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Matt carefully hidthe ring box in the bedroom for now so it would be safe while he helped Fidi cook. There wasn’t much to do to prepare Fidi’s rabbits since he ate them raw and whole, but Fidi insisted on helping cook the steaks. Fidi didn’t eat much cooked meat because it didn’t give him any nutritional value, but it was still nice for him to have something to eat at the table when they sat down for dinner.
Fidi ate the rabbits in the kitchen to avoid contaminating anything with raw meat and to spare Matt’s stomach the grisly sight. While it was quite fascinating to watch Fidi swallow his meals whole, it wasn’t always the best thing to see right before a meal of his own.
Matt showed him how to season both sides of the steaks and let them rest for a few minutes while they prepared the sides. It was a single serving cup of peas and a baked potato for Matt—Fidi declined any for himself. He’d tried eating some vegetables before, and even a small amount made him ill.
One of the drawbacks of dating an obligate carnivore.
Matt fought to keep a balanced diet for himself, though it was hardly a concern at the moment when he was trying to figure out how he was going to ask Fidi the most important question ever.
Should he wait until after dinner? Before? During? Maybe light some candles?
He almost burned the damn steaks as he fumbled to show Fidi how to sear them and also figure out the details of his romantic plotting. By the time they finally got the steaks into the oven to finish cooking, Matt was sweating.
“Are you all right?” Fidi frowned. “Did I not do well?”
“No, no! You did great, baby.” Matt kissed his cheek. “Promise.”
“Is it about my surprise? Because Maggie says it’s about the surprise.”
“Wait, how does Maggie know?”
“He says you’re obvious.”
Matt glared across the apartment at Maggie’s tank. “Tell Maggie to hush or I’m not cleaning his water dish the next time he poops in it.”
Fidi laughed. “He hasn’t said what it is, but he told me I’m really gonna like it.”
“Okay… Threat of not cleaning poop water withdrawn.”
“Can I have it now?” Fidi pulled on Matt’s arm. “Please?”
“After dinner.”
“Fiiine.”
“Trust me. It’s gonna be worth the wait.”
Or so Matt hoped.
What if Fidi said no? Wait, would he? Why? There wasn’t any reason for Fidi to say no, right? They’d been together for a year, they loved each other, but… Shit, shit, shit.
Once the idea had been implanted in Matt’s brain, it was hard to remove it. He knew Fidi could tell something was off, but he seemed to assume it had something to do with the surprise and didn’t ask him about it. They ate their steaks by candlelight, the Halloween novelty ones that appeared to drip blood as they melted down.
The tradition had started from necessity when Matt literally didn’t have any other candles to use, but Fidi had grown rather attached to them. Matt didn’t buy any other kind now, and Fidi was eternally delighted by how the white wax seemed to magically turn red as the flames burned.
The candles were about halfway down by the time they were done with their meal, and Matt praised, “The steaks were delicious. You really do have the makings of a fine chef, baby.”
Fidi grinned. “You really think so?”
“I do.”
“Well, it’s only because you’re such a wonderful teacher.” Fidi beamed, and his tail reached beneath the table to curl around Matt’s calf.
“Thank you.” Matt blushed.
There was a soft noise from behind him, somewhere off in the bedroom, but he didn’t think much of it. He didn’t have to worry about it being one of Fidi’s escape attempts since he was sitting across the table from him. But Fidi wasn’t the only one here known for escaping…
