Guys, you have no idea how excited I am to post this! I started writing these almost immediately after I saw the prompts on tumblr, I was just super inspired! And in a ridiculously fluffy mood, so these all turned into three tooth-rotting fluff prompts based around the Main Player Character and the bachelors I wooed across the games I've played.

I wanted to challenge myself a bit, so I set the goal to write at least 1000 words for each daily prompt and well... I definitely exceeded that goal.

Day One's prompt was Reminiscing OR Looking Ahead
I chose Reminiscing, and naturally, for the first day, went with my first game. (Okay, technically, my first game was Back To Nature, but I was 8 and so bad at it I never accomplished anything. MFoMT was the first game I actually got married in.)

I hope you all enjoy!

-Becks


Day One - Reminiscing

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Claire straightened her stiff back with a low groan, pressing her fists into her lumbar. The harvest had always been labor intensive, but it had never hurt this much.

"Lamb, you okay?"

Claire smiled to herself, cherishing her pet name. Thirty-five years of marriage and he could still bring a smile to her lips with just one word.

"I'm fine, just a little stiff."

Cliff smiled at her over the trellises, his blue eyes crinkling up in years of laugh lines. "This used to be a lot easier."

"We used to be a lot younger," Claire conceded with a shrug and a smile.

"Speaking of younger, what happened to our labor force?"

Claire looked over their fields, not seeing their helpers. She shaded her eyes and looked skyward at the unseasonably hot sun; it was high in the sky. "Probably getting lunch set up."

"That takes all four of them?" Cliff joked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's been a hot morning, and the grapes aren't going anywhere." Claire tucked her clippers into her pocket and hefted up the nearly full basket of grapes onto her hip. "C'mon, dear, I think we're due a break too."

They hiked across the vineyard and towards the farmhouse. The harvest was always the busiest time of year, and even the birds that had flown the nest still returned to roost for a week or two - turning the usually quiet house into a hive of activity. It was chaotic and the house was packed to the gills, but Claire loved every minute of it.

Several folding tables had been shoved together beneath the shade of the small apple grove. Her kids were sprawled across the chairs, laughing and chatting and egging the young grandkids into dumping buckets of water on each other.

"Hey slackers," Cliff called out, dropping his basket onto the ground with a heavy thud. "I don't see lunch on the table."

There was a collective jump as Claire and Cliff's children scrambled to their feet. Claire put her hands on her hips, only semi-seriously admonishing her children. "Hank, you of all people should be helping your wife."

Their middle son gaped at them, trying to put together an explanation, but he was saved by his twin sister, Heather. "Le chef has banished us all from the kitchen, Mom. There's no encroaching on her domain. Katie and Bernadette have formed an irritable, pregnant lady pack."

Claire was stopped from truly scolding her middle children by an insistent tugging on her hand. "Gramma, Gramma, Gramma!"

She smiled down at her eldest grandchild, Tiffany. "Yes, dear?"

"Are we gonna stomp these grapes?" The six-year-old had been asking the same question about every bushel of grapes they'd brought in for the last two days.

"Not these ones, sweetheart." Claire patted her granddaughter on top of her head.

The child frowned at her and then turned to her grandfather. "Grampa, when're we gonna stomp grapes."

"We don't stomp them, Tiffany, we press them in a machine to squeeze all the juice out."

"But… but Daddy said that he stepped on the grapes to make the wine."

"Ahh, well, that's because your dad was a mischievous little imp when he was a boy and we had to burn out all of his energy." Cliff laughed.

Peter opened his mouth to protest this besmirching of his reputation in front of his daughter, but was cut off by a shrill whistle from the porch. Peter's wife Katie was standing on the porch, hands on her hips, "Hey schleppers, food's ready! Bernadette says if you don't carry, you don't eat."

There was a great scramble as the mostly grown-up children raced from the tables to the farmhouse. Claire was unceremoniously handed Evan, her two year old grandson, by her youngest son, Kyle as he shoved his brothers and sister out of the way in the race. Everyone knew that the first one to carry a dish got first pick of the servings, and Kyle, being seventeen years old, consumed food like a black hole.

"Come on, Tiffany, let's go wash our hands." Cliff said, taking his granddaughter's hand and walking much more slowly to the house. Claire settled Evan on her hip and followed.

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XXXXXXXXXX

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Later that evening, Claire and Cliff sat beside each other on the porch swing, sharing a bottle of wine. The day's work was done, dinner had been cleared up, the kids were off doing their own things, and they had nothing but time on their hands.

