Title: Awkward Grace

Pairing(s): Akari/Luke, All other Canon pairings for Tree of Tranquility

Genre: Romance/General

Status: Chapter Fic~ IN-PROGRESS

Rating: T+ (subject to change)

Author: ChibiRaccoon

Summary: Falling in Love with your Best Friend is never Easy.

Disclaimer: None of the characters or any of Harvest Moon belong to me. That's Natsume's property.

~AWKWARD GRACE~

Chapter 1: Best Friends

...

...

...

The brunette buried her face into her green plaid pillow in futile attempt to block out the morning beams that filtered through the olive-trim curtains. Chickens crowed their morning greetings from the coop, spring songbirds chirping gratitude to the early sun. The sounds of a new day on Waffle Island could be heard in the calm of the small house.

The silence was soon destroyed however by the alarm on the bedside table as it began to scream. Akari Hanazono's mussed head shot up with a shriek, revealing bleary eyes and rumpled pj's.

"SHUT-UP!" She screeched at the object, taking it in hand and hurling it across the room. It gave one last meek shriek before quieting.

"Stupid alarm." Akari grumbled, slipping her feet to the floor. Scratching her head, she stretched her body, clad in chick print tank and shorts before heading for the kitchen.

Akari lived in her small house alone, running a farm. She had arrived in Waffle Island only two months ago when she had decided to leave the city she had grown up in. Since the third day of Spring, she had been working hard to make the contemptible forsaken land into a beautiful rich field of crops and livestock. Though it had been a rough start, that included many hungry nights, Akari was able to get on her feet and start making a meager profit from crops and chickens.

Her still-sleepy form placed a large pot of water on the stove and set it to boil. Though the town had waterheaters for homes, the Caramel River District that Akari's home resided in had been uninhabited before her appearence and so a water heater was still a ways away for her. Instead she would boil water for the tub that sat in the corner of the house with a white curtain adorned with green and yellow leaves around it.

Akari took a quick bath, silently wishing she could have a shower with steaming water instead. As she towel-dryed her short hair, she smiled. She knew that if she wanted to take a shower she could just run up the hill to Bagel Carpentry. In the small time she'd been here, she had become good friends with the three residents there.

Her face grew warm at the thought of the carpenters apprentice and she shook her hid to rid herself of any thoughts of him.

With rucksack on back, boots on her feet, and dressed simply in blue t-shirt and denim shorts, Akari set out to do her chores for the morning.

The four chickens she owned were energetic that morning. She collected their eggs with pleasure before setting them out in the pasture for the day. Her potato plants were flourshing she noticed as she watered them. Only another day or so before harvesting which would be good for the farm. With this harvests profits she would have enough saved to purchase a cow calf. Milk was worth a lot more than eggs.

Once finished with her daily routine, Akari grabbed her axe from where it had been stuck headfirst in the woodpile. Though she told herself she was going tree chopping for lumber, she knew she couldn't really fool herself from the true reason. (end chap with this.)

As she headed for the Ganache Mine District, Akari let her gaze sweep over the view of the Caramel River District.

It really was a lovely sight. The grass grew high but even in a vibrant verridean. Logs and boulders littered the land in a myriad of places, yet added charm. Caramel River cut through the plain, splitting it in two as it gently flowed into ocean. Rabbits could be seen hopping through tall weeds, birds sweeping in for water. The sun shimmered brightly today, gilding all that it reached. Akari smiled as she walked up the path to the carpenters.

When the yard came into view, she saw sandy hair atop a pale face. Akari waved to Bo, the younger of the apprentices, as he gathered long pieces of wood together. The young boy smiled from beneath a peppering of freckles, waving back and pointing up the road to Praline Woods.

"Thanks!" Akari called out, taking the right turn at the fork. Even without his gesturing, Akari knew that if the person she was searching out hadn't been in the shop, then he was most assuredly in the forest, practicing his technique. She could already hear the loud hacking of wood and her heart gave a skip.

