Hey guys! This is for floridapanther28's Facial Feature Contest! Mine was cheeks, which was a lot harder to do than I thought. XD Being that this is a BoXAlisa, I hired Alisa to do my disclaimer!
Alisa: The Harvest Goddess has not granted Hope with Harvest Moon. Sorry, but she does not own anybody mentioned in this story. She doesn't even own Animal Parade, she owns Tree of Tranquility, so she apologizes from any off placement in the geography set of the story! May the Harvest Goddess be with you!
Me:….
Bo knew he was head over heels when he started admiring her cheeks.
It had happened only a few days ago, when he and Alisa were engaged in simple conversation. He was often found talking to the small woman of Sunshine Islands- it was a regular habit, for Gannon often had things for him to help with. Anyways, they were in a small conversation- Bo didn't remember what it was about. He was to busy watching her, soaking in her presence. When she smiled at him- from some small, pointless joke that he made- Bo noticed how her cheeks lit up with red blush. And… it was cute. To Bo, this was such a strange, alien feeling. His heart sped up, and he couldn't take his eyes off the corner of her face until she spoke his name.
Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was in love with the young priestess. It didn't matter that her cheeks really were adorable- perfectly rounded out and splattered with a light dash of freckles much like his own. Admiring her cheeks?… well, it made Bo feel like a stalker.
Watching her every move, admiring her cute little quirks, and making excuses to come see her on the islands all added up to one big, stalker-ish mess. Bo liked to think of himself as a humble, respectful being- a man who would never be caught doing such a weird act as admiring a girl's cheeks. Psh, no.
Or at least, that's what he told himself.
The truth? Well, it might be that Bo was scared. He was afraid that she would never like him back. Bo didn't want to dissolve their fragile line of friendship, so thin it could be mistaken for thread. He wanted to be around Alisa and he was afraid any kind of revelation of love would send her packing. So he lied to himself, saying that his crush was some sort of weird phenomenon that shouldn't exist.
It could've been that Bo never wanted to be in love. His past was a big clump of burns in that area. Love always resulted in pain and sorrow, leaving dozens of scars on your heart you just couldn't heal.
He'd loved his mother, once.
Then she had to go and die, leaving him void of any motherly love- the only kind he wanted. Bo was only ten, and cancer was just a word they repeated over and over in school. You didn't smoke, for fear of lung cancer. You didn't eat a lot of sweats, for fear of heart cancer. You didn't put your laptop on your lap, for fear of cancer from radiation. It never seemed real to Bo. Death was real. That's all that mattered in the eye of cancer. They never told him what caused breast cancer, or why his mother's golden blond hair disappeared before she died. That's all Bo wanted to know, but that's all they didn't tell him. What his mother was to weak to. She died holding his hand in a bleached white hospital, while Bo's heart died.
He'd loved his father once too.
After his mother died of breast cancer, his father was all he had. The man wasn't as smooth as his wifely counterpart, and he never knew how to raise a child. Bo was to blinded by his love for his father to notice it, but his Daddy couldn't handle it. He tried, he really did, and Bo enjoyed the short year he had with his father. It caused him to forget what would happen when the year was up. When his father would leave him, just like his mother did. Bo's father was an army man and he had somehow conned his way to a break- a death of a spouse was a huge deal- but the man would have to go sometime. One day, he did. He boarded his plane, and sent for Dale- a childhood friend of his late wife's- , to come pick him up, unaware of the slow cracking sound his son's heart was making.
Bo didn't want to add Alisa to his list of a dead heart, someone he loved but lost. Bo had come to think love wasn't worth it, wasn't worth all the pain and scars. He vowed after his father had left him that he would never fall in love again, never be attached to another human being that he could so easily loose.
Besides, Bo knew how easily Alisa could be added to that list of burns and brokenness. She was a priestess. Her only love was to the Harvest Goddess that she served. No man should ever come between that bond, and Alisa had practically sworn it so. Even if Alisa loved him back, she would always be apart of her church- and even love can't break that bond. She could easily tear apart his heart without even knowing.
Whatever the reason, be it his fear or his regrets and poor promises, Bo could never admit his love to anyone- no matter how cute their cheeks.
