Rock Between Us (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Climbing

More messages.

Sebastian looked down at his flip phone as he stepped out of the house his mother built with her own hands. He'd opened the flip phone to check for text messages from Sam only to be accosted the moment he stepped out of the house, his eyes squinting at the screen he suddenly couldn't see. Yet, he knew he should have been prepared for the rays of sun despite only ever venturing out on the weekends during his and Sam's band practice.

He took a deep breath, lifting his hand up so that he might shade his eyes from the sunlight, taking in the fresh air which blew through the mountain just above Stardew Valley. "I should feel like this place is home, but there's no getting around how home reminds me of how much of a disappointment I am for not at the very least following in mom's footsteps. The pieces just don't fit together."

Which, of course, was the reason for escape.

Sebastian pulled his bag with his mountain climbing gear further upon his shoulder. On his other hand, he adjusted the phone, noticing yet another message from Yuichiro, this one marked urgent. He stiffened, wondering what Yuichiro felt was so urgent, given the fact the photos Yuichiro asked for were meaningless, just a memory of a trip neither of them enjoyed.

"Well, I did enjoy the climbing, which is why I'm doing this. I'll check his message out when I get back. As I told Sam, I'm not going to let anyone take this away."

The other messages were from Sam and Abigail, with Sam telling him to have fun and be safe. At the same time, Abigail announced she would be coming over despite not being invited or asking if he had any projects he was working on that he needed not to be interrupted. He sent the "I will" message to Sam and told Abigail too, "Not bother. I won't be home, but I would rather you stop bugging me like this."

He wasn't surprised when he received instant responses from both Sam and Abigail, Sam's in the form of the most smiley emoji that his best friend could find. At the same time, Abigail decided to pick out an emoji that stuck out its tongue and tell him to stop teasing her about being the best, followed by some bug emoji. And he stared, unsure of how she couldn't get the message that there were certain times that he didn't want to be bugged.

Sebastian took a deep breath of the mountain air before slipping his flip phone into the bag and starting up the mountain path to the trail leading to the mountain towards the old train station. There was also a good feeling that seemed to increase with each step he took up the mountain path, looking for the perfect place to start climbing.

His breath drew in, deep and refreshing as his excitement grew. The sides of the trail carved into the mountainside didn't have the same thrill as the mountains he climbed with his dad, even Yuichiro when he was younger. There was no mistaking the various crevices which would make good hand and footholds, his mind already calculating every single path he might take up, as well as what he wanted to do first.

A ledge attracted Sebastian's attention, a place where he could stop and look around. He unzipped his pack to pull out the mountain gear, suddenly catching sight of the sunscreen and sunglasses that Demetrius had him bring along. He frowned, gripping the sunscreen in his hand.

"Oh yeah. I should. Sunburns are a pain." He felt his mouth twist slightly into a smile. "Aren't you bothered with Demetrius interfering? Is he not your dad? Right. Maru's his kid, and he..." Sebastian frowned, tensing. "He stood up for me in front of Maru, which is something."

The cap clicked open, and Sebastian squeezed out the sunscreen lotion, flinching when it touched his skin, making him remember he'd never liked putting sunscreen on despite knowing how necessary it was. Upon finishing, he slid the sunscreen back into the bag before putting on the harness and preparing to climb.

And soon, he was up backpack on his back. His fingers twisted around the rocks above, and his toes pressed against the rocks below. His muscles strained as he continued climbing up, the wind blowing through the trail, while the sun continued to beat down on his head, the touch of the rays not as much to his liking as the touch of the wind.

Eventually, he arrived at the ledge and twisted around so he might sit and have a good look at what he could see. Down the path, which was relatively straight, Sebastian could see the roof of the house his mother built, something he'd not been able to see before. Reaching into his bag, he took out his phone, his back leaning into the wall, smiling down at sight below him as he took a picture so he could show Sam later on.

Sliding the phone back into the bag, Sebastian looked up, contemplating the following path, the path which would get him to the top of the trail, which in turn didn't seem that high up. He remembered how exhilarating climbing was, let alone how much he missed it.

He continued climbing, heading on up the side of the trail, his day going quite well, except for, of course, the sun beating down upon him. Sebastian eventually arrived up above the path which cut through the mountainside, up to the train station. He turned, looking out again, finding himself able to see down into the valley, and he took out his phone again, snapping a picture of the valley.

"Well, this is certainly different. Normally I ride my motorcycle up to the cliff and look out at Jojo City, always imagining moving away from this place. But this? It's still some out-of-the-way place, yet I'm glad I didn't miss seeing this."

He pulled out his lunch while slipping on the sunglasses now that there was more sun.

"Today's gone well so far."