TUESDAY

Steven knew something was different the moment he woke up, but he stayed where he was, his eyes screwed shut, hoping he was just having a lucid dream and that he hadn't suddenly grown again. But after ten minutes of silent swearing, he finally accepted the fact that if he didn't change out of his pajamas soon, they were going to strangle him, and he sat up with a sigh.

"Good morning, Steven," Pearl greeted from the lower level. She rummaged in the fridge as she spoke and it was several seconds before she caught sight of his new appearance. "You're in luck, I just stopped Amethyst from devouring every egg in the fridge, would you- GAH!"

"Hello Pearl," he said sheepishly. "Amethyst."

"You look different," Amethyst said mildly. "Did you borrow another one of Lars' dirty magazines?"

"No!" he protested at once.

"Videos?" she suggested.

"No!" he wailed, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "It just happened!"

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm quite sure we don't need to know," Pearl said primly. "Not after last time."

Last time had indeed been a hugely traumatic experience all round. The gems had all panicked, convinced his growth spurt was a shapeshifting mistake, until he'd been forced to confess that Lars had slipped him a nudey mag and the pictures had kicked puberty into action. Pearl had promptly burned it in disgust. But he'd given into his urges several times since then, and nothing had happened. Perhaps it was because he'd been fantasizing about somebody in particular, he thought to himself. Not that he had any intention of ever telling anyone.

Thankfully, after last time, his father had given him some emergency drawstring pants and an assortment of t-shirts in every size, so once he'd managed to extract himself from his pajamas, he dressed and sat down to eat the scrambled eggs Pearl had prepared for him. "So, what are you guys up to today?" he asked.

As he spoke, Garnet stepped out of the Temple doorway. "We're going to go to the Sea Shrine and-" She stopped and raised her shades to look at him. "You've grown."

"Yes, and we're not asking why," Pearl said at once.

"Garnet probably already knows why, Amethyst said slyly, but Garnet shook her head.

"I told you before, now Steven's getting older, he needs his privacy. I don't look into his future now unless absolutely necessary. Anyway," she continued, "as I was saying, we're going to ask Lapis to divert the water so that we can retrieve the other hourglasses and put them somewhere safe. Some of them may have their own magical powers."

"Oh. Cool," Steven commented.

"Yeah, we were going to ask if you wanted to come with, but I guess you gotta go get yourself some new clothes," Amethyst added.

He glanced down at himself and sighed. The mission did sound interesting, but Amethyst was right. Even his sandals were too small now. Besides, he reminded himself, he had other plans today. He finished his breakfast and began composing a message to Peridot to ask what time she was planning on coming over, when Lapis arrived.

"Hi Steven," she greeted. "Is that a different shirt?"

"In a manner of speaking," he admitted. His phone beeped, but he waited until the other gems had all warped away before he dared check it, in case any of them saw the previous messages on the screen.

Let me know when the others have left. :)

All clear, they just left now, he texted back.

She responded at once. I'll be there shortly. Sure enough, less than a minute later, the warp pad lit up and Peridot appeared. "I thought about coming when Lapis did," she began, "but I didn't want to risk-" She stopped and frowned. "You've grown."

"Yes, I had noticed," he said mildly. "Do you want to come clothes shopping with me?"

Peridot's eyes lit up at once. "Yes please! Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "I have an idea!" Without bothering to explain any further, she darted up the stairs to his room and started rummaging through his dresser. Steven had long since given up questioning how she knew exactly where all his clothes were kept, but when she triumphantly held one of his old t-shirts aloft, his curiosity was piqued.

"You know I don't mind you borrowing my shirts, but can I just ask why? I mean," he added, looking her up and down. "You're already wearing clothes."

"Wearing clothes belonging to your significant other is a sign of intimacy," Peridot rapidly explained, her words slightly muffled as she turned her back on him and pulled her plain grey tee over her head. "Me wearing your shirt, coupled with your unexpected growth, will convince people that our relationship is real."

"Huh. Good point." He waited for her to put the shirt on, and then they both stepped outside and headed into Beach City.

