He knows this is wrong, the way his palms start to sweat, the way his stomach turns in a knot, he knows this is wrong to watch your house so much,bro wait until the lights go off for him to sneak in and watch you sleep. He should leave, before your lights go off, before he ruins the friendship you have with him-The lights have gone off.
Elliott looks at your home and sees they've been off for some time, as if in a trance Elliott goes forward, through the trees, through the long grass, passes your sleeping animals, your fields of wheat, until he's at your door.
Elliott takes the spare key from under the matt and lets himself in, your home is so much more warmer than the cool Autumn air. The red haired writer doesn't close the door as he carefully steps into your house, going straight to your room.Your dog perks up at the noise, laying beside you on your bed but makes no other movement, Elliott brings out a treat as usual and the pooch gobbles it down happily.
Elliott smiles softly at your dog, at you, you've been pushing yourself too hard lately, rising early and nearly collapsing home every night, it breaks his heart to see you like this. You deserve so much more,.to be taken care of, he could give that to you, give you everything..His hand reaches out to gently move your hair from your face. Yes, this is the right thing to do.He could take you here, one night maybe slip something into your drink, come in and-
Horrified Elliott steps away from you.How could he think that?! How could he even think about hurting you in such a way?!His chest tightens, the weight of his desire crushing him, his breath becomes short as he backs away, nearly stumbling as if to protect you from himself. Elliott finds himself back his home, sweating from how fast he ran, he feels sick with himself.
Taking gulp of breath after gulp he moves to sit on his bed. His mind whirling with everything he did, what he thought of doing. He has to remove himself from you, he has to keep you safe, but he could keep you safe couldn't he?
Elliott continued to spiral for some time until there was a soft knock on his door, Elliott gets up from his bed, limbs a little stiff with how long he had been spiraling for and opens his door.He freezes, there you stand in your pajamas, cold from the night air, slip on shoes on and looking frightened.
"I'm sorry to bother you but..i had a horrible nightmare and wanted to check on you..looks like you haven't slept much either.
"No," Elliott croaks out, taking your hand and inviting you in, "I'm afraid it has been a rough night for me as well."Elliott closes the door behind you and leads you to his bed, he wishes his small cabin was nicer, better looking for you to even stay a moment in.
"Would you like to stay here tonight? I shall write for a few hours I'm sure so you can take the bed."
"Oh Elliott, I couldn't take your bed, if you need to sleep I'm more than happy to go back home." Ever the gracious, ever the kind, you don't know what it does to him.Elliott gives you a smile and shakes his head.
"Nonsense, let's not argue about this, we will both feel so much safer together than apart."You nod, cheeks rising with a blush, innocently you allow Elliott to lead you to his bed, and fall asleep beside him, unknowing how close to danger you truly are.
synopsis: stargazing w/ shane. this fic takes place ‘post-game’ (i.e., after the farmer receives the ‘key to the town’, and after shane begins therapy’). friends to lovers enjoyers rise up !!
warnings: angst, with comfort and fluff; descriptions of poor mental health, depression etc. stay safe. ♡
(this is crossposted from ao3).
word count: 1.9k
In the calm of the valley, the night sky stretches out in a breathtaking display: the stars shine proudly, their brilliance undimmed by city lights. Despite moving to Pelican Town four years ago, you're still awestruck by the vastness of the cosmos visible to the naked eye— a sight that would have been obscured by the city smog in Zuzu. Back there, spotting a single star was a rare blessing; seeing one that was not, in fact, just the mistaken dim glow of a passing helicopter was an even greater rarity.
Nestling your head into the sturdy hay bale beneath you, you inhale the earthy scent of dried grass mingling with the crisp night air. Above, the canopy of stars twinkles in a mesmerising dance, each constellation a story waiting to be told. Your gaze flits between the shimmering points of light, tracing the familiar patterns of the night sky.
Beside you, your loyal companion snores softly, a comforting rhythm that grounds you in the present moment. Absentmindedly, you stroke the sleeping dog's fur, feeling the warmth of their body against your fingertips. The bottles of pumpkin juice you had meticulously prepared lay forgotten on the ground, their contents untouched. Your large blanket, meant to shield you from the nocturnal chill, sits idle at your feet.
