Fic: I set a course for winds of fortune (Hungry like the wolf) - [1/4]
Title: ‘I set a course for winds of fortune (Hungry like the wolf)’ [1/4]
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
Banner by miss_hale
~~
Part 1. The one where Bojan wakes up with a tail
Bojan wakes up earlier than usual with a strange feeling that something’s wrong; he quietly gets out of bed, knowing his parents are probably still asleep, but he doesn’t have the time to figure out what the pain in his lower back is, because the moment he stands, Sergio yells his lungs out in a way that could be described as the opposite of virile.
How in hell could he forget Sergio was still there?
“Shut up!” Bojan hurries him, looking around in the dim light that comes from the closed window. It must be not long after dawn. “What’s wrong with you?”
“You--” Sergio stutters as he stands from the bed as well. “You have--”
“I have what?” Bojan hears noises outside the room and panics, knowing that if his parents walk in and find Sergio there, they’ll be in big, very big trouble. “Quick, under the bed, hide!”
Sergio doesn’t seem to hear him at first, still apparently in too much shock to react. When Bojan grabs his arm and pushes him towards the bed, though, he snaps out of his trance and quickly slips under the bed, trying to be as quiet as he can.
A moment later Bojan’s mother walks in, holding a candle, and Bojan tries to think of a reason why he would scream like that in the middle of the night. Bad dream sounds a little too childish, big spider sounds a little too girly. As soon as his mother sees him, though, he knows there’s no need for an excuse.
“What in the holy sky has happened to you?” she mutters, horrified, and Bojan’s father is there barely in time to catch her as she faints.
“Son,” Bojan’s father starts, wide-eyed. “Why on earth do you have a tail?”
~~
Two hours later they’re all sitting in the small living room-slash-kitchenette of their house. Sergio is there too - he had enough sense to get out of the window and pretend to have just arrived - and Gerard, Bojan’s best friend, joins them after a while. It feels a little crowded, but Bojan doesn’t dare saying a word. And so does everyone else.
The silence grows harder and harder to bear and Bojan takes a deep breath, trying to find a way to start that conversation.
“So,” he mutters, unsure. “I have a tail.”
And he knows it’s not the most brilliant thing he could have said, but at least he hopes it will snap the others out of their quiet staring.
“Yes, you do,” his mother agrees with a shaky sigh, then turns to look at Sergio. “Did you do it? Maybe accidentally?”
“What? No!” Sergio sounds slightly offended and shakes his head, determined. “I’m still an apprentice, even if I wanted to do something like this, I couldn’t.”
“It makes sense, though,” Gerard muses, studying Bojan intently. “Think about it, you’re the son of a tailor and you have a tail.”
“Geri,” Bojan starts, completely stunned, then shakes his head in a somehow dejected way. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”
Gerard grins at those words, but stops as soon as he catches Sergio’s glare. “Can we be serious?” Bojan’s father asks, throwing Gerard an exasperated yet somehow amused glance, then looks at Sergio. “You think your mentor could do something?”
“I’m sure Iker could fix it,” Sergio reassures, then lowers his gaze for a moment. “But he left yesterday, I have no idea when he’ll be back.”
“We need to find help,” Bojan’s mother points out, standing from the chair. “Anita told me about this wonderful physician that lives three villages away, going north. At Ashburton Grove.”
“A physician?” Bojan addresses her a distressed look, almost pleading. “I don’t want to have this removed by a physician, I want it to disappear.”
“We’re not cutting off his tail, what if it grows back?” Sergio jumps in, surprising all of them. “If it’s magic, it has to be treated with magic.”
“Maybe he could give you something for the pain,” Bojan’s father suggests.
“Doesn’t hurt that much now,” Bojan denies, not too enthusiastic about seeing a physician.
“We could try some of Iker’s friends,” Sergio proposes, gaining an interested nod from Gerard. “Not you.”
“Yes me, you two aren’t going anywhere on your own,” Gerard insists with a wide smile. “Besides, I’m the one with the horses.”
“Wait, who decided you’re leaving?” Bojan’s father interrupts, slightly annoyed. “We could still solve this here.”
“If the village found out about this, we'd be ruined, the shop would be forced to close down,” Bojan considers quietly, then bites on his lower lip for a moment. He catches Sergio watching him with a small, reassuring smile and that gives him more confidence. “We’ll leave tomorrow before dawn, the three of us. There must be someone who can fix this.”
Bojan’s mother reaches him without a word and bends down to kiss him on the forehead. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s dangerous out there.”
“This tail has to go,” Bojan just says, closing his eyes, and allows himself to enjoy his mother’s hug. “I’ll be okay.”
~~
“Oh, crap!” Bojan yells as he shakes the reins furiously. “Can’t your horses go faster?”
“They’re horses, not dragons!” Gerard snaps back, then looks at the pack of wolves chasing them. Sergio is ahead of them, leading the way through the woods and towards the river, in the hope that the water would stop the animals.
When they finally reach the water stream, their horses hesitate, but it doesn’t take much to convince them water is a way better deal than hungry wolves. Sergio goes first and Bojan follows him immediately, while Gerard’s horse stops, panicked.
“Geri!”
Gerard kicks the horse and whips the reins as hard as he can, but all he earns is that the animal prances and almost throws him off the saddle. He manages to stay on, but one of the wolves reaches him and goes for his leg, succeeding in biting him on the calf. With a yell, Gerard spurs the horse once again and this time the animal surges forward and launches itself across the river. Once on the other side, they’re relieved to see the wolves are not following them.
“Geri, are you okay?” Bojan jumps off his horse and reaches him in a moment, worried. He can see blood trailing down Gerard’s booth, but he can’t tell how bad it is.
“The bastard bit me,” Gerard groans as he pulls his pants up enough to take a look.
“We’ve been on the move for less than six hours and you’re already injured,” Sergio points out with an unbelieving chuckle. “And you didn’t want us to go alone?”
“Shut up, smartass,” Gerard growls, throwing him an annoyed glare. “I’ll be fine, I just need to wash it and wrap something around it.”
“I’m not happy to say this, but,” Bojan stops and takes a deep breath, trying to gather all is calm. “You need to see a physician.”
“No, I don’t,” Gerard denies, addressing him a wide, sarcastic smile. “It’s a scratch.”
“It’s not negotiable,” Bojan insists, a little annoyed about the resistance. “What if it gets infected? It doesn’t look like a scratch to me.”
“Fine,” Gerard mutters quietly and tries to ignore Sergio’s triumphant smile. “Who made you the boss, anyway?”
“I’m the one with the freaking tail,” Bojan reminds him with a confident tone. “Oh, and if you let that butcher cut off my tail, I’ll end you. Both of you.”
“Yessir,” Sergio laughs, hopping back on his horse. “Which way?”
“North,” Bojan answers with a smirk. “I guess we’ll have a stop at Ashburton Grove after all.”
