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“Upon a small island here,” or so an explorer began in an entry once written in his journal, “was found a great dead fish.”
This explorer was not quite concerned with the body of this specimen, even as death had it cooling below his feet. Nor did he let his eyes rest for a moment longer upon its mottled skin, even though it was the color of a drowned sailor, a stark contrast to the endless expanse of untouched snow that laid before him.
Instead, he took note of this: “Its horn is wreathed and straight, like in fashion to a taper made of wax, and may truly be thought to be the sea-unicorn.”
And so, narwhals came to be known as the unicorns of the sea.
Unicorns were thought to be as swift as the gales flowing through their manes, their hooves as solid as the firm earth they rested upon, and thus wholly capable of easily evading capture.
Which made it all the more ironic then that the opposite was true for narwhals.
Narwhals were prone to being trapped under the ice.
Whether it be due to sudden cold snaps, shifts in the direction of the wind, or the movement of ice from offshore, these narwhals would remain encased by this frozen prison and most likely perish.
It should be known that this phenomenon is merely a part of the natural mortality of these narwhals.
Perhaps therein lies the explanation for the countless reports attesting to how frequently it is that polar bears are the first to reach these sites, long before hunters or scientists alike ever arrive onto the scene.
Narwhals are already an elusive enough species to document, with no other whales living so far north in the most remote and coldest parts of the ocean.
It comes as no surprise then that the methods of humans fall short in comparison to what was ingrained into the most significant predators of narwhals by virtue of evolution.
In the end, the blubber and meat hanging off of their carcasses are there and, more importantly, is free for the taking.
And so, a feast is had.
Ajax, of course, knew absolutely none of this when he first saw a picture of a group of narwhals (or more accurately, a blessing of narwhals).
So instead, he focused on the narwhals’ speckled skin that reminded him of the crystalline frost that would accumulate on the outside of the windows of his childhood home. He focused on their long tusks, the spirals adorning them just barely visible in the picture in his hands. He focused on the ocean they swam in, so free of any ripples on its surface that it was more reminiscent of the sky than the sea.
And, having taken in all of this, he thought to himself, I want to be able to get closer to them when I’m older.
As such, Ajax ends up as a Marine Biology major.
Except—
Ajax doesn’t know what he expected out of his first year majoring in Marine Biology, but it definitely wasn’t…this.
Obviously, Ajax knew going in that he wouldn’t just be swimming with dolphins or traveling on boats all day. There’s a reason that Marine Biology, after all, was something you have to get a degree from a university for.
But still.
Marine Biology was supposed to be different. It was reasonable to have an expectation of being able to do some level of field work, because that’s what marine biologists already in the field get to do.
Instead, Ajax finds himself painfully bored as he works through each and every one of his classes.
It’s not that he doesn’t like taking refresher courses that give him a more in-depth look into the stuff he learned about biology and chemistry in high school—
Actually, scratch that. He absolutely hates it.
Nothing he’s learning in Introductory Biology or Principles of Chemistry feel like they are truly meant for a career as a marine biologist.
There is no mention of the fact that the calls of blue whales can reach a record high of 180 decibels. There are no discomfited remarks made about the parasitic isopods that take it upon themselves to become the tongues of their fishy hosts. There are no shocked gasps let out as a video displays the limbs of a peacock mantis shrimp moving so fast that the water around it actually vaporizes, producing heat, light and sound as a result. There is nothing—
Except that’s wrong. There is a fountain of information to be found in his classes, but it is just information he is not passionate about.
…And that’s the problem, isn’t it? Ajax, even though he told himself not to, came into university with expectations about his major that naturally were not met.
And what’s worse is that he still doesn’t know what marine biology is really about.
Maybe that’s on him.
But that’s what makes all of this such a shit situation.
It’s still relatively early into his 4 years of university. Even though a few months have already passed, he could still probably change his major without much hassle.
But what would he even major in then? Something “safe” but aggravatingly cutthroat like Business? Something playing to his strengths in athletics like Kinesiology?
He just doesn’t know.
Ajax has spent so much of his life wanting to be a marine biologist that suddenly giving that up feels utterly and wholly wrong.
He loves the animals that inhabit the ocean.
He would doodle those animals in his notebook when he should have been paying attention to his teachers out of love. He would irritate his parents and older siblings with all the facts he’d spout about those animals out of love. He would spend hours running around in the aquarium just to “ooh” and “aah” at those animals out of love.
Ajax can’t let go of this love he holds for these animals. He just can’t.
Maybe that’s why it becomes so easy to let himself fall down the rabbit hole that is his thoughts. Ajax just has to start thinking and then there’s no stopping him.
Ajax would have probably come to a point where he’d finally give in (to the weight of his thoughts and nothing else) and switch his major.
