-Beach City, Earth-
On the second floor of a small apartment complex in Beach City, two aliens were hauling furniture to their new shared apartment.
"I still don't see why we need beds, we don't even sleep!" Lapis Lazuli grunted as she lifted the deceptively heavy box up another stair.
"I do," Peridot lied "and you didn't have to spend your first paycheck on that thing." Her employer, Greg Universe, had offered to help out with her big move, so she was only carrying half the weight that her blue friend had to pull.
"Well, if you're gonna have one, I didn't want to feel left out." Lapis finally made it to their landing and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, now we just have to make… Let's see, the TV, the table, the couch, both of the nightstands, all of the shelves, and the two mattresses… seven more trips." She hung her head in defeat.
"Don't forget about the dresser!" Greg reminded her, causing her to slump against the wall.
"Why didn't we get beachfront property? I could have just used giant water hands to move all of it…"
"Because that would have been more expensive, and I don't want to spend our first week here drying off all the furniture." The disguised gem started pulling the box into the apartment while Greg went downstairs to grab something else to bring up.
Lapis followed the green gem inside dragging her own box behind her. "At least this place is big enough. I was worried we could only afford someplace dingy."
Peridot scoffed. "After they had to evacuate the city because of aliens rent has been at an almost record low!" She adjusted her glasses. "I also thoroughly researched every possible option to find the best value."
The two of them went back down to grab some more stuff. It took around an hour to bring everything upstairs and put it in the correct rooms.
Greg plopped down on their secondhand couch. "Gosh, I'm beat. You girls want to take a rest? I have a couple beers in the van if you want me to bring 'em up."
"Beers?" Lapis raised an eyebrow at the human.
"Oh, I guess you wouldn't have had anything like them on your homeworld, huh?" Greg scratched the back of his head, trying to think of how to explain the appeal of alcohol. "You know what, just forget it. Now probably isn't the best time."
"Oh… okay." And here I had been genuinely interested.
"Done!" Peridot stood up triumphantly from where she had been hooking up all the wires for their television and DVD player.
"Oh, nice!" Lapis picked the remote up off the table; she had been waiting to try this 'Cable' that Steven, Lars, and Sadie had been talking about so much. She pushed a few buttons and eventually found a movie called 'Casablanca'. The three of them sat there, watching the movie, but Lapis found it hard to concentrate. Peridot and Greg were beginning to frustrate her; they were sitting slightly closer together than most people would, and every now and again one of them would glance at the other when they thought nobody was looking. This is embarrassing… I should do something.
-Later than evening-
"Goodbye Greg, I'll see you tomorrow." Peridot called after the human before closing the door.
"You're hilarious." Lapis was leaning against the wall behind Peridot when she turned around, startling the green gem.
"I-I have no idea what you mean." Peridot tried to push past Lapis, but the ocean gem was having none of it and held firm.
"You like that human, don't you?" She raised an eyebrow as Peridot recoiled from her.
"What?! No!" She scoffed and stood up straight. "That's ridiculous!"
"You like him a lot."
"Lapis, please, you have the wrong idea! I mean, Greg and I, we just… I mean it's like…" She groaned and let her head fall against the wall. "Maybe a little."
"You should ask him out."
"Whaaaaaat?!" Peridot fell out of her disguise and back into her regular form as she turned to her roommate.
"I've seen what unspoken feelings can do to people. I've only been here for two weeks, but it seems I already know more than you do." The blue gem crossed her arms and let Peridot walk past her so she could collapse on the couch.
"He still loves Rose. I wouldn't have a chance."
"Maybe."
"You're horrible."
"I think I'm going to try that sleeping thing. I mean, I bought the bed, why not use it?" Peridot threw the remote at Lapis as the other gem walked away, but she missed wildly and it bounced off the wall.
-It's a Wash, the next morning-
Peridot walked into her place of work. She had been thinking about what to say to Greg all night, this has to be perfect if I wanted to succeed.
"G-good morning Greg." Her boss was already working on their first car of the day.
"Hey Penny, why don't you go grab a squeegee and start on the back." The gem set to work as she was told. It was strange, working for a human, although she couldn't say she didn't like it. It was oddly freeing, doing a job she wasn't made for.
The two of them finished up the car in just around a minute, but another had arrived while they had been working. "I'll start up the machine." Peridot walked over to the levers on the wall and switched on the machines. "Hey, Greg, can I talk to you?" She called over the now noisey carwash.
"Oh, sure thing Penny, what's up?" Greg made his way over to the gem, careful not to get too close to the sprays of water and soap.
"I… I was just wondering if…" She looked at the ground, unsure of how to continue. She could feel heat rushing to her face, she would have to say something soon if she wanted to get the words out at all.
"Penny? Are yo-"
She cut him off. "Gregwouldyouliketocometodinnerwithmetonight?" The embarrassed gem spit the words out so quickly that Greg had to take a step back out of surprise.
"Penny… Did you just ask me out to dinner?" His eyes widened at the revelation.
