A/N: Hey guys. It's a long one! You're gonna love the fluff in this chapter... This is where the romance comes in ;) Sorry I haven't been posting.

Homework. Tests. More Homework. More Tests. You know, the usual. But I still love all you guys! Hope you stick around! Big things are coming!

Before stepping through the portal, Lily stopped herself and slowly turned around. "You wouldn't happen to know where Jack is would you?" she asked.

Sandy nodded his head and spelled out BURGESS with his sand. Lily smiled and thanked the golden took one step into the portal, landing the next on hard wood.

Lily quickly ducked into the room behind her. She was going to get a little revenge. Jack could wait. After all, all the guardians had complained that he was always late.

Lily went to the open window and grabbed a handful of snow from the sill. By now, she was used to cold things staying frozen in her hands.

Looking down, she realized, she had been in the same dress for almost an entire week. It wasn't dirty but it felt old to Lily.

She closed her eyes and pictured white jeans that hugged her skin, a thin white shirt and a white jacket with a faux fur hood.

She never wore shoes so she left her feet alone. She opened her eyes again and found that her white dress was gone and was replaced by her new white outfit.

Lily wondered if she would ever get sick of the color white. She was still holding the snow so she put it in her jacket pocket.

Slowly, she opened the door, cringing when it creaked loudly. She quickly slipped outside, sticking to the shadows.

The white outfit didn't exactly help her blend in. Pressing to the wall, she swiftly made her way to North's office. She could hear him humming a familiar tune.

He was probably working on his ice sculptures. She bolted through the door and chucked her snowball for all it was worth.

She smiled as she saw it reach its target. North's face was covered with snow, his hands frozen in mid air.

Lily closed her eyes and laughed until her stomach hurt. When she opened them again she saw North smiling too. There was something off about his eyes, though.

They were a little brighter than usual... Lily shrugged it off. Nothing to worry about. North sang in a deep alto voice, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire."

He looked at Lily expectantly and she realized he wanted her to finish. "Jack Frost nipping at your... wait a minute..."

Lily's eyes widened and she didn't have time to move when a whirl of blue fabric and white hair rammed right into her and out the open window.

Luckily, it was only a ten foot drop into a snow bank, so it didn't hurt much. Lily heard the very familiar laugh of the very irritating winter spirit.

She jumped out of the snow, whipping her head from side to side, trying to find the jerk. She felt a tap on her shoulder and she whirled around.

There he was. White hair, blue eyes, blue hoodie, pale skin, and a very wide grin plastered on his face. "I can't let you win every time," he said.

- - -—- - -

Jack and Lily were standing at the base of the most magnificent thing she had ever seen. Jack had made a tree out of ice.

He made the tree smooth rather than textured but the branches were so beautifully sculpted that she wondered if it was a tree coated in ice rather than one made from it.

The slightest of branches held tine crystalline icicles that glistened in the sun.

Lily didn't realize her mouth was open until she heard Jack chuckle and say, "Flies could just buzz right in there!"

She snapped her jaw shut with an audible click but kept her eyes bugged. Jack sighed, sat down and said, "I can be serious when I want to be."

She nodded and sat down with him. "Jack, it's beautiful. It is the most spectacular thing I have ever seen." she said. She watched as he grinned like a child.

"I made it just for you!" he said, still beaming with pride. Lily laughed. "Well I love it." she said. He blushed and rubbed that nonexistent itch on the back of his neck.

"Soooo... training, huh." he says, clearly changing the subject.

"I wasn't really planning on teaching you anything, really. There's nothing I can teach."

Lily looked at him and sighed."That's true."

And then she smiled. "But you could teach me why THE HELL YOU HELPED NORTH ESCAPE MY REVENGE!" she yelled jokingly.

"Easy, Lily. I did it for myself. You have beaten me in racing, snowball fights, wrestling. You've even managed to trick me! ME! The king of fun and pranks! I just had to beat you."

Lily rolled her eyes. Boys and their pride.

"Actually," Jack said. "I can teach you something! We could figure out everything you can do with your powers! Then I can teach you some new tricks I know!"

Lily beamed. "Sounds like fun!" They sprinted across the frozen land and entered the forest not far from Jack's ice tree.

A small meadow with frosted flowers peaking out from the blanket of snow carpeting the ground would serve as their lab.

