Act I: Revelations
Act II: Building Relationships
Act III: .. something else

Love Like You

Delicate hands fiddled with the fragile cables and hardware keeping the structure intact; the fingers darting in and out of small crevices in the device carefully. Peridot stared at her own short yet somewhat slender fingers and heaved a long sigh, plonking her upper body on the cool wooden table unceremoniously.

"Peridot, we don't have the time to be lazy," Pearl chided, and Peridot could almost hear the frown in her voice. Groaning, the blonde shoved herself onto her elbows, cradling her face in the palms of her hands.

She reverted her gaze back to Pearl's hands dancing around the frail device, the spindly fingers toying around with it unnecessarily. Trailing her line her vision back up to Pearl's face, she gave a small smile at the other girl's dedication face - distracted eyes with her tongue poking out of her mouth slightly.

"We have some time to be lazy," Peridot countered. "We're way ahead of everyone else, and the deadline isn't for a week or two."

"Yes, well, with our recent… distractions, we can't be sure if we'll have all the time in the world to work on this." With the hand now grasping a small screwdriver, she gestured to the electronic device in her other hand.

Peridot arched an eyebrow questioningly. "Distractions?"

"You know…" Pearl trailed off, a small blush tinging her cheeks. "Rose and Lapis."

Oh. Now she understood.

"Yes, alright," Peridot agreed only half-heartedly, because in all honestly, she wanted an excuse not to work right now.

It was Thursday afternoon, straight after their Robotics club period, and Peridot agreed that Pearl and herself needed time to work on their little creation outside of school. Of course, Peridot agreed before the whole mess with Lapis on the weekend. If she hadn't planned to see Pearl, or had a growing stack of homework, she probably would've been spending the afternoon with Lapis.

Maybe.

Focusing back on the device that was keeping her away from a social life she never thought she'd be eager for, Peridot straightened herself. "Alright, you want me to help with that or work on the programming?"

"I've got this covered, you can work on the programming."

Peridot was used to that arrangement; Pearl was better at the grittier work, despite being one of the most dainty girls she knew. It was amusing and strange to her, how someone so careful and precise couldn't care less if she got her hands covered in oil and metaphorical dirt.

I suppose you need to be careful and precise if you're working with tiny electronics.

Peridot, on the other hand, was the computer girl. Whilst Pearl's fingers were fast and adaptable to machinery, electronics and many other things, Peridot's were better working a keyboard and mouse, especially if it was solving whatever the heck was wrong with her code.

With an irritated sigh to herself, she dragged her tablet out of her bag and opened up the necessary applications. She much preferred to programme on her computer, but she didn't have a laptop, and refused her mother's attempts at buying her one. Honestly, she hated being spoilt - she didn't need any more than a good desktop computer and a tablet for the go.

Pearl seemed to pick up on Peridot's displeased sigh, and exhaled too. "We can take a break if you really want to."

"Thank you," Peridot gratefully whined, falling back into the wooden chair she was perched in. "I'm tired of working on this project."

"Well, what would you like to do instead?" Pearl asked kindly, gazing off into the kitchen and getting her own ideas. "We could bake?"

Peridot scoffed. "I said I wanted to relax, not work more."

"Well, I find baking relaxing," Pearl defended, pouting.

"Your ideas of relaxing are physical exertion."

Pearl giggled a little. "Hey, baking isn't that tiring."

"I was referencing your habit for dancing and fencing, too."

"I'm a woman of many talents."

Peridot snorted and waved a hand, brushing the subject away. "Let's just relax in your room or something."

"Would you like a drink first?" Pearl suggested, already leaping off her chair and striding over to her kitchen. With her long legs, it only took two or three steps.

Peridot groaned jokingly. "Fine, but I'm not just a house-guest, I'm your friend too."

"I know. Would you like tea, coffee, hot chocolate or a soft drink?"

"I don't think I've ever had that many options in my life before now," Peridot mocked, humming in thought for effect. "I'll just have a soda."

Pearl motioned to the fridge, indicating that Peridot could choose whatever she wanted whilst she brewed her own tea. It was funny how close Peridot came with Pearl and her family over the last two years; when she first met the taller dork's family, she kept her attitude in line and filtered every word and action she had. Now, she strolled around her friend's house more casually than she did at home.

Pulling out a can of Sprite, she asked, "Where are your parents anyway?"