"I… um… yes, er no, I mean... I did." I was right. I never had a chance… She flicked her eyes up to look at the human. He was shocked to be sure, but… is that a smile forming on his lips?!
"Penny, I'd love to go to dinner with you." He smiled wide.
"That's okay, I understa... Did you say you would?" The shock was palpable.
"Yeah, I guess I did." He looked around nervously. "How about we meet at your place around seven? Where do you want to go?"
Oh no… She hadn't thought about this part, she didn't even like food, much less eating for fun.
After a moment of awkward silence, Greg took the initiative. "How about we go to that new italian place? It's been awhile since I went out for a nice dinner."
All Peridot could do was shake her head affirmatively. This was going much better than expected. Ah yes, this is all playing out exactly as planned!
-6:30, that evening-
"Well Stu-ball, wish your old man luck." Greg tousled the small boy's hair as he kept trying to get the collar on his shirt to stay down.
"Why do you need good luck at dinner?" Steven was confused.
"You'll understand when you're a little older, bud." He finally got the collar down. "There we go! Anyways, I've got to run, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Hmmm… Okay, well can you explain it later then?"
"Maybe." Greg pulled his son into a tight hug before leaving.
Still confused about what was going on, Steven made his way back to the Beach House deep in thought. He's just eating dinner with Penny, and that isn't anything special. I eat dinner with my friends all the time. I had Connie over for dinner just a few days ago, and he didn't wish me luck.
"Hey Steven." Amethyst called down from the balcony."What's up?"
"Not much, Amethyst." Steven walked up the stairs to sit beside her. "My dad's acting kinda weird. He and Penny are going out for dinner, but he made it sound like it was some kind of big thing."
"Dinner?" The purple gem leaned in closer to the boy. "Dinner where?"
"Oh, some fancy italian place with lots of salads." He leaned against the railings and let out a sigh. "I just wish he'd tell me what the big deal is…"
"It sounds like a date to me." Amethyst leaned back and let out a sigh. "What's up with that guy..."
Steven was a little bit confused. My dad, on a date? With… with Peridot?! "Amethyst," he gulped nervously, "are you sure that it's a date?"
"Pretty sure, dude." The two of them sat in silence for a minute, Steven too shocked to speak, and Amethyst looking more and more frustrated with each passing second, until she finally stood up in a huff. "Oh, the nerve of that guy!" She started pacing in a small circle behind the boy.
"Are you okay?"
"No, Steven!" The purple gem wiped at her eye even though no tears had formed yet. "I'm not okay."
He puzzled over what to say. I don't know why Amethyst would be crying over my dad having a date, she doesn't even know who Penny really is. "Amethyst… You have to to talk to me." He got up and pulled the other gem into a tight embrace. "I hate it when people cry without giving me a chance to help."
"I'm not crying, and I don't need help." Tears had begun to well up in her eyes now.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Amethyst closed her eyes and hugged Steven tighter. "I can't. I don't know." The two of them stood there for awhile, Steven no less confused than when the hug began. Eventually he couldn't hold his tongue anymore.
"Amethyst… Why would my dad be going on a date? I thought he loved my mom…"
"I don't know little man, must be a human thing."
-Lapis and Peridot's apartment-
Lapis was sitting on the sofa, just enjoying watching as Peridot kept trying to shift into different outfits. She must have been through hundreds in the last hour, making small changes to them every few seconds using her shapeshifting.
"I don't know what humans find attractive!" The green gem was stressing herself out so much that she had forgotten to form her arms into normal human ones, and still had her fingers floating about.
"Well," Lapis looked out the window and saw that Greg was finally walking up their street, "you had better figure it out soon."
The engineer fussed for just a moment longer before finally settling on the black dress she had worn to Steven's party months ago. She nearly screamed when she realized she had forgotten her hands, but quickly calmed herself and morphed them into the required shape. "How do I look?"
"Like a nerd." Lapis barely managed to duck when Peridot chucked a shoe at her. The anger on the other gems face caused her to break out into giggles.
"I wish you would take this more seriously. It's very important to me." The green gem tried to compose herself yet again, but nearly jumped when there was a knock on the door. "Okay Lapis, wish me luck!" She turned and opened the door. Greg was standing on the other side, he was dressed well (for Greg) in a turtleneck and khakis, though he was still wearing his sandals.
"Hey Pen-" He stopped short. "Wow. I forgot how nice you looked in that dress." The compliment caused Peridot to blush profusely. She tried to reciprocate it, but only managed to mumble something about turtles. "You ready to go?" Greg held out his arm for her to take. Gah! I am so not ready for this!
"Y-yeah, let's go. Wouldn't want to miss the meal." She took his arm.
"That's not how restaurants work Penny. If I didn't know actual aliens, I'd swear you were one." He laughed as the two of them made their way down the stairs.
"You kids have fun!" Lapis called after them before closing the door.
The two of them walked to the restaurant, making idle conversation along the way. Even as they did so dark clouds were gathering above them. They got there just in time to avoid the oncoming rains, and found it was mostly empty save for a few couples much like themselves.
