A Taste of Summer

Maru tried her best not to crowd Linus as he slowly turned the meat on its spit over the fire, but it smelled so enticing, that the woman could not resist the intoxicating smell and the sizzle of the grease as it dripped slowly into the hungry flames below.

"A slow, continuous rotation is key to achieving the perfect roast," Linus told the young woman lurking behind him. Maru chuckled nervously, knowing she had been caught.

"Whatever you're roasting smells awfully good," she praised the bearded man as she approached the fire pit to stand beside him. "You look like you really know what you're doing!"

The amber-eyed man nodded thoughtfully. "Outdoor cooking is one of my specialties," the old man confessed modestly, his gaze never leaving the rotisserie in front of him. "It's a necessary skill for my 'alternative lifestyle,'" he added with a chuckle under his breath.

It occurred to Maru that although Linus was her closest neighbor, they did not speak much. The young scientist did not know much about the mysterious "wild man" who lived in the tent behind her family's house. She thought now was as good a time as ever to start changing that. "If you don't mind my asking, what did you do before coming to live on the mountain side?"

An upward curve slowly pulled back his lips. "I was - oh what nonsense lingo do they use for it now?" He cleared his throat as the word came to him. "Ah, yes! I was an independent contractor working with the government," Linus stated coyly. "Let's just leave it at that."

"I suppose you got to meet a lot of interesting people," Maru probed casually, trying to keep up the conversation.

Linus shrugged. "Sometimes interesting means more trouble than it's worth, if you ask me," he replied, swatting away at a sandfly attracted by the roasting meat.

"It sounds like you left on bad terms," Maru observed from his words and closed-off body language.

"How astute of you to notice," the yellow-clad man sighed, the edge in his voice receding as he spoke. His warm eyes glanced Maru's way. "I have my own reasons for living alone the way I do," he explained to her. "Some things are best left unsaid…"

"Hey, Maru!" a voice called out from the west. The young woman looked up to see Alex approaching with a man she had never seen before.

Linus bobbed his head in their direction. "Best get going to see your friends then stick around with an old man like me…"

While Maru was dissatisfied with leaving the conversation as it was, she quickly realized that Linus was not likely to open up much further on the subject. "Very well," she agreed. "But I look forward to tasting the results of your work!" she added with a smile before turning her body to head toward Alex and the blond with him.

Violet approached the giant cauldron cautiously, worried that the piping hot mass would bubble up at an inopportune moment and scald her. She already felt more vulnerable than usual in her beach attire and adding a burn to the mix was something she wished to avoid. She did not have any aloe plants after the move to Pelican Town, after all. In fact, Violet had to sell or give away the entirety of her old apartment jungle when she decided to live in the Valley - except for Plus Ultra Violet. The African violet had to stay because he was her first and oldest plant baby.

And so, with no at-home remedy waiting for her should she make a mistake, the young woman hesitated, unsure how to go about adding her star fruit to the soup properly. She should not put it in whole… If only she had asked to borrow a knife to cut it. Then again, Violet had no idea how to prepare a star fruit.

Marnie spied the farmer from her stirring platform. "If you brought something for the soup, climb the stairs on the other side, and throw it in," the rancher instructed, trying to reassure the pastel-haired woman.

The farmer hesitated. "I don't think I can just throw this in as-is…" Violet explained, holding out the star fruit for Marnie's inspection.

"Oh, you're right, Violet," Marnie concurred. She pointed over to one of the buffet tables, "Go ask Gus for a knife and a cutting board. He'll know what to do."

Violet nodded and did as she was instructed. Gus made quick work of the star fruit, humming softly and muttering words of excitement about having star fruit in this year's soup. "This will do nicely," he told the young woman. "It's not the finest quality fruit I've seen, but it'll do just fine with those sweet and sour notes."

The pastel-haired woman began to feel validated for spending so much money on the star fruit, even if it was highly likely that Pierre jacked up the price a bit too much for a bigger profit. When Gus was done shaving off the hard corners of the rind and slicing neat little star-shaped slices of the fruit, he handed it back to Violet. "This one was pretty big, so I suggest keeping a few pieces for yourself," he added with a wink, handing her a small, tied-off bundle and the rest of the slices on the cutting board.

