Her Voice

Julius/Candace is one of those couples that I thought was mismatched at first but started to grow on me after a while. I think they're an adorable canon couple that is severely underappreciated by the fandom. To be honest, they're one of my favorite couples in the Harvest Moon universe and I felt the need to contribute this oneshot to the virtually nonexistent collection of Julius/Candace stories here on . I hope you enjoy reading it!

Julius didn't think anything of her at first. Candace was something of a wallflower to him; she existed, but it wasn't like her existence was earth-shattering. She was just there. It wasn't his responsibility to notice.

Then there was the incident. The incident in which Julius helped unload new shipments of clothing at the tailor's shop and officially met Candace for the first time. That was the event that started it all, for it was then that Julius realized he had never heard Candace speak.

It was a lovely morning in early spring, and the boat from the mainland had just arrived earlier that day. Upon his aunt's insistence, Julius went down to the docks to help Shelly and her granddaughters unpack the loads of boxes the cargo ship had brought in.

"Do you want them by the counter, Shelly?" Julius called over a stack of boxes he was carrying.

"That would be fine, dear," Shelly said. "Thank you so much for helping, it really makes things go by faster."

"It's no problem, really," He said, although he secretly would have preferred to be sleeping in on his day off.

There was a loud thump and Julius turned just in time to see someone struggling to get through the door. Their face was obscured behind a cardboard box, and Julius ran to help.

"Careful," He said as he took the load. "These are heavy."

With the box out of the way, Julius could see that it was Candace. It was the first time he had ever really stopped to look at her, and he saw that she was actually quite pretty. Her long blue hair was tied into twin braids as usual, and she wore a pale blue sweater over a simple checkered skirt. He thought she was dressed a little too conservatively and was obviously hiding a lot of charm beneath all the layers. But she was pretty nonetheless, and he wondered why he'd never noticed before.

Candace nodded gratefully in response before hurrying away to help her sister with the clothes. For the rest of the morning, Julius watched her closely (while trying not to look creepy) and observed that she was a genuinely sweet person. She was kind and considerate and looked out for her sister and grandmother in subtle ways Julius wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been watching. There was just one thing that bothered him; she hardly spoke. In fact, she didn't say anything at all the entire two hours he was there. She was obviously shy, he could see that much, but how could she go without speaking at all?

And so began his quest to hear Candace's voice.

The next day, Julius purposefully went to Harmonica Town to see Candace. Or more specifically, to talk to her. She was taking a leisurely stroll outside the tailor's shop and was clearly enjoying the sunshine. As casually as possible, Julius walked up to her and started chatting.

"Good morning, Candace. Beautiful day, isn't it?" He said.

She nodded in response and continued to look out at the ocean. Julius kept talking. "So, how are things at the shop?"

Candace shrugged.

"Are you doing anything interesting today?"

She nodded.

"Like what?"

She made vague hand gestures that he interpreted as "this and that." But even though they were communicating to an extent, Julius was frustrated. He had clearly planned to ask non-yes-or-no questions that would force her to provide explanation, but she was dodging all of them! He was struggling to think of more things to say when Luna interrupted.

"Candace? Are you coming back inside yet?" Luna asked.

Julius cursed quietly to himself as Candace nodded and waved goodbye to him. He half-heartedly waved back before he slogged home. She was good; there was no doubt about that. He just had to be better.

Over the next few days, Julius tried everything he could to get Candace to respond. He asked every question he could think of and brought up every conversation topic that occurred to him. Julius almost thought he had her stumped one time when he asked about her favorite color, but Candace just pointed to her hair and Julius knew he couldn't push the subject.

It was utterly infuriating to know that he couldn't get what he wanted no matter how hard he tried. And boy, did he try. He was starting to think that she wasn't talking to him on purpose, and that made him even more irritated. He was a nice guy, a great guy, in fact, and here she was, unnecessarily complicating things. Something had to be done, before Julius lost his sanity completely. Something had to be done.

Owen heard Julius before he saw him, which was a first. Julius stomped through the dirt rather loudly, attracting confused looks and raised eyebrows from just about everyone in the vicinity. Owen mentally braced himself for the drama he knew was coming. Before he could so much as ask what was wrong (or run away, as he seriously considered doing), Julius launched into an outburst of complaints.

"She won't. Freaking. Talk to me!" Julius exploded angrily.

"I'm sorry, what?" Owen asked.

"Why won't she speak?!" Julius continued as if he hadn't heard. "It's driving me insane! Why the hell won't she say anything?"

"Who?" He asked.

