AHAHAHAHAHAHA, I POSTED THE WRONG DOC, Thanks Psycho Kay

...here's the real chapter

The dog seemed happy to be outside. The first thing he did when Vaughn opened the door was take off running.

I gripped the edges of my shirt in concern. There was no way we were getting him back now.

He was already halfway across the farm when I noticed Vaughn smirking.

"What's that look about?" I asked.

"What look?" He said.

"That smirk," I said accusingly, "You're looking pretty smug, cowboy."

"I'm not smirking. I just like seeing him up and about," he said.

I paused and looked at him in shock. "Wait, are you smiling? Is that what your smile looks like?!"

He looked at me in annoyance. "What do you mean?" He asked defensively.

"I just thought you were moody 100% of the time, I didn't realize you just literally did not know how to smile!"

"What's so important about smiling?" He asked gruffly. "It's not like I need it for my job."

I thought about it for a moment. Maybe it wasn't, he was getting through life fine enough without it but… "I'd like to see you with a smile," I said casually.

He actually went red. "W-what?" He asked.

"W-what?" I asked in embarrassed surprise to his surprise. I wasn't expecting that response at all. It was the most mild and off-handed thing I had ever said to him.

Really? That's what does it for you? When a guy asks a girl to smile its permission to punch him in the face. Have more respect for yourself son, standards should go both ways.

"No one's ever said that to me before…" He admitted.

Oh, so he just gets embarrassed by things he's not used to. I paused. How many people have propositioned him with bondage play before? 'Cause that sure as heck didn't phase him earlier.

"Could you... try? I wasn't lying," I said.

He looked at me straight in the eye. "How's this?" He asked.

I turned around quickly to hide that I was about to bust a gut laughing. What the hell? Is he actually an idiot?

I regained my composition and looked at him, "I don't think so…" I said.

The corners of his lips twitched upwards. "Now?"

I knew I really couldn't laugh at him here. I bit my finger so hard it hurt and I shook my head.

"Oh well," he said, putting the weirdest conversation we had ever had to rest.

Goddess, this is the first time I've ever thought he was actually kind of adorable, it doesn't fit him at all!

I glanced back out at the dog, he was now running circles around the open field but had not actually left the property.

"Don't worry," he said. "He's just got a lot of energy to let out… although I guess he doesn't have a name to be called back with…"

The dog paused in the distance and turned to look at us. I bent down and tapped my knees, not really sure if a wild dog would understand the gesture. It seems he did, he came darting over.

Interesting. It was a neat look into the concept of nurture vs. nature here. Obviously, no one had ever taught him that the action meant he was being beckoned over. Is that built into dogs' behaviourisms?

He ran up to us excitedly. I tried to pet him, but he didn't stand still long enough for me to do more than graze his tail a couple of times.

The scratches across his coat were still visible in stark contrast to his furred areas. I felt my stomach twist at the rawness that was still evident on his neck.

Then he was off again, sprinting away.

"You… did a good job," Vaughn said. "I'm surprised."

I felt myself panic, "Uh, Oh. Um. Who are you?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" He said stand-offishly.

"This isn't the Vaughn I'm used to hearing," I said with a nervous laugh.

"I don't get what you mean," he said, and walked off to the dog.

I followed, at a distance. A little uncomfortable now if I was being honest.

The dog noticed him approaching and bee-lined to him, putting two front paws on his chest. "Hey now," he said in amusement and the dog jumped back down. Vaughn put a hand on his haunches and coerced him into a sit. "Got all that out of you now boy?"

The dog barked.

"You should really give him a name," Vaughn said. "It's weird not being able to call him anything."

I looked at the dog thoughtfully. I had a motif going on with my animal names that I wanted to stick with. Watson would have been cool if the real thing wasn't such a sexist prick.

I couldn't think of a good dog pun on the spot, so I was going to have to compromise.

"Salvador," I said. After Salvador Luria, for no other reason than his name sounded badass.

"Sure," he said. "Guess that works."

Salvador disappeared behind the house as we followed and never popped back out.

"Oh," I said in realization, "he probably went inside."

We headed behind and entered through the hole in the back.

