He had not been anticipating so many people. They'd woken up pretty early to try and beat the rush, but if this wasn't the rush, he really didn't want to stay long enough to see it. In fact, if Fen wasn't holding his hand, he probably would have turned right around and gotten back into the guy's fancy car.

Wait. His butler drove us here, so the car's not even there anymore.

He could walk back. That was his specialty, even if it was twelve miles.

"It'll be fine. You're going to have a blast, I promise," Fen said right as Pyre heard a familiar fumble of footsteps running their way.

He turned just in time to catch Fox as the guy launched himself into his arms. If Fen hadn't moved behind him to catch them both, they probably would have ended up in a pile on the ground.

"Well hello to you, too," Pyre said with an honest smile as Fox leaned away just enough to beam the light of the sun at him with his gigantic smile.

He knew that the guy wanted to say a ton of stuff, especially since he hadn't recently responded to his texts or calls before moving in with Fen, but he also knew that that was a very thin line to walk.

For a kid who has lived a good chunk of his life in the wild, you know how to handle situations much better than most.

He felt Fen's curiosity pique in the back of his mind at that thought but the guy remained quiet.

"This is my little wild child," Pyre said out loud as he grabbed Fox around the shoulders and did his best to mess up his already-unruly hair.

The guy squirmed and growled a little, but he was also laughing and clearly having a good time playing around. Pyre continued messing with him until bodyguard number two came walking up calmly, likely having dropped Fox off once he'd seen his friend, then gone to park the car.

Thank god number one didn't come today, too.

He hadn't been over to their place too often, but the times he'd gone, he very quickly learned which guy was safest to joke around with. He considered Owen to be the less aggressive of the two, so he got the number two guard position. Not that he wouldn't go after him if he did something mean to his adorable Fox, but he was a lot less hot-headed about things than the number one guard, Amos.

"Good morning, Pyre. It's nice to see you again," Owen said as he finally stopped in front of them and offered a hand.... except, it wasn't proffered to him, but to Fen.

Smart man. I don't give a shit about formalities.

"My name is Owen, I'm Fox's boyfriend," he said as Fen reached forward and grasped his hand in a firm shake.

"Fen, I—" Pyre leaned up against him with Fox still squirming in his arms, startling him into silence.

"He's mine."

That statement got a slight grin from Owen before everyone's attention turned to Fen's reddening face. Luckily for the guy, Gin and Blake appeared at that moment. It took Pyre no time at all to release Fox and jump into Gin's arms. The guy thankfully caught him easily, laughing as he slowly lowered him back to the ground after a good squeeze.

"We just saw each other a little bit ago, Pyre. I only went to pick up Blake so we all didn't have to drive," he said, though his words fell on deaf ears as Pyre grabbed Blake's hands, stopping him from moving for a moment as he assessed his outfit.

Dark, partially faded blue jeans, hot. An easily unbuttoned-down crisp white shirt, hot. Sunglasses and deliciously-messy h—His thoughts were cut off when Blake tugged him forward and into a quick hug, then took his hand and began pulling him toward the front gate.

"It seems like we're all here?" he asked, offering a warm smile to both Fox and Owen as they fell in line.

Fen paid for everyone, much to no one's dismay, and then they stepped inside. Pyre had totally intended on trying to at least stick his hand in Blake's pocket during the first few minutes, but his attention was quickly stolen away when a giant red and blue bird dove for his freaking head!

While he jumped into Gin's arms and hid his face with a yelp, he noticed Fox's eyes flash as he tried to jump up and swipe the darn thing out of the sky!

The bird squawked loudly as it dodged Fox's attack, then swung back around and flew over their heads toward a tall post set up right in the middle of the massive entryway. Several other birds were already on the large perch, cleaning their feathers and generally squabbling nonsense to each other.

"That was pretty cool," Blake said as he tugged a hesitant Pyre forward.

