A Job Well Done
Title: A Job Well Done
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 1719
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Yun, Ying, Dr. Ayame
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako, Mako/Ayame (one-sided)
Genre: Romance
Warning(s): age difference, May-December relationship
Summary: Mako is hard at work developing a new fertilizer and Lillian is doing everything she can to help him. Lillian/Mako romance
Ch. 1
There were three new requests posted on the message board that morning. Lillian removed all three papers from the board, carefully folding them and placed them in a pocket in her bag. She knew for certain that she had the flowers that Ying requested in her bag and she was fairly certain that she had the poisonous mushrooms that Ayame wanted back at home.
Lillian had only been living Konohana since that Spring, but she had expanded her fields twice since and her farm was full of vegetables and flowers. It was still early in the fall season though, so most of her vegetables were immature. Although people in Konohana focused mainly crops, Lillian raised some livestock: two hens, one cow and one sheep as well as two dogs and a cat to help with the livestock. The two dogs rushed over, tails wagging, barking eagerly, happy to see their young mistress. With a laugh, she pushed the dogs aside and investigated the storage cart. To her dismay, while she did indeed have the mushrooms, but they had gone bad and she knew that Dr. Ayame would not accept them. Lillian was about to throw them away when she remembered the third request. She smiled and pulled the mushrooms back out as she headed to the stove.
She dropped one mushroom in a pot and the other she placed in the frying pan and let them cook for a few minutes. The results were far from edible, but that was the whole point. She put the two failed dishes in her bag and headed for the tea house,.
It was not a terribly far walk and in less than half an hour, Lillian had arrived the the tea house. It was not a large building, and most of the large front room was taken up by Yun's kitchen. The tea house, as always, smelled incredible. Yun was the best cook in Konohana and Lillian hoped to be as good as her some day.
“Good morning, Lillian,” Yun greeted her with a smile.
“Good morning, Yun,” Lillian replied. “Is Ying at home?”
“She's in the back,” Yun replied. “Shall I call her out?”
“Oh there's no need. I'll just go see her myself.”
“That's fine, dear.”
Lillian walked into the back room of the tea house, a long single room that was Yun and Ying's living quarters. As always there were toys strewn about the room. Although Ying was not really a messy child, her illness sometimes made it hard for her to put her toys away when she was tired from playing and Yun was often too busy working. Lillian didn't mind the mess. It gave the room a pleasant, lived-in feel. She found Ying sitting on the floor, playing quietly with her dolls and stuffed animals.
“Hello, Ying,” Lillian spoke quietly, so as not to disturb the little girl.
“Hello Lillian!”
“I brought the flowers you requested,” Lillian said as she pulled them out of her bag.
“Oh thank you!” Ying said with a happy smile. “I... wrote a letter to my mommy and daddy...and wanted...some flowers to send along with it.”
From the next room they could hear Yun greeting a customer.
“Maybe that's Dirk!” Ying exclaimed. She rushed over to the table and grabbed an envelope off it. Shoving the flowers into it, she hurried into the restaurant. Lillian followed closely. So closely, in fact, that when Ying suddenly stopped, Lillian nearly bumped into her.
The customer who was standing at the counter was not Dirk. He was much taller, broader and older than the local mailman. He noticed the two girls standing in the doorway and waved, a big grin spreading over his face.
“Greetings to you, Ying and Lillian!” Mako called out cheerfully.
“Good morning, Mako,” Lillian replied. Ying said nothing, but she pressed closer to Lillian.
“Ying...” Yun said in a disapproving tone.
“...good ...morning, Mako...” Ying whispered.
“Ah, what do you have there? Some flowers?” Mako asked, walking over. Ying whimpered, and hid her face in Lillian's skirt. Mako stopped short, frowning. Realizing Ying was on the verge of tears, Lillian decided to intervene.
“Oh, um, Mako, didn't you put a request on the message board?” she asked, stepping forward.
“Yes, I did, just this morning. You don't mean to say that you already have what I want?”
With Mako distracted, Ying scurried past him and out the door of the tea house.
“I don't understand why that child is so frightened of me,” Mako muttered.
Lillian pulled out the two failed dishes and handed them to Mako. His face lit up in a giant grin.
“Yes, this is exactly what I wanted. This will make excellent fertilizer.”
