The two friends stared at the piece of French toast that sizzled in the pan over the hotplate Karen had brought over.

"Wow… So two guys were fighting on the mountaintop for the affections of an old geezer…?" The young woman cocked an eyebrow as she poured herself a glass of water. "It sounds like a scene out of an action drama, only I pictured a different kind of catalyst for the battle!" The grocer's daughter gave her friend a pointed glance and raised her eyebrows. "Perhaps an attractive female…?"

Claire was about to insist that Karen's adjective hardly described the farmer, but she kept her mouth shut; the actual conflict that happened up in the mountains had nothing to do with Claire. The blonde rolled her eyes instead, but her face caught on fire as the brunette gave her a playful wink; she was beginning to regret saying anything at all about yesterday's incident. Karen was making unnecessary drama. "It wasn't really a battle or fight," she insisted. "Like I said, it was more of a moment of Gray losing his cool than anything else," she nervously played with her fingers as she listened to the murmur of the cooking show playing on her television in the background. She preferred not to think about the second part of Karen's comment; it brought up a lot of confusing, uneasy feelings.

"Like we've never seen that before," the brunette snorted, prodding the spongy bread with a fork. "I still say paprika would have been a nice touch…" She frowned at the rather bland-looking contents of the skillet, a single slice of French toast.

Karen had brought along the wrong spice, claiming that the two looked very similar and she thought that she had brought the correct one. "I told you to bring ground cinnamon," Claire reminded her, "besides, the vanilla we added will make it taste plenty good." She glanced up at the television. "See, Karen? Look at the show! Watch Chef B; he does this almost every episode. He just puts whatever he feels like into the concoction."

"Chef B sounds like my kind of cook," Karen giggled, watching the onscreen chef add strawberries and beets to his ramen, immediately turning it a sickly magenta color. "You put in foods you like; I can't argue with that logic."

Claire sighed; her friend was missing the entire point. "Well, Chef B often ends up ruining his entry because he doesn't check to see if the flavors coordinate."

"Huh…" Karen was staring listlessly at the television screen, ignoring her friend's demonstration of how to flip the slice of bread in the skillet. "I wonder which of those two guys would win in a fight…"

The bread sizzled loudly as the raw side hit the heat of the pan. Claire giggled and looked up at the television. The show was called Dueling Chefs, after all… "Those guys? Well, I could swear I've seen Chef B add a stone to one of his creations, so…" She didn't admit aloud that this was one of the few times that the chef's dish actually won…

Karen stared at the blonde, befuddled. "I was talking about Gray and Cliff. Who would win in a fight?"

Claire considered this and frowned. "I-I don't think they'd fight, Karen…" She remembered the scene from yesterday and her stomach twisted uncomfortably. "I don't think Cliff would let it get that far," her voice was soft as she recalled the young man's words about trying to be a pacifist.

Karen smirked, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "Ah, so he's your pick. Gray does definitely have a lot of strength, though, but I bet he lacks the endurance. I mean, that mountain boy can run!" She began to laugh but it soon faded as she remembered the burning in her lungs and pounding in her chest as her friend desperately pulled her along the cobblestone path to Claire's farm a couple of weeks ago. She had felt like they were flying, and once they reached the property and Karen saw Claire's slumped form, her wings broke and she crashed. The grocer's daughter swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "Y-You're right. It's a stupid question; they wouldn't fight." She turned back to the hotplate, eager to forget about her memories of the unconscious farmer. "S-So… I missed you flipping the toast back there…"

Claire pointed at the bread with the fork. "You want it to look golden brown like this. If you poke it, it will feel solid instead of mushy." She dexterously lifted a corner of the bread with the utensil. "See? Golden." She turned the pan out onto a plate and added oil to the skillet. "You ready to try?"

Karen pulled her slab of bread out of the egg and milk mixture. "As ready as I'm going to be, I suppose." She nervously dropped it into the skillet and let out a small shriek as it hissed loudly.

The blonde gave her a kind smile. "Don't worry; once you get the basics down, cooking will become a lot easier, even fun!"

The grocer's daughter gave her a playful punch on the arm. "Well, it's a heck of a lot more fun than trying to learn from my mom…" She paused and stared down at the toast in the skillet, her cheeks flushing a bit. "… Thanks for putting up with me, Claire. I know I'm a horrible cook."

