Chapter Text
A bright light shined through the window within Y/N’s bedroom; they covered their eyes in a fit of sleep. “Five more minutes…” They groaned as an attempt to roll over resulted in a spike of pain from the previous night’s injuries. Once again, they groaned and laid out on the bed, some chirping of birds lulling them into a sense of comfort. A moment of peace with lingering pain passed then realization hit them. Y/N sat up quickly, “shit! What time is it?” They winced again in pain as they turned to the clock on the nightstand beside their bed. 9 am. They had slept three extra hours than usual.
As they began to panic, a resounding thud echoed in the room, it spooked the disgruntled farmer, and they crawled over to look at the cause of such commotion. Staring back at them on the ground was the lump of tevandium they found last night, practically fighting for their life to get it even. It brought a wide smile to their face, a great distraction from the distressing morning. Though when they finally moved to stand up, every bit of their body felt sore their knees felt like jelly. “Oh man, did not realize how bad last night was…” Even their voice was a bit hoarse when they spoke to themself; the exhaustion from last night persisted into this morning, it seemed.
While getting their bearings, they stretched out some of their stiff muscles and prepared themself for their late morning duties. The chickens and cattle are sure to be upset; Y/N hoped the anger would subside once they saw the massive bags under their eyes. First, they had to do something about those nasty bite marks from the skull creature yesterday. A look in the mirror made it apparent that they weren’t just a scratch; there was evident bruising and large indentions where its teeth had sunk into. Some dried blood helped scab over some areas with broken skin and small tears.
Y/N winced at the sight in the mirror and began to clean up the areas carefully. They were thankful it was on their shoulders where it would be covered by a simple work shirt, though unfortunate because the fabric would brush up against it and possibly make it worse. “Maybe a trip to Charles would be good after I get this tevandium to Rafael….” They mumbled to themselves as they finished doing amateur patching on their wounds. Then they finally dressed and headed outside to complete their daily duties.
The bright sun almost blinded them as they walked out; it was another hot summer day, much like the one before. At first glance, their crops were doing okay; thankfully, some had retained some water from yesterday, making it easier to water. However, they would get to that after the animals were cared for. While walking up to the pasture area and their lodgings, Y/N could hear some unhappy clucks and moos from inside the buildings. They took a deep breath before opening each door to let both sets of animals out of their homes.
Some chickens eagerly dashed out and ran towards Y/N once they saw their owner. They chirped at the farmer and butted their heads against Y/N's legs, who smiled and picked up the chickens one after the other. They got a little bit of attention every day, this time just a tad later than usual. “Sorry about the tardiness, guys. Had a rough night yesterday. I’ll ensure your pens are clean and taken care of, alright?” The chickens cooed when they had their time with Y/N and seemed calmer as they waddled their way off to the tall grass and enjoyed the rest of the summer’s day.
By the time the chickens had spent time with Y/N, the cattle had moseyed their way out of the barn and were grazing their fair share of the grass in the pasture. Y/N thought to themself, “They must have no hay left in the troughs.” So, they headed into the barn and saw that their thoughts were confirmed, plus there was a bit of their waste to pick up. Y/N sighed and quickly got to work on cleaning up and then refilling the troughs as usual. Afterward, they went to the chicken coop to pick up the egg and refill the trough. The egg basket was a bit lighter than yesterday; a chicken or two must not have laid an egg.
They took the egg basket to the shipping bin before returning to milk and shear the cattle as needed. There was a bit of milk; some of the cows were producing better quality milk at a larger volume. It made Y/N smile; their farming skills had improved after being in Starlet for a little over a year. The help of the locals was something they greatly appreciated, and they hoped they could return many favors. Perhaps they could bring some fresh eggs and a bottle of milk to the Sanchez brothers when they visit for the tevandium.
It was a nice thought, and if there was anything extra from the crops, they could take it to the ranch with Kenny and his parents as gratitude for yesterday as well. As they thought it over, they realized their list of to-dos for the day was getting longer. The only thing that is bound to happen as a busy farmer, there never is time to rest. Y/N sighed and got to harvesting and watering their crops as it was the last thing to do for their daily tasks. Finally, some of their starfruit, melons, and corn was growing. It worried them for some time because of all the ups and downs of the past twelve or so days. Sam mentioned some fertilizer could help with higher-quality produce, though they would have to make it themself.
Just another thing to learn on top of everything else, but that is what comes with the new territory. Other than that, it was a decent harvest with plenty of peppers and radishes to spare. Things were starting to look up, and Y/N hummed as they finished putting the product into the shipping bin. With that done, they stood up and stretched again; it was time to prepare the goodies to bring the resident blacksmiths, especially the life-threatening ore. Afterward, they would have to return and get the rest for the neighboring ranch to the north.
“Alright. I’m sure Rafael will like the gifts… I hope he will.” A pang of doubt hit them as they finally had everything ready to walk into town. Something in the back of their mind kept digging down deeper and creating a sense of anxiety that crawled up their spine. For a moment, they stood still, holding the backpack up from the ground, and stared at it, spacing out in racing thoughts. Irrational thoughts, they shouted at the top of their lungs that this one wouldn’t be a good gift. The additional produce would be acting as a bandage over Rafael’s terrible present.
