#and peridot and pearl both also have some romance with bismuth

[solavillain]

Pas de Deux Ch. 3: Puzzle Pieces

+pairing: Spinel x fem!Reader +genre: Drama, romance, angst, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers +warnings: None (for now) +word count: 6K +Chapter 3 / ? previous || next

Read on AO3!

“Don’t be sad, your new best friend Spinel is here!”

Spinel has been trying to get Steven to smile for a minute now- the pink Gem cheers and dances for Steven, but his eyes look far away, lost in thought.

“Here we are in the future, and it’s wrong...” Steven laments to himself. You can only look on sadly as he pulls out his phone, gazing at a selfie he took with the Gems earlier. “Happily ever after, there we were...”

You move to comfort him, or talk to him, something to erase the morose look he has on his face. Seeing him like this hurts- he's been through so much and you hate to think what will happen if the Crystal Gems never remember him...or you, for that matter. You were part of this group too, even if you only visited during the summer.

Before you can say anything to your friend, Bismuth moves past you and extends a hand to Steven.   “When has it ever been easy? Hasn’t it always been hard to be us? That’s why we’ve got to have each other; we’ll figure this out together! We are the Crystal Gems!”

You smile, and your eyes dart to Spinel, who is watching the exchange with wide eyes. You can’t help but recall how different her eyes were just hours ago- flashing pink, wild with anger and clearly hurt about...something. Now they’re shining and dark- innocent, joyful, but not vacant like earlier. She’s observing everything that’s going on happily, content to sit on the sidelines and let her “best friend” work though things. Other than the outburst a moment ago, she’s been rather quiet the whole time you’ve been in Little Homeworld. She must really not be sure what to make of all of this...you couldn’t imagine what it must be like for her. What it must be like for any gem, really- to wake up in a strange world, somehow knowing your life’s purpose before you’ve even lived a life. No wonder the Crystal Gems broke away from that régime; it sounds so suffocating to you.  

You let your attention drift back to Steven and Bismuth, still worried for the boy but feeling rather uplifted by Bismuth’s empowered words. She’s reassuring him that they’ll get the Gems back to how they were, even if it takes a thousand years.  

“Believe me Steven, I’ve known them longer- I've seen them get through worse and come back stronger!” She says enthusiastically, guiding him to the lift and motioning for everyone to follow. Next to you, Spinel’s eyes light up and she grabs your arm, tugging you forward with her. You hold back a grin and rush towards the group, content with being led by the smaller pink Gem. Somehow, she has charmed you for the time being, and you aren’t quite sure how that happened.  But it gives you hope that if she eventually does remember her past, she might be more forgiving the next time around.  

As the lift nears the ground, Bismuth leaps off to rush to one of the finer details you assume she’s been working on- a mold of a star in the ground, surrounding the warp pad. She pulls a pot of bubbling gold over into the mold, and gestures to the golden star that’s forming.

“We are the Crystal Gems! We’ll never give up!” Steven’s eyes brighten and he nods along, as the rest of the group steps off the lift. You glance over at Spinel; she’s still just watching and taking everything in. Idly you wonder why she’s not joining in the encouragement- is she uncomfortable around all these new people? Although you suppose everyone is new to her. You can’t help feeling sympathy for her in this situation, though. After all, you’re staying to the sidelines as much as she is, mostly because you feel that the new CG’s will know what to say more than you would. This sort of stuff is their whole life, after all. You’re just along for the ride...

“Why do I keep getting so distracted thinking about her?” you wonder, “She’s the reason we’re in this mess. I really need to stop forgetting that...”

When you focus your attention back to the present, Lapis and Peridot have joined in with the encouragement.   “We’ll find a way!”

Steven grins at his friends and claps his hands together once, looking much more confident and determined than earlier

“Okay! Let’s put our heads together. There’s gotta be some way to make them remember,” he remarks, turning to look at Ruby and Sapphire. Next to you, Spinel takes a small jump forward and suggests something.

“What if it’s like a puzzle? If we give ‘em all the pieces...eventually they’ll get the picture!”

“Steven, that could work!” You say with awe in your voice. “Based on Pearl’s...regeneration...it seems like their Gems function as like, organic computers? Or something similar, and very beyond my comprehension. But if it’s like our hard drives, the memories could still be in there somewhere!”

“Spinel...Y/n... You might be onto something!” Steven smiles back at the both of you, grateful for your input. “If every experience they lost is a piece of who they are, we just have to give them back all the pieces! One experience at a time!”

Spinel takes a small step back and smiles up at you, looking very proud of herself. You give her a small smile back, thankful that her idea might actually have some chance of working.  Or at least, Steven seems to think so, and you’re happy to defer to his expertise on these things.

“Are you serious?” Lapis exclaims in response to the idea.

“That could take forever!” Peridot agrees.

“Exactly! So let’s get started!” Steven says, gazing out at the group. You can’t help but share in his enthusiasm. If this works then everything can be fixed again, Steven can have his family back, and you can have your friends back.  

“Yeah, let’s do this!” You exclaim, rushing forward to join the gathered group. After a moment, you turn back and motion Spinel forward as well. Although she’s the reason for the problem, she also seems to have come up with the solution, and you can't imagine Steven holding anything against her for too long if everything turns out all right in the end. You’re certainly thankful for her in this moment.

Spinel giggles at your request, and stretches one leg forward, a teasing look in her eyes.

“Oh, c’mon Spinel,” you laugh, “you know what I meant. Get over here!”

Her face softens, and her eyes turn from mischievous to gentle and almost shy.

“A-All right,” she says softly, and springs the rest of her body forward to join the group. She clings to Steven’s arm like before, re-assuming her position as his “best friend”.

Steven looks over to Ruby and Sapphire, the former of whom is patrolling back and forth in a line, constantly observing her surroundings for any signs of danger to her charge.

“Okay, so...when Ruby and Sapphire first became Garnet, Ruby rushed in to save Sapphire from danger, and boom- they fused. So maybe we gotta create some sort of dangerous situation?”

“Well...” Lapis muses, what do we have that’s deadly and dangerous lying around?” She looks to Peridot, who you assume probably keeps track of many random assorted objects.

Sure enough, she answers, “I think we can dig something up!” And with that, she heads over to a giant dumpster, full of construction tools and other things that you’re not sure why she has.

Spinel and Steven rush forward to help her look, but you’re content to stay back from all the sharp tools Peridot has begun throwing out of the container. You’re definitely not as resilient as a Gem- no poofing and coming back for you. So you watch bemusedly as the three look for something to threaten Ruby and Sapphire with.

“This can only end well,” you comment to Bismuth and Lapis, folding your arms and smirking. They chuckle in return, exchanging a look that you assume means they agree, knowing Peridot like they do.

Eventually, Peridot produces a giant weapon, and exclaims, “Ah ha!”

“A giant pizza cutter?!” Steven gasps, stepping back in alarm, “I can’t threaten them with this!”

Spinel stares at the object in awe, obviously never having seen anything like this before. Which makes sense; she has technically only existed for a few hours, at least as far as she remembers.  

