A/N: Welcome, dear people, to my new fandom. I've been playing My Time at Portia for a while and I fell in love immediately with it. I have to thank Dizzy_Lizzy for being my beta because it is the first story I've written comepletely in English. There are not (and never would be) enough Gust/Builder stories (or Xu/Builder stories, might write one too), so this is my tiny contribution to the fandom. The mature content will be on AO3, as always, but it's gonna be labeled for those who want to skip it (so this is the teen version of this story). Lots of love! Please stay safe.

For the people that follows me for my MCU fics, I swear, it is still my fandom but I'm still processing the total destruction of the characters I love and I am still reorganizing my story so please bear with me.

Chapter 1: Infatuated.

In which the builder meets Gust

It was a cold night. The wind danced across the floor, whistling and making it almost impossible for Rosemary to get some much needed sleep. Even under the warm sheets, she felt herself shivering. After all, it was just the first day of spring, when the cold air of winter was only beginning to get warm. She didn't know what she expected from the workshop she had inherited from her father, but it certainly wasn't this. She had supposed that it would be an old building, but she wasn't prepared for the missing floor. She was going to have to fix that as soon as possible if she wanted to get some sleep.

She opened her eyes as the first ray of sun hit the window. Groaning, she got out of bed to face the new day she had ahead, getting dressed, she prepared herself for her day. She was making her way up to the Commerce Guild to meet with Presley when she bumped into Emily, the young woman that lived on the plot across from her. She was a really sweet, hardworking girl, with a kind smile. She made Rosie feel like making herself at home wasn't going to be that difficult at all.

But, of course, she'd had to meet Higgins as well.

He'd turned up that same afternoon when she'd barely managed to convince Presley of her abilities as a builder, completely exhausting herself. Higgins managed to snatch the first commission she was going to take. It seemed he'd hated her as soon as he'd seen her.

"Is he always like that?" she asked after he had left.

"I would like to say no, but yes, he is. He's the owner of the current number one workshop. Brilliant businessman, but I don't like the way he does things. I'm sorry Rosie, that was the last one we had today",he added, but as soon as he finished his sentence, a tall, red-haired boy entered the building.

"Hey there Presley."

"Or not", he shrugged. "Arlo! What is going on, boy?"

"We're looking to build a bridge to Amber Island." Replied the young man who was apparently called Arlo.

"So, the Mayor finally put up the money? Well! Young Rosie here is up for the challenge" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, oblivious to the panic that now rushed to her face.

"Yeah, Mayor Gale figured that place could be a real tourist attraction, with the haunted cave and all." he said nonchalantly.

"Rose, please check your Pa's Workshop Handbook to see if he has a bridge diagram in there. I remember he built a bunch", Presley said, turning back to Rosie, "Feel free to tell me if you have any troubles."

"I will. Thank you, Presley".

She waved both men a goodbye and left.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit scared of having accepted such a big project so soon after arriving, but she would figure it out. She always did. That was what made her who she was, despite living almost all her childhood without her parents.

Rosie headed home to fix her wooden floor. Luckily, she had enough wood from all the gathering and chopping, so she didn't have to go out for a second round. When she finished and looked out her window, she was surprised the moon was already glowing in the sky.

It was a beautiful night, and all she had done in two days was sleep and work, it would be a shame if she wasted the opportunity to take a walk, tired or not. So there she was, walking absently to the river, the breeze cold against her skin. She got to the shore and let the scent of the water and the grass fill her lungs. She closed her eyes and let the worries of the day slip away.

"Hello there", said a soft voice.

Startled, she looked behind the bushes to find a couple resting on the grass. Rosie thought they were the prettiest people that she had ever seen. The young woman had gorgeously wavy red hair, pale skin and pretty green eyes. The young man, on the other hand, had long blonde hair, and she couldn't help but notice the small freckles that adorned his face, his lips slightly parted. Rosie felt a wave of nervousness wash over her when she noticed she was staring at them.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I-I didn't notice there was someone here already. I didn't mean to interrupt." she babbled.

"No, no, don't worry, just keep it low. This guy sleeps like a rock." she said, the warm smile the young woman gave her as she spoke melted away Rosie's uneasiness. "My name is Ginger; you must be Rosie. You are from Barnarock, right?"

"Yes. How do you…?"

"Gale is my dad", she answered, nonchalantly. "Besides, it's a small town, we don't have many new faces everyday." she smiled at her again, but this time, Rose gave her a smile of her own. "What is it like there?"

"Well, it's hot and dry, we don't have that many resources around. It was a hard life, not like here in Portia ", Rosie said it with a sad smile. She'd wondered, sometimes, if Barnarock had been the reason her father had left her to be raised by her aunt after her mother had died. The desire to see how the rest of the world was, and the tiredness of seeing the same dry landscape every day was one of the reasons she'd come to Portia, and maybe she at least had that in common with her father. Regardless, she'd always been curious to see what was so special about the world that he would leave his only child almost on her own.

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. I've read about it in a book before, but I can't really grasp it. I wish I could go there and many other places."Ginger said, dreamingly.

"Why don't you go?" Rosie felt as though she was stepping on unwanted territory but couldn't help to ask.

It was Ginger's turn to give a sad smile. "My condition doesn't allow me to travel much, but once I get better, I will."

