"The moon goes through many phases and displays several colors, but I find my favorite moon of all is the bright orange moon that comes just in time for the harvest."

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

Gray took Jill to his home behind the blacksmith shop. His grandpa was gone to see his father, so he knew they would be alone. He was a little worried about being caught alone with her, but he still wanted to talk to her and he couldn't imagine talking about his feelings in front of his grandfather. He'd handle the consequences later, he told himself.

"Jill." He settled her down on the couch and tried to pull her hands from her face, but she resisted.

"No, don't look. I must look awful." She was going to continue to argue, but she paused when Gray stopped tugging at her hands. Then she felt something settled on her head. "Huh?"

Gray had placed his hat on her head. "There. Now I can't really see ya' face. So stop hidin' from me." He didn't quite understand why she was so worried about how she looked all of a sudden, but it made him blush when he considered it might be because she did have feelings for him. Jill was never one to give him a lot of chances to woo her, so he wasn't sure of her feelings.

Jill removed her hands from her face slowly, wiping the straggling tears as they fell. Gray handed her his hankey so she could blow her nose. He wanted to know what happened between her and Ann, but first he had to get his feelings off his chest.

"Jill-"

"Gray-"

They'd spoke in unison. Gray laughed softly. He really wanted to tell her everything, but he gestured for her to go first. She smiled and nodded, lifting up her face a bit.

"I heard everything from my grandfather." She paused. "About your mom and why Ann is the way she is…" She trailed off, balling her fists against her thighs. Even though she felt bad about saying she wasn't Ann's friend anymore, she knew she did that simply to hurt her, but she also wasn't ready to forgive Ann yet.

"I don't want ya' pity." Gray started, but had to hold his hand up in front of Jill as she moved to cut in. "I also don't care anymore 'bout what Ann thinks. I know she just can't let go of the pain. I can't too. So I understand her." He started getting teary, recognizing that Jill had fought for his sake. "We're still family. No matter what they say or do to me. My grandpa taught me that."

Jill, teary eyed again, smiled and nodded. She didn't need to be angry for Gray, he had his grandfather who supported him. Just like Jill had her grandfather.

"Now, it's my turn." Gray continued. "Close your eyes."

Jill cocked her eyebrows, unsure what he intended to do. But she listened and closed her eyes. Gray moved her hair over shoulders before hooking something. Then moving her hair back behind her, Jill felts something drop against her collarbone. She opened her eyes and grabbed the necklace. "Oh." It was the present Gray had presented her at her birthday. She had forgotten what had happened to it, but she didn't have it with her when she returned to her room.

"I'm gonna assume ya' dropped it on accident. It belongs heres." Gray smiled as he looked at the necklace he made. "I promised when I gave this to ya' that I'd tell ya' how I felt." He paused and made sure she was looking at him. "I don't know if ya' feel the same, but I… I really want to be your beau."

Gray wasn't quite prepared for Jill to pounce on him. Her arms nearly choked him and he lost balance, causing them both to fall from the couch. Gray's hat fell from Jill head and onto the floor. He steadied them with one arm and grabbed his hat, placing it back on Jill's head. It was too big for her and covered half her face. He moved it back on her head so that he could see her face.

"It looks good on you." He smiled.

Jill felt exhilarated. She leaned forward and propelled her lip onto Gray's. It was her first kiss. And she was happy to give it to Gray. Gray completely lost his composure after this and lost his balance, falling against the floor. He could ignore the pain in his head, thanks to the warmth coming from Jill and the kiss they were sharing, but he completely unsure what he should do now that he seemed to have her.

He was just about to reach his arms around her when she released him. The cut on her lip was stinging, but she didn't care. She was too happy to let something like a small cut hold her back. She wanted to kiss him again.

But the door opened. Saibara walked in and dropped the tool he was holding. As it clanged against the floor all the heat in the room seemed to absorb into Saibara's face. He screamed, so loudly that Gray and Jill thought they'd lose their hearing.

"Have ya' two lost all decency."

Jill hadn't noticed that her dress was skirting up her lower leg or that she was in such a compromising position. Realizing how unbecoming she look she jumped to her feet and tried to straighten out the creases in her dress. Gray followed her example, but Saibara couldn't unsee what had been. Grudgingly, Saibara picked up the tool he'd dropped and used it to point to the couch.

"Sit down there!" He yelled. The two children instantly listened, both falling into the sofa together. "But not so close!" He pointed at them with the tool again and they scooted away from each other. Grumbling, Saibara went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Jill heard him say her grandfather's name and knew she was going to be in a world of trouble.

"I'm happy."

Jill looked at Gray as he spoke. He was beaming. She'd never seen him smiling like that before.

