This was not how their anniversary was meant to go.

Sam had spent weeks planning the whole thing out. He'd burned a mix cd of all Mercedes' favourite songs for the road trip out of town. He'd cooked and prepared a ton of food for their romantic picnic in the national park, he'd even learned a whole bunch of new songs she'd said she'd liked on his guitar so he could serenade her with them after they'd finished eating. Everything had been going to plan… and then it had started raining.

Sam and Mercedes were celebrating four years together, and Sam had wanted so badly for everything to be perfect. That was why his heart had sank as soon as the one thing he hadn't been able to control had messed up all the things that he could. Minutes after laying out the rug for their picnic, the skies had opened and he and Mercedes had been forced to just grab everything as quickly as possible and hightail it back to the car to avoid it all being soaked.

They'd managed to save the food, most of it anyway. Sam had quickly shoved it all into the trunk of the car before he'd handed Mercedes one of the two big golf umbrellas they kept in the back for emergencies. He knew how she got about her hair, and even though she hadn't managed to keep it completely dry he was glad she could at least keep the extra rain off while she got into the car.

Sam himself lingered with his head under the trunk as he tried to fight the crushing disappointment he felt at the way the day had gone. He'd tried so hard, and in the end it had all been ruined. Sam's hand absently reached into his pocket to finger the velvet ring box he had concealed there, he wasn't sure when he'd give it to Mercedes now. He'd have to go straight back to the drawing board when he got home.

Sam was getting soaked, or at least the part not covered by the hood of the trunk was, but he knew that Mercedes would sense in an instant that something more than the rain was bothering him if he got into the car the way he was feeling now. Sam gave himself a couple more minutes before he gusted out a final, deep sigh and slammed the trunk shut. Sam's head was down against the pummeling rain as he turned to make his way to the driver's seat, so it was the voice that stopped him before anything else.

'Not so fast.' Mercedes commanded, keeping the end of her still closed umbrella pointed at Sam's chest like a sword.

Sam frowned briefly, although a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he caught the deadly serious expression on his tiny girlfriend's face.

'Mercedes, what…'

'Mercedes is dead!' Mercedes interrupted with a toss of her long, dark hair, using the English accent Sam had discovered she could do perfectly during their second year of dating.

The confused smile on Sam's face grew as he began to suspect what his girlfriend was up to.

'You're getting wet, you know.' He warned, looking past the umbrella to quirk an eyebrow at her.

'Water has never deterred a pirate of the seven seas before!'

Sam laughed and tried to skirt past the umbrella to give Mercedes a well-deserved kiss for cheering him up. Clearly he hadn't hidden his disappointment well enough earlier, and his ridiculously awesome girlfriend had taken it upon herself to cheer him up. God he loved this woman.

Mercedes blocked his path to her by poking the umbrella more firmly into his chest, although her badass exterior was ruined slightly when she had to blink a trickle of rainwater out of her eyes.

'What the hell?!' Sam complained, not enjoying being denied his right to feel her soft lips against his.

Mercedes arched an eyebrow, a small smirk dancing over her face as she used her free hand to toss him the other golf umbrella.

'What kind of pirate would I be if I just handed out my treasure to all that came to take it?' She demanded, chuckling out the words as she saw realization dawn on Sam's face.

'So I 'ave to battle you for it?' Sam clarified, putting on the Cockney accent Mercedes had told him once she found almost irresistibly sexy.

Mercedes tilted her chin haughtily in affirmation, but if Sam wasn't mistaken she was pushing her breasts out a little bit too. Yup, still got it, he thought to himself as Mercedes independently cried out, 'Indeed you do!'

Sam leaped from behind the car, brandishing his umbrella like a sword of his own as his girlfriend scrambled back to keep the distance between them.

'Then I demand the battle takes place here and now,' Sam exclaimed, 'in the rain, where it is most dramatic!'

Mercedes took an exaggerated breath and narrowed her eyes at her foe, waiting for him to strike at any minute.