Their heart beat faster and faster.
“No,” the voice weakly spoke out. Y/N repeated it with a firm tone and shut their eyes for a moment. Finally, they took a deep breath, held it in for a count of ten, and slowly let it go. A small wave of tiredness rushed over them, but they slowly opened their eyes and took another deep breath. It repeated until they were back to a normal baseline. “No. He’s going to like the gift. He will.”
Fear of Rafael’s reaction being bad still lingered in their mind but was pushed back by their hope for him to like it. Y/N lifted the backpack and winced at the pressure it put onto their shoulders, a painful reminder of their late-night encounter. The faster they got to the blacksmith workshop, the faster their shoulders could rest. With that, they started their trek through town, waving and smiling at anyone out and about that day. One or two of them smiled back but had noticeable notes of concern when getting a better look at Y/N. It was apparent to those who noticed that their local farmer off to the west had been overworked lately. Even so, Y/N was already gone before they could voice their concerns.
The blacksmith workshop loomed overhead with the open sign swinging in the gentle breeze passing by. Y/N took a deep breath and sighed; it was currently half past noon on this warm Saturday. Coincidentally Rafael would be alone in the shop as Pablo left only about an hour before Sam’s to shop. Whatever happens will be between the two of them, which gives Y/N a sense of relief for not having to be embarrassed in front of Pablo. If things went sour, he would not let Y/N live it down, but in a more playful teasing way, and non-malicious.
They started to walk up the steps and could hear the muffled sounds of metal clanging inside. It made them hesitate, “he must be busy with something. Maybe I should come back later….” A moment of quiet thinking passed as Y/N reached for the door handle. The breeze sent a slight shiver up their spine and made them shake their head after. Finally, the handle was turned, and slowly, they opened the door to the workshop, walking in after hearing the small chime. “Welcome in! I’ll be there in a second,” the metal clanking stopped momentarily as Rafael’s voice called out from his anvil.
“Take your time Rafael; I can wait.” Y/N smiled a little as they looked around the workshop as if they didn’t know the place like the back of their hand. “Y/N? What are you doing here?” Rafael spoke as he walked over to the counter, wiping his hands on his apron. He stopped behind the counter and rested his hands on it, confusion written all over his face. “Pablo is out, so if you were looking for him….”
Y/N shook their head and stood across from him at the counter, leaning forward on their elbows. “No, I had some extra produce from today’s harvest. I thought you and him would enjoy some fresh stuff. The chickens and cattle have been making bigger and better products.” They smiled, waiting for a reaction or response from Rafael. He took a moment to take in what they said, then nodded, “Yeah… some fresh produce would be nice. Are you sure? For free? I can get you some money for it.” He started to turn around to get said money, but Y/N immediately reached out and tugged him back via his shirt.
“No! It’s just a gift, Raf! You and Pablo have worked hard and done so much for me, so would it be so bad if I gave you two a little something?” They looked up at him while awkwardly leaning over the counter but let go of him and stood back up as he sighed a little in defeat and nodded. “I guess it wouldn’t be too bad. Do you want to go to the kitchen then? If it’s animal produce, it needs to be refrigerated, doesn’t it?” Y/N nodded back, quickly turned around, and had a pep in their step before Rafael could register anything. He shook his head and chuckled as he followed them back to the small dining area past the workshop.
Y/N laid their backpack onto the counter with a loud thud, which made Rafael raise an eyebrow. “Just how much extra did you bring?” They sighed in relief from the bag finally being off their sore shoulders, rolling both arms a little to ease the stiffness. “Well, it’s not just produce, to be honest..” They mumbled as they opened the bag and pulled out the promised eggs and milk. Rafael slowly took the items out and went to the fridge, putting them with the other eggs and milk. He began to be a bit suspicious of what else they had. While yes, they seemed as usually nervous as they were, something felt more off than usual with his farmer friend.
“We will be good if it’s not mushrooms or peppers. So,” Rafael closed the fridge door and turned back to Y/N. “What else did you have?” He made brief eye contact with them before he and Y/N looked away. Rafael was never comfortable looking people in the eye, no matter how close he was to them. Y/N was similar but mainly looked away to go back into their backpack. “It’s not anything like that…. Though,” they trailed off and looked back at Rafael. “Promise you won’t get mad or anything?”
He scoffed a little and put his hands on his hips, “Mad? Now why would I get mad? Now I’m getting nervous about this “gift.”” While making the quotation motion with one hand, he nervously chuckled. Seriously rethinking accepting these gifts in the first place. Y/N took a deep breath and fiddled more with the tevandium in their bag. “I just worry, that’s all. Um. I swear you’ll like it!” A sense of desperation came out in their words more than anything else, leaving Rafael a bit more puzzled. A short moment of quietness sat between the two before Rafael sighed himself. “Go on then; I promise not to get mad, alright?”
Y/N quickly nodded and looked back down at their bag. This was it. The time to actually give the tevandium to him. Their heart began to race a little more, and their cheeks flushed with precautionary embarrassment. Slowly they began sliding the ore out, then closed their eyes tight while holding it out from the bag towards Rafael.
