are you going to kiss me or not?
summary: winter is a tough time for the farmer. when shane finds her worrying about her animals refusing to eat, he decides to lend a helping hand.
pairing: shane x fem!farmer
word count: 1.9k
“Good morning my precious children!” the farmer sang aloud, ducking her head as she entered into the small coop to make sure her chickens were fed. They huddled together in the far corner, watching her wearily.
Her eyes flickered to the untouched hay that sat in the feed trough. Frowning, she knelt down in front of the little mob of animals, reaching out a tentative hand.
“Why aren’t you guys eating?” she cooed at them, trying to pet at least one of them. They shied away from her hand, clucking angrily. The farmer sat back on her heels with a frustrated sigh and scratched her chin. Her chickens bobbed and pecked at the wooden floor, but refused to touch their hay.
She got to her feet and inspected the hay, suspicious. Maybe it was tainted. After finding nothing immediately wrong with it, the farmer sighed again and looked back at her chickens.
“I’m going to go talk to Marnie,” she told them, exiting the coop.
The farmer trudged through the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. It was midday, and already there were large, grey clouds looming ominously in the distance that promised another storm later this evening. She shivered as she reached Marnie’s ranch, stomping the snow off her boots before entering the shop.
Warmth greeted her happily as she closed the heavy wooden door behind her. However, Marnie wasn’t at the counter; the whole house was empty and quiet.
The farmer approached the counter with uncertainty, pulling her woolen scarf from her neck. “Hello?” she called out. No one answered except the steady ticking of the clock on the wall.
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. What was she going to do about her chickens? Nobody else knew animals as well as Marnie. With a heavy heart, she wrapped her scarf around her neck again and started towards the door, but her feet faltered once she heard footsteps on the wooden floorboards down the hall. Turning around, she was surprised to see Shane standing in the doorway with disheveled hair and dark circles underneath his eyes.
“Oh--I didn’t think anyone was home,” the farmer said, suppressing a blush and fidgeting with the hem of her scarf. “I was looking for Marnie.”
He blinked, as if finally registering that she was standing there in front of him. He awkwardly cleared his throat and tried--and failed--to casually lean against the doorframe. “She’s--uh, she’s not here. At pilates. With Caroline.”
The farmer slapped a hand to her forehead as realization dawned on her. “It’s Tuesday, isn’t it?” she groaned.
“All day,” Shane replied, picking at his nails.
“Damn,” the farmer cursed, and crossed her arms. “Oh well...thank you for telling me.” She turned towards the door, preparing for the cold.
“Did you need supplies or something?” he suddenly blurted out. “I can still ring you up for whatever you need.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. He looked like a lost puppy--eyes wide and open, despite the dark circles beneath them.
“I, uh--I just needed some advice about chickens,” the farmer sheepishly admitted. “They haven’t been eating.”
Shane perked up at the word “chicken”. “Not eating? That’s not good.”
“No,” the farmer sadly agreed. “I can’t seem to figure out why. I leave fresh hay for them every morning...they just refuse to touch it. At first I thought maybe there was something wrong with the hay, but I didn’t find anything.”
Shane scratched his chin. “Maybe I could come visit them and see if something else is wrong.”
The farmer’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be amazing! Are you busy right now? I really could use your help.”
His cheeks turned a shade of crimson at her words. “Uh--yeah, yeah--let me just, uh, get dressed. Be right back.” With that, he rapidly turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall, his heavy footsteps moving quickly across the wooden floorboards.
The farmer stifled a giggle. She always had a soft spot for the awkward ones.
He suddenly appeared again, dressed in a thick winter coat. “Okay,” he said breathlessly, “let’s go.”
―
“I think I know what the problem is,” Shane remarked as the two of them crouched together inside the cramped chicken coop. He had been watching the flock of birds intently for what seemed like ages, eyes following their every move. “You need a heater in here.”
“A heater,” the farmer said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I should have known!”
“It’s alright,” Shane reassured her and patted her shoulder. “It’s your first winter. At least now you know.”
“All thanks to you,” she looked over and smiled at him. “I really appreciate you coming over and helping me. It means a lot.”
His ears turned pink. “Y-yeah, no problem.”
“You really like chickens, don’t you?”
“I do,” he replied, reaching out to one of them. It clucked lovingly and pushed its feathered head right into his palm, earning an impressed laugh from the farmer.
“Chino doesn’t like a lot of people,” she told him as she watched him pet it carefully. “I think you’re his favorite.” At the sound of her voice, Chino bobbed away from Shane and bumped into her knee with a soft cluck.
Shane chuckled, lifting his gaze to meet hers. “I think you’re his favorite.”
