A Job Well Done Ch. 2
Title: A
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 2331
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Reina
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako
Genre: romance
Warning(s): age difference
Summary: Mako is hard at work developing a new fertilizer and Lillian is doing everything she can to help him.
First part
Ch. 2
Despite realizing her feelings, Lillian actually felt more insecure now. Dr. Ayame was Mako's ideal woman: intelligent, mature, laid-back and beautiful. How could Lillian compare to that? While Lillian was pretty, there was still a girlish quality about her that seemed lacking compared to Ayame's mature beauty. And while the doctor was always calm and knew how to act in every situation, Lillian was often tongue-tied and shy. Ayame teased everyone and flirted with all the young men, and Lillian sometimes lacked the courage to even nod to Hiro or Kana when she passed them in the streets of Konohana.
This lack of courage made her avoid Mako for a week or so following her realization. She was too afraid she'd act strangely or be too tongue-tied to speak. She spent a lot of time in the mountains, collecting herbs, fishing, catching bugs, just staying out of town as much as possible to avoid any chance encounters with him. She even avoided the tea house, making her own food instead or else buying meals at the cafe in Bluebell. She tried to keep busy, and took on many message board requests to fill up her time. It seemed like she was constantly on the move, running back and forth between Bluebell and Konohana, but despite her constant movement, the days went by slowly. Lillian missed her friend dearly and knew that she would have to work up the courage soon to talk to him.
One day, towards the end of Fall, Lillian went to check the message board. It was loaded with new requests. Kana wanted some material stone, Ina was asking for some fish, Hiro was requesting herbs and Rahi needed flowers. And there was one more request. Mako wanted someone to help him harvest the fruits from his orchard. For him, this was an unusual request. His fruit trees were his pride and joy and it seemed very odd that he would allow just anyone to harvest them. Lillian was so curious about the request, that she was able to put her insecurities aside and decided to take the request herself.
She took all five papers down from the message board, carefully folding them and placing them in the special pocket in her bag. She already had material stone at home and could have easily done Kana's request first, but after over a week of self-imposed exile, Lillian could no longer bear staying away from Mako and she knew she had to see him. She cut through Gombe's fields, waving at Nori as she passed, and jumped over the stream. As she climbed over the fence, she realized that Mako was not outside, tending to his orchard. This was highly unusual, and Lillian began to worry. Perhaps he was ill?
She walked over to the house he shared with his niece, Reina, and found that the door was unlocked. That meant that someone was home, so she let herself in. Mako's house was filled with exotic plants. Some of the plants bore fruit, but most of them were flowering plants and the air in the house was always filled with the aroma of the flowers. The scent even clung to Mako and Reina's clothing. Neither seemed aware of it, but many residents of Konohana noticed it and could tell them apart from the others based on their scent alone.
Mako was not in the large front room, which was a combination living room and kitchen. Lillian knew that it was unlikely that he was upstairs. The second floor was largely for Reina's own use. It was were she slept and conducted her own plant research. There was only one other room Mako could be in, his own bedroom.
Lillian walked slowly to the far room. The door was open, so she peered in. Inside, the room was dimly lit, for the curtains were drawn closed and the only light came from a single candle on the small table where Mako was seated, which was cluttered with papers and books. Mako was hunched over the table, writing furiously in a large notebook, occasionally muttering to himself. He was hard at work and for a moment, Lillian thought it would be best not to interrupt him, but then she remembered the request, and softly called out his name.
He didn't seem to hear her, so Lillian walked into the room and approached the table. He didn't notice her, partly because he was too focused on his work, but also because Lillian approached him from his blind side. When she gently touched his shoulder, he jumped.
“Lillian! You startled me!”
“I'm sorry. Um...I... saw the request you posted on the message board,” she replied, pulling the paper out her bag.
“What? Oh. Oh! Yes, that,” Mako said, getting to his feet. “Come with me.”
In the bright Autumn sunlight outside, Lillian was able to get a better look at her dear friend and what she saw upset her. Mako had dark circles under his eyes and his overall appearance was rather disheveled. He looked as if he had not showered or shaved in days.
“Um, Mako, are you...are you ill?”
“Ill? No. why do you ask?”
