Game of Love—Summer Fireworks
by taitofan
Rated PG-13 for yaoi
Disclaimer: Since Jack couldn't marry guys and Claire couldn't marry girls, it's safe to assume that I don't own the Harvest Moon: Mineral Town games.
Author's Note: This takes place between Rick's Blue Heart Event and Won's Fourth Heart Event, and makes lots of references to earlier chapters. If you haven't read EotH, you might get a bit lost… But you should still catch on. Lots of characterization in this one. I tried to show some of the other characters they'd interact with, which was a challenge at times since I don't really like Kai, Gray, or Ann… Oh well.
Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 11-19-06
It was almost the last week of summer, two seasons since Jack and Cliff had met, and four weeks since their first date. And Jack couldn't have been more pleased. The date had gone perfectly. They'd walked around town, Jack had showed his friend a few of the more notable places, they'd had a wonderful dinner of Curry Rice and wine with Claire, and they shared a proper kiss when the night was through.
Since then, Jack had taken to visiting the man of his dreams not only at the church, but also at the inn. It wasn't overly pleasant having Ann constantly glaring at him or Gray—Cliff's roommate—shooting him odd looks, but he didn't mind much. And since summer had started, Kai was up there too, but he was always working or with Popuri, so he wasn't even an issue. He still managed to do all of his work, but if he wasn't in the kitchen or running to a store, he was with Cliff.
Well, okay. He was cooking for Cliff a lot—someone had to feed him, and it certainly wasn't going to be Ann—and now two of the shops he regularly visited further reminded him of why he loved Mineral Town. After all, when he went to the Poultry Farm and saw Rick daydreaming about his lover, then caught him and Won making out at the latter's shop, he couldn't help but smile. He and Cliff might not be a real couple yet, but if those two could be happy, he knew they could too. Once they finally got together that is…
And he hoped it'd be soon. After all, thanks to a certain loudmouthed woman, half of the town already thought they were together.
It had been two weeks after their first date. They'd been at the church while Carter had stepped out, and they'd been talking when Jack had said something to make Cliff blush. He couldn't help it—Cliff was just too cute when his face was bright red. That had lead Cliff to shove him off the bench though, and Jack, as an automatic response, grabbed at whatever he could get to steady himself. That just happened to be Cliff. And Cliff just happened to fall down on top of Jack…
And, of course, Manna had chosen that exact moment to walk in the church.
Needless to say, half of the town had heard about "the farmer boy and his boyfriend at the church." Somehow, it had gone from an accident to the two of them being half-naked and having their tongues down each other's throats. As nice as that sounded, Jack thought that doing those things in church was a bit too sacrilegious, even for him.
…Not that they'd exactly gone out of their way to stop the rumors. Sure, they'd tell the truth when questioned, but… Well, Jack wasn't sure about Cliff, but he knew that he liked the thoughts of them being a real couple to deny it too much. But how to approach the subject? Sure, he could always go up to him and say, "Hey Cliff, I know we only kissed once, a month ago, but I really like you. Wanna be my boyfriend?" but he wanted it to be more… special. Yes, he'd waited this long to find a guy who'd actually consider seriously dating him, and he wanted to do things right. But how…?
"Hey Jack, I know I'm not the best cook in the world, but I don't think rice is supposed to be that color…" The sound of his sister's voice snapped Jack out of his musings. He looked down and yelped as he saw the curry rice he'd been cooking was tinged black. He quickly shut the heat off and put the pot on a cool burner, sighing to himself.
"Great… I can't give this to Cliff now…"
"What a pity…" Claire said, not sound in the least bit sympathetic. "Look, if it's not good enough for your boyfriend, can I have it? You have, like, nine more in the fridge and they're all for Cliff. I'm really hungry…" He stepped out of the way and the blonde immediately grabbed a fork and began eating it right out of the pot. Jack ignored her lack of table manners and leaned against the counter, watching her attack the charred food like a starved animal. That girl would eat anything…
"Cliff isn't my boyfriend." Claire snorted and swallowed what was in her mouth before turning to him.