Violet blushed slightly. Had Gus overheard her when she called it a Paopu fruit at Pierre's stand? Did the barkeep know what the idea of sharing the starfruit with someone meant to her? "T-thank you," she responded politely, quickly retreating to the soup cauldron and surrendering the contents of the cutting board to Marnie.

"Oh, that smells delightful!" the rancher commended as she folded in the new ingredient to the brew. When she looked up, however, she realized that Violet was gone.

Elliott stepped out onto the beach for a breath of fresh air. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light of the sun overhead and quickly noticed the entire town was gathered practically on his doorstep. "My word!"

Leah caught sight of him almost instantly and waved the poet over. "You forgot about the Luau again, didn't you, Eli?" The ginger laughed teasingly before shooing him back inside his home to put on the proper attire. "It's good for you to absorb some vitamin D," the artist insisted, gesturing to her own mint green swim top that replaced her usual shirt. "Take off all those layers and loosen up for a while."

The author was not one to flaunt himself around others, but it did appear that his neighbors at least wore swimming costumes underneath their attire. Elliott supposed he could make a similar attempt. Retreating into his shack, Elliott swapped his long pants for identically colored swim trunks and shed his burgundy overcoat and green tie, leaving only his white button-up shirt. After a quick glance in the mirror, the silky-haired man nodded in approval and ditched his shoes before stepping out barefoot into the sand.

Leah smiled as she saw him approach. "Much better!" the woman said with an approving smile before taking a sip of her ice-cold drink. "So how's the writing going?" the sculptor asked casually, taking another slurp of her punch through a straw.

Elliott exhaled dejectedly. "I am in desperate need of a muse to finish the last few chapters of my book," he confessed. "The words simply escape me. Even when I begin to put quill to paper, the prose always lacks something vital," the author complained miserably. "I cannot comprehend what element is missing, but I increasingly loathe each draft so much that I tear it in a fit of passion and toss it into the waste bin."

"That's some major writer's block," Leah replied with concern. "Even for you."

The light-haired brunet heaved a sigh. "If only something of interest would happen to grant me inspiration," he stated, as if daring the universe to provide him exactly that.

Leah glanced over toward the buffet tables. "Well, I hear that Violet has a visitor in town," the red head informed her friend. "Word around the beach is that he parked his fancy car at the bus stop and headed straight for Fairy Rose Farm this morning."

Elliott's eyes widened for a moment. "A suitor?" he inquired excitedly, leaning in closer to Leah to keep their conversation more private. "What about our broody mountain dweller? Has this man presented himself as a challenger for Miss Violet's hand?"

Leah's grey eyes rolled in their sockets. "I doubt it, from what Violet has mentioned about her ex."

The poet frowned, dissatisfied with that answer. "Who discovered this mystery man?" Elliott wanted to know. "What do we know about him?"

"From what I gather, it was Mayor Lewis," Leah revealed. "He went to wait for the Governor's arrival at the bus stop and saw the guy leaving his car. Once the Mayor finds out, it basically becomes the whole town's business."

Pondering briefly, Elliott made a speculation. "I suppose it could be a relation…"

Leah nodded in agreement and upon seeing Sam and Penny close by, Leah called them over to collaborate. "Do you know who the mystery guy that went to visit Violet this morning is?" she probed quietly.

Sam grinned sheepishly. "The blond guy?" he answered with a chuckle. "He's Violet's older bro," the skater shared with the group. "I met him this morning."

"What business does he have in Pelican Town?" Elliott wanted to know. "Is it merely an innocent social call or is there something more sinister at play?"

Penny gave a small smile, but quickly hid it behind her hand. "Does a sibling need an excuse to visit?" she enquired curiously.

Elliott frowned. "Mine certainly would…" he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Edmund was engaged to his ex-fiancée and the poet had yet to forgive his brother for such an offense.

Sam contributed the only real knowledge he had. "He's just here for a visit for all I know, but from what I hear, they don't get along."

"I got that general impression, too," Leah added confidently. "But for some reason Robin seems to have a really good impression of him…" The ginger had overheard the carpenter talking about Violet's brother and how he somehow provided a lot of business.

This intrigued Elliott, but before he could say anything, the blond across from him shouted a welcome. "Hey, Violet!" Sam called to the farmer, who seemed to be just out of earshot for normal volume of conversation. "Come join us!"

