one day

Shane took a while to warm up to new people. You understood this. You weren't necessarily happy about it, but you understood and let Shane have some space for the first few months after you moved in. Hell, you've worked for Joja, you know how it is.

You became friends with almost everyone in town. There were the few elusive people, such as Wizard, who were hard to get to and therefore hard to become friends with. You did try, however.

It was winter. Perfect weather for mining most of your days away. Of course, you still said hi to Shane every night at the bar, sat next to him even though he always gave you a scary look. You tried to ignore that.

You thought you and Shane were going to get along better after that night on the dock. But, no, Shane was still scowling at you every time you tired to talk to him, frowning when you sat next to him night after night. It would take more than that to get you to give up, though. And you thought Sebastian was hard to befriend!

"Hey, farmer," You jumped as you heard a voice next to you. You whipped your head around and gaped at the man beside you. Was Shane actually talking to you?

"Yes?" You asked hopefully, smiling encouragingly.

"Why do you keep talking to me?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Oh. that put a bit of a damper on your spirits.

"Because I want to get to know you, Shane," You said quietly, choosing your words carefully so as not to offend him.

Shane stared at you a few more moments before saying, "Why? There's plenty more interesting people in this town than me."

"I think you're plenty interesting," You blurted before you could stop yourself. He wasn't going to believe you, you just knew it. He would scoff at you and there would be no progress whatsoever in your relationship.

However, Shane didn't react how you expected. He studied your earnest expression, almost taken aback by how honest you really were about wanting to know him. He grunted, and went back to his beer. However, you noticed that he was more relaxed now.

After that, Shane started talking to you more. Complaining about his job, asking if you had any chickens on your farm (for eggs, of course), talking about cold pizza. It made you happy to know that Shane was warming up to you.

one day

You had to get to Marnie's. Your chickens were out of feed, and you didn't know how long they would last. Sighing, you put on a heavy coat and boots. There was a snowstorm outside, but there was no helping it.

You began to trudge through your field, wondering how so many damn rocks could have shown up since winter started. It had been about a week of winter and you were doing well, as well as you could do without crops.

You finally made it to Marnie's, stepping in quickly and closing the door, shivering. Marnie looked startled.

"Farmer?" Marnie asked, looking bewildered, "What are you doing out here during a snowstorm? Even Shane stayed home!"

"I-" Your teeth began to chatter, "I n-need some f-feed,"

"I'll get you some feed, but you are not going back out in that weather! Take off your coat and boots, I'll get you a blanket," Marnie said sternly.

"But-"

"Now," Marnie gave you a look, and you immediately did as she said. Marnie could be scary when she wanted to be.

Your face hurt. Your ears hurt. Your fingers hurt. Maybe you should have waited a day after all.

Marnie took your coat and walked away, leaving you shivering near her door, unsure of what to do. Soon, Marnie came back with a blanket and wrapped you in it.

"There you go," she smiled as your shaking became less violent, "Lets go into the kitchen and I'll make you some hot cocoa. Just hold on a moment," Marnie ushered you into the kitchen and then went into a different room, saying something to whoever was in there. Whatever.

You had never been here much before, other than to buy animals and feed, and that one time Lewis wanted you to find his "shorts". You were still kind of disgusted every time you remembered that.

Your shaking was beginning to subside and you buried yourself in the blanket, sitting down in one of her chairs. Your ears still hurt.
Marnie emerged from the other room, grinning a bit. You gave her a questioning look, but she just kept smiling and went about making hot cocoa. You began to close your eyes a little.

A thumping noise in the seat across from you made you jump and open your eyes, startled. There sat Shane, looking you up and down disapprovingly.

"Shane?" you asked. Oh, right. You had forgotten that he lived with Marnie.

"What were you thinking?" he snapped. Your eyes widened. What was he walking about? At the counter, Marnie began to hum.

"Wh-"

"Why would you trek all the way down here in a snowstorm?" he asked grumpily, folding his arms over his chest. Realization dawned on you as he glanced in your direction, at your red cheeks (mostly from the cold), at your damp hair and the blanket wrapped around you. You felt a burst of warmth in your chest, and it was all you could to not to break into a smile.

