Stardew Valley Oneshots

Heart Ablaze

The air smelled like a campfire, it was warm and spicy and pleasant. I could practically feel the warmth of the flames. 

I yawned, rising as the world around me was bright. The night went by so quickly, I could have sworn Leslie and I fell asleep just an hour ago. 

Why was it so warm in the house?

I jolted as I finally processed my surroundings. The light wasn't coming from the sun. 

The house was on fire. 

"Fuck. Les wake up baby," I urged, shaking her out of her sleep. 

"Mmm, five more minutes Alex" 

"Leslie, the house is on fire. Wake the fuck up" 

At this, her eyes flew open, sitting upright and taking in the the orange lick of the flames up the walls of our bedroom. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, what do we do?" she gasped, flinging the covers off and springing out of bed.

"It's okay beautiful try to stay calm for me, okay? We need to get out of here." 

I gripped her hand firmly, tugging her to the other side of the room. She stumbled behind me as she tried to keep up with my long strides. 

As soon as I reached for the door handle, I pulled my hand away, nursing it against my chest as I hissed. The handle was burning hot.

"Are you alright?" she cried, inspecting my hand.

"I'm fine babe," I assured her, "I think there's more fire on the other side of this door, so using the front door is not an option. We'll have to go through the window"

"O-Okay," She was breathing hard, the panic starting to set in.

I grabbed hold of her shoulders, sting of the fabric of her pyjamas against my burn.

"Calm down Les. Everything is gonna be fine. We'll be out of here in no time, yeah?" 

She nodded, taking my hand as we rushed to the window.

The flames were creeping closer, and the smoke was starting to build up. I fumbled with the lock on the window, finally getting it open as I willed my hands to stop shaking.

"Common baby I'll give you a boost. I'll be right behind you," I assured her, turning to face her.

She didn't move an inch, her face was suddenly drained of colour as dread seemed to flood her body.

I paused, my stomach sinking to my feet, "What is it" 

"We forgot about Milo and Bagel" she said quietly, her eyes wide with horror. 

Fuck. How could I forget?

I was so focused on getting her out of the house I couldn't think about anything else. The smoke and lack of sleep must have been getting to my head.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," I cupped her face, "You're going to get Milo, and I'll try to find bagel. When you're done, I want you to get out of here. Don't wait for me, okay?" 

Her lip trembled, but she nodded reluctantly.

My thumb stroked her cheeks, "You're so brave Leslie, now go save our son. I love you." 

"I love you too goob," she replied, hesitantly turning in the direction of Milo's nursery. 

I waited until she was out of sight before running straight into the flames. With a wince, I flung the bedroom door open, hot door handle be damned.