Shane X Female Reader - Stardew Valley

Chapter 28: A Content Homebody

The entire day felt like a dream when you woke up the next morning. You could hardly remember the specifics of the flower dance, your passionate experience with Shane, or the lovely bath he had drawn you. You had gone to bed that night happier than you could ever remember, tucked lovingly in Shane's arms.

"Alright, chickpea." You felt your boyfriend brush some hair out of your face. His beard tickled your skin as he gently kissed your forehead. "I'm off. See you after work?"

You fluttered your eyes open quickly. It was still dark outside. Shane was standing next to your bed in his Joja Mart uniform. You had forgotten that he had work today. "Do you have to go?" You whined, reaching your arms out to him.

Shane sat down on the edge of the bed and took your hands in his. "Yeah, I wish I could stay." He brought your hands up to his mouth for a little kiss. "Maybe one day I'll quit, but today I still have to work." He stood up and tucked the blanket back around you again.

"Just come work on the farm." You argued sleepily, the warmth of the blankets overtaking you. "Then you can just stay here!"

Shane ran a hand through your hair and you opened your eyes to see him staring sweetly at you. "You know you can't afford that right now, sweetie. Don't worry, I'll be back tonight."

"Mmmm okay." You acquiesced. "I love you."

"I love you too." With a final kiss, your boyfriend was off to work and you were left alone in the farmhouse by yourself.

Ugh. You sat up in bed after you heard the farmhouse door shut and turned on the lamp on your nightstand. You absolutely hated when Shane left. The bed wasn't comfy anymore. The house felt empty and quiet.

You got up and made yourself breakfast and put on the television since you had nothing better to do. It was raining, so the plants would tend themselves and you could take care of the chickens once you were finished with your morning meal.

After breakfast, you put on your rain gear and stood at the door, waiting for the rain to let up. It turned to a drizzle after a few moments and you sprinted to the chicken coop. The chicks were jumping around inside, oblivious to the rain. You fed them and cleaned up the coop before heading back to the farmhouse. It was starting to rain harder again, and you were sprinting for the door when you saw that your mailbox was overflowing with envelopes. You had forgotten to get the mail the day before, you realized. In case there were any time-sensitive messages, you hurried over through the mud and ran back inside.

You tossed the mail on the kitchen table and went to go clean up the muddy mess you had become. After you had tidied yourself up, you sat down at the kitchen table to sort through your pile of postages.

The first few items were flyers for sales at Pierre's. Next came a pile of requests from the townspeople. They seemed to think you were a much better farmer, miner, and fisher than you really were. You set the favors aside for later when you could fulfill them. Next was a letter from Marnie, thanking you for surprising Shane and going to the flower dance, along with an invitation to come to dinner again sometime. You set it on the coffee table in your living room so you would remember to tell Shane. You returned to the final envelope in the pile, sitting in solitude on your kitchen table.

The envelope was made out of heavy, brittle paper. You instantly noticed that there was no return address on it, nor a postage stamp, which meant it must have been hand-delivered to your farm by the sender. How odd. Should I open this? Despite your inhibitions, your curiosity got the best of you as you gently tore into the crisp parchment.

Inside was a letter, written in scrawling, broad cursive script. It read:

Dearest Farmer (Y/N),

I deeply regret having upset you during our last meeting. I am unaware of what happened to my manners, for typically I would never consider doing such an uninhibited thing without your explicit permission. I sincerely hope you will forgive me, after all, I cherish your friendship above all else. You call to me like the beach beckons the waves, my dear, and I alike cannot deny your natural pull. I was made unaware you are smitten with another. I hope to one day meet them, as this beau must be the finest, most elite individual ever known to win over a sprightly heart like yours. Notwithstanding, I would love to meet again with you upon another moon and continue my deepest apologies in person, Yoba willing. I eagerly anticipate your reply.

Yours most sincerely,

Elliott

You weren't sure how to react. The letter was quite dramatic, but that was just Elliott's style. It was sweet of him to apologize, but you didn't particularly want to see the writer again, especially alone. You didn't want to risk putting yourself in that situation again, and you knew Shane wouldn't like it either.

You threw it in the trash and got to work on tidying up the house, your rainy-day job. There wasn't much to do, after all, you didn't tend to make much of a mess. You mostly swept, dusted, and caught up on laundry. You were going through your room, picking up any clothes you needed to wash when you found one of Shane's shirts. You picked it up off of the ground and put it in your hamper. You decided to wash it for him.

Once the laundry was finished washing and drying, you took it back to your room to be sorted when you saw Shane's t-shirt once again, sitting at the top of the pile. Suddenly, you had an idea.

You quickly pulled open one of the drawers out of your dresser and emptied it onto your bed. You put it back in its place, empty, and took Shane's shirt out of the laundry basket and carefully folded it. You placed it inside the drawer and closed it. It would be the perfect spot for Shane to keep some spare clothes at your house, so he wouldn't have to go back and forth between the farm and Marnie's all the time. You were sure he would love it, and it would be the perfect surprise for when Shane got home.

Speaking of which, you checked your watch to see when your boyfriend would be returning. It takes about thirty minutes to walk to Joja Mart from your farm, so it would likely be almost six when he got back. The time was a little past five o'clock in the afternoon, so you decided to get started on dinner.

You had picked up a freshly baked loaf of bread from Pierre's, along with homegrown tomatoes. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It was the perfect meal for a rainy day, and you hoped that Shane liked it.

You got started quickly on the soup, blending it all together and putting it on the stove to simmer until Shane got home. You went to your bathroom to shower and get dressed before hurrying out to make the sandwiches. You made three, two for your boyfriend and one for you, and set them on a plate in the center of the kitchen table, along with some bowls and utensils.

You realized that it would be the perfect night to relax on the couch and watch a movie, so you went to your bedroom to get a fluffy blanket and some pillows.

"(Y/N)?" You heard a familiar voice call from your living room. You ran out of the bedroom to see Shane standing in your doorway. "I'm home!" He smiled at you and held out his arms for a hug. Instantly, you sprinted over to him and jumped into his outstretched arms. He pulled you into a tight hug. "Someone missed me." He chuckled under his breath.

"So much." In reality, you hadn't realized how much you had missed him until that moment when you fell back into the comfort of his presence. You sunk deeper into the hug.

"Be careful or you'll get wet. It's pouring rain out there." He kissed the top of your head. "What smells so good?" He asked looking around the meager farmhouse.

"Dinner!" You cheered as you pulled away from the hug. "I made tomato soup and grilled cheeses."

"That sounds so good." Your boyfriend smiled as he looked at the table. "Oh, I borrowed your umbrella this morning, I really hope that's okay." He pointed to the sopping umbrella propped against the door frame.

"Of course!" You smiled. "Now let's get you out of that wet jacket." You helped your boyfriend out of the raincoat and took his hat, gently setting them on the old-timey coat rack next to the door. 

✏️  A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Next Sunday, May 24, 2022, will debut Chapter 29: The Dazzling Niece. xoxo Kira