After a long time packing your things, saying goodbye to the few friends you had, and the really long bus ride, you finally got to Stardew Valley. You often visited this place as a child, so just seeing the sign that read "Welcome to Stardew Valley" started bringing back memories. You smile, hop off the bus, and happen to see someone standing by the bus stop.
She waves at you as she starts to walk in your direction. "Hi! You must be the new farmer. Y/n, right?" She asks in a polite voice. You simply nod back, too tired to talk after the long bus ride.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Robin. I'll be walking you to your new farm. Mayor Lewis is getting things ready for when you arrive." She says as she starts walking in the direction of said farm, and you follow along and think to yourself. "Mayor Lewis...? Didn't Grandpa mention something about him in his letter?" You shrug off the thought and continue walking.
As you get to the farm, your jaw drops as you see what your "new" home looked like. It was a mess. Weeds, rocks, twigs, and huge trees were all over the place, and the house itself didn't look too great either. It looked like it was about to fall apart. Robin looked over to you, and saw the stress on your face. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to clean all this up. There's good soil under all this mess." She chuckles.
Lewis then walks up to you and says "Hello. I'm Mayor Lewis. I take it you're moving into your grandpa's old cottage. What do you think of the place?" You then look at him, look at the house, and state the obvious by awkwardly saying. "Just looking at it makes me feel unsafe."
The mayor gasps and says "It's just rustic. That's all!" Robin then cuts him off by saying "Crusty would probably be a better word for it."
The only thing Lewis can say to that is "Rude!" as Robin laughs at him. Lewis continues the conversation by saying "Don't listen to her, Y/n. She's just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades." Robin then gasps as if she's surprised. Though she's really just annoyed.
After a bit, the two show you around a bit more, then they go their separate ways. Leaving you with this sad little house. You go inside to see that all there is in the house is a bed, a small table, a chair, some and a small box. You grab the box, and go to sit on the bed. You then proceed to open the box, and see that it has seeds in it. "I was planning to go to bed, but I guess I could plant these first" you say to yourself as you get out of bed and walk out of the house. You also grab the tools that you happened to see sitting by the door on your way out. For some reason, you didn't notice them until now.
You walk outside, and start working on clearing out a little spot to plant your seeds, and after what felt like at least an hour, you finally cleared a spot and planted all the seeds. You trudge into the house and flop onto the bed, hoping tomorrow will be more productive.
The next day
You walk out of your house while trying to figure out what you're gonna do today. You think about cleaning more of the yard, but you feel tired just looking at it, so you decide to do something else. After some thinking, you decide that it might be a good idea to introduce yourself to the townspeople. "I may have anxiety, but that's not gonna stop me today!" you say proudly to yourself as you walk towards Pelican Town.
After trying to talk to almost everyone, your stress level was through the roof. Luckily most of the townsfolk seemed nice. On the other hand. Some were just... As Lewis would put it... Rude. You decided to take a look at the list of the people who live here (that you just happen to have for... Some reason...) and you happen to notice that you missed someone. This person didn't look too friendly in his picture. In fact, he looked like your average angry emo.
You happened to see mayor Lewis walking around, so you figured you'd ask him about this person. "Um... Mayor? Do you know where this person lives?" you ask nervously and point to the part of the list that shows the picture of the black haired boy. "Oh! That's Sebastian. You used to be friends with him when you were younger." the mayor said with a smile.
"I what...?" was all you could say as you quickly looked at the picture again. This person didn't look familiar at all. "Yeah! He changed a lot since you went back to the city. Both physically, and emotionally." he said while scratching the back of his head.
You were confused about that, but just as you were about to ask what he meant by it, he continued "You wanted to know where he lived, right? He's Robin's kid. Lives by the trail behind your house."
"This creepy looking dude is my neighbor?!" you thought before thanking Lewis and heading in the direction of Robin's house.
After a while, you get to the house, knock on the door, and hear Robin say "come in!"
After you walk in, you ask Robin where her son is, and she replies "Oh! you're looking for Sebby?" You snort somewhat loudly because you didn't expect someone who looked like... That... To have a nickname like that. Your face turns red as you realize the noise that just came out of you.
Robin chuckles at you a little before saying "Sebastian would usually be in his room around this time. Just knock a few times, and he should let you in." The way that Robin said the word should made you think this wasn't gonna be as easy as she made it seem.