Fox was already running ahead, clearly still fixated on catching himself some colorful dinner. Thankfully, their group skirted the large post by a few feet, though Pyre still kept his eyes on the large birds, especially when the one who'd dive-bombed them turned its head and screeched "Stupid!" over its shoulder at him.

Normally he'd be ready to fight after being called such a thing, but he saw the claws on that chicken... not fighting the mini velociraptor.

A gentle squeeze to his hand drew his attention forward and into the first exhibit they were stopping at. He wasn't too impressed by the gorgeous greenery and waterfall, but his inner panda was wiggling with excitement, wanting to be out and explore the huge enclosure.

No, you behave.

He could sense it sass him back, making him unable to hold back a grin. The thing might be adorable and have its own mind most times, but it was also definitely him, too.

You're both adorable, Fen replied in his mind, making Pyre look up and to the side, then stick his tongue out slightly before returning his attention to the exhibit. He couldn't really see anything at first, but after hearing a sound from somewhere behind the scenes, a massive orange and black tiger stalked out from behind several massive boulders.

"Holy shit! That's a tiger? They get that big? That could eat me in three bites!" he practically yelled, startling a few people around them.

The large animal wasted no time scoping out its territory, then, after catching sight of something floating in its huge pool, it dove straight in.

"Dude!"

Pyre was leaning so far over the railing that he might have fallen like an idiot, but thankfully an arm and a hand were each holding him. Fen's arm was snuggly around his waist while Blake's hand held his right arm firmly.

"Pyre! They have a better view down the ramp!" Fox yelled, making Pyre quickly lean back, and right into Fen's arms.

The guy set him down carefully, then began following him as Pyre darted down the ramp with Fox leading the way. When he followed the guy around the corner, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

The tiger was literally swimming right in front of them!

He hurried to the giant glass wall and pressed his hands against it as the huge beast grabbed a hold of what appeared to be frozen meat, then dove.

This is so cool!

He'd never thought that he'd ever see a real tiger. It was so much bigger than he'd ever thought possible, and its color? Absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey Pyre? Fox?"

Turning at the sound of their names, Pyre grinned when he noticed both Gin and Owen holding up their phones.

"Can we take a photo?" Owen asked as he looked like he was legitimately falling for Fox all over again.

He grabbed his friend and smirked at the same time Fox beamed at his boyfriend. As the two men took a few pictures, Pyre glanced over to Fen, a bit surprise by the look on the guy's own face when he finally lowered his own phone.

He... wasn't used to being looked at like that.

His mind began to wander as Fox turned back to the tiger, but Pyre felt like he was stuck staring into Fen's warm eyes.

"Hey little Spitfire."

Gin's words snapped him out of his daze, drawing his attention to the man standing next to him.

"Hello, my teddy bear," Pyre responded, earning a quiet chuckle from Gin, along with a faint blush as he held out his hand.

"Want to keep going? We can always come back to this one later."

Pyre looked back at the tiger for a few more moments before taking Gin's hand and starting toward the walking path that lead to the next exhibit. He noticed Fox already at the entrance to the plant-covered walkway, staring back at him with a big grin as he held Owen's hand.

They walked together toward the next area, and honestly, he was actually enjoying the landscaping. It felt like they were walking through a jungle. When they stepped out into an open viewing area, he hurriedly pulled Gin over to the railing, then looked out into the densely-planted enclosure.

He didn't see anything, at first, but as they quieted and focused, he heard something. A rustle to the left. Then one lower and on the right. Several things were moving in the big bunches of bamboo before them.

Wait a second...

Oh no.

Please no.

Looking down, since he could no longer see over the exhibit fencing, Pyre sagged his shoulders and felt his eyes begin to water as he noticed his two dark blackish-red paws beneath him.

This is so embarrassing. Don't look at me. Ignore me...

