Adventure Tales pt. 4: Two's a Party

Joaquín almost couldn't believe how quickly the rest of the year had gone by. With them darting from town to town sometimes he forgot to even keep track of the days. The pair spent the Day of the Dead in another town. At first Joaquín regretted not being in San Angel to see his father but María made certain to keep him distracted. It started with food and ended with her dragging him out to dance.

"You never told me you could dance." She made a face when he got the upper hand.

"You never asked."

By the end of the month they headed back up north to deliver something. It wasn't something they had to do, but María admitted she needed a break from the strange terrain. Some familiar desert sand would feel good.

Then they could head back down and clean out the rest of the bandits hiding there.

They stopped in any town they came across, if only for one night. Plenty of them were familiar and thankfully no bandits had shown up since they came through. The only reason they ended up lingering was because the children didn't want them to leave. Joaquín just couldn't say no to a row of desperate faces.

Because of those delays when Joaquín's birthday arrived the duo spent most of the day riding to the next town. It was a slower ride so Plata didn't wear out in the hot sun. And, oddly enough, most of the time it was quiet.

María was always on top of birthdays. When they were younger and Joaquín even tried to dodge the celebration she'd find him and drag him out. She and Manolo wouldn't leave his side all day.

It made him nervous that she hadn't said anything. Perhaps she forgot? With all the traveling they were doing it wouldn't be that strange. That or she got the dates mixed up.

"We are stopping for the night, aren't we?" She said the moment the sun was setting.

"At some point, we should cover more ground first."

"Let's stop." She nudged him.

"What for?"

"Either stop and make camp or I'm jumping off the horse."

Plata snorted and nodded her head.

"Go ahead, you'll certainly make her happy."

María huffed and leapt down onto the sand. Joaquín pulled on the reigns but it took Plata a moment to actually stop. She shook her head and hoofed the ground.

"Honestly María," he slid off the saddle. "I thought you wanted to get there as soon as possible."

"I do, but we're obviously not getting there today and we have to celebrate."

"Huh?"

"Your birthday, dummy." She poked his chest.

Heat rose up his cheeks. "C-come on María you don't-"

"You thought I forgot, didn't you?"

"No," He turned his head. "I just-"

"Liar."

Joaquín let off a long sigh. "Fine, what did you have planned?"

"Well," She dug through one of the bags on Plata's back. "After we set up camp and get some dinner cooking I'll open this up."

Joaquín only stared at the clear bottle for a moment before he glared. "Where did you get that?"

"A lady from the last town gave it to me as a present."

"Did she know how old you are?"

"She said I should live a little."

"You're not drinking that." Joaquín held out his hand.

"Why not?"

"You don't even need to ask that, now hand it over."

"Who said I'm drinking it anyways it's for your birthday." She clutched the bottle closed to her chest and shifted on her feet.

"You've been begging me for alcohol since we got out here and it's still not happening." He lunged for the bottle but she jumped back.

"Just a little?"

"No."

"Stop being boring."

"I promised I'd take care of you when I took you out here."

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know," he tried to snatch it again. "That's what worries me. Now hand it over."

"Hmph, why don't you take it from me." She stuck out her tongue before she ran ahead into the desert.

Joaquín sighed but smiled as he took off after her. Plata took a moment to trot behind him.

Unfortunately even with her shorter legs she was somehow faster than him. A few time he almost snagged her hair but she managed to jump ahead. Soon she side stepped into a thick mess of bushes. Her light steps dodged the flora easy but Joaquín tripped twice. The third time he lost his footing and landed face first in the brush.

"Are you okay?" She tried to say between her laughter.

Thankfully the medal was pinned to his chest so he didn't feel a thing. Still, getting up wasn't comfortable, and it took Plata tugging on the collar of his uniform to get him to his feet.

"You really need to work on your footing." She had the smuggest look on her face as she stepped over to him.

"Yeah, well, so do you." Not giving her the chance to react he snatched the bottle of tequila in one hand and shoved her back with the other.

María screamed when she landed in the bushes and she flailed around for a moment before managing to sit up.

"You jerk," she shouted and pulled a twig from her hair. Many of the branches stuck out of her locks.

Joaquín knew he shouldn't laugh when he saw some scratches on her face but couldn't help himself.

"You better help me get these out." She kept a hand in her hair as she struggled to her feet.

He just kept laughing and it only got worse when she smacked his arm. "Okay, okay, I will. But can we set up camp first?"

The trio wandered out of the brush and searched for an open area. The sky was much darker now, making things difficult, but after a while they located one big enough. María unloaded supplies while Joaquín got enough kindling for a small fire. In the winter months the desert got too cold at night.

"Put that down." Joaquín said the moment he heard the bottle clink behind him.

"Ugh, I thought you were busy."

