Ho, ho – hack! Sorry; I'm allergic to Christmas this late. Speeeeaking of late!
Hello, ATWF! I was your sub Santa this lovely… spring. Jeez, sorry, man. Wish we could've gotten this all worked out sooner. But I sincerely hope you like this gift fic I wrote for you featuring a couple of your favorites. Thanks for always livening up our little Harvest Moon community, and may you continue to write great fanfic!
Happy Christmas, Easter Turkey
Harmonica Town was almost perfect. From the seaside markets to the sleepy mountaintop and all of the way out to the quiet fields, there was an unequivocal serenity to Castanet. Everyone was so friendly and helpful, making the new farmer feel welcomed and appreciated at the starting line. They generously provided him with the tools and methods he'd needed to get started in hopes that his prospective farm could turn their economy around. The food was delicious, the air was clean, and Kasey had nothing to complain about. Well. Except for their shit parties.
The young man had arrived gangly and awkward in the spring like a newborn fawn, smiling and waving and fresh-faced after the big move. He was a little too agreeable and maybe a bit overeager to impress all of these new strangers, and so he was more than excited to get a chance to experience one of their local festivals. He had just missed the one, but there was an animal event coming up, which would be a great learning experience for him, so of course he'd love to go, sure! Even though it turned out to be boring as tar.
Summer made an appearance, and so did his biceps. Kasey's crops were shifting around the community, and his farm was becoming a staple - as was he. He shared inside jokes with Calvin, a secret handshake with Taylor, and teased Kathy for riding her horse in a miniskirt. He was well-liked and quickly becoming more familiar with the setting. Even though he knew Castanet didn't have an Independence Day, he was ready to shoot off some good, ol' summer fireworks to get this party season started! But in response, he received a resounding um, no, Kasey, you insensitive shit – we mourn the dead today. Imagine his culture shock as he stowed away his sparklers and resigned himself to sitting quietly on the bank as he watched the boring ass lanterns make their boring ass trip to the sea. And it wasn't like their beach festival was any better. Something about fishing? Kasey didn't even both to show up. He saw the fireworks from his farm, but they were nothing like the booming spectacles back home.
Before long, it was autumn, and Kasey was everyone's best friend. In his spare time, he babysat kids, stocked shelves, and delivered mail. He was financially successful enough to be paying back the hospitality he received when he arrived, and he always seemed to have readily available gifts to casually surprise people. More than a few of his peers asked him to go to the Moon Viewing Festival – the hell is that? To Kasey's chagrin, it was yet another celebration of the mundane where literally the only requirement to attend was a picnic blanket. And of course, as the season began to wane, the only thing these bumpkins were looking forward to was some crop festival – seriously? What about Thanksgiving!? To which, everyone let him know that was coming up next week. Where was the turkey? The parades? The kitschy decorations covered in dust and cobwebs from last year? In fact, there was nothing. No get together at all. Instead, he was gifted with twenty different flavors of cake he could never possibly eat, so he said screw it, and quit Castanet's dumb festivals for good.
The villagers simply didn't celebrate the holidays of his childhood and had no interest in hearing about them anymore whenever he would voice his complaints or confusion. He was always invited, but attending these new festivities felt like a direct betrayal to the holidays he knew and loved. He felt like he was supposed to abandon them, but they were something he wasn't prepared to lose. So he'd stay home and avoid the local traditions while his friends partied it up in their mediocrity. Kasey had never felt like more of an outsider.
So when Kasey heard there was another 'sit out in the cold and stare at the sky' festival coming up, he wasn't having it. Not this time! He took his jolly sweaters, his bundles of holly, his most agreeable friend, and his farmhouse and made the latter the HQ for his anti-Starry Night party.
"I can't believe you heathens don't even have Christmas. Christmas!"
"Careful, Kasey – you're wobbling the ladder," Toby cautioned with his hands tight around the rungs to keep it in place. His friend towered at the top above him, stringing some sort of tacky garland to the last empty space on the wall.
Kasey ignored him, carelessly tossing the greenery against the wall and pinning it sloppily with a few shots of the staple gun. "No Independence Day, fine. No Halloween, what the hell? A Thanksgiving that is not Thanksgiving – why?! But no Christmas?! I draw the line!"
"Well, it's not so bad…" Toby mumbled his support for his home town. Despite being around for the better part of a full year, Kasey was still referred to as the new guy. Hell, Luke was still hazing him with different 'initiations' just to screw with him. So Toby tried to understand where Kasey was coming from, not growing up in Harmonica Town, but at the same time defend its traditions as someone who had lived there all his life.
