Take a Load Off:

Summary: "You need to take a break every once in a while, or you'll work yourself to death!" "That's not advice I need from a slacker like you." Dan teaches Tina to enjoy life- at least, a little. [Magical Melody] [Dan x Tina]

He'd tried his luck with her at the horse races, and she had been completely unresponsive. Now, usually Dan liked a good challenge, but she wasn't just playing hard to get- She just didn't like him. Period. He knew her type: Hardworking, self-sufficient, and absolutely no fun. He didn't have a problem with ladies who could take care of themselves (confidence is sexy, after all), but girls who just worked all day? Boooooring. So, he decided to leave her alone. With a girl like that, he would have to work way too hard for very little reward.

A waste of time.

So why was it that he decided to strike up a conversation with her?

"Hey there, Tina! What's up?" Asked Dan, leaning over the fence with a grin. The pig-tailed farmer glanced up at him without interest, then looked back to her work. She brought the hoe down roughly, dragging it through the earth. "Planting strawberries." Replied the farmer, wiping some sweat from her brow. Dan's eyes narrowed and his grin widened. Something about the way she looked- pink and sweating from working out in the sun, breathing a bit hard from exerting so much effort- well, you can probably figure out his line of thought for yourself.

"Strawberries, huh? Those make some good wine."

He couldn't be sure, because she wasn't looking at him, but he thought he saw Tina roll her eyes. "One track mind..." She said. "Do you ever think of anything that isn't sex or alcohol?" Dan rested his elbow on the fence, his chin on his fist, pretending to think seriously about the question. "Hm... Well, y'know, food and sleep, but other than that..." He laughed, "Nope!" Tina shook her head, heaving a sigh. "I knew it. Anyway I'm selling most of these strawberries- whoever buys them can turn them into alcohol, or whatever they want. I'm making jam with what I keep."

"Y'like strawberry jam, huh?"

"No, not really. Why are you here, anyway?"

"What? I can't just come to visit without a reason?" At Tina's unconvinced exression, Dan smirked. "Alright, I'll admit it. I came here to hear your wondeful voice, that matches the songbirds in its beauty."

Tina snorted. Dan raised a hand to his ear. "Ah, the dulcet tones of an angel!"

"Go hit on someone else, loverboy." Tina finally said, resting her hoe. "You're not getting anything here. I'm busy." "And when will you not be busy?" Wondered Dan. "I've got crops until winter, mining until spring, and animals all year round. I don't have time for you, Dan."

"You need to take a break every once in a while," Said Dan, beginning to get exasperated, "or you'll work yourself to death!" Tina narrowed her brown eyes at the dark haired man. "That's not advice I need from a slacker like you."

"Hey, I have a job!" Corrected Dan, resting his weight again on the fence. "I work at the orchard! Just not all day, every day, like you work. You're missing out on a beautiful world, Tina- and a whole lot of fun." "If it means I also miss out on you, I think I can handle it." Replied Tina, going back to tilling her land.

Dan sighed to himself, wondering why in the world he was even bothering. Putting aside the fact that he had much better things to do, he hopped the fence. "Tell you what- I'll help you plant your strawberries so you'll have some free time today. I may be a slacker- but you're a work-a-holic." He grinned widely. "Maybe we should work together?"

Tina raised an eyebrow, not understanding Dan's motives in the least. "And what are you getting out of this?"

"Oh, nothing really- except- that free time I mentioned? You'll be going on a date with me." Tina frowned. "Not interested. I have much better things to do with my free time."

Picking up a bag of seeds, Dan replied, "You don't have any free time! That's why I'm helping you out!"

"There... All of the strawberries are planted, and we still have some daylight left! Let's go!"

"I might have some other things-"

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Wondered Dan. "C'mon. If I hadn't helped you it would have taken you until nightfall. Maybe even later. There's no way you had any more work planned. Even Jamie doesn't work that hard."

Tina crossed her arms over her chest. "Actually, Jamie probably does. Unlike you, he has his priorities in order- and so do I."

Dan sighed, rolling his eyes and wondering again why the hell he was trying so hard. Liking the chase was one thing, but this was beginning to border on masochism. "Do you have any other plans, or can we go?" Wanting to get rid of him, but not wanting to lie, Tina thought hard about it. Finally she let her arms drop to her sides. "Fine. Lead on, Casanova."

