A Pendant For You
Story of Season: Trio of Towns Fanfiction
by Yui Kagamine / LuminouzYui
Summary: Yuzuki knew he had fallen in love with Holly, but he was afraid it would be unrequited. With a little push from his best friend, he made a pendant for her and confessed his feelings.
Warnings: Contain fragments of Yuzuki's reverse confession lines. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: Story of Season: Trio of Towns belongs to Marvelous. I don't own the characters.
It was near the end of Winter when Yuzuki had nothing to do. He just sat on the porch of his grandparents' house in his holiday, enjoying the last few days of the cool Autumn. He couldn't even ask his best friend to accompany him just because that day was their work day, despite Yuzuki had nothing to work. Usually he would got some hairpiece orders from Shizu or Hinata, but perhaps the economy decline earlier that year had something to do with it. Luckily, a farmer named Holly moved in and helped Westown, Tsuyukusa, and Lulukoko by making it more livelier.
Thinking of Holly made his heart fluttered a bit. He knew he would be attracted to Holly the day he met her in Summer, but little that he knew that the feelings would grow into something he could call 'love'.
Holly was nice enough to go rounds to greet everyone in all three towns everyday in the midst of her busy farm tasks and Yuzuki didn't want to hold her too long even though talking to her felt really nice. Like Hinata and Komari, he could talk everything to her despite they haven't long met.
He ended spending the day thinking of Holly. How she helped him to find some inspiration in creating hairpieces earlier on Summer, how beautiful she was when he put on that hairpiece on her, how kind she was when she was trying to help an old man bringing his things to the shop despite it was too heavy for her, how she treated his grandparents kindly and showing so much kindness. Yuzuki has never met someone like Holly and he thought he maybe fell in love.
Yuzuki was remembering the time when he gave Holly a bottle of perfume and he wondered if she knew the meaning behind it. Yuzuki wanted to bring their relationship even higher, and he knew the tradition that a pendant was required for him to do so. But thinking even further, his pride as a jeweler just didn't want to gave her the store bought one… and he didn't have any confidence in doing so. Yuzuki was afraid to be rejected and his love would be unrequited.
"Yuzuki."
Yuzuki snapped out of his daydreaming because someone's calling him. That's Umiyo calling him, his beloved grandmother. He realized that the sun was going to set when Umiyo called him.
"It's getting chilly out here, let's go inside and help me to prepare dinner?" She smiled at him.
"Sure."
The next day was a sunny Wednesday and Shizu said she got some hairpieces order for Yuzuki so he came to Ra Man after lunchtime as usual. But the one that's not usual was Holly, who was watching his best friend, Hinata, that was currently entertaining his guest in awe beside Moriya who was supervising Hinata. Yuzuki decided to went straight to Shizu to pick up his orders, but his heart said to watch over Holly all the time. He tried to focus on Shizu's orders.
"That's awesome Hinata! You look really professional just now!" Holly praised Hinata.
"Whoa Holly, I didn't know you're here. It's embarrassing..." Hinata blushed while Holly was still praising him. It was the opposite of what Yuzuki observed in the festivals. Usually when Holly won a festival, Hinata would praise her highly.
"Hinata, that was a great job, you can take your break now." Moriya said.
"Huh? Okay then. Hey Holly, want to join me for lunch?"
"If it's okay with you, I will take the offer." Holly smiled, and they went to the direction of the boarding house while chatting.
Seeing that incident made Yuzuki's chest tighten and hurt. He would identify it as 'jealousy' but he didn't know for sure. Making sure to hide it behind his usual smiling face, he accepted the order details from Shizu.
Yuzuki couldn't concentrate on his job. He knew he had to finish it by the next day and it was already midnight, but the event in the afternoon in Ra Man kept surfacing on his thoughts. The more he tried to forget, the more he questioned everything, resulting in remembering everything. Yuzuki sighed, he has not even finished half of his work and he couldn't get his mind to it. Yuzuki then decided to take a midnight stroll towards the shrine, his favorite place ever since his childhood.
