Stardew Valley Fanfiction:

'The Farmer Witch'

Chapter 27:

Just as Alice was thinking the evening was starting to feel normal again, the doors to the saloon opened.

The Carpenter family stepped inside, Demetrius and his daughter Maru, followed by a somber looking Robin behind them. Alice could understand why she would be sad. The witch knew how much Robin loved her son, and not knowing where he was had probably weighed heavily on her. And then knowing where he was but still not hearing from him wasn't much better she imagined.

Alice avoided looking in their direction. It felt weird. It was only a matter of time before they noticed Sebastian and the farmer were here tonight and she didn't know what would come of it. She regretted not asking Sebastian beforehand how he would like to address the situation when they inevitable came face to face with his family once more. It seemed like an obvious thing to ask now, but hindsight was 20/20 after all.

She looked over at Sebastian playing pool. He had obviously noticed his family's arrival and was choosing to ignore it. Sam kept glancing over at her and Abigail, like he was looking for some sort of direction from the girls. Abigail and Alice exchanged their own silent looks of discomfort and returned to drinking.

What were the odds that those three would just keep to themselves for the night?

Apparently not good, because Robin was already on her way over to speak with her son.

Sebastian glared at the pool balls as she came up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He wouldn't look at her.

Alice heard a faint. "Sweetie can we talk?" Mumbled from Robin.

The young man just shrugged her hand off his shoulder and walked around the table to line up his next shot. "Not here." Was his only response. He continued to look at the table as Sam awkwardly moved to take his turn, the two boys continuing to play their match despite a remorseful Robin attempting to have a conversation with her oldest child.

"Then can we go somewhere else together? We need to talk." The quiet desperation was evident in her voice.

Alice risked a side glance to the bar room, noticing Demetrius with his arms crossed and purposefully not looking their way. Maru, however, was shamelessly watching her mother in the other room along with half the rest of the saloon doing the same. Her eyes met Alice and she looked away just as the townsfolk had earlier. It was becoming clear that the drama involving her and Sebastian had reached the point where the whole of Pelican Town seemed to have it on their minds.

When she looked back at Sebastian, he was still arguing with his mother without looking at her. It was also clear by the faint red tint creeping up to his ears that he was trying not to get mad or upset.

"I'm not doing this right now." He commented. "I tried talking for months and you didn't want to hear it. Now's not the time."

Robin kept up trying to pull her son to the side and he kept stepping around her to continue his game with Sam. Alice could feel Abigail cringing and shifting in her seat on the sofa beside her. This was super hard to watch and even harder to take your eyes off of. She could hardly blame the rest of the bar for eavesdropping before. It really was like watching a train wreck…

Eventually a defeated and teary-eyed Robin gave up, returning to the far side of the bar to her husband and daughter. Alice tried to start up a conversation with Abigail about her hair dye problems again, but it wasn't long before Abigail's eyes darted behind Alice's shoulder. "Oh my God…."

Alice didn't dare to look. But she could guess what was happening based on the evil glare Sebastian was now giving to whoever stood in the doorway to the saloon's side room.

A clever Sam positioned himself between Sebastian and whoever it was, trying to make it look casual as he eyed the pool table like he was considering his next move.

Clearly Robin had told her family of the lack of success she'd had, because now Demetrius stood, facing the group, looking disapprovingly at Sebastian.

Why? Seriously, why? Why on Yoba's green earth did Robin think telling Demetrius to get involved would help?

"Sebastian, I know I'm not your favorite person right now," the man began, "but the least you could do is give your mother the respect she deserves and have a conversation with her."

The cringe was unimaginable. Alice was seriously worried Sebastian would explode at the man at any moment. She was happy to see him holding it together for now though.

"My being respectful to her has nothing to do with it. And frankly, I want to make it clear that my relationship with my mother has nothing to do with you anymore. I'm done with you. You need to stay out of my life." He sounded surprisingly calm, but all three of his friends knew that the rage with boiling just below the surface.

It wasn't helped by how Demetrius scoffed condescendingly at him as part of his response. "I'm married to your mother, Sebastian. I'm a part of your life whether you like it or not."

Oh boy. But Sebastian remained as close to calm as one could expect him to. After a steadying breath he responded in an even tone. "I'm aware of that actually. Besides seeing you around town, we don't need to have anything to do with each other anymore. You're not a welcome presence in my life." Alice thought he was being surprisingly polite compared to how she knew he really felt about the man. He loathed Demetrius. Absolutely detested him.

"Let's not be childish. Just come home and we can talk about this rationally." The condescension was clear in his voice. Did he really think Sebastian was going to ever go back home after what happened?

