After a while, Skyla had nearly fallen asleep. Music still played in her ear, the fireplace still warmed her skin, and the pillow under her head was such a comfort. She may have been on the hard floor, but she could see herself falling asleep there. Easily. It was safe, warm, and Jack Frost would find her there as soon as he could. It was the perfect spot.

With the creature dealt with and Jack's safety assured, she was sure they could move on. Be a real couple. Be happy and in love. Move to Burgess and live together- though Jack would likely leave a lot to spread Winter around the world. The only reason he'd stuck around so long was because of the creature. Because of the dangers to him. Work would call him. Responsibility. The children need him. The Earth does, too. Climate control.

What would she do? Stay at the house? Decorate like Brandon said? Get a day job like she's used to using for a distraction? The money would come in handy. And she would meet people; make friends. Skyla could start a new life in Burgess, taking only part of the old one with her. Brandon. Occasionally Lauren, if she can stomach the idea of pretending they never lied to each other. Knowing Lauren still loved Jack made Sky nervous that the two would get together again. Or that Sky was keeping them -both of them or either- from their happiness.

Then sleep started to take her. She wasn't even sure how long she'd been awake, but she was tired. And the fire was so warm and the music was drowning out every little thing outside her little world. She was ready not to dream. She was ready to have a break from being conscious. Time could pass around her while she stood still. Or, lay still. She would feel like she hadn't missed a thing and yet decisions will have been made and conclusions reached.

Someone leans over her and she smiles, recognising the chill. Jack brushes her hair back, careful not to remove the earbuds. Her eyes stay closed as he kisses her forehead, cheeks, nose, then hovers over her lips. He breathes cold air over her and she giggles. It's nice. Nicer than the heat from the fire. What had she been thinking when Brandon kissed her? Heat wasn't what she needed. The touch, the kiss she needed was cold. It was Jack Frost.

Though she can't hear them, she's fully aware of her words when she says "I love you". His lips touch hers and she lets it invade her little world. It breaks through and she's happy about it. Happy to be close to him and to have those moments that they can share. And then he deepens the kiss and all thoughts she had are thrown far away. Her world follows and she feels like she joins Jack's. It's cold, it's beautiful, it's full of passion. Carefully, he takes her earbuds out. He pulls away and Skyla finally opens her eyes. His snow-colored hair, his icy blue eyes, the aura of joy around him. He is Winter.

"Love you, Sky." he tells her. It's not the first noise she hears after the music stops -the fire is crackling and the workshop beyond the door to her room is as busy as always- but his words are her favorite sound. In that moment and every time she hears them. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."

She chose to mock him, "You sure took your sweet time. You've kept me waiting, Frost." The spirit smiled and apologised, kissing her again. "Yeah, good. Start making up for it now."

"Sky... I was busy. Don't make me pay for this." he whines.

"I've made up my mind. I demand my raspberries to be served in a bowl made of purple crystal. Oh, and I want whipped cream on them, too. Oh, and you have to sing for me while I eat them!" she grins at him

He grins back, "Sure. But I'm not singing. You should."

"I can't sing while I eat, Jack."

"I know, I know. But you should sing. I miss hearing it. The last time I heard you sing was that Friday before I told you I love you. Please sing for me?" he asked softly, looking down.

Skyla sighed, thinking back to that Friday. She knows he doesn't like talking about that night, and is very surprised that he brought it up so easily. He still thought he forced her words. He still thought, at that point on Friday, that she didn't love him. "Yeah, I guess I can sing for you. I will. Eventually, I promise."

"Sky, are you sure you're alright? You love singing, but you haven't-"

"I'm fine. I just... Can't. I mean, I couldn't. Everything seems almost settled now though so maybe I can give it a shot? The world won't last long without my beautiful voice gracing it" Skyla joked. As Jack laughed she grabbed the pillow and stood up. "What do we do now, anyway?"

"Whatever you want to do, I guess." he replied, standing up next to her. "Sleep, eat, or any other human thing you can think of. Don't make a joke, I really want to do something simple right now. Something easy. Something-"

"Human?" Sky finished for him. "Okay. I'm hungry, so I want to visit the kitchen. If you want, you can wait here? Get some rest? I'll join you in a bit."

"Are you sure? I can go with you and-" the pillow hit him in the face and he grabbed it, pulling it away from him with a grin, "Fine. I'll wait here. Hurry back, Sky. You know I miss you when you go away."

A while later, Skyla was wasting time in the kitchen, 'I don't want to go back. I'll have to tell him about everything. I'll have to tell him about Brandon and about Lauren... That is not going to be fun. But he seems to want to relax for a while. Maybe it can wait? Not long, of course. I'll have to tell him-'

"Skyla?" Bunnymund waved a paw in front of her face, "You in there?"

Swallowing her surprise Skyla grinned, "Just barely. Here for some carrots? I think they've all been used up. Sorry, Bunny."

