When they got down to the lake, it was completely frozen over. The ice was white like frosted glass, indicating how thick it was. That was good enough for Stevie. Winter had always been her favourite season - it came with Christmas and the most fun weather to play in. Being in the DigiWorld didn't change that in the slightest. She took a running start and leapt out onto the lake, skidding along the surface in her low-resistant boots and laughing.
"Oh my god, what are you doing?!"
Stevie soon coasted to a halt out on the ice as she ran out of momentum. She resisted an eye roll. "I'm having fun! What does it look like?"
"Yeah, Joe! You worry too much!" Gomamon added, bounding over to join her on the ice.
Joe wasn't too concerned about Gomamon - ice and water were in his element. But people weren't as used to ice. Not unless they were an Eskimo or they worked in the frozen foods department at Walmart. "Stevie, it's not safe! You might fall through and not be able to get back out! You might cut yourself on the ice! You might slip and break your neck! You might catch hypothermia or..."
"And you might die from boring-itis!" Stevie exclaimed, cutting across him. "Come on, Joe, look how thick it is! Nobody's gonna be going through it, there's nothing to cut myself on, I'm not gonna slip and I'm not gonna go rolling round on it enough to catch hypothermia." She felt like a little kid again, promising her mom that she'd mind the roads when she went out to play and that she wouldn't talk to strangers.
Joe wasn't convinced. "I'd still feel better if you weren't on the ice altogether."
"Well, if you want us back, then you're gonna have to come and get us!" Gomamon decided, taking another long slide across the ice.
Stevie laughed, attempting to follow. "Come on, you have flippers! That's almost cheating!"
Joe hovered on the bank and shouted after them to come back, but as usual, they ignored him. He sighed. Why did he so often feel like he was on babysitting duty? Sometimes he was amazed that Gomamon was his partner and not Stevie's. But of course, Stevie didn't have her own partner, thanks to the DigiWorld glitching when she'd come crashing in. Literally too.
When Stevie came skating over, for a second, he thought she was actually going to heed his advice and climb back onto the bank. Of course, that was a stupid thought. "Don't be such a spoilsport. Come and join us; it's fun!" she said brightly. "I promise you won't fall over."
Spoilsport was a term Joe heard often. Along with buzz kill, worrywart and chicken. "I'd really rather not."
Stevie grinned. "You say that like I'm giving you a choice."
Ignoring his protests, she took both his hands and pulled him out onto the ice. For someone so small, she sure was strong. Or maybe it was because he had all the athleticism of a lima bean. Either way, he wasn't happy. He found himself freezing up into a braced position, like he was in a vehicle and preparing to crash, still muttering a string of neuroses.
"Don't worry!" Stevie assured. She was used to Joe's phobic tendencies and had began learning ways around them. Gomamon, of course, was nowhere near as sympathetic. He was rolling around on the ice, in peals of laughter over Joe's odd stance. "Look how smooth the ice is - I bet it wouldn't even hurt if you fell over anyway."
"I'd definitely rather we didn't test that!" Joe objected. "Do I really have to join in? I've never been ice skating in my life."
"Well, it's not quite the same as ice skating, since we don't technically have skates."
"I'm not sure if that's better or worse."
Stevie kept hold of his hands and, despite his protests, she was able to coax him further out onto the ice and to even try moving his feet more. Joe couldn't exactly say he was enjoying himself, but at least, for now, they couldn't call him any variation of a stick in the mud. Gomamon found his record slow attempts highly entertaining and had started showing off by overtaking the two of them at every chance he got.
"You know, buddy, that's really not helping," Joe commented nervously as Gomamon skidded past again, dangerously close to his already unsteady feet.
"I'm just showing you how it's done!"
Though, for once, Joe's concerns weren't just due to paranoia. On Gomamon's next slide, he really did cut it too close. As he realised at the last second and hastily tried to change his course, he ended up taking Stevie's feet out from underneath her as he barrelled past. Joe made a surprisingly valiant attempt to catch her, but in trying to pull her back up, he lost his own balance and they both toppled backwards onto the ice, Stevie landing on top of him.
"Ow," Joe winced. Why was it that he always fell on his butt? The thought quickly left his head though as he realised that Stevie was lying across the full length of him. His face flooded with colour. "Um, are you... are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Stevie grinned sheepishly, as she pulled herself back up. "Sorry. I promised you wouldn't fall, but then I wasn't exactly expecting sabotage..." She shot a look at Gomamon.
"Sorry," he said, though he didn't seem sorry at all. He almost looked pleased with himself.
"Don't worry; I'm alright," said Joe, unable to keep from grimacing again, as Stevie helped to drag him back up onto his feet. "Just a bit broken."
"Well, thanks for trying to catch me," Stevie beamed. "I guess chivalry isn't dead after all!"
That only made Joe blush more, made even worse by Stevie winding an arm around his waist to help him hobble off the ice. He suddenly didn't feel so cold anymore. "Let's see if we can find somewhere warmer for you to sit down for a while!" she decided, skipping on ahead.
Gomamon hung back to bounce alongside Joe at his hobbling pace, grinning knowingly. "So... That wasn't really so bad, was it?"
Joe felt his face colour again. "No, I guess not..."