“That is one of its functions, yes, “Peridot replies. “But here!” She pushes a button on the side of the weapon, and it begins to spin menacingly.   “Now it’s much more threatening!”

Steven gulps, and starts to walk towards the two reset Gems, staring up at the spinning wheel cautiously.

“Steven, please be careful!” You call out, following him in case something was to happen.  

After a moment, Ruby notices Steven approaching her and Sapphire, and immediately takes a defensive stance in front of her charge.

“Halt! I cannot allow you to approach my Sapphire with such a threatening device,” she warns.

“That’s too bad, cause I’m gonna get you!” Steven cries out, raising the device over his head.

You wince, wondering if he’s actually going to attack his family like this. Spinel walks up next to you and clutches your arm suddenly. You jolt, surprised at the sudden contact. She looks slightly worried, staring at Steven and the weapon with concern.

“Ah, Spinel, are you all right?” You ask, after seeing her expression. “Don’t worry, I think it’ll be all right. He’s probably just faking it.”

Sure enough, after Sapphire predicts he’ll back down, he does. He turns off the weapon and turns around, a crestfallen expression on his face.  

“I can’t do it! Even if we are just pretending,” Steven says sadly. He walks back to the New CG’s, who are standing near the dumpster of tools. Spinel lets go of you as you turn to follow him, eager to keep planning something else to try.  

You face the group, the five of you circling around near the dumpster, ready to brainstorm. None of you take notice that Spinel has picked up the now still weapon off the ground and begun to investigate it.

“Well, maybe we should try...” Bismuth starts to say, before a whirring noise interrupts her. Spinel has turned the giant pizza cutter shaped weapon back on, and she’s quickly losing control.

“No, Spinel, wait-!” Steven calls out, but it’s too late. The weapon is spinning away from her, pulling her along with it.

“Oh my gosh,” you gasp out, worried for Spinel. You know if it hits her she’ll just poof, but even then there’s no telling how long it would take her to regenerate. Not to mention the damage she could cause if it gets even more out of control-!

Without thinking, you ready yourself to catch her as she passes by, her small frame now being entirely pulled along by the spinning weapon.  

“Y/n, what are you doing?!” Steven exclaims, looking on in disbelief. But you know you can do this; Pearl’s training has taught you to be quick and calculated when need be. You can anticipate the timing needed to jump onto Spinel and pull her away from the danger, you just need an opening...

There! The weapon has turned course, bringing Spinel passing by the group again. You leap forward, grabbing her and rolling to the floor less gracefully than you would have liked, but it got the job done.  

“Are you okay?” You ask Spinel, who ended up lying next to you. She nods, still a bit shaken up from the abrupt journey she just went on.

You flatten out onto your back, close your eyes, and let out a sigh. At least that’s over now. Then why do you still hear the saw spinning? You open your eyes and gasp, jolting to your feet as quickly as you can. The saw is now flying up the building you had come down from, the one still under construction.

“My scaffolding, my precious scaffolding!” Bismuth cries out, powerless to stop the destruction happening before her eyes. You can’t do anything but watch, not thinking about moving away from the danger- but Spinel is. She grabs you and Steven and pulls you back away from the building

“Gah-!” You cry out, surprised at the sudden yank around your middle. Your eyes widen as you’re dragged back next to Spinel and Steven, grateful for her intervention. Just as you’re about to speak, a piece of debris falls onto the spot you had just been standing.

“Spinel...woah. Thank you,” you say breathily, “I guess we’re even now?”

She giggles loudly and replies in a sing-song voice, “You’re welcome!”

Not able to do much else but watch, you stay back with Steven and Spinel as the scene unfolds before you. Peridot, Lapis and Bismuth are doing their best to hold the building together, Peridot with her metal telekinesis, Lapis with some water from nearby, and Bismuth with sheer strength. One side of the scaffolding collapses entirely, but the three of them contain the debris and everything seems safe.

“Is it...over?” Spinel asks, walking closer to the building again.

Suddenly, Sapphire cries out from where she and Ruby had been standing, “The saw! The saw will continue to cut!”

Sure enough, you all look up, and the saw is continuing along the side of the building, curving towards some heavy looking material. You gasp as the blade cuts into rope and embeds itself in a log, finally stopping.  

“The anvil will fall, and you- you will be shattered!” Sapphire cries out to Ruby.  

“Huh?” Ruby questions, clueless to the anvil that has just dropped.

“Oh my god, Ruby!” You yell, on the verge of tears. She can’t be shattered, can’t Bismuth or Lapis or Peridot-

Steven interrupts your train of thought with a thrown shield, only just catching the anvil above Ruby. But he’s straining to hold it together, sweat is beading on his face and all his concentration is on keeping the shield from disappearing.  

“The curly-haired one’s power is fading!” Sapphire calls out to her guard, “Ruby, I’m sorry! I told you, you wouldn’t last the day!”

Ruby seems to have accepted her fate, as her voice is calm as she says, “Well, I’m glad fate allowed me to meet you!” And with that, the shield shatters.

“NO!” Steven shouts, hand extending towards his family.  

Among the falling pink fragments, you glimpse Sapphire rushing under the anvil towards Ruby, and you avert your eyes, unable and unwilling to watch two of your friend’s lives end. But suddenly, a flash of light makes you turn back towards them. Is this-?

You grin as Garnet comes into view, gleeful at the prospect that the Crystal Gems’ fearless leader might actually be back. But your heart swiftly sinks as you recognize the confusion plain on her face, and take note of her odd color scheme- this is definitely not the Garnet you’ve come to know.

Steven doesn’t seem to notice yet, and rushes forward yelling her name with arms outstretched. She swiftly backs away from him as he goes in for a hug, leaving Steven falling flat onto the ground. Even still, he doesn’t falter.

“Thank goodness it’s you!” He says, looking up at the newly formed Gem.

“W-what’s going on?” She says in a light tone, looking around in confusion.

“Everyone’s memories are wiped and my powers are all messed up and we need your help! What should we do, Garnet?”

With each explanation he makes, he takes a step towards Garnet, and she steps back from him in fear.

Your brows furrow and you call out, “Steven, I don’t think...”

You trail off as Garnet begins to speak. “I’m sorry, but...do you know me?”

Even from behind, you can read the disappointment that washes through Steven. His shoulders sag, and his posture once again looks defeated.

The group walks up to join him, and you place an arm around his shoulder, trying to be a reassuring presence.  

“Her memories aren’t back...I guess fusion was only the first piece,” Steven says quietly.  

In the distance, a loud horn diverts the groups attention from Garnet, who looks grateful for the distraction. You turn to see Greg’s van rolling up, and you relax. You always feel better when Greg is around for Gem related stuff- being the only other human can be exhausting sometimes.

You raise your eyebrows in surprise when Pearl steps out of the drivers’ seat.  

“I guess driving is an innate skill for gems, somehow...?” You ponder, as she places a small set of stairs at the back of the van and literally rolls out a red carpet. You hold back a chuckle, as do Peridot and Lapis. Even though it’s not exactly pleasant to see your rebellious friend reverted to her old ways of being a servant, the extravagance she’s presenting is still 100% Pearl. Always the theatrical one, she is.