She let out a weak laugh. "N-No you're not!" She insisted, waving her hands defensively, "and I'm not putting up with you; you're my friend. I enjoy hanging out with my friends," she grinned, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body as she bit into her French toast.

Karen cocked an eyebrow. Claire had been much more social lately, especially with particular friends... "Well, just remember that I'm your best friend," she stuck out her tongue at the farmer playfully.

The blonde didn't understand exactly what Karen was hinting at. "Of course!" Claire shot her a grin as she twirled her fork in her fingers. The brunette had changed her life in countless ways, and Claire was starting to notice that she was starting to speak and behave a little more frankly around the grocer's daughter. Karen seemed tickled to receive less formal treatment. Claire was happy about this as well; she never had close friends growing up and a small part of her had been afraid that she never would. She cut a small bite for her friend and held out her fork to her. "Want a sample of what you're making?"

Karen snatched the fork from the young woman, biting back a snicker as she remembered the blonde feeding the rosy-cheeked birthday boy from her own plate the week before. The grocer's daughter was content feeding herself. She took the bite of French toast and chewed thoughtfully. "It's good, but I still think the paprika would have done something to it…"

Claire had no doubt that it would have definitely "done something to it", but she didn't believe it would be an improvement. "Start with the basics," she winked at her friend.

"Yeah, yeah…" Karen rolled her eyes. "So, you've still got my swimsuit, right?"

Claire tried to hide the frown on her face; she had hoped to use it more than once before returning it. "I can get it for you in a minute."

Her friend shook her head. "Nah, I was thinking we could go to the beach this afternoon. What do you say?"

The farmer grinned as she remembered the fresh, cool water. "Sounds great. I can't wait." She absentmindedly watched the television program with Karen for a while and her smile faded as she smelled smoke. "K-Karen! Flip your toast!"

She swore loudly, attempting to stab the bread through the middle and it ripped. "What the-?!"

"Scoop," Claire demonstrated with her own fork and the remaining toast on her own plate.

The brunette clumsily attempted the same motion and the bread flopped in the pan, sizzling loudly. The two stared at the charred top of the bread and Claire gave her an apologetic look; she knew she should have been more attentive.

"Looks pretty tasty, huh?" Karen had a genuine grin on her face.

Apparently this was much less burnt than the grocer's daughter was used to. "Uh, s-sure!" Claire beamed.

0o0o0o0

"Taking a break, Kai?"

The young man took off his bandana and aired it out. "Yep. It's a hot one today, huh?" He absentmindedly watched Karen and the new farmer girl building a sand castle on the beach. Kai took a seat on the bench outside his shop.

"It's good to have you back," the color rose in Popuri's cheeks as she sat down beside him.

"It's good to be back," he returned with a grin. She was a sweet girl with a bit of spunk to her, and it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes as well.

"Summer's my favorite season because I get to hang out with you," Popuri admitted, playing with a strand of her long hair.

Kai nervously wrung the purple square of fabric around his knuckles and stared down at it, frustrated that her words made him feel flustered. The young woman was very forthright with her opinions; he had noticed a not-so-subtle change in their friendship since last summer and, quite honestly, it left him a little baffled. "It doesn't bother you that I'm not around all of the time?" He asked carefully.

The young woman shook her head, her cotton candy curls swaying as she did so. Her face lit up and her garnet eyes had such an innocent, joyful glow to them that her companion found himself gaping at her, forgetting about his worries. "I love the letters and postcards you send me. Traveling sounds like a lot of fun," she giggled, "and I know I'll always see you again in the summer," she added with a wink.

Kai let out a laugh as he sighed in relief. "Ah, I'm glad you understand…" He wasn't looking for anything overly serious right now as far as women were concerned. He stared back out at Claire and Karen playing on the beach; he didn't really think of himself as a womanizer, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the view.

Popuri was watching the pair as well. Her eyes moved back to Kai and she noticed that they were still glued to the women, but she knew better than to take it personally. After all, she wished that someday she could be as attractive and glamorous as Karen or at least have that simple, yet effective brand of feminine beauty Claire possessed. Popuri feared that people saw her as a child attempting to play dress up with her ruffles and curls, but Kai had given her a look recently that made her worries fade a bit. And the glance he had given her was quite different than the one he was giving the girls on the beach, she realized with satisfaction. "We have the summer to see each other all we want," she swung her feet.

