Raptor Heart
Periphery
Chapter 13: Placate

In the end, bowling was fun. Zach hardly knocked any of the colorfully painted pins down. Throwing the ball had been much harder than it looked on TV. And he couldn't get the hang of how to aim it. Plus they got assigned the velociraptor lane and Zach said it was weird to throw the heavy ball at pins painted with the girls' faces. And every time someone scored, one of the girls would pop up on the screen and let out a screech.

Tony sidled up to Zach after the first time. "What'd she say?" He asked curiously after Echo appeared on the screen.

Zach shrugged as he looked up at the screen. "No clue. It sounded weird."

"Because it wasn't really her." Owen said as he picked up his equally brightly painted bowling ball. "Sounds like a computerized version."

Zach glanced back at him and nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"I know I'm right." Owen said smugly and turned towards the lane as Zach rolled his eyes at him.

Tony crossed his arms and turned to Simon. "An island full of dinosaurs that make real sounds and your guys use fake computer voices?"

Simon glared and wagged a finger at Tony. "It wasn't my idea! I wasn't consulted! This has Claire written all over it."

Zach nodded his head. "Yeah, sounds like aunt Claire. Taking shortcuts."

"You should fix it, Masrani." Tony said, nodding his head. "Guests and investors don't come here for fake dino voices."

Simon shook his head slowly and sighed. "I've had enough of your ridiculousness this trip to last me a lifetime. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go call your husband and tell him to come pick you up before you accidentally fall off the monorail into the mosasaurus tank." He pulled out his phone as he started walking away.

"We aren't married yet…" Tony started and paused. "Wait! Don't call Cap!" He hurried to catch up.

Owen returned from his turn and crossed his arms as he walked up beside Zach. The pair watched the retreating men and both shook their heads. "So… we win, right?" Owen asked.

Zach turned and glanced at the score screen. Owen had rolled nearly a perfect game. Tony came in second, but he barely hit triple digits and Simon was right behind him. Zach hadn't even hit double digits. "I think you won by a landslide."

Owen shook his head. "Nope. Us. We're a team." He said with a smile.

Zach shook his head. "I'd rethink that. I'd bring down your average."

Owen let out a laugh and bumped into Zach's shoulder gently. "Winning's not important. You had fun, right?"

Zach nodded his head. "Yeah, it was fun. But…" He rubbed at his arm. "My arms are gonna hurt tomorrow."

Owen let out a laugh and nodded. "You just need more practice, build up your bowling muscles."

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Bowling muscles. I can't wait."

"We're going bowling every time you're on the island." Owen said very matter of factly. "You're gonna love it."

Zach smiled. "Can't wait."

Simon returned a few minutes later and apologized for the events of the day. "He can be a lot, I know. When he gets an idea stuck in his head, it's hard to get him off of it. He can get a little… obsessive." He paused. "Actually, that's an understatement." He mumbled and shook his head. "I'm so sorry. I have no clue why he's decided to attach himself to you guys."

"It was fine." Zach said with a shrug. "I had fun."

Owen nodded. "We're gonna start a dino bowling league."

Zach looked at him and blinked in surprise. "We are?"

Simon blinked for a moment and tilted his head. "I'm not sure we can get enough employee interest, but sign me up."

"Yes!" Owen smiled.

Zach watched the two for a moment and couldn't stop smiling. But he could admit it. It did sound fun. He'd never really played in a team sport, if he could call bowling a sport. He ran track the last few years and technically it was a team. But that was more solitary. He ran by himself. And while he did enjoy running, he only joined the team in the first place to keep his dad off his back. He breathed out and looked around. "Where'd Tony go?"

Simon turned away, looking guilty. "I may have called his husband and rattled. He may be hiding."

Zach let out a laugh. "Aunt Claire will be happy."

Simon nodded. "Yes she will." He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Boys, it has been lovely, but I must get going. Lots to do tomorrow. I'll leave you to finish our date."