But thankfully, he has Rosalyne to whoop some sense into him.
Really, it’s only because of Rosalyne telling him to stop moping around and actually talk to his advisor that Ajax starts to see any change in his outlook.
His advisor is…admittedly rather quick to shoot down any misconceptions he had about marine biology as a field point blank.
“The kind of position that comes to mind when you think of a marine biologist is actually remarkably difficult to get,” she tells him, observing him with shrewd eyes after she does.
Satisfied with whatever reaction Ajax must have given, she continues. “You also need to realize that generally, they’re not out in the field that long. Maybe for 1 month, at most 3 months if we’re really pushing it, but you’re more likely to be spending your time analyzing the data you collect from field work and writing reports about said data.”
She blows on the mug of coffee in her hands after saying, giving him the opportunity to let her words sink in as she takes a sip.
“Should I change my major then?”
It’s hard to force the words to leave his mouth, but he manages somehow.
His advisor shakes her head. “Obviously it’s not up to me to determine if you should change your major or not, as that decision ultimately falls down to you, Ajax. But what I can tell you is that just because going into academia is the route that gives you the most freedom when it comes to research, it doesn’t mean that it’s the only option available to you. There are a multitude of careers in the field of marine biology that go beyond just a marine biologist.”
“Like what?”
She starts counting them off on her fingers. “Oh, hmm, there are dive safety officers, underwater filmmakers, divemasters, aquatic veterinarians, aquarists, marine archaeologists, and so on.”
He blinks. “Oh.”
His advisor lets out a short laugh. “Yes, ‘oh.’”
“Those, um, actually sound pretty cool.”
“I’d hope so,” she tells him wryly.
His advisor furrows her brows for a moment, contemplating something.
She then finally speaks.
“What I’m trying to get at, Ajax, is that it’s fine that you’re not exactly a fan of the classes you’re taking right now. They’re foundational classes needed for later electives more tailored towards marine biology as a field, sure, but that isn’t going to just make them everyone’s cup of tea. But I think that, especially when it’s so obvious about the passion you have for the field as a whole, it’s worth trudging through these classes to get to your end goal. And it certainly helps that you’ll be able to actually do field work in your second year here.”
“Really?” he asks, perking up at her words.
She nods in acknowledgement, and that…
That fills him with so much hope.
So. Ajax ultimately decides to struggle through his first year, even though the classes get to be a pain at times. It helps, though, that he becomes exceptionally good at making studying for aforementioned classes as fun as possible, taking the time to make a game out of his course material, to let himself walk around to shake off any excess energy buzzing under his skin, to pretend he’s explaining whatever he’s learning to Teucer, Tonia, and Anthon in as ridiculous of a manner as possible.
Ajax gets the grades (good ones, at that) and makes it to his second year (a year where he can actually do field work).
He is on the up and up, finally being given the resources to make something meaningful out of his lifelong dream.
And then, some fucker steals his parking spot.
It should be established, first off, that his parking spot isn’t actually…his.
The story goes a little something like this.
In his first year, Ajax had a bit of a dilemma. He had an old, beaten-up car to his name (one that he cherishes deeply despite having purchased it for cheap, because he was taught to not judge a book by its cover, unlike some people—and no, this is most certainly not a jab made at Rosalyne, what are you talking about?), but no place on campus to park it.
While Ajax could have probably paid for a parking spot, there was the fact that, you know, he was fucking broke to take into consideration.
That is where the Doctor stepped in.
Well. Obviously that’s not the man’s actual name, but the fuss he puts up whenever people don't refer to him as such (even though he doesn’t even have his PhD yet) is enough to put off anyone from using his given name in conversation with him.
Anyways. Having heard of his woes, the Doctor oh so graciously bestowed upon Ajax full access to his parking spot.
(He did so with a sharp smile on his face, one with all teeth that set Ajax on edge, and a cryptic remark somewhere along the lines of, “Make sure not to get too attached to it!”
…Ajax ultimately decided that he would be better off just not worrying too much about it. At least, until it actually came to bite him in his ass.)
(Surprisingly enough, that seems to be Ajax’s approach to most things in life.)
Things are straightforward enough during his first year in university. He drives his car and parks it in the parking spot he has miraculously acquired, he gets to class on time, and everything is great.
That was, until a motorcycle drove its way into his life in the most obnoxious way possible.
The motorcycle's presence in his parking spot, the parking spot he kind of needs to be empty right now because he has a class to get to, is imposing enough on his own, but then there’s how large it is for him to now contend with as well.
That is to say, the size of the motorcycle is the next thing Ajax notices about it, especially because of how all up in your face it is about the way it unabashedly takes up space. This is further worsened by the fact that it is parked smack dab in the middle of the parking spot, the motorcycle’s owner not even having the decency to at least pretend to be parking elsewhere.