Despite the breathtaking beauty of the scene before you, a pang of guilt tugs at your heart. It feels almost selfish, you think, to bask in such a gorgeous view alone.
Without hesitation, you rise from your spot beside the barn, stretching your tight shoulders with a huff before swiftly leaping over the hardwood fence. Only one other person in town would be awake at this late hour, and you knew exactly where you would find him. You took a deep breath of the crisp air before making your way down the dirt road towards Cindersap Forest.
“Oh, sure– just let yourself in, I guess,” Shane’s gruff voice murmurs from the kitchen, “I can’t believe Lewis lets you keep that ‘Key to the Town’, fuckin’ bullshit.”
You lean against the door frame, a smirk tugging on your lips as Shane pulls out a steaming bowl of ‘JojaBrand™ Meal for One®: Pepper Poppers’ from the microwave. "Shh, you know you secretly enjoy my surprise visits, Shane," you tease, "Besides, I came over to ask you something."
“Well, are you gonna spit it out, toots, or do you plan on waking up the whole house for this announcement?” Shane grumbles, searching for a clean fork. Years ago, you found his standoffish demeanour frustrating– unfortunately for him, however, it only fuelled your desire to develop a relationship with him; to break down those walls he built up.
“I was gonna ask if you wanted to stargaze with me,” you smile, a genuine toothy grin. “It’s a nice night for it.”
Shane’s eyebrows shoot up momentarily as he hesitates, glancing towards you, “You seriously came over just to ask me that?”
“You don’t have to join me if you don’t want to,” you reply, chuckling softly as you push off the door frame and turn to leave, “Just figured we hadn’t caught up in a while.”
You hear a groan coming from behind you, followed by the clattering of a bowl being discarded on the kitchen counter. He had always had a soft spot for you.
“Yeah, yeah,” Shane sighs, “Lemme grab my jacket.”
The night air is crisp as you and Shane traverse the farm. The distant sound of crickets chirping provides a soothing backdrop to the quiet countryside, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. Shane walks behind you, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his well-worn jacket; his posture stiff and guarded as always.
As you reach your spot by the barn, you unfurl the blanket and settle against the hay, gazing up at the expanse of stars above.
"So, how've you been, buddy?" you offer Shane a bottle of pumpkin juice, noting the tension in his shoulders. "Feels like I haven't seen much of you lately."
Despite Shane's usual standoffish demeanour, there is a subtle shift in his presence as he lowers himself onto the blanket beside you and grabs the juice. His shoulders relax ever so slightly, and for the first time in a long while, there is a hint of vulnerability in his gaze as he turns his attention skyward.
“I’ve been… I don’t know. Good.” Shane's voice trails off as shifts his gaze to the bottle in his hand, his shoulders slouched while his words hang heavy in the air. He drops his head against the rough surface of the hay bale behind him.
Glancing towards him, you note the furrow in his brow and the tension in his shoulders; his strong features illuminated by the moonlight. You resist the urge to press him further, allowing a comfortable silence to settle between you.
Lost in contemplation, you find solace in the vastness above.
After what felt like an eternity, Shane spoke up once more: his voice barely above a whisper.
"Any time I go shopping, like at Pierre’s or when I used to restock the shit they sold at JojaMart, I’d always feel like I’m in the way, y’know?” Shane confesses, his gaze fixed on the black velvet of the night sky. “As if someone is gonna be blocked off by me. And I know it’s not just 'cause I'm a big guy, doll, because then I leave the shop and realise that I still feel like I’m in the way.”
“Do you feel like that now?” you probe, allowing your gaze to drift towards him.
“Kinda, yeah. I always feel like that, I guess,” Shane admits, his voice tinged with resignation. He takes a swig of his juice. “Like I’m some kind of… rock stuck in a stream, with everybody else on planet Earth barging ahead around me—or some other flowery metaphor Elliot’d come up with, I don’t fucking know.”
“Is therapy helping with that feeling? Seems to me like you’re really making progress, if that means anything.” you reply, too enamoured with the contours of his side profile to notice the way his pinky finger locks with yours on the plush blanket. A promise of vulnerability.
