Disclaimers: I don't own Harvest Moon, though I did buy Back to Nature...and the characters belong to Natsume.

Maya=Jack just because I like the name Maya. *drools over Maya from Saint Beast* BTW, this is my first HM fic...it was a result of playing the game practically non-stop for the past week and a half... ^_^; Enjoy!

Hurricane of Change by Yaoi Girl

Rick, Popuri, and Lillia were shocked when Maya appeared at their house one early fall afternoon and said that he wished to sell all of his chickens. Barley reacted pretty much the same when he then went to his house and sold his sheep and cows, even returning the horse.

He had planted crops last fall, only taking care of them for about a week before they dried up, weeds overtaking his fields. The fences that once held his animals were now broken for the most part and were an additional eyesore to his fields.

It was now spring and nothing was planted; the weeds from last fall were gone thanks to the winter, and now new weeds were popping up.

Maya had hardly been seen throughout the fall or winter; he only left his house to go food shopping once every other week. To say the least, his relationship with Elli was no more; she hadn't stopped by in ages to check on him and only greeted him with a polite 'hello' if they crossed paths on one of the few days he was out. He was lucky to have anything resembling a relationship with anyone in town. The only person he could truly call a fried was Tobi, his loyal dog.

For some reason, on a particularly sunny and pleasant day towards the end of spring, he emerged from his house, pet Tobi for a few moments, and then he headed toward town.

A few of the villagers tried to greet him, but he merely waved over his shoulder as he continued walking, his pace never wavering. A majority of the people didn't even spare a glance towards him, but he didn't care, and he didn't know why.

What had gone so wrong with his life?

~*~

By nightfall, Maya had ended up at the dock, seating himself at the end as he stared out to a lighthouse in the distance.

Many of the people had seen a change in the boy a couple days before summer had ended last year, figuring that it was just stress. But the stress theory proved to be wrong; he always took care of his crops and animals, no matter how stressed out he was. He was simply depressed beyond reason, though only himself and one other person knew why.

"Maya?"

The boy didn't move in the slightest as his name was called.

Whoever had said his name took a seat beside him, sighing.

"Are you still upset about what I did last year?" came Kai's saddened voice. "I said I was sorry; it didn't mean anything. I just wanted to know what it was like to kiss someone…I never thought something so small and meaningless would destroy your life…"

"Why me? Of all the girls willing to kiss you, why a guy like me? And even though you said it meant nothing, it meant everything to me," Maya said softly and stood, walking off. It was the first time that he had admitted that to Kai.

That's the whole reason; Maya was in love with Kai, and the boy hadn't known that when he kissed him. That's also why Kai had come back a few days early this year, to at least try and resolve this whole mess.

~*~

It had been a perfect summer night, cool with no hint of a breeze, Maya recalled as he lay on his bed that night, staring at his dark ceiling.

He and Kai had gone walking and ended up resting in the clearing on Mother's Hill. They had been lying down, staring up at the stars and telling stories about their lives outside of summer, talking until nothing else could be said.

Maya then closed his eyes tightly, the image of Kai sitting up and leaning over him that night still fresh in his mind.

He had let his heart believe too early that Kai might return his feelings, though Maya had kept his own feelings for him silent.

Kai had then leaned down, slowly to him. It would be an all too romantic seen for any passers by, despite the fact that it was two boys. And Kai had kissed him.

The farmer's heart was soaring; he had been the one to deepen the kiss into a passionate one, and that's when Kai had pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he had said with a blush. "I hoped you wouldn't mind; I've never been kissed and I wanted to know what it was like."

Maya had then sat up, his eyes saddened as he looked into his Kai's. "So, it meant nothing?"

The boy had shaken his head and smiled. "Just curious."

Without further warning, Maya had stood and walked away, and Kai could've sworn that there were tears in the other's eyes.

~*~

'If only I'd known, I wouldn't have been so stupid…' Kai mentally kicked himself as he lay in his yearly bed at the inn that night, his silence odd to the room's other occupant, Cliff.

"I know it's none of my business, but why did you come so early this year?" the boy asked as he stripped off his usual shirt and pants, wearing only his boxers as he slid into bed.

"There were things I needed to talk about with someone. But things didn't go so well…"

"With Maya, you mean?"

At this, Kai turned his head to Cliff with a startled and confused expression.

"How did you know?"

"I, um, kinda heard it from Karen earlier. She overheard you two talking when she went to the beach on her nightly walk."

Kai sighed and faced the ceiling again. There was really no point in denying it, seeing as how Cliff didn't seem uncomfortable with the topic, unless Karen hadn't heard/told everything.

"Who else knows?"

"Ann, Doug, Gray, and Rick."

'Great,' Kai thought. 'Rick's the last person who needs to know I kissed a guy; but then again, he may lighten up on me, seeing as how it was Maya I kissed first and not his sister, not that I'd want to kiss her anyway…'

"So, the whole reason that…" Cliff began, propping himself up on his side with an arm supporting his cheek. "…Maya is so depressed and neglecting his farm is because of what happened?"

"What do you mean 'neglecting his farm'?" he asked, mimicking the other boy's position.

"The beginning of fall, he sold his animals, the fields began to overgrow with weeds…Hardly anyone sees him nowadays. When I do, I wonder how in the world he's still surviving seeing as how he hasn't shipped anything in ages."

On his back once again, he murmured to himself, though Cliff could hear it, "All this because of one little kiss?"

Deciding to let the boy go about his thinking, the brunette mumbled a goodnight and rolled over, turning off his light, Kai doing the same a few moments later.

TBC

Yes, no, maybe? Could I bribe you for a review? *offers candy*