CHAPTER 4
Jack entered the pub he and his friends usually visited. It was a nice, cozy Irish pub which he and Bunny had discovered during their first year at university and it had quickly become their get-away place. They would go there on various occasions but mainly when they wanted to just relax and enjoy a cold beer.
He glanced around, looking for Kristoff and Bunny.
Ean Aster "Bunny" Mund was Jack's oldest and best friend. They had known each other for as long as Jack could remember. In fact, they were more like brothers. After all, they had practically grown up together. Bunny's parents were Jack's godfather and godmother and they had taken him in after the tragedy that had torn his own family apart. He had been fourteen at the time.
His relationship with Bunny was a very honest one. They never kept secrets from each other and that was what made their friendship so strong, even though in the eyes of someone who didn't know them they would probably look more like enemies due to all the pranks they constantly pulled on each other.
The nickname 'Bunny' was actually Jack's creation. He had come up with it shortly after he had met Bunny for the first time at the age of 5. It was right after Bunny's family had moved from Australia and they had come to visit Jack's parents. To the other boy's dismay, Jack had concluded that Bunny's name sounded too much like 'Easter' and, given his slightly longer upper front teeth, the boy reminded him of a rabbit. So, he'd established that he would be referring to his new friend as the 'Easter Bunny' and after a few years left it at just 'Bunny'. It hadn't taken long for the nickname to catch on and now everybody knew him by it.
Kristoff, on the other hand, had joined Jack's circle of friends much later on. They had met, when Kristoff had been recruited to play for The Guardians a year after he and Bunny had joined the team. Because of his shy personality, Kristoff hadn't approached anyone from the team for quite some time. At some point, however, Jack and Bunny had decided to invite him for a drink and it had turned out that Kristoff could be quite the good company once he loosened up a little. After that, they had started hanging out with him more often and he'd soon become one of Jack's closest friends.
"Over here, you overgrown snowman!"
Hearing the strong Australian accent he knew too well, he turned around to follow it. He saw his friends sitting at a booth at the far end of the pub and headed in their direction.
"You're late! Did you have to beg your woman for permission to go out or somethin'?" Bunny teased, grinning widely.
"Shuddup, you Easter Kangaroo!" came Jack's reply, just as the waitress stopped by the table to take his order. "So, what's up?" he asked after turning his attention back to his friends.
"Oh nothing really… Kristoff here has finally made a move on Anna. He's invited her to the Christmas charity ball we're attending," Bunny explained, casually gesturing at Kristoff, who blushed bright red and stared down at his beer mug.
"Took you long enough," Jack chuckled and patted his embarrassed friend on the shoulder.
"Speaking of which," Bunny's spoke again, as he turned to Jack. "Should I be taking the champagne out yet?"
Relieved that he was no longer in the spotlight of the conversation, Kristoff looked up. "What are you talking about?" he asked confused.
"Well, lover boy here," Bunny continued, pointing at Jack, "has the ambition of becoming a family man."
"Really? Are you going to propose to Elsa?" Kristoff asked wide-eyed with a surprised smile on his face.
"I'm planning to," Jack replied with a smile of his own.
"That's great! Congratulations!" Kristoff exclaimed.
"Just don't mention anything to Anna 'cause, knowing her, she'll get super excited and might end up proposing instead of me," Jack warned and the three of them laughed.
"By the way, mate, what are you waiting for anyway? You bought the ring three months ago," Bunny said, looking at Jack.
Jack looked at the beer the waitress had just served him. "I'm waiting for the perfect moment," he replied rather sentimentally and took a sip of the cold, amber-colored liquid.
"Careful there, snowball," Bunny said, as he landed one hand on Jack's shoulder, "I think you're starting to melt from all the warm feelings."
"What do you know? You can only think with your Easter eggs," Jack replied teasingly, causing them to laugh again.
A couple of hours and a prank later (namely after Jack 'accidentally' dropped all the contents of the salt container at the table in Bunny's beer, while he was in the bathroom), the three men decided to call it a night and left, each heading to his respective home.
A/N: If you think this marriage proposal is the center of the story, you're wrong! The real story hasn't even started yet :D
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)