How To Fall From Grace [MxM]

Step 6: Fall off a horse, again (pt. 2)

"As I promised, my Lord."

Frey studied the supplies laid out around him. It must have taken a lot of time just to wash all the mud and leaves off, yet he seemed to have been tending to her wounds for a while.

"How did you pull her up from there?" he asked, and Marius pointed further into the stables at one of the other stalls where a large, black and white horse was standing.

"I had Sweeps help me," he said. "Don't worry about the name, it's not one of yours."

Frey fought the urge to smile at that. Instead he glanced out the window at the dark sky.

"I have to imagine you don't usually work this late. I'm certain the stable master would be happy to take over."

"That's a generous offer, my Lord." Marius still didn't look at him, to Frey's growing annoyance. "But I'm better suited for these particular tasks, and Master Reimar gets up earlier in the morning than me."

Frey had to scoff.

"Better suited than a stable master? That's quite disrespectful, don't you think?"

"Just the truth." Marius turned to soak another rag in a bucket of water. "Master Reimar is aware, and Lord Hargreaves is aware. My guess is I was hired because of that."

Frey was not supposed to inquire. He wasn't even supposed to care. The backstory of someone like Marius was of little relevance to him, and therefore useless.

"Because you can clean a wound?" he still asked before his voice of reason could stop him. "I like to think the stable master could do that as well."

Marius paused to draw a breath, possibly planning for a deep sigh, but he ended up releasing it slowly and continuing with his work, having moved on to Tea For Two's injured leg.

"I worked in a mine before. In charge of the horses."

Frey scrunched up his nose. He'd always hated the idea of horses underground, and from what he'd heard it was about as bad as he imagined. His father had refused to sell horses to North Kerilia specifically because of their mines. Perhaps it was a necessary evil, but Frey preferred not to think about it still.

"And I suppose those horses had a tendency to get injured."

"They were lucky if they lasted more than four years." Marius' tone was grave, and Frey pressed his lips together. "Did the best I could though."

As Marius turned to reach for a small bowl, Frey noticed the scratch marks on his face from when he'd fought him, and that inconvenient, sinking feeling that he only seemed to have around Marius grabbed hold of him.

He wouldn't apologise, he promptly decided. Marius had grabbed him without permission, despite Frey having informed him before that it was strictly forbidden. His intentions had been good, but that didn't change anything.

"Well then, it seems you know what you're doing." Frey readied himself to leave, a little disappointed he wouldn't get to talk to Tea For Two, but his pride kept him from it. "I'll come by to check on her tomorrow."

"Lord Clausson?" Marius said when Frey turned around, and while the latter kept beating himself up for humouring him, he still allowed him to continue.

"I've... Done some thinking, regarding earlier, and... Before that as well." Marius finally turned his head, but his gaze was lowered to the floor. "And I want to apologise."

Frey had not expected it, but it was also something he didn't mind so he let Marius continue.

"I've never had any intention to offend you, so you know." Marius shrugged awkwardly. "Yet I seem to do so all the time, so... I figure I just don't understand how to act around you. I guess I haven't interacted enough with the other lords to have learned how different our social languages are."

"Clearly."

"So, yeah, I want to apologise for not knowing, and... I want to clarify that when I tried to save you from falling the other day, it really was just because I didn't want you to get hurt. Same when I asked about your health before, and while I know you didn't like it, I grabbed you to bring you back because I... Care about your well-being. From what you said back then, it seems you're under the impression that I'm trying to humiliate you, but I don't do it to be snarky or to get something out of it. I was raised to care about people, and to show it. Because it's nice when people care." Marius sighed through his nose. "But the upper class is more about appearances, and I guess I understand that being grabbed by someone like me, or being vulnerable by talking about your health, is beneath you. I also should have realised that my attempts to lighten up situations by joking just come across as disrespectful."

Frey had gotten the apology he'd wanted. He'd managed to get the message across, and Marius finally understood the difference in their social classes, but it didn't feel right. Not when it was said out loud.

"We're not just about appearances. We care about each other, we just—" He cut his sentence short. He didn't have to explain himself to a servant. "... Well, either way, I'm glad you finally understand, and I accept your apology."

Marius bowed his head slightly before turning back to Tea For Two.

"That's a relief to hear, my Lord."

Frey still lingered, despite not wanting to.

"Stable boy."

Marius looked at him again, eyebrows wrinkled as if readying himself for whatever new insults Frey had come up with.

"You... Brought Tea For Two back, as you promised." He couldn't believe himself. "You've stayed past your workday to tend to her, and despite the horrendous amount of disrespect, you made certain I was out of danger as well."

He stared into Marius' eyes, begrudgingly.

"Thank you."

Marius looked genuinely stumped, but he soon found his words again.

"You're... Welcome, my Lord."

That time as he turned back, Frey was certain he could see a vague smile on his lips. It was a comfort, no matter how he tried to deny it.

"That does not mean you have permission to touch me in the future, so you know."

Marius' wide, eye-crinkling smile finally returned, and he raised his eyebrows.

"So no daily hugs then?"

Frey stared at him, eyes narrowing.

"On the off chance that you're serious, then no."