Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor the rights for Vivo, those rights are owned by Sony and Netflix and a few others. I DO own a few characters in this fic, though.

A song of the heart

Night was beginning to fall and the sun was starting to set; the skies were beginning to change from blue to a blended orange and purple hue with twinkling stars beginning to fade into existence. The beams of light of the sun setting helped paint the skies a yellowish/orange shade.

After spending a majority of the day touring Las Vegas, the group started to make their way back to the hotel.

They had a lot of fun during their time out exploring and Gabi's brain was bursting with inspiration about what she could base Fridays performance upon and she couldn't wait to brainstorm with Vivo later. But she was a tad concerned about the Kinkajou since she noticed how he seemed a bit…slower than normal, could he have been sick or something?

Then there was also that Rico Avaro guy.

What was up with him?

He seemed a bit strange.

It was decided everyone began to head back to the hotel…or at least that's what Vivo and Rosa decided since Esteban decided to take Gabi out somewhere where the two of them could spend time together. The pair (or Esteban more like) decided to head inside a nearby music shop to fulfil that promise that Gabi had made to her mother to spend a lick of time with her mother's boyfriend.

Gabi could not have cared less but one stern look from her mother shut her up and she decided to try and not complain about it…too much.

The twelve-year-old girl tried to get out of it by making excuses such as "I need to do my homework back at the hotel," or "I need to practice for this Friday," and other such excuses that Esteban didn't buy for a second.

The man was well aware that Gabi would try and avoid this but he was a stubborn man and refused to let her get off the subject —he didn't want to appear demanding and force her into doing something with her but he was determined to follow the advice he was given, even if it came from a wild animal. Esteban and Gabi entered through the door of the music shop and both scanned their surroundings in search of a particular instrument of the percussion variety.

As they both ventured through the front door, they both heard the soft chime of a small bell make a tiny and delicate "ding-a-ling" noise.

The shop was quite modest with wooden walls, red velvet carpet, golden record labels hanging on the walls proudly on display, a fine variety of musical instruments being prominently displayed in different sections of the shop, a fine mahogany cashier/reception desk that stood tall and proud near the front door and a huge window that let a stream of sunlight pool into the shop and shine upon a rather large pair of jazz drums.

Esteban's eyes fell on the drums immediately while Gabi gave an uninterested blow from her lips, making it clear that she would have rather done anything else with her time than this.

Nevertheless, she made a promise to her mother and she wasn't going to break it…

The man and girl pair passed by the cashier who was a young man with a messy goatee dyed green with long hair dyed purple hidden beneath a black beanie, he was preoccupied by listening to something on his phone which was hooked up to a pair of earbuds.

It was easy to tell it was rock music due to the fact that the music was screeching out of his earbuds.

Anyways, Gabi and Esteban shuffled passed and meandered over to a big drum.

Gabi grabbed two drumsticks, sat in front of the drums and started to rap them in a slow yet steady beat. Two years prior she would drum in an unsteady and ill-tempered beat but, after a few sessions with Vivo, she had learned to improve in a way that makes it so her playing doesn't qualify as "noise".

"Okay….let's start by trying a simple beat."

Esteban carefully watched the purple-haired, twelve-year-old play the drums.

She started off with a simple beat by tapping one stick on the drum quickly followed by the other in an easy beat which soon evolved into a beat more complex, as she made her effort she stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration and narrowed her eyes a bit so her facial features were telling just how focused she was.

With a flash of the drumsticks, she finished within a few moments.

Esteban stood back and watched, both impressed and rather intimidated by her skill.

He wasn't much of a musical person. He had always been more into sports and other things like that when he was young and music just never interested him and now he was going to have to do this to get along with her and perhaps begin building a bridge with Gabi…the thought daunted him but he swallowed his fear. He was aware of Rosa's late husband, Carlos, and how he was a musical man who came from a musical family and how that passed on to Gabi.

He was just going to have to do it.

Gabi dismounted off the stool and walked over to the big strong man and pulled on his hand before giving a nod as if to say "Go ahead".

Esteban shook off his intimidation and proceeded to go and sit on the stool behind the drums where Gabi sat mere seconds ago. He felt a bit awkward when he realised that he was a bit big for the drums and shakily grabbed the drumsticks in both hands, fists tightly grasping them. He tried not to snap them in half, though, he couldn't do that.

