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It never felt like a good thing when you were running back through town after midnight, but that night in the rain it was already pushing 1:30 in the morning and you were worried you weren't going to make it home before you passed out. Whatever magic was in the valley that made sure you passed out every single night by 2am was both nice because it helped avoid any insomnia issues, but was a real pain in the ass for those nights where you stayed in the mines a bit later than you had intended. The rain only slowed you down slightly, but only because you needed to make sure not to step in a deceptively deep puddle and roll your ankle, or slip and fall on the pavers in town. Which meant you were mostly focused on where your feet were going, and not necessarily watching where you were going.
Made all the more evident when you inevitably crashed directly into March on his way home from the inn. "Hey Plant-Brains, watch where you're going," he reprimanded as you bounced off of him and he narrowly grabbed your arm, preventing you from splashing onto the ground.
A few items had spilled out of your backpack, which was already filled to the brim. "Oh, hey March. Sorry, I didn't see you there. Just trying to make it home." You flashed a quick smile, then knelt down to gather the items on the ground. A few flowers had landed behind you, a worm was trying to crawl away, a couple rubies scattered the ground and... wait. Didn't your perfect copper ore fall out? You spun around, but then noticed March crouched down in front of you, turning the perfect ore over in his hands. And while it was a precious sight to see, you knew that you still needed to get home before 2.
"Look, I don't want to take your stuff, but if you're looking to offload this copper... It's a fine piece, one I could certainly make something nice out of. Maybe if you needed a new pickaxe or something.
Was March... being nice to you?
You did your best to keep your cheeks from flushing as he looked from the copper up at you. "Y... yeah, it's all yours!" You finish closing up your backpack. "I mean, I was probably going to give it to you anyways," you muttered toward the cloth.
Checking your watch again, you leapt to your feet. "Ah damn, I have to go, I have to try and make it back to the farm. Sorry for running into you, March! I mean, good to see you, always happy to see you, but sorry for the literal... bye!"
As you passed March, he reached out and grabbed your arm, taking a quick look at his own watch. "You're... not going to make it all the way back to your farm tonight. Just stay here at the shop, go home in the morning."
You blinked a few times, not 100% sure that you heard him right. You searched his face, looking for the telltale blushing that decorated his cheeks after a night with a few drinks, but found no evidence of flushing on his cheeks.
Yours, however, were a different story.
"Don't turn into a tomato over it, I've got a sofa in my room you can crash on for the night and can dig out a spare blanket. Might not be the most comfortable night's sleep you've ever had, but would you rather pass out in the street?"
You shook your head, both to get rid of the redness in your cheeks as well as say no, you don't want to pass out in the street. "I really appreciate it, March."
He scoffed in response as you turned to follow him toward the blacksmith's shop, the rain seeming to beat down harder, hurrying the both of you inside. And even then, despite the deluge, March paused in front of the door. "How many bugs are there in your backpack? I'm not having those sitting in my room to crawl about. They're staying out here."
Sighing, you dug the worms and grasshoppers out of your bag. As you rustled through the bag, a bee and a couple flies that you had forgotten about in the depths made their escape. "Okay I'm pretty sure that's all of them. And if they're not, I'll make sure to bring you plenty more ores to make up for this unintentional breach of trust." You gave him a low bow to indicate your sincerity and spotted a smirk gracing his face when you looked up. You must've missed a butterfly hiding in your stomach, because seeing his smile made your heart flutter briefly.
Absolutely drenched now, March led you inside. While the lights were all off in the shop, there was a dull glow from the embers in the fireplace - clearly Olric had spent the night in by the fire instead of braving the weather. A draft washed across your skin, causing you to shiver briefly. A side eye from March told you that it didn't escape his notice. "Go sit by the fireplace, I'll see if i can grab you some dry clothes to borrow."
You nod to him, trying to convince yourself you weren't already asleep and dreaming. You set your backpack against the wall and grabbed a poker to stoke the embers, causing sparks to drift up into the chimney. While March disappeared into his room, you grabbed a couple logs and put them in the fireplace, coaxing the fire back to life.
As you sat back on your heels, staring at your work, March tossed a towel onto your head. You laughed and pulled it off, turning to watch him as he set a clean tshirt and pair of shorts on a chair behind you. "Lay your wet clothes out by the fire by not too close - you wouldn't want them to get burnt. Olric's fast asleep, so I'll go grab you some blankets while you change and you can sleep by the fire so you don't freeze."
You finally found your words. "Thank you March, seriously."
He paused by his door. "Eh, easier than having someone find you in the street and then come wake me up in the middle of the night because they need someone strong to help carry you home." He smirked again before disappearing after dropping that tidbit of information.
MARCH was the one who carried you home each time you passed out somewhere other than your farm?!?! You owed him WAY more than you ever would have imagined and also maybe he was justified in always seeming a little cranky with you.
You quickly peeled off your soaked clothes and laid them out before the now roaring fire. You considered whether it was pertinent or not to dry your underwear as well, but upon feeling it, it seemed dry enough, so it would be fine to keep on. Plus, you didn't feel it was entirely appropriate yet with March - though it was always possible that might change. Not that you were hoping or anything, nah, that'd be silly. Pulling on March's clothes felt like being wrapped in a warm hug - soft with the illusion of warmth even if it wasn't actually any warmer than any other piece of clothing from a drawer. Or maybe that was just the warmth of the fire playing tricks on you.
