LOTTAHOOPLA: A lot of time passes in this one, basically cause I couldn't come up with a bunch of filler in between. Ah well, prepare for some fluff, cause I feel like we need it right here in the middle of the tale, cause soon we'll be diving into the third half of this fic.

On a musical note, currently listening repeatedly to Ale by Xiu Xiu. It has little to do with this chapter, but all to do with my current chapter I'm trying to hammer out on Series 2. Thought you fellow music enthusiasts might enjoy the 'sneak peek' so to speak. heh. Definitely put me in the right mind-set for book 2; the song's so desolate and uncomfortable O_o it really befits Howard in book 2. Anyway, I'll shut up now :) hope you enjoy!

Chapter 25

Four months passed by Howard in relative peace. He'd had a handful of gigs within that time, and had even started to get people coming up to him in the zoo or at the places he was booked, complimenting him on his wacky songs and lovely voice.

The boy was doing alright as well, with only two snags in the otherwise docile mood he'd been in since the birthday fiasco. The first being when Howard finally found the time and courage to have that little "rules" talk with him. The man had sat Vince on the sofa, television off, and explained very carefully that Vince was to never again go out with friends unless he had Howard's approval.

That had sparked off the first of the boy's ranting and excuses; all of which Howard ignored, waiting until the kid calmed and sat back down before he continued on. Howard was determined not to lose his temper, otherwise the whole thing would be a waste. He let the kid have a hissy fit all he liked, telling him that it wouldn't change the rules.

When he went quiet again Howard told the boy that he was to begin pulling his weight, at least a little. None of this 'leave things where you like and Howard will get it' deal they'd somehow made without Howard realising it. Now the boy was to wash the dishes every night and Howard planned on teaching him how to do his own laundry. And the man had warned Vince that anything of his found lying about in the hut, and not put away where it belonged, would be immediately deemed rubbish, and tossed in the bin. Vince had really kicked off on that one, and Howard was glad that this was his final rule, as the boy's yelling was giving him a headache. Vince glared at him for the next few days, but grudgingly did his chores and Howard didn't see a single piece of ribbon or nailpaint scattered around the Lodge anymore.

The second snag, so to speak, had been when Howard met Tristan Butler. She had been that ethereal woman he and Vince had seen singing the night of Howard's first gig. Her pale blonde hair and grey eyes were positively captivating. She'd expressed her love for his odd music, wishing she could write like that. Howard, blushing like a fool and at a loss on what to say, merely began waffling about different writing and creative techniques.

"Get in touch with your inner weirdness." He'd said, feeling like an idiot, but not sure how to admit that all his lyrics came from the slightly drunk teenager sat next to him. Thankfully Vince just watched the two of them in silence, face hidden in the low lighting of the room.

The woman, Tristan, had said her goodbyes with a sweet smile and a wink, and Howard was very grateful for the dimness of the theatre as his face felt on fire.

Howard wasn't sure if what the boy threw that night was an actual tantrum or not, but Vince lay down on the floor when they returned to the hut and refused to move. He ignored Howard's questions and warnings to go to bed and simply lay there, staring at the ceiling and humming lowly. When Howard stilled his own speaking he caught a few words, but the boy was mostly mumbling.

"...Lying down on the floor, like a crispy noodle cup boy..."

"Alright Vince, now I'm going to count to three, and if you're not in your sleeping bag-"

"Dreaming that you were once the child of a wolf, with your paper arms and wrists..."

"One!"

Other than those two instances of the kid being...well, the kid, he was actually very tame compared to how he had been prior to the party. Howard figured it was the boy's way of apologising. To be honest the man was just happy Vince didn't actually leave for Leroy's like he'd been ready to that night. Hell, Howard doubted the boy even really remembered much of their fight. The months flew by in peace for Howard, and before he knew it his birthday was upon him. Something that Howard had mixed feelings about.

Currently the man felt foolish, sitting with his eyes closed, as Vince had instructed, on the sofa in the Keeper's Lodge. Sure, he'd made the kid do the exact same thing on his birthday four months ago, but that was different. Howard was no kid. He was turning twenty-six today, not six! Howard huffed, ready to just open his eyes, but was interrupted as the boy could finally be heard opening the hut door. He'd gotten Howard a gift, despite Howard's long-winded arguments that he receive nothing, and had hidden the damn thing somewhere on zoo grounds. Why the hell he demanded Howard keep his eyes closed when Vince wasn't even in the same room the man didn't bother to question. He simply sat there with his arms folded, listening to Vince come to a halt a few steps in front of him.

"Alright, open your eyes!"

Howard wasn't certain what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't a beautiful, if a little rugged, bass guitar. His arms fell limply to his sides, mouth falling open slightly as he alternated between gawking at the instrument and up at Vince, who was beaming brightly at the older man.

