It was currently in the middle of the night when Steven had awoken from his nap within the barn. Pearl and Peridot had been working all day, preparing, programming, and constructing the drill. Garnet and Amethyst on the, however, had been assigned by both Pearl and Peridot to collect certain materials around the world, including the salvage from whatever is left of Peridots escape pod.
Steven stood from the haystack within the barn, looking at his feet as he hissed in discomfort. 'I probably should've just slept back at the temple now that I think about it' Steven thought as he stretched his arms and legs. Steven had realized that he didn't feel very sleepy despite missing 15 hours of sleep, maybe it was because of the exposure to Triphane, and it activated something inside Stevens' gem maybe... or maybe it was because of his emotions, like how the rest of his powers worked, he would try to discover that later. Steven walked out of the barn only to discover Pearl welding Tungsten together, along with many other components, Peridot had been using some type of old computer connected to a homemade solar-powered generator. Steven was originally going to meet up with Pearl and just talk, but Steven felt something inside of himself drag him towards Peridot.
Steven walked over to Peridot and sat on his knees before tapping her shoulder, making her jump, "Eep!" She wailed. Steven laughed as he caught her in his arms by accident, "Hey Peri, whatcha doin?" Steven asked with a smile on his face. Peridot blushed a bright purple as Steven slid his hands down her neck in a peaceful movement, "You okay?" Steven asked again as he brought his head closer to her shoulder, which she found oddly cute.
"S-Steven! You clod! You scared me!" She pouted as she rose her arm, preparing to slap him, but failing as she groaned in discouragement, 'I can't hurt Steven...' Peridot thought as she put her hand back down.
"Hah, sorry about that Peridot, and, thanks for keeping your cool... I could swear that you were going to hit me there," Steven responded as he stood. Peridot chuckled for a moment but soon stopped as she came closer to Steven. Peridot looked at the ground for a quick moment before looking back up, "Steven," she said, attracting Stevens' attention.
"What's up?" Steven responded, widening his eyes a tad bit as Peridot fidgeted with her fingers. Peridot had spent most of the day trying to find out what she was feeling until she finally did, which was actually only a few hours ago. Peridot didn't want to believe that she was feeling... emotions, for Steven, but it was there non-the less, and she couldn't necessarily avoid it, but she would be cautious about what she says. Peridot stopped twitching her fingers as she looked back up to Steven, "Steven, I was wondering..." She tried to finish her sentence but couldn't speak until Steven jumped in again. "Wondering... about what?" Steven asked with a worried tone.
"I-I was wondering if we could... I-if we could, y'know, try fusing again?" Peridot asked, her voice becoming shakier as she continued. Steven quietly chuckled to himself as his eyes turned into his iconic stars but soon frowned as he remembered something that Garnet had said to him before he headed to sleep, 'give fusion some time Steven, try to understand Peridot more before fusing again.' Steven sighed in disappointment, "Sorry Peridot, but Garnet said that we shouldn't fuse until I get to know you more..."
Peridots smile turned into a bland expression as her arms and shoulders kept still, "Pfft, Garnet doesn't know what she's talking about, c'mon Steven," Peridot said as she tried to convince Steven to fuse with her. Steven avoided eye contact as he gave it some thought, "Well... I guess it would speed up the process of making the drill, but I don't want to make Garnet mad or anything, you know how she is," He replied nervously. Peridot huffed as she turned back towards her old computer, "Alright then... Maybe some other time then?" Peridot asked hesitantly.
"Sure, but hey, that doesn't mean I can't help," Steven happily argued.
Peridot looked a little over her shoulder, "I suppose you could," she responded in a nerdy tone. It was also during this night that Steven had given Peridot an old voice recorder, she had originally planned to use it for scrap until Steven showed her what it did and how it worked. She was ecstatic to use it after figuring out its mechanics, but didn't show it as she simply thanked Steven for it, saying, "This is very much appreciated, Steven, thanks."