"I'm not going back!" Sebastian sounded equally as shocked as Alice was to hear the man even suggest such a thing.

"You can't just run off with some girl just because of a disagreement Sebastian." His hands on his hips now to complete the image of a total ass. Alice felt a bit offended by the way he referred to her.

And clearly Sebastian was too, because Sam had to physically hold him back as he took a step towards Demetrius with obvious intent to cause him harm.

In a sick way, it was sort of satisfying to see Demetrius' arrogance broken momentarily and watch the man back up a step in what she would assume was fear.

Luckily the owner of the establishment stepping in at that moment before things got any worse.

Kindly Gus placed a gentle yet firm hand on Demetrius' shoulder, drawing his attention. Alice was a little taken aback. She had never seen the man step out from behind the bar before.

"Let's leave these young'uns alone friend. They're minding their own business. It's clear that tonight's not a good night to talk." He sounded so calm and reasonable, yet there was a veiled absoluteness to the way the man spoke that didn't give the scientist any room to argue. He led Demetrius back to his table in the bar, far away from the group of young adults. Sam had dragged Sebastian off into the corner, quietly coaching him back to a calm place before nudging him back towards the pool table to resume their therapeutic game.

"My turn, right?" Sam remarked.

Sebastian smirked, now back to his normal self. "You think I'm stupid? It's my turn." He chided.

Alice let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Next to her, Abigail's hand was finding hers, giving it a squeeze. It couldn't get more cringy than that. The one thing she was thankful for was that Robin and her husband weren't around to here Pam ask the farmer if she was pregnant. Although maybe it would have served Maru right to have been confronted about spreading such vile rumors on the spot.

But no, more family drama was the last thing they needed right now. Best to let the small things go.

The Carpenter family left soon afterwards, taking their food to go. Alice wasn't sure if Sebastian even noticed, so focused on not giving them any attention.

When the farmer went to refill her drink, she thanked Gus quietly for his help. The jovial man just smiled and nodded at her. Gus was kind of awesome.

Lewis came into the bar sometime later, joining Marnie at her table. It was obvious that the woman quickly caught the man up on everything that had transpired, because it wasn't long after he'd sat down that he stood up once again and approached the foursome in the pool room. He checked in with each of them, just asking if everything was alright. As mayor, Lewis often tried to keep the peace when disagreements between residents arose.

"If you don't mind me asking Sebastian, is it your plan to go back and live with your mother again at any point?" The mayor asked sincerely. If Alice had to guess, she would assume that Robin had already spoken with Lewis about bringing her son home. But it was clear now to the elderly mayor that this was no temper tantrum sending her son to run away from home. There were some serious issues rooted deep into the family.

Sebastian shook his head. "Farmer Alice is letting me stay with her and once I've saved up enough, I'm getting my own place."

Lewis nodded sadly. "I see. Well I'll try to help your mother understand that next time we speak. I don't think poor Robin realizes you won't be coming home to her ever again."

"She would know if she'd paid a speck of attention to anything I've said in the last six months." Sebastian commented dryly. "I know she doesn't get it. But it's not like I haven't been telling her Mayor…"

Lewis nodded some more. "I understand. But mothers can be that way, you know? I would hope that you don't let this permanently come between you and her. I can't tell you how worried she's been about you."

Sebastian sighed. "It's not about her, so much as it's about him."

Lewis seemed to understand what Sebastian was getting at. He pat the boy on the back, letting him and Sam finish their game. The Mayor was a good man. He loved all the people of the town and surely just wanted them all to be happy once things settled down a bit. It was probably hard to not choose sides in matters like these, but Lewis had years of experience mediating. Maybe Lewis could convince Robin that Sebastian really wasn't going to move back home? Maybe then she and her son could forge a new relationship. Something healthier?

The saloon slowly cleared out as the evening went on. The show was over after all, so time for bed. After getting their food and enjoying the rest of their evening, Sebastian and Alice bid their friends farewell and departed for the farm.

"Well, that could have gone better." Sebastian muttered as they walked.

"Could it have? I'm just glad no one threw fists." Alice retorted.

"Sorry about all that… I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this."

"Don't worry about it." She assured him. "You keep my life interesting Seb~"

He seemed a little pleased to hear it, smiling a little.

Alice was slightly surprised when she felt the man timidly take her hand in his. It was embarrassing but also flattering. She laced their fingers together, walking home holding his hand..…

Long chapter today! Wanted to get the awkwardness out of the way... But ending it on a happy note of young love! Leave a review to keep this lonely author inspired! - Mystical Jelly