This one was (for some reason) a little hard to transfer from the outline to a complete chapter Hopefully it flows well and makes sense.

Enjoy!

April 6, 2013

Over the next month, Raph and Y'Gythgba were practically inseparable. Whenever their schedules aligned, the two were either texting or exploring the Hidden City together. Y'Gythgba even hung out with the Hamato clan once or twice when everyone was down in the city.

Raph knew that there was something special about this girl; he'd had the benefit of seeing two of his brothers explore the different stages of a relationship and knew that he wanted to build a solid foundation of friendship with Y'Gythgba before going any further.

One night, Raph decided he wanted to do something special for the female. He convinced Mikey to let him borrow his cloaking broach for the evening as Y'Gythgba did not own one.

"Raphael, where are we going?" The Salamandrian flicked her gaze about, not used to being in the human realm. She nervously played with the long, dark braid that blew against the darker skin tone the cloaking broach had disguised her with. Raph's human fingers, interlaced with Y'Gythgba's, pulled her along to a patch of grass near the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center where he had set up a blanket with everything they'd need to stargaze.

"You had a bad experience with stars the last time you were up there. I wanted to make sure you had at least one good experience." He settled himself on the blanket, indicating for Y'Gythgba to join him.

It was one of those rare early mornings where the light pollution was low and the moon hovered just over the horizon. The sight was enough to take the Salamandrian's breath away.

"Oh, Raphael…" She breathed. "This… this is beautiful! I do not recall seeing the stars when I was up here last." She flicked her braid behind her as she settled in next to Raph.

Raph chuckled. "Well, I think you had something on your mind - like trying to escape a swarm of humans" He turned his gaze to the soft glow of the stars. "I don't make it up here enough to simply enjoy the night sky. I think Van Gogh was able to capture it best."

Y'Gythgba leaned back until her arms rested under her head. "Who is this Van Gogh and by what sorcery did he capture the night sky?"

"Nah," Raph snorted. He pulled out his phone until he found a decent image of Starry Night on Google. "Van Gogh was a painter who lived a long time ago. He had a really unique way of seeing the world. We might see the sky with shades of black or dark blue." Raph pointed at a constellation barely visible over their heads. "Van Gogh instead saw the night sky full of light - swirling in bold, bright spirals, mixing with golds and greens."

He offered his phone to Y'Gythgba so she could compare the painting to the real sky. She squinted. "Even with my enhanced vision, the light pollution makes it difficult to see Master Van Gogh's vision. But I can see your description of the sky in my mind's eye. It's… gorgeous." She handed the phone back. "Would you mind sending me the image?"

"Of course, Y'Gythgba."

Raph remained sitting up while copying the image of the painting to their text thread. Y'Gythgba noticed that the name at the top of the thread looked… different. She sat up to reclaim his phone. Raph protested, blushing as the Salamandrian quirked an eye ridge.

"Raphael, why am I labeled as 'Mona Lisa' within your device? Why do you call me this?" She looked at him, uncertainty playing in her eyes.

Raph rubbed the back of his neck, scooting backwards on the blanket. "I-I… AHEM!" He coughed. "Uh… have you ever… seen the famous painting by a guy named Da Vinci?"

"I do not believe so."

"Well… T-the woman in this painting - the Mona Lisa - she's said to be the most beautiful woman ever depicted in art. And… that's how I see you…" Raph's entire face now matched his mask.

Y'Gythgba's large eyes blinked away several tears, a few still managing to snake their way down her face. "Truly, Raphael?"

Gathering his courage, Raph scooted closer and intertwined their fingers. "Yeah. Ya know… the first time I saw you in the ice cream shop, I couldn't get over how beautiful you were. But what sold it for me… was when you beat me at our arm wrestle." They both chuckled at the memory. "I don't want my life without you in it."

The girl was now furiously swiping away the tears pouring from her eyes. "Raphael… you are the first being in the universe, aside from my parents, to ever call me beautiful. Most of my comrades at the Flight Academy were considered more fair than I amongst our species. From one warrior to another," She brought their heads closer until they were nose to nose. "I wish not to be parted from you as well. From this day forth, I will be called Mona Lisa, because the one that makes my heart sing finds me beautiful."

Raph sighed contentedly, booping his nose with hers. "I-I love you, Mona Lisa."

"I love you too, Raphael."

A shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!