Just the Way You Are
"MARK!" Lanna screamed for the umpteenth time. "Wake up, you lazy bum!"
"No," Mark mumbled, covering his head with the pillow. "Five more minutes…"
"That's what you said ten minutes ago!" she yanked the pillow his grasp. "Geez! What kind of farmer are you? You have to get up bright and early in the morning!"
Mark rolled onto his back staring up at Lanna with one eye open, "That's just a stereotype."
"No it's not! All the farmers I know get up earlier than I do."
"I'm the only farmer you know." He looked unamused.
"T-that's not true… I know um… lots of farmers!" she stuttered.
"I'm sure you do."
"C-come on! Get up, it's time to get to work!" she said, tugging at his blankets. "I'm gonna get mad if you don't get up."
"Alright, alright," Mark sat up and threw aside his blanket.
What Lanna saw next was Mark's surprisingly toned body. Blood rushed up to her cheeks and she couldn't help but stare. She quickly recovered from her state and shielded her eyes.
"Why are you only in your boxers!?" she exclaimed.
"Because I get hot and then I can't sleep…"
"W-well…! Go put some clothes on!"
He chuckled at her behaviour and wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies together. If possible, Lanna's face got redder than it already was; she could feel his abs through her shirt.
"You're so cute, Lanna."
She pushed him away, "G-go put some clothes on!"
"Fine, Miss Bossy."
Mark walked to his dresser and pulled out his work outfit. He got dressed rather quickly, grabbed his hat from the counter and placed it on Lanna's head. "I'm ready. Let's go."
"O-okay," Lanna spun the hat around on her head so that she wore it exactly the same way that Mark does.
The two headed towards the field and got to work; bringing out the animals and watering the crops.
"Maaaarrk, why is your field so big? There's too much to water," she complained.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to. I can do it," he replied, halfway across the field; planting seeds.
Lanna sighed. I promised to help so I have to do this… she thinks to herself. Ugh, but working under this sun is so tiring…
Suddenly the watering can is taken from her hands and Mark comes into view. "I can do the rest, wait for me inside."
"No wait, give that back. I promised to help you!" she protested.
"It's fine." He smiled.
Although he wanted her to go back inside, she decided to stay anyway. She watched him work from the shade of his trees. After a short while he finished, and then made his way over to the trees where Lanna was watching him.
"It's so hot today."
"You want to go swimming?" He swiped a hand across his forehead, wiping the sweat.
"S-swimming!?"
"Yeah, you know… Like going in the water and-"
"I know what swimming is!" she snapped.
"Well, do you want to go or not?" he grinned.
"Fine, I will."
"Let's go then." He extends his hand to her and she took it.
The two headed back to Mark's house and Mark went to his dresser once again, pulling out his blue swimming trunks. "I'll be right back," he disappeared into the washroom and a minute later he came back out with his trunks on, carrying his clothes that he was just wearing. He dumped them into the laundry hamper in the corner and slipped on flip flops. He then went back into the washroom and came out with a towel draped over his shoulder.
"Finished?"
"Yeah," He replied, and the two left to go to Lanna's house.
When they arrived on Verdure Island, Lanna noticed that a lot of the islanders were looking at them, whispering things to each other. Some were even pointing in their direction.
"Mark, everyone is staring at us!" whispered Lanna.
"Don't mind them," he said, tightening his grip on her hand. "They're probably just admiring my sexy abs."
At this comment, Lanna slaps him on the arm leaving a red hand print.
"Ow, I was kidding! No need to get violent," he winked.
Lanna just rolled her eyes and the rest of the walk to her house was walked in silence.
"Wait here, I'm going to go and change," she said, when they arrived outside her home.
After nearly ten minutes later, Mark got impatient and knocked on the door. "How long does it take you to change, woman?"
"Hold on!"
She came out wearing a green bikini and green flip flops. Her long hair tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs clipped up with two bobby pins, and Mark's hat nowhere to be seen- probably abandoned somewhere inside her house. "How do I look?"