To further drive home your point, Pearl materializes a small trumpet from her gem and plays an announcing tune.

“Attention, everyone! Um-Greg Universe has arrived!”

Greg bursts out from the back of the van, stomping over Pearl’s delicately laid out carpet.

“Steven!” He cries, rushing over to his son. You step slightly to the side, nudging Spinel away as well, trying to give the family some space.

“Have you seen Amethyst?” Greg continues frantically.

“What? I told you to watch her!” Steven answers.

“She must have wandered off as I was wrestling my laundry out of Pearl’s hands...” Greg replies, sounding defeated. He turns back to the van as he notices Pearl has begun to wash a tire. “You don’t need to do that Pearl, I own a car wash!”

Steven rolls his eyes and turns back towards the group.  

“I need to go find Amethyst...can you guys watch Garnet?” He asks you and Bismuth.

“Yeah, sure,” Bismuth answers easily, “but it looks like she’s doing a pretty good job of watching herself.”

You to glance at the newly formed Gem, who is indeed examining her new body with wonder, poking and prodding at her unfamiliar limbs. You suppose it must be strange to be a fusion for the first time...you wouldn’t know. Even though Steven and Connie had explained some of what it felt like to be human and fused, you couldn’t fathom it. And you’d never really had the opportunity to try with anyone. Not even Pearl, whom you were closest with. You felt it was a bit...intimate. Oh, you’d had a crush on Pearl once, sure, back when you first started staying in Beach City during the summers by yourself. And once she had suggesting training with her the crush had intensified, but ultimately you’d gleaned from many talks that she was learning to be happy without a partner in that regard, and you wanted to respect that. So you’d gotten over it, and you were perfectly happy now just being close friends. But still, fusion was something you’d like to experience one day, if possible...

Steven nods and thanks Bismuth and the others, rushing back towards Beach City. Out of nowhere, Spinel stretches towards his retreating figure and grabs on, propelling herself towards him and stopping Steven in his tracks.   “Don’t forget your best friend Spinel!” She says with a wink.

“Oh, right. Spinel, you stay here with the others, and I’ll be...right back!” He says gently, letting go of her hand.

Her eyes widen as she looks down at her empty palm, a look of horror flashing across her face.

“NO!” She screams out. You jump at the sound; you didn’t think she could even get that angry.  

“Spinel!” You call out quickly, moving forward to stand next to her. “Hey, how about you stay here with me? Steven might need to move quickly, and he knows the area and knows Amethyst better than any of us do. We could hang out and chat while we wait!”

You smile at her with what you hope to be a comforting gaze. The quicker Steven can find Amethyst the better, and you know Spinel might make things more difficult. Besides, you’d rather keep her where everyone can help out if something goes wrong. And if that little outs burst is anything to go by, she might still be dangerous and angry in this form...

You glance over Spinel’s head at Steven for confirmation that this is ok, and he nods in response. After a moment, Spinel turns around to face you.

“Yay, let’s do that!” She replies gleefully, wrapping her arm through yours instead. Steven relaxes, and rushes off without another word.  

“He must really be worried about Amethyst,” you mutter to yourself. You lead Spinel back to the others, who have circled up to discuss the situation once more.

“Hey guys, I know I’m just a human, but let me know if I can help out in any way, okay?” You say, “I really want to be of use.”

Bismuth grins at you, looking grateful for the offer of help. “Well, right now we’re just trying to figure out some equipment we might need to go check out the injector. We figure if Steven’s on the memory thing, we can at least try to figure out a way to slow the injector down. While we gather that stuff, maybe you can watch over Garnet? You can help Y/n too, Spinel,” she adds as an afterthought.

You nod, determined to do your part. “Yeah, that sounds fine! I don’t have anywhere to be,” you joked, reassuring the Gems that you weren’t going anywhere.

“Spinel, want to sit for a bit?” You ask, walking over to a concrete block pile nearby. You need to take a bit of a rest, and from here you can still see everything going on.

“Sure!” Spinel cheers, plopping down next to you and humming cheerfully while gazing out at the town. You smile to yourself at her bright personality, and pull out your phone, glancing up every now and then to check on Garnet.

After a moment, you feel Spinel watching you and your device, peering over your shoulder in curiosity.  

“Whazzat?” She asks, pointing to the phone.

“Heh, not too sure how to describe this one...” You answer, “But uh, it’s basically something that lets me keep in touch with people even if they’re far away. Oh! And it’s a camera!”  

You open the camera app and hold it out in front of you, capturing a small portion of Little Homeworld. You hold it out for Spinel to see, and her eyes go wide with wonder.

“Woah...that’s cool!” She exclaims, grinning from ear to ear.

You’re sure that Homeworld has camera-like devices, so it’s odd that she’s so enamored by your little phone.   “Ah, the reset,” you think, rolling your eyes at yourself. You realize that she wouldn’t remember ever being on Homeworld. “I can’t believe I keep forgetting.”

“Hey, Spinel, let me show you something else,” you say, taking the phone back from the Gem. You switch the camera to front facing and hold it out in front of you two. “Look, it’s us!”

Spinel gazes up at the reflected portrait, making funny faces every now and then. You decide to capture a few pictures together, just for fun. After a little longer, you put the phone away again, and gaze out over Little Homeworld, and Beach City.

“I love it here,” you tell Spinel quietly, just voicing your random thoughts out loud. “I love the beach, the sound of the waves, the smell of the air. The peacefulness in the mornings at my job, people just waking up and getting their coffee. But more than that I love how unique this place is, with all the Gems. As far as I know, there are no Gems anywhere else on Earth now that the corrupted Gems are...better. I love the fact that I can glance outside my window and see two entirely different species of people cohabiting the same town. I love that people are just...accepted here, no matter who they are or what they’re like.”

You glance over at Spinel, who’s staring out at the town as well, an unreadable expression on her face. You continue, “After all this is over...I’m sure there will be a place for you too, Spinel. We can get your memories back, and... work through whatever happened to make you angry.”

Spinel’s brows crease, and she turns her head away from you.  

“I still don’t remember anythin’,” she mumbles, “but I’m happy I’m here now.”

You smile softly, and nudge her with your shoulder.  

“Hey. Me too.”

You sit in silence again, checking in on Garnet every so often, who is alternating between looking at herself and looking around at Little Homeworld.  

Eventually, Bismuth, Peridot and Lapis head back over with lots of equipment in tow.

“Okay! We’re ready to analyze the injector thingy!” Peridot says confidently. You nod and stand up, stretching a moment to get back into Save-The-Earth mode.

“All righty, let’s go!” You exclaim, and begin to follow the group, with Spinel by your side.

x  *  x  *  x  *  x  *  x  

You make your way through the town, opting to walk instead of warp because of all the equipment, and not wanting to try to keep track of Garnet in the warp stream. A feeling of unease washes over you as you get closer to the giant injector perched on the hill. Being so close to it, it’s hard to forget that Spinel brought this to Earth in the first place. You’re constantly torn between enjoying the pink Gem’s company and being wary of her due to what she’s done.  

