Yay! Here's the next Chapter! :D I'm so sorry for the delay! Chapter got deleted. Luckily for me, Kok edited this chapter as fast as she did!

I wanna get to the chapter so I'm just skipping to disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!


Skye's POV

The clock read two in the morning, but since Lola and I were still wide awake we didn't pay it any mind. We were careful to keep our voices down for the other three occupants of the house; we didn't know if they were asleep or not, so to be on the safe side we were trying to stay quiet.

…Trying to.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me something I don't know!" Lola sang, bouncing on the bed and nearly dislodging me from my perch on the edge of the bed.

"I wasn't aware we were singing Selena Gomez," I commented.

"Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about," the other girl huffed, and then she tackled me. "Tell me the details! How did it go? Oh don't think you can keep it to yourself!"

Lola is not much taller than I am, but when you're being tackled by her it's the equivalent to being tackled by a pro-football player. "There's not much to tell, Lola," I chuckled, pushing her off me with a grunt. "Get off me, you silly goose."

"Yes there is! Where did he take you? What did you do? What did you eat? Oh come on, there are a TON of questions I need to know the answer to!"

"Calm down and I'll tell you," I said, holding up my hands and laughing again.

Flashback

"Raphael, where are we going?" I asked as he led me to the car.

"It's a surprise," he said, getting into the car. He waited until I was sitting down and buckled before starting the engine.

"You know that I hate surprises. Years of living with Alister and Valon have taught me to be wary of them," I huffed, crossing my arms. "Why did you want to dress casually anyways?"

I had on a pair of denim shorts, a white baby doll tank top with a black camisole underneath, and flip-flops. Raphael was wearing cargo shorts and a button down plaid shirt, coupled with a pair of sandals.

"You'll see," he replied, giving me a playful look. "You can trust me when I say you'll like this surprise."

I giggled and shook my head, looking out the window. I stared at the scenery for about ten minutes before something occurred to me and I looked over at Raphael. "Are you sure it's a good idea for us to leave Valon and Alister in charge of the house?" I asked.

Raphael sighed. "Probably not, but Lola's there. If nothing else, she'll keep them in line. She's scary enough to do that."

I grinned. "You're scared of Lola?"

"It's not fear, it's healthy caution. When we first met her she basically broke into our house brandishing a baseball bat and threatening to use it on the first person who blinked at her."

He frowned. "Why a baseball bat, though…"

I giggled, causing him to glance briefly at me. "Good friends ask why you're crying. Best friendsalready have the baseball bat ready to beat the living crap out of who made you cry."

Raphael's eyebrow rose. "I've heard that one. The one Alister and Valon tend to live by goes something along the line of 'good friends help you get up when you fall. Best friends trip you again to get another laugh.'"

He stopped the car and then gestured beyond the outside of the car. "This is our stop," he announced, getting out of the car before I could react. Seconds later he was already on the other side of the car and holding the door open for me. "Come on."

End Flashback

"Where did he take you? The suspense is killing me!" Lola whined, bouncing in place.

I laughed. "Surprisingly, the beach."

Flashback

The moment my feet hit the sandy ground I went straight for the water, the ocean breeze tossing my hair behind me. I came to a stop just at the water's edge, the cold water splashing over my feet and onto my legs. The smell of salt water and the sound of the waves made me smile—the sun was just starting to go down and this only added to the beauty of the scene.

I was so caught up in the moment that I did not notice Raphael coming up behind me until his arms snaked around my waist and he rested his chin on top of my head. "Raphael, this is amazing," I breathed. "I didn't think you would do something like this."

He laughed softly, his breath warming the top of my head. "I may not like the water, but I don't mind watching the sun set with you on the beach."

I rested a hand on top of his. "The only thing missing is a romantic picnic to go with the sunset on the beach."

He tightened his grip around my waist and then lifted me off my feet to turn me away from the ocean. "You mean that one?" he questioned with a teasing smile.

I stared in complete disbelief at the completely set up picnic before looking up at him. "You sap," I said at last, getting up onto my tiptoes to kiss him.

End Flashback

"Aww! Chica, that's so romantic!" Lola cooed, taking on a dreamy expression.

"And he wasn't quite done," I said reminiscently.

Flashback

We'd finished eating and Raphael had been putting away the plates, but as he opened the basket to put the plates in it he paused, one of his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"You okay, Raphael?" I began, leaning over to see what had caused him to stiffen up. My eyes landed on a pair of underwear—my underwear— and I gasped, quickly grabbing it and hastily stuffing it into my beach bag.

Valon was a dead Aussie the next time I saw him. Alister knew better than to mess around with my undergarments.

Raphael tried and failed to not look too amused. "Pink polka dots, huh?"

My face heated up even further. I needed a distraction that would lead away from this rather awkward conversation. Thankfully an idea popped into mind and waited until he set the dishes back inside the basket.

The moment he closed the basket I leaned over and shoved him with just enough force to knock him backward onto his elbows; he had not been expecting it and was completely caught off guard. "Tag! You're it," I giggled, scrambling up from the blanket and running towards the water.

I completely underestimated his reaction time (a lot of people don't realize this, but when it comes to running Raphael's almost as fast as Alister—and that's saying something). By the time I'd gotten up to my knees in the cool water he'd caught up to me.

He did not even pause in stride, just simply reached down and scooped me into his arms before turning on his heel, causing us to spin in the water. I threw my arms around his neck and started laughing helplessly.

