It's December, and I have a Christmas present for you all! Hohoho! It's an update! And guess what? ...It's the last chapter!
*ZOMGZOMGZOMG*
I've never finished an entire fanfic before, so I feel happy. Of course, it's not totally over until the epilogue is written, and that'll have to be after I get some reviews. ;D
No review replies this chappie, because I'm about to collapse over my keyboard. For the epilogue, I gaurantee review replies, so you should totally review so I can reply. BD
Oh yes, and this chapter is a whopping 9,200+ page-er. Hehe. And that is the most I've ever done at one (technically two, but falling asleep at my desk shouldn't count) sitting. I shall reward myself with a cookie. *Eats cookie*
Okay, now you guys can read it. Hah. Goodnight! *Collapses*
Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of it's characters.
I exhaled, stepping back and admiring my work. I had just finished putting the lights that I had brought from the city on my house. They were simple white bulbs that hung down like icicles, and I adored them. It was still too light out to really notice them, so I kept them turned off until sunset.
It was somewhat sad that I had just gotten around to putting up my lights, what with it already being Christmas Eve, but I had just been too busy the last few days. I had made a mad dash to Zack's house so I could order some gifts from the city for my friends, and they were supposed to come in today. I set off down the path, smiling absentmindedly.
For Ann, I ordered a little red dress, mainly for extra revenge for the Valentine's Day mishap. Elli was to get a bunch of stress-relieving aromatherapy things, but not because she was stressed—because I figured she'd like to learn about that sort of stuff. Popuri was getting a dictionary, because she could really use one. Karen was getting a beginner's cookbook written by some famous television chef. I decided to get Mary something, too—A collection of Dr. Seuss' works. Hey, she likes to read, and who doesn't like Dr. Seuss' stories?
I also got Cliff a little something, since he made me such a wonderful birthday gift. He was getting a new jacket that would keep him warmer in the wine cellar at the Winery. Oh yeah… I had something for Gray already, but I happened to misplace it, because I'm such an idiot. Heh.
I glanced upwards at the clear sky, its bright blue color magnified by the cold in the air. I had already made it to the beach, and saw Zack leaving his house.
"Hey, Zack," I jogged over to him, "Did my orders come in yet?"
"Yep, they actually just arrived a half-hour ago," He nodded towards the empty dock, "The boat just left. I have your stuff in my house, nice and safe. I was just leaving to tell you it arrived."
"That's great!" I beamed, "Do you think I could get it now, so I have time to wrap them before the party?"
"Of course." He turned around on his heel and dashed back into his hut. He returned moments later with two large bags, one in each of his muscular hands. I reached out to take them, and, much to my dismay, found out they were indescribably heavy. When I thought I had them balanced well enough, I turned to leave and called a "thank you" back at the shipper.
I started off the beach, and after I heard Zack go back into his house, I dropped the lead bags on the sand.
"Ugh," I panted, "How heavy is all this stuff?"
I shrugged off the pain in my wrists and decided to drag the bags across the beach, and then once I reached the stairs, I'd figure something out. I grabbed the stings of the containers and braced myself.
One, two, three…
I tugged with all my might and began taking small, strained steps through the cool sand, the two bags moving steadily behind me. In what seemed like an hour, I had finally reached the stairs. As I studied the merciless concrete, I realized that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to get these things all the way back to my farm on my own.
I sat down on the steps and glanced at my watch, noting that it was still around nine in the morning. That meant that Zack would have his door locked, and I couldn't get his help. The Snack Shack was deserted since Kai wasn't here anytime but summer, so obviously getting help there was out of the question. No one came to the square until afternoon—wait!
I got up and climbed the stairs quickly, entering the large paved square. I scanned the area with a flick of the head and saw exactly what I thought I'd see: a hat-clad figure studying the bulletin board.
"Gray! Hey!" I jogged over to him, my hair flopping around carelessly and my breath coming out in quick, white puffs. The blacksmith turned around to face me.
"Oh… Hey," He nodded, adjusting his hat so that it covered the majority of his face, "What's up?"
I leaned over and caught my breath, then explained my dilemma. He watched me in incredulous silence the whole time, and even a while after I had finished. After at least two full minutes of this ridiculous quiet, I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment.
"Okay, yeah, I know it's stupid that I'm so pathetic. Just please help me out! Will you carry one of the bags? Pleeeeeeease?" I pleaded, using my best puppy-dog face. Gray blushed and looked to the side.
"Fine, just stop that stupid pouting. Grown women shouldn't pout," He mumbled and started over towards the stairs where those evil bags laid. I ran up to his side, grinning.
"Thanks, Gray!" I skipped ahead, my hair still bouncing around haphazardly. I turned around towards him again, altering my skip so it worked backwards. Gray was watching me, annoyance evident in his face. However, this was promptly replaced with urgency and concern.
"Claire, stop!"
