A/N: Hi there! So I've lurked on FanFic for years, but never really contributed with any works of my own. I've had these ideas for first kisses with the different bachelors of Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns and in honor of NaNoWriMo (and procrastinating on my actual NaNoWriMo story), I decided to finally write one out! I don't usually write fanfic, so please feel free to toss me a review if you liked it or on what I could improve on! Thanks :)

Grey clouds rolled above Konohana, casting large shadows over the fenced-in field by Kana's Animals. With his horses already put away for the day, Kana spent a few moments adjusting his position against the fencepost closest to the shop entrance, trying his best to look casual and definitely not like he was waiting for Lillian to visit.

Kana had met the rancher two seasons ago in the spring when she had just moved to Bluebell. The first thing he had noticed about Lillian was her outfit, which was most definitely designed in the European style that denoted Bluebell origins, but what had stayed in his mind after was the gentle look in her soft, grey eyes. That first conversation he had with her got him thinking about the same soulfulness he found in his horses' eyes, how similarly long their eyelashes were, how the color of her light brown hair matched the coat of Stella, the young mare with the white paint pattern on her coat…

Needless to say, he didn't remember much of that first conversation with Lillian.

He felt a little embarrassed that seeing her reminded her of his horses – do girls like being compared to horses? – but he got over it quickly when he found how easy it was to talk with her. He got to know her better over the next couple of seasons as she stopped by his shop more often and for longer periods of time when she made her daily ventures to Konohana. Every so often, the pair would even go on walks on the bridge or by the large tree in town, just chatting away about their interests and goings-on in life. It became part of his daily routine to expect Lillian to stop by the shop, which nowadays was the time of day that Kana found that he looked forward to most – maybe even more than spending extra brushing time with Hayate.

Kana shook his head, his bangs whipping against his forehead as if to slap him out of his senses.

"No way, more than spending time with Hayate?" he muttered to himself, scratching his head. "That doesn't make any sense."

The sound of Sheng greeting someone farther up the mountain path broke Kana out of his reverie. He craned his neck towards the sound and felt his pulse quicken at the sound of Lillian's familiar voice. A grin involuntarily touched his lips as her mop of light brown hair emerged from behind the trees along the path. She looked different than usual today… her hair was held in place with a thin pink hairband, her usual work clothes replaced with a puffy-sleeved pink kimono-style top and skirt. Kana's heart caught in his throat the sight of her in it. It must have been because she was wearing something so different from what she normally wore, but Kana couldn't help the words that flashed in his mind as he watched her descend the mountain pathway towards Sheng's.

Cute. Lillian's really cute.

Feeling awkward at the warmth rising to his cheeks, Kana finally managed to pull his attention away from Lillian and onto the contemplation of whether he should keep his cool-but-casual position of leaning against the fencepost or turn around and properly greet her. The choice was made for him with the sudden sound of grunts and papers fluttering to the ground behind him.

Kana turned around and saw Dirk – where did he come from? – holding a flushed-faced Lillian by the waist, letters scattered at their feet. Kana's heart lurched at the sight of the two of them standing so close to each other, his hand twitching as he considered whether he needed to jump the fence for a throwdown with the young mailman.

The two didn't stay connected for long, thankfully, and Kana watched as Dirk retracted his hand from her waist and waved his arms with slight panic. The sound of distant thunder muffled their conversation, but from what Kana could gauge, Dirk seemed apologetic about something, to which Lillian responded with equal apology and embarrassment. Kana tapped his foot against the wooden post as he tried to decipher the heart-lurching reaction he had to seeing the two together.

Anger?

Kana scratched his head in thought, not noticing that Lillian and Dirk had parted ways and was walking towards him.

Protectiveness?

"Kana! How're the horses?"

Kana looked up and his brown eyes met with soft grey.

"Oh! Hi Lillian," Kana replied, leaning his arms against the top of the fence. "They're great! Just put them away for the day."

Lillian cocked her head to the side in question. "You're putting them away pretty early. Is it because of the forecast?"

"Yeah, totally. It's getting colder these days and I wanted to make sure they don't get sick from getting caught in the rain."

Lillian propped a foot up onto the lowest rung of the fence. Striking such a pose in such a cute outfit didn't seem like it would match but coming from Lillian, Kana found it surprisingly endearing.

"That makes sense. I guess I should've figured since I also put my animals away early earlier for that same reason. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to forage a bit in the mountains, as you know." Lillian mirrored Kana's stance and leaned forward against the fence, grinning up at him. "And of course, I had to make time to visit my second favorite animal shop."

