Jill woke up with her body aching. She had lost track of time while sitting in the rain, and now had to live with the consequences of aching muscles with a full day of work still ahead. Stretching her arms above her head to alleviate some of the stiffness, Jill crawled out of bed to get ready for the day. She was going to have to take work slowly; the fireworks festival usually ran until midnight. Still, knowing that Skye wouldn't dare show his face in front of so many townspeople gave her comfort to move through the day without worry.
Marlin woke up with to the sun shining on his face. He felt stronger than he had in a long time. He quickly got out of bed and dressed for the day. He ate heartily at breakfast, much to Vesta and Celia's relief. For some reason, when Marlin was in a good mood, everyone in the house had a good mood. Maybe he should be more energetic from time to time. He wouldn't change right away, of course. He was still pretty reserved about his feelings and only smiled when there was a legitimate reason. But as he headed out to water the fields, he felt change on the horizon... and that felt pretty good.
Skye woke up in complete darkness, just like every morning. He rubbed his eyes and sluggishly walked over to the window. He pushed the curtains open and winced at the strength of the daylight shining full-force into his eyes. He was more of a night owl, really. Walking over to a table laden with scattered papers of all shapes and sizes, Skye sleepily reached for the area itinerary. The words were smudged from the walk in the rain, but it wasn't useless. Giving a yawn, Skye circled the three potential targets in the valley and set the paper back on the table. He really wasn't a morning person. Tonight was the fireworks festival, which meant he would steal the important things while everyone was out. The least important of the three targets he would make public so he could make headway on the Jill project.
Something was at work in the valley that day. As Jill did her chores, Marlin did his work, and Skye did his planning, their heartbeats and actions seemed tied together by a line that could not be seen to the human eye. Jill found out from Takakura that her storage space for her money was full. Marlin looked up the hill every now and then, as if he could sense Skye lurking for the right moment to agitate him again. Skye watched the village intently from his hiding spot on the mountain. He saw Marlin gaze in his direction more than once, and he saw Jill and Takakura's conversation. As they all worked and went about the day, something was different. That day, they all realized, was the start of a battle that would only end with one true victor. Skye would win if he stole Jill's heart away from Marlin and succeed in stealing her money. Marlin would win if he was able to make Jill see him as someone to spend the rest of her life with. Jill would win only if the man she married loved her more than any of the three could possibly imagine. Who would win?
The rest of the day played out like a normal day in the valley. Jill and Marlin finished chores, and Skye got some rest before the heists began. Soon, the sun started to set on the valley, and the villagers flocked to the beach to witness what Patrick and Kasey had worked on the entire year: a fireworks show to top every show they had ever seen. As soon as the journey to the beach began, Skye woke to his alarm clock and put on a smile. Jill looked over in the direction of the setting sun anxiously, knowing that she would have to talk to Marlin. Marlin headed towards the beach with Vesta and Celia, his heart strong and his body light. Celia watched Marlin stride ahead of them, and found herself smiling fondly. Maybe... maybe she did like him.
The whole village was on the beach by the time Jill got the courage to go. Families and friends talked loudly together, setting down blankets and settling in for the fantastic fireworks show. Jill saw many people laughing, others pouting, and even more just talking like they did any other day. That was when she saw him. Marlin stood, hands in his pockets, looking at the sky with a smile. Celia looked up to him with a smile, and Vesta was spreading a blanket down for them to sit on. As the sun dipped completely below the horizon, Marlin seemed... solid. For the first time in a long time, Jill found that Marlin looked like... a man. Jill walked up to him nervously, the shyness she had when she had first come to the village coming back as she reached up to tap his shoulder. Jill shook her head.
'No...' Jill thought, 'This is Marlin! Your best friend, remember? No need to be nervous! Just... smile!'
Jill relaxed and smiled. She tapped his shoulder and he turned around, the last rays of sun illuminating his face like that of a lost angel.
"Yo, you're here?" Marlin said, greeting her by raising his hand, "Man, I love fireworks. I wait for this every year..." Jill struggled to stay relaxed. What was this? She had watched the fireworks with Marlin, Vesta, and Celia last year, but watching them together now felt different. She felt like there were things they needed to say before they moved any further but... Jill kept her cool and nodded.
"Yeah, I know," Jill grinned, "You've been ready for them since last winter. Do you remember? We were at the bar, and right after you finished your drink you just looked up and sighed, 'I wish there were fireworks tonight. I don't think I can wait another half a year.', like you had lost your first love." Marlin chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You remembered that?" Marlin asked, "Man, I should watch what I say around you." Jill laughed. Now was the moment. Her heart skipped a beat. She went for it.
