Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Hm... They're late." Sebastian says. It's friday evening in the saloon. The air is filled with the sound of talking people.
Sam looks down on the pool table while he fidgets with the ripped fabric of his jacket. "Yeah, they are usually here at 5 pm, right?"

Sebastian nods. "They still try to beat that game every friday. God knows how many times they tried and failed."

Abigail laughs. "Hey, Journey of the Prairie King is really hard! They put us all to shame with their skills.
I still get stuck on the first level, and you don't fare much better." Sebastian frowns. "Yeah yeah, I know."

The three of them are silent for a short while.

It has been a year since you started living in Pelican Town, and it has been a half year since you since you started hanging out
with the three of them. While Sebastian and Sam were pooling, and Abigail was watching, you were playing Journey of the Prairie King.
You never won, you just did a little better each time. But it was okay, since the three of them always cheered you up after you lose.

It is Abigail who breaks the silence. "We should look for them." She says. "I think one of us should stay here, though;
so they won't think we left if they get here while we're searching."
The boys nodded.

Sebastian gave a small wink to Abigail. "Shall we draw straws?" Abigail gave a small smirk.
"Sure!" Sam said.

Sebastian leaves for a moment.

He returns with three straws. Abigail and Sebastion draw the long straws without a moment of hesitation.
Sam squints his eyes. "You guys are cheating. That's no fun." Sebastian shrugs. "Maybe, maybe not. Sorry for not letting you search for your spouse."

Sam's face turns red. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sebastian smiles a little. "Sorry bro. Teasing you is just too easy."
Sam smirks. "Fine. You two lovebirds go look for them. Haaaave fuuun together~!"
This time it's Sebastian who frowns. He subtly makes an 'I'm gonna kill you' gesture when Abigail isn't looking.

The two of them leave the saloon.

"Hurry up, you slowpoke!" Abigail yells playfully. She dashes forward. Sebastian lights a cigarette. The red glow illuminates
his face slightly. He looks up, and sees Abigail looking at him. He raises his eyebrow slightly. "Something wrong?"

"Eh, no no! Just hurry!" She turns around, and walks further.

Sebastian exhales the smoke, and lowers the cigarette.
The dark hid both of their red faces.

They pass the broken bus. There is a faint light visible in front of them.
Sebastian smiles for a second. "Big chance that they're at home." Abigail looks at the light.
"Yeah, I think so too. Do you think they mind if we come to visit?"

"I dunno, guess we'll find out." He gets up the small flight of stairs, and knocks firmly on your door. "Yo, are you there?"

"Sebastian? Is that you?" You yell. Your nose is stuffed, your vision is wonky and your sense of balance has seen better days as well.
You somehow stumble towards the door, and open it. You see Sebastian and Abigail standing there,
illuminated only by your reading light next to your bed.

Abigail frowns a bit. "Damn, you look miserable. You ok?"
You smile a bit. "Yeah, it's okay, no worries. I'm just sick, that's all. Sorry for not telling you guys, I barely had enough
strength to check my animals and water my crops."
She smiles. "Don't sweat it. We were only a little worried, that's all.

"So, Is there anything we can do for you?" Sebastian asks. You shake your head. "No, not really. I already appreciate you
two getting here." You yawn, and stretch your arms a little. "Speaking of which, isn't Sam with you guys? I'd kinda hoped he'd tag along."

Sebastian and Abigail smile at each other.
You sigh. "I know, I know you know as well, It's obvious I like him." You smirk. "But not as obvious as you two."

Abigail looks away while Sebastian frowns. 'That's it, I'm gonna kill both of you.' He thinks. "I am gonna end the two of you, I swear..."

You laugh. "Well then. Thanks for stopping by. It's greatly appreciated."
Sebastian clears his throat. "No problem. Would you like your boyfriend to take care of you?"
There is a hint of mischievousness in his voice.

Abigail giggles. You look Sebastian in the eye.
"Maybe I would like that. You wouldn't mind telling him to get here, would you?"

"Oh, very brave to admit that. But here's a question. Do I look like a postman to you?"
He answers with a cold voice. The two of you stare at eachother for a moment, before you both smile.

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." You give him a pat on the back. He smiles. "No problem."

"So... We're going back?" Abigail asks. Sebastian nods."Yeah, let's go." He makes a quarter turn, and walks away. Abigail follows him closely.

'I managed to keep a full conversation with them.' You think. 'But I'm spent. That took more effort than I want to admit.'

You take some shaky steps towards your bureau, and grab a sheet of paper and a pencil.

'Hey Sam,
I'm not really feeling all that well,
so it could be that I'm taking a nap when you get here.
The door is open, please make yourself at home.'

