Chapter Text
Fuck
Shane’s head was throbbing as he rolled over, squinting at the altogether too bright sunlight streaming through the window. Not his window either. No, he had the blinds to his window firmly shut, a habit from one too many mornings waking up precisely like this. Hangovers could be a real killer.
It was the kitchen window that was the culprit. The consequence of a poorly thought-out housing expansion, it connected to his bedroom, which usually wasn’t an issue, except for someone had left the blinds wide open on the kitchen side.
He groaned and rolled out of bed with a sigh. It was a little early, he supposed, but early wouldn’t kill him. Morris always was on his back about being late anyway. He rubbed at his face and looked up, jumping a little at the little face that appeared in the window.
“Aunt Marnie said that Lewis said that someone new is moving to town today!” Jas said brightly, opening up the window to talk.
“I don’t care.” Shane grumbled, before wincing a bit. He was in a mood, he knew that, but he didn’t want to take it out on her. His expression softened, “Get down from off the counter. Marnie’ll have a fit if I let you get hurt.” He stood and stretched, scooping his jacket up and giving it a quick sniff-test before pulling it on, then he padded out into the kitchen and closed up the window, eyeing off the fridge before deciding against getting something to eat. He didn’t think his stomach could take it. Instead, he mumbled out some goodbyes to his aunt and to Jas, then put his head down and made the hike to work, grateful that nobody seemed to be out and about that morning, not that people generally bothered him anyway.
After an uneventful day at work, which featured Morris chewing him out for not stacking the taco sauce with all the labels facing out, a new shipment of Joja Cola, and unfortunately few opportunities to thieve anything from the frozen food section, Shane headed to his usual haunt.
The saloon was unusually full that night. Shane squinted a little in annoyance as he got his drink from Gus and stood next to the fire, away from all the people but still close enough to the bar that he didn’t have to go far for another drink. It seemed the farmer was in town, resting for the night. The mayor was promising everyone that they’d meet the farmer soon, as they bought him round after round of drinks trying to hear more. Shane scoffed into his drink, incorrigible gossips, the lot of them. He decided to leave early when Marnie began to get a little too friendly with Mayor Lewis. Nobody wanted to see that, least of all him. He paid his tab and left, still much too sober for his liking.
When he got to the front door of Marnie’s home, he frowned, the old abandoned farm that was north of here was occupied now. He wondered briefly about the new farmer. They’d come from the city, much like himself, no doubt wanting a sea change. Only they’d had everything handed to them. A home, land, hell even ready-made friends with the way people had spoken about greeting them in the pub. He huffed and headed inside. No point dwelling on it, whining about how it was unfair. It’s just the way things were, some people had it better. He checked on Jas, making sure she was safe in bed before heading to bed himself, laying there, staring at the ceiling for hours before finally dropping off to sleep.
“-And the score is two-nil, with only minutes to go. Two-nil Celtics to win this game. And they’v-“ Shane’s hand slammed down onto the snooze button, silencing his radio, for a few minutes at least. Another day, likely to be exactly the same as the one before. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could do this for. He had to do it though, of course. He’d promised that much, hadn’t he? He went through his usual morning routine, went through the motions. It was hollow though. This was a bad day; he could feel it. He just had to keep it hidden, not wanting a concerned aunt and an upset goddaughter on his hands. He forced a smile at breakfast, which dropped the minute he got outside, trudging through the grass on his way to town.
“Hey!” Came a voice from behind him, as he was going past Pierre’s shop. He paused a little, involuntarily, unused to anyone else being around at this time of morning, and certainly not expecting anybody to be calling out for him. He jammed his hands in his pockets and turned away, picking up his pace as he saw the unfamiliar face, it had to be the farmer and Shane wanted no part in any of this. He was having a one of his bad days, where the world seemed even more joyless than usual, the last thing he needed was some spoiled inheritance brat spreading their cheer all about the place. It was easy to be happy when you had things handed to you. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, giving them what he hoped would be an impassive look, he didn’t want to give anybody the satisfaction of showing his anger.
