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You knew you weren’t the best chef out there. You knew that but you wanted to try your hand at making sweets and treats to give back to the community that welcomed you to Mistria so warmingly. Even though some may have been smiling politely and deciding that the thought that counts, you knew one person’s comments couldn't be sugar coated.
Making your way to the Sleeping Dragon’s Inn, your bag filled with wrapped desserts as you open the door to be greeted by a lively get-together filled with merriment and discussion. Hemlock greeted you and started to prepare your favorite drink to help relax you from tending to your new farm and people’s requests. You mouthed a thank you as you began to give out the treats you made to the villagers. Eiland a strawberry shortcake with an extra strawberry from your own farm, Juniper with a moon cake you heard her talking about last weekend, and Hayden a slice of apple pie that’s been freshly made. Everyone knew how busy you were but deciding to take the time to cook them something really did make them smile.
You finally make your way to the bar and stride up to March, it’s his turn after all. He eyes you, seemingly knowing what is about to come as you take out a slice of chocolate cake. You heard from him that he likes chocolate so you tried to prepare this one with a little more attentiveness, not wanting to give him a bad impression on your cooking skills.
Although March had tried his best to keep you at arm’s length, you never failed to slyly slip through his fingers and worm your way into his heart. Begrudgingly he will keep thinking to himself that any moment he’ll hear the pattern of your boots walking on the stone path before he is met with those eyes that were focused and yet questioning. He would always have to look away first before you could catch on that he was not in fact working but was staring at you. No matter how many backhanded insults or lukewarm compliments he gave you, it never seemed to steer you away from him, and maybe a part of him hated that about you the most. On most days, you would even throw back what he dishes out to you which he would find annoying yet playfully fun. It would make him chuckle at the thought when he was laying in bed for the night as he started to relax from the hard day he endured. You captured and charmed everyone in Mistria and he’s no special. It irritated him but he wasn’t about to succumb to your charisma just yet.
You press the plate of cake towards him with a nervous smile, beckoning him to try some. March rolls his eyes and puts his first beer of the night down and stares at the cake. It looked edible to say the least, but he was going to save his critiques after he took his first bite.
“This is for me?”
You nod your head slightly.
“I hope you like it March. I remember you saying you like chocolate so I tried baking this for you.” you tinkered with your fingers, waiting for the anticipation to come.
He couldn’t help a small grin let out as he took his fork and ate a small bite. Honestly it was good but not great. It wasn’t as dry as the desert, but it did crumble in his mouth before it could touch his tongue. Past the texture, the cake itself was a little too sweet, some people would probably complain about that but it was fine for him. He definitely had better cake before, more moist and enjoyable, and he was going to give them the proper feedback.
“Listen, let’s stick to what we know. Darcy with her baking, and you shoveling dirt.”
Your smile instantly deflated as his comment took you back a little. You knew you weren’t a chef after all, and you knew his curtness is a part of his personality, but shoveling dirt really did hurt to hear. He just stares at you holding his breath as he waits for you to return the energy back at him but it surprises him that it never came. Your eyebrows furrow as you look down and away from the blacksmith. You nod your head as you stood there, waiting to see if he wanted to add more but nothing came. You turn on your heels and strut your way towards the Inn’s exit. March notes that Celine caught a glimpse of your face as you walked past her, concern washing over her. She hurriedly follows you out the Inn having the doors close behind them. March sighs, taking a swig of his beer and staring at the cake you left for him. Maybe he went too far, but you never acted that way towards his bluntness before so he didn’t understand the weird reaction from you now. Maybe this would finally give him the space he’s been needing away from you. Now he can hopefully start to focus on his work again without a thorn in his side.
A week passed and he no longer heard the rhythm of your boots hitting the pavement or seeing your eyes search for his. At first it was a dream come true, he was finally able to work on his projects without being disrupted and he was able to concentrate. When another week passed, that’s when he finally started to grow weird of this new schedule. He no longer saw you making your way past the blacksmiths heading to the narrows, he didn’t hear your rushed chatter as you make your way from one place to god knows the other, and he definitely didn’t see you on Fridays at the Inn or the Saturday Market. Despite your disappearance from him, that didn’t stop the other villagers from talking about your recent activities or requests completed by you. And when he did catch a glimpse of you from afar, it was either you laughing with Eiland or your arms linked around Celine's. Something stirred in March, feeling a slight twinge of pain in his chest as he saw you become close to the two of them.
