Can I?"
You hesitated, a little embarrassed about the whole situation. Then again, you had helped him, so it was cute that he would want to do the same. "Yeah, okay. Sure." You held out your hand and his eyes grew serious as he carefully cleaned the smears off your skin. It was almost like he was afraid to hurt you, like you were the one with the cut in their hand. It amused you and caused a chuckle to bubble up from your chest.
"What's so funny?" he asked, his eyes big and curious as he looked up into yours.
You shook your head. You couldn't bear to make fun of him when he was like this: kind, soft and caring. "I'm just ticklish, that's all."
When he finished cleaning up your hand, you both stayed on the bridge for a while. You'd never been to this side of the zoo, so it was nice to spend some time on the little bridge, both lying on your stomach as you looked down into the stream and talking about the koi fish you saw, about Eijiro and his mom fighting over what to name the new puppy they got and about the breakdown you had when you heard the first essay of the semester didn't turn out so well as you had hoped. No matter what you talked about with the other red head, it seemed he was always either quiet and understanding or he was there to brighten the mood with his positive outlook on things.
The sun was starting to set by the time the two of you walked down the bridge, and a cold breeze was starting to blow through your hair. You did not get cold easily, but the sudden drop in temperature did make you shiver. Neither of you had brought jackets and you could tell Eijiro was thinking the same.
“Maybe we can head into the aquarium? I don't think the wind will be able to get to us, there."
You agreed with a nod and followed him into the building. There was no lock on the big door; you could just push through, so in a matter of minutes you were in a dark building surrounded by countless sea creatures. The only light that was streaming in came from the lights that illuminated the aquariums. The warmth from that day had flowed into the building continuously, so even now that things were cooling down outside, the air inside of the building was warm and comforting.
You strolled through the hallways of the aquarium for what seemed like ages, and eventually you sat down against a wall, looking out on a huge display behind which rainbow eels were seemingly panicking their way through life. The sight of them made both of you laugh, they looked entirely too pretty, entirely too funny.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
You shook your head, "Not really. You?"
He shook his head almost violently, and it made you snicker. "Are you sure?"
Eijiro smiled sheepishly, "I mean- I'm a little chilly, but it's fine!"
With a smile on your face, you scooted a little closer. "Is that better?"
The red head pursed his lips and scooted closer still until his shoulder was pressed against yours. He nudged you. "I suppose that's good, yeah!" The mischievous grin he always wore was plastered across his face once again.
Time passed by like fish in a water tank, and soon you felt Eijiro's spikey hair tickle your cheek as he nodded off against your shoulder. You looked out in front of you, your teeth worrying your bottom lip as you disappeared into your own thoughts.
The first time you realised you liked Eijiro, you almost got into a fight because you had no idea what to do with the information and you had opted to distance yourself from him, which just confused him so much it came to a weird not-argument about having done something wrong or not. Friendship was easy, especially with someone like him. Of course you'd fall for the doofus who found it easy to befriend just about anyone as long as they had a heartbeat. Sometimes it made you wonder if that was the only reason the two of you got to hang out so much. Was it because he was like that with everyone? But Kyoka had pointed out that even Bakugo had noticed his best friend was spending a lot of time with you. Luckily, you and Bakugo hadn't really argued since your first year at UA, and there was at least some kind of mutual respect between the two of you, so it didn't worry you all too much. If it was really the case that Eijiro wanted to hang out with you as much as he did, was it because you could both be goofy and serious together, or was there something he wasn't telling you?
The thoughts that swarmed you eventually died down, and you could feel your eyes drooping before you eventually fell asleep with your cheek tucked against the top of Eijiro's head.
"Y/N?"
You were pulled out of your dreams when a familiar voice called out to you, and slowly you opened your eyes. Eijiro was smiling at you sleepily, rubbing at one of his eyes. "Hey-- It's-- Ah, it's six o'clock in the morning. If we want to get back to campus in time for classes, we should probably head back."
Suddenly very awake, you shot up and groaned when your back cracked a little. "Yeah, we probably should." Part of you felt bad for doing something as illegal as spending the night in a zoo, but the other part of you, the part that was slightly louder than the first, was sad about your adventure with Eijiro being over already.
Eijiro got up first and held out his hand to help you up. He led the way out of the aquarium and across the bridge. It did not escape your attention that hand holding had become... a thing, now. It made you wonder. When you climbed over the fence towards the main part of the zoo, you gave Eijiro a look that told him to be more careful than the previous time he hopped over.
