A/N: So, this ended up being super fluffy. Hope you guys enjoy another chapter of siblings Steven and Peridot!
Chapter Summary: In which Peridot learns about a very unique type of insect and momentarily reflects on her current life on Earth.
Peridot observed the odd little creature currently perched comfortably on her finger, scrutinizing every detail of its form despite the somewhat limited light the early evening provided her. Its red coloration, the black splotches that contrasted against the rest of its crimson body, the white eyespots on its head, the protective shell safeguarding the delicate wings underneath, the way it could so easily stick to her hand even as she turned it upside down.
'Fascinating.'
The little Gem marveled at the way this diminutive creature crawled along her hand before moving to the tip of her index finger. She recalled Steven referring to it as a "ladybug." She personally thought that was a rather odd name. If she'd had the option of giving the creature a designation, she would have been more likely to base it off the insect's appearance, rather than simply going with the first random title that came to mind.
Peridot watched in silent wonder as the spotted insect suddenly spread its wings and hovered down to the ground below, perching itself on a particularly tall blade of verdant grass. The Gem found herself ducking down to its level, her eyes tracing its movements as it made its way down the side of the vegetation and into the undergrowth.
Earth certainly had many remarkable lifeforms. And to think that this creature was a member of just one of the near millions of species that currently inhabited the planet.
'Such diversity…' She made a mental note to record a log regarding this encounter once she got back to the beach house.
"Peridot!" The little Gem glanced up from her crouched position on the ground to see none other than Steven and Lion making their way over to her. The child must have decided to follow her out here to the barn. It wasn't that far away, even less so when traveling with Lion.
"Steven." She acknowledged, standing to her feet. Lion happily butted his large head against the green Gem, a low purr escaping him. Peridot, not quite sure how to respond to what she assumed was the feline's attempt at affection, simply settled on clumsily petting his mane. It was rather soft, she supposed.
Steven dismounted his animal companion and Peridot quickly took notice of the small bag he'd brought along with him. The boy had apparently decided to make an impromptu stop by the Big Donut on his way out here. Typical Steven.
"Hey, I figured you might want to have a snack since you kind of missed out on dinner back at home." Steven reached into the takeout bag, pulling out a chocolate-glazed donut with extra sprinkles.
He knew her too well.
Peridot ceased her stroking of Lion's mane and eagerly snatched the treat from Steven's hand. "You know I'm not much of one for regular consumption, Steven." She took a seat on the ground before taking a large bite out of it.
"Unless it's anything sweet." Steven teased, pulling a napkin out and wiping off the frosting now smeared around his surrogate sister's mouth. "It's alright though. Amethyst didn't complain about the extra couple servings of grilled cheese."
Peridot lightly shooed his hand away at the gesture. "Unsurprising."
Steven took a seat beside her, pulling out another donut for himself. Lion busied himself with a well-deserved nap not too far from them. "So, what made you decide to come back out here? We haven't really had to be here since completing the drill."
Peridot quickly made short work of the rest of the donut, contemplating the question. "I was simply wanting to document a few of the insects here. I must admit I'm rather fond of the spotted ones."
Steven grinned at her, licking off some of the frosting still on his fingers. He set the bag of donuts on the ground and reached into his pocket for something. "I kind of figured as much, so I thought I might as well bring this along for you." He pulled out the familiar tape recorder, handing it to her.
Peridot was a little surprised by the gesture, gently taking the item from him. Such a considerate child he was. "I appreciate the thought." She replied, resting the device on the ground beside her.
Steven offered a pleased smile before flopping onto his back, closing his eyes to give himself a few moments of rest and relaxation. Peridot watched him for a few moments before deciding to mimic him, as she often did. She allowed her own eyes to slide closed as she simply lay there, enjoying the serene peace and quiet of the surrounding area.
"Oh! Peridot!" The boy exclaimed after a few minutes of comfortable silence had passed between them. The green Gem flinched slightly at his abrupt exclamation, glancing curiously to her left to see that he was sitting upright. His gaze was off to their right, over near the lone tree on the hill, not far from their current location. "Look over there!"
The technician sat up straight, taking some extra time to shake out some of the loose blades of grass that had managed to tangle themselves in her tetrahedral shock of hair. Following his instruction, Peridot found herself looking past the wooden fence that marked the barn area's perimeter and was rather startled by what she saw.
Lights. Dozens of them, seemingly flashing in random patterns as they hovered across the open fields on the other side of the fence. She quickly got to her feet.
"Steven, what are those?" She found herself asking, unable to take her eyes off the almost unnatural display of light.
"Fireflies!" The boy excitedly got to his feet, hurrying over to the fence. Peridot immediately followed, wanting to get a better look at whatever was responsible for what she was seeing. How could there be lights out here of all places?
The green Gem came to a stop beside her surrogate brother, bringing her right arm up to hook it with Steven's left. She did have a tendency to be rather clingy when dealing with the unfamiliar.
"Fireflies?" Peridot echoed. "They don't appear to be combustible…" She found herself murmuring.
