Conflicting Loves

Chapter 5: Wanting to Talk

A/N: Dedicated to the loving memory of Mage. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter done. I was working on starting another fic, but it turned out that it wouldn't work. I've been working almost every day this week, at hours that leave me with little sleep during night hours. But, I finally managed to scrap together this chapter through many sittings.

In the last chapter, Jack and Nami had their first kiss. Where will their relationship go next? Will it continue on its fast pace or will they hit rough waters? Find out now.

(-)

"I tell you guys, girls just don't make any sense. You tell one that you love them and they say it back to you, but then they don't talk to you for the next three days. It's almost like she's avoiding me." Jack stated, staring up into the clouds. Jack was lying on his back in the middle of the pasture, amidst the tall grass. On either side of him were A and B, both happy to have the chance to be near their master.

Takakura had already yelled at the young farmer once, telling Jack to get back to work. "What work is there?" Jack asked back, knowing full well that he had done nearly everything possible today. The chance to actually get in some time to do some relaxing was a very rare occasion on any farm, so Jack relished these few late afternoon hours. He had already milked the cow twice, watered the crops once, fed the two chickens, helped in the dig, talked to all the villagers, attempted to talk to Nami, and purchased his summer-fall seeds from Celia. There was honestly nothing else that could be done, due to the weather forecast stating that rain would hit the Valley in the next hour or so.

Ever since that fateful night, hen he and Nami had kissed under the moonlight, Jack had been trying to talk to Nami. Every time that he checked at the Inner Inn, Tim or Ruby would simply say that Nami was out. Jack would then go around the entire Valley, searching for Nami in her usual hangouts. No matter where Jack looked, he couldn't find Nami anywhere. He had come to the conclusion that Nami was just hiding in her room, telling Ruby and Tim to tell Jack that she was out.

"Maybe, things went a little fast for her. After all, we had only known each other for about five days before our kiss. But still, that's no reason to hide from me." Jack thought aloud. "I can understand being a little shy or something like that, but still…"

Jack found himself humming a tune that he had learned back home. It was actually on one of his trips to visit his Grandpa when he had learned the song. He had been so young at the time, but the song stuck in his head ever since. One time, after he had became an apprentice under his grandfather, he and Elli had gone fishing together. Jack whistled the song to himself to pass the time, soon finding Elli joining in with him. "My aunt taught me that song a long time ago." Elli had explained with a little laugh when Jack asked how she had known the tune.

Jack thought back to the first time that he and Elli had kissed. Elli walked out of her house, already dressed in her Goddess Costume, ready for the festival, only to run into Jack. The farmer was waiting outside her door, a bouquet of spring flowers in his hand. "May I ask for the honor of escorting the Lady to the festival?" Jack had asked, trying his best to sound noble.

Elli had flashed that smile, the same one that Jack saw first when he woke up in the hospital, beginning their friendship. "The Lady accepts the Knight's offer." She held out her hand to Jack, who gladly took hold. "Are those for me?" Elli asked, pointing towards the bouquet.

"Oh, yeah." Jack blushed awkwardly as he passed the flowers over to Elli. Elli smiled again, enjoying this humble side of her friend. As they walked hand in hand to Rose Square, Elli began to realize that she had feelings for Jack that were stronger than those that you would have for a friend. Her hand fit so perfectly in his, almost like they were meant to be one. She had looked over at Jack, admiring how his rugged-boyish features appeared so handsome. She had always thought of Jack as good looking, but never in the same way as she was now. "Jack… after the festival… can we go somewhere?" She had asked when they had entered the Square.

Jack nodded his head in agreement, letting Elli's hand slip out of his. "Have fun." He wished, as Elli headed off to join the other girls. All of the other girls had smirks on their faces. "What!" Elli demanded, but the other girls just giggled. "We were wondering how long it would be until you and Jack hooked up." Popuri tittered. So, it had been obvious to everybody else, almost as if they had been waiting for the inevitable.

After the festival was over and everybody had gone home, Elli found herself alone with Jack. "Can we go to the lake?" Elli whispered, finding herself drawing closer to Jack. "Sure thing." Jack whispered back, placing an arm around the girl's waist.

Jack led Elli up Mother's Hill, to the spot that she had requested. The pair stood at the edge of the water, looking out across the moonlit lake. Elli took at seat on the grass and let out a sigh. "When I was young, Dad would escort Mom to the festival. After that, we would come here… It brings back memories…"

A sob escaped Elli's lips, catching Jack off guard. He had been expecting her to tell some happy story, but now she was on the verge of crying. "What's wrong?" Jack placed a hand on Elli's shoulder, kneeling down at her side.

"I… I just miss them…" Elli choked out. Elli had never told Jack much about her parents, choosing to remain silent on the subject whenever somebody brought it up. Jack had learned from the other villagers about the unfortunate accident that claimed the lives of both parents. Jack decided not to be intrusive, deciding instead to be the consoling friend. So, he found himself sitting down beside Elli, her head soon finding his shoulder.

They sat at the lakeside for what seemed like hours, both remaining silent. Elli's sobbing subsided, soon replaced by the intrigue that was filling her. She felt so incredibly comfortable resting with her hand sneaking across Jack's chest, feeling the muscles of his chest tighten as he drew in his breath. "Hmmmm…" Elli felt a smile growing across her face.

