Fic: I set a course for winds of fortune (Hungry like the wolf) - [4/4]
Title: ‘I set a course for winds of fortune (Hungry like the wolf)’ [4/4]
Author: jen_jm
Beta: el_defe
Pairing: Bojan Krkić/Sergio Canales (Bojales \o/), Cesc Fabregas/Gerard Piqué, mentions of others. Appearances of Iker Casillas, Pep Guardiola, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Esteban Granero, Álvaro Arbeloa, Leo Messi, Carles Puyol, Xabi Alonso and various WAGs. Oh, and a very special Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rating: R, I think?
Category: slash
Word count: about 20,605 total
Warnings: AU, mild language, madness, unicorns (yes, seriously)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned them, but I don’t.
Author’s Notes: Just as crazy as it sounds, hopefully just as good. The title is a joint effort of Kansas and Duran Duran.
Summary: “Son,” Bojan’s father starts, wide-eyed. “Why on earth, do you have a tail?”
Crossposted
Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
Banner by miss_hale
~~
4. The one where Iker finally shows up
“He’ll be alright, don’t worry,” Carles reassures them with a confident nod as soon as Xabi raises up in the air. “If Xabi accepted to help your friend, it means he likes him.”
“Sergio has that effect on people,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “And dragons, apparently.”
“They’ll be away all day,” Carles informs and points at the spot where his horse is tied. “I’ll take care of the fire, you go get some rest.”
“I’ll go find some wood to keep the fire going,” Gerard objects and walks away before anyone can argue.
Cesc takes off in the opposite direction and Bojan rolls his eyes, then addresses Carles an apologetic smile and says, “I’ll go help Geri.”
“Okay,” Carles accepts with a perplexed frown, not really sure what’s happening with the three of them.
Bojan doesn’t really feel like explaining him what his two friends are up to, but mostly can’t, because he hasn’t figured it out yet. He joins Gerard at the limit of the forest and looks at him in complete silence for several, long seconds; the boy keeps collecting small branches and doesn’t even glance at him, probably hoping to be left alone.
“What the hell is going on?” Bojan bursts after a while, unable to control himself any further.
“He hates me,” Gerard crumbles without even putting up a fight and he looks up at his friend. “Cesc, I mean.”
“And what makes you think that?” Bojan’s eyebrows shoot up and he purses his lips, somehow lost on why Cesc would dislike him, let alone hate him.
“He said he didn't like to see me with Zlatan,” Gerard admits as he sits down on a thick branch resting on the ground, probably severed from its tree by a lightning. “Just, I had no idea Cesc had a crush on him.”
This time, Bojan stares at him wide-eyed for half a minute before answering. “You really are a complete and unique sample of an idiot.”
“Hey!” Gerard looks up at him and he seems genuinely offended, if not hurt.
“It's not Zlatan he has a crush on, dumbass,” Bojan tells him and once again rolls his eyes, which appears to be his favorite facial activity when talking to him.
“Oh.”
“Yes,” Bojan agrees and kicks him in the shin. “Now go talk to him and end the nonsense, please.”
“He won’t talk to me,” Gerard insists and his dejected tone makes Bojan’s heart clench a little.
“D’you like him?” Bojan waits for him to answer, but all he gets is a blank stare. “I mean, like him as, you know, really like him.”
“Am I that obvious?” Gerard shows a little smile, then shakes his head.
“It’d be clearer only if you had it written on your forehead,” Bojan confirms, laughing; he sits down next to his friend, shoulder against shoulder. “He’s probably just mad because you misread his words; which, by the way, is reasonable, I would have punched you.”
“I’ll find a way to talk to him,” Gerard declares with a slow nod, then turns to smile at him.
“Oh, I’ll find you a way to talk to him,” Bojan objects with a wide grin, then stands and wriggles his tail at him.
Gerard watches him go and frowns, not really sure what he means by that, but willing to trust his best-friend; he glances at Cesc, but the boy doesn’t see him.
~
They eat and spend the rest of the afternoon resting, conscious that once Sergio gets back, they’ll have a three days ride ahead; Carles cooks for them and tells them about his job, about why he likes dragons and how you get a dragon to trust you. Bojan listens, fascinated, and feels a little guilty for misjudging the man when they first got there. For a moment, he even envies Sergio the possibility to ride the dragon, to fly up high above the ground and see everything from a different perspective.
When the sun has almost disappeared behind the hills on the other side of the river, Bojan starts to worry and for the first time realizes how they’re trusting those strangers with their lives; first Zlatan, then Leo and now Carles. He wonders how long it’ll take for their luck to turn against them and he hopes this isn’t that moment.
He’s about to voice his doubts when he spots a familiar figure, approaching quickly in the darkening sky. Just a couple of minutes later, Xabi lands in front of them and the ground shakes beneath their feet.
Sergio takes his time to climb down and doesn’t acknowledge him, just stops to face the animal. Bojan is the only one who approaches and manages to hear what he says.
“Thank you.” Sergio looks at the dragon in the eye as he speaks and Bojan call tell from his voice that he’s genuinely grateful. “I will not forget this, Xabi.”
“Neither will I,” Xabi replies and nods his head slowly. “You’re brave, young wizard, and you have something your kind has chosen to forget.”
“What’s that?” Sergio tightens the grip on the sack he’s holding, but doesn’t look away.
“A truthful heart,” Xabi tells him, somehow amused by his question. “Good luck with your Trial, I’m sure you’ll be alright,” he adds and Sergio accept that with a smile; Bojan is about to ask what the hell he’s talking about, but decides it’s better to not interrupt that moment. “And crash Guardiola as hard as you can.”
“Will do,” Sergio agrees with a brief laughter, then watches as the dragon takes off without another word. When he turns around and sees Bojan standing just a few feet away, he feels his blood freeze; there’s no way he hasn’t heard their conversation.
“How did it go?” Bojan asks with a little, confused smile and he can see Sergio is thankful he doesn’t ask anything about the Trial right then and there.
“I’ve got it,” Sergio announces with a triumphant nod and raises his arm to show him the sack containing the hoof. “We can save you.”
Bojan feels his heart get ten thousand times lighter at those words and forgets about anything else for the few seconds it takes him to reach his boyfriend and hug him like there’s no tomorrow. Well, more like there’s still a tomorrow.
Cesc and Gerard join them immediately after that and Carles watches from afar, a soft smile stretching his lips. Sergio doesn’t fail to notice it and addresses him a meaningful nod.
They decide to leave at dawn the following morning, so they set up for dinner at the fire they’ve kept going all day. Sergio accepts to tell them about the graveyard, but from the look on his face, they can all tell it’s a place he’d rather not see ever again.
Bojan listens to him, but part of his mind refuses to think about anything that isn’t that word he’s heard from the dragon. Trial. Has Sergio done something wrong? Maybe during that journey he’s broken some wizard law he knows nothing about, just to save him. Maybe stealing that hoof from the graveyard has consequences Sergio will have to face in front of his kind. He can’t help feeling both guilty and furious, because Sergio hasn’t mentioned it once and he couldn’t bare to see him go to jail - or worse - for him. He realizes that if being saved will cost him Sergio, then all they’re doing doesn’t make sense.
His mind gets caught in a loop and he waits for his friends and Carles to go to sleep, and once he’s finally left alone with Sergio, he grips his hand and drags him away from the camp. From the look on Sergio’s face, he can tell he knows what’s coming.
“What’s the Trial?” Bojan talks quietly but quickly and doesn’t leave him the time to answer. “Are you in trouble? Is it because of this?”
