Rust
Chapter 3 - Fervour
It took three further days of walking before they reached their destination of Craistël, and they could finally relax, settle in and stay in the same place for longer than a night or two. The walk had been tense, both travellers lost in their thoughts, too wrapped up in their own hopes and fears to manage any conversation beyond the bare necessities, with zero repeat of the kiss that still brought a tingle to Xally's lips when she thought back on it. In fact, Gajeel seemed to be making more of an effort than ever before to keep distance between them, and Xally would be lying if she said that didn't sting. She wanted to confront him over it, ask him just what in the fresh hell he was trying to pull, but she was honestly too exhausted. The months of travel and work, the fear and the anxiety of what they were hunting, what they might find, all weighing her down to where all she could summon the strength for was to keep putting one foot in front of the other until they met up with their contact.
Connagh was the kind of guy you'd walk passed six times without ever noticing him, which was exactly what you wanted in an informant. He was White Sea through and through, had moved up north eons ago when, as a young man, he'd fallen for a Sevenese girl, but he'd made it a point to keep touch with the guild through the years. He was their first point of contact in the country, the one who'd arranged everything they were going to need, exactly what they'd been told to expect, and exactly where he'd said they were to meet.
"Y'be late, laddie. Follow'n me now, I be takin' you to your flat".
No flowery greeting, and straight to business - Gajeel decided he definitely liked the older man, something about his weathered face, copper hair and lilting accent put him at ease almost instantly.
They followed in silence to a duplex on a quiet street, the kind where children played on the empty roads and neighbours watched everything that went on. entering into the apartment on corner, Gajeel watched familiar runes flare to life as the door clicked shut.
"Right'n, imagine you be fair knackered. Kitchen's stocked, bedrooms be upstairs, get'n y'selves a kip an' I'll be back t'morrow eve. Try an' stay outta trouble 'til then, I be too old t'be chasin' after ye wee bairns".
"Y'heard th' man annwyl, off ta bed wi' ya" Gajeel's voice was more affectionate than it had been in days as he eased the pack from her shoulders, carrying it up the stairs and into one of the rooms as he watched Xally give the place a once over before stepping into the bathroom.
A cursory search told Gajeel that everything seemed as much in order as was possible, given the circumstances, and he threw his gear into the other room, more than content with the idea of a long nap. He'd settled in, comfortable and warm in the space between consciousness and slumber when a small rap on the door caught his attention.
"Xal?"
"Mind if I bunk in here?" Freshly showered, she looked so small and unsure as she stood there fiddling with the hem on her singlet.
"Annwyl, y'aint even gotta ask" he smirked, lifting the covers and shifting over to make space for her.
"What is that? That you keep calling me?"
"Draconic. 's wha' yer call someone's dear t'ya. Closest meanin's beloved" Gajeel muttered, glad she couldn't see the blush that had risen on his cheeks from her position curled into his side.
"Oh."
"Look, Xal, I know we're here workin' an' I ain't gonna let anythin' git in th' way o' tha', but I'm sure y'ken tell I feel somethin' f'ya"
"Kind of figured when you kissed me the other night" she giggled a little, fingers dancing lightly up and down his arm where it lay across his torso.
"Well, y'aint done kissed me back so I wa'n't sure wha' ta think!"
"I think all dragon slayers are equally dense. You have spent the last three days avoiding all physical contact with me! You barely said more than five words in a row the entire way here! What the fuck kind of message do you think that sends? When you kiss a girl, call her 'love' and then ignore her? Gods, you're so infuriating!"
"So, tha's a no ta feelin's then?"
"Nam irrumabo propter" Xally muttered under her breath, squirming out from under his arm and raising herself up so she was propped on Gajeel's bare chest. "I like you, far more than is appropriate considering you're my brother's friend, and my sister-in-law's ex. So I'm about to kiss you back like I should have the other night, and then we're going to take a nap. Agreeable?"
Gajeel swallowed heavily, the fire in her eyes doing a number of interesting things to his inner dragon, which was currently torn between raging against the challenge to its authority and wanting to roll over in happiness that the woman in his bed could more than hold her own.
Xally started slowly, a light brush of her lips against Gajeel's had her eyes fluttering closed. The raspy moan that came from deep in his throat when she slid her tongue against the seam of his lips tore through her self control, ruining her desire to kiss him so well that he'd forget all who had come before. Now she was running on instinct alone, teeth dragging against his lower lip, his tongue plundering into her mouth, as though Gajeel was as desperate for her as she felt for him.
"Annwyl, rhoi'r gorau i. Y'gotta stop" he gasped as she kissed down his neck. "'m serious, Xal. Stop".