The slightly cold autumn night breeze relaxed his mind and he really liked the quiet nights light that night.
"Oh hey Yuzuki, you're still up?" It shocked him a little bit, but he managed to keep his face's expression as usual.
"Holly?" He saw she was holding her fishing rod. "What are you doing fishing this late?"
"Well, the fish are easier to catch in the night and I just want to see if I can get a new kind of fish… But I could say the same for you. What are you doing here at midnight?"
"I was taking a stroll to the shrine to refresh my mind", Yuzuki said, "from you," he continued that in his mind.
"Hmm…" she put her fishing rod to her bag, "Can I join you?"
Yuzuki smiled, "Sure, if you don't mind a boring walk around Tsuyukusa."
While walking to the shrine, Holly talked about her alpaca began to like her by coming to her side when she entered its barn. She also talked about how that very alpaca was always avoiding her in the beginning.
After praying a little while in the shrine, and maybe because he met Holly, Yuzuki felt that he could finally finish his work. Yuzuki offered to take Holly home and she took that offer.
After arrived to Holly's farm, and Yuzuki wanted to go back to his workshop.
"Wait here Yuzuki, I got something to you. Just wait until I packed it, okay?... Wait cross that, it's chilly out here and I think you better wait inside."
Yuzuki tried to think the consequences if he really went inside Holly's house in the midnight. Well, nothing could happen and nobody could know about this if something actually happen but he thought he better not.
"If it's only a while, I think I better wait outside. You know that I am a grown man too despite I looked what you called feminine…"
Holly blushed a bit, "Uh, yeah, that's right… Wait here then, I will pack it really fast!" Then she rushed to her house.
Yuzuki wondered what could she want to give him, while reminiscing a little bit of their earlier conversation in their way to Holly's home.
"Sorry for the wait! Here you go!"
Holly gave Yuzuki a box bundled with blue cloth.
"It is some Sweet Potato Rice I made this evening and it was too much for me to eat it. I packed some hot Green Tea too. I hope it could become your midnight snack for whatever you're working on now and I hope it suits your taste."
Yuzuki stared at Holly in awe, and felt grateful. "Thanks Holly, I will savor it later. In fact, I like Sweet Potato Rice, thank you."
"Really? Then I hope it turns out delicious then."
Yuzuki chuckled, "Okay then, I must go and finish my work, don't stay up too late"
Holly pouted, "I could say the same for you. But good luck!"
Yuzuki felt like he could finish his work so he could taste the Sweet Potato Rice that Holly gave before he finally turn in for the day.
It was a peaceful nap for Yuzuki in a Thursday afternoon after finishing his job, until Hinata decided to barge into his workshop.
"Oi Yuzuki, are we going to have lunch in the tea house or not? Whoa man, how are you still sleeping?! That's unusual..."
Yuzuki tried to open his eyes and sit on his futon, "Hinata? What time is it?"
"It's a little past afternoon. You're not coming to the tea house so I thought I would pick you up, sorry." Hinata looked a little guilty, he didn't even dare question what had his best friend did. Whatever it was, Hinata was sure it was his work.
"It's okay, you saved me actually. Can you bring the hairpieces on my desk to Shizu while I prepared myself? I will treat you later to make up for this."
"Roger that! Let's meet at the tea house later."
Yuzuki went to the bathroom to wash his face after Hinata had gone. He sighed. Yes, that's unusual for him to overslept like that. Usually, no matter how late he slept, he would woke up at 8 or 9 AM. Yuzuki thought maybe it was because he had relaxed himself over getting a special present in the midnight by a person he thought special too.
Arriving at the tea house, Yuzuki sat beside Hinata who had arrived earlier after doing the task Yuzuki gave him. They proceed to order their lunch and were about to chat when Holly arrived at the tea house.
"Ginjiro, I got a package for you!" Holly said it loudly at the entrance, and as they had grown accustomed to it, the visitors were not that shocked anymore.
"Keep it down, won't you?" Ginjiro scolded her, "anyway, thanks for delivering my orders as usual."
