Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I first heard the news on a typical Monday night. It was nearly midnight as I approached the grim sight of my mother staggering and cursing her way down the stairs outside the Stardrop Saloon, propped up by Robin's firm grip.

"I'm so sorry about my mom," I apologized to Robin, knowing fully well that it wasn't the first time this happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Robin shook her head. "It's not you fault, honey. Don't worry about it."

My mother's eyes flickered open. "Girl, where've you been all day? Haven't you heard there's fresh meat in town?" She hiccuped at me. "How v-very rude of you not to give her a warm welcome at the pub tonight. But you're no fun, are you, eh?"

"I was meaning to tell you, Penny - I moved a new farmer in today!" Robin quickly interjected. "She seems sweet. Much nicer than the last one, that's for sure..."

She trailed off as our eyes met. "Sorry... I wasn't trying to bring him up. It's just... it hasn't been long, and I'm just happy we have a new girl in town. Livens things up, doesn't it?" Robin attempted to crack a smile, and I did my best to reciprocate.

"Sure does. I'm excited to meet her!" I responded, steadying my mother as we began to walk towards our trailer.

As I propped open the door, trying not to inhale her ale-soaked scent, she chuckled nastily. "You- you're excited, are you now?" I sighed. "Mom, you don't know what you're saying, alright? Let's get you into bed."

But she continued on her drunken rant. "Really, no - r-really - it's too bad - what's his name, T-Tom? - Tom moved out of town." I bit my tongue, hard. What else did I expect from her?

"Mom. I... I'd really rather not talk about him. Okay?"

She sneered. "I real- really thought he'd fixed you up good. But you're still... still a nasty little dyke, aren't you?"

Chapter Text

The sun peeked through the blinds, its golden rays creating dappled shadows across my shoebox of a bedroom. Hazily, I cracked my eyes open, peering at the alarm clock on my nightstand. It read 9:00AM, just five hours after I’d crawled into bed after preparing my lessons for the morning. I rubbed my eyes, groggily stumbling towards my wardrobe to change into something suitable for a warm spring day. It was a Tuesday, meaning I had nearly two hours before I’d have to get to my tutoring job.

Heading into the main room of the RV, I heard only silence - not like I’d expected my mother to be awake anyway, after the night she’d had (or any night, really). My face clouded as I remembered her behaviour the prior night. Nothing out of the ordinary for Pam, really, and though we’d been in this town so long that her drunkenness didn’t faze the other residents at all, I still felt embarrassed - for her, for myself, for the side of our family Robin had witnessed (not for the first time) last night. A sudden, unbidden thought flickered across my mind: what had the new farmer heard about our family? Nothing good, probably, I bitterly thought. Just white trailer trash, the local drunkard, maybe even the slut who made the last farmer move away. I shook my head, hoping to shake the noise in my head out with it.

Opening the fridge, all I could see was a couple six-packs of beer sweating in front of half a dozen eggs. Sigh. I reached for the pancake mix in the cupboard, wincing as it fell off and hit me on the head. “Keep it down, would ya?” I head Pam yell from the sofa, where she appeared to have spent the night, followed by a string of profanities. Ignoring her, I lit the stove and made pancakes for both of us. After plating hers on the table, I pensively shaped my own pancake batter into a heart. Even if my mother treated me like shit, at least I had my own back, I thought to myself.

At 10:50, I gathered up my teaching materials in a brown satchel and headed over to Marnie’s ranch to gather my tutees. The unspoken deal was that I taught the kids and Marnie saw to it that my mother and I were always kept fed with her produce. Honestly, I didn’t mind teaching them more or less for free; it wasn’t like there was anywhere for me to spend money around here, and I wasn’t saving for anything either. Beyond that (and this was the main reason), tutoring the kids gave me a sense of contentment that I couldn’t quite explain. I’d always liked children, and teaching Jas and Vincent gave me a sense of purpose, like I was actually doing something with my life here, instead of the sad truth that I had wasted my youth in a cramped trailer van with my deadbeat mother. Sometimes I naively even hoped that maybe, if I taught them well, they could have a better life than I did. Maybe they could go to college, see the world, all the things I couldn’t do. Maybe someday they’d write back to me as adults, and I’d know that what I’d spent all these years doing had been worth something after all. But that was selfish.

It was eleven on the dot when Jas and Vincent tumbled out of the front door, chattering and giggling loudly as usual. Just as I was ready to call them over and go, I spotted a tall woman I didn’t recognize behind them, turned to thank Marnie. The woman must’ve been almost six feet tall, with skin tanned from the sun, leanly muscled arms exposed by her black tank top and toned legs beneath her shorts. She stepped out of the doorframe and made direct eye contact with me, and I must’ve flushed beet red. Her eyes were the color of treacle, and the bridge of her nose was dusted lightly with freckles. Great. This must be the new farmer. I swept my eyes down the second I realized how I must look.

“Miss Penny! You look so funny!” Jas giggled from beside me, and I lightly smacked her on the arm.

“H-hello! Where are my manners? I’m Penny - you must be the new farmer? Welcome to Stardew Valley - it’s been so long since we’ve had a fresh face in town!” I extended my hand to the girl, hoping she’d shake it and I could put this whole awkward encounter behind me.

Instead, she laughed - a deep, warm chuckle - and took my outstretched arm, bowing down into a mock curtsy. My jaw dropped slack open involuntarily. I wanted the earth to swallow me whole.

“Well, it’s just lovely to make your acquaintance, Penny. I’m Max.” Her voice was like honey - low and smooth.

“Max? Isn’t that a boy’s name?” Vincent frowned, his little brow furrowed comically.

“Let me tell you a secret. What’s your name?” She turned to face Vincent.

“He’s Vincent and I’m Jas! Miss Penny is our teacher!” Jas helpfully supplied. I wanted to die.

“Well, Vince, just between the two of us, my full name is -” She leaned in conspiratorially, bending to fake-whisper in his ear. “- Maxine! But nobody calls me that. Just Max.” Vincent seemed content with this answer, nodding. So she’s good with kids, I thought to myself. Jesus. Snap out of it, Penny! I shook my head.

Max studied my expression, amused. “So, ‘Miss Penny’. What do you do around here?”

“I teach the kids - uh, obviously, you knew that already... you might have seen my mother Pam around too? I live with her and she used to drive the bus here until it broke down, but we’re hoping to fix that soon. We’ve been here as long as anybody, really.”

Max nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “That’s interesting. Nobody’s told me about you guys beyond that I haven’t met you yet, so I’m thrilled to finally meet the ever-elusive Penny in the flesh.” She grinned. I fixed my eyes on a particularly interesting-looking rock before I could blush. That was something - at least the local gossip mill hadn’t quite reached her yet.

Suddenly, Marnie’s front door cracked open and she poked her head out. I couldn’t be more grateful to have a way out of the conversation.

“Max! I see you’ve met Little Miss Bookworm here! Penny’s the cleverest cookie we have here in Stardew Valley - don’t let nobody tell you otherwise. The little ones here absolutely adore her.” Marnie chuckled as I felt the tips of my ears heat up. This was my cue to leave.

“Yep - I take them to the library every! Our little ‘school’ here starts at eleven o’clock sharp, so we’d better get going. Come on, Jas, Vincent! It was great to meet you, Max - I’ll see you around.” I got ready to leave, beckoning the children over.

“I’m sure you will.” There was that damn grin again. And with that, Max turned and walked out of sight.