~
“What in heaven is that?”
Bojan ignores the question and tries to keep his tail from wriggling, without much success. “We’re looking for the physician.”
“Damn right you are,” the old man replies, staring at the tail.
Bojan glares darkly at him, but when the man doesn’t notice, he snaps his fingers to get his attention. “I’m up here,” he reminds the stranger with an irritated tone that makes both Sergio and Gerard smirk. “And my tail is just fine, thank you.”
“Sure,” the man answers, a little embarrassed, then points them at the last house of the street. “The physician lives right there.”
“Thank you,” Sergio tells him, then helps out Gerard as they follow Bojan in that direction. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m gonna kill someone if they don’t stop staring,” Bojan growls, throwing a menacing glare in his boyfriend’s direction.
“Well, you do have a tail, that’s bound to get you noticed,” Gerard reminds him with a brief laughter.
“Whatever,” Bojan mutters just as they stop in front of the physician’s house.
There’s a name - Francesc Fàbregas - written on the wood in red and yellow ink, which Bojan finds is an odd choice, but he knocks anyway. A moment later, the door opens and they find themselves facing a young boy with dark hair and even darker eyes, but a bright smile stretching his lips, possibly meant to be reassuring. The smell of chemicals and medical solutions though, doesn’t make it an easy task.
And right then, Bojan can tell trouble has only just started.
“How can I help you?” Cesc lets them in and his eyes linger for a moment on Bojan’s tail, but before he can complain about it, Cesc’s attention focuses on Gerard. On Gerard’s ass, but still.
“My friend--” Bojan starts, but gets cut off almost immediately.
“Your friend is a grown man and can talk for himself, tailed boy,” Cesc interrupts him with a wide smirk, then looks back at Gerard.
Bojan opens his mouth to protest, then changes his mind and sits on the first available chair, sulking. Sergio tries his best not to laugh and sit beside him, while Gerard takes place on the empty table where Cesc has all his tools.
“A wolf bite, nothing major,” Gerard shrugs it off and follows his movements carefully.
“Your tough attitude is really charming and kind of cute, but this is major,” Cesc disagrees, taking one of the small red-colored bottles on his left. “You could get infected and even lose the leg if you let it spread.”
“It’s just a bite,” Gerard minimizes, but can’t help the grin at the first part of the sentence.
“D’you have any idea what wolves eat? The amount of diseases they could pass on to humans?” Cesc addresses him an unimpressed look, then frowns at a sudden thought. “Unless you’re an elf,” he mutters as he forces Gerard to turn his head and checks his ears. “No, definitely human.”
“I could have told you that,” Gerard retorts, laughing a little. “So, when will I be able to walk?”
“I would recommend you stop here for the night,” Cesc replies and there’s a hint of suggestiveness in his voice. “I’ll patch you up.”
Bojan watches the exchange with a wildly amused smirk, but turns his eyes away as Cesc works; he’s not too fond of blood and physicians have always freaked him out a little bit. This one, though, seems different than the others, and he’s glad Gerard accepted to go there.
He turns his head and looks at Sergio, who is looking for something in his satchel. When he’s found it, he looks up and smiles at Bojan. “I’ll go see if we can get a room at the inn.”
“Don’t bother, that jerk of a host will rob you for a night in that stinky hole,” Cesc tells them, resentment clear in his voice. “I have an extra room, you can stay here.”
“You don’t even know us,” Bojan points out, genuinely surprised and a little hopeful. The inn doesn’t sound too appealing to him, no matter the price. “We could be thieves.”
“Thieves are faster than wolves,” Cesc replies, smiling widely at him, then adds, “Besides, you have a tail, I like you.”
“You won’t try to cut it off, right?” Bojan doesn’t think before he asks that and for a moment he fears he could have just given him an idea.
“I would rather not, it looks fine where it is,” Cesc denies, laughing out loud.
Bojan relaxes at those words and smiles when he feels Sergio’s hand rest on the small of his back, just inches above the spot where the tail comes out from.
~~
The following morning they wake up at dawn and prepare the horses, ready to resume their journey to wherever it is that Sergio is leading them. He’s told them the place is called Chamartín, a big village up north nearby Madrid - which is the capital of their kingdom, where King José of Setubal lives in the royal court of Bernabeu, or so Bojan has been taught - and yet, Bojan is pretty sure the village doesn’t have a good reputation. They’re meeting Iker’s closest friends, hopefully the ones who will get that tail off him.
Cesc, however, is surprised to see them in such a hurry; and his surprise shows itself in the form of him saddling a horse for himself.
“So, what’s the matter, someone chasing you?” Cesc pats his animal on the neck affectionately and he gets a neigh in response. “Other than wolves, obviously.”
“Yes, kind of,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “We’re trying to get rid of my tail, which, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t look fine where it is.”
Cesc laughs out loud at those words and throws a quick look at Gerard. “I was hoping for this answer,” he informs cheerfully. “D’you think I could join in?”
“Why?”
“It’s not the first tail I’ve seen, but despite my awesome reputation, I have no idea how to cure it, so I’d like to see how you get rid of it,” Cesc explain in the most natural tone. “Chopping it off hasn’t exactly worked last time.”
“Sounds legit,” Sergio admits with a nod, and oddly enough, Gerard silently agrees with him.
Bojan hesitates for just a moment, then rolls his eyes and jumps on his horse. “Fine,” he agrees and he has to confess he’s not too disappointed. “Besides, we might need your help the next time something chases us.”
“Damn right,” Cesc confirms as he climbs on his ride as well. “So, where to?”
“Chamartín,” Sergio chirps, gaining a three identical perplexed stares. “Oh, stop it, it’s really just the rumors, it’s beautiful there.”
“Uh, that’s where most witches live,” Cesc reminds him with a tentative smile.
“Oh, right, we forgot to mention he’s the apprentice of a wizard,” Gerard informs him with a brief laughter.
“Are we going to see a witch?” Bojan doesn’t sound too convinced about that and Sergio rolls his eyes.
“Not just one, three,” the boy corrects him, then spurs his horse. “And stop that, witches are adorable.”
“Why do they always come in trios, anyway?” Gerard asks, but his question only earns him a slap on the back of the head from Sergio, which, he guesses, stands for ‘they don’t’.
Bojan sighs and decides that his only choice is to trust his boyfriend on that; he can’t really see a witch as adorable in his head, mostly because he’s never seen one for real and from the way they were described in his bedtime stories, he imagined they would be old, mean women who turned people into goats for fun.
“You really are a peculiar lot,” Cesc points out and exchanges a curious look with Gerard, who shrugs in reply and smiles widely at him.
“It’s gonna take us about a day to get up there,” Sergio muses, thoughtful, then looks back at his friends. “I say we ride as far as the horses take us, then stop for the night and start again tomorrow at dawn.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Gerard agrees with a solemn nod, and ignores the flash of pain in his leg when the horse starts. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.