'Calm down Akari.' she scolded herself. 'You're just here to get some more wood for the farm. For the FARM.'

Gripping her axe tighter and willing the heat that rose to her cheeks to vanish, Akari stepping in view of a young man expertly swing an axe at a large tree.

He was tall. A young man built lean and muscular with sharp angles. Muscles could be seen tightning on exposed arms. A tight white beater shirt under an open rust vest revealed toned stomach and chest. Silver blue hair spiked from beneath a flaming bandanna, almost covering a side of his face. His eyes, Akari's favorite feature, a shimmering cat-like amber, were focused on the task at hand. With a bandage strip across his nose and mouth set stubbornly, Akari decided to keep her distance, if only to watch his face longer.

She could see the indention in the tree and seeing the man's face twist in anticipation, she knew the end wasn't too far off.

"Alright!" He shouted with a final swing, digging the head of the axe deep into the wood. There was a creak and a moan. The two watched with bated breath as the tree swayed before leaning.

Cupping a hand around her mouth, "Timber!" Akari shouted out. A loud earth-splitting bang was heard at the tree made contact with the ground. Akari wobbled in place.

"Nice job Luke!" She yelled once she was steady. Amber flashed at her.

"Akari!" She laughed as he sped to her, grasping her waist into a bear hug and lifting her off her feet.

"Hey Akari! Did you see? Did you see how awesome that was?" Luke was like a kid when it came to cutting down trees. He was good at it and he didn't need anyone to tell him otherwise. Akari shook her head at him.

"Why do I even bother trying?" She laughed as he put her down. "I should just have you cut all my lumber for me."

Luke flashed a large smile at her. "But then you'd never get better and we wouldn't be able to have a tree chopping contest!"

"Don't you have Bo?"

A slight pout formed on the young man's face. "He's too slow."

Akari raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe you're just too fast." She stooped to pick some herbs from the ground.

"I know. I'm awesome like that."

Giggling, the brunette glanced at him over her shoulder. "I didn't say all that. Actually, I wasn't even complimenting you."

Luke joined her in foraging, white teeth flashing. "It's okay to be jealous Akari. You know I understand."

"Goddess! Have you always been this vain?"

Another smile. "No. Just awesome."

The two erupted into laughter. Akari loved this the most about Luke. He was such an easy-going guy who's favorite thing in the world was to laugh. Nothing kept Luke down for long. Wherever he went, he went with a smile. Whatever he did, he did it beaming. He was like the sun, still shining through the clouds. Even though there were rainy days, there was always the promise of tomorrow creeping right behind. Even when Akari had been at her lowest, Luke had been there, helping with just the smile he always wore. It made the first month of reviving the farm bearable and whenever she would be on the point of death by malnutrition, Luke would show up and drag her to the Sundae Inn for lunch.

Akari had finished gathering herbs when Luke turned to her. "Hey, wanna come with me to deliver some tables to the general store? We can stop for lunch on the way back!"

Though slightly embarrassed to admit it, Akari was feeling hungry from forgetting to eat breakfast. It also didn't help that Luke had seemed to discover that the way to her heart was through food. He merely but had to mention food and she would be geared up for whatever sort of mischeif he wanted her to take part in.

"Fine. But you're paying." She haughtily replied. He barked a laugh. He always paid.

"Race ya to the shop!"

"I'm not running with an axe Luke."

"So just put it down here. No one will take it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Just stick it somewhere. No worries!" Having said that, he flung his into a tree nearby.

Akari hesitated, but at Luke's insistance she pulled up the axe and was about to swing when Luke shouted.

"No! Not like that! You might hurt somebody!" He ran over to her. Akari glared at him.

"You could hurt someone no matter which way you throw one!" She retorted. Luke seemed to pause in thought before grinning sheepishly. "Heh. Okay. That may be right."

