Wow, been a while, hasn't it? Sorry this one's so short, but I had to write it in like, half an hour, which is a super short amount of time for me since chapters of my normal length usually take a few hours. Now off to dinner and then bed! hahaha

#2 Stone

"Geez, what have you got in here? Rocks?" Lucy complained as she dropped the heavy box on the floor, after which a dull thunk echoed around the room.

"Well I needed something to remember the forest by, didn't I?" Natsu replied, setting down the box he'd been carrying as Lucy gaped at him, taken aback. There weren't really rocks in the box, were there? He'd been kidding, right? She glanced apprehensively at the box, truly not knowing what to believe, while Natsu laughed at her expression.

"Anyway," Lucy continued, deciding that she'd go through his stuff later and decide herself what could stay and what was… less necessary. "I know we've talked about it, but why decide to move in now? I thought you guys were happy at your old place."

Natsu shrugged. "It'll make things easier for after we're married."

He made for the open front door, but Lucy swung out an arm to stop him, saying with an accusatory glare, "What do you mean, 'after we're married'?" She tried to conceal it, but she couldn't lie there was tiny hint of hope in her voice, regardless of how sudden this discussion was. Sure, they'd been together a while, but the subject of marriage had never really come up.

"Like I said," he replied with a faint smile, eyes glinting.

Lucy hesitated a moment, before carefully asking, "Are you… proposing to me?"

Natsu took a step back and looked down thoughtfully, finally answering in a light voice, "I guess I am." Lucy stared at him with her mouth open, completely dumbfounded. When she didn't say anything, he continued in a very conversational tone, "So how 'bout it? Want to marry me?"

For a moment, she couldn't think of the right words to express what she was thinking. He'd caught her so completely off guard with this topic that it took her brain a moment longer to register what he was asking. Once it had, though, her answer was obvious. "Of course I want to marry you, you idiot!" she burst out with a breathy laugh, before throwing her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. He laughed in return and hugged her back, lifting her in his arms and spinning her around in a circle before setting her back on the ground. Some part of her wanted to smack him for the abruptness of it all, but at the same time the whole thing was just so completely Natsu that she had to laugh it off. His carefree nature was one of the many reasons she'd fallen in love with him, after all.

"But wait," Lucy began once they'd separated, "aren't you supposed to, you know, get down on one knee? Give me a ring? You know, the traditional way?" It wasn't like she'd ever expect Natsu to do anything the 'traditional way', but she couldn't help but tease him about it from time to time.

He wrinkled his nose as though he'd just eaten something disgusting. "Too old-fashioned," he replied, sticking out his tongue. Then with a grin he moved past her to the door, through which the rest of his luggage was waiting.

Lucy glanced down at the box that may or may not have contained rocks and allowed herself another small smile. Sure, she liked romantic things just as much as the next girl, but something told her that if Natsu had planned some big event in asking her to marry him, it wouldn't have been the same. It wouldn't have been him. And because of that, it wouldn't have been special. But this, this she would remember forever.

She was about to turn around when she felt Natsu wrap his arms around her from behind. "But you know," he said softly into her ear as he took her left hand in his. "Sometimes old-fashioned isn't so bad after all." He let go of her and she realized he'd slid a ring on her finger, embedded with a small, round diamond. Her eyes lit up in surprise and happiness, and she was about to speak when he added, "As long as you give it a little twist." He covered her hand with his once again and this time she felt heat radiate from it. She was worried he'd do something stupid like melt the metal or burn her skin, but when he moved his hand she gasped and held the ring up to get a closer look. A tiny fire had appeared inside the stone, making the diamond sparkle and shine in rainbow colors. It was small, but one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen in all her twenty-one years of life.

"How did you…" she began breathlessly, mesmerized by the sight on her hand. Natsu let out a breathy laugh and kissed her cheek, before releasing her and heading back outside. No matter what happened or how well she knew him, it seemed he could always pull off something to surprise her.

Okay, so he was still the same carefree idiot that everyone in Fairy Tail knew and loved. But that didn't mean he couldn't be romantic every once in a while, whether anyone but Lucy knew it or not.

D'awwwwww! I liked writing this one. Short and sweet, and in my opinion exactly how it would happen if and when Natsu proposes to Lucy, haha.

Till next update!

-oMM