“Calm down, I’m not going to jail,” Sergio reassures him with a faint smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “It’s just-- it’s something every apprentice has to go through at the end of his education,” he explains, but when he sees Bojan’s not willing to stop there, he sighs. “I’ll have to go away for a while. Alone.”
“How long?” Bojan’s voice cracks at the end and he clears his throat, but it does nothing for the knot he feels there.
“Depends, it’s something the mentor decides,” Sergio informs and shakes his head, trying to find the right words to say it. “Might be a year, might be five.”
“Oh.” Bojan’s shoulders tense at that answer and he looks away, trying to contain his rage. He doesn’t want to say something he will regret, but he can’t think of anything else to say, so he settles for turning around. “Good night, Sergio,” he mutters as he heads back towards the camp.
“Wait, Boji,” Sergio says, almost pleads, and grabs his arm just above the elbow. “Can we talk about it?”
“Not right now,” Bojan denies and frees himself easily from his grip. Sergio watches him go and curses himself for thinking he could avoid telling him; somehow, though, having three more days of journey ahead of them, he hopes he’ll have a chance to make things right. Or at least apologize until Bojan will forgive him just to stop having to ear his voice. That last option doesn’t give him much hope, though.
~~
The first day they ride in complete silence, except for those rare occasions when Gerard manages to get Bojan alone and ride a little slower just to have a chance to talk; Sergio watches them from afar and does his best to respect Bojan’s wish to be left alone, but he can’t ignore the urge to just turn around and go ride next to him, just to be a little closer. By the time sunset comes, they’ve eaten and prepared the fire for the night, but none of them speaks as they lie down, waiting for sleep to catch up on them. Bojan is turned away from the fire, face hidden from all of them, but from the regular, soft movement of his shoulders, Sergio can tell he’s asleep.
The second day doesn’t go much better, but they manage to cross a stream that gives them fresh water to drink and that alone, brightens their mood at least a little. They find a small cave in the woods and, after checking for wild animals, they decide to stop there for the night. Cesc and Gerard go find the wood for the fire and Sergio isn’t surprised to see they only exchange a few, neutral words, but they both keep an eye on each other when the other isn’t looking.
Bojan finds him like that, intent on studying their friends behavior and asking himself why in hell they won’t just talk to each other.
“Hey,” Bojan whispers as he sits down next to him and Sergio almost jumps, caught off guard. “Relax, I’m not a wolf yet.”
“That’s good news.” Sergio tries to smile, but only manages a soft curve on his lips, but apparently, it’s enough. Bojan rests his head on Sergio’s shoulder and slaps him on the back of the head.
“I hate you,” Bojan mutters and takes a deep breath. Sergio feels his blood freeze for a moment at the thought that Bojan might really mean those words; before he can ask how he should interpret those mixed signals, the boy adds, “And I’ll wait for you, no matter how long this Trial will last.”
Sergio is actually speechless for several moments. “Aren’t you mad?” he eventually asks, then wants to slap himself for not being able to find anything better to say.
“I’m furious,” Bojan corrects him with a glare. “But you risked your life for me, and I think I can wait five years for you.”
“Are you doing this out of gratitude?” Sergio knows it’s not the best question he could ask at the moment, but he also knows that if he doesn’t ask it now, he’ll always live with the doubt, and the kind of doubt that ruins relationships like theirs.
“Think that again and my gratitude will rip your ass into tiny pieces,” Bojan threatens and pulls back enough to look at him in the eye. “I’m doing this because I love you, even when you’re a selfish prick and you cut me out of your life.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Sergio mutters, but doesn’t look away. “And I’m sorry you had to find out like that.”
“Me too,” Bojan admits, but there’s a soft smile on his lips and Sergio feels a little less guilty. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll go fix those two as well.”
“What’s going on with them?” Sergio doesn’t try to stop him when he stands, conscious that things are not back to normal yet, but he’s okay with little steps, if that means Bojan will forgive him.
“Geri’s an idiot,” Bojan offers as an explanation, shaking his head.
Sergio grins at him, amused. “And what’s new about it?”
“Watch it, you’re still on probation,” Bojan retorts with an eloquent look and the boy nods his assent, but doesn’t fail to notice the lack of hostility.
Bojan hesitates for a few seconds, unsure whether to add anything else, then decides that first step has gone well enough. He turns around and heads for the spot where Cesc is looking for wood.
“Hey,” he calls with a tentative smile. “I was wondering, I know you two are not on the best terms right now, but,” he stops, taking a deep breath, and pretends to be actually worried. “Would you mind taking a look at the idiot's leg? I think it’s hurting and he doesn’t want to say anything.”
“Fine,” Cesc accepts with a sigh, then catches Bojan’s expression and his frown softens into a little smile. “That’d be so like him.”
“Thanks,” Bojan just says, then heads back to Sergio with a satisfied look on his face, but doesn’t tell him anything.
~
Gerard is surprised to find himself face to face with Cesc when he turns around, but he doesn’t find anything to say other than, “Hello.”
“Roll up your pants,” Cesc just answers, pointing at the injured leg. “I’ll check the wound.”
“Uh, okay,” Gerard accepts quietly and sits down on a rock nearby; he does as told and frowns when Cesc crouches down and takes a closer look to his leg. “Why are you checking the wound?”
“Bojan asked me,” Cesc admits candidly, seeing no reason to lie about it. “It looks just fine to me, no reason it’d hurt.”
“It doesn’t,” Gerard confesses with a sigh. “Bojan just wanted us to talk.”
“About what?” Cesc doesn’t stand, just looks up at the other boy from that awkward position.
“About how I should not assume my brain always gets things right?” Gerard offers with an apologetic smile, then slides down until he’s sitting on the ground in front of him. There are only a few inches between them, but Cesc does nothing to move back. “I thought you had a crush on Zlatan.”
“You-- what?” Cesc stares at him like he’s grown a tail himself and just blinks, dumbfounded.
“When you said you were jealous,” Gerard explains and shrugs awkwardly, trying to make it look like talking about it is no big deal. “I thought you were talking about him.”
“I didn’t say I was jealous,” Cesc objects and the pout he tries to hide makes the other boy smile despite his best efforts. He’s about to say something, but Cesc doesn’t leave him the time and adds, “And surely not of that caveman.”
“So you were trying to tell me that you-- well, you liked me?” Gerard tries his luck and hopes for the best; he knows it’s now or never and if he has to be honest, he’s dead tired of their cold war and he really want it to end, one way or another. Somehow, though, he really hopes for the ‘cease fire’, not the ‘battle to death’.
“I still do,” Cesc concedes with a heavy sigh. “Even though I really think you’re a hopeless idiot.”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know you were talking about me?” Gerard raises his hands in surrender and shrugs, offering his best helpless look.
“Why d’you think I stayed, when you asked me to?” Cesc rolls his eyes and huffs out an unbelieving laughter.
“You could have told me,” Gerard points out and crosses his arms against his chest, stubborn.
“Sure, I could have just said, ‘Hey, I’d like to kiss you, but it’s okay, it’s for medical reasons’,” Cesc retorts, laughing, and sits down on the ground as well to give his legs some rest. “Besides, I’m not into one way relationships.”
“Who says it’s one way?” Gerard looks at him in the eye, puzzled, and pokes him in the shoulder. “That’s what your brilliant mind suggested?”
“You mean you--” Cesc grips his finger and stops him after the fifth time he gets poked.