The sun was setting, and the remainders of the summer bugs were singing proudly in the trees. Claire finished the last sip of her wine and set her glass aside. She was tired and full of love and relaxed.

"Let's take a stroll," Claire said, linking arms with her husband.

"Alright."

A leisurely evening stroll wasn't something they got to engage in very often during the busy harvest season; which was a shame. Autumn was the most beautiful season to walk around Mother's Hill.

They stood in tandem, slowly working the kinks from their knees and backs. Claire led Cliff across the porch and they stood at the top of the steps, surveying the farm. Claire drew a deep breath of the warm air and released it as a slow, content sigh.

"Surely we're going farther than the edge of the porch," Cliff teased. He pecked her on the cheek and they stepped off the porch. "What's got you so nostalgic tonight?"

Claire hummed thoughtfully. "I'm just remembering what this all looked like when we started. Do you remember?"

Cliff chuckled. "I remember thinking you were crazy and it would take an act of god to get the land cleared, much less get the farm up and running again all on your own."

"I had to have been crazy. I didn't know the first thing about farming. Had I been any older and smarter, I'm sure I never would have taken the plunge."

"Well, I'm certainly happy you were young and stupid." Cliff quipped. He pressed a kiss to his wife's work roughened hand and wrapped his arm around her waist.

They strolled quietly across the farm, each reminiscing. The scrawny apple tree, under which they shared their first kiss, had become the first in their little cider grove. And, if Claire closed her eyes, she could still see the hard-earned turnip plots that she had scraped a living from in her first years. She could hear her first dog, Lance, baying after the sheep as he herded them around the tiny pasture she had fenced off. Now, Lance's great-great-grandpups watched over the herds.

The farm had almost tripled in size from what Claire had bought. Her first field had long ago been turned into pasture shared between her and Yodel Ranch. After her first ten years, Claire had purchased the land west of her farm, split by the stream that wound down from the mountain lake. The second fields were twice as large as her original field. Half had been devoted to her seasonal crops; the other half had been turned into a vineyard.

A famous sommelier had visited Mineral town on their country-wide tour searching for hidden gems. He had given Aja Winery a rave review, and as the wine business boomed, they needed more land to grow more grapes. Claire was happy to share in the business with her husband. They had even built a small winery on the farm once the vines had fully matured and production had increased beyond the capacity of the original winery. The storefront still remained in town, manned by Cliff and their daughter.

They walked past the chicken coop, listening to the sleepy sounds of chickens settling in to roost for the night. Underneath the clucks and ruffling feathers there was another noise; voices, a low murmur and then a laugh. Cliff scuffed his boot across the ground and kicked a rock. There was a quiet yelp followed by a hissed "Shh!"

Claire shared a sly grin with her husband. She knew that if she decided to peek around the back of the coop she'd find her youngest son with Trent and Elli's boy. But neither of the adults did anything and kept walking, chatting innocently about the upcoming apple harvest as they passed.

They'd let the kids think they were being sneaky tonight. They were hardly the first to discover that behind the coop was just about the best hiding spot on the farm if you wanted a little privacy without nosy siblings or children poking around.

They crossed the footbridge over the stream, it still looked brand new after finally being rebuilt last spring, and set off on the trail up Mother's Hill. They passed Gotz's cabin, a little less lonely now with the addition of a workshop and an apprentice's cabin.

About twenty-five years back, Amber had floated into town on the summer ferry with Kai and Popuri – tagged along on their annual trip to Mineral Town. Though she never talked about it, it was pretty clear that the kid hadn't had an easy go at life up to that point, and the wandering couple had swept her up like protective older siblings. For whatever reason, the girl had taken to Gotz like a duck to water that summer. After a season long gruff-off between the two, the carpenter made a reluctant show of taking the teenager under his wing as an apprentice.

Claire personally thought he hadn't minded half as much as he claimed considering the two almost became like father and daughter by the end of that autumn. Amber had mostly taken over the carpentry business for the town, but Gotz, even in his advanced age, kept the four apprentices in check. And as much as he grumbled about the 'teenage bullshit' he had to settle all the time, Claire had a feeling he enjoyed the company.

There were voices up the path to the hot spring, and Claire and Cliff waved to the family walking on their way home. It was Monday. May still always went to the spring on Mondays; dragging Amber and their two kids along, despite the complaints of the kids.

