Fates Design

Ideas

Jack's POV:

After Christmas had passed, Emma's words wouldn't leave my mind. Her in a white gown walking down the aisle towards me...maybe even doing something unconventional like having our wedding in the sky...no that wouldn't work.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. I needed to think about the proposal first and that was gonna be...difficult. I wanted it to be intimate and special. I wanted it to be in her cave. We may not have had a lot of time in there together but I knew the space meant a lot to her when she spent those two weeks hanging out there to avoid me. She connects to the Man in the Moon there. But I don't know if I'd get enough time to set it up the way I had in mind honestly. Plus I had to get a ring-

"Oi mate, what's got you looking uglier than usual?" I frowned at Bunny, who had appeared in front of me.

"Not right now, I'm thinking." He laughed.

"I see the smoke coming out of your ears. What's got you so twisted?" I sighed. Maybe bouncing ideas off someone else would help a little. But I didn't want him laughing at me either...I gave him a hesitant look and he just stared. Finally I nodded.

"I'm...I'm thinking of how I wanna propose...to Emma." I finally said, waiting for his next insult. Instead he was silent, a completely blank expression on his face.

"Oh...er...got any ideas...yet?" He spoke slowly. I could tell he wasn't equipped to handle this kind of thing and it was endearing to see him try. I looked around, though I knew Emma had been gone for hours now.

"I wanna propose in her cave but I don't have enough time to get it set up. If I do it at night, she'll wonder where I'm going."

"So do it during the day?" He shrugged. I shook my head.

"It'll take too long and she'll be upset if she wakes up without me. I need help keeping her distracted." I looked at him expectantly. He suddenly took a step back.

"Uhh...uh North might be better at this than me. I'm not great with secrets and keeping people busy and all that." I sighed and hung my head. Of course he's not. Emma's voice suddenly appeared behind me.

"Whatcha talking about?" I jumped in surprise, accidentally freezing Bunny's right foot, which caused him to yell out in shock. I turned to see Emma doubled over in laughter.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked nervously.

"Only about 30 seconds. Long enough to hear Bunny talking about keeping secrets. You trying to hide something from me, Frost?" She said with a teasing expression on her face. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close.

"Never. All done for the day?" She nodded and we began walking down the hallway before she suddenly whipped out a yellow carnation.

"For you, my love. Maybe not as great as never melting ice flowers but-" I slowly took it.

"I love it.. thank you so much Emma." I gave her a kiss on the cheek, loving the way her cheeks tinted pink. "I need to go talk to North for a bit, think you could wait for me in the bedroom?" She nodded and went ahead while I steered towards the office, knocking before walking in to see him working on a large ice sculpture for a huge doll castle.

"Isn't that going a bit far?" He laughed as he spun around.

"Never for the children. What can I help with?" I scratched the back of my neck and looked away.

"I'm...well I'm thinking of proposing." He cheered and walked over, picking me up and giving me a hug before setting me back down.

"Woah, woah, woah. I haven't gotten it ready yet. I need your help. I need time to craft the rings tomorrow while she's gone and then I need you to keep her distracted when she gets back." I explained quickly. He listened carefully, a thoughtful expression on his face before nodding.

"Of course! How long do I keep her distracted for?" I blanked.

"However long it takes me to get ready...? I honestly don't know. I need at least 2 hours because I'm gonna need to clean it out and set it up. I'm proposing in her cave. Oh! And I'm gonna need to borrow some lights again. And a carpet." He sighed happily and patted my back.

"I will do what I can, but she is quick. I cannot guarantee she won't go looking for you." I nodded and thanked him, walking back to the bedroom, suddenly nervous. I don't know why, we had already talked about it and agreed this is what we wanted.

What if she thought it was stupid though...?

I shook my head. I had these same thoughts about the date and she absolutely loved it. I needed to have faith. I knew exactly how I was designing the rings, I knew how I wanted to design the cave, and I knew she would say yes...right?

I walked into the bedroom, a small smile on my face falling immediately when I saw she was looking at me with a worried expression.

"What's got you so worried?" I shook my head at her, forcing a small laugh.

"Some minor concerns regarding how I'm gonna be moving around the planet this year. Humans are blaming global warming so I'm not sure how long I should stick around or where I should go, that kind of thing." She nodded, unconvinced. We both moved to the bed, me removing my hoodie as we both climbed under the blankets.

"Jack, do you ever wish you had a different power?" Well that came out of nowhere. I thought about it for a long moment, long enough to where she shot me a look.

"I honestly never really considered the possibility so...I can't say I have, especially after learning how I got it. Why, what's on your mind?" She sighed heavily before continuing.

"There's nothing going on right now, so there's nothing to see. I feel...useless. Right now, Man in the Moon has only tasked me with keeping an eye out for threats, and there are none, so there's nothing to do all day. Some days I wish I had a power like yours...one that kept me busy all the time. These kinds of lulls have happened before but...never this bad." She finished quietly. I kissed the top of her head trying to think of what to say.

"Maybe it's a good thing, or maybe he's keeping something from you, like a surprise. If there's nothing to see, it means the world's kind of neutral or he's waiting for you to be surprised by something amazing and doesn't want you seeing it first. Right?" She looked up at me, smiling.

"Yeah, that's a good point." She yawned and closed her eyes as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.

"Love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Angel. I'll always be here." She smiled and then her face began to relax as small snores began leaving her mouth. I slowly maneuvered my way out from underneath her arm. I walked over to the canvas on the easel, turning it over to see the traced outline and pursing my lips.

I set up the various paints and grabbed several different types of brushes before finally starting. As the colors began blending together, I carefully corrected the lines when necessary. I wasn't particularly fond of paint, preferring the clean coloring appeal of colored pencils but I wanted this hanging in the background of the cave.

I cursed internally, wondering why I thought working with watercolor was a good idea. Or waiting until the last minute. But I kept going, making sure I got every detail as perfect as I could make it before finally standing back to admire it.

It wasn't the worst sunrise I had ever painted but I certainly wasn't as impressed with my skills. I frowned. I didn't want to use this one. I gripped my hair in frustration. Maybe I could try looking at it from her perspective..? She had once told me I was my own worst critic...I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths and thinking about how she had seen my sketches.

When I opened my eyes, I was definitely more satisfied. I looked over to the window, sighing and simply turning the picture around as I laid back down, and pulled Emma close to me.

I really hope she liked it...