Mako's enthusiasm was infectious and Lillian found herself smiling as well. It was true that he was a rather imposing looking man, and Lillian could understand Ying's fright. She herself had been intimidated by Mako at first. But once she had gotten over her initial fear, she learned that Mako only looked intimidating. He was a kind, well-spoken (if rather loud...) and intelligent man. Lillian counted him among her best friends in Konohana.
“Now, a reward for a job well done,” Mako said, but before he could hand the reward over to Lillian, another customer entered the tea house.
“Good morning, Dr. Ayame,” Yun said. Mako turned and as he looked at Ayame, a wistful expression came over his face. Lillian had never seen such an expression on her friends face and wondered about it.
“Good morning, everyone!” Ayame replied. She was smiling, but she looked rather tired. Ayame walked over to the counter and placed an order with Yun.
“Ah, if you're eating lunch here-” Mako began, but Ayame cut him off.
“Actually, I'm going right back to the clinic,” she said to Mako and then addressed Yun. “Can you wrap them up to go?”
“Of course, dear.”
“Kana had a rather nasty fall when he was out riding,” Ayame explained. “He'll be all right, but I want him stay at the clinic for a while for observation.”
“Oh no, poor Kana!” Lillian exclaimed.
“Poor thing!” Yun said, adding some extra dumplings to the order.
“He'll be fine,” Ayame said, as Yun handed her the food. “And you know, there is always a bright side.”
“What could it possibly be?” Mako asked.
“I get to spend my day with two good-looking young men!” Ayame said with a laugh.
Mako's shoulders slumped and he looked utterly dejected. Suddenly Lillian understood the situation. Mako was in love with Ayame. She didn't seem aware of his feelings in the slightest though. Or, if she was, then she was acting with a cruelty that Lillian had not known Ayame had in her. Lillian hoped it was the first. She could not imagine the kind, laid-back doctor acting that way. Standing there in the tea house, Lillian suddenly felt like she wanted to cry. She wasn't sure exactly why, but the urge was very strong. She swallowed the lump in her threat and tugged at Mako's sleeve.
“Hm?” he said.
“Um, the request...”
“What? Oh, of course, my dear, of course,” Mako handed her some tea and some coins. “You did a good job.”
“Thank you,” Lillian murmured. The urge to cry came on again.
“Ah well, I should get back to work,” Mako said and he left the tea house. He walked slowly and his shoulders were still slumped.
Lillian stood there for a moment, trying to compose herself, swallowing the lump in her throat and blinking back tears. Yun noticed her and came over. She put her arm around Lillian and gave her a gentle hug.
“Kana will be fine. Ayame is a wonderful doctor,” Yun murmured.
Lillian shook her head, finally understanding her pain. Of course she was worried about Kana but that wasn't why she wanted to cry.
“Mako is in love with Ayame,” she whispered.
Yun was a bit surprised at Lillian's response but she didn't show it as she replied, “Yes. He's been in love with her for some time now.”
“She doesn't know?”
“I don't think so,” Yun replied. She walked back over to her stove and Lillian followed her. “I don't know why, but Mako has never outright confessed to her and Ayame isn't very perceptive when it comes to things like that.”
Lillian nodded, glad to hear that Ayame had not been deliberately cruel to Mako. She felt a little bad for even suspecting the kind-hearted doctor of such a thing. But she was more confused than ever over her own response. Why should realizing that mako was in love with Ayame make her want to cry?
Lillian left the tea shop and walked up to the mountain. She had no particular goals and just wandered around, occasionally plucking flowers or picking herbs and putting them in her bag. When she arrived at one of her favorite fishing spots, she pulled out her rod and tried to fish. But this didn’t last long. Lillian felt restless and wanted to move. She moved more quickly now and ignored the plants around her. As she walked, she thought, trying to sort through her confusing emotions. Mako was one of her dearest friends and while Lillian was not close to Ayame, she admired the older woman a great deal. If Mako was in love with Ayame, shouldn't Lillian be happy for them? She should want Ayame to return his feelings.
But she didn't want that. Not at all.
And by the time Lillian finally admitted to herself why she didn’t want that, she had nearly reached Bluebell. She stopped by the shallow pond at the base of the mountain and looked at her reflection. It rippled in the water, then broke completely when a fish swam by. For an instant the distorted reflection made Lillian look as if she had but one eye.
And then, finally, she admitted the strange feelings that confused her so.
