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Tovar is a stoic man. He doesn’t talk much, if at all, in new environments or around new people. The ever permanent scowl on his face didn’t exactly make strangers want to come talk to him either. Not that he minded all too much, the less people around him, the better.
When Tovar came to your village alongside William, everyone was instantly hesitant of the Spaniard. They welcomed William with open arms however. It saddened you to see him neglected based on face value alone. You knew all too well what it felt like to be based on looks.
Since you were of age, many men had come to your door in hopes of courting you. Some even daring enough to ask your father for your hand in marriage. You rejected each and everyone’s advance. There just wasn’t an attraction to any of the village men. Besides, when working in the tavern, you knew how truly slimy they were.
So you tried to talk to Tovar one afternoon as he tended to his steed. When you said “hello”, he ignored you until you tried again. He simply turned to you, eyes roaming your figure quite differently from men you knew. While others looked at you like you were an object, he looked at you as if you were potential danger. Much like a frightened rabbit in the form of a bear.
“What?” he practically growled out.
You introduced yourself and he scoffed at you. He turned back to grooming his steed when you tried once more to make conversation with the introverted man. “Your horse is beautiful.”
Tovar side eyed you and hummed in agreement. For a few moments without anymore of a response from him, you sighed.
“The villagers seemed quite scared of you.”
“As they should be,” he responded without thought.
“Why should they be?” you asked with a slight tilt of your head.
“I am a killer.”
“Is William also not a killer?” Tovar snapped his head back towards you, truly looking at you for the first time.
“What do you want, princessa?”
“To be your friend.” He scoffed once more at you making you frown at him. “Do you not believe me?”
“I do not,” he set the brush down before moving to stand in front of you. You refused to back away from him, to show him you were scared of him. “What is it that you truly want from me?”
“Have you never met someone who didn’t want something from you?” His glare sharpened as he crowded into your space.
“There are no people out there would don’t want anything.” Tovar practically hissed out.
“I just want to be your friend, nothing more, nothing less.” After a while of staring at you, he backed away. When he turned back to grab his brush, you let out a breathe you didn’t know you were holding. He didn’t say anything else as he began to brush his horse once more. You frowned at him before leaving the stables.
Though you left, you were determined to make him like you. So you cheated slightly. When he arrived, the village had a bonfire with plenty of food to welcome the mercenaries to your home. Tovar had eaten as though he hadn’t had a proper meal in months. Perhaps he hadn’t. But that gave you enough inside into how to break down the stone fortress of his heart.
The next day at roughly the same time, you found Tovar sitting just behind the cottage him and William were lodging at. He appeared to be whittling a branch into something. You watched him for a moment, tightening your grip on the basket before relaxing with a deep exhale. With a smile on your face, you walked over to him.
He noticed you as you approached. His frown deepened as he saw you before turning his attention back to the branch in his hands. You lowered yourself to sit beside him, a respectful distance between the two of you. He tensed.
“I made you some pastries,” you said as you removed the cloth from over the basket. Inside was a dozen, slightly over, of sweetbreads you woke up early to make. Tovar glared at you beige glancing down at the food. He hesitated, looking back and forth between the food and you. “It’s all for you.”
“Why?” His voice was rough from disuse. Through the scowl on his face, you saw something akin to sadness in his eyes.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to be your friend.” You reached into the basket and pulled out a pastry, holding it out of him as a peace offering. Once again, he hesitated before settling the knife and stick down beside him. His fingers brushed yours as he grabbed the bread from you. A shiver ran down your spine at the feel of his skin against yours. You ignored it. Instead you chose to watch the way he sniffed the bread before taking a large bite out of it.
A giggle escaped out your mouth before you could stop it as you watched he practically devour the pastry. He seemed to shy away from your joy, most likely thinking you were laughing at his expense. Instead, you grab another pastry and hand it to him. “I’m glad you like my baking. I woke up earlier than usual to make these.”
He grabbed the pastry from you again, eating this one similarly to the other one. You smiled as you watched with, glad to see him loosen up just slightly. Once he finished the treat, you stood up. He watched from the ground as you wiped off the back of your dress. You turned to him once more and with a smile you said, “I’ll leave you to it. Hopefully, we’ll talk again soon.” With a small bow of your head, you walked away from him, ignoring the way his eyes left a trail from fire down your body as he watched you.
Weeks passed and with them, a friendship bloomed. It was slow of course. Gaining the trust of a grumpy man was hard work but you knew it would be worth it. You just hoped that one day, you would be able to see his smile.
When you first had that particular thought, it startled you. It was true that you loved to see friends smile but this was a longing you hadn’t felt before. A longing to be the reason behind such a scarce and sacred grin.
It took only two weeks of feeding Tovar for you to recognize that perhaps your intentions from the beginning weren’t so platonic after all. You, however, knew you trapped yourself in a corner the moment you offered him only friendship.
When you asked your friends for advice, they all seemed shell shocked at your willingness to be near the scary man. Despite your reassurances he was of no danger to anyone, they tried to convince you to befriend (and potentially marry) a different man. William was one that seemed to highly recommend. You just frowned at them and continued on with your daily meetings with Tovar.