“Of course, moron.” Gerard rests back against the rock and laugh, unbelieving and a little exasperated. He realizes the absurdity of their hostility and almost wants to cry with frustration, but manages to keep a good grip on the bright side, Cesc doesn’t hate him, Cesc actually wants to kiss him. “Hell, we’re really bad at this, aren’t we?”
Cesc joins in the laughter and shifts until he’s sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. They don’t say anything for a few long seconds, both trying to process the conversation they just had; Gerard doesn’t last long, though, and reaches out to touch Cesc’s hand. “Peace?” he asks as he entwines their fingers, hoping for a romantic effect.
Cesc looks at him for a few moments, surprised, then stifles a wild laughter. “What are you, five?”
“Hey!” Gerard punches him in the side and sulks, offended by that reaction and a little hurt, but doesn’t push Cesc away when he scoots closer and kisses him without a inch of hesitation.
And just from that, he can tell they’ll spend half their time bickering like kids and the other half laughing like the idiots they probably are; and he’s really, really okay with that.
~~
The third day goes more easily, with no tension to make things harder on them and a good amount of joking between Cesc and Gerard. Sergio almost tells them he preferred when they didn’t talk all the time, but keeps it to himself, blaming it on the tiredness. They arrive at the witches’ house long after sunset, but they find the girls still awake.
“Thank goodness, you’re here,” Sara says as she hurries them inside. “Iker sent a message, he’s waiting for you at the village.”
“That’s great,” Sergio declares with a bright smile. “But we kind of solved this on our own,” he adds as he hands them the sack with the hoof.
“You got it?” Yolanthe looks inside the sack and her eyes widen in shock. “This isn’t Florentino’s hoof, it’s too big.”
“We know someone stole Florentino’s hoof, but that’s not us,” Bojan confirms with a small nod, then bites on his lower lip, impatient, and adds, “Is that enough to make the enchantment?”
“More than enough,” Irina confirms with a bright smile, then looks at Bojan and frowns. “And from the look of it, we’re just in time.”
Bojan blinks a few times, not really understanding what she means, then turns around to look at Sergio, who explains by pointing at his mouth. Bojan feels his heart sink in his chest and touches his lips, only to find a pair of fangs instead of his canines. “Great,” he mutters, then pushes them with his tongue. “How long will the enchantment take?”
“All night,” Sara replies with an all-business nod. “We’ll get to work immediately.”
“Feel free to keep the rest of the hoof,” Sergio tells them with a smile and they all stare at him.
“It’s worth a fortune, you could sell it and be rich,” Irina points out and shakes her head, probably convinced he’s gone crazy.
“Or you could keep it and do it yourself,” Sergio objects, rolling his eyes. “It’s a thank you gift.”
“We’ll keep it,” Yolanthe agrees and looks at her friends. “And we’ll use it to do good, not for money,” she adds with a thankful smile.
“Starting from Bojan,” Gerard reminds them with a hurried tone, then glances at his friend.
“Of course,” Sara laughs and takes one of the books from the shelf. “You’ll have to leave though.”
“We’ll stay at the inn,” Sergio declares and stretches his back, tired.
“No, you need to go,” Irina insists, a little worried. “In his letter, Iker asked that you leave for the village as soon as you get here.”
“It’s a day ride, if you leave now, you should be there by morning,” Sara adds as she keeps working to get all they need. “He wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“But if we leave, you can’t work the enchantment,” Bojan objects and looks at Sergio first, then at the witches.
“Of course we can,” Yolanthe laughs and reaches him with a knife in her hand, which prompts him to swallow around a lump in his throat. “We just need some of your hair.”
“Go ahead?” Bojan says and offers his head a little hesitantly.
“From the tail,” Sara informs, clearly biting back a smirk.
“Just one thing, though,” Bojan muses with an uncertain look on his face. “If I’m at the village, how can I drink the potion?”
“Ew,” Irina just says, shaking her head.
“You don’t have to drink this stuff,” Yolanthe explains with a wildly amused grin. “When you cast a curse like this, you leave a mark behind,” she adds and points at the ingredients. “All this is just to find that mark in the piece of hair we have.”
“So you can deflect the curse using the mark,” Bojan finishes for her, visibly relieved.
“Exactly,” Sara confirms. “The tail is the first manifestation, which means the mark is easier to find there.”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” a voice behind them asks and they all turn around to look at the door that gives into the hallway, only to find a half-naked tanned boy. “Customers at this hour?”
“They’re friends, Cris,” Irina explains and reaches him in a moment, smiling.
“That’s the to-- Cristiano?” Gerard corrects himself at the last second; with all the riding and travelling around he’s forgotten the month was ending when they left. “You were right, he surely is handsome in his human form.”
“Oi!” Cesc elbows him in the ribs and glares at him.
‘What?’ Gerard mouths, a little out of breath for the blow he just received, but Cesc doesn’t answer him, while the rest of the group just laughs.
“It’s an emergency,” Irina explains to her boyfriend and kisses him on the cheek. “Go back to sleep.”
“I’m upstairs if you need me,” Cristiano just says, then waves at them and walks away with a yawn.
Gerard follows him with his eyes, but despite his poor attempt at being subtle, it only earns him another bad look from Cesc. He offers an apologetic smile and rubs his ribs, hoping it’ll be enough to avoid another blow.
“Can I?” Yolanthe’s question distracts Bojan from the exchange between his friends and he nods, a little calmer than just moments before.
The witch collects some of the hair from the tail then deposits it in a bowl and puts a cover on it, to make sure it won’t fly away if the wind gets a little stronger and manages to get the window opened. Bojan figures they’ve had enchantments ruined for the lack of care in the past and he appreciates the attention.
“We’re all set,” Sara declares as she takes another look at the ingredients on the table. “Now go see what my boyfriend has gotten himself into, and we’ll get to work.”
“Iker is your boyfriend?” Bojan stares at her wide-eyed, and he’s not disappointed to see he’s not the only one, Gerard and Cesc have the same expression on their faces. “Good heaven, you’re brave.”
Sara laughs and nods her assent, amused by his reaction. “I thought Sergio told you about us.”
“Sergio sometime forgets to tell people what they should know,” Bojan retorts and rolls his eyes, but there’s no anger in it and Sergio just smiles apologetically at them both.
“I know what you mean,” Sara agrees and slaps the boy on the back of the head. “Now go, you’re wasting precious time.”
“We’re going, we’re going.” Sergio raises his hands in surrender and heads for the door, laughing.
~
“I could have used some sleep,” Cesc points out when they stop on the top of the hill that looks down at the village. The sun is rising slowly and they’re all dead tired, so they don’t really feel like arguing with him on that.
“We’re almost done,” Sergio tries to sound confident, but he doesn’t know what’s expecting them and why Iker would want them to go back so quickly.
“Who’s that?” Gerard points at a dark figure several feet ahead of them.
“It’s probably Iker waiting for us,” Bojan offers as he jumps off his horse. “Let’s go.”
They all head down the hill, confident that they’re walking towards their wizard friend. When they arrive near enough to see his face in the dim light, though, they all freeze on the spot. Pep Guardiola, the King’s court wizard is standing in front of them with a triumphant smile on his lips.
“Well, what a nice pack you put together,” Pep points out with a theatrical sigh. “And I see you’re almost completely gone. How sad.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, if I were you,” Sergio retorts with a sarcastic smile. “You’re the one who’s gonna be barking up a tree soon enough.”
“Oh, I see you found the enchantment,” Pep replies, unimpressed, and gestures someone to come forward. A short man walks out from behind the trees on their right, and Iker follows him, hands bound together by what Sergio recognizes as enchanted chains. “Too bad you won’t be able to make it work.”
