Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sebastian hasn’t always been the most extroverted guy out there, but that’s okay. Because he had his friends Abigail, and Sam. Abigail seemed to understand Sebastian in a way other people in the community just couldn’t. And Sam was the one that Sebastian would call if he killed someone and needed help hiding the body. Not that Sam would be much help hiding a body, but he’d be really good moral support while Sebastian figured it out. Sam’s also the person who helped Sebastian get out of his shell here and there. If it weren’t for his blonde skater-boy best friend, Sebastian probably never would’ve met Haley when they were thirteen at the Flower Dance. Sebastian never would’ve realized that Alex is an egotistical jock who has brains in his biceps if it weren’t for Sam talking shit one day after Alex hit him with a ball. Sam was the complete opposite of Sebastian, yet they fit like a glove.

Sebastian was laying in bed on a random Saturday evening, staring at the ceiling as he thought about recent events when he received a phone call from none other than…

“Sam? Is everything okay?” Sebastian asked through the phone, slightly worried since Sam only ever texted, and only called in emergencies like when he ran out of Joja Cola.

“Some stuff is going down at the Saloon, you should get here quick!” Sam exclaimed into the phone’s microphone.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon. Please don’t do anything stupid?” Sebastian pleaded, knowing his efforts were no use.

“Yea, yea, see you later,” Sam hung up.

Sebastian got out of bed and put his Doc Martens on and brushed his messy, dark hair slightly so it didn’t look like he'd been rotting in bed for three days on end, but rather looked like he just got out of bed after a few hours of sleep. He headed up the stairs from his basement, waving to his mom, Robin, who’d been standing at the counter at her shop before he walked out. The crisp cold air of Fall changing into Winter met Sebastian’s pale skin, and a slight excitement built in his stomach as he thought about his favorite season approaching soon enough. He walked down into town, and before he knew it, he was turning into the Saloon. He opened the door and looked around, yet nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was, until he saw Harvey, the town’s local doctor, standing in front of Shane near the fireplace. Sebastian’s eyes widened as he quickly paced over to the pool room where Sam was waiting for him.
“Did you see what I’m seeing?” Sam asked, excitement bubbling in his tone.

“I did!” Sebastian said, returning the excitement as much as he could, being as he was not an enthused person damn near most of the time.

“Harvey’s making a move on the alcoholic!” Sam whisper exclaimed, leaning in towards Sebastian.

“Finally.” Sebastian scoffed. “I’ve had enough of their constant flirting without getting anywhere. If they don’t get married soon, I don’t believe in love,” Sebastian chuckled.

“You don’t believe in love anyways,” Sam laughed.

“Thats… true,” Sebastian argued, but he couldn’t. He’s never really had any relationships, and he’s never had any interest in them. They just didn’t have any appeal to the emotionless guy.

“Is this all you called me for?” Sebastian asked, acting annoyed, although Sam could tell he was only joking. They had that kind of relationship, the kind where you could act annoyed or as if you hated their guts one second, then laugh about saying the same thing at the same time two minutes later.

“Yea, but then I also called Abby and thought we could all hang out for a while,” Sam shrugged, walking over to the vending machine to get a Joja Cola.

“So what time is she getting here?” Sebastian asked, grabbing two pool sticks from the corner of the room.

“She can’t come. Something about having to clean her rat’s cage?” Same shrugged.

“Abigail doesn’t have a rat,” Sebastian shook his head. “Do you mean her guinea pig?” Sebastian inquired, tilting his head slightly before returning to setting up the game of pool. It was a nightly ritual. Every night that Sebastian came out of his cave to hang out, they’d always play pool or go stand by the river. It was something that Sebastian found himself looking forward to every time he was reminded of it, even if it was nothing more that hitting pool balls with wooden sticks for an hour or two or staring at the rushing of the chill Fall river water as fish moved upstream and the sun set behind them. They were small things that Sebastian found himself clinging to even when he felt like everything was pointless.

“That’s a shame. We’ll have fun anyways though,” Sebastian shrugged, taking the first hit in the pool game. One ball automatically went into one of the pockets in the pool table, indicating that he’d be playing for stripes, Sam for solids.

The game went on for about 45 minutes, until Sebastian caught something out of the corner of his eye. Harvey, locking eyes with Shane, and moving a few inches closer. Harvey looked at Shane is if he hung the whole world. If someone told Harvey to declare his love to the world, the only person he’d have to say it to is Shane based on the way he looked at him. Because Harvey was looking at Shane as if Shane was his whole world.

“Sam!” Sebastian whispered. Sam’s head snapped up, resulting in his blonde hair falling into his eyes, Sam tossing his head to the side to get it out of the way. Sebastian’s gaze lingered slightly on Sam’s ethereal greyish brown eyes, before nodding towards the doctor moving in on the alcoholic several feet away.

“OH MY GOD!” Sam exclaimed loudly, causing nearly the whole Saloon to look over at him, including Harvey and Shane. “Oh- u- I can’t believe you scored that! That was an impossible shot!” Sam lied very obviously as he went to lean his hand on the pool table, however he miscalculated and nearly fell, if it hadn’t been for Sebastian reaching out to grab Sam’s hand before he face-planted. Sebastian tugged Sam’s arm gently to help the poor guy gain his balance back, everyone’s focus still on him.

