Elliott was not a nervous person. There never really was a reason for him to be— things tended to work out for him. School came naturally to him, and any poor grades were often changed for him after pleading his case to his teachers. Elliott only applied to his dream school and was accepted easily, and excelled within his program. He slept with the people he wanted, because they always wanted to sleep with him too, and when he decided on a whim to move to Pelican Town, the breezy seaside town he frequented on vacations as a child, the cabin was already there, almost as if waiting for him. Things worked out.
The Farmer, however, made him nervous. They arrived a little over a year after he did, and Elliott couldn't help but find the newcomer intimidating. They'd spend long days out in the sun, tilling the earth or wrangling chickens. Elliott would often step out of his cabin early in the morning to enjoy the stillness of the beach, only to find the Farmer already there, holding a fishing pole. They were non-stop, powerful. Elliott couldn't help but feel inadequate around them, his stomach fluttered every time he spoke to the new Farmer.
Their short, shoulder length golden hair and long, muscular legs didn't make anything easier either. The first summer after the Farmer had moved to town, Elliott had been so mesmerized by the way the Farmer's back muscles looked as they helped Willy move some barrels on the dock that he hadn't noticed the firepit in front of his house and tripped on the rocks, breaking his wrist.
He'd never had trouble flirting with other people before; Elliott knew he looked good and drew people in with his artistic vibe, and who would be able to resist his 10,000 megawatt smile? But for some reason the Farmer was different. He'd get flustered anytime the Farmer spoke to him, but for some reason the Farmer kept coming back.
He kissed the Farmer almost two months ago now, their stomachs both burning and heads dizzy from the homemade pomegranate wine the Farmer had made. Elliott had been bold and messy, and instantly had regretted how he had pulled the Farmer in, but they just smiled and kissed him again, over and over until the night sky grew bright. Elliott had bought a proper bouquet the next day, and the relationship had been going well since.
Elliott scanned the museum now, looking for his partner. After his book had been picked up and published by a proper agency a month ago, Mayor Lewis had insisted upon a proper book reading and signing event. The Mayor had told Elliott it was to honor his accomplishments, to celebrate Pelican Town's first proper author, but Elliott had the feeling it was more about the potential revenue the tourists might bring in.
The Farmer walked into the museum, their arms linked between both Maru and Leah's, the three of them laughing as they shuffled in. Elliott waved, and the Farmer waved back, face beaming with pride. The group slipped toward the back of the crowd, leaning against the display shelves. As if on cue, the Mayor walked up to the microphone on the makeshift stage Gunther had set up in the museum and addressed the crowd, introducing Elliott and reminding the tourists of all Pelican Town's many amenities. Elliott rolled his eyes at the Farmer who giggled with their friends, and made his way up behind Lewis.
"Thank you all, for coming today. It truly is so exciting to see that in the short time my novel has been out how many people it resonated with, how many of you traveled to see me." He bit his lip and scanned the room, attempting to gauge the interest of the crowd. A young woman up front threw him a look Elliott could describe as bedroom eyes, and he coughed, quickly looking away.
"Well, I'm certainly excited to start this, as I'm sure you all are." A small laugh from the crowd, agreement. "The book, as some of you may know, is Camellia Station, a romance about a stewardess who falls in love with a travelling architect, and the great distances each would go for their love." He picked up the book. "Shall we begin?
The crowd let out a small cheer, and just from listening, Elliott could tell it was mostly from his friends in town. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ears, and cracked open the cover.
"Camellia Station." A small smattering of cheers, this time from a larger section of the crowd. He flipped the page, his breath hitching.
To My Love.
He had forgotten he had written that, almost eight months ago when he had sent in the final draft of his manuscript. The love in question, of course, was the Farmer, who hadn't known how maddeningly in love he was with them at the time, and still hadn't heard the words from Elliott himself. It was so quick, and they had only been on a few proper dates.
Elliott realized he had been silent staring at the page. Only for three, maybe five seconds, but long enough. He looked up, flashing a sheeping smile. "Sorry, it's just hard to believe this is finally happening." Some members of the crowd laughed, and Elliott cleared his throat.
"To my love." He flipped the page quickly, and heard the young woman in the front row sigh dreamily. "Chapter One. 'Your ticket, sir?' Ticket collector Gozman extended a gloved hand towards the young commuter. 'Ah, yes. I have it right here,' he replied, reaching into his coat pocket. Mortified, he discovered that the ticket was missing..."