"So... do you want to go watch them," Jill paused, "together?" Marlin blinked, not quite picking up what she had said. Celia's head turned slightly; she had been listening in on the conversation since Marlin had turned around. Marlin thought about it for a few seconds, and then realized she meant away from Celia and Vesta. A slow smile broke onto his face. Jill blushed and Marlin laughed.
"Yeah," Marlin nodded, "That'd be great. Let's go find a spot." Jill exhaled for the first time in what had seemed like an eternity, and Marlin took her hand and walked towards the shoreline like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jill followed behind closely, the last rays of sun dipping below the horizon. The fireworks were about to begin. Marlin found a small, empty space near the front and sat down, Jill following suit. The space was cramped; Jill's arms and legs brushed up against Marlin in the attempt not to be entering Ruby's personal bubble. Marlin found it hard to breathe with Jill sitting so close to him, but not for the normal reason. He didn't feel sick, but as he looked at Jill's long brown hair and tanned skin in the moonlight, his stomach still felt odd.
"I'm sorry I didn't find a bigger space," Marlin said, breaking the silence, "I just thought the closer we were to the fireworks, the better they'd look." Jill looked over at Marlin and smiled in reply. She knew he hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable. For now, she was just enjoying the smell of the salty air and the warmth coming from Marlin's body. It was a chilly night for summer. Jill wrapped her arms around herself and sighed.
"I'm pretty cold," Jill said softly, "I think Fall might come a couple days early this year." Marlin looked over at her and then down at himself. He hadn't brought a coat for himself, either. Martin cleared his throat and tried to think of something. Soon, he got an idea.
"Well," Marlin sighed, "You can lean on me. It might be warmer that way." Jill looked over at Marlin and smiled. Marlin looked up at the sky, waiting for the announcement. He was caught by surprise when Jill closed the already small gap between them and laid her head on his shoulder. Marlin was stiff for a moment, but he reacted quickly afterwards by draping his arm around her waist. They had never been so near to each other before. Even when you had known someone for so long, you still had an infinite amount to learn just by being close.
"That's better." Jill said. The first firework exploded in the sky, brilliantly filling the air with an exciting shade of green. Jill loved the thrill of watching fireworks. The explosions made her heart race and her eyes go crazy. She only wanted to take everything in, her eyes trying their hardest to retain the vision long after the light faded into the ocean. After each one exploded, she swore she could taste the light on her tongue as it illuminated her mind and calmed her thoughts.
Skye had finished the thefts in time to catch the fireworks, secretly applauding himself on a job well done. He was on a tall hill beside the beach. He figured more people would watch the fireworks from here if they knew how to climb up. He rather enjoyed his private spots in the valley. The fireworks exploded loudly in the air, making Skye's heart race. Despite having stolen from Kasey and Patrick before, Skye absolutely loved the work they did. If it hadn't been such an enticing challenge, he would have left it alone. Halfway through the show, Skye looked to the beach. His eyes scanned the crowd of people, wondering if anyone had stayed home. But, soon he caught sight of something... interesting. Marlin and Jill were cuddling together in the front. They seemed squeezed between two other groups, but there was no reason to be that close. Skye frowned and looked back to the sky. If Marlin insisted on being an annoyance, he would have to take care of his feelings for her... or perhaps... take care of her feelings for him. Skye looked back down to the beach and quickly spotted Celia. Instead of looking at the sky, she looked longingly ahead of her, straight at Marlin and Jill. Skye smiled. A plan was already forming in his head. He looked back up to the fireworks, a bright green star lighting the sky.
'You're jealous,' Skye thought to himself. Why had he thought of it? As the next color flashed by, purple, he found himself looking over at Marlin and Jill again. They were too close... but why did he care? Was it really for the money? Skye forced his eyes back to the sky, but constantly had to keep his eyes from wandering. 'Where is her smile?' Skye thought to himself, 'Can she really be all that happy? If I were with her, I would at least make sure she could smil- No...' Skye shook his head. That wasn't his concern. All he needed to do was make her fall out of love with Marlin and in love with him. He had never done something like this before. 'Let's make this the only time,' Skye thought to himself, watching another firework, red, flash brightly in the sky, 'No need to learn the same lesson twice.' Skye put his hand over his chest and felt his heart race. For the first time since he'd started the project, he considered the very high possibility that it wasn't just the fireworks.
