Author's Notes: Yes, more of that next-generation stuff that I'm just so fond of. I wrote this awhile ago, and finally decided to put it up. So anyone that has any idea about the future YGO stuff Lauren and I have come up with, I hope you enjoy. And even if you don't...well I hope you do too XD Less than three, everyone!


Kazuki paced back and forth across the floor of his room, occasionally glancing at his phone. His hands dragged along his tired face every so often, and he would sigh with discontent. So many thoughts were running through his mind, but they were racing around so fast he couldn't make sense of them. He knew what he wanted to do, but how could he do it? This all had to be perfect.

His blue eyes fell on a picture frame on the nightstand. Inside it was a picture of Mika and him 4 years ago; about a week after he'd told her he loved her. He couldn't help but think of how different they both looked. Thanks to Zia and Bakura, he'd lost his long braid and white bangs, and had since begun to look more and more like his father, despite his best efforts. Mika's hair had grown down slightly past her shoulders, and her bangs fell to the tip of her nose. She'd also gotten slightly taller. Back then the top of her head reached his shoulders. Now she was up to his chin. It took him a bit to get used to hugging her without hitting her in the head with his jaw. Her smile also had gotten wider and brighter in the time they'd been together. She wasn't shy any longer. Though what hadn't changed were her bright green eyes. They were still soft, and still made him feel fuzzy and warm when he saw them. Even through a photograph, his lips formed a soft smile, and he felt a little more at ease. As soon as he took his eyes away though, his heart beat quickened, pounding in his chest.

"Ugh!" he grunted with frustration as he sat himself on the edge of his bed. His hands gripped his hair, and he stared intently at the floor. "I don't even know where to START!" Kazuki whined a bit. "It's gotta be perfect…"

"What's gotta be perfect?" he heard a familiar voice by the door, followed by the crunch of an apple getting chomped on. His head shot up to see his uncle Mokuba leaning against the doorframe, chewing casually. "What's your malfunction, kid? Something got ya down?"

Kazuki sighed again, hanging his head. "I got something on my mind," he admitted dully. He felt Mokie flop next to him and heard him take another bite.

"You really think that's an acceptable answer to me?"

"No."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, spill it, oh nephew of mine," Mokuba smirked.

As much as Kazuki didn't want to talk about it, he had to tell someone. Maybe if he just said his thoughts out loud they'd make more sense. "Mokuba….how did you ask Amaya to…marry you?" he trailed off, purposely staring down at the carpet.

He heard his uncle choke a bit. "Propose!" he squeaked out. "Why do you…." There was a pause, then Kazuki sighed heavily when he heard the knowing snicker that his uncle always gave in situations where he asked embarrassing questions.

"Please don't do that."

Mokuba stopped, but he couldn't hold back his excited grin.

"…stop that too."

"Sorry, can't help it. I'm already picturing Tarou and Akira as your best men and it's the funniest damn thing I've seen in my life."

Kazuki sighed again, this time with slight agitation. "Would you just tell me! How did you know that was the right way to do it?"

Mokie's snickering ceased, and his grin softened. "Well, it's hard to explain," he said thoughtfully. "I mean, to be honest, I didn't really think about it. I knew I loved her, and that I wanted to spend my life with her. So one day we're doing a song at a concert and I just took a break between the songs and popped the question."

Kazuki couldn't believe his ears. "You mean just like that? You didn't plan it or anything?"

"Not really," Mokie said with a shrug.

"What if she'd said no? You were in the middle of a concert!" Kazuki flailed.

"Kazuki, when you know that you love someone, and that they love you back, you don't even have to think about that," Mokuba said calmly. "You just know."

This wasn't helping. "What if you don't know?" the brunette sighed heavily.

"I think you do. Just chill out," his uncle put a caring hand on his shoulder. "Just…think of something that shows her how much you care. She'll say yes, Kazu. I mean, she loves ya!" With that, Mokie hopped up and strolled out of the room, munching on his apple as he hummed that blasted "Here comes the Bride" song.

Kazuki was left once again with his own thoughts. Mokuba's advice may be more useful than he thought. With a jump, he picked up the phone and called Mika, insisting she come over right away. Once she agreed, he slammed down the phone and ran into his studio to get everything ready.


Kazuki was changing into some nicer clothes when he heard the doorbell. "I'll get it!" he screamed, rushing to the stairs and sliding down the banister. He nearly fell when he got to the bottom, but caught his balance just in time. He hurried over to the door and was about to throw it open, but he paused. Taking a moment to compose himself, Kazu opened the door. He couldn't stop his smile when he saw Mika standing there in baggy, ragged coveralls and a pale green shirt with a flannel shirt tied around her tiny waist. Her hair was down, and her bangs were falling over her bright green eyes. She smiled, but noticed he was in a much nicer way with his khakis and buttoned shirt.

"You could have told me this was a dressy occasion," she smiled sheepishly stepping inside. "I look like a mess compared to you!"

He laughed. "Mika, you look beautiful, and you couldn't be dressed more perfect," Kazuki took her in his arms and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She paused, but accepted the advances. "What's this all about?" Mika asked curiously. "It sounded really important. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Kazuki shook his head. "…I've got something I want to show you."

A bit skeptical, Mika nodded and followed Kazuki up to his studio. Kazuki refused to let go of her hand the whole way. "Did you paint something new?" she asked once they arrived.

