Interrupted

By mid-morning, after the auditors left the farm, Violet had already prepared the meal Zach requested as partial payment for his legal services. The crock pot would slowly cook the stew until the meat and vegetables were tender and had absorbed as much flavor as possible. While it was not a fancy meal, she knew her brother would appreciate it. He had a soft spot for home cooking and even if her older sibling gave backhanded compliments, the farmer could tell it was Zach's way of praising her. It was just how their relationship had always been.

Violet would have to deliver the meal to her brother's newly built guest cabin later that evening, but it was just as likely that Zach would not even eat the stew tonight anyway. It was Friday, which meant about half the town would kick off the weekend at The Stardrop Saloon and Gus always had hot, fresh meals that even the pickiest of eaters could enjoy.

Sebastian comes home today! Violet realized happily as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She noticed her hair looked a bit greasy and decided she should shower while she was at it.

Violet gave it a lot of thought as she cleaned her body, and while she and Kyle had been together for nearly two years, their physical relationship had never progressed much past making out and groping one another fully clothed. Kyle tried to initiate many times, which Violet brushed off or tried to ignore entirely, but she was never the one to initiate taking their relationship to the next level in a physical sense. Violet did all sorts of things to show her affection, little gifts and affirmations, supporting his hobbies and dreams, time watching things together, but never the one thing Kyle clearly seemed to want.

While she was angry that her ex had not broken up with her before he found someone else to fuck instead, Violet understood that it would have been kinder of her to end things sooner, too. From the very fact that her ex's touch often made her squirm from discomfort, it should have been obvious that she did not reciprocate Kyle's feelings from the beginning. Being honest with her feelings would have saved them both a lot of trouble and heartache.

But hindsight was 20/20 and Violet was lonely at the time. Just having someone to come home to each day made the pain more bearable. Until it all fell apart.

Now that she was with a man for whom she reciprocated romantic interest, it was a completely different experience. Violet missed Sebastian so terribly that it frightened her a little. I know they say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' but is this normal?

The woman took her time, reveling in the hot water and floral fragrances of her soap and shampoo to avoid her self-conscious reflections on her pining for Sebastian after a few days. Violet wondered how Jodi, whose husband had been away at war, must have felt up to her memory loss. It made her heart ache.

When Violet was done, she wrapped herself in a fuzzy towel and stood in front of her dresser to decide what to wear. It was cold, so a lot of her cute outfits were not practical. But that did not mean she did not want to try and dress to impress.

The woman found a lacy pair of undergarments that she bought after her breakup with Kyle, but never actually wore, and laid them on her bed. Violet was not normally the type of woman to care about these sorts of things, but things were going well with Sebastian. Other than the distance, of course. While she was not specifically aiming to seduce her boyfriend, it did not mean that there was zero chance of something happening.

Violet blushed at the notion, but Sebastian planned on sleeping over the entire weekend. Now that Zach had his own guest cabin again, that meant they would have the house to themselves for several consecutive nights. What if…? The woman slapped her face, trying to calm herself, but she donned the matching lace just the same.

Glancing at herself in the mirror attached to her bathroom door, Violet blushed at her own figure. While she was shy initially, the undergarments were cute, they also accentuated her body in all the right places. It gave her confidence when she imagined Sebastian's reaction. She pulled on soft, warm clothes, concealing her sexy secret. There was only one person she wanted to impress, and he was the only one allowed to see under her layers. Perhaps her boyfriend would discover them after they got back from hanging out with their friends at The Stardrop Saloon?

In the meantime, the pastel-haired woman perched on the sofa closest to the fire and wrapped herself in a blanket to read a book. Violet was not sure when Sebastian would arrive, but she hoped her hair would at least be dry so it would not freeze when they walked to the saloon together.

Violet finished a few chapters before she heard the approaching roar of a motorcycle engine. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She did not expect Sebastian to return to Pelican Town this early, but it had to be him. Violet's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. "Sebastian's back!" she shouted giddily. Slamming her book shut, the farmer hopped up and attempted to get her hair to behave prior to answering the door.