He wanted to just curl up into a little fluff ball and cease to exist, but it seemed like someone had other plans, because he was soon being picked up and snuggled against a warm chest. It took him a minute of getting gentle pets and light kisses atop his head before he dared lift it enough to look around.

Fen withdrew his hand at that time, but since the man wasn't the one who had picked him up, Pyre turned his attention to the side and up a little higher.

Blake.

"Someone got excited to see other pandas, hmm?" the guy said as he walked up to the fence and looked out toward the enclosure.

He really didn't want to look, but his animal side didn't seem to care what he wanted to do. It jerked his head around so fast that he felt his neck nearly kink. A little, fluffy red and white head poked out from within a bushy clump of bamboo near the ground.

Pyre stared at the little panda as it stared up at him, clearly confused. Soon, another head appeared, this one higher up in a tree. The panda attached to it hobbled out on the branch that extended to about five feet away from them.

Feeling his nose twitch, Pyre's panda tried to lean closer, but Blake had a pretty solid hold on the fluffy midget. Either way, since it couldn't move to inspect the other panda, it decided to give out a pathetic-sounding yip.

The other panda, seemingly offended somehow, pinned its ears back and slowly got up on its back legs. It sniffed the air for a few seconds before lifting its tiny paws up and giving out a much louder, yet still pathetic, chirping yip.

I find this posturing absolutely pathetic, but at the same time, I wanna beat his ass for thinking he can handle this ball of fuzz and attitude.

He felt Blake's chest shake against him as the guy laughed quietly, drawing his panda's attention up to him for a brief moment before it returned to its opponent.

"I think it might be best if we continue on."

Before he could respond, Pyre was carried away from the enclosure, but not before his panda squirmed its way up just high enough to pokes its head over Blake's shoulder and squeak one more time!

"I feel like we were about to have a panda smackdown," Gin said with humor as they headed higher up the path, then turned a few small corners.

A large aviary stood before them with two sets of double doors and some hanging plastic chains. Fox was already pulling Owen through the first set of door with Fen holding them open, so Blake and Gin quickly hurried to follow.

After nearly getting decapitated by the bright colored birds earlier, he'd decided that he wasn't a fan, but he did at least spare a few glances at the random storks and ducks below them.

No like. If it's not chicken and already cooked, I'm good.

Unlike him, however, Fen seemed absolutely enthralled by the array of less decorative feathered demons. He was reading each plaque that was displayed, then looking over the railing down into the exhibit to find each animal. He even got his phone out and snapped a few pictures of, what Pyre honestly thought, were some of the dullest looking ones there.

"He absolutely loves birds," Gin said from beside them, drawing Pyre's attention toward him.

Come to think of it, he does have quite a bit of bird artwork on the walls at his place.

Not that he'd really noticed, but now that he thought about it, he remembered seeing plenty as he meandered about the area.

Wait a second. I feel more eyes on me...

Looking around, he noticed Owen glance up and smile at him from a few feet away, but his attention quickly returned back to something lower as he knelt down to pick up clothing, drawing Pyre's own eyes downward until he saw Fox, as a fox, doing little excited circles in front of Blake's shoes.

He wasn't too sure he wanted to be set down yet. His panda, too, was hesitant. Of course, he trusted Fox with his life, but he was still a fox, and that kind of freaked out his animal half.

"I think he wants to play with you," Blake said, though thankfully, didn't put him down.

He can play with your shoelaces, Pyre responded, earning a chuckle from the guy as Fen finally walked back over to them, an excited smile on his face.

"Sorry, I got distracted," he said, making Gin nudge him with his elbow before taking his hand and beginning to guide their group out of the aviary.

"That's what this whole trip is about," Gin said with a smile that Pyre couldn't help but stare at.

Fen leaned close to Gin's ear and whispered something as they stepped back outside. A moment later, Gin walked over to where he was still held snuggly in Blake's arms, then leaned in to kiss Pyre's tiny nose.

Marry me, Pyre thought as his mind turned to mush.

