Ok, let's review what I know about Cliff so far. One, he goes to the church on a regular basis. Two, Ann has a giant crush on his but he hasn't noticed…hopefully. Three he lives at the Inn. Four, he considers Doug like a father to him but who is his father any way? And his mother? Oh focus Flute focus! Five-
"Hi there, Flute!" Cliff waved to her from the entrance to the farm.
"Cliff hi!" Blushed Flute.
"Hey I just stopped by to ask you," Cliff's face turned crimson red, Flute's eyes light up, "well, Ann wanted me to run some errands," with the word 'Ann' Flute frowned, "and, well, do you want to come with me?" Flute's sparkly eyes returned.
"R-really?" She asked. Cliff nodded. Flute reached into her overall pocket and pulled out her wallet and stared into it. It still contained plenty of money considering the last thing she bought was an upgrade for her hammer from Grey and now that she thought about it eggs, honey, fish, wild grasses, crops, and milk was getting a teensy bit dull. It wouldn't hurt to buy some extra food and such. "Sure a little shopping would be good for me,"
The day was no longer young as the two happy friends carried their armloads of groceries watching the sky illuminate with a splash of orange, yellow, pink, and red. Cliff's rucksack was half-way filled while Flute's was to the brim with new items. Flute had bought some bread, rice balls, chocolate, flour, coffee, a nice necklace strung around her neck, chicken feed, fertilizer, a bright blue hair brush, pink stationary and a fountain pen, a bag of sugar, a pastel scarf, and three scented candles. As for Cliff, he only had what Ann had asked him to buy; cream cheese, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, butter, chicken meat, eggs, fish, bread and jam and nothing for him. Flute was very pleased in herself for helping Cliff overcome his shyness towards her because the two were actually enjoying their conversations. They halted when they came to the Winery. Cliff looked away, rummaged through his pocket and nodded.
"C'mon Flute," He grabbed her wrist carefully in a way that wouldn't hurt her and both went into the shop, the little bell chiming above them. Manna, the owner of the shop along with her husband Duke. Sh casually looked up from the desk and gave them a sweet smile.
"Hello Cliff nice to see you and…uh who's your friend, dear?" Manna asked.
"Allow me to introduce you two, Flute this is Manna. Manna this is my good friend Flute," Cliff introduced.
Good friend, Flute thought cherishing the words.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Flute," Manna curtsied.
"The pleasure is all mine," Flute gave her a heart-filled smile.
"I'd like a round of wine please," Cliff handed Manna the money.
"Oh Cliff you're always so kind to Duke and I, the first rounds on the house," Manna told him.
"Why thank you, Manna that's so nice of you! Then two rounds," He smiled.
"Alright but I'll have to get some wine from the cellar, why don't you two make yourself at home while I get it," She headed outside. Cliff turned to Flute and pulled out a chair for her, Flute sat down while Cliff took the other.
"So Flute I've been wondering," Cliff said.
"Yes?" Flute nodded.
"Do you have any family living in town? I-I would love to meet them," Cliff nervously asked.
Flute shook her head. "I left home about four years ago but I keep in touch with my family, they may even visit some time so I would love to introduce you to them,"
"Tell me about them," Cliff suggested becoming even more excited about the subject.
"Let's see…" Flute thought over the subject, "I was the oldest in my family, my younger sister lives far away on a place called Sunny Island. She's a baker there. I have lots of aunts and uncles and my parents…they're the best parents imaginable! My mom looks just like me and my dad doesn't really. But according to the notes I've been getting my mother is ill but my dad is close to finding the cure," She paused. "What about you, Cliff?" He frowned and looked away. Flute frowned, fearing she said the wrong thing. Both were silent for the longest time, hoping Manna would come in with fresh wine and the awkward position would be no more. Finally, the conversation began again.
"…When I was younger," Cliff spoke up, Flute eyed him nervously, "…I went hiking one day for a while….and when I returned…my younger sister was gone and my mother was…dead," Flute gasped, wishing they had never got on the subject. Cliff looked away again but felt something. It was Flute who had her arms wrapped around him in embrace, he felt light tears falling off her face.
"Cliff…I'm so sorry," Flute wept. Slowly, Cliff stood up and turned to her hugging her in return.
"It's not your fault, Flute and please don't cry," Cliff told her, fearing he might begin crying as well right when Manna would walk in. "Flute…I'm not lonely,"
"Y-your not?" Flute wiped her eyes. He shook his head.