This day was much like any other. You had a basket of food for Tovar, who you noticed seemed to have gained some weight during his time at your village. You were secretly pleased to see it as winter was beginning to rear its head and he could use all the warmth he could get. He also seemed much healthier than before. Besides, it also meant he truly did enjoy your cooking.
As you walked to the stables where you knew he would be, you were stopped by Gregor. He had once tried to court you to no avail. He was much too flamboyant for you. “Yes?” you asked nicely.
“Is it true you have been seeing the Spaniard every day?” He asked straight to the point.
“I do not see how that is relevant to anyone else.” You moved to step around him but he blocked you once more.
“I do not wish to see you hurt.” Gregor touched your arm making you flinch away from him.
“I assure you that Tovar will not hurt me now please get out of my way.” Your tone was sharp like the sword the two traveling mercenaries carried with them. Gregor stared at you as though you had grown another head before side stepping and letting you pass. You gave him a scalding glare before stomping pass him.
On your walk, you thought of things to calm yourself down. You thought of evening walks around the village. Of watching the children play together right before supper. The way the sun hit the trees just right and casted dark shadows over the pathways. How some evenings you were able to watch Tovar interact with William in a way only those close would ever.
Plastering a smile onto your face once more, you stepped into the stable only for it to fall. Tovar’s back was pressed flat to the wall as a so called “friend” pressed her chest to his. She was running her hands along his chain mail armor and cooing at him. Your stomach knotted, wanting to run away from the scene and never talk to either of them again but then you noticed him.
Tovar’s scowl was deeper than anything you’ve ever had aimed at you. He was tensed and his hands were bunched into fists at his side. It was clear as day that he was uncomfortable with her advances and knowing that eased some of the pain from your chest.
You cleared your throat, drawing both of their attention to you. Your friend smiled at you and gave you a cheery greeting while Tovar seemed to grimace harder, shrinking into himself. With a fake smile, you said while looking her in the eyes, “Could you leave please? You’re making my friend quite uncomfortable and this is the only time we get to have together.” She seemed shocked by your bluntness before she covered it with a slimy smile.
“I think we were doing just fine.” She turned to bat her eyelashes back up at Tovar. “We were just getting to know each other.”
“I doubt you need to be that close to get to know one another.” Tovar snorted making your friend glare at you. She huffed as she pulled away from him. When she walked pass you, she allowed her shoulder to bump into yours but you remained still until she was no longer in sight. Only then did Tovar seem to relax.
He nodded at you in gratitude before taking his seat at the only bench in the stables. You walked over to him as always and sat the basket next to him. His hand grabbed yours before you could move. “Thank you.” He said to you, the usual edge in his voice dulled down.
“Of course,” you responded with a smile, squeezing his hand before letting it drop. Removing the cloth off the basket, you sat down next to him. When you noticed he didn’t go for the food immediately, you looked back over to him. He stared at you intensely.
“How did you know I was uncomfortable?” Tovar finally asked after letting you both simmer in an oddly tense moment.
“You’re not too difficult to read once someone knows you.” You moved to reach into the basket only for Tovar to gently grab your hand once more. His skin was hot against your chilled hand. Blinking up at him, you waited for him to say something. He didn’t. He just explored your face with his eyes, as through there was a secret to be unlocked. His tongue dipped out to wet his lips, catching your attention for just a moment. A moment long enough for Tovar to notice.
“Was that truly the only reason you stepped in?” He moved the basket to the other side of him before scooting closer to you, his thigh burning yours as he pressed them together. You gulped.
“What?” Your voice low, mousey even.
“You are also not that difficult to read once someone knows you.” Tovar placed his hand on the middle of your thigh. His hand large enough to cover the whole thing.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you are referencing.” For the first time since you met him, your heart beat brutally hard against your rib cage but not out of fear. It was another feeling entirely. One that you knew wouldn’t just go away especially after watching his lips spread into a deliriously sweet smile.
“We both know you aren’t naive enough to not know what I’m talking about.”
“Do we both know that?” Tovar shook his head at you, a huff of a chuckle escaping him. He left go of your hand, reaching around your head to hold the back of your neck. Your heart beat impossible faster. For a moment you were scared it would hammer its way out of your chest especially as Tovar’s thumb rubbed gently at your pulse point.
“Bonita,” he whispered before leaning in and pressing the faintest of kisses upon your lips. As he pulled away, your brain had finally caught up. You leaned forward to kiss him back. He hummed happily against you. It was slow, passionate and filled with emotions you weren’t sure you would ever share with another. You lifted your hands to cups his cheeks, pulling him deeper into the kiss. His grip tightened on your thigh as he licked into your mouth, moaning at the taste of you.
As you both finally pulled away from each other, you breathed deeply. Tovar bumped his nose against yours, letting you feel his smile against your lips.
“Friends and nothing more, right?” He teased.
“Oh hush,” you replied as you pulled him in for another mind blowing kiss.