Just a lil' warning that there is minor swearing in this chapter.
Shane's P.O.V.
Summer. Bright, sunny summer. Sticky, sweaty, horrible summer. Only the first of the month and I was already waking up stuck to my bedsheets with sweat. Great. It was only 7am but Aunt Marnie was already awake, harping on at me about how excited she was about the warmer weather, but what intrigued me was what she said next, pointing to a sickly looking triple tiered pink cake with a big number 20 on it on the kitchen counter.
"Her… Birthday?"
"Yes!" Aunt Marnie clapped her hands together lightly. "Mira and all her little friends are gathering down at the beach tonight. I made her a big cake by that nice girl Haley's request! Isn't it just wonderful?"
Nice girl, huh? Deluded. "…It's great." I turned to leave for work.
"Oh! Shane!" Marnie called after me. "You will be there, won't you? Tonight? It starts at about four so you'll be a little late, but…"
Ugh, fantastic. Rain's one thing, but all the other jerks in town? Hell no. "…I'll see what time I get off work." In other words, 'I'm going to avoid it at all costs'.
"Great!" Aunt Marnie beamed. I felt a little uneasy… Held back, even… Why?
I know it's hard, but… Maybe try to reach out a little, y'know?
Rain… Maybe she was right, but…
"…Marnie?"
"What is it, little nephew?" she looked at me almost as if she was shocked I could even talk. I swallowed hard.
"I…"
You're worthless.
You shouldn't have bothered.
You brought this on yourself.
"…Nothing. I'm leaving now." I headed out of the door. Shane, you goddamn coward. I shook myself out of my thoughts and started the horribly sunny walk to work. The work day felt slower than usual with the sticky heat limiting my movements. Stupid Morris rule number one; employees can't take off their jackets, even during desert-like weather. Jerk. Stupid Morris rule number two; air conditioning costs money, so let's not use it when the store is practically an oven. It was going to be a long day.
…
Somehow, I managed to get through another day without punching Morris in his stupid face – probably because the heat sapped all of my energy before I could even think about getting a swing in. One day. The sky was finally starting to cloud over by the time I crossed the river, and the evening air was cooling down. I breathed in a lung full of the colder air, cooling my body down. I stretched out my arm and a few droplets of water fell on my hand. It's… raining? A full-blown thunder storm quickly started up, taking full advantage of the pressure in the hot air. Fantastic. Before long I was completely drenched, raindrops pelting the cobbled pavement and bouncing back off. Geh… This weather makes me thirsty… I walked briskly to the entrance of the Saloon, glancing down at the beach. They must all be soaked by now. Idiots. I mused to myself. After half considering heading down there, I decided against it. If they were stupid enough to stay out in a storm, I wasn't about to join in their brainlessness. I walked into the Saloon instead.
"Oh! Shane!" a surprised voice exclaimed. I looked up to see two wide green eyes staring at me, blue dungarees and all. Everything was dry, from her work boots to her chocolate brown hair. She missed the storm?
"I thought you were at the beach." I sat down at the bar beside her.
"Well, yeah, I was…" she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Me and Emily saw the storm clouds and tried to warn everyone. They wouldn't listen, so… We just kinda left. Hehe."
"…You left all of your party guests in a storm?"
"Hey, I—" she stuttered, puffing out her cheeks comically. "It's not my fault if they wouldn't listen! Jeez…"
"Whatever," I smiled at the thought of the townsfolk looking like drowned rats. I called over to the blue haired barmaid who was polishing glasses. "A beer and a lemonade."
"Coming right up~" she chimed annoyingly before pouring and serving our drinks. "I'll be in the back taking inventory. You crazy kids behave now!" Goddamn busybody…
Rain was telling me all about her birthday party, or what of it she was actually around for. "And then Sam nearly fell in the ocean!"
"Yeah."
"And Haley ate most of the cake even though she said she was on a diet…"
"Mhm."
"And then I built a huge sandcastle but the tide knocked it right over!"
"Ah." I don't know… I wanted to be excited for her. Really. I felt pretty bad for being such a grump on her birthday, but… I just couldn't. I just didn't feel right. Eventually she'd expended all of her birthday energy and just sat blowing bubbles into her lemonade. I knocked back the last of my beer and rested my chin on my palm.