Popuri had become fast friends with Kai back when he commissioned Gotz to build the beach shack five years ago. Rick had blown a gasket over the mysterious traveler spending so much time with his then sixteen-year-old little sister, convinced that Kai was a cunning pirate who was plotting to whisk Popuri away across the ocean. She had only seen Kai as a platonic friend for those first few years and she hung out with him mainly to rebel against her brother; but she quickly learned that the cook was a lot of fun to spend time with. Last summer, Popuri had caught herself openly flirting with the cook, and she was pleased to see that he was doing the same.

"Kai?"

"Huh?" He looked over at her. Her eyes were locked onto the water and she was slouched a bit; Popuri suddenly looked very small.

She swallowed the lump in her throat; her mouth suddenly felt dry. "You don't have any girlfriends at the other towns you visit, do you?" She stammered, avoiding his gaze as she stared out at the beautiful aqua waves.

The question caught him off guard and he felt an itch of annoyance as he bit his lip. Kai shook his head. "Your brother said that, didn't he?" No doubt it was another one of Rick's plots to keep Popuri from seeing him.

The young woman looked at him earnestly; she had to know what Kai really thought of her. "He implied it," she admitted, craving to hear his reaction.

He snorted, shrugging his shoulders; he was at his wit's end with Popuri's sibling. "Well, your brother can go to hell."

Satisfied with his answer, Popuri giggled and gave him a kiss on the mouth; the tanned young man jumped a little in surprise, but he was more than happy to go along with it.

"HEY!" Rick's voice echoed across the beach as he stomped towards the pair. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Claire looked over at the poultry farmer in surprise. She had never heard anyone yell that loud in her life. Karen stood up and watched her childhood friend storm through the sand.

"Goddess…" Kai groaned when he heard the young man's bellow. Of course Rick had to enter the beach at that very moment…

Popuri glared at Rick and gave Kai a few more kisses out of spite for her brother. The cook was so pleasantly surprised he forgot that he was supposed to be hesitant.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my sister!" Rick growled as he caught his breath. The uneven sand, coupled with his unbridled rage, left the young man a bit winded.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but Popuri interrupted him. "I came here to see him! He's my friend, Rick! Why is that so hard for you to accept?!"

Claire found it hard not to eavesdrop on the conversation. For one thing, everyone was speaking so loudly the entire town could probably hear. Secondly, the subject matter was incredibly juicy; as much as she told herself she would not butt her nose into others' affairs, she was finding it nearly impossible to stand there quietly and ignore the conversation. Thirdly, Karen had left her side and was slowly approaching Rick.

"Friends don't… h-hang all over each other like that!" Popuri's brother stammered, adjusting his glasses before they fell off of his face.

"Well, Karen's right here; why don't you give it a try? Maybe you'd be less of a jerk!" The young woman retorted as she hugged Kai's arm, daring her brother to challenge her.

"Wh-Wha-?" Rick whirled around to see his friend standing behind him and he turned a bright shade of red. "K-Karen!" He didn't question why she was there; he was desperately seeking an ally. "T-Tell Popuri she's b-being disgusting and inappropriate! She listens to you!"

The brunette blinked at him and turned toward the couple. She looked back at Rick and shrugged. "I don't see anything gross." She raised her eyebrows when she got an impatient stamp in reply. "And I'm not her parent," she added pointedly.

Rick bit his lip until it threatened to bleed. "What exactly are you getting at?" He couldn't tell which woman he was angrier with.

Karen flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Exactly what I said. I never mince words with you."

Kai shot the young woman a grateful look and Rick was not blind to this. That meddlesome traveler did nothing but fool around and charm women; he had Popuri and Karen both wrapped around his finger! Rick was so furious he had trouble wording a proper sentence. "B-But… th-they…!"

The brunette put a warm hand on his shoulder. "… Kai isn't a bad guy, Rick… You need to-" her green eyes widened when her friend shrugged off her touch.

"Y-You'd know all about him being so great!" He spat, whirling on his heel and storming off the beach.

Her voice dropped threateningly and the poultry farmer halted in his tracks. "Rick, don't you dare walk away from me!"

"I-I can't deal with this right now," his voice cracked as he took a step toward town.

The young woman's patience broke. "I thought you wanted to be a man," Karen chided, folding her arms across her chest.

Her words had stunned him. Rick froze and stared at her, pain reflecting in his eyes. "Really, Karen…?"

"Yeah, really," the brunette walked over and linked her arm with Claire's, much to the farmer's surprise. "Come on; the three of us are going to the Goddess Spring."

