Reunited
Chapter 8
It has been a month since Steven and Peridot started to heal the Cluster. They assigned some gems from Little Homeworld to help take a few shards at a time so the Diamonds can regenerate them.
The early seeds of Spring have begun to sprout; snow melting to fresh dew, birds started to chirp before sunrise, and most importantly-the bunnies started to wander the woods around Peridot and Steven's cabin!
...
The pair sat by the window, in their typical outfits. Admiring the new yet routine changes of Earth.
"Back when I lived at the barn," Peridot started with a sigh, "the bunnies would eat all the lettuce I grew. I kinda wished we had a cat to chase 'em off...though I think Pumpkin did that anyways."
At the mention of her name, Pumpkin barked and ran to Steven to sit on his lap.
"Aww, you still like your papa," He said sweetly. Peridot gave him a wry smile making him blush for a moment.
We aren't "officially" dating yet...but her voice is sweet like honey. He tried to stop his thoughts, but he was alone with her, sitting next to her with her face so close to him.
Guh- I can feel her leaning into me again... I think. Last time would have been too soon but... I can't help but think she wants me to initiate something.
He was almost sure that Peridot was getting closer to his face until a loud boom made them both jump.
Thunder.
Of course. There's always something to interrupt.
"Nyah!" Peridot yelped and dashed away from the window. Steven jumped back and looked at her settle by the fireplace before he and Pumpkin followed her.
Steven leaned down next to her, she sat on the rug and he offered her a blanket to cuddle up in. "Are you okay?" He softly asked.
"I...I think so. Yes," She responded before wrapping the blanket around her body. "Sorry I annoyed you, it's just the rain...and water...and thunder...it's still kinda..."
"Scary?"
"Well. Yes."
Hoping to not make her uncomfortable, Steven settled in the blanket with her. He knew she was afraid of water a little bit. Thunder as well since it made her panicky, thinking that the Cluster would suddenly emerge whenever she heard a loud noise.
Peridot let out a quiet yawn and burrowed into his chest, she seemed comfortable with him and enjoyed the warmth of his body. He could feel himself blush and naturally, yet awkwardly started to run his fingers through her triangular hair. He couldn't help but smile to himself.
This just feels nice. He thought contentedly.
She occasionally let out little catlike noises as she rested. The rain dripped and danced outside as the fire crackled, the flames slowly dimming down. Steven could feel himself close his eyes, weighed down by the tempting veil of sleep.
The next thing that faded into view was a green hill with a cherry blossom tree standing alone in the gentle wind. Everything around it felt like it was out of focus in a pink and white mist.
He could see himself slowly rising up the hill, slowly a few shapes came into view. A muted silhouette of Peridot accompanied by a picnic blanket and some food. Steven felt his feelings lift, tempted by the idea of spending time with her in such a nice dream.
A dream...
As Steven started to unravel his thoughts, the sweet smelling cherry Peridot hallucination turned to him. Her expression vacant, her eyes unseeable through her visors. As if on queue, the sweet wind turned bitter and strong, slowly and heavily blowing him away from her. The white clouds went dark and the dream Peridot escaped his vision in a storm. Despite that, he could hear her voice quietly echoing his name...louder and louder. He felt himself open his mouth to scream as the black flashed to white.
"Steven…"
"Steven!"
Peridot had her arms on his shoulders, her face was right up to his. She was real, her eyes shone with more emotion than words can express, especially compared to the dream image of her.
"S-Steven! Are you alright?" Her hands trembled as she spoke, tears welling in her eyes.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just had a...bad dream," Steven paused, deciding to not tell her about the dream in detail. He didn't want to personally upset her. Although, she knew his dreams and nightmares better than anyone else.
The fire stopped burning, Steven noticed. The storm was mostly clear and the sun was starting to go down.
"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" Peridot asked, her voice suddenly bright. Steven smiled, it was cute when she tried to act like him.
Like a little ray of sunshine. He thought to himself.
Not wanting to turn down a good time, Steven tried to smile. "Well, did you have anything in mind?" He asked.
Peridot rested a finger on her chin, murmuring to herself before she exclaimed her excitement in a cute cat noise. "Ah, well when I felt bad, I used to go to one of the farms in the area and look at cats. Ahm, when I used to live at the barn and all...I spent a lot of time looking at cats."
Sympathetically, Steven rested a hand on her shoulder. "That's not far away at all then. I'd love to go if you're serious about it."