"They're spending the last of the summer weather at the beach," Pearl replied alter taking a sip of her tea. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It's weird, your house in complete silence. I'm so used to seeing your parents around."

"I have to enjoy it while it lasts." With a quick nod to her bedroom, Pearl scampered off, Peridot rushing to keep up with her long strides. When she entered the room, she crumpled face-first into Pearl's pastel pink and blue double bed, much to the other girl's annoyance.

"Careful, you'll spill your drink!" she scolded, prying the can from Peridot's fingers and placing it on her bedside table. Pearl only heard a muffled groan in return.

After a few seconds, Peridot shoved herself up for a breath of fresh air, flopping onto her back and staring at the white ceiling. If she hadn't already done so a thousand times already, she would've stared at Pearl's collection of swords on the walls. Her parents were great to an extent, but Peridot still couldn't believe they let her keep actual weapons in her room.

Peridot heard Pearl take another sip of her tea before she fell onto her back beside her, humming happily.

"You still haven't told me what happened between you and Lapis Saturday night," she remarked, threading her hands together on her lap.

"Oh, well…" Peridot trailed off, glad Pearl couldn't see the blush forming on her cheeks. "It was, uh, a b-bit of a sentimental reunion."

"You don't want to talk about it?" Pearl questioned softly.

"I-I do! It was just very, um, unusual for me."

"Unusual how?"

Peridot fidgeted on the bed, absentmindedly curling her fingers around the duvet. "I heard what you said on the bus to Garnet. I think Lapis is conditioning me t-to touching. When she followed me outside after I ran off, I fell into her arms, Pearl! I legitimately hugged her!"

"You even hugged me," Pearl breathed. "It is unusual, but I'm happy you're opening up. I never thought Lapis would be the one to make you open up, though."

Peridot seemingly ignored what Pearl said. "And… then I cried into her. What's happening to me, Pearl?"

"You're growing up," Pearl simply replied. "Did anything else happen between you and Lapis?"

Peridot sighed heavily. "Yeah."

Everyone's eyes pried at the pair when they sauntered through the doorway with bloodshot eyes and grains of sand sticking to their feet.

"So, what happ—" Amethyst began, but her mouth was abruptly shut by Garnet's hand. Peridot was instantly grateful for that. She had no problems telling her friends about her situation with Lapis, but she wasn't ready to admit that she sobbed like a child who had their candy stolen.

Pearl seemed to pick up on that, and intervened before Amethyst could pry again. "Should we continue playing our game, or settle for the night?"

"Definitely settle," Garnet affirmed, removing her hand away from Amethyst's mouth and scowling at the slobber covering it. Amethyst sent her a childish grin, but refrained from prying about Peridot and Lapis, both of which were still standing in the doorway. Peridot clutched onto Lapis' forearm, but made no other contact.

"Alright, Amethyst, will you come help me bring out the mattresses?" Rose asked, gently lifting Pearl off her lap and ambling towards the hallway.

Amethyst groaned, but complied. "Yeah, sure."

When the two quartz-named girls left the room, Peridot finally collapsed back into her seat, followed by Lapis.

"Are you okay Peridot?" Pearl questioned, guilt stinging her eyes. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm sorry."

"I'm okay," Peridot half-lied, shooting Lapis a glance. "We're okay."

Pearl nodded and sunk into the seat her and Rose had shared.

There was a certain mood hanging in the air, as if it was universally agreed to not ask questions about Peridot's retreat and Lapis' chasing after her. Peridot was not always the best at deciphering body language, and certainly not foreign emotions, but she could see the curiosity in everyone's eyes. Except maybe Garnet; even though she had her shades off, as she did around close friends, her amber eyes only shined with patience and quiet encouragement.

Muffled grunting and hushed huffing sounded throughout the room as Amethyst and Rose dragged out a double size mattress. They carried it up the small flight of stairs and to the loft, dropping it in between the television and the couch-bed already there.

"There's one more mattress we'll get, so there'll be two people per mattress," Rose announced, already making her way down the stairs and back to the hallway. "Is everyone okay with that?"

Surprisingly, Peridot didn't internally freak out. She didn't panic about having to share with anyone. She didn't worry about Lapis making her uncomfortable.

Okay, admittedly, her heart did thud a little louder in her chest, but she was okay with the arrangement. Maybe it was because she knew Lapis was too.

