Harvest Moon does not belong to me. Please enjoy the read.

hehe More DokuKure/DoctorxClaire.

The Doctor was on his hands and knees, as if he was searching for something. He lightly hovered over certain areas, but it looked like the town's farmer, Claire, had gotten the grasses already. Sighing, he began to get up, but then he saw a little grass growing near the stump.Oh! I guess she missed one! he thought. He really needed it for his research today and even though Claire sent the grasses to Zack, who sent them to him, it would all take a little too long. Last night he thought he found a solution to one of his problems and he got excited just thinking about it…he had to work on it right away!

He crawled over to the stump and inspected the grass like a child. A young woman's voice called out to him, "Doctor?"

The man jumped violently as if caught in an act. "C-Claire! What are you doing here?" he stuttered. The Doctor tried to get up swiftly and nonchalantly, but it looked awkward. He was also red in the face from embarrassment.

The young farmer only smiled kindly at the doctor. She was holding her basket on her head with one of her hands on its rim and the other swinging freely. "Seems that I forgot something," she said and pointed to the same grass that was at the Doctor's feet. "I forgot to check there today, but it looks like it was a good thing I didn't."

Claire came to him and plopped herself down. She watched the lake for a moment before looking back up at his face. The Doctor was already taking the little grass and leaving but he was watching the farmer all the while. With a blank expression, she motioned for him to sit next to her. The Doctor looked desperately back to path out of the area; he really wanted to get back to test his theories but he found that he couldn't say no to her.

The two laughed softly at the Claire's comment. He was watching the lake and looking at the fish. He cocked his head slightly and then turned to Claire. "These fish look fast don't they?" he asked. Claire's smile was enough response. The Doctor could feel himself flush slightly. Turning quickly back to the fish, he muttered, "I wonder if I could catch them."

Some shuffling caused him to look back at Claire. Her shoes were off and she was in the middle of folding up her pants to her knees. The Doctor only gave her an incredulous look. "I'll help you!" she said cheerfully. "But I wasn't actually going to-" the Doctor was cut short as the farmer slowly waded into the lake while hiking up her overalls, careful to be silent. But of course, the fish swam away from her movements. At this, the Doctor chuckled. "You're scaring the fish, Claire!" he called jokingly. She only laughed, "You'll see; I'll catch a big one!"

After some futile attempts by the farmer, the Doctor soon found himself rolling up his pants and sleeves as well. He drudged into the water, a few feet away from Claire. "Hey!" she yelled, "You're upsetting my fish!" The Doctor smiled and started to walk closer to her. "No no! Stay right there!" she exclaimed in playful alarm, holding up her hands to him. He laughed sincerely and gave her a small, apologetic glance. She only dipped her hand into the water and made a pathetic splash at him. "Don't do that again," she warned and smiled brightly.

Both of the makeshift fishermen were unsuccessful. It took a few minutes but finally, a silver flash caught the Doctor's eye. It was just by his leg. He snatched at the fish but it slipped between his fingers and escaped. "It's so quick!" he yelled happily. He looked back at Claire to see if she's made any progress and saw her looking back at him with a strange expression.

Baffled, he stepped back. Why was she looking at me that way? Suddenly, the Doctor felt something slick underneath his foot and with a cry, he made a splash into the lake.

The man sat with a bewildered face and knees poking out of the lake's water. "Doctor!" Claire rushed as fast as she could possibly could in the liquid to his aide and pulled him up by his arm. "What happened? Are you alright?" The concern in her voice and eyes heightened the Doctor's tension. It was unusual to see someone worried about him, he noticed. It was usually the other way around. "No, I'm okay," he said quickly. "I slipped on something. I think it was a fish." The farmer let out a sigh of relief and then laughed. "You could've caught it!"

The Doctor flushed. "This won't stop me," he said. Claire clapped his back and grinned enthusiastically, "That's exactly what I want to hear!"

It was an hour later before the Doctor started to trudge back up to the grass. They were talking about Ellen when he was reminded of the work that he wanted to do that morning! He picked up his reflector that he had thrown down onto the ground and began to fix his pants. "I can't just go up to work like this!" he said with frustration. Abruptly, he froze and slowly faced Claire, realizing his rudeness. She was still barefooted in the water while a beautiful smile graced her lips. For some reason, his mouth became parched, and he found it difficult to speak.

"I don't think I had so much fun before." The Doctor swayed toward her. Silence fell upon the two but Claire continued to smile her brilliant smile. It struck him at that moment, that he was anxious.

"I really like this side of you," the farmer suddenly said. He stopped. "You should show it to everyone once in a while," she continued. "It's good to just relax and enjoy your time with the people you care about." Her eyes left his gaze and she began to look out at the lake, now with a somewhat glazed expression.

People…you care about? For a fleeting moment, red colored his cheeks. The Doctor brought a fist to his mouth, coughed, and turned away from her. "Thank you Claire," he murmured. The girl turned back around with a big grin and waved without saying a word. And with that, the Doctor took his leave, never looking back as she watched him go.

Thank you for reading!