Ajax stares at this motorcycle that has so audaciously stolen his parking spot for a long while, long enough that Kuni actually looks up from his phone and pulls his headphones out from his ears.
“Why’d you stop?” he barks out.
“Some fucker stole my parking spot,” Ajax tells him, nodding in the direction of the perpetrator in question.
Kuni just rolls his eyes. “If it’s like that, I’m just gonna get out of this rust bucket, thank you. We’re close enough to campus that I’ll still at least get to class on time.”
Before Ajax can get even a word out in protest (not that he would with how stubborn the other can get), Kuni’s already opened the door of the car and left, setting a confident pace towards the pavement.
Ajax watches for just a moment, before turning back to look down at his hands placed on the steering wheel and letting out a deep sigh.
He lets his forehead come to rest on the steering wheel and promptly finds himself regretting it when his car lets out a blaring honk.
It’s fine, Ajax tells himself, not entirely believing it.
This - someone stealing his parking spot, that is - is just a one-off thing. There’s nothing else it can be, really.
Except, of course, Ajax finds himself dogged by shit luck when it comes to his parking spot.
Ajax is quarter of the way into the first semester of his second year at this point, and he’s starting to think his professor for Chemistry of Marine Organic Carbon might actually despise him.
Not that he blames them for that, of course, given that it seems like it’s more often that he’s late to the class than he’s on time.
It’s not that Ajax is purposefully going out of his way to be late to his first class of the day (...his first class of the day on Mondays and Wednesdays, but still). It’s just that…
Well. It’s kind of impossible to be on time when there is a motorcycle consistently taking up his parking spot (on Mondays and Wednesdays, too, and never on any other days of the week).
It comes as no surprise then that, eventually, enough gets to be enough, and Ajax finally reaches his breaking point.
In a bout of remarkably bad decision-making (the sort that can only occur when you’re microwaving a stale raisin bun to eat at 1 AM on a Monday morning), Ajax decides that it is now of the utmost importance that he gets to the campus’ parking lot by 7 AM so that he can finally catch the bastard that’s been stealing his parking spot.
Which is why he is now walking to the parking lot. The only reason he is not driving to it is because it's nice to let himself think that the fresh morning air can actually perk him up (when what he really needs to feel remotely awake at the moment is some instant coffee in the one podstakannik he managed to yoink from back home).
Ajax gets to the parking lot at 6:50 AM and is promptly met with another issue: what he's supposed to do while he waits for the mysterious owner of the bane of his existence (that is, that accursed motorcycle) to finally make an appearance.
Should he just lean against a wall, hands in the pockets of his jeans, and try his best to look casual? Should he try to find a pillar to hide behind so that he can still see the owner but they can't see him? Should he—
Sheer instinct alone makes the decision for him when he hears the vroom of a motorcycle, ultimately resulting in him tossing his body behind the bush he's been standing next to.
Which was, admittedly, a really dumb thing for Ajax to spontaneously do. Given, you know, the thorny branches that end up slapping him in the face and the few leaves that end up in his mouth that he immediately spits out (doesn't help him get the taste out, though).
But Ajax pushes past the irritation (and the pain, can't forget about the pain) and peeks out from behind the bush.
Which is right about when he loses any modicum of critical thinking skills he might have ever had.
Listen. Listen. When there is an attractive man right in front of you, how can you not lose your ability to properly think?
Ajax gawks at the sight before him, at this man’s broad frame and long, black locks of hair that rest upon his chest. He can’t quite make out this man’s face because of the mask and hood covering it, but even then…
Ajax flushes deeply, shaking his head vigorously and slapping both of his cheeks.
No! This is the man who has been stealing his parking spot for months now. This is not someone for him to find attractive, no matter how much that motorcycle is now starting to add to their appeal or—
“You good there?” he hears a deep, gravely voice say next to him.
Ajax’s head whips in the direction of the voice and blanches upon realizing it’s the man he was just observing (and not thirsting after) moments earlier.
“Y-Yeah, definitely!” Ajax somehow manages to squeak out, taking this as his sign to finally get off of his ass and book it for his class.
Ajax is not given much time to think too hard about his encounter with that motorcyclist because he’s asked to stay after class by his Chemistry of Marine Organic Carbon professor.
“You asked for me, Professor?” he voices as he makes his way down the steps to the front of the lecture hall, having finished packing up his stuff.
The room is not as large as the other lecture halls that can be found in his university, but its acoustics, surprisingly enough, are the sort that have your voice echoing from one wall to the other if you speak too loudly.
“Yes, I did,” they answer as he comes to a stop in front of them. “You’re aware of how undergrads in the Marine Biology department will be able to go on a field trip to one of the various institutions our university is partnered with in two weeks, right?”
