Alone in a Crowd; or, Pablo's Four-Heart Event, Remix

[lonewolfprincess]

Cinta had been excited from the second Pablo invited her to go to the tavern with him and Rafael. She always chatted with the two of them when she swung by the smithy to get her tools reinforced or when she passed them in the streets, but aside from helping Raf clean graves one time, they hadn’t had much of a chance to really hang out, let alone without some sort of work or volunteer project involved. Going to the tavern and just relaxing, and then seeing Scott and Joko there- faces she knew well by now- getting a chance to know Yuri and Aaliyah and Luke more, chat with Frank and Noah when she could, see Jim do something even remotely fun? The wave of bonding and new crested higher and higher, even as she hung back a smidge towards the more familiar Sanchez brothers, cheering on the pool game as she snatched quick glances towards Rafael and—

Then he turned to her with that heavy sigh and that lonely face.

“Looks like the pool game between me and Pablo is off… I think I’ll go home…”

And the wave came crashing down to earth. Cinta barely registered him mumbling about hopefully still catching his show as he turned around, the arrow in her heart freezing her for a few seconds too many.

“Raf, wait—”

But he was already slinking towards the door, and her words were drowned out by a fresh round of cheers from the pool table and calls for more beer.

“Reyes, Reyes!”

And they were all completely oblivious. Even Pablo. Old wounds began to open up, and Cinta had to take a deep breath to keep her temper down as she tapped the older brother on the shoulder.

“Hey, ‘Reyes.’ What happened to your game with Raf?”

“What? Oh yeah, just a second, bro—”

It was only then that he noticed the empty space he could’ve sworn Rafael had occupied two seconds ago… and the hot steel in the farmer’s glare.

“Ah… diiiid any of you see where Rafael went?” Pablo asked the others with a nervous chuckle, figuring asking them was slightly safer at the moment.

He was met with a sea of puzzled looks and shaking heads.

Scott shrugged. “I didn’t even know he was here—OW!”

The blond rubbed his arm where Yuri had just slugged him, giving him a glare to match the one Cinta threw around the pool table despite knowing she probably shouldn’t. She didn’t know the others well enough to judge, but from her work gathering specimens and artifacts for the museum, the farmer had expected better of the kind, intelligent Scott. Or friendly and warm Joko, or anyone from Starlet Town, and especially Pablo, Rafael’s own brother. And all of them just brushed him off?

Okay, Cinta, deep breaths, big smile, happy voice.

“I’m going to make sure he’s okay. You guys have a good rest of the night!”

Cinta knew she failed to keep all the steel out of her voice, from the ring of flinches around the table, but she’d tried at least, flashing them a quick, stiff wave before bolting, heavy work boots echoing across the wood through the tavern’s music and other patrons’ noise to the sudden pocket of silence at the pool table. That was a first for most of them, seeing the energetic and friendly new farmer genuinely angry about something other than Pufferfish, and her bare restraint and fake cheer just made the fury sting harder.

Scott blinked before regaining enough willpower to look around the table.

“That was… terrifying. And… kinda hot. About fifty-fifty.”

Everyone rolled their eyes, with Luke pinching the bridge of his nose and Yuri outright facepalming.

Jim sniffed. “Bit of a downer, isn’t she?” He took a long sip of his water, oblivious to the incredulous looks he was getting from everyone.

Everyone except for Pablo, still stunned silent and still looking towards the door, mind still reeling and gut still twisting.



Rafael took a deep breath at the top of the stairs leading up to town. As much as that whole scene stung, it felt good to not be surrounded by people he barely knew for a while. It was midsummer, and the party had been in the tavern just long enough for the streetlights to come on and the twilight sky to still give the ground below enough light to see with, so the walk home should be fine. Hopefully he could catch at least most of his show on playback and Pablo and Cinta could have a good time hanging out with everyone. It’d totally work out.

He barely registered the sounds of a heavy wooden door slamming open or slowly drifting closed, but it was the voice calling his name that got his attention.

“Raf! Rafael! Raf!”

