A smile full of true joy.

~•~

Daniel naturally reflected on what Alira had told him. He definitely didn't want to be one of those people who do something wrong at work just to get the rest of the day off and slack off. He used the time off to do some exercises for his leg that he had learned in rehab, but during that time, he tried to think about the zoo.

Petrh Zoo was truly beautiful. Daniel could appreciate that. He could say that the animals the zoo owned were incredible and they definitely could boast species that other zoos in Australia didn't have. But that was all he could appreciate.

Daniel was never an animal lover. Not like his parents or his sister. He loved dogs and cats, and maybe even those birds and a few rodents. However, he hadn't yet managed to build a relationship with the larger mammals, reptiles, and other creatures that the zoo offered. It wasn't that they were ugly or that he was afraid of them. He wasn't afraid - except for snakes; he really didn't like those and preferred when they stayed in their terrarium and no one put them on his skin.

He wasn't afraid, so what was it? Why couldn't Daniel find love for all the creatures in the zoo? Why did this make Alira angry with him?

Daniel knew the reason. Maybe he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he would never sit in his Formula seat again. That he would never sign a contract with a team and be ready to fight with them for the world championship title and the constructors' cup. He would never have a teammate to bond with like you do in school. He would never board a plane and fly halfway around the world just for everything to end in four days so he could soon repeat it. Daniel would never see a new team car live on the day it was unveiled. He would never be invited to team dinners at the end of the year or those at the beginning of the season. He would never walk through the paddock and annoy everyone around him again.

He didn't want to admit it. Deep down, he still wanted to race. His body was probably already coming to terms with the fact that he would never race again, but his mind was still stuck before the accident and wanted to get behind the wheel.

Daniel couldn't help it, but the feeling when you're sitting in a Formula car and looking at the track through the halo that protects your head is a completely different feeling. The brunette had sat in many cars, but none could compare to his Formula car. These are just different cars - like from another world. Everyone at the zoo would understand if they tried driving a Formula One car.

With Alira, however, it was more complicated. That girl might have watched Formula races, so she knew the rules, but she couldn't explain in her head why Daniel was the way he was. Alira understood that he didn't want to give up what he had been doing his whole life, because she herself couldn't easily give up her job at the zoo. That was it. She didn't want to understand more. She thought Daniel was just overreacting and trying to sabotage the zoo so he wouldn't be a coward and give up himself. Alira saw him as someone trying to get fired so he could go back to Formula and really travel with them around the world as a commentator. She didn't know the truth and Daniel refused to explain everything to her - it wasn't his place to persuade anyone. She thinks what she thinks, and he let her, because he didn't have the energy to argue with her.

Instead, he decided on something drastic that no one expected. The next day, after Daniel had sorted everything out in his head and decided to show Alira that he was serious about the zoo and that he really wanted to try working with animals like the rest of his family, he got out of bed at five in the morning. The last time he got up this early was when he had to go to the simulator, knowing that he would be flying somewhere in the afternoon, otherwise, he wouldn't have time for the simulator.

It was something unusual for him again. Something he hadn't done in a long time, so he decided to do everything properly. His leg hurt a little less that morning, so he even ran at home a bit to speed things up. He put on his work uniform, which he had washed and dried overnight because it smelled of animals. Maybe he didn't want to work at the zoo at first, but he had to admit that the dark blue suited him beautifully - his tanned skin and dark brown hair paradoxically went perfectly with the dark blue. Maybe his dark brown eyes didn't stand out as much, but he still thought the uniform suited him and he could imagine photos of him in this outfit appearing online.

He had a quick breakfast, which meant pouring cereal with milk into a bowl, because there was nothing else to eat in his household. He still had food from Alira, but that was more for lunch or dinner, definitely not for breakfast. And after all that, and his hygiene routine, he set off at a slow pace to the zoo, which was less than a kilometer from where he lived.

Of course, exactly what he hoped for happened. Alira wasn't at the zoo yet, so he would be able to prove to her that he was serious. Yes, he wanted to get back behind the wheel of a Formula One car, but at the same time, he was determined to start working properly at the zoo and prove everyone wrong. He would show them that even a professional athlete isn't afraid of hard work and can get involved in the running of the zoo.

"My son up this early?" Joe, Daniel's father, looked at his son incredulously as he noticed him walking by. He knew his son, and he knew that during his racing days it was completely normal for him to get up this early, but since then he had been getting up around seven and arriving at work around eight - no one objected because he was still just learning the ropes. Everyone knew they would have to say something to him once he was assigned an animal.

"You didn't expect that, did you?" Daniel laughed. He was in a good mood this morning, even though he didn't know why. Yesterday, the only person who had paid him any attention and who initially didn't seem to judge him for his past career had gotten angry with him, but it turned out she did judge him, just silently. Of course, she judged him. Everyone had their own opinions about him, they just didn't say it out loud. Alira finally said it out loud - she said exactly what everyone was thinking. Others would have feared that Daniel wouldn't like them and no one wanted to alienate someone who had millions in his account and could get them into Formula races, even though he was no longer officially with any team and wasn't racing. Alira couldn't have cared less because her life was all about animals. Daniel had money and passes to Formula races? The brunette couldn't be less interested. If he couldn't take care of animals, she just didn't like that person because animals were her whole life.

