Hello everyone! Welcome back!

Chapter 4: Mess with Me

"Can you text Maya around 3 o'clock this afternoon?"

Klaus looked up from his desk, abruptly losing his concentration at the sound of Marian's grumbling voice.

"I'd rather not," he ventured slowly, furrowing his brow in confusion. Images of their interaction the day before rushed him in a wave of uncomfortable emotions. "Although may I ask why?"

"I think she's lying to me." Marian pouted, fiddling with a flower on Klaus's desk. He hadn't noticed the sudden paling of Klaus's cheeks, too busy thinking about the reasoning behind his request. The new farmer had been acting increasingly odd as of late, and Marian was determined to get to the bottom of things. It wasn't his business of course, but that hardly mattered.

Klaus suppressed a bitter laugh. The thought of sweet, innocent little Maya being anything but honest struck him as a delightful joke. "What makes you think that?"

"When you texted her last week after the Flower Fair," Marian mumbled, reflecting, "she told us it was a message from her father. I'm wondering why she said that."

Klaus frowned, a shudder rippling down his spine at the thought of being compared to the father of the girl he liked, even by association. Not that it mattered anymore, after the stunt he'd pulled yesterday.

He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking. It was true what he'd said; after working for so many hours in a row, Klaus found it difficult to police himself on the best of days. Still, he'd never been so brazen as to make a woman physically uncomfortable before, and he wanted nothing more than to formally apologize. On the other hand, he was sure Maya wanted nothing more to do with him. It was disheartening to say the least.

He chose not to offer a solution, instead letting Marian dwell on the issue while he returned to his latest project. He was leaving for the city very soon and hated having work unfinished on his desk.

It hardly mattered; Marian was happy for the silence, lost in his own thoughts on the issue.

Maya liked Klaus, that much he was sure of. And Klaus liked Maya, that much he was sure of, so why would she lie about his text? They all knew about her crush, and she knew that they all knew about her crush, so what gives? Marian chewed his lip. Unless there was someone in the room that Maya wanted to keep in the dark about her correspondence, for whatever reason.

Something clicked in Marian's head. A soft click, nothing concrete, but a knowing smirk found its way to his lips.

"Actually, make that 4." Marian corrected, knowing that Raeger would be joining them around that time for his break before the supper rush. Apparently, he'd chosen to ignore Klaus's refusal of his request.

He wasn't positive, but Marian was beginning to suspect that the cute little farmer's heart was starting to split itself down the middle.

Things were finally getting interesting in Oak Tree Town.

.

Good morning my beautiful love ;)

It was a simple thing, a morning text message from a friend, and far from the first of its kind, but on this particular morning Maya couldn't stop staring at her screen.

Raeger had followed the text with an apology, claiming he couldn't meet up with her as early as they'd planned; he had a last-minute brunch reservation for a party of seven. Maya didn't mind at all, she'd been enjoying the unexpected time to herself at the river, without Klaus.

After she'd spent herself crying yesterday, she'd managed to explain to Raeger what had happened. He was angry, as she'd expected, but he calmed quickly at her urging. He invited her to spend the rest of her day at the restaurant with him, and she'd gladly agreed, losing herself in whatever busy work she could find to take her mind off things.

Ever since, he'd been more attentive than normal. She'd received many texts from him throughout the evening and into the night, checking up on her and telling her as many ridiculous jokes he could come up with, each one making her smile. Raeger was a good friend, one that she was happy to have by her side.

Still, after the third rereading of Raeger's first message of the day, Maya's stomach was flipping. She caught herself smiling while she was tending to the animals, while she was watering her crops, and while she made her way down the mountain path towards town. If she didn't know any better, she'd say she was smitten.

But that just couldn't be.

Even as she thought it, the same sense of 'wrong' that she'd felt when flirting with Klaus took root in her stomach. She'd told herself before that Raeger was off the table, but… why, exactly?

Maya shook her head adamantly. They'd been through this already. The kiss they'd shared was proof that they didn't belong together- it didn't work, and it would never work. Maya knew that. Or at least, she thought she did.

