This was written for frostiisms on Tumblr for a fanfiction giveaway. I hope you like it!
Steven sat at the foot of his bed with Amethyst lounging beside him on a cushion, casually eating popcorn from a large plastic bowl while watching him sift through his box of video games in search of one to play. There was already a steadily growing pile of ones he had deemed unfit for the occasion and despite Amethyst's occasional suggestion, he was nearing the end of his options. Picking up the last remaining game with a hopeful expression on his face, he held it up to inspect it. He blinked and groaned, tossing it onto the small pile as well.
"Oh man, I don't know what I want to play!" He sighed, flopping down on his back and staring up at the ceiling.
"You could look through them again? Maybe you changed your mind." Amethyst said, raising an eyebrow. "I still think you should go with that one!" She pointed, and Steven knew without looking that she was most likely referring to some sort of 'beat 'em up' fighting game. She seemed to really like those…
"I've already unlocked all the cool stuff," Steven mused aloud, turning his head to the side to look at Amethyst. "I mean, I guess I could start a new file – WAIT." Was that something under his bed? The purple gem blinked in slight surprise as the boy rolled over to the bed, pushing away the dangling blanket and reaching into the space below.
"What did you find, dude?" Amethyst asked, curious, and Steven shrugged.
"I don't know…it looks like…give me a second." He stretched and pulled out another video game, giving a whoop of success. "Oh, Amethyst! I remember this game! My dad got it for me, I used to play it all the time but then I lost it…has it been here this whole time? Huh." He sat back up, eagerly starting his game system and loading the disc.
"You'll like this one, it's got fighting in it and –"
"There was another earthquake. We should check it out." Garnet stepped into the room with Pearl in tow, already heading to the warp pad.
"Technically it's called a 'seaquake'…" Pearl corrected.
"It's probably nothing." Amethyst called to them, waving her hand in a dismissive manner before shoving more popcorn into her mouth. "Pretty sure we'd KNOW if it was Malachite –"
"Amethyst! Don't speak with your mouth full!" Pearl chastised, sighing. The purple gem shrugged, swallowed, and looked at Garnet.
"It might be nothing or it could be something. I don't think it was too strong, but it's better to play it safe." Garnet pushed her visor up, unable to keep from smiling when Amethyst let out a loud sigh, mouth once again full of popcorn. Beside the fusion, Pearl visibly grimaced. "You can stay here. Someone has to watch Peridot."
"I can watch Peridot?" Steven spoke up, looking away from his game.
"She made a complete mess of the kitchen last time!" Pearl interjected, looking distinctly displeased.
"I was showing her what spoons and pots and stuff are for." Steven smiled, slightly sheepish, and the pale gem shook her head with a small, amused smile of her own. So that was why she was missing a spatula…
"It's fine, Amethyst can stay. If it is something, we'll come back and get you, alright?" Garnet glanced at the shorter gem, who gave her a thumbs-up. "We should be back soon – Steven, don't forget to brush your teeth before bed." The two gems were waved off and they stepped onto the warp pad, vanishing in a flash of light.
Almost immediately after, the door to the bathroom creaked open and Peridot peeked out. She must have heard the sound of the pad activating and being unable to see Steven and Amethyst from where she was, assumed she was alone. The short green gem stepped out and into the living room, wielding Pearl's lost (stolen) spatula in one hand.
"Yo, Peri, what's the spatula for?" Amethyst called out, causing Peridot to shriek in surprise. Upon realizing who it was, she calmed down some.
"I had to commandeer this after Steven left the viewing screen open and a bee got in…" Peridot narrowed her eyes, shooting a glare at Steven who simply shrugged in apology. "I've been informed they can sting you. I'm not taking any chances." She paused, only to add, "Don't tell the Pearl."
"Whatever dude, you're just gonna want to give that back to her when you're done with it." Amethyst gestured for her to come over and, hesitantly, she did. "Come on, Steven was just about to play a dusty old game he found. Right, Steven?"
"Oh, yeah! So like I was saying," The boy started again as Peridot climbed onto his bed, settling herself slightly apart from them, spatula still firmly grasped. "It's got fighting, so you'll like it, Amethyst. Basically you play as a hero – or heroes, actually, it's two-player!" Steven scooped up some popcorn for himself, taking after Amethyst in talking with his mouth full. Peridot looked disgusted. "Anyway – OW."
"You okay?" Amethyst asked.
"Oh, I'm fine, just a piece stuck in my teeth. That reminds me, I need to brush before I forget! Why don't you guys play first? I'll be right back!" Steven dumped the first controller into Amethyst's hands, giving the second to Peridot before heading to the bathroom. "Good luck saving the princess!"
"Princess?" Peridot wrinkled her nose, moving to take Steven's place. "Why a princess?"
"Did you want a prince?" Amethyst responded somewhat curiously as the two began playing, having picked up where Steven left off.
"No. But why should I have to save her? That's not my mission."
"Well maybe if you save her, she'll be grateful. Maybe she'll give you a gift as a thank you."
"What kind of gift? A powerful weapon?"
"Could be. It could be something like treasure too, I think?" The purple gem shrugged. "Guess we have to win to find out!"
"Peri, stop running! This is the boss battle, you kinda HAVE to fight him!"
"I wasn't running! I was…making a tactical retreat!"
"Just keep punching him, I've already gotten most of his health down while you were running."
"Tactically retreating! Oh, so that's the attack command! I found it!"
"Alright! He's down! …That was easy. Hey, is that the princess?" A cut scene began to play out.
"…What are they DOING?" Peridot asked, appearing completely bewildered.
"They're kissing, dude. Oh, sweet, she gave us a cool sword!"
"Kissing?" Amethyst turned to look at Peridot, noticing her confused expression. "What's that?"
"It's…uh…" The purple gem scratched the back of her head, trying to think of a way to explain it. "It's a human thing – humans kiss if they like someone. Or as thanks." She shrugged, glancing between the now-couple on the screen and Peridot's thoughtful face.
Peridot was a curious gem, no doubt about that… Suddenly, Amethyst grinned at her as an idea struck her. "Want me to show you how it works?"
"Now?" Peridot asked, voice laced with uncertainty. "There's no humans here besides Steven unless we go outside." A pause. "That's where bees come from."
"It's cool, we'll substitute. Sound good?"
"…Okay?" She wasn't really sure how they would be able to do that and achieve the same results, but it wasn't like she had anything else to do. "Yeah, sure." Peridot shrugged, only to be caught completely off-guard when Amethyst rushed forward to kiss her.
Peridot's eyes widened in shock and she froze up, unsure what to do. Meanwhile, Amethyst had wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer, lips soft and warm against her own, the purple gem's fluffy mane of hair brushing against her skin, finely tickling. It was…nice, like Amethyst had said. She wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to be doing, so she copied the other gem, her own kisses clumsy and shy in comparison. Peridot must have done something right however, because she heard Amethyst made a pleased noise in the back of her throat. So she did it again, gradually getting the hang of it while Amethyst smiled and guided her along.
"Hey guys, sorry I took so long, I couldn't find the dental floss!" They parted at once, Amethyst returning to lounge on her cushion as Steven re-entered the room and Peridot felt herself blush, and hid her face.