Title: Awkward Grace
Pairing(s): Akari/Luke, All other Canon pairings for Tree of Tranquility
Genre: Romance/General
Status: Chapter Fic~ IN-PROGRESS
Rating: T+ (subject to change)
Author: ChibiRaccoon
Summary: Falling in Love with your Best Friend is never Easy.
Disclaimer: None of the characters or any of Harvest Moon belong to me. That's Natsume's property. But I dream of owning Vaughn or Luke or Gray for at least an hour. ^_^
ALSO! PLEASE DON'T COMMENT ON THE TYPOS! I KNOW THEY'RE THERE! SPELLCHECK DECIDED TO RAPE THIS CHAPTER AND SO IF THERE ARE ANY TYPOS, BLAME MY COMPUTERS SPELLCHECK FOR BEING A PANSY!
~AWKWARD GRACE~
Chapter 3: A Little Friendly Advice
"Oh dear."
"What's she doing?"
"I'm not exactly sure."
"She looks funny."
"Yeah..."
"Should we get her out?"
"Maybe that would be best..."
Kathy took a breath and waded into the water. Her cowboy boots splashed loudly and she heard Maya follow her in.
They didn't have far to go. The floating figure of Akari was belly-down with her limbs splayed out. She seemed to be glaring at the horizon, her nose just peeking above the water for air. From what Kathy had heard from Luna and Candace, she had been out there most of the day.
"A-Akari?"
A small grunt.
Maya caught up to them.
"Hi Akari! What'cha doing?" she chirped.
Akari lifted her face to them. Kathy winced. There were bags under the girls eyes and a look of utter weariness.
"What happened?"
The brown-haired girl flopped her face into the water. Kathy glanced at Maya who seemed blissfully unaware that something was wrong with their friend.
"I don't really think you should do that when you're in the shallow end Akari." Maya kneeled next to the girl, oblivious to the fact that she was now soaked from the waist down. She tapped Akari's head.
Kathy chuckled and shook her head. She wiped the sweat from her forhead. The weather was slightly humid today. It was warm but not overwhelmingly uncomfortable. The wind wasn't as strong as it'd been the last couple of weeks so there was no cool relief from the suns beams.
Tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder Kathy approached the theatrical farmer. Positioning herself in front of Akari's limp body, she rubbed her hands together and grabbed her friends hair in her hands.
She was prepared for the shriek that accompanied tugging the short strands. Maya giggled.
Kathy smirked down at Akari's furious features.
"Feeling better?" She asked sweetly.
Akari muttered under her breath. Kathy gave a little tug.
"What's the matter drama queen? Let ol' auntie Kat know what happened."
"You're an aunt Kathy?"
"Maya, get out of the water." Akari groaned. Maya complied with a puzzled look on her face.
Kathy let Akari go and the farmer stood up, dripping. Her shoulders were slumped and Kathy could tell that the girl probably hadn't been getting too much sleep.
Akari glanced at the blondes face before turning away. "Whaaaat?"
"What happened?" It was comforting to know that the barmaid was concerned but Akari hadn't been looking for companionship.
She sighed. "A slumber party happened." she muttered. Akari headed for the shore where Maya was waiting and shaking herself silly in an attempt to get dry. Kathy followed with her brows knit.
The brunette contemplated just dropping to the ground in an attempt to ease her suffering. She rethought her decision instantly. With the heat the way it was, it was likely the sand would smolder her face. She shuddered at the thought. Knowing that if she tried to find another place to pass out Kathy and Maya would only bug her, Akari headed home. She wasn't prepared for the two blondes that followed her in without even an invitation.
Kathy rubbed the towel through Akari's damp locks while Maya entertained herself with alternating between the television and listening to Akari's tale from where the three sat crowded on the bed.
"So Luke came by last night? Is that what you're telling me?"
Akari nodded. "Yep."
"Luke? The guy who thinks that cutting down trees qualifies for a sport?" Kathy blinked. "That Luke?"
Maya piped in. "Are there more than one Lukes? Because I thought the only Luke that lived on Waffle Island was the one that Akari's been in love with for months." She was dressed in pajamas like Akari. Kathy had deemed her clothes too wet and hung them out on the pasture fence to dry. She played with the sleeves, impressed with the toon cow design that adorned the majority of the large shirt.