It was Friday afternoon and as soon as Sebastian was out of his final class of the week, he hopped onto his motorcycle and headed straight for Violet's farmhouse. There was so much to catch up on, but the moment she opened the door and they locked eyes with one another, his mind went completely blank.

"Sebastian…" Violet greeted him breathlessly, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. Yoba, he had missed her. His girlfriend's wavy hair was slightly disheveled, her deep blue eyes stared at him as if he were the most important person in the world, and she wore one of his old sweatshirts. It was too big and hung off one shoulder just enough to show a little skin. The combination of it all undid him.

His girlfriend pulled him inside the house, and he kicked the door closed behind them. Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her, allowing his backpack to slide off his shoulders. Violet replied with just as much enthusiasm as his hands swept across her back to wrap around the small of her waist. Her fingers wove into his thick black hair, holding his face inches away from hers even when they had to surface for air.

"I missed you," Sebastian panted between kisses, as Violet eased herself to perch on the kitchen table. He started to nibble on her and she gasped in surprise but tilted her head to better expose her neck. Violet wrapped her body around him, clinging to him desperately.

When they surfaced, Violet made a confession. "I-I didn't know I could miss someone so much…" she revealed in a quiet voice, leaning her arms back on the table to put some distance between them.

Sebastian stood upright to better see her face. His girlfriend looked conflicted. Is something wrong? "You were only gone for five days," Violet whined, her expression torn between annoyance and disbelief. She bit her lower lip as her eyebrows lowered in contemplative reflection. She gazed up at him. "It's pathetic of me, isn't it?"

Sebastian disagreed. "Then call me 'pathetic,' too," he muttered in a low voice. He was conflicted about the desperation he felt, too. The introvert was exhausted by social interaction, but Violet was the exception to the rule. It was almost overwhelming to be without her some days. "It felt a lot longer than that," Sebastian admitted sheepishly. He caressed her cheek, and she tilted her head to lean into his touch.

It was incredible to feel Violet again. It made the man realize how much he craved his girlfriend's presence to make him feel loved and how intoxicating it was when she flooded his senses all at once. The sight of her, the sound of her voice, the way she smelled, the way she filled the space between his arms when they held one another, even how she tasted when they kissed. For the first time in his life, Sebastian felt greedy. He wanted all of her.

Without thinking, Sebastian grabbed the back of her knees on either side of his body and pulled her open legs into his hips. Violet yelped in surprise, but after a split second to recover, she responded in kind by pulling his face to hers by the head gap of his black hoodie. Sebastian smirked and slipped in a bit of tongue.

They were swept up in a wave of passionate kissing and imitating rather sexual motions while clothed, but the two recognized that the table was not their friend due to its awkward height. Violet took his hand and led Sebastian to the nearest horizontal surface.

Luckily, the couch was wide enough for their purposes and Violet sank down into Sebastian's lap, straddling his body. Everything felt so hot and every little touch from her turned him on. Sebastian could feel the blood rushing southward in his anatomy, but he was past the point of thinking clearly. This was the greatest high he ever experienced.

Finally, Sebastian could not take it anymore. He rolled Violet off him and lay on top of her instead, supporting some of his weight on his elbows and knees as his body became to match Violet's own undulations.

His girlfriend moaned softly as he began to apply pressure between her legs. Violet burrowed her hands underneath his shirt and ran along his bare chest. The way she urged him on with her own teasing gave Sebastian the permission he so desperately wanted in the heat of the moment.

Violet sat up briefly to allow Sebastian to rip her top off while she tugged his clothing over his head. He gently lowered his partner to her original position beneath him with a barrage of kisses and he felt Violet working on the zipper of his jeans, groping at the growing bulge beneath his boxer shorts. His girlfriend's fingers slipped beneath the waistband just as he heard the front door swing open. At first, Sebastian thought he was being paranoid, but then a high-pitched voice announced their presence.