"Why?" She sat back, eyes fixed firmly on crimson eyes that were darkened almost to black with lust. She didn't feel rejected, not from the tone of his voice, was almost a whine which showed the strain his self control was under. Not with the way his fingers were toying affectionately with her own, and she knew he'd been enjoying himself - could feel the evidence of that still twitching against her hip. But she was exceedingly curious as to why he'd been so insistent.
"Fuck, this'n awkward. Uh, i's not tha' I don' want ya, an' i's very much enjoyin' m'self, but if we don' stop now? 'm 'fraid, uh, tha'... Uh, well, mightn't be able ta, if'n ya know wha' I mean?"
Xally stopped, stunned by both his admission and the bashful look on the tanned slayers usually stoic face. Of course she knew about mates, and the mating process, but to hear him all but admit the depths of his feelings for her? And how seriously he was taking the possibility of a relationship? All her cheeky comebacks flew out her head with that stunning realisation.
"Okay. Do you want me to go?"
Gajeel let out a breath he hadn't been fully aware he was holding, waiting for her response. Which was, in the end, a complete non-reaction - no judgement, no crying, no yelling. Just understanding and the willingness to do whatever he needed, and suddenly the thought of not stopping was starting to sound like a good idea.
"Don' ye dare git outta this bed, Xally Pradesh. I ain't tryin' ta rush this, annwyl, but I damned sure ain't lettin' ya leave me side".
"Fy gwirion ddraig, you're stuck with me" she gave him one last lingering kiss, curling up under his arm once again as her weariness caught up with her.
"Since when ken ya speak Draconic?"
To say Gajeel was shocked would be one hell of an understatement - half an hour ago she hadn't understood a single word of the language, and yet here she was speaking it beautifully. The only response he got though was a soft sigh as her body relaxed in slumber. Never mind, answers could wait and a day spent in bed with the object of his affections was always going to be time well spent.
The sun was well on its way to setting when Xally finally stirred, slowly becoming aware of the warm muscled body that was half underneath her, and the way calloused fingers were carding softly through her hair.
"What time is it?"
"Nair a clue, annwyl. Late's all I ken tell, sun's goin' down."
"You should have woken me! I had so many things I wanted to do when we arrived!"
"Nothin' can't wait, 'm sure".
"I was meant to call Kaleb when we made it, so no, that probably can't wait".
"Shit. Well don' be doin' it when yer half on top o' me an' I ain't gotta shirt on!" Gajeel practically yelped as Xally rolled off his chest, scared he was about to get a lecture from their guild master - her brother.
"Relax, lacrima's in my bag. In the other room. So put some clothes on and I'll meet you downstairs. Are you hungry? Because I am starving" Xally dropped her voice, the husky tone having an instant effect as Gajeel swallowed heavily, mouth suddenly dry, his fists clenched in the sheets as she slipped free and practically danced out of the room, her laughter floating in the air behind her.
It took a minute to calm his heartrate back to a more reasonable tempo, and Gajeel figured a cold shower might be a good way to kill time - anything to avoid looking Kaleb in the eye. Mind bender or no, the man had a way of just knowing things - the kind of things that seemed completely inappropriate given family and guild dynamics he was trying to navigate.
When he padded barefoot downstairs, skin still covered in goosebumps from the icy water he'd stood under, Gajeel found his teammate sat at the kitchen bench talking animatedly with her brother.
"Ipse vere dicitur te colebat umum?"
"Quid sum ego volui facere Kaleb? Te intelligere, quam graves hoc est!"
"Sane ego facere. Iustus mitescere, quae erit ut sunt intelligitur esse"
"Well that's completely not helpful" Xally snorted, gesturing for Gajeel to join her.
"Ah, Gajeel. I am pleased to see you arrived safely. I trust my sister was not too difficult a companion?"
Kaleb's voice may have been distorted slightly through the communicator, but anyone could see the amusement clearly on his face. Which could only mean their conversation must have been about him, and Kaleb was very much enjoying the chance to tease them both for the foreseeable future.
"Nah, Xal holds 'er own jus' fine. Y'ain't warn me 'bout tha' temper o' hers though" he chuckled as a punch landed on his bicep with zero force behind it. "Wha' we know s'far, Master?"
"Nothing more than you left here with, I'm afraid. We will, of course, keep looking, but it pains me to say you're quite on your own for now. Xally tells me that you have already made plans to meet with your liaison. Hopefully they have further information for you, and ensure you make contact following your meeting."
"Of course, Master. We'll be in touch. Mittere noster amor omnes. nos deesset vos omnes".
"Be safe".
With that, the connection went dead, the lacrima dimming to a regular looking crystal, and Xally slumped over so her head was resting on the countertop.