For the first time since it'd happened, Maya let herself think about the kiss. Raeger was an amazing kisser, although she already suspected that. His lips were soft and warm, his touch gentle, his movements slow and sensual, and yet he commanded the kiss with a dizzying dominance that made her blush even thinking about it.

So, what had gone wrong?

Maya thought back, and the answer came to her quicker than she'd have liked.

Iris and Klaus, the whole reason for the kiss in the first place. How had she forgotten? The glaringly obvious reason Maya and Raeger would never work out- he was in love with another woman. At the time, that wasn't a problem. But after yesterday, Maya wasn't so sure she was in the same boat.

She thought about Klaus. He'd texted her early this morning as well, apologizing profusely for his inappropriate behaviour, but strangely Maya didn't care. She accepted his apology, and… well, that was it.

When did things get so complicated?

Maya suppressed a heavy sigh, forcing her mind back to the present where she was looking for flowers to forage for Asche. It didn't take her long to find, Blue Magic Flowers were in season, and the little royal buds were peppering the river bed in abundance. She found a patch that were mostly fully grown, realizing with annoyance that she forgot her cutters.

"What is wrong with me today?" She lamented, pulling her phone out of her dress pocket. Raeger's message was still open, and it was the first thing to greet her after she activated her screen.

Good morning my beautiful love ;)

It was teasing, and sweet, and it made her smile. But now she began to wonder… could it someday be more than that?

Maya groaned, yanking a blue flower from the ground with much greater force than she'd intended.

She was thinking about this too much, that was obvious.

Indecision was never a strong suit of hers. There was every possibility that these budding feelings were a passing notion- once things settled down, her crush on Raeger would go away and she'd be back to pursuing Klaus with just as much determination as before, if she hadn't already broken it beyond repair. The more she moped about the chef, the more work she'd have to do later to convince Klaus that he'd been wrong, that she'd been wrong to push him away. If she was. If he was. If-

"Stop, Maya!"

She huffed, picking away at the patch. Maya would simply have to wait out this damned blossoming infatuation and ignore it in the meantime.

That's exactly what it was, if it was anything at all, wasn't it? An infatuation.

It was all that kiss, Maya decided. She couldn't deny the physical attraction she felt for him. Hell, even Marian acknowledged that Raeger was handsome. Throw on top of that how close they already were, and it was only natural that she'd feel a pull towards him. Given some time, the allure would pass, and all of this confusion would be over once and for all.

Maya crawled deeper into the thick flower patch, taking a moment to catch her breath. The summer sun was relentless today, and she could already feel her skin missing the cool water at the river bed as she began to methodically pick away.

.

Raeger took a deep, steadying breath of fresh air.

The brunch that he'd booked was finally served and happy, chatting amongst themselves as they picked at the remainder of their food. He enjoyed catering to large groups- it brought in amazing business for the restaurant- but it was tiring. After ensuring that each guest had everything they needed, Raeger stepped outside to collect himself.

The day was bright and sunny, exactly what Oak Tree needed in the beginning stages of Summer. Raeger wasn't particularly outdoorsy as some of the townsfolk were, but he loved the sun. He missed it when it rained, and in the Winter, he longed for it. Too bad he had to spend most of his day in his kitchen, away from the windows.

"Good morning Klaus!"

Veronica's voice caught Raeger's ear, calling out to the perfumer as he wandered past Otmar's shop. Raeger felt an immediate surge of anger as he watched the older man smile and greet the Guild Master with polite enthusiasm.

How fucking dare he.

Raeger had never seen Maya so upset. The sight had put the fear of Goddess in him, any number of terrible scenarios running through his mind once he'd realised that Klaus was involved. His first thought had been the worst, the possibility of Klaus forcing himself on Maya igniting a raging inferno of fury in Raeger's heart.

After he'd calmed down, he realised that Klaus would likely never do something like that. Still, the sight of the perfumer casually going about his day set Raeger's teeth on edge. He suspected Maya would like to avoid him as well, so he pulled out his phone with the intention of warning her.

