Dolores

Dolores was not an easy person to surprise. She can literally hear the softest conspiratorial whisper, but by a few months into dating her, you'd worked out a method around her gift: writing notes. Sure, she could hear the scratching of the pen on the paper, but that was it. You enlisted Mirabel's help in arranging the surprise, and you could not have picked a more enthusiastic participant. She went above and beyond to make sure your plan went smoothly.

Step one: Distract Dolores and get her out of the way so that you could get everything set up. Mirabel drafted her cousin Camilo for this, and so far, you hadn't seen a glimpse of Dolores all day, so that was apparently a good call.

Step two: Actually set up everything. That one was taking a bit longer, and it wasn't made any easier by the fact that if you said a single word during any of the process, it would probably spoil the surprise.

Mirabel walked into the room with another armload of flowers. You took them from her, and she scribbled you a note:

Is this enough?

You set down the flowers and wrote back:

Should be. Thank your sister for me, would you?

Already did, Mirabel wrote. Are you nervous?

Only of sneezing or something, you wrote. With my luck, she can recognize my particular sneeze and would instantly figure out that I'm here.

I wouldn't put it past her, Mirabel wrote.

You took a good look at the set-up and decorations. Everything looked great. Now to surprise Dolores with it, and hopefully, she'd like it.

Can you get your cousin to bring her back now? you wrote.

Mirabel gave you a thumbs up, then walked out of the room, calling, "Dolores! If you're still with Camilo, can you send him back? I need his help real quick!"

You waited, becoming increasingly nervous, as the minutes ticked by. What if Dolores just sent Camilo back and didn't come with him? What if Mirabel got distracted and forgot to send Dolores up to her room?

You needn't have worried. At long last, the door opened, and Dolores stepped into her room. Her eyes fell on the little set-up you'd created, and she squeaked.

"(Y/N)? What—"

"Surprise," you said.

She broke into a smile. "I knew you were too quiet today," she said. "What's all this?"

"This is a romantic dinner for just us two," you said. "I know you're such a hopeless romantic, so I wanted to surprise you with this."

She hugged you. "You're the best," she said. "Really."

Luisa

After a few months of dating Luisa, you decided it was high time you arranged a surprise for her. She certainly deserved it, after all. You knew the perfect surprise, but pulling it off was going to be a bit tricky. You'd have to get up before dawn to get it ready in time, for one thing, but that was easily solvable by going to bed early.

"Finally!" you muttered. You dropped your hammer to the grass and collapsed next to it, leaning your back against the fence post. "Stupid fence with a thousand stupid holes."

It was done, and even though you were now sweaty and gross, you were ready for Luisa. Apparently, just in time; you heard footsteps approaching and quickly got back to your feet.

"(Y/N)!" Luisa stopped, obviously taken aback at finding you there. "Why are you up so early?"

"I was working on a surprise for you," you said. "But first, if I might I ask, what are you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to get a head start on catching all the donkeys," she said. "I mean, they get out literally every day, and if I wait too long to go after them, they wander all over and it takes me hours."

"Guess what?" you said, grinning. "You won't have to go after the donkeys for a few weeks, at least."

"A few weeks?"

"That's about how much faith I have in my repair job."

Her eyes found the tools scattered at your feet. "You . . . you fixed the fence?"

"Well, yeah," you said. "Someone probably should have fixed it before now. But no one did, so I figured I might as well. This way, you wouldn't have to go after the donkeys every day, and maybe you—"

Luisa caught you up in a hug, cutting off the rest of your sentence. You smiled and hugged her back.

"You're so sweet," she mumbled at last, setting you back on your feet.

"Want to have breakfast?" you asked. "I packed a picnic basket. Food's probably cold by now, but it should be fine."

"I don't care if the food is from last week," Luisa said. "You're amazing, and it'll be amazing."

She kissed you.

Bruno

Surprising Bruno wasn't going to be too hard. Well . . . maybe a bit. Even after a few months into dating him, you'd never made it all the way up the stairs in his room. You waited until he left his room, then gathered all the things you needed into one big bundle. You double and triple checked everything, because no way were you coming down those stairs for something you'd forgotten, and started up. About halfway into the stairs, your legs were politely reminding you that they wouldn't be speaking to you tomorrow, but you ignored them. Bruno was worth your legs' unhappiness.

It felt like a few years before you reached the top, and you didn't dare take a minute to rest. You had no idea how long Bruno would be out of his room, and those stairs had already taken way too long. You got right to work setting things up. You were almost done when you heard Bruno's door, way below you, open. You peeked over the edge. Bruno, feeding one of his rate with an arepa, started up the stairs. Showtime. You put the last few items in place, sat down, and waited.