"Stunning."
"T-thanks," A light blush appears on her face.
"Let's get going," Mark took her hand and headed towards the beach behind her house.
Once their feet touched the sand, Lanna placed a blanket on top of the sand and put their towels on top of the blanket. They took off their flip flops and went over to the water.
As soon as Lanna's feet touched the water she said, "Why is the water so cold!?"
"Come on, this is nothing," Mark was already in the water; the water coming up to his chest.
Lanna walked into the water a little bit more, the water splashed against her calves. "I'm coming… Eventually."
Mark dunked his head into the water and disappeared from her sight. He came back up shortly and walked over to Lanna, water dripping from his hair. "Are you going to come in or what?"
"I will! Eventually…"
"…Hmmm… This won't do at all."
Lanna squealed in surprise when she felt her feet leave the ground. She was in Mark's arms and he was heading deeper into the water. "No no no no no! Let go of me Mark!"
"Oh? Should I just drop you here?"
Lanna could feel the waves splash against her legs and butt. "No! Take me back!"
"Hmm, I don't know. I think I should punish you for slapping me earlier," he said, indicating at the still red mark on his arm.
"Mark! I won't forgive you if you drop me here!" she said flailing her arms.
"Whoa!" he fake tripped in the water, splashing water all over her stomach. "You shouldn't thrash around like that, I might drop you."
"I'm serious!"
"No, I think you need the punishment," he started swinging his arms side to side. "One… Two…"
"Mark, don't you dare!"
"Three!" He threw her into the water and started laughing.
Lanna emerged from the water, almost immediately, furious. She pushed back the loose hairs on her face and advanced towards her lover. "I can't believe you! How could you do that to me?"
"You're fun to tease."
"The water is freezing cold! I'm not going to forgive you!" she said, as she attempted to march back to the shore.
Mark grabbed her arm, "Hey, where are you going?"
"Back home."
"Awww Lanna. Are you mad at me?"
"Yes, now let go of me," she twisted her arm a little to get out of his grip.
He laughed, "I'm sorry."
"I told you… I'm not forgiving you."
"How 'bout if I make it up to you?"
"You can't! Now let go!"
He closed the distance between them and embraced her, wriggling his eyebrows. "I'll keep you warm."
"No. Get away from me," she said, as she tried to push him away.
"I said I'll make it up to you," he bent down and tilted his head to the side, kissing her. She tried to pull away from him but he wrapped an arm around her waist to prevent her from escaping and placed his hand to the back of her head. After Lanna realized that she wouldn't be able to escape, she relaxed into him and kissed him back. He pulled away and grinned, softly butting his forehead against hers. "Do you forgive me now?"
"No," she glared.
"Then why did you kiss me back?" he moved his forehead away from hers, taking her hand.
"I didn't. I don't know what you're talking about," she looked away.
He laughed, "Why aren't you looking at me when you're saying that?"
"I didn't kiss you back," she glared. "You're just delusional."
"Oh really?" he murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist once again, pulling her closer. "Let's try that again then."
He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. This time she didn't resist, she kissed him back, her arms going around his neck; her hands playing with his wet hair, and then down his body, feeling his abs. He smiled and broke the kiss, moving his head away to look at her face.
"You like what you feel?"
"Maybe," Lanna looked away; there was a hint of red on her cheeks.
"So you forgive me now?"
She rolled her eyes. "I guess. I can never stay at you for long."
"I knew that you would," He grinned and kissed her nose. "Now that you're accustomed to the water, let's go swimming."
"Fine, I'm soaked already since somebody decided to throw me into the ocean."
"Hey, you make it sound like I was dumping a dead body into the ocean or something."
"Well, essentially you were. It's just that the body you threw into the water was still alive."
"Alright fine, I did," he dismissed the thought with the wave of his hand. "Can we go swimming now or what?"
"Yeah, sure thing." She splashed him in the face and swam away.
"Oh, you're on!" he exclaimed before swimming after her.