A rather nasty jolt sent Toby into attention, and he struggled to keep the ladder steady as Kasey balanced precariously overhead. "We may not have a big production number, but I kind of like that. It's just us, you know? We don't need to go all out. Just… enjoy each other's company."
"Feh!" Kasey scoffed and hooked the staple gun to the back of his pants, determining his work on the ladder was done. Toby barely got out of the way as he flew down, his feet slamming into the floor as he rocketed to a halt from the slide. He ruffled Toby's hair in passing and tossed his tools on the kitchen table, admiring his gaudily-decorated, cozy home. "See? This is a holiday! Can ya feel it? It's in the air—"
"Kinda in my face…" Toby admitted with a twist of his nose, the room too busy for his eyes to focus on any one spot.
"Yeah!" Kasey enthusiastically agreed.
A timer went off in the kitchen, and Kasey hurried to stop the trill. After he deactivated the alarm, he wrapped a towel around his hand and pulled a cookie sheet out of the oven. He quickly threw it on the stovetop, rattling the burners. He rubbed his hand on his jeans and glared at his cookies. "Aw… shit. Maybe I didn't use enough Crisco."
Toby came up to inspect them as Kasey buzzed off to the next thing on his to do list. The greasy blobs on the tray looked watery and sad and smelled like hot butter. "Hm… kinda looks like you used just Crisco… Whaaaaat are you doing?"
Kasey pulled the white trim right down over his friend's eyes, matching the red hat he wore himself. "Presto change-o – you've been officially Christened! Don't tell my parents I said that – they're super Catholic and would totally kill me."
"This is part of Christmas?" Toby asked, finding he had a fluffy white bauble at the end of his hat, too.
Kasey just grinned, his dark eyes alight with mischief and merriment. "Yeah! I mean, the last thing to decorate is yourself, and 'tis the season to get some flashy shit. Hold up – I've got a Christmas CD, and this holiday is nothing without the music! I can't wait for you to hear the date rape song; I mean, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' – you're gonna flip!"
Toby exhaled, feeling like he was at a loss. He went back to the kitchen table and sat down. He noticed the staple gun facing him and gingerly pointed it away as Kasey revved up his stereo system and started playing a charming, golden oldie that had the unintentionally creepy undertone he had been talking about. Christmas was pretty foreign to Toby, sure, but it seemed pretty involved. Especially the commercial versus the religious aspects and how they wove together. Still, it all felt a little… excessive to him. What was wrong with the Starry Night festival anyways? Toby rather liked it quite a bit in the past. It could be relaxing for the older, situated adults, but as a teen, it was an adrenaline experience and a true test of nerves as the pressure was on to get a date. Toby had always been one of the wallflowers. Never quite up to the task of snuggling up with anyone. But he was hoping… this year… would be different.
Kasey plopped down in the seat opposite him and put his feet up on an empty chair, sprawling out. Toby hadn't noticed him retrieve a cookie glob, but he was attempting to gnaw on it as he proudly watched his messily corded Christmas tree. He got a far off look in his eye, and he grew surprisingly solemn. "Thanks, Toby. For all the mess this week. Means a lot. You're the only one who… gets it."
He was referring to their holiday trial and error. Kasey had lost his sanity on Saturday when he was trying to drink himself stupid and wearing too much green, mumbling about how he wasn't even Irish. Intrigued to say the least, Toby found himself asking questions, and he was soon wrapped into his best friend's shenanigans throughout the week. Delighted to have someone lend an ear and be up for the adventure, the farmer didn't pull any stops and determined to show Toby within the course of a few days how festivals were supposed to be. And Kasey seemed to be making up traditions as he went since they kept getting weirder and weirder. Sunday was a turkey dinner, which was pretty tame, but Monday had them painting hard-boiled chicken eggs. Then they hid them around the house, but Toby only found twenty-nine, so they spent the next few hours searching for the missing egg to only find out they had miscounted and there were only twenty-nine to begin with. Then on Tuesday, Kasey wanted to celebrate a costume festival where they disguised themselves and panhandled candy from their neighbors. And today, on Wednesday, Kasey wanted to celebrate Christmas.
Luckily, people liked Kasey, so the weird looks they got were few and far between. At first. But at this point, everyone had decided Kasey was a bona fide freak and silently prayed Toby would be able to knock some sense back into him. It was all very baffling, and anyone lesser would've told Kasey hasta la vista approximately ninety-six hours ago. But Toby stuck around. For the sincerity underneath the crazy. Yes, Kasey was surely off his rocker, but he was right – Toby did understand. Well, the why at least. It was clear as the ugly reindeer on Kasey's sweater.