"A table for two, please?" The server who was waiting by the door led them off to an unoccupied corner of the room that made it seem like they had the whole place to themselves.
"Of all the culinary establishments I've seen, this one is by far the nicest." Peridot looked around at the place. It was very well kept (not unexpected considering it wasn't old), but it was purposefully homey, with a curtain over the windows that resembled what a family on TV or in a book might have, and solid wooden furniture and cutlery that looked more antique than it was.
"Yeah, it's not too bad at all." The server brought them their menus before leaving to get them their water. "So, what do you think you'll get?" asked Greg, looking up at her from his menu.
She puzzled over the menu for a few minutes. Nothing looked remotely palatable, so instead of having to choose she did something that she had seen time and time again while researching human mating rituals. "Why don't," she closed her menu and batted her lashes at him, a practiced maneuver, "you order for me?"
Greg was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly recovered with a smile. "Alright, I can do that." He spent a moment flipping through his menu, but he was ready to order by the time the waiter returned. Greg ordered some sort of 'spagooty' thing with sauce and vegetables. As the pair of them continued on with their date, Peridot noticed something remarkable; while the two of them sat there in the restaurant, eating and chatting away, she didn't mind eating the food at all. Not with Greg across from her.
-Afterwards-
"Oh gosh Penny, it's raining buckets out there. Should I call us a cab?" The rain really was coming down, but Greg had paid for their dinner so Peridot didn't want to make him pay for this too.
"Well, I could call Lapis and see if she could help?" She frowned, remembering. "No, our phone isn't hooked up yet, I was going to do it tonight."
"I'll hail a cab, don't worry about it." He held his arm out from under the overhang in front of the restaurant, but it didn't seem like any cars were on the road. "Damn." He said after a few minutes, giving up.
"We could always run for it?" Peridot examined the rain as it fell. It wasn't far to her apartment, but they would both be drenched by the time they got there.
Greg followed her gaze, obviously sharing her worry. "Are you sure about this?"
"Sure…" She gulped nervously. "I-it sounds like fun… right…?"
Greg grabbed her hand. "Then let's do it."
They took off at a run, Peridot tripping over her heels for the first few steps before she managed to make them disappear without Greg noticing. The rain was drenching. Their hair, their clothes, everything was wet by the time they entered the lobby to Peridot's building.
"Oh man!" Greg leaned against a wall. "That was fun. I love it when excitement doesn't mean mortal danger."
Peridot snickered as she wiped her bangs back out of her face. "I agree."
"Well, I guess I'm going back out, I'll see you tomorrow?" Greg stood up from leaning against the wall.
"Oh… You're leaving already?" Of course he is, he isn't going to hang around after on the first date! Stupid question, Peridot. She took a step towards him. "I had a very good time out tonight, thank you Greg."
He took a step towards her in turn. "Hey, it was a great time. Will I… will I see you again? I mean like, on a date. I'm gonna see you at work tomorrow." He laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm a bit rusty at this."
Peridot smiled widely. "I don't think so."
Greg's mouth hung open a bit as he gave her a blank look of shock and incomprehension.
"I mean about you being rusty! I don't think you're rusty… is what I meant." Stupid, stupid!
"Oh, uh…" He collected himself. "Thank you."
"About seeing each other again like this…" A blush rose up in her cheeks as she took a final step forward. She wet her lips and opened her mouth ever so slightly. Do it! She leaned forwards and closed her eyes… only to find Greg's hands on her shoulders, holding her back.
"Penny, I… I'm sorry. I don't know if I'm ready." He let his hands fall to his sides and averted his gaze, looking down at the floor.
Peridot's blush deepened as she felt embarrassment build up inside of her. How could I have been so reckless?! This isn't like me, what's wrong with me? "Y-yeah, I understand. I just, I just thought you know…" She laughed weakly, unsure of what to do now.
Greg scratched the back of his head as he brought his eyes back up to look at Peridot. "I mean, it's just the first date and I thought…" He sighed. "Oh who cares?" He closed the distance between them, pulling Peridot into a firm embrace.
"Greg!"
"I may be rusty, but let's hope this is one skill I haven't lost." He dipped her back and brought his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss. She closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. Greg's beard scratched at her face, but she didn't mind. She hadn't imagined a kiss would be this enjoyable. Maybe it was a good idea after all, thinking with my heart for once.
"Wow." Peridot said as she broke the kiss and put a hand on Greg's shoulder. "You've still got… Whatever that is."
The man blushed a little as he let her go.
"Get a roooom!" The two of them turned to find Lapis' face pressed against the lobby window from the outside. The distance that had been lost between them quickly grew again as they both took a couple steps away from each other.
A/N:
Well that took forever to write! I mean't for this to be done awhile ago, but I guess things just got away from me. Lots of thanks to my boyfriend for editing AND writing the end paragraph. Anyways, as always I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on this.
Ps: Don't worry, there'll be more homeworld stuff next chapter.
