A Job Well Done Ch. 3
Title: A
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 3153
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Reina
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako
Genre: romance
Warning(s): age-difference
First part
Previous part
Ch. 3
Fall ended and Winter came in its place. Lillian thought nothing grew in the Winter, and was surprised to learn that she could grow daikon, soybeans and buckwheat on her farm. Nori told her that bok choy could also be grown in the Winter and promised to try and get some in stock. And while the snow made traveling in the mountain difficult, Lillian still found herbs and nuts on the ground. The streams were frozen solid, but Lillian learned that certain spots were weak and could be broken with her hammer. She had trouble getting the knack of this, and often fell in when she broke through. Being soaking wet out in the freezing cold was, to put it mildly, unpleasant, and Lillian found herself fishing less and less, even though fishing was the best way to earn money in this time of year.
She continued to visit Mako every day, always bringing him a meal. She came at around the same time every day, and he quickly grew to expect her and found himself looking forward to seeing her. Lillian was interested in his work and always asked about it. Sometimes she brought plants she found in the mountain for him to identify.
“These are Elli leaves,” he explained one snowy day, when she came by with roasted eggplant and a bag full of strange plants that she had found in the mountain. “In olden times, they were said to have magical properties. Both Reina and I have studied them and we cannot find any evidence of nutritional or medicinal value.”
“Oh, I was afraid of that,” Lillian said with a sigh. She placed the little plant back in her bag.
“What is wrong?”
“The Cooking Festival is coming up and I just don't have anything I can make.”
“Ah, I see. This is a difficult time of year. But even if you cannot enter a dish, you must at least come and cheer for Konohana.”
“I will. Are you going to enter?” Lillian asked.
“Not I. Reina intends to, I think.”
“Do you ever enter?”
“I did a few times, when I was younger,” Mako replied. “I can cook, but I find it more fun to cheer everyone on.”
Lillian nodded. Since she had come to the two towns, she had always made a point to enter a dish in the Cooking Festival. She was sure her efforts were helping Bluebell and Konohana grow closer. But if she couldn't enter a dish, then that couldn't be helped, and she had to admit, standing in the crowd and cheering for her friends sounded fun too.
“Oh dear, it's getting late,” she said, getting to her feet. “I'd better be going. I have to deliver some lavender to Eileen.”
Mako looked up. “Doesn't she live in Bluebell?”
“Y-yes...”
“It can be dangerous crossing the mountain in the dark,”
“Oh, I'll be fine. I'll stick to the path.”
“The path is iced over. You should wait until morning.”
“But I can't,” Lillian protested. “Eileen needs this lavender tonight. She's expecting me and I just can't disappoint her!”
Mako couldn't help but smile at her earnestness. “Well, if it's that important, then you should not disappoint Eileen. But you must promise me to be careful.”
“I will! I'll be very careful.”
True to her word, Lillian safely crossed the mountain, and delivered the lavender to Eileen. On her way back, she stopped at the message board and looked over the new requests. There were only two: Rutger wanted flowers (for Rose, of course) and Cam wanted fish. Lillian sighed a bit when she saw Cam's message. Fishing was nice in the summer, when the days were hot but it was nice and cool at the stream, but in winter, she hated fishing. In the end, she left Cam's request on the board and returned home.
The Cooking Festival was just a few days later. Since she had nothing to make, Lillian came to cheer everyone on. Almost everyone from Bluebell and Konohana turned out for the cooking festival and for a few moments, Lillian felt lost in the crowd of people.
“Lillian, over here,” Mako called out.
Lillian hurried over, weaving through the crowd. She nearly bumped into Gombe and as she moved away from him, she stepped on Hiro's foot. She was still apologizing when she reached Mako's side.
“Oh, Reina, I thought you were going to compete?” Lillian said when saw Reina standing at her uncle's side.
“I changed my mind,” Reina replied, with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Now, let us introduce our special guest judge, Pierre!” Ina announced and moments later a short young man, dressed all in purple walked between the two groups.
Lillian turned her attention to the competition and saw right away that Konohana would have a tough time. Howard, Laney and Jessica has all entered, but Konohana was represented by Yun, Ying and Kana. Mako cheered loudly for his hometown as Pierre tasted the dishes. His cheering was so loud that Reina hid her face behind her sleeve and tried to pretend they weren't related. Sadly, in the end, Pierre declared that Bluebell was the winner.
