Coming Home
-Chapter 7: The Harvest Festival-
Jack woke up the morning after Cliff had left feeling both depressed and relieved. He had grown used to Cliff's presence in the short time he had stayed in his cabin, and, once the pair of them had overcome the initial awkwardness, had liked it quite well. He was relieved, though, for that very same reason: He had liked it quite well - too well, some might say. His father would no doubt have a thing or two to say if he ever found out that his son was crushing on some man. And not just any man, either. As he lay on his back in his bed, his mind involuntarily began to construct the reaction his father would have to the news.
"Homeless, uneducated, uncultured...What the hell are you thinking? Or are you even thinking at all? He's a man!
Jack winced. Yup, he could too well imagine his father's reaction to that particular bit of news.
"Gay? My son? I think not!" His father's spectral voice continued to echo through his mind. Jack groaned softly and squirmed further under the blankets, trying to block the non-existent voice.
Think about something else, Jack-o. It's not like you're sleeping together or anything. Hell, there's not even a chance that he likes you like that anyway! It's one-sided, and nothing Dad ever has to know about!
With only that single, not-very-reassuring thought for comfort, Jack was quite reluctant to emerge from his bed and face the day. Only when the increasingly agitated clucking of a small flock of hungry chickens reached his ears did he fling back the comforter and get up.
He absentmindedly fed and watered his various animals as his revelation about Cliff (and, incidentally, himself) continued to occupy his thoughts. The animals, picking up on his unhappy vibes, were quiet and subdued as he tended to him.
By the time he had his crops watered, Jack had decided that what he needed was a change of scenery. He made his way off of his property and, rather unthinkingly, up into the mountains with the vague notion of climbing to the peak and surveying the sights.
He met no one as he made his way behind the carpenter's cabin and proceeded to climb the tree next to the cliff that was the only way to the top of the mountain. He idly wondered if anyone was ever going to build a bridge across the chasm that cut across the path on the other side of the river. It sure would be easier to get up the mountain by crossing a bridge than by climbing a tree.
"Meh...whatever," he shrugged to himself as he leapt from the treetop to the plateau only a foot away. It wasn't like he had any difficulty climbing the tree, or anything. Temporarily forgetting his depression, he flexed his arms and grinned at the hard bulge of muscle that showed beneath the clingy white material of his shirt. Over half a year working on a farm definitely had some personal benefits.
As Jack strolled casually up the mountain path, he continued to distract himself by looking around and taking in the sights. He'd never been this far up the mountain before, and so didn't know what to expect. He was a little surprised when he stumbled upon a small house that looked a bit like a run-down ryokan, a Japanese-style inn. No one was about, and he wasn't feeling particularly like company, so he decided to leave discovering if anyone still lived there for another day. As he went to move on past the little building, though, a gleam of bright yellow-orange caught his eye in the shrubbery near the building's front door.
Curious, he stepped up to it and saw that growing on the shrub was a strawberry sized fruit of some sort. Leaning down to examine it closely, he was engulfed by a mild, sweet aroma that was definitely emanating from the berry. Shrugging, he plucked it from its vine and put it carefully into his pack. He'd ask Popuri or Lilia about it the next time he saw one of them.
(x)
Jack spent several hours seated near the edge of the mountainside overlooking the vast pine forest that grew to the north of the village. His thoughts were just as muddled when he returned down the mountain as they had been that morning. As he leapt down from the cliff, he caught sight of a cloud of pink off to his right in the trees.
"Hi, Jack!" It was Popuri, the young woman who ran the flower shop with her mother.
"Hey, Popuri. How are you?" Despite himself, Jack felt a smile break onto his face. It was hard to be depressed around Popuri. Out of all the young women in Flower Bud Village, she was the most bubbly and cheerful.
"Oh, I could be better," she said, and indeed, she did look a little down.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just me being silly, of course," she assured him. "I don't like the autumn. Sometimes it makes me think I'll never see green again,"
"Oh...I see," Jack said, even though he didn't. "That reminds me, though," he said, swinging his rucksack around so that he could root through it. He found the berry and pulled it out. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, showing it to her.
