Storm Clouds and Grey Skies

Author's Notes:

Oh my god everyone, I am so sorry for the late update! Unfortunately, I'm back in university now so these chapters might be coming out slowly now. But I am determined not to let this fanfic die! I will proceed and hopefully keep you all hooked on Leia x Claire goodness that will one day ensue.

Also, just a very minor warning, Claire's language gets a slightly bit milder, but nothing too serious.

Summary

Leia's been there for Claire ever since she took over the farm at Mineral Town one year ago and the two thought they'd remain friends forever. But Leia's wondering if there's more to life than just the sea and in the distance, storm clouds are brewing.

Based on MFoMT/BTN/HM DS Cute

Rated teen for more mature themes in later chapters!

Disclaimer

I do not own Harvest Moon, nor any the characters.

This is purely a work of fiction; if you take this seriously then please go to a psychiatrist and have your head checked.

If there is anything that offends you, please hit the back button.

Chapter Five: Dreams

I slowly opened my eyes as I listened to the chirping of the birds outside, feeling a pair of arms snugly wrapped around my waist. I shifted slightly, causing Gray to grunt in his sleep. I smiled as I rolled to face him, my cheeks heating up.

"Gray...?" I whispered, in case he was still fast asleep.

"Mmh?" came a sleepy response, his eyes fluttering open momentarily before he closed them and took a deep breath, "What?"

I giggled softly and pressed my nose to his, "Good morning..."

The corners of his lips curled and he pressed his face forward, into my chest, "Not now...still sleeping..."

"But Zack will be here soon..." I replied.

"So?"

"He'll see us."

"So?"

"Well...we..."

I wasn't sure what to reply with. Gray was adamant about staying where he was, and I tried to pull away and pry myself away from his grasp but he simply pulled me back into the bed. Even though I gave a protesting whine, I secretly enjoyed it.

"Come on!" I giggled, trying to escape his clutches once more. I could hear him groan again as he slid his hands away from my waist, sitting up. I looked over him, my cheeks turning hotter. We really did do it, didn't we? It felt more like a dream than reality really...

"Did you sleep well?" I asked, sitting up myself.

"Yeah, I did." Gray replied, leaning over and planting a kiss on my shoulder, trailing up to my neck, "I'm a little hungry now..."

"I-I can cook you some breakfast," I replied, wincing as he nibbled playfully at my neck.

"I'd rather have you," he replied, pulling away with a grin. I blushed and looked away. This was a totally different side to Gray than I'd ever seen, he seemed so much more confident than before...and maybe a little more forceful. His arms found their way back to my waist, pulling me closer to him as he rolled on top of me, effectively pinning me down, his nose to mine.

"What do you say?" he purred, grabbing my wrists a little forcefully. I couldn't help but giggle.

"I suppose so," I managed to whisper, as he kissed my lips once more.

For the first time in weeks I strolled down the path towards the Yodel Ranch. The air was cool and crisp, and all the trees had nearly lost all of their leaves.

Zack and Gray resumed working on the farm, telling me to get some fresh air, and I was feeling really good about myself for the first time in a while. My leg had healed up to, and like Trent had said, there was a light scar trailing up my shin to my thigh. I wasn't too fussed about it though. Why should I be?

I turned up towards the square, but as I approached the beach I stopped a few feet away from the steps.

And it suddenly hit me; Leia wouldn't be there.

The green haired mermaid was gone. Zack hadn't seen her anywhere despite the vast amount of searching he'd done. I could feel knots in the pit of my stomach, and I was starting to feel light headed.

"Maybe not," I muttered out loud to myself, turning away from the beach. I felt a harsh tug at my heart. As much as I wanted to go down and sit at the end of the pier it...

It wouldn't bring her back, would it?

No, of course it wouldn't. I just had to keep telling myself she wasn't coming back. "She's gone, Claire. She's not coming back. You know she can't come back. There was no way..."

I swallowed, trying to block the small voice in my mind that was probably telling the truth.

"There was no way Leia could have survived."

So I just kept running. I didn't care where I was going, what time it was, how worried everyone would be...

I just wanted to get away from all of it...

Familiar tears streaked down my cheeks, with no intention of ending. I stumbled and tripped over the branches on the path, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional torment.

God dammit! Why couldn't I just accept the god damn truth? I started pounding my fists into the ground. It just wasn't fair!

I forced myself to sit up and lean back against a tree, covering my face with my hand. My mind was like a broken record and it was driving me insane.

Was it the fact that I really didn't know the truth?

The truth whether she was or was not alive? It's not like I saw her die, was it?

I cringed, my entire body tensing up as I gripped my hair, threatening to tear out the clumps threaded between my fingers. I just wanted to explode. My head was throbbing and the world was spinning from the sheer stress I was under.