Not his brother, but he turned to see Cinta glancing frantically about the lower level of the dock, pivoting to sprint up the stairs, nearly plowing into him as he came into view and almost falling back as she pumped the brakes.

“Whoa!” Rafael grabbed one of her wrists in time before she fell down the stairs, her still-gloved hand reaching out to grab his back as her body finally stopped moving. “Easy! You okay?”

Not just for the fall, did something happen at the tavern? Why else would she be running after him like this?

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” Cinta looked down at their still-clasped wrists, and hastily let go, trying to ignore the light burn on her cheeks and not read too much into the burn she wasn’t sure she saw on Raf’s. Her face and voice softened as she took a breath to still herself. “And… I should be asking you that. Are you okay?”

The question took him aback. He probably shouldn’t have been too surprised someone would ask it… but it was rare, when it wasn’t coming from his brother. And… how did he answer? He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to dump his hurt feelings on her either.

“Uh… yeah, yeah, I will be. It’s no big deal, really.” Hopefully the big, sheepish smile would sell it.

Cinta’s face just fell more. She knew that look too well, had worn it too often herself.

“It is, though… I’m so sorry, Rafael. Look, I understand if you want to be alone right now,” if he didn’t want to deal with anyone who’d ignored him back there, herself included, “but… if you want, can I at least make sure you get home okay?”

Raf stared at her, eyes wide. “But… but what about the game?”

What about the big crowd of people that Cinta had been excited to hang out with, including his equally energetic, charming brother? But she shook her head firmly.

“Honestly, I’m not too happy with them right now.” The quick, fleeting glance she gave back to the stairs was calmer now, but still darker than Rafael expected, especially for… his sake? But the shadows already fled as she looked back to him, leaving nothing but concern and remorse. “Besides, half the reason I came tonight just walked out the door. I wanted to spend time with both of you.”

Both of them. Oh… Rafael felt his heart lighten just a little more, the shock lasting a few more moments before melting into a shy, sweet smile that finally reached his eyes.

“Then… yeah, if you want. Thanks...”

Cinta felt almost all the tension leave her as she smiled back. Good, he wasn’t mad at her. She could still fix this.

“Yeah, of course. Thank you back.” Aaand then she realized she was just standing there grinning at him instead of… walking. She brought a gloved fist up to clear her throat. “Uh, shall we?”

“O-oh, yeah, sure.” Raf nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck.

And off they went, towards the ramp leading up from town and towards the Woodlands. On the way to the tavern, Pablo and Cinta had walked briskly and chatted up a storm about whom they’d probably run into, the farmer even catching herself from running too far ahead or stopping to spin in place, so full of energy, Rafael plodding along behind them and answering briefly when one of them threw a question his way over their shoulders. He expected more of the same here, with her taking the lead in speed and conversation… but instead, Cinta matched his slow pace easily, quietly smiling too. It was odd seeing her so calm, but… it looked natural on her. Nice. Like the sea matching the sky on a mild day. And it felt good, not being the only quiet one around. Still, too much quiet was probably boring for her, so he tried to find words to speak up with.

“Um… nice night out?”

And immediately he kicked himself. “Nice night out?” That was almost flirty, probably too flirty considering they haven’t talked too much since the grave cleaning, and of all things to talk about, the weather? Lame, so lame. Pablo would absolutely roast him if he was here.

To his surprise, though, Cinta just gave him a warm, eager smile before turning it skyward. There was still too much lingering sunlight for all but the brightest planets and stars to shine through, although the almost-full moon was just peeking out from above the forest canopy around the lake, the sky painted deep reds and purples and blues, with the few puffs of clouds in the sky fading from bright gold to deep orange like cooling metal.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful!” She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the salt- and hibiscus-kissed island air before opening them again, her whole expression radiating sheer joy and love. “I’d missed summer nights here so much. Perfect amount of warmth, a nice breeze, and Goddess I forgot what a real night sky looked like! There’s way too much light pollution in Pokyo.” She couldn’t keep the ache out of her smile as she took it in a bit longer. “It’s… nice, that this is still the same, at least.”