Unfortunately, being a tourist town meant that while the beach part of Beach City had plenty of souvenir shops and food stalls, there was very little in the way of proper clothing boutiques. Steven did manage to find a pair of sandals, but they were cheap, flimsy things, and he knew he'd need a proper pair of shoes soon. They browsed the t-shirt shop for a little while, but he didn't find anything he really liked the look of. "Maybe we should get Lion and go into town proper," he said eventually.

"All right," Peridot agreed, a little sadly. She would've liked for them to be seen first, but then, she reminded herself, they still had the picnic that evening.

Lion was napping beneath the house, but Steven was very good at bribery by now, and a few minutes later, they were in the mall. "Right." Steven quickly scanned the mall directory. "I need everything. Shoes, pajamas, pants, underwear, a new jacket…"

"Everything except shirts," Peridot commented.

"Actually, I think I might get some new shirts too," he said thoughtfully. "Or at least one to wear on Friday. Show Connie a whole new me."

"Good idea," Peridot said. "Let's start here," she added, pointing at a nearby store. "Their new spring range was just released last week, they have some new pants that should suit your new frame." He slowly tilted his head and looked quizzically at her and she blushed. "I read FashionStyle online."

"You know, that actually doesn't surprise me at all." He took her hand and they began walking towards the store. "You can definitely help me pick something nice to wear."

xxx

A few hours later, all the shopping had been put inside Lion's mane for safekeeping and they sat in a coffee shop for a rest. "Food next then," Steven said, taking a sip of sugary coffee. "That shouldn't take too long, we just need a few bits for me."

"Actually…" Peridot said hesitantly, "I was thinking I would like to try some of the food too. Although I admit, I will need to defer to your greater experience in this-"

"Seriously?" Steven sat up straighter, intrigued. "But I thought you couldn't shapeshift?"

"You are correct there," Peridot explained. "But you - and Amethyst - always seem to enjoy eating so much, and I was curious. So the last time I reformed, I had a go at copying the human digestive system."

"Seriously!?" Steven said again. "But that was like…" He thought hard. "That was over a year ago! Why didn't you say? Have you eaten anything yet?"

"Well, as I said yesterday, I was saving it for a special occasion. And," she admitted, looking a little embarrassed, "as I can hardly look inside and check that I got it all correct, I have been somewhat hesitant to actually give it a try in case I got something wrong."

"Oh my gosh!" Steven looked delighted. "This is gonna be great! You're going to love it! We'll have to make some potato salad and buy some chicken and cookies and fruit and ice cream- wait, no, not ice cream, that'll melt. But you gotta try ice cream some time!" he said eagerly. "Do you wanna try some now?"

Peridot smiled, amused by his enthusiasm. "Perhaps another time."

"OK, sure. What about coffee?" He held his cup out. "Do you want a taste-" He suddenly paused as a familiar figure walked past the window, towards the door. Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran. He quickly put the cup down, leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Peridot didn't resist. In fact, she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Steven's brain immediately blanked out and when he finally pulled away, he didn't even think to look at the queue to see if they'd been spotted. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. "Um. Yeah. As I was saying. Coffee?"

"Is that what that taste was?" Peridot grimaced and stuck out her tongue. "Eck. No."

xxx

The gems were still gone when they returned to the beach house, so after Steven had changed into some of his new clothes, he let Peridot put the rest away while he began preparing the food. Then they stepped outside and walked around the beach until they reached a point where they could climb the hill to the lighthouse. It had occurred to Steven that actually, as Ronaldo had already seen them and spoken to him, this outing wasn't strictly necessary. But he kept quiet, because he really wanted to see Peridot eat.

Plus, a small and slightly shameful part of him added, if Ronaldo was watching, he'd probably get to kiss her again.

"How do we know if he's in there?" Peridot asked, gazing up at the lighthouse, almost as if she'd read his mind.

"I don't know," Steven admitted. "It's getting late, so he's probably in there already, but I guess we won't know for sure until it gets dark enough for him to turn on a light. We should just act as if he's watching already."

