"What do you miss the most?" Tiana asked.

"About what?" Naveen answered.

Tiana hesitated, but she had already asked the question. There was no going back now. "About being human."

These past few days had been a delicate dance between the two of them. They were both hungry for information about the other, yet talking about the lives they had left behind proved to be more painful than they anticipated. Somehow they seemed to manage - Naveen was very skilled at pulling the conversation in just the right direction. So far they had learned simple things about each other; like before leaving Maldonia, Naveen had celebrated his twenty-first birthday, while Tiana would turn twenty in the summer. His favorite color was ironically green, and Tiana favored yellow. And that while they both shared a fondness for Louis Armstrong, Naveen had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the man's growing catalog of music. An impressive feat in itself, but was made more so by the fact that jazz hadn't quite 'made it' to Maldonia yet, as Naveen explained.

A few years ago a small group of jazz musicians had played a concert for the royal family, and while his parents had declared the music to be vulgar and crass, Naveen instantly loved it.

"I learned that New Orleans was not only the birthplace of jazz, but also of Louis Armstrong himself," Naveen told Tiana. "It is one of the reasons I wanted to come here in the first place."

"I'm really glad you did," Tiana said with a small smile.

"Me too." Naveen squeezed her hand.

Instead of satisfying her need to know more about him, these small tidbits only made her appetite grow. Perhaps it was this desperation that had led her to ask such a difficult question in the first place. Though there was also a part of her that needed to talk about all the changes they had gone through, no matter how much it hurt to remember their past.

"I uh -" Naveen chuckled, "I suppose the thing I miss most is my hair."

"What?" Tiana found herself laughing too. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am," he gave her a lopsided grin while he absentmindedly smoothed back hair that wasn't there anymore. "You never saw me with it, but I can assure you it was glorious." Naveen sighed and flopped onto his back, staring at the passing clouds.

Except Tiana had seen him with his hair. Well, sort of. It had been Lawrence as Naveen, though she hadn't known it at the time. She did remember that hair though, how perfectly coiffed it had been. The curls styled expertly, except for two that escaped and framed his face perfectly. Even now just thinking about it, her fingers itched, longing to touch it.

She didn't say any of that though, choosing instead to tease him. "Your greatest achievement, huh?"

"I know you jest, but women would come from miles away for the chance that they might feel the silky strands between their fingertips. I mean…" He spared a quick glance her way, coughed, then quickly got back to his feet and propped up a piece of driftwood they had found, having realized it probably wasn't a good idea to talk about prior conquests with Tiana.

The intense jealously that flared inside of her surprised Tiana. How was it fair that these countless women had been able to experience something with Naveen that she she hadn't, and now never could? It took all of her energy to remind herself that Naveen loved her, and that was much better than running her fingers through a nice head of hair.

When Naveen cautiously caught her eye as he came close to her side, Tiana playfully tossed some crumpled up leaves at him, laughing as she did so. Naveen gave her a challenging look before he tossed the leaves right back. Soon they were chasing each other and giggling uncontrollably while they played this silly game, happily ignoring the task they had set out to do.

They had been spreading the word of a restaurant in the bayou, trying to gather opinions on whether or not it would be welcome, and so far the feedback was remarkably positive. Tiana was anxious to start the groundwork, but both she and Naveen agreed that there were a few things they needed to do before they could start. First and foremost was some sort of shelter for themselves, nevermind the fact that most frogs didn't build them. These past few nights without a roof over their heads had been enough for both of them. Not only did the bayou make a lot of noise at night, but knowing that most everything here wanted to eat them made for some very restless nights. Of course it was true that Louis was always there and he served as a very large deterrent for most creatures, even he had to sleep sometimes. Plus he snored.

It would be a relief once they had something more substantial between them and the night, though when Tiana thought about it she usually ended up blushing heavily, because sharing a shelter with Naveen meant that they would be together. Alone. All night.

