Summary: Mark and Chris are the best of friends; they literally did everything together. But what happens when Mark finally finds out that his "brother from another mother" is actually a girl?

Disclaimer: I think it's quite obvious I don't own Harvest Moon.

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Chris is just your average seventeen-year-old. Chocolate-brown hair, a deep turquoise colour for eyes, and the best of friends with the local emerald-eyed, golden-haired farmer that everyone knows and loves. Of course, said farmer was a tad more oblivious to a small fact about his best friend, something everyone else on the island had figured out long before.

Chris was a girl.

"Christie" was her real name in all reality, but she had gone by "Chris" for practically her whole life... Of course, it wasn't surprising she was often considered a boy, with her incredibly short hair, styled the same as many guys, her voice that could be considered generic for both genders, along with the baggy and loose clothing she always preferred wearing, and the fact her hobbies had always including video games, comic books, etcetera.

"Man Chris," Mark sighed as he slumped back on the couch, throwing his controller to the side. "When the hell did you get so good at this game?" he questioned, referring to the game they had just finished playing, after a good two hours. Chris just laughed as she leaned back on the lower part of the couch, considering she had been sitting on the floor the whole while.

"Hey, I get bored when I'm not cooking, and video games tends to fix that," she replied, stretching her arms high above her head, looking over at the farmer, who remained ever so oblivious to her real gender. Honestly, sometimes she just wanted to get it over with and tell him that his "brother from another mother" was indeed of the female variety. Of course, there was always the fact it was just that much fun thinking about how after the two years Chris had spent on the island, Mark had yet to realize the not-so-secret secret of Christie Jordan Tetsuya. Really, every other person who had been on the island had figured out upon meeting, or after getting to know her a little. Oh well, his obliviousness is just what made him Mark. "Plus, it's always fun getting good enough to beat you, considering when you lose, you always get so depressed. And don't deny it; we both know it's true," she finished with a grin.

"… Oh, shut up," he replied, attempting to look angry with his friend, but ending up failing horribly and laughing. Chris just smiled and shook her head slightly, using her arms to lift herself onto the couch. "So, now what should we do? Go harass Will? Embarrass Lanna and Denny? Maybe shake things up with Gannon?" Mark questioned, stretching his legs across the couch, barely leaving enough room for Chris to sit. He sat a moment as if in thought before he shook his head, "Okay, not the last one. He's scary as hell when he's mad."

The brunette just laughed, pushing Mark's feet off her end of the couch, laying them across and using the farmer's leg as a foot rest. "I agree. Honestly, I remember one time when Charlie said something to Eliza that made her cry, and I swear Gannon got his axe and almost chopped off Charlie's head. Poor kid," she grinned, lacing her fingers behind her head. "And I would say yes to the first two, but I think my legs fell asleep. I'll probably trip over air if I try walking right now." Mark's emerald orbs seems to gleam as he stood, grinning. Chris stared as him in slight confusion before her eyes widened. "Marcus Samuel Reed, don't you dare," she warned.

Of course, Mark didn't care, even though he knew Chris was serious; the cook would never use his real name, much less his full name if she wasn't. The boy scooped the brunette into his arms, throwing her over his shoulder, laughing as she struggled to get out of his iron grasp. Huh, you really did get stronger by farming. Go figure. "Man, you're pretty light Chris!" he exclaimed as said person continued struggling, but once she finally figured out her efforts were useless, she sighed, and finally stopped, and just became limp, hanging over the farmer's shoulder. "Really, are you sure you aren't a girl?" Chris was about to respond saying "Maybe I am", but was cut off by Mark laughing again, patting her ass before finally setting her down.

"Mark," she started, using all her energy into not blushing, "That's like asking if you're gay. And honestly, I'm starting to wonder if that's your new sexual preference," she stated, raising an eye brow and she crossed her arms. Ah, the eye brow raise; such a feat that Chris had learned long ago, and was quite proud of it. Really, she, Mark and a few select others were the only Sunshine Islanders that could actually do the small trick successfully. Seeing Mark's taken aback look, Chris just laughed and patted his back, shaking her head. "I'm kidding. The way you're always talking about Chelsea and the other girls proves that you're too much of a skirt-chaser to be into guys."

"Hm, sounds like you're a little depressed about that Chris," Mary replied with a grin, putting the brunette into a headlock and giving her a noogie. "Really, I can see you falling all over me. We would probably be the couple of the season if we ever hooked up too," he laughed with a wink. "I hear the girls go crazy for a guy and guy relationship."

"Oh, and that would totally help with your chances with any of the girls on the island," Chris replied with a laugh. The girl pushed against the farmer's arm until she finally was able to slip her head out, only to trip over her own feat and begin falling backwards. Mark, with a small grin hooked his arm around Chris' waist, grinning from ear to ear.

"It could," he replied, holding the brunette until she regained her footing. "And look at you Chris! You're just falling for me!" Chris just rolled her eyes, standing and stepping out of Mark's grasp. "Actually, add a little make up and some girl clothes, you might be able to pass for one. You're thin and have a tiny next and wrists like one, plus you have pretty big eyes."

