Two Days In the Same Clothes

Chapter Three

It's a quiet drive through the dreary weather to Norfolk, Virginia. The beachfront town is fogged in, and at eleven-thirty at night, there's not much to see, anyway. They check into a small hotel, covering their yawns with their elbows. Calum waits for Michael to finish checking them in, and fuck. His hair is sleep mused from napping in the car, if Calum squints he can see the mark from the seatbelt on his cheek. "Cal? You ready?" Michael snaps him out of his stare. "Yeah, sorry. Super tired." He covers his zone out. "It's cool, I swear I was about to just keel over and clock out on the front desk." Michael jokes as they get on the elevator. Calum shakes his head as he lets out a breathy laugh. "We're in room two-oh-five," Michael says as the elevator stops, the tired silence humming around them. Calum just nods his head. "I'm gonna take a quick shower," Calum says as they unlock their room door, setting his stuff down and immediately getting stuff for a shower. Michael nods and unlocks his phone, texting Ashton, and asking how things are going.

He looks at what they can do for the two days they're staying here, hearing Calum come out of the bathroom. There's a flopping sound, a heavy exhale, and shortly thereafter, Calum's light snoring fills the room. "You were tired, huh?" Michael whispers to himself, laughing at Calum's body on the other bed. He shakes his head and showers himself, brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed.

When they wake up, it's sunny and clear, and the damp July air is comforting. "Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. It's gonna be fucking nuts." Calum realizes as they walk into a Dunkin Donuts. "I forgot." Michael makes a face, coming to the same realization as Calum. "We both did." The brunette laughs.

"Ok, I know you hate zoos, and for a good reason, and now I realize it'll be absolutely insane due to the holiday, but I got two all-around tickets for the Virginia Zoo. It's not too hot out, and you could get some good pictures." Michael says over breakfast. Calum sighs, Michael knows that Calum thinks that zoos shouldn't exist, but he also likes the idea of getting pictures of animals he could only dream of getting shots of. "Ok." He agrees. Michael's eyebrows raise. "Really?" He looks skeptical, eyebrows furrowing back down. "Yeah, why not?" Calum shrugs, sipping his coffee.

Calum zooms in through his lens, snapping a shot of the female Malayan Tiger as she strides across her enclosure, towards the big male. They look healthy, so Calum isn't that upset, her coat is shiny and full, and her body is sleek but not underweight.

Michael smiles as he watches Calum try to figure out what angle is best to get a shot of the female Orangutan with her infant, up in her little hammock a few feet above the ground. He's been watching Calum enjoy himself, and get immersed in his photography. Michael looks at the map and sees that they're heading toward Calum's favorite animal. "Oh. Oh my god." Calum's eyes get wide as he spots the Red Pandas. The little circular bodies rolling around on the grassy space. Immediately he's taking pictures, a smile on his face whenever the camera drops. "We're never leaving this area, are we?" Michael laughs from the side, watching Calum just watch the Pandas. "Nope. This is a dream." Calum's eyes are ablaze with joy. "Shit." Michael chuckles out, leaning against the wall. "They are so. Cute. I want to stuff one in my pocket, Mike." The brunette states, getting another picture. Calum finally leaves the red pandas, albeit a little stubbornly, but he leaves.

Feeding a giraffe was not something Michael ever saw himself doing, but here he is. Smiling at Calum's camera, but not taking his eyes off the huge animal, feeding her a head of lettuce. Her calf is not yet tall enough {shocker, I know} to reach the stand, so he stands back some. He glances back to Calum, seeing him holding his phone now. He flips Calum off. "This is.. or was, for Ashton. Idiot." Calum sighs, disappointment rolling off in sarcastic waves. "My hand is covered in giraffe spit, want some?" He smiles, a glint in his eye. "You stay away from me, Clifford. Stay very much away." Calum warns, backing away towards the steps before darting down. "I wasn't gonna do anything." Michael laughs as he jogs after his friend.