Harvest Moon does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters or scenes related. I own nothing but this little fic.
Alright, so now that the disclaimer's out of the way, let me leave a little author's note. This oneshot is based off my own personal gameplay experience (as do most of my fics about Harvest Moon) of Tale of Two Towns. I thought it'd be fun to toy with the new aspects of Tale of Two Towns about dating after marriage, and stick my favorite bachelor Ash in the middle of it. I married him, by the way. *fangirly squee*
*shot* anyway, enjoy.
The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. Ash watched the last animal disappear into his mother's stables, and then lifted his eyes towards the amber-orange sky. The last rays of the day were peering around the silhouettes of the Bluebell buildings.
It had been another long day of work for Ash. The young man lifted his dark red hat from his head a couple inches with one hand and used his other hand to brush through his blond hair, which was moist from the sweat of the day's duties. Securing the hat back around his cranium, he moved his gloved hands down to adjust the straps of his overalls and glanced around the yard. Every cow, every sheep, and every chicken had been returned to rest for the evening in the stables. He was finished for the day.
He sighed and released his fingers from his overall straps, turning to walk across the pasture. He reached the white picket fence which kept the animals from roaming and hopped over it nimbly. He could hear the crickets were beginning to chirp, and saw Georgia, a young lady with long curly brown locks, leading her father Grady's softly nickering horses away into their own stables. Everyone else in Bluebell was retiring for the evening as well.
Ash headed towards his mother's house and entered through the front door. His mother Jessica was by the sink, preparing dinner, as his sister Cheryl set their table with silverware.
"Hi, Ash!" Cheryl beamed, waving at her older brother. "All done with work? Mom says dinner will done soon! We're having sashimi! There's a lady from Konohana named Yun who showed her how to make it!"
Ash chuckled, noting the constant energy his little sister possessed, and ruffled the blond hair on the top of her head slightly. "Bet it will be tasty."
His mother, a plump woman whose blond hair she passed on to her two children, turned from the sink to smile at her oldest child. "Well, Ash, are you heading home? Won't you stay and have dinner with us?"
"Wish I could, Mum. But its getting pretty late, and Lillian hasn't come back from the errands she said she had to run today. I should find her before it gets too dark," Ash replied apologetically, shoving his hands in his pockets. He wondered where Lillian was. He hadn't seen her since he had left their house that morning for work. He was beginning to worry.
"Ah, I see..." Jessica nodded quietly, turning back to the sink to continue preparing her meal. "My goodness, that young lady has some energy! Always running about from Konohana to Bluebell- talking to people, giving them products from her farm... if only I had still energy like that."
"Hmm." Ash looked downwards. His mother's words brought back a thought he had been pondering for quite some time now, and it bothered him.
Cheryl blinked, noticing the frown on her brother's face. "Ash? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Cheryl." Ash quickly lifted his head and tried to hide his pensiveness with a smile.
Cheryl saw through it easily. She understood Ash all too well. With a huff and a tight crossing of her arms, the young girl turned her head to the side, giving her long hair tied in pigtails a quick swish. "That old Lillian isn't being mean to you, is she? Do I have to put bugs on her to get her to leave you alone?"
Ash couldn't resist laughing softly at her childish protectiveness. "Oh no, Cheryl. Of course she isn't being mean to me."
"Are you sure?" Cheryl responded, unconvinced at first.
"Lillian would never act mean to me. She and I love each other very much."
"Well... okay." Cheryl nodded. She then quickly lifted the index finger of her right hand. "But if she starts being mean anytime, you have to promise to tell me!"
Ash smiled at his sister. "You'll be the first to know."
Cheryl flashed a wide smile and gave her brother a quick, affectionate hug. Ash returned the hug for a moment before stepping back.
"I should be heading off now. The sun's almost completely set." He pointed out.
Jessica nodded. "Good-bye, dear. Have a safe trip home."
"I'll see you tomorrow, guys. I love ya."