"I hope you get better soon." Rosie found herself saying. It was really easy to get along with Ginger. She didn't notice at what point she had sat by her side, both contemplating the river, but a soft snore reminded her she was actually interrupting. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "Is… is this your boyfriend?" she asked sheepishly. This, however, made Ginger giggle.

"Ahaha, no, no, he is my brother. He just likes to act like a chaperon."

"A chaperon…?" Rosie asked, her cheeks still a soft shade of pink.

"You two are so loud! Now I'm wide awake." A voice grumbled from somewhere to the side of the two sitting ladies. Rosie would deny to her death she'd screamed in that moment.

"Gust! Be nice!" Ginger scolded.

The blond sat up in the grass, his cold, green gaze meeting Rosie's. She could feel her skin burn.

"S-sorry, I won't disturb you anymore." Rosie mumbled quietly

Gust slowly lifted himself from the grass, looking away.

"It's getting late anyway", he shrugged, his gaze softening a little bit. "We should head back."

Gust extended his hand to Ginger, helping her to her feet. Rosie stood also and Ginger took her hands, her skin was incredibly soft.

"It was nice talking to you. I hope you can drop by and talk for a little bit. If you want, of course" Ginger said softly to her.

"Would that be okay?"

"That would be more than okay. I'll be looking forward to it!" she said with a wide but soft smile.

"I will. Goodnight, Ginger" she responded with a smile of her own.

"It's a woman!" Albert had entered A&G Construction with a wide grin that morning, and if Gust hadn't been used to the kind of outbursts of his best -and only- friend, Albert would have startled him. Instead, he didn't even bother to stop sketching the new project.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Gust replied demurly

"The new builder. She is a woman! And Presley says she is pretty."

"You are going to get slapped again, Albert."

"No, no, I have a different plan this time. And I have the feeling she'll stop by every now and then, so this is perfect!"

Gust stopped sketching to look dryly at his friend, "She is a builder; she is going to come. How is this 'perfect'?"

"Emily said I was being too pushy by reaching for her every day. So wouldn't it be better if it was the girl who came to me?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows at his friend.

Gust rolled his eyes at the stupid grin his friend was giving him. Of course Albert would be delighted if Maurice's child was a girl, even more so if she was a 'pretty girl'. Gust had heard about her the day before, but he had yet to see her. Not that he cared, but she was a potential client.

"Whatever you say, Albert. But I won't bring you ice if you get slapped again."

After a few more minutes of listening to a very excited Albert, they fell under a nice silence. They worked like that for a few hours, with the soft humming of Albert and the sound of the pencil against paper until it was time for Gust to leave. He grabbed his bag and headed to the door.

"Say hello to Ginger for me, would you?" was the last thing Albert said before Gust closed the door.

He walked to the lake, bag on shoulder, as usual but stopped for a few moments at the old workshop. The only different thing about it was the small stone furnace that was against the fence and the new sign on the door. He wondered what was so special about her to have the entire town talking about her arrival, besides being Maurice's daughter.

The rest of the day carried on as usual with him painting at the lake and QQ sleeping at his feet. When it got later into the day, Gust decided it was time to pack up and get home to his sister, Ginger, so he could take her out to get some exercise. She was against him accompanying her, always insisting that she was perfectly capable of going out by herself. But, truthfully, after she'd collapsed when she was twelve, Gust was scared something might happen if she was on her own.

So there he was, going on a night stroll with his little sister. He didn't mind, really. He was willing to spend as much time as he could with her, that was the reason he also tried to eat and have dinner with her. And he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the night strolls.

He hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep, but now he could hear his sister laughing. He could hear someone else, too.

"You two are so loud! Now I'm wide awake." He grumbled at them. He heard the little scream that escaped the stranger's lips.

"Gust! Be nice!", his sister scolded.

He sat up on the grass, turning himself to look at the stranger, but whatever he was going to say died right on his lips. His eyes were trapped in her blue ones, her dark hair framing her face. It had to be Rose, the girl Albert had been talking about. Gust wasn't blind, he had an eye for beauty. That didn't mean he had interest in relationships or courting or whatever Albert liked to do in his free time.

"S-sorry, I won't disturb you anymore", he heard Rose babble.

Gust slowly lifted himself from the grass, looking away; his face was starting to feel warm. What the hell was happening to him? He had seen plenty of pretty girls back in Atara, and he'd never blushed, not even once.

"It's getting late anyway." he tried to shrug nonchalantly, attempting to focus his gaze on anything else. "We should head back."

Gust took Ginger's hand and helped her get on her feet. He took two steps in the direction of the city gate when he noticed Ginger wasn't following, so he waited.

"It was nice talking to you. I hope you can drop by and talk for a little bit. If you want, of course"

"Would that be okay?" she asked shyly.

"That would be more than okay. I'll be looking forward to it!" she said with a wide but soft smile.

"I will. Goodnight, Ginger." The smile she gave was warm and sincere, and it certainly made her sister happy. Gust denied the little flutter in his chest.

When they were far enough away, Ginger let a big smile show on her face.

"She is nice, isn't she?"

"I guess." he offered. "But, isn't she a bit small to be a builder?"

"Gust!"

He was damned.