~
“Okay, the fire should keep most animals away,” Cesc declares as he sits down next to Gerard. “We’ll take turns to keep guard.”
“Perfect.” Bojan stands from the ground with a yawn and stretches his back. “I’ll go settle the horses, I’ll take the first turn.”
“I’ll help you out,” Sergio offers, getting to his feet as well, but he doesn’t fail to notice the knowing smirk on Gerard’s lips. He ignores it and joins Bojan a few feet away, but before he can say anything, the boy grabs his hand and drags him behind the nearest tree. “Hey!”
“Shut it,” Bojan mutters and pulls him in a hug, burying his face in Sergio’s neck. “D’you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to ride a horse when you have a tail?”
Sergio laughs quietly against his temple and closes his eyes, only to open them a moment later when he feels something poke at his side. “Uh, Boji,” he calls, a little unsure. “Your tail is trying to tickle me.”
“Oh.” Bojan pulls back and grabs the tail with a hand, smirking. “I can’t control it yet, it usually stays idle.”
“Sounds like you’re getting used to it,” Sergio jokes and tentatively touches the tip of the furry tail.
“You’re kidding right?” Bojan glares at him and slaps him on the side of the shoulder.
Sergio laughs again and gains confidence, going as far as caressing the side of the tail. “It’s soft, it feels like cat’s fur.”
“Meow,” Bojan whispers against his lips, then laughs with him, but doesn’t do anything to move Sergio’s hand away.
They hear a sudden noise coming from the camp, similar to a yell, and they peek from behind the tree, only to see Cesc and Gerard laughing their socks off about something they can’t figure out. They’re sitting close to each other and Cesc’s hand is carelessly resting on Gerard’s thigh, which prompts a smirk from Bojan.
“D’you think those two, you know,” Bojan suggests, arching an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
“Nah, Cesc’s way too smart for Gerard,” Sergio jokes and that earns him another slap on the chest. “Fine, fine, stop it.”
“I think they’re cute,” Bojan points out, resting his chin on Sergio’s shoulder. He stays quiet for a while, just enjoying the warmth of Sergio’s body against is, but then a thought crosses his mind and he can’t avoid voicing it. “When you’re done, will you leave?”
“What d’you mean?” Sergio tries to make eye contact and Bojan only resists for a few seconds.
“When you’re not an apprentice anymore, when you’re a wizard, will you leave the village?” Bojan tries to smile as he asks, but fails miserably.
He’s a little reassured when the first response he gets is a slap on the back of the head, quickly followed by a muttered, “Moron.”
“I’m just asking,” Bojan justifies himself, a little offended.
“I’m not going anywhere, ever,” Sergio answers, rolling his eyes. “And surely not without you.”
“Good,” Bojan declares, visibly relieved, even though he still feels like the subject is far from closed. He doesn’t want Sergio to give up his plans for him, but he knows it’s not the right time nor place to have that discussion, so he just lets it go.
“Besides, you could always grab me with your tail,” Sergio offers and the moment their gazes meet again, they both laugh.
~
“Who is it?” a female voice asks from behind the door.
Bojan looks around with a nervous smile and waits for Sergio to answer properly; he has to admit the village is well kept and really beautiful, surrounded by green hills on south and west, and sheltered by forest on north and east, but he’s still too worried about the witches to really enjoy it.
The moment Sergio replies and the door opens, though, he blinks several times. On the doorstep there’s a beautiful girl with long brown hair and green eyes, who doesn’t look a day older than twenty-five.
“Oh my, little Sergio!” she greets him and pulls him in a tight, affectionate hug. “And you brought friends.”
“Hey Sara,” Sergio replies with a wide smile. “These are Bojan, Gerard and Cesc,” he introduces them, then takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry to bother you girls, but we kind of really, really need your help.”
“Oh please, you know you’re always welcome here,” Sara retorts, rolling her eyes, then gestures them to go in. “C’mon in, we just finished making dinner, would you like some?”
“You live here?” Bojan can’t help asking, too stunned to actually form a rational question.
“Let me guess, you expected more pointy hats and cauldrons,” Sara muses as they walk into a big kitchen; a big, normal looking kitchen of a mildly wealthy family.
“Something like that,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, we get that a lot,” another girl says as she walks in; she has wavy brown hair and chocolate eyes that immediately stop on Bojan’s tale. “Uh, stylish.”
“Hi, Yolee,” Sergio greets her, rolling his eyes. “Guys, she’s Yolanthe,” he adds, then introduces the guys too. “Where’s Irina?”
“She should be back any time,” Sara replies as she sets the table for them; Yolanthe goes for the big fireplace and stirs the soup, humming to herself. A soon as the salty, strong aroma spreads in the room, Bojan’s stomach grumbles loudly and he blushes, a little embarrassed. “Sergio, don’t you feed that poor boyfriend of yours?”
“He usually feeds himself, and not too rarely,” Sergio offers with a grin, earning a punch on the shoulder from Bojan.
“Talking about feeding,” a third girl, who they assume must be Irina, says from the doorstep, hands safely placed on her hips in a somehow menacing way. “Did any of you two remember to feed Cristiano?”
“Of course, we don’t hate him that much,” Yolanthe answers, rolling her eyes, then points behind the counter. “He’s right there.”
Irina greets Sergio with a hug and the strangers with a smile, then goes to check on Cristiano and Bojan finds himself wondering who this Cristiano is. As it turns out when she turns around, holding him in her arms, Cristiano is a black toad.
“Don’t let the appearance fool you, he’s actually a very handsome boy,” Irina explains, highly amused, when she sees the shock on Bojan’s face. “Well, when heis a boy.”
“He’s cursed, he... well, long story short, one month he’s a toad, the next he’s human,” Sara explains with a shrug, like it’s no big deal. “We all got used to him jumping around.”
“That’s disgusting,” Gerard deadpans, only to shake his head quickly a moment later and add, “No offence, of course.”
Irina laughs and pats Cristiano on the head. “None taken.”
“We get this a lot, too,” Yolanthe informs him as she places the dishes on the table. “Sometimes, even for his toad form, but mainly for the human one.”
“Shut up,” Irina objects, slapping her on the arm, then puts Cristiano down and he quietly catches a fly above his head.
“Time to eat!” Sara announces cheerfully and they all laugh at the mildly shocked look that’s still safely placed on Cesc’s face.
~
“Are you sure you wanna get rid of that?” Yolanthe looks at Bojan’s tail again and purses her lips, confused. “It’s so cute.”
“Where I come from, having a tail is kind of frown upon,” Bojan informs with a little smile, then glances at said part of his anatomy that is resting in Sergio’s lap, apparently happy with being petted.
“From what I could find here, it’s not as simple as it may seem,” Irina says and points at a page of the big book she’s holding.
Sara takes a look and frowns, visibly surprised. “The tail is just the beginning,” she mutters and moves her worried eyes from the page to Bojan. “This is no regular curse, you must have pissed off someone big time.”
