A/N: First ever Harvest Moon fic! I hope it's okay. It focuses mainly on Nami and Rock (NOT a romance!) and how she discovers he's adopted. Well, I don't want to give anything away, so just read. :) I've been trying to study the characters of Rock and Nami so I can do them justice. Let me know how I'm doing! This first chapter is pretty much just here to set the scene, so to speak. Enjoy!

Don't Lie to Me: Chapter 1

Three swift knocks on Nami's door woke her up in the morning. She was usually an early riser, and rarely took time to sleep in. That's why she was surprised and a bit flustered when the knocking started. She quickly jumped out of bed and ran a hand through her short red hair which she knew probably looked like a bird's nest like it usually did in the morning.

"Hold on," Nami called out when the visitor knocked again. Grabbing a sweatshirt off of her chair and pulling it over her head, she opened the door. "Yeah, hello?"

Ruby, Tim's wife and co-owner of the Inner Inn, frowned and clasped her hands together in front of her like she always did when she was apologetic. "I'm sorry, Nami... is this a bad time?"

"No, no, no," Nami took in a breath, glad to see it was only Ruby who had been nothing less than a mother to her ever since she moved in. "Now's a great time. What is it?"

This time, it was Ruby who inhaled. Her eyes looked toward the floor and she shuffled her feet slightly. Oh, no. Nami recognized this behavior. As sweet as Ruby is, she always hated bringing up money matters with Nami, who wasn't exactly a walking bank from all her traveling. This was just the reason why she stayed so long in Forget-Me-Not Valley in the first place. Train ticket prices were certainly sky-rocketing. And paying rent every month wasn't helping her situation either, Ruby knew.

"Well, it's the first of January, if you recall..." Ruby started. She didn't need to continue before Nami caught on. Her small body tensed as she leaned against her doorway in her baggy sweatshirt.

"Oh, right," She mumbled to the floor. They were both silent for a while until the door across the hall swung open with as much exuberance as the person behind it.

"Morning, family!" Rock sang, stretching his arms as he stood across from Nami in his doorway. If Rock had just woken up, then it must be later than she thought. "What's up?"

Nami shot Rock a dirty look from over Ruby's shoulder. Rock is Ruby's son, even though they look nothing alike which Nami had always found odd. While Ruby and Tim had jet black hair and tanned skin, Rock had always been pale and blond.

"Rock, I don't think this involves you," Ruby told him nicely. Nami smirked triumphantly.

He shrugged. "I was just asking,"

Rock was just as much like a brother to Nami as Ruby was a mother. An annoying brother, but Nami couldn't complain. She had never known her real family, so she felt secretly guilty every time she took any of them for granted.

"Look, Ruby, could I pay you tomorrow or something?" Nami asked in a hushed voice, trying to keep her conversation away from Rock's gossip-hungry ears. This, of course, failed. Rock had an uncanny ability to hear everything he's not supposed to.

"Of course, dear. Take as long as you need," Ruby smiled graciously. Nami barely even noticed. She was too busy glaring at Rock who was now attempting to stifle his laughter by placing his hand over his mouth.

"Thanks, Ruby," Nami replied. Ruby nodded once, and went back down the creaky stairs. As soon as her footsteps could no longer be heard, Rock pulled his hand away and burst into a fit of laughter. Nami's expression didn't change.

"Having money problems, I hear?" Rock asked as his laughter faded.

"None of your business," Nami began to close her door, but froze when Rock continued to speak.

"Aw, don't sweat it if you are. I mean, look at me! I've been pretty much broke for two years and I'm doing fine."

"Yes, Rock. Because I aspire to be just like you some day," Nami spat out sarcastically.

"Not surprising," He grinned, obviously not catching on to the insult. "You're not alone in that department."

"Hey, why don't you leave me alone now?" She suggested with mock-cheerfulness.

"If you really wanted to get away from me, you would've just closed your door already."

Nami raised her eyebrows to signify a challenge. "I was here first."

"Technically," Rock began, staring straight into Nami's eyes. Usually, when Rock started a sentence with 'technically', nothing ever turned out sounding as intelligent as he had hoped. "I was here first. I live here. Meaning, I don't have to pay rent."

The redhead's lips formed a scowl. "Don't you have something you should be doing? Some unsuspecting girl to chase around or some meals to mooch off of someone?"

Rock placed a hand to his heart dramatically as if he were in pain and Nami rolled her eyes. Then he finally started walking toward the staircase. "That hurts, Nami. That really cuts deep."

"I can go deeper if you want," Nami threatened. Rock, with a wide smile on his face, chuckled as he reached the stairs.

"That's what she said..." He sang on his way down. Nami crossed her arms as she stood in her doorway, now alone. She hated when Rock won their little arguments. Grudgingly, she stepped back into her room and closed the door, already worrying about how she was going to scrape up enough money to continue staying here.

A/N: I'm actually rather proud of it so far. But I always seem to screw things up near the end, so hopefully I'll keep it going strong... if people like it, that is. And there's no way of me knowing if you don't R&R! ;)