A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I would've liked to have had it out a lot sooner, but... I've been trying to write another story for Fritz. This time, one for Fritz/Annie. And it's a one-shot. Who knows when or if I'll ever finish it, but... I'd really like to!

Ah, if only I could still write as quickly as I did when I was younger... Now I envy those who still can, ha ha...

Chapter Four

In the months that followed the start of their new relationship, nothing had changed. It was difficult for Raeger to describe. It was - for lack of better words - strange. They acted more like friends than they did a couple. Like it had all been just a dream. Fritz had never confessed to Raeger, and Raeger had never accepted his proposal. Raeger didn't really mind it. Having regretted his decision to go out with him, it wasn't like he was entirely doing it out of his free will anyway. Fritz could end it right now and Raeger wouldn't even bat an eye. There wasn't any need to think twice about it. So it was strange, really, but it wasn't bothersome. Only a little bit (if Raeger had to be truthful). But that was only because he was used to doing more romantic activities with his past girlfriends. Things like going out on dates, or... Or... Touching...

A shudder ran up Raeger's spine as he envisioned himself touching Fritz in the most intimate way he had ever done before. He was putting his hand to one side of his boyfriend's freckled face, his thumb gliding along his bottom lip as to brush away the imaginary particles so that he could taste him, the real him, before leaning in further and further and further until...

His forehead met the cupboard with a resounding thump. The mental image of him getting so close to Fritz was immediately discarded from the far corners of his mind. On the counter before him laid a half-diced cucumber.

Whoa. Too far.

That aside, it wasn't like Fritz hadn't been trying to make his love known. And goddess, that was an understatement. Raeger was almost certain that the farmer had proclaimed his feelings toward him every single day for the past however long at every opportunity he got. At the very least, he knew he said "I love you" every time he left the restaurant (but only on late nights or early mornings when no one was around). It was frustrating, especially when he said it so earnestly it made Raeger's heart race. His heart wasn't suppose to do that; it was... It was... He didn't know, but it was very confusing.

Fritz also became more clingy. Very clingy. Annoyingly clingy. More so than he was when they were just friends. If Raeger held even the slightest suspicion that any of his past girlfriends weren't, in fact, girls, then he was definitely dating one now. Fritz hung out with Raeger whenever he felt like it, whether that be in the afternoon, at night...at four o' clock in the morning... (Though the latter only happened once when he had forgotten what time it was and Raeger had to resist the urge to close the door on his face and return to bed to remind him.) Sometimes he'd even visit him in the middle of his farm work, and at those times Raeger would ask him, "Don't you have a farm to manage?" Fritz would have to get back to work after hearing that, knowing that his boyfriend was right: he couldn't just slack off whenever he felt like it, regardless of how tempting it was to see him.

And if any of that wasn't enough, then Fritz made sure Raeger knew just how much he meant to him on his birthday. He went all out, decorating the restaurant in balloons and confetti, and of course he made him a cake too. His gift wasn't anything cheap either, but was instead several expensive cooking ingredients. There was no doubt that he blew all his month's worth of income on them... But in spite of all that, Raeger felt more overwhelmed than anything else. None of his past girlfriends had done so much for him on his birthday before... Did he really deserve all of this?

In the end, it didn't matter what Raeger did. He thought that his lack of devotion would deter Fritz eventually, but... Fritz would still love and cling to him like an affectionate puppy. Not that Raeger was really trying to break up their relationship anyway. Which was, perhaps, the most confusing part. But Raeger had learned to stop questioning all of these strange feelings he was experiencing as of late. It was too tiresome to deal with. And it was easier that way too.

By midday the restaurant was packed. Raeger stopped dicing tomatoes to tilt his head up and glance around the tables. As far as he could tell, it didn't look like anyone needed anything. Yet. He resumed chopping up tomatoes. This part of the day was often the busiest, and sometimes he would have to skip his own meals just to fill out his orders on time. Today looked like it was going to be one of those days.

THWACK!

"RAEGER, QUICK! GIVE BACK THE TOMATO!"

Ah, of course. Who else to prolong another exhausting day full of heavy, endless workload but Fritz... Raeger narrowed his eyes at both the sounds of the familiar booming voice and the door practically flying off the hinges as if it had been locked and Fritz's dear life depended on it. Most of the customers in the restaurant just went about their lunch in casual display, while few like Kamil, newer and less acquainted to the norm, very nearly choked on their food. Then there was Nadi who suddenly but inconspicuously up and left the place without a word, right in the middle of eating. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't the first time this happened.