I registered his instructions just a little too late. The ground came out from under me and I looked backwards over my shoulder, only to find that I had reached the stairs sooner than I had expected. After that, things just seemed to slow down to an unreal speed. I turned back to the Square and saw Gray racing towards me; only he didn't seem to be moving much at all. His eyes shone with nothing other than panic and terror as he ran. I glanced back at the heartless rock I was coming dangerously close to, and turned back as I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.
Crack.
There it was. My back collided with the concrete step, and it hurt. Goddess, it hurt. It hurt like someone had just wedged a steel pipe into my spine. And then, my head flew back and onto the very same step. That time, it felt like someone swung a steel pipe at my head—and believe me, they didn't miss.
I stared up at the sky vacantly as I heard heavy footsteps come closer. They stopped before they came all the way over to me, though, and after a moment of what I assumed was hesitation, they resumed. A second or two later my view of the sky was obstructed by an old, dirty blue hat.
"…Claire?"
I blinked.
"A-are… you okay?"
I blinked again.
"Can y-you… move?"
I turned my head to face him, answering his question. I could almost see the wave of relief that flashed over him. He was kneeling down on his knees beside me, his hat casting a shadow over his entire face, which left his expression a mystery to me.
Several moments of—what I assumed was—contemplation later, Gray spoke.
"Dammit Claire," He growled through gritted teeth, clearly trying hard to not loose his temper, "What's wrong with you?!"
An utterly still silence flew by, when not even a bird would flap its wing and when even the wind refused to blow. I sat up, biting my lip to keep from yelping at the pain in my back. Once I was in a sitting position, however, it didn't hurt as bad as I'd thought it would. I turned away from the blacksmith, unable to look him in the eye.
"S-sorry," I squeaked. When no reply came, I turned around and saw an outstretched calloused hand. I took it cautiously, and Gray hoisted me up in one quick motion. My spine disobediently creaked at the sudden movement, and I involuntarily yelped in pain. This caused Gray to let go of my hand like it had suddenly burst into flames. I winced as I rubbed my back.
"Oh goddess, that hurt," I whispered. I could see Gray's eyes widen.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"No, no," I cut him off, "it wasn't your fault, okay? It's mine, because I'm such a damn klutz."
That seemed to shut him up pretty well… for a few seconds.
"Can you walk?" He asked. I took a step forward and felt moderately sharp pains run up to my neck. After another step, I decided that I could not walk very far without crying from the pain, so I stopped.
"Not really… It hurts to put weight on my legs," I said quietly. He nodded and I fixed my gaze on the ground, wishing that I was just back at my farm. Suddenly the ground came out from under me again, but this time I wasn't falling. I was… Being lifted?
"Gray!" I shrieked, realizing he had picked me up bridal style. I threw my arms around his neck for balance. I was absolutely terrified of being lifted. Whenever anyone picked me up, they always dropped me. And at that moment, I really didn't feel like being dropped.
"Put me down!" I protested. He shook his head.
"No."
"Please?" I pleaded, but he just kept walking north.
"Nope."
"Well, why not?!" I argued, and he stopped suddenly, causing me to gasp and tighten my grip on his jacket.
"Because you said you can't walk, and you need to go to the Clinic." He explained and began walking again. I stared at my shoes in unspoken defiance for a few minutes.
"But… But what about my bags?" I tried. He sighed.
"I'll take them to your farm later."
"…What about the…" I paused to think, "The… Christmas party thing?"
"What about it?"
"Don't I have to go?"
"I don't think so."
"But the announcement on the board said that everyone must attend!"
He stopped. I looked over and saw that we were already at the Clinic. Great.
"The only way I'll let you go is if I'm your escort," Gray said, the truth of his statement undeniably clear. He opened the door and walked inside the hospital.
"Fine then," I huffed, "Pick me up at four thirty."
He nodded curtly and left in a not-so-calm manner, leaving me rather irritated. How dare he take me here against my will! And then he just leaves me? Ugh! The nerve!
I turned and saw Elli grinning at me from behind her desk. She ran over to me as soon as we made eye contact and squealed, "Oh my gosh Claire! Gray's your date for tonight?"
I blinked twice. "He is, isn't he?"
~*~*~*~*~
"Okay, okay! C'mon guys! Quiet!"
Elli, Ann and I all turned our attention to Popuri, who was standing on my table waving a hairbrush at us. At the Clinic, Elli and I had made plans to get Ann and come over to my place before the party, and we ran into Popuri on our way to my farm. My back was much better, and nothing too serious happened to it. Elli gave me an ice pack and some pain medicine, so I was good as new. Sort of.
"Popuri, can you please get off my-"
"Shh!" She shushed, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance as she continued, "Okay! It's two o'clock now, so we have two hours before we need to be home where our dates can pick us up."
"But my date lives with me!" Elli and Ann protested simultaneously. I chuckled.
"My, my. That didn't come out the right, did it?"
The two flushed, causing Popuri and I two double over in laughter. Through my hilarity, I manage to ask what we needed to do before everyone had to leave.