Ajax nods. “Yeah, I, um, remember. I was thinking that I might—”
“Well, table whatever you were thinking,” his professor interjects. “I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that I managed to snatch you a spot with the upperclassmen at the Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology.”
“T-The one first established by the Tsaritsa during her reign? The premier research institution for all things ocean in Snezhnaya? That Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology?” Ajax splutters out.
“Yes, Ajax, ‘that’ one.”
“Thank you so much for this,” he profusely tells his professor. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I’d say I actually do,” his professor wryly replies. “I’m sure you’ve been spending a good part of this semester thinking I hate you, after all, so this must have been a remarkably big surprise for you.”
“W-Well, I wouldn’t say I thought you hated me—”
“With the way you looked like you were being placed on a live fire whenever I even looked in your direction on the days you came in late, I think you were at least a little intimidated by me. But I’m not the sort to hold that against you, especially not when you make sure to participate in a class a fair amount and you manage to get good grades in a class consisting mainly of juniors and seniors.”
“Oh.”
His professor rolls their eyes. “I’ll get it into your head one day. Now, chop chop,” and they motion for him to get going with their hand at this, “you probably have a class to get to.”
“I really am sorry for being late all the time, though. It’s just that—”
“I don’t need your excuses, Ajax. I just need you to keep up the good work and all will be fine.”
Which certainly is enough to finally get their point across to him.
“Okay, I’ll make sure to do just that then, Professor!” Ajax says after a moment of deliberation, sending them a cheeky salute before leaving the room and rushing to his next class.
The field work that he gets to do at the Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology is nothing short of phenomenal.
The institute didn’t just acquire its prestige by virtue of its connection to the presently decrepit autocracy.
It had numerous contributions to the field of research devoted to the ocean under its belt, after all.
Take, for example, the discovery of synoptic eddies, characterized by their waves whose density was influenced by both temperature and pressure, in the northern ocean bordering Snezhnaya. Or the phenomenon of fine-grained movement of water in the ocean. Or the formation of modern phosphorites in upwelling zones on the ocean shelves, further confirming the role played by bacterial and microbial communities in the formation of ancient phosphorites.
All in all, the Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology had earned its good reputation, and it most certainly got to benefit from it.
Which is why the operations of the five large vessels making up the institute’s scientific fleet falls under its own jurisdiction rather than relying on the so-called “generosity” of donors (such as oil companies, who would much rather make you feel responsible for climate change than actually take accountability for the damage the burning of fossil fuels had done to the planet).
As such, almost all of the expeditions the vessels of the scientific fleet embark on are guaranteed to not just include collection of data, but also efforts made to conserve the fauna residing in the ocean.
Speaking of the institute’s scientific fleet—
“If you’re lucky enough, maybe some of you kids will actually get to board our beloved ‘Vityaz,’” the employee jokes.
None of the college students on the tour of the institute laugh, if only because the vessel had long been decommissioned and now was a popular tourist sight in a museum dedicated to old Snezhnayan fleets.
“Tough crowd, huh,” the employee mutters to himself, running his fingers through his hair.
After the hiccup that was that tour, however, they dive straight to work (which was much appreciated at that point).
The first few days or so are spent with them going in and out of the laboratory.
When out in the field, with the guidance of their assigned supervisor, their group goes about collecting samples of various types of algae, soft corals, sea sponges, mollusks, and more.
Once back in the laboratory, they watch attentively as a researcher explains the methods they’ll be using to isolate the hydroperoxide compounds found in the samples they’ve acquired. Apparently, hydroperoxides from bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine invertebrates exhibit high antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory, and antiprotozoal activity, something that is of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry.
After all of that time spent in the laboratory, though, Ajax is excited at the chance to fully devote himself to field work.
And so—
The shark has no claspers behind its belly, so it must be female. They’re probably going to have to use an ultrasound to find out if she’s pregnant then, but that’s something for future him to worry about.
Ajax pulls out a measuring tape to measure the shark’s length from her head to the tail fork.
Huh. 2 arshins. That’s actually on the larger side for a shark like the spiny dogfish, even though females in the species do have a tendency to be larger than males.
Just goes to show how voracious of an appetite these little fellers tend to have. Fishermen absolutely despise them for their habit of biting at nets to get at the fishes within them, but Ajax can’t find it in himself to let their bad reputation skew his perception of these sharks when they’re admittedly rather cute to him.
Sure, they’re rather odd at first glance with their moderately large eyes and somewhat flattened head, but—
“Are you ready to take a blood sample from this one?” he hears the research assistant put in charge this time around ask from behind him.