You’re so lost in thought while the New CG’s set up their tech, that you don’t notice when the sky begins to darken- until Peridot gasps out, “Everyone needs to come look at this!”

You rush over, expecting to see something on the monitor (is that a microwave?), but instead she’s pointing to the ground around the injector, which has turned a sickly black-blue color.  

“The grass...it looks like it’s dying,” you mumble, slightly shocked at the sight before you.  

“Y/n, Bismuth, Peridot!”  

You turn at the sound of your name, and see Steven and Amethyst rushing up the hill. Your eyes brighten at the sight of the purple Gem- she looks like she’s back to how she was before the rejuvenator strike!  

Before you can say anything, Peridot sighs and turns away from them. “Amethyst, get away from me...I can’t stand to see you all vacant and bereft of personality!”

“Yo, I’m back you dip,” Amethyst says flatly, which earns a chuckle from you. She really is back to normal!  

“Oh! Well- you're just in time for the end of the world!” Peridot says, trying to put on a cheerful façade. “This is no ordinary injector. Whatever it’s leaking into the ground is toxic.”

Bismuth walks up to Peridot’s set up and holds out a bit of Earth to the green Gem.

“Let’s get a scan going and see what we’re dealing with,” Peridot continues, bubbling the affected dirt and placing it in her makeshift scanner. You watch in silence, wanting to leave the science to the smarter Gems. You wouldn’t even know where to begin with this tech, even if it is made out of a microwave.

The scanner ejects a piece of paper with readings and statistics on it., and Peridot looks over it and frowns.

“Just as I thought,” Peridot mumbles, gazing up at the injector. “Bio-Poison. Pure and uncut. As of this moment, the ampule has drained fifteen-point-four percent of it’s contents, meaning the poison is releasing at a destruction rate of 5 cubic meters per hour, giving us...hmm...forty one hours until the destruction of all organic life on Earth.”

Your eyes widen as you and the group step closer to Peridot’s set up, all staring up at the injector with horror.

“All organic life...?” Steven says in shock.

“Yeah, like the animals, the plants, the insects...y’know, people,” Peridot finishes nonchalantly.

“I’m people!” You blurt out, wrapping your arms around your middle, trying to hold it together. You can’t hide the fear that Peridot’s words have instilled in you. No matter what happened with the Crystal Gem’s memories...it wouldn’t matter if the entire Earth was dead in two days.

“This is what Spinel meant! ‘Your human half won’t stand a chance against my injector,’” Steven says, realization in his voice, “She- she brought this thing here to kill me! And now it’s gonna kill everything else on Earth too?! I’ve gotta do something!”

With that, he rushes towards the giant injector, prompting everyone to call out to him in protest. But he continues forward, stopping at the drill head. You watch in equal parts amazement and shock as he wraps his arms around the base and attempts to lift the entire thing out of the ground. For a moment, it actually looks like it’s working- the injector begins to lift, and you dare to hope that he might actually end the entire problem right here.

“Steven, be careful!” Bismuth calls out from beside you.

“Yeah! Lift with your legs!” Spinel says, oblivious to the danger.

But it seems like Steven’s powers fail him once more, and you watch as he drops the massive machine back deeper into the Earth. Lighthouse Park shakes with the impact, and pink glowing cracks begin to form on the ground around Steven. Some of the pink liquid splashes out from one of them and hits Steven on the arm, burning through his jacket and wounding him.

“Steven! Get out of there!” You call out, frustrated that you can’t do anything but sit back and watch as caverns of bio-poison open up around him.

Next to you, Spinel seems perfectly relaxed about the situation. You look to her frantically, about to suggest she stretch out and grab him, when she does exactly that. She shapes her stretchy arms into a fishing rod, and places Steven on the ground.

“Well look what I reeled in!” She jokes. You let out a sigh of relief. She may be charming most of the time, but she was entirely too relaxed during a dangerous situation. It must be part of her nature to joke about everything...

“Steven!” Peridot calls, rushing forward with the rest of the group.

“Are you ok?” Amethyst asks in a concerned tone.

“My organic jacket,” Steven says, sounding crestfallen. “I can’t do anything with my powers like this! Bismuth, Lapis- can't you lift that thing? Peridot, what about your metal powers?”

“You think we didn’t consider that?” Lapis says incredulously.

“Disturbing the injector accelerates the poison’s rate of release,” Peridot explains, holding out her screen. “Also, it might explode. We have to find a way to move it- without touching it.”

You glance towards the injector, and your eyes drift to Spinel, who has walked up closer to her machine.

“Steven, Spinel is the only one that we know for sure can control it safely,” you remark, gesturing to the pink Gem who has adopted the vacant expression again as she waves back at you.

“But...she doesn’t even remember what it is, let alone how to control it,” Steven replies.

“Then you gotta change her back,” concludes Bismuth. You nod in agreement, looking at Steven. It’s really the only way you can think of that won’t endanger anyone further.  

“No way! She’s cute and harmless now, but if we bring her back she’ll kill us all!”

Peridot gives him a look. “You’re going to die anyway if you don’t get her to deactivate that thing!”

Steven looks to you, silently seeking the advice of the other human.

“Steven, as a fully organic being, I think we need to do it. It’s only going to get worse from here and we don’t have much time, especially since we need to get her memories back...How did you end up doing that for Amethyst?” You ask, glancing at the restored purple Gem.

“I- I just reminded her of things from our past, personal things, and of the bond we share...but that’s different, I don’t even know Spinel to be able to do that for her! None of us had ever even heard of her except...”

A look of realization dawns on him. “Pearl! Pearl knew her!”

x  *  x  *  x  * x  *  x

“I’m afraid I can’t help. I’m currently in the service of my Um-Greg Universe, preparing for tonight’s concert!” Pearl explains cheerfully to the group, “It’s showcasing a promising ensemble in the rock-n-roll genre.”

You and Amethyst look at each other and instantly burst into muffled laughter at Pearl’s exaggerated pronunciation- you two were definitely going to tease her for this when she eventually regains her memories. Peridot probably would as well, when she hears about it. The New CG’s had stayed behind to monitor the injector, so it was just you, Steven, Spinel and Amethyst who had gone down to meet Greg and Pearl.  

You hear Greg’s voice from inside the unit, seemingly talking on the phone with Mayor Nanafua.

“You’re evacuating people to the warehouse? I’ll- I’ll cancel the rock show!” He says, walking out towards everyone and avoiding Pearl’s gaze.

“Oh- no? You’re right, Sadie Killer always draws a crowd...You got it, Mayor! I’ll drop the cover charge and...heck, thirty percent off merch!” He finishes triumphantly, and ends the call.

“Dad!” Steven calls out, grabbing his father’s attention.

“Ah, Steven, Y/n! Everybody! You found Amethyst!” Greg exclaims, relief plain on his face.  

“And you found Garnet,” you remark, gazing past Greg into the storage unit, where she and Spinel are fiddling with some wires. Garnet had apparently wandered off sometime while the group was at the injector, but everyone had been too busy to notice until the situation had calmed down. You were just glad Greg and Pearl had found her wandering.