"Ehehe, you're welcome." Then she greeted all the visitors and Komari, and then went away, saying she had some more packages to deliver.
"Man, she is really hyper. Sometimes I don't know where all her energy comes from."
Yuzuki chuckled, "Yeah, I met her at midnight and she was still full of energy."
"While walking your usual midnight stroll? That reminds me, the other day you gave her a perfume, right? I met her after you gave it."
Yuzuki nodded, "I gave it as a gift because she helped me in making a hairpiece."
"I suppose you have a hidden meaning behind that?" Hinata paused a while. "Apparently Holly didn't know the meaning so I told her. You're attracted to her, right? You should tell her that or she won't understand your feelings."
Yuzuki went silent and searched for an answer.
"Here are yer orders! Huh, why you all went silent like yer in a fight or somethin'?" Komari brought their order, but a little bit confused by the boys' unusual behaviour.
"We're in a boys' serious conversation, so it's a secret!" Hinata grinned.
Komari pouted and went to serve another customer who had just arrived.
"I don't know, it's my first time feeling this way and I am afraid she would reject it." Yuzuki said.
"But still, you have to tell her properly… Look Yuzuki, as your love rival, I am pretty much happy if you continue to do nothing, but as your best friend, I want to wish for your happiness. I won't be surprised too if there's other boys from the other towns that think Holly as his love interest, so I think you have to do it." After Hinata ended his speech, he started munching on his food.
"I see… Do you think I should make the pendant on my own?"
Hinata almost choked on his food. His best friend was already thinking of confessing and look at him who had done nothing to pursue his love interest. But as a best friend, he should tell him what he thought, shouldn't he? "I think it would take too long, you can just buy it at my shop and make one later to replace it..."
"But i want to make it special…"
"Fine then that's up to you, but don't regret it if she fell to another man when you're still making the pendant, including me, hehe."
"... Let's just eat and continue somewhere. Thanks for the food."
That night, Yuzuki sat on his futon, remembering and trying to understand what his best friend just said to him earlier that day. He knew it would take too long if he insisted making the pendant on his own. After all, he never made one before so he didn't have any kind of measure how long it would take. Yuzuki decided he would ask his master about the matter.
The next day, Yuzuki went to the town, to his master's place. He asked his master how to make pendants and tried to have his ideal pendant's idea down while practicing the basic concepts from his master. Happy with his idea, he contacted his usual gemstone supplier to get some gems.
Because he didn't want anyone, especially Holly to know about him making pendant for her (except Hinata though), he worked on the pendant every nights, causing him to sacrifice some of his resting time.
One day when Yuzuki was taking a walk towards his favorite shrine, he met Holly.
"Good afternoon, Yuzuki!" Holly said from his back, surprising him a little. He turned to face her.
"You surprised me. Be careful not to do it to the elders, okay?"
"Of course! Anyway, long time no see, i guess."
Has it pass that long? "I had some orders that had to be done, so I was busy."
"Yeah, I can see that dark circles starting to form under your eyes. So, here!" Holly handed some package to Yuzuki, "It's for your late night snack! You said you liked sweet things so it is basically filled with desserts but I hope you enjoy it."
Yuzuki stared at Holly in disbelief. "Umm, I heard from your grandparents and Hinata that you have been working even harder than usual, and I can see that you go out of Tsuyukusa more often too these days, so I just want to help supporting you! That's all! I have more work to do, so see you later, Yuzuki!" and there she went, before even he could say thank you for the dessert package.
Yuzuki swore he could see Holly's cheeks turned pinkish before she ran away. Nevertheless, it boosted his mood and he was determined to finish the pendant faster.
It's near the end of Winter that Yuzuki finished the pendant earlier than he thought, and currently debating with his inner self whether he wanted to give it on Spring or just give it at that day. Sitting on the porch of his grandparents' house, he enjoyed his cup of green tea while thinking, gazing to the direction of Holly's farm. As if on cue, the person in his mind showed herself from the said road, interacting with any wild animals she found, and finally their gaze met.