Hand in hand, Claire and Cliff walked farther up the well beaten mountain path. At the edge of the lake two figures stood together, skipping rocks across the mirror-like surface of the lake. By the heated rise of their voices, the best friends were having a mutual venting session about their respective parents. Claire hardly had to listen in to know what they were upset about. Small town gossip and all that.

Rick's son, Robbie, wanted to leave town for college, study and see the world. His father held some strong opinions about that. What did his son need a college degree for? He was going to be a poultry farmer like his father and his father before him.

Claire and Cliff both knew that their old friend was pushing his abandonment insecurities onto his son, and it wasn't fair to Robbie. He was almost twenty-four and had hardly left Mineral Town at all in his life. He was left living vicariously through letters and postcards from his aunt and uncle. Rick's reluctance to let his son leave the nest had been a long running point of irritation for Karen. She had been making progress in convincing Rick to let their son live his own life, up until she suddenly and unexpectedly passed away two years back. Rick had clamped down even harder on his convictions after that.

Gray and Mary's youngest daughter had taken up her father's mantel, and despite the blacksmith's insistence that he would never be a tough mentor like his grandfather, that was exactly what he had become. "It builds character. My grandfather was tough on me and I turned out fine."

Laurel, however, was as stubborn as her father, and possibly more hot tempered. Despite the headbutting that happened over the forge and the shouting matches that sometimes carried outside of the shop, their relationship was ultimately loving. Claire wondered if Laurel knew how much like her father she was as she chucked stones into the lake at the same spot Gray used to when he was frustrated with his mentor.

Claire and Cliff climbed farther up the mountain, commenting at the wildflowers blooming and the changing leaves in the trees. They reached the summit of Mother's Hill, and looked out over the forest that seemed to go on for eternity. The moon wasn't quite full, but it had already begun its nightly trek across the sky, pale and washed out in the mostly-blue sky. Moon Viewing day would be coming up soon. Claire and Cliff had long ago retired their annual trek up the mountain for a cozy night at home – the summit that night was for the young lovers.

Cliff wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her close. His beard tickled her cheek as he rested against her shoulder. "I proposed to you up here. Remember?"

Claire did, quite vividly. Poor weather had threatened to rain out the Moon Viewing festival, and most folks in town had opted to forgo the hike up the mountain in the rain and the dark. It being their third moon viewing as a couple, she and Cliff had planned for the same, curled up together in front of the TV snacking on the moon dumplings. But as night fell, the patter of raindrops lessened on the farmhouse roof. Reckless and in love, the couple had decided to take the hike up the dark mountain, despite the very real dangers of it. Their efforts had been well rewarded. The clouds parted shortly after they reached the summit and the moonlight turned every rain-soaked rock into silver and pearls.

Entranced by the magic of it all, the question had passed Cliff's lips before he had even realized what he was saying. Stuttering and featherless, he hadn't really expected Claire to say 'yes,' but bathed in the magical light of the harvest moon, there wasn't any other answer she dreamed of giving.

"You'll have to remind me how that night ended," Claire said softly, turning in her husband's arms to face him.

Cliff cupped her face gently, whispered, "I love you more than anything in the world," and brought his lips to hers. Claire melted into the kiss, twining her arms around her husband's neck.

The stiffness in her joints and the ache in her muscles were constant reminders that she was no longer the dreaming young woman who had come to this town with nothing and carved a life out of Mineral Town with only her blood, sweat, and tears. But when her husband kissed her, she still felt like the boundless twenty-two year old she had been on her wedding day.

Together, they turned to face the town and rest on their favorite boulder. It had probably been sitting on the mountain's face for thousands of years, and held many a butt over that time, and it would probably continue to support lovers and friends and weary hikers and children who needed their shoes tied again for another thousand years or more.

The setting sun had painted Mineral Town red and gold, throwing long shadows eastward. After almost forty years living there, Mineral Town hardly seemed to have changed at all, even though Claire knew it was hardly the same town she had settled in. It had grown a bit, adding more homes and businesses slowly over the year, but was still hardly large enough to be considered more than a village.

Claire's eyes skimmed over her farmlands and the poultry farm and Yodel Ranch. She could barely see the outline of the vet's house on the south side of town. Doctor Herriot had moved out to the country with his family after a relatively short, but quite lucrative career as a racehorse veterinarian to retire and take up fishing. Three months of peace, quiet, and boredom had him making house calls to the farms just to check in on the animals. That had been twenty years ago, and he still hadn't stopped.

