"How do you normally spend Christmas Eve?" Summer asked Jack as they laid that morning in her bed, watching the sun slowly rise and color the landscape golden, yet sparkled silver at the same time.

"Well..." He replied, caressing her side languidly with his finger while looking out at the view as well. Small, baby snowflakes danced down from the sky and twinkled in the light. "Nick is obviously always busy the 24th, so I've always spent it alone, doing what I do best."

Summer felt a small pinch in her heart. Had he really spent Christmas alone for that long? "So tonight when the rest of us meet up with our families and friends to eat a delicious dinner..."

"I'll be walking down the streets, watching you all from the windows while making sure the snow falls until the early morning."

Summer now closed her eyes. The image of him walking lonesomely down the streets, looking in at the happiness and joy, but never being a part of it... she just couldn't cope.

"Do you want to spend Christmas Eve with me?"

"Come again?" He voiced, sounding astonished.

She turned around in his arms and faced him, looking up at his gorgeous face and crystal blue eyes. "Let me rephrase myself; Can you join me for Christmas Eve? Every year since my parents died, Bev, my friend, has invited me to spend Christmas Eve with her family. If you'd like, you can come and be a part of that."

Jack looked absolutely blown away. He blinked, then his brows creased and he cupped her face. He ran his thumb over her cheek, down to her bottom lip, all the while his eyes studied her closely. Then, a small smile lifted at the corner of his lips. "You'd invite me to your Christmas Eve, even after everything? Even though you still don't have your answers?"

Summer slowly lifted her head up and pressed her lips to his. It was just a two-second kiss, but it was deep and warm. Just like him. "Of course. A smart guy once told me nobody should be alone at Christmas time."

Jack's lips twitched a little, but then a insecure frown slid across his face. "What do you think your friend will say to me coming to you guys's Christmas Eve? I don't want to impose. I shouldn't—"

"Hey," She placed a finger over his lips to shut him up. "If they ask, we're just going to tell them you're my boyfriend. Not that they won't let you join even if you weren't. What's that saying again? The more the merrier."

Jack smiled a little and Summer let out a soft chuckle, just as their lips met in another soft kiss. He cupped the nape of her neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. When he crawled on top of her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned softly. They laid like that for while, simply just kissing, cuddling, keeping each other warm. Jack's skin was still cold, but Summer almost told herself that it actually felt a little warmer than it used to. Maybe it was her own imagination, or maybe she had just gotten used to his strangely cold, electrifying skin.

"I'll have to meet up with you guys later, though," Jack whispered after a moment, pecking small kisses against her lips. "I need to make sure to spread the snow to Canada, but I'd love nothing more than to join you for Christmas Eve. If I may."

"You may," She replied, running her fingers through his soft, silvery hair. "You always may, Jack Frost. You belong where Christmas is."

His eyes flickered and then before Summer could say more, he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly.

