#only because Joja mart sucks

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

How about the towns people reacting to the farmer who despises joja. Like, think about it. The farmer left their soul sucking office job at joja behind only to see them again right across the bridge. I bet they would support the community centre out of spite.

They are normally a friendly and sweet person but the moment joja comes into the conversation they snap a little. Morris talks to them and their left eye twitches rapidly cuz this guy reminds them way too much of their old boss. They have dark dreams about the blinking lights of the work and rest lights and the bosses looming over them through the glass in their office.

Locals swear they see the light disappear from their eyes whenever they accidentally fish up a joja can.

Oh man, That's just about a perfect description of my OC Farmer. He is by nature a very kind and patient man, but every time he sees JojaMart, catching more trash with that logo on it, or sees people who use every means, even mean ones (remember that scene with Morris), to destroy the competition and become monopolists, he gets very sarcastic. Sometimes, it can be just pure rage.

But let's not talk about my OC, because the question here is about a neutral farmer 😅 So enjoy, dear anon!

SDV townies react to the Farmer who despises Joja:

Marlon's mind is more on protecting the Valley from monsters than on boycotting some store. He wouldn't have known about this until one day Farmer came in with a bunch of soda cans with the Joja logo on them, while swearing about the same logo. They told to the one-eyed adventurer that they had fished this cans of the mine waters at level 100. How these soda cans managed to end up in literal lava without burning or even deforming from the lava's temperature was a mystery to Marlon.

Stardew Valley has its own zest that makes the place unique, and according to Penny, JojaMart is ruining that uniqueness. Plus they constantly put promotions on the beer and ales they sell, which Pam just can't refuse. So Penny isn't too thrilled about Joja.co appearance in Pelican Town either.

How Willy understands them! There is already so much garbage floating in the sea from Joja's products that has endangered fish and other marine life. And the mart that was built here has only made the problem worse. So the old sailor will support the Farmer if they want to kick this corporation out of Pelican Town.

Not that George would care much where his wife bought the leek: from the farmers or from that huge store. After all, a leek is a leek no matter how you cooked it. Still, though, memories of his grandfather and his farm bring back fond memories of things that used to be both simpler and better. He's also annoyed by the loud music coming from the speakers in that supermarket, which is "supposed to attract customers" but distracts him from his nostalgic thoughts. Can't he have some quiet time in his own home anymore! If the Farmer wants to stage a boycott, then George will be the first of the participants!

Oh, this is so much fun! Abigail feel bad that she provokes Farmer on purpose, but it's not her fault that her friend gives such a funny reaction at any mention of Joja. "Look, Sam bought me a Joja cola, you want some?" *Possum hissing*

Haley thinks the Farmer is a fool. The only civilized supermarket in town, and Farmer looks at it as an insult to all humanity. Yes, the quality of the clothes leaves a lot to be desired, but there are a variety of sweets to choose from! And there's plenty goods for farming, too. The girl doesn't understand what Farmer's problem is.

Whoa whoa, easy, why the outburst of rage? What? Yeah, Alex bought a dozen eggs at JojaMart. After all, he needs protein. Hey! What's the Farmer doing? Give it back, why did they take the eggs?! If they wanted some egg, they could just ask! Wha?... Oh, the Farmer gave him three dozen eggs. These are from their farm? Uh, thank you. So big, and much better quality than he bought from Joja..... So, how's he gonna explain to Grandma that Alex now have three dozen eggs?

Gus sincerely hopes the Farmer doesn't vandalize his Saloon, at least as a sign of respect for the very owner of the establishment and his property. Because they've been looking at that Joja soda machine for too long. It's like they're trying to desiteng this poor vending machine. He may also have to take Joja Coke off the menu.

*Gasp* Hee-hee. Oh, Marnie can't stop laughing. To be honest, at first the young Farmer's angry stare and scolding caught her off guard and frightened her a little. But later, she can't stop giggling after every barbed comment towards Joja.co, their old boss and "colleagues".

Sheesh, wow. Sam would never have thought that a person could cringe like that at the mention of Joja. The young guitarist should think twice before opening a can of Joja Coke with Farmer standing next to him, because they will vaporize that very can with a look.

Jas already knows what natural resources are and has often heard from Miss Penny that many huge corporations often abuse and deplete these same resources. And this thought makes her sad. But she does not want to quarrel with anyone, so Jas will offer the Farmer to draw a poster together so that Joja will respect nature and makes products that do not harm animals and plants (spoiler: it won't work, but the Farmer was very touched by the girls’ idea).

Bad food? Bad store? But Mr/Mrs Farmer, why do you say that? Vincent doesn't really understand why they hate that store so much, where he often goes with his mother to visit his older brother and buy groceries. His mom even also buys him ice cream in the form of a dinosaur! Because dinosaur is so cool. What? Do they have a living dinosaur?! In a coop? Can he take a look please??? The farm is much cooler than this "Jodja'! Mom look, Mr/Mrs Farmer has a pet dinosaurs!

Oh, that whole blue trash things makes Leo and his bird family very sad. So he understands why the Farmer is so upset too. But the boy is not discouraged and wants to make a clean-up day together with Farmer, Linus and the parrots. Maybe the Joja people will see the beauty of nature and stop littering!

Oh, no, Farmer. You don't need to show so much negative emotion! Emily herself is not fond of Joja and their constant pollution of the environment with their waste, but absorbing so much anger and spreading it to others is not the best way to go about it. She does worry about the Farmer's mental state and will offer them meditation classes to get rid of the bad thoughts associated with the old job and Joja in general.

Shane would probably be the second person who truly hates Joja. Stupid, energy-sucking job, stupid boss who makes him work overtime, stupid uniforms that don't fit him and that make him itch. Can the occasional theft of beer and frozen pizza from Joja's warehouse be considered a form of protest?

Caroline nearly dropped her tea cup when Farmer literally hissed at the mention of Joja and Morris. The two of them were sitting alone in her sunny room drinking tea and Caroline was a little sad that her husband's business had gotten tougher since JojaMart had come to town. She had heard from the Mayor the reason for the Farmer leaving their old job and truly understands their decision (after all, life in the big city can be very tiring). Though the young Farmer's reaction to the mention of Joja.co has her a bit amused.

But when Pierre walked into the sun room (to pick up his gardening tools) where his wife and Farmer were sitting, and heard the conversation about his store and Joja, he started wailing and whining about the desperate situation. And the shopkeeper would wholeheartedly support Farmer in the idea that everyone would be much better off without blasted Joja! However, when the Farmers were about to leave, they thanked Caroline for the tea, and finally, with a sly smile, said that "Joja will not stay here for long". What this meant, neither Pierre nor his wife understood.

"Fuck! Fucking bitch ass Joja with their fucking cans and CDs! I want fish, not that dog ass shit plastic! Rot in hell, you goddamn corporation, bunch of bastards and rats!" Sebastian is used to Farmer's tirade by now, and watches from the kitchen window, sipping his coffee, as his poor friend has been trying to fish the mountain lake for the past two hours. Judging by their profanity, fishing was not going well.

But poor Maru, who almost dropped the wrench on her foot, heard the Farmer's profanity for the first time and thought something was wrong. When she went out to inquire after their fortunes, they were already sitting on the shore crying... and surrounded by the garbage from Joja.co. The young inventor invites Farmer into the kitchen for a cup of coffee with her and her half-brother.

While the brother and sister consoled Farmer with words and caffeine, Demetrius, seeing that there was now a lot of plastic lying nearby, offered to the Farmer take his recycling machine and scheme if they wanted more machines. Recycling would help to bring the environment back to its former state, also the recycled garbage would become useful products for the farm! Demetrius thinks it's unlikely that they'll be able to boycott the huge company in any way, so it's better to help the ecology like that at least.

Robin almost died laughing. "Holy macaroni, you swear like an old sailor!" She really didn't expect such profanity from such a quiet and kind person, but her son and daughter were not the only ones who heard the poor youth's tirade after a bad fishing trip. But Robin doesn't want to tease the poor Farmer, so she goes along with her husband's offer to take their recycling machine.

Oh dear, don't be so furious, you get a headache! Evelyn can understand why the poor Farmer is upset, but she would hate to see such a kind and sweet youth in a constantly bad mood because of Joja. Maybe they'll drop by for tea? She just baked cookies, and didn't use Joja products, granny promises! *wink*

Linus can feel Mother Nature weeping and choking on all this garbage and waste. And how her crying has gotten stronger since Joja their big store in town. The wise man stays calm though and tries to comfort the Farmer, because anger clouds his thoughts and it's impossible to think of ways to help nature.

Hmmm, dear, but Joja is full of good gardening supplies and farming seeds, and at a low price. Jodi thinks they should look in there and get something for.... Oh, okay, fine. Jodi won't mention Joja again, or she gets the impression that nice Farmer is transforming into a beast before her eyes.

Now, now... There's no need to get so angry or you'll get high blood pressure, Harvey knows what he's talking about. Anger is inherent in everyone, but he is well aware of how mental problems later affect a person's physical health. So if Farmer doesn't learn to control their anger, then it will be Dr. Harvey himself who gets angry. And take his word for it, Farmer, he will scold you severely.

For all his desire to help Farmer, Rasmodius feels he should not interfere in people's lives, much less use magic for it. Plus, he feels that there's no point in looking for an answer to solve a problem when the answer is right in front of them. Hmm? What is he talking about? Ah, young adept, the forest spirits will show you the way, you just have to learn to listen to them carefully.

Leah knows what it's like to live in a big city at an energy-sucking job, under the all-seeing eye of a mega-corporation (also with her ex who mumbling everyday about more profitable professions). And when Leah sees JojaMart, her mind involuntarily returns to that unpleasant part of her life. To be honest, she would also start snarling and hissing like a Farmer because of Joja or any other company that is trying to greedily take Stardew Valley for itself.

Elliott bows before Farmer: to reach such a peak of eloquence, masterfully masking sarcasm in conversation with the help of barbs and epithets - such a level was not even reached by Elliott himself, even with his rich vocabulary. The writer doesn't know why this manager from Joja.co angered the always good-natured Farmer, but Elliott made a note to himself to never get on the Farmer's bad side.

All right, kiddo! Don't bark at the store like a guard dog! Do Pam a favor and move your bum away from the main JojaMart entrance, she has to get a dark ale on special, plus a 15% off coupon. Huh, don't like Joja? Then don't look at them and problem solved! Like a piece of cake.

The tired father had to put his hands over Vincent's ears more than once to keep the youngest of his sons from hearing the endless stream of profanity from their new Farmer about the greedy megacorporation. Though Kent would be lying if he said the whole rant didn't make him laugh. Still, he tries to hide a smile under his wife's stern gaze.

All right, enough! Why don't you stop swearing, there's little kids walking around! Lewis can understand anything, but not useless swearing. The town mayor really does miss the days when they were all at the old Community Center, but yelling at Joja won't do anything. What do you mean the "Community Center will soon be alive again"? Farmer? Where are they going? Yoba, they're just like their Grandfather. Sigh, what a daredevil...bless your soul, my old friend.

Satisfied with his work and how quickly the number of visitors to JojaMart was growing, Morris didn't even notice how, when talking to a new resident of the Valley (aka "potential customer"), the poor "listener" had a twitch in his eye and a cringing their face. Well, one gets a tic, he doesn't really care. Although when Morris was at the restored Community Center where people started boycotting Joja, now his eye started twitching.