"Well," Elli cleared her throat, slowly losing the red in her face, "We need to change, do hair and makeup, and play the traditional games,"
I looked at her quizzically, "Traditional games? Like what, 'Pin the Tail on the Reindeer'?"
Popuri shook her head, "No, nothing stupid like that!"
"For a super long time, the girls in town would get together and so would the boys. Then they'd play random games in their separate groups," Ann explained, "My favorite's Question Bag!"
"What the hell is a Question Bag?" I asked, folding my legs so I was sitting Indian-style on my couch.
"Oh, it's so fun!" Popuri chimed.
"Yes, I think that one's my favorite too," Elli smiled. I sighed, irritated.
"Okay, but what is it?!" I asked again. Ann mimicked my position and leaned back on the couch.
"Well, all you need is a few pieces of paper, a pencil, and a bag of some sort. You pass around the papers, and everyone will write down any question they want on their paper and drop it in the bag. After that, you take turns pulling out a question and answering it honestly. If you pull out a question you've already answered, then someone gets to ask you a replacement question out loud. It's really, really fun—especially if someone keeps pulling out the same question."
The three girls watched me intently for my reaction. I raised an eyebrow, "Um, sounds cool, I guess. I suppose you just have to try it to see how truly awesome it is?"
"Yeah! Okay, Popuri, get a pencil! Elli, get papers! I'll get a bag!" Ann ordered. My guests flew around my house in a cloud, and before I could blink, they all had the supplies sitting on the table and were scribbling down their questions. I hesitantly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil.
What should I ask…?
I tapped the eraser on my chin thoughtfully. It wasn't long until I saw both Ann and Elli slip their papers into my empty rucksack, and Popuri followed suit immediately. I sighed exasperatedly and scribbled down the first thing I could think of.
Has Mineral Town ever had a snowless winter?
I dropped the paper in with the others and Ann shuffled them up. We were sitting in a sort of circle: Ann and I were on the couch, and Elli and Popuri were on the floor on the other side of the table.
"Who goes first?" Ann asked, scanning over the three of us. Popuri's hand shot up.
"Me, me!" She begged, and Ann smiled.
"Okay, go ahead. Remember, we're answering honestly," she smirked, "Since we go clockwise, Elli'll be next."
Popuri smiled and reached her hand into the bag. She pulled out a card and read it aloud, "'What was the weirdest dream you've ever had?'" She stopped, obviously searching her mind, "Well, once I dreamt that Rick married Saibara and they had a baby that turned out to be a chicken."
…Silence.
"…Popuri?" Elli said, "Are you alright?"
"Of course I am! Elli, it's your turn." The disturbed, pink-headed girl chirped. Elli nodded and reached into the bag.
"Oh! I got mine," She blushed, "'What was your most recent daydream?' …Well, I was just thinking about dancing later tonight."
"With Doctor?" Ann teased, "You sure he didn't kiss you in your daydream, Elli?"
Elli flushed and shook her head quickly. Ann smirked and reached into the bag, "Whatever you say. It's my turn,"
"'Has Mineral Town ever had a snowless winter?' What kind of a question is that? Claire," Ann turned to me, "Mineral Town has not ever ad a snowless winter as far as I know."
"How did you know that was my question?" I glared, "What if it was Popuri's?"
"Popuri has lived here her whole life, so she would ask that. But whatever, it's your turn," She answered, motioning to the bag. I reached in and pulled out a paper.
"'Have you ever-" I stopped, my face flushing, "Ann! You can't ask this! It's… It's morally wrong!"
Popuri snatched the card from my frozen hands. I could see her pink eyes widen and she handed it to Elli, who read it as well.
"Ann!" She shrieked, "You never asked stuff like this before!"
"That's because I'd so know already. But since we have a new member in our little town, I figured I'd ask." Ann shrugged and laid down on the couch. I took the card from Elli and tore it down the middle.
"Ann, new question, please," I said. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine," She grabbed another piece of paper and scribbled something down on it before dropping it back into the bag and reshuffling it. I pulled out a new question and read it.
"'Have you ever been in love?'" I recited. Setting the card down, I thought hard. I tried to remember my old boyfriends, and I tried to think about how I'd even know if I had.
"Well?" Ann asked, "Have you?"
"I… I dunno," I shrugged.
"Wrong answer," Ann sang teasingly, "You have to answer honestly."
"How would you know if I have or not?" I retorted. She laughed.
"I just know these things."
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, glancing at the clock, "Oh my goddess, guys, it's almost three thirty already! We still have to get ready!"
Ann, Elli, and Popuri shot up and glanced around in panic. They ran over to their bags, which were sitting in a pile on my bed, and rummaged around for their outfits. Popuri pulled out a very princess-like light pink dress, complete with tons of lace and frills. It looked long enough to trail on the floor. Elli had a baby blue cap-sleeved dress that had a very clean shape and went to her knees. Ann had a purple button-up blouse and a navy flowy skirt that would come above her knees. I went over to my closet to get my blue graduation dress, but Ann stopped me.