"Candace!" Julius tossed his hands up in frustration. "Who the hell else? Of course it's her! She hasn't said a word and refuses to do so much as cough to let me know she has a voice! She might even be mute for all I know. I haven't ruled that out as a possibility, I assure you."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure she's not mute. And why are you telling this to me of all people?" Owen asked, silently praying that Julius would get the hint and leave him alone.

Unfortunately, Julius cared nothing for Owen's feelings on the matter and continued to rant. "Because! I need to tell somebody! I mean, my God, I don't even know anything anymore."

Owen shifted his weight uncomfortably and wished he could be anywhere but there. He spotted someone exit the mines and desperately waved his arm to get their attention. "Hey, look, there's Akari! Maybe she can give you some advice!"

To Akari, Owen mouthed the words, "Help!" Stifling a laugh, Akari approached carelessly and said, "So, Julius, what's up?"

"Oh, thank God, finally someone who understands!" Julius exclaimed. "Akari, that girl, Candace, she won't talk to me!"

"Have you done anything?" Akari asked. "Insulted her? Offended her?"

"Offended her? Please! How could anyone ever feel offended by me?" Owen coughed loudly in the background but Julius didn't give any indication that he'd heard.

"Er, well, sometimes you come on a little strong, Julius. Maybe you need to tone it down a bit. Candace is pretty shy, so just give her some space," Akari suggested.

Julius huffed out a sigh and sucked in a deep breath of air. Owen opened his mouth to say something to Akari but she held up a hand that clearly signified, "Wait." A few more deep breaths and Julius regained his composure. He smoothed back his bangs and looked to Owen and Akari. "Well. Thank you for your advice, Akari. I just might do that. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way."

With a flip of his hair, Julius turned around and walked back the way he came. Akari looked at Owen and said, "Problem solved. You're welcome."

After getting advice from Akari, things settled down a bit for Julius. He managed to heed her words of wisdom for an impressive two days straight. Then on the third day, he cracked.

Julius was in the middle of his job when it happened. He was dutifully crafting an emerald broach when he suddenly stopped. Mira gave him a questioning look as he put his tools down. Out loud to no one in particular, he said, "Who am I kidding, I can't do this."

With a slightly crazed look in his eyes, Julius stood up sharply and all but dashed around the counter and out the shop door. He vaguely heard Mira shout something that sounded like, "Julius, what about work?" but he didn't turn back. Once again ignorant to the stunned stares of everyone he passed, Julius ran back home and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Let everyone know I tried!" He said as he tossed his hands in the air. "I tried to leave her alone, I really did. I tried to let it go, but now I know that it's impossible for me. I'll never be able to sleep at night unless I get what I want. She is going to talk to me, and I won't rest until she does!"

After that final determined statement, Julius once again dashed out of the room and headed towards the town to set his plan into motion. Chase was on his way to work, crossing the Flute Fields bridge when he saw Julius run past him. With a shake of his head, he muttered, "He's got issues."

This was his last resort. Julius knew if this didn't work, then nothing would. His plan was simple: he'd lie in wait beside the tailor's shop and scare Candace into speaking. What could go wrong?

"Completely foolproof," Julius muttered as he pressed himself to the wall. It had briefly crossed his mind that his actions were borderline stalkerish, but he argued that he wasn't doing this for himself, it was for Candace. She couldn't go through her entire life not speaking to people; it just wasn't good for her.

…That was a total lie, of course, but Julius would sooner shoot himself than admit that all his efforts thus far had been a waste of time.

He had been waiting for little more than ten minutes when his foot started to fall asleep. Julius was almost ready to call it quits when he heard the sound of a door opening nearby. He hastily straightened up and waited… waited… NOW!

With a shout, Julius leapt out of hiding and half-tackled Candace. She didn't scream, but was visibly startled by the sudden ambush and jumped about six inches into the air. She then proceeded to trip over the hem of her skirt and fell violently to the ground.

Julius watched in astonishment as Candace scraped her hands on the concrete in a desperate attempt to break her fall. For a while, no one moved. He stood there dumbfounded and she sat there with her face hidden behind her hair. His mind was blank as she attempted to sit up, her face contorted into an expression of obvious pain. A single tear ran down her cheek.

All at once, Julius felt horrible. What kind of a jerk was he, to shove her like that? Seeing her suffering made him realize what he'd done, and that he was the one who made her cry. Unable to say anything, he found he was the one at a loss for words.

Recovering from the shock, he rushed forward and held out a hand to help her up. "Candace, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean –"

She slapped his hand away and Julius cringed. "Are you okay? Candace, I'm sorry," He tried to apologize again. She stood up shakily, wiped her eyes, and refused to even look at him. She turned around and walked back inside the shop. The door slammed shut and Julius was left standing there, staring at nothing.