With a rigid arm, he lowered his fist holding a drumstick and tapped the middle of the drums surface, causing a low "thoom" sound to erupt from it.

Gabi raised a hand to her lips and giggled behind it, amused.

This guy who looked like he ate bricks for dinner and was constantly holding a calculator in his hand was legitimately sweating over the prospect of playing a single note on the drums. She didn't know why she found that amusing but she decided to give him some advice to lend him a hand.

"Dude. Just don't hit the middle or else you'll get a blunt sound, try hitting the other areas of the drums and do exactly what I just did. Okay?"

Esteban nodded with a stoic expression on his face.

"Ummm…a-alright…"

Esteban righted his position as he sat on the stool and started to tap both sticks around the drum instead of just right on the middle and, as he played, a smile started to blossom on his face as his confidence started to grow. The unease in his shoulders began to lift and he started to relax instead of just tensing up.

It wasn't exactly what Gabi had just demonstrated but he played an almost decent beat before he looked expectantly over at the twelve-year-old judging him right now.

Gabi nodded, her expression morphing from disinterested to somewhat impressed.

"Not bad," she complimented "I can show you some easier beats if ya want."

Esteban smiled.

"I'd like that."

Meanwhile…

Vivo clambered on the rooftops, trying his best not to slip off down the side and possibly get injured.

He had years of climbing practice but he couldn't remember the last time he'd been forced to tread such heights —he even had to use his own tail by dragging it behind him in an attempt to keep himself anchored on the rooftop tiles. Upon remembering from the previous night on how Marie scaled these rooftops with such ease despite her blindness made him feel even more impressed with her ability to adapt to her surroundings.

He kept his steps light, nice and even as he had dropped down to walk on all fours; he put one front paw in front of the other whilst doing the same with his feet in order to walk in a straight line, he kept his eyes forwards to avoid glancing down or something else happening.

The lights were light, way brighter than he was used to.

He had to desperately fight the urge to squint at the bright lights and neon signs shining in every which way —the lights started to leave black and multiple colourful dots, streaks and blotches in his vision and it made it difficult to see much of anything…but he somehow persevered and kept his steely gaze forward.

He kept right on moving through the rooftops and chimneys until the musical Kinkajou skidded to an abrupt halt and he looked around, his eyes wide and his ears twitching and swivelling.

The surreal, fast-paced and hyperactivity of the city was most of what he could make out but there was one sound that he could most definitely pick out from the rest of the noises —the people chattering, the busy bustling, the faint noises of someone on a nearby radio singing.

He tried to pinpoint any sounds that could lead to Marie but it was difficult to sort out.

Then he saw her.

She looked as lovely as ever, too!

He moved to approach but was prevented from doing so when he heard that sound again, this making it clear that the noise came from none other than Marie herself. She had perched upon a small rooftop gable and raised her head to stare at the skies above —she didn't seem to notice his presence yet.

Her breaths, both through her nostrils and her mouth, were thin puffs of fog that rose into the air.

Marie kept her sightless gaze skywards. Her eyes were slightly lidded and her facial features were relaxed as she stared up at the starry night skies.

Vivo hadn't noticed but, when he looked up, he started to notice how gorgeous the sky looked; the skies were a dark navy blue colour with the stars twinkling and sparkling in an array of different multiple colourations —the stars sparkled like diamonds while the sky was like a deep blue background which was so close to black.

The constellations were beautiful (nowhere near as beautiful as Marie, though) and swirled about the nighttime sky.

Vivo considered his stance for a moment.

He had to be slow, considerate, calm while keeping his old "Vivo charm" on to a down-low as he didn't wish to risk accidentally scaring her. She deserved better than that but he didn't know how to approach her in a way that wouldn't scare her.

He swallowed hard yet reflexively, but he found it difficult to do so with his trachea tying into a knotted mess in his throat.

"I…I can't throw away this shot!"

Vivo tightened the knot on his ascot, then straightened the hat sat atop his head and then he proceeded to lick the palm of his hand and smeared it across his brow to help his fur become a bit slicker to make himself look a bit more presentable. Judging by the fact that she couldn't see him, he knew that his appearance wouldn't really matter to her either way but he wanted to make the effort at the very least.

