[A/N: OC Ellen is the mother of the farmer (Estelle) from the main fic set in this world, Finding Home Again. This is a prequel to that story, giving more insight into the relationship between her and Willy before Estelle was born.

This is a standalone fic though, so you don't need to have read Finding Home Again to follow along here. Hope you enjoy!]

-x-

"I'm leaving for the beach Dad!" Ellen called, skipping down the porch steps and hurrying towards the path to town. If she was lucky, she'd make it out of sight before he looked up from his work. There was no way in hell he would let her out of the house wearing the skirt she had on.

Part of her felt bad for not helping him. Her old man wasn't a spring chicken anymore, and he'd been breaking his back clearing the fields all day in preparation for sowing the autumn crops. On the other hand, she knew he wouldn't accept her help even if she offered. Ellen loved the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, and he'd work until he passed out in the dirt before he let her miss them on account of the farm. The wonderful, stubborn bastard.

Though, it wasn't the jellies she was excited for tonight – it was Willy. He'd finally come home that afternoon from a 6 week stint on the Gem Sea, and saying she missed him was the understatement of the century. She was aching to see him, every cell in her body lit up with the sweet anticipation of being in his arms again.

The sicker his grandfather got, the longer Willy had to spend at sea to keep their business afloat, and the distance was killing Ellen. They'd never spent so much time apart, even before they started dating, and she hadn't realized how dependent she'd become on him over the years. He was her best friend, her confidant, the love of her life…and now he was gone more often than he was home.

It was selfish – she knew this wasn't his fault – but Yoba, she didn't know how much longer she could take it.

"Oh no you don't!" her father's voice boomed from the field. "Get back in that house and put some clothes on right this second young lady!"

Ellen sighed, turning around and trudging back to the house resignedly. She'd been so damn close too.

She arrived at the beach twenty minutes later, donning a pair of thick tights under her skirt – a compromise she'd barely gotten away with – and immediately booked it for the shop at the end of the pier. Knowing Willy, he was either cleaning the store or cleaning his catch, and she desperately hoped it was the former. No matter how many times she watched, she never got used to seeing him ripping the spines out of formerly living creatures. Way too macabre for her taste.

His head popped up as the door opened with a bang, and Ellen couldn't hold back her squeal of excitement at seeing his gorgeous face right there in front of her again. She raced across the store, vaulting over the counter to fling herself at him with absolutely no regard for propriety. He stumbled backwards as he caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist as tightly as hers were around his neck, clinging desperately to each other.

Willy buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. "You smell so good," he murmured, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"You smell like fish guts," she teased, dusting a line of kisses from the crook of his neck up to his jaw.

Willy chuckled, taking her face in his hands and pulling back enough to look in her eyes. "Yoba, I missed you."

"Missed you more," she replied softly as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was sweet but full of longing, conveying their feelings for each other more succinctly than words ever could. It was enough to turn her knees to jelly before they'd even deepened the kiss, but still she needed more. Her tongue swiped across his bottom lip, wordlessly seeking entry – but no sooner had his lips parted than a loud cough had them jumping apart.

Willy was adorably red-faced and guilty as he dropped his eyes to the floor. Ellen just looked annoyed.

"Evening Miss Hayes," Willy's grandfather said, greeting her with a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes. "The jellies are better viewed from outside the shop, in case you didn't know."

"Good thing I'm here to see Willy and not the jellies then," she retorted, fighting to keep her tone even. It was no secret that the old man didn't care for her, and frankly she wasn't his biggest fan either. He had beef with her family over some ancient slight, and had taken it out on her for as long as she could remember. Not to mention it was his fault that Willy was never around anymore.

He hummed in bland agreement. "I should have known that the peace I'd had over the summer was too good to last."

"C'mon Elle, the festival will be starting soon," Willy interjected, taking Ellen's hand and nearly dragging her outside before either of them could say anything else.

As soon as the door closed Willy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. It was enough to make her feel the slightest bit guilty. It wasn't his fault that his grandpa was a prick, but he was the one suffering for it.

"Sorry."

He waved it off and smiled, because that's what Willy always did. Shoved down his own feelings so he wouldn't burden anyone else with them. Ellen knew it wasn't exactly healthy, but honestly she envied his ability to do that. Most of the time she was incapable of even keeping her mouth shut.

They walked hand in hand down to the far end of the pier, where none of the other villagers had set up camp yet. Ellen kicked off her shoes and rolled up her tights, letting her bare feet dangle off the edge to splash in the water below. It was colder than she expected, and she shivered as goosebumps rose up on her legs.

"Summer's over, you know," Willy said wryly, tugging off his jacket and laying it around her shoulders.