“I’m sorry, Sergio,” Iker tells him and the boy can see the sadness in his gaze. “I felt the curse coming and I went to get the unicorn hoof from Florentino, but--”
“I guess I got there first and destroyed it, you know, just in case,” Guardiola finishes for him, laughing, then points at Iker. “I made it look like it was stolen, and now I can blame him in front of the King.”
“We found him sleeping out here, waiting for you,” the short man says; Sergio recognizes him as Xavi, Guardiola’s trainee, and feels the need to strangle him. “Waiting for his precious, little apprentice.”
“You’re disgusting,” Sergio mutters, furious, and tries to figure out a way to get Iker out of those chains. They can only be opened by the wizard who put them on him, but there’s no much hope Pep will do it, so he’ll have has to find another way and quickly.
“Am I?” Guardiola hums doubtfully, then shakes his head. “I might be, I don’t care. I killed the little bastard, and sentenced my hardest competition to death.”
“I’m not a wolf, and I’m surely not dead yet,” Bojan declares with a confident smile on his lips when he catches a familiar movement with the corner of his eye, and his heart skips a beat at the realization of what it is. “But you’re probably about to be.”
“Really? Says who?” Xavi retorts with a highly amused laughter, but it’s immediately cut off when Xabi lands in front of them and crashes him with a huge claw.
“Says me,” the dragon answers in a gravelly voice that shows just how furious he is.
“You-- what are you doing here?” Guardiola takes several steps back, terrified by the huge beast.
“I’m just making sure you meet the fate you deserve,” Xabi declares as he moves further towards him, leaving a mess of what used to be Guardiola’s apprentice.
“What d’you mean?” Iker goes to stand in front of the dragon, determined to get explanations.
Xabi raises a claw and for a moment Sergio fears he’ll crash Iker as well; instead, he breaks the chains like they’re made of glass, and Iker rubs his wrists, surprised. “You again, Casillas,” the dragon huffs out, mildly annoyed. “Your young friend showed me that there’s still hope for your kind.”
“Sergio?” Iker looks at his apprentice, who just bites his lips but does nothing to acknowledge the attention he’s getting from them.
“I flew him to the graveyard,” Xabi tells him with a hint of impatient in his voice.
“You mean--” Guardiola stops and turns his terrified eyes to Sergio. “You have the hoof.”
“The enchantment should work any time, now,” Bojan confirms when his boyfriend doesn’t talk, just keeps staring at Xabi.
“Don’t,” Guardiola whispers, desperate. “I’ll take the curse off you, but please, don’t--”
“It’s too late,” Xabi cuts him off, satisfaction clear in his big eyes. “It’s already happening.”
“No, it can’t happen, this-- it’s impossible.”
It’s all Guardiola has the time to say, just as ears, fangs, claws and a tail start growing all at once. Bojan watches his own hands and sees the signs of his curse disappear slowly as they appear on the man. Five minutes later, a wolf is standing right where Guardiola was.
“The witches finished just in time,” Gerard points out, amazing and quite scared by the thought of what could have happened if they hadn’t. “Your tail is gone.”
“Now that it’s complete, it can’t be reversed anymore,” Xabi explains to Sergio and the boy could swear that he can hear a smile in his voice. “The love of your life is safe.”
“Thank you,” Sergio just answers, but he can’t help the light blush that covers his cheeks when the others all look at him at those words.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have a long journey ahead and you have a lot to talk about,” Xabi declares as he stretches his wings. “I believe we’ll meet again, young wizard.”
“I really hope so,” Sergio replies with a slow, meaningful nod, then watches the animal take off in the light of the newborn day.
~~
“You actually convinced a dragon, that dragon, to fly you there,” Iker stares at him wide eyed and Sergio feels his chest burst with pride.
“Yes,” Sergio confirms with a smug look. “And we actually ran from el Pirata,” he continues, somehow amused at the stunned looks his mentor has been giving them all night. “Oh, and we actually met the Guardian of unicorns.”
“We’re a pretty good team,” Bojan adds with a proud smile and rests a kiss on Sergio’s shoulder.
Gerard and Cesc have spent the evening with them, but left after the third time they’ve told Iker the story of those past few days. Bojan can’t really blame them, considering they haven’t had time to be on their own after that talk in the woods; talk Bojan might or might not have overheard while collecting wood instead of them.
“Damn right you are,” Iker admits with a pat on Sergio’s shoulder. “You’re almost ready to be on your own.”
That sentence makes them both freeze and reminds Bojan almost instantly the reason of the fight with Sergio. He tries to push it away, but having Iker there and willing to talk is too much of a temptation.
“You mean, to be sent away for a ridiculous amount of time, leaving us here to wait?” Bojan snaps, unable to restrain himself.
“The Trial?” Iker laughs at his hostility and Bojan feels the urge to punch him in the face. How can he laugh about something like that? “I'm the one who decides what the Trial should be,” he adds as he takes another sip of beer. “And I think you've already proven you can be both incredibly brave and incredibly reckless at the same time, which is the whole point of the Trial.”
“You mean I don't have to leave?” Sergio’s face lights up at that possibility and Bojan bites on his lips, hopeful.
“I think you don’t need it,” Iker declares with a firm nod. “But you'll do extra work in the kitchen.”
“Are you sure?” Sergio doesn’t feel like objecting, but he knows how much Iker cares about the Trial, how many times he’s insisted on it. “I mean, theTrial lasts a year and I've only--”
“The purpose of the Trial is to make sure you can face threats on your own,” Iker explains with a warm smile. “Take a good look around you,” he adds and Sergio doesn’t know if he means it metaphorically or not.
“What?”
“Bojan, me, even those two lovebirds,” Iker tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I don't think you'll ever need to face anything alone, not even a toothache.”
Sergio’s smile widens impossibly at that and all he can do is nod; he can feel Bojan’s warm hand against his side and he turns around to smile at him, unbelievingly happy.
“Not that you couldn't, anyway,” Iker states, raising his glass. “Xabi is a hell of a stubborn bastard, he hates us,” he continues “But somehow, you convinced him you’re worth a chance, something I failed.”
“You went to talk to him too?” Bojan’s eyes widen and Sergio laughs, incredulous.
“He said I could-- I don’t think I can repeat what he said,” Iker mutters with a frown, then shakes his head and smiles at them. “The point is, you’re gonna be a great wizard.”
“I learned from the best.” Sergio looks at him in the eye as he says that and he can tell the wizard is somehow surprised.
Iker leans back in his chair and relaxes, satisfied. “Besides, I spent half myTrial drinking beer in a small inn at the border of the kingdom,” he tells them, leaving both of them speechless. “That’s actually where I met Sara for the first time. She was wearing this cute little dress and I thought I really wanted to--”
“Okay, we’re getting into the too-much-information zone,” Sergio stops him with a embarrassed laughter, then stands from his seat. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Iker waves them off, laughing genuinely at how fast they get out of the main room of the Inn, but doesn’t tell them to stop.
Once they’re in the yard, Bojan stops them as they’re still snickering like kids, and pulls him closer. “I really thought he was sending you away.”
“We could have cheated,” Sergio offers with a grin, then rests his forehead against Bojan’s and his smile turns softer, warmer. “I’m never leaving without you. Ever.”
And this time, Bojan knows he can believe it.
~~
A/N: yes, it’s over. It’s a sappy ending and no, I’m not ashamed of it. LOL Considering the amount of crazy stuff I threw in here, this should be the less of our problems. XD
So, it’s over and if you feel like letting me know whether you liked it or not, you will make me happy. If you don’t feel like it, then well, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
See you (hopefully) soon.
