"Do you want to fuse?"
The question caught Peridot by surprise. There they were, laying next to each other, staring up at the evening skies, the sun setting over the horizon. The smell of the ocean nearby filled Peridots nostrils and she glanced over at the blue gem, her eyebrows raised and her eyes the size of dish plates. She's been asked to fuse before, by the permafusion, but never would she have thought that Lapis Lazuli might ever want to fuse with her. Their eyes locked and Lapis cracked a small crooked smile.
"Just a thought..." Lapis shrugged her shoulders. Peridot opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Did she really feel comfortable sharing an experience like fusion with Lapis? Maybe... The two had only known each other for a few weeks. Peridot sat up and laced her fingers together in her lap, staring down at them in complete silence.
"Yes." Peridot whispered, just loud enough for Lapis to hear. Peridot stood up and turned to face Lapis, holding a hand out for her. Lapis' eyes widened in surprise. She seemed to hesitate, before taking her hand. Once their hands clasped together, Peridot pulled Lapis to her feet gently, a small smile tugging at her lips as she had to look up at Lapis. She wasn't much taller than her, maybe about a head taller, but still tall enough for Peridot to have to look up at her, just to look into her eyes. Peridot reached up and placed her other hand on Lapis' waist, while Lapis placed her hand on Peridots shoulder.
Lapis took a step forward, and in turn, Peridot took a step backwards, looking down at their feet, hoping she didn't make a wrong move. The two danced gracefully, nearly perfectly in sync for the whole dance. She felt like they both were in equal control of the dance, unlike her almost successful dance with Garnet, she felt like she could actually be successful this time. Peridot saw a bright light emitting from Lapis' gem and knew that the dance was coming to an end. She spun the other gem around, and dipped her, gripping her waist so that she wouldn't drop her. Lapis stared up at her with a surprised expression and Peridot blinked in response, leaning in. She pressed her lips against Lapis' and surprisingly, Lapis didn't pull away... Then, a flash of a bright white light came from their gems, engulfing the two in a blinding light...
Peridot thought about this quite often now... It's been weeks since this happened, and yet, whenever she looked at Lapis, she felt the exact same feeling she felt that evening... She was always pulled back into the memory, and she always just... Let it happen. Peridot swung a hammer at a nail, and because she wasn't paying attention to exactly what she was doing, she ended up hitting her fingers instead. She hissed to herself and her gaze snapped back to her work.
"Hey Peridot." Stevens voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Oh. Hello Steven." Peridot looked up at him wish a raised eyebrow. "Do you need anything?"
"Nah. Just wanted to talk to you." Steven smiled.
"... About what?" She asked, tilting her head to one side. Steven sat on the workbench that Peridot was using and he folded his hands over his lap.
"How have you and Lapis been getting along?" He asked with curiosity. Peridot stiffened and her cheeks turned a darker shade of green.
"Wh-what h-have you heard? We didn't fuse! No hahah..." She laughed nervously. Stevens eyebrows drew together in suspicion. "Ah... I mean... We've... Had decent conversations." Peridot stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why?"
"Well... Both of you have been distracted lately. And I was wondering if you two fought or anything..." Steven twiddled his thumbs.
"No, we haven't been in a fight... Quite the opposite really." And that was the moment Peridot realized that she had said too much.
"What do you mean?" Steven seemed to perk up at this.
"Well we-" She was cut off by Lapis walking up to them, dropping a large cardboard box at Peridots feet. Their gazes locked for a few minutes, before Lapis stood up straight, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Here's the parts you wanted." Was all she said, before turning on her heels and trudging out of the barn, her shoulders sagging. Peridot watched her go, not realizing she was staring for a very long time... That is, until Steven made a small gasping noise. Peridot's gaze snapped back to Steven, who's eyes were the size of the moon. His jaw hung open and his eyes sparkled with realization.
"Peridooooooot!" He brought his hands up to his cheeks and his smile widened. "You liiiike her!"
"What? N-no I don't!" Peridot crossed her arms over her chest, her face flushing. She definitely did not have any feelings for Lazuli. There was no way she could! Peridot has survived years without being attracted to anyone! So, there was absolutely no way she could be now. There's no way something as small as fusing could have an impact on the way she viewed an individual... Though... Maybe it wasn't the act of fusing. "Or... Maybe I do... I- I don't know..." She sighed and brought a hand up to her cheek.
"Well... When or... How did this happen..?" Steven inquired. Peridot inhaled deeply, debating if she should tell him about the night they fused.
"Lazuli and I fused." Peridot sighed and explained the whole memory in detail. After minutes of explaining, she took Stevens hand and dipped him, to demonstrate the last thing she did. "And then... I leaned in and well..." Her voice trailed off, her cheeks were now burning.
"You kissed her?" Steven asked.
"... Yes." Peridot replied and stood up straight. She let go of Steven and she bit the inside of her lip. "And now, whenever I see her, or talk to her... I feel... Different." Peridot scratched the back of her neck. "I've never felt this before and I never thought I would. I'm a Peridot. Meant for building and working and... Being alone. But now that I've met her... I just can't get her out of my head. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Talk to her." Steven said suddenly.
"What?"
"Talk to her. Then you'll know how she feels about this." Steven made a gesture with his hands. Peridot opened her mouth to protest, but she decided not to. She closed her mouth and left Steven. This wasn't going to work, she just knew it.
Lapis was sitting on the edge of the cliff, her eyes were trained on the ocean, watching the waves wash over the beaches shores below her feet. The moon was in the sky, shining brightly. The night air was silent, the only sound was the waves and the sound of crickets. She let out a small sigh and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Peridot approached the blue gem, clearing her throat.
"M-may I sit?" Peridot asked, earning a small 'hm.' from Lapis, which she took as a yes. Peridot sat next to her and the two sat there in total silence, neither of them really wanted to talk... Just sit there, enjoying each others company. Peridot had very conflicting thoughts... Part of her wanted to just get up and not talk to Lapis about what she had been feeling, but the other half... The other half of her felt like it was going to explode if she didn't tell her. It was a really odd feeling... Peridot looked over at Lapis, her shoulders loosening as she smiled half-heartedly. "The view is nice... Isn't it..?" Peridot chuckled softly. "Steven taught me how to appreciate the little things about this planet. Well... He taught me to appreciate a lot of things..." Her voice trailed off. "Lazuli, I'm going to be 'frank' with you." Her tone was suddenly a little more serious. "Steven believes that I may have... Feelings for you."
This piqued Lapis' interest. She let go of her legs and looked over at Peridot. "Oh..?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... And... He may not be completely wrong." Peridot looked down at the palms of her hands. "When I was on homeworld, I was always kept busy. I never socialized with other gems, aside from Jasper. But she was a one time thing. We were supposed to complete the mission, and then we'd never see each other again." She muttered. "But then I came to Earth. Everything changed. I started seeing things completely different... Even you." Peridot bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry for kidnapping you that day..." She sighed.
"Peridot. If you hadn't done that... I wouldn't have been here to hear this." She then smirked. "And I wouldn't have been able to do this..." She leaned towards Peridot and pressed her lips against Peridots. The two stayed like that for a few more seconds before Lapis pulled away and rested her head on Peridots shoulder. "You could have told me this a lot sooner you know..." She chuckled.