(a/n: trigger warning for domestic physical abuse, just in case. also use of the f-word. not the frick one, the other one)

If you were outside, you could hear it. Probably an open window where it came from. Either way, I was outside, on my way to Pierre's, still far from the source, and I could hear it. I didn't recognize the voice. But at first I thought about how when people are really angry like that, and they yell so loudly and with such venom in their tone, then they don't really sound like themselves. But I knew. I mean, only one guy in this town has a biological son.

"No son of mine." The words coursed through the air. The intensity and emotion was enough to carry them for miles. All of a sudden, all of Sam and I's worst fears felt like they were manifesting themselves. I knew he said his dad would be angry, that the man was intolerant—no, that he was a bigot. A stubborn, prejudiced, bigot. But I had an angry dad. I knew angry dads. They calmed down, they leveled their heads eventually. But there was a cadence to these words so visceral and so energized that I now understood what Sam meant when he said it would take more than just existing to change his dad's mind. I always thought Kent would come around because Sam was his son. But those words, "No son of mine," they sounded true. He meant that.

And after I came to terms with the reality of the situation we might be in, I didn't know what to do. Should I go? Will I make Kent even angrier? Can I fix this? How should I help Sam? He needs my help. But I don't want to put Sam in more danger by inserting myself into the situation. There was nothing I could say that could calm Kent down. But I walked toward that harrowing, piercing shout anyway. I couldn't tell you why. Any sensible judgment would say to wait this out. Not out of a lack of care for Sam, but because I was the problem. Letting Sam come to me would be better. In fact, if I hadn't been out walking, I wouldn't have even heard it. But I think that's part of the reason I walked. Something told me I needed to go. Sam was in danger, and I needed to help him. And last time I checked, sitting around, doing nothing, being a bystander, is not the way you accomplish what you need to.

Minutes before Kent was going to erupt, you wouldn't have even been able to tell something was going to happen. Things were calm inside that little house which occupied a small lot on an insignificant street in a forgettable town in an unsuspecting valley. But those are exactly the kinds of places where things happen all the time.

"Sam, honey, could you reach that bowl up there for me?"

"Yeah, sure." Sam stood on his toes and stretched his arms up to the shelf the bowl in question rested on. His fingers curled around the narrow stem of the bowl, inching it closer. Once it was in reach, Sam gripped as well as he could around the bottom and lowered it to his waiting mother.

"Thank you, tall guy."

Sam smiled. "Whatcha making?"

"Lentil soup."

"Oh, no. Have you told Vincent yet?"

"Oh, don't worry, that's the second thing he asks me everyday."

"What's the first thing?"

"Mommy, can I have a hug?"

"That's precious."

"And that's one of the nicest things I've heard you say about your brother."

"Hey, I'm nice to him. I could be a lot meaner, you know." Sam started to walk out of the kitchen.

"I know."

Sam turned back toward his mom. "Hey, how does the bowl get back up there every time? I mean, I don't remember—" while Sam was saying this, he was thinking about something different. He forgot where he had put his phone. "—putting it back up on the shelf?" Ah, that's right, on the table by where his dad was sitting. So he walked over, but didn't see the phone where he remembered putting it, and that's because, well, it wasn't there. It was in Kent's hand. Kent was scrolling through Sam's phone, and, as any teenager knows, that's pretty much a worst nightmare scenario.

"Uh, Dad? Why are you looking through my phone?"

Kent didn't respond. His eyes were fixated on a point far beyond the phone.

"Can I, uh, can I have that back?" Sam reached for his phone, which was still held firmly in the large hands of Kent.

"No son of mine." Kent's eye twitched.

Sam stiffened up. Had he heard that correctly?

"Ha, uhh, what?"

Kent looked at Sam like Sam was an incapacitated serial murder—no fear, only disgust and antipathy.

"Dad?" Sam wasn't exactly nervous yet.

"No son of mine." The words, clearer this time, made Sam aware of the worst. There was only one incriminating thing he had on his phone. Some texts. The only thing that could feasibly make his dad say something so horrifying.

"Dad, what did you say?" No point in playing dumb, though, Sam knew. Here it comes.

Kent stood up. His figure dwarfed his son's. The boy cowered at the man's apparent rage. Their faces said it all. "NO SON OF MINE!"

And those words flew out the windows of that tiny little house, through that tiny little town. Birds flew from their perches on nearby trees, and the words carried on until they reached two townsfolk. Two townsfolk who understood the gravity of the situation at the source of those words. These two townsfolk, who were first friends, turned mutual suspects, turned brutal rivals, now walked toward this shout with the same goal in my mind: to mitigate whatever was about to happen.

