"Yo Stee-man, you alright?" Amethyst asked as she poked Steven. "Hm, guess not," Amethyst said as she turned towards Peridot, "You should probably take him back to the temple Peri, you can catch up with me later alright?" Amethyst suggested. Peridot jolted upwards, "Really?" she asked nervously. Amethyst put her hand on Peridots head as she pointed at the drill with her other, "I've gotta this doohicky back to the barn, besides it's not like you can just fly away like before." Peridot remained silent as she thought about her limbs enhancers. Soon, Peridot looked back at Steven and nodded.
Amethyst picked up Steven and handed him to Peridot, laying him in Peridots arms, causing Peridot to grunt at the weight of Steven. He weighed more than she thought he would. Amethyst waved at Peridot with a grimace on her face, gesturing that Peridot better not do anything to Steven. Peridot looked down at Steven as she activated the warp pad separately from Amethyst. A light emitted from the sky before colliding with Peridot and Steven, sending them back in the temple.
In a bright transition, Peridot was at the temple, carrying Steven in her arms. Peridot looked around for a second before placing Steven on the couch, laying his head against the right arm. She didn't know where exactly to put him, but her instincts told her to put him there, and she felt good about her decision as Steven formed a smile. Peridot felt a drop of sweat arise on her brow as she slowly turned, stopping when she felt a soft breeze reach her back. Steven had turned his head and whispered. Peridot, not being able to hear Steven because of her distance, ran over to Stevens' side. Steven gently opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling as he spoke.
"Phew, that was a workout," Steven laughed, a shutter of wheezing following behind it. Steven turned towards Peridot, his wheeze becoming harder to hear as it slowly cleared up. Peridot looked at Steven with a puzzled face. "So you're alright?" Peridot asked. Steven gave her a thumbs up as he giggled. Steven stopped giggling when he felt the mood switch from good to bad.
"Steven..." Peridot said with a sappy tone. Peridots arms turned into stone as she folded them against her chest. Steven stayed quiet as he waited for her to continue but became impatient after realizing that Peridot had lost the will to continue. "Did you forget?" Steven asked with a slanted smile, attempting to look more open to what Peridot had wanted to say. Peridot shut her eyes as she tilted her head towards the left, "what do we do... if we can't destroy the cluster?" she asked hesitantly. Stevens' heart skipped a beat as he returned a look of dismay. Steven placed his left hand on Peridots cheek, his look of dismay fading, turning into a look of confidence and faith.
Peridot fluttered her eyes as she felt Stevens' middle finger touch her ear. "We will," Steven replied in a confident tone. "I promise," Steven finished. Peridot wanted to believe it, but she wasn't a fool and had always relied on mathematics to solve her problems. Peridot had been able to determine that the chance of succeeding was a low 10.3%. This wasn't a risk that Peridot wanted to take, but it was the only option that she had.
Peridot rose her hand to her cheek, placing her palm over Stevens'. Stevens smile turned into a playful grin as Peridot closed her eyes again, "That wasn't the answer I was looking for..." Peridot paused as she let out a depressing huff. Steven scowled, looking down at Peridots feet as he let her continue.
Peridot felt something boil inside of her as she opened her mouth, "all hope is lost!" Peridot cried. Steven frowned as he felt a single tear touch his hand. Steven turned his head towards Peridot as he gripped her cheek tighter. "I... I don't know," Steven replied in a sad tone. "This is all your fault!" Peridot shouted, crestfallen, trying her best to hold back her tears. Peridot regretted saying that the instant it came out, frowning at Steven as she realized her mistake. Steven turned worried as he jumped off the couch, now full of energy. "I-I didn't-" Peridot muttered, coming to a stop when Steven pulled her into a hug. Peridot stayed silent as she felt Stevens ear against her own. Steven didn't speak as Peridot continued to sob into his shoulder, her tears streaming through his shirt. Peridot quickly moved her arms, entirely embracing Steven as she stopped crying, her nose, eyes, and cheeks turning purple. Steven released his grip from Peridots back as he reeled backward. Peridot looked at Steven with an embarrassed expression as she unmangled them from Stevens' torso.
After wiping away one of his own tears, Steven pointed at the warp pad. Steven coughed as he hesitantly looked back at Peridot, "we should probably catch up with Amethyst before she reaches the barn," Steven suggested. Peridot looked down at Steven as she nodded, "Right," Peridot agreed in a professional tone. Peridot turned towards the warp pad as she started walking, "I'm sorry, Steven." Steven chuckled as he followed Peridot to the warp pad, "it's okay, I understand... I haven't been so sure about this whole thing either."
Peridot kept her head down as she activated the warp, gradually catching up with Amethyst who didn't dare to ask what had happened based on how they looked.
Steven and Peridot stayed quiet as they walked to the farm alongside Amethyst, glancing at each other every now an then, hoping that nothing that had happened would stick for much longer.
- 20 Minutes later
As the group of three reached the farm, Amethyst set down the drill and stretched her legs before looking back at Steven and Peridot. Steven yawned while Peridot nervously stared at him, trying her best to hide the fact that she actually was. Steven smiled as he located Pearl.
"Hey Pearl!" Steven shouted at a distance. Soon, Steven was only a few feet away as Pearl greeted him back, "Hi, Steven, you did a good thing bringing back this drill you know." Steven chuckled as he scratched his neck, "I know," Steven replied. Steven brought his hands down as he continued, "Don't forget to give Peridot and Amethyst credit, Pearl. I really wasn't all that helpful to be completely honest," Steven admitted as he took a glance at the mentioned gems. It was at this moment that Steven realized that it would take more than faith and political speeches to convince the other gems that Peridot could be trusted.