“Sorta, but there's a pressure there as well, y’know? Gotta be happy all the time now, otherwise what was it all for? I don't even have a job anymore, I just... I’m just worried that…” Shane pauses, his fingers absentmindedly plucking at the hay behind him, “…Ah, forget it.”
“Worried that what?” You turn to face him, the spectacle of the cosmos long-forgotten.
“It's just that… what if my addiction; shitty personality; tendency to lie about the most basic crap to see people’s reaction; awful sense of humour; impulse to fall in love with someone if they’re nice to me; horrid fashion sense; inability to take a photo of myself smiling: all that crap… are all irrefutable? What if I was doomed to—”
“Shane, don’t—”
“I’ve tried… I’ve tried so hard every day of my life, (Y/n).” Shane's voice cracks, “I just… don’t wanna be a screw-up anymore.”
"Shane, you are not a screw-up," you demur, reaching out a hand to stroke his soft bicep, "You're just… human. You've already taken huge steps by just acknowledging your screw-up-ness and reaching out for help. And yeah, you have been trying, every single day. That's bravery, Shane. That's strength! I'm tired of you being the only one who doesn't see that."
The following silence is only interrupted by the distant chirping of crickets. Shane's eyes wearily scan your face for some kind of tell, as if your response was an inauthentic prank meant to lull him into a false sense of security. The bags under his eyes are shadowed and heavy. Your heart swells.
“Repeat after me—”
“(Y/n), please—” pleads Shane.
“Mister Shane Andrew Miller, repeat after me!”
“Yes, Ma'am,” He chuckles, wiping away a stray tear.
“I, Shane, am a strong, brave, and amazing person; and I am going to be okay.”
“I’m a strong, brave, amazing person… and I'm gonna be okay.”
“Louder!”
“I'm gonna be okay!” He shouts— hands cupped around his mouth to bellow into the sleeping farm. After a nervous chuckle, Shane resigns to a slouch as he looks towards you with a blush warming his cheeks.
“Feel a little better?”
“I feel like a jack-ass,” Shane mumbles,“But yeah, a little.”
“Good,” you reach your hand out to caress his cheek, your thumb tracing patterns in his stubble when he leans into the touch, “and you only looked a little like a jack-ass.”
“Fuck off,” Shane laughs, the banter bringing a familiar light to his eyes, as he shoves your hand away playfully.
You both stay like that for a moment after the laughter dies down, embraced by the warmth of each other's silent company— one of you occasionally turning to retell the latest town gossip, or reference an inside joke neither of you can remember the origins of.
“I should, uh, be heading back now,” Shane moves to stand up, groaning as he stretches his legs, “Penny's taking the kiddo to the community centre tomorrow for some arts and crafts, and I gotta be up early to pack her lunch.”
You look up at his looming form, only now realising how long you had both been out here for.
“Of course, no worries,” you clumsily rise to your feet as your lips quiver with a tentative grin, a delicate curve that hovers on the precipice of expression. “Um, tell Jas I say ‘Hi’, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Shane replies, the awkwardness palpable, “Night, (Y/n),”
“Goodnight,” you raise your hand in a half-hearted wave as you watch his slouching figure turn to leave.
He makes it a couple steps, barely out of reach, before a surge of courage propels you forward.
Reaching out to grasp the sleeve of Shane’s frayed hoodie before doubt can inhibit your impulsion, you pull him towards you.
Your lips crash on his in a rush of fervent emotion. One of Shane’s calloused hands instinctively rises to the nape of your neck; the other wraps around your waist as he pulls you closer, desperately. Bodies flush against each other as his fingers tangle in your hair.
A tingling sensation runs through your body. You reach up to gently cup his face as he deepened the kiss, his trembling lips continue moving against yours with a gentle urgency. In this moment, nothing else matters - no worries or fears, no past or future, no moon or stars.
Your heart races as you both pull away.
“To be clear, if this is, like, a pity thing or whatever,” Shane mumbles, his lips tickling your own as he attempts to catch his breath. “That’s um– that’s fine by me, I don’t… I wasn’t expecting this.”