Peridot nodded her head at Rose, whom was directing the question to her, and the taller girl smiled. A minute later, the third mattress was up on the loft, squished against the other mattress on the floor. Garnet and Pearl followed behind, cradling blankets and duvets to their chests. Peridot thought to make herself useful and grabbed a bunch of pillows from the storage cupboard, beckoning Lapis over to carry a few too.

When the bedding was organised (which looked like a sleepover haven, with pillows and blankets strewn everywhere), Peridot rushed off to change into her PJs. She took the bathroom, assuming everyone else took one of the bedrooms to change as well. Except maybe a few brave people, she thought. Like Rose.

Fitting on her white shorts with green alien heads on them, and a black Assassin's Creed shirt, Peridot trudged back out into the living room, tucking her 'good' clothes under her arm. When she stuffed them into her bag, she felt the hairs on her neck prickle, like she was being watched. Whipping her head around, she gave Garnet a questioning look, whom was now wearing a red singlet and black trackies.

"Nice shorts," she commented, her lips curling up lightly, and gave her a thumbs up. Peridot blushed slightly.

"Th-thanks," she replied, glancing down at her bare shins and knee long shorts, then leapt up to the loft. Rose and Amethyst were laying on the mattresses, and sent Peridot warm smiles (which surprised her, coming from Amethyst).

"Do you and Lapis want to share the bed?" Rose asked, signalling at the couch-bed cozied up against the wall.

"Are you sure?" Peridot quickly replied, uncertainty in her tone. "Don't you and Pearl want that?"

Rose giggled. "I'm sure."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." Peridot quickly scrambled onto the bed, sliding under the blue-grey duvet and blanket.

With nothing else to say until someone else spoke up, Peridot pulled out her phone and began distracting herself scrolling through Tumblr. She registered some quiet chatter between Rose and Amethyst, but didn't bother prying her eyes away from her phone until someone sunk into the bed beside her.

Peridot gazed at Lapis, whom was wearing a dark grey pullover hoodie and pastel blue trackies.

"Won't you be hot wearing two layers under the blankets?" she questioned, frowning a little at the Lapis' attire.

"I'm not wearing anything under my hoodie," Lapis bluntly stated, but smiled devilishly as Peridot began to blush.

"Oh," was all she managed to squeak, then quickly turned away.

"Alright, so who wants a movie night?" Amethyst queried loudly as Pearl and Garnet trudged up the stairs and slumped onto the mattresses on the floor. Garnet was carrying two bowls of chips, and Pearl, for some reason, had a platter of cheese and crackers.

"What movies you got?" Lapis asked, crawling to the foot of the bed and lying on her stomach. Peridot inched closer to Lapis, crossing her legs and hugging the blanket to her petite body.

"A bunch of comedies, and the new Captain America," Amethyst answered, digging into her bag and pulling out a stack of DVDs. "Man Up, Date Night, Crazy Stupid Love, The Boss, Central Intelligence, Deadpool, and Zoolander 2."

"I vote for the Marvel movies," Lapis announced.

"Everyone's seen Deadpool by now, haven't they?" Peridot questioned, then added, "Plus, Captain America: Civil War will spoil the previous movies if anyone hasn't seen them."

Lapis pouted at Peridot. "Fine, my third vote is for Central Intelligence."

Apparently everyone else agreed with that choice, and Amethyst slotted in the disc into the TV.

Watching the movie was rather uneventful, with only a bit of chatter here and there regarding the plot and jokes. Lapis scooted closer to Peridot half-way through the movie, but that's all she registered until the end neared.

Taking a hand full of chips, Peridot leant back into the bed frame and snuggled under the covers. She sent Lapis a shy smile when she followed her lead. As the credits rolled out, Peridot barely noticed that she had her head resting against Lapis' shoulder and the warm, slender hand wrapped around hers under the duvet.

"Well, I think it's time to hit the sack," Amethyst proposed after yawning.

"I agree," Pearl chimed in as she stretched and curled into Rose's arms. Garnet sent Peridot and Lapis a glance, and smiled slightly at the two comfortably resting against each other.

The television flickered out of life, and the house was sent into darkness, save for the beams of moonlight shed through the windows.

Peridot heard her friends whisper to each other for a few minutes before Lapis whispered into her ear.

"I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

Peridot shuddered at the breath electrifying her nerves.

