Chapter Text
Frowning at the grey sky that seemed to be threatening to rain, Luke tried to figure out how he was going to spend this day off. According to the weather forecast, they were supposed to have a nice, sunny day, but it seemed nature had other plans in store.
Well, the dreary sky and cool air just encouraged Luke to take the day to stay nice and comfortable at home.
Fall had arrived and already seemed to be swiftly making its exit into winter, with cooler and cooler weather and the leaves falling to the ground. It was the busiest season for him and his family, and fall just seemed to pass on by him every year. The vineyard was- thankfully- taken care of and he could step back and let his parents handle the rest. As much as Luke loved helping his family with the business, it was an exhausting time balancing the harvest season and managing his store.
Having a quiet, gloomy day off gave him the perfect excuse to stay inside and recharge.
With his plans to stay home set in place, Luke finally left his room to go and get breakfast. There was both the smell of fried eggs and bread, but also the smell of pumpkin stew- one of his favorites when he felt unwell. His mom usually only made that for dinner, maybe lunch- it was rather early to be making it.
“Good Morning, Luke.” His dad gave him a smile when he glanced up, which his mom mirrored as her son entered the kitchen. His dad was sitting at the table, reading the news on his tablet while eating some eggs. Another plate was already in place on the counter, where Bree could guard it from a happy Taco as she manned the pot.
“Morning Dad, Mom.” Luke greeted, kneeling to greet his beloved dog. “Good morning Taco, you trying to get my eggs?” The pup barked softly, his tail wagging even faster now that his master was awake and here. “Well, they’re my breakfast.”
“I don’t know,” His mom hummed, “Maybe Taco’s my favorite now, and they’re for him.”
“Favorite “now”?” Shaking his head, Luke stood and grabbed the eggs, “You can’t fool me, I know he’s already your favorite since the day he arrived. I don’t blame you, though.”
Laughing, his mom leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for your understanding, son. Eat your breakfast, and then do you think you could do me a favor?”
It’s not as though Luke actually had any real plans for his day, so he nodded. While he’d prefer staying inside, heading into town would keep him from feeling like the day was wasted.
“Thank you, I just need you to bring this stew down to Bellis.” She gestured to the stew she was stirring.
“Honey, he’s fine.” His dad pitched in, not raising his eyes from the tablet, missing his wife’s glare. “He’s a farmer, he’s got to be robust.”
“Is something wrong with Bellis?” Luke asked, feeling more concerned than he expected. He sat with his dad at the table, beginning to dig into his breakfast.
Taco, oblivious to the topic, followed after Luke and put his head on the man’s lap, closing his eyes and his tail stilling as if asleep.
Before his dad could get another word out, his mom spoke with concern, “His farm is doing well, but I’m worried he’s overworking himself. He looked pale and peaky when I saw him yesterday when he passed by the Vineyard. Yuri was there, and she seemed worried too. She went to go talk to him, but he had already gone who knows where.”
“If he wasn’t fine, I doubt he could move around like that.” His dad sighed, shaking his head. “You know how busy this time of year is for farmers. Luke wasn’t looking so great either- no offense, son.”
Well, that was comforting. Self-consciously, Luke touched his face- he had looked more tired than usual, but it wasn’t that bad, was it? Maybe he should take Yuri up on that self-care day.
“Luke has you and me to help him, though. And even without Luke, you and I have each other for the Vineyard. When I was pregnant and you took on most of the work, I made sure you had good food and took your medicine when you started feeling under the weather.” Bree argued, finally turning with her hand on her hip, glare set in stone. “He’s all alone on that massive farm.”
“Bellis is an adult; he should take care of himself.”
That seemed to only anger his mother further, and Luke felt like a small kid again. His parents were a strong, united couple and he had long since dropped his fears about them divorcing, but when they butt heads, they butt heads.
As if noticing his growing discomfort, his mom took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. “It’s not wrong of me to want to send our neighbor- who has done so much for the community- a pot of soup when he doesn’t look well.”
“I don’t mind.” Luke piped up before his dad could stick his foot further in his mouth, “He’s my friend, and I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”
“That’s because you’re a good boy like that.” The tension in her face seemed to fade, and she turned her attention back to the warm and hearty stew she was stirring.
The rest of breakfast passed amicably, with his dad bringing up some news article he was reading. Luke finished his food, thought about whether or not to take Taco with him, and decided the adorable dog might be the exact medicine Bellis needed- Luke had caught the farmer more than once petting the variety of pets around town, and even volunteering at the animal shelter.
Tupperware of stew in hand, Luke and Taco left their house.