"Not really," Kazuki admitted. "Actually…it's something from a long time ago. Back when I first met you." He pulled her over to one particular canvas on the side of the room that was covered with a sheet. He positioned her right in front of it and kissed her forehead. "I've wanted to show you this for years, but never felt right about it until right now," he said.

Mika looked puzzled, but smiled sweetly. "You know you can show me anything, Kazuki. Why would you hide something for this many years?"

"Because, Mika, there's something I didn't tell you. You see, when I paint, I'm directed by this…this muse," he said. "I get inspiration really suddenly, and I just have to paint. And when I first met you, Mika; when you walked down the stairs at your house and I saw you, my muse went crazy. And for the first time I ignored it. I thought it was insane to paint a girl I just met, but for weeks my muse just drove me insane telling me that you were the one! You were the only girl that I ever wanted to study enough to paint. You," he paused, looking down at her eyes and smiling. "Mika, I always knew that I'd love you more than anything…"

She looked up at him, a soft, loving smile breaking through her confused expression. "Oh, Kazuki," she whispered. "I love you, too."

"That's why I wanna show you this." He took a step back and removed the sheet dramatically.

Mika found herself in awe at a beautifully rendered portrait of her from a few years back. She was smiling and her eyes seemed to be much a bolder color than the rest of the picture. She gasped, putting her hands over her mouth as she studied it. It was so beautiful, and Kazuki had done it for her. She felt light headed as she smiled over at him. Tears threatened her eyes. "Oh, Kazuki," she said, her voice wavering. "It's beautiful…I…I can't even…"

He wrapped his arms around her and let her bury her face into his chest. "I love you," he reassured her. "There's something else I need to show you."

She pulled back and laughed a bit, wiping away her happy tears. "Oh god I don't think I can take another surprise, Kazuki," Mika laughed. "I think I might pass out!"

He took her hand and pulled something out of his pocket. "Not until you answer something for me." Slowly, he knelt down on one knee and looked up at Mika with a sweet, nervous smile. "I showed you that picture to prove how much I love you…how much I've loved you since the day we met," he said, grinning when her green eyes opened wide at his position.

"Kazuki," she said, her voice tight. "You…you're not…"

He opened the small velvet box. Inside was a small, beautiful diamond embedded in a golden band. "Honda Mika," Kazuki said, hearing her small cries. He took out the ring and slipped it on her finger, then folded her hand into his. "Will you marry me?"

Mika's tears were streaming now, her cheeks burning red. She tried to talk but the words just wouldn't come out. "Kazuki, I'm…I mean I…"

Kazuki just smiled. He was getting anxious. "Will you? Please?"

She paused and knelt down with him. Her hand wrapped around his, and she looked at their embrace. "…yes," she said quietly, her green eyes finally looking up to his.

He froze for a moment. "…you mean…?"

Mika nodded, an impish grin on her lovely face. "I'll marry you, Kazuki. I love you."

Kazuki just felt stunned for a minute, like he'd just been punched. Suddenly, his face broke into a wide grin, and he threw his arms around Mika and pulled her into a fierce kiss as he smiled. He broke it suddenly a let out a laugh of pure joy. "Mika I'm gonna make you so happy!" he insisted.

She laughed as well, gripping his shirt. "You already have!" Mika told him, pulling him close for another sweet kiss. He obliged before pulling her off the ground and back into his living room. "EVERYBODY! GET OUT HERE!" he screamed, holding Mika close and laughing.

Mokuba, Amaya, Kisara and Seto all emerged from various entrances.

"What is it, sweetie?" Kisara asked. "Oh, Mika-chan! I didn't know you were here!"

"Hmph," Seto sighed. "What is it? I've got work to do."

"Well it can wait, Dad," Kazuki said. "Mika and I….we're…I mean…" he stammered. This was harder than he thought.

Mika just smiled and held up her hand with the ring. "Kazuki asked me to marry him," she said, blushing a bit.

If Kisara could, she would have jumped off the second floor and landed on the two of them. Her blue eyes lit up and she flew down the staircase. "Oh, Kazuki! I'm so happy for you two!" she squeaked, throwing her arms around them. "And Mika-chan! Welcome to the family!" Suddenly she backed off and clapped her hands together. "Oh there's so much to do now! We need a cake and a chapel and flowers and-OH, Mika, you can wear the dress I wore on my wedding day! Oh, I'm just so happy for you two!" the woman squealed. "I'm going to call your family right now and insist they come over! This calls for celebration!" And with that Kisara bounced off to the phone, laughing gleefully.

Kazuki blinked. "…wow."

Seto rolled his eye. "You should've seen her on OUR wedding day. It's all down hill from here." He walked over and looked down at Mika. His expression didn't change, but his tone of voice was softer. "I'm glad it was you, Mika."

Mika blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Kaiba-san."

Without another word, Seto set off back to work.

Mokuba and Amaya came downstairs as well, offering their congratulations. Mokie had a smug grin that no one but Kazuki could understand. Not that he really noticed. He was too busy gazing at young Mika and the ring. The smile never left his face, and the thought of spending all his life with her put him at ease. The thought of having kids with her made him so happy that he thought he might burst. More importantly, he was glad that he was fortunate enough to be this in love with someone, and that Mika loved him back. She gripped his hand tightly, not letting go through all of dinner, and only reluctantly did so when the females dragged her off to talk of wedding things. Kazuki watched, and Mika glanced back longingly. He blew her a kiss, and she smiled, going off with the wave of estrogen, leaving Kazuki watching her, thinking how lovely it would be to paint another portrait of her, this time of the moment she said "Yes."