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March hated this.
Hated Harry.
Why’d Adeline have to go and request someone fix up the old farm anyway? It just created more work for everyone, more money being spent, more-
Well, money being spent was good. It meant the bridge could be rebuilt and merchants could come back into town. Which meant March made more money, which meant Olric had time to go and do whatever the hell he wanted, which meant-
March hated how it all actually made sense.
Harry had come to him, asking for a new head for his rusted axe. Simple enough. March could have it done in three days, then have Olric go drop it off to the farm on his way to the mines. And March wouldn’t have to talk to Harry anymore than he wanted. Which was never.
Everyone fawned over Harry. Adeline, obviously, being the one who accepted his application. Hayden, because Harry worked the land for more hay for his animals. Balor got more product to send out, Celine had someone to talk about flowers with, and even that old fisherwoman Terithia started hanging around with him.
He hated it, and no one understood. So all he could do was scowl as Harry skipped by, water pail in hand, giving out waves and greetings to everyone, even handing out fresh fruit. March kept the basket Harry had given him, full of freshly harvested raw rice and a plate of homemade sushi. How the hell did he learn he loved sushi? And after an hour of festering over whether to eat it or not, March hated how good it tasted. Hated how adventurers knew how to do everything.
“Ryis needs my help, I’ll be at the carpentry all day. Don’t forget Harry’s axe!” Olric reminded on his way out the door, fast enough that March couldn’t dispute it. He stumbled over a chair to yell at him, but stopped in the doorway, a scowl etched in his face.
“Bastard, you did that on purpose.” March mumbled under his breath, rolled his eyes and stepped back inside, eyeing the glistening axe propped against the table leg. Harry had paid for a copper axe, given him the ingots for it and everything. Then why’d March go and dig out the iron stash, forging that kind instead? He debated with himself, iron was easier to pour, it was stronger, if he gave Harry an iron axe straight away, maybe he wouldn’t stop by so often for repairs. That’s it.
So March let out another grumble, snatched the axe, and started walking south to the old farm.
“C’mere, c’mon, it’s alright, I’ve got a snack for you…” Harry’s cooing carried over the large field, signaling to March that he was by the bend in the river. Harry was stretched out, holding a tuft of straw as far as he could over the river, muttering to a cow who had jumped to a rock a few feet out. “You can make it, you made it over, c’mon…”
March shifted the axe over his shoulder, lazily walking closer. “Your cow’s trying to escape to Hayden’s, or what?” The comment caught Harry off guard, completely focused on luring the large cow back over, and his foot caught as he tried to stand up, sending him face-first into the stream.
The axe drops to the grass, and March full sprints to the river, cursing under his breath. Without thinking, he dives into the water, immediately feeling around for Harry. His hand brushed some cloth, and March grabbed hold, pulling the weight close to his chest and using the rocks at the bottom to boost to the surface.
Heaving both himself and Harry onto the grassy shore, he sputters out the water in his system, brushing his soaked bangs out of his face. “The hell were you thinking?” is all he can manage, before he twists over, staring up towards the sky. The heat of the sun was already starting to dry out his sopping wet clothes.
Harry pushed up onto his elbows, looking around and spotting the cow, grazing happily back in her pasture, having jumped back over during the commotion. He sighed, then looked down at March. “Thanks for… that. I didn’t mean to- you just scared me, is all,” he says with a bit of a laugh, followed by a watery cough. “At least it got Clover over.” He nodded towards the cow, who gave a content ‘moo’ and went back to eating.
March propped himself up as well, wringing out the edge of his tunic, and stood, holding a hand out for Harry. “Thought I’d drop your axe off, I just finished with it.” After hoisting Harry off the ground, he stooped to pass him the axe. “It’s, uh, it’s iron, I- I thought I’d upgrade it for you. No… no need to pay extra, I just had the stuff for it laying around.” He bit the inside of his cheek, tearing his gaze to the side. Harry looked stupid with his hair plastered to his face, his smile wide and grateful, his clothes-
Stupid.
“That’s- that’s really kind of you, thank you so much! But I can’t just not pay you back, I mean, you got me out of the river too. I was just about to start frying up some salmon, would you like to stay and join me?”
March blinked, once, twice, then his brow furrowed. “I-” he started to object, before Olric’s face flashed in his mind. You didn’t say yes to Harry? He could already hear the judgement from his brother. “I guess I could, for a little bit. I need to check on the furnace, though, so I can’t stay for long,” he hastily adds.
Harry lit up with his smile again, and March almost snorted. So happy about everything, even after dumping himself straight into the river. “Come on in, you can help with the salad. I’ve got a fresh batch of lettuce that needs to be shredded, and the tomato plant can be-” Harry started rattling off, but all March could process was how much he hated the sound of his voice, how much he hated standing right next to him, hated that damn smile.
March didn’t think he knew what hate meant anymore, because he slowly started to enjoy the feeling.