"Of course you're not," she replied in a hushed tone. To emphasis her words, she snuggled closer into Lapis' body. Unfortunately though, that did make her uncomfortable, and she retreated back to just resting her head against Lapis' body.

"I understand if you're not comfortable with me, Peridot," Lapis soothed, retracting her hand from the other girl's and placing both of hers on her stomach. "You don't have to force yourself to do anything just to appease me. I understand now, after what you told me."

"I'm not uncomfortable with you," Peridot reassured, but sighed. "I never told you, but I'm not used to touching. I've never liked it much. But I want to like it."

Lapis remained silent for a while. "So I've been forcing you into uncomfortable positions ever since I met you? Why didn't you tell me that you don't like people touching you? I would've respected that."

"Because I want to like people touching me. I don't want to be closed off my entire life."

Lapis quietly snorted. "You think if people touch you more, you'll get used to it?"

"Yeah," Peridot admitted, sighing again.

"Okay. If I ever make you uncomfortable, you'll tell me, right?"

"I will."

"How about we have a codeword, to make it easier?"

"Heh, okay. How about…" Peridot glanced at her shirt, even though she couldn't see it in the dark and under the covers. "Templars?"

"That's incredibly geeky of you to suggest," Lapis mocked. "I thought you would suggest something easy, like 'red light' or something."

"The Templars wear red," Peridot reasoned, blushing a little bit.

"So do the Assassins. But we can keep it if you like."

"I like it, as if touching Templars is a wrong doing."

"Tenets of the Creed; stay your blade away from innocents, hide in plain sight, never compromise the Brotherhood, and never touch a Templar. Ever."

Peridot chuckled, but bit on her tongue when she remembered there were other people in the room. "Tell that to Arno."

"I haven't played Unity yet, so don't spoil it," Lapis warned.

"Will do."

After a moment of silence, Peridot felt Lapis' hand ghosting over her waist, and her throat clenched.

"Templars?" Lapis suggested.

Peridot shook her head, but realised that wouldn't be easily understood in the dark, and whispered, "No."

Lapis hand strayed over Peridot's stomach and wrapped around her waist as she turned on her side. At Peridot's silence, she snuggled into Peridot's hair and sighed.

If it was anyone else, except maybe Pearl (though Peridot thought that would be weird), she would've said the safety word right there and then. But she trusted Lapis; maybe not as much as online Lapis, but she knew she would eventually get used to her offline version.

Somehow, with her heart thumping in her throat and heated cheeks, Peridot managed to fall asleep.

A few moments passed before either of them said anything.

"You two are progressing fast," Pearl stated. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Peridot replied with a blush, brushing her sweaty palms on her shirt. Retelling that night still made her nervous and flustered. "I asked if she wanted to sit with us again, but to no avail."

Pearl piece it together. "So you've been sitting with Lapis at breaks?" she asked, but it sounded more like a realisation.

"Yeah, sometimes. I don't want her to be lonely."

"It's okay, Peridot. We're all happy for you," Pearl reassured, humming contentedly.

Peridot sat herself upright, tired of staring at the ceiling, and reached out for her drink. She took a sip of the extremely sweet soda and glanced at Pearl relaxing beside her, smiling warmly when she noticed the other girl was daydreaming, her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips.

"So how are you and Rose going?" Peridot asked, eyeing the patterns on the duvet as she took another sip.

Pearl's eyes flickered open. "Oh, we're going f-fine."

"Just fine?"

"Yes. Well, I suppose better than fine." Pearl paused, biting her lip softly. "She's so perfect, Peridot. She treats me like I'm worth everything, but that's what I'm good at doing. Like, I'm the knight and she's the princess, though she's definitely capable of protecting herself." Pearl wrapped her arms around her waist. "I don't want to ever let Rose go."

"Maybe Rose should be here instead of me," Peridot joked.

"I care about you too, Peridot," Pearl scoffed, but placed her hand on top of Peridot's free one. "Seriously. I won't forget about you."

Peridot blushed a little at the genuine compliment. "Th-thank you."

Comfortable silence fell over them for a minute. Peridot thought about Lapis to distract herself, and she suspected Pearl was daydreaming about Rose. Now that Peridot had admitted she was Lapis' online friend, she had changed a bit. It was like the flirtatious facade the blue-haired enigma owned had fell down. Suddenly, she was emotional and sensitive towards Peridot, though there were a few playful comments thrown here and there. She supposed it was because Lapis didn't want to lose her either, now that her online identity was revealed. Or maybe this was her way of reacting to the news. Peridot was just thankful Lapis didn't have a panic attack like herself.