"Ugh! Shut up Maya!" Akari buried her face into her pillow. The two girls laughed. Kathy rubbed her scalp roughly, attempting to dry it as much as she could. She didn't want anyone catching any colds.
"She is right."
"Are you two gonna let me finish my story?"
"Oh. Right. Go on." Kathy smiled.
'I need to work on my choice of friends.' The farmer grumpily thought. 'First Luke who can't even tell that I'm a female most of the time. Now I got these two. One who sometimes fits the blonde stereotype too well and the other one who loves my torment.'
She squeaked when a finger jabbed her sensitive side.
"Hey!"
Kathy pouted at her with an exaggerated glare. "What are you doing? Spacing out? Get back to the story!"
"Okay okay... harpy."
"What was that?"
"Nothing." grinned the brunette.
"Anyways, yeeeeah. Luke came by last night and pretty much decided he wanted to have a sleepover. And NO. I have absolutely no idea who put the idea into the idiots head. He came in through the window and-"
"Whoa whoa!" Kathy interrupted, waving her hands. "He came in through the window?"
"Like in the fairytales?" Maya asked, eyes bright. Akari flushed.
"W-well, he came through the window but I mean..he... uh..."
Kathy's face was one of pleasant surprise. "Maybe the boy is smarter than he looks."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Shrugging, Kathy tossed the towel onto a dining chair and made her way to the kitchen. "I just mean, think about it for a minute Akari."
"I'm listening." She called, but when Kathy looked at her she noticed that both girls on the bed were absorbed in their own distractions; Maya with the tv set and Akari as she wrestled tangles through her comb.
The waitress decided to let them have their fun. She worked through the cheap white-washed cabinets, collecting drinking glasses and a large plate, noticing dark marks on the counters. Finding some buckwheat, she chopped it into several pieces, molding them into spheres, finally setting them on a tray to cook in the oven for a few minutes. While the snacks cooked, she went through the contents of Akari's aging pot to discover that the farmer had left plenty of blueberry's inside to make cocktails. With practiced ease, Kathy created three perfect blueberry cocktails into three glasses. She lamented the absence of true cocktail glasses but the drinks looked pretty regardless. She arranged the finished buckwheat cookies on the plate with a flair of artistic taste.
She carried all this in one hand to the bed where the girls instantly abandoned their previous activity to gorge on the food.
"These are delicious Kathy!" Maya piped with great mirth. She bit down on several cookes at once. "But I could have helped you cook! I love cooking!" Her blue eyes were drawn back to the cookies. She luckily missed the pale look painted on her fellow waitresses face. Akari sipped her cocktail with a peal of laughter.
"I get the slumber party from hell last night and now we're drinking alchohol before 3." She smirked at Kathy. "What's got everyone in such a partying mood?"
The blonde smirked back. "Well, I figured a little alchohol could loosen your tongue a bit miss shyness." She ignored the squawk of protest. "As for the carpenter prince, I think maybe we're overlooking something when it comes to him."
The statement caught Akari off guard. "What are talking about?" She asked. Kathy had a knowing grin on her face that irked Akari a bit. "Tell me Kat. What do you mean?"
"Nope. First finish the story of last night."
"Yeah." Maya spoke through a mouthful of cookie. "Why was it the slumber party of hell?"
A hand slid down Akari's face. She really didn't want to remember.
"Okay, seriously. No more interruptions then. So he came in through the window. YES MAYA. LIKE A FAIRY TALE." The brunette cut her off before she could even utter a word. "Anyways, he just shows up, in his pajamas even! And just out of nowhere decides that he's sleeping over!" Akari shook her head. "Think about how I felt all night!" she confessed. "The man of my dreams... in-in pajamas. In my HOUSE. He just.. just made himself right at home." Kathy was completely drawn into the story while Maya chewed silently beside her. Both pairs of eyes watched Akari's ranged emotions. From blushing embarrassment to indignant, back to blushing. She was doing a good deal of arm waving as well.
"First, he decides he's sleeping in my bed."
"No way!" her audience crows, eyes popping. Akari nodded miserably.