"Mind if I take him for a bit?" Gin asked as Pyre flailed his stubby little arms toward him.

The guy chuckled and handed him over. Pyre immediately snuggled into his teddy bear's arms, then stole a lick of his chin before they continued on their way.

The next few exhibits were all different kinds of hoof stock, which included deer, gazelle, and some weird midget deer called a muntjac.

After those was a massive bear enclosure. They had a ton of room to run around and a bunch of different tire swings, rope toys, and even fruit scattered about. It was actually a pretty cool set up... but the bears were out cold, sleeping on their backs underneath a large maple tree.

I feel you guys, it's getting hot out.

They moved on quickly since the animals were resting, and found their way down into the reptile house. The air-conditioning felt amazing, but Pyre immediately wiggled his way upward until he could look at Fen over Gin's shoulder.

Oh... hot.

Blake had had a light jacket tied around his waist when he'd arrived, but Pyre hadn't even felt the need to note it when he'd examined the man's choice of outfits. Now he realized why it was definitely worth noting.

He hadn't brought it for himself...

Fen had the thing zipped up around himself, as well as Blake's arm around his waist. While he knew that the guy was stubborn, he also knew that he wouldn't hesitate to seek out warmth when he began to get cold in order to keep his shift at bay.

We'll just have a quick look in here, then go back outside.

The heat didn't really bother him much, anyway. Surprisingly, his fur worked better than clothing when it came to managing his body temperature, so even the heat didn't bother him much.

This is Gin's favorite area.

Hearing Fen's words, Pyre looked up at Gin's face as they began perusing the different reptiles and fish inside the cool building.

It turns out, that Gin's favorite of them all, of course, was the rattlesnakes. He actually seemed to be a snake guy in general, and loved reading all of the interesting facts and catching glimpses of the mostly-hidden reptiles.

Pyre thought they looked cool, but after the third or fourth one, he lost interest and, instead, turned his attention to Blake and Fen as they walked together, nearly tied at the hip with Fen shivering and tucked under Blake's arms.

Thankfully, they left a few minutes later, allowing him to give a quiet sigh of relief at the same time Fen did when he stepped back outside.

Fen... he whined a little, giving a little yip just for good measure.

I want part of that snuggle. I'm small, I can fit between you guys.

The guy didn't hesitate to walk forward and gently take him from Gin. By this time, Fox had actually found his way into his own man's arms, clearly enjoying the added height as he looked around the upward sloping area they were walking on.

When they got to the top, a few more exhibits were on the left and right side. One was actually red foxes, which Fox was more than happy to watch for a while. The other took Pyre's attention and he pawed at Fen until the guy brought him over.

The enclosure was actually completely fenced off from top to bottom, but the wire was more than thin enough to see easily.

"Mountain lion," Fen read out loud as the large tan feline walked by the fence, only a few feet away from them.

It didn't look like any lion he'd even seen, but he did remember learning about them years ago in school. They were America's version of a lion, and they lived in quite a few different states.

Pretty cat.

Fen nodded in agreement as they watched the large feline explore its enclosure. It was quite active considering the temperature, but they soon found out why when it lifted its head from nuzzling something in the leaf litter and pulled out what appeared to be a dead rat.

Ah, they hid a treat for you.

"Makes for decent exercise, at least," Fen said as they finally turned away from the exhibit and rejoined their moving group.

They made it through a few more areas before they came across a huge play area of sorts. There were tons of carnival games and little rides, but what took Pyre's attention right away was the splash pad that had a bunch of different holes shooting up water off and on.

"Alright alright, I know what you want," Fen said as he carefully set a wiggling Pyre down on his little paws.

He was immediately tackled by a fox that did not understand boundaries. Thankfully, the guy understood that he didn't want to be crowded after taking an unfortunately-soft paw to the face.

With Fox just barely two feet away and wiggling with excitement, Pyre righted himself, then shook out his thick coat before licking a whisker and twitching his nose.