'Then en garde!' She launched her attack, but Sam was too quick for her, bringing his umbrella up to block the blow as he tapped her umbrella/blade to the side and attempted a swipe at her waist. Mercedes leapt out the way, shaking the wet hair out of her face as she answered his thrust with a maneuver of her own, dancing apart when neither gained the upper hand. The two of them circled each other warily in the empty stretch of parking lot, getting into it by calling out ridiculous taunts to each other.

'Give me the treasure!' Sam demanded, sliding his umbrella along hers until they were handle to handle.

'Never!' Mercedes whispered harshly as the rain fell heavy around them, jumping backwards so she could separate their makeshift blades. They parried a few times, and Mercedes allowed Sam to get away with a few ambitious lunges before she blocked his last one, easily sweeping his umbrella out of the way so she could step in close to his body and hold her umbrella length-ways across his throat.

'Looks like you lose, Captain No-Beard.' Mercedes gloated darkly against Sam's rain-slicked cheek, her voice sounding lower in the borrowed accent.

'Very well,' Sam made sure to gulp audibly, 'Then I have no choice but to surrender my own treasure to you, Great Pirate Dat-ass.'

Mercedes broke character to snort incredulously at the pirate name Sam had come up with for her. 'Dat Ass? Really?'

Sam bit his lip to keep from laughing at the expression on her face and nodded somberly. 'You're right of course.' He told her, coming out of his accent to do so. 'By rights it should be 'Dat-arse.'

'Oh my gosh!' Mercedes laughed, leaning her head against Sam's firm chest as tears sprang to her eyes.

'It's in my pocket.' Sam whispered into her hair, smiling warmly even though he was supposed to still be in character. Mercedes laughed again, removing the umbrella from her boyfriend's chest and shook her head at her his shameless attempts to get her to touch him.

'In your pocket!?' Mercedes demanded amusedly, lifting her now sopping wet hair off her neck. 'Come on, Sam.'

'Seriously.' Sam promised in his own voice, lifting a hand so he could push the dripping hair off his face. He lifted a daring eyebrow at the small, drenched woman in front of him and resumed his Cockney accent to taunt her.

'I didn't fink the Great Pirate Dat-arse was afraid of anyfin'.'

Mercedes narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't miss the ghost of a smile on her lips as she completely unnecessarily pressed her body against his as she snuck a hand into his pocket.

'If this is you trying to-'

Her eyes widened as her fingers grazed the velvet of the ring box in his pocket and she pulled her hand away empty to cover her face. Her sudden flush of tears mingling with the rainwater, that still fell steadily around them, as she locked eyes with the love of her life.

'Just so you know,' Sam explained not breaking the eye contact as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the jewelry box. 'I had planned on doing this slightly differently.'

He ended up with one knee in a puddle when he knelt down in front of a very shocked-looking Mercedes, but he was focused so intently on her, the woman he was in love with, that he barely noticed.

'And it wasn't raining, when I imagined it.' Sam continued with a slight chuckle as he eased the box open, letting Mercedes see the Emerald cut diamond and amethyst ring that nestled inside.

'But actually, I think this is the perfect way to do it, because this is us, babe, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life having these moments with you.'

Sam took a deep breath. 'So whaddya say, Mercedes 'Great Pirate Dat-arse/Jedi Knight Hott Moonwalker/Lady Laughsalot of the Square Table' Jones. Will you marry me?'

It felt like the whole world held its breath to hear her answer, even the rain quieted for the ten seconds it took for Mercedes to launch herself into Sam's arms with an excitable 'yes' and cover his face with kisses.

'You know, we're totally going to catch colds from being out in the rain so long.' Sam observed later as they sat wrapped in blankets in the backseat of the car. The rain slated against the windows as Mercedes sat with her back to his chest while they finished off their picnic.

'Probably.' Mercedes agreed happily as she took another bite of her sandwich and paused to admire the sparkling ring on her left finger. 'It was worth it.'

Sam pulled her back tighter against his chest and nodded as he stole a bite of the sandwich in her hand.

'Totally worth it.' he beamed, just about managing to swallow the food in his mouth before he sneezed.