Rust
Chapter 6 - Admission
It was a slow crawl back to consciousness with limbs leaden, and head pounding as dim light filtered through lashes that felt glued together. Gajeel sat up gingerly, doing his best to ignore the pressure of a skull that had shrunk to be four sizes too small, paying no attention to the fact he could see the rotation of the Earth, feel it under bare feet on thin carpet. What he needed was water, the woman who wielded its power, and whatever was causing the glorious smell that set his nose twitching as the aromas worked their way into his poor suffocating brain.
He took his time down the stairs, each step threatening to send him spinning off his axis, balance almost non-existent causing him to hug first the rail and then the wall for added support on his achingly slow journey towards the kitchen, the mouthwatering smells wafting from the room, and the soft singing of a voice so sweet it eased the throbbing in his head as it floated through the air and into his ears.
"Good afternoon, you look like hell."
Gajeel felt like hell, but something about the light dancing off her pale hair, the way her eyes sparkled when she caught his gaze and the sweet smile on her lips all eased his agony and he found himself moving towards her, drawing her into his embrace and basking in the serenity her closeness gave.
Xally helped guide him to a seat at the bench, climbing nimbly to sit before him and give him a once over, her eyes lit with a familiar glow as her fingertips began to glimmer with pooling magic. Gajeel couldn't stop the sigh that eased from his throat, not even if he'd wanted to. The sensation of Xally's magic - the very essence of her - flowing through his aching body, soothing and cleansing as it moved; her fingers caressing him tenderly, easing the stiffness from tense muscles; all of it combined served to relax and heal the usually stoic slayer, the experience raising memories of cold mountain streams under blazing sunlight, and Gajeel was shameless in holding her even after the magic faded and he felt restored.
"I gotta let random women drug me more of'n, this th' treatment I get."
"Or we could not make a habit of it, alright fy ddraig? And she wasn't a random woman - dossiers on the table." Xally gestured over his shoulder, only to have her hand caught, rough skin and smooth metal nuzzling against the soft skin of her inner wrist, the action shooting a wave of pleasure down her spine. "I wonder, do you get your fondness for affection from the Dragon, or does he get it from you?"
"Call't mutual. He weren't much hassle fer ya?"
"It was definitely an experience."
The wink she shot him as she slid from her perch was a little concerning, but given the fact the Dragon in question was mostly silent - save a bubbling feeling of amusement, more than likely at his expenses - Gajeel figured it was a waste of energy worrying about it, reaching for the folder that definitely hadn't been there the previous day the same time Xally slid a well laden plate under his nose.
"Y'bin busy this mornin' I ken see".
"Had to do something while I waited to see if you were ever going to wake up again. It's two in the afternoon, and I can only watch someone sleep for so long".
"Ye done watched me sleep? Tha's creepy dywysoges". Gajeel snorted at the feigned look of indignation Xally had fixed to her features, laying papers around as he started picking distractedly at the plate before him.
Catrionah "Cat" Smythes was five foot, seven inches, black hair and feline green eyes - exactly how she'd looked last night. The folder was full of reports of her handiwork, and notes scrawled by a hand that was not Xally's. Clearly, Connagh had been earning his keep long before they'd arrived in the country, the older man having been tracking and tracing a tangled web of misplaced loyalties and forbidden magics.
"Cat" was a second generation Prime, attempted rehabilitation under King Nureyev's program but ultimately disappeared before any progress could be made - the reports made it abundantly clear that she was more than happy to be liberated, and she left a slew of bodies in the wake of her escape without thought or remorse. Gajeel had gotten off lightly compared to some of her victims - whatever she usually injected through those claws of hers was horrific to put it mildly. These post-mortem pictures were enough to turn even an iron stomach, and he hurried through the rest of the documents, hoping to avoid any further macabre images.
"A'ight, she's bad news. But I canny see th' cat as th' one we be lookin' fer? This ain't th' work o' someone with all th' information."
"I'm inclined to agree. I'd say your admirer is the one taking orders, not giving them. You'll want to drink that while it's cold" Xally nodded at the glass beside his elbow, condensation rolling down the sides as Gajeel stared - not at the beverage or the papers strewn about - at the hair escaping the messy bun she'd scraped it into, blonde strands curling and grazing ivory skin that looked impossibly soft.
"Sorry, guess't ain't all burnt off yet."
Gajeel at least had the good sense to look sheepish when he realised he'd been caught staring, draining the glass in one long draw he shivered a little at the faint tingle that worked through his body, erasing the last vestiges of fog and desire that were clouding his brain.