Salvador was sniffing around the furniture intently.

Vaughn sighed. "Alright fine. Why the HELL is there a hole in the back of your house?"

"I was trying to make a new contraption to make my farm work easier but it… exploded," I said simply.

"Idiot," he said, but it didn't have the usual malice attached to it.

"Honestly, maybe," I agreed, then a twinge of mischief sparked, and I smirked. "Ask me where I'm staying for now," I said impatiently.

"Where?" He asked.

"Mirabelle's," I said with glee.

He froze and glared and me. "Oh hell no."

"Oh hell yes," I said, "See you tonight in more than just your dreams for once."

He muttered out a grumble of discernable swear words under his breath and honestly, I felt myself hunch back a little in relief, glad to have broken out of whatever that vibe that was hanging around before was.

It had been… kind of nice if I was being honest but I felt like I couldn't really treat him like a plaything when he was like that and that was no fun.

Plus anyway, I already had friends. That wasn't what Vaughn was for.

Maybe the appeal of Vaughn was that he was someone I could talk to without having to worry that we'd grow too attached to each other. I could have as much fun as I wanted with him and when I left, neither party would be too hurt. He might even be happy. I liked hanging with Julia but there was always this heavy feeling that every moment we spent together was going to someday be another nail in her heart.

Friends leave each other all of the time, I didn't ever anticipate it would be such a big deal. You eventually leave your high school friends, the people from your home town, your college friends. People live a lot of places in their lifetimes. This wasn't supposed to feel like a messy break-up but somehow, I knew this island was going to take it badly. I was weird. It was hard to explain. It didn't really make sense but I guess I kind of understood at the same time.

"I'd say you were lucky to have not have lost any of your things in the explosion, but you don't seem to have things," he commented, glancing around at the barren interior of my house

"Well, I did come here by way of a boat crash. I'm lucky to just have my life," I said.

"Your luck, our misfortune," he commented dryly.

The dog hopped onto my bed and lay down. "Aw come on," I said. "You can't sleep there. That's reserved for myself and maybe any cowboy who might want to join me… if he asks nicely."

"Don't hold your breath," he muttered.

"Oh, by the way! I've been sharing a bed with Julia but if you wanna take over that role from her-"

"Absolutely not."

"Mm, hey Vaughn? Do you shower at night?"

He sighed heavily. "Why?"

"Well you know, Showers can be ecologically wasteful. If you want an alternative, my body happens to be about 60 percent water. Guarantee you'll get equally wet," I paused. "Goddess damn, I laid that one on more raunchy than I had anticipated. I actually want to apologize. It sounded good in my head and then I set it up and was just committed at that point."

"You should be committed- into an institution." He said.

"I thought you weren't gonna respond to me anymore," I pointed out.

"I'm going to work," he said coldly. Then ruefully as an afterthought. "I'll test Salvador with your animals another time."

"See you at home," I grinned.

I was given his response in another impressive string of curses as he stalked away.

I looked at the dog. "He loves me-"

Salvador whimpered in disagreement.

-but not really,

and that's how it was best to stay.

Psycho Kay- I have never seen MASH to know if that's what I was thinking of. I guess I really put a lot less thought into it than you'd think XD I was having a hard time getting back into the groove after so long and was like, where do I go from here? I was thinking about Brooklin 99 cold openings cause they've been flooding my facebook feed and was like, 'yeah okay. Let's just skip to credits' I think I wanted to do an old WKRP-type thing but the opening intro might have ended up being more anime inspired. When the characters are all drawn in anime-style it's easier to picture them in one of those unnecessarily long opening sequences. And then usually the sequences put wayy too much focus on that one female in provocative stills and I was like, I guess Vaughn would be the fan service character in this story.

Smurf2005- Aw well, I hope things get better. Hm, I'm not actually sure I would IRL XD Mark-type people are more my speed, I hate stand-offish people like Vaughn but somehow love them in media. Chelsea and Rio can have their mans, I'm good. I know, what a weird thing to say from the person who can't stop pouring our tsundere love stories

Guest- Hope it wasn't too mild XD He's not the most expressive guy, I can assure you he was more devastated internally.