Neighbors. A Sabriel Fic.

Chapter 22

**Epilogish fast forward**

They had been together for five years. Sharing an apartment, taking care of their pets, and being so darn, adorably, domestic. It was pretty obvious they weren't going to break up any time soon, if never at all, and that didn't bother either of them. Honestly they probably should talk more about their future but the topic was always avoided. Sam and Gabriel weren't the brightest at that kind of thing.

"We haven't had a day out in a long time." Gabriel said. "I think we should go to the zoo. I haven't seen a giraffe in so long. I think I'm going through giraffe withdrawal."

Sam laughed, "We don't want that now do we?" He kissed him lightly, "Go get your stuff then."

A strange squeal escaped Gabriel and he ran from the room. Sam stared at the spot his boyfriend had just been wondering how in the hell Gabriel was actually thirty four and not six.

The zoo was an hour away, and on a Saturday in the middle of July it was crowded as it could have been. The only relief there might have been was the fact there weren't any summer daycare school groups having a field trip there. Of course if they had been there still wouldn't have been much difference.

They wandered for a while, hand in hand, stopping in front of each exhibit for a few minutes before moving on. Until they got to the exhibit they had originally gone there for.

Gabriel gasped and pulled Sam to the giraffe enclosure as children ran and screamed around them. There was one kid though, to their left, who was completely speechless staring and pointing at the giraffes in awe. He'd managed to pull Gabriel's attention from the animal he'd really wanted to see. A few minutes later they wandered away.

"Did you even look at the giraffes?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, of course." Gabriel waved him off.

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"Have you ever seen so many flamingoes in your life?" Gabriel asked leaning on the metal fence.

"Never."

"Why could they possibly need so many?" There were at least forty bright pink flamingoes standing around a small pool of water. "I'm sure if they sold like twenty of them they could buy another hippo or something."

"They already have two hippos."

"Are you trying to justify the excessive amounts of flamingoes in this zoo?"

"No, I'm just saying I don't think they need any more hippos. They could buy seven dogs and make a dog exhibit."

Gabriel cocked an eyebrow, "This isn't a pet store Sammy."

"I know."

A family with four kids came up to the fence, laughing and talking, not even considering the amount of flamingoes in the enclosure. Gabriel watched them for a second before walking away towards a different animal.

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"Look it has a baby." Sam pointed up at the orangutan.

"Everything does." Gabriel mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"It's adorable." He said louder.

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Sam noticed where Gabriel's eyes wandered and where his looks lingered a bit too long, and the thought of what he might be thinking made Sam a little happier than he should have been. But it was a complicated topic, and easily avoidable. Sam didn't want to avoid it, but he wasn't going to bring it up if Gabriel didn't because he was happy the way they were, and if he wanted more, well, then that'd be even better.

Of course there was still the chance that his glances were out of annoyance, and it wouldn't happen, and yeah, sure Sam was still okay with it. He didn't want to get his hopes up any more than they already were. Especially if he was wrong with his assumptions.

Disappearing for a moment, Sam came back with ice cream for both of them.

"I'm so disappointed." Gabriel said. "There's not a single platypus in this entire zoo."

"I think you need to go to Australia for that."

"Damn."

A little boy walked up, the same boy from the giraffes, and tugged on Gabriel's sleeve. "Mister, have you seen my mommy?"

He squatted down in front of him, "No, I don't think so." The boy started sniffling, "It's alright. We'll find her. Do you know her phone number so we could call her?"

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper, "Mommy said to give this to someone if I got lost."

"Well, this certainly looks like it could be her phone number." Gabriel pulled his phone out and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a woman answered on the second ring.

"Uh, hi. I think we found your missing child," He pulled the phone away, "What's your name?"

"Oliver."

"Oliver."

"He's not- Oh my goodness. Where are you?" She exclaimed.

"Near the tigers."

"Thank you so much. I'll be right there."

A few minutes later a woman with two other children showed up, and Oliver ran to her. "I don't know how to thank you two enough."

"It's no problem really." Sam said.

"I still can't believe I didn't realize he was gone." She shook her head, grabbed Oliver by the hand and led the three children away.

"You ready?" Sam asked as they wound up back at the front of the zoo.

With one last glance back, Gabriel nodded. With their hands linked, they walked back to the car for the hour drive back to their apartment.

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The next morning Sam was woken up by the sound of Gabriel rummaging through the closet for some paint.

"You're so sunburned." Sam laughed sitting up.

"Tell that to your nose, Rudolph." He found what he was looking for and left the room.

Sam pulled a pair of pants on and went outside onto the balcony where Gabriel was. He walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Gabriel's waist as he painted, they'd come a long way with trust since their little paint war. Standing there quietly as he worked, Gabriel spoke up. "Have, have you ever thought of a little munchkin running around the place?"

"Hmm?"

"Y'know, like adopting."

A grin filled Sam's face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And this is where we must say goodbye.

I don't know where this leaves us. It kinda feels like I'm breaking up with you.

I'm gonna miss this and you guys. I'm actually really sad right now. I need a hug. This was a story of firsts for me.

I'd like to write something different first, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to talk me into a sequel if that's what you want.

Cheers! Until the next story!

~Debbiecakes!~