Ash bid his mother and sister farewell and left the house. He headed down the pathway, exiting the town's central and heading out towards Lillian's farm. As he walked, he delved into his thoughts. When Cheryl had confronted him about Lillian, he had quelled her worries with some pretense. Of course Lillian hadn't been "mean" to him. At least not in the manner of which Cheryl was thinking. However, she had been exhibiting some behaviour recently that Ash didn't quite like...
Ash kicked slightly at a rock on the pathway. He glanced up to see faint lights glowing through the windows of the church building down the road from Lillian's ranch. He smiled half-heartedly to himself. A season ago, he and Lillian had been wed in that very building. He could still remember every detail of their wedding day, as if it had simply been the day prior. He chuckled to himself, remembering how hard a time he had been experiencing to try to remain calm and dignified. He had failed ultimately in his attempts, and instead was unable to conceal the burning sensation glowing across his cheeks. His heart had been beating so hard against his chest, he had almost been afraid that it would leap right out of his ribcage. How shaky his voice had been, when Nathan prompted him to respond to the single most important question in the ceremony.
"I-I do."
His two words were echoed by Lillian. Her voice had been soft and shy, with her head lowered slightly in reverance. She too had sported a pinkness to her cheeks, along with a beautiful wedding gown that Jessica had sewn for her. Ash had been left utterly stunned by the magnifence of her appearance.
He awoke from his thoughts to find that the faint light in the church had dimmed, which must have meant Nathan, who lived within the church building, had retired for the night. By now, the sun had set, and a cold night's breeze swept by Ash, chilling him slightly. He shivered and rubbed his left arm, turning right and drawing closer to the ranch.
It had been shortly after his marriage with Lillian that Ash noticed a significant aspect of her behaviour that struck him wrong. He had assumed that after their marriage, she would slow down a bit and refrain from making herself so busy with all the chores and the conversations she had to ensue during her day. Instead, she had remained as social as ever. Sometimes she would spend the entire afternoon in the village of Konohana on the other side of the mountain. This in itself did worry Ash somewhat, but it was essentially not the main component of his stress.
The main contributor to his worries was not that Lillian was still social. The main contributor was that Lillian was still social with other single men.
It annoyed Ash that other boys found his wife attractive, but he didn't fault them much- she was an amiable, good-looking, active young woman. He felt a weird, almost primal need to protect her, but at the same time, he understood that none of the boys with whom Lillian associated lacked enough respect to acknowledge that Lillian belonged to another guy and to keep away. He supposed that his true issue with the ordeal was that Lillian may have lacked that respect.
He had watched her many times on his day off. She would approach a boy with whom she was friends and chat openly. After a bit of talking, the boy paused, as Ash saw, and seemed to ask Lillian a question. It must have the same general idea expressed in the question, because Lillian always responded with a smile and a nod of her head, and then she and the boy in particular would walk off to some certain location and continue their chat more privately. It was something Ash and Lillian did a lot when they were unmarried. Ash considered them dates.
That was the problem in a nutshell. Lillian was going on dates, of sorts, with other boys, even after she had married... and Ash was bothered deeply by it.
Was he jealous? Nonsense. Ridiculous. He just didn't understand why Lillian would want to continue seeing other boys when she had Ash waiting for her, to shower his undying affections on her.
... fine. Perhaps he was a little jealous. But he had a right, didn't he? Lillian was his wife. She didn't belong hanging out with someone other than the one she was already committed to.
Thinking about it as he walked home made Ash even more agitated. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and trudged down the dirt path up to his and Lillian's house, past her pastures and areas where her crops had been planted. He knew he had to confront her about it. If he didn't, the issue would likely persist and Ash would never find peace within himself. He would confront her about it as soon as she got home. His only question was... how would he go about it? What if he was assuming too much and would end up falsely accusing Lillian?
... there was only one way to find out. Surely Lillian would understand his reason for wanting to sort the situation out. Would she not?
"Ash!"
Ash looked up. Lillian was there, bounding the path towards him, kicking up small clouds of dirt as she ran. She pranced over to him and wrapped her arms over his shoulders, hugging him against her in greeting. Ash hesitated, before placing his hands on her waist and returning the hug awkwardly.