The farmer approached and squeezed her way into the conversational circle. "Hey, guys!" Violet addressed the crowd with a smile. "How are you all today?"

"Can't complain," Sam answered quickly. "I am gonna get myself a Joja Cola, though," he added to excuse himself. "Anyone else want anything to drink?" the blond offered.

"Oh, get me another glass of punch!" Leah responded eagerly, handing him her glass of half-melted ice cubes.

Penny looked embarrassed about something, though Elliott was not quite sure why. "I'll go with you, Sam," she said, quickly falling into step with the skater and making a hasty retreat for the buffet tables.

Elliott supposed neither of them wanted to impose on Violet for more information about her brother. There were certainly plenty of ways to pose such questions without seeming too nosy. It was all about the art of conversation. In fact, providing false information made a person more likely to correct the mistake. "I hear you had a gentleman caller this morning, Miss Violet," Elliott stated, hoping for just that.

Violet immediately took the bait with a low, guttural groan. "You mean my pain in the ass brother, Zach?"

"Ah, is that who it is?" Elliott articulated innocently. "You sound terribly annoyed by his very presence."

The farmer sighed. "Mom wanted him to come convince me to move back to NuNu, but that isn't going to happen in a million years," she explained. "So I guess he's just going to stay long enough to get into my business before he ducks out of here to go back to the Big City so he can at least tell our mom that he tried."

"I'm so glad you don't plan on leaving, Violet," Leah admitted unabashedly. "Pelican Town wouldn't be the same without you now."

Violet beamed at her friend. "Aw, that's so sweet of you!" she crooned with a slight blush to her cheeks under the shade of her sun hat.

"You are not at all what I expected when Alex mentioned he had a personal trainer," Zach conceded to Maru once Alex introduced them. "Is it your normal gig or does everyone have multiple hats in this town?"

The young woman pushed her red glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I think it's safe to say that it's just me," she countered, knowing fully well that the blond expected a tall, physically fit woman to be Alex's trainer. "I enjoy juggling different projects to keep my mind fresh."

"Maru crunches the numbers on my performance to make a special training routine just for me," Alex disclosed to the visitor. Zach could tell that the local jock was proud of this fact.

The blond looked down at Maru, "I bet you'd be good at calculating betting odds for sporting events."

She shrugged. "It's possible, but I don't particularly care for gambling," she told the lawyer. "I prefer discovery through hard work and experimentation over games of chance." Maru's warm brown eyes focused on Alex. "Alex has put in a lot of work and made some statistically significant improvements in just one season!"

"Is that so?" Zach reacted, eyeing Alex curiously. He shook his head, "But training solo isn't going to get you where you there." The blond snickered. "Everything changes when other players are involved," he elucidated. "Lots of athletes get the yips when the pressure is too much for them to handle."

Alex frowned. "Other people don't intimidate me!" he asserted defensively.

"Tell that to a 300-pound linebacker charging at you at full speed."

Maru considered this point. "That is a huge factor we've neglected to include in your training, Alex..."

The brunet frowned at this commentary from Maru. "So what do we do to fix that?"

"Well, there are several ways to approach it..." the scientist began, but Zach interrupted.

"I could submit some timed runs to see how you compare, kid," the blonde offered. "I'm an actual runner. I run marathons on a semi-regular basis between all my cases." Maru could tell Zach was trying to show off, but there was no harm in a bit of rivalry between the two men if it meant igniting Alex's competitive spirit anew.

Before Alex could object, Maru accepted on his behalf. "I'll give you a map of Alex's normal route and you submit your times to me each day that you're here in town," the bespectacled woman ordered. "We'll see if you're all talk or not," she added with a slight upward curve to her lips. Maru noticed a spark in Zach's eyes as he looked at Alex, answering their challenge. The local athlete returned the expression with a cocky grin of his own. "Let the best man win," he replied, offering his hand out to Violet's brother. The two gripped each other's hand more tightly than necessary.

Oh yes, this will be excellent for motivating Alex, she thought to herself. And perhaps I'll get more data on performative masculinity...