Kent was taking furious steps toward his son. "Dad, wait!" But Kent walked steadily. He raised a hand. Jodi ran out of the kitchen to see her son frantically duck out of the way of a strike from his father.

"Kent, stop!" Jodi cried desperately.

Kent's attention finally cracked, his furor now drawn to his wife.

"Did you know about this?"

Jodi was speechless. All she could comprehend was that expression on her husband.

"You did, didn't you? Of course you did! And you didn't tell me? I-" Kent glared back at his son, who had moved nearer to the door to his room.

"You make me sick. My own son! God, I'm disgusted. You disgust me. You are not my son!"

"Kent, please!" Jodi was crying.

"I come home...after years...to be greeted by a lying wife...and a f****t son?!" Kent was letting out large huffs of breath between phrases. Each word stung more than the next.

"Kent, can we please just talk about this?"

"Now you want to talk? Why should I want to talk to a liar? What else are you two hiding?"

Sam could feel himself tearing up. He didn't know if he could take any more of this. Hearing anyone talk to you like that puts a toll on you, but when it's your dad...well, that's what broke Sam.

"Now you're gonna cry? Are you kidding me? Not only are you a dirty f****t, but you're gonna cry like a little bitch?" Kent stormed over to Sam, who was now standing with his back against his door. Sam wasn't about to try anything. So he turned and opened the door to his room, his hands shaking in panic. He closed the door quickly behind him as he entered, locking the door after.

Sam stepped away, let out a breath that was chopped up by nerves, and heard bangs from outside his door.

"I will knock this damn door down! Get out here, now!" Kent's volume was rising again. Sam was terrified, to say the least. He was in immediate danger, but he also knew his future was at stake. Sam thought about the boy he loved. He thought about the life they should have. He thought about how unfair it all was. And Sam couldn't take it anymore. He broke down, fell to his knees, and sobbed. There was no way out of this. Just as he knew from the beginning, when he made his first move on the dock in Cindersap Forest, he didn't know how he was going to go through with this. And for a second, Sam thought about just giving up, telling his dad he was sorry, promising to never speak to (m/n) again, doing whatever he could to escape this. That was the only way to fix this.

As Sam was starting to commit to this idea, he heard cries that weren't his own. They weren't his mother's, either. These were soft, and, like his, they were escaping their owner unintentionally. It was Vincent. That poor kid, Sam thought. No kid should have to hear this, no kid should have to hear his father say things like that. No father should say things like that. No father at all. And you know what, Kent wasn't acting like a father. Sam stood up. If he wasn't Kent's son, then Kent wasn't his father. Sam didn't need him. This family didn't need a person like that tearing it up.

Sam walked over to his door, knocks still resonating from it. Sam breathed out, reached for the doorknob, and shouted right back, "ALRIGHT ALREADY!" The knocks stopped, and Sam stepped out.

Sam was face-to-face with Kent. The two were about the same height, which wasn't the case when Kent had left for the war. So now, Kent felt shorter than Sam remembered.

"Well, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Unfortunately, Sam had not thought this far. "That...that, uhh, that I don't, um, care, actually."

"You what?"

"I don't care what you have to say about me." Sam was calm.

"Oh, is that right? Well, I'm your father, and you're in my house. So you'll live by my rules. And the number one rule is don't go running around with," Kent's rage was building again as he thought about what his supposed son was doing, "with other...with other..." more huffs.

"I don't care about your 'rules.' You're not my father, I don't have to listen to what you have to say."

The vein on Kent's forehead was close to bursting. "THEN GET OUT!"

Sam stood, confused.

"I said, get out! You wanna live that way? Fine! But you won't do it here, you bastard!"

Sam kept standing. He heard Vincent's cries to his left. In front of him stood his fa-...stood Kent, pointing toward the front door. To his right, his mom had her hands in her face, weeping. Sam didn't want to listen to him, but he definitely wanted to leave. So he walked toward the door, slowly. Kent's eyes were locked onto him every step, but his position was frozen, pointing. Finally, Sam reached the front door, grabbed the cold, metal doorknob, and inhaled sharply.

"This family doesn't need you." Sam said under his breath.

"Come again?"

"This family," Sam turned his head over his shoulder, still gripping the doorknob, "does not need you." Chin up, Sam exited the house that no longer belonged to him.

As Sam left, Kent finally looked to his poor, broken wife. He said nothing.

"Go...go get him..." Jodi said in between sobs.

"And why should I?"

Jodi stood up, a fierce look in her eyes.

"Because he's right. This family doesn't need you. You can prove him wrong by fixing this, though."

"He's the one that needs fixing!"

"I don't care. Go get your son. He is your son. You are his father, and you are about to ruin that."

Kent swallowed, fury still the primary emotion on his face. He marched out of the house he owned.

As my nerves climbed, I picked up my pace. Soon I was running without realizing it. God, the town felt huge when there was urgency. But I needed to make sure Sam was okay. Destiny had brought us together, and I was going to let nothing tear us apart. I reminded myself that and hoped Sam was doing the same, wherever he was.

And though fate was responsible for my initial meeting with Sam, she would now be responsible for my meeting with someone less desirable. Abigail wasn't running, but she was moving in the direction of Sam's house. I locked eyes with her. I stumbled a bit and halted. She froze, too. Her eyes gleamed with worry; probably means this wasn't her fault. I don't trust her, but I wasn't about to stop her.

"Did you hear that?" Abigail broke the silence.

I just nodded.

"Let's go." Matter-of-fact.

We both made our way now, moving at an intermediate pace between our originals. For now, she had to be an ally. The truth behind her and if she had anything to do with this could be sorted out later. Plus, I probably needed all the help I could get.

The town felt too quiet. Like everyone knew what was happening and wanted no part of it, or were too scared to leave their little houses. Drama wasn't typical here.

Sam had had the wherewithal to run in the direction of the town square. I had texted him I was stopping by Pierre's before I heard the shout. There was only one person left he could go to, so he needed to find him as soon as possible. As such, soon, I saw pointy locks of yellow hair sticking over a tall bush. The locks moved forward to reveal Sam, who darted out and froze when he saw us. Tears were running down his face. His hands were shaking. His face was locked in an expression of fear.

"Sam!" I knew too well.

"(m/n)!" Sam ran toward me. I ran to meet him, leaving Abigail behind. I'll bet Sam didn't even notice her.

I embraced Sam, and he let out a sob that had been building up. I rubbed his jacketed back.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I already knew, though. I just asked to try and calm Sam down, I guess. I don't know, I was scared.

Sam tried his best to collect himself. "My dad...he...my phone..." Sam was in no condition to explain. "(m/n), I'm sorry..."

"Sam, you didn't do anything..."

"I know...it's just...I don't know what's gonna happen..."

"Sam, I love you." I caught myself on my breath, realizing again Abigail was right behind me. Whatever. "And that will never change. I don't care what your dad says. You are perfection. You are valid. And you are mine, no matter what he says."

Sam couldn't smile. It was too much.

I quickly grabbed Sam's face between my hands, refusing to let our love be silenced. I kissed him. That's really all there was to it. Anything I could say, nothing would do a better job than a kiss. In that moment, I wished our lives could just be this. No fathers, no ex-girlfriends, just Sam and me. But, of course, this was the real world. And you have to face your problems in the real world.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" The same voice which had characterized the first shout erupted again. Sam jumped away from the direction the voice came from. I saw Kent for the first time. I had never seen an angrier person.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Kent bellowed. I stood tall. This was how I was going to face my problem.

Unfortunately, standing still and being stoic would not protect me from the swift punch to my jaw Kent delivered as he charged me. I fell to the ground, frozen in shock, pain surging through my face.

"Don't hurt him! You bastard!" Sam ran toward him.

"Get away from him Sam! Get away from that disgusting f****t!"

"How dare you call him that!?"

"That's what he is. That's what you two are! Now get away from him!"

"Never! I will never leave him. Nothing you can say will change that. I love him! And if you can't wrap your thick skull around that, then I want nothing to do with you!"

"Saying that to your own father!?" Kent barged over to the two of us, both crumpled on the cobblestone ground. "Well, I ain't afraid of a couple of-"

A new voice. "Enough!"

All three of us looked over to the frantic Abigail. She stood, incredulous.

"I can't believe you pretend to be his father!" Abigail shouted, each word with more velocity than the last.

"Oh yeah? And who the hell are you to tell me about my kid?"

"I know him better than you! You don't even know your own son, and you walk into his damn life, and tell him he's worthless? You tell your own son his love is meaningless?"

"Hey, I was protecting this whole town! He's still my kid, and what I say goes!"

"No, it doesn't! Sam wasn't born into this world owing you anything. None of us are. If you can't live with who your kid is or what they want, then you never should have had children. You don't deserve Sam. Sam is bright, and funny, and caring, and a beautiful person, and you want to throw that away over who he loves? Just because they're both boys? You're a short-sighted, prejudiced bigot if you can't accept that his life is his own, and you, as his supposed parent, owe him a debt. That debt is to love him, unconditionally. You think he wants to disappoint you? You think he wants to alienate his father? You're unbelievable!" Abigail was fuming. She lost words, but everyone could tell she could keep going. By now, a small crowd had started to form. Townsfolk unaccustomed to outbursts like this watched, frightened but curious.