The Inn was still the largest building in town, and easiest to spy from the mountain. Doug still kept the bar to keep busy, though the business and management end of things had been taken over by Ann long ago. The Inn was in the middle of a remodel and expansion and Claire was looking forward to seeing the finished results.

Claire still vividly remembered the night when Ann, after years of Doug pestering his daughter about dating and finding a boyfriend, put her foot down and announced to her father and the entire bar crowd that she had no interest in dating or having sex with anybody ever, thank you very much. Doug, as far as Claire knew, had put the issue to bed and hadn't touched it since. Instead, he had become a watchful and caring surrogate grandfather-figure for all of the kids in town – particularly the hired staff. He wasn't nearly as tough on them as he liked to pretend to be when he was tending the bar if the affectionate way the staff called him 'Pops' was anything to go by.

Aja Winery stood resolute with her small vineyard. Officially, it had been passed onto Cliff when Duke passed away ten years back, but the old wine maker had unofficially retired almost ten year before that. Cliff had practically been running the place himself for years before it legally passed into his hands, and when Heather was old enough, she had happily joined her father at the winery. Manna kept herself plenty busy gossiping with the other ladies in town and spoiling her grandchildren and great-grandbabies. She absolutely adored the way Evan, who still hadn't quite mastered speaking clearly, called her 'Gra'Manna' and made sure to tell everyone about it.

Mary's library was still there, the same as it had always been save for an expanded collection of books. It was a quiet haven for the novelist to continue her writing. If Claire recalled correctly, she was working on her sixth novel now, and has no intentions of stopping any time soon. Laurel's older sister had left town for school, and was currently a professor of chemistry at a university.

Then there was Elli and Trent's house, almost an empty nest except for their youngest and only son. Their two older daughters had followed their father's footsteps and had both become doctors. By the look of things, their son was heading down the same path – though somewhat reluctantly from what she picked up when he joined them for dinner.

Harris still enjoyed his easy beat at the town's policeman, though he didn't serve alone anymore. Every few years, he would get fresh faced and eager cadet from the academy to assist him and learn from him. He half-heartedly complained about retraining, but enjoyed the help. It freed up some of his time for his mayoral duties, and provided a younger set of legs got to traipse up and down the mountain trails on a daily basis now. He never did marry, but for several years now Harris had been in a long-distance, letter writing romance with a nice gentleman from the Sunshine Islands.

The supermarket was under the care of a new family now; second cousins of Karen who had fled the city for a quieter life. Jeff had passed on shortly after Robbie's birth, and Sasha had found the store too much to handle on her own. Karen had been relieved when her cousins took over. Splitting her time and effort between hew infant son, the poultry farm, and running the supermarket had been more than she wanted to handle.

The clinic now housed Trent's apprentices as they worked through their residency. There was a spare room saved for Stu when he came to visit. The boy had followed his childhood hobbies and became an entomologist. He spent most of his time on field studies in exotic locales, but he still called Mineral Town his home base. Claire was certain that Elli had mentioned Stu spending the next six months deep in the Amazon when they had tea together last week.

Carter still watched over the spiritual health of the town from the church, which, with the influx of new residents, now had pretty regular attendance. Their family went to services every Sunday, and Claire was always thankful to the Goddess for bringing her to this town, for giving her the ability to revive her farm, and for blessing her with her loving friends and family.

From the mountain, Claire couldn't really see the beach, but she had a feeling it had a fair number of patrons enjoying one of the last summery days of the year. Peter and Katie had taken their kids down to the beach for a little swimming after dinner. Zach still headed the shipping business in town from his beach house. He had no plans of retiring any time soon, but May's eldest had begun to show an interest in what he did as a shipper. Zach had lived alone for almost three decades after Won had left town in search of more gullible customers. The salesman made an appearance every few years with new bizarre items to sell, and he kept the farms well stocked on exotic seeds, selling through the supermarket. Kai's snack shack hadn't been open for business in decades, but Claire knew from personal experience that it was the perfect place to take shelter from a sudden summer rain … or sneak away to for a little bit of romance. It was a much younger crowd breaking into the shack to make out against the dusty bar top these days.

Claire leaned against her husband, warmed with memories of the past and the life she had shared with him and her loved ones. She looked over her home, and realized she couldn't be happier. She had the love of her life, and the large family she had always dreamed of. Her farm was thriving and her home was a beautiful, peaceful place.

She nestled up underneath Cliff's arm. "What a wonderful life we have."