Quick Info~

Hello Harvest Moon fans! This is my first Harvest Moon: A New Beginning fanfiction! I've been playing Harvest Moon for as long as I can remember and while this is my first Harvest Moon fanfiction on this account, I've written many a fic in the past for this wonderful game series.

Anyway, I absolutely adore NeilxRio in A New Beginning and so this is just a cute little oneshot dedicated to them. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you for reading!

Title: Potato Salad

Rated: T

Start~

"Your eyebrows are the most expressive thing about you," Rio mused as she reached her hands up towards Neil's stoic face.

She was laying on his lap, her head resting a bit too close to his crotch, and her hair splaying out in beautiful blonde waves around him. The heat of that particular summer was enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but Rio seemed to take it in stride. And, while Neil would never admit it, he quite liked seeing her in tank tops and shorts.

They hadn't known each other for long and in some ways, Rio still knew nothing about him. But after poking and prodding and her constant chatter, something shifted in his heart. Dunhill had told him that if he was ever lucky enough to find a woman who could see past his tough exterior, he better hold onto her tight and never let go.

She was an extraordinary woman; she really was. And by the time the second summer had scorched the town, she had already convinced enough people to move in in order to host the Firefly Festival. She was gifted, to say the least, and Neil respected that in a person.

He raised one eyebrow in suspicion at her claim. "You're pretty dumb, you know that?"

She giggled and the musical sound flooded his stomach with butterflies. "And you're pretty weird."

Rio sat up and stretched and Neil simply observed her with half-lidded eyes. He knew almost everything about the way that she acted. His parents always told him that he had a knack for understanding others - if only he would actually try and open up to them. When Rio got restless it was because she was either hungry or bored, or both.

"I'm going to get some food. I think Iroha made her infamous potato salad," she announced, standing and walking away from their secluded little picnic spot.

Ah, so it was the former, he thought. He laid down on the blanket and looked up at the darkening sky. The fireflies should be out any second. When he was a child, he never saw many fireflies in the city. Moving to Echo Village for the first time was the second greatest decision he ever made. The first was when he decided to confess his feelings to Rio.

It was awkward and he stumbled over his words and his face felt as though it might catch on fire. But she didn't mind. In fact, he had never seen her stare at him more intently then she did in that moment. And their first kiss that followed after was something that could make his blood run south faster than Tina with the latest gossip.

A pool of warmth hung low in his stomach and he shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. They hadn't shared many kisses after that first one, as he was never one for public displays of affection. Just the mere thought of how sweet her lips were against his made him sweat uneasily.

He wanted to kiss her again. Damn, did he want to.

He turned his head ever-so-slightly in all directions, checking for any sign of movement or sound. Rio really had picked the most secluded spot in all of Echo Village. She wasn't thinking the same thing as he was, was she?

Rio returned with a heaping plate of potato salad after a few minutes had passed. "I wasn't sure if you wanted any so I just brought a lot for us to share. I only have one fork, though. I hope that's not a prob-"

Before she had time to think, her clumsy little foot got caught on the edge of the blanket, sending her barreling forward. The plate flew out of her hand and landed on the ground a few inches away from Neil's head. Her blue eyes widened in horror as she watched the scene unfold. Neil sat up to catch her fall. She somehow managed to spread her legs on either side of his body. Her hands caught fistfuls of his heavy, red jacket and they both tumbled to the ground.

Neil blinked in surprise a handful of times before his face turned a deep, cherry red at the sight before him. Rio was staring at him with a pink hue almost glowing in the dark on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and apologetic and her body... Well, her body was safely straddling his.

"I'm so sorry," Rio said, clasping a hand over her mouth and scrambling to get off of him.

She felt his hands grab her hips and hold her in place. Neil's heart was beating so fast against his ribcage that he was sure she could hear it. She stared at him with a confused expression, her lips slightly parted as if she was going to say something but the words just wouldn't come out.

"Neil?" she asked quietly, her eyes searching for some sort of explanation in his.

He sat up as best as he could with her on top of him and looked her straight in the eyes. "You're an idiot," he whispered.

His breath was hot against her face for a split second before his lips were on hers. He kissed her hungrily, with a fervor that she had never seen him posses. He kissed her in a way that was like he was trying to memorize every inch of her mouth. And she kissed him back with that same fervor, sending a chill of pleasure up her spine and then down his.

She tangled her hands in his hair and she began to tease the opening of his lips with her tongue. He had never kissed anyone like that before but he didn't have time to feel self conscious. She was already entering his mouth and she tasted like a mixture of sweet tea and honey. A low growl rumbled in his throat and she let out a soft sigh at the noise.

"Damn it, Rio," he panted, breaking away for air. "I'm no good at this."

"Now you're being an idiot," she responded, just as out of breath as he was.

As they began to kiss again, Neil flipped Rio onto her back, his shaking arms barring each side of her face. She pulled his face down to meet hers and nibbled sensually on his lower lip. He buried his face in her neck, planting a trail of kisses along her burning skin. She began to squirm underneath him and felt his name on the tip of her tongue.

"Neil," she moaned and the sound echoed throughout the quiet night. "Goddess. Neil."

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" A voice that belonged to neither Rio or Neil broke through their secluded little paradise.

"Shut up! I didn't get a photo yet for the gossip column!" Another voice chimed in.

Neil and Rio froze like a deer in the headlights for a moment before he quickly launched himself off of her. Rio sheepishly sat up and Neil began to resort to glowering at the gawking townsfolk.

"Did you two enjoy seeing the fireflies?" Allen sniggered.

"I didn't know that's what this was called nowadays!" Camellia added, her voice a mixture of amusement and embarrassment.

"We all know what it's like to be in love at one time or another." Hana's old voice made Rio cringe with embarrassment. She was like a grandmother to her.

"And that concludes this year's firefly festival!" Dunhill's voice boomed throughout the crowd and he shot Rio a look of contempt before beginning to usher out all of the townspeople.

"Ooh! Stay tuned for this week's latest addition of the Echo Village gossip column!" Tina called as she linked arms with Rod and happily bounded away.

As everyone began to disperse, Rio and Neil silently sat next to each other. A giggle erupted from her throat and began to come out in a fit of laughter. Neil stared at her with wide eyes, absolutely horrified that she would be laughing at a situation like this.

"What the hell, Rio? We just got caught by everyone in town and you're laughing?!"

"You've got some potato salad in your hair!" she wheezed, clutching her sides as she doubled over into another fit of giggles.

Neil touched the top of his head gingerly and felt the goopy mixture clinging to his hair. "Well so do you!" he retorted.

Rio gasped and saw that the tips of her hair were coated with the stuff.

"You did this to us," Neil said, a grin forming on his lips despite how badly he wanted to remain grumpy.

Rio smiled and made her way over to his sitting form. Straddling him once more, she leaned over and whispered, "And I'll gladly do it again."

He let out a noise of surprise that was quickly muffled by her lips against his and the chirping of crickets that signaled the start of a long night.