Kasey was so confident in everything he did – even his mistakes. He took absolutely everything in stride, like every hiccup was part of the plan, every failure was meant to be. He always had something up next on the horizon. Toby couldn't help but morbidly think that Kasey was the type who just couldn't die. He'd always keep going. They'd be lowering his casket, and he'd hop out and give his opinion on the hymn they chose for him.
To some, it would be exhausting to constantly have a Kasey around, but to Toby, he preferred it. He balanced that energy with his own brand of Zen. Toby was the voice of reason, and Kasey brought an extra kick to life. They were well-suited.
But there was one place where Toby noticed that boundless confidence ran dry. When Kasey was out of his element. He'd fumble along until he made the new his normal, but he was more adept at adapting rather than letting go. He could take on new, but he couldn't relinquish old.
That's where Christmas came in. Toby doubted that Kasey genuinely hated the Starry Night festival. He hadn't gone – he didn't know shit. What Kasey hated so much was the loneliness. He was homesick. Obviously very much so. He'd been away from his friends and family for so long, and though he had made new friends, it wasn't the same. Silver versus gold. And Kasey was directly relating his fears of losing his background to the cultural differences of their varying holidays.
Sure, he might've had a point – their festivals weren't very exciting, but they weren't unique either. Tons of villages and towns from here to Oak Tree had similar events throughout the year. But it was still new to Kasey. So if it wasn't the Starry Night, it would be Harmony Day or the Snow Festival… He'd hate whatever was not home to him because that's what he wouldn't admit he wanted. Home. Come to think of it, Christmas kind of sounded like that thing they did in Mineral Town with that creepy mayor and the socks. What was that again…?
"Hey, so wanna watch a movie? They've got a million Christmas flicks, but I've got a couple favorites. So which one!" Kasey jumped up and swiped a couple of VHS tapes he had left on top of his wiry TV set. "The one with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the action figure? Or Santa the murderer? Huh. I'm kinda feeling this one. Spoilers – some chick gets impaled on a set of antlers; how metal is that?!"
Toby finally found his resolve. He had squandered his chances to even try asking throughout the week, but getting up the gall to suggest a date to the Starry Night festival with someone like Kasey was the emotional equivalent to agreeing to be kneed in the nads. It was inevitable rejection. But Toby didn't want to give up, even with Kasey's horrible, horrible taste in movies. Maybe even because of his horrible, horrible taste in movies. Toby was not about to nonchalantly agree to spend the rest of his evening watching something called Silent Night, Deadly Night no matter how much he liked Kasey. It was Toby's turn to draw the line.
"Okay, but…" Toby found himself saying, beginning to see if he could fenagle a compromise. "What if… you just tried to go to the Starry Night festival?"
Kasey's face fell flat and unamused. His shoulders slumped. "Dude. This is the Anti-Starry Night Night. Not cool."
"I thought it was Christmas," Toby said.
That snagged him. Kasey screwed up his brows and folded his arms, still with both VHS tapes in his hands. "Same difference. Why – do you wanna go?"
"Yeah," Toby boldly took up the challenge. He cooled his tone to avoid provoking Kasey's anger. "Look, I just think… that maybe you should give it a chance. You've avoided going to any festivals since summer, and believe me, yeah, everyone's noticed. They're all a little worried. I know you don't mean to, but… it's like…"
Kasey set the tapes back on the TV and jumped on his couch, standing on his knees and slinging his elbows over the back and leaning forward. He idly scratched at the design on his sweater that was itching his bare chest beneath it something dreadful. "Like I what? I hate everyone? 'Big Bad Kasey wants to do his own thing. He's too cool for us normal people.' Is that it, am I close?"
"No, it's… more of a family thing," Toby said. Kasey's biting sarcasm visibly left his expression. Toby twisted the sleeve of his shirt and nervously bounced his leg under the table. "We don't really dress up or hang lights or even bake. We just all come together. And fish. Or show off our pets. Or hand out flowers."
"What even is that festival; what do you do?" Kasey tried to argue again, fairly pointing out the irritating simplicity of an event dedicated entirely to quiet flower-viewing in the spring.
Toby held his hands up in surrender. "I don't even know! They're all just excuses to see each other. Every festival is like a family reunion. They're not big and fancy, but neither are we. They're all we need. Because… just spending time together is enough."