JM
Author: jen_jm
Beta: el_defe
Pairing: Bojan Krkić/Sergio Canales (Bojales \o/), Cesc Fabregas/Gerard Piqué, mentions of others. Appearances of Iker Casillas, Pep Guardiola, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Esteban Granero, Álvaro Arbeloa, Leo Messi, Carles Puyol, Xabi Alonso and various WAGs. Oh, and a very special Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rating: R, I think?
Category: slash
Word count: about 20,605 total
Warnings: AU, mild language, madness, unicorns (yes, seriously)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned them, but I don’t.
Author’s Notes: Just as crazy as it sounds, hopefully just as good. The title is a joint effort of Kansas and Duran Duran.
Summary: “Son,” Bojan’s father starts, wide-eyed. “Why on earth, do you have a tail?”
Crossposted
Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
Banner by miss_hale
~~
4. The one where Iker finally shows up
“He’ll be alright, don’t worry,” Carles reassures them with a confident nod as soon as Xabi raises up in the air. “If Xabi accepted to help your friend, it means he likes him.”
“Sergio has that effect on people,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “And dragons, apparently.”
“They’ll be away all day,” Carles informs and points at the spot where his horse is tied. “I’ll take care of the fire, you go get some rest.”
“I’ll go find some wood to keep the fire going,” Gerard objects and walks away before anyone can argue.
Cesc takes off in the opposite direction and Bojan rolls his eyes, then addresses Carles an apologetic smile and says, “I’ll go help Geri.”
“Okay,” Carles accepts with a perplexed frown, not really sure what’s happening with the three of them.
Bojan doesn’t really feel like explaining him what his two friends are up to, but mostly can’t, because he hasn’t figured it out yet. He joins Gerard at the limit of the forest and looks at him in complete silence for several, long seconds; the boy keeps collecting small branches and doesn’t even glance at him, probably hoping to be left alone.
“What the hell is going on?” Bojan bursts after a while, unable to control himself any further.
“He hates me,” Gerard crumbles without even putting up a fight and he looks up at his friend. “Cesc, I mean.”
“And what makes you think that?” Bojan’s eyebrows shoot up and he purses his lips, somehow lost on why Cesc would dislike him, let alone hate him.
“He said he didn't like to see me with Zlatan,” Gerard admits as he sits down on a thick branch resting on the ground, probably severed from its tree by a lightning. “Just, I had no idea Cesc had a crush on him.”
This time, Bojan stares at him wide-eyed for half a minute before answering. “You really are a complete and unique sample of an idiot.”
“Hey!” Gerard looks up at him and he seems genuinely offended, if not hurt.
“It's not Zlatan he has a crush on, dumbass,” Bojan tells him and once again rolls his eyes, which appears to be his favorite facial activity when talking to him.
“Oh.”
“Yes,” Bojan agrees and kicks him in the shin. “Now go talk to him and end the nonsense, please.”
“He won’t talk to me,” Gerard insists and his dejected tone makes Bojan’s heart clench a little.
“D’you like him?” Bojan waits for him to answer, but all he gets is a blank stare. “I mean, like him as, you know, really like him.”
“Am I that obvious?” Gerard shows a little smile, then shakes his head.
“It’d be clearer only if you had it written on your forehead,” Bojan confirms, laughing; he sits down next to his friend, shoulder against shoulder. “He’s probably just mad because you misread his words; which, by the way, is reasonable, I would have punched you.”
“I’ll find a way to talk to him,” Gerard declares with a slow nod, then turns to smile at him.
“Oh, I’ll find you a way to talk to him,” Bojan objects with a wide grin, then stands and wriggles his tail at him.
Gerard watches him go and frowns, not really sure what he means by that, but willing to trust his best-friend; he glances at Cesc, but the boy doesn’t see him.
~
They eat and spend the rest of the afternoon resting, conscious that once Sergio gets back, they’ll have a three days ride ahead; Carles cooks for them and tells them about his job, about why he likes dragons and how you get a dragon to trust you. Bojan listens, fascinated, and feels a little guilty for misjudging the man when they first got there. For a moment, he even envies Sergio the possibility to ride the dragon, to fly up high above the ground and see everything from a different perspective.
When the sun has almost disappeared behind the hills on the other side of the river, Bojan starts to worry and for the first time realizes how they’re trusting those strangers with their lives; first Zlatan, then Leo and now Carles. He wonders how long it’ll take for their luck to turn against them and he hopes this isn’t that moment.
He’s about to voice his doubts when he spots a familiar figure, approaching quickly in the darkening sky. Just a couple of minutes later, Xabi lands in front of them and the ground shakes beneath their feet.
Sergio takes his time to climb down and doesn’t acknowledge him, just stops to face the animal. Bojan is the only one who approaches and manages to hear what he says.
“Thank you.” Sergio looks at the dragon in the eye as he speaks and Bojan call tell from his voice that he’s genuinely grateful. “I will not forget this, Xabi.”
“Neither will I,” Xabi replies and nods his head slowly. “You’re brave, young wizard, and you have something your kind has chosen to forget.”
“What’s that?” Sergio tightens the grip on the sack he’s holding, but doesn’t look away.
“A truthful heart,” Xabi tells him, somehow amused by his question. “Good luck with your Trial, I’m sure you’ll be alright,” he adds and Sergio accept that with a smile; Bojan is about to ask what the hell he’s talking about, but decides it’s better to not interrupt that moment. “And crash Guardiola as hard as you can.”
“Will do,” Sergio agrees with a brief laughter, then watches as the dragon takes off without another word. When he turns around and sees Bojan standing just a few feet away, he feels his blood freeze; there’s no way he hasn’t heard their conversation.
“How did it go?” Bojan asks with a little, confused smile and he can see Sergio is thankful he doesn’t ask anything about the Trial right then and there.
“I’ve got it,” Sergio announces with a triumphant nod and raises his arm to show him the sack containing the hoof. “We can save you.”
Bojan feels his heart get ten thousand times lighter at those words and forgets about anything else for the few seconds it takes him to reach his boyfriend and hug him like there’s no tomorrow. Well, more like there’s still a tomorrow.
Cesc and Gerard join them immediately after that and Carles watches from afar, a soft smile stretching his lips. Sergio doesn’t fail to notice it and addresses him a meaningful nod.
They decide to leave at dawn the following morning, so they set up for dinner at the fire they’ve kept going all day. Sergio accepts to tell them about the graveyard, but from the look on his face, they can all tell it’s a place he’d rather not see ever again.
Bojan listens to him, but part of his mind refuses to think about anything that isn’t that word he’s heard from the dragon. Trial. Has Sergio done something wrong? Maybe during that journey he’s broken some wizard law he knows nothing about, just to save him. Maybe stealing that hoof from the graveyard has consequences Sergio will have to face in front of his kind. He can’t help feeling both guilty and furious, because Sergio hasn’t mentioned it once and he couldn’t bare to see him go to jail - or worse - for him. He realizes that if being saved will cost him Sergio, then all they’re doing doesn’t make sense.
His mind gets caught in a loop and he waits for his friends and Carles to go to sleep, and once he’s finally left alone with Sergio, he grips his hand and drags him away from the camp. From the look on Sergio’s face, he can tell he knows what’s coming.
“What’s the Trial?” Bojan talks quietly but quickly and doesn’t leave him the time to answer. “Are you in trouble? Is it because of this?”
