Camellia Station - Blog Posts

Camellia Station

Name: Camellia Station

Fandom: Stardew Valley

Ship: Elliott/Shane

Status: Ongoing

Notes: Chapter 8 preview. Not edited yet.

Read the whole fic on AO3

Someone else was with her and Shane couldn't bear to look at him in anything other than a side glance. Elliott wore a somber smile as he stepped forward and held out his parting gifts. A composition book, not one of the kinds with metal spiral binding, but one stitched together on the inside. The other was a leather-bound copy of some old book that Shane didn't read the title of because he was too embarrassed to be getting gifts at all.

"Thanks. Uhm… super thoughtful," Shane said as he set his bag down, took the books, then rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"My pleasure. I'm… we're all very proud of you, Shane. This path is a thorny one to walk, but you have the strength to see it to the end. I believe that whole-heartedly."

"Fuck's sake," he huffed, eyes stinging.

The past four days already left him feeling like an exposed nerve end. Three days in the clinic to detox and wait out a 72-hour hold, one spent at home so he could pack while his paperwork got approved. Harvey worked quick to make sure there was a bed ready for him at a six week program in Zuzu. Shane suspected the good doctor planned for this well in advance.

Now he stood here, belly full of pancakes Marnie helped Jas make, and had to endure an unexpected going away party. They might be there to actually see him off or they could be there to make sure he didn't walk in front of the train. Maybe both. Probably both.

Emily got the balloons off the basket's handle and pressed it into Shane's open hand. He had to readjust his things, stuffed the books into his bag so he could get out his ticket when the train came. Once that was settled, Emily pulled him into a big bear hug. He froze, stunned for a moment that she was hugging him at all and that she was so damn strong. Then he returned the hug with as much strength as he could muster. Over her shoulder, he met Elliott's eyes and held them for a moment before looking away.

"When did you start lifting steel beams for fun? What the hell?" He asked, wheezing a little for effect.

She pulled away, took a step back and wiped her eyes as she giggled.

"You'd be surprised what carrying kegs around can do for a girl."

Shane picked up his bag, felt the extra weight of his gifts in it. Felt the extra weight of other people's expectations. Or maybe it was their genuine good will? As he looked between the two of them, Shane honestly wasn't sure what was better or worse.

Was he suppose to say something now? Make a speech or cry or gush about how much their support meant? He had no idea how to behave and it didn't look like they did, either. At least he wasn't the only one who wasn't equipped for this kind of thing. The three stood in relative silence, Emily only chiming in now and then with a word of encouragement or a remark about how the fog started to clear up.

Elliott tried to keep up the conversation, but it kept petering out, returning them back to uneasy quiet periodically. But Shane appreciated his effort. He appreciated Emily's, too, but Elliott held more weight in his mind right now. After all the weird shit that went on between them since the Spring, it continued to amaze him that the guy would keep showing up. That Shane kept wanting him to show up.

Faint anxiety stirred in Shane's chest. It occurred to him that Elliott might use Shane's stint in rehab as an excuse to put some distance between them. It was his life, sure, but the thought that Elliott might choose to stop coming around made Shane nervous in a way he couldn't quite understand. It was like the feeling he had right before he got the results from all the x-rays and CT scans when they were trying to figure out if he could play gridball again. Like something bad that he never anticipated was just around the corner.

A train horn sounded in the distance. Almost time.

He decided to see what a little courage might feel like.