Soon enough, the Saloon went back to their respective chatters, however Harvey decided it was too close that time. It was very obvious Sam was not exclaiming over pool. Harvey abruptly up and left, the door swinging after he pushed it open aggressively.

“Harvey, wait!” Shane reached out, but didn’t actually go chase the man.

“Aw, star-crossed lovers,” Sebastian leaned over and whispered in Sam’s ear.

“Romeo and Juliet, except hopefully neither of them die. That’d be kinda sucky,” Sam chuckled, leaning against his cue.

“It’d be mildly unfortunate, but I don’t know either of them enough to actually feel remorse. I’d only be sad at the missed marriage opportunity. I’ve never actually been to a wedding,” Sebastian said. “Not that I want to go to one, and I’d probably leave in the first five minutes, but it’d be nice to say that I at least tried it out.” Sebastian rambled slightly, shrugged his shoulders.

“Exactly! I bet I’d be such a fun guy at a wedding!” Samn laughed, taking his shot in the pool game.

After ten more minutes, Sebastian ended up winning the game, no surprise there, and Sam left to walk home. Sebastian was going to leave right after him, but then he saw the sad man leaning against the fireplace, drink in hand. Sebastian decided that for once in his life, he was gonna be the one to reach out and try to make a new friend. Couldn’t hurt, right?

Sebastian strolled over to the bar and ordered a beer, drinking it quite quickly before walking over to Shane. While Sebastian had never really talked much to Shane, Pelican Town had a population downwards of 40 with no clear sign of any growth soon. That being said, everyone knew everyone, even if they didn’t talk.

“Hi Shane,” Sebastian greeted, attempting not to sound awkward, and probably failing.

“What do you want? Leave me alone,” Shane muttered, his scowl almost looking more normal than the neutral face he wore when talking to Harvey due to his constant frowning.

“I’m just bored and lonely, thought I’d come say hi,” Sebastian defended himself, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

“Welcome to the club,” Shane scoffed, a sarcastic smirk donned upon his stubbly face.

“Um, thank you?” Sebastian said. “So are you and Harvey friends?” Sebastian asked casually.

Shane’s expression flickered to one of content, thinking about Harvey, before changing back to his stoic manner not even a second later. “We’re acquaintances, we talk sometimes,” Shane shrugged casually.

“I’ve never really met Harvey more than annual doctor visits,” Sebastian shrugged, thinking about any other time he might have talked to Harvey in casual passing other than check ups.

“He’s pretty chill when you get to know him,” Shane shrugged. He looked at his watch, and stood up from leaning against the wall. “I should get going. It’s pretty late,” Shane said as he made his way to the door. “Bye Sebastian,” Shane said, still facing the door as he walked out.

“Bye Shane,” he said, although he was certain Shane was too far to hear him by now. Sebastian made a mental reminder to thank Sam for always telling him to branch out every now and then, even though Sebastian always rolled his eyes at the thought, maybe having Shane as a friend in the future wouldn’t be too bad. Sure, the guy was rough around the edges, but hey, so was Sebastian. It’d definitely take some time to get the guy to open up enough to be willing to be friendly, but what else did Sebastian have to do with his time? No one respected his work anyways.

A few moments later, Sebastian walked out as well and started to walk back home.

Chapter Text

Over the past few weeks, Sebastian had been trying his best not to back out from deciding to befriend Shane. It was difficult, with the constant mood swings and denials, but he’d been making progress. Every time Sebastian saw Shane, instead of a ‘leave me alone,’ or ‘don’t you have something better to do?’ Sebastian just got a disapproving grunt. Sam said that was incredible progress.

Due to the slow progression of their friendship, however, Sebastian definitely was not expecting it when Shane appeared next to him on the docks during an especially windy day, a look of panic splayed across his features.

“I need your help,” the nervous, disheveled man exclaimed.

“What do you need?” Sebastian put a supportive hand on Shane’s shoulder, panic coursing through his veins. What had Shane in such a panic?

“I’m in love with my best friend,” Shane blurted out. Regret crossed his face as he scanned Sebastian’s face for answers, hoping it’d be a positive reaction over a negative one.

“Actually?” Sebastian confirmed. He kinda already knew, what with the constant flirting at the Saloon, Harvey constantly trying to get Shane to leave before he got too drunk, Shane talking Harvey through his stress when he had a hard day at the clinic, and small things like that. But of course, the confirmation still hit him like a wave. All of his and Sam’s joking around finally coming true.

“Yea,” Shane muttered. He looked down at his worn down sneakers, putting his hood over his head as the wind continued against them.

“You should tell him,” Sebastian said, flicking the ashes off of his cigarette. He knew his advice probably sounded like the last thing Shane needed to hear right now, but it’s not like Sebastian had any experience with this kind of thing.

“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said,” Shane groaned and put his head in his hands.

“I know,” Sebastian nodded and took a drag of his cigarette. He puffed out the smoke, looking out over the ocean. “Tell me what you want to tell Harvey. Don’t act like you’re saying it to me, act like I’m Harvey,” Sebastian said, trying his best to help out the frantic man.

“That’s stupid,” Shane scoffed.