[marmorafarms]

Self Love: Shane x Cis Female Reader

Hey guys!

I've got a new smutty fic for you, and it stars Shane!!! I'm pretty excited about it, so I hope you enjoy!

Rating: 18+ ONLY

Summary: Shane comes over after a rough day. You want to help him relax and have some fun, but Shane is feeling self conscious. It's time for you to work your magic!

Warnings and Content: Alcohol mention, face sitting, creampie, body worship

Working at Joja Mart sucked. A lot. Shane hated that his work options were manual labor or customer service. And honestly? Manual labor would've been the better pick.

Shane had gotten written up today for saying "Your pussy is way too dry to be riding my dick that hard," to an angry old man. The dude had it coming! He was just passing through town and was yelling at Shane because they were out of bananas. The old man was acting like Shane was purposefully denying him the fruit, and he was just so, so tired.

After being sent home early, Shane texted you. You had sent him a quick "dude wtf" before asking him to come over. He agreed immediately. Marnie would definitely yell at him, and he wasn't in the mood for that.

He only had to knock once before the door was flung open. The smell of pizza and pepper poppers was in the air.

"You made food?" he asked as you let him in.

"All homemade! Nothing frozen!" You said proudly.

"Well shit," Shane said as he plopped down on your couch, food already on the coffee table. "How did you manage to get this ready so fast?"

"Well," you said, sitting next to him, "I was going to invite you over anyway. So I had started on it already." You placed a hand on his, and smiled at his look of surprise. His fingers twitched slightly, but he kept his hand in place. He was still getting used to your touches.

It wasn't that Shane was against you touching him, far from it. But his days of big biceps and washboard abs from playing gridball were over. Now he was old and fat and–

"Shane?" you said softly.

He blinked, realizing he'd been quiet for a little too long.

"Why did you want me to come over?" he asked.

"Aside from enjoying your company?" you asked. "I have something I want to show you. Can I go get it real quick?"

Shane nodded, and watched you hurry to your room. He grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite, wondering what you got him. Maybe it was more of that non-alcoholic wine. Shane had been skeptical, but it actually tasted really nice.

"Here it is!" you said. He turned to look, and his jaw dropped. He set his pizza down, missing the plate entirely.

You were wearing the most beautiful set of lingerie he'd ever seen. It was made from a bold red lace, with golden chains sitting on your waist and hips. Your breasts were displayed beautifully in a bra that plunged low. The fabric was so thin that he could see your hard nipples.

Shane felt like he was going to pass out. Both from how you looked, and from how all the blood from his head had drained straight to his dick. He was at full mast already, drinking the sight of you in.

"Do you like it?" You asked, slowly sashaying over.

Shane wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell you how stunning you looked, how he wanted to pull your panties aside with his teeth and lick your wet pussy straight away.

But that wasn't what he said.

"Why?" he croaked out. "Why are you wearing this?"

"You don't like it?" You asked, face falling.

"No! I mean, yes I do like it! It's just…I don't get it."

You looked perplexed. "I wanted to look sexy for you. And I was kinda hoping you would think I am and would fuck me on the couch."

Shane turned bright red and cleared his throat. God, that sounded amazing. But there was still this nagging feeling, this horrible thought that you were doing this out of pity. He was fat and hairy and nothing at all like the other men in town. There was no way you were seriously attracted to him, right?

"You want to do that with me?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we've done it before," you pointed out.

"We were drunk!" Shane blurted out, eyebrows furrowed.

This was true. Your first encounter with Shane had been a drunken hookup that led to him avoiding you like the plague for a while. He had admitted later that he had been embarrassed about having random sex with a stranger, and was trying to forget about it.

It was hard to forget about it though, especially with you bothering him on the daily. Your soft lips all over his body, tongue dipping into the slit of his cock before lavishing it with attention…it was hands down the best sex he'd ever had. If he believed in Yoba, he would be on his knees praising the deity for allowing him to remember that night in full detail.

"So what?" you said, moving closer to him. "It was fun. And it'll be even more fun without our minds clouded."

Shane tensed as you got into his lap and began to grind against his clothed cock. Fuck, why couldn't he be normal for two seconds and enjoy this?

"I think I need a drink," he mumbled.

"You can have a Joja Cola when we're done," you murmured, and nibbled the shell of his ear. Shane let out a whine and you grinned.

"Where else are you sensitive?" You asked, moving to his neck. You pressed soft kisses against his skin, starting with his jaw, rough from stubble, and trailing your way down.

"Lie down," you said. The two of you shuffled around a bit until you were sitting on his hips, while he lay back. You pressed down on his cock with your pussy, continuing to grind against him. Shane groaned, and you reached down for his button, ready to get this show on the road.

"Wait!" Shane said sharply. You halted your movements immediately, looking at him, concern on your face.

"You're really sure you want this?" he asked. You let out an annoyed huff at these words.

"Of course! Shane, what's going on?"

Shane closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyes were glassy.

"All the other guys in town are…are fit and healthy and handsome. I'm an ugly old hairy fat guy and–"

"Whoa whoa what?" You said, eyes wide in shock. "Let me start off by saying that you're not ugly or old. 37 is not old, okay?"

"You're 28," he muttered. "I'm 9 years older than you."

"I don't give a shit," you said firmly. "And I happen to like how you look. I personally think you're so sexy."

"No you don't," Shane said looking away.

"I do though," you said, and gently kissed him. "So sexy. So gorgeous. Wouldn't trade you for anyone," you said in between kisses. You snaked a hand under his shirt and tugged at his chest hair. He hissed slightly, and you pushed his shirt up.

"Love your body hair," you said, kissing his chest. "Love your soft pecs–"

"Man boobs," Shane corrected in a breathy tone. You chuckled.

"Whatever. I love them." You covered them in kisses, nipping a nipple gently. Moving down, you continued complimenting.

"Mmm I want to see those thick thighs," you said, gripping his legs. "Those thick hairy thighs. Want to spread them open so I can suck that gorgeous cock of yours."

"Fuck baby," Shane said, eyes fluttering shut. Your words were getting to him, and he found himself enjoying the attention.

"Can I?" you asked, touching the button of his jeans. After giving his consent, you popped it open and slowly pulled his zipper down. You looked hungrily down at him.

Shane helped you shimmy his pants off, and you got in between his legs, gently kissing his cock over his boxers. You cupped his sac while you did so, and he moaned in pleasure.

"I wanna see," you finally said, and Shane quickly kicked his boxers off. You hummed in appreciation, and he blushed.

"I'm not that great," he said. Shane didn't have a tiny dick, but he was on the shorter side. He was decently thick, and you nearly licked your lips, ready to take him into your mouth.

"Yeah you are," you said, licking a stripe up his cock. "Perfect for my mouth. Mmm I remember that night…you felt so good in my pussy too."

Shane moaned at your words, and let out a stream of swear words as you took him all the way into your hot mouth. You slobbered all over him, getting as messy as possible as you kissed and slurped.

"W-wait!" he gasped. "Too close!"

You understood. He wanted to last so he could fuck you properly. You pulled off, and he lifted your chin up with a finger, wanting you to look at him.

"Sit on my face," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a command, and you were more than happy to listen. You quickly pulled the panties off, the beautiful jewelry still on your body.

Shane gripped your thighs as you lowered yourself down.

"So wet already," he said before your pussy covered his mouth.

"I wasn't lying when I said I find you–ahhhhh…." you moaned as he began to lick between your folds. His tongue moved to your clit, giving it lots of attention before he dipped it inside of you.

"C-close!" You panted after barely any time had passed. This had happened before as well. You had came on his face in record time from how good he was with his mouth.

You practically screamed out his name, head thrown back in ecstasy. He let you sit there, casually lapping at you, making you twitch. Finally you lifted yourself off.

"Enjoy yourself?" he asked. You responded by kissing him deeply. He touched your lips with the tip of his tongue and you opened up. Your tongues slid against each other as you passionately kissed.

"Gonna fuck me now?" you asked. He nodded, and the two of you swapped places.

"Shit I don't have a condom," Shane said. "Do you…?"

"Just put it in me!" You said desperately. "I'm on birth control, it's fine."

Shane nodded and pushed in. He closed his eyes in pleasure, but they flew open when you wrapped your legs around him, making him unable to move.

"Wh–"

"Compliment yourself," you said.

"Excuse me?" He said.

"You're excused. Now say three nice things about yourself and I'll let you move."

"What the fuck?" Shane said annoyed, but you were clearly serious. He sighed.

"I'm good at making you cum, I'm good with animals, and…I dunno." he said, shrugging.

"Say you have a hot body," you said firmly.

"I have a hot body," Shane said in a monotone. You glared at him.

"Like you mean it," you said.

You went back and forth for a bit before he snapped.

"I'm hot, okay? My body is gorgeous! I'm sexy as fuck!" he practically shouted, but there was something different in his tone.

"Yeah you are!" You said happily, and let him go. "Now fuck me."

Shane grinned, and began pounding into you hard and fast. He smiled as you shouted in pleasure, complimenting him at every turn. The two of you reached your peak at the same time, Shane burying his face into your shoulder as he painted your insides white. Your walls clenched around him, milking his cock for all it had.

"Fuck," Shane said after a moment.

"That was amazing," you panted. "We gotta do this more often."

"Yeah, yeah we do," Shane said. He was no longer worried if you wanted his body. Shane had never felt this loved in his life. And he was going to do everything he could to protect this happiness.

[feather-a-of-birds]

Hi! I was wondering if you would be willing to write a small piece for sdv with Shane and a male farmer. Basically Shane gets punched in the face or something, but the bottom line is the farmer gets sucked off while Shane has a mouth full of blood. It's fine if you don't want to write this, ik it's kinda weird

Of course! I'm quite surprised I got my first request like a week after I started this account, and to warn you I am bad at writing smut especially with male POV and such but I shall try my best! Thank you for reaching out.

Warnings: Smut, Blood, Gore, Oral M! Receiving, Getting Punched In The Face, Slight Hematolagnia (attraction to blood), Semi public sex

Shane X M!Reader

Minors Do Not Interact!

Soif De Sang (French for blood thirst)

"There is a policy that literally says only two coupons per person lady" Shane says running his hand through his hair, the woman stomps her foot like a five year old before shouting "I Got All Of These From My Neighbors And Digging Through Trash Cans, And This Is How I'm Treated!" she waves the coupons in his face "Ma'am I really don't care where you got them I can't break Joja policy" he says, this bickering was starting to give him a headache "just ring them up you little brat!" she nearly growls "well I can't change the policy, I can go grab my manager for you so you can fight it out with him" he sighs giving her a shit eating close eyed smirk silently screaming to Yoba to help him "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR MANAGER JUST LET ME USE MY GOD DAMN COUPONS!" she screams he answers again "the answer is still no because I need this job and if I break policy I can be fired" noticing a couple people watching "You woke people just don't know when to quit" she huffs like a fat bulldog "this has nothing to do with being woke, it's simply Joja Mart policy" Shane deadpans, that appears to be the wrong answer because she picks up her purse and smacks him in the face with it. Shane stumbles back his eyes beginning to water at the impact of the blow that had hit him square on the nose a trickle of blood slowly seeps from his nose "What The Actual Hell!" he seethes looking back at the woman feeling blood slowly seep into the back of his throat. He was pissed, Morris walks in to hear Shane shout at the customer holding his nose Morris looks over "Shane! Enough buddy!" he says walking over giving an apologetic smile to the woman "Shane you are free for today we'll discuss this tomorrow" he says before picking up the phone to the mic "all customers shopping at Joja Mart prices are all now half off" Morris says. Shane scoffs at Morris "what the hell does she have in that purse!" before walking into the back room. He changes out of his work attire before leaving out the back door.

