Bitter Herbs
Chapitre One
Plant
Astromelia (at least, I do believe that's her penname) has a KurtAlexKurt story up, and inspired me to attempt yet another Harvest Moon story. It's been a while, quite frankly, since I dared touch the subject of this (winsome) game, but I think I'll give it a shot.
Just a warning: If RayAlex isn't your cup of tea, go away. If you don't like either Ray or Alex, darn you. Darn you to heck.
The story isn't actually AU. I mean, I'm not going to include any weird note-collecting business in the story. But they'll all live in Flower Bud, living normal lives and whatnot. Celebrating those awesome festivals. … Lucky them.
I realized that my plot is way too much like Astromelia's, but, I'll try my best to make it different. (Sorry, Muse. –cries-)
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon belongs to Natsume – I swear, with all these Kingdom Hearts one shots, I almost wrote Square Enix – as does the characters.
Summary: Bitter herbs and fish will always go well together, if cooked just right.
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If only he had a more exciting job, one that was more entertaining than sitting around, filling out notes, testing out different cures for sicknesses that harm mankind. Sometimes he wondered if he made a bad choice, shouting, "I want to be a doctor when I grow up!" as a little kid, when they were in a little circle, discussing what they would be in the near future. Sometimes he wondered if spending years in school, studying cures and herbs and sicknesses and origins of each, was really worth a job like this.
Of course, there were good times. Bad times, mostly, with foul smells of the herbs that took up almost all the space in his room, and whipping out different pills and ointments that would stain his hands later.
But then, this dull job gave him time to form different hobbies, and to have deeper relationships with the people around him. For example, Martha, the wonderful yet rather bossy elder who helped him throughout work. Ann with her good-willed heart who gave him roots to crush into powder for wounds and infections. Basil and his boundless information of herbs and flowers which were, obviously, quite useful for him.
Then there was-
"Alex!"
-Ray.
Bitter Herbs
For some reason, Alex wouldn't believe this. Before him was one of his closest friends, Ray, the village's best angler. Three days ago, he came here for ointment and bandages to cover up the deep scar that ran down his back after his clumsy fall down a few slopes in the mountains.
Now, he was here with a broken arm?
"You," the doctor started as he skeptically stared, half-lidded eyes drilling holes in the brunet's own eyes, "didn't do this purposely, right? Not to fool around? Because do you know how long it takes to-?"
Ray held up his hands – well, hand – in defeat as he scooted away from the silently raging raven as he retaliated with an indignant,
"I swear I didn't know that rock was right before me when I was crossing the stream! Then suddenly more rocks were, were…" Then frantic movement began as he began stuttering, words randomly tumbling out of his mouth as a flustered look washed over him completely.
"A-All right, just stay quiet," Alex grumbled – he was interrupted from deep thinking, which he loved to do, besides sleeping and reading – and pushed the fisherman down on his back. The skeptical look returned as Ray flashed a half-hearted smile, pointing to the arm that seemed badly bruised.
"So, doc, you gonna take care of this, or let me rot and wither?"
Alex hummed for a few seconds – "Huh, Alex!" – and he replied,
"Well, you did interrupt my thinking. I mean, I was brooding, thinking over some very important ideas until you rudely burst through the door with that pathetic-."
"Alex!"
"I'm sure Martha would kick me out if I didn't, Ray," laughed the raven as he reached into a cabinet behind the screen. The angler listened to him fuss with whatever was in there, clawing at items of different material until there was an "Eh- ouch! All right, got it."
Ray couldn't help but smile as the flustered doctor came back, prepared items held close to his chest.
"Hopefully this isn't too severe; or else you might be stuck with me for a few weeks," Alex joked, rolling his eyes as Ray lit up.
"That might not be too bad, doctor!"
He flushed.
…
Grave news to Alex. Wonderful, joyous love for Ray.
Apparently, what Alex had assumed to b a simple fraction ended up being something much too serious, and the angler would have to be hospitalized for six weeks, if not two months. Then he would have to kick his "patience lesson" skills into gear, for he knew that the brunet would be complaining about how the catch of the day was slithering away.
Day zero, the doctor thought as he scribbled down his entry in the small leather cover notebook, which was kept away from everyone. Even Martha.
Today, Ray came stumbling in with a broken arm. Now I have something to do. But, that's bad, too. Less time free time for me, so now I'm stuck with having to tend to his very need. Unless, somehow, I can force him into the Sanatorium and have Gina- no, that's so heartless of me. The poor girl already has Dia on her hands…
Well. For now, I must deal with any foolishness that fisherman puts on for a few weeks.
Hopefully he'll have only a broken arm, and nothing else. Of course, I can't really reassure that…
"Hey, Alex!"
With that simple cry, Alex knew that hell was just starting.
…
Everything went smoothly. A simple, handy cast was put on after a rather rushed check up – Alex was desperate to put him to sleep, whether it was naturally or by drug – and then the doctor was sitting beside the angler whose head was, thankfully, nodding.
"Hey, Alex," Ray started suddenly, which made the raven jump up in his seat, stammering "I-I didn't!" He laughed at the man's nervous behaviour as he blushed rather girlishly.
