CHAPTER 10 - Talk

Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights over Harvest Moon or any of the characters mentioned in this fanfic.

I did make up some of the characters though (like Grayson).

Please forgive any spelling mistakes. My native language is not english, as you can see.

...

That afternoon at the farm had been surprisingly pleasant. Marlin was hesitant at first, but he desperately needed some rest and ironically enough Jill was the only one he could rely on. The last thing he wanted was to have Vesta see him in this condition, because he knew if his disease didn't kill him she would. The older woman tended to get really worked up when her brother acted so reckless, ignoring the doctor's recommendation of not overworking himself, specially during that time of the year.

Jill had spent the day tending to the blue eyed man, who laid in her bed. She could tell he was tense for letting her see him in such a pathetic state, but tried her best to just leave him alone for most of the time. She only dared intrude a couple of times, once to give him some medicine, and the other in order to feed him some soup.

A few hours later Marlin decided he was fine enough to go back home and took off. He thanked Jill for letting him rest at her place, telling her someday he would repay her for her kindness.

The next day Jill decided she would pay Marlin another visit, just so she could check up on him. He was leaning against the walls outside of the seed shop, drinking a warm cup of coffee. He saw her coming his way and raised his hand calmly, greeting the girl in silence.

"Hey.. I was worried about you, so I decided to drop by.", she gave him a small smile, stopping next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Much better now.", he nodded, drinking his coffee slowly. "Do you want to come inside and have some coffee?"

The brunette blinked, surprised by how friendly he was acting. Marlin was definetly beginning to soften up to her. "Sure."

The two farmers went inside, heading straight to Vesta's kitchen. The house was empty as its residents were currently working at the shop, as usual. Marlin filled a cup with warm coffee and handed it over to Jill, who thanked him and placed it in front of her on the table.

"I told them I went to the pound yesterday, to do some thinking.", he said casually, taking the seat across from her. "They know I usually go there to be alone, so they didn't get suspicious or anything."

"I'm glad to hear it.", Jill sipped on her coffee, then carefully placed it down again. "But really, Marlin, you should go see Dr Trent or something. You were coughing blood, you know."

"Nah, I just overdid it on the work. I'll try to take it easy from now on.", Marlin sighed, scratching the back of his head. He felt Jill's doubtful gaze upon him, and he gave her an awkward grin. "I mean it."

"Well, you're not a kid anymore.", she shook her head, not entirely convinced he could watch his own back. "If you say so..."

They paused their conversation for a moment, enjoying the warmness and the taste of the coffee. It was specially good in the winter. The aroma was delicious, too. Jill shot her eyes up at the blue eyed man as she felt his gaze upon her. He blushed slightly.

"Uh..", he mumbled, tapping his fingers anxiously against the table. "Thank you for lending me your bed yesterday."

"You've thanked me enough, Marlin.", Jill chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah, but no one had been this kind to me before.", he said, a shy smile creeping up his lips. "Well, except for my sister and Celia. I guess... what I'm trying to say is..."

Jill quirked a brow at the man before her, drinking another gulp of coffee. He shifted his eyes at the wall, trying not to look at her. She could tell he was embarassed about something, and he was about to blurt it out.

"You are a good friend.", he finally said, furrowing his brows and letting his gaze rest upon her face once more. This caused Jill to grin and rest her head on her hands, her elbows on the table.

"Really? We are friends now?", she mocked him. "Not too long ago I remember you kept saying how troublesome I am."

"You are.", he scowled, but it quickly faded into a mischievous grin. "But you're a good friend, regardless of how much trouble you cause me. I think."

Jill chuckled and got up from her seat, leaving the coffee mug on the table. She thanked him for inviting her over and left the house, explaining she had some work to get done at her farm before the day ended.

"You are a good friend too, Marlin."

...

By the end of the afternoon, Jill was done with whatever she had to do. She walked back home, but was surprised by a concerned looking Celia standing at her door. She gulped, noticing the farmer approaching her hastily.

