The frosty air hit Jess' nose, lifted up her hair around her and she shivered. She heard Nick grunt nearby and when she looked she saw him trying to suck his head into his shoulders, eyes closed against the wind.

"Nick," she chided. "You need a scarf."

"I don't have one," he grumbled

"Oh, I do," she said, heading to the cabin.

"Jess, I'm not going to wear a WOMAN'S scarf," he shouted after her.

Jess returned with a pink-fringed, purple knit scarf. She faced him and looped the scarf over his head as he made an extreme turtle face. She smiled and looked into his eyes, saw them soften. She lost her breath for a second before giving the scarf a second loop and tucking the ends into his jacket.

They walked along the shore again, having trudged through the knee-deep snow in the yard. The treeline was beautiful, the pine trees having been weighed down with a thick layer of snow, creating a space beneath the lowest branches that felt like crawling through one of the forts he and his brothers used to make as kids.

They were properly prepared for the weather this time, not feeling the chill the same way they had during their walk the previous evening.

Nick found Jess' hand in his again, but this time she had been the one who had slipped her hand into his. He looked over and she smiled. Their hands remained linked throughout their whole walk, even when she bent down to collect rocks along the shore where the snow was melting at the water's edge. They had two layers of glove in between their hands, but just the connection with her, unbroken through every small event of their walk was something precious. He pulled her arm closer to him then, holding it up against his chest so that she had to turn towards him. The look of intensity in her eyes floored him but didn't knock him off-course. He bent his head forward and captured her lips with his. It took her a moment to respond and his heart dropped in his chest until she opened her mouth slightly to softly take his bottom lip in between hers. She threw her arms around his neck and it felt like he couldn't hold her tightly enough. But their mouths pressed more firmly together, the increased passion not sacrificing the tenderness behind it. It was so much like their first kiss, but not as tentative. He boldly pulled her hips against his, then wrapped his arms around her lower back to hold her there. He heard her make an overwhelmed whimpering sound, and he slid both hands up to hold her face to slow down their kiss to a more languid pace. She chased his mouth with hers as he began to back away, and he placed one more quick kiss to her lips. When her eyes opened, he held eye contact, slowly sweeping his thumbs over her cheeks until she smiled brilliantly. She held his wrists in place as she rose on her toes to kiss the tip of his nose. He felt his own mouth curl up into a smile at the adorable gesture.

She grabbed his hand again, pulling him with her to continue the walk.

"This is nice," he said.

She nodded once. "It is. It's been a long time since I've seen snow."

"Me too," he said. "I always loved winter when I was a kid. So much snow. My brother and I would go outside and play in it for hours. Snowball fights, sledding down the hill in our neighbor's yard..."

Jess smiled. "Sounds really fun. I didn't have any siblings to play outside in the snow with, but I would build my own igloos, bring in my tiny inflatable chair, and give myself a concert. I was just fascinated by the acoustics of a hole in the side of a pile of snow."

Nick laughed and squeezed her hand. "I wish I could have known you back then."

"She smiled up at him. "It's okay. You know me now."

"Yup, I do," he said, smiling.

Later that evening, a fire burned in the fireplace and they sat close on the couch, her with a glass of wine and him with a bottle of beer. Her feet were tucked under his legs and she was wrapped up in her blanket. They'd just finished playing a game of Phase 10, and the cards were strewn across the coffee table.

"What's up?" she asked, wiggling her toes underneath his leg to get his attention.

"Nothing... I'm fine," he said, staring into the fire.

"Come on, Nick. Something's up." She put her glass on the coffee table, looking at him intently.

He was silent for a moment. His mind had been occupied by playing the card game, but now they were quiet and his mind had the chance to spin out of control. What was happening between him and Jess? He felt like there was no going back from this. He'd be absolutely crushed if she didn't return his feelings, if they weren't on the same page. After taking another swig of his beer, he looked straight at her. "Jess, what are we?"

"What?

"I mean... come on, Jess, you know what I mean." He said as he began to pick the label off of his beer bottle.

She stammered as she began to answer, clearly caught off-guard, "I'm not sure, Nick. What do you think?"

"I asked you first."

"Are you kidding me?" her voice got louder, her face turning red.

"No, Jess, I'm not." he said, running his hand over his face.

"It should be clear to you what we are, Nick. After these past couple days." She pulled her feet out from under his thighs, bringing her wine glass to the sink. Wrapping her comforter more tightly around herself, she stomped down the hallway to her room, slamming the door.

