Three's A Crowd

by sinderella0069

Sequel to Living Arrangements and I Think We're Alone Now. When Connie returns to Beach City for the holidays, nobody could be happier than the Crystal Gems, who always knew she and Steven were destined for each other. Whether they like it or not. This is an older!Steven x Peridot story, you have been warned.

8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Greg popped the last piece of pancake into his mouth, washed it down with the rest of his coffee, and placed the dirty crockery and utensils beside the sink. He glanced over at the clock on the microwave and frowned. If he didn't hurry up, he was going to be late for work. Of course, he owned the car wash now and if he chose to have a day off, he wasn't exactly going to go broke, but he'd skipped quite a few days recently and he didn't want it to turn into a habit. But then again, he also didn't want to leave Peridot and Steven alone in the house, unsupervised. He looked at the pair, who were quietly eating breakfast, and cleared his throat to get their attention. "So, what are your plans for the day?" he asked, trying not to sound too accusing.

"Uh…" Steven glanced at his girlfriend. "Well, we were planning to build a new drill. We want to get the Cluster someplace safe. Maybe Mask Island?" he thought aloud. "The Watermelon Stevens could keep watch over it."

"It's something we would need to talk to the gems about," Peridot added. "Not just for their opinions; I would need to look at the wreckage of the ship and see if I can acquire another escape pod. The last one sustained significant damage on our previous trip."

A short silence followed her words. None of them really wanted to approach the gems just yet. "I guess we could start drawing up the plans and gathering the materials," Steven said finally. "I have my credit card, we could take a trip into town and buy some of the stuff from Radio Shack instead of pulling apart old electronics."

"That works, you do that," Greg said with relief. "OK, I'm gonna head off to work now. Call me if you need anything." He grabbed his keys and a few minutes later, they heard the sound of the vans engine as he drove away. Then there was silence.

Peridot drank the last of her orange juice and placed the empty glass next to Greg's dirty breakfast things. "Should I begin drawing up the plans now?" she asked.

"Sure. There should be some paper…" Steven paused and looked around, half-expecting to see a stack of paper next to the dishes. "Uh, somewhere. The spare room maybe?"

"Oh." Peridot pulled a face. "Would you help me look? I don't feel comfortable searching through your father's personal belongings myself without his approval."

"Sure," Steven said again and stood up. "Or I guess I could call him. He should've reached the car wash by now…"

He trailed off and they both looked at each other in silence as they both realized that they were alone in the house. "You know," Peridot said slowly, "the Cluster is stable for the time being, there's no real rush this time."

"You're right," Steven replied at once. "Plus like you said, we should probably talk it over with the others first. They might know some place better to send it."

"So…" Peridot took a step closer to her boyfriend and reached out to stroke his chest. "If we're not going to start work on the drill just yet, what do you suggest we do instead?"

"Hmm." Steven tapped his chin, pretending to think. "I might have an idea or two."

"Oh? Do you want to tell me what they are?"

"How about…" He leaned down and pulled her closer so that their noses were touching. "I just show you?"

Their lips met and for an instance, they were able to forget the circumstances that had lead them to that moment. Even the knock at the door wasn't enough to break the mood. The second and third knocks were another matter. Finally they separated. "Do you think if we ignore them, they'll go away?" Steven murmured.

As if on cue, there was another, even louder and more persistent knock.

"It would probably be quicker and quieter to see what they want," Peridot admitted.

"Ugh." Steven sighed and briefly closed his eyes in annoyance. "You're probably right. Wait here, I'll go get rid of them."

He jogged quickly through the house, hoping the visitor was just Jamie with a parcel, but when he pulled the door open, he found himself in front of Amethyst's raised fist. "God! Finally!" she exclaimed, pushing past him before he could stop her. "I was about to try shapeshifting my fingers into a key, and I don't like doing that, it feels weird."

"Good morning, Amethyst," Steven said dryly. "Would you like to come in?"

"Don't mind if I do," she said cheerfully. "So, where's Peridot? Is she decent? You took your time answering the door, did I interrupt anything… important?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You know," Steven said, stepping past her to head back into the kitchen, "comments like that are why I didn't want to tell you about us."

"Not because of Pearl's freak-out?" Amethyst poked her head around the kitchen doorway and grinned at Peridot. "Hey."

"Actually, that took me completely by surprise," Steven admitted.

"Why are you here?" Peridot asked bluntly.

In response, Amethyst held up a paper bag. "I just wanted to see how you two were holding up. I brought donuts," she added encouragingly.

"Oooh, from the Big Donut?" Steven asked, taking the bag and looking inside.

"'Course not, I have standards. I made them myself," she said proudly.

Steven paused, a donut halfway to his mouth and gave it a suspicious look. "What's in them?"

"Nothing weird, just the usual stuff. Jelly, chocolate cream…"

"Custard?" Steven added as a blob of creamy goo leaked out of his donut.

