fic: Simplicity
Apr. 20th, 2022 01:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonnefoisTitle: Simplicity
Fandom: Stardew Valley
Character/Pairing: Shane/M!Farmer
Word count: 2400
Summary: a day in the life of fatherhood, (almost) sobriety, and Shane's (mostly) happy rural life with his husband.
Author's note:
I used default farmer, dubbed "Jack" for the original Farmer Jacks from Harvest Moon series.
There is side mention of Emily/Sandy. It's not enough to tag, however.
bi4bi Shane/farmer happy mlm family :) I was inspired by Simple Life by The Weepies.
(Shane's self-loathing/thoughts are depiction and not endorsement.)
Shane didn't used to be a morning person. He used to drag his ass out of bed begrudgingly, and weigh the pros and cons of coming into work for Jojamart drunk. On weekends, he'd sleep late and microwave food and watch reruns until the static in his head disappeared.
But, that was the thing about being a father now. He had two little ones now, and they were full of energy. Most nights, Shane conked out around ten but the kids might be running around until 2AM.
(Shane used to drink himself to sleep, but now he went there easily. His kids wore him out enough that he didn't even need the nightcap to go to bed.)
But, getting up early wasn't all bad. He got to see his husband first thing in the morning, and watch the sun rise together.
His husband was everything he wasn't. A damned workaholic who was constantly bustling with energy. Every minute of the day he'd be running here and there. He'd rush in, with berry-stained hands, leave a kiss and a treat for them all. He woke up early to get started on the crops and taking care of animals.
Shane wasn't exactly a five star chef, but he'd started to expand his repertoire from 'microwaving things' and 'buying things from the saloon.' Since they always had a ton of eggs, and most of them were easy, that was where he started.
Not even a fuck up like him could mess up scrambled eggs. And it was left him proud, even if it was silly, to pour out the scrambled eggs in each little one's dish.a
He'd wake up to a kiss on his cheek (and more) and be able to turn around and have a whole pan of scrambled eggs, poached eggs, sunny side up eggs or more.
Okay, he hadn't gotten much farther than that, but it was something. And it was Jack who taught him that small progress is still progress.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Jack said.
He was a morning person, because of course, Mr. Sunshine And Save The World was.
Shane smirked.
"Morning yourself, handsome."
"I already fed the kids. They'll be good for a little while anyways."
"Good," Jack said.
And kissed him again.
Soon enough his husband would run out to take care of the animals, and collect any crops. But, for a few minutes every morning, between kisses, Jack was his.
Shane grabbed some coffee and went out on the the porch together. The sun was golden and surrounded with pink. The spinklers made a haze over the fields. Birds sang above him.
It wasn't the kind of thing he'd ever thought he wanted, but it was nice. Real nice.
*
After breakfast, Shane might head out to help around a bit. Jack had the whole place automated, with sprinklers and autofeeders. But, Shane would pull out a hammer and fix the fencing, and fill up little Miso's water bowl. The little cat loved to knock over that water bowl, and it was constantly needing to be refilled.
He'd head out to check the chickens. When Jas was out of 'school' or the closest thing a place like this had, he'd bring her out to visit the farm animals and his kids. She stayed with Marnie so Marnie wouldn't get too lonely, and because the change might be rough on her.
(Plus, they'd all agreed that living with a recovering alcoholic might not be the best idea ever. He was a lot better now, but she'd still stayed with Marnie in the end.)
Jas marched out about every day. She never got tired of visiting all the animals. She loved playing with little Ava and Matty and following him all around to see the same old farm animals again. She acted like he was taking her to the coolest park ever, when it was just to peek through the fences at the livestock.
Jack let Jas name a lot of the animals, so they had names like "FluffyBuffy" the sheep.
(Shane had suggested to name the pigs Porkchop and Bacon and Ham Sandwich. He hadn't expected Jack to go for it, thinking it would only be a joke. The joke was on him when Jack took the name suggestions.)
Shane hadn't planned on having kids, honestly. But, Jack had been into it. And Emily was super enthusiastic to surrogate, as long as they paid back, so she and Sandy could have kids of their own, too.
Ava always got into trouble, so he'd strap her into the baby bjorn when he went out. She was getting too big for it, so he wasn't sure what he'd do then. Maybe he'd get one of those baby leashes, because this kid had Jack's energy. Somehow, even though Jack had been the donor, Ava had picked up Shane's Shane-ness. Just another case of Nature versus Nurture.