She drew back, panting from the breath she had lost in her little dash. Brushing back a few light brown bangs from her wide, dark brown eyes, she smiled at him. "Hi. Just getting home from work?"
"Yeah, I am..." Ash nodded slowly. "My mom invited me to stay for dinner, but... I didn't know if you would be home soon or not. Where have you been?"
"Oh, I was over on the Konohana side of the mountain. Hiro was showing me where to look for herbs growing." Lillian answered. "He showed me some really cool stuff. See?" She drew some leaves from her rucksack which she always carried with her. "Dr. Ayame told us that you can use the juice from these blades of grass to soothe bug bites! That'll be a relief later on, won't it? What with it being summer and all, and the crazy mosquitoes followin' us around..." She chuckled.
"Yeah..." Ash gazed at the leaves in her hand disinterestedly.
Lillian's smile faded slightly. She must have seen the somber glint in her husband's blue eyes. "Ash? Something bothering you?"
"Hmm? Oh. ... it's nothing."
"... It really doesn't seem like 'nothing'." The wiry farmergirl reasoned. She lifted a slender hand to press to his forehead, feeling for a fever's heat. "Do you feel unwell? It doesn't look like you have a temperature."
"I'm fine, Lil. Okay? Come on. Let's go inside." Ash scratched at his arm. "The insects are starting to nip."
"Oh... alright..."
Ash turned without another word and headed towards the door of their house. Lillian stayed a few feet behind. Ash could feel her eyes burning a hole into his back. She was eyeing him, trying to discern and deduce the cause for his unusual behaviour. Finally, she gave up and followed him inside.
Lillian's pets greeted them hungrily at the door. Her biggest dog, a Saint Bernard whose fur was white with brown patches and who wore a green neckerchief, raised himself up on his haunches to prop his front paws on Ash's legs. Ash gave the anxious dog a small pat on the head before moving on towards the kitchen to begin preparing his and Lillian's dinner.
Lillian sat down on the floor by the table, cross-legged, in the fashion that she had grown accustomed to while formerly living in Konohana. Her two cats, one with ebony fur and the other with fur of ivory colour, came to her sides to rub their heads against her arms and climb across her lap. She stroked their soft fur and whiskers, but was hardly paying them any mind. She was still watching Ash. She clearly understood that there was something bothering him. Ash wondered if she would question him.
Yet, she did not question him at all. She remained silent for as long as Ash prepared their evening meal. Quite some time passed. The amount of time was likely close to half an hour, but it felt as though it were dragging on much longer due to the awkward silence between the two farmers.
Ash at last completed the meal and brought it over to serve on the table. He promptly dished it out silently, and he and Lillian began to eat. Lillian's pet owl flew over to rest on his owner's head and wait for a chance to swipe some scrap food, but Lillian ignored him. She ate the ramen noodles her husband had prepared, and her husband did in likewise fashion.
At long last, Lillian could stand it no longer. She set her bowl down and looked at Ash directly in the eyes.
"Okay, Ash. Something is eating you. I know it. You have to tell me. I'm your wife, aren't I?"
Ash lowered his eyes from her. "... are you?" He mumbled.
"What?" Lillian blinked. She frowned. "What did you say?"
Ash shook his head. "Nothing."
"Ash, do not lie to me. It is too something. Now, you said something to me just a couple seconds ago. Care to repeat it where I can hear it?" The young woman acquired an angry glint in her usually sparkling brown eyes.
"..." He lifted his head, and stared at her directly. "... Lillian. Don't you have something to say."
"Huh?" Lillian blinked, her frown quickly fading in confusion.
"Don't you have something to say to me?" Ash repeated, expectancy rather than false nonchalancy now in his tone.
"Uh... no?... Ash, what is this about?"
Ash felt a surge of anger in his chest. "Don't play dumb with me, Lillian. I've seen you with my own eyes."
"What do you mean? Ash, I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're always off running around! Going from here, to Konohana, to across the mountain. You say you're running errands, but I know exactly what you're doing." Ash couldn't stop himself from blurting all out the words of rage he had been holding in for so long. "I've seen you with those others boys. Cam, Dirk, Kana... even just a while ago you told me you'd been out with Hiro! What was your explanation?... 'showing me how to find herbs'?"
