Chapter Text
“Ok, what now?” Ifa asked. They were standing right in front of the plaza long after the traveler and that serious-looking prison warden left.
“I don’t know.” Ororon shrugged. “Do you want to wander around a bit more?”
Ifa sighed. “Is that even a good idea, bro? We went out once and nearly got ourselves into a huge problem.”
“Do you even hear yourself, bro?” Cacucu chirped and landed right on Ifa’s hat.
“It’s not as bad as you imagine.” Ororon lied. There was no need for Ifa to know about his dramatic entrance, or else he would never agree to watch another movie with Ororon.
“Do you have any suggestions?”
“How about a short walk, then we grab something from that Café near the hotel, and then watch another movie in my room?”
“No way, bro!” Ororon gave a side-eye to Cacucu. He didn’t want to think about the peace and quiet he experienced when Cacucu wasn’t around. He loved the round bird, but well, sometimes even his greatest allies could get in his way.
“What’s with you and Fontainian movies?” Ifa asked, a small smile on his lips.
“They’re entertaining.” Ororon shrugged. “I kind of want to star in one of them. Do you think they’ll let me in?”
“I think you must be worried about how your dear granny reacts first!” Ifa laughed, and they started walking in a random direction. They didn’t have a map, but Ororon could remember the way more or less. The court of Fontaine was a strange place; at first glance, it seemed complicated with too many streets morphing into each other, but after a while, Ororon could recognize the way only by the shops across the street.
“Look at these hats!” He pointed at some hats displayed in the window of a boutique. “Isn’t a change nice? I think these look nice.”
“Be for real, bro.” Ifa looked at him, offended. “If I wear something like that, even qucusaurus will laugh at me back at home!”
Ororon shrugged and smiled. Some of those hats were funny and definitely unusual by Natlan’s standards.
“How do they even keep these on their heads?” Ifa wondered loudly, which earned him a strange look from a well-dressed lady right next to them.
They moved past the boutique. The sun was setting, and the streets looked busier than usual. The atmosphere was certainly different than Natlan, and Ororon was enjoying it. At first, he was nervous to leave his homeland behind. It was unusual for Natlanese to leave their nation, and even after the end of the war, people were still hesitant to travel freely. But Ororon’s curiosity won in the end, and Ifa’s company was such a blessing.
“Which nation do you want to visit next?” Ororon asked.
“Hm? Bro, relax. We’ve just left Natlan. Don’t tell me you’re seriously thinking about not returning home? Huh?! But anyway, I was joking.” He laughed. “Hmmm. Let me see. Maybe Sumeru? Dude, I don’t know. But listen…”
Ororon’s mind drafted once Ifa’s rambling started. Not because he didn’t enjoy listening to Ifa’s endless ramblings. Because he couldn’t listen to Ifa’s ramblings when he looked absolutely divine. Under the setting sun, Ifa’s skin looked like molten gold, an ethereal contrast with his beautiful, fluffy white hair. His usually deadpan eyes were shining beautifully while his lips were open to a small smile as he was talking about a question Ororon had long forgotten.
“Are you even listening to me?” Ifa pouted. Ororon put all his might to steal his gaze from those lips. He suddenly felt hot, even with the light breeze coming from Fontainian waters.
“Yeah… yeah… I was listening. Alright! Here’s the Café. Do you want to order anything?”
Ifa sighed and shook his head. Ororon felt his cheeks grow hot. “Let’s get some snacks, if you want to watch movies all night.”
They ordered some pastries, two small sandwiches, and two drinks (No Fonta since Ifa didn’t like how they tasted). The Café was buzzing with customers, as the Fontainians were leaving their jobs for the day. Ororon wondered how lively Fontaine’s night life was. He doubted it was as vibrant as Natlan’s; Fontaine people didn’t seem as energetic and wholesome as his people. There was an air of somberness to them.
They received their orders rather shortly. It seemed like the Café was well-prepared for the sheer number of orders and requests, which was really impressive.
“Your room or mine?” Ororon asked. Unfortunately, they booked separate rooms in the hotel, which made him more disappointed as it should.
