#fom balor fanfic

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 1 - A New Farmer in Town

Balor x fem reader (Fields of Mistria)

Blurb: It was only supposed to be a business partnership with a few benefits. After all, you were both ambitious and seeking to make names for yourselves ... so how did you get here ? You didn't know, and part of you refused to care.

Genre: slowburn

This fanfic will mostly follow the plot of the game and include some lines from it

Part 2

You sighed as you stumbled your way through the woods. According to your map, you were almost there. Honestly, it had been a gamble - after finishing your studies, you hadn't found any work opportunities in your hometown, so, after reading that a little town called Mistria was looking for a farmer and offering free land after being hit by a pretty bad earthquake, you'd quickly written to Adeline to make your interest known. However, it had meant leaving everything you knew behind, a realisation that was dawning closer on you as you neared what used to be a stone bridge but was now floating rubble.

You were so deep in own your own thoughts that you didn't realise when you walked straight into something hard and solid. A wall ? No. You took a few steps back and looked up, slowly coming back down to earth. Before you stood the most attractive man you'd ever seen. He was tall and well built without being too buff; his hair was blue and reached his shoulders. You inhaled and looked up into his eyes, which were a dark, rich brown. Before you could apologise for walking into him, he spoke up, the hint of a smirk creeping on his face.

"Hey ! Didn't expect to find anyone else here. The roads have been a mess since the earthquake. I'm Balor, a travelling merchant. Pleased to meet you. You're here at Lady Adeline's request ? She mentioned someone had taken her up on her offer," he winked at you, and you felt the heat rise to your face

"Yeah, there was something about free land and a house... gotta put food on the table somehow," you were being honest, but you suddenly worried your answer might sound selfish. Balor kept smiling at you, seemingly unfazed.

"It's a lovely spot. Quite close to town. I'll walk with you if you don't mind the company,"

You gave him a smile of your own.

"Great, let's go !"

Balor jumped across the broken bridge and you tried to follow suit, slipping and landing on some rubble in the process. He extended his hand, and, after a bit of hesitation, you took it. It was warm and considerably larger than yours, with a few scars on the knuckles. You wondered where they came from and felt your stomach tighten into knots. He pulled you up letting go of your hand after you found your footing again. You mourned the loss of contact more than you were willing to admit.

"We should be able to make it before it gets dark. Come on, we'll head straight to your new farmstead," Balor started walking down the path after shooting you another grin. You followed him, still slightly flustered.

***

A couple of hours had passed since Balor had left you with Eiland at your farm. After he and Adeline had shown you how everything worked, they'd left too, leaving you alone to unpack your stuff. Not that there was much to unpack - you'd only brought some clothes and a few of your favourite books from home, which you'd packed up in the chest. The smart thing to do would have been starting on the farm work - the land was overgrown and unkempt, so it needed a little maintenance- but after 12 hours of travel, you could only bring yourself to light the fireplace and lie down on your worn mattress. Before falling asleep, you thought back to flowing blue locks, confident smirks, shining brown eyes and scarred knuckles. A sleepy smile started forming on your face.

Maybe you'd be just fine here.

Masterlist

[sucuretcannelle]

hii can i request march, balor and celine help taking care of the farm bcs their s/o broke their leg and can't do their job

yurrr

March:

You tell him what needs to be done, he'll do it, no questions

...he thinks. He thinks he won't have questions

Breaking up rocks that just appeared out of nowhere? Fine. Cutting down trees? He can get used to it. Trying to figure out how much water the plants need? He'll walk back into your house, his head hanging low, asking you how much water they need.

Once you tell him he has to actually show the animals some love, he grumbles a bit

He gets SUPER attached to your animals. He'll never admit it though

Within 2 weeks, he's memorized their names and can identify them really easily

Even after you've healed, you might see him playing with the chickens and petting the cows

If you do, act like you didn't. He'll turn bright red

If you have some empty space on your farm, he'll sometimes come up with some suggestions of what can be built/done with it. Of course you don't HAVE to listen to him, but he'd be pretty happy if you did

He'll never mess with anything you don't ask him to, he doesn't want unnecessary conflict. It's your farm, not his, and he just wants to help

Any leftover materials that you don't need, he'll take. Maybe Olric or Ryis might make use of them

And at the end of each day, he'll come in and help you with anything else you couldn't do on your own in the house, while telling you what he was able to get done during the day (he doesn't want to leave you stressed at night)

Balor:

He kinda grimaced at the thought of doing farmwork but he got over it

I mean, you're dating a farmer, you got what was coming for ya

You'll have to show him how to swing an axe/pickaxe

Please scare him into thinking he'll have to go into the mines for stuff, his reaction would be so funny

He really has fun watering the plants in the morning, literally the one moment he's at peace

The animals...he doesn't enjoy being around them at first, but it's just another thing he gets used to

Seeing your chickens play on the seesaw almost made him forget that he has work to do tbh

He'll genuinely be so proud of himself if he reaches the goals that you set for him that day

Even if he doesn't (wouldn't be that rare, he's not used to this) he'll still feel really accomplished when he takes the shipping bin that's full of things that HE put in

You'd see his mood change from cautious and slightly discouraged to determined. It's cute.

Still, he prefers to be the one JUST taking the shipping bin...get well soon

Celine:

She doesn't want you to worry, but you do end up worrying because you'll think she's overworking herself

She'll wake up before dawn to start watering the plants and clearing weeds from the fields

If you peek out and check on her, she'll look really calm, no matter what she's doing

I feel like she's also a lot stronger than she looks, so there really isn't a need to worry about her

If she finds anything worth showing you, she'll bring it in and ask you what you want her to do with it

She has to fight back the urge to play with the baby cows and chickens all day

Please let her play with them all day

She'll also come in and spend time with you whenever she needs to take a break

She also won't complain...we love Celine guys‼️

[shiny-kaibernyte]

I have wanted to write for Fields of Mistria since i first spoke to this colourful characters. It honestly has become my comfort game and i have fallen for this blue haired Merchant. March is my number one, but Balor deserves love to people! Also i refer to Juniper as Plum and Eiland as Peach once in this story as irl i kept forgetting they're names so i just called them that because of their hair colour.

No warnings unless you think cheesy flirting is one

An Apple Heart | Balor x Reader

“My my, this is a surprise, Good morning!” Balor’s calm voice called out from the town stairs, making you practically jump out of his skin as you back away from the merchant's cart. His eager smile and soft wave met your startled gaze from atop the stairs. After waking up earlier than normal this morning, you decided to go walk around the town before everyone else awoke for the day. Although you never actually made it to those stone steps, something on Balor’s cart had caught your eye. 

“Balor! Good morning! I wasn't going to steal anything! I was only looking, I swear!” Your mild panic and hands waving in front of you only caused the merchant to chuckle, walking to your side.

“Well that's such a shame… And here I thought you came to steal my heart.” Balor’s voice flirted, taking your hand into his as he gently kissed it. “Although… you already have my dear.” “KYAAHHHH” A loud scream erupted from your chest as you pulled your hand away like a kid touching something gross. Balor’s chuckle turned into an eruption of laughter at how surprised you were. 

“That was not the reaction I was going for but I will take it. That was so cute!” Laughter only continues to increase through his quick paced words. Your own face only grew redder and redder the more he laughed, to be honest it was hard to tell if he was laughing at what just happened or the fact he started tripping on his feet that was making him laugh. 

“Balor! What was that for? Since when did you openly flirt with people?” A questioning suspicion laced your voice as you managed to gain your composure.

“Oh I'm sorry, that is unlike me.” He is still lightly laughing as he’s coming down from whatever laughing fit just erupted from him. Taking a deep breath to relax, the merchant straightened up and dusted off the side of his poncho before usual smile returned. “I apologise for startling you, Juniper and Eiland decided to give flirting tips at the Inn last night. I was unfortunate enough to get caught in the middle, they uh… this is embarrassing… They won’t let me back into the Inn until I give them a report on which of they’re flirting styles works better.”

“Wait wait wait… So they are actually keeping you out of the Inn just because of this flirt battle they’re having?” The curious cat in you is only poking him for more details.

“They actually got Reina and her whole family to stop me from entering the Inn until I give them my ‘findings’. Which is both a blessing and a curse it would seem.” A finger pressed against his chin as he leans against his cart, pondering his next few words.

You only raised an eyebrow to him, tilting your head like a puppy. “Blessing and a curse?”

“As much as i really don’t want to get back to those Dragons and Drama’s. My late night drink is something I would prefer to keep on a Friday.” A mild scoff escapes his lips as he thinks about the D&D game Eiland dragged him into. In Fact that same game is how this whole flirting debacle happened. Juniper may not be in the game but she can hear everything that goes on from her seat at the bar. And it was during their last game that Eiland decided to have the group roll for a persuasion check on a group of women to ‘flirt’ they’re way through a city’s borders. Or something to that effect Balor wasn’t exactly paying attention. Wasn't until Juniper was suddenly pulling him into her side with her arm on his shoulder whilst Eiland tried to move her away that he was suddenly aware of what was happening.

Now it’s your turn to laugh and Balor’s face to turn a perfect ruby red. “So! You mean to tell me, "You… got caught in a flirting battle between Peach and Plum Because of Dragon’s and Drama!?”

“Yes…” Balor only looked away rubbing the back of his neck before chuckling himself. “Eiland thinks the more honest approach works… That was my attempt at Juniper’s style. And from your reaction I'm going to agree with Eiland.”

“Well I'm not a very good observer, Balor. You would need to use almost everyone in town to get a valid result.” Pondering for a moment you began thinking how everyone else would react to what he did. Sure it was sweet and forward, but it’s also very unlike him, hence why you were startled.