"That is right." she countered triumphantly. Luke scratched his head, grinning.

"So how about that race?"

Akari set her axe at the base of the tree where Lukes resided and then dusted her hands off on her shorts. "Okay." I'm ready."

Luke rubbed Akari's head, ignoring her protests before sticking his tongue out and racing off.

"LUKE!" Akari took off after a moment. "NO FAIR!"

Howling in elation, Luke looked back at Akari. She noticed how easily running came to him with envy. "All's fair in love and war!"

Akari blushed. "This isn't either of those Luke!" She managed to squeak out.

Another instant where Luke had to pause to think of the fact. "True... But it doesn't change a thing! Scrawny legs like yours can't beat me!"

"Wha-? SCRAWNY!"

"Yeah! Scrawny!"

Akari felt the words roared in her ears. 'I'LL SHOW YOU SCRAWNY!'

Though it was true that she had never been anything like a marathon runner, it didn't mean that Akari couldn't be speedy. Luke may have been fast but he was underestimating her and wasn't trying. She would use that to her advantage. When he turned his face forward again, Akari threw every ounce of energy into her legs. They pumped harder, her feet pounding the ground. She could see the back of his flyaway hair as it waved in the air getting closer and she shut her eyes and pushed herself harder.

Sweat poured down her face and her lungs began to protest against the excercise but Akari was determined to beat Luke.

Opening her eyes, she was happy to see that she could reach out and touch the back of Lukes shirt. And that was exactly what she did.

Grabbing a fistful of the vest, Akari tugged roughly. Golden eyes wide with shock, he let out a yelp as he skidded to the ground.

"HAHA! Take that!" She sneered, jumping over him and bounding forward to claim victory.

"AKAAAAARIII!"

The farmer giggled into her hand when she burst through the carpentry's front door in a rush, Luke's whine echoing.

Dale, Luke's father and mentor to both him and Bo, looked up from where he and the freckled fifteen-year old were sanding chairs.

"Mornin' to you too Akari." Dale spoke out gruffly. He was a big man, muscular with big belly and all. His long hair, that he kept tied back, was a darker shade than Luke's. He was fair though he was known to be hard on Luke. He tried not to show his softer side too often.

He stroked his bushy mustache as Akari gave a cheesy wave and sidestepped from the door just in time for his tornado of a son to blast through.

"Akari! That was cheating!" Luke scanned the room, eyes shifting down in confusion as he wondered where the girl was. Incredulous, Akari had to stifle a laugh from her spot behind him. Apparantly Luke hadn't noticed her position by the door from running in too fast. Bo smacked a hand to his forehead and Dale just sighed and shook his head.

Akari tiptoed to Luke's back. "BOO!" She screamed, leaping up onto him. The blue-haired carpenter jumped and yelled as he tried to balance the two of them. This proved unsuccessful as the two went tumbling to the ground.

A few squeaks of laughter broke away from Bo. Luke and Akari joined in. Dale grumbled something that sounded a lot like, "Kids." and went into the back room.

"I didn't even see you." Luke confessed.

Akari stuck her tongue out at him. "Because I'm awesome like that." She responded in a poor imitation of his voice.

Bo chuckled quietly. "She sounded just like you Luke."

"No way!" Luke looked at the boy. "I sound way cooler than that."

"Was he always this vain?" Akari asked Luke's fellow carpenter.

Bo shook his head. "He's just showing off in front of you."

"Hey!"

Akari cast a conspiratorial glance at Luke. "Too bad it's not working."

"Hey!"

"Did you know that he still has the proverbial security blanket?" Bo asked with a tortured face.

"Hey!"

"Security blanket?" Akari looked like she was enjoying herself.

"Hey come on!"

Bo's very blue eyes were gleaming. "His bandanna. He can't go anywhere without it and the only way he can sleep is if it's beside him."

