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stardewpanda · 1 year

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Brand new story today!

This was a gift fic for the Discord server Grapefruit Sky’s Winter Star 2022 gift exchange, and @elleasinwoods’s OC Elle is the farmer. This fic is a prequel to her AO3 fic No Late Bloomers, so it doesn't require reading her material to understand my story, but I encourage it because her story is fun and I slipped in a few references to it.

Title: As Ships Sailing Past At Night

Word Count: 3,869 (6 chapters)

Summary: Five times Haven Farm’s farmer Eleanor M. L. Casa and Pelican Town Clinic’s doctor Harvey Q. Ryan nearly interacted, and then the time they finally meet.

Summer Year 1:

Linus was used to solitary mornings. After years of traveling the world, learning the cultures and lifestyles of the people he visited, he decided this was what he wanted: a life that brought him closer to nature. One that didn’t have to rely on others to provide food and shelter in exchange for services. And it was wonderful, even if some people in town mocked him for it.

With time, however, he learned to enjoy a small handful of others’ company.

During the summer, for example, Doctor Harvey Ryan of the town clinic would climb up the mountain for an “in-home” visit. Linus never asked for these, of course, but Harvey never charged him either. The man simply felt it was his responsibility to ensure Linus was in good health to continue as he is, even if Linus hasn’t caught a cold in years. But after one incident of food poisoning due to spoiled food from a JojaMart dumpster, the doctor made it his responsibility to worry himself about the rest of Linus too.

It didn’t hurt to be cautious, Linus supposed. And so, he allowed the doctor to visit him.

This visit was similar to others before: excellent overall health, mild encouragement to vary exercise so it isn’t just Linus’s relatively passive (but time-intensive) routine of scavenging or fishing for food, and stronger encouragement to visit the clinic so the doctor can run cancer screening tests. Unfortunately for Harvey, Linus decided years ago that if that’s what takes him, that’s what takes him.

Linus thanked him for the visit, and then Doctor Harvey was on his way back to town. He thought he would have the rest of the day “to himself” (Robin and Demetrius’s family hardly counted as guests), but only a few minutes later, a woman arrived from another path, specifically the one down to the growing farm. It was Elle, the late Augustin Casa’s granddaughter and the new farmer who moved here just last season. She would often visit the mines, but occasionally fished.

And judging by the pole poking out of her backpack, it was a fishing day.

The woman noticed him with his own fishing gear, and simply smiled and waved.

Maybe, just maybe, Linus will allow himself to enjoy the company of another today.

Autumn Year 1:

Maru was well bundled up in her autumn coat, but after leaving the warmth of the Stardrop Saloon for the foggy outdoors with on-and-off rain, she couldn’t help but to bring closer to herself the large lidded to-go cup of soy milk coffee with sugar she carried in one hand. It was a good thing she had her lunch late, otherwise it would have been even more tempting to eat one of the four danishes she was carrying in a to-go box.

The wind picked up, and for a minute there Maru worried the loose end of her magenta-purples-and-grays plaid scarf would fly away – or worse, cause her to drop her goods.

Out of the corner of her eye, a gloved hand snatched that end of the scarf. Maru turned to see who she recognized as the farmer who moved in last spring. Elle had visited her mom a couple times for various construction projects.

“Thank you, Elle.”

“Of course! Where’re you heading?”

“The clinic. Doc has a few case files to go through and update tonight, and he wants to get it done before cold-and-flu season starts.”

“Oh, neat! I’m on my way there too. He requested a jar of pickles on the bulletin board the other day.”

“So he finally decided to make a request?” she laughed.

Maru chatted comfortably with Elle until finally she pushed in the door with her hip and the two made their way to the receptionist’s counter where Maru could finally place her things before finally retying her scarf.

“Hey Doc! I got what you wanted. Elliott paid extra to make the coffee a grande instead of a tall. And the farmer’s here with your pickles too.”

“Excellent! Could you please bring them back here? I’ll hand you the payment to give to them.”

“No problem!”