With that, the couple spent the majority of the day swimming and playfully fighting in the water. When the sun started to set, the two decided that they had played in the water long enough and came out.
Mark, the first to reach the destination where they left their things at, picked up both towels and met Lanna halfway, placing her towel on her head.
"Thanks" The two dried off and then decided to call it a day.
Mark walked the short distance to Lanna's house with her. "I had fun today."
"Me too. We should do it again sometime."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you." Mark kissed her on the cheek before walking back home. He arrived home, showered and went to bed.
*Knock knock*
*Silence*
*Knock knock*
"Who ish itttt?" Lanna mumbled from behind the door, her words coming out weird.
"It's me, Mark…" replied Mark.
The door opened and out came Lanna, her hair dishevelled and still in her pajamas. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. "Oh, hi Mark… What are you doing here so early?"
Mark scratched his face. "I uh… came to get my hat. I forgot to get it yesterday."
"Come in…" she said before she slipped out of the doorway, going back into her house. He followed suit and saw his hat on top of her dresser. He went straight to the dresser and picked it up, placing it on his head. He turned around to find Lanna once again in her bed, eyes closed. He smiled and walked towards her.
"Lanna," he murmured, taking her hand.
"Mmmhmm?" she replied, not opening her eyes but squeezing back.
"Come over later; let's have dinner at my place."
"Okay…"
"I'll see you in a few hours then," he kissed her on the forehead and left.
Mark returned to the farm get to work. He spent the next few hours doing his chores, he tended to the crops; watered them and harvested any crops that were available for harvest, and let the animals out into the pasture to let them graze in the field. His chores didn't take as long as he thought they would so he spent the remaining amount of time fishing. He headed over to the west side of his field and took a seat next to the river, his feet dangling off the edge. He reached into his bag, took out a fishing pole and cast his line into the water. He spent the next hour fishing, knowing that Lanna wouldn't show up until seven. Once the clock hit 6:45, Mark got up from his spot and stretched. He took the fish that he caught and headed back home. Mark placed them in the fridge and then decided to take a shower.
After his shower, he put on jeans and a white t-shirt, placing his hat on the dresser. He looked to the wall clock and just as he thought, Lanna knocked on the door at seven, right on the dot. "Come in!" he called.
The door opened slowly and Lanna's head poked in. "Mark!" she exclaimed, she dropped her things at her feet and ran over to him to give him a big hug.
"It's nice to see you too," he chuckled, as he hugged her back. "I saw you this morning; did you really miss me that much?"
"Well at first, when I woke up again, I thought it was a dream but decided to come anyway," she said, as she pulled back. "Anyway, now I know that it wasn't a dream."
"Good thing you did, I would have been so hurt if you didn't come," he grabs his chest. "My heart wouldn't have been able to handle the hurt."
"Psh! Whatever," she dismissed him with a wave. "Anyway, I brought some food to cook up."
Mark gave her a wary look. "Are you sure? I can cook for us."
"No! You always do! I want to cook for us today."
"Okay… If you insist…" he trailed off.
"Good! Now go over there and sit," Lanna directed Mark to the table and sat him down.
Lanna went back to the door and picked up the bags on the floor. She took them to the counter and took out everything in the bag.
"What are we having for dinner?"
"I was thinking that we could have spaghetti for dinner."
"Sounds good to me."
"Great. Now then, first I should wash my hands…"
The two remained in silence for a little while until Mark broke the silence.
"You know Lanna; I think I should help you out."
"No."
"But… Remember the last time you tried to cook?" he frowned. "You almost burned my house down!"
"Hmph! You're exaggerating. But fine, I'll let you help me."
"Thank the Goddess…" Mark said under his breath.
"What was that?"
"N-nothing! Here, let me give you a hand."
Mark washed his hands at the sink. "I can make the sauce, so you make the pasta."
"Got it."
Lanna took out a pot from under the sink, poured water in and placed the pot on the stove, turning it to 'max'. "I have to wait until the water boils, can I do anything else?"