"Happy anniversary," he murmured, and then he leaned in to kiss me.

End Flashback

Lola had to bury her face in the pillow to muffle her squeal. "Skye Skye Skye SKYE, that's so adorable! I think I've got cavities from the sweetness," she said breathlessly. "Now what did he get you for your anniversary present?"

I was just beginning to reply to this latest question when Alister promptly opened my bedroom door and came inside the room. "Ever heard of knocking?" I asked indignantly.

"Lola, your brother is looking for you downstairs. Apparently you were supposed to do something at home—your parents are looking for you. Why they would feel the need to do this at two in the morning is beyond my understanding," he said, completely ignoring me.

Lola pouted but got up from my bed and went to the doorway. She passed Alister and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. As an afterthought she leaned back around the doorframe. "I want a text with the rest of the details," she said firmly.

"I'll get you one, I promise," I assured her, shooing her out of the room.

Alister, however, remained where he was. I was just about to ask why he was still in the room (because it was late and I really wanted to get some sleep) when he cleared his throat. "Skye?"

"Yes?"

"Your knowledge of the Spanish language is a lot better than mine is," he said abruptly. "Dartz made us learn how to use it, certainly, but it's been a long time since I've had to use the language and I was wondering if you could help me figure out how to say a few things."

He noticed the surprised expression on my face and after giving a careless shrug he said, "Lola wants me to meet her maternal grandparents and they primarily speak Spanish. If you help me here I can offer my assistance with gaining revenge against Valon—he was bragging about putting your panties in the picnic basket earlier."

I grinned after a moment's pause. "All right, Alister, you have yourself a deal."


The following day (Normal POV)

"You're losing," Skye remarked, smiling at her boyfriend.

Raphael was sitting at the kitchen table, currently in the midst of a battle with the cat for the newspaper; the burly man wanted to read it, but Misha seemed to think it was quite comfortable to lay where she was on the newspaper (she swatted at him playfully whenever he reached for the paper.)

"Hush," he retorted good-naturedly. He finally got the newspaper out from under her and held it out triumphantly for the cat's inspection.

Skye's eyebrows rose. "You know, I could have saved you the trouble and bribed her with cat treats," she pointed out.

"Ah, but that would be taking the fun out of it," he replied. "How did you sleep?"

Skye started rummaging through the cupboard to try and find her favorite coffee mug. "Stayed up late with Lola, but other than that I'm fine," she said, frowning when she couldn't find the cup. "Raphael, have you seen my Minnie Mouse mug?"

"Can't say as I have," Raphael said as he rose to his feet. "Maybe someone put it up on the higher shelves by accident."

Skye caught his hand and then started rummaging through her pocket. Raphael stared down in surprise when he felt something being placed on his wrist and he looked at it curiously. "Skye, what's this?"

The girl had attached a dark, broad leather band around his wrist. Atop of the band was a silver name plate; etched into the plate was 'Skye', written in elegant print. At his curious gaze she lifted up her other wrist, showing him a thinner, lighter leather band around her own wrist; it was identical to the one she'd just attached to his wrist, save for the fact that Raphael's name was written on the silver plate in cursive.

"These are 'his-and-hers' bracelets Couples wear them to show others that they're in a relationship. I was going to go for a ring, but I figured that the leather would appeal more to you—most of the rings were kinda girly."

Raphael gazed at it and then smiled fondly. "You know me all too well," he said with a chuckle. "How on earth did you get my wrist size, though?"

Skye rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, I had Valon sneak into your room to measure your wrist. You're so used to him going in there that you didn't even wake up when he walked in."

Raphael eyed the bracelet appreciatively for one last moment before reaching up into the cupboard, procuring Skye's missing coffee mug. "Thanks for this, Skye."

The girl turned pink. "I would have given these last night, but I honestly kinda forgot," she admitted, and then she paused when her eyes went to the inside of her coffee mug. "What on earth…?"

A small ring box was resting on the inside of the mug and Skye lifted it up, setting her coffee cup down on the counter. She looked to Raphael quizzically. "Raphael, did you…?"

"I forgot to give you my gift last night as well. No, it's not an engagement ring," he added hastily, correctly interpreting the reason behind her sudden silence. "Go ahead and open it."

Skye lifted the lid to the ring box and then gasped. Resting on the velvet cushion was a silver ring, a sapphire on its front; cubic zirconium lined the sides of the ring. "Raphael…"

"This is a reminder for you of just how much I love you. Whenever you look at it, remember that I think you are the best thing that's happened to me."

Skye started to tear up. "This… this is the nicest gift anyone's ever given me," she said, giving him a watery smile. "Same goes for you," she continued, holding up her bracelet in emphasis.

Raphael took the ring out and carefully slid it onto her finger, letting out a sigh of relief when it fit her perfectly. "I didn't have the luxury of getting Valon to do my dirty work, so I grabbed the first ring I could find," he explained. "I wasn't sure it would fit."

"Even if it didn't I would still wear it—I have a whole bunch of necklace chains upstairs that would hold it," she replied, getting to her tiptoes to kiss him.

The romantic moment was broken by Valon's voice. "SKYLER! GET ME OUTTA THIS FLY PAPER RIGH' NOW!"

Raphael glanced to a suddenly too-innocent Skye, who was looking everywhere but at him. At his stern look she grinned cheekily at him. "He put my panties in the basket, I put flypaper all over his floor. Fair trade."


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