#brghtsid-e

“Don’t call me that!”

Amethyst and Peridot were lost.

Amethyst didn’t seem to be concerned about this. They would find their way to a warp pad eventually, she reasoned, and until then they might as well enjoy themselves. Peridot, on the other hand, didn’t see it that way.

“No one knows where we are! What if we wander around forever? What if we meet a monster and it dissipates us both? What if it takes us away and bubbles us and we can never regenerate again and no one ever knows what happened to us?”

Amethyst laughed. “Take a chill pill, P-dot. That’s not going to happen. First of all, monsters don’t know how to bubble.”

Peridot threw her hands in the air. “As far as you know! What if there’s one out here that’s just been lurking, and learning?”

“Jeez, Peri-bot. We’re not going to meet a monster. And even if we do, we’ve got this.” She stretched her arms behind her head. “I’ve got my whips, you’ve got your metal powers... what could stand a chance against us?”

“A really big monster,” Peridot suggested. “A really small monster that’s really fast. A--”

“Calm down, Peri-noid,” Amethyst said. “We’re just lost.”

“Don’t call me that,” Peridot snapped. “I’m not being paranoid. I’m being sensible.”

Amethyst stopped and turned to Peridot. “Listen, Peri. We are not going to be lost forever, we’re not going to be poofed by some monster, and we’re not going to be bubbled. Okay? Trust me. I’ve been on earth my whole life. Most of it actually isn’t trying to kill you.”

Peridot fiddled with her fingers. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Amethyst said firmly, just as an enormous roar echoed through the forest around them.

Both gems froze. Peridot looked around, wondering what could possibly have made that noise. It sounded... big.

“On the other hand,” Amethyst said, grabbing Peridot’s hand, “it’s always a good idea to run from the parts that are trying to kill you.”

“Amethyst! Wait!” Peridot stumbled, trying to keep up as Amethyst dragged her along. “I can’t run as fast as you!”

The thing, whatever it was, roared again. Amethyst came to a complete stop, causing Peridot to run into her.

“Then we’ll fuse,” she said.

Before Peridot could object (not that she would have), Amethyst kissed her. They didn’t have time for a proper fusion dance, but it didn’t matter; in that moment, they were united both in enjoyment of the kiss, and a desire to get away from the roaring thing as fast as possible. A few moments of glowing later, two became one, and one took off running.

Later, she would have time to stop and delight in being herself. Later she could revel in the feeling of being both Amethyst and Peridot and herself all at once. But for now, she was in too much of a hurry to get away from the roar that was shaking the trees to even think about the kiss that had made her come to be.

Slow dancing

“You know,” Amethyst said, “not all dancing is about fusion.”

Peridot looked at her. The statement seemed to have come out of nowhere. “What?”

“Not all dancing is about fusion,” Amethyst repeated. “Sometimes, it’s just about... being close with someone. Having fun. Sometimes even romance.”

“Really?” Peridot sat up and noticed that Amethyst was blushing. “Um... why do you bring it up?”

“Well,” Amethyst said, and for the first time Peridot noticed that there was music playing somewhere nearby, “I kinda thought you might wanna try dancing with me.”

She was blushing horribly by now. Peridot started blushing, too.

“Oh,” she said. “Well. Um... sure. But I don’t know how to dance.”

Amethyst jumped to her feet. “That’s okay,” she said, offering Peridot her hand. “I’ll teach you.”

The music was coming from somewhere far away, so much so that they had to be completely silent in order to hear it at all. That worked very well with the style of dancing that Amethyst led Peridot into: slow, close together, the only sound besides the music being each other’s quiet breathing. They didn’t need to breathe, of course, but Amethyst seemed to enjoy it, among other human things that she enjoyed. Peridot leaned closer so she could feel Amethyst’s breathing, as well, and Amethyst slid her hands around Peridot’s back.

Their dancing, Peridot noticed, was starting to seem less like dancing and more like hugging and slowly rotating on the spot. Not that she was complaining about that. There was always room for more hugging Amethyst in Peridot’s life.

“So, uh,” Peridot said, after a while of hugging and rotating in silence. “This is... nice.”

“Yeah,” Amethyst said. Her chin was resting on Peridot’s shoulder, so Peridot couldn’t see her face, but she sounded happy. “It is.”

“Thanks for suggesting it,” Peridot said, more quietly than before.

“Yeah. No problem, P-dot.”

There was a brief silence. Peridot wondered if the dancing had anything to do with the romance Amethyst had mentioned, but decided not to ask.

“Let’s do it again sometime,” she said instead.

Amethyst’s head tilted, and Peridot felt a tiny, soft pressure on her neck. After a moment, she realized it was Amethyst’s lips.

“Me, too,” Amethyst murmured, against Peridot’s neck.

Well. That answered the romance question. Unfortunately, Peridot was too frozen on the spot to respond.