The morning was still just as grey and glum as when he had first woken up, but the temperature had warmed up a little, making it bearable at least. Taco was rather energetic, sniffing everything with an excitable wag. It was so cute, Luke couldn’t help but take a picture to send to Yuri and Pablo.
Not for the first time, his finger hovered in his texts- he didn’t have Bellis’ number.
While the farmer was rather social and able to hunt down everyone at seemingly the right time, it seemed impossible to get a hold of the farmer unless you got him at the crack of dawn. Bellis always brightened his day, just showing up- sometimes with lunch or coffee- but Luke didn’t even have the option of doing the same. Couldn’t even send pictures of Taco, which felt like a crime to withhold the adorableness.
‘Crap’, Luke thought to himself, ‘What if he’s not there now?’
Leaving the tupperware full of stew was always an option, but Luke honestly wanted to see Bellis himself.
His mom was right; it was a busy time of year for farmers, and Bellis’ farm had grown a lot from when he first got to the island in spring. Luke couldn’t imagine balancing all of that every single day with no help.
‘Taking Taco on a walk?’ Yuri texted after giving a heart reaction to Taco. With his hand being full, he just opted to give her a call. “Hey, what’s up?” Just hearing her cheery greeting, Luke could just visualize the smile on her face and it made him smile in turn.
Yuri was one of his closest friends- he was glad their friendship hadn’t been negatively affected by their attempt at dating.
“My mom made some stew- you know, that pumpkin vegetable one I like- for me to take to Bellis. Taco decided to come along.”
“Oh, she made the stew after all?” Yuri asked, “She brought it up after we saw him yesterday. I’m glad- I got worried after I saw him, but I couldn’t find him again so I haven’t had the chance to check in on him!”
“He just seems to disappear.” Luke snorted, “One of the hardest people to find.”
“Right? You’d think it would be easier considering the fact he’s a farmer and we all know where his farm is.”
“Tell me about it, but hey, was he really looking that bad?” Luke asked, seeing the ranch. “Mom sounded pretty worried, but dad seemed to think it wasn’t too concerning.”
“Well, no offense to Walter but he can be a little obtuse to these things- even with himself. Bree’s right to be worried- Bellis looked like a zombie from where we were. More sluggish than usual, too. Normally he’s zipping around, but he looked like it was taking all his effort just to take a step. Even from where I was sitting, his expression looked exhausted.” Yuri rambled, sighing, “When you see him, tell him to pick up some medicine and vitamins from the clinic.”
“I’m at the farm now. If I see him, I’ll tell him, and I’ll let you know how he’s holding up.”
“Thanks Luke; he’s our farmer and friend, and has done so much for our island, I don’t want him to be unwell.” With that, she hung up, and Luke found himself agreeing with her sentiment.
When Bellis had first gotten there, it had been novel, exciting, and confusing. Why come to farm on a dying- in more ways than one- island? It seemed like the worst possible time, only made worse when Pufferfish Corp. established their office and expressed their goals only a few days after his arrival.
It felt like an inevitability, with the lack of town funding and growing pollution only making it harder on the townspeople. Starlet Town becoming an oil town seemed like a tumbling boulder impossible to stop; there was nothing they could do but get out of the way.
But it was Bellis, who was apparently just trying to escape the corporate life in the big city, who took a look at that looming threat and put himself to work.
The museum, the ocean, their wildlife… slowly their town rank went up, and they were able to qualify for more funding, on top of their stores becoming fuller. Tourism wasn’t what it used to be, but it was picking up again.
There was no denying that their newest addition on the island had a hand in that, and in only a few months.
Looking at the farm before him, it only validated that thought. Luke remembered coming here sometimes to find Taco- the old, crumbling house and the way rocks, trees, weeds and trash covered the place. The place had been an eyesore, and it was hard to imagine it could ever be recovered- especially by hand alone.
Now?
There was not a hint of that mess, but instead a flourishing farm with crops, an orchard full of saplings, and even animals now. From spring to fall, it had changed so much- it was impossible to ignore how hard Bellis worked.
But, there had to be a point where it was exhausting to handle by yourself.
Taco’s barking pulled Luke from his thoughts, and he turned to see his dog focused on Bellis’ porch. Taking a step down the hill, he could see past one of the overhang posts and saw the farmer slumped on his porch steps.
“Bellis?” Luke called, brows furrowing with worry as he went closer- moving a little more urgently as he saw the way the blonde’s brows were furrowed, skin pale but cheeks flushed, dark circles under his eyes. “Hey, Bellis!” He called, getting on his knee as he shook the farmer’s shoulder as Taco licked his hand.