I was trying my hardest not to suffer some kind of nervous breakdown. I felt so angry with myself, at how pathetic and weak I'd been acting on top of it all. I'd sulked for weeks over Leia while everyone else picked up the pieces for me and held my hand, like some child dependant on everyone else.

So much was running through my mind that my head was beginning to throb painfully and the world just seemed to keep spinning faster and faster.

I guess that's when I passed out.

The chirping of a cricket in the distance woke me up. The world around me was so dark, that I wondered if I was still sleeping. The treetops covered the sky and blocked any light radiating off the moon.

"Great, just great," I thought bitterly, as I got to my feet and I couldn't help but curse at how childish I was acting. An owl hooted somewhere, its voice echoing off the trees for miles.

Well, I could either stop where I was until it was light or I could try and find my way out of here. And with the possibility of wild dogs or worse yet, wolves, I didn't really fancy staying in the dark forest.

Cautiously, I started treading carefully in one direction, squinting for any hints of light through the trees. Wow, I must have run further than I had originally thought. I remember just taking off past the sprites hut, towards the back of Mother's Hill...

I tripped a few times, making my way through the forest, and I had to admit, I was nervous as hell. I wondered if Zack and Gray were looking for me. Maybe they'd gotten the entire village together to look for me. If so, well...I wasn't looking forward to the scolding they'd give me when I got home.

But I was looking much more forward to that than staying in this forest a moment longer. An hour must have passed before I came to some opening in the forest, where the moonlight poured down freely onto a pond.

By this point I was exhausted, as I collapsed down in front of the clear, sparkling water. There was a small stream running to and from the pond and it slowly dawned on me that maybe the stream ran back to Mineral Town? Or at least out of the forest.

I took a moment to splash some of the water on my face then got back to my feet and set off down beside the stream.

I really wished I had some sort of light, as I continued to stumble through the darkness, occasionally tripping and falling into the fortunately shallow stream. I was grateful when the trees spaced out a little so the moonlight could reach the ground. I looked down at my overalls, smeared in mud and soaked in water. And I shivered. It wasn't exactly warm out here either and the thought caused me to shiver.

But I kept following the stream and the trees lessened the further I walked. I was grateful when I finally came out into an opening. Although, it wasn't what I expected.

I was stood on a hill, overlooking this little valley. I had no idea what the current time was either but guessing by the placement of the moon, right above the world, I was guessing it was around midnight. A few of the lights were on in the houses down below and they looked so tiny from where I stood, like little doll houses. Then it hit me; wasn't this Forget-Me-Not Valley? I smiled slightly as I started down the hill. This meant Mineral Town was only a few miles away, on a decent track. And I'm pretty sure I'd heard Ann ramble on about an Inn here a few times as well.

I sighed with relief, things were looking up. Gray and Zack were still going to kill me, but I was just so happy to be somewhere safe.

I stopped by the large building, assuming it was the Inn and tried the door. I was surprised when it opened. I stepped where a plump woman with dark skin and black hair as sweeping up, her back turned to me.

Hearing the door open, she turned to look at me. Her expression was...well, confused.

"Oh my, I didn't think anyone would be around at this hour," she murmured.

I bowed apologetically and brushed some strands of hair out of my face, "I'm really sorry," I started, "I'm from Mineral Town, I run the farm there. I took a walk to the woods and fell asleep and sort of got lost. This is the inn, right?"

"Oh, I see," the lady replied, nodding her head at me, "And yes, this is the inn."

She offered me a smile by this point.

I swallowed hard; this next part was going to be the awkward part, "I'm really sorry, I don't have any gold on hand tonight, but is there any chance I could post the money? I understand this must be a huge thing to ask you, but I'm really not up to walking back to Mineral Town this late at night."

I think my heart skipped a beat when she simply smiled once again and nodded, "I'm sure we can sort something out,"

I sighed in relief and smiled back, "Thank you so much!" I responded, a little excited. This was almost too good to be true, but by this point I was too tired and cold to really care.

I don't think I'd ever enjoyed a bath so much in my entire life. I peeled off the muddy clothes which Ruby took for me to wash. I was extremely grateful and considering sending a little bit of extra gold for her kindness. She was even kind enough to lend me her phone, even if I did get the expected mouthful off Zack...

I sprawled out on the soft bed in a white, fluffy robe, staring up at the ceiling and letting my mind drift...straight to Leia.

I sighed and dragged myself back to my feet, moving to the window and looking out on the moonlit valley. Only to sigh even deeper when I realized I had the view of the ocean; of all bloody things. I felt my hand against my forehead, just staring out. A part of me admitted that I was acting childish and cowardly. Another part of me kept reassuring myself that it was alright to feel like this. To just wish she was here, beside me.

And maybe that's why I saw her. Maybe that's why she emerged from a small house slightly off from the inn on my right hand side. Maybe that's why I watched her, as she made her way down the trail towards the beach.

