A/N: This takes place between episodes 11 and 12. The beginning of episode 12 showed most of Team Flash doing well on ice... we're gonna pretend they struggled with it a bit more, for this trial. You'll see what I mean.

Frost let Caitlin take control right before the race. Caitlin thought it was a defensive move: neither she nor Frost were very confident on ice unless it was under their control, but Frost would be too embarrassed to lose to Barry on any ice. Since there was a possibility of her losing, she was letting Caitlin do the race. She viewed ice as her territory, and didn't do well with being embarrassed. That was part of why she'd made the extra slippery patch by the door as a trap for Cisco.

Caitlin tightened the laces of her second skate and looked at Barry. He was fiddling with his own skates, but noticed her and met her eyes. "Ready?" he asked.

"Don't laugh," Caitlin said.

They stood at the same time. Caitlin's ankles bowed to the side, and she tensed immediately, to maintain her balance. She saw Barry's arms fly out to keep himself upright too. Yeah, this was gonna go really well.

"Are we ready?" Cisco asked, walking over to them. (Caitlin noticed that he was walking extra carefully… he probably expected Frost to have put out another slick spot for him. Not that Caitlin would have been surprised, but Frost hadn't.) "You need to do two laps around the speed lab ice track. I've placed obstacles for you, so don't just sprint."

"That won't be a problem," Barry said quietly. Maybe it was only meant for Caitlin to hear.

"Ready, set… go!"

It wasn't much of a race for the first ten feet. Caitlin was focused on moving without losing her balance. She could see Barry doing the same thing in her peripheral vision, but tried not to pay him any mind. Frost may never have skated like this, but she had. It had been a long time ago, but she was a quick study. After an agonizingly slow start, she started to feel the rhythm of the skates sliding across the ice. Her movements became more coordinated, and steps became glides.

Alright Caity! Frost said.

Caitlin smiled as she rounded the first corner and skated around a cone Cisco had put in the middle of the track. If she could just go a bit faster now, this trial would be done quickly.

She could hear the sound of skates scraping across the ice, and turned her head slightly to see Barry approaching at a steady pace. He didn't seem wobbly anymore. Apparently he was a quick study too.

Caitlin pressed on with her lead, going as fast as she dared with unknown obstacles ahead. She wobbled a few times, but stayed upright. Unfortunately, Barry also stayed right on her tail.

"We're not too bad at this!" he said. They were approaching the starting point.

"You're gonna jinx us." They passed Cisco, who seemed disappointed. Knowing that he would only show enjoyment for this task if they fell a lot, Caitlin was fine with him being disappointed. Final lap, she thought. She'd been through the course once. She knew where the obstacles were. This first stretch only had two cones, so she could –

Skate, Caity, skate! Frost cried as Barry shot past. He'd apparently realized the same thing she had, though he had acted faster. Caitlin pushed off with her back foot, ducking her head slightly. What are you doing? Frost asked.

"It's what the ice skaters do on TV."

Whatever. Just pass him again! We only have half a lap left. We can't lose on the ice.

Determination steeled Caitlin's nerves. She couldn't worry about falling. As she and Barry reached the final curve in the oval track, she dug her skate into the ice and lunged forward, moving to the right of Barry.

Barry also moved to the right, to avoid an empty beaker in his way. His skate locked with the back of hers, and she reacted instinctively as she started to fall forward. Her hand shot out and grabbed Barry's arm, which she used to steady herself – and launch herself forward, across the finish line.

"We have a winner!" Cisco said loudly.

Barry slid to a graceful stop. Too graceful for someone who supposedly couldn't skate well, Caitlin would later realize. But in the present moment it didn't occur to her. She was too busy smiling. "That was hardly a fair victory," Barry said. "You pushed off of me."

"You started to trip me!" Caitlin said.

"That was an accident."

"So was mine."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then the tension broke as they laughed.

"Okay, I'll give it to you," Barry said. "Since you're the ice queen."

Inside their mind, Frost was practically gloating. And don't you forget it.

A/N: I feel like controlling ice and using skates to move on it would be different, so Caitlin would have to get used to skates again (and Frost has never used ice skates before). And Barry... well, Barry was perfectly willing to wait for Caitlin to get used to skates again before really going for it. Let me know what you thought of the first trial!