“What if I don't want to do that with others?” Your thinking stopped like a deer in headlights, blinking confused at him, an almost comedic heh escaping your lips as you stared at him. “I was on my way to my cart to retrieve something… for you actually and well here you are.”

“For me…? Balor, what are you getting at?” Question after question ran through your head as he continued on

“When this whole situation happened I honestly dreaded it. I’m not one to openly flirt with someone unless I have genuine appreciation and trust for them. Then I realised… this dumb pickle I've gotten myself in gave me the perfect excuse to give you this…” He moved around his cart and reached inside, shuffling through his wares for a moment before pulling something out. It was shiny from what you could tell. “I had Hayden grow this for me… Celine and I worked together to preserve this so it would rot away before I had a chance to give it to you. Here.”

Turning around in one swift motion, he showed you what he had hidden to his chest, An Apple? In the shape of a heart, it was shiny from being encased in a crystal resin-like substance, making it almost look like a crystal apple. That was what you spotted earlier that lured you here. Was Mistria pulling her thread to lead the both of you here? 

Reaching out for your hand, he gently pulled you towards him, the back of your hand laying in the palm of his as he placed the gift gently in your hand. Never once letting go of your hand as he made eye-contact with you. All you saw was love. “I may not be able to grow flowers, crops or anything really… but I can sell them in a heartbeat. Sometimes I wish for something I can allow my heart to keep… What I'm asking is. Will you accept this gift as a sign of my love and admiration for you?”

“Balor…” The warmest smile painted your face as you gratefully accepted this gift, holding it tightly to his chest with one hand as you moved your free hand to his shoulder. Placing a soft kiss to his cheek before smiling again, “Maybe use this as your report to Juniper.”

Not far away from you watching from the stone steps was none other than Eiland and Juniper, standing side by side with smug grins. Juniper’s hand on her hip, a victorious smile on her face, Eiland leaning on the wall to watch the new couple. High-fiving quietly as they walked away from the scene, going unseen the entire time. Mission successful.

[rare-peach]

Jealous Balor Headcanon

💜💜💜

It’s Friday night at the inn. Balor sips from his red wine, staring off in broody silence.

He’s staring at you across the room, but you don’t notice. Balor sees Ryis, usually quiet and introverted, laughing loudly with you and blushing.

Balor slammed his fist on the table. Did everyone in this damn town have a crush on you? He knew for sure that Eiland did, too… wasn’t it enough to have to compete with a literal *lord*? Now he had to add Ryis to the list, too?

Balor was quickly losing friends over his crush. He would however never admit it or speak to the other guys about it, preferring to drink himself into numbness. He thought about the way the sun shone on your shoulders, the way that you always wore that ridiculous straw hat, the way that you sometimes brought him gems from the mines. He hears your laugh from across the inn and feels himself soften. The sound of an angel.

“Hellooooo, earth to Mr. Balor!” Dell tugs at Balor’s shirt. He startles.

“Oh, hello Dell. Didn’t see you there.”

Dell climbs up onto the chair next to him.

“But I’ve been standing here for like five whole minutes!” She exclaimed.

“Mm..” Balor’s eyes returned to the scene of you and Ryis. Ryis touched your arm and Balor could feel himself getting angrier. It’s not fair. He wanted to make you smile, touch your arm.

“Mr. Balor!” Dell nagged again, tugging on his shirt.

“What is it, Dell?” His eyes still on you.

“You’ve been acting so weird lately! Even my mom says so!”

Balor grimaced. Shit. Was he that obvious in his yearning?

“I-…”

“Tell me why! Is it because you found treasure? You know, as member of the Dragonguard you’re obligated to tell your leader about any treasure…” Dell babbled on seriously.

Balor sighed and smiled tiredly at Dell’s yammering. Treasure?

“I guess you could say that.” He murmured, eyes going back to you. In that moment, you turned away from Ryis and met Balor’s eyes. He felt his heart stop for a second, heat rising in his cheeks.

Then you grinned and waved to him, making your way over with beer in hand. Balor felt his previous anger and jealously fade, replaced by nervous excitement to talk to you, to be near you. Now was his chance.

[lily-alphonse]

"A Debt Settled" (Balor x Farmer)

Fandom: Fields of Mistria

Content: F/M

Rating: Teen

Words: 1,279

“Ben I um–” he stopped himself and looked away. When he spoke again his voice was firmer, less shaken. “The rain’s almost stopped.” She didn’t turn to check. His hand was still on her wrist. It felt like, for once, she had gotten close to seeing something vulnerable from him, and it was already pushed back down so quickly. 

@aug-kissed Aug-Kissed Week 2: Gentle Peck. When farmer Ben took shelter from the rain at Balor's wagon, she never expected the night would end like this...

>> Read on AO3<<

Guess who literally just got this game lol I am already throwing my hat into the fandom because I know I'm going to write more for it.

I got this idea running through town in the rain and coming across Balor. My mind immediately went to "Oh fancy meeting you here... in the rain like this... maybe we should shelter somewhere together" because Im a lovestruck dork lol. I think it'd be cute to do a bunch of these. Being caught in the rain with various villagers.

My farmer's name is actually Bené but I shortened it to Ben for simplicity's sake.

[marchofmistria]

Hey I saw your requests were open and wanted to ask you if you could a do how would the bachelor's react to reader's/farmer's fuck ass haircut? I just cut my own bangs and it's all crooked and need some comfort 🥺

Hey I'm so sorry this has been in my inbox for so long!! Thank you very much for sending, this was so funny to think about. Hope your bangs have grown out since :') 

March

You already know March would be brutal. He's not good at expressing himself and, especially before you're an actual couple and he starts to put effort into not hurting your feelings, he wouldn't think twice about insulting your haircut.

If you came up to him after ruining your hair, he wouldn't be able to hide his confused scowl and ask "what did you do to your hair?" 

If you find it funny and laugh, he'll probably laugh as well and continue teasing you. He'd probably say something like, you shouldn't be allowed to smelt hot metal if you can't even cut your bangs correctly. 

He would laugh if you met him where he was and teased him back, especially about how he can't dye his own hair so he shouldn't be talking. 

If you had a different reaction, however, and got upset or embarrassed and walked away, he'd probably reflect on how you were likely feeling pretty self-conscious and realize that was a low blow.

He'd apologize next time he saw you, rolling his eyes and attempting to fix his comment a bit by saying "at least hair grows back." 

Ryis

Ryis would probably notice it right away. He pays close attention to you, and he can likely tell you're feeling self-conscious. 

He'd try to preserve your feelings the best he could. He'd ask about it lightly and casually. "Hey Y/N, did you get a new haircut? I like it."

You'd definitely blush and get super embarrassed, saying that you know the haircut sucks. Even though Ryis might secretly agree that it's not exactly the best look, he definitely would not agree to you putting yourself down like that. 

"What are you talking about, it's fine! You always look nice, so your haircut doesn't really matter, anyways."

If you're truly upset about it, he'd continue to reassure you and tell you that you look beautiful regardless. But thankfully hair does grow back if you truly don't like it!

He'll continue to compliment you as it grows back so you don't doubt whether he still finds you attractive. 

Eiland

Eiland is a sweetheart and would try to calm you down if you were upset about the haircut you gave yourself. A lot of reassurance about your beauty and his love for you regardless. 

He'd probably start telling you some interesting facts about historical hairstyles of Aldaria or something, as a way to distract you. You may or may not find it annoying in the moment. 

If you're still feeling unhappy, he'd offer to pay to get your hair fixed by Vera or some other expensive hairstylist in the Capital. 

He'd continue to attempt to reassure you that you look very pretty regardless and this sort of thing happened to everyone! In fact, he read on an Alda-period stone tablet that a woman once cut her own hair and....

Balor

It's rare that Balor loses his cool charm, but you see it waver in his face for a moment when you first see each other after the haircut. 

He'd try to deny it and turn the charm all the way up to compensate, telling you that you look absolutely radiant today (even though you look beautiful every day!). You'd see through it right away and call him out on it. 

He may try to deny it at first, but eventually agrees that it's not the best haircut. He does emphasize, however, that even something like a bad haircut couldn't detract from your beauty at all and you do still look lovely.

He'd hold back a bit of a laugh when you give him a blank stare from behind your crooked bangs, though. 

He just happens to generously gift you a set of beautiful gold hairpins from the Capital. Perfect timing. He'll tell you the hairpins compliment your eyes very well once he's no longer distracted by the funny-looking fringe. 

Hayden

Hayden wouldn't even notice honestly. He always thinks you look beautiful and wouldn't sweat small details like that. 

If you came to him and showed him how you messed up your hair, he'd probably laugh and tell you not to think anything of it!

"I cut my own hair all the time, Y/N. It's probably a mess but that's just fine by me!" He likes you however you are, with whatever you decide to do with your appearance.

If you were to tell him that you thought you looked unattractive or that you were embarrassed and didn't want anyone to look at you, he'd get genuinely upset. He truly doesn't understand how you don't see yourself as beautiful, and especially over such a small thing!

He'd continue to tell you not to pay it any mind, that hair grows back, and that no one would even notice. He genuinely thinks the latter because he wouldn't have noticed it had you not pointed it out. 

He'd lend you one of his big hats to cover your hair with while you wait for it to grow out, if you wanted. 

[fieldsofwriting]

A/N: I made a banner and dividers (I found the stars on pinterest) 😌 look at me go. But, once again this is tagged as x reader as well. Feel free to use a word replacer for this :) (I also know that March’s eyes are black. However, I decided to take creative freedom.)

Summary: Violet has been in Mistria for just a little over a week now. But she has never experienced drunk March before.

Warnings: Just drinking at the Inn on friday night!