Zach's eyes widened. "Date?" He stuttered over the word.

Simon nodded absently, his eyes still on his phone. "Yeah. Our extremely inappropriately named double date."

Owen nodded his head slowly. "Yes…"

"Because you would never date Mr. Stark." Zach added quickly.

Simon nodded his head. "Not in a million years."

Zach tilted his head. "But you would date someone, right?"

Simon let out a laugh as he finally looked up from his phone. He shoved it in his pocket and stepped closer to Zach. He patted him on the back and laughed again. "I'm much too busy. Now I really have to go. Keep me updated on this bowling league idea of yours. I would much like to join." He turned and made his exit.

Owen smiled and nodded after him. "Come on. We should get going, too. Gotta get up earlier tomorrow."

Zach followed, keeping an appropriate amount of space between them as they fell instep. The sky was starting to darken but the streets and paths were filled with lights. The park would be closing soon, except for a few late night special tours and exhibits. "What do you think Simon's deal is?" Zach asked after they were well away from prying eyes and ears.

Owen glanced sideways at him. "Deal?"

"Yeah." Zach tilted his head. "Like dating. I read online that he was engaged once, to a woman. But they broke it off before the wedding. Since then, he's not been seen in public with a date."

Owen stared at him a moment. "You put effort into researching Simon's dating life?"

Zach wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I just Googled him."

Owen narrowed his eyes for a moment. "I don't think I like the idea of you Googling other men."

"So I should Google you?" Zach asked.

Owen smiled and shrugged. "Just crazy raptor guy stories."

"Yeah, I bet." Zach shook his head. "I was trying to figure out what his deal is."

Owen shrugged. "That's his private personal life. None of my business."

"I know that!" Zach snapped, throwing up his arms. "I just… I'm curious, okay? He can be… really friendly with some people."

Owen laughed. "He's really friendly with everyone."

"I mean really overly friendly." Zach said with a dramatic flare.

"You mean Lowery."

"No!" Zach said quickly and then sighed. "Yeah. Don't tell him I told you!"

Owen smiled. "Which one?"

Zach's eyes widened. "Oh shit… neither of them!" He said quickly.

Owen laughed. "I've noticed. Lowe's mentioned it a few times in passing. But the second he brings it up, he changes the subject. I think it… confuses him."

"I think he confuses himself." Zach mumbled.

Owen tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Uh…" Zach shook his head. "Nothing."

Owen stared at him intently as they walked down the empty path. He tilted his head as the silence dragged on between them. "You know… don't you?" Owen finally asked, the question coming out cryptic.

"Know what?" Zach frowned.

Owen straightened back up and shrugged. "If you don't know, I'm not gonna tell ya. It's none of my business." He added, shaking his head.

"Something about Lowery." Zach said slowly. "Like a secret about him? Or a secret about him?"

"Uh…" Owen blinked and stared for a moment. "I don't know what that means."

Zach just stared. "I think you know exactly what I mean."

"Well… I do… but do you?" Owen asked cryptically.

Zach sighed and shook his head. "Look, we're both just going around in circles. I think we both know but out of respect aren't going to say it."

"Well yeah." Owen shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked. "It's just rude."

Zach was silent for a moment, as they continued. They passed a few straggling guests and smiled and nodded. "So… we both know about him." Zach continued.

Owen frowned. "Stop saying it like that!"

"Like what?"

"That weird tone inflection." Owen said. "Stop emphasizing him like he isn't one."

"I'm not!" Zach said quickly. "I just… didn't know if you knew."

Owen smiled. "Yeah, okay. I know."

Zach breathed out and nodded. "How did you find out?"

"Last year…" Owen started. "When Charlie was recovering she spent a lot of time in control with him. She was confused why he smelled so different. The girls have had limited interactions with people so it was the first time she'd come across a transgender person."

Zach nodded his head. "So he doesn't know that you know?"

"No." Owen shook his head. "I don't think so. How'd you find out?"

