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auroraesmeraldarose · 4 months

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Rafael/Coral Island fanfic pt 7

Happy 2:50am my dudes. I have just finished writing parts 13 and 15 of this nonsense, but 14 is eluding me. Maybe at the weekend I’ll make it make sense. (Oh, and I’ve done a chunk of 16 and 18)

For now, enjoy some more yearning. PS I know blacksmiths don’t make jewellery or smell of woodsmoke. But this is also a fictional character based on some very sexy pixels, so who gaf

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A few weeks had passed since the Cherry Blossom festival, and Rose was pleased with how well it had helped her to fit in with the other islanders. Every day that she had to go into town for something people would stop and greet her, ask how the farm was, how she was. She felt that she had finally found a place she could be happy; it was beginning to feel like home. Today was the annual tree-planting day, and she was looking forward to helping out her new home. She had to admit, though, aside from wanting to be a helpful part of the community, a lot of her was hoping it might be a good excuse to spend time with Rafael. She knew he was always the first to join in with any volunteering projects; a thought that made her heart feel warm in her chest… he was a good man.

It was a clear, bright day, and the sun was warming up the island air nicely. Having completed her work for the morning and thrown on some slightly cleaner clothes Rose made her way to the planting grounds in a crowd of volunteers; it seemed almost the whole island was involved this year. She made pleasant small talk with as many people as she could, and Pablo cornered her with his friend Theo for quite a while. It was clear that for Theo and Pablo, the actual tree-planting came second to socialising, and they both showed off for Rose, cracking jokes and flirting outrageously, though without a hint of sincerity. Rose could see that neither of them meant any of what they said, but flirting was part of who Pablo was, and Theo followed his lead, not wanting to be outdone.

Rafael watched Rose laughing with Theo and Pablo from a little way across the planting ground. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, and probably didn’t want to; he tried not to let the pang of jealousy he felt take over when he saw Theo put a hand on Rose’s arm midway through some joke or other. Seeing her laughing with him felt like something had stabbed him in the chest. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Theo… he knew everyone liked Theo, that was part of the problem. He was at least as popular as Pablo, being considered handsome by everyone, and a very talented musician. Rafael felt that if Theo was interested in Rose there would be little hope in even trying to compete with him. He blushed when he saw Rose look over towards him, hoping she hadn’t noticed his jealous glances, but his heart leapt when she finished her conversation with Theo and Pablo and began walking towards Rafael instead. Awkwardly, he went back to moving the large, heavy saplings, trying desperately to appear busy and unbothered.

“Hey hero,” she smiled as she approached, “save some work for the rest of us! Don’t want you wearing yourself out.”

He straightened up, returning the smile. “Hey Rose. Having… uhm… fun?” He reached across his chest to grab his other arm.

“Oh, you know, trying to mingle, act like I’m actually part of the island and all that. Getting a little bored of making small talk though…” she looked a little guilty at her own honesty. “I mean, not that everyone isn’t lovely and all…” she hesitated, worried she had come off as rude. “But you know… I don’t really know anyone except you and Alice to talk to properly. I guess I should make more of an effort, but with you guys it’s just… easier, if that makes sense?” Her forehead had wrinkled slightly in her worry to make herself understood.

“Makes perfect sense,” Rafael replied, enjoying the idea that he was on such an exclusive list, and even more that Theo and Pablo hadn’t made the cut. “I’m the same. Uhm… not great at talking to people… Uhm…” he wanted to add, “except you” but realised his nervous pauses sort of made that a lie. “I uhm… I like talking to you, too, though.” That made more sense; he might not be good at it, but he did love talking to her, even if it constantly felt like he might suddenly set himself on fire with blushing.

Rose smiled again, looking relieved that he understood. “Would you mind if I hang out with you for the rest of the day? We could, uhm… work together?” She gestured to the saplings in front of him, trying to keep her voice casual, though her heart was tight in her chest.

Rafael’s face split into a grin and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Of course,” he dropped the hand from his neck, and grabbed a couple of saplings, one in each hand, “I’d like that.”