For the next hour, none of them said a word, only spoke through their actions.

~~~

Summer was at Bev's parents house and was helping her decorate the last few things around the house, like hanging up some fairy-tinsel, lighting some candles and filling up the candy bowls with sweet treats they had baked earlier. Bev's mother was in the kitchen preparing the food, while her father was sitting in the living room in front of the fire, reading his newspaper while the yule-music sang from the turntable.

Everything was so Christmassy in their home. Bev's younger cousins were running around, tripped on sugar, playing with some toys they had brought from home. Her other relatives—her aunts, uncles, second cousins and so on—were all gathered in the living room as well, talking and jesting around, catching up and talking about the weather.

"The snow is really coming down now, isn't it?" Bev voiced to Summer as they were setting the dining table. It was almost time to eat and Jack hadn't showed up yet. Summer wasn't worried, though. She knew he wouldn't miss it.

"Yeah," She agreed and smiled a little to herself as she glanced out of the window and admired the thick, heavy snowfall. "It really is."

"Hey... are you smiling while we're talking about the snow?" Bev noticed and sounded as surprised as Summer felt when she realized as well. "Wow. Now I've officially seen everything. What changed?"

Summer was just about to open her mouth when the doorbell rang. Bev and her immediately looked at each other, Bev smiling a little smugly. "That must be him."

Summer blushed and smiled back before quickly rushing to the door. Bev ran after her, wanting to greet him as well. Summer made it there first and opened the door. The sight of him nearly swept her off her feet.

He wasn't in his usual dark blue sweater. Instead he was wearing an ice-blue shirt that complimented both his eyes and his cane. He had paired it with a pair of black pants and a black overcoat that hugged his lean, muscular frame well. His hair was for once styled and looked drop dead gorgeous, just as he did. With him, he carried a small grocery bag wherein Summer could see there were presents.

"Hey," He said and smiled at her, flipping his eyes to Bev as she appeared as well. "Oh, hey, I'm Jack. You must be Beverly."

Bev looked as stunned as Summer did the first time he looked at her. She quickly closed her mouth and then laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah, that's me. Just call me Bev. Come in!"

"Thank you," He smiled and stepped inside, Summer winking at him when she noticed he seemed a little nervous. It was a side of him she hadn't seen before. "And thank you for letting me join you and your family on Christmas Eve. It's most kind of you."

"Of course!" Bev grinned and took his coat as he took it off. "Any friend or boyfriend of Summer's is always welcome, and not just for Christmas Eve."

Summer blushed, as did Jack who chuckled a little and cleared his throat. "Uh, thank you. Oh, I nearly forgot," He instantly said and held out the bag to Bev. "These are for you and your family. There's a pot of hot cocoa in there as well," He said as Bev took the bag and looked inside it with wide eyes. "I didn't know if I had to bring anything to the table—"

"Oh, you didn't have to!" Bev said and smiled up at him, happily. "But this is wonderful! Thank you!"

"It's my way of saying thank you for letting me join you," Jack smiled back, bowing his head a little. "I really can't thank you all enough."

Bev blushed now and begun fidgeting awkwardly with her hands. "Oh, well, ha-ha, it's nothing... so, uh, I'm just gonna bring these into the tree. I'll leave you two to... talk," She glanced briefly at Summer and bit down a smirk, but then scurried away into the living room, leaving the two of them to say hi properly. Summer shook her head a little at her friend, but then turned to Jack who was smiling as well.

"Well that was subtle," He commented, and like Bev, tried to keep back a naughty smirk. "Talking about playing matchmaker."

"She's always like that." Summer shook her head again and blushed some more.

"She's great," He smiled and then stepped closer to Summer, cupping her head. He leaned down and hovered just above her lips. "And since it would be rude to disappoint the hostess..."

Summer chuckled shortly and smiled as he pressed his lips firmly against hers and kept them there for a heated moment. Their hands intwined, just as their tongues did, and for a whole half minute, nothing but the two of them existed.

But then of course, there was a loud squeal and then all of Bev's cousins came running into the hall, in the middle of what looked like a game of catch. Summer and Jack had to split up to not get trampled down or dragged along in the stream. Both of them laughed as the kids squealed and screamed when the 'catcher' came after them, hot on his toes. Jack's eyes met Summer's and she couldn't help but notice the warm glow in them, the glow of Christmas; of seeing children enjoying themselves. Of smelling the food. Of feeling warm and feeling welcome somewhere.

"Go do your thing," She smiled and nodded after the children who ran into the living room. Jack rose a questioning brow. "Go have fun."

A grin split his lips, then he stepped up to her again and pecked her lips. She suddenly felt him take her hand and put something in it. "Hold this for me?"

It was his cane. Summer looked down at it, but then nodded up at him. "Of course."

He smiled again and gave her another quick peck, but then jogged after the kids into the living room.

She heard him greet the other family members and politely introduce himself before he joined the kids in their games. Summer glanced in and found him making faces with them in front of the fire. The other adults laughed. Everyone was having a great time, nobody seemed left out.

Summer slowly looked down at his cane again and watched the crystal knob glint up at her.

His cane wasn't what was magic. It was him.

Smiling to herself, she walked into the dining room again and continued to help Bev set the last things onto the table. She glanced up at Summer, a smug little expression on her face. When Summer saw, she lifted her brow questioningly. "What?"

"You love him, don't you?"

Summer felt a surge go through her body at the question. She had asked herself that very same question that morning after he left to go fill the streets with snow; the very thing she hated. She had pushed it out of her head, but now when Bev asked, she wondered what the answer was.

And in that moment as she saw Jack in the corner of her eye lift one of the kids up, lift her up way above his head and spin her around, she knew. She knew exactly how she felt.

"Yes," She whispered and met Bev's eyes. Her smile grew. "I do."

~~~

Dinner had been amazing. Bev's mother was a wiz in the kitchen; The turkey was incredible, as were the mashed potatoes and the gravy. Summer had been responsible for the dessert, being a spectacular fruitcake which they chose to pair with Jack's hot cocoa. As Summer tasted it, she realized it was the same one as from the igloo.

"It's still amazing," She had told him and glanced sideways to watch him stop mid-chew in a large mouthful of fruitcake. Quickly chewing and swallowing, he looked back at her and replied.

"That reminds me, Nick sends you an early Christmas present," He said under his breath, just as he leaned in towards her, and then to Summer's surprise, pulled a scrap of paper out from his pocket. "The recipe for his hot chocolate. Merry Christmas."

"Shut up," She gasped as she received the folded piece of paper, opened it and saw the recipe written there. "It's Santa's own recipe for hot chocolate?"

"He spent 228 years perfecting it," He nodded and let out a small chuckle at her shellshocked expression. "He asks that you don't share it with anyone. It's top secret, but since it's you."