Dan scratched the back of his head, thinking about it. "It's a little early to go to the bar, but the inn ought to be open- you hungry?" "... I guess." "Show a little enthusiasm, Tina! It's not every day you get to have the time of your life with a sexy beast like me." Said Dan, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Tina scoffed, "Get over yourself Dan. I don't want to go out with you, and I'm not going to pretend that I do."

Dan heaved a sigh as they walked down the path to the inn. Did this girl have a constant stick up her butt? Was the word, "relax" missing from her vocabulary? For cripes sake, he held the door of the inn open for her- all gentleman-like - and no response at all! He pulled her chair out for her, gave his best charming smile- nothing! He couldn't turn up the charm any more without seriously injuring himself! Perhaps this was a hopeless case, after all.

"Hey there, Tina!" Said Gwen as she brought their menus, "It's a surprise to see you here. Finish all your work today?" Tina nodded. "Yeah... Dan helped." She said, adding the last part a bit grudgingly. Gwen turned her smile on Dan. "Good job, Dan! Goddess knows, it's hard to get Tina off the farm. We hardly ever see her anywhere else." Unsurprised, Dan replied, "Not a problem. Just trying to teach Tina how to have fun. It's pretty hard to teach someone who doesn't want to learn, though."

Tina glared across the table, prompting a laugh from Gwen. "Aw, Tina, he's just joking- and he's right- you need to take a break from work every once in a while. It's not going to kill you." Tina didn't reply to this, instead opening her menu. Dan thought he saw a sad expression on her face before she hid it away under the excuse of deciding what to drink. Gwen shook her head. "Do you two know what you want to drink?"

"Apple juice." "Water."

Tina glanced up from her menu, surprised, as Gwen jotted down their orders and walked away. "Water?" Dan nodded, smirking. "Thought I was going to get alcohol, huh? It's a little early for that- and working at the orchard kind of makes you lose your taste for fruit juice." Tina looked back at her menu. "You don't seem the type to care what time it is..." Dan shook his head, "Hey there's a time and a place. Getting drunk before night time is pretty dumb- more people around to see you when you do something stupid. Anyway, getting that job at Ronaldo's place has taught me a lot about managing my time- even if I didn't really want to learn."

Tina nodded to herself. "Good. You need to learn that there's more to life than fun. Everything in moderation." Dan smirked at her. "And you need to learn that there's more to life than work." At her glare he continued, "Everything in moderation, Tina." She sighed heavilly, putting her menu down. "You just don't understand." She said, "If-..." She bit her lip, staring down at the knots in the wooden table. Dan stared at her, curious. "What?"

"You two ready to order?" Said Gwen, coming back at just the wrong moment. Tina quickly plastered on an unconvincing smile, saying, "Just a salad, please." Gwen put her hand on her hip, and turned to Dan. "Dan, you're paying aren't you?" Dan raised an eyebrow, wondering why Gwen had suddenly asked that question. "Yeah. I invited her out, so it's my treat." Gwen nodded, then turned back to Tina. "See Tina? He's paying, so order something else. You've been working all day- you need more than a salad. Here, I'll put you down for a tomato omelette- you need some protein. 'Kay Dan, what do you want?"

"Do I get to pick my own order?" He wondered, noticing Tina's embarrassed expression at being scolded by Gwen. Gwen laughed brightly. "Of course! It's just Tina will usually go for the cheapest thing on the menu unless I force her to pick something else. I'm surprised she even ordered apple juice instead of water."

"Can you please stop talking as if I'm not right here?" Wondered Tina, looking annoyed as well as embarrassed. Dan chuckled to himself. "I could go for an omellete, myself. Could you add some cayenne?"

"No problem." Said Gwen, scribbling the orders on her little notepad. "Be ready in a few minutes."

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Tina said quietly, "I'll pay for my own food- you don't have to worry about it." Dan shook his head. "Hey, I invited you, remember? So it's my job to pay. It's not like I don't have the money, so just let me pay. Alright?" "... Fine."

They didn't say much to each other through the meal, no matter how many times Dan tried to start a conversation with Tina. She seemed to get in a worse mood as the afternoon wore on. Dan was beginning to think about just giving up. However, when they were about to leave, Gwen pulled him aside to tell him something.