After changing, you sat back down on the ground in front of the fire. And then, even before March returned with blankets and a pillow, you passed out.
In the morning, the rhythmic sound of metal striking metal acted as your alarm. Wrapped in a bundle of blankets, you sat up in front of the fireplace. Looking around, Olric stood by the front desk, writing something down. Presumably, the sound of metal was from March outside. Olric must've heard you moving around, because he turned and broke into a grin as he saw you blearily rubbing your eyes. "Hey there farmer, good morning! Hope you didn't sleep too terribly, I know the floor isn't the comfiest."
Taking a moment to yawn and stretch, you couldn't disagree, but at the same time, you'd had worse. "Not too shabby, honestly," you mumbled.
Somehow Olric's grin managed to grow even more. "Glad to hear it! I hope March didn't wake you up by getting a start on the forging for the day, Balor apparently got a pretty sizeable order for him from the capital and he wanted to make sure to get ahead of it. I swung by the Inn earlier and grabbed you some breakfast and coffee - I set it by the fire to try and keep it warm for ya!" Looking over, you noticed a plate with some toast, eggs, and sausage next to a mug with a cheesy image of Olric giving a thumbs up with the words "It's Ol-richt!" Where he had gotten a mug like that, who knows, but it made you chuckle. You grabbed the plate, along with some utensils sitting a little further away from the flames, and dug in.
"Thanks, Olric! That's really nice of you."
"No problem, farmer! March said you nearly passed out on the street again so he let you stay here. Not an issue with me! Although, I just remembered I have to run over to the general store for a few things, I'll be right back though. Would you mind keeping an eye in case anyone stops by?"
You nodded through a bite of toast and he waved his thanks as he exited. While you had the shop to yourself for the moment, you grabbed your clothes - now plenty dry and warm - and used a blanket for cover from any potential interruptions to change back into your own clothes. You piled up the blankets and spare clothes to ask either March or Olric about, and finished up breakfast. How did he know you liked your coffee on the sweeter side? Had Olric been keeping a close eye on your coffee orders?
You finished up breakfast, then sorted through your backpack, making sure everything was still good from yesterday and that you didn't lose anything when you dropped stuff outside. You forgot about the perfect copper and the perfect ruby you'd manage to snag in the mines last night, and realized they were the perfect way to thank the brothers for their kindness. Olric arrived back home with a few bags of groceries. "Thanks for sticking around! I know you've gotta get back to the farm, so don't worry about the dishes or the laundry - I can take care of them!"
"Aw, thank you Olric! I found this in the mines last night and I wanted to give it to you as repayment for you and March being so kind and letting me stay here as well as for breakfast." You presented the perfect Ruby to him and you could have sworn his eyes shined brighter than the Ruby in that moment.
"WOW! Farmer, are you sure you want to give this to me? Isn't this pretty rare? That's way too kind for the floor and picking up breakfast!"
"I promise, Olric. You're the perfect person to give it to. I'll catch ya later!" You waved to Olric as you headed outside.
The clouds kept the sun at bay for the time being, although at least this time they didn't seem to promise rain. March was at the forge, as always. If not for the fact you had seen him in other places around town several times, you'd think he never left the forge. The hammering had seized for a moment as he had finished one item and started work on another by heating up another piece of metal. Olric had said the order was for Balor, hadn't he? Who did Balor have March making swords for? He was making note of something in a notebook as you approached. "Ah, you're finally awake. How'd you sleep?" He only briefly glanced up from his notes at you.
"Certainly a lot better than if I'd passed out in the middle of the road. Truly, thank you March."
In the light of the forge, March would have passed off the slight red tinge to his ears as a trick of the light. "Definitely easier than that too..." he muttered, and it was your turn for your ears to turn red. "I've got a big order for Balor, so..." He finally looked up at you, his eyes ushering you away.
You swung your backpack around and pulled out the perfect copper. "While I reorganized my backpack this morning, I realized I had this in there, along with a perfect ruby that I gave to your brother." You held it out. "As a repayment for letting me crash on your floor, and also for the other times you've had to drag me back to the farm."
March took the perfect ore and turned it over in his hands in awe. "You were able to mine this? And you wanna give it to me?" You nodded. "I mean, I can certainly use this... Thanks, Farmer." He mustered a smile. If you'd blinked, you're sure you would've missed it. "Maybe if there's more of these in the future, I can keep a stack of blankets by the fireplace in case this happens again."
Did he really say that? That you could crash at the blacksmith's shop again if you needed to in the future? Not that it's something you'd like to make a habit out of, but... it wouldn't be terrible as a way of getting to know March even better... "I would certainly appreciate it as a backup option but I don't want you to feel like you have to. And you'll get first pick on any of the ores I might find, I promise."
Another almost imperceptible smile. "Good. Now don't you have a farm to take care of? I've got more swords to make." He turned back to his project, his next billet ready to be formed, as you pulled your backpack back on and took off back to your farm, a massive grin plastered to your face.