"Oh no, you don't," She walked back over to her bag, "You can't wear the same dress twice in a row. Well, not in these circumstances, anyways,"
I watched her patiently as she pulled a carefully folded bundle out of her pack. She unfolded it and held it up for me to see. It was a gorgeous white dress, with a faint v-neck and no sleeves, that would come to at least my knees. It had lace around the top and intricate swirl designs embroidered all over the torso and chest in the same color as the fabric. The skirt section seemed to be a different material; it shone like silk, and that's what it probably was. The whole thing was beautiful.
"Ann," I said, still gaping at the dress in awe, "this is beautiful."
"Yep, and you're wearing it."
"What?" I gasped, "No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
I sighed, "Why? Why don't you wear it?"
"I can't wear it, even if I wanted to. It's too small." She replied. I shook my head.
"But what if I ruin it?"
"Then you'll owe me."
I stared at the amazing dress again. "It looks like a wedding dress,"
"It is!" She grinned. I gaped at her in disbelief.
"Why do you have a wedding dress? …Oh goddess, Ann, was this your mom's?"
"Nah, mom's is no where to be found. Dad bought this one for me when we went to the city last year. It was on clearance." She tossed it to me. I caught it and looked it over again, noticing that the embroidered section sparkled slightly.
"…Are you sure?"
The redhead nodded. I smiled and ambushed her with a hug. "Oh, thank you, Ann! You rock!"
She pushed me off of her, "Goddess, Claire," she said, "I thought you were through with your Huge Hugs of Death."
I smiled and began to change into Ann's dress. "Hey, Ann, don't you think it's a little weird to wear a wedding dress on a date?"
I looked over and saw Ann wrestling her way into her blouse, her head engulfed in the violet mass. "Well, the dress is actually light blue, but you can hardly tell in this light. Maybe it's more noticeable outside."
"In the dark?" I raised an eyebrow. I shrugged to myself and stepped into the dress. Elli had just finished pulling Popuri's hair up into a very regal bun, and I noticed a sparkling white clip in the nurse's hair. I zipped up the side of the dress and turned to go look in the mirror, when I was suddenly bombarded with girls armed with beauty supplies.
"Let me do her hair!" I heard Popuri yell.
"No, I'll do it," Elli said, running a brush through my limp blonde locks. Ann had just finished putting on her skirt. I saw her undo the bottom ribbon of her braid, leaving her hair in a high ponytail. She simply tied a navy blue ribbon around the top of the ponytail and smiled.
"Fine, I'll do her makeup," I heard Popuri say.
"Woah, no, stop," I put my hands up over my face, "I don't wear makeup. You're lucky I'm even letting you guys do my hair after what happened on Valentine's Day,"
I uncovered my face to see Popuri pouting in front of me, "Not even a little sparkles on your eyelids? You can hardly even see them!"
I shook my head. "Nope. I don't like it. Sorry,"
"C'mon!"
"No,"
"Pleeeeease?"
"No!"
"B-but… Why?" Popuri sniffed. I rolled my eyes.
"Popuri, crying isn't going to work." I warned. She sighed and leaned in closer to me. "Uh, Popuri?"
"Can I just see what it looks like?" She asked. I sighed.
"Fine, I guess. But only the eye sparkles or whatever they're called."
"Yay!" The pinkhead cheered, "I'll put white, to match your dress."
The dress is blue. Argh.
I felt Elli tugging at my scalp as Popuri brushed the glitter onto my face. It wasn't a very pleasant time for me; I'll have you know. Popuri backed away at almost the exact same moment Elli finished, and I took the opportunity to break free. I walked over to my full-length mirror and actually gasped at my reflection. My hair was pulled up in a small bun for the majority of it, except for two loose strands on either side of my face. Elli had placed a tiny tiara-like clip on my head, in front of the bun. Oh, and Popuri's glitter was actually… okay. I couldn't feel it, and it hardly did anything I could notice.
The dress fit perfectly. In fact, it fit even better than my graduation dress. The skirt section came right off my hips and fell down flawlessly to just under my knees. The torso was fitted closely enough to prove that I was, indeed, a woman. I couldn't believe it; I actually looked… Pretty.
"Hey, Ann," I said, still staring at the reflection, "Are you like some sort of warped fairy godmother or something? 'Cuz this dress is just… I feel like Cinderella or something. It's freaky."
Ann walked up and threw her arm over my shoulders, "Yup, that's me: Claire's fairy godmother. You just wait until midnight," She winked and walked off.
"Guys, we better go! It's already four ten!" Elli called. Ann grabbed a box out of her bag and tossed it to me.
"Merry Christmas, Claire!" She called as my three guests shuffled out the door.
