A Cold Wind | sick!Sebastian x Farmer
Here's a really old Seb story that I actually found the courage to refresh and revamp for all my Stardew baddies out there. As usual sorry about any mistakes that somehow always make their way into these. oops!
Characters: Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Farmer (neutral)
Summary: after Sebastian gets caught in some late Fall rain, he comes down with a beast of a cold.
The end of Fall brought with it a chill in the air. Although it was busy for the Farmer, their husband had to find things to do around the house or in the great outdoors of Stardew Valley. Preparations for the next season were a one man job, and nobody knew that better than him, so rather than being in the wrong place and interrupting all the hard work, he simply went out for a walk. Perhaps he'd look for frogs or visit someone.
It became obvious, however, that the task of just walking around wouldn't be easy that day, as a light drizzle began to fall. Sebastian was used to it; he'd go out to the lake back when he lived with his mom and have a calm smoke by the water. It was one of the few things that brought him special joy back before he met the love of his life.
Today was no exception. He enjoyed the cold breeze and brisk water as he sat on a rock by the sea. In the distance he could see Willy wearing a bright yellow raincoat, battling some form of large eel into submission. Elliott's house looked warm and cozy through the window, the man sat at his desk writing as usual. Hours went by and he felt a sense of peace he'd missed with the busy farm life taking over most of his time. Sebastian let the rain soak him to the bone as he struggled to light a cigarette. Stupid thing…
The lighter clicked and clicked but no flame would come on. He let out a deep sigh, wondering if Willy had matches, he'd seen him smoke an old wooden pipe sometimes at the Saloon. The fisherman was turned away peering into a bucket full of eels. Sebastian walked up to him, a little sheepishly, and went over the question in his head. Although he'd lived there his whole life, he still wasn't great at starting conversations. He turned his gaze toward the slimy wood. He was so focused on what to say that he didn't see Willy grab the bucket, preparing to throw the rest of the fish over his shoulder on the dock. Except, instead of finding a wooden floor, the water found Sebastian.
"Oh! Sorry lad, didn't see ye there!" the fisherman laughed. He gave the younger man a stiff pat on the back. "What're ye up to out here in the rain? Shouldn't ye be helping yer lover on the farm?"
He was so shocked by the seaweed caught in his hair that it took him a few seconds to respond. "I, uh..." he carefully grabbed it as best as he could and pulled it off of him. It splattered on the floor. He stared at it pointedly, too embarrassed to look at Willy. "Uh... I went out for a walk."
"In this weather? Yer braver than I thought, I'll give ye that," he was already back at work with the fishing pole. Sebastian cleared his throat.
"Do you uh, do you have a light?" the older man turned towards him for a moment before getting distracted by a fish biting his line.
"Aye, though I don't think that cigarette of yers is gonna be of much use now," he gestured with his chin.
He was right: the cigarette caught between his lips was soaked as well. Damn, that was my last one. "Oh, right, um..." he stood there awkwardly. He cleared his throat. "Right. Guess I'll see you later, then?"
But Willy wasn't listening. He'd caught something big and was fighting to get it to shore, so Sebastian just turned away and made a beeline towards Pierre's to pick up a pack.
And as he got there he found the store was closed. Past five already? He took a quick glance at this watch: it wasn't just past five in the afternoon, it was closing in on ten thirty at night. He panicked. The sky had been so dark all day that he didn't even notice how long he'd been at the beach. Crap! Crap, crap, crap, he thought as he ran home. Except once he got there, the door was jammed shut.
"Come on!” His key wasn't working. "Stupid door! I had to pick up a new lock today, how could I forget…" he rambled, but the door refused to open. After several minutes of trying, he knocked on the door. He looked through the bedroom window and could faintly see the Farmer sleeping. He tried knocking on the glass but they were deep in sleep. It was no use. "Damn it!" he muttered one last time before resigning himself to saying outside. He tried calling his mom to see if he could come over, but she went to sleep very early as well. Demetrius and Maru didn't pick up, either. So the best he could do was go into one of the barns and sit on a haybale.
It was late. He was soaked. The chill of the day gave way to the unrelenting cold of the night. He shivered as he sat there, looking at the cows sleeping peacefully, dry and warm. He tried his best to warm up by rubbing his arms and pulling the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands, but it was no use. As Sebastian tried his best to lie on the hay and get comfortable, his last thought before falling asleep was how nice it would feel to be in bed next to his spouse right now.
It had been a few days since Sebastian was locked outside of his house. The Farmer had found him sleeping on the floor the next morning, a few pieces of stray hay in his hair. After gently shaking him awake, they gave him their leather jacket and guided him inside. They helped get him out of his damp clothes and into some dry, warm pajamas, then tucked him into bed. After sleeping all day, he woke up late at night to the sight of his spouse slobbering on the pillow as usual. He cozied up next to them and went back to sleep, happy to be back inside.
