Work Text:
You let out a sigh, sitting down on the porch with a bottle. You took a swig.
Happy fucking one month in Pelican Town.
You were just a farmer. That was all this was intended to be. You were just a farmer.
While exploring, though, you landed at the Stardrop Saloon at about 7 PM. On the first day, You’d gone just to check it out. You’d met most of the villagers already, like sweet Robin who helped you whenever your house needed something changed, or Harvey, the town doctor who looked out for your health since the start.
According to the list Robin had given you, there was one more person for you to meet. Someone named… Shane. Marnie, the kind farmer near you, had mentioned a Shane before. Her son, maybe?
It was the second day when you finally found him. You’d just bought a salad at Stardrop Saloon (pitiful, I know) when you spotted someone unfamiliar in the corner.
He must be Shane. You bounced up to him with a greeting. His response?
“...why are you talking to me?”
Ooookay. SO, he wasn’t the most sociable person. You kept trying. Every day you talked to Shane, determined to make him your friend. Occasionally, you gave him a gift. You learned he loved beer and pizza.
After he opened up to you about his experiences of depression, and then sent you recipes and various food that he stole from his job, you had become pretty good friends. He was nicer to you now… kind of. He was still a generally gruff guy, but his expressions and words softened around you.
Now, you weren’t speaking at all, and it was all because of an argument. To be fair, it was absolutely his fault. You finally felt like the two of you were getting somewhere, but then…
You’d walked into Marnie’s house, and she’d asked for a favour. There was Shane, on the floor in his room, passed out.
“I really hate to ask, but… can you help in any way?” She asks nervously.
You think for a second before reaching for your watering can. You water Shane gingerly.
He wakes up with a start.
“All he ever does is lounge around and drink.” Marnie comments. “What do you even plan to do for the future?”
In your peripheral vision, you can see Jas, Shane’s goddaughter, poke her head in.
“Hopefully I won’t be around long enough to need a plan.” Shane murmurs groggily.
Your hand shoots to your mouth as you smother a gasp. Jas does too, but gasps loudly. She starts to tear up and runs away.
Shane reaches out towards her. “I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry.”
“Do you even care about how you’re hurting them? Jas and Marnie? Do you even care about how you’re hurting me?” You snap. Ordinarily, you’d be comforting him. Jas, however… she was like a sister to you, and you felt the overwhelming urge to protect her. If Shane was the reason she was crying, you would come at him for that.
“It’s not your business.” Shane retorts.
“It is my business because I lo- I care about you and I don’t want to see you hurt!”
“It’s not like you can fix me, can you?” Shane snaps at you.
“I can’t fix you because I don’t know what’s wrong!” You huff. “The funny thing is, you could have fixed this and you didn’t even try!”
Shane starts to talk. “I-“
“You don’t even stop to think about how your words affect people! Marnie and Jas love you! You don’t even think about them! You can’t just… say something like that! Did you even think about how that could sound to Jas?”
“I didn’t mean for her to hear that…”
“But she did. And she’s hurting. Please, just- just talk with her.”
With that, you walk out. In your peripheral, you see Shane stand, resching out a hand, before retracting it and sitting on his bed.
You’re still kind of angry. Once you get home, you’re floored with regret.
Now, you’re sat on the porch hours later at the depressing early hour of five in the afternoon, holding a bottle of cheap beer from Joja Mart in your hand.
It’s starting to get dark. Perks of winter’s beginning, you guessed. When it was mostly dark outside, you saw Shane walking along the road the bus was on, going towards your direction.
He looked at you. You looked at him. You shifted so he could sit down. He does
“I’m sorry.” The both of you say at the same time.
“What? Why are you sorry? I needed that.” Shane says.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you in a vulnerable moment like you were in.” You shrug.
Shane looks at your bottle. “Hypocrite.” He steals it, and takes a swig. “Are we good?”
“Yeah.” You say. You pass the bottle between the two of you for a bit.
“Happy one month in Pelican Town.” Shane says.
“Here’s to next one being better.”