"OK." Peridot tore her eyes away and scanned the grass, looking for a good spot to sit. "Over here," she decided, and hooked her hand through Steven's elbow as they walked towards the fence. Then they rolled out the rug, placed the basket in the middle and sat down.

"Right. What do you want to eat first?" Steven asked, pulling food and paper plates out. "Chicken? Potato salad? Bread roll? Banana?"

"Uhh…" Peridot looked apprehensively at the options so far. "I'll try a banana."

"Here." Steven broke one off the bunch and handed it over. "Ah! No, not like that!" he hastily added as Peridot raised it to her mouth at once. "You gotta peel it first," he said, taking it back and demonstrating. "I mean, you can eat banana peel, but it doesn't taste good." He held the half-peeled banana out towards her. "Try it now."

She looked even more apprehensive now, but then she took a deep breath, leaned forward and bit the top of the fruit off with her sharp teeth before sitting back and chewing thoughtfully. "It's sweet," she commented after she'd swallowed it.

"But do you like it?" Steven asked.

"I don't know yet." She took another bite, and Steven took a bite himself, just in case Ronaldo was watching. "But I think so."

"Try some chicken next," he offered, holding out a tub of chicken legs. Then he thought better of it and pulled a piece of meat off of the bone. "Here. You don't eat the bones."

She opened her mouth and after a moment of hesitation, he raised the meat to her lips and fed her. He felt her tongue dart out and brush against his fingertips, and he shivered. Somehow feeding her was a bit sexier than he'd intended. "Uh, and then there's the potato salad and bread," he croaked. "They can be eaten as they are."

"OK," she said agreeably, and reached for the container of potato salad. Steven chewed on the rest of the chicken leg and watched as she dipped a spoon into the tub and raised it to her mouth. Then her expression twisted into one of disgust. "Ack! Eugh!" Her mouth dropped open and she flapped a hand in front of her face, desperate to rid herself of the horrible sensation but well aware that spitting was not socially acceptable. Or romantic. "'Thevan! He'p meh!"

Steven laughed and handed her a napkin. "Spit it into that," he advised. "And have a drink of water."

Peridot gratefully spat out the chunk of slimy potato and wiped her tongue for good measure before she took a long drink from the bottle of water he handed her. "Thank you. That was… not good."

"Sorry, that was probably the mayo. It's an acquired taste. Here, have some bread," he said, and handed over a crusty roll. "Bread's pretty safe."

She decided she liked the bread and the chicken, so they ate together in companionable silence for several minutes, occasionally feeding bites to each other. Then they lay back on the rug, side by side, and watched the sky turn pink and purple.

"Thank you, Steven," Peridot said quietly, tilting her head up to look at him. "I enjoyed that."

"So did I," he confessed. "Sorry again about the potato salad though."

She laughed at that. "It's not your fault. In the future, I expect I'll discover other foods I don't enjoy."

"Like sprouts," Steven said at once, and shuddered. "Nobody likes sprouts. Not even Amethyst."

"I shall definitely bear that in mind," she said. The she rolled over slightly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Steven saw a light flicker from the direction of the lighthouse. He didn't dare turn to check his suspicions, instead he turned his body towards her and kissed her lips. "Ronaldo's home," he whispered.

Immediately, Peridot's eyes lit up with mischief. "Then let's give him a show." She kissed him harder, slipping her tongue into his mouth and sliding her hands underneath his new t-shirt. It was a little more than Steven had expected, but he certainly didn't protest. Instead, he worked his knee between her legs and let his own hands creep beneath her shirt in return, stroking the smooth skin just above her waistband. Suddenly she pulled away and scrambled to her feet.

"Peridot?" he asked, a little nervously. Had he gone too far?

But Peridot grinned down at him and held out her hand. "Come on, I have the best idea."

Intrigued, he let her lead him down the hill and onto the rapidly darkening beach until they were just below the lighthouse. "Do you think we can we be seen from here?" she asked, gazing out at the water.

Steven quickly glanced up the cliff to the lighthouse. "I don't know," he admitted. "The angle's a bit weird."

"What about if we were in the water?" she pressed.

