Yeah, well, this was supposed to be two chapters but I ran out of time before the fishing contest and Valentine's Day, so it's going to be long again.

Of course, I also lost one plot, because Cranston told me today that he didn't want to move even though he said Tuesday he planned on leaving Saturday… So there goes my emotional "goodbye Cranston" plot. …And my chances of getting Cookie to move in…

Uh yeah, that's about it. Let's get going.

Jon yawned as he pushed his blankets off of him. As usual, the 10:21 train had woken him up. It was like his own personal alarm clock.

His first thought was that he should head to Nook's Homes before he ended up being late, but then remembered that Nook had given all of his employees that day off. It seemed like a nice gesture, but everyone knew it was only because they would be forced to work on Valentine's Day.

Jon headed over to his ice vanity to get his plain black cap and placed it on his head before walking out. To his surprise, a star-shaped crack was right outside his front door. Pulling out his silver shovel, he quickly dug at the crack and found, as expected, a fossil.

"Nice," he mumbled to himself with a grin. Covering the hole back up, he made his way to the tracks to go to main street. To his surprise, the 10:21 train was just passing - this meant it had actually stopped at the town. He decided to wait to see who came out of the station before heading to the museum. To his surprise, it was Lottie!

"Oh, hi tiger! You were easy to find," Lottie remarked as she walked over to him.

"Hey, Lottie! What are you doing in Village?" Jon asked.

"Well, I realized that you, Goldie, Pudge, and Mr. Nook are live here, but I've never visited! So since today is our day off, I thought now would be a good time to."

"Oh! Well, I guess this is your official welcome then. I'm going to the museum to get this fossil assessed, but… You could go visit with Goldie. She lives right over there." Jon pointed at Goldie's house, which was in view.

"Okay, tiger! See you in a bit!" Lottie waved as Jon headed across the tracks, then turned and walked towards Goldie's house. By the smoke coming out of the chimney, she could see the beagle was home, so she knocked and headed on in.

…

"Oh, hi Lottie! I was just about to write a poem about a pocket knife," Goldie remarked, putting down her pen. Lottie pondered the strange statement for a second before shrugging it off. "What are you doing here, woof?"

"I figured I could visit Village and see where you guys live since it's our day off."

"Oh! Do you want me to show you around?"

"That'd be great!"

…

"And this is the event plaza," Goldie said as Lottie followed her.

"What's the tent?" Lottie asked. Goldie looked over to see a purple, green, and gold tent that she had not noticed before.

"I'm not sure," Goldie replied. "It doesn't look like Redd's tent, and the fishing tourney isn't until tomorrow…"

"Well, let's go look!" Lottie suggested before walking towards it. Goldie reluctantly followed.

…

As the girls entered the tent, Goldie cowered behind the braver sea lion. The tent was dark, with mysterious artifacts scattered throughout. Behind a table sat a black panther, whose eyes were closed. "Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atata… Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atatata…" the panther chanted. "Welcome to my tent of fortunes!" Only after saying this did she open her eyes. "I, Katrina, will use my tarot cards to reveal your future for a mere 500 bells…"

Goldie shuddered. "I-I don't know, woof…"

Lottie was more willing. "Sure!" She pulled the money out of her pockets and handed it to Katrina. Goldie stepped back.

"I'm not so sure about this…"

"Now, focus on the tarot cards. Speak to them with your mind. Tell them your hopes and dreams… Keeee-heh-ha-mo-atata… Keeee-heh-mo-atatata… Eee na ro sheho-to bati… YEEEEEeeeee! Ahem! Now, touch your card of destiny…" A little weirded out but still not losing her grin, Lottie looked down at the cards. Five were spread across the table, though Goldie could've sworn they weren't there before. Examining them momentarily, Lottie tapped one. Katrina lifted the card off the table and examined it. "Ah, yes…" She turned it to Lottie, revealing a silhouetted pair of animals hugging.

"Bells cannot buy love, but the power of love can help you achieve great wealth… Your fortune in love will soon be on the rise! That is how I interpret the Lovebirds card. You will soon see true love bloom…"

As Lottie and Goldie watched, the cards faded away. Goldie whimpered nervously. "May plenty of good fortune come your way… And remember that bad times… are just times that are bad." With this, Katrina closed her eyes once again. Lottie and Goldie took this as their cue to leave, and did so.

