This is based on the Spring Crop Festival in Year 2. I realize that means I skipped a few festivals in the first year, but I'm going to pretend that since Vaughn probably didn't care about those things anyway, he wouldn't have remembered them. Yeah...let's go with that. But anyway, despite that, this is still based on some of the things he says during crop festivals, both when you win and when you lose. Oh, and some of this is also inspired by a particular scene from Fruits Basket, heehee. Enjoy!

Vaughn couldn't help but smirk slightly when Chelsea's name was called, declaring her the winner of the Spring Crop Festival. The other inhabitants of Sunny Island cheered for her, and even he gave a quiet applause as she stepped up to receive her prize, smiling shyly the entire time.

After placing the Blue Wonderful Stone in her rucksack, the girl glanced up and spotted him in the crowd. A surprised smile spread across her face, and she quickly made her way over.

"Vaughn!" she said. "What are you doing here today?"

He shrugged. "I was working in Sun Valley when I heard that one of the farms was participating here in the Festival today. So I was curious to see it. Congratulations, by the way."

Her cheeks flushed, but she still grinned proudly. "Thanks. I'm actually a little surprised that I won, though."

The cowboy glanced at the other participants who continued to linger in the meadow. "Your hard work paid off," he said simply.

She nodded. "I guess so…But the other farmers worked really hard on their crops, too."

"I guess," he grunted. Honestly, he didn't really care. Farming and crops just weren't his thing.

He glanced away, but he could still feel her sapphire eyes fixed on him as she frowned, looking a little uncertain. Then she exhaled softly. "I guess you don't remember, then…"

A questioning brow rose as he turned to her again. "Remember what?"

"Just…something you said…" She shook her head and shrugged. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."

If the roles had been reversed, Vaughn would have let the subject drop at that point, and Chelsea probably would have persisted until he finally gave in and told her just to get her off his back. So, figuring he was justified, he asked, "What did I say?"

The rancher hesitated, biting her bottom lip slightly as she glanced at the ground. "Just…something you said at the Fall Crop Festival last year."

He had a feeling he wasn't going to get any further information, so he thought back to that event, trying to remember what happened. The Fall Crop Festival, he recalled, was the first crop festival held on Sunny Island since business on the island started. He'd forgotten most of that day, though, since it wasn't really his thing, but he somehow remembered the theme for that season was eggplant (despite his dislike for the purple vegetable), and Chelsea had obviously participated then as well. If his memory served correctly, she had lost that season…and after the judging, she had come to talk to him…

Don't be disappointed. It just means that everyone else grew better vegetables. It's as simple as that.

He frowned as the words echoed in his own low voice. He hadn't said that…had he?

"Yeah…" Chelsea suddenly responded, as if reading his mind. She looked up at him with a slight incline of her head. "And I was just wondering…do you think that way about the other participants?"

He turned to her. "What do you mean?" he asked…although he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear her answer.

Shoulders slumping a bit, she glanced at the other farmers from the different towns. "Do you think that they lost just because I grew a better vegetable than they did? Or…was that a special thought just for me?"

Vaughn winced slightly, opening his mouth to give her an answer. But he closed it quickly, realizing that he had absolutely no idea what to tell her. When she lost at the Fall Crop Festival, he hadn't thought much of it. He'd given her a truthful statement, was all. But today when she took first place, he didn't consider the other entries any better or worse than hers…so no; he hadn't thought her vegetable was better than the others.

And he actually felt…guilty about it.

"It's okay," Chelsea said with a shrug. "You were probably right then, anyway. So this season, I worked really hard on my potatoes, and apparently they were good enough this time." She laughed. "I still can't believe it, though."

Vaughn frowned deeply, his face creased with discomfort; he'd never intended his words to affect her like that. He wanted to say something more, but decided against it as he saw some of the other townspeople approaching. He took a few steps back, allowing them to gather around the farmer and excitedly congratulate her on the triumph. With a small sigh, he pulled the brim of his hat further down and turned away slightly.

As he did so, however, he caught sight of two men a few feet away, standing close together as they talked. They were tall – not as tall as he was, but taller than most people – and were dressed in similar khaki slacks and faded shirts, one red and one blue. He remembered seeing them on the boat ride over from Sun Valley and thinking they were probably twins. He didn't take too much notice of them, though, because they weren't any of his concern. He wouldn't have really noticed them now either, except for the bits of conversation he couldn't help but overhear.

"So that's the farmer who won, huh?" the man wearing red muttered.

"Yeah, that's her," the man in blue replied. "She's kinda cute, huh?"

"I guess so," the red man said. "Nothing really special, though…"

"Well no, not really. But as far as farmer girls go, she's not too bad."

Sliding his hands into his black denim pockets, Vaughn glanced back at Chelsea as she continued to talk with some of the other girls in town. Thankfully his hat was low enough to veil both his eavesdropping in the men's conversation, and his watching the female rancher. He felt a little bothered by the idea of having similar thoughts to these two men; a year ago, when he first met her, he didn't think there was much to her. She looked decent enough, certainly, but nothing out of the ordinary.

As he watched her now, though…hearing her laugh warmly with people she considered friends, and noting the soft color in her face that seemed to glow in the praise she received…he found himself thinking she was anything but ordinary.

His thoughts were interrupted when the two men began speaking again; they tried to keep their words hushed between them, so he listened carefully.

"I heard she runs the ranch here all by herself," the red man said. "She looks a little young, though, doesn't she?"

"I guess," the blue man said with a shrug. "But that might make her pretty easy, don't ya think?"

Vaughn felt his fists clench and unclench.

"Are you kidding?" the red man retorted. "She's a farmer, after all. With the kind of work she does, she could probably beat you up."

The blue man laughed. "Maybe. But she's gotta be lonely, running that ranch all on her own. And she could be pretty desperate…or pretty trusting, depending on how old she is." He elbowed the red man with a grin. "I bet it wouldn't take very much to convince her to drop by our hotel room…"

His jaw tightening, Vaughn exhaled sharply as their words reminded him why he didn't interact with people much; there were just too many who couldn't be trusted. And while he knew that, he began to wonder if someone like Chelsea ever learned a lesson like that. She didn't seem like the type of person who ever experienced the darker side of people, but she couldn't be that naïve…

But he frowned as he remembered the day he first met her; her unlocked door in the early morning, her voice cheerfully beckoning him into her home – a ranch on the outside of town, her joyful reception of a complete stranger…He hadn't realized it then, but now, as the island grew larger and more people were settling down here…anything could happen.

"Are you leaving already, Chelsea?" a voice asked, snapping through his daze and turning his attention to the brunette and old man Taro.

She rubbed the back of her head with an apologetic smile. "Yes…" she replied. "I'm sorry I'm not staying to help clean up, but I still have some more work to do back at the ranch."

"Think nothing of it, my dear!" the old man crowed, jabbing the ground with his walking stick. "You just head on back and take care of that ranch of yours!"

As she began bidding goodbye to the rest of the villagers, Vaughn glanced back at the two men. He could see the smug grin on the blue man's face as he calculated, working out a plan to lure the unsuspecting girl. He could see that the blue man was just waiting for the opportunity to approach her, ready to strike when she was alone.

"Hey, Vaughn?"

The cowboy turned to the rancher while trying to keep an eye on the other men. "What?" he asked, somewhat distractedly.

"Well…" She hesitated, noticing that he wasn't completely paying attention to her. "I was just heading home now, so –"

His lips moved before he realized it. "I'll walk you home."

Her body stiffened and her sapphire eyes widened, staring up at him in shock. "Wh-what…?"

Truthfully, his words even surprised himself. But as he regained his composure and thought, he added hastily, "I have to take the ferry back to Sun Valley anyway, so it's on the way."

She blinked. "But…aren't the docks in the opposite direction of my ranch?"

He rolled his eyes. "You don't want me to go with you, then?"

Chelsea laughed, albeit a little nervously. "That's not it…I just…" Clearing her throat, she folded her hands behind her back. "Well, if you want to, I guess I wouldn't mind the company."

Inwardly he sighed in relief; if she'd rejected his offer, he wasn't sure what else to do. He looked toward the two men once more, noticing the aggravated expression on the blue man's face seeing that he couldn't get the girl alone after all. Vaughn scowled fiercely at them both, not bothering to disguise his rage for them; his narrow eyes warned them off, threatening them should they ever come anywhere near this girl. He watched in satisfaction as the two men returned his gaze fearfully, and visibly shrank back before turning and quickly heading off.

"Vaughn?" His expression quickly softened as he turned towards Chelsea, who stood waiting for him by the bridge. "Are you coming or what?"

He grunted softly, slowly walking up to her before the two of them made their way across the island. They walked at a leisurely pace as they talked, though she did most of the talking – about nothing or everything, whatever came to mind – while he simply listened with his hands in his pockets. Normally it annoyed him when people talked too much, but now…well, he was surprised. This actually wasn't too bad.

It was already dark when they finally arrived at the ranch, but Vaughn still noticed how things had changed since the last time he visited. Though there were still large boulders and stumps littering the field, there were significantly less weeds than he recalled. There were also no plants growing, but he could see the freshly-dug soil from where she had harvested, waiting for new crops to accommodate. In the distance, he could see some of the buildings that were fixed up, and her house looked a little bigger than he remembered.

"You're doing pretty well for yourself," he appraised.

Looking at him, she grinned. "Not bad for a year, I guess…" she replied, grabbing an axe that he never noticed leaning against the side of her house. "But no matter how much I do, there always seems to still be more work."

"You planning on working now?" he wondered.

"Well yeah…" She rested the axe on her shoulder and placed her free hand on her hip. "Even on a festival day, I gotta take care of my ranch."

Vaughn shook his head. "You can take one day off. You really should get some rest."

Chelsea laughed softly, throwing her hair back from her shoulder. "I'll be fine…really. You don't need to worry about me, Vaughn."

He opened his mouth in protest, ready to insist that he was not worrying about her. But his mouth snapped shut when realization finally dawned on him; it was exactly what he was doing.

He was worrying…about her…

His eyes widened as his heart pounded with sudden understanding, coursing it throughout his entire body. But luckily the dark kept his face hidden from the girl, and he pulled his hat lower over his eyes for good measure. "Do what you want then. I don't really care," he muttered, his voice gruffer than usual.

She didn't seem to notice, however, as she just shrugged, writing it off to his usual sullenness. "Well, thanks for walking me home, Vaughn."

He scoffed and mumbled an indistinct response, turning and quickly heading away from her and the ranch, just in case she would make out the dark blush staining his cheeks. Because no matter how hard he would try to act in his usual stern manner around her, he could no longer deny to himself the truth he discovered this night.

He was worried about her…because he cared about her…He actually, honestly cared about her…

And somehow, that troubled him more than anything else.