A/N: So this here was a college AU that I wanted to write. Jack and Seren are both normal humans. This is the rated T of the one-shots, for the light lemon, or is it a lime in this case? near the end. It is very light and doesn't go into much explicit detail; hence why I still rate it at the PG-13 level and not M. I just wanted to give fair warning for anyone not interested in reading it. For the rest, please enjoy!

Snowed In

There was a knock at the door. Jack leapt up from the couch, the remote that had been in his hand flying up and dancing in the air before he caught it again. He felt his heart racing much more than usual over such a little thing. It was not every day, let alone every week or even every month, that there was a knock at the door. Living in an apartment kept random people from visiting. The only people in and out of that door were his roommates and himself. Looking over his shoulder, he glanced towards the door before looking to the nearest clock.

"Right!" Jack jumped from the couch, now with a purpose rather than just being startled. He snuck in a few quick fixes to his dishevelled clothing. There was no point in fixing his hair—it was always messy and unruly, impossible to work with. Putting on a smile, he opened the door to greet the person he had been waiting for.

"Hey, Jack."

For a moment, he could only stand there and continue smiling. As much as he hated projects in general, especially ones that required a presentation, there was at least a perk to the one he currently had to work on: he got to present it with Seren. After realizing she was still waiting there, he cleared his throat and let her inside.

"I was about to text you when someone came out so I was able to get to the elevators," she explained after Jack pondered the matter out loud. "Watching a movie?" Slipping off her boots, she peered towards the little living room past the kitchen. Jack blinked and looked back to where he had been moments ago. Cursing under his breath for forgetting about it in his haste to get to the door, he hurried back over to the TV to turn it off. Now was not the time for movies. "Rise of the Guardians?" He heard the slight grin in her voice before seeing it.

"What can I say? I got a weakness for animated movies." Jack grinned in slight embarrassment, ruffling his hair some more. It was a little quirk of his, and probably added to the reason why his locks were always so messy. Looking back to Seren, his brow knotted together. "What's with that look?"

"I never really thought about it before, but you kinda look like Jack Frost from that film. Actually, kinda a lot like him."

Sighing, he shook his head and rolled his eyes lightly. "Believe me, you're not the first one to make that connection." Though he had heard it plenty of times before, it did not annoy him so much from her. "Snowing a lot?" he asked, finally taking her coat to hang it up. Curtains blocked the windows (neither he nor his roommates enjoyed the idea of others looking in from the adjacent building), but Jack knew it was meant to snow that day, and snow fairly badly. Judging from the melted snow on both her coat and her hair, the weather forecast had been correct. The wind rattling the windows gave testament to the situation outside.

"Yeah, it's really starting to come down. Little flakes too, which means it'll only get worse." With a sigh, she let her hair out of the loose bun it had been in. "So, to work?"

Small talk done for the time being, the two of them started on their research project. Jack hunched over his laptop, fingers flying to gather information that Seren then put into a slideshow. Page after page was made, pictures and text coming together to create their presentation. Minutes slipped to hours, the faint rays of the sun no longer slipping through the cracks in the curtains. Jack moved closer to her and the two of them did several practices for their presentation. Sadly, no audience, but a little practice was better than none.

Eyes drifted to Seren more and more. Part of him was sad that their work period was drawing to an end. As great as it was to get work done and get back to having fun—the thought of being able to have snowball fights again soon made him grin—it also meant he would have fewer moments with her. Class could only provide so much time, and their was not another group presentation listed on the course outline. He was friends with her, sure, but he always felt too embarrassed whenever he even thought of asking her to hang out outside of class.

"I think I should be heading home now." Shifting back in her chair, Seren stretched. "Unless you can think of anything else we should add to it."

Jack stared at her, opening his mouth to respond. Surely there was something else they could add. Something else they could do. Something else that could be done to keep her around longer. But there was nothing. Nothing came to mind. Not even some lame excuse that could seem somewhat plausible came to mind. Pursing his lips, Jack forced a smile and shook his head.

"Nope. We're all done!"

"Great!" Clapping her hands together, Seren made a copy of the project for Jack. He was hesitant to take it. Taking it meant she would then leave.

"Do you need anything else before you go?" he asked softly, trying to be as slow as possible with copying over the file without being obvious. "Drink? Food? Anything?"

"No. I should be good, thanks."

Jack felt himself slouching some more in his chair. Not even that worked for keeping her around longer. To break the unwanted silence, the windows across the room rattled violently. The wind had been growing worse and worse while they had worked, but now it sounded even more terrifying than before. Frowning, he stared at the windows, the outside world still blocked from their vision.