“Well hi! I’m-“
“I don’t know you.” Shane said coldly, cutting across their words, “Why are you talking to me?” He turned and continued on his way to work. They were from the city too and this was a completely reasonable response in the city when approached by a stranger, perhaps it would dissuade them from bothering him again. He groaned as he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder again, and he turned, staring at them as they shoved something into his hand, looking at him hopefully. He looked down at his apparent gift and his face curled into a scowl. It was a can of Joja cola. Were they mocking him? He threw it to the ground, “Why are you giving me your trash? Just… go away! Leave me alone!” he turned and stormed off, not looking back to see their reaction. They were probably laughing at him; he just knew it. It was funny, wasn’t it? Giving Joja’s little whipping boy one of the colas he was forced to stare at for hours every day. They could just laugh it up, couldn’t they? He was in a foul mood for the rest of the day at work, even Morris avoided him.
By the end of his shift, even though he was dreading the thought that the farmer could be there, he needed a drink down at the saloon. Gus and Emily both shot him concerned looks as he downed his first drink right there at the bar before ordering another and standing in his usual place, eyes staring down at his drink, tense.
The farmer didn’t bother him for a while after that, seemingly having learnt their lesson; and while others crowed on about how the farmer gave them some fresh crops, or the farmer came into their shop that day, or how the farmer… well Shane didn’t know, he didn’t care to listen, the farmer probably shot rainbows out their arse, the way the townspeople were so goo goo for them. He didn’t care, he was just glad the inheritance brat left him alone. Though he’d be lying if he said it didn’t sting just a bit, how easily they’d fallen into life in Pelican Town, it was like they were a local already, but he was still just a city boy, an outsider. He shook his head, no point dwelling on things you can’t fix, just try not to think about them, drink to get through the week, and keep your head down.
“You help Marnie out with her chickens, right?”
Shane set the ladle back into the large bowl that sat on the table in front of him, a spread for the Egg Festival, provided by Gus. He took free food when he could get it, especially when enjoying a rare day off. And he was having a good day, well as good as they got for him, anyway. Maybe it was the day off, maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the punch, which he was only really drinking because he'd seen Pam hovering around it with a large bottle of vodka, whatever it was, he was at least open to a little bit of talking today, he supposed. He looked to the farmer wearily, wondering why they were talking to him, especially now of all times, when there were plenty of people around who hadn't been rude to them, to talk to, “Yeah… why?”
The farmer just shrugged, “So you really played a big part in the festival, huh? What was that like?”
“Alright, I s’pose.” Shane still looked suspicious, “The hens were the ones who did most of the work, really. They deserve the best tonight... bowls of sweet yellow corn!" he smiled a little at the thought, the chickens always did cheer him up. Spending time in the coop was calming. He snapped out of it as the farmer spoke again, however, and quickly dropped his smile.
“I was thinking of maybe getting some chickens. Robin said she could build me a coop if I got the building materials together.”
“No.” Shane said suddenly, “Absolutely not. What are you even thinking?” He shook his head, “Chickens need someone who can look after them, you can’t just get a couple on a whim. They need someone with a gentle touch, someone who knows what they’re doing!”
The farmer raised a brow, “And do you have a gentle touch?” they teased lightly, intending on it being a joke, though it only served to further agitate the man.
He went a little red around the ears, embarrassed, “That’s not what I meant, just… Make sure you study up on ‘em first. I can’t stop Marnie from selling them to you, but you’d better know what you’re doing before you take them on. You’re from the city, have you ever had to care for another living thing in your life?” He shook his head, “Just… if I find out anything’s gone wrong with the chickens… you’ve let one get eaten or something, I’ll be marching down to your farm and taking the rest back myself.”
The farmer regarded him for a moment, watching him carefully before speaking again, “So you do care about something! You’re passionate about chickens!”
“What?” Shane asked flatly, eyes narrowing, not sure what they were getting at.
The farmer hesitated, “Well it’s just… from the way you sometimes act, and from what some of the others say about you…”
“What do people say about me?” he asked grumpily, “You shouldn’t gossip. You’re just as bad as the rest of them.” He said, sounding almost disappointed. He nodded towards the people who were now gathering around Lewis, “I think the other kids are about to start the Easter egg hunt, better go join them.” He muttered bitterly, before wandering off, not letting the farmer get another word in.