Chapter Text
Sebastian always imagined what he would say to Rey, if he ever saw her again. At first, he really believed that she was gonna come back to Pelican Town, but after seven years, he had given up hope. Rey was never coming back and Sebastian had to move on.
He thought he might say something mean and snarky, but he didn’t want Rey to know that he was petty enough to still be upset over a breakup from when they were teenagers. He considered saying something that would make her feel guilty, but he didn’t want her to know that he was still heartbroken over a breakup from when they were teenagers. He briefly considered pretending he didn’t even remember her, but he knew she wasn’t stupid and he would look really fucking pathetic going to such lengths to pretend that he wasn’t effected by their breakup from when they were teenagers.
Thankfully, Sebastian didn’t have to worry too much about it. It had been seven years since Rey had left for college, two since Farmer Castillo passed away (may Yoba rest his soul), and he figured if she wasn’t back by now, the chances of her returning were slim to none.
So, to say he was surprised to see his ex-girlfriend, former love of his adolescence, standing at the counter of his mother’s shop, chatting it up with her as if she had never left, was an understatement.
Yoba, she looked great. Her hair was longer, shiny, and still purple, tied into two space buns, long strands hanging down her back, her skin so beautifully brown, and her body had curves and dips where there had previously been none. She still looked like the Rey he remembered, just turned up to eleven.
It was kind of aggravating.
“Oh hey, Sebastian,” she said, flippantly, when she noticed him standing at the top of the stairs.
Quick, say something snarky! No, something bitingly witty.
“H-hey.” Sebastian wanted to die. Not only did he say nothing of substance, he had the sniveling audacity to stutter on top of it.
Rey just grins and goes back to talking to Robin. She was trying to haggle over the price of a coop or something like that.
Sebastian heads into the kitchen out of earshot and lets out a deep, suffering sigh as he pours himself a cup of coffee. He sits at the table, tapping his ceramic mug anxiously, waiting until he heard the bell above the door ring, signaling Rey’s departure. He takes small sips of his coffee even though he knows it will only make him more jittery and anxious.
Maru comes into the kitchen, a small oil smear on her cheek, to pour herself some coffee as well. She takes one look at her brother and knows exactly what’s on his mind.
“I see you ran into Rey already,” she says as she adds an obscene amount of creamer to her coffee, “I don’t need to, like, put you on some kind of watch, do I?”
Sebastian shakes his head, “She just needs to leave and I’ll be fine. Not that I’m not fine, but I’ll be fine-er.”
Maru nods, making an unconvinced “mmhmm” sound with her lips. She leans back against the kitchen counter as she drinks from her cup, “You gonna tell Abby?”
“Tell her what?”
“That Rey’s back.”
“Why would I? She’ll think I give a fuck that she’s back.”
“Which you do.”
“Which I do not .” Sebastian corrects her, “And I’m sure she’ll find out sooner rather than later.”
“Right. And when she tells you and you reveal that you’ve known all along, she’s gonna wonder why you didn’t say anything sooner,” Maru says, “And then she’s gonna feel
like you’re hiding something from her.”
“That’s… not true,” Sebastian argues weakly, “Abigail knows I don’t hide anything from her.”
“Yeah, except that you know that your ex is back in town, and that you saw her, and that you didn’t tell her that you saw her,” Maru explains.
“You don’t think she really cares about that, do you?” Sebastian asks.
Maru shrugs, “Maybe when you guys were just friends, she didn’t. But, as your girlfriend, she might feel differently.”
“So, you think I should tell her that I saw Rey?”
Maru nods, “I think it’s a safer option than avoiding the subject completely. Just bring it up nonchalantly, like, ‘guess who I saw in my mom’s shop today?’ You know what I mean?”
Sebastian mulls over Maru’s advice. He wasn’t sure he could pull off nonchalance, he was never able to before. But Maru was much wiser than he was, maybe it was in his best interest to heed her advice. He lifts his mug to his lips and takes a sip of his coffee.