"I think it's pretty safe to say we've worn out our welcome, if Ms. Smythes is prowling around. Even if she just thought you were hot, it won't take long for her to figure it out."
"We oughta look ta be movin' on, I agree. Shame, was gonna take ye out dancin' again."
"Given how last night ended, please don't take offence if I politely decline your offer. Besides, I'd rather stay in with you instead." Xally's voice dropped to almost a whisper, the words honey sweet and thick with want as they rolled from her tongue, the scent of her desire wafting gentle as a summer's breeze until it was all Gajeel could smell; the sound of her heart all he could hear; the crystal blue of her eyes all he could see.
Almost without thought, Gajeel was moving - stalking towards her like a predator hunting, going for the kill. There was no resistance to the warning growl he gave, no fear as the power within him surged and charged the air, nothing but hunger and love radiating at the sight of impossibly long canines catching on thin lips, and he had her caged against the wall before she'd managed to speak. Too afraid of whatever words might fall from those plush lips, and the power they would hold over him, Gajeel leant in to steal her breath, hovering just short of kissing, his skin brushing faintly against hers in time with the shuddering of his chest.
Xally's tongue darted out to moisten lips that had gone dry with expectation, with the waiting he was making them both suffer through, and she could taste the hunger in the air, the tang of something metallic hanging between them like a promise of things to come, when suddenly he was gone. There was no more power sparking through the air, no more firm body blocking her in, no red eyes staring into her soul - instead, all that remained was the ache between her thighs, overshadowed by the one in her chest, and the jarring tone of an incoming lacrima call.
The connection flared to life the instant Xally's fingers touched the crystal, the glow bright as she fed the communicator all her unspent energy.
"Didn't mean to interrupt."
"Amor enim omnia sancti. Kaleb, you have the worst timing of anyone I have ever met!"
"Pleased to see you too, parum soror. No Gajeel?"
Kaleb's voice threatened to break into the laughter he was trying to suppress, the mirth evident in the twinkling of lavender eyes and the wide smile spread across his jaw.
"I'd say he's trying to cool off. He got dosed last night, still working it through."
"Potent stuff if it's lasting this long, given the metabolism of a Dragon Slayer. Is he well?"
"I'd have called if he wasn't." Xally knew she was being flippant, even a little rude, but dammit if she wasn't frustrated as hell. Being in such close quarters with the tall, dark and handsome slayer in question was testing her restraint, and knowing that she had grown to love the man who was so incapable of loving himself that he couldn't - wouldn't - even begin to consider accepting a relationship was killing her in ways Xally had never even considered possible.
"Xally, loqui ad me. Hoc est, non ut tibi."
"Ego diligam eum, Kaleb. Et odit se, ita ferociter, ut non considerandum est etiam possibilitas!"
"Ego sum paenitet, o cor. Quid est Draco dixit?"
Xally made a face that must have been somewhere between a smirk and a grimace, because Kaleb laughed and shook his head, white hair shaking loosely around his face.
"You've been in his company for months, Xal. You tend to get under people's skin, and I've seen you draw out Cristoff in just minutes."
"Alright, fair point. The Dragon is all for it, but you know how it is, and the disconnect between the two is unlike anything I've seen."
"The man has a chequered past, parum soror. Give him grace, go gently. Tell me about the job."
Xally sighed, letting the tension fall from her shoulders as she pushed the troubles of her heart from her mind, focussing firmly on the task at hand.
"We're making progress. Need to be moving on shortly though."
"Xal... Did you kick the hornets nest?"
Kaleb sighed, her named a dragged exhale in frustration - Kaleb knew what his sister was like, for all her brains Xally had a tendency to be dogged, determined, and less than delicate in her execution.
"Have some faith! Nothing like that, but we're ruffling some feathers, getting a bit hot in the kitchen."
"Ah, last night's incident?"
Xally nodded in confirmation, glancing furtively over her shoulder as heavy footsteps announced Gajeel's return.
"So, plan?"
"North. Got intel, gon' follow it, see where't lands. Aft'rnoon Master."
"Gajeel. Glad to see you are well and formulating a plan."
"Tch, yer girls th' brains o' th' op'ration. Jus' here fer backup, though she ain't hardly need much o' that neither."
The look he shot her was warm, affectionate, and dare she even dream to admit it to herself - a little loving. It was all Gajeel, no Dragon, and it caused Xally's heart to do all kinds of new and interesting acrobatics.