Nature meant that Ava had endless energy and always had to be doing things. Nuture meant that Ava was a bit of a brat, and often grumpy for no reason.
Shane had literally said the deal would only be on if Jack was the donor, because there should be more people like him in the world (and who would want more little Shanes?)
And then the kid went and got his personality anyways. Human life was something else.
*
If it was a Monday, he'd put the kids down for a nap and head out to Pierre's to get some groceries. Half the time, Jack would live off his own produce. Then again, Jack had never been too fond of Pierre after he tried to pass Jack's crops off as his own work the few times.
Not that Shane blamed him. But, being a grumpy asshole to people was Shane's thing. Whereas Jack was a quiet ray of sunshine who fixed everything and remembered every birthday. Pierre had to really fuck up to piss off Jack. The guy who loved (almost) everyone and everything. The guy who waited out there when Shane was an asshole to him for ages, then even after he'd seen what a fucking mess Shane was, he married him.
The guy really went all out and husbanded him. Shane didn't believe in Yoba, but if he did, he'd thank Yoba for Jack having horrible taste in men, which meant he got to have the best damn husband he ever could even though he wasn't exactly a catch.
To put it mildly.
Sure, Shane was happy when Jojamart went out of business. He hated the place. But he did miss the sauces. Pierre didn't stock the ones he really liked, though Jack always had peppers growing up in the greenhouse, so that Shane always had some.
It was sweet, how profit's-obsessed-Jack, his workaholic husband had sacrificed plots which could've had Ancient Fruit growing in it, just to make sure he got his pepper fix.
After a while, he'd head over to Marnie's to say hi, then head back home. The kids would've woken up by now. He and Jack had child-proofed the house the best they could, but the whole farm was full of ponds and sharp tools, and all kinds of dangers.
The thing they didn't tell him about fatherhood was that he'd be worried constantly about those brats of his. That he'd wake up scared and have to check on the little grumpy humans of his, and his husband too. Nobody told him how complicated, even nerve racking it could be. Or how euphoric.
But, as he opened the door, they ran his way.
Matty was turning into a big couch potato. He loved to watch television with his dad. Ava, too. Though she preferred to watch animal shows. Sometimes he'd leave on the television just for ambiance. The kids would flock to it and watch for hours and hours.
Shane wasn't one of those no screen time kinds of dads. As far as he was concerned, the television was practically a member of the family.
*
Usually, his husband would be spending midday either going to town to make sure he got every birthday and that nobody ever needed anything. On rainy days, he might go into the mines. He always needed coal for something or other, and hated buying it.
Shane would turn on reruns to fill up the house with noise, and enjoy the Tunneler's game.
His husband liked the games, too, but he rarely had time to actually watch them. Shane would tell him the recaps, the best parts between kisses. The ones at breakfast, at lunch, randomly in the day because Jack dropped whatever he was doing to kiss his husband, or at night before bed. Because Jack loved to kiss him. Half the day he'd come in dirty from some chore or another for a kiss.
Sure, Jack was gone a bunch. But, he always made time. Shane never got lonely...and frankly, he was prickly enough to need a little space to be moody sometimes.
But, his husband would come in exhausted before bed and hug him from behind. He'd whisper an I love you and kiss him again.
Over and over and over, all day long. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Today, his husband got in at nine and peeled off his red flannel over shirt. He'd already taken a shower. His usually naturally spiky brown hair was wet and stuck to his face.
Shane looked him over. As he buttoned up his pajamas, he saw a hint of his husband's toned body.
"You're way better looking than me, you know that?"
"Speak for yourself, hot stuff," Jack said.
And he leaned in for a kiss.
"You need glasses," Shane said.
Jack laughed. "Nope, I'd still say you were hot. Hotter than peppers."
Shane chuckled. His husband was always like this. Affectionate and sweet. More sweet than someone like he deserved.
But every year, the voice that told him that got shouted out, like he had a little Jack on his shoulder with wings telling him to love himself like Jack loved him.
"I put the kids to bed. If they get out, it's not my fault. They're so full of energy. That came from you, Mr. Workaholic," Shane said.
"Did they get into the coffee again?"
"I sure hope not," Shane said.
"And Ava pitched a fit when I put her in. She's being a real brat today."
"I think that came from you," Jack teased.
"Yeah, it probably did," Shane said.
Since they couldn't name their kid chicken, Jack suggested they do the next best thing and name her Ava.
Back then as some stupid kid, he wouldn't of dreamed of some life like this. When he had to give up the glory of being on the team, and when he lost Ronnie and Renee to that car accident, Shane felt like he'd fallen into a pit he couldn't get out of.
