A Life More Ordinary Ch. 06

Author's note: Welcome to chapter 6 of this Stardew Valley story! Apologies for the delay in posting! Chapter 7 will be along shortly.

By way of a content warning, this series features intersex characters, large to massive breasts, oral sex, incestuous relationships, large cumshots, long stretches of non-sexual content, cum swapping and swallowing, and continuing development of strong affections. These warnings will be updated per chapter as necessary. If any of these are of little interest to you, the reader, I offer my apologies.

Disclaimer: All characters engaging in sexual activity or described in a sexual manner are at least 18 years of age.

*****

Chapter 6: Harvest Moon

Spring 9, Year 1 (Continued)

Kaylia had a lot on her mind as she walked up the mountain road. The incoming major harvest, the first round of which sat in her backpack, was an important milestone in establishing herself and the farm. The money she'd receive for the crops would go right back into the farm, and she knew Pierre Chandler, the general store owner, could get very good prices for the quality produce she could provide. Paradoxically, those prices were lower than those of the local JojaMart, whose shelves swelled with a wide selection and ready supply (or so Kay assumed, she hadn't set foot in the place).

In a strange way, Kay's experience as a military commander was extremely helpful in understanding the supply and logistics problems Pelican Town faced. As lovely a place as it was, the town was quite a distance from Zuzu City, the nearest metropolitan area, which meant long shipping times, increased shipping fees, and exaggerated effects from delays. The town could therefore benefit greatly from a local source of food and sundries, especially if the local supply outstripped demand and allowed for exports. That was a ways out of reach for the moment; Kay would need to figure out some form of automated irrigation at the very least before she could scale to that level of production.

Kay stopped to pick a few leeks growing at the side of the road as she considered the other issues at hand. The background magic situation, for one, was more of a long-term problem but worrisome nonetheless. The valley coursed with mystical energy, which had appreciable effects on all aspects of life there. The rapid crop maturity, for one, allowing roots and vegetables to reach harvest weight in a fraction of the time normally required. Kay suspected her fast friendships might also be attributed to the webway (the local wizard's term for the network of leylines and magical hotspots running through the valley). She certainly didn't expect to have a girlfriend a week into her tenure, nor to have had as many sexual encounters as she did. The joke amongst her new friends was that she worked very quickly, indeed, and Kay suspected the valley itself may have had a hand in it.

A girlfriend. Abigail Chandler was funny, gorgeous, and caring, and she and Kay had exchanged the L-word in the depths of their passion the evening previous. Like Kay, Abby was intersex, having been born with both male and female sets of genitalia; unlike Kay, Abby came by her attributes naturally (honestly, as it were), while Kay had been magically engineered as such. They had bonded over their similar bodies emotionally, and those bonds had deepened beyond mere friendship in a short amount of time. It scared Kay a little, as those feelings came very close to how she felt about her sister, Zoria.

Maybe that was why Kay declined to read Zoria's letter last night; prevented by the guilt of having found someone that might share Kay's life the way she'd intended Z would, if she hadn't disappeared on her last assignment. No, that wasn't right, was it. Astria had revealed that Zoria wanted to escape the Gotoro Empire exactly as Kay had, and the deep cover assignment was a ruse to get her out. Communication had ceased because it was her plan to melt into the Republic, to forge a new life free of the Empire's control. Unlike Kay, however, Z was a shapeshifter and an empath. Trying to find her after three years' head start would be impossible.

Kay eventually rounded the bend behind the Wright household and started towards the mountain lake. Off to her right, standing under the large tree in the clearing, stood an older man with shaggy white hair and beard in clothes made from preserved foliage. He leaned against the tree, enjoying the rain and the sounds of the mountain. Kay had met the man as he was foraging for food in the town's garbage cans one evening. Of all the people Kay had met thus far, he was by far the most interesting.

"Good morning, Linus!" she called. He jumped with a start and looked about ready to bolt for his tent until he saw it was Kay addressing him. He smiled warmly and waved. Kay walked over.

"Wonderful morning," he said as Kay approached. "Nothing better to get clean than a nice, warm rain."

"I would have expected it to be a bit colder this early in the year." Kay commented, receiving a nod from Linus.

"It was a fairly mild winter, not surprising the rain would follow suit."

