Work Text
Your attraction to Hodari didn't start as attraction. In the beginning, it was honestly more of a distanced curiosity. He rarely ever showed his face in Kilima, making him mysterious, but when he did, he always looked like he'd eaten a really bad bowl of lettuce soup. That made him mysterious and unapproachable. And then you befriended his batshit daughter. “Okay, hold still…” Najuma's tongue sticks out from the corner of her mouth as she very carefully adjusts the tension in the metal brace encasing your right arm. You try very hard to hide your wince at the shrill creaking noise it makes. “So, again, what exactly is this going to do?” you inquire warily, watching Najuma put down one tool and pick up another. She huffs, as if you were asking a ridiculous question. “It's going to make your pickaxe swings way stronger. The motor attached to this joint will make sure of it.” You weren't so sure this was a good idea, but you were sure that Najuma would be testing her latest project on herself if you hadn't volunteered. This was a noble sacrifice, really. With a wide grin, the excited teen takes you by the hand and practically drags you outside the workshop, circling around to the back where some decent-sized stones are waiting. Glancing over your shoulder, you frown. “Wait, I need my—” “—Pickaxe?” Najuma finishes, holding up the aforementioned tool. You blink in surprise. When did she grab that? “Oh…thanks.” You take your pickaxe from Najuma's outstretched hand and grip it in the way you'd become so familiar with since arriving (appearing?) in Kilima. The arm trapped inside the brace feels stiff and awkward as you adjust your stance. “Step back, okay? I'm not in the mood to stab teenagers right now.” Once you're sure Najuma wasn't in hitting distance, you swing your toned arms above your head, preparing to bring your pickaxe down onto the chunk of stone, when— CrrreeEAAK! SNAP! Startled, you drop the pickaxe behind you. And then you notice the pain. A piece of the brace had snapped under the pressure, springing out of place and carving a decent sized cut into your arm. Well, shit. “Um, that is so much blood,” Najuma squeaks, holding her hands out in front of her like she could stop the bleeding through telekinesis. Her breathing is shallow and if you focused, you could see shiny teardrops pricking the corners of her eyes. She must feel horrible about this. “Hey, hey, it's okay.” You smile—or at least attempt to. It came out more like a grimace. Your arm hurt. “Let's just go inside the house and patch me up, alright? It's no big deal, ‘juma. I've had worse.” You've certainly also had better, but now wasn't the time to bring that up. Your goal at the moment was to calm down the panicking teenager and hopefully stop bleeding within the next ten minutes. Stitches were definitely not on your to-do list. “Yep, we should do that. Right now. Okay, come on…” Najuma quickly ushers you back from behind the workshop and across the small bridge that leads to her house. You wince at the way your arm pinches against its metal vice while being jostled as you walk. Thinking about it, you have no idea how this thing was going to come off; it was completely bent out of shape. “Um, I'm bleeding on your floor,” you point out awkwardly while standing in the middle of the living room. Najuma makes a disgruntled noise while she rifles through the hall closet for what you're going to assume is the first aid kit. She turns, triumphant, holding a small wooden chest in her hands. It's larger than what you think the average family's first aid kit should be—but you aren't in the average family's home. You're in the Pavel's. “What in the seven Hells is goin’ on in here?” comes a voice from behind you. You whirl around to find Hodari standing in the doorway, looking flabbergasted. That isn't an expression you've seen him wear before. Najuma jumps to answer his question. “Well, we were testing out a project and—” “—Okay, wait, which one of you is bleedin’?” Hodari cuts her off, trying to cover the most important part first. Sheepishly, you raise your good hand, grabbing his attention. He sighs and twitches two fingers, making a “come hither” motion. “Alright. Come on and sit yourself down in the kitchen. Najuma, hand me that kit.” Within a few confusing moments, you find yourself sitting at the kitchen table with your trapped arm resting atop the stained wood. Hodari is sitting in front of you, the first aid kit next to him, as he examines the metal brace you're stuck in. “I was the one who suggested we test it,” you speak up, trying to clear Najuma's name. You're lying, and the look Hodari gives you shows he knows it, but he doesn't challenge your statement. “What was it s'posed to do?” he asks, his voice quiet. He has a little screwdriver in his hand; you have no idea where he got it from. You also don't know where Najuma went—she isn't anywhere in sight, at least. “Well—I think it was supposed to help me with mining? Like, make my swings harder,” you try to explain. Hodari hums. Slowly, he reaches out and begins fiddling with the twisted contraption. He's able to take it apart with a few quick twists of the screwdriver. Carefully, you slide your arm out, and sigh in relief at the sound of metal hitting the floor. “Thanks. Now I just need to—” “—I'll do it,” Hodari interrupts. “It's easier to patch up a cut when you can use both hands.” He has a point, you realize, so you lay your arm back down. “...Thanks.” From experience, you know Hodari isn't a man of many words, so you don't bother trying to make small talk as he expertly cleans your arm. The silence that settles between the two of you is a strange mix of awkward and comfortable. You try to ignore it in favor of watching the miner lay small butterfly strips across the cut to close it, before carefully wrapping the whole thing in a clean cotton bandage. He did a better job than you knew you would have. Hodari cleared his throat, leaning