He couldn't help but feel really nervous, though.

His heart was pounding in his chest, his skin tingled and he was pretty sure that he felt sweat seeping through his fur…if that was possible. He closed his eyes and breathed to calm his own nerves because it was taking every single fibre in his being not to start freaking out. His heart was threatening to shoot up into his tangled mess of a throat but he tried to contain himself.

"Okay…focus. You got this. Introduce yourself, smile, compliment her…take her hand…a-and…"

He stopped when he heard a faint sound in the distance…it sounded like the sound of wings beating.

This was strange since it was nighttime and, unless it was a giant owl, there shouldn't be any birds around…

Flap, flap, flap, flap, flap…

It grew louder and louder by the second and, to add, a second sound pierced the quiet and (like the sound of wings flapping) grew louder the closer it apparently got.

"viiiiiiiiIIIIIVVVOOOOOOOO!"

Vivo almost jumped right out of his skin when he heard someone shout his name.

His heart actually leapt from his chest and into his throat and his bright orange fur raised into hackles, his eyes wide and filled to the brim with terror. His ears swivelled around to listen to something behind him and his he felt his skin crawl as though the tiny feet of billion insects were going "pitter-patter" all over his body.

Time slowed to a snails pace as he only for an instant realised that something was swooping down from behind him and a pair of feet grabbed him by the shoulders. He yelped in surprise when he was lifted off the rooftop tile and was hoisted up into the air, the skin on his arms being pulled and he lost all control as if he were some marionette.

He was no longer on the ground, he was flying now!

Upon looking upwards, Vivo quickly looked up and noticed that he was being carried by a bird and not just any bird. It was a rosette spoonbill whom the male Kinkajou recognised almost immediately and, upon recognising him, he glared hard at the bird in stunned surprise.

"D-D-Dancarinio…!?" Vivo exclaimed in a mix of shock and angry surprise. "What's the big idea!?"

The spoonbill didn't respond right away as he somehow managed to plop Vivo on his back and that was when Vivo took notice that he was not the only one being flown against his will —Dancarino had managed to somehow grab hold of Marie as well!

Vivo stared in silent shock at the female Kinkajou, whom had seemed to be in a catatonic state.

Her blind eyes were wide and unblinking, she had curled up into a small ball, she wasn't moving an inch with the exception of her chest which was heaving up and down to make it clear that she was hyperventilating in a bout of panic. She looked like a statue she had become so still and she couldn't even open her mouth to scream.

She had shut down.

Vivo moved to place a reassuring hand over her shoulder but she flinched the instant he did so he withdrew it because he didn't want to make her panic worse.

All he could do was stare at her worried while stewing in silent anger of the situation.

Vivo clung on tight to the feathery plumage on Dancarino's back to avoid sliding right off the edge, his ears falling and his eyes squeezing closed as to avoid the wind rushing into his eyeballs.

He grit his fangs and pressed his small and fuzzy body against the spoonbill's back to further avoid falling off and plummeting to the ground. Steam and fury was blowing out of his ears and his brain was on fire from that very same rage that was trying to make him combust in a fiery rampage. He tried to stuff his anger deep down but he was finding it so excruciatingly difficult that even breathing through it was getting increasingly difficult as all he could do was just stew in his anger in silence.

Why did this have to happen when he was about to make his move?

He was about to try and get to know Marie better, like a date maybe?

But no!

That can't happen now because the female of his interest was currently too scared to move!

Heck, she was probably even too scared to think properly!

The world seemed to whirl by them as time quickened —speed and a bracing wind dried was what accompanied them as Dancarino's wings flapped hard, beating against the cool nighttime air, the wind currents strong and pushing as the large bird carried both Kinkajous through the skies with ease.

It felt like an eternity before the setting had changed from the well-lit city to a forest wilderness and the impromptu flight had come to an end and it took even less time for Dancarino to pick a specific tree and make a graceful landing whilst being careful not to jostle the two passengers he carried.

