A/N: This is my first slice of life story, but it isn't my first romance! Ish! This story is going to focus on the farmers personal progression as he struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD as well as delving deeper into why certain characters are they way they are. I hope you enjoy it!

PROLOGUE

Aiden stared out the bus window as the large vehicle rumbled down the highway. How long had it been since he had been back to Stardew Valley? He visited his grandfather during the summers as much as possible, even went to high school with some people from Stardew, but he hadn't physically been back there in over a decade. His thoughts briefly passed over whether or not he would run into anyone he knew, but he quickly pushed those away.

Times were different now, he was different now. There was little use getting worked up over such a thing.

The bus began to slow and Aiden found his hazel eyes sliding from his window to the windshield. This was the exit, it would seem. The driver let out a curse as the bus gave a shudder and Aiden mentally sighed. It just needed to go another five miles, at best. The driver, an older woman, grumbled in an obvious smokers voice, mirroring Aiden's thoughts. He sat back in the seat, running a hand through his chestnut hair, kept short out of preference. An audible sound came as his hand went down the side of his face, running over a few days worth of stubble on his face. As he looked back to the window, his reflection was transparent. He wasn't handsome, at least he was never told as such. Still, he fancied himself average at best.

Average was fine, it meant he wasn't different. He just wanted to blend in with everyone else. A face in the crowd, nothing more, nothing less—easily forgotten. Was that why he left Joja? After his short stint in the Army he craved normalcy, an average job doing average things...but that had been a mistake. Everything felt as if it was closing in on him in the city. The clicking of a keyboard became deafening, the walls of a cubicle little more than a cage. He couldn't live like that, he needed quiet. He needed solitude. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for normalcy, but instead privacy?

A huff escaped his lips. And here he was, embroidered in his anxious thoughts, running through possibilities of how this move could go wrong. This is how it always went. He would run through a million scenarios about what could go wrong, so much so that it would depress him—defeat himself before he even tried. And then, when depressed, he'd become emotionally exhausted so much that coping mechanisms did little. His annoyance peaked and he ruffled his own hair before he stood and grabbed his single dufflebag, moving towards the front of the bus.

"I thought you were just gonna sit back there and mope the whole ride. We're almost there." The woman with the smokers voice spoke to him and Aiden gave a small, soft smile.

"Sorry, lots on my mind—it's not you. Moving is a big deal." It wasn't. How many times had he been moved around in the four years he was in the Army? On a whim, it would seem. He had no real 'home' as it quickly became wherever he could lay his head down at night. This...he would admit, perhaps was a big deal. It was his own place. His own home, where he wouldn't have to pack up on a moment's notice. It was his place, his rules. He didn't have to conform to anyone. He felt something in the pit of his stomach now. This wasn't fear—he knew that emotion well. Perhaps..excitement? He hadn't felt something like that since he was a kid, and it was over the same thing: visiting grandpa's farm.

As the bus came to a rolling stop there was a loud bang and Aiden found his muscles tightening as he cast a steeled glance to the driver. She waved him off and he quickly shrunk back down to a slouch. "Relax hun, it was just a backfire. Bus probably just gave out anyway. Can't remember the last time the damn thing was worked out." The woman climbed out of her seat and opened the doors before proceeding down the steps. "No need to be all wound up. Welcome to Stardew Valley, kid. Hope you're ready to die from boredom."

"I could think of worse things to die from." Said bluntly as Aiden followed down the steps. "Boredom doesn't seem so bad."

The woman gave a laugh. "Right, tell me that by next winter. Name's Pam, by the way. Wait here, Lewis will be by shortly." She sent a wave over her shoulder as she proceeded down the path. "Need a drink after that."

Aiden found himself alone, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked around. It was still early spring, the air still crisp, and thus his brown leather jacket was wrapped around his frame. This place was different, smaller than he remembered. Probably because the last time he was here, he was still a kid. A deep breath was given, the country air perfumed with the smells of spring. The pollen hadn't started yet, thankfully, or that breath of fresh air likely would have sent him into a sneezing fit. He heard the sounds of foot steps on the dirt path before he saw the duo approaching, the male likely the Lewis that Pam had spoken of. He leaned down and grabbed his duffle. No time like the present, he supposed. And so, he approached the duo, ready to begin his life anew.