The rest of the day was spent with everyone at the party taking turns to sing while the ones who didn't sing at the time conversed with each other.
Amethyst of course sang something far too crude for Steven's ears, so Peridot had to stand and kick her off the stage. Then Steven took her place, then Rose, then Greg, then Ruby and Sapphire sang a duet, and so on.
Everyone was having such a good time, clapping and cheering along to the beat of the music. It was as if everyone forgot that Amethyst was going back to jail the very next day.
Almost too quickly, the party started to come to an end. The first sign of this was when Vidalia got a call from Yellowtail during Garnet's song, and she left the room to talk to him in private. When Garnet finished her song, Vidalia came back in the room, apologizing to everyone. She had to go home because "her man", as she put it, needs to prepare to go out to sea the next day and she didn't want Sour Cream to be left alone.
"It's all good, V." Amethyst brushed away Vidalia's apology with a lazy wave of her arm from the couch. "Just be sure to visit me when I'm behind bars again, alright? You didn't come at all this past week."
"I'll put it in my schedule." The young mother promised, then looked to Peridot. Vidalia rubbed the back of her head, a little embarrassed. "Sorry about.. you know. Being a jerk."
Peridot smiled and shook her head.
"It's fine.. Honestly, you were justified."
Vidalia decided to leave it at that. She then turned to Rose, who was getting ready to sing another song.
"Thanks for having me over, Rose. I had a lot of fun."
"Come over any time, hun." Rose replied, smiling while punching in her song choice. "My family is always open to visitors."
"I'll be sure to drop by, then. I can't stay away from this little guy for too long anyway." Vidalia said this as she bent down, ruffling Steven's hair. He had went to stand beside Vidalia to say goodbye. "Maybe I'll bring my kid over. You guys could hang out."
"That sounds fun!" Steven said with a wide smile. "You think he'll play with me and my plane?"
"He'd love to." She then stood and turned to face the occupants on the couch once more. "It was nice meeting you." She said to Ruby and Sapphire.
"Likewise." The tomboy replied, and Sapphire nodded with a smile.
After that, Vidalia didn't have any more special goodbyes to say. With a quick farewell to Greg and Garnet, the young mother left the building.
This started a string of many people leaving the house.
Pearl had to leave to start the dinner shift at the soup kitchen, apologizing to everyone in much the same way Vidalia did.
Garnet had to go because of some files she needed to look through, and Ruby and Sapphire followed because they wouldn't have a ride otherwise. So now it was just Amethyst, Peridot, and Rose and her family.
Amethyst is sitting on the floor with her back against the couch, Peridot actually on the couch, her legs beside Amethyst. Steven sat in his mother's lap in an armchair across from the couch, practicing on a ukulele he received in one of his previous birthdays. Greg was in the process of putting the karaoke machine away as well as the Twister mat.
Peridot thought that this day was exhausting.. but fun. As she looked down at her girlfriend on the floor, who was in the midst of a conversation with Rose.
The girl in green could stare at Amethyst's face for ages.. She had the right to stare after hardly being able to during the day. Sure they spent time together, but it was during games and watching other people sing. Peridot hardly got time to keep Amethyst for herself.
But that would change eventually. The blonde went years without seeing her friend, so this little inconvenience was just that.
Aside from that, Peridot was glad to be able to sit here and enjoy the presence of her old friend.
Truth be told, when Peridot first found Amethyst with her silver dyed hair, her heart skipped a beat at the sight. Of course Peridot didn't know what she was feeling at the time, but that look.. It definitely suited the ex-prostitute.
The rich girl told her maid everything, excited that her friend was in New York. Lapis had listened intently, her smile bright as Peridot went on a rant about what the she and Amethyst did in the orphanage. Lapis had never seen Peridot so happy before, not since she first moved into the mansion.
Peridot would talk for hours, telling story upon story to her friend, so much that lapis would literally get physically tired from so many tales at once. When Lapis would tell Peridot this, the girl in green would wait in her room patiently until Lapis returned, then Peridot would continue talking. The maid wondered how her friend didn't tear her throat with all the words she spoke.
But now, Peridot didn't need to speak a word as she admired Amethyst's beauty. All she wanted to do was sit with the knowledge that she was with her old friend again, romantically even. And she couldn't be any happier than she is now.
"You alright, Peri? You're staring."
Peridot was pulled from her trance at the sound of Amethyst's voice. She was too busy admiring her girlfriend's features that she didn't notice Amethyst turn to her. She had a concerned look on her face.
"O-oh.. Yeah. Sorry." Peridot averted her eyes, a bashful smile on her face as she blushed.
Seeing Peridot's reaction, Amethyst realized exactly why her girlfriend was staring. She struck a pose, hand behind her head while puffing out her chest, one leg straight out in front of her where she sat while the other was bent.
"Like what you see, babe?" She asked, her voice in a slight, seductive slur.
