A/N: Two words: I'M BACK! After more than a year of being on hiatus, I'm back and I'm here to stay. I'm sorry for making you all wait and I know this is an incredibly short chapter so I hope you forgive me. I apologize.

Word count: 1, 486

So, without further ado, here's Chapter 10 of Rugged Boy! Enjoy!

Kai and Cliff find Gray sprawled on the ground with Claire in front of him. If they were not aware of the hostility between the two, they would think that they were lovers about to get intimate. Kai, unable to stop himself, started laughing obnoxiously, startling the two.

Claire pushed herself off the man, sputtering incoherent excuses. Gray remained on the ground, too stunned to say anything.

"What happened?" Cliff asked concernedly. He was partly to blame for what had happened. "Are you alright?"

Claire nodded stiffly as a blush covered her cheeks. Gray gathered himself and sat up. "Your kitchen is so dirty, Kai," he said, scowling to hide his red face and inevitably failing.

"That's so like you, Gray," Kai returned, but in a teasing tone, "Blaming others to make everyone forget about your humiliation."

Claire hit him on the head and hissed. "I was also humiliated, you jerk."

The dark-skinned man grinned sheepishly at the blonde. "Sorry?"

"Sorry's not going to cut it," she said sternly. "Bring some chocolate-flavored shaved ice to the farmhouse. I'll be waiting." Without another word, she walked out on the three.

As she was closing the door to the kitchen, she heard an emotional voice—Gray's— say, "What's her problem?"

5:40pm

It was almost six in the evening and Kai still hadn't come. She knew for a fact that the shop closed at five and since Kai was nowhere the parameters of the farm, she was sure that the man had ditched her.

"Jerk," she mumbled as she lay on the couch eating baked—microwaved—corn that Kai left the day before. "He doesn't even know how to apologize properly."

Cindy meowed and jumped on the couch to lie near her feet. "Jack isn't even here to cook for me," she complained. "I want something sweet."

She looked at March, who was obediently sitting on the floor. "Do I sound like a whiny brat?" she asked. The dog woofed, as if saying yes, and she laughed. She knew she was acting worse than a child, but it was the only thing she could do.

That, or think about the gorgeous blue eyes of the cruel man named Gray.

She realized that it wasn't fair of her to suddenly shout at him. She didn't even know the reason why he did that. He didn't look like a pervert who would take pleasure in recounting his adventures with a friend.

A series of knocks resounded on the door and she cheerfully got up, expecting her best friend. She opened the door along with her mouth, ready to chide him for being late. But instead of the tan man, the blue-eyed cap-wearing man was there. "What are you doing here?" She glared at him. "Cindy! March!"

The two animals ran to her. She was expecting them to bark and hiss at Gray, but instead, they curled around his feet. "Traitors!" she said and glared at her pets. She raised her head to look at the perpetrator.

Gray's eyes were covered by his hat and she could only see his lower face. "Uhm, I—is that baked corn?" He raised his head and looked at her, eyes sparkling.

"Yes?" she said uncertainly.

"Oh, yeah. I came to apologize." He lowered his head again. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude."

A smile tugged on Claire's lips. "Sorry for yelling at you. And for comparing you to my low-life good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend." She noticed the plastic cup on Gray's hand. "Did Kai ask you to bring that?"

He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I made this, actually. Kai forced me. I mean, he—I don't—"

She laughed and Gray's head shot up, as if surprised at the sound she made. "You don't have to be so nervous, you know?" she told him. "Come in."

He reluctantly entered the farmhouse, the pets still sticking close to him. Claire sat on the couch and invited him. "Sit. Where's the annoying prick who shouted at me earlier?"

His ears turned red in embarrassment, but sat on the couch anyway. He cleared his throat. He wasn't exactly good at socializing. "Uh..."

"If this was about what happened earlier, it's okay," Claire said. "I gave it some thought and I was actually in the wrong."

Gray's head shot up for the second time that day. "No," he started, "It was my fault—"

"It was mine too."

"No," he insisted. "I'm the only one to blame."

Claire sighed, but a smile was playing on her lips. "You're pretty stubborn, aren't you? Will it satisfy you if I say that you're the only one who was wrong?"

"Yes!" he said sincerely.

She looked at him curiously as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're an interesting person."

He blushed furiously once again. It was clear to her that the big man wasn't used to compliments. She used that time to examine him. He was tall, but not as tall as the Doctor. He had a pretty face that unfortunately reminded her of Skye, the Phantom Thief. This brought a frown to her face.

Gray noticed that she was looking at him sourly and said softly, "Did I do something wrong?"

She snapped up, surprised. "What? No, nothing. Why?"

He furrowed his brows. "You were making a really annoyed face."

She looked at him gently. She realized how soft-hearted he was despite the pretense of being cold and heartless. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about my ex-boyfriend."

"How awful was he?" he asked slowly.

She grinned at him. "I'll tell you next time. Maybe when we're close enough."

He breathed a sigh of relief. If Claire was talking about a next time, then that would mean he was forgiven, even if not entirely. At least he still had a chance of making things right.

Claire thrust the plate of baked corn in front of Gray. There was still a whole cob left. "Do you like baked corn?"

He grinned and took it graciously. Normally, he would reject the offer, especially from someone he didn't know that well. But it was baked corn and he was starving. Kai made him slave off for hours. "I love it. Are you sure it's okay if I can have it?" he asked shyly.

She nodded and grabbed the cup of shaved ice and the spoon that came along with it. "Think of it as payment for this. You worked hard, didn't you?" She took a large bite and cringed. She didn't know how anyone could fail in making shaved ice. It was literally just shaved ice and some flavoring.

"That bad, huh?" he mumbled.

"Yeah," she said honestly. "But it's pretty good for your first try!"

"That's my seventh try," he said dryly. "I thought Kai would let me use his syrup, but he made me make my own. Sorry."

Claire didn't know what to say. He went that far? He's actually a pretty decent man. They stayed silent while eating their food. Gray happily munched on his baked corn while she absent-mindedly ate her shaved ice. The taste was becoming more and more tolerable the more she ate it.

She heard Gray clear his throat and she looked at him questioningly. "Hm?"

"I don't mean to pry," he started, "but why did you suddenly move to Mineral Town? You're from Forget-Me-Not Valley, aren't you? Cliff told me."

She smiled wryly. "You're actually prying," she said and he blushed. "But it's okay. I'll tell you." She set down her cup and raised her legs to hug them to herself. "I felt lonely there." It was a vague answer, but she didn't want to elaborate.

Gray seemed to notice her reluctance and nodded understandingly. "Being lonely is enough of a reason," he said. He looked up at the ceiling and frowned. "I'm actually feeling lonely here too," he confessed. "I might have to leave and go back to the city soon."

She didn't know why, but she felt compelled to stop him. She had only met him recently and they didn't even start off as friends, but something—or someone—was telling her that she would regret it later if she didn't do anything. "Do you really want to go?"

He sighed. "That's the problem. I don't know. I don't know if I want to go, but I don't know if I want to stay either. I just," he paused, "I just want to find happiness."

She raised her hand and patted his shoulder. "Then stay." She smiled at him sincerely. "Give the town a chance. Maybe you'll find happiness here."

He smiled and she realized that it had been the first time she saw him smile like that. She thought that it suited him and that he should smile some more.