Maru had Elle wait in the waiting area as she picked up the goods. Elle opened the door for her into the hallway that led to the offices and the urgent care room. Maru muttered a thanks before making her way to the office where Doctor Harvey sprawled paperwork on a desk, writing notes and typing into a computer database.

Maru set the goods on a clear area of the desk, and pulled out several napkins from her coat pocket. “Here you go!”

With a heavy sigh, Doctor Harvey set down his fountain pen and stretched his back. “Thank you, Maru.” He took a moment to sniff his coffee and take a sip, followed by a long drink. Harvey nodded to himself, then reached for his wallet for another payment like he had when he asked Maru to swing by the saloon for what could barely pass as dinner. He put the money in Maru’s hand. “For the farmer,” he said. “And two of those danishes are for you. I’m sorry I kept you here so late.”

“No worries, Doc.” Maru smiled reassuringly. “You’ve been busy. Elliott says you should take a break anyway.”

“No surprise there.” Harvey chuckled. “I’ll try to make it over to the saloon tomorrow.”

Maru reached into the to-go box of danishes, putting two on a napkin. “Thanks for these!”

“Of course! Anything for my number one employee.”

“You’ll regret saying that, one day.” She joked, and once she stepped back out into the hallway, Maru took a bite of one of the danishes she carried in a napkin. She smiled at the sweetness of the pastry’s sugar complemented with the tartness of the berries baked inside. She should order these more often, she thought.

Soon she returned to the receptionist counter, this time on the other side, as it was easier to reach Elle this way than back in the waiting room.

“Here’s your payment!” Maru passed her the money. “Would you like a danish for the road?”

“No thanks, I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”

Elle opened the door back outside, timed perfectly with the honk of a lighthouse’s blow horn in the distance. “I’ll see you around, Maru. Have a nice evening.”

“You too!”

Winter Year 1:

Evelyn was quite pleased with herself.

Each year for the Winter Star gift exchange, she requested Mayor Lewis notify her of her recipient an additional week early. She would make the same gifts: a knitted scarf and a dozen baked cookies. What made them special, however, was how they catered to each of her recipients. Occasionally she had Alex find some way to discover her recipient’s favorite colors and patterns, and once she practiced several cookie batches with dairy-free margarine, shortening, and coconut oil so she could make suitable cookies for one lactose-intolerant recipient.

She prided herself on her annual knitting projects and baked goods, and these chocolate cookies and this plaid scarf of light blues, grays, and cream were no different.

George and Alex accompanied her out to the town square, their prepared gifts in tow. Although George seemed grouchy as he often did, he quietly enjoyed her own happiness, and manifested it this time of year with his “bah, hum-button” pinned to his coat.

It turned out her recipient this year was the newest member of the Pelican Town community: Eleanor Casa of the newly restored Haven Farm. The farmer offered her gift to Robin’s daughter Maru, who graciously accepted it, then introduced the farmer to her friend, Pam’s daughter, Penny, who happened to be Maru’s gift recipient this year.

The farmer’s usual winter attire looked very dark: lots of black. Maybe she liked it. Still, hopefully she’ll like the splash of color her scarf will provide.

Before Evelyn could stride up to her recipient, however, she heard a man clear his throat. Too young sounding to be George, but too old to be Alex.

“Miss Evelyn?”

Evelyn turned around. “Oh, Doctor Ryan! Merry Winter Star, dear.”

The man smiled. “Merry Winter Star. And please, call me Harvey.”

Doctor Harvey extended to her a neatly wrapped box.

“Ah, you’ve been practicing your gift wrapping. It looks wonderful, dear.”

“But you haven’t seen your present yet.” He protested with a chuckle.

“A man who makes this effort on the wrapping has certainly spent adequate time selecting his gift, Doctor.”

Evelyn removed her mittens to tear away the wrapping paper and open her present. Inside were four pairs of pastel-colored gloves at varying thicknesses, presumably to accommodate for weather. The fur-lined ice blue winter gloves were decorated with a purple crocus and a faux-diamond stud pattern that formed snowflakes. Upon closer inspection, the remaining three gloves were actually gardening gloves: a pink butterfly and tulip themed pair for spring, a green pair with a sun and sunflowers for summer, and a red-orange maple leaf and fairy rose themed pair for autumn.