“I know it is, just do it,” Sebastian scoffed in return. The amount of attitude between the two men was larger than the endless horizon in front of them. It’d be a miracle if they got anywhere with Shane’s dilemma.
—-------

Earlier that day, Sebastian had stopped by Sam’s house to hangout for a few minutes before Sam had to go to his appointment with Harvey. Unfortunately for Sam, he said yes when Sebastian offered him a few hits of the blunt he had, forgetting about the wellness check-up he had less than an hour later. Sebastian left to go stand near the docks, and Sam had exactly 46 minutes to master not seeming mildly high to a doctor. Easy to say he failed.

Sam walked over to the clinic, walking slower than usual due to the effects of his high. He opened the door and struggled to hold it open for a minute, grinning as he saw the doctor standing with Shane near the back. Before Sam could say anything though, Shane stormed off in a panicked frenzy.

“Where’s Sebastian?” he quickly asked the high blonde man.

“Uh… He’s down- down by the… um…” Sam stuttered over his words, not being able to think clearly.

“Where?” Shane asked more urgently, a hint of malice in his tone.

“The docks,” Sam finally said. Shane stormed out, and Sam strolled closer to Harvey’s desk.

“You’re late,” Harvey said, something else clearly on his mind. “And intoxicated.”

“Nuh uh,” Sam defended himself, though his efforts were not going anywhere.

“Look, we can just reschedule your appointment for another time. You’re clearly not fit for a wellness check-up, and I’ve got too much on my mind right now,” Harvey admitted.

“That sounds good,” Sam nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, his speech still slightly slurred.

“No, I don’t want to bother you with all that,” Harvey said. He didn’t want to admit his feelings for a certain alcoholic, and he definitely didn’t want to admit the fact that said alcoholic may or may not have tried to kiss him less than five minutes ago.

“I don’t mind, I have nothing better to do,” Sam slumped down in one of the chairs in the waiting area. It was true, too. Either he sat here listening to Harvey’s love life rants while minorly high, or he had to go home and avoid his mother until the effects of the high wore off. And considering nothing ever got past Jodi, ever, he didn’t want to take the chances of his mom finding out he got high right outside her house. Sure, Sam was a grown man and was legally allowed to do whatever he wanted, but Jodi’s catchphrase was, “As long as you’re living under my roof, you follow my rules.” So Sam was going to do everything he could to avoid her for at least another hour or two.

“Fine. But don’t tell anyone I told you any of this. Shane will kill me. Got it? Not even Sebastian.” Harvey said sternly as he walked over to sit in the chair next to Sam.

“I’m sure Shane’s telling Sebastian right now. That’s why he asked me where he was,” Sam said, as if it was a stupid suggestion that he might have told his best friend the hottest tea the town had seen in years.

“Just don’t tell anyone. Got it?” Harvey said again.

“Yea yea whatever,” Sam said, still kind of out of it.

“Shane’s one of my best friends. We’re around each other quite often, it’d be difficult for us not to develop an attraction to each other, you know?” Harvey started.

“No, I don’t know,” Sam chuckled. “Sebastian and I are attached at the hip, and I’m not in love with him,” he said.

“Can you just listen, please?” Harvey was getting irritated, but he needed to get this off his chest, and Maru had taken off today and the next due to a fever.

“My bad,” Sam said, sitting up slightly to engage in the conversation.

“We’ve had kind of an unspoken agreement that we both like each other, but we haven’t acted on it. An- And earlier before you walked in, Shane finally tried to act on it. I panicked, causing him to panic, and now everything’s just messed up,” Harvey said desperation clear in his voice. “What do I do Sam?” Harvey asked, but then re-evalutated his decision to ask the high man next to him for help. “Actually, don’t answer that.”

“Tell Shane that you just weren’t expecting whatever he did, and it caught you by surprise. Not that you didn’t like it. Tell him that you like him, and you didn’t mean to cause the both of you so much panic like that,” Sam said. Even when Sam was in his normal state, he never spoke such good advice. Harvey’s last expectation was for him to drop some pretty decent advice.

“You know, you may be right Sam. Thanks for the help. Do you need help getting back home?” Harvey asked.

“Nah, I’m just gonna go wait for Sebastian by the river in front of my house,” Sam said as he stood up, the effects of the high slowly beginning to wear off.

“Just be careful. Don’t stand too close to the water, I don’t want you falling in while not in the right state of mind,” Harvey warned out of concern for Sam’s future health.

“Yes sir,” Sam joked as he walked out. He slowly strolled over to the spot Sebastian typically met up with him to hang out, taking his sweet time. To his surprise, Sebastian had already beat him there.

“Hey man,” Sam said as he came up behind Sebastian. “Did Shane end up finding you? He asked me where you were as I was walking into the clinic.”

“Yea, he told me some pretty crazy drama,” Sebastian chuckled dryly. “I tried to give him advice, but I’m not good at that kind of stuff,” he shrugged.

“Oh, was it about the situation with Harvey?” Sam inquired.

“Yea… how’d you know about that?” Sebastian asked. “Did Shane tell you?”

“No, Harvey told me all about it instead of the appointment,” Sam chuckled. He looked at the blunt in Sebastian’s hand. “Again?” He asked

“I have a higher tolerance to it,” Sebastian shrugged. “Want another hit?” He offered it to Sam. Sam took it, and a few minutes later of them passing it back and Sam was on cloud 9, having the time of his life.

