Summary: Gray and Yuko never got along; ever. Really, they seemed to hate each other with a passion, but will that change when Gray find's out Yuko's secret?
Disclaimer: No, I unfortunately don't own Harvest Moon…
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Yuko sighed as she walked out of her room the next morning, running a hand through her dark bangs and pushing them away from her face. Hearing another door open, the girl looked to her left; breathe catching in her throat and face brightening as she saw her co-worker exit. Because of the whole scenario from the night before, the jeweler got little to no sleep; she was too embarrassed, and her racing thoughts didn't seem to want her to let her fall into the land of dreams.
The girl, who was frozen, just watched as Gray turned to her direction to get to the stairs, stopping short when his eyes met hers. They both just stood there for a while, staring at each other, faces heating after every second. "Ah…. G'morning…" he greeted finally, pulling his cap down slightly to hide his face as he began walking towards the stairs, doing his best to avoid eye-contact with the jeweler.
The jeweler just put her head down, stepping back slightly to let Gray proceed to the stairs and down them, her throat holding a lump, causing her to be unable to speak. He started to walk down, the awkward silence filling the mild halls rapidly, once the blacksmith turned to speak once more. "I'm, uh… I'm sorry for yesterday… I honestly thought you guys were just talking, and Kai wanted me to get Popuri to go see him…" he explained, face flushed as he kept his face mostly hidden by the cap that made so many wonder if he was bald.
Yuko glanced up slightly, her cheeks burning as she swallowed the lump and started fidgeting with the bottom of her pale blue halter top. "I, uh…" she started, not knowing exactly what to think, her mind a mere puddle. "Excuse me," she mumbled, starting down the stairs, avoiding looking at Gray at all costs. She passed him swiftly, but mentally cursed when she felt a hand close around her wrist. Her trapped hand clenched slightly as she glared at the stairs, refusing to look back at Gray, her jaw tightening as she waited him to speak.
"You could at least say something… Y-y'know, say 'thank you' for my apology or something'…" he muttered, unsure of what exactly to say. And why was he stopping her anyways? It's not like he cared what she did or something. Hell, since Yuko had moved to Mineral Town two years ago, he had hated her, and for reasons he hadn't told anyone, causing them to believe his dislike was for no reason whatsoever.
The girl continued just glaring at the steps before she slowly turned, her wrist still trapped in his grasp. "You want me to say thank you? You honestly want me to say 'thank you' after you probably embarrassed the living hell out of me? You saw me almost completely naked!" she hissed in a low tone, her face flushed. Seeing Gray's gaze narrow, she felt a small pang of guilt, but did her best to not let it show. Slowly, he released her wrist, and in turn, she took in her hand and rubbed it a moment, noting it was red where his fingers had held. She turned her back on him and went down the steps, not giving him a second to give a reply.
At work, Yuko had completed her newest, gold ring, its thin band decorated with three, small sapphires. With hours to go until her shift was over, and no inspiration to make her accessories, she had fallen into a light sleep. She was just sitting in a chair, her arms cross, her head forward as she dreamt in utter silence. The jeweler hadn't even heard the creek of her door, nor the small, light footsteps that followed; right now, she was too tired to have her senses alert. It wasn't surprising either, considering the lack of sleep the night before.
It was only when she heard a "snip" and her head instantly felt lighter that her eyes snapped open. Just as she awoke, she heard the door to the Blacksmith slam shut, causing her to stare at it strangely. Walking out, the girl looked at Gray and Saibara who were just sitting there, shocked expressions set of their features. "What?" she asked, eyeing them strangely as she crossed her thin arms. In silence, the two men just looked at each other for a brief moment before Gray nodded and stood. He disappeared into the small bathroom, returning with a small, golden-framed mirror, holding it up in front of Yuko's face.
The girl's face instantly blank as she stared at the image that mimicked her.
Rather than the long, coal hair she was used to seeing, tied back in a low ponytail the way she had it when she came to work, her hair was but a mess of short, un-even hairs. Someone had cut the girl's hair, presumably right above where the hair tie had been. In a complete state of shock, the girl raised a slightly shaking hand to the back of her head, running her fingers through the fine hairs that ended so abruptly compared to earlier in the day, when she was able to run her fingers through the long strands for what seemed like eternity. Now, however, that wouldn't be happening any time soon; she had been growing her hair out for years, and finally after getting it the length she wanted, it had been chopped off. "Saibara," she said with a week voice, slapping away Gray's hand that had been waving up and down in front of her face, which is something he had been doing for a while actually. "I'm leaving early today."
