[Scar/Dream] Heart Thief

53. The Zoo

It was a chilly day, which Dream didn't really care for, even dressed as warm as he was. But he was able to ignore that in his excitement to be visiting the zoo. Mumbo and Grian drove their own car, since they wanted to go home afterward instead of having to be taken back to Scar's house. So Scar, Puffy, and Dream went together, and Dream looked up information about the park on his phone and enthused about what he wanted to see most.

Scar assured him they would look at everything.

When they got there, the parking lots weren't too crowded yet, but that could change. Dream got out, making a face at the cold air, but maybe it would warm up a little later in the day.

They went over to meet with Mumbo and Grian once they parked, and the five headed in together.

Dream still felt a little out of sorts from yesterday's panic attack, and he worried that being around a bunch of strangers at the zoo might set it off again, but he felt fine. There weren't a lot of people. And there was enough room on the paths that people were pretty spaced out anyway. Not to mention, he was outside, which didn't make him feel enclosed. So far, he was doing okay.

One of the first things he saw as they got past the entrance was a marine center, and though he just went to an aquarium not too long ago, he really wanted to see what they had there. He pointed it out to the others and they agreed to check it out, and they all went in.

Dream loved getting to see all the fish and sharks, and they spent a while just in this building as he looked at everything. And once they left the building, they walked only a little further before Dream realized there were sea otters outside, which certainly hadn't been at the mall aquarium. He ran over to their exhibit, excitedly pointing them out when he found where they were at, and Scar laughed as he walked up next to him and put an arm around him.

"Very cute little things, huh?" Scar said as he watched one swim around.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll get an otter plushie," Dream said.

They continued on down the trail. Dream held Scar's hand, often pulling him along as he rushed to look at different exhibits, but Scar seemed fine with jogging along to keep up with him. He looked at everything with interest, and listened when Dream talked about the animals, not seeming bored at all.

It was so much better than when Dream went to zoos as a kid. Scar let him take his time, and Puffy, Mumbo, and Grian seemed fine with hanging out and listening too.

Dream felt a little weird at first, having his lawyer on a casual outing with him. But Mumbo was much more mellow like this, having switched into jeans and a long-sleeved collared shirt, looking quite different from the posh gentleman he presented himself at during working hours. He didn't even have his hair slicked back, and it fell about his ears in thick locks with the slightest curl to the ends of them. He was handsome and polite, but funny when he wanted to be, and Dream could see why Scar fell for him. All of Scar's partners were great people.

And there was Grian, in black jeans and a bright red sweater, so full of energy and laughter. Dream could see how much Scar adored him, the two bickering playfully, and then Scar would pull him in for kisses and hugs. When they stopped to look at tigers, Scar lamented that he couldn't go in and pet them.

"They're just big kitty cats," Scar said. "Too bad they could knock a man's head off with one smack."

"I bet if you went in there though they'd sense your cat person energy and let you pet them," Grian commented.

"Aw, you think so? Well I better go find a staff member right now and ask them to let me in. I need to pet the danger kitties."

"I mean, anyone can pet a tiger," Puffy said. "Once."