The rest of the reading went off without a hitch. At the end of the second chapter, Elliott closed the novel and looked up at the crowd, a playful smile on his lips. "As much as I'd love to continue, we must return the museum back to its generous owner, who provided us the space to conduct this event. Thank you all so much for coming to listen and share this day with me."
The audience began to clap, some more enthusiastically than others, and Elliott blushed as he heard the Farmer's group being especially rowdy from the back. People began to line up to purchase copies of his book or to have him sign ones they already owned. After 20 or so minutes of signatures and well wishes, Elliott looked up to see Maru, Leah, and the Farmer smiling back down at him.
"Ellie! I'm so proud of you!" Leah practically leapt over the desk to get to him, pulling him into a hug much tighter than he would have ever expected.
"Leah! Thank you. I'm so glad you all came." He wiggled his way out of her arms and smiled at Maru. "I'm glad you were able to make it." Maru smiled back at him and nodded.
"Of course! Wouldn't miss it." Maru had been a surprising addition to their friend group. Before the Farmer, it had been just him and Leah, two aspiring artists against the world. It wasn't that they didn't like or get along with her, they just didn't run in the same circles. The Farmer had quickly bonded with Maru after arriving, though, and as they moved their way into Elliott and Leah's lives, Maru came along for the ride. Now, Elliott could barely picture the group without her.
"Congrats, El." The Farmer walked behind the table now and wrapped their arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek. Elliott smiled, wrapping an arm around his partner.
"Were you hoping to get an autograph as well?" The Farmer pursed their lips and looked up, a pantomime of thought.
"Actually, I know the author, so I think I can just get one whenever I want." Elliott laughed.
"Certainly." He looked back up at the two women. "Seriously, though, I'm so glad you were all able to come today. It really means a lot to me." Maru nodded, but Leah came right back up to the couple and wrapped them both in her arms.
"Of course! I wouldn't have missed it for anything!" Leah brought the couple into her, her arms around both, tears in her eyes. "I love you all so much! Maru, you too! Get in here."
Maru sighed behind them but smiled and made her way into the huddle, Leah's arms encompassing her as well. She stood for a moment, humming quietly as she held her friends.
"Leah? Not to be the buzzkill, but almost everyone has left and Gunther is staring directly at us." Elliott shuffled uncomfortably as the rest of the group spotted the curator. Leah let go of her friends, and began to make her way toward the door, apologizing as she went. Maru followed quickly after, and the Farmer and Elliott made their way out hand in hand.
"Do you think it went well?" Elliott looked down at his partner. The Farmer nodded, looking at Elliott through the corner of their eye.
"Yeah! I think it went super. You sounded really good up there." Elliott stepped ahead, opening the door for the Farmer.
"Thanks." Elliott appreciated the praise, but something had seemed off in the Farmer's tone. Was it not actually good? Did they hate the book? Elliott felt nervous.
"Everything okay?" The Farmer paused, then turned to face Elliott, a weary smile on their face.
"Yeah! I just had to get up a little earlier this morning to make sure I had everything taken care of before the reading." Elliott nodded, but the pit in the bottom of his stomach remained. "Are you still down for dinner at mine tonight?"
Elliott cheered up almost instantly. How could he have forgotten dinner?
"Of course! Let's go, straight away!" He grabbed the Farmer's hand and began to strut, his chest puffed out in a caricature of strength. The Farmer laughed, almost tripping as they tried to keep up with Elliott's stride.
Once at the Farmer's home, Elliott pulled up his hair and began the task of preparing dinner. Without a proper kitchen in his cabin, Elliott's culinary prowess was wasted. In the Farmer's renovated kitchen, however, he relished any chance to show off his skills. The Farmer opted for a shower while he prepared their meal, claiming to be covered in grime from the morning on the farm, but something in Elliott's stomach twisted again, unsure if his partner's words were true.
Lost in his thoughts, Elliott didn't notice when the Farmer appeared behind him, wrapping their arms around his stomach as they peaked around his shoulders to watch the action on the stove. "Whatchya cooking?" Elliott twisted to kiss the Farmer's head and inhaled deeply, promising to commit the smell of the Farmer's shampoo, cedar and smoke, to memory.