Now, he was a dad. Not entirely sober, but he was working on it. He was getting used to being clear-headed, and waking up without hangovers. Of facing his feelings instead of drowning them with alcohol, and relearning how to live his life.
And waking up to a morning kiss, from his husband who was--let's be serious--way out of his league. Massively out of his league. Sometimes he just wanted to go back to bed. Other times, he wondered how the hell he got here? The most handsome guy he'd met, toned and strong and kind and quiet. And he'd fallen for Shane. The asshole town drunk, the guy who always fucked everything up. The biggest failure in all of Stardew. Even Pam at least raised a good daughter like Penny.
Sometimes his brain was horrible, like he had a rain cloud all about him and he woke up craving a beer so much it was a physical ache. Sometimes the days were so beautiful that it was almost painful to think that they would end one day.
And there were boring days, samey days, everything in between.
But what really got him was how comfortable he was in his skin. How Jack had made it so damn clear Shane couldn't push him away, even if he was a little overweight, a grumpy asshole and not the hardest worker around.
"Tell me about your day," Jack said.
"Same old same old. It'll be boring."
"You won't bore me. Besides, I'll get to spend time with my husband and hear his sexy voice."
Shane scoffed, and laughed.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. It'll bore you to sleep for sure."
Jack got changed out and into bed. He pulled Shane close.
"Mmm, someone smells like Doritos."
"A balanced meal," Shane said.
And he told Jack. He told him every little damn detail.
His husband loved it. Laughed at every stupid quip. Even though it was the same day, just with minor changes.
Tomorrow would be the same too. He'd wake up next to the best damn husband in the world, and raise his kids on a farm. And be happy, or mostly happy at least.
Jack held him close, spooned together. He'd kiss him goodnight several times, just because he could.
Once, Shane used to drink himself to sleep and wish that he'd never wake up. Now, Shane got kissed to sleep by his wonderful husband. And he he looked forward to each day left on this earth with the love of his life, and his two kids.
Was it sappy? Maybe he'd gotten corny in his old age. The person he used to be never would've wished for this. But the person he was now embraced every cheesy joke, every peck on the cheek and moment. He looked forward to them all, every day, even if it was the same as the last.
Fandom: Stardew Valley
Character/Pairing: Shane/M!Farmer
Word count: 2400
Summary: a day in the life of fatherhood, (almost) sobriety, and Shane's (mostly) happy rural life with his husband.
Author's note:
I used default farmer, dubbed "Jack" for the original Farmer Jacks from Harvest Moon series.
There is side mention of Emily/Sandy. It's not enough to tag, however.
bi4bi Shane/farmer happy mlm family :) I was inspired by Simple Life by The Weepies.
(Shane's self-loathing/thoughts are depiction and not endorsement.)
Shane didn't used to be a morning person. He used to drag his ass out of bed begrudgingly, and weigh the pros and cons of coming into work for Jojamart drunk. On weekends, he'd sleep late and microwave food and watch reruns until the static in his head disappeared.
But, that was the thing about being a father now. He had two little ones now, and they were full of energy. Most nights, Shane conked out around ten but the kids might be running around until 2AM.
(Shane used to drink himself to sleep, but now he went there easily. His kids wore him out enough that he didn't even need the nightcap to go to bed.)
But, getting up early wasn't all bad. He got to see his husband first thing in the morning, and watch the sun rise together.
His husband was everything he wasn't. A damned workaholic who was constantly bustling with energy. Every minute of the day he'd be running here and there. He'd rush in, with berry-stained hands, leave a kiss and a treat for them all. He woke up early to get started on the crops and taking care of animals.
Shane wasn't exactly a five star chef, but he'd started to expand his repertoire from 'microwaving things' and 'buying things from the saloon.' Since they always had a ton of eggs, and most of them were easy, that was where he started.
Not even a fuck up like him could mess up scrambled eggs. And it was left him proud, even if it was silly, to pour out the scrambled eggs in each little one's dish.a
He'd wake up to a kiss on his cheek (and more) and be able to turn around and have a whole pan of scrambled eggs, poached eggs, sunny side up eggs or more.
Okay, he hadn't gotten much farther than that, but it was something. And it was Jack who taught him that small progress is still progress.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Jack said.
He was a morning person, because of course, Mr. Sunshine And Save The World was.
Shane smirked.
"Morning yourself, handsome."
