Fifty-two

Zhan's Pov.

The next morning I found myself being woken up by sounds coming from nearby. Adjusting my eyes I spotted Yibo sitting in the armchair next to the couch, watching me like I was the most fascinating thing in the world as he waited patiently..?

"You really are excited aren't you?" I asked him with a chuckle. He nodded continuously in response. I couldn't be upset with him for waking me up, he looked like the most huggable thing in the world. His tinted rosy cheeks, his bright stare, he sat legs crossed in the chair.

"Since we're both awake I suppose we can head out early?" I proposed, and from the innocent smile that grew on his face, I'm sure that's exactly what he was hoping for. "I have to get ready first though, I'm not going out in just my sweatpants." I told him as I lifted myself from the couch.

After using the bathroom I got dressed and quickly brushed my hair. Today was the day... I'm going to do it. Mom was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She came out and offered to make us something for our day out but I figured we'd just eat something while we were there.

"That's alright, we'll probably just pick up something while we are out." I told her. She looked a little disappointed, but to be honest, this was more convenient for everyone. Though knowing her she probably just wants to cook us something.

"Well if you're sure then..." She said, raising her brows.

"I'm sure." I said, smiling at her.

"Alright, well I guess I'll be in the kitchen finishing up breakfast for the other two then." She said, walking off.

"You ready?" I asked, snapping his attention away from my mom.

"Yeah!" He beamed.

"Let's head out then." I said, grabbing my keys. We said our byes to my mom and dad before walking out the door. Xichen was nowhere to be seen so I assumed he was still asleep. That's probably for the best though. I can just imagine him trying to weasel his way onto our day-... date out. Just as I got to the car I noticed Yibo in awe as he made his way over in a daze. He seemed to be taking in the morning air. I hadn't even noticed it until I saw him inhaling.

"The air is much nicer here than back home." He pointed out.

"Like it?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Love it." He responded with a smile.

After settling into the car I started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. The rising sun cast soft shadows over most of the neighborhood as it rose from behind the mountains.

"The zoo won't be open for another couple of hours, so we have some time to kill." I told him. I knew this beforehand, I just wanted to spend more time with him.

"Have any suggestions?" I asked.

"No, anything's fine with me." He replied

happily.

"Uh.." I paused, thinking where the best place to go would be. "Wanna go to the arcade or something?" I asked, glancing at him. I could see his facial expression shift. His smile faltered.

"Or not." I quickly added, hoping I didn't upset him. I wondered why he was suddenly looking uneasy though.

"N-no no, it's fine. I was just remembering how..... Cindy.. would take me there whenever we hung out. I remember feeling like my life was finally turning around, that I finally had someone I could relate to so closely, it was amazing. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. Then she made it clear that was all an act... t-that she wanted nothing to do with me." He explained with his small voice cracking.

"Well I'll make sure our time there is even better, and it'll actually be real. So instead of thinking about the times, you had with Cindy, you can remember ours instead." That innocent smile made its way onto his face again as I finished my sentence. Just then we reached the street where the arcade was located.

We unbuckled our seat belts and exited the car. We were greeted by a gust of warm wind, despite it still being so early in the day. There were very few faces roaming the streets, so it was easy to tell that most people were still in bed.

I walked over to the door and held it open for Yibo. He smiled and thanked me before walking in. We entered the arcade, greeted by a perky lady behind the desk. She was very helpful when we went up to buy our tickets. I made sure I was the one paying. I wanted Yibo to have a great time without having to worry about a single dime.

"Any games you wanna play first?" I asked. His eyes scaled the room for a moment, silently choosing between the various options.

"That one." He pointed over to one of those small basketball games where you shoot the balls into the holes.

"Alright, think you can beat me? I'm pretty good at sports." I challenged him.