Mako took the loss hard. “Konohana has tasted defeat. Reina and Lillian, can you say that your cheering was adequate?” he demanded as they walked home.
“Konohana didn't lose because of our cheering,” Lillian protested.
“Yes, we lost because Kana entered a failed dish,” Reina added.
“Still, you could have shown more enthusiasm, you two,” Mako said. “Have some pride in Konohana!”
“But in the end, it doesn't really matter who wins,” Lillian said.
“Of course it matters! Winning is a point of pride! We must prove that Konohana's food is superior to that of Bluebell,”
“But-” Lillian began, but Reina cut her off.
“Oh, don't get him started. Just don't. Anyway, we've reached your house.”
“Oh. Good night then. Um...I had a lot of fun cheering with you,” Lillian said.
“Yes, it was fun!” Mako said with a big grin, but Reina hid her face behind her sleeve again. “Well, good night. I'll see you tomorrow.”
The snow festival was a few days later. Most of the villagers turned out to see the giant panda that Sheng sculpted, but Mako chose to stay home and work on his project. Reina and Lillian protested and tried to get him to come, but he stubbornly refused to leave. He was nearing the end of the first phase of his work, the planning and writing, and as he neared the end he became as consumed by his work as he had been in the beginning, and he began staying up all night again. Lillian worried, but this time Reina sensed it was better not to push him and let him work. Despite her misgivings, Lillian followed Reina's example and by the next cooking festival Mako's work was nearly completed and he was back to keeping a normal schedule.
The day after the second Winter cooking festival, (Konohana lost again, despite Mako's cheering) Lillian went to Mako's house as usual. He was seated at the table, as usual, but things were different today. Most of the books had been returned to the shelf and the papers had been neatly organized on the table. Mako was writing something in one of his notebooks, but compared to the frenzied pace he'd held earlier, his writing seemed almost leisurely now.
“Good morning, Mako,” Lillian said, handing him a baked yam.
“Ah, thank you. This looks fantastic,” he said, closing the notebook and digging in.
“How is your research coming along?”
“Very well,” Mako said through a mouthful of yam. He swallowed and went on, “I am nearly ready to put my theories to the test. Which reminds me...”
Mako set his food down and rifled through the papers on his desk. He found the one he was looking for and handed it to Lillian.
“I was going to post this on the message board, but since you are here, I want to ask you directly. Will you help me?”
Lillian looked at the paper. “Ninety-nine failed dishes?” she exclaimed.
“I know it is much to ask in so short a time, but it is exactly what I need for the next phase of my research. Will you help me?”
“Of course! Anything for you, Mako!”
Preparing such a huge amount of failed dishes was easier said than done. As she had done before, Lillian went through her storage and purposely burned anything that had gone bad. There were some old vegetables left over from fall that weren't so fresh and some rotten herbs and what looked like it might have once been a tomato. But even after a thorough cleaning, she still had a ways to go. She began making failed dishes from herbs and fish that had a low shipping value. The reward offered for the request was several high quality tree seedlings and Lillian knew that if she was successful, she would get her money back and then some. But if she failed, she was going to be out a lot of money. It was a big gamble.
On the last day that the request was due, she was still short and she ran to the store and bought several bags of flour, and made each one into a failed dish. As Lillian packed the ninety-nine failed dishes in her bag, she wondered if it was all worth it, knowing that she would not have gone to such lengths for anyone else in the village.
She hurried to Mako's house. By then it was late at night, and, worried that she might be late, Lillian began to run. The path was icy in some spots and she nearly lost her footing a few times, but it wasn't until she reached the bridge that she actually slipped. Lillian fell hard, twisting her ankle and scraping her palm on some exposed rocks. Nearly crying from pain, Lillian picked herself up slowly and managed to limp the rest of the way to Mako's house.
Mako was in his kitchen, making a late night snack when he heard the door open. Guessing correctly that it was Lillian, he turned to greet her with a big smile that quickly fell away when he saw the state she was in.
“Lillian! What on earth?” Mako rushed over to her. “Reina, come down here!”
“I-I slipped coming off the bridge...I h-hurt my ankle.”
“You poor thing!”