“Oh, my, these are lovely, dear. Very lovely.”

Evelyn had forgotten that her usual gardening gloves had been wearing out for years, but with the time she spends caring for her husband and grandson, she had never gotten around to looking for new ones.

“Thank you, Harvey.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad you like them so much. I wasn’t sure if your other ones had sentimental value.”

Not particularly, Evelyn thought. “These are perfect, dear. Thank you. Enjoy the Feast.”

Doctor Harvey nodded to her. “You as well, Evelyn.”

The doctor walked past the spirit tree to return to his seat. He picked up a couple sandwiches before standing up and walking behind Maru to return to the clinic.

Just a little bit longer, and the farmer finished her conversation with Penny and Maru. Evelyn finally walked up to introduce herself.

“Eleanor, is it?” she inquired.

“You can just call me Elle,” the farmer replied with a smile.

“Elle. A lovely name. I hope you’ve had a pleasant year here in Pelican Town?”

“I have, thank you.”

Evelyn offered Elle her present. “I’m your secret gift-giver this year. I hope you like it.”

She beamed as she watched Elle open the present, and the warmest smile grow on her rosy face. Elle immediately took out the scarf and wrapped it around her bare neck. “Thank you, Miss…”

“Evelyn. You can just call me Granny, dear.”

“Alright.” The farmer smiled again. “Granny. Merry Winter Star.”

“Merry Winter Star to you as well.”

Spring Year 2:

The days before the Flower Dance were always the most busy for Emily.

On top of her usual bartending work at the Stardrop Saloon, she was also Pelican Town’s unofficial tailor. Whenever a flower dance outfit got a tear or became just a little too snug to be comfortable (and most people would only find this out the day of the dance, or the day before if Emily was lucky), it was to Emily they would run to fix it.

For the most part, she didn’t mind the extra work. She could always use the extra funds for new sewing projects.

This year’s grand project: a dress perfect for a farmer. Farmer Elle, that is.

Last year, the farmer insisted she had her own suitable clothes for the Flower Dance, only to show up in her most plain white shirt and an off-color skirt. And as Elle still had a lot of farmland to tame at that time, both were mildly stained by the brush the farmer fought through before she reached the field west of town in the middle of the Cindersap Forest.

Nope, Emily wouldn’t allow her friend to embarrass herself this year. She’d foot the bill herself if it meant Elle got herself a proper dress for the Flower Dance.

And so for the last few weeks, even before she put up a bulletin board announcement at Pierre’s grocery reminding the town to try on their old outfits to make sure they fit before the day of the dance (and the sooner the better) to ensure there was enough time for her to mend the clothes, Emily worked on her project. Now with four days before the dance, she was ready to have Elle come in for her surprise gift and to take proper measurements and adjust her dress accordingly. She was expecting her any minute now.

From her room she heard the doorbell ring. Her parrot repeated the sound the best he could, and Emily knew he wouldn’t stop until Emily met her guest.

Emily walked over and threw open the door, expecting to see Farmer Elle standing there. Instead she found herself face to face with Doctor Harvey Ryan, a pair of light blue slacks hung over his forearm.

“Er, good morning Emily.” The doctor greeted her with a hint of bashfulness. “Is it too late to ask for a mending job on these?”

“No, not at all!” Emily replied cheerfully. “Come in! What do you need?”

Harvey unfolded his slacks in such a way that revealed a hole formed by pulled apart seams at the crotch of the trousers.

“I tried pulling them on too fast and it tore. How long would it take to mend these?”

“Considering it’s the seam that pulled apart and not the cloth that wore down, ten minutes if I take it slow. You’re lucky, doc. Last year I had someone not realize a hole formed right about there…” she pointed to the fabric still at the crotch, “until the day of the dance. Thankfully no one really looks down there if you’re standing, but if you’re sitting down and not paying attention…” Emily made a face.

