Taking the Plunge

Emma was currently waiting for dinner. She lounged on the couch and exaggerated a sigh in her brother's direction. "When's it gonna be ready?" She whined.

"It'll be ready when it's ready." Jack sang. He stood over the stove stirring a pot that bubbled away with homemade soup. An old recipe from their grandmother. "Geez, it's like Bunny didn't even leave." He chuckled. Emma mocked him in an overly feminized voice from the couch.

"Where'd he go anyways?" She asked, skipping over to take a seat at the table.

"He said he got an invitation from some gallery Vermont. They wanted to showcase some of his stuff; apparently one of Koz's friends saw the painting he did of their engagement." He beamed with pride.

"Well good for him. It's about time." She said. Emma eyed her brother slyly. "Speaking of 'time'… When are you two gonna, ya know."

"When are we gonna what?" Jack asked, placing two steaming bowls on the table and a package of crackers in the middle.

"When are you two getting hitched?" She laughed as her brother choked on his bite.

"We haven't talked about it." Jack said. He looked down at his bowl with a blush.

They were coming up on their fourth anniversary, and Aster had mentioned taking a trip somewhere but Jack had wanted to stay in. He thought back on the previous few months, trying to pick out any odd behavior his lover might have exuded but found nothing amiss. The only thing he could think of was Emma spending enormous amounts of time with him lately, but he'd missed his sister so he never brought it up. Sure he'd thought about marriage before, even going so far as to imagine his life with Aster in that concept. It always made him giddy and brought a smile to his face. He loved that man with every fiber of his being and marriage, or no, he'd never leave him.

Emma let the subject hang in the air as she smirked. The seed had been planted; all she needed to do now was to find out what his answer would be if the Australian asked. She knew, of course, but needed to hear it so she could tell her partners in crime.

"What if he did ask? Would you say yes?"

"Of course I would. You know that already." Jack scolded and threw a cracker at her. Emma caught it and crumbled it into her bowl with an enthusiastic "I knew it!" They laughed and continued their meal. Emma tried to pry about what Jack would even want, should a wedding be needed, and Jack let her prod. It was normal to imagine what your wedding would be like, so why not indulge himself a little.

~*~*~Line~*~*~

Two weeks later found Aster back at the Pole, happily clicking away at his computer. The show had gone far better than he thought. Six of his paintings had been sold, bringing in almost four grand. He sat back with a smile as he thought of what he wanted to do with it.

Anna had breached the subject with him almost four months ago, and she was blunt when she did.

"When are you and Jack getting married? Don't wait as long as Koz did." She stated, plopping down in the chair behind him after closing his door.

"I've been thinkin' about it. But that's my business, Anna." He said as he turned to her.

"Not anymore, it isn't. I'm making it the Pole's business. Now you are going to propose to that wonderful young man, and give North and me some 'grandkids' to spoil." She pointed a delicate finger at him.

Aster smiled as he remembered. Sliding back up to his computer he opened his email, noticing one from the person he's placed a ring order with. What he wanted to get Jack was simple: a platinum band with a single blue moonstone. Finding a jeweler willing to hand make it was something else entirely, as he wanted the bottom of the stone to show a carved snowflake. This person, though, was exactly what he needed, he thought, staring at the intricately carved ring on his screen. He typed his reply and thanking them generously for the beautiful work. Now all he had to do was wait for the tiny package to get here. He logged off and shut down, grabbing his bag as he stood.

Jack chose that moment to walk in, hopping onto the edge of his desk. "Hey honey-buns. Emma's coming for dinner. She called dips on the T.V. after."

"Fine by me. Let's just get Chinese tonight," Aster said, grabbing his love's hand and planting a kiss to his forehead. " – this way we don't have to cook."

Jack nodded and leaned into his arm. "Sounds good. I hate listening to her whine about how long cooking takes."