Immediately upon looking at it, Rafael was speechless; he even thought his jaw-dropping could be heard. He stuttered and fumbled over his words as he stepped closer to Y/N. “Is this… is this what I think it is?” He looked at Y/N, who still had their eyes shut, tight, arms becoming a little wobbly from holding the heavy stone in front of them. “Well, um.. what do you think it is?” Rafael glanced back down at the ore and gently took it in his hands to better inspect it, “tevandium….”
Y/N nodded slowly and cracked one eye open to look at him. His face was beaming like the sun’s rays breaking through their window that morning. A smile gradually formed on his face as he continued inspecting the ore in his hands, confirming it himself. “I remembered how much you talked about it and the excitement from the adventurer getting you some….”
He shook his head and looked at them, “Wait, wait, wait. Don’t tell me you got this. You didn’t, did you?” Concern was written all over his face as Y/N tried their best to figure out the best response. The racing thoughts started to crawl back into their mind. Why would he ask that? Is it a good or bad thing? Should they lie? Tell the truth? The silence seemed to be the only answer he needed to know. Quickly, Rafael put the tevandium down and took hold of Y/N's arms. He moved them around like he was doing a once-over for any injuries.
“Did you get hurt at all? This kind of stuff isn’t easy to get. If I’d known you were looking, I would have helped you. Or ask someone else to help. Or… or something!” His worrying and attempts at a careful look-over caused a bit of strain on one of Y/N's shoulders as Rafael accidentally raised their arm a little high. He noticed immediately and gently pressed onto their shoulder and then the other with a similar flinching response. “Raf. Please. I’m just fine. I’ve had worse happen.”
Rafael shook his head and made them sit on a kitchen stool. Then carefully looking at their face and turning their head to either side, a blush formed as the doting treatment continued. Honestly, the whole ordeal overwhelmed them a little; it was one of the few, if not only, times Rafael had done this. “You should have asked Mark or Kira to help you… this is why you’ve been so tired. It makes sense now.” He sighed and hung his head as he ran a hand through his hair.
He was starting to feel guilty, and Y/N knew it, which made them feel guilty. The tevandium was meant to be a more welcoming and happy gift-giving, not this. What was meant to be a happier event started to make the atmosphere in the kitchen much heavier. It began weighing down on Y/N, who irrationally thought Rafael disliked the tevandium. All of their efforts were for naught. Everything was a bit more overwhelming, and they had to fight back the tears from forming and attempt to calm down their breathing.
“I.. I. I wanted to get you something you’d really like, and I thought,” a small sob released along with the tears that brimmed over their eye’s waterline. “The tevandium would be a good gift.” Y/N hung their head low and attempted to wipe away the tears away. Rafael had stayed quiet but slowly leaned over and wrapped his arms around them, careful not to hug them too tightly. “Listen. I love the gift. I really do. I’m just worried about you, okay?”
He stayed for a moment and let the pause of silence hang between the two of them. Y/N sniffled into his chest and raised their arms to hug him gently. They stayed quiet for a few minutes, still in an awkward hug. The first to pull away was Y/N, who tried not to look at Rafael too head-on. He pulled back, even stepping back for more space between the two. “Sorry, I know you aren’t really all that comfortable with hugging people, especially if they are crying. Ha..” Y/N sniffed as they spoke, wiping away excess tears that sat on their face. “It’s fine. I couldn’t just stand here awkwardly and watch you cry, ya know….” He scratched the back of his neck, a bit sheepish from it all, turning his attention back to the tevandium on the counter.
“I wasn’t kidding, though. I am very happy you got me this, even if you did overwork yourself,” his smile returned. Y/N nodded and smiled slightly; they were glad he liked the tevandium, and the worrying over them wasn’t too bad. “I’m glad you like it. If not, it wouldn’t make up for my bite wounds.” As soon as those words left Y/N's mouth, Rafael’s head turned fast to look at them. His eyes were wide, and he loudly exclaimed, “What?!”
The calming tone that was just now coming back quickly went back to a bit of panic. Rafael started moving Y/N up and out of the kitchen, continuously talking about visiting Charles at the clinic. Y/N attempted to fight back but found it a bit difficult, with Rafael being about twice the person they were. “But what about the shop?! Pablo isn’t back to run it while you’re gone!” Their flimsy excuse fell flat as Rafael swiftly got the keys and hung up his apron. “It’s closing time anyways. And don’t try to get out of this!”
Y/N sighed at all of these convenient things happening in his favor and had to resign to this fate. They walked outside, and Rafael followed right after, locking the door behind him. He continued to mumble some things about when the clinic closed and how Charles would react. Y/N attempted to distract him as they walked by, bringing up the tevandium. “So, what do you want to make with it?” Rafael looked confused at the question, they clarified it was about the tevandium, and he finally connected the dots. “Well... I’m not sure. Maybe something small to see what it looks like and how it works.” Y/N nodded as they continued to walk with him to the clinic, listening to him ramble off about the possibilities to come with his new ore.