take my hand (take my whole life, too)

7. i can't help falling in love with you

age twenty-four

Four years later, on a warm summer evening, Natsu asks Gray to marry him.

They're in Magnolia for Aunty Ur's birthday party, and Natsu's standing in the back yard talking to Sting when he hears Gray laugh. When he looks over, Gray is holding Emily, Erza and Jellal's daughter. She's tugging on his hair and giggling, and a soft warmth spreads through Natsu's chest when Gray makes a funny face at her.

"I can't believe he ever doubted that you were in love with him," Sting says, shaking his head and laughing.

"Yeah, well, we were both idiots," Natsu replies, sighing as he watches Gray kiss Emily's hair.

"Were?" Sting grins and Natsu punches his arm half-heartedly.

"I distinctly remember Rogue saying that it took you three years to ask them out, so you're not one to talk."

"Look," Sting starts to protest, but then he catches the way Natsu's looking at his wedding band and his eyes widen. "You're gonna ask him, aren't you?"

Natsu sighs, rubbing his face with both hands and swallowing hard. The ring is in his pocket – he's been carrying it with him for almost six months now, ever since Rogue and Sting's wedding. He's just been waiting for the right moment to ask, and now he knows it's today.

"Go," Sting says, nudging Natsu toward Gray. "Before you chicken out."

"'m not gonna chicken out," Natsu mumbles, but the anxiety that's suddenly turning his stomach inside-out says otherwise. Sting pushes his shoulder again and Natsu grumbles at him half-heartedly, then lets out a deep breath and heads over to Gray.

"'su!" Emily exclaims as soon as he gets close, reaching out to grab at Natsu's hair.

"Hey, my love," Natsu says, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Can I borrow Uncle Gray for a bit?"

Emily nods and squirms out of Gray's arms, immediately darting across the grass toward Sting.

"What's up?" Gray asks, turning to Natsu and kissing his forehead.

"C'mere," Natsu says, kissing him back and grabbing his hand. "I've got a surprise for you."

~

"I think we might be getting too old for this," Gray huffs when they both finally make it to the top of the tree.

"Never," Natsu argues, even though he's more out of breath than he'd like to admit. He's chalking it up to the nervousness instead of being slightly out of shape. "We're gonna be up here when we're a hundred."

"Somehow I doubt that," Gray says, taking Natsu's hand and pulling him close. "Your arms would fall off."

"What if I had robot arms?"

"Robot arms?"

"Mhmm. Like a cyborg."

"You're ridiculous," Gray laughs, shaking his head.

Natsu turns and kisses him on the cheek. "You love me, though," he says, quietly seeking reassurance. Anxiety bubbles in his stomach, and when he looks up at the stars, he feels dizzy. Some days it feels like forever ago that they first said 'I love you' up here under the same constellations, and other times it feels like just yesterday.

"I do love you," Gray says, turning his head to kiss Natsu properly. "More than anything." He slides their fingers together and squeezes, and it calms some of the nervous thrumming under Natsu's skin.

Natsu rubs his thumb across Gray's. He knows every part of Gray as well as he knows his own body – the scar on Gray's index finger from a kitchen mishap, the birthmark on his hip, the dimples on his lower back. Four years isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it's long enough to map out the pieces of the person you love most.

"Good," Natsu says quietly after a minute.

Gray raises an eyebrow, turning to look at him. "Good?" Natsu nods, chewing on his lip and letting out a shaky breath. "Hey," Gray says gently. "What's up?"

Natsu swallows hard, moving the hand that's not holding Gray's to his pocket. The ring is there, nestled in a tiny wooden box carved from an old branch of this tree, and he slowly eases it out and into the palm of his hand.

"I..." He exhales, then carefully shifts away from Gray so he's sitting on the branch opposite, still holding Gray's hand. "Guess I can't really kneel up here, can I?"

Gray's eyes widen and drop to the box, then dart back up to Natsu's face. "You..."

"Gray," Natsu says quietly, squeezing Gray's hand. "You're my best friend." His voice is wobbly, and he can already feel the tears starting, but he pushes through them. "You've been my favorite person since we were eight and you climbed up here to prove to me that north wasn't up." Gray laughs softly, hand trembling in Natsu's. "Everything good in my life is because of you, and all of my favorite memories are right here, holding your hand."

He takes a deep breath and looks up at Gray's face as the memories wash over him. He thinks of every time they've climbed these branches, every night spent staring at the stars, every time Natsu felt scared and this tree – and Gray – were his safe place.

"It took me a while to figure out I was in love with you," he says roughly. Gray's eyes are soft, and his cheeks are wet, and Natsu lets go of his hand to gently wipe away the tears. He leans in and presses their foreheads together. "I'm sorry it took me so long, but now I know. Not just that I love you, but that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Natsu," Gray breathes, sniffing and tipping his face into Natsu's hand.

"I hope you feel the same way," Natsu says as Gray kisses his palm. Then he pulls back and holds out the box with a trembling hand, sliding the lid open to show the simple ring inside. "Will you marry me?"

Gray's quiet laugh is wet and shaky, and when he looks up from the ring to gaze at Natsu, his eyes are so full of love. "Yes," he whispers, pulling Natsu in for a kiss. "Yes, of course, yes."

A tension that Natsu hadn't known was there melts from his shoulders and he kisses Gray back, letting joy spark through him until he can barely breathe. After a second he leans back, exhaling sharply before reaching into the box and pulling out the ring.

"It's made from the tree," Natsu says as he takes Gray's hand and slides it onto his finger. "Or, some of it. The middle." It's a simple band of rose gold, and the center circle is the dark, rich wood of the tree they're cradled in. "I just thought—"

"It's perfect." Gray stares at the ring for a second, then pulls Natsu back in for another kiss. "And so are you."

Natsu doesn't bother to wipe the tears away as they kiss. He just pulls Gray in, running his fingers through his hair and stoking the warm, incredible feeling that he gets to do this for the rest of his life.

"I love you so much," he murmurs between kisses, as Gray's hands hold him tight.

"I love you too."

They kiss until it nearly hurts, then pull each other close and breathe in sync, keeping warm in each others arms and staring up at the sky. Natsu kisses Gray's head as they talk softly, quiet promises about their life together.

All the while their tree holds them, cradling them in its branches, content to have brought two little boys together and showed them how to love.

take my hand
take my whole life too
for i can't help
falling in love with you