Settling into her new life in Mistria wasn’t hard. Violet got up everyday bright at early, watered her crops and tried to clear her farm for a few hours before she’d inevitably run up to town and buy seeds to replenish the ones she harvested. She’d stop at the inn and get some soup, talk to Hemlock or Jo when they were there. Then she’d run around a bit more, stopping in to say hi to everyone. Maybe go do some fishing or check out the Western Ruins to see if there was anything else so could donate to the museum. But there was one thing she never skipped. And it was saying hello to everyone, that was always the number one priority.

She’d never skip March. Despite his prior attitude, and as much as she wanted too. Violet had to prove to him and everyone else here that she wasn’t going anywhere. But, her first Friday in town as she shuffled into the Inn after getting her farm- mostly cleared off she was met with Reina’s bright bubbly voice.

“Violet!” She grins, running around to get to her faster. God- that action alone made her want to scoop her up into her arms and spin her around. Reina was so sweet every single time without fail. She felt like a friend that Vi could talk to for hours while laying in her lap. And normally she would share the same enthusiasm as her but, Violet ended up looking up slowly from the pure exhaustion she was experiencing; those rocks on her farm were no joke. And while Reina was always a delight to see, she just wanted soup. That creamy delightful smelling soup that was bubbling in the cauldron. Was that cheese? God she hoped it was cheese.

“Mm?” She grumbles but it doesn’t deter Reina. She quickly gets her a bowl of soup and slides in next to her. Violet's whole mood increasing tenfold as she digs in and looks at Reina.

“You have to make sure to come to the inn tonight!” Reina beams, with the stupidly gorgeous smile she had. “It’s always a blast on Friday nights! Everyone has so much fun! Tell me you’ll come!” She pleads with her. And Violet is a simple woman.

With food in her system, finally the farmer smiles. “It’s really that cool? I guess I’ll have to come check it out. But i’m working on getting the bridge repaired for the Saturday Markets. So, it might be later in the night.” She replies smiling at her new friend. Reina grins and claps, reaching to give her a hug which Violet quickly accepts. It was like hugging one of those giant stuffed bears you won at carnivals.

“Yes! That’s fine! Whenever you can!” She beams. Violet had to admit, her enthusiasm was nice. Everyone seemed so excited to integrate her into this town as if she was always apart of it. It…was refreshing. Violet gives Reina a nod.

“You have my word, I’ll be here.” Vi smiles, and she meant it. She'd be there. It would be nice to relax and hang out with everyone at the Inn, she just hoped she could get the bridge done before then.

———

It felt silly. Violet felt completely and utterly foolish. Standing in front of her mirror, just minutes before she was going to head over to the Inn trying to decide what to wear. Surely everyone would be wearing their normal everyday clothes. She kicks away the little black dress. But why- why did she care so much about her own outfit?! She could just wear her normal outfit. It would be fine. At least that was what she was trying to convince herself of. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows that this might be a good chance to show off for a particular red head-

She shakes her head, "No." She says quickly pointing at herself in the mirror. "No, no, no, Violet. You are not falling for a red head! He's not even a real red head! You can see his roots! You are not doing this." She scolds herself. "This is your chance to distance yourself from anything and anyone. We are not fucking it up because we need therapy!" Violet lets out a big huff. Running her hand through her hair, and nodding. She'd just- wear this. Her normal outfit. Stripped shirt. Overall dress. Knee highs. It be fine.

Once, she enters the Inn she can see why Reina was so insistent. Everyone is there, sitting at various tables doing whatever it is- they were doing. It was bustling, it was lively...it felt like home.

"Violet!"

The Violet in question looks to see Reina rushing forward, a warm smile on her face. "You made it!" She cheers, god- she was so fucking sweet. Violet just wanted to curl up with her and pour her heart out to her. She was so wonderful, Violet can feel the smile spread.

"I told you! I wouldn't miss it!" She gives Reina a hug. Resisting the urge to melt into her arms. "But...everywhere looks so busy..." She whispers.

"Oh! Don't worry about that, just walk around and chat! Everyone kinda does their own thing, you'll find your place in time." Reina reassures. Those words- she had no idea the amount of tears Violet is holding back in that very moment.

"Y-yeah..." Violet nods, "Right." She gives Reina a nod before going over to the Eiland, Celine, Balor, Adeline, and Holt.

"Hello, Violet!" Eiland greets, his smile isn't as warm as Reina's- at least not in the same capcity. Where Reina's smile was like curling up with a blanket, in front of the fireplace on a cold winter morning? Eiland's was like the sunshine, like when you were a kid and played too hard during the summer falling to the ground and feelings the warm ground. “We’re playing Dungeons and Drama! You’re welcome to listen for a bit.” He offers.

“Yeah.” Violet nods, sitting next to Holt with a smile. Everyone introducing their characters had her smiling as she went to enjoy some of the other groups as well. She’d never tell a soul but The Bearded Bad Brad was her favorite so far.

At the next table, she played around of cards before she realized Olric was just- unbelievably lucky. She frowned, she hated loosing. And, everyone was starting to get rowdy because of his unbelievable luck. So, she politely excused herself from the table. Making her way over to the bar-

“Violet!” March said, but that was way too enthusiastic to be March. Slowly, she turned around, and it was in fact March. Or a clone of him? It had to be, standing there with the biggest smile she’d ever seen him have. Slight blush on his cheeks, “Come over here! Sit next to me!! You’re always so busy during the week!” The clone said.

“March is quite the lightweight.” Elsie speaks up. Violet looks over at the regal old woman. “But it is him, he’s a kind drunk.” She gives Violet a nod. She turns back to March.

“You’re telling me that’s not a clone?”

A roar of laughter from the bar. “No, dear.” Elsie smiles. “That very much so is March, our grumpy little blacksmith.”

“Violet!” He whines, “Come here!” He pouts even more. How could she refuse? Making her way over to the drunk March, she can’t help but smile at him. His hair was mused from him running his hands through it, his cheeks were rosy from the alcohol. His smile was contagious, especially as he realized Violet was walking toward him.

“Hi March.” She smiles gently. Her heartbeat picking up, starting to sound like a kick drum in her ears. He was so- devastatingly pretty. Up close, March looked so fucking good. His stupidly nice jawline, dazzling hazel eyes. Violet blinks- Hazel? Weren’t they black? She tries to subtly move further away, watching as the light hits them different changing the color. Making it appear a darker almost black color.

March, does not like that Violet is leaning away. He wanted to examine every part of her face. The way that her cheeks moved when she smiled, the perfect plumpness of her lips, how her eyes shimmered like jewels in the light. The purple hue catching the light like she melted down a purple sapphire and let it pool in her eyes. He also needed to know why she looked so confused, reaching a hand out he gently pressed her back into his side. “You look confused.”

“Your eyes aren’t black.” She mumbles, still looking at him like that. Almost like her gaze was pinning him to his spot.

March raises an eyebrow, smiling and letting out a small laugh. “No. They aren’t.” He grins, “Why? Do you think it make me prettier?” He says batting his perfectly dark eyelashes up at her. Violet lets out a soft laugh, wrapping an arm around his broad, sturdy shoulders. Caldarus strike her down now. She was touching him. She was touching March, and he wasn’t mad. He wasn’t pushing her off, she felt her stomach doing flips at the proximity.

“No, it just shocked me. They normally look black when you’re next to the forge.” She comments softly, still entranced by them. She wants to reach up, cup his cheek and tilt his head up so she can see them better.

“Mm.” March nods, leaning his head on her shoulder. Violet can feel her face heating at the action. She can feel eyes on her from the other patrons, and if she could muster a look at them she’d glare. But if she looks anywhere but firmly behind the bar, she’d explode. “Olric’s got them too.”

“Yeah?” She breathes, looking down at March. “Good to know.”

“Do you like them?” He looks back up at her. Violet’s breath hitches as she sees the swirls of green and brown in his eyes even better. The light from above emphasizing more of the green. “You look like an angel.”

Violet shakes her head. “Wh-what?” She says with a shocked laugh.

March gives her a big smile. Reaching up and tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “You look like an angel. The light is like-“ He moves his hand around her face, to signal the halo of laughter around her.

She needs air. She needs space. She can’t do this- March can’t be that sweet. No matter what Elsie said, this had to be a clone of March and the real one was plotting her demise somewhere. “M-March…” Violet says quietly, taking a step back. But he frowns, pulling her back into him.

“I like when you say my name.” He mumbles. Still looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. As if he would give her the world. Violet couldn’t do this. She steps away from him, dodging his arms again.

“Goodnight March.” She whispers quickly, slapping some money down on the table to cover her food for the night and rushing out.

A/N: I know that March’s sprite has black eyes- but consider. No. Kfjjfjfksks no in all fairness I just thought it be interesting if he had hazel eyes, my brother does and they change the intensity depending on the lighting he’s in. So I thought because he’s around the forge so much it be interesting!

[yeehawbvby]

When the Moon Fell in Love With the Sun | Ch. 2

March x F!Farmer

Rating: Mature/Explicit (eventual smut)

Chapter Summary: March and the farmer get shitfaced together.

Author's Note: I had an absolute blast writing this one hehehe. Enjoy some drunk March!!

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

Prev | Next

After a long day of hammering silver, and after stopping home for a quick body rinse, some pain meds, and a less sweaty set of clothes, December headed over to the inn. 

She didn’t care much for dressing up, so her outfits tended to be more or less of the following: boots, jeans or shorts, a tank top, and unless it was summer, a jacket. Whether she was farming, mining, or going to the inn, she looked no different. The closest she got to being “trendy” in her own way was to accessorize and/or keep to a consistent palette, with a wardrobe mostly consisting of blues, blacks, whites and silvers. 

