So, this was actually based on something kinda funny that happened in my game. Since Vaughn only comes to the island two days a week, it took me forever to get him up to a blue heart. But on his birthday in Year 2, I had given him a birthday present, and I noticed that his heart went from purple to blue right after he got it. I wanted to try something, and I left the beach and went right back, and activated his first blue heart cut scene. It was pretty interesting, so I ended up combining both events here. You'll...probably get that just by reading this, though. I'll stop now. Enjoy!

"Vaughn! Hey, Vaughn!"

A little startled, Vaughn turned slightly towards the voice calling him and watched as Chelsea ran up to him, sand flying up in her wake. He took a step back as she rapidly approached, fearing that she might run into him and knock him into the ocean.

His concerns were unsound, however, as she came to an abrupt halt in front of him. She paused, learning forward and resting her hands on her knees. "Mornin'," she gasped out as she fought to catch her breath.

Vaughn could feel an eyebrow rising slightly as he stared puzzled at this girl. Surely she hadn't run all the way down here just to greet him…had she? "Good morning," he replied, his tone as serious as ever.

Chelsea stood to her full height, inhaling deeply as her breathing finally calmed, though her cheeks were still slightly flushed in her rush to get here. "I'm glad I finally found you," she said. "When I missed you at the Animal Store, Julia said you might be here."

Suspicion quickly took control and he folded his arms over his chest. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well…" The brunette rancher reached behind her back; a silver milk canister gleamed in the sunlight as she pulled it out of her rucksack, presenting it to him. "Here. This is for you."

He blinked in surprise, hesitantly taking the milk from the rancher. It had been so long since he had gotten something – anything, really – on this particular day. Without thinking, he blurted out, "A birthday gift? Thanks."

As he reached up to politely tip his hat to her, he noticed the girl's sapphire eyes had widened significantly, and he frowned. "What?" he wondered.

She pointed a finger at him. "It's your birthday today?"

Vaughn blinked again. "You…didn't know?"

Chelsea shook her head, her chestnut hair fluttering as she did so. "No. I had no idea. I'll make a note of it now, though."

Glancing at the flask in his hand, he looked back at the girl standing before him with puzzled violet eyes. "If you didn't know, then why –?"

Chelsea's sudden giggle cut him off. "C'mon, Vaughn," she said, mockingly exasperated. "It's been almost a year since we first came to the island. You should know by now that I do this all the time."

Regaining his composure, Vaughn scoffed and turned away from her. There was something gnawing the back of his mind, but he thought better of mentioning it to her. He'd rather be alone to reflect on it, and he hoped she would leave if he ignored her long enough.

Unfortunately, that was not the case; time passed, but he continued to feel her eyes boring into him. Finally she cleared her throat and said, "Is something wrong?"

Reluctantly turning to face her, he eyed her warily, unsure if he wanted to tell her. But for the second time that day, his mouth seemed to move of its own accord, and he could not stop the words that came out. "You know, most people don't talk to me. Not more than they have to, anyway."

It was the girl's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. "Really?"

Though he detected the sarcasm in her tone, he ignored it with a shrug. "Guess something about me rubs people the wrong way. Do you know what it is?" He paused, realizing how strange that sounded. Just to make himself perfectly clear, he added, "…Not that I care…"

For a moment, Chelsea simply stared at him, and he wondered if she had even heard him…or if she was even taking him seriously. He opened his mouth to tell her to drop it, but stopped as she placed a thoughtful finger to her chin, her sapphire eyes studying him carefully as her brow drew together in concentration.

Just as he began to feel a tad uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze, her hands dropped to her hips. "Well…" she began slowly, "you could smile more."

Vaughn stared at her uncertainly. That wasn't an answer he expected. "Huh? What's the big deal about smiling?" he demanded.

She rolled her eyes slightly. "It's just a nicer thing to do."

He shook his head. "I don't get it."

Her mouth scrunched up slightly as she breathed sharply through her nose. Crossing her arms, she retorted, "Well, it wouldn't kill you. Just try it."

"Huh?" She raised her head slightly, challenging him to try backing down. So he sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll give it a shot…I guess."

She grinned, obviously proud of herself, and returned the nod.

Analyzing her expression for a few seconds, he then tried to imitate it; he thought he could feel the corners of his mouth curling a bit, but something about it didn't feel quite right. "How's this?" he asked.

Blinking, Chelsea shook her head.

"No?" Thinking for a moment and trying to remember his companion's various examples, Vaughn felt his face contort a little as he tried again. "How about this?"

Chelsea stared for a moment, biting her bottom lip slightly. Then she turned her head away, covering her mouth as she suddenly coughed. Looking back at him, she shook her head again. "Nope…"

Vaughn growled softly in the back of his throat. "Still not quite, huh?" he huffed. There was a slight throbbing in his left temple as he was starting to realize how ridiculous he was acting. So he squared his shoulders and scowled at the rancher. "Forget it. I don't need to smile to do my job."

At first, he thought she would get angry with him and storm away – in fact, he hoped she would and just leave him alone. To his surprise, her sapphire eyes seemed to soften. "But I'd like to see you smile…" she replied, barely a whisper.

The sound of the waves rushing to shore filled the silence between them, as Vaughn stared at her with wide violet eyes. "Oh…Really?" he managed to stammer.

She blushed slightly, laughing nervously as she rubbed the back of her head and glanced away from him.

And he felt a warmth flood to his face as well, staring at this strange girl. "I'll be danged," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Nobody's ever asked to see me smile." The sound of his heart pounding echoed in his head, and with just a beat he snapped out of his daze. The ability to think quickly returned to him, and he frowned. "Hey."

Attention drawn, Chelsea looked at him with an inclined head.

"Why the interest in my smile?" he wondered, suspicion once again washing over him like the waves on the beach. "You make some kind of bet?"

The rancher's eyes widened, as though stricken by the thought. "What?" she cried, clearly appalled. "Of course not!"

Vaughn wasn't entirely convinced though. "Huh," he said, then shrugged. "I don't get it, then."

He turned slightly, just about ready to leave. But she still seemed upset by his comment. So, wanting to make up for his accusation, he said, "Well, I'll work on it. It's gonna take some practice."

She seemed unsure what to do for a moment, watching him tentative eyes. Then she smiled slightly and nodded. "Sure."

Observing her facial expression, he felt the corners of his mouth tugging upward slightly in one last attempt to mimic her. However, still feeling a little self-conscious, he concealed the effort by reaching up and tipping his hat to her. "Thanks," he said, his tone kinder than normal. "See ya."

With one last nod, he headed down the beach to get back to work.

Chelsea remained on the beach for a moment, staring after the animal trader in stunned silence. Then, as the waves lapped at her feet and brought her back to reality, she giggled to herself and looked out at the ocean.

It would take some practice, she quietly agreed. But it was definitely worth the wait.