Elliott x Reader One Shots - Stardew Valley

3. Pomegranate

  As I worked on the farm, time seemed to slow down. Each day seemed to drag on, and I really enjoyed the feeling of doing everything at a leisurely pace. I had no standard job to attend to, where I lived my life according to someone else's schedule. I spent my days looking after my animals, tending my vegetable patch, and keeping the house clean. I was really settling in. In the mornings, I woke up to the sun peaking up over my opened windowsill, slightly sore, but well rested. My muscles were finally beginning to get used to their newfound daily exercises. I strolled to the kitchen, where I usually had an omelett for breakfast, made with eggs from my own chickens. 

  Of course, I had learned to allow myself a break when it was needed. On those lazier days, I'd stay inside and wrote short poems or knit. When it was time to get back to work though, I took comfort in knowing I truly was working to live, and I only really needed to do enough to keep myself afloat. And it wasn't too difficult, either. My vegetables were coming in nicely now, which supplied me with most of my food, and I was able to sell any excess to Pierre for a little extra income. I'd also recently learned to make mayonnaise from my chickens' eggs, which covered a fair amount of my expenses as well. I was feeling really accomplished with myself; I was only one person after all, and I was in no rush to try and operate a farm at maximum capacity all on my own. I understood that these things would just take a little time to settle. 

  One morning, just at the turn of the season, when the long, hot, Summer days were beginning to fade into the crisp evenings of Fall, I was out in the field, working my way through what remained of the overgrowth of trees, shrubs, and vines. I'd made fair progress, and I must have been at least halway to the back edge of my lot, when I noticed it. A tall tree, which looked like something out of an old book of fairytales. Its branches had twisted around each other tightly as they grew, and they were covered in buds of many different colors, sizes, and shapes. I'd never seen anything like them before; some were almost like small flowers, long and tapered though they trumpeted out at the end, with several small seed stems in the center. Others were peppered with red patches, and they took a more rounded shape which seemed to bow out and split apart at the bottom in jagged points. 

I wasn't sure what to make of it, and part of me worried that it might be poisonous. I decided to hold off on trimming the area surrounding it, just in case. I moved on and continued my work, though I couldn't help but keep looking back at the strange tree I'd discovered. My mind wondered off as I worked, imagining how just such a tree might randomly appear in the middle of a long abandoned field. 

  Maybe it was some sort of prehistoric tree, the likes of which hadn't been seen in thousands of years, and it was unearthed several years ago as my grandfather tilled the land, and it had taken until now to take root and mature. Or, maybe it was from another planet altogether, brought here on accident by aliens when they came to draw their circular patterns, using Grandpa's crops as their canvas. Of course, both were highly unlikely, but dreaming up the different scenarios made the hours of work seem to glide by. 

  As the afternoon sun began its journey back down over the horizon, my train of thought had traveled far beyond the origins of the strange tree. I'd almost forgotten it, until I turned back toward the house to head inside for the day. 

~

A few more weeks passed as I continued my work. My veggie patch was now flourishing, my crops producing far beyond the amount I needed to sustain myself, and I was quite excited. Sure, I'd sold a fair amount of my excess crops to Pierre up to this point, but this would be my first big harvest. As I packed my produce into the bed of my wagon, it dawned on me that I still hadn't identified the mysterious fruit tree. I made the short walk over to it and noticed that the rounded buds had transformed into large, full orbs. They had significantly darkened in color, the red patches spreading across the surface until none of the pale green remained. I retrieved my pocket knife and reached up to free the fruit from the thick vine that held it. I cut a few more for good measure, then turned to leave.

  I placed them in with my other crops and made my way to Pierre's. In my excitement, I had rushed through my morning routine and collected my crops in record time. I arrived just as Pierre was unlocking the front door. 

"Ah, good morning, ____," he greeted me cheerfully, holding the door open as I pulled my wagon through. "Looks like you've got quite a harvest today."

"Sure do," I answered. 

  He took his place behind the counter as I began unloading my bundles of wheat, bok choy, and beets to be weighed. We made light conversation as he checked my crops and scratched out the sums on a notepad. "Anything else?" he asked. It was then that I realized I had almost forgotten to ask about my mystery fruit. 

"One more thing, actually," I said, picking one up from the bottom of the wagon bed. "I found this tree in my yard, and it started producing. I'm not sure what it is, have any ideas?" I placed it on the counter. 

"Ah, a pomegranate," he said without even an ounce of hesitation, making me feel a bit silly. Of course, Pierre had much more gardening experience than I had. "You've never had one?" 

"Afraid not," I shook my head. He reached under the counter and retrieved a small utility knife. 

"May I?" he gestured to the pomegranate.  

"Sure." 

  He began to cut it open, the dense rind making a sort of scratching sound as the knife worked its way through. Once he had completed a full ring around the outer edge, he finished separating the halves with a swift pull and held them open for me to see. Several tiny red beeds were suspended in thick, white walls. A few of the seeds rolled out onto the counter. 

"They're a little messy," Pierre chuckled, handing a half back to me. "Caroline likes to add them to her tea every once in a while." I plucked a few seeds out and held them in my hand, leaving trails of thin juice along my palm as they rolled with my movement. Deciding to give them a taste, I scooped them into my mouth. They were lightly sweet with a little hint of tang to them; I could definitely see the appeal. Pierre finalized our transaction as I wrapped up the rest of the pomegranate for later.

"Well, thank you for identifying my mystery fruit, Pierre," I called as I made my way out the door. 

"No problem, take care ____," he replied, giving a small wave.  

I struggled to pull my wagon through the shop door before it swung shut again, and in my haste, I felt myself back into someone. "Sorry," I said reflexively. I was too busy trying to free the back wheel from where it caught on the doorframe, pulling at it with one hand as the other strained to hold the door open. I looked up in surprise when I suddenly felt the pressure of the door leave my palm. It was Elliott, holding the door open for me. 

"You look like you could use a little help," he smiled shyly. I couldn't help but blush as I clumsily hurried to pull the wagon the rest of the way through. 

"Sorry," I sighed, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I didn't mean to bump into you." 

"It's no problem at all," he assured me. "How are things on the farm?" 

"It's funny you should ask, I just had Pierre identify fruit from a strange tree I found a few weeks back," I answered, reaching for one of the remaining pomegranates and holding it out to him. 

"A pomegranate?" he asked in surprise. "These are my favorite." 

"Here, take one," I offered. 

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course, I've got plenty more coming in," I nodded. "I didn't even know if they were edible until just now anyway." 

"Thank you, ____," he smiled. "You're very kind."

I felt my cheeks flush again, and I had a hard time maintaining eye contact. 

"How's your novel coming along?" I asked, changing the subject. 

AN: Okay, okay. So pomegranate trees probably aren't that hard to identify. But honestly, they are pretty strange looking, wouldn't you say? Especially the buds. Like imagine if you'd never seen one before, and your first encounter with this tree is when it's at its PEAK level of weird shapes, tell me you wouldn't be absolutely baffled. You know I'm right. (If you haven't seen a pomegranate tree when it's blossoming, hit up google and get back to me.) All jokes aside, thanks a bunch for reading if you've made it this far. Sorry this chapter was late AND short. I was really having a hard time out here fam.