"I love the fireworks," Marlin said calmly, "I feel like I could watch them forever and never get tired of them." Jill nodded in reply, taking in the thrilling sensation. Not soon after, she realized that something felt wrong. She had often heard it said that kisses were like fireworks. The emotions fireworks and kisses instilled in you were the same. Had she really felt that with Marlin? Even though she was sitting so close to him, leaning on his shoulder like she had been doing this for years, the fireworks didn't seem any different from the last time she had seen them. Was Marlin really the one? How could you sit so close to someone without feeling anything but normal? It felt natural to be so close... but it was anything but exciting. Jill remembered her kiss with Skye and she lifted her head. What had that kiss felt like? Jill had been shocked by its sudden arrival, but it had inspired her to run all of the way home without stopping. What had it felt like? The finale of fireworks started, leaving the villagers in awe. Halfway through, Jill looked up to the sky being lit up with all different colors and shapes like her entire life flashing before her eyes.
"Like that," Jill whispered, "It felt like that." Marlin was too mystified to notice Jill's whisper. Jill scooted away from Marlin as the show ended, the villagers clapping. Jill joined in, forgetting her recent troubles. Even if Skye's kiss had felt like that, it could have just been the unexpected nature of it. Maybe it was a fluke. It would take much more than a good kiss for her to fall in love with a thief. Besides, all kisses had to get boring after a time. Not every kiss was going to feel like a firework once she got married... would it? There was more to love than excitement. Marlin looked over at Jill. He could tell she was thinking deeply about something. Was it good? He hoped so. Marlin stretched his arms above his head and gave a yawn.
"Well," Marlin sighed, "It's pretty late. We should probably be heading back." Jill was still deep in thought. Marlin placed his hand on her shoulder and she snapped back to reality.
"Oh! Oh yeah," Jill said, "I have to be up in six hours, after all." Marlin sighed.
"I wish you wouldn't work yourself so hard," Marlin stated. But Jill was already deep in thought again. Marlin frowned and started to walk towards Celia and Vesta. Jill followed slowly, inhaling the smoke of the charred ruins; it was all that remained of the giants that had demanded her full attention such a short time ago, a solemn reminder of how brief things of beauty could be. Jill was soon standing beside Marlin. He was discussing the fireworks with Celia. Jill looked up and immediately bent down to help Vesta fold the blanket. Vesta shot an appreciative smile Jill's way before continuing. When the blanket was folded, Marlin turned to Jill.
"Thanks for watching with me." Marlin said. Jill nodded and smiled, watching the three walk away. Even though she knew it was late, Jill was pulled in by the waves in the moonlight. Jill could taste the salty air on her lips, and she was too tired to think of anything too seriously now. Jill looked around and slipped off her shoes, feeling the coarse sand between her toes. She looked up to the unpolluted sky and lifted her arms. She never forced herself to stay up so late. She would probably come here more often when she found the time. Jill walked until the ocean water washed over her feet. The water was freezing, but it was nicer than the walk home would have been.
Skye was about to leave before he saw the farmer stay behind and take off her shoes. Skye chuckled to himself and climbed down onto the beach as the farmer had her back turned. He walked up to her silently and tapped her shoulder. Jill whirled around, shocked to see Skye laughing at her sudden reaction. His mood was different from the last time she had seen him. She still remembered his rain soaked clothing, droplets of water dripping off of his beautiful silver strands. The sad look in his eyes was gone, replaced with life and joy. She never knew what this guy would say next. He was the opposite of Marlin. She was comfortable when she should have been uncomfortable with Marlin. With Skye, she was uncomfortable even when she should have been comfortable. Jill offered a shaky smile back, wondering how crazy she looked on a scale of 1-10. She had to be up in less than six hours, and here she was standing barefoot in the ocean talking to a known thief.
"Going for a midnight ocean viewing?" Skye asked, "I understand the allure. I am a night owl after all."
"Oh? By habit or profession?" Jill asked quickly. Skye smirked. She was a quick witted one, Jill. Jill barely kept herself from smiling.
"So, what's holding you back?" Skye asked with a raised eyebrow. Jill's eyes widened and she looked to Skye. How had he...?
"Holding me back from what?" Jill asked. Skye ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the moon. The smoke from the fireworks had faded away, giving way to a beautiful full moon that illuminated the sky.
"From being yourself," Skye said, "I may be a thief but I'm not the worst person in the world. In fact, I'd probably say I'm one of the better ones." Jill sighed at his response, not knowing what argument to combat first.
"How do you figure you're one of the better people?" Jill asked, "You blatantly steal people's things. I don't know of a mean person in this valley. They don't deserve to be stolen from." Skye laughed. She was so naive. She had a very straight moral compass, that was for sure.