…

"I am never going back in there again, woof," Goldie remarked, still shuddering. Lottie turned to her, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Are you kidding? That place is the best ever!" Lottie cheered with a small giggle. Goldie raised an eyebrow.

"Is this about her prediction?" Goldie asked.

"Of course! She has to be talking about Valentine's Day - and me and Digby!" Goldie looked unconvinced. "This Valentine's Day is the day he'll finally notice me, and our true love will bloom!" Seeing Lottie so cheerful, Goldie didn't have the heart to point out the flaws with this theory, despite her doubts.

…

"Thanks for stopping by, Lottie," Jon said as he, Goldie, and Pudge escorted the otter back to the train station.

"You sure you don't wanna stay, pudgy?" Pudge offered. "The fishing tourney is tomorrow!"

"I have to work tomorrow, tiger," Lottie replied with a giggle.

"Oh, right…" Pudge sighed.

"I'll come in after I'm done fishing," Jon told her.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then!" She waved goodbye to her friends before stepping into the station to board the train back to the city.

"We should get to bed, woof," Goldie remarked. "We want to be well-rested for the fishing tourney, right?"

"Right," Jon and Pudge agreed.

…

Seeing a small shadow a short distance from the surface of the water, Elise cast her rod. Seconds later, she was holding a carp.

"Not bad, Elise," Paula remarked from behind her.

"Thanks, oh PLEASE!" Elise grinned, holding up her catch proudly. "To catch a fish, you have to think like a fish. But if you start smelling like a fish, then you've gone too far."

Paula squinted and nodded. "Interesting logic. How long is it?"

"I'd say about twenty-five inches," Elise replied. As the girls were talking, Nan walked past them, holding a pond smelt.

"Nan, you know you're supposed to catch a big fish, right?" Paula asked the goat.

"Oh, don't worry about me, my love," Nan replied. "Nice carp, Elise." Without any further information, Nan continued walking to the plaza, where Chip waited to score their fish.

"I'm not sure whether to feel bad for her, or to be worried, oh PLEASE," Elise remarked.

"With Nan? Definitely be worried," Paula replied.

…

Paula stood on the sand, watching carefully as the fish circled her hook, waiting for it to bite so that she could pull it up. However, her focus was suddenly broken when Jon ran up behind her.

"Hey Paula!" he shouted, causing the bear to jump and yank the hook out of the water, scaring the fish away. Paula sighed, defeated.

"What is it, yo-" She turned around to see Jon's eye completely covered by a swollen bee sting. "Dude! Jon?! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded.

"Looks like a bee stung you! It got you good! What were you doing?"

"Looking for money…" Jon explained, embarrassed. "I tried to catch it with my net, but I missed."

Paula rolled her eyes. "Here. Use this!" She pulled a bag of medicine out of her pockets, handing it to Jon. "Get that down you, and fix that ugly mug of yours quick! You idiot!"

Jon laughed and wandered off, opening the bag. Paula chuckled before turning back to the ocean. Noting that there were no more fish nearby, she slung her rod over her shoulder and began searching for a better fishing spot.

"Hey Paula, do you know what the current fish record is?" Nan asked as Paula walked past her.

"Uh, I think it's Tex's 43-inch sea bass, you idiot," Paula responded.

"Hm… Okay," Nan said before walking off, Paula watching.

"What is she up to…?" Paula asked anxiously before heading off to find another fish.

…

Paula carried her sea bass, four inches longer than Tex's, to the plaza, hoping to get a nice piece of furniture to either add to her house or sell. However, upon arriving at the plaza, she saw Nan coming from the other direction carrying an oarfish. Paula stopped in her tracks, awestruck.

"Oh, hi Paula!" Nan greeted cheerfully. "Do you want to submit your bass first? I don't want to keep you from getting any furniture…"

Paula was too amazed to speak.

"Hello? My love?" Nan waved her free hand in front of Paula's face.

Finally, the bear snapped out of it. "Um, what? Oh! Right. Yeah, thanks." She shook her head before walking over to Chip and handing him the bass.