“Sam, honey! Dinner’s ready!” Jodi, Sam’s mom, called out from their front door behind them.

“Oh my god,” Sebastian mumbles, knowing Sam wasn’t going to make it out alive from the circumstances.

“Sebastian, why don’t you come in for dinner too?” Jodi kindly invited Sebastian to have dinner as well.

“Oh my God,” Sam mumbled in return, knowing if Jodi caught Sebastian and Sam high, she’d definitely tell Robin. Now, Robin was an incredible mom to Sebastian, but she was very oblivious to most things Sebastian did that she wouldn’t approve of anyways. But if Jodi told her? Sebastian would be kicked out on the streets in an instant.

The two of them walked towards the house, quickly taking their seat at the table. Jodi went in to the kitchen to prepare Sebastian, Sam, Vincent and her a plate. Sebastian leaned over to Sam and whispered. “Refrain from talking, refrain from moving, refrain from doing anything suspicious, refrain from doing anything at all. Hear me?” Sebastian spoke in a barely audible tone, quite enough that not even Vincent could hear it.

“Yes sir,” Sam whispered back, but it was more of a whisper-yell if anything.

Jodi walked over to the table, handing the three boys a plate of spaghetti with
garlic bread. She walked back into the kitchen to grab the last plate which she claimed for herself, and sat down. The four began eating in silence until Jodi started asking Vincent all about his day.

Sebastian looked down, praying they wouldn’t be asked. Neither boy was in a position to answer questions like that right now.

Jodi suddenly sniffed the air. “Do you boys smell that? It smells like… nevermind.” She contemplated for a while.

Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief, almost prominent enough for Jodi to realize his relief. Jodi frowned, noticing the boys’ odd behavior. She decided not to question it for now, for which Sam was grateful for.

After they ate, Sebastian excused himself to go home ‘before his family started worrying,’ knowing they probably did not care. Robin already knew Sebastian stayed out late every night, Demetrius acted as though he didn’t exist, and Maru was probably too busy in her room doing who knows what to care when Sebastian walked through the front door. Sebastian began his walk home, relishing in the cold air, thinking about how in no time at all, it’d be his favorite season. Winter.

Sam was helping his mom clean the table, his motions slow and uncalculated, which was unusual for the bubble of energy Sam usually was. “Sam, you seem very different. Please be honest with me, have you been doing anything?” Jodi asked, her brows raised sternly.

“Wh- what? No…” Sam protested.

“Whatever you say sweetie,” Jodi sighed in defeat, too tired from the day’s work to actually even care.

“Night ma,” Sam walked towards his room slowly.

“Goodnight, Sam,” Jodi smiled at her high son as he shut the door. She then walked into Vincent’s room to tuck him in. Afterwards, she walked out into the kitchen, slumping into one of the tables. She rubbed her temples, her head absolutely pounding from the constant work she did today. Woke up at six to make breakfast for Sam and Vincent, dropped Vincent off at the library, went to Joja for groceries, then came home and proceeded to clean the house, fix broken trim, change faulty light bulbs, and other things similar until now. She loved her sons more than life itself, but with her husband away at war and two messy boys to house, one of them being an adult, it was difficult at times. She was counting down the days until Kent came home.

Chapter Text

Sebastian awoke to the ringing of the alarm on his phone he had set the night before for 8 a.m. It was the first day of the best season in his opinion, and he was gonna spend it by doing something other than bed rotting, talking to Sam, or programming. He had invited Sam, Abigail, and Shane to all hangout at his house. Sebastian walked upstairs to grab a cup of coffee, seeing Maru and Demetrius sitting at the table.

“You’re up early,” Demetrius noted, clearing his throat as he gazed at the newspaper.

“Yup, thought I’d get a headstart on the day, I’ve got some friends coming over,” Sebastian rolled his eyes as he walked to the coffee pot.

"Who’s all coming over?” Maru asked, attempting to make conversation. Maru and Sebastian never had a very good relationship. Maru loved her dad, she really did, however Demetrius and Sebastian never went a moment in the same room without starting an argument. The discourse between him and Demetrius was bound to cause some bad blood between Maru and Seb. But lately they had been starting to be civil again, and Maru was hoping more than anything that one day they could get along like real siblings. Deep down, Sebastian wanted that too. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Maru disliked him automatically due to her father’s disdain for him.

“Sam, Shane, and Abigail,” Sebastian said. Maru’s brow raised ever so slightly at the mention of Abigail. Sebastian noticed the way she did this, and started to gather an idea of what was going on. “You can hang out with us too, if you want,” Sebastian suggested nervously. “We’re just gonna watch TV and play some board games, maybe go out in the snow, but you’re welcome to join,” he specified.

Maru’s gaze met her father’s, who gave her a disapproving stare.

“I think that’d be lovely,” Robin walked into the kitchen, having overheard from the counter out in the other room.

“I agree,” Sebastian says. “They’re gonna be here around Eleven, we’re just gonna hang out in my room,” He shrugged, pouring a cup of coffee and taking a sip.

