That day was hard to remember. Not because anything bad had happened. It was one of the best days of her life, even though the stress made her block out specific details. In fact, the entire memory was covered in a layer of glittery fog and idealism that had edited certain parts of it. Perhaps Yellow Diamond had bags beneath her eyes; maybe her lovely dress had a mark on it somewhere. But all Peridot could see were those glowing golden irises. She couldn't get over how enormous she was. The Queen's long, slender figure went on forever and ever and any imperfections were simply airbrushed away by Peridot's astonishment.
"This device hasn't been working properly since I turned it on today, and I'm starting to get frustrated, as you can imagine." Her brows had furrowed, and her middle and index finger had settled into her temple. "You see, whenever I try to check my messages, the entire thing shuts down. Watch—" Yellow Diamond's palm dipped into the control panel and her eyes filled up with lines of data, only to have the process violently stop. "Tell me you can fix this."
They were looking right at one another.
"I'm already severely behind schedule."
There was some panic sitting inside her mouth that Peridot swallowed before she could speak. "Yellow Diamond, Ma'am. I will do my absolute best."
"Alright. Go ahead and get started then." She arched her back and let out a sigh. "I'll be going for a walk, since it seems there's not much else I can do. You two—" She pointed to two of the Pearls standing by, awaiting orders. "Come with me."
"Yes, Ma'am." They both said in unison.
The doors were closing behind all three of them and time was punctuated by the sound of heels upon the perfectly smooth floor. Then, a silence came that was filled by the feverish humming coming from the machine. And it was just Peridot, practically all alone in Yellow Diamond's throne room.
Holy shit.
She laid her hands on the control panel and went to work.
It wasn't the sort of problem that had an obvious fix. Actually, it was the kind that required removing layers and layers of circuitry and wires that were like veins and bone marrow. But while performing the technician's version of heart surgery, Peridot found numerous other problems as well. Faulty pieces. Disconnected currents. (How old was this thing anyway?)
She had been digging in there a long time and still, Yellow Diamond had not returned.
Peridot was even able to reassemble the machine after fixing all of the problems and make sure it was working. Her message system came up just fine with several seemingly frantic notes appearing from several gems and even the other Diamonds, none of which Peridot actually read, of course.
Just as Peridot was packing up her little kit of tools and attachments for her limb enhancers, Yellow Diamond returned with her servants behind her. She took the light in the room and used it to shimmer, and that too stole the better half of Peridot's consciousness.
Those golden eyes eradicated the last of it.
"Well?"
"Ma'am. I was able to get it working again."
"Can I ask what took so long?"
All of her organs suddenly felt like pin cushions. "There were quite a few internal problems as well as necessary upgrades. It required thorough inspection to diagnose each individual issue, but I'm confident I haven't missed anything, Ma'am. I hope you find it's running better than ever."
"That's quite an impressive claim." She came closer.
The little yellow-green gem nearly bit her tongue in half. And the contortion of her facial muscles caused Yellow Diamond to crack a smile.
"Don't worry, Peridot. I'm not going to break you into pieces over this heap of junk. It's astounding you were able to get it working at all." The Queen came to the control pad, and again, they were so close. There was perhaps a short meter between them and Peridot nearly melted into the floor with all the acidic emotions and brutal anxiety stirring up inside of her.
If she really, really wanted to, Peridot could dare her hand into reaching out and touching the statuesque woman at her side. And perhaps she did, really, really want to. But it's gauche to put your filthy mortal hands on a golden goddess, especially without her consent.
It was just the fact that she could.
"Wow. You weren't kidding. That will require some getting used to…" Yellow Diamond removed her hands. "Excellent job. Thank you, Peridot."
"Oh, Madame Yellow Diamond, there's no need to thank me." It wasn't something she would have realized, but Peridot was sparkling as well, with her cheeks darkening into a charming olive green. "Is there anything more I can do for you?"
"No, not at the moment. But I'll keep you in mind for the future, because this wretched contraption is bound to break again." And then, with that beautiful hand, Yellow Diamond touched Peridot's shoulder.
The smaller gem could not mask the full scale meltdown occurring inside her.
The resulting heat warmed that lovely light yellow palm, and the Queen coiled up her lips and showed a few of her teeth. Her brows bent again. But this time, they twisted with an unrealized laughter that was stifled on purpose to avoid hurting Peridot's feelings.
"I don't mean to overwhelm you. Though, regardless of my intentions, I seem to have this effect on quite a few gems." Like the fall takes the warmth of summer and winter claims the life of fall, Yellow Diamond withdrew her hand. "You're free to go now. Thank you again for fixing my machine."
"Of course, Ma'am. Thank you for giving me the opportunity."
And Peridot bowed and left, overflowing with many emotions she had yet to feel at full strength. Walking was difficult, but somehow, she found her way to her next assignment with little to no recollection of how she had made it there safely. The rest of her day had lovely sparkles around the borders of it, and even the shitty moments maintained an abnormal shine.
The skin where the Queen had touched her tingled.
She might never wash that shoulder again.