He felt very uncomfortable about his last dream. He felt guilty that he had that dream so frequently. Not as graphic, but usually snippets of intimate touching flashed through his brain in the night. Howard knew he wasn't gay, he loved women- so then why did he keep having these dreams at night? He debated if he was bisexual, but decided a dream is a dream and it was better that he didn't dwell on it. He was a straight man, and he pined for Mrs. Gideon.
He went on with his day preparing for the fight with the Kangaroo. He was nervous but confident that he could win. He would win this fight, and then win over the heart of Mrs. Gideon. He was pretty sure Vince had invited her for him- but couldn't be sure. Vince had been really irritated that morning at the very mention of Mrs. Gideon.
"I thought after last night you'd be over that?" Vince groaned angrily and brought a hand to his forehead as if he was suffering a massive headache.
"What you mean?" Howard asked dumbly. "I'm fighting a Kangaroo today, Vince. Don't you get it?" Vince looked at Howard as if he had just said the most ridiculous of things.
"No, I don't get it!" Vince shook his head and stormed out of the hut. Howard sat down on the couch and thought about the fight. Vince would get over his weird mood by then, he needed him there to help him win.
Vince did show up for the fight, wearing a ridiculous outfit and a wide smile. Howard knew he couldn't stay mad forever, he was happy his mate was there to support him. He didn't dare bring up their earlier talk before heading out, it wasn't the right state of mind to be in. He just quietly hopped from side to side thrusting his arms out in preparation.
The fight went on and Howard was on the ropes. He was facing death now and he knew he was ready for it. If he lost this fight he'd die of embarrassment anyway. That's when Vince jumped in twisted the Kangaroo's balls in his hand. Howard quickly punched the Kangaroo in the face and it went down fast. He couldn't believe it. Everyone began cheering. Vince joined him in the ring and the two hooped and hollered with joy.
That's when Howard saw Mrs. Gideon in the crowd.
Vince came through! He finally showed Mrs. Gideon what he was about. His excitement was so overwhelming and his confidence was through the roof. He decided he would take off his shirt like the manly man he was and toss it into the crowd to impress her further. Once the shirt was off his body the room fell silent and he could feel everyone staring at him. He suddenly felt his anxiety and self-consciousness come back. Gideon left the room with a hand over her mouth- assumingly prepared to vomit.
What a complete and utter failure.
That night Howard dreamed once again of Vince and the boringly drab zoo. He dreamed that Vince and him were having lunch together by the reptile room and holding hands. Vince said he forgave Howard for something that he had done in the past. It was hard for Howard to make out but he smiled and ate his sandwich none the less.
A few days after the Kangaroo incident tragedy struck the Zooniverse.
A fellow zookeeper, Joey Moose was killed on the job. Howard took the news hard, he had worked with Joey for 10 years. He was completely depressed by the loss, not that he ever really communicated with Joey, but it could have been him. It could have been anyone. A reminder that the zoo isn't always safe. He wasn't sure how to deal with his grief and Vince tried to help him, but Howard just wanted to be alone. He didn't have the patience for Vince's weird affections at that time.
Vince was frustrated and heartbroken from Howard's distance. Just when he was thinking things were looking up for them, the death of Joey Moose brings it all crashing back down. Howard wouldn't even let Vince touch him. Vince gave Howard his space, and took off for the day and spent the night at his old mate Leroy's place.
When Howard realized Vince was missing he became concerned. He searched all over the zoo for him. He was now upset with Vince for leaving him at such a difficult time, completely forgetting it was he who pushed him away. Howard visited Naboo in his kiosk and asked for his advice on the grieving process and where Vince might have gone.
"Why do you think I have all the answers?" Naboo asked as he brewed them both a cup of tea. Howard looked confused.
"Because you're a mystical Shaman?"
"Ah, right." Naboo nodded and sat down next to Howard and offered him his cup. "Well in that case, we all deal with death in different ways. You're coping in the usual way that you do, and Vince is maybe just grieving in his way. He probably just went over to Leroy's"
"What do you mean in the usual way that I do?" Howard asked.
"You know…" Naboo paused and stared for a minute debating whether or not to continue. He decided it was best not to go on and just change the subject. "Vince is probably back now, you should run along and find him." Howard nodded and stood up silently leaving the kiosk. Naboo let out a breath of relief and sipped his tea.
Vince had returned, just as Naboo had said, and he was painting in Bollo's cage.
"Hey." Howard stepped into the cage. Vince's face immediately brightened at the site of him. Howard assumed his trip to Leroy's did wonders for him.
