Ellen yawned, stretching her hands above her head lazily as the first streams of morning light poured in through the greenhouse roof. Her body was sore, but in a pleasant way, like the aftermath of a good massage more than anything resembling pain. She nuzzled closer to the warmth of the sleeping man next to her, running her fingers down the soft skin of his chest, reveling in the feel of the solid muscles laying beneath. Only when she'd reached the little patch of hair trailing below his bellybutton did he finally stir, cracking one eye open to meet hers.

"You're insatiable," he muttered, the corner of his mouth turning up in a pleased smirk.

"Who, me?" she replied playfully, matching his smile with one of her own even as her fingers moved back up and away from their assumed target. While her body was certainly ready for Round...what, Four? - right now she wanted the presence of mind more than the pleasure of flesh. There hadn't been much talking last night beyond moaned curses and breathy prayers, and after so long without him, she craved his conversation.

Besides, the only thing worse than her dad walking in on them naked together was her dad walking in on them actively having sex.

So she asked him about his trip instead, smiling contentedly as he told her about his epic struggle with a monster squid, and a new type of lure he found at a port town across the sea. She didn't have any fondness for fishing herself – the few times he'd talked her into going with him had been 90% boring and 10% gross – but she loved how much he loved it. She loved the way it made him ramble, that bubbling excitement breaking through his typically calm demeanor.

She just...loved him.

"And then the idiot said squid don't shoot ink, so I..." Willy trailed off, tilting his head curiously as if he'd just noticed something. "Why are you grinning like that?"

"I'm not grinning," Ellen replied, though the tightness in her cheeks as she spoke made a solid argument that she was, in fact, grinning. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I'm just enthralled by your tales of ocean murder babe."

"Uh huh," he replied dryly. "Sorry, I guess I have been talking too much. So what's been going on in the valley then?"

She wanted to tell him not to be sorry, that he could ramble on all day and she'd be content just to listen to his voice...but he looked genuinely interested in what he'd missed back home, so she obliged him.

"You missed the Stardew Valley Summer of Love," Ellen snorted derisively. "Clara Mullner ran off with this douche from Greenfield, and George is endlessly bitter about it. Robin dated all four members of some metal band one after another, which was as ridiculous as it sounds. And Jodi got a pen pal, some dude in the army she's ooohh sooo in love with," she finished with a roll of her eyes.

"Jodi's like 15," he noted, nose crinkling in disgust.

"I guess he's a new recruit? She said he was only 18, so..." Ellen trailed off with a shrug. "Not like they're getting married or anything."

"Still gross," Willy said, reaching out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "And what about you? What have you been up to?"

Ellen grinned suddenly, propping her head up on one elbow. She knew he'd ask, but it still made her giddy that he did. "I'm auditioning for a new show in Zuzu next week! It's a vampire musical."

He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth tugging up in amusement. "A vampire musical?"

"Mark my words, vampire musicals are going to be the next big thing."

"So, what, were you practicing last night or something?" he asked, tilting his head so she could see the faint bite mark she'd left at the junction of his neck and shoulder.

Ellen smirked, even as her cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure. "Maybe."

"Uh huh. Still, Zuzu is a long drive," he noted, furrowing his brow. "You should take someone with you. Maybe Robin? She's into all that creepy stuff, isn't she?"

Robin was certainly into all that creepy stuff, but…

"Actually, I was going to ask you to come with me. We could make a little trip of it, just the two of us," Ellen said, tracing the lines of definition on his stomach with her free hand. "Hotel room, no parents..." she trailed off suggestively.

To her dismay, she did not receive the lecherous grin she was hoping for. Instead Willy frowned, looking off to the side like he was avoiding her gaze entirely.

"Sorry Elle, but I can't. Pappy just got a big order in from some new company – Joja or something? Anyway, he needs me to go back out tomorrow."

And just like that, all of her joy and contentment flew out the window.

Ellen pressed her lips together into a thin line, pushing herself up into a sitting position and crossing her arms. Whether it was a defensive or offensive gesture, she wasn't entirely sure, but either way she felt like if she didn't physically hold her breath in her lungs she would explode.

She knew it was all too good to last.

Willy's expression twisted into one of guilt, and regret. "I'm so sorry baby. I want to, I really do, but...he needs me, you know?"

"So do I."