Sebastian fell to the floor in a panic. He promptly zipped his pants and handed Violet her sweater as he yanked on his own sweatshirt. The programmer could only imagine how they looked right now, but he could tell from the look on his partner's face that she was silently screaming in embarrassment. Sebastian was not much better off, but right now he was more pissed off than mortified. Who the hell just barged into another person's house like that?

Worst case scenario, it was Violet's brother, but when the dark-haired man popped his head up over the back of the couch to see who it was, he saw it was Sam and Vincent. If it had just been his best friend, he would have told Sam to fuck off. But Sebastian tried his best to keep composed in front of Sam's kid brother. Not to mention Sam instantly caught on to the situation and covered the kid's eyes and looked away himself.

Violet fumbled to welcome the brothers and Vincent went on about the dragon that he expected to hatch from the giant egg he brought. Honestly, Sebastian had to wait for some of the blood to flow back to his brain to form a coherent sentence other than a string of curses directed toward the siblings. Luckily, Sam and Vincent were on their way out relatively quickly, though not without an obvious innuendo regarding the compromising position in which the skater found his friends.

I'm going to kill him in pool tonight for that. No mercy.

Once the siblings exited the house, Violet rushed toward the door and bolted it shut. Her forehead tapped the glass as she slumped forward. "Sam totally saw…" the farmer groaned, her shame practically palpable. Her face and ears felt hot, and the woman knew without glancing at her reflection that she was still blushing.

Violet hid her face with her hands. We were about to have sex!

After spending her entire adult life over-thinking romantic relationships and physical intimacy, as soon as she had opened the door to find Sebastian on her front porch, the dozens of tiny hang-ups she clung to for so long snapped and plummeted to the floor. Violet was shocked that she had been the one to initiate the next step of physicality. Squatting on the floor to bear the heavy burden of her emotional whiplash, the woman felt Sebastian's hand rest on her shoulder.

"What if he tells everyone?!" Violet groaned pitifully.

Her boyfriend did his best to make her forget about the interruption. "So what?" he challenged gently, pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed the back of her neck. "It's none of their damn business, but it's a small town. People are going to talk either way."

Violet could feel her muscles relaxing as her boyfriend pressed his body against her from behind and slid his hand up her shirt. Sebastian already seemed recovered from being walked in on, while she was still hung up on the interruption. Or perhaps it had not hit Sebastian yet and his brain was still thinking about the events up to the point where Sam and Vincent arrived on the scene.

"I guess you're right…" she conceded with a breathy sigh. I did lock the door… she reasoned silently to herself. Violet turned her head to kiss Sebastian as his right hand pinned her to him and his left hand massaged the cups of her bra. Even when her boyfriend was not directly touching her skin, it drove her wild.

The farmer tried not to overthink what she was feeling. After all, she was a grown woman in a romantic relationship, safe in her own home, and with a partner she trusted. Sebastian had always been there for her when she needed him, and he did not play stupid games with her emotions. They genuinely cared about one another. Violet loved Sebastian and he loved her in return.

So why do you insist on worrying? the woman asked herself. If anything, Violet could hear Bex's voice in the back of her head, shouting at her to live a little. Everything felt so carefree and exhilarating just minutes ago, she wanted to recapture that sensation.

If she truly felt ready earlier, Violet told herself she could do it again. I just need to relax and just do what feels natural…

She felt feverish and hungry in a way she had never been before. The pleasure was both thrilling and terrifying - Violet wanted Sebastian to be a part of her, to share with him entirely. It was as if their bodies were melding into one.

Stumbling, the two made it to Violet's bedroom and flopped onto the bed to resume what they started. Shirts and pants were unceremoniously tossed onto the floor, leaving only their underwear, and Violet was thankful she decided to wear something special from the dumb look on her boyfriend's face. Sebastian must have liked what he saw, because the woman found herself bearing his weight on top of her as they fell into rhythm of kisses and pleasurable sensations.

Violet was flustered how fast Sebastian became rock-hard beneath his boxers and how the pressure made her writhe beneath him as she tried to adapt to the flood of desire that slowly seeped into her core. After a few minutes of escalating arousal, Violet gasped a proposal. "Do you… want to?"