Lillian was not expecting what happened next. Mako suddenly picked her up and carried her over to the kitchen. For a moment, Lillian nearly forgot her pain, she was so pleased to be in Mako's strong arms. She was tempted to snuggle against him, but the kitchen was only a few steps away. Mako gently set her down on one of the cushions and knelt before her.
“Which ankle?” he asked.
“The right one.”
Reina came downstairs then. “What happened?”
“Lillian has hurt herself.”
Reina nodded and hurried over to a cabinet and pulled a large box off of one of the shelves. She carried it over to the table and opened the lid. The box was full of small jars and little containers, and Reina began sorting through them. Mako meanwhile had pulled Lillian's boot off and was gently pressing on her foot and ankle. This hurt her, but Mako looked pleased.
“I don't think it is broken,” he said.
Reina came over and cleaned Lillian's palm with a soft cloth. Then she opened one of the jars that she had removed from the box. A strong medicinal smell reached Lillian's nose. Reina used her fingers to scoop some of the jar's contents onto Lillian's hand. It stung at first, but after a few moments, her palm began to feel pleasantly cool.
“Should I send for the doctor?” Reina asked.
“It's only a sprain,” Mako replied.
“Sprains can be serious,” Reina argued. “What do you want to do, Lillian?”
“Oh...I...I'd rather not bother Ayame,” Lillian murmured. “It is pretty late...”
Reina shrugged and went back to her box.
“What is that?” Lillian asked.
“It's my first-aid kit,” Reina explained. “Everything is a natural, homemade herbal remedy.”
Reina pulled a bandage out of the box and began wrapping it around Lillian's ankle. Mako brought Lillian a cup of tea. She took it gratefully, but when she brought it near her mouth she noticed it smelled strange.
“It's an herbal remedy,” Mako said. “It will take away some of the pain.”
“It tastes bitter, but it works,” Reina added. “If you drink it quickly, it's not so bad.”
Lillian drank the tea as quickly she could. It was very hot and tasted like medicine. By the time she finished the tea, Reina was done wrapping her ankle.
“You should stay off it for a few days,” Reina said.
Lillian nodded. Luckily she had no crops right then, so she had only her livestock to worry about.
“Oh, I nearly forgot!” she said suddenly. “Where's my bag?”
Mako handed it to her and Lillian pulled out the failed dishes. He couldn't help feeling guilty that Lillian had injured herself helping him, but he could see an eager smile on her face.
“Thank you,” he said gently. “This is exactly what I needed.”
“I'm so glad I could help you!”
Mako placed her reward, some money and some tree seedlings in the bag for her. Reina added a jar of the ointment and a canister of the medicinal tea as well.
“All right, let's get you home,” Mako said to Lillian.
“Um...” Lillian said. Thanks to the medicine, her ankle wasn't bothering her too much right now, but she wasn't sure if she could walk all the way back to her farm. Before she could say any of that out loud, Mako scooped her up in his arms again.
“I'll be back soon,” he said to Reina.
“Be careful,” she replied.
“Always!”
Mako carried Lillian out the door into the cold Winter night. Reina shut the door behind them, then walked back to the kitchen and packed away the first-aid and washed the cup Lillian had used. As she worked, she thought about the expression she had seen on Lillian's face when Mako picked her her up. Lillian had looked surprised, but that expression had been quickly replaced by one of compete happiness. For a while now, Reina had wondered about Lillian. Though Reina was not always observant when it came to other people's feelings, she couldn't help noticing that Lillian was a frequent visitor. Reina had started to wonder if Lillian had a crush on Mako. The sweet, happy smile on Lillian's face when Mako picked her up confirmed her suspicions. Reina wasn't sure if Mako returned Lillian's feelings, but...she hoped he did.
Reina loved her uncle dearly. She was actually closer to him than she was to her own father. Though they were very different in personality, they shared a love of plants and research and understood one another. She wanted her uncle to be happy and Reina thought that Mako would be one of those people who would be happiest if he had someone to share his life with.
Outside, Lillian was, despite her pain, a very happy young woman. She felt so safe and warm in Mako's arms and this time she couldn't resist the urge to snuggle against him. Before long she had actually dozed off.
Mako glanced down at her. “She really is very pretty,” he thought. “If I were a younger man-”
Mako was so surprised by this train of thought that he stopped walking. The cease of movement caused Lillian to stir.