A crash sounds in the unit, and Greg turns around in alarm.

“Garnet, are you okay?”  

“Did you want the red cable...or the blue one?” Garnet asks calmly.

“It doesn’t matter, they’re the same!” Greg replies. He turns back to see Pearl storing a guitar in her gem. “Pearl, what are you doing? We need those for the show!”

He seems to be getting more and more stressed by the minute, and you are as well. Just watching him is making you jittery.

“Greg,” you say calmly, “It’ll be ok. The show will be great, and let me know if I can help!”

“Ugh, who cares about the rock show!” Steven interjects suddenly, “We have to stop Spinel’s injector or everyone on earth is going to die!”  

He turns and walks away in frustration, and you and Greg follow. You don’t want him to get too frustrated again, he doesn’t deserve to feel like this...

“To stop it, we need Spinel back, and to do that, we need Pearl back, and to do that we need her missing pieces,” Steven continues, “Pearl and Mom rebelled together so she’s gotta rebel with you, Dad. We gotta stage some big dramatic event, something to jog her memory, like...like a-”

“Like rock show, dude!” Amethyst cuts in. Steven turns to her in surprise, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

You put your arms around Steven and Amethyst, sandwiching yourself in between them.

“Well...let’s go to a rock show!”  

[starcrcwns]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

repost,  don’t reblog

BASICS.

full name.   Lapis Lazuli pronunciation.    La-pis La-zuli nickname. Lapis, Lazuli, Water Witch , Ocean Gem gender.  Agender ( Technically , gems don’t hold gender ), feminine identifying (she/her) height.  5′8″ -5′9″ age.  Time in the mirror stunted normal aging ; supposed to be around the same age as others but younger now because of the time she spent in the mirror ( around thousands of years ). She would be close to Pearl’s age if it wasn’t for her time in the mirror. Looks / acts like early 20′s, around 7,000 - 8,000 years zodiac.   None spoken languages.  Gem Glyph, English, varied other languages

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair color.   Royal blue , varying to dark blue sometimes eye color.   Navy blue skin tone.     Pale blue body type.   Slender build. No notable ‘muscle’ . accent. American. voice.   Depends on her emotions. When she’s disinterested, she defaults to a lower tone -- but she holds a soft tone when it’s someone she’s interested in / someone she cares about i.e. Steven dominant hand.�� Right hand. However, when fighting / terraforming, she uses both. posture.   Slightly slouched since coming to Earth / becoming a Crystal Gem / losing interest in formalities. While on Homeworld, she had straight posture and absolute grace with her movements. scars.   No visible scars. However, after coming to Earth for the first time she was poofed by Bismuth. Then imprisoned in a mirror and shattered for thousands of years. tattoos.   NA birthmarks.  NA most noticeable feature(s).   Gm on her back, between her shoulder blades.

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  Homeworld hometown.    Homeworld birth weight.   NA birth height.  NA. manner of birth.  Lapis gems are made to be terraformers. They are believed to be made by Blue Diamond, considering their hue. first words.   Probably something to her first terraforming assignment siblings.  NA parents.  NA parental involvement.  NA

ADULT LIFE.

occupation.   As mentioned before, Lapis gems are created to be terraformers. The Diamonds send them down to planets to essentially shape the planet into their liking. However, ever since was freed from the mirror, and the other issues, she has joined the Crystal Gems in helping them defend Earth and Beach City from gem-related issues. close friends / family.  Steven Universe, Peridot, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Greg Universe, Bismuth, and other Crystal Gems relationship status.   Single financial status.  Somewhat middle? driver’s license.  None. She flies like a bird, bitch. criminal record. Where do we start? She came to Earth under Diamond orders. The reason why is still pretty unclear, but she gets caught in the gem war and is soon “poofed”, attached to a mirror, and soon cracked. After being released from the mirror, much much later by Steven Universe, she essentially -- literally -- steals the ocean in an attempt to get back to Homeworld. Her gem was cracked so she wasn’t able to summon her water wings , causing her to resort to stealing the ocean to try to make her way back. Long story short, Steven heals her gem and she’s able to fly away. But she gets caught by Jasper, and in an attempt to protect Steven, fuses with Jasper and imprisons the fusion down in the ocean. She could never go home now, considering she forced a fusion with a high-standing soldier. vices.   Time in the mirror wasn’t good for her. She is pessimistic and for a while the only person she trusts is Steven ; and for good reason, considering the Crystal Gems kept her in the mirror. She can be sour, rude, and easy to anger -- which can be destructive and very dangerous, since her abilities make her one of the strongest on the team.

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.    I’m a sucker for her actual music so have a medley of it hobbies to pass time.   Reading, trash-tv, drawing / art , learning about Earth mental illnesses.   PTSD related to being imprisoned in the mirror + from forcing that toxic fusion with Jasper to keep her held back. Depression from the thousands of years stuck in the mirror with no ability to communicate / escape. Anxiety set on from both, acting out of fear for a lot of things. physical illnesses.   Cracked gem ( former ). Has poofed several times ( recovered always ) left or right-brained.  Right-brained, bordering left-brain sometimes fears.   Being imprisoned again, being out of control, being alone, betrayad again. She fears being silenced like all those years ago. self-confidence level.  Varies a lot. Some days she has so much confidence in everything she does and then others, when she is haunted by the memories of the mirror / Jasper / the things she saw while on Earth in the mirror, she is so low that it’s hard to get her going again. A big theme for her is emotions -- and every emotion she feels it comes sweeping like a wave. vulnerabilities. Sense of belonging is hard for her. She was betrayed, in a sense, by Homeworld when they imprisoned her in the mirror and interroaged her, believing she was a part of the rebellion. Then she was shattered and kept in the mirror by the Crystal Gems, left to record the events of history they believed to be important. Belonging has never really been a thing for her until she befriended Steven, who helped her escape her prison, but also who finally listened to her. The PTSD and depression she receieved from the mirror / toxic fushion are also really strong vulnerable point as well. A lot of actions she has pulled ( stealing the ocean, moving the barn -- the home she shared with Peridot -- to the moon in fear of the Diamonds destroying Earth , etc ) has all been due to her trauma.