He would tell himself that he shouldn't care about what you're up to, and that this is what he wanted. This worked for him for a little bit, but he would notice as you rush past the town center to head straight to the Manor House to presumably meet with Eiland for whatever reason.
March would take a deep breath and roll his eyes, continuing back to his work.
As the day would go by, you would leave the Manor House and head back to where your farm is without even a glance over to the blacksmiths. Before he continued to make the last finishing touches to his work, he heard Celine call out to you, and you let out an enthusiastic greeting as you hugged her. He knew he shouldn't snoop, but he couldn’t help himself. He hid by the side of his home and peered enough to see what was happening. After you two hugged, you took your bag and rummaged in the sack and took out an abundance of flowers that were in this season. Celine couldn’t help but stutter and gasp as she took them into her arms and smelled them. You rubbed the back of your neck as you smiled at her reaction, noticing blush on your face.
March puffed air out of his chest through his mouth, annoyed at the interaction between the two of you. He really shouldn’t care. Really. But he couldn’t help but question why his heart started to sting seeing you with Celine or the thought of you with Eiland. How happy you seemed. He hated to admit it but he would come to miss your back and forths and the attention you gave him. He took it for granted, never realizing that you became an essential part of his day.
So the next day he came up with a plan to try to get you to start coming back around the black smiths again. He knew you couldn’t stay away forever, so he thought he would make use of the request board to ease the call to action.
Early in the morning before anyone was up in town, he quietly blitzed to the request board to put up his note.
‘By today, I need 5 copper ore. I’ll pay once I see it.’ is what the notice said. It was a simple enough order he thought to himself, he knew you were very capable of getting that much in a short amount of time so he was certain you would show up today to drop it off. He didn’t really have a plan for when you would show up, but he grew antsy on what he would say when he would finally see you.
So he waited. A while. The afternoon passed by in no time and here he was just sitting on his thumbs waiting for you to show up. Even if he tried to work on his projects he knew he couldn't give it all the attention it deserves while his mind was set on you.
“Where the Hell are they?”
He started to grow irritated as he put his day on hold, he thought maybe cleaning inside the smithy’s could take his mind off it. It's something to do at least. Surely they’ll show up soon, he’d just need to keep busy for the moment that’s all.
Hours pass by and still no show of the farmer and his order. He practically took the day off just to get a chance to see them but to no avail. Feeling miffed that his plan didn’t go accordingly and wasted, he decides to let it go for today and rest early for the night. Hopefully tomorrow they will show up with his order and they can finally go back to normalcy.
The fresh Friday morning came and March was greeted by an unexpected surprise. He didn’t see you there, but he did see his order on the front desk of his shop stacked orderly with a small note beneath it. He takes the copper off of it to see that it was his note he posted on the bulletin board but written on the bottom is a response from you. He flushed a little as this is his first contact with you for weeks now. Rubbing what's left of his sleepy daze from his eyes he focused on your hand writing to see what it said.
‘Don’t worry about it, no payment needed.’
He groaned into the palm of his hands. Were you really going this far to not be anywhere near him? He tilted his head back out of frustration. Besides just wanting to see them again, there's no way he was going to take free handouts when he said he would pay for them.
He got ready for the day and decided to go find you himself. He would think you would be on your farm so he made the track over there, being greeted by no one but your crops and the dragon statue that sat dormant. He scowled at the sight of you to be nowhere as he trudges his way up to your home and knocks on your door rapidly. There was no answer, and he didn’t hear or see any movement from inside. He scratches his head in irritation thinking he missed you on your way out. So he heads back into town on his search for you again. Mistria was a small town, so there could only be a few places you can be but yet you were nowhere to be found.
March was a man on a mission, and he was going to find you one way or another. After searching inside the Inn and the general store, he started to make his way to the museum remembering you were donating new pieces when you could when you weren’t bothering him. He didn't have high hopes but he was still disappointed to see you weren’t there. He also didn’t notice that Eiland was in the corner of the entrance eyeing a painting that was hung up on the wall. Seeing March before he could leave, he greeted him which he then jumped from suddenly hearing Eiland’s calm voice.
“Good morning March. Are you here to study some of the ancient metal work on some of these pieces?”
“Mornin Eiland. I was uh..” March stuttered as he didn’t know if he wanted to tell the truth to him at all. He didn't want Eiland to know he was searching for you but he was at his wits end trying to find any sort of clue where you could be. He honestly couldn't push his patience anymore farther than he already has. March sighs as he deflates a bit and just decides to come clean. Well, sort of.
“The farmer, have you seen them?”