Now, he sat at the table reading a catalogue. There were some things they needed for the upcoming Winter season, including special heaters for some of the animals that couldn't be found in the Valley. As he flipped a page, trying to decide between two equally confusing options, he doubled over unexpectedly with a sneeze. "Hi'shhew!" he sniffled, but before he could glance back at the page, another two caught up to him, "heh...Heg-CHNF! HE'SHIEW!" that last one had been a bit louder than he intended, he barely managed to catch it in his sleeve.
"You good?" the Farmer asked, walking in with some logs in their arms. They stuck one into the fireplace and walked over to the table.
"Yeah, snrff, all good. Caught me off guard is all," they placed a gentle kiss on his lips before they sat down. "I was looking at these two. What do you think?"
"Hm... I'm not sure. Maybe we should call Marnie bef-"
"...bless you! Like I was saying, we should call Marnie-" Sebastian held up a finger.
"N...not do...oh...'H-SCHEW! T'chEWh! HGCHSNK!" he sniffled, cleared his throat, and looked back at them. "Okay, I'm done. You were saying?"
But the Farmer was looking at him weird. "Are you sure you're okay?" Their husband cleared his throat once more, a bit more roughly this time, and sniffled before speaking:
"SNRRF. Never better. What about Marnie now?"
As the day wore on, Sebastian got progressively sneezier. He also started developing a very sore throat and his head felt all fuzzy. Weird, he told himself, completely oblivious to the illness taking over his body. Maybe I'm allergic to something…
"H...Hat'shEW!" he sneezed into his hand, which was covered by his sweater's sleeve. The Farmer and him were at Pierre's picking up some seeds for the greenhouse, and his other hand was holding theirs. "Hgxsch! Htshch! Hih...hegTSCHEW! Crap!" he'd tried to stifle those last sneezes, but the last one got the better of him.
"Hope you're not catching anything!" said Pierre from behind the counter. "Would suck to spend these last days without snow indoors."
"Snrrf, I'm fine, probably just allergic to something in here."
"Hm... I haven't brought in any new stock. Are you sure you're not-?"
"H-TCSHEW! HAhSCHIW! Huh...HuRSHOO!" he coughed a little after that. "Snrrf. SNRRRF. I'm alright Pierre, thangks. Say hello to Abby from me," he couldn't help but notice that twinge of congestion in his words. Damn allergies, he thought as they walked out.
"Honey," the Farmer said seriously, catching his attention. "You've lived here your whole life and have never had any allergies. Is it maybe, maaaybe possible that that's not what's bothering you?"
"Snrrf. People cand develop allergies as adults, you kndow," there was that congestion again. He tried sniffling it back. "Snrrf, snrrf, SNRRFFF-" he was interrupted by a handkerchief in front of his face. He looked up at his partner, who looked concerned.
"Here, you could use this. Let's hope you're right."
Sebastian blew his nose strongly. He noticed the handkerchief came back particularly wet with thick, white mucus. Fuck. Gross.
The following morning, a cough woke Sebastian up. Snrrf. He reached for the nightstand hoping to find a handkerchief, only to find a box of tissues and some allergy medication. He turned to face the Farmer, but their side of the bed was empty.. He sat up. His head was throbbing. He vaguely remembered coughing all night, so maybe that's why it bothered him so much. His throat was also significantly more sore than the day before. "Heh...H'tschx!" he stifled into his hand. He reached out for a tissue and blew his nose into it. More thick snot. Great.
He pocketed the allergy pills and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He decided to take a couple and hoped that would calm down his nose. Swallowing felt particularly painful, but he’d manage to get them down. He felt especially thirsty, but opted for some coffee instead. Maybe the warmth would soothe his throat. As it was brewing, he noticed a note stuck to the fridge door:
Had to run out to the island unexpectedly for a couple days, sorry! Left you some medication and some food in the fridge. We could go see a movie when I get back. Feel better! <3
He felt a little sad, but before he could say anything to himself he sneezed again.
"Ts’CHEW! HegS’CHEW! Heh...h...HRASHOO!"
His poor tissues were now soaked. He rested his hand on the counter and sighed, coughing a little as he poured the coffee. Some spilled on his hand.
"DAM- D..d...DaER’SHOO! ist’CHEW! HEG’shoo! Hgchxk! Hegkch! HIT-sCHEW!" he coughed; it was a deep, rattling cough that left him tired. He sniffled wetly and blew his nose again on the wet tissue.
He considered the possibility of being sick, but when was the last time that had happened? He never got sick. This had to be some new adult allergy acting up. He took the pills with a large sip of coffee. Snrrf. Ow.
After two days passed, the Farmer turned the (brand spankin' shiny new) lock to their front door early in the morning. A slow, lazy flurry fell outside as they shook off their coat. They closed the door excitedly in a hurry to see their husband.