Sebastian's dark eyes blinked at her, slowly processing her words. "Are you sure?"

Violet bit her lip, suddenly shy when the words reached her own ears. She bobbed her head to signal her consent. Her boyfriend fell back onto his knees and looked around, as if searching for something. "I uh…" Violet saw him blush and it made her smile that she was not the only one who was so nervous. "I guess we'll need to get a condom."

The woman grimaced. "I… don't have any." Why didn't you think of that? Violet berated herself. It was one of the most basic lessons in sex ed and she had the great idea of suggesting sex in the first place.

But Sebastian renewed her hopes. "I think I have some in my bag," he announced as he dismounted her. She brain recognized her boyfriend was getting up for good reasons, but her body ached, objecting to his absence even for a moment. "I must have dropped it at the door," her boyfriend concluded. "I'll be right back."

Violet's heart fluttered in anticipation as she waited for Sebastian to return.

Robin gathered her tools for the evening after finishing the coop upgrade and was on the steps of Violet's front porch to let the farmer know she was done when she noticed her son's motorcycle parked near the house.

She smirked knowing that Sebastian had immediately gone to see his girlfriend upon his arrival. As a mother, she was happy for her son, but a little sad that he did not even stop by to say "hello" when he got back into town. Still, Robin could not complain. Violet was a lovely girl who the carpenter knew would treat her son right.

Not wanting to interrupt their happy reunion, Robin turned to descend the stairs and leave for The Stardrop Saloon. But movement in the window caught her eye and automatically her gaze flickered toward the figure.

It was her son, nearly naked and scrounging for something in his backpack. She diverted her attention elsewhere, but Sebastian noticed the movement in the window. It was too late to pretend she had not seen now.

"M-mom?!" Sebastian shouted loud enough to be heard outside.

Robin kept the grin glued to her face and was careful to only observe from the neck up. "Sebby, sweetheart," the ginger addressed her son in a singsong voice. "What happened to your clothes?"

"I…" Sebastian gaped at her with a dumbfounded expression. He was too stunned to move, but Robin voluntarily released her son from the situation. Honestly, she should have had this conversation with her son ages ago, but he had been such a recluse Robin saw no need at the time. The carpenter decided to remedy that mistake as soon as possible.

After a quick adjustment to the strap of her work bag, Robin announced her intentions. "You and Violet should join Demetrius and me for brunch tomorrow morning back at the house." It was not a request and Sebastian should know that by now. Even a grown man had to listen to his mother every once and a while. "Eleven o'clock, don't be late!"

Leah did not volunteer to be Kyle's babysitter for the evening, but unfortunately for her, it was just how things worked out. There was a significant barrier between them, since Leah was Violet's friend and this newcomer was an ex-boyfriend of hers, but Leah did her part. While Kyle was not a genius of conversation, he did alright until the artist let on that she was a lesbian and therefore completely disinterested and unavailable. At least he did not try to "convince" her that her sexuality was "just a phase" or that she had not been with the right dick that would somehow activate her heterosexual programming.

Luckily, Elliott eventually arrived to alleviate the awkwardness. If the poet was good for anything other than writing, it was talking. The silky-haired man sauntered to the table with three wine glasses and a bottle of pomegranate wine.

"I propose we all drink to a truce," Elliott declared, presenting the newcomer with one of the delicate vessels. "Though Violet is our dear friend, your mere presence at the Community Center saved the building from collapse." The writer looked pleased with himself as he poured the wine. "Pun intended."

Kyle eyed the drink suspiciously, but Leah noticed once he saw Elliott take a swig from their glasses, he decided it was safe enough. "So, who are you?" the brunet questioned Elliott. "And why are you dressed like that? It must be a character from a different genre than what I normally watch."

Elliott extended his free hand in greeting. "Elliott Montmorency, at your service Mister Kyle."

The visitor recognized her best friend's surname, leaving Elliott's hand adrift in the space between them. "Woah, a Montmorency!" Kyle snickered, taking a sip of his wine. "I never thought I would meet someone that high up the social ladder in a tiny town like this."

