I do not own Steven Universe, either. In fact, this bit was inspired by Itsaaudra's fanart of these two on Deviantart. Check it out if you find the time. (No ships, as usual)

She was small, for a gem. Ford crouched down to her level, cocking his head at the way she curled up against the rock formation. Given her indignation earlier, he would have expected more backlash for his getting so close.

"Peridot," she said. "My name is Peridot."

"Peridot," Ford said softly, extending a hand. "I'm Stanford, or Ford if you prefer. What planet are you from?"

"Homeworld, of course." Peridot glared up at him, eye glinting green. Her visor protected her face only slightly from the starlight, but Ford suspected the advanced technology would keep out stronger things.

Like bazookas.

"What are you, an idiot?" she asked.

"I've heard of your planet, I think," Ford said. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Peridot leapt to her feet suddenly, hands curling into fists. "Do you think I'm some kind of traitor?"

"Of course not." Ford held out a hand in what he hoped to be a placating gesture. "I just know that this is a long way from the gem homeworld, and you look lost."

Peridot pursed her lips, skin shimmering like a jewel as she shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not lost, you clod. I'm just reassessing my situation."

"In the middle of an asteroid belt?"

"It was close!"

"Well." Ford looked around them. "I see, then. Very close, yes. Ahem. Perhaps we could help each other?"

"I don't need help!"

"Right." Ford stood, brushing off his clothes. "Then perhaps you could just help me?"

Peridot glowered, lips curling in disgust. "Why?"

"I'm not asking you to trust me," he said. "In fact, I'm putting myself at entirely at your mercy and ask for one thing in return."

Her eyes glowered in distrust. "Keep talking."

Ford offered his hand. "I want a friend."

Peridot looked between his face and his hand, then stiffened. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded.

He hesitated. "I guess I was contradicting myself a bit..."

The gem snatched his hand, showing surprising strength for her size. "This!" she said, forcing his fingers apart and silently counting them off. "Six! Six fingers! How did this happen?"

"I-" Ford fidgeted in her grasp, tempted to yank his hand back. She was strong for her size, but he was still much bigger. "I'm not educated in the biology of it."

"Liar." Peridot stepped closer, eyes narrowing.

"It's just a mutation of my genes," Ford said. "It's strange for humans, too, but I promise you that it's totally natural." Ford twisted his wrist in her grip enough to display his hand, palm up. Peridot eyed it suspiciously, fingers prodding his. Her skin felt a bit rough, as Ford found was normal for gems. The makeup of their biology made for harder, more crystalline skin and Peridot's felt especially rock-like.

Ford winced as she poked him in the palm, nail digging into the skin. She didn't notice when his hand twitched at the pain. She counted under her breath, "One, two, three, four, five, six… one, two, three, four, five…"

"Same on this one," Ford said, offering his other hand. Peridot took it too, eyes raking it over. "It's like you've never seen a human's hand before," he said, unable to help a small smile of amusement.

Peridot shot him a glare. "I've totally seen human hands before!"

"Sure."

Peridot took a seat, continuing to study the hands and compare them against each other. "Perhaps I could make you some copies?" he offered.

Peridot dropped them again, turning her attention back to her own hands. "You're weird," she concluded.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Fine," Peridot said. "I accept your offer. We'll form a mutually beneficial partnership."

"Wonderful." Ford adjusted the position of his bag, "Let's get going, then. It's a long way to the closest star, and I think we're prime for another portal opening in a few hours."

"Portal?" Peridot asked, coming to walk beside him across the asteroid. "Do you know what's been causing those, then?"

Ford shook his head. "I think I might have a connection, but I have no idea how it works or how to fix it. I've been through more than a few dimensions at this point, now, and I'm no closer to an answer than I was when I first started many, many years ago."

"How many years? A thousand?"

"Humans don't live as long as you, little gem."

"Don't call me little!"

"Okay. Humans don't live as long as you, Peridot. Most of us die by the time we're a hundred years old."

"Because of war? Is it that bad on earth? Wow."

"No," Ford said. "Our bodies just weren't made to live long like yours."

"Why not?"

Old anatomy classes came to mind, and he remembered learning about why and how cells died later in life. "Because it's how we work," Ford said. "Maybe it'll change in a couple thousand more years, but for now we're really fragile creatures compared to you."

Peridot scrunched up her face in confusion and concentration. "That's weird," she said.

"Yes," Ford said. "Yes, I suppose it is."

They walked across the asteroid, feet crunching in the rock dust and debris. Beyond them, Ford could make out the distant shape of their galaxy, its edges glowing white in the light of the distant stars.

"How do you see the universe, Peridot?" Ford asked. "What do you look at when you're faced with creation like this?"

Peridot wrinkled her brow. "What's that supposed to mean? Isn't it just a random collection of matter?"

"It is," Ford said. "But that's not all. What do you think of the stars?"

"Giant balls of gas."

"The asteroid beneath our feet?"

"It's a rock."

Ford paused, casting Peridot a confused glance. "Shouldn't you have advanced vision given your optic center?"

"I do. This is a rock. It doesn't exactly do much. Can't even fuse with it."

"Fuse?"

"You know, like a fusion dance?"

"Fusion dance?"

Peridot glanced at him sideways. "It combines the powers and being of two gems, including thought and character to create a single being, superior in strength and power. It's something we do in combat to delegate and modify for victory and improved strategy."

"How?" Ford asked, hands stilling over his bag. "Do you use a machine that combines the different molecules? How would you get over the incompatibility of their DNA structures?"

"I don't know everything!" Peridot exclaimed in frustration, throwing her arms in the air for a bit. "It's just the fusion of two gems! Through dance!"

"Dance."

"Yes." Peridot stopped, looking at him. "What's with your eyebrows doing that thing?"

"How does it work?" Ford asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She snatched his hand and Ford couldn't help a small yelp of surprise at the strength she displayed in yanking him close. For such a small gem, he wondered about her battle properties. But then, it seemed to him none of the gems he encountered turned out to be real fighters.

And yet they were always so quick to beat him up.

"It goes like this," Peridot said, guiding his hands to hold hers. Color rose in her cheeks, a fluorescent glow, lime in color. "Ugh. This is stupid. You're a human. You don't even know how to dance, do you?"

"Not so much." Ford lifted her hand into a small twirl. Peridot moved with him, not at all protesting to him taking the lead. "I learned the basics of the waltz back in high school."

"The what?"

"It's the most common dance on my world." Ford stilled, unpleasant memories bubbling to the surface. "Every kid learns it, but some are better than others."

"It's your fault this is stilted," she announced, breaking contact and placing her hands on her hips. "I've fused with many gems in the past."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. I've fused with…" She hesitated. "That one gem. And… that other gem."

"How did you end up here?"

"Betrayal," she said. "One that I should have seen coming. I spent too much time among the rebels against my home planet, and in the end, they decided their little lives were worth more than those of our entire race."

"Oh." Also, not a favorite topic. He supposed he kind of walked right into that one, though, given she was sitting alone on a forsaken asteroid. "What if I take you with me?" he asked. "I could use a friend."

Peridot scowled, as if catching an unpleasant scent. "Fine," she said, throwing her head to the side and avoiding eye contact. "But only because I don't think you deserve to die just yet."

Ford smiled. "I'll take the compliment."