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English
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Part 3 of Feast of the Winter Star 2024
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SDV Writers Guild Feast of the Winter Star Collection 2024
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Published:
2024-12-26
Words:
1,097
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1/1
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26
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84
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11
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501

Family

Summary:

My day 3 submission for the Stardew Valley Fanfiction Writer's Guild Feast of the Winter Star week! Sebastian has his annual Winter Star call with his dad, and realizes that, just maybe, his stepfather and half-sister aren't that bad.

*~*

“I gotta go, Sebastian. I've gotta get back to the party!” 

“Okay, bye,” Sebastian said, but his dad had already hung up. He checked the time on his phone. 7:33.

He angrily swiped at the tears suddenly forming in his eyes, refusing to let them spill onto his cheeks. Fucking dad, he thought. Can't even spend five whole minutes talking to me. 


Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Sebastian lay on his stomach on his bed, idly reading the book on frogs his stepfather Demetrius had given him that morning as a Feast of the Winter Star gift. He glanced at the time on his phone. 7:30. He sighed. He had spent the morning with his mom, stepfather and half-sister, Maru, before they had headed to the town square for the community gift exchange and feast, but he had secretly been looking forward to this call all day. 

His dad - his real dad that is - was supposed to call him that evening at 7:00. Sebastian tried not to feel annoyed as he turned to the next page in the book. Suddenly his phone rang. Sebastian sat up to answer it immediately.

“Dad?” he asked in spite of his father's name showing on the display screen 

“Hey Sebastian!” his dad said. Unlike his mom, who called him Sebby (a horrible pet name, but one he secretly loved), his dad had never given him a nickname. 

“Happy Winter Star, dad!” Sebastian said, speaking loudly so his dad would be sure to hear him over the loud music he could hear playing in the background.

"How ya doing, son? How's Robin?" Hi dad asked, referring to his ex-wife, Sebastian’s mom.

“I'm good. Mom's good. Hey dad, did you get my gift? I made it just for you.” Sebastian had found some obsidian in a geode he had unearthed in the local mine. He had cut his foot pretty badly in the process when a rock crab took a swipe at him. His mom had given him hell for the injury, but she had still shown him how to use her dremel tool, and he had carved a passable frog out of the shiny stone. He'd mailed it to his father two weeks prior.

“Yeah, I got it,” his dad said with a chuckle. “I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with it though,” he added. “Why did you carve it into a frog? They're kind of babyish aren't they? It would have been cooler as just a stone. Then maybe I could have sold it or something.”

Sebastian frowned. “I don't know,” he said. “I thought it was neat I guess.” 

“Huh. You're a weird kid, Sebastian. Good, but weird. Anyways, I forgot to get you something, but I promise I'll make it up to you on your birthday.”

“My birthday was two weeks ago, dad,” Sebastian mumbled. And you forgot then, too, he didn't add.

Sebastian heard noise in the background. “What's that Sebastian?” his dad asked. “Hang on… I'll be right there!” his dad called out to someone in the room. “I gotta go, Sebastian. I've gotta get back to the party!” 

“Okay, bye dad,” Sebastian said, but his dad had already hung up. He checked the time on his phone. 7:33.

He angrily swiped at the tears suddenly forming in his eyes, refusing to let them spill onto his cheeks. Fucking dad, he thought. Can't even spend five whole minutes talking to me. 

Sebastian flopped down on the bed, wincing as his back made contact with the corner of the book. Desperate to get his mind off his conversation with his dad, he rolled back onto his stomach, opening the book to the first page, noticing the handwritten inscription for the first time.

Happy Winter Star, Seb 

(Seb, not Sebastian he noticed). 

I hope you enjoy learning about your favourite creatures. My favourite is the red-eyed tree frog. Maybe we can compare notes sometime. 

Your stepfather, Demetrius.

Sebastian's eyes lingered a few moments over the note. He closed the book carefully, and placed it on his bedside table. He buried his head into his arms, closing his eyes as he thought about the morning he had spent with his family. 

His mom had made breakfast, a complete breakfast featuring eggs, pancakes and hashbrowns, but she had made a special bagel for Sebastian with smoked salmon and cream cheese. She knew he hated traditional breakfasts, especially eggs, and she had made sure he would have a special treat of his own that morning.

He smiled as he remembered everyone exchanging their gifts. Mom had been so excited about the book he had gotten her, Woody's Secrets. He, in turn, had appreciated the new motorcycle gloves she had given him, saying she'd noticed a hole in his old pair.

He had gotten Demetrius a digital recorder for his notes for his experiments. His stepfather had been thrilled when he opened the gift, saying it would save him time when transcribing his notes.

His sister had given him a hoodie with the logo of his favourite band on it. He had really wanted one, but they had sold out almost immediately. She said she'd found it at an online reseller. Even though it was used, he knew it would soon become his favourite hoodie. She had seemed happy with his gift to her, too. He had found a “do-it-yourself” lightning rod kit that she could use to harness the energy into batteries. He smiled as he remembered how they had spent the late afternoon assembling the lightning rod, while Demetrius, sitting in the Christmas sweater Robin had given him, provided a background soundtrack about how they work. 

Sebastian could hear his family laughing upstairs at a sitcom they were watching. Leaving his phone on the bed, he stood up, taking a moment to grab a board game off his shelf. He climbed the stairs and entered the small living room his mom had recently added onto the house.

As he entered the room, his mom looked up at him. She frowned as she noticed the red around his eyes, but quickly schooled her face into a neutral expression. “Hey Sebby,” she said. “How's your dad?”

Sebastian shrugged, not quite meeting her eye. “Okay, I guess. Hey, would you guys like to play a game?” Everyone looked at him, dumbfounded. Sebastian hadn't suggested a family activity since he'd been a child. “Maybe we can make popcorn? Start a new Winter Star tradition?” he added, the hopefulness of his question not fully disguising a lingering sadness. 

Robin smiled at him encouragingly. “Yeah, that sounds fun, Sebby.” She stood and headed to the kitchen. Maru followed their mom through the door, giving Sebastian an odd look as she passed.

Demetrius also stood up to join them. “Hey, Demetrius,” Sebastian said, as they walked down the hallway. “Can you tell me more about the red-eyed tree frog? They look pretty cool.”

“Sure Seb,” his stepfather smiled. “Let's see…”

Notes:

I'm honoured to participate in the Stardew Valley Fanfiction Writer's Guild Feast of the Winter Star week! Check out the other works in this collection! There are some truly amazing authors contributing!

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