The two of you arrived at the entrance gates safely, but since it was still too early for the zoo to open, there was still the slight hiccup of not knowing how to get out. Eijiro scanned his surroundings and nodded towards the side of the park. "That wall over there is much lower than the gates, so if I can give you a nudge, you can hop on the wall and then you can pull me up."
You raised your eyebrows at him. "You really think that will work?"
He grinned that toothy grin and shrugged, "Let's find out, shall we?"
After a quick jog towards the wall Eijiro mentioned, you looked up at it sceptically, but Eijiro was already kneeling and activating his quirk so his back hardened.
"All right!" he said, "Let's do this!"
You really envied his faith in your athleticism but decided to trust him. This was Eijiro, after all. You took a few deep breaths as you stepped back and ran up to him, stepped one of your feet onto his back and then pulled yourself up onto the wall. It took some clinging and some squirming, but after a few nerve-wracking moments you were sitting on top of the wall and grinning down at the other red head.
"I did it!"
He got up and laughed, "Yeah, you did! Care to give me a hand, now?"
You nodded and made sure you were sitting securely atop the wall before you reached out your hand. Eijiro took your hand and you tried pulling as much as your strength allowed you to. His other hand managed to grab onto the top of the wall, and the rest was done with some clumsy footwork.
After a slightly scary jump off the wall, the two of you were beaming as you raced down the street towards the bus stop. Once you got on the bus back to UA, the both of you were all smiles as you looked at the scenery that passed you. Somehow your head found its way to Eijiro's shoulder, and somehow he smiled at you with those kind eyes, and he said nothing.
You arrived on campus a few minutes after seven. It seemed only logical to just head towards the dorms to get changed, but then Eijiro stopped you at the door.
"Y/N?"
You looked up at him, expecting to see that beaming smile, but coming face to face with Eijiro's big, curious eyes. He seemed serious, and for a moment you got nervous. He looked so charming, so warm and so soft, especially with the way the spikes of his hair were sagging and his eyes gave away just how sleepy he still was. It was becoming very hard to deny how much this young man made you happy, and had been doing so for months now. Maybe, just maybe--
"Uhh-- I have two questions for you?"
You smiled. "Okay?"
He cleared his voice, a smile slowly creeping its way onto his features. "It was nice. Really nice. It didn't go as planned, I know-- but I still had a lot of fun. I always have fun when I'm with you, you know?" He gulped, "I want-- I think. No, I'd like-- Yes, I'd like-- to take you on a real date. Please. If you want. If that's-- cool with you," he grinned.
For a moment, you had no idea what to do, what to think or what to say.
"If you don't want to, that's--", Eijiro started, his smile faltering a little.
"No--!" Your eyes went wide. "No, I'd love to!"
There it was again, that smile that brightened your day, nearly every damned day since you enrolled into this school. You smiled right back and hummed, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. "You had another question for me, right?"
Eijiro nodded, looking a little nervous now. "Can I-- kiss you?"
This time, you didn't hesitate, didn't leave room for question or misinterpretation.
"Yes, please."
You couldn't decide which side of him you liked more. The goofy, enthusiastic ball of energy or the soft, caring and supportive gem. But then it struck you. You wouldn't have to choose, because the boy in front of you was all of that and much more.
Eijiro took a step forward and reached up, one of his hands cupping your cheek. You felt his thumb stroking across the apple of your cheek as he smiled down at you like he'd burst if he didn't. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against yours, his eyes slipping shut as he closed the rest of the distance between the two of you, his other hand finding its way to yours.
The kiss lasted for just a few seconds, but it was more than anything you'd hoped for. When Eijiro pulled away, the both of you were grinning like idiots.
"We should probably head inside before the teachers find out and get us in trouble," you said.
Eijiro agreed and intertwined his fingers with yours before he stepped back and gently guided you towards the door.
When you walked into the building, a very grumpy looking Aizawa was staring the both of you down. "The two of you have a lot of explaining to do." You flinched at those words, a little worried about what Aizawa would do to the two of you.
Aizawa's eyes landed on your intertwined fingers and you watched him raise one of his eyebrows. "What's going on? What are you two doing?"
Eijiro just looked back at you, smiled and said, "Our best, professor. We're doing our best."