“Ugh…” Bellis groaned, eyes fluttering open to a squint. “...Yeah?” He asked, voice quiet and rough.
“Bellis, are you okay?” Luke placed the stew on the porch, using his hands to put Bellis in a better seated position and check his temperature- he was burning up! “How long have you been sick for?” He asked.
Bellis seemed to struggle, only vaguely aware of what was happening. “Hm? Oh… I feel fine, don’t worry. I’ll get back to work, boss.” He tried to push Luke’s hands away, but had no strength in his hands. After a moment, he gave up with a sorrowful huff, “Please, boss… I’m okay, I just… I just need a moment- I’m okay.”
“Bellis? It’s me, Luke.” That didn’t really get him anything, so Luke thought for a moment on what to do. He didn’t know if Bellis had any medicine at home, or where it would be. In the end, he decided going to the clinic was better.
Thankfully, Bellis was shorter and slighter than him, so getting him on his back wasn’t too hard. Before he started moving, he called Yuki again. Thank god for his ear bud.
“Hey, I thought you were at Bellis’?” She said in lieu of greeting, “Was he not there?”
“No, I’m bringing him to the clinic.”
“What?! What’s wrong with him?” Yuri’s voice was frantic, but he could also hear her as she got up. The sounds of things clattering together let him know she was already setting things up.
“I found him passed out with a fever on his porch steps.” Luke heard her swear, “He seems pretty out of it- I don’t think he realized I was the one talking to him. He just insisted he was fine and could get back to work.”
Yuri was quiet for a moment, “I didn’t even think about that… well, I’ll get everything set up. I’ll tell Charles, too. When you get here, just bring him to room 1, okay?”
“Yeah, you got it.”
“Okay, see you soon.” The conversation had just taken him into town- it was early enough no one was really around, thankfully- this didn’t need to become a spectacle.
“Oh my god, what happened?!” Erika, from her morning perch on the bench, abandoned her post and came running over- and her voice attracted Alice. “What’s wrong with Bellis?!”
Luke nodded to her, shifting the farmer on his back but not stopping. “He’s got a pretty bad fever, so I’m taking him to the clinic. I found him essentially passed out and delirious on his steps.”
“God- it’s that bad?” Erika was wide eyed and clearly horrified- as much as she loved gossip, her love for her neighbors was also genuine and sincere. “That’s awful- I knew he’s been overworking himself! Do Charles and Yuri know you’re coming?”
“Yeah, I called them.” Luke huffed, feeling the warmth from Bellis’ fever against his back, “Is there anyone you can talk to about taking care of his farm while he’s sick?”
Having something to do, the woman nodded. “I’ll take care of that, keep me updated on him, will you?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Ugh…” Bellis groaned, shifting. “Where…”
“Hey man, don’t worry.” Luke replied, “I’m taking you to the clinic.”
“I can’t take a sick day…”
“Honestly I don’t think you have a choice.” If Bellis pushed himself any further, Luke was worried the guy would seriously hurt himself. Especially since he didn’t rely on anyone- everyone else he knew had at least someone, whether their family or friends.
After what seemed like forever, Luke arrived at the Clinic, hot and sweaty. Yuri was waiting for him as he went for Room 1, where Charles already was.
They got Bellis onto the bed, where Charles quickly started taking his vitals, his brow furrowing with concern.
Yuri ushered him out, though Luke found his feet to be like cement bricks- not wanting to leave the sick farmer behind. “C’mon Luke, I know you’re worried. Patient confidentiality, though. I’ll keep you updated, I promise.”
Finally, Luke nodded numbly as the door to the room closed. His back felt empty. “Yeah, yeah okay. Thanks, Yuri.”
She gave him an inquisitive look, but it lasted for only a moment. “I’ll update you and I’ll call you as soon as he’s ready for visitors.”
Luke stepped out and took a deep breath, Taco perking up. Normally when Luke went somewhere Taco couldn’t, his dog took that as a sign to go and explore or head back home, but his companion had waited dutifully and nudged the hand hanging at his side with his cold nose.
Knowing that Bellis was in good hands should have given him a sense of relief, but Luke was honestly still fairly anxious. It was twisting in his stomach uncomfortably, giving him a sense of jitters.
Or maybe the jitters were just from his phone vibrating like crazy, blowing up. Several people were texting him, word quickly spreading on how he had been carrying a passed-out, feverish farmer.
‘Soon as you see this call me’ From his mom- and like a good son, he called.