"I'm going to try!" He said, determined. He walked over and took a deep breath. My eyes were on him, mouth in a smirk, as we waited for the timer to count down. I turned my attention back to the game as the timer hit zero. While he tossed one ball at a time I took the two-ball route, using both my hands. His aim wasn't all that great, though he still managed to score from time to time. Not to brag or anything but I had three times as much as him. When he noticed he gave me the craziest look. I chuckled in response, making him pout. Ten seconds were left on the clock and I had seven times as much as him. I was at thirty-five points to be precise. Yibo suddenly lunged at me, knocking the balls from my hands. He made sure I didn't score another point. Every time I'd go back to pick up another he'd push it off to the side. He continued blocking me as the time counted down. I wrapped my arms around his small frame, sending him into a fit of giggles. Just before the game ended I released one of my hands, grabbed a ball, and scored one final point, putting me at thirty-six. I expected him to be upset with me, but he was actually surprised, impressed even.

"Show off." He scoffed as he turned to me and jokingly scowled.

"Hey, we're just getting started, I'm sure we'll find something you're good at." I assured him with a pat on the back. Before heading on to find our next game I collected my tickets. I wanted to snag something nice for Yibo before we headed off to the zoo.

The next game we played was Punchermania or something dumb like that. There are two punching bags for two different players. Whichever one hit the hardest during a match will take the win. It boggled my mind as to why Yibo chose to play this one. I raised a brow at him and he knew exactly why, but instead of explaining himself he slipped into a boxer stance, bouncing in place, and he did all of this with a straight face. I just laughed at his goofiness and got into form after putting on my boxing gloves. I wasn't gonna go easy on him. Though that's only because I needed as many tickets as I could get so that I'd be able to get him that prize I mentioned.

Just as the machine signaled us to go we let out our strongest punches. Despite having protection on my hand I heard a snap in the machine that the punching bag was connected. I looked over to Yibo to see him place a hand to his mouth, still wearing the oversize boxing gloves. We both went silent for a moment before breaking out into hysterical laughter. I noticed a few workers looking our way, probably wondering if we were high or something of the sort. I didn't mind it though, I found that it made the situation even more humorous.

After finally catching my breath I looked up to see our scores. Yibo's was twelve point four, and mine was fifty-six point one. The ticket dispenser printed out a crap ton of tickets. I'd surely have enough to get something good, but I wasn't done yet.

We continued playing games, running back and forth around the building. We played mini golf, I won that. We played table top football, I won that. We played some racing game on an unnecessarily large arcade machine, I won that. We also played some dancing games where we had to step on the correct pads underneath us in time for the music, Yibo won that. The excitement of his first victory was adorable. The smile that split across his face as he struggled to catch his breath, all of it was just so cute.

I collected a record amount of tickets, or at least that's what the lady at the desk told me as we were checking out. The staff here seemed to be quite upset with us. I don't know whether it was from us getting so many prizes with so little effort, or our loud and hyperactive presence. Half the time we were there I was chasing Yibo around for interrupting my games, even though I still won most of them. He thought he could get away with it, but he was wrong. I tackled him to the floor and tickled him until he begged for mercy.

After finishing up at the arcade we left the building with all of our prizes in hand. The sun was now full gear, brightening up all of the buildings and streets. It made me wonder how long we spent in there. We ran out to the car and stashed away all of our prizes in the back. I snagged a giant elephant, a muscle figure, a monkey, a variety of balls, and a couple of video games. All of this stuff was heavy as shit despite being stuffed toys and small figures. Yibo got a very small charm. I expected him to get something small with the number of tickets he won but what I didn't expect was him to give it to me. He told me he wanted me to have it, and I graciously accepted. I felt kind of bad for being so competitive but in the end, all of the stuff I won was really for Yibo. Somehow his gift to me felt more special.

"That was amazing." Yibo managed in between his worn breaths.

"Yeah, wasn't expecting to have to chase you around the entire time." I chuckled. also a little worn.

"Sorry about that. I couldn't help myself, it was too much fun." He said with the brightest smile as he looked over at me.

"I guess I accomplished my mission." I replied, with Yibo's contagious smile making its way onto my face.

"Dang, how did it get so late? The zoo was open for half an hour already." I uttered to myself, shuffling around in my seat, searching for the keys.

"We have all day to get to the zoo. I really

enjoyed being here, so I'm glad we're late." Yibo said, looking out to the arcade through the window of the car. I felt like I just won the lottery knowing Yibo was having a good time. I didn't want to bring him out here just to end up bored in the end.