"…It was stormy that day, wasn't it?" Rain suddenly broke the silence.
"What?"
"You always drink more when the weather's bad." I turned to look at her. She was still staring down at her drink, stirring it with her straw, but she looked serious. Sombre. It always surprised me how she could just turn on a sixpence like that. It surprised me more how she'd managed to notice something even I didn't.
"…Yeah. It was." I responded quietly. Still she said nothing. I looked around the bar; everyone else must've still been making their way up from the beach, and Emily was out of earshot in the back room of the Saloon. I took a deep breath in, ready as I'd ever be to release what I'd let quietly eat at me for the longest time. "My ex and I were together for about three years. It wasn't perfect. We argued a lot and I pretty much let her get her way with whatever she wanted even if it hurt me, because I…" I cleared my dry throat, already feeling uncomfortable. "Because I loved her." I circled the top of my glass with my finger, letting the film of my mind wind back to that day. "Last summer we were doing a lot better. We were living together. We were stable and… I was happy. I'd also started up a business with my best friend. For the first time in my life I felt like everything was going my way. But it wasn't." I felt my hand ball into a fist as a small hot feeling rose through my chest, but it quickly dissipated. I was too tired to feel any of that anymore. "I was on my way home from the part-time job I had at the time. A storm started up and cut the power in the shop, so I was told to clock off early. I ran back to the apartment – I couldn't wait to see her. And… Yeah. I saw her. And my best friend. Together."
"I'm… I'm so sorry." Rain's voice shook quietly. I sighed as I found the will to continue. Pandora's box was already open – no use in stopping now.
"Turns out they'd been seeing each other for a long time before that. And for her, he wasn't the only one. I was scared… I was scared that I was going to lose everything. My business. My home. The love of my life. So I forgave them."
"You…?"
"Yeah. I know it's crazy," I laughed a little in self-pity. "They promised me so many things after that but, it was all lies. He took the business from under me. She kicked me out. They're probably living it up together as we speak."
"That's terrible… They're… terrible…" I could almost hear the tears in her eyes.
"I bounced between jobs that barely paid and apartments that I couldn't afford. Even slept rough for a while. Before I knew it I was just another nameless alcoholic living on the streets. Until finally word came that Aunt Marnie was living here in the valley and offered me a room. I kept my distance from everyone here after what happened… Then I wound up at Joja Mart…" I sighed to myself, realising how one stupid act of selfishness made my life spiral down so hard. "I guess I shouldn't complain… I have a roof over my head… An income… Ehh…"
"No." before I even realised it her arms were around me in an embrace. My heart fluttered. Ahh… Don't tense up, Shane… Don't be weird… I relaxed into her touch, as much as I could. Then she broke the embrace and stared into my face. "You lost everything that mattered to you… There's no shame in being damaged by it."
"Y-yeah…"
"It's hard when someone breaks your trust. I know." She averted her gaze. "But it's worth it to realise that not everyone's like that. Not everyone will betray you. Marnie won't… I won't."
"Rain…" I frowned, "I know you're right, but…"
"Did you give any thought to what I said last night? About trying to reach out?"
"Uh, yeah…" I recalled my epic failure at trying to talk to Aunt Marnie. "It didn't go well. I chickened out."
"Oh… really?" she gloomed. "Well… What is it you wanted to ask her, anyway?"
"About chickens," I sighed.
"I thought so…" she smiled knowingly. "How long have you been interested in farming?"
"Eh, I've given some thought to it for a while now," I shrugged, "I kinda feel like… If I could reset my life, maybe I'd start a chicken farm… Free range, of course."
"That sounds great!" Rain giggled, before growing serious again. "But… You couldn't ask Marnie after all, huh?"
"Yeah… I just… Every time I try something new, it goes horribly wrong." I shuffled my glass between my hands on the bar. "You learn to just stay in a shell."
"Ahh, well, you know…" Rain thought hard for a moment, "Snails!"
"…Snails?"
"Yeah! If a snail never comes out of its shell because it's scared of exposing its vulnerable parts, it can never eat any lettuce!"
