This is an older!Steven x Peridot story. If older!Steven x Peridot stories are not your thing, I suggest you turn back now, because I will not be all that happy if every single comment I get is a complaint that it's an older!Steven x Peridot story. You have been warned.

XXX

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

"Wow, this is turning out to be a pretty bad storm." Normally the weather wasn't something that Steven paid much attention to, but this storm was the worst he'd seen in a long time. The wind was so strong, the rain hit the windows sideways with a noise that sounded like gravel being thrown at the glass, and the waves ran all the way up to the bottom of the temple fusion statue. Also the electricity was out and even though lightning lit up the sky frequently, it wasn't enough to really read his book comfortably. "Are you sure the house is gonna be OK?" he asked a little anxiously as a particularly large wave ran up the sand.

"It'll be fine," Pearl reassured him. "We helped your father build this house and we built it to last."

"Yeah, it would take like, a earthquakanado to make a dent in this place," Amethyst added.

At that moment Garnet stepped out of the temple door, looking serious, and Amethyst's face fell. "Oh no. It's an earthquakanado, isn't it? I hate when I say something won't happen and you immediately come out and say it's gonna happen." Then she stopped talking and looked thoughtful. "We're not going to get a delivery of free pizzas."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Garnet said firmly. "And neither is an earthquakanado." She adjusted her shades slightly. "There's a corrupted gem trapped in a fissure that's now affecting the local ecosystem. We have to go and deal with it before anything eats the contaminated flora."

"Want me to come along?" Steven asked, turning away from the window. "Maybe my healing powers could fix things?"

"I don't know, your power over plant life might make things worse," Pearl mused.

"Pearl's right, your healing spit is absolutely the last thing we need here." Garnet glanced over at the clock on the microwave. "It's getting late anyway. Why don't you go to sleep and let us deal with it for now, and join us in the morning?"

Maybe it was the power of suggestion, or maybe it was just Garnet's future vision at work, but Steven suddenly realised how tired he was. "All right." He stood up and stretched. "I'll call you in the morning. And I'll keep my cell by my bed so you can call me if you need me sooner."

"Bye, Steven. Sleep well," Pearl said as she stepped onto the warp pad.

"Yeah, and call us if the house falls down," Amethyst joked.

"Which won't happen," Garnet finished. She activated the warp, and the trio vanished.

Now he was alone, the storm suddenly seemed much more ominous. He listened to the waves crashing down below and wasn't entirely reassured that the house wasn't swaying in the wind. Then he shook his fears away and stepped into the bathroom to brush his teeth. If the gems, especially Garnet, were confident that the house was safe, then it was safe. There was probably a greater chance of the Big Donut sign falling down.

He smiled at that thought, imagining the large donut rolling down the street. Then another gust of wind rattled the window frame and he paused, the toothbrush halfway to his mouth as a thought occurred to him. The beach house was going to be fine, but what about the barn? He slowly put the toothbrush back down as he mulled over that thought. The barn was much older than the beach house; Uncle Andy had mentioned the annual family feasts that had taken place there. So it must have weathered plenty of bad storms before. But did that mean it was more or less likely to fall down in this one? And what about the silo and the truck that were now permanently part of the structure? Did they reinforce or weaken it?

He picked up his cell and stared at the screen. Should he call Lapis or Peridot? They were probably fine, they were fully grown gems who had complete control over their powers. In fact, Lapis had probably used her hydrokinesis to force the weather over Beach City and the barn was calm and serene. Although… he would feel a little better if he knew for sure, so he scrolled through his contacts until he reached Lapis, which was when he discovered that the cell network was down. He swore under his breath. He really didn't want to have to go outside in this weather. "They'll be fine," he said aloud. And then, because he hadn't quite managed to convince himself, he said it again. "They'll be fine! I'm sure of it!"

xxx

And at that moment, Lapis and Peridot were, in fact, fine. Lapis, fascinated by the storm, had decided to go out and fly through it. And Peridot, who didn't often have the barn to herself, had taken advantage of the situation and was indulging in several of her favorite things at once. Now she lounged happily in the hammock, dressed in cutoff jeans and a sequined halter top, headphones plugged in as she listened to some old music Greg had recommended, all while writing Camp Pining Hearts fanfiction on her tablet.

'"I know you dropped the key to these handcuffs in the lake so I'd miss my date with Paulette," Percy accused his ex-best friend. "Why don't you just admit it?"

"You think I'd do that?" Pierre said, sadness written all over his face. He turned his face away. "If you must know, I didn't do it so you'd spend less time with her… I did it so you'd spend more time with me," he admitted, shamefaced.'

Peridot stopped typing and reread the last paragraph twice before deciding there was just a little too much repetition of the word 'face'. She erased a few words and typed again. This time it flowed much better and she smiled happily. Now she could begin working on next scene, where Pierre would declare his love.