After finding my keys I started the car and

headed for the local zoo. The ride there was nice, and it seemed Yibo enjoyed it more than I did. His eyes lit up like they were holding the sun's light behind them. A smile was always present on his face whenever I'd glance over at him.

The zoo finally came into view after a half-hour-long drive. The parking lots were already filling up. Several families were heading inside. Boys, girls, men women, you name it. I didn't hesitate to find a parking space due to them being in high demand. Yibo was practically out the door before the car even came to a full stop. I would have scolded him for being so reckless but I didn't want to upset him or break his spirit. He bounced in place, eagerly awaiting my arrival at his side. Before I had a chance to utter a single word he took hold of my hand, wrapping his small one around my large one. He pulled me with him as he excitedly rush to the entrance of the large park filled with animals and forest life.

"Whoa slow down dude." I chuckled with a little worry eating at me.

"I can't believe I'm finally going to the zoo!" He cheered, not paying attention to what I said. "It's been awhile since I've been to one. From what I remember the last one wasn't all that great, but I still had a blast." He beamed after turning to face me.

"I know you're excited, but let's try to be a little more careful." I told him, hoping to convince him to be more careful.

"Yeah... That's probably a good idea." Yibo agreed after almost knocking someone over. It was really cute seeing him this way though. The usual calm and timid Yibo now running around cheerfully in glee. You know how people express the feeling of having butterflies, that's exactly how I was feeling at this moment. Feeling the warmth of his soft hand wrapped around mine, the bright smile running across his face, it truly was bliss.

"Excuse me, passes please." One of the staff at the reception table called out as we entered the room.

"Oh, I'd like to buy passes for two." I said, before digging through my pockets for my wallet.

"Eighty dollars for two?" The man asked. Yibo's eyes shot up at me and stayed there looking like I was crazy.

"I'd like premium passes please." I said,

placing one-hundred and thirty dollars on the table.

"Here you are." The man said, handing me the tickets wearing a bright smile. "Enjoy your day." I noticed how uneasy and worried Yibo looked all of a sudden as we made our way to the entrance.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, looking at his willowing self.

"Was it okay to spend all that money on the zoo? I mean, I'm the one who really wanted to come after all." He asked in a small, quiet voice. Little did he know no amount of money would ever be too much so long as it made him happy.

"Don't worry your little head about it, man." I said, ruffling a hand through his hair. He squinted an eye and smiled back at me.

"This was well worth it, trust me." I said, placing a hand on his back and guiding him through the entrance. We were blinded by the bright light of the sun that landed on us as we passed through the entrance. Yibo's eyes shone two times brighter than that when his eyes landed on the sight of some animals roaming around behind the fenced off fields. He grabbed my hand and ran towards the closest exhibit. This one happened to be containing zebras. Yibo asked one of the nearby workers if it was okay to pet them. She said as long as he doesn't cross the fence everything should be fine. Boo ran back over to the fence and reached his arm out, but the zebra was too far away. Yibo continued to try, hoping it would move an inch closer. I decided to give him a hand. I made my way to his side and wrapped my hands around his hips. His head shot in my direction, face flushed with curiosity strung in his eyes.

I nudged my head towards the zebras. "Want some help? I can lift ya?" I offered. His innocent smile returned and he nodded happily, returning his gaze to the animals in front of him. This dude was as light as a feather, so I had no problem lifting him. The expression on his face when his hand finally connected with the snout of the animal was something I'll always remember. The sad kid who wanted to end his pain and unfair life not too long ago was now lit up like a candle's flame at the night. It made me happy and cheerful to see him like this.

"It's so soft." He stated under his breath. "Here, you try." He said turning to me and

grabbing my hand once again. He guided it to the snout of the zebra he'd just previously been petting. I let out a small laugh as my fingers landed on the wet, slimy nose of the animal. We continued petting the zebras but it wasn't too long until Yibo's attention was drawn by something else.

"Can we go there next?!" He asked, pointing towards a poster pointing in the direction of the monkey exhibit.

"Alright, sure, let's go." I agreed. He cheered and made his way over to the sign with me following behind. So far our day was going great, better than expected even. Today is the day... I'm going to do it.