Yes! First Harvest Moon one-shot! And of one of my favorite HM couples EVER! This is from HM: MAGICAL MELODY. It is probably my favorite HM game along with Another Wonderful Life. The characters in MM make the game, and since there are so many and they are so diverse, it really makes for a great storytelling game. Especially when it comes to romance ;) My favorite man to marry is Doctor Alex, but that is another story for another time. This one-shot is all about Ray and Maria.
The match-up of the fisherman and the librarian was so different but worked so well. I really wish we could have seen it develop more in the game. Oh, if only dreams came true! So, yes, this is what this story focuses on. In the future I will like to do one-shots about Jamie, Tina and Alex, Eve and Dan, Anne and Blue...well, basically the whole village XD

Disclaimer: If I did own this game, this would have been a cutscene.

"I-I'm so, so sorry-"

"It's all right - ow! Don't tug on it so hard!"

"I didn't mean - I mean, I didn't think you were behind me."

"I am partly to blame for this...I didn't mean to surprise you."

"No! No, you didn't surprise me; I just thought I was alone."

If anything could have happened to make me feel like a bumbling idiot, it would be this.

I could never act normal when I was near her. I would panic and run off or just stand there mumbling. Of course, the one time I thought I was safe (casting my line just as the sun began to rise) was the one time she decided to take an early morning stroll.

To make a long story short: Maria, apparently, was going to ask me something when I whipped my line behind me and hooked her dress. I'm just thankful that she yelled at me before I had the chance to swing my arm forward - that would have been disastrous.

"I'm sorry," I hear her whisper. I watch her fiddle with the fish hook before mustering up a reply.

"...Don't be."

I know. Clever. A regular Don Juan. No matter how much he gets on my nerves, I envy Dan's social skills, even if they are mostly devoted to skirt-chasing. I never had the knack for knowing the right thing to say, especially to females. Women are so foreign. Fish are...simpler.

I sneak a glance at Maria's face. She is smiling.

"If it is any consolation," Maria says, "you have a very strong arm."

...Was that a compliment?

I think it was.

The mayor's daughter -pretty, intelligent, kind-hearted Maria- was complimenting a wandering fisherman who had a bad habit of drifting from town to town.

Blood immediately rushes to my face, turning it crimson.

"Uh, thanks." I try to busy myself with the hook that stubbornly refuses to remove itself from the black fabric of her dress.

Damn.

It is at that point I feel compelled to compliment her back. I say the first thing that comes to mind. "You have nice...lips."

I could slap myself. You have nice LIPS?

My face grew hotter when I heard her giggle. She quirks an eyebrow, teasing. "'Nice lips?'"

"Er, well, ya know...for a girl..." I try to backtrack, "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with girls' lips; your lips are fine! I mean-"

Her giggles burst in to laughter. It sounds like a melody, or the sound of Lyla's chimes clanging together whenever there is a breeze.

Oh God, how corny was that!

"I understand, Ray," she reassures me. She stills, making it easier to pry the hook out, or it was easier until she wrapped her hands around mine and maneuvered my fingers gingerly. (Insert gulping and blushing and overall shakiness here.) Together we manage to finally free her from that stupid hook. Ah, relief! This whole hook crisis has finally been dealt with.

"Oh dear," Maria says under her breath. She is examining the damage left from the hook: a rather large tear that neared the hem of her sleeve. Ruined. The guilt rushes back again.

Maria observes it for another moment and then shrugs passively. "Well, I can always buy a new one."

I rub the back of my neck. "I'm sorry about your dress. I could pay you for it-"

"Don't talk such foolishness." Her lips turn in to a smirk. "Your compliments are more than enough."

If I turn any more redder, I'll look like the Blue Sky Ranch's tomatoes! "Yeah, I'm not that good with, uh, words."

The smirk fades into a gentle smile, the one I have come to associate with her name every time I heard it. "I think you're wonderful."

I'm unsure of how to reply. "...Huh?"

"Mr. Fisherman...Ray..." Her tone is softer, shyer. Her brown eyes glisten as they look up at mine. "I can honestly say that you have reeled me in."

The lame pun catches me off-guard, and just as I'm about to burst out in to laughter, she stands up on her tip-toes and presses her lips against my cheek. She lingers for a few moments before pulling away. My only reaction is cup the cheek she kissed with my hand. And blush. But by now you should see that I do that around the woman a lot.

"Why did you do that?" I ask impulsively.

She smiles. "You said I had nice lips."

My eyes widen, watching her unfaltering smile broaden as she steps back and walks down the wharf.

She is about to step onto the sand when I suddenly yell her name. She meets my eyes before I can get out the last syllable.

"Do you...do you want to go for a walk sometime?"

Her face practically glows as she shouts back a "yes." We trade a time and a meeting place before she runs back to the library.

I sit down on the edge of wharf. The sky is brightening, my line is set, and there are shadows of fish close by. Yet, for some odd reason, I can't focus on what's on the end of my line - I can only think about the librarian.

There you go! Hope you enjoyed it! :)