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“I heard from Mayor Lewis that someone is moving into the old farmhouse.”
The clicking sound from the keyboard stopped as Sebastian stared at his computer, his mouth twisting slightly. “And what does this have to do with me?”
“He invited me to greet them when they arrive,” Robin said from the foot of the stairs that led into his basement bedroom.
“Uh-huh,” Sebastian said, turning to look at her, finding himself a bit taken aback by what she said. He tilted his head slightly, perplexed.
“Would you like to go with me?”
“No thanks,” Sebastian said, turning his head to look at his computer screen. “I’ve work to do.”
“Oh, alright.”
Fingers went back to clicking the keyboard keys, brushing aside his mother’s words. He didn’t think anything of what she’d said as he headed up the stairs to get something to eat, one hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck as his eyelids felt heavy from the number of hours cranked into finishing the project. He’d gotten to the fridge, frowning at the eggs he saw there, his stomach twisting at the sight.
“So, what is the new farmer like?” he heard his half-sister Maru say as he continued frowning at the fridge’s contents.
“Well, why don’t you ask your brother?”
His eyes blinked, taken aback by what his mother said. He turned, pushing the fridge door slightly closed as he stared at his mother. “Wait a sec.”
“About Mi-an,” Robin said as Maru glared at her mother, his cheeks flushed at the name’s recognition.
“Sebastian?” Maru said as Demetrius attempted to hide his delight in his cup of coffee, not caring that Sebastian suddenly felt utterly mortified.
Quickly, he closed the refrigerator and turned, heading down the stairs as soon as possible before flopping on his bed and holding a pillow, screaming his frustrations into the pillow. Eventually, he heard steps on the stairs.
“Hey?”
“Go away, Maru,” Sebastian muttered into his pillow.
“Yeah, but Mom said I should ask you about this new farmer. Her name’s Mi-an, right?”
Sebastian let out a sound of annoyance, glad his face was covered so Maru couldn’t see how red his face currently was.
“What I don’t get is how you were able to meet Mi-an before I was able to do so, what with how anti-social you are,” his sister said.
“Because it happened a long, long time ago when we were kids,” Sebastian thought to herself, suddenly sitting up and pitching his pillow at his sister’s head. “I told you to go away.”
And then, he felt the pillow hit him in the face in retaliation as Maru said, “You really don’t have to be that way, but if you act this way around the farmer, there’s no way you’ll be able to make friends with her Sebastian.”
The pillow dropped as Sebastian heard Maru’s footsteps on the stairs. He stared at the foot of his bed. “Not be friends with Mi-an?” He let out a sigh, closing his eyes. “Why would she want to be friends, given how much time has passed and I’ve changed? This is the pits.”
~
Fresh mountain air didn’t stop him from going out for a smoke, mainly when doing so helped calm his nerves. Letting out a puff of smoke, Sebastian watched as the smoke drifted away.
And today was one of those days.
Sebastian let out a sigh. “There’s no getting around the fact I’ve been on edge since learning Mi-an’s the new farmer, but I’ve not thought about life on the frontier out in the Alliance of Cities in forever. Nobody remembers what we used to call the frontier before it became….”
“Oh,” a voice said from behind him.
Sebastian started at someone else’s voice and turned to see who had intruded upon his sanctuary. His mouth opened as he felt a slight heat heading to his cheeks at the girl standing there in grey overalls and green shirt, looking as tomboyish as he remembered. Her smile caught him off guard, only to falter into a frown.
“You smoke now?”
Sebastian’s eyes blinked, his mouth opening to say something. Yet, his mind couldn’t think of anything appropriate to counter Mi-an’s obvious disappointment in the bad habit he’d gotten into since he last saw her. He swallowed, his mind still trying to think of something to say when—
“Hey! Mi-an!”
Sebastian watched Mi-an’s attention turn to another person waving at her. “Oh! Maru!”
“Ignore my older brother!” Maru said, grinning ear to ear as she hurried forward. “He’s a stick in the mud.”
“A stick in the mud?” Mi-an said, turning her head to look at Sebastian, who still held a cigarette in his fingers as he looked right at her, unable to say anything. “I’m sure….”
