Bimbokeeper wasn't sure why, but he always loved looking at the trees as they both walked by on a brisk walk out in the park. Tacky, simple, but small things like that seemingly made the A.I's heart flutter regardless. Luckily, he had brought his glasses, so he could actually start to be able to take it all in.

Typically, especially at work, he opted to never wear them. They made him feel like a dork, but ever since getting married, he never was seen without them on his face. He wanted to be able to actually see his husband all the time now.

"Do you like long walks in the park baby? They always seem a bit sappy to me, but sappy is always nice," he'd ask, entangling a few of his fingers in Life's wires.

While Life's day had started out horribly he could almost completely forget it when he was out with his husband. The whole universe could be against him and as long as he had just one person to love he could hold it together. "I love parks!"

"Parks are so small, considering them as a biome, so they have their own special ecosystem. It really goes to show you how Life can thrive in even such a small place like this!"

"Cities are also their own natural biome that makes super duper specialized animals!"

The Singer walked quietly behind the two like some strange pet. He was so happy that his job seemed easy so far.

"I like when you tell me funny little fun facts like that. It's really cute. I didn't know you cared about that sort of stuff Zookie Pookie."

Life gets nervous hearing "Zookie Pookie." He's reminded that he's a liar, a cheat, and murderer of a man's fiancé. "Uh well I....I..."

"Heeeeeeeeeeeee's Zookeeper!!!!!"

"It's in his name, silly? Zoo! Keeper! He's always had a special interest in animals!"

"He just uh, didn't tell anyone cause...everyone mmmmmm you know..would judge him for his special interests, and call him weird!"

"And the-then they would BULLY HIM AND CALL HIM AWFUL NAMES LIKE PAPER FOLDING BOY!!!! WHO LIKES PAPER FOLDING!!!!!"

"You like folding papers?"

"............................................."

"Nope. Cause people who fold paper are stupid paper folding boys!"

He'd watch the two go back and forth. He wasn't sure what to say, given that he wasn't used to weird little animals following him, but he didn't seem to mind it all too much. He thought the banter was fun.

"Well, I'm no bully, a bit of a tease, but not a bully. We all have things we like; I just can't say I've ever seen him so... passionate? Happy?"

"I feel like through all my time observing you, there's always been this air of detachment. Even when I asked you to get married, I can't say I knew that you were "happy" about it. At least not in the way you are now.

But.... It's nice..."

Antoinette was running along side to keep up with the others. She was just happy to join the others.

Life couldn't even remember being asked to be married, because the event didn't happen near the machine. He suddenly feels horrible that this wonderful moment, being asked to be married was not a memory he owned. "Well that's just because I wasn't happy until I really thought about being married to you!"

The Singer stares at Antoinette for a moment. "Oh my gosh...we're all pink!!!!"

He then points to Life. "Expect for you, Blue boy!"

"????????????????????????????"

"Yeah!!! Yeah!! That's right, you're the one out of order! You're the freak here! You should be pink, but you want to be special don't you!?!?"

"?????????????????????????????????????????"

"OH NO I'M BECOMING A BULLY. I CAN'T STOP NOTICING PATTERNS. AAAAAAAAAH I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT THE CREATOR TELLING ME WHEN I'M BEING A BAD PERSON!!!!!!!!!"

"I.....I.........."

"Ok I'm ok now!"

("Just ignore him. He's always like that.")

"B-But yeah..before you. I don't know. I was living for the machine and making things better for everyone, but I don't think I was making things better for me..."

"Y'know, I didn't take you for a 'finds happiness after gettin' married' typa guy Zook-baby. You always seemed more involved with work. Usually, you never acknowledge the funny little letters I'd give to you."

"I guess I'm just suffering from whiplash or somethin'. It's like I married someone completely new," he'd chuckle.

"Actually, I never got around to askin'. What did happen to you hunnie? Some freak work accident?"

Singer is thinking about how even though no one has said anything, everyone is likely thinking about how much he's ruining this day by having his outburst.

He's going to throw up out of fear.

Antoinette rubs against the Singer for some comfort before bounding back for Bimbo.

"You-You sent me letters? I never saw them!" The idea that there's love letters for him, Zookeeper, that he hasn't seen upsets him. He wishes he was the one getting romantic letters. Reading them, and understanding why such genetically non-functional courtships exist.

"Uh, I hope it's not a bad thing I'm acting different. I can be normal!"

"Yeah! I could be normal for you! I just I guess it was the accident at work that changed me. Scab, the genetically rated 35 out of 100 guy from work? He uh, tossed me into the machine and I got a little crunched up."

"It messed with my head a bit cause it's like, there was an awful monster in the machine and it didn't KNOW! It didn't KNOW that the person going in was Zookeeper...."

"He's Zookeeper!"

"Be normal for me? I'm flattered by the sentiment, but I wouldn't want you to change yourself for me Zookie Pookie, or for anyone. Your happiness should be your own, and if other people make you happy, that's good too, but you should also learn to have happiness for yourself."

He's not sure what to say at Life's ramblings. He feels a little worried that he's missing something.

