FSH
| FSH | |
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Shedd Aquarium | |
| Players |
Javi and Razi meet at the aquarium. Also, their names rhyme. |
The crowd at the aquarium on a Tuesday in the early-ish afternoon (in the summer, no less) is about what one might expect for this sort of place. That is, plenty of kids with adults in various shades of harried, some touristy-looking groups who are sure to have seen saw My Octopus Teacher on Netflix, and staff weaving their way through all of it going about their duties. Of course, there are also people who don't fit into any of these groups, and one of those people is Javi. He's standing at the ray touching pool, leaning out over it to watch the rays swim back and forth, closer and closer to the edge to be TOUCHED. "Okay," he's saying to a kid who's standing next to him, short enough that they can't see as well over the edge. But that kid also has a harried-looking adult on the other side, so he's probably just doing a public service. "Give it a sec...and go." He slides his hand smoothly into the water. The kid follows suit, and then grins. "I touched it!" she exclaims, and Javi grins. "Nice one." He lifts his hand out of the water for a fist bump before the adult takes her hand to lead her off. She waves at Javi, who waves back -- but he's not about to leave his prime spot, at least not just yet. The aquarium is not exactly /around the corner/ from Razi's office, which is situated more on the north end of the Loop, but -- hey. Sometimes even workaholics need to get out of the office for lunch now and then, and sometimes they may be getting out of the office /not/ for lunch. So Razi looks a bit more /business-like/ than probably a lot of the other visitors, in his suit and tie. He looks well-tailored and presentable in that very particular Corporate sort of way. He's a short distance away when Javi leans over the ray pool, helping that kiddo manage to pet one of the passing rays. There's a subtle shift in the line of his mouth, something that at least might /suggest/ a smile. Just -- subtly. Subdued. There's an overall sense of observation to him, as if he might be as habitual a people watcher as he is a fish watcher. His gaze tracks the child as she's lead off by her parent, before it wanders back to the pool and the prime spot where Javi lingers. Javi definitely does not look businesslike, or corporate. At all. No, it's jeans-and-tee-and-Chucks all the way, the former and latter faded, the middle looking like the merch of some obscure band or other. He's a little disheveled all around, actually -- but in a way that's probably a //bit// of a style choice, rather than that he just rolled out of bed and pulled on the first thing he found off the floor. That effort is made especially clear by his hair, which is the sort of effortless riot of curls that probably takes quite a few products to achieve. But whatever the case with his grooming habits, he's still leaning out over the pool, watching carefully for his next chance to touch a ray. However, after several seconds of being looked at -- or maybe just being coincidentally in the eye-line -- he straightens up. Then, he turns, and looks right at Razi in time to catch the man looking at //him//. Or toward him. Whatever. There's no particular discernible reason for the sudden change; probably just coincidence, too. His eyebrows raise, but a moment later his face melts into another bright, wide grin. "You want to get in on this?" he asks, tipping his head toward the pool with an accompanying gesture of his hand. "Happy to give you some pointers." For all that Razi looks /notably/ put together, he doesn't seem to be the sort bothered by the inverse represented in Javi's riot of casual curls. While his gaze may have been idly observational rather than staring, he /also/ doesn't seem bothered to have been coincidentally caught in his idle study. When Javi makes that offer, the threat of a smile -- still subdued! still subtle! -- maybe twitches. There is a sense of contained amusement, but also a shade of 'why not' curiosity. He takes a step closer, so that he doesn't have to lift his voice above a normal conversational volume, and asks, "Is this a pastime or a calling?" Javi may not have expected Razi to accept, but when the other man //does//, he's obviously pleased by it. "Oh, calling," he replies with a decisive nod as he comes closer, before turning back to the pool. "All the way. Touching rays is serious, can't be casual about it. You gotta commit. Been working on this for years." As he's speaking, he's watching the creatures in the pool, carefully tracking the movements of each one until one comes close enough to reach. For him, that's closer than it might be for some other people, since he's not particularly tall. However, while he probably isn't taking it as seriously as he //says//, he does follow his own advice and commit, slipping his hand into the water and running his fingers over the closest ray's wing. In contrast to the abrupt way he'd turned to look at Razi before, the rather sharp nod, and the quick movements of his eyes, it's smooth, probably so as not to disrupt the path. "See? Don't wait or you'll miss it." As if Razi actually wants those pointers. He's getting them whether he did or not. "Do you fit time spent on imparting instruction around your other obligations, then?" The humor of the words is clear, although