"At this rate, we'll be here for years trying to figure this out"
"Naw, don' think o' it like tha'. Yer practic'ly a genius, an' I be a pro at undercover jobs. B'tween th' two o' us, we likely ta make't home fer Chris'mas"
"Yeah, in five years time".
"Ain't known yer t' git so down over a job annwyl.". Gajeel frowned - other than that one morning where he'd found her on the verge of panic, he'd never seen Xally be anything other than high spirited and determined.
"There's lots you don't know about me, Gajeel." she huffed, cheeks flushing with the ire that was rising within her.
"Then teach me, Xal. Let me know ya - all o' ya". he grabbed her arms, almost pleading as he pulled her up to stare openly into her eyes, searching her face for any sign of fear or rejection, any desire to be left the hell alone. All he saw, though, was the longing of someone who was so tired of being alone in the world, her eyes a mirror reflecting back his own desire for connection.
"We're gonna need a drink. Or twelve".
"Yer gonna need ta eat first."
"Good thing my companion is such a fantastic cook" Xally fluttered dark lashes up at him, and Gajeel knew he was sunk, realising right then and there that he would do quite literally anything to keep that sparkle in her eyes, his dragon all but screaming at him to claim her already. Instead, he shook himself free of the thought and stepped away from her body, instantly missing the feel of her under his fingers.
"Lucky fer me, yer fantastic at doin' th' dishes" he shot her a wink, turning to the pantry to rummage together something approximating dinner for them.
"Wait, you were how old?"
"Nair a clue. Old 'nuff ta know better fer sure." Gajeel chuckled, watching the blonde next to him practically roll off the couch, laughing at his expense. Her eyes were bright under the glow of the fire, cheeks rosy from merriment and the half empty bottle of Soju on the table before them.
"Bloody hell, haearn, you need better friends".
"I got 'em now. An' ye can't be callin' me tha' annwyl. 's th' only time' I'm gonna tell yer".
"That a threat, Gajeel?"
"Consider't a warnin', beautiful. Now, ya kin ta tell me jus' how 'xactly ya ken speak ma language?"
Sighing, Xally downed the rest of her glass, nose crinkling slightly as the liquor burnt its way down her throat, and turned to face him, wanting to watch his reaction almost as much as she wanted to run and hide from the conversation they were about to have - that they needed to have.
"When I said I was from Minstrel, that wasn't exactly the truth. I was living there, right before my parents died and Arman took me in, but I wasn't born there."
"Yer from here."
"You are a clever one. Yes - a settlement called Astéla, so far north it might be the last place you'll find humans before y deyrnas y dreigiau. It's a tiny village, only a handful of families left, and all of them superstitious as hell."
"An' ye don' look like yer meant ta" Gajeel breathed, hand snaking its way over to rest of her knee in what he hoped was a comforting way. "Yer folks stole away ta keep ya safe, went somewhere yer'd look like ya b'longed."
"When Dad adopted me we kept up the story, and to be honest I barely remember anywhere but Bosco being home, but Arman made sure I had all the information I could need. I always knew where I was from, and that I was loved. Draconic is actually my native tongue - it's all my parents ever spoke to me, and it's how Cristoff and I talk to each other."
"Tha's why ye volunteered fer the job, innit?"
"I guess it is, in a way. They may have all but run us out of town because I lucked out with some genetic mutations, but Seven is my birthplace and I feel a need - a pull, like this is where I'm meant to be." she sighed, running dainty fingers through her hair. "You must think I'm crazy. Or hate me for lying to you".
"Nah, barely knew ya 'fore. An' I defin'tly think yer madder'n a cut snake, but not 'bout this. Y'ain't th' only one done volunteered, ain't th' only one feelin' it."
Xally smiled softly, taking his hand between her much smaller ones and running soothing circles over the skin on the back, where it was marginally less scarred than the rest of his body.
"You volunteered?"
"Best anyone ken figure, I'm from 'round these parts. Somethin' feels like it's callin' me back here - ta this country, ta th' mountains. Fact I git ta spend th' next while wi' a beautiful woman's jus' a bonus." Gajeel smiled, just a quirk of the corner of his mouth really, but it did lighten his heart to see her sit up that bit taller, having gotten a burden off her shoulders. "How're ya not fallin' over y'self drunk?"
Xally shrugged, pouring herself them both liberal glasses. "Don't have the metabolism like you do, but I've been drinking with Vander my whole life - you tend to either develop a tolerance, or you die. Why can't I call you 'haearn'?"
"You ever called Cristoff 'lleuad' 'fore? Wha' happ'n'd?"
"Uhhhh, probably when we were younger. I don't really remember, but I feel like it was scary?"