~*~*~Line~*~*~

Aster couldn't keep the manic grin off of his face when he checked the mail and found the small, brown parchment wrapped box waiting for him a week later. He rushed inside and thanked every god he could remember that Jack wasn't home yet; he'd offered to help a new coworker learn the filing system. The Australian ripped open the wrapper and admired the pale wood of the box he'd ordered to go with the ring. The box wasn't decorated, only having a coating to add protection and shine. He opened the lid and held his breath. The ring was just as he'd described. The ring itself was petite; Jack wasn't one to wear jewelry, so Aster wanted to make sure it wouldn't hinder anything while it was being worn. The band was thin, and the stone was set as close to flat as he could get. The luminescent pearly blue of the moonstone glinted as he turned it this way and that. It had turned out perfect.

"Hey bubby, I- Holy shit! That's a ring!" Emma screamed. Aster about had a heart attack as he clutch the items to his chest in panic.

"Shut the door, and keep your bleedin' voice down! Jesus Christ, woman!" He hissed.

"Oh my god, oh my god! When are you gonna pop the question? This is so great! You have to let me help!" The girl paused for half a second before waving her arms out. "Does everyone else know? Oh, Anna's gonna have a fit! Lemme see, lemme see!" She flew to his side and started to grasp for the ring.

"No, Emma." Aster told her firmly, making her still. "Look, if ya wanna see it that bad, ya can wait 'til it's on his hand, yeah?" He finished weakly as he looked down at his feet. Emma smiled softly at him.

"You're nervous, aren't you Bunny." She asked gently.

"I'm bloody terrified." He offered a weak chuckle. "He's my everythin', Em. What if he says no? I don't want to scare him off. We've never talked about getting' married, neither of us have ever brought it up. I don't know if he'd even… " Aster sighed and let the thought die.

"E. Aster Bunnymund. I do not want to hear you talk like that. My brother practically worships you. He's going to say yes." She told her future brother-in-law, and then crossed her arms over her stomach. "He's been so happy since you guys got together. Our parents never really did much for us, so we've always been really close. After he came out… He was in a really bad place for a long time. Making friends became really hard for him; which wasn't easy to watch… Jack's always loved making friends. Anyways- since you got here, he's been like himself again. Trust me Bunny, there's nothing you could ask him that he'd say no to." Emma ended her pep talk with a hug before plopping down onto the couch.

Aster stared at her and decided to ask her opinion of what he had planned. "Hey, Em? Jack likes to ice skate, yeah?" Emma nodded as she watched him sit. "And our four year anniversary is the day after y'all's birthday. How do ya think a surprise party slash proposal would work?" He smiled at the growing grin he received.

"Amy and I have already reserved the ice rink for the night of our birthday! This will be perfect!" She exclaimed.

"Who all are ya inviting? Don't wanna be makin' a fool of myself in front of too many people."

"It's just gonna be me, Amy, North and Anna, Sandy and Koz, you, and Jack. I called our parents, but they have plans." She shrugged.

Aster nodded and told her about the day he'd been planning. He was going to tell Jack that since their anniversary fell on a Monday, that they could celebrate before his and Emma's party that evening. First, Aster was going to take him to a dance class Jack had been wanting to try. After that he'd planned an outing to a local park that was known to collect know in droves; Aster had made sure Sophie and Jamie would 'spontaneously' show up to start a snowball war. Then they would come home to thaw in the shower and laze around enjoying each other 'til it was time to leave for the rink.

Emma sat and listened with intense focus. She knew Jack would love the whole day. She was so excited for her brother. Some siblings would be angered about having to share a birthday with each other and livid of the thought of giving up any part of the spot light for a surprise proposal, but she didn't care. If anyone deserved something like this, it was her twin.

~*~*~Line~*~*~

Jack lounged on the couch, half laying on Aster as the credits rolled on the movie they'd been watching. He'd had an absolutely amazing day, the best by far, in his short, twenty-four year old life. The dance class had been a blast, and Aster surprised him by already knowing how to do most of the maneuvers; apparently it was a mandatory class when he was is Britain. He was spun around the room for over an hour, content to have his boyfriend in his arms.

