When Peridot opened her eyes early that morning, laying on her stomach, she felt what could only be described as an odd sensation.

No, it wasn't from being completely naked in a guest bed after she and Amethyst had ruined her sheets the night before. It wasn't from having Amethyst's naked body beside her, softly snoring away on her back with a leg hanging off of the bed. And it certainly wasn't because she had woken up to the realization that she wasn't a virgin anymore. No, the reason Peridot felt weird this morning was because she had woken up before Lapis had come to get her.

It's not like Peridot and Amethyst were discreet about their move to a separate room. They had left both doors wide open, so Lapis could have easily seen that Peridot wasn't in her bed, and just as easily discern where she was. So Peridot knew that Lapis hasn't made her morning rounds yet. Oddly enough, even though Peridot hated being woken up in the morning, this time she felt... good.

Peridot pushed herself up on the bed and studied her bed partner. Amethyst looked so beautiful. The blankets only covered her bottom half save for her leg, which left her top exposed to the air. Amethyst's facial expression was one of pure bliss, to such an extent that the tiniest amount of drool escaped the corner of her mouth. Peridot contemplating waking Amethyst up with a surprise quickie, but she decided against it. Even if they were dating, and they had just had sex the night before, Amethyst was asleep. It would still be considered unconsentual, even if the silver haired girl were to wake up and join Peridot in her actions.

Instead, Peridot stood from the bed. Stretching her arms above her head, she took a quic look outside of a window and discovered that the sun had only just risen over the horizon. No wonder Lapis wasn't up and about yet. Peridot wondered how her date with Jasper went.

Peridot thought about taking the blanket from Amethyst to use as a cover up until she could get to her room and find actual clothes, but she didn't want to disturb her girlfriend. So she decided to go in the nude instead. It's not like anyone else was awake to see her, right? Scratching her head, Peridot made her way out of the guest room. Though, she still wanted to be cautious, looking both ways in the hallway before making a mad dash to her bedroom.

Once safely in her room, Peridot closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she caught her breath. Aside from having sex, that was probably the boldest thing she's done. Well, that's not true. Hiring a prostitute and telling her mother that she hired a prostitute was the boldest thing she's ever done. Peridot sighed after catching her breath and pushed herself off of her door. She walked over to her dresser which lay against the wall to the far right and opened one of the drawers. She grabbed a green pair of underwear, a white oversized tee shirt, and loose pajama pants. Obviously, she didn't feel like dressing up that day, even foregoing a bra. It's not like she had much of a chest to cover up in the first place.

Before getting dressed, having laid her clothes on whatever clean part of her bed she could find, Peridot observed herself in the mirror of her dresser. She had multiple bite marks and hickeys on her neck, several bruises on her breasts, and one giant mark on her thigh. All of these marks screamed the message "AMETHYST WAS HERE" to anyone that might see them. But Peridot didn't care. She enjoyed that night, and no one was going to tell her what she could and couldn't do with her body.

After inspecting her body, Peridot dressed herself and picked up her glasses from the floor. They had definitely broken. Now that the night of fun was over, she was starting to regret having mistreated her glasses so. Sighing, Peridot placed her broken glasses on her nightstand and stripped her bed of its sheet and blanket, intending to carry them down to the washers to save Lapis a trip up the stairs. She also collected her and Amethyst's clothes, positive that Lapis wouldn't want to handle panties that have been soaked in vaginal fluids. She was sure that Lapis would clean up the broken glass from the floor later.

Now the hard part was actually getting down all of these stairs without her glasses. With all of the clothes, sheets, and blankets she carried, looking down the staircase was like looking at her own death. Taking a deep breath, Peridot decided that she would move one step at a time to avoid injury. Clothes in hand, she felt her way down the first step with her right foot, and followed suit with the left. Down the stairs she went, one step at a time. She was more than half way down the whole staircase when the stupidest idea entered her head. Hey, this isn't so bad. I can just walk down the rest normally. With complete confidence, Peridot worked her way to the next step with her right foot, then passed over it with her left to reach the step afterward. She missed entirely, stepping passed the intended target.

With the unexpected misstep, Peridot went falling forward. Instinctively, she held the dirty bed sheets and clothes tightly to herself, hoping that they would break her fall. Her eyes shut tight, she waited for the inevitable crack of a bone. But it never came. Peridot expected her stomach to have that weird sensation like when she rode an amusement park ride with a sudden drop, but it never came. In fact, the fall that she had expected to already be part of never came either. It was as if she were suspended in space by some unknown force. Then a low, authoritative voice spoke to her.

