Peridot was surprised when Lapis came up with the offer, and she still was, don't get anything wrong. She was still surprised that Lapis would want to do something fun like this outside of the barn with Peridot.

In the middle of spring, too. Lapis said not to worry, since her powers over water stretched to include ice manipulation as well. The lake that Lapis found while flying was beautiful, with cattails swaying in the breeze, all in harmony. The water lapped towards a muddy bank with small ripples.

Lapis wasn't saying much, which usually meant that she was excited, and she was bouncy as well. She couldn't stand still for a single moment.

"So?" Peridot urged her. Lapis nodded, her messy hair bouncing.

"Yeah." she took a cautious step towards the lake, taking deep breaths. Deep water was still one of the problems that Jasper had left her with. She almost took one step, hesitated, and pressed it slowly down. The mud made a sad sqwush under her foot, and Lapis smiled at it.

It was so strange to see her like this, so happy. So excited. Lapis did get excited once in a while, but she would always squish the emotion like she didn't want to be feeling anything. It was rare for her to be like this, happy and comfortably happy.

She took another step. Her foot hovered mere centimeters above the water, and she hesitated again. This time a tiny wave of water reached up towards her foot, and froze. Lapis nodded to herself like she was thinking on how to do this.

She stretched up her hands and the water in the lake stretched up as well. That's what it was. Stretching. She was getting ready to do something. Slowly she lowered her hands, uncertain that she could still control water perfectly like before. Fortunately the water obeyed and the lake became unnaturally flat, even with the light wind that had been causing waves before.

And Lapis took a step. The ice spread so quickly, shooting out from where Lapis's foot had touched the water, only a few inches from the bank, all the way to the other side of the lake in a second. It didn't freeze like you expected it, with sharp patches of ice spreading like disease. It bloomed. It curled in soft ways, covering everything in a still frost that made the air go so quiet that the world, for once, felt right.

Lapis lowered her arms, which she had been holding up like she was going to be performing a balancing act. She let out a deep breath and turned to Peridot with a look in her eyes. Excitement? Relief that she was still able to control water, even after the trauma of Jasper? Happiness?

She held out her hand. Peridot ran over, with unsteady steps, since she didn't have much practice with skates. Walking in them were much harder than Peridot imagined.  She reached her, and even then, Lapis still held out her hand. Lapis didn't like touching.

Peridot took her hand.

And they stepped onto the ice. It wasn't cold, but it was a smooth type of cool that made Peridot want to roll around on it for forever. Lapis looked so at home now, with the ice around her. It wasn't white ice, it was more of a pastel blue color that matched Lapis's outfit.

"I don't really-" Peridot took a breath, "I can't ice skate." Lapis just smiled.

"It's okay. I'll teach you." and again, Lapis held out her hands. Peridot let out a weak laugh. Lapis gave her smile and lead her onto the ice. "Why did you laugh?"

"It's just," Peridot nearly slipped, and Lapis had to keep her standing, "that you never want to do stuff like this. It's always just... Camp Pining Hearts and crying."

Lapis laughed at that one.

"Yeah. But ice skating is something that I always loved." Lapis lifted her hand, and with a tiny flick of her wrist, Peridot spun. She shrieked, and collapsed towards Lapis in laughs.

"Oh God. How did you do that?"

"Ice skating is just like dancing." Lapis said with a smile in her face.

"Except you're on ice and you could slip." Peridot looked down at Lapis's feet. " And how come you don't need skates?"

Lapis look down at her feet curiously, like she had never thought about it before this moment. Peridot had a pair of green skates that Steven had bought for her when he heard that they would be going ice skating (although he was a bit puzzled at why now, since it was the middle of spring). Lapis's feet were bare, but she barely seemed to notice that she was standing on ice. Perhaps the cold didn't bother her.

"It's the water manipulation. I can...sort of make it easier to walk on ice." Peridot was about to ask another question, when Lapis shouted. "Let's go!"

She easily pulled Peridot along as she ran backwards laughing. For Peridot, it wasn't so much fun. Of course she knew there was barely a chance of being actually harmed, but it was still frightening.

But after a while... it wasn't.

Peridot just learned to ice skate, to bend her knees a little so it's easier to keep her balance, and how to turn by just leaning her weight. It was instinctive.

Lapis on the other hand, it was familiar. She curved around the ice, her long blue summer dress fluttering around her, and her feet slid easily when she wanted to, and she skidded to a stop when she wanted to. Peridot did voice her disagreement once, since Lapis had ice powers it would most certainly be easier for her to skate, but it was drowned out by laughs. Lapis was laughing.

And suddenly, Peridot was too.