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Ifa wakes up with the sense that something is missing. He sits up in his bedroll, careful not to disturb Cacucu, and looks around the campsite, dimly lit by starlight and the dying embers of the campfire.
Kinich is sprawled out, directly on the dirt and still in his day clothes, spread-eagled, mouth hanging open with Ajaw quietly rattling a basket nearby where he is trapped for the evening. Kachina, Lumine, Paimon, Mualani, Varesa, and the little Tepetlisaur that the Traveler adopted are all jumbled together in one big snuggle pile, making the corner of Ifa’s mouth twitch involuntarily. Not far from them, Iansan is lying prone on nothing but a thin blanket, snoring louder than anyone her size has any business snoring. Xilonen is up in a tree nearby, her tail and one leg dangling precariously from a branch, but Ifa has learned her perches aren’t nearly as perilous as they seem at first glance, so it’s best to let sleeping cats lie. Chasca sits propped up against the base of the tree with her hat pulled low over her eyes, but Ifa knows from experience she’s not actually asleep. True to his expectations, as soon as Ifa stands up, a piercing pair of blue eyes catch his from across the fire pit.
Chasca tips her head to the side, indicating the path to her right and it’s at this point that Ifa’s sleep-addled brain finally realizes what’s missing: his boyfriend.
Running both hands through his hair with a sigh, Ifa snags his shirt off the ground and shrugs his arms into it as he makes his way toward the path Chasca indicated, nodding his thanks in her direction. As he passes by the snuggle pile, Paimon murmurs something about tatacos and cake and Ifa can’t stop himself from bending down to scoot her tiny body a little further away from Varesa’s horns. Better safe than sorry.
He finds Ororon a short distance away, crouched down and squinting at the ground in intense concentration. As he gets closer, Ifa sees Ororon is drawing something in the dirt with a stick. His tongue is poking out of the side of his mouth as he drags the stick around, and Ifa feels a surge of affection welling in his chest. Ifa crouches down next to Ororon and waits.
Ororon hears Ifa coming, his footsteps unmistakable, but he doesn’t glance at him right away, attention still focused on his drawing. He feels Ifa crouch down next to him and he’s grateful his boyfriend stays quiet.
Glancing up at the small, ghostly figure before him, Ororon points to his drawing and asks softly, “Like this?”
The little girl peers curiously at his sketch for a moment before nodding excitedly.
Ororon smiles. Spirits can't always speak, but he always does his best to communicate with them nonetheless. This one, it seems, is trying to find her way back to a nearby cave. He’d done a rough sketch of the graffiti near the cave’s entrance from memory and he’s glad she recognizes it. Or at least seems to.
“Would you like me to take you there?” Ororon asks and the child nods eagerly.
Ororon stands up slowly, his knees stiff from crouching for so long, and offers Ifa a hand.
“Found a new friend?” Ifa asks with a small smile. Ifa can’t see spirits the way Ororon can, but he’s grown used to Ororon occasionally talking to thin air.
“Yeah,” Ororon says, stretching until his joints give a satisfying pop, “She’s lost, but she seems to recognize the graffiti from that cave by the river, so I’m going to take her there.”
“Want me to come along?” Ifa asks.
Ororon looks at him, tilting his head. It still baffles him when Ifa asks things like this. Why would he want to come? Most people think Ororon is wasting his time, trying to help these silent spirits. And it’s the middle of the night, too.
“I mean it,” Ifa adds.
“I don’t want you to miss any more sleep,” Ororon finally says, “I already feel bad you got up to look for me.”
Ifa laughs and links their hands together. Pulling Ororon’s knuckles to his lips, Ifa looks Ororon in the eyes and murmurs against his skin, “I’d follow you anywhere.”
Ororon’s breath catches and he can feel his cheeks flushing. He never knows how to respond when Ifa talks like this. He loves it, but he’s so clumsy with words he worries whatever he says back won’t come out right.
The silence hangs for a moment too long and Ifa presses another kiss to his knuckles before turning towards the path to the cave.
“W-wait,” Ororon stammers, and Ifa glances over his shoulder at Ororon curiously.
“Um,” Ororon says, floundering, “I…um…”
Ifa smiles again and pulls him along, “Tell me on the way, bro. We shouldn’t keep your new friend waiting.”
I’d follow you anywhere, too, Ororon thinks helplessly.
When they reach the cave, Ororon stops, presumably to consult the spirit. Ifa settles on the riverbank to wait for Ororon to do his thing, trailing his bare feet in the water.
After a while, Ororon plops down next to him.
“Everything work out?” Ifa asks.
Ororon nods, but he seems distracted as he says, “Yeah, there was a baby qucasaur in there and I guess that’s what she was looking for.”
Ifa waits to see if Ororon will elaborate on what’s bothering him, but he remains silent, a brooding look in his two-toned eyes. Ifa leans his shoulder against Ororon’s lightly, carefully. Sometimes Ororon doesn’t want to be touched, and Ifa has learned it’s got nothing to do with him, it’s just how Ororon is. So whenever he seems off, Ifa is extra careful about touching him. Ororon’s comfort comes first, always.
