Chapter Text
Night never falls in this part of the desert. Only twilight. It covers these unforgiving, ravaged lands with a thick blanket and remains so until the first rays of sunrise break through the thick haze on the horizon. Here, because of the Tacet Fields, there are always clouds in the sky and never a star to be seen. No living person comes here of their own free will, for there is only trouble, despair and ruin to be found here.
But you come by the call of duty and the call of the heart. If you know you're here, you're a shield for those behind you.
That's why Rover, Yangyang, Baizhi, Chixia come here regularly, and the rest of their fellow Resonators join them from time to time. After all, who else could be the shield if not them?
Today, for example, it was Jiyan. Rover had gone on another dangerous mission, and since it wasn't very far from the northern outpost of the Midnight Rangers, where the General was at the moment, he had joined them.
It was all over now, and they should return to the outpost. But as dusk had already fallen over the desert, they decided to stop and spend the night, and set out in the morning.
They did not light a fire, so as not to provoke the TDs patrolling the area, but spread out a piece of cloth on which they placed some snacks and drinks. They sat down near this spontaneous 'victory feast'. A tent (one for all) was also set up, but this was more in case of bad weather. Normally no one minded sleeping in the open.
The watch was set, but no one was going to bed yet. They all sat in a circle, eating and talking. Or rather, it was mostly Chixia who did most of the talking, as she decided that it was a good night for scary stories (which, for all her effort, artistry and hand-waving, were not scary at all), while the others smiled as they listened and ate. It was an important break after a difficult and dangerous mission.
And Jiyan somehow felt like he was on holiday at times like this. Even though Madame Magistrate had made it clear that helping Rover on such missions was in no way 'shirking' his duties. In fact, Madame Magistrate had made it part of his duties to help Rover.
But how could he feel otherwise?
Here, with these cheerful young men, he felt like an instructor in the Pioneer Association, just starting out. Something a little less stifling than the responsibility for the thousands of lives that rested on his shoulders every day. At least for that brief moment. It was in moments like this that Jiyan allowed himself to relax and simply enjoy: a quiet evening, a simple but delicious meal, good company, the satisfaction of a job well done.
Maybe he relaxed too much this time. For it was only at the last second that he felt someone approaching him. And there was no time to do anything, not even to turn around.
The man who had approached him from behind suddenly slipped around his body and threw one leg over him, sitting on his lap. Jiyan's head was in a tight grip and his mouth was gagged by someone else's stiff lips.
Jiyan's first reaction was instinctive. His fingers immediately dug into the stranger's waist to throw him off, and he almost reached for his power to wake the dragon. But then his brain suddenly decided to shut down and a screen of death appeared.
For he recognised something.
First and foremost, of course, it was the white hair. Jiyan knew of only one other person with such hair, capable of filling his entire peripheral vision in an instant. It was as if he had been standing under a waterfall and the white waves now flowed around him, enveloping him in a silvery glow.
Second, the scent. Jiyan didn't want to sound like some kind of stalker freak, but he actually knew the smell of that hair. There had been a couple of missions he had assisted Rover on where Calcharo had been present.
Yes, Calcharo was a reserved man, he didn't like close human contact or touch, but in combat those conventions were erased. And sometimes in battle, or after battle (when they needed to help someone), they were close enough that he could smell a thunderstorm and a night's rain.
So now Calcharo was sitting on his lap? And not just sitting, but hugging him and pressing his lips to his lips. Yes, he pressed his lips to his lips, because it wasn't a kiss, it was more like Calcharo was just covering his mouth so that Jiyan couldn't say anything or scream. It wasn't exactly a hug either. Calcharo had one hand on the back of his head, pulling him tightly against him, and the other around his shoulder, pressing down on his back.
It was only at that moment that Jiyan's brain kicked into high gear and he finally noticed an important detail. It was the fact that Calcharo's other hand wasn't holding him down at all. His armour-clad fingers were tapping feverishly on the bare skin of Jiyan's back, right next to his Resonator Mark. Jiyan froze, counting, wondering if it was what he thought it was. Yes. It was. Three short, three long, three short.
Fuck.
Now it was very important to stay calm.
Very slowly, without making any sudden movements, Jiyan relaxed his fingers, which were still gripping the mercenary's waist with a dead grip, and gently stroked up and down his back. Then he ordered his whole body to relax, forcibly switching his instincts from 'foreign - attack' to 'own - defend' mode. He tried to pull away a little, to say that it was all right, that he understood, but Calcharo still held him desperately and wouldn't let him move an inch.