After the door closed, I looked down at the box. It wasn't wrapped. I took the top off and pulled out a pair of silver sandals with an inch heel on them. I smiled and sat down on my couch to put them on my bare feet. They were a little bit big, but that was okay. I smiled at them and looked at the clock. It was four twenty-two. I leaned back on the pillows, exhaling contentedly. After a moment, I glanced back at my door in nervousness, and found, lo and behold, the two bags of gifts Gray promised he'd bring over.
Ugh. That's just perfect. I have those two damn bags filled with unwrapped presents that I was going to take to the party, but now it's too late. I'll have to give them out tomorrow with someone's help. Hm… maybe the Harvest Sprites. They'd be awesome. I mean, they look like little elves! Ha. But they're probably not strong enough. Wait, they have magic. What is the limit of their magic? …Does it even matter?
I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard someone knocking on the door. I looked over at the clock and realized it was already four thirty-four. I sprung up and felt a tiny pinch of pain in my back.
Dammit, the pain medicine's wearing off.
"Just a second!" I called and quickly took one of the pills Elli had given me. I hoped it would kick in quickly, so I wouldn't end up being… carried again. I shuddered at the thought of it.
I turned towards the door, but then remembered something crucial. Gray's present! I hummed urgently as I scanned over my room for the box I had already wrapped up. I had to find it; it had taken days to make…
I sighed, throwing my hands up in defeat. I ran over to the door and flung it open.
"I'm so sorry," I sighed, staring at the ground, "I had to find something,"
After a few seconds with no answer, I looked up. There was Gray, wearing his same old blue hat, but he was also wearing a dressy black suit and a tie that looked the same color as his eyes. Well, his suit could've been navy, but I couldn't tell either way. I noticed he was totally staring at me. Just… staring. I looked back down, embarrassed and blushing.
"Um, well, hi," I said. He seemed to snap out of whatever trance-like state he was in and spoke.
"Hey," He greeted, "Uh, you look great,"
I blushed and grinned, "Thanks. So do you,"
He blushed then, and hid his face with his hat. We had found ourselves in an awkward silence, and the date had only been started for five minutes. I looked up at the cloudless, orange sky and regretted not bringing some sort of sweater.
"So…" I started, "Should we get going? The sun's already starting to set."
"Sure. Let's go," He nodded, no doubt thankful to me for breaking the silence. We started down the path, side-by-side.
The air was bitter cold, but I just tried to ignore it. I didn't really want to run back to my farm to get one of my dirty old jackets. I exhaled softly and saw the small puff of white air swirl in front of me before it disappeared. I smiled faintly and looked up at the sky again. It was no doubt the most perfect night of the year to go stargazing, with its clear and crisp air. I think I can recall someone telling me that Starry Night was the shortest day of the year, which also meant the longest night, too.
"How's your back?"
I turned my head towards my companion, grinning. "It's fine. After you left, Elli gave me some pain medicine and an ice pack to bring down the swelling."
I watched him ever so slightly cringe when I mentioned the swelling. He kept his gaze fixed on the path in front of us and didn't say a word for a while. We walked in the uncomfortable silence for a minute or two before it was broken.
"Did it hurt?"
I furrowed my brow and looked at him again, but he wouldn't make eye contact. "Um, yeah, it did. Like, a lot. But it's fine now, so there's no need to worry." I smiled. He sighed, shaking his head.
"You have to be more careful. You could've really hurt yourself."
"But I didn't," I pointed out, "so I guess maybe we could just drop it, since it's over with now."
Now, I didn't mean to be rude or mean or anything, but I really didn't feel like getting lectured on being more careful by Gray. Unfortunately for me, that seemed to be the only thing he felt like talking about, so when I told him to drop it… he just stopped talking. That meant another awkward silence.
After we had entered the Square, I sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on. But listen, tonight is going to be torture for the both of us if we don't quit with these stupid awkward silences. Right?"
I stopped in front of the blacksmith and stared at his head expectantly. He looked up from the ground and glared at me.
"I guess,"
I raised my eyebrows, "What's with the glare? What did I do?"
He rolled his eyes and started walking again, so I hurried to catch up with him. "You didn't do anything. I just… I just had a little argument with Gramps earlier."
"About what?" I asked, happy for the conversation.
"Things," he sighed, "Just… things."
"What kind of 'things'?" I pressed, "C'mon, if you want any help, you're going to have to share a little more."
"I think I'll pass on the help, thanks," He muttered, adjusting his hat. I sighed.
"Fine then. Be that way. Work it out on your own. Just remember: not telling me just killed all possibilities of a good five minutes of conversation."
He chuckled; a noise I hadn't heard in a long while—or at least that's what it felt like. The sound of it made my face break into a wonderful smile that I couldn't have contained, even if I tried. The sky was getting darker now, with its hue more purple than orange or blue. I glanced at my wrist to check the time, and was rather disgruntled to find nothing but my bare skin.
"Hey, Gray," I said, "Do you know what time it is?"
He glanced at his watch and replied, "Five twenty, why?"
"Crap, we're late," I muttered. He looked at me like I was crazy, so I explained, "The party at the Inn or whatever started at five, and the Mayor'll have our hides for not showing up on time."