"That's all you can say? Jeez… What are you guys waiting for anyways? It's obvious you both wanna be together… You haven't been on any official dates since that first one though. Turning straight on me or something?" He ignored her teasing and sighed again.
"…How can you be so sure? You've only seen him once… What if he doesn't want anything that serious?" It was times like this that Claire wondered how she could be related to someone with such low self-esteem. Really, what was he thinking?
"You've gotta be kidding me… Jack, he was totally nuts about you when you'd just met, and if things are going even half as well as you make them sound, he must be completely over the moon for you by now. You visit him all the time; you should be able to pick up on these things! …Look, I have an idea. The summer fireworks are in a few days. Ask him if he'll go with you. It's supposed to be some big romantic event… If it seems like things are going well, ask him out. If for some reason the stars are aligned the wrong way and he says no, you can always chalk it up to being caught up in the moment. Okay?"
Jack took in her words carefully, mulling them over in his head. It seemed pretty foolproof… And he really did want to date Cliff… Yeah, it sounded very good indeed.
"All right Claire, you win… Just one thing though. How did you find out about the fireworks being romantic?" She laughed and pointed her fork at him, giving him a wink.
"Well brother dear, let's just say that you aren't the only one who's been advancing their love life…" And as she went back to eating, ignoring his pleas to tell him, the conversation was over.
"Thinking about your boyfriend again?" Cliff snapped out of his daydreaming as Gray entered their room and began putting his things away. Cliff had left the church early that day and obviously lost track of the time. But with the… indecent thoughts he'd been having about Jack, he just couldn't stay in a house of God and not feel guilty.
"He's not my boyfriend—"
"Yet," Gray interrupted. Cliff blushed and nodded. He and Gray might not be all that close, but living with someone for two seasons tended to make one learn a few things.
"Yes, yet. You're right; I was thinking of him, but… You don't want to hear my problems…"
"Well, if he doesn't, I sure do!" Their gazes turned to the door as Kai came in, smiling as he sauntered to his bed. Cliff didn't mind his other roommate much, even though he hadn't known him as long, but he was a bit too loud and cocky at times for the brunet's tastes. But what was he doing back so early for?
"Kai, it's only five. Why are you here? Don't you have a lodge to run?" Kai flopped down onto his bed, a small frown forming on his lips at Gray's questions.
"I left early cause there were no customers. I went to go visit Popuri, but…" He trailed off, his frown intensifying. Cliff wasn't sure what the problem was, but if Gray's snickering was any indication, he did.
"And let me guess, Won was there with Rick, and you lasted an entire five minutes before you chickened out and ran?" Kai scowled, hurling his pillow at Gray's face. The redhead laughed and caught it, tossing it right back. "Well, I guess if I'd been beaten up by an old man, I wouldn't want to be around him either…" Tanned skin was suddenly a few shades redder, and as the two started flinging pillows at each other, Cliff shook his head warily.
He didn't know much about Won or Rick other than what he'd heard from Kai and Jack. He knew that Won owned the shop on the beach and that Rick's family owned the Poultry Farm… And that they were the only openly gay couple in Mineral Town. The rest of what he knew was biased, seeing as Kai obviously didn't like Rick one bit. He didn't know how often that summer he'd heard about "that overprotective, geeky, annoying bastard!" Then Kai had come back one afternoon held up by a crying Popuri, sporting a broken rib. Doctor had been called up to tend to him, and Won had gotten off scot-free since Kai would never admit that he'd been beaten up by a man over ten years older and six inches shorter than him. All things considered, Cliff thought the event played out like a twisted fairy-tale, complete with a happy ending for Won and Rick at least—they did become a couple despite all the odds afterwards.