"Celia?", Jill called, stopping at the entrance to her place. She could hear Buddy barking from inside. "What are you doing here?"

"Hm.. hey Jill.", she greeted with a dying smile, and Jill could tell something was wrong. "Can I come inside? We need to talk."

"Oh. Okay.", the young farmer said, opening the door and leading her friend inside. They passed by Buddy, who now sat by the couch, spying on them with typical curiosity.

Jill and Celia sat at her kitchen, both going silent for a while. Celia seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and Jill just sat there wondering what was up.

"Do you want me to make you some coffee, tea or...", Jill asked politely, earning Celia's attention.

"No, no. Thank you.", Celia waved her hands in front of her dismissively. "I'm good."

"You said we need to talk?", the other brunette asked, deciding to go straight to the point then. "Is something up?"

"Well.. kinda? I don't know.", came the confused reply, and Celia flidgeted with a hair strand absentmindedly. She was acting so weird. "Jill, I need to ask you something."

"Yeah?", Jill quirked a brow, interlacing her own fingers. Why was she beating around the bush so much?

"Is something going on? Between you and Marlin, I mean.", Celia asked out of the blue, her eyes showing pure determination now.

Jill's mouth formed an O, and she went completely silent for a moment. She then made a weird expression and began to crack up. She was laughing so hard.

"What?", Celia cringed, wanting to know what was so funny about her question.

"Me and Marlin?", the farmer chuckled, shooting her friend an ironic look. "Seriously? We barely know eachother."

"Really?", she pointed a finger accusingly at Jill, cutting her laugh off. This was not funny for her, not at all. "Cause you too seem to be really talktive around eachother, for two people who are just acquainted."

Jill frowned at Celia, who did the same right back at her. It was like a staring competition between those two.

"Okay. I'll admit that we are friends. Sort of.", Jill coughed, finally admiting it. "But there is nothing going on, romantically I mean."

She was relieved to see Celia's gaze soften, and the two friends untensed. Celia hated to be intrude so much, but this was the man she was in love with for years they were talking about!

"I'm sorry.", she said, shaking her head slowly and looking down at the surface of the table. "I'm so silly. I guess I got jealous of your relationship with him."

"It's okay, dear.", Jill assured her, placing her hand on top of Celia's. They smiled at eachother. "People do weird things when they like someone."

"Marlin deserves to have friends. Specially a good friend like you.", Celia added, squeezing the other brunette's hand. "I saw you two talking earlier today, and he seemed so comfortable around you. Usually he just keeps it to himself..."

"Maybe making new friends will soften him up a little.", Jill laughed, and Celia grinned at her. It was hard to picture Marlin suddenly becoming an open book.

...

Once Celia was gone, Jill cooked herself some dinner and placed some food on Buddy's bowl. She sat on her couch, letting out a tired sigh, and turned on the TV. The shopping channel was on, and she made a mental note to buy her home some new stuff in a near future.

She then laid down, staring at the ceiling and thinking about her day. Even though Celia had already been rejected, she insisted on acting like Marlin belonged to her. She didn't want to say it out loud, but Jill was a little mad at her friend for acting so childish and not being able to move on like everybody else did. She crossed her arms and pouted, even though nobody else was there so see it.

"What if I did want to have something else with him?", she thought aloud, closing her eyes and furrowing her brows. "It's not like she's got anything to do with it."

Jill rolled on her side and peered at her dog, which sleeped quietly on the carpet. It was his favourite spot. "Then again, I don't want to hurt her. And honestly.. me and Marlin? He is just so... ugh. He is different."

Buddy popped an eye open, only to see his mistress still up and talking to herself. He lazily got up and walked over, taking a seat next to her. She smiled and petted his head. "We would be no good for eachother, right? I like long, meaningful talks and he can barely greet people on the streets."

The dog barked in response, then proceeded to nudge Jill's neck, causing her to grin and hug him tightly.

"You know what? Who cares? You are my true soulmate, Buddy!"