"I don't care how much trouble I'm in, today was worth it." He looked at her and scooted towards her. "Can I take the kiss as a 'yes'?"

Jill nodded, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Good." Gray brought her head closer to his until their foreheads touched. He stared into her violet eyes and just continued to smile. Then they laughed, neither quite knowing why. But they were happy.

Meanwhile, Saibara watched them from the doorway. He was happy for his grandson, but still… he couldn't help but think that they were rushing things. "Kids." He huffed.

Jill got a thorough tongue lashing from her grandfather when he arrive, but it quickly turned to concern when he saw her swollen lip. Jill was surprised Mrs. Lillian hadn't told him about it yet. So she confessed how the fight with Ann got her so muddled looking. To which Saibara added the image he saw of her and Gray on the floor. That had contributed to her unkempt appearance too, she guessed, and warranted her another tongue lashing from her grandfather; which he quickly proceeded to give her. By dinner time both old men felt like they had made their points to the young teens.

"I'd wanted to see ya' off…" Gray started as he walked with Jill toward the door, holding her hand. He wanted to walk her home, seeing as he was now "responsible" for her, as both their grandpas had put it. But noticing the way Old Pete was eyeing him and remembering Jack's face at the party, he thought better of it. For now. "I reckin' I still have to smooth things over with ya' brother, he hates me as it stands." Rubbing his free hand through his hair. Jill still sported his hat. "And ya' should know, ya' can still be friendly with Ann. It ain't goin' to bother me." Not much, anyway, he silently added.

Jill smiled and nodded mostly. Her own mind was again befuddled with all the things she still had to handle. She had to make things right with Popuri, because even though she hadn't meant to she'd betrayed her. She still felt like confronting Rick too, but told herself she would be more civil about it. It was one thing to fight another girl, but Rick was a well built teenage boy and, no matter how Jill looked at it, she would lose a fight with him. She needed to mend things with her brother too. He'd kept a secret from her and that really hurt her, but she was also sure that he was sorry for doing so. She wanted to forgive Ann too, but that would take some time. First, at least, she would apologize for giving her a black eye. She shuddered, remembering the redness around Ann's eye, she hadn't meant to punch her that hard. For that she'd probably have to apologize to Jack too. And she had to figure out how to handle… "Trent." She accidently said his name aloud, causing Gray to pull her to a stop.

"I will take care of that blue belly." He told her firmly. "I really don't want ya' talkin' to him."

Gray was worried, really worried. Rick's comment still haunted him. He even had to acknowledge that Jill had looked better standing beside Trent. But she was his now and he wasn't going to give her to him. At least he would try to be as confident in his conviction as his was in his feelings for Jill.

Jill couldn't nod to that request though. She felt obligated to talk to Trent and find out what he really felt. Because even though she liked Gray so much it ate her alive, she couldn't deny that she didn't dislike Trent. She forced a smile though, noticing Gray's distress at her lack of response. But inward she was apologizing. This wasn't the way to start their relationship, but she couldn't leave things unfinised. That wasn't the kind of girl she was.

Welcome to the world of Harvest Moon, and yeah this is a farming RPG. But I love this game so freaking much! It is crazy how much I love this. So, anyway, Jill is formally known as Pony in the series. She is the one of the first three girls to come out on Harvest Moon. If you couldn't tell I used Sara and the first Pete as their parents in this story. Jill is going to be seeing faces from all of the Harvest Moon games, so if you have a favorite, don't worry, it will show up eventually. But I have to start where my Harvest Moon game addiction started, Mineral Town.

Well, well. Isn't it nice that she's chosen Gray. At least it sure seems that way now. But what is to come of this blossoming love? You know I've got to break them up to move the story along, but how...? Well that you'll find out in a few chapters. And I wouldn't bet on Trent taking this news without a fight.

[This will be the last chapter I will post this in. Also includes a bit of additional information.]

On another note, once I get to other towns with Jill, I will post information below about what chapter starts the new towns, so if you desire you can skip ahead to another town you want to read. In most towns there will be two marriage candidates. I have Jill visit Mineral Town twice, but the candidates stay the same. In a couple of cases there will only be one candidate for marriage, but these are for the more exotic parts of the story. (hint,hint)

*Additionally, she will also be dating or at least have romantic interactions with all of her marriage candidates. The last town she visits is where she will decide who she truly belongs with. And don't worry if you like one particular one or another one or multiple. As it is right now, I want to do endings for all of her marriage candidates, so you can read them all or read your own choice. It's your decision.

Finally, saving the Harvest Spirit comes later and there is going to be a nice twist to that quest that I'm sure you've not read before. However, that information won't come until after Jill finally makes it to Forget-Me-Not Valley.