“Am I home?” she murmured.
“Not quite.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I was...startled by something,” This was the truth, but Mako prayed that Lillian wouldn’t ask for more details. Luckily she didn't and within a few minutes he could tell she had fallen back asleep.
Soon Mako reached Lillian’s farm. It was easy to see, even in the dim moonlight that she had no crops growing at the time, but he could see the trenches were crops had once been planted. He had not gone very far onto Lillian's property when her two dogs ran up to him. The big dog, which herded cows, was barking loudly. The smaller sheep dog was growling fiercely. The sounds woke Lillian up instantly.
“Stop! Stop it!” she cried. The big dog stopped when he heard his mistresses command, but the littler dog advanced and Mako began to back away quickly.
“Stop that!” Lillian scolded. “Mako is my friend!”
“Animals don't like me,” Mako explained nervously. “But usually they run away - like Ying.”
The big dog moved between the humans and the other dog, growling loudly. After a moment the small dog whined and ran inside.
“See, Woofie likes you,” Lillian said.
“I am not so sure of that,” Mako replied, noticing how tense Woofie still was. Still, both dogs allowed Mako to enter the house. There was a cat as well, but Mako, assuming that she too would be afraid of him, ignored her. Therefore, in typical cat fashion, she decided that Mako was her new best friend and rubbed against his ankles, purring loudly.
Mako carried Lillian to the table and set her gently down on a cushion.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I will come by in the morning to see how you are,” he replied.
“All right. Thank you.”
Mako could tell Lillian was tired and wondered if he shouldn't have carried her to the bed. But that somehow seemed... inappropriate.
On the way home, Mako tried to think about the next phase in his experiment, but thoughts of Lillian kept bubbling to the surface of his mind. Her sweet voice, her lovely face, the way she visited him every day, the way she showed such concern towards him...He tried to push those thoughts down, telling himself how inappropriate it was to think that way about Lillian. She was far too young, younger even than Reina.
“Well, at least I seem to put Ayame behind me...” Mako muttered to himself.
AN: channeling a little HM64 here. I always thought the heart events where you had to carry a girl home after she'd sprained her ankle were really cute. ^^
Next part
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 3153
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Reina
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako
Genre: romance
Warning(s): age-difference
First part
Previous part
Ch. 3
Fall ended and Winter came in its place. Lillian thought nothing grew in the Winter, and was surprised to learn that she could grow daikon, soybeans and buckwheat on her farm. Nori told her that bok choy could also be grown in the Winter and promised to try and get some in stock. And while the snow made traveling in the mountain difficult, Lillian still found herbs and nuts on the ground. The streams were frozen solid, but Lillian learned that certain spots were weak and could be broken with her hammer. She had trouble getting the knack of this, and often fell in when she broke through. Being soaking wet out in the freezing cold was, to put it mildly, unpleasant, and Lillian found herself fishing less and less, even though fishing was the best way to earn money in this time of year.
She continued to visit Mako every day, always bringing him a meal. She came at around the same time every day, and he quickly grew to expect her and found himself looking forward to seeing her. Lillian was interested in his work and always asked about it. Sometimes she brought plants she found in the mountain for him to identify.
“These are Elli leaves,” he explained one snowy day, when she came by with roasted eggplant and a bag full of strange plants that she had found in the mountain. “In olden times, they were said to have magical properties. Both Reina and I have studied them and we cannot find any evidence of nutritional or medicinal value.”
“Oh, I was afraid of that,” Lillian said with a sigh. She placed the little plant back in her bag.
“What is wrong?”
“The Cooking Festival is coming up and I just don't have anything I can make.”
“Ah, I see. This is a difficult time of year. But even if you cannot enter a dish, you must at least come and cheer for Konohana.”
“I will. Are you going to enter?” Lillian asked.
“Not I. Reina intends to, I think.”
“Do you ever enter?”
“I did a few times, when I was younger,” Mako replied. “I can cook, but I find it more fun to cheer everyone on.”
Lillian nodded. Since she had come to the two towns, she had always made a point to enter a dish in the Cooking Festival. She was sure her efforts were helping Bluebell and Konohana grow closer. But if she couldn't enter a dish, then that couldn't be helped, and she had to admit, standing in the crowd and cheering for her friends sounded fun too.