Her tone was sharper than she'd meant it to be, but she couldn't help it. He'd been gone for half the summer, and most of the spring, and even the damn winter when the seas should have been nothing but ice. He'd missed the Flower Dance, he'd missed her birthday, he'd missed countless conversations and stolen kisses and Yoba, the bulk of their relationship lately was her staring at the ocean, missing him back.

And now all she gets is two fucking days before he leaves again?

Willy sighed, running his fingers through hair that was permanently kinked from saltwater. He didn't say anything else though, and for some reason that pissed her off further. He was abandoning her – again – and he couldn't even bother to acknowledge it. Couldn't look her in the eyes and admit that she just didn't rank high enough on his priority list.

To hell with him then.

Ellen returned the silence as she angrily tugged her shirt back over her head. She could feel Willy's gaze, see him opening and closing his mouth uselessly from the corner of her eye, but she refused to press him for a response. If he had something to say to her, he'd say it. His complete lack of argument as she got dressed spoke volumes.

"Don't let Dad see you leave," Ellen said icily as she stormed out of the greenhouse, not bothering to look back.

Ellen kicked her chair back, staring blankly at the community center fish tank as she sipped a glass of overly-sweet, brightly colored punch. She had never been to a baby shower before, and based on how mind-numbingly boring this one was, she'd never go again. Stupid games, shitty food, and being forced to watch the town attention-whore open a thousand tiny outfits while a gang of old ladies aww'd in synchronization.

She liked kids and all, but this was ridiculous.

To be fair, she would have been in a foul mood regardless. After kicking Willy out, she'd spent the entire morning sulking. She didn't want to fight with him, especially over his asshole grandfather, but she'd hit an emotional breaking point. She loved him more than anything, but she just couldn't live like this anymore.

It was wrong to wish death on someone. Bad karma. Ellen would never do it, of course. But if the old bastard just so happened to keel over tomorrow…

"Psst, give me your cup," Robin hissed in her ear, breaking Ellen from her darkening thoughts. Ellen compiled, watching gratefully as Robin produced a flask from her jacket and made the punch something worth drinking.

Ellen took a sip, coughing as the liquor burned her throat. "Damn. You're not messing around with that stuff, are you?"

"Need something to deal with Caroline. Apparently letting a guy nut in you makes you a goddess of fertility or something," Robin said, rolling her eyes as she spun a chair around backwards and straddled it. "Though getting knocked up by a wizard has to give you some kinda powers right?"

"Yoba, I hope not. She's insufferable enough as it is," Ellen replied, taking another long drink of her punch. "Pierre is an idiot for staying with her."

"Yeah well, guess he figured if he can't have you..." she trailed off, eyes narrowed in wry amusement.

Ellen groaned. Pierre had harbored an unfortunate infatuation with her throughout high school, despite being told repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested. Even when she and Willy became official, he'd still pursued her – well, up until Willy stepped in and tested those boxing skills Pierre was so proud of.

Hint: they were exaggerated.

"Aw Robin, leave her alone," Jodi cut in, dragging her own chair over and taking a seat beside them. "Ellen's obviously having a rough day."

Leave it to Jodi to notice. That girl had too much empathy for her own good. Ellen sighed as the two of them watched her expectantly, waiting for her to spill what was bothering her.

"I'm fine. Just had a fight with Willy this morning, that's all."

Robin raised her eyebrows. "Already? Didn't he just get home yesterday?"

"Yeah, and his grandpa is already sending him back out tomorrow," Ellen said dismally. "Then he's gone again, for who knows how long this time."

"So tell him to say no," Robin said immediately. "It's not his job to run the family business just cause his old man's sick."

"He thinks it is. And at the end of the day, the business is more important than me. That's why we fought."

Robin was silent at that, and Jodi put her hand on Ellen's shoulder. "Did he actually say that?"

"Well no, but..." Ellen sighed. "It's just, he's been gone so much lately I feel like we don't have a relationship anymore. He's the only reason I'm still in this town, and he's not even here. It's like, why am I even bothering, you know? If he doesn't care why should I?"

As the words tumbled out of her mouth, it dawned on her what the real issue was. It wasn't that he was gone so much – that sucked, but they could work around it. It was that without him, she didn't have a future here. Being stuck in this town waiting for him, when all she wanted to do was act...it killed her. Her hopes and dreams were dying every single day. How much longer would she be able to put up with it?

She could be happy here, if he was beside her. But he wasn't.

