Title: A Little Something Extra

Author: Lalipop

Rating: T

Genre: Drama/Romance

Fandom: Harvest Moon: (More) Friends of Mineral Town

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and Natsume do not belong to me.

Summary: I needed my muse back. I needed to feel loved. I wanted both of those things. But I always felt there was something else I needed. A little something extra to spice up my life. But when the opportunity presented itself, I still had to think about it.

Author's Notes: Title subject to change, just for future reference.

Chapter the First

Phone Calls

"Is there any mail for me?"

"No, Miss Jabari," The voice on the other end of the line was male, hopelessly polite, the kind of voice you know belongs to a person who can kiss ass and kiss ass well.

Nonetheless, it never hurt to be polite. "Thank you."

"No problem at all, Miss Jabari. Is there anything you would like upstairs?"

"No, thank you." Twirling the cord around my finger, I reconsidered, quickly correcting myself, "Wait, yes, actually there is something I'd like."

"Yes?" he didn't sound fazed as all.

"Could you send up some strawberries? Nice and fresh and red and juicy?"

"Of course, Miss Jabari." What he did sound like was a hopelessly happy or relieved person.

"Thank you."

"It'll be right up, Miss Jabari."

Goddess, I hoped so. I was craving strawberries right now. Plus, they'd go perfectly with the champagne in the bar. That was probably the only good thing about the penthouse suite at a hotel like this. Five-star-could-probably-be-six-star-if-such-a-thing-existed hotel.

The line went dead, and I removed the cord from my finger before I put the phone back in its cradle. I stared at the white contraption, then picked it up again and dialed.

The secretary answered after the second ring, "Cecelia Edmunds Publishing, how can we help you?"

"It's Mirage," I said. Not even the secretary at the desk knew what my real name was, which was kind of sad. They knew what I looked like, what my voice sounded like, but they had no idea who I actually was. "Can you put me through to Cece please?"

"Pass code, please."

Not this again.

I sighed. "Pass code? Really? Come on, you know my voice, you know the number." Every secretary had the number of every hotel every author was staying at if they were out of town. If it was a number they didn't recognize, they weren't supposed to answer.

"I also know that there are tons of people who could easily manipulate a voice recording," Now she was just being a smartass. She knew I had no technical skill whatsoever. Hell, I could barely handle a computer. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing again. "Pass code please."

"Jabari," I muttered. It probably wasn't amazingly wise of me to use my last name, but I sucked at stuff like that. I couldn't even lie sufficiently.

"Thank you." I rolled my eyes; she sounded like a robot or pre-recording. "Please hold while we reach your party."

I punched the desk. "No, I won't hold, damn it!"

"How often have I told you to stop cussing?" A new voice greeted me.

I felt the blood rush to my face. Shit. "Hi, Cece."

"Answer the question, Jabari." Unlike the secretary, my editor and publisher scared the shit out of me. Plus, she didn't sound like a robot. Her voice was just as emotionless, but there was a sense of danger underneath that usually had me quivering in my chair.

"Seriously, if you would stop with the whole secrecy thing it would work fine." Changing the subject never worked, but hey, I could try, couldn't I? Cece might be verbally abusive, but she'd never really hurt me otherwise. Not even in business.

"Answer the question, Jabari."

"I mean, I'd get it if you were an author yourself, but girl, your name is the name of the fucking company." Keep up that train of thought and she might give. Goddess, I hoped so.

"Jabari!"

"Fine." I was about a hundred times as apologetic as I sounded. She scared me like nobody's business. "Sorry."

She sighed, then asking very cheerfully, "What are you calling about?"

"The hotel," I grumped.

Just as I said that, someone knocked on the door. I picked up the phone and took it with me to let in room service. A cute guy, emblazoned with a nametag stating his name was "GRIFFIN," came in carrying a tray. His gruff appearance, complete with a ponytail and five o'clock shadow, made him look both older than I guessed him to be and completely unfit to be a bell boy in a five star hotel.

I smiled at him, pulling my wallet out of pants pocket and gestured for him to put the strawberry tray on the bar, then tipped him as I heard Cece's response, "Something wrong with it? Don't tell me the staff's been treating you like crap."

I mouthed a 'thank you' to him and grinned as he nodded, and disappeared, while I returned to my phone call, "No, actually. The staff's been kissing my ass like nobody's business. In fact, when I first got here, the manager took me into his office and told me he'd gladly kiss my ass both literally and figuratively." I opened the tray and grinned at the strawberries. Yummy; they looked delicious and sweet and simply perfect.