"Yes! So he makes himself all comfy and starts watching tv."
Maya leaned forward, almost fearfully. "What did you do?"
Cheeks reddened. "Well I... I wasn't just going to go sit on the bed with him! But he got all demanding saying that if we were gonna watch tv together that I had to get on the bed."
"Why'd he do that?" Maya asked. Kathy shushed her forcefully.
"Go on 'Kari."
"Soooo...um.. yeah. I went ahead and joined him. But I was at the head of the bed while he sat at the end! We watched two late night shows before he decided that it would be a good idea to do some late night baking."
"Late night baking?" It was Kathy who interrupted that time and she quelled under her friends hard look.
"Yes! Late night baking!" Akari huffed, impatient. "He goes into the kitchen, with may I add, too much enthusiasm, and starts criticizing my selection of food. Apparantly I'm not healthy enough for him because I had no spinach or mayonnaise in the fridge!"
"Mayonnaise isn't that healthy but its sooo good!"
"Shut-up Maya."
"Aww. Don't be mean."
"Then stop interrupting!"
"Okay..."
"The idiot gets it into his head that he can experiment with herbs, spicy peppers, oranges, and carrots!"
Kathy shuddered. "Gross!"
"Actually... that sounds interesting..." was Maya's thoughtful reply.
Akari and Kathy only shared a disgusted expression. The farmer threw her hands up. "You know what? I'll just give you guys the edited version. Luke slept over. Decided to cook. Nearly burnt the house down. We both smelled like smoke. He ended up taking off his shirt. It drove me insane." She paused, remembering. What a sight it had been... Taut muscles the color cream. He was lean but with his shirt off she had been shocked to realize that not a single section of skin had been flat. It was all muscle and it had been very hard for Akari to keep the idea of what he could do to her with those muscles from overtaking her mind.
Kathy laughed. It broke her from her reverie and she resumed her tale. "And then we went to bed. YES MAYA. The same bed. He refused to sleep on the floor and couch. Spouted some nonsense about friends doing things like that all the time. So we go to sleep and the whole night is filled with me trying not to think any Luke-related thoughts but it becomes impossible because the idiot grabs me and crushed my ribcage for over six hours!" The storyteller panted. "Then guess who wakes up as if nothing happened, does some morning stretches, hugs me with my extra sore body, and then leaves with the sunshine on his face! It sure wasn't me!"
The two girls watched the third breath heavily, her cheeks rosy and eyes staring down the gingham covers. She tried to hide from the two the feeling that she may be on the verge of crying. She had promised to lock her feelings away but so far it wasn't working. She couldn't help but think about Luke. Couldn't help but think about all the things she wanted. The last night had been torture. His face, relaxed in sleep, a mere few inches from her own, had been like heaven. Luke was a heavy sleeper who needed somehting pressed against him. She had gotten no sleep with her chest against his and their legs tangled together. It had been torture of the worst kind and Akari vowed to find whoever had put the idea of a slumber party in Luke's head and to not only thank them, but beat the living buckwheat out of them.
Kathy noticed the sadness on her friends face and her heart went out to the girl. Though she knew Akari wouldn't take her seriously if she told her that she had some expierience with a boy that didn't notice, she knew that Akari was having a more difficult time because of the friend label. It was one of the hardest titles to shed, especially when looking for the alternative of romance. She was with a great guy who saw her as his best friend and practically one of the guys. Luke just had no idea how much he hurt Akari with his words and actions. She had to spend the whole night wrapped in his embrace and struggling with the fact that he saw it on such a platonic level. It would drive any woman's brain to madness.
She also understood why Akari refused to confess. Confess too early and it could scare away Luke. Knowing Akari, if things went that way, she'd try to play it off as a joke, forever hiding her feelings away. Another route would be that Luke would not understood the full meaning behind her words. She could tell him she loved him and he might say the same back. As a friend. Akari was sure of her feelings already. But for an emotional rock like Luke, who was so set in his views, he was going to have to come to term with his feelings on his own. Kathy worried for them. If things kept going the way they were, it may ultimately lead to her confessing out of desperation.
She hoped it wouldn't go badly.
