Robin

Robin's not quite as clueless as her son seems to think she is. Sure, she might not know everything that goes on in her children's lives, but it's not hard to pick up on most of it.

Smell was usually a dead giveaway, for example. No amount of air freshener or gum had covered the smoky scent that lingered on Sebastian's clothes, or his breath when he'd first started smoking cigarettes. Similarly, he'd failed the mask the skunky smell of the ash tray he kept in his room, and it hadn't been very hard for Robin to figure out what that was – her husband was a biologist, after all.

It was difficult to detect a strong scent after being surrounded by it for so long, and so Robin wonders if Sebastian's even noticed that lately, he's started to smell a little like Sam's favourite cologne.

"Did you borrow that shirt from Sam?" she asks him one night, as he joins her on the couch with his laptop. Sebastian didn't normally work outside of his bedroom, but she'd asked him for help putting together an anniversary surprise for Demetrius.

Sebastian frowns, glancing down at it. "Uh, no? It's one he bought me for my birthday, though."

"Oh, that must be it," she replies, and Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "I thought it smelled a little like his cologne," Robin explains.

"Yeah, maybe," he mumbles, as he zips his hoodie up over the shirt. "Anyways, I finished scanning in all those pictures you gave me," he opens up his laptop, and passes it to her, "and they're all saved on this USB drive here." He plugs the stick into the side of the laptop, and a window opens on the screen. "So now you can print more copies of them, or make slideshow, or whatever you want to do with them."

"How do I see the pictures? Do I click on this?" Robin asks, frowning at pop up on the screen.

"Yeah, just click the 'OK' button. Don't touch anything else." She selects the option, and a window opens to display several folders. "I sorted them all into folders," Sebastian explains, "so this one has your wedding pictures, and this one is Maru's baby pictures and stuff, and then this one is mine…"

With Sebastian's help, Robin navigates into the folder with his childhood photos, and starts clicking through the photos. "Oh Sebby, look at this one!" she exclaims, upon opening a picture of him at eight years old, proudly holding out a frog in a bucket. She looks away from the screen to smile at him. "I miss your red hair. And your freckles!"

Sebastian doesn't look like he misses having red hair, or freckles. "That was a really long time ago," he replies.

"I know," Robin sighs. She resumes scrolling through the pictures, pausing once again when she reaches a picture of Sebastian – now ten years old – on the playground with Sam. "Oh, and this one! Do you remember your first playdate with Sam? You were so shy!"

"I'm pretty sure you were more excited about that playdate than I was," Sebastian says.

"Oh, I don't know," Robin teases, "it took you a little bit to warm up to the idea, but I distinctly remember that you started crying when I told you it was time to go home."

He blushes. "I was like, ten, Mom. How do you even remember that?"

Robin smiles to herself as she clicks through a couple more pictures. She stops again at one of Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail seated around a game of Solarian Chronicles, and Sebastian groans.

"Yoba, we look ridiculous," he complains. "Abigail's got raccoon eyeliner, and half my forehead is stained black from that awful Joja hair dye."

"Of course you do, everyone looks ridiculous when they're that age," Robin says with a laugh. "Oh, and look at Sam's hair... this must have been taken after he tried to cut it himself."

Sebastian cracks a tiny smile. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

"You're all growing up so fast!" Robin says, as she reaches the end of the folder. She closes it with a sigh. "I wish I had more photos of you… you never liked having your picture taken."

"I might have some on my phone… let me check." She waits as he pulls up the gallery on his phone, and swipes through a couple of the pictures. "Uh, here," he says, "from my birthday the other day."

Robin eagerly takes the phone from him, and pinches the screen to zoom in. It's a sweet picture of the two boys standing in front of a decorated tree – Sam's got his arms around Sebastian, and Sebastian's got a genuine smile on his face. "Aww Sebby, you look so happy!" she coos.

Sebastian shifts uncomfortably on the couch. "If you let me have that back I'll send it to you," he promises, holding out his hand.

"Good idea!" Robin passes his phone back, and Sebastian quickly pockets it. "Do you have any other pictures with Sam? Or Abby?"

"Uh, I dunno, I guess I could ask Sam? He's the one who likes that sort of stuff." He pulls at the drawstrings on his hoodie. "I was actually thinking of heading over there now, if that's okay."

"Now?" She glances over her shoulder at the clock. "Dinner's going to be soon... you're not going to eat with us?"

"Uh, no," he answers. "I'll just eat something later. I mean, if that's alright."

"That's fine," she agrees, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Sebastian shifts back on the couch so that he's out of her reach. "You and Sam have been spending a lot of time together lately, huh?"