"Wh-... is that what this is all about...?" Lillan stammered.
Ash huffed softly in scorn. "And now you're acting like its some little thing."
"... Ash... you know I'm just friends with them."
"Do I?" Ash questioned. "I've seen the looks those boys give you. You encourage them."
"Ash!" Lillian protested.
"No, Lillian. This has been bothering me for too long, and I gotta get it off my chest." Ash interrupted. "Now, I trust you. I want to believe you when you say there is nothing between you and any of those boys. But I'm your husband, and I have a right to know the truth, and a right to want to protect you from the wrong things. So, I would appreciate it... if you would try to refrain from seeing those boys so much... for me. Please. I trust you. I just don't want anything to happen to you."
Lillian stared back at Ash. He was panting slightly from the jumble of words and emotions that had tumbled out of his mouth. He had poured out so much of what was in his heart in just a few fleeting moments, and it had left him slightly dizzy. He leaned back in his seated position a bit, and swiped the fabric of the glove across the skin of the back of his hand over his forehead.
"... Ash."
Lillian shifted her position to her knees and crawled over to her husband's side. She took his free hand and gazed into his eyes somberly.
"I had no idea... that you were so stressed about this. I can see that it really got to you... and I feel horrible for not having seen it. I'm your wife. Wives are supposed to pay attention to the needs of their loved ones... but I got so wrapped up in my social life. I guess I got carried away, enjoying all the attention I was getting from others..."
Ash looked down away from her. Lillian squeezed his hand and leaned her head slightly on his shoulder.
"I have to tell you the truth, Ash. I didn't mean to hurt you. I certainly don't want to break up our marriage. I honestly don't feel any affections for them. You're the only one for me, Ash, and you should know that. I don't tell you that enough. I have to be honest and say that I was enjoying the attention they were giving me, with their gifts and their enthusiasm to spend time with me... but I realize now that it could have ruined the love that you and I share."
Ash turned his eyes back to Lillian, and saw the sincerity in her eyes. She was expressing true shame over her actions. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart. He had wanted the truth, and he had got it, but Lillian had gotten upset in the process. No matter the circumstances, he couldn't bear to see his cherished love unhappy. He gently reached an arm around her waist and stroked up and down her spine softly.
"Lillian... I forgive you. I forgive you." He whispered.
Lillian moved her head from his shoulder to his chest, and rested her cheek into the white fabric of his shirt. "I am so, so sorry... I never meant for anything of this to happen. My only duty is to make you happy, above all else. For better or for worse." She bit her lip. "I'll stop seeing those boys. I don't want you to worry anymore."
Ash leaned his chin upon the top of her head. "... it's all right, Lil. You don't have to do that. I trust you."
She lifted her eyes to his again. "You do...?"
"Of course I do. I... I overreacted." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I was just a litter worried."
"Heh... a 'litter' worried?" Lillian chuckled.
Ash realized his mistake and chuckled also, rubbing in his head in embarrassment. "Whoops. Slip of the tongue. ... getting emotional here, I guess."
Lillian gave a true smile and wrapped her arms about his shoulders in a tight, loving hug. "It's a good thing."
Ash too smiled and returned her embrace, with another small, relieved sigh.
"... hey, Ash?" Came his wife's soft voice.
"Yes, Lil?" He murmured in response.
"I love you."
"... I love you too, Lillian."
The packloads of stress immediately lifted off Ash's shoulders with those final four words he uttered, and as he and his loved one continued to embrace tenderly, they disappeared... never to be felt again.
One last thing… Ash's litter—ahem, I mean LITTLE slip of the tongue was a reference to gameplay. Did anyone else notice how, when Ash got jealous to the point of him confronting you and asking if you had something to say, by accepting the "I'm sorry" response you will see him say "No, it's okay. I was just a litter worried." I do wonder if that was the game developer's fault or maybe it was just my game that was screwy.