"Wait a second," he urged her, gesturing for her to stay seated. Heading over to the other side of the room, Jack slipped past the curtains, opened the door to the little balcony, and judged the nature of the situation outside for himself. It was cold. Perhaps it would have been better to at least put on some socks before stepping outside, but he took the discomfort, looking over the edge to see the street below. Snow was everywhere, much of it still flying into his face and reducing visibility greatly. Only the distant streetlights helped to make it possible to see just what was going on, and other than the snow, there was not much. Traffic on the highway, which was normally fairly constant, even at the current hour, was non-existent. What little traffic there was crawled along slowly. Having seen enough, Jack slipped back inside, brushing off all the snow that had plastered to him in such a short amount of time.

"It's pretty bad out," commented Seren before Jack could utter a word on the harsh weather.

"How'd you know?" he asked back instead.

She arched an eyebrow at him, a light smirk tugging at her lips. "You mean from besides the wind and your current state?" Jack felt himself blush and tried to get off even more snow before it melted completely. Sighing softly, Seren turned her laptop around as he neared. She was looking at a radar map of their area. Everything was pretty much covered by the colour that indicated snow, some areas even getting freezing rain. "The storm rolled in sooner than I expected. And it looks like it won't be blowing out any time soon."

"I think you should stay the night."

"Wh-what?"

"What are you, ten? It's not safe for you to travel now in this weather! You have to take the bus back, right? Even if you only had to walk I wouldn't let you go out in that storm."

"N-no, it's all right. Really." Moving quickly, she began to gather up her stuff. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition! It's common sense." But his words did not make her stop. Frowning, Jack tried to get one step ahead of her.

"Jack, give me my coat."

"No!"

"Jack!"

Nimble on his feet, Jack weaved his way through the apartment, always keeping out of reach from Seren. "I told you, it's not good to go out in this weather! You could wind up in an accident! Then what, huh?"

Seren finally stopped chasing him. Sighing, Jack also came to a halt. Finally, he had gotten through to her. ...Or not. In his moment of ease, she snatched back her coat.

"Seren, it's really no trouble for you to spend the night. I'd feel better knowing you weren't trying to get back to your place in this storm." He sighed heavily, trying one more time. Though she had reclaimed her coat, she did not start putting it on. Instead, she looked between her coat, him, and the rattling windows.

"It's really no trouble?"

An exasperated sigh escaped Jack. "Yes. That's what I've been telling you!"

"But what about your roommates?"

"Already gone for the weekend. Hiccup's visiting his girlfriend and Jamie's off back home. Besides, unlike someone else I know, I doubt they'd be travelling in this weather." Jack grinned at her frown. "There's no one here to bother you, if that's what you're worried about."

"No one but you."

"Yeah, that's—hey!" It was Seren's turn to grin. With one final glance to the window and then her coat, followed by a sigh, she handed her shard of clothing back to him. "All right. It is one less thing to worry about."

"Good!" Taking the moment like a victory, Jack hung her coat back up. "Well, since you're staying, like something for dinner? I was about to make something for myself."

"You can cook?"

Jack let out a dry laugh, heading to the kitchen. "No, that's Jamie's job. But I do know how to heat microwave dinners or soup. Got a preference?"

"Which ever's easier for you to make. Oh!"

"Something wrong?"

"No, just have to make a call before I forget." Seren pulled out her cellphone and slipped away from the kitchen. Deciding that some nice hot soup would be best, Jack hurried to make them some food. "Niiiv!" groaned Seren towards the end of her conversation on the phone. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

"Everything okay?" Jack looked over his shoulder. He saw Seren shove her phone back into her pocket before glancing away.

"Y-yeah. Niveus just commented how she wished she'd had her boyfriend visit now."

"Ah." Not one of her better lies, but Jack said nothing on it. That explanation hardly gave reason for her reddened cheeks or flustered composition. It did not take much longer for the soup to finally be ready. "Like to watch a movie? Guest's choice." He pursed his lips and looked towards the TV. "Given that it's one we have."

Seren quietly ate her soup for a moment as they settled on the couch, thinking it over. "Do you have Stardust?"

"Uh..." Jack tried to mentally go through the list of movies they had accessible. Thanks to Jamie, they did have quite the selection now. "Yeah, we have that." Eyes promptly lit up, unable to hide the glee that flitted behind them. Jack chuckled under his breath. "I take it that's your choice then?" He did not even wait for her to agree before putting the movie on.

