Scarred
Steven Universe fanfic
Steven yawned as the credits rolled for the special movie edition of Crying Breakfast
edition. Peridot looked over at him with a curious, and slightly worried look on her face.
"Steven, why do you keep doing that? Is there something wrong with you?" She asked.
"Huh?" Steven yawned again.
"That! What you just did there! What is that?" Peridot was practically bouncing on the bed when Steven yawned again.
"Oh, that. It's called yawning. It's what humans do when they're tired and need to sleep."
"Sleep? What is 'sleep'?" The green gem was confused by some words on earth, but she loved it when Steven told her what they meant.
"Sleep is when you go into a sort of 'trance', I guess. Just overnight, and you don't really notice the passing of time." Steven voice was warm as he explained the odd earth behavior.
"So it's a coma?" Peridot questioned. Steven gave her the blank look that told her that he had no clue what a coma was. Peridot grumbled as the halfling turned to yell down the stairs.
"Pearl! What is a coma?" The Pearl glanced up from where she was washing the dishes, and replied,
"A coma? Well, comas are sort of like a long-term, forced sleep. That's why Peridot was using it to explain." The Pearl smiled when Steven understood, and it made Peridot very uncomfortable. She was still new to this whole 'respecting Pearl' thing, but if it made Steven happy, she would do it. I would face Yellow Diamond alone for him, she thought.
Turning back to her halfling crush, she said, "Do you retreat into your gem when you sleep?"
"No, you stay in your solid form. Full gems don't need to sleep, but they can. Pearl just finds it a waste of time, I think."
"Oh, ok." Peridot blushed bright green and thought for a moment. After her mind had reached a decision, she turned back to Steven and asked, "Can I try sleeping?"
"Sure!" Steven was so happy at the idea. "Hey Pearl, should we get out an air mattress for Peridot, or will she sleep on the couch?"
The Pearl gestured towards the couch. Steven grabbed Peridot's hand in his, and sprinted down the stairs. He had her lay down on the couch, then got a bunch of blankets to use.
"Are those weapons?!" Peridot wildly jumped backwards, afraid.
"No, no Peridot. They're blankets. You put them on top of you to keep warm!" Steven tossed the 'blankets' on a chair right by the couch, sat down next to her, and took her hand. Peridot wasn't trying to think it, but he's holding my hand! He's holding my hand! kept running through her head. Peridot lay down on the couch, and he tossed one of those blankets on her. The Pearl walked by them and said,
"Goodnight, you two. I'm going into my room for the night." With that, she opened her door and stepped inside. Steven hugged Peridot (which made her blush profusely) and walked up the stairs.
"I'll be right up here if you need me, Peridot!" She heard him pull up his blankets and soon after, he began making some strange noise. Afraid something was wrong, she sprinted up the stairs and shook Steven awake.
"STEVEN! You were making some weird growling noise, is everything okay?!" She was freaking out over her crush.
"Peridot... " he groaned. "It's just snoring… Please go back to sleep…" Steven flopped onto his other side, and immediately started snoring again. Peridot, still trying to lower her heartbeat, walked down the stairs and went back to sleep.
Steven woke up around 2:30 a.m. with a dry mouth. Standing up and stretching, he walked down towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. However, before he could open the cupboard, Steven heard a faint whimper behind him. Turning around, he saw Peridot, tightly curled up in a trembling ball.
"No… please…" The green gem pleaded. She let out a weak, quiet scream and cringed. Steven walked over to her, concern showing on his face. Whatever she's dreaming about, it's not good. He got onto his knees by her head, and gently stroked her hair. Peridot got quiet, but she was still tense and Steven could tell that her nightmare wasn't over.
"Peridot," He whispered comfortingly. The gem woke up, and lay there panting.
Peridot woke with a start. Her dream was fuzzy, and she couldn't remember much. A dark silhouette, she thought. Attacking me, then Steven… Steven! Her eyes widened, then refocused. The silhouette was gone, and she was back in Steven's home. Steven was there too, right by her head. She jumped at him and hugged him tight. At first, he was surprised. Then, he relaxed and hugged her back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Steven broke the silence.
"Peridot, was was your dream about?" At first, the green gem was was confused, then realized that a dream was probably the 'fake reality' she just experienced while she was asleep.
"Well, the memory is really fuzzy. All I can remember is a dark silhouette attacking me, trying to shatter my gemstone. Then you came and protected me with your shield. After that, I woke up." She whispered. Steven let go of her, and sat down on the couch. Peridot walked over to him and sat down as well. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. I can get used to this, she thought.
Peridot was much calmer now as they sat together on the couch. He looked at the picture of Rose Quartz on the wall, then back at the green gem. She looks so peaceful, he thought. Without really knowing what he was doing, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She was surprised, but then she nuzzled up closer to him and smiled. For a split second, he thought about Connie. What would she think about this? He didn't think about it too long, then decided that she shouldn't know. He kissed Peridot again, then they dozed off on the couch.