N/A: Once again, I am branching out my fandoms! Please enjoy my first Stardew Valley fic!

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22 Years Previous

Three-year-old Sebastian McCarthy sat on his mother's lap as she finished reading him his nightly bedtime story. He looked up at her with his clear blue eyes. "Momma, what was my daddy like?" he asked, wondering if he was like the father in the fairy tale he had just heard. "Was he big and strong like the prince's daddy?"

"The biggest and the strongest," Robin McCarthy insisted, smiling down at her little boy. She ruffled his shaggy, red hair. "He was always kind to others and helped everyone that he could. If you think about it, he was one of the true heroes of Pelican Town."

Sebastian's eyes widened with wonder. "Wow," he breathed. "Momma, do you think one day I'll be like him?"

She smiled. "That's the only thing in my life that I'm absolutely sure of. Sebby, you are your daddy's boy through and through. I couldn't ask for a better little boy. You're all I will ever need in life. It's you and me versus the world."

"Don't worry, Momma," he giggled. "I'll protect you just like Daddy did."

Robin snuggled him close. "That's right, Sebby. You're going to grow up to do great things, I just know it. Your daddy would be so proud of you if he were here right now. Right now, I bet he's smiling down from Heaven, pointing you out to Yoba with pride. You are everything he ever dreamed you would be and so much more." She kissed the top of his head. "But it's bedtime now. Sweet dreams, sweetheart." She tucked him in, smiling. "I love you, Sebastian."

"I love you too, Momma," he said, snuggling in under the covers. "Sweet dreams."

As she shut the light off and left her son's bedroom, Robin smiled to herself. Never in a million years could she ever ask for a better son.

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21 Years Previous

"Sebby, honey, how would you feel about me marrying Demetrius?" Robin asked her son. "I think he would be a great father to you. Besides, it's time we had a man in this house." She smiled at the ginger-haired boy who had previously been playing with blocks on their living room floor. "Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Does that mean he would live here?" the boy slowly asked. He looked up at his mother. "I don't want him to be my daddy. I already have one." Sebastian turned back to his blocks and began stacking them once more.

"Honey, we need someone like Demetrius," she sighed. "It's hard to raise a child on your own. Don't you hate going to work with me sometimes? If Demetrius were with us, then you could stay home and play since he and I work different shifts. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"No," Sebastian answered, a hint of boredom in his voice. "He isn't fun. He's a nerd, and I don't like him."

Robin sighed. There had to be a way to break it to her son that she would be marrying Demetrius. But how was the question. "If I married Demetrius, maybe you can have a little brother or sister. Would you like that?"

"I'm fine by myself," he stated matter-of-factly. "I don't need a brother or sister when I have you, Momma." Suddenly, he stood and looked Robin in the eyes. "We don't need him, Momma. We already have Daddy." To prove his point, he kicked his tower of blocks over, never breaking eye contact. "I don't want him to live with us."

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20 Years Previous

Sebastian grimaced once he stepped into the home he and his mother shared with Demetrius. He had stayed at Sam's house for a few days while his mom had a baby, even though he had told her many times that he didn't want the baby or Demetrius. His disgust became more evident when he saw the pink bundle of blankets in his mother's arms and the smile on hers and Demetrius's faces as they gazed at it.

"Sebby, sweetie, come here," Robin cooed to her son. "Come meet your sister." She sat down in the rocking chair, pink bundle in her lap. "I bet she wants to meet you, too."

The boy could feel the anger building up inside of him. First, Demetrius married his mother and changed her last name to Wright, like his. Sebastian had refused to change his name to anything but his father's last name. His father would never be forgotten so easily. Then, his mother had told him he was going to have a little brother or sister. And now, there Robin sat, in the rocking chair that she had always sat in with him, holding what was apparently his new baby sister.

Sebastian slowly stepped over to look at the baby. He saw how dark her skin was in comparison to his. How was she his sister? Didn't siblings look alike? There was no way she could be his sister.

"This is Maru, Sebastian," Demetrius proudly stated. "Isn't she pretty?"

"No," the boy flatly answered. "She's not my sister." He then turned and walked away to his room to go and sulk.

"He'll warm up to her in time," Demetrius told his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Seb just needs some time to adjust."

Robin sighed. "I really hope so."

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Present Day

Sebastian typed away at the computer in his room. There were days when he loved being a programmer, and there were days when he detested it. This would happen to be one of those days. He was the only one working on the project, his online team nowhere to be found. Checking the clock, he saw that it was nearly six. He had been working on it for seven hours. If he was going to get it done, he really needed to go and take a smoke break.

On his way up the stairs, he could hear Robin speaking excitedly to either Demetrius or Maru. "She's just the most adorable thing!" she enthused. "And I think it's great that she's come to take over her grandfather's farm! She's also really sweet and polite! I invited her over for dinner tomorrow since she had no one else here."