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  bisexual romantic orientation. biromantic preferred emotional role.   submissive  |  dominant  |  switch ; even with a lot of her story and characterization being set on emotions and how she deals / shows them, it’s hard for her to express them sometimes. Sometimes she snaps and sometimes she completely shuts down. However, she’ll do her best to assist her partner. She knows what it’s like to be ignored for so long / having no voice / etc preferred sexual role. submissive  |  dominant | switch ; -clears throat - she likes to be shut up libido. Average? I mean, I haven’t written much for her ‘sexual’ side. So I guess average ( for now ) turn on’s. Actually wanting to spend time with her, respect, good jokes, loving her for her and all of her mistakes and flaws, comfort turn off’s.  Controlling, toxic, anything like Jasper , treating her like she’s too fragile, ignoring her when she needs her partner, not listening, love language.   Just think gentle, to be honest. Treat her gently but also don’t treat her like she’s fragile. Because she tries so hard to be better -- to go beyond her past. However, she isn’t afraid to be gentle with her partner. Gentle touches -- hair, hand, arm , etc -- and gentle looks. Putting her trust in someone , and them trusting her back, is what’s really important to her. You could honestly bring her little things that make you think of her and she’ll love and cherish it relationship tendencies.   As shown with her close bond with with Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems, once she cares about you, she will do anything to protect you. Bonds and relationships mean a lot to her, especially after being alone for so long. She will love with all of her heart. She feels with all of her heart. And she will take it very to heart if you don’t share the same feelings. However, she shows in plenty of ways how much she cares about her partner.

tagged by:  @pristinette because we love suffering in this household tagging: @chokethelight ( Jess ) , @huntedvideo , @lloronala , @hamadaxfighter , @pinkmanipulated , @outlawiism , @cerisetheai , @noblecide , @applesdrowned , + whoever wants to steal it

[shinneth]

For the character thing - Connie & Peridot??

Ooooh, interesting pair of choices. Guaranteed variety, at least!

How I feel about this character

She is my spirit animal. No, really, it’s kind of bizarre that it took this long for me to discover how fantastic Peridot is; I dropped off watching SU when I axed my cable - back then it was still early season 1 before she debuted. So I didn’t acknowledge her until I finally caught up on the series around the beginning of this year and holy shit. 

Peridot is immensely relatable as a character; she’s easily one of the most dynamic in the series and by far had the best, most engaging character arc. In a way, I almost feel she set the bar too high, since I haven’t really felt the characters who were redeemed after her really measured up in overall execution. Though Bismuth came close; she just didn’t have much time invested in her story. But hell, I could watch Peridot tell off Yellow Diamond over and over again…

Early on I saw the headcanons of Peridot being autistic - and being so myself, I could see why it’s a popular headcanon, but it made her even more of a character I could relate to. And while she was well-developed and generally had good screentime, there were so many ways I could interpret aspects of Peridot to further her development. There are still a slew of little details about Peridot (or are applicable to her) that aren’t explained very well (if at all). Which is why I dedicated nearly half a million words trying to solve those mysteries and to make Peridot even more amazing than she is already. 

She’s generally a bright light among a bunch of sadsacks in the show - and even when Peridot does have her down moments, they’re completely understandable. Overall, Peridot’s just a delight to see, and her very presence inspires me in ways I’ve never before thought I’d experience. She’s got a steady place in my standing of my top favorite characters of all-time.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

STEVEN.Steven Steven Steven–aah, alternatively, I’m fine shipping Peridot with Spinel, Bismuth, Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl. While I don’t ship Jaspidot, I can easily see that in a one-sided sense where no actual love is in the equation.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Tempting as it is to cheat and just say platonic Stevidot and call it a day, I’ll go with a platonic OTP with someone I absolutely don’t ship with Peridot any other way… I think by default, it’s with Amethyst. I’ve always been perfectly fine keeping platonic Amedot just as that. Though due to my writing, I’ve also come to really enjoy the platonic nature of Greg and Peridot as well. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Peridot was much better as a character before she became Lapis’ roommate. I’ve always felt this role actually made Peridot regress as a character in some ways (but not entirely - just enough for me to notice and be annoyed by it). Also, Peridot should be leading her own division of the Crystal Gems. :P

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

pppffffff only one, you say?! 

Well, there’s a hell of a lot to choose from… let’s just say I wish Peridot wasn’t totally pushed off to the side once the Rose Quartz=Pink Diamond stuff came about. I wrote a whole story on that. Honestly, I wished Peridot had more of a general presence after she moved back in to the bathroom…

How I feel about this character

The thing that comes to mind is wasted potential, sadly. Connie was far more likable in the earlier seasons, but she went downhill for me after taking up the sword. 

Nowadays, I find her to be pretty damn boring as a character. And her actions in the later seasons really damaged her in ways I’m not sure can be fully repaired. More than anything, now, I feel little more than a sense of dread with Connie because it’s looking more and more like they’ll go the most bland, predictable route with her character in the future… which will just make me dislike her that much more.

And the fanbase overblowing her as a character (plus a certain ship) tends to make me feel even more negatively inclined towards her; it just bothers me that the sheer mediocrity of Connie’s character is something that’s so celebrated.

I have tried in earnest to at least make her more palatable while writing Connie, and I do have at least a few ideas that might actually make her more enjoyable and more engaging as a character, but that’s still just headcanon. At best, I like to see Connie paralleled with Pearl - following in her footsteps too literally. That’s an area that could be explored more that would simultaneously make Connie more interesting and a tolerable (possibly even likable for me) character. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Pearl. And… that’s it, really. I guess it could potentially be interesting to ship her with that boy she accidentally kicked the ass of in school, but honestly, Pearl’s the only one I really want to see Connie with. If not, I’d be A-OK making her realize down the road that she doesn’t really feel the need to be romantically involved with anyone at all.  Maybe Connie grows up to have aspirations so big that she doesn’t have time to even think about romance, let alone want it. I’d be fine with that.

… is it weird that my headcanons for Connie are basically what a lot of people have for Peridot?

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Ergh… canon really soured Connverse even as a platonic ship during the last season, but realistically, there’s little else to choose from. Well, I do really like the concept of Connie and Peridot getting along really well and geeking out together. I have a foundation for that set in my screwy universe, at least…

But sure, in a general sense, we’ll just go with Steven here. :P Jam buds stay as jam buds!

My unpopular opinion about this character

Connie is not fascinating or interesting on her own merit, and she is not meant to be with Steven. The worst thing the show could do is have Connie and Steven get married and have kids. Don’t even imply it. That’s a shitty fate to subject both of them to. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

Connie being overwhelmed with so many lofty life goals she wants to have but has trouble deciding not only what really big career to aspire for, but also her conflicting schedule that would come with being a full-time Crystal Gem if she also fancies making that a lifelong pursuit… then contemplate whether or not she can handle an unstable and unpredictable life opposed to a grounded and more productive career where she’s fully in control of doing what she’s always wanted to do.

Hope those were satisfactory answers! Meme in question is here if anyone else wants to throw other characters at me. :D

[eurodrone]

Just imagining what could’ve been ...

Even the most hardcore Lapidot shippers have to admit that everything L+P in the barn was a big mess. Imagine Peridot had become a main part of the team and did some cool stuff with the gems. You could just go back to some monster of the week stuff, with Peridot there was so much potential for great things to happen, all the knowledge she has about homeworld, so many chances. The whole Jasper arc could’ve happened like that. But Lapis. Needed to stay away.. Not permanently, but the way both of them were forced to stay together was one of the most awkward writing decisions in the whole show. Imagine if they developed a reasonable attraction for both of them, and we know how capable they are of this, this could’ve been great. The main reason I don’t like it is not the ship itself but what actually happened with them in the show and the massive overproportional obsession of the fandom with Lapidot. That’s why I’m slowly starting to hate Spinel, there’s just so much more content in the fandom, even now. There is so much that needs more attention but no, just everything is about her.