You open your front door, and put the note underneath a small rock.
'Now that's done, I can get back to sleep.'

You go back to your bed. You switch your reading light off, close your eyes, and drift away.

You wake up a little while later. A glass of water is next to your bed. A bright light is visible from the kitchen.
The only hearable thing is your own breathing. You get up, and walk towards the source of light.

You see Sam sitting on a chair. He hasn't noticed you yet. You can't help but smile. The way he sits there,
how the light illuminates the side of his face. He looks worried, but content. In that moment in time,
it's like you really see him for the first time. Like you've always looked at him, but now clearly see him.
It's not that you only wanted a little kiss anymore. You want to hold him, tell him he's looking great.

He turn around and notics you standing there, "Hey, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

You smile."I'm feeling all right now, thanks." You go sit next to him. "How long have you been here, by the way?"

"About an hour, I think,"

"About an hour?! Sam, shouldn't you go home?" You look at the time, and see it is half passed ten.
"I don't want Jodi to be worried about you."
"Yeah, I should... But I dont want to leave yet. It's nice and cozy in your house. Also, your fireplace is really cool."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." You take a deep breath. "If Jodi and you are okay with it, you could spend the night here.
I mean, i feel a lot better, and I appreciate some company." You try your best to not sound nervous.

Sam's face lights up in an instant. "Really? That would be awesome!"
You're kind of startled by his sudden enthousiasm.

"But I'm afraid you'll have to go outside one more, Sam. I dont want Jodi to worry about you." He smiles. "I will. I'll be back in a bit!"
He stands up, walks to the door, back to his home.

You stretch your limbs and yawn. 'Sam's gonna stay the night. It'll be fun.' You think.

To be continued...
=/|=|=======>

Chapter Text

There is a knock on the door.
You open the door, and see Sam standing on your porch. He is carrying a large bag, and a backpack.
His face is nearly radiating with a smile. "Hey Sam! You can place your bags in the bedroom. Please follow me."
He follows you to the bedroom. After he puts his bags on the ground, he walks over to sit on
your bed. You go sit on the other end.

It's silent for a little while. The air is quite tense, and you struggle tocome up with something
to talk about as quickly as possible. You feel a hollow, nagging feeling in your stomach.
‘Ah, of course. I haven’t had dinner yet.’
“Hey… Sam… You hungry?”
He looks at you with a slightly puzzled expression.
“I already ate. Why do you ask?”

“Well… I…haven’t had dinner yet.”
Sam stands up with a concerned frown on his face. “Well then, let’s go to the kitchen.”
“Oh? Are you gonna cook for me? How sweet.” you tell him mockingly.
“Very funny. You know I can’t cook.” He looks downward.

“Want me to teach you?”
It just slipped out. You had said it before you had the time to think about it, and now you were
looking at him, hoping he didn’t think you were mocking him.
”You would? You don’t think it’s weird to teach me?” He stood there, slightly embarrassed.
‘Not being able to cook at our age is probably really frustrating.’ you think.
Of course not! Let’s cook something!

You walk to your kitchen. Sam follows you closely. “So, ready to cook?” He nods. You open your
refrigerator to see if there’s anything you can cook. “Honey, kale, a bream, eggs, a sunfish, wine, ham.”
You think for a minute. “Sam, could you check the cupboard, and look for wheat flour and breadcrumbs?
Maybe we could make some fried fish.

He nods, and takes the flour from the cupboard. You take the fish from the fridge.
You walk back, and take a cutting board, a knife, 2 bowls and two plates with you.

The two of you walk over to the table.

“I’ll be preparing the fish. Could you mix one third cup of flour with 2 teaspoons of salt for me in this bowl?
He nods. “Leave it to me!"
You take your knife, and clean the fish. Sam finishes around the time you’re ready as well. You think it’ quite
cute how he did his part with such care, like he wanted to do his absolute best.

"Okay, you'll probably buy fish in the future, so I've sliced it in nice filet shaped pieces for you."
You shove the cuttingboard to him. Please take one, and place it on top of the mix you just made.
He places it on top of his flour-salt-breadcrumb mix. Half of the filet sticks out. He grabs it again, only to
miss again slightly.
"By Yoba, I suck at this!" His hands tremble slightly, while his face showed a mix of frustration and shame.
"It's okay Sam, nobody expects you to do it right the first time." He nods, "I guess you're right. Sorry I
overreacted."
He lets out a sigh. You shake your head. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." He flips the filet over, and pushes
it into the mix, until it's completely covered. "Like this?"
You nod. "Well done!"
He smiles, and takes the second piece.

