With Valentine's Day approaching, Match is looking forward to being a mushy, romantic cliché with the boyfriend of his dreams. The fight to get his pay increased hasn't been going well, and he's long fed up with the bitter cold of winter, but snuggling with Ronan after a day spent picking herbs and flowers is pretty good compensation. Until he returns to his apartment only to find an eviction notice, despite having done nothing to merit it—and then the town is struck by a deadly Jack Frost, and the Guard goes to work in earnest to stop it. But when he stops at shop after shop for help, for food, as he works through the day and night, Match is turned away and thrown out by people he thought were his friends… word count: 15,209