❝ if we meet again ❞ minhaj al-rajah (minajael tealrajah) & jamil viper
↪ in which you have a rather unusual encounter in the scalding sands (pt. 2) (pt. 1 here)
pairing: minhaj al-rajah/gn!reader (minajael tealrajah/gn!reader), jamil viper/gn!reader
When Minhaj had learned that the Asim family estate was your destination, you could have sworn you saw his face flicker, his eyebrows pulled together in annoyance. It had disappeared in a flash though, his charming voice immediately going back to teasing you endlessly as he easily led you through the maze of streets.
The setting sun had put a chill into the air, the intense heat from the day transforming into a cool evening that had you a bit surprised at how easily the weather can change in the desert. The clothing that you had been sweating through earlier now seemed quite thin, the cold breeze making you shiver slightly as the two of you walked.
“Cold?” Minhaj asked, quirking an eyebrow at you. You waved him off, pulling your silken scarf from your head and wrapping it around your shoulders.
“Just peachy.”
“...And that would mean?” He asked, seeming confused at your phrasing. You only sighed, his confusion a stark reminder to yourself that you don’t belong here.
How does this world have French but not ‘just peachy’...?
“I’m fine, thank you.” You revised, hoping he would think it was foreign slang instead of otherworldly slang. If he suspected something he didn’t say anything, instead reaching a hand up to brush against your cheek. The warmth of his hand was a welcome one against your chilled skin, and you had to remind yourself to not reach for that warmth as he pulled away.
“You feel pretty cold to me.” He remarked, giving you a teasing grin. You grumbled at his words, quickening your pace and walking ahead of him, a small smile on your lips. “To think you would leave poor me behind so quickly!” Minhaj chuckled from behind you, a bit of a dramatic flair to his words.
There was a light ‘whoosh!’ sound, and you suddenly felt another layer fall over your shoulder, making you feel a bit warmer. Minhaj came up by your side, his cloak pointedly gone from his own shoulders as he looked over your appearance.
“Hm, much better now.”
“...You didn’t have to do that.” You murmured, cheeks feeling hot. This time he was the one waving you off, shaking his head.
“I wanted to though, so I did. Someone very wise once told me to not take things for granted, you know.” The way he referenced your previous words made you look away from his warm gaze, a bit embarrassed at how high and mighty you must have sounded.
“...If you say so.”
“I do.” He teased. “In other news, it seems we have arrived at your destination, habibi.” At his words you looked around, realizing that the two of you were now in front of the Asim estate. It might have been a bit worrying that you hadn’t even noticed the familiar surroundings, completely content with following this person you had just met today, but there was something about him that made you feel like you didn’t have to worry about that sort of thing, (you could almost hear Jamil’s voice in your head, scolding you for your actions).
“Are you really so upset to part with me, (Y/N)?” Minhaj asked seriously, now standing in front of you.
“What?”
“...You’re frowning.” He murmured, brows pulled together. You immediately fixed your face at his words, realizing that you in fact had a bit of a small frown, (what for? You only just met Minhaj today…). Looking at the boy in front of you, you smiled a bit, his intense gaze making you feel a bit flustered. His expression lightened a bit at your smile, although his eyes seemed to still hold some kind of worry. “That’s better. Frowning doesn’t suit you.”
“Hey, if I feel like frowning I’ll frown…” You started, the teal color of the cloak around your shoulders making you change the subject. “Let me give your cloak back.” You began to slide it off, but his hand shot out, his gentle grip on your wrist reminding you of earlier in the day when he had done the same thing.
“You can keep it.” You looked at him in confusion but his face didn’t change; he was serious.
“Aren’t you going to be cold?” Minhaj chuckled lightly at your concerned words, letting go of your wrist and instead adjusting the cloak back around you.
“You might remember that I grew up in the Scalding Sands, so I’m quite well-adjusted. Think of this as a souvenir of your trip, perhaps. Aside from that though, I won’t be going far.”
“Do you live closeby?” You questioned, making him pause for a moment.
“Perhaps.” He said a bit mysteriously, his eyes seeming rather intense now.
“Keep your secrets then, mysterious Minhaj.” He smiled at your joke but didn’t respond, his hands staying on your shoulders as he looked down at you. “...Is something wrong?” You asked gently, a bit nervous at his sudden change in disposition.