"That's odd," Raeger frowned, glancing at the time displayed on his screen. Maya had responded to his apologies by informing him that she would be at the river all morning, and it was now nearly one o'clock.

A tickle of unease crept down Raeger's back, but he pushed it aside. He was being foolish. Maya always did have a tendency to lose track of time. He was overthinking things, that's all.

Even with that thought clasped firmly in the front of his mind, Raeger pulled out his phone and texted Maya to see what time she would be over. He waited a breath, then two, then three, and shoved his phone back into his pocket in frustration.

Maya was generally a quick texter but depending on what she was doing it could take her hours to respond. Raeger knew that, and yet her silence made him worry all the more. Now he was surely being ridiculous, but he couldn't squash the thought that she might need him.

"Stop it, Raeger," he chastised, biting his bottom lip. Maya was fine. She was definitely, totally fine. His worry was residual, a by-product of the deep fear he'd felt upon seeing her yesterday. That must be it.

But…

Before the thought had fully formed, Raeger stuck his head inside the restaurant to inform his guests that he would be back in a short while. They'd already settled their bill, so they were free to mingle until he returned. He wouldn't be going far, after all, just past the piedmont.

If Maya was alright, and Raeger was sure that she was, then he was being silly. But it wouldn't hurt to go and check. He could deal with the bit of teasing Maya would undoubtedly dole out if it meant he could put his worries to rest.

Quickening his step, Raeger set off towards the river.

.

"Hey, Maya!"

A sharp, cheery cry caught Maya's attention as she plucked the last of the fully bloomed flowers from the ground. She had almost enough now, short only one or two, and her knees and hands were aching from the effort she'd spent.

Maya looked up from her work only to be blinded by a mop of fiery red hair, loping towards her from the bridge.

"Hey Fritz," she smiled, brushing the dirt from her skirts. She tried her best to hide the disappointment in her voice; Fritz was nice enough, but she was a bit tired to be dealing with the rambunctious farmer today, but that was hardly Fritz's fault. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Fritz grinned, revealing a chipped tooth to her. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

In a sense, he was right. Maya and Fritz hadn't seen each other much, not since the infamous kissing incident he'd walked in on. She didn't particularly mind all that much; Fritz was exhausting to be around.

"I've been really busy, I guess," she shrugged, jerking her chin to the growing pile of flowers she was collecting. With any luck, Fritz would take the hint and leave her to her work. "Gotta keep up with everyone else, you know?"

"I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Raeger," Fritz pushed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Maya inwardly groaned. She knew she was hoping for a miracle by expecting Fritz not to make any jokes. "Don't tell me you've been avoiding me to be with him, have you?"

Maybe she should've went straight into town after all.

"We are very good friends," she agreed, putting as much emphasis on the word 'friends' as she could manage without sounding painfully obvious. Hadn't she just had this debate with herself? "He's helped me a lot since I moved."

"Do you make out with all of your friends?" Fritz chuckled, his amusement growing with the blush on Maya's cheeks.

There it was, the inevitable teasing had begun.

"I thought Raeger talked to you about that," Maya grumbled, returning her attention to the wildflowers. She already picked the last ones, but she busied herself with the weeds surrounding them anyway.

"He did," Fritz mused, picking some dirt from beneath his nails. Maya glanced at him from the corner of her eye; from the looks of it, Fritz had never cleaned his nails before now. She looked away again. "Not sure if I believe him though."

"Well you should," Maya insisted, delivering the words with conviction. "But even if you don't, you said you'd keep it quiet right?"

The pause that followed her question made Maya tense. She'd learned from Raeger not to rush Fritz, but the longer he stalled the more anxious she became. Eventually, she couldn't focus on the flowers anymore, instead staring up at him from her perch on the ground.

"I'll keep it quiet…" Fritz trailed, a blink of mischief shining in his irises. "In exchange for a kiss!"

Maya blanched, standing abruptly.

"You must be joking," she furrowed her brows, facing him to better gauge his expression. He laughed but held his sly grin.

"Nope!" He sang, bouncing on his heels. Maya resisted the urge to sigh- this was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. Now she knew she should've gone straight into town. "I want you to kiss me."