Peridot scoffed and pushed Amethyst's shoulder. Still blushing, she scolded her girlfriend.
"Steven's right there with his mom, come on."
"Hey, he doesn't know what's up." Amethyst argued, climbing onto the couch. She wrapped an arm around Peridot's shoulder, another arm around her front, holding her waist. Amethyst kissed the blonde's cheek, and she couldn't help but relax and sit back in Amethyst's hold.
"But his mother does." Rose spoke in a scolding voice, shooting a glare toward the silver haired girl. Steven wasn't really paying attention to the things being said, plucking away at the strings on his ukulele, so Rose thought it would be okay to tell off her friend for her behavior. "You'd better leave all of your shenanigans behind closed doors."
"Not a bad idea, Rosy." Amethyst replied, practically purring as she held Peridot closer, almost smothering her. The blonde's face couldn't be brighter, and she averted her eyes from everyone in the room.
"We may be together now.." Peridot started, a playful smirk curling at the corner of her lip. "..but I don't think that doing anything 'behind closed doors' is going to happen while you're still a criminal."
"Aw, don't be a tease, Peri." Amethyst whined, cuddling up to her girlfriend, who crossed her arms.
"Being cute won't help you.. Not tonight at least." Peridot said with authority, though smiling bashfully.
"So there will be another night?" Amethyst whispered, her face close to Peridot's, her breath hot on the blonde's neck. It was hard for Peridot to not feel a little hot and bothered. Rose chuckled at the couple's actions.
She was so happy that her dear friend found someone to love on her own. Amethyst's life, up to this point, has been Hell. No matter how the ex-prostitute tried to sugar coat it, that line of work, in this day and age, was incredibly difficult on the worker.
The worry of being caught on a corner with her leg out, the pressure to make sure her customer is one hundred percent satisfied, the agonizingly meager amount of money she received during her work, it was all too stressful for a girl of Amethyst's age.
Rose knew this because of her hair.
When Amethyst first arrived in New York, she looked for an apartment, knowing that the city would be too risky to do the odd job for random people. She stayed with Vidalia first when they first met, at least for a couple nights, and with the money she earned from prostitution, she dyed her hair. This was a few months ago, and Rose knew that Amethyst hasn't re-dyed her hair since.
The silver hair should have faded out by now. At the very least, Amethyst's roots should be showing through her hair growth. But in those months, living the way she does, the stress was immense for the nineteen year old girl. In that time, her hair naturally became gray due to an insane amount of stress.
Rose doesn't think that Amethyst even realizes this, though. She's so into her own world of pleasure and charity that she probably doesn't notice anything that might be wrong with her body, let alone her hair.
But now, as Rose watched Amethyst tease Peridot, she knew that everything would be fine. Amethyst was going to quit being a prostitute, and she was going to get an actual job in society.. that is, if she could get a job, with her reputation. Rose wasn't worried about that, though. Everyone in New York thought that Amethyst was an angel.
Rose was brought from her thoughts when Amethyst retreated from Peridot and stood from the couch, stretching her arms above her head.
"As much as I love hanging out with you, Rose.." Amethyst started, placing her hands on her hips. "..I really miss my own bed."
"Well don't let me keep you." Rose replied, chuckling as Steven practically ran from his mother's lap, hopping off the chair to run toward Amethyst. He left his ukulele with his mother.
"Ame, you're leaving?" Steven asked, staring up at one of his favorite people in the world. His fists were balled in front of him, like most children usually did when something happened they didn't like. Amethyst nodded, smiling apologetically.
"'Fraid so, little guy." She bent down, ruffling Steven's hair. "It won't be for forever, though. I'll always come back to see you, no matter how long it takes, k? So don't worry about it."
Peridot watched in wonder from the couch as Steven's sad expression turned to one of joy and acceptance. Normally, just the words that Amethyst used wouldn't be enough to calm down a saddened child. But Amethyst and Steven weren't like most people in this world.
But Peridot would get into that another time.
Right now, she smiled up at her girlfriend, who's hand was held for her to take, to help her up from the couch. Steven was back in his mother's lap after hugging Amethyst goodbye, playing with his ukulele now.
The last time someone held a hand out to her like this, Peridot was being adopted. At the time, she was terrified of that hand. She was diving into a new world, full of things she's never experienced before.
But now, the hand in front of her was familiar. It held a kind essence, a feeling that Peridot remembered only from the orphanage.
This gesture was small, but to Peridot, it meant the world.
With a genuine smile that she's still getting used to after such a long time, she took the hand in front of her.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait and the mediocre chapter. I've been having a bit of writer's block.
I'm sure that some of you guys are probably a little annoyed with the lack of actual Amedot moments in the last few chapters, but it's hard to make them the center of attention at a party for everyone. Don't worry though, because I can guarantee that the next chapter is going to be solely based around Amethyst and Peridot.
I hope you enjoyed this New Year's bash that's long overdo, and as always, so long for now.