CHAPTER 26 - Aftermath

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.

...

The morning after their first time together, Jill still felt a little sore; it had been quite some time since the last time she was intimate with another man. She winced in her sleep, before shaking the covers off and finally realizing it was time to wake up. Her amethyst eyes opened lazily and a yawn escaped her mouth, arms stretching up as the brunette sat down. She let her gaze shift to the other side of the bed, falling upon the very toned back of a sleeping man. That's right, she thought. They had done it last night. Jill felt a shiver run down her spine as she recalled the events of the past evening, and how pleasant it was to be with him in such an affecionate way. She couldn't wait until they had the chance to do it again.

As if reading minds was possible, Marlin turned around with a growl, his mysterious blue eyes piercing into hers. A smirk played across his lips, and she squealed, feeling his hand fiercely gripping on her arm and forcing her to scoot closer. "Marlin!", she cried out, earning no response from him. Instead, he preferred to dip his head into her neck, darting his tongue across a spot he knew was special for her, and she moaned audibly, unable to resist him.

Suddenly, Jill felt a bump against her stomach. She pressed her hands against his chest, reluctantly, and looked up at him with an expression of pure disbelief. "Whoa. Really? Now?"

"What?", he grinned, arching a thick brow at her. Her eyes widened at him and before she could protest Marlin rolled on top of her, planting butterfly kisses down her neckline. "Don't say you were not thinking the same.", his fingers traveled down her tighs and pressed against the wet spot on the thin fabric of her white panties.

Jill blushed many shades of red, and he laughed at her before resuming the task at hand. He pulled down the annoying garment, throwing it somewhere else and felt glad nothing else was blocking his way into her. Marlin placed himself properly between her legs, arching her hips up just a little so he could have more control over his own movements. She yelped, and he entered her with a single push, almost too roughly for her taste. But that was Marlin for you, passionate, yet headstrong.

After a while of keeping up with their frantic rhythm, Jill found herself reaching her peak. She rolled her eyes and digged her nails into his back, gasping for air as an overwhelming sensation came all over her body, and then eventually seemed to die down. He pulled out and signalized for her to turn around, and she obediently complied. Marlin helped prop the young woman on all fours and buried himself into her once more, pumping in and out of her like his life depended on it. He leaned over and she turned her face towards him, kissing her man with eagerness as Marlin came deep inside her with one final thrust.

"Phew.", he huffed, before pulling out once more. He dropped his own weight lethargically on the comfortable bed, still warm and sweating from all the action. "I could get used to this."

"Yeah, don't abuse it.", she smirked, throwing a pillow at his face and hopping off the bed. "I'm gonna take a shower."

Marlin's hand reached for her wrist before she could walk away, and she blinked at him, not sure of what he could possibly want from her now. His lips curved up in the most suggestive smile she's seen before. "Can I come with you?"

...

After a homecooked breakfast, the farmer kissed his girlfriend goodbye and headed off to Vesta's farm. Before that, he took the time to call his sister and tell her he was on his way back home. Clearly, the older woman was very pissed at Marlin for not bothering to call her the previous night, but she seemed to understand when he dropped the hint he had been invited to sleep over somewhere else.

Jill carried on with her usual duties, such as tending to her crops and animals. By the end of the afternoon she was exhausted and sweating from the upcoming heat, and ran back inside the house in order to take a nice, cold shower.

"Ahh. Much better.", the brunette sighed contently, stepping out of the bathroom minutes later. She put on a cute sundress and a pair of mary janes, and figured she'd pay Griffin's bar a visit so she could catch up on the local gossip with her best friend.

"You look tired.", Muffy pointed out, her emerald gaze falling upon the figure of the girl farmer approaching the counter. Jill took her usual seat and gave the blonde an aloof smile, resting her cheek against her hand.

"Long day.", she muttered. "Can I grab a drink?"

"Sure, honey.", the barmaid turned on her heels, grabbing a bottle and a glass, before turning back to the counter and playing around with some fruit and whatever liquid was in the container. She playfully dipped a small umbrella into the drink and handed it over to Jill, who thanked her quietly. "So, what's up?"

"... nothing.", came the dismissive answer, but Muffy was a smart woman. She caught the hint of a smile that spread across her friend's lips before she could conceal it.

"You did it!", she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in order to stop herself from squealing like a little girl. Jill furrowed her brows at her and waved her hands in front of her, hoping they would not end up catching any unneccesary attention. The bar was nearly empty, and only a few villagers occupied the place, but she had been living here long enough to know how fast rumors spread across the island. Muffy smirked fratically and tried to keep her tone low. "How was it?"

Jill gave her a dreamy grin, and played with the small umbrella in her drink "It was like... wow.", she paused, searching for the right words, but it was complicated. "I didn't know he could be so good at it."

