When the Stars Fall (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Unfocused

"Sebastian doesn't do verbal communication well with anybody."

Listening to Sebastian attempting to communicate only to bungle the whole attempt made Ardyce better understand what Maru meant when she said those words. She also understood why Maru was so worried about her brother, as Sebastian seemed overly conscious of his communication issues, even admitted as much in the room; Sebastian wasn't in control like he wanted to be, which she imagined must be a frustrating feeling.

Sam also wasn't helping.

No. Pointing out Sebastian likely had a crush on her certainly wasn't helping, but Ardyce wondered if Sam only did so for his amusement. After all, Sam kept looking at Sebastian as he locked up with a rather amused look on his face. On top of locking up conversation-wise, Sebastian squirmed from embarrassment which in itself was embarrassing. So was telling them to get a room despite the fact they just met.

"So, about the internet." She wanted to change the subject, to put Sebastian out of his all too obvious misery."

"Let's go then." Sebastian's disposition changed once they started talking about something other than the fact he most certainly took a romantic interest in her the moment he saw her.

"Seb..." Sam let out a sigh from where he moved about the kitchen preparing lunch.

Sebastian pushed himself up out of his chair.

"Seb." Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Sebastian started to the door, obviously distracted by Ardyce's change of subject."

"Seb, do I need to put an egg into your sandwich?"

Sebastian stopped in the doorway, then turned to look at Sam, looking utterly horrified. "You wouldn't."

"Sit. Eat first. I know you get distracted by all things great and geeky, but focus," Sam said, shaking his head as he did so before proceeding to make their sandwiches. Sebastian walked over and sat down at the table. "Seriously. What would you do without me, Seb?"

"I don't know."

"You'd likely turn into a skeleton, I tell you."

"I like skeletons."

"I know you like skeletons. My point is if you don't eat you'll get sick. When was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday sometime." Which seemed like a rather vague answer.

Sam turned from the counter, carrying three plates of sandwiches before quickly setting them down onto the table. He sat down in front of one, glancing at Seb briefly before turning to Ardyce. "So. You came here to find Maru's killer?"

"No egg?" Sebastian asked, pushing at the sandwich with his ginger."

"No."

"That was rather blunt of you," Ardyce stated, unsure of Sam's tactics so far.

"Yet it went over someone's head," Same glared at Sebastian. "Seb, please eat. It's not good for you when you get like this."

Ardyce wondered then if Sam's teasing played a factor regarding why Sebastian ignored the two of them, let alone the food, yet she also couldn't help but notice Sam seemed to care about his friend despite his earlier banter about getting a room. "The sooner we eat, the sooner you can help me with my internet solution."

"Oh. Right."

With that, Sebastian started eating his sandwich. Sam whispered a thank you to her, but the topic of Mary didn't come up again while they ate. "He's DrowningWizard. That's a shock. Then again, Sebastian's certainly not how I expected."

Eventually, they finish eating with Sebastian muttering a thank you to Sam for fixing lunch before getting up and heading for the front door. Given a task, Sebastian seemed in a better mood, yet there was the distinct impression in Ardyce's mind that he was avoiding the issue at hand—Maru's disappearance. This remained true until they stopped outside and the heat from the outside hit them in a wave, making Sebastian's eyes blink. "Woah."

"You did know that there's a heatwave going on, right Seb?" Sam asked.

"I prefer rain," Seb replied, his eyes blinking, the good mood from going to fix the internet for Ardyce disappearing.

"Yeah. You don't do well when it's hot," Sam retorted, not paying Ardyce any mind.

Reaching into her shoulder bag, Ardyce grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and pressed the object gently into the back of Sebastian's back which made him flinch before turning to look at her. "W..."

"Here. If you've issues with the heat then you should stay hydrated."

Ardyce watched Sebastian look her in the eye nervously, but eventually, he took the bottle. When he did, he turned his head away before muttering, "Thanks."

Sam let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. His mouth opened, likely to tell them to get a room which made Ardyce glare at him. "Don't."

Sam looked at her, taken a bit off guard as Sebastian started down the path, lifting the water bottle and placing it at the back of his neck. She turned to Sam. "So..."

"You really shouldn't tease him like that."

"It distracts him from other things," Sam replied.

"Still, don't you think it's a bit cruel."

"I was kind of hoping to give a bit of a nudge," Sam muttered.

Ardyce didn't know what to say and simply shook her head at him, before following Sebastian down the path. After they'd traveled down the path from Maru's family home, Sebastian turned and looked up the path. "Question. You properly input the password for the wi-fi?"

The question annoyed her a bit. "Yes. Multiple times."

Sebastian turned his head away. "I was afraid of that."

Ardyce's eyes blinked, a bit taken back by the exchange, her mind attempting to contemplate where Sebastian's mind was going, but his step quickened. She turned to Sam. "Do you know what that's about?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes I get what he's thinking, other times I don't. So, I just go with the flow of things and try to cause far more trouble than he does." Sam let out a laugh. "Not that Seb causes much trouble. He doesn't like being the center of attention though." He paused. "Hey. You not taking an interest in Seb. That wouldn't happen to have anything to do with what I said the other day? About Seb not having room to talk about being a perv?"

"What did you mean by that?"

"Well, you know, Abigail."

"Abigail? That's it?" Ardyce shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Well..."

"Could we possibly change the subject?"

"Fine."

Thankfully, they soon arrived in Pelican Town. Much to Ardyce's surprise, Sebastian didn't head around back to the stairs that led to her apartment. She quickened her step so she might catch up to him. "Hold on. You're not going to my apartment?"

"Not yet."

Sam opened his mouth, yet clamped it shut, glancing at Ardyce making her wonder if he was thinking about teasing Sebastian again. Instead, he remained silent as they followed Sebastian around to Pierre's General Store. She wasn't sure why Sebastian headed there instead, but when they entered Pierre looked up from behind his counter. "Oh. It's you."

Sebastian simply continued walking past, not acknowledging Pierre at all, let alone the fact the man muttered under his breath. As they headed down the hall that led off away from the store, Ardyce saw a rather large room that could be used for community gatherings, but the sound of a door opening made her look over at them. "Oh! Sebastian. You're out of your room. Are you feeling better?" Her eyes then blinked, her tone of voice changing to one of worry. "You aren't here to see Abigail?"

"I'm trying to fix the internet for Ardyce."