…

"Good job today everyone! The awards ceremony is about to start." Nan, Paula, and Tex held trophies as the other villagers crowded into the tent. Once everyone was there, Chip cleared his throat and began, "In third place… with a cool-looking sea bass measuring 43.21 inches… It's Tex!" Everyone clapped as Tex stood and waved. "Congratulations!"

"Next up, in second place… with another sea bass measuing 49.34 inches… It's Paula!" Paula struck a pose and soaked in the applause. "Good work! And you can aim for first place next time!" Paula nodded. "I plan to."

"And now, in first place… with an oarfish measuring a whopping 231.19 inches… It's Nan!" Nan blushed as everyone cheered for her. "Congratulations on the win! Very impressive!"

"So there you have it, everyone. Congratulations! Let's give 'em one final round of applause."

…

"You caught an oarfish?!" Elise asked Nan after the ceremony as she was walking out of the tent.

Nan nodded. "Yesterday, actually, and I caught three. I donated one to the museum, and submitted the biggest one in the tourney, and gave one to Jon to keep as a pet."

"You caught three oarfish?" Paula asked.

"In a row. I'm not sure how it happened," Nan replied with a shrug. At this point the girls were walking across the bridge to the in-progress Village Park, when suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. Paula turned around.

"AH! A monster!" she shouted, and the other two whirled around. The figure in question skidded to a halt and glared at her. "Oh… wait, is that you, Jon?" Jon nodded. "Wow, you look pretty messed up… Did you seriously get stung again?"

"Yeah…" Jon admitted sheepishly.

"That net you've got didn't do you any good, huh? Well, whatever! Here. Have some soothing medicine!" Paula handed him a bag, identical to the one before.

"Thanks Paula," Jon remarked as he pulled the medicine out and drank it. Almost immediately the swelling went down. "Where do you keep all this medicine, anyway?"

Paula shrugged. "It's a secret. Anyway, hope you learned your lesson. 'Bee' more careful in the future! Ha ha, you idiot!"

Jon rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to laugh with her. "What are you girls up to?"

"Oh, well, the fishing tourney ceremony just ended, and we were talking about Nan's oarfish," Elise explained.

"Aw, did I miss the ceremony?" Jon asked. "Sorry Nan, I really wanted to see you win."

"It's okay, my love," Nan assured the human.

"Well, I have to get to Nook's Homes before Lottie starts worrying about me," Jon remarked. "See you guys tonight?"

"Sure!" Paula agreed. Jon nodded and ran off.

…

"Hey Benjamin!" Jon greeted as he walked into the dog in question's backyard.

"Oh, hi Jon!" Benjamin greeted. "What's up?"

"Well, your house was chosen to be a featured home for our location on the Happy Home Network. So I was wondering if I could get some professional photos taken."

Benjamin looked confused, but nodded.

"Great!" Jon headed back to the car and said something into the window, which Benjamin couldn't hear, followed by Goldie, Hopper, Gladys, and Chief climbing out of it and following him back to the yard.

"I'll try to make this as quick and simple as possible so that you can get back to your house, okay?" Jon said. Benjamin shrugged. "Whatever you have to do."

Jon nodded, then pulled a box out of his trunk. "Could you put this shirt and hat on?"

…

After they had all changed, Jon looked at the scene through his Happy Home Camera. "Okay, let's see… Chief and Goldie, I want you to sit on the right log; Gladys and Hopper on the back, and Benjamin and I will sit across from Gladys and Hopper." The animals nodded and shuffled to their locations. Jon sat next to the very flustered Benjamin and looked through the camera again. "No, that's not right… Okay, hold on." He stood up and shifted to the log across from Chief and Goldie.

"All good, boss?" Chief asked. Jon shook his head. "No, it looks lopsided." Hopper and Gladys sighed. Jon was an excellent designer, but very picky. "Um… Goldie, could you sit next to Benjamin instead?" Goldie immediately complied, not noticing as Benjamin blushed furiously. "That's a little better. But boring. It needs to look like a scene…" His eye was suddenly drawn to the bottom of the picture, where Gladys was sound asleep. "That'll do." Satisfied, he pressed a button on his watch, which caused the Happy Home Camera above them to snap the picture.