"Ooooh, a Full-Moon Berry!" she breathed as she gazed at it. "Those are really rare. They only grow for a few days in the middle of autumn, generally on the three days the moon is most full."
"Is that so?" Jack asked, rather surprised. He'd never heard of a plant like that before.
"Oh, yes," Popuri beamed, Autumnal depression temporarily forgotten. "It's why we live here, you know," she said. "Because of all the unique, rare plants that grow on the mountain."
Jack nodded. He'd made passing acquaintance with Basil, Popuri's botanist father this past year. The man had only recently left Flower Bud Village for his yearly pilgrimage to distant lands, in search of new plants. It seemed an awfully silly way for him to live, to be away from his loving wife and daughter for such a long time every year, but Basil seemed happy enough with it. Jack suspected Lilia was rather less happy than Basil with the arrangement, but she never seemed to object. He wondered a little at that, but then shrugged and put the matter out of his mind. It was none of his business anyway, and besides, he had more than enough to think about that was his business.
"I'd best get home," he told Popuri, returning the berry to his pack. "Thanks for the info."
"Any time, Jack. Ask me anything," she said, smiling. Jack returned her smile and waved, then made his way past the carpenter's cabin, across the bridge, and back down to the crossroads to his farm.
Popuri watched him until he was out of sight, and sighed.
(x)
A few days later, Jack awoke quickly and hurried to get dressed. Today was the annual town Harvest Festival, and he was eager to get his chores done so that he could attend. He'd been hearing all sorts off good things about the event for the past several days, and Elli had made a point of telling him he should come.
"It's a fun festival - there's so much good food to eat!" she had said happily, smiling. "It's also when we choose the king for the year, so you should be sure to be there."
Jack knew that the king of the Harvest Festival had the responsibility of presiding over several important events throughout the year, and he was mildly interested in securing the position for himself. He had been told that the selection was made by baking a coin into a cake, and that whoever was served the slice of cake with the coin in it was the next year's king. Jack thought that this sounded like a golden opportunity for Elli or Jeff to play favorites, but it seemed that the pair of them were trusted by the rest of the village not to "rig the election," as it were.
Animals fed and plants watered, Jack made his way through town a little before noon. As he climbed the stairs and stepped into the square, he was surprised and excited to see how things had been set up. Balloons and streamers were strung along the fence around the perimeter, and more streamers and balloons were hung up over the square itself, where they undulated gently in the breeze. Long tables covered in white cloth were set up on either side of the square, leaving the space in the center open for people to wander about. All of the tables were heavily laden with various dishes, each more delicious-looking than the last. Jack's mouth began to water and his stomach growled as his gaze swept over the sea of food.
"Hello, Jack!" Jack looked down, startled. When he saw the silly, bright red top hat and overcoat, he realized that the short, rotund mayor of the village had snuck up on him while he had been admiring the setup.
"Hello," Jack said politely, shaking the pudgy, stubby-fingered hand the man offered.
"Glad that you could make it, young man! Please look around and enjoy the food!"
"Thanks, I will," Jack said with a grin. The mayor smiled back, and said in a conspiratorial voice,
"And don't forget to save a bit of room for dessert,"
"I won't. Thank you, sir," Jack responded. The mayor nodded at him, then turned away and made his way over to greet someone else.
Jack looked around once again, at a bit of a loss for where to begin. Luckily, he spotted Karen standing by a table on the left side of the square, and when he caught her eye she waved him over.
"Here, have some tomato rice," she said, offering him a plate.
"Thanks, I think I will," he responded, taking the plate and the fork she was holding.
"Quite an event, huh?" she said pleasantly. Jack, his mouth full, nodded in agreement.
"Have you seen Cliff yet today?" she asked casually, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He flushed slightly and shook his head. She couldn't help a small smirk of satisfaction before she forced her features into a neutral expression. So Jack was blushing at the mention of Cliff's name now. Interesting.