"I already fed the kids. They'll be good for a little while anyways."
"Good," Jack said.
And kissed him again.
Soon enough his husband would run out to take care of the animals, and collect any crops. But, for a few minutes every morning, between kisses, Jack was his.
Shane grabbed some coffee and went out on the the porch together. The sun was golden and surrounded with pink. The spinklers made a haze over the fields. Birds sang above him.
It wasn't the kind of thing he'd ever thought he wanted, but it was nice. Real nice.
*
After breakfast, Shane might head out to help around a bit. Jack had the whole place automated, with sprinklers and autofeeders. But, Shane would pull out a hammer and fix the fencing, and fill up little Miso's water bowl. The little cat loved to knock over that water bowl, and it was constantly needing to be refilled.
He'd head out to check the chickens. When Jas was out of 'school' or the closest thing a place like this had, he'd bring her out to visit the farm animals and his kids. She stayed with Marnie so Marnie wouldn't get too lonely, and because the change might be rough on her.
(Plus, they'd all agreed that living with a recovering alcoholic might not be the best idea ever. He was a lot better now, but she'd still stayed with Marnie in the end.)
Jas marched out about every day. She never got tired of visiting all the animals. She loved playing with little Ava and Matty and following him all around to see the same old farm animals again. She acted like he was taking her to the coolest park ever, when it was just to peek through the fences at the livestock.
Jack let Jas name a lot of the animals, so they had names like "FluffyBuffy" the sheep.
(Shane had suggested to name the pigs Porkchop and Bacon and Ham Sandwich. He hadn't expected Jack to go for it, thinking it would only be a joke. The joke was on him when Jack took the name suggestions.)
Shane hadn't planned on having kids, honestly. But, Jack had been into it. And Emily was super enthusiastic to surrogate, as long as they paid back, so she and Sandy could have kids of their own, too.
Ava always got into trouble, so he'd strap her into the baby bjorn when he went out. She was getting too big for it, so he wasn't sure what he'd do then. Maybe he'd get one of those baby leashes, because this kid had Jack's energy. Somehow, even though Jack had been the donor, Ava had picked up Shane's Shane-ness. Just another case of Nature versus Nurture.
Nature meant that Ava had endless energy and always had to be doing things. Nuture meant that Ava was a bit of a brat, and often grumpy for no reason.
Shane had literally said the deal would only be on if Jack was the donor, because there should be more people like him in the world (and who would want more little Shanes?)
And then the kid went and got his personality anyways. Human life was something else.
*
If it was a Monday, he'd put the kids down for a nap and head out to Pierre's to get some groceries. Half the time, Jack would live off his own produce. Then again, Jack had never been too fond of Pierre after he tried to pass Jack's crops off as his own work the few times.
Not that Shane blamed him. But, being a grumpy asshole to people was Shane's thing. Whereas Jack was a quiet ray of sunshine who fixed everything and remembered every birthday. Pierre had to really fuck up to piss off Jack. The guy who loved (almost) everyone and everything. The guy who waited out there when Shane was an asshole to him for ages, then even after he'd seen what a fucking mess Shane was, he married him.
The guy really went all out and husbanded him. Shane didn't believe in Yoba, but if he did, he'd thank Yoba for Jack having horrible taste in men, which meant he got to have the best damn husband he ever could even though he wasn't exactly a catch.
To put it mildly.
Sure, Shane was happy when Jojamart went out of business. He hated the place. But he did miss the sauces. Pierre didn't stock the ones he really liked, though Jack always had peppers growing up in the greenhouse, so that Shane always had some.
It was sweet, how profit's-obsessed-Jack, his workaholic husband had sacrificed plots which could've had Ancient Fruit growing in it, just to make sure he got his pepper fix.
After a while, he'd head over to Marnie's to say hi, then head back home. The kids would've woken up by now. He and Jack had child-proofed the house the best they could, but the whole farm was full of ponds and sharp tools, and all kinds of dangers.
The thing they didn't tell him about fatherhood was that he'd be worried constantly about those brats of his. That he'd wake up scared and have to check on the little grumpy humans of his, and his husband too. Nobody told him how complicated, even nerve racking it could be. Or how euphoric.
But, as he opened the door, they ran his way.
Matty was turning into a big couch potato. He loved to watch television with his dad. Ava, too. Though she preferred to watch animal shows. Sometimes he'd leave on the television just for ambiance. The kids would flock to it and watch for hours and hours.
Shane wasn't one of those no screen time kinds of dads. As far as he was concerned, the television was practically a member of the family.
