{Harvest Moon belongs to Marvelous Inc. and localized by Natsume.}

(a/n) another self-challenging, yaaay. i found that writing in english is … quite fascinating. still attempting to fix my grammar tho – so, don't hesitate to point the errors out for me, hehe~

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Lily was beautiful.

Will had been aware of that right from the moment where his blue eyes caught the presence of that girl in a red dress for the first time. It was a blazing hot day in summer at the Volcano Island – when the blonde man found himself mesmerized by the appearance of the exotic treasure hunter.

Her slant-eyes – the color was as black as coal – were alluring, so did her perfectly-curved eyebrows. An elegant ethnic dress wrapped her tall and slim body – so eye-catching yet classy. Will could had mistaken her as a model if he didn't remember that he was in Sunshine Islands, a small archipelago far away from the hustle-bustle of showbiz world, not in the big city where he was used to live before.

The way she walked radiated grace in every step she took. Only with one glance from a few meters away, Will had already been captivated. Then, he spent the next few days in wondering how the voice of such a fine young lady would sounds like.

And, it turned out that Lily's voice matched the expectation that he had formed inside his head. It was beyond the expectation, exactly. (Heck, even her voice is beautiful. What an overdose.)

Will didn't remember that he ever had any socialization issues. In fact, his communication skill was top notch – especially when it came to the ladies. So he hardly believed that it took him many moments of hesitating before he managed to say hello to Lily. As if his courage and confidence was engulfed by sparkling beauty.

Well, his greeting was worth it though.

After Will and Lily had finally known each other's name through a formal introduction in front of the Inn, they often spent time to chit-chatting together. Only small talks, mostly atop the Volcano Island, but it were enough to made Will's heart fluttered over and over again.

And, as the time passed, Will's first impression of Lily hadn't ever changed.

Lily was so beautiful, and would always been remains that way.

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"You do like her so much, don't you?"

Will was taken a little aback by the question shot by the brown-haired girl beside him. Today is one of the chilly days on the beginning of autumn; not that the cool breeze could help reducing the heat produced by the unlimited lava that was streaming up from inside the earth, though.

The young Regison examined the red magic flower on his hand as he pondering at the question. It was a flower given by Chelsea several minutes ago. That young rancher always loved to share the wild items that she had found to the other inhabitants; for Will, it always been flowers or colorful grasses, his favorite things. Will interpreted it as an act of kindness.

Flowers were beautiful, so was sharing. Chelsea knew well how to do beautiful things.

Will traced the red petals with his thumb. Red magic flower reminded him of Lily. Bad thing Lily wasn't really amused by flowers.

"Helloooo? Earth to Will," Chelsea snapped with a sing-songy tone. "It's just a simple question – no need for spacing out."

Putting the flower inside his white blazer pocket, Will focused his gaze to his companion. Regis was on his break and Lily didn't come that day, so it was just the two of them at the Volcano Island. The sound of whistling wave accompanied them.

"Your question sounds rhetorical," Will remarked with a small smile, "so I guess it's alright to left the answer unsaid, maybe?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "I just wanna hear a confirmation from your mouth."

They fell into silence for a few seconds.

"Yes, I like her," stated Will without hesitation, firmness tinting his blue eyes. "I like Lily so much."

"Well, it's obvious." Chelsea nodded to herself. Then, she threw a curious expression to the man beside her. "So, what do you like about her?"

Once again, Will realized that everything related to Lily always got him stunned. Just like this moment, when he found himself rather speechless by the question.

(—or maybe, it is caused by a pair of blue eyes which glimmering in curiosity, as if it was piercing through his own blue eyes?)

Okay, think about the answer, Will. Why did I like Lily in the first place? Because, she is beautiful and nice and all? Is it impressive enough to be heard?

"Your feelings came from admiration, I see," Chelsea decided to break the stillness. "Or, maybe it's a pure admiration itself."

Will's gaze was fixated by the far away horizon. The sky and the sea were as blue as each other, hypnotizing as always. "I admire her so much. And when I admire a certain object or person, it means I like it indeed." Will took the red magic flower out from his pocket, showing it to Chelsea. "Like this flower."

Chelsea smiled at it. "Hey, why didn't you use word 'love' instead?"

Will raised his eyebrows in astonishment. Oh, since when did Chelsea possess such an interrogator trait? "Well, I thought that word 'love' is yet too strong, because I harbor feelings to her recently – if you consider a few months as a not-so-long duration. But, now that I think about it, that word is compatible enough to represent my current feelings for her. Because, as the days passed, I found her more and more attractive. All the girls in here are beautiful, but my attention has always been devoted only to her."

Chelsea fixed a long stare at the composed ocean, as if contemplating about Will's explanation. "Is it true?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it true that your attention belongs to her only?" Sound like she was seeking for assuredness. "Maybe, just maybe, you unconsciously threw glances to the other persons, but your subconscious mind was always pestering your brain – so you have always been ensured that Lily is the only one you could think of."

Will tilted his head at Chelsea's analogy. "You mean, there's a chance of me liking someone besides Lily?"