"Oh hey Sha- Shane?!" you gasp as Shane grabs your hand pulling you behind him until you reach Marnie's ranch, he lets go of your hand "Can you help me with this" he says looking at you with a bored expression, you look at his face noticing a red stream running from his nose dripping onto the ground. You feel slightly aroused at the blood "hmm. . . At a price" you smirk at him "and what is this price?" he asks sounding annoyed but definitely intrigued. Its your turn to grab his hand you begin jogging into the forest.

Pulling him deeper into the wood you find an old hollowed out tree it was thick enough to hide you both, you get into the curl of the trunk and push him to his knees in front of him "do you consent to this?" you ask first looking into his eyes, he breaks eye contact blushes and nods "say it Shane, I need to hear you say it" he looks you back in the eyes "yes I consent" he answers you smirk giving him the go ahead.

Spitting out some blood from his mouth before he trails his hands up your legs to your thighs he squeezes them a few times before cupping your semi hard dick through your grime covered pants, you gasp as he palms you for a moment before undoing the button, he unzips the zipper, and pulls your pants and boxers down allowing your dick to spring free, he smirks up at you before wrapping a hand around you pumping slowly, he kisses the head a few times licking up the precum, he lets trails of blood mix with his saliva. You open your eyes as you watch Shane lick a long stripe across your penis making a red sheen on your dick "Shane. Please stop teasing" you beg, he smirks but obliges none the less bringing the tip to his blood stained lips he takes in the head swirling his tongue a few times letting blood coat it before taking in a bit more. He takes in a breath through his nose and slides your dick fully in his mouth "oh~ Mon Diue~" you groan at the feeling, you cover your mouth remembering that Magnus may be nearby. Shane begins bobbing his head he takes you as far he can go the metal taste on his tongue beginning to engrave into him. Shane trails his hand to his pants he undoes the fly on his jeans pulling his hard cock out stroking it gently, he begins pumping himself at a fast pace, he hears you call his name behind your clasped hand, he takes his other hand and begins fondling your balls "Cher Yoba~" you call out, you look down to see Shane pleasuring himself. you grab his hair and thrust gently into his throat, you feel him groan around your dick he pulls off for a deep breath before deep throating you again. Allowing you to continue to use his mouth.

Blood begins dribbling past his lips you swipe a drop and lick it off your thumb you coo at him "you look so Joli like that Shane" you speed it up again he hums at your compliment sending vibrations through you. Shane moves down back to the tip sucking on it for a moment then sucking the whole thing into his mouth he does this a few more times until your pace grows sloppy as you feel yourself climbing that latter to ecstasy, Shane is close as well he cums first letting it spill onto the ground. You follow not long after spilling down his throat, letting him go he takes in a deep breath and licks his lips smearing even more blood on his face, you look at your dick seeing it covered in blood you chuckle before checking in on Shane "now I feel really light headed" he says looking a little woozy "I can imagine Mon Cher, now lets get us cleaned up".

A/N: hey i hope that wasn't to bad and here are the translations

Soif de sang: Blood thirsty

Mon dieu: My god

Cher: Dear (masc)

Joli: pretty (masc)

Mon Cher: My dear

[stardewvalleyhc]

Elliot‘s home (part 1)

(Im still editing it but I decided to go ahead and post it.)

Jas deserved better. Marnie deserved better and I couldn’t be. I tried again and again and everytime I’d wake up in a cold sweat on the floor surrounded by beer cans. The bitter taste lingering in my mouth the rest of the day as if it was a reminder of how I failed them. I dreaded going to work, Joja mart sucked but it was money. Though everyday I thought about quitting without fail. The amount of times I cried in that break room hell if I could even keep count of that. That’s why I spent my afternoons in the saloon but so did he. Little Mr Perfect, perfect long ginger hair, perfect sun kissed skin with little brown freckles. He had good posture, good teeth, he wore nice clothes. Expensive looking clothes. It boiled my blood to be in the same room as him. The worst was when he’d sit down next to me. He’d notice I was in a bad mood and his majesty would grace me with his presence. He looked at me with pity I assume— I’m the village drunk so why wouldn’t he?

“I’m not a charity case.” I mumbled under my breath.

I had enough to deal with with my dead end job I didn’t need this guy trying to cheer me up. I pushed his arm away as he tried to do a little awkward side hug. “I don’t even know you” That wasn’t technically a lie as he had only been there for a few months. Though the face he made made me wince a bit.

“Oh…right…sorry. Uhm…well do you like to read?” Elliot questioned tilting his head slightly.

“Not really.” I said threw my teeth. This guy just didn’t quit did he?

“Well if you ever get into reading-“ I stopped him right there.

“I’m NOT getting into reading.”

“…I’m sorry am I bothering you?”

“Yes! You think your so much better then me don’t you?!”

“What?! No! I don’t-“

“Your not helping me! I don’t need you to act like some kind of prince rescuing me from myself Just leave me alone!”

“….oh…I’m sorry.” Elliot walked away. I could feel cold glances from the other people at the bar. I decided to go home.

I walked- stumbled back to my house. Grumbling all the way there, I stared at the ground as I attempted to steady my balance. Maybe now people would leave me alone. I got home, Marnie nearly scared me half to death just standing there before she yelled at me. I knew she hated yelling, she was a nice lady but she knew how to put her foot down.

“I don’t like you staying out so late- look at you you can barely stand.” Marnie crossed her arms as she watched my struggle to take my shoes off. “Jas wanted to collect eggs with you today. I finally had to do it with her. Your missing her childhood.”

“I see her everyday Marnie!”

“You always complain about never having money it’s because your lining Gus’s pockets.”

“Hey! Gus is a good guy! Leave him out of this!”

“Jas wants you here…she needs you here…she hates when you come home drunk.”

“I’m sorry.”

“…I only say this because I’m worried about you.” Marnie rubbed my back. She use to do that all the time. I had only noticed then how long it had been.

After that we go to our rooms and go to bed. I looked up at the ceiling, my thoughts on my actions throughout the day even though my clarity is a bit shot from the booze I knew I was a bit harsh with Elliot but at the same time I got angry just thinking about him again. That smooth sounding voice was a nightmare and my brain played his words over and over again. I decided I didn’t have to be friends with him but I at least should apologize. So I rolled over on my side and went to sleep.

The next day I thought my brain would burst out of my skull. I stumbled to the bathroom and washed my mouth . I realized I didn’t even change my clothes that night so my usual clothes smelt like sweat and beer. Not that I was going to do anything about it except just wear it again. Then I took a shower, hair care routine consisted of washing it then drying it. That’s it. ‘I bet Elliot puts some fancy pants stuff in his hair. I bet he spends an hour on his hair. I bet-‘ I shook my head. The more I thought about Elliot that way the more I’d try to shrug off the apology to him. I left the bathroom and redressed before starting to head out. I normally tried to rush out as I’m not really a breakfast person but Marnie always tries to catch me and force me to eat. She gave me a piece of toast so I grabbed it and walked to work nibbling on it as I went. Work was…work. Every day seemed harder then the next, i look for every opportunity to take stuff from the back that I can. Especially pepper poppers. After being lectured by my boss about having a “customer ready smile” my shift ended and I was free. I was heading to the saloon again straight from work and who do I see. Of course I’d run into Elliot who looked like a kicked dog when we made eye contact. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but quickly closed it. He was usually so cocky but he seemed so awkward. Had what I said really gotten to him? Well now I felt even worse about it. If him being pompous was annoying then seeing him like this was a hundred times worse. His fluffy hair almost seemed deflated along with his ego. Maybe that’s where he stored it. Either way if he wasn’t really upset with me he was a damn good actor which I wasn’t ruling out as a possibility.

“Look man…maybe I was a bit harsh before.” I said trying to not sound sarcastic which was surprisingly hard to do. “I didn’t completely mean it…”

Elliot lightened up a bit. “Oh! Not a problem!” Ugh…seriously? Your making it that easy? Who just excepts an apology like that?! Elliot must’ve lived in one of his mythical book worlds because that’s not how that would normally play out.

“Okay cool.” I shrugged heading into the bar and he follows after me. I ordered a beer and Elliot…sat down right. Next. To. Me. Just because I apologized doesn’t mean I wanted to be this guys friend. I don’t mind hearing his flowery rants from across the bar.

[chain-unchained]

September 11

Shane never could properly articulate how much he disliked working at Joja-Mart. Every shift was the same, stocking the same shelves, listening to the same canned shopping music playing over the intercom system, watching that greedy little pig Morris gleefully counting the profits the store was making right at the supervisor’s stand where the customers could see. All the while there was this… oppressive, stifling atmosphere all throughout the store, the kind of atmosphere that just sucked the joy and energy from you the longer you stayed in it.

As he hauled a cart filled with frozen goods from the back room to the freezers, he heard the sound of the automatic doors sliding open up at the front, and could vaguely make out Morris greeting the customer that came through them. He didn’t really care; more than likely it was either Jodi or Pam, and neither of them ever touched the stuff that was in the freezers. Instead, he focused on getting the task over and done with so he could finally go on lunch break, trying to decide whether he wanted to get a box of pizza rolls or a box of pepper poppers to eat…

The sensation of a pair of slender arms wrapping around him from behind broke him from his musings. “Boo.” Ashe greeted with a grin, thinking he’d gotten the drop on his boyfriend like that. “Did I scare you?”

“No.” Shane looked back over his shoulder at him. “I saw your reflection in the freezer door, dork. What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see your dumb face, but I don’t think you’re actually here to buy this crap.”

“Heehee~” Smiling playfully now, Ashe stepped back and dug around inside his rucksack. “I mostly just wanted to say hi, but also….” He produced a red-lidded container and held it out to Shane. “I found a bunch of mushrooms this morning, and you seemed to like the stuffed tomatoes I made for the Luau, so… I made you lunch~”

Shane stared at the container in surprise, as the faint smell of something delicious radiated from it. “Aww, bugaboo, you didn’t have to do that.” He tried not to let it show how much the smell was making him salivate, realizing just how hungry he was. That was one side effect he hadn’t expected from his sobriety; he felt like he was always starving, and he was less than happy with the ten pounds he’d put on since seeing his therapist…

               “Ahem.”

And of course, there was Morris to ruin everything good about Shane’s day. “I’ll thank you not to bother my employees while they’re working.” He warned Ashe, whose face had fallen to a pout at the manager’s intrusion. “Unless you’d like to start paying his wages yourself.”

In response, Shane cleared his throat as well and pointed to the clock hanging up over the freezers, giving Morris a deadpan look as he did so; Morris’ eyes followed Shane’s finger to see the time for himself. “….. Oh, very well.” The manager begrudgingly conceded. “Thirty minutes, and not a second more. Go clock out.”

“Gee, how generous.” Shane rolled his eyes. “I’ll be right back, Ashe.”