Bruno didn't take nearly as long with the stairs as you had. He reached the top and almost walked into you, too busy with his rat to notice his surroundings at first.

"(Y/N)!" he yelped, stumbling back a step. "What the—"

You grinned. "Didn't think I could do those stairs, did you?"

His eyes roved over your little set-up, then moved back to you. "What's this?" he asked.

"A surprise indoor picnic," you said, spreading your arms proudly. "Complete with your girlfriend."

He chuckled and sat down beside you. "I think the real surprise is that you made it up the stairs," he teased, putting an arm around you. "They can be brutal."

"I think so too," you said. "But seriously? You're going to have to carry me back down when we're done, because my legs are refusing to take me one more step, and if that step is a stair, they're going to fall off and desert me."

"Will do," he promised. "Now, what have we got here?"

"All your favourites."

Camilo

Usually, Camilo was the one surprising you. A few months into the relationship, you decided to turn the tables on him. You set everything up, then went to fetch your boyfriend.

"Dolores! Where's Camilo?" you asked.

Dolores tilted her head a bit, listening. "In his room," she said finally.

"Thanks," you said.

You raced up the stairs and burst into his room without knocking. "Camilo!" you yelled.

He shrieked and fell off his bed. "What did I do?" he asked, scrambling to his feet, eyes wide. "Whatever it was, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

You grinned, and some of the panic left his face.

"I'm not mad," you said. You grabbed his hand and pulled him from the room. "But you, señor, are coming with me!"

"Wait, wait—" Camilo tried to get you to stop, but you didn't slow down. He finally gave up and resigned himself to stumbling along behind you.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"This way," you said.

"Gee, really?"

"Wait and see!"

Finally, you reached the edge of town and dragged him to where you'd set up your surprise. You let go of Camilo and struck a ta-da! pose.

"Surprise! A picnic dinner with a perfect view, prefect privacy, and—"

He kissed you before you could finish. "And a perfect girlfriend," he said.

"Please, Camilo—"

"I said perfect, and I meant it. You're perfect, even if you do kidnap your dates."

You poked his chest, grinning. "Let's just eat before it gets cold, huh?"

Mirabel

You'd been wanting to surprise Mirabel for a while, but not until now, a few months into dating her, did you get a really good chance. It took you maybe a week of constant work, and perhaps less sleep than was ideal, and the result was less perfect than you'd have liked, but you couldn't have been happier.

"Mirabel!" you called, running up the stairs towards her room. "Hey! Mirabel!"

She opened the door, and you ran into her room, holding your surprise behind your back.

"(Y/N), what's all the excitement?" she asked, doubtlessly surprised to see you this jazzed up so early in the morning.

"I've been working on a surprise for you, and it's finally done!" you announced. "Close your eyes!"

Mirabel smiled and complied. "They're closed," she said.

"Hold out your hands."

She did. "Hands being held out."

You placed your surprise in her hands. "There. Now open your eyes."

She did, and she stared at her hands for a long moment. "Is this a new bag?" she asked finally.

"Yes!" you said, still excited. "I remember how upset you were when your old one caught on a nail in that fence and ripped. So I made you this one! I couldn't remember exactly what your old one looked like, so I took my best guess at the same colours and made my own design. Do you like it?"

Mirabel slid a finger under her glasses and brushed it quickly over one of her eyes. When had she started tearing up?

"Are you okay?" you asked.

"(Y/N), I love this," she whispered. "It's beautiful and amazing and thoughtful." She flung her arms around you, and you hugged her back. "Just like you," she added.

Isabela

Surprising Isabela was a tricky business, simply because you could never be perfectly sure what would please her; she tended to be unpredictable. A few months into your relationship, however, you decided to just go for it. Hopefully, this would not end with a cactus in your face.

"Isabela!" you called.

Your hands were too busy trying to conceal your surprise behind your back, so you did your best to knock on her door with your foot. A few moments passed . . . and the door opened.

"(Y/N)?" Isabela's eyes took in your unusual posture. "What have you got there?"

"Something for you," you said. You turned so that she could see the potted plant you held. The weight lifted from your hands, and you turned back around to find her holding the plant up to eye level, eyes wide.

"It's a fuzzy heliconia," you said. "A baby one, technically. These things get taller than both of us combined. I found it out in the woods, and since I haven't seen one of these in your room, I thought you might like it."

She pressed a kiss to your cheek. "(Y/N), I love it," she said. "Especially since it came from you."

You smiled.

"Come on," she said, stepping back into her room. "Help me find the perfect spot for this."