“No that wasn’t… um,” You rest your forehead on his, closing your eyes as you attempt to calm your frantically beating heart, “I just… wanted to kiss you.”
Shane laughs as he brings both hands to your face, cupping your cheeks as he kisses you once more. This was different, however: gentle, soft, yet just as vulnerable. You look up at him, eye’s shining with the light from the stars, as you admire the softness of his usually stern features.
“You were right, this was a nice night to stargaze.”
Pairing: Shane x Ex-Wife!Farmer!Reader
Warnings: pure angst
Continuation of: “Don’t Smile”
Pt.1 can be found here
POV: Shane
There’s a routine to guilt.
It starts when you wake up and remember she’s not in the bed beside you.
Then it pulses when you see the chickens and think of how she used to talk to them like they were people.
And it wraps around your throat when someone in town asks if you’ve “checked in” on her, like she’s a project you left half-finished.
But she was never a project.
She was a whole world you couldn’t hold.
You thought she’d thrive after the divorce. You really did.
She had the farm. The animals. That steady patience you never understood — like she could coax life out of stone if she loved it long enough.
You pictured her laughing again. Maybe with Harvey, or Elliot, or that weird magician guy. You imagined her twirling in a sundress, handing fresh blueberries to Jas, saying “It’s better this way” to anyone who asked.
But that’s not what you saw.
No. What you saw was a woman who moved like a clock now. Precise. Predictable. Distant.
She still sold the best eggs at Pierre’s. Still had sunburns on her neck from long days in the field. But she barely said a word to anyone. Not unless they said something first.
You asked around — quietly. Leah said she hadn’t gone to a festival in almost a year. Emily mentioned she doesn’t visit the saloon anymore. Marnie said she didn’t smile when she dropped off eggs last week.
Jas said, “She hugs different now.”
That one stuck. Hit harder than the hangovers.
You thought she’d be free without you. Lighter.
But you broke something in her, didn’t you?
You never meant to say it.
“I guess you weren’t enough to fix me, huh?”
You’d been drunk. Angry. Cornered by your own demons. And all she’d done — all she ever did — was try to help.
You watched her freeze like she’d been shot. Watched the light in her eyes shatter.
And you couldn’t take it back.
Couldn’t even say sorry. Not then. Not when it mattered.
A month ago, you saw her sitting at the pier.
The one near Willy’s shop — the place where you first met her for real. Not just a hello in passing, but one of those quiet, unexpected moments where something clicked. She’d sat beside you, back then, without asking, dangling her feet over the water like it was the most natural thing in the world. Said nothing for five whole minutes. And then she’d offered you a cold Joja Cola like it was peace in a can.
You remember thinking, Don’t fall for her.
You fell anyway.
And now, here she was — years later — sitting in the same spot, but she wasn’t offering peace. She wasn’t offering anything.
She didn’t know you were watching from a distance. Hidden by the crates near the shop. You’d gone there to clear your head. You stayed because you saw her.
The sunset was curling gold against the waves, and she looked like a ghost. Still, unmoving, save for the tears trailing down her cheeks — one after another, like they’d been waiting patiently all day to fall.
And the worst part?
Her lips didn’t quiver.
She didn’t shake or sob or cover her face like she wanted to disappear.
She just cried. Silently. Steady. Like she’d accepted the pain. Like she carried it with the same devotion she once gave you.
Your chest locked up so tight it hurt to breathe.
You’d hurt her.
Not with fists or rage or betrayals. But with silence. With not being enough. With saying the thing she never thought she’d hear from the person who swore to protect her.
You stayed there until she finally stood. Brushed her face with the sleeve of her flannel. Turned, slow and empty, and walked back toward the farm without ever noticing you were there.
And you stood alone on that dock long after she left, wondering how long a person could live with that kind of regret before it became their whole identity.
You drink less now. Not none — you’re not a liar — but less.
It doesn’t make the pain go away. Doesn’t make her come back. But it keeps your mind clearer. Lets you carry the guilt with just enough clarity to maybe learn something from it.
You don’t ask the town about her anymore. You already know what they’d say.
