Flowers in hand, Jack made his way to the usual Guardians meeting place. he wasn't sure if she would be there but knew that if he waited long enough she would show up. At Phil the Yeti's insistence the spirit had changed into a dark kind-of-tight-fitting t-shirt. Though even Bunnymund couldn't explain why, they decided Phil must know what he's talking about. Jack refused to change into any other pants though. Or wear shoes. Or a hat, though with proper bribing he was convinced into letting it be brushed and styled slightly. It's not so bad, he figured. And not the craziest thing he's had to do to win a game. But that's another story completely.
For about half an hour Jack stood over the railings. From across the great hall and down a few levels, Bunnymund was watching him with an amused smile that was plainly obvious even from the distance. Occasionally the rabbit would nibble on a carrot, but it seemed like after his binge his hunger had finally left him. 'Maybe it's a post-battle thing?' Jack thought. 'I can't blame him. I'm hungry too. Maybe we should have a celebration dinner after I win. Well if she's going to take this long then I should have more cookies. Lots more- No, stop. Focus. Win the game. Then cookies later.'
Another half hour and Jack was standing in front of the large fireplace. Bunnymund had stopped by to give him a fresher bouquet of flowers but otherwise his patience had gone uninterrupted. 'Where is she? Maybe I have time for cookies? No, probably not. And she's not wearing the bracelet -probably a tactical move. That or she just doesn't need it anymore. Or want it. I'm not even sure what giving her my heart will do, I just did it. Maybe it makes her more in tune with me than the bracelet did. Meh, it probably does nothing. I won't worry about it.'
Ten minutes later he was lying on the ground with his arms crossed behind his head. 'Boooooored' The spirit had had no trouble with long waits before. Heck, he'd waited 300 years for an answer from the Man in the Moon. He could technically be called a patient person. 'But why is Sky not here yet' he whined in his thoughts, 'why does she make me wait like this. This is agony! She has to come -this is war! Every soldier must- Oh, she's here!'
Jack opened his eyes to see her foot tapping against his side. Immediately, he held up the flowers to her and smiled, "Hey, Sky. Thought you might like these."
She examined the flowers curiously before taking them. The blue and purple tulips were held carefully in her hands as she lifted them up to smell them, "What did you have to do to get these?"
"I asked nicely. Unlike you I don't plan on using underhanded tactics to win this game. I just plan on treating you the way I should have treated you all along. Kiss me or not, it doesn't matter right now. I just want to make you happy. This game will-"
"Wait. You think I'm going to cheat?" she asked accusingly, "What the hell, Frost?" She took a couple of steps back and he stared at her. The red coat, the slim fitting jeans. She still wasn't wearing her ribbon even though Bunnymund had collected her things soon after the meeting had ended. She'd found a simple blue headband to keep any brown locks from falling over her face.
"Are you wearing new shoes?" Jack asked, looking towards the tightly tied high tops on her feet. "When did you get those? When did you have the time?"
"They're not new. I just never wear them. I was wearing my other shoes but... North sort of blew them up. I know" she interrupted, rolling her eyes, "How does he blow up shoes with ice? Well, it's North. He can pretty much do anything with all that wonder he has. Have you ever heard that speech he gives? About his center being wonder and that it's what he puts into the world blabla. I mean what he does is really great- Umm."
"What?"
"You're staring at me. And not telling me to be quiet or to calm down. What's going on."
Jack stood up and shrugged. "I'm letting you speak, Sky. For once. I don't mind, you can babble all you want."
"I don't babble!" she scolded lightly. "And what are you wearing? I can actually see your arms... and muscles..." Skyla trailed off, her eyes looking him over finally. "And your hair."
He couldn't tell from her tone what she was thinking and he self-consciously pulled at the tee's short sleeves trying to magically grow them out. 'I shouldn't have listened to Phil. Or Bunnymund. I should have demanded to keep my sweater. Or at least something with a hood! How awful do I look? Does she hate it that much? Does it look weird? Did the flowers smell good?'
"Jack, don't take this the wrong way..." she started, reaching a hand out. He panicked on the inside, not wanting her to know how insecure he'd suddenly become. Her fingers played with a bit of his newly styled hair, "But I like your other hairstyle better. It wasn't styled, I know. I liked it though... It was more natural. I mean this suits you but... What am I saying? Umm, it should be like this-"
Skyla promptly ruffled his hair, forcing it back the way it was. He was surprised and didn't move until she was done, and then only so much as to push some of the white locks out of his eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief, "You have no idea how badly I wanted to do that."
"Why did you change it then?"
