Raeger sighed as he glanced over at the clock once again.

It was Wednesday, his day off, and still he had to sit around in his restaurant.
I could be buying Minori's birthday present right now, he thought to himself, annoyed.
The reason why he was hanging around the restaurant during his free time was none other than a certain unreliable farmer, a friend of his, he supposed.

Fritz had stormed into the restaurant just yesterday, yes, stormed in,even though he immediately began whining about how exhausted he was. He sat down at the counter and asked (begged) Raeger - really dramatically, stretching out an arm to him as if he was dying - for food.
So of course Raeger, being used to Fritz's behaviour and moaning, sighed and nonchalantly recommended Curry Rice, that being the first thing that came to his mind.
In the end, Fritz liked the Curry Rice. And the Carbonara. And the Cream Puff. The Apple Juice was a tad too sweet, though.

Fritz then talked away, telling Raeger this and that, some rumors he heard - well, with his job and a lot of girls coming to visit him, the chef knew all of them already, of course.
When the clock hit 8 pm, Raeger pointed it out - didn't Fritz have to bring his animals back into their barns?
However, the redhead farmer wasn't able to just storm out of Raeger's house right away since he still had to pay for his food. HOWEVER, Fritz then realized he didn't have any money with him.
Frankly, Raeger was annoyed. Not that he wasn't used to it, but...uh, that was exactly why he was annoyed.
If Fritz would always pay for his meals and if this was the first or second time he couldn't pay, the chef would let it slip...but Fritz forgot his money way too often.
They'd arranged Fritz should just bring the money the next day quite a few times already, so that's how it also went this time.

Well. Uh. That's why Raeger was spending his free day here, he was waiting for Fritz.
Raeger glanced over at the clock again...ugh, it was after 5 pm already.
Sighing, he got up to leave the restaurant. He'd just have to go and get his money himself.

He was really pissed.

Walking through Oak Tree Town, he met Nadi at the stairs next to the hotel. It seemed the landscaper was coming back from the mountains.

Nadi had been in town for almost two seasons now - including the current one - and Raeger was quite acquaintanced with him since he often ate at his restaurant.
He nodded as a greeting, but Raeger quickly raised his hand, signalizing that he wanted to talk for a moment.
"Hey Nadi! Uh,did you see Fritz today?"
Nadi blinked and then shook his head.
"Nah, didn't see him. He's probably at his farm, I guess."
Raeger looked at the white-haired man for a moment.
Well, I was heading for his farm anyways.
"Is something up?", Nadi asked, with the slightest hint of worry.
"No, he actually wanted to come to the restaurant today, but he didn't show up. I just wondered if something got in his way or...whatever."
It seemed like something came to the landscapers mind but, apparently, he shook it off.
"Well, knowing Fritz and his messy way of living...he probably forgot about it."
Raeger scratched his neck, feeling even more annoyed. Nadi was probably right. Most likely, even. God, he was mad at Fritz now.

After thanking Nadi, he took off towards Greenhill Farm.

Upon arriving at Fritz' house, Raeger knocked at the door loudly. There was no response.

Sighing once again, Raeger took a few steps back as he tried to take his surroundings in, scanning the farm for its owner...he was nowhere in sight, though.
Raeger was getting even more irritated, honestly, what was Fritz doing?
It was not like Raeger at all, getting worked up over something like this, it was just that Fritz was always like this. He was always being sloppy,always forgetful...
But, of course, Raeger immediately felt bad for his thoughts.
He usually wouldn't have, but since Eda's Death,since a certain conversation he had with Fritz, he didn't know what to think anymore. He felt like his world had begun to spin after that - or did it stop turning?
But it wasn't just that, something in his head tried to remind him of a few other things, other situations, other thoughts...but Raeger shoved them away. He really didn't want to think about it.
Rubbing his forehead, he opened the door to the redhead's house, he had to at least check if something had happened and - against his expectations - something had happened.

Raeger flinched when he saw Fritz.

The farmer was cowering on the ground, his arms were on his bed as if he was trying to get up - or as if he was trying to keep his body from collapsing to the ground.
Fritz was awake, though. His face was bright red,his expression was exhausted and...something Raeger couldn't quite make out.
There were tears in his eyes.

He was unprepared for this whole scene and the thoughts in his head were spinning, but at the same time, his mind was completely blank.
Finally, the chef's body started moving as he rushed over to Fritz's side, almost falling to his knees.
"Fritz, what happened? Are you alright?" He tried to stay calm, but looking back, his voice was probably trembling.
Fritz sniffed.
"Oh,man, it's you...sorry I didn't come over..."
His voice was shaky and horse. In that condition, especially his flushed face stood out to Reager.
"Do you...? Do you have a fever?"
He felt the farmer's forehead, and just as Reager thought, Fritz was boiling.
"That's not good, I'll go get Doctor Marian." He had calmed down a bit now,thinking that Fritz shouldn't be in any serious danger.
"Nah, Doctor's out today..."

"He's what?" And suddenly, Reager was panicking again. It wasn't like him at all, he tried to tell himself.
Fritz nodded.
"He's out in the city. But don't worry, it's not that bad...I'll just take a nap."
"That won't do. I'll go get Angela, then. We can't just leave you like that."

Fritz just looked at Reager.

He didn't say anything.

A/N: Hello hello. This is the first chapter of my first fanfiction on and also my first SoS fanfic!
 I actually uploaded this yesterday already, but had to take it down again because I realized that I had messed a few things up.

I don't know yet how many chapters exactly this will have, but they'll surely be a lot less confusing than this one. And longer,too.
Raeger seems super OOC (he actually is, but if you look at a certain sentence in this Chapter here you might find something suspicious!) but I actually have my reasons for writing him like this.

I never was the biggest fan of Raeger, I really like him , but he's not my favourite, and yet here I am writing a fanfic from his view. (English isn't my first language btw so sorry for awkward phrasing or wrong grammar! Please correct me on my mistakes! )
This story also turned out to be a lot more serious than I wanted, but I have lots of ideas and I'll use them!
The next chapters will clarify quite a lot I think?

So sorry for the confusion that may have built up during this Prologue-thingy, but it all has a reason.

And if you think it's too much panicking and worrying and dark thoughts from Raeger's side...well,let's just say this also has reasons.
Unfortunately this won't be super lovey-dovey...
I'm not too sure about the genres yet, though. Does Drama fit what I want to write? Also, of course I intend Romance, but it's actually a lot more about the characters...?

See you!

(Also, if the title feels familiar,there's a Visual Novel(?) from Charon out there with the same title, I just kinda realized that after I chose the title since it's been a while that I played the game. My story and the VN have nothing to do with each other though!)