“Sounds fun!” Maru nodded. A little chime rang through the air coming from Sebastian’s pocket. He pulled out his phone and read a text from Abigail.

“Oh, looks like Abigail invited Haley as well,” Sebastian shrugged.

Maru perked up again, just like she did with Abigail. Sebastian noticed this as well, and smirked slightly to himself. He found it quite entertaining meddling in others’ love lives. First Shane and Harvey (who still hadn’t gotten together, to Sebastian’s dismay), and now Maru, Abigail, and Haley. Sebastian was slightly disappointed, he always thought Maru and Penny would work out well together. But of course, who she chose to be interested in was not up to him to decide.

Sebastian went down to his room to wait for all his friends to arrive. He tidied his room up slightly and moved the couch and some bean bags to sit in front of the TV for them to watch some movies. He also got some board games from the closet to play as well, including Twister and a deck of cards. He then proceeded to sit on his phone until he received a notification from Sam that he had arrived.

Sebastian went up the stairs and called out to Maru. “Maru! They’re here!” He opened the door to Sam wearing a green beanie, a brown jacket with a grey hood, and a white striped shirt.

“You look nice,” Sebastian said as he stepped aside to let Sam in.

“Thanks!” Sam smiled at the compliment as he walked in, looking around. “Am I the first one here?” He asked, not seeing anyone else around.

“Besides Maru, yea, but she lives here so I don’t think it counts,” Sebastian chuckled, nodding to Maru who was standing at the top of the stairs that led to the basement, waiting for the other two. She smiled nervously, and Sam waved.

“Guess you beat me to it, huh?” He joked with her before they all went downstairs.

Soon enough, Shane, Abigail, and Haley had arrived as well. Maru, Abigail, and Haley all sat next to each other on the couch, Shane sat on a bean bag, and Sam and Sebastian sat next to each other on the ground in front of the couch sharing a blanket.

“You’re outfit looks really nice today,” Abigail took a leap of faith and complimented Haley.

“You think so?” Haley smiled. “I got most of it from online shopping,” She said.

“What website?” Maru asked.

“I can’t remember, I think it was one of those ones where it’s like an online thrift shop? It’s actually pretty cool! A few months ago I never would have even thought to buy something already used, but I dunno. Lately I just haven’t really cared about untouched brand name items,” Haley ranted.

Both Abigail and Maru leaned in and listened to the girl in between them. She was stunning in her outfit, too. The way her beanie perfectly sat atop her curled blonde hair, her rosy nose and cheeks, her perfectly glossed lips. She was just gorgeous. Both Abigail and Maru knew it too.

“Are you still with Alex?” Maru asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Haley looked down, her attention going down to her cute beige snow boots. “No, I ended it with him a few weeks ago. I realized I was always happier when I was alone than I was when I was with him. Lately I’ve just been focusing on myself, working on being less self-centered, and a better person,” Haley confessed.

“That’s amazing,” Maru smiled at the girl next to her. It really was an incredible thing for Haley to do. Realizing she didn’t need a man to make her happy, fixing herself without thinking she needed a man to do so. She was really proving the ideal that people could change their ways as long as they set their mind to it.

Haley smiled at Maru, causing the latter to blush slightly and look away to avoid her seeing it.

The group began to watch some horror movie taking place in Winter for the next two hours. During the climax of the movie, Sebastian was so drawn into the TV that he didn’t even realized he had grabbed Sam’s arm, squeezing it as a jumpscare came on, also causing Sam to screech out like a five year old girl who just got her puppy stolen from her.

Shane’s brow furrowed at the sight of Sam and Sebastian now holding hands after recovering from the jumpscare, but he refrained from mentioning it until later.

After the movie was finished, the group all sat up, debating what to do next.

“We should go outside in the snow,” Sebastian suggested.

“But it’s all cold,” Shane groaned, splaying out on the bean bag.

“That's kind of the point,” Sam laughed. They all stood up and went up the stairs, putting on their coats and boots and such so they wouldn’t freeze. They walked outside into the snow, a few inches already gathering on the ground. Sebastian smiled, his nose already starting to turn pink from the frigid temperatures.

Sebastian turned around to look at the lake for a moment, and Sam saw his moment of weakness and exploited it. He quickly made a snowball from the fresh, powdery layer at his feet, and chucked it at the back of Sebastian’s jacket.

Sam let out a laugh as Sebastian turning around, a flabbergasted look of betrayal displayed across his face. He chuckled slightly, before picking up another snowball and throwing it at Sam, though his aim was off and it narrowly missed Sam’s face, instead hitting Haley a few feet behind.

Haley turned to see Sebastian’s guilty frozen throwing stance, her demeanor suggested Sebastian wasn’t going to make it to the end of the day between Sam and Haley.

Soon enough, Haley and Sam teamed up to take down Sebastian, Abigail joining their team, while Shane and Maru tagged along with Sebastian. Sebastian, Maru, and Shane all ran to the train station to hide out and form a plan, while the other three went to the entrance cave of the mines.

“Knowing Sam he’s going to send Haley and Abigail after us first when they hear us, and he’ll be shocked when they quickly get taken out by us, leaving him unprepared. That’s when we all strike and take them down.” Sebastian plotted.

Shane just shrugged, pulling his coat tighter as a defense from the cold, and Maru smiled enthusiastically. She was just happy to be a part of whatever was going on between the six adults acting like children.