After thinking about whether or not this was a good idea, you made your way down the stairs, to Sebastian's door, and knocked. You then heard some shuffling, and then someone (that you assumed was Sebastian) yelled "Not right now, Mom!" You continued to stay still as Robin yelled back "It's not me, Sebby!" Again, you try not to laugh at the nickname as Sebastian tries to take another guess at who's at his door. "I don't like Maru and/or Demetrius being in my room! You know this!" He yelled, and you began to question to yourself if you should just open the door, and save him the embarrassment of having to guess wrong again, but before you could, Robin yelled "Wrong again! 3rd time's the charm!" You could hear the man facepalm from the other side of the door. "Ow..." You thought, as you imagined how hard he'd need to hit himself in the head for you to be able to hear it from where you were standing. You then heard more shuffling, and quiet footsteps. You jumped as you saw the door knob move.
You stepped up a few of the steps, so you wouldn't be too close to the door. As it opened, you saw someone who looked like he hadn't seen the light of day in years, he also looked like he hadn't slept in at least a week (Give or take a few days... Or weeks), and to top it all off, this dude (or his room... Or both? You couldn't quite tell) smelled like a burning pot factory. You coughed and backed up a little, trying to give him a signal that you weren't too fond of the smell without being rude. He got the hint, but not fully. He stepped out of his room, and closed the door behind him, thinking that it was just the room you were smelling, and not him. You noticed that you started to feel sick just by being close to this guy. You backed up a little more. At this point, Seb got what you were trying to say, and walked upstairs to talk to Robin. Since you were half away up the stairs anyway, you decided to follow him up, instead of just standing in the middle of the hall like an idiot. But before you have a chance to start walking upstairs, you hear Robin and Sebastian quietly talking about something. You decide to just listen in for a bit instead of heading up. "So... Why is there a random girl at my door who clearly seemed like she didn't wanna be there?" Sebastian asks. That's when you decided to start heading upstairs. As soon as you could actually see Robin and Sebastian, Robin looked at you while still speaking to Seb. "You don't remember your childhood friend?" She asked. Seb looked at you, and you looked at him. Suddenly, a long forgotten memory hit you like a brick to the face. "There's no way..." You whispered to yourself, hoping Seb didn't hear you. But he did. "What?" He asked. You then asked him "Uh... This is gonna sound weird, but... Does the name "Matchstick" sound familiar to you?"
Seb's eyes go wide as he hears that nickname, but he quickly goes back to the deadpan expression he had before, turns to walk out the door, and says "I need to go smoke." He almost gets to the door before his mom grabs him by the hood. A small choking noise can be heard from Seb before he stops, turns back around to look at Robin with a confused look. "Did you really have to grab my hood like that?" He asks. She nods, and says while pointing to you "What else would you expect me to do when you just walk out without giving her an answer to her question?" Seb then looks at you, then back to Robin, then once again, back to you. Looking even more dead inside than he did originally, and quickly says "Yes. The name sounds familiar. Can I go now?"
After a few seconds, You started thinking something similar. You kinda wanted to leave too. Things were getting a little too awkward for your liking. This dude clearly didn't wanna talk to you, and you didn't wanna force him to. That happened far too often to you when you used to live in Zuzu city.
You wanted to just walk out of the house, but you didn't wanna make it seem like you were just trying to follow Seb out. That would just make things more awkward. So, instead, you just waved at the two of them and ran out of the house. Leaving Seb and Robin confused. "Darn it. That's just as awkward!" you thought to yourself as you walked to the lake nearby, and sat in front of it, watching the fish that were swimming around.. You just wanted a moment of quiet after the moment that just occurred.
What you didn't know was that you were sitting in someone else's spot. you hear slow footsteps from behind you, which you chose to ignore for some reason. Then you hear what sounds like someone clearing their throat. You jumped and quickly looked back, only to see someone who just made this situation even more awkward (At least to you). Sebastian. He just stared down at you for a second, before walking to a spot next to you, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, and acting like you weren't there.
"Well, I can't just get up and walk away. That would be rude." You thought to yourself as you looked up at the man that was standing next to you. "WHY AM I SO AWKWARD?!" You continued to think while putting your hands to your face.
