Chapter Text
The sun shines brightly as birds chirp. Cherry blossom petals drift towards the ground, small animals come out to scavenge for their hidden meals, and bees fly lazily with the wind, hoping to find a brightly colored flower to land on. You stand outside your new home, your long, wavy blonde hair glittering in the sunlight as you take a deep breath in before exhaling.
“Wow, my first day in Stardew Valley!” you exclaim. Your farm was perfect for farming, but you didn’t know a damn thing about it! Every plant that you’ve touched has died. Either you water them too much, or you water them too little, there’s not enough sun for the plant to survive, or there’s too much. You could never get it right. Are you going to try your luck here, where the soil is said to be rich and a vast variety of vegetation already grows? You laugh.
Fuck. No.
Farming isn’t your thing. It’s not getting your hands dirty, no. It’s the trial and error, the hopes that a plant would come to fruition before dying for the next season, the uncertainty of if you’d wake up one day to find your crops being eaten by those blasted rats with wings. You could spend hundreds, no, thousands of gold, and for what, all your hard work and effort to go to waste? For all that money to go down the drain with nothing to show for, with no means of profiting off the time you’ve wasted in attempting to grow a few measly plants? Yeah, no.
Instead, you found a comfort around animals. Sure, they were noisy and often left messes around the house and you had to clean up after them, but they were, in a way, easier to take care of, in contrast to farming. However, you can’t own twenty cats and twenty dogs (well, you could, given the amount of space your new farm has, but you don’t think it’s ethically wise. Not only that, but have you seen twenty dogs running? You don’t have that kind of energy!), so what’s the next best thing to raise on a farm?
You slam down four thousand gold on a shocked redhead’s counter, a determined grin adorning your face. The redhead, Robin, stares at the bag of gold before raising an eyebrow at you.
“Uhm, hello, (Y/N),” she says. You straighten your back, your arms crossed as you stare at her expectantly. “What can I do for you? And, erm, all this gold?”
“I’d like to buy a coop!” you exclaim. Robin continues to raise her eyebrow at you. You feel your smile falter.
Robin says nothing for a moment, “I’d, uh, I’d need material to build a coop.” That’s it. Your smile vanishes and you blink in confusion.
“What kind of material?” Robin’s daughter walks down the hall and into her lab, raising a hand in greeting. You do the same before returning your attention to the carpenter.
“Three hundred and fifty planks of wood and one hundred and fifty stone,” the carpenter says. You begin to panic internally, but you notice her catalog.
“Do you happen to have any to sell?” you ask. Robin, following your line of sight, smiles and nods.
“I do. Say, it’s your third day here. How’d you get so much money in the first place?” You watch as Robin walks to her register and rings you up. The cost, of course, is way more than four thousand gold, but you know you’re covered.
“Oh, that? Well, my grandfather left the deed to his farm, telling me to open it when I needed it, but I was maybe ten when he died. I was curious, so I opened the letter that had the deed and the key, read it, and started saving up. Fourteen years later and I have enough money to get what I need to have a comfortable life.” This was something you’re proud of. Life hasn’t been easy, especially in the last year or so, so you decided to take it easy on a property you’re most comfortable on. Working with Joja didn’t make your life any easier, and the city was just too noisy, so what’s better than to be your own boss and take life by the handles and say a big ol’ FUCK YOU, right?
Robin’s raising an eyebrow at you again.
You blink. “What did you say?” The redhead smiles, sighing softly as she shakes her head. She mutters something about you being like Sebastian (who now? You’ve never heard of this diva), and there’s a mischievous sparkle in her green eyes.
“I was saying I’ll get started on your coop tomorrow morning. Do you have a place in mind?”
“Oh, yeah! There’s an area I cleared out by my grandfather’s shrine on Monday and Tuesday. It should be the perfect spot!” Not too far from your house. Perfect. Robin takes the extra gold you give her for the materials and hands you a receipt.
“Here you go, (Y/N)! Feel free to come by for dinner one evening. I’m sure you’ll get along with Sebastian just fine!”
“Uh, sure, thanks!” You leave, feeling as if you’re about to get hooked up with someone you don’t even know. But no matter, you have other important business! You practically run through the rain towards Cindersap forest, where Marnie, one of the older ladies that you met on Monday, currently resides. She had told you how she sold chickens and cows, and plans on getting more animals to sell if someone (most likely you) builds more complex coops and barns, but that’s not your goal. You knock on the front door before entering.
Marnie sits behind her counter, a young girl playing to the side of her with a doll in each hand. The brown eyed woman instantly perks up when she hears the bell above the door jingle, a grin on her face as you walk in.