Akari had to bite her lip when she looked at Luke's face. The man was glaring at Bo with crimson cheeks. The glint in his eyes seemed to be promising much punishment in the future but Bo ignored him spectacularly.

The awkward atmosphere was broken by Dale who had returned. He looked at the three and sighed. "Luke, take them tables to Barbara and Simon before you into trouble."

"Yeah pops." Luke stood up and went to grab the mentioned items. Dale turned to his younger apprentice, fighting the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"It isn't right to tease him about that in front of his friend boy."

When Akari first met Bo, she had honestly thought him to be a shy quiet type. In the time she had come to know them, she would realize that Bo was very much that type, except around his mentor and Luke. The boy had a mischeivous streak so long as it didn't interfere with his respondsibilities. Akari watched in wonder as Bo apologized to Dale and then to Luke when he returned hoisting two beautiful sand-wood tables in each hand.

Akari jumped to her feet. "Need help?" She asked, already reaching for one. Luke pulled them from her reach with a cheeky smile.

"Nah. Come on. Let's go. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can eat."

Akari face brightened. "Yeah! Let's go!"

Dale and Bo watched the two leave.

"Wanna bet on which one admits it first?" Bo offered nonchalantly. Dale huffed and stepped back inside.

"Ten bucks on Akari."

...

...

...

"Here you go guys!" Maya, the waitress at the Sundae Inn exclaimed happily. She put two plates down in front of her patrons. "Buckwheat noodles for Akari." The peppy blonde nearly dropped the bowl as she handed it to the farmer. "And Luke gets chicken and spinach soup!" She was careful this time and managed to only spill a little of the food on the tablecloth.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'll clean it up!" She offered but Akari was quick to assure her that they didn't mind. Smiling, the waitress returned to the kitchen with a skip in her step while Akari and Luke traded sheepish looks.

"I always worry that one day she's going to trip and somehow a plate of something boiling hot is going to land on my head." Akari confided as she slurped up noodles. Luke laughed.

"I remember when Chase first came here to study under Yolanda." He chuckled. "She was trying to make him admit that she could be a cook too so she made some sorta casserole. Problem is that she wasn't supposed to use the oven and when she pulled it out of the oven, Chase walked in with Yolanda."

Akari groaned. "Don't tell me. She slipped."

Luke blinked at her. "How'd you know?"

"Uhhh good guess?" 'Honestly?' Akari thought. 'She trips over air! And she can't cook worth a damn so whatever she cooked must have been repulsive.'

"You might be psychic!" Luke said, all excitement."Maybe you should try telling fortunes!"

The brunette fought the urge to slap her head with her palm. "Luke, just finish the story."

"Oh yeah!"

Luke was just finishing on recounting the story of how the questionable dish had wound up on Yolandas head, not Chase's, when Gill walked through the door with his father.

The portly mayor of Waffle Town was always all smiles, a contrast to his son who seemed to be perfectly stoic. He had white-blonde hair and an air of self-importance. He was a good guy but he hid it under so many layers of snobbery that no one really cared for his company.

While Mayor Hamilton conversed with Colleen and Jake, Gill chose a corner table to sit at alone where he could write in the book he constantly had on hand.

Luke saw this and called out to the man. "Hey Gilly!" Akari noticed that Luke was oblivious to the twitch in Gill's shoulders when he heard the horrid nickname. "Why all alone? Come join me and Akari!"

The mayors son lifted his platinum head with a scorching glare. Akari knew from expierience that Gill despised any nickname but Luke always seemed unaffected by Gill's return hostility.

"It is correctly spoken as 'Akari and I' you idiot." Gill's shot back with a tilt of his chin. "And I don't have any desire to intrude on your date with your girlfriend."

'You jerk!' Akari's mind viciously voiced while her face exploded in heat. 'He didn't have to say that! I'm not the one calling him names!' Akari bowed her head in embarrassment, positive that everyone could see her flushed cheeks. She wasn't sure if anyone knew of her crush on Luke, but she certainly didn't want Luke finding out!