"I'm not going to kiss you Fritz, really." Maya huffed, trying to keep her temper in check. Fritz could be irritating at times, but his ignorance to some boundaries had a tendency to set her teeth on edge. "Can you please just not tell anyone?"

"If you kiss me!" Fritz giggled again, grabbing Maya's arm and pulling her towards him. Maya yelped in surprise, catching her footing and hauling herself free of his grasp. Her panic only made Fritz laugh more, delighted by his successful prank.

"Fritz, stop it," Maya frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "That isn't funny."

"I think it's funny!" Fritz teased, still bent forward at the hips. Maya took another step back, distrustful of his temporary cooperation- if that's what she could call it. "Come on Maya, you seem like you'd be a good kisser! And I am too, promise!"

"Fritz!" Maya snapped, her cheeks flushing red. She could feel her stomach twisting in distaste the longer he spoke. After what had happened with Klaus yesterday… she wasn't sure she could take much more. "I'm serious! I'm not going to kiss you."

"Why not?" Fritz whined, stamping his foot into the ground like a toddler. Maya tightened her fists until her knuckles whitened. "That's really not fair you know."

"A kiss with someone should mean something," Maya defended, trying again to reason with his joke. Fritz had a tendency to take things too far; now it was only a matter of making him realise it. "I can't just go around kissing everybody whenever they ask me to!"

"At least a kiss with me would mean more than a kiss with Raeger," Fritz laughed, his scarf falling loose from his neck. "Raeger will kiss just about anyone."

The unexpected words hit Maya like a slap to the face. She blinked in surprise pain, her heart clenching in her chest.

Why did that hurt so much?

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Maya agreed, trying for a dismissive smile. Her mother always told her that bad things came in threes. After Klaus and Fritz, what else would she be dealing with today?

"I mean, he's kissed so many people already!" Fritz continued, poking fun at his good friend. He barely noticed Maya's paling expression. "Pretty much every girl in town now, including you."

Tears rolled down Maya's cheeks before she could even think about stopping them. She was still feeling off by the events of yesterday, so it was only natural that she'd get upset, but crying? Again? That wasn't like her, and the realisation only made her angry. Summer was shaping up to be a pitiful month.

"I've only kissed two, so I'm nowhere close to Raeger. But I'm still pretty good, I think!"

She didn't need to deal with this today. Maya was angry, tired, and emotionally spent, wasn't that enough?

Raeger didn't care about her, not in that way. She knew that. She always knew that. And she wasn't entirely sure she cared about him in that way either, so then why did Fritz's words fill her with so much sadness?

"Maya?" Fritz's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Her nose and eyes were red with sorrow, and the rambunctious farmer had finally noticed. "Are you okay? What did I say?"

Maya shook her head, wiping her tears away viciously. She couldn't cry anymore, not now. There was nothing to cry over. If she said that enough, she could convince herself it was true.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, shuffling his feet. Fritz reached for her, hoping to comfort her in some way, but his hand was stopped before it made contact.

"Huh?"

Fritz turned to see Raeger, his hand clamped around Fritz's wrist, stopping him from coming any closer to Maya.

"What's going on here?" Raeger snapped, his voice a mingling of confusion and protective anger. Maya turned to him in surprise, blinking away the remainder of her unshed tears.

"I-I'm sorry!" Fritz stammered, panic still bright in his eyes. "I was just teasing! I didn't mean to hurt her feelings!"

Raeger held his glare, trying to form the right words. He was angry- far angrier than he expected he'd be. When he'd seen Fritz leaning into Maya like that- while tears stained her cheeks- well, even the thought made his stomach twist.

"It's fine, Fritz." Maya interrupted, placing her hand gently on Raeger's arm. He felt himself relax a little at her touch. The red-haired farmer looked frantically between the two of them, not sure what he should do.

"Go home, okay?" He told Fritz, sternly but trying not to sound harsh. Fritz nodded, scurrying down the hill without further prompting. He wasn't sure what he did, but he wanted to get away from Maya as quickly as he possibly could.