Joaquín lightly blew on the fire. "I've told you before, never drop your guard."

Her weight dropped onto his back as she rested her chin on his head. her arms draped over his shoulders and pointed to the flame. "Is it done yet? I'm hungry."

"With how childish you act you wonder why I won't let you drink."

"You know you're one to talk." Her arms wrapped around his neck. "I think you just try too hard to act older than you are."

He didn't respond to that, it was probably true. Having to be a soldier and play the hero didn't leave much room for immaturity.

For a while the only sound was the fire chipping away at the brambles. María's arms tightened as she leaned her cheek against the back of his neck. Warmth spread from that spot to his ears and he knew he couldn't blame the fire.

"It's not the same without Manolo playing something huh?" She whispered.

"Maybe we should head home for a bit."

"We're not done out here."

"María-"

"If we go back there now my father might never let me leave again. I don't want to be trapped there." She pulled her head back. "We're not going home until he can't control me anymore."

Joaquín laughed and stood, forcing María to let go.

"He already can't control you." He ruffled her hair and pulled out a twig. "Otherwise you wouldn't be out here."

"Please, if I go home now he'll probably do something bad to make sure I don't go anywhere. You know he would." Her gaze fell to the sand below.

"Fine, we won't go home just yet. Now sit down so I can get rid of these twigs."

"You better start dinner first."

"Hm, and here I thought you were going to make dinner for the birthday boy." He stuck out his chest.

"Do you really want me cooking with an open flame?"

"Probably not," he admitted.

"Oh, we should see if we can hunt something." Her eyes widened and reflected the spark in the fire. "You still have to teach me how to shoot."

"No." He nudged her toward the sleeping bags.

"Why not?"

"You just argued to keep you away from an open flame and you want me to hand you a pistol? Besides I'm not wasting ammo out here."

"When did you become such a stickler?"

Joaquín snorted as he pulled out another twig and tapped her on the nose with it. "Forgive me but... I don't think I'm the stickler here."

María pulled her lip back in disgust before she smacked him.

When dinner was finally in place the pair sat on the sleeping bags. Joaquín set to work pulling out all the tiny bits of wood tangled in her hair. Plenty of the were buried in the layers of curls and waves, but he couldn't say he minded.

"Do you think you'll ever cut it?" The hair slid through his fingers as he continued to search.

"I don't know. I thought about it but I like it too. Besides when I start earning my own medals I was thinking of pinning them in my hair. Maybe a few in my ears too."

"María, medals are not accessories. They're badges of-"

"They're shiny and I want them in my hair." She tilted her head back. "Fight me."

"Maybe in the morning," he pushed her head back and found another twig.

Finally all the debris came free and Joaquín returned to the fire. María hummed an aimless tune for a while, but it melted into one he recognized. It was a song Manolo always sang when he wondered about the future. Full of poetry about long dirt roads and rocky hills but in the end the focus drifted to a pair of travel companions.

As she continued to hum he heard her stand up.

"You better not be getting that tequila."

"I'm not." The song cut off.

Joaquín didn't believe that until he turned around and saw her digging through her bag. It took her a moment to pull out a square parcel tied up with a string.

"What's that?"

"What does it look like?" She sauntered back over and plopped down next to him. She practically shoved the package into his hands before hiding her mouth behind her knees. Her eyes were wide, fixed on him and glowing in the firelight.

He knew what it looked like, but he was still rather stunned to see it. Over the years the only one who had really gotten him any physical gifts had been Posada, and that had just been for training really. María and Manolo did their best, of course, but kids could only buy so much on their own.

As for his mother, he wasn't sure she even remembered the date.

"Open it." She nudged him with her shoulder.

Joaquín glanced at her before he tugged on the string, undoing it as slowly as possible.

She only watched in silence for a moment. "Hurry up."

He went even slower and laughed when she growled.

"All right, all right," he jerked on the string and tore through the paper. He felt leather under his fingers before he saw it. It was black with a golden eagle imprinted on the cover along with his initials.

His eyebrows shot up as he removed the paper and opened it. All the pages were blank.

"I noticed your other one was close to full. Thought you could use a new one."

"H-how did you get this?" His throat was suddenly dry as he felt the texture of the paper.

"A little while back. One of the villagers we helped did leather work so I asked him about it. We had to make a few connections to get the whole thing done but he was happy to help."

Joaquín didn't actually know what to say. His mouth just hung open as he flipped through the blank pages. And she was right, his old journal, which he had found among his father's possessions, was almost out of space.

"So? Do you like it?" She scooted closer to him.

As he tried to think of the proper response he flipped to the front cover to find one page wasn't blank. A message had been scrawled on it in some absurd attempt at fancy handwriting.

