#that's like the grandpa stardew valley fucked up bed of high chairs lol

[tr85n]

Head canon maybe?

Since benson didn’t know much about babies, he thought stella would eat solid foods so he tried giving her a wing and she just spat it out and he was horrified at the idea that his daughter wouldn’t like wings

Sounds more like a Rigby-thing tbh :p But perhaps if he was just very drunk off wings..?

[heyiwrotesomethings]

hello!! im glad to hear that requests are open again :D could i request a stardew fic? reader is the farmer and one day they injure their back or knee while working and end up at the clinic. at the clinic, they're taken care of by their friend maru for a day or two but just as reader is about to get released, maru realizes that they live alone and are still recovering. so maru offers to live with reader while they recover and help take care of the farm. then eventually as reader hers better, it leads to a confession and asking maru to move in :). sorry if this was really long!! thank you and take care!!

Back Pain and Strawberries

Maru (Stardew) x They/Them Reader

A/N: Hi! Ah, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in the valley. It’s good to be back. I hope it’s alright. I feel like a jumped around too much/ didn’t develop the idea enough but I tried my best! Also since it’s Stardew I feel compelled to say I swore in here a bit so look away if that’s troubling to any of you lol. Word Count: 3,478

“Holy Yoba damn it all!”

Well, they finally did it. (Y/n) went too far with their daily work load. Just a few more trees to clear, they had told themself. As if they weren’t chopping down six whole trees with a old, crappy axe after planting and watering a whole new slew of crops for the second half of spring.

They should have been surprised their back held out as long as it had. Going from a desk job with that awful chair to farmer of an overgrown jungle of a plot of land should have been a clue that they needed to start small and not attempt a complete overhaul in only two weeks.

(Y/n) had fallen to their hands and knees from the shock of the pain. They wanted to take the rest of the fall, but getting back up again would be a challenge. They heard the tinkle of a collar paired with light panting and sniffing. It was a long shot, but maybe…

“Go get help, Cashew. Come on, don’t make me crawl to town.”

The dog tilted its head, ears perked, but instead of taking on the role of Lassie, it snuffled the back of (Y/n)’s neck with its wet nose and promptly got distracted by a grasshopper jumping above the wild grasses.

“If I survive this, I’m making Marnie take you back.” The Farmer groaned and rose slowly to their feet while using the treacherous stump of the last tree they cut as leverage.

Then they painstakingly unwedged their axe from the tree’s trunk to use as a makeshift cane. Not great, but it was the best they had.

They slowly made their way into town and thanked the stars for the farm being on the same side of town as the clinic. It was still a bit of a hike of course, but they made it eventually. Yoba, they really needed to invest in a landline.

They struggled with the door, then they finally made it inside. The sweet air conditioning was an instant relief. They really needed to get air conditioning in the farmhouse.

“(Y/n)? What happened?!”

They rose their head as high as they dared. Ah, Maru was working today. They hadn’t even thought about that. She was going to be so mad after telling (Y/n) not to overwork themself too hard when they first moved into Pelican Town.

(Y/n) and Maru had been friends for years. When (Y/n) used to visit their grandpa in the summers growing up, Maru was the first friend they had made and they kept in touch ever since. When they had wrote to Maru about moving into their grandpa’s farm, she had been really excited about getting to see them more often. That excitement had morphed into concern very quickly when she heard how much work (Y/n) was putting on themself.

“Maru, I fucked up.” The Farmer stated plainly.

“That much is obvious. Hang on a minute, Harvey’s in his office.” Maru jumped into action, disappearing into the back of the clinic.

It didn’t take long for Harvey and Maru to appear in the lobby to help (Y/n) into a bed and give them a thorough look over.

“My goodness, you walked all the way here with a herniated disk!” Harvey grimaced. “You’re lucky it didn’t rupture!”

“I can’t believe you! What did I tell you about overworking yourself? If I could hit you right now, I would!” Maru huffed.

“I know, I know! Can you guys fix it?” (Y/n) yelped as their back was poked and prodded.

“With some anti-inflammatories, maybe some ice, and a lot of rest, you should recover in four to six weeks.” Harvey assured while he filled out a prescription form.

“Four to six weeks?!” (Y/n) yelled, “I can’t afford to be out of commission that long!”

“You should have thought about that before- what were you even doing?”

“…Cutting down trees.” (Y/n) answered sheepishly.