For tonight, she kept her hair in the ponytail she’d tied it into earlier; wore a black denim jacket, its back covered in patches she’d collected while traveling — be it for snowboarding, for the guild, or for leisure; a black camisole tucked into dark, ripped jeans; a silver chain, which she conjoined the belt loops on her right side with; and the same black combat boots she typically donned.

As expected, December was met past the Sleeping Dragon’s doors with the majority of the town’s residents. It wasn’t a Friday gathering, but going to the inn for soup and drinks on rainy or snowy days seemed to be the norm in Mistria. It was an unspoken tradition that she had grown fond of, and she drank in the sight of everyone having fun and hanging out while hooking her jacket up near the entrance.

Well, almost everyone. Olric and March were talking business with Eiland and Adeline, if the paperwork strewn across their table was anything to go by, so she figured she’d chill out at the bar before going to pester the brothers. 

After putting in a request with Hemlock to surprise her with something fruity, she was engulfed by two slim arms and an overwhelmingly floral scent.

“Hey!” December smiled, twisting in her seat to hug the source. She was one of her first and closest friends in town.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here!” Celine beamed back. 

She took the open seat next to December and practically asked for the same thing from Hemlock, making it a point to grab Jo and Reina’s attention and greet them too. December waved at the chefs, chuckling when they both flashed toothy smiles back at her.

Hemlock placed down the girls’ identical drinks as the interaction finished off. “Enjoy,” he winked at them before moving onto the next resident.

December sighed wistfully as she gazed into the bright blue, bubbly liquid. “He’s gonna kill me one of these days,” she muttered under her breath. 

Sure, her heart was somewhat (entirely) set on March, but it didn’t stop her from feeling immensely frazzled by the bartender. He was just so cool…

Celine giggled at the farmer’s state, but spared her a comment. She understood it completely: she’d once told December that, as kids, she would put on her fanciest dresses and have her mom braid her hair whenever Reina invited her to hang out at the inn, just because of the crush she had on their friend’s father. It lingered until her teenage years.

“Where were you today?” she asked. “I didn’t see you running around and getting stuff done like you usually do.”

When people described her that way, December imagined that they just saw her as a little dog, zipping through the streets to fetch things for treats... it wasn’t entirely wrong, she supposed.

Her beverage was just bordering on too sweet, but she liked it, and let it fully trickle down before she answered Celine. “Spent the day at the forge.”

“I’m surprised you could stand it for that long.” Celine winced while she took a sip from her own cup. After a moment of visible contemplation, she slid it towards December. “Don’t you hate it there?”

December shrugged, “Just the smithing part. The guys make it entertaining.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Celine mused, having recently become fully knowledgeable of December’s feelings for the redhead. She wiggled her eyebrows and rested her cheek in her palm.

“Oh gods.”

“You’re not denying it.”

December rubbed the inner corners of her eyes. “Stop talking.”

“I probably have some flowers you can bring him next time…”

Embarrassed that she knew March doesn’t actually like flowers, December simply continued, “Please stop talking?”

The blonde snickered, gratefully accepting a replacement drink in the form of red wine from Hemlock. She hadn’t even ordered one yet. “He’s good,” she breathed, watching him leave. 

It was at that moment that December began to think Celine’s crush on the innkeeper hadn’t entirely gone away.

Smiling at the thought, she suggested, “The best in Aldaria, perhaps?”

“Why are you talking about me?” March asked, appearing behind them. All the seats were taken, so he simply leaned against the counter between December and Terithia, who was deep in conversation with Landen.

December groaned. “Big head.”

Celine nodded, teasing, “The biggest.”

“It’s not that big.”

“Sure, physically, but metaphorically…” December trailed off, shrugging with a shit-eating look on her face.

March nudged her with his elbow, deadpanning as the farmer grinned. She returned the gesture before turning to face Celine on her other side. 

She looked smug, like she had something to say.

December narrowed her eyes at her.

“You can take my spot, March,” Celine told the blacksmith. Her gaze stayed on December’s while she spoke, “I think I heard Juni calling me from upstairs.”

December’s mouth gaped for a moment at the blatant lie before prodding, “Oh, did she?”

Celine dodged the question with a light pat to her friend’s head. “See you later!” 

Traitor…

“I didn’t hear it,” March concurred as he swapped spots with the florist.

“Maybe your ears suck.”

“You didn’t either, smartass.”

“Yeah, whatever.” December peered down at the two drinks before her. “Want this?” she asked, sliding Celine’s abandoned one toward him.

“What is it?”

December shrugged, making a noise in place of an “I don’t know.” She took a sip before concluding, “It’s real sweet, though.”

Ignoring the urge to taste it from her lips, and silently cursing himself for even thinking about that, March took up the offer, drowning his feelings by downing the glass.

December’s mouth hung open again. “What the fuck?” she laughed, gobsmacked.

March grunted in approval. “That’s good. Oi, Hemlock,” he called out from across the bar. 

The man reappeared from somewhere beneath the counter, an empty cup in hand. “Yeah?” he responded on his way over.

“What’s this called?” he asked, snatching December’s drink — while she was going for another sip, no less — and holding it up.

Hemlock laughed at the interaction before shrugging and telling him, “Don’t know yet,” then nodded to December, “This snow angel was my test dummy.”

The snow angel silently cursed him for warming her cheeks with that nickname. March noticed it and felt a smidge of jealousy. 

“You want one?” Hemlock offered.

“Two, please.” 

“Why do y—“ December stopped her train of thought when March took a sip from her cup, glaring at her over the rim of the glass. She heard Hemlock laugh as he walked away. 

___

It took less than an hour for the pair to be plastered, with December being just as much of a lightweight as March. They’d relocated to a table — March sat at the head, with December and Ryis on one side, and Olric and Balor across from them — but kept their focus mainly on each other.

Most recently, it was in the form of an arm wrestle.

Fairly tipsy himself, Ryis began treating it far too seriously. While December stretched her hands and shoulders, she took in his pep talk from beside her. 

“I think you can— no,” he placed a hand on her shoulder, “I know you can win this.” Whether he believed it or not, he and December were both unsure, but it didn’t stop him from doing his best to encourage the farmer. 

“I can win this,” she reaffirmed, her brows furrowed and eyes swimming with determination. 

“You are crazy strong,” he kept going.

“I am crazy strong.”

“You are powerful.”

“I am… kinda power—“

“Hey, hey,” he grabbed her by both shoulders now, pressing his forehead to hers to really drive the point home, “you are powerful!” 

With a determined huff, and after grabbing his shoulders too, she nodded. 

“Why don’t I get a cool pep talk?” March asked nobody in particular. “Is it ‘cause you all know I’m gonna win anyway?”

December let go of Ryis and turned away to stare daggers at March. He narrowed his eyes right back until Olric cut in, “I believe in you, bro!” 

March’s fiery gaze darted to the blue-haired merchant. “You’re awfully quiet, Balor.”

“Can’t I just enjoy the show?” 

December’s scowl shifted to him, too. He was unfazed, only grinning in return.

“Alright, alright,” March started, “alright.” He lightly nudged December’s shoulder with his fingertips. “Alright?”

“Alright,” December held back a giggle as she spoke, nodding curtly.

“Alright.”

March took his position at the very edge of his seat and with his elbow on the corner of the table, with December doing the same before clasping her palm with his. Their knees touched in the middle, and even with the wood between them, there was plenty of open area.

December knew after being reminded just how large and thick March’s hands were — those things were like damn clubs, probably thanks to his work — that she was doomed to fail. Even if she could manage to out-muscle him some other way, the sheer weight of his grip would probably ruin this for her. 

She did her best to ignore that, though, and put on the silliest, cockiest face she could manage while she locked onto the blacksmith’s eyes.

March wanted to just win this already — gods, he needed to win — but broke at the sight of his opponent’s expression, snorting and leaning the side of his head onto their tangled forearms. 

“Can— pfft— can you take this seriously, sir?”

March shook his head before sitting back up to the best of his ability. “Your face!”

The farmer played dumb. “What about it?” 

“You just—“ March barked out a quick laugh before imitating December. 

It broke her immediately. Her cackling only made March laugh harder, and they both keeled over, bumping heads in the process.

“Ow!” they exclaimed simultaneously, only worsening the situation. 

When their eyes met just a few inches apart, both pairs were filled with tears, and noticing that forced a second wind. December tried to blink away the wetness on her eyelashes, completely folding in on herself before March draped his upper body over hers.

It was weird, she thought even in her drunken haze, feeling the rumble of his laughter through her back.

It felt cozy.

She ignored that. “Ha! Get off me, dude!”

While March and December continued their bickering and laughing, seemingly forgetting the other three were there, their tablemates simply watched on, laughing to themselves.

“It’ll never stop being strange, seeing them like this…” Balor observed. While his face only housed his usual lopsided grin, with no more than a dignified chuckle leaving his throat, he was thoroughly amused by the sight before him.

“Right?” Olric beamed, “They’re both so nonchalant, usually.”

“Well, she is,” Ryis agreed while pointing his thumb at the girl next to him. “I don’t know if I would call an angry gremlin ‘nonchalant.’”

“Hey!” March sat up, having sensed the others talking about him. He kept his forearm in December’s back, holding her down while she hopelessly tried to bat it away, and pointed over her, getting the digit as close to Ryis as he could manage. “Who are you calling a gremlin?”

“You, dumbass!” December answered in the carpenter’s place, her shout thoroughly muffled by her thigh. Ryis nodded into his next sip of beer before nearly spitting it out as March noogied the woman’s spine. “Ow— ow, quit it!” 

She managed to reach March’s oblique, tickling him in hopes that it would trigger the end of her suffering. As fun as this was, it did hurt. He had no idea that December had been through what she had, though, so she couldn’t exactly blame him for not knowing she was a bit fragile. 