Instead, you sometimes leave things at the end of her driveway. Quiet things. A bouquet of blue jazz flowers. A golden egg Jas thought she’d like. A note once, folded crookedly, that only said, “You didn’t fail me. I failed you.”
You don’t know if she read it.
You don’t know if it matters.
But it’s the first honest thing you’ve said in a long time.
You see her again at the general store one morning. She’s buying seeds. Sunflowers. You want to say something. Anything.
But when she turns and your eyes meet for the first time in months, she gives you the faintest nod.
Not angry. Not warm.
Just… acknowledgment.
And something in that nod says, I’m still standing. But I haven’t forgotten.
You watch her leave, hair tied up, boots muddy, hands full of life she’s about to plant.
And you think to yourself:
She was never the one who needed fixing.
I just wasn’t strong enough to grow beside her.
Summary: Haley makes a selfish choice and has to deal with the fallout from her frustrated partner. Some angst but all resolved with fluff <3.
You hadn’t meant to slam the door, being all too aware of it’s squeaky hinges and questionable stability, but there was nothing that could keep your temper down as you searched for your significant other. It wasn’t like you to be angry but your blood was rushing quick through your veins meanwhile there was a vice grip on your heart, panic spreading the longer you had to think about what you had discovered.
“Haley!” You seethed, teeth grinding together as you rounded every corner in the farmhouse. You knew she wasn’t fond of you tracking mud through the house but you couldn’t find it in you to care as you trekked through your bedroom, the cellar, your living room, in any and all attempts to find her. In town you had stopped by the fountain she so often found herself in front of the first couple of years you had lived in Pelican Town. She was still fond of the spot you knew, but less now that the community center was remodeled and foot traffic increased.
Where was she?
Letting out a frustrated scream, you tripped over your own boots as you exited the way you came in, not even bothering to close the door this time. You had other priorities. Heading towards the stable, you found Haley sitting beside the sunflower field you had grown especially for her. She looked at peace, her full lips quirking up at the edges as she mused over something on her hand. You couldn’t quite make it out but it was shimmering, delicate, expensive.
“Haley”, you uttered again, this time the wind was knocked out of you. Seeing her with that gentle smile on her face offset the boiling of your blood but not enough to derail you from the hurt and anxiety you were currently feeling.
Her blue eyes locked onto yours and the second they did, her full lips pointed downward. “Y/N? What’s wro-”
“I couldn’t buy crops today.”
It was the first day of spring in the fourth year of your residence in Pelican Town. The snow had finally left the valley after a cruel winter. The cold had persisted longer than the last year and you were met with several damages to your fences, barn, and sheds because of the warring weather. Repairs had nearly drained your account dry. Haley had held you all winter, warming your numb fingers in her hands after long days of work. She had listened when you spoke of your fears, of not having the funds to get the animals hay or the bus ticket to Calico Desert where you could find some work in the skull caverns. She knew, and you thought that meant everything would be fine.
Bugs beginning to buzz around the tulip pot you had set up on the porch just yesterday afternoon. You had woken up this morning with a game plan, and excitement in your bones. You knew exactly what crops you’d be getting from Pierre and in what way you would organize them. You knew what needed to be tended to in the greenhouse and what you would plant out front with the sprinklers. Everything had been meticulously calculated to give you a strong start to the beginning of the year.
This was the year you were going to breathe, the year you weren’t going to go to the ocean and fish sun up to sun down just so you could sell some sardines to Willy to get through the week. This was supposed to be it.
“Oh! Darling I’m sorry, was Pierre out?”
Your heart gave a painful tug. Even now, she was in her own world, pretty eyes concerned but fingers still toying with whatever she had bought this time. The frustration was gnawing at you and left you feeling restless as you stood and stared at Haley. How was she so unaware of the situation after you’d spent the entire winter physically and emotionally exhausted?
In a fit of desperation you kicked at the ground, nearly slipping when you hit a softer patch, mud spraying out beneath your boot. You were too busy trying to right your balance that you nearly missed the sharp intake of breath from your beloved.
“Y/N! What the hell?” Was her shocked reaction to the mud that now stained her silken pink skirt. You’d seen that expression a thousand times before you two had even thought about dating. Her eyebrows were knit together and her lips pressed together in a thin line.
