A/N: Amedot fusion! Don't ship it, don't read it!
"Log date 7125," Peridot recited into the tape recorder. "There has been a bit of progress on the Cluster drills, although I still have no idea what to do afterwards. I can't begin to live here, that's just preposterous. No sign of possible escape however. The Crystal Gems seem to defy all sacred rules I thought were once unbreakable, such as staying fused for the sake of fusion. These Gems are simply savages I must say . . ."
"Hey Peridot," Steven yelled as he and the Crystal Gems warped back into the house, interrupting her one moment of peace.
"You're back!" Peridot said as she scrambled to hide the recorder. "Now that you're here, we can—AAHH!"
The little green Gem screamed at the sight of yet another fusion standing on the Warp Pad. This one was twice as tall as Garnet and possessed two pairs of arms.
"Peridot, it's okay," Steven comforted her as she cowered behind him. "That's just Opal. It's Pearl and Amethyst, fused together."
Opal began to laugh, which sounded much similar to Amethyst's.
"Hey P, she's actually scared of us!" Amethyst chortled through Opal's voice.
"It's not funny, Amethyst," Pearl's stern voice suddenly took over.
Steven, Garnet, and Peridot stared in horror as Opal began to mutter to herself, like she was crazy. The blond-haired fusion began to slap herself with her own arms, continuing to switch between voices. In a matter of seconds, Pearl and Amethyst landed on the floor with a burst of light.
"Aw," Steven whined. "I wanted to show Opal my video games. Imagine how cool it would be if she played with two controllers! Think about it!"
"Opal is not here to play with you," Pearl sighed as she picked herself up. "She's simply here for emergencies."
"Hey, where's Peridot?" Amethyst asked.
The little green Gem fled into the bathroom, slamming the door.
"I'll go get her," Amethyst sighed.
The young Quartz trudged over to the bathroom and peeked inside.
"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked. "Pearl and I defused, you know?"
"Why don't you Gems understand the fundamentals of fusion?" Peridot grumbled.
"Look, I'm sorry for laughing but what's so scary about fusion?" Amethyst said. "It's actually kind of fun."
"Fusion is an ancient battle tactic and it's not supposed to occur between two different Gems of different stones," Peridot informed.
"I might have never been to Homeworld but whatever they told you is a lie," Amethyst explained. "It's not inhumane to enjoy fusion. Besides, haven't they also told you that defective Gems aren't supposed to exist?"
Peridot mulled over this new information. Everything she has ever been taught, the Crystal Gems defied it and faced none of the consequences Peridot has been told happened if rules were ever broken. If Homeworld was wrong about those rules, what else could they be wrong about?
"Haven't you actually experienced fusion?" Amethyst asked.
Peridot was silent.
"What?" Amethyst exclaimed. "You never fused before?" She began to laugh again. "Next you're going to tell me that you never summoned a weapon before."
"That doesn't matter," Peridot interjected. Her cheeks turned a darker shade of green. "I'm not supposed to fuse, anyways, I'm not a warrior Gem."
"Everyone can fuse," Amethyst retorted. "Whatever garbage Homeworld told you doesn't apply here. I can fuse, Pearl can fuse, even Steven can fuse, so nothing here stopping you from experiencing it. Why don't you try it out with me?"
Peridot winced. "That's inappropriate; I would get in trouble for that."
"Do you see anyone stopping you?" Amethyst asked. "That's what so great about Earth, nobody's telling you otherwise. Except for Pearl, but she's not here."
"Okay," Peridot said shakily. She kept expecting for someone to condemn her for accepting fusion but there was no one there.
After explaining how to fuse and a few quick dance lessons, followed by a lot of trial and error and laughter, Peridot and Amethyst disappeared into a ball of light. Forming before the bathroom mirror was a nine-foot-tall, teal-skinned, purple-haired fusion with two pairs of arms and four lilac-colored eyes protected by a pair of pale green visors. The Yellow Diamond symbol and the Crystal Gem symbol were emblazoned on the fusion's outfit. Her name trespassed into the fusion's mind: Fluorite.
Inside Fluorite, Peridot felt like she was gone and present at the same time. She was within a strong, capable body of warrior. She was inside something that was meant for battle only, but she still felt like a person, not a tool. But what Peridot didn't expect from fusion what that she would be so close to another Gem, something that was disapproved on Homeworld. Amethyst's thoughts were intertwined with hers, and honestly, it frightened her.
Before Fluorite was even able to speak, she defused in one quick, chaotic moment, not even giving her a chance to look at her surroundings.
Amethyst hit her head on the bathroom tile as she collapsed onto the floor. "What was that? We didn't even do anything!"
Peridot scrambled onto her feet. "I'm sorry, it was just that . . ." She refused to admit she was afraid of the intimacy of being fused. That was too embarrassing to even comprehend.
"You just let go all a sudden," Amethyst said.
"I'm just inexperienced," Peridot finally thought of an excuse.
"I guess we can try again someday," Amethyst said.
"Wait a minute, again?" Peridot squeaked. She couldn't begin to fathom doing that again, being compacted together with another Gem, like she was trapped.
"I know it's scary at first," Amethyst said as she put her hand on Peridot's shoulder. "But it's not so bad after you get used to it."
As the Quartz Gem left the bathroom, Peridot began to think. Why was she so scared of being close to Amethyst? Perhaps, it wasn't because she was inexperienced. Maybe it was something else. Something she didn't even think she was capable of.