“(Y/N)! What a pleasant surprise,” Marnie greets. “Oh, just look at you! You’re all soaked.” The woman turns towards the kitchen, where you hear cabinets opening and closing, as well as the beep of a microwave turning on. You wave to the little girl, Jas, you learn, and she stares shyly.
“I like your hair,” she whispers.
You smile, “I like your dolls. I have some from when I was your age if you’d like any.” The little girl nods shyly, a small smile on her face.
“Shane, please go get a towel! The new farmer is here.”
“I’m on it,” a gruff voice replies. Marnie turns back to you.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“I just came from Robin’s, and she’s coming by tomorrow to build a coop for me. It should be done in three days, so I’m pretty excited.” Marnie perks up at the mention of a coop. “I was wondering if I could pre-order a few chicks to arrive when the coop is done.”
“That sounds marvelous! How many were you thinking of? Each chick is eight hundred gold,” the woman informs.
“Hmm…. I’d like to buy four, along with one hundred bales of hay, please,” you say. You pay her eight thousand and two hundred gold. “I do have a question.”
“Oh? What would that be, hun?” Marnie puts the gold in her register. She looks off towards the kitchen, an irritated glance in her eyes as she mutters, ”Where the hell is that boy?”
“I’m no expert on chickens, and I’m afraid my knowledge on raising them is little to none, so I was wondering-”
“Here,” the gruff voice pipes. A towel is shoved in front of your face and you take it, turning to see a short man who looks as if he hasn’t slept in days. Small, dark hoop earrings dangle from his lobes, his mossy green eyes narrowed into a glare directed at you. He has a five o’clock shadow, and his raven, almost plum purple hair is disheveled, falling unceremoniously over his left eye. You blink, fighting to keep the blood from rushing to your cheeks. A low growl can practically be heard from the man and you quickly look away, glad to have the towel to keep you warm temporarily. You gently pat your hair dry and turn your attention back to Marnie, who watches the interaction with great interest. Even Jas seems to be watching, her dark eyes wide.
“Anyways,” you say. “Do you know anyone who happens to know about chickens?” Marnie gasps, a wide grin on her face (why? You’re just asking about chickens).
“Shane, here, is practically an expert!” Marnie gushes. You blink and look at the man who leans against the doorway, an irritated expression on his face as he watches the transaction. He’s clearly not happy being dragged into this. Can’t he just go back to his room? You sigh and walk up to the man, the towel draped over your head.
“I’m willing to pay you a thousand gold a week to help me care for the chickens. I can’t do it alone,” you tell him. The annoyed expression quickly disappears, his eyes wide in shock.
“Are you serious?” Shane questions, looking from you to Marnie, then back to you again. You nod.
“The more chickens I get, the more you’ll get paid. If you teach me about them as we work together, I’ll add a three hundred gold bonus.” The man stares at you in disbelief. You sigh. “Please, I desperately need help, and you’re the only one who can help me, according to Marnie.”
There’s silence for a moment. Shane crosses his arms, trying to bring the soured expression back, but something about his features shows he’s no longer disinterested in your presence. Excited, maybe? You’re not sure.
“If I agree to this, when do I start?” You grin widely at him.
“You start in four days. Come by at eight in the morning with the chicks and we’ll get started.” With that being said, you leave, a stunned man staring after you.
Shane lays in bed at night, staring at his ceiling. He can faintly hear Marnie whispering to the Mayor through the phone in her own bedroom. Doesn’t she know she’s not being discreet about their relationship? It’s clear to everyone in town that they’re fucking each other, so why hide it? Gods, it’s like they’re two teenagers trying not to get caught by parents who are clearly aware of what’s going on.
A groan leaves Shane’s throat, the man not wanting to think about his goddaughter’s aunt, who he’s known since he was five and considered the woman his own aunt, playing Twister in bed with one of the oldest men in the town. Not that she had many options, but even Willy would be a better partner than Lewis. Maybe that guy next to the mines? Marlon?
Instead, the dark haired man thinks of the new farmer. He thinks of the desperate look on her face, the way her eyes lit up when he asks when he started. Why did he agree to this, anyways?
Was it because he couldn’t handle working with Morris any longer? Was it because he’d be around something he actually enjoys? Or would it be that he could finally find a reason to feel as if he’s worked hard enough, earned his money, and finally stop drinking, if not for his sake, but for Jas’s? A thousand gold a week was more than his normal paycheck, but the farmer said that she’d increase his pay the more he helped and the more he taught. It’d be worth it, right?
Maybe it’s because he can’t stop thinking about the farmer herself, with her large doe eyes, needing his help, and no one else’s?
Shane shoves that thought in the far corners of his mind, horrified that he would even consider entertaining a thought like that. Frustrated with himself, Shane pulls his blanket over his head and squeezes his eyes closed. The man needs his sleep. His first day working for the farmer is tomorrow, afterall.