Peridot was briefly dragged out of her thoughts when Pearl began humming a soft tune. She gazed at the other girl, her eyes closed again and her fingers tapping slowly with each hum. When words softly left Pearl's lips, Peridot listened, intrigued.

"If I could, begin to be. Half of what, you think of me. I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love."

Peridot found herself thinking of Pearl's and Rose's relationship, how happy they seemed with each other, and wondered what the lyrics could mean.

Does Pearl think of herself lowly?

Peridot shook that thought, deciding to just listen to Pearl's vocals. Honestly, Peridot always admired her singing talent - her voice was as soothing as a creek trickling through a forest.

"When I see, the way you act, wondering when I'm coming back. I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love, like you."

Peridot thought of Lapis' arms around her waist at that moment, and thought that maybe the song wasn't just for one person, but everyone could relate to it. Heck, maybe she'd learn to care like Lapis one day.

"I always thought, I might be bad. Now I'm sure that it's true. 'Cause, I think you're so good, and I'm nothing like you."

Peridot bit her lip at those lines; she used to feel that way about everyone.

"Look at you go, I just adore you. I wish that I knew, what makes you think I'm so special."

"If I could begin to do, something that does right by you. I would do about anything, I would even learn how to love."

By now, Peridot hummed along too. Honestly, the more Pearl sang, the more she thought of Lapis. Maybe she needed to admit something.

"When I see, the way you look, shaken by how long it took. I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love, like you. Love, like you…"

The room fell into silence, and Peridot held her breath.

"That… was beautiful," she admitted.

Pearl flicked her eyes open, smiling shyly at Peridot and blushing slightly. "It was?"

"Is that how you feel about Rose?"

Pearl looked away, opting to stare at the pillows on her bed. "Yes, b-but… I think anyone would feel that way about someone, some time in their life."

Peridot frowned a little. "Why do you feel that way about Rose?"

Pearl choked back a laugh. "Because she's so amazing, and I don't think I am… I love her, Peridot, but the way she cares about me is something else."

"I think you're pretty great, so I think that Rose is right. You are amazing." Pearl glanced at Peridot, and the blonde swore she saw stars in those watery eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Peridot fidgeted slightly, wanting to distract Pearl before the tears overflowed. She didn't want her to cry, even if they were happy tears. "Your song made me feel something."

"What did it make you feel?" Pearl asked, wiping her hand over her eyes.

"It made me think of Lapis, and how she cares about me. I simultaneously have known her for a year, and three weeks, and it's just so odd how easily she latched onto me. Maybe it was more of a joke, or maybe she just wanted a friend when she first met me, or maybe it really was just because she found me interesting, but now… It's a different kind of attachment, like she's nostalgic for me."

Peridot breathed deeply. "She's amazing too. She might be cocky and tease me a lot, but she could've easily kept pushing me away. But she stayed, and now she cares."

"So how do you feel about Lapis?" Pearl asked warmly.

Peridot bit her lip. "I think I still have those questionable feelings."

Pearl laughed knowingly. "If my song made you feel something about Lapis, I don't think those feelings are questionable anymore."

"Yeah… Maybe you're right."

Maybe feelings weren't a weakness, for they made Peridot feel warm and content.

A/N: it might be the lighting in the episodes, but i've always thought of young Pearl having pink hair, which is why she has pink hair in this story (felt the need to clarify)
i also like to imagine Love Like You can be sung from any character to any character in the series. my initial thoughts were Rose and Greg, but really, it could be between Rose and Pearl, Pearl and Amethyst/Garnet, Steven and basically any other character, Sapphire and Ruby, and maybe even Peridot and Lapis. the ambiguity makes the song so charming

Destiny: omg no dont cry! (even if it's happy tears) but thank you aa !-!

Guest (2): this is your fave Lapidot fanfiction?-?-? OMGggGGg im so honoured thank u so much

Tofudash42379: ofc you can draw fan art from this story! if you want to show me the work, tag me at dksaur on tumblr or dekkasaurus on deviantart!

Sim: thank u so much! i do try to put as much detail as i can in each chapter

thank you everyone else for the reviews! almost at 50 reviews, 50 follows, 30 faves, and 5000 views wow aaa!