"Yeah..." He tucks a section of hair behind his ear. "We, uh… we've been working on a lot of stuff for the band, you know? And Sam loses focus whenever we stop to take a break, so sometimes it's just easier if I crash at his place. "

"Of course, I don't mind," Robin assures him. "You know I'm always happy to see you spending time with your friends, right? Especially Sam… he's such a nice boy," she continues, and Sebastian nods as he moves to get up from the couch. Robin hesitates for a moment, and then adds, "he's kind of cute, don't you think?"

Sebastian slowly sinks back into the couch. "I'm sorry, what ?"

"I was just thinking about all those old photos we were looking at, and he grew up very handsome, didn't he?" she asks, with a slight smile.

He stares back at her with a look of horror, and an increasingly red face. "Mom, no," he pleads, "just… no. Please stop talking. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'm sorry, okay?"

Robin laughs. "I'm only teasing! It's just… you and Sam are so close, you almost seem like a couple sometimes. Like in that picture just you showed me!"

"We're just really good friends, Mom," Sebastian insists. "That's all."

"I believe you!" she promises him. "But... if you were dating someone, you'd tell me, right?"

He sighs, and pulling at a loose thread on the hem of his sleeve. "Yes, Mom."

She reaches over to squeeze one of his shoulders. "That's good. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Sebastian sighs again. " Yes , Mom." Robin decides she should probably leave the conversation there.

"Well, thank you for helping me with these photos, Sebby! Let me know if Sam has any other pictures, okay? It would be nice to have more photos of you up around the house."

He nods. "I'll see you later," Sebastian says, getting up from the couch.

"I'll save you some leftovers!" she calls after him, as he heads for the living room door.

Sebastian's laptop is left sitting on the coffee table, and Robin stares at it a moment. This time, it's not just the smell that tells her there's something new going on in her son's life – it's the way he blushes whenever she mentions Sam, the increasing amount of time they seem to be spending together, and now the picture from his birthday – where Sebastian looks happier than she's seen him in years, with Sam's arms around him.

She wants to believe that he's telling her the truth when he says that he doesn't think of Sam as anything more than a friend… but after their talk today, she's starting to suspect that he's hiding something from her again.

Sebastian

"Hi!" Sam chirps as he opens the front door. He shoots a look over his shoulder, before pulling Sebastian in for a quick kiss. "Did you have dinner?"

"Nah," he replies, as he follows Sam into the house, "decided I'd rather hang out with you."

Sam stops and frowns at him. "Seb! You can't just skip dinner to spend time with me!"

"Wasn't that hungry anyways," Sebastian says with a shrug. "Don't worry about me."

"No," Sam decides. "Unacceptable. What if I made you some food? I can make, um… some eggs? Do you wanted fried or scrambled? I don't actually know how to make scrambled eggs, but I'm sure I can figure it ou-"

Sebastian groans. "Dude, the last time you tried to make some eggs you dropped them on the floor, and then made me take the blame."

"You know how my mom is about messes!" Sam protests. "Okay, what if I made a frozen pizza?"

"Pizza is fine, I guess," he agrees. "Thanks."

Sam leads him into the kitchen, where Jodi's wiping down the countertop. Sebastian's about to suggest that he just grab something to eat at the Saloon, but Sam interrupts her before he can say anything.

"Hey Mom? Sebastian didn't have anything for dinner, so I was just going to make him a frozen pizza. Is that okay?"

Sam's mom doesn't look too stoked about it, but she nods. "Do you mind cleaning up when you're done then, Sam? I've still got some vacuuming I need to do tonight."

"Of course," Sam agrees, as he starts digging through their freezer.

Jodi gives Sebastian a sympathetic look as she removes her rubber gloves. "Is everything alright at home, Sebastian?" she asks.

"Oh, yeah. I just lost track of time while working," he lies. This wasn't the first time he'd come to Sam's house for dinner after skipping a family meal at his own – though usually it was to escape Demetrius, or an argument Sebastian had started.

"Four cheese, or pepperoni, Seb?" Sam interjects.

"I dunno," he replies, as Jodi leaves the kitchen. "Pepperoni, I guess."

The pizza takes twenty minutes to cook, which Sam spends telling him about the farmer. "She's just been giving everyone around town a bunch of gifts lately; I can't figure her out. Like she always comes into Joja Mart to give Shane stuff, and Abigail says she's given her a bunch of rocks from the mines, but then I also saw her give Leah a salad... it's like she's trying to woo the whole town, or something."

"A salad?" Sebastian repeats.

