Concerning Fish

Series: Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility

Disclaimer: In case you haven't noticed, I don't own Harvest Moon. Bummer, right?

"You know," he started off in that cool laid-back voice of his, "nothing beats grilled fish." He watched his bobber floating in the water, patiently.

She sniffed, and wiped at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"And it's totally easy. Gotta be one of the easiest dishes to make in culinary history." His silver hair gleamed in the moonlight, her orange hair dulled to a beautiful midnight blue.

"I don't think I c-could handle that either..." Maya was compliant to her grandmother's and Chase's orders when teaching her to cook, but no matter how hard she tried she could never satisfy them. Tonight, after a failed attempt at making banana pudding, Chase really laid into her, saying how even a newborn infant could cook better than her, and she had been at it for years. Chase usually yelled at her, but lately he seemed to be doing so with a vengeance. She couldn't take it anymore, and ran from the inn all the way to the beach where she surprisingly (but expectedly) ran into Toby.

"Sure you can." His line tightened and pulled, and he heaved the poled until finally he landed his prize: a rather large squid. He smiled at his trophy, and pulled out a set of matches. "I'll show you."

Maya dug her feet into the sand, standing her ground. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because...you'll yell at me." She sobbed.

"No I won't." The thought made him laugh. "Why, I don't think I've once raised my voice to anyone for any reason. And if you do mess up, I'll gladly catch another fish and we can try again."

She rubbed her eyes. "R-Really?"

"Really." Gently he took her hand and led her to a nearby fire pit. There he gathered the kindling into a neat pyramid, poked two long but sturdy sticks through the squid, and lit the fire. He stuck the sticks into the ground surrounding the flame so the squid could hover over the heat. "And that's all there is to it."

"Wow..." The fish's aroma tickled Maya's nostrils pleasantly. "That smells so yummy!"

He smiled, fueled by her optimism. "I'm glad you think so."

She jumped to her feet, pumping her fists into the air. "I wanna try!"

The fish had finished cooking, and Toby removed the long sticks and split the squid in half, handing a portion to Maya. "Eat first."

"With pleasure!" She gobbled down the browned squid with gusto, her eyes sparkling in the smoky sweet flavor. When she finished, she eyed Toby's half and saw there was still some left. She pouted, and he eventually gave her his portion. Toby didn't despise many things in life, but a woman crying was one of the rare few. Besides, he enjoyed seeing Maya so happy. She burst with the optimistic exuberance that Toby sought in others. Pessimists bothered him something fierce. She was loud, but her happiness was contagious.

"Do you know how to fish?" He asked.

"Sure." She took his rod from him, examining the pole. "How hard could it be?"

He chuckled at the statement; it was his favorite. He enjoyed how many thought the practice of fishing was a simple one until they actually tried it with their inexperienced skills and failed miserably. Perhaps it was an enjoyment that was a little dark for Toby, but he was always willing to help out newbies when they needed it, so he figured that more than made up for it.

He watched with interest as Maya clumsily cast the line, the bobber landing too close to the shore. When a wave lightly bumped it, Maya eagerly reeled it in, disappointed to find nothing on the other end. Toby couldn't contain his laughter. Maya's cheeks flushed, and a bead of sweat trailed down the side of her face.

"H-Hey, don't laugh!" She fussed.

"I'm sorry. Here, let me show you." He came up behind her, layering her skinny arms with his big strong ones, hands over hers he helped her position her stance. Her reddened fiercely. Despite her misconceptions, Toby didn't smell like fish or bait, but instead had a manly musk about him that was simply intoxicating. She felt a little weak in his arms, and swayed to the left. Without missing a beat Toby dropped the pole and steadied her.

"Are you all right?" Not many expressions spread across Toby's face, but Maya witnessed an exceedingly rare emotion: concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, rubbing her forehead. "It must have been from today's excitement."

"Here," he guided her to a safe pile of sand and gently sat her down. "We can resume the lesson later."

"No!" Maya protested. "I want to make something to show to Chase..."

"How about I catch something for you, and you can cook it?" He assumed grilling fish didn't require a lot of strength. She gave in, and watched his back for a while as he sat down and cast his line. Eventually, she crawled up next to him. He stopped what he was doing and threw his over shirt over her shoulders.

"It gets pretty cold when you're right next to the water." He said. She hugged the shirt closer to her, and leaned in closer.

"How's it going?" She asked.

"Slow. The fish seem to be hibernating or something..." Toby felt a heat inside his body at how close he and Maya were. His heart picked up pace, as did hers.

"For some reason, I don't think that's so bad, ya'know?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I do know."

She smiled, the stars illuminating the white sands of the beach, peppering the black ocean water with white specks. The moon hung high and full, without an inky night cloud in the sky. Everything, the calmness and serenity, began to lull Maya into a state of pure relaxation, and she found she could not hold her head up by herself. Without a hint of subtly, she rested her cheek against Toby's shoulder, and slowly began to sigh as she drifted to sleep. He snuggled into the sand a little deeper, and let fish after fish get away, absorbing the sweet sugary scent of her hair as she lightly snored.

A/N: Ewww it's all cheesey! XP I thought these guys would make a sorta cute couple (mayhaps a new fav couple for moi?)