Kana laughed at that, good-naturedly pinching her arm. "My animal shop is the best and you know it."

Lillian swatted his hand away and set both feet on the fence, swinging her body up to face him but still not quite reaching eyelevel. "It would be if you didn't send me on so many requests for supplies! I practically work here at this point," she laughed. "In fact, that's why I got here a little later today. I found some good treat components and rocks that'll make decent material stone for you. I was in such a rush to get here before the rain, I didn't watch where I was going and smashed right into Dirk earlier. I would have fallen over if he hadn't been so quick to catch me."

That same familiar heart-wrenching feeling emerged in Kana's chest as the image of Dirk and Lillian standing in a loose embrace flashed through his mind. His arms tensed as his gripped the fence, but quickly relaxed as he realized the reason for his sudden reaction.

Jealousy.

Thunder rumbled nearby. Suddenly, rain poured from the heavens, immediately soaking the pair. Kana and Lillian stared at each other as they slowly registered that they were currently standing in torrential rain and Kana let out a loud laugh before hopping the fence and grabbing Lillian's hand to pull her into his shop for shelter.

The entrance bell tinkled loudly as Kana shut the door behind him. Kana's animals, used to Kana's typically loud entrances, were scattered across the floor either lounging or sleeping. Kana untied the band holding back his hair and began wringing the tresses between his hands, leaving a small puddle at his feet. Lillian waited a beat before doing the same by sliding her pink headband off her head and awkwardly squeezing the rainwater out of her shoulder-length hair with her free hand.

"Man, that was like, super sudden, huh?" Kana exclaimed as he stepped out of his soaked shoes. "I knew it was gonna rain, but wow! Wasn't expecting that."

Lillian followed suit and stepped out of her sopping shoes, looking awkward as she tried to not make a mess. "I'm just glad I wasn't in the mountains when the storm hit!" Lillian gave a chuckle but midway, it turned into a sneeze. She sniffled and rubbed at her nose.

"Oh! Sorry, I'll go get us some towels. I'll get you a change of clothes, too." Kana left wet footprints across the floor as he hurried off to his room. He stripped down and quickly toweled off before throwing on a dry sleeveless shirt and shorts. He grabbed the least ragged clean towel he owned, a t-shirt, and a pair of old pajama pants. Presenting them to Lillian, she thanked him and promptly scurried to his room to change.

Kana threw some logs into his fireplace and started up a fire to warm up the place. He tended to the fire until the first log went fully aflame, and satisfied, he went on a search for blankets in case Lillian was still cold. Kana's body usually ran warm and he usually didn't have much need for jackets or blankets, but he was pretty sure he had some somewhere…

Kana had just found what he presumed was his only blanket when he heard the curtains closing off his room flap behind him.

"Hey Lillian, I found a blanket in case you're still—" Kana started, but quickly stopped when he got a glimpse of Lillian.

Lillian looked so tiny in his t-shirt. His pajama pants were rolled at the waist to fit her and they lay baggily against her legs, making her look even smaller. Her hair, usually smoothed back by a headband or bandana, was loose and a little mussed up, as if she had tried to dry her hair with a towel. If Kana thought she looked cute before, the heavy thumping of his heart told him that he thought she looked even cuter now.

"Thanks for the clothes, Kana," Lillian said, giving him a gentle smile. "They're kind of loose, though. I think you need to start working out more."

"Not my fault you're so cute and tiny!" Kana blurted, not realizing what he had said until he saw a faint blush appear on Lillian's face. She seemed to sputter a bit before looking down at her feet in embarrassment.

Lillian is adorable.

Kana cleared his throat and held up the blanket in his hand. "I, uh, found a blanket. I figured you might still be cold, so I started up a fire. Wanna sit and warm up for a bit?"

Lillian nodded. "Yes please. Um, where should I put—" she gestured towards the wet clothes slung over her arm.

Kana swiftly snatched them from her and hung them up on his coat rack. "I'll hang them here to dry. If they don't finish drying before you leave, you can wear my clothes home and I'll take 'em off later." Lillian's eyes widened.

"Oh! I, uh, that's not what I meant…" Kana said, a blush rising to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean, like, take them off your hands. Later. Whenever you're done with them." He palmed himself in the face. "Oh man, you must think I'm a perv now…"

The tinkling sound of Lillian's laughter filtered over to Kana's ears and he uncovered his eyes to see her grinning at him from her spot in front of the fireplace. "Kana, I get it. Now, get your foot out of your mouth and get over here with that blanket, I'm cold."