Ajax shakes his head. “Sorry, I still have to check to see if we tagged this one already.”
“Ooh, that’s going to be a fun one. You never quite know how far a shark may have traveled to get here, after all. Apparently, recently there was this blue shark tagged in Mondstadt who was later caught 3000 verstas away in Natlan.”
Ajax lets out a shocked breath. “Huh, who would have thought!”
Before the research assistant can say anything more, the captain calls out from inside the helm of the survey boat.
“We’re gonna be heading back in 20 minutes, just so you’re all aware!”
The research assistant’s face goes pale. “Oh fuck, we better hurry up then!”
“Yeah, we still have to do an ultrasound on this one too,” Ajax tentatively points out, not wanting to worsen her mood even more.
Instead, a determined expression graces the research assistant’s features. “Then let’s get down to work.”
And get down to work they did.
Their trip to the Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology comes to a close (just as so many good things in life are wont to do).
“How was it?” his Chemistry of Marine Organic Carbon professor asks him upon his return.
“It was…words can’t even begin to describe the experience,” Ajax gushes profusely. “Thank you so much for letting me tag along with the rest of the upperclassmen!”
“I’m glad to hear that it went well then,” his professor tells him, their mouth quirking up slightly. “Anything in particular stand out to you?”
“Well,” Ajax begins, humming contemplatively, “I’d definitely like to try my hand at diving like a lot of the people I was working with seemed to do. I couldn’t go down with them, obviously, since I’m not certified, but I don’t know how to exactly go about even getting a certificate to begin with.”
“There are actually classes to get a diving certification on campus if you’re interested,” his professor tells him.
“Oh, really? I’ll have to look into that then.”
Ajax looks into it. And then promptly clicks out of the tab when he sees exactly how much it costs to take these classes.
…Only to open up the tab once again moments later.
It is about time he gets a job. A month or so of working should be enough to cover the fees for the entire course, and it would be nice to have some extra spending money on hand too.
Ajax sighs, before opening up another tab on the computer.
“You know,” Ajax mentions offhandedly to a teen boredly watching the penguins, his mother fussing over his younger sibling some distance away, “these penguins are actually sometimes called ‘jackass penguins.’”
“What?” the teen says incredulously.
He grins at the teen’s disbelief. “Yeah, for real. Their calls sound a lot like a donkey’s bray. And you’re sure to hear them making the sound quite frequently since they bray to greet a mate, to communicate that they’re pissed, or just to remind you of their general existence.”
“Wow…” the teen breathes out.
Ajax nods his head in the direction of the teen’s mother. “Looks like your mom calmed your sibling down.”
“Oh, okay,” the teen says quietly, all of sudden looking quite sullen where only moments earlier it had seemed like he would much rather be anywhere else but at the penguin exhibit.
“If you want to visit again, I think they’re making entry to the aquarium free on Wednesdays after 12 PM,” Ajax offers, hoping to relieve his downtrodden look.
The teen perks up at that. “Okay, I, I’ll tell my mom that then!” he exclaims, before running off to where his mother had been waving him over.
Ajax hadn’t expected to find an opening for a part-time position at the aquarium when he had been looking for a job, but here was now.
Not that he’s complaining (the exact opposite, honestly), because his job at the aquarium has honestly been rather enjoyable. Sure, there are the general moments of suffering associated with any job having to do with customer service, but being able to convey his enthusiasm for the animals contained within the premises of this aquarium to kids and adults alike made it undeniably worthwhile.
“You’re a Marine Biology major at the university nearby, right?” the dive safety officer asks him when he bumps into them.
“Yep, sure am!” Ajax amiably answers. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re not busy with anything right now, are you?”
“...No?”
“Good!” they exclaim. “Then follow me.”
“What made you get a job here anyways? I could certainly think of other job openings that are far closer to your university,” the dive safety officer ponders, trying to strike up a conversation with him on the walk to wherever they’re dragging him to.
“I needed some money to cover the fee for my diving lessons,” Ajax explains. “Getting a diving certificate would sure help me out a lot.”
“Any interest in becoming a dive safety officer then?” they ask him.
“Maybe,” Ajax says with a shrug. “My academic advisor mentioned it to me once when I talked with her last year, but I never gave it that much thought.”
“Well, I guess that’s where I come in to change your mind,” the dive safety officer tells him with a sly look in their eyes.
“I guess it is.”
The dive safety officer leads Ajax up the stairs to the upper deck bracketing the glass of the tank housing the shark exhibit.
“Since we already did an inspection of the tools earlier today, we’ll be able to dive straight into things,” they explain to him. “Lucky for you, huh?”
Ajax doesn’t say anything, instead taken in the surroundings of the upper deck. It’s a metal platform, one that makes a clunk sound underneath his feet whenever he takes a step, with small, diamond-shaped holes perforated into the material in a symmetrical manner.