She was all up in his thoughts again, wandering through his mind like she'd lived there everyday of his life, and it was starting to worry Bo.
It had been a few weeks since he'd seen her, meaning it'd been a few weeks since he'd noticed how attracted to her cheeks he was. After that realization- the scary fact that he might actually be falling in love- Bo had gone out of his way to stay away from the Sunshine Islands. Whenever Gannon had called, needing help of some kind, Bo would always tell Luke that he could go. Luke was Luke, and didn't notice his sudden disintrest in his former favorite place. If Dale noticed, he didn't point it out. Bo was thankful that Dale was a keep-to-himself kind of guy- he'd appreciated it ever since he'd come here, glad he wasn't pounded with questions about his dead mother.
Of course, it was kinda nice having Alisa up in his head. She was even prettier in there, her carrot color hair always whipping gently across her oval shaped face. Great, Bo thought with a sight, now I really do sound like a stalker.
"Bo! Damn it, Bo! Where are you?" A voice called, waking Bo from his inner arguments.
"Owen?" Bo called back, knowing the burly red-haired man's voice almost as well as he knew Dale's. " I'm right up here. No need to pull out the swear words."
"I think it is." Owen replied, his booming voice going back to his normal tone. His angular face peeked around the corner of the tree nearest to Bo. "Luke- well, damn it Bo, Luke's done it again!"
Owen's tone was grim, and his words shot dread throughout Bo. 'Luke's done it again' was always a bad thing, no matter the context. Bo was glad for Luke's friendship and appreciative of his usually accidentally kind words, but he had to admit- Luke was a bonehead. He tended to mess things up, and sometimes hurt people on accident- and judging by the sweat dripping from Owen's forehead it was probably the latter.
"Alright," Bo said, strapping his axe to his side, "tell me while we're walking."
"Walking?" Owen smiled grimly. "Bo, he's really screwed up this time. I hope you're ready for a jog."
Dread spread through Bo again as they both started into a jog- an Owen-pace jog, which meant they were going at almost a sprint. If they were moving this fast, Luke must've done something horrible.
"Okay," Bo forced out between pants, "start talking."
"I only saw a little bit of it. Luke was chopping down a tree at the church ground, like Perry asked him to do last week. A person- I couldn't see who, but it was probably Perry- was picking flowers nearby. When Luke swung the axe and knocked the tree down, it landed straight on the person, knocking them down. There was this awful cracking noise, and Luke noticed me. He yelled for me to get you, so I did."
Bo sucked in a breath- which was kinda hard to do, running at Owen pace- and tried not to yell 'idiot' at the muscular man. He could bench at least two-hundred pounds and could probably lift anything Luke chopped down. Instead, he ran for Bo, who could lift about one-forth of what he could? Geniuses, the both of them.
Owen didn't say any more, and Bo could only wonder if he'd picked up on his own thoughts. They came across the Church grounds, and Luke waved his arms frantically. He was by a small- not huge, but big enough to hurt anyone- oak tree. As Bo and Owen neared, Bo saw that Perry was standing besides him. Then who…?
"Oh, I'm sorry! We'll be getting you up, soon as we can!" Luke was blabbering, and Bo had known him for a long enough time to know he was trying to hide his worry. "I want to chop up the bottom of the tree, but Perry won't let me!" He flashed what Bo supposed was a frown to the priest. "But Bo's here now, so we'll be all okay!"
Bo and Owen finally approached the very trunk of the tree, where they could see the person trapped under the tree. The body was facing the tree when it had landed, as though they'd whirled around to see what had been coming but had been caught underneath. Her blue dress was crushed around her, and soiled with dirt. Her pale hand was clutching a bouquet of flowers, and her leg was twisted at an awkward angle. Her carrot colored hair was strewn about her face, but you could see the scratched from tree branched beneath. It was dreadfully clear who was underneath, and it certainly wasn't Perry.
Oh, Luke was so gonna die.
He'd really screwed up this time, Luke had. Trapping Alisa underneath a tree? How did he even manage that?
Bo would take far too much joy in killing him, preferably a slow, painful death by dipping him in tar. Or maybe Bo could feed Luke to cannibals. That would be interesting.
"Bo! Dude, are you okay?" Owen was touching Bo's shoulder lightly.