—-------

“Ok here’s the plan. Haley will go out first, making a big scene about how cold she got, and that will make Sebastian and his crew come down here. Abigail, you’ll quickly follow up with an attack, and then I’ll come out from the bush behind them, assuming they went up to the railroad like I assume they did,” Sam smiled, his voice echoing slightly off the walls in the cave.

“Why am I going first? They’re gonna take me out!” Haley complained.

“Just take one for the team, Haley,” Sam chuckled.

“I can go first if you want me to,” Abigail offered to Haley. “The cold doesn’t bother me all too much.”

“That’d be amazing!” Haley chuckled, and Abigail blushed slightly. Sam noticed, but shrugged it off to the cold temperatures.

Abigail walked out of the cave, along with Sam who hid in a bush. “Ugh! My jacket isn’t even working, my beanie is made out of cheap polyester, and I’m freezing!” she said loudly. “This game is stupid, guys, I’m going home!” She yelled loud enough so Sebastian would hear. SHe bent to the ground to make a snowball in preparation for when they came down.

Sebastian quickly ran down the wooden stairs that led to the railroad in protest. “No, Abby, don’t go home yet!” He complained, but was quickly shot down by a snowball to the chest. “Ugh!” He exclaimed. “You tricked me!” He brushed the snow off. Maru and Shane followed behind him on the stairs, just for Haley to come running over. She hit Shane in the shoulder with a snowball, prompting an all out war between the five. In the middle of throwing a snowball, it suddenly hit Sebastian. “Where’s Sam?” He asked.

“Right here!” Sam yelled, jumping out of the bush. He threw a snowball directly at Sebastian, nearly hitting his face, but hitting his beanie clean off instead.

“That took skill,” Sebastian admitted before chuckling. “Alright, I surrender. Sam wins the snowball fight!”

Sam ran over and smiled, brushing some snow out of Sebastian’s hair. Sebastian smiled at the gesture, his eyes meeting Sam’s. His touch lingered for a few seconds too long, and Sam stepped back, chuckling lightly.

“I should get home before my mom starts to worry, I said I’d be home around dinner time,” He said. “Bye everyone!” He waved them off before going home. Haley, Abby, and Shane all went home soon after as well, leaving Maru and Sebastian to go inside.

“That was so much fun!” Maru smiled at her brother as they stepped inside, taking off their jackets, hats, and boots.

“Yea, it actually was,” Sebastian agreed. “Thanks for hanging out today.” He smiled.

“Thanks for letting me,” Maru chuckled, her smile nearly touching her eyes. She was thoroughly satisfied with the sibling bonding they had achieved today, leaving a warm feeling in her stomach as she walked off to make some hot cocoa, and Sebastian retreated to his basement.

Chapter Text

As Maru stared down at her green tea, sunrise gleaming through the window, she suddenly felt a surge of jealousy for Sebastian as she listened to Robin and Demetrius arguing under their breath for the third morning in a row. He was lucky he didn’t have to hear it, waking up after everyone had already started their day. She stopped paying attention to what they were arguing about, assuming it was along the lines of Demetrius acting like his job was more important than Robin’s, or his treatment towards Sebastian. There was also the occasional argument about Robin’s “poor parenting,” when it came to Sebastian.

Maru finished her tea, silently heading out the door, thirty minutes earlier than usual as another flurry of snow started to fall. She sighed, pulling her beanie a little tighter, the snowflakes dusting her eyelashes. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate the beauty of snow and winter, she just appreciated better it from a warm spot inside as she looked out the window. She picked up her pace so she could get out of the cold quicker as she made her way down from her house.

“Hi Harvey!’ She greeted as she entered the clinic, brushing the snow off of herself. Maru really appreciated Harvey giving her a job at the clinic, even though it was often slow, long days. He did give her unrestricted access to the microscope, so that kept her occupied when there weren’t any patients, which was most of the time.

“Uh, hey,” He said, too focused on paperwork to actually pay attention to what she was saying. He looked weary, and he had ever since the incident with Shane.

She retreated to the back, where she’d work for most of the day, hoping Harvey was holding up okay.

—-------

“You got this. Just… go in there, and apologize… or… try again,” Sebastian said to the man next to him, trying his hardest to be comforting, and failing greatly. It was very clear to Shane that Sebastian was not used to giving advice like his blonde skateboarding friend was. He appreciated the effort though. Sebastian had proven to be a pretty good friend throughout the past few days with everything that happened regarding Shane and Harvey’s confessions. Even if he wasn’t good at advice, he was exceptional at listening. And not just listening to reply, either.

“You’re not very good at this,” Shane noted, though there was no malice behind his tone. He was glad that for once he wasn’t sitting alone with his thoughts.

“Nope, no I am not,” Sebastian agreed. “Just go in and see what happens. I’ll wait for you out here.” Sebastian assured.

Shane took a breath of courage, trying his best to rid the natural set frown on his brows as he opened the door. His hand paused on the door handle, before gently opening it. “...Harvey?”

Harvey looked up from the paperwork behind the desk. “Shane! Thank Yoba you’re here, I’ve got a lot I need to say,” He quickly left the front desk and found himself a few feet in front of Shane, looking into his tired, worn eyes, taking note of his especially unkempt appearance. Specks of grey littered his stubble, despite only being in his late twenties.

