Disclaimer: Hi all. This is my first SU fanfic, and I just wanted to get it out of my system. This fanfic will focus on Lapidot as a romantic pairing and is rated T for now (but it is subject to change in the future)

In addition, cover image creds go to BeautySnake, the original artist. I do not own any of the characters. This is the prologue, and I will be posting further chapters shortly.

Enjoy!

~0~

Sunrise

"Peridot"?. "Perrriii?". "Anyone home?". "Helloooo?"

"Amethyst, cut it out!". "You'll make her mad!"

"Aw, I'm just teasing!" "She doesn't mind, right?"

The dialogue that took place rallied back and forth among the two teens in the back seat of the car. Their subject, Peridot, had one on either side and was sandwiched between them- literally. The short blond said nothing in reply, merely sighing in annoyance as she resumed thumbing through the pages of her novel.

Nose in book, Peridot continued to pick up where she'd been interrupted, but was prodded at again by the stubby finger of the ashen haired girl to her right. Peridot lowered her book to shoot a darting glare in Amethyst's direction, intense emerald eyes meeting impish violet ones.

"What Amethyst?"

"I've got a joke. Why did the hipster burn his mouth on the pizza?"

Peridot looked unimpressed, her expression weighing down further as Amethyst held back a fit of laughter.

"Because he ate it before it was cool", and with this, she elbowed Peridot as though to signal the punchline. Peridot groaned in irritation, triggering Amethyst to laugh in response. To her left, Steven eventually joined in.

"Hey, I've got one! What do you call a fish with no eyes?" A fsh." Steven made sure to place extra emphasis on the "shh" as he leaned in over Peridot to ensure Amethyst would hear. The two were then thrown into a whirl of laughter, occasionally nudging a now defeated Peridot who couldn't even spare a moment to progress in her reading amid high pitched giggling.

"How did I get this far?" Peridot told herself mentally, slumping in her seat.

But she knew the answer to that question all too well. Of all the constant pleas and begging that she come along to Steven's annual cottage retreat, such as "Peridot, you gotta come! Pleeeeaaassee?", and "if you don't come, I'll continue to spam you with cat videos", she knew she couldn't put up a fight. Of all the events she'd opted out of, this one was apparently worthwhile enough for Steven to insist that she come along too.

"And everyone will want you there!" He'd say, or "We'll all be thinking of you when you're not around to have fun with us!". Eventually, after the gazillionth attempt, she eventually, with reluctance, said she'd try and make it.

Apparently, that was enough of a "Yes" for Steven, so it seemed.

"Oh right, now I remember", she'd told herself yet again while pinching the bridge of her bespectacled nose with her thumb and forefinger.

With that in mind, Peridot accepted the path where fate led her, or in this case her own piss poor decision making. She'd much rather spend the bulk of her summer reading up on microbiology and regenerative medicine, her latest interest of study fit for her studious mind. The fresh air out by the lake was no match for the dusty scent of old books, but she'd never admit that. Especially not to Steven.

"Steven" she thought. "He'd be really hurt if I told him that".

She thought for a minute as to how eager Steven looked when he saw her pull up in his driveway, things at hand for the next 4 weeks ahead. She reminded herself of the group's warm reception to her simply being there, getting slapped on the back by Amethyst after she didn't believe she'd actually show up, but glad she came around to it. She also told herself of the fact that she even had friends at all, friends who actually gave a damn about her.

Why take that for granted?

"Nevermind what I told myself. I'll find a way to make the most of this, whatever that means.".

Unbeknownst to Peridot, her train of thought went on long enough that both Steven and Amethyst had fallen asleep on either side of her. They must've gotten bored from all the lame jokes they were spewing out a mile a minute.

Though some were pretty clever, she had to admit.

As she focused upon a point in space, she watched the array of trees pass by through the car window, touching the horizon of clear skies overhead . Like painter's strokes, the hues shifted in subtle ways that made the natural landscape worthy of appreciation, in all its fine detail...

"...Peridot? You there?" "Peridot..?"

"Huh..?"

"You alright back there? We shouldn't be more than 20 minutes from now..."

It was Pearl, A close family friend of the Universe's and Steven's Godmother. She was trying to capture the girl's attention as she watched her in the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, I'm alright, thanks". Peridot replied sheepishly. The trip was surprisingly longer than she'd expected, only realizing now.

"That's good to hear. Glad you've been able to keep up this long, because clearly you outran the other two", she remarked, implying Steven and Amethyst who were still both fast asleep.

"Yeah..".

From there, Pearl resumed her fixation on the road ahead. Peridot locked her gaze onto the moving landscape, becoming progressively more beautiful as they neared their destination (so she had thought, anyway).

She wondered what more there would be upon their arrival, and she tried to imagine the possible outcomes of what that could entail. For the first time, Peridot was eager to know of all that could transpire during their time at the cottage.

And exactly what would transpire, she'd haven't the faintest idea.

~End of Prologue~