"Fine," He muttered. "How are we gonna get the tree off of Alisa?"
"You know her?" Owen seemed surprised.
Bo tried to keep the blush from his face. "We've met."
Owen seemed to be sucking in a laugh, but Luke- for once- was all sober.
"You ready to lift guys?"
"Yeah." Owen said, putting his huge arms just under Alisa's foot. Bo just nodded.
The three guys- Perry shuffled out of the way, muttering 'crazy lumberjack'- lifted the tree, hovering it just a few feet above the ground before Owen grunted. Luke ran out from his side, and the burly man tossed it over towards where Luke had been standing.
"Alisa!" Bo tried to keep the anxiety in his voice at the low as he ran to kneel down besides her.
He touched her face gently, pushing all the matted hair from her face. Her eyes were closed, and Bo could tell she was unconscious.
"She's not dead, is she?" Luke asked, coming to a halt behind his friend.
Bo just sent him up a razor glance, full of clear annoyance. Owen answered for him. "Nah, but she needs to see a doctor. I'm sure Bo would love to carry her there."
Now that the crisis was averted, both Owen and Luke were back to their normal selves. Bo sent a sharp glance at Owen, wondering if his words weren't meant to be as sharp as they sounded, but he gave him an apologetic lopsided grin.
"Perry?" Bo raised his voice to speak to the priest, but didn't avert his eyes from Alisa. "What was she doing here anyways?"
"I invited her over to have a small congregation about our goddess. She was picking flowers to lighten up our church when… this happened. Why?"
Bo sent up a quick thank you to Alisa's prized goddess that Perry was not the sort to hold a grudge, even for a sort while. Anybody else would've erupted in anger at Luke knocking their guest over and possibly breaking their leg. Thank goodness for peaceful people, Bo thought to himself as he put his arm around Alisa's back. Once he'd propped her up, he gently slid his hand under her legs, careful not to hurt her damaged one.
"Oh," Bo responded to Perry's question with a mental wave of his hand, "I was just curious- I never see her here. Alright, I'll be… going now."
There was a sort of awkward silence, as nobody knew what to say as they watched Bo carry Alisa's off the Church Grounds.
Now, Bo was a small guy. Although lanky, and a fair height, he had little to no substance. No amount of chopping trees or silly contests with Luke could ever change his genetics. Bo couldn't help but feel thankful as he lumbered along that Alisa was a small young woman- only about 5'1 and a had a wispy, elfish figure- an easy fit in his skinny arms. And- although Bo didn't realize it- a perfect fit for his heart.
Minutes passed quickly, and Bo was soon at the clinic. He pushed the door open with his butt, gaining him a strange hello glance from Irene. The old woman's eye did, however, quickly reach the sodden girl in his arms.
"Jin? I think you need to come see this- hurry."
Since the clinic was small- another thing Bo felt he needed to send thanks for- Jin was out almost as soon as the last syllable left his grandmother's lips. He spotted Bo and sighed, no doubt seeing Alisa's twisted leg as well.
"Come on in, lay her in this bed right here."
Bo followed the doctor as relief spread through out him. Alisa was safe now. Spreading out the priestess' fragile body on the hospital bed, Bo braced himself for any questions the doctor may have had. He had only one.
"What happened?"
"Well…um… there was this tree and Perry and…" Bo's tongue was quickly tied in a lumpy knot. He realized almost immediately that there was only one word that could describe the situation to Jin. "Luke."
Jin nodded, and Bo saw that he was understood. After all, Luke's minor damages were the second non-sickness related causes of clinic visits. Right after Maya's cooking, of course. Jin went about checking out her leg, but turned to Bo.
"You can go now. Thanks for bringing her to me, you can leave now."
"No." The words escaped Bo's lips before he could stop them. Jin looked up at him, his face unreadable. "No. No, doctor, I think I want to stay."
As soon as the sentence was complete, floating about the room, Bo knew he couldn't back down from it. He would stay by Alisa's side, as long as she needed him. Bo armored himself and prepared for opposition from the doctor, who likely wouldn't want a tag a long.
"Okay." The doctor responded, surprising Bo. "Stay as long as you want- just you might not want to look while I fix her leg. Can get nasty."
