Annoyance

"Good morning, Shane." Laura wlecomed.

"Good morning, Laura." Shane responded, imparting a small smile to the woman's mouth.

He had known it would, saying her name, and crinkled his nose a bit at it. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure why he did that now and then. Maybe to have a small break in the monotony. Work on the farm was not bad, and was at the very least much less monotonous than JojaMart. Maybe it was that weeks got long, hours were longer- that was for sure, and within those weeks certain tasks could drag on. Main thing keeping him going, and keeping him around, was being able to get up from a grueling task and take in his work, survey with some burgeoning satisfaction that he had accomplished something.

Something always soured it though. Something always had to. There would be a flaw- gone unnoticed for all the quality checks he did on himself until the end. Or maybe a break during a last hammer swing. Or maybe that creeping, jealous, inane thought.

You're living off her achievements. You were just a drunk six months ago. Hell. You're still an alcoholic always craving a beer.

Shane was always aiming to squash those thoughts. Chirping beetles, cruel and unending, scuttling around in his brain.

You'll never amount to anything! Chirp chirp

No one could ever love you! Chirp Chirp

You're a piece of shit! Chirup Chirup

It had him grabbing at his hair at some points, fistfulls of the dark locks, fingers turning red, knuckles going white.

"Shane, if you're not too busy today, will you please harvest some of the mushrooms from the cave up North? But- please don't worry if you're unable. I appreciate how much you do right now! Just if time permits. I'll leave lunch for you on the porch. Please be sure to take it easy, it's supposed to be hot today." Laura gently said, her voice as warm as the morning, but sure not to heat up like they both knew it would in the afternoon.

"Sure." Shane responded curtly eliciting a small tilt forward of the head from Laura, her brown hair thick and twisting past her ears to cover her tanned face for a moment before she turned to grab her bandana and sunhat from the porch post cap before swinging from it down the first couple steps, landing lightly on her feet, a small cloud of dust breathing in deep for a moment.

"Hey." Shane said suddenly. Laura turned to him, fixing her bandana just so, keeping her hair from her face. Peering up at him as the put on her hat he could see her expectant eyes. The shadowing casting a dappled look over her freckled face and he said, "I thought you were some kind of fucking desk jockey before this. What gives? You've only been at it a year."

A controlled grin blossomed across her face, the smallest gap between her front teeth, and tongue pressed against it. Annoying.

"I can't take all of the credit, honestly. I've had some help from I guess you could say mother nature. But also great help from you. I couldn't do it all without you."

Fucking lie. He knew it, but he only slightly rolled his eyes and nodded. He wasn't about to shit on the hand that essentially fed him. And what was with her always referring to it as "something like mother nature".

"I do it for the money." he grumbled and Laura nodded with a small smile. She never pushed him or demanded more out of him when a wall was close to coming up. And he guessed he could appreciate that. It was pay day today too. Along with his normal wages, she always sent him off with some fruits and vegetables, sometimes honey- and even plum pudding at times for Jas who adored Laura. He scoffed when she'd first given it to him.

"Isn't this a little out of season?" he had groused.

"It might be, but I thought Jas might like it." she had said, prompting him to simply grab the stupid treat and shove it in his bag before turning and leaving through the thick grass that reached past his knees.

And now he did the same. Grabbed his sunhat from the wood post cap, turned, and walked to his first task of the day giving the chickens, and ducks and rabbits, their breakfast. But not, honestly, before turning back only for a moment to watch her disappearing into the hops, growing up almost endlessly on long bamboo poles. He took a deep breath in, smelling in what of course reminded him of his beloved beer. But with the wind, he got that very small smell of Laura. Over time, he could pick it up in the air, sifting through the smells of chicken shit and hops to find that smell of... Laura. Fucking creep. he chided himself.