As Fritz took off, Raeger released a long, steadying breath. He braced himself and turned to Maya, his heart thudding as he took in her tired expression. His stomach twisted tighter, his fingers twitching.

"Are you okay?" Raeger asked gently, reaching to wipe the dampness away from Maya's face with his thumb. The warm summer breeze brushed against her cheek, following Raeger's fingers. His touch was so kind, as he always was.

"I'm fine," she promised, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Don't apologize," Raeger chuckled, brushing her hair from her face and tucking it securely behind her ear. "Whatever happened, I'm sure it was Fritz's fault."

Maya laughed, feeling some of the weight lift from her shoulders.

"He wanted me to kiss him," she explained, rolling her eyes to soften her words. "He was joking, but… I think after what happened with Klaus yesterday it just touched a nerve."

"Man," Raeger shook his head, glancing over his shoulder towards where Fritz had taken off. "You're popular lately. Maybe I should stick around you more, clearly you need a bodyguard."

"If you stick around me any more than you already do, people will start to think we're married," Maya laughed, warmed by the banter. "Besides, you've already kissed me. These guys are just trying to get on our level of friendship."

It was Raeger's turn to laugh now, a loud, unexpected laugh.

"You have a point," he chuckled, slinging his arm comfortably over Maya's shoulders. "But since attempting to kiss you seems to be a trend now, I could always try for a round two."

Maya shoved him, much to Raeger's amusement.

"Hey," he started, squeezing her gently. Maya felt her heart flutter at the sudden seriousness in his tone. "I know Fritz can be a colossal douche sometimes, but he didn't mean any harm. I promise."

Intentional harm or otherwise, Raeger would be having words with Fritz later when Maya wasn't around. After the conversation they'd had the other night, Raeger was less than amused at this little stunt. Before she noticed, he took a deep breath and pushed his annoyance aside.

"No, I know," Maya smiled. "I'm just… not myself today."

Raeger looked like he wanted to question her about that, but he bit his tongue. He knew what it was like, wanting desperately to keep thoughts to yourself.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around Maya and held her tightly to his chest. Maya was startled, but she sank into his embrace happily. She hadn't realised how much she missed his warmth until she was engulfed in it again, Raeger's heart beating soothingly against her ear, the scent of his cologne surrounding her; it alighted the butterflies in her stomach. Maya nuzzled his chest, wrapping her arms around him in kind.

"What are you doing here?" She asked suddenly, realising that he should be at the restaurant. Raeger laughed a little, squeezing her.

"You're going to think this is stupid as hell," Raeger admitted reluctantly, trying to avoid looking at her. She'd rarely seen him embarrassed before, and Maya couldn't supress her giggle. "I had a feeling something was up, so I was on my way to check on you."

She had no idea how Raeger had known she needed him, hell she didn't even know she did, but somehow, he had been there for her as he always seemed to be.

Fritz's words repeated in her mind, but she pushed them away fiercely. Raeger cared about her, she meant something to him, even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted. Whatever that might be. That would simply have to do for now.

"I'm thinking about trying out some new recipes tonight," Raeger exclaimed suddenly, his cheek on the top of her head. Maya tilted her neck to look at him. "Do you want to join me? I'll let you eat all the failed ones."

Maya scrunched her nose.

"The last time you made me eat a failed dish, I threw up." She grumbled, remembering the disgustingly strong taste of trout and oregano. Raeger erupted in laughter, squeezing her.

"Alright, I guess you can try the good ones," he conceded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But I expect something in return for my generosity…"

Maya raised an eyebrow at him, breaking their embrace at last.

"How about I let you walk out of the kitchen with both legs in tact?" She grinned at Raeger's crestfallen expression. "Thank you," she added softly. Raeger didn't say anything, but his answering smile said all it needed to.

"Come on," he insisted, changing their direction to the path that would lead them back into town. "It's going to get windy soon. We should get inside."

So, just to be clear, I don't dislike Fritz, and he genuinely wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I just think he's the most likely character in the game to have this sort of interaction with Maya!

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