“Fuck!” March yelped, his laughter ramping back up while he scrambled away. He would have fallen out of his seat if Olric wasn’t so quick to hoist him upright.

Just a table away, Luc, Maple and Dell gasped and giggled at the smith’s choice language, and were now thoroughly invested in his and December’s antics.

“Are they fighting?!” Dell asked Ryis, who she was closest to, all too excitedly.

“Sure, something like that,” he laughed, ruffling the young lady’s hair.

“She should use a sword.” Dell stood up onto her seat, removed her own from her pocket, and began waving it through the air at nobody in particular. “That’ll show‘im!”

Luc sighed. “If only I could give her some bugs to unleash on him…”

“Why can’t you?” Maple asked her brother.

“They’re probably sleeping! I already said goodnight to them.”

“I declare you awaken them at once!”

“No, they need their rest!” Dell interjected, pointing her stick — sorry, her sword at Maple. “If they’re gonna be part of the Dragonguard someday, they need to be strong and healthy.”

“You dare defy your queen?” Maple giggled, standing up and slamming her palms to the table, sloshing some of her milkshake over the side of its glass. 

Luc placed his chin on his hands, shaking his head. “Oh no…”

Back at the other table, March and December were finally winding down and beginning their battle. 

“Wait,” December asked, squeezing his hand as if it was going to leave. “What are the stakes?”

“Fuck if I know.” He flashed her a goofy smile. “I just wanna beat you.”

After swallowing a hiccup, she groaned. “So it’s just bragging rights?”

Olric, determined to play matchmaker, practically felt the lightbulb turn on in his otherwise rock-filled head. “Why doesn’t the loser walk the winner home?”

“That’s so far, though…” 

“So you admit defeat, then?” March prodded. 

December practically growled. “Fat chance!”

With that, their tussle had finally begun… and was over just as quickly as it started.

“Best two out of three,” December insisted. 

March was about to happily take the crown, but her big, sad eyes — a result of her fatally wounded pride — convinced him to go a little easy on her. 

He never thought he’d see the day where he was willing to give up a win just for someone else’s sake. Neither did the others. The three of them shared a knowing look.

“Fine,” the redhead sighed. “Round two, come on.” He wiggled his fingers, prompting December back into position.

She shot his hand a dirty look that made him giggle. “Eugh,” she reacted, taking hold of it anyway. “Don’t do that, y’little creep.”

“What, you can’t handle a little finger action?” March winked. 

The realization hit him like a train.

Oh no.

He dropped his shit-eating grin and froze, his eyes wide; December’s immediately followed suit, her cheeks and ears darkening several few shades beyond what the alcohol could ever achieve on its own; and beside them, all three men’s mouths hung open. Then, December averted her view and yelped an explosive laugh into her free palm, hiding her face to the best of her ability while her opposite hand clutched March’s with white knuckles. 

“Wait, wait,” March scrambled, laughter bubbling in his throat while his eyes darted between the four people around him, “hold on—“

Olric was the first to respond verbally, an incredulous smile on his lips. “Wow!”

Ryis tried to react, but was doubled over in a near-silent fit of laughter. 

This stole Dell’s attention again, and while she didn’t know what was going on, she patted the man on the back in a poor attempt at comforting him. It was her sworn duty as Mistria’s future best knight ever, after all. Through broken giggles, he thanked her, but politely redirected her attention back to her friends.

“On that note,” Balor announced, “good luck and goodnight,” before retiring upstairs.

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 2 - Moonlit Walks

Balor x fem reader

Part 1

Part 3

The morning after you got up to the sound of a rooster. Still half asleep, you slipped on some clothes and headed outside to start ploughing the fields and planting. It didn't take you long to run out of seeds, and, as soon as you did, you decided you'd explore the village and meet its inhabitants. After all, your experiences so far had been nothing but positive. As you walked down the footpath that led from your farm to town, you caught a flash of blue with a corner of you eye.

"Hey Y/N ! Come over here," how Balor had so much energy even this early in the morning was completely beyond you. You smiled to yourself and walked up to his wagon.

"Have you already met everyone ?"

"No, only you and my neighbours," you'd adored meeting them both, particularly Celine, who had been so kind to you.

"Then you absolutely should. Before you go though, check out my wagon. I've got everything you vould ever want in here. Anything catch your eye ?" Balor winked at you and you grinned at his exaggerate salesman persona as you began to look at the goods on display. There really was everything - furniture, food, crafting material, seeds, and weird artifacts. Sighing, you looked down at your boots, which were incredibley worn down after yesterday's travels. The fact that the soles had not broken yet was a miracle.

"Well, some new boots might be nice, but I don't really have much money for now," As you said that, you noticed that all the prices listed were already weirdly low.

"Not to worry. I'll give them to you half price. You know, since you're new and all," Balor looked at you with a knowing smile and you felt butterflies stir up in your stomach

"You won't do anything of the sort. I'll earn the money myself and then buy them at the current price," you'd never been one to accept handouts, preferring to rely on your own strengths. Balor sighed in mock exasperation.

"OK Miss Independent. Will you at least let me keep them aside for you until then ?"

"That would be great. Thank you, Balor. " You met his smile with one of your own. You weren't sure why he was so keen to help out, but you just put it down to the entire city being almost overly friendly. This morning, for example, Celine and Hayden had offered you free seeds to get you started on farming. It was ... nice, living in a place where everyone seemed to care about each other so much.

"I should head off now. I have the entire town to get acquainted with after all,"

Balor grinned. "I'll see you around, Y/N. Come by the inn sometime, yeah ? I enjoy our chats,"

***

It had been a long day. You'd walked around the whole city and its neighbouring fields, learning where everything was and how the town worked. As expected, everyone else had been lovely. You'd felt particularly close to Celine and Reina, who you'd vowed to invite to your house for a picnic or something once it was looking a little less... unkempt. Only March had seemed not to like you, but you didn't let that bother you too much - his brother Olric had told you that was just the way he was. And then there was Balor, who seemed to be living rent free in your head ever since you'd first met at the bridge.

As you brushed your hair and freshened up before going off to the inn, you thought back to all the other men you'd been close to. None of them had provoked feelings that were even similar to these. Did that mean .... no, impossible ! You were business partners, and hopefully with time you'd become friends. Slamming your hairbrush down decisively, you walked out of your front door, attempting to live any and all inappropriate thoughts on the doorstep.

The inn was packed. It felt like the whole town was there, which honestly wasn't too improbable. Celine had told you Fridays were the official day for everyone to gather and socialise at the inn, but it seemed like several people did it everyday. Not that you minded. Quite the opposite in fact.

"Y/N, over here !" Reina waved at you cheerfully. It appeared she'd saved you a seat and a plate if daily soup. You went up to her and Celine, sitting down with a smile.

"Have you met everyone ?" Reina asked as you dug in.

"Yup. I even got you'd about the project to fix the bridge," you replied in between spoonfuls.

"That's so great," Reina's expression was one of total excitement.

"Y/N," A deep voice from behind you called your name, and you turned around to see Ryis, the charming carpenter you'd met earlier that day.

"Hi Ryis, how can I help ?" You asked, feeling both Celine and Reina shift their gazes onto you.

"I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything crafted for you farm, you can rely onl me. I'd be more than happy to teach you how it's done or to do it for you," Ryis grinned at you. "And I'm sure that despite what he says, March would also be happy to help."

At hearing his name mentioned, March turned towards you, his face slightly flushed.

"You wanna hear a secret, Y/N. You aren't actually so bad ! Oh wait - what am I saying ?"

You tried not to smile to yourself. It appeared that the closed off, sassy blacksmith was a completely different guy when drunk.

"Well, thank you both," you smiled at them. Surprisingly, even March grinned back.

"Of course. I've got to head off now, but I'll see you around," Ryis gave you a nod before leaving, and you swore you saw a red tint blooming across his cheeks.

"I think he likes you," Celine whispered as soon as he'd left the inn. You looked at her, you eyes wide.

"No, he's just being helpful because I'm new to town. Like everyone else,"

"Be serious, Y/N. Did you see the look on his face ? He barely even breathed a word to Celine and I," Reina said looking at you with both eyebrows raised. Celine nodded.

"I think you're both reading too much into it. Let's just have dinner and talk about something else,"

***

Balor's POV

Balor had watched the entire scene play out from one of the tables at the back of the inn, feeling irrational pangs of jealousy as he did so.

He'd meant to intercept you first, but Celine and Reina had beaten him to it. Oh well. It was good that you were making friends. However, his feelings quickly soured as he saw Ryis blushing and smiling while talking to you as you smiled back. Damn it, he wanted to be the guy to make you smile like that ! And now March was looking at you too ? He wasn't sure why it was affecting him so deeply when it had nothing to do with him. It was probably just the alcohol, and the fact he hadn't been with a woman in quite a while. All his last dates had felt empty and boring, so he'd simply stopped going.

The sound of your voice broke his yrain of thought.

"Well, it's been lovely, guys but I must head back," you were smiling at Reina and Celine, a gesture that made your face look like it was radiating sunlight from within. Before he'd Tully processed what he was doing, Balor walked up to you.

"I'll walk you home," he grinned confidently.

"Oh... thank you so much, but there's no need. I live so close," you cheeks were turning light pink as you spoke, a detail that pleased him more than he cared to admit.

"I insist," as soon as he'd said that, you hadn't hesitated in following him out of the hotel.

You'd walked most of the way in companionable silence before he spoke up.

"You sure scrub up nicely,". You met his gaze, eyes shining in the darkness.

"You do too,". The wind blew a stray strand of hair on your face, and he felt compelled to tuck it behind your ear with his hand. He controlled himself, settling for just walking you to your door.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N. I look forward to working with you,"

You smiled at him, your face lighting up in that way that took his breath away.