They worked well together and made a perfect team; Rafael did most of the heavy lifting, but Rose, who was by now pretty strong herself from farm labour did her best to match him. It was tough, but she wasn’t afraid of hard work, and the two were soon hot and sweating under the glorious sunshine. At one point Rafael lifted his shirt to wipe his face on it, revealing a broad, solid body with a soft trail of dark hair running down to the waistband of his jeans. Rose knew she was staring. She couldn’t help it… Biting her bottom lip nervously she dragged her eyes away before he noticed and was thankful that her face was already a little pink from the sun and the hard work. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, and doubled her efforts to get the next sapling planted, desperately trying not to think about running her fingers over his dark olive skin. There had been a few tense moments for Rafael, too, who had once or twice found himself leaning close over Rose to help move a sapling into place. Having her almost between his arms, close to his chest made his heart beat faster than any heavy lifting. He was reminded of how only the second time they’d met, she had flung herself against his chest, crying. That memory had plagued him in sleepless nights, wishing to feel her against him again, though preferably not sobbing next time. He was having to focus very hard on the smooth bark under his hands to try and keep himself from slipping into fantasies about dropping his arms from the sapling and pulling her towards him, exchanging the bark for her even smoother skin.

After a few hours of work, the volunteers had finished their planting for the day, and sat to enjoy a cold drink before the trek back down the mountain. Rose and Rafael sat on a stone wall in a tired, comfortable silence, sharing a bottle of water between them. At one point Mayor Connor came over to congratulate them on planting more trees than any other pair, and Rafael had smiled shyly at the attention. Rose told the Mayor that it had really been all Rafael, and she had just helped, making the gentle giant blush. When the Mayor left to talk to another group, Alice, Pablo and Theo immediately took his place. Rafael, ignoring the boys’ loud banter leaned towards Rose.

“You uhm… you didn’t need to… I mean, uhm… you worked as hard as me…” his voice was a murmur, almost a whisper, and he was blushing slightly again.

Rose leaned even closer, as close to his ear as she could get without her own face turning red, not wanting the others to hear her response; “Shut up, hero, and take the glory. You deserve a lot more than you get around here.” She pulled back and smiled, a hint of teasing on her face, and turned back to the group. Although Theo and Alice were deep in conversation, the expression on Pablo’s face suggested he had noticed Rose and Rafael’s brief whispering, and he grinned at them both, eyebrow raised. Rafael, still pink, shot Pablo a pleading look. It looked as if it pained Pablo to miss this opportunity to tease his little brother, but he gave a tiny nod, and a look of mock innocence took over his face. As she shifted slightly on the stone wall, the little fingers of Rose and Rafael’s hands met, just touching. She didn’t bother to move her hand away until it was time to head back down the mountain, and neither did he.

At the bottom of the mountain, Pablo and Theo split from the group, heading to the tavern for what they called “a well-earned drink.” Alice was heading back to the inn, complaining of aching muscles after the day’s labour. Pablo and Theo tried to get Rose and Rafael to join them, but when Rose said she was going to head home, Rafael offered to walk her. Pablo, raising one eyebrow again in a knowing manner let them go without further cajoling, and pulled Theo away, turning back to give Rafael a quick wink before he and Theo left in the other direction. Rose tried to look as if she hadn’t seen the wink, and quickly pretended to be fiddling with the strap on her backpack as Rafael, blushing again, shot a furious look at his brother’s retreating back. They walked the short distance back to the farmhouse in a pleasant silence, listening to the birds in the trees. As they arrived at Rose’s door, she had spent the last few minutes weighing up how to bid him farewell, and she turned to face him, summoning some courage from his gentle smile at her.

“I was thinking about hugging you…” she declared, a hint of a blush starting to burn on her chest. “But, I don’t know if you think we’re close enough friends, for hugging, yet?” The blush was swiftly moving along her throat, and she tried to keep her voice calm despite her nerves.

Rafael rubbed the back of his neck, staring downwards, and tried to form some suitable words. He decided not to remind her that, technically, they had already hugged that time she started crying at him out of exhaustion…

“Uhm…” he hesitated, and cleared his throat before making himself to continue. “I uhm… I think we are?” He dropped his hand from his neck and had to force himself not to cross his arm across his chest.

Rose smiled widely, and tentatively moved towards him, her arms outstretched. He returned the movement, and she tucked herself in under his arms for a brief second or two before pulling back, her face on fire now. She had tried not to linger, enjoying the scent of woodsmoke and manly sweat on his clothes, but it was hard to let him go. He too had been enjoying the way her hair somehow smelled of flowers, roses maybe? The embrace had been short, but for both of them it felt like a victory, and their nervous grins matched one another.

“So, I guess I’ll see you around, hero?” Rose had half turned to open her front door, trying not to show her obvious joy too blatantly.

“Definitely.” Rafael replied simply, feeling like he was suddenly as light as a feather. He watched her step inside before heading home, to revel in the memory of her embrace.

#coral island rafael #fanfic #rafael coral island #coral island #fluff #need sleep

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