One in a handful of precious motes of light that her paradise was still real, still here, could still be saved. The summers here running around her grandparents’ farm and the beach and the forest with Alice and Suki and… there was someone else there too… those summers had always been magical, sacred. Even more so after she burnt out of HyperForce and her grandparents gave her the farm, gave her a chance to heal. Seeing the fields buried in wild growth and trash, the beach choked with even more litter and those evil black roots, the town’s honor brought low by a judge’s harsh words, and Pufferfish now clinging to the top of this hill like a lamprey… it all broke her heart. So instead of the island just healing her, they needed to heal each other. She just hoped she could do enough before it was too late.

Rafael looked back up at the dusk sky, and then back at her. He’d lived on Coral Island pretty much his whole life, only started appreciating the beauty of his home after all those disasters battered the island like tsunami waves at a broken sea wall. How much more devastating did they have to be to fresh, nostalgic eyes? How much more beautiful were the parts still alive, to someone who loved this place so passionately? Like finding flowers sprouting from the ash of a forest fire. Or… maybe like finding a scrap of pure ore in a mountain of stone. And Cinta… she certainly burned bright enough, steady enough. Maybe she could help smelt away the impurities from it, refine it, shape it into something brighter and more beautiful.

Rafael shook himself back to earth. Smithing imagery? Really? And putting all that pressure on one person? But… she'd done so much already. If anyone could, it was her, he knew it.

For the moment, he remembered to at least smile and nod back.

“Yeah… it’s beautiful…”

Cinta turned her gaze back at him, and both of them realized he’d said that while looking square at her. Both of them hastily looked away, faces turning bright red under the fading light.

“S-so!” Cinta started, hearing her voice hit that word a little too high, “what show were you gonna watch?”

Good, subject change would probably help, she definitely needed to calm down. Sure, Rafael was kind and sweet and extremely good looking, but that went for pretty much all the single people on this island. And she had to focus on getting her feet under her and saving her new home first. … Right?

Rafael, meanwhile, was thankfully oblivious to Cinta chastising herself, focusing on keeping his side of things casual.

“Uh, well… i-it’s this horror anthology show.” He stuttered for a moment, but somehow the excitement to share overcame his shyness. “The stories are pretty short, but they’re really gripping. And lately they’ve been dropping hints of them being woven together, so now there’s a mystery too!”

Cinta blinked at him, both at the answer and just how much he lit up giving it. “Huh. I did not expect you to be a horror fan.” Wait no! “Uh, I mean, no offense! Honest…”

Great, imply that he seems wimpy, that’ll help…

Rafael just chuckled. “It’s okay. No, I love horror. Pablo and I will marathon a lot of the classic movies in fall, or watch new ones in the theater.”

Cinta whistled. “Impressive. You’re definitely a lot braver than I am…”

Rafael wasn’t sure what surprised him more, that Cinta called him brave, or that she was scared of anything, let alone something fictional.

“Says the one going down into the monster-filled caverns every other day. You don’t like horror?”

“I…” Cinta stalled and rubbed the back of her neck. “I like… some horror? Like… Cactusjuice, or the Creamsicle Trilogy?”

She winced and blushed, waiting for him to judge her as a lightweight, but his smile back was easy, kind.

“You’ve got good taste! I like those a lot too, especially when I need cheering up.”

Oh… she blinked at him, shy smile blushing a bit, but… a spark of comfortable warmth touching her heart too.

“Thanks.” A soft sigh. “That was… way harder to admit than it should’ve been.” A pause… and then she decided maybe… just maybe it’d be safe to be a little more vulnerable. “Back at my old job, I’d be teased to death, or get force-fed the grossest clips possible.”

“What?” Rafael’s face scrunched up in puzzled disgust. “Well, that’s just stupid. You don’t tease people like that, and at your workplace?”

Cinta gave what she hoped was a casual shrug… even as she felt her hands come up to hug herself, voice laced with a flat cheer. “Yeah, well… when your senior manager is in on the joke, and you’re entry-level… Small fish, big pond…” Another sigh, deeper. “That’s… probably why I got mad at everyone for ignoring you tonight. I know what it feels like to be alone in a crowd.”

This gave Rafael the biggest shock of the night so far.

