Later that night, when it was time to settle down for bed, Nina noticed that Heat Miser hadn't come in from outside. She walked out of the house and found him sitting on the front steps. Sitting by him, she said, "It's a beautiful night."

"Hm? Yeah," he said.

"I love living at the North Pole, but I sometimes miss the endless summer down here."

Heat Miser barely acknowledged the comment, even though Nina thought that he would have a positive reaction to it. "Is something on your mind? You've seemed distracted ever since we went out today."

Heat looked down. "It's nothing," he quickly stated.

"You can tell me. I won't make fun of you or tell anyone."

He paused, thinking, then he asked, almost in a whisper, "That Melvin guy, you said you've known him most of your life?"

"Yeah. We grew up together. Our dads were friends. Melvin is like the other brother I never had."

"What is he like?"

Nina smiled, gently. "He's shy but very sweet and softspoken. He's intelligent and booksmart."

Hearing all this made Heat Miser look away. "Oh."

"If you want to talk to him, I'm sure he'd be happy to," she told him in a kind voice.

"He'd never-" Heat cut himself off.

"He would, Heat."

Heat Miser rapidly shook his head. "He's a human! They're all the same! Besides, he wouldn't want anything to do with someone like me."

Nina laid her hand on his arm, speaking to him with compassion. "You're too hard on yourself. You're a great guy; you're just afraid. If you just talk to him, you'll see not all humans have bad intentions. Who knows? You two might become friends, if not more."

Heat looked at her with a flash of hope in his eyes. "Do you really think I'd have a chance?" he asked, tentatively.

"Absolutely. Trust me. You'd have more of a chance than any woman in the world ever would."

This cheered Heat up. "I need to impress him! What can I do to get him interested in getting to know me?"

"Just be yourself," Nina replied. Seeing his pained look, she said, "It would be a lot easier than pretending to be something you're not."

"I can't tell him what I really am."

"Not at first, but you don't have to lie about your personality and interests. Why don't you give him a gift? Something small that reflects who you are?"

"Do you think I should? I barely know him."

"He'd appreciate it. At the very least, it'll get his attention."

"Okay. I'll think of something." He sighed.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Nina asked.

"I suppose. What is it?"

"Why are you so mistrustful of humans?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Heat scowled. "They fight over petty matters, judge each other for stuff they shouldn't be judged for, and ridicule and shame others for things they can't control."

"That is true," Nina agreed. "In general, humanity seems to be like that. But we're so much more."

Frowning, Heat asked, "Why do you still claim to be one of them? You're immortal."

"Because I'm not a god, and I was mortal at one time. I was completely human when I met you, and you grew to like me."

"You're different."

"So are other people. They're not all bad. Give them a chance, and you'll see."

Heat just looked up at the sky, still frowning. His angry expression slowly disappeared. Then, he said, quietly, "I know what I want to give Melvin."

"What?"

"Don't laugh."

"I promise I won't."

"I...I want to bake him some cookies."

Nina's expression softened. "He'd love that; he has such a sweet tooth."

Heat looked relieved. "I bake in my spare time," he admitted.

"That's wonderful," Nina told him, genuinely.

"I'm not that great at it, but I know I'm better than Snow Miser. He can't cook to save his life."

Nina tried to stifle a laugh. "He's good at other things. Besides, you guys don't have to eat much, do you?"

"No, but baking relaxes me. It helps keep my blood pressure level. I just don't have anyone to taste test anything I make besides me and my minions."

"You can make something for dinner tomorrow."

Heat narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to have a bunch of people make fun of me, especially in front of Melvin."

"No one is going to make fun of you," she assured him. "It's great that you have a hobby, especially one you have a chance to share with others."

Heat Miser thought about this for awhile, then he sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll make something, but if my brother even so much as snickers at me for it, I'm throwing him out a window. It's not like we'll be in your plane."

Nina shook her head, smiling slightly, then, she looked up at the sky after feeling a drop of water fall on her nose. "It's going to rain. Let's go inside."

"You go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

Nina gave Heat Miser a quick hug before entering the house. Heat Miser stayed outside for a little while, watching the rain, before coming back in for the night.

The next morning, everyone was awake early. Nina made a pot of coffee while she cooked breakfast. Tingler was the first to come in. He yawned, then watched the coffee drip in the pot, fascinated. When it was done, Nina poured everyone a cup and told the men to help themselves to the food. Heat Miser immediately drank his coffee, not letting it cool. Snow Miser put ice cubes in his mug, then stuck it in the freezer. Tingler waited a bit before drinking his coffee. All four of them munched on breakfast while standing around in the kitchen.

Nina sat on the counter and said, "We've got to go to the grocery store today and get the ingredients for the dinner tonight. If we pull together, we can make a wonderful meal."

Heat Miser looked her in the eye while sipping his very hot coffee. "No need for a pep talk. It's just a dinner."