As usual, thoughts of them together made her replay the conversation she had overheard between Naveen and Mama Odie a few mornings ago. They had gone to see the voodoo queen to ask about the cut on Naveen's hand, and though the old woman would do what she could to help, it seemed that the black magic that caused it was too strong. According to her, it would never heal properly. Of course Naveen had tried to laugh it off, but it was obvious to Tiana that he was upset by it.

So when Mama Odie sent Louis and Tiana out to find some special herbs to help, Tiana agreed (though she had a sneaking suspicion that it was just get them out of the way).

When Tiana was walking back up the steps to the boathouse, she overheard Mama Odie pestering Naveen about when he would pop the question. Knowing it was extremely rude to eavesdrop on such a conversation didn't stop her from ducking out of sight and listening as hard as she could. Surprisingly she hadn't thought of marriage since that night on the river boat. So much had changed since then, and she still wasn't certain that Naveen really had tried to propose to her that night, despite what Ray had told her otherwise.

Tiana's mind combed over all the things they had talked about on the riverboat. Despite it being the most romantic night of her life, the memory of it was spotty. Had it really been a proposal? Naveen sure had been nervous about something, that much was obvious. And hadn't he been holding something? A walnut shell? Tiana had no idea what that could have been for, and had never thought to ask.

They had flirted so effortlessly that night, too. All those touches, jokes, and quick witted responses had flown so easily between them. It was when Tiana first realized she loved him. But would she have said yes to a marriage proposal if he had asked? Would she say yes now?

Images of a married life together flashed before her mind. They could make a life together in the bayou. It wouldn't be easy, but they could do it. It would be a happy life, filled with love and laughter, and Tiana briefly imagined little tadpoles (she bit her lip to suppress a giggle). It was the easiest thing she had ever imagined - even more than imagining her own restaurant. Strange as it seemed to her, it also made her happier than she'd ever felt before. And she knew in that moment, that if he asked her to marry him, she would say yes.

So when Naveen replied to Mama Odie, explaining that, yes he planned to ask Tiana to marry him, she was so overcome with joy that she barely registered his concerns about not having a ring, or the fact that he practically begged Mama Odie to find another way to break the curse. Even if it was just for Tiana.

But Mama Odie had reminded Naveen that kissing a princess was the only way to break the spell, and soon after Louis had barged in, heedless of the conversation he was interrupting.

And now days had gone by and Naveen still hadn't asked her. Every time they were alone, Tiana wondered if this would finally be it, only for Naveen to simply show her something, or tell her a joke, or any number of things that weren't a marriage proposal. Tiana was a patient woman by all accounts, but still there was only so long a person could wait.

"Tiana?"

Naveen's question brought her back to the present, and despite everything, Tiana found her heart had sped up in anticipation. "Yes?"

"What is it that you miss? About being human?"

Ah. Of course. Well, it was only fair that he asked. Tiana took her time thinking while her heart slowed back to normal. "My Mama," she finally said, surprised by just how painful it was to think of her mother.

The last time they had seen each other was when Tiana was leaving for Lottie's costume party. Eudora had practically begged to let her make a more intricate costume for her daughter, but Tiana waved that aside, claiming that anything else would make it difficult to make beignets. Of course they had gotten into an argument; that same old discussion of Tiana working too hard. It was a party, and she should be going to have fun, not to work! But Tiana had promised her friend that she would make the beignets, and she wasn't going to break it. In the end Tiana had agreed that she would try to step away for a minute or two to enjoy herself, but of course that hadn't happened.

And that was it. That was the last time she had seen Eudora. No goodbye, no I love you, so chance to say she was sorry. Tiana found herself sniffling as her eyes stung with tears. Naveen's arm found its way around her and she happily leaned into his side.

"I should have guessed," Naveen said, running his hand up and down her arm. "You talk about her in your sleep."

"I do?" Tiana had to laugh a little. She'd forgotten she did that. "Sorry about that."