"Hey wait," María tried to close the journal. "You're not supposed to read that until later."

He shoved her hands away and opened it back up. "Dear Joaquín-"

"No!"

Joaquín just pushed his hand against her face and kept her arms at bay. "Happy birthday! I really wanted to give you something special since it's just us out here. You seem to like writing so I hope you fill this journal up twice as fast as the first one, with all kinds of adventure tales. Thanks for bringing me with you this has..." His smile fell along with his voice. "This has been been the most amazing experience of my life so far. Somehow just wandering the desert with you really feels like... home."

María gave up her struggle as he scanned the messy "with love" and her signature.

Something tugged at Joaquín's chest as his hand fell away from María. The longer the stared at that last word in the message the foggier his vision became.

"Are you crying?"

María's words made him blink and he quickly wiped any tears from his eyes. "N-no, the smoke is just..." He shook his head. "It's wonderful, really. Thank you."

"You're welcome you big goofball."

Joaquín didn't expect her hand to touch his opposite cheek, or for her to pull him closer and plant a kiss on the other. It wasn't quick either, the contact lingered and Joaquín almost dropped the journal. His heart thudded against his chest and didn't slow down even when she moved away.

"I don't mean to rush you but," she shook him a few times. "I'm hungry."

The motion thankfully relieved some of the dizziness. "If that's the case why didn't you wait to give me this?"

"I couldn't wait anymore."

"Impatient." He smacked her on the forehead with the journal.

"Damn right."

"And a dirty mouth, what would your dad think." Joaquín stood up to put the journal away.

"Fuck him."

"María!" He gasped but couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"You heard me." She shouted louder. "He can't touch me out here."

The pair ate dinner in silence for a moment until María kept pulling stupid faces and making Joaquín choke on his food. It melted into a contest but María inevitably won. She pulled her hair over her lip like a mustache and started to impersonate her father and Joaquín couldn't take it anymore.

María curled up to sleep when they finally calmed down. She tried to get Joaquín to join her but he waved her off or now. He sat with Plata, admiring his gift again and rolling it around in his hands.

He got himself something to write with and wrote the date on the top page. His first entry, he had to make it count.

His gaze drifted up from the paper back to María. She was practically impossible to see at this point under the blanket with her hair all over the place. He thought about braiding it before he went to bed. He thought about the sound of her snores and as if on cue they quietly began.

Joaquín smiled and returned to the page.

I found it. He wrote. I finally found my home.

He stared at the word for a moment before his smile fell and a weight dropped into his stomach.

I found it, but it's not mine. Manolo's face popped into his mind.

And I'll have to give her back someday.

[~~~~~~~~~~]

"Fine, the barrels down the hill was smart but I still took out the most bandits." María smiled and showed off her new medal.

"Just enjoy that while you can. I'll be getting the next one."

"Only because of the narrow views of men."

Joaquín and María stood inside a stable while the soldier groomed his horse. The pair of them had shown up in the town down south after two months only to find the place swarming with bandits. A chaotic battle finally lead them to victory and the town even planned to celebrate. Joaquín agreed, but only after they settled in.

"But I guess it's a good thing we didn't stay in the desert." María changed the subject when he didn't respond. "I should have known most of the bandits were staying down here."

"The trees provide decent cover. And the hill this town is build on gives them terrain advantage."

"So much for that. When you used the barrels I... guess you could say their plans went downhill."

Joaquín stared at her before he threw the brush. "And you get angry at me for my puns."

She just giggled and picked it up. "Putting that aside how long will we be sticking around?"

"Well they want to throw us a party. I guess a few days wouldn't hurt. Besides, we don't want to be out in the middle of nowhere for your birthday now do we?"

Her eyes widened and she clutched the brush to her chest. "Oh, right, that's..."

Joaquín smiled and shook his head. "In fact, come here, there's something I want to show you." He tilted his head before he stepped over to their supplies.

María hesitated before she followed. He couldn't miss that excited spark in her eye as he pulled out his sleeping bag. He unrolled it before pulling out something long, wrapped up in a thick layer of cloth.

"Joaquín-"

"Take it." He said as he turned to face her. "And give me that back."

He traded the brush for the gift. She gripped it in her hands and her mouth fell open.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Why are you asking me?"

In a flash she unrolled the cloth to reveal a sword. It was smaller than the ones the military gave them. Gold skulls decorated the handle and at the base of the blade two words were carved into the side.

"No retreat," she read and swung the sword. "Please tell me you have the matching one."

"Not yet, but I plan on it." That wasn't a total lie at least, but he planned on giving that sword to Manolo.

"It's so much lighter." She laughed and spun around.

"It's a different metal. I figured the lighter the better so it could keep up with your speed."

"It's fantastic!" She shouted and pointed it at him. "But you know what this means right?"