“You?! But… but you’re so friendly and smart and brave and prettyyyyyy cool, pretty cool!” Rafael brought up his hand to very casually rub the back of his not-at-all burning neck. “W-what I mean is… I don’t get it. How could anyone ignore you?”

Cinta absolutely caught that slip. She was tempted to smirk and tease back, especially to change the subject away from this, or to ignore that twinge of a glow in her chest, but… she felt safe here, in this moment.

“Thank you. I am… working very very hard to rebuild myself. But… no, I never really felt comfortable there, or like I knew anyone. Company drinking parties? I was a total wallflower.”

And there were so many drinking parties… With how grueling the HyperForce work week could be, it seemed to be the only thing a lot of the workers there had to look forward to. And it was draining, constantly going on bar crawls with people she barely knew and drinking like a fish just to cope with the unending mountain of work or to curry enough favor to maybe get a raise or promotion. And if you missed out on one, you weren’t a “team player,” and you weren’t invited to any more parties, stuck with everyone’s leftover work while they got plastered. She thought this tavern night would be different, something close-knit and real, but…

“But I guess… that happens here too.” ‘All ivory has cracks,’ so said the proverb, and her beautiful Coral Island seemed to have more and more as she looked at it with adult eyes. She found enough courage to look Rafael in the face. “And… I didn’t help at all. I’m sorry—”

“Hey.” And just like that, he brought one big arm around her shoulders. The side hug was the briefest squeeze before he let her go, but his form was so solid and steady, and his smile was so soft… “This is helping. Thank you.”

Oh… once the stun wore off, Cinta was almost tempted to ask if he meant it, but… no, she didn’t have to. She knew he did.

“Ah… yeah… any time…” She tucked a stray wisp of hair back behind her ear, if only to give her hands something to do other than take his.

Rafael’s smile stayed on her, soft and warm. … At least until he realized how long the silence had lingered, and he found something to say.

“A-and Diosa mía, your coworkers were jerks.”

Cinta barked out a laugh. “Goddess, yes.” A soft sigh. “I miss seeing my family regularly, and I miss this really cute cafe I visited on the weekends, but I do not miss much else.”

Rafael nodded, the smile growing a little pensive. His parents had already moved out a while ago, but he couldn’t imagine just packing up and leaving everything behind for somewhere new, leaving his cousins or his niece or especially his brother, even with the chance to write letters. How much did city life hurt her, to make her run at this opportunity so enthusiastically? How many more cracks did her heart have? But as much as he wanted to listen, to learn every ache and fix it- smithing instincts- he knew he couldn’t press. But… at least he could offer this much.

“Well… a lot of people are glad you’re here now. I am too…”

And there he was again, taking her off guard and leaving her breathless. For as much as she ran around to fulfill errands or make museum donations or save the oceans or break the Giants' curses, desperate to carve a place she could belong when she knew she was an outsider… just to have someone want her here, even with the cracks she was still too scared to show anyone, meant the world.

“Th-thank you… And… I’m glad you’re here too.”

More soft smiles traded in silence, more sparks of warmth in their chest, and…

“Oh, this is me.”

Cinta blinked. Huh, they’d reached the smithy already? She hadn’t even noticed them pass Pufferfish to give the building her customary glare. Maybe… because she had something better to focus on.

“Oh, good! There you go. So um… are… you gonna be okay?”

Rafael turned to her and gave yet another sweet smile.

“Um, yeah, I will now. Oh, will you, though?” Right, the farm was clear on the west side of town. “You really went out of your way, didn’t you? And it’s getting pretty dark.”

“Eh, I’ll be fine.” She pointed up. “Moonlight should be enough, and unless you’re telling me the town’s harboring a serial killer, I think the only thing I have to worry about is mosquitos.”

Rafael chuckled… and then it was the two of them standing at the base of the stairs, all the awkward, almost juvenile nerves from before turning into something warmer, steadier, more tempting, like a sweet wine. The urge to stay, to speak out, to reach out and touch buzzed between them, and just as they were about to give in—

“RAF!”

