How they respond to hearing you have a crush on them.
CELIA/CECILIA
Cecilia overhears Marlin grumbling to Vesta one morning about you. Though she knows it's wrong, she pauses on the stairs to listen in. He is complaining about how obvious you are in having a crush on Ceci. Marlin doesn’t think you’re a good fit for her. You distract her from work and aren’t good enough with nothing but a run-down farm to your name. Vesta laughs and says she likes your sincerity and determination. She thinks you’d be a perfect fit for Cecilia with how much progress you made on the farm in such a short time. Ceci’s face flushes at the thought; it feels like an impossible dream to think you would like her. Why would you choose her? You were close with the glamorous, outgoing Molly and accomplished young Lumina. Not to mention the last time you met, Cecilia had unloaded about an arranged marriage and her misgivings. The next time you see Cecilia, she seems hesitant to speak with you and avoids meeting your eyes. Cecilia nervously laughs when you ask what’s wrong and confesses what she overheard this morning between Marlin and Vesta. You confirm that you do have feelings for her. You were doing your best to be discreet since Cecilia had the arranged marriage date coming up, and you wanted the best for her. She quickly assures you that she has the same feelings and would always choose you over anyone else.
CODY/GORDY
Gordy is surprised when Gustafa lets slip you have a crush on him. Gustafa quickly backtracks and asks that Gordy doesn’t let you know. He was told the secret in confidence, but Gustafa thought Gordy and you would be great together. Gordy gives the thought serious consideration over the next couple of days. His work has always consumed his mind rather than love. As he worked on sorting through his feelings on this information, Gordy naturally became more attentive to observing you when you spoke with him. You didn’t seem unaware of this new focus. You blushed as the large man’s purple eyes bore into your own. Gordy realizes he has had more inspiration and motivation since you arrived in the valley. The sculpture outside his house is improving as Gordy spends time with you, and he enjoys your moments together. Is this the love that Gustafa sings about? Gordy decides to explore where these feelings lead. He starts to prolong conversations with you when he sees you. Gordy doesn’t want to rush through his feelings for you, so he can one day express them adequately with his art.
DARYL
He overhears Rock complaining to Lumina about why anyone, especially you, would have a crush on Daryl. He just doesn’t get it. Daryl had heard the term throughout his school years but never paid it much thought. He couldn’t understand why people were so wrapped in liking someone and made a note to research a ‘crush’ in more detail at the lab. A crush was a bit more than just liking someone Daryl discovered. Instead, it is an intense and usually passive infatuation. All valuable and reliable information ended with the dictionary’s definition. Daryl’s interest peeked. He wasted no time in confronting you about your crush and that he wished to observe the physiological systems at play. You blinked in surprise, shocked by the sudden request but agreed. He quickly identified that blushing and sweaty hands occurred alongside dilated pupils. You had an increased heart rate, but he could not get an accurate baseline read as it spiked each time he tried. Daryl noticed you tripped over your words with him and not with others in the valley. Daryl only needed to discover why his lab felt warmer and his stomach tight when you were around.
FLORA
Flora is flattered when she hears you have a crush on her. She had never given much thought to matters of infatuation or love. Flora likes the idea of one day getting married and having children, but her career seemed more pressing after school. Your crush helped explain how you made so much time to help at the site with a farm to run. Flora spends a few weeks working through her feelings. The last thing she wants to do is act rashly on impulse. She is uncertain if she feels love or infatuation for you. Flora enjoys your company. She wonders where you are and if you’re okay when you are late or don’t arrive at the dig site. Could this be the start of affection? She had many crushes of her own when she was a young girl. They seemed so long ago Flora wasn’t sure of her feelings, and all the pondering hadn’t helped. She would like to focus on you and see what caused her indecision. Flora soon invites you to dinner at the cafe to spend time together outside work.
GUSTAFA
You were sitting by his yurt, humming along to the chords Gustafa strummed. You reflected on how close you had gotten to Gustafa. You never expected it from the brief pointing out Takakura did. After all, Gustafa was a traveling musician. Who knew how long he would stick around here? His playing felt so relaxing to stop and listen to as you struggled. The melodies he played were like a spell to lift your troubles for snatches of time before resuming your responsibilities once more.
“What’d you think?” Gustafa’s voice roused you from thought.
“I like you.”
You watched his eyebrows shoot up in surprise from behind his glasses as you froze in wide-eyed horror. That was not what you meant to say. Mortified, you hurriedly tried to explain. You had a sinking feeling as he tugged the wide brim of his pointed hat down to hide his face further. Gustafa softly explained that your confession made things easier for him. He’s had a crush on you for a while but was worried about you not feeling the same. Gustafa asked if you’d like to meet with him for a drink at the bar that evening.
