Chapter Text
“I love pink cake, something about the bright frosting and strawberries inside just makes me feel like a little piece of summer is in my stomach!”
Haley announced this with pride at the annual Egg Festival, prompted by a heated discussion on the merits of various baked goods. Around her stood Emily, Caroline, Leah, and Jude, the new farmer that had just moved in a month and a half ago. She hadn’t said much so far, just stood with her hands in her pockets, pensive look focused alternately on her companions and something off in the distance.
“Haley!” Alex called to her from somewhere across the square. “Come check this out!”
She smiled politely, extricating herself from the group, and started to move towards the voice when a firm hand wrapped itself around her wrist.
Jude’s dark eyes looked down at her, the woman towering only a few inches above her, with a small smile playing on her face.
“So you like sweet and pretty things, huh?”
Haley nodded and smiled at the other woman, confused but eager to finish this encounter as quickly as possible.
That made Jude smile, then lean in the slightest amount as she spoke. Haley’s eyes followed her other hand as it reached up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Me too.”
Haley didn’t get to speak to Jude much, but she noticed her around town. It was pretty difficult not to, the woman walked around with her sleeves rolled up, biceps growing in fast from all the farm work, dirt on her face and arms like she lived in it. She didn’t look bad dirty, not like Haley, who was always best after a shower and having curled her hair. No, dirt weirdly suited Jude, adding to her rugged look and casual demeanor.
It was in the Stardrop Saloon that Haley spoke to Jude next, through no fault or action of her own.
Haley was minding her business, having a quick bite to eat after having spent the day collecting photographs for her new portfolio, ready to be sent off to the studio in Zuzu City as soon as she could figure out what her last picture should be. The portfolio was an examination of the self, a raw look at the interface of the body, spirit, and mind.
So naturally, after all that strenuous work, she was happy to just sit in the Saloon in silence and enjoy her blueberry tart.
Jude sauntered in with Shane hot on her heels, her boots thumping on the Saloon’s wooden floor, the vibrations carrying all the way up Haley’s chair and shocking her out of her stupor. After a brief glance at the two figures, unable to tell which was which at first thanks to Jude’s hair being tied up, she turned back to her treat, reaching for her soda.
She barely had time to react to the sound of chuckling behind her before she felt a weight settle on her shoulder, fingers lightly grazing her bare skin where her sleeves ended.
“Look at us all, beer in hand on a Wednesday evening,” Jude shook her head, smiling, fresh pint accompanying her, clearly already a bit tipsy. Shane seemed much the same, his cheeks a bit redder than usual as he grinned at his drinking companion, chuckling lightly.
“Scoundrels, the lot of us,” he chimed in, wry smile warped through his glass.
“We really are terrible.” Jude said this to Haley, who had sat in silence so far observing the conversation, confused as to her part in it and acutely aware of the hand still on her shoulder.
The hand squeezed. “At least Haley’s still a good girl,” Jude raised her glass to Shane, then winked at Haley as she lifted it to drink. “Aren’t you, Haley? With your little blueberry tart and soda.” Her chuckle was not mean-spirited, but somehow still felt degrading in some way.
“H-how did you know I had a blueberry tart?” Haley finally managed to stammer out. She felt flustered and unsure exactly why. Were they making fun of her? Was she doing something wrong?
“Because,” Jude leaned down, and Haley got a whiff of fresh beer, then pine and fresh grass as she found herself suddenly face to face with the farmer.
She watched Jude put a finger by her mouth, wetting it with her tongue. Then, paralysed, Haley watched as she reached over and wiped that same finger across the corner of her lip, smudging her lipgloss. Haley watched as Jude put the finger back into her own mouth and sucked on it gently, her eyes suddenly seeming much darker than ever before. Haley did not move a muscle and hoped that if she didn’t see her move, it would almost be as though nothing had happened. If nothing had happened then she needn’t think about this ever again.
As quickly as it had (not) happened, it was over. The whole ordeal probably didn’t last longer than five seconds, six at the most. Jude was already back to chatting and laughing with Shane, but her hand remained on Haley’s shoulder, the only evidence that anything that had transpired in the last five minutes was real. Jude would get restless every so often and fiddle with the straps of Haley’s top, snapping them on her skin until she jumped, or scratching her gently.
After their third pint in the bar, Shane having lost four consecutive arm wrestling matches and Jude basking in the glow of victory, the pair got up to leave, but not before surprising Haley again, much to her…. No, there wasn’t any way to describe how she felt about this drunken incursion, she just wasn’t sure yet. About any of it.
Jude was rolling down her sleeve as they walked towards her, and she looked up just in time to see Haley - simply by chance - looking at her arms.
“Like what you see?” she smirked down at the blonde, flabbergasted for the tenth time today.
Thankfully, Haley didn’t need to say anything, just watch on in horror as Jude leaned down to flick her nose lightly with a cigarette-scented finger. Her smile was just like her words - Haley couldn’t tell if she was making fun of her or just being friendly in that weird manner she had.
“Gotta go, sorry baby,” and with that, Jude stroked her fingers under Haley’s chin, tipping it up and almost as if by design catching her eye one last time before sauntering off again with her drinking buddy, red pack of Malboro’s already in her hands.
Haley was just very confused about it all.
Jude and the beach weren’t two things that Haley considered together very often. Yet here she was, in swim shorts and a bra and already very wet considering it was only 11am. She had been chatting with Willy as he fished, but when she caught Haley’s eye she clearly got distracted, exchanging a couple more sentences with Willy before swimming down the beach.
Her hair curled around her face not uninvitingly as she pulled herself up onto the pier and made her way towards Haley. Great, just her luck. She couldn’t have a moment’s peace in this town anymore without being thrust into yet another confusing and oddly tense encounter with the farmer quickly approaching her.