"I'll have you know," Kai finally said after the pillow war had died down, "that I just felt tired and told Popuri I'd come back tomorrow… Besides, weren't we talking about Cliff and his boyfriend, not my girlfriend's brother and his boyfriend?" Cliff didn't even bother to correct him… It was getting rather old.
"There's not much to say… I just… I feel like we're together, but it's not official, and… Does that make any sense?" Kai cocked an eyebrow, but Gray nodded, a thoughtful look in his eye.
"You mean that you feel like lovers, but neither of you have ever said anything formal, right?" Cliff nodded slowly, and he continued. "Well, then that's easy. Just watch the fireworks with him."
"Excuse me?" Kai might have thrown another pillow at the redhead if he wasn't still out of breath.
"Idiot, he's never been to the fireworks before… It's a Mineral Town tradition. During the last week of summer, you go to the beach and watch the fireworks with your sweetheart. If you aren't already dating someone, you just show up, ask them if they want to watch with you, and go from there. I'll be there with Popuri and Gray is going with Mary. If you really wanna make Jackie your boyfriend, just ask him then. If he says no, you can just say the excitement got to you." …That was a good idea, really good in fact. And even if Jack said that he didn't want the commitment, he could still count it as their second date…
"All right, I'll do that… But are you sure you won't get scared if Won shows up with Rick?" Kai's jaw dropped at Cliff teasing him, and Gray burst out into laughter. Oh, that was it. Healing rib or not, the pillow war was back on!
The days flew by and before either of them knew it, it was the day of the fireworks. Both were preoccupied all day long, causing their respective roommates to hope beyond all hope that things went smoothly that night… If only so they'd stop being so spacey.
That night, Cliff left with Gray and Kai, getting to the beach as soon as it got dark. Gray went off to find Mary, and Kai was immediately dragged off by Popuri, who wanted to spend as much time with her boyfriend before he left later that week. Thus, Cliff was left to his own devices, hoping that Jack would get there soon. A quick look around the beach showed that he wasn't there yet, but many younger members of the community were. Doctor was there with Elli, his roommates were with their respective girlfriends… And lo and behold, far, far away from Kai, Won and Rick were sitting side by side on the dock. It was the first time he'd seen them together… And curiosity got the best of him. He slowly made his way to the other side of the beach, getting as close to the pier as possible without looking suspicious.
"Thanks for coming with me," Rick said with a smile, leaning into the older man. "I know you don't like festivals…" Won wrapped his arm around the blond, his own smile set firmly in place.
"Anything for you. I couldn't say no to such a beautiful face, now could I?" Even in the dark, Cliff could see Rick's face flush a deep red.
"Won… Thank you. For tonight, for fighting for me, for… For loving me. I love you so much…" Won laughed, moving so he was looking directly into Rick's eyes.
"There's no need for thanks… But you're welcome regardless. I love you too after all…" With that, their faces leaned closer until their lips touched ever so slightly. Cliff knew he should look away, but as Rick's arms wrapped around his lover's neck and Won's own arms went to the blond's waist, he couldn't look away…
"Cliff, what are you doing?" The brunet spun around, blushing at being caught spying on something so intimate. And by the man he'd been waiting for nonetheless… Jack looked to where Cliff had been watching and chuckled, the sound calming Cliff's nerves instantly. "It'd be nice to be with someone that loved you that much, huh?" Cliff nodded, thinking about that being him and Jack… Oh yes, nice indeed.
"Y-yes, it would… I, uh, Jack, do you want to, um… Will you—"
"Cliff!" Said man was cut off by a feminine voice that he knew very well… Considering he lived in the same inn as her. Jack groaned, not bothering to hide his frustration. He wanted to know what Cliff wanted!
"Hello Ann…" The redhead bounded up to them, ignoring Jack as she always did and smiling up at Cliff.