"Good night Balor, and me too,"

Masterlist

[summer-nights19]

Good for business moodboard + playlist

Playlist:

Images:

You can read it on my masterlist

[lily-alphonse]

"The Raincheck" (Balor x Farmer)

Fandom: Fields of Mistria

Content: F/M

Rating: Mature (Mild sexual content and lewd jokes)

Words: 2,887

“How would you like to visit inside my wagon?” “Inside?” Ben asked, eyes widening. “That seems like quite the privilege.” “Yes, well,” he looked down, tracing the grain of his counter with his finger. “I'm finding there isn't much I want to keep from you, in truth.”

@aug-kissed Aug-Kissed Week 3: Using Tongue. Things are heating up between farmer Bené and Balor...

>> Read on AO3<<

This is the sequel to last week's Balor fic! You can check out part 1 HERE

Im obsessed with these pixels, help

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 4 -Cooking Class

Balor x fem reader

Part 3 Part 5

After a long day of sourcing lumber and stone to repair the bridge, all you really wanted was to crash on your bed with a good book. A cooking class had definitely not been in your plans, but after reading the letter from Josephine and Reina inviting you to the group class at the inn, you'd decided to scrap your plans for the afternoon and attend anyway - it sounded like it could be fun, and it was very possible that a certain travelling merchant would be there. Your heart hammered in your chest at the possibility of seeing him - Mistria was a small town, so you bumped into each other and chatted every day (sometimes on purpose), but this felt different. Scarier.

You'd begun to gradually surrender to the reality of your feelings for Balor. Now, instead of opposing them, you hoped they were fleeting and would pass quickly. One thing was certain, though - never before had you been that excited about the prospect of seeing a man you'd only known for a couple of weeks.

Sighing to yourself, you began walking to the inn. It would be rude not to show up when Reina and Josephine had gone through the trouble of sending an invitation, right ? As you pushed the door open, you heard a deep, melodic voice that almost made you stop in your tracks. So he was here.

After Josephine greeted you, Reina came up to you with a knowing smile.

"Hi, Y/N. I was just showing Balor some of the basics. Why don't you set up next to him so you two can help each other while I help Celine ? He's just in the kitchen,"

"Hey, Y/N. I wouldn't thought my knife technique could get any better, but Jo is a talented woman," you turned to Balor, who was chopping vegetables at lighting speed.

"It looks like you're just about done here. Are you ready to prepare the soup ?" You said, smiling as you struggled to get the large cauldron into the kitchen. As soon as he saw you, Balor put his knife down.

"Here, let me help," he took the cauldron from you and pushed it into the kitchen with ease as you watched, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Thank you. I'll chop the rest of the vegetables to make up for it," you stuttered, taking the knife in your hand and starting on a carrot. However, after witnessing Balor's performance earlier, your own movements seemed slow and clumsy. After a couple of minutes, you felt a warm hand clasp your own gently yet firmly. You looked down and saw scarred knuckles and long fingers intertwining with your own

"Your technique is off. Here," Balor began guiding your hand, speeding up your movements as you went along.

"Won't we chop our fingers off if we do this ?" While you trusted Balor, this didn't seem like a very safe way to handle knives ... or maybe it was more that you could barely handle the feeling of his large, calloused hand against your own without your mind wandering off into fantasies you weren't ready to unpack.

"Just relax Y/N. I know my way around knives," Balor smirked at you as he continued moving your hands. Even after you started to get the hang of it, he didn't let go.

Suddenly, the door to the inn burst open and March walked in.

"I thought this was going to be a private cooking lesson," he looked at you accusingly, as if you'd wronged him just by being there. What a dick.

"Nonsense, the more the merrier. Come on in," Josephine smiled at March and led him towards the kitchen, where Balor was still "helping" you to cut vegetables.

"Get a room," he muttered as soon as he saw you guys, causing you to roll your eyes. As March sorted through produce, he kept looking up at you guys and frowning. For someone who supposedly hated you, he seemed weirdly bothered by your proximity with Balor.

"Aaand that's all done," Balor said as he scraped the vegetables into the cauldron and spun you towards it with a flourish. You giggled at his theatrics.

"Thank you for your knife lesson, Snicklefritz. It's been very helpful," you said innocently as you started packing away.

Balor flicked your shoulder from behind you "What did I say about-"

"Y/N ! Come over here !" March shouted, breaking the spell between you and Balor. You'd almost forgotten that you weren't alone in the kitchen.

Trying to appear calm, you walled up to March's station, where he was sorting through produce.

"What's up ?"

"Uhh umm well.. I had an important question to ask... uhh do you think that beetroots are part of the recipe ?" March stuttered, his face as red as the beet he was holding.

"I imagine Reina will know, but I think so since she put them here,"

"OK. Go away now. I'm trying to work," you held back a sigh as you went back to your station. March really was a weird guy. Half the time you couldn't wormed out if he hated you or if he was on the verge of asking you out. As you looked up at Balor, you noticed thar he was glaring daggers into March's back as he worked, but, as soon as he saw you looking, his face smoothed into its usual easygoing expression.

"Let’s go wait at the table since we're done here. I'll order us drinks," he smiled, placing a friendly hand on your shoulder and guiding you to the nearest table. The entire time, the butterflies in your stomach were getting increasingly strong and you were feeling your face start to turn pink.

***

About ten minutes later, Reina came out with the finished bowls of vegetable soup.

"Wonderful job, everyone," she said as she passed around servings.

Balor grinned as he took the first bite.

"This is going to make my time on the road much more bareable ! I should have asked for lessons ages ago,"

You nodded in agreement as you dug in. The soup had a light, earthy flavour that felt like a warm hug in the middle of a cold winter evening. As you watched your new friends eat and laugh over the delicious food, you felt a wave of gratitude was over you, particularly as your eyes lingered on the blue haired man next to you. Moving here had definitely been a gamble worth taking.

Masterlist

[lily-alphonse]

"Treasured" (Balor x F Farmer)

Fandom: Fields of Mistria

Content: F/M

Rating: Explicit (Graphic sexual content)

Words: 8,748

Balor was avoiding Ben. The man had the gall to give her one of his rings. To kiss her and call her beautiful and hold her like she mattered, and then avoid her like she didn’t.

Ben is going to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is happening with Balor.

>>Read on AO3<<

There's arguing, there's hurt/comfort, and hot hot smut. Please reblog if you enjoy! :)

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 3 - Friday Night at the Inn

Balor x fem reader

Part 2

Part 4

It had taken the whole morning to clean up your farm and gather the necessary supplies to ship orders and begin repairing the bridge. After hours of strenuous labour, you were looking forward to an afternoon lazing around in town. On your way out, you checked the mailbox, which had quickly become a habit for you. Instead of orders or recipes, there were two things. A letter from Celine reminding you about friday night at the inn, and your favourite flower with a note attached. Curiosity rising, you unfolded the note, which simply said:

"You looked beautiful last night. I enjoyed our time together"

Carefully, you put both the flower and the note on your bedside table. Who could they be from ? Despite you trying to deny it, you certainly knew who you wanted them to be from - travelling merchant who had walked you home last night and left you with your heart leaping out of your chest as you watched him leave - but there was no sign off, so you couldn't be sure. To complicate things further, you'd literally spent time with the entire village yesterday , so there was no ruling out potential candidates.

Someone knocked on your door, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Y/N ? Reina and I thought we could head to the inn together if you're up for it," Celine called from outside.

"Coming !" You replied as you scrambled to put on your boots and smooth your hair. After having freshened up a bit, you opened the door and greeted your friends with hugs.

"Sorry it took me a while," you said, sheepishly as you started walking.

"No problem ! It looks like we're right on time, anyway," Reina smiled. "Speaking of the inn, Y/N, are you ready to see your admirers ?"

Celine's smile grew with that, and you just knew they were thinking about Balor walking you home last night. The discussion had to change before it could degenerate further.

"Uhhh I wouldn't say I have admirers. Just good, kind hearted friends. Speaking of which, Reina, what games did you say were available at the inn ?"

It was a poor attempt at derailing the conversation, but Reina was kind enough not to push further.

"I believe Eiland said he was starting a new Dragons and Drama campaign. Celine, you're participating, right ?" Celine nodded with a grin.

You gasped, barely able to contain your excitement.

"I love D&D ! Back at home, my friends and I used to play all the time."

"That's amazing, Y/N ! You should definitely join us then," Celine said as she pushed the door to the inn open and led you to the nearest table. Reina waved at you guys and made her way to the kitchen. It was, after all, her family's inn.

"Hi Lord Eiland ! Y/N wanted to join us for D&D. She has plenty of previous experience, so you don't have to worry about explaining the game," explained Celine as she sat down. You took the seat opposite her without much thought.

"Hi, Y/N. Of course you can join ! Just set your character up quickly while I introduce the campaign,"

As everyone started introducing their characters, Balor took the seat next to yours, clasping a beer in his hand.

"... and this is Balor's thief, Snicklefritz," Holt explained as he showed everyone the miniatures he'd made for the game. Balor sighed.

"This is what I get for arriving late at the cards table. I have no idea what's going on, or why everyone keeps calling me Snicklefritz. Do you understand any of this, Y/N ?"

"Yeah ! This is Dragons and Drama, one of my favourite games. It's easy once you get the hang of it. Please give it a chance... Snicklefritz,"

"Don't call me that but fine, if you insist," Balor took his miniature, a the hint of a smile on the corner of his lips.

***

"Alright, it's getting late now, so I'm gonna head off. Thank you, everyone, for the really fun game," you said as you stood up from the D&D table.

"I'll walk you to your house, Y/N," Balor put down his beer and miniature and stood up next to you as Celine desperately tried to catch your gaze.