Then Jiyan lifted a hand to gently stroke his cheek and moved his lips, turning the simple pressure into a full-on kiss. Only then did Calcharo seem to calm down a little. He loosened his grip a little, and Jiyan noticed that his fingers were now trembling slightly. It probably wouldn't be visible from the outside, but Jiyan could feel it on his neck and back.
Calcharo's lips were trembling too, but he tried his best to respond to the 'kiss' authentically.
Jiyan touched his lips a few more times, then the corner of his mouth, his cheek and finally his earlobe. And without really knowing how loud he could be, he whispered barely audibly, "Calm down. I've got you. Now just calm down."
Calcharo let out a long breath, loosened his grip a little, swallowed, and replied just as quietly, "Just go along with it. I won't... I will make it worth your while, I swear. Just... help me. Please."
And then Jiyan realised that this wasn't just bad, it was really, really bad.
As far as Jiyan knew the mercenary leader, he had never asked for help. And he never said such 'banal' words as please or thank you. To hear him say those words side by side meant some unthinkable, impossible combo. What the hell had to happen for that to happen?
"I've got you," Jiyan repeated, now with his other arm around the mercenary's waist, pulling him a little closer to show that he understood the plan and was willing to follow it. "Try to calm down. Everything's going to be fine. We'll get through this."
Calcharo just breathed heavily next to his ear, obviously trying to slow his heartbeat.
As Jiyan said this, he looked at his companions and nodded weakly. Rover, Yangyang, Baizhi and Chixia all sat with their mouths agape, staring in amazement at the scene unfolding before them. Rover saw the General's glance and nod and quickly orientated himself, signalling to the others. They looked at each other doubtfully, but did not comment or interfere.
And in the next second, two more approached their camp. And things began to become a little clearer.
"Calcharo, aren't you going to introduce us?" one of the newcomers asked cheerfully.
Calcharo tensed again under the General's hands when he heard the voice behind his back. He couldn't see it, but Jiyan could, and it took an effort for him to stay where he was and not rush towards the two men, demanding answers. Perhaps demanding answers in a somewhat intemperate manner with moderate violence. Well, he couldn't help it, he'd always been overprotective. And the man in his hands was frightened enough to activate his protective instincts. And the man wasn't just in his hands, he was in his hands asking for help.
Jiyan didn't even notice that, contrary to his own thoughts, he was tensing again, as if he were a predator on the hunt. His sharp gaze remained fixed on the two men approaching them.
But he was immediately distracted by Calcharo. He quickly wrapped his palms around Jiyan's face and turned him to look into his eyes. Calcharo shook his head, clearly indicating 'no', and kissed him on the lips again, apparently so that the gesture would be taken as one of tenderness rather than distraction.
Jiyan tried again to relax and respond to the kiss, forbidding himself to think about the panic that had been in those pale eyes a moment ago. Yes, of course. He had to find out what had happened first. He had to find out what had happened as soon as possible. And then it was time to draw the sword and wake the dragon.
Calcharo kissed him with short, dry touches on his lips, and between those touches Jiyan managed a barely audible exhalation, "It's all right. I won't do anything."
Calcharo nodded, holding him in his embrace for a while longer.
The two men approached them and sat down at their makeshift table without embarrassment or asking permission.
"Look at those lovebirds!" one of them said with a rough laugh, ignoring all the tense looks directed at them. "Calcharo can't even break away to introduce us!"
"Why can't you introduce yourselves?" Rover asked.
With Calcharo still blocking his view, Jiyan couldn't see the expression on Rover's face. But from the tone of his voice, he too had an inkling of what was going on here and that nothing good could be expected from these two.
"Well," the second stranger said with a slight, almost imperceptible hesitation. "We are his colleagues. My name is HuangShu, and this is HongYing."
"Colleagues?" Rover interjected with a lot of doubt in his voice. The rest of their companions preferred to remain silent for the time being. "Calcharo doesn't have colleagues. Only clients or clansmen. So who are you?"
"And who are you?" the one who called himself HuangShu asked boldly.
"We are his friends," Rover replied calmly. "And General Jiyan is obviously his partner."
"You see," HongYing laughed again. "So it's not just clients and clansmen."
