Peridot was peacefully reflecting on the day, seeing as so much had happened. She held the reward that she had earned for skillfully matching colors on squares, a simple toy. What was its name again? Nerdy Wordy Bear. She toyed with its glasses and tie, noticing a zipper in the back. When opened, it was nothing but some kind of fluffy stuffing with a similar appearance to the clouds in the room. It was kind of cute, with its big dark eyes and sewn smile.

Her pleasant moment was interrupted when she heard humming. The silhouette of a thin, graceful figure was approaching. Peridot panicked and dived under the bed, peering out from underneath. Pearl waltzed in, then stopped. "Ugh, what a mess." she grumbled.

Peridot could only see her feet. She was about to look out further when one of the beanbag chairs suddenly popped and became clouds once more. Pearl had stabbed it with her weapon and moved on to the next one. Peridot went pale. She could be discovered! She wouldn't be able to escape herself, either! Steven was probably asleep and wouldn't hear her. She would be defeated, forced to retreat to her gem, and bubbled.

The other beanbag popped, then the board games, then parts of the bowling alley. She was approaching, completely unaware of the fact that her greatest enemy was right under her nose. Peridot closed her eyes and thought. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could sink into these clouds and hide. She began digging at the floor, replacing what was pulled loose onto her.

"Pearl!"

Time seemed to have stopped when Amethyst was heard. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning Steven's mess!" she answered.

"It looks like he might've been using that stuff!"

Pearl's voice filled with guilt. "Oh, what if he was playing with all of this stuff!" she considered. "I hope he's not going to be upset."

"Just leave it alone and come on!"

Even though the two were gone, Peridot continued digging until she had completely concealed herself in a layer of the cottony substance, then curled up and shook.

Steven's eyes fluttered open as sunlight filtered through the blinds. He stretched and headed to the kitchen for breakfast, humming random notes that sounded nice. "Hey, Steven." Amethyst greeted as she and the others entered the room.

"Hi, guys. You want some toaster waffles?" he asked as he shoved a couple of the frozen foods into the appliance.

"Sure." Amethyst said and munched on a few of the still icy waffles with a loud crunch.

"I prefer pancakes." Garnet said.

Pearl fidgeted and gave a nervous smile. "Steven, I have to tell you something."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, Steven, but I was in your mother's room and-"

"What?!"

DING!

The waffles popped out of the toaster, but Steven didn't move. Pearl's fear caught in her throat at his reaction. She didn't expect him to be that upset. "I was cleaning, but I didn't get rid of everything! The bed's still there."

Steven leaped from the counter, ignoring his breakfast, and raced to the door of the temple. "Openopenopenopen!" he bounced and begged, holding his gem against the door.

The door opened and he tumbled in, racing to all that was left of his day with Peridot. Pearl felt like she had disappointed him. "Don't worry about him." Amethyst placed a crumb-covered hand on her shoulder.

"Steven can fix everything with only a few words." Garnet added.

"You're right." Pearl agreed, happy to have the reassurance.

Steven looked under the bed, desperately hoping that Peridot would be there. "I want this bed to go over there!" he shouted.

The bed disappeared, its placement now several feet away. There was a lump visible in the cloud floor. Steven peeled layer after layer of the soft, plushy material away, revealing a quivering Peridot in fetal position. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"This close," she whispered, shakily, "this close. She would've stabbed me with that shiny stick thingy in her head!"

"It's alright, now, she's not gonna-"

"There's no way I can stay here, Steven! They can just waltz right in whenever they feel like it! Do you know how big of a risk there is of them finding me in here?! I'll be nothing but shards before the week is over!" she continued, almost sobbing.

Steven sighed. He didn't think Pearl would visit this room out of the blue like that! That seriously narrowed down the places Peridot could hide. The Gems would definitely revisit the Kindergarten to investigate, they could easily find her in Rose's room and his own room, and she was too unfamiliar with people to just wander about Beach City. He had even thought about an epic underwater cave hideout, but Garnet could easily come across her while searching for Lapis and Jasper.

Underwater…

Steven had an idea, a great idea! "I want a pillow!" he said, holding out his hands.

When the object was formed, Steven gestured for Peridot to lean down, then pushed the pillow into her face. "Can you breathe?" he asked.

"You can't suffocate a Gem, Steven." Peridot informed.

"Great!"

"Okay, Lion, hold still." Steven instructed.

Lion obliged when he was given a Lion Licker as a prepayment. His mane began to glow as Steven touched it, making Peridot do a double-take. A personal, unlimited warp system, immense physical strength, a sonic roar, what else could this miraculous creature do? "I can't breathe in here, but you don't have to!" Steven cheered. "I'll give you a tour, but it has to be short."

Steven inhaled and dived in. Peridot hesitated, but followed cautiously. Steven was there with her, the two of them in what seemed like an endless stretch of pink plains. Her attention was brought to a little island in the middle, where several things were stored. She knew that some of the things, like snacks, drinks, and toys, were undoubtedly Steven's. She did recognize Rose's sword, however, and wondered about how Rose Quartz was related to this beast.

She didn't see Steven anywhere and grew worried. "Steven?" she called out.

He popped up from the tall grass again and led her to the little island. He unfolded a beach chair for her and allowed her to get comfy before handing her one of the lemon sodas he had kept inside. Everything seemed as if it were finally working out, now. Peridot didn't need air and now she was safely hidden and could stay constantly by Steven's side. Steven waved and left, leaving Peridot to relax.

It would be nice, here. No Gems, no Malachite, and no TV obsessed fryboy. She noticed that Steven's bear was also stashed away with her. She held it up to hers for a short comparison. His had a fabric helmet and sword, as well as a more determined expression, but they had the same smile. She looked at the top of a pile of toys nestled on the big tree's branches and noticed a bear with a similar shape to the two in her hands. She stood up and began to reach, wondering what human profession this one was meant to portray. It was quite a reach, so she moved her chair over and stood on it, stretching her arms as far as she could. Just as her fingers touched its soft fur, the chair broke, leaving her to tumble into the grass.

Steven left his mother's room, Lion following close behind. He felt so secure now that Peridot had a place to stay. The Gems looked up, wondering why Steven needed to bring Lion in the room with him. He seemed happy now, much to Pearl's relief. "I'm sorry I didn't think before trying to clean up that room, Steven." she apologized once more.

"It's okay, Peal, everything's fine, now." he smiled.

He tossed the Lion Licker wrapper in the garbage can, earning a funny look from Amethyst. "I thought you didn't like those." she said.

"I don't, but Lion does. I still say Cookie Cat forever, but these are kind of cute." he admitted.

"How did training Lion go, yesterday?" Pearl asked.

Steven looked around and laughed. "I… didn't actually train him. We just played around."

Pearl smiled, acknowledging that she was right. "I didn't think you two would."

"I did make a new friend, though!" he said.

"What's your new friend's name?" Garnet asked.

Steven remembered what he had told Amethyst and was about to say "Perry" when a thump was heard. He turned around and felt his stomach turn when he saw Peridot tumble out of Lion's mane and onto the floor. "Sorry, Steven, I was trying to-" she stopped, her face twisting in horror as she gazed upon the Crystal Gems, who stared at her in shock.