She was in love with Mako.
Second part
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 1719
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Yun, Ying, Dr. Ayame
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako, Mako/Ayame (one-sided)
Genre: Romance
Warning(s): age difference, May-December relationship
Summary: Mako is hard at work developing a new fertilizer and Lillian is doing everything she can to help him. Lillian/Mako romance
Ch. 1
There were three new requests posted on the message board that morning. Lillian removed all three papers from the board, carefully folding them and placed them in a pocket in her bag. She knew for certain that she had the flowers that Ying requested in her bag and she was fairly certain that she had the poisonous mushrooms that Ayame wanted back at home.
Lillian had only been living Konohana since that Spring, but she had expanded her fields twice since and her farm was full of vegetables and flowers. It was still early in the fall season though, so most of her vegetables were immature. Although people in Konohana focused mainly crops, Lillian raised some livestock: two hens, one cow and one sheep as well as two dogs and a cat to help with the livestock. The two dogs rushed over, tails wagging, barking eagerly, happy to see their young mistress. With a laugh, she pushed the dogs aside and investigated the storage cart. To her dismay, while she did indeed have the mushrooms, but they had gone bad and she knew that Dr. Ayame would not accept them. Lillian was about to throw them away when she remembered the third request. She smiled and pulled the mushrooms back out as she headed to the stove.
She dropped one mushroom in a pot and the other she placed in the frying pan and let them cook for a few minutes. The results were far from edible, but that was the whole point. She put the two failed dishes in her bag and headed for the tea house,.
It was not a terribly far walk and in less than half an hour, Lillian had arrived the the tea house. It was not a large building, and most of the large front room was taken up by Yun's kitchen. The tea house, as always, smelled incredible. Yun was the best cook in Konohana and Lillian hoped to be as good as her some day.
“Good morning, Lillian,” Yun greeted her with a smile.
“Good morning, Yun,” Lillian replied. “Is Ying at home?”
“She's in the back,” Yun replied. “Shall I call her out?”
“Oh there's no need. I'll just go see her myself.”
“That's fine, dear.”
Lillian walked into the back room of the tea house, a long single room that was Yun and Ying's living quarters. As always there were toys strewn about the room. Although Ying was not really a messy child, her illness sometimes made it hard for her to put her toys away when she was tired from playing and Yun was often too busy working. Lillian didn't mind the mess. It gave the room a pleasant, lived-in feel. She found Ying sitting on the floor, playing quietly with her dolls and stuffed animals.
“Hello, Ying,” Lillian spoke quietly, so as not to disturb the little girl.
“Hello Lillian!”
“I brought the flowers you requested,” Lillian said as she pulled them out of her bag.
“Oh thank you!” Ying said with a happy smile. “I... wrote a letter to my mommy and daddy...and wanted...some flowers to send along with it.”
From the next room they could hear Yun greeting a customer.
“Maybe that's Dirk!” Ying exclaimed. She rushed over to the table and grabbed an envelope off it. Shoving the flowers into it, she hurried into the restaurant. Lillian followed closely. So closely, in fact, that when Ying suddenly stopped, Lillian nearly bumped into her.
The customer who was standing at the counter was not Dirk. He was much taller, broader and older than the local mailman. He noticed the two girls standing in the doorway and waved, a big grin spreading over his face.
“Greetings to you, Ying and Lillian!” Mako called out cheerfully.
“Good morning, Mako,” Lillian replied. Ying said nothing, but she pressed closer to Lillian.
“Ying...” Yun said in a disapproving tone.
“...good ...morning, Mako...” Ying whispered.
“Ah, what do you have there? Some flowers?” Mako asked, walking over. Ying whimpered, and hid her face in Lillian's skirt. Mako stopped short, frowning. Realizing Ying was on the verge of tears, Lillian decided to intervene.
“Oh, um, Mako, didn't you put a request on the message board?” she asked, stepping forward.
“Yes, I did, just this morning. You don't mean to say that you already have what I want?”
With Mako distracted, Ying scurried past him and out the door of the tea house.
“I don't understand why that child is so frightened of me,” Mako muttered.
Lillian pulled out the two failed dishes and handed them to Mako. His face lit up in a giant grin.
“Yes, this is exactly what I wanted. This will make excellent fertilizer.”