See, Mark realized all these things. He realized them, yet he still couldn't piece together that there was indeed a reason for all these characteristics. Along with the fact that Chris hadn't gone swimming with Mark once through the two years they knew each other, and she always worse baggy shirts and sweats or long shorts when she slept over a Mark's. You would think he would finally figure out it was a little strange, but nope, he didn't think anything wrong in the least. "Are you trying to say you want to see me wearing makeup, girly clothes and what not?"

"Maybe, maybe not," he replied, an innocent tone to his voice, that was obviously done intentionally. Chris just gave him a dull look that basically said "Please tell me you're kidding". Mark noticed the look and returned it with one as blank as her own, but after about two, maybe three seconds of looking at each other like that, the two just burst out in a fit of laughter. "But I must admit, it would be pretty funny seeing you in a skirt. It would make wonderful blackmail!"

Chris stayed silent a moment, before a small grin crept onto her lips as she crossed her arms, her eyes holding a glint of what seemed to be a tad mischievous. "You want to see me dressed like a girl huh?" she asked, the blonde nodding in return, slightly hesitant. "Okay then, but you have to too then. No taking it back," she said, grinning as she grabbed his wrist and dragged him off his property.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; you're kidding right?" he asked, giving Chris a "look". When she looked over her shoulder and just gave him a small smirk, the boy went actually went a little pale as he swallowed. "Oh c'mon Chris, you can't be serious! We'll never get girlfriends if we do this! Not to mention if anyone else sees, we'll both be scarred for life!"

"Hey, it was your idea. And really, since you want to see me in a skirt so bad, it's only fair for you to get dressed as a girl too!" Oh. Chris was having fun with this. She was having a lot of fun with this. After all, Mark was considered one of the hottest guys on the island, according to all the girls, and Chris had to admit; he was pretty good looking. But seeing him in a dress would do the following to him; it would cause his pride and image to shatter, people would be laughing about it for years to come, Chris would use it as blackmail, and some of the guys on the island might try and hit on him if he looked girly enough. Rest assured, the next little while was positively going to be amusing for Chris and the other girls. "Natalie!" she called, bursting into her pink haired friend's home. Thankfully, Taro and Felicia were out, and Elliot was out front, assumingly just about to leave for a walk. Natalie came jogging into the main room, confusion written all over her face when she saw Chris holding onto Mark's wrist. Before Natalie could complain about Chris almost breaking her door off its hinges, the brunette grinned, placing her free hand on Mark's shoulder. "What girl on the island has a dress or skirt that would fit him?"

And with that, the game of dress up was on.

It took Natalie about half an hour to gather Julia, Lanna, Sabrina and Lily for their little game, and it took another hour and a half for them to pick outfits for Chris and Mark, part of which was just convincing –well, forcing- the farmer into his get up. By the end, Chris stood there uncomfortably, wearing a white mini skirt with black leggings that went to her knees, along with a black t-shirt and a gray, baggy, sleeveless hoodie. The poor girl sighed, having had to bind her chest while she was changing, just so Mark wouldn't be able to see her breasts. Sure she wanted him to figure it out, but it wasn't as fun if this was how he found out. She padded barefoot out of the bathroom where she had gotten changed, only to stop short and clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing when she saw Mark.

He stood there, blushing like mad, hands clenched into two very tight fists. The poor boy had been dressed up in a pale blue dress, a ribbon tied under where the breasts on a woman would be, and the bottom billowed out, stopping at his knees. A ribbon criss-crossed around the top, turning the strapless dress into a halter, and the ribbon was tied into a bow that matched the large one they somehow managed to get into his hair. "Chris," he started, looking up at his friend with a sharp glare. "I swear to the Harvest Goddess, I'm gonna kill you for this."

A/n: Before you say anything, no, I'm not giving up on Yuko's Little Secret xD I'm actually going to write more of chapter five as soon as I get this chapter up on here. So, expect that in a few days ;3

But yeah, "By The Way". I totally stole the title from the actual song by Theory of a Deadman, which is what I was listening to when I was thinking of a title, and then I was like "Eh, this'll work". Anyways, that's not the point. I actually have been thinking about writing this for about a week now; I don't even know how I got the idea, but I could care less xD I'm kinda liking how this is turning out so far, and I hope you do too. Let me warn you now; I highly doubt this will be a very long fic. It could be, but I doubt it. Just expect some more actions from Mark that he would never do if he knew Chris was actually a girl. And I assure, it'll be funny when he realizes she's a girl, just because he'll look back on all the things he did to Chris, thinking she was a dudexD

But yeah, I apologize for the shortness. I was originally going to add some more to reach my five-page minimum, but I didn't want to ruin this. If you have any suggestions for embarrassing scenes with Mark and Chris, don't hesitate to suggest them to me! Seriously, it's a high chance I'll use whatever you guys throw at me XD