Author's Note: Reviews are working now. Hopefully, they'll keep it up.
"You were the best friend I could ever have.."
Peridot had tears running down her face, just like Amethyst. Her arms hung limply at her sides. Garnet stood behind her, in the doorway.
Amethyst stood from the bed, walking as close to Peridot as possible without leaving her cell.
"Peri.."
"I, uh.. I heard everything."
"I'm so sorry.." Amethyst wanted to make amends so badly.. She grabbed the bars of her cell. "I want to remember you. I want to remember what I was like to you. I just.." Amethyst looked away. "I can't.."
"It's okay, really." Peridot tried to reassure her friend, wiping her tears away.
Dr. Maheswaran stood from the bed and made her way to the gate of Amethyst's cell. Garnet walked toward it as well, from the other side. Unlocking the gate, she let Priyanka from the cell.
"We'll continue our session some other time, Amethyst.." Priyanka told to the postitute.
Amethyst nodded at the doctor, and the woman left. As Garnet started to close the gate, Peridot spoke up.
"Um.. can I get in there first?"
The police woman took a second to think.. and then nodded. She stood aside and allowed the rich girl to enter the cell.
"Thanks.." Peridot whispered to Garnet as she walked by.
Garnet smiled and closed the gate.
"Don't mention it.. It's been a weird few days." She then backed away from the door, hands on her hips. "I'm going home for the day. You girls want anything? Some coffee, maybe?"
"What about Peridot?" Amethyst asked. The police woman smirked before replying.
"She's in there with you already."
"I mean you're just gonna leave her locked in here with me?" Amethyst wasn't in the mood for jokes. Was Garnet really going to lock Peridot in this cell for the evening?
"Well she seems to be making herself comfortable."
Amethyst turned around, and sure enough, Peridot was sitting on the bed, testing the springiness of the cheap mattress.
The silver haired girl couldn't believe this. She grabbed Peridot's hands and pulled her to her feet, surprising her.
"You are not staying here.."
"Why not?" Peridot asked defensively. "We need to talk."
"Not in jail, Peri!" Amethyst turned toward Garnet again. "Don't let her do this, this place isn't for her!"
"It's not for you, either." Peridot took Amethyst's face in her hands, forcing the prostitute to look at her.
"You're the nicest, most selfless person I know. Don't you dare say that I don't belong here when you're more of a saint than anyone else in this God forsaken city."
"And we're meant to keep criminals in." Garnet interrupted. "No law saying we have to kick the innocent out."
"B-but.."
"No.." Peridot smiled at Amethyst, in an attempt to be calming. "I'm staying here, and I'm telling you everything."
"..Alright." Amethyst gave in. She figured that if Peridot was going to do this, it might as well be on the rich girl's terms.
The prostitute turned to Garnet again, who was patiently waiting with her arms crossed.
"I'll take a coffee.. thank you."
Garnet smiled, nodding.
"Sure."
And then she left the room.
Amethyst and Peridot are sitting in front of each other on Amethyst's bed, Peridot at the head while the prostitute sits at the foot.
Amethyst had her legs crossed, a hot cup of coffee in her hands. She sipped from the black magic occasionally, staring at the person in front of her.
Peridot was on her knees. She had no drink, and her hands were clenched into fists on top of her legs.
Neither of them knew how to speak at the moment.
After Garnet had left after giving Amethyst her coffee, the pair just.. sat down and stared at each other. The happenings earlier that day were still fresh in each others mind.
Peridot still regretted running from the building at the sight of Sapphire.
Amethyst was still reeling at the fact that she and Peridot went to the same orphanage.
Another few minutes pass. Amethyst goes to take another sip from her coffee, and Peridot finally speaks.
"Can.. can I have some?"
Amethyst's expression turned to one of disbelief. Didn't the blonde come here to talk about the past? Why didn't she just ask Garnet to get her some coffee too?
As these questions presented themselves to Amethyst, she found herself holding her cup out for Peridot to take, which she did.
Their fingers brushed against each other for just a moment. Peridot felt a chill up her spine while Amethyst felt heat rise to her cheeks.
And then the moment was gone as Peridot took a sip of the hot drink.
"Thank you.." She sighed, smiling a bit more as she handed the cup back to Amethyst. Coffee in winter was always the best pick me up.. well, next to hot chocolate.
"You could've just asked Garnet to get you a cup." Amethyst said as she took her drink back. Peridot shook her head.
"I, uh.. I don't know her well enough. She's kind of intimidating."
"Nah, Garnet's a big ol' sweetheart." Amethyst said with a chuckle. "You know she knocked her mom on her ass cuz she hit Ruby?"
"Why do you have to tell me that?" Peridot asked, groaning. "That just makes me more afraid of her."