The hammock swayed gently. Blondie sang in her ears, and Percy and Pierre gave in to their mutual lust and kissed. Everything was quite lovely. The very last thing Peridot expected was for the ceiling of her room to collapse as the truck fell through it.

She dropped her tablet with a scream, and threw her hands up in a valiant attempt to stop it before it crashed into her face. Fortunately, her metal powers didn't let her down and the truck froze in midair. Unfortunately, her powers didn't work on wood, and when the section of ceiling holding the end of the hammock collapsed as well, Peridot found herself unexpectedly tipped out onto the floor. Her concentration broke, and the truck slammed heavily into her chest and she gasped in pain.

Her headphones had been knocked askew, and now she could hear the creaks and crashes as the rest of the barn was battered by the storm. More wood fell, pinning her in place. She felt something in her leg snap and screamed. Then above the howling wind and splintering wood, she heard the ominous sound of grinding metal. The silo, she realized. If that fell on her, would it poof her, or would she be trapped under it until Lapis returned? Neither of those options were particularly appealing, so she concentrated on holding the truck in place with one hand, and with the other one, she gave a mental shove, pushing the silo away from the barn and faintly heard it crash onto the ground outside. It had probably flattened the tractor, she thought gloomily.

Now the immediate danger of being squashed by the silo had passed, she tried to assess the rest of the damage. She could use her powers to move the truck, but there was a wooden beam across her legs and a broken plank of wood was stabbing her in the thigh. Also she was more than a little worried that trying to move the truck would result in even more of the barn falling down on her. Still, her chest hurt and she wanted the pain to stop, so she gave the truck a tentative push. There was an immediate splintering noise and broken wood hit the ground next to her head and she froze, not daring to move any more.

For several minutes she lay there, wondering what to do next, rainwater dripping on her face as she listened to the storm rage outside, flinching every now and then when the barn shifted. But then after a while, she slowly became aware of another sound, a voice just faintly audible over the wind, and her heart leapt with hope. "Hello!" she shouted, ignoring the pain in her chest as she inhaled. "Help me!"

"Hello!?" The voice was louder now. "Lapis? Peridot? Are you in here?"

She sagged with relief, almost losing her hold on the truck as she finally recognized the owner of the voice. "Steven! Over here!"

Wood clattered, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steven's spiked bubble shield roll up beside her. "Oh my gosh, Peridot!" To his eternal credit, he didn't bother with any stupid questions like 'what happened' or 'are you all right', but instead dismissed the shield and knelt down to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Hold on, I'll get you out of here. Just as soon as I work out how," he added under his breath. He stepped back again and tried to think. "I have an idea," he said slowly, and summoned his bubble again. "I'll try and expand my bubble around you and push the debris out of the way. When I do, can you push the truck out of the way?"

"Yes." Peridot nodded at once. "But Steven… there's a piece of wood stuck in my leg. Will you contain it in the bubble too or will it be pushed out?"

"Uh…" Steven bit his lip. "I'll try and push it out," he decided. "It's probably gonna hurt, I'm sorry about that, but I can heal you and it'll be easier for us to move without it."

"OK." She nodded again.

"All right. When I say 'go', push the truck away," he instructed. "Ready, set… GO!"

Peridot gritted her teeth and pushed the truck as hard as she could, sending it flying back out of the wrecked barn. At the same time, Steven expanded his bubble, and everything in its path, except for Peridot herself, was tossed aside. Peridot couldn't help crying out in pain as the broken plank was ripped out of her leg, but Steven was beside her at once with a palm full of spit, which he immediately slapped over the wound. "There," he said in satisfaction. Then he took another, longer look at her and recoiled. "OK… um, that's not enough, is it?"

"No," she said in a wobbly voice, trying not to cry.

"Where else hurts?" he asked, trying to sound calmer than he felt.

"Uh…" Peridot began making a mental list of all her current injuries, and quickly gave up. "Everywhere."

"All right…" Steven thought quickly. Perhaps if he used his spit on her gem, it would heal the rest of her body? It was worth a try, so he leaned over and pressed his lips to the gemstone on her forehead, then sat back hopefully.

Nothing happened.

He groaned with disappointment. It would seem that because her actual gem wasn't damaged, his powers weren't doing anything. To heal her body, he'd need to pretty much dunk her in a bathtub of spit, and he didn't think he had enough- "Oh! I'm stupid!" he exclaimed aloud, slapping his forehead in emphasis. "My mom's fountain!" he explained in response to her blank expression. "I'll take you there!" And so he very carefully picked her up, trying not to cause her any further pain, and took one last look around the barn. "Where's Lapis?" he belatedly asked. "Did she get out OK?"

"She isn't here," Peridot said through clenched teeth. "She went out flying."

