AN:
FLUFF.
Or, more specifically, Harvest Moon fluff. Because I love HM, there should be more ChelseaxMark stories and fluff is just adorable.
I don't own anything...:/(Oh, and if any of my 'Elissa' readers happen to notice this...then chapter nine will be up in the next couple of days :D)

Notes

"Do you like birds?"

The odd little note had appeared on Chelsea's kitchen table sometime during the night, after the young farmer had fallen asleep. Yawning sleepily as she stumbled towards the fridge, she managed to completely bypass the small piece of paper until she was seated at the table with a cold glass of milk and a slightly charred piece of toast. As she ate, a frown crossed her face. The idea that someone had snuck into her home whilst she was asleep and vulnerable was a little...unnerving, to say the least.

" I don't recognise the handwriting." Chelsea said aloud as she finished her toast and ran a fingertip over the words, leaving a trail of crumbs behind her. The note seemed to have been hastily written on a torn of scrap of paper, as though the author had hesitated which just made it all the more strange.

" Ah well. I'm sure somebody will know who wrote it, won't they?" The words were directed towards a sleepy looking kitten who was curled up tightly on the chair opposite her. The feline opened its eyes at the sound of her voice and meowed in reply. With a soft chuckle, Chelsea pocketed the piece of paper, adjusted her bandanna and opened the door; she stuck her head outside and groaned- it was the first day of Winter, and predictably, the farm and surrounding islands already seemed to be covered with a light blanket of snow. Grabbing a coat and scarf from a nearby hook, she wrapped herself up and ran towards her barn, slamming the door behind her.

" Do you like the colour blue?"

" I found this one in the barn when I was sorting out the animals this morning." A shivering Chelsea told Julia. After tending to her chores, the farmer had made her way over the home of her friend and presented the blonde with the two pieces of paper.

" Maybe they're from a secret admirer!" Julia teased the half-frozen rancher, who answered with a glare.

" Ha, I don't think Mark would be too happy it that was the case..." Chelsea trailed off and smiled, closing her eyes at the thought of her boyfriend. The blond-haired boy had captured her interest from the moment he had arrived, and his love of farming made him the perfect companion. Unlike most of the other residents, Mark actually listened when she rambled on about how many spots a new calf had, or how gorgeously fluffy her sheep were; if she even tried to talk about the same sort of things with her other acquaintances they would simply fall asleep.

" Maybe I should show the notes to him." Chelsea mused, having broken out of her reverie; thinking that Mark would be able to help, she made a move to leave the store. Julia, who had been staring out of the window, seemed to flinch at the idea.

" Erm, wait! I have a better idea. Let's ask Vaughn what he thinks!" The blonde indicated the quiet cowboy with a hint of desperation in her voice. " That way, we can get a man's opinion."

" ...We would be better off asking Chen; in fact, I bet that he could tell whose handwriting this is! After all, he sees everybody's writing when they sign bills and stuff." Chelsea crowed in delight at this new, wondrous plan, and was about to race outside when she felt herself being pulled backwards by a strong, gloved hand.

" Julia wants to show you the new lambs before you go." The cowboy drawled as he hauled her away from the door. He dragged her back to Julia, before tipping his hat and retreating to the far side of the shop.

" Oh yeah, the new lambs! You'll love them, Chelsea. C'mon." Without waiting for an answer, Julia began to push her friend towards the barn, mouthing a 'thank you' at Vaughn as she passed him.

" But..." Chelsea was about to protest, until she spotted the baby sheep. With a squeal of delight, she raced towards them, cooing gently. She didn't notice Julia's sigh of relief, or the way in which the blonde constantly glanced out of a nearby window.

It was noon by the time Chelsea left the animal shop, and the weather had deteriorated. It was snowing fairly heavily now, and the pretty little snowflakes soaked through her clothing leaving her wet and cold. Thankfully, her next stop was only a short walk down the road but even a five minute trudge through the snow was enough to get Chelsea completely and utterly frozen. Shivering and stamping her boots on the mat to remove the snow, the girl managed to smile a greeting in the direction of the Inn's owner before walking the familiar route through the building until she reached the door to Mark's room. She knocked on the door, more out of habit than necessity, and grinned when it was opened mere seconds later.

