[chester] second hand heart. [tag; cian]

She wasn't sure what she was most excited for; possible kissing or baby elephants.

Poppy was over the moon. Cian had finally asked her out. At least, she assumed today was a date. It was a bit hard to tell. There was a lot of blushing and bumping and spilling of wine. They'd known each other for a long time and there was always some sort of underlying current that fizzled between them. Unfortunately, Poppy had dated a long line of unsuitable men. She bounced from one idiot to the next and she narrowly avoided getting married to one. She'd come to her senses at the last minute.

Cian marked a fresh start. She liked him a lot. Fancied him, even but it was more than that. He was a genuinely nice guy. She'd not dated one before. She was used to leather clad, chain smoking, bar fighting, serial cheaters. Cian was just a precious little teddy bear.

But she was excited. The tall redhead had almost forgotten how exhilarating first dates could be. Poppy loved the adventures and the mystery, the chatter, the whole process of getting to know one another properly. When Cian had suggested they visit the zoo, she was all too eager. It was such a refreshing change from the boring, stuffy dinners she was used to. She always felt restricting, stuck in a fancy dress in a fancy restaurant with a decidedly fancy man. Not that Cian wasn't fancy. Poppy was just relieved that she'd be able to laugh today and not have people stare at her disapprovingly.

In front of the mirror, Poppy added a final hair pin in place into her copper coloured locks and grabbed her things, her brightly coloured skirt swishing around her as she did so. The florist hadn't been to a zoo since she was about five years old. Chester Zoo was the first and the best zoo in the United Kingdom. It had won awards for conservation. The animals were treated wonderfully.

Arriving just on time at eleven o'clock, she broke into a jog in her heels, eager to meet her date for the day. There were people waiting in line. Mums with toddlers, Muggle children on a school trip, teenage lovers holding hands. Her big green eyes looked around for him before realising that he'd given her a ticket. A fancy fast pass sort of one that allowed them both to bypass the queues. Handing it in, she stepped through the turnstile and entered.

She remembered him telling her that he'd meet her inside. The monkey enclosure, he'd said. But she got distracted. Her eyes were pulled to the left as she spotted red pandas. Like an overly excited child, she set off at a sprint, her flying behind her as her bag smacked against her hip. They were so cute! Little red and black fluffy things with white faces and bid dark eyes, their tails curled around branches as though they didn't have a care in the world. With wide eyes and her nose pressed against the glass, she absently wondered if she could steal one. What did they eat, anyway? Oranges?

Aware she'd been there for about ten minutes, Poppy snapped too and opened the map that was handed out when she entered. She wasn't very good with maps. Or time keeping. At least it was warm. An early summer's day with the sun high in the sky made her want ice cream. Or a cold drink.

Following the various sign posts, she managed to squeeze through the crowds to the monkeys. There was a large orange orang-utan who was hanging out merrily in a tree, chewing on some fruit, seemingly happy to be oggled at my small kids. Chewing on her lip, she looked around with a familiar head of dark hair caught her attention. Cian was a photographer and she hoped he'd brought his camera: she'd love a memento.

A click-clack of heels and delicate floral scent announced her arrival and she bounced over to him, a big dippy grin on her face. "Hi!" She gushed, leaning on to her tip toes to envelope him in a hug. "Sorry I'm late. I got distracted by pandas. Here you go," with that, she held out an ice cream for him to take. She'd bought two while there wasn't a queue. A waffle cone with sweet vanilla ice cream, red and blue sticky syrup, covered with glittering sherbet crystals and topped with a chocolate flake. A cat-like tongue darted out to catch the melting treat before offering him another beatific smile. "I'm super excited."

"I'm not being stood up. I'm sure she's just... she's late. Lost, even, this place is mental," Cian Lennox's arms were wrapped around himself defensively, hugging the polaroid camera that was strapped diagonally across his chest. His companion, it seemed, remained unconvinced. The accusatory gaze belonging to the ginger child next to him with residual ice cream lining his mouth only exacerbating the bottomless pit of nerves that had settled in the photographer's stomach. Who did this kid think he was, anyway? "The nerve..." Cian muttered quietly as he busied his distracted attention with an orangutang who was hanging from a nearby branch.

"Where are your parents?!" The child had only just opened his mouth to respond when Cian piped up again. Hazy blue eyes scanned the crowd for anyone who was willing to take responsibility for the nuisance who had approached almost instantly. In typical Cian fashion, he had shown up early for his scheduled outing incase of an emergency, but it didn't take long for him to realize he had made a monumental mistake. "Oh, you're just here on your own, then. Just enjoying the scenery?" Cian's voice sang out an octave higher than normal and laden with sarcasm.