The two of them jumped back as Pablo’s voice rang out and he crested the hill, as if they’d been caught doing anything other than just standing there talking on the stairs. Thankfully, the older Sanchez brother seemed oblivious. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol- but not nearly as red as he and Cinta were- and he was a bit winded from running all the way up the hill on a beer-filled stomach- hastily downed to first process the guilt and then to resolve to do something about it- but he still had the strength to pull his big baby brother into a bear hug that didn’t hurt so much as shock.

“There you are! I’m so sorry, brother! I just got caught up in the game and talking to everyone else, I should’ve paid more attention to you—!”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Rafael gave his brother a few pats on the shoulder, equal parts happy to reconcile and utterly confused. “It’s okay. Cinta made sure I got home alright. We’re good.”

Pablo glanced up from the hug… and gave Cinta the look of a man realizing that the tiger he outran was, in fact, right behind him.

“Ah… hi, Cinta?”

Pablo gave that nervous chuckle again, and Raf gave her an even more puzzled look. What did she say back there?

Cinta smirked and gave an exaggerated sigh. “If you two are okay, so are we. Same with everyone back at the bar.”

Pablo slumped against Rafael in relief. “Oh, thank Goddess…” Not just at being spared Cinta’s wrath, but it would suck so much if he’d messed up their friendship this soon. A deep sigh, and then he patted Rafael on the back in kind and flashed Cinta a smile. “Well, I think the two of us are done for the night. You gonna be okay heading home?”

Cinta nodded. “I think I’ll be okay.” She gave Raf a wink before waving to both of them. “Have a good rest of the night, you two.”

Pablo gave a chipper, if tipsy, wave back, and Raf… his was gentler, shyer, and as Cinta walked away, he realized he didn’t want her to leave, not yet. And… she felt something similar, because she stopped and gave into the impulse and call out.

“Hey, Raf!” There was that bright, energetic smile he’d missed all night. “I wouldn’t mind trying out some horror with you sometime! I trust you!”

Oh. Raf had to focus to not drop his brother like a sack of potatoes onto the stonework. She… she trusted him? With something that scared her, that she was embarrassed about?

“Um… yeah, sure! Any time!”

Another shy smile and a grin he knew was goofy, a warm smile back at him, and then Cinta turned around and began her jog back home in earnest.

“Oh?” Rafael looked down, and saw Pablo smirking way, way too much. “Did someone get himself a daaate?”

“What?!” Rafael all but flung himself away from Pablo- who staggered a bit but thankfully kept his balance- giving the most frantic jazz hands in the history of the island. “No no no, we’re just friends, she was just checking on me!”

This did not have the desired effect of Pablo dropping it. If anything, the grin on his face only grew wider.

“Ohhhh, you’ve got it baaad!” He swung forward and flung an arm up and around Rafael's shoulders. “Don’t worry, bro, I won’t steal her, Sanchez honor! I’ll give you tips on how to win her over too!”

Rafael sighed and shook his head. The declarations were sweet, but they would've meant a lot more if a. it wasn’t a tossup whether Pablo would remember anything in the morning, and b. if Cinta wasn’t completely out of his league. People like her only saw him as a friend, and… it wouldn’t be so bad, keeping a friend like that in his life. Right?

“Come on, borracho, let’s get you inside.”

“Hey, I’m not that drunk! Just a couple beers. I mean it, I’ll help you make more regular friends too! I owe you still!”

Rafsel shook his head again, but with a faint smile growing. His brother didn’t need to go that far, just… notice he was there, spend time with him. As they finally trekked up the stairs and into the shop, Rafael couldn’t help a glance back down the road where Cinta disappeared off to, the corner of his lips quirking up at the memory.

Okay, maybe Pablo was right about one thing.

He was in trouble.



Cinta did, in fact, make it home just fine, with only one or two mosquito bites to show for it. (Nothing a baking soda paste couldn’t fix.) Normally she fell dead asleep once she hit the pillow after a long day of running around. But she couldn’t stop thinking of tall, broad shoulders and chests, large hands and arms pulling her into brief, gentle hugs, and kind, patient smiles with warm brown eyes. With a sigh she tossed yet again in her bed.

Yup, she was in trouble.