—
(Y/N) — Your name
(E/C) — Eye colour
(A/S) — Animal species
(F/C) — Fur colour
(M/C) — Matching colour
—
(Y/N) was silently awaiting Alex to return and tell them whether or not they were able to win the tour to New York. She was silently staying to the side, (E/C) gaze lingering on the place the lion was last seen in.
A massive paw rested itself upon her shoulder, causing the (A/S) to turn around. Forest green orbs were there to meet her own.
Subconsciously, a loving smile spread across her features. Vitaly's paw slid down from her shoulder down her arm to her own, much smaller paw before he caressed it, giving a small and reassuring squeeze. He raised his other paw to gently cup her cheek, tracing his thumb across her silky fur.
Chest fluttering with warmth and face heating up, (Y/N) placed her paw on Vitaly's that resided on the side of her face, enjoying the simple display of affection.
Vitaly couldn't help but allow a smile of his own to brighten up his muzzle. He bent down to match her height before pressing his forehead against hers, breathing out a quiet sigh.
"Thank you," he murmured, closing his eyes and allowing the warm feeling to flow through his body, "For everything." His whiskers twitched as he talked, brushing against (Y/N)'s and creating a tickling sensation, causing the female to release a silent chuckle.
"You don't need to thank me, Vitaly." (Y/N) whispered, leaning away to gaze into his bright eyes. "We wouldn't have been here, if it hadn't been for you. So, if anything, I should be thanking you. We all should."
She took both his paws in hers and continued admiring the taller cat. His smile stretched into a wider grin at her words as the comfortable silence settled between the two.
No matter what happened next, they would be there for each other. The same words silently promised in eachother's mind.
Little did they know, it was the same promise that was going to be broken. . .
"We're going to America!"
The exact words that were said by Alex that caused a wave of cheers and congratulations to appear throughout entire circus.
Gia, who happened to be by (Y/N)'s side, embraced the older cat, resting her head on the (A/S)'s shoulder. (Y/N) laughed happily at the news and returned Gia's hug by wrapping her own arms around the jaguar's smaller frame.
"That's what I call crack-a-lackin' to the mack-a-lackin'!" Marty shouted.
"We did it!" (Y/N) walked up to Alex as the lion high fived her, expressing their victory. "Who could have thought that you carry a hair conditioner around?" She teased him, as the two shared a friendly laugh.
Stefano came running over to the two, jumping in excitement, before exchanging a hug with Alex, "We did it, Alice!" the sea lion cheered, before turning to hug (Y/N).
"Yeah!"
Stefano stepped back to look up at both cats with a big smile across his face. "Maybe I am average intelligence-a after all!"
(Y/N) not understanding anything behind the Italian's words looked over at Alex with an amused brow raised, seeking an explanation from him. The lion simply shrugged with a smile before turning his ocean blue gaze back to the sea lion. "Perhaps, even slightly above."
Stefano looked like he was going to start crying tears of happiness. And (Y/N) couldn't tell if it was from the circus' triumph or Alex's words.
"No, I don't think so!" Stefano brushed the American's words off, smiling his usual cheeky smile.
As (Y/N) watched slightly weird but warm nonetheless interaction between her friends, Vitaly came up behind her and Alex, before wrapping an arm around the latter's shoulders, startling him a little.
"Ha! Hair conditioner. Great idea, my friend!" the Russian cat praised, turning his eyes from (Y/N) and Alex to the sea lion, before offering Stefano to pet the fur on his arm. "Feel. Go ahead. Soft like kitten, no?"
Stefano gasped, moving his flipper up and down Vitaly's fur. He seemed to enjoy the soft texture it gained after the tiger quite literally poured the hair conditioner on himself. "Look at that."
Alex laughed and stepped away from Vitaly to look him in the eyes. (Y/N) took his place by tiger's side.
"Slippery, but not flammable." Alex pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"You smell like peaches and herb!" Stefano exclaimed in delight as the trio walked away, leaving Alex to talk with Gia.
"You did amazing!" (Y/N) told the tiger, after Stefano left the two to converse one on one, "I never thought I would see something like that! You really did the impossible!"
Vitaly laughed before picking (Y/N) up and spinning around, earning himself a delighted laugh from her that mixed with his own. Placing her down, he never let go of her as his eyes roamed across her (F/C) and (M/C) fur. Dare he say she looked lovely and stunning.
"You did great too, my dear." He said, eyes softening as he was entranced by her own (E/C) hues that were so outstanding. "Just wait until the world sees what our circus can do. And with you and your friends by our side we will have the best time!"
