Author's Note:

I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long. School is driving me crazy right now. I haven't had as much time to write recently so chapters may be slow, but I'll try to get them out as often as I can. Just so you guys know I'm half asleep and don't know half the stuff in writing right now... Now on to the chapter!

-Pinkpoole

Chapter 11:

Steven jumped up in the air, a huge smile on his face. "Yay!" He exclaimed loudly. "Okay, so Pearl, you are going to stay here and watch while I talk with Peridot! Just please don't hurt unless she tries to hurt me, okay?" The small child asked before turning to Garnet. "And Garnet will go and look for Lapis and Jasper! Maybe we'll find them and everyone can be happy together!" He said, his eyes lighting up with stars at the thought.
Garnet smiled down at Steven. "Alright." She said. "And I'll take Amethyst with me." She added.

Steven nodded. "Alright! Sounds like a plan!" He said cheerfully.

Pearl's eyes were still wide with shock. She bit her lip nervously, not liking this plan at all. She glared down at Peridot for a moment, blaming the green gem for everything. She wanted Peridot dead, but the green gem had information they couldn't waste.
Garnet gave Steven one last smile before turning and leaving.

Steven watched Garnet leave before turning to Pearl. "Usually when Garnet watches me she usually stands over in the corner." He said, grabbing Pearl's hand and leading her over to the corner of the room. "Now you just stand here and don't do anything unless Peridot tries to hurt me." He said. The smile dropped from his face for a moment. "I really wish you hadn't hurt Peridot." He added quietly.

Pearl looked down at Steven. "She deserved it! You should have heard the things she was saying!" Pearl said angrily. Then she sighed quickly, silently scolding herself for yelling at Steven like that. "I'll just stand here and watch." She said, frustrated.

Steven looked up at Pearl, his eyes large and pleading. "Pearl, it's alright, just don't do it again." He said. "I think the two of you could be really good friends if you tried to get along! You have a lot in common!" He said.
Pearl sighed. She couldn't say no to the sweet little face Steven was making right now. "Fine..." She groaned, half lying. She regretted nothing.

Steven smiled, thinking that this was an improvement. He then turned and walked over to Peridot, looking at the cut on her cheek for a moment. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Are you gonna poof?"

Peridot looked at Steven through her cracked visor, confused. "Poof?" She repeated, not understanding what Steven was referring to.
"You know, poof!" Steven said, trying to explain. "When you get really hurt and then POOF!" He moved his arms through the air, trying to demonstrate an explosion. "And you sort of disappear, but your gem is still there and you come back later when you're healed."
Peridot continued to stare at Steven, not understanding a word the child was saying. Nothing he said made any sense.

"Are you going to go into your gem or not?" Steven asked, starting to get a little frustrated.

Peridot realized what he was saying. "No." She answered. "I'm alright. The damage to my physical form is minor. It should heal in a day or two." She said.

Steven looked at the cut for a moment before reaching out with his hand.

Peridot scooted out of Steven's reach as quickly as she could with her arms tied behind her back. "Keep your touch-stumps away from my face." She growled.

Steven was confused for a moment. "Touch-stumps..?" He repeated. "Oh! You mean fingers!" He said cheerfully.

"I don't care what you call them, just keep them away from me." Peridot replied coldly.

"Don't worry! I'm not gonna hurt you or anything!" Steven said cheerfully, continuing to reach his hand out toward the cut. "I just wanna see how bad it is! Maybe I can heal it!"

Peridot looked at Steven, her expression confused as she continued to scoot away from him. "Heal?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Steven replied happily. "I have healing powers! I healed Lapis's gem once!" He said excitedly.

"How?" Peridot asked.

Steven opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Pearl.

"Steven, I don't think you should be telling Peridot stuff like this." The light blue gem said nervously.

Steven looked back at Pearl. "Why not?" He asked. "You hurt Peridot and I just want to help her!"

"She's still the enemy!" Pearl said. "It's not smart to give her information like this!"

Peridot narrowed her eyes at Pearl, looking around Steven at the light blue gem. "I'm right here." She said coldly. "Can you stop talking about me like I'm not in the room?"

Pearl glared at Peridot angrily, wishing she could kill the green gem right now. One day she hoped she got the chance to crush Peridot's gem. Pearl looked back down at Steven. "Steven, please don't tell her stuff like this." She said.

"Alright..." Steven agreed, obviously upset. He looked back at Peridot, trying to think of something to talk about. "I really hope Garnet and Amethyst find Lapis." He said.

Peridot agreed with a nod. She wanted to see Lapis again, though she wasn't sure if the blue water gem would want to see her. She hoped Lapis would forgive her for everything, though she felt the chances of that were unlikely.

"I really hope she's alright." Steven said. "I really miss her."

"Yeah..." Peridot agreed quietly, looking down, her eyes filled with sadness and a little bit of longing. "Me too."

Pearl stared at Peridot, confused. The look on the green gem's face was so familiar. It reminded her so much of how she felt every time she thought about Rose Quartz... But how could Peridot feel the same way about Lapis that Pearl had always felt about Rose. It didn't make sense. How could such a cold ruthless gem like Peridot love someone like Lapis..? Yet it was clear from the look on Peridot's face that it was true.

Suddenly Steven hugged Peridot. "It'll be okay." He said quietly, partially to Peridot, partially to himself.

Peridot winced at the sudden embrace, confused by what the small child was doing. She didn't push him away, but that was mainly because of the fact that her arms were still tied behind her back. In a way the embrace felt kind of nice. Unfamiliar, but nice.

"I'm sure they'll find Lapis." Steven continued, still talking to both Peridot and himself. He felt the green gem needed the reassurance, and he knew he did too. "Everything will be great. We'll all be able to be happy together." He said, his eyes beginning to well up with tears.

Peridot smiled just a little at that thought. The smile was small, almost impossible to distinguish from a frown, but it was still a smile. Her own eyes began to well up with tears, unfamiliar emotions flooding through her. It was odd, but at the same time it felt nice.

Steven stopped hugging Peridot and took a step backwards. Tears ran down his face. Some were tears of joy while others were tears of sadness. It was a mix of the two, but it was a nice mix.

Peridot looked up at Steven. "I hope you're right." She said quietly.

Suddenly there was the sound of hurried footsteps coming down the hall. Amethyst appeared, a worried look on her face. "We found them!" She said quickly. Everyone knew who 'them' was. Lapis and Jasper's fusion. Malachite.

Author's Notes:

Yay! I have two possible ideas for what might happen next and I'm trying to work out the details and figure out which I like best. I'm also totally open to suggestions! Please leave a review of you enjoyed and I'll see you all next chapter!

-Pinkpoole