"Are you awake?" a whisper wakes you up. You can feel Matthew's lips brush against your ear as he moves to press a kiss to your temple.

"Now I am," you say groggily as Matthew wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you back into his bare chest. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine," he answers.

Matthew has been sleeping in your room the past couple nights. You make him sneak out of his guest room in the main house over to your room in the guest house. Honestly, you don't care if your Aunt knows (hell, she probably does), but it's kind of fun to sneak around. It's been a minute since you've shared your bed with a boy, but you have no complaints about Matthew.

"Dude, why'd you wake me up? It's Sunday," you complain. You pull his arm around you tighter and snuggle deeper into your comforter. "Five more minutes."

"Now, I can't let you do that," he protests.

"Why not?"

"Because I promised you a date."

"Yeah, and?"

"I made reservations and you're not gonna want to miss them."

"We can just eat breakfast here, it's not a big deal."

"Who said the reservation was for food?"

"Okay, you got my attention," you roll over to face Matthew, intrigued. "What is the reservation for."

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," he taunts.

"Come on. You don't even know if I like surprises."

"Well, I guess I'll find out today. Now, as much as I love to cuddle, we have to leave in thirty minutes."

"Ugh, I guess. I just have one request."

"Yes?"

"Piggyback ride to the kitchen?"

"That can be arranged," Matthew says with a wink. He hops out of the bed, a pair of pumpkin-covered pajama pants hanging low on his hips. He sits on the edge of the bed, his back to you as you throw off the covers and crawl onto his back. You wrap your arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

"To the kitchen!" you order. He laughs and takes of in a slow jog in the direction of the kitchen, throwing in some zigzags and spin moves for your enjoyment. He backs up so you can sit down on the edge of the kitchen counter and you let go of him.

"What's for breakfast?" he asks, turning around to face you.

"There's some poppy seed muffins next to the fridge, but that's about it. I don't eat in here much," you explain. Matthew grabs two muffins from the container and hands one to you. "So what do you suggest I wear to this surprise?"

"Something comfy. We'll be outside the whole day, so make sure you're wearing your sunscreen," he says, finishing off his muffin

"Got it." You slide off the counter and head towards your room to get changed. "Go get ready and I'll meet you in your room in 10." You toss Matthew his shirt off of your floor, just in case Karen catches him.

"Don't be late," he shouts as he heads out the door into the backyard.

You get through your bathroom routine (not forgetting sunscreen) and pick out an outfit for the day. You pull on your favorite denim cutoffs and an oversized t-shirt, throwing your sunglasses on top of your head. You strap on a pair of sandals and grab your wallet, keys, and phone before you lock up the guest house. You cross the backyard and walk through the open door to Matthew's room.

"Ready, Freddy?" he asks as he sits on the edge of the bed tying his shoes.

"Yes sir. We don't want to be late to the..." you trail off, hopping he'll finish your sentence.

"Nice try, smarty pants, but I'm not giving it up," he says, getting up and giving you a peck on the lips. "Let's move." He grabs your hand, pulling you through the hallway and out the front door. He unlocks his rental car and you climb into the passenger seat.

"Okay, you got me in the car. Can you tell me where we're going now?" you practically beg at this point.

"Wow, someone really doesn't like surprises," he laughs as he pulls out of the driveway.

"No, I really don't, so can you please tell me?"

"We're going to the zoo!"

"No way! I haven't been to the zoo since I was a kid."

"I've never been to the LA Zoo and I thought it could be fun."

"Wait... You don't need a reservation for the zoo."

"No you don't."

"You're not going to tell me what the reservation is for, are you?"

"No, I am not!" he says, shooting you a wink.

"Whatever, man," you roll your eyes and turn up the radio like a teenager. You hear Matthew let out a little snort as he reaches over a places a hand on your leg. It's kind of crazy how you've only known each other for a little over a week, because it truly feels like a lifetime. The two of you sit in a comfortable silence and you watch the city go by through your window as you play with Matthew's fingers. Before you know it, you're pulling into the zoo parking lot.