"Thank you, Snicklefritz," you giggled as you led him out of the inn.

"I told you not to call me that. The only reason I was playing that game was because the cards table was full and because you made such a big deal put of it,"

"You can't fool me, Snicklefritz. I can tell you were secretly enjoying it," you said, properly laughing now. It was a quiet night, so the sound of the cicadas and your laughter was the only thing that could be heard on the way to your farm. Balor's face softened, and a pink tint crept on his cheeks.

"Well I guess I'm stuck with it now," he said, trying but failing to sound reluctant.

"You are ! At least until we finish the campaign. Though you can leave if you really don't like it," you replied, looking at him with silly puppy dog eyes.

"I suppose it's not as bad as I first thought," Balor rolled his eyes as he walked you to your porch. "There's one condition though. You let me walk you home like this every Friday. I enjoy your company,"

You blushed and nodded, taken aback. Truthfully, the idea made you much happier than you wanted yo admit.

"Good night, Y/N. And be sure to stop by my wagon tomorrow. Always love seeing my favourite customer,"

"You say that to all your customers,"

"Yeah well you're my real favourite," he winked, taking your hand in his and kissing the back very lightly.

"Good night Balor ... and thank you," you could feel your face burning bright red, as you spoke, but Balor simply grinned and sauntered off, closing the door behind him.

In a daze, you took the flower from your nightstand and started twiring it between your fingers in a sort of lazy dance. Maybe it really was from him. What might his favourite flower be ? No, perhaps he'd want another gift...

Your eyes started to close, and your body slumped on the bed, sheer exhaustion taking over. Despite this, the flower didn't fall from your grasp.

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[yeehawbvby]

When the Moon Fell in Love With the Sun | Ch. 11 (FINAL)

March x F!Farmer

Rating: Mature/Explicit (eventual smut)

Chapter Summary: Another rowdy Friday night at the inn leads into a cozy, domestic morning.

Author's Note: This is the longest fic I've written and actually finished. Ty for reading it, and I hope you enjoyed :3 <3

(Also. At the time I post this, it seems like Trump is gonna win the US election.. fellow Americans, please stay safe, please keep pushing on, and please take care of yourself. Ily)

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

Prev

“Alright, ready?”

“No.”

“Come on,” March drew out the last word, wiggling his fingers. 

“I am not doing this again.”

“You don’t want some finger action?” Ryis butted in from beside December. The table was formed in the same way as March and December’s previous arm wrestle.

“Ha!” the farmer barked, nudging the carpenter while March groaned. 

Ryis nudged back, forgetting that drunken December excused nobody from her antics. She hopped up from her seat, a little wobbly before catching her balance, and began to noogie him.

“Uncle! Uncle!” he cried through his laughter, frantically patting his assailant’s arms.

“Yeah? What?” Landen called from the bar.

“No, not literally—“ The nephew heard an Oof! as December’s knuckles disappeared from his scalp, and turned around to see March trying to wrangle  the squirmy farmer back into her seat. ”Huh?!” Ryis reacted, thoroughly amused.

“Arm wrestle me, coward!”

“Why? What are you trying to prove?!”

“I just like winning,” March boasted, lifting her up over his shoulders like a damn sack of potatoes during the last word. “C’mere.”

Immediately at the bar, Hemlock, Terithia, Errol and Landen held their breath and winced, hoping someone was ready to catch the farmer should March drop her. They all recognized his strength, but had yet to see him lift someone — and this was with alcohol in him, no less.

“Unhand me, you cretin!”

“Hey, is that a good workout?” Olric asked his brother.

Immediately distracted by the question, March unceremoniously plopped back into his own spot, transitioning December into a bridal carry before setting her down in his lap in one fluid motion. The onlookers let out a sigh of relief before getting back to their conversation. 

December, whose heart raced at her partner’s show of strength, absentmindedly fidgeted with the pendant he wore around his neck while he responded, “Eh, I guess.”

“I should lift Merri.”

“What if you lift Merri,” December paused to swallow back what was either a hiccup or a burp — she couldn’t say which, “while Merri lifts something else? Like, a chair, or something.”

“Oh!” Olric snapped, wagging an approving finger towards the farmer. “I like that.” 

December tapped her head and winked in response. March tapped her head too, and knowing she’d attempt to bite his finger, retracted it before she could get the chance. She pouted and slumped herself against him. 

“Comfy?” Balor asked December. 

Yes. She could’ve fallen asleep right there, in spite of the inn’s volume; and March was much less hellbent on defeating his nemesis now, as he was more focused on how warm she was, how soft her hair felt as it brushed his bare bicep, and how adorable she looked curled up atop him with her cheek against his collar, so he wouldn’t be opposed to it.

She nodded confidently, her smile dopey and dreamy as she began shimmying further inward to lessen the space where her body ended and March’s started. Once she was situated, March reached around to the table and grabbed his beer. Just as he was about to take a sip, though, December stole it and took her own.

“You’re lucky you’re cute, ‘cause you’re being a real shit head right now.” 

“Hm?” December feigned innocence, “What do you mean?”

“Sharing is caring, bro,” Olric flicked March’s closest arm.

December happily hummed while swallowing another swig, “Mhm!” It was after this that March put a stop to her thievery. 

“You two should drink some water,” Ryis suggested into a sip of his own.

”You should drink—“

“My balls,” December cut March off. 

She really was on another level that night. Perhaps the sickly sweet desserts she shared with Celine and Eiland earlier, paired with the sugary drinks Hemlock had served them, wasn’t the best combination in the world. 

Regardless, it had been fun, and it made December funny, thus leading to March nearly spitting his beer onto her after hearing her disruptive words.

“Do you even have balls?” Ryis asked, hesitating halfway through the sentence, but finishing it nonetheless.

“Gigantic ones.”

Dell overheard this from near the cauldron, and immediately began to plan a new heist with the Dragonguard: one in which they’d sneak onto December’s farm to steal her gigantic balls, as Dell could only assume at her young age that December meant the beach balls her cows and sheep played with. She’d never seen them herself, but Celine had mentioned them in passing. 

The three agreed this would put their failed mission to snoop through Balor’s room to shame.

Olric was closest to them, and burst out laughing in the wake of their clumsy whispers. Balor patted him on the back when it turned into a cough, his own beer having mixed with his air. 

“Is this true?” Balor mused to March, giving Olric’s back one last hearty rub for good measure.

“They’re like boulders,” he nodded, “Never seen anything like ‘em.”

December snorted, hiding her face in the crook of March’s neck. He instinctively leaned his head atop hers. 

“I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Ryis admitted through his laughter, his eyebrows upturned, “You can never know for sure!”

“Why do you wanna know so much about my girl’s huge balls?” March accused, jabbing the air in the carpenter’s direction. 

December nuzzled him a bit to cope with being called his girl, as though it would rid her belly of its fluttering.

“Morbid curiosity.” 

Balor nodded in agreement with Ryis. 

Olric nodded too, but he didn’t care all that much. He was more interested in learning something new about his brother by proxy of this. Love is love, he figured, and whether or not December had colossal nuts didn’t matter to him as long as March was happy. 

“Alright, alright,” December giggled into her hand before lifting her face again to diffuse any potential genitalia allegations, “I don’t have balls.”

“Aw, crap!” Dell — who had begun eavesdropping again upon hearing Ryis’ speculations — whisper-yelled.

“Dell!” Maple gasped, “You can’t just say that!” 

“Gods, help me,” Olric doubled over, hearing the Dragonguard once again. He crossed his arms on the table and dipped his face into them, muffling his laughter.

This time, March and December both heard the kids and reacted similarly, folding in on each other as they often seemed to during nights like these. They didn’t even know the context — the pair simply thought that the interaction was silly. Balor, as usual, maintained a lopsided grin, his cool demeanor masking how hard he was struggling to not crack up.

Ryis couldn’t hear Dell, therefore he had no idea what was going on. He tilted his head at Balor in hopes for context, but the merchant simply shook his head. 

Damn. 

He used whatever the distraction was as an opportunity to go grab some glasses and a water pitcher from Hemlock, determined to look out for his friends.

__

The couple went on with their usual routine to get a head-start on sobering up — junk food and lots of water — before they both headed to December’s. It was a Friday, so they’d stayed out a bit later than they would on any other night at the inn, as most of the town tended to; regardless, they had no intention to separate, March happily following the farmer inside her home the moment she suggested he hang out for a while longer. 

Upon being greeted by Goose, December scooped him up and patted a few kisses to his head. Then, she held the cat out slightly, giving March a blank look until he caved and did the same — first to Goose, and then, to her surprise, to her. Still tipsy and overall just teaching himself to loosen up a bit around her, March didn’t care much about how grossly cute the action was. It felt strange, sure, but as December smiled up at him — Goose observing him too, with those buggy eyes of his, and still cradled in her arms — and tip-toed to give his cheek a kiss, he couldn’t help but be happy he did it.

He noticed in that moment how often something like that happened… him acting on impulse around her, and being rewarded for it, in a way. He didn’t know what to make of it.

They proceeded to sit on the couch with some more water, chatting for a while. December yapped about a cool moth she’d found the other night. If Errol’s enclosures weren’t so humane, she wouldn’t have had the heart to donate it, she admitted. Luckily, he makes them with the bugs‘ comfort in mind, so she knew it would be happy and that she could go see it whenever she wanted to. 

March all but melted while he listened to December continue to ramble on about bugs — something he never thought would happen, especially given how genuinely annoyed he was when Errol began accepting her critters as donations. Feeling the need to one-up her accomplishment in practically filling the entire museum all by herself, he bragged about an order he got from Dell to make a dragon-shaped belt buckle, and how well that was going in spite of the challenge. 