"Yeah here," he opened the bag of beef and put some onto a little pan. He placed the pan on the stove and turned it on. "Just cook it up."
"Okay"
After Lanna turned her back to him, Mark smirked. I can't believe I managed to make her the helper without her noticing. Good thing I did too, cause she might be able to burn my house down instead of causing a fire like last time. Mark shivered at the thought and got back to work.
Mark prepared the sauce, pouring the tomato sauce into a pan and then placed it on the stove but not heating it. Next, he took out the cutting board, knife and onions. "I hate cutting onions…" he mumbled to himself.
"I can do it for you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," the two traded places and Lanna began cutting the onions. After a short while, Mark heard sniffing and looked towards to Lanna to a tears stream down her cheeks.
"Are you crying?" Mark smirked.
"No! I am not crying!" As Lanna moved her hand to her face to wipe her eyes, but Mark catches her hand.
"Don't. You'll just irritate your eyes," He turned away from the stove and swiped his thumbs under her eyes, wiping the tears away. "There we go. I think this is enough onions." He scooped up the chopped onions and put them with the beef.
"You're welcome," Lanna pouted.
Mark laughed. "Thank you," he kissed her on the cheek and went back to work. When the beef was done, he put it in the tomato sauce and turned on the stove. After it was heated and the pasta was boiled, he put the spaghetti onto two plates and poured the tomato sauce over it. Lanna took the plates from him and placed it on the table while Mark got the water. Then the couple sat down across from each other. "I'm impressed."
"Of what?"
"This is the first time you didn't burn something." He laughed.
"You're right…!" she said excitedly. "Wait what? Hey! Don't laugh at me!"
"Sorry..." He scratched his head. "Anyway, let's eat!"
The pair ate in silence, conversing once in a while.
"This is actually pretty good."
"Well, of course. Everything I make is good."
Lanna stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever."
Mark laughed and picked his and Lanna's plates to take to the sink. "Now that we're done eating, let's go for a walk. I'll take you home."
The couple left the house, and then left the farm. They walked past the stores on Verdure Island and arrived on Sprout Island. Walking past the inn and café, the two arrived at Lanna's house.
"Tomorrow," said Mark, he cast his eyes downward. "I have something important to talk to you about."
"O-okay," said Lanna, she wrung her hands together. She looked nervous and avoided eye contact with him.
Mark raised a brow at her sudden attitude, but paid no heed to it and said. "I'll come by around the evening."
"Sure. See you tomorrow then."
"…I know we've only known each other for two years, but what do you think of marrying me?" Mark stared at his reflection in the mirror, slapping a hand over his forehead. "Ugh! This is not working out…" How should I ask her this? Mark paced around his house and sighed. You know what? It'll come to me at the moment, so for now I should get to Lanna's house. He stopped pacing and nodded. "That's how I'll do it. I've been putting this off for way too long."
He walked over to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Moving aside his clothing, he reached for the back and took out the small box. He opened the box and in it revealed the blue feather that he had stored there weeks ago. He took the blue feather out and examined it. It looked exactly the same way it did weeks ago since he last saw it, no dust, no crinkle, nothing.
Mark put the feather in his backpack and got dressed; he put on cargo shorts and a blue t-shirt. He slung his bag over his shoulders and left the house. The walk to Lanna's house took shorter than he thought it would. Usually it would seem so far away, but this time he arrived quicker than he would have liked.
Mark took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms against his pants before he knocked on her door. Lanna emerged almost immediately, as if she was expecting him to be there at that time. She was wearing an off-shoulder white shirt, jean shorts and white flats.
Lanna knotted her hands together. "Hi."
Mark released a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "Hey."
"S-should we get going?"
"Y… yeah"
"Lead the way."
"Right…"
Mark didn't really know where he wanted to go to do this, but while he was thinking about it he ended up at the beach without knowing. He stopped and turned to face Lanna. His sudden movements caused her to bump into him.
"S-sorry!" Lanna stuttered.