Maru slipped her fingers beneath her glasses to rub her face in frustration.

“Trees plural? With that ancient axe?”

“Yup.”

“(Y/n) you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes I hope you know that.” Maru had known (Y/n) since they were six years old. One would think they would have grown out of their reckless behavior by now, but Maru’s dear friend was not so inclined.

“I know! Please stop shaming me! Can we focus on the real issue here that is I can’t work on the farm for the rest of spring and maybe the first week or so of summer? There is so much to do!”

“I’m sorry (Y/n), but there really isn’t anything for it but rest. If you strain yourself you could risk a more serious injury with an even worse recuperation time.” Harvey left little doubt of just how serious he was about resting. “Absolutely no hard labor.”

“I should at least be able to water the garden and feed the chickens. Fishing isn’t that physically demanding either, or foraging—“

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Maru massaged her temples with heavy pressure, “You just keep tacking more on.”

“Maru, please. You know how important bringing the farm back to life is to me.” (Y/n) pleaded.

Maru propped one arm above the other, her frowning lips pressed into the side of her fist as she went deep into thought. It’s true, she did know how important the farm was, not only to (Y/n), but to the community as well. There were definitely things that could be held off on, but it would be devastating to have the crops dry up and never mind leaving the chickens to their own devices. She just couldn’t leave (Y/n) to do those things on their own because one thing always left to another with them. If they had someone to help, someone to keep an eye on them and make sure they were actually resting, that would be a compromise Maru could live with.

“Then I’ll stay with you until you get better. I’ll help with the farm and aid in your recovery.”

“Hey, that sounds like a great idea.” Harvey nodded along, happy to hear a favorable solution.

“Maru, would you really?” (Y/n) wouldn’t want to put any extra work on Maru.

She already worked at the clinic, helped her dad with lab work and had her own technological experiments to boot. Hey, it sounded like (Y/n) wasn’t the only one with the tendency to overwork. Theirs just put a more noticeable strain on their body.

“Of course. You’re one of my best friends.” Maru assured. “We’ve been meaning to hang out more anyway.”

“Thank you, Maru!” (Y/n) moved to sit up, but quickly fell back to the cot and sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “That was a little too sudden I guess,” they lifted their arms instead, “hug me?”

Maru smiled and rolled her eyes before leaning over to give (Y/n) the hug they desired.

Once Harvey set (Y/n) up with a bottle of anti-inflammatories, a back brace and a printed up healing regimen (and the bill), Maru walked them home and set them up on the couch with the TV set to some oracle show.

“I need to go home to tell my parents what’s going on and pack up some stuff. Do not move from this spot.”

“I’ve gotten into enough trouble for today I think,” (Y/n) sighed as they looked over the healing regimen, “safe travels.”

Maru didn’t like seeing (Y/n) look so down. An idea came to mind that she thought might cheer them right up.

“I’ll bring back pizza or something from the saloon and we’ll make this a real sleepover just like old times.”

“I like the sound of that.” (Y/n) looked up at Maru with a familiar grin, “Are you sure it won’t be too out of the way for you?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it. You hold up your end of the bargain and I’ll do the same.”

“Yes ma’am.” (Y/n) mock saluted.

Maru shook her head playfully then exited the small farmhouse. She took the back road shortcut to her house and filled everyone in on her plans for the next several weeks. Demetrius was a little on the fence about it, but Robin was fully on board and gave him the push he needed. A quick jaunt through town to pick up some of Gus’ homemade food and Maru was back at the farm only a couple hours after she left.

“Have you been behaving?” She asked as soon as (Y/n) came to help her open the door.

“Haven’t gotten up except to open this door.” (Y/n) said matter-of-factly.

“Good, then you get to eat.” Maru teased, setting the take out on the small table in the corner.

“What kind of nurse are you? Threatening to withhold food from your poor patient?” (Y/n) pouted.

They laughed together and Maru pulled the table up to the couch so they could sit more comfortably and watch tv. Cashew took that as an invitation to sit atop both of them and try to snap at the food that soared over his head.

When it started getting late, they got ready for bed and without even considering the couch, they shared the single bed in the corner of the room. They had shared a bed several times over the years so it wasn’t weird even at the age they were now? Right? No, certainly not! If it was, it would certainly be to awkward to change their minds now. Especially with Cashew jumping up to pin them both to the mattress.