“Okay~” Ashe waved a little as Shane disappeared into the employee only area in the back; as his hand returned to the container he was holding, he could feel Morris’ beady little eyes practically burning a hole in him. “… I’m sorry for bothering Shane while he was on the clock.” He finally said as he turned to face him, wanting to do something to make the staring stop. “It wasn’t his fault, so please don’t hold it against him…”

Morris continued to give him a hard look. “… Well, I suppose I could overlook it.” He finally said, settling back into his skin as an idea hit him. “If you were to buy a Joja membership for the low low price of 5,000g, that is.”

It was an especially dirty tactic, he knew. He’d already gotten Lewis to agree to sell him the rights to develop the land that the old community center was built on if he sold a certain amount of those memberships to the townsfolk, and it just so happened he was one away from meeting that quota. If he could sell it to the farmer that was intent on running them out of town with their bet, it would be all the more sweeter. He was sure the lawyers back at corporate could find a way to argue that it constituted a renewal of the terms of the bet and render the previous terms null and void, a notion that sent his greedy little heart all aflutter with excitement.

Ashe visibly stiffened at the obvious attempt at blackmail. “… What would happen if I didn’t?” He asked, trying not to let it show just how bothered he was by the situation he’d gotten them into.

“Well, I would probably write him up for slacking on the clock.” Morris’ eyes gleamed. “I’ll admit, he has a clean record, but it would be terribly unfortunate if somewhere down the line he were to lose his job because of this infraction.” He could tell that he had Ashe in the palm of his hand at that point and decided to be ‘merciful’. “I’m not an unreasonable man, however, so why don’t we do this? I’ll leave the offer on the table. If at any point you decide you’d like to purchase a membership, I’ll be quite happy to wipe Shane’s disciplinary record clean. That seems reasonable, don’t you agree?”

Of course it wasn’t reasonable, it was downright extortion; there was a reason that Morris had gotten to such a cushy position, after all, and it certainly wasn’t because of hard and honest work. He could practically see Ashe’s mind working, trying to wrestle with what the right decision was. Before the farmer had a chance to actually say anything, the door to the back swung open, and Shane re-emerged from it. “Do give it some thought, and let me know if you come to a decision.”

As Shane stepped out from the back room, he saw that Morris was still talking to Ashe, wearing the shark-like predatory grin that he often wore when he was closing a deal, making a frown split across Shane’s own face as he walked towards them. He just barely caught the tail-end of what Morris was saying as he approached—something about a decision—and with that, Morris skittered away like the cockroach he was back towards the front.

“…. Sorry for keeping you waiting, chikadee.” Shane said, eying Morris’ back as it disappeared behind the rows of shelves. “What was he saying to you?”

Ashe’s back had been to Shane up to that point, and he turned around as Shane came up to him, all smiles like usual. “Oh, nothing important~” He chimed, pushing the whole conversation with Morris to the back of his mind.

By that point, they’d known each other long enough that Shane was able to see through those little fibs that Ashe would tell when something was bothering him. It was apparent that Morris had said something scummy to him, but rather than trying to question him further inside the store, Shane just nodded along with Ashe’s deflection. “Alright.” He agreed, wrapping his arm around Ashe’s waist. “Do you wanna have lunch with me? We can sit in that picnic area near Clint’s place.”

“Ah, sure!” The suggestion made Ashe’s eyes sparkle with delight, making him glad that he’d gone a little overboard with how much of the stuffed mushrooms he’d made… okay, so maybe he had made extra in the hopes that he could get to share with Shane.

It was one of those lovely Indian summer days, where the air was a bit warm and there was a light breeze carrying it. The foliage all around was an array of beautiful oranges and reds and yellows, and the town was once again filled with life as its inhabitants bustled to and fro, no longer restricted to their homes by oppressive heat. Fall was arguably the busiest season in the whole valley, and that was especially true in Pelican Town.

On the way out of the store, the pair passed by the ever-meek Ellie who was on her way in. “Hi Ellie~” Ashe greeted cheerily, raising his hand in hello to the girl. The sight of him with Shane made Ellie clam up, and she mumbled a ‘hello’ back before dashing into the store.

“You know her?” Shane asked curiously, taking hold of Ashe’s hand and lacing their fingers together as they walked towards the public dining area just north of Clint’s workshop.

“Mmhm. She’s usually the one that’s manning the rescue team in the mines.” Ashe made a mental note to find time to head to the mines soon, since it had been awhile since his last excursion into them. “She’s really nice.”

“Yeah, she seems alright.” Shane agreed. “She comes in a lot. I’ve had to grab stuff on the higher shelves for her since she can’t reach ‘em.” Ellie was probably one of the few Joja people he could tolerate, since she was always polite and said thank you for any help she got.

They covered the short distance between the mart and the picnic table area in just under a minute or so, taking the nearest table to them since it really didn’t matter where they sat. It was a nice enough area, and with the weather as gorgeous as it was, more people from town should have been using it. But they had the whole area to themselves.

“So how’s your day been going, bugaboo?” Shane asked, as Ashe opened the container of mushrooms and set it between them. It was a little too easy for him to get wrapped up in his own problems and forget that sometimes Ashe had problems, too.

“It’s been going pretty good.” Digging two wrapped forks from his rucksack, Ashe offered one to Shane with a smile so they could start eating. “Hanako made me laugh so hard I was rolling on the ground earlier. Blue decided that her tail was a giant cat toy and was playing with it, and she just turned around and looked at him like, ‘can you not right now? I’m trying to eat.’ Speaking of eating, she’s started grazing in the pastures and oh my Yoba, she just doesn’t stop eating. Same with the hens! What is it about fall that makes everyone’s apetites go crazy? You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“Right.” Shane chuckled, taking a bite of the mushrooms as he listened to Ashe chatter away. As expected, the stuffing was delicious, and the mushrooms were nicely roasted, bringing out their rich and earthy flavor. It sure as hell beat whatever he was going to buy for lunch.

Ashe nodded vigorously, glad that someone understood what he meant. “There’s just something about this season that makes everything taste really good. The hens are giving me some really rich and delicious eggs these days~ I’m absolutely going to win the grange competition at the Fair thanks to them. Well, I guess I should say thanks to you too, since you taught me how to take care of them so well. Is it weird that I think it’s kind of harder to care for crops than animals, by the way? I know I really shouldn’t be saying this cos I chose to plant so much, but it takes so much more out of me to water and fertilize the fields than it does to take care of the animals—” He stopped short, seeing the amused expression on Shane’s face at him chattering away. “Oh, uh… I’m rambling aren’t I?”

“Just a little.” The older man agreed, grinning a little at the sheepish expression on his boyfriend’s face. “I don’t mind though. It’s cute when you get excited like that. I can tell how much you love doing what you do.” He took another bite of the mushrooms and sighed. “Wish I could say the same thing about my job… Well, at least one of us is happy.”

Ashe’s brows knitted together. “If you don’t mind me asking…” He began, speaking slowly so he could choose his words carefully, “…how come you don’t quit and work for Marnie?”

“If I could, I’d do it in a heartbeat chikadee.” Shane sighed again, shooting a scornful glance towards the Joja-mart. “But Marnie just doesn’t make enough money for that to be an option. And you know how it is here in town, there’s not any other job openings available that I could take. So I’m pretty much stuck… It could be worse, though. At least I have a job.”

Morris’ thinly veiled threat towards Shane echoed in Ashe’s head, making a small, cold stone settle in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah… that’s definitely something.” He agreed, finally helping himself to the stuffed mushrooms as he wondered what the right decision was in that situation. Even though Shane clearly hated the job, he didn’t want it taken away from him…

Shane raised a brow at the sudden shift in Ashe’s demeanor. “… Okay, what kind of bullshit did Morris tell you?” He asked. “Oh, don’t give me that look.” He added when Ashe gave him a look of surprise. “It’s obvious that he said something that’s bothering you, so spill it.”

“Ah….” Silently, Ashe cursed himself for being so easy to read. “He… well, he said that he’d write you up for slacking if I didn’t buy a Joja membership.”

“That so?” With a snort, Shane rather aggressively stabbed his fork into a mushroom, imagining that it had Morris’ smug prick face as he did so. “He’s so full of shit sometimes—actually, make that all the time. Don’t let it bother you, chikadee. He wouldn’t actually can me, just because he knows how much I hate working for him.” With just as much pent up aggression, he chomped down on the stabbed mushroom, taking his time to thoroughly chew it before he spoke again. “… Sorry, I shouldn’t be bitching so much. These mushrooms are really good. Another of your mom’s recipes?”

“Oh, kind of.” Ashe nodded his head. “I just sort of tweaked the stuffed tomatoes recipe. I’m glad you like it~” He too took another bite, chewing it slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. “… I was thinking… it might be fun to try and make lunch for you sometimes.”

Pausing with his fork still in his mouth, Shane looked to his boyfriend in surprise as his heart skipped a beat. “Bugaboo, you don’t need to do that.” He insisted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the thought. But you’ve got way too much on your plate as it is.”

“B-But I want to!” Ashe puffed his cheeks out in a pout. “I just thought that if you had something tasty to look forward to when you’re at work, it might help make your day a little bit better. I read online that good food can help your mood, too, so….”

“…. Ashe.” Shane set his fork down and wrapped his arm loosely around Ashe’s shoulders. “I know you want to help me, and it means a lot to me that you do. But—and don’t take this the wrong way, seriously--I need you to remember that you can’t ‘fix’ me.” He murmured, bringing their faces close together so that he could quietly speak to him. “That kind of stuff is something that I need to worry about, not you.”

As he spoke, he gently rubbed Ashe’s upper arm to reassure him that he wasn’t upset with him, or anything like that. Ashe quietly listened to what he was saying, looking down to the surface of the table with his brows furrowed together. “But… I don’t want you to have to go through all of this by yourself.”

“Who says that I am?” Shane gave his shoulders a squeeze. “I’ve got you, don’t I? And I have Jas, and Marnie too. If I didn’t have you three to lean on, I wouldn’t be able to get through the day. What I need from you, above everything else, is just for you to keep supporting me like you have from day one. Okay?”

“….Okay.” Ashe nodded his head in understanding and leaned slightly against Shane. He felt like just being there wasn’t enough, but he had to trust in what Shane was saying—after all, he was the only one who had the right to decide what he needed. It wasn’t Ashe’s place to fix him.

“Thank you, sunshine.” Since he knew all too well how stubborn Ashe was when he got an idea in his head, Shane really appreciated not having to fight with him about the issue. He pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s temple and gave him another brief squeeze. “And I’m not trying to say that you can’t ever do things for me. Just don’t do them because you think it’ll help me in some way. Do them because you want to do them.”

Ashe just nodded again with a small smile. He felt like he should have known that from the get-go or something, even though he knew it was kind of ridiculous to feel that way. But that was his own hang up that he needed to deal with on his own, similar to what Shane had said himself.  “So how are things going at the ranch? I bet Marnie’s been busy getting ready for the Fair.”

“Oh yeah, she’s been busting her ass since the first.” Shane helped himself to more of the mushrooms, finding it difficult to stop now that he’d started again. “She’s been working on making the perfect giant cheese wheel—I think that’s gonna be her big ticket item for the display. And Jas has been a big help with the preparations, too. She’s been getting up extra early to take care of the hens, and she spends hours brushing the sheep to make sure they’re looking good for the petting zoo.”

Ashe gasped so loudly and suddenly that Shane nearly dropped his fork in alarm. “Petting zoo?!” He squealed, clasping his hands together in delight as his eyes sparkled. “There’s gonna be a petting zoo?!”  