"Peridot, are you alright?"

Let the unknown force be known. Above everything, Peridot didn't expect this person to have caught her. Upon further inspection, Peridot found that she was being held on the stairs with one hand from the other side of the clothes pile she carried. She closed her eyes even more tightly, afraid to move, afraid to speak. Why did it have to be her, of all people?! Why did she have to show up the morning after Peridot had been fucked for the first time?! She supposed it didn't matter, anyway. The woman was going to find out one way or another, so why not let it be by being smothered with hers and Amethyst's dirty underwear? Sighing, Peridot answered.

"Yes, mother."

Peridot sat in front of Yellow Diamond and her desk in her study. Yellow Diamond, or YD for short, sat across from Peridot, her elbows rested on her desk with her chin resting on her interlocked fingers. The study itself was a rather small room, with few trinkets to decorate it. Just a laptop computer sat to one side of the desk, pen and paper on the other side. The older woman claimed that any more than this would distract her from her work. YD herself looked like hell. Her eyes were bloodshot, most likely from the jet lag, her clothes were crumpled, and Peridot could swear she saw a stain on the yellow blouse her mother wore. What was it? Peridot hoped it was peas.

After saving Peridot from a tumble, the older woman helped her from the stairs and took the laundry to the laundry room for Lapis to find. She then lead her daughter, without a word, to her study. Peridot assumed it was so that they could talk about the hickeys on her neck. She had already decided to tell the truth, so she was ready for it. Head held high, Peridot waited patiently to be questioned.

"I missed you."

That was the only thing Peridot didn't expect. She blushed, and couldn't help the sheepish smile that came to her face. Rubbing the back of her head, Peridot averted her eyes. "Yeah..? I missed you too, mom."

YD smiled and leaned back in her chair, throwing all formalities out the window as she crossed her arms. "You didn't miss me too much, I'm guessing. Not when you have your little girlfriend to keep you company."

"Oh, Amethyst?" Peridot asked, her face glowing even brighter. "Y-yeah. She's amazing to me."

"I could tell just by looking at you, dear. You had a good night."

"Oh the best!" Peridot practically gushed. It was odd. She was so ready to answer any questions her mother might ask her, but even without being questioned, Peridot spilled everything. "She treated me so wonderfully! I've never felt so enthralled by another person before. I couldn't stop shaking during, and her tongue, god her tongue!"

"Oookaayyy, I think that's enough about your sex life." YD interrupted Peridot's rant. That last bit of information was a bit too much for her, but she couldn't help the smile that curled her lips. Her baby was growing into a fine woman.

"Sorry." Peridot apologized, hugging herself at the arms to control her excitement. "She's just such a beautiful person. Never make me feel uncomfortable, always making sure I was okay with what she was doing. She's like an angel among demons."

"I'm glad you found yourself such a partner. And she's the girl you used to be friends with in the orphanage?" Peridot nodded. "That's even better! I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, mom." Peridot was happy for herself too. Her mother was so caring, understanding. She was nothing like the woman she was when she left for Italy a month ago. "Oh, how was your flight?"

"Oh don't get me started." YD answered, clear hatred in her voice. "I had to fly coach because all of the first class seats were taken. Normally I wouldn't have minded, but I got seated next to a mother and her baby. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered me either, but the damned thing got sick and puked on me."

"I was hoping that was peas." Peridot commented. YD nodded and sighed.

"I wish it was."

"And what about your hair?" Peridot asked.

"Oh, this?" YD brought a hand up to run her finger through whatever hair she could. Before she had left for Italy, her hair was large in volume and well groomed. But now, it was short, almost to her scalp, and whatever little of it was spiked. Peridot didn't dare say her mother looked like a butch lesbian. "Someone got drunk on New Years decided it'd be funny to put gum in my hair. It was too much trouble to deal with, so I just shaved it all off."

"Like I'd believe that." Peridot crossed her arms. "There's absolutely no way you'd shave your head just for a stick of gum."

"Well what about your girlfriend? Isn't she supposed to be in jail?" YD asked. Peridot couldn't help but feel as if her mother was avoiding the topic, but she decided to drop it for now. Instead, she prepared herself. It finally came. The talk.

"Garnet, a police woman, let her out early."

"What, for good behavior?" YD asked, skeptical. "When was she let out?"