"You have quite an adorable guy on your hands," Owen said as the group found themselves seats a little bit away from the spraying water.

Pyre kind of wanted to go with them, since he honestly hadn't been on his own in a bit. He'd gotten spoiled with having people to lean on recently.

You're fine. You're a big, grown up panda... Well, your a panda. You can handle a little play time.

He told himself that, but every time he took a step closer to the water Fox darted around him, clearly still overjoyed, but also, thankfully, giving him a smidgen of space.

There were other kids and shifted animals around, but none of them dared come closer since their parents weren't interested in doing so.

Pyre made it right to the edge of the area before Fox rolled in front of him on his back, still wiggling with eager energy.

You know what? You are way too happy for this situation. Whatever it is.

In a blur of red and black fur, Pyre pounced on the startled fox, making him yelp as he began to lay the panda smackdown!

Stop squirming you overly excited ball of fur!

He tried to get a hold of the guy's scruff or ears several times, but Fox was definitely not one to stay still, and pretty soon he was chasing the antagonistic butthole through the water jets as fast as his awkward little paws could take him.

They ran around so much in such a short amount of time that when Pyre finally stopped to catch his breath at the edge of the area so that he didn't get sprayed anymore, he was sopping wet and looked like a drowned rat-panda. His chin also hurt a bit, since he still wasn't used to running and had taken quite a few spills on the slippery surface.

On the other hand, Fox was still dancing around. Evidently, he realized that it was break time for Pyre, but his energy seemed to be endless, because he was already trying to stop the water jets from shooting up with his paws like a cat trying to catch a bug. It wasn't working, but he was definitely getting an A for effort.

"Hey little Spitfire."

Pyre looked up as Fen crouched down in front of him.

Pick me up?

He was already beginning to walk forward when Fen pressed a finger to his nose, effectively stopping him.

"I'm sorry, but someone's soaked. You need to walk a bit and dry off before we'll pick you back up."

Aw, we?

No one wanted damp panda Pyre?

Pinning his ears to the side of his head, Pyre widened his little brown eyes and put on his best panda pout.

"That's horrifically adorable, but no. You'll dry off quickly enough," Fen said as he stood back up.

Pyre watched him begin to walk back to their group, who were getting up from the benches, when he noticed Fox walk up beside him.

You brat... took away my carrying time.

Of course, he'd been the one who had wanted to play in the water, but that wasn't his point.

With a stubborn squeak he turned abruptly and jumped Fox, sending them into a fumbling mass of soggy fur and strange noises.

Gonna teach you a lesson, you darn punk.

He actually managed to pin the slightly bigger animal, but when his swung his paw downward... it barely hit with enough force to consider it being a boop, let alone a smack.

I give up. These darn things must survive simply on being cute and adorable. There's no way it's any kind of threat to anything in the wild.

"You've got that right," Blake said as he reached down and mussed up the fur atop Pyre's head.

"Ready to head out, guys? Fen bought yearly passes, so we can come back and get to whatever we missed next time," he said with a smile.

Pyre was already reaching up as Blake spoke, withdrawing his hand in the process. He managed to catch it, just barely, and swung awkwardly as it tail flicked this way and that.

Blake straightened and held him up at eye level, but refused to hold him normally against his chest.

I want cuddles, Pyre grumbled as he tried to reach the man's shirt with his back paws while still hanging on to his hand with his front ones.

"You need to dry off more first," Blake said as he began walking.

Pyre squired as he continued his quest to get higher on the man, but after a few moments, and Blake's slow swinging of his hand, he began to realize that he was actually having fun hanging around.

He swung on the man's fingers until they got to the front of the zoo, then finally let go and, after one more bit of pouting that was quickly dissolved by an ice cream cone bigger than him and cuddles, after being wrapped in the jacket Fen relinquished for him, they said their goodbyes to Owen and Fox with the promise of another day out together, then headed home.