#stardewinter19

She was thankful that she had shoveled this morning  as the sides of the road were now covered in snow that went well over her boots hight. It had snowed all week which had sealed the town in a layer of thick snow but today it looked like it would clear up. The sun was setting and she managed to spot the beautiful pink hues between the cloudy layers as she walked towards the town. If they were lucky they might even be able to see the special winter star that was rumored to only show this day of the year. Walking down the road she could see the colored lights lighting up the square from the distance and faintly hear music and laughter.

 She rounded the corner of Evelyn's house and strode towards Penny and Pam's caravan, thankfully the road up to their house had also been shoveled so she could easily make her way to their front door. She knocked before taking a step back as she heard shuffling before Penny opened the door. 

"Whoa! You look amazing!" 

Penny smiled as she took Wrens outstretched hand and helped her down. She was wearing a long red dress with a sweater over it to combat the cold. The sequins was reflecting the lights and coloring the space around her. 

"You don't think it's too much..?" 

"No it's absolutely perfect!" A blush dusted Penny's cheeks. 

"You look lovely aswell." 

They started making their way towards the town. They could see the town center being lit up by lights making the snow around it glow. The sun had now completely gone down, the cold air now making them shiver. As they rounded the bar and entered the town's center they were hit with the noises of people celebrating. There were tables set up holding this years harvest, some of the food coming directly from Wrens farm. They could see families slowly settling around their tables officially starting their feast. 

The thing that caught both of their eyes were the giant spruce tree now decorating the middle of the plaza, lighting the surrounding town up with twinkling lights and adored with a bright star on top of it. There were presents piled underneath it where Vincent and Jazz were now standing, staring at it with big eyes while trying to find their own presents. 

"I'm surprised every year at how Lewis manages to pull this off every year" Penny said while looking at the tree. 

"Yeah... It really is magical." 

The moment didn't last long. As soon as the kids spotted them they came running, both talking in the mouth of the other making it unable to be understood. 

"Penny! Have you seen the tree! Isn't it the best?!" Penny laughed at the children tugging at her dress, dragging her towards the tree. 

"Have you seen our present?" 

"I'm getting a really big one this year!" 

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Wren looked at them with a stern look before smiling when they bowed their heads. 

"Miss Penny, can you come with us to the tree? Pleeease?" 

"Sure" She answered with a chuckle before following the two children towards the tree, waving goodbye to Wren for the moment. 

Wren took a moment to gaze at the tree. It had been decorated with twinkling lights. It looked like most of the village had already gathered and when she looked towards the buffé table she spotted Shane standing by himself, a drink in hand. She started to head towards him. As she came closer he saw her and smiled. 

"Merry Christmas Shane!" Wren said cheerfully. 

"Merry Christmas to you too." 

"It's been awhile since I've seen you. How have you been?" 

"Good, It's been good."He said while gazing at the ground. "It's been hectic at home. You know how Marnie gets around this time of the year.. I think she's made at least 5 main courses and ten types of cookies for tonight. I tried to tell her we won't need that much but it's no use." He said with a snicker. And you? Everything going good at the farm?" 

"Yeah, I don't really have that much to do since I can't really grow anything. I've been spending more time inside with Penny. Just enjoying winter I guess..? It's been nice to get to relax for a bit." 

The conversation died down as Shane took a sip from the cup he was holding. 

"Don't worry." Shane quickly added when he saw Wren eyeing it suspiciously. "It's just hot chocolate. I've been trying to switch out the strong stuff, besides, this is way more enjoyable and it makes Jazz happy.” He added with a smile.

They stayed like that for a moment just admiring the tree and enjoying each other's presence. Wren saw Penny making her way towards her so she said goodbye to Shane and started walking towards Penny. 

"You manage to get away from them?" Wren asked laughing. 

"I haven't seen them this excited since Jazz's birthday." She snickered. "That reminds me!" She pulled out a present she had hidden behind her back and stretched it towards Wren. "Here's your present. I hope you like it!" She said with a smile. Wren snickered to themselves while admiring the pretty paper. It seemed like Penny had used several tape rolls to hold the present together. In it was a red knitted sweater. Wren pulled it out and measured it against her body. It seemed to fit perfectly.

"Have you made this?" Wren said while admiring the gift. 

"Yeah, do you like it?" Penny asked shyly. 

"I love it! And it fits me perfectly! I didn't know you could knit?" Wren said amazed. 

"Evelyn has been teaching me so it's her you have to thank! My first attempt was just a mess of loose strings." Penny said while letting out a small chuckle.

"Guess I'll be living in this over the next weeks! My turn now!" Wren moved towards the tree and came back with a present that she handed to Penny. "Just be careful! It's a bit fragile!" 

It was a box wrapped in flower printed paper with a red bow around it. Penny slowly untied the ribbon and opened the box, as she did so a familiar smell reached her nose. Pennys face lit up. The box contained poppy muffins gently wrapped as to not crumble.

"Thank you! When did you even have time to make these?" Penny beamed. Wren rubbed at her neck. 

"Well I made them this morning before leaving. They're better fresh so I didn't want them to go stale..." She said awkwardly. Penny put the lid back and placed the box on the ground carefully before enveloping Wren in a hug. 

"I love you." Wren quickly returned the embrace. 

"I love you too." 

Lewis voice ended the moment as it cut through the noise. Everybody quieted down as he wished them welcome and let everyone take a seat to let the feast begin. Wren and Penny had managed to grab some seats at the end of one of the long tables along with Pam and Gus right next to Marnie, Jazz and Shane. 

The meal was enjoyed between friends as everyone had helped bring something. As they ate the homemade food they caught up and discussed everything that had happened since the last time they had seen each other, laughing and appreciating each other's company. 

As the meal ended Lewis put on some music and invited everyone to dance. Robin and Demetrius opened the dance and soon many formed couples and followed. 

"Now I expect you kids to join aswell!" Pam shouted over her shoulder as Gus lead her towards the dancefloor. 

"You know I'm not good at dancing.." Penny said. Not really making any attempt to stand up. 

"I can promise you I've seen worse." Wren said while looking over at Haley who loudly complained about Alex stepping on her toes. Wren stood up and stretched out her hand towards her. 

"Come on, it'll be fun." She said with a smile. Penny cautiously took it as they slowly made their way over towards the dancefloor. At first Penny was stiff, keeping her gaze on her feet trying to follow Wrens steps but after some time she started to relax and let Wren lead her. Even laughing when Wren spun her. 

"Not so horrible after all?" Wren said with a smile on her face. 

"Maybe not." Penny replied still laughing. 

They stayed like that, slow dancing to the music and enjoying the evening. 

As the clock came closer to midnight everyone started to gather in groups to find a spot to wait for the winterstar.