He was a veteran, she was a foreigner. He loved her, she could read his mind. He wore gloves to protect others from his sins. She wore kimonos to reclaim her identity. Colonel Gerald Aldrick survived the war, but he didn't come back the same man. Now, a teacher at the academy where he was once alive and full of dreams, he moved through each day like a ghost of the past. Until Robin Taylor stormed into his office. Fierce, beautiful, and convinced he was an abusive teacher, the caretaker tore into him with a passion that made his long-dead heart race for the first time in years. She called him useless. A doormat. A terrible liar. She threatened his job and walked away without a second glance. Gerald should have been offended. Instead, he was captivated. But this was not a story of fate. Robin saw nothing but a sad excuse of a man. A violent soldier pathetically entranced by her looks. Like everyone else. Robin knew exactly what this man wanted, no stranger to that 'line of work'. She had every intention of using his legendary colonel status for the ambitions and prominence of Trizstan's Spiriter Home. But was that all she truly wanted?

⋆.˚✮Stardew Valley Fanfic⋆.˚✮ Aurora Hale returns to Pelican Town at eighteen-parents dead in a crash, still chasing the high that kept her numb in Zuzu City. She moves in with Abigail and her family, but the town feels smaller, heavier. Sebastian is still here. They were kids when they almost admitted they wanted each other. Then she disappeared. Ghosted him. Ghosted everyone. Now he's with someone else, and she's barely holding it together. The tension builds anyway-quiet stares, late-night talks, the kind of closeness that hurts more than it helps. She tries to stay clean. Fails. Other people pull her deeper into the dark. Trust breaks. Lies stack up. Childhood sweethearts. Slow-burn wreckage. Grief, relapse, betrayal, hazy redemption. Stardew Valley, but without the small-town charm. Mature themes. Updates ongoing. Read at your own risk. 💔🌾