A/N: Chapter 1 is here! Thanks so much for the reviews and favorites, it truly motivates me to write! I cannot thank you guys enough! -Passes out cookies!-

Chapter 1: 1st Spring, Year 1

The duo walking up the path was met with a two fingered wave, his sole duffle over his right shoulder. "Hello, Mayor Lewis I'm guessing?" The words directed at the older man, whom he had spoken with on the phone.

The older man let out a chuckle. "I am! With an accent like that, you'll fit in just fine. Sounded different on the phone..."

Aiden gave an honest laugh at this, the first one he felt in ages. "Eh, it's only a slight one. I picked it up from here when I was a kid, guess it just stuck."

"This place does grow on you..." The female spoke and both men turned to her, Aiden with a small smirk and Lewis with a nod.

"She's right, but how rude of me! This is our local carpenter, Robin. She'll be helping you fix up your grandpa's cabin. It's been sitting for quite some time, so...I'm afraid there's some disrepair." Lewis motioned for the other two to follow him and Aiden found himself shrugging. He'd slept in less desirable places, he was sure. Besides, there was a running joke among Soldiers that the Army trained you to fall asleep anywhere, and there was some truth behind it. He was confident in his ability to sleep anywhere, and through just about anything.

The trio was silent as they took a right from the bus stop, heading down the path towards what Aiden knew was the farm. The path was well worn, though there was some growth showing it hadn't been traveled much as of late. He supposed his grandfather had a hard time doing things as he got older. A small pang of guilt hit him, as the realization dawned. He should have moved to take care of his grandfather instead of taking a shot at normalcy in the big city. These thoughts were pushed back to the depths of his mind. His grandfather wouldn't want him feeling like that.

They reached the small cabin, and Aiden couldn't fight the child like grin that reached his face. It was as he remembered, albeit more run down, but this...this was going to be home. The smell of the spring air was strong, fresh and crisp. He glanced over his shoulder to the disrepair of the yard and felt his stomach drop. Things had really been let go, it would seem.

"As you can see, it's a bit...run down." The woman named Robin said, and the mayor immediately retorted.

"Rude!"

Aiden let out a small chuckle. "Naw, she's kinda right. But that's fine, it gives me something to do. Wouldn't be fun if it was easy."

The Mayor gave him a look that Aiden couldn't place before a small, knowing smile reached his lips. "Yes, I suppose that's true. Well! I'm glad our new farmer is ready to go! Take today and settle in, go around town and introduce yourself—everyone's excited to meet the new farmer!"

Aiden visibly recoiled at this. "Eh...I'm not a real big people person-"

"That's fine, but at least say hello. You're a part of the community now, so at least let them see the face of the farmer who's going to grow our food!"

Aiden had no rebuttal for this. Part of a community? That sounded...nice, he supposed. Wait. "Grow food for the entire town!?" Aiden looked around. "By myself?"

"Well, who knows you could meet someo-"

"I think we're done here, c'mon Mayor!" Robin spoke up, ushering the mayor off with a roll of her eyes to Aiden. "We'll get out your hair! Welcome to Stardew Valley!" And in a much more animated fashion than they arrived, the duo departed leaving Aiden standing in front of his new home, back still over his shoulder.

Well. That was awkward. He turned and headed up the stairs, the wooden boards creaking beneath weight they hadn't felt in quite some time. Reaching the door he set his bag down and fished a key from the side pocket. Sliding it into the lock, he heard the tumbler give a loud click as he turned, unlocking the door. Entering, he noticed that someone must had cleaned as there was no layer of dust—indeed even the sheets on the bed were fresh. A small part, in the back of his mind became annoyed at the lack of the hospital corners on the bed, something drilled into him during basic training. Old habits died hard, he supposed. Quickly, he untucked and remade the bed—if only for peace of mind—before he looked around. He could unpack now, or he could go to town and at least say hello. He was anti-social, sure, but he didn't want to appear rude. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "Fine, let's slay the beast first, then unpack."