Eiland smiles sweetly at the mention of you, looking away for a second before making eye contact with March’s gaze. March inspects Eilands face and notices the slight red on his cheeks and doesn't appreciate the fondness that he wears thinking of you.
“Ah y/n! We actually had breakfast together at the Inn earlier. We were talking about their recent discoveries at the mines and how they’ve been digging up a lot of artifacts and ore.”
March scowls at the image of you and Eiland together side by side, thinking he’d just missed you this morning when he was either sleeping or getting ready for the day. Eiland takes notice of March’s short fuse and chuckles lightly at himself.
“Do you know if they're going to be at the Inn tonight?”
Eiland shakes his head, “I don’t think so. I think they’re mostly going to be in the mines today gathering ore for an upcoming project they've been talking about. Which is a shame, I was really excited for them to be in this week's campaign of dungeons and drama.”
Ignoring the last bit of what Eiland says, a sudden idea comes into his head. Eiland notices March became more alive at whatever crossed his mind and he couldn’t help poking the bear a little.
“Do you need them for something important? I could tell them you stopped by looking for them.”
“Don't even bother.” March groaned,”anyway thanks Eiland. I'll be on my way now.”
He hurriedly rushes out of the museum before Eiland can pick at his brain so more. Even though he didn't find you there, he did come up with a plan that could work only tonight. He was gonna settle this weird cat and mouse game and go back to his normal routine once and for all.
It was early morning when you went to the mines and late evening when you exited the caves entrance. You were exhausted as you pushed deeper into the mines day after day, hoping to ease your curiosity at when the end of the mines would greet you. You started to appreciate that the mines was a place to let out your frustrations and wondering thoughts that plagued your mind.
You weren't necessarily over March's comment on your baking, but you were trying your best to give him and yourself space after being humiliated. You didn't really want to see him after that, fearing he'd find a new thing to jab at your side to keep pushing you away. Your face burns with embarrassment as you recall his words and his face that occupied with it.
“Listen, let’s stick to what we know. Darcy with her baking, and you shoveling dirt.”
You really wanted to get over it as it upset you that he had ripped such a reaction out of you but you knew this would take time. You hated that your feelings were engraved deeply at the thought of March when he wasn't even nice to you majority of the time. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and it so happens it wants that asshole blacksmith.
You exhale your exhaustion dragging your bag full of ores to the black smith's. It was Friday night and now would be a great time to use the anvil without seeing him there. You knew he would be at the Inn by now drinking maybe his third beer, happily drunk and delirious. You smile a little at yourself recalling how much more lively he is under the influence but harshly reminded of the memory of the look on his face as he brought up Darcy's baking. You never knew you were the jealous type until he compared your baking to hers.
You respected Darcy’s cooking and baking skills, but to just be compared to anyone when you’re still a novice really did sour the mood of things.
“Damn it. Damn him.”
Leaving those thoughts behind you slowly stray up to the anvil and peek from afar to see if anyone is home. The lights were off from the inside besides a couple of lamps so you figured you were in the clear. You tossed your bag against the smithy's wall as you heard the clunking of the rocks jumble around in your bag. You push the sleeves up your arms and start sorting the ores you needed to make ingots out of. You were too lost in thought trying to get ready when you barely heard the shop's door open and close and calm footsteps coming your way.
March sees you bent down over your bag as you count the silver ore you were preparing to smelt. His heart stops for just a second as he sees you here, finally. He felt relieved but it was quickly washed away by all the frustration and annoyances of tracking you down and having to miss out drinking at the Inn just to finally talk to you.
“Where the Hell have you been?” March chides as he sees you jump out of your skin at the sudden voice.
You stumbled to your feet as you turned to see the man you’ve been avoiding ever since the incident. You truthfully didn't want to see him, especially tonight, but you couldn't ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach at the man you’ve dreamt of holding you is now staring at you with those same intense eyes he always adorns.
“March, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Inn?”
“I live here.”
“Yeah okay, but you're not gonna drink tonight? You're not supposed to be here.”
March scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“Again, I live here. I've been having a hard time focusing so I'm trying to catch up on some work here.”
You nod at his words, suddenly feeling your fight or flight instincts kick in. You decided you would have to plan to smelt these ores another day. You start to pack up your bags while your back is turned to him trying to avoid his icy glare.
“Sorry I didn't know you were still using this. You can take your forge back, I'll come back another tim-”
As you picked up your bag off the ground getting ready to leave and before you could finish your sentence, you saw a strong arm blocking your exit. You press your back against the wall, shocked at his bold movements and to try to give you and March some space as he blocks your way. He stares at you, his face burning hot from his own blush that even the night couldn't hide.