"A week ago."

"So she's only been in jail for a little more than a week, when the best she was supposed to get out of that for good behavior was two months?"

"Garnet pulled some strings for her."

"Well clearly." YD crossed her arms again, indignation clear in her voice. "What could possibly merit for such behavior?"

"Because I killed someone?"

Peridot thought that she'd never seen Yellow Diamond look so perplexed in her entire life. She could understand why. She had just blurted out that she took someone's life, just like that. What was she thinking when she said that? Maybe it was to defend Garnet's decision. Maybe Peridot thought this would explain why Amethyst had been let out early. But now, as her mother silently stared at her, she had no idea.

"Peridot.." YD finally spoke. "What do you-?"

"I killed someone." Peridot repeated. Her face was stone cold, void of emotion, but she couldn't stop the tears that threatened to fall as she told her mother the events that lead up to this conversation. Peridot recounted how she had just come back to Amethyst's apartment from dropping Amethyst off at jail. She told Yellow about how she helped Pearl with her little soup kitchen, about how they ran out of bowls, about how one man got impatient for food and took a hostage. Peridot repeated what had happened when the man started slamming Pearl's head against the counter, how Peridot took the gun from the back of Pearl's pants, and how she pointed and fired the gun at the man. This whole time, Peridot looked at her mother, clutching the leggings of her pajamas.

Peridot told YD about how Pearl comforted her until Amethyst and Dr. Maheswaran came to the apartment. About how she and Amethyst showered together while Pearl and the doctor waited outside for them, playing stakeout. About how Amethyst sung this song to her until she had fallen asleep. About how Amethyst's landlady, Rose, tried to comfort her.

"Rose Quartz?" Yellow Diamond asked, and Peridot nodded.

"Rose Universe now, but yeah."

"I see.. Please continue."

"There's not much more to it, really." Peridot said with a dry chuckle. "Rose's husband, Greg, drove me and Amethyst here, and for the past week, Amethyst has been staying here, comforting me. We haven't heard from Garnet or anyone else since then."

"Did you tell Lapis and Jasper about this?"

"Please don't be angry with them." Peridot pleaded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I-I ordered them not to tell you. I didn't want you to worry about me, or-or how the company would look."

"You think I give a damn about the company?" Peridot was surprised when her mother stood from her chair. She winced, expecting some sort of sharp pain like a slap across her cheek, but she was surprised to feel strong arms wrap around her shoulders. Yellow Diamond was hugging her. "Oh sweetie... I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Peridot couldn't believe this. She was actually being comforted so closely by this woman she had thought was a cruel business woman. But here Yellow Diamond was, treating Peridot like a human being. Like her own child. Peridot allowed herself this motherly affection and sobbed. She wrapped her arms around her mother's waist, her tears staining her mother's blouse. It's not like it could get any dirtier than being puked on by a baby.

Peridot allowed these tears to fall. She knows she needed this after what she went through. Sure, Pearl helped her, and so did Amethyst. They both helped tremendously, but there was nothing quite like a mother's comforting embrace. After a few minutes, YD pulled away from her daughter, cupping her cheeks in her hands and wiping away stray tears with her thumbs.

"You're being so strong, Peridot."

Peridot almost laughed, but she couldn't stop her wide smile. "I don't think so. I'm a freaking wreck."

"That's just part of your strength." YD stood up straight, hands on her hips. "Anyway, I'm going to get a shower. You go wake your little girlfriend up. I plan on having a talk with her when I'm out."

"You're not gonna do the whole 'did you have sex with my daughter' thing, are you?" Peridot asked, standing from her chair. YD shrugged.

"Maybe. Or I'll pretend she's still a prostitute and pay her for her services to you. Which do you think would be funnier?"

Peridot didn't answer. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around her mother again, holding her closely. "I love you, mom."

YD smiled and returned the hug, sighing in the embrace. "I love you too, sweetie."

Amethyst had shifted position from her back to her side in her sleep. The pillow she clung too acted as Peridot, and since she was still asleep, Amethyst actually believed it was. Her sleep had been relatively dreamless, save for a few scenes reenacting the previous night. Snoring away, the only thing that could possibly wake her up was an earthquake. That and the familiarity of Peridot's hand on her back.

"Amethyst." Peridot whispered, gently shaking her girlfriend from behind. "Amethyst, get up."