The fondness that (Y/N) expressed towards the Russian started turning into love, the longer she continued looking at him. The spark that was ignited before the performance only brightened and filled her entire body with its warm flames. She never imagine she would find someone who would be willing to stand by her side, to share that spark with her. And yet the smile she had on her face only widened as she refused to look away from Vitaly.
The blooming feeling caused her cheeks to get painted with the reddish tint. She was grateful that her fur prevented prying eyes from seeing it.
It felt as if the world around (Y/N) and Vitaly disappeared, even if for a moment. But that moment was enough. Enough to acknowledge their feelings towards one another, their will to have a future together. The sounds around quieted down, and their breathing seemed to seethe and slow down along with it.
But all of a sudden, the heaviness of a secret (Y/N) was carrying on her shoulders tumbled down onto her as she snapped back into reality.
She promised she would go to the zoo with her friends. . .
She felt her blood run cold and the dread fill her. Was this going to be the last time she saw her new friends? The last time she would see Vitaly? That thought caused a knot to form in her stomach.
(Y/N) tore her eyes away from Vitaly's, blinking a couple of times. The smile she wore, turned into a straight line, leaving no traces that it was even there, as her brows furrowed in distress. She swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat as the unease continued to spread through her. The secret, the lies.
Noticing the significant change in (Y/N)'s facial expression, Vitaly's own brows furrowed in concern and worry as a frown replaced his smile. The way air around them grew tense did not get unnoticed by him either.
"Are you okay?" Vitaly released his grip on the (A/S) in front of him to take her paws in his, "What's wrong?"
At the sound of his voice (Y/N) only tensed up, her fur spiking up in sudden nervousness.
'If only it was that easy to tell you the truth.'
"It's just. . ." Words failed to slip past her lips the way she intended, making it painfully difficult for (Y/N) to confess about the whole 'Circus Americano' situation. She took her paws out of Vitaly's grip before looking up to focus on his green hues. ". . .T-The thing is I may not always. . . be around."
Her eyes glistened with unnoticeable tears that she forced away by rapidly blinking and looking away, not wanting the tiger to see.
Vitaly could only furrow his brows further to show his confusion as he tried to comprehend the unfolding events. "What do you mean?" he asked, "Where are you going?"
"Vitaly, I—"
Her sentence was cut short when a loud honking and engine sound interrupted her. The two looked in the direction the sounds were coming from and (Y/N) could only imagine how else the situation could worsen.
DuBois, along with the rest of her crew, drove her moped into the circus tent before stopping right in front of the disguised chimps. The sudden stop caused the back of her moped to get lifted off of the ground as the redhead came nose to nose with the 'King'.
"Bravo, bravo!" she exclaimed with sarcastic undertone, "What a heartwarming performance, Monsieur Circus Master. It brought tears to my eyes."
If it could be possible, (Y/N) stiffened even more. As she was standing beside Vitaly, who subconsciously placed a paw in front of her, she spared a quick glance at those around her; except for the zoosters — who were looking uneasy and shocked, even slightly panicked, to see the officer — the rest of the animals looked confused rather than surprised.
DuBois chuckled, "No, not really." She confessed dismissively. "Monsieur, we both know the lion does not belong to you. He is a fugitive from justice." The red-headed woman showed 'King' a paper with, what (Y/N) assumed, was Alex. The disguised chimp rose his brows and made a shocked expression before turning his eyes back to the officer, after he viewed whatever was on the paper.
"You will turn the lion over to me, so that I may put him where he belongs."
In the blink of an eye, the French woman rode the moped over to Alex with unsheathed leash. The lion tried to get away, but unfortunately for him he was too slow as DuBois caught him by the neck and brought him close to her face, where a crazed smile was spread.
What she said next caused a shiver to run down (Y/N)'s spine as her paw gripped Vitaly's, who gripped back to bring her some sort of comfort.
"On my wall." DuBois said, inspecting Alex's head. She snickered darkly as her eyes bore into Alex's.
Out of nowhere, the penguins came down on the ropes behind the men's heads unnoticed, before knocking them out cold. The sound of her followers falling down brought DuBois's attention away from Alex as she looked over her shoulder to see what happened. "What?"
"Incoming!" During the woman's distracted stance, Skipper came flying on a bag that was apparently 100 KG, before hitting the caught off guard lady. As she was sent flying away from Alex, she accidentally realised her grip on the leash allowing the lion to regain his breathing.
She landed in the canon full of dynamite with dazed expression. The black-and-white birds tied a rope around her foot that connected the rest of DuBois' crew to the said woman. As she slowly became aware of her surroundings Rico stuffed a single dynamite in her mouth before jumping off. It didn't take long for the canon to get ready to fire.