"He actually said that?" She definitely didn't believe me.

I shrugged and went around the bar, admitting, "No." I reached for a bottle of champagne and a nice glass, continuing, "But he implied it." I transferred the phone to the crook of my shoulder as I popped open the bottle. It hissed and bubbled until I tipped some of the delicious liquid into my glass. "And if the words weren't enough, his face sure as hell showed it." I put the cork back in the bottle and replaced the bottle on the counter.

"Jabari. Don't cuss around me." I rolled my eyes and took a sip of the champagne. Yum. "And you read too much into words. That's what your problem is with people. That's what the problem with authors is." I hoped she wasn't about to lecture me, which she probably was.

But hey, I could lecture right back, then, couldn't I? "Words are weapons more formidable than swords or guns. Swords and guns – "

She cut me off, finishing for me, "—hurt outside, and outside heals. But words hurt inside, and inside never truly heals. You've told me that a thousand times." Now, she sounded annoyed.

Cool.

"Because it's true. Words are my life for a reason." And they were. Words hit me in ways they hit very few other people, although that sounded like bragging, which I absolutely hated.

"I know. A reason you don't want to discuss."

She knew me too well. "Exactly," I sighed.

"So what's wrong with the hotel, Jabari?" She asked, changing the subject skillfully.

"The whole kiss ass thing," I grumbled, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "I hate it, Cece. I hate it."

"Damn it; don't cry on my, Jabari." Just as she said it, tears began welling up in my eyes.

"I'm not crying." I rubbed furiously at my eyes, trying to make the statement true so she wouldn't see through it.

She pretended to, although I knew she knew me better than that. "You want a change of hotel?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "I'll be fine. Just…" I paused, biting my lip. "…keep it in mind for next time, okay?"

"Yeah. How's your muse?"

Damn, Cece, why do you always make me uncomfortable like this? I sighed, muttering, "Still dead."

"That sucks," She said, sounding too cheerful. I was the one in trouble if I didn't write something on time. She was the one that could sue me. "How long you staying over there again?"

"You know perfectly well how long, Cece," She was my planner, aside from best friend, publisher, and editor, after all. "You probably have the date of my return circled on your calendar." At least she had last time.

"Actually, I don't." There was that famous grin in her voice. Damn her. "It's highlighted."

I rolled my eyes. "I'd say fuck you, but you'd just turn it around on me." Yeah, she was perverted like that. I hopped onto the bar, took a sip of champagne, and bit into another strawberry. Huh. Strawberries did bring out the flavor of champagne. And very well, too, I might add. It was delicious.

"Of course I would," The shameless half-elf even bothered to admit it. "See you… Spring the 10th?"

"See you, Cece." I sighed, taking another sip. I wasn't going to get drunk or anything, but the bubbly was really rather helpful at soothing my nerves at the moment.

"Have fun. Relax. You're on vacation, hun," Like I didn't know it. Too bad it didn't exactly feel like a vacation. I was too busy worrying over my muse's return. I needed her back, soon. Or I was going to be sued, penniless, and hopeless. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing as she continued. "Just… sit back and get a tan. They do have a pool over there, don't they?"

"Yes, they do," I admitted, sighing again. "And you don't want to hang up, do you, Cece? You miss me?" I needed to tease her to feel better, which said something really bad about the kind of person I was. Man, I needed healthier hobbies.

"Don't tease me." She didn't even sound angry.

I shook my head and returned to where I'd put the phone at the other end of the bar. "Bye, C."

"Wait!" she exclaimed, probably clutching at her phone.

I grinned. "What?"

"Yeah, I do miss you…" Now, it was her turn to sigh. "Come back soon, okay? Don't run out on me?"

"You'd sue me if I tried." She really would, and I knew it. She knew I knew, and I also knew she knew I was telling the truth.

"Only cuz I love you," She was grinning again.

"Thanks, Cece." I'd really needed to hear that, honestly. I had to be honest to myself: I hadn't heard it often enough in childhood. Like those kids who weren't hugged enough. Come to think of it, that was me, too. Damn, my childhood was depressing. "See you in a week."

I hung up the phone, if only to hear it ring. I glared at it for a moment. I was tired. I wanted to sip my champagne and eat my strawberries and see if I could find my Pretty Woman DVD so I could sit back and "veg out" as Julia Roberts so eloquently put it in the movie. With no idea who might be calling me – there was no one else to be calling me – I picked up the phone again.

