Rio roughly rubbed the sweat off her face with her red scarf, then tossed it on top of her rucksack, which was tilting limply against an apple tree in her orchard. She collapsed beside it, squinting into the starkly bright sun baring down on the valley of her town. She turned her head and pressed her burnt cheek against the cool tree trunk, groaning at the relief. Summer was too damn hot in this town. Rio had thought the cover of her orchard would be a smart place to work on the hot afternoon, but even the shade was warm.

"Hey Rio."

"Huh...?" The toasted rancher looked lazily towards the unexpected voice. She had gotten used to the townspeople wandering around her farm, and welcomed them freely. She spotted bleach blonde hair and combat boots then waved cheerfully up to the (surprisingly jacket-less) man standing in front of the tree. "Oh, hi Neil. What brings you here, on this hellishly hot day?"

Neil shrugged then shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, seemingly missing the usual hiding place of his red leather coat. "Day off," he said. "Thought I'd go for a walk. Too hot to sit in the house."

"It's too hot to go out in the sun, as well." Rio remarked, then patted the dry ground beside her. "Here, if you won't stay inside, then sit in the shade. You're even paler than me."

Neil rolled his eyes, then grumbled,"I don't burn that easily." But he ducked under the low branches and settled himself down beside Rio.

The grouchy animal dealer and the sweaty farmer sat together in the tree's shadow for a few moments, in that companionable silence they always seemed to share. Cicadas chirped in the trees, joining the loud rushing of the river. Rio's grey cat rolled and pounced at crickets in the the shimmering long grass to their right. The pairs' legs lay resting on the powdery dirt in front of them, and sunlight shone just enough through the tree branches to leave golden dapples on their dusty boots. It was hot and dry, but picturesque.

Eventually, Rio tapped her boot against Neil's. "I'm glad we can hang out like this." She looked up to Neil, smiling. "I never get time to see anyone, now that summer work has started."

Neil looked back at the lounging farmer. His maroon eyes narrowed as he studied her face. "Really?"

"Of course!" Rio retorted, "Don't be so sceptical that I enjoy your company!" She pulled the corners of her mouth down dramatically.

Neil rolled his eyes as she started to pretend-sulk, huffing and folding her arms.

"I'm kidding." He offered.

Rio sniffed.

"I'm kidding!"

Rio mournfully turned her back to him, thrusting her bottom lip forwards.

"Geez..." Neil squirmed as he spoke. "Fine...I appreciate the company too."

He hesitated. "In fact..." In his head, the moment slowed. Was now the time? "I..."

Rio span back around and beamed at Neil before he could finish. "Thanks for the kind words, Neil!" She playfully nudged his side with her elbow. "You finally admitted what great friends we are!"

Neil lost the flustered look as his jaw dropped. "Friends?" He managed to choke out.

Now, Rio rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know, the Big Bad Neil doesn't like 'friends'." She shoved her air quotes in his shocked face. "But you just said, you like my company, and in Neil-speak, you might as well have proposed!"

Neil blushed heavily. "Wha- What are you talking about, idiot!"

"Aww!" The previously triumphant Rio pouted again at the stuttering man. "Don't be so serious! I'm just teasing you."

At this, she jumped up from beside Neil, then smiled down sincerely at him. "You're one of my best friends, after all." She grabbed her rucksack suddenly, then swung it onto her shoulder.

"Now, Ne-ne, if you don't mind, you've put me behind schedule." She grinned again, turned, and started jogging towards her animal pasture. "See you later, Ne-ne!" Rio giggle-yelled over her shoulder.

For a second, Neil sat still, looking slightly shell shocked. Then, looking at the retreating farmer, he shook his head and smiled ruefully. Another time maybe.

"Hey!" He got up quickly, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Don't call me Ne-ne!"

Neil sprinted after the laughing girl, who yelled again.

"Worth it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So, this is my first post on Fanfiction! Just a small one shot I came up with on the fly, but I wanted to "dip my toes in", so to speak. I'm a little bit stupidly nervous, but I welcome any feedback with open arms and shaking knees.

Well, I'll keep it short, so I don't ramble. Here's to the start of a (hopefully) fun and enjoyable fanfic career! Cheers!

Lot 'o' love, RioTheRiver.

P.S I don't own Harvest Moon. Do you really think I would be writing second-rate fanfic if I did?

EDIT: just changed a few formatting things. Thanks for the advice guys- you were totally right! XD And thank you for the kind reviews! I really appreciate the patience with my noob-ness.