How We Grow - Stardew Valley Fanfic (Elliot x Male MC)

How We Grow - Part 3

Early one sunny morning, Jack found himself standing breathless at the edge of the old wooden farmhouse deck. He gazed in amazement out over the garden. The plants had appeared to burst from the ground almost overnight. Though he'd watched them as they started to grow, something was different this morning. They were breathtaking, draped in morning dew. The golden wheat blew leisurely in the cool breeze, and the eggplants sparkled as the sun illuminated the dew droplets on their dark violet skin.

"Elliot!" Jack called out excitedly, bursting back through the farmhouse door. He dropped to his knees next to where Elliot lay tangled in the patchwork blankets of his pallet. Stirring slowly, Elliot batted his emerald eyes and looked sleepily up at the buzzing boy looming over him. Jack's normally deep brown eyes seemed to sparkle like topaz and his scruffy chestnut hair swayed about as he moved.

"Is it...time?" Elliot asked with sleepy anticipation. Jack nodded rapidly and helped pull Elliot out of the blanket web, "Hurry, come take a look! This view is definitely gonna give you a shot of inspiration, come on!"

Pulling him out onto the deck before he could change clothes or even put on shoes, Jack pointed Elliot to the flourishing garden before them. He hadn't let go of his hand, and squeezed it tighter as he turned to face him.

"We did it! See? We really did it! Isn't it amazing?"

Elliot took Jack's other hand gently as he watched the young farmer boy beam delightedly over what they had accomplished.

"You see," Elliot said sweetly, resisting the urge to pull Jack into his arms, "I knew you had it in you. This is sure to be a most magnificent harvest."

Jack stood lost for a moment in Elliot's gaze, frozen by the gentle caress of his hands. What was this feeling? Ever since that somber day when Elliot had pulled him away from his encroaching depression, his view of the elegant man had shifted. In fact, it had happened so rapidly it felt almost hard to believe. In a matter of days, they had gone from casual acquaintances to remarkably close friends. Just friends, right?

Elliot turned away with an awkward laugh, releasing Jack's hands and scratching the back of his head in what appeared to be a nervous gesture, "Well, if you'd like to get started here I'll go hastily to round up our friends. I assure you they won't want to miss out on the harvest!"

Jack waved to Elliot as he shrank away in the distance, leaving him standing alone on the old stone stair. His heart ached a bit at the farewell, even knowing it was only for such a small window of time, and he wondered what it really meant. Just friends... right? Right?

Upon Elliot's return with Leah and Willy, the group got started right away, eagerly reaping the fruits of their labor. They sang and laughed as they worked, rotating between folk songs initiated by Leah and sea shanties which were unsurprisingly Willy's personal favorite. Everyone pitched in on the songs even when they didn't know the words. The hours passed in quick succession. When the sun was high in the sky, the crew paused for a vibrant lunch of warm robustly seasoned soup and Leah's favorite salad, followed by a hearty desert of cinnamon glazed yams. Once lunch was done, it was back to work with more jokes, stories, and songs.

The eventful day passed quickly, and as the sun finally began to set, Jack and Elliot waved goodbye to their friends after thanking them profusely for their aid. Looking over the bundles of items that they'd gathered from the harvest, Jack was in awe. He felt as if he could stare forever at the garden's bounty.

"There's no way that love was really the difference this season, right?" Jack said curiously, "I mean there's no way that makes any scientific sense."

"Oh certainly it wasn't just the love," Elliot said sternly. Jack looked at him in surprise over the statement which seemed profoundly out of character.