"Mayo," Amethyst corrected. "Anyway, I was pretty surprised too-"

"By donuts?" Peridot asked in confusion.

"No, Pearl's freak-out!" Amethyst exclaimed, hopping onto a bar stool. "Come on, pay attention here!" Behind her, Steven inched towards the bin and quietly dropped his donut in it before sidling back over to the island. "Of course," Amethyst continued, unaware that her culinary offerings had been discarded, "I shouldn't have been, it took her about 100 years to warm up to me."

"What, seriously?" Steven asked in surprise. "Like, literally 100 years?"

"Yeah." Amethyst nodded and helped herself to a donut. "Obviously I never met her or anything, but I was made for Pink Diamond's army and Pearl was convinced I was a sleeper agent or something, left behind to assassinate Rose. Rose kept telling her the Diamond's didn't expect anything to survive their corruption wave, not her and certainly not me, but she still didn't trust me for the longest time." She huffed indignantly and sprayed sugar over the top of the island. "I got myself poofed by corrupted gems like, a million times, trying to prove myself. But finally, I won her over."

Peridot leaned forward. "How did you do it?"

Amethyst struck a pose. "I wore her down with my charm and good looks, of course!" Then she laughed and relaxed. "Nah, looking back, I think she was mostly just jealous Rose was paying attention to me. Once the novelty of my arrival wore off and Rose found other things to amuse herself with, Pearl stopped being such a salty bitch to me."

"So you're saying all we can do is wait?" Peridot sat back again, disappointment written all over her face.

"Don't look so down!" Amethyst leaned over and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "OK, yeah, it took her 100 years to get used to me being around, but it took less than 30 for her to get over Greg. So she should be fine with you any day now!"

"How did she look this morning?" Steven asked, reaching for another donut without thinking.

"Dunno," Amethyst admitted. "I hid in my room all night and there was nobody around when I came out this morning- are you all right?"

Steven gagged and spat his mouthful of donut into the bin. "Ack. 'Scuse me." And with that, he bolted from the room.

"Your boyfriend is weird," Amethyst commented.

"I should go-" Peridot began, sliding off of her bar stool, but Amethyst shot out a hand to stop her.

"Hang on, I wanna talk to you," she blurted out. "Nothing bad," she added as Peridot tensed. "I was just wondering… OK, this probably sounds big-headed, but for a while, I thought you had a thing for me?"

"Oh." Peridot relaxed again. "I did," she said honestly. "For a little while, at any rate."

"So what happened?" Amethyst asked with interest.

"You threw all my things in the ocean," Peridot pointed out.

"Whaaaaat!?" Amethyst gaped in outrage. "That was one time!"

Peridot held up a finger. "My limb enhancers."

"That was when you were evil, and I'm not sorry."

"My tablet," Peridot continued, holding up a second finger.

"Didn't actually end up in the ocean," Amethyst countered. "So it doesn't count."

"Only because my metal powers manifested at that exact moment," Peridot retorted. "The point is, you tried."

"OK, OK, fine. Two times-"

"My Pierre body pillow," Peridot continued mercilessly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that one." Amethyst grinned cheerfully. "That thing was ugly. I did you a favor."

"It cost fifty bucks!" Peridot snapped. "And it was mine!"

"OK, OK, I get the picture." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Anything else?"

Peridot thought for a moment. "I also didn't appreciate being fed misinformation about Earth. It severely hampered my acclimatization."

"I wasn't that bad-"

"You told me that if I put a slice of cheese in the DVD player, it would play a short film about cows," Peridot snapped. "And you told me if I put a chicken nugget in a box and gave it water and corn, it would turn into a live chicken- it's not funny!" she wailed as Amethyst burst out laughing.

"In my defense," Amethyst said, wiping away tears of mirth, "I never expected you to actually believe me."

"Steven made a pumpkin dog out of a seed, why wouldn't I believe you?" Peridot said, a little sulkily. "I watered that thing for three months until Lapis got fed up and threw it in the ocean!"

"Ahh, good times. I get your point though, I'd make a crummy girlfriend," the purple gem said cheerfully, almost sounding proud of that. "So what about Lapis?"

"Oh, we haven't told her yet-" Peridot began, then paused as Amethyst laughed and shook her head.

"No, I mean, you and Lapis weren't a thing then?"

"Lapis?" Peridot let out a cackle of astonished laughter. "Lapis Lapis? You're joking me, right?"

"That's a no then?"

"No! She's just a friend!" Peridot wrinkled her nose up slightly. "I mean, I like her, but…"

"She's a psycho?" Amethyst suggested with a grin.

Peridot glared at the other gem. "She's vulnerable," she corrected. "After trapping herself in a fusion with Jasper for so long. She's not ready for a relationship with anyone."