“I don’t--” Bojan shakes his head, unbelieving. “What d’you mean it’s just the beginning?”
“Claws come next, then wolf ears and fangs,” Irina lists, following the explanation on the book. “Fur is the last stage.”
“I’m turning into a freaking wolf?” Bojan can hear his voice get a little too high-pitched than commonly acceptable for a men, but he couldn’t care less.
“That’s why that pack of wolves was chasing us like that,” Gerard comments, unbelieving and a little upset. “They must have felt it.”
“Can you break it?”
“You don’t break curses,” Sara informs with a little apologetic smile “We could deflect it, thought, but no one has done it for a long time, not this type.”
“Why?” Bojan looks at them, then at Sergio, whose silence was not really reassuring.
“It takes a very rare ingredient, barely anyone has it,” Yolanthe explains and rests her hand on Bojan’s shoulder, trying to be comforting. “If you find that ingredient, we might be able to deflect it on the person who casted it in the first place.”
“What’s the ingredient?” Cesc looks at them, curious. “It can’t be that hard to find.”
“We need a piece of unicorn hoof,” Irina deadpans, skeptical, then addresses Bojan an apologetic smile. There’s no need to say what they all thought, it’s downright impossible to find a unicorn, let alone unicorn hoof.
“What if we don’t deflect the curse? Will I be like Cristiano?” Bojan almost doesn’t want to hear the answer, because somehow he knows it’s not a reassuring one.
“No, this one is permanent,” Yolanthe tells him and her grips gets a little tighter for a moment. “You’ll lose your humanity.”
“Wait,” Sergio stops them when he sees Bojan’s face pale at those words. “Iker once told me there’s a merchant in Madrid who has a unicorn hoof.”
“Florentino?” Sara stares at him like he’s gone crazy. “He’ll never sell it.”
“We have to try,” Gerard declares, standing from his seat. “Or we’ll steal it.”
“Yeah, right, you and what army?” Yolanthe blinks at him, unbelieving. “It’s Madrid, the freaking King lives there and Florentino’s shop is under the Royal Guard’s protection, you can’t just steal from him and walk away alive.”
“We’ll find someone who’s good enough to do it,” Sergio insists, unwilling to give up so easily. “Someone like el Pirata.”
“Are you out of your bloody mind?” Cesc looks at him like he’s grown two heads and Irina nods her head to show she approves of that reaction. “Even I know how dangerous that guy is.”
“I don’t care,” Sergio deadpans, deadly serious. “Bojan is turning into a freaking wolf and I’m not gonna sit here and watch it happen.”
“Who is el Pirata?” Bojan looks at Cesc first, then at Sergio, but no one answers him. “So?”
“He’s a thief, the thief,” Sara explains with a resigned sigh. “He’s the best you could ever find, but from what people say, he’s one of the most cruel and heartless criminals around.”
“And from what people say, you witches are old, mean women who burn fields and eat children,” Bojan points out, a little skeptical. “Maybe it’s just reputation.”
“Is that what goes around these days?” Yolanthe purses her lips, thoughtful. “Boy, they must think we’re getting soft.”
Sara looks at her for a moment, then rolls her eyes and sighs, unbelieving; when she turns her attention back to Bojan, though, she looks uncertain. “I don’t think that’s just reputation, but if you really wanna take this risk, you’ll need weapons to defend yourselves.”
“We don’t know how to handle weapons,” Bojan reminds her with wide eyes.
“Have a little faith, you have a wizard in the making,” Irina tells them, nodding in Sergio’s direction with a smile. “We’ll figure out something he can use, some enchantments, or a few potions.”
“This way you’ll have a way out if things go south with el Pirata,” Sara adds as she reaches for the book once again.
“C’mon, I’ll take you to the inn,” Yolanthe offers with a wide smile. “My husband runs it, I’m sure he can spare a couple of rooms for free.”
~
“I guess I’ve found the answer I was looking for,” Cesc declares as Gerard closes to door to their room. “If anyone else with a tail shows up, I’ll just send them here to hear the bad news.”
“Does that mean you’re leaving?”
“I’m not sure,” Cesc says with a little smile, and he has to admit he didn’t expect Gerard to sound so disappointed. “I mean, it’s el Pirata we’re going against.”
“It’s gonna be tough,” Gerard concedes and takes a deep breath, then sits on one of the two empty beds. “But we can make it, we have to.”
“Bojan’s lucky to have such good friends,” Cesc points out as he sits on the other bed, right in front of him. “Not many people would risk their lives like this.”
“He’s like a brother to me,” Gerard tells him and he can’t help the smile that curves his lips. “Besides, the witches are right, we have Sergio,” he continues with a chuckle. “And he’s not half bad as a wizard.”
“When he talks about his mentor Iker,” Cesc hesitates for a moment, uncertain. “Does he mean Iker Casillas?”
“That’s him, the great wizard of Móstoles,” Gerard confirms with a smirk. “But he prefers Iker.”
“Can’t he do anything for Bojan?” Cesc frowns, honestly surprised; he’s heard so many stories about Casillas and his powers, he’s almost legendary.
“He’s away, we don’t know where, we don’t know how to contact him,” Gerard explains with a brief, dejected sigh. “It’s always like this, isn’t it? You have the greatest wizard of all times living right next to you, but when you need him, he’s not around.”
“Yeah, that’s shitty luck,” Cesc comments with an apologetic smile.
“What about you?” Gerard frowns a little at the odd accent that comes out with those last words. “You don’t sound from around here.”
“I was born here,” Cesc informs with a brief nod. “But I’ve lived most part of my life up north, past the Channel.”
“That explains a lot,” Gerard laughs, shaking his head with wild amusement.
“Oi!” Cesc surges forward and punches him on the shoulder, hard enough to make him fall back on the bed, but it only makes him laugh harder. “And where are you from, uh?”
“Same old village for my entire life,” Gerard says as he sits up again, stroking the shoulder where Cesc hit him. “It’s a good place, peaceful, except when someone wakes up with a tail.”
“That must have raised questions,” Cesc assumes, and it was his time to laugh.
“We ran off before anyone could see it,” Gerard explains, shaking his head; the comfortable silence that falls after his words is only interrupted by the sounds of the inn coming from downstairs. The owner, Wesley, is probably dealing with some drunk customer and there’s someone singing loud enough for them to hear. “You know,” Gerard says after a while. “I wouldn’t blame you if you left.”
Cesc seems surprised to hear that and looks at him in the eye before he says, “I wouldn’t blame you if you asked me to stay.”
Gerard’s smile widens at that and the meaning behind it, but only nods in reply, never breaking eye-contact.
~~
A/N: I know, right? Well, actually I don’t. I have no idea how this originated inside my head, but a second later it took over all my thoughts and here it is, as crazy as it is.