Calcharo finally turned to the others, still not leaving Jiyan's lap, looked at Rover and the others and smiled. Of course, it was only a strained, pale semblance of a smile that didn't reach his tense eyes, "I hope you don't mind us bursting in like this?"
Their friends looked at each other and Rover spoke again, "Of course we don't mind. You're always a welcome guest."
Rover didn't emphasise the word 'guest' in any way, but it came out loud and clear. Singular. The two strangers just looked at Calcharo. Apparently they felt quite comfortable barging into the company of the famous Resonators uninvited, and were confident that Calcharo would sort it out.
Jiyan urgently needed more information.
Jiyan made himself more comfortable by grabbing Calcharo around the waist and lifting him slightly to get to his feet. It wasn't exactly graceful, but he managed to stand without letting the mercenary out of his arms, turning slightly so that he could see their friends and the two strangers at the same time. His smile was not as strained as Calcharo's, but much sharper and also did not reach his eyes. He looked at the strangers covertly but persistently, checking their reactions to see if they would protest at his taking Calcharo out of their sight. He tried to keep his voice casual as he announced, "Damn, that was too long, if you know what I mean. Don't lose us, we'll be back soon. Or not so soon."
He kissed Calcharo's nose defiantly, which only made the mercenary wrinkle his nose, but said nothing, and dragged him into the tent amid the tense silence and stares that followed.
It was dark inside the tent and they had not turned on the lights. Calcharo pushed him into the centre and made him sit down as he had been sitting before. Calcharo himself climbed back onto his lap and faced him, taking up the same position he had just taken outside. Jiyan didn't protest, knowing full well that it was more comfortable to talk quietly this way. Though their friends outside would hardly allow strangers to overhear them.
The first thing Calcharo did was to bite his bare shoulder.
"Shit," Jiyan hissed softly. "What was that for?"
"Well, you supposedly brought me here to have sex," Calcharo replied just as quietly and hurriedly, nibbling at his bare skin some more. "And since you're armoured almost up to the top of your head, this is the only place I can leave any mark to prove that we fucked."
"I'm armoured?" Jiyan frowned. "Look at you. Where on you should I leave marks to prove it?"
"I don't give a damn," Calcharo exhaled, his tone very serious. "You can fuck me right now. I don't care," and his hands actually started to try to rip Jiyan's clothes off.
Jiyan quickly grabbed his palms and pressed them against his chest, trying to calm him down, "Calcharo, stop! Just stop for a second! Please! And tell me what the hell happened."
"I'm not... I'm just asking... I will make it worth your while," Calcharo could be heard swallowing and apparently closing his eyes, calming down a bit. It was dark enough that Jiyan couldn't see it.
Jiyan pulled one of his hands free and placed the palm on the white back of his head, which glowed faintly in the darkness. Then he rested the mercenary's head with his forehead on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Just calm down. Just breathe for a minute. In, out, in, out. I'll do my best. But I need to know what's going on."
Calcharo nodded, showing that he understood, but did not move away, continuing to lean almost all his weight on the General. And a few seconds later he spoke, numb and emotionless, as if he had no energy left for anything, neither anger nor worry, "They... they took someone."
The General tried not to tense up and listened calmly. It wouldn't do either of them any good to get extra emotional right now.
"And they're threatening you?"
Calcharo nodded again without lifting his head, "They'll kill them if I don't do what they want."
"And what do they want?"
"That I correct my mistake."
Jiyan frowned and unconsciously stroked the cool silk of the hair beneath his fingers, "What mistake?"
The mercenary just sighed, in no way showing that he felt the General's gentle gesture, "These two are actually my clients. And there are more than two. They hired me to escort the cargo. But when I arrived at the rendezvous point, it turned out that I wasn't just supposed to escort the cargo, I had to fight the cargo off from its convoy first."
Jiyan tensed a little, suspecting what was coming next.
"I refused," Calcharo continued. "I prefer not to do something that is clearly illegal. And taking military cargo from a military convoy would definitely be illegal. That's what I told them. The cargo went away. Then they took someone and said that if I didn't return the cargo, they would kill them."
The General let out a long breath, noticing the movement of his hand, but no longer paying attention to it, "Was that my cargo?"
Another nod from the mercenary.