Amethyst only grumbled in response, tightening herself into a ball, clinging more tightly to her pillow. Peridot sighed. She really didn't want to put up with this shit. "Ame, come on. My mom came back from Italy this morning."

"Tell her I said hi." Amethyst mumbled in response. "Let me sleep all day."

"She wants to talk to you, babe, come on." Peridot pleaded. She climbed into the bed, practically laying herself on top of Amethyst. She knew that being cute would win her girlfriend over eventually. "Come on.. What can I do to get you up?"

It certainly was hard for Amethyst to sleep with Peridot all over her like that. She contemplated just ignoring the blonde, but she knew she couldn't keep it up forever. So Amethyst decided to make the most of waking up. Turning her head, she captured Peridot's mouth in a kiss. Peridot thought this was what Amethyst was going to be after. Smiling in the kiss, she cupped Amethyst's cheek, allowing them the bliss of tasting each others lips that they had explored so thoroughly.

Amethyst was quick to become vocal, moaning as she placed a hand on the back of Peridot's head, deepening the kiss. Tongue came into play, and before Amethyst could move her other hand to grab Peridot's ass, her girlfriend pulled away.

"As much as I'd love to have a morning quickie..." Peridot started, her breath heavy. "...and oh my god would I love to, but we really do have to talk to my mom."

"I thought you wanted to put off the whole 'you killed a guy' thing." Amethyst said. "I mean, not that I'm not proud of you, but why the sudden change of heart?"

Peridot averted her eyes, feeling a little guilty that she hadn't woken Amethyst up earlier so that they could face her mother together. "I kinda already told her."

"Oh my god.." Amethyst sat up, forcing Peridot to move off of her. She gripped Peridot's hands in hers, concern evident in her expression. "Are you alright? You could have woken me up earlier, I could have been there for you."

"Amethyst, I'm fine." Peridot said with a smile. "It went a lot better than I thought it would, she was very comforting."

Amethyst sighed and pulled Peridot into a tight hug. "That's fantastic, babe. I'm happy for you."

"Me too." Peridot was truly happy. For the first time in her life, she felt that all was well. Her mother loved her, she had regained her childhood friend as well as a lover, and she was fairly certain that she could handle whatever jail time she received, if at could possibly ruin this happiness?

"I thought I said to wake your girlfriend up, not have sex with her." Peridot and Amethyst looked toward the doorway to see Yellow Diamond. The woman seems to have already finished her shower, since she was dressed in a golden brown bathrobe. She was leaning on the door frame, her arms crossed.

"Oh hey Miss D!" Amethyst recognized Yellow Diamond's voice from the one phone call they shared and raised a hand in greeting. Peridot's face went alight in a blush, as Amethyst seemed to have no sense of modesty whatsoever. Then Amethyst put a finger to her chin in thought. "Or is it Mrs. D? Are you married?"

Yellow Diamond just arched an eyebrow while Peridot struggled to cover Amethyst with a blanket. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

Amethyst looked confused at Peridot for a second before it clicked in her head. She smacked herself in the forehead. "Oh, right. I should stand to greet your mom, shouldn't I?"

"No!" Peridot yelled, and YD couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's expression. "You're naked, you clod!"

"Oh, you've done it now." YD said with a chuckle, much to Amethyst's confusion.

Amethyst scratched her head, unsure of what Peridot was getting at. "Babe, we're all girls here. What's there to hide?"

"That's my mother!" Peridot yelled, gesturing toward Yellow Diamond. "And you're my girlfriend!" She gestured to Amethyst. "You think I want other women seeing you naked, especially my mother?!" Another exasperated gesturing to YD.

The dim light in Amethyst's head finally brightened. Her eyes widened, and it finally clicked. Before, Amethyst was okay with being naked around anyone. Modesty was not in her vocabulary. Even if she did think she could lose a few pounds, she knew that she was hot. But now that she was in a committed relationship...

"Oh shit babe, I'm sorry." Amethyst grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around her chest. Peridot sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as Amethyst covered herself. "My spare set of clothes are in your room, can you go grab them?"

"Yeah, sure, just..." Peridot made her way off the bed, practically running out of her room passed her mother. "...just keep yourself covered!" And then Amethyst and YD were left alone.

The silence that followed was awkward. Amethyst averted her eyes from the older woman, letting out a dry cough into her hand. YD checked her nails, making sure there wasn't any baby puke under them after having cleaned her shirt in the shower so that the stain wouldn't spread to her other clothes in the wash. The two were almost glad when Peridot returned, holding a plastic bag filled with Amethyst's clothes.