"Hello?"

"Miss Jabari?" It was the guy down at the desk again.

I sighed. "Speaking."

"There is a Jackson Jabari calling from an island just off the coast, and he wishes to speak with you."

You've got to be kidding.

I sighed. "Could you put him on, please?"

"Of course, Miss Jabari." The person sounded happy to obey.

"Thank you." Manners never hurt.

"Claire? This really you?" It was really him.

I sighed again. I needed a different way to express frustration and stuff like that. "Hi, Jack." I ran a hand through my already unruly blond hair.

"You don't sound very happy to hear from me," he was probably grinning form wherever he was. I hated him just for that.

"Would you, in my case?" I'd given up lying so long ago, the sarcastic comment was relatively true. I'd never been happy in my family. Even with Jack there.

"Yeah." Yep, he was definitely grinning.

I rolled my eyes. "Ever the narcissist."

"Always one to use big words," he teased.

Ass. "Narcissist isn't that big a word, and you know what it means."

"Yeah, so?"

"So don't be an ass. What do you want from me?" He wouldn't have contacted me from his little village if he didn't want something from me.

"I have a favor to ask you, actually." Gee, what a surprise. I rolled my eyes again. "But considering how nasty you're being, I'm not sure I want to do that anymore." Liar.

"Just spit it out, Jack. What's the issue?"

"Pop's pregnant."

I blinked. "Who?"

"That's right…. You weren't at the wedding."

How could he sound so nonchalant?

"Wedding? What wedding?" I was ready to strangle him.

"Cece said you were out of town," My, my. He was getting defensive. "It's not my fault she wouldn't let me send you an invite." Actually, it was. He knew how to work my editor/publisher/best friend if he really wanted something from her or, through her, from me.

He hadn't wanted me there, which only boiled my blood more. It also bothered me on a deeper level, which caused my voice to grow steely, "Jack. What. Wedding?"

"Mine." Yeah. I didn't know that one. What did he take me for? Stupid?

"I mean it. Spill. Now. Or I'm coming to your little town and drowning you in the ocean." I wasn't violent, necessarily, but he'd probably skip town before I got there if I ever did get angry enough. Or he'd just hire his sister.

"You're lucky I'm not a lawyer like Jill." What did I say? "She'd probably toss you in jail or something. Speaking of Jill, she was one of Pop's bridesmaids." Why was he always giving me more reasons to hate the woman?

"Jack. You have ten seconds to get talking or I swear I'm coming down there. Ten. Nine." He knew my counting. He'd never braved it past three.

"There's no need to threaten me." Now, he sounded like a petulant child.

Naturally, I didn't stop counting. "Seven. Six."

"Oh, come on, Claire." I was ready to stop listening if he wasn't about to spill the beans about the wedding I hadn't heard about. His wife was already pregnant. I was his sister – well, half-sister, but that wasn't important – and I should know stuff like that.

"Four. Three."

"Okay!" He sounded scared. "Okay. I'm spilling."

"You haven't started yet." My disbelieve was obvious in my voice. He wasn't about to start talking.

"You know how I moved to Mineral Town?" Of course I knew. I'd thrown a jealous temper tantrum when I'd found out, not to the knowledge of anyone but my aunt, of course. "Well, about two seasons ago I got married to this perfect girl that basically lived right next door. She's gorgeous and sweet and funny. I mean, she's not the sharpest knife on the sharpening block, but man… she's perfect."

"I don't need to hear the blabbing, buddy." But man. If he was blabbing like that about some girl… he wasn't infatuated. He was damn near in love.

"Anyway. We got married. Jill and Mom and Dad were all there, so was the whole town." Was there anyone who didn't like the guy? "I mean, at first, Mom was pissed off because she hadn't met Pop before, but then they got together and were real close in minutes." Or his mother, for that matter? (I didn't exactly count…)

"Pop stands for what exactly?" I needed a bit more information on this chick. Maybe Cece would get a police friend of hers to do a background check on the girl. Considering the small town she came from, she probably didn't exist in that system… whatever.

"Popuri."

Could a name get any sillier? "Like potpourri?"

"She doesn't smell funny." He was getting defensive.

"Wow…" I muttered, shaking my head. I picked up the phone again and headed back to my champagne and strawberries. Within seconds, I was sipping from my glass again, biting into a strawberry just after. It was so relaxing…

"What?"