“I’ve got something to show you,” Maru said, grabbing Maru’s hand and dragging her away.
When they were gone, Sebastian let out a sigh. “I’m not sure whether to be thankful or pissed right now.”
Sebastian flicked the cigarette, knocking away the ashes at the end before heading back to his mother’s house, putting it out in the ashtray just outside the door before heading in. Robin glanced up. “Oh. If you’re looking for Mi-an….”
“I’m not,” Sebastian snapped, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling guilty for snapping at his mother. He glanced away.
“She’s in Maru’s room. Your sister wanted to show her something.”
“And I’m a stick in the mud,” Sebastian said, waving at her. “So I’ll not ruin their fun.” He headed towards the basement stairs, planning on going to his bedroom.
“Who said you were a stick in the mud?”
Sebastian stiffened, his head turning slightly, only stopping as he didn’t want to look his mother in the eye.
“If Mi-an said that, she was likely trying to convince you to join them.”
He shook his head slightly, hoping his mother didn’t notice the movement of his head as he continued to his bedroom.
“Wait? It wasn’t Maru?” Robin asked. Then came the sigh. “I need to have a word with that girl.”
“Hey,” Sebastian said, turning to look at his mother. “Don’t. Please.”
“She shouldn’t have said that. And in front of Mi-an,” Robin said, placing a hand on her chin. “That’s going to make things awkward between them later, given your and Mi-an’s relationship.”
“Given our what?” Sebastian said. “You mean our non-existent relationship?”
“Sebby,” Robin said. “Why do you have to be this way?”
“You know I’ve not seen Mi-an in years,” Sebastian said, waving her off. “I’m going to bed.”
“This early?”
“I’ve got a headache, so yeah,” Sebastian said before heading down to his basement room and flopping on the bed, staring out at the dark room, finding falling asleep difficult, yet telling his mother that he was going to bed was the best way to avoid company later on.
~
Before heading out into the caves at night, Sebastian made a habit of stopping by the adventures guild to chat with Marlon; the first words from the old man’s mouth were, “She passed the entrance exam.”
“What? Abigail?” Sebastian was startled, never expecting the girl with her stalker tendencies towards him to pass the test, given the only reason she was interested in being an adventurer was that he was, although Sebastian personally wouldn’t call himself one. Even Marlon and old Gil didn’t call themselves adventurers but insisted they went on adventures or adventuring.
Marlon laughed. “No. The new girl.”
“Oh. Mi-an,” Sebastian muttered, letting out a sigh. “Not surprising.”
“Oh?” Marlon asked. “Last I heard, she was a farmer.”
“Last I heard, she wanted to be a builder,” Sebastian muttered to nobody but himself.
“Wait. You have already gotten to know the new girl?” Marlon said a laugh there. “I mean,” and then came the short chuckle. “Wait. From the look on her face, you haven’t talked to her, so how do you know that?” And then, “Something else is going on, isn’t it.”
“None of your business,” Sebastian muttered, mentally noting after he’d gotten into the mines to make a little extra cash that he should apologize to Marlon for his way of speaking just then. However, whether they both remembered the next time he headed out, what with how Sebastian often glued himself to a computer screen that brought in less money than going into the mines at this point, seemed to be the more likely option.
It never occurred to him that Mi-an would be down in the mines, but when he heard her—
Instead of attempting to talk to her, he hunkered down, out of sight, a tightness in his throat that—
The moment she went down to the next level without noticing his presence, he left the mine.
~
“Why did you miss our jam session?”
Sebastian let out a groan, covering his eyes.
“Anyways, while I missed seeing your lovely face,” Sam said. “I did get to see the face of the new girl. That Mi-an.”
And then the pillow flew at his best friend’s face, hitting Sam before he lay back down, closing his eyes, remembering how he’d been headed to the aforementioned jam session only to freeze up when he saw a certain someone, someone Sam had just brought up.
Sebastian wasn't sure of what he should say to her after all these years.
~
Sam came and got him for the pool session, bothered by the fact he—Sebastian—had been avoiding said sessions because the girl was, in fact, well, Mi-an was quite active, and Sebastian was actively trying to prevent her by hiding in his room even more which meant—honestly—missing out on everything else.