Vivo was set down on a small but very sturdy tree branch and the second Marie was set down, she had recovered herself slightly and proceeded to lay down on the branch and wrap both arms and legs around it and she let her tail coil tightly around the same branch. She squeezed her eyes shut and she let out fearful shaky whimpers and sobs —she was acting as though if she were to move a muscle then she'd fall.

It was understandable, though, since she had been moved out of her regular environment and was now somewhere new and unfamiliar to her…

Vivo couldn't contain his frustration anymore and he confronted the spoonbill with fire and fury blazing in his eyes, a low hiss lacing through his words which was born from the surprise of seeing a new friend practically abduct him in such a manner.

"Why did you bring us here!? I don't have time for whatever this is!" He cried.

Dancarino had set himself down on the tree branch in front of Vivo and tried to talk to him, a timid smile plastering itself upon his long and spoon-shaped beak.

"C'mon, Vivo, it's been awhile since I saw you last! Besides there's something I gotta show ya!"

"How did you manage to find me anyway?" Asked Vivo, genuinely curious.

Dancarino responded.

"First I looked for you at your house but then a cat told me how you went to Las Vegas for a week so I came here!"

Vivo supposed that it was Star who told him. He would have questioned the time it took but, since it's a four hour flight from Florida to Las Vegas, he supposed that it wasn't impossible that the spoonbill's efforts managed to pay off. Besides, he guessed that Dancarino was sort of desperate to get the Kinkajou for help with this situation —whatever it was.

The hat and bandanna clad kinkajou's anger simmered a pinch but the anger and irritation on his face was still very much present.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you drag Marie into this?"

Dancarino blinked, confused.

"Huh?"

Vivo used both hands to gesture down to the terrified female Kinkajou clinging to the branch next to him, pointing at her.

The rosette spoonbills eyes widened slightly when he spotted the fuzzy peach orange lump clinging on to the branch as though her very life depended on it, shuddering and shaking like a maraca or a leaf whirling and spinning in the wind —then he looked at Vivo and smiled suggestively whilst wagging his brows at the male Kinkajou.

"Another Honey bear?!"

Vivo just rolled his eyes and glared at the bird, signalling for him to just answer his question.

"Dancarino…"

"Oh!" Dancarino exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with one wing sheepishly. "It was because I saw two orange blobs and couldn't be sure which one was you…..?"

Vivo breathed as he hung and shook his head.

He was trying to keep himself from exploding at the rosette spoonbill, he couldn't really blame him for anything since it wasn't his fault that he didn't know that he (Vivo) was about to have a calm conversation with a very elusive female Kinkajou…whom had been kidnapped along with him…he inhaled and then exhaled, his posture deflating like a balloon.

"Huuuuh….what did you want to show me anyway?" He asked, sighing heavily.

Dancarino's face lit up as he grabbed Vivo (who was quick to grab Marie to make sure she didn't get stuck where she was) by biting down on the back of his bandanna, scruffing the Kinkajou by the back of the neck, and carried him and the frozen stiff female Kinkajou he carried.

The spoonbill proceeded to fly the two orange mammals towards a different tree that was adjacent to the one that they just landed on and were beheld by something precious.

It was a nest and, nestled within, laying amongst a pile consisting of a few small white feathers which were coupled with a few vines and twigs, was a fairly large white egg with little brown mottles and splotches dotting it. It was a fairly large egg and it looked quite comfortable where it was.

This was when Vivo started to understand what was happening right now and why this was going on and he looked up to the bird with the green spoon-shaped beak.

"So you brought me here to see this egg? Your egg?"

Dancarino nodded, his feathers fluffing up with pride.

"Y-Yeah! You see, Vivo…you brought me and Valentina together and we wanted you to see this next stage of our lives! The last two years we've been unsuccessful with our egg-laying but we finally managed to do it right this year and, th-th-the thought of being a dad…."

The spoonbill looked as though he was about to throw up on the spot upon the mere mention of his impending fatherhood.

Vivo guessed. "So you brought me here to be moral support like before?"

Dancarino nodded.

"Yep!"

"Anyways…I see you found a girlfriend for yourself, am I right?" He winked at the male Kinkajou whilst nudging his head down to Marie, whom was still in Vivo's arms.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?! N-N-Nooo, no, no, no, no, no!" Vivo exclaimed whilst waving his hands all over the place, he was pretty sure that his entire body was blushing under his bright orange and purple fur. His eyes were wide and he lost control of his voice as it became a stuttering mess. Not only that but he also forgot that he was holding Marie and dropped her.