"What?!" he yelled angrily. Quickly, he hopped towards one of the fridges and yanked it open. His paws grazed every item inside before he spotted the orange sticks. Holding them up, he smirked at the brunette. The smirk quickly left him when he saw hers, "Hey!"

She held up her arms in surrender laughing, "What? It was kind of funny."

"Was not." he frowned. Sitting down at a table, he motioned for Sky to join him. "How's Jack doing?"

"Doing?" she questioned, sitting down, "Why are you asking that? I thought he was supposed to be fine now. Is something still wrong? What happened at the meeting-"

"Woah there! I was just wondering. I worry about the guy. Don't ever tell him I said that" he warned, and Skyla crossed her heart. "He is fine. We thought there would be some problem after everything that happened but he's doing well. He's somehow recovered fully, even though his heart... Well, it shouldn't have been that easy. But we're all happy to have him back. He's not fully himself again though. Keep an eye on him?"

"Both, probably. We're sticking together. Well, probably. I, umm... I really hope the anger thing is done with... And the jealousy thing..."

"Jealousy thing? What does he have to be jealous about?" Bunnymund asked. When Sky didn't answer him his eyes went wide, "What happened? What did you do, Skyla?"

"I-It wasn't my fault. I mean, maybe it was" she looked down at her hands and folded them together over the table, "He's going to hate me. Even if I can find the right words to explain it, which is usually impossible, he'll still hate me. He won't get it. Then I'll do something stupid like try to turn the argument against him- Bunny, we're trying to work things out. We are. But I don't make it easy. I am such an idiot-"

"Quit being so down on yourself" Bunnymund sighed, "You're not that awful. You're not that great, either. Don't you worry about it. Jack loves you. Whatever you did I'm sure he'll forgive you. Eventually. Give him some time. And be careful what you say. Don't piss him off."

"See, that's the thing. I don't know if I should tell him. He'll... he'll feel betrayed. I- Bunnymund, Brandon kissed me."

"What?!" he slammed his paw on the table "That bloody- He should not have done that. As long as you explain it calmly to Jack-"

"I kissed him back" she said softly. She felt Bunnymund's eyes on her and covered her face in her hands, "It was stupid, I know! I shouldn't have done it but- I don't know, I just couldn't stop myself! With everything that was happening I- There is no excuse, is there? I'm sorry, Bunny. I won't ask you to keep this from Jack, but please give me some time. I'll tell him-"

"Will you?" A voice asked from behind them.

Skyla stood up quickly and turned to him, "Jack?! I-I'm sorry! I was going to tell you but then you were happy and you wanted to relax and-"

"And? Skyla, you should have told me right away. That's what Brandon meant when he said he wouldn't make any more moves on you. He already kissed you." Jack's grip tightened on his staff and he looked down angrily, "You liked it, didn't you? That's why you kissed him back. He's the one-"

"Shut up!" Skyla yelled, surprising the two Guardians. She turned to Bunnymund, "Are you leaving or do we have to find someplace else to go?"

The Guardian of Hope grabbed the bag of carrots and stood up, "I'm not getting involved in this. Try not to kill each other" he mumbled, hopping his way out the doors. They closed behind them and Jack stared at them longingly like all he wanted to do was escape.

"Jack, you idiot. You know what we are? A broken freakin record. You're so worried that I'll turn around and choose him! There is no way in hell that is happening! I kissed him back and, yes, I liked it. That was right after you threw me through the portal. A lot has happened since then, believe it or not. So can you please get it through your thick skull that I am seriously in love with you?!"

His attention finally turned back to her and he glared, "Why am I having a hard time believing it. I gave you my heart, Sky. You didn't think of telling me all this before I did something like that? What else have you done with him behind my back-"

"That was it, Jack. Jeez, what happened to your big speech on listening to me? On working together to fix these problems? Stop looking at me like that, you know it's actually kind of scary-" He took a step towards her and she stepped back. "D-don't. Stay over there so I can yell at you."

"If you love me-"

"I do."

"-then you'll never see him again." he stated coldly. Skyla backed up again, hitting the table. Jack continued, "I mean it. I'm not taking you to see him, I'm not allowing you to call him or e-mail him or whatever else you told him. There will be no contact between you two. Understand?"

"No. I don't! And you don't either!" Skyla took a few moments to forcibly calm herself. Her hands tighten on the edges of the table and she closes her eyes. "Just don't let me go, Jack. Don't let me go and you'll have nothing to worry about. But if you push me away like this I promise you it won't always turn out well. I won't always stay. I'm trying, okay? So you have to, too."