Tucking his long tawny locks behind his ear, Elliott dismissed the comment with an elegant wave of his hand. "I have been disavowed by my father, so there is no need for such flattery." He exhaled audibly, rotating his wrist to gently stir the fragrant alcohol in his glass. "I am but a commoner now."

Kyle laughed, causing a few villagers to turn their heads to find out what was so funny. "What the hell did you have to do to get disowned?" the visitor cackled. "From what I hear, the whole family is barely staying afloat with all the recent scandal!"

Elliott stiffened, shooting the stranger such an intense glare of which Leah never believed him capable. "It seems that you, Mister Kyle, clearly do not subscribe to the terms of a proper gentleman's truce," the well-bred man asserted, looking down his nose at the man beside him.

"My mother is innocent, no matter what any slanderous rumors may claim!" Elliott fervently professed. "From what I understand, my disinheritance had less to do with my own actions and far more to my father's insistence that he punish Mother for some imagined transgression," the former heir to his family's fortune explained. The well-dressed man calmed down a bit and spoke more softly. "Besides, I sought the idyllic life of an author over spending the rest of my days unable to pursue my passions."

Kyle sniffed in annoyance at the lack of juicy gossip but drank his wine anyway. "I guess that makes two of us who can't stand our fathers." He tugged on the edges of his forest green beanie but did not remove it despite the warm temperature inside the saloon.

Leah pondered what kind of stories Kyle had heard regarding Elliott's family and if they were true. But Elliott was her best friend and if it was something worth mentioning, the poet would disclose the information whenever he felt comfortable. Leah moved to Pelican Town to escape from her old life, and she would not begrudge Elliott for doing the same.

"What's wrong with your dad?" Leah queried Kyle casually, hoping to get the man off the topic of Elliott's family.

The brunet's face contorted into a scowl. "Nothing I do is ever good enough," Kyle muttered sullenly into the crimson liquid in his glass. "So, I finally stopped trying." He downed the rest of the chalice's contents and poured himself another serving. Elliott did not object, despite their guest's rude behavior.

Movement at the door caught Kyle's attention and Leah turned to see herself. It was Sebastian and Violet! Normally, Leah would have called them over, but she was instructed to keep Kyle out of her hair. The visitor stood, as if going to confront Violet and make a scene, but Zach abandoned his conversation with Shane by the hearth to keep Kyle in his place. "You're already getting a handsome payment from the head injury you received from Joja's bulldozer," the lawyer reminded his sister's ex-boyfriend. "Remember our deal."

Defeated, Kyle took his seat again and downed his second glass of wine. But Zach took the empty seat at their table of four in case the stranger was not true to his word without a gentle reminder in his peripheral vision. The blond signaled to Emily for another bottle and when she brought it, he offered it to the others.

"So how is your stay at the local mountainside chateau, Kyle?" Zach solicited to fill the awkward silence hanging among them.

Kyle slumped back into his chair and rolled his eyes. "They're a weird couple, but I guess it hasn't been so bad. The food's decent and they mainly leave me alone so long as I read or mess around on my computer and don't leave Sebastian's room." He glared at Zach, as if he personally blamed the man for the arrangement. "It's weird to be living in my girlfriend's current boy toy's room."

"Ex-girlfriend," both Leah and Zach reminded him in unison, to which the plaid-clad man huffed in exasperation but did not attempt to argue. Elliott suppressed a smug smile behind the span on his hand. Leah discerned that her best friend appreciated someone being verbally put in their place, even if he did not often engage in the simple pleasure himself.

Leah noticed Violet and Sebastian join Abigail and Sam at a table on the opposite side of the bar. The pair looked like they were trying to hide for some reason, but Leah could not blame them while Kyle was still there. "I wonder what they're talking about?" the artist speculated wistfully. The ginger wished she could sit with them and not with the guy everyone in town disliked, but to whom they were indebted. Something was still off with Zach, too, though he was friendly enough.

Elliott, who adapted much more swiftly to unbearable social situations, could not help but make his own conjectures. "Perhaps to discuss Mister Kyle's situation - or host a council of war," with the latter, he gave Violet's ex a dirty look, but only Leah noticed it. Perhaps the author was not ready to forgive their guest for his earlier insults just yet.