Marie had also apparently recovered as she landed on the branch with a soft "thud" and sat up in alarm.

"Owww!" She cried when she was dropped. "Hey!"

Vivo's eyes widened and he bent down to help Marie whilst feeling awful for dropping her, his shame increasing when he saw how Marie was glaring daggers at him for dropping her. He could only mutter a soft mumble of an apology to her while she rubbed the back of her head to soothe the bump she received when she hit the hard wood.

"Sorry…!"

Marie rolled her eyes and looked up at Vivo irritably.

"So, let's see if I've got this situation right. This is a friend of yours?"

"I guess."

"And I was kidnapped for no reason?"

"Yep."

"Sooo…mind telling me where we are?"

"I think we're south of the Everglades a little ways outside Florida."

"And you were the guy who set this guy and his girlfriend up in the first place so the guy brought you back to support him through his egg hatching?"

"You got it…actually where is Valentina anyway?"

Vivo turned to look back at Dancarino whom stood by awkwardly to watch the interaction between the two Kinkajous, almost shrivelling beneath the tension. The blunt edge in Marie's tone made it abundantly clear that she was less than thrilled about this situation and he was actually considering taking Marie home since he did bring her here by mistake.

He threw on a really sheepish grin as he answered Vivo's question.

"Umm, ermmm…Valentina is j-just getting some f-f-f-food. Sh-She should be back soon."

Vivo gave a small nod and sat by the nest, leading Marie to sit next to him since he didn't want her inadvertently falling over the side of the tree while Marie herself just glared at nothing (since she didn't know where Dancarino was).

Dancarino gulped and started to speak. "….M-Ma'am, I could take you back if you-"

Crick-Craaaaaaaaack!

Everyone froze like statues when they heard that sound.

They had a feeling they knew what it was but it couldn't…could it?

All eyes (that were able to) glanced down at the egg that lay in the nest and, at first, it took an untrained eye to know what to look for on the egg shell so it didn't look like there was anything wrong with the shell…but Vivo and Dancarino both squinted and saw a tiny little crack in the shell and it was slowly getting bigger.

"Ohhh my gosh, okay, ooookay, the eggs hatching…"

Dancarino paced around with a mix of pure panic and this strange calmness shimmering in his eyes. His pacing, however, was causing the branch that both Marie and Vivo were balancing on to sway up and down and it made the two Kinkajous cry out on panic as they didn't want to fall.

"We're gonna need towels, hot water, and- no, no, no! That's how humans do it! But it's gonna be cool…it's all cool…I'm….I'm gonna be a…."

Vivo could see Dancarino look faint as he started to sway from side-to-side, unbalanced, and his eyes started to roll into the back of his head.

The male musical Kinkajou put on a determined glare as he proceeded to run over and reach up and grab the sides of Dancarino's beak with both paws so he could pull it down. This was done so Vivo and Dancarino could look one another directly in the eye, the bird looked alarmed and rather unsettled when he was facing the piercing eyes of the little orange mammal.

"No, no, no, no! Don't pass out! You need to find Valentina and bring her back here!" Vivo said, his words firm and to-the-point.

Dancarino seemed to pull himself together a bit more after hearing the Kinkajou say those words and flapped his wings to take to the air.

"Uhhh, r-r-right! I'll go get Valentina! You watch the egg!"

After being airborne for five seconds, he zipped off, screaming and shouting incoherently so Vivo hardly had any time at all to start protesting since he didn't expect that nor did he have time to properly object before the bird flew off to go fetch his mate.

"WAAAAIT! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" cried Vivo.

But it was no use, Dancarino was gone.

Vivo felt himself panicking but tried to calm himself.

"Uhhh, ok. It's all going to be alright. I just need a good plan…"

Vivo went back over to look at the brown-speckled egg that started to shake and shudder from side-to-side, causing the twigs to creak softly beneath it. It was slow and slight but still quite visible and it made the male Kinkajou feel a tad anxious since he didn't know how to handle eggs. He wandered back and forth in a quick pace, still trying to come up with a plan, but stopped when he heard something else other than the shaking egg.

