This is my second ever fanfic and my first ever Harvest Moon fic. I've been playing Animal Parade a lot recently, courting Owen (I can't believe they downsized his muscles from ToT!), and when I found out he went to the bar more now I thought of this fanfic. I kind of hoped that it would be a random event, but no such luck.

Anyway, it is from the POV of the female main character, under her official English name of Molly.

Enjoy :)

It was later than I had thought when I emerged from the mines. The exact time I did not know, as the clouds obscured the moon. There was no one about, not even Bo. With no one to ask, I headed up the ramp to the blacksmiths and walked in.

"Hey Ramsey."

The old man looked up as I entered, as if surprised to see me.

"What are you doing here?"

Slightly disconcerted, but unperturbed, I replied: "I, uh… is Owen in?"

Ramsey looked at his watch. "It's past 10. He's at the bar. And we're closed."

"Oh."

There was a pause.

"Alright, then. Sorry Ramsey."

"Don't mention it." He returned to his writing.

As I left, I looked back at the door. Sure enough, there was a sign reading 'CLOSED'.

I headed for the town. As I passed the farm, I hesitated. I was still in my work clothes. I was going to see Owen. After a moment of consideration, I dashed inside to change into my best pink dress and red straw hat – my festival clothes.

When I finally reached the bar, I scanned the tables for Owen. There were surprisingly few people there; Dale, Cain and –

"Owen!"

I ran over to his table. A few other patrons looked up with mild interest, but quickly returned to their drinks. No one seemed to care that Owen was slumped unconscious over his table, barely in his seat.

When Kathy saw me there, she came over. "Don't worry," she said, lifting Owen's face from the table. "Whenever he comes here without Ramsey he drinks more. I mean, usually not as much as tonight, but even so… He's always fine."

"And… you just leave him here?"

She shrugged. "We can't take him home. Ramsey would find out about him over-doing it."

"But… I thought you loved him? I thought…" I was angry. I was very, very angry. "Why didn't you take him to your home? Or to the Inn? How could you just…"

I couldn't even finish the sentence. I couldn't even stay in the bar any longer. Instead, I picked up Owen's giant frame and headed for the door.

"Wait. You're… you're not… Surely you aren't going to try and carry him home? Muscle weighs more than fat, you know."

I turned back to her, my entire body shaking beneath the wait.

"I," I said, in a calm voice, "am a farmer. I'll be fine."

With that I staggered out of the door.

I thought about what Kathy had said about Owen not wanting Ramsey to know. As worried as I was about him, I didn't want to betray his trust. Instead, I turned in at the farm.

Once he was settled beneath the covers, there was little to do but wait for him to come round; there was nowhere else for me to sleep, and it was now too cold and too dark to go back outside, even to check on the animals. So I pulled up a chair from the dining table and set it by the bedside. I considered getting a book down to read, but all of them were manuals, which I didn't really fancy reading at one o clock in the morning.

It was half an hour before his eyes groggily opened. He let out a low moan.

"Would you like some water?"

He turned his eyes slowly towards me. They were bright red. He gave a slight nod, and winced.

I got the water at the kitchen and returned to my seat. "Here." I held the glass out to him.

He looked at it mournfully, but made no effort to take it. Sighing, I lifted his head gently, and poured the water down his throat.

"Thanks," he croaked. Then he fell back asleep.

Owen did not wake up again until 4. I was dozing in my chair, but his voice awakened me.

"…Molly?"

I opened my eyes to his face, now apparently well, looking up at me. I smiled. "That was a quick recovery."

He blinked, and looked around. "Where are we?"

"My house. And we'd better get you home – your grandfather'll be worried."

He sat up quickly. "What? What time is it?"

"Just gone four. But don't worry. He won't be awake for ages yet."

Owen lent back on the pillows. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Why did you bring me here?"

I didn't answer the question straight away. I wasn't even sure how to answer it.

"I was worried about you. And it didn't feel like anyone else was."

He shook his head. "You shouldn't have bothered. It's hard working on a farm. You haven't slept all night."

It hurt me to hear the disappointment and resentment in his voice. "Oh… I… I just thought…"

"But thank you." He took my hand in his large ones, and looked me in the face. "I appreciate your concern."

He let my hands go, and lay in silence for a while. At last, he said:

"My head hurts."

I smiled. "Come on then. The fresh air will fix it on the way back."

It was 5 when we finally reached the blacksmiths. I smiled. Almost time to wake up.

"Thank you again, Molly," smiled Owen.

I nodded in reply.

He hesitated for a moment, and then kissed me, lightly, fleetingly, on the cheek. Then, his face flushing red, he disappeared inside, leaving me standing alone as the early morning sun began to peek over the mountain.

And even though I was tired the next day, I walked on air and worked with ease, the memory of the moment fuelling my entire being.

Please R&R, I want to know if it is worth doing another Moon fic :) Many thanks!