As the scenes rolled by, Jack became more interested in seeing Seren's reaction to the movie rather than the movie itself. A smile was across her face for nearly every moment, widening or shrinking accordingly to the mood. She looked more like a kid, lost in the fantasy and magic of the story.

"You know, you kinda look like Yvaine," commented Jack, leaning back on the couch.

A loud snort of derision escaped her. "No, I don't."

"Oh, come on. If my movie counterpart can be Jack Frost, then yours can be Yvaine. Is that really such a bad thing?"

Seren tugged at some of her hair before twirling it around and attempting to put it up in a messy bun. Those bright strands of hers stayed in place for only a moment then toppled back down over her shoulders. Jack chuckled. How it looked now made her appear even more like the fallen star on the screen. She huffed and pursed her lips, glancing towards Jack before studying the movie some more. Eventually, she threw up her arms in defeat and sunk against the armrest.

"Well, at least we'd both be immortal?"

Jack laughed. "A good point!" Their new roles now set, silence settled back in as the movie continued. Even Jack found himself smiling at the thought of gaining the heart of a star. His eyes darted over to Seren. That smile from before had returned to her face. Eventually, the movie came to its end, as it had to. Then, it was turned off. Jack's hand hovered over the remote, but he had not pressed a single button.

"Shit."

It was not just the DVD player that had turned off, so too had everything else. All the electronics and lights stopped working, no more power being supplied to them. The wind outside howled against the windows, rattling them loudly as if to mock those inside. There was no protection from the storm, not even when in the apartment.

"Ah!" Jack brought a hand to his face, blocking the glare from a light that felt ten times brighter than it really was in the pure darkness. "A flashlight?" he asked, adjusting to the ray of light.

"Just on my phone. Handy, ain't it?" She grinned.

"Yes, but we shouldn't waste your battery. C'mon, I got candles." With Seren guiding their way, the two of them hurried to light a bunch of the emergency candles—mostly courtesy of Hiccup—and then placed them in safe places to illuminate the apartment. The storm still raged on outside, blowing even harder against the windows as though it did not like the defiance against it. After setting his last candle, Jack made sure to grab some things before heading back out.

"Were you the one who planned all this, Jack Frost?" asked Seren when he returned to the living room.

A mix between a sigh and laugh slipped past his lips. "Trust me. If I were the one causing this, I would be very careful not to cause a black-out. I love my computer too much. And the fridge. And having good lighting. And heat." Grinning, he tossed her one of the items he had been holding.

"What's this?" In the darkness, it was hard to tell what it was that had been thrown so easily.

"One of my hoodies to help keep you warm." Jack shrugged it off, plopping back down on the couch. He made sure not to mention it was his favourite blue hoodie, the one that he always liked to wear whenever it was cold enough and curl up with a nice cup of hot chocolate, topped with plenty of marshmallows. If only he had made some hot chocolate before the power went out, then the whole mess would be just a little bit better.

"Oh, no. I'm fine, thank you." She held out the hoodie back to him as she sat down.

"Don't make me shove it on over your head." Frowning, Jack refused to take his hoodie back. She held it out to him still, scooting over closer. Shaking his head vehemently, Jack scooted away, not allowing the hoodie to get close to him again. "You're just wearing that blouse! Put it on before you get cold. It may be okay now, but without the heater, it can get pretty darn chilly in here, and who knows when the power'll come back on."

Seren's expression matched his own. Both of them were being stubborn in the matter. At least she was no longer trying to force it back into his hold. "What about you?"

"I'm usually pretty good with the cold. Pluuuuuus, that's what these are for!" Grinning, he unfurled the blankets he had been also holding to cover the two of them. He tuck the blankets snugly around their legs, making sure no gaps were left for cool air to enter. "Put on the hoodie, Seren."

She let out a disgruntled sigh. "Fine." Jack smirked in victory. "Thank you," she mumbled before slipping on the hoodie. After flipping up the hood, she tucked her hands into the pouch and tried to snuggle under the blankets some more. "Now I just wish I had worn my fluffy socks today."

"Why's that?"

She wiggled her feet under the blankets. "Simple: they're cold. My feet often get the coldest."

"I can help fix that."

"Oh, no. Jack. Really, I don't need another pair of socks to wear!"

A hearty laugh escaped him. "That wasn't what I had in mind, silly. There's another way I can help."