Speaking of Luke...

The boy just snickered. Akari's head shot up to watch Luke casually brush off the comment. "Come on Gilly. Akari's just a friend! She's a lot nicer than you though. She doesn't call her childhood friends idiots."

It hurt.

She knew it was irrational. Yet that didn't stop the feeling from creeping through her and twining itself around her stomach and chest. She knew that her feelings for Luke weren't reciprocated but to hear him so casually call her friend! To think nothing of someone referring to her as his girlfriend! It was as if he didn't even think about it in the slightest.

'Of course he doesn't Akari! Think about how simple he is! He's not the kind of guy who reads into things. He only knows what he knows and what he sees. You can't just expect him to know the feelings that you're keeping inside.'

It still hurt.

Akari didn't hear the rest of the conversation. She pushed back from her chair, using her bangs and bowed head to hide her eyes. Luke was as readable as a book when you looked into his eyes and Akari wasn't too different.

"Sorry. But I gotta be getting back to the farm. Can't leave the chickens alone you know?"

Luke got up too. Peeking from her lashes, Akari noticed the concern in his expression.

"You okay Akari?"

She bit her lip. "Yeah. I just remembered some work I need to do back on the farm, that's all."

Luke scratched the back of his head. "Oh okay. I should be getting back to the shop too. Pops wanted to start work on that new bedframe for Hanna and Cain."

Akari tried to put a smile on, praying that her hurt didn't show on her face. "Yeah. I'll see you later."

She was caught off guard when Luke swooped in and gave her a crushing (possibly snapping), hug before quickly letting go and running off with a, "See ya later!"

Akari stood shock-still, fighting to keep hold of the wonderful feeling she'd grasped when his arms had encompassed her. For a moment she stared out into space, flushed and starry-eyed before Colleen walked up to her and softly told her that Luke hadn't paid for the meal yet.

The farmer looked at the woman with a blank eye before suddenly growing frighteningly red.

"THAT JERK!"

...

...

...

Akari threw herself onto her bed that night in shame. Not only had she used up some of the limited amount of money she had to pay for the meal Luke had promised to pay for, she had left her axe in Praline Woods and, possibly worst of all, she had let her emotions get in the way! She wasn't supposed to be concentrating on love or dating. She was here to raise a farm. It was far too soon to be thinking of romances. Now she had let a perfectly nice day out with a friend come to a rampaging stop because she hadn't been strong enough to reign her feelings in.

"UGH! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!" She threw her stuffed sheep at the pale wall. Burying her head into her pillow Akari made a vow.

'I'm not going to hope for things to happen with Luke. I'm going to work and focus on making a living for myself here. No dating or thinking about things like that!'

But as Akari was soon to find out, your mind may say one thing, but when it comes to matters of love, the heart has it's own plans.

...

...

...

To be continued...

...

...

...

SOOOOOOO? Whaddya think people? I'm actually writing a Harvest Moon fanfiction for Tree of Tranquility! Yaaaay! This will also mark the first chapter fic that ChibiRaccoon is submitting to the internet and I'm really excited about this! I would really REALLY love to hear what everyone has to say about this because I'm terribly nervous. Tell me if you think Luke may have been a bit off. He's my favorite Harvest Moon character and I just couldn't help myself. I'm thinking of putting mention of other Harvest Moon characters in here, like Vaughn, Grey, or Kurt (drool, drool) but who knows? (I won't put Claire in since I hate her. GREYxMARY FOREVER!) Also, sorry if I rushed the ending. I was just so ready to post this. Oh and before I forget, SAMURAIJEDI! YOU BETTER NOT BE READING THIS! And my computer is being lame so no spellcheck. SORRY!

(anyone wanna beta for me? Lemme know!)

Anyways, please read and review and we'll meet again in Chapter 2!

-ChibiRaccoon