Chapter 2

The bear proved to be a problem. It was too big to be checked in the restaurant's coat closet, which was already overflowing with outerwear. It was probably a good thing too, as Natsu had immediately gone into a long rant at the suggestion, claiming he had carried that bear all the way across town, and there was no way in hell they were putting it in some smoky closet. So the waiter had been kind enough to find an extra chair and attach it to their small table where it now sat smiling at everyone who walked by like some kind of deranged Valentine's Day ambassador. Its arms were still laden with Gray's favorite chocolates and the biggest bouquet of roses Gray had ever seen.

He took a deep breath, trying not to let the extra attention they were receiving from strangers bother him. He reminded himself he had bigger things to worry about, and besides, it was kind of cute in a teenage girl kind of way. He just hoped Natsu didn't insist on having them sleep with it at night.

Natsu might have gone all out with his present, but this was one time where Gray knew he had him beat.

He grinned in anticipation, wondering how Natsu would react to his surprise proposal. There was no way he could be expecting it. They hadn't been together for very long, but even so, Gray had never been so sure of anything in his life. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this man, bickering and laughing together and loving each other.

Gray was already looking forward to the wild night they were sure to have to celebrate their engagement. He wished he hadn't run so late at the jeweler's though, Natsu seemed kinda drunk, which hadn't really been part of the plan, but at least he hadn't gotten loud drunk.

Their waiter seemed to have forgotten about them after he had brought the chair over and filled their water glasses. Gray was hungry, and he could see from how Natsu was starting to get fidgety that he was hungry as well.

"Why were you late anyway?" Natsu asked suddenly, looking at him with curiosity.

"I had to go pick up your present," Gray answered smoothly, realizing too late that it had been the wrong answer as Natsu's eyes burned with unbridled curiosity.

"What did you get me?" Natsu's eyes lit up with anticipation, and he made gimme gestures with his hands.

"It's a surprise," Gray winked, "Besides, I'm not quite sure it's been long enough since you broke up with the bear."

Natsu laughed, "Alright, you've got me there." He looked around the restaurant, which was suffering from a severe lack of waitstaff. "When are they going to get here? I'm starving."

As if to prove his point, Natsu's stomach began to rumble loudly, and Gray knew this was a bad sign. "Here, why don't you have some of my chocolates, they're delicious!"

He removed the ribbon that Natsu had tied to the bear's arm to keep the box in place, opening it without paying much attention, quickly recognizing the packaging of his favorite chocolates and handing a few to his boyfriend.

"Mhmm, these are really good," Natsu moaned wantonly as he shoved them into his mouth, causing even more people to stare their way.

Gray felt that moan in parts of his body that shouldn't really be awake in public places, especially not when he could feel Natsu's foot playing with his leg.

"What are you doing?" Gray hissed, already feeling self-conscious by all the people that staring at them as they walked past.

"Trying to show you that you're the one I love," Natsu's face was flushed, reminding Gray of other times he'd seen that expression, which was seriously not helping his rapidly rising problem. Especially as Natsu's foot continued its ascent. He could feel his cheeks heating up from Natsu's attention.

"Wow, these are to die for," a female voice commented next to him, making him jump. Somehow, the woman that Natsu had befriended at the bar had grabbed a chair and sat at their table without either of them noticing. She grinned at them knowingly.

"Cana!" Natsu greeted her with a happy smile.

"Do you mind?" Gray snapped, embarrassed to be caught in such a compromising position, even though Natsu's foot had immediately retreated at her intrusion.

"Not at all!" Cana replied cheerfully, as she took a sip from her tumbler and stared at them unabashedly.

"Don't you have a date of your own to be getting back to?" Gray asked gruffly, wanting her to leave so he could get on with his plan.

"Yep, got him right here," Cana winked cheekily, lifting her tumbler and taking another sip.

"So this is Mr. Perfect, huh?" she asked Natsu, ignoring Gray's obvious displeasure and peering at him with mischief filled eyes, "He doesn't look like much Natsu, maybe you were better off with the bear."

"Hey! I'm right here!" Gray protested as Natsu snorted at her comment.

"Nah, he's amazing," Natsu purred and damn him that noise was sexy too!

Gray found himself forgetting all about Cana as Natsu gazed at him in the way Gray loved, with sparkling eyes and that smile that promised exciting adventures. He found himself responding to it, grabbing Natsu's hands in his and staring into his eyes until he felt intoxicated.

He couldn't believe it, in just a few short minutes he was going to ask Natsu to marry him. It was so unlike him, this impulsiveness, but that's what Natsu did to him. Made him want to try new things and step outside of his comfort zone. It had been hard at first, but he'd soon realized even when he didn't like the results having Natsu by his side made it worthwhile.

He was startled out of his daze by the clicking sound of a phone camera promptly followed by Cana squealing, "Oh my God, you two are so frigging cute!"

Gray's face was burning, and he couldn't tell how much of it was embarrassment at being caught in such a vulnerable moment and how much was just fury at her continued presence. He wanted her to leave before she managed to ruin everything, but he could tell by the way she'd made herself comfortable that she had no plans to do so.