Snow got his coffee out of the freezer. "A very IMPORTANT dinner," he informed his brother. "Nina and I are going to announce our engagement to her family." He held his fiancee's hand while taking a drink of his own coffee. "Ah! It's the perfect temperature, cold as ice."

"Well, you did put six ice cubes in it and stuck the cup in the freezer. If you ask me, that's a little excessive," Heat grumbled.

"I didn't ask you, hothead," Snow said.

"More, please," Tingler politely asked Nina, who then refilled his mug.

Nina got a piece of paper out of the living room and sat back down on the counter. "I've made out a shopping list." She read it off, then asked the group, "Is there anything else you guys can think of that we'll need?"

"COFFEE!" Tingler suddenly yelled out after finishing a second cup. "WeneedmorecoffeeOhyeslotsmorecoffeeMoreandmorecoffee!Arewegoingtothestorenow?I'llhelpCanIhelp?I'llpickupthecoffee!"

Snow Miser laughed and told Nina in her ear, "Better start buying decaf, instead."

Nina wrote it down on the list.

"Oh, great. We're going to stand out in the store if we bring HIM along," Heat groaned.

"There's nothing to worry about; the effect will wear off, eventually," Nina said.

Tingler said, "I'vegotanidea!I'llcleanupthehousefortonight!I'llmakeitlooklikenew!Everything willshine!Justyouwaitandsee!" With that, the Sound Imp ran out of the room.

"Did you catch any of that?" Snow asked.

"He's going to clean the house," Nina stated.

"I better stay and make sure he doesn't break anything," Heat said.

"Okay. Snowy and I will go to the store."

"Wait. Before you go..."Heat handed Nina a piece of paper. "This is what I'm going to need for tonight."

Nina smiled. "Alright. We'll pick the stuff up."

"Making something special?" Snow asked.

Embarrassed, Heat replied, "Maybe. Just go on." He left the room, and Snow Miser shrugged.

It was a nice, hot morning. Snow Miser looked uncomfortable. "It's a little humid out, isn't it?" he asked, wiping his brow with a handkerchief.

"Yeah. It rained last night."

"Hm. I must've slept through it."

Nina squeezed his hand. "I really appreciate you going through all this for me."

"Oh, angel, it's no trouble. I'd do it a million times if I had to. By the way, what's my brother making tonight?"

"A surprise," was all she answered.

"I didn't know he could cook."

"Maybe he was scared to tell you," Nina suggested.

"Scared?"

"That you would make fun of him."

"Oh, come on. I wouldn't-" Then, Snow Miser cut himself off. "Oh," he quietly whispered. "I can see why he'd think that."

"I bet if you showed him your support, he'd be more open with you," Nina stated.

"You're right. I'll start doing that."

Nina smiled as they entered the store. They both grabbed a basket and began looking around for all the items on the list.

Nina stopped once, observing one of the shoppers. She approached the man. "Excuse me, Ignatius Thistlewhite?"

The man, who had short, dark blonde hair and was wearing a red shirt and brown pants, turned toward her. "Yes?" Then, he recognized her. "Nina Alvar!" Ignatius smiled at her and immediately shook her hand. "Nina! Well, sure! It's been a few years, hasn't it?"

Snow Miser looked at him, surprised.

"Yeah. So, what have you been up to since high school?" Nina asked.

"I became an elementary school teacher," Ignatius told her. "And yourself?"

Nina paused. "I became a pilot."

"I remember you wanted to be one. We did a geography project together. Mr. Lewis said our map was the best!"

Nina beamed at the memory. Snow Miser smiled, tenderly, putting his arm around her. Nina turned her attention towards her lover. "Oh, Ignatius, this is-"

"I think he knows who I am," Snow interrupted.

Ignatius looked at him, strangely. "Wait. Your voice DOES sound familiar."

"I'll give you three guesses," Snow told him, then hummed 'Mr. White Christmas'.

Ignatius's eyes widened. He took a quick look around, then whispered, shocked, "Snow Miser?"

Snow grinned, pleased. "You got it!"

"What are you doing here?" Iggy kept whispering.

"No need to be so loud, Iggy," Snow joked. "I'm here with my sweetheart." He rubbed his nose against Nina's cheek.

Iggy was surprised. "You two are...dating?"

"Yes. How do you two know each other?" Nina asked, equally surprised.

"It's a long story. How about we discuss it tomorrow night over dinner?" Snow Miser suggested.

"Yes, you can come over to our house, and we can catch up," Nina agreed, still trying to figure out how her classmate and her fiancé met.

"Sure! I'd love to."

Nina gave Iggy the address to the house and told him what time to be there that next night. The three said their pleasant goodbyes, then Iggy went on his way.

Bewildered, Nina asked, "Snowy, how do you know Ignatius?"

He kissed the side of her head. "I'll tell you tomorrow. For now, let's focus on getting the stuff for tonight."

"Okay. We should pick up a few things for tomorrow night, too."

"That's a great idea. We're already here, anyway."

The couple did their shopping, getting everything that was needed, then left the store to go back home.