On a whim, Kay reached into her pack to offer the man one of the leeks she'd picked up on her way. "Any interest in some fresh forage?"

Linus's face fell. "Thank you, it looks excellent, but I don't really have anything to trade at the moment."

The admission touched Kay, she hadn't even considered compensation. "Please, take it. You probably would have found it if I hadn't, anyway."

Linus looked at Kay, searching her face. She was a tall one, alright, but she didn't read as taking pity or being concerned about him and his lifestyle. He also got a good vibe from her, like she could be trusted, and he almost never got that feeling from anyone. He reached out and accepted the offered vegetable.

"Thank you, this is great!"

"You're welcome!" They smiled and wandered over to Linus's tent. The large yellow camping tent had seen much better days, with evidence of being patched multiple times over the years. The design resonated with Kay for some reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"A little bird told me you're getting ready to harvest," Linus said, deftly starting a fire in a pit dug out in front of the tent.

"Yeah, I've actually got the first wave with me now, I'm taking it over to Pierre's," Kay said. "Eventually." she added under her breath. She needed to make a deposit first.

"I heard a lot of good things about those parsnips," Linus remarked, retreating into his tent and returning with a beat-up cooking pot and a few more leeks. He filled it with rainwater from a nearby barrel and set it on the banked fire. Kay was suitably impressed with the man's industry, she knew from experience how difficult starting a fire in the rain was, much less keeping it going.

"They seemed to do alright." She continued watching as Linus produced a pocket knife and proceeded to slice the leeks in half. The knife must have been razor sharp, as Linus made quick work of the alliums. After slicing each in half, he dunked them in the rain barrel, swirling them around to dislodge any dirt trapped in their layers. He then took the halves and chopped them into the pot.

"You look like you've done some field cooking," Kay joked.

"I might have done," Linus replied with a wink. He used a stick to stir the pot, and it rapidly came to a boil. Kay smiled, the mountain man was well-versed in this sort of life and enjoying himself.

"I should get going," Kay said, turning to take her leave. "Let me know how the soup turns out."

"I will," Linus nodded with a wave.

Kay began her descent down the mountain, heading back the way she came and turning to walk past the Wright's house. She could hear the faint sounds of morning activity from within, nothing distinct. She wondered if Haley was there, or if Maru wasn't there.

*****

"Honestly, I think it looks amazing on you."

Haley and Emily sat with coffee mugs on their living room couch, watching Maru as she modeled a new maxi dress. Maru's figure filled out the dress nicely, but the main attraction (especially to Haley) was the deeply plunging neckline.

"I think it looks obscene," Maru said, turning to look herself over in the trifold mirror. Maru's H-cup breasts were barely contained by the thin strips of black and shiny gold material, tied behind Maru's neck. The very edges of her areola peeked out at the sisters, and the neckline displayed generous amounts of side-boob as well as the deep valley of her cleavage. They also bobbed and swayed in the otherwise elegant garment with even the barest movement. She did like how it complemented her toned butt and thighs, but the top was definitely not acceptable for public viewing.

"Sorry, Haley," Emily said with a laugh, "I agree. A bra might help, but that dress would look terrible with one. Thank you for trying it on for me, Maru."

Haley slumped back on the couch as Maru went to change out of the slinky dress. "I guess," she said, disappointed.

"It'll look amazing on you when it's finished, though," Emily said, comforting her sister. "It's just not designed for someone of Maru's..."

"Carriage?" Maru said from Haley's room. Emily laughed, she liked the way Maru framed things.

"She's talking about your massive tits, babe." Haley said. As much as she hated to admit it, Haley knew Maru would be much more comfortable with something that didn't accentuate her bust. She turned to Emily. "What about something off-shoulder with a midi skirt?"

Emily nodded. "That would work, I think." She picked up a nearby sketch pad to rough out some ideas. Eventually, Maru returned to sit next to Haley, wearing her usual t-shirt and denim overalls. Emily turned the pad around to display a simple number as Haley described.

"Yeah, that looks nice!" Maru agreed. She looked at Haley for a moment. "Maybe it could have a little boob window? Just a little one," she added, forestalling Haley's enthusiastic agreement. Emily laughed as she made the small adjustment to the sketch.

"I think that's very sensible."