"I'm just putting the sear on some snapper that I bought from Willy this morning, would you be a dear and get the wine from the fridge?" The Farmer nodded, and their arms slipped away as they padded to the fridge. Elliott heard the pour behind him; the ting of the neck of the bottle against the glasses. The Farmer walked back up beside him, holding one glass between them.
"Do you want a taste?" Elliott nodded, expecting the Farmer to hand him the glass, but was surprised when the Farmer lifted the glass to his lips, a serious and intent look in their eyes. Elliott drank from the glass without breaking eye contact, attempting to play it cool, even as he gripped the handle of the pan tighter. He felt another tinge in his stomach, but this one wasn't from nerves.
"Why darling," he said, his voice dangerously low, "it's not yet time for dessert." The Farmer smiled, their lips still pressed together and kissed Elliott's cheek and turned, making their way to the table. Elliott turned his attention back to the fish and turned off the burner and began to plate, unsure now if the meal would be eaten right away after all.
As he carried the plates over to the table, the Farmer smiled and scratched their head. "I feel bad, I really should have cooked tonight. It's your big day after all." Elliot sat next to the Farmer, kissing their forehead quickly on his way.
"Nonsense. I love to cook, and any day I get the opportunity to only makes the day better." The Farmer smiled, but Elliott noticed that their leg continued to bounce quickly underneath the table. He bit his lip. "Darling-"
"El, did I— oh." The couple paused, eyeing each other.
"I just wanted to ask if everything was okay." Elliott pursed his lips. The Farmer chuckled nervously and ran a hand through their damp hair.
"Yeah, I mean, I was just, um…" They trailed off, their eyes turned down. "I just was thinking, during your reading today, did I… was I the other person, like did my presence impact your last relationship?"
Elliott blinked and set down his fork, confused. "What?" The Farmer leaned forward, regret in their eyes.
"I'm not saying something happened or that you cheated or anything, I would never imply that, but I know when I came here I was kinda flirty and obviously you were into that but I thought you were single." The Farmer was animated as they rambled, their hands waving about. "And I mean I'm happy to be with you, I prefer it this way, but I'd feel terrible if I somehow caused stress in your relationships at all—"
Elliott grabbed the Farmer's hands and pulled them in toward him, drawing their attention back in. He shook his head, confused.
"Darling, I don't— What are you talking about?" The Farmer bit their lip and looked down again.
"At the reading, the dedication… I mean, it was sweet, but you sent in the final draft, what, almost a year ago now? And the story was very good, you know I think that, but I couldn't help but think about that and how… if I was some kind of topic of stress in whatever… you know." The Farmer looked back up, eyes misty.
Elliott laughed. He couldn't help it. This is what the Farmer had been stressed about? He could understand if, certainly, but their own nerves almost seemed silly compared to his. The Farmer tilted their head, waiting for Elliott to answer.
When he finally calmed down, Elliott shook his head and picked his fork back up, studying his food as he cut off a piece of the fish. "No, it's been… my last true relationship was many, many years ago, long before I came to the valley."
"Oh." The Farmer nodded, but Elliot could hear the confused tone in their voice.
"The dedication was for you." He looked back up at the Farmer, smiling. The Farmer blinked and opened their mouth to speak, but Elliott cut them off. "I know, but… in all honesty, I truly think I've been in love with you for a long time, dear." The Farmer smiled now, the misty look returning to their eyes.
"Oh, El." They giggled and moved their chair closer to his, and slid a hand around the back of his neck.
"I really do believe from the moment I first saw you, I fell for you," Elliott continued. "You had my heart." The Farmer let out another small giggle and leaned forward, pulling Elliott's head in toward theirs for a kiss, deep and soft and tender.
When they pulled away, the Farmer leaned their forehead against his. "I love you too, Elliott." They chuckled and bit their lip, eyes scanning his. "I know I don't have some grand gesture or… beautiful speech to tell you with, but I do." Elliott nodded, and kissed his partner again.
Elliott stood up, his arms still around the Farmer, pulling them up with him. He pulled the Farmer in flush against him, their bodies pressed together as he tried to continue to kiss them, unable to maintain the connection as he fought his smile.
"That's alright darling, your love is grand enough." The Farmer laughed as Elliott tried to pull them into an even tighter embrace..
"My Love." The Farmer smiled as they studied Elliot's face. Elliott's hand made its way to the Farmer's cheek, stroking the skin with his thumb.
"My love."