Sebastian's Time in Portia (Stardew Valley/My Time in Portia)

Prologue Days - Doing the Right Thing

Winter was ending.

Downstairs in the basement a chill from the thawing snow outside of his mother's house left a residual feeling of winter which Sebastian found himself eating up. His dark eyes opened and closed right before he breathed on a cup of hot coffee he'd prepared for himself. In fact, his eyes drooped as sleep tried taking over.

His latest programming project floated on the computer screen while he delighted in finishing the work and the fact he'd earned his keep - not that anyone else in the family would be aware of his sucess. His family practically ignored the fact he actually did work from his basement, but both his mother and Abigail barged in at the worst times.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew Sebastian's up while his eyes blinked back the cloud of sleep. A frown twisted onto his lips while he contemplated who the footsteps belonged to. His mother never came down so fast, but today wasn't the eleventh or twenty fifth of the month - the day Abigail normally came and pestered him against his wishes.

"Sebastian!" Maru's voice made Sebastian open and close his eyes in confusion. Maru never came downstairs, but his mind flickered too the many times she complained about his room; the words indicated she never wanted to venture into his personal territory. Yet, here she was.

"You're an idiot!"

Sebastian reached a hand behind his neck, rubbing the tension out as he sat up straight. He attempted clearing his throat, fully intending on asking Maru what she meant by her accusation; in fact, he wondered what he'd done now to make his half-sister lash out at him to the point she ventured downstairs.

"You could have at least used protection!"

His dark eyes blinked, his mind struggling to make out Maru's features in the dark, yet he definitely thought he discerned anger in her voice. "W-what?"

"You got Abigail pregnant!"

Sebastian's eyes blinked while his jaw went slightly slack. His mind attempted fathoming what Maru just said, yet her words seemed unreal. Him getting Abigail pregnant didn't seem a possible part of his reality, yet here his own sister - half-sister - was railing on him for getting her pregnant. "Huh?"

"Sebastian!" Maru stormed over, letting Sebastian see her hands forming fists at her sides. She lowered her face down so she was right in his, forcing him back slightly. "This! This is serious! Abigail is pregnant with your child!"

"How..." He wanted to ask how that was possible. Instead...

"How do I know? It's kind of hard for me not to know when I work at the clinic! I ended up over hearing Abigail screaming at Harvey that she can't possibly be pregnant, but that she doesn't want to wait to figure things out!"

"Yes, but..."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare make excuses for yourself!"

Sebastian felt a shudder run down his spine. Maru was too close, but he could see the tears of anger in her eyes. Rarely, if ever did he see her temper rear like their mother's did, yet in the back of his mind he didn't want to see how Robin would in fact react to the situation.

Maru pulled away before hurrying up the stairs. The door slammed on her way out, and yet something told him the end of the conversation wouldn't be the end of the situation. The dread of going out and socializing was others - that was already a painful experience, yet the experience could only get worse.

The dread only worsened when he heard another set of footsteps on the stairs, yet this time he recognized who was coming down. His entire body tensed, knowing full well the other female in his family would lay into him. His eyes closed, hating when his mother lost her temper with him.