Frogs in the Rain (Stardew Valley // Sebastian)

Fatherly Instincts

When Kent Walker finally returned home, it was his wife and sons who met him at the Zuzu City airport. No enemy troops, no privates or lieutenants or captains, just his family. They embraced him at the gate, and he nearly crushed them with the years' worth of pent-up adoration for them he had been carrying around since his deployment, back when Sam was only seventeen. Now, his eldest son was an adult, and his little Vincent (though not that little anymore) had grown into a young man in his father's absence. And Kent's wife, he noted, was just as beautiful, if not more, than he remembered.

On the bus ride home, Vincent told his father all about the presents Santa delivered to them during the Feast of the Winter Star. Jodi held her husband's hand tightly, almost in tears again as her lover was finally within her reach once more.

Sam, on the other hand, who was not fortunate enough to fit into the small bus seat beside his family, sat in the seat across from them. Nevertheless, his fidgeting movements gave off the impression that he was extraordinarily excited. He glanced out the bus's spacious windows, hopping once they passed Stardew Valley's road sign and flashing his dad a wide grin. Kent wondered what Sam was so excited to show him.

No... Actually, Kent was wondering if he knew his son at all at that moment. How much had Sam truly changed in the past four years? How many events had Kent missed? Hardships? Relationships? Everlasting memories? Nightmares?

That morning, Sam didn't show Kent anything at all, deciding in his usual selfless, big-brotherly fashion to relinquish the day to his younger brother and the boy's want for some long-awaited fatherly attention. He returned to his room, grappling his guitar and writing down chords as he put them together.

He had already called Nix for the day, with Abigail answering the phone instead. Her voice was as sweet as nectar as she assured Sam his assistance wasn't needed, and that he could spend as much time with father as he needed to. When he asked how Nix was doing and where she was, Abigail waved away his worries. Nix was doing just fine, and she and Emily were busy sowing seeds for her eventual spring harvest. As Sam played another chord, he recalled his growing relief as the winter ended. The men who attacked Nix never returned, leaving her to heal and regain her strength peacefully. They were even able to celebrate her twenty-second birthday without hiccups, which occurred two days after the last scheduled Night Market- an annual event in the valley where boats docked and goods were exchanged. Sam remember how brightly she smiled that night, blowing out the candles on the choclate cake their mom made. He counted his stars and thanked his god for that, tapping his foot against the ground as he began to play a new song he wrote, "Nights Under the Sun."

Kent honed in on his son's singing right away, quite surprised at how refined and smooth the young man's voice was against the hums of his guitar. He listened to it in the background as he continued engaging with his youngest son. Vincent was very eager to play old maiden, and Kent wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. He would talk to his bright eldest, later, he knew.

That night, Jodi took Kent to the Stardrop Saloon for their first night out in four years. Vincent and Sam didn't join, with Sam assuring his mom that she was allowed to have alone time with her own husband, and with Vincent asking for somebody named "Nixie." So, he left with his wife clinging to his arm, courting her through town and entering the saloon as all eyes settled on them. He met old friends and chatted with unfamiliar ones, smiling as best as he could despite the horrors he left behind just hours beforehand. For a moment, he had to pinch himself and remind his psyche that things were real, that he was finally home.

The food was more amazing than he could have ever wished for, his tongue not tasting a truly warm meal since the start of his deployment. He lapped up his pepper poppers like a dog, stopping momentarily between bites to smile at his wife, who at one point was laughing because he had bits of cheese stuck in his aftershave. Then, stomachs full, they paid for their meals and linked arms on their way home.