"Come on, she's not gonna hurt you. As long as you don't fuck with her sisters, at least."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Talking got to be a lot easier after this.. The ice was broken, and the words just flowed.
Peridot talked about how she felt sorry for running away from Amethyst earlier that day. She felt absolutely terrible about it. Even though Amethyst said it was fine, waving off the rich girl's apology, she was still sorry.
"I mean.. when my mom called me cuz it was New Years in Italy, I told her everything."
Peridot had made herself more comfortable. She sat on the bed with her back against the wall, beside Amethyst as she recounted the conversation she had with Yellow Diamond.
"And I mean everything.. I told her how you showed up in New York after so many years, how I took my time before I talked to you.. even how I hired you."
"I bet she didn't take that information too well." Amethyst joked, drinking the last of her coffee before placing the empty cup on the floor.
"She was pretty cool with it, actually.." Peridot smiled at the memory. "I don't know if she was drunk or just in a good mood, but I'm so glad she reacted positively.. I mean, I kinda came out of the closet to her at the same time, you know?"
"So you're gay?" Amethyst asked, and Peridot stared at her.
"Seriously?" She asked in disbelief. "A few days ago we were sucking on each others lips and you're asking if I'm a lesbian?"
Amethyst shrugged. "Hey, for all I knew, you could have played for both teams."
"You're really something, Ame.." Peridot said with a smile. Amethyst raised an eyebrow at the use of her nickname.
"You talk to Steven lately?"
"Earlier today, yeah. He's a cute kid." Remembering her conversation with the child, Peridot felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She remembered.. that she was the reason that Amethyst was in jail in the first place.
"He said.." Peridot started. "That if I didn't show up at your landlady's house when I did, asking to see you.. that you wouldn't be in jail now."
Amethyst was surprised. Steven was the last person that the prostitute would have thought to blame Peridot for her incarceration.
"But he also said that he trusts me.." Peridot smiled at this, putting a hand over her heart. "He said that he could tell I wasn't a bad person, and that you were happier after meeting me. Weird, right?" Peridot laughed, sighing as she closed her eyes.
"I haven't talked to the little guy since you showed up, how can he know how I feel?" Amethyst asked this with skepticism in her voice. It was natural, really.
"Just a feeling, he said.. I'm just as confused as you are."
The two stayed silent for a while. After a time, Peridot took her phone out of her pocket. She had to squint her eyes because the screen was so bright. She didn't realize that it had gotten so dark in the cell.
Looking at the screen after her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she found out that it was almost a half hour after midnight.
"Huh.. Happy New Years.." Peridot whispered.
"Really?" Amethyst asked, taking a look at Peridot's phone. Sure enough, it was New Years Day.
"So much for that party in my cell.."
"I'm pretty sure Garnet will let everyone in tomorrow.." Peridot was positive about that. "She might have told them we were having a little talk."
"Oh, yeah.. that sounds like Garnet."
More silence follows. The girls sit together, and even though it was so late in the evening.. neither of them were tired.
"He was right, you know.." Amethyst said, and Peridot gave her a quizzical look.
"Who was right?"
"Steven.." Amethyst smiled, a light blush on her face. "When he said I was happier after meeting you."
"..really?" Peridot was happy to hear this.. She was afraid that she was just another customer to the prostitute.. well, until Amethyst figured out that Peridot was from her past.
"Yeah, really." Amethyst brushed a strand of hair from her face, averting her eyes from Peridot's.
"It's weird, you know..? "I-I mean.." Amethyst hid her face in her hands. Why did she have to stutter now, of all times? She took a deep breath, stealing a glance at Peridot.
The rich girl sat there, her legs crossed as she intently listened to her friend.
Amethyst continued.
"I had a lot of fun with you.. not just the kissing and fondling and stuff, but.. just being with you. I.. I usually don't feel like that."
"I mean, I do with Vidalia, she's been one of my best friends since I got to New York, but with you.." Amethyst chuckled. "..it's different somehow."
"How's it different?" Peridot pressured.
"I don't know, Peri.." Amethyst sighed and decided to stand from the bed. She needed to let out some energy, and began to pace back and forth in the cell.
"I've never felt like this.. My whole life, I've just been bouncing from house to house after leaving the orphanage until I got to New York, and I never got so.. excited like I do with you."
Realization slowly dawned on Peridot. Her eyes widened as she continued to listen to Amethyst's rant.
"Like, I get this pit in my stomach every time I think about you, like my mind just.. goes blank except for your face." Amethyst stopped pacing and hugged herself. A shiver went down her spine as she finished.
"You're just so.. addicting to me."
"So you love me?"
"Say what now?" Amethyst looked at Peridot, her eyes wide. Peridot's eyes were just as wide, if not wider. That question she just asked.. she already knew the answer to.
"You love me." Peridot repeated, more as a statement than a question.
