Mmmmmmmm I haven't done a Harvest Moon fic in awhile, have I? Well, here we go! Until most of my other Harvest Moon fics, this one takes place during Flower Bud Village from Harvest Moon 64. It's before that game started, but they make a bunch of references to the game like Karen's wine cellular dream cutscene thingy? Yeah, my verison of what happened.

Just for the record, I don't own Harvest Moon. If I did, I would own the souls of every person who plays just one game then has to go out and buy all the other ones. DAMN YOU NATSUME! YOU SMART BASTARDS!! lol I love Natsume!

Together

Karen sighed, her hands folded neatly behind her head.

'I can't sleep.' She thought to herself as a small rapping on her door caught her attention.

"Yeah?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

"You better get up, Karen. You know how your father gets when you show up to work late." Her mother's soft and gentle voice says, somewhat muffled by the wooden door between them.

"Okay mum." Karen calls back before sitting up in bed. She glances out the window, the sun peeking up from the horizon.

'Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a bad day?'

Ann turned over for the sixth time that night.

'I just can't stay asleep.' She thought to herself as a picture of a redhead woman pops up in her mind again.

"Mom…" She whispers to herself, a single tear escaping down her face. She finally sits up, sick of the picture torturing her through the night, and begins to get ready for the day ahead. The first rays of the sun light her face and she sighs.

'Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a long day?'

"Now I need to you to move all of the wine barrels in the basement onto my wagon. I want to take them into the city before noon, do you understand me?" Gotz barked at Karen as she stood before him, already exhausted from tending to all of the morning chores he had laid out for her.

"Okay father." She replied as she disappeared into the wine cellar. Moments later, she reappeared struggling to balance a wine barrel in her overly muscular arms.

'I'd have nicer arms if I wasn't stuck doing this crap day in and day out.' She thought as she lowered the barrel onto her father's cart, but something purple caught her attention. She looked up from the cart to see an overly tan boy around her age dressed all in purple standing in front of the vineyard.

"Ummm… can I help you?" Karen asked as her front door swung open, her father glaring in her direction.

"GO BACK TO WORK!" He screamed as he lead the boy into their house, slamming the door on the way back in. Karen sighed and returned into the wine cellular.

'I hate Mondays.'

"Thanks so much Ann. You've been helping out so much since… you know…" Her father said as he filled up another horse's feed box. Ann just smiled sadly at her dad.

"We're short a few hands and things need to get done. These animals… you and Gray… you guys need me." She replied as she began washing down another horse. Her father sighed.

"That we do." He mumbled as a falcon call echoed throughout their ranch. Both turned to find a dirty boy around Ann's age standing outside the barn, torn and haggard clothes hanging off his small frame.

"Hello." He said and smiled at the father and daughter. Doug dropped the bag of horse feed to the ground and walked toward the entrance of the barn.

"Hello to you too. My name is Doug, and yours?" He asked as he shook the new comer's hand.

"My name is Cliff. I saw you posted a help wanted ad in the town square and I was hoping I could be of assistance." Cliff said as a falcon swooped down and perched itself on his shoulder. Doug smiled.

"And who is this?" He asked. Cliff returned his smile.

"This is Cain. He's my buddy. We've been together for years now and he rarely leaves my side." He exclaimed and shot a glance at Ann.

"Oh, hey. Sorry! My name is Ann." She called from where she stood next to her horse.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ann." Doug cleared his throat and put his hand on Cliff's non-occupied shoulder.

"Well I guess we've got a few things to discuss. If you'd kindly follow me into my office, let's get you a job!" Cliff nodded.

"That would be great! Thanks Doug." The two left Ann alone with her gray horse and she finally finished washing him. She tossed her brush into a bucket before leaning against the wall.

'I hate Mondays.'

Karen grunted as she piled the last barrel of wine on her father's cart.

'Finally! That only took two hours.' She thought as she grabbed her bottle of water and leaned against the wine cellular, her arms a bit more limp then usual.