(Sebastian's POV)
After watching the farmer girl bolt out of the house, mom and I just kinda stood there, looking at each other, wondering what just happened. "So... I'm gonna go." I said as I slowly started to walk outside. I walked over to my usual smoking spot by the lake, but before I got there, I noticed the farmer sitting there. "I wanted to smoke alone, but I guess that's not gonna happen." I thought to myself before clearing my throat, which seemed to jump her as she quickly turned around to look at me. After that, I thought about going to smoke somewhere else, but decided against it for some reason. I stood next to her and pulled out a cigarette. I looked at the girl out of the corner of my eye, and noticed that she was looking at me, but quickly stopped and put her head in her hands. "Did she see me looking at her? Does she hate me for some reason?" were the only things I thought before just deciding it would be best to just act like she wasn't there. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she did hate me. I didn't exactly make the best first impression. Just walking out of my room, looking like a stoner. "I mean, that's how everyone sees me anyway. Isn't it? On the other hand, the last time she saw me, I was a little kid. Full of life, and hope. Now I'm... Whatever the heck this is." I think while mentally noting the mess that is my entire being.
Her voice kicks me out of my train of thought. "Hey." She said, still looking at the water. "Hm?" I hum an answer. "Sorry about how awkward I made things earlier. I just... Never thought I'd see you again." She said while slowly making eye contact with me. "It's fine." I say just before sitting down next to her, and asking. "Why did you come back anyway?"
(Your POV)
You looked back at the water, kinda surprised by his question. Did he not want you here? Considering how much he's changed since the last time you saw him, it wouldn't be that surprising. "I don't know if you wanna hear me talk all day about my past." You told him. "Well, now you made me curious." He responded, tilting his head a little. You then started to tell him your story. "So... You already know that I left the valley pretty shortly after my grandpa died. I moved to zuzu city, started a new life, living with my mom and my younger brother, which... Wasn't ideal to say the least. Then when I got old enough, I got a job at Joja. I worked there for quite a few years, watching my life just slowly fall apart, but just as things were at their worst, I remembered something grandpa gave me before he died. A letter telling me that I owned his old farmhouse. So, before my mental state could deteriorate anymore, I got on the first bus to Stardew, and the rest is history." You finished the story with a sad smile on your face. Sebastian just looked at you, taking in all the things he was just told. "If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to ask." You say when you notice he's not saying anything. "Uh... So, you said you lived with your mom and your brother, yeah?" He asked. "Yeah. Why?" You responded, looking kinda confused. "Where was your dad during all this?" Sebastian asked what he thought would be an easy question to answer. "Ooooooohhhh boy..." You said while putting your hand on the back of your neck, before continuing. "Um... To put it lightly... My father wasn't exactly... In the right headspace. When I was really young, he would... He would look at me in a way that no grown man should look at a little girl. He never did anything to me though, and eventually, my mom just... Broke up with him." You say as tears start to form in your eyes.
(Sebastian's POV)
I literally couldn't say anything after that. If I knew I was gonna get THAT kind of answer, I never would have asked that question. But it was too late. I already asked, and she already answered, and now she looks like she started crying. I don't know how to deal with crying people!
After a bit of silence, she looked up at me, wiping away the tears on her face, or at least trying to. "Sorry for dropping all that on you. I don't see you for years, and the first time I do, I tell you all that." She says with what sounds like a forced laugh.
"No. It's my fault. I should be the one apologizing. If I just didn't ask you about your dad, you wouldn't have gotten all worked up. I should know not to ask people about their parents if they don't bring them up at some point on their own, considering..." I stop talking when I almost bring up my own father in the conversation. "Now is not a good time, Sebastian" I think as I slowly put my hand over my mouth, and try to look at anything but the person sitting next to me. "Hm?" I hear Y/n hum. "Oh, Uh... Nothing. I was just rambling." I tell her, hoping she won't try to make me continue that train of thought. Luckily, she doesn't. A few more minutes pass in silence, as we notice it's starting to get dark. Y/n got up from where she was sitting, stretched, and told me that she should probably start heading home.
We both wave at each other as she starts to head to her house, leaving me sitting by myself. Only then did I realize that I didn't really smoke that much the entire time I sat here.
"Well, since I plan on sitting here for a few more minutes, why not?" I say as I light the cigarette that I had in my hand this whole time.