"OH STARS, YES!" Peridot cheered before muting herself. In a quieter tone she added; "A logical idea," She looked up at him for a moment, Steven felt his back tingle before he started to laugh with a genuine smile, luckily she laughed at the same time he did.
...
Soon enough, the couple stepped out of the house, ready to take off.
"Nyah!" Peridot exclaimed, raising her arms defensively above her head in an attempt to defend herself.
Instinctively, Steven took his shield out to protect her. "What's wrong?" He asked. Peridot saw concern in his eyes before he looked up and saw a small downpour of rain.
Peridot made a quiet groan and helplessly shrugged in an apologetic gesture. Steven breathed out and rubbed the top of her hair. "It's fine," He said, "I'll let you walk under my shield on the way there."
Peridot found herself enjoying the walk as it went on. She held Steven's hand as they got closer to the farm, hoping that the rain wouldn't last for much longer. "Oh! This is it!" She said, unintentionally gripping Steven's bicep tighter as they approached a white barn next to a small house.
She peered closer, noticing a small crowd of humans at the barn. "That's...unusual. I was always the only one here when I went. Well, besides the humans that lived here I guess. There was never this many though!" She felt herself internally cave in as she stepped into the barn, not letting Steven go. The noise of the humans made her uneasy, mixed with the sounds of the animals, they seemed fixiated by the...dogs she thought they were called. It didn't take long for Peridot to notice a quiet pen at the end of the barn, there were a few adult cats sleeping and some kittens mewling and play fighting. Hmm. Based on my research, the smaller ones seem to be around four Earth months old if I had to guess.
Peridot could notice Steven following her as she broke from his arm. He understood how precious cats were so he didn't need to ask a thing. She kneeled down in the hay, reaching her hand out to the mother cat, letting her know her scent. The mother cat was delicate. Mostly black with some orange and withe patches. She noticed another cat, the father clearly, walking towards the kittens with a barn mouse. She almost didn't see him since his fur blended in with the hay.
The family seemed to be so warm and content. Peridot tried to block out the noise of the humans in the distance. This moment was for her. "I'm going to talk to the people that live here," Steven warmly said from behind her, "I think these animals are up for adoption."
"Adoption?" Peridot echoed.
"It means that we can buy them and take them home if no one else has asked to yet," He said as he walked away.
Peridot felt the need to cower now that she was alone, with unpredictable humans.
He will be back in a few minutes. Just focus on the cats.
Peridot felt herself smile at the family. There were four kittens. One tortoiseshell, two calico, and one was a yellow tabby with black ears. She quietly spoke to the cats, about nothing in particular, but they all seemed to purr around her.
Suddenly, the human voices seemed louder even though no one moved or spoke differently.
"What is that?"
"It doesn't have ears- I don't think it can hear you."
I'm a female and I can hear your annoying voices though my gem just fine, thanks.
Peridot couldn't focus on the cats anymore. The world seemed to blur.Be strong, don't falter or cry. Peridots are durable. She told herself, but couldn't find the perfect words to say out loud.
"That alien girl is playing with the cats- she probably likes them more than people."
Well, you got the she part right finally. Also, is that supposed to be an insult? Cat's aren't dumb and annoying like you. Peridot smiled at herself, hoping that was a good mental insult.
"It could just be alien cosplay, maybe there's a con around?"
"Out here? C'mon."
Instead of commentating on me like an object, you could just ask.
"Why isn't she doing anything? Does she notice us?"
"Eh, she probably can't even speak English."
"Do you think she knows that those kittens will become cats eventually?"
Ok- there are literally adult cats right here you clod. Plus, kittens are cats technically.
Peridot wanted to punch someone, she was trying too hard to stop her angry thoughts, but there was no outlet. Nothing to make her anger disappear.
The humans started to leave, taking a few of the puppies with them.
You criticize me for a creature that grows up into less than 10 pounds but you take that soon to be 80 pound slobbering beast with you?
Peridot rolled her eyes. She at least knew that Earth dogs required a lot of training. Especially big ones. Humans tended to neglect that and only care about how cute they look when they're young.
Hmm. Probably why so many humans procreate. They hardly know how to be mature themselves most of the time, so how can they raise another human to be a properly functioning adult?
I weep for humanity.
As to be reminded of overpopulation, one human was left. An adolescent male. That's all Peridot cared to assess because he wasn't worth more than that.
He leaned over her and said something about "Alien waifus" which received laughter from some humans by the entrance.
She tried not to listen, just looked at the cats. Though the cats seemed tense as well. She gave a wordless apology to them and got more frustrated. I'm glad these humans weren't looking at the cats. Cats don't deserve this.