Similarly to March, December couldn’t help but swoon a little. When he got fired up, his eyes would twinkle like stars and his brows would furrow, like he was as determined as he was excited to simply dump all his knowledge about his craft onto whoever would listen. His passion was palpable. 

The two momentarily wondered, though, how he was going to get paid for this particular project. He’d cut Holt some slack if Dell didn’t contribute, but came to the conclusion that he really should’ve asked about that first.

December, while grabbing a much-needed pain killer, talked about how it took her far too long to realize that the best way to fight those rock-spewing assholes in the mines was to parry them, which is why she always had such scuffed swords. March, inviting her to lean against him when she arrived back, explained how upset Olric was that he got hit by those during his and December’s trip down there. He made it a point to lightly scold her too, for not being more careful with the fruits of her labor. 

He knew she didn’t enjoy forging her own equipment. He also knew she’d be damned if she ever purchased anything he made.

As they grew more weary, they’d begun to rely on one another to support each other’s weight, similarly to the last time they’d found themselves in this situation. Luckily, they had much less to worry about now, given how much closer they’d gotten from that night-onward. The lack of uncertainty was nothing short of a gift.

December’s body dragged lower and lower until she eventually had her head on the smith’s tummy. His own form had sunk far enough that his legs were barely even on the furniture anymore, so this was her best resting spot at the moment, really. March was also at an awkward angle, now, where he was half-laying back and half-leaning his weight onto his side, allowing them to easily look at each other while they tangled together.

He watched fondly as December fought sleep, doing her best to listen to his stories and stay coherent with her responses. He was convinced he was hiding his own weariness well, but December could see through the facade even in her barely-there state.

“Stay over?” she eventually mumbled, beginning to worry about his walk home. 

“Mmhn—“ he tried to answer — with what words, he had no clue — his head failing to stay entirely upright and his grip on December's thigh loosening.

She huffed a laugh through her nose, unable to help how cute she thought he was like this.

She reluctantly straightened before tugging his hand. “C’mon,” she insisted.

With a groan, March leaned up, and with some effort, they both stood tall. Goose had been on the cat tree beside them and got up as well, stretching and readying himself to follow them to bed.

December barely had it in her to change into pajamas, thus simply stripping herself of her bra and jeans before clamoring onto the mattress. March had no pajamas. Aside from a few baggy sweaters that it was far too warm for, none of the farmer’s clothes would fit him, so he found himself beside her in nothing but his boxer-briefs.

This was their first sleepover, the two simultaneously realized as Goose settled in with them. They’d had accidental naps together a small handful of times, but had yet to wake up side-by-side after a full night of rest. As December scooted back to be spooned, and March readily engulfed her in his arms, she smiled to herself, excited for how domestic this felt. How right it felt.

And as they woke up about eight hours later, having slept in until ten with their legs tied and heads foggy; as they took turns using December’s toothbrush, and then took an innocent shower together, washing their grogginess away; as March helped December harvest and water her crops, before getting started on breakfast while she released her animals to graze and frolic; March realized that this was exactly what he’d daydreamed of the last time he lingered here after a rowdy night at the inn.

Back then, he was worried by those thoughts. 

Back then, December rarely even had them — albeit, in her case, it was only because she never thought this would be possible, and didn’t want to get her hopes up for a future that didn’t exist. Her lacking daydreams about March were a defense mechanism, in a way.

Now, March welcomed his hopes and feelings, just as he welcomed his partner back inside, tugging her to stand between his arms as he topped their bowls of rice and greens with an egg each. 

Now, December welcomed such thoughts in the first place, especially as they sat on the bench she kept near Caldarus, sharing their meal and each other’s company beneath her fruit trees. She thought of what the future could bring. How many times they’d come to spend their earliest hours of the day together. Maybe they’d be each other’s people until the day they died, and grow old together, and make a routine of mornings just like this one.

She peeked up at March at that thought and was temporarily stunned, as though she’d looked at the sun itself. The rays that seeped through their leafy shade framed him perfectly, accentuating his warm undertones with a soft, welcoming light, similar to that of his forge’s fire. 

Feeling eyes on him, March reciprocated. On the opposite end of the spectrum entirely, he noticed how even in the shade, December seemed to glow. She was the moon, his beacon of light in the dark, with each smile and laugh that graced her face being a new phase in its cycle. She shifted phases then and there, and the tenderness in her eyes paired with the curve of her lips flustered March.

“What are you looking at?” he deflected, his cheeks warm. 

“Nothing much.”

“Oi,” he nudged her with a light elbow before scruffing up her hair.

“Oi yourself!” December laughed, lightly slapping his hand until he stopped. 

She promptly leaned against him once he’d settled down. March didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around her shoulders and rest his cheek into her scalp, his thumb rubbing circles on her shoulder in the meantime. 

Happily existing in silence, they took in nature’s song while they watched the distant river flow, December’s animals play, and the pink petals that wafted over from the cherry blossoms around town dancing in the breeze. They were cozy like this, but more importantly, they were cozy together.

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 5 - It's not so simple

Balor x fem reader Part 4

About a month had passed since you'd first moved to Mistria, and, during that time, you'd settled in a lot faster than you were expecting. The farm had begun to flourish - you'd cleared away most of the weeds and rubble, and you even had a steady stream of orders. At Adeline's request, you'd recently started working on a large order of timber to help repair the bridge, which had collapsed with the earthquake. While you did genuinely want to help and see the town flourish, part of you was also excited to get to work with Balor every day. Over the past month, you two had grown pretty close - you'd stop to chat about everything and anything almost every chance you got, and he'd visit your farm at least once a day, usually claiming to have business to of some sort to discuss. During your free time, you guys were almost always seen together - you'd hang out at the sleeping dragon inn together or take leisurely walks around Mistria's fields and historical sites while chatting idly. After every Friday night at the inn, he'd walk you home under a sky full of stars, just like on your second night in Mistria.

Of course, you'd adored every minute of it - you knew that you were just good friends and business partners, but that didn't stop your heart from leaping in your chest whenever he was around, or your gaze from lingering on his lips for just a moment longer when he spoke to you. Sometimes, you couldn't help but fantasize but what those lips might feel like against your own...

A soft knock on the door of your cottage interrupted your train of thought, and you heard Ryis speaking from outside.

"Y/N ? Is this a good time ?"

After taking a moment to collect yourself, you replied.

"Yes, please come on in !"

Before you could even get up from your chair to open the door, Ryis had already entered your cottage, a bag full of timber and various tools slung over his shoulder. He smiled at you as he set down the bag.

"I was thinking we could finally finish the bridge today, if that works for you ? The timber you provided should be more than enough,"

"Sure. I don't have anything else on today, and I've been looking forward to checking out that Saturday market,"

You met his smile with one of your own as you got up to gather your own tools, which were quite worn, but they'd been gifted to you by several of the townsfolk to help start you off with your farm, so you weren't about to complain.

Ryis nodded at you as you finished packing and opened the door so you could both head outside. All around you, the sky was completely cloudless and you could feel the warm sunlight caressing your skin. As you approached the bridge, Ryis spoke up.

"Hey, Y/N, I was thinking that we could potentially head to the market together when it returns ? I mean, just so I could show you around-". Ryis stopped mid sentence and met your gaze, his cheeks flushing slightly red.

"Hmm I think I already promised Balor I'd go with him, but you and I could definitely go another time. Or maybe we could all go together ?"

Disappointment flashed across Ryis' features, but he was quick to hide it with a pleasant smile.

"Yes, that sounds great,"

You felt your face heat up a little.

"Ok, we should probably get to work ... the bridge won't repair itself,"

You both took out saws and started working in companionable silence to replace the damaged timber with new one. After a while, Ryis spoke again.

"You know, you're shaping up to be a really good carpenter. The one thing that I'd say is that you'll use less energy if you hold your saw like this," he adjusted your grip on the saw gently with warm, calloused hands to show you how to hold it. Blushing, you realised you were suddenly standing close enough to smell him the scent of soap and timber was overpowering your senses. You mentally kicked yourself for being so stupid - he was just showing you how to hold your saw, it's not like it meant anything-

"Hey, Y/N !" as soon as you heard that familiar deep voice call your name, you jumped up, almost dropping your saw. It was a good thing that Ryis was still holding onto it.

Trying to calm your heart down, you turned around to face Balor.

"What's up ?"

"I need a hand carrying some of the stuff in your shipping bin to my wagon. It kinda needs to be done now as I'll be leaving to meet a supplier soon,"

You thought back to what was in your shipping bin - mostly tulips, daffodils and some leftover timber and stone. It was a little heavy, but you'd seen him lugging around way heavier packages. Still, you weren't about to pass up an opportunity to spend time with Balor.

"Sorry Ryis, looks like I won't be able to help you after all," You gave him your most apologetic smile as you packed up your tools and started heading in Balor's direction. Ryis smiled back.

"It's not a problem, make sure to call me if you guys need a third,"

"We'll figure it out," Balor replied as you two started heading off. Despite the relaxed smile on his face, his voice almost sounded... tense ? Maybe you'd imagined it.

***

It took only around ten minutes to help Balor load his wagon. The entire time, he kept up a stream of easy chatter about current events in Mistria and all the crazy thing's he'd encountered while travelling that week. After finishing, you closed your shipping bin and gave him a small smile.

"I should probably head back and finish helping Ryis with the bridge,"

A Balor's eyes flashed with something you couldn't decipher before he replied.

"Best of luck. You'll do great things here. But, Y/N, don't forget you promised that first trip to the market to me," he smirked playfully before he got inside his wagon, driving off before you'd had a chance to even process what he'd said.

It had been a casual enough statement, as had Ryis' invitation earlier. So why did they both feel so ... intense ?

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