“Well, I gotta get back to my project,” Maru says, “Stop by my room if you need to talk. Or if you need to hide. You never know with Abby.”
Sebastian lets out a half-hearted chuckle, “Thanks, Mar.”
She gives Sebastian a supportive shoulder squeeze before leaving him to his own devices. Even though it sucked to feel like he was constantly taking a backseat to her in his parents’ eyes, he was still grateful for his sister.
Not too long later, he hears the bell above the door ring, signaling Rey’s departure. He’s unaware of the tension he’s holding in his shoulders until he feels them relax. As he gets up to rinse out his mug, he hears the heavy footsteps of his mother’s boots on the hardwood floor headed his way. Great , he thinks to himself.
“Sebastian,” Robin calls in a singsong voice.
“Yes, mom?” He sighs.
She leans against the wall, her arms crossed, and a smile on her face, “You got plans for the next few days.”
“Depends on what you’re about to ask me,” he answers with a wry smile.
“Rey’s commissioned both a barn and a coop and I could get it done a lot faster with a little help,” she says, her voice trailing off.
“I have plans,” Sebastian answers flatly.
“What are your plans?” Robin asks.
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m sure I can find something to do.” Sebastian begins to leave the kitchen, trying to avoid his mother’s gaze. If he looked directly at her, he knew he wouldn’t be able to commit to his “no”.
“Come on,” Robin insists, “I’ll pay you extra. Time and a half, every day.”
Sebastian freezes in his tracks. On one hand, he really, really did not want to go to Zephyr Farms every day for almost a week, where he was more likely than not to run into Rey. On the other hand, he really could use the money. He was trying to save up to move out, sooner rather than later, and freelancing wasn’t exactly steady money.
“Fine,” he reluctantly agrees, “But I’m not happy about it.”
Robin smiles and thanks her son with a hug from behind, “Thank you, Sebby. I know you’re not happy about it, but I do appreciate your help.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sebastian says, patting his mom’s hands, “Lemme go now, woman. I’ve got places to be.”
Once Robin releases him from her embrace, Sebastian turns around and pats her head. His awkward expression of affection towards his mother. Once the moment goes from being contentedly silent to awkwardly quiet, Sebastian leaves the kitchen and heads to the bathroom to get ready for the rest of the day.
Once Sebastian is out of sight and earshot, Maru exits her room to approach her mom. She nudges her lightly, “You don’t really need his help, do you?” Robin looks over at Maru and though she says nothing, the smile on her face speaks multitudes.
The soft elevator music that usually annoyed Sebastian each time he came to Pierre’s was actually kind of relaxing; it was a soft jazzy cover of a classic pop song
“Welcome to — oh, it’s you,” Pierre says, not bothering to hide his disappointment, “Abigail’s in her room.”
Sebastian tried not to let Pierre’s distaste for him bother him too much, it’s not like he was the only parent in town that wasn’t fond of him. And honestly, it didn’t even seem like Pierre liked Abigail that much either, so Sebastian just figured he was a dick. Either way, it wasn’t his problem. Unless, he and Abigail decided to get married, which was not something either of them were even close to possibly considering. They had only been dating a few months after all.
Abigail was sitting at her desk, fiddling with her hair in front of her small mirror, when Sebastian walked in. “Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna show up.”
“Sorry, my mom was holding me hostage at home until I agreed to help her with a project,” Sebastian explained, scratching the back of his neck. Please, don’t ask any follow up questions .
Abigail tilted her head slightly, “Robin needs help with a project? That’s weird. What is it?”
“Ah, well, you know, somebody just booked her for a back-to-back job,” Sebastian says, as nonchalantly as he could (which was not very).
“A back-to-back project? In Pelican Town?” Abigail wears a look of bafflement as she tries to piece together who in town could possibly need to commission such a job. “Well, I’m sure it’s good money for her and you. Just another step closer to moving in together, huh?”