"Hi there Cliff! I was hoping you'd be here! Hey, do you wanna go watch the fireworks with me? It'll be lots of fun!" Jack only just bit back a growl. Even if they weren't technically together, he still was the only one to have kissed Cliff. And after those rumors Manna had spread, most of the town thought they'd gone further than that. Who was Ann to make a move on who, to her knowledge, was his man?
"…I'm sorry Ann. I already asked Jack if he'd watch them with me." Jack and Ann's eyes both widened at that, for different reasons.
"Oh…" Ann said slowly, a frown appearing on his face. "And he said yes?"
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, earning surprised looks from both of them. "Yes, I want to watch the fireworks with him very much." The redhead's frown deepened, not wanting to believe it.
"Then those rumors are true… You guys really are together… Well, I'm not giving up without a fight! You'd better watch your back Jack! We're rivals now, and don't you forget it!" With that she stomped off, not giving either of them a chance to respond. She really had been in denial… Neither knew what to say to each other now either. They'd just inadvertently agreed to view the fireworks together… Now what? Luckily, the sound of laughter saved them.
"Sorry for listening in guys, but that girl has always been loud… And annoying if you ask me." Jack couldn't agree with Rick more. "Anyway, the dock is big enough, so you two can sit on the end if you want. We can see fine from here." Jack and Cliff shared a silent look, before Jack nodded.
"Thanks Rick, we'll do that."
Ann couldn't believe it. She'd finally found the most handsome guy ever, and he was gay. Great, just perfect. How unfair! And when things were unfair, she went to her best friend—Karen. The other girl must have arrived by now… When they were younger, Ann had always gone to Karen with all her problems, even though that usually meant that she had to deal with Rick too. She'd admit that she'd been jealous of him, seeing as Karen considered him to be her best friend, not Ann. But Rick had acted more like a little girl when they were younger than tomboy Ann had, so she supposed she could understand why…
'Ah, there she is! Oh, and she'd with that new girl too, Jack's sister. Blaire or something… Oh well, Karen will listen to me!'
She bounded over to her friend, not bothering to wait for the two girls to stop talking before she butted in.
"Karen! Oh, I have something to tell you! I—" Karen turned to her, the annoyance clear in her eyes.
"Ann, look, whatever it is, tell me tomorrow, okay? I'm busy tonight. Me and Claire have plans, and the fireworks will be starting soon. So just wait, all right?" …Did she mean what Ann thought she meant?
"Oh, okay…" She walked away after that, wondering if she was the last single person in Mineral Town…
"…So, the fireworks should be starting soon."
"Yeah."
"I hear they're really romantic."
"…Yeah."
"Claire said she heard lovers watch them together."
"Y-yeah…"
Well, this was going nowhere fast.
"…Want a blowjob?"
"W-what?!" Jack laughed at Cliff's expression, the moonlight betraying his beet-red face.
"Sorry, I just wanted to hear something other than yeah… Though I wouldn't have minded that answer…"
"Jack!"
"Sorry…" Jack didn't look very sorry, but Cliff wasn't mad, just… Embarrassed. No one had ever, he'd never—oh God, give him strength—he desperately wanted to say yes. "You know Cliff… I know we've only known each other for two seasons, but I honestly can say that I've never liked anyone more than I like you. And… I think you feel the same way for me. So, you know, if you wanted to take things further, I wouldn't mind."
"Jack, I—" This was exactly what he wanted to ask… He silently thanked God that Jack had asked first though. "I'd like that, a lot." Jack smiled sweetly and reached out his hand, seeking Cliff's and lacing their fingers together. Cliff returned the smile, not quite believing it. After everything that had happen, he had a boyfriend. A boyfriend! And he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so genuinely happy.
Their gazes broke as a bright flash lit up the night sky, followed by a loud boom. They turned out to the sea and watched the fireworks, simply enjoying each other's company. Sure, there would be things they'd need to work out, but for now, they were content to sit together and enjoy each other's presence.
Now that they had each other, they could handle anything.