"I think that's a great idea, Robin," Demetrius agreed. "Since she came all the way from the city, she needs a nice welcome to a town like Pelican Town."

"That's what I was thinking, Honey!" Robin laughed heartily. "Great minds think alike, huh? But she's right in between Sebby and Maru's ages." Her voice lowered a little, as if she knew her son were coming up the stairs. "Maybe she'll be able to charm our Sebastian."

By that time, Sebastian had reached the top of the stairs. He could see his mother talking to her husband in his lab, her back to him and Demetrius focused on his work. "And maybe she won't," he flatly stated before leaving the house to smoke.

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Just as he was finishing up his cigarette, Sebastian happened to look over toward the cave to see a girl stumbling out of it. He had never seen her before and wasn't going to call out to her or anything until he saw her collapse. Before he could think about it, he ran over toward her as fast as he could, casting his cigarette into the lake.

Upon reaching her, he noticed that she had all sorts of cuts and gashes on her. What could have done this to her? Noticing that some were still bleeding, he decided to gingerly lift her and carry her to his home.

"Don't let go," she weakly said, squeezing her eyes shut as she clung desperately to his hoodie. "I…" Before she could finish her sentence, the girl passed out cold.

Sebastian desperately kicked at the front door of the house until he could hear some angry stomping approaching the door. "Please!" he called through the door. "Open the door! Someone!"

"Sebastian, the door is unlocked!" Robin shouted, throwing the front door open. "You don't need to make so much…" Her voice trailed off when she saw the unconscious girl in her son's arms. "Fia!" she cried out, dread overtaking her. She desperately looked up at her son. "Seb, where did you find her?! Oh, Yoba!"

Her son stepped through the door. "She collapsed on her way out of the mine. There's no telling what creature did this to her, but it must have been tough. Where do you want me to put her?" He did his best not to look down at her face. Though the girl was unconscious, her face expressed the pain she was in, and her cheeks were rosy with fever.

"This may be too much to ask, but could we put her on the sofa in your room?" his mother asked, biting her lip. "Demetrius is already asleep, or I'd put her in my own bed. Give me a sec to grab a first-aid kit."

"Yeah, we can do that," he replied, making his way toward the basement stairs. Sebastian set her on his sofa a few moments later, and that was when he got a good look at her face. He noticed how young she looked and felt sad about the way she clung to him, even after he set her down. "Hey," he softly said, looking to be sure his mother hadn't entered. "It's okay. I'm not going to leave you, alright? Just hang in there. You'll feel better in no time." He made to move her hair out of her face and felt just how high her fever was. "You're burning up. We need to get those wounds cleaned up."

Robin burst through his bedroom door like an avalanche, Maru following behind her in full Nurse Mode. Shooing her son away for a bit, she and her daughter went to work on the young girl on the sofa. Desperate for a distraction, Sebastian went back to his programming.

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A few hours later, as Sebastian lit a cigarette, stepping away from his computer, he saw the girl on his sofa begin to stir in her sleep. His mother and sister, having gone to bed long ago, left it up to him to tend to her until morning. They had used the argument, "You're always up all night anyway," to seal the deal. But what was he truly supposed to do if she woke up?

"W-Where am I?" she softly asked. The girl attempted to sit up and clutched at her head, falling back onto the black sofa. "W-What's going on?"

Sebastian sighed in dismay and put out his cigarette in his ashtray. "You barely escaped the mine," he explained, walking over toward the sofa. "I brought you home and my mother and sister tended to you. That really was quite the feat you accomplished. Not many people ever go into the mines, and even fewer live to tell the tale."

"You're just messing with me," the girl weakly replied, closing her green eyes as she rested a hand on her forehead. "I'm not afraid of the mines. I just got my butt kicked a little more than I had originally planned. That's all."

"So what you're saying is that you did intend to get your butt kicked at least a little?" he teasingly asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut as her head seemed to pulsate. "Who are you anyway? I don't think I've ever seen you before in my life. Besides, your skin is so pale that I doubt you've ever seen the sun in your entire life."

"Oh, so you've got jokes too?" Sebastian chuckled. "Got a name, kid?"

"Fia Thomas," she replied. "And I'm not a kid. I'll have you know I'm 23 years old, so suck it."

"Is that any way to speak to the man who saved you?" he asked with a smirk. He liked this girl. It made him wonder where she came from and what she was doing in a place like Pelican Town. Who in their right mind would willingly come to this town?

"Thanks for saving me," she dryly replied, opening one eye to look at him as she grinned. "And you are?"

"Sebastian McCarthy. I'm the town carpenter's son."

"You're Robin's son?" Fia squealed. "I love Robin! She's so nice! She's been so kind to me in advising what I need on my new farm!"

"Wait," Sebastian replied. "You're the new farmer?"