“Yeah? What, you didn’t know that?” Shane snickered a little at his childlike reaction. “If you ask me, the petting zoo is a bigger attraction than the grange displays. We get a ton of tourists who come by just so their kids can play with the animals. To be honest, the Fair is when Marnie ends up making most of her new customers.”

“Really?” A thoughtful look come onto Ashe’s face. “So…. If she were to make a lot of new customers this year, then—”

Shane held up his hand to stop Ashe before he could finish his sentence. “I know what you’re about to say, and the answer is ‘it’s not your problem to worry about’.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for Ashe to argue. “Again, please don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s our business to deal with.”

He felt like the world’s biggest asshole right now, telling Ashe basically to mind his own business, but he knew that being blunt and honest was the only way to get through to him sometimes. He wanted Ashe to worry about his own problems and his own farm, not go around trying to make everything perfect and lovely for the rest of the town like he knew the farmer would if he was given the chance to.

“Ah….” There was a visible drop in Ashe’s face at Shane’s words. ‘… Their business… right…’ He thought, hunching his shoulders as he looked down to his lap. ‘It’s not my place to interfere… I’m not actually family….’ “R-Right… sorry…”

“…. Hey.” Shane pulled him close again, seeing how upset he’d made his boyfriend. “Look at me. Look at me, Ashe.”

After several seconds, Ashe slowly turned his head to look at Shane; despite his best efforts, there was a faint layer of tears glistening in his eyes. “I’m not upset with you or anything.” Shane insisted, rubbing Ashe’s arm again to comfort him. “I’m really not. And I’m not trying to say that you being nosy is a bad thing. If you weren’t so nosy then I might not even be here right now. But I know how you are about this stuff, and like I said before, you’ve got way too much on your plate to be worrying about us when there isn’t a reason to be worried. Alright?” He pressed their foreheads together and smiled a little, though it faded when Ashe didn’t smile back right away. “… It’s okay if you’re upset with me for what I’ve said.”

Hearing that, Ashe vigorously shook his head. “It’s not that.” He insisted, quickly drying his moist eyes on the backs of his hands. “I’ve just… never been very good at taking criticisms like that. A-And I know that you’re not even criticising me, you’re just trying to look out for me.” He finally managed to smile back. “Thanks for always being honest with me…”

“I just worry about you taking on too much to handle.” Shane kissed his temple again, using his thumb to gently brush away the moisture that Ashe had missed around his eyes. “I know you’re young and you’ve got more energy than I do, but you need to make sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard.”

“I promise I’m not.” Ashe sniffled just a little as he smiled once more. “So you don’t have to worry about me~”  

Shane gave him another gentle squeeze. He hadn’t meant to make Ashe cry, and he really did feel bad about that. Maybe there could have been a better way to go about it, but in the end, it seemed like the message had gotten across. “Telling me not to worry is like me telling you not to worry, chikadee.” He teased. “It’s just not gonna happen.”

His wristwatch beeped, letting him know that he only had 5 minutes left of his lunch break. “Buh... I gotta get back to work in a couple minutes.” He groaned, hastily shoving a few more bites of mushrooms into his mouth.

“Oh, why don’t you just keep the leftovers?” Ashe suggested. “I kind of went overboard with how much I made, after all.”

“You sure?” Shane gave it some thought. “I dunno how well this’ll keep in my locker though. And the fridge in the break room hasn’t worked in years… Yeah, sorry chikadee. Thanks though, being able to have a real lunch with you did make my day better.”

Wanting to make sure that Ashe knew all was well, he pulled the farmer into a proper and tight hug, taking a few extra moments to nuzzle his cheek affectionately; the gesture made Ashe giggle, and he returned the hug for a second before they parted. “Have a good rest of your shift~ Um, is it alright if I call you tonight?”

“Of course you can, bud.” It was a request that puzzled Shane just a little, but he didn’t have a problem with it. “And I’ll try to. No guarantees, though.” He watched as Ashe headed off to do his own thing again, not realizing the sappy, goofy sort of grin that was on his face the whole time. After that head of dark hair disappeared from sight, he got up from the table, feeling the way his belly jiggled with the motion. ‘Yoba, I’m disgusting.’ He thought with a sigh, pinching the fat sticking out over the waistband of his pants. Maybe it was time for him to take his therapist’s advice about exercise…

[katedoesfics]

Honey & Vinegar: Chapter 3

Despite Pip’s earlier reluctance to returning to Stardew Valley, after being back for a week, most of the land they wanted to clear was, in fact, cleared. Pip never imagined actually completing all that work, but by the weekend, the job was done, and they were feeling, for once, proud of themselves for sticking with it. But, with that now finished, that only meant one thing: venturing into town to get some seeds and ask Robin to build a shed.

Pip supposed it was inevitable, really. If they didn’t make an appearance, it was only a matter of time before more curious eyes wandered over onto their property. Abigail, Marnie, and Jas had already done so. And though there was talk of another referred to as Shane, he never made it over to say hello, and Pip was grateful for that. But who knew how many more of them waited just on the other side of the dirt road.

So on Sunday morning, after much hemming and hawing and wasting time, Pip finally worked up the courage to walk into town to get seeds. And maybe while they were there, they’d stop in at the saloon, too. Making alcohol was fine, but it was a slow process, and Pip couldn’t wait much longer for a cold one.

It was late in the morning as Pip made their way into Pelican Town. The air was warm, the sun was bright, and overall it was the perfect day… for everyone to be outside and enjoying the day, of course. Fortunately, the town’s general store was close by. Pip was relieved that they wouldn’t have to walk across town to get to JoJa Mart.

Lewis stood outside as Pip approached. He offered Pip a nod and a smile. “Settling in alright?” he asked.

Pip shrugged. “I guess so.”

“I haven’t seen you around. Wasn’t sure if you got lost on that farm there.”

“Lots of clearing to do,” Pip said, disinterested in the conversation with Lewis.

Lewis nodded. “Yes, of course.” He pulled lightly at his suspenders. “It has gotten to be quite over grown. I’m glad to see you’re getting use out of the place, though. I told Gus of your plans to make some craft beers. I think you’ve definitely got a buyer if you ever plan to sell. We’ve got a few loyal saloon goers who I’m sure would appreciate a home made ale.”

“Well, I’ll do what I can,” Pip said quickly. They looked over Lewis’s shoulder and into the window of the store. “Gotta get some supplies…”

“Ah, of course.” Lewis stepped aside, even though he wasn’t exactly blocking the entrance. “Don’t let me get in your way now.”

Pip offered a small smile and made their way inside. To their dismay, however, the store was not empty. Pip immediately recognized Abigail standing by the counter at the back of the store, talking quietly to a man in glasses who Pip assumed to be Pierre, the owner of the store. A red headed women with her hair pulled into a braid was looking over some items, turning to smile at Pip as they entered. Another woman with green hair was just passing through. She, too, shot a smile towards Pip as she headed for the door in the back. She spoke quietly to Abigail and Pierre before closing the door behind her.

Pip sheepishly made their way to the counter. Pierre offered a greeting, but Abigail rolled her eyes and followed the path of the green haired women, leaving the store through the back door.

“You’re Pip, right?” Pierre asked with a grin. “Mayor Lewis told me you would probably be by at some point. Welcome to the valley.”

“Thanks,” Pip muttered.

“Abigail told me you two met earlier in the week.” Pierre hesitated, his gaze shifting to the door. “I must apologize for her rude behavior. She’s never been much of a people-person.”

“It’s fine,” Pip said quickly. “I guess I’m not really, either.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re here, anyway. That farm has been empty for so long. It’s nice to see someone getting some use out of it.”

“I guess so,” Pip said with a shrug.

“I’m guessing you’re not here for chit-chat, though,” Pierre said with a grin. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Just some seeds,” Pip said.

“All our spring seeds are in stock,” Pierre said cheerfully. He indicated to a display where the seed packets were kept. “What are you gonna be growing?”

“I’m not much of a farmer,” Pip admitted. “But I’m pretty good at making ales and wines.” Pip selected a few packets of seeds. There wasn’t much that would help, but they could at least make a few good wines with some strawberries. The rest would need to wait until summer. Hops and wheat did best when started in the summer.

Pierre nodded thoughtfully. “Nothing wrong with that,” he said. “We’ve got quite a few -”

“Alcoholics,” Pip said with a nod. “So I’ve been told.”

Pierre hesitated. “Well, I was going to say loyal saloon goers…”

“I heard that one, too.” Pip turned and let the packets of seeds drop onto the counter for Pierre to ring out. “I’m a bit of an alcohol fan, too.” Pip offered a smile.

Pierre rang out the items and put them carefully into a paper bag. “Well, I wish you luck, then,” he said as he offered Pip the bag. “Don’t be a stranger. I’ll keep the place in stock as much as possible, so whatever you need, just come on by.”

“Thanks,” Pip said, taking the bag from him. Pip forced another small smile before turning to make their way out of the store. The young, red headed woman, however, stopped them before Pip reached the door.

“You know,” she said, her hands on her hips. “I’m practically your neighbor. I live just south of you, in the forest, near Marnie’s ranch. So don’t think you can go hiding all that sweet wine you’re making. It’s appropriate to share with your good neighbors.”

Pip stared blankly at the woman for a moment. “Oh,” they said softly. “Uh. Okay. Sure. You can taste the first batch.”

The woman smiled. “Good. I’m Leah, by the way.” She held out a hand.

Pip took her hand, shaking it carefully. “Pip.”

“Okay, then, Pip,” Leah said with a grin. “Let me know when you need a taste tester. Remember - I’m in the cabin near Marnie’s ranch. Don’t forget.”

*****

Pip couldn’t get out of the shop quick enough, and once outside, they kept their eyes low as they scurried around the building, following the path north up to where Lewis had said Robin’s place was. Fortunately, there wasn’t really anyone else up this way, and Pip made it to Robin’s without incident.

Robin was sitting behind the counter of her shop, doodling on some paper when Pip entered. She looked up and smiled at Pip.

“I was starting to wonder if you’d ever need my services,” she said happily. “What are you thinking? A chicken coop? Maybe something bigger? I could even get you a silo built for some hay -”

“No,” Pip said quickly. “Uh, no, thank you. I don’t think I’m ready for any animals yet.” Pip sucked in a breath. “I was actually wondering if you could build me a shed and maybe help me with a few other things.”

“What have you got in mind?” Robin asked curiously.

“I was thinking of getting some bees,” Pip explained. “I want to make some beer and wines and ales, so I’ll need some kegs and casks, too.”

“Ah,” Robin said. She waved a hand towards Pip. “That’s easy stuff. Tell ya what; you get the supplies I need,” Robin began jotting down some notes on some scrap paper, “And I’ll be by tomorrow morning to help you out with everything.” She looked up and smiled as she handed Pip the paper.

Pip looked it over quickly. It looked pretty simple. “Thanks,” Pip said, meeting Robin’s gaze. “I appreciate it.”

Robin leaned against the counter, her smile getting wider. “Of course,” she said. “I don’t get to do too much around here, so I’m always happy to help out where I can.” She tapped her pencil on the counter. “See you tomorrow morning, then.” She returned to her doodle on the counter.

“Thanks again,” Pip said as they left Robin alone in the shop.

Back outside, Pip opted to avoid going back into town. They followed the path behind Robin’s which would eventually bring them back around to the north end of the farm. But, of course, not without bumping into one more human.