" You look well." Mark commented with an amused expression as Chelsea entered the room and sat down on the bed.

" You try going outside in this weather. If I wasn't such a kind and caring girlfriend then I wouldn't even have bothered to come and visit today." She replied, peeling off her scarf and coat, before kicking off her boots and throwing them all into a corner.

" You haven't even been here for two minutes and you've already managed to mess up my room," Mark said mournfully, " and of course I'm grateful that you came to see me. Who else tells me stories about Fluffy the sheep and Chickpea the chicken?"

" Are you making fun of me?"

" 'Course not. Would I do that?" Mark removed Chelsea's sodden bandanna, deposited it on a nearby table, and ruffled her hair gently. The girl stared at him stonily for a moment, before standing up and hugging him.
" Missed you." She muttered into his chest, until she drew herself back and smiled.

" Hey, don't go all soppy on me. I saw you yesterday, remember? Although, I guess I did miss you too." Mark replied, scratching the back of his neck before he turned around and began to make hot chocolate. Chelsea sat back down on the bed, wriggling backwards until she was leaning comfortably against the wall with her knees drawn up against her chest. The room was pleasantly warm and smelt of Mark; the combination of the two caused her head to droop a little. She closed her eyes and was almost asleep when she found a warm mug being pressed into her hands.

" Wake up, sleepyhead. I stop talking and moments later you're falling asleep? You've been overworking again, haven't you?" Chelsea's eyes fluttered open to find Mark gazing at her with concern. She sighed and swilled her hot chocolate around as he sat down beside her, wrapping an arm protectively around her waist.

" It was the end of Fall...I had to get everything sorted, you know what Winter is like. No crop means less profit; I had to work like crazy to make sure I had enough money to see me through." She mumbled in reply, sipping her hot chocolate delicately and leaning against Mark.

" If you had asked for help, I would've given you a hand. Idiot." Her boyfriend sighed, removing Chelsea's half-empty mug from her hands and putting it on a bedside table alongside his own drink. He then retreated back to the bed and rested his chin on Chelsea's head. She muttered something under her breath, yawning and nestling herself against Mark. They remained like that for an hour or two; both of them warm, comfortable and half-asleep. It was only when Mark noticed the time that he reluctantly shook Chelsea awake.

" You should be heading back home before the weather gets worse."

" I s'pose...I can think of worse things than being stuck here." Chelsea stretched, blinking repeatedly as she replied. She pulled her boots on and draped her coat and scarf over her. She stuck her hands into the pockets and removed the scraps of paper.

" Hey, Mark. I was going to ask- any idea whose handwriting this is?" She questioned, holding up the notes. The boy in front of her hesitated before forcing a smile and shaking his head.

" Nope, sorry. And here's your bandanna." Mark handed her the red piece of fabric that seemed to be folded in a very particular way. As she went to unfold it, Mark grabbed her wrist and shook his head.

" It'll only get soaked again if you wear it." He walked her to the door of his room, keeping a firm hold on her hands.

" Yeah, you're right...And I only have one spare if this gets ruined." She placed the slightly crinkled bandanna into a coat pocket and turned to say goodbye.

" Anyway. Your hair's pretty without it." Mark smiled, running his hand through her brunette locks before kissing her lightly. Blushing, Chelsea retreated towards the exit of the Inn with a wave, keeping Mark in her sights until the last possible moment. When his door finally closed, she sighed and took a moment to brace herself before walking outside into the bitter cold of the afternoon.

" Where are the spare blankets?" Chelsea pondered. She had arrived home only to realise that she had not left the heating on. Her house, which had recently been upgraded, was going to take a long time to warm up, and Chelsea didn't plan on freezing to death in the meantime.