"Seb, I'm back!" the Farmer hung their hat behind the door and kicked off their boots. "How'd the allergies go? Did the medicine I left w-?"
As they walked deeper into the house, they noticed the state of disarray it was in: empty mugs in the sink, crumpled tissues on the floor, empty allergy medication box on the table. The fireplace was barely an ember and the whole place was colder than it should be for the end of Fall. They kneeled in front of it and slowly but surely brought it back to life. Poking around, the roaring flames muffled the sound of coughing coming from the main bedroom. "Well, I guess that answers my question." They set the poker aside and walked towards the sound.
The room was dark, no lights on except the faint glow of the television in front of the bed. They were more interested in the latter, however, as Sebastian was huddled up in what seemed to be all the blankets in the house, tissues sprawled around him. "Hgsck! Hitschx! Snrrrf. Snrrf. Oh, hey, I didnd't hear you combe ind," he coughed a little but it sounded deep in his chest.
"Oh, Seb, dear..." the Farmer walked to his side of the bed. "You look like death."
"What do y-huh...huSCHEW! HEGTscHEW! Hit'SCHEW!" he blew his nose into the kitchen rag he was now using as a handkerchief. The empty tissue box, along with two empty mugs, some throat lozenge wrappers and a glass of water, sat precariously on the tiny nightstand."Sorry. Snrrf. Whad do you mbean?"
The Farmer stood there perplexed. "Are you serious?"
Before Sebastian could answer, he sneezed again. "Huh'SHOO! hetSCHEW! hR'SHOO! H..." he held up his finger, cloth still to his face. "Heh...H..HeT'SCHEW! UGH! Snrrf, SNRRRFF, snrrf, sorry, allergies are still kickig mby ass."
"Allerg-? Babe," the Farmer sat softly on the bed. "Have you looked in a mirror today? You're sick. I think you’ve caught a cold. And a pretty bad one, at that."
"Whad? Ndo, I'mb f...fih..." he tried his best to hold in the sneeze by sniffling desperately, to no avail.
"Snrrf. SNRRF. Ndo! I dond't ndeeh...heeh...hed to snd..sneH'TSCHOO! HUH'SHOO! T'schEW!" after that, he let out another rattling cough. He pulled the blankets tighter around him. "Ndo mbore sndeezes. I prombise. Snrrf. I'mb finde." he gave his nose a long, wet blow, but was interrupted when he felt a cool hand on his forehead. "Whad are you doig?"
"You're burning up. This isn't allergies, honey, you're sick. I told you to stop going on walks when it's raining…"
"I'mb ndot sick!" he had to stop his protests to cough again. This time, he couldn't seem to stop. His spouse reached out behind him and rubbed his back.
"There, let it out, it's alright," when he stopped coughing, he blew his nose again.
"I'mb finde. I dond't get sick. Snrrf. I cand't rembember the last timbe I got sick. SNRRF. It's just mby allergies, I proh...huh...Hgchx! Hgkch! Hitshgk! Ugh. Sorry. Snrrf. Prombise.” He sniffled and tried again. “Snrrf. SNRRFFF. Promise. There, see?" two seconds later, he was coughing again. God, my head is killing me already, stupid cough!"
"Uh-huh.” The Farmer raised their eyebrow at them. Tell you what, if you can go ten seconds without sneezing, coughing or sniffling, I'll believe you."
"Donde. Eh...heh..." he sniffled wetly and cleared his throat. "Easy."
"Alright, then. Ten, nine, eight, seven, s-"
"HEg'cSHEW! ...Fuck. Snrrf."
"My thoughts exactly. Be right back," the Farmer walked into the bathroom and pulled something out of the cabinet. They came back with a digital thermometer. "Open up."
Reluctantly, Sebastian opened his mouth and let them put the thermomether in. Snrrf. "This doesnd't prove andyth-"
"Shut up, don't talk until it's done."
"Hm. Hm...? H...Hih...Huh...!" the device beeped just in time. "Het'SCHEW! HisCHEW! Ngh..."
"102.3 You're sick. Admit defeat." Sebastian sighed.
"Finde. Snrrf. I guess I do feel kindda gross. Huh'SCHOO!" he coughed again. As he did, he felt a strong hand rubbing his back again, this time in soothing circles. His partner spoke softly:
"It's alright, you're okay.” They paused. “Look, I'll go over to the store and get you some medicine. Anything else you want?"
"...cand you call mby mbob? And askg if she could mbake mbe sombe of her soup?" the Farmer laughed softly.
"Okay, I'll do that and pick it up on the way. You just rest here," they planted a gentle kiss on his forehead; their cool lips felt great against Sebastian's hot skin. "I'll be back in a while. I love you."
"I love you too. Snrrf. Ugh."