"This is really good," he said, once he had swallowed and before he went on to take another bite.
"Thank you. I made it myself," she told him, smiling. Jack's slight blush had boosted her already good mood enormously. She had suspected that there was something not quite...well, straight...about Jack after one or two encounters with him back in the Spring, but she hadn't been fully sure that he would ever feel the same way about Cliff as Cliff obviously (to her, anyway) felt about him. Now that she knew she was playing with a full hand, she was quite satisfied. Hopefully she could nudge things along for her shy cousin and the clueless farmer and get...well, something to happen before New Year's. There were plenty of potentially romantic festivals coming up in the Winter, in any event.
"What are you smiling about?" Jack asked, staring at her in an almost accusatory manner.
"I was just thinking about some of the festivals we've got coming up next season," she answered truthfully enough. "Now are you here to talk, or eat?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
Jack grinned and waved his fork. "Eat, obviously," and with that, he began to seriously tuck in.
(x)
Jack made his way around the square slowly but steadily, sampling a little bit of everything. People were more than willing to share their cooking in exchange for his opinion, and so by the time evening was setting in and Elli emerged from somewhere with a large tray of cake, he was quite full. He joined the queue to get his slice of cake, and bumped into Cliff for the first time that day.
"So you are here!" he said as he took the piece of cake Elli handed him. Just act natural, Jack. Naaaatural, he told himself.
Cliff smiled. "I couldn't very well miss out on a festival that promotes free food!" he responded, accepting his own slice from Elli with a smile of thanks in her direction.
"Yeah, this is something else, isn't it?" Jack said, as the pair made their way past the men still waiting for their slice and into a relatively uninhabited section of the square. Cliff nodded in agreement and watched Jack out of the corner of his eye as they each took a bite of their cake. He had seen Jack a few days ago that morning when he had climbed up the mountain, but instead of calling out or going to greet him, he had hidden. He felt kind of silly thinking about it now that they were both here, talking easily. I should've said 'hi' then, he thought to himself.
"How's the ankle?" Jack asked in an offhand manner. Cliff smiled.
"Good, thanks."
There was a slightly awkward silence as both men chewed their cake, each desperate for something to say which wouldn't make him sound like a complete idiot to the other. It was broken by Jack, whose fork had encountered something solid as he cut himself another mouthful.
"Hey!" he said, digging around the solid thing in his cake. "Hey! I've got the coin!" He said this in a sort of half-shout, intended to be heard by the more nearby people.
"What's that? The coin?" The Mayor was pushing his way through the crowd towards the originator of the shout. Jack held it up, trailing cake crumbs. The mayor took it and inspected it carefully, as though inspecting for some counterfeit. When he was satisfied, he held it high over his head (so that it was at about eye-level with most everyone else), and announced, "This year's king is Jack! Congratulations, young man!" The crowd of villagers broke into enthusiastic applause and cheering.
Jack grinned, first at Cliff, then at his congratulators. He was pulled into a round of vigorous hand-shaking and was separated from Cliff. Cliff looked on silently, finishing his cake and watching Jack the entire time, glad for the excuse to be able to stare unabashedly at the object of his affections. He slid into the shadows at the edge of the square when the mayor called for dancing, and watched for a little while longer as Karen grabbed Jack by the wrist and pulled him into a lively jig.
Sighing, Cliff set his now empty plate down at the end of the table closest to the stairs and made his way from the square, into the dark, cool, lonely evening. He didn't particularly feel like watching Jack dancing with girls, even if it was only Karen. He probably liked Karen a lot - she was beautiful, intelligent, and nice. What was not to like? Cliff liked her very well himself, though only as a friend. For Jack, she was probably someone who could be much more than a friend...something Cliff himself could never be, not for Jack. For the first time in a long while, the hated words from his past drifted up to taunt him.
"A relationship like ours can't last forever, you know,"
Last week, when he'd been laid up in Jack's bed with a broken ankle, had been probably one of the...hell, it had been the best week of his life. That was over now, a happy, distant memory. Get over it, Cliff, he ordered himself sternly. You're both men, there's no way it could work out the way you want it too.