Rather than make yet another scene, he decided to go ask for help from the restaurant's staff. He excused himself and headed for the reception desk, which was being manned by a blonde woman.

"Can I help you, sir?" the greeter asked him, taking in his agitated state.

"A woman has sat at our table and refuses to leave," he explained as calmly as he could, "I was hoping someone could help me with that."

"Oh, right away, Sir!" she responded, immediately gesturing to a waiter and explaining the situation.

"Which is your table?" the waiter asked.

"Uhm, the one with the pink-haired gentleman and the enormous stuffed animal. You can't miss it."

The waiter walked away with an air of purpose while the greeter apologized, "I am so sorry this happened, we will send a complimentary bottle of champagne to your table. Is there anything we can do to make your evening more enjoyable?"

Gray had been about to say that was all he wanted when he was struck by a thought. Natsu loved grand gestures, and he hadn't really given much thought as to how he was going to present the ring. Maybe...

Gray took the velvet box out of his pocket and showed it to her, "Actually, our waiter hasn't been by for our order yet, do you think you could help me with something?"

The greeter squealed in excitement, "Oh my God, oh my God! Leave it to me, I've always wanted to do this!"

She handed him a menu and had him pick out their order, and after he pointed out which one was Natsu's meal, she assured him, "I'll put this right in for you!" right before literally skipping into the kitchen.

The woman's excitement proved contagious, and soon he felt all his irritation melt away as he thought of Natsu's face when he found the ring. He walked back to their table to see the waiter escorting Cana back to the bar. She waved at him as she passed him, utterly unfazed by her escort.

He sat back down, searching Natsu's face for any sign of annoyance but finding none, only amusement.

"If you wanted me all to yourself, all you had to do was say so," Natsu chuckled, knowing Gray well enough to realize how aggravated he must have been at Cana's intrusion.

"Whatever," Gray grumbled, "I went ahead and ordered for us," he announced, smiling as Natsu cheered in response.

"Thank God, you have no idea how close I was to eating all your chocolates," Natsu admitted, and it was his turn to startle as a loud pop erupted next to him, and he was handed a champagne flute filled with the bubbly drink.

"You're really going all out today, aren't you? Fancy restaurant, champagne," he eyed him suspiciously, "Are you up to something?"

"Not at all, you make me happy, and I just wanted to treat you a little," Gray replied, smirking internally at what was still to come.

Natsu's eyes moistened at his words, his hand extending out until he could caress Gray's cheek with this thumb. "I - you, you make me happy too. I've never had anyone care about me the way you do."

Gray lifted his champagne flute and challenged, "Wanna try something?"

Natsu nodded, watching with interest as Gray gestured for him to lift his flute, leaning forward as he understood what Gray wanted. They drank from their flutes, arms entwined, and eyes never leaving the other, laughing when they managed it without incident.

"You are such a dork," Natsu teased, "but I love you so much."

He beckoned Gray to lean forward again, meeting him halfway and kissing him sweetly, quite unlike their usual heated kisses. Gray followed his example, enjoying the simple gesture.

Gray was about to tell Natsu he loved him too when their food arrived. Everything looked amazing, and he immediately dug in. After taking a few bites, it suddenly dawned on him that he had no idea where they were going to hide the ring, and he had a moment of apprehension, but he shrugged it off, thinking that this place must do stuff like that all the time.

Noticing Natsu had yet to eat anything, engaged as he was in a glaring match with the cutlery, he decided to put him out of his misery, "It doesn't matter, just pick one and eat."

Relieved, Natsu began to wolf down his food, and conversation ceased until they were finished.

"This was really good, Gray!" Natsu commented, but Gray barely heard him.

As the time for dessert neared, he was feeling more and more nervous. He poured the remainder of the champagne bottle into their flutes and tried to slow down his racing heart.

"Huh? Oh, that's great, just wait until you try the dessert!"

He could see the waiter coming towards them as well as the greeter standing behind him, offering him a massive grin along with a thumbs up, her signal that everything was in place.

"Are you okay?" Natsu was looking at him with concern, and he couldn't understand why.

"Huh?"

"You're sweating, do you feel ill or something? We can go home if that's the case, this was more than enough."

"NO! You have to eat your dessert!" Gray shouted, "Uhm, I mean, I'm fine, it must be the champagne," he chuckled nervously even as he downed the rest of it, looking for courage wherever he could find it.

"Okay," Natsu shrugged, although he still looked concerned, "if you're sure."

"Yep, oh, here it is now!" Gray said, much too loudly, once again attracting Natsu's attention.

"You're up to something," Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe I am," Gray shrugged, not giving the matter any importance but also giving Natsu a cryptic smile.

"Is it my present?" Natsu all but bounced in his chair, hopped up on booze and anticipation, and Gray couldn't help but chuckle. His boyfriend was such a child when it came to gifts.

The waiter set Natsu's dessert in front of him, and Gray could make out the vague outline of the ring hiding in the custard of the salted caramel creme brulee he had ordered Natsu. He worried that Natsu would catch on too soon, but he needn't have worried. His boyfriend was too fascinated by the cooking blowtorch the waiter used to caramelize his dessert to notice anything else.