The blonde's heart pounded in her chest. She was going to be accompanying the two friends during what was going to inevitably turn into an argument? The young woman gave her friend a questioning look, but she was met with a confident smile in response as Karen pulled her closer.

The young man stared at the couple on the bench with frustration. Kai and Popuri were sitting side by side rather stiffly, each with a thin line for a mouth. "And what if I refuse?"

The farmer watched curiously as Karen let out a soft chuckle and ran her fingers down his arm before taking his hand. He shivered slightly, color rushing to his cheeks. "You and I both know that's quite impossible." Claire couldn't tell if the brunette was being flirtatious or threatening. The blonde watched in surprise as the young man grasped his friend's hand gratefully and turned toward Karen.

"I-I'm making the decision to join you," he replied carefully, pushing his glasses back on the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

She knew exactly how to work him; they grew up together, after all. Karen gave him a playful smirk. "Of course you are. Lead the way, Rick."

0o0o0o0

The walk to the spring was pleasant enough. Karen and Rick made small talk as they passed through Claire's property, and the poultry farmer was very impressed with the amount of corn the farmer had planted.

"The first ears are just ready to eat; I'm going to be harvesting a lot tomorrow morning," Claire nodded proudly. She stared out at the tidy rows of corn, overwhelmed for a moment. It looked like a farm…

Rick's eyes curiously scanned the fields. "Yeah, that's a lot of corn…" A grin played at his lips as he adjusted his glasses.

The trio sat in the grass in front of the Goddess Spring and Claire waited quietly, her stomach twisting in anticipation. The walk here had been suspiciously peaceful; she didn't have to wait long for their argument to un-pause.

"You know you've been pushing them together, right?" Karen's voice was soft as she stared at the waterfall.

"Wh-What?!" Rick glared at her. "I've been trying to keep them apart!" He gritted his teeth while he balled up his fists.

She shook her head. "What do you expect her to do, Rick? You won't let her help out at the farm. Where else is she supposed to go? I bet you'd suggest she go the church every day, but then you'd get mad because that's Cliff's haunt." The brunette stared at him and shook her head. "Heaven forbid Popuri interact with a male…"

The poultry farmer snapped and slammed his fists on the ground. "I-It's not like that!" He retorted, rage welling up from within him. "And I should be the one that's angry!"

The grocer's daughter hadn't really been angry until Rick said this. She was tired of playing nice. "Well, it just happens that Popuri is my friend!" Karen frowned. "Do you have any idea how worthless you make her feel?"

"Worthless?!" Rick spat, "All I've ever done for her is try to handle her the way Dad would! She gets treated like a damn princess!" There was a not-so-subtle tone of jealousy in his voice as he stared at the ripples on the Goddess Pond, almost frustrated that the scenery looked so tranquil.

"You are not her father…" Her voice trailed off as her anger melted. "And no one expects you to be." She stared into her male friend's eyes.

Claire was starting to wonder why she had been dragged into coming along; she was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. She looked up in surprise as she saw Cliff silently creeping out of the Spring Mine, slipping a heavy gauntlet off of his right arm and massaging his left shoulder. Their eyes met for a brief moment and the color drained from his face; he looked like a spooked deer. His hands immediately fell to his sides in response. The young man gazed at the tension on Rick and Karen's faces and gave Claire a comforting smile and nod in greeting as he noiselessly snuck behind them to head back into town.

The poultry farmer bit his lip as he fumbled to form a proper sentence to express his complicated emotions. "… Popuri deserves a father…" Rick stared at the water miserably. "And she deserves a man who will stay in her life; not someone who just goes gallivanting around…"

"Are we talking about Rod or Kai?" Karen asked quietly.

They were quiet for a long time.

"Both, I guess…" He admitted with a sigh.

"You can't do it all," Karen took her hand in his and traced her fingers along his knuckles. "We're all only human. Don't think of this as a bad thing... but… Kai can help ease that burden in a way…"

"I don't trust him." His voice was curt.

Claire noticed that Karen was struggling to find the right words as she stared at the ground. "I know that… But I'm asking you to try."

Rick looked at her with burning cheeks. "I don't want him to toss her aside like an empty paper cup once he gets bored with her." His gaze shyly returned to the ground as he slouched his shoulders.