The spirit goes completely silent for a few minutes. "I am. You idiot, I am" he tells her softly. She can hear him getting closer but doesn't open her eyes. When he's right in front of her, he stops. "I love you. I want to be the perfect couple. Or, at least a couple that works. I have issues, okay? Issues with Brandon being so close to you. You'll never forget him, you'll never give up on him. And it's the same for him towards you. I hate to say it but you two seem like you're meant to be together. You know it, too. If I hadn't been so selfish and made you say you love me- If I hadn't told you I was in trouble and made you-"

"Jack, shut up. You didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do. It was a bit rushed, but I meant my words even back then. And screw who everyone thinks I'm meant to be with. I'm with you, and I'm happy here."

"You won't kiss him again?" Jack asked.

She hesitated a moment before answering, "Never again." She would like it to be the whole truth but the fact remains that she's not sure she'll always be able to control herself around him. If he kissed her again, ever, she's not sure she'll be able to push him away on her own.

"Good. I trust you, Sky. I'm not saying I'll let you see him, but you can contact him. While I'm in the immediate area. So I can supervise you-" Skyla opened her eyes and he shut up for a while. They stared at each other and different things ran through their minds. Skyla just wanted the fighting to be over. Jack's eyes told her that it wouldn't end, but that he had hope. Hope for what, she had no idea.

"You can kiss me, you know." she smiled at him, her hands falling away from the table.

"No. I shan't." He smirked. Skyla frowned and he moved his face closer to hers, "I think we should just hug. I want to kiss you, but I've been thinking. A kiss can't fix everything, right? So let's not. Not for a few days. To see if we can make it long without it."

"Is this a game, Jack Frost?"

"Yes. One that you'll lose."

"You're the one that's going to lose. You obviously can't get enough of me. You won't last 24 hours." she smirked at him.

"Fine. Let's see who cracks first." he continued smirking as he backed away from her. Suddenly he stopped and his face turned serious, "I said no kissing, right? We can still hug and stuff. Please?"

"And stuff?" Skyla questioned. It's true they did other stuff even before they started kissing. Like he would hold her at night. Brush her hair back, tuck it behind her ears. Tie it up for her. He held her hand, too. She could handle not kissing him for a while, she was sure of it. Could he?

"Well, you know. I like watching you sleep... Having you in my arms... Just stick close to me, okay?"

"Well, duh. Kissing isn't everything. Are you sure you want to do this?"

He walked forwards and wrapped his arm around her in a hug, "It'll be fun. Even more fun when I win. What will my prize be? Do I get to choose?"

"It's your game, Jack" she replied, holding onto him happily, "Think on it. When one of us wins, then we can name the prize we want. Whatever you can think of. Umm, within reason."

"Of course, Sky. I won't ask you to do anything too extreme. Actually I can't promise that" he smirked at her again, letting go. "What about you? Any ideas on what you'll ask me to do?"

"Many. I'm not telling you though. You'll find out when you lose the game."

"I'm not going to lose. I won't lose to you. Not this time. I went 300 years without interaction of any sort. I can hold out longer than you can, I'm sure of it."

"That's exactly why you'll lose, Jack. You're just getting used to having me so close. And you like kissing me, you don't want to give it up. Oh yeah. You'll lose."

The two argued for a while about who would win in the end. Both were certain the other had no chance. Eventually they were kicked out of the kitchen by some elves and walked hand in hand back to Skyla's -temporary- room. Jack took a detour though and they ended up in the great room overlooking the working yetis.

"Hey, Sky." Jack started, smirking. He didn't look her way but continued, "Isn't this romantic? All the lights, the mistletoe. The sounds of the yetis tinkering with toys? You and me, side by side-"

"I'm not going to kiss you, Jack. Not now, not ever. That is; not until after you kiss me first. I'm not losing this game."

"This isn't a game, Skyla" he tells her, leaning in slightly, his eyes finally on hers. "I really want you to kiss me. Forget the game." His voice softens, "I love you. Kiss me"

A single eyebrow raised, she questioned, "Why don't you kiss me? Show me that you care about me. Jack," she leans in, too, "show me that you love me."

He hesitates for a minute, looking from her eyes down to her lips and back up again several times. He's already so close and yet he leans in closer. His lips are mere inches from hers when he smiles, "You're not going to tempt me" then jumped over the railing and flew away.

"Show off!" she yelled after him. "Damn. It almost worked. Maybe next time..." Looking around her, she noticed multiple yetis and elves staring at her. "We're playing a game." she explained, blushing. They accepted it with different levels of understanding.

About an hour later, in her room, Skyla was beginning to think that Jack was plotting something. Either that or he was running out the clock until she gave in, which was something she did not intend to do. She started making plans as well. He almost gave in, she was sure. One, maybe two more tries like that and she'll win the game for sure.


Notes:
I just
I really want fun and games for a while.
This is a good start.
Okay so losing the data on my USB hit me hard.
Like, it really sucked.
But I'm alive so
(yes, stupid me hadn't backed up those files in a while
shush)
Everything is fine.
Thank you so very much for reading!
I love you all!
Really and truly
*hearts*