"Now I know you can shift forms," Jack said, "so let's see which forms are the best for you to shift into."

Lily nodded. "You already know I can do the falcon and the owl. And I changed into a mare with bunny. I'm going to think of something different."

The winter spirit sitting next to her nodded and waited. Lily closed her eyes and though of a beautiful white tiger.

Black stripes contrasting against fur as white as the soft snow she was sitting on. When she opened her eyes, she found Jack staring at her in amazement.

She guessed it had worked. She glanced down at two furry paws that were almost invisible against the snow.

She knew that tigers weren't built for speed. They were built for stealth and tactic.

She took one step and was pleased to find that her paws made no sound as they touched down into the snow. Jack smiled too.

He stood up and said, "You're it. Try to scare me." The wind picked him up off his feet and he was gone. Lily's nose told her where he was.

He was hiding about a quarter of a mile away. His scent was surrounded by the familiar smells of pine and snow. She started her journey towards his scent.

In no time, she was not more than twenty feet from him. He hadn't spotted or heard her so far.

Jack would be expecting a large white tiger with black stripes so she tried to think of a way to actually scare him.

Tigers were known to use camouflage to sneak up on their prey. So Lily decided that she would go incognito.

She looked around for something to conceal her bold black patterns. She was going to blend into the snow. Her fur was waterproof but it wasn't ice proof.

Lily quietly laid on the ground and buried herself in snow. After a few seconds of silent rolling, she got up and looked at her paws again.

She was pleased to see that the snow had stuck to her fur and covered her black stripes. She was ready.

Lily swiftly and quietly circled back out another twenty or so feet. She knew Jack was hiding in a tree and was facing the towards her.

She also knew he would be expecting her from behind. She stalked towards him and stopped behind a large tree that was about fifteen feet away from him.

She could just see the blue of his hoodie sticking out of the top of a tree. She gradually got closer to him. Silent but deadly. Ten feet.

She quickly turned into her falcon and lifted into the air. She thought that her falcon form would be much louder than the tiger but she was wrong.

There was no sound as her giant wings sliced through the cold air. She shot up into the sky, above the tree line. Lily scanned the trees for the slightest movement.

A little bit of blue. The tip of a staff. She spotted Jack within minutes. She slowly glided towards the tree he was perched in.

He had surprisingly not noticed her yet. Lily sped up and did a dive bomb. She tucked her wings against her body and free fell at nearly 200 miles per hour.

Jack looked up and she saw his eyes widen with fear. She smiled mentally and then spread her wings out again.

The pressure, speed, and the force of the air suddenly hitting her wings full on would have and should have killed her if she were mortal.

Jack let out a strangled gasp and then sighed hugely in relief. Lily landed at the base of the tree and shifted back into a human.

She was already grinning when her face appeared. Jack jumped out of the tree and alighted next to her.

They sat down in the snow together in an awkward silence. After a little bit, Jack said, "So... I guess I should probably give up now."

Lily shook her head and said, "No. You never know. You could get really, really lucky!"

Jack sighed and shook his head.

Lily didn't hear him when he mumbled, "I'll never be good enough for you."

- - -—- - -

Jack's POV

The wind carried us towards North's Workshop. I looked down at the sleeping girl in my arms. Must it was tiring to shift around.

Lily is so perfect. She's beautiful, smart, brave, and funny. But I know that I could never be right for her.

I mean, she does have the same powers as I do, but that doesn't mean that we're perfect for each other. She's all that. And I'm all... well... this.

I normally don't worry about this kind of thing, being my status as the guardian of fun. But this, this is different. I have a feeling that I can't really describe.

I blurt out phrases to her before I can think about what I'm saying... my skin turns a color it never has before. My cheeks feel warm when I am around her.

For the first time in ages, and only around Lily, I... blush. I don't know why I do.

It feels like my stomach is hollow and achy when I'm not around her and amazingly warm when I am.

I've run it through my head thousands of times.

Am I... in love? My heart's been frozen since the day I died. My soul, probably lost forever.

But could it possibly have been thawed by this one girl? Could Manny have given me yet another gift?

A gift far better than control over winter? Suddenly I feel grateful that he brought me back.

Because if Manny hadn't made me Jack Frost, I would never have gotten to meet Lily Winter.