Hope you enjoyed it <3
And if you did, I’ll see you next week, same place, same time (yes, regular update, yay \o/) <3
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
Banner by miss_hale
~~
Part 1. The one where Bojan wakes up with a tail
Bojan wakes up earlier than usual with a strange feeling that something’s wrong; he quietly gets out of bed, knowing his parents are probably still asleep, but he doesn’t have the time to figure out what the pain in his lower back is, because the moment he stands, Sergio yells his lungs out in a way that could be described as the opposite of virile.
How in hell could he forget Sergio was still there?
“Shut up!” Bojan hurries him, looking around in the dim light that comes from the closed window. It must be not long after dawn. “What’s wrong with you?”
“You--” Sergio stutters as he stands from the bed as well. “You have--”
“I have what?” Bojan hears noises outside the room and panics, knowing that if his parents walk in and find Sergio there, they’ll be in big, very big trouble. “Quick, under the bed, hide!”
Sergio doesn’t seem to hear him at first, still apparently in too much shock to react. When Bojan grabs his arm and pushes him towards the bed, though, he snaps out of his trance and quickly slips under the bed, trying to be as quiet as he can.
A moment later Bojan’s mother walks in, holding a candle, and Bojan tries to think of a reason why he would scream like that in the middle of the night. Bad dream sounds a little too childish, big spider sounds a little too girly. As soon as his mother sees him, though, he knows there’s no need for an excuse.
“What in the holy sky has happened to you?” she mutters, horrified, and Bojan’s father is there barely in time to catch her as she faints.
“Son,” Bojan’s father starts, wide-eyed. “Why on earth do you have a tail?”
~~
Two hours later they’re all sitting in the small living room-slash-kitchenette of their house. Sergio is there too - he had enough sense to get out of the window and pretend to have just arrived - and Gerard, Bojan’s best friend, joins them after a while. It feels a little crowded, but Bojan doesn’t dare saying a word. And so does everyone else.
The silence grows harder and harder to bear and Bojan takes a deep breath, trying to find a way to start that conversation.
“So,” he mutters, unsure. “I have a tail.”
And he knows it’s not the most brilliant thing he could have said, but at least he hopes it will snap the others out of their quiet staring.
“Yes, you do,” his mother agrees with a shaky sigh, then turns to look at Sergio. “Did you do it? Maybe accidentally?”
“What? No!” Sergio sounds slightly offended and shakes his head, determined. “I’m still an apprentice, even if I wanted to do something like this, I couldn’t.”
“It makes sense, though,” Gerard muses, studying Bojan intently. “Think about it, you’re the son of a tailor and you have a tail.”
“Geri,” Bojan starts, completely stunned, then shakes his head in a somehow dejected way. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”
Gerard grins at those words, but stops as soon as he catches Sergio’s glare. “Can we be serious?” Bojan’s father asks, throwing Gerard an exasperated yet somehow amused glance, then looks at Sergio. “You think your mentor could do something?”
“I’m sure Iker could fix it,” Sergio reassures, then lowers his gaze for a moment. “But he left yesterday, I have no idea when he’ll be back.”
“We need to find help,” Bojan’s mother points out, standing from the chair. “Anita told me about this wonderful physician that lives three villages away, going north. At Ashburton Grove.”
“A physician?” Bojan addresses her a distressed look, almost pleading. “I don’t want to have this removed by a physician, I want it to disappear.”
“We’re not cutting off his tail, what if it grows back?” Sergio jumps in, surprising all of them. “If it’s magic, it has to be treated with magic.”
“Maybe he could give you something for the pain,” Bojan’s father suggests.
“Doesn’t hurt that much now,” Bojan denies, not too enthusiastic about seeing a physician.
“We could try some of Iker’s friends,” Sergio proposes, gaining an interested nod from Gerard. “Not you.”
“Yes me, you two aren’t going anywhere on your own,” Gerard insists with a wide smile. “Besides, I’m the one with the horses.”
“Wait, who decided you’re leaving?” Bojan’s father interrupts, slightly annoyed. “We could still solve this here.”
“If the village found out about this, we'd be ruined, the shop would be forced to close down,” Bojan considers quietly, then bites on his lower lip for a moment. He catches Sergio watching him with a small, reassuring smile and that gives him more confidence. “We’ll leave tomorrow before dawn, the three of us. There must be someone who can fix this.”
Bojan’s mother reaches him without a word and bends down to kiss him on the forehead. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s dangerous out there.”
“This tail has to go,” Bojan just says, closing his eyes, and allows himself to enjoy his mother’s hug. “I’ll be okay.”
~~
“Oh, crap!” Bojan yells as he shakes the reins furiously. “Can’t your horses go faster?”
“They’re horses, not dragons!” Gerard snaps back, then looks at the pack of wolves chasing them. Sergio is ahead of them, leading the way through the woods and towards the river, in the hope that the water would stop the animals.
When they finally reach the water stream, their horses hesitate, but it doesn’t take much to convince them water is a way better deal than hungry wolves. Sergio goes first and Bojan follows him immediately, while Gerard’s horse stops, panicked.
“Geri!”
Gerard kicks the horse and whips the reins as hard as he can, but all he earns is that the animal prances and almost throws him off the saddle. He manages to stay on, but one of the wolves reaches him and goes for his leg, succeeding in biting him on the calf. With a yell, Gerard spurs the horse once again and this time the animal surges forward and launches itself across the river. Once on the other side, they’re relieved to see the wolves are not following them.
“Geri, are you okay?” Bojan jumps off his horse and reaches him in a moment, worried. He can see blood trailing down Gerard’s booth, but he can’t tell how bad it is.
“The bastard bit me,” Gerard groans as he pulls his pants up enough to take a look.
“We’ve been on the move for less than six hours and you’re already injured,” Sergio points out with an unbelieving chuckle. “And you didn’t want us to go alone?”
“Shut up, smartass,” Gerard growls, throwing him an annoyed glare. “I’ll be fine, I just need to wash it and wrap something around it.”
“I’m not happy to say this, but,” Bojan stops and takes a deep breath, trying to gather all is calm. “You need to see a physician.”
“No, I don’t,” Gerard denies, addressing him a wide, sarcastic smile. “It’s a scratch.”
“It’s not negotiable,” Bojan insists, a little annoyed about the resistance. “What if it gets infected? It doesn’t look like a scratch to me.”
“Fine,” Gerard mutters quietly and tries to ignore Sergio’s triumphant smile. “Who made you the boss, anyway?”
“I’m the one with the freaking tail,” Bojan reminds him with a confident tone. “Oh, and if you let that butcher cut off my tail, I’ll end you. Both of you.”
“Yessir,” Sergio laughs, hopping back on his horse. “Which way?”
“North,” Bojan answers with a smirk. “I guess we’ll have a stop at Ashburton Grove after all.”
~
“What in heaven is that?”
Bojan ignores the question and tries to keep his tail from wriggling, without much success. “We’re looking for the physician.”