Just as all hope was certainly lost, Cian was greeted by a sight sweeter than anything he had ever seen. First, a head full of red hair that he could only assume was as soft as it was shiny with the scent of flowers and springtime. After the smile, he was useless, only just able to throw his arms around her after a few moments of their embrace. "You've made it!" He proclaimed happily, shooting a silent warning to his new friend just as he opened his mouth.

"I was sure you was standin' him up," He squinted up at the pair with the sun in his eyes. "Not that I could blame ya," Cian's arms fell to his side dramatically before turning back to his date. "I don't even know this kid," He promised as the boy walked over to a group of his peers in matching shirts. "I don't even know you!" Cian called to the back of his head with a sigh. This was certainly not how he imagined their first real date to start.

"Oh, this is grand, cheers," The photographer grappled with the cone, nearly dropping to the concrete as his free hand grazed her own if only for a moment. It was going to be a miracle if he made it through the day without making a complete fool of himself. The feat of even asking her had been tumultuous - it wasn't until he had drunkenly spilled an entire glass of red wine on himself that he finally spit it out.

"I was thinking we could have a look at the elephants first?" He suggested between licks of the sickeningly sweet dessert.

"Hello! Oh!" Poppy let out a squeak of surprise when Cian grappled her. She slid, smacking against his chest and receiving a face full of clean shirtfront. Clumsily, she wrapped one arm around his waist and squeezed, ignoring the pain of the edge of his camera pressing into her collarbone. "Of course I did," she replied, her emerald green eyes wide. Her mind boggled as to why anyone wouldn't want to meet up with him. Her lateness was not intentional. She didn't want Cian to worry but there was a baby panda so she couldn't just leave.

Poppy's attention was drawn to another person. The voice distracted her and she blinked down at the small child and arched an eyebrow at Cian. "Now why would I do that?" The tall redhead asked, casually licking at her ice cream and delighting in the overtly sweet raspberry and blueberry sauce that hit her tongue.

Unable to help herself, the florist snorted with laughter and slapped a hand over her mouth. The audacity of that child! Where were his parents? "Well you're rather mistaken," she told the ice cream clad boy with a casual shrug of her slender shoulders. "Didn't your mum ever tell you not to go poking your nose into other people's business?" Poppy asked, bending at the waist so she and the child were nearly at the same eye level. "You know what happens to boys who do that, don't you?" She asked, her eyes wide as the boy listened.

"Their noses get cut off in their sleep," she told the small boy, her face close to his. Poppy was a tall girl. Lithe and willowy, she wasn't exactly imposing but the little boy had no where else to run. Taking a step back, she reached for Cian's hand. She deftly slid her fingers into his and gave them a reassuring squeeze, rudely pulling tongues at the little boy who decided to scuttle off back to his pack.

Poppy grinned again, tilting her head at the photographer. "A friend of yours?" She inquired with a lopsided grin, decidedly tickled pink at the antics. "You're welcome," she said brightly, licking more of the rapidly melting frozen treat. "It's just to say sorry for being late," she frowned, looking genuinely distressed. "I didn't want you to think that you'd been stood up," she told Cian honestly, nervously chewing her lip before she gave a soft sigh. "Because I wouldn't," she added hastily with a blush.

"I love elephants!" Poppy gushed, eyes wide as she bounced on the spot. Dimly aware they were both still holding hands, she gave him a tug. She expertly meandered through the crowd of toddlers, school children, young families and couples. There were sign posts pointing out the different ways to the different attractions. Monkey world, African plains, safari, something called a monorail that took people all around the park.

The redhead pulled a face. "We're not gonna go into the bat caves, are we?" She asked Cian, apprehension clear on the her face as she curled her upper lip to form a grimace before heaving an involuntary shudder. She wasn't a fan of bats. Or lizards. She honestly wasn't even that fond of butterflies, to be frank.

She walked the path, following the crowds before coming to the enclosure. Wandering along the decking, she began to realise that she didn't really want to let go of Cian's hand. There were a few elephants present, feeding. One was standing beneath the waterfall provided, spraying water with his trunk and delighting the kids present. It was a nice set up. Poppy wasn't really sure about zoos but she'd been assured that Chester Zoo was interested in breeding and conservation. And besides, the elephants looked plenty happy to her so far.

Leaning over the rail a little, she watched a little elephant calf clumsily trip after its mother. N'aww. Leaning into Cian a little, she lowered her voice into a stage whisper. "How much trouble do you think I'd get it in if I fed the little one my ice cream cone?" As she said it, a rather stern green polo neck wearing zookeeper narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, shit. Guess not, then." She laughed again, enjoying the elephants and her company. "Thanks for inviting me out today," she said as she turned to face him. "I was actually wondering when you were gonna  ask me out properly."