Kasey just stared at him. Toby felt the weight of it, but he refused to sink into his chair and lose his point. He was more puzzled than intimidated. Did he say something offensive? Did he suggest that Kasey wasn't part of that family? Because he didn't mean to – he meant the opposite. Kasey was so loved and accepted that everyone wanted to see him at the festivals because… because they liked seeing him. It was really as simple as that.
"You've been saving that one all week; I can tell," he flatly said at long last.
He watched as Toby took off the Santa hat and set it on the table. "…Kinda."
They hadn't been paying attention, and the song on the stereo was now an upbeat carol about riding a sleigh. Kasey listened to it, detached. For the first time, it almost sounded foreign to him.
"It's not like anyone's asking you to kill Christmas, Kasey. Or Easter or Halloween or any of the other ones for that matter. By all means – all of this stuff looks fun!" If it wasn't forced all at once, he almost finished. Toby cleared his throat and sat back in a slump. "Why not have both? Anyways… I don't know… I'd rather watch the one with the Arnold guy and the action figure."
Kasey groaned and roughly rubbed his hands over his face, saying something that sounded like: "When you put it like thaaaat…" before jumping up from his lumpy couch and heading for the door. He took his coat from the rack and slung both arms through it. "Fine, okay. We're gonna go."
"Wha? We are?" Toby looked over the back of his chair at him, not believing it. His speech worked? He got through to him? They were going together?!
Kasey shrugged with his hands in his coat pockets. "What, you wanna hang out and watch a professional bodybuilder go up against a Santa with nunchuks?"
Toby shook his head and went to take up his own coat. He pulled it on and zipped it to his neck, looking doubtful. "I said I didn't want to watch the horror movie though."
"Pfft. Wasn't the horror movie. But hey, when this festival is a buzz kill, you're coming back here and watching the whole series of Santa slashers!" Kasey opened the door, letting the cold air in with a scattering of snowflakes on the hardwood floor.
Toby slowly put on his gloves, double checking over his shoulder to see if Kasey left the oven on or not. Nope. And they were off to the Starry Night festival together. Together? He looked skeptically at Kasey whose face was unreadable. "Are you… serious?"
Kasey laughed. "Yeah, man, they've got a bunch of 'em! Shit gets bananas."
Toby was unphased by his obliviousness. Kasey was not the subtle type. "No, I mean… you're really okay going to the festival?"
"Sure. Besides, I put you through holiday hell. I owe ya one," Kasey shrugged, more forcibly ushering him out by the shoulder. He put his weight into him and gave him a violent nuggie. "Let's goooo!"
"Okay, okay!" Toby pleaded for mercy as Kasey kept him in a tight headlock. The farmer released him, and Toby rubbed at the back of his neck. "But if you hate it, we'll come back and celebrate Arbor Day. Deal?"
That got the first smirk out of him. "You've got yourself a – hey, wait! You left your hat!"
"Oh," Toby looked back at the table. He shrugged and got the light, pitching the house into darkness. "Yeah, it's okay."
Kasey looked aghast. "You don't want the hat?!"
Toby shut the door and tested the knob to make sure it was locked. He gave Kasey a double take, as if confirming his volition after seeing the twin hat on Kasey. "I definitely don't want the hat."
"You're spitting on my hospitality," he grumbled, falling into step with the fisherman as they traipsed down the hill.
Toby stubbornly shook his head. His spirits were getting lighter. Kasey had that effect. He was so… disarmingly charming. But his tastes were still awful. "I'm not wearing the hat."
Kasey's feet slowed, and he took off his own hat, staring at it in his hands. He kept up the dramatics, seeing Toby so bemused. "This is a slap in the face to my religious beliefs."
"I'm leaving the hat," Toby insisted and held back a laugh. He took Kasey's hat from him and tossed it into a snow drift for good measure.
Kasey quickly bent and gathered a handful of snow, making it into a ball. He whipped it mercilessly at the back of his date. "You stone cold bastard!"
Toby was hit square in the back and laughed, running down the path away from him to get out of range. "Forget the hats!"
It wasn't long before the boys made it to Flute Fields, noisily disturbing the peace. Kasey's appearance got a whole multitude of attention, and he was drawn all over in a clumsy meet and greet with everyone camping out on the hill under the starlight. True to Toby's words, everyone they came across was happy to see the local farmer had made it for a change. Chloe wanted a piggyback ride, so Kasey was happy to oblige the runt, and for someone who previously thought the Starry Night festival was stupid – was quite knowledgeable when it came to the night sky. He pointed out Taurus to the kids and ended Renee and Anissa's argument on which constellation was Canis Major. Toby got his two cents in with Maya who couldn't make heads nor tails of it either, and they spent a smidgeon too long hanging out with Luke – thoroughly crashing his date with poor Candace. But once everyone waved goodbye or turned in for the night, Kasey wasn't begging to bail, so they meandered their way over to borrow Phoebe's blanket with promises to return it, in Kasey's words, 'eventually.'
