“You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”- James x Bismark
thank you for the prompt! i apologize for the lateness
Rune Factory Ficlet
James/Bismark Pre-Relationship
SFW
Between the summer heat, and the fact that he had foregone eating for the day in lieu of tending the shop, Bismark was feeling the effects of his decisions. Tourism in the town had spiked, and he’d found himself three times as busy as usual, with of course no help from Sierra. Throughout the day, he fought to stay upright, pushing through his fatigue and light-headedness until the day wound down into a lull and he could finally breathe for a moment. He considered closing the shop down for an hour, so he could take lunch, but just as he was thinking it, the bell above his door rang and another customer came walking through the door.
“Good afternoon,” he called, looking to the customer. It was James, and he felt his stomach do a flip, like it always did when the other man was near. He couldn’t help but turn into a stuttering mess around James, and the knowledge of why made his cheeks turn pink and his heart clench.
“Good afternoon, Bismark,” James said casually. “How’s business?”
“B-busy,” Bismark stuttered. James nodded and smiled, and Bismark’s pulse picked up pace.
“If it’s not too much trouble,” James said, pointing to a jar on the top shelf, “could you get this down for me?”
“O-of course,” Bismark said, grabbing his step stool. His head swam for a moment as he bent, but he regained himself and pulled the stool to the shelf. He managed to get up just fine, but on his way down, the world tipped, and he felt himself fall, while the world went dark around him. When he came to, he was on the ground, James’ arms around him, shaking him gently.
“What...what happened?” Bismark asked.
“What happened? You fainted...straight into my arms. You know if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes,” James teased. Bismark turned red, sitting up too fast and feeling the world spin around him.
“Hey, hey, careful now,” James said, placing an arm around Bismark’s back. “Are you okay? Do I need to take you to see Violet?”
“No, no, I-I’m fine. Just need to eat something,” Bismark said. He felt his face burning at the contact, wishing that he could truly stay in James’ arms.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m taking you out to lunch. My treat. And I’ll hear no different,” James said, helping Bismark to his feet.
“You don’t have to--”
“I said, I’ll hear no different,” James interrupted. He winked at him, and Bismark felt himself melt.
“Okay, I guess I can’t argue with that.”
“Nope, you can’t. Now, lets go get some food in you.”