"You need to talk to him," Jodi said sagely, once again acting like the mom of their group despite being the youngest by far. "Tell him his actions are making you feel like you don't matter."

"Guys don't understand that shit," Robin interjected, unscrewing her flask and taking a swig right from the bottle. "Look Elle, you wanna be an actress, right? Well you can't do that here. And if you don't want to be here, and Willy isn't going to be here..."

Ellen shook her head, denying Robin's words even though deep down she knew they were true. "So what, I should just leave him? You know I can't do that."

"Why not? Plenty of fish in the sea, no pun intended," Robin said, shrugging. "I get it, you've been together forever, but he's not making you happy anymore. So find something else that makes you happy."

Ellen stared at Robin for a long moment, before looking to Jodi for backup. Jodi was soft-hearted, surely she'd understand that it wasn't so easy, that love changed things. But to her dismay, Jodi was looking back with reluctant agreement written all over her face.

"Maybe just...tell him you're thinking about leaving. See what he says?" Jodi offered. "Maybe it'll help him realize he needs to change."

Robin nodded. "Give him an ultimatum. He either has to make staying here worth it, or you're leaving. You can't waste your life on some guy Ellen."

Ellen felt like she was going to vomit up the stale cookies and booze punch sloshing around in her stomach. Spending her life with Willy wasn't a waste – it was what she'd always wanted. She couldn't image a life without him in it. But...she was living that life right now, wasn't she? And it was miserable.

She was miserable.

The sound of people clapping grabbed their attention before Ellen found the words to reply, and the three girls turned to see Pierre strolling in. He looked confused by the applause – as was Ellen – but continued to where Caroline was, apparently intent on picking up the gifts she'd been opening.

Ellen didn't miss the look of annoyance on Caroline's face as she shooed Pierre away, whining that she wasn't done opening presents. That girl really couldn't stand giving up the spotlight even for a second, could she? Pierre looked around awkwardly, clearly wondering where he was supposed to go, before his gaze landed on her.

"Oh, great. Thanks Elle," Robin said sarcastically as Pierre approached, grinning.

"I never asked for this," she replied, turning to their unwanted guest. "What do you want Pierre?"

He affected a fake pout. "Aw, don't be like that. Everyone else clapped for me you know."

"Yeah, cool. Didn't realize knocking someone up was worthy of applause, but there you go."

"Or not knocking someone up..." Robin snickered under her breath.

Pierre's grin faded momentarily, before twisting into that infuriating smirk he always wore before he said something shitty. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know you have a little something showing," he said, touching his throat in demonstration. "I'm sure you wouldn't want your father seeing hickeys on your neck."

Despite Pierre being a complete ass, he had a point. "Oh. Thanks," she muttered grudgingly, retying her scarf to cover the evidence of last night.

"Of course. It's a shame your boyfriend never learned to be discreet," he said, his smirk widening. "Guess he never needed to be in the ports."

Ellen's eyes snapped to his, narrowing in anger. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, everyone knows what sailors do on shore leave. Drink and fuck."

"Fuck off, Pierre."

Pierre shrugged lightly, affecting a look of concern that would almost be believable, if his eyes weren't dancing with glee. "Come on Ellen, don't be so naive. He spends months on the ocean, completely alone. It's enough to make anyone look for some...companionship."

Robin stood up, looking far more imposing in her leather jacket and boots than a small town girl had any right to. "She said fuck off," she growled, taking a meaningful step towards him.

Ellen wanted to laugh at the way Pierre flinched at her unspoken threat, skittering off like the rat he was – but she couldn't. His words had sparked something in her, some hidden insecurity that she didn't realize she had. In Pelican Town, it was a given; he was hers, no one questioned it. But out there...

"Don't let him get to you," Jodi said softly, rubbing a soothing hand over her back.

Ellen nodded, forcing her cheeks into a fake smile and pretending everything was fine, even as her thoughts began to spiral dangerously. Willy was so handsome, tanned and muscular...other women were bound to have approached him at the ports. He was a fit young man with needs of his own – needs that, for various reasons, had not been fulfilled with her up until last night. Had he been looking for release elsewhere? Is that why he was always so eager to get back on the sea? He could do whatever he wanted, with whoever he wanted, and she'd never know...

She crossed her legs, and the pleasant soreness between them suddenly made her heart ache. No. Not Willy. He wouldn't do that to her. He loved her.

Just not enough to stay with her.