"I'll get the frying pan ready." You walk to the kitchen, put a frying pan on the furnace, and light it.
You add about half an inch of sunflower oil. Sam walks to you with the prepared fish on the cutting board.
You fry them until the crust is gold/brown.
"That went well, didn't it?"
You nod. “Indeed! Shall we eat?”
He nods.

The two of you eat together. He smiles. This is pretty good! Does your food always
taste that great?" You supress an awkward smile. "It's great because we made it ourself.
Pre-packaged food may be easy, but I think that it tastes way better if I make it myself."
He gives you a pat on the back.

"Well done. Even if I wasn't hungry; It tasted good."

"Thanks. It's just fried fish though. I'll cook you a real meal the next time you're here."

"The next time I'm here? You really want me to visit again? I feel flattered." He smirks.

"Maybe. I think this house is lacking that clumsy energy of yours."

"Oh? That almost sounds like you want me to stay. You shouldn't be so clear with what you want in
life." He says with a wink.

Your face gets red. "W-wha?"

He looks downward. "Nevermind. Let's go sit somewhere else."

You nod.

It's a risky move, but if you already came this far. You take a deep breath.
"Let's go sit on the bed. It's kinda distant to go sit here, you know."

He nods.
You walk back to the bed, and go sit in the same position as before. You're thinking of something
to say.

"So, how is it going here on the farm?"

"Pretty good, I've almost saved enough money for a barn.”

"Whoa, pretty cool! So that means you can keep cows and stuff here, right?"

You nod. It was nice to see Sam this excited. He always seemed to care about everything that
happened to you. It was nice, having someone care about you so much.

"Ah, so cool... You just kinda do your own thing here, right?"

"Yeah, I like the fact that this farm makes me so independent. I have all I want here."

"That's really nice! But aren't you lonely out here?"

You sigh. "Yeah, a little. I mean, friday's are really nice, since I can hang out with you guys, but it's
indeed kind of lonely sometimes." You stare at the floor, a little nervous at his reaction.
You feel a slap on your back. "No-one told me you were such a softie! C'mon, step your game up!"

You look at his face. He shows you a bright smile.

You frown at him. "Soft?! I'll show you soft!"
Without him having a chance to react, you lunge towards him, grabbing his sides,
tickling him with all of your might.

But he doesn't laugh.

He smiles mischievously. "Did you know..." He pulls you on top of him. "That I'm not ticklish?"

He tickles you as mercilessly as he can. You laugh loudly, trying to escape. But his arms are around you,
so there's no chance to get away. "Please!" You yell in between your laughter "Have mercy!"

He stops. "Sorry. Have I gone to far?"

You shake your head. "I don't think you went too far. I think you're a liar!" You grab the blonde haired
boy by his neck. You move your fingers quickly, and he starts laughing. 'No fair!' He shouts.

"Maybe I don't care about fair."

"You really don't?" He asks in between bursts of giggles.

"What are you gonna do about that, hm?"

He squeezes your side once. By the time you register his movenent, he had already placed his hand on
the back of your head. He pulled you down, his lips pressing firmly against yours. You open your eyes
widely. He releases you, ready to apologise, but you kiss him firmly again. His hands go through your hair,
over your back.

The two of you part, staring at each other. "You..." you say with a weak voice. "You're quite ballsy, hm?"
He grins. "Kinda. I felt like the timing was right, I felt like you really wouldn't mind, and Sebastian told me.
Otherwise I wouldn't."

"That little snitch."

"Hey, we gotta thank him later. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to do this." He lifts his head, trying to kiss
you, but you push him down with a soft kiss in his neck.

Tracing his collarbone with kisses, he holds back some soft, sweet sounds.

"What happened? You were so tough a little while ago."He grins. "I am waiting for an opening. Like this one."
He grabs your shoulders,and pushes you next to him. It doesn't take long for him to lay on top of you.
He kisses you, eager but slowly. "Do you like it like this?" He asks. You nod, certain of yourself. "Yes, please
continue."

The two of you kiss again. You hold his head with your right hand, and slowly brush your fingers against
his neck with the other. He stares into your eyes.

"Close your eyes for a second." he asks with a sweet smile.

He assaults your neck with sweet kisses the moment you do so. You gasp loudly, and he laughs.
"You're cheating." You say in a stern voice, as he cuddles up to you.

"I don't see how that's cheating"

"You asked me to close my eyes!"

"Yeah, maybe I did."

"Sam!"

He gives you an innocent peck on the cheeck. "What?"

"You're the worst."

"Oh please, I know I'm the best." He looks at you with a confident smile.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you're the worst person I've ever met.