“Calm down, I’m not going to jail,” Sergio reassures him with a faint smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “It’s just-- it’s something every apprentice has to go through at the end of his education,” he explains, but when he sees Bojan’s not willing to stop there, he sighs. “I’ll have to go away for a while. Alone.”
“How long?” Bojan’s voice cracks at the end and he clears his throat, but it does nothing for the knot he feels there.
“Depends, it’s something the mentor decides,” Sergio informs and shakes his head, trying to find the right words to say it. “Might be a year, might be five.”
“Oh.” Bojan’s shoulders tense at that answer and he looks away, trying to contain his rage. He doesn’t want to say something he will regret, but he can’t think of anything else to say, so he settles for turning around. “Good night, Sergio,” he mutters as he heads back towards the camp.
“Wait, Boji,” Sergio says, almost pleads, and grabs his arm just above the elbow. “Can we talk about it?”
“Not right now,” Bojan denies and frees himself easily from his grip. Sergio watches him go and curses himself for thinking he could avoid telling him; somehow, though, having three more days of journey ahead of them, he hopes he’ll have a chance to make things right. Or at least apologize until Bojan will forgive him just to stop having to ear his voice. That last option doesn’t give him much hope, though.
~~
The first day they ride in complete silence, except for those rare occasions when Gerard manages to get Bojan alone and ride a little slower just to have a chance to talk; Sergio watches them from afar and does his best to respect Bojan’s wish to be left alone, but he can’t ignore the urge to just turn around and go ride next to him, just to be a little closer. By the time sunset comes, they’ve eaten and prepared the fire for the night, but none of them speaks as they lie down, waiting for sleep to catch up on them. Bojan is turned away from the fire, face hidden from all of them, but from the regular, soft movement of his shoulders, Sergio can tell he’s asleep.
The second day doesn’t go much better, but they manage to cross a stream that gives them fresh water to drink and that alone, brightens their mood at least a little. They find a small cave in the woods and, after checking for wild animals, they decide to stop there for the night. Cesc and Gerard go find the wood for the fire and Sergio isn’t surprised to see they only exchange a few, neutral words, but they both keep an eye on each other when the other isn’t looking.
Bojan finds him like that, intent on studying their friends behavior and asking himself why in hell they won’t just talk to each other.
“Hey,” Bojan whispers as he sits down next to him and Sergio almost jumps, caught off guard. “Relax, I’m not a wolf yet.”
“That’s good news.” Sergio tries to smile, but only manages a soft curve on his lips, but apparently, it’s enough. Bojan rests his head on Sergio’s shoulder and slaps him on the back of the head.
“I hate you,” Bojan mutters and takes a deep breath. Sergio feels his blood freeze for a moment at the thought that Bojan might really mean those words; before he can ask how he should interpret those mixed signals, the boy adds, “And I’ll wait for you, no matter how long this Trial will last.”
Sergio is actually speechless for several moments. “Aren’t you mad?” he eventually asks, then wants to slap himself for not being able to find anything better to say.
“I’m furious,” Bojan corrects him with a glare. “But you risked your life for me, and I think I can wait five years for you.”
“Are you doing this out of gratitude?” Sergio knows it’s not the best question he could ask at the moment, but he also knows that if he doesn’t ask it now, he’ll always live with the doubt, and the kind of doubt that ruins relationships like theirs.
“Think that again and my gratitude will rip your ass into tiny pieces,” Bojan threatens and pulls back enough to look at him in the eye. “I’m doing this because I love you, even when you’re a selfish prick and you cut me out of your life.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Sergio mutters, but doesn’t look away. “And I’m sorry you had to find out like that.”
“Me too,” Bojan admits, but there’s a soft smile on his lips and Sergio feels a little less guilty. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll go fix those two as well.”
“What’s going on with them?” Sergio doesn’t try to stop him when he stands, conscious that things are not back to normal yet, but he’s okay with little steps, if that means Bojan will forgive him.
“Geri’s an idiot,” Bojan offers as an explanation, shaking his head.
Sergio grins at him, amused. “And what’s new about it?”
“Watch it, you’re still on probation,” Bojan retorts with an eloquent look and the boy nods his assent, but doesn’t fail to notice the lack of hostility.
Bojan hesitates for a few seconds, unsure whether to add anything else, then decides that first step has gone well enough. He turns around and heads for the spot where Cesc is looking for wood.
“Hey,” he calls with a tentative smile. “I was wondering, I know you two are not on the best terms right now, but,” he stops, taking a deep breath, and pretends to be actually worried. “Would you mind taking a look at the idiot's leg? I think it’s hurting and he doesn’t want to say anything.”
“Fine,” Cesc accepts with a sigh, then catches Bojan’s expression and his frown softens into a little smile. “That’d be so like him.”
“Thanks,” Bojan just says, then heads back to Sergio with a satisfied look on his face, but doesn’t tell him anything.
~
Gerard is surprised to find himself face to face with Cesc when he turns around, but he doesn’t find anything to say other than, “Hello.”
“Roll up your pants,” Cesc just answers, pointing at the injured leg. “I’ll check the wound.”
“Uh, okay,” Gerard accepts quietly and sits down on a rock nearby; he does as told and frowns when Cesc crouches down and takes a closer look to his leg. “Why are you checking the wound?”
“Bojan asked me,” Cesc admits candidly, seeing no reason to lie about it. “It looks just fine to me, no reason it’d hurt.”
“It doesn’t,” Gerard confesses with a sigh. “Bojan just wanted us to talk.”
“About what?” Cesc doesn’t stand, just looks up at the other boy from that awkward position.
“About how I should not assume my brain always gets things right?” Gerard offers with an apologetic smile, then slides down until he’s sitting on the ground in front of him. There are only a few inches between them, but Cesc does nothing to move back. “I thought you had a crush on Zlatan.”
“You-- what?” Cesc stares at him like he’s grown a tail himself and just blinks, dumbfounded.
“When you said you were jealous,” Gerard explains and shrugs awkwardly, trying to make it look like talking about it is no big deal. “I thought you were talking about him.”
“I didn’t say I was jealous,” Cesc objects and the pout he tries to hide makes the other boy smile despite his best efforts. He’s about to say something, but Cesc doesn’t leave him the time and adds, “And surely not of that caveman.”
“So you were trying to tell me that you-- well, you liked me?” Gerard tries his luck and hopes for the best; he knows it’s now or never and if he has to be honest, he’s dead tired of their cold war and he really want it to end, one way or another. Somehow, though, he really hopes for the ‘cease fire’, not the ‘battle to death’.
“I still do,” Cesc concedes with a heavy sigh. “Even though I really think you’re a hopeless idiot.”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know you were talking about me?” Gerard raises his hands in surrender and shrugs, offering his best helpless look.
“Why d’you think I stayed, when you asked me to?” Cesc rolls his eyes and huffs out an unbelieving laughter.
“You could have told me,” Gerard points out and crosses his arms against his chest, stubborn.
“Sure, I could have just said, ‘Hey, I’d like to kiss you, but it’s okay, it’s for medical reasons’,” Cesc retorts, laughing, and sits down on the ground as well to give his legs some rest. “Besides, I’m not into one way relationships.”
“Who says it’s one way?” Gerard looks at him in the eye, puzzled, and pokes him in the shoulder. “That’s what your brilliant mind suggested?”
“You mean you--” Cesc grips his finger and stops him after the fifth time he gets poked.
“Of course, moron.” Gerard rests back against the rock and laugh, unbelieving and a little exasperated. He realizes the absurdity of their hostility and almost wants to cry with frustration, but manages to keep a good grip on the bright side, Cesc doesn’t hate him, Cesc actually wants to kiss him. “Hell, we’re really bad at this, aren’t we?”