The picture taken, Chief made his way over to where the camera was set up to tear it down while Jon, Hopper, and the still half-asleep Gladys made their way back to the temporary dressing room Jon had set up to change. Goldie walked over to Benjamin. "Thanks! We'll be out of your hair now, woof."

"Oh, it's fine," Benjamin insisted. "So… what exactly is your job, alrighty?"

"Oh, I'm a model - well, a Nook's Homes model," Goldie explained. "I just pose for pictures and help new customers feel comfortable in their new homes."

"Well, you're very good at it, alrighty," Benjamin said.

"Aw, thanks! This is only my second time doing it, though, so I hope I'll improve, woof!"

"Maybe I could be a model too, alrighty?"

"That would be great! You should talk to Lottie!"

"…Maybe I will. I'll have to think about it."

"Well, I hope you will!" Goldie said.

"Ready to go, Goldie?" Jon asked as he, Hopper, Gladys, and Chief loaded into the car.

"Um, just a sec!" Goldie said. She started to say something to Benjamin, but instead just waved and ran off to change.

…

The next day - Valentine's Day, to be specific - Jon arrived early and was filing paperwork when Lottie walked in.

"Oh, hi Jon!" the otter greeted cheerfully. Jon looked up and saw her dressed much more stylishly, with a Gracie hat instead of her bow, a pair of Gracie pumps, and a butterfly dress under her uniform. She was also wearing a significant amount of make-up - more than usual.

"Wow," Jon remarked. "Someone's shopped at GracieGrace recently." Lottie rolled her eyes. "Isn't that a little… much for work?"

"Oh, please, Jon," Lottie responded, a false British accent gracing her voice. "I always dress nicely whenever I can."

"Uh huh… What's with the goofy accent?"

"…Is it that goofy?" Lottie asked in her normal voice, lifting the brim of her hat out of her face. Jon nodded. She sighed and took the hat off, revealing her bow underneath it. "I'm sorry, I'm just hoping to impress Digby today."

"Oh, because it's Valentine's Day?"

"Not only that. Katrina told me that I would see true love bloom, so I think this is what she's referring to."

"Okay…?" Jon considered this for a moment. "Besides the absurdity of that statement, don't you think that if Katrina had predicted it you wouldn't have to meddle to get it to happen?"

"Well, I want to make sure it happens no matter what," Lottie replied. "And by that logic, I can't make it worse, right tiger?"

"I guess that's true."

"Either way, I'm going to-" Before Lottie could finish, the bell rang, signifying that someone had entered the building.

"Yo," said a sheep as she walked into Nook's Homes, catching the attention of Jon and Lottie. "This is Nook's Homes, right?" Jon nodded. "See… I need a new house, and you dudes know how to do that stuff. Can you take care of that for me?"

"Well, what kind of house do you need?" Jon asked, standing up.

"I want to live in a fast food restaurant, y'know?" the sheep replied. Jon pictured this in his head.

"Well, I don't-" Before he could finish, Lottie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to her desk.

"You have to accept this job," Lottie told him.

"Okay," Jon said, a little nervous and confused. "Um, why?"

"Because, if you do, Digby and I can go there on our first date."

"…You want to go on your first date at a fast food restaurant?"

"I take what I get."

"Okay, but why couldn't you go to Marshal's house, or Violet's, or even Jacques'? Wouldn't that be more, y'know, romantic?"

"Maybe. But I can tell him that we're just going to help you as models because Goldie and Pudge are busy, and then when we get there he'll realize his true feelings for me, and it'll be perfect!"

Jon stared at Lottie, who was now daydreaming. "Wow. Okay." He stood up and walked back to the sheep, who looked quite impatient.

"So will ya do it?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Sweet, dude! That's, like, the best news I've heard all day! I'm Frita by the way."

"Well, Frita," Lottie said, having snapped out of her fantasy, "let's talk a bit about your planning requirements!"

…

"Romantic fast food restaurant…" Jon mumbled on the car ride to the location. No matter how hard he pictured it, he couldn't figure out what he was going to do to satisfy Lottie and Frita's requests. Finally, they arrived.