" Oh, and don't look at me like that. I didn't purposely turn the house into an igloo. But, I guess an igloo would be warmer..." She added as she noticed her cat, who had been glaring reproachfully at her since she had returned home. Chelsea made her way into her bathroom and wrapped herself up in three different sets of pyjamas, two pairs of socks and a dressing gown. As an afterthought, she also took her coat with her as she headed to the bed, switching the television on as she walked past. Chelsea listened to the weather as she burrowed down under the blankets and placed the coat on top of her. The scraps of paper and her still folded bandanna fell out onto the bed, causing the farmer to crease her brow in thought. She studied the two notes with a pensive expression, but soon gave up and went to unfold her bandanna. She didn't get very far as underneath the first fold was a note. On a scrap of paper. In the same handwriting as the others.

Do you want to marry me?"

Chelsea paled as the words sank in, and in an effort to regain her composure she picked up the bandanna and went to tie it onto her head. As she did so, something blue floated gently down onto the bed. The girl picked up the cobalt feather, twirling the item in her hands, still not quite capable of intelligent thought. She started as her cat's cold nose pressed against her hand, and finally she seemed to come to her senses. Jumping out of bed, Chelsea threw her coat and boots on and carefully put the notes and feather into her pocket. She then proceeded to hurtle out of the door, leaving a cold house and very confused cat behind her.

Mark was lying on his bed, reading a book when he heard a timid tapping on his door; getting to his feet, he strode over and opened it.

" Hello again." Chelsea stood in front of him, looking thoroughly drenched and slightly confused.

" Mark?" He ushered her into the room and closed the door. When he turned around, he saw Chelsea tenderly holding the blue feather. " You want to..." Mark and Chelsea blushed in unison.

" Well, if you accept it...Then yes, I would like to marry you." Mark confirmed quietly, running a hand nervously through his hair. " I mean, obviously if you don't want to, then we don't have to, but-"

" Idiot." He was cut off by Chelsea, who suddenly launched herself at him with a laugh. " Of course I'll marry you. But did you have to frustrate me by leaving those notes?"

" Yep. It made things more fun." Mark teased as he held Chelsea. He grinned uncontrollably and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her away to observe her. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight; she was still wearing various pyjamas and a dressing gown. The soaking wet coat had been flung into the corner.

" You call me an idiot? You ran over here in your pyjamas despite the fact that it is snowing even more heavily than it was earlier." Chelsea rolled her eyes, smiling as an idea came to her.

" Looks like I'm stuck here until tomorrow, then. I can't exactly walk home in that kind of weather." Lamely, Chelsea gestured outside before bounding over to the bed, removing her boots and drawing the blankets around her.

" Fair enough." Mark smiled as he replied. He grabbed one of the blankets and tugged it away from his fiancée, sitting down next to her; her protests were quickly silenced when he kissed her gently.

" My bed. My covers." He said seriously when they broke apart. With a rather dumb expression on her face, Chelsea nodded and leant against Mark. She swiftly managed to fall asleep despite her almost upright position, leaving Mark to laugh quietly. With an arm wrapped comfortably around her, he was about to continue reading when Chelsea awoke, moved a little and started to speak.

" I want a really nice dress for the wedding, Mark. And shoes, and rings...And we'll have to arrange flowers and decorations, and the seating plan. I bet we can tactically arrange the seats, so we'll stick Lanna and Denny together... Ohh, and Vaughn and Sabrina! Wouldn't it be romantic if they got together at our wedding? Wouldn't it, Mark?" Chelsea roused herself from her sleepy state in order to squeal with delight at the idea. Mark yawned and continued to read.

" Whatever you say, Chelsea. I completely agree."

AN: I wasn't sure whether to separate this into tiny chapters or post it all as one :/ So tell me if you think it would be better split up into chapters, please :D

Honestly, I used to really love the ChelseaxVaugh pairing...But recently, Mark had taken top spot. He just strikes me as adorable, and as such a genuine character. :3 Anyway, the ChelseaxMark pairing needs some more love here on FF. So expect some more oneshots etc with this pairing from me =D