"Where'd you hear it started at five?" Gray asked.
"It's on the bulletin board. You know, that thing you read every morning for two hours." I responded. I could see his face heat up and I smirked.
"Well, we'd better hurry then," He mumbled, quickening his pace. I had to jog to keep up with him, but he didn't really seem to notice. It's a good thing that painkiller's working, or I'd be doubled over in pain right now.
In what I figured was about two or three minutes, we made it to the Inn. I stopped my jog at the door and bent over, catching my breath. Gray glanced at me and furrowed his brow.
"What's wrong?" He asked, stepping towards the door. I stood up.
"You were like sprinting over here. I was just trying to keep up!" I panted. He chuckled again.
"Well, well, well, it looks like someone needs to get in better shape." He teased.
"It looks like someone should try running in heels." I shot back. He rolled his eyes and opened the door, stepping to the side so I could go in first. I smiled and walked inside.
Well, it appears that Gray is quite the gentleman.
I gasped softly at the décor of the Inn. There were strings of white lights hanging all over the ceiling, acting as the lighting for the party. Not only were there red and green streamers and dozens of balloons tied in bunches, but also traditional decorations like stockings hanging from the front of the bar and a huge, magnificent tree against the far right wall. There were golden garlands hanging from the rafters, sparkling in the lights. There were boughs of holly decking the walls. There were tiny potted Poinsettias at each of the tables, and a few along the bar. Wreaths adorned the doors, and decorative ribbons were wrapped around any vertical surface. The air smelled like pine needles and warm cookies mixed with crisp winter air.
The only thing missing was a fire in a fireplace. The only thing, that is, until I glanced over at a table near the tree and saw a rather large television turned on with a video of a yuletide log burning. I couldn't help it; I laughed out loud in sheer delight.
"This is incredible," I whispered between laughs. Ann soon appeared in front of Gray and me with Cliff close behind.
"Claire!" She smiled and hugged me, "What took you two so long? You're a half-hour late!"
"We had to walk all the way from my farm," I said simply, shrugging. I glanced over and saw Gray and Cliff having some sort of conversation, but I didn't try to join in—or even listen, for that matter—because it probably wasn't all that interesting.
"Oh, okay," Ann said, capturing my attention, "Well, we'll leave you two alone. Come on, Cliff,"
Gray and I watched helplessly as Ann dragged poor Cliff away and into the crowd. "Poor Cliff," I muttered.
"Yeah," Gray nodded, "an evening alone with Ann basically sounds like hell."
I laughed, and then decided to stick up for the owner of my dress, "Well, you gotta give her some credit. She's really funny, and comes through when you need her most," I put my finger up to my chin, thinking, "In fact, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be wearing this." I motioned at my outfit.
Gray and I started aimlessly walking through the crowd. "How so?" Gray asked, curious.
"I had Ann, Elli, and Popuri over earlier, and they said something about traditional question games, so," I stopped, gathering my thoughts, "Well, in short, Ann is loaning me her wedding dress and Popuri smeared glitter on my face."
"O… Okay?" Gray nodded slowly, and then motioned towards my dress, "So that's Ann's… wedding dress?" I nodded.
"Her dad bought it for her. She's letting me borrow it. I think it's a little… I dunno, too over the top," I shrugged.
"No, it looks perfect," he assured. I blushed, and after the hat-clad blacksmith registered his comment, so did he.
"Thanks," I grinned, studying the floor. Gray didn't say anything. We stopped walking, since we'd already reached the bar on the other side of the Inn. I looked down the bar and saw Saibara sitting down, staring at the countertop alone. I nudged Gray's side with my elbow and pointed at his grandfather.
"Look," I said, "we should go say 'hi'. He looks awfully sad…"
Gray grunted, "Naw, he always looks like that. Besides, it wouldn't be smart to go over there. He'll bite your head off,"
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," I muttered to myself, "I'm going over. What's Christmas without family? It's awful to be alone. Trust me, I know."
With that, I turned towards the balding old man. I took one step before I felt a hand on my shoulder and stopped. I turned back around to face Gray, who was staring me straight in the eye.
"I don't know why," he paused, "but you just made me feel damn guilty. Let's go,"
I smiled and we walked over to Gray's grandpa, who didn't notice either of us until I sat down on the stool next to him and cleared my throat.
"Hey, Saibara," I smiled. He looked over at me.
"Hello Claire," He grunted. I made sure my smile didn't waver.
"What're you doing over here?" I asked, desperately hoping that coming over to the old man wasn't a mistake.
"Sitting. Staring. Nothing of much interest."
"Oh," I said. I looked over at Gray, who was standing behind Saibara, for assistance. He just shrugged pitifully. I decided to continue speaking, "Well, Gray and I thought maybe you'd like some company, so we came over."
Saibara turned to me again, this time searching my face warily for something, "Gray?"
I noticed said boy grimace at the floor. "I'm right here, Gramps," He muttered. Saibara turned around.