“I don’t know what’s got you in such a rotten mood! You woke up just fine. Don’t make it my problem because Pierre isn’t working today.”
You wanted to kiss those lips but you also wanted to scream.
“I should be asking you that! What the hell have you been buying? I got to Pierre’s today and he had the pleasure of watching me open our empty wallet! So, Haley, I think I get to ask you: What. The. Hell?”
Despite your desire, your voice wasn’t much more than a whisper. Her flushed cheeks, now from anger and not the sun that had been bathing her and the flowers earlier, drained of all color.
“I- You see.... Empty?”
Your wife struggled for words, eyes blown wide but confusion marring them. And then, guilt. Her hands unfolded, presenting an aquamarine pendant. Haley gulped heavily.
“On my way back from taking some photos, I stopped at the traveling cart. It was so beautiful I couldn’t resist!”
“Please think of someone but yourself for once!”
The words were ugly but were leaving your mouth before you could soften them. You didn’t regret them, but you hadn’t meant to cut her with the sharpness of your tone. You loved Haley, of course you did, she was your wife and world. However, she was also selfish. You had known this from day one and it was something you had grown to almost find endearing about her. Your princess. And that she was. A total princess.
Her mouth was gaping, eyes growing watery. It was a sight you hated to see more than any other. You’d let a thousand rock crabs cut you before you’d sit and watch her cry. Letting out a deep breath you tried to ground yourself.
“I thought you knew what we were up against this year,” You choked up, eyes also beginning to fill with tears. “I don’t know how many times I confided in you princess, this last season nearly took the farm from us. I almost had to sell the pigs because they were just more mouths to feed and you know they can’t provide for us in the winter...”
Haley chewed on her lips, the pendant forgotten in the grass below her now. You couldn’t help but feel another pang. Something she had to have without a second thought of anything, of you, was now laying in the dirt and forgotten. You understood that wasn’t what she was saying as she offered you all of her undivided attention but you were feeling sore, bitter, scared.
“I’ll go and sell it right now!” She cried out, scrambling to the ground to pick it up. It really was a gorgeous piece of jewelry, delicate silver work encased the gem and it was the exact shade of Haley’s luminous eyes. “Clint will give a fair price! And....and I can help you plant today!”
It was a kind effort with how deeply she disliked the dirt. Even now her eyes scanned over her skirt even if she didn’t realize the micro expressions she had between apologies.
“I didn’t think Y/N... I can’t even find any excuses. I knew how bad it was, but it alway seemed so far away. You’ve just taken such good care of me that I didn’t feel like we were in need. I always have everything, I didn’t think you might be going without, even when times were tough.”
It was so brutally honest that your anger was melting into a sad acceptance. Haley was selfish, but she also had a good heart. And you had tried for years to give everything to that heart, to fill it full and never leave it empty. She loved pretty things, you gave them to her. You could remember that for her birthday your first year in town you had held onto a diamond from the mines. You had known that it would be much better to sell it and set yourself up a bit more comfortably but you’d had no regrets once you’d seen her utter joy at her present. It had been what had gotten her to warm up to you, however minute that warming up was, in the beginning.
“I never want you to feel like you aren’t being cared for but this was huge for me Haley... I don’t want to make you get rid of the pendant because you love it but I need to feel like you are with me for the farm and the lifestyle and the struggles, not just with me for what I can provide you. I want you adorned in jewels and fine clothes and I want only smiles on your face-”
“But what’s the point if we can’t both have those things.” She finished your thought before you’d even had it fully formed. Tears had spilled from her pretty eyes, leaving her cheeks damp and pale. Her hands shook as she reached for you, a new understanding dawning on her.
“Y/N, I am so sorry.” Every word was stressed with so much emotion you had no problem believing her. She hiccuped with distress once, twice, then continued, “When we said our vows I was promising to be in this with you but I see now I’ve been spoiled this whole time. Will you forgive me? I promise I will fix this.”