"KAREN!" She sighed, her short lived break over. She stood up and stretched, satisfied at the pops and cracks her back made before rushing to the front of her house. The boy in purple and her father stood waiting patiently for her.

"Yeah, father?" She as she gave the boy a blank stare. He cleared his throat.

"This is Kai. He'll be working and living with us from now on. We were just discussing his pay when he came up with a brilliant idea." Karen glanced at her father before turning her attention back to a now smiling Kai.

"And what is this oh-so-brilliant idea of his?" She asked, sarcasms dripping from her question.

"He'll give up a month's worth of pay in return for your hand in marriage." Her father announced with a smug look on his face. Karen's eyes turned away from Kai and back to her father.

"WHAT! YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME! I'M AN ADULT! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MY FATHER DOESN'T ME YOU CAN FORCE ME TO MARRY HIM!" She screamed, but was silenced as a smack rang out through the vineyard. Kai looked surprised and the reddening mark on Karen's cheek where her father's hand and just hit.

"You little BITCH! I'm your fucking father! I give you a house to live in, food on the table, and a job to keep you out of trouble and how do you repay me? You stupid little fucking cunt!" Another smack… and another…

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" She screamed, tearing pouring down her face as Gotz grabbed the collar to her daughter's purple vest.

"I'll show you want I can do to you!" He screamed and dragged her towards the wine cellular.

"I HATE YOU!"

Ann sighed as she closed the animal supplies closest.

'Ugh… I'm finally done. I feel like I could sleep for at least four days.' She sighed as she headed back to the house, massaging her aching neck with her right hand. Just as she was about to open the front door, it swung open revealing her father and Cliff.

"Oh, hey Ann. I was just about to go look for you. I want you to meet our new worker." He announced as Cliff gave her a shy smile.

"Yeah, it's official now." Ann forced a smile.

"That's great." Cliff nodded.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go grab my stuff from the mountain, but I'll be back soon to help out." Ann shrugged.

"Thanks, but I've already finished." Both Doug and Cliff gave her a blank stare.

"You've finished… everything… by yourself?" Her father asked and Ann nodded.

"Pretty much. Gray helped too, but I haven't really seen him all afternoon so I'm assuming he left early." Doug muttered something about 'useless sons' before turning to Cliff.

"You better go get your stuff." Cliff nodded before running off the ranch, Cain taking to the sky and following Cliff's path. Doug watched the boy's retreating silhouette before turning to Ann.

"So what do you think? He's a nice boy and he's obviously great with animals. Yeah, he could use a shower and some new clothes, but he's perfect." Her father said and Ann nodded.

"He's okay, I guess. We need the help." She replied dryly as she started to head into the house, but Doug grabbed her shoulder.

"I think you should give him a chance."

"I am giving him a chance. I never once objected to him working here on the farm with us." Doug shook his head.

"No, I meant give him and chance in your heart." A confused look spread over Ann's face.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know things have been hard on you, Gray, and myself since your mother died, but I think if you let Cliff in, perhaps you two can be as happy as your mother and I were."

"What!" Ann gave her father a look of pure horror when she understood his words.

"He told me that he's fallen for you already and I think it would be great if the two of you got together and…" Ann held up her hand in protest.

"No. I may be giving him a chance on the farm, but I'm NOT interested in him. I'm not going to get together with him." Doug rubbed his temple.

"Well that's a problem since I told him he could have your hand in marriage. It would be best for everyone…"

"No dad, it would be best for you if I married him, which I'm not going to do." Ann turned away from the house and began walking towards the mountains.

"And where do you think you're going." Doug called after her as Cliff approached the ranch. She gave him a quick look before dashing off, screaming over her shoulder.

"I HATE YOU."

'Well I have to go back eventually… Gray and dad need me… I don't really have much of a choice, but to go along with it, I guess.' Ann thought sadly as she began her trip back to the ranch from her hiding spot in the mountains. The sun had long gone down and all that could be heard were the light chirpings of all the bugs in the valley. Just as she passed the old vineyard, screams and shouts caught her attention.