Mako's enthusiasm was infectious and Lillian found herself smiling as well. It was true that he was a rather imposing looking man, and Lillian could understand Ying's fright. She herself had been intimidated by Mako at first. But once she had gotten over her initial fear, she learned that Mako only looked intimidating. He was a kind, well-spoken (if rather loud...) and intelligent man. Lillian counted him among her best friends in Konohana.
“Now, a reward for a job well done,” Mako said, but before he could hand the reward over to Lillian, another customer entered the tea house.
“Good morning, Dr. Ayame,” Yun said. Mako turned and as he looked at Ayame, a wistful expression came over his face. Lillian had never seen such an expression on her friends face and wondered about it.
“Good morning, everyone!” Ayame replied. She was smiling, but she looked rather tired. Ayame walked over to the counter and placed an order with Yun.
“Ah, if you're eating lunch here-” Mako began, but Ayame cut him off.
“Actually, I'm going right back to the clinic,” she said to Mako and then addressed Yun. “Can you wrap them up to go?”
“Of course, dear.”
“Kana had a rather nasty fall when he was out riding,” Ayame explained. “He'll be all right, but I want him stay at the clinic for a while for observation.”
“Oh no, poor Kana!” Lillian exclaimed.
“Poor thing!” Yun said, adding some extra dumplings to the order.
“He'll be fine,” Ayame said, as Yun handed her the food. “And you know, there is always a bright side.”
“What could it possibly be?” Mako asked.
“I get to spend my day with two good-looking young men!” Ayame said with a laugh.
Mako's shoulders slumped and he looked utterly dejected. Suddenly Lillian understood the situation. Mako was in love with Ayame. She didn't seem aware of his feelings in the slightest though. Or, if she was, then she was acting with a cruelty that Lillian had not known Ayame had in her. Lillian hoped it was the first. She could not imagine the kind, laid-back doctor acting that way. Standing there in the tea house, Lillian suddenly felt like she wanted to cry. She wasn't sure exactly why, but the urge was very strong. She swallowed the lump in her threat and tugged at Mako's sleeve.
“Hm?” he said.
“Um, the request...”
“What? Oh, of course, my dear, of course,” Mako handed her some tea and some coins. “You did a good job.”
“Thank you,” Lillian murmured. The urge to cry came on again.
“Ah well, I should get back to work,” Mako said and he left the tea house. He walked slowly and his shoulders were still slumped.
Lillian stood there for a moment, trying to compose herself, swallowing the lump in her throat and blinking back tears. Yun noticed her and came over. She put her arm around Lillian and gave her a gentle hug.
“Kana will be fine. Ayame is a wonderful doctor,” Yun murmured.
Lillian shook her head, finally understanding her pain. Of course she was worried about Kana but that wasn't why she wanted to cry.
“Mako is in love with Ayame,” she whispered.
Yun was a bit surprised at Lillian's response but she didn't show it as she replied, “Yes. He's been in love with her for some time now.”
“She doesn't know?”
“I don't think so,” Yun replied. She walked back over to her stove and Lillian followed her. “I don't know why, but Mako has never outright confessed to her and Ayame isn't very perceptive when it comes to things like that.”
Lillian nodded, glad to hear that Ayame had not been deliberately cruel to Mako. She felt a little bad for even suspecting the kind-hearted doctor of such a thing. But she was more confused than ever over her own response. Why should realizing that mako was in love with Ayame make her want to cry?
Lillian left the tea shop and walked up to the mountain. She had no particular goals and just wandered around, occasionally plucking flowers or picking herbs and putting them in her bag. When she arrived at one of her favorite fishing spots, she pulled out her rod and tried to fish. But this didn’t last long. Lillian felt restless and wanted to move. She moved more quickly now and ignored the plants around her. As she walked, she thought, trying to sort through her confusing emotions. Mako was one of her dearest friends and while Lillian was not close to Ayame, she admired the older woman a great deal. If Mako was in love with Ayame, shouldn't Lillian be happy for them? She should want Ayame to return his feelings.
But she didn't want that. Not at all.
And by the time Lillian finally admitted to herself why she didn’t want that, she had nearly reached Bluebell. She stopped by the shallow pond at the base of the mountain and looked at her reflection. It rippled in the water, then broke completely when a fish swam by. For an instant the distorted reflection made Lillian look as if she had but one eye.
And then, finally, she admitted the strange feelings that confused her so.
She was in love with Mako.
Second part