Chelsea shrugged. "Well … let's put that aside and focus on your crush to Lily instead."

"You want to give me some advice, Chelsea?" asked Will half-jokingly.

"If it's about 'how to get girls' heart in general', I can help. But if it's about Lily personally, I can't. We aren't that close yet. I'm busy with my farm, whilst Lily with her treasures hunting. We scantily had a long and deep conversation. Sorry."

Reassuringly, Will shot smile to her. "No need to feel guilty, Chelsea. To have you here, listening to my rambles … is more than enough. Thanks."

The brunette girl gave two thumbs-up to him. "'kay, count on me anytime you need a consultation."

Will chuckled. "I thought you were a farmer, not a love counselor."

Rolling her eyes, Chelsea snickered. Then, she slapped her own forehead out of the blue. "Ah, I almost forgot that the main purpose on my visit here is to dig the rocks. I need some mythrill to get maker machines."

Will seemed to be a bit uneasy. "What if I ordered Slater to get it for you?"

"Hmm, maybe next time," Chelsea refused. "I'm in my super-mood now, so there's no way I could stand back!"

Will sighed, and then smiled because he knew that Chelsea was such a strong-willed and fiery young woman. "Watch your step, my lady. Make sure that you don't push yourself too hard. And good luck."

Chelsea putted her hand to the taller man's shoulder. "Good luck too, for you. You know what I mean." She winked. "You're an amazing man, so don't hesitate to pursue your love."

After saying that sentence, she left – stepping to the mine's gate. Will couldn't avert his gaze from her petite yet reliable back, until it disappeared completely from his vision range.

(Chelsea's words stroke his mind, so did her baby blue eyes.)

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"Yesterday, I overheard the girls' conversation at the Diner."

It was the first real topic that was brought up by Will after a few small talks about today's weather etcetera. To be honest, it was the main reason of his invitation to Chelsea ("Let's drink tea together at my place."). Well, most of the times, Will didn't even need any reason to hang out with the young rancher. Who knew since when did drinking tea together at his yacht has become a natural habit of theirs; sometimes Will invited, sometimes Chelsea came by on her own initiative.

And, recently, the frequency has increased.

(Well, that had no relation to the way her blue eyes could lit up whenever she was smiling or laughing—)

"What?! You eavesdropped on girls' talk?!"

"Well, I didn't intend to do it," Will clarified quickly, "I was just happened to hear my name being mentioned just before I step inside the Diner, and it turned out that Julia and Natalie was talking about me. So, standing by the restaurant door and had a listen out of curiosity wasn't a sin, right?"

"Hmmm." Chelsea took a sip from her cup of tea. "Were they fangirling about your handsomeness or something like that?"

Will sighed. "If that's it, I wouldn't be so caught in musing."

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("Hey, Natalie, am I the only one who think Will has a crush on Lily?"

"Well, I'm not such an observer, but yeah, I couldn't deny it, since it's a bit obvious. Heck, he goes all head-over-heels toward that treasure hunter."

"Lily is amazing, eh?"

"She's a treasure hunter after all. Digging up gold is her expertise."

"Yup, an expensive things lover like her must be very happy with the presence of such an ultra rich man like him chasing over her."

Will stood in daze at the front of Diner's door, remained unmoving until Vaughn scolded him to get out of the way.)

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"So, you ended up doubting Lily because of the subjective opinion that you've heard?" Chelsea took another sip of her tea as Will finished his story.

"No, I wouldn't judge her – nor anyone else – just by what came out from the mouth of other people," Will corrected instantly. "… But, it's a lie if I say that I didn't mind it at all. I mean … yeah, it isn't thoroughly wrong, their premise. I've known from the beginning that Lily's into treasure and expensive things."

"She loves riches, and you have wealth smeared all over your figure – so she'd love you definitely," stated Chelsea with a matter-of-fact tone. Will immediately dashed a glare to her; his blue eyes were wide open. "Badly, it isn't as simple as that." She winked. "Human's heart is a complex and elusive thing, Will."

The blonde inhaled deeply, staring at his tea which almost lost its warmth. "And mysterious."

A light chuckled slipped away from the brunette's mouth. "By the way, has she ever showed any 'sign of attraction' toward you?"

"Wasn't really sure yet." A short pause. "She's always been responsive and humble, but … she had never done any impressive attempt to get closer to me, as long as I could remember." Unlike our relationship that was built out of two-sided longing. "She doesn't despise me, yet I think she only considers me as a friend."

Chelsea placed her now-empty cup on the table, and then shot an enigmatic smile to the man who was sitting in front of her. "You know, you can't decipher what's going on inside a woman's head and heart only by a simple glance at what's showed on the surface." The brunette girl brought her index finger across her lip; a mysterious smile remained on her cute face. "A woman hides many secret."

(—and Will wondered what secrets could be hidden beneath those innocent azure eyes of hers.)

"How about yourself, Will? Is your feeling toward her strong enough?"