She pushes herself out of her chair and stretches as she stands, before giving Sebastian a quick kiss. Her lips taste faintly of green tea, undoubtedly from her morning tea session with her mom. She picks up her back tote bag, lovingly decorated with various patches featuring various band logos, occult symbols, and video game mascots.
“Well, Sam and Penny are probably wondering where we are by now, since you wanted to take extra time talking to your mommy,” Abigail teases him, “Don’t worry, I’ll just tell them we were boning.”
She holds out her hand and Sebastian takes it, feeling like he had done something wrong for reasons he couldn’t quite discern. However, Abigail showed no signs of being upset, so he had to assume that all was still well. He convinced himself that he was just being paranoid and that he hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was no reason for him to feel paranoid in the first place.
The walk to the saloon was nice, there were a few colorful butterflies that flew from the trees in town, and the sun was almost too warm, but it was countered by a lovely spring breeze. It was almost romantic, save for Sebastian’s clammier-than-usual palms.
“You don’t have to be so nervous holding my hand, Seb,” she teases him, “Even though I find it kinda cute.”
Sebastian smiles at her flirting. He had waited so long for his feelings for her to be reciprocated; it felt so good to finally be with her. Though he knew he had stronger feelings for her than she did for him, he figured that could change with time.
Sam and Penny were waiting for Sebastian and Abigail at their usual table in the Stardrop Saloon. They were as cuddly as they’ve ever been, and truth be told, Sebastian was a little jealous. They had been dating since the end of high school, just over seven years now, and were still madly in love.
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting,” Abigail apologizes, “Seb had some business to take care of that just couldn’t wait.”
“Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian,” Sam says, shaking his head, “Someday, that libido is gonna bite you in the ass.”
Penny shoots Sam a scolding look, playfully smacking his arm, “Like you’re one to talk!” She turns her attention to Abigail and Sebastian, “You don’t have to explain anything to us. We went ahead and ordered everybody’s usual, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Fine with me, I’m starving!” Abigail says as she takes a seat. She gestures for Sebastian to take the seat next to her, which he does.
Before long, Emily floats on over to their table, expertly balancing three trays, one on each hand on one on her forearm, and places them on the table. She passes everybody their drinks and their usual meals: for Sebastian, a jasmine tea and a plate of sashimi, for Abigail, a green tea and a plate of spicy eel, for Sam, an ice-cold Joja Cola and a slice of pizza, and for Penny, an ice water and a Red Plate.
“Hey, you guys hear that Rey’s back?” Sam asks almost immediately.
Sebastian had to keep himself from reacting because he could feel Abigail's intense gaze on him.
“Oh really?” She asks, genuinely surprised, “I hadn’t heard. Did you know that Sebastian?”
Ah, fuck. She never called him Sebastian unless she was pissed or playing, and her tone was anything but playful. “Yeah, she came by and talked to my mom about something and left.” I didn’t, like, get a chance to talk to her.”
“But, you wanted to?” Abigail says flatly.
Sam and Penny look at each other, both obviously wishing that Sam hadn’t said anything at all. He usually just talked about whatever random show he and Penny had started binging, so why couldn’t he just stick to that? There was a particularly intense episode of Masterclef last night too, that would’ve been fine conversation fodder.
“Not really,” he shrugs. Nonchalant, nonchalant, nonchalant, he tells himself. “I got up, had coffee, showered, and picked you up.”
“Hmm, alright,” Abigail says reluctantly. An awkward moment of silence passes before she lets out a short grunt and nearly spits out her green tea, “Oh my Yoba, is she the one who commissioned the back-to-back project that you’re helping your mom with?”
“We gotta go,” Sam says, standing up suddenly. He helps Penny out of her seat and sets down more than enough gold on the table to cover the entire tab. He taps Sebastian’s shoulder as they leave and quickly whispers, “Good luck, man.” After they’re gone, the only people left in the saloon are Abigail, Sebastian, Gus, and Emily. The latter two did their best to busy themselves and give the couple their privacy, but there wasn’t much they could do beside leaving entirely. Even so, Sebastian felt like it was just a tiny version of him and a giant, angry version of Abigail.