You park and head towards the entrance, Matthew handing you a ticket from his back pocket. You follow him through the gates as an employee scans your tickets. You're so excited you practically start running towards the first animal you see, but Matthew grabs your hand, stopping you.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" you say, yanking on his hand.

"Hey, hey, slow down, dude. We have reservations remember? I want to get there a few minutes early to be safe so we only have fifteen minutes before we need to head in that direction," he explains to you.

"Well, maybe I would've been a bit more conscious of our reservation if you told me what it was for," you whine and tug him to you, reaching up and pressing a couple little kisses to the underside of his jaw. If you can't complain it out of him then maybe you can seduce it out of him.

"I know what your trying, Y/N, and it's not gonna work," he says, gently grabbing your face with both hands and placing a sweet kiss on your lips. "You only have to wait fifteen minutes anyway, so how about we spend our time looking at the flamingos instead of complaining."

"Whatever, dad," you tease him, faking annoyance and walking towards the flamingo enclosure.

"Hey!" Matthew shouts, catching up to you.

"Sorry, do you prefer daddy?" you say with a wink, really pushing it. You walk away from him for a second time and it takes him a bit longer to catch up. You smile to yourself knowing you shocked him a little bit. You don't notice him running up behind you until he has his arms wrapped around your waist, picking you up from behind. You kick your feet out, squealing with laughter as he spins you around a couple times.

"How did you know?" he teases back, lips brushing against your ear. He bites down on your earlobe, giving it a little nibble to seal the deal. He sets you down, the both of you coming out of your little fit of laughter.

You finally make it over to the flamingos and lean up against the fence, trying to get good look at the birds. Matthew grabs the fence on either side of you, trapping you between his arms. You point out your favorite ones, giving them silly names as he rests his chin on your shoulder. He grabs your left hand off the rail, turning it so he can read your watch.

"Time to go! Don't wanna be late," he says, pressing a kiss to your cheek before letting you free. Matthew laces his fingers through yours and leads you towards the back of the zoo, weaving through the crowd of people. He's walking so fast you don't even get the chance to bug him about where you're going. He finally stops and you pause, breathless.

"Dude, where even are we?" you ask as you look around, only seeing tall trees and shrubs.

"Look up," he says, giving your hand a small squeeze. You look up and finally spot the head of a giraffe peaking through the tops of the trees. You grab onto Matthew's arm and pull him closer to you, not taking your eyes off the animal.

"They're so tall," you whisper in awe.

"Come on, we're almost there," Matthew says, wrapping an arm around your waist and guiding you closer to the enclosure. He leads you up to a zoo employee and pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket.

"Hi, I'm Matthew Gray Gubler, I have a reservation," he says, handing her the paper.

"Awesome! My name is Jesse, I'm a zookeeper for our giraffes here and I'll be helping you folks out today," she says with a smile, checking Matthew's name off a list after scanning the paper he gave her.

"Sorry, quick question," you butt in. "What exactly are we doing? This guy here is keeping secrets from me."

"You two will be helping us feed our friends here," Jesse says, gesturing up to the giraffes.

"No fucking way," you say under your breath, Matthew and Jesse laughing at your reaction.

"Let's get going! We don't want to keep them waiting now do we," Jesse encourages. She opens a gate and you and Matthew follow her through. You head towards the back of the enclosure and climb up a couple flights of stairs onto a platform. "Okay guys, you each get one of these," she says pulling out a couple heads of lettuce from a bucket ad handing them to you and Matthew.

"How will they know to come over here?" you ask, peeling a leaf off of the head.

"Oh, they know what time lunch is at. This is their favorite snack and they never miss it," she informs you. "They should be here any minute."

"I can't believe you did this," you say, taking the chance to turn to Matthew. "Thank you so much, this is incredible." You stand on your toes and press a kiss to his lips.