“Oh dear, it's getting late,” she said, getting to her feet. “I'd better be going. I have to deliver some lavender to Eileen.”
Mako looked up. “Doesn't she live in Bluebell?”
“Y-yes...”
“It can be dangerous crossing the mountain in the dark,”
“Oh, I'll be fine. I'll stick to the path.”
“The path is iced over. You should wait until morning.”
“But I can't,” Lillian protested. “Eileen needs this lavender tonight. She's expecting me and I just can't disappoint her!”
Mako couldn't help but smile at her earnestness. “Well, if it's that important, then you should not disappoint Eileen. But you must promise me to be careful.”
“I will! I'll be very careful.”
True to her word, Lillian safely crossed the mountain, and delivered the lavender to Eileen. On her way back, she stopped at the message board and looked over the new requests. There were only two: Rutger wanted flowers (for Rose, of course) and Cam wanted fish. Lillian sighed a bit when she saw Cam's message. Fishing was nice in the summer, when the days were hot but it was nice and cool at the stream, but in winter, she hated fishing. In the end, she left Cam's request on the board and returned home.
The Cooking Festival was just a few days later. Since she had nothing to make, Lillian came to cheer everyone on. Almost everyone from Bluebell and Konohana turned out for the cooking festival and for a few moments, Lillian felt lost in the crowd of people.
“Lillian, over here,” Mako called out.
Lillian hurried over, weaving through the crowd. She nearly bumped into Gombe and as she moved away from him, she stepped on Hiro's foot. She was still apologizing when she reached Mako's side.
“Oh, Reina, I thought you were going to compete?” Lillian said when saw Reina standing at her uncle's side.
“I changed my mind,” Reina replied, with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Now, let us introduce our special guest judge, Pierre!” Ina announced and moments later a short young man, dressed all in purple walked between the two groups.
Lillian turned her attention to the competition and saw right away that Konohana would have a tough time. Howard, Laney and Jessica has all entered, but Konohana was represented by Yun, Ying and Kana. Mako cheered loudly for his hometown as Pierre tasted the dishes. His cheering was so loud that Reina hid her face behind her sleeve and tried to pretend they weren't related. Sadly, in the end, Pierre declared that Bluebell was the winner.
Mako took the loss hard. “Konohana has tasted defeat. Reina and Lillian, can you say that your cheering was adequate?” he demanded as they walked home.
“Konohana didn't lose because of our cheering,” Lillian protested.
“Yes, we lost because Kana entered a failed dish,” Reina added.
“Still, you could have shown more enthusiasm, you two,” Mako said. “Have some pride in Konohana!”
“But in the end, it doesn't really matter who wins,” Lillian said.
“Of course it matters! Winning is a point of pride! We must prove that Konohana's food is superior to that of Bluebell,”
“But-” Lillian began, but Reina cut her off.
“Oh, don't get him started. Just don't. Anyway, we've reached your house.”
“Oh. Good night then. Um...I had a lot of fun cheering with you,” Lillian said.
“Yes, it was fun!” Mako said with a big grin, but Reina hid her face behind her sleeve again. “Well, good night. I'll see you tomorrow.”
The snow festival was a few days later. Most of the villagers turned out to see the giant panda that Sheng sculpted, but Mako chose to stay home and work on his project. Reina and Lillian protested and tried to get him to come, but he stubbornly refused to leave. He was nearing the end of the first phase of his work, the planning and writing, and as he neared the end he became as consumed by his work as he had been in the beginning, and he began staying up all night again. Lillian worried, but this time Reina sensed it was better not to push him and let him work. Despite her misgivings, Lillian followed Reina's example and by the next cooking festival Mako's work was nearly completed and he was back to keeping a normal schedule.
The day after the second Winter cooking festival, (Konohana lost again, despite Mako's cheering) Lillian went to Mako's house as usual. He was seated at the table, as usual, but things were different today. Most of the books had been returned to the shelf and the papers had been neatly organized on the table. Mako was writing something in one of his notebooks, but compared to the frenzied pace he'd held earlier, his writing seemed almost leisurely now.
“Good morning, Mako,” Lillian said, handing him a baked yam.
“Ah, thank you. This looks fantastic,” he said, closing the notebook and digging in.
“How is your research coming along?”
