[Stardew Valley] On the Edge - Shane

9

"Oh, my Yoba! Well don't you just look sharp as ever?"

Marnie gasped as Shane exited his room, straightening his necktie. He'd combed his hair flat and shaved. Not all the way, but he trimmed his growing stubble neatly. He ignored Marnie's attempts at any photos and knelt down to fix Jas' hair bow.

"Yeah, yeah," Shane said through a clenched jaw as the three left the ranch. He didn't understand why he was so nervous. He'd done the stupid Flower Dance a million times since he'd moved back to the valley years ago. Why did it feel different this time around?

When they arrived, Marnie and Jas immediately split from him - Marnie traipsing in the Mayor's general direction and Jas speeding off to play with Vincent. Light music played as the field was already densely populated with the majority of the town's inhabitants. As Shane neared the refreshments table, he noticed Aria was nowhere to be seen among the crowd of white dresses, blue suits and flower petals.

"Looking for someone, lover boy?" Emily bounded up to him, a wide smile on her face. Her short blue hair was curled, and pink blush was dusted liberally onto her cheeks.

"Wow, you look good." She mentioned, smiling and noticing Shane looking distracted.

"So, where's your girl?" She asked, specifically using that terminology to see how he'd react to it. Shane's expression didn't change as he looked around.

"She's not my girl." He muttered, grabbing a glass of champagne and nearly swallowing it all in one gulp. Emily jabbed him in the side. He swatted her away with his free hand.

"Yet! So how'd you know who I was talking about then, huh? Don't worry, she's coming." She assured him. Shane cursed internally at Emily's ability to read him despite his callous exterior.

"Hey, Shane and Emily! I didn't miss the dance yet, right?" Aria's voice rang between them.

Shane turned and his eyes widened at the sight of her.

Oh, Yoba.

He didn't believe in anything that couldn't be explained by science, but he was looking at an angel right in front of him. There Aria stood in a sage green dress with sleeves that draped off of her shoulders elegantly. Her hair, which usually framed her face in a giant curly mass, was tucked up into a crown that little sprigs of flowers peeked out of. Two tendrils of curls fell down each side of her face. She looked radiant.

Aria paused, noticing Shane looked particularly cleaned up and her cheeks heated up a little.

"Nope, you came just in time," Emily's smile was wide. "Oh, hey Clint, there you are!" And she zoomed off, leaving Shane staring dumbfoundedly at the farmer. Aria seemed not to notice Shane's condition and looked all around, sighing happily.

"I didn't realize there were so many festivals in the valley! This is nothing like Zuzu City...Yoba, I barely miss it, the tradition runs so deep here..." She gushed on, swirling around in her dress excitedly. When Shane didn't respond with words, she stopped twirling and rambling and looked over at him.

"What's the matter? Chicken got your tongue?" She joked, smile still radiant through her slight confusion. Shane snickered and simply shook his head.

"Very funny. No... You just look stunning, that's all."

"Oh? Shucks, Shane..." Watching her get all flushed and bashful was adorable, and he could feel his cheeks heating up just at the sight of her reaction to his compliment.

"And you clean up pretty nice, too. Looking all handsome and stuff."

"Eh, well you know. Had to tidy up the precious scruff," He looked around briefly, noticing that most of the pairs that were dancing were heading down to the field. Time to shoot his shot.

"So, where's your date?"

Aria smirked knowingly at him. They both knew damn well she wasn't dancing with anybody else.

"Where's yours?" There's a flirtatious edge to Aria's voice when she retorts that drives Shane wild on the inside.

He takes a large step towards her. Though he's not much taller than her, she tilts her chin up so their eyes are meeting.

"She's standing right in front of me, trying to one up my comebacks," He finally responded, grabbing her hand in his. Their fingers interlocked immediately, sending a flutter through Shane's stomach.

"Come on."

A beat passed while Aria stared back at Shane. There was a hint of a playful smirk on his face and it set in that he was flirting with her.

They neared the field, where the rest of the Flower Dance participants were. Once Mayor Lewis completed his opening remarks, the Flower Dance tune started.

The dancers all formed a large circle and one by one, the couples split up and paired with the dancers on the opposite side. Though he ended up with Leah, the sculptor, who was a pretty reliable dance partner, Shane's gaze still floated over to Aria's direction. She'd been paired up with Elliot - who made a big production out of kissing the top of her hand before spinning her round.

"He does that with everyone. You know how he is," Leah consoled after observing what Shane was scowling at, her lips pursing. "Writers."

Shane watched as Aria swayed with Elliot. She looked to her left and then to her right, making sure she was in pace with the others. He observed how smooth and calculated her movements were. How easily her hips swayed to the rhythm. How nicely the fabric of her dress hugged her in the right places.

Focus, idiot. His eyes snapped back upwards before they could wander too far, and made his way over to her.

They met in the middle, raising their palms and pressing them together as they circled each other.

She's so close to him. Her hand fits against his perfectly. Her fingers are spread slightly, and Shane wonders to himself if it's an invitation to lock his fingers with hers. They circle each other twice and move to the next dancers. All he can think about when he's twirling Maru is Aria, who is twirled by Harvey. When he dips Abigail, he's eyeing Sebastian, who is doing the same with Aria.

"I think you've got an admirer over there," Sebastian noted to Aria while they swayed together. As he carefully spun her, Aria caught Shane's gaze from across the field and shot a soft smile in his direction. "What did you say to him? He's got it bad, clearly."

Even though she was having the best time in the world dancing and socializing with everyone, Aria realized she just wanted to be back in Shane's grip more than anything. Something about Shane felt so familiar and comforting...Aria couldn't pinpoint what exactly about him it was, but with every step she took, she felt more excited to be returned to him. She sailed along in a dreamlike state, being passed to each of the bachelors. She ignored Elliot's saccharine compliments while he dizzyingly spun her around. Harvey tried his best, but had two left feet and almost sent both of them plummeting into the grass.

As the sweet pizzicato of the flower dance tune slowed down, Aria and Shane were reunited at last. As he gave her a final spin, she gave him a small curtsey. In response, he bowed, and took her hand in his.

With his thumb, he brushed off the spot Elliot previously kissed. With eye contact never breaking, Shane gingerly pressed a kiss onto Aria's knuckles. Maybe it was the champagne, or maybe it was just the need to somehow express to Aria how beautiful he thought she was. Regardless, his heart was about to shit itself as he did it. She simply smiled and let him lead her off the field by the hand once the music stopped.

"Oh my goodness," Cried Marnie once they left the field hand in hand, "You two are absolutely beautiful," She gushed, her eyes looking misty. Shane smiled as Marnie hugged him. He turned to glance over to Aria

"MISS ARIA!" A screech rang through their conversation, causing Marnie, Shane and Aria to all jolt in surprise. With a soft paf, Jas ran headfirst into Aria, wrapping her tiny arms around her legs.

"Hey, little Jas!" Aria laughed, kneeling down to talk to her. Jas looked absolutely in awe of her as Aria asked if she was doing her homework on time. Shane just gazed on at them, a faint smile present on his face.

The Flower Dance hadn't been so bad after all.