It seems that the dive safety officer finished discussing whatever it was they had to with the divers (already wearing all the proper equipment necessary for the dive they must have been about to take) while he was distracted.
Ajax watches as one of the divers climbs down the ladder placed along the inside walls of the glass tank.
“If you want to see what she’s doing inside of the tank, I suggest you head downstairs,” the dive safety officer tells him, whispering to him behind their hand.
Ajax rushes down the stairs and comes to a screeching stop jab smack in front of the shark exhibit.
There, he catches a glimpse of the same diver that had first climbed in checking on one of the sharks in the tank.
It reminds him a lot of the time he spent collecting data from the sharks they’d find out at sea while he was at the Zapolyarny Institute of Oceanology, and that thought comforts him as he sees the diver give the shark she was checking in on a belly rub before moving onto the next one.
The other diver also makes their way down into the tank, but his purpose in being there does not seem to have to do with animal husbandry.
This diver whips out a scrub brush and uses it to scrape off the algae that’s started to accumulate in parts of the tank. Once he’s satisfied with his work, he makes a gesture at the dive safety officer who’s still standing on the upper deck. They take this as their cue to start siphoning in a long piece of piping into the tank, which the diver is quick to catch from his position underwater.
The piece of piping is quickly filled up with gravel and other muck (Ajax now realizing that this must be something closer to a suction tube) as its open end finds itself probing in whichever nooks and crannies there are in the tank.
“It’s not the most illustrious job, but it certainly is rather fun,” the dive safety officer says from behind him, the suddenness having him jump a bit in place.
“You got down here pretty quick,” Ajax remarks.
“Years of experience doing this tends to grant you at least that much. But anyways, what do you think?”
“It does look fun,” Ajax concedes. “Makes me even more excited to get a diving certification.”
The dive safety officer grins and claps him on the back. “Glad to hear that!”
All this time, Ajax hasn’t spared much thought to the motorcyclist that steals his parking spots on Mondays and Wednesday (well, other than to occasionally fantasize about how attractive he is). It helps that he’s gotten into the habit of just walking to the campus on those days (no matter how much Kuni now complains about having no one to drop him off).
The universe makes sure to change that for him, presenting him with said motorcyclist one day when he’s working at the aquarium’s ticket counter.
It’s hard enough to resist the urge to openly gawk at the man, and perhaps it’s because all of his energy is being put towards keeping his mouth firmly shut that he ends up blurting out, “It’s you!”
The man blinks at him. “...Do I know you?”
“S-Sorry, I mistook you for someone else,” Ajax starts to splutter out, except—
The man leans in closer to him, peering at him curiously.
(The man’s proximity to him does not have Ajax blushing bright red like a tomato. Nope, not at all!)
“Oh, I remember where you’re from,” the man hums contemplatively. “You’re that kid who collapsed behind the bush, right?”
“What type of tickets will you be purchasing today, sir?” he asks calmly (unlike the dying screeches he’s letting out in the comfort of his mind) instead of acknowledging the mortifying question.
The man is silent for a long moment.
Okay, so maybe going full customer service mode was clearly not the best route to have taken then, but Ajax doesn’t work well under pressure so he can’t really be blamed for—
“...Aren’t tickets for the aquarium free on Wednesdays at this time?”
“Oh,” Ajax says. “Yeah, I, uh, guess you’re right about that, haha…”
He needs to walk into the restroom and have a good scream right now.
Instead of doing this, though, Ajax offers the man a strained smile as he prints out his ticket.
“Here you go!” he exclaims in a bright, bubbly tone (not at all sounding deranged, no sirree). “I hope you have a good day at the aquarium!”
The man simply nods as he accepts the ticket.
…Well. Here’s to hoping Ajax never has to bump into that man ever again. Sure, he’s attractive beyond belief (and Ajax would like to know why the man keeps on taking his parking spot on Mondays and Wednesdays, now that he thinks about it), but given the concerning trend of Ajax entirely embarrassing himself in front of the man, it’s probably for the best he stays as far as possible.
Ajax’s shift at the aquarium ends at 2 PM on Wednesdays. Normally, he’d have just headed back to his dorm room, but he finds himself in the mood to wander around a bit today.
(Of course, with his luck, this does not work out as intended.)
“Pleasure to be seeing you again,” the man says (after a good bout of accidental eye-contact where Ajax lamented the fact that he couldn’t just pretend he didn’t see the man).
“Same for me, I guess…” Ajax says awkwardly.
“Is your shift done?” he asks.
“Um, yeah. Actually, I should get go—”
“Would you want to walk around with me in the aquarium then?” the man says at the same time, Ajax’s words falling short once the statement registers in his head.