"The guys- my guys said it would impress you. Something about being willing to change for you... I'm not sure, actually. Phil is very convincing but I have no idea why. It's his fault my staff was taken and hidden somewhere. Something about appearing more human."
Skyla giggled. Leaning forwards a bit, she hesitantly gripped his upper arm, "You don't need to change. I like the clothes though. I have Phil to thank for them, I assume?"
"No. Thank me. For wearing them."
"With a kiss you mean." It almost sounded like a question. Lightly squeezing his arm, she stepped forward a little bit to be more in his space. "I would, you know. If this was tomorrow. You know, after you've lost."
"I don't plan on losing, Sky. And can you please stop squeezing my arm? It's not that I don't like it, I just- Yeah. Stop that. It's-" he jerked his arm back, covering his mouth. "It tickles, Sky. I'm not used to it."
"Oh. But that's fun. Besides, you've tickled me before. I think I should be allowed to-"
"Sky, no. I don't like being tickled-"
"No one likes being tickled. Well, perverts do." She stepped back again, "Fine, no tickling. No kissing, either. What shall we ban next?"
Briefly, Jack remembered that the day he tickled her was the first time he'd called her Angel. Also the last. After he'd thought about it, he'd decided it didn't sound right for him to say it. It was Brandon's nickname for her, even if that's not how it started. To call her that after everything that had happened would definitely only bring up memories of the Demon she was attached to. "Nicknames. Pet names. Whatever you call them. You will call my Jack and I will call you Skyla. Unless you prefer Skyla-Grace" he mocked.
"I do not" she replied immediately, "Jackson-Overland."
The spirit frowned, "That's not funny."
"A little bit." she argued, smiling brightly. "Okay, okay. I agree to your terms, Jack. It's really too bad though I was thinking I would start calling you icicle."
"Please don't. Ever." he hung his head, "I already know someone who likes to call me that."
"Oh. Some ex-girlfriend, maybe? Well fine. It wasn't that funny anyway. Whoever calls you that isn't very clever."
"She is, actually. Very clever, I mean. Not the ex-girlfriend thing. What, you think I've had other girlfriends? I'm not that desirable, Skyla. And I haven't been visible for very long. Not by spirit -or Guardian- standards anyway. Wait," his head snapped up to see her staring at him with an amused smile. He ignored that, "We're off topic you know. Very. We were supposed to be-"
"Kissing?"
"I was going to stay strategically manipulating each other. So, no. Not quite. But we will be. Once you give in."
"Is that what you're expecting me to do?" she laughed, "Well, sorry to disappoint. I'm not going down without a fight. Don't worry though. I'm sure this won't last long. Like I said, by tomorrow these games will be over. You will have lost and shortly after be subjected to whichever punishment I see fit. I hope you're ready."
"What makes you so sure? Do you have a plan already?"
"Yes. And you obviously had one as well."
"Difference is; mine's actually working. I don't know what you and North have cooked up, but I'll tell you this." dramatic pause, "I'm not eating it."
"Are you hungry, Jack? I would think you could come up with something better than that. How about we go to the kitchen?"
Jack thought for a moment. And then another. He took a long while to think of some response. "Umm" he lifted a hand to drag it through his hair, "Is this a trick?"
"Well, no. I'm actually hungry. I didn't grab anything earlier. I was, well, stressing too much to eat."
"Yeah, I wonder why." He commented dryly. "I would have been stressing too. If I had a secret like that."
"It wasn't really a secret you know. And, really, can we not talk about that? Ever again. I might say something stupid if you pressure me."
"Yeah, you do that a lot. Let's go get something to eat. There aren't any carrots left so I hope you weren't going for some of those."
"Bunnymund?" she asked. Jack nodded and she shrugged, "Well, I'm not particularly fond of carrots. I can do without. Your plan wasn't just flowers was it?"
"No. But if I tell you mine, you have to tell me yours." he smirked, taking her hand and leading her away, "That would only be fair."
"I'm not agreeing to that. You'll never guess my plan and yours is probably something I could easily think of. Since Bunnymund is included you'll probably come out with more flowers. Maybe a whole greenhouse."
"What's your point? Girls like flowers. They're romantic. They're thoughtful. They-"
"Each flower means a different thing. And I'm pretty sure the blue ones are painted. They're kind of too glittery to be real. Oh and purple tulips mean royalty. Or rebirth. I think brides use them a lot because of that."
"Brides, huh? Are you going to use them?" Skyla stopped in her tracks, pulling Jack to a sudden stop with her. She looked stricken and couldn't speak for several seconds. "Are you having an anxiety attack? Or are you just so happy you've forgotten to breathe " he pulled on her hand to get a response. Nothing. "Seriously, Skyla. Breathe."