It was Marie.

"Shhh, it's okay…it's okay…" The female Kinkajou soothed, her eyes soft with compassion as she gingerly smoothed the trembling egg shell with one hand.

Vivo was spellbound by how soft and velvety her voice was, she sounded like an angel. He didn't think such a sweet and quiet voice had ever existed until now and he felt his heart flutter inside his chest as he inwardly swooned at the mere thought of her voice softening any further.

He hesitated before he approached and sat right next to Marie and the quaking and shuddering egg.

The two Kinkajous sat by the hatching egg, watching as the hairline crack grew bigger and bigger whilst praying that Dancarino and Valentina retuned quickly.

There was a soft and tiny (albeit rather muffled) whimpering coming from inside the egg and the two looked at one another and then back down to the egg. It was a rather heartbreaking sound to listen to and it was enough to make even the hardened of hearts crumble, it could even melt ice.

Vivo dropped down to his knees and started to stroke the egg in what he hoped was a soothing manner himself.

He tried to match Marie's voice from before.

"Hey, hey, hey….it's okay, your parents are going to come soon! Just t-try not to come out until then!"

Vivo stopped when Marie gently budged him out of the way and leaned in while she started to hum a soft melody as she kept a paw atop the egg, rubbing it gently.

Vivo was stunned into silence as Marie coiled her tail around it as she hummed her lullaby, her voice sounded so enchanting and beautiful…it was the most beautiful thing Vivo had ever heard in his entire life —it sounded even sweeter than the melody that Andrés played on the guitar when they first met when he was a baby.

He sat down, huddling beside her, closed his eyes and hummed along with her.

The pair of Kinkajous hummed in perfect harmony and the song they sang rang throughout the forest area; the branches above softly creaked like wooden wind chimes and the leaves rustled in the wind while the grass, too, rustled in the gentle breeze to create nature's lullaby —which just so happened to intermingle perfectly with the song the two mammals hummed.

The egg still hatched and shook but it wasn't as incessant and the being within trying to break out seemed to calm its efforts a bit.

Vivo and Marie both finished their humming and exhaled through their nostrils respectively, both smiling down at the egg and basking in the silence of the nighttime forest atmosphere around them. The only sounds around now was the gentle wind blowing and the odd cricket chirping.

He turned to face Marie as he finally spoke, awestruck.

"That was…..wow…."

Marie giggled and smiled back.

"You weren't bad yourself."

Then the male musical Kinkajou found himself beginning to gaze into Marie's eyes as he was immediately enchanted by them and he couldn't even try to look away.

Those cloudy pale blue pools shimmered and shined in the moonlight being cast down on them from above, they were like deep pools of water that never rippled but shined like starlight on its reflective surface.

Vivo felt his heart race with anticipation and his breath hitched in his throat while he tried his best to force air into his own lungs to keep himself breathing in spite of the intense beauty literally staring him right in the eye. His lovestruck smile didn't waver or falter in the slightest as he just kept staring into those eyes of hers which were as deep as the ocean.

Marie apparently felt him staring.

"….What?"

Vivo's tongue was rendered into a piece of blubber inside his mouth and he found it difficult to find his ability to speak, until he finally mustered the words he wanted to utter. He swallowed the knotted marble of anxiety that had formed in his own throat and found his voice.

"I…I…I hope you don't mind me saying so, but yours are the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

Marie's own eyes widened, surprised.

"R-R-Really?" She asked. "Do…Do you really mean that?"

Vivo nodded.

"I've never been more honest."

Marie and Vivo stared at each other (Vivo was the one doing most of the staring), both their hearts pounding hard in their chests as if they were trying to burst through each of their rib cages. Their states were intense and hypnotic and time slowed to the point that neither would have minded if this moment lasted forever with their eyes locked on to each other.

Vivo never felt this way before.

He had never before felt this need to be by Marie's side forever and protect her from harm and enjoy her company. He wanted to stand by her and look into her beautiful eyes forever, even if they were blinded —and he was pretty sure that Marie felt the same way, he didn't know how he knew that but he did...

This moment was perfect…until…

"We're here!"

