Quick Info~

Why hello there Harvest Moon and fanfiction community! It's been far too long! With University coming to an end for the summer and with the release of Story of Seasons, I thought I would celebrate with my first official chaptered fic (on this account). I can't believe just how great this game is and, admittedly, I haven't even explored all of the wonderful things to explore within Oak Tree Town.

So anyway, just a few basic things before I unleash this little story of mine: I don't have an update schedule because I don't want to disappoint readers if something comes up and I can't stick to it. I would like to update weekly though, if work/vacation/etc. allows it. This story will be rated T, but there will most likely be language and a few suggestive situations. However, readers will be properly warned before the start of each chapter just in case you aren't into that sort of thing. This will also be the only chapter where Raeger's flower events play a role, so if you aren't into reading stories with themes or dialogue from the game inserted into the story, fear not! The rest of the chapters have nothing to do with his events. Also, for those of you who may not know yet, Annie is NOT an OC. She's just the English version of Minori (like Akari vs Angela or Rio vs Rachel).

I absolutely love writing and the wonderful people in this fandom so please don't hesitate to PM me or leave a review with comments/questions/general stuff. I will reply as hastily as possible! :)

Without further ado, I present to you: "Coffee Grounds and Cinnamon Stars"

She pushed against the lake floor and emerged on the surface with a soaking mop of tangled, partially braided hair. She inhaled, greedily taking in the last few whiffs of spring.

Treading water, she reared back and threw her newest catch onto the grass with a collection of clams, an ore or two, and even a few broken bottles. Then she hoisted herself onto the dock and began to ring her hair out into the water.

When Annie first moved to Oak Tree Town, she was entirely too squeamish about taking off her clothes while gathering fish and materials. However, after living there for three years, she came to realize that no one was even awake early in the morning to see her swim in her undergarments.

Standing, she stretched and let the steadily growing heat from the sun dry the rest of her body. She walked to a nearby tree where she draped her clothes over a branch and grabbed her dress. She brought it up over her head and began to tug downward, fumbling with the thick layers of fabric.

"Not only is my farm superior, but it appears my body is as well." A girlish, almost melodic sound broke through the serene morning air and occasional bird chirp.

Annie quickly pulled her dress down and opened her eyes to golden waves of hair and lots and lots of pink. Elise.

"I'm only kidding. If there were any riches I didn't inherit, it was definitely a petite frame," she said, laughing slightly.

Elise was one of the most beautiful women Annie had ever encountered. She had the fierceness and intensity of a lion with the appearance of a porcelain doll. Every step she took was filled with an equal amount of elegance and ferocity. Annie was sure that Elise hated her the first time they met, but after a few seasons, they had become best friends.

"Why are you awake so early?" Annie asked, smoothing the front of her apron with her palms.

"Mistel and Iris are hosting an antique showcase next week and I have to go convince Raeger to use my crops when he caters it. Daddy says it'll be one of the biggest events Oak Tree Town has ever held," Elise said.

"If you really are the best in town then he shouldn't have a problem using them, right?"

Elise smiled slyly. "Yeah, well you know Raeger. He's all about the freshest ingredients and ever since Daddy expanded to the City he thinks we've been using harmful chemicals on the crops."

"Have you?" Annie looked absently down the trail, only half listening to what Elise was saying.

If it was true that Raeger didn't want Elise's crops, perhaps she had a shot at having big-name city folk taste her work instead.

Elise laughed and waved the comment away with her hand. "Of course not! But, just between you and me, whatever it takes to get to the top is worth it."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from your family," Annie said, shaking her head, her lips curling into a playful smirk. "Anyway, I've got to see if a vendor is finally in town so I can sell all of this." She gestured towards the pile of assorted river goods still lying on the grass.

Elise stuck out her tongue in disgust. "The times I count my blessings per day must give the Harvest Goddess headaches."

Annie bid Elise goodbye and went to gather her things. Opening her backpack, she began to stuff it full with her daily gatherings. The amount of times she had to clean the thing so that it wouldn't start smelling was ungodly.

Swinging the pack over her shoulder, she made her way into the town. The hustle and bustle of Oak Tree Town wasn't even close to comparing to the City. She rarely saw people outside, unless their shops were closed for the day. Some days Annie liked how quiet things were and other times it felt like the loneliest thing on the planet.

When she entered the trade depot, she nearly threw her pack across the circle. Slumping in defeat, she trudged over to where Jonas was visibly shrinking away from her by the second.

"I've lived here for how many years now and I still can't remember when people take their days off?" Annie propped her elbow up on the counter and sunk her chin into her palm.

"Three, Miss Annie," Jonas answered. "Would you like to check the schedule?"

"Lay it on me," she said as Jonas pulled out a tattered notebook from behind his workstation.

