Chapter Text
Antoine is on his tea break when you enter the Commerce Guild building. He's sitting on the sofa, sipping his cup as he signals you to sit by his side as he nods at the teapot, indicating you to help yourself.
"Just five more minutes and I'll be all yours."
"Thank you."
You snuffle through your stuffed nose. Drinking something warm will help your sore throat.
"Whoa, you sound terrible," he chuckles. "Early spring weather is always wild. It's hard if you're not used to it."
"Yeah. That and a the holes in my roof. Need to fix them as soon as possible if I wanna rest properly at night."
You even have a slight temperature. But you have places to go and things to do, a measly cold isn't going to stop you.
"Say, Carly. Would you mind if I drink from your cup?"
"What?" You blink, and bend your neck closer to him. Perhaps you've heard him wrong. "Why would you want to do that?"
"I need to borrow some of your germs, that's all."
What the fuck? What the actual fuck? You let him finish your drink anyway, whatever he does to his health, it doesn't affect you even though you don't understand it.
You would do it a month later.
Arlo wasn't the first guy that caught your eye when you first arrived at Portia. It was Xu. Antoine wasn't your friend, but you liked him enough to be sickened at the idea of being a piece of trash to him and steal his crush. You were just a newcomer and he was there first, and so you forgot about the cute doctor.
God you aren't even into ginger guys that much, but there you are thinking of him again while you cut that tree. You feel like floating, as you imagine yourself running your hand through his auburn locks. You know it's dangerous and you need to focus, but you can't help it.
You never understood why people cared so much about their dumb crushes until you got a dumb crush yourself.
The Civil Corps jog past your window almost every morning and you wonder if you can ever stop staring. You sit by the window eating your cereal. Arlo goes first, then Sam and then Remmington. You follow him with your head and eyes as he passes by, oblivious of having an audience. A sigh escapes your lips. This dumb crush is turning you dumb.
You catch yourself wondering again how it would feel like to kiss him. You've never kissed a man with beard and you can't help wondering if it feels different. Will it tickle? Will it scratch? Are his lips soft? You sip your first coffee of the day, wishing you could find out. Then you get up and leave everything in the sink. You don't have time to wash up and those commissions aren't gonna build themselves.
"Do you wanna sit down with me?"
Antoine's voice startles you. He's sitting on the grass, back leaning on the concrete Wall behind the tree. Doctor Xu is sitting on a nearby bench, Reading a book.
"What a strange place to sit down," you say.
"Yeah. But with you next to me I look less of a weirdo. Don't you think?" You stare at him.
"Now we look like a pair of weirdos!"
The comment makes him giggle.
"We do indeed."
"Anyway, how was your day?" You ask.
"Average. But it has improved a lot since I came here, thank you for asking. Yours?"
"Average too."
"Well, you just have in front of you the most perfect man in the world. That would certainly make anyone's day better."
You look at Xu, not even understanding why did you find him cute at first. Sure, he isn't ugly but he pales in comparison to Arlo.
"He's all right."
And Antoine looks at you as if you were crazy. He shakes his head.
"I could sit here all day watching him and never get tired," he coos.
Is it creepy wanting to do the same with Arlo? Probably, but you don't know if you want to cross that line. Imagining it is nice though. He probably trains a lot and you would love to watch that. Antoine is even eager to catch everyone's colds if that means he can see the doctor.
You lowkey think about going to the Hazardous Ruins and get in trouble just to be rescued by him. It works in your head. He'd run to you, sword in hand, slashing every monster he sees until he reaches you. Then he asks you if you're fine, takes you in his arms and runs out of there. You give him a thank you kiss. He tastes nice. He smells nice and you finally discover that his lips are soft and his beard tickles.
Unfortunately... In real life something very different would happen. You'd probably get told off, and Arlo's opinion of you would drop. And nope, your heart aches at the idea of that happening.
You decide not to be an idiot. And perhaps Antoine also needs a distraction. The faint music from the restaurant reaches them from there.
"Sounds like people at the Round Table are having fun. Wanna go?" You ask.
Antoine stares at Xu one las time.
"Sure. Why not?"
"I'll have that one!" You shout, as you sprint through the Commerce Guild hall to grab the commission before Higgins does.
He huffs, annoyed at the sight of you.
"Of course you have to hog the best paid works," he spits. "And why is Presley not keeping an eye on you?"
You hear him walk away mumbling something, but you don't care. You have Arlo's commission. He wants three more dummies and you're willing to provide them. In fact, you're going to create the most amazing dummies ever just for Arlo. He's going to love them...
"I see you got my commission."
The voice makes you heart skip a beat. You step back, bumping against Antoine's neck. Arlo is next to her, carrying a panbat in his hand.
"Yes!" You exclaim, your voice too squeaky.
All your body feels so tingly it's disgusting.
"You sound excited."
"Oh." You swallow thickly. "I was just thinking about improving the dummy recipe. You know... I've been inspired lately, yeah. I saw your commission and it had to be mine. It's the perfect excuse to experiment."
"I'm glad," he smiles. God, why does he have to do that right now? "If you succeed, I'm willing to order a few for the Corps."
Your knickers are wet now. Yikes.
"I'd love to be of help!"
Arlo nods.
"And now, if you'll excuse me, I must go back to deal with the panbat infestation in the attic."
You're happy and annoyed that he's gone at the same time. Behind you, Antoine is staring at you all wide-eyed, a mischievous smile on his face.
"You like him! You like Captain Arlo! Oh my god!"
Well, fuck.
You bring your index to your lips, praying that he hasn't heard it.
It was the day Huss and Tuss knocked on your door to collect your alleged father's debt when you fell for him. You were already up and waiting for them to show up when you opened the curtains to check if they were coming. Arlo was there. You cocked an eyebrow, surprised to see him here. Time seemed to freeze as you stared at each other. Then he smiled, winked and you smiled back. Everything was going to be okay, he seemed to say.
Then someone knocked the door, you opened and saw those two guys in front of you. Two seconds later Arlo appeared and they ran away. He didn't need to draw his sword, they just pissed themselves at the sight of him.
"Wow."
That had been a sight to behold.
You feel like a creep sitting there on top of that hill, watching how Arlo grooms his horse outside the Corps HQ. You want to stop but you don't know how. You just... Crave his presence. It's so difficult to resist it's annoying.
Antoine is coming, you wonder how he knew you were there.
"You have a commission due in two days," he reminds you. "Stop looking at the captain for a second."
You know he's joking, but he's right.
"Yeah, all under control. I just need to finish polishing some marble and I'm done."
"Do you wanna join Portia stalkers club?" Antoine asks you.
"Who's in it?" You reply.
He shrugs.
"Just me so far, but don't tell me you wouldn't make a good addition."
From that hill you have a perfect view of Arlo. He's brushing his horse's mane. You wish you could hear what he's saying.
"Get me in."