Rust
Chapter 2 - Proximity
In the end, it had taken them the better part of four months to make it to their destination entirely on foot. It had been a strategic move on Xally's part - taking their time meant ample opportunities for reconnaissance, information gathering under the guise of traveling mages taking odd jobs in the town's they passed through. Plus, she had more than her share of experience with dragon slayers and their motion sickness, and absolutely zero desire to suffer through that again, much less force Gajeel to endure any amount of misery that wasn't strictly necessary. So while they'd walked, worked, and even slept side by side for months on end, they'd learnt more about each other than either had planned.
Gajeel heard all about her childhood, of growing up with such a raucous group of siblings, and how Xally had to learn new and ingenious ways of holding her own against the incessant teasing that came with being the youngest. He'd learnt about her early years, her biological parents, and how the culture of her home country seemed almost impossibly familiar to him. He had come to see her as far more than Bickslow's little sister - instead, when Gajeel looked at Xally now, he saw an intelligent, powerful woman with a heart of gold, and horrifyingly, he could see himself falling further in love with every day that passed.
Unbeknownst to Gajeel, he wasn't the only one suffering from the same affliction. Xally, too, was struggling with the more than friendly feelings she knew were blooming for the dark haired dragon slayer. Never before had she met someone who was so obviously the embodiment of 'still waters run deep' - Gajeel was even keeled, good natured despite his imposing appearance, and she had yet to see him show any true passion, any depth of emotion beyond what would be considered mild irritation or polite joviality. It fascinated her, the unknown and the possibilities of what he could be in joy, battle, or her bed. She'd learnt he was far more than anyone had given him credit for; more worldly and attentive than she had ever imagined. Xally found too, he was more animalistic than her siblings - operating more on instinct and moving through the world with the grace of a predator. It was no wonder women and men alike were drawn to him, she'd noticed as they'd travelled - everyone seemed to know he was the kind of creature you wanted on your side, and it send a thrill up her spine every time he fixed those crimson eyes on her with emotions she couldn't quite place, but it left her a little breathless with the urge to kiss him every time.
On the day they finally arrived in Seven, it was nearing dusk as they trudged wearily through the tiny border town of Ecrin, hoping for somewhere to at least sit and rest a while. Gajeel knew his travelling companion must be tired, he himself felt the weight of exhaustion in his limbs, but she never complained, never faltered in her determination to keep pace with his longer strides. They wove through the streets filled with people on their way home, passed merchants packing away the stock that remained from their days trade, finally settling on a small in near the centre of town, where Gajeel once again let Xally take the lead, thankful that her people skills easily outstripped his own when the matronly woman at the desk turned to greet them with a far warmer welcome than they'd been receiving of late.
"Fàilte luchd-siubhail. Fàilte gu talos-seinnse".
"Chùis. a bheil seòmraichean a tha ri fhaotainn?"
"A-mhàin airson aon-nochd"
"'s e sin gu leòr ann, feumaidh tu ar taing"
"Do charaid a tha e gu math tarraingeach. beagan eagalach cuideachd"
Xally took the key with a giggle, the faintest hint of pink dusting her cheeks barely visible in the dim lighting, the sight of her looking so cheerful doing strange things to Gajeel's heart rate as he followed her down the hall, nodding to the smiling woman behind the desk as he passed her.
Inside the room, with the door locked securely behind them, Gajeel suddenly realised there was only one bed.
"Sorry, it's all they had left. I can sleep on the couch?"
"Nah, 'sfine. Take th' bed, I ain't mind sleepin' on th' floor. Yer buyin' dinner though, pay back seein' as yer ain't tell th' nosy witch down th' hall we ain't datin'."
"How... You... What?" Xally was flummoxed, completely taken aback by the realisation that Gajeel knew Sevenese. Not just knew it, but was fluent enough to follow along her conversation from earlier.
"Wha'? 's maybe three steps r'moved from Draconic, an' o' course I ken speak tha'." He laughed, stepping into Xally's space just to be annoying, the scent of her tickling his nostrils and not for the first time making his dragon roll about in bliss, before he got hold of himself, placing an index finger under her chin and closing her mouth with a snap. "Careful, àlainn. Yer like ta catch somethin' a sight less pretty'n y'are" he all but purred, watching her eyes glaze over and that blush return to her cheeks before he stepped away, already missing the feel of her that close.