"Gather 'round everyone!" Mayor Lewis cried out to the people of Pelican Town, motioning the crowd toward the center of the party grounds. "Folks, it's time once again for the potluck ceremony." The two mustached men stood in front of the giant pot and Lewis adjusted his tweed flat cap anxiously as the Governor eyed the liquid mix in the cauldron. "I trust that you all put high-quality ingredients in the pot this year. We don't want the Governor to regret his visit to the Valley!"

There was a murmur in the crowd, though Lewis was unsure as to why. Lewis rolled up his emerald green sleeves and grabbed a bowl to serve the elected official. "Well… Governor? Would you do us the honor of tasting the soup?" he queried as Marnie poured a serving into the bowl from her ladle.

Smiling under his mustache, the Governor accepted it eagerly. "Of course! I've been looking forward to this all year." He squinted slightly in the bright sunlight but slurped the warm broth from his spoon. The rotund man paused for a moment, swishing the soup around in his mouth to better taste it. The caterpillar-like eyebrows on his forehead danced as he swallowed the concoction. Smiling with satisfaction, the man in the purple suit spoke. "Ah… that's a very pleasant soup," he said with a refreshed tone. "The produce from this valley never disappoints!"

"Mmm… tasty," Lewis agreed as he doled out a spoonful from his own bowl. "You all did very well today." He took up one of the empty containers and looked around at his neighbors. "Now, who else wants some soup?"

Once everyone's portions were served, Mayor Lewis returned to his own bowl. Scooping the warm liquid, he brought it to his mouth and inhaled the intoxicating scent. Yes, this was a quality soup, even if it was not the best the town had ever produced. It made an excellent impression on the Governor. Perhaps he had been too hard on Violet as a first-year farmer. Oh, well, it did not matter.

As the grey-haired man neared the bottom of his bowl, Lewis noticed a change in flavor. The soup was tangier and getting darker in color. He wondered why until the next spoonful, which caught onto a piece of fabric within the bowl. The Mayor's dark eyes grew wide as he realized the identity of the mystery ingredient. Lewis whipped his head around, trying to catch anyone who might be watching for his reaction, but no one seemed particularly cognizant of him. The Mayor scowled at the bowl, wondering when his lucky purple shorts were added to the soup. Had they been in the cauldron, or were they added specifically to his soup later?

The suspender-wearing senior knew better than to raise a stink about this openly. If anyone - especially the Governor - caught on that a pair of his boxer shorts had potentially been in the communal pot, the repercussions would undeniably ruin the Luau. No one had to know… he thought to himself. So long as he caught the culprit and punished them accordingly. But who could it be?

As the sun began to sink low in the sky, Leah saw Haley pacing back and forth across the beach, her blue eyes frantically searching for something among the grains and shells.

"Leah! Come here, quick!" the blonde pled desperately. "My bracelet is gone! I know I had it on when I got here..." Haley explained, her cracking voice let Leah know that she was on the verge of tears. "But now it's gone, and I can't find it anywhere..." The woman sank to her knees and began to rake her fingers across the sand to better assist her search.

The artist joined her. "It can't have gone far," Leah assumed soothingly. "When was the last time you saw it?"

Shuddering, Haley closed her eyes briefly. "I-I think it was over by eastern beach," she articulated to the woman helping her. "But I looked over there and I couldn't find it anywhere..." Leah quickly realized that she had never seen her neighbor this upset before. Before the Flower Dance, the artist would have been hard-pressed to find any evidence that the blonde displayed any other emotion than disgust. It was both refreshing and unnerving to see this more human side of Haley.

"I'll never find another one like it..." the blue-clad woman whined pitifully.

"I'm really sorry," Leah responded sadly, resting her hand on Haley's shoulder apologetically.

"Maybe it'll wash up on another shore. I can't bear to think of it at the bottom of the ocean," Haley sighed dejectedly as she sat in the sand moping. "Sorry, great-grandma. I lost your precious bracelet. Please forgive me."