Seren inched away. "How?"

"Oh, don't give me that look. I'm not gonna play a prank on you." Her face did not untwist out of that suspicious glance. "Honest!" She still did not look like she believed him. Rolling his eyes, Jack decided the only way to prove it to her was to show her. Gathering up some of the blankets, he clamped it over her feet and rubbed around. The extra friction created more heat, and thus helped to warm her feet. But the more he tried to warm her up, the more she began to squirm.

"S-stop!" she blurted out in a giggle, unable to hold back from laughing any more. "It-it tickles!" Her hands grasped his, trying to pull away, but it now was more a matter of having fun than keeping warm. Jack laughed with her, trying to tickle her some more rather than warm her feet.

"Better?" he asked once he stopped tormenting her with tickles.

It took her a moment longer to stifle down her giggles, a few light snorts finding there way in that only made Jack grin some more. "Yeah," she answered after taking a deep breath. "But now my hands feel cold in comparison."

"I can help with that too."

"At least they're not ticklish," she remarked wryly before holding out her hands.

Jack chuckled. Wrapping his hands around her, he began to rub them slowly before stopping. In the only partially illuminated darkness, he could just see her blink in confusion before he leaned in, cupped his hands around hers, and breathed out on their fingers. He clasped his hands together tighter, making sure no heat could escape. When she did not pull away, he breathed out again, his own heart beginning to pound.

"Better...?" he whispered, closing his hands together to trap the warmth inside. Her fingers flexed. She nodded, not breaking the gaze he had locked with her. "Cold anywhere else?" Remaining silent, Seren took back her hands. Maybe he had gone too far. Jack bit his bottom lip, feeling quite the fool until a shred of hope shone in the darkness. Seren pointed to her nose.

A soft smile tugged at his lips. Leaning towards her, Jack was careful not to let any heat escape from under the blankets. It would be pointless to let the air that grew colder and colder in. Closing his eyes, Jack erased the remaining distance and planted a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. He lingered there until he was satisfied that her nose would no longer be cold. But when he tried to pull away, hands reached up and grasped his vest, keeping him over her.

"Maybe I can be your Jack Frost," he whispered, studying her dark eyes that reflected a glint of the candlelight. He grinned and chuckled in response to her confused look. "Nipping at your nose..."

"I hope you wouldn't do only that."

"Wha—"

He could say no more. The cold that had been slowly creeping in to chill his exposed body melted away. Though he had been the one trying to warm her up, she was now the one to remove the cold completely. Lips pressed against his as hands pulled him down. It took Jack a moment to fully process what had happened. After all his worrying, after all his waiting to find the opportune moment, and finally feeling like he had reached that point, she had been the one to kiss him. Seren broke the kiss, having kept it simple and sweet.

"I think I can handle that." Grinning, he leaned back in to nip at not her nose, but her lips. This kiss was not like the last. Jack put all his feeling and emotions into it, letting her know how he felt about her. Together, under the blankets, there was no room for the cold. Hands that had once been chilled to the touch were now heated as the fingers laced through his dark hair. There was a break, long enough to only regain some much-needed air before their lips sealed back together, both eager for more.

The warmth was overwhelming as Jack lowered his body onto hers. He often preferred the cold, actually. Others complained about it, griping about how much colder it was from the day before when the temperature had only lowered two degrees (and then would complain about how hot summer was when that came around; nothing was ever good enough), but not Jack. That ever-present chill in the air relaxed him after the stressful, sweltering heat of the previous months. Jack did not prefer the heat, in fact, he often disliked it, but right now, as Seren left a trail of kisses along his jaw, he loved it.

It was different from any other heat he had felt before. Rather than suffocating him from the outside, it blossomed deep within him and spread out to all his extremities, causing his skin to tingle with delight. Legs laced around his, causing that heat to rise. Too warm. It was getting too warm, and he wanted more.

"Jack," she whispered against his ear. "I'm still cold..."

Grinning on her skin, Jack promised that he would make her feel warm, but not just yet. Wrapping his arms around her back, Jack pulled her up so that were both sitting again. The unexpected action caused her to yelp, which in turn made him chuckle. She shivered in his hold and he quickly wrapped the blankets back around them.

"Let's fix that." His voice low, he planted butterfly kisses along her neck, hands slipping up under the borrowed hoodie and blouse. The blanket was left behind as they switched locale to his bedroom; the couch was far too narrow for his liking, and hardwood floors were hardly comfortable—maybe it would be a good idea to invest in some rugs.

Shards of clothing became the trail that they left behind. Vest, dress shirt, belts... Jack was slow at toying with the hoodie. He had not expected to be removing it so soon after lending it to her. He would have to lend it to her again, for now it was only in the way. The clump of blue fabric joined the rest of the trail, soon followed by her blouse. The cool air that kissed his skin helped to keep him grounded in reality. But the roaming lips and hands caused that blossoming heat to burst into a crackling fire that still needed tending. Legs bumped against the bed, sending them toppling over onto the sheets that he never really bothered to ever straighten. A giggle escaped Seren, but not from the fall.

"What's so funny?" he managed to ask through his heavy panting, taking that moment to let his body have the air that it needed again.

"Nothing." She shook her head before moving to discard what shards of clothing remained.

"Nooo. Seren. Tell me." He took her hands and pinned them to the bed, not allowing her to go any further. She tried to struggle, but it was pointless. Grinning, he rested his chin against her chest and lowered his body onto hers, not moving at all and acting more as a dead weight than anything else. Though a dead weight, he was still able to enjoy the feel of her body pressed right against his, warmth spreading between them. "Don't make me start tickling you again. You know I will."

That immediately made her stop struggling. "I was just thinking..."

"Abooooouuuut?" He planted a teasing kiss on her collarbone followed by another. That, however, made her sigh in bliss and squirm slightly. Her eyes fluttered as he continued kissing, causing her to temporarily forget what she was going to say. At last he stopped, and she was able to regain her thoughts again.

"About how the spirit of winter won over the heart of a star..."

That caused the crackling flames to become a full-fledged fire within him. There was no more coldness. There was only the heat of their bodies, and he liked that heat. Rising back up, Jack kissed her firmly on the mouth. He may have won the heart of a star, but she had also won his heart in return. Fingers laced together, each digit becoming lost against the next with no way to discern which finger belonged to whom.

The final shards of clothing that were in the way were removed. Rather than becoming colder, it felt like the temperature rose. And they made sure to keep it that way, staying warm together throughout the night.

Jack scrunched up his nose. It was cold, even for him. Pulling up the blanket that was tucked around him, he settled it over his face in attempts to make his nose warmer. Or rather, he would have had the blanket not been trapped by someone else. Strands of blonde hair swayed with each breath Seren took. Smiling, he brushed aside her hair, tucking it behind her ear like she often did on her own.

After blinking a few more times, he looked over to his clock. No numbers were flashing. He sighed and snuggled into the bed and against Seren some more. With his digital clock not on, the power still had yet to come back. At least it was light out; candles would not be needed again until later. In fact, it was very bright out, so much so that he had to squint when glancing to his window. Grumbling, he looked to his watch to see what time it was. An annoyed sigh escaped him before allowed his hand to fall back down. Of course, his watch was getting repaired. Wanting to see what the state was outside, he started to sit up, but was stopped.

"Jack," muttered a drowsy voice. Hands wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him back down. "No movin' Heat 'scapes..."

"Hey," he whispered back, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Glad you stayed over?"

With a smile, she nodded. "Remind me to thank your doppelganger later."

"Uh-huh. C'mere." Wrapping the blankets back around them to keep the warmth around them (it really had gotten quite chilly over night), Jack urged Seren to get out of bed with him. She moaned in protest, huddling closer for warmth, to which Jack did not complain. He pulled her right against him as he guided her to the window. "Take a look."

Grudgingly, Seren opened her eyes fully. A soft gasp escaped her. Jack was trailed along thanks to the blanket as she went right up to the window to peer out. Everything was blanketed in white.

"It's lovely..."

"See? Winter's not so bad."

"I never said winter's bad."

"But you don't like it when it's cold!"

"I don't like it when there's a sharp wind. I don't like it when hidden ice causes me to slip and fall. I don't like it when blizzards knock out power—though I may have to let the jury out on that one now. But I never said I didn't like winter. I love a good snowfall and seeing an otherwise dreary landscape blanketed in white."

"All right, fair enough, Ms. Technicalities." Jack let out a long sigh. Reaching out, he doodled a little in the frost on the window. Seren's hand soon wound up next to his. "What do you say to some more sleep and then we can enjoy our snow day from inside?"

"That sounds like a great idea."

A/N: Funnily enough, about a week after I wrote this, there was a blizzard where I live xD It created a lovely snow day, and one with power still available... Though that power outage didn't come until another ice/snow storm at the end of winter hit us -_-