"No, she tends to only need protection from herself. Well, I expect updates from you both and a visual check in weekly. Leave your next destination with your contact in Craistël. Be safe."
With a nod from them both, the connection cut off and the kitchen was silent once more, Gajeel spinning the blonde under his hands so they were face to face once again.
"I'm sorry, annwyl, ain't right o' me ta keep runnin' out on ya. Ye deserve... Fer me not ta be tellin' yer what ye deserve, but'n I want more fer ye'n I ken give."
"Gajeel - haearn - all I want is you. For you to give yourself a chance to be happy and stop punishing yourself." Xally's voice was earnest, eyes pleading as she stared up into chiseled features, slender fingers soft as they stroked against the rough skin of his jaw.
"Xal, I ain't know how ta do tha'. But," he drew a shaky breath, eyes closing for a moment as he steeled himself, drawing strength from her embrace. "But I wanna - I wan'ta try, if'n ye'll help me?"
Gajeel looked so unsure, so scared as he gazed into her eyes, searching for an answer that he clearly found, because Xally found herself swept up into his arms, held tight against his chest, his tongue plundering into her mouth and stealing what breath remained.
He'd never felt like this before, so alive and full of passion that the blood in his veins has turned to molten fire, scorching him from the outside in, the Dragon stretching and roaring with delight at being unleashed even just the fraction it was being given.
"Haearn."
Sweet Mavis did they love the sound of his name falling from her lips in that way, all breath and promises of pleasure, and Gajeel fought to stay in control, to strike the balance between wanting, yearning, and that which he knew was good and right.
"Slow, Gajeel. Go slow."
She was out of breath, and it tore her apart to stop, but Xally knew that patience was going to be key to their relationship, to Gajeel's ability to move forward with forgiveness for himself - for his happiness.
"Duwiau ydych yn gwneud hyn yn anodd."
His chest was heaving, heart pounding in his ears, and the Dragon was clawing him to pieces over the distance between their bodies. If he'd known it would feel like this to give in, he would have done it earlier. Or not at all, it was hard to rationalise anything right at the moment, the feel of her lips against his still in the forefront of his mind.
"I'm sorry, fy ddraig. I would love nothing more than to take you right here on that table, but this is about you, and what you need. Gajeel, I love you, and I will move slower than a glacier if that's what it takes."
The truth of her words slammed into him like a freight train, the love she spoke of radiating from her, and Gajeel couldn't help but lean down to kiss her softly, sweetly, as though they had all the time in the world.
"Mavis annwyl, be so easy ta love ye. But ye ain't never gon' git a Dragon ta submit, roll over'n me back."
"Oh Gajeel, you know I take that as a challenge."
And he did, oh he really did - the glint in her eye, the laughter in her voice - all of which Gajeel knew made her as serious as a heart attack, which it coincidentally felt like he was about to have, the way his pulse was roaring, thundering in his ears, the Dragon hissing at the challenge, snarling as it roiled and shifted, lashing out in response to Xally's attitude, the way she tested and antagonized.
"Ye oughta know be knowin' by now we ain't take kindly ta defiance, dywysoges. An' th' Dragon, he's like ta show ye."
"Promises, promises haearn. One day, maybe I'll even let you show me."
Translations -
Boscan -
amor enim omnia sancti = for the love of all things holy
Parum soror = little sister
Loqui ad me = talk to me
Hoc est, non ut tibi = this is not like you
Ego diligam eum = I love him
Et odit se, ita ferociter, ut non considerandum est etiam possibilitas! = And he hates himself so fiercely that he will not even consider the possibility
Ego sum paenitet, o cor = I am sorry, dear heart
Quid est Draco dixit? = What has the Dragon said?
Draconic -
Duwiau ydych yn gwneud hyn yn anodd = Gods you are making this difficult
One time, for once!
A little shorter than usual, but it has honestly taken me an entire week to get to this point. So, I'm stopping on a high and putting this out there, because for once I am REALLY happy with an update. Stay tuned for the next update, and hopefully some progress on the actual story.
Nic - thank you! I do love them together.
Rao - I firmly believe they are like overgrown housecat's underneath all the bluster. Thank you, he's such a multifaceted character, it's a nice chance to explore him a bit.
Dragonfly - Hopefully this helps explain the two souls a little for you, it's a curious thing to try and explain without actually explaining. And yes, I agree he's a humongous softy, both of them!
Stay safe everyone, and I look forward to your feedback!
- A.V xxx