The vegetables burned under Raeger's scowling gaze (or they might've if the expression was actually capable of intimidation). "Fritz, I've told you a million times not to slam the..." Raeger's look softened to concern as he lifted his eyes to meet Fritz at last, though he never ceased his task at cutting the tomatoes. "What?" he asked curiously. Tomato?

Fritz didn't give any delay, walking over to the counter where Raeger stood across from and hurriedly explaining with, "I've made a fatal mistake and..." He abruptly halted when he noticed the freshly cut tomato sprawled out in front of him, his eyes flying open and his jaw dropping an inch. The world stopped around him and faded into nothingness, his life flashing before his eyes. After several, long moments his petrified look found Raeger again, and he gaped at him, too paralyzed to speak.

Raeger eyed him warily, becoming self-conscious by his strange, never-ending stare. "Why...are you looking at me like that? Did I...chop my finger off or something?" He worriedly turned his attention to the ceiling. "Oh no, I'm too afraid to look..." Dread washed over him. He knew the day would come for this eventually; he just didn't think it would be so soon.

"... Raeger..." Fritz choked out cautiously, "That...wasn't the same tomato I gave you the other day... Was it?"

"... Uhmm..." Raeger glanced to the wall and back again to Fritz. "I don't think so... Why?"

"Really?" Fritz chuckled and wiped invisible sweat from his forehead. "Whew! You had me scared there for a minute, man! Don't do that!" He went around the length of the counter and into the kitchen, seemingly ignoring Raeger's question. Or maybe he just didn't catch it. Or maybe...he had selective hearing? Sometimes Raeger never knew.

"Fritz? What are you doing?"

"Lookin' for my tomato," Fritz hummed, as if the answer was obvious. He picked up a tomato from a pile of vegetables next to Raeger's side. "You have it over here somewhere, right? Don't worry, I'll find it, just keep working," he said, waving a hand dismissively in Raeger's direction while he inspected the tomato all around.

Raeger laughed humorlessly. "That wasn't exactly what I meant, dear..." His voice dropped at once. Violet eyes bore into him. "Friend." Across from him stood Mistel waiting patiently, presumably to be served. The blonde had his hands clasped leisurely behind his back.

Fritz arched an eyebrow at the tomato, though it was intended for his boyfriend. "Did you almost call me-"

"AHEM!"

Mistel held a steady gaze. "Business working you harder than usual, Raeger?" he asked evenly. His gaze finally broke from Raeger to shift onto Fritz. Raeger saw Fritz's reflection in his amethyst eyes like a mirror.

"Uhhh - yes. He's quite a handful..." the chef answered uncertainly, but then quickly caught himself with, "BUSINESS, I MEAN! Is...quite a handful..."

The blonde flashed a friendly smile. "Hee hee..." He then held up two fingers in the form of a peace-sign. "A seat for two, please." Behind him stood his sister, Iris, who Raeger had just come to mind the presence of. She was jotting something down in a notepad, seemingly ignorant of her surroundings and lost in her own little world.

Raeger couldn't help but stare at her, trying to decipher what exactly Mistel had meant by his earlier remark, before snapping back to reality at last. "Of course. Right this way." He moved past Fritz, muttering to him, "Get out of my kitchen," in a voice that only he could hear, which sounded more like a warning than it did a demand.

"But," Fritz began, about ready to turn around and rebut with the saddest-looking pair of dejected puppy-eyes, but Raeger was already out of the kitchen before he could do much of anything else.

"My, you are busy today," Mistel noted as he followed Raeger, observing every detail he passed by, from table to table, from person to person. "I'm sure if I had even half as many people in my antique shop as you do in your restaurant I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

"Please don't advertise in my restaurant," Raeger stated coolly. He stopped at an empty table and passed out two menus at either end of it.

"Was that advertising?" Mistel asked innocently, before he and his sister seated themselves down. "You have my apologies, Raeger. Like you, I suppose I haven't been very mindful of my speech as of late."

Raeger's cheeks brightened to a deep red. What did Mistel mean? Could he have possibly heard Raeger's slip-up too? The part where Raeger almost called Fritz "dear" and left it at that? And why would he even call him such a thing anyway?

"Mistel!" Iris snapped. Evidently, she was finally paying interest to the conversation. She slouched somewhat over the table and cupped a hand to the side of her mouth as if to conceal it from Raeger's view, then mouthed the word "behave" at her brother. In return he glanced off to the side and crossed his arms with a sour look, much like a child would. Then she straightened out her dress, flustered and distressed. "I'm sorry, Raeger." She pried her eyes from her lap to settle on the chef. "Please forgive my brother. He means it all in good humor, I'm sure."