Howard honestly didn't think the kid really listened to him when he went off on a rant about his musical tastes and wishes for certain instruments, a bass especially. The boy had always seemed to tune him out the second Howard even mentioned the word 'jazz'. Well...to put it simply, Howard was touched.

Standing silently, Howard carefully took the guitar, holding it up in the afternoon light and running the tips of his fingers along its strings. He admired the aged wood, chipped in certain places, obviously aged and well-used, but that only served to warm Howard's heart even more. The boy knew him too well.

Abruptly setting down the guitar behind him on the sofa cushions, Howard stepped forward to Vince, who had but a second to look confused before he was swept up in a tight hug. Howard lifted the kid off his toes, arms encircled around his middle, laughing as he heard the teen let out a short noise of surprise before bony fingers clutched his shoulders in an attempt to keep balance.

All the stress and remnants of anger held for the boy vanished for the time being as Howard slowly lowered the kid back down to stand on the floor. Vince looked up at him, taken off-guard by Howard's show of affection, something that was a rare occurrence. He then grinned up at the taller man, sounding slightly winded as he spoke.

"Guess that means you like it."

Howard just grinned back in silence, and immediately sat down upon the sofa cushions and held the already beloved guitar. He ran his thumb down over the strings, listening to the different pitches each one offered. Howard was head-over-heels at the moment, completely engaged in trying out his new bass guitar. After what seemed like an eternity, the man landed back down on earth and turned to Vince, who had settled next to him.

"How much did this cost? Vince, this is beautiful but...I told you before I want you to save your money-"

"Well then it's good that I got it free, yeah? Leroy can play bass, and this was one of his old ones. Was bought off a boutique when he was like fourteen. It's seen some history, that's for sure. Knew you'd love it, so I spent the better half o' the month phonin' up Leroy and beggin' him to give me it. Finally gave in; jus' can't say no to me."

Vince gave a self-satisfied smile at his knowledge of the sway he held over his best friend, and Howard wondered if the child was indeed also aware of the very same influence he had over Howard. The older man dearly hoped he didn't.

Howard could've gone about his day without saying a single word to the pseudo-shaman Naboo; really could've spent the remainder of his life in happiness just pretending that the man didn't exist. Yes, Howard liked to spend a few minutes of his free time some days imagining up alternate endings for that one day months ago when Howard had been ready and willing to murder Naboo and go to prison for the rest of his life.

Howard was unfortunately forced to acknowledge the man's presence on this earth when he showed up at his and Vinces' bench for lunch, only to spot the kid sitting back with a grin, listening to Naboo go on about some bullshit. Thankfully the shaman was standing, and not sitting in Howard's spot. The man might just have had to bleach his side of the bench otherwise. Plastering on a dark smile, Howard strode forward, delighting in how his shadow cast over the two.

"Not trying to talk him into riding on your magic carpet to the land of hangovers and abandonment, are you?"

Both looked up at him, smiles erased, and Vince clasped his hands over his crossed knees in apprehension as he looked between the two older men. Naboo, however, seemed to take Howard's aggression in stride, replying with an equally unfriendly smile, voice steady and slightly sarcastic.

"No, just the desert of nightmares."

Vince brightened, grinning once more at Naboo's 'good humor'. Howard felt the skin around his smile crack. He was stopped from replying further by the kid, who launched into speech, his words fast, as though he were afraid of leaving the two men in silence for even a small second.

"The desert of nightmares! Like in that story you told me, about visitin' the Fountain of Youth. Genius! Oi, Howard, you really should listen to his stories, they're amazin'. Like the one with the two famous musicians."

Finally Vince stopped, inhaling and then holding the breath in visibly, looking to Howard with pleading eyes, begging him not to start a fight. Howard reluctantly gave in and sat down in his seat with a huff, resolutely eating his lunch and ignoring Naboo and Vinces' continued (though more subdued) conversation.

The day of Leroy's visit with his new baby was an interesting one for Howard. Mainly because he'd never seen Vince so excited and nervous before, as though the bloody infant were his. Howard had said as much, and got a punch to the arm for it by the kid, who's cheeks bloomed slightly pink, which in turn had Howard laughing.

Vince and Howard met Leroy at the zoo gates, and as soon as the man parked the car Vince was at the passenger door, peering in the window at the little infant, alseep in an infant car seat. Leroy rounded the car, took one look at Vince, and burst into laughter just as Howard had. It was like scraping a bug off a windshield, moving Vince in order to actually open the passenger door.

Once they were all in the warmth of the Lodge, Leroy had removed his daughter, named Riley, from her little nest of blankets and handed her to Vince. The teen cradle her small body gently in the crook of his arm, and it was obvious that the boy's world had just crumbled down to contain only he and the girl. It sent sparks racing through Howard's head to see Vince behave so...well, adoring, to such a small being. If he were simply a stranger happening across this scene, he'd assume Vince were a new father.

