This is based on Vaughn's first yellow heart cut scene, which still took forever to get to. In the original cut scene, it skips the part where the player and Vaughn are actually playing with the wild dogs, and my original plan was to fill that in completely. I ran out of ideas though, and ended up just expanding a little bit before skipping as well. But I think it's okay as it is, especially when I sprinkled in a small element of the Ouran High School Host Club anime. Just a tiny bit, but it's cute anyway. Enjoy!
Vaughn wasn't really into labels. He didn't care about what other people called him, and he didn't really care about what other people did as long as they stayed out of his way. It just wasn't something he ever really thought about.
Even so, as he returned to Sunny Island that first Wednesday of fall, he was surprised when Julia asked him if it was true that he and Chelsea were a couple and if they were dating. Apparently, during the time he was away, someone (and Denny's nervous denial told him who did it) mentioned that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, which sent the little island buzzing with rumors.
Chelsea didn't seem bothered by any of it, though. When he saw her, she greeted him as cheerful as ever, albeit somewhat timidly. They talked for a while – about anything except what happened the night he left – before she left to get back to work. If she knew anything about the gossip, she did very well to hide it.
He wasn't into labels. But the whole incident did force him to reflect on his relationship with the farmer. Things had changed between them, certainly, but to what extent? What was going to happen from there? Were things that serious between them that one would use the term 'dating'? And what was she expecting from all this? Better yet, what was he expecting from it?
He sighed, leaning forward slightly and resting his elbows on his knees as he watched the three wild dogs playing before him. He came to the forest to think things over, but the dogs found him and didn't really give him a chance to work out any answers. Still he smiled as he observed them, not minding their company.
Placing his concerns aside, he held his hand out to them, and the largest dog approached eagerly. It sniffed his fingers before allowing him to pat it on the head. He always felt a little more comfortable with animals than people. As he's learned lately, animals were definitely not as complicated as people…
"Vaughn?"
A little surprised, he turned to see Chelsea standing behind him, a curious expression on her face.
Though he still had a million questions running through his mind about her – about them – he found himself replying casually, "Hey, Chelsea."
She smiled a little, crossing her arms and shivering a little in the cool autumn afternoon. "Hey. I didn't expect to see you so close to the mountain. What are you doing?"
Before he had a chance to answer, the dogs all barked excitedly and ran up to her. She gasped and instinctively stepped back, but they managed to surround her on all sides.
He smiled a little as he noticed their tails wagging playfully, and he rose to his feet, facing the frightened girl. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "They're friendly."
She looked up at him with doubtful eyes. "Really…?"
He nodded. "They won't hurt anybody."
Blinking in surprise, she looked down at the dog in front of her. It barked, crouching down and inviting her to play. "How do you know?" she wondered. Even as she spoke, she slowly knelt down to be eye level with the dogs.
"I ran into this pack a while ago." He gestured a hand towards the canines, and they looked back at him as though waiting on his command. "They looked hungry, so I fed 'em."
"Oh…" Hesitantly she held out a hand to the dog. It sniffed her hand for a moment before suddenly jumping into her arms. She gasped in surprise and fell backwards, but then she laughed as the dog started licking her face. The other two canines jumped around her, barking earnestly for a turn.
He smiled a little as he watched her interact with the dogs, but the smile quickly faded as he turned away, folding his arms over his chest.
"Vaughn?" he heard her call him back, and he looked towards her again. Placing the dog back down on the forest ground, she looked up at him. "What's wrong?"
He sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets. "They count on me now," he said reluctantly. "Guess they think I'm part of their pack now." He didn't mention how he's never had anyone depend on him so much before.
Chelsea blinked, staring at him for a moment before looking back down at the canines. Then she grinned. "Let's play with them!" she exclaimed.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, amused by her innocence. For some reason, it made him feel a little better. "Heh. Guess I don't have any more work to do today…" he replied.
Her smile widened as she jumped to her feet. Grabbing a stick off the ground, she waved it above the dogs to get their attention. The largest one barked loudly, jumping up and grabbing it in its mouth. She laughed, trying to wrestle the branch away from it, but in the end it won and jerked it out of her hands. It ran off with it, and she and the other two dogs chased after it.
Vaughn lingered bit longer, not ready to jump into the game yet. He watched as the canine with the stick jumped and disappeared through a bush. The girl skidded to a sudden stop just in front of the bush, fighting to keep her balance. Unfortunately the other two dogs bumped into her as they jumped in after their pack member, causing her to stumble into the bush as well.
It was only then that he moved, approaching the rustling bush to see if she was all right. "Chelsea…?" he called.
The three dogs jumped back out of the bush with ease, and he couldn't help but think they looked awfully proud of themselves. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if she'd been hurt. Just as he was about to go in and look for her, though, she stood up from behind the bush, and he couldn't help but stare at her as she tried to catch her breath.
The red bandanna usually present on her head was missing, and her hair was tangled and messy, chestnut strands sticking out around twigs and fallen leaves. Spots of dirt smeared her face and clothes, rumpled and slightly torn from the branches. She had some scratches along her arms, but nothing seemed to be bleeding and…she just looked so ridiculous. He couldn't help it.
Vaughn burst out into laughter.
It was loud, echoing throughout the otherwise quiet autumn forest. And it was unrestrained, his self-control lost as he nearly doubled-over. His sides began to ache and it was hard to breathe, but it was too hard to stop. It didn't help when she started laughing as well; it only made him laugh harder, which of course made her laugh harder, and so on.
Eventually they both managed to calm down somewhat, trying to regain their breath through the chuckles that continued to escape their throats.
"You're so mean!" she exclaimed, but fell back into the fit of giggles she was fighting to control.
He chuckled, offering her his hand and helping her from the bush. "Sorry," he snickered. "I didn't mean to laugh at you…" Clearing his throat to soothe his mirth, he asked, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, brushing off some of the dirt from her body. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, fixing her clothes as best she could. Reaching up to her hair, she frowned as she felt through the knots.
He laughed again, carefully pulling a leaf out of her hair. "Yeah…not your best look."
She smirked. "Bad hair day, I guess. That's okay." Suddenly she snatched his hat off his head. "I'll just cover it up with this!"
"Hey!" He reached to grab his hat back from her, but she deftly dodged his hands and whistled towards the dogs. They barked energetically, jumping and chasing the two as Chelsea tried to outrun Vaughn. He was faster though, and easily closed the distance between them.
Just when he was in reach of his hat, however, she turned and tossed it over his head like a Frisbee. They both slid to a halt, watching as one of the dogs jumped up and caught the hat in its mouth, landing neatly on its paws and looking at Vaughn, almost daring him to try and get it back.
Chelsea laughed, slipping around him and running off with the dogs. Vaughn smirked and followed after them, knowing he'd catch them eventually.
They spent the entire afternoon just running and chasing each other. Hours later, as they sat trying to catch their breath, the dogs barked satisfied. Then they watched as the pack turned and ran off.
Vaughn sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand before placing his hat back on his head. "Phew," he said. "Finally tired 'em out."
Chelsea smiled, still trying to smooth out her hair. "I guess so," she replied.
Reclining back, he glanced at her. "It's been a while since I ran around like that," he admitted softly. Then he smiled. "Feels good to exercise like that every once in a while."
She nodded, gracing him with a smile. "I should play like that with Button more often," she remarked.
Watching her for a moment, he then sat up again, helping her gently remove the twigs and leaves from her hair. Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear, "That was fun. Thanks, Chelsea."
Blushing slightly, she turned to look into his eyes. "N-no problem," she stammered. "I-I had a lot of fun too."
Soon, all the debris was untangled from her hair. But Vaughn kept his hand there, smoothing her chestnut locks with his fingers. He watched her face carefully, noticing the flicker in her sapphire eyes. Then he slowly leaned forward, delicately brushing his lips over hers.
She moaned softly, leaning into him and deepening the kiss. It only lasted an instant, though, as they both pulled away at the same time. She smiled brightly, and he couldn't help but smile as well.
"It looks good on you," she whispered.
He blinked quizzically. "What does?"
She reached up hesitantly, brushing her fingers over his cheek. "That smile." She giggled softly. "You've been practicing, haven't you?"
It was his turn to blush, but his smile returned anyway. "I had a good teacher," he replied.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a while longer until Vaughn finally stood. His legs would feel a little sore later, he knew, but for some reason he didn't mind. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "Ready to go?" he asked.
She smiled sheepishly. "Actually, you go on ahead. I have to stop by the church for a bit."
With a small nod, he gently squeezed her hand before dropping it. "All right. I'll see you later."
She returned the nod, giving him a little wave before the two departed in their different directions. As he walked toward the bridge back to town, Vaughn sighed in satisfaction. His heart felt light…much lighter than he'd felt in a long time.
It didn't matter what he called his relationship with Chelsea. All that mattered was he was happy with her, and she with him. Whatever happened between them, they'd take it slow and figure it out.
And that was fine by him.