Hi again, LET'S GOOOO...! Again, don't need reviews, no need for anything. Read if you want to! :D
It was just too early for him to wake up. This was no guess, it definitely was too early for him to be awake. Dirk still sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. With a lazy yawn and scratching the back of his neck, his eyes adverted to the calendar on his table.
It was Saturday. Nothing serious to worry about. Smiling to himself and feeling at peace, Dirk's head fell onto the pillow and he closed his eyes once again, slowly drifting off into sleep.
Until some loud rustling in the kitchen startled him and made him curse under his breath. Ivan couldn't have chosen any other hour to start cooking or doing whatever he was scheming out there. Grunting, Dirk made his way to the kitchen with a slight frown and peeked from the doorway.
Then, he remembered.
It was Saturday.
Saturday means Bazaar Day.
Which means... Anita.
"Ivan, what on the world are you-?"
"Dirk!" the pan Ivan was holding fell out from his grasp and clattered on the cookery. "Goodness! You scared me!"
The innocent younger brother apologized lowly and glanced at the mess his brother had made. Ivan wasn't the most skilled cooker in town, but it was remarkable to see how hard he was trying to make something that met Anita's superb cooking standards. That girl had good taste, a pretty expensive one too. Dirk didn't doubt Anita would like whatever Ivan made for her, even if it was a burnt dish of fish bones.
However, just seeing his all-time teacher and gentleman brother with a cooking apron dampened in something Dirk hoped was tomato sauce, made the situation much more ridiculous than it really was.
Ivan had such a Titanic-sized crush on Anita that it became hilarious at some point.
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Oh, just..." the teacher fixed his hair and looked at the mess. "I wanted to cook something for Anita so she has something to eat during the Bazaar, It must be an exhausting job."
Dirk approached Ivan with a mischievous smile and took a bite of some Sashimi Ivan hadn't included on the dish. It had a nice taste even if the dish was composed of fish. Dirk also tasted some spices on the sauce mix.
"It's good." stated the bartender. "But why bother to cook all of this? I'm sure Anita would take whatever you made for her."
The purple dressed man (who had removed his eternal companion the jacket) sighed and removed the apron. He took a seat and caressed his forehead with a drop of sweat running down his temple. Dirk could tell he was tired and had been working since early hours in the morning. It was such a sweet gesture for him to do.
"That's exactly why I can't decide on what to give her for her birthday, or whenever we cross paths, really." explained he. "Besides, she is such a nice person to me that I never know what to give her to show her how grateful I am for her gestures."
That was some deep stuff Dirk had never considered. When Ivan had started to show some interest on the new farmer, it seemed more like infatuation, just some subtle appreciation of her presence in his life. But, as days passed and they tied bonds (mainly with her jumping on his face and basically shoving mints and chamomile onto him), Ivan seemed to grow fond of the girl. It was inevitable for him to fall for her.
And Dirk knew that Anita liked Ivan as much as Ivan liked her. The only person who didn't know about this and certainly needed it the most was Ivan.
So, yeah, casualties played odd on Ivan.
The younger brother titled his head with unfelt innocence so he could meditate about the situation. In the spur of the messy train of thoughts, his eyes travelled to the silent clock on the left wall. He snapped out of his daze about how much of a shy dork Ivan was and how Anita and Ivan's babies would look like.
"Hey, man, it's already 9:50!" exclaimed Dirk. "You should get there earlier now. Y'know, with all this stuff about the Bazaar becoming more popular and all of that..."
While Dirk trailed off, Ivan put on his purple jacket and adjusted his tie. "You're right. I should start walking so I arrive there before her stand gets full of people."
Dirk got a bottle of milk (some that, by the way, Anita had provided one day) and waved at his brother leaving the house with the Sashimi on hand. When the door was closed, he started panning on which kind of tea would Antoinette like for their next date.
Not that is was a formal date or something...
When Ivan got to the Bazaar area, he realized that the word used to define a crowd had lost its meaning once he glanced at the mass of people that had practically planted themselves all around the place.
It wasn't crowded, it was some kind of mad mass composed of, basically, the whole planet. He felt outnumbered and a little bit intimidated. He and his fresh Sashimi were small compared to the number of people that passed by. Ivan would have to get used to that crowd if he wanted to go see Anita.
He suddenly didn't mind that much.
When he finally made it out of the massive crowd, disappointment drenched him to the core.
Disappointed because Anita wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Disappointed because nobody seemed to have noticed.
Disappointed because he didn't know where she was.
And it made him uneasy to know she wasn't near him, or nowhere he knew of.