“Oh.”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” the man assures him.
Ajax finds himself shaking his head, if only because of how oddly earnest (in a taciturn manner) the man is. “I…I don’t mind.”
The both of them stand there awkwardly for a few seconds.
“Let’s get going then,” the man voices, finally breaking the silence.
And so, they get going.
Ajax momentarily forgets the man’s presence by his side when he sees a sea otter swimming on its back right next to the low-rising glass wall separating it from people.
“You’re just adorable,” he gushes. “Are you getting used to the exhibit yet, Yulia?”
“Yulia?” the man asks, a curious tone to his voice.
“I spent a lot of time with her when she first came here. You see, she needed some time to get used to the exhibit and the other otters here, which I wasn’t in charge of, but I still hung around often enough that her caretaker decided to let me name her. Hence, Yulia.”
“That’s a cute name.”
“I-Is it?” Ajax stutters, feeling his cheeks grow warm as he pointedly stares straight forward at Yulia.
“It is,” the man simply tells him, mirth tingeing his words. “It seems fitting that it’s coming from someone as cute as you.”
Um. Um.
“Oh, uh, look, Yulia’s doing a roll in the water!” Ajax shouts, all the while trying to grapple with the fact that this attractive man is apparently flirting with him now.
Is this a date? How did he even accidentally get himself a date???
Maybe he’s overthinking this.
So, of course, Ajax resorts to a method that has survived the test of time: infodumping.
“Did you know that sea otters don’t have a thick, insulating layer of blubber like other marine mammals?” he blurts out, hoping to reduce any chance of him becoming more flustered.
(Famous last words.)
“Is that so?” the man says, sounding entirely like he’s indulging Ajax’s line of conversation.
“Uh, yeah! Because of that, they instead have the densest fur in the animal kingdom. It’s like…up to a million hairs per square inch or something, I think?”
“How about you tell me other facts like that whenever they come to mind?” the man offers. “I like listening to you talk.”
Mission abort! Mission abort! MISSION ABORT!
“Me too,” Ajax instead says, like a total moron.
He cries internally. Why must he be cursed with such a horrible brain-to-mouth filter? He doesn’t ask for much, and he hasn’t done anything that horrible in his life, so—
“You like the sound of my voice then?” the man asks him, and wow, when did he even get so close to Ajax, it sure is getting rather hot in here—
“Mom, why are those two so close to each other?” a kid asks from behind the two of them, causing Ajax to instantly jump a solid feet away from the man.
“That’s how some people express their affection for each other, honey,” the kid’s mother gently informs him. “And sometimes they’ll even do it in public,” she mutters under her breath.
This just has the man next to him start laughing out loud, which leads to Ajax chuckling along with him.
“We should probably get going to the other exhibits, huh?” the man muses.
“We probably should,” Ajax agrees with a laugh.
On the way through the section of the aquarium housing all of its invertebrates, the two of them hear a kid loudly scream, “DAD, MISHA THREW HIS TOY SPIDER AT ME!”
Ajax snickers. “Wait until that kid finds out about sea spiders.”
“Sea spiders?”
“Well, they’re not really spiders,” Ajax concedes. “They’re related to spiders, though, and have eight legs too.”
“Any fun facts about sea spiders?”
“You really don’t want to let go of that one fun fact I blurted out, huh?”
“Not in particular, no,” the man informs him. “I’ll stop if you want me to, though.”
Ajax shakes his head fondly. “I might as well at least tell you this fun fact. What do you think about smoothies?”
“What do smoothies have to do with sea spiders?”
“I’m getting to that, don’t worry,” Ajax says with a laugh. “Sea spiders are actually rather freaky, you see. They do this neat little thing where they’ll just shove their straw-like proboscis into their prey, and then suck out its insides like it’s a smoothie.”
“If your intention was to put me off smoothies forever, congratulations, you’ve succeeded,” the man tells him dryly.
“Good!” Ajax exclaims brightly. “Means I’m doing something right around here.”
Soon enough, the two of them exhaust all there is to see in the exhibits available in the aquarium and make their exit.
“What’s your favorite marine animal?” the man suddenly asks him as they step out of the main entrance.
“Hmm…I actually don’t know.”
“Maybe I can help you narrow it down? For example…what animal would you want to be?”
“A killer whale would be neat!”
“Is it because they’re violent?” the man jokes.
“...I just want to swim fast like them,” Ajax says, pouting. “Though it certainly helps that they're so good at hunting.”
His eyes catch up on the bus stop up ahead. “Sorry, let me check how long it’s going to take for the bus to get here.”
Ajax opens up the app on his phone and promptly blanches at seeing the time.