“Me too, I’m really sorry about the other day, I-” But before Shane could continue, Harvey interrupted him.

“No, I’m sorry,” the doctor shook his head, his face a pitiful shade of apologetic. “You did nothing wrong, I- I’m just not used to… to this kind of thing, and I wasn’t expecting it. Any of it, really. But all of that said, I’m still glad it happened. I know we already established this, but I like you Shane, a lot. And I really didn’t intend to cause such panic for the both of us just because I was caught off-guard.” He said, re-wording the advice Sam had given him a few days back. For seeming to be, in Sebastian’s words, “not all there roughly 30% of the time,” Sam had an undeniable gift for knowing exactly what to say to help someone.

Shane stood speechless for a few, before his lips tugged into what one might suspect could be a grin. “I like you too, Harvey. I have for a while. You’ve helped me become a better man in so many different ways even just by being my friend, and I want to continue becoming a better man for you.” Shane stepped closer.

Harvey blushed, though it was partially concealed by his mustache and glasses. “I- I work until three, but after that, do you want to meet at the Saloon for dinner?” he asked, a glint of hope behind his glasses.

“That’d be really nice. I’ll leave you to your… work,” Shane smiled awkwardly, clearly not used to the action, before walking to the door. “Bye Harvey.”

Harvey gave a slight wave, and the second Shane left, his jaw dropped at everything that just happened. Did they really somehow just salvage what had fallen apart days ago? He was incredibly glad of course, not only did he regret having lost the chance to start something new, but he also just missed his friend. The friend who put his glass down when Harvey walked in, the friend who made Harvey feel like he was more than just a town doctor, like he was truly a part of the community. Now, he had all of it back, and he didn’t intend on messing it all up.

Maru walked out from where she was spying through the glass in the door that led to the back.

“Did he just-” She smiled, unable to help herself. She had heard everything. Harvey knew Sam and Sebastian, the town’s new matchmakers, would know by the end of the day.

“Not a word,” Harvey blushed.

Maru giggled and walked back to the microscope.

—-------

Shane didn’t know how it happened, but he was currently sitting in Vincent and Sam’s shared bathroom in Jodi’s house, as Sebastian stood on the counter, next to Sam, who sat in the sink.

“Sam, how do you even use this crap?” Sebastian scooped out a large glob of hair gel from Sam’s container of it.

“Why are you grabbing so much? Are you preparing for Shane to need a built in helmet halfway through dinner?” Sam let out an infectious laugh that caused both Sebastian and Shane to crack half a smile against their will.

“Forgive me, I don’t have a spiked mullet to use it on, so I’m quite unaware of the gel to hair ratio,” He chuckled as he put some hair gel right on Shane’s head, and shook his hand into the sink to get the rest off, forgetting Sam was sitting in it.

Sebastian winced as he opened his eyes to look at the gel covered boy sitting in the sink next to the counter he stood on.

“Maybe you should do it,” Sebastian handed the gel-covered comb and jar to Sam.

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Sam stood up as well, wiping some of the hair gel off of his face, still in the sink, standing up. He began to comb over Shane’s hair in an attempt to style it, as Sebastian pretended to be useful by holding the jar for Sam.

“This is pointless,” Shane groaned.

“Shhhh,” Sam scolded. “Let us work our magic.”

“Grown men standing on a counter and throwing hair gel around is not magic,” Shane rolled his eyes.

Sam handed Shane a small mirror to see his hair, and he stood corrected. It was the nicest it’d been in years, though to be fair he literally went days at a time without combing it sometimes. He was freshly shaven, and he wore black slacks and a blue polo.

“Which one?” Sebastian held up two colognes, both ones Haley had gotten for him off of her online shops after he complained about Joja Mart not having anything that didn’t smell like an old man. Not that Sebastian actually used cologne all that often, only when he was hanging out with more than two people, which was hardly ever. It was still a really nice gesture from Haley. He was really glad she was working on herself lately, she’d become quite fun to be around.

—-------

Meanwhile, Harvey had gotten ready by himself, wearing brown dress pants and a green long-sleeved button up. His hair was also combed nicely, and he trimmed up his mustache just a tad.

Suddenly, the panic of the upcoming events came in a wave. He sat down and took a few deep breaths preparing him for the night that was about to unfold. “Just don’t mess it up again, everything will be fine,” He muttered to himself. He rubbed his face, mindful of his freshly styled hair and mustache, shaking off the nerves.

Harvey was quite often overlooked by a lot of the community. He spent most of his time either in the clinic or strolling by himself. He’d gotten so used to it, that now he didn’t know how to react when someone actually wanted to go on a date with him, let alone be his friend. Sure, he and Maru were friends, but only in the way most co-workers are. Now here he was, about to go to dinner with the man who had just given the closest thing to a heartfelt romantic gesture he’d ever had in his life. Shane’s whole speech about wanting to be a better person for Harvey was possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him, romantic or not. And now here he was, given every opportunity to accidentally mess it all up. Would he? Or would it all come natural like they portray it in fiction so often? And if he did mess everything up somehow, it’d be awkward every time Shane walked past him, every time Shane had an appointment, and every time Shane was looking for the bottom of a bottle in the Saloon.