Pip didn’t even notice the man at first. With their head down and eyes low, they almost bumped into him. Pip looked up only when the man sighed gruffly, muttering under his breath.

“I’m sorry?” Pip said, turning to the man.

“Please just leave me alone,” the man said, averting his gaze.

“I… I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry…” Pip stammered.

The man hesitated, looking Pip up and down. “You’re new around here.”

Pip nodded. “Uh, yeah. I’m Pip. I moved into the old farm.”

The man nodded. “Well, Pip. I live there.” He pointed to a tent between some bushes. “And I would appreciate it if you just left me and my tent alone.”

Pip hesitated. “Why… why would I bother you or your tent…”

The man shrugged. “Because people are cruel and somebody’s been screwing around with my tent, and I don’t appreciate it.”

Pip looked over the little tent. “I wouldn’t do that,” Pip said softly. “I’m… sorry that’s been happening to you.”

The man grunted. “I don’t need your pity,” he snapped.

Pip turned their gaze back to the dirt road, feeling uncomfortable. Clearly anything they said to this man would be twisted in some way, and Pip was in no mood to be able to handle that. So, without another word, Pip continued onward quickly, feeling the eye’s of the man on their back until they disappeared around the corner.

For once, Pip felt a sense of relief when they made it back to the farm. Finally, they were alone once more, away from the judging, staring eyes. Exhausted from the few minutes spent in town, Pip hurried into the house where they stayed for the rest of the day.

[chain-unchained]

August 15

The Luau had truly marked the midway point for the summer season, with temperatures steadily decreasing since then. It was still uncomfortably hot with all the humidity, but at least no one felt like they were melting if they stepped outside. Even more than that, it seemed like a sort of sleepy lull had befallen the townsfolk; everything was just… chilled out and mellow, almost as if they were enjoying an extended food coma from all of the food they’d eaten that day on the beach.

But today, that peaceful tranquility for Ashe was just nowhere to be found. It was as though every malevolent spirit was in a bad mood and took it all out on him, cursing him with what could only be described as awful luck. It started as soon as he’d woken up, with him catching his foot on his blanket when he’d gotten out of bed—not only did he end up faceplanting on the floor, the blanket snagged on an exposed nail in the bed frame and got a huge tear ripped into it. Then when he was about to have breakfast, he dropped the bowl he was getting out from the cupboards, and it predictably shattered upon impact with the floor.

It didn’t stop there; as he’d been picking up the pieces of broken porcelain, he managed to cut his finger on one, and Blue chose that moment to vomit up a massive, disgusting hairball right in the middle of the living room floor, before casually trotting out the dog-door to enjoy the morning sunlight outside. Ashe had sincerely hoped that the bad luck was just isolated to inside the house, but no, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Just as he’d finished cleaning up Blue’s mess, he could hear his sweet little cat yowling and making quite the racket outside; alarmed by the sounds he’d never heard coming from the kitty, Ashe threw open the door with more force than intended, and he could only watch as the door fell forward out of the frame and hit the porch with a mighty thud. The sound made Blue—and the skunk that he had been scrapping with—jump from fright, with the skunk skittering away into the surrounding forest. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Blue had gotten hurt or sprayed, but Ashe’s heart sank when he realized that the skunk had gone to town on his melon patch, the one crop he was really banking on to make some serious G that season. Picking up the door and resting it against the exterior of the house for the time being, Ashe hastily traipsed down the porch steps to make sure Blue was really alright—and in his second fall of the day, he caught his foot on his baggy pj bottoms and faceplanted again in the dirt at the bottom of the steps.

“…. It’s going to be a really long day…” He mumbled, just lying there for a moment as he let out a long breath and as Blue came over to make sure his human was alright.

Things just kept snowballing from there. A falling tree narrowly avoided hitting the chicken coop, instead taking out the fence that Ashe had painstakingly built up around it to give the hens some grazing room. When he went to fix the fence, the head of his hammer fell off and landed on his foot. His watering can sprung a giant leak, making it twice as hard to water the crops.

“Having a bad morning, farmer?” Percy called with a smirk, leaning on the fence dividing their parcels of land as he watched Ashe struggle with the morning tasks. “Goodness, I certainly wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now. You know, now would be a good time to call it quits~”

It was the last thing that Ashe wanted to hear. “I am not giving up!” He snapped, visibly fuming as he limped over to the well to fill his watering can for the tenth time. “Maybe you would give up, but I’m tougher than that.”

“Goodness, it was only a suggestion.” Percy rested his chin in his hand and clucked his tongue derisively. “No need to get nasty, I was merely making conversation… I will admit though, I haven’t the faintest idea why you’ve held out this long. You never struck me as a prideful person.”

“It’s not pride.” Ashe marched up to where Percy was leaning against the fence and glared up at him. “Debts are supposed to be forgiven when people die. I won’t let Joja take anything else from me.”

“…. Well, it’s not exactly up to you now is it.” Percy felt maybe just the smallest twinge of sympathy. Joja certainly had a knack for ruining lives. “We’ll just have to see how you fare at the end of the wager.”

His frame visibly trembling, Ashe turned sharply on his heel. “Just you watch. I’m going to win and send you and Morris packing.” He promised, marching back towards his thirsty crops and wincing every step of the way as his foot throbbed. He was already in a poor mood thanks to the cascade of unlucky events, but the conversation with Percy just soured it even more.

  Shane’s head throbbed painfully with each beat of his heart, a reminder to him of his grand fuck-up the day before. Morris had made his displeasure about Shane getting Fridays off known, and made up a bullshit alternative schedule that had him coming in on the weekends when it was rainy. That wasn’t so bad during the summer, when rainy days were scarce, but he knew why Morris had picked such obscure conditions for him to come in: the weekends were his time off, and making him trudge through the rain on his days off was just exquisite torture. Needless to say, the day before had been thunderstorm central.

To top it off, a tour bus had stopped in town on its way to Zuzu City and flooded Joja Mart with obnoxious tourists, most of whom were waving around expired 80% off coupons at Shane as though they’d expected him to honor them—when he wasn’t even manning a register. It was all just too much for him on a day that was already crummy enough to begin with, and he left work with a six pack tucked under his jacket, going through the entire thing while he sat in his dark room and watched reruns of Jimmy Kimmel.  

He was pissed off and ashamed of himself for relapsing like that. There was no excuse for it, it wasn’t like bad days were never going to happen once he quit drinking.  And because of it, he missed out on reading Jas her bedtime story, something he had really come to look forward to and enjoy since becoming sober. It just made him feel like more of a failure than he already did. And then on top of all of that, he’d gotten next to no sleep thanks to an annoying cough…

Unable to face his family, Shane left the ranch early and went to his quiet place at the pond to just… sit and think. It gave him a sense of serenity and peace to be there, even with the negative associations he had to the Cindersap forest itself. There was just something deeply calming and cleansing about listening to the gentle lapping of the water, the sound of the wind brushing through the trees, the chitter-chatter of the squirrels and chipmunks as they bustled to and fro… it almost reminded him of the feeling he got whenever Ashe was around.

“…. Dammit, Marnie…” Letting out the breath he had been holding in a long exhale, Shane couldn’t help himself from trying to hold that conversation against his aunt. “Why’d you have to put that idea in my head…?”

Twice now since she’d mentioned telling Ashe how he felt, Shane had dreamed of the farmer. Not the lustful sort of dreams that young folks had when they had someone they fancied, thank Yoba for that—although to be honest, he wasn’t sure if he would rather have had those dreams instead of the mushy, gushy, romantic sort that he actually did. Dreams of long walks down the beach hand in hand and nights spent watching the stars together. It was embarrassing, and he had this irrational fear that Ashe would somehow read his mind and find out that he’d been having them and get creeped out.

For a long while, Shane sat at the end of the pier, lost in his thoughts as he stared out at the calm surface of the pond. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when he heard the familiar tmp-tmp of Ashe’s boots against the wood several hours later. It was like he said that one night, Ashe had a real knack for showing up when he was in a bad mood. He was surprised when Ashe forwent any sort of greeting and just sort of plopped down beside him, casting his fishing pole out into the water without a word. “…Hey dweeb.”

“Hey dork.” Ashe responded without missing a beat.

“Heh. Takes one to know one, ya dingus.” Shane caught the look on his friend’s face. “… You having a bad day too?”

“Mmhm...” After several moments, Ashe realized that he might have just rudely barged in on Shane’s quiet time. “Um… sorry if I interrupted your peace and quiet. I can leave if you want.”

The apology drew a quiet snort from Shane. “Since when did you start apologizing for that? And it’s fine anyway.” Looking away from Ashe, he fell quiet for a minute, before finally admitting in a quiet voice, “I fucked up, Ashe. I got completely trashed last night…” He couldn’t hide the frustration in his voice; it sucked, and it sucked even more that he was saying it to one of the people he didn’t want to let down. With a cough he masked as him clearing his throat, he continued derisively, “I was doing pretty damn good, but I just had to go and screw it up… Yoba, I hate myself sometimes.”

“Don’t say that!” Ashe practically shouted, whipping to the side to look at Shane with an expression of exasperation. “You won’t get better until you love yourself, because otherwise you won’t think that you’re worth the effort.”

Shane hadn’t expected such an explosive reaction to the comment. If he hadn’t figured out that Ashe had been having a rough day before, he would have figured it out now. “I only said sometimes. Calm down…”

“Nnno.” Ashe huffed, shifting closer and wagging his index finger in indignation. “In fact, I want to hear you say you love yourself.” It was a demand that caught Shane even more off-guard, especially with just how outrageous it seemed to him; silence fell between the two as they just stared at each other. “…. I’m serious, Shane.”

“I know, and I can’t decide how I should feel about that.” Shane turned away from his friend and coughed again. “Either way, I’m not saying that.”

“Say it.” Ashe insisted emphatically as he puffed out his cheeks. “Say, ‘I love myself’.”

“Fuck off, Ashe. I’m not saying—”

Shane felt Ashe’s presence closer than it had ever been before, with Ashe’s face mere inches away from his own as he gave him a look. “Shaaaane…”

Considering all the confusing feelings he’d been ruminating on before Ashe showed up that day, having him be that close made Shane’s heart skip a beat inside his chest. Unable to withstand his friend’s unrelenting assault, he looked away with a defeated scowl. “…. I love myself.” He mumbled.

“’I’m only human’.” Ashe pressed him to repeat.

“I’m only human.”

“’I’m worth the effort’.”

“… I’m worth the effort.”

Satisfied, Ashe finally sat back, and Shane was able to let out the long breath he’d been holding. “Sorry, but hearing you say that you hate yourself is just… frustrating. There’s so much good about you that you don’t see.”

“Alright, Mr. Psychologist.” Shane leaned forward to rest his arms against his knees. “…. What exactly do you think is so good about me, anyway?”

“Are you kidding?” Ashe looked to him again, his eyes sparkling as his mind filled with what he admired about his friend. “You’re hardworking, you’re great with animals, you have this big huge heart that has so much love for Jas and Marnie and chickens and pepper poppers and pizza—”

“Okay, I get it—”

“—you never quit even when you’re fed up, you’re strong, you’re dedicated—”

“Ashe, you can stop now—”

“—you know so much about chickens, you’re funny, you’re kind, you’re handsome—” This time Ashe stopped himself, his face turning a brilliant crimson as he realized what had just slipped out; Shane had undeniably heard it too, as his own face became tinted red. They stared at each other for a moment before looking away, with both of them clearing their throats awkwardly. “Um… so, that’s… just some of the things that are great about you…”

Silence fell between them again. “… Thanks, Ashe.” Shane managed to utter, the corners of his mouth turning up just a little. “I don’t know how you do it, but you always manage to keep me from spiraling back down into that dark abyss. I really appreciate you…” This time it was him who had a slip of the tongue. “You doing that for me.” He quickly corrected as he cleared his throat again.