"S-Sorry," muttered Alex as he ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. "I just need to catch some more sleep. Lately, I've been…" Desperately, he tried stifling a yawn behind the sleeve of his coat, but Ray caught onto the wheeze easily.
"Go sleep, I think I can deal with this." He shifted under the blanket that Martha had draped over him a few hours ago and patted the pillow beneath his head with his left arm. "This is a whole lot better than camping out in the woods. Though I will miss the fish. What're they gonna do without me?"
Alex chuckled.
"I think they'll do perfectly fine without a fisherman out to get them."
Pouting, the angler complained,
"I'm not really out to get them! Just for data and measurements and-."
"Right."
…
Alex let his head repeatedly thump against the smooth surface of his wooden desk; the fisherman was sleeping silently, no signs of discomfort of snoring, while he was stuck, wide awake, despite how much in fatigue he was.
He despised summer. Why did he have to go through an injury like this during the summer? The heat with its humidity, loud chirps of the cicadas, no turnips in season.
He clenched and unclenched a fist as the other rubbed one temple. Who came up with this piece of advice, anyway? Alex thought as he grinded his back teeth to keep in any anger. Because it isn't working!
Realizing that, soon enough, a bruise the size of a walnut would appear on his forehead if he continued, and stopped with his actions that would've knocked him out into sleep.
"Alex?"
Jumped high, the doctor did, as he scrambled off his chair to whirl around and come face to face with a confused Ray. The raven let out a deep sigh; too much coffee for him.
"Ray. You're not asleep?" the doctor asked with a shaky smile, trying to calm the rapid heartbeat with his mind by threatening it – Stop the thumping, or-or… Or…
"I should be the one asking you that," muttered the angler in response as he fixed the strap on his shoulder and leaned forward, nose almost touching Alex's. He lifted a finger and poked him right under the eye, causing the raven to stumble back with his backside against his desk.
"Bags," Ray stated simply as a frown slowly began to inch itself to its place. "You're not trying to let yourself pass out one day, right?"
"Of course not!" he cried in his defense, rubbing a random spot on his arm as he shifted his attention to his shoes. "Lately, I just can't. I think too many things are-."
"On your mind?"
"Yeah."
Ray snorted, which caught Alex's attention in a flash, with a frown that was flipped into a smirk quite quickly.
"Y'know, you're the doctor. You should be taking care of me." He sighed, shrugging with the better arm. "Guess I'll just have to play that role for tonight." Grasping the doctor's thin hand, he led him back to a couple of makeshift beds, pushing him down so he could tower of him. Rather creepily, he smiled.
"When I had trouble sleeping in the woods, I would forget everything around me," started Ray as he closed his own eyes, "and just imagine myself in some ocean. Nothing else. Just a lotta water. No fish, no coral, and n- Oh man, that's just like a swimming pool then." Alex cracked open one eye and saw the fisherman grimacing cutely and he had to hide his snicker behind a hand.
"Quiet," barked the brunet as he kicked the side of the bed, forcing Alex to jump up in his seat.
"Anyway. You can't do anything, only nature can bring you to where you want. Only the current knows where you'll be going. So you let your body become like fluid, become the water itself and," Ray stopped here to yawn, "and… let your own self rock back and forth like little ripples in the water, back and f-forth, like someone lulling you… to sleep."
Alex had trouble imagining only him in the water; it seemed too lonesome for his own good. Through half-mast eyes, the doctor glanced to the side where, in no surprise, Ray was slumped over, dead asleep himself. He sighed.
Rising up from the bed, the doctor hauled – or, tried to – Ray up from the chair he was sleeping on, and gently laid him down on the springy mattress, watching his chest rise and fall peacefully. Fiddling with the cast around the fisherman's arm, Alex smiled.
Maybe it wouldn't be so lonesome in the ocean if you had a friend. A friend who knew the place like it was his homeland. So if this clinic is an ocean, and he's that friend, maybe everything won't be so…?
He settled down on the chair with a troubled sigh, closed his eyes, and imagined him being a part of the current with Ray.
Slowly opening his eyes, the fisherman grinned when he saw Alex lying on the bed, head unintentionally resting on his thigh.
Hey, Ray thought with a smirk as he patted his stomach, it actually worked.
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Thus concludes this chapter. I'm sorry it was horrible. –shot- Yay, do I see a budding friendship already? D:
Oh. This so was for Astromelia, lol.
Personally I think that this'll be so much easier to write since, well, Ray… can walk. Just can't move his right arm. Poor guy.
Speaking of which, is he right-handed or left? Ambidextrous? Lol, whatever. If you understood the summary, cookies for you. If you caught Ray's line from Magical Melody (it was reworded so it would fit the actual situation, but you could get the gist of it), you're full of win.
Agh, this seems so freakin' rushed. At least Alex can sleep. Umm. I think? I'm sorry. The ending was hard to write since my hair got in the way (bad haircut, ugh) and I started writing at least ten minutes after I was awake.
No pillow is no win.
-Muffinizer, kon-kon! Maji de?