For some reason, the fact that she was an alien was so important to keep saying.
You know that you're also an alien, right? She asked him in her head. She didn't bother to speak. She was just there for their entertainment value clearly.
"You know my friend has a crush on you."
Like you have any meaningful relationships. That's almost as likely as someone being attracted to someone that they've never seen or communicated with.
The teasing went on as she felt herself huddling closer to the wall, she stood up, despite the tiredness in her legs from crouching for so long.
Bad idea. She realized that as he pushed her into the wall without touching her. Avoiding contact was all she could do at this point. She knew she was small but she couldn't stand to be pushed around for the millionth time. But before she could figure out a way to attack, or find a piece of metal to use her ferrokinesis on, she heard thundering footsteps and a voice that boomed; "Stay away from her!"
She saw Steven grab the human by his arm and tore him away from her, not hiding his aggression. He breathed heavily. "Peri! Are you okay? What's going on?"
Without overthinking, Peridot felt herself panting, trying to find words to say. "Everyone's so mean- they keep making me uncomfortable and saying things about me- I don't like it- I want it to stop!"
She crouched down on the floor again, letting tears roll down her cheeks in an attempt to waterfall her stress. Steven faced the young human as she ended her tired explanation. The father cat brushed his fluffy tail on her nose and pawed at her thigh. His comfort made her smile, yet cry more.
"What did you do to her?"
Steven's voice was suddenly commanding and harsh. Peridot looked up and saw him glowing pink, with diamonds in his pupils. She didn't care for the human's pitiful stuttering. But was mesmerized by Steven. She didn't see him go diamond mode very often. She tried not to drool or think about his muscles and strength. Not right now anyways. The timing is not right.
He was still grabbing the human by the arm. Not saying a word, but letting his dominating stare say all that needed to be said before throwing him off.
He finished with one final line.
"Keep your hands off my Peridot."
...
"I shouldn't have done that," Steven repeated for what seemed to be the 30th time.
It was nightfall by now and Peridot held Steven's arm again as they walked back home.
"Yes you should have! Did you want them to do something worse!" Peridot shook as she rhetorically asked. Wanting to make her self-worth clear.
It turns out that the only kitten left to take home was the little yellow tabby. But Peridot wanted to adopt the parents too, which surprised the people working at the farm apparently. Peridot couldn't fully get it. Cats were precious and deserved happiness no matter what. And it would seem cruel to separate the couple away from their last kit.
The farm offered a small roofed wagon to bring the cats home in (she was using her ferrokinesis to pull it). There was also a small bag of cat food and flea collars. Steven promised Peridot they could go on a cat furniture shopping spree tomorrow.
She looked back at Steven. She understood his fear of becoming totally evil and all but it wasn't likely to happen. "Sure, it was a bit impulsive but you didn't hurt anybody. You did it to defend me and I love you for it."
Steven stopped walking and looked at her. "You do love me..." He breathed.
Peridot nodded, blushing. The word seemed normal now. She still liked the embarrassed feeling she got when she said it. But she was able to say it now.
"You love me too, right?"
"I always loved you...I mean, I love you more now...not that I didn't love you a lot already."
Peridot interrupted his stammering. "We're saying 'love' a lot aren't we?"
"It's making me feel all weird," Steven smiled. "In a good way I think."
She playfully pawed at him, teasingly repeating the words "I love you! I love you!"
Steven cowered, giggling in his cute voice, which made her continue, wanting to hear more of it.
"Sorry- I just can't stop saying it!" Peridot smiled brighter in the moonlight. I hope It's not contagious. She thought.
Hey! If anyone can hear my love thoughts- stay away from my Steven. He's all mine!
Without warning, she felt his hand reach down her back and he playfully tossed her in the air before catching her.
"Hey! What was that for!?" She dizzily asked, kind of annoyed but mostly embarrassed.
He nuzzled his face closer to hers, Peridot felt herself needing to avoid eye contact. As much as she wanted to look at him...it still felt like she couldn't do it. It was too...intimate. She looked down instead, noticing her body and how it moved, how heavily she was breathing.
"I thought you wanted me to be more assertive?" He playfully asked.
Surrendering to him and his unlimited charisma, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her a bit down the country path. Luckily she could still pull the cats with her powers.
She found herself looking up at the half-moon when she felt a soft smack on her cheek. A heavy rush of tingles ran down to her feet. Unable to respond as Steven kissed her.