Sebastian found himself relaxing as he beat Sam at his game, ignoring that Abigail was watching him as if he were a delicious meal she wanted to devour, which made being in his basement room alone with her all the more uncomfortable.
And then he heard her voice, that melodic voice speaking to someone in the central part of Stardrop Saloon, and he pulled the hood over his head, letting out a deep breath as he quickly said, “I’ve got to go.”
Only Sam grabbed his arm. “Wait. Already? Why….” And then, “Your face is red.”
“What?” Abigail said, her attention alerted to a reaction she likely would have liked to be on the receiving end.
“Hi, guys,” Mi-an said.
Sebastian jerked his hand away, leaving the room, his throat tight from the prospect of speaking with his childhood crush, someone he’d run into both in Portia and Sandrock when he was younger, places he could no longer go because of the war.
~
He couldn’t avoid speaking to her at the flower dance, even though he, in truth, wanted to. There was no avoiding that dance, let alone having to dress in those awful tuxedos that Emily made, thinking they were the most adorable thing ever. The only reason it was fitted correctly was that she’d made it quite clear that if he didn’t want to stand out like a sore thumb every dance, she would need to get his measurements, which was something she did during one of his and Sam’s jam sessions as his best friend laughed at his reaction.
Of course, when he arrived, Sam hissed at him. “Not cool.”
“What?” Sebastian said, nervously pulling at his collar.
“Taking off when Mi-an showed up at our last game session,” Abigail said, rolling her eyes.
“Our last game session?” Sebastian shook his head. “You never play; just watch.”
“She’s talking about how Mi-an’s a sweet girl and didn’t deserve you taking off like that,” Sam said.
“I already know that,” Sebastian muttered, feeling a slight heat in his cheeks.
“Wait,” Sam pulled in his breath. “There it is again.”
“What?” Abigail said, her tone of voice changing, likely disliking the fact she had a rival. However, in Sebastian’s mind, there was no true rivalry, given he didn’t reciprocate how Abigail felt, even though individuals like Maru thought he did.
“So, hold on.” Sam frowned, crossing his arms. “How often have you talked to her since she moved here?”
“Zip, from what I’ve heard,” Abigail said, her eyes narrowing. “And that one time Maru told me about doesn’t count.”
“Of course, it doesn’t, given that Maru didn’t let me have a chance to get a word in,” Sebastian said, unbuttoning the top button. “I hate these dances.”
“Me too,” Abigail said, although this felt like a lie because she always looked forward to dancing with him.
And then, “Mint?”
Sebastian was startled, looking right at the one person he hadn’t wanted to speak to, yet he knew he would finally have to. Abigail frowned. “Wait. Who is she talking to? I don’t know….”
“Mi-an,” Sebastian said, glancing down at the ground. He took a deep breath.
Sam elbowed him in the ribs. “Wait. Are you Mint?”
Abigail let out a laugh. “Wait. What’s with the nickname? Last I checked….”
“Gingerbread and peppermint,” Mi-an responded.”
“What?” Abigail asked, still confused, although Sebastian knew exactly what Mi-an was referring to.
And then, another elbow came into the ribs as Sam hissed, “Say something. Don’t run away.”
“As if I’d get out of this stupid dance,” Sebastian muttered, glaring at Sam.
“Doesn’t look like you enjoy the formal wear,” Mi-an said.
“The colors are too bright,” Abigail said. “On both the dresses and suits.”
Sam let out a chuckle, elbowing Sebastian in the ribs. “She’s got you pegged.”
“Actually,” Mi-an frowned. “It might have to do more with that being something similar to what Gust would wear.”
“What?” Sam said.
“Oh, god. You’re right,” Sebastian muttered, shaking his head. “It’s exactly like his informal wear!”
“Wait,” Abigail frowned. “Who are we talking about?”
“When did he start wearing it? Before or after the two of you attended university in Atara?”
“During,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. “I think he liked kissing up to those two, whereas there was no way I could get on their good side, given how much they hate my father, but they adore Demetrius.”
