Heh heh, this was a bit of a surprise! I haven't done a Harvest Moon fic for a good year and a half, so it was nice to return to this section with a cute Celia/Jack one-shot. They're so adorable together~ Y'know, like those two kids you always see in the playground thinking "They are so going to get together when they're older!" Y'know?
...Okay, that's just me. It felt good to treat Celia right again; the last time she was in a fic I wrote, I killed the poor girl. No joke. Burning Rose, on my profile, first fanfiction I ever did for this site. XD I've come a long way since writing that though, so the quality might be...lacking, shall we say. But still, it was great to just pick up Celia and Jack and be all "Nearly two years, I made both your lives hell in a fanfiction I wrote. Now I'm going to re-deem myself!" =D
Anyway, the inspiration for this actually came from the artwork of Celia and Jack from A Wonderful Life...y'know, where she's handing vegetables to him over the fence? I was originally going to make this an implied romance, but I didn't think it'd end on a good note unless I made it feel that way, so yes, there is kissing. =)
If you hate Celia/Jack, leave now or forever hold your shipping hatred! Still here? Good! Then read on.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harvest Moon. All rights Natsume.
Celia's favourite part of the day was whether Jack stopped by the farm.
He would come either in the morning or during the afternoon. If it was sunny, Celia would speak with him. If it rained, he would be wearing a coat, and she would hurriedly fetch the seeds that he wanted so that he could get back to the farm. Often, she would see that his faithful dog Woody was by his side, clearly visible for the red handkerchief he wore around him, not to mention the floppy ears. She would often search for these two features as they were easy to spot and tell whether Jack was approaching or not.
Celia liked Jack. From the moment Mr Takakura had introduced them, he had seemed friendly, kind, and overall a very nice person that Celia certainly didn't mind being neighbours with. The very next day, he had come over to buy seeds from the farm, along with Woody. Celia loved animals and was instantly taken with the adorable creature. She also still remembered how Jack had politely asked her opinion on what to plant for the spring.
"Watermelons." She had replied, pushing a small pack of seeds into Jack's hands with a smile. "They can be harvested through not only spring, but summer, and an early start is the best way to start farming, right?"
Jack had nodded. "Thanks, Celia. How much do I..."
Celia shook her head. "Don't even think about paying. Think of them as a welcoming gift to Forget-Me-Not Valley."
Jack smiled. Celia felt rather cheerful at that point...just seeing his smile seemed to brighten her very mood.
"That's very kind of you. I'll have to return the favour...how about I bring some watermelons over when they're ready for harvesting?" Woody barked, wagging his tail as if he approved of Jack's idea?
"Oh, I would love to, Jack!" Celia exclaimed happily. "Thank you so much!"
She had no problems remembering his name. The same also seemed to be true for him. From that day on, Jack always stopped by; whether it was for a chat or even just a friendly wave. It became routine for Celia to always see him. Occasionally, Jack brought crops and she would hand them to him over the wooden fence.
True to his word, around the middle of spring, Jack came over with Woody and a watermelon for Celia to try. It was quite large and a lovely green colour, so she could tell he had raised it with care. That made her happy.
"What do you think?" Jack asked; the hint of nervousness on his tongue as he handed Celia the watermelon.
"It's a fantastic colour for your first one." Jack nodded tentatively, and Celia knew why; the appearance meant nothing if it tasted absolutely foul. She herself hoped it wouldn't be; she couldn't bear to tell Jack that his crops were horrible, but to lie to him...that wouldn't solve anything either. She took a breath. She had only known him for a few days, but she had faith in him as a farmer. She had heard from Takakura that he didn't plan to be one, but after his father's death...he apparently felt the need to continue the farm. She admired him for that, if anything.
She bit into the watermelon and took a tiny chunk out, allowing the taste to sink in her mouth. She swallowed, happier then ever.
"These are...excellent, Jack!" Celia said delightfully. "I'm impressed!"
Jack was watching apprehensively, as if he had not taken her words in fully. "You...really mean it? It's that good?"
Celia nodded, smiling. "As long as you care for your crops, there's no reason why they shouldn't be this good. I can tell you really put your heart into growing this!"
Jack seemed almost surprised, as if he still couldn't believe it. Then, his face lit up and he gave a more cheerful smile to the almost quaint, quiet polite one Celia had often seen him give her.
"Thank you...so much, Celia! I couldn't have made them that great without your advice."
Celia waved her hand. "Oh don't give me the credit! I can easily tell why this watermelon was so tasty...because you worked so hard making it grow."
Breaking off a small piece, she bent over the wooden fence to Woody and held it out to him. "Want some, Woody?"