She took a sharp breath in then let it out just as sharply, "I was not ready for that."
"What?"
"The- That! I'm still not used to the idea of marriage you know. And, I mean, marriage to you. Don't get me wrong; I love you more than anything-"
"You just don't want to marry me?" he let go of her hand. "I don't get it, Skyla. What do you want from me? What are we doing this for? Is this really only a for now thing or do you want forever-"
"Jack. Shut up. I really am going to start panicking if you start that argument. I want forever. I can't exactly offer you that though. I'm human. You know that and while I don't want you thinking I'm weak it does still change a few things. You know that, right? You understand it?"
"Yes, I do. Our time together is a lot more precious because of that. I have a lot less time to make you happy. I want to marry you, Skyla. And I want to give you the life you deserve- If you'll let me."
She grabbed his hand again and started walking. A bit hesitantly, Jack let her lead him away. He looked sideways at her and watched as she lifted the flowers to her nose again. "You know, Jack. It's a really difficult thing to think about. Having limited time to be together. Having time together at all is really great. Being reminded that it's going to end... not so much. Marriage is... It's a step we would take. And if there are steps then there is a last step. It's a bit sad, but that's one of the things I've thought of."
"One of your excuses you mean. It's okay. We'll deal with the games before we deal with everything else. I knew you were going to have a difficult time with it anyway. I don't really know why. Maybe because of the whole commitment thing. Your whole past is a mystery and maybe that's something you do. Maybe you go through one stage in your life then forget it completely. I'm not too sure how I feel about that."
"There's a reason I haven't told you much about my past. I will tell you. Eventually. I mean no matter how badly I want to keep it in the past... I guess I have to tell you. Since we're going to be married..."
Jack thought about it while they walked. 'She just tried to change the subject. Usually I would get excited and happy again after she mentioned getting married. Dammit, she's not getting away with that-'
"You won't be in the dark forever, Jack. I promise. I'm just not ready to talk about it and I probably won't be for a long time. Sorry."
"...It's fine. Love you, Skyla. Please don't forget about me."
"What? How could I possibly forget about you? You're- Well, you're amazing." Skyla blushed, "You're hilarious. Reckless. Adorable. A bit dense. Perfect..." she trailed off, smelling the flowers again. "I love you."
Jack knew he was blushing, too. He was smirking also. 'I really shouldn't be thinking about this now, but... She's definitely going to lose. Ugh, I'm such an awful person! Here she is complimenting me in such a sincere way and I'm only thinking about the game!'
"Is something wrong?"
His head snapped back to look at her, "What? No, nothing. Just thinking. About what you said. I won't forget you either, Skyla. I promise. No matter what happens. No matter how long eternity is. I will never forget you." he paused, his mouth slightly open and not sure if he should say any more. "I almost said something really cheesy and possibly even embarrassing..."
"Hmm? Tell me." she squeezed his hand encouragingly.
"I really shouldn't say. I think it goes against our recent ban. You know, the name thing."
"You'll probably slip up anyway. Please, I want to know"
Jack hesitated. "I was going to add my love at the end of that. You know; I will never forget you, my love. Cheesy, right?" he blushed again and rubbed at his neck with his free hand. "I should not have said that."
"Actually, umm... I kind of like that. There's definitely nothing wrong with it. If you want to call me that then it's fine. Well unless the ban is still on. I don't really want it to be."
"I would probably slip up anyway" he joked. "If you like it when I call you that-"
"As long as you don't use it every third sentence."
"Is every fourth sentence alright? I'm kidding! Don't get mad. Every fifth sentence is good enough."
"Jack" she whined, "It should be spontaneous. Something that just happens rather than something you plan to do."
"I know what spontaneity is. And, okay. It will be my one exception to the ban. If you think of something to call me -that I can agree on- then that will be your one exception. Is that fair enough, my love?"
Her response was to blush and turn her head away. "Y-yeah. That's fine Er, fair. It's fair. Definitely."
"You're really cute." he gushed. "I think I'm going to lose our game."
Skyla looked back at him, "But- Don't give up yet! I haven't even gone through with my plan yet!"
"That must be some plan if you're so adamant about it. Does it really matter how you win?"
"Yes. It does. Because my plan is the greatest plan someone could ever possibly come up with. Just wait a little bit. You'll see."
"Skyla" he smiled despite his whining tone, "I can't wait that long. I want to kiss you!"
"You're the one that decided on the game! Suck it up and fight me properly!" she grinned back, bumping into him slightly.
"Fine! This means war. And, my love, I promise I won't give up without a fight. You've brought out my stubborn side. Again."
NOTES:
How's this?
I think it worked.
And awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
*hearts*
