Sam had said he was going home and going to bed. He'd even yawned while he said it. It was 10pm. That was totally to be expected.
Around midnight, I caught the same sort of yawning spell and decided to hit the hay myself. It had been a good day; I'd caught a plentiful amount of fish.
When I went into town, I took a moment to admire how the autumn leaves were dancing in the air. The warm yellow light that radiated from the bar and a couple of homes complimented the browns, oranges, and reds of the leaves in a way that was beyond beautiful. I once again looked up at the sky and silently thanked my late grandfather for finding this place, let alone giving me the chance to plant my roots here.
…Speaking of planting roots… I did have to admit, as I made my way home, I thought about how disappointed my grandpa probably would be in the farm. When he'd lived here, he'd made it look so minimalistic, yet so beautiful at the same time, with nothing more than a few chunks of hardwood. Now, here I was, his precious granddaughter who he trusted his pride and joy to, going down underground and killing literal living creatures in defense to get a mineral to make the farm look grander than ever… but the place was still a mess of weeds and trees.
I had to cut myself some slack, though. Those trees grew back faster than I could ever cut them down. I could say I'd tried as soon as I'd gotten here.
Well… when I returned to the farm that night, I spotted that despite all the natural mess on the ground, someone still liked it. After all, what was he doing on my porch at midnight?
…Wait… what WAS Sam doing here?
When he heard my footsteps, he looked over at me, sitting on the rocking chair of my grandpa's I'd placed on the front porch, with Laslow in his lap. I could see through the porch railing that he had his skateboard with him as well. Some late-night boarding, maybe? But still… did he often skateboard at midnight?
I thought to survey the look on his face as he looked at me. The sadness in his eyes and the frown alone answered half of the questions I currently had. One possibility crossed my mind, and I felt my heart snap clean in two.
"Hey," I said. "What's up?" I wanted to quip something like "I thought you said you were going to bed," but it really looked like something was up.
"…I couldn't sleep," Sam sighed.
I didn't think I'd ever heard him this down and out before. Well, I decided, tonight was the night I shifted into Protector Mode.
I quickly set my cooler of fish in the shipping box and stepped onto the porch.
"What's going on, if you're okay sharing?" I asked.
He looked down at the ground for a few seconds.
"…Vincent asked about our dad again," he sighed. "I told him he'd be back soon. That's what I heard, too, though. That's… all I've been told. That our dad'll come back soon." He tensed up a little. "But we've been told that for years. It seems like as soon as he's ready to come back home, something else comes up. I… I guess this time, the chances look better than usual, but… what if something just comes up again? Something even worse?" He sighed. "I wouldn't doubt it. I've heard terrible things about the Gotoro Empire."
I was heartbroken, but even worse, I was at a loss. I didn't know if anything I could say or do would help raise his spirits whatsoever.
"You said the chances look better than usual," I said, saying the first thing that came to mind.
"That's what Mom said," Sam replied. "Like… he may actually be in the process of preparing to return home this time, or something."
"That's good!" I said. "Maybe… maybe the chances are less than ever that he'll be held back again." I knew I was taking a risk, but I decided to go ahead with it. "Maybe knowing that, you can let yourself hope. A-At least… that's what I think."
"…Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Sam, seeming to ease up a little bit. He started to pet Laslow. "But I've still got that fear that he'll just be held back again."
"That's valid," I said. "And… I'm sorry you have to go through that."
"It'll… be alright," he said. It sounded like he was telling himself that more than anything.
Laslow started licking Sam's hand. I held back the urge to giggle at how sweet that was, instead settling for a genuine smile.
"…It'll be alright…" he said again. "I have to believe he'll come back. That everything will be alright…"
"Don't beat yourself up for the fears you have, though," I told him. "It's completely valid to feel uncertain, too. As much as… you wish you didn't have to…"
He didn't say anything, but simply continued to pet Laslow. I shut myself up as I wondered if maybe, the love of a cat was just what he needed right now. I began to wonder whether or not to go inside and fetch him a drink or something.
Sam then said "Even if he does comes back… I can't help but feel guilty. The Gotoro Empire has killed a lot of Ferngill's soldiers. And… I get to keep my dad?"