Steven glanced over to her as he let out a laugh. "No, Peridot. They're insects that give off light when it gets darks outside."
"Wait. They're organic in nature?" The young Gem squinted a bit, trying to get a closer look from their current position. "You mean like ladybugs?"
"Yeah!" Steven unlinked his arm from hers and made his way through the large gap in the fence. "You wanna see them up close? They're really cool!" He added in a singsong voice. He turned to look back at her, stars shining in his eyes as he awaited his friend's response.
Peridot was admittedly nervous about the idea. She was aware that organics were capable of many things, but emitting their own light was not something she had heard about as of yet. These creatures had to be very unique if they could do such a thing. However, her curiosity easily overrode her anxiousness as she came up beside Steven, habitually linking arms with him again.
The boy led them to the middle of the field. Peridot was certain she had to be hallucinating because now there appeared to be even more of the strange little enigmas.
As the sun's light finally disappeared behind the distant horizon, the numbers seemed to reach a peak. There had to be hundreds of the things by now! They hovered all around them, seeming to be entwined in a sort of surreal dance with each other. It was a marvel to watch and Peridot couldn't get enough of it.
"Wow…" She breathed out. The technician had seen numerous stars on her way from Homeworld to Earth and they had certainly been beautiful, though at the time she hadn't cared much, having been far too focused on her mission. However, this was an entirely new experience. Stars could be striking to look at, even at a distance. But to have all these little, flashing lights dancing around her so close and tangible.
It was just delightful.
Peridot found herself wanting to see one of the insects up close and turned to one that was hovering near her and Steven, unlinking their arms in the process. The boy must have seen her ready to clamp her hands over the innocent little thing because he stopped her immediately.
"Peridot, be careful. They're alive, remember?" He brought his own larger hands up in front of them. Slowly, gently, he enclosed his hands around the unsuspecting firefly. "You have to be gentle with them." He left a small break in his hands, allowing his surrogate sister to look inside at the insect.
It was difficult to make out its features in the dark, despite the yellow lights being emitted by its nearby friends, but she could very clearly see it when its abdomen lit up periodically. It was amusing to see Steven's hands glow yellow and Peridot placed her own hands under his. The boy allowed the insect to be maneuvered into the smaller Gem's eager grasp and couldn't keep the grin off his face when he saw stars in her eyes.
Peridot was very tender with the little insect, as Steven had suggested, allowing it to sit comfortably in her gentle hold. She removed one of her hands and instead of the firefly spreading its wings and joining the others around it as she would have expected, it took a moment to perch on her hand. Its abdomen would occasionally emit another burst of light and after a few more moments it took off, reclaiming its previous place in the lovely array of lights.
Peridot watched it become lost amongst the remarkable display of bioluminescence as she took another seat on the ground, content with just watching them. Steven joined her as she turned to him.
"So, these fireflies… They only emit light during evening hours?" Steven nodded in response.
"Yeah. Some people even like to catch a few of them in jars and use them as light sources." He lay back on the ground, amused when Peridot followed suit.
"Have you ever tried keeping one in a jar before?" She asked, not removing her eyes from the dancing fireflies. Steven shrugged.
"Nah, not really. If you keep them in a jar overnight, they usually die."
Peridot glanced over to her friend, looking somewhat startled by this bit of information. "They perish? Why is that?"
"Well, I mean, you're taking them away from this." He gestured above them. "Maybe they get really sad about it and just can't bring themselves to make it to the next morning." Peridot raised a brow at him.
"Are you certain that it's not because they run out of oxygen in the jar? They are organic, are they not?" Steven turned his head toward her.
"Uh, maybe." He grinned at her. "That could be why actually." Peridot rolled her eyes, nonetheless sharing a laugh with him.
"Where exactly did you come up with that other theory of yours?"
"Oh, it's just what my dad used to tell me when I was really young. He said the reason fireflies light up like this is so that they can find love and start a family. If you take them away from that, they're all alone and unhappy."
Peridot was pretty sure her explanation was sounder but she nodded nonetheless. She certainly wouldn't be happy if someone came along and removed her from her current living environment with Steven and the Gems. She had grown rather attached to all of them and wouldn't know how to react if she was ever separated from her family.
'Family.'
The green Gem allowed a small smile to make its way onto her features at the thought. She'd never had a family before. Stars, before Steven she hadn't even had a friend. She'd had her colleagues, Jasper included, but she had never been particularly close with any of them.
Peridot's gaze focused on the starry skies above them, her eyes instinctively being drawn to the speck of light that was Homeworld's galaxy. She'd be lying if she said she'd never experienced a bit of homesickness whenever she caught herself stargazing from the porch of the beach house.
And yet, lying here with her surrogate brother, watching the fireflies flickering around them, she knew she'd made the right choice in deciding to protect this planet. She missed the familiarity of Homeworld but at the same time, she was happy here. The things she'd gotten to learn and experience meant so much more to her than her previous life ever had. She let out a contented sigh, her attention once again settling back on the dancing fireflies.