Cesc joins in the laughter and shifts until he’s sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. They don’t say anything for a few long seconds, both trying to process the conversation they just had; Gerard doesn’t last long, though, and reaches out to touch Cesc’s hand. “Peace?” he asks as he entwines their fingers, hoping for a romantic effect.
Cesc looks at him for a few moments, surprised, then stifles a wild laughter. “What are you, five?”
“Hey!” Gerard punches him in the side and sulks, offended by that reaction and a little hurt, but doesn’t push Cesc away when he scoots closer and kisses him without a inch of hesitation.
And just from that, he can tell they’ll spend half their time bickering like kids and the other half laughing like the idiots they probably are; and he’s really, really okay with that.
~~
The third day goes more easily, with no tension to make things harder on them and a good amount of joking between Cesc and Gerard. Sergio almost tells them he preferred when they didn’t talk all the time, but keeps it to himself, blaming it on the tiredness. They arrive at the witches’ house long after sunset, but they find the girls still awake.
“Thank goodness, you’re here,” Sara says as she hurries them inside. “Iker sent a message, he’s waiting for you at the village.”
“That’s great,” Sergio declares with a bright smile. “But we kind of solved this on our own,” he adds as he hands them the sack with the hoof.
“You got it?” Yolanthe looks inside the sack and her eyes widen in shock. “This isn’t Florentino’s hoof, it’s too big.”
“We know someone stole Florentino’s hoof, but that’s not us,” Bojan confirms with a small nod, then bites on his lower lip, impatient, and adds, “Is that enough to make the enchantment?”
“More than enough,” Irina confirms with a bright smile, then looks at Bojan and frowns. “And from the look of it, we’re just in time.”
Bojan blinks a few times, not really understanding what she means, then turns around to look at Sergio, who explains by pointing at his mouth. Bojan feels his heart sink in his chest and touches his lips, only to find a pair of fangs instead of his canines. “Great,” he mutters, then pushes them with his tongue. “How long will the enchantment take?”
“All night,” Sara replies with an all-business nod. “We’ll get to work immediately.”
“Feel free to keep the rest of the hoof,” Sergio tells them with a smile and they all stare at him.
“It’s worth a fortune, you could sell it and be rich,” Irina points out and shakes her head, probably convinced he’s gone crazy.
“Or you could keep it and do it yourself,” Sergio objects, rolling his eyes. “It’s a thank you gift.”
“We’ll keep it,” Yolanthe agrees and looks at her friends. “And we’ll use it to do good, not for money,” she adds with a thankful smile.
“Starting from Bojan,” Gerard reminds them with a hurried tone, then glances at his friend.
“Of course,” Sara laughs and takes one of the books from the shelf. “You’ll have to leave though.”
“We’ll stay at the inn,” Sergio declares and stretches his back, tired.
“No, you need to go,” Irina insists, a little worried. “In his letter, Iker asked that you leave for the village as soon as you get here.”
“It’s a day ride, if you leave now, you should be there by morning,” Sara adds as she keeps working to get all they need. “He wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“But if we leave, you can’t work the enchantment,” Bojan objects and looks at Sergio first, then at the witches.
“Of course we can,” Yolanthe laughs and reaches him with a knife in her hand, which prompts him to swallow around a lump in his throat. “We just need some of your hair.”
“Go ahead?” Bojan says and offers his head a little hesitantly.
“From the tail,” Sara informs, clearly biting back a smirk.
“Just one thing, though,” Bojan muses with an uncertain look on his face. “If I’m at the village, how can I drink the potion?”
“Ew,” Irina just says, shaking her head.
“You don’t have to drink this stuff,” Yolanthe explains with a wildly amused grin. “When you cast a curse like this, you leave a mark behind,” she adds and points at the ingredients. “All this is just to find that mark in the piece of hair we have.”
“So you can deflect the curse using the mark,” Bojan finishes for her, visibly relieved.
“Exactly,” Sara confirms. “The tail is the first manifestation, which means the mark is easier to find there.”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” a voice behind them asks and they all turn around to look at the door that gives into the hallway, only to find a half-naked tanned boy. “Customers at this hour?”
“They’re friends, Cris,” Irina explains and reaches him in a moment, smiling.
“That’s the to-- Cristiano?” Gerard corrects himself at the last second; with all the riding and travelling around he’s forgotten the month was ending when they left. “You were right, he surely is handsome in his human form.”
“Oi!” Cesc elbows him in the ribs and glares at him.
‘What?’ Gerard mouths, a little out of breath for the blow he just received, but Cesc doesn’t answer him, while the rest of the group just laughs.
“It’s an emergency,” Irina explains to her boyfriend and kisses him on the cheek. “Go back to sleep.”
“I’m upstairs if you need me,” Cristiano just says, then waves at them and walks away with a yawn.
Gerard follows him with his eyes, but despite his poor attempt at being subtle, it only earns him another bad look from Cesc. He offers an apologetic smile and rubs his ribs, hoping it’ll be enough to avoid another blow.
“Can I?” Yolanthe’s question distracts Bojan from the exchange between his friends and he nods, a little calmer than just moments before.
The witch collects some of the hair from the tail then deposits it in a bowl and puts a cover on it, to make sure it won’t fly away if the wind gets a little stronger and manages to get the window opened. Bojan figures they’ve had enchantments ruined for the lack of care in the past and he appreciates the attention.
“We’re all set,” Sara declares as she takes another look at the ingredients on the table. “Now go see what my boyfriend has gotten himself into, and we’ll get to work.”
“Iker is your boyfriend?” Bojan stares at her wide-eyed, and he’s not disappointed to see he’s not the only one, Gerard and Cesc have the same expression on their faces. “Good heaven, you’re brave.”
Sara laughs and nods her assent, amused by his reaction. “I thought Sergio told you about us.”
“Sergio sometime forgets to tell people what they should know,” Bojan retorts and rolls his eyes, but there’s no anger in it and Sergio just smiles apologetically at them both.
“I know what you mean,” Sara agrees and slaps the boy on the back of the head. “Now go, you’re wasting precious time.”
“We’re going, we’re going.” Sergio raises his hands in surrender and heads for the door, laughing.
~
“I could have used some sleep,” Cesc points out when they stop on the top of the hill that looks down at the village. The sun is rising slowly and they’re all dead tired, so they don’t really feel like arguing with him on that.
“We’re almost done,” Sergio tries to sound confident, but he doesn’t know what’s expecting them and why Iker would want them to go back so quickly.
“Who’s that?” Gerard points at a dark figure several feet ahead of them.
“It’s probably Iker waiting for us,” Bojan offers as he jumps off his horse. “Let’s go.”
They all head down the hill, confident that they’re walking towards their wizard friend. When they arrive near enough to see his face in the dim light, though, they all freeze on the spot. Pep Guardiola, the King’s court wizard is standing in front of them with a triumphant smile on his lips.
“Well, what a nice pack you put together,” Pep points out with a theatrical sigh. “And I see you’re almost completely gone. How sad.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, if I were you,” Sergio retorts with a sarcastic smile. “You’re the one who’s gonna be barking up a tree soon enough.”
“Oh, I see you found the enchantment,” Pep replies, unimpressed, and gestures someone to come forward. A short man walks out from behind the trees on their right, and Iker follows him, hands bound together by what Sergio recognizes as enchanted chains. “Too bad you won’t be able to make it work.”