He and Leroy spent the remainder of the afternoon conversing quietly over warm cups of tea, content to watch Vince as he sat on the sofa, transfixed, talking softly to Riley and doing a marvelous impression of a bursting star every time the little girl so much as smiled.

When dusk was upon them and Leroy had to leave for home, Howard thought for a few moments that Vince was going to refuse Leroy his own kid. But Vince, after a moment's hesitation, leant down and kissed the girl over her head before giving her over to her father. Leroy looked much like how Howard felt, and gave Vince a fond smile and one-armed hug before leaving with a promise to visit again soon.

The first thing Howard did, as soon as the Lodge door snapped shut, was mutely walk over to the kid and lift him off the ground in a bone-crunching hug of his own. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that caused his heart to turn to mush at the sight of Vince cradling a baby he obviously loved on sight, but it had Howard in a bit of an emotional state. Not that he was one for crying or talking about his feelings. No, best to just squeeze the kid half to death and then go and start supper.

As the weeks passed, word of Howard's reputation and talent was spreading, and he began getting calls to play his strange songs nearly every weekend. Vince usually tagged along, and of course became incredibly inebriated, leaving Howard to drag or carry him back to the Lodge as the Sunday morning sun rose. Each time Howard promised himself to keep the kid from becoming so intoxicated, but the little brat had his tricks.

Other than dealing with Vince's increasingly annoying ways, the one and only flaw in these otherwise perfect days was Howard's 'fallout' with Gideon. To be honest, fallout was a bit dramatic a word. Vince had used it, of course. Howard and Gideon had gone out to dinner four times since that first night, and greatly enjoyed eachother's company. On the fourth date, Howard had just up and told Gideon of his romantic feelings toward her. Gideon had gone stiff, and then did that thing where a woman looks like a combination of sad, angry, and regretful, as if they were the ones getting dumped, more or less.

Gideon had claimed that her feelings, and these dinner dates, were nothing more than friendship, and that she only saw Howard as a good friend. And what was even more shocking was Howard's response. After the initial surprise and sadness...well, he felt nothing. He didn't go home and cry; he didn't rage into a fit. He didn't refuse to speak to Gideon. Howard felt...fine. Vince had seemed sure that it was only a cover-up, and treated Howard like an activated bomb for several days. Howard still felt love for Gideon. Still thought she was the classiest woman he'd ever set eyes on; but his heart wasn't smashed at all. Vince had called him psychotic, which caused Howard to laugh at the irony of that. Vince then proceeded to move to the other side of the room and stare at him for the rest of that evening.

Howard was exiting the hut front door, lunch in hand, heading toward where Vince no doubt was waiting. Moose intercepted him, clapping the other man over the back with a smile.

"Hey, Moono, what say you and me go out for some drinks tomorrow? You don't have a gig tonight, right?"

"Uh, no, sorry, not tonight Joey."

Moose's smile slipped off his face and he stood in Howard's path, looking a little hurt. Howard hadn't thought the rugged man capable of that expression. There was also anger swirling around in there.

"Look, Howard, I'm your friend right? What happened, we used to do damn near everything together! What happened to our nights out at the pub, huh? Now all I ever see you do is shut yourself away in the Lodge with that kid."

"Hey, don't bring Vince into this, alright, he's done nothing wrong-"

"Oh has he? When he first arrived, he cost us our newts, then gets me mowed down by the psycho llama, and my own marmosets have never been found!"

"Now hold up a moment, you can't blame him for the marmosets!"

"Oh can't I? No animals ever just up and vanished like that before he showed up, Howard. 'M just sayng it like it is, mate. I just...I don't trust the guy, he still gives me a bad vibe."

"Yeah, well screw your vibe, I know the boy, an-"

"Do you? Hell, Moon, you never even mentioned the boy before he turned up with ya that night in the lounge! And you told me yourself that it'd been years since you saw him last. So really, Howard, how much do you know?"

"I've got to go, lunch is nearly over."

"Alright then..."

Moose peppered this last sentence with just enough venom to make Howard walk around him with one eye on the other man. Howard should have known that this would happen. He'd been blowing off Moose for months now, and he honestly missed the guy. He did consider him his closest friend, aside from Vince. But that was just it. Vince didn't like Moose, and Joey certainly didn't trust the kid. So Howard was forced to pick a side, and the poor man was afraid he might have inadvertently done just that.

(Yeah yeah I know, Gideon and Howard are just friends. And trust me, there's a reason for that...On another note, I liked writing the fluffyness with the baby :3 that hug was also so Howard, hah. He's a man of many words right up until you get into emotions; then he'd just rather express himself through one small but powerful show of affection and then carry on as if nothing had happened. Please review with your opinions! Hate and love are both welcome here.)