A/N: Originally posted on the 25th of December, 2021 from a reader request.

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After a day of Christmas celebrations with your Duskwood family, you and Jake have settled down in front of the fireplace, snuggled up in a bundle of blankets, watching your favorite Christmas movies from your childhoods. You could think of no better way to spend the end of year celebration than with the man you had fallen even in deeper love with over the course of the year. He held you close as you rested your head on his shoulder. To be honest, you had lost track of what was happening on the TV as you were so wrapped up in your blissful mood. You just knew that you wanted to stay in those feelings of warmth and safety forever.

Breaking the silence, Jake cleared his throat. "I know we said no presents this year but..."

You lifted your head up and gave Jake a playful slap on his chest, "You didn't!"

"Well it's not a present per se. Come on, I'll show you!" He smiled so brightly.

Jake eagerly pulled you up from the couch and took your hand to lead you out the front door. He had grabbed your winter coats on the way out, but you were still in your slippers as you stepped out into the light snow on the front step. The front of the house was dimly lit by the Christmas lights you had put up across the front of the house, fence, trees and garden together. Your house was truly the brightest house on the street.

"What are we doing?" you laughed.

"You'll see," he grinned as he put your coat on your shoulders.

The winter's night was quiet. You could smell wood burning in fireplaces in every house on the street. The snow crunched beneath your slippers as Jake took you further out to the edge of the street. The cold started to bite at the tip of your nose.

"Jake?" you looked around in confusion.

Jake took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. His hand shook a bit as he tapped on the screen a few times. You weren't sure if they shook from the cold or nervousness. He pulled out his Bluetooth in-ear headphones and handed them to you. Curiously you took them from him and placed them in your ears, not at all knowing what to expect. Suddenly the Christmas lights dimmed. The song "What a Wonderful World" began playing through the headphones. The lights lit back up gradually, changing colors and brightness in time with the lyrics. Sure you had seen houses with lights flickered in time with music, but the precision of these lights was out of this world. It was beyond perfect. You couldn't comprehend when he had the time to program it so perfectly. Was it all those sleepless nights?

All the while you were watching Jake's special light show, he watched you, paying such close attention to your reaction. Seeing your face light up with excitement and wonder right then meant the world to him.

As the song came to a close, you pulled the headphones and turned to Jake speechless. "Jake... that was beautiful."

"I wanted to thank you for reminding how beautiful the world can be," he smiled. "But it's not over."

Baffled, you turned back in time to see the lights turning on again, except not all the lights. In fact, there was a distinct pattern of lit lights across the front of the house. You gasped when you saw the message, the question. Tears formed in the corners of your eyes, threatening to fall.

Jake was beside you, down on one knee in the snow waiting for your answer.

"Will you marry me?"