Note: So I swear this was a one-off when I wrote it, but I got a review that got me thinking on Yucie's reaction, sooo…this one's for you, Sapphire Roses!

Yucie didn't know how long she had been out when she heard the birds chirping. Her closed eyes squeezed tighter, trying to block out the light that was dancing over her lids. She was stiff and uncomfortable, which led her to wonder where exactly she had fallen asleep this time (it was an unfortunate side effect of the schedule Queen Erlsel had her on, the bone-weary exhaustion). A warm weight against her back eased the discomfort slightly, but that didn't ease her mind any.

Giving up the fight, she opened her eyes just enough to see the sunlight streaming in from the window beside...gods, was she in the infirmary? What the heck hap...

Her mind screeched to a hault when the light caught on something by her head and the glint momentarily blinded her. Her eyes squinted, and she blinked a few times to clear the sleep fog from her mind. Oh. My.

Her hands were nestled by her head, resting somewhat comfortably on the pillow, and on her left ring finger...was that an engagement ring? It didn't look like your typical engagement ring - it was a beautiful silver ring with a ruby stone, simple but perfect - but it was on that finger. But how did it get there...?

She felt the weight behind her shift, and she froze as she recognized the feeling of an arm around her middle. A face nuzzled into her neck, and she turned her head slightly to find Arc curled around her. What was he...

Without another thought, she reached back and jabbed her elbow into Arc's stomach.

The satisfaction of hearing him shout quickly vanished as he tumbled backwards off the bed. She yelped as she realized she hadn't fully thought the move through as the arm wrapped around her tugged her along with him, and he yelped again as she landed roughly on top of him. The back of her head smacked into his nose, and she groaned as she reached back to rub the bump. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the ring again, and before he could recover she had flipped over to straddle his waist. His eyes widened as she shoved her hand in his face.

"What the heck is this, Arc?!" she demanded. He blinked at her like an idiot, which did nothing to improve her irritation.

For his part, Arc was still a bit dazed from his (rather rude) awakening. As he got his bearings, he ignored the hand held before him and did a quick inventory of his intended. Her hair was mussed and her chest was heaving, probably from sleep and her recent exertions, and her face was flushed (again, a byproduct of kicking them off the bed), but she seemed otherwise fine. Just the burst of energy used to attack him should show she was fine. He laid his head back on the stone floor, breathing out a sigh of relief as his eyes closed and relief washed over him. She was going to be fine.

In retrospect, however, ignoring her was probably not the best move.

"Ow – hey!" he shouted as pain flared across his cheek. His eyes shot open in time to see her take her hand back from the post-slap position and shove it back in his face.

"Explain!" she ordered, and he rolled his eyes before looking at her hand.

"It's your hand," he deadpanned, "but at this point I think I should call it a lethal weapon. That really hurt, Forehead."

"Not the hand, you fat head! The ring!" she said. He took her hand in his own and turned it, trying to catch the ruby in the light. He smiled, nodding approvingly.

"Even better than I expected," he said. "It looks great, Forehead, and it fits perfectly. I knew it would suit you."

"Suit…what…Arc, you fat head!" she screeched, punching his stomach. "What is this?!"

"It's an engagement ring, Forehead. You act like you've never seen one before," he said. She looked back to the ring, frowning at it slightly. Well, in a sense…she'd never quite seen an engagement ring like this before. Nor had she ever seen one quite so up-close, as she'd never really had anyone give her one before, and…

"What I mean, you big jerk, is what is it doing on my finger?" she asked as calmly as she could. He threaded their fingers together and moved her hand away, and as she sat there glaring at him he gave her a thorough once-over.

"How are you feeling, Yucie? You were kind of a mess yesterday," he said, and despite his blasé tone she could see the fear barely hidden in his eyes. She frowned as she thought back to the day before. It was all kind of a hazy blur, if she was being honest, but she remembered pain. She remembered the abrupt end to their picnic when her stomach suddenly felt like it was being ripped open, and she remembered spending most of the previous…had it only been a day?...feeling like she was on fire. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, pausing when he reached the ring. He looked back up to her face, and suddenly the fear wasn't as well-hid. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"You big dummy," she sighed. She leaned down to rest her head on his chest. His arms came up to wrap around her, and he bent down to kiss the crown of her head. "I'm feeling much better. A little tired, but the pain's gone. I'm fine. I'm…was I that bad?"

"I couldn't touch you without you screaming," he said, and her eyes widened in surprise. "The healer said…he said it was a rare but not unknown reaction to the procedure he used to remove your appendix. He said you'd be fine, but…gods, Yucie, I thought the fever was going to kill you."