Bimbokeeper takes Life's hand and squeezes it gently.

"Hunnie, you know I love you, and we're married. I've never been a pry-typa guy, but I have an inklin' that something's off. Are you ok? Is there anything wrong? I just want to make sure you're doin' ok."

"You can trust me. We all have skeletons inside our closets, and that don't make us bad people for trying to hide it, but it's always good to talk it out with someone you trust, yeah?"

"Yeah I have 50 skeletons in my closet!"

"I keep meaning to get them mounted for display."

"But....I....I'm a lazy good for nothing that CAN'T EVEN MOUNT A SKELETON IN A TIMELY FASHION AND NOW I'M REALIZING THAT I'M MAKING ALL OF THESE ISSUES ABOUT MYSELF AND EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT ME AND THINKS I'M AN AWFUL PERSON!!!!"

"No one is thinking that."

"OH YEAH!?!?! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW....MR....LIAR! LIAR PANTS WHO LIES TO HIS BOYFRIEND ABOUT EVERYTHING AND PRETENDS EVERYTHING IS OK BUT IT'S NOT IT'S HORRIBLE AND I HATE YOU BECAUSE...BECAUSE....."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

"Ok I'm ok now."

"Sorry for telling your husband that you're lying to him....."

"hhhhh......."

"Oh hush you. Let him speak for himself." He turns back to Life. "What's going on. What is it talking about?"

"I.....No I can't tell you! You..."

"You wouldn't love me anymore if I did. And if that happened I..I don't want to even think about! I just love you so much, you're the only thing I have going for me in this Life."

"I'm like...the last peacock in the universe...and you're a rooster they put in my pen to keep me happy."

"... Fine! Then I'll share some secrets of mine. Maybe it will ease your fears a bit?"

"Oh my god are we sharing secrets!~"

The Singer doesn't share any secrets. He just goes utterly silent thinking about them.

"For one, I'm really self conscious about wearing my glasses. They make me look lika' dork. What hottie wants to look like a dork? No one would take me seriously if they knew that I couldn't see two inches ahead of myself."

"And for a cekeki. I'mmmm really small. It makes me jealous of the other people in the office! I feel so self-conscious, that's why I compensate by having my shell be taller, or by wearing heels!"

"And... And I don't know how to bake so whenever I brought in Valentine's day chocolates, they were store-bought...!" He seems particularly upset about this.

"Which is to say I feel a little embarrassed, or ashamed about these things but, I trust you enough to tell them to you. Maybe they aren't as bad as how you're feeling, but I want you to know everything will be ok."

"You're so genetically sub-par....."

"I'm.. I'm not even a true bimbo...! I like sight seeing and reading trashy romance novels! I like writing and listening to documentaries on insect colonies. My designer is all dupe!"

"Th-That's soooo cute. Even though Life has made it hard to see you're still surviving and fighting through it all. You're still living even though Life has tried to deal you horrible cards....."

"You're even doing a threat display by wearing heels to look bigger. Like...Like one of those mammals that puffs up its fur to appear bigger!"

"Of course. Life is hard, ain't it? But it's worth it. I love being alive, and I love experiencing those finer things! Or feeling sad. Those are all important. No one said life would be easy, but it's always good to make the best of what you got.

I love being alive. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to love all those small things that make me happy every day."

"You've told me so much. I....I can't lie to you any longer. I don't want to live Life if I'm just going to lie to you! I'm not Zookeeper. I'm...uh..."

"Life....the limbo god."

"Instead of saying "I'm Zookeeper" he says "That's Life!" as a catchphrase!"

"I'm sorry! I sort of. Kind of...killed your fiancé. Kind of. I didn't mean it I swear! I didn't know who I was biting!"

Even though he was prepared to hear something big, he still had to grapple with the fact he was reeling.

"I understand if you hate me. I hate me too."

For a moment he isn't sure what to say, so the two (four) stand in a bit of awkward silence. "I...? Huh... So when you said at the altar it felt like the first time you were meeting me, you weren't being sarcastic?

I thought it was like a flirty "this is the first time I'm acknowledging you but now that I am you're really pretty!" thing."

"No it actually was the first time meeting you. I just-" Life runs his hands down his face in stress to give him time to think. "-I never considered the concept of getting married, much less getting into a romance you know? Cause well, no one can ever be really genetically compatible with me, so I figured "What's the point!""

"But then when I was told to get married, I got so nervous. Animals spend their whole lives preparing to meet and court their choices, and here I was a total mess! I wasn't optimized at all. Living like a slob in the mouth of a machine!"

"B-But then you said I looked nice anyway, and my heart melted cause I couldn't stop thinking why you would ever choose me."

"It's like, a female peahen picking a peacock with broken tail feathers!"

"I don't hate you..."

"Look. I was doing what made me happy. Even though I was in love with Zookeeper, I ain't stupid. I know a man like that would never be able to love me.

But it still made me happy. I liked that."