Peridot could easily say that she wouldn't give this up for anything.
The little Gem's gaze fell onto Steven again and she found herself maneuvering her body so that her head rested gently against his torso. She didn't show physical affection often but she always seemed to make exceptions whenever it came to Steven. And a certain purple Gem, whenever she got the opportunity.
"Comfy?" She heard Steven inquire, interrupting her thoughts. Peridot allowed her eyes to slide closed as a small, contented smile rested on her face.
"Indeed." She breathed out, her eyes not opening from their closed position.
Steven felt a bit of a playful streak surge through him and brought one of his hands up near his sister before poking her right in the side. Peridot let out a shrill shriek, clearly not having expected anything to interrupt her rest. She glared at the boy as he gleefully laughed at her reaction. Steven must have taken notice of her death glare not long after because he immediately got to his feet and started running.
"Steven Quartz Universe!" Peridot shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing herself up onto two feet as she started chasing after him. "Get back here!"
Steven sped up his pace a bit. The green Gem definitely meant business if she'd used his full name. He chanced a look behind him only to see a blur of green coming right at him. The boy let out a yelp as Peridot tackled him to the ground, sitting on top of him with a smug look on her face.
"Aw, come on Peridot. I was just playing." He whined playfully.
"I'm aware." The Gem answered, her own playful side beginning to make itself known. "But that doesn't mean I forgive you." She poked both his sides before letting her fingers mercilessly attack the same areas. Steven let out his own series of shrieks between his peals of laughter.
"No, Peridot! Please, not that!" He attempted rolling away from her or even curling into a ball to escape his friend's merciless tickling. When that failed, he instead vouched for fighting back, managing to grab one of her feet as he lightly dragged his fingers across its bottom.
Now it was Peridot's turn to start screeching and laughing as she momentarily lost control of the fight and found herself pinned beneath her brother. He went for her neck this time, causing her to scrunch herself up as much as possible to escape the torturous sensations.
"Ah! Steven, desist immediately!" She managed to screech out through her laughter.
"Do you give up?" He questioned, continuing his assault.
"I yield! I yield!" She shouted. The tickling stopped directly after, much to Peridot's relief. She hated the feeling of her neck being tickled.
"I win!" Steven cried out triumphantly before falling back onto the ground, clearly out of breath from their little battle.
"Only because you used such a cheap tactic!" Peridot defended. Honestly, what twisted person went for the neck?
Deciding to trust that the child wouldn't pull another trick on her, Peridot returned to her previous resting position. The one she'd been quite comfortable in before Steven had decided to be a little brat. Unsurprisingly, she was even more worn out after their little playful outburst and found herself sleepily glancing up at the fireflies once again.
The insects seemed completely unfazed by their antics, still going about their business of illuminating the empty field.
Steven also found himself quite comfortable in their current position. He always cherished moments like these, when Peridot decided she wanted to be close to him. It wasn't incredibly common, given that Peridot was a prideful, stubborn little Gem. Nonetheless, it wasn't hard for Steven to tell that she loved him as much as he did her. She just had a bit more trouble admitting it out loud.
"Steven, should we be returning to the beach house soon?" Steven's previous thoughts shifted as he lifted his head slightly in an attempt to locate Lion. The pink feline was resting comfortably on his back over near the barn, his legs splayed out in the air much like a common housecat. He looked so comfortable and the boy just didn't have the heart to wake him.
"Nah, I think we'll be fine here. I'm pretty tired anyway."
Peridot made a small noise of agreement, her own eyes beginning to drift closed as she listened closely to the rhythmic beating emanating from Steven's chest. She made a mental note to ask him about its origins but for now she was quite comfortable, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.
After a few more minutes of silence, Steven turned his attention from the dancing fireflies to the little Gem resting on him. He felt a sudden impulse make its way through his form and leaned forward slightly, careful not to disturb Peridot's slumber. Gently, he placed a quick, light kiss on her triangular gemstone, thankful when she seemed to remain asleep.
"Love you, Peri." He whispered, allowing his eyes to close as he felt himself drifting off under the fireflies' warm, gentle light.
Garnet observed the two young Gems from her position against the barn's side. A smile made its way onto her normally stoic exterior as she watched Steven plant a loving, familial kiss on the technician's gemstone. It was such a sweet gesture and it warmed Garnet's heart to see the two surrogate siblings so close.
Peridot had come such a long way during her time with them.
The fusion remained leaning against the wooden structure for a while longer before making her way over to the two youngsters, making sure to first grab the bag of donuts and Peridot's tape recorder the two had left on the ground earlier. Carefully, she picked both of them up off the ground, cradling them against her form.
She slowly ventured back in the direction of the beach house, Lion having woken up when she'd first arrived and now lagging behind her. The fireflies continued to shine brightly throughout the night, their numbers fading with the rising sun as they eagerly awaited the next night to continue their nocturnal ritual.
A/N: Yeah I couldn't resist doing another chapter with these two, with a little bit of Garnet at the end there. The next one will likely feature Peridot and one of the other Gems, so look forward to that!