"Outgoing!"
Realisation of what was about to happen hit DuBois as she spat the dynamite stick out. "Wait!"
But it was already too late.
The canon fired, sending the officers flying through the circus tent as they screamed along the way, leaving a trial of smoke behind.
Glad that the 'Señorita Loca' was out of their fur for a meantime, (Y/N) released her grip on Vitaly's paw before making her way to the lion's side to check up on him. The rest of the zoosters joined her as they made sure that Alex was physically okay.
"Man, that was close!" Marty told his friends as the five of them stood to the side. Alex nodded at his friend's words, funding the whole DuBois fiasco that just took place unexpected.
"Alex?"
Gia's surprised and slightly saddened voice reached the friends' ears as the all turned their eyes to the jaguar, face paling at the sight.
The golden feline had the paper DuBois brought in her paws as her eyes scanned the text on the poster. The rest of the circus stood by her side as some of them took a look at the paper as well. After she read a couple of sentences, her brows furrowed as she turned her amber gaze back at the five animals opposite of her.
"You are from a zoo?" She asked. Once the words left her vocal cords, the rest of the animals looked at them as well with different expressions; shocked, saddened and heartbroken.
(Y/N), along with all of her friends, froze at the spot as their secret was out in the open. She felt as her paws started slightly shaking out of nervousness as she swallowed a lump in her throat. She exchanged a quick glance with each member of their group before her (E/C) eyes settled on Vitaly's face.
The tiger already had his widened, green orbs focused on the (A/S), mouth slightly ajar as he awaited anyone from the five animals to deny that statement.
When no words were spoken at all, Gia took another look at the paper in her paws, rereading the same sentence over again as her hope that she misread was shattered along with her heart. The same words each time: 'FAMOUS CENTRAL PARK ZOO LION STILL MISSING'.
She lowered the paper to look at who she thought were her friends.
"Yes." Alex took the initiative to explain their situation to the circus performers, taking a step forward. "Yes. But wait, there's more."
"More?" Gia questioned.
"Or less. There's less." Alex corrected his mistake.
"You were never circus?" Vitaly voiced his question.
"We— We had to say we were circus." Gloria confessed.
Melman was quick to back her up. "Or you'd never have let us on the train!"
Vitaly glared at the ground after hearing the group's reasoning, before he cast his eyes up and towards (Y/N). His expression instantly changed to an upset one as tears began to cloud his vision. Was everything (Y/N) said true? That question plagued his mind. She wouldn't have played with his feelings. . . Would she? His heart clenched.
(Y/N) caught his eyes as she tried to keep her own tears at bay. She felt her heart shatter in million peaces at the betrayed look the tiger had on his face. It was hard to breathe while being at the edge of tears. It was painful to see the one who caused her love to thrive look at her the way Vitaly was right now. Ears pressed against her head, she bowed her head in shame, unable to maintain the eye contact with the one who meant the world to her.
"After all we have been through together. . ." Gia began, stopping mid-sentence to pursue her lips in order not to cry, ". . .you want to go live in a zoo?"
"Gia, I. . ."
Different thought were swirling in Vitaly's head like a hurricane, but one outshined the others. One that caused him such pain that was nothing compared to what he'd been through. His eyes shifted towards Alex as the muttered words fell past his lips, "You used us."
"No, no, no. I mean, I mean, yes, but—"
Before Alex had the chance to justify his and his friends' actions, Gia cut him off.
"And Trapeze Americano, you made that up, too?" Her pleading eyes as she asked Alex that question did nothing to stop her heartbreak further as the male answered.
"It didn't exactly exist when I taught it to you." Alex's truthful words did close to nothing to ease the tension that was spreading among the animals.
"Jet packs and aquatic cobras." Gia practically growled in anger as she realised that she, along with everyone else, were lied to. "I should have known!"
She turned away from the group and walked back towards Vitaly and Stefano, before resting her clouded with tears gaze on the animals before them.
"Balloons to the children of the world was not-a real, either?" Stefano asked as he looked at the lion and the zebra, tearing up.
"Well yeah, that's not real." Alex told him, "But look at we did."
Before Stefano could have the chance to answer him, Vitaly spoke up. "What about everything you said?" His question was directed towards (Y/N), who found enough courage to look him in the eyes, "Was that not true as well?"
The words hurt, a lot. Sighting Vitaly lose his trust in her was like adding salt to the wound. But she couldn't really blame him. After all, he was tricked, they all were. If she was in his place, she would question the same thing.
"I did mean everything I said to you." She said, "I promise I did."
Hearing that would have brought a smile to Vitaly's muzzle, knowing that she was being honest about the way she felt about him, hadn't it been for the situation.