The old man nodded as Yuko walked back into her small "office", finally noticing the clump of black hair that had once been attached to her scalp. Kneeling down, she picked up the hair that was still held together by the small bands she used to keep it tied back from her face while she worked. She held the hair gently before clenching her fist, throwing it into the garbage beside her desk, a few stray hairs littering the floor. Her eyes burned while she held back vicious tears, yanking on her coat and grabbing her large, black bag. Without a word to either man, let alone a glance, Yuko walked out of the blacksmith's, slamming the door behind her. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked towards the town square, not wanting to go back to the Inn, knowing she would get questioned by Ann or Kai about why she wasn't at work.
Sighing once she reached the square, Yuko ran her fingers through her hair, wincing as the fine hairs ended so quickly. All those years of nurturing it, waiting for it to grow out… Wasted. The girl frowned, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Noticing the wet substance against her skin, the girl raised her hand to touch where the tear had fallen, only for more to slip out. The girl groaned in utter annoyance as she started sweeping them away, but the gesture did little good. "Dammit," she muttered, "I hate crying." And that she did; Yuko had always hated shedding tears, especially in front of people or in public places. For once, she always felt like a fool, and she always felt so… So vulnerable; weak even.
Footsteps sounded behind the young jeweler, but she had no reason to look back to know who it was. After all, when someone "follows" you from work every day, their foot steps tend to become recognizable and familiar. "What do you want, Gray?" she ask, taking a deep breathe, willing the water falling from her eyes to come to a halt. The foot steps behind her sounding a few times more before stopping.
"Look," his gruff voice started, and she could practically see him crossing his arms, an annoyed expression on his face. It was quite obvious Saibara had been the one to ask Gray to follow her and ask if she was alright. Though, it didn't take a genius to figure out she wasn't "all right". "I'm not here because I want to be, but Gramps would have killed me if I hadn't come to see you."
The black haired girl turned and glared at gray, clutching to the strap of her bag until her knuckles went white. "Is that honestly supposed to help right now?" Really, why did it have to be Gray of all people here? She was upset enough about someone chopping off her hair, and he wasn't making things much better.
The blacksmith sighed, obviously annoyed as he removed his cap and ran his hand through his bangs. "Let me finish, why don't you?" Yuko just continued glaring, her arms crossed, her face saying "Get on with it then". Sighing, Gray walked closer, putting his hand on her head and pulling her closer as if he was going to hug her. Of course, just him pulling her closer with his hand on her head was making him flustered enough.
Yuko blushed slightly, now frozen at Gray's action. The two just stood like that for a few moments, before the jeweler suddenly screamed, every hair on her body raising. Gray was just about to ask what the hell was wrong with her, when he saw something red peaking out jest behind her. Looking over slightly, he noticed a very, very short and chubby man dressed in all red, a large top hat to match, who stood on his tip-toes and seemed to be… Rubbing Yuko's hips? Of course, Yuko was frozen stiff, and couldn't seem to be able to do much of anything right then; perhaps her mind suddenly shut down? "Uh, what do you think you're doing, Thomas?" Gray finally asked, staring at the little man who, as much as he hated to admit it, was the mayor of Mineral Town.
The man leaned his neck back, looking at Gray who was about three times his height. "Well," the pudgy, cherry-cheeked mayor started with a smile, "I'm testing the hips of all the single girls in the Town. I want to find a good wife for my son, so he'll have a nice, healthy child to take over the role of mayor when my son retires." Gray just arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms as he looked down on the smaller man, Yuko finally coming back to her senses and slapping Thomas' hands away before she swerved and hid behind Gray, grasping onto the arm of his beige jacket.
"Who says I'm single?" she asked, glaring at the short man, doing her best not to avert her attention from the mayor. Right now, she really didn't want him behind her at any cost. Actually, she didn't want Thomas in the same town as her if he was going to randomly go up and rub her hips!
Thomas raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms; well, he tried at least, but wasn't able to do too well at the gesture, what, with his lump of flub. "Oh really now? I haven't heard about you being in a relationship, and I hear everything that happens in this town. Plus, Gray is the only bachelor on the island, aside from my son, that is single, and last time I checked, you two hated each other."