"Er…" I didn't really get what she was saying. Nonetheless, she stared at me expectantly with a wide smile and gleaming eyes. I cracked a smile. "Yeah, I… Guess you're right."
"Yeah!" she beamed, placing her hand on mine. Oh god. I could already feel my pulse start to pick up. Don't move… Don't breathe… She looked up at me again with those eyes. Those deep, gorgeous eyes that I could feel myself getting lost in. Her gaze was enduring, never wavering as she drew me in. "Let's bring you out of your shell." She said, crinkling her nose sweetly.
…She's right. I'd become so encapsulated by her radiant face that I could feel myself tipping forward toward her, only managing to stop myself inches from her face. I swallowed hard. We've been here before… But not this time. It became obvious to me in that moment – mostly because I'm a complete moron and didn't realise any sooner. How my heart flutters and my stomach twists. How her eyes and her smile and just, everything about her made me feel warm inside. Warm, for the first time for as long as I can remember. How every room gets brighter when she walks into it. I thought I'd never be able to do this again, but I…
"Rain." I swept the hair out of her dazzling eyes.
"Wh-what is it, Shane?" Just hearing the way my name sounds on her heavenly voice affirms this feeling. The hint of pink rising to her soft cheeks as her eyes gaze into mine, her lips parted. Her lips begging for mine. Say it. Say it now.
"Rain, I—"
"Ugh! Like, what the hell kind of freakish storm is this?!" The Saloon door slams open. I draw my hand back. "My shoes are, like, totally ruined!"
Fuck.
"Oh! Haley!" The blue-haired barmaid poked her head around the backroom door. "Wow, what happened? You look awful!" she giggled. Her sister ignored her.
Everyone finally made their way up from the beach, drenched and covered in sand. Would've been quite the spectacle, too, if it wasn't so poorly timed. I put my head in my hands as angry footsteps rushed over to the birthday girl. Kill me.
"Like, why'd you just leave us to come hang out with this guy, Mira?!" The dumb blonde, soaked to her skin, gave me a dirty look. Like I cared.
"I tried to tell you a storm was coming…" Rain responded awkwardly, "I didn't want to get caught out in it is all."
"Whatever," the blonde scoffed, "anyway, I hope your birthday was totally fab. I'm gonna, like, go take a bath. Ciao!"
"Okay, bye," Rain waved with a sigh. "Anyway," she turned to my abruptly. "What were you saying?"
"Er…" I stuttered. There was no way I could confess to her in front of the whole town… No way at all. "I… I forget."
"Oh…" she tilted her head to one side. "Well, in that case, let's go see Marnie!" She pushed me from my barstool towards my Aunt. "Wh-why?!" I objected.
"Go on! Go say what you wanted to!"
"Rain, I can't."
"Yes you can," she smiled, still pushing me. "I'm right behind you. Literally!"
"Gah…" I sighed. Before I knew it, I was right in front of my Aunt. She looked awful – her hair and clothes were drenched, but she was still grinning as she always did, a glass of wine already in her hand. "Oh, little nephew," she smiled, "is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I, uh…" words escaped me. I fidgeted on the spot – it felt like the whole world was staring at me. But then I felt Rain's small hands on my back, pushing me to move forward. Figuratively and literally. "I… Aunt Marnie." I paused, collecting my thoughts. "I'm… kinda… interested in caring for chickens and I was wondering… Kind of… If you could… show me how…" my voice trailed off into a quiet mumble. Who knew Aunt Marnie had such a solid poker face – I couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. What felt like hours passed before she smiled wider than I'd ever seen her smile before and she almost shouted, "Aww, Shane! I'd love to help you!"
"Heh… Well, thanks… Marnie." I mumbled awkwardly before hightailing it back to my seat at the bar, flustered. "You did it!" Rain chirped happily. I smiled to myself. "Yeah… I did."
The peace didn't last for long. A guy with blonde spiky hair approached her. Sam – I recognised him from work. Lucky bastard gets better shifts than me. He spoke kind of like an over excited puppy. "Hey, Mira! Me and Seb were going to play some pool. Wanna come with?" I gazed up slightly and noticed the goth kid glaring at me from beside Sam, his stupid black fringe hanging flat over his left eye, dripping wet. Whatever.