He sighs mournfully. “I guess I’m going to be stuck here for another 30 minutes. Though maybe I’ll just walk back to the dorms—”
“I can drop you off.”
“Oh, that’s really—that’s really nice of you.”
“It means I get to see more of you, so,” the man says bluntly.
Oh.
Oh.
Ajax starts speeding up in his stride, even though he has no idea where the man’s motorcycle is actually parked.
…Wait.
The man’s motorcycle.
Ajax’s so screwed.
Ajax comes to a stop in front of the motorcycle that had stolen his parking spot for so many months, giving it a death stare.
“You good there?” the man asks him warily, already seated on the motorcycle.
“Haha, so, uh, funny story,” Ajax begins from where he stands, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he does so, “your motorcycle has been taking up my parking spot for like. Um. A long while. Hilarious, I know. Also…why is it always on Mondays and Wednesdays that you have to park there??? It feels very targeted towards me because those are the days I have Chemistry of Marine—”
“Oh lord, did Henri lend my parking spot to you?” the man interjects.
“Who?” Ajax breathes out, incredulous.
The man sighs. “Apologies, I forgot he goes around calling himself the Doctor. But I let him borrow my parking spot since he asked for it last year and I wasn’t getting much use out of it given I mostly take online classes. But I have one in-person class this year on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I actually need to use my parking spot for once. I told him this and everything, too—”
“I’m going to fucking murder him,” Ajax hisses.
“How about I drop you off first and then you can go plan any murders you have in mind?” the man tells him wryly.
“Fine,” Ajax agrees with a sigh.
At that, the man tosses him a helmet, which Ajax somehow manages to catch without making a fool out of himself.
It’s the tiny things in life, really.
“Is this legal?!?!” Ajax shouts as the man weaves his motorcycle in and out of the lanes drawn on the road, raising his voice in an attempt to be heard over the wind.
“Probably not, but do you really care?” the man shouts back, eyes intent on the road in front of him.
“...No,” Ajax says under his breath.
The man still hears him somehow, even over all of this noise. “Thought so,” he says, the definition of smug.
“So, um…” Ajax says, standing on the streetwalk in front of his dorm as the man leans his weight against his motorcycle, watching him attentively, “I actually had a really great time today! With you. Because I spent today with you, and I have no idea what I’m saying anymore, please don’t pay me any mind.”
“That’s great to hear,” the man tells him, easily breezing past his nervous rambling. “Maybe next time we could do this somewhere else then.”
“...Walk around somewhere else?”
The man blinks. “No, I,” he begins, pausing in his words as he lets out an amused breath, “I meant go on a date.”
So I wasn’t overthinking today then, Ajax thinks to himself in disbelief.
“Yes, you weren’t,” the man tells him kindly.
Oh. Seems like he’s thinking out loud now too.
“Here, how about you put your number in my phone?” the man offers, gesturing his head at the phone, screen already lit up, that he’s holding out to Ajax. “Well, you don’t have to if you want to, of course,” he then amends.
Ajax stares at the phone for a moment, if only to pretend to himself that he took the time to deliberate over whether or not to agree to accepting it (and everything else that it entailed).
Finally, however, he takes the phone from the man’s palm, clasping his hands around its sides as he inputs his contact information.
Once the phone is back in the man’s possession, Ajax finds a phone call from an unknown number lighting up his own screen.
He moves to decline the call, now that the number is already in his call history, but his thumb falls short.
Ajax accepts the call.
“I enjoyed today too, by the way,” he hears the man tell him, his voice echoing around Ajax from all sides.
A long silence, before—
“I hope you have a good night, Ajax.”
The call ends, and Ajax is left staring down at his phone, mouth wide open.
And then, the sound of a motorcycle revving up harshly pulls him from out of his reverie. His head shoots up, only to find…
That the man is no longer there.
The image of his call history that he had been scrutinizing at all this time is imprinted into his mind and perhaps that is why Ajax finally recalls one crucial fact.
The realization hits him, slowly at first and then all at once.
Fuck, he still doesn’t know the man’s name.
…Maybe it’s about time for him to just melt into a puddle of embarrassment.
plantboycharms Sat 13 Aug 2022 02:56AM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:32PM UTC
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yun (bflfism) Sat 13 Aug 2022 03:26AM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:49PM UTC
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meow!!!! (Guest) Sat 13 Aug 2022 04:32AM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:33PM UTC
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mumbel Wed 17 Aug 2022 01:48PM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:39PM UTC
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Lynx (Guest) Wed 17 Aug 2022 02:28PM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:34PM UTC
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cherry_uecchi Wed 17 Aug 2022 03:20PM UTC
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rip_to_shreds Wed 17 Aug 2022 08:41PM UTC
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Foxpaws Mon 20 Mar 2023 03:36AM UTC
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