Chris was waiting at the station for at least fifteen minutes. He arrived there about 10 minutes early, based on a habit he developed to prevent tardiness.
"Oh! I hope I didn't keep you waiting!" Fluttershy hollers from across the walkway.
"Not a problem, just glad that you made it."
Oh man, I've always wanted to say that!
"Ready to go?" Chris asked, pointing a thumb at the train. Fluttershy nods and they both get on, present their tickets and find seats. The train lurched and took it's time to get up to speed. Fluttershy was facing the direction the train was moving, and Chris opposite her so that his point of view showed the horizon moving away from him. With maybe an hour or two to kill, Chris looked over Fluttershy. She was wearing a light, moss green sundress with a wide brimmed yellow hat to contrast. He also noticed that she braided her hair, as it was laying over her left shoulder. He looked at himself and began to feel a little embarrassed at his attire. He was wearing a blue t-shirt with grey cargo shorts and a black leather belt. When he looked back up, Fluttershy was staring out the window, a large smile on her face, fascinated by the world whizzing past them. Chris couldn't help but smile and relax, despite the train car slightly bouncing and rattling.
Without even realizing it, their train had stopped at Dodge City Central. When they got off, Chris told Fluttershy that the zoo was only a couple blocks away, but easily within walking distance. Beginning on the street, Chris lead as Fluttershy followed two or three feet back. He kept looking back to make sure that he didn't lose her. At some point he stopped to let her catch up and end right next to him.
"Why don't you walk beside me? It will make it easier not to lose you in the crowd." Chris said, lightly smiling. Fluttershy returned his smile and took his advice, but even took it a step further and grasped his hand. Chris felt a tingling sensation run up and down his spine, but he did not remove his hand. He looked over to Fluttershy and saw that she was blushing slightly.
"Guess I won't lose you now." He charmingly said as they walked.
Within 25 minutes, they were standing at the entrance. Fluttershy was getting increasingly excited.
"Oh! C'mon! Let's go!" She squealed as she grabs Chris's arm and started pulling towards the gate.
If she pulls any harder, she just might dislocate it!
He presented the tickets and they both crossed the metal gates. Fluttershy was getting more excited than Pinkie on a sugar rush, yet she didn't know what to do first.
"There is so much to do! What should we start with?" Fluttershy excitingly asked.
Chris held out his hand, "Take my hand, and I will show you."
Smile formed on her face, along with noticeable red patches on her cheeks.
Chris toured her around the various sections of the zoo. It was fairly large, so there was almost always something to do or see. So far, the "date" was going very well, at lunch they ate together at an outpost near the edge of the zoo. Chris found a pair of seats that over looked the safari reserve, gazelles, rhinos, and even wildebeests roamed around or sat in the shade.
"Well today is going well, wouldn't you say?" Chris asked.
"Oh yes! I'm having so much fun!"
"Well. I think you're going to like what I have planned." Chris stated, pulling out a small, clear bag orange-red colored bars in it. Fluttershy's expression was quizzical, yet intrigued. He handed one bar to her and asked her to hold it out over the edge. She did so and held it out for a couple minutes, getting more confused as time passed. She opened her mouth to asked something.
"Give it a few seconds." Chris blurted out, holding a few fingers out. In that moment, Fluttershy felt something moist, yet rough brush against her hand, pulling at the bar. She instinctively let go and thrust her hand close to her, when she looked over, her mouth was agape and speechless. Next to her was a giraffe, munching away at the bar, its tongue occasionally poking out between chews.
"Oh wow!!!" She exclaimed, looking at Chris with disbelief, "How did you know?"
"I asked one of the keepers to guide one of them to here." Chris said with a sly smile, "I also paid him for these bars, which they give to those who want to feed giraffes."
"So anyone can do this?" She inquired, pulling another bar from the bag.
"Well, not to this extent. Others would have to go to a designated area."
Fluttershy was giggling uncontrollably, her large smile made Chris have that warm and fuzzy feeling. He always wanted to make the people he cares about happy. When all the bars were gone, Chris stood up and held out his hand. Fluttershy graciously took it and he brought her to one of the bird shows. Macaws flew in groups across the audience, a peacock displayed its beautiful plumage and a hawk glided near many of the patrons. One pass was so close that the outermost feathers on its wings actually slapped Chris nose, Fluttershy laughing at the frozen expression on his face. After the show, Chris was able to bring Fluttershy up close to the exotic birds, even so much as having them on her hands or arm.
Afternoon came around and the park was nearing its closing time. Fluttershy was getting tired, but Chris had one more stop to make.
"And now, for the piece de résistance." Chris said, going up to a stand near an enclosed bird exhibit. There were doors going into it, so it was possible to walk in. Chris came back with two small cups enclosed in his hands, he give her one of them. In the cup was a murky, yellowish white liquid that had a lightly sweet smell.
"What's this?" She asked.
"It's nectar."
"Nectar for what?"
"You'll see."
Chris opened the first door and waited for her to pass through into the small space before closing it and opening the other door. He brought her out to the middle of the enclosure and held his cup in the air. Before long, a lorikeet flew from a tree and landed on his arm. It shimmied towards his hand and started lapping up the nectar. Soon enough another flew down, and another, and another, until there were five on his arm at once.
"Go ahead, hold it out." Chris told Fluttershy, assuring that it was safe. when she did she ended up with three on her arm drinking, two on her head and four on the other arm, bouncing back and forth between the ones eating. Her laugh was getting contagious as Chris began to chuckle.
"Heh heh, you look like a pirate!" She giggled, pointing a finger at him. He turned his head to find the one lorikeet was sitting on his shoulder. They both laughed until the nectar was all gone and the birds flew back into the trees.
"Ok, seriously. How were you able to do all this?" Fluttershy asked again, being more assertive.
"Well, when I was fourteen, I got an internship at this zoo. After that I worked part time for two years, so I had some pull in fabricating a perfect zoo trip."
"And you did this just for me?"
"Well, you cheered me up when I was down, so I figured to could repay you... with interest."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!" She said, leaping at Chris and giving him a crushing hug.
The train ride back home was slow, and darkness had fallen before they left the station. Fluttershy was fast asleep, her head leaning on his shoulder. She clutched a stuffed panda in her arms that Chris bought from the gift shop. He asked the cashier for an animal she could love, to which she stated, "Everyone loves pandas." Chris leaned back in his seat and took the time to reflect. He loved to see her smile, he felt that he wanted to make her happy in anyway possible, yet... a void and slightly sore feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. He hated that feeling, but he couldn't understand what it meant, or why he even had it. When they did manage to get back to the university, Chris practically had to carry Fluttershy to the dorm room. But he did carry her for the last 60 yards before carefully tucking her into bed. Chris smiled and gave her a light peck on the forehead before flopping on his own bed. Fluttershy tightened her hug on the panda, but still was in a deep sleep.