"So this is how it all starts," Frita remarked. "This is where the magic begins, yo." Jon looked at the exterior he had chosen - a yellow country house with a red roof and white door. Satisfied, he got to work on designing the rest of the yard. The supplies given to him by Frita were of little use, so he dug through his own catalog.

A few minutes later he had arranged a cozy outdoor seating area perfect for a fast food restaurant - but horrible for a romantic dinner. Unable to decide how he could change it to improve, he decided to work on the interior and return to the exterior later.

…

The interior didn't work much better - although the tables were fancier, having to work with fast food meals was hindering him severely.

"What's wrong, oh, ewe?" Frita asked as Jon stared at the room.

"Um, nothing," Jon replied. Suddenly he realized something. "…I'm just gonna call in a specialist."

…

"A romantic fast food restaurant? You're kidding, right, silly?" the cat asked Jon. Jon shook his head.

"I don't know how to do it," Jon explained. The cat took a deep breath.

"Well, then I guess it's Rosie time."

Jon and Frita followed Rosie as she took a look at the exterior of the house. "Hm…" she remarked. Jon looked at her, confused, but she didn't acknowledge it.

"I think I have an idea…" Rosie remarked. She turned to Frita. "What do you think of this? A double restaurant - on the inside, the fast food restaurant of your dreams. French fries, burgers, and slow customer service to your heart's content. But on the outside, the perfect romantic diner - nothing but the moon and candlelight shining on your loved one's face as you enjoy a delicious dinner together."

Frita considered this. "Sounds cool, I guess. Let me see it in action." Rosie turned to Jon.

"Think you can handle that?" she asked. Jon nodded.

"Thanks, Rosie."

"Anytime, silly."

…

Within a few hours, the house was complete, and Frita was satisfied with it - so satisfied, in fact, that she suggested to Jon that he get a job in home design. Jon and Rosie just assumed (or rather,hoped) that she was joking.

"You think Lottie will approve?" Jon asked Rosie on their way back to Nook's Homes.

"Here's hoping, silly."

…

"Oh, Digby, thank goodness you're here!" Jon said as he and Rosie walked into Nook's Homes. Digby looked up from his clipboard.

"What's up?"

"Well, I need to take pictures of the house I just finished, but Goldie and Pudge can't be here! I need you and Lottie to fill in."

Digby shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He put the clipboard down and Jon shot a glance at Lottie, who was smiling.

…

"Alright, Rosie, Chief, and I will sit over here at the big table," Jon said as he adjusted the HHC. "Lottie and Digby, you guys sit over there at one of the small tables. Hopper and Gladys, just… do whatever you want." Hopper and Gladys looked confused, but wandered off. Frita was in her uniform, and everyone else was dressed up.

"You sure you don't wanna get a pic of the inside, dude?" Frita asked.

"Positive!" Lottie yelled back at her before Jon could respond. Frita looked at her, confused, but decided against asking.

…

"Don't you think Jon did a really nice job on this place?" Lottie asked Digby as Jon worked with Gladys, Hopper, Rosie, Chief, and Frita - or, rather, bought time for the otter.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat," Digby responded. The table fell back into awkward silence.

"You look nice," Lottie remarked, almost immediately regretting it. Jon had had Digby put on a tuxedo, which, in Lottie's opinion, he looked so good in she had to wonder if Jon was trying to help her, or torture her.

"Thank you! You look nice too." Lottie, on the other hand, had barely changed her outfit at all besides ditching the Nook's Homes uniform. After all, she was already dressed up. "Gracie's clothing really suits you."

Lottie was predictably flustered, but managed to stutter out a, "Thank you," before the table fell back into silence.

"Happy Valentine's Day, by the way," Digby remarked a few moments later.

"Well, so far it's been okay," Lottie mumbled. Despite her best efforts, Digby overheard her.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing!" Lottie immediately began backpedaling. "It's just that, ah, I was hoping, that is…" She shook her head, trying to get her mind back on track. "I'm waiting on, erm… something."