Kent looked around. He looked at his son. He looked at the way his son was looking at that boy on the ground. And then he looked back to Abigail. She had finally found what she wanted to say.

"I want you to imagine back to when you met Jodi. And you fell in love with her. How would you feel if your father threw you out of your house because of who you fell in love with? If he disowned you, separated himself entirely from you, all because you had fallen in love. All because you had found happiness, and he disapproved of that. Really imagine. Really imagine what you're putting Sam through, right now. Don't you have any empathy?"

Kent's rage dimmed. What was he doing?

"Sam, I..." Kent said quietly. But Sam was not focused on his dad. He was focused on his boyfriend, his lover.

"Sam, I...I'm so sorry. I fought all these years. And...I've gotten so angry. I can't believe what I've done. I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me. But I'm sorry. I just want the best for you. That's all any parent wants. I'm sorry I thought I knew what the best was." Sam, now paying attention, finally looked at his father as Kent directed his attention toward Abigail. "You're right, Abigail."

Abigail smirked. "I know." Sam rolled his eyes and I laughed a little, then grimaced again in pain. Kent yanked Sam up from the ground, and Sam pulled me with him. The punch really had just dazed me; I'm no weakling, mind you.

Kent couldn't make eye contact with Sam. Sam, being much more emotionally adept, hugged his dad. Kent flinched at first, then returned the embrace. They separated, and Sam returned to my side.

And of course the townsfolk started clapping. Why wouldn't they? This time I rolled my eyes.

"That reminds me!" Abigail started. "As for the rest of this town: get used to having these two around. None of you reserve any right to judge them. And if anyone has a problem with it, you can talk it out with them like a respectful, cognizant adult. Or, you can always come to me, if you like." The younger citizens who had shown up laughed a little, and the older ones just grunted. To be honest, I didn't care if they minded. And I knew Sam didn't anymore, either.

"Dad..."

"Sam, I'm sorry."

"Dad, it's okay. I'm...I'm glad you came around."

Kent said nothing. He just kept looking at the ground as the crowd dispersed and Abigail came over to us three.

"Are you alright, (m/n)?" Abigail snapped me out of my trance. I was processing a lot.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."

Kent's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, uhh, sorry I, uhh, punched you."

I sensed Kent's embarrassment at having punched his future son-in-law the first time he saw him. "No worries. One day we'll all laugh about this." I grinned awkwardly, winced in pain, and Sam gave me an I-dont-know-about-that look.

Sam acknowledged Abigail. "Uhh, thanks, Abigail."

"Don't mention it!"

"No, really, thank you. I-...I realize I've treated you pretty badly these last couple months. You don't deserve that. And you didn't have to say any of what you just did, but you said it anyway."

Abigail finally showed some humility. "Well, Sam, I still care about you. No one should have to go through that alone."

Abigail was right. In life, we have to accept our problems. You can run away, but the root of those problems will never leave you alone. But just because you have to face some horrible, scary things in life, that doesn't mean you should have to face them alone.

(a/n: thanks for reading! this is the end. i hope you enjoyed it. if you don't want to read the next paragraphs summarizing my thoughts on this fic and the future, you won't hurt my feelings.

i started this work 2 and a half years ago, worked steadily for a couple months, then abandoned it for two years. i remembered it on and off during those two years but never had motivation. to be honest, when i was working on it, i barely knew where it was going next. that's why there's so many continuity errors. anyway, i finally did finish over the last month or so, as i've found myself with lots of free time all of a sudden for some reason. so, if there's anyone out there who was waiting for the finished product, i dedicate this chapter to you.

sorry this doesn't really work as a self-insert. i realized that a little too late. oh, well. i wrote it from the perspective of the player, so i figured it made sense initially. i also realize now the town is called pelican town, not stardew valley. also, in-game sam says he lived in Zuzu city before pelican town, i forgot about that. what a fan i am. also, my apologies to ConernedApe for dismantling and manipulating Kent's character. im sure none of pelican town's citizens are canonically homophobic (except maybe George).

i have no clue what to do now. i am probably not out of creative juice, but i dont really see myself constructing another story at this point. i dont really have a fandom i'm familiar enough to write a large-scale fic with, either. on the off chance you do care about me or my future works, expect it to be stardew valley, LoZ, or hunterxhunter. at the same time, do not expect any content at all. i just want to lay all the options on the table.

again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. it really does mean a lot. stay safe.)