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In Sheep's Clothing	By : ParisWriter Category: +G through L > Harvest Moon Views: 2169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
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Chapter Eight

Avery stared at the blank piece of paper sitting before her on her kitchen table, her gaze occasionally jumping to one of the letters on either side. Her parents and her cousin had both written to wish her a happy new year, but she had no idea how to respond to either of them.

The letter to her left was from home, written in two different sets of handwriting. Her mother had congratulated her on her first successful year on the farm and and wished her the best of luck with her new winery, while her father had offered their condolences on the loss of Madam Eda and asked about her love life. The letter to her right had arrived just that morning from Echo Village, and in it her cousin had excitedly told her all about everything that had happened to her since the last time she wrote. Four words in particular had struck Avery especially hard, though.

'Guess what? I'm engaged!'

Avery wanted to be happy for her, but it was hard to get excited about an upcoming wedding while her own love life was such a mess.

She had only seen Klaus a handful of times following his stay in the clinic, and he hadn't been very talkative. He'd thanked her for helping him the first time they crossed paths again at the trade depot, and complimented her on her cooking abilities, but not much else passed between them after that aside from a cordial greeting. She tried not to let it bother her too much, though. After all, Marian had said it was his busiest time of the year and she didn't want to distract him from his work.

But then the Starlight Gala had happened, and she might have inadvertently done something that put a permanent end to whatever small chance she ever had of being with Klaus.

She had meant well enough when she invited Fritz to go with her to the celebration. He still hadn't left his farm, even though nearly the entire season had passed since Eda's death, and she knew he needed to get back out into the world to see that it wasn't all bleak. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she eventually got him to agree to go with her to the festival.

That had been her mistake, though. She didn't know it was customary to take your romantic interest. Raeger later informed her of that little detail, but the damage had already been done. Klaus had seen her arrive with Fritz, had seen her talking with him as they gazed up at the stars together, had witnessed her smiling at him and encouraging him to make a wish when a shooting star went by. It was no wonder, then, that she'd seen a sadness in his eyes when she caught up to him as she and Fritz were about to leave. Because of her ignorance regarding the local customs, he no doubt believed that she was now pursuing some sort of relationship with Fritz.

She reached up and gently touched her cheek near the corner of her mouth, a wistful sigh escaping her lips. Klaus had kissed her there, that night. He'd been so close she could have turned her head and caught his lips in a proper kiss. She wished she had done it. Then there would have been no doubt left in anyone's mind as to who she truly had feelings for. Most of all, Klaus would have no longer been able to deny he had feelings for her – a fact Avery was now sure of. After all, he wouldn't have looked so heartbroken upon seeing her at the Starlight Gala with Fritz if he didn't like her as much more than a friend.

Sighing heavily, she braced her hands upon the table and pushed her chair back, then stood and began pacing. She had to do something to fix the mess she'd made, but she didn't know what. Klaus had completely avoided her during the New Year's Festival, keeping close to Iris and Mistel the entire time. He'd even avoided Marian, which was odd, but she figured it was because the doctor likely knew how he felt about her, as well.

She knew she needed a plan... some way to get him alone, away from his work and the rest of the townspeople so he wouldn't have any sort of excuse to ignore her. Then she would tell him how she felt and let whatever would come of it happen. She'd never been very good at keeping her New Year's resolutions, but this was one she would not fail to keep.

She turned back toward her table and looked at the letters sitting there. She knew couldn't write back to them. Not yet. Not until she had something to tell them about what was going on between herself and Klaus, be it good or bad. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she decided to take a walk to clear her head and hopefully come up with a plan for how to go about telling Klaus that she loved him.

Klaus wandered along the road leading out of town and into the mountains, his hands shoved into his pockets and his head hanging low. Normally, he loved spring, but not even the warmth of the sun or the sound of birds chirping in the trees could brighten the winter-like gloom which still remained in his heart.

Marian had warned him that keeping his feelings inside would cost him. He thought he'd been right in his assumptions about the depth of the relationship between Avery and Fritz, as well, though. Seeing them together at the Starlight Gala had been like a punch to his heart. No one had been able to convince the young man to leave his farm since Eda's death, but she had managed to do it. Moreover, they had both looked quite happy together, talking and laughing while they gazed at the stars.

He wanted to be happy for her – for both of them – but it was hard. He loved her, and it was his own damn fault he had lost her to someone else. He'd made a concerted effort to avoid her at the New Year's Festival, but he knew he couldn't keep avoiding her forever. Oak Tree Town was small, and they would end up crossing paths again, eventually. He supposed he could try to go back to simply watching her from afar, as he had when she first came to town, but they had grown closer over the past year and he knew there really was no going back. He would simply have to find a way to deal with things the way they were, and in time perhaps he would find someone else to love.