Zach shrugged. "He told me."

Owen's eyes widened. "He told you." He repeated flatly.

"Sorta." Zach said. "He kinda outed himself and we talked a bit."

Owen nodded slowly. "He's a good guy."

"He is… I just wonder… what Simon would think."

"Simon." Owen repeated.

Zach nodded. "If he knew about Lowery."

"Ah." Owen nodded his head, finally following Zach's train of thought.

Zach sighed and shook his head. "I just wonder if it would change their… whatever their relationship is… would it change how Simon treated him."

Owen shrugged. "It's hard to judge how anyone will react."

Zach sighed and shook his head. "It just… it shouldn't matter! Why does it matter? Gay, straight, gender, age… as long as two people are consenting adults… or multiple adults… whatever… as long as everyone involved are consenting adults, why should it matter to anyone else? People are people."

Owen smiled and bumped his shoulder against Zach's. "It shouldn't but that's just the world." He said affectionately.

Zach sighed deeply. "The world sucks."

Owen nodded. "It does. And it's not our place to meddle. Let Simon and Lowery figure themselves out."

"But!" Zach threw up his arms. "Just what is Simon's deal?"

"I don't think he has a deal."

Zach frowned. "What does that mean?"

Owen let out a laugh and stepped closer. He bumped his shoulder into Zach's and inclined his head. "Come on."

They walked the whole way back to the raptor paddock. They said goodnight to the girls, said a quick story to the twins, and climbed into the jeep. The rest of the way home was mostly in silence. Zach stared out the window, deep in thought. It wasn't until he was parking the jeep that Owen broke the silence.

"Zach." He said, pulling the key out of the ignition and leaning back against his seat. He breathed out and looked over at him.

Zach pushed away from the window and turned to him. He frowned for a moment. "What? Something wrong?"

Owen paused again, trying to find the right words. "I think… you have a disconnect… with me and my other half." He said slowly. "You think we're two different… entities. Like… that we exist separately or something. And I will admit to not knowing how it works or what Dr. Wu did and sometimes I can feel myself arguing with myself and that is just too freaky to explain… but… it's still me. I'm him and he's me. Me."

Zach breathed out and nodded his head. "I know… I think I know…"

"Come on." Owen opened the door and climbed out of the jeep. Then he turned and walked out into the center of the yard, as Zach kept affectionately calling it.

Zach followed and Owen waited until he joined him. Zach watched him curiously and Owen started pulling off his shirt. Zach's eyes widened a bit and he smiled. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want you to be afraid of me." Owen said as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Zach frowned and shook his head. "I'm not."

"You are." Owen said as he discarded his shirt on the ground. He kicked off his shoes and sighed. "At least… some part of you is. But I need you not to be. I'm not going to hurt you. Ever. And I need you to know that." He undid his belt and then shifted quickly, not even giving Zach a chance to respond.

Zach stood up a little straighter but he didn't flinch. His eyes widened a bit, but for just a moment. Then he smiled. "I'm not afraid of you." He said loudly.

The large golden raptor lowered himself to the ground for a moment. He titled his head to the side, his green eyes watching Zach for a moment. Then he stood up taller and his tail swished behind him lazily.

Zach stepped closer, holding his hand out. Owen stretched out his neck and touched his nose to Zach's palm and the human smiled. His fingers grazed the scales down the raptor's neck. It was only the second time he'd seen Owen's raptorself. And he spoke the truth. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't the least bit nervous. The large golden raptor was beautiful. And he had Owen's green eyes. It didn't matter if the eyes were sharper, the irises a different shape. They were still Owen's eyes.

Owen exhaled out loudly through his nostrils. Then he turned to the side and tilted his head. He let out a soft chirp.

Zach smiled as he watched. He shrugged and let out a laugh. "Sorry, O. No clue what you want."

Owen snorted again and shook his head. He warbled out something and then turned. He threw back his head and let out a louder warble before he took off.

