Amongst the hustle of the boardwalk on a busy Monday, Amethyst sat with Peridot on a commemorated wooden bench. They were waiting on Steven to come back with ice creams - one for him, one for Amethyst.
Amethyst took in her surroundings, the sights of diverse, content people, the sounds of idle chatter and motors running, the scents of the ocean and treats. It was all really nice, and she appreciated it (only on Earth could you find such calm life), but she mostly did it to avoid focusing on Peridot, who was sitting next to her. Amethyst knew she felt affections for the technician, and did her best not to embarrass herself by getting flustered talking to her. She felt totally confident when Steven was here to deflect to, but on her own she was lost.
As she watched a seagull eat a chip that had been left behind, she couldn't help but feel Peridot shuffling next to her. Was she uncomfortable? The bench was pretty old. While Amethyst sat with her legs open, Peridot sat very huddled, her hands gripping the bench subtly. She scooted a little closer, shifting the whole rickety seat.
Amethyst peeked under her bangs to see Peridot looking away from her, a tiny but unmistakable blush on her face, and an unreadable look. Amethyst felt her face heat up, and looked back to the seagull to find it had flown away. With nothing to distract herself, the purple gem panicked slightly.
C'mon Amethyst, she's your best friend! Get a grip!
Lost amongst her nervous thoughts, she almost didn't feel the faint brush of hair on her bare shoulder. She nearly jumped as Peridot leaned into her carefully, soft but stubborn blond hair becoming scruffy as it pressed against her form. The green gem released a sigh that she seemed to have been holding, resting her cheek on Amethyst's arm.
The purple gem's fake heart raced, and she had to resist from making a nervous keen. She felt her face become a deep, hot purple, and the cool beach air did nothing to help.
Steven! G-Get back with those icecreams dude. Hurry!
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Amethyst felt calm as she flicked through her hairstyling magazine, glancing over hairstyles that she liked and planned to try later. She could hear Steven showing Peridot a game in the loft upstairs, noises blaring and voices chattering positively. Amethyst liked hearing that the green gem was interested in the game; previously she had mentioned that they were a waste of time. She came to a page featuring straightened hair when the beach houses' door was slammed open. From her position on the couch, she looked up from her magazine to see Jasper stumble in.
The striped quartz had gotten some help from Steven, recovering from her corruption to a state where her mind and body did not fluctuate between gem and beast. But as everyone had theorized, she could never fully heal. She eternally bore green and red spikes and protrudences all up her arm and down her back, and she often walked with a limp.
The debilitated gem was now a very reluctant "ally" of the crystal gems, and she was allowed in all dwellings of theirs as long as she didn't start a fight. And by order of Steven, no one was to attack her. Everybody respected his decision, and although there was still hostility, nobody really wanted to fight the poor gem. She had been through too much already.
Despite them being on closer terms now (and Amethyst trying to understand Jasper), the purple gem was very wary of the orange gem. Amethyst never felt completely safe around Jasper, and she was often more comfortable to stand far away from her and closer to a teammate whenever they had to talk. Garnet and Pearl were often this teammate, and knew of her sensitivities – so they were protective of her too.
But right now they weren't here. Amethyst peered at Jasper, who was taking in the sight of the beach house with her bright yellow eyes. The large gem swung her head at the sound of a noise from Steven's game, where she noticed the two there. Peridot and Steven stared back at her warily, although the young boy gave a wave. It was obvious that her presence changed the mood of the room. Jasper's gaze then travelled down from the occupied loft to the occupied couch where Amethyst was. The two made eye contact.
Amethyst should have felt nervous in this moment. Jasper's vibrant, judging eyes were piercing her soft violet ones from across the room. But she felt another feeling deep inside of her, something innate. She wanted to protect. Maybe because the older gems weren't around, she felt responsible. She didn't feel Jasper was a threat to her, but instead a threat to her loved ones. With little hesitance, she put her book down and hopped up to the loft, joining Peridot and Steven.
She took a seat next to them, sitting defensively in front of them (if seen from Jasper's point of view). She had her hand purposely near Steven's just in case they had to form Smokey. Steven seemed to understand, as his face had a stern air to it, but otherwise continued with his game. He wouldn't have wanted a fight, if anything were to happen he would use his words. Amethyst turned her head to glare at Jasper.
I won't let you hurt them. I won't let you hurt my family. You can't beat me and Steven, and you're not touching Peridot. I'm stronger now. I've trained and these two rely on me. They give more confidence than I ever could've imagined. So don't start anything.
She felt emotion boiling over in her chest. Love, devotion, purpose. But why did she feel this way? Many times her and Steven had interacted with Jasper. They'd shown her the things they liked to do when they were bored, or teach her about earth stuff. The purple gem looked over to her left, past Steven. Peridot was sitting there. It was because Peridot was sitting there that she felt so protective. She didn't like the thought of Peridot unable to defend herself against Jasper. There was tension between the two because they both originally held loyalties to Homeworld. What if they got into a fight?
She knew that Jasper was not there to fight. She knew she was only hobbling around, having nothing else left to do. She was homeless and her pride had been taken down quite a notch (but don't worry, it was still there). But Amethyst felt it inside herself.
Jasper noted the other quartzes posture and determined glare. She couldn't help but chuckle, the sound sad and pitiful in itself. She recognized the behaviour immediately; quartzes were made for fighting and defending. She knew from it that Amethyst considered her a threat to her friends. And now, through her experiences with the Crystal gems, she learned it to be a gesture of love. The orange gem looked over to Peridot, needing to lean a bit to see past the other two quartzes. Not surprisingly, Amethyst moved a little bit, now not letting her even see the green gem. Jasper could only smile and shake her head, walking back out of the beach house.