With a sigh, he glanced up and saw Avery standing on the bridge leading to the land shared by Fritz and Giorgio. He stopped in his tracks and simply watched her for a while, her hair blowing softly in the breeze, and after a moment she sighed and leaned forward to rest her head against the palm of her hand. He knew he should leave her alone, but his feet refused to listen to reason and before he realized it he was walking toward her. She lifted her head when she heard his shoes upon the stone of the bridge, and when she turned to him Klaus saw a mixture of surprise and relief on her face.

"Klaus," she said his name, a faint smile pulling at her lips. The gesture looked forced, and he could tell something was bothering her.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, reaching out to brush her hair back over her shoulder. He gently ran his hand down her back, part of him wondering – and, horribly, hoping – that she and Fritz had gotten in some sort of argument which had put an end to their budding romance.

Avery turned away from him to look out at the river, nervously biting her bottom lip. Klaus remained silent, thinking maybe he should have just kept walking rather than attempting to pry into her personal life. He was about to excuse himself to continue on his way up the mountain when she finally spoke.

"I got a letter from my cousin today," she told him.

"That's a good thing, right?" Klaus wondered, his head cocked slightly to one side. "I remember you saying that the two of you were close."

"We are, and it is," she replied. "But, reading her letter... It made me think about my own life."

"How so?"

"She's not that much older than me," she said, continuing to look out over the water. "She's only been doing the whole farming thing for three years, and she's wildly successful. People actually moved to the town she's in just because of how well her farm is doing."

"You really shouldn't compare yourself to her," Klaus told her. "You're just starting out, and you've accomplished so much in this past year, alone."

"Yeah, well..." Avery paused and let out a heavy sigh, standing up straight once more. "Now she's getting married – to a prince, of all things – and I can't even get the man I love to admit he has feelings for me."

She turned to look at him then, and Klaus felt his heart start to race. Was she really talking about him? With the way she was looking at him, it certainly seemed that way. He needed to be sure, though.

"You mean... Me?"

"Yes, you!" she cried in frustration, taking a step closer to him and grasping the lapels of his coat in her hands.

"Klaus, I love you," she repeated, her voice shaking. "I've loved you for a while, now, and... and I need to know for sure if you feel the same way or not, because I swear... sometimes it seems obvious that you do, but then you start avoiding me and it's driving me crazy."

Klaus felt the air leave his lungs in a single breath. There it was. She had just said what he'd been longing to hear come from her, what others had told him had been the case but he couldn't let himself possibly believe was true until she was the one speaking the words. He should have been dancing for joy, but fear and doubt still clouded his mind.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, his voice barely loud enough to be heard over the rushing water below them.

"I'm not a child," she reminded him, shaking her head. "I know what I want, and I want you."

"You could have your pick out of any of the bachelors in town," he told her with a sad smile, remembering how she and Fritz had looked together at the festival. "Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable with someone your own age?"

Avery closed her eyes and let out a small, annoyed groan. "Klaus! I don't care! So what if you're older than me? My father was literally twice my mother's age when they got married, and they've been happy together for over twenty years, now. I couldn't care less about the age difference."

"I just want you to be happy," he said, reaching up and gently holding her face in his hands. She looked up at him, her brown eyes hopeful but also full of apprehension.

"Then tell me how you really feel about me," she requested.

"I haven't always been the man you see before you right now," he informed her. "There are things in my past I am far from proud of. Things I fear will drive you away from me."

"Whatever it is, it's in the past, Klaus," she assured him, shaking her head but never looking away from him. "I fell in love with the man you are now. What matters to me isn't your past, but how you feel at this very moment."

Klaus simply continued to search her eyes, looking for any signs of deception or doubt. All he saw in her was the same fear he had been feeling all along in his own heart – fear that he would reject her feelings for him. Taking a deep breath, he moved one of his hands down to her waist and pulled her closer to him, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.

"I love you, Avery," he finally admitted to her, "and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be your man."

"Then would you please just kiss me, already?" she requested, her grip tightening on his coat as she pulled him even closer.

Klaus didn't hesitate. He slid his arm fully around his waist and threaded his fingers into her hair, bringing her to him as he leaned down and kissed her. The very moment his lips made contact with hers, he realized what a fool he'd been all long for denying himself what he had truly wanted. It was unlike any kiss he'd ever experienced before, and it felt so perfect that it was almost as if it was something right out of one of Iris' damned romance novels.

He meant to keep the kiss gentle and sweet, a way to express his love for her, but the combination of the relief washing over him and the pent-up desires he'd been holding on to for so long caused things to quickly escalate and the kiss went from a soft brushing of his lips against hers to a hungry claiming of her mouth. To his surprise, Avery was just as eager as him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she raised up on her toes to press her body closer to his even as he pulled her flush against him. A soft moan escaped her as their mouths just barely separated for the briefest of seconds, and she caught his bottom lip between her teeth and gave it a slight tug. Klaus groaned deep in the back of his throat and gently tugged on her hair, then used her surprised gasp to sweep his tongue into her mouth. She tasted like wildflower honey and – just as he had imagined – raspberries. The little minx surprised him by sucking on his tongue, and he found himself wondering just how inexperienced she really was when it came to men. Forgetting where they were, he pinned her lower body against the side of the bridge and pressed his hips suggestively against hers, drawing a delightful little whimper from her and causing her to press back against him in a way which let him know that he wasn't the only one who had been craving this for so long.

"Hey guys!" Fritz called from just up the hill, and Klaus reluctantly pulled away from Avery before the farmer could catch them in the rather compromising position he'd put her in. He watched as she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to comb it back into place, a blush coloring her cheeks even though she was smiling at him. She then reached up and wiped at the corner of his mouth with her thumb, and Klaus chuckled a bit when he realized that some of her lip gloss must have rubbed off on him.

"Avery! Klaus! Hiya!" Fritz greeted them, and Klaus casually leaned back against the side of the bridge next to her, offering the younger man a warm greeting.

"How are you today, Fritz? You seem well."

"I am!" Fritz replied with a nod and a smile. "I was just off to the trade depot to pick up some seeds. What are you two up to?"

"Oh, you know," Klaus replied, sending a quick glance Avery's way. "We were just standing here, enjoying the beautiful weather."

"That sounds like fun! Hey... wait a minute..."

He took a step closer to the two of them, narrowing his eyes as he looked them over more carefully. His gaze lingered on Klaus the longest, and Klaus fidgeted when Fritz stepped even closer to him.

"Why are you wearing lipstick?" he asked, then looked over at Avery. A moment later he blinked and turned as red as a tomato.

"I uh... I better get going," he said, chuckling nervously and running a hand back through his messy auburn hair. "You two, um... have a nice day, now. Stay out of trouble!"

"Fritz!" Avery called after him, but he took off running in the direction of town with merely a wave over his shoulder as a final goodbye.

"Well, the whole town is going to know we're together, now," Klaus muttered, turning toward her and kissing her briefly. "Hope you weren't wanting to keep it a secret."

"Fritz isn't going to run blabbing to everyone about what he saw," she told him, shaking her head.

"No, but I'm sure he'll tell Raeger," Klaus said, linking his arm through hers and walking together with her toward the nearby crossroads. "Then Raeger will tell Marian, and Marian will tell the whole town."

Avery groaned. "Sometimes, I really hate living in a small town."

"Did you want to keep us a secret?" Klaus wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Avery assured him, shaking her head, "but it would be nice if we could be the ones to tell people we're together rather than having them hear it from the reigning Gossip Queen of Oak Tree Town."

Klaus chuckled and leaned over to kiss her on her forehead. "So where are you headed, m'lady? I'll escort you there."

"M'lady?" Avery echoed, snickering.

"Did I honestly just say that?" Klaus wondered, cringing. "I'm so rusty at this dating thing I'm starting to talk like Giorgio."

"I think it's cute, m'lord," she mocked him, sticking her tongue out at him and laughing when he gave her a halfhearted glare. Klaus retaliated by sweeping her into his arms and silencing her laughter with another thorough kiss.

"I would so love to do nothing more than kiss you all day," he told her once they finally parted, "but I have work I need to do."

Avery nodded. "And I need to finish writing back to my parents and my cousin."

"What do you say we go on a proper date later this week?" he asked her. "We'll head into the city, and I'll take you to this restaurant I used to go to when I was younger. The owner there is a great guy, helped me out a lot when I first left home. I'd really like for you to meet him."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea," Avery agreed, smiling at him.

"So I'll meet you at the trade depot at about... 11:15 on Sunday? Is that enough time for you to do what you need to in the morning?"

Avery nodded and raised up on her toes to gave him a quick peck on his lips. "Plenty of time."

"So it's a date, then?" he asked her with a smile. "A real one, this time?"

"It's a date."
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In Sheep's Clothing