"I have you, Ann, Doug, Manna, Carter, Karen and Cain," He gave her a weak smile.
Flute sniffled. "I have two questions though; who's Cain and how do you know Karen?" Cliff gave her a real smile.
"Cain is the name of my hawk and Karen is my cousin,"
Flute's jaw dropped. "You and Karen are related?" Cliff nodded.
"Do you two know each other?" He asked. Flute nodded.
"She and I are best friends but…I can't believe I didn't notice. You guys have the exact same hair color!" Flute exclaimed while Cliff chuckled.
"I guess we do. And as for Cain I'd love to show him to you sometime," Cliff told her, "you're not scared of birds are you?"
"No of coarse not they're wonderful," Flute beamed at her friend glad he was now feeling better. Just then, the door flew open and in came Manna holding a dusty bottle of wine in her hands.
"Ugh, I thought I already told Duke not to put the wine so deep in the cellar," She blew the dust off the bottle and nodded satisfactorily, "well it may be a tad dusty but it's still good. But the alcoholic maniac needs to hire some extra help around here, I dunno what'll happen if he doesn't," Manna tugged at the cork off the bottle and poured two glass fulls handing both to the young friends. Flute smiled and thanked her while Cliff grinned at Flute. He held up the glass of wine.
"To Flute, a true heck of a friend!" Cliff said. Flute blushed.
"Ah Cliff you're making me blush!" She giggled taking a sip of the wine, "Wow! This taste incredible!"
"Hehe well thank you, Flute," Manna chuckled. Manna pulled over a chair and began having a deep conversation with the two, Flute never knew someone beside her could open his less shy side. Manna was indeed a fun person to talk to. It turns out Manna's daughter Aja was going to inherit the Winery but after she got in a fight with Manna's "idiotic" husband Duke she ran away. It seems like the three had come from the same background. After the second round, it was late and Cliff didn't want to spend any more money despite Manna was offering to pay for it. He walked Flute home and went back to the Inn, hoping Ann wouldn't be too mad at him. As for Flute, she closed the windows and changed into her night gown wishing she had bought one today. Star arfed at her.
"Me?" She asked her dog ruffling his fur, "I went on a romantic trip with Cliff of coarse. I know you don't like him but please understand Star I like him. And remember you hated Autumn when she came here and now you guys are great friends," Flute thought back to when she and Autumn had met. Star was given to Flute when she was younger when he was a puppy and the two were like soul mates, Star was very protective over Flute. But when they moved to Mineral Town, Star was ecstatic until they met Autumn. It was a rainy day when the young kitten wandered onto the ranch, she was shaking and you could see her ribs. But Flute nursed her back to health and keep her thinking she may have been abused in the past. Of coarse when a new pet or even a baby arrives the first pet becomes increasingly jealous and they don't get along. But Autumn was a kind cat and she and Star eventually became good friends despite their different natures. But more along with our story, Flute stretched herself out yawing deeply as she plopped down on her bed, back first. She sighed heavily as she tugged the blanket over her, sinking deeper and deeper into the comfort of her mattress. Autumn leapt onto the pillow at her master's side while Star curled up on top of Flute sharing his warmth with her.
The next day began the same as the one before that. Flute dipped her golden watering can under the cool water of the watering hole and ran to water her strawberries as well as a few cucumbers and turnips. It was when she was going to retrieve honey from the tree that she noticed the mailbox. Inside she saw a letter she had overlooked. She took it out and scanned over it. It was from Manna and she was looking for aid to work in the Winery. Flute began to wonder why Manna had sent the letter to her, considering she already had a job. Why not ask Cliff? Then, it hit her. With a smile on her face she, dashed off to ask for Cliff's assistance.
The next day, both she and Cliff reported to the Winery, Flute was smiling ear to ear but Cliff was still puzzled. Duke, at first, was confused when he saw them there until Manna explained the letter. After this Duke refused to hire helpers which ended up being a back and forth fight between Manna and him. Cliff and Flute stared at each other. Finally, with a sigh, Duke considered.
"Ok, you two," He sighed feeling useless for losing the fight, "I suppose you can start out picking grapes for the harvest…we've decided not to hire anyone until we can see how hard you can actually work,"
"We?" Manna asked gruffly.
"Fair enough," Flute nodded.
"Sounds good to me too," Cliff agreed. The two headed into the vineyard to get to work.
"Finished," Both said carrying a huge basket of grapes to the front doors. Manna squealed in delight.
"My my! See Duke? That's more than you alone could carry in a week!" Manna laughed.