“...It’s nothing.” He finally said after a few moments, shaking his head. “You should head inside now, I’m sure your friends are worried sick.”
“Can we keep in contact, maybe?” You asked hesitantly. “Like…Magicam…? Or can I give you my phone number?” He sighed softly at your words and shook his head, making your heart drop to your stomach.
Go figure.
“I have faith that we’ll meet again, (Y/N).” One of his hands slid down to yours, lifting it up gently. “And when we do, maybe you can show me more of your world.” He leaned down, his lips brushing against your knuckles and leaving a chaste kiss before letting go of you.
“But-?!”
“(Y/N)!!” Your head whipped around at the familiar voice, a figure running down the road from the estate. Quickly, you turned to face Minhaj once more, only to be met with an empty spot where he had just been standing. Your eyes darted around, trying to find if he had hidden somewhere, but he was just…gone.
Minhaj…
“(Y/N), are you okay?!” Jamil’s voice broke you from your thoughts, your heart pounding as you nervously approached his running figure, certain you were about to be cooked alive. Before you could get a word out, Jamil reached you in record time, his eyes laced with worry and his eyebrows furrowed as he frantically looked at you top to bottom. “Are you hurt?? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?!” He asked, panic in his voice. His hands hovered over you, clearly wanting to check you for any injuries, but stopping himself.
You were expecting for him to be absolutely livid with you, so this panicked and worried state that he was in had you shocked. His hair was loose from its usual style, flowing wildly as if it was in sync with his emotions. Jamil was always the level, cool-headed one in any group setting, logically thinking through the next course of action, so to see him like this…
You took hold of his hovering hand, bringing it to your cheek and holding it. “Jamil, I’m okay. See? No injuries or anything. I’m all good.” You assured, the warmth of his hand feeling comforting and familiar. His gray eyes searched your own for a few moments, almost as if he was trying to see if you were lying. He seemed satisfied and let out an exhausted sigh, his hand now cupping your cheek of his own accord.
“You’re always getting into some kind of trouble, aren’t you…” He trailed off, shaking his head in disapproval. “And how could you just run off like that? I had it handled!” Jamil scolded, making you a bit sheepish.
“I panicked, okay? Those guards were huge…” He didn’t seem pleased with your excuse, his eyebrows still furrowed together. “I’m sorry, though. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” You added, unconsciously leaning into his hand a bit, (it was rather chilly out…).
“...Don’t ever do that again.” He said, his tone serious. “I already have Kalim to worry about, I don’t want to be worrying about you too.” His harsh words made you look away, shame churning in your stomach.
“Sorry…” You murmured, keeping your eyes fixed on the ground. Jamil sighed, silence falling between the two of you for a bit before he spoke.
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Just…don’t scare me like that again.” His hand fell away from your cheek, his expression seeming rather conflicted. “Where even were you all this time? I’ve-We’ve been looking for you all over the city. We thought you got thrown into jail. Were you with someone just now?” He asked, looking around behind you as if trying to spot whoever you were with.
“Err…” You hesitated, thinking about whether or not to tell him about Minhaj. On the one hand, Minhaj was a local who kept you from getting caught and showed you around the Scalding Sands, but on the other hand, you just met him today and he could be a serial killer, (you seriously doubt it though).
“Well?”
“That was someone I met today…He saved me when I was about to get caught by the guards. He brought me back too, since I didn’t know where I was.” You explained, omitting the rest of the day. Jamil didn’t look at all convinced, looking down at you with an unamused look.
“Really.”
“Yup.”
“And that took five hours?” You internally cringed; you hadn’t realized that you were gone for so long, and now it made a little more sense why Jamil had been so panicked.
“...Yup.”
“You trusted a complete stranger to lead you around a foreign land.” He said flatly, clearly disapproving. You pressed your lips together, knowing there was no defense you had left.
“I didn’t know how to get back…”
“You could have called me back, you know.” Jamil sighed again. “I would have come to get you. You shouldn’t be relying on random strangers you find on the street; you’re lucky that person wasn’t a serial killer. Be more careful.”
Did he read my mind?
“Okay, you’ve made your point, Jamil…” You relented. “I said I’m sorry…let me back in? It’s kinda cold out here.”
“Fine. You should know that Vil has been planning different ways to lecture you, though.”
“Oh god.” You groaned, making Jamil smile slightly.