"About Tina..." She began, glancing over to make sure the afore mentioned farmer could not hear them. "Um... She told me once that, after her mom died, her dad began to be really bad with money. He went from job to job, and almost always wasted the money on something like a big fancy dinner for the family, or gifts- nice things, but... She said there was usually almost nothing left over for bills, or food- there were times when they lived on the streets.

She got a job when she was younger, and started hoarding her money away- never spending it on anything she didn't absolutely need. She's afraid of being like her father- so she never spends her money unless she needs to- and even then she's reluctant about it- and she works like crazy. She doesn't want to go back to how things were, but... She needs to learn to- to have fun, to take a break- to enjoy life! I've been trying to help her, but- Look, I know it's a lot to ask- but maybe you could help her out a little, Dan?"

Dan glanced over at the pigtailed girl who was starting to act impatient. That certainly explained a lot. It was such a shame, too. "I'll see what I can do." He said with a grin. Meeting Tina at the door, the brunette asked, "Can I go home now? I've got work to do in the morning." Dan shook his head. "There's one more thing. Have you ever taken a walk on the beach while the sun was setting?" Tina rolled her eyes. "Your lines and ploys aren't going to work on me, Dan. I'll go to the beach, fine, but after that I'm going home." "That's all I'm asking."

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Asked Dan, looking out at the ocean. Tina gave the scene a skeptical look. "It's just the ocean. What's the big deal?" Dan rolled his eyes at her. "Come on Tina! It's the ocean! At sunset!" "And what's the big deal about it?" Tina asked again. "It's- It's beautiful! And stuff!" Tina looked down at the sand. "Sorry, but I just... don't see what's so great about it. I've been down here a ton of times to go fishing- it's just a lot of water, to me."

Dan shook his head. How was he supposed to do this? She was way too set in her ways... What exactly had Gwen expected him to do? Teaching Tina how to have fun was like teaching a dog to read. The girl had no sense of beauty, no spontanaiety, no-

... No spontanaiety?

Dan suddenly happened upon an idea.

Tina was probably pretty surprised by his stripping his shirt off and running into the water, but she looked more exasperated than anything else. "What are you doing?" "Swimming," said Dan, floating on his back in the water and grinning up at her, "what does it look like?"

"A little early in the year for swimming." Tina pointed out. "It's a warm day." Dan replied. "Care to join me?" Tina frowned. "I would prefer not to get my clothes wet, so no." "Swim naked." Dan suggested, smirking at her. Tina reddened, glaring at him. "No. Way."

Dan pouted at her. "Aw, c'mon Tina! Swim with me." "No. Like I told you I don't want to- Agh!" Dan snickered to himself at the irritated farmer as she examined her soaked clothing. He smiled innocently, "Oh, look, your clothes are wet. No harm in swimming now, is there?" "Because you splashed me." Pointed out Tina. "Doesn't change the fact that there's nothing keeping you from diving in."

"I really, really don't like you right now." Said Tina- but she seemed to give up, slowly wading into the ocean. "Watch out for jellyfish." Warned Dan teasingly. "I heard they sting pretty badly."

"There aren't any jellyfish here- ow!" Tina looked down into the water, but didn't see any fish. She rubbed her left thigh, wondering what- Her eyes narrowed. "Dan..."

"Yes~?" Dan put the innocent facade back up. Tina wasn't fooled. "I will get out of the water right now if you-"

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Said Dan, raising his hands. "Jeeze, don't have a- ack!" Tina actually giggled behind her hands at her handiwork- a fistful of ocean and beach lobbed at Dan's shoulder. He sighed, wiping the mud off. "Very funny. Really- how mature- TAKE THIS!" He sent a small-ish wave of water at Tina's face. She coughed, rubbing her nose, then splashed Dan right back. This continued for about five minutes as the sun fell lower and lower on the horizon, the two getting deeper into the water until their toes barely touched the sand beneath. Tina looked up at the stars twinkling into sight. "It's pretty late." Said Dan, wondering if Tina was going to demand to go home again.