"Gajeel Redfox! That was a cheap trick, culus." She seethed, stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind her, where Gajeel could hear her muttering insults all the way down the hall. He contemplated going after her, but he knew Xally was more than capable of taking care of herself, and he desperately needed a minute to reign himself back in. The way she'd reacted - instantly, and so strongly; how right she'd felt in his arms; the faintest hint of arousal still lingering in his nose... Gajeel hadn't dared let himself dream that she could possibly return his feelings, but the evidence was all there, had been in his arms just moments ago, and he knew he was royally fucked because he'd fallen head over heels for the youngest daughter of the Pradesh family. Resigning himself to getting drawn and quartered if they ever made it back to Bosco, he gave up trying to calm his dragon and took an icy shower that did almost nothing to cool the fire burning in his veins.
He was just emerging from the bathroom when Xally quietly latched the door behind her, and was greeted with the sight of an almost naked Gajeel Redfox standing before her, wearing nothing but a towel and a smirk.
"Oh, put some clothes on. You're dripping on the floor" she gestured to his hair, which was sitting in wet strands down his back, so different from its usual mane-like appearance. Xally did her best to be as unaffected as possible, but the sight of muscles rippling underneath skin still covered in water droplets had her mouth suddenly dry, the sight of scars layered over tanned skin making her heart clench at the thought of how much pain he wore on his body.
"They ain't all hurt. An' yeah, ya said tha' out loud" he teased, slipping behind the door to dress.
"Sorry! They look painful. I mean, not now, obviously, because they're scars and not wounds and I know the difference because I'm a doctor and"
"Y'know, ya ramble jus' like th' Shrimp when yer nerv's. Do I make ya nerv's, Xally?" With two short strides he was in front of her, once again in her space and looking for any sign of fear in her eyes. Xally, for her part, seemed to understand the challenge for what it was, what Gajeel himself wasn't even aware of it being, and she closed the distance with a smirk.
"Maybe you're the one who should be nervous."
Crimson eyes darkened, flicking down to watch her tongue where it danced across her lips, before Gajeel wrenched himself free of whatever spell had befallen him, and hurriedly put some space between them, lest he do something he might not live to regret, knowing what her brothers could be like.
"Uh, yeah... Some o' 'em stung. This'n" he angled his torso to show the parallel lines that ran jaggedly above his hip "hurt like hell fer months. Dragon, when th' princess let 'em outta th' Eclipse Gate. An' this'n's from Levy herself, first time we met." He pointed at the perfectly circular mark below his right pectoral, spinning to show it's matching mark in the back. "Ran me clean through, 'fore I strung 'em up".
"Yeah, they told me about that. Kaleb said I should know who was going to have my back out here, but I trust Levy more than some dusty old folder. So when she says you're good, I believe her. Besides, Kaleb also told me you're a terrible singer and he was very wrong about that!" Xally joked, trying to brighten the morose look that had fallen darkly on Gajeel's features. She took his smile as a win, and they settled into comfortable silence while they ate.
"Alrigh', offta bed wi' ya." Gajeel stood, pulling Xally to her feet and shoving her in the direction of the bed. "Yer bin yawnin' yer head off fer hours, an' I canny be th' one t' call yer Dad an' tell 'im yer done yawned yerself ta death".
Xally stretched, completely missing the way Gajeel's eyes darkened at the flash of creamy stomach the motion exposed. He was right, she was exhausted. She'd spent the entire time since dinner pouring over their information again and again, certain she was missing something, some vitally important piece of information to tie everything together. Couple that with the fact they'd walked almost ten hours that day? Yeah, Xally was beyond ready for some sleep. She gave Gajeel's bicep a quick squeeze as she passed, climbing into the bed and shivering.
"Hey, uh, Gajeel?"
"Mmm?"
"Any chance there's a heater around here?" She heard some rustling, the room getting darker as he flicked off lights, before the bed dipped.
"Best yer gon' git's me, 'm 'fraid. Tha' alrigh'?" He waited until he could see Xally's nod in the darkness and began easing over slightly, giving her ample opportunity to flee before he wrapped his arms loosely around her trembling body, letting her dictate their level of contact. The fact that she turned, rolling over and into him, nuzzling against his bare chest and tossing her arm across his torso had his dragon - and his heart - all aflutter at this kind of intimacy. So much so that he forgot himself and tipped her chin up, drinking in the sight of her blue eyes shining in the darkness as he lowered his face and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.