"We can spar tomorrow." He nudged the blade away. "I'll be more than happy to help you get used to it, but for now we have a party to get to."

She lowered the sword but caught him off guard when she crashed onto his chest and hugged him. Her chin pressed against his bandoliers as she stared up at him.

"Thank you."

Before he could respond she was off again. She skipped once before leaving the stable all together. Joaquín called after her but there was no response. All he could do was hope she didn't try to fight someone else.

He finished grooming Plata before giving her some treats and putting her away. He adjusted a few of his medals before he headed back out onto the streets. While the area near the stable was clear he could hear the noisy crowds not far off. Going past a few houses he could see the crowd gathered in the town square. A few decorations were being brought out and all the kids seemed to be involved with a giant game of tag. He glanced around the grinning faces to find María off to the side. She was speaking to a mariachi group.

He headed her way and she noticed. Her face broke into a grin before she said something else to the band. They all nodded before they got their instruments.

The music rang through the square and everyone paused what they were doing. Plenty of the towns people broke into a dance without a second thought.

"Joaquín!" María shouted as she put her sword in her belt. "Catch!"

He squinted, not sure what she meant by that. Then suddenly she burst toward him as fast as she could.

It took until she jumped into the air for his brain to kick into gear. His arms shot out and grabbed her waist. He stumbled back from the force but kept his feet steady as she rested her hands on his shoulders and laughed.

"How about a dance?" She tilted her head.

Joaquín let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding and shook his head.

"Oh come on, it's a party. Don't tell me you hate dancing either I won't believe you."

"That's not what I was shaking my head at." He glared at her but smiled. "Sometimes you're just so... impulsive." He shouted the last word and spun her around as fast as he could.

María shrieked before laughing. The soldier spun her around a few more times but paused when she pressed her nose against his. The air from her laughter brushed against his cheek and his heart sprung up to his throat.

"Come on," María hopped out of his grip and took his hand. "Let's dance. Then you've got to meet some of these people. The band is hilarious."

Of course María loved the band. She loved music after all. Joaquín smiled at them before María jerked on his arm and pulled him into a proper dance.

The music went on even as the sun went down. Torches were lit all around the square, igniting it in a warm glow. Joaquín had sometimes considered writing poetry about how María looked in firelight. Something about the colors, the way they reflected off her hair, her skin, and her eyes, suited her so well.

Her eyes, oddly fixed on his at the moment, were half lidded with a relaxed smile, as if she was in a daydream. Something about that expression seemed familiar.

The pair of them jerked out of their trance when Joaquín's back bumped into someone. He spun around to see an older man.

"I'm so sorry." Joaquín stumbled over the words.

"It's all right," The man laughed. "As if anyone is paying much attention out here. I can't blame you for being festive." Then he nodded and held out his hand. "But can I ask for a dance with our lovely heroína?"

She glanced at Joaquín before smiling. "Certainly, why not?"

Joaquín let the pair of them dance out into the square but he didn't take his eyes off them. The old man seemed harmless enough, but all guys did at first. Still, he retreated back to one of the buildings for the time being. Better he stayed out of sight from the inevitable group of girls that were searching for him.

And yet one seemed to find him anyways.

"They haven't even brought out the food yet."

Joaquín jumped at the rough but feminine tone. He turned to see a middle aged woman standing next to him. Her black hair was done in thick curls past her shoulders and round chin. He took note of her thick makeup over her bright brown eyes.

"When they do I'll have to keep her away from it." He couldn't help but feel uneasy with her stare. "María will run off with all the sweets."

"She's quite the stunning young lady." The woman pressed her fingers together and nudged him. "I should congratulate you."

"What?" Joaquín stepped away. "What do you- oh. Oh no, ma'am. We don't have that sort of relationship."

"Are you certain?"

"Of course. I mean we're best friends but... well she still loves someone back in our hometown."

"Really? What a shame. You make quite the pair."

"Well, thank you." I guess? Joaquín wasn't sure how to respond to a comment like that. It wasn't the first time people mistook them for a couple but usually María was around to deny it for him. Besides, the more he glanced at her eyes the more he felt there was something familiar about her.

"Joaquín," María shouted as she ran over. "Don't hide over here. There's a bunch of girls who want to dance with you." She took his arm but paused when she noticed the woman. "Unless this one already asked." She snickered.

"Oh no, take him." The woman smiled. "I wouldn't want to deny all you young ladies a good time."

Joaquín swore he was sweating under their gazes.

But he didn't have long to think on it. María dragged him back out into the square shouting the whole way.

"Girls, I found him."

The uproar of shrieks made him shiver, but he just wound up laughing as the girls clung to his arms.

"All right," he pulled up his confident smile and puffed out his chest. "Which of you ladies is first?"