"Oh, so you decided I was good enough to spend Christmas with, after all?" He asked, mocking surprise, "Or was it your special lady friend who convinced you?"
'Special lady friend'? …Creepy.
"Claire thought you might be lonely, so I came over with her." Gray mumbled darkly. Saibara turned towards me again.
"That was very considerate of you, miss. Thank you. You can go ahead and have a good time with your date—although I'm not sure how much fun you can have with that boy—and I'll find something else to do. It's no problem." He grinned. I returned the gesture.
"Alright, if you're okay," I said, and he nodded, "I suppose we'll see you later, then."
I waved and turned to walk back down the bar, but didn't go very far before realizing Gray wasn't following. I spun back around and saw him and Saibara just… glaring at each other. I jogged over and grabbed Gray's hand, yanking him away from the glare-down. Once we were at a safe distance, I let him go.
"What was up with that?" I asked, motioning back towards Saibara's stool.
"Nothing," He fibbed. I could tell he was lying, and it irked me. It irked me badly. I stood up straight and tried to get as close to his eye level as possible, and then I glared at him.
"Dammit Gray, stop lying or I might get seriously angry," I growled. He widened his eyes just barely and looked utterly taken aback.
"Uh," He stopped. He looked like he was debating something, like whether or not he should try to argue with me. I wish he'd just tell me the truth. What's so hard about that?
"Well?" I prompted, eyeing him expectantly. He sighed angrily.
"That fight Gramps and I had earlier was about tonight, or more specifically, you," He explained heatedly, "he wanted me to spend the night with him, and I didn't. He got mad, so did I, then I left to go get you. There, I told you, are you happy?" He snapped.
I looked down at my feet, ashamed. It was my fault? Saibara was alone on Christmas because I didn't want to be? Gray and Saibara are fighting because of… me?
I blinked and felt a cold, stray tear fall to the hardwood floor. I didn't want to cry. I didn't feel like crying. I willed the tears to stop, but somehow, one other made its way down my face. I looked up and turned my face away from Gray, feeling his eyes waiting on me in expectation. I made a quit move to brush the lone tear off my face, but apparently I wasn't stealthy enough.
"Are you… crying?" Gray asked, almost sounding afraid. I closed my eyes and shook my head.
"N-no," I lied feebly, and after a moment's hesitation clarified, "Well, yes, but I don't want to!"
"Um, sorry," he said awkwardly, adjusting his hat, "I, uh, didn't mean to sound so harsh."
I stared down at the ground, unable to think of anything to say. I sniffed quietly, which probably made Gray think I was crying again or something, since he started shifting in his spot uncomfortably. I turned up to him, annoyed.
"Will you stop?" I asked. He looked at me, confused.
"Stop what?"
"Stop dancing around in your spot like that," I explained, a little less calmly than I would have preferred, "Okay, wait. Is the only thing we're going to do bicker? Let's go…" I glanced around the room briefly to find something interesting. There was food, alcohol, and making small talk with villagers you hardly knew. The mayor sure knew how to decorate, but he couldn't throw a good party to save his life.
"Um, what time is it?" I asked Gray, unable to find a clock on any of the walls.
"About nine," he said, glancing at his wrist. I was about to suggest going somewhere else, when the mayor's annoyingly loud voice was heard booming through the building.
"Alright, is everyone having fun?" He yelled. There was no response. "Well, it's nine o'clock, which signifies the beginning of the stargazing! Everyone, please report to Mother's Hill to watch the stars!"
I watched the large crowd of people migrate towards the Inn's doors. I had to shuffle around a little bit to keep from being run over, and somehow I ended up in the center of all this chaos. I was being pushed towards the door. Great, now I'll never be able to find Gray.
I rolled my eyes and started pushing my way outside and over away from the majority of the people. After I'd gotten to a safe distance, I searched through the crowd for that old blue cap.
Nope, nope, nope… Where is he?
I sighed exasperatedly and leaned back on the fence post. All my attempts to find him were futile. I closed my eyes and exhaled, just wishing someone could accompany me.
"Gray? Where are you?" I found myself calling. I opened my eyes and, being caught off guard, shrieked. There, standing right in front of me, was Gray. I put my hand on my heaving chest and gasped for my breath.
"I'm right here," he smirked, "So, are we going to follow the rest of the village up to the summit?"
"It seems like there should be a limit of like ten people up there at a time or something. It's probably noisy and dangerous up there," I sighed, "I suppose you want to go, huh?"
Contrary to my original thought, he shook his head, "Naw, I'd rather be back in the middle of that crowd than up there."
I smiled, "What should we do then?"
"I dunno. Wanna… walk around town aimlessly until someone realizes we aren't with the rest of the villagers?" He suggested. I nodded.
"Sounds good,"
We turned down the path and started going west, toward the vineyard. Everything was deserted, and I couldn't help but notice there weren't any lights up on anything. I looked around, a little saddened at the lack of cheer. The town looked so dead at night. Turning my attention to a bare tree, I remembered that it still hadn't snowed. It hadn't snowed the whole season.