"I got them." Peridot tossed the bag onto the bed, then turned to her mother. "Can you wait out here while Amethyst gets dressed?"

"Of course." YD agreed, stepping out of the doorway. Once her mother was clear, Peridot closed the door. She turned her back to the door and leaned against it, sinking to the floor while hiding her face in her hands. Amethyst stood from the bed and opened her bag of clothes. Inside was a purple sweater, a gray tank top, black sweatpants, a pair of white socks, and black panties. All this in hand, she started getting dressed.

"Well that was awkward." Amethyst said to break the silence, stepping into her underwear.

"You fucking think?!" Peridot yelled from the floor, looking up at Amethyst. "I'm not angry with you, so please don't think that I am, but seriously?"

"Cut me some slack." Amethyst defended herself, sitting on the bed to put on her socks. "You're the first real relationship I've ever had. Every other person I've serviced, it was quick, and didn't mean shit. Forgive me for not knowing how to act like a fucking girlfriend."

"I dunno, I thought you'd know to act differently!" Peridot said in frustration. "I mean, you're my first relationship too, but I know I don't want you being seen naked by other women, or anyone for that matter."

"Well like I said.." Amethyst started, pulling her tank top over her head. "..even though I've never been in a relationship, I was a whore."

"I know, but- "

"But nothing." Amethyst interrupted Peridot. She stood from the bed, putting on her pants as she talked. "Peri, I was paid to suck dick in an alley. I was paid to just sit there with my tits out while three different fuckers jacked off on me. Like all other whores, I had a pimp that wanted to try and fuck me. You know where that fucker Marty practically ordered me to bend over for him?"

Peridot shook her head. She didn't feel like talking.

"We were in a god damned park, Peri." Amethyst spat out. "We were walking down the trail, and he told me to lean against a tree so he could stick that prick of his in me. I said no, he insisted- " Amethyst said this word with more intensity, which lead Peridot to believe that Marty was more than verbal with his 'insisting'. " -and I kicked him in the balls and ran off. I told Vidalia what he'd done, we split, and I never saw that asshole again." Amethyst finished dressing herself, pulling her head and arms through the sleeves of her sweater. "So again, forgive me if it took me this long to figure out that modesty is a fucking privilege and not something I just had to live without."

Peridot had no words. How could she? Amethyst was right, in everything she said. Peridot had forgotten that, even though they grew up in the same orphanage, their lives took vastly different turns. Amethyst was never adopted, left to fend for herself in the streets, going door to door to ask for a place to stay the night as she traveled. Peridot had everything she ever needed handed to her on a silver platter.

"Are we fighting?" Peridot asked, in possibly the most helpless voice Amethyst had heard since what Peridot had said to keep Amethyst in the bathroom after Peridot killed that man. Amethyst sighed and sat on the bed, resting her head in her open hand, elbow on her knee.

"I don't know. Never been in a relationship, remember? A real one, at least."

"...I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Amethyst let out a dry chuckle. "Now I know to keep my boobs in my shirt, though."

"Yeah." Peridot didn't want this to be their first fight, and over something so stupid. "I'm a real bitch, aren't I?"

"Yep." Amethyst agreed without a second thought. "But you're my bitch, and I gotta deal with you."

Peridot chuckled, shaking her head. She couldn't believe this. Such a stupid reason to fight, especially with such a beloved person. "I love you."

"I love you too, bitch." Amethyst said, grinning as she slid off of the bed. She walked toward Peridot, holding her hand out for the blonde to take. "Now come on. We can't keep your butch mom waiting."

"Oh my god, do not tell her that." Peridot said with a laugh as she took Amethyst's hand. Helping her girlfriend to her feet, Amethyst pulled Peridot into a hug, putting her lips to Peridot's in a longing kiss. Lord knows they both needed a bit of loving after the little drama they just went through. Amethyst pulled away, grinning at Peridot's dazed expression. It was always amazing to see her like that.

"No promises~"

Author's Note:

So, Yellow Diamond has entered the story. If anyone is wondering where Lapis and Jasper are, it's still early in the morning. (Not to mention they probably had some fun themselves when they returned from their date.) But they will show up in the next chapter, I can assure you.

Any reviews are greatly appreciated, and if you have any questions about my story, or just want to talk, feel free to message me.

Be on the lookout for the next chapter of "Hell Hath no Fury." And as always, so long for now.