Hoping to avoid the whole kerfuffle, Haley feigned ignorance, eyes fixed pointedly to her camera as she photographed the birds flying over the waves. When the shutter lifted she clicked to photograph again on instinct, not realising that the very person she was trying to ignore was standing in the middle of the shot, looking directly at her through the lens.
When she lowered the camera again, Jude had already strolled over to her, and stood behind her. With a sigh, Haley showed her the picture of herself, looking about as wild as the waves themselves.
“Happy now?”
“I don’t know, are you?” Jude chuckled goodnaturedly. “Handsome devil, aren’t I?” she wrapped an arm around Haley’s shoulders, pulling her close until Jude’s mouth was almost pressed against Haley’s left ear. “Hmm?”
“Stop it! You’re getting me all wet!” Haley exploded, pushing the woman’s (massive) arm off her body and shaking herself to try and get rid of all the stray droplets adorning her skin.
Jude just watched this display in amusement, eyebrow lifted. “Oh yeah?”
“Huh?” Haley questioned once she finally deemed herself passably dry.
After a scoff and a smirk thrown to the ground, Jude looked up again, right at Haley. Right at her.
“N- nothing, pretty, don’t worry yourself over it… you coming in?”
“No-no!” Haley sputtered, walking a few steps back as she tried to escape the mere mention of getting in the sea.
Two steps and Jude was before her again, gently tugging the camera from her hands.
“You trust me, baby?”
“What?” Haley blinked owlishly up at the taller woman. It was almost insulting just how much she had to crane her head up to look at her. The farmer just smiled knowingly back at her. And what exactly was so funny?
One moment, Haley was on dry land. Sand between her toes. Skin pleasantly warmed by the sun, hair dry and bouncy on her shoulders. Just as she liked it. The next, she became aware of strong arms curling themselves around her waist, then hoisting her up. Jude had fucking thrown her over her shoulder. As though she were some drowned cat or sack of potatoes or- or something. So that was what was so funny. Well she wasn’t amused, not one bit, not with her whole body getting shaken about with every step Jude took towards the beach.
“Ready baby?” Jude bounced Haley up and down in emphasis.
“No! Let me dow-” whatever Haley was going to say was drowned out by the- well the water suddenly surrounding her. Terror gripped her heart, freezing her for a moment as it overtook her. Her eyes stung, and she still couldn’t see anything in the murky water. Then, a large hand curled itself around her waist, splaying itself over her stomach as it pulled her up.
Haley gasped for air dramatically as Jude snickered at her antics, still holding her close and lazily treading water.
“Fussy, aren’t ya?”
“Maybe I wouldn’t be so fussy if strangers didn’t come and throw me in the sea for no reason!” Haley exclaimed, but her frustration quickly left her voice as she relaxed, letting herself just feel the water around her for the first time, the warmth of Jude’s palm on her stomach.
“That’s right, just relax,” Jude murmured in her ear, manoeuvring her until her body was pressed against hers, back to chest, letting Jude rest her head on Haley’s shoulder.
She lightly stroked her fingers across Haley’s stomach, making her squirm and giggle.
“That’s my girl,” Jude praised, “I’m not a stranger, am I, pretty?”
Haley shook her head lightly, trying not to concentrate too hard on the feeling of Jude’s hand still stroking her stomach, tickling her gently.
“No?” Jude tickled her hard for a single second, using it as an excuse to curl her arms even more around the blonde’s smaller frame. “Stay still, baby. Don’t want you floating away, huh?”
Haley just shook her head again, in a stupor. How did she know she was ticklish? Why was she bothering to go to all this trouble so they could swim together? Maybe she thought Haley couldn’t swim, and that’s why she was doing all this. Yes, that made sense.
“I- I can swim, you know!” she announced indignantly, twisting her face to look her captor in the eyes. Full of mirth, as usual.
“I’m sure you can!” Jude laughed. Her constant state of amusement was getting more and more difficult to understand.
After a bit more floating and weird tickling and incessant laughter from one of them, they made their way back to the pier, where Jude pulled herself out first. The sun shone directly at her, making her skin glisten and her muscles seem larger than life as they barely strained to lift her up.
When Haley offered her hand to the farmer, hoping for an assist up, she just tsked and leaned down, wrapping both arms under Haley’s shoulders and pulling her up until she stood face-to-face with Jude, standing on her tiptoes. Their faces really were very close together. Jude lifted an eyebrow and contemplated Haley’s face with a slight smile on her own.
“So..?”
“I- I’ve gotta go, bye!” Haley scampered off to her little corner of the beach, vowing never to return again.
She didn’t turn back, but she didn’t need to to hear the light laugh behind her.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t enjoyable, it was, she had fun and Jude was quite nice once you got past the whole.. weirdness she had about her. No, it was nice, but it just made her very confused about a lot of things. Like how she could touch herself for hours late at night after any such encounter with the other woman. Not thinking about her, that would be weird, just odd, not very neighbourly, but.. the way that Jude spoke to her, like she’s making fun of her and making her feel special at the same time, and those large calloused palms.. they made a heat pool in Haley’s stomach such that it wouldn’t dissipate for days on end, and leave her rubbing herself raw until the small hours.
That wouldn’t do. Jude was a nice woman, with a very odd brand of friendliness, and everyone in the town seemed to like her lots, so there was no need at all for Haley to be having these responses and getting all worked up like this. She just had to suck it up and deal with it in her own time, not make it Jude’s problem.
To make it right, at least in her own head, for Jude hopefully knew nothing at all about Haley’s recent confusion and.. habits, Haley sent her a letter. Just something simple, to make it clear that she did see the other woman as her friend. That would make her happy, and let Haley relax a bit. Friends was a very unconfusing thing to be, right?