I swallowed a bit of strawberry, then told him what I believed as firmly as I believed most other things. "You really do like her."

"You should know I wouldn't marry someone if I didn't love them." I didn't actually, but it was nice to know.

"It still surprises me," I muttered. I swallowed another sip of my champagne, then spoke more loudly, "So she's pregnant. And?"

"Well… her mom had a difficult pregnancy..," Damn. If he knew about this chick's pregnancy, he'd changed. A lot. "So we wanna stay in the city in case anything bad happens to her. You know, for medical attention. The doc in town is good and all, but I still worry sometimes. I don't think he has the right equipment and all for her."

"What's the favor?" I grumped. Rambling was a problem we shared – when we were nervous, at least.

"Get to the point, why don't you?" Ass. There was a reason I didn't like talking to family too much.

"I already have," I muttered.

I don't think Jack even heard me, considering he continued, "Anyway, I want someone to look after the farm for a little bit. Just stay there, feed the animals, et cetera." I reached for the bottle again and refilled my champagne glass, taking a small sip straight from the bottle.

"Okay? And this applies to me how exactly?" Even the champagne wasn't relaxing away this annoying.

He probably rolled his eyes. "I think you know that already, kid."

"Say it anyway." I was hoping it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.

"Jill hates Mineral Town. You'd love the place. Jill hates getting dirty. You don't mind. Jill would be bored to death. You wouldn't be bored a minute. Jill can't give up her job. You don't have to." My heart hurt by the time he finished speaking.

I sighed, summarizing, "So Jill was your first choice, but she turned you down?"

"Don't look at it that way." He sounded like he'd realized his mistake.

The pain in my chest allowed only one response: the only defense I knew was sarcasm. "Gee. I love being compared to the half-sister I've always hated. Gee. I just love being second choice to the sister I've always hated." If I weren't more in control of my body, my voice would have been shrill, and I would have started crying again.

"Oh, come on, Claire bear." He was only being derisive.

"Ass."

"Claire." I didn't care.

"Hole."

"Come on." I had to show him that. I had to show myself that.

"Let the record show that I hate my half-brother Jack."

"Don't be –"

"—don't be what, Jack?" I demanded, cutting right into his speech, not caring what he'd meant to say. I could feel my eyes and nose burning with the angry tears that were threatening their entrance. "A bitch? Stubborn? Not what you want me to be?"

"Claire, listen to me." He was ordering me around again. Just because I was the youngest.

"Give me one good reason. Just one good reason." It was simple enough, wasn't it? "And if the next thing out of your mouth isn't that one good reason, I'm hanging up on you."

"Claire, I know –" No, he didn't. He'd never understood. He'd never known. And when I'd been younger, I'd hated him for it. Now, as far as I was aware, I was the one who understood.

"—that's it. I'm hanging up." I stared at the phone, pulling it away from my mouth so he couldn't hear me breathe.

"Claire?"

I took a sip of champagne, following it up with a strawberry, as I continued to stare at the phone.

"Come on, Claire. You love the countryside." True, I had to give him that. "You love animals." Again, true. "You hate the big city." That, too. Damn. He was more observant than I'd ever given him credit for. "Your Aunt Darling would want this for you." Not perfectly true. She would only want it for me if I was happy. "We all know how bad you want those…" 'We all'? The only person who could know was Aunt Darling. No one else knew. And no one else cared. "…what are you always saying? Vast blue skies and wiggling sea-green hills?"

"Vast blue skies and hills that roll like the sea," I corrected softly, dropping my forehead to the cool granite of the bar. It probably wasn't meant for laying on, but I didn't particularly care.

"I knew you were still there." I knew he didn't.

But I could still play along. "Only because you're smart enough to listen for the sound of me hanging up."

"No. I just know you."

"Liar." I wanted to cry again.

"Why not, Claire? Why not? Why won't you do this for me?"

"Because it's for you, Jack, and I'm tired of doing favors for you." He'd done plenty for me, but honestly, he owed me ten times over anything I owed him. I hadn't asked for a favor from him. He'd always been begging for something from me. Usually, it was something to do with girls.

"Then do it for your Aunt Darling."

"She would tell me this is only heartbreak for me." I couldn't be sure of this, but she definitely didn't trust Jack. She would warn me about this favor he was asking of me.

"Then do it for you, Claire. Do something for yourself."