With a heavy sigh, he walked the short distance to the bar next door. The bell rang lightly as he stepped inside and was greeted by Kathy. "Hey, Julius, it's unusual to see you here this early," She said.

He said nothing and sat down at the counter. Kathy gave him a concerned look when she saw his expression. "Julius? Did something happen? Chase, get him a glass of water."

Julius stared at his hands unseeingly. He put his head down and closed his eyes. Kathy and Chase were exchanging confused and worried looks as they watched Julius sit back upright. He took a gulp of water and slowly set the glass back down. Finally, he said, "I'm a bastard."

It took Kathy and Chase a while to get Julius to explain what had happened. He looked sincerely regretful, which was a sudden turn around considering no one had ever heard him offer so much as an apology before. Needless to say, things weren't looking good for Julius. He was completely miserable as he sat there at the bar. At one point he'd spoken up to ask for a beer, but Kathy firmly denied giving him anything alcoholic.

"I'm a customer here!" Julius said irritably. "Just give me something to drink!"

"You have your water," Kathy said crossly. "I'm not going to let you drown yourself in alcohol, Julius. So tell me. What happened? I'm guessing it has something to do with Candace."

"I tried to get her to talk," He mumbled as he took another mournful sip of water. "But it didn't quite work out. And now she hates me."

"Wow, you really are a bastard," Chase commented.

"Not now Chase," Kathy said as she leaned on the counter. "Look, Julius, I can't say I sympathize with you after what you did. But the least you can do is try apologizing again."

"Yeah, well, that's if I ever see her again," He said as he stared into his empty glass.

"You really screwed things up this time, Julius," Chase said. "But just go home already. You're not helping anyone while you're trying to get drunk off of water."

For once, Julius didn't complain. He trudged home and went straight to bed even though it was only 8 o'clock.

In the days that followed, Julius made an honest effort to find Candace and apologize. But after a while, it became clear she was avoiding him on purpose. He never saw her around town anymore, she wasn't in the church, and she wasn't at Akari's farm. Despite the guilt he felt, her refusal to see him was enough to annoy Julius all over again. How dare she avoid him when he was obviously trying to make amends and set things right for once?

When he went to the tailor's shop, he was met with a firm glare from Luna. She was easily the shortest person in the town, but she looked positively intimidating standing there with her arms crossed. Before he could ask where Candace was, Luna spoke up.

"You really hurt her, you know."

Her words stabbed at him, because he knew they were true. It was all his fault and he knew it. "That's why I'm trying to apologize to her. Where is she?"

"Why should I tell you? She doesn't want to see you, not after what you did the other day. I thought you guys were getting along fine, and then you had to go and shove her down. What kind of an idiot are you, Julius?" She glowered at him.

"I know, I know, you don't have to tell me," He said.

"No, I do," Luna took a step closer to him and poked him in the chest. "In case you hadn't already noticed, my sister is an extremely shy person. And you bullying her like that doesn't help. For your information, she has a voice. Not that you'd care."

"Look, I'm sorry," Julius burst out angrily. "Okay? I mean it. I realize that what I did was stupid and I feel really bad about what I did to her. I know you don't believe me, but I'm really, really sorry."

Luna backed down a bit, studying him closely as if to check that he really meant it. Her expression softened a little. "Alright, Julius. It's not like I have a problem with you, it's just… she's my older sister, you know? And I feel like I need to watch out for her because she always watches out for me. I just… I just don't want anyone to ever hurt her."

Julius smiled a little. "You're a good younger sister, Luna."

She rolled her eyes. "Look at me, I'm turning into a sap. But whatever, I get that you feel bad about it, so here's what I'll do for you," She said. "I'll ask Candace to meet you outside the church later tonight. Do what you gotta do."

"Thanks, Luna," Julius said.

"Just do one thing for me," She said as he headed for the door. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

She tensed a little when she saw him, and Julius felt guilty all over again. He reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, relieved that she didn't flinch away. Candace looked up at him warily, as if she expected him to hurt her again. She seemed both scared and a little curious. Julius thought she couldn't look more adorable.

"First of all, Candace, I'm sorry. I was an idiot, and I'm sorry for everything. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I realize I did and I'm really sorry," Candace didn't say anything, so Julius decided to keep going. "Look, my point is, I don't care if you never speak to me. I don't care if it's only me talking all the time. I just don't want you to hate me."

Julius hesitantly watched for her reaction, afraid he'd said too much or too little or somehow managed to screw things up even more. Candace stared at the ground for a moment, and then slowly, her lips tilted upwards in a smile. And the first words he heard from her were, "Thank you, Julius. I forgive you."

His mouth fell open and he stared at her. "Will you marry me?"

A resounding slap echoed throughout the town shortly after.

Thanks for reading!