"It's, uh... It's no problem," Raeger stammered. He took out a pen and a pad of paper, already looking down to write. "Can I get your orders?"

"The usual for me, please," Iris answered smoothly. She turned to her brother, who was drawing a cat head on the table with a packet of sugar he dumped out, his cheek resting tiredly in his other hand with an elbow propped up to support it. Her lips curled slightly upwards at the display. Maybe he went too far sometimes, sure, but her brother had a unique childish charm, one that was so unlike the rest of him. She nodded back at Raeger when she knew they weren't going to hear him comply. "And Mistel." She crossed her legs, and Raeger nodded in turn before scribbling down the orders and setting off. "Thank yooou!" she sang after him.

By the time Raeger made it back to the kitchen, his face finally cooled down. Well, that was a relief. Still, Mistel's words rang in his ears...

Thinking about it is only going to cause me unnecessary stress, he thought.

Yawning, he brushed past Fritz to where he was working earlier, not even aware that Fritz just about dropped his tomato. Fritz sneaked a glimpse at him to make sure he didn't notice. One mistake and he'd be out of the kitchen for sure. He watched him as he rubbed one eye and looked around the area for something, then quickly snapped his head away when he saw him turn in his direction.

"Fritz, could you... Never mind." Raeger let out a light sigh, then rested a hand atop Fritz's shoulder as he reached around him, his chest barely swiping across his back. Fritz jumped a little at the contact, the tomato fumbling in his hands again, but it didn't seem like Raeger was paying any attention. "It's probably best if you...don't touch sharp objects," Raeger finished, finally snatching a knife that was on the other side of Fritz. After that, he went back to where he was standing prior, and Fritz resumed his stare.

He yawned and rubbed at his eye again. "So what was it you said you needed again? Something about a tomato? Explain it to me in detail, please. Full detail. And in English."

"Uhmmm - well... It's...k-kinda embarrassing..." Fritz chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uhhh... Well... I...accidentally sold all of my tomatoes to the vendors."

Raeger stopped at his work to glance back at Fritz. Only Fritz was capable of "accidentally" selling anything... Raeger rolled his eyes away. He figured he must've forgot he needed them, though it still seemed unlikely... But with Fritz, anything was possible... Like how he was...almost...cute...when he confessed about things he was embarrassed about.

Stop thinking about that.

"... What a plot twist," he added dryly.

"I know, right!? And the festival's tomorrow! So that's why... Y'know... I was wondering if you still had the one I gave you the other day." Fritz picked up a different tomato and examined it. "Sooo... Yeah... Umm... S-sorry to give and take and all that..."

"... Festival?" Raeger thought aloud. Then it all clicked. "Oh. You mean the Harvest Festival, right?" He left for a second and then came back with a tomato, taking Fritz's wrist and placing it in his palm of his hand. "There ya go."

Fritz was blown away. "Whoa..." His eyes darted back and forth from the tomato to Raeger. "How did you know? Are you hiding magic from me or something? That's...awesome!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"... Uhhhhh..."

"... Wait..." Fritz's face fell. "You just gave me a random one to get me out of the kitchen, didn't you?"

"... Uhh, ummm..."

"... Or... No. Wait... You...kept this for me just in case...something like this happened?"

Raeger blushed profusely, but didn't say anything.

"What, really? Did I get it right?" Fritz beamed brightly, his smile growing so big it felt like it'd split his face in two. "Aww, really!? Raeger, that's so cu-"

To make sure no one heard him, Raeger cut him off by shoving him out of the kitchen. "Yes, yes... Just get out," he nearly growled.

When he was by himself in the kitchen again, he went back to work, trying to no avail to get his embarrassment to die down.

It was going to be a long day.

A/N: I know, I know. Short chapter is short. But can you believe it's still 2,800-something words? Whew. There will be longer chapters to come, though.

Let me know if I ended it too abruptly or anything. I'll try to fix it later if so. In fact, feel free to give any sort of criticism at all. I probably need it anyway.

I'd like to give a very special thanks to April O'Brien for always giving me such long and thoughtful reviews, and LiliaLolita, who was kind enough to share this story with other people. Thank you both so much!

And, of course, thanks to everyone who reads/favorites/follows/reviews as well!

"Thank yous" everywhere! :3