"Oh, yeah," I sighed. "All the families who've lost someone to the war… I can't imagine what they must be going through. But… it's not wrong for us to be fortunate. It doesn't make us bad people to… not lose what's important to us just because others have."
"Yeah, I guess…" Sam agreed.
I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I wasn't helping at all by blabbering on.
But then, Sam said "I'm sorry for barging onto your property like this. I guess… I just… I-I figured I'd be comfortable here. And I was right."
"Comfortable… here?" I replied. "But it's such a mess."
"Really doesn't matter," said Sam. "You've got nature, you've got Laslow, you've got… well… I dunno. I just kinda found myself wandering here."
"That's alright," I assured him. "You're my friend, Sam. If you need some peace, you're free to wander out here as often as you please."
He then looked up at me. The look on his face was somewhere between the sadness he'd carried this whole time… and a bit of surprise.
"You… mean that?" he asked.
"100%," I assured him with a smile.
Suddenly, he was holding my hand. Thing is, though, that I didn't remember holding it out, even though I completely did. I must have done it without thinking. There was legitimately a gap in my memory and awareness there.
Regardless, he was now holding my hand with both of his. He wasn't holding on too tightly, but just tightly enough to where it could be considered a firm hold. I'd no doubt look back on this moment and swoon over it tomorrow, but right now… I more just wanted Sam to feel the comfort he deserved.
He'd been looking down at our hands ever since he'd grabbed mine, but he now looked back up at me.
"I don't want to go home yet," he said, his voice sounding very emotionally fatigued. As if he thought that sounded uncool or something, he used one hand to rub the back of his neck, strengthened his voice a little bit, and added "Er… I don't want to deal with sneaking back in."
"Hey, it's fine," I assured him. "You can stay the night if you want."
"Wait, really?" Sam asked. "You… you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all," I told him. "Sometimes, we just need to go where we feel peaceful, and rest up before returning to a source of stress. There's nothing wrong with that."
I was safely in a mode right now where I'd take on the world for this man.
"…Thanks," he said. "Thank you so much."
He still sounded fatigued… but he was smiling. When I yawned in that moment, it felt like I was letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in.
"Let's get inside, it's real chilly out here," I suggested.
"Yeah," Sam nodded.
He let go of my hand… I noticed how cold it was now that he wasn't holding on to it… picked Laslow up in his arms, then stood.
Once we got inside, I made a beeline for the closet, then dug out some spare pillows and blankets that had been sitting there since I'd arrived here. Unfortunately, Sam would have to sleep on the floor, but I found him two blankets and two pillows so he'd be extra comfortable.
When I handed the bundle over to him, he went toward the kitchen.
"Hey, uh… why ya going over toward the kitchen?" I asked. "…At least sleep on the carpet."
He looked at me for a couple of seconds, a little dumbfounded, then came back over toward the carpet.
"T-Thanks," he said bashfully.
He slept over by the wall opposite the foot of my bed, the wall that was perpendicular to the wall where the flowers were set up.
…SHIT, THE FLOWERS.
Well… not much I could do about that, I supposed, except hope he'd be oblivious enough to not even notice. Or at the very least, to not piece it together that they were for him.
But my little heart attack subsided when I realized… you know what? I was ready. I was ready for him to see those flowers, know what they were and who they were for, and confront me about it. And when he did, I was ready to tell him, plain as day, that I loved him.
I would have been fine with being confronted with that if it meant I could be there for him when he needed me, of all people.
I got into bed, but ended up staring at the flowers for a little bit, because it was right then and there that I reached the second-to-final phase. I was ready to confess my feelings to Sam.
Well, that was that, I supposed. Now, it would just be about finding the right moment.
As Sam got under his blankets, I told him "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"Alright," Sam agreed. His voice definitely seemed a little happier, which made me smile. "Thank you so much for this."
"Don't mention it," I replied, reaching over and switching the lamp off.
The last thing I saw before passing out, what I could see with the moonlight coming in through the window, was Laslow curling up beside Sam.
Author's note: This fic takes place in a sort of alternate timeline where it takes longer for Kent to return home.