“Mine.” Ifa was eyeing the drinks in his hand carefully as they were passing the bustling streets. “I have to put Cacucu to sleep first. Bet he’s exhausted.”
“Sure thing, bro!” Cacucu flapped his small wings and flipped in the air. Ifa laughed and entered the hotel’s lobby. Even the hotel seemed busier than before, probably due to the amusement park and the ongoing festival.
“I’ll go back to my room for a moment to take a short shower and change.” He put the snacks on a table. Ifa’s room was as small as his own, but the bed was different. Surprisingly, it was a bit bigger. Two grown men probably didn’t have the most comfortable time sleeping next to each other, but Ororon still preferred it to one of them sitting on a chair while the other lying on the bed.
“Fine, bro. Take the key. I’ll put Cacucu to sleep, then I'll take a shower too. Just open the door and get in when you are done.”
When Ororon closed the door, he could still hear Cacucu’s complaints in the hallway. He took a quick shower and changed into a simple tank top and a comfortable pair of sweatpants.
When he returned to Ifa’s room, he was in the shower, and Cacucu was sleeping in his “very special Sauro-bro” basket. Ororon didn’t know if he could sleep with all the noise and light from the movie, but well, Ifa knew better. He gently knocked on the shower door. “I’m back.”
“I’ll be done in a moment!” Ifa shouted from behind the door, and Ororon smiled. He grabbed three plates from the small shelves and plated the pastries and sandwiches.
“So… what do you want to watch?” Ororon took his gaze from the plates to Ifa, and his mouth suddenly went dry. Ifa wasn’t wearing a shirt; his tight muscles, glistening with the remainder of water from his shower, were out there for Ororon to admire.
What was wrong with him? This was far from the first time he had seen Ifa naked or wet… (Well, who was he fooling? This has been his default reaction to Ifa for a long time. Not that it was fault. Ifa was just a really… beautiful… bro).
“I don’t know.” He answered and tore his gaze away with utmost difficulty. Ifa, clueless of Ororon’s internal conflicts, was drying his hair.
“I enjoyed the one we watched the other day. The one with the… what was that? Patrol and security?”
“Special Security and Surveillance Patrol.” Ororon looked at the sandwiches as if they were the most interesting thing in the whole universe.
“Aha. That’s the one.” Ifa folded the towel neatly and left the room. Ororon could hear him from the shower. “I enjoyed that, but let’s pick something different this time.” Ororon carefully emptied the bedside table and placed the plates and glasses.
Ororon shrugged. “Your call, then.” He picked up the collection of movies that the hotel had offered them. Ifa returned, and Ororon finally could breathe easily since he was wearing a shirt this time. Unlike his usual button-up black dress shirt, Ifa preferred loose shirts while at home. The shirt hung freely on his broad shoulders, showing off his collarbones.
Was Ororon going crazy? Why was he acting as if he had never seen Ifa before? Was something in Fontaine’s waters?
Ifa grabbed the collection from his hands and gave him a concerned look. “Are you alright, bro? You seem a bit off.”
Ororon shook his head. “I’m just a bit tired. Pick a movie, let’s relax.”
Ifa looked through the collection for a while. “How about this one?” and showed Ororon the poster.
“My pretty little darling? Are you sure?” Ororon raised an eyebrow. That name was certainly… something.
“The name looks dumb enough. I don’t think it’s anything serious.” Ifa shrugged. “And the poster looks cute.”
“Well, if you want to. Let me run the movie.”
Ifa sighed and sat on the bed. “This stuff is impressive, man. We need something like this back in Natlan. I’d love to watch a dumb movie after work, you know?”
“I heard from Xilonen that she’s partnering with some Fontainian engineers to adapt the technology. Apparently, these devices work with Fontaine’s energy and can’t be moved to other nations. But she’s working on some blueprints to make them work with Phlogiston.”