"What about the rest? What about what you said to everybody else?"
"I-I. . ." (Y/N) felt words betray her as she was left speechless. She couldn't deny that there were times where she was, indeed, lying; even if said moments lasted a couple of seconds. It didn't change anything. The fact was she did lie, and she couldn't take it back.
Not anymore. . .
"Listen, (Y/N) has nothing to do with it." Alex said suddenly. (Y/N) looked at him in puzzlement, her expression could be read as 'What are you doing?'. "We dragged her with us in this mess. The only thing she had to lie about was us."
When he said 'us', the lion gestured towards himself and the rest of the zoosters.
Stefano, who's eyes were fixed on (Y/N)'s figure, switched fis brown orbs at Alex. "For all we know, your name is not even-a Alice. . ." He asked, voice quivering.
Alex cast his eyes down, "No, Stefano, but it never really was."
"I don't-a feel safe!" The sea lion cried, before being engulfed in a hug by Gia, who was also shedding silent tears.
At the sight of his closest friends crying Vitaly sent a look of disappointment and disapproval to Alex. But he couldn't help but let his eyes drift towards (Y/N). She just looked away, mumbling a quiet 'I'm sorry'. She put a paw over her mouth to restrain her sniffles as a couple of tears fell past her lashes.
"Gia, I. . ." Alex spoke up, before he no longer had words to offer.
"We trusted you." She told him, gaze lingering for a second before she made herself turn around and walk away.
"My tears are real! You are not!" Stefano cried out, as he started walking away with Gia, Vitaly following shortly after.
Just before the tiger went away, he spared one last glance at (Y/N), who was unaware of what he was doing. He let out a shuddered breath before guiding Gia and Stefano away.
The zoosters bowed their own heads down, tears threatening to fall. (Y/N) rose her eyes to look at each one of the performers, before her hues settled on Vitaly for what might be the last time. Gloria took notice of the (A/S)'s condition and pulled her into a side hug, patting her back in a reassuring way. If (Y/N) had to describe what she was feeling like, she would say she felt like she was watching her other half walking away. Her and Vitaly were drifting apart and there was nothing she could do. And she understood if Vitaly didn't want to do anything about it. After all, she had the chance of telling him the truth, but the chance was blown away.
The spark inside dulled. . .
Unbeknownst to her, Vitaly experienced same emotions, same feelings. With each step he took he felt his heart beg him harder to turn around and get back to (Y/N). The more distance there was between them, the stronger his desire to be with her became.
"I can't believe you lied to all us circus folk." Skipper 'cried' and used a napkin to 'wipe his tears' before blowing his nose into it, as him and the rest of his team walk away from the group.
None of them paid attention to the penguins as they all were way too overwhelmed by their sorrow. For it was the last time they would see their new friends.
Who would have thought that out of their plan, the hardest part would be leaving the circus? Where (Y/N) should have been overjoyed by the fact that she and her dear companions made it to New York, she was silently staring at the waves beneath the boat with a gloomy look upon her features. Her lips formed a straight line and brows were furrowed into a frown as she let her (E/C) eyes glide across the water.
Her thoughts were just like the water below; calm. Probably because they all were about Vitaly, something she no longer found surprising. The mere mention of the tiger brought a huge sense of comfort to the saddened (A/S) as the tiny boat the five of them, plus King Julian, were on drifted behind a massive ship.
Soon enough, the six of them arrived at the entrance of the zoo, welcomed by the loud sound of bell ringing above the gates. (Y/N) was standing in-between Marty and Gloria, as they all gazed at the scenery beyond the metal bars, separating the animals and the park.
"Well. . . We're here." Gloria said with noticiable lack of excitement in her voice.
(Y/N) expected the feeling of home to fill the emptiness inside her chest when she arrived at the zoo. But as much as she wanted the emptiness to disappear, she didn't want it to get filled by 'being home'. For her home was where her heart belonged — and that was wherever Vitaly was.
"Home." Marty said. (Y/N) was expecting her friends to be ecstatic. They were finally home, their goal for a year or two. Apparently, what happened at the circus had an impact on them that was as big as on (Y/N).
"Huh. My rock looks smaller than I remember." Alex stated, eyeing his barrier.
"Look at the mural." Marty perked up, causing (Y/N)'s eyes to shift to the painting across the wall. "Doesn't actually capture the real thing, does it?"
(Y/N)'s ears lowered as she scanned the zoo over and over again. It didn't bring any sort of warmth to her as she was expecting at the start of their journey. And it probably wouldn't anymore. Now that her other half was away.
Her grip on metal bars tightened as she forced the tears away.
