"We're really here." Peridot murmured to herself. The drill had finally made its way to the Cluster again. It was still held under a large pink bubble, but hardly able to contain itself. Voices screamed, Peridot shuddered under the various accusing tones. Please! Don't hate me! I wasn't the one who put you here!

A heavy thump on her blonde hair interrupted her thoughts. At first she thought it was Steven reassuring her but he was passed out. "Steven!" Peridot's first instinct was to wake him up but realized that he was communicating with the Cluster. She gave a dizzy smile thinking about him using her big hair as a pillow. She felt herself melt and snuggled against him and soon felt like she was falling into darkness.

It only felt like a moment until she found herself waking up in a painful abyss of colors. She yelped as she realized she was floating, with Steven's arms around her waist.

"Peridot! You're here!" He whispered, looking down at her with tears in his eyes. "Sorry I didn't mean to- I'm not sure if I can get you back!" His voice shook with anxiety. Peridot was trembling as she could hear the intense voices from the Cluster. She shuddered as thousands of broken beings shouted, all blaming her. "Can you hear them?" She asked him, digging into his shirt.

"Yeah. It's the same as last time, they all just want to be free it seems..."

Peridot could feel herself tense. Of course he isn't hearing the same things. I wasn't the one who gave a big speech about love or anything. "They still hate me," She said aloud, all she wanted to do at that moment was hide herself and run away.

"But you're wonderful!" Steven said naturally, "I wouldn't even be able to see the Cluster if it wasn't for you!" Peridot froze, as if she couldn't see anything but him. Then she heard the Cluster's voices dim. "Wonderful?" All the voices echoed in disbelief and confusion.

Steven cleared his throat before words awkwardly tumbled out of him. "Hey...Cluster, how's it going? Listen, I know you have some bad feelings but you got Peridot all wrong! Just like last time, we helped you together! We've always been together. Whether it was saving the world again and again or just trying to recreate an episode of a show that we like..." Peridot felt her heart lift and realized that he was looking at her with that adorable smile and sparkly eyes.

...

Still paused, Steven looked at Peridot as he held her. His body tingled and he felt as though gravity was pulling her closer to him. Is she really leaning into me!? Steven felt his mind rushing. Does she want to kiss me or am I just imagining it? He felt crushed by a dizzying wave as the Cluster's voices glowed all around him. Peridot seemed to jump away as well, which felt like a disappointing weight but Steven shook it off and looked for more to say.

"Ah... the point is that Peridot has always been there for me, and I like being with her. I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather have on my side. She's done so much. I think that she deserves for you to l-like her as much as I do..." Steven felt hot an out of breath as he finished speaking. He realized that he was holding Peridot's waist tightly and her arms wrapped around his shoulders in return, both of them facing the Cluster as a colorful glow splashed around the cavelike space.

The voices seemed to hush as Peridot jumped in his grasp. "Huh?- what?" Steven confusedly said as she pawed at his chest excitedly. "I know how to free the Cluster!" She exclaimed, not letting Steven ask how again. As serious as this is, she still looks like a cute kitten...hopefully she doesn't mind that I think she's cute right now. "Well, we may need to start this off slowly but maybe you can take a few shards with you and take 'em to Homeworld. The Diamonds are getting new powers right? So maybe they know how to make them whole again. Besides, they're the ones who are truly responsible for this." She looked proud of herself for a moment before looking back at the giant bubble and frowned, a rare spark of sympathy shone in her eyes.

"Hmmm... I think you might be onto something, my little genius," Steven affectionately carressed Peridot's cheek as she grumbled from the compliment.

...

The bubbling job was soon done and Steven found himself in the drill with Peridot again. They could only fit 5 bubbles and the ride up was a bit more shaky than the descent. He looked at her as she sat beside him. I know I confessed to her and all but, are we dating now? The term "dating" felt a bit heavy in his mind. Plus, I'm not sure how much she knows about this stuff.

"What do we tell the others?" Peridot's voice unexpectedly broke his thoughts.

"About the Cluster?"

"About the whole...love thing."

He noticed that she looked anxious and avoided eye contact with him. He felt a bit weary himself admittedly.

"Well...we know that we like each other...but I don't know if I want to force a relationship out of nowhere. I was hoping we could let things play out casually. I mean, I like where we're at now...I think we both know we'll start being official about it eventually...right?"

"But you still want to be serious with me right?" Peridot looked a bit hurt, and Steven realized that she might have gotten the wrong meaning.

"Absolutely. I-I just want to take my time with you...I don't want you to feel rushed or anything. But...If things do go the way I hope... I couldn't imagine ever leaving you..." Steven stopped himself. He had visions of their wedding in his head but really didn't want to sound overwhelming.

...

Peridot felt relieved, but a bit disappointed. He could have anyone he wanted to from how charming he is. What if another girl catches his attention and he ends up being someone else's mate? Is it too much to ask that I want him to stay loyal to me forever and never consider being with anyone else?

...Nah I'm a Peridot after all. It's almost impossible to find a better gem.

"Good...If you really want to be with me officially though, you'd not be able to be with anyone else..."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Steven smiled at her and she knew he meant every word.

"Good. As my Steven you have no right betraying me anyways...I'm glad we were able to do this. We really do make the best team..." Peridot trailed off, feeling suddenly shy.

"Of course," Steven wrapped his arm around his shoulder, he tried to make it look casual but Peridot could tell he'd been trying to gain the courage to do that for over an hour. He managed to look at her before he spoke again.

"We did it together..."

"...And it was great."