It started when Luigi got a letter from Daisy, asking him to teach her how to dance with a partner.

It sent a pinch of nervousness – if he would be a good enough teacher – but it was drowned out by a desire to help her.

He could do it, reasonably well, he figured, he hoped. It was a venture into something new. It was good for new couples to try new things.

New couple, the words made Luigi's head go into a daze of happiness.

He went to answer Daisy's letter. He decorated the blank spaces with drawings of couples dancing. He hoped it would give Daisy reason to smile.

They got the plan together to meet up, and learn and teach. On the day, when Luigi got close to the meeting place, Daisy was sitting on the seating area of a fountain. Daisy waved when she saw him, got up, brushed her hands down her clothes, and hurried over.

"I'm ready!"

"Excited?" He asked.

She nodded, and rocked back and forth on her feet. "How do we start?"

"If it's with a partner," he said, "Do you want to learn how to lead or follow first?"

"I wanna try leading," she decided.

Luigi instructed her though the motions, and she handled her non-existent partner well enough. Sometimes her tempo would be off, or she would step out of place, but overall she could lead well.

It was more difficult to learn how to follow because there was no one to guide the motions.

"Let me show you," he said. It was when she got closer that worries swarmed his head.

If she was okay with being this close, if she was okay with him putting his arms around her, worry, worry, worry, worry -

"Luigi?" Daisy asked. Her left hand had grasped his right and she seemed to be at a standstill.

Luigi stepped back, her hand slipped from his hand and his mouth went dry.

"It's, it's like this," he said and he began to demonstrate the dance. She blinked and watched, and tried to follow as best she could. The excitable air noticeably vanished.

Time went on and they parted ways, and Luigi's worry was replaced with the internal chastisement that he'd been too hasty and awkward.

A few days after that occurred Luigi spent too much time replaying it in his mind. He went out for a walk to clear his head.

The path he walked was adorned with trees on either side. He looked up and saw that the clouds were beginning to darken.

Despite the new scenery, the replaying was still on a loop.

It seemed to be a downright insulting level of adolescent behavior. He should've just asked Daisy outright if it was okay to be close to her. But it was far easier to pick apart what he did wrong when he was out of the situation.

Luigi ran into a low tree branch, and it roughly interrupted his musings.

"Oww." He rubbed at his smarting face and blinked away tears.

Thunder rumbled through the sky. Luigi saw an octagon gazebo at the end of the path and figured it would be good shelter.

He was still rubbing his face as he walked.

"Luigi!"

That stopped him in his tracks, sent a wave of heat in his heart. He looked to see Daisy standing at the top of the stairs of the octagon gazebo.

"There you are. You left so quickly."

He looked to the ground and his hand ran along the back of his neck.

"So, I want to say," Daisy continued, "I'm sorry, if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Daisy – "

Thunder rolled loudly and the rain fell down in a sharp, quick and merciless shower. Luigi blinked. Daisy's mouth was slightly agape.

A new, less disparaging worry went through his mind at an alarming speed. He stepped backwards back onto the path.

"I'm gonna find an umbrella!"

"Oh – but, Luigi, when you come back I want to talk to you."

He nodded and ran down the muddy path.

Luigi was soaked by the rain by the time he came back with an umbrella. He saw the gazebo and popped open the umbrella, realizing too late that he should've run with the umbrella already open. He saw Daisy's expression change.

"Luigi, you're going to freeze."

"I'm all right," he said. He held out the umbrella.

Daisy took it, stepped out of the safety of the gazebo's rafters. She held the umbrella over him.

His protests never came to fruition; it was because he shivered violently. He ran his hands over his arms.

"Like I was saying," Daisy said. "I'm sorry, if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"It wasn't that," he said. She blinked and waited for him to talk.

"You do have to be close for those kinds of dances," he explained. "So, I didn't know if, if that was okay with you. I got nervous."

"You weren't uncomfortable, then?"

"No, I was worried you'd be. I'm so – "

"You don't have to apologize," she said. "We just misunderstood each other."

"But I do want to apologize for not telling you then."

She hummed. "It's okay. I forgive you."

A weight went off his chest.

"Now you know," Daisy said. "If I have to be close to you I don't mind. I don't mind at all."

"I don't mind, either."

The words hung in the rainy air and he thought there was something he ought to do. It would be something to befit her words and for what she wished for before.

Luigi stepped forward and embraced her. The umbrella slipped from her hand. She held on tighter.

After a moment he asked, "Would you like to learn how to follow, now?"

He could feel Daisy nod against his shoulder.

Luigi moved to carry her in his arms. She locked her arms around his shoulders. Luigi walked to the gazebo to get out of the rain and Daisy spoke.

"Interesting dance."

"Usually, usually, the partner runs forward and the other catches."

Daisy's expression became cheeky.

"So, if I run to jump into your arms you'll always catch me?" she asked playfully.

"Of course."

Daisy grinned. She pressed a kiss to his warm face.

A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on November 17 2019

So this was inspired by Harvest Moon's Heart Events mechanic - and this one in the line of the Silly Misunderstanding route in Heart Events – but not drawing from any canon.

Well... that happens sometimes!