It wasn't hard to distinguish the green hair that seemed to shimmer in the strong, silvery moonlight...Or the blue bikini top or the shells in her hair. So maybe that's why I took off after her, wearing nothing by the white robe.

To be honest, this entire experience; waking up in the forest, wandering into Forget-Me-Not Valley, being cared for by the inn keeper and then finding who I presumed to be Leia was beginning to feel like some kind of fairytale dream. Actually, no; it was a dream. One I sure as hell didn't want to wake up from.

My heart was pounding as I ran barefoot across the grass, towards the open beach. And she stood, with her back to me at the shore.

Wait...what?

She stood. Standing. With legs. Long, lithe ones. Legs.

I skidded to a halt, a few feet away from the young woman. Maybe I was dreaming. Leia was a mermaid after all. Or maybe I'd gone crazy. Or maybe it was both.

Still, it didn't stop me from choking her name out in a desperate attempt to avoid going mad, if I wasn't already, "Leia?"

The sound alarmed the Leia look-a-like, as she turned towards me, a soft gasp escaping her lips.

"Claire?"

My eyes widened as she said my name. This had to be a dream or I had to be crazy. This couldn't be Leia. Leia was a mermaid. She had a fish's tail after all, not legs.

"Leia!"

Still, the tears running down my cheeks felt real as I ran towards her and wrapped my arms around her smaller, lithe body and buried my face into her shoulder. Maybe practically glomping her wasn't the best idea either, as she fell backwards and crashed against the soft sand, with me pinning her down.

"Leia, it is you, isn't it?" I sobbed, staring down at her surprised and rather concerned face, "Please, pinch me. I need to know I'm not dreaming!"

She brushed my cheek so tenderly, before grabbing a portion of my cheek and pinching it hard as she pulled it, giving out a small laugh, "Yes, it's me Claire. And no, you're not dreaming."

I collapsed against her body, pressing my face back into her shoulder and sobbing to my heart's content. That's when she wrapped her arms back around me and I could feel her body quivering as she sobbed in return, pushing her face into my hair.

When I woke up the next morning, I was back in the Inn and for a split second, I did wonder if it was a dream. But when I heard the softer breathing of the smaller woman next to me, I couldn't help but smile, and it wasn't long before I started to sob again. Unfortunately, I ended up waking Leia in the process.

"Claire?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"I'm...just so...happy you're alright," I choked out between sobs, hugging her tightly. She let out a soft giggle as she hugged me back, "I'm glad you're alright too, Claire..."

After calming down again, I couldn't help but look over her, my eyes drawn to mainly her legs.

"Leia..." I started, looking back to her face, "Could you explain to me why you have a pair of legs?"

Leia looked bashful at that point, her cheeks turning a little pink as she looked at them, keeping her eyes averted from mine, "Well, that's a little hard to explain."

"Try me," I replied.

"I...I don't really know," was her response, "I just remember blacking out during that storm and waking up in Daryll's house with these."

"Daryll?"

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed, followed by a giggle, "He's this crazy scientist that found me after the storm. I'd been injured pretty badly and he was kind enough to nurse me back to health."

Alright, that was fine. Except the parts with 'crazy scientist' and 'waking up with a pair of legs you can't explain'.

"Leia," I rubbed my forehead, "Did you ever stop to think the crazy scientist gave you those legs? Like a science experiment?"

"Nuh-uh. He found me just the way I am now."

"I see..."

An awkward silence settled between us after that. I was still trying to sum up as to how Leia gained a pair of legs and well...

"How have you been...?"

Leia broke the silence, causing me to look up and be greeted with a face full of concern.

"I've been good..." I replied, biting my lower lip. But I couldn't lie to her, "Actually, I haven't. It's been horrible Leia. I've been going crazy over you. Not knowing whether you were alive or dead, I was so scared."

Leia sat back slightly, softly muttering my name, "Claire..."

"I tried to look for you! Zack looked for you too! And then...then I just tried to make myself believe you were gone. I was convinced there was no way you could have lived through that typhoon!"

My throat felt dry and I was beginning to cry once more, "I hated it! I hated trying to live without you! It was horrible, I was going mad! Insane! And I couldn't help but wonder if it was my fault you'd been hurt! And I-"

I wasn't really expecting the next part. The way she so boldly and swiftly moved her upper body forward and pressed her lips against mine. And all I could do was sit there in confusion and shock.

I had to be dreaming, right?

Right...?

Phew, chapter five is complete after weeks of waiting!

And I apologize to all my reader's for such a huge inconvenience!

But my, what a crazy journey Claire's had so far. Finding what seems to be Leia with a human form who's also found the courage to at least smooch Claire!

How will Claire react? And is she really dreaming?

All will be revealed in the next chapter of course! And hopefully you won't be waiting about a month for the next chapter. Now that I'm back into the swing of university, typing up chapters should be a bit faster.

Thanks for all the support everyone!

Until next time.