A Series of Rune Factory 4 One-shots

Does Height Matter?(Doug x Frey)

Doug had a habit that he wasn't too proud of. Maybe it was just because of his past spying days, or maybe he was just a little too possessive. Either way, he knew it was bad habit, and he did want to get rid of it, but sometimes it had its perks. Though following Frey across town and eavesdropping on the majority of her conversations was creepy and strange, he did find out some very important information.

Frey liked tall guys. Doug had overheard she'd been having with Margaret about ideal guys, and Frey made a comment about how she found tall guys attractive. Since he wasn't exactly the tallest guy around, it did bother him a little, but he was sure he wouldn't mind it as much if she didn't know quite so many tall men. Doug was almost positive that every man in town was taller than him, except for perhaps Kiel. She was fairly close to all the men in town, so the thought that she could find other men more attractive than him made Doug nervous.

Leon was one of the tallest men in town, and he always had his hands all over her. Though Doug knew that all he really did was pinch her cheeks and tickle her, the fact was that he got the chance to touch her.

Doug was pretty sure the last time he touched her was when they brushed hands when he was handing her some turnip seeds she purchased.

Doug sighed, creeping around a corner as he followed Frey around. He knew he was being stupid and that she always said that she loved him and only him but still. He couldn't help but be paranoid when it came to her. He never really saw anything suspicious though, and it was not like Frey ever hid anything from him.

Doug was about to turn around and go back home to get a snack when Frey changed her usual routine. She stopped, grinned and called out the one name Doug hated.

"Hey, Dylas! Come here."

And then Doug decided that no, he was not going to turn around, and no, he was not going to give up his little spying habit.

The horse man turned around when he heard his name, frowning. Doug waited for him to tell her to buzz off or get lost or call her a name just like he did to Doug.

But he didn't.

The freaking horse smiled. Like a normal person. It almost gave Doug the chills, seeing someone who had always been mean to him smile like he wasn't a jerk.

"What's up?" Dylas asked, strolling over to Frey. Frey grinned up at him--reminding Doug that Dylas was another tall guy in town he had to worry about-- and grabbed his hand.

Doug was about ready to punch Dylas in his stupid horse face.

"I think I got it, but follow me, okay?" Dylas's cheeks were stained red, but he let her drag him around. Doug followed them all the way to the lake, getting angrier the farther they went.

Why was she holding Dylas's hand? Why didn't she ever hold Doug's hand? He was about to run out there and yell at them, but what he saw made him freeze.

"See? Look, isn't it perfect?" Frey asked, settling herself down on a picnic blanket in front of the lake. Dylas stood by the edge of the blanket, nodding. There appeared to be flowers weaved into the edges of the blanket, along with some in the picnic basket in the middle.

"The flowers, they're uh... nice." Frey giggled, and Doug's hands clenched into fists. So that was it, huh? She liked taller guys so she made this little secret date with Dylas? Did she think Doug would never find out?!

"It's all thanks to you that this worked out Dylas. I always have trouble catching salmon for Doug's favorite onigiri." Dylas scratched at the back of his ears shyly in response to her praise.

"I guess."

And they were eating his favorite food too?!

Wait... Doug frowned in his hiding spot. Why would having Doug's favorite food be important if they were having a secret date?

"Just don't tell pebble brain I was involved, or else he'll be too busy trying to fight me to enjoy your surprise," Dylas said. Frey laughed.

"You're right. My lips are sealed." Dylas nodded and began walked away, but he stopped once he saw Doug crouching down behind a rock nearby.

"...Pebble Brain?" Frey sprang up from her spot on the picnic basket and frowned.

"Doug, what are you doing here?"

"I was... I thought that you... Uh..." Doug really didn't want to say that he'd been spying on her, so he just stepped out from behind the rock and stayed silent. Dylas sighed and walked forward, hitting Doug in the back of his head as he passed by.

"Way to ruin the surprise," Dylas snapped, leaving the couple to themselves. If he was being honest, romance and all that made him want to barf, but he owed Frey for a lot of things and couldn't refuse. However, there was no way he was going to listen to whatever sappy apology session they were going to have.

Frey pouted at him.

"Doug! I was going to come get you later!" she exclaimed.

"What is all this?" Doug asked. She frowned.

"It's your birthday present, obviously."

"...Birthday...present..."

Doug was an idiot. He was a freaking idiot. Did he seriously think that Frey of all people was going to cheat on him? He felt so stupid.

"What did you think was going on?"

"I thought that you... were having a picnic with Dylas... because you liked tall guys." Frey stared at him for a moment then burst out laughing.

"Geez, Doug! You're so cute!"

"Huh? Cute?"

"I knew you were following me, but I didn't know this was the reason!" She placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"You knew?!" She finally stopped laughing and took a deep breath, watching a blush almost as red as Doug's hair spread across his cheeks.

"Of course I knew. I would've never survived all those monster fights if I couldn't figure out when there was something behind me." Doug sighed, feeling even stupider than before.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Frey shrugged.

"Because it was amusing?"

Perhaps his girlfriend was more sadistic than he had once thought.

"Anyway, since you're already here, let's eat!" She grasped his hand tightly in hers and lead him to the basket. She opened it up, and the smell of fresh rice made his mouth water. However, Doug wasn't going to dig in until he got rid of all his insecurities.

"So it doesn't matter that I'm short?" Frey frowned, already pulling the rice balls out of the basket.

"But you're not short."

"I'm shorter than almost all the guys in town!"

"But you're taller than me."

"Barely." Frey shook her head with a sigh.

"Doug, you worry too much."

"But I--" She shoved one of the rice balls into his mouth and kissed him on the cheek.

"Just be quiet and enjoy, okay? I don't care about your height at all, so don't worry about it." Doug nodded, chewing on the rice. She giggled again patting his hand.

"I love you, so don't worry." He tried to say "I love you too", but the words couldn't get through his mouthful of rice. Lucky for him, Frey understood, and they continued their little birthday date in peace.

Also, Doug stopped following her around all the time, though he still glared at Dylas because of that time he saw the two of them hold hands.

~~~
Hey, it's me! The person who said she was going to update soon and then took a long time to actually update! But I am now here, and I have updated.

So, Doug was a complete idiot in this one, but I don't know, I think it's kind of cute how stupid he is sometimes. I hope you guys liked it. Oh, and next is Kiel x Frey... I think... So yeah, look forward to it. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