Chapter Text
The rays of the setting sun shone through the canopies of the trees along the sides of the road. It was an empty road, with the exception of one lonely jeep, with a young brunet at the wheel and a bear riding shotgun.
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He had just graduated university with a degree in engineering and IT, it was such a joyful moment. Both his big sister and papa bear had come to his graduation ceremony, and he couldn’t feel any better than that. The three of them, as it always had been.
A few weeks later, after the ceremony fresh off his senior year, the young man went on to search for a job. Weeks passed by, but he still had yet to land a job. The problem was even finding one; as no job searching sites had any open listings for his specific field. It seemed that he had studied a degree that was so overabundant in the city, that there was no need for specialists like him. It kinda made him pained; all the work; all the sleepless nights; all the painfully hard school work – all useless right now.
The only thing that was keeping his hope up was the comfort from the blonde. Vanessa had been like a big sister to him, the one he could go to for comfort, the one who he could rely on when he felt down or needed a hand. And he’d been the one she would come to when she needed help work-wise, or just for a hug. Freddy too was an awesome papa bear to him, who always tried to reassure the brunet that things would be fine.
Aside from the hugs and motivation to keep trying, the luck unfortunately for the young adult wasn’t in his favour, as he’d spent two whole months trying to get a job, with no ‘yes’ to come back to the few sparse listings he found. At least Ness had income, so he wasn’t living out on the streets, but he was surely degraded mentally.
After another month, Ness brought in the mail that had been delivered.
“Kid, mail’s here.” She called out, with a hopeful smile. The brunet drudgingly made his way into the living room, where he sat down crosslegged at the coffee table. He was looking through the mail with an unamused facial expression. They were bills with adverts in between, at least that’s what it seemed at first, but in the stack of mail, laid a strange envelope. It wasn’t a bill or flashy advert for a new tablet or sales booklet. The blonde woman was standing on the other side from him, and raised a curious brow at it. Gregory slowly picked it up and read it. The envelope contained a letter which had been written to inform him that he had inherited a large farmland in the quiet little Nest Valley. His expression at the time was confused, yet inside he felt something warm- tiny bit of wavering joy?
“What is it, bud? Is it something good, or… is it yet another failed attempt?” She said curiously, but a bit worried, since she had seen this play out many times before. The boy looked up at her direction with an uncertain look, and showed the letter to her. She picked it up from him and read it, her eyes widening with each word.
“Gregory… How did you get an inheritance like that?” The woman was in genuine surprise. She was definitely not expecting that, which could be read from her face. But taking it into consideration, it might surely be a turning point in his luck right?
So he and his sister found the number for Nestville's town hall. After Gregory had phoned the town that resided in Nest Valley, the person who worked at the town’s administration confirmed it. It turned out that somehow his biological grandparents’ sister had passed away and Gregory’s name was on the will of the land.
This made Gregory beam with excitement and a few tears of happiness spilled, as he hugged the blonde, burying his face into her shirt's side. But from here, it was up to him to make quite a heavy decision.
The brunet had to decide if he’d move to the countryside and try his hand at a new life there, or stay here in the city and continue to hit the glass walls of skyscrapers like a pigeon, with a chance he’d get in. Vanessa was ranking up at her work place, that she kinda would feel sad to leave behind her hard achieved possession, from what the young adult could understand. That was a reason which held him back from leaving, because it would not be the same, if she didn’t come, if they weren’t together, him, her and Freddy.
“Kid, listen… I know it will probably hurt us all three, but… You cannot pass up this chance! It’s 1 in a 1,000,000 chance to inherit such a property. Don’t let me staying here hold you back from it.” She said, resting a hand on his shoulder, as they both sat on the couch. Freddy was making funny faces, while being seated in the boy’s lap. She continued “Hey, look, we can always do video calls, we can keep in touch, even if there's quite a big distance… We’ll visit each other, okay?” She raised his chin up, and made him look into her eyes. The warmth in them, the promise that they’ll still be the found family he gained when he was just a young teen, all those years back.
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And here he was. At the steering wheel of his jeep, with his papa bear next to him and baggage on the back seats and trunk. He was leaving the city behind… The brunet was taking a huge leap of a risk, but as the saying goes - You miss 100 of the shots you don’t take. This might be his luck; maybe Vanessa was right in him taking the chance. In the worst case scenario, he’ll at least have been out of the city where he had spent so many years. A little bit of fresh countryside air wouldn’t do him harm, but he’ll sure be missing his big sister.
The orange bear who was currently singing along to the music from the radio, was worried for Gregory at first, when the brunet had decided to move away. Freddy wasn’t sure of it, but knowing the struggles that he’d been through, the grief still from his past haunting him; a peaceful life in the countryside might help the young adult get a happier view on life.
The two arrived late in the evening, so when they got there, the sunset greeted them with beautiful lush hills and mountains encasing the scenery. The drive there had been smooth with a few road stops on the way.
Gregory stepped out of the jeep and took in a deep breath of the valley’s air. It was cleaner than the city’s, but that’s to be expected. He took Freddy out, into his right hand, and set him down on a nearby rock cluster, so he’d get a view of the breathtaking sunset, while the young adult brought stuff inside the old farmhouse.
The front door creaked as it opened, due to the hinges needing some oiling. He placed a cardboard box on the floor beside his feet and took a look around the house. It was an old styled French one. The warm hardwood floors were a surprise for the young man. Gregory had only seen laminate flooring or tiled ones, never a hardwood one. The farmhouse was roomy, yet cosy, with a brick fireplace in the middle of the living room, surrounded by a bit worn down sitting area. On the opposite side of the hallway was the kitchen. The appliances were all functioning. It even had one of those old timer coffee bean grinders with the hand crank. The brunet looked at it with interest, then continued to explore the house. It had a grand master bedroom as well as two guest bedrooms. There also was a greenhouse type room with the walls being made out of glass, with the option to open up one of the walls to a porch at the back, with a solid overlook on the property.
It was a nice house. He settled in, and with a coffee mug in hand, sat by the cosy fireplace. The animatronic was seated in the armchair beside.
“So, Freddy… What do you think of this place so far?” The bear turned to look at the man in the blue shirt. He smiled and spun his ears around.
“I think it’s nice. It is strange being away from the city… quiet, would be the definition I’m looking for.” Gregory threw a smile at him.
“And what about you, superstar? Feeling better being here?” He returned the question. He had to think for a bit, then answered.
“Yeah. I guess… Still thinking if I made the right choice. What if this doesn’t work out? What if I suck at farming and doing farm stuff? What if the towns folk hate me?...” The young adult’s mind was brimming with anxiety and what ifs. Of course the animatronic bear gave him some reassurance.
“I know you’ll do great, superstar! Me and Vanessa believe you can achieve what you believe in… And I’m certain the people will like you, you’re a kind youngster; I know I do!” Gregory made a soft smile, with the words coming from the bot.
“You think?”
“Yes.”
The boy sipped his coffee as the two sat there and enjoyed the evening by the cosy warm elegant fireplace, in the new home, in a place unfamiliar to them. With a hope for a new beginning on the horizon.