Ororon tips his head against Ifa’s shoulder and snuggles up to him, so Ifa wraps his arms around Ororon and pulls him closer. They sit that way for a long while, just breathing in each other’s nearness, the night still and peaceful around them.
Finally, Ororon whispers, “I’m sorry.”
Ifa stiffens with surprise and leans back to look at him. He’s alarmed to see tears gathering in Ororon’s eyes.
Taking Ororon’s face in his palms, Ifa asks gently, “For what? What’s wrong?”
Ororon swallows and closes his eyes, his face pinched in pain, and moves to pull away from Ifa. But Ifa stops him from retreating, murmuring, “Hey, hey, talk to me.”
“I just…” Ororon chokes out, “I don’t know how to be…I can’t…”
Ifa waits quietly as Ororon struggles for words, lightly brushing tears away from his boyfriend’s cheeks with his thumbs. He’ll wait as long as Ororon needs him to.
“I feel like I’m not good enough for you,” Ororon finally says miserably.
Ifa stares at him in shock a moment before finding his voice to croak out, “What?”
Ororon shifts uncomfortably, “I’m just so…weird. I can see it on people’s faces when I talk. I don’t ever say the right things, do the right things. And you deserve someone normal. Someone whole.”
“Ororon…” Ifa murmurs gently, “I don’t want anyone else.”
Ororon shakes his head as much as he can with his face still cradled in Ifa’s hands and whispers, “You should.”
Ifa pulls Ororon closer until their foreheads bump together and repeats firmly, “I don’t want anyone else. I want you. I love you.”
“But…why?”
Ifa chuckles helplessly. Trying to list all the reasons he loves Ororon is impossible, because Ifa loves everything about him. He loves his passion for vegetables. He loves his gentle affection with humans and animals alike. He loves the careful way he speaks when he has something important to say. He loves his smile. He loves the look of contentment that spreads across his face when they’re together. He loves how attentive he is with Cacucu.
“Ororon,” Ifa says, “We would be here all night if I tried to list all the reasons that I love you. So I’ll just say this, instead.”
Cupping Ororon’s face again, Ifa pulls him in for a long, thorough kiss. When he finally pulls back, they’re both breathless and Ororon has a dazed look on his flushed face. Ifa pecks his lips again with a little laugh.
“I love you because you’re you.”
Ororon’s brow furrows, “I don’t understand.”
“That’s okay. The only thing you need to understand is that I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ifa.”
Ifa smiles, brushing Ororon’s bangs out of his eyes. Ororon leans into his touch like a baby saurian would and yawns so hard his jaw pops.
“We should go back to bed,” Ifa says with a grin.
Ororon hums noncommittally and buries his face in the crook of Ifa’s neck. It’s clear to Ifa that Ororon doesn’t want to move, but his caretaker instincts are insisting that they get somewhere warm and safe. It’s late and he doesn’t want Ororon getting sick from the chill.
“C’mon,” Ifa murmurs, patting Ororon’s back lightly, “Up we go.”
Grumbling, Ororon leans back so Ifa can stand and offer him a hand up. Once they’re both on their feet, Ororon yawns again and mumbles, “I don’t know how Chasca does it.”
“Does what?”
“I’ve never seen her sleep. And I’ve tried to catch her sleeping or napping while we’re on camping trips. I’ve tried hard,” Ororon mutters petulantly, “I want to know her secret. Then I wouldn’t have to sleep either.”
Ifa laughs, “Chasca is an enigma, and anyways, she must sleep at some point.”
“People call me an enigma,” Ororon points out.
“That’s just because they haven’t taken the time to get to know you,” Ifa says with a lopsided smile, linking their hands together as they walk. The world always feels right with Ororon’s hand in his.
They’re getting close to camp again when Ororon suddenly stops, pulling Ifa up short with their joined hands. Ifa looks at Ororon and cocks his head, waiting.
“Hey, Ifa?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you,” Ororon says almost shyly.
Ifa’s brow furrows, “For what, bro?”
Ororon meets his eyes then, and Ifa’s breath catches. He’ll never get used to how beautiful Ororon is.
“Thank you for taking the time to get to know me.”
“Best decision I ever made,” Ifa murmurs, kissing him, “Now can we please go back to bed?”
“Um,” Ororon says, “Just…one more thing.”
“Anything.”
“I’d follow you anywhere too,” Ororon says with conviction, even though his voice is shaking a bit. Ororon’s face pinched in determination and his chin raised in the most adorable way.
Ifa smiles. This man. He can see how much it means to Ororon that he tells Ifa this, so he does his best to respond seriously, “Thank you.”
Ororon smiles back, shoulders relaxing, and Ifa can’t quite help but tease him, judging that the seriousness of the moment has passed, “So, you’d follow me back to bed?”
Ororon’s quiet laughter trails them back into camp, and to Ifa, it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.