The dog sniffed the watermelon once, then a second time, before licking it out of Celia's hand. After a few seconds, he began coughing before spitting it out onto the path. Jack seemed flabbergast while Celia allowed a giggle to escape from his mouth.
"I don't think Woody likes watermelon." She spoke amused, while Jack folded his arms and scowled.
"Fine." He spoke firmly. "I'll let Celia finish all that watermelon."
Woody gave his master a see-if-I-care look.
Jack always seemed to put Celia in a good mood. Vesta would joke that "the girl never lets Marlin or me go near Jack", to which Marlin would often give a start, and allow the faintest blush to paint Celia's cheeks. Although she would almost immediately laugh afterwards if Marlin was drinking something and Vesta said to this, as it often resulted in Marlin spitting that very drink out everywhere. It was true that she took any opportunity she had to visit Jack.
The most recent of his visits had been Jack stopping to chat to Celia. He seemed awfully cheerful, and when she asked him why;
"Daisy's expecting."
A gasp of joy came from Celia's mouth. "Oh Jack! That's wonderful!
Daisy was Jack's first cow, and had been brought by Takakura to help him get his feet steady into the life of a farmer. She had been a little grumpy at first; to the point that as Jack had finished a long "battle" of milking the cow, he had turned away for a few moments before hearing a loud clang. Turning with the worst situation in his head, his fears were confirmed as he saw the whole of the milk over the floor. Although one might think that it was a mere accident, Jack told me he could have sworn Daisy had given him a gleeful glare. But he eventually got through to her and could now milk her twice a day! To hear she was pregnant had made Celia's heart soar with happiness; not just for Daisy, but because Jack was doing such a great job on the farm.
"Any names you'd want to give the calf?" She asked.
"I thought about it over lunch. If it's a boy, I'll call it Angus. If it's a girl...Rose."
"...You seem to like names of flowers for your cows." Celia spoke, amused.
Jack gave her a confused look, as if he wasn't sure of what she had just said...or rather, what she meant by it. Celia cottoned on and immediately grew into a panic.
"O-oh! I didn't mean anything by that, Jack! I mean, they're great names, really!" The girl burst out, worried she had upset him.
Jack laughed. "Don't worry Celia, I'm only teasing."
"Very funny." Although her tone was sarcastic, she couldn't glare at him. She instead smiled.
Celia wasn't quite sure where he found out the information during their next talk. She hadn't mentioned it to Jack, as she wasn't one to make a big deal out of today, so she assumed Vesta or Takakura must have told him.
In any case, it surprised her when he produced a small jewellery box.
"Happy birthday, Celia." He declared, holding it up for her to see. Woody was next to him, his tail wagging back and forth insanely. If Jack had been on one knee, Celia would have thought he was proposing to her!
"Oh Jack!" She opened the box and clasped her hands to her mouth. It was a small, dark green broach with a moon drop flower inside. Celia slowly reached out a hand to pick the box up. She brought it in front of her, almost as if she was mesmerised by what she was seeing.
"I...had Muffy help me pick it out in town." Jack admitted sheepishly. "I'm not an expert when it comes to jewellery, bu-"
His sentence was cut off, as he felt something warm and purely blissful hit his cheek. It took a few seconds to realise that Celia was actually kissing him, and as soon as he did, the blush lit up a pink sky during twilight.
When Celia finally broke away, she seemed surprised by her own daring, but was also blushing with a sort of proud pride. As for Jack, the poor (ahem) farmer was seeing stars floating around his head.
"I...I...I..." He mumbled, unable to get the words properly. Then, he seemed to snap, and still a mad pink colour, he scratched the back of his head. Woody was staring up at the pair, as if he didn't understand what was going on.
"Celia...w-would you...like to come to the spring with me? L-later, maybe?"
Celia's face lit up, and it seemed to fill Jack with a sort of confidence. "Y-Yes! That would be...lovely...Jack..." She whispered.
It didn't matter to Celia whether she merely waved at Jack or spoke to him. Any interaction with the young farmer sent her straight up on Cloud Nine. There was no denying however, that she was always waiting for Jack to make her day purely by visiting her.
His reward? She would always peck his cheek hello.
I still feel that ending's a little lackluster, but eh. I haven't actually played a Harvest Moon game in ages though...
Now, I believe Celia's birthday is like...the 6th of Spring, right? And watermelons don't grow in 6 days, heck, 5 if we're talking the 2nd of Spring here, which is when Jack arrives. Although I was more in the mind of A Wonderful Life...the DS version kinda conflicts with that. Doh. Are watermelons even in the DS one?!
ANYWAY! Cheers for reading, I welcome criticism as long as it's constructive and I'll be most grateful if you write a review! Thank you so much!
~Blue Toad~