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Don’t mind me I’m writing from the perspective of a lion now *throws fairy dust*
Nah, for realsies, I loved writing this unlike anything I’ve ever written before and this just made the biologist in me party! But, since it’s so unlike anything I’ve written before, I’d love some feedback! (And I would also love to know if you guys want more Zoo fics jsjhs)
(Lowkey nervous about posting this)
Pairings: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Kimi Räikkönen/Sebastian Vettel, Lando Norris/Carlos Sainz Jr
Summary:
Khan considers himself lucky. He has a human mommy who loves him, and a pride that any lion can be proud of.
This is the story of how Khan met his human mommy, and of how the human mommy fell in love.
(Or the Khan the Lion POV fic no one asked for but which I DESPERATELY wanted to write)
zoo fic: even educated fleas do it, jamie/mitch, 1/1
Excerpt: (Slight spoilers for season three)
“It makes a kind of sense, actually,” he said tearing his glasses off and rubbing his eyes as he started to pace, on the opposite side of the lab, Jamie noticed. “The animals have been steadily eliminating humans, but we still serve some use for them, so they don’t want to get rid of us completely. It’s possible that they’ve noticed the sterility issue somehow and have engineered a way to get us to procreate. I mean, I don’t think it’s going to actually be effective, but good on nature for giving it the old college try.”
“Mitch, I swear to God, if you don’t stop talking and put your mouth to use on some part of me, I’m going to scream,” Jamie said quickly.
Jamie/Mitch, season three, sex pollen.
Read the story on AO3 or FF.net.
I need to be stopped. I have no excuse for any of this, especially not the poetry.
Summary: A missing scene during the missing decade, in which Jamie is not yet resigned to Mitch’s death. Offered now for public consumption after being locked up on my computer for 10 months as stylized headcanon with no initial plans to see the light of day, despite the fact that I’m pretty sure 3.02 just jossed it.
After countless expeditions spent chasing false hopes, belief in the possibility of Mitch's survival had ebbed away until Jamie alone was left pursuing it, with dwindling support. Jackson was merely the most recent intervention attempt, asking one night after dinner if maybe she shouldn't consider moving on, letting herself heal.
Her answer was the same as always. “I'm not giving up on him.”
“It's been three years.” His voice was gentle, but cautionary. “Don't you think he would have found a way to contact you? Or Clem?”
She didn't answer for a beat. Then: “Not if he can't.”
“Jamie..."
“We never found his body.”
His face fell. "You know this story. Abe heard what happened."
"Heard. Not saw.”
“Jamie.” He sounded lost now. “That can't possibly make a difference. You and I were there. We both know what happens when hybrids are on your trail. If there was any evidence otherwise, we’d have found it by now.”
"I know that." Her gaze went to a spot on the wall, picturing the ruined glasses still carefully tucked away, before taking a deep breath. "I know that he probably died minutes after those things broke down the door, before I even knew he was gone. I know that he probably died being ripped to pieces." Her tone was rigid, coldly calm as she articulated the horrors she lived with, even as a long repressed tear spilled over.
A moment later, her eyes went back to him. “But I probably died in that plane crash. I probably died somewhere in the Canadian wilderness where no one would ever look for me.
“Don't you get it? Until I know, he always going to be out there, waiting to be found. As long as there's the smallest chance, he's still alive. There is no moving on from that.”
Next to Buck, Christopher is craning his head, moving from side to side as he tries to see over the mass of people suddenly crowded around the glass wall of the enclosure. He lets out a frustrated groan as he sits up as straight as he can, peering over the heads, until he eventually gives up and pushes himself to stand. “Dad, there’s too many people, I can’t see!”
Just as he says this, Eddie spots a break in the crowd, a perfect gap of people between them and the edge of the glass.
“Watch the bag for us?” he mumbles hurriedly at Buck as he places a hand on Christopher’s shoulder and propels the two of them forward, pushing people out of the way until him and Christopher are right at the front.
The glass is a little foggy where they are, from all the noses that had been pressed against it, creating a light film of condensation. Christopher reaches out to wipe the moisture away, his sleeve tucked over his hand so he doesn’t get his skin wet, but Eddie catches his wrist just in time. He’s not about to deal with Christopher catching some sort of plague from the zoo, thank you very much.
“Think you’re too big to be lifted up?” Eddie asks, looking down at his son as Christopher stands on his tiptoes, trying to see over the fogged-up glass. Christopher looks like he’s about to resist, to complain that he’s far too old to be held by his dad while they watch the hippos frolic. His face plays out a series of expressions as Eddie watches him war internally, conflicted between being too cool to be carried, but also a deeper, more desperate need to have an uninterrupted view of the hippos.