“Damn right you are,” the old man replies, staring at the tail.
Bojan glares darkly at him, but when the man doesn’t notice, he snaps his fingers to get his attention. “I’m up here,” he reminds the stranger with an irritated tone that makes both Sergio and Gerard smirk. “And my tail is just fine, thank you.”
“Sure,” the man answers, a little embarrassed, then points them at the last house of the street. “The physician lives right there.”
“Thank you,” Sergio tells him, then helps out Gerard as they follow Bojan in that direction. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m gonna kill someone if they don’t stop staring,” Bojan growls, throwing a menacing glare in his boyfriend’s direction.
“Well, you do have a tail, that’s bound to get you noticed,” Gerard reminds him with a brief laughter.
“Whatever,” Bojan mutters just as they stop in front of the physician’s house.
There’s a name - Francesc Fàbregas - written on the wood in red and yellow ink, which Bojan finds is an odd choice, but he knocks anyway. A moment later, the door opens and they find themselves facing a young boy with dark hair and even darker eyes, but a bright smile stretching his lips, possibly meant to be reassuring. The smell of chemicals and medical solutions though, doesn’t make it an easy task.
And right then, Bojan can tell trouble has only just started.
“How can I help you?” Cesc lets them in and his eyes linger for a moment on Bojan’s tail, but before he can complain about it, Cesc’s attention focuses on Gerard. On Gerard’s ass, but still.
“My friend--” Bojan starts, but gets cut off almost immediately.
“Your friend is a grown man and can talk for himself, tailed boy,” Cesc interrupts him with a wide smirk, then looks back at Gerard.
Bojan opens his mouth to protest, then changes his mind and sits on the first available chair, sulking. Sergio tries his best not to laugh and sit beside him, while Gerard takes place on the empty table where Cesc has all his tools.
“A wolf bite, nothing major,” Gerard shrugs it off and follows his movements carefully.
“Your tough attitude is really charming and kind of cute, but this is major,” Cesc disagrees, taking one of the small red-colored bottles on his left. “You could get infected and even lose the leg if you let it spread.”
“It’s just a bite,” Gerard minimizes, but can’t help the grin at the first part of the sentence.
“D’you have any idea what wolves eat? The amount of diseases they could pass on to humans?” Cesc addresses him an unimpressed look, then frowns at a sudden thought. “Unless you’re an elf,” he mutters as he forces Gerard to turn his head and checks his ears. “No, definitely human.”
“I could have told you that,” Gerard retorts, laughing a little. “So, when will I be able to walk?”
“I would recommend you stop here for the night,” Cesc replies and there’s a hint of suggestiveness in his voice. “I’ll patch you up.”
Bojan watches the exchange with a wildly amused smirk, but turns his eyes away as Cesc works; he’s not too fond of blood and physicians have always freaked him out a little bit. This one, though, seems different than the others, and he’s glad Gerard accepted to go there.
He turns his head and looks at Sergio, who is looking for something in his satchel. When he’s found it, he looks up and smiles at Bojan. “I’ll go see if we can get a room at the inn.”
“Don’t bother, that jerk of a host will rob you for a night in that stinky hole,” Cesc tells them, resentment clear in his voice. “I have an extra room, you can stay here.”
“You don’t even know us,” Bojan points out, genuinely surprised and a little hopeful. The inn doesn’t sound too appealing to him, no matter the price. “We could be thieves.”
“Thieves are faster than wolves,” Cesc replies, smiling widely at him, then adds, “Besides, you have a tail, I like you.”
“You won’t try to cut it off, right?” Bojan doesn’t think before he asks that and for a moment he fears he could have just given him an idea.
“I would rather not, it looks fine where it is,” Cesc denies, laughing out loud.
Bojan relaxes at those words and smiles when he feels Sergio’s hand rest on the small of his back, just inches above the spot where the tail comes out from.
~~
The following morning they wake up at dawn and prepare the horses, ready to resume their journey to wherever it is that Sergio is leading them. He’s told them the place is called Chamartín, a big village up north nearby Madrid - which is the capital of their kingdom, where King José of Setubal lives in the royal court of Bernabeu, or so Bojan has been taught - and yet, Bojan is pretty sure the village doesn’t have a good reputation. They’re meeting Iker’s closest friends, hopefully the ones who will get that tail off him.
Cesc, however, is surprised to see them in such a hurry; and his surprise shows itself in the form of him saddling a horse for himself.
“So, what’s the matter, someone chasing you?” Cesc pats his animal on the neck affectionately and he gets a neigh in response. “Other than wolves, obviously.”
“Yes, kind of,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “We’re trying to get rid of my tail, which, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t look fine where it is.”
Cesc laughs out loud at those words and throws a quick look at Gerard. “I was hoping for this answer,” he informs cheerfully. “D’you think I could join in?”
“Why?”
“It’s not the first tail I’ve seen, but despite my awesome reputation, I have no idea how to cure it, so I’d like to see how you get rid of it,” Cesc explain in the most natural tone. “Chopping it off hasn’t exactly worked last time.”
“Sounds legit,” Sergio admits with a nod, and oddly enough, Gerard silently agrees with him.
Bojan hesitates for just a moment, then rolls his eyes and jumps on his horse. “Fine,” he agrees and he has to confess he’s not too disappointed. “Besides, we might need your help the next time something chases us.”
“Damn right,” Cesc confirms as he climbs on his ride as well. “So, where to?”
“Chamartín,” Sergio chirps, gaining a three identical perplexed stares. “Oh, stop it, it’s really just the rumors, it’s beautiful there.”
“Uh, that’s where most witches live,” Cesc reminds him with a tentative smile.
“Oh, right, we forgot to mention he’s the apprentice of a wizard,” Gerard informs him with a brief laughter.
“Are we going to see a witch?” Bojan doesn’t sound too convinced about that and Sergio rolls his eyes.
“Not just one, three,” the boy corrects him, then spurs his horse. “And stop that, witches are adorable.”
“Why do they always come in trios, anyway?” Gerard asks, but his question only earns him a slap on the back of the head from Sergio, which, he guesses, stands for ‘they don’t’.
Bojan sighs and decides that his only choice is to trust his boyfriend on that; he can’t really see a witch as adorable in his head, mostly because he’s never seen one for real and from the way they were described in his bedtime stories, he imagined they would be old, mean women who turned people into goats for fun.
“You really are a peculiar lot,” Cesc points out and exchanges a curious look with Gerard, who shrugs in reply and smiles widely at him.
“It’s gonna take us about a day to get up there,” Sergio muses, thoughtful, then looks back at his friends. “I say we ride as far as the horses take us, then stop for the night and start again tomorrow at dawn.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Gerard agrees with a solemn nod, and ignores the flash of pain in his leg when the horse starts. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.
~
“Okay, the fire should keep most animals away,” Cesc declares as he sits down next to Gerard. “We’ll take turns to keep guard.”