Maru looked at the sketches spread out over the coffee table. Emily was super talented, and the vast array of ideas spoke to the elder Carter's deep interest in fashion design. Dresses of every sort were represented on the table, and Maru was very impressed by the level of artistry on display. One sketch, in particular, caught Maru's eye, and she picked it up to give it a closer look.

"Oh, wow," she said, "this one is so pretty. What's it called?"

Haley looked at the drawing. "That's a cheongsam, Emmy calls it a qipao. I don't really care for the silhouette, but it's super striking on the right kind of figure."

"That's going to be my next big project," Emily added, "once I can afford to start it."

As drawn, the dress conformed to the model's body, with long slits along either side of the skirt to show off the legs and allow for a wider range of movement. The top had short sleeves and a high collar that secured in front of the neck with a round broach. The body of the dress would embroidered with a stylized Imperial-style dragon, soaring amongst clouds and roaring at the viewer.

"I know who this is for," Maru said, looking at Emily. "It's going to be red and gold, right?" Emily blushed, nodding in response. Haley sat up to look more closely at the design.

"Wait, who is it for?" she asked, getting a peck on the cheek from Maru in response.

"Come on, Hale," Maru teased, "it looks just like her mailbox."

*****

There had been plenty of parsnips to fill the Junimos' order, with enough besides to turn small profit. Kay decided to take the time and make notes of everything the Junimos wanted currently; the last time she'd visited, she'd only had time to check out a few of the lists before she started feeling super drowsy. This knowledge would not only help with crop planning in the future, but also things to keep an eye out for while foraging or fishing.

Kay also noticed differences in how the requests were structured. The seasonal crops wanted one of every major crop available in a given season (the spring bundle, for example, needed a parsnip, a potato, a head of cauliflower, and some green beans). The request for artisan goods, however, had a list of a dozen different fruits and crafted items, but only required six of them for completion. There were similar differences between requests in the activity room and in front of the fish tank. Kay made a further note to have a chat with Willy, the bait shop owner, for better intel on how and where to catch the fish the Junimo were after.

After finishing her notes, Kay wandered the community center for a bit. Even though the place was thoroughly trashed, she could still get a sense of how important the place had been to the town. It was fairly easy to picture Mayor Lewis sitting behind the ruined desk in the office, Gus and Pierre arguing over recipes in the kitchen area, Willy tending the fish tank and constantly mentioning that one time he caught a fish this big. Kay caught herself laughing at the thought, until the present reality reminded her of the long road ahead. Maybe the Junimo could help spruce the place up after they got what they needed, she thought.

Kay picked up her backpack and left the center, heading down the hill towards Pierre's. The rain had picked up a little, and Kay was again fairly drenched as she rounded the corner to the shop. She saw Jodi Freeman posting a bill on the message board before darting inside. Kay decided to take a quick look: Does anyone have an extra Parsnip? Kay laughed as she pulled the request down. It was clearly Jodi's lucky day.

Kay pushed the door to Pierre's open and nearly bumped into Jodi. Before she could apologize, her attention was drawn to the counter by an angry voice.

"I told you, I'm not interested!"

Pierre was confronting Morris, the local Joja Corporation representative. The tall man was wearing his usual black suit with that ridiculous oversize red bow tie. He passed his hand through his side parted pompadour and smiled. "Pierre, my good man," he said, his voice at once soothing and grating, "I appreciate your gumption, it's that exact spirit that makes this great land of ours what it is. But face facts. You can only hold on for so long with what little business you can scrounge up, but Joja can make you AND she very wealthy indeed if you'd only see reason..."

Kay had one encounter with Morris the previous week, when he'd waltzed into the shop and stole all of Pierre's customers with 50% off coupons. She'd had a visceral reaction to the sleazy tactic, and here he was again, trying to win Pierre over to Joja's side of things with some kind of business offer. She looked at Jodi, who was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Hey," Kay whispered, startling Jodi. The brunette turned to Kay, who raised her finger to her lips. "Stick around for a bit, I have something for you later." Casually, she walked over to the counter and cleared her throat.

"Gentlemen," she said, nodding to Pierre and giving Morris a glance out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah!" Morris said, "The woman of the hour! Jacob Morris, Joja Corporation Representative, I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

"Formally, no," Kay corrected him, "but we did pass a few words last week." At her full height, Kay easily had a few inches on the man, though not as many as she would have liked.