Ivan swallowed his stupid worries and walked (more like squished through the mass of people) towards the Mayor's stand. Felix would know what was wrong with Anita. Whether she was busy with her animals, maybe ill or-
Oh my god, what if she was ill and all Ivan was doing was cook stupid Sashimi? How could that contribute to the situation she could be in? Anita could be suffering of a high fever, burning up and still taking care of her livestock. She was recklessly hardworking and that was one of the reasons he fell (hard, very hard) for her. But it wasn't safe for her to do that, what if she fainted?
What if what if what if...?
"Hey, kid, do you need anything?"
Ivan snapped from his thoughts and found himself at a side of Felix's stand. Ivan could see how much of a wreck he looked like through the eyes of the Mayor. Even if he was alright on the outside, his brain was ticking with sudden worry.
Because an absent Anita wasn't common and he wasn't used to it.
"My apologies, Mayor." said Ivan sheepishly. "I was just wondering if you had seen Anita. I've noticed she isn't at the Bazaar." more like went straight to her stand and didn't find her there."Have you seen her?"
His question didn't really surprise the big man, knowing that Ivan was very fond of the farmer. However, it wasn't really normal to see the young and seemingly cold teacher asking about anybody or showing any signs of worry to anyone else that wasn't himself.
Anita had really done a good job with Ivan.
Felix scratched his temple with a soft understanding expression. "She isn't attending the Bazaar today, I'm afraid." answered the old man. "It's a pity, really. She always made such a difference with the profits."
"Yes, indeed."
"She always made a difference with the light she gave to the area and people themselves."
With an invisible blush he hoped Felix didn't see, Ivan frowned slightly. "Do you know, by any chance, why she isn't here?"
"Here, it's yours, have a nice day!" the Mayor waved the customer goodbye as if he hadn't heard Ivan, but his mind focused on Anita again a few moments later. "Ay, yes Anita, you were asking?"
"Yes."
"Is that Sashimi you got there, kid?"
"Yes."
"It looks good."
"Thank you." Ivan sighed, losing his patience already. "Uh... about Anita...?"
"Oh, yes, sorry." responded Felix. "I get carried away easily. Anyway, Anita mentioned to me she would be visiting her cousin today."
Her cousin? She had never even talked about her family that much. It was kind of surprising to hear anything that had to do with her relatives. "Why?"
"I dunno." shrugged the Mayor. "She told me she hadn't seen her in a long time, so I guess there's no worrying reason for her to visit." he explained. "She also said something about a Konohana Town or something her cousin was moving to."
"Konohana-?"
"Lillian!" exclaimed Felix suddenly. "Yeah, that's her cousin's name, Lillian. I guess they wanted to see each other before that girl moved... or something." the tall, blonde man laughed loudly. "That's all Anita mentioned to me. She apologized for missing the Bazaar and left after a small chat."
Well, now Ivan knew where his crush was. But, again, she was far away. And God knew when she'd be coming back. Coming back to him.
"Do you know when she will be back?"
There was a gust of wind before his answer. "I' not sure. However, I bet it won't take long for her to come back. I reckon she'll be back by midnight or something - it's quite the long trip!" Felix reached out and ruffled Ivan's hair, disheveling it slightly. "Don't worry, kiddo, you two won't be apart from each other much longer. You can go home and I'll give that," he pointed to the dish Ivan held. "to her. Just in case she comes back earlier than I presumed."
Sighing, he rejected his idea politely and thanked Felix for making time for him. His kind demeanor deserved him a free slice of chocolate from the dear Mayor (he also added that it could mend his heartache for Anita) that he didn't need.
He had a difficult relationship with chocolate. He just kind of, slightly, subtly, not much really, despised chocolate. Let's say Ivan grew some deep annoyance towards those sweet, sugary traits during his childhood. Joan had pointed out how strange his tastes were for a man of his age. Ivan paid no mind and usually continued drinking his tea.
The teacher gave the chocolate to Cindy (who had recently joined the busy crowds of madness and blushed at the gift) and left the area with a huge disappointment hanging off his hands.
Some hours after Anita was back in town, she came home to the very fresh dish of Sashimi on her table, along with her tucked in livestock and her cat sleeping in front of her bed.
Needless to say, after she found a little note written by Ivan on top of the dish, saying they'd talk the day after and that he hoped she had a great day, Anita's heart fluttered itself to sleep with a broad smile on her face.
And we haven't even gotten started with this yet. Hell yesh.
No quality writing, not yet :S BTW I love Anita/Lily familiar relationship. I'm down for it.