“Perfect.” Bojan stands from the ground with a yawn and stretches his back. “I’ll go settle the horses, I’ll take the first turn.”
“I’ll help you out,” Sergio offers, getting to his feet as well, but he doesn’t fail to notice the knowing smirk on Gerard’s lips. He ignores it and joins Bojan a few feet away, but before he can say anything, the boy grabs his hand and drags him behind the nearest tree. “Hey!”
“Shut it,” Bojan mutters and pulls him in a hug, burying his face in Sergio’s neck. “D’you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to ride a horse when you have a tail?”
Sergio laughs quietly against his temple and closes his eyes, only to open them a moment later when he feels something poke at his side. “Uh, Boji,” he calls, a little unsure. “Your tail is trying to tickle me.”
“Oh.” Bojan pulls back and grabs the tail with a hand, smirking. “I can’t control it yet, it usually stays idle.”
“Sounds like you’re getting used to it,” Sergio jokes and tentatively touches the tip of the furry tail.
“You’re kidding right?” Bojan glares at him and slaps him on the side of the shoulder.
Sergio laughs again and gains confidence, going as far as caressing the side of the tail. “It’s soft, it feels like cat’s fur.”
“Meow,” Bojan whispers against his lips, then laughs with him, but doesn’t do anything to move Sergio’s hand away.
They hear a sudden noise coming from the camp, similar to a yell, and they peek from behind the tree, only to see Cesc and Gerard laughing their socks off about something they can’t figure out. They’re sitting close to each other and Cesc’s hand is carelessly resting on Gerard’s thigh, which prompts a smirk from Bojan.
“D’you think those two, you know,” Bojan suggests, arching an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
“Nah, Cesc’s way too smart for Gerard,” Sergio jokes and that earns him another slap on the chest. “Fine, fine, stop it.”
“I think they’re cute,” Bojan points out, resting his chin on Sergio’s shoulder. He stays quiet for a while, just enjoying the warmth of Sergio’s body against is, but then a thought crosses his mind and he can’t avoid voicing it. “When you’re done, will you leave?”
“What d’you mean?” Sergio tries to make eye contact and Bojan only resists for a few seconds.
“When you’re not an apprentice anymore, when you’re a wizard, will you leave the village?” Bojan tries to smile as he asks, but fails miserably.
He’s a little reassured when the first response he gets is a slap on the back of the head, quickly followed by a muttered, “Moron.”
“I’m just asking,” Bojan justifies himself, a little offended.
“I’m not going anywhere, ever,” Sergio answers, rolling his eyes. “And surely not without you.”
“Good,” Bojan declares, visibly relieved, even though he still feels like the subject is far from closed. He doesn’t want Sergio to give up his plans for him, but he knows it’s not the right time nor place to have that discussion, so he just lets it go.
“Besides, you could always grab me with your tail,” Sergio offers and the moment their gazes meet again, they both laugh.
~
“Who is it?” a female voice asks from behind the door.
Bojan looks around with a nervous smile and waits for Sergio to answer properly; he has to admit the village is well kept and really beautiful, surrounded by green hills on south and west, and sheltered by forest on north and east, but he’s still too worried about the witches to really enjoy it.
The moment Sergio replies and the door opens, though, he blinks several times. On the doorstep there’s a beautiful girl with long brown hair and green eyes, who doesn’t look a day older than twenty-five.
“Oh my, little Sergio!” she greets him and pulls him in a tight, affectionate hug. “And you brought friends.”
“Hey Sara,” Sergio replies with a wide smile. “These are Bojan, Gerard and Cesc,” he introduces them, then takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry to bother you girls, but we kind of really, really need your help.”
“Oh please, you know you’re always welcome here,” Sara retorts, rolling her eyes, then gestures them to go in. “C’mon in, we just finished making dinner, would you like some?”
“You live here?” Bojan can’t help asking, too stunned to actually form a rational question.
“Let me guess, you expected more pointy hats and cauldrons,” Sara muses as they walk into a big kitchen; a big, normal looking kitchen of a mildly wealthy family.
“Something like that,” Bojan admits with a little smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, we get that a lot,” another girl says as she walks in; she has wavy brown hair and chocolate eyes that immediately stop on Bojan’s tale. “Uh, stylish.”
“Hi, Yolee,” Sergio greets her, rolling his eyes. “Guys, she’s Yolanthe,” he adds, then introduces the guys too. “Where’s Irina?”
“She should be back any time,” Sara replies as she sets the table for them; Yolanthe goes for the big fireplace and stirs the soup, humming to herself. A soon as the salty, strong aroma spreads in the room, Bojan’s stomach grumbles loudly and he blushes, a little embarrassed. “Sergio, don’t you feed that poor boyfriend of yours?”
“He usually feeds himself, and not too rarely,” Sergio offers with a grin, earning a punch on the shoulder from Bojan.
“Talking about feeding,” a third girl, who they assume must be Irina, says from the doorstep, hands safely placed on her hips in a somehow menacing way. “Did any of you two remember to feed Cristiano?”
“Of course, we don’t hate him that much,” Yolanthe answers, rolling her eyes, then points behind the counter. “He’s right there.”
Irina greets Sergio with a hug and the strangers with a smile, then goes to check on Cristiano and Bojan finds himself wondering who this Cristiano is. As it turns out when she turns around, holding him in her arms, Cristiano is a black toad.
“Don’t let the appearance fool you, he’s actually a very handsome boy,” Irina explains, highly amused, when she sees the shock on Bojan’s face. “Well, when heis a boy.”
“He’s cursed, he... well, long story short, one month he’s a toad, the next he’s human,” Sara explains with a shrug, like it’s no big deal. “We all got used to him jumping around.”
“That’s disgusting,” Gerard deadpans, only to shake his head quickly a moment later and add, “No offence, of course.”
Irina laughs and pats Cristiano on the head. “None taken.”
“We get this a lot, too,” Yolanthe informs him as she places the dishes on the table. “Sometimes, even for his toad form, but mainly for the human one.”
“Shut up,” Irina objects, slapping her on the arm, then puts Cristiano down and he quietly catches a fly above his head.
“Time to eat!” Sara announces cheerfully and they all laugh at the mildly shocked look that’s still safely placed on Cesc’s face.
~
“Are you sure you wanna get rid of that?” Yolanthe looks at Bojan’s tail again and purses her lips, confused. “It’s so cute.”
“Where I come from, having a tail is kind of frown upon,” Bojan informs with a little smile, then glances at said part of his anatomy that is resting in Sergio’s lap, apparently happy with being petted.
“From what I could find here, it’s not as simple as it may seem,” Irina says and points at a page of the big book she’s holding.
Sara takes a look and frowns, visibly surprised. “The tail is just the beginning,” she mutters and moves her worried eyes from the page to Bojan. “This is no regular curse, you must have pissed off someone big time.”