“Oh, um, you look ter-, uh, tired. A-and the request seemed a bit odd, so I thought maybe you weren't feeling well,”
“I feel fine. I've been working,” Mako explained. “I'm on the break-through with a new type of fertilizer. I suppose I must look tired. I've been staying up late most nights, working on my research. It's really quite fascinating.
“At any rate, I have been so absorbed in my work that I've neglected my magnificent orchard. This is the last harvest of the season and I will need the income to fund my research. Will you help me?”
“Of course!”
“I'm sure you'll do a fine job. I leave you to your work.” And with that, Mako back inside and Lillian set to work.
Though it was still Fall, the weather was already growing cold. The seasons usually changed very quickly, but Winter was already making its presence know. Despite the chill, Lillian worked quickly and the exercise warmed her up. She had no trees on her own farm yet, and at first, jumping up to grab the fruits from the trees seemed awkward, but after a few tries she got the hang of it and before long she had harvested all the fruits from the trees. Mako was so pleased by how quickly she worked that he insisted on giving her one of the fruits she had harvested, a shiny red apple, as a bonus to the other rewards.
“You've earned it!” he said, handing everything, the apple, the grape seeds and some money, to her.
“Mako...”
“Yes?”
Please, don't push yourself too hard. I don't want you to get sick!”
Mako smiled. “You needn't worry bout me...but...I will try to keep a more reasonable bedtime.”
“Thank you,” Lillian said, though she wasn't exactly sure what she was thanking him for.
“It is I who must thank you. You have helped me out a great deal. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to my work.”
Lillian returned to her work as well. She ran home to her farm and found the material stone that Kana wanted. After delivering this to him and receiving her payment, she went into the mountains, to find the herbs and flowers that Hiro and Rahi wanted. She found the lavender Hiro requested easily, but obtaining the magic blue flowers Rahi wanted took some time and Lillian crossed all the way to Bluebell to find them. Though it was late by then, Lillian checked the Bluebell message board. In comparison to the cluttered Konohana board, there was just one request in Bluebell, from Howard, who, like Kana, needed material stone.
“I bet rats got into the cafe again...” she thought, pulling down the paper. Howard always insisted he could handle the repairs, but they never seemed to hold and every few weeks he posted messages requesting material stone or lumber.
Lillian arose early the next day. She had a busy day ahead of her. She needed to harvest her crops before Winter set in and take care of her livestock, and when that was done, she had requests that needed fulfilling. Before she started on her chores, though, she made herself a lunch to take with her. As it was simmering in the pot, a thought occurred to her and she prepared a baked yam as well. She carefully packaged both meals so that they would stay warm and put them in her bag.
It took quite some time to get everything done at home, and it was afternoon by the time that Lillian had harvested her crops, milked and brushed the cow, brushed the sheep and collected the eggs. Famished, she quickly ate her lunch, devouring the bowl of soup in almost one gulp. Then she checked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed and set off.
First Lillian delivered the herbs to Hiro. He gave her green rice candy in return, which seemed like an odd choice for a doctor's apprentice. Next Lillian went off in search of Rahi. He often played with Ying near the tea house, but he wasn't there. She went into the tea house to ask Ying if she knew where he was, but Ying was sick in bed and hadn't seen him. Lillian gave her the green rice candy and told her to feel better. Walking out the door of the tea house, Lillian now had a choice. To find Rahi, and deliver his flowers or...
After only a moment's hesitation, Lillian crossed the little bridge near the tea house and arrived at Mako's house. Again the door was unlocked and Lillian let herself in. And again, she found Mako in the back room, hard at work. He was still hard at work, and the table looked like a disorganized mess, but the curtains were drawn to let light into the room and Mako was wearing clean clothing and he appeared to have showered and shaved.
“...Mako?”
“Huh? What? Lillian, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I was...well, I was worried...you just looked so tired yesterday, so I thought I'd drop by,” Lillian explained. Then she remembered something and began digging around in her bag. “I brought this for you.”
She crossed the room and handed him the baked yam she had prepared earlier. She had wrapped it carefully and it was still warm.
“What have we here…? It seems you are familiar with my preferences. You have my thanks! I accept with gratitude,” Mako set his brush down and closed the notebook, then took the yam. “This will make a fine breakfast.”
“It's afternoon, Mako.”
“Eh?” He turned and looked at the light coming through the window. “So it is. I seem to have lost rack of time again...”