"Do you have any work scheduled for today?" his father asked him.

"I was supposed to help Alira with some animals, but she got mad at me yesterday, so I guess not. Why?" he replied at length, ending with a question of his own.

"I'd rather not even ask why she got mad at you," Joe shook his head, "we need to fix the fence at the tigers' enclosure and could use some strong arms."

"The arms are strong, but I'm not sure about the knee," Daniel chuckled.

"I have a knee brace in the locker room that should support all those muscles, so it might work for you," Joe grabbed his son's elbow and headed with him toward the technical building where the meeting would take place. Daniel didn't object. He wanted to show Alira that he was serious, but now he would have to help his father, and Alira would just remain angry.

Daniel didn't want Alira to be angry with him. He liked that girl. He hadn't had the chance to get to know her behavior perfectly, but he liked how she had presented herself so far. When they were at his place during the Formula races in Japan, they tried to get to know each other a bit, but Daniel noticed that she didn't like talking about herself. He didn't know if the others knew the answers and he was the only one she didn't answer because they didn't know each other well enough yet, or if no one knew the answers. The girl intrigued him, and he would have liked to ask her questions and get answers, but he wasn't like that. He might have been curious, but he also understood people and knew she had her personal reasons for not talking about it, so he didn't try to pry it out of her. If she ever wanted to, she would tell him herself.

"Have you gotten to know anyone else here a bit better?" he asked as they walked side by side.

"So far, I only know Alira a bit better," he replied to his father, "I've worked a bit with Thomas and Denis, but they didn't say much. They just told me what to do but didn't try to get to know me."

"You're new here and mostly thanks to connections. These people had to study and go through tough competitions to work here, so maybe they're a bit jealous. Prove to them that you deserve your place here at the zoo, and they'll welcome you," Joe smiled, "Alira had it tough too when she showed up here at twenty."

"Alira?" Daniel didn't understand.

"Yes, that girl didn't have any formal education either, and at first, none of the keepers here wanted her. It took her several months to prove to everyone how serious she was," he replied. "Why do you think they call her the girl for everything? She wanted to show everyone that she was interested in the zoo and wanted to work here, so she took on every task, no matter how difficult it seemed. She always completed it quickly and perfectly. Webb couldn't praise her enough."

"Now I understand a bit more," Daniel muttered to himself. Another reason why Alira got so mad at him. She was probably afraid that Daniel would get along with everyone right away because he was a former Formula One driver, while she was almost bullied and had no friends. For a twenty-year-old girl who came all the way from Albania, it must have been a terrible period.

Then he didn't have time to think because his father immediately put him to work. At the meeting, he got to know his other coworkers, who were mostly his age rather than his father's - who appeared to be the oldest, which made sense since he was the head zookeeper. He also didn't miss hearing how much he resembled his father, but that he looked more like his mother in the face. Stories from his father's long career were also not lacking. Daniel hadn't laughed this much in a long time. He carried heavy parts of the fence, his knee screaming in pain, making it clear he should rest, but Daniel continued working. He enjoyed it, and time passed faster than he could have imagined. He laughed at everything his colleagues told him. They had fun even while working. They also tried to explain everything in detail to Daniel because they hoped he would be interested enough to join them instead of the keepers - Daniel would probably be happier with the technicians, but because of his knee, he couldn't. He could help them occasionally when needed, but they couldn't count on him every day. His leg wouldn't hold up, and he would either end up with even worse lifelong consequences or would have to have his leg amputated, and Daniel didn't want either of those.

Meanwhile, while Daniel was having fun with the technicians and helping them with the tiger fence, Alira was on her way to work. She had Daniel and their conversation at the echidnas on her mind the entire previous day. Normally, she would have left him alone and said nothing, but she couldn't just stand by when it came to these animals. Echidnas were her favorite animals. She started with them and would probably still be with them if the former lemur keeper hadn't had to leave, and Alira replaced him. Echidnas held a special place in her heart, and she couldn't stand to hear Daniel speak ill of them.

She thought Daniel would apologize and not show up the next day. She still thought so even after arriving at work and not seeing him anywhere. She asked everyone, but none of the keepers had seen him, and no one had been assigned him. Alira truly thought he had taken her advice to heart and would quit working at the zoo if he wasn't serious about it. That's why she was surprised when she saw the curly-haired brunette at the tiger enclosure.

He was laughing and helping with the fence repair. Alira should have guessed he would take a break from the animals and help his father instead. She was a bit surprised that he was doing it despite the pain in his leg, but she let it go. It was his body, and he knew his limits best.

What pleased the girl, however, was the smile that Daniel had on his face the whole time. Working with the technicians really suited him. Alira was almost sad that the brunette couldn't stay with them - his leg wouldn't hold up. Everyone knew that, which is why no one assigned him to them. He must have run into his dad, who then asked him for help.

But that smile. He smiled like that with her when they watched Formula races together.

A smile full of true joy.

~•~