Although Steven had only known her for a short number of days, not counting the ones where she tried to kill him, he trusted her. Though, that didn't mean he would be entirely buoyant when he's around her. Pearl hummed, nodding in addition to that. "Well, if you weren't there, then I don't know if Peridot would've gone in the first place..." Pearl said, bringing her hand to her chin. Stevens smile faded as he became confused, "What do you mean?" Steven asked, his cheeks turning red for reasons unknown to himself.
Pearl brought her hands to Stevens' shoulders as she spoke, "It's complicated as of the moment, but..." Pearl paused as she sucked in a breath to continue, "Garnet and I have been talking about it, and Garnet thinks that-" just before Pearl could finished, the drill had begun spinning, tearing the ground apart. Just as Pearl was about to throw her spear through the drill head and risk breaking it, Steven leaped in front of her. Unlike Pearl, Steven had realized that someone was inside of it. That person being Peridot. Garnet tried to stop the drill as she gripped the front of it with her gauntlets, but failed to make any change as she was forced to jump out of the way and wait it out. Who knows how long this thing would go on for?
Steven had managed to jump into the drill as he landed on Peridot, slamming her onto the side of the drill. "Peridot!" Steven shouted in concern as he wrapped his body around her. "Steven! I can't shut it off! It just-" Steven put his hand over her mouth as he reached for the drills main panels. Steven smashed his hands against the wires and buttons but made no damage. Steven looked at Peridot before looking back at the panel. Steven stretched his arms upwards before slamming down once more, this time, using his shield at the last moment to pierce it through the top.
Pearl gasped as she saw where the drill was headed, straight towards Amethyst. Pearl didn't waste a moment as she threw herself at Amethyst, pushing her out of the way in a seconds time.
As the drill was just mere moments from falling off the cliff, Steven smashed the panel once more, unsure if it would work or not. The drill powered off at the last moment, flinging it across the surface of the hill as it made a hard U-turn and flipped over, sending both Steven and Peridot out of the drill, and off the cliff. Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet gasped after finally processing what happened.
"Steven!" They shouted, mere moments before they dived off the cliff. Amethyst had been the first gem to leap off the cliff as she was the closest to it. Pearl came second, and Garnet came third after adjusting to her feet. Steven had already been more than halfway to his demise as he regained consciousness. Steven looked around, widening his eyes when he remembered what happened. Steven looked down and felt a rise in fear tear through his body as he yelled, but stopped when he saw Amethysts whip just a few inches atop of him. Steven looked at it for a solid second before looking down. Steven knew that she would just reform sometime later, but he couldn't bear letting it happen when he could prevent it. Steven grunted as he smacked the whip away from him, leaving him with no other option but to save Peridot and summon a bubble.
Peridot watched as this happened, barrelling towards the ground at a slower speed than Steven. Peridot called out for Steven as she stretched her arm towards him, "Steven!"
"Grab on!" Steven yelled.
The ground shook as Steven landed on his feet, dropping Peridot as he tipped over. Steven had fallen from great heights before, but this was the highest of them all, it seemed that all that strength training with Garnet had finally come in handy. Steven fell to his knees as he closed his hands into fists and widened his eyes. Steven looked up at Peridot who was trying to regain her balance, tripping over her own feet before coming to a stop. Peridot felt weird as her eyes moved in circles, her dizzy haze slowly clearing up along with Stevens'. Steven closed his eyes when he heard the other gems reach the ground.
"Steven!" Amethyst shouted while retracting her whip.
"My baby!" Pearl yelled, sprinting towards Steven with her arms wide open.
Garnet growled furiously as she walked towards Steven, recanting her gauntlets when she had gotten close enough. Steven chuckled when Amethyst and Pearl bombarded him with a hug, but soon stopped when he heard the rage of Garnet from behind him. Steven slowly turned his head.
"Garnet?" Steven hesitantly questioned in fear. Garnet shook her head from side to side as she frowned like an upset parent.
"Steven, you could've gotten yourself hurt!" Garnet shouted, unintentionally antagonizing Steven. Steven mumbled nothing in particular as he looked down. Garnet groaned as she kneeled in front of Steven, "but you wanted to protect Peridot... so I'll let this one slide. Don't do that again."
Steven put his hands behind his back, crossing his fingers as he replied, "I won't." Steven unfolded his fingers as he continued, "I'm sorry I made you guys worry," he apologized. Amethyst snickered as she punched Stevens' shoulder, "I thought we lost you there Stee-man." Pearl moaned as she pulled her hands off of Steven, "the only thing that matters is that nobody got hurt."
"You can say that agai-" Peridot said as she fell over her own feet once more, "Aghk!"
Everyone laughed as they watched Peridot fall face first into the ground, "Stupid Earth and it's cloddy rocks!" Peridot shouted before kicking a rock with her foot and growling at the rest. After a moment of laughing and growling, Peridot settled down, taking a seat on the ground, her legs against her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Peridot pressed her head against the edges of her knees before looking at Steven and the other gems.
"Thank you Steven," Peridot mumbled beneath her breath. Steven tilted his head in confusion.
"What about?" Steven replied. Peridot made solid eye contact with Steven as she repeated herself, "Thanks, for... rescuing me, that was-"
"It was nothing. Besides, you're just as important as me," Steven interrupted, feeling good about himself. Peridot blushed as she turned her head to the side. Peridot didn't respond.
Peridot was about to stand but froze in place when she noticed the shadows of the mountains declining, and the darkness of the dirt increasing. The sun had finally decided to take a rest as it layed comfortably on the horizon. It was only when Peridot had pointed it out that the other gems had noticed.
Steven smiled as he looked at the sunset, he had just realized how strong and capable he had become since meeting Peridot. He learned new things such as his ability to fuse with other gems, his healing spit returning, and a new emotion that he hasn't yet to identify.