“I have to be going,” Lillian said, standing up. “Please don't push yourself too hard.”
“I won't.”
As Lillian was leaving the house, she encountered Reina, crossing the bridge. They exchanged greetings and each went on her way. Inside, Reina put her things away and then checked on her uncle. She noted the empty wrapper from the yam laying on the table.
“I see you remembered to eat today,” she said.
“Hm? Oh, yes, Lillian dropped by and brought that.”
“That's odd...”
“She seemed worried about me. She thought I might be pushing myself too hard.”
“Well, she's right,” Reina replied. “I'm worried about you. I know you're excited about your work, but ruining your health won't do any good. You need to take care of yourself.”
“I showered and I even ate,” Mako protested.
“Get outside and get some fresh air. Take a nice long walk. I'll make us a nice dinner and then you'll go to bed at a decent time and get a good night's sleep,” Reina said, as she grabbed her uncle by the arm. He resisted her for a few moments, but then he gave in and allowed himself to be led outside. He walked over to the trees, carefully inspecting them. Although he had been neglecting them somewhat, they were doing well. Thriving, even. Still, he was ashamed at how little attention he had been giving his trees lately. The girls were right.
After a little while, Reina called him inside and they ate the meal she had prepared. As they ate, they discussed their research, each bouncing ideas off the other, talking excitedly. While everyone in Konohana grew crops and plants, Mako and Reina were the only ones really interested in the science of plants and really had no one else to discuss their studies with. Mako sometimes tried to engage the other residents of the village in conversation about his research, but he either bored them or the conversation simply went over their head. To be fair, the villagers were usually interested in the results of his work, but they had little interest in the process.
True to his word, Mako went to bed early and from then on tried to scale back on his work a bit. Lillian now visited every day, always bringing with her one of the simple vegetable dishes that Mako loved. And Reina kept a close eye on her uncle, making sure he had a healthy dinner and that he got enough fresh air. Mako was touched by the concern the two young women showed, realizing just how worried they were. There were still times when he pulled an all-nighter or stayed indoors despite Reina's urgings, but these became far less frequent and as the days passed, Mako began to look healthy again.
Third part
Author: Butterscotch
Fandom: Harvest Moon
Wordcount: 2331
Characters: Lillian, Mako, Reina
Pairing(s): Lillian/Mako
Genre: romance
Warning(s): age difference
Summary: Mako is hard at work developing a new fertilizer and Lillian is doing everything she can to help him.
First part
Ch. 2
Despite realizing her feelings, Lillian actually felt more insecure now. Dr. Ayame was Mako's ideal woman: intelligent, mature, laid-back and beautiful. How could Lillian compare to that? While Lillian was pretty, there was still a girlish quality about her that seemed lacking compared to Ayame's mature beauty. And while the doctor was always calm and knew how to act in every situation, Lillian was often tongue-tied and shy. Ayame teased everyone and flirted with all the young men, and Lillian sometimes lacked the courage to even nod to Hiro or Kana when she passed them in the streets of Konohana.
This lack of courage made her avoid Mako for a week or so following her realization. She was too afraid she'd act strangely or be too tongue-tied to speak. She spent a lot of time in the mountains, collecting herbs, fishing, catching bugs, just staying out of town as much as possible to avoid any chance encounters with him. She even avoided the tea house, making her own food instead or else buying meals at the cafe in Bluebell. She tried to keep busy, and took on many message board requests to fill up her time. It seemed like she was constantly on the move, running back and forth between Bluebell and Konohana, but despite her constant movement, the days went by slowly. Lillian missed her friend dearly and knew that she would have to work up the courage soon to talk to him.
One day, towards the end of Fall, Lillian went to check the message board. It was loaded with new requests. Kana wanted some material stone, Ina was asking for some fish, Hiro was requesting herbs and Rahi needed flowers. And there was one more request. Mako wanted someone to help him harvest the fruits from his orchard. For him, this was an unusual request. His fruit trees were his pride and joy and it seemed very odd that he would allow just anyone to harvest them. Lillian was so curious about the request, that she was able to put her insecurities aside and decided to take the request herself.