Zach watched as the raptor stretched his legs and ran around the whole bungalow and house. And maybe he was a little jealous as he wondered what it would feel like. To run so fast, to feel so free, to maybe let the raptor brain take over and just be. And for a moment, he wondered what he would look like.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

He flinched as he touched the darkening bruise. It stretched across his torso, from one side to the other, right above his belly button in a straight line. He sighed as he lowered his shirt. It was an accident, he was certain. Just like every other time. He'd just gotten in the way and the man shoved him. Rather roughly. Into the railing of the stairs. Yeah, just an accident.

Gray breathed out, flinching again as the motion pulled the tender muscles. It hurt but he wouldn't cry. He closed his eyes and tried breathing shallower. But that hurt just as much. But it was fine. He was fine. He'd just block everything out like he always did. Compartmentalize. He was good at that. He would forget it happened and just smile and act like everything was fine. The accidents were getting more frequent but it was all his fault. He was always in the way and too stupid to know better. That's what his dad kept telling him. He was stupid.

A ping from his phone snapped him out of his stupor. He blinked and shook his head and turned towards his nightstand. He'd been hiding in his bedroom, waiting just in case his dad came back or something. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, on his bed in the silent room but he knew it was too long. He grabbed his phone and looked at the display. New Video. He clicked on the notification and it was a new video, just uploaded to the Jurassic World site, tagged with his brother's name. Owen and Simon were also tagged, along with… Gray's eyes widened. Tony Stark.

Gray quickly hit the play button and leaned back on his bed. It was a short video, showing the four men bowling. At the end, Tony spotted the cameraperson and proceeded to throw donuts at them when the rest of the group wasn't looking. Gray sighed and checked the new feeds. He found more videos and pictures of the group at the bowling alley. He scrolled through pictures of some fancy looking party, with Zach and Tony caught together in some conversation. And he couldn't help the jealousy and resentment he suddenly felt for his older brother. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have gone, too?

Gray lost all sense of time as he continued to scroll through the new pictures and videos of the last few days. Video after video after picture after video. It was an endless strain of Zach doing everything Gray had ever wanted to do. It was getting late and he should be getting to bed, he knew.

The current video stopped as a call came through. Zach's name flashed across the screen and Gray frowned. It had taken him long enough to call back. And it was getting late. Gray should have been asleep already. For a moment, Gray thought about rejecting the call. If Zach didn't have time for him, then maybe he didn't have time for Zach. But the thought was fleeting and gone just as soon as he had it. He was just being silly. Gray hit the answer button and put the phone to his ear. "Hi." He said softly.

"Hey Gray!" Zach said over the line with a laugh in his voice. "You're not asleep yet, are you? Am I waking you up? Shit, I forgot how late it was."

"No." Gray said quickly. "I'm still up."

"Oh good." Zach sounded relieved. "Sorry I couldn't call you back until now. Pretty busy day. We're just getting home now."

"I saw." Gray said a bit more sourly than he meant.

"You did?" Zach said, not catching his brother's tone. "What'd ya think?"

Gray snorted and shook his head. "I saw you hanging out with Tony Stark a lot."

"What? No, not that." Zach said over the line. "What did you think about me, how I'm doing? Did you see any of the stuff with me and the twins? Or Rexy? Did you see when I..."

"Did you talk to Tong Stark?" Gray asked loudly, interrupting.

"Uh… well yeah." Zach faltered. "Mostly about Charlie's tail and the twins… but…"

"Not about me?" Gray interrupted again.

"You? Why would we talk about you?"

Gray frowned and his eyes narrowed into a glare. "Because he knows me! Because I helped him save the world!"

Zach let out a loud sigh over the line. "No, Gray. I didn't have time to…"

"It happened!" Gray insisted loudly.

"Fine!" Zach snapped. "I believe you!"

"No you don't!"

"Gray…"

"No!" Gray practically shouted into the phone. "You just want everything good to happen to you! Good things can happen to me, too!"