“Yeah, I can imagine that would be embarrassing.” Harvey agreed. “I have an appointment in half an hour, but I can come back later today if that’s convenient for you. Otherwise I can pick it up tomorrow.”

“As long as you can make it before I have to work at the saloon tonight, today should work out no problem.” Emily ran over to her sewing machine and pulled out blue thread that matched the slacks best. “Thanks for checking on them sooner than later. Do you need me to take in the waist or anything while it’s here?”

“Nope. It’s still a perfect fit.” Harvey took out some money from his wallet and gave it to Emily. “Thanks again, Emily.”

“Of course, Doc. It’s my pleasure!”

“I’ll see you later, then.”

“Bye!”

It took Emily five minutes to mend the trousers, including the time it took to set up her sewing machine. And another five minutes after that, Emily heard another ring at the door. This time it was Elle.

“I got your message. What is it that you wanted to show me?” the farmer asked.

Emily welcomed her into her home, leading her to the completed dress. “I’m glad you asked. Right this way, doll!”

Summer Year 2:

To say Penny was happy was an understatement.

Despite her panic and fear, the last week became the best in her life. Her best friend was now her girlfriend! It turned out that Elle was right about Maru crushing on her, Penny, since last Winter Star (and much longer than that).

Penny waited contently at the bridge between Pelican Town’s two grocers: JojaMart and Pierre’s. It granted her the best viewing point as she waited for her friend – no, girlfriend (Penny couldn’t help but grin at the thought) – to appear as Maru descended the mountain on her way to work at the clinic.

Sure enough, right on cue, Maru appeared. She spotted Penny waiting down below and gave her a wave and smile. Penny beamed as she ran – no, but strided quickly – towards her.

“Good morning, Maru!”

The two chatted, holding hands as they walked to the clinic. Penny would have let Maru go in on her own, but Doctor Harvey Ryan granted her permission to join Maru for a bit before the clinic officially opened for the day. The doctor handed Maru a sum of money for a notice board request he made two days before.

“Could you make sure this gets to the farmer when they bring in my pickles? I need to go in the back and sort out medications. A few prescriptions are going to be handed out today, and I don’t want any of them mixed up or lost.”

“Sure thing, Doc. You can count on me!”

Doctor Ryan excused himself and disappeared into the back of the clinic. Penny pulled up a chair from the waiting room and placed it next to the counter where Maru stood in her own cute white lab coat.

Not long after the closed sign was switched to open, a bell rang, indicating the arrival of a guest. Penny turned to see Elle walking in with a tray carrier with three coffees.

“Hello!”

“Ah, if it isn’t my favorite new lovebirds!” Elle placed the coffees on the counter. “I’m surprised the doctor is letting you camp out here, Penny.”

“Being the doc’s number one employee has its perks.” Maru winked.

“Not for long!” A voice in the backroom shouted. Maru cackled at Doctor Harvey’s little joke, while Elle and Penny smiled, stifling their own giggles.

Elle reached into her carrying bag and pulled out a few items. “Here we go… a poppy flower… a jar of pickles for the doctor… a gold bar. And, of course, coffees.”

“Nice! Thank you!”

The coffee Elle passed to Penny was more milk and cream than coffee… just the way she liked it. Elle winked. “I figured you wouldn’t be too far from Maru these days.” She then passed Maru a coffee with a splash of strawberry syrup coloring the whipped cream top. “Happy belated birthday, Maru. And I’m not sure what the doctor likes, so I just got him black.”

“Good call.” Maru first reached for the money reserve Harvey left out for his pickles, then her own wallet for her items.

“Wait,” Penny paused. “I thought you hated poppies, Maru.”

Maru extended the orange flower to her. “Yeah, but you don’t.”

Penny felt her face flush red as she accepted her favorite flower from her favorite person. “Thank you.”

“Alright, I’ll leave you two alone now.” Elle winked. “See you around.”

“Thanks again, Elle!”

Soon after the door shut behind Elle, Doctor Harvey came into the reception room. “Okay, everything’s taken care of back there. Let me know when my 10 AM appointment arrives.”