"Hello Yuzuki, I see that you have done your works?" Holly said while approaching Yuzuki.
"Yeah… Care to join me for a drink?"
"Like how you lectured me for the first time and I fell asleep?"
Yuzuki chuckled, "I hope you won't today."
"I hope I won't too. Oh that reminds me, now that you are not busy, do you have some time to spare today?"
"Sure. Anytime you want."
"That's cool. Want to walk to the shrine now? Like our midnight stroll the other day."
"Ok. Let me take my wallet for a while."
"Yup, I'll be waiting here."
Yuzuki went inside his workshop to take the said wallet. He took his handmade pendant too, just in case the situation and atmosphere was right for him. But still, what made Holly asked him to walk together all of a sudden?
In their afternoon stroll along the bustling Tsuyukusa, Holly once again told Yuzuki about her livestocks. Apparently she finally had an llama at that time so she was talking about how funny her llama when the fur was all grown because it looked like a pompadour. She also talked about her little silkie that's being bullied by the chickens that she had to separate the poor silkie to another coop.
Arrived at the quiet shrine, both of them quieted down.
"Um...", both of them talked at the same time and silenced themselves awkwardly, each giving the other the opportunity to speak. But as both of them were silent, Yuzuki took the initiative to speak.
"Do you have another thing to talk to me besides your livestocks?"
Holly seemed flustered and a little blushed, "No no no, you also have something to say, right? You go first, Yuzuki."
"It's troubling, I believe Westown has a custom of letting ladies go first."
"I-I-It's not valid in these situations!"
Yuzuki kept his calm even though his heart was already beating faster. He thought it was a suitable time for speaking up his feelings. "Then… First, I would like to thank for your help designing those hair decorations. Also for all of your presents and kindness you have given to me and the others."
Holly nodded a little and smiled, "You're welcome."
"You see, in these times I had spent with you, I have been attracted to your kindness. Remember that time when you helped an old man bringing his items to Ra Man? Or that time when you helped the monkey mother to find her child? But that's not the point. With everything that had happened with you around me, I eventually realized that I'm in love with you."
Yuzuki blushed, and so was Holly, but she decided to hear Yuzuki out until the end.
Yuzuki took out his pendant from his pocket and showed it to Holly. "Holly, I love you. Could you accept these feelings I have for you and love me in return?"
Holly seemed a little shocked. "... You know, Yuzuki, I totally didn't expect this."
She took out a pendant from her bag, "To think you would said it first and it was on the day I decided to use all of my courage to confess to you! I-I'm so happy right now."
"Does that mean..."
"Yes, Yuzuki, I'll accept your feelings and I will be your girlfriend who loves you back until forever. Shall we exchange our pendants then?"
"Let me help you wear the pendant." Yuzuki helped Holly to wear the pendant he made and he also wore his that he received from Holly.
"This is so cute! It just looks like my cats' paws! Except, it's a little shinier and not fluffy like theirs. I bet these gems were expensive... Did you make it by yourself, in excuse of all those works?"
Yuzuki raised his brows, "How did you know?"
"Don't underestimate me!"
They had a good laugh after that.
"To think I was worried that my feelings would go unrequited… It seems I was wrong all this time." Yuzuki smiled his best smile, "I will do everything I can to ensure your happiness, Holly. Please take care of me."
"Please take care of me, too."
"Now, I suppose both of us have works to do, but, can I walk you home now?" he smiled with pinkish tint on his cheeks and offered his hand, "I want to walk while holding onto your hands."
Holly accepted Yuzuki's hand and both of them blushed even redder. "I don't mind, let's go."
End Notes: I know it seemed a little rushed but I hope this story is still a good read. Well, I had a job to finish but this story has been bugging my mind for weeks so I thought I will finish it faster so I could focus more on my work. I don't know how to reproduce Hinata's accent and I tried my best on Komari's :( Forgive me for any grammatical errors or vocabulary errors. I hope you who have read up until this point enjoyed this story. Thanks for reading :)