"It's fine, I'm sorry too."
The two stood around in an awkward silence, both avoiding eye contact.
"Are you-"
"Weren't you-"
Both of them said at the same time.
Mark blinked, "You go ahead."
"No, it's fine. You go first."
"Are you sure? Cause you can go ahead…"
"Just go first."
"Okay." Mark ran a hand through his hair. "Are you feeling ok? You seem jumpy."
"I'm fine!" she said, rather quickly.
"Are you su-"
"Didn't you say that you had something to tell to me?" Lanna quickly interrupted.
"Yes, but-"
"I'm fine, I promise." Lanna forced a smile. "What is it that you want to tell me?"
Mark blinked again, wanting to comment on her behaviour but then decided to ignore it since she was insisting that she was fine. "Okay… Well… Like you said… I wanted to talk to you about something."
Lanna visibly swallowed and made eye contact with Mark.
"I know we've only been dating for two years… but I think we should-"
Lanna shut her eyes, clenching her fists, bracing herself for what's coming next.
"-get married."
Lanna's eyes shot open, wide as saucers. She looked from his face to his hands; in his hands he was holding a blue feather. Lanna opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"I love you Lanna. Will you marry me?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. She took a one step closer to Mark, then another, but her knees gave out and she fell to the floor. Mark dropped to the floor as well, somewhat catching Lanna so that the impact of the floor didn't hurt her.
"Are you okay!?" concern flooded his eyes.
She nodded, but her tears wouldn't stop flowing. She grabbed his shirt and cried into him. Mark wrapped his arms around her, although he was confused. He stroked her hair and whispered calming words into her ear. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Mark, Lanna calmed down and pulled away from him.
"Y-yes." She said softly.
"What?"
"I said yes," said Lanna, her voice more steady. "I will marry you."
Mark breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
Lanna grabbed a handful of Mark's shirt and brought him closer to her, kissing him firmly. Mark fell back in surprise and Lanna let out a small squeak as she landed on top of him. She then laughed as she buried her face in between his neck and shoulder. Mark smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
"Can I ask you something?" Mark asked, as he stared up at the cloudless sky.
"Yeah," came Lanna's voice, muffled.
"Why were you acting strange earlier?"
"I don't want to tell you. You're gonna say that I'm stupid and laugh at me."
"I won't!"
"I don't believe you."
"…"
"Okay fine, I'll tell you."
Mark smirked, "Go on, dear."
Lanna stayed quiet for a while but then answered his question. "I was scared," she gave a small, quiet laugh. "I was so scared, that you would break up with me."
"Why would I do that?" Mark frowned.
"Well for one, you didn't kiss me goodbye yesterday…"
"That's all?"
"I guess… Yeah."
Mark burst out laughing, "I can't believe you."
"I told you! I knew you would laugh at me!" Lanna pouted. "And plus, we've been dating for a while now and you never talked or hinted about marriage… I was sure you'd want to break up with me since I don't even know how to cook well. I mean, why would you want to marry a woman who can't even cook?"
Mark pulled her away from him so that he could see her face, he looked at her seriously. "I would never break up with you Lanna. I don't care if you can't cook, we all have our flaws. I love you, just the way you are."
"Mark… I… I love you too," she said, tears welling up again, touched by his words.
"Oh Lanna. You're so silly."
"I know…" she trailed off. "C-can I see that blue feather again?"
Mark reached into his pocket and took out the requested item. "Here."
Lanna gingerly took the feather. "It's so soft and silky."
"It's yours now."
"Thank you," she smiled. "I love you."
Mark grinned and pulled her head closer to his and kissed her passionately.
"Get a room!" shouted a random passerby.
The couple broke apart immediately and looked at one another. Lanna smiled and started giggling, while Mark shook his head, smiling. They scrambled to their feet and faced each other.
"Shall we get going then?" asked Mark, extending his hand towards her.
"Yes," replied Lanna, tucking the blue feather into her pocket and taking his hand.
And the couple left the beach holding hands.