Jin gave Bo a tender look, and the young woodsman blinked, not knowing that Jin had a tender look. He remembered a minor rumor, floating about in his head about Jin's late wife, and how he stayed with her until her very last breath.
"Look, it's not- " Bo started, afraid of what people might think of him and his relationship with a goddess- sworn priestess. He didn't want Jin to think that he thought of Alisa like that.
"I know." Jin waved him away. Bo couldn't help but note a small wrinkle forming on the side of his mouth, and remembered how much older the doctor was then him.
Sighing in defeat, Bo went to the Inn. There he grabbed him some snacks- and a few flowers from Colleen, who had heard of the accident- before heading back to Alisa's bedside, a place where he would stay until she needed him no longer.
And so he did.
She stayed knocked out for the rest of the day, her bandaged foot lying dead on the clinic's bleached white bed. Bo stayed awake, nibbling on his snacks and contemplating his attachment to her. He should of walked away when Jin offered him to, but he didn't. Something inside of him wanted to protest the young woman, who was both fragile and strong. Perhaps it was the Harvest Goddess, watching over one of her devoted followers. Or maybe it was the goddess' matchmaking skills at work. Legends often portrayed her a bored woman.
During the night, Bo slept. Jin stayed on the upper floor of the clinic, knowing his patient's injury was not get healed enough to go unattended by a doctor. Neither of them knew if Alisa stirred at all during her sleep, but she wore a small smile when Bo awoke.
After Jin did a few more checks on her leg, he told Bo that she was fine and would probably be able to sail for home late tomorrow if the effects of the aesthetic wore off safely. He said that- if it was alright by Bo- he had to go check on Chloe, who had contracted a small case of Chicken Pox. Although the doctor's words of Alisa's safety had calmed his heart, the new set sent a pang throughout him. He wasn't sure what he would do if something did happen to Alisa, and the doctor wasn't around to see it? He considered asking the question, but he clamped his jaw shut. He was already over-protective of the young woman for no reason, and he didn't need to add to his list of crazy-protective accomplishments. This is what you get… for falling in love. Bo sighed, running his hand through his sandy hair. He reached for one of the magazines that was kept at the bedside table, when he heard a weak murmur.
"…Bo…?"
"Alisa?" He turned around to face her, surprised when he saw her sapphire eyes blinking up at him. "You're awake?"
"Yeah." Her voice sounded stronger now. "What happened?"
"My friend Luke hit you with a tree." Bo said, earning a slight rewarding chuckle from Alisa. "You broke your leg and our local doctor fixed you up. You've asleep for about a full day now."
Alisa put her hands on the bed and pushed herself up. Bo, seeing she was having trouble, propped her pillow up for her, as she scooted up. Finally comfortable, she turned her giant blue eyes at Bo.
"Thank you. I've been asleep a full day? Wow. How long have you been here?"
Bo met her eyes. "That full time- besides a break to get food. I carried you here."
Alisa blinked, tipping her head to the side. "… The full time…? Didn't you go home to sleep?"
Bo smiled at her. "Why would I? The beds here are plenty comfortable."
Alisa clasped her hands together, staring down at them. Bo suddenly felt sort of… well, what was the word? Stalkerish. Dang, that was it. Carrying her here was one thing, but staying the whole time and watching her sleep…?
"You didn't have to stay, you know."
"I- " he began to say, before something stopped him.
She was crying.
Not bawling, mind you. Still, there were recognizable drops of water running down her pink cheeks and her shimmering blue eyes were already rimmed with red.
"Alisa? Ali, what's wrong?"
Using a small hand to wipe her tears from her face, Alisa looked up at him once more. "Bo… I…." She sniffled a bit. "… I think… I think I might just… love you."
That's when Bo froze- he couldn't find anymore words to say, his throat hollow and dry. His heart literally stopped in his chest, and his mind felt like it was going to blow up. I think I might just love you. Bo made himself begin to breathe again, taking air in and out. He looked at Alisa, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks and saw for the first time that there was love sparkling in their depths.
"Y-You…do?" It wasn't the most genius line, but it was all Bo could stutter out.
