Rock Between Us (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Really

"You're really doing this?"

Sebastian stared. "What?"

"Doing something as risky as mountain climbing?" Maru said, standing there pouting, her fists at her side. It was definitely not cute, but then his younger sister, his half-sister, was a t-shirt and overalls kind of girl who stopped being cute a long time ago. However, in the back of his mind, he wondered at that moment as she tried prying into his business if she was ever cute.

"Sannon was always cute, but then she was always little, wasn't she? How old is she now? Not that she'd care to see me when she's got Yuichiro to look out for her."

"Why is your face turning red?" Maru asked, lifting her arms so they could cross her chest.

"Crap," Sebastian muttered. "I'm the lousy older brother like always."

"Seriously, why is your face turning red? You're acting like..." Maru frowned, not finishing what she said. "Never mind."

Which, of course, only made him feel even more flustered. "Hold on. Acting like what?"

"Like a little kid who's been caught," Maru said, lifting a finger into the air, almost as if she were lecturing him, though—

"It's felt as if she's been lecturing me from the very start. And to think, this morning actually started off well, particularly since I'm not normally a morning person."

He'd woken up that morning, hoping to get started before his mother knew what he was up to, packing his mountain climbing gear into his backpack so he could carry it up the nearby trail before proceeding towards the kitchen to get some water and snacks for the day while ignoring the fact Yuichiro sent him yet another text.

"It's not as if I have the pictures yet. I'll get them later on. I want to climb get some fresh air. And I don't want to think about family right now."

Of course, family found him. Maru was up, and she seemed to key onto his plans, but then—he'd revealed to her he'd just purchased new equipment the other day, which in turn made her flip out. And she had to be right there, as he was attempting to avoid his mother that morning, ready to ask if he was really going to go mountain climbing.

"Would you just leave me alone?" Sebastian asked, glaring at her, hoping the flustered embarrassment he felt first from thinking he actually did want to be a not-lousy older brother, which now he could care less about, followed by her embarrassing him, treating him as if his face turning red was him thinking something perverted about his youngest sibling. "Sannon was the one sibling who never judged me. Never, not once. And I did get to feel like I was an amazing brother, even though I was really a lousy one. So maybe..."

"I'm your sister, so no, I won't leave you alone."

"Yup. No way Sannan is still cute, but Yuchiro had to be lying about her wanting to see me because there is absolutely no way anybody would want me as an older brother except to make my life a living hell for being such a lousy older brother. I'm such a loser. I really..."

"Maru, stop bothering your brother," came a voice from behind, coming from the makeshift lab.

Sebastian turned his head. "Demetrius?"

"Stop smiling like an idiot, Sebastian!"

Which startled Sebastian, making him realize that indeed, he had started smiling at his step-dad and now—now he looked at the ground, feeling guilty for doing so.

"Stop picking on your brother, Maru," Demetrius said. "He didn't do anything wrong, although..."

"What did I do wrong?" Sebastian's head shot up, his throat straining as he went on the defensive. He always felt as if he were doing something wrong, but when he looked at Demetrius—

Demetrius was smiling for some reason. "I just thought it was nice to actually see you up this early. What are your plans for the day."

Sebastian's mouth clamped shut, his eyes focusing on the ground. Maru, of course, had to answer for him. "This idiot brother of mine is going mountain climbing."

"It's just on the trail," Sebastian muttered.

"Maru, what did I tell you?" Demetrius said, but now, when Sebastian looked up, Demetrius was definitely frowning. He shouldn't have cared, given they didn't have a good relationship, although it had gone so well the other day. "And Sebastian, you aren't using the old equipment, are you?"

"No. I got new equipment."

"Oh. I'm glad," Demetrius said.

"Are you serious? He's going out climbing on his own, dad!"

"It's just on the trail and not that high up!" Sebastian protested, suddenly flinching, his eyes now on his parent's room, hoping his mother hadn't heard. She—Robin, could be very particular about the minor scrapes he came home with, driving him up the wall.

"Well, I guess I'll need to get new equipment of my own so you can go higher," was Demetrius' response. "Sticking to the trail, after all, isn't going to be much fun, and you shouldn't go farther on his own."

"Dad!" Maru's voice rose, and Sebastian turned, seeing her do the oh-so not cute thing again of her fists at her side, her mouth twisted into a pout. "Stop encouraging him!"

"Encouraging him? Your brother's not doing anything wrong."

"Half-brother!" Maru snapped before turning to walk away but then stopped, pointing her finger at them. "And you know mom won't like it!"

And then she was gone.

"I'll try talking to her later," Demetrius said before turning to Sebastian. "You were headed to the kitchen?"

"Water and snacks," Sebastian muttered, still unused to talking civilly with Demetrius, his mouth twisting.

"Lunch," Demetrius replied. "And make sure the snacks you take will give you the energy you need."

"Um—yeah. I'll make sure to take lunch with me," Sebastian said, turning towards the kitchen. "Definitely weird." He set out to packing water and the food into his bag, planning on being out of there before his mother noticed when he head—

"Here. You'll need this as well."

Sebastian turned, looking at the items Demetrius had brought in. "Those..."

"Sunscreen and sunglasses," Demetrius said. "Your skin is pale, paler than your mom's, so you've always burned easily if you aren't careful, but you've not spent much time outdoors during the day. Not since..." Demetrius frowned, not mentioning the fact he'd not done outdoor things during the day since Sebastian stopped visiting his dad. He then smiled. "Anyways. You take care of yourself and try not to get scraped up as your mom will throw a fit. Be on the move soon, too—else Robin will find out."

"Sure," Sebastian said, that smile as he had before—the one Maru called him an idiot for sneaking back in. He stuck the items Demetrius brought into his bag, his mind deciding to grab a few other things to toss in before heading out. He stopped outside of Demetrius' lab, pausing as the man worked, almost saying thank you, only to decide better of it, not wanting to ruin how things currently were between them.