Chapter Text
“Come on, Zach! Come on! We're gonna miss it!” Gray's excited voice barely stuck out over the excited chatter of the Jurassic World tourist crowd. The eight-year-old bobbed and weaved through strangers, growing further and further away from his older brother every second on his way to the T-Rex paddock. The tremendous heat did nothing to stop his energy, unfortunately.
Zach sighed and jammed his hands in his pockets, pretending not to watch his brother (even though he secretly kept a watchful eye). He slowly made his way to what felt like the twentieth exhibit it the past five minutes. He found Gray already pressed up against the glass of “Rexy's” habitat with a crowd of people crammed up around him. Zach hung back enough to watch his younger brother, but he caught a glimpse of the massive dinosaur from the corner of his eye. Some part of him urged him to go and watch, but he just made himself stay put. They were just dumb dinosaurs after all. He could find pictures on the Internet. If he even wanted to, that was. He heard a collective gasp (accompanied by scattered exclamations of distaste). Rexy had found her lunch.
“I take it you don't care much about dinosaurs?”
Zach jumped ever-so-slightly at the sudden voice behind him, and he nearly dropped his phone. That actually wouldn't be such a bad thing, as his “girlfriend” was texting him non-stop kissy faces and ghost emojis. What the hell was that all about? He secured his phone and looked up, his breath catching in his throat. There was no...fucking...way...that this stranger could even exist. It was as if an Incubus had manifested itself right out of the own dark corners of his mind. In front of him stood a tall, broad-shouldered hunk of a man. His arms were crossed over his chest, causing his enormous biceps to bulge obscenely. A dusty, light-colored shirt struggled to contain the obviously ripped torso underneath those muscular arms. His short hair was a soft chestnut color that matched the scruff dotting his strong jawline. Zach's eyes were immediately drawn to the man's lips. Soft and full. Unnatural for such a man. “Rough” was the first word that came into Zach's mind, and he felt a stirring in his pants.
“You okay, kid?” The man spoke again, and his eyebrows relaxed more. Zach finally looked up into his eyes. His EYES. They were a vibrant green color dotted with flecks of brown and gold. They were sharp and focused...calculating...but not unkind.
Shaking his head a little to stir himself from the trance, he cleared his throat. “Oh, er...yeah. Sorry.” He half-heartedly motioned to the glass wall. “I'm just here on babysitting duty.”
“I heard.” The man held out a large hand. “Owen Grady. Your aunt's been looking for you. Her assistant went home sick without telling her.”
That explained why there was no one to greet them at the docks. Zach eyed the massive paw of a hand and placed his hand in it. Owen's hand nearly enveloped his own completely! He had a firm grip, and Zach could feel the hard callouses chafe against his softer skin. Trying his best not to seem weird, he shook it and pulled his hand away, perhaps a little too fast. He jammed his hands in his pockets.
Owen's lips had the barest hint of a smile teasing at the corners, but the just glanced at Gray. “When your brother's done, I have to take you guys to your aunt. Apparently, she actually cleaned out her lunch schedule to eat with you. Be proud.” He chuckled. “That's a first.”
Zach snorted. “Tell me about it.” But he wasn't necessarily talking about just Aunt Claire. It seemed like nobody ever wanted to have anything to do with him anymore. Not since Gray had miraculously showed himself to be a genius. To be honest, that was the primary reason he kept his girlfriend around. Other than the convenience of covering up the fact that he was gay, she actually paid attention to him. Sure, she could be clingy and whatever, but...she was always there. He knew there would come a day when he had to break up with her, but he hoped that maybe she wouldn't hate him. Maybe she'd even still want to talk some. It was better than living in an eight-year-old's shadow.
Owen squinted at him for a moment before looking back to the exhibit. “So do you not like dinosaurs, or do you just not want to see a goat getting eaten?”
Honestly, the thought was enough to make his stomach turn, but he played it off with another shrug. “I guess I've seen enough YouTube videos for it not to make a difference anymore.”
Owen tilted his head. “It's different once you interact with them in person, though. Once they...interact with you.” His eyes seemed to fade a little as if deep in thought.
Zach curiously raised an eyebrow. “What do you do anyways?”
“Hm? Oh, I'm the raptor trainer.”
That sparked something in Zach's head. Velociraptors. He knew of the first Jurassic Park. He knew how dangerous raptors were. Owen Grady must be one tough guy. Brave. He suddenly realized he was staring, and he looked down quickly, feigning interest in a stray rock. “They listen to you?”
Owen made a face. “Eh. Well, they respect me. I do my best, but I'll never be a raptor. I imprinted on them at birth. I'm technically their-”
He was interrupted by a bouncing child that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, tugging on Zach's jacket sleeve. “Zach! You should have seen it! She ate it it one bite!!!” He was grinning from ear to ear. Zach slowly pried his hands off of himself. “Cool.”
Gray noticed Owen and gasped. “You're the velocirator trainer, aren't you?!”
Owen grinned at the kid's excitement. “Sure am.”
“Can we see them?!” Gray was bouncing again out of excitement, and he tugged on Zach again. “Come on, Zach, can we?”
Owen chuckled. “We'll have to ask your aunt about that. I'm here to take you guys to her.”
“Aw, okay.” Gray let go of Zach and waited patiently.
Owen straightened and motioned for them to follow. “The restaurant isn't far from here. Come on.” He turned, and Zach and Gray began to follow him out of the paddock. Zach couldn't help but to glanced downward at the amazing ass in front of him. Damn. Suddenly, Owen turned his head to look, and Zach blushed, playing it off like he was looking down at the ground. Refusing to look back up, he waited until Owen turned back around. Luckily, Gray saved him by hurrying up to walk beside Owen, asking him a billion questions about velociraptors. Owen struggled to keep with him, and Zach fell back behind. He began to feel a little bit jealous. As soon as he'd found someone to talk to that seemed cool, Gray had to pounce up and take over. He didn't resent his brother, but he didn't enjoy having to stay with him all the time. He was too busy sulking to notice the glances Owen kept shooting over his shoulder back at him.
When they arrived at the restaurant, their aunt was on the phone with God-knows-who, and Owen shot her a meaningful look that didn't go unnoticed by Zach. She said something and hung up, an awkward smile stretching across her face. Gray (always a hugger) ran up and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hi, Aunt Claire!”
She seemed surprised, unsure of what to do. Finally, she decided to leaned down to gently hug him back, no doubt to prevent wrinkling her designer blazer. Zach met her gaze with a monotone look and nodded simply. She smiled a little and did her best to wave, but he'd already moved his gaze over to study the restaurant. Once Gray let go, she straightened and smiled at Owen. “Thank you, Mr. Grady.”
“No problem, Claire.” He emphasized her first name.
Gray looked up at Owen pleadingly. “Are you eating with us?”
Claire started to shake her head. “Mr. Grady actually has important work at the paddocks to take ca-”
“-I'd love to. But only with your aunt's permission.” Owen shot a teasing smile at Claire, and her eyes narrowed slightly, trying not to mutter obscenities under her breath. Zach studied them both. What the hell was her problem with him?
Gray immediately gazed up at Claire with his puppy-dog face. “Please, Aunt Claire! Can he?”
She drew in a breath and put on another smile. “I don't see why not then!”
Gray grinned happily, and Owen gave Claire another smile before his gaze lingered on Zach for a moment. If he didn't know any better, he would think the older man was sizing him up. It made him shiver. Dammit. This man had no idea what he was doing to Zach's sixteen-year-old head. Or did he? Owen smirked a little and turned his attention to Claire. “I guess we should get seated.”