Alisa nodded, wiping another generation of tears from her face. It occurred to Bo how she was so graceful in her tears- snot wasn't going anywhere, and her tears were like gentle rain drops instead of a pouring storm.
"I know, I'm screwing everything up but… dang it Bo, your just so…so wonderful!" She sniffled again. "You're just so kind and honest… nobody else would've stayed with me after they did their good need. Just you."
"You're screwing everything up? You couldn't do that if you tried!" Bo managed out a short, disbelieving laugh. "I thought… I thought… I thought you could never love me. So I couldn't… love you."
The tears had stopped running down Alisa's face, and her eyes got all shiny. "You…love me?"
Bo paused, knowing his next words would be crucial. Saying 'I love you' would mean more than just being protective of her and staying besides her when she was hurt. It could mean everything. Bo took her tiny hand in his small one, and tried not to tremble. His next words could decide what love meant to him, and if it could be worth it for once in his life.
"Yes. Alisa, I… I love you."
Her eye got even wider than they had before, which Bo didn't think was possible. Small tears began streaming from her eyes again, but Bo hoped they were from confusion or happiness instead of sadness. Anything but sadness.
"Bo?" She asked, staring at their interlaced hands. "I can tell you the truth, can't I?" Bo nodded, not completely trusting himself to say anymore. "Truth is… I didn't come here to see Perry. I like him well enough, of course- anyone who loves the Harvest Goddess that much is a good soul. I came here… to see you. I missed you. You haven't been to the Sunshine Islands in weeks."
Bo's heart did a little spin. "I missed you to. I didn't come… because I was scared. I…" he scratched the back of his head "….finally figured out that I loved you." He paused, trying to make light of the situation. "I'd wait next time though. Look where trying to see me has gotten you!"
Alisa blushed, and Bo felt himself doing the same. "… It's gotten us in love…" she murmured.
Bo's heart- the scandalous little thing- began beating faster. They stared at each other for a moment, neither sure what to do. They found their faces only inches from each other, lips so close that they could almost kiss. Alisa began to almost lean forward, and he found himself doing the same until his brain remembered where and who he was. He jerked back, pulling his face back from hers.
"We can't do this- Alisa, you're a priestess!"
She averted her eyes. "I have taken no marriage or virgin vows. It is no sin."
Bo guided her chin with his fingers to look at him again, but dropped his hand and quickly re-laced in with hers.
"Not technically. It wouldn't be received well though, would it?"
Bo spoke the words with a sad, bitter taste, but the negative side of his mind knew it was true. Alisa stiffened, as though she felt the same.
"I love my church, and I love my goddess. I just…" She bit her lip. "I can't not be with you. We can find a way through everything- I know we can. If you were anybody else, I wouldn't give it up. Your Bo. You…are different. The Harvest Goddess approves, and if she doesn't, she will. Nathan will grow used to it, and he loves me enough to let me go if he has to."
She stared at him, and he could see the hope practically shimmering around her. He squeezed her hand. She leaned in closer and Bo felt her draw, moving closer to her until his face was only centimeters from hers. Bo could feel her breathing as he closed the distance between their lips. It was a short kiss, and she drew back only seconds after it started, yet Bo was still dazed by the contact. Her lips- the ones his lips had just been touching- curled into a soft smile. He could still feel the contact tingling on his own flesh.
"That… was nice." Alisa said shyly.
"Very," Bo agreed as he heard his stomach rumble.
Alisa laughed her pretty, jingly laugh- "Go get us some food if you'd like- I'll still be here, I promise."
Bo smiled at her, and gave her cheek a small caress before walking out of the clinic, ignoring the suspicious- although affectionate- gaze of Irene. Bo smiled when he saw Luke just outside the clinic, surprised to see he'd finally come to visit Alisa.
"Hey Bo!" Luke greeted with a fist pump.
"Hey Luke." Bo replied.
The older boy tilted his head to the side. "I think there's something wrong with your cheeks." Luke said.
"Huh?" Bo touched one of his cheeks self consciously. "What do you mean?"
"They're pure red."
Hope you enjoyed- I think the Bo/Alisa fluff was enough to keep me afloat on that one! Not my best piece of work, but I'm a better editor then I am a writer! ;) Plus, it was REALLY fun to write!
Review!