Stardew Valley - Dark Blue: When The Chickens Came Home To Roost (Shane)

Chapter 3: Nerve

Eight beers and one shot deep.

"I'm guessing Zuzu," Shane declared, smacking the bar's surface with a flat palm and earning a glare from Gus.

Litha was so fucking pretty. Shane hadn't really noticed the extent of it before, when he was so nervous he could barely think straight, but now that he was feeling tipsy, yeah — she was fucking beautiful, all big blue eyes and full, pouty lips set into a broad, photo-finish white grin. Though her sword and scarf remained, she'd changed into a short, flowy white dress that made her legs look fucking awesome. Shane couldn't take his eyes off her.

For a moment, he forgot his reservations — and how could he not, when she was looking at him like that, as if he were the only thing left in the universe?
"What makes you think that?" She asked, smirking as her wide eyes narrowed on him.

"Think what?" He slurred, lost in his contemplation of her.

She giggled, and the back of Shane's neck grew warmer.

"What makes you think I'm from Zuzu city?" Litha reiterated, knocking back her fourth or fifth shot of whisky — Shane had lost count as he slammed another shot of his own. They were drinking from the same bottle that Emily had left on the counter for them, because the bartender knew Shane well — if it was something he could serve himself, leave the bottle, and save yourself twenty trips.

He tugged at his hoodie for a moment, feeling his skin underneath it grow clammy as he drained the rest of his beer just before Emily sat another in front of him. "Your ears," he supplied. "They are... pointy," Shane mused.

Her brow bunched, but her smirk stayed. "Aye, my least human attribute leads you to believe that I am from... Zuzu City, of all places?"

Nine beers and two shots deep.

Shane could feel his heartbeat behind his eyeballs. He was so fucking confused. "Least... human? I just thought — where else would have doctors that would do a surgery like that?" He stumbled, finding reprieve at the bottom of his drink.

Litha tipped her head back and laughed, loudly and unabashedly. She didn't care how much attention it drew, and Shane admired that about her.
"It's na surgery, laddie," she said through a breath of laughter. She threw back another shot and Shane noticed then that her accent grew stronger with each drink. "I was born with these ears."

It was Shane's turn to laugh, though he wasn't so loud. "You're fucking with me," he insisted, leaning in a bit closer. "Where are you from, then?"

She leaned in as well, and Shane thanked every drop of liquor he'd consumed, because otherwise, he'd be retreating. "Where're you from?" She countered, tracing her fingers across the back of his hand.

"Fuck that," he huffed, catching her fingers in his. "I'm from Grampleton. Boring as fuck. Tell me about you."

She tilted her head, as if it were a dare. "Galdora," she breathed, much quieter than she'd been. "Castle Village, to be exact."

Shane felt his eyes go wide. He wasn't very familiar with the vast continent that lie on the opposite side of the Gem Sea, but he knew that folks had a tendency to be wary of the enchanted soil. "No fucking way."

She leaned in closer — close enough that he could feel her breath. Her cheeks were as red as the scarf wrapped around her neck. "Way," she confirmed, holding his eyes with her own.

Ten beers and three shots deep.

His mouth was on hers. He didn't really know how it got there, but that both of them were so hopelessly wasted that it didn't make a fucking difference.