"Hey Howard." He couldn't stop the smile on his face. He was frustrated with Howard but still happy to see him.
"How you doing?" Howard asked coming closer. He wondered if Vince wanted to talk about Joey or not.
"Alright." Guess not.
"What are you up to?" Howard smiled slightly and joined Vince. It was nice to be around him, his positive mood was already making Howard feel better.
"I'm doing Bollo's portrait."
"Oh." Howard nodded and took a step back when he realized how close he was.
"I'm doing him as Caesar, what you reckon?"
"Nice, Nice." Howard wanted to apologize to Vince for being a pill but wasn't sure how to go about it. "You can do me next, ya?" It came out flirtier than Howard anticipated. Were his dreams starting to come to life, was he flirting with Vince purposely?
"I can't really do people." Vince shut him down. It was almost like he was turning the table on Howard.
"Yeah, but you could do me… my face is a gift to any portrait." Howard went on and Vince continued to shut him down.
Then Gideon walked in. Vince was mildly annoyed by her sudden presence. She didn't see Howard right away and asked Vince about her python. Howard contemplated what to say while he stood behind the door, and decided he would go for a smooth pun. That was shut down pretty quick. Vince couldn't doubt he was enjoying Howard's struggle with Mrs. Gideon, he wanted to up the torture a little more to act like he was flirting with her.
After she left Howard was furious. He confronted Vince for flirting with Mrs. Gideon, and being in the childish mood he was Vince further antagonized him. Howard was so angry he grabbed Vince by the face and brought his close.
"If you go near her with a paint brush I will go at you like a mighty bazooka. I love that Lady. Alright?" Vince pushed his hands away angrily.
"Listen," He was hurt. "Don't start any of that funny business."
"Yeah? Or else?"
"Touch me and Bollo will rinse you out like a hot flannel." Vince was still hurt by Howard's obvious lack of attention to his feelings, and this was just the icing on the cake. The anger left Howard's eyes as he looked around.
"Where is Bollo?" The two men scattered and began calling for the lost gorilla.
"All staff members please report to the meeting area for an announcement." Bob Fossils voice echoed through the zoo.
"We better go, we'll find him later." Vince grabbed Howards arm.
Everyone was at the meeting, people Howard had never even seen before. Fossil was explaining that Joey Moose's death was the result of the missing python. This was Howard's chance to show off in front of Mrs. Gideon.
"I stand with Mrs. Gideon!" He said bravely, now suddenly wearing a monocle and holding a pipe. He briefly wondered when he'd pulled them out but ignored it.
"Who are you?" Howard's heart sank.
"I'm Howard Moon, we just spoke ten minutes ago?" Vince stood behind him, jealousy and second-hand embarrassment flowing through him. Gideon only shrugged.
"Anyone else?" Fossil asked. The crowd of zoo employees began to bombard him with questions of missing animals. He was starting to break down. He began singing to himself loudly in an attempt to calm down. That's when the gun went off.
"Everything is fine, I'm handling things here." It was Dixon Bainbridge holding a rifle directed at the sky.
"Where are all the animals Bainbridge?" Howard asked feeling particularly bold. "Somethings wrong here and I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Vince peeked over his shoulder as a sort of tiny hype-man.
"Shut up, Moon. You're way out of your depth."
Howard felt the anger rising up, he had already been embarrassed enough for one day. "Oh yeah, you want a piece of me?" He foolishly asked without thinking.
"You haven't got it to give." Bainbridge spat.
"The only reason I'm not coming at you now is because Vince is a delicate flower. Doesn't like violence."
"Get him Howard." Vince piped up, showing his mate support. Howard gulped.
"I'm also suffering from the flu." Vince sighed and rolled his eyes. Bainbridge was all set to fight him, the crowd gathered round and all eyes were on Howard. He began to feel that awful feeling he had when he faced the Kangaroo. Luckily, something strange ran between the cages and Bainbridge took off after it, quick as a wink. Instant relief for Howard.
Back in the hut, Vince agreed to paint Howard's portrait. He was feeling guilty about leaving Howard and knew it was a peace offering that would be accepted. He thought it was very strange that Howard was demanding a portrait of himself as a tough guy scaring off Bainbridge. Vince hadn't seen Bainbridge in days. He knew that Howard hated Bainbridge and that he had a right to with Bainbridge constantly harping on Howard whenever he was around. He was the meanest man they'd ever met, and always tried to come up with sleazy ways to make more money.