So the little grump did care.

"Sorry," you apologized sheepishly, trying to seem like you weren't happy he was scolding you.

"Whatever," Shane grumbled, and you couldn't help but find it incredibly cute.

Conveniently, Marnie appeared with the hot cocoa at that moment, setting down four mugs and calling for Jas to have a cup. Jas ran into the kitchen, looking startled when she saw you there, but eventually not caring because of the hot cocoa.

You ended up having to spend the night there, as the storm raged on outside. You were worried about your chickens, even though you knew you had placed a heater in their coop just a few days ago.

"They'll be fine for one night," Marnie reassured, "Change into these and you can sleep in my room with me."

You took the clothes she offered you. She had given you a large shirt with various holes in it and too-big sweatpants, and your face heated up. You knew what Marnie was trying to do, and you didn't really mind. With that thought, you changed into Shane's pajamas.

Before you could enter the room, Marnie asked you to get her a glass of water. You rolled your eyes at her matchmaking, but obliged. It was unlikely Shane would be leaving the room at this point in the night anyway.

You pulled at the sweatpants. They were much too big. You couldn't help but wonder why Marnie thought wearing Shane's clothes would have any affect on him. Like that would make him fall for you. You almost rolled your eyes.

Your question was soon answered as the door to what you assumed was Shane's room opened and he froze mid walk. You stopped too, watching him take in your attire nervously. What if he was angry?

"Um-" You began, ready to apologize, but Shane stopped you.

"It's fine," he said, his voice small, "Its- it's fine."

He then slammed the door shut, leaving you mystified. It had actually worked?

Shane was thankful it was dark. He felt his face heating up at the sight of the farmer in his clothes - his! The clothes were a bit too big, a bit too baggy, but on the farmer, anything looked good.

Shane was good at controlling his expression. He never let the farmer catch him staring. He always acted grumpy. Earlier, he had been too mad to control himself. What kind of an idiot walks all that way in a snowstorm?!

Sighing, Shane sat back. The farmer was hearing his clothes. That meant the farmer would smell like him-

OhgodShanestop, he thought to himself, pushing the thought out of his mind.

He probably smelled bad, anyway.

one day

The snowstorms were dying down. Winter was ending, meaning you needed to get to mining and take advantage of not having crops to take care of.

Progress with Shane had been going well. You were flirting more. He might not have been flirting back, but he sure was receptive to it. No matter how much he tried to hide the blush, it never worked.

You took the elevator down to your most recent landmark - floor 70. You had gone from the iced floors to floors similar to a castle, filled with skeletons and ghosts now that you were getting to the lower levels. Those long ranged attacks were getting you good.

However, you were determined to get to the bottom of the mine. So, you started digging.
-

Shane was taking a walk after a long day at Joja. Normally he would head straight to the bar, but today he didn't really want to see the farmer. He was afraid of showing his feelings, of slowing her down and dragging her down with him. He didn't want that.

He approached the lake near the mines, breathing in the fresh air. God, he was such a wimp. He couldn't even tell the girl he liked how he felt, all because of how-

Stupid and worthless and dull and-

He kicked a rock out of frustration, only noticing that one guy - Sebastian? - smoking near him. The man looked startled and stepped away a few inches before continuing to smoke. Like that made Shane feel better.

Suddenly, Shane noticed movement near the mines. Did a monster somehow escape?

Sebastian must have noticed it as well, because they both became still as possible. Sebastian took a step forward and said in a startlingly loud voice -

"Farmer?"

Shane's head whipped around, a spike of - something - shooting through his chest. It couldn't be. They should be home by now.

Sure enough, it was the farmer, looking worn down. They smiled at the two men.

"Hello," they said simply. They walked (no, limped) toward the men.

Farmer looked terrible. They were covered in dust, their bag full. There was slime on their shoes and...

Was that blood seeping through their shirt?

Farmer noticed Shane's gaze and quickly covered the blood with their hands.

"Yeah, I guess I look pretty bad," they said in a joking tone. Shane could tell Sebastian had noticed too. Sebastian pursed his lips, seemingly thinking.

