Muffy loved working in the Blue Bar; Compared to the usual dreary, atmosphere of Forget-Me-Not Valley, walking into the bar was like walking into a whole new town. Muffy longed to leave the empty, grey Valley, however much she longed though- she could never bring herself to leave. On multiple occasions had her cousin Lanna asked her to join her in the city, where Lanna was an idolized pop star. Muffy had declined Lanna's offer every time; No matter how much she longed, the blue bar's owner, Griffin, needed her. Griffin was growing older and wearier with each day, he could no longer cope with the demanding bar work and had taken to sleeping through his usual bar shifts. Muffy had to manage the bar all on her own which often meant customers would be waiting a while for their drinks. Fortunately, the valley was a very slow-paced place and everybody understood that Muffy could only handle so many orders at a time and praised her for her determination to keep the struggling bar alive.

The bar's door swung open, Muffy glanced up and caught the eye of one of the Bar's regulars, Marlin. Marlin was a usual customer whose visits had become more usual since his love, Celia, had married the town's farmer. Muffy understood heartbreak better than most; she had had her heart broken more times than she'd made Moomoo milk. The one thing she knew better than heartbreak was how to pick herself up, put on a smile and go back to mixing drinks. Muffy wasn't often listened to; her sweet and caring personality was often overshadowed by her glamorous exterior. Men expected Muffy to use them in the same way they used her, only she never realised they were using her before it was too late. So Muffy kept quiet and carried on being Griffin's loyal sidekick.

As a result of Marlin's recently frequent visits, Muffy had learned a lot about the man; she knew his parent's names (Molly and George), his favourite animal (sheep) and most of all, how he still ached for Celia. Muffy had had a little crush on Marlin since he came to the valley a little over 3 years ago. Over those 3 years, and especially since Celia's marriage, Muffy's attraction to Marlin had increased to levels that she didn't particularly want them to.

'Just water please' Marlin said, striding up to the bar

'Hm? Nothing stronger?' Muffy questioned

'Vesta says I drink too much, a hung-over man aint no good for labouring'

'Amen to that' Patrick, or was it Kasey? Called from the other side of the room

Muffy grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with tap water for Marlin. She slid the glass over to him and had to supress a giggle at the sight of Marlin, who seemed to be trying his hardest to ignore the self-proclaimed 'womanizer' Rock, who was trying to engage Marlin in deep conversation about how many girls' phone numbers he had gotten at the chicken festival.

Marlin nodded in Muffy's direction and clutched the glass. He saw Muffy's smirk and raised his eyebrows at her in a fashion that screamed 'help me'.

'Hey, Rock' Muffy called from across the bar

Rock's eyes instantly moved towards Muffy, pleased to actually get some female attention for once.

'Yes?' he replied, in what he could only hope was a seductive voice

'Didn't Ruby want you home by half-past-eight?'

'Aghh you're right'

Rock jumped up from his bar stool, said goodbye to Marlin and jogged out the door

'Thanks' Marlin mouthed to Muffy after Rock had left

'No problem' Muffy mouthed back

Half an hour later, the bar was almost empty. Only Muffy and Marlin remained; the two sat next to each other on bar stools.

'And it turns out; the guy was Hardy's brother!' Marlin yelled through laughter

Both howled with laughter at the story Marlin had just told involving the town's doctor, Hardy.

Marlin sobered up suddenly

'Hey…' he gazed off into Muffy's direction

'Hmm?' She asked, absentmindedly

'You've got something in your hair'

Marlin reached up to her face and gently ran his thumb across one of Muffy's blonde curls

Muffy's face heated up at the contact. She brought her face closer to his and-

'Is it only you two- oh sorry, am I interrupting?' Griffin called from the door

The two pulled apart faster than you could say 'Awkward'

'Sorry' Griffin smirked and closed the door 'Have a good night' he said, winking at the pair

Muffy couldn't believe how the universe liked to torment her sometimes. She stared at the floor to try and avoid eye contact with Marlin. When she finally did look up at Marlin, he was shaking with laughter and suddenly, so was she.

The two sat there laughing at the mortifying situation for a while before Marlin suddenly sobered up

'Sorry for laying all my problems on you recently. You- you've become my shoulder to cry on, you know?' Marlin began 'You're always there for me to vent to. I keep forgetting you're not my own personal counsellor'

Muffy smiled and placed one of her manicured hand over one of his hands

'Don't worry about it' she said, reassuringly

Muffy went to move her hand from Marlin's, but before she could, she found both his hands clutching it.

'I mean it, Muffy. You've been amazing. I don't know how I would have gotten through the past few months without you'

Muffy blushed at his declaration

'But I think your time playing counsellor may be over' Marlin said with a smirk

'huh?'

'I think I'm ready to move on'

Muffy freed her hand from Marlin's grasp and clapped both hands together in delight

'That's wonderful' She squealed 'What changed?'

'I started talking to this girl' Marlin began, Muffy listened intently. 'She made me realise that maybe Celia was never the girl for me'

'Who?' Muffy asked, her heart beating like it was trying to escape her body. Could he possibly feel the same feelings for her as she felt for him?

'Lumina'

Muffy's heart dropped

'Oh' was all she said, looking down to hide her disappointment. When she dared to turn her gaze back to Marlin, she was surprised to see a smirk on his usually blank face.

'What's that look for?' She asked

'Joking' He replied

Muffy's heart sped up again; the universe really had to stop playing her like this

'Who was the girl?' She asked, timidly

'I think you already know the answer to that' Marlin replied, grinning

Authors note: So this is my first 'proper' fanfiction. Thanks for reading! :).

I know it's not perfect, any constructive criticism would be great :)