“Sure thing, Doctor. Oh yeah!” Maru passed to him the jar of pickles. “Farmer came around. Here are your pickles, and she also brought a coffee, black.”

“Thanks! This is great.”

Harvey disappeared upstairs, presumably to take his jar of pickles to his apartment upstairs. Penny barely noticed. She barely registered Maru talking about how the doctor probably skipped breakfast again. She simply smiled at Maru as she lowered her nose into her poppy flower and inhaled its earthy, faint vanilla scent.

Autumn Year 2:

Gus was in the kitchens preparing pancakes and danishes that fated day.

It was the afternoon before the Stardew Valley Fair. Many tourists came in the week before the harvest festival, most to scope out their display or carnival game stations before the big day, some to scope out potential competition. A small handful, however, knew of the Stardrop Saloon’s reputation for exquisite homemade meals and baked goods, and with it being the peak of blackberry season, many flocked to the saloon for berry-filled or berry-topped goodness.

It was these autumn evenings in which he had Emily come in earlier to help serve the seasonal influx of customers, with the promise that at least one of the full days before the festival, he’ll run on his own so she can visit her friend in the Calico Desert for her friend’s birthday. Emily was one of the best employees he’s ever had, and rarely asked for days off, so he grants them without question.

From the stove, he could hear Emily talking to each customer who came in. Jodi and Caroline were the earliest customers, splitting a dozen blackberry danishes and a gallon of pumpkin-spiced coffee to bring to their families for late breakfasts that day (for the third time that week). A small family of tourists came in for bathroom breaks and stacks of pancakes before continuing on their road trip. Alex played delivery boy for his grandparents as he picked up half a dozen danishes and three to-go cups of coffee: two black and one with cream and sugar. Another pair of tourists from Grampleton met up at the saloon for a first date, which by the sound of it, they sat at the table nearest to the kitchen. Both were extremely shy around their partner, but seemed to grow more confident as they talked about their favorite baked goods and one embarrassing coffee shop backstory.

“What can I get you today, Doc?” Emily asked another customer. “The usual?”

“Something light for now.” Doctor Harvey Ryan, the sole practitioner of Pelican Town’s clinic, replied. “Do you still have blackberry danishes?”

“We sure do!”

“I’ll have two of those and a coffee. Can I get the second danish to go?”

“Sure thing. How about you, doll? What can I get for ya today?”

“Just a coffee to-go, please.” The voice of farmer Elle replied. “Can you pour it here instead?”

“Got it. Coming right up!”

With a ring from a timer, Gus pulled out the next batch of blackberry danishes. As the sun dipped below the horizon, fewer customers came filing into the saloon, which meant Gus could finally rest from the kitchens for a spell. Emily came in, boxed up one danish and grabbed another in wax paper. Gus continued to add the danishes to a heated storage and display case. Meanwhile, he listened as Doctor Harvey made small talk with the farmer… and succeeded. The doctor noted the farmer’s irritability and offered one of his danishes to satiate her hunger.

Many times before Gus tried to persuade Elle to try one of his danishes, and each time she had insisted she only needed her coffee, even though he could tell she hadn’t eaten.

Not today, it seemed.

To his dismay, Gus was forced to return to the kitchens to boil water for more noodles for his special spaghetti while Elle accepted the danish, and the two customers talked. He knew it was too much to hope for, Elle remaining longer to continue talking with Harvey. She only had time for brief visits before she had to return to her Stardew Valley Fair preparations.

“…It was nice meeting you, Doc. I owe you one.”

Elle raised her danish up as if for a toast before hopping off her barstool and leaving the saloon. Gus couldn’t help but to notice Harvey watching her as she left.

“Smooth,” Gus finally said, chuckling. “Not the Doctor Harvey I know.”

Harvey raised his coffee mug as he shrugged. “It’s good for the town to have a good image on tourists.” Nonchalantly, he drained half the coffee.

Tourists? Harvey was joking, right? He had to be. Elle has been living in Pelican Town for nearly two years. Gus shook his head and laughed. Good one, Doc.