"What…"

"Not everything is about you, Zach!" Gray snapped and hung up the phone.

"Gray? Are you okay?"

Gray sighed as he heard her voice. He'd been so caught up in the conversation with his brother that he hadn't heard her come home. "Yeah, mom. I'm okay." He called, hoping it was enough to deter her. He just wanted to curl up and forget about the world for a bit.

Karen appeared in the doorway with a smile on her tired face. She leaned against the doorframe for a moment, watching him. "Yelling at your brother?"

Gray sighed and slouched forward a bit. The bruise twinged and he straightened back up and sucked in a sharp breath. "It's just not fair! Why couldn't I go, too?"

Karen sighed as she pushed away from the door. She crossed the room towards him and sat down on the bed. She wrapped her arm around him and hugged him against her. She held him tightly and rocked him a bit. "This wasn't about fun." She said softly. "This was a serious trip for Zach, for him to understand what the job he wants is about. This was pretty much all about him, Gray. For the first time in his life, Zach actually has a plan for his life. He's never shown any interest in anything. I know it feels like you're being left out, but this is Zach's moment to shine."

"I know." Gray mumbled out. "But… I could have still gone."

Karen tilted her head and smiled. "Honey, you weren't invited." She said bluntly.

Gray pushed away from her and scooted farther back on the bed. He ignored the pain of his bruise and turned away from her. He crossed his arms and glared at his headboard. Deep down, he was smart enough to know she was right. This wasn't about him, it was about Zach. And Zach had worked hard over the last year. And Gray was actually really proud of his big brother. But he was also pissed at his big brother, for leaving him and not having time for him anymore. He sniffed and wiped at his eyes, trying hard not to cry.

Karen sighed and smiled sadly at him. "Hey." She reached out and gently touched his shoulder. She kept her hand there when he didn't push her away again. "I know things have been tense around here and I'm sorry. But I'm trying. I promise." She said softly. "I have another interview tomorrow, closer to where grandma lives. If I get it… we can stay with her until we find some place to live. Unless… you'd rather stay here with your dad. I know you like school and…"

Gray shook his head quickly. "I like going to school. I don't care which school."

Karen smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "Alright then. I'll be gone a few days but I'll have my cell if you need to talk to me, okay? Just…" She breathed out and tried hard not to cry herself. "Just be brave for me, okay?"

Gray nodded his head.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." He said and hugged her.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Good afternoon to all out park visitors!" Zara's voice rang over the intercom. "This month's name that baby dino contest is open for one more week so stop by the nursery and submit those entries! Last month's contest, for the adorable baby trike with lots of energy, was won by one of our online subscribers, SnugglyNuggetPinecone42, with the name Ivy. So I'd like to officially welcome Ivy to Jurassic World! We hope you grow up strong and happy and delight everyone for years to come."

Tony didn't pay any attention to the recording. It had been playing every few hours all day since it was first announced early that morning. With everything else going on, he'd forgotten to hack in and change the winner. Not that he would have really done it. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have done it. Just a fleeting thought because the name was so stupid and he wanted a baby dinosaur all for himself. He needed to talk Simon into selling him one. A pet dinosaur would be a great addition to the Avengers team.

But that was in the back of his mind. That wasn't what was really important anyways. What was really important, was to find out exactly what was going on around here. He hadn't slept the night before. Steve had threatened to bring the entire team in the Quinjet to pick him up if he didn't promise to behave and be home soon. Tony had promised he would. Although Steve had never specified what soon entailed.

"Jarvis." He stepped into his hotel room and turned on his comm. He blew off the rest of the demonstrations for the day. He even blew off Simon. He didn't need tours of the island to be convinced to invest. He would throw all his money at Simon, as if his friend was a stripper. Which wasn't an entirely offputting idea. He would definitely pay his friend to take off his clothes. But that was a thought for another day. "Jarvis, I have a plan."