Author's Note: I haven't written any fanfiction in years. I haven't been as active in many fandoms lately, and my last few fanfic ideas were kind of meh…but I got the itch to do something again, so I decided to just go for it. I apologize if it's cliché, but I thought it was a cute idea.
I decided to make this a female OC-insert story as opposed to using my own farmer OC because I figured it would be more fun to get into that way. If I feel the urge to write more, I'll try to make some gender-neutral and/or male OC stories as well, and with other characters.
After a routine cigarette break on an otherwise average day, Sebastian jadedly returned to his house to continue a programming project he had been commissioned to do. Upon opening the door, he heard Demetrius saying something to Robin along the lines of, "What is he, twenty-three now? He has to move out sometime." Although he did not want to start an argument, he instinctively glanced over at his mom and step-dad in the kitchen. Demetrius continued his conversation, something about starting a mushroom farm, and Sebastian continued his trek to the basement without having been acknowledged. Well, that's new, he thought. Didn't even have the courtesy to stop talking about me when I walked in. He went back to his computer and pulled up his script files, trying not to think about the choice words he would have exchanged with the old man if his mother had not been there.
He sat quietly at his computer, slightly hunched over in concentration. One hand rested on the mouse, the other was poised over the keyboard as he absently searched over a string of code. He heard a faint click and the creaking of the basement door being opened, but he did not bother to look up. He instinctively knew it was the farmer – she was the only one who ever came down to the basement to talk to him anymore, other than his mom – and sure enough, out of his left peripheral, he caught a glimpse of her moving to the middle of the room.
"Hey," she greeted with a soft smile.
Sebastian scrolled through his project for a minute or two before he gave up concentrating and turned around to face the farmer. He sat up straight and looked over at her, greeting her by name.
"Sorry...if you're busy, I can come back later." She fidgeted nervously with her fingers.
"Nah, it's okay," Sebastian replied irritably. "It's not like my work is that important anyway."
The farmer furrowed her brow. "What makes you say that?"
Sebastian sighed. "It's not like I contribute much around here. That's not entirely my fault, but I still don't feel great about it." He did not know why he bothered to tell the farmer about his personal problems, but it felt good to tell somebody. After an awkward pause,Sebastian turned back to his work. "If I just disappeared, would it really matter?"
The farmer gazed at him sadly, wanting to say something to comfort him, but the right words would not spring to mind. "It matters to me," she said quietly. Sebastian ignored her and stared intently at the computer screen. She shuffled around the room for about ten minutes before stating something about "getting back to the farm," then saying goodbye and leaving. He grunted in acknowledgment as the door clicked closed a few feet away.
The next day, he slept in late, only waking at the sound of the basement door creaking open once more. He sat up groggily and was surprised to see his mother's head poking out from behind the door.
"Sebby," she called, "it's already noon."
"I'm getting up." He slowly stepped out of bed. Once he had completed his morning ritual, he waited for Demetrius to leave the kitchen before pouring himself a huge mug of coffee and heading back to his work station. He was able to complete a large portion of his project, but after a while he started to realize that his farmer friend had not come by. She had visited him every day for the past month, even though sometimes it was only to sit on his floor for fifteen minutes while he typed away at his keyboard. Sebastian had come to expect her company – even look forward to it – and her absence made him slightly paranoid. Eventually he came to the conclusion, I guess she finally got tired of me. He grabbed an unopened pack of cigarettes from his desk and headed for the door.
He stared blankly out at the lake as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, lost in his thoughts. He thought about how Abigail used to chat with him in that very spot. She, too, would come visit him on a regular basis, or rather, she used to…he had enjoyed getting to know her and had even entertained the idea of asking her out, but something in the back of his mind told him, It's pointless…I'll be moving to the city, and I work better alone, anyway. Eventually, she stopped coming to see him in the basement, and their friendship never became more than just that. Sebastian took another drag of his cigarette. I wonder when I stopped thinking about her that way…
He thought about the farmer girl again. He had been apathetic to her arrival, only finding out about her when his mom mentioned that she had moved into the abandoned farm west of their house. He was probably the last person in the community to meet her, though he did not go out of his way to avoid her. She made a conscious effort to maintain a good rapport with Sebastian, much to his confusion, though she was somewhat easier to talk to about serious stuff with than Sam or Abigail. Perhaps it was because the farmer was slightly older, or because she had lived in the city, or because she had some experience with computers from her previous job in an office, that Sebastian found her relatable. Still, in the back of his mind, he did not expect her to stick around with him forever.
After snuffing out his cigarette butt with the toe of his shoe, Sebastian trudged over to the mines. He hoped that the cave ambience would help clear his mind, and maybe he would be lucky enough to find a piece of obsidian. As he entered the mines, he heard a sharp scuffling against the rocks. Expecting to run into a monster, he guarded up for a possible attack and cautiously followed the source of the sound. He found a humanesque figure emerging from an opening in the cave wall, which then slumped to the ground defeatedly. Examining the figure closer, he saw that it was the farmer.
Sebastian frantically called out her name, to which she slowly lifted her head in his direction. He rushed over to her side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she whispered, but the way she cradled her side suggested otherwise.
"Can you stand?" He tried to help her up, but she recoiled in pain and sank to the ground again. "Okay, don't move – I'll see if I can get help."
"I'll be all right," she insisted. "I just need a moment to rest."
"But you might have broken a rib or something…wait for me here, I'll get help." He started to rise when a large shadow loomed over them, and Sebastian tensed up once again. A large, disheveled man approached them, and without thinking, Sebastian wrapped his arms around the farmer protectively. That's the weird guy who lives behind the house! "What do you want?" he demanded.
"I can help," Linus insisted meekly.
The farmer gingerly touched Sebastian's arm. "He's a friend."
Sebastian was weary of Linus, but he trusted the farmer's judgment. "She needs medical treatment."
"I have something that will keep her stable until then." Linus offered a small pink vial, which Sebastian took and helped the farmer drink. Within minutes, she relaxed and began to sit up straight. "You should still see the doctor," Linus insisted to the farmer, "and get some rest."
After thanking Linus, who then quietly withdrew to the safety of his tent, Sebastian and the farmer remained huddled together in the mines for a while. They sat in relative silence, concentrating on the sounds of water dripping in the distance and their own breathing, until they accidentally made eye contact and self-consciously shifted out of their embrace. The farmer gazed downward shyly, but immediately looked up at Sebastian again when he called her name. "Yeah?" she responded.
"When I move to the city, will you come visit me?"
"Of course." She smiled, but he could sense the disappointment in her voice.
Sebastian sighed. "You don't sound very enthusiastic about it."
"Well…I'll miss you." She blushed, quickly adding, "I'm sure everyone will."
"I doubt that." Sebastian wondered why she cared so much about whether or not he was around, then realized that her own presence mattered to him more than he wanted to admit. I haven't even talked to Sam about this yet. "But it's not like I'll be out of the picture anytime soon, so it doesn't matter." He paused, then added, "…but I guess it matters to you, huh?"
"For what it's worth, I probably would have passed out in the mines if you hadn't come by…maybe worse."
"Well, it's not like I would let someone die out here." I don't want to lose you, he wanted to say, but he did not have the courage to. "It's getting late…I'll help you get to Doctor Harvey's." He stood up and offered his hand to the farmer to help her to her feet, which she accepted, and together they left the mines.