"Yeah, because she's a psycho," Amethyst repeated flatly.

Steven, who'd been eavesdropping outside the doorway, decided now was probably a good time to come back in. "OK, well, it was nice to see you Amethyst. Thanks for the donuts."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyone would think you're trying to get rid of me."

He gasped, trying to look outraged. "I would never! Well. OK, I am."

"I just got here. Besides," she smirked, "you two could use a chaperone-"

"Go away," Steven said firmly. "But thank you for coming to see how we are," he added hastily.

"Yeah, OK, I'm going." She slid off her stool and grabbed the bag of donuts. "I know when I'm not wanted. Just stay safe, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. Actually, no. Don't do anything I would do."

Steven rolled his eyes and began herding her towards the front door. "Bye, Amethyst!"

"Thank you for the donuts!" Peridot called after them.

"Seriously though, thanks for coming," Steven said quietly as they moved through the house. "It means a lot."

"Not as much as the possibility of naked alone time while you have the house to yourselves though, huh?" She cackled with laughter as a deep blush spread across his face. "I'm kidding! I'll let Garnet know you two are doing all right. And I won't let her know you two are doing-"

"BYE Amethyst!" He slammed the door and leaned against it for a moment, waiting for the heat to die down in his cheeks. Once he'd managed to regain control of himself, he went back into the kitchen where Peridot was waiting. "Sooo…" He leaned on the island, trying to look suave instead of flustered. "Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

Instead of answering, Peridot looped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. "I believe we were somewhere around here," she murmured once they'd parted for air.

"Are you sure?" he said a little breathlessly. "Or were we about… here?" He kissed her again, harder this time, letting out a moan of desire as her lips parted and her small body pressed up against his own. "Do- do you wanna go someplace more comfortable?" he asked when they parted again.

Peridot grinned up at him. "An excellent idea!" She broke out of his embrace and skipped out of the kitchen.

Steven followed close behind and turned towards the living room, intending to make for the sofa, then paused when he realized Peridot was heading towards the stairs. "Where-?"

She smirked back down at him. "Your bedroom, of course."

"M-my bedroom?" he stammered.

"That's where your bed is, isn't it?" She tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Or did you have someplace else in mind?"

"No, r-right! Of course! The bed's fine!" he squeaked, Amethyst's words popping back into his brain with a vengeance. He shook his head to dismiss the thought and tried not to stare too hard at Peridot's butt as she walked in front of him.

Once she reached his room, Peridot made straight for the bed and reclined upon it, and Steven's brain shut down. Was this really happening? Or was he misreading the situation thanks to Amethyst's crude comments? He and Peridot had talked plenty about fusion, but not about sex. Was he ready? Was she ready? Maybe she really did just want to make out some more and he was just leaping to conclusions.

Seeing his hesitation, Peridot sat up straighter. "Steven? Is everything all right?"

"S-sorry." He cleared his throat nervously and sat down next to her. "I um, I was just… we're just making out, right? Or…?"

Peridot sat up fully and swung her legs back over the edge of the bed. "If that's what you want."

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Me?" She blushed and looked away, fiddling with the corner of the blanket. "I… I want you."

"You already have me." He smiled softly, and leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. "so what do you want now?"

"I want you to kiss me," she said at once. "Touch me. Make me feel loved."

"I want that too," he whispered, and kissed her again. Peridot wrapped her arms around his neck and fell back against the pillows again, pulling him down with her.

They continued to make out passionately for several more minutes, both wanting more but neither one quite daring to make the next move. Wandering hands slipped between layers of fabric and fingertips grazed bare skin, darting away immediately as if burned.

In the end, Peridot was the first to crack. She squirmed free of Steven's embrace, but before he could protest, she pushed him back down onto the bed, straddled his hips and grabbed the hem of her t-shirt, intending to pull it over her head, when a sudden series of loud knocks on the door downstairs made her freeze in panic.

"Ignore them," Steven said at once.

"It might be Amethyst again," Peridot pointed out.

Steven remembered the other gem's comment about shapeshifting into a key and groaned. "Aww jeez. All right." He shifted slightly and belated realized he wasn't in any fit state to answer the door himself at that moment. "Can uh, can you get it? And if it is Amethyst, you have my permission to poof her."

Peridot snorted with laughter. "Very well. I'll be as quick as I can." She gave him another quick peck on the lips, and then reluctantly climbed off of him just as there was another knock at the door. "All right, all right, I'm coming," she grumbled, almost tripping down the stairs in her haste. She dashed through the house, yanked the door open, and found herself face to chest with Pearl. "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise, and took a hasty step backwards.

Pearl hadn't been prepared for Peridot to be the one to answer the door, and took a startled step backwards herself. "Peridot!" She quickly recovered and smiled nervously. "I, ah, I understand if you don't want to speak with me-"

"Oh, good," Peridot said with relief, and closed the door again. She skipped back up the stairs and almost bumped into Steven as he was coming out of his room.