"W-what?!" Duke screamed his face all different hues of red. As for Cliff and Flute, the two didn't mind them talking about their work in front of them-be it bad or good. But both were pretty tired with sweat dripping down their faces. But it seemed like Flute was most tired, after all she was working on the farm all morning. Manna glanced at them and smiled.
"I'll get you something to reward you," Manna said. Cliff looked up in alarm.
"Uh no it's fine Manna we just did it to he-" Before he could finish the sentence, the door closed tightly behind Manna. In a short time, she returned and handed the two fresh grape juice and a big piece of cheese.
"For both of you," She smiled at them.
"Thank you so much," Both Cliff and Flute said before drinking the juice. It had been a while since Flute had tasted either of them; cheese was hard to come by nowadays and so were grapes. (with the exception of wild grapes which never tasted as good)
"So, Cliff," Duke crossed his arms.
"Yes sir?" Cliff asked.
"How would you like a full time job here at Aja Winery?"
"S-seriously?" Cliff asked happily. Both Manna and Duke nodded.
"We were talking it over while you two were working. We think you would be the perfect person to manage things around here. We pay minimum wage which is about six dollars an hour and you choose how many hours you work. Is that alright?" Manna asked. Cliff nodded quickly.
"Absolutely! I'd love to work here!" Cliff smiled.
"That's perfect!" Duke smiled as well, "Be here tomorrow at 10:30 sharp and you don't have to work Saturdays,"
"I'll be here! But for now, I think I'll need to walk Flute home," Cliff blushed while smiling-a cute sight indeed. Flute blushed in return, especially when he took her arm.
The two walked down the main road, blushing and smiling at each other but not saying a word. Finally, Cliff edged near here.
"Flute…" He whispered in her ear.
"Yes?" She turned to him. With a smiled, Cliff let go of her arm and spread his arms around her. Flute's face was as red as it could get.
"Thank you…"
"For what?" She asked, feeling like she was walking on clouds.
"Telling me about the job. Thank you Flute you're an amazing friend," Cliff blushed too. The two unhugged and took each others hand, giggling in their minds that the other was blushing too. Finally they reached Strawberry Fields Farm where they found a jealous Star glaring and a delighted Autumn beaming in pride at them. "Good night, Flute," Cliff smiled at his friend.
"Good night, Cliff," She smiled in return, feeling the blood rushing to her face. Oh how badly she wanted to kiss him goodnight. Sadly, she had to settle for watching her friend walk himself back to the Inn.
Several days had passed since the wine harvest. Flute had noticed Cliff had always been so on time and didn't spend nearly as much time in the Inn anymore. However, Flute stopped by the Winery almost daily to see Cliff and neither Manna nor Duke minded. Cliff was always particularly cheerful when Flute came by, she even saw him blushing more and more as the days went on. Soon, something in Flute compelled her to ask something.
"So, Cliff?" Flute said one day when it was lightly sprinkling outside and he was waiting it out, "How's Ann been reacting to your job?"
Cliff rolled his eyes. "Uh she's been mad for quiet some time, I don't even know why she knows I'm happy working here. Before I came back to the Inn at maybe five now I don't get there till eight and I've already eaten. If she has some food on the table for me and I tell her I ate her she flips out on me. She's not been the same, recently. But I bet we can talk it through," Flute beamed in happiness. Cliff was even slightly annoyed by the little red-head. She was very content, until one day she visited the Inn. It was eight o'clock at night and Flute was going into the Inn to return a handkerchief Cliff had let her borrow and she had carefully washed and ironed it so it was naturally in perfect order. Until she went in, that is.
Sitting at the counter, with a bored look, was Ann herself. She looked up and glared at Flute.
"What do you want?" She hissed, her expression getting angrier.
"Wow you people are just so welcoming," Flute rolled her eyes, "I'm not here to see you, Ann. I need to return this to Cliff,"
"He's not home,"
"I can imagine so, ever since we did the wine harvest-"
Ann's attention sparked. She slammed her fist on the desk. "What the HECK did you just say?!" She screamed. Flute stepped backwards, swallowing deeply. "YOU'RE the reason Cliff has the job! YOU'RE the reason he's away from me!"
"How selfish! He needed the job or he would have to move out of Mineral Town. And besides he's happy," Flute reminded her.