“I’m sorry, Sergio,” Iker tells him and the boy can see the sadness in his gaze. “I felt the curse coming and I went to get the unicorn hoof from Florentino, but--”
“I guess I got there first and destroyed it, you know, just in case,” Guardiola finishes for him, laughing, then points at Iker. “I made it look like it was stolen, and now I can blame him in front of the King.”
“We found him sleeping out here, waiting for you,” the short man says; Sergio recognizes him as Xavi, Guardiola’s trainee, and feels the need to strangle him. “Waiting for his precious, little apprentice.”
“You’re disgusting,” Sergio mutters, furious, and tries to figure out a way to get Iker out of those chains. They can only be opened by the wizard who put them on him, but there’s no much hope Pep will do it, so he’ll have has to find another way and quickly.
“Am I?” Guardiola hums doubtfully, then shakes his head. “I might be, I don’t care. I killed the little bastard, and sentenced my hardest competition to death.”
“I’m not a wolf, and I’m surely not dead yet,” Bojan declares with a confident smile on his lips when he catches a familiar movement with the corner of his eye, and his heart skips a beat at the realization of what it is. “But you’re probably about to be.”
“Really? Says who?” Xavi retorts with a highly amused laughter, but it’s immediately cut off when Xabi lands in front of them and crashes him with a huge claw.
“Says me,” the dragon answers in a gravelly voice that shows just how furious he is.
“You-- what are you doing here?” Guardiola takes several steps back, terrified by the huge beast.
“I’m just making sure you meet the fate you deserve,” Xabi declares as he moves further towards him, leaving a mess of what used to be Guardiola’s apprentice.
“What d’you mean?” Iker goes to stand in front of the dragon, determined to get explanations.
Xabi raises a claw and for a moment Sergio fears he’ll crash Iker as well; instead, he breaks the chains like they’re made of glass, and Iker rubs his wrists, surprised. “You again, Casillas,” the dragon huffs out, mildly annoyed. “Your young friend showed me that there’s still hope for your kind.”
“Sergio?” Iker looks at his apprentice, who just bites his lips but does nothing to acknowledge the attention he’s getting from them.
“I flew him to the graveyard,” Xabi tells him with a hint of impatient in his voice.
“You mean--” Guardiola stops and turns his terrified eyes to Sergio. “You have the hoof.”
“The enchantment should work any time, now,” Bojan confirms when his boyfriend doesn’t talk, just keeps staring at Xabi.
“Don’t,” Guardiola whispers, desperate. “I’ll take the curse off you, but please, don’t--”
“It’s too late,” Xabi cuts him off, satisfaction clear in his big eyes. “It’s already happening.”
“No, it can’t happen, this-- it’s impossible.”
It’s all Guardiola has the time to say, just as ears, fangs, claws and a tail start growing all at once. Bojan watches his own hands and sees the signs of his curse disappear slowly as they appear on the man. Five minutes later, a wolf is standing right where Guardiola was.
“The witches finished just in time,” Gerard points out, amazing and quite scared by the thought of what could have happened if they hadn’t. “Your tail is gone.”
“Now that it’s complete, it can’t be reversed anymore,” Xabi explains to Sergio and the boy could swear that he can hear a smile in his voice. “The love of your life is safe.”
“Thank you,” Sergio just answers, but he can’t help the light blush that covers his cheeks when the others all look at him at those words.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have a long journey ahead and you have a lot to talk about,” Xabi declares as he stretches his wings. “I believe we’ll meet again, young wizard.”
“I really hope so,” Sergio replies with a slow, meaningful nod, then watches the animal take off in the light of the newborn day.
~~
“You actually convinced a dragon, that dragon, to fly you there,” Iker stares at him wide eyed and Sergio feels his chest burst with pride.
“Yes,” Sergio confirms with a smug look. “And we actually ran from el Pirata,” he continues, somehow amused at the stunned looks his mentor has been giving them all night. “Oh, and we actually met the Guardian of unicorns.”
“We’re a pretty good team,” Bojan adds with a proud smile and rests a kiss on Sergio’s shoulder.
Gerard and Cesc have spent the evening with them, but left after the third time they’ve told Iker the story of those past few days. Bojan can’t really blame them, considering they haven’t had time to be on their own after that talk in the woods; talk Bojan might or might not have overheard while collecting wood instead of them.
“Damn right you are,” Iker admits with a pat on Sergio’s shoulder. “You’re almost ready to be on your own.”
That sentence makes them both freeze and reminds Bojan almost instantly the reason of the fight with Sergio. He tries to push it away, but having Iker there and willing to talk is too much of a temptation.
“You mean, to be sent away for a ridiculous amount of time, leaving us here to wait?” Bojan snaps, unable to restrain himself.
“The Trial?” Iker laughs at his hostility and Bojan feels the urge to punch him in the face. How can he laugh about something like that? “I'm the one who decides what the Trial should be,” he adds as he takes another sip of beer. “And I think you've already proven you can be both incredibly brave and incredibly reckless at the same time, which is the whole point of the Trial.”
“You mean I don't have to leave?” Sergio’s face lights up at that possibility and Bojan bites on his lips, hopeful.
“I think you don’t need it,” Iker declares with a firm nod. “But you'll do extra work in the kitchen.”
“Are you sure?” Sergio doesn’t feel like objecting, but he knows how much Iker cares about the Trial, how many times he’s insisted on it. “I mean, theTrial lasts a year and I've only--”
“The purpose of the Trial is to make sure you can face threats on your own,” Iker explains with a warm smile. “Take a good look around you,” he adds and Sergio doesn’t know if he means it metaphorically or not.
“What?”
“Bojan, me, even those two lovebirds,” Iker tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I don't think you'll ever need to face anything alone, not even a toothache.”
Sergio’s smile widens impossibly at that and all he can do is nod; he can feel Bojan’s warm hand against his side and he turns around to smile at him, unbelievingly happy.
“Not that you couldn't, anyway,” Iker states, raising his glass. “Xabi is a hell of a stubborn bastard, he hates us,” he continues “But somehow, you convinced him you’re worth a chance, something I failed.”
“You went to talk to him too?” Bojan’s eyes widen and Sergio laughs, incredulous.
“He said I could-- I don’t think I can repeat what he said,” Iker mutters with a frown, then shakes his head and smiles at them. “The point is, you’re gonna be a great wizard.”
“I learned from the best.” Sergio looks at him in the eye as he says that and he can tell the wizard is somehow surprised.
Iker leans back in his chair and relaxes, satisfied. “Besides, I spent half myTrial drinking beer in a small inn at the border of the kingdom,” he tells them, leaving both of them speechless. “That’s actually where I met Sara for the first time. She was wearing this cute little dress and I thought I really wanted to--”
“Okay, we’re getting into the too-much-information zone,” Sergio stops him with a embarrassed laughter, then stands from his seat. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Iker waves them off, laughing genuinely at how fast they get out of the main room of the Inn, but doesn’t tell them to stop.
Once they’re in the yard, Bojan stops them as they’re still snickering like kids, and pulls him closer. “I really thought he was sending you away.”
“We could have cheated,” Sergio offers with a grin, then rests his forehead against Bojan’s and his smile turns softer, warmer. “I’m never leaving without you. Ever.”
And this time, Bojan knows he can believe it.
~~
A/N: yes, it’s over. It’s a sappy ending and no, I’m not ashamed of it. LOL Considering the amount of crazy stuff I threw in here, this should be the less of our problems. XD
So, it’s over and if you feel like letting me know whether you liked it or not, you will make me happy. If you don’t feel like it, then well, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
See you (hopefully) soon.
JM