The snow was cold, the air was cold, and as there were no clouds to shield them from the vast void of infinite space, Toby felt even colder. They hunkered down on the thick picnic blanket that smelled like moth balls and pretended they weren't shivering to death. Kasey complained his shoulders hurt, and he was sure that would be it, and they'd call it quits. But instead, Kasey leaned up against Toby, and they sat back to back to support one another. It was unexpected.
Kasey was talking about anything and everything that came to mind, making Toby think he could've been nervous, too. That they weren't just friends up here alone on this quiet hilltop in the dark. Toby's throat was dry, so he was grateful that he could just listen as Kasey prattled on. He tilted his head back and stared at the stars, Kasey's voice almost becoming white noise.
"They're funny though. Loud. You think I'm loud? You have not met the half of it. My sister actually almost won a contest for being loud, I shit you not. For the talent show back in grade school, she yodeled and got second. Lost to some slut singing Mariah Carey – what a bitch, am I right?"
Kasey couldn't think of another story, or maybe it felt right to be silent for awhile. Just sitting there with Toby. Like there was nothing else left to say. Almost.
The farmer shifted his weight that was being held by his palms and watched the sky, hoping for a shooting star. He wouldn't know what he'd wish for though. He already had a warm home, beer in the fridge, and a whole village of people who cared an awful lot about him. And this guy literally had his back – no matter what. Heh. I should wish for a fish. Make his damn night.
"Toby? Thanks. Again. Uh… I was an asshole. I think you know, but… I really miss home sometimes, ya know? But I don't wanna leave all the same. It's so great here. I just get… so pent up," Kasey said, his heart pounding faster as he confessed his demons. Mushy stuff wasn't his style, but he owed it to Toby to apologize out loud.
He felt Toby slump in response, so he went on. "I feel like an idiot. I totally missed the whole point of holidays and just slammed yours because they were different. Put ya through all sorts of hoops, man. Sorry it took me so long to figure out. Even though I stand by these festivals needing some extra juice; there's only so much blank staring I can take."
Toby remained quiet, so Kasey quieted again, too. He was facing the field, and he took a good look around. They were the last ones here, alright. Everyone else wasn't dumb enough to hang out in the bitter temperatures this late. He could use some coffee. Kasey was about to stand, but he was startled by an unmistakable snore.
The exhaustion of the long week had caught up with him, and like a sleepy Cinderella, Toby conked out just after midnight, leaving poor Prince Kasey talking to the dark. For how long, the farmer wasn't sure. But instead of feeling offended his voice had put him to sleep, Kasey found it rather endearing. Toby was a chronic napper after all. He should've seen this coming.
Kasey let out a long, audible sigh and smacked his lips. He wanted to laugh that Toby was such a sound sleeper. The open field was before him, and he could see the fresh snow clean and bright and trackless for a good mile out before it was lost in shadows. The whole world felt impossibly still in the silence. The only sound he could make out was the distant water wheel. Not even the long vanes of the windmill were bothered by a breeze. It was like the universe was asleep with Toby, leaving just Kasey and the stars winking overhead.
So this is the Starry Night festival. It didn't have any specific food. No song to sing. Nothing to decorate or dress up as. There was nothing remotely special about this particular day – they could do this any time. They just decided that this was special. That it was a holiday. So it was.
Kasey's hand inched over to close the distance and found Toby's glove. His palm covered his, and he let it just rest there. Almost testing. Toby still didn't stir, his head bobbed back and resting against Kasey's shoulders, his lips parted as he dreamed. He wasn't like Kasey who wanted to torture him with bad seasonal releases and spend way too long hanging garland and screwing up the cookie recipe. This moment now. That's all Toby had wanted. Just to sit here with him. It was so… profound.
"Starry Night, huh?" Kasey said conversationally to no one in particular, knowing Toby wouldn't hear him. It wasn't so cold, really. He could wait to wake up him for a few more minutes. Kasey gave Toby's limp fingers a squeeze. "Yeah… this is… okay."
So Harmonica Town wasn't exactly up to par on the holiday game. But it could still be home. It had its own, powerful charm. And they still had New Years.