"That was fast," he commented. "Was it Amethyst?"

"Pearl," Peridot corrected. She leaned up to kiss him, and was rather insulted when he pulled away.

"Pearl?" he repeated curiously. "What did she want?"

"I don't know," she said a little sulkily. "She said she understood if I didn't want to speak with her, so I shut the door again."

"OK… you know she was just saying that to be polite, right?" Steven said slowly. "Maybe you should, y'know, talk to her."

"But I don't want to," Peridot whined. "We're busy." But even as she said it, she could feel the mood evaporating. "What if she gets mad at me again?" she asked in a small voice.

"I'll come with you," he offered at once.

Peridot bit her lip and then nodded slowly, and the two of them made their way back to the front door. Pearl had begun to walk away, but she spun around when she heard the sound of the door opening. "Ah! Peridot!" Then her eyes flickered over to Steven and widened slightly. "Steven!"

"Hello Pearl." Steven crossed his arms and angled his body so that Peridot was slightly behind him. "What can we do for you?"

"I-I wanted to apologize to you," she said, taking a few nervous steps back towards them. "To both of you. I shouldn't have tried to interfere in your relationship with Connie," she said to Steven. "I just wanted to help. And I shouldn't have slapped you," she added, leaning sideways slightly so that she could see Peridot properly. "I overreacted, and I'm sorry. I hope you'll both come back home soon" She smiled hopefully and waited.

"Well, we'll have to-" Steven began.

"Is that it?" Peridot interrupted, wrinkling her nose.

Pearl blinked and looked at Steven for help. "Um… did I miss something?"

"Yes!" Peridot glared at the other gem from somewhere around Steven's bicep. "Do you really think this is just because you meddled and hit me?"

"Uh…" Pearl stared helplessly back at her. "Yes?"

Peridot took an angry step past Steven, who half-shot out a hand to restrain her and then thought better. "You called me a Homeworld gem! And implied that my lack of powers made me an unsuitable partner for Steven even though Connie has even fewer powers!"

"Oh, that." Pearl laughed self-consciously. "Yes, well, we both said things we didn't mean-"

"I didn't," Peridot corrected. "I mean, I am very sorry my comment upset you. I didn't know that Greg had attempted to fuse with Rose Quartz after you did, but I did know you loved her and it wasn't very nice of me to bring up their relationship to make a point. But while I would like to fuse with Steven at some point, I don't believe our relationship will be a failure if I can't do it."

Pearl opened her mouth, and then closed it again and swallowed. "I…. right. Yes. Then… I apologize for calling you a Homeworld gem."

"Hmm." Peridot narrowed her eyes. "See, the problem is, I'm not entirely sure I accept your apology."

"Peri-" Steven said uncomfortably, reaching out to her, but she shrugged him off and continued talking.

"I think you're just saying what you think I want to hear so that Steven will come back home. You apologized to him first, not me, and then it was for the wrong reason." Peridot felt angry tears forming at the corner of her eyes and blinked them away. "I wasn't upset that you slapped me. Well, I was," she corrected. "What upset me more was that you saw me defy Yellow Diamond, you know I was the one who poofed Jasper, you know I helped save the Earth, and you still didn't think of me as a Crystal Gem. I don't really know what else I need to do to prove myself, but I'm not going to spend 100 years killing myself to get you to accept me just because you're angry Steven's paying attention to someone else! Come on, Steven," she snarled, grabbing him by the hand and stomping back inside the house. "Let's go and have sex!"

The door slammed shut in Pearl's shocked face. On the other side, Steven found himself being pulled through the living room by his irate girlfriend until he yanked his hand free. "Um, Peri, maybe we need to talk," he said hesitantly. "Pearl's really trying, you know-"

"Good," Peridot snapped. And then she burst into tears. Steven immediately pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head until she got herself back under control. "I'm sorry," she sniffled, and wiped her eyes. "I'm just…" She hesitated, trying to think of the right words. "Everybody keeps talking about Pearl's feelings here. And it feels like I'm not allowed to be upset, because she's upset more."

Steven winced. "Sorry."

"It's OK," she mumbled into his shirt. "I know you didn't mean it like that. But I'm just not ready to accept her apology just yet. Just give me a little more time."

"As long as you need," he promised.

They stood there for a few seconds longer, then Peridot leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "So… do you want to go back upstairs?"

Before Steven could reply, there was another knock at the door, and they jumped apart at once. "I'll get it," Steven said quickly. He walked back to the front door, quietly praying it wasn't Pearl again, and flung the door open.

"Hello, Steven." Garnet smiled sweetly and stepped past him before he could stop her. "I thought I'd come and see how you and Peridot are getting on with the plans for the new drill."