"Yeah dude, like a take-out salad from the Saloon? It was weird... I mean, who gives salad as a gift?"

Sebastian shrugs. "She's weird; everyone in this town is. What kind of person willingly moves to Pelican Town, anyways? Of all the places you could choose..."

"Hey, my family moved here," Sam protests, as he peers inside the oven to check on the pizza.

"Well that wasn't exactly your choice, you moved here when you were like... ten. Besides, you're probably the weirdest of us all, you know that?" he teases.

"Yeah, according to you ," Sam retorts. "I've heard there's a rumour that you're actually related to that weird old dude who lives in the tower. You have to be pretty fucking weird for people to think that." He opens one of the overhead cupboards, and passes Sebastian a plastic plate with a junimo on it.

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Oh, obviously. Why do you think I always pick the wizard in Solarian Chronicles? It's clearly my destiny ."

Sam laughs. "I've also heard that Abigail's secretly his daughter, so who knows."

"People in this town really have nothing better to do than gossip," Sebastian replies, as if though he and Sam hadn't spent the past twenty minutes doing just that.

"Seriously." Sam joins him at the kitchen table with the pizza, and divides it up between the two of them.

"I thought this was my pizza," Sebastian says, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I did make it," Sam argues, as if he'd spent the night labouring over it. "Also, we had lentil soup tonight, so I'm still kinda hungry. I can only eat so much of it, you know? And Vincent hates it so he barely eats any, and then we have leftovers for days…" Sam trails off with a sigh. "I mean, I guess that won't be a problem anymore next year."

Sebastian frowns as he thinks back over his last few conversations with Sam, trying to remember if Sam had said anything about the upcoming year. "Why, what's happening next year?" he asks when he can't come up with anything.

"Oh! I meant to tell you, but I couldn't find a good time to do it? Anyways… my dad's coming back."

Sebastian takes tiny bites of his pizza as he considers this new information. "Yeah?"

Sam nods. "My mom and I found out last week. I still don't really know how I feel about it yet... I mean, I'm glad he's okay and all, but... I dunno." He stares down at his pizza. "What if he's different? I've been waiting all these years for him to come back... what if when he does, he doesn't feel like my dad anymore? Or what if I tell him about us, and he doesn't want to be my dad anymore?"

Sebastian reaches across the table to take Sam's hand in his own, and they sit in silence for a moment as he thinks about his next words carefully. "I can't tell you the answers, Sam," he begins. "I don't know, either. But I can tell you that no matter what happens, I'm gonna be here for you, okay?" He squeezes Sam's hand.

"Thanks, Sebby," Sam says, squeezing his hand back. "It's just given me a lot to think about, you know? Like when I should tell him – if I should even tell him, and if I do, what I'm even going to say." He lets go of Sebastian's hand, and picks up his pizza again. "And I feel like it won't matter anyway, because I just can't see him being okay with it." He sighs. "I don't know."

"It's okay not to know, Sam," Sebastian reassures him. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing half the time, believe me. And yeah, it's probably going to take some time to adjust to him being back; it took me years to adjust to having a new step dad, and you know how that turned out. But... we have each other, and that's the important thing, right? You've always had my back, and I want you to know that I'll have yours, even if everything goes to shit, and we have to... I dunno, run away and live in a cave in the desert, or something."

He really wasn't sure where he was going with that, but it makes Sam laugh, and that's all that matters to Sebastian. "I bet Abigail would join us. She's all about that cave life," Sam jokes.

"Oh, for sure," he agrees. Sebastian picks up his pizza again. "Um, not to change the subject, but have you picked out a Winter Star gift for her yet? I meant to do that weeks ago, but I was kind of... distracted."

Sam swears quietly under his breath. "...No, and it's going to take weeks to order something. Shit ."

"We could always buy her one of Marnie's special chickens," Sebastian deadpans. "Only eight hundred gold; that's a steal."

"What about the night market?" Sam suggests. "That's coming to town tomorrow, I bet we could find her something there." He glances at the entrance to the kitchen, and then lowers his voice so that it's just barely audible over the sound of his mother vacuuming. "Might make a nice date, too."

"That does sound nice," Sebastian agrees. "Is Monday okay?"

Sam leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Can't wait." He picks up his pizza again. "Now hurry up and eat your food," he says. in between several large bites. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can cuddle."

Robin's still working at her counter when Sebastian emerges from his room to meet up with Sam, and he braces himself for a round of questions as he walks past her desk.

She glances up from her blueprints, and Sebastian gives her a half-hearted wave. "Hey, Sebby," she calls out, as he zips his motorcycle jacket up over his hoodie. "Going out for a drive?"