*
Usually, his husband would be spending midday either going to town to make sure he got every birthday and that nobody ever needed anything. On rainy days, he might go into the mines. He always needed coal for something or other, and hated buying it.
Shane would turn on reruns to fill up the house with noise, and enjoy the Tunneler's game.
His husband liked the games, too, but he rarely had time to actually watch them. Shane would tell him the recaps, the best parts between kisses. The ones at breakfast, at lunch, randomly in the day because Jack dropped whatever he was doing to kiss his husband, or at night before bed. Because Jack loved to kiss him. Half the day he'd come in dirty from some chore or another for a kiss.
Sure, Jack was gone a bunch. But, he always made time. Shane never got lonely...and frankly, he was prickly enough to need a little space to be moody sometimes.
But, his husband would come in exhausted before bed and hug him from behind. He'd whisper an I love you and kiss him again.
Over and over and over, all day long. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Today, his husband got in at nine and peeled off his red flannel over shirt. He'd already taken a shower. His usually naturally spiky brown hair was wet and stuck to his face.
Shane looked him over. As he buttoned up his pajamas, he saw a hint of his husband's toned body.
"You're way better looking than me, you know that?"
"Speak for yourself, hot stuff," Jack said.
And he leaned in for a kiss.
"You need glasses," Shane said.
Jack laughed. "Nope, I'd still say you were hot. Hotter than peppers."
Shane chuckled. His husband was always like this. Affectionate and sweet. More sweet than someone like he deserved.
But every year, the voice that told him that got shouted out, like he had a little Jack on his shoulder with wings telling him to love himself like Jack loved him.
"I put the kids to bed. If they get out, it's not my fault. They're so full of energy. That came from you, Mr. Workaholic," Shane said.
"Did they get into the coffee again?"
"I sure hope not," Shane said.
"And Ava pitched a fit when I put her in. She's being a real brat today."
"I think that came from you," Jack teased.
"Yeah, it probably did," Shane said.
Since they couldn't name their kid chicken, Jack suggested they do the next best thing and name her Ava.
Back then as some stupid kid, he wouldn't of dreamed of some life like this. When he had to give up the glory of being on the team, and when he lost Ronnie and Renee to that car accident, Shane felt like he'd fallen into a pit he couldn't get out of.
Now, he was a dad. Not entirely sober, but he was working on it. He was getting used to being clear-headed, and waking up without hangovers. Of facing his feelings instead of drowning them with alcohol, and relearning how to live his life.
And waking up to a morning kiss, from his husband who was--let's be serious--way out of his league. Massively out of his league. Sometimes he just wanted to go back to bed. Other times, he wondered how the hell he got here? The most handsome guy he'd met, toned and strong and kind and quiet. And he'd fallen for Shane. The asshole town drunk, the guy who always fucked everything up. The biggest failure in all of Stardew. Even Pam at least raised a good daughter like Penny.
Sometimes his brain was horrible, like he had a rain cloud all about him and he woke up craving a beer so much it was a physical ache. Sometimes the days were so beautiful that it was almost painful to think that they would end one day.
And there were boring days, samey days, everything in between.
But what really got him was how comfortable he was in his skin. How Jack had made it so damn clear Shane couldn't push him away, even if he was a little overweight, a grumpy asshole and not the hardest worker around.
"Tell me about your day," Jack said.
"Same old same old. It'll be boring."
"You won't bore me. Besides, I'll get to spend time with my husband and hear his sexy voice."
Shane scoffed, and laughed.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. It'll bore you to sleep for sure."
Jack got changed out and into bed. He pulled Shane close.
"Mmm, someone smells like Doritos."
"A balanced meal," Shane said.
And he told Jack. He told him every little damn detail.
His husband loved it. Laughed at every stupid quip. Even though it was the same day, just with minor changes.
Tomorrow would be the same too. He'd wake up next to the best damn husband in the world, and raise his kids on a farm. And be happy, or mostly happy at least.
Jack held him close, spooned together. He'd kiss him goodnight several times, just because he could.
Once, Shane used to drink himself to sleep and wish that he'd never wake up. Now, Shane got kissed to sleep by his wonderful husband. And he he looked forward to each day left on this earth with the love of his life, and his two kids.
Was it sappy? Maybe he'd gotten corny in his old age. The person he used to be never would've wished for this. But the person he was now embraced every cheesy joke, every peck on the cheek and moment. He looked forward to them all, every day, even if it was the same as the last.