Patting the love-struck girl on the head, with Maya pouncing both of them into a hug, Kathy tried her best to reassure her.
"Ye' were out all night boy." Dale gruffed from the store counter. The sun was already shining through the windows, marking the time well past midday. His son was dressed in casual jeans and a plain white shirt. His hair was mussed under his trademark accessory.
Luke flashed his father a grin. "Yeah. I was having a slumber party."
He tilted his head to the clear confusion on the older mans features. "What?"
"A slumber party dad. You know, bugging the neighbor kind of thing. Laughing at stupid shows. Eating super-late. It was awesome."
Dale watched his son grab and apple from the basket by the register. He appeared to be fighting with himself.
"Luke... where exactly..."
Innocent amber eyes turned. "Yeah pops?"
Nevermind. Dale decided he didn't even want to know. "Nothing boy. Nothing."
Luke shrugged. He grabbed his axe and adjusted his headband as he walked out the front door whistling. Dale watched the door shut with incredulous eyes. How did that boy get so dumb?
The blue-haired youth practically marched down the familiar path, taking in the slight humidity. Dragonflies buzzed over the meadow. There were no birds today but he heard the distant noises of Akari's farm. There was a patch of PinkCat flowers by the road. They gave off a unique scent.
Luke tried to see the waterfall but the road didn't give a good view of the beautiful wonder. He was planning to have Akari go with him there today. There was a hot spring and monkeys to play with if offered some food. Or they would probably just try and see who could climb the biggest rock without falling.
He whistled to the cows in the pasture, earning no response. Thinking about the night before, he was debating on avoiding the window, just in case Akari had any tools in hand, when he heard voices inside.
'Ah. Why not? She loves the window bit.' He mentally thought. Luke approached the window. The curtains were drawn so he couldn't see inside, but the window pane was open. Just as he'd left it that morning. His attention was drawn to what the voices inside were saying.
"I-I love you Akari!"
'Who is that? Sounds like...'
"Luke! Oh my gosh! I love you too!"
'Maya and Kathy? What are they-'
"WOULD YOU TWO STOP IT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING ME FEEL BETTER! NOT BEING RETARDED!"
Luke sniggered. He loved to get Akari riled up. It was just too easy.
"Oh come on 'Kari!" Maya giggled. "You want it to be true!"
'Wait...what?'
"Yeah Maya." That was Akari's sarcastic drawl. "I totally want you and Kat here hugging in my kitchen pretending to be me and Luke. I'm completely not supposed to find that disturbing huh?"
Luke felt his blood freeze when he heard Kathy sing out, "I'm pretty sure that when you guys confess your feelings, it'll be you doing most of the confessing."
'Confess?'
"Guys! I'm not confessing to Luke!"
"Why not?" Maya always had the ability to sound so childish at times.
"Because... because..." Akari was stuttering. Luke knew she only did that when she had to say something she didn't want to admit. "Because if I tell Luke that I'm in love with him, it'll ruin everything! I'm not ready to tell him."
"Oh..."
"Maya stop teasing her now. She has a point."
The smile that had been plastered to him was gone, replaced by a slack jaw and wide eyes. Not knowing what to say, or even what to do, Luke turned away from the house.
There was more said, that much Luke knew, but when Kathy and Maya left the house a few minutes later, Luke had already sprinted back up the ridge and out of the Caramel River District.
To be continued...
DUN DUH DUUUUUUN!
Luke has heard the truth with his own ears! But don't think this story is close to ending!
I'm sorry for the long wait. I'm the kind of person who CANNOT write unless I have inspiration and so far, this has turned out to be one of the most eventful years of my life (some of it good. Some of it bad.). But I have plans for the next chapter so hopefully that will be out soon. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE FANS! I ADORE YOU SO MUCH!
Coming up Next!: Luke goes to his friends for advice while he tries to figure out how he feels. Meanwhile, SummerFest is well on it's way and Akari can't help but think that Luke's even more of a spaz when he starts acting like an idiot whenever they're together. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
P.S.: I promise that the fluff will come! Next chapter you're gonna all get a good load of it from (of course) LukexAkari and even some of my other favorite couples! ^_^ Sorry if this chapter was rushed!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
-ChibiRaccoon