Those words repeated themselves over and over in Amethyst's mind. Did she really love Peridot?
Now that she thought about it.. it did make sense.
That electric feeling on her lips when they kissed, the fuzziness in her head when she thought about the rich girl, and the fact that Peridot was the only one to make her feel like this.
"I guess.." Amethyst muttered, once again looking away from her friend. It was pretty obvious to her now..
"I wonder if you felt like that when we were in the orphanage together.."
"I wouldn't know, remember?" Amethyst said with a chuckle. "Seriously, I kinda just confess my feelings for you and that's all you can say?"
Peridot smiled, closing her eyes once more. For some reason.. she felt as if she were at peace with the world.
"Sorry.. I'm just happy, I guess."
"Does that mean you feel the same way?"
"..I dunno." Peridot opened her eyes, looking down at her hands. "I was so.. so happy when you showed up in New York. Every time I tried to talk to you, I felt so anxious, like.. like I couldn't breathe. You don't know how many times I stood outside your door at night."
"That''s kinda creepy, Peri." Amethyst commented. Peridot laughed and looked up at the prostitute.
"Sorry.. but to answer your question, I guess I do love you."
Amethyst repeated Peridot's earlier words. "I wonder if you felt that way back in the orphanage."
"I did promise to tell you all about it, didn't I?" Peridot asked, and Amethyst nodded.
"You didn't forget, did you, girl?"
"No.." Peridot shook her head. "No. I didn't."
Amethyst took her seat beside Peridot on her bed again, and the rich girl started telling Amethyst about their lives together in the orphanage.
She said that Amethyst was the first to make Peridot feel at home, that she made Peridot feel as if her real parents were still with her in her memories.
Peridot talked about the little adventures they would have outside, pretending that they were space pirates raiding Earth. Sugilite, Opal, and Sardonyx were the earthlings.
"I remember doing that.." Amethyst interrupted. "But I still don't remember you being there. It was me, Sapphire, and Ruby as the pirates."
"We were all there." Peridot said excitedly, kind of glad to repeat all of these memories to Amethyst. "I was the one who made all the plans. Ruby and Sapphire used small branches as swords and you-"
"I jumped out of pile of leaves on Sugilite's back.. Oh man, that was a blast." Amethyst laughed at the memory, remembering how loud the bigger girl screamed. She didn't think that Sugilite's voice could ever get that high.
But then.. she remembered something else.
A girl in a green sundress..
"There was someone else there.." Amethyst whispered, and Peridot sat up straight. Did Amethyst remember her..?
"She ran at Sugilite and.. all three of us got knocked back in the pile of leaves. I scraped my elbow because of that."
"Then when you told Alex, I got in trouble." Peridot continued, her smile growing wider.
"You had to change my bandages after every bath I took." Amethyst's smile was just as wide. She lurched forward, suddenly on her knees as she took Peridot's hands in hers.
"You said you were sorry so many times.." Amethyst had tears in her eyes now, her voice picking up in speed. "I told you it was alright, but you didn't think so. You even went in the kitchen and stole an extra bag of chips for me. I was like-"
"You're pulling a 'me'." Peridot finished Amethyst's thought, nodding excitedly. "So you remember me?"
"Just that day.. but I remember it." Amethyst was so excited. It was so late at night, but the prostitute couldn't even think of sleeping.
Peridot continued retelling everything that she and Amethyst did.
Over time, the two sat closer to each other in the bed.
Peridot told Amethyst about how they would climb trees together after Amethyst's insistent begging.
She said that Amethyst would also talk her into raiding the kitchen at night for a midnight snack for everyone.
Peridot even mentioned that when she was sad at night, crying over the death of her parents, Amethyst was the only one able to cheer her up.
Amethyst now had her head resting on Peridot's shoulder, wrapping her arms around the rich girl as she spoke. The memories were slowly coming back to her.
This is what she needed. Even in this jail cell, sitting with Peridot like this just felt.. right.
Amethyst remembered holding Peridot as she cried..
She remembered taking the blame for Peridot when the blonde dared to steal an extra sandwich by herself. They later split the sandwich and ate it together.
Amethyst just.. remembered.
Piece by piece, it came back to her. Everything began to fall into place.
As Peridot was talking about a particular memory where Amethyst got sick because of an old sandwich she found under her bed, Amethyst brought her hand to cup Peridot's cheek. Peridot stopped talking.
"You held my hair while I puked in the toilet." Amethyst continued. "Ruby wouldn't even get near me.."
Peridot placed her hand on top of Amethyst's holding it against her cheek.
"I stayed in bed for a few days. Even when I felt fine again, you wouldn't let me out of bed before checking my temperature."
Amethyst brought their faces closer together. Slowly, their lips were a hair's width apart.
"I remember everything, Peri.."
And then they kissed.