I stayed silent, sitting up, crossing my legs, and biting into another strawberry. A bit of juice escaped my mouth, trickling down my chin, but I didn't care. Or I thought I didn't: I had to wipe it away after a few moments before it ruined my white long-sleeved t-shirt.

As I alternated sipping champagne and eating strawberries, Jack rambled on, "Claire, you're the country mouse. You love animals and taking care of them. You can do whatever you do over the whole wide world. You love fresh air. You love the whole small town thing. Mineral Town even has a mountain and a hot spring and a library. You don't even have to do any farming. Just feed the animals. Relax in our little house. Enjoy the sunshine, the beach."

"I'm listening," I admitted softly. It was too gorgeous an offer for me not to listen to.

"It's only three seasons. Just the rest of spring, summer, and fall. We should get back in early winter. It's only a little while. And Zack – you know Zack, right?"

"Yeah, what about him?" He was a friend of our father's, something that had never made sense to me. Zack looked damn awkward in a suit, our father lived for suits. Zack was nice, with a great grin and a bodybuilder statuette, while our father never smiled, had only the coldest of kiss ass manners, and was slim and slender, small, like me.

"Well, he can help out and all." That's right. He'd mentioned living in the same place as Jack. "Or someone else in the village can. They're real nice people." And I absolutely hate strangers.

"Really nice, Jack, not 'real nice,' people." Correcting him was just another defense mechanism.

"So what? It doesn't matter. Anyway, you'd be fine. It's only three seasons." Why did he keep repeating that? If I was going to love the place, I wouldn't want to leave. "The people are nice. There's a mountain and a hot spring and those hills you're always talking about. You'd love it here." He'd said that a bit ago, too.

I remained silent, biting into a strawberry, sucking on the juice and mulling the idea Jack was proposing over in my head.

"So? You wanna do it? Please… I'm begging here, Claire?" He wasn't a very good beggar.

"Maybe…" I murmured, biting my lip now that I'd finished the strawberry.

"Pop and I can stay a bit – until summer – to help you get used to things and introduce you to people and stuff." I really didn't want that, but I wasn't about to say anything to Jack. "We're having the house rebuilt so the baby has a crib upstairs, but you can live there once Gotz is done. It's gonna be real nice."

I was tempted to correct him again, but I kept silent. I was still listening. Still trying to convince myself – and maybe him – I wasn't going to do this. But damn it. It was so tempting. How could I tell him no?

"Claire? Please? Come on? It's just for a little while. It's free. Except for the animal feeding and stuff. It's just house-sitting."

I mean, I could do house-sitting. I'd done it for Cece once. In fact, I stayed more in hotels and houses belonging to other people than I did in my own apartment. It was sort of weird, but I liked it. I liked feeling useful.

"Claire. Come on, Claire. Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with whipped cream and cherries and sprinkles and syrup on top?"

"In that order?" I couldn't stop the giggle. No matter how much I hated him sometimes, he always somehow managed to make me laugh.

"Whatever you want in whatever order you want. Hell, I'll do anything for you. I just want to make sure Pop and the baby are safe." He really cared for the woman. I just hoped he wouldn't give it up.

Well… I could guarantee that, couldn't I? Or nearly. Jack was usually good for his promises. "…I only have one condition. For now."

"You're going to do it?" he sounded… happy. Like he hadn't really expected me to do, but he realized his luck and was actually… grateful.

"Like I said. One condition, but I might add more later," it all depended on how things turned out, and if he kept this promise.

"Anything." Boy, would Cece have fun with that one.

"Don't cheat on her. Don't divorce her unless she's cool with it. Love her. Be a good father to the baby. Just…don't let go of something this amazing. Don't ruin something like this."

He was quiet a moment, then murmured, "…you mean like Dad almost did?"

"I still blame him for her death. And that's not something I want to talk about." My voice held a note of finality I knew he would recognize, one he would understand.

"So…it's a yes?" Again, that elation.

I sighed. I was regretting this already. "…fine. On that one condition. If you make me regret it because you hurt your wife or neglect your baby or anything along those lines, I will find a way to get revenge on you." In a way that was legal, so I couldn't get in real trouble. Jack wouldn't do anything about it either, considering he would know he'd had it coming to him.

"It's a deal. When can you be here?"

I don't know how many times I've rewritten this chapter, trying to figure out exactly HOW I wanted to start the story. Please tell me what you guys think?