She took all five papers down from the message board, carefully folding them and placing them in the special pocket in her bag. She already had material stone at home and could have easily done Kana's request first, but after over a week of self-imposed exile, Lillian could no longer bear staying away from Mako and she knew she had to see him. She cut through Gombe's fields, waving at Nori as she passed, and jumped over the stream. As she climbed over the fence, she realized that Mako was not outside, tending to his orchard. This was highly unusual, and Lillian began to worry. Perhaps he was ill?
She walked over to the house he shared with his niece, Reina, and found that the door was unlocked. That meant that someone was home, so she let herself in. Mako's house was filled with exotic plants. Some of the plants bore fruit, but most of them were flowering plants and the air in the house was always filled with the aroma of the flowers. The scent even clung to Mako and Reina's clothing. Neither seemed aware of it, but many residents of Konohana noticed it and could tell them apart from the others based on their scent alone.
Mako was not in the large front room, which was a combination living room and kitchen. Lillian knew that it was unlikely that he was upstairs. The second floor was largely for Reina's own use. It was were she slept and conducted her own plant research. There was only one other room Mako could be in, his own bedroom.
Lillian walked slowly to the far room. The door was open, so she peered in. Inside, the room was dimly lit, for the curtains were drawn closed and the only light came from a single candle on the small table where Mako was seated, which was cluttered with papers and books. Mako was hunched over the table, writing furiously in a large notebook, occasionally muttering to himself. He was hard at work and for a moment, Lillian thought it would be best not to interrupt him, but then she remembered the request, and softly called out his name.
He didn't seem to hear her, so Lillian walked into the room and approached the table. He didn't notice her, partly because he was too focused on his work, but also because Lillian approached him from his blind side. When she gently touched his shoulder, he jumped.
“Lillian! You startled me!”
“I'm sorry. Um...I... saw the request you posted on the message board,” she replied, pulling the paper out her bag.
“What? Oh. Oh! Yes, that,” Mako said, getting to his feet. “Come with me.”
In the bright Autumn sunlight outside, Lillian was able to get a better look at her dear friend and what she saw upset her. Mako had dark circles under his eyes and his overall appearance was rather disheveled. He looked as if he had not showered or shaved in days.
“Um, Mako, are you...are you ill?”
“Ill? No. why do you ask?”
“Oh, um, you look ter-, uh, tired. A-and the request seemed a bit odd, so I thought maybe you weren't feeling well,”
“I feel fine. I've been working,” Mako explained. “I'm on the break-through with a new type of fertilizer. I suppose I must look tired. I've been staying up late most nights, working on my research. It's really quite fascinating.
“At any rate, I have been so absorbed in my work that I've neglected my magnificent orchard. This is the last harvest of the season and I will need the income to fund my research. Will you help me?”
“Of course!”
“I'm sure you'll do a fine job. I leave you to your work.” And with that, Mako back inside and Lillian set to work.
Though it was still Fall, the weather was already growing cold. The seasons usually changed very quickly, but Winter was already making its presence know. Despite the chill, Lillian worked quickly and the exercise warmed her up. She had no trees on her own farm yet, and at first, jumping up to grab the fruits from the trees seemed awkward, but after a few tries she got the hang of it and before long she had harvested all the fruits from the trees. Mako was so pleased by how quickly she worked that he insisted on giving her one of the fruits she had harvested, a shiny red apple, as a bonus to the other rewards.
“You've earned it!” he said, handing everything, the apple, the grape seeds and some money, to her.
“Mako...”
“Yes?”
Please, don't push yourself too hard. I don't want you to get sick!”
Mako smiled. “You needn't worry bout me...but...I will try to keep a more reasonable bedtime.”
“Thank you,” Lillian said, though she wasn't exactly sure what she was thanking him for.
“It is I who must thank you. You have helped me out a great deal. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to my work.”
Lillian returned to her work as well. She ran home to her farm and found the material stone that Kana wanted. After delivering this to him and receiving her payment, she went into the mountains, to find the herbs and flowers that Hiro and Rahi wanted. She found the lavender Hiro requested easily, but obtaining the magic blue flowers Rahi wanted took some time and Lillian crossed all the way to Bluebell to find them. Though it was late by then, Lillian checked the Bluebell message board. In comparison to the cluttered Konohana board, there was just one request in Bluebell, from Howard, who, like Kana, needed material stone.
“I bet rats got into the cafe again...” she thought, pulling down the paper. Howard always insisted he could handle the repairs, but they never seemed to hold and every few weeks he posted messages requesting material stone or lumber.