A loud shout broke them from their shared trance and they finally blinked, just now realising that they hadn't once blinked during that and their eyeballs stung as a result.

Vivo blinked multiple times to moisten his own eyeballs before looked up and saw that Dancarino and Valentina had returned. They flapped their wings to keep themselves airborne before they landed on a separate tree branch and hastened over towards the nest to look at the still-hatching egg and saw that now something was just starting to break through the shell.

Vivo and Marie also gathered to watch.

The muffled whimpering from within started up again as a tiny, green, round beak tip finally emerged from within the egg and the rest of the shell finally broke apart in a domino effect and revealed a tiny pink blob among the mess of eggshell.

Vivo was the one who bent down and scooped up the hatchling and cradled it to his fluffy chest, cringing with slight disgust when he felt the gross wet stickiness of the remnants amniotic sack and other fluids, he ignored it though and had a look at the baby Rosette Spoonbill was small, squishy and bald with its teeny eyes closed and a tiny gray bill which had a small hint of green at the end. It had a huge bulging tummy and there was also a small plume of teal green fuzz that sprouted from atop its head like a tiny weed.

Vivo couldn't help but smile at the newly-hatched chick.

It was cute, he couldn't deny it…

"D'awww…" He cooed whilst cradling the bald little chick, smiling despite the disgust due to the slime coming off the baby and soaking his own fur. "Hey there. Lemme just pass you to your mama."

Then he raised his arms and handed the chick to Valentina.

"Awwwwww, she's so cute! What're we gonna name her?" Valentina gushed as she took the chick from Vivo and held it in her wings.

Dancarino, whose eyes were drowning with tears, put a feather beneath his beak to replicate someone scratching their chin with a finger and hummed thoughtfully.

"H-H-How about we name her Bubbles? Bayou? Valentina the second?"

The names thrown out made Vivo and Marie flinch with disgust.

Those were not good names, maybe except that last one, but they just decided to keep their thoughts to themselves to avoid dragging what was supposed to be a happy mood down. The two Kinkajous were silent for the moment but they decided to each ponder on other names that they were ready to throw out at any given second if invited.

"Umm, Tweety-sweetie," Valentina interjected gingerly placing a supportive yet gentle wing over her mate's back "Those are wonderful names but I think we should think of something better because our little one deserves a better name, don't you think?"

Dancarino nodded, still sniffling and crying, while he eyed his mate in a lovestruck manner.

"Alright, my Twirly-birdie!"

Vivo almost wanted to throw up due to how cutesy those nicknames were, but he didn't want to ruin what should be a happy moment for them.

"How about Viva?"

Everyone turned to Marie incredulously and she apparently sensed it because then she went on to explain her name suggestion.

"Vivo was the one who brought you guys together right? Well, why not name her after him in a way?"

Everyone pondered on that, including Vivo himself.

It was true that Vivo was the guy who gave Dancarino the courage to go up to Valentina and sparked their love…even if their first conversation was more cringe-worthy than anything that has ever been witnessed and that's not even counting Valentina choking on a frog in the midst of their awkward complimenting one another. So in that case, why not name the chick after the one who made their love possible for one another?

Dancarino and Valentina looked to each other, down at their chick, then back to each other again and smiled.

"Viva it is then!"

Vivo felt touched that they would name their daughter after him, it was better than those other names. He cast a smile over towards her and softened his gaze to Marie, he hoped that he could spend more time with her and get to know her better —Marie was beautiful, she was kind and she had a really beautiful singing voice.

He hung back while he watched Dancarino and Valentina both enjoy their new hatchling and he couldn't help but return his gaze to Marie, whom had kept herself seated and smiled as she stared sightlessly at the starry night sky overhead. He'd ask Dancarino to take them back to Las Vegas in a bit but, for now, he was just happy to be in her company.

But what about when he and his family had to leave Las Vegas at the end of the week?

He couldn't bring her with them, could he?

A/N: Here's a new chapter, guys!

So we get some bonding between Gabi and Esteban as well as Vivo and Marie. Dancarino and Valentina also return and have a baby known as Viva!

I wasn't sure whether to add Dancarino or Valentina but I think it sort of fits.

I hope you lot enjoyed this chapter!

-Chloemcg