Disclaimer: Harvest Moon (and any familiar characters and settings) belongs to Natsume.

Quiet.

The house was quiet. Save for the rhythmic hum of the radiator and the occasional fit of giggles emitting from just beyond Jillian's bedroom door. Her home was quiet. For once, in what seemed like years, Candace found herself at somewhat of a loss.

Her home was never this quiet.

Tucking a strand of her baby blue hair behind her ear neatly, Candace tried to focus on her knitting and not the overwhelming sense of loneliness that accompanied such silence. Despite her vain attempt, her attention was again drawn to the soft laughter that rang throughout the otherwise soundless house.

It was almost uncomfortable. She'd grown up as a quiet girl, reserved. She never had spoken more than she needed to, at least, until he came along. He was like a whirlwind of noise, seemingly incapable of shutting up. And, admittedly, at first she disliked him for it. She disliked that he switched up her everyday normalcy with his rambunctious behavior. She disliked that one person could have made such an impact on her life as he did.

Candace pursed her lips and set the multicolored scarf she'd been knitting on the table resting beside the sofa. She used to thrive in the quiet, her work would have been at her best, but now all she could focus on was the strangeness that followed.

She wasn't sure what to make of it exactly.

Before she could ponder any longer, the front door busted open abruptly, the sight of a disgruntled man jolting her out of her thoughts. Candace suppressed a smile, taking in her husband's rugged appearance. The smile fell when she realized that his mud encrusted boots would be trampling all over her new carpet. "Not a step more, Mister. Boots off."

He offered her a crooked smile, azure hair falling into his aged eyes, but he complied and slid his work boots off of his feet. He allowed them to fall to the floor with a thud before turning his attention completely to her.

It was sound. His eyes crinkling with delight as he observed her. It screamed, it kicked, and it played a resounding beat from within her chest. And it surely wasn't quiet.

A/N: I've been suffering from withdrawals, thus I bring you this! Seriously, though, it feels like I haven't written anything about Candace and Luke in forever. So, this will be a bunch of unrelated drabbles/short stories/one-shots about them. Anything that springs to mind, really.

Thanks for reading and as always, enjoy! (: