Disclaimer - Harvest Moon does not belong to me.

Author's Note - This little oneshot was written in response to a challenge by Tamaki11 made in The Scarlet Sky's forum. It was to write about a kid from any game. I went for Hugh and Kate as I think they don't get enough attention.

Double Dared

Kate hadn't known Hugh forever, but she definitely felt as though she had.

Moving to Forget-Me-Not Valley at the age of nine had been a bewildering experience for the little girl. Crowds. Tall buildings. Traffic. All these being things you wouldn't see in such a tranquil community. For city girl Kate, anyway, such a slow, meandering existence was horrifying. She'd never been more bored in all her life. Hmm... should she go to the beach or the woods today? Or... the beach? Or... or... the woods, maybe? You get the picture.

It was a cool Spring morning when Hugh first careered into Kate's life. Literally. She was sat cross-legged and bored on the beach, uncaring of the dirt and sand that was no doubt being worked into her pristine checked dress. The sky was a murky grey - as was the sea that particular morning. Supposedly soothing waves lapped in and out very slowly and dully and predictably. Kate would have cried out in frustration if it weren't for the sudden realisation that she was no longer alone.

At the far end of the beach, nearest the river, sand was being scuffed high into the air by a currently unidentifiable being. Kate squinted into the distance as the flurry of sand steadily approached. Ah! Unsurprisingly, Kate mused, the source of the trouble was none other than a boy. And he just happened to be the strangest child she'd ever seen.

There was nothing wrong with his physical appearance, though. His flaming red hair, lightly tanned skin and big blue eyes were ordinary enough. No, it was more... what he was doing. With a look of complete concentration written over his face, the strange boy ploughed forward, his skinny arms and legs pumping manically. There seemed to be nothing that could stop him. Except Kate, of course.

When he noticed her staring at him avidly, he ground to an abrupt halt, causing grains of sand to rain down on Kate. "What?" he asked nervously.

She giggled instead, taking in his messy hair and the bloodied plaster taped over his knee for the first time.

"I'm Hugh," the boy tried.

Wiping her clothes down, Kate stopped laughing (just about) and nodded. She introduced herself to Hugh, deciding that he'd have to do for now. The Valley wasn't exactly overun with children to choose from, after all.

Hugh sure was odd for a kid, though. He explained to Kate who his parents were and where they lived, all the while jogging on the spot and swinging his arms about furiously. "Are you okay?" she interrupted eventually.

"Yeah, I'm just... training." Hugh's face flooded red at this admission; his favourite hobby wasn't quite the norm for someone of his age.

"Oh cool," Kate replied, finding it the most uncool thing ever. It was important to get Hugh to like her, though, so she attempted to stay polite. She didn't want to end up lonely. "Wanna play?"

Hugh looked massively relieved, yet not entirely convinced. "I dare you to a race across the beach," he said quickly and eagerly, his voice bubbling with excitement.

Finally, Kate was able to smile genuinely. A dare, huh? This kid could turn out to be fun yet! Okay, so a race was hardly inspired, but they could work on that. Right now, however, it was time to show-off. "Okay," she agreed, bouncing to her feet. "You're on. Let's...GO!"

"Oh for Goddess sake, Hugh! It's not that bad."

Hugh pulled his most disgusted face. "It is, Kate," he argued. "It's a horrible, childish dare and I'm not doing it."

From where she crouched opposite him on the grass by the Goddess Pond, Kate's ruby-red eyes sparkled with mischief. She was such a wonderfully weird girl, Hugh thought vaguely, despite his current situation. At first glance, she appeared to be the girliest eleven year old you'd ever meet. Sweet strawberry blonde plaits adorned her head, her face was peppered with cute freckles and her dress seemed to have been lifted straight from an old-fashioned movie. But appearances can be deceptive. On second glance, the plaits were coming loose, her face was mud smeared and the dress was torn beyond repair.

And the dare she had just thrust upon Hugh was possibly the icing on the tomboy-ish cake.

"It's just one worm, Hugh," Kate pressed on, ignoring his protests. "One little bite and it's gone."

Hugh thought he might just vomit at that suggestion. He willed his eyes to focus on the poor creature wiggling amongst the blades of grass in front of him. Kate had fished it out from the bushes with ease, but her companion had rather a weaker stomach.

Worms certainly weren't on his father's list of suitable foods for a young athlete. And they couldn't be very nuitrious, could they? It was a ridiculous dare really, he assured himself. There was fresh food, there was raw, which was a whole other thing, but... live was surely in a league of it's own.

He shook his head firmly. "I'm not doing it Kate," he stated flatly. "Sorry."

For a moment Kate seemed surprised. In a way, so was Hugh. He expected to be called a wuss immediately, but it didn't happen. He waited and waited, but still nothing. "Okay," Kate sighed in mock exasperation. "Fine, if you're gonna be like that. Well, then at least hold it. For ten minutes?"

Hugh squirmed, but nodded and smiled at the same time. It still wasn't ideal, though it was much less disgusting. "And for that," Kate added, clearly feeling all generous in the warm Summer air, "I'll give you my last cookie."

If possible, Hugh's grin widened.

"Do something, Kate," Hugh moaned, covering his ears with his hands. "Anything. I don't think I can bear it anymore."

"You can't bear it!?" Kate asked incredulously. "What about me?" For the past hour, the teenagers had been suffering their idea of torture. Hugh hurriedly looked away from the murderous glare on his best friend's face, and fell silent. "Let's try and earn some money, you said," Kate continued in a low hiss. "It'll be easy. After all, how hard can babysitting be - ?"

She was cut off mid-flow as the wails from baby Charlie reached a new height. Did this kid ever do anything else? There were toys scattered all around Jack and Nami's messy lounge, yet all the red-headed toddler had done since their arrival was cry. It was his first time away from his parents, actually, so the moodiness was kind of justified. But it still annoyed Kate immeasurably. She balanced Charlie on her hip, humming a half remembered nursery rhyme under her breath.

Kate stepped over various, primary coloured building blocks and crayons to reach the television. Numerous channels flickered onto the screen as she jabbed at buttons. News. Weather. Shopping... They only succeeded in making Charlie scream louder.

Hugh, who was lazing on the sofa, finally gave in and groaned in frustration. As a last ditch attempt, he grabbed a rattle off the rug and waved it at Charlie. For a second it seemed... but only for a second. It was the last straw for Hugh who raced into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Kate followed with Charlie. She walked him round and round the table repeatedly. She tickled him, ruffled his air, tossed him up and down... everything. Surely, surely he'd stop crying soon...

It was an hour later and Hugh and Kate were lying side by side near the shore. Kate did her best to drink in the beautiful sunset, as she doubted her hearing would ever be the same again. Her ears were ringing so badly she could barely hear herself speak. "That...was...hell," she muttered.

Hugh chuckled in agreement before sitting bolt upright. "Hey Kate," he said proudly. "I've got an awesome dare for you."

Kate wearily rubbed her eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"I dare you to have kids when you're older."

They'd never laughed so much in all their lives. "Yeah right," Kate finally gasped.

Hugh stood in a daze. The night was dark, cold and eerily quiet - nothing like that Summer's day they'd spent discussing worms many years ago. And as he lingered at the water's edge, Hugh couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.

"Um...what was that, sorry?" he asked tentatively.

For once in her life, Kate was incredibly patient. What was even more notable, though, was the slight tremble in her voice as she answered. "I dare you to kiss me."

Shakily, Hugh nodded. So he had heard correctly, then. He tried hard not to look at Kate. At seventeen, she'd changed so much. Gone were the youthful plaits to be replaced by a sheet of dark, shiny hair. That dress was shorter, too, and no longer the shapeless mass of material from her childhood.

So, Hugh mused rather hurriedly, did he dare? Did he dare risk so much on one mad moment? Did he dare take their friendship all the way into the realm of romance?

Did he dare? That was the question.

When Hugh glanced up, Kate had moved so close it was dizzying. He could see every tiny fleck of colour in her eyes... "Go on," she whispered. "I dare you."