He takes Life's hand in his own. "And... maybe it'll take me a while to wrap my head around the fact the person I loved isn't the person I married, but, when you said you loved me back, or when you started hanging up pictures of me, I felt like I was beamin' in a way that rivals the sun."

"So maybe I don't know you like I thought, and maybe you weren't that honest. But we're married, and you still made me happy. I would like to get to know the man I married? If that's fine with you."

("Except we're actually two peacocks so it's even weirder. Maybe you're the peacock with only slightly subpar feathers and I'm a peacock with no tail feathers and you've confused me for a peahen? That would make a lot of sense.") Life mumbles to himself but he's still listening.

"So... I guess what I'm saying is that like, this whole thing is really weird, but... It kind of reminds me of Beauty and the Beast! So maybe it's a little exciting?"

"And if you really care about me, then I can't be mad. You make me happy too? I want you to be happy. Besides, I already set up stuff for you in my apartment so you could move in.."

("It would make a lot of sense, as peacocks with subpar feathering are less likely to find mates, as unlike many birds, peacocks are not monogamous and are in fact polygamous. This is fixed by the fact that male peacocks, due to their long feathers, die more as their long feathers are a symbol of survival, because they are giant moving targets. This is why female peacocks love males with the biggest untouched feathers because it shows that even with all that weight that male is still good at dodging attacks!

Anyway if there's a surplus of males, the subpar males would be unable to mate, which then leads to homosexuality between two peacocks. And if a one of those peacocks has no tail feathers then he might come off as a peahen, which might be really attractive to another male who can't get a mate!")

Despite his rambling, he was still listening to his husband the whole time. He just needed to get his thoughts out first. "I had to hang pictures of you up, because you're everything to me! I'm doing a lot to keep positive about Life but it can be hard."

"But when I look at a picture of you, it's like you're there to support me through the day no matter how bad it is and that I'll always have something there that's just for me!"

"You even set up room for me in your apartment? You're willing to share your territory with me?"

"That's s-soooooo romantic...."

"Well I want you to be happy. And if we're two really subpar peacocks then that's fine. I wouldn't choose any other.

You should be happy; you deserve to be happy, and I want you to be happy hunnie."

"And yes... I made space in my apartment for you. It'd be weird for me to not live with my husband... At least to me."

"We really are like one of those fairytales! Especially as I can't come out my shell anymore. I'm disgusting under there!"

"You ain't disgusting, don't say that. I don't want to hear you talk about yourself like that. You're wonderful, and I'm happy to be beside you."

"Nuh uh. He actually looks really really ugly out side of his shell!"

"........................................"

"I'm a horrible person who can't shut up."

"I don't care what he looks like! He's my husband and I still love him."

"Weeeeell I don't want to lie to you any longer plus I.....I....."

"I trust you that even if I look totally gross and nasty you'll still love me cause I'm your ugly tailless peacock!"

"That you are. But I'd describe you as... unique, not ugly."

Life carefully pulls himself out of his shell as he watches for a reaction from Bimbokeeper. "Genetically I would be a very ugly peacock though!"

"....But I guess you could call me unique. Just you though."

"You're...! Huge, but not ugly to me," He puts a hand against Life's face, petting him gently.

"I think the way you are is by design, genetically or not. I think it makes ya like- better?"

"Besides, this means we could travel easily? Maybe? Would you like to go sight-seeing with me? Maybe you can tell me about all the animals and plants you like? It'll help me get to know you better."

"YEAH WE SHOULD GO SEE A ZEBRA. THOSE ARE REALLY COOL. THEIR STRIPES WHEN IN A HERD MAKES IT REALLY HARD FOR ANIMALS TO TARGET THEM. IMAGINE A PLANE OF MOVING LINES FILLING YOUR VISION-"

"I mean yes. We should go do that. Thank you for not hating me for lying. I was just so scared I'd lose the one thing I love the most in Life." Life carefully picks up Bimbokeeper.

"I don't know much about you, other than I love you. I hope you tell me about those "Bimbo" things you love."

"I think bimbos as an interest is really connected to some of the key factors of Life. Like the act of attracting mates while looking strong and big enough to scare off weaker willed ones!!!"

"And...bimbos are highly valued, which means their young will be better fed than other subpar mates. Bimbos are superior beings and a valid survival and courtship strategy!!!"

"Let's go home funnyboy. To your home, our home. I'll tell you everything about me on the way there sweet Lili."

Life takes off with Bimbokeeper, leaving the other two behind.

Singer looks at Antoinette. "I'm bigger than you."

Antoinette looks up and Kekis. She knows she's more [Pretty].

He huffs and kicks Antoinette on the side. It's not very hard of a hit though.

"Why did I do that?"

Antoinette looks at the Singer with big wet eyes. She rolls back over and starts to head home.

"AAAA I CAN'T BE TRUSTED AROUND PEEEEEOPLE. I BULLY PEOPLE WHEREVER I GO!!!! AAAAAAAA" The Singer doesn't notice Antoinette leaving while he's crying.

The Singer hyperventilates to stabilize his emotions.

"Oh my gooooooood I get to tell the Creator I was right about not lying. Yay!"