"Hey," I said, getting my date's attention, "why do you think it hasn't snowed yet?"
He furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky, "I'm not sure. I can't recall a Mineral Town winter without snow, though,"
"I guess I'm just snow-repellant then, huh?" I joked somewhat glumly. After a second, I daringly asked, "Can I tell you a secret?"
He looked down at me for a second, "Um, sure,"
"Okay," I smiled, "I've never been in falling snow."
"Seriously?" He asked, amusement flickering in his beautiful blue eyes.
"Yeah," I nodded, "and I thought that if I moved here, I'd definitely see some. I guess I was wrong,"
"Well, winter's not over yet," He said, his gaze still fixed ahead of him, "Maybe it'll snow before spring."
"Yeah, and maybe Kai'll propose to Mary." I snorted. Gray chuckled at my little remark, and I couldn't help but smile.
We continued walking in an easy silence for I don't know how long, until we ended up back at the Inn. We had to have been walking for a while to loop all around town. Without really thinking, I opened the front door and shuffled in, Gray following closely. Much to my surprise, most of the village was already back here. I stopped Elli as she walked by me.
"Claire, there you are! I was looking for you at Mother's Hill," she smiled, her brown eyes squinting shut.
"Gray and I just kind of… skipped that part of the evening, I guess," I explained, "but can you tell me what everyone's doing back here?"
"Oh, well everyone left after ten, and I suppose they didn't want to go home, so they came back here."
"What time is it now?" I asked, confused. It couldn't be that late, could it?
Elli looked at her watch, "It's almost eleven twenty. Goodness, I hope Stu went home already," I nodded and said goodbye. Turning back to Gray, I noticed he looked a little anxious.
"What's up?" I asked. He looked down at the ground.
"Nothing," he grunted. I was about to yell at him for lying again, but he grabbed my hand and started to yank me through the crowd.
"Hey! Where are we going?!" I asked him. Either he didn't hear me, or he ignored me, because I didn't get an answer. We went up the stairs and I saw that the spare guest room's door was opened. He pulled me into it and through to the far wall, where there was a balcony looking out over the vineyard next door.
"Wait, when did that get there?" I asked as we went outside. He shrugged, but I knew he knew. I glared at him.
"Look," he pointed upwards. I followed his finger up to the dark sky and gasped quietly.
Millions and millions of white and yellow and purple dots swirled and smudged the black sky. A few of them twinkled and the rest of them sparkled, like my eye makeup. There was no moon out that night, and the frozen air made the spots crisper than I could've imagined.
I shivered, suddenly noticing how appallingly cold it was. Gray had to have noticed, because he put his jacket in front of my face. I looked over at him and saw that he was tinted a little pinker than usual. I blushed and put the large coat on my shoulders.
"Thanks," I smiled. He shrugged.
"No problem."
I leaned back against the wall of the Inn, mimicking Gray's position. I stared back up at the sky, grinning. The whole area was totally silent for a long, peaceful while before I noticed Gray check his watch.
"It's eleven fifty-nine," he declared, "Maybe we should go inside."
I nodded reluctantly and turned around, towards the closed door that led back into the Inn. I chanced one last glance up at the sky, and ended up staring at a green plant tied up in a red ribbon directly above Gray and me.
"Mistletoe?" I whispered to myself, watching it quizzically.
"What?" Gray asked, and he followed my gaze up to the Christmastime emblem. It took me a few moments to remember exactly what was supposed to happen when two people were caught under the plant, and once I did, I swear my face flushed unnaturally red. I shifted my gaze to the blacksmith, whose face was identical to mine in color.
What do I do?!
I got onto my tiptoes and quickly pecked him on the lips, moving off some sort of weird instinct. I felt my face heat up even more as I shrunk back down to my normal height.
Please don't be awkward, please don't be awkward, please don't be awkward—wait, what's going on?
I don't know how, or when, but at some point Gray had bent down and kissed me—again. My stomach was doing somersaults and my mind turned to dysfunctional mush. I closed my eyes and rested my arms on his shoulders, trying desperately to burn this moment into my memory. Just at that moment, I felt something cold and went land on my cheek. I looked up at the sky, ending the kiss.
What was that?
I saw small, featherlike orbs float down from the sky at a soft pace. For a moment, I didn't know what was going on. Then it hit me: snow. I smiled up at the sky as the white flakes descended down, a few getting stuck in my hair. Purely elated, I pecked the bewildered blacksmith on his lips once again.
"My birthday wish came true," I whispered. His stupid old UMA hat was unable to block my view of his face from this close, and I saw him grin down at me.
"So did mine."
THE END
...Ta-da? Heh... That took me all day to write... And now all that's left is a pleasant little epilogue :3
Review, and tell me what you thought! Oh, and kudos to those who found the refrence to the greatest crack pairing ever: KaixMary. XD