His smile was warmer than his coat, and Ellen couldn't help but return it, leaning comfortably against his chest when he settled down behind her. "Gotta get you out of your clothes somehow," she teased as he wrapped his arms loosely around her.

He chuckled, but they both knew she wasn't really joking. Despite being an official couple for the last two years, and an unofficial couple since they hit puberty, intimacy was a milestone they hadn't yet reached. They weren't against it or anything, but there always seemed to be something stopping them from sealing the deal. Ellen didn't want to until they were dating. Then Willy didn't want to until she turned 18. Neither of them had any privacy at home. He was always out fishing. A dozen excuses that ultimately led to a level of sexual frustration no teenage girl should ever have to deal with.

Though that was going to change tonight, if her and her slutty skirt had anything to say about it.

It wasn't long until the mayor pushed the illuminated boat off into the sea, signaling the beginning of the festival. This was her favorite night of the year, ever since she was a little girl. Something about the blue glow of the jellies spoke to her, calmed her heart in a way that she didn't fully understand.

Ellen sighed happily as the first of the jellies approached, snuggling further into Willy's embrace. He kissed the top of her head in return, catching one of her hands and threading their fingers together. The gesture brought back a sweet memory, and she smiled.

"Remember the first time you held my hand?" she asked.

"Mhmm. When the jellies first came out, right over there," he said, nodding across the water to the pier on the other side of the beach. "I was so nervous that I thought I was going to throw up."

Ellen giggled, tracing the veins on the back of his hand with her finger. "I could tell. The shaking kind of gave it away."

"Hey, I was 15 and you were the prettiest girl I'd ever met. Cut me some slack."

"Were the prettiest?" she said, faking a pout.

Willy rolled his eyes. "Are the prettiest," he corrected, humoring her.

They watched the jellies in comfortable silence for a few moments before he spoke again. "Do you remember the first time you kissed me?"

"Yep. Two years later, on the beach once the jellies left. I'd been waiting for you to do it all night and finally said hell with it," she recalled with a grin. "I thought everyone was gone, but my dad still lectured me about it for like a month. Never found out who snitched."

"Probably Pierre, the ass-kissing little shit."

"Probably. But you know…I'm 19 now. My dad can't tell me what to do anymore," she said suggestively, turning slightly in his arms to look up at him.

Willy cocked an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching up. "And just where are you going with that?"

"Just saying, all of our firsts have happened on Moonlight Jelly nights. I was thinking that maybe we should continue tradition."

He held her gaze, searching for some indication that she was joking, or teasing him. When he found nothing but sincerity reflected in her eyes, he swallowed hard before letting out a nervous little laugh.

"19 or not, you know if your pa found out I'd given you so much as a slap on the ass he'd have me swinging by my balls from the nearest pine tree."

He brushed a lock of her hair back, and she bit her lip as his fingers grazed the shell of her ear and trailed down her neck. His eyes locked in on that little movement, pupils widening as the mirth in his expression was replaced with something darker, something yearning. For a second Ellen thought he might change his mind, but then he clamped his eyes shut, shaking his head slightly like he was clearing whatever thoughts had popped up in there.

"C'mon, I'll walk you home," he said, dropping his hand and standing up.

Ellen was glad for the darkness creeping in as the last jelly floated away. It hid her disappointment.

They didn't talk much on the way back to the farm. Ellen wasn't in the mood to make small talk, and Willy seemed distracted himself – or maybe just tired from his trip. The more she thought about it, the more she felt selfish for putting her own needs before his. He'd been living on a boat for 6 weeks, and she'd been more focused on getting in his pants than making sure he was okay.

She had already decided to apologize by the time they got to the big oak at the southern edge of her property, the landmark where they typically said goodnight. She'd say she was sorry and find out if there was anything he needed. Bring him a good breakfast from the saloon tomorrow, too. She had Caroline's stupid baby shower to go to in the afternoon, but they could spend the morning together at least.

"Willy, I..." she began, stopping in front of the tree and looking up at him.

She didn't have a chance to continue. His lips were suddenly on hers, urgent and demanding and full of so much need it stole her breath away. It took her a second to recover from how abrupt it all was, but when she did she was kissing him back just as fiercely. The months of longing burned inside her, and the moment his lips parted to deepen the kiss it exploded into an inferno. Her blood was boiling, nerve endings on fire, back pressed roughly into the tree behind her as they gave themselves over to their passion in a mess of lips and tongue and teeth.

When they were forced to part for air, Ellen opened her eyes to meet his half-lidded gaze, face flushed as he stared at her like she was the only thing he needed in the world. She smiled, knowing her face looked exactly the same. He was hers, and she was his. As long as they were together, she didn't need anything else.

She pressed a soft, deliberate kiss to his swollen lips before taking his hand and leading him to the greenhouse.