"Indeed we did!" Morris replied, laughing off their previous interaction. "I'm lucky I caught you, actually. As I was saying, Joja is in a position to purchase your upcoming harvest in its entirety, and I asked Mr. Chandler here if he'd be interested in brokering a deal with you for a generous finder's fee. Unfortunately," Morris continued, his voice taking on a slight edge, "he declined to assist me in approaching you. However, here you are, so there's no reason we can't speak directly."

Kay stared at the man, shocked by the incredible gall of trying to undercut Pierre to his face. She asked Pierre "Est-il sérieux?" She wagered the corporate shill wouldn't understand French, though given how he was dressed, she wasn't completely sure.

Pierre stifled a grin before replying. "Comme une crise cardiaque."

Morris's smile faded a little and his eyes flitted between them, confirming Kay's suspicion. She left him to hang a little longer, turning to face the shopkeeper. "Qu'a-t-il proposé?"

"Huit cents pour moi, huit mille pour vous."

"Au moins, il vous a offert dix pour cent. Voyons ce qui se passe." Kay pursed her lips before turning back to Morris. "What would I have to do?"

"Nothing! I've taken the liberty of having a new shipping box installed on your farm. Just drop the harvest in, and we'll compensate you directly." Morris smirked, they always saw things his way eventually.

Pierre glared at Kay. "You can't possibly be-"

Kay cut him off with a raised hand. "Well, Mr. Morris, let me think about it and I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

"Of course!" Morris gave Kay a short bow. "I look forward to working with you!" He turned to give Pierre another nasty smirk. "Good day, Mr. Chandler. So sorry we couldn't work something out." He turned on his heel and practically strutted out of the store.

As the door closed behind Morris, Jodi rushed over. "You're not actually going to sell to JojaMart, are you?" Kay looked at Pierre before letting out the snicker she'd been repressing.

"Of course not!" Pierre looked visibly relieved; Kay might have been play-acting, but he couldn't tell. "Oh my Goddess," Kay continued, "the chrome-plated balls on that guy! Oh, uh, sorry, Jodi."

Jodi laughed. "I'm married to a soldier, I've heard far worse, trust me."

Kay placed her pack on the counter and produced a parsnip. "Pour vous, mademoiselle, as requested."

Jodi gasped. "I just posted that! How did you know?"

Kay waggled her eyebrows. "Magic." She accepted a small pouch of gold in exchange for the root veggie.

"Oh, so now you're undercutting me!" Pierre said with a laugh. Jodi stuck her tongue out at the shopkeeper.

"Maybe if you'd held on to one for me like I asked, I wouldn't have to prevail upon tall, buxom strangers for assistance!" Jodi responded.

"They sold like hotcakes! You know it's first come, first served around here!" Kay realized this wasn't the first time the pair had this argument. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Jodi wrapped herself around Kay's left arm and sighed dramatically. "Oh, Kay, you're the only one who can save the town from the rampant avarice of this cruel, callous businessman!"

Kay laughed to cover her slight embarrassment at how thoroughly she enjoyed Jodi's soft curves pressing against her: Jodi had sizable breasts hidden under her pink cardigan, and her mom jeans accentuated her generous booty. She smelled faintly of maple syrup, and Kay caught a warm undercurrent in her deep violet eyes as she looked up pleadingly.

"Fear not, madam," Kay responded, "as long as I'm here to provide quality produce at reasonable prices, scum like him will never prosper!"

"What." Abigail said flatly. She had come from the stock room with a crate of paper towels and had seen the entire drama between Kay, Jodi, and her father unfold. She had to bite down on her tongue to not laugh as Kay hurriedly extracted herself from Jodi's embrace. She couldn't stop a snort as Kay then completely failed to nonchalantly lean against the counter.

"Hi, Abby!" Kay said more loudly than she needed. "We're just talking about your dad being a financial leech on the town." She got a smack in the arm from Pierre as he started checking out Jodi's other purchases.

Abby smiled before pointedly glancing at Jodi and giving Kay a wink and a thumbs up. Kay shook her head and gave the purple-haired girl her second most intimidating glare to no real effect. Luckily, the ring of the cash register distracted them both as Pierre bagged up Jodi's items.