She looked at the scribbled dates and names of the various trade depots and shook her head. Handing the notebook back to Jonas, she bowed her head in a combination of gratefulness and embarrassment.

"Thank you. Sorry you've got to put up with my constant forgetfulness," she said, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

"Thanks to you I'm still in business so the least I can do is let you check the ol' schedule," Jonas said.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she said, turning on her heel and walking back towards the town.

Mentally cursing herself, Annie walked past Raeger's restaurant and, as if on cue, her stomach growled. She only had enough coins left to fill one pocket and was hoping to make most of her money back at the trade depot. However, Annie rarely allowed herself to splurge on food and Raeger was quite the cook. She might even convince him to let her volunteer her crops for the antique showcase.

She paused, teetering on the top step of the restaurant, and thought about Elise. Was she really going to try and take something away from her best friend? Although, Elise was quite aware of the rivalry that they inevitably had as farmers. Fritz and Georgio were all too aware of this as well. The exhaustion that having a rivalry outside of farm work caused wasn't worth it, though, and the four had grown to become good friends throughout the seasons. Annie was sure that Elise wouldn't mind if she took the chance to boost her farm's publicity. It was just business, right?

When she opened the door to the restaurant, Elise was gone. Stepping inside, she saw Raeger scrubbing at some sort of miniscule spot on the counter with a washcloth.

"Oh, hello, Annie!" he said, not looking up from his work.

"Hey," she said, setting her stuff down on one of the barstools and sitting next to it.

"Are you here to try and convince me that your crops are superior to the rest of the farmers and that I should use yours for the antique show next week?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Annie's eyes widened and she found herself flushing in defense. "What? No. No, of course not! Why would I—"

Raeger stared at her, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Elise came by earlier, so I had a hunch I'd be seeing you or Fritz sooner rather than later. My money was on Fritz, to be honest."

Annie fumbled with her words momentarily, trying to think up a good excuse in place of why she was really there. "Well you can keep your money because I'm not here for that," she said finally.

"Oh yeah? What other reason would you have for conveniently dropping by?" Raeger leaned forward, his eyes boring through her skull with a combination of mischief and amusement.

She felt her cheeks burn. "I, umm, just wanted to try a new dish," she said, the last few words dropping off with a squeak.

Raeger stared at her for a moment, then straightened and nodded. "Well you're in luck because I just made a new dessert that I'm thinking of putting on the menu."

In an instant, it was like he became an entirely different person. He grabbed Annie's hand and brought her to a nearby table before pulling out her chair and sitting her down on it. He hurriedly disappeared into the kitchen and emerged a few moments later with a silver platter balanced on his palm. He set the tray in front of her and Annie could immediately smell the warm aroma of fresh strawberry cake.

She picked up the fork and glanced at Raeger out of the corner of her eye. He was positively beaming at her, his eyes brighter and bluer than she thought humanly possible. Sinking her fork into it, its moistness was undeniable. She practically inhaled the first bite.

"What do you think?" Raeger asked as she swallowed.

She thought about it for a moment, resisting the urge to blurt out how incredible she thought it was. No, she knew Raeger better than that.

"It's good but it would probably be even better with lemon," she said, setting her fork down on the plate to look up at him.

His smile slowly began to fade as a look of horror took its stead. He smacked a hand to his forehead and quickly rushed back into the kitchen.

"I can't believe I forgot the lemon glaze!" he yelled as Annie heard the opening and closing of various cabinets.

He hurried back with a ladle filled with yellow liquid and drizzled it over the top of her cake. Annie took another bite and could hardly contain the wide smile on her face.

"I'm so sorry," Raeger said, shaking his head as she finished the piece. "But I am impressed that you caught onto something like that."

"You know me. Always the dessert connoisseur," Annie said lamely.

Raeger laughed and his expression softened when he looked at her. "You know I'm not stupid, right?"

"What?"

"You never come in here just to eat. You're far too frugal," he continued.

"Oh," Annie said, dropping her gaze from him to the table. "Sorry."

Suddenly, she felt his thumb gently tuck underneath her chin and lift her face to once again meet his gaze.

"You didn't let me finish," he said. "You impressed me with your comment about the lemon. Strawberry-lemonade cake can't live up to its name with one half of it missing. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I'll take a look at your farm and consider your crops."

"Really?" The excitement in her voice was hard to contain. "Wow, Raeger, thank you. I don't know what to say."

"Just promise me something, okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, anything."

"You need to come back and taste all of my new dishes."

He was staring at her intently, like he had just asked her one of the most serious questions in the world. She felt a strange fluttering in her stomach and quickly averted her gaze to get rid of the feeling.

"Oh, yes. Of course," she said, brushing her shoe against the tile floor awkwardly.

Raeger smiled. "Good. Have a great day, Annie."

She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Looking back over her shoulder, she replied, "Thanks. You, too."