"I see," Digby said, although truthfully he couldn't be more confused. Lottie noticed Jon glancing at her, trying to tell her he was running out of excuses to buy time, and Lottie shrugged. "What are you shrugging about?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh…" Lottie tried to come up with an excuse. "Rosie was mouthing about how long Jon was taking…?"

"He is taking awhile. Usually he's more prepared than this. Weird."

"Yeah. Weird," Lottie chuckled nervously. Finally, Jon walked over.

"Okay, so you guys are sitting at one of the 'romantic' tables." Lottie felt like slamming her face onto the 'romantic' table. Could Jon be any more obvious? "So I need you to look… I don't know, couple-y."

"Like this?" Digby asked, taking Lottie's hands in his own. Lottie's face turned even pinker than usual. Jon looked at her, and she nodded.

"Perfect." He walked off to get the others positioned.

"This is kind of awkward, don't you think?" Digby said, chuckling nervously.

Lottie narrowed her eyes nervously. "What makes you say that?"

"Y'know, having to act like a couple." Lottie didn't react. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." Lottie nodded half-heartedly. They avoided eye contact for a couple moments.

"Well, at least we know each other. It's not like we're complete stangers," Lottie pointed out.

"I think that makes it worse, y'know?" Digby shrugged. "We know each other so well, it's almost like you're my other sister. It's weird to act like we're a couple."

Lottie's heart plummeted, but she tried to keep a straight face. "…Right."

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Digby's phone rang. He released Lottie's hands to answer, and after talking for a moment, hung up and walked over to Jon.

"Sorry, Jon, I gotta go. Isabelle's locked out of our house and doesn't know where her key is, so I have to let her in."

"Oh," Jon said, looking at Lottie. She nodded sadly. "I guess we can do it without you, then."

"Okay, great. Sorry again." With that, Digby ran out of the yard.

…

After the picture was taken, Jon and Rosie walked over to Lottie.

"You okay?" Rosie asked quietly, sitting across from the otter.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine," Lottie responded, shaking her head. "I mean, I expected this. It's Digby, right? Like he'd ever be anything but oblivious." She looked up. "Besides, I still have Katrina's prediction. Maybe she wasn't talking about today, or maybe she wasn't talking about Digby. Maybe it was-" Before she could finish, something caught her eye. Rosie and Jon turned to see Gladys and Hopper together, Gladys kissing him on the cheek before they walked off, wing-in-wing.

Rosie spoke up first. "Did they just-"

"Yup," Lottie responded before she finished.

"And you just-"

"Uh huh," Lottie interrupted the cat again.

"…So you just saw true love bloom," Jon summarized. This time, Lottie really did slam her face into the 'romantic' table.

…

That night, Lottie stayed up late to finish paperwork, as usual. But this time she also used it as an excuse to get her emotions back in check. So she was even more surprised than usual when the door opened at a time when she was usually the only person up.

"Hey Lottie," the arrival said as they walked in. Lottie looked up to see Digby and immediately hid her face behind her computer to wipe her tears, trying not to smear her makeup.

"Ohh, hi Digby," she said quickly and nervously, lifting the top of her face to look at him. "What are you doing here? It's late."

"Well, I knew you were really upset about something tonight, so I got you these." He pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back. It was everything Lottie could do to keep her jaw from dropping.

"U-upset? Me? No…" Lottie insisted as Digby laid the flowers on her desk.

"Well… You can keep the flowers anyway. I don't think Aurora gives refunds.

"…Thank you," Lottie said, making eye contact with him for the first time since he held her hands.

"No problem. I'd do anything for you." Lottie chose to take this as a romantic statement, although she knew he had told this to most of his platonic friends before. "By the way, did the thing you were waiting for ever come?"

Lottie thought about this for a moment, and looked down at the bouquet. "Uh, yeah. Yeah it did."

WHEW! 4,000 plus words. This is like, a record or something.

So yeah, if Cranston had actually moved away, we would've seen the Villagers arriving at Marshal's café in this chapter like the last chapter teased. Then he would've announced his plans, and his last day in town would've been the fishing tourney. It would've been pretty cool… Too bad.

But this is a nice chapter too, right?

Happy early Valentine's Day! May all your Digbys stop being oblivious.