Zach, meanwhile, took the poet's words to mean that the couples would be discussing the Community Center case, and contradicted the idea. "Joja's been taken care of at this point," the lawyer assured the villagers with a dashing grin. "We were able to come to a nice settlement for their transgressions, so long as we keep quiet about their embarrassing mistake." The blond focused on Kyle, who lowered his gaze.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, man…" the youngest of the four grumbled. "I'll leave here first thing tomorrow, once my check clears."

"Good man!" The lawyer slapped Kyle on the back a bit too hard, but the guy refused to give Zach the satisfaction of seeing him react. It made Leah suspect that there was still a lot of bad blood between them, at least for Zach. The sculptor knew that Kyle had made trouble and heartache for Violet and big brothers tended to be over-protective, but Leah's intuition told her something more going on.

Kyle stared blankly at Violet and Sebastian at the other table, and Leah noticed how hollow he looked. Like stained glass without any light passing through it. After a moment, the stranger slapped his knees and said that he was tired of hanging out with people who did not want him around anyway. He grabbed the bottle of wine that Zach had brought on his way out, but the blond did not object.

Leah observed the man curiously until he disappeared outside. "Do you think he's alright?"

"Probably not," Zach shrugged, "but maybe that little punk will finally realize how badly he fucked up." He waved to Emily for a new bottle to replace the one that Kyle took with him and topped off Leah and Elliott's wine. Zach smirked, nursing his spirits. "I guess seeing Violet with someone else really got to him."

It made Leah suppose that Kel might have felt the same way when she came to visit for the art show. Her ex leapt to the wrong conclusion, since she and Haley were not dating, but some part of her contemplated what it might be like on the other side. Then again, why should she try to sympathize with either Kyle or Kel? Kyle cheated on Violet and Kel was a controlling nightmare. She heaved a sigh and turned her attention back to her friends.

"So, Elliott, are you ready to see your family again at the end of the season?"

Elliott's bottom lip protruded in an exaggerated pout that looked hilarious on his otherwise angular face. "The only delights on the trip shall be reuniting with Mother and Miss Penelope's exquisite company." He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. "I will fulfill my duty to be present at my brother's wedding. No more, no less."

Zach chuckled at the solemnity of Elliott's vow. "You know, I like you better than I thought I would. Who would have known a 'gentleman' like you would be so vindictive!"

The former Montmorency heir exhaled sharply. "Even a silver tongue may draw blood once and a while." It was kind of cute to see Elliott so huffy, but Leah decided that was enough of that and redirected the conversation back toward Zach.

"Are you leaving once Kyle leaves, or do you have other plans?"

The blond shook his head. "In case you haven't heard from Alex, I am now a joint coordinator for Mayor Shane's bachelor party tomorrow. I'll be taking the boys out to the gridball game in ZuZu City and then out for a good time." His green eyes regarded Leah curiously as he leaned to rest his elbows on the table. "Are the ladies hiring a male stripper for Emily?" he asked teasingly.

"Uh…" Leah had not heard anything, but surely Haley would set up something, even if she was not entirely thrilled about the wedding itself.

Elliott rested a hand on hers sympathetically. "Perhaps when you arrive home, there will be an invitation you simply missed."

Leah was thrown for a loop. "Wait, you're going to the gridball game?" Elliott never expressed an interest in sports.

The poet perched primly in his seat. "I find a new environment can be quite inspiring when one is afflicted by the foul beast that is 'writer's block,'" Elliott declared, setting down his wine glass. "And I do look forward to the upcoming nuptials, so it seems most appropriate to partake in the full celebration."

"I'll guess I'll ask Haley what the plans are…"

Author's Note: Hello, readers! I recently received some art I commission for this fic. Since FFN doesn't allow for links, you can either check it out on Twitter directly on the artist's page (Hagiym_) or on AO3 on this same chapter or the final chapter of Violet of the Valley, since that's where it belongs in the story.