Shoving his hands deep into his trouser pockets, Cliff quickened his pace, suddenly eager to return to the solitude of the mountain.
(x)
Ann watched Cliff leave with a puzzled frown. She had been working up the courage to ask him to dance, but he had left, looking vaguely unhappy, before she had gotten the opportunity. She looked to the center of the square, at the dancers, still frowning. The only person dancing that she could possibly see Cliff being put out over was her friend Karen, who was dancing with Jack.
So that was it, then. Cliff must like Karen. It wasn't too hard to see - Karen was beautiful, poised, and (mostly) quiet, whereas she herself was tomboyish, rough, and rather loud. There was really no comparison - it was like trying to compare fine silk and cotton linen. Sighing, she took a seat next to Popuri, who, she noticed, was also watching the dancing with a slightly unhappy expression.
(x)
Jack grinned at Karen, who smiled back at him as she twirled gracefully to the lively music. "You're quite good at this!" he told her during one of the brief moments when they came together as dictated by the lively country dance.
"I live to dance, you know," she said, her green eyes sparkling. And indeed, Jack saw her now in a new light - She was so different when she danced, she seemed far distant from the slightly surly, grumpy person she usually was. It was a nice change. Jack wondered if she could be coerced into dancing more often. It seemed to take her mind off her worries, which he knew she was constantly mulling over.
As they danced, Jack caught sight of Kai, the young man who worked for Karen's father at the vineyard. He was watching Karen dance with a slightly entranced expression on his face, and Jack got the feeling that Karen really ought to be dancing with Kai instead of with him. He wondered if there was anything he could do to rectify the situation, but nothing came immediately to mind. However, when the music finished and the dance ended, Jack saw his opportunity. They had stopped dancing fairly close to Kai, so Jack caught his eye and beckoned him over.
"Take over for me, would you? I need a drink," he said, panting slightly as though to prove his point. Karen raised an eyebrow at him, but nodded demurely enough at Kai, and when a fresh round of music began, and she took his hand and swept him back into the center of the square. Jack watched them dance for a moment, grinning at the slightly dumbstruck but thoroughly delighted expression on Kai's face, and turned to search for Cliff. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say, but had a vague idea of inviting him to walk back to his farm together. He frowned when he couldn't find the other man.
"Have you seen Cliff?" he asked Ann, who was sipping a glass of water by one of the tables.
"He left almost as soon as the dancing began," she told him.
"Damn," Jack sighed. So much for his half-formed plan.
"Hey, um," Ann began, but Jack had already turned away, and didn't hear her. She sighed as she watched him head towards the stairs, and began scanning the table before her for something with more kick than the water she was drinking.
(x)X(x)X(x)
-To Be Continued-
Author's Notes: See Cliff. See Cliff angst. Angst, Cliff, angst.
Yes, I know, I'm horribly mean...both to the characters and to my readers. Again, deepest apologies for keeping everyone waiting so long for this chapter...three months is definitely far too long to go without updating, especially since I get a pretty regular amount of reviews asking for updates. Also, many heartfelt thanks to those of you who are enjoying the story and continue to remind me it exists.
Oddly, I had begun this chapter in an entirely different way a couple of months ago, and when I sat down to begin working on it again, I was bitten by a plot bunny. Well, several, actually. I realized that there would be many more opportunities for fluff later on if Jack were king for the year, so I put the chapter I had intended on the back burner and started this one. Tonight. I actually finished this in about three hours, more or less non-stop. Woo. Go me.
Interestingly enough, I think this fic is now going to be twice as long as I had originally intended - the work of many evil plot-bunnies, you see. Hopefully I'll be able to make it through until the third summer, the traditional "end game" point of Harvest Moon 64. Many things I have intended...now let's see if I can actually pull them off. Haa... Anyway, things are about to get very interesting (and angsty), so hopefully I'll be motivated to update more regularly. Hugs to you all, and I'll see you in chapter 8. :)