"If what you say is true, she sounds like a wonderful woman."

"She is." Tiana sighed and snuggled further into Naveen's welcome arms. "What do I say?"

"Well it is all jumbled. Nothing cohesive…." He trailed off.

Tiana pulled back enough to give him a discerning look. "Naveen."

He smiled and gave a shrug. "Alright, so you may have mentioned a few times about you not wishing to be her mannequin anymore..?"

"She's a seamstress," Tiana explained, nestling back into his chest. "Mama always had me model some of the clothes she made. I was always tripping and falling on those long hems."

Naveen let out a low chuckle, and squeezed her tight. After a moment, he asked, "Do you think she would approve of me?"

"Would she like you, you mean?"

"That too."

Tiana lazily traced patterns on his arm with her finger. "I think she would. She was always going on and on about me finding my own prince charming." She smiled softly. "Just imagine her surprise to find out I met a real prince."

"Not much of a prince anymore," Naveen said.

"You still are," Tiana replied, wrapping her arms around him tight. "A Frog Prince is still a prince." Her voice grew light, and she hoped he knew she was teasing him. He kissed her quickly, so he must have figured it out.

"We could visit her, your mother," Naveen suggested, bringing the conversation back around. "To let her know that you are safe."

Tiana nodded and said, "We could, but I don't know. Mama might get a little hysterical at the sight of a talking frog." She giggled remembering her own attempts to squash Naveen when they first met. "Probably not the best way to introduce you."

"Ah, no," Naveen agreed with a smile. "Definitely not the best way for your mother to meet her future son-in-law."

Tiana gasped softly as her heart skipped a beat. She blinked and pulled back once more to meet his eyes. "What did you say?"

Naveen blinked once, then twice before an intense blush spread over his face. "Nothing," he said quickly as he got to his feet. He walked over to a nearby tree suddenly very interested in the roots coming out of the ground.

Grinning widely, Tiana casually followed him. "Nothing, huh?" She plucked a nearby leaf and began to tear it into sections. "Cause I sure thought I heard you say-"

Naveen turned to her. "You didn't hear anything."

She only smiled in response, holding his gaze. After a moment, he returned it with a smile of his own. "Alright," he said with a slight shrug. "Perhaps you did hear something."

Her mind went blank trying to think of a witty retort, but luckily Naveen didn't wait for a response. He stepped to her side, linked their fingers, and brought their heads close together. Tiana's heart was beating so loud, she was sure he could hear it.

"There is something I wanted to ask you."

Tiana had to concentrate hard on breathing. "Yes?"

He bit his lip and absently stroked her hand with his thumb. A smile graced his face, and then faltered and he struggled with his words. "I…" Naveen forced out a laugh. "I had it all planned out. Louis was going to play some music. We would dance. I was going to make you a.." he swallowed, "a new ring." Their eyes met. "Do you want to wait? To do this properly?"

Tiana shook her head, "No." She squeezed his hands.

He squeezed back and began. "Tiana I… I am deeply in love with you. When you are near, I hear music all around me, which of course is impossible as we are in the middle of the bayou. Unless Louis is around, and even then the music I hear is not just a trumpet, but more like an entire orchestra and sometimes there is even a choir and…." Naveen cringed. "Sorry."

Tiana couldn't stop smiling. "It's okay," she said, giving his hands another squeeze. "Keep going."

Naveen took a deep breath and continued. "I know things have not turned out the way we would have wanted but… when I look at you… when I am with you, it feels like everything is going to be alright. No, it is alright, because we are together.

Happy tears were streaming down her cheek, and Tiana didn't think she could stop if she wanted to. She sniffed, laughing despite everything as Naveen carefully brushed the tears away.

"Above everything else, I just want to be with you, forever. Wherever that takes us." Slowly, he got down on one knee and asked, "Tiana, will you marry me?"

"Yes."