Ororon started the movie and lay on the bed next to Ifa. He tried not to focus on Ifa’s close proximity (they were always this close! What was wrong with him!) and instead passed him a sandwich plate. Soon, it turned out the movie choice was brilliant. The story was wholesome and funny, and followed two friends, Josephine and Mary-Anne. Josephine wanted to enroll in a program run by an engineer from a well-respected research institute, but her father didn’t want her to leave her hometown and family home. Ever loyal, Mary-Anne helped her friend escape her home late into the night and embarked on the journey with her.
They made small commentaries as Josephine and Mary-Anne went on their journey and encountered a bunch of really funny but inconvenient occurrences (“Now, I totally get her father, dude.” Ifa commented as the girls missed their Aquabus for the fourth time. “Why would they buy sandwiches from a total stranger?” Ororon shook his head in disbelief. “Granny would’ve hated this if she ever watched it!”).
However, the girls' struggles came to an end when they arrived at the institution. Only for them to find out the enrolment period is over.
“Aish… these poor girls are actually unlucky, dude,” Ifa said with an empathic look on his face.
“I mean… They wasted so much time missing out on four Aquabuses.” Ororon said as he watched the poor Josephine having a meltdown right behind the closed doors of the institution.
“They were unlucky the first two times, to be fair. But the last two?” Ifa shook his head. “It was kinda dumb, not gonna lie… Oh… wait, who’s that?”
The pair watched intently as a handsome man appeared out of nowhere. He had a chiseled face with lush blond hair and thick eyebrows. They watched as the man got close to an oblivious and crying Josephine.
“Can I help you, Mademoiselle?” He gently took out a handkerchief from his pocket.
“Oh… smooth!” Ifa whistled. “I bet she’ll be a goner soon!”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“Shhh... Just watch.” Ororon looked at the screen. The young man, named Andre, turned out to be the engineer holding the program, and he could enroll Josephine in the program with no issues.
“Wow! Did he just trust her like that? She was just crying; how could he tell it wasn’t all a scheme?”
Ifa smirked. “There’s no reason for him to doubt her.” And winked at Ororon, but Ororon didn’t fully get what he meant.
“I guess whenever I wanted anything, I’d just start to cry then.” Ororon shrugged.
“Don’t be silly.” Ifa burst into laughter. “It won’t work in real life.”
They continued watching, and after a while, Ororon could tell Ifa had grown sleepy. His commentary had grown sparse, and he was yawning nonstop. He could feel Ifa’s body leaning into him after each yawn, and suggested that they stop the movie, to which Ifa rejected his suggestion.
He wasn’t surprised when he heard a soft snore. He turned his head and looked at his friend, sleeping peacefully. He wanted to stop the movie; after all, Ifa was sleeping, but Josephine had been acting really strange and out of character suddenly, to the point even Mary-Anne and Andre noticed her being strange and snappy. After a short commotion in the dining hall, Josephine angrily left the institute to find her friend in the inn they had first stopped in.
Ororon was really invested in knowing why Josephine was suddenly acting strangely, especially toward Andre. It seemed like she wanted to be around him always, but at the same time, she didn’t know how to act around him.
It awfully seemed familiar.
“I… I just want to be with him… To spend every minute with him. It’s so frustrating!” Josephine said, blushing frivolously. “I love how he talks. I just want to listen to him nonstop… It’s just… It’s so overwhelming…”
Mary-Anne giggled softly and gently grasped her hands. Her face was shining with mirth. “You are in love with him!”
The girl yelped and shyly took back her hand. “May… maybe…” She stuttered. “Is this… is this love?” She gasped. “I am in love with him! Please, Mary! Please keep this a secret! I don’t want the world to find out and tear us apart!”
Ororon looked at the screen with an open mouth. His snack was long forgotten between his legs, and a certain someone was snoring peacefully next to him, oblivious of Ororon’s latest self-discovery.
He looked at the girls, who were laughing and hugging each other closely. Then turned off the movie.
Ororon swallowed hard and slowly turned his head to look at Ifa. The man was fast asleep, a faint sleep on his peaceful face, unaware of all Ororon’s unholy thoughts.
“My pretty little darling… is Ifa?” He suddenly felt as if he had reached another level of awareness, just like how the shamans of his tribe claimed.