“This place is smaller than I remember.” Maru spoke into the darkness. The quiet of the night left her with no distraction from the heavy beating of her heart.

“Yeah, I never realized what an extreme minimalist grandpa was. I’ve been meaning to talk to your mom about adding on another room.”

“You should. She’s always looking for new projects.”

“Cool.”

The silence fell again and both (Y/n) and Maru stared up at the dark ceiling, afraid to move too much lest they disturb or brush against the other.

This wasn’t awkward at all.

It did help when Cashew wedged between them instead of being draped over them. It gave a little buffer that eventually helped the couple— the two close friends go to sleep.

***

The next morning, Maru woke up alone. No Cashew, and more concerning no (Y/n). She got up and dressed quickly, knocking back the farmhouse door with a loud thud.

“Morning.” (Y/n) greeted from the front step once they had recovered from the sudden noise.

“How long have you been out here? Have you been working?” Maru questioned right away, making (Y/n) laugh and hold out their hands defensively.

“I’ve been up for an hour, I haven’t done a thing but take out Cashew and gaze longingly into the garden, I swear.”

Maru searched (Y/n) for any signs of deception, but found none and relaxed. She nodded and put her hands on her hips.

“Good. What do you want me to do first?”

“We should check in with the chickens first then circle our way back to watering the crops.”

“Sounds good.”

(Y/n) walked Maru down to the coop and showed her where to put the hay and how the chickens liked to be pet before directing her to open the coop hatch the the chickens could go out and enjoy the sun. Then they collected the eggs and headed back in the direction of the farmhouse.

“I’ll put these in the fridge. You can fill up the watering can in that little pond there. I usually refresh Cashew’s water bowl before working my way down the line.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Maru filled the water bowl and worked her way down the rows of crops and had to refill the can no less than three times. (Y/n) came out with a picture of cold lemonade, for which Maru was grateful to have when she was done.

“Did I spy strawberry plants down at the end there?” She asked after taking a few gulps.

“Yeah, Pierre was selling them during the egg hunt and I couldn’t resist buying a whole bunch. I know how much you and your dad like them so I was going to surprise you with a bunch. So, uh, surprise.”

“That is very thoughtful of you. I can’t wait to have some.” Maru’s heart started thudding against her chest again and it wasn’t from watering plants in the sun all morning.

***

Days became weeks and before either of them knew it, (Y/n)’s follow up appointment with Harvey was upon them. He gave (Y/n) the okay to go back to work so long as they didn’t over for it. They could still aggravate their back again if they picked up too much work too soon.

The journey back to the farmhouse was unusually quiet. Both were happy for Harvey’s verdict, but they felt troubled at the same time. They had a routine. Maru didn’t want to leave and not get to see (Y/n) first thing in the morning and last thing at night. As small as the farmhouse was (Y/n) felt like it would feel too big without Maru there.

“Looks like you won’t need me hovering around you anymore, huh?” Maru broke the silence with a weak attempt at a laugh.

“…I guess.” (Y/n) gave her a half smile in return, but then an idea came to mind that had them perk up. “Actually, it shouldn’t take long for the last batch of strawberries to ripen. A couple days at most. It would be nice to enjoy the fruits of your labor fresh from the earth, don’t you think?”

Maru grinned in return.

“You’re right! That would be really neat.”

“Great! Want to watch a movie when we get home?”

“That sounds good. What should we make for dinner?”

Now with an excuse to spend more time together, they carried on as they had for most of that spring.

***

(Y/n) woke up to the sound of rain beating against the roof early the next morning. Slowly, they sat up in bed, withdrawing their arm from around Maru’s waist.

There was no hurry to get up, the chickens could wait and the crops were being watered by Mother Nature, but they felt restless. The strawberries would no doubt be perfect in time for the last day of spring tomorrow and that would mean Maru would leave with the change of the seasons. It made it feel like winter was coming rather than summer.

Early in the week, while (Y/n) had been sifting through the mail and Maru was watering and taking care of some weeds, they came across a flyer from Pierre about giving flowers to a special someone and couldn’t get it out of their head since. Sitting there, they felt antsy. Tomorrow might be the last day before Maru went home. It would be best to ask her then.

They slipped out of the bed and gave Cashew his breakfast to keep him quiet. Then they took an umbrella and headed into town hoping Abigail would sneak them in early to buy a bouquet before they lost their nerve.

They slipped the bouquet into a chest as soon as they got home and had breakfast ready as Maru began to wake.

