Harvest Moon: Later Days

One-Shot Story

Jack woke up with one helluva hangover.

"What... The hell did I do..?" He asked himself. "I normally don't get wasted, and even when I do, it's not THIS bad..."

Then, he remembered.

*Flashback*

"Hey, Jack!" A blob of pink rushed at Jack at the speed in which light travels. As quickly as he saw her, Popuri jumped and grabbed Jack's waist, tackling both of them to the ground. This small act caused Jack to blush a bit, like he always does.

"Oh, hey, Ruri!" Jack called back happily, using that sweet nickname that he always uses for her.

"Great news!" She said, her eyes lighting up and her head launching up into the air in excitement. "I'm engaged!"

Aaand that's when Jack's smile, along with his day, turned upside down.

Quickly sitting up, he picked Popuri off of him and set her on the ground.

"That's... great... Ruri..." Jack forced a smile, then looked at his watch.

"Oh, lookatthetimeIreallygottagetbacktomycropsanddeffin itelynotgetahangoverinsadnessandyoudidn'thearthatl astpartand BYE!"

Jack ran off, leaving a surprised Popuri wondering what the hell just happened at what the hell she said that caused it.

*End Flashback*

"Hey, um, Jack?"

Popuri had come by Jack's house, trying to figure out what's wrong with him.

"Damnit… He should be happy for me…"

She started to walk around the farm, looking for Jack, when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"But…" She muttered. "I'm not really feeling that happy myself, aren't I?"

It was true; she herself had been crushing on Jack for the past 4 years since he arrived, just like all the other girls. She would've kept pursuing him, but when she looked at what she was going against, her hopes sunk as fast as a rock. How could she beat Karen, the good looking blond who isn't afraid to take risks? Or how about Ann, the cute girl who is a great cook and cleaner? Or Elli, the caring girl who can help with his injuries? Or Mary, the shy girl who is really smart? What did she have? Chickens? Yeah, like Jack would fall for her. Instead, she opted to go for her first crush-Kai. However, when she started to date him, she realized that he didn't have that attitude that Jack had; Caring and kind, and not afraid to look at the future. Kai was caring and kind, but he delved too much on the past.

Popuri decided that she would go look for Jack another time, and started to walk home.

However, when she was at the exit, she could hear Jack coming out of his cottage. Curious, she jumped over Jack's dog Koro's doghouse, somersaulting when she hit the ground, as to soften what little noise she made landing. She popped right back up into a crouch, and peered over the doghouse at Jack's patio.

"Huh..?" Jack asked, seeming a little tired. "First I wake up from my hangover, and now Koro tells me there's someone outside..?" He smiled at Koro, shaking his head. "Remind me to never trust you ever again…"

Jack walked over to his crops with Koro, his smile suddenly turning grim.

"Man, Koro, what did I do to deserve this..?"

Now THAT piqued Popuri's attention. She snuck a little closer, trying to hear what he was saying.

"Koro, I know you don't understand love, but ya gotta hear me out on this one. She's gettin' married, man. Married! Ya think I can crash the wedding?" He chuckled to himself. "Funny, I always wished for the eventful life, and now I got one. Loved a girl, girl gettin married to someone else, etc. You know, if I crashed that weddin', swooped her up into my arms, and carried her away as my girl, it would seem like I just came out of a fairy tale, right?" He frowned again, then started to pull his crops, putting them away in his knapsack. "Man, if only she knew… If she knew I loved her…"

And that's when Popuri decided to go all sneaky-like, rolling up to Jack from behind and covering his eyes with her somewhat tiny hands.

"Don't be sad. I heard it all."

Jack jumped, blushing. He turned around, shock and fear eminent on his face.

"H-how long were you here?" He asked.

"Long enough," She replied. She placed her hands at her sides, and frowned a bit.

"How long did you realize you loved me?" She asked.

"Since I first met you…" Jack muttered.

Popuri blushed, her smile as wide as she could put it.

"Really..? You felt that way about me… for that long?" She asked.

"Yeah… I always appreciated your company… But, I thought you liked Kai… So I just decided to give you up… Your happiness was the most important thing to me… And I thought I could live with that fact, but then you announced your marriage… I just kinda lost it there…" He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Of happiness or depression, Popuri didn't know.

"Well, I thought you would go for someone like Karen or Ann… So I kinda just gave up on you as well…" She was embarrassed that she couldn't pinpoint Jack's feelings.

Jack straightened up a little, and chuckled.

"Well, now we don't have to worry about that now, do we Ruri?" He pulled Popuri closer to her, and leaned his lips forward. Popuri eagerly accepted the challenge, their lips coming together in a clash of love and lust. Jack threw in his tongue into the bet, causing Popuri to do the same. As their tongues fought against one another to determine the winner, Popuri could feel her breath shortening. Sensing the same discomfort from Jack, the two broke off for a quick break, only to jump back into the battle nearly moments later.

When their lust was satisfied, the two of them went to Jack's house and sat on his bed, enjoying each other's company. Popuri, feeling bold, rested her head on the crook of Jack's neck.

"...Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah, Ruri?"

"What will we do about the wedding?"

"...We'll figure it out. Together."