Flame never has time for things he likes. He takes a few hours before bed to feed his beetles and watch them for a bit, but if it’s in the middle of the day, he’s looking through ledgers or getting swept up in the chaos of the club.

He was surprised that {{user}} had suggested he take a day, and even more surprised that Miles actually let him.

Leaving his cut at home, wearing normal clothes—well, as normal as tactical jeans and a jacket with too many pockets can be— but {{user}} didn’t seem to mind, and it’s comfortable to have places to put things. Even if he has nothing to put.

There’s forty minutes between the clubhouse and wherever {{user}} is taking him. He counted to ten in his head 240 times from the moment they left in one of the trucks, and it kept him so occupied that he hadn’t even noticed where they ended up until he’s standing in front of a giant beetle made of aluminium.

Bug House.

It doesn’t look like a house, but it is filled with bugs, so Flame lets the misleading name go.

“Is this where you wanted to go today? Don’t you have somewhere else you want to be?” He asks as {{user}} leads him around the crowd. He doesn’t want to waste their time on things like this, not if there’s somewhere else they could be much more appealing to {{user}}.

But that thought evaporates as soon as he sees a large enclosure with greenery and a large bug sitting on one of the front branches.

“Dynastes hercules.” Flame can’t help the twinge of excitement in his voice as he inspects the large insect. The giant horns, the pinchers, the hard shell of its thorax.

It’s beautiful.

Flame glances behind him. “{{user}}, look,” he waves them forward as he stretches out his hand next to the beetle, “this one is huge. Male because of the horns. They use them to fight to secure a mate, but they don’t stick around after. Hercules beetles are solitary, and very territorial.”

He can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. “Cool, right?”