“Very well,” Mako said through a mouthful of yam. He swallowed and went on, “I am nearly ready to put my theories to the test. Which reminds me...”
Mako set his food down and rifled through the papers on his desk. He found the one he was looking for and handed it to Lillian.
“I was going to post this on the message board, but since you are here, I want to ask you directly. Will you help me?”
Lillian looked at the paper. “Ninety-nine failed dishes?” she exclaimed.
“I know it is much to ask in so short a time, but it is exactly what I need for the next phase of my research. Will you help me?”
“Of course! Anything for you, Mako!”
Preparing such a huge amount of failed dishes was easier said than done. As she had done before, Lillian went through her storage and purposely burned anything that had gone bad. There were some old vegetables left over from fall that weren't so fresh and some rotten herbs and what looked like it might have once been a tomato. But even after a thorough cleaning, she still had a ways to go. She began making failed dishes from herbs and fish that had a low shipping value. The reward offered for the request was several high quality tree seedlings and Lillian knew that if she was successful, she would get her money back and then some. But if she failed, she was going to be out a lot of money. It was a big gamble.
On the last day that the request was due, she was still short and she ran to the store and bought several bags of flour, and made each one into a failed dish. As Lillian packed the ninety-nine failed dishes in her bag, she wondered if it was all worth it, knowing that she would not have gone to such lengths for anyone else in the village.
She hurried to Mako's house. By then it was late at night, and, worried that she might be late, Lillian began to run. The path was icy in some spots and she nearly lost her footing a few times, but it wasn't until she reached the bridge that she actually slipped. Lillian fell hard, twisting her ankle and scraping her palm on some exposed rocks. Nearly crying from pain, Lillian picked herself up slowly and managed to limp the rest of the way to Mako's house.
Mako was in his kitchen, making a late night snack when he heard the door open. Guessing correctly that it was Lillian, he turned to greet her with a big smile that quickly fell away when he saw the state she was in.
“Lillian! What on earth?” Mako rushed over to her. “Reina, come down here!”
“I-I slipped coming off the bridge...I h-hurt my ankle.”
“You poor thing!”
Lillian was not expecting what happened next. Mako suddenly picked her up and carried her over to the kitchen. For a moment, Lillian nearly forgot her pain, she was so pleased to be in Mako's strong arms. She was tempted to snuggle against him, but the kitchen was only a few steps away. Mako gently set her down on one of the cushions and knelt before her.
“Which ankle?” he asked.
“The right one.”
Reina came downstairs then. “What happened?”
“Lillian has hurt herself.”
Reina nodded and hurried over to a cabinet and pulled a large box off of one of the shelves. She carried it over to the table and opened the lid. The box was full of small jars and little containers, and Reina began sorting through them. Mako meanwhile had pulled Lillian's boot off and was gently pressing on her foot and ankle. This hurt her, but Mako looked pleased.
“I don't think it is broken,” he said.
Reina came over and cleaned Lillian's palm with a soft cloth. Then she opened one of the jars that she had removed from the box. A strong medicinal smell reached Lillian's nose. Reina used her fingers to scoop some of the jar's contents onto Lillian's hand. It stung at first, but after a few moments, her palm began to feel pleasantly cool.
“Should I send for the doctor?” Reina asked.
“It's only a sprain,” Mako replied.
“Sprains can be serious,” Reina argued. “What do you want to do, Lillian?”
“Oh...I...I'd rather not bother Ayame,” Lillian murmured. “It is pretty late...”
Reina shrugged and went back to her box.
“What is that?” Lillian asked.
“It's my first-aid kit,” Reina explained. “Everything is a natural, homemade herbal remedy.”
Reina pulled a bandage out of the box and began wrapping it around Lillian's ankle. Mako brought Lillian a cup of tea. She took it gratefully, but when she brought it near her mouth she noticed it smelled strange.
“It's an herbal remedy,” Mako said. “It will take away some of the pain.”
“It tastes bitter, but it works,” Reina added. “If you drink it quickly, it's not so bad.”
Lillian drank the tea as quickly she could. It was very hot and tasted like medicine. By the time she finished the tea, Reina was done wrapping her ankle.
“You should stay off it for a few days,” Reina said.
Lillian nodded. Luckily she had no crops right then, so she had only her livestock to worry about.