"When ye be callin' us like tha', y'be callin' direct t' th' piece o' dragon inside us. Cristoff's prob'ly fine - he's a kitty cat anyways, an' yer his kin - but if'n ya keep callin' ta me dragon like tha'? Well, he's a territorial bastard an' he really wants ta take ye all fer hi'self."
"Would it be so bad?"
Her voice was so quiet, it was almost lost in the crackling of the fire, and anyone who didn't have Gajeel's keen sense of hearing would have missed it completely, passing off her question as nothing more than a sigh. Not Gajeel though - he heard every word, heard her heart pounding in her chest, and with a forefinger and his thumb on her chin, forced her to look into his eyes as he let his control slip, pupils slitted as metallic scales sprang up along his cheeks.
"Ydych yn gwrando i mi Xally Pradesh. Unrhyw ddyn fyddai damn ffodus i gael i chi. Os byddwch yn rhoi i mi hanner cyfle, byddaf yn mynd â chi fel fy mhen fy hun ar gyfer yr holl dragwyddoldeb"
"Haearn" Xally breathed, almost a sigh of pleasure as she brought a hand up to caress the sharp scales of his jaw, watching with awe as they shimmered and disappeared under her touch.
"Tha's who yer gonna git if ya keep callin' me tha', princess. So no, wouldn't be bad at all, but ya deserve all the romancin' in th' world, an' I? Well, I ain't hardly worthy o' th' ground ye be walkin' on."
"And you think that you get to decide what I deserve? Who's worthy of me?" Xally wrenched herself free of his grasp, standing with fists clenched at her sides. "How dare you think your opinion matters less than mine! That I don't get to choose who I want to be with!"
"Ya ain't even know me, Xal! Ain't know half th' shit I done in me time! I got red on me hands, in me ledger, so 'xcuse me fer not wantin' ta stain yer perfect self wi' all th' sins o' me past!"
"You think I care? Fucks sake Gajeel - I know who you were! I know all about you, hell - I even met Kurogane once! I'm not scared, and I'm not running from this!"
He'd been expecting her to scream, to throw things, maybe storm off. But Gajeel was rapidly learning that Xally Pradesh was a woman of contradictions, because she was clearly mad as hell at him, but she wasn't leaving. Quite the opposite, in fact - she'd thrown herself into his chest, the force of her body colliding with his knocking the air clean from his lungs as they toppled to the ground where she straddled him, her weight pressing onto his torso as her hands kept his shoulders pinned to the floor. All of which left Gajeel thoroughly confused, extraordinarily aroused, and a little curious as to just how she was managing to pull this much strength from her tiny body.
"Stay" she commanded him like you would a puppy, and rose from her perch just long enough to throw another log on the fire. "Now, want to tell me again how you don't deserve me? Because I could do this all night". Xally's tone was playful as she settled back astride his hips, her anger seeming to have dissipated almost instantly.
"I yield. Not tha' I canny take ya annwyl, but we keep goin' like this an' yer be in fer a world o' trouble." Gajeel leant up, dragging his teeth against her skin as he whispered into her ear. "Dragons're always on top".
Translations-
Draconic -
rhoi'r gorau i = stop
fy gwirion ddraig = my silly dragon
haearn = iron
y deyrnas y dreigiau = the kingdom of the dragons
Ydych yn gwrando i mi = you listen to me
Unrhyw ddyn fyddai damn ffodus i gael i chi. Os byddwch yn rhoi i mi hanner cyfle, byddaf yn mynd â chi fel fy mhen fy hun ar gyfer yr holl dragwyddoldeb= any man would be damn lucky to have you. If you give me half a chance, I will take you as my own for all eternity.
Boscan -
nam irrumabo propter = for fuck sake
ipse vere dicitur te colebat unum? = he truly called you cherished one?
quid sum ego volui facere Kaleb? T intelligere, quam graves hoc est! = what am I meant to do kaleb? You know how serious this is!
Sane ego facere. Iustus mitescere, quae erit ut sunt intelligitur esse = you know I do. Just calm down, things will be as they are meant to be
mittere noster amor omnes. nos deesset vos omnes = send our love to everyone. we miss you all
The world is still mad, and my update schedule is still all over the place. Sorry!
Rao - happy to see your name pop up on some of my other work! I really hope you enjoy everything else I've been working on!
Dragonfly - he's such a smoosh, really. But of course he is, we know what he's like with those babies!
Nic - thank you! They're an interesting pair, thats for sure.
Desna - they are SO fiesty! I can't tell if they want to kill each other or fuck half the time. I know I've taken some liberties with everything, so hopefully it all still gets your tick of approval?!
As always, I can't wait to hear your feedback and your ideas on what on earth these two have found themselves in! Stay safe everyone!
Much love
- A.V xxx