"It was delivered to an outpost not far from here. My clients," Calcharo spat out the word like a curse, "have assigned me two escorts and ordered me to retrieve it. And they don't care how I do it, whether I steal it or fight it off, whether there are casualties or not. I saw you on the way. And I managed to convince these two that the General of the Midnight Rangers is my lover and I have no problem convincing him to give me this cargo without a fight."
"Aren't they worried that you might tell me all this?"
"They don't give a shit whether I tell you or not. The goal is to get the cargo. The rest doesn't matter. Whether you give it to me out of love or pity or profit or whatever. It's just that, from their point of view, your lover should have a better chance of convincing you than a complete outsider. That's why I decided to play on it."
There was silence between them for a few moments. Calcharo continued to sit motionless. Jiyan's fingers had slipped unnoticed into the white silk and were now gently stroking the line of his hair, occasionally touching the hollow behind his ear. It was the only place on the mercenary's body not covered by armour where Jiyan could feel his pulse. And Calcharo's heart was indeed slowing down, showing that the adrenaline and tension were beginning to leave his body. Calcharo slowly relaxed in Jiyan's arms, seemingly finally beginning to believe that all was not hopeless and that he would indeed receive help from the General and the other Resonators who still insisted on being called his 'friends'.
"What now?" Jiyan whispered. "Should I take them to my outpost, give them the cargo they want and just let them go?"
Calcharo tensed again, though Jiyan took care to say it softly, without any judgement in his voice.
"I will not remain indebted," the mercenary repeated once more. "You can ask for anything you want in return. Any..."
"That's not what I mean," Jiyan cut him off. "What's stopping you or me from coming out of this tent right now and settling this matter with a single sword stroke?"
"No!" Calcharo even straightened up and clenched his fists in the General's clothing. "If even one of them gets hurt, the rest of their accomplices will kill the hostage. And if they don't get their cargo. And if I don't come back with the cargo."
"So you'll have to go back to them, too?" the General frowned again.
"Yes."
"Do you know where they're holding the hostage?"
"No. But it's more than that. These two are connected to the others, and one of them sends a code every half hour to confirm that everything is going according to plan. If the code doesn't come through at least once, the hostage dies. And the code is different every time. I've never figured out the principle behind it. So none of them should get hurt, and I won't let that happen."
"Got it. So we need to find the hostage first..."
"No! Hell, no!" Calcharo immediately panicked again, even shaking Jiyan, apparently unable to control himself out of frustration that he couldn't get his point across. "Just! Please! Just do as I ask! No need to find anyone, no need to intercept any signals, no need to follow anyone! Just give me the damn cargo and I'll get out of your hair! I can't take that risk, do you understand?! I can't risk them getting suspicious! I'll do my best, I'll do my best to get your cargo back, but my first concern is the safety of the hostage! You can demand any compensation you want later, I swear I'm ready to do whatever you want..."
Jiyan had been trying to silence him for some time now, but Calcharo paid no attention and only grew louder. And it was getting more and more dangerous.
Then Jiyan took drastic measures and silenced him the same way Calcharo had silenced him - with his lips. But Jiyan didn't just press, he turned it right into a kiss, insistent and a bit hard. But he had to bring the mercenary to his senses and back to his own game. Besides, it had the additional effect they needed.
Calcharo didn't react to the kiss, but relaxed slightly in his arms and just let it happen. Jiyan slowed his movements, but for a while longer, he deliberately licked and bit his lips with force, achieving the desired effect. And when they finally parted, the mercenary's lips took on the same look as after an intense session of passionate kissing or oral sex. After all, it was the only place on the mercenary's armour-clad body where he could leave marks 'as proof of sex'.
"I said I'm in, and I'll do what I can to help," Jiyan finally said after another short silence. "And I'll try not to do anything that might make them worry."
Calcharo was still clenching his fist tightly against his clothes, seemingly waiting for him to continue. Waiting for a 'but' in the General's overly generous promise. But it did not follow.
The General had said what he wanted to say.
Calcharo lifted his head and tried to look into his eyes in the darkness. He saw nothing, of course, and Jiyan only moved forward slightly, bringing their foreheads together.
"You have my word."
Calcharo swallowed hard and whispered so softly that it could easily be mistaken for a mere fantasy: "Thank you."
But it was still there. And in that moment, Jiyan vowed to himself that he would do anything to protect this impossible man. Him and this mysterious hostage who was so important to him that he was even willing to do the impossible for him - beg for help.