Of all the meteorological events Peridot had experienced in her time on Earth, snow had to be the most paradoxical.

Since her first encounter with the rain all those months ago, Peridot had kept an eye on the different weather patterns. From the light drizzles to the heavy storms to the cloudy days to the blazing heat waves, Peridot always took note of the weather. Why, however, was a question she couldn't quite answer. The best reason she could produce was this strange nostalgic feeling it gave her.

The snow, however, was quite different.

It was the middle of December in the not-so-quiet town of Beach City. The human, Lars, had been stranded on Homeworld for several months, and the last they had heard of Lapis Lazuli was just short of that. Much was changing back then. Since, however, not so much.

Things in Beach City had returned to a comfortable monotony. People would awaken, go to work, return home, and relax with their families; they were keen to enjoy their simple lives. This was even true of those without such normalities, like the Universe household. Steven Universe would wake up, carry on the day's mission with the Gems, and return home to cap off the evenings.

And Peridot hated it.

It wasn't that Peridot longed for the days their lives were under constant threat by Malachite and the Cluster. She didn't even care much for the daily juggle that was living with Lapis. She just wanted something, anything, to break up the endless routine of each passing day.

So Peridot fixated on the snow.

It was, perhaps, a juvenile thing. Once Steven had left for the day, Peridot would leave her little domain within the bathroom, sit on his bed, and glare at the falling snow out of his large windows for hours. It was a strange thing, snow. It was cold, wet, and absolutely blinding in the height of the day. It got absolutely everywhere and was a pain to remove, as Peridot witnessed when Steven was forced to clear his porch after the first snowfall. It seemed to have no positives whatsoever.

And despite that, Peridot couldn't help but keep watching. That's what was so paradoxical about the snow. It was irritating in every objective way Peridot could comprehend, but it still captured her attention, her curiosity, and her awe.

She had to admit, it was very pretty.

"Hey Peridot."

Steven's voice caught her attention, causing her to turn from her spot on his bed. She was wrapped in several layers of blankets and covers, leaving only her eyes to face the boy calling her. Steven had a small giggle as she turned, as she more resembled a burrito than the Gem he knew. "My dad wants me to pick up some stuff from in town, and I was wondering if you wanted to tag along."

Today was a unique day, one of the very few where Steven stayed home the entire time. Missions with the Gems slowed down around the winter, as Steven couldn't handle the harsher northern locations. So instead, he spent his day hanging out at the house. Not that his presence would disturb Peridot's new snow watching tradition.

"It's too cold," she simply said, turning away. It wasn't untrue, per say. Sure, as a Gem she could withstand the all-consuming coldness of space, but that didn't mean it wasn't massively unpleasant. The same was true here, just to a lesser degree. No, she'd remain inside, wrapped in Steven's coverings.

"That's why we have sweaters, silly," Steven replied, walking over to his nightstand. He rummaged around for a moment, pulling Peridot's attention as she turned to face him. He pulled out a soft turquoise coloured jumper, waving it through the air before presenting it to her. "Come on, I know you don't have a problem with wearing my clothes."

Peridot blushed with irritation as she reached outside of her blanket cocoon to take the sweater from his outstretched hands.

"Fine. If only to put an end to this monotony," she said, emerging from the covers. She looked at the piece of clothing for a moment before slipping it on, taking a moment to fit her hair through the neck hole. As she stepped off Steven's bed, she tugged at the collar. It was obvious this was meant for him, as the hole for the neck was far too big for her.

"Oh!" Steven exclaimed, realizing the problem. He turned back to the nightstand and began searching through it again. "I've got just the thing."

Steven returned with a lime coloured scarf held between his hands. He walked up to Peridot, who raised a brow at the strange piece of clothing.

"May I?" Steven said, offering to help her put it on. She nodded, unsure of what he was going to do. She stumbled in surprise as Steven got right up to her face with the scarf, wrapping it around her neck from the front. She held her breath as Steven stood inches from her, fastening the cloth around her. Pleased with his work, Steven took a step back, giving Peridot a chance to regain her breath.

Her face was plastered with a bright blue blush which she tried to ignore, instead concentrating on what Steven had equipped onto her. The scarf cuddled her neck in the most intimate way and yet wasn't tight enough to choke her. It was the perfect balance of warmth and comfort. Peridot pursed her lips as she looked up at Steven.

"Wow, thanks."

Peridot had to admit, the snow was perhaps not as unpleasant as she first believed. Perhaps, stepping outside unclothed during that first snowfall had something to do with it. Still, she found her current experience with it far more pleasing.

She and Steven stepped down the white beachside, keeping close to minimize the wind chill. He had his hands stuffed in his pink hoodie, the hood of which was tightly bound around his head. Peridot had her hands buried under her arms, keeping them protected until they got to the warmer city.

As the two finally made it to the boardwalk, they breathed a sigh of relief. Sure it wasn't warm per say, but it was definitely better than standing out where the wind hit them in full force. Here the buildings kept the chill off their backs, letting them walk with their hands exposed and their heads up. Still, they kept close. Not that they needed to, it just felt nice.

Peridot's gaze shifted from place to place, observing the city and how it had changed since the last time she'd been there in the summer. Beyond the obvious addition of snow to the ground everywhere, there were many subtle changes. For one, all the windows that had been left open previously to let in the occasional breeze were now tightly shut, keeping out the bitter cold.