"Honestly, it was as much for me as it was for you," he says with a laugh, placing a kiss on your forehead. "Holy shit, here they come." You turn back around and practically run over to the railing, Matthew following behind you.

Two giraffes slowly emerge from the trees, coming right up to Jesse. She holds up a piece of lettuce, one of the giraffes reaching out with its tongue and grabbing it from her hand.

"These are our two giraffes, Bert and Ernie. They're both males, Bert is 9 and Ernie actually turns 13 tomorrow," she explains. "Feel free to jump right in with the feeding. They're super gentle, so don't be shy."

You let out a little excited squeal as you hold a leaf up towards one of the giraffes. You're up on a platform, but they still have to bend their necks a bit to reach the food. You can feel his slimy tongue as he grabs the lettuce from you and you giggle at the sensation. You look to your left and Matthew is feeding the other giraffe, half of his head of lettuce already gone. The two of you keep feeding the boys until you're all out of lettuce.

"Did you guys want to grab a couple pictures before they wander off?" Jesse offers.

"Absolutely! Do you mind?" you ask Jesse, offering her your phone.

"Not at all!" she says with a smile, taking your phone. She coaxes the giraffes closer to you with some lettuce as Matthew wraps an arm around your shoulders. You lean into him and give a big smile for the camera. Jesse takes a few photos and hands you your phone back.

"Thank you so much, this was amazing!" Matthew says.

"Oh, my pleasure! You might want one of these," Jesse says, offering you both some wet wipes to clean your hands with. You clean up and toss the wipes into the trashcan.

"Yeah, thanks so much, Jesse. This was a blast!" you say, thanking her again.

"No problem at all, you guys," she says. "Now if you'll just follow me back out."

Matthew grabs your hand again as you head down the stairs and out the gate.

"Have a great day you two!" Jesse sends you off with a wave.

"You too," you say with a smile.

"Did you have fun?" Matthew asks as you head towards the other end of the zoo.

"Of course I did! That was fucking awesome!" you say, still reeling from the experience.

"I'm glad, baby. What do you want to check out next?"

"Snakes, for sure."

You and Matthew spend your day wandering around the zoo and admiring all the different animals. You pick up soft pretzels and churros to snack on, but by sunset you're starving so you decide to head out for some early dinner.

"I think we saw every animal twice," you say with a laugh.

"At least that," he confirms as you make your way through the parking lot to Matthew's car. You climb in and slouch down into the passenger seat, exhausted. "Do you want to go sit down somewhere for dinner or just grab something to-go? You look tired."

"Let's just pick up a pizza from Tony's. I'll call so we can just swing by." You call and order a large pizza and some breadsticks as Matthew pulls out of the zoo parking lot. The traffic isn't too bad as you drive through downtown, directing Matthew to the pizza place. He pulls up along the curb and your jump out, running in to pay for and grab the food. You climb back into the car and Matthew drives the few blocks back to your Aunts place. Matthew takes the food for you as you get out of the car and make your way into the main house.

"Karen, we got Tony's!" you shout as you open the front door.

"I'm working, but save me a couple slices," you hear her shout back, probably from the office.

You post up on the couch and Matthew sets the food on the coffee table. He wanders into the kitchen and comes back with a roll of paper towels and two beers. You open up the boxes and the two of you proceed to stuff your faces with pizza and breadsticks.

You wipe you hands on a paper towel and finish off your last sip of beer, laying across the couch with your head on Matthew's lap. He threads a hand through your hair, running his fingers along your scalp, quickly lulling you to sleep.

You don't know how long you're out for when you feel Matthew lift you up off of the couch, carrying you out the backdoor. You try your best to pretend to still be asleep so he doesn't put you down. He makes it back to your room in the guest house and sets you down on your bed, pulling off your shoes and shorts and tucking you under the blankets. You feel him climb in next to you and you scoot close to him, wrapping an arm around his waist and nuzzling in under his chin.

"Thank you," you whisper, placing a kiss on his neck.

"Anything for you, Y/N," he whispers back, kissing the top of your head as you fall back asleep.