[Stardew Valley] On the Edge - Shane

21

"What about this one?"

Shane wiped accumulated sweat from his forehead, handing Aria what looked like a top notch ear of corn to him. Nothing under gold quality would do – the Stardew Valley Fair was the next day and Aria and Shane were set to select only the best produce for Aria's grange display. Even if that meant standing in the hot sun for hours while their clothes grew damper with sweat by the second. Shane knew how important this was to Aria – it was all that was on her mind for the past week. The topic always weasled its way back to the forefront of most of their discussions – so Shane was more than eager to make sure her worries were only just worries.

Aria took the corn and squinted at it. Shane held his breath as she scrutinized, secretly praying to Yoba or whoever was up there that it was at least a gold quality vegetable.

"Hmm...Yes, iridium quality! This will go in." Aria agreed, setting the vegetable aside. She dusted her hands off, placed them on her hips and looked at the full crate of produce at their feet. "Finally. I think I'm set for the fair, tomorrow. Yoba, I'm so nervous. It should be fine right? I calculated the point totals last night and..." She trailed off. She must've noticed the look on Shane's face. "What? Sorry, I know I keep talking about this."

"I think you're going to knock 'em dead. These are all the highest quality products. You'll be okay, kid." Shane consoled, displaying his exhaustion by pulling her close to his chest and resting his cheek on top of her head. "Make sure you get some rest tonight, okay? Tomorrow should be fun, but it'll be a long day."

Aria's arms slinked around his waist. Shane tried not to be overly conscious of how sweaty and gross he felt when her head pressed into his chest. Or, of his beer gut that Aria always snuggled herself into. But he loved that her affections knew no bounds, even if he didn't like the way he looked. "I will. Thank you. Are you excited to see Dev again? Do you think he'll like how we set up the living room for him?"

"Definitely. It looks like how his side of the dorm looked in college...Minus the trash and paraphernalia," Shane snickered, "But I really am. A whole month...You're an angel, you know that?"

"I've been told," Aria sweetly answers, tilting her head upwards. Shane responded with a soft kiss, reveling in her familiar taste which was savory with sweat. "It's gonna be pretty busy in the house for a while, you know with Dev and all. But I'm sure we'll still have time to..."

Shane's heart nearly stopped. A look that was expectant and devilish all at once was written all over Aria's face. She wasn't known for being forward like this, so this sudden change in demeanor and body language was new to him.

"Oh...?" He couldn't seem to manage a smart quip back to her. Maybe it was because of the way her fingers began to trail up his stomach and across his chest. And the smirk she wore while she did it.

"To hang out." Aria's voice was sly.

"Oh."

"What?" She pressed him with a deceptively innocent cadence in her voice. Shane knew he talked a big game during the championships, but since then they'd both been too busy to even think about familiarizing themselves with each other in that regard. And then it dawned on him, the fact that Devin staying in her house meant the chances of that happening were even slimmer now.

Aria pulled Shane by the belt loops until they were under the cool shade of a row of nearby plum trees. The heat in his chest bubbled upwards and spread throughout his entire body as he leaned down to Aria, who was practically pinned to the tree. Excited tremors weakened the arm that Shane propped himself up on the tree with. He dipped down at the sensation of Aria's hand at the back of his head and met her lips with aching necessity, her sharp inhale only encouraging him further to fill her mouth with his tongue.