"… HATE YOU! LET ME OUT! GODDAMNIT, YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Ann recalled this as the voice of the cold tomboy whose father had come to them for two strong horses a little more then a month ago.

"DO YOU WANT ME TO COME OUT THERE AND BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU AGAIN? SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Her father's harsh voice called from a bedroom window. All the lights in the house were shut off, but Ann could still hearing sobbing coming from the wine cellular. Slowly, she entered the vineyard and crept up the wine cellular door. Taking a deep breath, she lightly rapped her knuckles against the splinted wood.

"Hello?" She whispered into the silent night. There was rustling behind the door before she heard a weak greeting from the other end.

"Who are you?" The voice asked and Ann smiled.

"I'm Ann from the ranch. Are you okay?" A couple of sniffs could be heard from the other side of the door.

"I can walk, but I feel like I just got run over by a stampede of horses. My father is an asshole." Ann grunted.

"Yeah, mine too." Ann gave the door a little tug.

"The door is locked, trust me, I've tried it." Karen mumbled in defeat. Ann sighed.

"Is there any way for me to get you out of here short of breaking into your house and finding the key?" There was a pause.

"I think there might still be this one hole in the wall in the back, but my dad stuck a shelf on the outside so no one could get in or out. Do you think you could move it?" Ann nodded and jumped up.

"Leave it to me." She ran around to the other side of the wine cellular and saw the shelving unit Karen had mention. Empty bottles and tools lined each shelf.

"Can you see it?" Karen asked from the hole in the wall, muffled by the back piece of wood on the shelving unit. Ann smiled.

"Yeah, just give me a second." She through all of her weight against it and inch by inch, it revealed more and more of the hole until finally, Karen's head peeked out. Ann stopped and turned to help the girl, but gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Karen asked confused as Ann's face turned to that of horror. Ann brought her right head up and slowly reached forward to stroke Karen's face. Her eye was swollen and had turned a nasty shade of purple while dried blood covered her mouth and chin, the result of a busted lip. Ann didn't even want to see the rest of the damage Gotz had done to his only daughter.

"I can't believe he did this to you." Ann whispered as she helped the other girl out of the wine cellular. Karen's clothes were covered in blood and her body bore many other bruises and cuts that Ann could barely look at.

"It hasn't happened in a long time… he did it more when I younger so I would learn my place. That's when I first made the hole, but when he found out about it, he covered it up and I spent three days in the wine cellular with no food." Ann's jaw dropped.

"That's horrible! Come on… let's go to the mountains and get you cleaned up." Karen gave Ann a puzzled look.

"What? Not going to whisk me of back to your place?" She asked, but Ann shook her head.

"We've both got problems today." Karen gave Ann a sad smile and slipped her hand into Ann's.

"You can tell me about it as long as you help me clean up." Ann smiled back to Karen.

"It's a date."

"… and so now I'm expected to marry this Cliff guy." Ann said sadly as she dipped her handkerchief back into the Goddess Pond before wiping more blood off of Karen's face, who winced in return.
"So pretty much you and I are in the same boat? I mean, my dad is physically abusing me to marry Kai and your dad is trying to talk you into marrying Cliff by guilt tripping you. How ironic that Cliff is my cousin too." Ann stopped.

"Cliff is your cousin?" Karen nodded.

"Yeah, he used to live with my aunt in the city, but he wanted to travel and left. Man, I wish I could live in the city sometimes." Ann nodded and looked Karen over again.

"I can tell you're both related. I think it's the hair… and the nose…" Ann said softly and a blush crept over Karen's face.

"Yeah, thanks. Cliff is gay, though. He's probably after your brother and thought it'd be easiest to win your dad over by saying he liked you."
"You both have different eyes, though." This caught Karen by surprise.

"Oh."

"His eyes are blue, a dark blue bordering on violet. He seems determined. But your eyes… they're a beautiful green that just hold so much confidence…" Ann trailed off as she leaned closer to Karen, their eyes glued to each other. Karen could feel Ann's hot breath tickle her chin before leaning forward herself, closing the gap and claiming Ann's lips for her own. After few seconds, Karen pulled back.