“Y-You don’t have to thank me for that…” Ashe hunched his shoulders a little as a shy smile came onto his face; hearing that from Shane made him really happy, even with the correction. “It’s what friends do.”

The tip of his fishing pole dipped down as he felt a tug on the line. “Oh!” Hastily he began to reel, sitting up a bit straighter as Shane watched. “Yay, I thought I was never going to get a bite. Maybe my luck’s finally turning around~”

“Is that why your day’s been shit?” Shane asked, resting his chin in his hand. “Bad luck?”

“Yeah. Today’s been really rough because of it—” As he spoke, the fish on the other end of the line was fighting tooth and nail, causing the pole to bend sharply. And as if to prove the point, the line abruptly snapped, causing the pole to whip back and smack Ashe square in the face with a sound that made Shane wince. “….”

“That… looked like it hurt.” Shane actually felt bad for him. “Shit, are you bleeding? Here, let go of the pole for a second.” Concerned, he took hold of Ashe’s hands to pry the pole out of them so he could get a look at his face, completely forgetting the tension that had been between the two of them a few moments prior. “Yeesh, yeah, looks like it cut the bridge of your nose… you really weren’t kidding about your luck, were you?”

“No….” Ashe felt a lump form in his throat as a thin trail of blood ran down from the small gash one of the guide rings on the pole had given him. He’d finally hit his breaking point. “No, I wasn’t…. everything I’ve tried today has gone wrong…”

“Ashe?” Shane heard the crumbling in his friend’s voice; before his eyes, the happy, bubbly, always sunny farmboy buried his face in his hands and hunched over, his shoulders heaving with silent sobs. “Whoa—h-hey, it’s gonna be okay. It’s just some bad luck. It’ll pass.”

Seeing Ashe break down like that actually hurt Shane’s crusty old heart. As much as he wanted to give him the same sort of comfort that Ashe had given to him when he was at his lowest, that just wasn’t something that came naturally to him. It was all he could do to pat his friend’s shoulder, and he hated that he couldn’t do more; the only other thing he could think to do was hug him, but… he wasn’t sure if that would be the right thing to do, for either of them.  

“I-I know…” Ashe felt stupid for crying over something so trivial, but he really couldn’t help it. It had all just gotten to him, especially since he’d gotten his hopes up that his luck was getting better. “I-I’m just being stupid…. I-I’m s-sorry…”

“Whoa, hey, you knock that crap off.” Shane was having none of that; if he wasn’t allowed to self-deprecate, then neither was Ashe. “Aren’t you the one always going on about how you can’t help how you feel? You don’t get to pick and choose what applies to me and what doesn’t apply to you, buddy. It either applies to us both, or neither, so you don’t get to say that about yourself. Say it with me now: ‘I love myself, and I’m only human’.”

“….” Ashe sniffled, peeking out from between his fingers with a tearful half-laugh; he’d gotten played at his own game. “I love myself… a-and I’m only human.” He repeated obediently, before he let himself fall backwards to lie back on the pier. “… Is this kind of how you used to feel…?”

“What, like everything you try to do is going to go wrong so why even bother? Yeah, that’s pretty much on point.” Shane leaned back against his hands, looking up at the crystal clear sky with Ashe as a gentle breeze brushed past them. “After awhile, you learn to stay in a shell… but… you showed me that things don’t have to stay that way if I don’t let them. That if I work hard enough, things will pass and get better. And that’s the truth for anyone, not just me. So cry if you need to cry. Get it all out of your system, so you can pick yourself back up and smile that dumb smile of yours again.”

“…. Hehe…” Just hearing that was enough to bring Ashe’s smile back. “I never thought I’d hear that kind of stuff coming from you~ That’s much nicer to hear than the stuff you used to say.”

“I’m pretty sure your blind optimism started rubbing off on me. I feel like such a tool saying cheesy shit like that.” The scratchiness in Shane’s throat made it almost impossible to finish what he was saying, feeling like he’d swallowed a load of pine needles that were all jabbing him in the back of it. The sensation made him sputter into a series of coughs, hastily covering his mouth and nose with the collar of his jacket as he turned away from Ashe to try and mask it.

“Shane?” Alarmed, Ashe quickly sat back up. “Are you okay?”

“F-Fine—” Shane held his hand up in an attempt to assure Ashe he was okay. “I-I’m f-fine—J-Just got a tickle i-in my throat--”

As if the coughing wasn’t bad enough, as if the scratchy, prickly throat wasn’t enough, a wave of dizziness slammed into him like a semi-truck out of nowhere, sending the world around him swaying from side to side. “Sh-shit…” He might have overdone it by coming out there for so long that day, especially under the blazing sun with nothing to drink.

More than a little worried, Ashe shifted closer, patting Shane’s back as his brows knitted together. “You don’t sound fine… Yoba, that cough sounds just awful.”

“I-I told you, I’m f-fine.” Shane tried to clear his throat to make the coughing stop, which didn’t actually do anything. Feeling something cool brush against his forehead, he realized that Ashe was trying to see if he had a fever, and instinctively knocked his hand away. “Q-Quit it, Ashe, I don’t like my f-face being touched.”

“You’re sick.”

Well, shit. “I-I am not. I don’t g-get… sick…” Trying to play it off, Shane’s attempt at deflection died in his throat as he saw the look on Ashe’s face. Why did the kid look like the world was ending? “D-Don’t give me that look. It’s… probably just a cold, it’s not a big deal.”

“It can turn into a big deal if you don’t take it seriously!” Ashe’s voice was oddly high pitched from his worry and panic. “You need to go back home and rest, right now!”

Maybe he was overreacting. In the back of his head, he knew he probably was. But he was terrified of losing someone precious to him again. “Come on. You’re going to go back home and get right back into bed.”

Shane suddenly found himself being literally pushed along back towards Marnie’s ranch, with the surprisingly strong Ashe behind him, his hands planted on the back of Shane’s shoulders to force him along whether he liked it or not. “Okay, you are seriously overreacting right now.” He said, trying not to prove his friend right by having another coughing fit; if anything, the kid was making him worse by stressing him out like this. “I told you, it’s probably just a weak-ass cold. Why are you making such a big deal about this?”

To his surprise, Ashe stopped pushing, making him feel just the tiniest bit bad for snapping at him like that. “…Because… because my mom thought what she had was ‘just a cold’. Because she didn’t think it was worth it to take care of herself.” His fingers tightly curled around fistfuls of the back of Shane’s jacket as he spoke, his voice much quieter than it usually was. “If… if I had just pushed her to rest, then she wouldn’t have… th-that’s why I can’t let it happen again…”

“…” Now Shane really felt like an asshole, even though it wasn’t his fault. He… really had no idea what Ashe had been through, because Ashe never talked about himself like that. But now he knew why Ashe was acting so over the top; he was gripped by an irrational fear of watching that tragedy play out before his eyes once more. With that knowledge, Shane knew that there was only one way to assuage that fear. “Alright, alright… You win. I’ll take it easy today. So you don’t have to get so worked up over me.”

“…. Promise…?” Ashe’s voice had grown even quieter, his grip on Shane’s jacket loosening.

Shane turned around to look at his friend, who for a moment looked so small, and so… sad. “I promise.” He assured, patting the top of his head reassuringly like he would have to Jas. But the feeling he got when he did it was… different than it was with his goddaughter. “… Well, don’t just stand there. You gonna make sure I actually get my ass in bed, or what?”

The question worked as intended, getting a little half-laugh out of Ashe as he lifted his head and dried his misty eyes on the backs of his hands. “I’ll tie you to the bedposts if I have to.”

“Well aren’t you fucking kinky.” Shane snickered a little. Ashe didn’t seem to get why it was funny to him, instead just giving Shane another light push to get him moving again.

As it turned out, Shane wasn’t the only one in the household with a cold. When the pair stepped into the shop, they could hear the sound of Jas coughing all the way from her room. “Ah, dammit…” Shane muttered, rubbing his face slowly as he let out a sigh. “That’s my fault for getting my germs all over the place.”

“Oh, there you are Shane.” Marnie heard his voice as she came into the shop area, sounding quite congested and stuffed up as she covered her mouth and nose with a kerchief. “Hello, Ashe. Sorry, but I’m closing up shop early today.”

“You too, Marnie?” Ashe’s anxiety cranked all the way up to 11 as he looked between her and Shane. Even though it was such a minor thing, it felt like he was living a nightmare right now.

Marnie laughed a laugh that turned into a gross-sounding cough. “Well, at least I know where we got it from.” She joked, seemingly to be taking it in stride.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Shane apologized. “That fucking group of tourists probably dragged it in with them, and then I dragged it back with my sorry ass…”

“There’s no need to apologize.” Marnie waved her hand airily. “It happens. I’ll get some soup on for all of us—”

“Ohh no, you’re not doing anything but resting.” Ashe interrupted stubbornly, much to her surprise. “You get yourself to bed. I’ll take care of making something for you all to eat, so you just focus on getting better.”

Puzzled by how adamant Ashe was, Marnie looked to Shane, who shrugged his shoulders. “Better just go along with what he says.” He advised with a half-grin. “Otherwise he’ll never let us hear the end of it.”

“… Well, alright then.” Marnie laugh-coughed again. “I won’t turn down a bit of help. Thank you, Ashe.”

Hearing that did much to put Ashe’s mind at ease. “You don’t have to thank me, I haven’t done anything. Go on and rest up, okay? Both of you. I’ll run home and get some food made for you.”

“Would you mind flipping the OPEN sign to closed on your way out?” Marnie asked, to which Ashe nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you, sweetie. I appreciate it.” She couldn’t quite remember the last time she’d taken a sick day, but she could feel it in her bones that she very much needed it.

Shane watched Ashe traipse out the door, feeling just a little bit of concern as he remembered that Ashe was having a really unlucky day. ‘Hope he doesn’t burn himself trying to cook.’He thought to himself, as he and Marnie both headed into their rooms. Changing out of his clothes into his stretchy, breathable shorts and a tank top to sleep in, his mind filled with all sorts of scenarios that his friend could be getting himself into—burning himself, burning the food, burning his house down, cutting himself while trying to prepare the ingredients, tripping as he carried the hot food, running into the table…

‘No, enough of that.’ He chastised himself as he got comfortable in his bed; he’d closed the blinds on his window and turned the TV on for some quiet background noise, so his room was warm and dark. He could feel his eyelids starting to grow heavy, having been more exhausted than he’d first thought he was. ‘Ashe is an adult, he can handle himself… still, though…’ He didn’t get to finish that train of thought; unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

 It felt like he’d only just closed his eyes for a second before he felt a gentle hand shaking him from his sleep. “Shane…?” Ashe’s soft voice echoed in his drowsy brain, as he forced his heavy eyes open. “Sorry for waking you up… I brought some soup for you.”