Razi's delivery is even and subtle; it would be easy to mistake him for being in earnest, just from his restraint. In his suit jacket, he doesn't look particularly prepared for ray petting, and his hands have remained in his pockets for the time being -- but he's still here, and still humoring Javi. He makes a low sound of acknowledgment, a little hum, as Javi demonstrates. "I see," he says, voice mild. He considers the ray pool for a moment, then looks back to Javi. "Any other pointers?" he wonders. "You clearly have put a great deal of work into excelling at this." Javi cuts a look over to the other man, squinting a little as he takes a moment to study his face. But either he's gotten the joke, or he's happy taking things at face value -- though what he says next makes the first more likely. "Uh huh," he confirms. "My schedule's pretty packed but you gotta take time out to relax, right?" The amusement in his tone is far more obvious than Razi's, especially coupled with another look, this one more pointed, and specifically at that suit jacket that's staying where it is for now. Very //un//suitable for sticking one's hand in touch pools. He shifts, propping a hand against the edge of the pool and turning so he can face the other man. "Sure," he continues. "They got kind of a pattern, if you watch for a while. You can figure out where to be. Like those guys?" He nods toward a tour group across the way, who have been disappointed several times with rays being just out of reach. "They're never gonna get one standing over there. Not sure why, but this is the best spot." His other hand comes up so he can tap a finger against his temple, before it extends toward Razi for a shake. "Javi." "So they say," Razi replies with the mild disbelief of a chronic workaholic. He may not be plunging his arm into the pool, but when Javi extends his, he readily draws one hand from his pocket to take his hand in a firm, businesslike clasp. It's a practiced handshake. "Razi," he replies, and yes, maybe there's a moment's humor at their inexplicably rhyming names. Now brought a bit closer, his gaze makes a brief, assessing study of Javi, something habitual and reflexive. "Are you here because it's the best spot, or is it the best spot because you're here, serving as the manta ray whisperer?" he wonders in that same even, mild tone. Razi's first comment elicits an amused snort, and Javi shakes his head, taking another moment to look the other man over. It's not a critical glance, and maybe it's even a little appreciative, but it's definitely a tacit acknowledgement that Razi is not taking a lot of time out of //his// packed schedule. However, he leaves it there, shaking the hand in kind before he releases it again with another, freer laugh at their very similar names, the subtle humor reflected and magnified several times over. It's just in time for the last question, which gets a few moments' consideration before he replies. "Por qué no los dos?" He says it with wide eyes and an exaggerated shrug, before his expression breaks into another grin. "Everyone's gotta be good at something. Pass it down to the next generation, like that." However, when he continues it's at least a little more serious, if not more somber. "You work around here?" he asks, with another slightly vague gesture in the air to encompass the office buildings nearby but outside the walls. The gesture ends with a sharper flick of his fingers near his ear, like he's shooing away a bug. "And your talent is manta ray herding," Razi surmises, inclining his head a touch. He doesn't seem particularly bothered at the idea; perhaps there is simply a calling for everyone, big or small. The next question is an easy one, though, although the first response is the slightest tip of his head. So-so. "Mm. Near North Side. I suppose I'm taking a long lunch." Just saying the words seems to itch. "Omega Pharmaceuticals. Legal department." Corporate drone. He smooths a hand down the front of his suit almost without noticing. Again, reflexive. "And yourself? I've only assumed from a lack of uniform that you're not an employee here, but perhaps if it's your calling, as you say, you're simply here on your off-time." "That's one of 'em, yep." Javi doesn't share what any potential other talents might be. Instead, he shifts his lean against the the edge of the pool, for no particular reason other than that he doesn't seem to ever be completely still. Whatever he'd been flicking away does seem to have distracted him briefly, and his eyes move past Razi for a moment toward a space somewhere in the middle distance, but when they refocus on the other man it's clear he was still listening. "Oh, a lawyer," he replies with a nod, "okay. I could see that. That why you're not gonna touch a ray?" But his tone is light, and it sounds like he's probably teasing. Unlike Razi, there isn't much that's subtle about him, and it isn't hard to discern his meaning. As for whether he works here, he shakes his head. "Nah," he says. "Kinda just picking up whatever right now while I get my EMT certification. So except for the class I got plenty of time to hang around aquariums." "A lawyer," Razi echoes, and there's a rueful sort of humor there once more -- or the slightest, subtlest hint of it -- as if he knows very well what a lot of people think of the profession. Almost the tiniest bit apologetic. Yes, lawyer, he knows. Just awful. The worst. "I /haven't/ touched a ray," he corrects him. "I didn't say I wasn't going to." A beat. "Although I'm curious what about my being a lawyer would be related to touching rays." "EMT?" he echoes back, nodding. "That must be difficult work. It seems like it would be taxing." If Javi thinks lawyers are the worst, he doesn't show it -- and since it seems like pretty much everything he thinks shows on his face the minute he thinks it, he probably doesn't mind. Except for the lack of ray touching, but Razi corrects him a moment later, and he has to acknowledge it with a nod. "Okay, not yet," he concedes. "Thought maybe it's not serious enough." The relationship it bears to lawyering, that is. Has he spent time with many lawyers? Well, who knows. "But I get why you wouldn't want to risk messing up that suit." It isn't said derisively, though -- just an observation. It's a nice suit. He starts to say something else, but the reply draws him up short. It also makes his gaze drop away from Razi and to the pool again. "Yeah, I guess," he says with a shrug. "Haven't finished it yet, so, you know. We'll see." It's not exactly the world's most subtle deflection, especially when he doesn't spend any more time talking about something that might be seen as a personal accomplishment for him. Instead, he looks back over at Razi expectantly, nodding to the pool again. "So, go ahead," he says, and just like that the grin is back. "Want me to hold your jacket?" There's a sense that Razi catches all those subtle details. The moments Javi's gaze moves past him. The distraction he flicked away. And, now, this unsubtle deflection. But he's not so rude as to draw attention to any of them. "They're just clothes," he says simply. And, after another moment's consideration, he draws his other hand from his pocket and shrugs out of the jacket first. He handles the clothing with care and precision, despite his words, yet at the same time doesn't seem to worry at handing it over. He uncuffs one wrist of his dress shirt next, methodically folding it back a few times to keep it out of harm's way, exposing the bronze skin of his forearm. And then he turns his attention to the rays. He is not an expert, of course. Not like /Javi/. But he is quiet, and patient, and -- especially with a bit of direction -- is content to wait for the right moment to lean in and let his hand rest in the water for a ray to pass under. "Hm." Other than that slightly skeptical sound, Javi doesn't argue with what he says, not even when it becomes clear how much care the man is taking when removing his clothes. And sure, maybe Javi is paying a little bit closer attention to Razi while he's doing it than is strictly necessary. But it's all in the name of the very serious business of touching a ray. Obviously. His smile pulls even wider once the other man is ready, and he nods approvingly before he takes his position, too. Maybe it isn't strictly necessary, but after all that he isn't about to mess up any of his lines. "Okay," he says as his gaze pulls away from Razi and toward the pool again. He watches the swimming rays for a few more seconds as his smile fades into a more serious look, so he can be sure to get it right. "Give it a sec." Just like he had with the kid earlier, in fact. "And go." If Razi objects to be given the same treatment as a small child, he doesn't give any indication of it. This is serious business, after all, and petting a ray is the same no matter one's age. He waits, patient and still, until Javi prompts him. And then he reaches further, hand sliding along the surface of the water, just as one of the rays passes under. It's a strange moment. Razi lacks the obvious, immediate delight of the child earlier, but certainly that could be surprise. Still, there's a thoughtfulness to his features. As if he takes time considering the moment, the sensation, the experience. And then, finally, he draws back. Straightens. "Hm," he says. And then: "Mission successful, then?" It might be more subtle enjoyment than the kid, but Javi has looked up again from the pool to watch Razi's face instead while he does it, and he also seems to be making note of all those small shifts that pass across the other man's expression. Far more so than it might seem possible for him to do at first glance, actually, with all those sharp movements and barely-contained energy he seems to be exuding at every moment, not to mention the bits of distraction here or there. What he sees seems to be worth it -- another wide smile crosses his face, making up for any lack of obvious delight in the other man. It's so wide that it even seems to transcend being merely on his face, lighting up his whole affect. "Yep," he confirms. "Good job." And he truly seems to mean it, too. He might have said more, but before he can he glances down, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone and look at hte screen. "Oh, huh." Whatever it was has him pushing off the edge of the pool, lifting a hand toward the other man. "Nice to meet you," he says, "I'll see you around." It's a bit of an optimistic statement, considering the size and population of Chicago, but maybe he assumes he's converted him to spending many long lunches at the touch pools. "Have a good one." And with that, he turns to head away, adeptly skirting a double stroller with two very unhappy toddlers in it before he turns to disappear down the hall toward the exit. | |