The farmer’s heart suddenly began pounding in her ears. He was so close to her, she could feel his breath on her face and smell the faint cologne still sticking to the blue sweatshirt he wore underneath his coat. She blinked, eyes darting to his full lips--parted and soft. So close…
She hadn’t even realized she began to lean in towards him until she registered the shock on his face.
“Oh--God, I’m so sorry--that wasn’t--I don’t know what I was doing--” she tripped and stumbled over her words as she fell away from him.
Shane abruptly tried to get to his feet, resulting in his head slamming into the the top of the chicken coop. He swore and rubbed his head, trying to scramble away from her. “No--no, it’s alright--”
“Shane, wait!” she called after him as he managed to finally escape the coop. He was already making a beeline towards the woods once she freed herself, boots stomping heavily in the snow. “I can explain!”
“Don’t worry about it!” he threw over his shoulder as he grew smaller and smaller. “I’ll have the heater delivered later today!”
“Shane!”
And just like that, he disappeared through the treeline at the edge of the farm. With a frustrated groan, the farmer knocked the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Stupid--so stupid.”
―
True to his word, Marnie showed up a few hours later with not one, but two heaters.
“One for the coop and one for the barn,” Marnie told her with a wink. “And don’t worry about paying me back right now. Just get it to me when you can.”
“I can’t thank you enough,” the farmer said. “Did--did Shane say anything else to you when you saw him? Besides the heaters.”
“Does he have something else to tell me?”
The farmer bit her lip and turned her focus to the floor of her farmhouse. “No.”
“He’s a tough one to crack,” Marnie said, forcing the farmer to look back up at her. “And you’ve made a lot of progress already...just give it time.”
The farmer nodded. With a cheerful farewell, Marnie left the house, leaving her alone with only her thoughts and the sound of the cold winter wind outside.
After a while, she got up and installed the heaters in the barn and the coop. Almost immediately, the animals’ attitudes changed as warmth spread through the wood. Her chickens began to eat their hay with gusto, earning a relieved sigh from the farmer.
“I was worried about you guys,” she spoke aloud to them amidst the clucking. “You guys are lucky Shane loves chickens so much.”
The farmer dusted her palms on her pants and left the coop. Through the dark clouds of the evening, the moon cast its light over the quiet, snow-covered farm as she began walking back towards the house so she could get some rest. As she climbed the steps tiredly, teeth chattering, she heard the unmistakable sound of boots crunching in the snow.
Looking over her shoulder, her eyes went wide with surprise. Shane was trudging through the snow towards her house, looking downright miserable.
“What are you doing out here so late?” she called to him as she hurried to his side. “It’s freezing!”
“You’re out here,” he said pointedly, arching an eyebrow.
The farmer scoffed. “I was putting in my new heaters, thank you very much. C’mon--I’ll make some hot cocoa and start a fire.”
They reached her porch when he put out a hand to stop her. “Wait--I have something to say. I owe you an apology.”
“No, it was my fault,” the farmer said as she shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I shouldn’t have ran away.”
“Can’t we talk about this inside?” she pleaded, pulling on his arm. “You know, where it’s warm?”
Shane didn’t budge. He looked down at her, searching her eyes. She suddenly felt very small underneath his gaze, shrinking away from him.
“You’re constantly in my head,” he said, raking a hand through his unruly hair. “All the time. At work, at the bar, at home--I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“Shane…” the farmer sighed, but he held up a hand to stop her.
“I’m not perfect,” he went on, closing his eyes. “I’ve been angry, sad, and confused for most of my life--but whenever I’m with you, I’m calm, happy, and everything just feels right.” He opened his eyes and stared at her, transfixed on her beautiful features.
“Well?” the farmer asked, crossing her arms.
“Well what?”
“Are you going to kiss me or not?”
That was all he needed to hear. His lips were just as warm and soft as she had imagined as they pressed against her own, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her closer while her fingers reached up to tangle in his hair. There was something about the intimacy of the kiss that excited her, as if this was something that had been waiting for a long time to happen.
All too soon, Shane pulled away, his hot breath fanning over the farmer’s face. She leaned back breathlessly, sweet, swollen lips parted slightly. He regarded her with such admiration that it made her blush.
“Wow,” she finally murmured, reaching up to touch her lips. “That was--”
“Incredible,” he finished for her, and he pressed his forehead against hers. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
The farmer smiled and sighed in content. She inhaled his earthy scent mixed with cologne, never wanting to leave his embrace. But all good things must come to an end, and he gently pulled away from her.
“I’ve gotta get back,” he said, reaching up and tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “I just wanted to tell you how I felt.”
“I feel the same way,” she replied softly.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” he told her as his thumb grazed her cheek. “I can’t stay away from you for too long.”
With another, more tender, goodbye kiss, Shane left her on the porch, disappearing again through the trees. The farmer stood there staring after him, left with only the sound of the winter wind whispering through the branches.