“Oh, I nearly forgot!” she said suddenly. “Where's my bag?”
Mako handed it to her and Lillian pulled out the failed dishes. He couldn't help feeling guilty that Lillian had injured herself helping him, but he could see an eager smile on her face.
“Thank you,” he said gently. “This is exactly what I needed.”
“I'm so glad I could help you!”
Mako placed her reward, some money and some tree seedlings in the bag for her. Reina added a jar of the ointment and a canister of the medicinal tea as well.
“All right, let's get you home,” Mako said to Lillian.
“Um...” Lillian said. Thanks to the medicine, her ankle wasn't bothering her too much right now, but she wasn't sure if she could walk all the way back to her farm. Before she could say any of that out loud, Mako scooped her up in his arms again.
“I'll be back soon,” he said to Reina.
“Be careful,” she replied.
“Always!”
Mako carried Lillian out the door into the cold Winter night. Reina shut the door behind them, then walked back to the kitchen and packed away the first-aid and washed the cup Lillian had used. As she worked, she thought about the expression she had seen on Lillian's face when Mako picked her her up. Lillian had looked surprised, but that expression had been quickly replaced by one of compete happiness. For a while now, Reina had wondered about Lillian. Though Reina was not always observant when it came to other people's feelings, she couldn't help noticing that Lillian was a frequent visitor. Reina had started to wonder if Lillian had a crush on Mako. The sweet, happy smile on Lillian's face when Mako picked her up confirmed her suspicions. Reina wasn't sure if Mako returned Lillian's feelings, but...she hoped he did.
Reina loved her uncle dearly. She was actually closer to him than she was to her own father. Though they were very different in personality, they shared a love of plants and research and understood one another. She wanted her uncle to be happy and Reina thought that Mako would be one of those people who would be happiest if he had someone to share his life with.
Outside, Lillian was, despite her pain, a very happy young woman. She felt so safe and warm in Mako's arms and this time she couldn't resist the urge to snuggle against him. Before long she had actually dozed off.
Mako glanced down at her. “She really is very pretty,” he thought. “If I were a younger man-”
Mako was so surprised by this train of thought that he stopped walking. The cease of movement caused Lillian to stir.
“Am I home?” she murmured.
“Not quite.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I was...startled by something,” This was the truth, but Mako prayed that Lillian wouldn’t ask for more details. Luckily she didn't and within a few minutes he could tell she had fallen back asleep.
Soon Mako reached Lillian’s farm. It was easy to see, even in the dim moonlight that she had no crops growing at the time, but he could see the trenches were crops had once been planted. He had not gone very far onto Lillian's property when her two dogs ran up to him. The big dog, which herded cows, was barking loudly. The smaller sheep dog was growling fiercely. The sounds woke Lillian up instantly.
“Stop! Stop it!” she cried. The big dog stopped when he heard his mistresses command, but the littler dog advanced and Mako began to back away quickly.
“Stop that!” Lillian scolded. “Mako is my friend!”
“Animals don't like me,” Mako explained nervously. “But usually they run away - like Ying.”
The big dog moved between the humans and the other dog, growling loudly. After a moment the small dog whined and ran inside.
“See, Woofie likes you,” Lillian said.
“I am not so sure of that,” Mako replied, noticing how tense Woofie still was. Still, both dogs allowed Mako to enter the house. There was a cat as well, but Mako, assuming that she too would be afraid of him, ignored her. Therefore, in typical cat fashion, she decided that Mako was her new best friend and rubbed against his ankles, purring loudly.
Mako carried Lillian to the table and set her gently down on a cushion.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I will come by in the morning to see how you are,” he replied.
“All right. Thank you.”
Mako could tell Lillian was tired and wondered if he shouldn't have carried her to the bed. But that somehow seemed... inappropriate.
On the way home, Mako tried to think about the next phase in his experiment, but thoughts of Lillian kept bubbling to the surface of his mind. Her sweet voice, her lovely face, the way she visited him every day, the way she showed such concern towards him...He tried to push those thoughts down, telling himself how inappropriate it was to think that way about Lillian. She was far too young, younger even than Reina.
“Well, at least I seem to put Ayame behind me...” Mako muttered to himself.
AN: channeling a little HM64 here. I always thought the heart events where you had to carry a girl home after she'd sprained her ankle were really cute. ^^
Next part