"Uh, no, I was going out for a walk, actually. Sam and I were going to check out the night market."

"Ooh, that sounds nice," she replies. "I've been meaning to head down there and take a look around some time. I've still got some gift shopping to do..."

Sebastian nods, before glancing at the front door, then back at her. After a moment of hesitation, he decides to take a risk, and try spending a little more time with his mother. Up until she started teasing him, he'd been having an okay time looking at photos together. "Um, I was wondering… did you want to walk down with me, maybe? Or are you busy working?"

She looks pleasantly surprised by his question. "Oh! Yes, I'd love to!" She rolls up her blueprints, and grabs her coat off a nearby hook, moving as if though she's worried he'll leave without her if she takes too long. "Ready to go?"

As he predicted, spending time with his mom is actually kind of nice when she's not ask him embarrassing questions about Sam. By the time he's finished telling her about his latest programming project, they've almost reached the docks, and Sebastian can see Sam pacing along the old wooden boards in the distance.

"I'm not sure how long I'm staying, do you want me to wait for you?" Robin asks, as they cross the cobblestone bridge linking the town and the beach.

"Oh, that's okay, I might just sleep over at Sam's," he replies. "Don't really feel like walking all the way back up to the mountains at midnight."

"Alright! I'll let you know when I'm about to head home, then."

"Hey dude! Ready for some gift shopping?" Sam calls out to Sebastian, as they step onto the dock. He looks like he wants to pull Sebastian into a hug, but after a quick glance at Robin, Sam sticks his hands in his jacket pockets instead. "Are you joining us tonight?" he asks, flashing her a polite smile.

"Oh, no, I'm just here to browse on my own," she replies. "Sebastian offered to walk down with me. I'll see you boys later!"

"Wow, look at you being social," Sam teases, elbowing Sebastian in the side. "Do you want to grab some coffee first? Don't want you to be tired from all that talking."

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Just for that, I'm stealing your free coffee."

"I'd like to see you try," Sam scoffs, as they set off towards the end of the pier. "Just because I didn't push you in the water during the moonlight jellies doesn't mean I won't do it tonight."

"No you won't," Sebastian counters.

"Of course I won't," Sam agrees with a laugh, "then I'd have to hop in and fish your dumb ass back out again."

Once they're each armed with a steaming cup of coffee, they survey the boats dotting the docks. "Where should we start?" Sebastian asks.

Sam takes a sip of his drink, and winces. "I dunno, maybe we should walk around a bit first?" he suggests, before blowing on his coffee. "See what's worth checking out."

The glowing fairy lights strung overhead have cast a pink hue over the pier, and all of the boats tied up along the docks, bobbing gently with the waves. They pass by a small blue ship with hand painted stars, and a long green boat with a deck full of delicate vases.

They debate buying Abigail a full suit of armour from a shadowy vendor with glowing pink eyes, but settle on picking up a couple sticks of rock candy from a purple caravan manned by a woman with green hair, and a floating pig.

"There, now she has some rocks she can actually eat," Sam says. "Anything else you wanted to look at, Seb?"

"Nah… unless you wanted to check out the mermaid show," Sebastian replies, with a small smirk.

"Definitely not," Sam decides.

They spend another thirty minutes walking around the docks, before they find themselves on the pier by the rock pools. It's a little quieter over there, and the two of them are able to sit and enjoy the atmosphere without being disturbed by any of the other villagers.

Sebastian lets his head rest against Sam's shoulder, and Sam leans in to press a kiss to his forehead. "Remember the moonlight jellies?" he murmurs to Sam.

"Yeah." Sam's silent for a moment. "I really wanted to kiss you then," he admits. "I spent all night trying to work up the courage…"

"Hey," Sebastian says, as Sam trails off, "you've got the perfect chance now, right?"He looks up at Sam, and Sam smiles back at him, before leaning in for a kiss. He brings a hand up to cup Sebastian's jaw, and Sebastian only pulls back once his phone starts buzzing in his pocket.

"Your mom?" Sam asks, squinting at the bright screen in the dark.

"Yeah, she just wanted to let me know she's leaving now." He flicks the screen off, and turns back to Sam. "I guess it's a good thing she didn't decide to come looking for us herself… can you imagine?"

"Yoba… that would have been a way to come out," Sam replies. He glances over at the main dock. "Would you like to come back to my place? As nice as this is, I think it'd be even nicer if we had a little more privacy."

"Definitely," Sebastian agrees, but not before leaning in for one more kiss.