"Um, maybe, but I was just having a drink with Shane—"
"No, I was just leaving." I pushed my hands into my pockets and stood up.
"But, Shane…" I heard Rain's voice from behind me. Turning around I saw her sad eyes gazing up at me. It hurt my heart… It really did. Either side of her, though, was Sam who was apprehensive of me at best, and the goth kid who apparently couldn't stand my presence. Truly a rose between two thorns. "I was gonna get an early night anyway," I mumbled, waving to her once. "Happy birthday, anyway."
"Thanks…" she offered me a small smile, but I could see right through it. She wasn't happy at all…
It was hard to sleep that night. My head was filled with nothing but regret of what I didn't get the chance to say. That, and gut wrenching images of Rain's sad eyes. Then, once again, in the solitary darkness of my room, the doubts crept in and lulled me unwillingly to sleep. Why am I such a loser…? Why would someone like her even like me anyway? Maybe I should just… Keep it to myself…
…
It had been a few days since Rain's birthday, but the storm wasn't letting up just yet. It had been going on for days – which made the fact that it was Jas' birthday even more difficult. "But I wanna go play out with Vincent!" she shrieked multiple times throughout the morning, teary eyed.
"Look, dear, it's not safe to go out today. I know, why don't I bake you a big cake?" Aunt Marnie negotiated.
"Yeah! Yeah!" the kid heard the word 'cake' and suddenly forgot her troubles. Oh, to be young.
"Run along and play, now. We'll have a little party for you here later."
"Okay!" Jas skipped to her room merrily. Aunt Marnie turned to me. "Shane, dear, could you go into the coop and feed my girls for me?"
"Of course," I said almost happily, trying not to sound too excited. Since the storm took out Joja Mart's power supply – hallelujah – Marnie had spent the past few days teaching me how to care for her chickens. It was great – I felt like I was actually enjoying myself, like I had some purpose for once. I couldn't help feeling like I was just getting under my Aunt's feet, though. Nevertheless, I headed through the right-hand door in the kitchen and into the coop. As soon as Cluckles and Peep saw me come through the door they were in a flurry of excitement, clucking and flapping wings. Yes, I gave Marnie's chickens secret names. Sue me. I lifted the big bag of feed from the corner and poured it into the feeders before carefully searching the hay floor for eggs.
I stayed in the coop for a while after that, listening to the raindrops on the tin roof and the satisfied clucks at my feet. When I went back into the kitchen, Aunt Marnie and Jas were stood next to the counter, atop which was a big pink cake, much like the one Marnie made for Rain's birthday. As soon as they saw me I felt a little uncomfortable; the whole 'family' scene wasn't really something I was used to. My parents never cared much for me and realistically, I barely knew Marnie or Jas.
"Auntie! Auntie! Let's cut the cake!" Jas jumped up and down excitedly. Marnie looked up at me, seeming to appraise my unnerved expression, and smiled. Handing Jas the cake cutter, she said, "Why don't you go and ask cousin Shane if he'll cut it?"
Jas took the cake cutter from Aunt Marnie, and looked sheepishly at me for a moment before beaming with glee and bounding over to me, holding the cake cutter up to me. "W-will you cut my birthday cake for me, cousin Shane?" she said, smiling shyly. I slowly took the cake cutter from out of her hands, a fuzzy feeling in my stomach. I smiled down at my cousin.
"I'd be happy to."
Author's Note:Man, this chapter turned out to be longgggg. I was going to add a whole other half to it too but that'll have to wait until chapter 9. My exams are done now but I need to prepare my cosplay for a convention in a couple weeks, and also pack up my stuff to move out, so while updates will be more frequent, I'm not fully back just yet.
I've started uploading Rebirth Rain onto archivesofourown too, but don't worry, each chapter will be here first!
I also wanted to preemptively ask for future reference - if I were to write another Stardew Valley fic after this, what kind of thing would you like to see? If you have any basic ideas feel free to either write it in a review or PM me. :3
P.S. I know I'm the worst for teasy romance. Don't hate me. ;) Okay, bye! ~Nyannygiri