Sam frowns. He tickles your neck relentlessly. "I did not come here to be criticized by you, you know?
You'd better be nice."

You give him a kiss on his jaw. "I am nice. I'll cook you breakfast tomorrow, I'll kiss you whenever you want, and I'll make sure to make you miss me when you leave."you whisper softly in his ear, as you can feel him shudder underneath you. "Maybe you are nice." he says with a relieved sigh. "Thank you." You kiss him just underneath his ear. You can see that Sam is getting tired, even after all the excitement. He strectches, and lets out a loud yawn. You feel your eyelids becoming heavy. Sam lifts himself up, trying to prepare his own bed. You grab his wrist. "Come lay next to me?" He smiles. "Because you asked so nicely." He lays next to you, his arm underneath you, and his body against yours. "I'm glad I came here." He whispers as you drift off. You hug him back, as tight as you can, before the two of you fall asleep.

Chapter Text

The whisteling of birds. The warmth besides you. The cool breeze of the open window above your bed. A soft, pressing feeling against your abdomen.

A morning filled with feelings. But none as warm and bright as the memory of previous night. You slowly open your eyes, hoping it was not some dream.
You hear a soft exhale next to you.

There he was. Still happily sleeping, with his arm around you. Your hand slips underneath his shirt, and slides across his back. He shivers while making a
soft, cute sound. You pull your hand away. "Good morning, sleepyhead." you whisper in his ear. He shivers again. A grumpy mumble is the only sound he makes.

"Want me to make you some breakfast?" You say while looking at the clock. "Nevermind, it's past noon. Want me to make something to lunch?"

He shakes his head. "Let's eat something at the saloon."

You nod. "Sure! But why? "

He turns around to lay on his back. "Because we're going on a date."

He gets up, and stretches.
"How graceful." you say mockingly.
He smiles, and punches your shoulder. You give him a small kiss. "Thanks sweetheart" You say while rubbing the pained spot.

He gives you a big hug. "Hey, I'm gonna head home to shower and change clothes. Meet in front of the saloon in an hour?"
You nod. "See you then."

He collects his bags and backpack, and heads out of the door.

You find this a good opportunity to refresh yourself a bit as well.

You are standing in front of your closet after a quick shower.
Pants are not a problem, since you only have jeans... But which shirt?
'A black one with a red d20 on it? No, too geeky
A yellow one with the text "Praise the sun?" No, that would be weird.
A bright red sweater with white snowflakes on them? Nonono. Terrible idea.
The pink shirt with "Crazy Diamond" on it? No. too bizarre.
A plain red one? Yeah, why not. Sam loves plain, boring people'
A grey shirt with a cat with a galaxy in the background? You.. don't even have a shirt like that.
After overthinking this simple problem, You decide to wear a light blue shirt with the text: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see."

You take a deep breath, and step outside. The warm summer sun hits your skin. and you notice how it's nice and warm outside.

You walk to the Saloon. Halfway there you see Abigail in the distance. "I've got some time to spare. Let's say Hi!" you think.

"Abby! How are ya?"
She looks in your direction, and smiles when she notices you. Without a moment's loss, she dashes towards you.
She smirks at you.
"Sooooo?"
- "Soooo, what?
"How did your evening with Sam go?"
You feel that your face is getting red.
"I'll take that as an "It went very well."
You nod.
"Well done! Was it niiice?"
-"Abby!"
She giggles. "Can't help it!"
-"Seems you had some fun as well yesterday, hm? You say as you point towards her neck.
Her eyes go big as she tries to hide an obvious red spot. She sighs. "Fine, You win. Yes I had. Sebby confessed to me, and my parents were out, so yeah."
You give her a pat on the shoulder. "Well done! Was it niiiiice as well?" you say in a mocking tone. Her face goes bright red in a second.

"Ah, look at the time! I'm gonna go on a date with Sam at 1, so I got to hurry a little. See you later!"
Abigail glares at you, but smiles softly after. "Have fun!"
-"Thanks! You too!"

You open the doors of the saloon, and take a seat. You check your watch, and see it's 3 minutes past 1. "He's late" you sigh. "Well only by 3 minutes, but still."
Afer waiting for another 5 minutes, the door opens, and Sam stumbles inside. He casually walks to the table you're sitting at. Altough he seems fine, it's easy to notice he
was completely out of breath. You pout and fold your arms over eachother. "You're late. Did something happen?"
He scratches the back of his head, and smiles a bit awkwardly. I ran into Sebastian, and he was acting weird, So I aked what was the matter, but he didn't say anything.