“I didn’t say anything because it’s not a big deal. I’m only doing it to help my mom,” Sebastian says.
“Okay but why didn’t you say it was Rey, instead of being super vague and just saying somebody or that you didn’t know. You’re acting kinda sus,” Abigail says in return, “The whole thing gives me a bad feeling. Especially ‘cause… I know how you used to feel about her. When she left, you were crushed. And now that she’s back, I’m worried that —”
Sebastian grabs her hand, “There’s nothing to be worried about, okay?”
“You say that now,” Abigail says, gently pulling her hand away from Sebastian’s, “I have class soon, so I’m gonna head to the library. I’ll text you later, okay?”
Sebastian nods understandingly. He really didn’t want to let her go, especially on this sour note, but he knew that nothing he could say would make her stay. Abigail gathers her things and leaves, not having touched any of her food.
Sebastian felt awful. He really didn’t want to hurt Abigail’s feelings and he really didn’t want to make her mad, but he thought if he told her right away that the project was Rey’s, she would flip out. She did, but he really couldn’t tell if she was just feeling insecure about Rey coming back or if she was mad about him not saying anything about Rey coming back. He wanted to ask, but he also didn’t want Abigail to feel like this was a bigger deal that she was convinced it was, when it really wasn’t a big deal at all.
Not wanting to waste, Sebastian quickly finishes his food and his drink. As soon as he’s finished, he pulls his hoodie up to cover his face and block out the pitiful looks Gus and Emily are giving him.
As he pushes open the door to the saloon, he can feel and hear the heavy door hit someone else who was headed inside. Before he can see who it is that he’s accidently assaulted, he sees a basket of vibrant parsnips hit the ground and scatter, and immediately, he’s on his knees, frantically grabbing the vegetables and putting them back in the basket.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he says, “Are you okay?”
“It’s okay, I’m okay,” says a voice that’s so familiar it sends chills down his spine.
Fuck , Sebastian looks up and realizes that once again Yoba has played one of their many cruel pranks on him. Rey picks up parsnips one by one with one hand, while holding her face with the other. Sebastian keeps his mouth closed as he hurriedly helps, trying to get out of the situation as quickly as he can. He reaches for the last parsnip and feels Rey’s hand already on it. After the quickest of seconds, he pulls back and lets Rey take it and put it in her basket.
They both stand up quickly. Sebastian notices that she’s still holding her face with one hand, the basket of parsnips resting on her hip.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asks, “Why are you covering your face?”
Rey turns her head away slightly, “I’m fine, really. My nose just hurts a little.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I pinky swear!” Rey insists, removing her hand from her face and holding her hand up, her pinky sticking out. Despite her words and attitude, there was a substantial amount of blood smeared on her hand and face. She quickly covers her face again, realizing what she had done.
“You’re obviously not!” Sebastian says, equal parts appalled and concerned.
“It’s just a little blood!” Rey insists, with a wave of her hand, “It’s really not a big deal.”
“Your nose could be broken! We have to take you to Harvey’s!”
Rey rolls her eyes, “It’s fine, really . Besides, I have to give these to Gus, he asked for them for Pam’s birthday.”
“Here,” Sebastian holds his hands out to take the basket of parsnips from Rey, “I’ll give these to Gus, you go to Harvey’s and get your face checked out.”
“Fine,” she says, reluctantly handing the basket over, “Would you mind meeting me at the clinic when you’re done?”
He doesn’t really want to, but he agrees out of guilt. He heads inside the saloon once more to deliver the parsnips to Gus, who happily accepts the basket. Sebastian is thankful that Gus doesn’t ask any questions, though Emily’s mischievous grin leaves him feeling a little uneasy. Without much to say, Sebastian bids them farewell and ever so carefully leaves the saloon.
He quickly walks over to the small clinic. Once inside, he sees Maru working at the front counter. She looks up from sorting files and once she realizes it's her brother who entered the clinic, she smiles and shakes her head.