You could have Lapidot, you could have them live in the barn, but then do that in season 4. Spend some time with them. Give them an actual reason to stay together. Not a baseless sitcom plot point of both of them wanting to stay in the same place, that’s actually what happened, I still can’t believe it. Of all characters, the one you can’t do that with is Lapis. She can literally fly anywhere on earth, stay everywhere, fly everywhere, even if she doesn’t hate Peridot anymore you can not fucking move them in the same place. AND THEN FORGET THE WARP PAD

If you wanted it to be a romance, then make it a romance. We need more actual love stories in SU, it’s surprising how little of that there is. I honestly think we won’t have any of the main CG’s in relationships, if it’s only for horrible fan reactions, which would be a shame. Build them up. Let them have adventures together, let them find out that they care for each other maybe more than all of the others. The way it is now... i don’t even know what they are to each other. I still have no idea who Lapis is supposed to be. Is she just over her trauma now and is best pals with Bismuth and Peridot? Did they ever talk about anything? We’ll never know. If she is now making friends as close as Peridot within what can’t be more than a few hours? She was already that close with Bismuth in CYM. If that is the case and all of the B-Team are now friend-making-machines, how the fuck is it a thing that they are the B-team and always together? What is with all of the hundreds if not thousands of new gems? Bismuth just happens to prefer spending all her time with some new randos instead of with all of her her fucking friends she fought a thousand year war with. Who, at least some of them she also knows for thousands of years? Or you know PEARL and GARNET? Everything that happens now happens because it’s convenient for the plot, not because that’s what would make sense as character motivations.

[lovixcore]

Too Close (Amedot Fic)

One-Shot

Summary: Peridot and Amethyst talk about their feelings

Notes: I rewrote this. I’m planning on rewriting a majority of my shit on AO3 but here’s the first. I hope it’s better then the original, it’s actually longer. 

Word Count: 2285 words

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15431358

She had been looking for Amethyst for at least 10 minutes, and then she arrived at the top of the hill, the hill that overlooked the Crystal Gem temple, she found her sitting on the edge, staring at the sky, which was painted with different shades of red and pink. "..Amethyst?" Peridot asked, softly, and somewhat cautiously.

Amethyst turned around, rather suprised that Peridot was here. Her eyes were wide, gleaming, with her mouth slightly open. She didn't know the reason she was suprised that Peridot was here with her, but she was. "Peridot?" She asked. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your best friend right now?" She teased.

"Well. I am here with her right now," Peridot commented, confused, not really getting Amethyst's little sarcastic comment about her friendship with Lapis.

"That's fair," Amethyst laughed. She patted down a spot next to her to indicate that she wanted Peridot to come sit with her, "Here. Come sit."

"Oh - uh - okay!" Peridot walked over, and then sat down next to the purple gem.

"I think I probably already said this but.. I like your new regenration, Peri," Amethyst enthused. "It really suits you!"

"Oh! Wow! Thanks!" Peridot blushed, slightly smiling at Amethyst, flattered.

Amethyst smiled back at her. "Sooo.. how were things without us?"

"Things without you and everyone else were.. boring.. persay."

"Really? Was it because I wasn't here?" Amethyst asked, jokingly.

"Oh yes! It was sooo boring because my great, funny, and strong purple quartz wasn't here," Peridot teased, almost flirtatiously.

"Hehe," Amethyst giggled. "Man.. Homeworld was insane."

"What do you mean?" Peridot asked, slightly confused.

"It's just.. I've never been to Homeworld before. There were so many gems.. Like a million.. And I saw era one Peridots! But.. they weren't exactly as cool as you," Amethyst rambled, putting her hand on Peridot's shoulder, something Peridot was used to. Peridot's cheeks flushed, becoming a light shade of blue. "We saw White Diamond! And her pearl! Man. They were so creepy. And there's so much else, but it's just a lot to explain, and I'm too exhausted from it right now to explain everything else."

"Yea.. I remember White Diamond and her pearl both being creepy while I served for Homeworld."

"Peri..?" Amethyst asked.

"Hm?"

"Okay.. Well.. you really actually scared me when were fighting the diamonds," Amethyst admitted.

"Really? How so?" Peridot asked, confused.

"You thought that it was an awesome idea to run up to Yellow Diamond and call her a clod," Amethyst explained what she had meant. "Per.. She could've shattered you... She could've took your gem and crushed it.. I could've lost you... and for good.."

"I'm sorry! .. It's just.. I was.. uh.. I wasn't thinking.. What I did was in the heat of the moment..," Peridot apologised. "I-I don't know... Maybe I just wanted to be cool.. Everyone else is.. You guys are amazing!" She paused and then blushed, taking Amethyst's hand, "You were amazing, Amethyst."

Amethyst's cheeks were a dark purple, "What? No! Peridot! You were just as cool as us! You are just as cool as us!"

"Um! No! I'm not just as cool as you guys!" Peridot argued. "All of you have your own awesome abilities! For clods sake, Amethyst, Steven was able to knock Blue Diamond down within just one hit! One!"

"Uh! Dude! You have metal powers! Metal. Powers." Amethyst cried.

"And what good is that?" Peridot asked.

"Um! ALOT!" Amethyst yelled, out of frustration. She face palmed and then clutched her bangs, that covered one of her eyes, "Ugh. Listen. Per. You are amazing! I know you personally don't believe that! But guess what? I do! And so does Garnet! So does Pearl! So does Steven! So does Bismuth! And so does everyone else! So stop thinking about what you could be when you already are so amazing! Stop comparing yourself to others dude."

"You really think that?" Peridot asked, blushing.

"Oh my - Yes. I thought that I was being perfectly clear on that!" Amethyst answered. She sighed, "Dude. I care about you, so much. You're my best friend, Peridot! And maybe.. Maybe you're even more then that.."

"Amethyst.. I feel the same way, about you," Peridot admitted, flushed.

Amethyst lightly smiled at Peridot. And then sighed, "I don't want things to go back to how they used to be."

"What do you mean?" Peridot asked, confused by what Amethyst said.

"Lapis."

"What?"

"Peridot.. she was practically your world.. She made you so happy! You guys did everything together! You guys had everything together! You had your own farm, your dumb show, your meep morps, Pumpkin! You were always with her.. and I guess.. that..  it made me so crazy.. and so jealous.. because you were always with her.. and you never had time for me.. Ugh.. that's sounds so selfish of me to say.."

"I guess.. but.. we weren't the perfect relationship.. and even though it seemed like everything was perfect.. it wasn't.. She was controlling, I lied to her. What we had wasn't exactly healthy," Peridot sighed.

"Yea.. I noticed something was off.. you were too peppy.. Like as soon as you guys moved in together, every time I was with you and she was there, you were different, but every time she wasn't there, you were still same old Peridot after you betrayed Homeworld, and before she moved in.. And maybe I thought it was my jealousy but I was right.. she really was bad for you," Amethyst explained. "That's also why I never want you guys to get as close ever again. Because you'll get your heart shattered again, and you'll be too peppy and bubbly just for her sake."