Will was curious why Chelsea often brought that kind of question to the surface. "… Well, the scientific measurer of love hasn't been found yet, so I can't give an exact answer. But, it is certain that I admire and respect her so much, so that—"

"—so that you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

The blonde man fell silent for a moment. Then, with his blue eyes fixated at the yacht's ceiling pensively, he said, "About that … there's another thing that has been nagging my mind from yesterday, still from the girls' talk. Natalie said something like 'I think, all that Will sees from Lily is her attractive appearance'."

Chelsea knitted her brows in an irritated expression. "Geez, what a gossiper duo, those gals. I'll smack their head next time for sharing juicy gossip without asking me to join first."

A dry laugh slipped out from Will's mouth. His fingers tapped the surface of wooden table repeatedly. "You know, I really wanted to snap out, clarifying that all the things that were spoken by them is none other than ridiculous prejudices. But … I couldn't do that because it wasn't thoroughly wrong." Will stared right at his listener's eyes as he continued, "Yes, I fell in love with her looks. Yes, I was captivated by her exotic features. Yes, I was driven spellbound by her beauty. So, I often doubted myself, is this pure love or just a mere physical interest?"

Out of the blue, Chelsea brought her body forward and pinched Will's forehead, powerful enough to make the blonde say ouch. "Stop thinking so complicatedly, handsome boy," Chelsea scoffed. Then, while standing akimbo, she said with a firm yet soothing voice, "Don't forget the essential fact that you truly admire her from the bottom of your heart. You know, love could come from many different ways, Will; from friendship or admiration or comfort or even hate.

"No matters where did your love come from, it's still love – and you have to respect it, respect that precious feelings of yours."

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Will didn't tell Chelsea about another thing that also kept pestering his mind from the girls' talk he overheard yesterday.

Julia said,

"But Will tends to hang out with Chelsea more. And he seemed to be more relaxed whenever he's spending time with her."

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Chelsea's presence was almost as natural as the arising of sun – that Will hadn't even noted that she possessed many admirable traits too. The brunette girl whom Will met on one blazing hot summer day – right before he met Lily – never failed to bring ease at Will's heart.

And that was honorable – since the young rich man always had a tendency to heighten his guard around others, since most of the peoples who approached him always hid ulterior motives up their sleeves. So, out of Will's control, he had been growing more and more anxious – to the state where he suffered from a trust issue. (Well, his wariness was always been well-hidden beneath the well-humored attitude of his.)

But, Chelsea managed to dissolve that crappy restiveness – simply by her sincerity. She would throw protest straightforwardly if Will did or said something that didn't feel right to her; but still would lend a hand whenever he needed it. It was as uncomplicated as that.

(Lily infatuated Will with her dazzling typical charm,
whilst Chelsea had made Will fall in comfort hopelessly.)

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It was a cloudy day in the end of autumn season.

Chelsea was sleeping beneath a maple tree atop the Ranch Island; her body, which is weary from tending to the crops and livestock all day long, leaned peacefully on the trunk. Will was sitting beside her. The blonde man found out that the white clouds and blue sky wasn't more hypnotizing than the petite rancher's sleeping face.

He smiled at the light sound of her respiration – so smooth, so relaxing, just like a baby's breath. He even sneaked a chance to tuck a few strands of her brown hair behind her ear.

(She is so though yet alluring,
like a bonfire dancing in the middle of winter night,
like a red magic flower.)

Will had always thought of Chelsea as a usual hard worker farmer girl (not such a big deal, since everyone's always working hard here). Beforehand, the young Regison had already admitted that Chelsea was pretty – and he harbored respect toward her, but not as much as his fondness for Lily. So, Will hoped that it wasn't too late for him to realize that this brunette girl's beauty is special too.

Chelsea's persona wasn't glamorous or exotic, but it radiated such a soothing and calming effect; Lily's beauty is exposed – no way any human could resist her charm – whilst Chelsea's beauty was always been covered by her activity. Lily's beauty sometimes put insecurity inside Will's heart because hey, he's not the only one who found her adorable; Chelsea's beauty made him felt lucky because not everyone managed to enjoy that shimmering flower that was hidden beneath the piles of dirt and mud and sweat.

Lily's attractiveness was universal,
whilst Chelsea's prettiness was barely undiscovered.

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Right after she woke up, Chelsea was startled when she found out that Will was still right there, sitting beside her. "Hey … aren't you supposed to have a lunch with Lily?"

"I'm not hungry yet."

"Mmmh." The brunette girl yawned and rubbed her sleepy blue eyes.

Will smiled.

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(Hey, Chelsea, you said that love could came from many different ways,
and now, I'm curious,
what kind of love would fill the sketch of my life from now on?)

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[END].

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(a/n) … so, this is the first-ever published fanwork of lily x will x chelsea – at least, the filter said so. heck, i even dunno why am i so into unpopular characters. well, i still love them tho. thanks for reading! n.n

[edited on 5/8/2016. i grant my biggest gratitude for Guest who pointed the mistakes out and corrected them one by one for me. thxu sooo much!]