"What did you expect?", Muffy asked curiously, leaning against the counter.

"I don't know.", the brunette shrugged, before sipping on her drink. It was good, and really refreshing. "He's always so reserved. I figured sex with him would be kind of vanilla... it wasn't exactly like that."

Muffy laughed and shook her head down at her best friend. "Well, you know what they say about the quiet ones.", she winked, before walking out from behind the counter and towards another table, where a costumer waited impatiently.

...

On her way out of the bar, Jill decided she'd grab some dinner before heading back to her farm. Maybe Ruby could cook her something nice? She smiled to herself, heading south towards the Inn, but her steps came to a halt as her ears caught strange sounds coming from behind Daryll's lab. She silently concealed herself into the shadows, hiding behind a tree, as her amethyst eyes scanned the area for the source of those sounds.

Jill had to keep herself from gasping when she caught sight of Celia and Cliff making out furiously against the wall. The sounds she had heard were actual moans and grunts erupting from the couple. Celia's hair looked awfully messy and Cliff's fur lined top was slightly undone, his chest hair exposed for the world to see. Even in the dark she could tell how red their faces were from the close contact. The girl farmer blushed and turned around, breathing hard, her back leaning against the tree. What if they heard her? She had to get out of there!

Before she could tell what was going on the brunette found herself running back towards her property, quickly forgetting about dinner. She would make herself something when she got there.

Marlin sat on her footsteps, and waved his hand up once he noticed his girlfriend running through the farm's gates. She looked a bit disturbed, and excited, too. "Uh. Hey.", she gave him an awkward grin, trying to catch her breath. "I didn't know you were coming over tonight."

"I thought I'd surprise you.", he grinned, bringing himself up. "Did something happen?"

"Oh... yeah.", Jill fidgeted with her keys before opening the door. Once they were inside, she closed the door shut behind her and chuckled. "Kinda had a disturbing sight just now."

"Of what?", Marlin asked casually, following her to the kitchen. Jill opened one of the cabinets and took out a package of instant noodles. She was too tired to cook herself something decent.

"Do you want some?", she asked, taking a peek at him from behind her shoulder. He waved his hand at her dismissively. "Okay. Well, I was running up to the Inn because I thought I'd grab something to eat before coming home...", she filled a pan with water and put it on the over to heat up. Jill turned on her heels and rested against the counter, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. "Then I heard some noises and I thought I'd check it out."

"So nosy.", he mocked, and she stuck out her tongue at him before carrying on with her little tale.

"Anyway... turns out I almost walked in on Celia and Cliff being all lovey dovey behind the lab.", she laughed, taking the raw doodles out of their package and dumping them inside the warm water. "It was so embarassing! Thank god they didn't notice me, uh?"

"Cliff and Celia were making out behind the lab?", Marlin seemed to tense up in his seat, and slammed his fist against the table, his pearly white teeth gritting in anger. "What do they think they are doing?"

"Hey, hey, what the heck mister!", she scowled down at him, causing Marlin to realize how worked up he had gotten. He sighed and leaned back against the chair.

"I'm sorry. It's just that.. you know, Celia is like my little sister.", he gave her a sad look, and she mumbled something to herself, turning back to her food. She put some sauce over the noodles and dumped the water on the sink, before placing everything neatly on a clean plate.

"Whatever.", she grumbled, obviously not in a good mood. Marlin rose to his feet and pulled her to him, only to meet her judging eyes. He cringed.

"Oh, don't be like that.", he groaned, hugging her waist, but she simply eyed him suspiciously and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You know I care about her. I'd hate to see some guy step all over her feelings, you know."

"Just like you did?", Jill sneered, and he parted from her almost instantly. It was Marlin's time to get upset.

"Wow. That hurt.", he frowned. "This wasn't a good idea. Maybe I should go." Marlin felt her tugging on his white shirt as he turned away. He cursed under his breath, feeling his blood boil. "What now?"

Jill laced her arms around his back and buried her face on him. He just stood there, frozen in place, wondering if she would have the guts to speak anytime soon. "I'm sorry.", he heard her whisper, and turned to meet her regretful eyes. "I know Celia found someone else, and I'm happy you guys are on good terms but... I can't help but feel a little insecure. I feel like someday you'll just grow tired of how complicated I am and run off to some other woman's arms."

Marlin blinked a couple of times at the woman before him, before pulling her to him for a tight, loving hug. He placed his lips to her ear. "You are so silly. There is no reason to be insecure."

The brunette giggled and shoved him away with certain hesitation. She was hungry and her dinner awaited her. "Are you sure you don't want to get something to eat?"

"Actually, I had something else in mind when I decided to come here.", he said, passing her by with a wide smirk upon his face.