“Woah,” Sam said.
Mi-an glanced over at Maru, frowning. “Is that why,” and then she let out a sigh. “Never mind. I can ask about that later.”
“Did you just get more out of Seb in one go than I ever have?” Sam said as Abigail glared at Mi-an.
Mi-an’s eyes blinked. “What are you talking about?”
Sam’s eyes blinked, and Sebastian decided to change the subject as they were headed into uncomfortable territory. “Hey. Farmer?”
This time, Abigail elbowed him in the ribs, grinning as if she was pleased with what she’d seen as an overstep. “It’s rude to refer to her by her job title, you know.”
“I thought you wanted to be a builder,” Sebastian continued, glaring at Abigail and not missing a beat.
Mi-an’s smile faltered slightly, and then she said. “If I remember correctly, you wanted to be either a builder or structural engineer, only to finally decide on combining the two. What happened to that?”
“Hold on, you two,” Sam said, holding up his hands as if he’d noticed the change in the mood. “No need…..”
“The war happened,” Sebastian said. “That’s what happened.”
“I wonder if those bridges you designed and built are still standing,” Mi-an said. “Or how Portia or Sandrock is doing these days.”
Sam gave him a confused look; jaw dropped while Abigail—there was no getting around the fact she just realized there was a definite connection between the two. Sebastian felt the corner of his mouth twist up. “Are they even called that anymore? I mean, when Duvos took over the Alliance of Free Cities, they renamed themselves the Gotoro Empire.” He frowned, then glanced over at his mother. “Hey, just a heads up that you shouldn’t mention Portia or Sandrock to Mom. Or the people there. It’s a sore spot.”
“Particularly Arlo?” Mi-an asked, frowning as he stiffened. “And what about you? These topics?”
Sebastian let out a sigh. “If it’s just me,” he said. “You don’t want to talk about any of that in front of Maru, as she’ll start asking Mom uncomfortable questions.” He swallowed. “As for me….”
“He doesn’t want to,” Abigail said. “Can’t you see it’s upsetting him?”
Sebastian was startled, turning to look at Abigail wide-eyed. “And who exactly am I supposed to talk to all of that about? You and Sam, who know nothing about that? Or my mom, who doesn’t want to talk about it? That fucking leaves my stepdad!”
“So,” Sam said. “I take it Mi-an’s a childhood friend of yours.”
Sebastian felt a blush on his face.
“Yup,” Mi-an said.
“Actually, Grandma Vivi, Uncle Hugo, and Heidi can be mentioned in front of them without any questions,” Sebastian said.
“Oh? Grandma Vivi made it out?” Mi-an said, cheering up.
“Yeah. So, Maru gets to see her grandmother a lot.”
Mi-an frowned, pointing her finger at Sebastian. “Hold it! Don’t tell me you don’t visit your grandmother as well?”
“She’s not,” Sebastian started to say.
“She’d insist otherwise. I mean, she was everybody’s grandma back in Sandrock, so you think that would change,” Mi-an said. She took a deep breath. “And nothing’s changed between us either.” She folded her hands behind her back. “Got it?”
Sebastian felt his cheeks suddenly redden even more. “I. Wait….
“Since things haven’t changed between us,” Mi-an glanced over to where the dance would be held.
“Hold on,” Sam said. “So, she wasn’t just your childhood friend, but your childhood crush?” He elbowed Sebastian in the ribs. “Hey. Ask her.”
“I—uh,” Sebastian said, his words locking up.
Mi-an turned to look at him and, without missing a beat, said, “I’m still head over heels for you, so would you be my dance partner?”
“He has,” Abigail started to say.
“Of course,” Sam said, placing an arm around Sebastian as the words froze in his mouth. “He’ll dance with you,” Sam continued, grinning ear to ear. “And I’m saying it for him since he seems to have developed a bit of a habit of being tongue-tied when he’s around you, or at least at certain moments. I mean, you’re still head over heels for her as well, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” Sebastian said and then felt Mi-an take his arm, his face reddening even more as Abigail glared, not liking the fact she’d been dropped as his dance partner, something that was more out of convenience than because of mutual feelings.