Peridot stepped off the warp pad as its light faded, onto the smooth stone of the Temple's hand. The night was cool, the moonlight reflecting off the still ocean. The washing machine and dryer were silent and the laundry line was empty, its human owner staying with his father that night. Peridot walked toward the edge of the hand, stopping and spreading her arms out as a breeze blew over her, bringing with it the smell of salt. After a minute, Peridot lowered her arms, hugging herself and raising her gaze to look at the stars.
The sound of the warp pad activating behind her startled the Gem, making her jump as she looked to see who her company was. "Garnet?!"
The Permafusion stepped off the pad, giving her a faint smile. "Hey Peridot."
Peridot moved her arms, first having them at her side, then behind her back as she struggled to decide on where to put them. She finally settled on leaning on the washer, trying to act casual. "What are you doing here?"
"Future vision." Garnet replied simply, her smile not wavering as she nudged her eye cover.
"Of course..." Peridot muttered, making Garnet chuckle faintly.
"I also heard the warp pad go off." She continued, walking over to Peridot. "So I decided to see what was going on."
"Nothing is going on!" Peridot exclaimed, her feet fidgeting as she tried to remain casual. "I just came out to... Look at the stars!" She gestured vaguely with one arm to the sky, hoping it would satisfy Garnet.
Garnet sat on top of the dryer, her feet still touching the ground. "Is that really all, Peridot?"
Peridot stood up straight, shuffling a bit. "I... Yes...?"
Garnet moved her hand, tapping the top of the washer beside her. Peridot watched for a second, listening to the faint click of her gem hitting the metal top of the appliance before stepping closer to it. Garnet placed her hand on her lap as Peridot turned, trying and failing to haul herself up backwards onto the washer. After a moment she turned, climbing on and spinning around so that she was sitting, her legs dangling not even halfway to the ground.
"It's about Lapis, isn't it?" Garnet asked gently, her gaze out over the sea.
Peridot glanced at Garnet, then followed her gaze out to the ocean. "Yes... I... miss her."
"You are her friend, Peridot. Of course you miss her." Garnet replied.
"I thought she was..." Peridot mumbled, her gaze dropping to her hands in her lap.
Garnet reached over, gently placing her hand on Peridot's shoulder. Peridot looked at it, reaching up and putting her hand on top of it. "I'm certain she was your friend Peridot... But she didn't feel at home here in Earth."
"But she farmed! We had Pumpkin, we built Meep Morps, we watched Camp Pining Hearts!..." Peridot trailed off, pulling Garnet's hand off her shoulder and drawing it to her lap. "Why did she leave...?"
Garnet went silent for a moment, letting Peridot keep her hand. "Lapis is a Gem of Blue Diamond's court. Blue Gems have a tendency to be selfish to a fault. They focus so much on their own feelings that they tend to ignore the feelings of those around them and any consequences that occur because of them."
Peridot went silent, flipping over Garnet's hand and gazing at the Gem, the one that belonged to the Sapphire of the fusion of she recalled correctly. Which she did, of course. She traced a circle around it. " But you're perfect!"
Garnet looked at her in surprise. "Perfect?"
"Your Sapphire." Peridot clarified. "Your Sapphire isn't selfish, clearly."
Garnet gave her a weak smile. "You're wrong Peridot."
Peridot glanced at her in surprise. "But-!"
"My Sapphire isn't perfect. She was an aristocratic Gem, and sometimes it is hard for her to break that mentality." Garnet admitted. "Pearl and I had an argument a long time ago, and Sapphire acted like she was above it. She focused so much on how she felt and how she knew the future would turn out, she didn't realize how her actions were hurting Ruby and Steven. I defused over that argument." Garnet paused, then removed her eye cover, giving Peridot a small smile. "Thank you, Peridot... But I'm not perfect."
Peridot looked back down at the Gem in Garnet's hand, thinking for a moment before finally letting it go. She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders and looking up at space. She felt closer to Garnet with that confession, but... "That didn't really help me feel better..."
Garnet reached over, pulling a startled Peridot into a hug. "We'll still be here for you, Peridot. Steven, Amethyst, Pearl. Even me." Peridot looked up at her, eyes widening. "You're a Crystal Gem, Peridot. We'll always be here when you need us."
Peridot smiled faintly, her hand drifting to touch Garnet's hand briefly before she hugged Garnet's waist tight. "Thanks, Garnet..."
Garnet smiled faintly before gazing up at the stars, the two remaining like that for a bit before the Permafusion shifted. "Come on you clod, we should probably get back in the Temple. I bet Pumpkin is wondering where you are."
Peridot released Garnet, standing and stretching as Garnet stood up, replacing her eye cover and starting to the pad. The green Gem gazed back up at the sky, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, feeling the soft breeze blow around her, bathing Peridot with the scent of salt once more.
"Are you coming?" Garnet's voice was gentle, lightly teasing the smaller Gem as she stood with arms crossed on the warp pad.
"... Yeah." Peridot opened her eyes, glancing up at the sky once more before turning and walking to the warp pad, stepping up beside the Permafusion.
There was a flash of light as the pad activated, bringing it's occupants back inside. The light faded, leaving the stone hand devoid of occupants once more.