"I'm glad you noticed that," Peridot said. ".. Can you make sure of that? That I never get that attached to her again? Like.. I want to be her friend again, but we can never get that close again.. not until she gets better."

"Of course Peridot. I was gonna do it anyways."

"Thank you, Amethyst," Peridot smiled.

"Anytime 'Dot."

"I'm glad she's back though, and I'm glad she's here.. But I'm still hurt, and I don't think things will ever go back to how they used to be.. I don't want them to.. and that's why I asked you to make sure I don't get too attached to her. And Amethyst, I'm sorry I made you feel that way.. I did want to hangout with you but I felt like Lapis needed me, she only had me, and I thought you never had time for me either.. and truth is.. everytime we did it made me so happy to see you again.."

"Aww Peridot, you're makin' me blush, I loved hanging out with you too, and I still do," Amethyst blushed. "And don't apologize. It's okay Peridot."

"So you were jealous?" Peridot asked.

"Yep. Suprising, right?"

"Yeah but... You're important to me, Amethyst. I care about you a lot. And even though I don't show it sometimes, I do. And the thought of you leaving me, in some form, terrifies me..," Peridot said, as she got closer to Amethyst.

"Per.. you'll never ever lose me.. I promise..," Amethyst promised, taking Peridot's hand and holding it to asure her she would never abandon her.

"Wow.. Thanks," Peridot blushed, smiling at Amethyst. Amethyst smiled back. "The wedding was.. beautiful. I find it fascinating how earthlings celebrate romantic love."

"Yea.. Ruby and Sapphire are so in love with each other, it's amazing," Amethyst pointed out the obvious. "Even after they got into that huge fight, they still found their way back to each other."

"The concept of love is really.. interesting, and beautiful, and as you said, amazing," Peridot said. "On Homeworld, we weren't taught what love is, we weren't taught what romance is."

"Of course you weren't, silly. Those guys hate happiness, love, romance, and even fun. Like Yellow Pearl didn't even know what fun was until we went to Homeworld."

"Yea.." After moments of silence, Peridot finally spoke. "Have you ever felt love for anyone else, ever?" Peridot asked.

"I mean.. I love you guys.. You guys are m'a family."

"I meant a romantic attraction for anyone else."

"Welll.. I've kissed humans.. I've done stuff.. I've experimented.. I've had relationships but they weren't exactly long-term," Amethyst admitted.

"You've.. kissed someone?" Peridot asked.

"Why? You wanna kiss me or somethin? Or ya jealous that someone else has had the satisfication of laying their lips on mine?" Amethyst teased. Peridot's posture slumped, clenching her bottom lip, with her cheeks turning blue. "Dude, I was joking, but if you want to, I'm down for it."

"Oh. No thank you."

"You're a rookie at lying," Amethyst pointed out. "So what's up?"

"I don't know," Peridot said. "How do you.. Can you.. describe the feeling of a romantic attraction to me?"

"Well.. for me.. personally.. When I want someone, it's like my chest is pounding, or it's super tingly. And when I'm around the person who I have feelings for, it's hard for me to stop smiling, because they make me so happy, and I love being around them. And seeing them sad or upset, it makes me feel horrible too, because it hurts me when they are in pain. And when I see them, I just have this urge to pick them up, or hug them, or hold their hand, or kiss them, or do something to show them how much I like them," Amethyst gushed. Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were a deep purple, with her lips parted.

Peridot blushed and quietly said, "I.. think.. I think I have that feeling."

"For who? Lapis?" Amethyst joked. "Or have you been hanging out with Pearl?"

"No. Uh. You," Peridot admitted. Amethyst's face turned deep purple. She didn't respond, all she did was just stare at Peridot. "Did I do something? Amethyst?"

"No! No! You didn't!" Amethyst finally responded. "It's just.. I've liked you for so long.. like forever.. I've had this stupid huge crush on you forever, and I've never been able to get rid of it because you make me so happy."

"You have?" Peridot asked.

"Yea! Ever since you apologized for being a jerk to me at the Kindergarten, and gave me that little dorky smile I've liked you, and at first it was just a small crush and some flirting, but I really didn't start liking you until we started hanging out again, and it got to the point where I thought it was obvious, because Garnet and Pearl would notice me staring at you sometimes," Amethyst admitted, rambling again.

"I thought it was pretty obvious that I had a romantic attraction towards you," Peridot commented.

"Well it wasn't obvious enough."

"Why would you feel that way about me?" Peridot asked.

"Because... why wouldn't I? You're funny, you're sassy, you're pretty, you're my best friend, you're smart, and I love being around you!" Amethyst explained. "But, why would you like me? I'm the quartz soldier who came out wrong!"

"Amethyst, you may not be well made. But I don't care. I like you for you. I love your personality, I love your appearance, and I love everything about you. Defective or not. You're amazing."

"Aww thanks. You're making me blush even more, and super mushy," Amethyst smiled, ignoring Peridot's comment about her not being well made.

"So you call the act where someone presses their lips on someone else's, kissing? Correct?" Peridot asked.

"Yep. Why?"

"I'm down for it."

"Down for what?"

"Kissing you."

"Uh - listen like I know we just confessed our feelings for each other and all.. but you don't have to kiss me if you don't want to like.. I don't want you to feel pressured to kiss me. Okay?"

"I want to."

"You sure?" Amethyst asked.

Peridot nodded.

"Okay first, we gotta get closer." Amethyst pulled Peridot in, face to face. "Okay." She could notice Peridot squirming a little bit, she then put her hand on Peridot's hand. "Relax.."

"Sorry.. I'm just nervous.. I've never done this before and I don't want to mess it up."

"It's ok Peridot..." Amethyst then slowly leaned in. She noticed Peridot's cheeks turn blue, and her eyes half-lidded. She gently, and slowly placed her lips on hers. She then wrapped her arms around Peridot's shoulders, and Peridot wrapped her arms around Amethyst's wait. The kiss was held for at least a minute, and then they let go. All Amethyst saw was the green gem looking up at her, with her pupils enlarged, sparkling, her cheeks blue, her lips shimmering and parted.

"Holy smokes..," Peridot stammered, wowed by her first kiss. She felt so many new strange feelings, she didn't know what they were. She could feel her chest tingling, and her stomach felt like butterflies were swirling. It wasn't a bad feeling. She wanted more, she wanted to do it again. She cupped Amethyst's cheek, and leaned in, and kissed her again. They both smiled at each other, and giggled.

Amethyst kissed Peridot's cheek, and then kissed her lips again. She then laid down on the grass, staring up at the sky. Peridot joined her too. Amethyst smiled, and then gently grabbed Peridot's hand, holdin gonto it. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah." Peridot held it. She couldn't believe how fast things happened today, she went from talking to Amethyst about Homeworld to getting poofed to romance to confessing her feelings, and now she was holding hands with her, and she had just shared her first kiss with her. She knew this was real, but it still felt like a dream. Then they just laid there, not questioning anything, but hand holding, and blushing, and smiling, staring at the sky.