Stardew Valley Shane x Reader

The Cake

Fall was coming to an end and Marnie's birthday was coming up. One night as you were leaving the saloon, Shane grabbed you by the arm.

"Hey, (Y/N). Before you go, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure, anything." you said looking at his serious expression.

"I'm no good at asking for help but...Marnie's birthday is in a few days and uh... Do you think you could help me bake a cake for her?" he looked away, "I want to do something for her after what happened during the dinner."

"Of course. It'd be no problem at all. I was planning on making her something anyways. I'll gather some ingredients this week."

"Thanks." his shoulders seemed to relax, but he was still a little awkward, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"I'm glad you asked me. Goodnight." you said gently.

As you walked home, you thought about Shane. It made you very happy that he was asking you for help. That must mean he trusts me quite a bit. You felt the butterflies in your stomach that usually came when he was on your mind.

You went shopping at Pierre's for some cocoa powder, sugar, milk, and other ingredients. Since it was fall, you were able to make your own flour using the wheat you had harvested recently.

It was already Wednesday and Shane was coming over to bake the cake. I better tidy up the place. I can't have him thinking I'm a slob. Though...what if he ends up thinking it's weird that I'm cleaning for him? Is that too formal? Maybe I'll clean a little, but not too much so it'll look natural? Ugh. I'm insane. You were feeling nervous about him coming to your house. He had only been inside once before when you made dinner after he helped you with the coop. You washed the dishes and organized things a little. Your house was small, so it didn't take very long. The timing was perfect because you heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Shane. Come in." you said opening the door for him.

"Thanks for having me. I brought the eggs you asked for." he said handing them to you.

"Sweet. Fresh eggs will do wonders for our cake." you gave him a thumbs up. You noticed him looking around.

"You keep a nice place, you know that? It's really...you." he said.

"Hehe...thank you. You should come over more often." you blushed.

"Yeah, I'd like that." he smiled a little.

"Well, let's get to baking. The cake isn't going to make itself." you slipped out your hand-written recipe from the drawer. You had found it one day while watching The Queen of Sauce on TV. Such a helpful channel.

You had Shane measure all the ingredients while you mixed the batter. The two of you made a good team. While the cake was baking, you got to work on the fudge icing. As you heated sugar, cocoa powder, and milk on a saucepan, Shane pulled up a chair for you to sit.

"So, what made you move here?" he asked.

"Oh, I guess I never did tell you much about that. My grandpa left me that farm. I didn't think I'd be moving into it. In fact, I thought of selling it, but I couldn't do that to my grandfather. I used to live in a city. I worked as a marketing executive for Joja Corp."

"Wait...Joja...as in the hell I work for?" he looked surprised.

"Yeah, the same one." you stirred the sweet mixture with a wooden spoon.

"And marketing? Sounds impressive. Didn't you make tons of money then?"

"I had a good salary, but I didn't find it worthwhile. As you see, I gave that job up and moved here. It was depressing. I essentially worked to seduce people to give their money to this horrible corporation. I didn't have much of a life outside of my job either. Not surprising."

"How did you even get into that?" he seemed genuinely interested in your life.

"I was an English major. I had trouble finding a good paying job relating to literature without leaving my city. I ended up going into marketing. There were some medical bills I had to pay for my mother." as you removed the saucepan from the heat, you accidentally touched the hot metal and burnt yourself. You quickly let go of it and it clattered on the stove a little.

"Oh...it seems I burnt myself. Luckily, the saucepan didn't drop too badly, and no mess was..."

Shane cut you off as he was already holding your hand up and looking at your fingers. He pulled you to the sink and began to run cold water on your hand.

"Where do you keep your band-aids?" he asked.

"In that drawer over there." you pointed.

He grabbed the small box, some ointment you had, and took three band-aids out. He turned off the water and dried your hand. He began to carefully rub the ointment on your burnt fingers and meticulously wrapped your fingers in the band-aids. You were quiet and zombie-like. Shocked at how caring and gentle Shane was acting. And struggling to remain emotionally numb about memories that arose from that conversation.

"Be more careful next time." he was done with your fingers.

"Yes, I'm sorry about causing trouble."

"Don't apologize. I just don't like you getting hurt." he frowned.

"Thank you for taking care of me." you managed to smile.

"Just be more careful." he moved to the stove.

He finished up the fudge while you told him what to do. Together you both poured the fudge icing on the finished cake.

"The cake looks delicious. I can't wait for Aunt Marnie to try some tomorrow. She's gonna love it."

"I hope she does! I'm glad you asked for my help." you walked him to the door.

"Who else would I ask?" he shrugged.

"Well, I hope you have a good night. Be safe getting..."

"(Y/N)."

"Hm?"

"Whenever you feel ready to talk about your mom...Well, just let me know." he was looking into your eyes.

Your eyes began to tear up and you weren't sure what to say. He slowly leaned closer and held you in his arms for a few seconds. You quickly wiped your eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

"Night."

"Goodnight, Shane."

Once alone, the grief and anxiety consumed you. 

*Intending to update frequently this summer. Hope you guys enjoy and sorry for the long wait!*