Lillian arose early the next day. She had a busy day ahead of her. She needed to harvest her crops before Winter set in and take care of her livestock, and when that was done, she had requests that needed fulfilling. Before she started on her chores, though, she made herself a lunch to take with her. As it was simmering in the pot, a thought occurred to her and she prepared a baked yam as well. She carefully packaged both meals so that they would stay warm and put them in her bag.
It took quite some time to get everything done at home, and it was afternoon by the time that Lillian had harvested her crops, milked and brushed the cow, brushed the sheep and collected the eggs. Famished, she quickly ate her lunch, devouring the bowl of soup in almost one gulp. Then she checked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed and set off.
First Lillian delivered the herbs to Hiro. He gave her green rice candy in return, which seemed like an odd choice for a doctor's apprentice. Next Lillian went off in search of Rahi. He often played with Ying near the tea house, but he wasn't there. She went into the tea house to ask Ying if she knew where he was, but Ying was sick in bed and hadn't seen him. Lillian gave her the green rice candy and told her to feel better. Walking out the door of the tea house, Lillian now had a choice. To find Rahi, and deliver his flowers or...
After only a moment's hesitation, Lillian crossed the little bridge near the tea house and arrived at Mako's house. Again the door was unlocked and Lillian let herself in. And again, she found Mako in the back room, hard at work. He was still hard at work, and the table looked like a disorganized mess, but the curtains were drawn to let light into the room and Mako was wearing clean clothing and he appeared to have showered and shaved.
“...Mako?”
“Huh? What? Lillian, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I was...well, I was worried...you just looked so tired yesterday, so I thought I'd drop by,” Lillian explained. Then she remembered something and began digging around in her bag. “I brought this for you.”
She crossed the room and handed him the baked yam she had prepared earlier. She had wrapped it carefully and it was still warm.
“What have we here…? It seems you are familiar with my preferences. You have my thanks! I accept with gratitude,” Mako set his brush down and closed the notebook, then took the yam. “This will make a fine breakfast.”
“It's afternoon, Mako.”
“Eh?” He turned and looked at the light coming through the window. “So it is. I seem to have lost rack of time again...”
“I have to be going,” Lillian said, standing up. “Please don't push yourself too hard.”
“I won't.”
As Lillian was leaving the house, she encountered Reina, crossing the bridge. They exchanged greetings and each went on her way. Inside, Reina put her things away and then checked on her uncle. She noted the empty wrapper from the yam laying on the table.
“I see you remembered to eat today,” she said.
“Hm? Oh, yes, Lillian dropped by and brought that.”
“That's odd...”
“She seemed worried about me. She thought I might be pushing myself too hard.”
“Well, she's right,” Reina replied. “I'm worried about you. I know you're excited about your work, but ruining your health won't do any good. You need to take care of yourself.”
“I showered and I even ate,” Mako protested.
“Get outside and get some fresh air. Take a nice long walk. I'll make us a nice dinner and then you'll go to bed at a decent time and get a good night's sleep,” Reina said, as she grabbed her uncle by the arm. He resisted her for a few moments, but then he gave in and allowed himself to be led outside. He walked over to the trees, carefully inspecting them. Although he had been neglecting them somewhat, they were doing well. Thriving, even. Still, he was ashamed at how little attention he had been giving his trees lately. The girls were right.
After a little while, Reina called him inside and they ate the meal she had prepared. As they ate, they discussed their research, each bouncing ideas off the other, talking excitedly. While everyone in Konohana grew crops and plants, Mako and Reina were the only ones really interested in the science of plants and really had no one else to discuss their studies with. Mako sometimes tried to engage the other residents of the village in conversation about his research, but he either bored them or the conversation simply went over their head. To be fair, the villagers were usually interested in the results of his work, but they had little interest in the process.
True to his word, Mako went to bed early and from then on tried to scale back on his work a bit. Lillian now visited every day, always bringing with her one of the simple vegetable dishes that Mako loved. And Reina kept a close eye on her uncle, making sure he had a healthy dinner and that he got enough fresh air. Mako was touched by the concern the two young women showed, realizing just how worried they were. There were still times when he pulled an all-nighter or stayed indoors despite Reina's urgings, but these became far less frequent and as the days passed, Mako began to look healthy again.
Third part