Drawing her closer into your arms, emotions finally settling in your chest, you pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. You loved her and you knew without a doubt she loved you. Your frustrations weren’t gone, and you two would need a serious talk after this, but for now daylight was passing you by and you two had come to an understanding.
“I’ll walk you to Clint’s and then we can work on the farm together,”
Haley gave you a tight squeeze, lips pressing heavily against yours, thankful you had forgiven her. After all, you always would.
I've been super obsessed with Stardew Valley these past two weeks; I have two saves I'm working on, my first on which I'm on year six, married with two kids, and the other one on which I'm a few days away from wrapping up year one. On my main save my husband is Sebastian, and I just saw a reel of this one person on Instagram's sdv farmer going missing and Sebastian seeing missing posters of the farmer all around town and I'm tempted to write a fic of the farmer going mining or something only for the old, unstable mines to collapse and the whole town volunteers to go into the mines to look for them.
Marlon is handing out weapons and whatever armor he has, Evelyn is stress-baking and helping Harvey at the first aid station he set up, even George is there, worried but acting like he doesn't care and not fooling anyone. Penny is at her house, watching Vincent and Jas and trying to keep them calm. Marnie has temporarily taken over the farm, watering crops and tending to the animals while Sebastian is looking for his missing spouse.
Except like two, three weeks later they haven't found the farmer and are starting to lose hope that they might even be alive cuz of all the monsters and the lack of food. Then the day the farmer is declared likely dead, on which the whole town has a funeral for them, the farmer is hacking away at the boulders blocking the exit in the mines and manages to crawl out through stone and mud. Sebastian, on the farm, is absolutely devastated and mourning the love of his life, cries himself to sleep only to wake up ungodly early when the farmer manages to open the door and stumble into the house only to immediately collapse in the living room.
Sebastian rushes out to see what causes the noise and sees the spouse he thought was dead, right there on the floor. He bursts into action, first checking for a pulse like Harvey taught him; Harvey taught everyone in town a first aid crash course before the first group of volunteers went into the mines. Upon finding one, he strips you down and drags you into the bathroom and throws you into a bath to wash away the mud and check you over for injuries. He patches up what he can, runs back to the living room to call Harvey to haul ass to the farm and that you somehow managed to make it home before calling up Alex to see if Evelyn has any leftovers she might be willing to part with because he's too frazzled to cook. Alex shows up like ten minutes later with a big bag of food, courtesy of both Evelyn and Gus.
Trigger Warning:… come on, it’s angst, you know what to expect. No 18+ tho
Sebastian and Maru were actually quite close as children, but Demetrius wanted his daughter to pursue her intellectual potential and signed her up for many extracurricular lessons. Maru liked them, but it caused her to have less time to spend with Seb. Sebastian felt abandoned and felt like he essentially received a message: “you’re not as smart as your younger sister, therefore we love you less”. Being a child and not having the ability to properly deal with his emotions, he took his anger on Maru. All this combined, as you can easily imagine, caused their relationship to get distant.
Elliott’s parents not only were pushing him to get a “real job”, they also looked down on his more feminine side. During his childhood and teenage years they cut his hair short against his will whenever it grew back to the length he was comfortable with. These incidents were traumatic enough that he still has nightmares about them when you are married (except in the nightmares it’s you cutting his hair, which makes the dreams even worse).
The abuse Alex endured from his dad was way worse than the vanilla game lets us know. Like, it’s canon that his mother unalived herself. And while a tragedy like that may have many sources, I believe one of them was that her child was suffering worse fate than just being shouted at.
Speaking of Alex’s mum, many people seem to forget that she was Evelyn’s and George’s daughter? From the outside it seems that it’s Evelyn who mostly takes care of George, but my headcanon is that after losing their child it was he who did everything around the house and took care of her both physically and emotionally.
Sebastian is either gay or bi (depending if you’re dating him as a female farmer), but thinks that there’s something wrong with him. He felt a bit of same-sex attraction when he was taking a piano lesson from Elliott, which caused him to stop taking these lessons out of fear and self-hate. Robin and Demetrius still think that he just gave up. The saddest thing is - Elliott and Leah, local representatives of the Alphabet Mafia, would help Seb accept himself if he only opened up to them.
