Rock Between Us (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Icey Stare

Something was wrong.

Yuichiro knew from how the young man named Sam reacted but the look of horror on the nurse's face. "Maru was her name, wasn't it?"

Sam was there, leaning against the door the moment the earthquake hit, his eyes in the direction of the mountain. It was the same direction the nurse looked. He wasn't the only one to notice as the doctor glanced up from where he was bandaging Sannan's hands, looking first at Maru, then Sam, then back at the nurse.

"What's wrong?" the doctor asked.

Sam stopped pulling his phone out, his eyes instantly going to Sannan, and somehow, Yuichiro knew. He knew who the two were worried about, and his throat caught. Maru opened her mouth. "Sebastian..."

"Aniki?" Sannan said, excited to hear one of the names they knew that their older brother used, even preferred, always insisting on everyone using that name as if he didn't belong, much to the irritation of everyone in the family. But then, he'd not been made to feel as if he belonged, not having a name that fit like the rest of them.

"Aniki?" Harvey said."

"Our brother," Sannan said.

To which the doctor's eyes widened, his head turning to look at Maru, who opened her mouth to say what Yuichiro didn't want to be told in front of Sannan, that Sebastian had gone out exploring the caves or some other place and might have gotten himself hurt in the process because of the earthquake none of them expected.

"Maru. Don't," Sam said.

Yuichiro looked over, seeing coldness in those blue eyes. Anger. "Why is he..."

"Why shouldn't I?" Maru said.

She was also angry, which made him look at her, trying to figure her out. "Don't. Please."

"Sam. Can you go and get your mom?" Harvey said.

Sam froze his phone in hand, obviously trying to contact Sebastian to see if he was alright. "What about his mom?"

"Oh, good lord. I am not looking forward to that one," Harvey said. "I'm already having to deal with Maru here."

"What's going on," Sannan said.

To which the doctor turned to smile at Sannan. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm not a little kid. I know something's wrong."

"We don't know something's wrong yet," Yuichiro said. "It's just suspicions that something went wrong."

"But I know he likes going into the caves," Sannan muttered, hugging her pastel pink slime closer, looking as if she were close to crying.

"That's certainly more than he ever tells me," Maru muttered.

Yuichiro looked at her, then in the direction she was looking, right at Sannan. Something wasn't right. Specifically, something was going on that made that young woman act unfriendly towards his and Sebastian's younger sister. And it infuriated him. He sucked in his breath. "What is your problem?"

"None of your business because Sebastian didn't tell you about me," Maru said, glaring at him while Sannan leaned into his side, tensed up and flinching as Harvey continued bandaging the scrapes. "And are you sure Sebastian wanted to see either of you?"

"Maru!" Harvey jolted, turning towards his nurse. "What's gotten into you? I've never seen you act like this towards anyone, and I know you're worried about Sebastian, but you don't need to act like an absolute brat about the whole thing."

His body relaxed as Maru startled, looking thoroughly chastised, her head turning away. Yet, it also looked as if she were going to cry, although, given how she was going at Sannan, he wasn't sure he wanted to know as Harvey continued bandaging Sannan's hands and feet up. He tried to scream, to react to not knowing, but Sannan was there.

Instead, he opened up his phone, looking at the unanswered message and—

He sent another one. He sent it not expecting the message to be answered, but he wanted Sebastian to know. He wanted a way to let off the anger and frustration as his body tensed up once again, bile forming in his throat despite knowing he would need to take care of Sannan. "And contact dad, which will not be fun at all."

And so, instead, he wrote it out.

"Where the fuck are you! Sannan and I are here in Stardew Valley to visit you when a damn earthquake hit, and I'm seriously freaking out because I know you're likely out doing something scary dangerous, and you might have gotten hurt!"

Send.

"And if something has happened to you, I'm going to be pissed off because I've not been able to tell you to your face how I feel. And no, I don't hate you. And no, I can't say I love, let alone like you, because we're strangers despite being brothers. But I care! And Sannan does love you. She loves you very dearly, and she'll be in tears if you don't come back in one piece!"

Send.

"And sorry for ranting at you, sending so many messages your way, but I am seriously freaking out. Sannan and I stopped in this clinic because she tripped on our walk into Pelican Town, and there's this weird chick here who definitely does NOT like us and wants us to go away. But I don't want to go away without knowing you, okay. I'm going to find you. I promise."

Send.

And then a sigh, his head looking up at Maru chick who he definitely didn't like who was now glaring at him, so he glared back. "What?"

"None of..."

"Maru, please. We don't need..." It was then that a woman with red hair. Her hair was slightly different from that of Sebastian's mother, but she lacked the more adventurous spirit about her, which was what Yuichiro thought his father must have fallen in love with, but a trait his mother lacked. "Thank goodness. Hi, Jodi."

"Sam told me that you're Sebastian's siblings?"

There was a sound of disgust in Maru's voice. Sannan perked up. "Yes. Sebastian's our older brother, and he's super amazing."

Yuichiro frowned, holding his hand at his side so Sannan couldn't see so he could admit that she was exaggerating how excellent Sebastian was. "And you are?"

"I'm Sam's mom. He's Sebastian's best friend, but would you like to come and play at my house while we get things arranged?"

"Arranged?"

"Well, Sebastian didn't know we're coming, and we don't know where he lives here, so..."

"Oh. That's it."

"Yeah, kiddo. That's it. So can you go with her so I can do the adult stuff? Can you be okay with that since she's the mom of Sebastian's best friend here?"

"Yeah. Leave my suitcase?"

"As if I'd let you drag your suitcase after you with those bandaged hands," Yuichiro sighed, just as Sam came in, looking worried. "But do take Slime Ball along."

"Okay," Sannan said, following after Jodi.

Sebastian took a deep breath. "Okay. What's going on?"