They were young, maybe 17, but their minds were years older. In the corrupt and unjust world they lived in, they only had each other, but they never really found themselves wanting anything more.

Jobs were scarce, and the ones people had weren't guaranteed to last. In turn, money became a rarity. Some people grew humble and cherishing because of this, while others became hungry with greed.

Luckily for Natsu, he worked as a goldsmith, a job that had run in his family for years. It didn't make him like one of the wealthy people who bought the jewelry made from the wires he made, but it allowed him scraps that were just as good in his book.

Natsu grabbed her hand as they sat close to each other in the dusty, hay-covered barn, lips swollen and hair mussed from hours spent kissing.

He loved these moments in his life; the quiet ones with the one he loved. Nothing seemed to be able to touch them in this little safe haven of theirs. It was only luck, and maybe fate that they were able to find this abandoned barn not far from where they lived.

As Natsu used his other hand to pull something out of his pocket, he could feel Lucy's eyes on him, questioning just what it was he was going to do now. He wouldn't have been surprised if she thought he was planning on pulling a prank on her. The thought alone made him smile.

Despite their circumstances, it didn't stop people from trying to be happy, from living life like a normal human would. Whatever normal was, that is.

But when Natsu instead pulled out a thin, circular piece of gold, it took all but one second for Lucy to register what his intentions were and gasp.

"W-wh—how did you—" she tried, but Natsu could see he had truly left her speechless. It was almost comical if not for the fact that Natsu was very serious about what he was about to do.

Even so, he laughed at her stuttering, hoping it would calm her down in some way. "It's a ring…" he said like it wasn't obvious enough. He dared to look his love in the eye, a smile on his face.

Lucy tried to laugh, but a small gasp escaped her instead as she continued with her stuttering. "I...but you...how?" she tried again.

All Natsu did was chuckle. "It's amazing what a few scraps of gold can do, huh."

Because that was really all it was, scraps of gold that were left to cool at the end of the day. Natsu didn't have enough money to buy a thick band with a giant diamond, but he had thin wire that could be wrapped around itself and be made into a strong bond.

It wasn't anything special to a normal person. There were no intricate designs to the ring and no special engravings either. It wasn't even melded to form a single piece. Only the wire held it together, and it seemed only the wire was all it needed. It curled around the strands of gold many times, keeping everything in place and secure.

"You…" Lucy said, "you are so—ridiculously—wonderful," she cried out.

Maybe he should have prepared a speech, telling her all the things that he loved about her. But then he would be speaking for ages, describing all the small things he loved about her and all the giant things she did too. He would have been telling her about how he loved how she bit her lip when she was thinking and how he found her pouting adorable. He would have told her how her determination left him in awe as he saw the fire that burned in her eyes…

He could have told her all of that, but he didn't. He wanted her for the rest of his life, and if she said yes, then he would be able to tell her all those things and more until the day they die.

Natsu held her face with one of his hands as his eyes softened. He brought his forehead to lean against hers and began to whisper his words. "I love you, Lucy, and I want to spend the rest of my life and more with you." He smiled. "So, if you would be so kind as to accept my hand in marriage—" Lucy laughed, and Natsu could only guess it was from his unusual formality. He smiled. "—I just might be the happiest man in the universe."

Lucy didn't outright say yes, probably couldn't. She nodded fervently instead, throwing her arms around him as the tears finally came down.

"I take it that's a yes then?" he asked.

She laughed once more, though this time through tears, and finally gave her answer. "Yes!" She shouted. "A thousand times, yes."

She pulled away, and Natsu took this chance to put the golden ring on her shaking finger. She was crashing into him right after, her lips capturing his in one of their most passionate kisses.

And they laid there again, in that dusty, hay-covered barn with swollen lips, kissing each other as if the world would end at any moment. But they knew it wouldn't...because despite how difficult life could be, it would never be cruel enough to take away this moment from them.

Laughter and smiles cut in between their kisses, but they always went back for more. They couldn't get enough of each other.

Natsu didn't feel like the happiest man in the universe. No, he thought he may have been the happiest man in all the universes. Lucy made him feel like the entire world disappeared, and she made his heart feel on fire every time she smiled.

When the sky grew dark, and only the moon and stars illuminated the night, Natsu pulled away with another bout of laughter. "Are you ever going to let me go?" he asked, though they both knew neither really cared.

She kissed him again, saying, "Never. I will never let you go, Natsu Dragneel."

He pulled her closer to him, feeling as if the love he held in his heart for her might make that same heart explode. "Then I'll never let you go either. Never."

Call it young love, say it'll never last, but they knew what was true. They held an eternal love for each other that would outlast time itself.

...

Ah, wasn't this chapter just lovely? Honestly though, this chapter did make me very happy, and I had to stop a lot while reading it over because it made me smile so much. I hope you liked it as much as I did, and thank you for reading!

But really, I got this idea from trying to make rings out of some golden wire. They turned out so beautiful despite how simple they were, and so the idea just cropped up from that. Then the idea of them having so little but treasuring something that was that simple just made my heart flip. So I had to write it! There was no leaving the idea alone because doing that would have killed me!

I had to do a little research on what the job was for making those wires for jewelry even was, and I ended up learning the job was called a goldsmith. From what I heard, it's a very difficult job, but it really fit the story, and I think it just made sense to do that. I ended up researching proposals too! The way some people proposed made my heart do tons of flips too just because they were so sweet and wonderful. Reddit, you guys! It's so useful when it comes to writing.

And yeah, it's kinda late in the day, but I really wanted to get this up because of how excited it was making me, so yeah!

This little one-shot was short, simple, and sweet, and I love it so much! So, thank you again for reading if you've read this far down, and I'll see you next time!