A rush of anger coursed through the grocer's daughter as she clenched her jaw. "I-I told you… Our breakup was mutual," Karen let go of his hand and fussed with her brown locks. "I-If anything, I broke up with him…"

Claire's jaw dropped; she had no idea that Kai and Karen had once been a couple. Her friend had mentioned nothing of the sort, and she found that it made her feel a little hurt and left out for not receiving this information. Karen seemed to sense this and shot Claire an apologetic look before turning her focus back on Rick.

The brunette decided she might as well give Claire a shortened version of her history with Kai. "It was a short fling," she shrugged. "It was years ago. I'd hang out at the snack shop and we'd sit out on the docks together. When summer ended, we both decided to move on. It was fun while it lasted, but there wasn't anything… solid there, you know?" She looked at Rick; surely he had to understand this.

The poultry farmer swallowed the lump in his throat. The traveler had stolen Karen's first kiss, and he would never forgive him for that. Rick had secretly longed for that precious gift for himself for several years, but he could hardly say that aloud. And now Kai was hanging out with his little sister…

"Kai really is a good guy," Karen repeated quietly. "He wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't be great with Popuri."

"I-I don't want to talk about that right now…" Rick took off his glasses and wiped them nervously.

Karen leaned against her friend, her brown hair brushing against his shoulder. "I'm over him, Rick. It's about time that you were, too." She looked at him with wide eyes.

His cheeks flashed crimson as he scooted closer to her, but his posture immediately stiffened when he remembered Claire was sitting with them. He nervously cleared his throat. "I-I g-guess you may h-have a point… I… I-I c-can't guarantee it will happen overnight, though…"

Karen gave him a friendly smile as she sat up. "I thought I already said that we're only human," she giggled, standing up.

"Y-Yeah…" Rick wiped his sweaty palms off on his apron and gave her a crooked smile as he got up.

Claire bounced up, a little jittery at the display she had witnessed. She shyly followed the pair back toward town. Rick and Karen started up their small talk again, and Claire noticed that it soothed her this time. The trio stopped in front of Claire's farmhouse.

"Well, thanks for hanging out with me today, Claire," Karen gave her friend a swift hug as an unspoken apology for the argument she was dragged into. "See you soon?"

Claire nodded. "Of course."

The brunette turned toward Rick. "I'll meet you at the bar in a minute, okay?" Karen winked at the poultry farmer. "Save me our spot and order me something good, okay?"

"A-Alright," the young man blushed and waved goodbye to them. "Thanks, Claire. Have a good evening."

"B-Bye…" She waved, unsure of why he was thanking her.

"Thank you for coming along to the spring," Karen echoed as her friend was out of earshot. "I know you really didn't want to, but it means a lot that you did. You were a huge help."

Claire couldn't help but wonder if her friend was being sarcastic. She knitted her brow. "I d-didn't do anything…"

Karen laughed and slapped her friend on the shoulder. "You kept me from slapping him a few times. Your presence alone was very helpful. Kind of like a mediator or a judge in a boxing ring…" She stretched her back as she threw on her bathing suit cover-up. "Well, I guess I should head to the bar. He always wants to drink when he fights with Popuri; who am I to argue with that? My sources say that we're gonna get riggedy riggedy wrecked tonight!" She cackled. "No doubt he's starting us off with straight vodka."

Claire raised an eyebrow. She knew Karen could hold her liquor, but she couldn't help but tease her a bit. "Don't get too crazy, now. Am I going to need to come and check on you later tonight?"

Karen roared with laughter and playfully patted her friend's cheek; Claire thought she was already starting to act a little buzzed. "Are you looking for an excuse to visit the inn, you naughty girl?" She gave her a playful wink.

Her friend's cheeks burned and she folded her arms across her chest. "I-I'll leave it to Rick to walk you home, then."

"Oh, he knows he will tonight," Karen's own face lit up as she waved goodbye to her friend. "Rick can be awkward sometimes, but he's definitely a gentleman!"

Claire wondered if Popuri would be the only girl to get a kiss today…

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Beets and strawberries do not belong in ramen; I know from personal experience…

"Riggedy riggedy wrecked!" – Rick and Morty fan, guilty as charged, haha.

I really wanted to focus on Karen in this chapter and the different ways she handles her relationships with people. Karen is always so guarded, so it was really refreshing to write her being so blunt with Rick. I also hope that I achieved a believable Rick as well; he doesn't seem to have many fans, but I think he's a great character.

As always, thank you so much for your reviews and support! Let me know what you think of this chapter!