***

“These are so good.” Maru swore they were the best strawberries she had ever had. Maybe it was some kind of extra satisfaction knowing she helped the plants flourish that made her think that, but she didn’t care. “Dad will be lucky if I even let him have one.”

When she received no answer from the farmer beside her, she turned to look at them and saw they were all fidgety and didn’t appear to be listening.

“Hey,” Maru poked them, making them jump, “what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you.” (Y/n) forced themself to say. It was only a years long friendship they were attempting to breech into a different territory that could go wrong and then they wouldn’t be the same anymore. Nothing to worry about! Just bite the bullet and say it!

“What is it, (Y/n)?”

Well, that’s the million dollar question, Maru.

“We’ve known each other a long time, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Maru chuckled a bit at the odd start, but listened intently.

“Yeah, so I just want to say you don’t need to feel pressured to answer me one way or another when I ask you this, I just hope that we can stay friends whatever happens.”

“(Y/n), you’re scaring me a bit with the dancing around. Did you hurt your back again? I swear—“

“No! No, my back is fine. I just wanted to ask if you maybe wanted to, if, if you, I wanted to ask you, if you would like to be my girlfriend.” They cleared their throat and pressed their palms together, legs bouncing on the porch step anxiously as they waited for an answer.

Maru dropped the strawberry she was holding back into the bucket, the cool water within making a little plop sound as the berry fell back in. Maru had dreamed up similar scenarios like this for a couple years now.

“Really? You want me to be your girlfriend?”

“Mhm.”

The farmer pursed their lips and presented Maru with the bouquet they had bought for the occasion. This was a long shot. They always thought Maru was a genius destined for bigger things. They had almost asked Maru out before. They tried during the summer before their grandpa passed away when they were in high school, but they lost their nerve. Then they got that stupid desk job at Joja and they barely stayed in touch. If those feelings still stayed after all that time, they felt like they had to act on them.

Maru lunged forward and wrapped her arms around (Y/n)’s neck and they threw their arms around her in kind, the bouquet rested against Maru’s back. A relieved breath of air left their lungs to be replaced with fresh air that felt better than the last breath they took.

“I would love to. I’m really happy you asked.” Maru squeezed tighter.

“Me too. Ah! Cashew, down!” The couple suddenly found themselves under fire of a very excited, very wet dog, who had just come back from his dip in the pond and wanted in on the hug.

“Ah!” Maru felt water splatter against her arm and tried to shield herself using (Y/n)’s body. (Y/n) tried to hide the flowers between them so they wouldn’t get ruined by the over excited dog.

Cashew rubbed his wet, smelly fur against them as he ran a few tight circles then finally ran off into the tall grass.

“That dog!” (Y/n) huffed, but then Maru started to laugh and they couldn’t help but join in.

“He’s just excited that we’re finally together.” Maru joked, “He’s a good boy, an angel really.”

“I hope you liked living with him thus far because I can’t get rid of him.”

“Is that your way of inviting me to move in with you?”

“I mean, if you think it’s too soon I totally understand.”

“I think we’ve done a lot of waiting. It’s time to do something a little impulsive.” Maru looked behind her at the old farmhouse, “We really need to give this place an upgrade though. I’ll need a place to put all my robotics and my telescope.

“Oh Yoba.” (Y/n) smacked their hand against their face.

“What? What is it?”

“Your parents and Seb! What will they think about this? It was only supposed to be temporary, I feel like your dad might kill me.”

“He’s not going to kill you. If it makes you feel any better, Seb and mom have been teasing me about you for years. They’ll probably be relieved that we finally got together. The strawberries will help dad come around to the idea. Despite how he may act sometimes, he really likes you.”

“You really think it’ll be okay?”

Maru pressed a quick kiss against (Y/n)’s cheek, leaving the scent of strawberries in her wake. Shyly meeting (Y/n)’s eyes, she displayed a peaceful smile.

“I do.”

And it was.

Robin was ecstatic, though she seemed more excited about the prospect of upgrading the house once that was brought up. Sebastian was more quiet about it, but no less happy for his sister. He only wondered why it took so long to happen in the first place. Demetrius looked a little tense when the news hit him, but seeing how happy Maru was (and getting a generous basket of strawberries) he relaxed and even smiled when he watched his daughter take the Farmer’s hand in her own.

Who would have guessed that a slipped disk would have finally brought them to this point?