"... Yeah. It is." Said Tina, making tiny whirlpools with her fingers. "Pretty moon." She said, looking at its reflection on the ocean's surface. Dan nodded, then looked from the moon to the brunette farmer swimming a few inches away. She had lost her hairties in the ocean, and her soaking hair fell to her shoulders in a wet curtain. "This wasn't so bad, huh?" She shrugged, not looking up from the water. "Guess not."

"See, it's not so bad to take a break every once in a while. Trust me Tina, you're... Just because you rest, or take a day off, or spend a little money- you'll be fine- you-" Tina's head shot up, and her expression was angry. "What did Gwen tell you? It's none of your business. You just- ugh! I knew coming with you was a bad idea-" She began to swim toward shore. Dan caught her hand.

"Tina, wait!"

"... what?"

"... Are you just going to work your life away? What's the point of all of that work if you aren't happy?"

"I am-"

"No, you're not." Dan interrupted her. "You're making all this money, and what are you doing with it? You buy seeds, sell the crops, and use the money to buy more seeds. You won't buy anything for yourself, or accept gifts or even a meal from anyone else. What do you do for you?"

Tina avoided his gaze. "... Nothing. Nothing, okay? Is that what you want me to say? I don't know how to do anything else! Do you know- I was jealous of you! Sure, when we first met, I just thought you were a- a pathetic layabout- but then you got a job, and- and you were working and having fun- I've never been able to do that- and I was jealous of you! You!" She met his gaze. "I'm not happy, okay? There, I said it! I'm not happy- but I can't change!"

"I stopped being a- what was that you said?- a pathetic layabout, didn't I?" Dan grinned at the sad girl. "I bet you can learn to have fun- enjoy life. You just need the right teacher." Tina snorted. "Who? You?"

"That's what I was thinking. You have anyone else in mind?"

Tina thought about it for a bit. "... Guess not." She rubbed her arms, turning toward the shore. "Cold?" Wondered Dan. "... A little." Admitted Tina. Dan smirked to himself- things were going his way, after all. He put his arms around the shivering farmer, who elicited a sharp, surprised noise. "Better?" He said in her ear. It was almost too dark to tell, but her face seemed to be getting red. "What do you think you're doing?" "Warming you up. You said you were cold, didn't you?"

"Not that cold." She said, turning to glare at him without really thinking about just how close their faces would be. Dan's smirk grew as Tina's blush deepened. "Um... Let go?" Asked Tina, trying not to look at his face. "Nope." Said Dan. Tina's gaze returned, to glare at him. "What do you mean, 'nope'? How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not-" Dan pulled her closer, until his lips were less than an inch from hers. "... Interested..." She said, her voice less than a whisper- just a breath.

"Is that so?" He wondered, brushing a lock of wet brown hair away from Tina's red face. "Doesn't seem like it to me, Ti-na." He tightened his grip on her, pulling them even closer together than they were before, if that was even possible. Tina tried her best to look anywhere that wasn't his face (or his shirtless chest), but failed, ending up looking right into his dark eyes. He could feel her breathing against him- her breaths slow and unevenly spaced. Her heart was beating a mile a minute against his chest. He smirked, brushing his lips just barely against hers.

"I think you're very interested."

Perhaps Gwen should've chosen someone with different methods to teach Tina how to have fun? Perhaps- but those strawberries Tina didn't ship weren't turned to jam after all, so maybe Dan's way was working.

A/N: And then Tina totally tackled him! Nah. I was trying to hint at something with the whole strawberries thing, and a few other comments, but I'm not sure how clear it was. I'll let you guys figure it out for yourselves. Ha ha, no one can resist Dan's shirtless flirting! Mwa ha ha... I actually did marry Dan, despite his... well, if you've played MM, you probably know. So many characters were just... ergh... But when you hear Ray's really deep voice, you kind of have to wonder what happened to Dan. I wonder why I never had him call her "kitty cat"...? Yeah, Tina wouldn't have responded well to that. XD

Gah... I wasn't sure how to end this. I hope I did pretty well. I felt really weird using such language in a Harvest Moon fanfic... Especially MM, which is probably one of the only Harvest Moon games in which there wasn't even alcohol (well, there was, but they called it soda). It feels really innapropriate for that game for some reason! Gah! I can talk about such things in MFOMT fics easilly, but MM... Ergh... I feel like I spoiled the game's innocence... XD I blame Dan!