Steven glanced around again, half-wondering if he should leave a note for the other gem, but immediately dismissed it as a very silly idea. Besides, Lapis wasn't an idiot, as soon as she saw the state of the barn, she'd go straight to the Temple to get help. "Let's go," he said instead, and began rolling the bubble back outside.

xxx

Fifteen minutes later, they rematerialized inside the beach house. Peridot immediately crossed over to the sofa, dripping magic water onto the floor with each step, and sunk down onto it with a groan. Steven was beside her in an instant. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously, wondering if perhaps his mother's healing powers weren't as effective on an era 2 gem, but Peridot just smiled wryly.

"Oh, I'm completely healed." She waved a hand in the direction of the warp pad. "I just wish I could say the same about my home and all of my possessions."

"As soon as the storm's stopped, we'll go and check out the damage," Steven promised at once. "I'm sure we can rescue your stuff."

"And the barn?" she asked, turned to face him. "Do you think it can be repaired?"

"Honestly?" Steven shook his head sadly. "I'm no builder, but it didn't look good when I arrived, and I'm pretty sure it looks a lot worse now." Peridot groaned again and cradled her head in her hands and Steven quickly changed the subject. "Peri? Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose so," she muttered.

It wasn't the most encouraging response, but Steven forged ahead anyway. "I don't get it… I saw you get thrown all over the Beta Kindergarten without a scratch, how come you got so badly hurt by the barn falling down?"

Beneath her fingers, Peridot blushed dark green. "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise," Steven said at once.

"Do you recall when Connie gave me that book on human anatomy?" she began.

Steven opened his mouth and then closed it again, suddenly unsure whether he wanted to know the rest of this story, because Connie had given Peridot the book when she'd finally gotten curious about his hybrid status and started asking uncomfortable questions about how exactly how his parents had created him. "…Yes," he said warily.

"Well, it contained detailed diagrams of human internal systems," Peridot continued, dropping her hands from her face as she spoke. "I was particularly intrigued by the digestive system. Many human bonding rituals take place during the mutual consumption of food. There are many television shows dedicated to crafting the perfect foodstuff. And you and Amethyst seem to deeply enjoy it. So it's something I have wished to experience for myself, but my attempts at shapeshifting have been to no avail."

"Oooookay?" Steven replied, wondering what on Earth this had to do with her cuts and bruises.

"So when I last reformed, I made a digestive system," she said. "But the human internal systems are all interlinked and I wasn't sure exactly how much could be safely omitted. So…I included everything."

"Ah." Steven was finally beginning to understand. "Including bones and blood, am I right?"

"It is a decision I am beginning to regret," Peridot admitted. "And I will be making some changes next time I reform. I've definitely decided not to keep the skeleton."

"You make it sound like you keep an actual skeleton just randomly lying around," Steven chuckled.

Peridot couldn't help smiling a little too. Then she sighed deeply. If she had kept an actual skeleton just randomly lying around, it would've certainly been smashed to bits by now. On the bright side though… "It could have been worse," she said aloud. "If Garnet hadn't decided to relocate the bubbled gems into the temple…"

Steven cringed at the thought. "Yeah, that's a point. Ooh, and speaking of Garnet," he began, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Then his face fell. "Darn. Still no service."

"Where are the gems?" Peridot asked.

"On a mission," Steven replied a little distractedly as he began walking around the little house in the vain hope of finding a spot with cell service. "I think they said a gem got buried? So it's affecting the plant life there."

"Oh." Despite the fact that it was far from the first mission she'd been left out of, Peridot still couldn't help feeling a tiny twinge of hurt that had nothing to do with the barn falling on her. She knew the other Crystal Gems didn't mean anything by it, but it did annoy her when nobody thought to ask her for help, especially when it was a mission where she might actually be of use. And as a kindergarten technician, she definitely had more than a few ideas about how a buried gem could affect the surrounding area. "Do you have any idea where they are?" she asked.

"No idea," Steven admitted. "I was supposed to go to sleep and call them in the morning. But I guess the storm's knocked out the network, so we'll just have to wait." He glanced back down at his phone again, noting the time. Well after midnight. "I really should go to bed now," he muttered, half to himself. "Do you wanna take your clothes off?"

"Excuse me!?" Peridot asked, startled.

A deep blush bloomed on Steven's face as he realized what he'd just said. "I-I meant because you're wet!" he tried to explain. "I mean, your clothes! Are wet!"

"Oh!" She looked down at herself, finally noticing the growing puddle at her feet. "I see."

"There's a laundry hamper in the bathroom, so you can change in there," Steven rapidly continued, gesturing a little wildly towards the doorway. "And we'll get them washed and dried for you."

He waited until Peridot had closed the bathroom door, and then sprinted up the stairs to his room and changed into his pajamas as quickly as possible. That done, he flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, idly wondering what the Crystal Gems would have to say about this, but without warning, his exhaustion crashed down upon him and seconds later, he was asleep.