Oh, it's a family heirloom, that's awful! the ginger cringed internally. Could she have dropped it nearby? Leah thought to herself. "I'll be right back," she told the sobbing blonde. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Leah quickly went to Gus and borrowed a flashlight before heading straight toward the tide pools. Shining the light on the sand in front of her, the artist scanned the beach for anything that glinted in the beam. When she found nothing, Leah decided to backtrack and expand her search to the area near this side of the beach. Sure enough, as she followed the river that emptied into the ocean upstream next to Elliott's house, she found something shiny on the ground. It was gold with a relatively large sapphire, flanked by small diamonds on either side. Even as a sculptor, Leah found herself impressed with the craftsmanship. "This must be it," she uttered to herself as she headed back toward Haley.

Haley's teary eyes widened in wonder as Leah presented the missing jewelry. "Is that...?" the blonde gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. Haley leaped up to her feet. "You found it!" the photographer wailed.

Leah suddenly found herself more self-conscious under Haley's gaze. "It's not a big deal," she replied.

The younger woman gestured to the others on the beach for the festival. "No one else helped me. They were all too busy with clean-up..."

Leah chuckled nervously. "I guess we should have been helping with that before we went looking for your bracelet."

Haley shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm glad you helped me. I - I would have never been able to forgive myself if I lost this bracelet forever!" Throwing her arms around Leah, Haley cried tears of joy. "Thank you so much, Leah. You're a lifesaver." As Haley pulled away from the embrace, she added. "I won't forget what you did for me here."

Emily called to her sister from the beach entrance and Haley gave Leah a final good-bye. "Thank you so much, Leah. I'll see you again soon, okay?" The blonde gave her neighbor one last firm squeeze before following her sister home.

Leah noticed that she felt a little warmer on her walk home that night, despite the breeze.

The last of the festival decorations and food had been packed away and put into either storage or distributed among the villagers to take home. Most people had already made their good-byes and went home for the night, exhausted from the day's events or from all the food they ate.

Violet wanted to stick around and speak to Sebastian if she could. The farmer knew she had to be bold - decisive even if she wanted to say what she needed to say to him. She first checked the end of the western pier where Sebastian had gone to mull things over when he and Abigail fought that night last season. But there, Violet only found Rasmodius, whom she had not spoken to since the weird incident in which he had potentially drugged her so she could talk to the Junimos.

"The merpeople are curious about your festivities," he said to Violet as she approached. "They become upset when you litter into the ocean." Was he talking about Talla? the farmer wondered. Either way, she was not the person Violet wanted to find. "Have you seen Sebastian?" she wanted to know.

The purple-bearded man tipped his hat toward the eastern beach. "He got a bit grumpy with me and accused me of stealing his spot," the wizard explained. "So, I conveyed to him if he really wanted to brood so badly, he could do so on the end of the other pier." Violet would have laughed if she had not been in such a hurry.

"Thank you!" she said to Rasmodius before rushing off to find the dark-haired young man.

Sebastian heaved a heavy sigh, frustrated at his own cowardice for not pulling Violet aside to talk about the night before during the festival. The farmer had probably headed home by now. "How do I even start?" he mused aloud. "Hey, I wanted to just check in with you and apologize for inappropriately pinning you down in a sexual manner last night..." Sebastian scoffed sarcastically.

"I-it's okay," Violet squeaked in reply. "I kind of started it by sitting on you."

Sebastian whipped around; his face completely flushed from embarrassment. No one was supposed to hear that! Fuck, I already messed this up. I didn't even hear her coming!

Violet joined him sitting at the edge of the pier, watching the slither of a moon overhead. For a while, there were no words between them as they silently enjoyed each other's company. Sebastian was the first to speak up. "So, uh… how was your first Luau?" he queried the farmer.

Violet made a small hum as she considered her answer. "It's nice to be a part of all these small-town traditions," the pastel-haired woman shared. "I know that Pelican Town doesn't have a lot of people compared to a city, but when everyone all comes together for an event like this it feels… special to be a part of it."

The dark-haired man found these festivals more tiresome than anything else, but then again, they had been a part of his routine for most of his life. He had not considered how it would feel on the flip side.

"I even got to keep some of my Paopu fruit!" Violet announced happily, unwrapping a tiny bundle of five-pointed slices to show him.

Sebastian vaguely understood that the inaccurate naming was a reference to a game, but he did not recognize the fandom right away.

"Isn't that a star fruit?" Sebastian asked to clarify, wondering if Violet would clarify or shed some light on what made her so excited about the edible yellow stars.