Luckily, Amethyst seemed to realize that. She pulled away just enough for Peridot to see her face. She was definitely blushing.

“I really like you, Peridot,” she said.

That snapped Peridot out of her paralysis. “I really like you, too, Amethyst.”

Amethyst smiled, and Peridot decided that she had never looked more beautiful than at that moment. Apparently Amethyst thought the same about her, because she chose that moment to lean forward and kiss her.

This time Peridot was slightly better prepared. Slightly. She didn’t freeze; in fact, she managed to kiss Amethyst back. Still, when Amethyst pulled away, Peridot still felt somewhat dazed.

“Let’s do that again sometime, too,” Amethyst said.

first frost

Overnight, the dew had turned to frost, making the beach sparkle and the grass glitter. Steven had been confused, if excited, when Garnet suggested Connie sleep over that night, but now, as she handed the two of them steaming mugs of hot chocolate, he understood.

“Thanks, Garnet,” he said.

“Thanks, Ma’am,” Connie said, and took a sip of her cocoa. She closed her eyes and let out a blissful hum. “That’s delicious.”

“I knew it would be,” Garnet said. “Enjoy, you two.”

“We will,” Steven said.

Garnet gave a thumbs up and turned to go back into her room, leaving Steven and Connie sitting together in front of the window, watching the tranquil beach.

Connie leaned her head against Steven’s shoulder. “This is so nice. I’m glad my parents let me come over today.”

“Me, too,” Steven said. There was something special about the first frost of a new season, and it was a delight to get to experience it with his best friend. It seemed that Garnet had told the other gems to stay away, too, which was nice; it wasn’t as though he minded their company, but right now, the moment was just his and Connie’s.

Her hand found his under the blanket. “This is so pretty. You know, I never really stop and appreciate these things. Whenever it gets this cold, all I can think of is how I’m going to dress. And when it snows, I worry about the roads. I don’t usually stop to look at how pretty the world gets in winter.”

“Yeah,” Steven said. He turned his hand so he could properly hold hers, and she lifted her head to smile at him.

“It’s better with a friend,” she said.

He turned pink. “I was just thinking that.”

She settled her head back onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Steven?”

“Yeah?”

“I really like hanging out with you.”

Steven’s blush deepened. “I really like hanging out with you, too.”

cold

Gems didn’t have to worry about the cold, which meant that Amethyst often had the beach all to herself in the fall and winter. Unfortunately, Steven did have to worry about it, so he declined her invitations to hang out more often than not, especially after he got sick. Amethyst’s next idea was to ask Peridot.

“C’mon, P-dot, no one else will go with me,” Amethyst said. “We don’t even have to do anything. Just come with me.”

“Okay, fine,” Peridot grumbled. “But I can only go for a few minutes. Lapis and I are working on some new meep-morps.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes and grabbed Peridot’s hand. “Whatever. Let’s just go.”

But when they arrived at the beach, Amethyst found that there wasn’t actually anything she wanted to do. She sat just beyond the tide line and drew in the sand with a stick until Peridot said, “I thought you wanted to do something.”

“I guess I just wanted company,” Amethyst said. “You really eager to get back to Lapis?”

“No,” Peridot said. “I just don’t like to leave her for too long. You know. She’s fragile.”

Amethyst looked up at her. Lapis was many things, but “fragile” was far from the first thing that crossed her mind when she thought of her. “Really?”

“Well, not fragile. But you know. She’s been through a lot.” Peridot sat down next to Amethyst. “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

Amethyst started to smile. “That’s... really sweet.”

Peridot beamed. “I know.”

Amethyst nudged her. “Are you sure you’re the same gem who tried to kill us a bunch of times?”

She meant it as a tease, but Peridot drew her knees into her chest and looked out at the ocean, as if it would hold the answers. “I don’t know. I don’t even think I want to be.”

“Hey,” Amethyst said. She reached over and put her hand over Peridot’s. “You know I like you the way you are, right?”

Peridot looked at her. “Yeah. But I’m not who I was.”

Amethyst shrugged. “Are any of us? Look, Peri, we’ve all been through a lot. Stuff that changed us. Anyway, you’ve handled being trapped on Earth way better than Jasper ever did.”

Peridot looked around, as if expecting Jasper to be listening. “Yeah... I guess so.”

“No guesses about it,” Amethyst said firmly. “I mean, look at where you each ended up, right? She’s corrupted and bubbled, and you’re here on the beach holding my hand.”

Peridot blushed. “Yes. Yes I am.”

Amethyst smiled at her. For some reason, she felt a lot better now.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go make sand castles or something.”

Now it was Peridot’s turn to smile. “Okay.”

trick or treat

Amethyst handed Peridot a black, pointed hat. “Here. Put this on.”

Peridot examined it. “Why?”

“Because no one will give us candy if you’re not in costume,” Amethyst said. She reached back into the box and pulled out a black cloak. “Put this on, too. You can be a witch.”