Nick leaned his head back, sighing as it hit the back of the couch. "Screwed up, as usual," he muttered. He threw back the rest of his beer and slammed the bottle too loudly into the sink.

Jess changed into some flannel pajamas and slid into bed. She lay awake, thinking about the day, about waking up in his arms, spending the day together with that spark in between them, and then that kiss... that kiss.

It had to mean something. There's no way it didn't. But he couldn't even admit it. Sure, he was the one who asked what they were, but it's still partly her fault because she was too afraid to answer him truthfully. Too afraid of getting hurt again, as it had always been the theme in her love life that she was always the one who loved more.

Frustrated with herself and not able to sleep, she sat on her bed with her chin resting on her knees, looking out the window at the moonlight reflecting off the snow. There was still a chill in her room, and since she couldn't sleep, she decided to go to the kitchen to make some tea. She tiptoed out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen where Nick had left a dim light on.

As she was heating up some water in the microwave, her hands resting on the counter, looking down, she suddenly felt a presence at her right. She jumped when she saw Nick standing next to her.

"What are you doing sneaking up on me?!" she asked, scoffing, her frustration over their earlier conversation tainting her mood.

"I wasn't sneaking up on you! I was walking normally! You're the one standing next to the microwave while it's running."

"Ugh, Nick!" she shouted, stomping her foot, her hands in fists at her sides.

"Jess, just-" he growled in frustration, while rooting through the cabinet. He pulled out a box of her tea and she watched as he took a tea bag out of the paper wrapper.

Since when does Nick drink tea?

The microwave beeped and before she had a chance to open it, he gently placed his hand over her wrist and drew it away from the handle. Gently, he swept his fingers over the sensitive part of her wrist while he opened the microwave with his other hand.

"Nick, what- Uhm, my tea. That's my tea." She swallowed, still feeling the tingle of his fingers on her wrist.

"I know," He said quietly, dropping her wrist to her side. She watched as he placed the tea bag into the hot water, dipping in and out as it steeped. He added a teaspoon of sugar, just how she liked it, and stirred.

"You're making me tea?"

"I'm making your tea, Jess."

She was embarrassed to feel tears in her eyes, and she blinked them back as he pushed the mug toward her. She glanced up at him, still feeling the sheen of tears in her eyes, and the way he smiled at her- so warm- began to stir up everything from before. From that non-conversation they had before going to bed.

She took a sip of her tea, and drew strength from it, looked straight at Nick. "Can we re-open that conversation from earlier?"

Nick stood with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. "Ok, sure."

They both headed over to the couch, facing each other from opposite ends. With her cup of tea cradled in her hands, she took a deep breath. "Nick, let's just cut to the chase, here. I meant what I said before. Everything that has happened in the past few days, every signal I've sent? I meant it."

Nick was silent, a smile touching his lips. "Me too," he said, finally.

"So..." she started, sipping her tea.

"So."

"Are we going for this?"

He gently took the mug out of her hands, placing it on the table, then pulled her into him.

"Ok. Because I like you, Nick."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, a soft lingering touch of his lips to hers. "I like you too. A lot."

She giggled and kissed him back more aggressively.

He stood up, pulling her with him, lifting her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. They kissed all the way into his bedroom, her hands in his hair, his around her back. He gently placed her on the bed and looked at her, silently confirming her consent. She smiled and yanked him by his shirt so that he landed on top of her.

The next morning, Nick woke up to being more wrapped up in Jess than he had been the night before. His arms wrapped around her thighs, her arms holding his head against her chest, their legs woven together.

After a few minutes of enjoying their intimate position, of reflecting back on their night together, her fingers began to slip through his hair. In response his hand travelled to her side and fisted in the t-shirt of his that she'd pulled on in the middle of the night. His eyes drifted closed again as she leaned down to kiss his head and turned her body into his. He had never felt such contentment before.

Their blissful, sleepy bubble was burst when they heard a noise outside. "What was that," she asked, untangling herself from his limbs.

He tried to pull her back into him. "I don't know. I don't care... Come here." He pulled on her waist to bring her back towards him, and she laid back against his chest.

"I think it was the snow plow."

"Mm-hmm," he murmured.

"That means we can go home today."

"Jess..." he wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

"Or... we could stay in bed all day and go home tomorrow."

"Best idea you've ever had," Nick said, wrapping a strand of her hair around his finger.

They could get back to reality tomorrow, worry about how to deal with their loftmates finding out about about Nick and Jess' new relationship status. But for now, they could just enjoy each other, one more day in their own little bubble. Never in his life had Nick been so grateful for a snowstorm.