"I don't know what to say." (Y/N) whispered, eyes landing on an emty barrier and a poster by its side that said: 'MORE BIG CATS SOON'.
"Wow. I forgot about that wall in between us, Melman." Gloria noted quietly, as the thought of separation didn't appeal to either member of the couple. "Was that always there?"
As they all continued gazing out at the zoo, Marty took notice of his friends' facial expressions. Guilt appeared inside him as the memories of why exactly they left resurfaced in his mind.
"Guys," The zebra called out, gaining attention of his friends, "I'm sorry I ever left the zoo in the first place."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"I mean, if I had just stayed put, we wouldn't have anything to be sad about right now." Marty elaborated, before casting his eyes down.
Slowly a smile stretched across Alex's face, "Leaving the zoo was the best thing that ever happened to us."
"Really?" Marty's smile mirrored the lion's.
"Yeah. Out there, in the world, we were really living." Alex explained as he turned around and started walking away from the gates. Others followed suit.
"Yeah!" King Julian exclaimed.
"And we wouldn't have met (Y/N) if we didn't leave the zoo. It was exciting!" Alex said.
"It was romantic." Gloria added.
"It was dangerous." Melman spoke.
"And with lots of memories made along the way!" (Y/N) smiled.
"I never felt so alive!" Marty shouted in delight.
Alex turned around to face his friends. "When we were with the circus, we were already home." His expression soon turned regretful. "I only wish we'd realized that sooner."
"I'm really going to miss those guys." Melman said, voicing everyone's thoughts aloud.
Silence fell upon six animals as they tried to figure out what to do. They tried to come up with ideas but Alex beat them to it in a moment.
"What do you say we go back?" He offered with mischief lacing his voice. A smile found its way across his face and caused the rest to grin at the idea too.
(Y/N)'s ears perked up as she visibly brightened up. "Really?"
"I'm with you!" Marty was quick to agree with his best friend.
And so did Julian, jumping on Melman's head to be eyes to eyes with the lion, "I'm in!"
"But what do we tell them?" Melman asked, his usual worrying self taking over his own excitement.
"We make things the way they should have been done." (Y/N) told them with determination, as her smile began turning into a triumphant smirk. "We make it right by telling them how wrong we were."
"It's worth a shot." Marty told the rest of the group as he nudged the (A/S). The others were quick to agree with her plan.
"Ha-ha!" (Y/N) wrapped one arm around Marty and the other around Melman, bringing both males close for a side hug. "And if we go down in flames!"
"So be it!" Alex finished her sentence for her.
"Yes, let's do this!"
"Let's go!"
"I like it!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
But before their plan could be set in action darts began to get fired in their direction without them noticing untill it was too late. (Y/N) felt something sharp, similar to a needle, pierce her neck two or three times. Her pupils dilated and the tension in her body that was there before disappeared without a trace. Suddenly, the world began spinning and the female lost control of what she did or said, and so did her friends.
"Is my neck getting longer?" Melman asked as his lime eyes trailer along the length of his spotted neck.
"Feel my fur," Alex mumbled, words slurring together before offering his arm for Gloria to pet along with him, "It's so soft."
"It is soft." The hippo whispered in wonder, continuing petting the lion's arm.
"Hey, Melman," (Y/N) called out as she leaned on the giraffe to support her weight, which became quite a challenge the longer the tranquilizer filled her system. "I heard you're a doctor, ¿no? Can you please take a look at my leg? I think I broke it while falling for Vitaly."
Before the giraffe could answer, Marty walked up to the two along with Gloria. "I'm like a candy cane in a black and white movie."
Marty wrapped one hoof around Gloria, the other around Melman and brought them close. (Y/N) found herself pressed against the giraffe and the zebra, returning their embrace the best she could, before Marty lost his balance and each of them lost their footing. They all fell into a pile, fast asleep.
"Oh no." Alex mumbled, as he plucked the dart out of his forehead. "DuBois."
He spun around and feel onto the pile of his friends as well, snoring lightly.
While five friends kept on sleeping, Julian started walking away, his balance unstable but he managed not to fall. "Sonya, I miss you, baby! I miss my stinky bear!"
As the tall lemur made his way back to the circus, the bigger animals kept on having a dreamless sleep. It was only a mystery of what would happen to the group of five friends soon. . .
Published on 24.07.2021
The level of angst went 📈📈
Well, now (Y/N) and Vitaly are officially simps for one another. And Melman became (Y/N)'s official doctor. Don't worry, he gave her some medicine so that her leg wouldn't hurt.
That's basically it. . . all i had to say, oops
Have a nice morning/day/evening/night!