back. “Have you eaten?” he asks. It's such a sudden shift in topics that it catches you off guard. “Oh—I mean, not really—” “—Then you should stay for dinner. I'm grillin’ hot hounds.” You and him make eye contact for a second, and you weirdly feel like you've passed some sort of test. Slowly, you smile. “I'd like that.” Dinner is a lighthearted affair, punctuated by Najuma apologizing for her invention backfiring every few seconds. It gets to the point where you grin and thunk a hand down on top of her head, pushing her hat over her eyes. “Najuma Pavel. I'm going to ban the word ‘sorry’ from your vocabulary. It's okay, really. I swear.” Her face brightens and she playfully shoves your hand away. “Okay, okay. I get it. Just hurry up and heal so you can help me with my second version.” She laughs at the uneasy look on your face. Hodari holds his spatula up in protest, looking over his shoulder with a raised brow. “No more metal cages. Stick to explosives for now,” he declares. You can't help but to laugh at the absurdity of his words. This family was different from any other you've come across, but also somehow the best. “Hey, can you bring some flint when you come back tomorrow?” Najuma asks you, looking at you with those big, brown, manipulative eyes. “Oh? I wasn't aware I was coming back tomorrow,” you reply with an imploring look. Najuma just grins, like she already knows you’re going to cave, and damnit, she's right. You sigh. “Yeah, okay. I'll bring some.” The quick cheer and hug she gives you is well worth the extra miles you'll walk tomorrow. You don't notice the surprised look on Hodari's face that he quickly hides by turning his attention back to the grill. When dinner is over and Najuma runs off to sketch out some ideas in her room, you're surprised by the hand that lands on your shoulder as you prepare to leave. Turning, you look curiously up at Hodari. “What's up?” you ask casually. This is the first time he's ever really gone out of his way to start a conversation with you. Drawing his hand back, Hodari awkwardly fiddles with his goggles in the same way you've seen Najuma do a million times. It's cute. “Look, I know you're a busy person. No one ever shuts up about how helpful you are around town. But, I…well. I wanted t’ say thanks, for taking time out your day for Najuma. It's real nice, seein’ her come out of her shell a bit.” You weren't expecting Hodari to thank you, especially not for something you genuinely enjoy doing. A reassuring smile spread across your lips. “Najuma is the coolest person in this town, Hodari. I'm not exactly taking on a burden when I come to see her.” You let out a breezy laugh. “I mean, if anything, I need to be thanking you for letting me be friends with your daughter.” This surprises Hodari. Something in his gaze suddenly shifts, becoming more open. “...You're free to come by anytime. And I mean that,” he replies. Your cheeks immediately flush red just from the simple gesture of trust. Damn, you'd been hoping that silly crush of yours had faded by now. No dice. “Thank you,” you say in return. “I'll hold you to that.” Abruptly, you turn and begin heading towards the path home, wanting to escape the tension that had somehow formed between you two. But you still look over your shoulder to give Hodari a friendly wave, and beam brighter than the sun when he waves back. Maybe there was more to the hardworking miner than you thought. You'd seen more of his real personality in the past few hours than you had in the months you've known him. Still, you weren't sure what caused him to suddenly put in an effort to talk to you. It felt like you cracked some sort of secret code—except you didn't know what the code was. Maybe, in time, Hodari would let you find out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Of all the different skills you had to learn and develop over the past few months, you weren't expecting mining to be one of your favorites. But there was something about the steady clank of your pickaxe against the rocks, hammering out a pleasant beat, and the thrill of finding a starstone after a day of hard work that just couldn't be triumphed. It was simple yet rewarding, and you spent a lot of time scouring the rocky cliffs in Bahari Bay for promising looking stone clusters. You tended to avoid the mines so you wouldn't take away resources from the Pavels. The sun is beating down on your back as you swing your pickaxe in a slow rhythm, breaking apart a rock you could already tell is embedded with iron. It's mid-afternoon, when the temperatures are at their highest, and the heat searing into your skin is making you consider calling it quits for now. You already gathered a decent amount of stone and iron, and even a few chunks of palium, so maybe— At your most recent swing, a piece of something shiny splits from the rock and flings itself onto the grass. You pause in your mining to bend down and examine it. As you twist it in different directions, watching as the rough edges glitter under the light, you smile. A garnet! It has always been one of your favorite starstones because of its deep red coloring and how often you found them. In fact, you don't really have a need for another right now. You could sell it to Zeki, sure, but you're not exactly hurting for cash. And this particular garnet was such a lovely color—it would be a shame to just hand it over to someone who couldn't care less about anything beyond how much money it made them. Suddenly, an idea pops into your head. Garnet is Hodari's birthstone, right? And you're sure he wouldn't keep any he mines himself, not with what they're worth. You would bet money on him not having one, which makes this a great gift idea. Grinning, you drop the garnet into your pocket. The custom of gift-giving in Kilima is one you deeply enjoy. Seeing people's faces light up when you hand over something they off-handedly mentioned wanting is such a rewarding feeling. It's made you a lot of friends in town, too. But the hardest person to find gifts for has always been Hodari. He rejects nearly anything that isn't food or a material you get from mining, and truthfully you were beginning to run out of new ideas. You could only give a man potato soup so many times. “Hodari, hi!” you call, waving him down on his trek from the workshop to the mines. He pauses, looking a little confused. “Need somethin’?” he asks. Faced with his question, your confidence suddenly begins to fade. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Garnets were a much different gift than some iron or an extra steak you took a few minutes to grill. What if he thought it was too much? But, dammit, you’re already here, so there's no turning back now. “Oh, well, I was just—I mean, I finished up some mining today, and…” You sigh, running a hand down your face. This was going excellent. “Okay, look. I picked up an extra garnet and I thought you might want it. So, here.” Before you can chicken out, you fish the starstone from your pocket and quickly hand it over to Hodari. He looks down at the red jewel in his palm like it’s some sort of ancient relic rather than a rock. “…This garnet’s for me?” he asks, lifting his gaze. You nod, and he blows a soft breath through his lips, a small smile accompanying it. “I usually can’t justify keepin’ these instead of sellin’ when I mine ‘em up, but…this one’s stayin’ with me. Thank you.” It’s a much better answer than you were expecting. A bright smile lights up your face as you clasp your hands together happily. “Yeah? I’m glad you like it! Najuma told me it was your starstone, so…” Your cheeks flushing at Hodari’s intense gaze, you quickly decide it’s time to make a tactical retreat. “Well! I better get going. I promised Sifuu I’d drop off some iron before sunset, and Kilima’s a fairly long walk from here…um, it was nice seeing you!” You turn and begin to walk away, only to have your foot catch on a rock and send you tumbling down into the dirt. For a moment, you just lay there and contemplate the probability of sinking into the earth and spending the rest of your life as a cave dweller. “You, uh, doing alright?” Hodari asks, triggering you to jump back to your feet. “I’m fine! Perfectly fine,” you insist with a breathless laugh. “I’m going to go now, so…bye!” And then you’re running away. You know, like a coward. At least he accepted the garnet? You weren’t lying when you said you needed to stop by the smithy to give Sifuu some iron, so that’s the first place you stop once you’re back in the village. “Hey! I got the stuff,” you call while stepping into the stone building. The temperature immediately rises a few degrees because of your new proximity to the large smelter stationed in the middle of the room. Sifuu turns to look at you, sporting a large grin. “Aha, there you are! I was wondering when you'd show up. Whatcha got for me?” Together, you and her sort through the contents of your bag and pick out some decent chunks of iron. Sifuu tries to pay you, because of course she does, but you decline like always. She repairs your tools for practically nothing—this is the least you can do in return. “Thanks for this! I owe ya,” barks the blacksmith, tossing the iron down on the closest surface. You nod distractedly as you close up your bag. The glint from the few startstones you found being reflected off the smelter's light catches your attention. An idea pops into your mind. “Hey, Sifuu? Does Hodari have any friends?” you ask. The question startles a thunderclap of laughter from her. “Where'd that come from? Ha!” she chuckles, shaking her head in amusement. “Hodari is as prickly as they come, if you ask me. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh.” Sifuu quickly turns, pinning you with a knowing grin. “Why? You looking to…cozy up to him?” Your face turns beet red, and you decide it must be from the heat of the smelter. “I mean—I was thinking—” You sigh, eliciting another boisterous laugh from the Majiri woman. “I just…think he needs a friend, you know?” Sifuu claps a heavy hand onto your shoulder, making your knees nearly buckle from the weight. “Yeah? Well, I think that's a great idea,” she replies, her voice tinged with something almost serious. “It's about time the old miner opened his heart to someone. And I'll bet, if anyone can do it, it'll be you.” Sifuu's encouragement lingers on your mind long after you've left the smithy. You're distracted for the entire walk back to your housing plot. Why did she believe you could accomplish something none of the villagers in Kilima had been able to do in years? It also made you wonder if Hodari had been this closed off while Leta was still alive. There was so much you didn't know about him. But you had time to unravel his layers one by one. Your life in Kilima had just begun, and you still had so much to learn about the entire village. This, of course, makes you think about how you don’t have any layers of your own—no depth to your character. You have no past that you could remember, and because of that, no family. The grief of losing a loved one is completely foreign to you. If you're going to become closer to Hodari, you definitely need to try and understand his past—and the emotions that came along with it. Throwing your bag to the floor, you immediately walk over to your bookshelf. There weren't many actual books on it since you're almost always too busy to stop and read, but Jina had kindly given you some old human tomes to translate and then keep. Sliding your fingers across the worn spines, you try to recall which one of these books spoke about burial practices and rituals… “Aha!” you whisper, triumphant, as you pull a thin volume from the shelves. It looks dusty even though it isn't, causing you to vainly blow across the cover. Your work is done for the day, anyway. There isn't any harm in spending some time in leisure. You settle into the couch, book in hand, and begin reading.