Gray couldn't even look at his ice cream, his stomach was tying itself up into knots. It was stupid really, he was pretty sure Natsu was going to say yes, but it was still a huge step.

"Did you see that, Gray?!" Natsu's whole face had lit up at the spectacle, "He used a blowtorch to cook my dessert!"

"I thought you might like that," Gray snorted, "There's another dessert where they set the whole thing on fire right in front of you, I forget what it's called, crepes something or other. I'll take you to get that another time."

"Man, and here I thought roasting marshmallows was cool," Natsu replied, his voice filled with awe.

"Well, it still is!" Gray pointed out, "But it's good to try other things too!"

Gray wondered whether he should go down on one knee, or if that was something you only did when you proposed to a woman. Not sure and not wanting to insult Natsu, he decided to remain sitting, opting to grab one of Natsu's hands and peer into his eyes instead.

"I want to explore all sorts of new things with you, and I want you to keep showing me things that you like." Gray's nerves were starting to settle now that he had begun, even managing an earnest smile before resuming.

"Before I met you, I was so closed off and set in my ways. Everything had to be just so, but being with you, I've learned how much I was missing out on, and I don't ever want to go back to that.

"I want to wake up next to you every morning, and have every day be an adventure, you know?" Gray was skirting ever closer to his question, and he could see Natsu was trying to figure out what he was going on about, his eyes boring into him even as he scooped his spoon into his dessert and lifted it to his mouth.

"Natsu, I don't know if I have ever been in love before, but I am now, and I can't imagine sharing the rest of my life with anyone else but you. Will you marry me?"

Natsu gulped down the spoonful of dessert that was in his mouth, trying to swallow quickly so he could answer, and that's when things got decidedly weird. His face turned incredibly red, and he started coughing.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked, worriedly looking around for help when Natsu wasn't able to answer.

Oh my God! Gray panicked as he realized he couldn't see the outline of the ring in the dessert anymore.

"Help, he's choking!" Gray yelled, standing up and hurrying over to the other side of the table. People surrounded them, but no one stepped in to help, "Please, I don't know what to do," he begged tearfully.

"Get out of the way," Gray heard before feeling a hard shove. He recognized the voice immediately. It was Cana.

She stood behind Natsu, bending him at the waist and slapping him between his shoulder blades as he continued to cough. Then she pulled him up and performed what Gray recognized as the Heimlich maneuver, repeating this over and over while Gray ended up kneeling on one knee, after all, grabbing one of Natsu's hands in his and looking up at him with concern. He was freaking out, about two seconds from calling an ambulance when the ring came flying out of Natsu's mouth, hitting Gray square on the nose before falling to the ground next to him.

"Natsu, Natsu!" Gray called out urgently, "Say something."

"A ring? Were you trying to fucking kill him, Gray?" Cana yelled at him, looking Natsu over with concern.

"How was I supposed to know he would swallow it?" Gray protested, "I didn't even know where they were gonna put it."

"Are you stupid? It was in his food, what else was he supposed to do?"

"Guys, I'm fine," Natsu finally spoke, his voice coming out in a hoarse whisper as he tried to defuse their bickering. He looked incredibly tired.

Once Natsu had begun to speak the crowd that had surrounded them dispersed, returning to their own celebrations.

Gray grabbed Natsu in his arms, hugging him tightly, "I was so scared, don't ever do anything like that again!"

Natsu tried to laugh but only managed to cough, "Yeah, I don't want to do that again anytime soon. The answer is yes, by the way."

"Huh?" Gray stared at him blankly, still too wired to understand the meaning behind Natsu's words.

Natsu peered at the ground, bending to pick up the ring that had been lodged in his throat and showing it to Gray, who immediately felt like an even bigger idiot than he already did. He grabbed it from Natsu and tried to clean it with his dinner napkin, his hand trembling as he did so.

"Ugh, just give it here," Cana grumbled, "I'll go clean it up." She grabbed it and took it with her to the bathroom

"Gray, I'm fine," Natsu assured him, grabbing his trembling hands and kissing the knuckles.

"I just wanted to have a special night to show you how much I love you, and I almost killed you."

"Well, I mean, it's memorable, right?" Natsu teased, continuing to hold his hands and squeezing them gently.

"I guess."

Cana finally returned from the bathroom with the ring and handed it to Gray. "Do it right this time!" she glared as she tapped her foot.

Gray didn't have the heart to send her away, not after she had saved Natsu, so he went ahead and got down on one knee. "Natsu Dragneel, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Natsu responded almost before Gray could finish getting the words out, pulling him up and into a kiss.

He admired his ring, smiling happily at Gray. Then he did something unexpected once again, he began to laugh. "I guess I should confess something."

"What?"

"We sort of had the same idea, so I guess now it's time for you to find your ring."

"What?!" Gray sputtered as Natsu dissolved into giggles.

"I'll give you a hint, it's somewhere in the bear."

A/N: Moral of the story - Don't hide objects in food, it is seriously dangerous...