"I'm so sorry," she said, snuggling closer to him. "I ruined our picnic."

"Now who's the dummy?" he chuckled, squeezing her and loving the way she didn't scream in pain at the gesture. "Do you think I care about the picnic when you almost –"

"But I didn't," she said, pushing herself up to give him a pointed look. "I'm fine, and you, Mr. Fat Head, are not off the hook. What's this ring doing on my finger, huh?"

"I was going to ask you yesterday," he said. "But you…well. When it looked like you were out of the woods, I slipped it on. I figured I didn't really need to ask, so I just put it on while you were sleeping."

"Without even asking?" she asked, her lips turning in a frown, and he shrugged a little awkwardly, given his position on the floor. "Arc, really. Without even asking?"

"I figured asking was just a formality. I mean, we were practically engaged already, right? Everyone's expecting us to get married, so –" she cut him off by punching him again.

"Without even asking?!" she asked again, louder that time, and he held up his hands in defense.

"It was supposed to be romantic!" he defended, and she let out a loud, aggravated noise that was somewhere between a groan and a yell as she tugged the ring off. She slapped it onto his chest, causing him to cock a brow at her.

"Yeah right! I'm not wearing that until you ask me properly, you fat-headed jerk!" she shouted as she settled back on his lower stomach. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at him expectantly.

"What…are you…" he spluttered, but seeing the Very Serious look on her face he groaned and flopped back on the stone floor. "Fine! Yucie, will you marry me?"

"What kind of proposal is that? That wasn't romantic at all!" she said, and he gawked at her.

"But I…that's what…you just told me to ask you!" he protested, and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but not like that! That didn't sound at all like you wanted to marry me – I would never say yes to a proposal like that!" she said.

"Oh my go-" he started to shout, but the slamming of the infirmary door caused him to jump and swallow the words as the healer entered.

"What the devil is going on in here?!" the older man shouted as he stormed in. Seeing them on the floor, a strangled cry left his throat. Yucie, noticing the position they were in and realizing how bad it must look, scrambled off Arc and stood a good foot away from the prince. She kept her gaze trained on the floor in an attempt to hide her scarlet-colored face. The healer, however, would not be dissuaded and crossed the room to stand before them. "You, highness, are recovering from a serious illness! You should be resting! Prince Aero, I cannot believe you would...oh, what am I saying? Of course you would! But you should know better by now!"

"She started it," Arc groused, rubbing his nose and shooting her an accusing look as he stood. She raised a brow at him, and he rolled his eyes. "What? You did."

"Blaming the invalid? Very classy, Arc," she sniffed, and he snorted.

"Invalid? Hardly, if your right hook is anything to go by," he said. She turned on him and would have slapped him again, had the healer not caught her hand.

"Princess!" the man scolded, and she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," she said. She looked back to the healer, and a more genuine smile appeared on her lips. "I really am feeling much better. Just a little tired. Maybe I could head back to my room so I can rest properly?"

"Of course, highness," the healer sighed. "Just let me look you over first? I'll want to check in on you later as well, just to make sure you're recovering all right. You gave us all quite a scare."

She shot a look back to Arc, who was still grumbling behind her, and had the decency to look guilty. She reached back and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry."

He gave her a small smile before stepping up behind her and pulling her back against his chest. He looked at the healer and said, "I'll make sure she gets there safely. Thank you, doctor."

"Be sure that you do. And no more fighting – she needs to rest!" he snapped. He took Yucie's hand and led her over to the bed she had stayed the night in. "Wait here as I get my bag. I'll have you out of here shortly."

When he left, Arc sat down beside her. When she looked back to him, he was holding the ring up again. At her annoyed look, he gave her a rather contrite smile.

"I really was just trying to be romantic," he said, "and if you hadn't attacked me, I would have asked the moment you saw it. So I'm going to ask you again, for a completely unnecessary third time –"

"Technically second, since you never really asked the first time," she interrupted, but at his glare she bit her lip and looked down.

"Third time," he repeated. "Yucie, will you please marry me and continue to annoy the hell out of me for the rest of our very happy, argumentative days?"

"Jerk," she said half-heartedly, but he smiled as she still held her hand out and allowed him to slip the ring back on. She grinned when she looked down at her hand. She really did love it. "I should have Gurenda burn you to cinders for that."

"That's a hell of a way to say yes," he said, and she rolled her eyes as she half-heartedly punched his arm.

"And that's a hell of a way to ask," she retorted. She leaned against his side, snuggling close as the antics of the past half-hour caught up with her. "But yeah, I guess that is a yes. About time you asked."