Work Text:
Hey.
Meet me at the Blacksmith’s, and don’t keep me waiting.
March.
Well, at least he was to the point. You rub under your eye, wincing as you accidentally graze a cut that Valen had patched up the day before. Whatever medicine she gave you made you drowsy, resulting in you oversleeping. So much for not keeping him waiting.
Stuffing the letter in your pocket, you head into town. If it was important, he wouldn’t waste time writing a letter. But if it wasn’t important, why would he bother writing to you? It wasn’t like he didn’t spend every moment in your presence reminding you of how much he disliked you for no apparent reason. You didn’t know what it was, but everyone in town assured you that was just the way he was. Even Adeline, despite you seeing the difference in how he treated her.
~~~
March folds his arms over his chest and nods toward the cooled copper ingot. “Go on, pick it up.”
Adeline visibly brightens, clapping her hands together. “How generous of you to give away a resource like that for free, March!”
His expression freezes in an amusing combination of confusion and disgust as March’s cheeks turn pink. You swear you see his eye twitch. “Y— yeah! Sure! Why not!” He grits out, baring his teeth in a poor attempt at a smile.
Either ignoring his strain, or simply not noticing it, Adeline winks at you with a knowing smile. “What did I tell you? He’s a big softy, really. I’m sure March will be happy to lend you this forge whenever you need it.”
You’re preparing for him to pop a blood vessel. March’s jaw sets, like he’s about to give Adeline a piece of his mind. “I… I… Fine!” Your brow furrows. You weren’t expecting him to just… give in like that. He refuses to look at either of you, turning and stalking towards the door of the blacksmith’s building angrily. “I have other work to take care of!”
The door slams, leaving you and Adeline by the forge. She chuckles, rubbing the back of her neck as she looks to you apologetically. “Sorry about that. March… he holds himself to a really high standard. You should have seen him before Ryis moved here. He’s actually come a long way.”
After Adeline excuses herself to go plan some revitalization project for the town, you let out a sigh and go inside the blacksmith’s.
March doesn’t look up when the bell above the door jingles. He’s at the front desk, writing in what appeared to be the account books. Maybe marking down the loss of a copper ingot. When you set the ingot on the counter, he acknowledges your existence, his eyes narrow. “I said I was busy.”
“You can keep this.” When his brow knits together in confusion, you roll your eyes. “Look, you obviously didn’t want to give it to me. I have a hard time saying no to Adeline, too. I won’t tell her if you don’t. Happy?”
The corner of his upper lip lifts in distaste. “I’m not afraid to say ‘no’ to some noble. Obviously Lady Adeline knew you needed a freebie, I’ll have her pay me back later.”
He was so full of it. You grit your teeth and shove the ingot closer to him. “What am I going to do with one lousy ingot anyway? Keep it."
Before he could say something scathing in response, you turn on your heel and leave.
~~~
Maybe it was her being the daughter of a baron. Maybe it was just being used to her presence. But March was… nicer. Prickly, but not as downright rude. Part of you thought he might have had a crush on her until Ryis laughed at the theory, saying she wasn’t his type. Whatever it was, you were too tired to deal with his usual attitude this morning. The walk to the blacksmith's doesn't help the ache in your leg from where you had been electrocuted by some lanterns. Still, you push open the door.
This time, the bell ringing above the door does prompt March to look. “I didn’t think you’d actually show,” He begins gruffly, wiping his palms on his apron and stepping out from behind the counter. You can’t tell if he’s disappointed, hoping that you would have ignored his letter and justify his dislike of you. “I hear you’ve been making yourself useful around town. Everyone only has good things to say about you.”
You raise a brow. “Does this mean you’re going to apologize?” You ask, stuffing your hands in your pockets.
March laughs. “Not a chance!” It’s like a joke to him, as though his standoffishness and your response to it had been a fun little game all along. He smirks at you, smug and infuriating. “We both know what’s actually going on here.”
Your features scrunch up in confusion, causing slight pain in your face from the little scrapes and scratches. “What? Is something else going on?”
Approaching you with his arms folded over his chest, March looks down at you, his eyes narrowed in challenge. “Oh, please. You’re in way over your head. You come out here, no money, no experience, and you think you can just fake your way through running a farm? And now everyone in town acts like it was you who won the first-place blacksmithing trophy three years running.”
Pure befuddlement paints your face. You’ve been awake for, what, thirty minutes? After getting dragged to Valen’s for emergency medical treatment, and then oversleeping because of it, he wants to talk about trophies? “Have you ever heard of the term ‘projecting?’” You ask, your headache coming back as Valen’s meds begin to wear off.
He ignores you. “It’s all fun and games now, but the second things actually get tough, I’m sure you’re going to ditch Mistria and its problems.”
“Okay, man, whatever.” Given the furrow in his brow, you’re sure March expects you to take the bait and argue with him, not brush him off with the roll of your eyes. “I’m pretty sure the ankle I’m currently standing on needs a splint after I got my ass handed to me in the mines yesterday, but sure, it’s ‘all fun and games.’ Why did you invite me here, exactly? To force me to listen to you bitch about some stupid trophies? I have too much work to do to just stand here and listen to you complain, so if you’re done, I’d love to be on my way.”
He glares off to the side, letting out a ‘tch.’ “Whatever. You think you can hack it for the long haul? Here.” He grabs a copper hoe from the table next to him and holds it out to you. “If you fail, you can’t blame it on lack of help from me. Who knows, maybe you’ll surprise me. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
You take the copper olive branch, weighing it in your hands. It was good quality, obviously, and lightweight. It would make planting crops a lot easier. “Thanks, March,” You say softly, the tension lifting from your shoulders. You prop it over your shoulder and feel yourself smirk, unable to help yourself from returning the jab. “You used the copper ingot from the other day to make this, didn’t you? Maybe Adeline’s right about your being a softy.”
His face reddens as he glares at you, the corner of his lip lifting in visible disgust and embarrassment at the accusation. “Didn’t you say you have work to do? I’ll believe it when I see it.”
You laugh and turn, heading towards the door. “If you wanted to see the farm, you could just say so.” You turn your head and wink. “But you’re right. I’ll see you around.”
Once the door closes behind you, you let out a sigh and head to Valen’s clinic, wondering if the tool on your shoulder could be a step in the right direction with the walking cactus of a blacksmith.