[Stardew Valley] On the Edge - Shane

19

Fall arrived the way Summer left. The days were still hot as all hell but the nights were much cooler, with slowly rusting leaves and mushrooms sprouting from any crevice that would allow it. Shane knew better than anyone else that Fall was the busiest season in the valley for pretty much everyone. On a particularly cool evening, Shane came home to an extra guest at the ranch.

"You'll earn an additional ten percent on your crop profits, then, just sign here." The Mayor himself sat in Shane's usual spot next to Aria, sliding her some paperwork. Marnie lingered around the kitchen, putting the leftovers away and brewing some coffee.

"Hey, Shane!" Aria was the first to notice him enter the kitchen, beaming a bright flirtatious smile right at him. "Guess who just became a tiller?" She sang excitedly, waving the form in the air like a flag.

"Damn, that's my girl. Mm, cherry today?"

"Mmhm." Aria confirmed, pressing her lips together before taking a sip of the coffee Marnie set before her. She finally handed Lewis the form, who had a gray eyebrow raised slightly at the two's affectionate behavior.

"Evening, Shane. I bet you're wondering why I'm here so late." Lewis finally greeted him after neatly tucking the form away into a folder. Shane sat in the chair across from the two, folding his arms across his chest.

"I can think of a few reasons." He remained unfazed at the Mayor's stern, reddened expression. Aria failed to stifle a laugh as she sipped her coffee.

"Actually," Lewis corrected through gritted teeth, "I have something you might be interested in."

Shane uncrossed his arms and leaned forward in shock when Lewis slid two Tunnelers tickets across the table. "Oh, shit. Wait, Lewis. These are for the championships."

"Yes, you can read. Good job."

"S-so..? These are for us?" Shane tried to hide the excitement that was about to erupt out of him.

"No, they're for me and Marnie's cows. Yes, they're for you."

–

"These are some good seats," Shane commented over the sounds of an extremely crowded and intensely sweaty Tunnelers Stadium. "They're right here. I can't believe this is happening right now."

"I guess being a mayor has some perks," Aria suggests once they're settled into their seats with snacks and drinks. "I didn't realize Lewis was so sassy." Aria recalled Shane's pointed banter with the Mayor. She knew he wasn't fond of Lewis, but the two seemed to have an oddly playful dynamic.

Shane's face fell into a grimace at the mention of Lewis. "Yeah. It's really weird. I'm not shy about letting him know that I'm not too keen on him fucking my aunt with me and my goddaughter in the house."

Aria nodded, internally cringing at how crudely Shane worded it, but she definitely understood his frustrations. "Understandable. You know, you could stay at my place more often, too."

She mentioned this while pressing her lips together and then letting them separate slowly, a small little something that she knew turned Shane on. He let her know in the form of a longing whisper the morning of the shower incident and Aria certainly hadn't forgotten. Since then, she had him in her palm and she reveled in her power to reduce stoic Shane into a blushing mess. "There's plenty of room in my bed for us to get a nice, quiet night's rest."

"Something tells me it wouldn't be that quiet, but hell, since you're offering," Shane answered in kind, leaning so close that Aria shuddered at the feeling of his stubble against the shell of her ear. "I think we could possibly find room in the shower too. And the couch... Maybe even the kitchen counter."