Howard asked to see Vince's painting, but it wasn't finished, Vince wasn't yet done the final touches to his face. Howard didn't seem to care, he happily bounced out of his pose and next to Vince to get a look at his painting.
"What's that?"
"That's your face." Vince answered gesturing to the large pink circle where a face should be. Howard was confused, was Vince having a laugh at his expense?
"That doesn't look anything like me." Howard frowned. Vince looked down at the painting, sure it wasn't finished but it still had most of his features correct.
"It look exactly like you." Vince seemed so honest in his answer that Howard began to feel like maybe that WAS what he looked like. Maybe that was why Gideon didn't remember him. He pondered it briefly before Mrs. Gideon burst into the room begging Vince to help her discover what happened to her python the night Joey Moose was killed.
Vince annoyed by her request, but urged on by Howard agreed to help. After a brief conversation with the snake Vince discovered Bainbridge was the killer. Howard took this as his opportunity to shine. He promised he would hunt down Bainbridge and find out his evil scheme.
He spent the next few days following Bainbridge around the zoo. He thought he was getting close to figuring out what was going on, but not before he was discovered and knocked out.
When he came to he was in some creepy dimly lit secret lab within the zoo. He never noticed a lab in the zoo before. He looked around and saw shapes moving around dark, unlit cage across the room. He was scared of what might be in it.
"The idiot has awoken." Bainbridge had his back to Howard. "Times have changed, Moon."
"What's going on?" Howard asked looking around again.
"Zoos are over." Bainbridge went on about his evil scheme to splice all the animals together, and even splice Howard with the python. The thought was terrifying. Howard tried to remain calm and insisted people would look for him. Bainbridge mocked him before leaving him alone in the dark.
Howard was oddly calm for some reason. He knew that deep down Vince would know something was up and come looking for him. He was confident his best-mate would notice he was gone. He tried to keep those thoughts in his head while the strange shadows in the cage grumbled and moved about.
Suddenly something came into the room. Howard felt fear paralyze him, he wondered if it had already been an hour. A man leaned over him wearing a doctor's mask.
"No!" Howard cried. Vince pulled off the mask to reveal his smile underneath.
"Howard it's me. How's your solo mission going?" Vince jested as he looked at the straps holding Howard down.
"It's going very well thank-you." He lied. "Followed Bainbridge, followed him to his secret lab, broke in, found Mrs. Gideon's python, it's all sorted.
"Wow." Vince said sarcastically. "It's all good then. How come you're lying down?"
"It was quiet tiring."
"Well you seem to be doing alright on your own, I'll see you back at the hut." Vince walked out of Howard's site and watched him freak out.
"Vince, get me out of here alright? Vince? Vince?!" The panic on Howard's face was reward enough for Vince. He leaned over till his face was right next to Howard's. "Get me out of here." Howard grumbled. Vince laughed and began undoing the buckles.
"Never go on a solo mission again." He chastised jokingly. Then suddenly a shadow caught his attention from the cage across the room. "Hey Howard what's that?"
"Don't look over there." Howard warned. "There's bad juju afoot." He said loosening his legs and rolling off the table. Vince curiously approached the cage. Inside were disgustingly hideous spliced creatures of Bainbridge's creation. They were horrifying and grotesque- but they gave Howard an idea to get back at Bainbridge. He decided to let the abominations loose so that they would be thankful to him and angry at Bainbridge. He grabbed Mrs. Gideon's python on the way out and presented it to her like a proud champion.
That night Howard dreamed that Vince and he were fighting over Gideon. They were fighting because Vince was Jealous.
"You can't just love me at night and then go on and on about some imaginary woman in the day time!" Vince yelled, his face was beginning to flush. "I'm not just your booty call Howard! One minute you make me feel like you love me back, treat me like a king- then you turn around and start pining for 'Mrs. Gideon' like none of it ever happened! I can't ride on this psycho rollercoaster with you forever! I thought we were done with that delusion but you keep bringing it back!" Howard was confused, he couldn't really grasp what Vince was saying. He felt really rotten for making Vince feel bad, even if it was just a dream. He wasn't sure what to say.
"I'm sorry." Was all that came out. He took Vince into his arms and held him close. He kissed Vince on the forehead. Vince pulled back to see Howard's face. In his dreams Vince always looked extra handsome to him.
"I'm such a fool." Vince sighed and sniffled a little as he wrapped his arms around Howard's neck and began to kiss him softly. Howard ran his hands up and down Vince's back, pulling his body tighter and tighter into his own. Somehow in the dream it didn't feel wrong to be with Vince, it felt very right and very natural.