“I don’t--” Bojan shakes his head, unbelieving. “What d’you mean it’s just the beginning?”
“Claws come next, then wolf ears and fangs,” Irina lists, following the explanation on the book. “Fur is the last stage.”
“I’m turning into a freaking wolf?” Bojan can hear his voice get a little too high-pitched than commonly acceptable for a men, but he couldn’t care less.
“That’s why that pack of wolves was chasing us like that,” Gerard comments, unbelieving and a little upset. “They must have felt it.”
“Can you break it?”
“You don’t break curses,” Sara informs with a little apologetic smile “We could deflect it, thought, but no one has done it for a long time, not this type.”
“Why?” Bojan looks at them, then at Sergio, whose silence was not really reassuring.
“It takes a very rare ingredient, barely anyone has it,” Yolanthe explains and rests her hand on Bojan’s shoulder, trying to be comforting. “If you find that ingredient, we might be able to deflect it on the person who casted it in the first place.”
“What’s the ingredient?” Cesc looks at them, curious. “It can’t be that hard to find.”
“We need a piece of unicorn hoof,” Irina deadpans, skeptical, then addresses Bojan an apologetic smile. There’s no need to say what they all thought, it’s downright impossible to find a unicorn, let alone unicorn hoof.
“What if we don’t deflect the curse? Will I be like Cristiano?” Bojan almost doesn’t want to hear the answer, because somehow he knows it’s not a reassuring one.
“No, this one is permanent,” Yolanthe tells him and her grips gets a little tighter for a moment. “You’ll lose your humanity.”
“Wait,” Sergio stops them when he sees Bojan’s face pale at those words. “Iker once told me there’s a merchant in Madrid who has a unicorn hoof.”
“Florentino?” Sara stares at him like he’s gone crazy. “He’ll never sell it.”
“We have to try,” Gerard declares, standing from his seat. “Or we’ll steal it.”
“Yeah, right, you and what army?” Yolanthe blinks at him, unbelieving. “It’s Madrid, the freaking King lives there and Florentino’s shop is under the Royal Guard’s protection, you can’t just steal from him and walk away alive.”
“We’ll find someone who’s good enough to do it,” Sergio insists, unwilling to give up so easily. “Someone like el Pirata.”
“Are you out of your bloody mind?” Cesc looks at him like he’s grown two heads and Irina nods her head to show she approves of that reaction. “Even I know how dangerous that guy is.”
“I don’t care,” Sergio deadpans, deadly serious. “Bojan is turning into a freaking wolf and I’m not gonna sit here and watch it happen.”
“Who is el Pirata?” Bojan looks at Cesc first, then at Sergio, but no one answers him. “So?”
“He’s a thief, the thief,” Sara explains with a resigned sigh. “He’s the best you could ever find, but from what people say, he’s one of the most cruel and heartless criminals around.”
“And from what people say, you witches are old, mean women who burn fields and eat children,” Bojan points out, a little skeptical. “Maybe it’s just reputation.”
“Is that what goes around these days?” Yolanthe purses her lips, thoughtful. “Boy, they must think we’re getting soft.”
Sara looks at her for a moment, then rolls her eyes and sighs, unbelieving; when she turns her attention back to Bojan, though, she looks uncertain. “I don’t think that’s just reputation, but if you really wanna take this risk, you’ll need weapons to defend yourselves.”
“We don’t know how to handle weapons,” Bojan reminds her with wide eyes.
“Have a little faith, you have a wizard in the making,” Irina tells them, nodding in Sergio’s direction with a smile. “We’ll figure out something he can use, some enchantments, or a few potions.”
“This way you’ll have a way out if things go south with el Pirata,” Sara adds as she reaches for the book once again.
“C’mon, I’ll take you to the inn,” Yolanthe offers with a wide smile. “My husband runs it, I’m sure he can spare a couple of rooms for free.”
~
“I guess I’ve found the answer I was looking for,” Cesc declares as Gerard closes to door to their room. “If anyone else with a tail shows up, I’ll just send them here to hear the bad news.”
“Does that mean you’re leaving?”
“I’m not sure,” Cesc says with a little smile, and he has to admit he didn’t expect Gerard to sound so disappointed. “I mean, it’s el Pirata we’re going against.”
“It’s gonna be tough,” Gerard concedes and takes a deep breath, then sits on one of the two empty beds. “But we can make it, we have to.”
“Bojan’s lucky to have such good friends,” Cesc points out as he sits on the other bed, right in front of him. “Not many people would risk their lives like this.”
“He’s like a brother to me,” Gerard tells him and he can’t help the smile that curves his lips. “Besides, the witches are right, we have Sergio,” he continues with a chuckle. “And he’s not half bad as a wizard.”
“When he talks about his mentor Iker,” Cesc hesitates for a moment, uncertain. “Does he mean Iker Casillas?”
“That’s him, the great wizard of Móstoles,” Gerard confirms with a smirk. “But he prefers Iker.”
“Can’t he do anything for Bojan?” Cesc frowns, honestly surprised; he’s heard so many stories about Casillas and his powers, he’s almost legendary.
“He’s away, we don’t know where, we don’t know how to contact him,” Gerard explains with a brief, dejected sigh. “It’s always like this, isn’t it? You have the greatest wizard of all times living right next to you, but when you need him, he’s not around.”
“Yeah, that’s shitty luck,” Cesc comments with an apologetic smile.
“What about you?” Gerard frowns a little at the odd accent that comes out with those last words. “You don’t sound from around here.”
“I was born here,” Cesc informs with a brief nod. “But I’ve lived most part of my life up north, past the Channel.”
“That explains a lot,” Gerard laughs, shaking his head with wild amusement.
“Oi!” Cesc surges forward and punches him on the shoulder, hard enough to make him fall back on the bed, but it only makes him laugh harder. “And where are you from, uh?”
“Same old village for my entire life,” Gerard says as he sits up again, stroking the shoulder where Cesc hit him. “It’s a good place, peaceful, except when someone wakes up with a tail.”
“That must have raised questions,” Cesc assumes, and it was his time to laugh.
“We ran off before anyone could see it,” Gerard explains, shaking his head; the comfortable silence that falls after his words is only interrupted by the sounds of the inn coming from downstairs. The owner, Wesley, is probably dealing with some drunk customer and there’s someone singing loud enough for them to hear. “You know,” Gerard says after a while. “I wouldn’t blame you if you left.”
Cesc seems surprised to hear that and looks at him in the eye before he says, “I wouldn’t blame you if you asked me to stay.”
Gerard’s smile widens at that and the meaning behind it, but only nods in reply, never breaking eye-contact.
~~
A/N: I know, right? Well, actually I don’t. I have no idea how this originated inside my head, but a second later it took over all my thoughts and here it is, as crazy as it is.
Hope you enjoyed it <3
And if you did, I’ll see you next week, same place, same time (yes, regular update, yay \o/) <3