A lot of the outdoor furniture pieces, like the tables outside Fish Stew Pizza, had also been put away. Peridot could understand quite well why no one would want to sit outside the buildings in this weather.

There was, however, one thing that stood out the most: Strange rings and ropes of green plant life seemingly sprouting out of each building. Peridot knew life on this planet was strange, but there was no way these could've sprouted and grown so quickly since the summer. Not to mention the fact that they should've died off in the chilling winter.

"What are those things?" Peridot asked, pointing to the befuddling green decorations. At that moment she noticed strange lights that were buried in some of them.

"Oh, that?" Steven began, looking up at the building they passed. "Those are just the decorations. Ms. Nan, er, Mayor Nanefua is having the town get decorated for a winter festival, and she wants the town to look really nice."

The two took a right at the fry shop, passing a wreath that greeted them with bright flashing lights.

"Winter festival?" she asked, curiosity taking her. Steven nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. Things are pretty drab around Beach City during the winter." Steven ran his fingers through a garland the two passed. "So she thought having a big celebration would lighten things up!"

Peridot pursed her lips, observing the different types of decorations they walked past. Some caught her attention more than others, depending on how much snow had coated the evergreens. One, however, stood out first to her. She pointed to the garland Steven was still running his fingers through as they passed.

"What's that one?" she asked. Steven thought to himself for a moment before responding.

"It's called a garland I think," he began, shaking snow he had picked up from the decoration. "People don't get to see a lot of green this time of year, so they set these up to make each other feel happier."

Peridot nodded. She could understand the desire to remind oneself of when the weather was better. Heck, she was feeling pretty nostalgic for the warm summers herself right now. And she had to admit, it was efficient to have them in public to maximize everyone's chances of being reminded.

Peridot was confident in her understanding of garlands now.

Steven and Peridot found themselves in Dewey Park next, passing through a thin clearing in the snow that forced them to stand close together. After a few minutes of walking, they came across an ice patch. Peridot felt her face burn up as she gripped onto Steven's side, trying to keep balance as they passed it.

She nearly slipped at one point, but Steven was there to support her. She decided against letting go of his arm after that, until at the very least they got somewhere less icy. Besides, holding him was warm anyway.

"What about that?" she asked as they left the park. Her outstretched finger pointed towards a wreath that adorned the door of a small building they passed. It was like the garland in that it was a piece of green plant life. This, however, was found in a ring shape exclusively, and only seemed to decorate the front of doors.

Steven looked over at the decoration before smiling.

"Oh, that's a wreath," he explained. "They're like garlands, because they remind people of the warmer weather."

"But why are they all on doors?" Peridot replied. Steven gave it a moment of thought before answering.

"Well, after someone's out in the cold for so long, like when they walk to visit someone's house, the wreath's there to greet them at the door!" Steven cheered, nodding to himself. "Like a fun little welcome gift at the front."

Peridot nodded slowly in response, not quite understanding this as well as the previous decoration. It seemed slightly redundant, a specialized garland more than anything. Still, its purpose made sense to her. She wasn't going to question it.

The two walked in silence for some time. Despite leaving the thin paths through the park a while ago, the two still kept very close to one another. Peridot stayed latched onto Steven's arm, partially for the warmth he gave off and also for the strange pleasant feeling it left in her chest.

As the two began to pass more storefronts, a new decoration caught Peridot's eye. This one had been present back at the boardwalk, but it was drowned out by the sheer number of wreaths and garlands. Now that she knew those, however, this one stood out.

It was a green plant like the other two though far smaller and more sparse. Rather than pine needles with pinecones decorating it, this one had dark leaves with small red specks alongside it. Finally, it had a red ribbon adorning it, pinning it above the corner of the block they approached.

As the two stopped beneath it, Peridot turned to Steven once again.

"What's that one for?" she asked, pointing upwards. Steven's eyes widened as he looked up, recognizing the plant instantly. He immediately grew a bit nervous as he let out a half anxious chuckle.

"Oh, uh, I don't think you want to know what we do with that one," he replied, chuckling and scratching the back of his head. Peridot frowned, tugging at the scarf wrapped around her neck.

"What? Of course I do!" she said. "What do humans do with this decoration?"

Steven smiled.

"You sure you wanna know?" he asked, giving her a chance to back out.

"Yes."

"Are you really sure?" he asked one last time, hiding a grin.

"Yes! Now tell me you—" Peridot's words came to a sudden halt as Steven leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.

The two of them had found themselves under a mistletoe.

Peridot recoiled ever so slightly at first before giving in to the kiss. That strange pleasant feeling in her chest exploded outwards along with the blush on her face as she closed her eyes. The two held that position for a solid minute before Steven broke it off, leaving Peridot leaning forward in confusion and shock.

He laughed as he separated from her, watching as her fingers moved up and tenderly touched her lips. Her eyes were full of stars as she stared into the distance, trying to understand what had just happened.

"And that's what a mistletoe is for," Steven simply said, stepping away. Peridot didn't move, her eyes filled with wonder as she felt her lips. Steven laughed before grabbing her free hand. "Come on Peridot, we still gotta get that stuff for my dad."

She finally came to attention as Steven pulled her from her frozen state. She looked at him for a moment before nodding, grabbing onto his arm and laying her head on his shoulder. She heard Steven chuckle as they continued walking.

Peridot was beginning to like the winter.