Work Text:
Ocelo's knee bounced as they worked up the courage to knock on the door of the twins' dorms. Dioses, they'd been standing outside for almost two minutes now- if anyone saw them, they'd be the laughing stock of the Academy. Better to get it over with. They were the child of Guerrero, for Sol's sake; why were they so nervous?
Before they could talk themselves out of it, their fist collided with the door in what one might call a tad too aggressive, but whatever. It swung right open to reveal Auristela sitting at her desk, a stack of books in front of her, while Aurelio, who sported sleek red headphones, laid on his bed on his side of the room.
Aurelio sat straight up, and Auristela glared at Ocelo. "Are people trying to break our door? That's the second time today."
Ocelo strolled into the room, shutting the door behind them with (only slightly) less force. They immediately curled up on the firey orange beanbag sat directly between twins' beds with the comfortableness of someone who'd done this hundreds of times. At this point, the twin's room was practically their home away from home (their room) away from home (their city). The familiar textures relaxed them as they replied, "Who was the first?"
"Niya," Aurelio answered, eyes on his phone.
Ocelo wrinkled their nose. "Why was Niya here?"
"More importantly, why did you try and break down our door?" Auristela pivoted. Ocelo stored that away to press- and make fun of- some over time. Now wasn't the time to trigger a Niya-centric rant. Sol knows they'd had enough of those to last a lifetime.
They grimanced at the feeling of their curls brushing aganst their shoulders. They desperately needed a haircut. Ugh, focus, Ocelo. "Can I talk to you about something?" they said, trying desperately to sound casual. (They were, in fact, not casual, but no one needed to know that.)
Auristela raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow as she pushed her textbooks to the side. "What did you do?" she asked, leaning forward to stare at Ocelo.
"I didn't do anything," Ocelo bit back.
"Mhm."
"I didn't!" they protested, before mumbling, "This time."
"What do you want to talk about?" Aurelio asked, taking off his headphones, patient warm eyes resting on Ocelo.
"I-" Well, shit. They'd practiced saying this for a while, but for some reason, the words lodged in their throat. Sure, it wasn't like it was a big deal, but after they said this, they couldn't go back to how things used to be. What if the twins didn't like their name? Something that was most definitely not anxiety, because they didn't get anxious, thank you very much, clawed at the insides of their mouth. "I'm nonbinary," they said, so quickly it sounded like one word. They shifted their weight on the beanbag, before adding, "Like Sol."
Auristela, not missing a beat, rolled her eyes. "Mhm, a bold comparision considering Dezi kicked your ass in sparring today."
Ocelo's throat cleared instantly as they shot back, "At least I wasn't busy thristing over Niya."
Auristela scoffed, but her cheeks darkened. "She wishes." Wait, was Ocelo right? It was just a thoughtless insult, but that would explain so much-
"D'you have another name you'd like to use?" Aurelio asked curiously, and Ocelo's attention snapped to him. "And pronouns?"
"Ocelo," they said with more than a little proudness, all doubt about their name gone. They'd spent a while choosing a name fit for a semidios of Guerrero, and this one fitted them well. "And they/them."
"Ocelo," Aurelio said thoughtfully, rolling the name around in his mouth and sounding out the syllables like he was savouring a food for the first time. He smiled softly. "It suits you," he commented.
"I know, right?" Ocelo said, flashing teeth.
"Have you told anyone else?" Aurelio asked.
"Not yet. I was thinking tonight?"
"I'll need to go shopping for your gender confirmation ceremony. Most of my dresses are too small for me," Auristela said, eyes flickering to her closet.
"Oh, I think I'll wear a suit," Ocelo said, grinning. "And I might dye my hair." Aurelio's face remained neutral as ever, but Ocelo caught his eyes widening slightly with worry. "What?"
Aurelio froze like a deer caught in the headlights, lips parted. "Well-" he stopped. "Remember last summer?"
"You cried to us for hours," Auristela scoffed, a smirk tugging at her lips.
"Well this time, I'll get a professional to do it," Ocelo said, brushing it aside. "And it wasn't that bad."
"Hours," Auristela repeated, stretching out those two syllables with an unimpressed drawl.
Ocelo glared at her, opening their mouth to bite a retort, before the shrill sound of the bell rang throughout the room. They winced, lifting their hands to their head, until the sound stopped. Ugh. They'd listened to the ring of the bell multiple times a day for years, but the high-pitched sound still unnerved them. "You better head out," Aurelio said. "I think Mom is making the rounds tonight."
Ocelo jumped up from their beanbag with reflexes as sharp as when they sparred. Occassionally, the twins had let them have a sleepover. That was against the rules, of course, but sometimes they were too amped up from training to go to sleep immediately. Instead, they'd lie there, listening to the rhythm of each other's breathing, until Ocelo sleepily made their way back to their room in the dark. But a few months ago, Diosa Lumbre had caught Dezi and Marino staying up late and yelled at them so loudly that everyone else in the corridor had also heard. They'd stopped after that.
Ocelo opened the door, then paused, one hand resting on the oak planks. "Thanks," they said gruffly.
Aurelio tilted his head. "For what?"
By then, Ocelo was out of the room and walking up the stairs to their single, a smile playing at their face. Nothing had changed.