"So, anything to drink?"
Gus suddenly appreared next to you.
Sam ordered two glasses of coke. Gus wrote it down and walked away,

So, what were we talking about?
Sam shrugged. "I dunno."
"Your memory sucks."
"Mean!" He yelled, while he winked at you.
The two of you laugh.

Gus puts down two glasse of coke on your table. "So, are the two of you just hanging out?"
Sam frowns a bit. "This is kinda like a date". Gus looked a bit shocked.
"Ah... A date... No problem. Do you eh... want to order something to eat?"
"I'll have the pizza. What do you want?"
"I'll take a pizza as well."

Gus writes it on his notepad, and walks away.

You put your hands on Sam's "Is something wrong? You seemed a little annoyed."
"I just..." he exhales. "I just don't want people to assume we're only friends... I know it's weird, but-"
You raise your hand. "Sam, I understand. Don't worry. You're happy with us being together, aren't you?"
He nods, giving you his signature smile. "Yeah. I guess I have to apologise to Guss."
You smile as well.

"Oh that reminds me! I probably know why Sebastian was acting weird."
Sam widens his eyes. "Oh! Tell me!"
You smirk at him. "He has a girlfriend since yesterday.
"No waay! Who?"
-"C'mon. Who could it be?"
He is silent for a few seconds. "Abigail!" he said, nearly shouting.
You nod.
"No waay! No waay! That's great! We should totally go on a double date together!"
You smile. "Yes. That would be fun!"

"Two pizza's! You two enjoy your meal together!"
Sam looks up. "Guss! Hey, sorry about earlier. I was a bit harsh."
Gus raises his eyebrows a little. "Oh? Oh that! Don't worry about it Sam! It's all good!
The two laugh,

You start eating. Sam grabs his knife, and cuts his pizza in 8 symmetrical slices.
Sam occasionally steals a glance, but stays quiet. You pretend not to notice.

"Man, I wonder what mom thinks, now I'm in a relationship." He say while shamelessly streching his arms.

"I bet Jodi would find it lovely. She has always been really nice to me. She even invited me to eat dinner with you and the family, remember?
I had to catch a Largemouth Bass though, It was not an easy feat. I've cought more Bullheads than I can count!"

Sam smiles. "Yeah, I remember! You were walking to your house with all those brown fish on your back." He looks at the ceiling for a little while.
"Hey, you are pretty good at fishing, aren't you?"

"Yeah, It's pretty calming and nice, once you get the hang of it. What about you? Do you like fishing?"

He shakes his head. "I can't fish, man. I've tried it, but I cant seem to get it."

You nod. "Want me to teach you?"
Sam looks at you. "You would? That' be cool! When?"
"After we finish this pizza?

His eyes glimmer, "Yeah! Let's do it!

The two of you eat the rest of the pizza as quickly as possible.
Sam gives Gus 1200 G, before the two of you rush away.

"Where are we headed?" Sam asks.
"I think the best place to fish right now is the river."

The two of you stand in front of the river.
You throw the line of your fishing rod out, and hand it to him.
"I've put some bait on the hook, and equipped it with a trapper bobber, which will make it a little easier.
You point at the little red and white ball in the water. That, there, is your bobber, If a fish catches it, it'll jerk around, and dissappear under the waterline.
After that, Pull the rod upward, and reel it in when you lower it.
Sam nods. "Allright! I think I got it. Lets do it!"

The two of you stare at the water.

The two of you stare at the water for quite a time.

"Takes looooooooooong." Sam looks at you, his face covered in a bored expression.
"Your fishing skill is not the highest, so it'll take some time.."

The bobber jerks around. Sam face lights up like a child at a candyshop.

"I got one! Look!"
"Very good!, now lift the point of the rod upwar-"
Sam roars loudly, as he pulls the rod upward as hard as he could.
"S-Sam... you don't need to-"
But Sam isn't listening. With all of his willpower and strenght; he walts backward, ans pulls the fish straight out of the water.

You just... stare at the scene in front of you for a few seconds.
"Did you jut pull a fish out of the water, instead of reeling it in?!"
"I knew I forgot something!"
You sigh. "Well, let's look at your catch, shall we?

The two of you walk to the fish. "It's a smallmouth bass. We could go home and make sashimi?"
He nods. "Yeah, sounds good!"
After you pass his house, he freezes, and sprints inside.

About a minute later, he door swings open. He rushes towards you. "I can have dinner at your place.
Mom was happy, since that means she doesn't have to cook for me today."

You nod. "Allright then! Let's have dinner together!"

He looks at you with a mischievous grin. "What are we gonna do afterwards?"

"We'll see, my cute little Samson, we'll see"