Gray was about to say something when Yuko moved beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Just go with it," she whispered in his ear, making sure Thomas couldn't read her lips. "What are you talking about Thomas? Gray and I don't hate each other at all! In fact, we're madly in love!" Of course, Yuko's timing was as terrible as ever; Manna, Anna and Sasha, Mineral Town's biggest gossips, had walked into the square, and were first-hand witnesses at Yuko's "declaration of love" towards Gray. She saw the women from the corner of her eyes, causing her to start blushing, but refused to let go of Gray's waist, as much as it burned to keep holding onto him.
Thomas just arched an eyebrow, clasping his hands behind his back, and under his bushy mustache, Yuko was almost positive he was smirking at the two, as if he saw right through their charade; of course, it wouldn't be surprising if that were the case. Afterall, everyone in town knew about Gray and Yuko's hatred for one another, and now they were suddenly claiming to be in love? "If you're so 'madly in love', as you claim, then proving it by kissing one another wouldn't be a problem, am I right?" Oh yes, Thomas was definitely enjoying this.
"Uh, w-we aren't big on public displays of affection…" Yuko said, attempting to get out of the tight situation she had managed to get herself into. Thomas just shook his head, basically saying she had to kiss Gray, or start courting his Harris, the police officer, and next mayor of Mineral Town. Between the jerk who was actually pretty good looking, or the nice one who scared the hell out of her (she swears she's seen him following her at night), she would rather choose the blacksmith, as surprising as that is. Then again, power over the town might not be such a bad thing.
While she was contemplating which man to choose, Gray finally got annoyed of Thomas' gaze, and grabbed Yuko's shoulders, "You told me to go along with it, here're the consequences," he whispered briefly before he pressed his lips against hers. The girl froze, her face paled slightly, her eyes wide as she stared at Gray's closed ones. She could hear the three woman whispering and giggling about it, and then remembered why all this was happening; unfortunately for her, if she didn't kiss back, Thomas would most likely arrange an engagement between her and Harris.
Yuko's face would have flushed more if it was possible when she felt something slip between her lips, and felt like her legs were about to give out once she realized what was in her mouth. Gray must have noticed something considering he put a hand at the small of her back, holding her against him so she wouldn't fall. The jeweler swallowed her pride and stood on her tip-toes, so he wouldn't have to slouch so much to reach her be able to kiss her, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning a kiss that she hoped looked passionate enough for the mayor to believe.
Finally, Gray moved his head back, putting an arm around Yuko, who had just buried her face in his jacket so no one could see her blushing; really, her face could replace an actual heater instantly. "Now, if you don't mind, my girlfriend and I are going back to the Inn," the blacksmith said simply, leaning down to grab Yuko's bag to give to her, before putting his arm around her shoulder once more and leading her out of the square. Really, it was just an excuse so he could bring her somewhere private so they could talk about what the hell they would do now, considering Manna, Anna and Sasha obviously wouldn't keep their traps closed for long, and this would probably be all over the town in… Oh, let's say a day, if not less?
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A/n: First off, I want to thank Pulchritudo in omnia for reviewing again, as well as BerryPink for adding YLS to their Story alert!
Okay, onto the actual notes for this chapter of Yuko's Little Secret. For one, I apologize for taking so long to update! School starts on Wednesday, so I've been preparing for that, plus all my friends are keeping me busy, and we're still waiting for our house to sell O.e Well, if Mom gets a particular job, we're moving in a week or two (thankfully), and then I'll have my precious laptop! Yay! Also, my birthday is next Sunday, so I have quite a few people who want to spend it with mexD Oh, and just to tell you all, I have another story I'll be writing at the same time as YLS; it's called By The Way, and is a MarkxOriginal Character fanfiction. It's pretty funny from what I've heard from my readers, so go check that out.
Now that that's aside, I wanna apologize for the crap-tasticness of this chapter. I spent days trying to think of something that would work in this chapter (Many of my ideas won't work until later in the storyxD), and I finally got the idea for THIS about three days ago. I would've had it finished and up long ago if it weren't for my dad always kicking me off when I started to write it… By the way, it was Stu who cut her hair; just saying in case I forget to put that little piece of information in the next chapter xD He did it because… Well, he's a little boy, they do stuff like that (Seriously, my friend did it when he was younger).
Hm. I can't think of too many other notes right now. Really, I hope this chapter was decent, and I'll try my best to write the next chapter as soon as possible! It may take a while though, just because I have to write the next chapter of BTW first (I write one chapter of one story, then one of the other so I don't give up on either xD), and school might make things difficult… But to all of you who are out there reading this, I love you lots, and couldn't do this without you!