Aiden trudged down the pathway towards the town, under his arm a packet of papers held together with a rubber band. Entering the main town, Aiden found himself slightly taken aback. He had been there before, of course, but usually in the summer. The cherry blossom trees, just now beginning to bloom, canopied in such a way that the sun looked like little more than twinkling flecks upon the cobblestone with which he walked. It was truly beautiful. Gathering his thoughts, he ducked towards the clinic on the left. Entering, he found that he didn't like the place as much as he thought he would. He supposed his disdain of medical facilities would always be there, no matter how 'homey' it was built to look. Hazel eyes fell upon a man behind the counter, his mustache of both comical and epic proportions and Aiden wasn't sure if he was amused or impressed. Without a word, at first, Aiden placed the packet of papers on the counter.

"Er...hi, I'm the new guy? Moved onto my grandpa's farm?"

The man looked to the packet of papers, blinking once before looking to the owner and hearing his introduction. "Oh! Yes! Mayor Lewis mentioned you'd be moving in! Goodness is spring starting already!? My name's Harvey, by the way, I'm the resident doctor at the clinic. And this is…?" He looked to the packet.

So this guy was the doc? He didn't seem that old...maybe he just aged gracefully? Maybe he was a medical savant? Whichever it was, Aiden steamrolled over the options and spoke. "Name's Aiden doc. These are my...medical records, from the service?"

Harvey blinked again before nodding softly and removing the rubber band and flipping through them. His expression a mix of pensive and an emotion that Aiden had seen among many before: pity. A small part of him, that fire in his belly that had gotten him out of worse situations stirred, and he quickly quelled it. He wasn't judging him, surely, so there was no reason to get angry. "I see...some of these medications may take some time to get in...do you have enough to last?"

Aiden produced a single bottle and shook them. "Till the end of the month. I figured there was no VA clinic here, so...I asked them to fill an advance prescription." Harvey gave a small smile.

"Good. It's just, some of these things we don't keep on hand. Small town, and all..."

"I understand. I'm not trying to put you out, doc, I can commute to the city if you want..."

"No! No, I wasn't saying that..." A sigh came from Harvey, and Aiden picked up on the cue that this doctor probably had the same awkwardness with people that he did and he felt this eased him. An odd form of 'bed side' manner, to be sure, but Aiden found this was much better than a stuffy doctor. "Just that it may take awhile to get in...I'm not a psychologist, so I don't usually deal with these types of things. And, it's a small town, so..."

Aiden nodded. "I got ya doc. You don't have to, but thanks..." Harvey gave an earnest smile, that Aiden returned.

"You're very welcome. I'll go over this more thoroughly later, before I file it. You just be sure to take care of yourself in the meantime. Doctor's orders."

Aiden gave a small laugh at this. "You got it doc. I'll swing by if I feel under the weather, promise." Aiden raised a hand as a wave and headed for the door, Harvey called out to him.

"Ah, Mr. Aiden, I would be remiss if I didn't thank you for your service."

Aiden stopped and looked at him. This was always awkward. While it was nice he was appreciated, acknowledged even, he wasn't sure how to respond? You're welcome was the default, but it just seemed odd. He didn't dislike having served, he was proud of it—he had been taught to be, after all. There were things, times, he tried to hard to forget that he relived...but there were also happy times, times and people that he would miss dearly. A soft smile reached his lips and Aiden gave a small nod. "There's no need to thank me, doc. I did it because I wanted to, just like I'm sure you became a doctor to help people, right? I was a Soldier to protect them."

Harvey, noting the sadness behind the smile nodded. "Indeed."

Exited the clinic, Aiden let out a heavy sigh. First awkward meeting under the belt, hopefully the rest would be easy—medical stuff certainly never was. Every time with doctors, it was procedure, more pills, asking if he felt like he wanted to hurt himself or someone else. He just wanted to be left alone. He wasn't a violent person, far from it, but the fact that he was capable of it set people on edge. Everyone was capable of violence, not just Soldiers—a look at the crime rate in the city proved that. Hell, if anything, civilians were far more scary, to Aiden, because he didn't know what they were capable of, often times until it was too late. Shaking his head at this, he looked to his left at the general store. That was a good place to start, he supposed, as well as a place to wet his whistle.

The door jingled slightly as he entered, typical of an old country store. "Welcome to Pierre's!"

The cry came loudly from the counter, jarring Aiden from his thoughts, and visibly startling him. Both men locked eyes before a laugh was given on both sides.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!"

"It's okay. That's some enthusiasm, ya got me over wanting to buy something already." Aiden let out a laugh again and Pierre grinned at him.