At the lack of a response, the farmer quickly said, "Well, I'm really tired from mining all day, so I'm going ho-"

"You're not going home," Shane was surprised to hear his own voice saying this. Sebastian and the farmer looked equally surprised.

"What?" the farmer looked genuinely confused. Did they not have a sense of self preservation? First the snowstorm, now this? What next, would they jump into incoming traffic, maybe try to climb a steep cliff?

"Come on," Shane growled finally, grabbing the farmer's hand. They made a noise of protest. "You have to get that looked at."

"No, it's really fine," they tried to say, wiggling their hand.

"You really need to go to the clinic," Sebastian cut in, snuffing out his cigarette, "I'll come too."

Shane couldn't help glaring at the man. The man in question gave Shane a questioning glance before sliding his arm around the farmer, hoisting them up. Shane was not happy.

The three got to the clinic in a manner of minutes. Harvey, having been asleep at the time, was now fully awake, demanding that they wait in the waiting room while he checked on the room. Farmer whined the whole time.

Shane and Sebastian sat in silence. He did not like this man. To be fair he didn't really like anyone, but Sebastian in particular he didn't like, if only for being as close to the farmer as Shane was. He knew it was petty, but Shane was a petty fucking person.

Shane and Sebastian both looked up as Harvey entered the room.

"How are they?" asked Sebastian anxiously.

"They'll be fine," Harvey said, crossing his arms, "Thankfully the wound wasn't bad. It just bled a lot. They should stay here for the night, though. You two go home."

Harvey shooed them off and Shane was left to walk home. Or maybe to the bar.

The bar sounded good.

one day

Shane was nervous. He was waiting by the fountain, where the farmer had told him to wait. The farmer wanted to talk to him. About what, Shane had no idea.
It was spring. That meant no more mining, thank god. Even though the farmer had promised they wouldn't go down there as much after the incident, he knew they still did it anyway. And he didn't stop them.

Shane tensed as the farmer came into view. Oh, god. What did they want to talk about?

"Shane!" the farmer smiled brightly as they stopped in front of him, "Thanks for waiting!"

"What did you want to tell me?" Shane asked, unable to stop himself. Did they want to stop things? He wouldn't blame them, not one bit. Had they noticed how he was acting?

"Well, I..." now it was the farmer's turn to be nervous. They clasped their hands together and fidgeted. That didn't make Shane feel any better. Just as Shane was about to bolt, the farmer said something.

"I love you!"

"I love you!" you blurted. Oh god. Oh god. You said it. You were shaking, unable to lift your eyes to see Shane's reaction. Part of you didn't want to know.

You had liked Shane for so long. You needed to tell him. He was becoming so distant recently, and you didn't like that at all.

You peeked up, relieved to find Shane still there. He did, however, looked scared as fuck.

"Shane...?" you asked nervously, twiddling with your shirt. You knew this was a bad idea. You knew you would scare him away.

"Why?" he asked, making you pause. He looked scared, yes, but you could see confusion in his eyes. Oh man.

"I would just-" to your surprise, he carried on, "I would just drag you down! You don't want someone like me, farmer."

You were stunned. Shane actually thought that?

"Shane, you're the best man I know," you said sincerely, "You may not show it, but you care more than anyone else here. I really mean it when I say I love you."

Shane pursed his lips, but you saw the blush.

"I..." he seemed to be debating his words, thinking. You let him.

"Aww, fuck it," he stepped closer, "I love you too."

Your eyes lit up and happiness filled your chest. He liked you back! You couldn't stop yourself from throwing yourself onto him, hugging him in a tight embrace. He flailed around awkwardly before placing his hands lightly on your hips, unsure of what to do.

"Are you sure you want this?" He asked. Your face was still buried in his shirt, "I mean, I'm an alcoholic. I work 7 days a week. I'm pessimistic and rude-"

"No," you stopped him before he could continue and gave him a stern look, "You're perfect, Shane."

His blush intensified. You smiled to yourself and buried your face in his shirt again. You two stood like that for a while. After a bit, you felt him press a light, feathery kiss to the top of your head.

"So," you broke the silence, "Does this mean we're dating?"

Shane laughed, a breathy thing that made you hug him tighter and never want to let go.

"Of course."