LUMINA
Lumina felt frustrated when she discovered you had a crush on her. She was obvious in dropping hints of her crush on you. At least, she thought she had been. How could she make it more clear? Lumina was scared to confess. What if she was wrong and you only thought of her as a friend? Or worse, like a sister. No, she would much rather you confess first. It needed to be before Aunt Romana found out you were who she was pining for and got involved. But how? Lumina’s eyes widened as she had a brilliant idea. You said something interesting the other day that could help move things along. The next time you came by, Lumina mentioned she had been thinking of how you didn’t know how to play an instrument. It was one of the reasons you liked to listen to her play. Lumina gazed off to the side and shuffled her feet as she offered to teach you. She was thrilled when you enthusiastically agreed to lessons. Lumina found chances to ‘accidentally’ brush hands or correct your placement as you sat squeezed together on the piano bench. Each of your blushes felt like she was inching closer to one of you admitting your feelings.
MARLIN/MATTHEW
Marlin returns to the house after speaking to you about Cecilia turning into Vesta in his most recent dream. Ceci greets him at the door with a huge grin and a sparkle in her eyes. Marlin froze in shock as she asked what you talked about. He mumbled something about hybrid crops. Marlin had barely told you and certainly didn’t want to share his dream with either of them. Cecilia let out a disappointed sigh in response. She was so sure you had confessed. Nonplussed, Marlin asked what she was talking about. Vesta says it's because you obviously like him a great deal when Ceci hesitates to answer. He grumbles that they must be mistaken; you’re that nice to everyone. His sister shakes her head, telling him he should watch you closer if he thinks that. Marlin watches you more as you pass by their farm. He doesn’t see anything different at all as you wave towards them. Marlin headed to the cafe with his hands shoved in his pockets. He had foolishly gotten his hopes up listening to Cecilia and Vesta. Marlin hoped a drink would help. He didn’t expect to see you selling from a stall. It stung to see you smile at Gordy as you passed over some flowers. He was about to turn and leave when your eyes met. Your radiant smile when you met his eyes made him realize Vesta was right. You didn’t give a smile like that to everyone.
MUFFY/MOLLY
She’s heard this before about prior guys, and nothing ever came of it. So, Molly does her best not to get her hopes up. She will not confront you but continues to act the same as before. Molly’s teasing and flirting are not limited to you as Molly continues the occasional date with city boys. She comes to you for support and a shoulder to cry on with each disastrous result. Eventually, you’re frustrated enough to tell her to stop. Molly shouldn’t keep entertaining guys that aren’t good enough for her. YOU like her and have for a while now and would treat her like the goddess she is. You avoid looking at Molly while trying to get your blush under control from such a confession. When the silence drags on, you peek at Molly to see her reaction. The tears in her green eyes cause you to panic as you fumble to comfort her and apologize. Molly brushes you off as she smiles through her tears. She was just surprised you had such strong feelings for her. Molly was scared to get her hopes up, but to hear you confess made her so happy she couldn’t stop the tears of relief. Her eyes crinkle with a giant smile as you promise this is the first and last time you’ll make her cry.
NAMI
Nami realizes she has a crush on you long before she finds out it goes both ways. At first, Nami couldn’t figure out her feelings. She traveled around so much that she didn’t usually make close connections with others. The valley had been different, and she’d stayed too long to leave at this point. Nami should have left the first day you arrived. She was proud of how great she had hidden her growing feelings or thought she was. Nami felt a bit disappointed when you left to continue your day. After watching her parents' relationship fall apart as a child, she had trouble trusting there were good ones. Galen and Nina had shown her that love could easily carry on for years. Nami wanted that. However, each time she thought to confess, her doubts would overwhelm her. When you admitted your feelings, Nami felt she could be honest too.
ROCK
“Are you sure you’re not tired? You’ve been running through my-”
“Yeah, I am tired. Your dog is such a sore loser when he loses races to me. I’m glad someone understands how taxing that is.” Rock cut off your cheesy pickup line rattling about his day on your farm. You thought this would be the easiest way to say you liked him. You could brush it off as a joke at the worst. You never expected he would interrupt you before you could finish. At least he was happy you sympathized with him, so it wasn’t a complete miss.
“Do you know CPR? Because-”
“Nah, Dr. Baddoch tried to tell me, but it seemed like a lot to remember. And he said you’d have to do compressions until a professional arrived. Do you know how far off he lives? I think it’s better left to someone else.”
Rock was driving you to frustration. Was he being this difficult on purpose? You seriously doubted it, but he foiled each pickup line.
“I bet you dinner that-”
“Dinner sounds great. We can skip the bet and just to you winning. What did you plan on-” You cut him off by pressing your lips to his. If he wouldn’t stay quiet, then you’d make sure he found out another way.