~*Good Morning*~
Theirs was a love that builds over time.
~*X*~
Spring is dazzling and beautiful, and she dashes from one lovely sunbeam to the next.
She's doing what she always does in the mornings—running her route.
Annette is a red blur. No one can see her properly, and she resembles little more than a scarlet streak as she skids to a halt outside Raguna's house. She rifles through her overstuffed bag with furrowed brows, thinking of this and that, her thoughts as quick as her feet.
She hears the customary thump-thump-thump of Raguna's hoe as he plows in his new field, and she peeks curiously over her small shoulders. Even at seven in the morning, he's working, and judging by the progress of the pasture compared to yesterday, he's been laboring for a while.
Placing his mail safely in, she closes the lid and turns with a bright smile to the newcomer. This would be his third day. "Good morning! Let's make every day a great day!" She calls optimistically.
He pauses for a second, breathing hard, and even from the far end of the field, she can see the blue of his eyes shining. He nods and grins back before continuing, and Annette is satisfied. She's tempted to stay and chat, but ultimately opts not to.
She has things to deliver, after all.
-*l*-
Summer is gorgeous and hot, but the wind feels lovely against her skin.
Her route has expanded as Trampoli receives more arrivals, though not by much. As she slows down upon approaching Raguna's place, she notices that his farm now bears two sheep. Adorable little things, with button noses and vivid gazes.
So long as they did not bother her.
They should be Raguna's tame monsters, she muses, about to gently put in the aforementioned boy's mail when a call from behind sends her rocketing up a foot into the air.
"Good morning! Let's make every day a great day!"
Annette hits the ground so hard that vibrations run through the soles of her shoes. She whirls around, gripping her mailbag and preparing to bolt in case it's another monster, but then she notices Raguna. He has a big smile on his face, chocolate hair fringing his eyes, and wow he's so—
Her thoughts grind to a halt as she notices a pale shadow behind him that she recognizes as Mist. The girl is laughing delicately, and her faraway tone seems to even carry over into her giggles.
"I'm sorry, Annette," Raguna says in that incredibly honest way he has. "I didn't mean to frighten you so badly."
She's infuriated—somehow by Mist, too, though she has nothing against the girl—and she shoves his mail into his hands. She's more annoyed than angry, though, and when he lowers his head apologetically and peeks at her from between his bangs, she feels herself smile in response.
It's okay, she assures him, it's okay. And when she sprints away, she finds herself looking back at him as he raises one hand in farewell, grinning, before his attention is reclaimed by Mist.
She doesn't know why, but it hurts.
-*l*-
Autumn is cool and pretty, and she plays tag with the falling leaves in their myriad of colors.
Raguna's farm, she notes as she slows down upon crossing the bridge into his property, has greatly improved. There are no more stumps or stones, just the beginnings of green life as it pokes through the golden topsoil. The air is crisp and chilling, and she hopes that his crops will survive the frost that always comes in the mornings of late autumn.
Looking all around now, she notices that the barn on the hill has increased in size. Raguna, ever the hard worker…He put more effort into his farming than the rest of them combined, and still he finds the time to climb up to Whale Island!
Suitably impressed, Annette takes a few seconds to search her satchel—and her eyes lock with cold yellow.
Yelping and springing backwards, she prepares to race away again, this time down towards Mist's place. Before she can run, the door opens and Raguna emerges with a sword gripped tight in one hand. His eyes widen in shock before he laughs sheepishly.
"Annette, it's okay, he's harmless!"
She stares at him as if he has taken leave of his senses. "Are you sure?" She tells the boy doubtfully.
"Fenrir is harmless," he repeats soothingly in the same voice he doubtlessly uses to coerce the monsters into obeying him.
The big gray wolf is all massive claws and great fangs, but its sunshine eyes seem unnaturally gentle. Tame. It perches upon the porch with an expression of great dignity, as if she should consider herself graced to be in its presence.
Annette mumbles something about it being okay, her face burning with embarrassment. She offers him his mail, and this time their fingers brush as the tips touch. It starts a molten heat in her stomach that causes her skin to feel strangely warm.
"Thank you, and I'm really sorry." Raguna's young face takes a turn for the serious just then, and she's surprised by how stoic he could look if he was so inclined.
"Not a problem," she chirps cheerily, and just like that he's beaming at her again with his boyhood energy. "Make every day a great day!" She takes a step back to pelt off—the wolf is still creeping her out with its silent, steady gaze—but Raguna puts a hand out and takes her arm.
