It was Gabe's first full day on duty as Captain of the Royal Guard and he was busy getting himself settled. He was assigned an office space close to the guard barracks on the palace grounds and was in the middle of moving himself in and rearranging a few things to make the space his own when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" Gabe said in his most official sounding voice and straightened himself up, ready to lead which ever soldier stepped through the door. He instantly relaxed and a crooked grin spread across his previously serious face when he saw that it was Elena who had come to see him.

"Hey Gabe!" Elena said cheerfully, looking around the room and closing the door behind her. "Everything coming together alright? Wow! The Olaball trophy looks great in here! It's a nice touch! I'm surprised your Dad let it leave the bakery"

Gabe laughed. "Yeah well… as proud as he was that day, I think he was even more so when he found out I had made captain. He's really come around to the idea of my being a guard"

Elena watched Gabe look at the trophy and smile happily to himself, knowing he finally had his father's approval. It was endearing and Elena walked to his side, wrapped her arm through his and took his hand. It was just an instinct for her to go to him, especially when he was opening up to her and showing her his vulnerable side. The pair glanced towards one another at the same time and each felt their heart skip a beat but they didn't break their gaze. They liked the feeling of breathlessness that overcame them when their eyes would meet so they just let themselves linger a moment longer.

"You really proved yourself to everyone yesterday" Elena told Gabe, finally breaking the silence but not yet averting her eyes from his.

"Even to you?" Gabe asked

"Well I… had already known what kind of man you are. But now the rest of the kingdom knows too" Elena told him and he blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Yeah! And they also got to see me acting like a complete fool!" Gabe laughed, still embarrassed about his behavior after having been cursed by an obnoxious and arrogant general whose sword Gabe had "borrowed" for the Captain's competition.

"Welll…. yeah… they did." Elena admitted with a giggle and shrugged her shoulders at Gabe, letting him know that it was OK and there wasn't much else they could do about it now except find the humor in it.

"UGH! I can't believe I declared to the entire stadium that they should call me 'El Guapo!'" Gabe said, lowering his face into his free hand.

"Well Naomi pointed out that you.. eh…he did have a point!" Elena said, shyly raising her shoulders. "And you know Naomi… always stating the obvious"

Gabe was surprised and wasn't sure what to say at first. "So… you think it's obvious huh?" He flirted. Elena said nothing but the flirty look her eyes shot back to him told him that she agreed. He was quite handsome.

"Anyways!" Elena interrupted. "The point is that you did the right thing in the end, admitted your mistake and showed everyone the real you"

"Yeah…. thanks for believing in me Elena" Gabe said, becoming suddenly serious as he locked his eyes on the crown princess once more, turning to face her head on and taking her other hand in his. The way he did it made Elena freeze in place. It was as if he could see right into her soul and read all her most personal thoughts. She didn't mind. She trusted him completely and was more than willing to let him in. She took a step closer to him and saw his chest rise as he took in a deep nervous inhale.

"I've always believed in you Gabe" Elena whispered as the tension between them began to grow "You're Courageous, selfless, honorable… everything a good man should be."

With those words Elena realized that she was no longer speaking about the qualities of a captain, she was speaking about the qualities that she found to be most attractive in a partner. She wasn't just proud of his achievements in the guard, she was proud of who he was as a human being and she realized that she had been looking for a reason to justify her feelings for him, looking for him to prove himself to be good enough for her to admit to those feelings and now he had done it. She released his hands and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grazing her fingers across the back of his neck, and pressing herself up against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding as he gripped her waist. Oddly, Elena's heart beat steady. She was completely calm and comfortable around Gabe. She watched his expression, trying to read his feelings as she gave him her best doe eyes. Finally, with a surge of courage, a vivacious smirk spread across his face and he slowly leaned in towards Elena, As he got closer, he glanced down at her mouth and then right back into her stare. Elena's eyes fluttered shut as Gabe's lips softly brushed over hers before immediately returning, this time firmly finding their place and matching Elena's eager movements. When they parted, they audibly exhaled as one, completely satisfied with the step they had finally taken in addressing the ever growing connection that they shared.

The next morning, the sunlight shone through the terrace windows and into Princess Elena's bedroom, letting her know that it was time to wake up. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her face, not yet ready to start the day. She had never been a morning person but that particular morning, she had been having a very good dream involving her encounter with Gabe from the day before. She curled up under her covers and rolled over trying to calculate if she had enough time before breakfast to get a few more minutes of sleep. What do I have to do today? She thought and that's when she remembered that Migs was coming back from his trip to Vallestrella and he supposedly had a big surprise. Elena, loving surprises, shot up from under her covers and rushed to get herself dressed. After all, she wouldn't want to miss anything!

She rushed out of her bedroom, ran down the hallway, turned the corner and crashed into someone coming from the other direction. The collision was powerful enough to send her bouncing to the ground. She looked up to find Gabe reaching down and offering her a hand. She gratefully smiled up at him, took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"Good morning, Captain!" Elena greeted, trying to sound as professional as possible, not yet ready to hint to any of their friends and family that there was anything going on between them.

"Good morning Princess" Gabe said, reciprocating the professionalism. He then glanced around the hallway and upon seeing that there was not a single other soul in sight, leaned in close to Elena and pulled a single rose from behind his back.

Elena's smile spread widely across her face and her eyes lit up with joy. "What's this for?" She asked.

"Well… I feel bad about the last time I gave you a rose… you know, when I was El Guapo… you didn't seem too impressed with having the gesture forced upon you. You all but crumpled that rose and stomped all over it. I figured that maybe this one might make up for that?" Gabe shrugged innocently with wide pleading eyes, hoping that Elena would appreciate his thinking of her. She did. She gave him a goofy and toothy grin and quickly thrust a quick peck upon his cheek.

"Thank you Captain Nunez" She replied, returning to her more professional voice but this time it bore a more playful tone.

Gabe knew that Elena was late for breakfast so he motioned for her to get going before Esteban began to complain about the food getting cold or something. He shot her once last wink before she turned around to dash towards the dining room.

Elena's heart fluttered at the thought of something special forming with Gabe and as she approached the dining room, she dreamily took in the scent of the rose.