How do I ask for something from him when I don't know the answer to what I really want in the first place? That's not fair at all.
Huh? You're crying for ages because you don't feel you have a permanent, committed relationship living outside of marriage and now you say this? C'mon, you know what you want and you're scared to put that forward in case he doesn't see it that way again. But hey, it's a discussion about your relationship,it's not an ultimatum on your part. You have the right to say you would feel more secure and happier in the relationship if you were married. It's a process and if you don't introduce the discussion that process never begins. Tell him how you feel, let him process it. Who knows where it will go...but you don't have to enter the discussion like road kill waiting to happen. You can do this!