Peridot put the hat on and frowned. “So... I dress up in these ridiculous clothes, and people give us candy for it? What are you going to wear?”

“I’m not going to wear anything,” Amethyst said. “I’m going to be your familiar.”

“My what?”

Amethyst turned into a cat and rubbed her head against Peridot’s leg. “Like this,” she said. “I’ll be cute and fluffy and they’ll give us tons of candy. You just gotta remember to say ‘trick or treat.’”

“Trick or treat,” Peridot repeated. “But we don’t want tricks. We just want treats.”

“Yeah, but it’s just what people do. C’mon, put on the cloak and let’s go.”

Peridot sighed and put on the cloak. Amethyst nudged the bucket she had gotten out, and Peridot picked it up. “The candy goes in here?”

“Meow,” Amethyst said.

Peridot frowned. “Why are we doing this again? You know I can’t even eat.”

In answer, Amethyst rubbed her head against Peridot’s leg. “Because you love me.”

Peridot blushed faintly. “Uh huh.”

“Now let’s go!” Amethyst said, apparently unaware that she might have said anything remotely strange. “The candy awaits!”

Peridot wouldn’t tell Amethyst, but she was still skeptical that this would work at all as they approached the first house. But when she knocked, the door did indeed open, and when she said “Trick or treat,” she did indeed receive candy.

She hugged the bucket tight to her chest as they walked away from the first house, her eyes shining. “I can’t believe that worked! We should do this every night.”

“It only works on Halloween,” Amethyst said. “What’d we get? I’m too short to see.”

“Two boxes of... nerds,” Peridot said, peering into the bucket. “Do you think we’ll get more?”

“Sure,” Amethyst said. “Nerds, huh? That’s appropriate. I’ll think of you when I eat ‘em.”

For some reason, that made Peridot blush again. She quickened her pace, and Amethyst easily kept up with her.

“Let’s just get to the next house,” Peridot said.

“Right there with you, P,” Amethyst said happily.

Thanksgiving, baking

(well, since they fit together so well, why not?)

Amethyst stared at the vast array of pies on the kitchen counter. “You think you got enough there, P?”

“Shut up,” Pearl snapped. Her hair was sticking up in odd directions, her apron was a mess, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days--which, knowing Pearl, was more likely than not. “I only make this many because I know you’re going to eat some of them before Thanksgiving.”

Amethyst put her hand over her heart. “Aww, how thoughtful. Well, if you insist, I’ll have a cherry one and a pumpkin one.”

Wordlessly, Pearl slid the two requested pies across the counter to Amethyst. It only took Amethyst a moment to notice that there were doubles of those. She grinned. “You know me so well.”

“You eat everything,” Pearl said wearily.

The timer beeped. Pearl spun around. “Oh no!”

“What’s in the oven?” Amethyst leaned over to try and see.

“Cheesecake.” Garnet’s voice emanated from the bottom of the stairs, and both Pearl and Amethyst turned to look at her in relief. “And don’t worry, Pearl, it’s fine. That’s why I set a timer.”

Now Amethyst leaned even closer to the oven, trying to see inside. “What kind of cheesecake?”

In one smooth motion, Garnet picked her up, kissed her, and put her down farther away from the oven. “You’ll find out in two days.”

Amethyst’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? I have to wait until Thanksgiving to even find out what you made me?”

“Think of it as a Christmas present,” Pearl said, already sounding calmer. Garnet’s presence tended to have that effect on her. “It’s no fun if it’s not a surprise.”

“Christmas presents are always fun,” Amethyst muttered, crossing her arms.

“Take your pies and go,” Pearl said. “You’re nothing but trouble in the kitchen and you know it.”

Amethyst stuck her tongue out at her, but grabbed one pie in each hand and left. Pearl watched her go, then leaned against Garnet’s shoulder.

“She isn’t really going to eat both of those at once, is she?” Pearl said.

“No, she’s going to put one in her mini-fridge, then try to guilt you into thinking you made her eat two whole pies,” Garnet said. “Just like last year.”

Pearl smiled. “Just like last year.”

Garnet kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? I’ll finish up in here. I’m sure Amethyst would appreciate your company.”

“Even if I’m asleep?” Pearl said. She hadn’t lifted her head from Garnet’s shoulder.

“Especially if you’re asleep,” Garnet said with a smile. “Go to bed.”

“All right.” Pearl straightened up and headed out of the kitchen, but paused before she left. “I love you, Garnet.”

“I love you, too, Pearl,” Garnet said. “Now go get some rest.”

Pearl didn’t need telling twice. She knew exactly where Amethyst would be, and knew from experience that sleeping with her was surprisingly relaxing; she made a good pillow, and hardly even complained about it. And with Garnet taking care of the baking, Pearl could go and sleep without worrying about anything.