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She wasn't sure how it got like this, but they were holding hands. One moment they were idly chatting while following Lapis to the beach house, the next her hand was slipped into Peridot's. She wasn't sure who actually made the move first. She couldn't recall if she took the smaller gem's hand, or if Peridot gripped hers. She knew they were walking side by side, practically shoulder to shoulder, hands brushing and bumping. One of them must have linked their hands together. Well, she wasn't complaining.
The contact made her feel so warm. She couldn't keep a stupid grin off of her face. She felt stupid. She felt giddy. Amazing, revitalized, cheeky. She felt shy, but somehow also content. So many feelings rolled into a confusing heap. It felt great.
Her and Peridot giggled about something miniscule, and her emotions were sparking inside of her. She had never felt this way with another; she knew the feelings she had for Peridot were different. Which is why when the green gem had to leave, everything halted.
"Peridot, are you coming?" asked Lapis. The cool ocean gem stood on the light blue crystal warp pad, waiting.
"Oh, right. Sorry Lapis." Peridot apologized, moving away from Amethyst to head to the temple warp pad. They were heading home.
Amethyst stopped her. She didn't mean to, she didn't consciously do it. Her hand just stayed clenched onto Peridot's and she didn't let go when she was meant to. The rest of Peridot lurched backwards as she was still being held onto. The green gem turned around and watched Amethyst in confusion.
Amethyst knew she was being unreasonable, acting like a child when its toy is taken. But she was just having so much fun with Peridot. She chased away Amethyst's blues and the purple gem knew that Peridot saw her for who she was and not just a quartz soldier. They had gotten beyond that and forged a very good friendship - Amethyst wanting even more. She didn't want to separate from her friend, not after the fun they had today, not after how close and comfortable they had become today. But she had to.
Hesitating, she let go of Peridot's green hand, feeling two pairs of eyes on her. Blushing profusely, she hid under her bangs and gripped her shoulder with her now free hand. "S-Sorry." She coughed out. "I wasn't thinking" she excused.
"Um, it's okay." Peridot said quietly, trying to catch Amethyst's purple eyes. The gem didn't look up. Peridot remained silent and eventually walked over and joined Lapis on the warp pad.
The mature gem noticed something between them, but didn't voice anything. "Bye Amethyst" she farewelled.
"Bye." The light absorbed them and they were gone.
I really know how to screw up, don't I?
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She said she was just hanging out at the barn for a little while. She had wanted to make things a little less awkward with the barn gems, who she had embarrassed herself in front of. She didn't think she would be comfortable enough to nap. Especially not in Peridot's lap. But it was so nice.
She'd warped over, said her stuff ("Sorry for bein' a weirdo guys.") and everything she had been worried about was for nothing. Lapis said it didn't matter, and Peridot said she shouldn't have been worrying about it in the first place. Thinking how much the two had changed, she didn't expect to be invited up into the car loft to watch "Camp Pining Hearts". She didn't think there would be room for her there, but there was! And although she didn't know much about her, Lapis Lazuli was great. She could do the best deadpans to stop a rambling Peridot straight in her tracks, and seemed to see right through Amethyst, seeing her crush on the olivine gem. Amethyst found that the blue gem would help ease along conversation if she herself was too flustered. And Lapis would get Peridot to talk about things that Amethyst liked too. She found herself indebted to the older gem for her help. Especially when she "went to go flying". At first, the purple gem didn't want her to go; she was so scared of saying something stupid and getting stuck. But Lapis' thumbs up as she took off gave her a surprising amount of confidence, and she turned to Peridot.
"Yeah, she does that a lot. She just needs time to think." Peridot explained, oblivious to Lapis' real reasoning. They spent the darkening evening watching CPH and chattering, and it seemed Peridot was in a cuddly mood. That worked well with Amethyst, who slumped into the green gems side heavily. She wanted Peridot's attention, but she also didn't. She was nervous but daring, and she loved it when her approaches were reciprocated. It all payed off as Peridot wrapped her thin arms around her tightly, like a teddy. They comfortably watched Camp Pining Hearts.
"You're so soft…" Peridot whispered with little focus. Amethyst died and went to heaven; all she could feel was Peridot nuzzling into her hair, and the resulting flushing of her purple cheeks.
"Y-You're….really cuddly…" Amethyst responded. It was a simple observation of Peridot's actions and she hated herself for responding so lamely. But the green gem didn't mind. She started patting Amethyst, running thin fingers through thick silky hair.
"O-Only because you're so soft…" Peridot said back, sounding a little distracted still. Then she raced to sound less affectionate and more disciplined. "D-Despite being a quartz.." But then she jumped and changed again. "That's a good thing! Don't misunderstand me!"
Amethyst spluttered a laugh. Peridot was trying her hardest not to offend Amethyst. She was truly amazed at how much the gem had changed from carelessly insulting people to even acting like she was stepping on eggshells.
"I getcha." Amethyst said, her chest filling with emotion. She let herself slide further into Peridot's lap, then she nuzzled into her tummy, turning away from the TV set and into the green gem's uniform. Peridot gasped, but the purple gem responded with a purr. Eventually, the green gem resumed patting her.
She felt herself nodding off. Peridot's fingers in her hair made her feel safe and welcome to nap, so she did. Drifting out of consciousness, Peridot whispered something sounding like "Goodnight". She had sounded a little nervous, but it must have been because she had never had another gem fall asleep in her lap before.
Amethyst fell asleep. I can't believe this isn't a dream…
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Man I love a crushing Amethyst.
These little shorts are for S4mb0n. They said that they aren't doing too well, so I wanted to cheer them up a bit. You're worth it, S4mb0n!