"HAPPY?! Open your eyes, Flute! He's drunk!" Ann bellowed. The word sank down deeply into her. It echoed inside her, rattling her and scaring her. She could only stare emptily at Ann who had a smug expression smeared on her face. It was only when the door flew open and the little bell at the top of the door jingled that Flute was snapped back into reality. Cliff came in and blinked when he saw Flute.
"Flute? What're you doing here?" Cliff asked. Flute whirled around and began to explain herself when she felt a push on her back, scaring her. Of coarse, it was from Ann who ran from behind the counter to Flute and was shoving her back.
"Oh no reason," Ann answered for her, "she needed to see Daddy but now everything's fine and she's going home! Right, Flute?" Flute stepped away from her rival and stared at Cliff.
"Can I talk to you in private?" Flute asked. Ann's fury burned, Cliff shrugged and nodded. Just before Ann could snap her small arms at Flute and claw her skin in anger, she ran to the stairs with Cliff following.
Cliff brought Flute to the second floor of the Inn, to the end of the hall, and unlocked the door at the end. Inside the room wasn't very much, it was very crammed with three beds, (two green, one yellow) a small table with six chairs, two windows, and a small pedestal with a green pot and a blue flower.
"This is the room I rent here," Cliff sat on the bottom green bed, "this is the boy's room and the girl's is next door. Two other guys share this room with me; Grey the blacksmith," Flute knew him pretty well, he worked at the Blacksmith with Saibara but he was always getting yelled at. "And Kai, but he only comes in Summer," Flute's eyes grew huge at the sound of Kai. How could she tell him she just wanted to be friends? She would have to figure that out along the way. Cliff's attention focused on her. "So, Flute is something wrong?" Flute swallowed and pulled the handkerchief from her overall pocket, showing it to him.
"At first I came to return this to you…then Ann told me something that deeply worried me. She said. Cliff studied her. With a sigh, she said: "She said you were drunk."
Cliff had a worried look on his face as he turned away. Flute studied him. "…Cliff?" She asked intensely. Cliff looked up at her, but hung his head when he saw her eyes.
"The reason I like my job…it is because I'm happy to have it. So in that, Ann is wrong…However," He paused and took a breath, "while I was working, Duke and Manna invited me in for something to eat. While in, Duke was drinking heavily and offered me some more wine. I accepted because just a little wine isn't bad. But after one glass he offered another. I had to accept because he was my boss. But he offered too many to me, and I had to refuse after a while. I guess it may have been too late. I had completely lost track of time when I noticed it was eight. So I tried to hurry back but I was too confused. And it being night didn't help at all. I returned about five till eleven, and Ann was steaming mad. She began yelling at me but I had a headache and couldn't listen, I was in too much pain. I had to stay home from work that day," He studied Flute's sad face. "Flute? Are you disappointed in me?" Cliff asked sadly. Flute's eyes overflowed with tears as she hugged him tightly.
"Cliff," She wailed. Cliff felt so bad, he himself began crying as well. He hugged Flute back, feeling her warm tears sliding down his back. "Promise me, you won't do that again,"
"I promise you I won't," Cliff told her. Flute let go of him and stared at him with he wet blue eyes. Staring at them made him feel worse.
"Thank you," She said weakly, "b-because…I don't know what would happen if I loose you," She wiped her eyes, sniffing heavily. Cliff blushed.
"And what do you mean by that?" Cliff giggled. Flute looked up as the tears stopped overflowing from her eyes. She blushed too.
"I mean after all…we are good friends remember?" Flute struggled to find an excuse. Cliff smiled smugly at her. He hugged her again, laughing a little.
"Flute…you're a bad liar!"
Flute laughed. "I know, I know. How about we forget I ever said that?"
"Ok. But only is that makes you happy," Cliff smiled at her, releasing her from the hug. Flute's eyes twinkled and her face turned red. She remembered the dream, the one that made her love Cliff in the first place. "How about you stay here and we talk until you feel better and your eyes are less red, so people won't have to ask you that on your way home?"
Flute nodded. "I'd like that,"
Author's notes:
Sorry for the delay on this chapter my computer broke when I was writing it so I had to re-write it then I got writer's block -_-. Well I hope you enjoyed it! And also yes Cliff's bird's name is Cain and his cousin is Karen. If you don't believe me check the Harvest Moon wiki and go to Cliff. Now same as last time…don't bash me for pairing someone with Cliff or for not using Cliff x Ann or making Ann sorta the antagonist. I don't want smart-alickes bothering me because of it. This fanfic is for pure fun-I do not own Harvest Moon. Flute is owned by Nijihamu-can of DeviantART.