Jack placed a hand under Elli's chin, lifting her face to his. "Elli, I think that we can be more than friends." The kiss that followed would never be forgotten, but had been equaled by the other moonlit kiss with Nami. The memories of Elli were still strong with Jack. "Maybe, I should write home…" He thought.

Suddenly, A and B began barking. Jack groaned, not bothering to get up to see who it was. "Leave Takakura alone, he's probably tired." Jack called out before returning to his thoughts and humming. "I wonder when Nami is going to want to see me again."

(-)

Meanwhile, that same night, somebody else was looking up at the stars. Nami brushed the red strands of hair that fell across her eyes and sighed. It had been three days since she and Jack had shared that kiss and he had yet to come by to talk to her. She knew that Jack had the same feelings for her that she had for him, so why would he be avoiding her?

During the days, Nami could always see Jack hard at work in the fields. She admired how handsome he looked with the sun shining off his sweat glistened body. Jack had taken up the habit of working in the fields without his shirt on, so Nami had her own little guilty peep show of the young farmer that she felt love for. It was unusual for he to be attracted to a guy for his looks, but Jack had the looks as well as the hard work and determination that she looked for in a guy.

Tonight, she was looking up at the stars, her gaze cast towards one star in particular. This one star shone with an unusual brilliance, setting itself apart from the other stars. In all of her travels across the world, she had never seen this star before. It was almost like the star had just been created recently, signifying some event. A tiny part of her even smirked at the thought that the star might have been created just for her and Jack. No, that couldn't be…

As she watched her star, she began to think about what was her purpose in life. Was she always going to be the same shy girl who traveled throughout the world, never to settle in one place for long? Or maybe, just maybe, she could actually find a place where she felt like she was at home. These were the exact same thoughts that she had been thinking about right before Jack had joined her on the beach. She had never really decided what she was going to do.

There were so many factors that Nami had to think about. She knew full well that Jack was searching for a wife. Takakura had made this fact quite clear to each of the young unmarried women in town. Both Muffy and Celia had expressed interest in Jack. Muffy had even gone as far as sneaking in a kiss. But, Jack didn't show the same interest in either of those girls, focusing his attention on her instead.

Did she really want to shift gears from the traveler to the wife of a farmer? That was something that she had never considered until these last few days. The more she thought about the possibilities, the more intrigued she became with the idea. It might actually be fun.

Only one other thing needed to be determined before she could make her decision. She already knew that Jack loved her, he had even said as much to her. She just needed to know if his "love" meant the same thing as hers. Nami got up to her feet and walked over to the door, intending to go speak with Jack.

Nami calmly made her way down the steps to the main floor. Ruby looked up to see who it was, "Oh, Nami! I thought that you had gone out for the evening. Jack came by earlier and I told him that you had gone for a walk."

"So, that's why he hasn't come to see me. He's tried, but Tim and Ruby lost track of me…" Nami thought, smiling weakly at Ruby as she made her way to the main door.

The night air was cool, but came as a welcome blast of freshness on Nami's skin. A faint tune carried across the evening calm, reaching Nami's ears. Oddly enough, the tune was one that Nami was familiar with, having learned in her early childhood from her mother. She had even taught the song to this one little boy that she had met one time when she had traveled to a tiny place called Mineral Town. Suddenly, Nami realized the connection. "Jack came from Mineral Town… is it possible? No way…"

Her pace quickened as the source of the humming growing closer. She found herself standing at the entrance to Jack's farm. She could see Jack lying in the pasture, the tall grass nearly high enough to hide the farmer. The humming was coming from Jack. "It is him…" Nami realized. Maybe there was such a thing as destiny.

Nami jumped as a pair of tiny dogs began barking at her. "Shhhh…" Nami whispered, but it was no use. The dogs continued barking. Jack's humming had stopped, but the farmer didn't bother to look to see who it was. "Leave Takakura alone, he's probably tired." Jack ordered. Sure enough, the dogs listened and Jack returned to his humming.

Nami was about to speak up, but something held her back. She suddenly felt extremely nervous, almost at the point where she could hardly stand. "Now is not the time to feel faint!" Nami screamed at herself, but to no luck. She couldn't talk to Jack when she felt like this! It might cause more damage than good.

The red haired traveler turned quickly and bolted back towards the Inner Inn. Jack heard the fading footsteps and sat up. He was just in time to see Nami disappear from sight. Jack gave chase, jumping over the pasture fence. Well, not completely over; his foot caught on the top plank, causing Jack to fall on his face.

Takakura was just exiting his house at the same moment as Jack fell to the ground. The older man rushed to his partner's side. Luckily, Jack appeared perfectly fine, but Takakura wasn't going to take any chances. "Go inside and get some sleep." Takakura ordered, but Jack protested. "Whatever it is, it can wait until morning."

(-)

A/N: I just can't make a relationship that works the way it should, can I? It wouldn't be very entertaining that way. The bumps along the way to bliss are what makes fanfiction so much fun!

Truthfully, I am still searching for my purpose in life and the role that this site will play in it. You guys have welcomed me with open arms and I appreciate it. That's what makes my decision so hard. I want to go out with a bang. I have a new fic planned, one that I think will be a masterpiece, but I don't know if I have the time or heart to do it. I want to make sure I finish this one by the end of September, just in case university proves too hectic. But, this idea is so good that I don't want to waste it. I'll make up my mind by the time I post the next chapter of this fic.