"Then I'm doing my job! You must be the new farmer Lewis was talking about. Welcome to the Stardew Valley—more importantly, welcome to the best place to buy seeds."

"Well, being a farmer, I might have to take you up on that offer." Aiden grinned as he began looking for the drink cooler. Finding one, he approached it, fingers sliding into his pockets as he lazily browsed the selection. There was a time when Aiden wouldn't pass up an ice cold Joja Cola, but after having worked for them—and drinking a lot because of his employee discount—he found himself grabbing the off brand cola and approaching the counter. "Alright Mr. Pierre, let's see those seeds." He locked eyes with the store owner. "Preferably your easiest to raise. Not sure if the green thumb my grandpa had runs in the family." This earned a laugh from Pierre before he nodded.

"I understand, I'm not very good with plants either. My wife and daughter take care of the ones around the shop. And this one" Pierre motioned to the plant next to his register, "is fake! Don't tell them, though, they think I actually raising it!"

Aiden couldn't help but grin, yet again, at this. "Devious." Pierre produced a single sack from beneath the counter.

"These are parsnips. Hardy, easy to raise, and good in just about anything."

"Have you grown them?"

"I'm not a farmer."

"So I'm the test run?" The duo shared a laugh and Pierre gave an innocent shrug before the door to his right opened. Aiden watched as a young woman, around his age, bounced out of the door.

"Morning dad." She called in a tone that indicated this was a routine she followed every day.

"Good morning Abigail. Come meet the new farmer that moved in! Oh, I forgot to ask your name!"

Aiden shrugged. "It's fine." He looked to the young woman then extended his hand. "Aiden. I just moved into my grandfather's farm."

The young woman who, Aiden would admit looked nothing like her father, took his hand. "Oh yeah? Don't look like much of a farmer."

"Left my cowboy hat at home."

Abigail let out a small laugh at his quib. "Yeah? I'd pay to see that."

"Careful what you wish for!" Aiden said with a grin before he turned back to Pierre. "So how much?"

"25, sir."

Aiden fished his wallet from his back pocket before paying for his drink and seeds. Raising the off-brand cola bottle as he secured his things, in a sort of toast. "Well, Lewis wants me to greet everyone else so...er...see ya'll around?"

"I'm sure! Thanks for stopping by, and come again!" Pierre called this as Aiden approached the door.

"Later!" Was Abigail's farewell, and Aiden responded with his signature two finger wave before he exited. No more than two steps from the door a voice cried out.

"WATCH OUT!"

Aiden turned towards the source, muscles tense, only to have an object slam directly into his forehead, causing him to swear loudly as he placed his hand over the injury. The projectile bounced off, and then to his feet: a gridball. He stooped down and scooped it up.

"Sorry about that! I was just practicing my throw and I guess it just got away from me!" Aiden turned towards the man and saw his first familiar face. "Alex?"

The man raised his brow before Aiden watched realization hit him. "Airhead Aiden?!" A laugh escaped Alex and he waved his hand. "Sorry, I mean...it's kind of ironic. Sorry for hitting you with the gridball, but.."

Aiden gave a wry grin. "Yep. Head is still in the clouds." He tossed the ball back to Alex.

"Long time no see man. What brings you here?"

"I just moved into my grandpa's farm."

"Really? You're the new farmer?! Huh. Small world, I guess."

"Very." Aiden replied this simply before Alex nodded.

"We'll have to catch up later, man, but I gotta get back to practicing. You can tell me about how you ended up here."

Aiden merely gave a nod. "Sure." Alex gave him a wave and Aiden returned it, again, with his two fingered wave and the former star player from highschool headed back the way he had came. "Some people never change, I guess..." He reached up and rubbed his forehead tenderly.

"S'gonna leave a mark." He mumbled this to himself before taking a look around. Things had been going great, but found the wind quickly taken from his sails. He had expected, known, he would likely run into people he had went to Highschool with, but he hadn't expected one of them to be Alex. While Alex hardly fit the bill of a 'bully', he certainly wasn't someone Aiden considered a friend. He let out a small sigh. That was enough adventure for today, he'd come back into town tomorrow. For now, he decided, he would clean up the yard and call it an early day.

A/N: For reference, VA=Veteran's Affairs, primarily where military veterans go to get medical service after separation from the military.