“Where have you been? I see you’re spending your time with everyone else but you’ve been avoiding me. What's been up with you?”
Any other time you'd feel the need to tease him back for being nosey but considering how close you two were that feeling never came to light. You couldn't help but to freeze as you stared back at him as his intensity grew by the drawn out silence.
“I've been busy working on the farm and-”
“Cut the crap y/n. I know you've been avoiding me. You've been giving me the cold shoulder. What's up with you?”
It was your turn to furrow as he was going on the offensive.
“What does it matter to you?”
“It doesn't matter to me. I just want to know what your deal is so we can go back to normal.”
“Everything is fine March, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Bull. You have time to pick flowers for Celine and have breakfast with Eiland but you can't take the time to hand me the ore for my request? You just gonna leave it on my counter without letting me know or even pay you? You don't even look in my direction anymore.”
It was your turn to scoff.
“Are you upset that you don't have my attention anymore? Can you be any more jealous? Why do you even care huh? You make it obvious that you can't stand me or all the olive branches I hand out so I'm doing us both a favor by burning this bridge.”
“You're being unreasonable, you can't avoid all your problems in the world, so stop hiding from me!”
“Just say you miss me and I’ll think about coming arou-”
March groans as he shoves his face towards yours in a passionate heated kiss. Both your teeth clashed as the kiss was full of pent up feelings you didn't think he had in him. You once again freeze at his sudden movement as you stare at his shut eyelids. You couldn't believe that the man who captured your heart, the one you'd never believed who would reciprocate your feelings is finally kissing you.
Before he could part away from your lips, it was your turn to grab the front of his shirt to bring him back down for another kiss. You hear March groaned at being manhandled, feeling sparks ignite in his stomach as he kisses you back with a more feverish desire.
You grip onto his shirt more, trying to pull him as close to you as possible, not wanting to forget the feel of his lips against yours. March's hips dig into yours as he grounds you against the wall of his workshop, afraid that if he gives you a little space you would run and hide from him again. You snake your arms around his waist up up towards his back as you turn your head to deepen the kiss more.
Although March wasn't the most experienced kisser, at least he knew the basics and how to make you melt. He cups your face with his hands so you couldn't pull away from his kiss until he was ready. You began to feel more lost in his hold the more your lips danced with his, but those feelings of hurt were still heavy on your chest. You didn't want to stop but you needed to let him know how you felt.
“You're-”
Kiss.
“So mean-”
Kiss.
“To me.”
March places one last kiss on the corner of your lips before he stares into your eyes noticing the hint of sadness and confusion. He knew that he was a very complicated person, and because of that he would push people away. But you were the only person who tried to make it through his rough exterior to get to know the real him. Maybe it was about time to give you some grace.
“I’m..sorry. I know I can be a hard ass, and I never truly mean to hurt you. It’s just hard to get to know new people.”
“We’ve known each other for over a year, can’t you trust me a little bit more that I won’t just ditch you and Mistria with all its problems?”
March glared down at you, “you’ve been avoiding me for how long now?”
You push on his chest to get a better look at his face, “only because how many times have you been an asshole to me?”
March snickered at your retort, reminding him of the backtalk he missed from you so much.
“Right. Please just give me more time. I…really don’t want to lose you… to anyone.”
Your gaze widened at his vulnerability. The moon deciding it was your turn to show how much your face was burning shined down onto you. March’s gaze for once softened around your presence and that alone made your heart soar higher than before.
“I’ll try if you stop pushing me away so much.. I can only handle so much rejection and embarrassment.”
March nods and dips to you again for one more gentle kiss before it was time to call it a night. He steps away from you and picks up your bag before he starts to head inside his shop with it.
“Hey uh, that’s my bag?”
“Yeah I know. It’s so you won’t go running off on me again.”
You chuckle at his unusual way of keeping you close. He sure was being clingy in an indirect way that you couldn’t help but find adorable.
“I’ll take care of this ore for you. Just come see me tomorrow, please.”
You beamed a smile at him before closing the distance once again and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.
“Alright. Let’s talk more about this tomorrow.”
March hums before closing the door behind him leaving you to make your way back home.
This night may have not fixed all the problems between the two of you, but at least there’s some clarity on how March thinks of you and you find that a big accomplishment on its own. Time will tell how things will work out, and you’re just hoping it’s in both your favors.