Harvey stood, heading for the door. Regardless of his fears, if he and Shane had never become friends, Shane never would’ve stopped drinking as much as he did. He had to do this, despite every fear clawing at his heart, begging for him to stop. To turn around, and stay in the comfort of his home, where it’s safe. Yet he moved on, step by step, for the man waiting for him in the Saloon.

—-------

It’d been thirty minutes since Shane and Harvey had met up at the Saloon. Both Sam and Sebastian waited patiently on the bench outside, along with Haley who had become invested for no particular reason other than enjoyment. Sam in the middle of the other two, they all silently stared off. Alex walked by, tossing a gridball as he strolled. Haley’s gaze turned to a glare, with undertones of sadness and sentimentality underneath it.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, noticing the look on her face. Sebastian was pretty much asleep on Sam’s shoulder as Sam shifted slightly to engage in his conversation with Haley.

“I’m sure you don’t want me chatting your ear off about my love life,” She scoffed.

“Are you kidding? 90% of what Seb and I do is meddle in other’s love lives. Spill,” Sam chuckled.

“Alright, fine,” She conceded. “It’s not like I miss him, I really don’t, but I do miss our times together. He wasn’t a crappy boyfriend all the time,” She vented.

“I think it’s healthy that you can acknowledge the relationship was toxic, even if you did have good moments. It’s very emotionally mature of you. I think this is just the stage of the breakup where even if the relationship was sucky, you question if breaking up with him was the right choice. Which in this case, it definitely was. He’s an asshole,” Sam said, once again being surprisingly good at comforting and giving advice to others, despite his demeanor, which would suggest otherwise.

“How-” Haley stuttered. “You’re very emotionally intelligent. I wasn’t expecting that,” She chuckled, her mood taking a turn for the better at Sam’s jab towards Alex.

“I think I got that from my parents. They have their moments, but they were really good role models growing up,” Sam rambled.

Before their conversation could continue, Sam heard footsteps from inside the Saloon leading towards the door, the wood creaking beneath their feet.

Same shook Sebastian awake, and all three of them scrambled to hide behind a corner.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes as he peaked to see what was happening.

Shane and Harvey both walked out, wearing content smiles at the night they had shared. Haley began to let out an excited squeal, before Sebastian nudged her and continued to watch the scene in front of them.

Harvey and Shane stood in front of each other, their glimmering gazes unwavering as Harvey spoke. “That was the most fun I’ve had in a while, I don’t usually do things like this very often,” he admitted.

“Honestly? Same. Nobody’s ever really wanted to do something like this with me.” Shane chuckled, his typical gruff demeanor nowhere to be seen.

“Well I’m glad it’s me who got to, then,” Harvey returned, blushing.

Shane smiled. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yea, see you tomorrow,” Harvey agreed, his tone content.

After the two had walked off to their respective living spaces, Sebastian, Haley, and Sam all turned to each other.

“I should really join you guys more often, this is fun,” Haley chuckled.

“With Haley on our team, Harvey and Shane will be planning a wedding in a month,” Sam chuckled.

“Thanks again Sam, for your advice,” Haley smiled up at him.

“Of course!’ Sam gave her a side hug, Sebastian eyeing them. “Who am I if not a surprisingly good confidant?” He laughed.

Haley walked off to go home, after Sam had offered to walk her home. Of course, playing matchmaker herself, had told her that he could stay with Sebastian.

“So are you and Haley like, a thing, now?” Sebastian asked, treading the waters.

“Wh- what?” Sam asked incredulously. “No, she just needed a friend to talk to.”

“That’s nice of you,” Sebastian said. He didn’t know why he felt jealous, his best friend could like whoever he wanted. And Haley, having turned over a new leaf, was a perfectly good choice for Sam. “But really, if you do like her, you should ask her out,” he said, doing his best to sound supportive.

“I promise you, I don’t,” Sam assured, putting a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Besides. I think she and Abigail would be a good match. Or her and Maru.” He chuckled.

“Is that perchance our next mission, now that Shane and Harvey have confessed?” Sebastian raised a brow.

“Oh definitely,” Sam nodded, laughing. He checked his watch, and sighed of disappointment. “I gotta get home before mom gets worried.”

Sebastian nodded, understanding. “Tell her I said hi. See you tomorrow?”

“Obviously,” Sam said sarcastically as he began walking off.

Sebastian put his hood up, standing there for a few minutes, thinking about everything that had just happened. Why had he gotten so worked up about Sam potentially liking Haley? Why did his chest hurt at the thought of his best friend finding someone to love?

He made the walk back to his house, contemplating everything as he stared at his feet.

When he got back to the house, he heard yelling coming from inside.

That’s odd, Demetrius and Mom rarely ever fight. And not like this.

He thought to himself. Though of course, none of that was true, Sebastian had just been oblivious to it. Whenever both Maru and Sebastian were out of the house, arguments became who-can-yell-louder competitions. And Maru had already seen how common fighting had become for them recently.

Sebastian shook it off, assuming it was a one time disagreement that happened with most married couples, but instead of trying to sneak in and go unnoticed, he went and sat down by the water, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter.