THE    S T O I C    C O W B O Y

     “I mean it - “ Claire felt his hand on her shoulder, turning to face him. This wouldn’t be the first time she had worked too hard: the first couple of days of a season were the worst, tilling and planting all her seeds for the coming weeks.

     “I’ll be fine, Vaughn. – Vaughn -…”

     A palm darted out, placed precariously against his shirt. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d been picked up like this, but was too worn out to really pay it much mind.

     “I just need to eat a little…”

“So d’I.” Vaughn insisted, shifting Claire a bit in his arms to get a better hold of the girl. “Eat a little? Yeah, I’ve heard that breakfast in bed is always a wonderful treat t’yourself.” 

“My Dad.” Vaughn trailed off, eyes locked on his hands rather than meeting Chelsea’s gaze. He didn’t want to tell Chelsea about his father. He didn’t like thinking about his father... But Chelsea would need to know some time, right? Besides, she had told him about her parents...

“Well he... My Mom got pregnant in high school ‘nd they got married when they were both seventeen. They dropped out and bought a ranch and I was born a few months later. My father really only... agreed to that ‘cause his parents forced him int’ it, really.

“He... never spent a lot of time with me ‘nd when he did it always felt... forced or half-assed. When I was ‘round eight my Mom had my little brother but she died durin’ it. Dad got drunk, let e’erything fall t’ shambles, and then he started hittin’ my brother.

“I started tryin’ t’ break it up but he just turned on me. I liked it better that way, to be honest. I’d rather get kicked than watch my brother get kicked. Anyway, after a few years of that he went out t’ the bar and didn’t come back for a week. My brother and I bounced around foster homes ‘til Mirabelle, who was my Mom’s sister, heard ‘bout it and insisted we came ‘nd lived over here.”

     “It’s - it’s okay. I’m fine. Just - give me a few minutes.”

“Nope.” Vaughn shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her from the wall she was leaning on. Vaughn fully understood working yourself too hard, after all he’d done it countless times. He scooped her up, one hand beneath her knees and the other holding her against him. “You’re gonna go home, get in bed, ‘nd take a nap ‘fore ya get too sick t’ work tomorra’. I’ll get your animals in ‘fore night, don’t worry.”

Vaughn the cowman

She was glad Vaughn was leading. Chelsea didn’t know how, but her feet automatically followed his. Her socked toes would sometimes press against his for a moment when she was thrown off, but it hardly interrupted the flow of movement. If anything, it brought her closer to his warm chest. Everything about Vaughn was warm and steady, even as they twirled across her floor.

His chuckle reverberated through his chest, sending vibrations through her, and the feel of his lips above her ear caused a smile to unfurl. It was uncontrollable and she could feel her cheeks flaring with his words and kisses.

“No,” she denied swiftly. “Well maybe.” She was thankful for the way her face was buried somewhere between his shoulder and neck. It had been a small feeling. The first time she had seen him, she had been a little speechless at seeing a silver-haired, purple-eyed man. Curiosity had piqued her interest, but it had been an undeniable pull to him when he was around.

Chelsea tilted her head up just enough to whisper back to him, “When did you start liking me?”

Vaughn chuckled, a low sound that vibrated in his chest at Chelsea’s denial. He dared to let his hand trail down to the very end of Chelsea’s back, pulling her flush against him while she whispered near his ear. He didn’t care if she stepped on his feet. He didn’t care if she simply stood on his feet and let him dance the whole thing. He just wanted to be near Chelsea, that was all.

“Well. At first I didn’t like you. Jules was always so worried that she wouldn’t match up so I was upset that someone would make my sister feel like that, purposely or not.” Vaughn admitted with another long kiss to her skin, although this time he let his lips trail down to her temple.

“Then I saw you bein’ so nice t’ everyone, how much better this old place has been with you here... I’d play with Eliza on the beach ‘nd she’d keep talkin’ and talkin’ ‘bout how wonderful you are... about how much of a princess you are...”

Vaughn smiled again. “I guess I’m just a sucker for princesses in muddied rain boots in the middle of summer.”

Harvest Moon Character Fact-Files [1/??]

Geez Vaughn, tone down the enthusiasm. It’s embarrassing

shippy baby aus i want:

family planning au where our muses are already together and start planning their first child, except oops the condom broke or the adoption agency called and the baby is coming asap and there goes all your planning. :-)

first baby au where our muses are married and happy in their pretty place they got with an extra room for whenever they were ready and now they are so it’s boutta get real hot up in here cause trying for the baby is the most fun part. but oops, you’re gonna need more than one room cause tWINS OR TRIPLETS. 

pregnant at last au where after years of trying, our muses finally made a little human and they become super over protective and a little paranoid at times because heLLO they finally made a human and they refuse to risk losing it.

baby number who? au where our muses already have multiple kids and have tried their best to use birth control and condoms but whoops here comes another one aka time to call tlc for your own reality cause damn.

does the paper boy deliver babies now or what au where our muses get home after a lovely evening or wake up to a baby on their front door with a note saying “i can no longer care for my baby, but i’m sure you two will do a great job.” uh oh what will they do.

godparents au where the parents of our muses godchild(ren) pass away in a horrible accident and now the responsibility of a godparent sets in.

my teacher gave me a baby au where our muses are professor and student and they do the do and oh shit shouldn’t have used that old condom in his wallet cause now you have more than homework.

double trouble au where our muses have given up trying for a baby and decide for adoption. but only months after they adopt their baby, they finally get pregnant without even trying and now they get the best of both worlds.

i don’t think babies are supposed to do that au where our muses are completely clueless about the supernatural world and they adopt/find a baby and as the baby grows it does a bunch of weird things depending on what kind of creature it is omg.

finding out that mirabelle basically mommed vaughn so much that he felt the need to tell her and julia that he was getting married before he told anybody else was pretty much my favourite part of the game.

“And you didn’t hear me.” The words were flying out of her mouth before she even thought about it. “I don’t want to be pitied, Vaughn. If ya can’t make it, ya can’t make it. I’ll just go alone.” It’s not like she wanted to ask anyone else. Her arms crossed over her chest and she looked away so he couldn’t see the emotions across her face. This tightening in her chest, her heart pounding, the flush on her cheeks - she didn’t want him to know how much she liked him. 

“I mean, I don’t know why you’d want to go with me anyway.” And now her mouth wouldn’t shut up. But when your brain had shut down, filters went with it. She had never been good at filters to start with though. “It is a couples festival, you know. Everyone would probably think we’re together if we show up together. And this town is small. So you can’t really do something like that unless you feel it.” It didn’t occur to her that, by saying this, she was admitting she felt something for him since she had asked him to go.

Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh at Chelsea’s excuses as to why he shouldn’t go with her. As if Vaughn cared about what everyone thought of him, although he did care what Chelsea thought of him. He gave her a small smile, letting his hand let go of her arm to place his hat on her head.

Then, his hands moved to cup her face. He tried to ignore how soft and smooth her skin was beneath his hands, but it found it much harder than it should have been. Calloused thumbs ghosted over her cheeks for a moment, dark purple eyes gauging for a reaction to his touches.

“I do want to go with you, Chelsea.” Vaughn insisted, a small smile still on his lips. “If people thought that we were together... Nothin’ would  make me happier.” He felt his face heat with the admission, but leaned forward anyway to brush his lips across her cheek. “If I c’n make it I’ll see ya ‘round eight, deal?”

Continued from x | xvaquero

Cowboys should be able to slow dance, or that was Chelsea’s line of thought. But could Vaughn? He was so taciturn she wasn’t sure he could. Chelsea had issued the challenge almost playfully, but obviously he had taken it seriously as she was now pressed to him. His hand was on her back and she could only look up at him, blue meeting purple. It never registered how tall he was until they stood right next to each other. She was caught in his eyes as much as he was in hers before that lopsided smile of his made her grin in return. It was rare, but she loved to see his smile. It lit her world up.

The rancher almost stumbled as the started to move, grateful that she was in her socks and not her rubber work boots. She was sure she would’ve fallen over as he started to whisper in her ear, counting the steps. He could hear how fast her heart was going, couldn’t he? And his breath fanning across her hair and skin. That just wasn’t right.

It took a moment for his words to register and she came in late on the sentence. Something about a girl in high school, and then Julia. What were they talkin’ about again?

It took an even longer moment for her to form a response, her brain grasping the last thing he said and going with it. She continued to follow his lead in the meantime, letting him direct them where he willed. It wasn’t like she could think properly at the moment. 

“She thought I liked him,” Chelsea admitted, voice barely above a whisper. With how close they were, and with the atmosphere of the moment, it didn’t feel right to go louder. “I’m not sure how she thought that, seeing as how I was always visiting Maribelle’s.” And it hadn’t been for the animals. 

Vaughn let out a chuckle against her hair, spinning them around the room while she talked. He let himself take a deep breath while he listened, both to steady his own pounding heart and because it just felt right. Chelsea smelled like summer     like flowers and sunshine and hay and all of the good things in this world.

He pulled her closer, until he felt his chest brush hers with each step. He felt the warmth of her body so close to his own and nearly felt his arms and hands shake from the feeling.

“Maybe she thought you were tryin’ t’ check out the comp’tion.” He laughed again, pressing a soft kiss to the skin just above her ear. “I always thought I’d see your face a bit more’n was usual for the farmers in the other villages.” Another kiss was brushed against her ear, “So you liked me from the start, then?”

     “Hey - Rock isn’t a bad person, Vaughn.” Her words came with only a hint of amusement, head tilting as he spoke. 

     Certainly the man didn’t pull his own weight - but he was fun to talk to, and he bought her drinks whenever she chose to visit the bar. “He’s - lazy, yes, but he’s good for something. Everyone is, Vaughn.” Claire watched his shoulders slacken when he spoke, only to tense again.

     “He’s really good with Toffee,” she said, as if her good words would deflect the negative ones he spoke. “And he taught me some of his mom’s recipes. He’s - he is lazy, but he’s not a bad person. Everyone has their bad qualities, Vaughn. Even me.”

     A grin came onto her face, offering the taller man a wink.

“Your bad qualities are far more attractive’n his, Claire.” Vaughn retorted. “You’ve only lived here for a year or two, Claire. I’ve been here Wednesdays and Thursdays since we were both sixteen. Trust me, the man thinks with his dick or his ego most’ve the time.”

Vaughn had never quite liked Rock, if he were being honest, although he thought he was making that quite clear. Perhaps it was the fact that Rock looked like his brother, but he was the completely opposite of the little boy Vaughn had taken care of for years. Perhaps it was the fact that he had expressed a like for Jules when Vaughn had showed him a picture. Perhaps it was because Rock was always trying to get Vaughn to be out in public.

Perhaps it was that Rock was getting chummy with the few people that Vaughn bothered to care about. He didn’t quite know the reason, but he supposed that that didn’t matter. The point was that the two had had some sort of falling out, and that was that.

“You deserve someone who thinks how wonderful you are with his brain than how hot you are with his dick or how everyone would be jealous of him with you on his side ‘cause of his ego. That’s all I was gettin’ at.”