It wasn't unusual for you to return home late from work, it really wasn't. It was, however, unusual for you to sit at the edge of your bed with your head in your hands instead of curling up beside your boyfriend of nearly two years.

"Bun?" Jack stirs from his sleep. You don't turn your head, but his voice makes you smile.

"Go back to sleep, Jacky," You can practically feel him pout at you as he wraps his arms around your waist, kissing your lower back. You reach an arm behind you and run your fingers through his snow white hair, "I'll be fine..."

In all honesty, you would be fine. Just not tonight.

It wasn't this night in particular, however, it was more so what had occurred on this night, nearly 200 years ago.

It was early spring, you remember, when flowers grew again and the earth began to warm. This was your season. New life began to spring up all around, new love blossomed as well.

Maybe it was the way his hand fit in yours or the constant sneaking around your two did, but you were in love. Plain and simple. Short, but sweet.

A lot like your season.

You watched as the warmth of spring was followed by the heat of summer, bringing with it new experiences. Then, all the life, the warmth, the summer romance, all the lovely things you came to know where chased away with the chill of winter.

And the cold of war.

You watched as the mortal you once loved, the man who sparked a new life in you, get chased away as well. He left for the war in December sometime during Santa's season, and never returned.

For 200 years, you watched as new life came and went with your season, vowing never to love a mortal again.

"Bun?" Jack nips at your lower back now to get your attention. You laugh quietly to yourself,

"Sorry, lad, just thinkin'." You lay back down and the winter sprite curls up beside you, the chill of his skin radiates off of him and sinks in to you, freezing your broken heart back together.

It's funny how this guardian, your polar opposite, could be exactly what you needed.

Winter brought cold, dark, and death. Jack brought love, laughter, and fun.

You would never quite understand how that worked with the boy, being a winter sprite and all, but you never thought to much about it. All you focused on was the way your season blended in to his, creating a beautiful love.

So, it wasn't unusual that two people would fall in love.

It was unusual, however, that the love would last forever.