"Sweet dreams, Gajeel" she sighed, settling back down against his warmth and squealing internally like a teenager after her first kiss. Which she wasn't, Xally scolded herself, not at all - she was a grown woman, a doctor for crying out loud. She'd kissed, and been kissed, by many a man and woman alike. So why was this soft, short sweep of lips against hers the one that had her giddy, heart racing and stomach full of butterflies? A soft snore from above her left her know that Gajeel clearly wasn't this affected, and that at least one of them was getting some rest, because Xally's brain was racing and the chances of her sleeping tonight were disappearing by the second.
Of course, she had managed to nod off at some point during the night, because the next time Xally opened her eyes, the sunlight was beaming through the drapes, and the bed was woefully empty, although the sheets next to her were still warm, so she mustn't have missed his waking by long. Sitting up, she rubbed the remnants of sleep from her eyes and tried to focus. She was alone in a hotel room, in a foreign country, on a job that was so secret only four people in the world knew what she was doing. All of which was enough to cause panic to rise in her throat, hot tears prickling at the back of her eyes.
"Shit. Xal, y'okay?" Gajeel fumbled with the tray, setting it down awkwardly as he rushed to her side, kneeling beside the bed with worry clearly etched onto his features.
"Yeah, just overwhelmed with everything I guess." She sniffled, wiping the remnants of tears from her eyes. "You weren't here when I woke up".
"Sorry, annwyl. Did'nae mean ta leave yer fer so long. Mrs T was on fer a chat, an' all I wanted was t' git some breakfast. Tol' me how lucky I musta bin ta have such a pretty thing in ma bed. I did'na have th' heart t' tell 'er" Gajeel chuckled, happy to see a smile back on that beautiful face.
"Well, we did sleep together" Xally giggled, toying with the ends of her hair.
"Woman, don' yer be wordin' it like tha' when yer call home. I don' wanna be th' one ta test how far yer brother kin reach an' murder someone wi' his mind".
Translations -
Sevenese -
Fàilte luchd-siubhail. Fàilte gu talos-seinnse = welcome travellers. Welcome to the Talos Inn
chùis. a bheil seòmraichean a tha ri fhaotainn? = Thank you. Do you have rooms available?
a-mhàin airson aon-nochd = only one for tonight
's e sin gu leòr ann, feumaidh tu ar taing = that is plenty, thank you.
do charaid a tha e gu math tarraingeach. beagan eagalach cuideachd = your boyfriend is very handsome. A little scary too
àlainn = love
annwyl = beloved
Boscan -
culus = asshole
A little world building info -
All the official info can be found on the Pradeshverse wiki - pradeshverse . fandom wiki / Seven
Seven is (in my mind) lots of sun and desert plains, interspersed with oases of lush green jungle, with mountainous regions in the north.
The people speak a watered down form of Draconic, with different dialects depending on the region.
In the South (where this chapter spits our lovebirds out) the dialect is a little diluted, because so many people pass through the area, most locals are at least bilingual and the influx of languages has changed the language over time. Up North, the dialect is more formal and much closer related to the original Draconic, as settlements there have been mostly untouched by outsiders.
Well, my posting schedule is out the window for the time being.
Seems like we're back in locky-d every other week, and this one feels especially brutal - because childcare is closed! Two year old's are exhausting to try and entertain when they're used to day care every day, and mum is infinitely less fun. Tantrum central over here currently!
Anyway, all of this is just to say that I haven't forgotten, and I'm not going anywhere, but things might be a little later than usual for a while - bear with me, I'll try and get back onto some kind of schedule A.S.A.P!
Dragonfly - take the credit babes! I kind of love these two, even if they live in my brain and just yell at each other the entire time, so hopefully I can do your brilliant idea proud!
Nic - thank you! I'm doing my best, and knowing you guys are waiting for my updates is insanely motivating! Also, I hope your little one is feeling better!
As always, I can't wait to hear your thoughts and ideas! Stay safe, and keep your eyes peeled for more updates at some point (hopefully soon!)
Much love
- A.V xxx