Finally, after what seems like much deliberation, Christopher nods. “Yes please,” he whispers, sounding almost ashamed as he scuffs his feet a little, his grip tightening around his crutches. “But don’t tell anyone at school!”
Eddie snorts as he ruffles his son’s hair. “Who would I tell? C’mere.”
Tagged by @steadfastsaturnsrings @theotherbuckley and @daffi-990, thanks my loves!!
So I've been informed that the snippets of zoo fic I've been sharing have made it seem like a cute, wholesome trip to the zoo, which it is in part. But it's also just a whole load of Eddie Feeling Things (8k of it so far) as he comes to terms with Christopher growing up and his feelings for Buck. So, having said that, please enjoy a slightly more angsty section of this.
Christopher is growing up. It’s a natural part of life, but a part Eddie has been dreading for years, probably since the day Christopher was born if he’s being honest with himself. His breathing is becoming more difficult, chest tightening as he tries to steady his inhales.
“I-I’m gonna go down to the underwater area for a sec, be right back. Make sure Buck doesn’t get into trouble, Chris,” Eddie stammers as he gets up, pushing past Buck and Christopher, and he all but runs down the sloping path, stopping only when he’s in the cool, dark cave under the seating area.
The water behind the big, glass windows cast an eerie light, rippling and dancing with the small wavelets of the pool, and it calms Eddie a little, away from the hustle and bustle of the above area. From where he’s standing, he can watch as the mama and baby hippos both wade into the water before the mama hippo tips herself forward, sinking gracefully to the bottom. The baby follows suit, her little legs kicking about as she gets used to the sensation of weightlessness, and she settles on her mother’s back, watching as a shoal of fish swirl around them.
Eddie walks forwards and places a hand on the cool glass. Watching the mama and baby interact, the way the baby keeps looking back at her mother for reassurance and the way the mama hippo gazes at her child with a look that could only be love, Eddie flips through all his memories of Christopher, as though watching his past through a Viewfinder. He’s so busy reminiscing that he doesn’t hear the footsteps as someone else enters the cave, until a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his middle.
“You okay?” Buck’s voice murmurs in his ear, lips brushing against the shell and Eddie sinks back with a sigh, letting his whole body relax in Buck’s arms.
Well I'm officially back at uni and therefore officially completely incapable of writing more than 100 words a day 💀 I've got another snip of zoo fic for you guys today, plus one of the videos that's helped me write it. Gonna require a LOT of hyping up for this cause I'm gonna try finish it tomorrow and it's just not working out for me 😅
Tagged for FIF by @spotsandsocks @exhuastedpigeon @aroeddiediaz @cal-daisies-and-briars @daffi-990 and @tizniz (count this as your inspiration saturday tag friends)
Eddie is bought swiftly from his thoughts as a murmur goes up through the crowd and Christopher leans over Buck to excitedly tap at Eddie’s leg, effectively getting his attention.
“Dad, look! They’re coming out!”
Eddie trains his attention towards the enclosure and, sure enough, a long snout pokes out of the large doorway in the wall, followed by, Eddie had to admit, the most majestic looking animal he’d seen in a good long while (Buck included).
The mama hippo happily plods into the enclosure, making an immediate beeline to the small pile of lettuce, carrots, grass, pellets and watermelon slices. Her body sways from side to side as she walks, pausing to nose at the undergrowth, before merrily continuing along her path for food. Just as she’s about to reach her bounty, she stills, turning her large head towards the doorway. There, just in the bottom right hand corner, a tiny head with small, crinkled ears and a blunt nose pokes out, small brown eyes swivelling this way and that as she takes in the new environment.
Sensing her baby’s hesitance, the mama hippo makes her way back across the enclosure and nudges the baby with her nose, gently encouraging her forward. An “awwww” ripples through the crowd as the baby cautiously picks her way forward, shoving her nose in the foliage on the side of the wee path as she explores. She’s so tiny she barely comes up to her mother’s belly, and her footsteps are so small that she almost has to run to keep up with her mother, pitter pattering behind her as she’s led to the middle of the enclosure.
“Eds, look, isn’t that the most adorable thing you’ve seen?” Buck queries as he turns to Eddie, his eyes so wide and full of wonder and innocence, making Eddie want to tuck him under his arm and keep him safe forever.
“Yeah,” Eddie agrees huskily, watching as the baby hippo carefully dips a toe into the water before lowering her snout, a small spout of water misting on either side of her nostrils as she accidentally breathes in the water and huffs it out. “Yeah, it is.”