By now it was morning, and Steven hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep until just recently, along with Peridot who was curious about what it was and how it worked. Since Pearl was on the other side of the barn the whole night, she hadn't known that Steven had been awake, nor did she actually realize that he had been at the barn at all. Pearl, now finishing 1/3rd of the drill heads schematics, placed down the remaining chalk back into the slot at the bottom of the board. Pearl groaned as she rubbed her gem, "Phew, I bet that lousy Peridot couldn't come up with schematics like these," Pearl said to herself in a cocky tone.
Pearl turned around and reached the front of the barn, coming to a stop after spotting Garnet and Amethyst peeking around a corner. Garnet looked at Pearl, putting her finger to her mouth as Pearl approached. When Pearl had reached the two other gems, she gasped and formed a mild blue blush on her cheeks. Steven and Peridots backs had been layed against the barn wall, Peridot clinging to Stevens' left side, her legs tangled between Stevens' and her head buried in his neck and shoulder. Peridot also had her arms wrapped around Stevens' waist, stuck in place. This was accompanied by Steven who had been leaning his head on the top of Peridots hair, using it as a pillow.
Pearl was on the brink of panicking until Steven squirmed, leaning upwards. Steven made a faint yawn as he stretched his arms towards the sky and attempting to pop his knuckles but failing to do so as he retracted his hands to the ground. Steven looked back at Peridot, bringing himself to the brink of bursting into a laugh as he listened to Peridots kitten like snoring. Steven turned his head towards the sleeping Peridot, lifting her legs and separating her arms from his body. Stevens' eyes almost glowed as he blushed an innocent thought, 'She's so cute! She's like a happy lil slice of pie,' Steven thought. 'I should probably wake her up,' Steven thought before placing his whole hand on Peridots cheek, 'soft... and, warm?'
Steven felt something in his body that he hadn't felt ever before as he cupped Peridots cheek in his palm, squeezing it a few times in the attempt to wake her up. Realizing that his calm approach wasn't working, Steven crawled closer to Peridot, feeling as if something was pulling himself towards her. Stevens' cheeks turned incredibly pink as he got closer to Peridot and hesitantly bringing his hand toward her face. Stevens' hands shook for reasons unknown to himself as he placed them on Peridots cheeks, anxiously shaking Peridots head from left to right. Steven stopped bobbing Peridots head when he saw her eyes flicker, "Steven?"
Peridot had just woken up, feeling her head being bobbed from side to side, opened her eyes. Peridot put her hand on Stevens in a confused manner, "Steven? What are you doing?" She asked while looking at the sky, purposely avoiding eye contact.
Steven smiled as he recovered a stable state of consciousness, "Waking you up... have any interesting dreams?"
Peridot felt flustered as she recalled her dream in her mind, "uh- nope! Just a bunch of random thoughts piled together with no specific meaning... right?" She replied nervously. Steven brought his hands down, accidentally placing them on Peridots legs before correcting himself and fixing his mistake. Steven swiftly put one hand on the back of his head before nodding.
The two stayed still in time as an awkward silence flowed by, "So, what do you think about Earth so far? Other than being a ticking time bomb," Steven asked. Peridot took a moment to think about how to say it in a way that Steven would be happy with, "I think it's a formidable planet with plenty of fauna and natural resources. I can see why homeworld would choose this planet as worthy for the cluster."
Steven hissed, he was hoping to hear about her feelings towards the planet, not if it was formidable or had good resources. Peridot moved her head closer to Stevens' in worry after hearing his disapproving hiss, "I-I mean, Earth is amazing! I-I really like it!" She restated. Steven smiled as he moved closer as well, "Really?" he asked. Peridot furiously nodded, coming to a stop when she felt her nose touch Stevens'.
Steven felt his heart flutter as his skin turned to a literal pink. Steven awkwardly turned away from Peridot, "Okaylet'sgetbacktowork!" Peridot did the same as Steven as she ran to the nearby computer. Steven followed as well, and the gems lurking from behind departed with the knowledge that they didn't want to believe. Amethyst was surprised and confused, Garnet was shocked but also happy, and Pearl didn't know what to think other than Stevens' mutual safety around Peridot. After Garnet and Amethyst left, Pearl approached the two with a nervous grin and shaky hands.