"Oh?" Skye asked, "I suppose you don't think having too much is as big a treachery as stealing is. Let me enlighten you on the subject. When people have too much, they tend to get greedy for more. Every purchase feeds a hole that they've created in themselves, a need for the next, newest, and brightest. You even see it here in the valley. Galen has 16 fishing poles. Carter has hundreds of potentially important artifacts hidden away. Griffin's drink would have been on the shelf until the day he died. The necklace from the mansion hadn't seen the light of day for 13 years. Kasey and Patrick make fireworks for a living, but some of their most fantastic works are tossed away. Kate's got an extensive and expensive teddy bear collection, Ruby has interesting things from all over the world hiding in bins under her bed." Skye paused to look Jill in the eye before continuing. "Do I think that these people deserve to be stolen from? Honestly, no. But when I don't leave a note that something's being stolen, I haven't heard one instance of somebody even knowing the item was missing."
Jill looked at Skye, the moon illuminating his eyes. They were filled with life. She could tell he was passionate about this, and his eyes, beautiful green eyes that seemed to stare into her soul, seemed to be on fire. She had never really thought about stealing that way. She couldn't condone what he was doing, but she couldn't really say that he was doing a completely bad thing anymore. She remembered her life in the city, how she had stored many things in bins and never saw them again. Jill broke her eye contact with Skye and looked up at the moon once more.
"So... you do want to steal then?" Jill asked, "You seem pretty passionate about it." Skye blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. It was true that he was passionate about stealing. But, he did have a new love slowly creeping into his heart. Somehow, learning to cook curry provided a challenge that he had never even considered. He swiftly became a master of taste following old recipes, but after tasting some made by his close friends, he realized how diverse even one dish could become. Still...
"Stealing... I don't know." Skye said. For the first time, he felt completely honest about it. "You know, I started as a teenager. When you start so young, you're optimistic about the cause. You know you do it for the right reason and you think that there's nothing else you want to do for the rest of your life." Jill looked back to Skye. She knew how he felt. She had gone to college and gotten a degree in psychology. She had wanted to be a therapist for so long. But, when she graduated and looked back, she already felt unsure about where her life was headed. Shortly afterwards, her mother died. Her life hadn't been the same since. By some miracle, she had found her calling.
"What would you do if you didn't steal?" Jill asked, "I mean, there's got to be something else you like." Skye smiled. She was sucking answers out of him like a vacuum. Somehow, that was okay. He wanted to answer.
"I-" Skye stopped himself and blushed. Jill watched him curiously. This guy was so confident about thieving. She wondered what on earth could possibly make him blush. "I think I want to make curry." Jill blinked for a second, a smile breaking onto her face. Was he serious? Jill tried to imagine him cooking curry behind a kitchen counter. He would look good in a chef's hat.
"Really?" Jill smiled, "I don't mean to be rude but... that's quite the job switch." Skye laughed. He was glad he wasn't the only one who thought so.
"I know," Skye said, "But as it turns out, I'm really good at making curry. It smells fantastic and I've been doing a lot of tasting other people's dishes lately. They all say it's great, but... I still haven't found that one item it's missing. When I take a bite, it's mouth watering but... not quite there." Jill watched Skye speak about making curry and was astonished to see the same passion in his eyes. But, it was different somehow. It was a kinder sort of passion, an earnest will to do something different. He could change.
"Love," Jill answered, "You need to cook it with love." Jill looked down at her feet in the ocean water. It reminded her of simpler days with her family. She and Jack would play in the ocean and her mother and father would set up a picnic on the beach. Even though her mother would always make something simple, she made it with all of the love in the world. Jill had never tasted a better dish than those simple sandwiches they ate on the beach.
"Love.." Skye repeated, getting a feel for the word. It was a word he seldom thought of. When he had lost his mother and father, he had been completely drained of all the love they had given him over the years. His grandmother didn't even attempt to nurture him. She gave him a room and plenty of room to stay away from her. But, he had experienced glimpses of love. The love of friendship throughout school, the love of engagements in the streets of the city, the love of a parent to a child... "I think I get it now," Skye said distantly. Snapping back to reality, he grinned at Jill. "I'll try it and see how it goes. Maybe I'll cook some for you next time. I'm excited to see what you think." Jill gave an honest smile and nodded.
"I should probably get back now," Jill said, "I have to work pretty early in the morning." Skye nodded. He knew her schedule like the back of his hand. Not that she needed to know that. Skye smiled.
"I understand. I would walk you back, but on the off chance somebody's still awake," Skye paused, "There's no need for a good girl like you to be seen with a guy like me." Jill nodded and Skye waved, walking into town and out of the valley.
Jill walked back to her shoes and picked them up. Not wanting them to get sandy, Jill walked home barefoot, careful not to step on anything. What just happened? Did she actually become friends with a thief? No... she had become friends with Skye. Without another thought, Jill walked silently to her house and dropped her shoes in front of the door, falling asleep even before her head hit the pillow.