“It’s the consequences of your own actions.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.” You grumbled, pulling the teal cloak around you more as the two of you walked back to the estate. Jamil’s brows furrowed slightly, as if he hadn’t even realized what you were wearing, (or more like, what had been added to your outfit).
“Where did you get that?” He questioned, taking hold of one of the corners of fabric and examining it.
“The person I mentioned gave it to me, since it was getting chilly out.” You explained, confused as to why he was examining it so thoroughly. “Why?” He looked at it over you for a moment longer before turning his back to you, walking back to the estate rather quickly.
“...Nothing. Let’s get inside.”
♡♡♡
As promised, you were given an hour long lecture from Vil on safety procedures while on trips, and he subsequently gave you a battery pack for your phone since, ‘it must have died, given you didn’t pick up my calls’.
Grim had tried to act all tough at first, saying ‘Heh, finally! Hench-human, you took too long!’ before fat tears started rolling down his furry cheeks, yelling about how he wasn’t crying when you picked him up and gave him a hug, (you didn’t miss the way his paws gripped onto you tightly).
Similarly, when Kalim saw you he barreled straight into you with a hug, (he’s surprisingly strong) crying and apologizing for not finding you sooner, promising that there would be no bounty on your head and that you wouldn’t be going to jail, (thank goodness for that).
“One of my cousins, Minajael, is the prince, and he said something like ‘I’ll take care of it’, so it’s gonna be good now! He was here actually, you just missed him!” Kalim beamed.
“The prince?” You questioned, feeling a bit alarmed. “How did the prince know what happened?” Kalim tilted his head at you like a confused puppy, putting a finger to his chin.
“Did you not tell him what happened?” He asked.
“Obviously not,” You sighed. “I don’t even know who the prince is, much less that he’s related to you!”
“Ohhh, true! Haha, I forgot about that.” He laughed.
“Kalim, when did the prince come? I didn’t see him.” Jamil asked, looking rather concerned.
“Oh, he showed up at my window!”
“He what?!” Jamil looked like he was about to bust a blood vessel with the way his eyes bulged, his mind clearly running through the many things wrong with that sentence.
“Yeah, it totally scared me! But then he said that and I was like ‘Wow, thanks so much!’ and then he left!” You gaped at Kalim happily saying all of that as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
“Wow…” You murmured, glancing over at Jamil, who was closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. “Well, at least I can show my face in the city again tomorrow…”
♡♡♡
You flopped on your bed, the exhaustion of the day beginning to get to you. Your thoughts were racing through your head, but the one person that you were thinking about the most was Minhaj. You would be leaving fairly soon for school again, and who knows when or if you would ever come back to the Scalding Sands?
Maybe I could ask Kalim if I could come back with them during break…
You shook your head, casting the thought aside. There was no guarantee that you would even see Minhaj again if you came back to the Scalding Sands, given that he hadn’t given you any way to contact him, and you didn’t know where he lived. He had seemed pretty convinced that the two of you would meet again, but you just couldn’t see a way that it could happen.
You stretched out over the bed, but your hand hit something hard and metal underneath your pillow. You froze for a moment, feeling for what it was, pulling it out and examining it.
In your hand was a beautifully engraved golden bangle, the surface of it reflecting even in the dim light of your room. The engravings consisted of curling vines and lotus flowers, and you noticed that in the middle of the design was an engraving of a small tiger, the tiger being the only part that was filled in with tiny colored jewels.
Attached to the bangle was a small slip of paper, which you carefully opened. In neat, fancy handwriting the note read: ‘For (Y/N). With love, Minhaj.
You stared at the note for a long while, rereading it over and over again. Eventually, you carefully slipped it off the ornate bangle, setting it carefully on the nightstand. You hesitantly slipped the bangle over your wrist, half-expecting for it not to fit. Instead it slid on smoothly, settling on your wrist comfortably.
Flopping back into bed, you smiled at the thought of Minhaj giving you such a beautiful gift, (and maybe a touch concerned about how he got it and knew which room you were staying in). Maybe the two of you really would meet again.
a/n: okay yall rlly ate up the last part so i got to work on this one lol i literally wrote it all today before going to work ..... also jamil is jealous in his own ways okay its not rlly outward displaying at least in my opinion ... anyway, might do a part three that happens at the tournament lolol if anyone wants it :P lmk ...
tagged for part 2: @kimura-uzuri , @yasminniejoon , @sincerelyruu , @arccanadian