"Please tell him I said thank you," She breathed, shaking her head silently, completely mortified, yet thankful. "Sweet Jesus, it's too much."

"Tell him yourself later when he comes by," Jack winked and then resumed his prior engagement; eating like it was his last—or more likely—first Christmas dinner ever. Summer tucked the paper note into her own pants and followed his lead, but couldn't help but silently think how much she was beginning to like having Jack around. And Nick.

How were things going to end?

~~~

After dinner, everyone shuffled full and tiredly into the living room to rest their expanded stomachs. Some sweet treats were put out and the eggnog got passed around, but then finally, they all sat back into the couches and relaxed. This was Summer's favorite part of Christmas Eve; the part where they all sat down and sang songs, reminisced, and most importantly, told stories to the kids.

Bev's uncle, uncle Abrams, had just finished a glorious Christmas story and had everybody laughing when he turned towards Jack and suddenly smiled at him; "So, Jack. Would you like to contribute a story?"

"Uh," Jack said and cleared his throat and looked around to all the kids. "What kinds of stories would you like to hear?"

"Rudolph!" One of the kids clapped and grinned brightly up at him. The others quickly agreed. "We want a Rudolph story!"

Jack's lips spread into a wide grin. "Rudolph, yeah? I love Rudolph myself. Ever heard of the time Rudolph and his good friend Jackie the snow-elf went on a trip to Egypt to compete in a camel race?"

All the kids grinned and shook their heads. Summer palmed her own. Oh, this was going to be good. Going by the smug grin on Jack's lips, he figured the same.

"Well, then you're in for a funny ride," He begun and then crawled down onto the floor where he sat down, Indian-style. He rested his cane across his legs and then smiled excitedly at the kids. "Tis' was the night before Christmas, and Jackie the mischievous snow-elf was feeling bored. Upon an idea, he went to his good friend Rudolph and asked him if he wanted to have some fun..."

Jack continued the hilarious tale of how him and Rudolph flew across the sky to Egypt and found themselves signing up for a camel race. Only, as they were about to shoot off, some judge came up to them and told them they indeed could not compete, for Rudolph was no camel. Rudolph, however, did not care, and neither did Jackie the snow-elf, so as the start-off shot was fired, him and Rudolph took off with the rest of the camels and won the race with only a bit of cheating. By the end of the story, all of the kids were laughing, and as was Summer, though that was because she could picture it all happening with Jack as the lead-role.

Finally, the kids became too tired to stay awake and were tucked into bed. Slowly, it became time to head home, and Summer and Jack begun retreating as well. Summer knew that Jack wouldn't be able to stay the whole night because he had a responsibility when it came to the snow. She didn't know exactly how it worked, only that he had to be in the snow to keep it spreading; keeping himself in the cold, as it were.

So around midnight, Summer and Jack said their goodbyes and headed home to Summer's place. They were both quiet most of the ride home, both of them happy and satisfied from a lovely evening. As they passed several houses on the way, they saw how other families were enjoying themselves as well. Churches were playing Christmas psalms and even the streets had people caroling. The sky was visible through Jack's snowy clouds and the stars were shining brightly down at them. Tonight had been perfect.

As they finally both stepped in through Summer's front door, Summer surprised herself by closing the distance between her and Jack's lips, kissing him softly, yet passionately on the mouth. Jack seemed surprised as well for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around her, the knob of his cane poking her back. When Summer finally pulled back after a moment, Jack looked tenderly down at her. "What was that for?"

"I don't want this night to end," She whispered, looking up into his eyes. He was so beautiful. He had such boyish features and a young, albeit dirty mind, yet when she stood in his arms as she did now, all she saw was the man she loved and wanted keep here forever.

Jack smiled down at her a little, but it was a sad smile. He cupped her face gently and then pecked her lips. "I don't want it to end either, but like the seasons, it has to. Tomorrow is a new day. You never know what it might bring."

Sadly, Summer had her suspicions. "Will you come back to my bedroom when you're... done?"

He nodded and pressed his cane a little tighter against her body. "As soon as I'm done spreading the snow, I'll come back to you, Summer. I promise."

She nodded back, silently. She was already withdrawing when Jack grabbed her chin and lifted her head back up to him. Her eyes lifted to his.

"Summer," He whispered. His icy blue eyes were almost electrical in that moment, almost burning. With heat. "Merry Christmas."

And then he pressed his lips tightly to hers for a full minute, before he finally departed to go and make the snow fall. Summer went up to bed and stripped out of her clothes, and even though her bedroom was cold and it was minus degrees outside, she had never felt warmer than she did that whole night.

• • •

Merry Christmas, guys.
God bless you all. Have an amazing night with your families and friends or whoever you spend it with.
And to all my Muslim and 'other religioned' readers, have a great night, too. No matter your religion or holidays, God or Allah, or whatever he's called to you, loves you.
Amen. 🙏