“Ugh… alright, gimme a sec…” With a groan, Shane blindly fumbled for the light switch above his bedside table; he must have been asleep for at least a few hours, as the sunlight that had been peeking through the blinds was all but gone now. He felt considerably worse now, as though lying in bed had given all of the viruses inside his body the opportunity to come together in his muscles and in his head. It took a few seconds, but eventually his fingers found the switch and flicked on it, nearly blinding him as his messy room filled with artificial light. “I dunno how much I’ll be able to eat… uh…”

As he had been speaking, he’d pushed himself to sit up and look at Ashe, who was wearing one of those surgical masks that doctors often wore, and who had for some reason changed his T-shirt for a long sleeved one even though it was still warm outside. “That’s okay.” He said with a smile, holding a tray with a bowl of pale broth and a cup of fresh orange juice in his hands. “You just need to get something in your stomach.”

“Did you go and see Harvey or something?” Shane asked with a raised brow, as Ashe set the tray across his lap.

“Mmhm.” Ashe nodded his head, unconsciously tugging his right sleeve down to cover his hand just a bit more. “I just wanted to play it safe, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s probably smart…” Clearing his scratchy throat, Shane turned his attention to the food before him; he was glad at least that the soup was something plain, since it would be easy on his queasy stomach. It looked like it was also loaded with bits of chopped herbs. “… Kinda went crazy on the herbage, though.”

Ashe puffed his chest out proudly. “Yup. It’s another one of my mom’s recipes. She used to make it when I’d get sick. It’ll bust down a cold in no time, especially when you have orange juice to go along with it.”

“I see…” Shane thought back to the Luau, when he’d complimented his mother’s stuffed tomato recipe. ‘I guess this is his way of keeping her memory close.’ He thought to himself. “In that case, I guess it’d be rude to not eat it.”

Even though he really wasn’t hungry, he picked up the spoon and dipped it into the broth. He was mostly doing it to put Ashe’s mind at ease, since he really doubted that a soup and drink could clear up a cold quickly. To his surprise, the soup had a very light flavor; it wasn’t bland, but it wasn’t extremely salty either, which was good since if it had more punch to it he wouldn’t be able to eat much of it. “This fresh squeezed?” He asked, referring to the juice as he picked up the glass to take a sip.

“Yup~ Fresh from my orange grove.” Ashe sat back on his legs, resting his hands in his lap as he watched Shane sip away on the soup and juice. “Today was actually the first time I’ve gotten a harvest from it, so I’m happy.”

“That so?” Shane took another drink. “Those are some quality oranges you’re growing…. You’ve got some real talent for farming. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’d grown up on a farm or something… Uh, you didn’t, did you?”

It was a question that caught Ashe unawares. “Ah… no. I actually grew up in the city. Not Zuzu,” he clarified, seeing the way Shane’s brows went up. “The Capitol. Well, the outskirts of the Capitol. We weren’t nearly rich enough to live in the city proper.” He looked down to his hands and gingerly picked at some fluff on his overalls. “… Maybe we would have had the money for it if Joja didn’t trick my mom into taking on grandpa’s debt.”

He didn’t know why he was saying all of this now. Ever since he’d come to the valley, Ashe had kept his mouth shut tight about his life before the move. He’d wanted so badly to just… put it all behind him, to move on and try to pick up the pieces of his life. But there was no escaping Joja no matter where he went, serving as a constant reminder to what he’d lost and could still lose. It was all something he wanted to keep to himself. But, he found himself able to open up to Shane… much like Shane had been able to open up to him. “… Sorry, I didn’t… mean to bring down the mood like that.” He mumbled in apology, after several seconds of silence between them.

“What are you apologizing for?” Shane glanced over to him as he took another spoonful of soup. “… If you need to talk about it, then talk about it. I’ll listen.”

Ashe jerked his head up to look at Shane, his eyes widening in surprise at the offer. “…. No, it’s okay…” He murmured. “I’m pretty sure I’d cry if I did, and nobody wants to deal with that. Thank you, though. It makes me happy that you care that much—OW!” The yelp escaped him unchecked, as a sharp pain shot up his right wrist from the way he’d been picking at the fluff.

It was sudden and abrupt enough to make Shane jump a little. “What was that?” He asked with raised brows. As Ashe fumbled around for an explanation, his eyes spotted what looked like thick bandages peeking out from under Ashe’s right sleeve. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“N-No, not at all!” Ashe insisted with a laugh, quickly trying to move his hand behind his back—but Shane was one step ahead of him, reaching out to grab onto his sleeve and yank his arm close to see for himself. “O-ow--!”

Unceremoniously, Shane shoved the sleeve up to Ashe’s elbow, revealing the splint that the farmer had been trying to hide. “Yeah, like you expect me to believe that.” He snorted, giving Ashe a pointed look. “What did you do?”

“I… might have fallen off the ladder when I was picking the oranges…” Ashe mumbled meekly, hunching his shoulders as Shane took his wrist in his hands to study it. “… Harvey said my wrist is probably broken, but he didn’t have any casting materials on hand…”

Shane’s eyebrows practically flew off of his face. “You idiot!” He chided, actually somewhat angry with Ashe for being so reckless and so stupid. “A break is serious! Fuck’s sake, why would you keep using it like nothing’s wrong? What would you do if something happened and you couldn’t use your hand anymore?”

“Shane--?” This time it was Ashe who was caught off-guard by Shane’s over the top reaction. “I—I’m sorry… I just wanted to do this for you guys…”

“….” With a sigh, Shane carefully tugged Ashe’s sleeve back down. It took him a moment, but he realized that he’d done exactly what Ashe had done with him earlier. He remembered what it had been like for him, a rising varsity gridball player, to lose everything because of an injury he could have prevented, and the thought of Ashe suffering that same fate made him lash out when he shouldn’t have. “No, I’m the one who should apologize.” He admitted with another sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “I overreacted, and I shouldn’t have… But you really need to give that arm a break, especially until Harvey can get it in a cast. Promise me that you’ll at least put it in a sling until then.”

Blinking his eyes several times, Ashe realized that Shane was actually worried about him. “…. I promise.” He agreed with a meek smile. Shane was starting to get really good at turning his own tactics against him.

“Good boy.” Shane ate a few more spoonfuls of the broth and managed to drink the rest of the juice, before he called it quits; if he had any more, he was fairly certain he would end up heaving it all over the floor. “Thanks for taking care of us all tonight.” He thanked, as Ashe managed to pick up the tray with his left hand only. “Now you go home and take it easy yourself. Alright? I’m serious.”

“I will, I will.” Ashe assured him sheepishly. “Do you need anything before I go?”

“Nah, I’m fi—” Shane stopped mid-sentence, as his head throbbed painfully. “… Actually, would you mind grabbing some Tylenol from the medicine cabinet in the kitchen?”

“Of course.” With a little difficulty since he was trying not to use his injured hand, Ashe managed to get to his feet and take the tray out of the room with him. He’d already brought soup and juice to Jas and Marnie, so this was the only thing he had left to do before he headed home. “Right, medicine cabinet… medicine cabinet, medicine cabinet, medicine cabinet…”

By the time he found the Tylenol and gone back to Shane’s room, the man was already fast asleep, one arm tucked under his head as he quietly snored away. “….” Quietly so as not to disturb his rest this time, Ashe just set a few tablets and a glass of water on the bedside table in case he woke up later.

It was strange to see Shane’s face so peaceful; usually, he had this sort of permanent scowl on his face, except for when he was smiling or laughing of course. Seeing that his cheeks were still flushed somewhat, Ashe knelt down beside the bed again and gently brushed his knuckles against Shane’s face to feel his temperature. ‘He’s so warm… Yoba, he must feel awful…’

His heart started to beat a little bit faster inside his chest as he slowly pulled his hand back. He didn’t know why it was doing that, why it felt like there were little butterflies in his stomach as he watched his friend sleep. ‘…. No… no, stop it! You’re being such a creep right now!’ He gave himself a swift mental kick, finally making himself tear his eyes away from Shane as he got back to his feet. He had a feeling that, if he stayed there any longer, he might end up doing something really stupid…

“…. I hope you feel better in the morning…” He murmured, even though he knew that Shane couldn’t hear him. He made sure to turn the light off before he let himself out, ever so slightly shaken by the feelings that had come over him in that brief moment before he came to his senses. He just hoped that it was because he had such an off day, and not because he was some creep who watched people sleep…

  The sound of a hammer on wood roused Ashe from his sleep the next morning; still half-asleep, he poked his head out from under the sheet he’d gotten himself tangled up in overnight, looking around blearily in search of the sound’s source. After his brain had a few moments to wake up and get working, he realized that the hammering was coming from outside the house—it actually sounded like it was focused on the front door itself. “What in the…?” He mumbled, stifling a yawn as he pushed himself to sit up and wincing a little as his broken wrist throbbed painfully. He’d done as Shane had told him to and put it in a sling, but that didn’t stop his sleeping self from lying on it for most of the night.

Outside the house, Shane carefully nailed in the last few nails to secure Ashe’s door back in place. “Finally…” It was definitely no Robin-quality patch job, but the door was back in its frame at least. For a guy with minimal carpentry experience, he felt pretty damn accomplished.

Almost as if on cue, the door opened, and a disheveled Ashe poked his head out to see what was going on. “Well look who decided to finally get out of bed.” Shane commented, raising his hand in greeting. “About time, ya lazy bones.”

“Shane?” Ashe rubbed the sleep from his eyes, thoroughly confused. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you still be resting?”

“Nope.” Shane grabbed the toolbox at his feet and moved it out of the way. “That soup and the juice sent my cold packing. Same with Marnie and Jas. I actually came over to bring you some cookies that we made to thank you, but you were still asleep, and I saw that your door was busted, so I figured the least I could do was try and fix it for you. Not bad, huh?”

“….” It was clear that Ashe was still in the middle of waking up, as he just stood there blinking for several seconds. “You… fixed my door?” He repeated, stepping out onto the porch to see for himself. “Yeah, it looks really good. Better than what I could have done…” He looked to Shane in thankful confusion. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Shane snorted. “Yeah, I know.” He answered with a grin. “I wanted to, though. I woke up feeling a hell of a lot better than I did the other day.”

“Really?” Hearing that put a smile onto Ashe’s face. “I’m glad. See, I told you my mom’s recipe would do the trick~”

“Consider me a believer.” Shane was relieved to see that smile again; he’d missed it more than he’d realized. “How’s your wrist, by the way?”

“Ah—” Ashe looked down to his slinged arm. “It… still hurts a little.” He admitted. “I probably slept on it for most of the night. Harvey said he would call when he got the stuff to make casts with, so hopefully it won’t be too long…” Looking out to his farm, he realized that the sun was quite high in the sky. “Um… what time is it?”

“Well, it was just about 8 when I left the ranch to fix your door.” Shane checked the watch on his wrist. “And it’s just now hit 8:30, so I gotta get moving before I’m late for work.”

“8… 8:30….” Ashe stood there for a moment. “…. AAAAAH! I SLEPT SO LATE!” He suddenly burst out, looking completely panicked as the realization hit him. “I’m never going to finish everything before the day’s over!” He was so caught up in the panic of running late that he gave Shane a hasty hug as a thank-you. “Thanks for fixing the door Shane! Have a good day at work! See you later!”

He bolted back into the house to change, leaving Shane just standing there, listening to the sounds of him crashing around frantically.

‘Th-that was close…’ Shane thought, covering his mouth with his hand as he briskly headed off for work. If Ashe had hugged him for any longer, he might have actually been tempted to do something…