WARNING!: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEVERE GRAYxCLAIRE FLUFF! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

Gray didn't really know why he came to these parties anymore. The Spring Festival, the town had decided, was to take place at the Inn this year. Ann and Doug had been working overtime cooking and preparing refreshments, as well as pushing the tables to the sides to make a dance floor.

Everyone was laughing and having a great time. Gray sat by himself at a table with a glass of soda in his hand, just watching people dance and having fun. He sighed. Time to leave, he thought bitterly. He stood up and pushed his chair in. With a hint of resentment he noticed that the only clear path to the door was through the dance floor. Gray cut his way through the crowd, trying to avoid everyone, particularly Karen, who seemed to be all over the floor. Just as he neared the door, something knocked him down flat on his face and he felt something fall on top of him.

"Mmph..." he groaned. He felt whoever was on top of him get up and grab his shirt. "I'm so sorry!!" he heard a familiar voice say. He stood up and brushed off his khaki shirt and pants.

Claire looked at him. "Oh..." she said in surprise. "We really got to stop meeting like this." she teased.

"Er...yeah." Gray mumbled. He couldn't believe the coincidence. Suddenly he had a reason to stay at the party. He carefully retraced his steps back to his table and sat back down, thinking. He scanned the crowd for the girl, and spotted her blonde hair. A scraping sound of a chair being moved made Gray turn his head so quickly that his neck popped. A tall guy with his dark brown hair tied back sat down beside him and placed his elbows on the table.

"What are you looking at Gray?" he said, following his best friend's eyes.

"Nothing," Gray answered quickly, still looking into the crowd. His best friend realized what he was looking at. "Claire?"

"Crap!" Gray exclaimed. "How did you know, Cliff?"

Cliff shrugged. "I know these things," he said plainly. "She's pretty nice. I've met her before."

Gray raised his eyebrows. "So Claire's her name? Huh, didn't really get a chance to ask for her name last time. Too busy trying to keep her from falling all over herself." He suddenly noticed Claire leaving the crowd and heading in his direction. "Oh, crap," he moaned again.

"Hi!" Claire said. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all," Cliff said before Gray could answer. As Claire sat down beside them, Gray watched her closely. Instead of the plain overalls and t-shirt she had worn on their previous encounter, she wore a pair of black jeans and a form-fitting green T-shirt. Cliff looked away and stood up.

"I'll be right back," he commented, slinking away toward the table where Ann and Doug were serving refreshments.

He did that on purpose, Gray thought, hiding his frustration. Claire took a drink from a glass of water in her hand and sighed. Gray noticed with a pang of guilt that she still had the bandage on her forehead. "So..." he said quietly. "How long have you been in Mineral Town?"

"About two weeks. I'm running Moonlight Farm."

"You? Running a farm?" Gray said in surprise. "Isn't that hard to do just by yourself?"

Claire shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes it is. But it's definitely worthwhile." Gray was, to say the least, surprised. And I thought blacksmith training was hard...

"But enough about me! Tell me a little bit about yourself! We didn't really have the opportunity to really meet last time," Claire laughed.

"Well, my name's-"

"I already know your name. Alex told me." Claire interrupted. "But please, Gray, go on."

"Well, Saibara, the blacksmith, is my grandfather."

"Oh, really? I didn't know that!"

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the old coot will never leave me alone about anything. It's always 'Gray, do this.' or 'Gray, do that.'"

"I can sympathize with you there," Claire said, surprising Gray even further. "My mother always wanted me to be..." she shuddered. "A lawyer. That was part of the reason I moved here, just to get away."

Gray chuckled. "I moved here to be a blacksmith. Guess I bit off more than I could chew."

Before Claire could respond, a song she knew well warbled over the speakers. The catchy and bouncy rhythms practically made her start dancing in her seat. "I love this song!" she commented. She began to stand up when an idea came to her. "Come and dance with me!" she said excitedly.

Gray went red. "N-no. Sorry, I don't dance," he refused.

"Oh, come on!" Claire, refusing to take 'no' for an answer, literally dragged him away from the table and into the crowd. Claire began to dance. She was outstanding, Gray noticed, and she was so good that everyone around her, including him, felt inclined to dance as well. Gray took a few shy steps, and in an instant was dancing. The song's beat was matched perfectly by them. The crowd had parted, and they were in the circle of a group of cheering villagers. But neither of them noticed. They were too wrapped up in dancing and each other to pay attention.

Far too early, or so it seemed, the song ended. The room was quiet for a moment, then everyone erupted in cheers and whistles. Gray went even redder than it had been when Claire had asked him to dance. The girl was flushed, her face hot with exhaustion.

Another song began to play. But Claire instead led him back to their table and sat down with a sigh. "That," she said with a smile, "Was the most fun I've had in a really long time!" Gray silently agreed with her. He was about to ask her to dance again when Cliff decided to make a reappearance. He held in his hand a plate heaped with cookies and a piece of cake.

"Wow," he said in disbelief. "I didn't think you were capable of that, Gray."

"Ha ha," Gray mocked. "What time is it, by the way?"

Cliff glanced at his watch, "About 10:00."

"It's already that late?!" Claire exclaimed. "I've got to get home." She stood up and smiled at Gray. "Thanks for the dance. It was a lot of fun." She turned and ran toward the door, but was momentarily stopped by Karen.

"Claire," she grinned. "That was brilliant! I've never seen anyone dance like that. You and Gray make an exceptionally cute couple."

Claire rolled her eyes and glared. "Come on. I don't feel like that towards him. We're just new friends getting to know each other."

Gray, meanwhile, had climbed the stairs and with his key opened the door to his room. He collapsed on his bed and rubbed his eyes with his hand. He heard the door open and knew Cliff was coming in, but he didn't care. Despite the loud voices and the pounding of the speakers below, he fell asleep

Toldja they'd be longer ;) I personally LOVE this chapter and had a blast writing it. Claire and Gray are just so sweet together!

Claire's words at the end may possibly set this up for some interesting situations...evil grin

-Sweet Dreamer.