"I have something for you." He vanishes inside his house, and she peeks inside curiously, watching him open cupboards as he grumbles to himself. She smothers a snicker with one hand.
He returns with a happy look on his face. "Here you go!"
Annette takes the red package bemusedly, undoing the ribbon. She finds a stack of pumpkin tarts, arranged in an elegant spiral in a metal container that looks like it had been crafted by hand with loving detail.
The word that had come unbidden to her mind makes her heart stand still.
Loving detail. But that's what it was, she knew.
"You're giving me this? For what occasion?" Annette's eyes shoot wide of their own accord. She would understand one, but a whole tray…? And a gift box?
Raguna appears nervous. "Nothing. You deserve it, Annette."
"Thank you, Raguna." She gives him her best smile before she takes stock of the time. "Gotta go!"
Very, very carefully, she places the package inside her mailbag, practically redoing the ribbon. She couldn't wait to eat one. Nodding and waving, she bounces backward before haring away down the road.
Again, she looks back.
Raguna is watching her with something fragile in his strong blue eyes, but before she can examine it any closer, she has to take a turn or else miss Mist's house.
-*l*-
Winter is cold but breathtaking, and her red coat is sprinkled with white art.
The road to Raguna's place has become familiar and endearing, and she has grown used to the sight of a dozen paw-prints speckling the ground there. With the cold, Raguna has planted less this time, she's noticed.
She's heard from the other villagers that he's taken to dungeon crawling for money since the going gets tough for a lot of farmers in winter. He won't find much competition there—little was brave enough plumb the dark, monster-infested depths.
Fenrir is on the porch again, his gray fur laden down with snow. He's fallen asleep and only twitches his tail as she nears.
Annette smiles and grabs Raguna's mail, but the door opens just as she completes this and she looks up to see him watching her.
In both hands he's holding a mug of something hot and steaming, and she notices the fine line of a scar marring his left cheek. It's not serious, but she knows it hadn't been there the day before.
"Raguna," she says without thinking. "What happened?" She wants to be mad with him for getting himself hurt, but she's known for a long time now that he's the type to charge into danger.
He blinks at her, flummoxed. "Huh?"
"Your cheek."
"Oh," he laughs, shaking his head. His brown hair seems a bit longer along the fringes. "It's nothing. I got it treated yesterday." He steps aside, showing her the interior of his impressive home. "Why don't you come in, take a break?"
"I've just started," Annette replies doubtfully. Her route is very important to her after all. She wrinkles her nose. The reason she sprints so much and so often is mainly to get her precious mail delivered as soon as possible. She recalls the fact that Raguna had started following her as far as the outskirts of Trampoli in the morning, just to talk.
He has a slow smile that she's only seen him use with Mist before. It starts really small, but then it spreads and it conveys affection like nothing else will. He does it for her, and as he gives a knowing snicker, she feels her heart flutter in time with the sound.
And it's so bizarre.
"It's your birthday, isn't it, Annette?" Raguna offers her the cup, and she sees that it is filled with milk. Her favorite drink, or at least one of them.
"It is!" She peers at him, eyes narrowed faintly. "How did you know?"
"I asked." Raguna grinned widely. "Fourth of winter?"
"Fourth of winter," she repeats, secretly pleased.
"Come inside, then. Please? It shouldn't take long, but I've got a gift for you and everything."
No one pays this much attention to a mailman. Well, mailwoman. But she was afraid to look closer in case she deludes herself into seeing what isn't there.
Feeling a bit uneasy—exactly why she did not know—Annette takes a step back, sticking his mail in its box. "I'll swing by after I finish my route."
She turns, but then she hears Raguna sigh. She hasn't heard that sigh since he screwed up during the summer melon game. The sigh of the truly disappointed.
Make every day a great day. Isn't that her mantra?
Annette can't help herself. She faces him again, grinning. "Okay, okay, I guess I have the time for it."
And when Raguna gives her a smile, it's not the slow, warm one. It's not even his silly grin, the one he uses with Rosetta when he's teasing her.
It's a new, unique, better one. And she knows it's entirely for her.
Author's Note: Apologies for any screw-ups, I've not finished the story of Rune Factory Frontier yet. Just something short I wrote up at 3 AM so sorry for any errors. Review, if you want, they're much appreciated. Insomnia FTW?