Rock Between Us (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Rocky Awkward

"It seems like Maru understands him less than I do, yet this is where he decided to stay despite the fact it doesn't seem much better. And it can't be nice having yet another step-parent that he doesn't get along with," Yuichiro thought to himself as he followed Sam up the path. Much to his amusement, Sam struggled with hauling a suitcase up the path to the mountain area, making him glad he'd taken the suitcase with the gifts in them.

And as they headed up, he couldn't help but notice the playground and a building that seemed to no longer be used, which Sam noted was the old community center before they continued up, and then—

"Wow."

The house Sebastian currently lived in was lovely, not to mention the lake and close to the caves he liked exploring, but there was also a nice breeze, making it far more secluded than the family estate surrounded by the local village, which was now a small town. And the country was everywhere.

"Mom built the place," Maru said, her voice snippy.

It was right at the moment that a woman with red hair and a man from whom Yuichiro thought Maru must have inherited her skin color came out, both with worried expressions on their face. A man with silver hair and an eyepatch was with them, but when they saw them coming up the path, they all three froze. And then—

"Yuichiro? What are you doing here?" the woman with red hair said.

"Hi, Aunt Robin. You're as beautiful as I remember," he said, trying to smile despite what was going on. "I hope you don't mind me holding off on giving you your gifts until we find out what's going on with Sebastian?"

Robin didn't answer at first but then swept forward, pulling him into a hug. "Of course, that can wait! Goodness knows it must be a major shock to you, coming for a visit only to find out..." She paused, pulling away and looking him in the eye. "Marlon's looked at the trail, and the trail is blocked."

"So we can't get to Sebastian?" Yuichiro said. "We can't find out if he's alright or not?"

"We're actually on our way up the trail to see if there's a way around the blockage," the man who must be Demetrius said, yet there was the funny feeling in his head that he recognized him as well—a friend of his father's, which felt a bit odd that Sebastian's mother might have married a friend of their mother's. "Care to go with us?"

"Yes, please," Maru said."

"Maru, actually, I'd prefer if you helped Sam get the luggage into the house. And no going through it to be spiteful towards Yuichiro. Got it?"

Yuichiro flinched, surprised at Robin's words, but then Demetrius looked at Maru, sighing. "You've got that look on your face Maru. Don't do anything that will upset your brother if he finds out about it later on. Sam, can I trust you'll keep her out of trouble."

"You mean away from helping," Maru muttered, heading into the house.

Sam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not that either of us would be much help, Maru. We're not the outdoorsy type."

"I'm trained in first aide!" Maru said before slamming the door open.

Yuichiro stared. "She doesn't like me. Or Sannon."

"Sannon's with you?"

"She's with Sam's mom. Jodi, I believe. She's not really aware of going on, and to be honest, I'm not looking forward to explaining it to her."

"I can do that when the time comes," Robin said. She turned to the other person. "This is my husband, Demetrius." Which felt odd hearing she was remarried, just like his father was. "And this is Marlon."