Winter

Despite the beautiful sand dunes and the soothing sound of ocean, Peridot couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with the fact that she was spending her winter with Lapis at the Gem Temple instead of at the barn. At Beach City, there was hardly any snow, and when there was, it often melted before the day ended. The nearby ocean prevented freezing temperatures or snow to fall, which wasn't so bad except for the fact that both Peridot and Lapis were both looking forward to having a snow day.

The barn was in no shape to serve as a home during the dead of winter, and despite their attempts at fixing the giant hole in the ceiling, along with leaks, and cracks in the barn, it was too much work to finish before snow started to fall. At first it wasn't too bad, the chilly mornings were refreshing to wake up to, after a while they realized that their gems would probably end up damaged from the cold weather. Plus the snow was difficult to clear out when it fell through the roof's giant hole that they had punched through it a year and a half ago. They lasted two and a half weeks in the cold barn, which had a severe lack of electricity in certain times of the year. They both agreed to move to the Temple the day they woke up, and they realized that the blanket they had been sleeping with was frozen and stiff.

Beach City had a nice view, and cold temperature, but there was never enough snow. Usually in the early mornings you could find a thin layer of snow that had fell during the night, but it would quickly melt as the sun came out and the sand warmed up. Lapis wasn't too disappointed, after all they would have time to fix the barn, and winter wasn't going to go anywhere next year, but Peridot could tell that she was a lot less than ecstatic.

They couldn't go back to the barn, even for a visit. If they were to go by car, who knows how much snow would fall. They could be stranded. If Lapis flew them, her wings could freeze during mid-flight. A walk to the barn would be impossible. But Peridot was determined to find a way to bring Lapis some snow.

Lapis was unusually quiet for a few days after they settled in. She spent most of her time trying to avoid the Crystal Gems. Peridot wasn't sure if it was because she resented them, or if it was because she was trying to avoid anything that might bring up bad memories.

"Lapis?" The morning was unusually colder that day, and the couch that they shared was the perfect size since Peridot jumped at any excuse to cuddle with Lapis. The blanket they shared was wrapped tightly around them, and Lapis was still asleep, her breathing even and steady. "Lapis?" Peridot repeated.

"Hm?" Lapis hummed, still not opening her eyes. She shifted around a little and wrapped the blanket a little tighter around the two of them.

"Don't you want to go see some snow?" Peridot settled down, facing Lapis on the cramped couch and brushing away a lock of hair that was in Lapis's face.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it now. There's no snow here, and the barn needs to be fixed before we can go back." Lapis's eyes fluttered open, and they shared a moment in silence. The two of them, face to face, snuggled on a couch sharing a blanket.

"Are you sure there's no snow here? Cause I'm sure that I might have seen some outside."

"Yes, I'm sure Peridot." Lapis still turned to the door to look outside. "See there's no-" She quickly turned to look at the door again. Outside was a fluffy layer of fresh snow, not the thin layer that she had become used to during her stay in Beach City. She turned to glare at Peridot, who was desperately trying to hide her smile with a tiny corner of the blanket.

"Did you do this?"

"Do what?" Peridot was on the verge of laughing, and Lapis couldn't piece it together. Did Peridot make it snow? Was that even possible? Did Peridots have weather manipulation powers?

Lapis rushed outside, while Peridot futilely tried to untangle herself from the blanket, and fell to the ground with a whine. She waited until Peridot managed to get both of her legs free and use the blanket as a cape.

The door creaked open, stopping after only a few inches because of the snow that laid on the ground. Lapis looked back on Peridot, who was only looking more and more pleased with herself every passing second.

Outside was a winter wonderland. The statue was covered in a few inches of snow, as well the sand below. It was fluffy and soft, and Lapis hesitated stepping on it. It easily gave way under her foot with a satisfying crunch.

"How did you do this, Peridot?" Lapis asked, turning around and searching for something, anything that might give away a hint on how this was done. The sky was still dark, but there weren't any signs of snow clouds.

"Look up."

On top of the Gem Fusion Statue, carved into the side of the cliff, was a large metal box with a tube coming out of the top. Lapis wasn't quite sure how a giant metal box could be the cause of so much snow.

"It's a snow maker. I made it last night with some scrap metal that Amethyst had in her room." Peridot stuttered a little as Lapis had no reaction but to stare at the machine. "Do-do you like it?"

"I love it!" Lapis tackled her, and sent them rolling through the snow.