"Uh…" He took a step back, still looking up at the lighthouse. "Yeah, that should work. Why?"

"Because…" She smirked, kicked off her sandals and bent over and began unbuttoning her jeans. "We're going skinny dipping!"

"Oh, OK," Steven said, before his brain had finished processing the words. "Wait, what!?"

Peridot kicked her jeans aside and laughed at the stunned expression on his face. "Skinny dipping!" she repeated, tugging her t-shirt over her head and dropping it next to her jeans so that she was dressed in nothing but her panties and bra. "Nude bathing! That should give Ronaldo a shock!"

"Right!" Steven squeaked. He knew he should look away, but his entire body was frozen. Was this really happening? She unhooked her bra and dropped it with the rest of her clothes and he gulped, unable to tear his eyes away from her plump breasts. His imagination had let him down, he realized. Then she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and he finally managed to muster up the willpower to cover his eyes. He heard the sound of splashing water and then she called out to him.

"Steven! Come on in, the water's lovely!"

He peeked through his fingers, half hoping she'd ducked down into the water, and half hoping she hadn't. Either way, he was half right; the water was up to her thighs and his traitorous eyes were immediately drawn to her crotch. He could just see the protruding lips of her pussy, and he swallowed hard. He was definitely going to have to jump in the water now, because he needed the cold to kill his boner.

He tentatively raised the hem of his shirt, preparing to pull it off, when Peridot suddenly let out a yelp and disappeared under the water. Steven paused in concern. "Peridot?"

The water began bubbling and her head broke through a little further away from the shore. "Steven! Help-"

She vanished under the water again and Steven's mouth dropped open in horror as bright pink tentacles burst out of the water and headed towards him. "Gyeh!" He quickly summoned his shield and threw it at them, slicing them in half. Then he formed a bubble around himself and ran towards the water's edge. "Hold on, Peridot, I'm-"

"Crystal Gems! Attack!"

Something bounced off of his bubble and the impact knocked him over. He rolled around helplessly for a moment until he thought to dismiss the bubble, and wound up lying on his back in the surf. When he sat up, he saw Lapis push the water aside, revealing an enormous, shocking pink squid-like creature, its tentacles firmly wrapped around a struggling Peridot. Pearl summoned her spear and cut her free, but as soon as she fell to the ground, the limb reformed and wrapped around the elder Crystal Gem instead.

"Oh no you don't!" Amethyst roared. She spin-dashed towards the creature and knocked it over. Garnet immediately jumped into the air and punched it in the face. There was a bang and a puff of smoke, and it vanished, leaving behind nothing but a square, pink gem, which the fusion bubbled and sent away.

"Good work-" Garnet began, but before she could finish her sentence, Lapis let go of the water and the gems were immediately drenched.

"Was that really necessary?" Pearl scolded, picking a piece of seaweed off of her arm with a shudder.

"Yeah," Amethyst added, only her head showing above the water. "You almost drowned me!"

"You don't need to breathe," Lapis pointed out cheerfully. "Anyway, I just thought Peridot might appreciate the cover, seeing as she's naked."

Peridot, who had been trying to creep back to shore unnoticed, blushed and folded her arms across her chest as everybody turned to look at her. "What?" she said defensively.

"Why are you naked?" Garnet asked. Then she shook her head. "Don't answer that."

"No, no, please do," Amethyst said at once. "I'm dying to know."

"I… I thought I saw something in the water," Peridot blustered. "So I decided to check it out."

"So you took off all your clothes?" Pearl asked suspiciously.

"I was wearing jeans!" she retorted. "Do you know how difficult it is to move in wet denim!? Of course I took them off!"

"Riiiiight," Amethyst drawled. "And are your panties made out of denim too?"

Peridot puffed up in outrage. "They're made of silk! The seawater would ruin them!" She stomped up the beach in a huff. "Anyway," she called back over her shoulder, "there was something in the water, so I was right, and I don't deserve this interrogation. I'm going home!" And with that, she scooped up the pile of clothing and flounced off in the direction of the beach house.

"Well," Garnet commented. "That certainly was peculiar. And it's been a very peculiar day."