"I have an idea. Do you trust me?" Ann leaned forward to kiss her again.

Karen starred at her house, the windows reflecting the rising sun.

'It's now or never... I just need to get through one day of this crap. Just one day.' Karen thought to herself as she turned towards the wine cellular and crawled back in.

Ann shook the sleep out of her eyes and headed towards the barn to the animals.

'I've just got to get my chores done and make my dad happy. By tomorrow, this will be a thing of the past.' She thought happily as she started to work, taking care of all the animals.

"KAREN!" Her father screamed as the front door of the wine cellular shot open and the giant man stepped into the wine cellular. Karen looked up from her crumpled place on the floor and starred into his furious eyes.

"Wait, father, before you flip out at me, I just want to say something." Karen took a deep breath. "I'll marry Kai." Gotz starred at his daughter before giving her a wicked smile.

"What caused this change of heart?" He asked, his voice no longer booming and angry.

"I realized you were right, I owe it to you and mom who have provided me with everything I've ever needed. The least I could do is honor your wishes and marry this nice young man." The words were forced, but Gotz didn't seem to notice.

"Good, good. Well get up and go clean yourself up. If we're going to get you two hitched by next Sunday, you and your mom are going to have a lot to plan out. Kai will take over all of your chores and jobs today. Karen smiled.

"Of course father."

"ANN!" Ann looked up to see her father running towards her, Gray and Cliff not far behind him.

"Hey dad." She replied as she put the pile of fodder she was carrying down. Doug hugged her, almost lifting her off the ground.

"I almost sent the boys out last night to go looking for you. Where have you been? I was so worried about you!" He cried as Ann just starred at her brother and Cliff, who looked a little bit more then just cozy together.

'Karen was right, Cliff wanted Gray. Not me. Great.' Ann thought satisfied and turned to her father.

"I'm sorry, dad. I just had to think about stuff." She turned her attention to Cliff. "If you'll still have me, Cliff… I'd be happy to be yours." Just as Ann presumed, Cliff was caught off guard and gave a look of disgust before realizing he had set himself up for it.

"Ummm… that's great. Thank you, Ann." He gave Gray a look of apology before walking up to Ann and giving her an awkward hug. Doug looked thrilled.

"This is great! Cliff, Gray, and I can work on the ranch while Ann goes and prepares the wedding. I think next Sunday would be perfect." Ann gave them all the cheeriest smile she could.

"Of course dad."

Karen slung her bag of her shoulders and carefully crept out of the house. She had spent at least an hour in the shower earlier that night trying to wash away the feeling of Kai's hands on her body and his lips on her face. The day had gone well, but had been hell for Karen to keep up the façade. As she slowly closed her front door, she turned around to see Ann waiting for her, two horses from her ranch already tied up neatly to Gotz's wagon.

"Evening love." Ann whispered as she gave Karen a peck on the lips.

"Evening." Karen replied when Ann broke away. Karen tossed her bag onto the wagon when a weak moo caught her attention. She turned around to find a tiny calf starring up at her, her green eyes asking for nothing, but love.

"Meet little Betty. She followed me from the ranch here. I think she wants to come with us." Ann replied as the calf mooed happily. Karen smiled.

"Alright, can you help me lift her up onto the wagon?" Ann nodded and the two scoped the calf up and gently set her down on the wagon.

"She has beautiful eyes like you." Ann said as she tossed her own bags into the wagon next to the calf. Karen locked the back of the wagon so Betty wouldn't fall out and turned to the redhead.

"You really do like my eyes, don't you?" Ann sent her a smirk before jumping up into the wagon.

"When we find somewhere to settle down for awhile, I'll show you just how much I love you and your eyes." Karen smiled and jumped on the other side of the wagon, next to her redheaded lover.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get the fuck out of here!" Ann smiled as she whipped the horses and the wagon went speeding off into the night.

The End

Well, how was it? Let me know! Reviews make me keep coming back and writing more! R & R good people!