Violet seemed embarrassed by the correction. "Uh - yeah, it's really just another name for it," she admitted bashfully. "But there's a legend that if you share one with someone, your destinies are bound together."

The programmer chuckled. "I guess that's fitting for a communal soup," he stated, leaning back on his elbows to better view the stars above. "Small towns are kinda like that, so I guess you're stuck with all of us now," he teased.

Brows knitted, Violet took a deep breath and popped one of the two pieces of star fruit into Sebastian's open mouth. She then immediately ate the last slice and swallowed.

"What the -!" Sebastian shouted in surprise, though he did not spit out the juicy slither of fruit. "What do you think -?" He stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Violet's reddened face and quickly realized he did not need to finish his question. He already had an answer.

"I-I want to be stuck with you," Violet stammered quietly, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "Like, especially you," she clarified. She peeled open her eyes and glanced at side-on. "You… don't have to eat it," the farmer told Sebastian. "I just… thought that this would be a good way to let you know how I feel about -"

Unfortunately, Violet was interrupted by a loud voice of complaint and the sound of footsteps on the docks behind them. "Yo, Vi!" Zach hollered over to his little sister. "I want to leave now. Take me back to your hovel of a farm!" the blond demanded.

"Can't you walk back yourself?!" the young woman shot back, furious that her older brother always found a way to ruin things for her.

The blond came closer into the faintly glowing light of the lamp overhead. "Sure, if you want me to fall and break my neck. Then mom would have to come out here to collect my tragically young body."

Violet could recognize the thinly veiled threat and cursed under her breath. "Go to the bridge!" she instructed her sibling, rising to her feet and pointing toward the northern end of the beach. "I'll meet you there in like, five minutes."

Without any further conversation, Zach turned on his heel and left for the stone bridge to wait. Sebastian asked Violet a question. "Do you want me to go with you?"

She shook her head furiously. "No, the last thing I need is Zach asking you a whole bunch of questions." Violet's fists were clenched, but she exhaled deeply to calm herself. She sat on her shins facing him, the confidence from her fury at her brother quickly receding. "This isn't exactly how I thought this would go…" she confessed softly.

"Hey…" Sebastian opened his mouth and pointed to emphasize that it was empty. "I… wanna tie myself to you, too." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Not like - literally," he backpedaled immediately. "Well, unless you're into that and wanna try it?" He slapped his forehead and hid behind his hand. "No, that came out wrong!"

Violet cut him off by gently reaching out and pulling his hand away from his face. "Thanks, Sebastian," she said earnestly, the color on her face pink as the coral near the nearby tide pools.

She leaned her face in toward him and Sebastian instinctually whipped his head in the direction of the movement. Violet pressed her lips against him and immediately pulled away, completely mortified when she realized she accidentally kissed the corner of his mouth. She sat facing the opposite direction so he would not see her horrified expression. "I meant to kiss your cheek," she informed Sebastian. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that without asking!" she apologized before she made her escape toward the stone bridge to meet Zach.

Sebastian's elbows gave way underneath him and he laid in the creaking boards of the dock for a moment. There was something on the edge of his mouth where Violet had kissed him. It had a sweet and sour flavor. Violet's lips tasted like star fruit tonight...

Author Notes:

*Hears the squeals of the readers from my computer.* Ah, yes, the wind to fill the sails of our main ship...

I'm sure people are excited something finally happened, even if it was an accident. ;D

Fun fact: The last scene in which Violet kisses Sebastian in the wrong place on his face because he RUDELY MOVED is very loosely based on my first kiss with my spouse. I was so embarrassed, but it makes for a good, wholesome kind of awkward. And it all worked out in the end anyway, right?

Additionally, I've received a few PMs from readers asking whether I have an account that cannot be named on FanFic to which they can donate.

I am flattered, really I am! And while I fully support funding the arts, I just feel strange accepting people's money when basing this all off of characters that do not technically belong to me, even if I have fleshed them out in my own way.

By all means, do not feel obligated but, if you insist, I have finally figured out an alternative: Ko-fi, the online tip jar! My username there is the same as here. Just search my username to find my account. Please no more than $10 for the lifetime of this fic. Keep yo' money! There's a global pandemic going on and I do this to keep the existential dread at bay. D:

Awkward ramble: Complete!