He hadn't known what to expect when they arrived at the park. Jack thought they were going to grab a quick bite from the food truck then head home. He was amazed when little Jamie Bennette and his sister Sophie started pelting him with snowballs, even more so when Aster dumped a fist full down his hoodie. The sides were picked: Jack and Jamie against Aster and Sophie. Jack was ashamed to admit that the puppy eyes the tiny blonde girl hit him with signed his and Jamie's defeat, but Jack would have it no other way. The shower had been great… really great. He blushed just remembering Aster's hands and mouth gliding over him. And as much as he loved using Aster for a pillow, they had a party to get to.

~*~*~Line~*~*~

Jack slid along the ice, hair flying. He twisted in a zigzag, flying past his boyfriend to grab up his sister and twirl her around. Emma laughed, gripping her twin around his shoulders. Aster wavered on his skates. He hated this sport. Skating and Australia never mixed in his head, so his prowess, or lack thereof, was inadequate. Aster tried to stumble his way to the wall, but was grabbed up by the birthday boy.

"Where ya headed, sugar pop?" He laughed.

"I was trying to get off this death trap." Aster groaned, letting Jack pull him away towards the center of the rink. His left pocket felt like lead. The ring felt like it was burning a hole through his pants. God he was so nervous. Jack looked like he was having a blast, his smile was incandescent as he pulled Aster along in his wake.

They had done the cake and presents; Emma cried when Jack had given her a necklace he inherited from their grandmother. Emma had given Jack a new pair of skates, the white leather was crisp and the blades glinted sharply as Jack admired them. Anna had to stop him from putting them on, reminding him they still had cake. That had been fun.

Amy threw the first projectile, hitting Koz right in the face. He'd sputtered and stared, wide eyed, at her. He grabbed a cupcake and hurled it back at her. The cake fight was epic, handfuls of sugared confection was tossed across tables and over chairs. Anna pelted North as he dove behind a table. Sandy was shoving cake all over his husbands face, Koz was trying to grab his hands and blow icing out of his nose. Emma had scraped all the blue and green icing off of the cupcakes and ambushed her brother and Aster, covering their faces and heads in oversaturated colored sugar.

Jack lay on his side dramatically squealing as he scraped the icing out of his eyes and Aster crouched next to him and brought out a napkin to help remove the icing as he tried, and failed, to hold in his laughter. When Jack could open his eyes he leaned to press a kiss to Aster's lips as he stood. The Australian grasped his wrist.

Jack turned to stare at him. A retort was forming in his mouth but dies when he sees Aster on his knees, a small wooden box clutched in his fist.

"What- " He starts, but Aster cuts him off.

"Please let me get this out, or I'll never get the courage to again." He rushes, and then takes a grounding breath. "Jack, I love ya. I was drawn to ya from the very beginnin'. I tried to stay away from ya, to keep things friendly, but I couldn't. I fell for ya, harder than I care to admit, and you've become the best thing that's ever happened to me, the best thing that will ever happen to me. Nothin' on this earth would make me happier than if you were to agree to stay with me forever. Will ya marry me, Snowflake?" Aster finished his dialog with a shaking voice as he looked into the face of his, hopefully, affianced.

Jack felt the blush rise from his neck to his cheeks as tears pricked his eyes. He started nodding, slowly at first, then quickly dipping his head as he held out his arms to Aster. He wrapped his arms around the older man's neck, chanting a mantra of 'yes, yes, yes' as he cried into his shoulder. Aster gently slid the ring onto Jack's finger and brought it to his lips, planting a soft kiss to smooth knuckles.

The moment was cut short as screams and yells filled their ears. The couple was bombarded with hugs and congratulations. Hands were shaken, eyes cried, fatherly 'advice' was given out, and exasperated sighs of 'it's about time' were heard from Anna and Emma.

Soon after, Jack and Aster made excuses to leave. Jack wasted no time tearing the clothes from his fiancé's frame; peppering his neck and upper chest with nipping kisses. He ran his cool fingers over a toned abdomen and down to his belt. Making quick work of the buckle and zipper, Jack shoved down Aster's pants. Aster, in turn, was shrugging his coat and shirt off to begin helping Jack rid himself of his own clothes. Jack led them to the bedroom and slammed the door.

They could start planning tomorrow.

End.