Kana chuckled and made his way towards Lillian and the fire. The pair sat down and Kana presented her with the blanket. She shook her head slightly.

"Do…do you want to share it?" she asked, her hand just barely grasping the edge of the blanket.

Kana felt plenty warm. In his body, in his skin, in his face. But the more he stared at Lillian's face, the more he realized how close the two actually were sitting next to each other already and how much closer they could be if they were sharing the blanket together…

Kana felt his heart begin to warm.

"Yeah!" he said, quickly flipping the edge of the blanket over Lillian's head, completely engulfing her. "Cozy?"

"Kana!" Lillian exclaimed, laughing. A pair of hands shot out from beneath the blanket in an attempt to right the fabric, but Kana grabbed them instead.

"Is the blanket not enough? Is it too warm? Should I get you something else?" Kana teased, his smile stretching widely across face in warmed amusement. "Perhaps wrestling for the lady?"

"Kana, stop!" Lillian was laughing so hard she was barely putting up a fight. She let her weight tilt to one side at the same moment Kana pushed forward and they both let out yelps as they fell over, Kana making sure to pull back so she wouldn't hit her head against the hard floor.

"Oof!" Lillian huffed as she fell torso-first onto Kana. "I take it back, you don't need to work out at all. Your body is solid and sturdy as is, ow."

Kana laughed, making the Lillian atop him vibrate with the movement. As they settled down, neither of them moved from their positions and Kana realized their hands were still entwined from the earlier tussle. He looked over at their hands, warmth filling his heart, and allowed his eyes to trail back towards Lillian's face.

Lillian was also staring at their hands, her eyelashes casting shadows against the tops of her cheeks from the fire's glow. Her lightly tanned skin couldn't hide the faint blush on her cheeks that Kana knew he put there. She looked up and locked eyes with him and Kana felt his heartbeat quicken. The crackling fire seemed to illuminate her, making soft shadows dance across her fire-kissed skin. He slowly sat the two of them up. He untangled his right hand from hers and slowly brought it up to the side of her face, gently brushing back a wayward tendril of hair. Lillian gave him a soft smile and cupped her smaller, calloused hand over his larger one. Kana's heart lurched in his chest, but for a different reason from before. Not jealousy.

Lillian is…

"Beautiful," Kana whispered, gently cradling Lillian's jaw. "You're so beautiful, Lillian."

The blush on her cheeks deepened, but she refused to break eye contact. "Kana…"

Kana felt his heartbeat in his ears as he willed himself to be courageous. To take a chance.

"Lillian, can I kiss you?"

Lillian's mouth quirked up in a small smile as she nodded and squeezed Kana's hand. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, her warm breath tickling his nose.

Kana tilted his head and met her halfway, fitting his lips to hers. She responded to his kiss by kissing back and moving her hands to rest on his chest. He was sure she could feel the tattoo of his heart, but he didn't care. Let her feel. Let her know the effect she has on him and his heart.

Kana pulled her closer, placing his other hand on the other side of her face to cradle it. She replied to each kiss he pressed against her lips with a kiss of her own and his heart felt full to bursting. When he finally pulled away from her, she let out a shuddering sigh that made him want to kiss her again. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers.

"That's… our first kiss, huh?" Kana said, sliding his hands past her ears through her hair.

Lillian hummed with contentment. "Yeah. I guess all those spicy curries worked."

Kana leaned back, a smile pulling at his lips. "Oh? All this time you were seducing me with spicy curry and I didn't even realize. Next you're going to say that you dressed up all cute today just for me."

Lillian averted her eyes, looking embarrassed. "It was… a specially ordered outfit from Nori. She said that the few times she was able to get you to look at her wardrobe catalogues that you would usually linger on that one longer than the others, so…"

Kana's face bloomed into a full grin as he threw his strong arms around Lillian, nearly tackling her to the ground again.

"I like you so much!" Kana shouted as he buried his face into Lillian, his voice muffled by Lillian's shoulder. "And not just because I thought your eyes and hair reminded me of my horses when we first met!"

Lillian laughed at that, wrapping her arms around Kana and trying to squeeze him as hard as he was squeezing her.

"I like you too," she said with a sniffle. "And ridiculous," she added.

Kana finally relinquished his grip on her to grab the discarded blanket and throw it over the both of them, drawing her back towards him to warm her back up.

"And Lillian, you're the cutest."