“Rey comes in with a bloody face and you come rushing in after her,” she teases, “I don’t suppose you know what happened?”
“It’s none of your business,” Sebastian says, walking past the counter and heading towards the exam room.
“You know, you can’t just barge in when Harvey’s with a patient.”
Sebastian freezes in his tracks. He begins to make his way to one of the seats in the waiting room when Maru speaks up again.
“Lucky for you, Rey told me to let you in the back.”
Sebastian refuses to look at Maru, refuses to receive that impish look she was undoubtedly giving him. He heads to the exam room, feeling his sister’s eyes on him as he does so. Rey is sitting on the patient’s cot when she notices Sebastian and gives him a small wave. She’s wearing a thick bandage across her nose and he can’t help but feel fucking awful.
“So, what’s the damage? Bruised or broken?” He asks.
“Broken,” Rey responds flatly, “Gonna be a few weeks before it’s healed. So, that’s great.”
“I’m sorry,” Sebastian says, “Is there anyway I can make it up to you?”
Just as he’s finished his sentence, Harvey enters the room armed with a clipboard. “Alright, Miss Castillo —”
“Rey’s fine,” she interrupts him.
He nods acknowledgingly, “Rey, aside from the broken nose, I don’t see any other reasons for concern. Just make sure you come back in a few weeks, so we can check on the healing process. It’s a mild break though, I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“Thanks, Doctor Harvey,” Rey says.
“Harvey’s fine,” the doctor says.
“I like Doctor Harvey,” she says nearly purring, much to Sebastian’s horror. Wait, why was he horrified?
Even more horrifyingly, Harvey blushes at Rey’s flirting. He clears his throat, “W-w-well, if that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave. Maru will schedule you a follow-up appointment,” he hands a folded piece of paper to Sebastian, “Let’s just make sure we’re careful about the heavy doors we open from now on, okay?” With an easy smile, Harvey leaves the exam room.
“What’s this?” Sebastian asks, unfolding the paper Harvey had handed him. As his eyes skim it, he realizes it’s the bill. “Oh, he must have meant to give this to you. I don’t know why he gave it to me.”
Rey pushes herself off the cot. “No, it’s for you. You break my nose, you foot the doctor bill.”
Sebastian balks, “Are you serious?”
Rey points to her bandaged nose, “Are you serious?”
He rolls his eyes, knowing he really doesn’t have a choice but to acquiesce. He follows her out of the exam room and to the front desk. He hands Maru the bill and gives her the money to cover it. He’s extremely annoyed, that money (1,000!) was supposed to go towards moving him and Abigail out of their parents’ homes.
“Thank you,” Maru says, handing Sebastian a carbon copy of his receipt, “Please keep this for your records.”
Rey thanks Maru, Sebastian just rolls his eyes and nods and the two leave the clinic. Rey turns to Sebastian to say something, much to his dismay. He was hoping he’d be able to slink out of sight before getting trapped into socializing with her more than he already had.
“Thanks for covering that,” she says.
“You didn’t really give me much of a choice,” he grumbles, “But it’s fine, I guess. It’s the least I can do. And it’s not like I won’t be making the money back soon anyways. My mom asked me to help with the stuff you commissioned.”
If Sebastian’s not mistaken, Rey’s face brightened when he said that. No, he must be imagining things. But even if he was, why would he want to see that?
“Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you around,” Rey says, grinning. She gives him a small wave and heads towards the saloon.
As Sebastian watches her walk away, he can’t help but imagine all the ways that her being here was going to disrupt his life. Realistically, he knew that if he didn’t want her to, he could stop her. He knew he could keep her at a safe distance, he knew if he asked, she would stay as far away from him as he wanted. Their interactions could forever be limited to generic greetings here and there.
But Sebastian knew, just as he couldn’t resist watching her walk away from him, replaying the way her hips swayed slightly over and over, that he couldn’t keep himself away from her. He was a lamb, she was the slaughter.
Fuck , he thinks as he walks home, this is bad. This is really fucking bad.