I can’t make everything into a full-on fanfic, I have an RPG campaign to prepare and fanarts to try to draw 😭 And I guess job to go to…
Most of the votes wanted it so like, here’s my mediocre all hurt no comfort Harvey angst, maybe eventually I’ll write a sequel????
Anyway content warnings: gender nuetral reader, y/n used, stole a quote from the outsiders hence its credit at the end, Harvey being sad, bad medical stuff cause I only vaguely looked it up tbh, blood, death, mild gore, I did not describe what went down in the mines but the injuries are harsh babes, it’s nsfw through gore and blood so I’ll still put it under read more also I probably spelled grumpelton wrong so warning on that too lol
He gets the call early in the evening, just as he’s putting the finishing touches on the dinner he’s made the two of you, a special seafood pasta and some garlic bread with a glass of wine.
His soft music interrupted by a frantic phone call from robin “Harvey! There’s been an accident in the mines, y/n…” she’s stuttering over her words, attempting to explain the scene her husband had come across, the farmer having barely pulled themselves out of the mines, badly gashed and bruised, barely conscious and losing blood quickly, too quickly.
The meal long forgotten as Harvey throws the phone to the side and sprints out of the house, glad you invested in that old beater truck now even though he had some safety concerns about it, he speeds towards the clinic since Demetrius had rushed you there and Maru had used her spare keys to unlock the door.
The scene is gut wrenching, Harvey never liked you going into the mines and now you’ve certainly done it, your laid out on a cot, Maru attempting what she can to keep you stable and talking before clearing the way for Harvey to begin assessing and treating your wounds, your ribs are fractured and from the sounds of the bubbling you’ve punctured a lung, breathing laboured and lips pale blue from lack of oxygen.
Your body spasms with an attempted cough, blood spluttering onto his surgical gown, his heart is pounding as he watches your vitals crashing, attempting to drain the buildup of blood with a tube through your ribs and into the lung, it’s unpleasant but despite the way his nerves are shot his hands remain steady, watching the ebbing blood flow into the bag attached to the bed. He’s cursing internally, he knows he doesn’t have the facilities for this, knows you need to be emergency transported to grumpelton where they have a proper trauma bay, he’s fighting the clock trying to keep you stable while transport is on their way.
The monitors beep as your heart rate spikes to dangerous levels, stress and pain playing their part as your body tries to cope with the blood loss.
maru is following his instructions as he commands the room “stay with me” he mumbles as he works “come on, I can’t lose you, please” he’s muttering under his breath as he tries to lower your heart rate with anything he has available “come on love, please, not yet, we had so many plans” he’s not a religious man but at this moment? He’s praying to whatever god will listen.
His call isn’t answered as the quick beats turn into a long high pitched whine, the monitor showing you’ve flatlined, body unable to cope “no….nonononono” he mumbled as he attempts compressions, your ribs cracking sickeningly under him, pushing more blood out from your lungs to gurgle through your mouth in a disturbing picture, Harvey still performing chest compressions has to be hauled off by Maru, the poor girl mumbling a prayer under her breath as she calls time of death, Harvey staring numbly at the love of his life on the cot in a violent picture of his worst fears come to life.
Dinner sits untouched on the table, what had once been a romantic candlelit meal now cold and untouched, shadows no longer dance on walls as the candles are long since burned out.
“Y/n didn't die a hero. They died violent, and young, and desperate. Just like we all knew they’d die someday” - the outsiders
🍁Fluff: If you ever let him, Elliot would curate your outfits for a week. You’d be surprised at how well of an eye he has for fashion. And you’d be even more impressed with the results. The entire town showered you with compliments, and since then you’ve let him plan an outfit for you ever so often.
🍁Angst: Elliot may have dealt with the trauma of losing someone extremely important to him. It was the catalyst that made him move to his cabin. He isolated himself from the town throughout his first year as a resident. What happened was most likely a death, however he does not like talking about that period of his life. The only augments from that time are his locked journal and his uncut hair.
🍁Humor: Every now and then he will try to freestyle some poetry. Yes, slam poetry. He sounds like he’s suffering as he spits out whatever’s on his mind.
