Steven was sitting in the Big Donut with his father having "do-fast" (donut breakfast; Steven came up with the word five whole minutes ago). He had gotten two donuts: one jelly-filled with pink frosting and one chocolate with rainbow sprinkles, with orange juice. His dad was having coffee-French Roast-with a pair of chocolate élcairs because he was feeling very French this morning (at least, he thought his do-fast was very French-it sounded like it. He didn't let it stop him, though, from donning the airs of Monsieur Universe).
"Ah, monsieur Steven! What a pleaseure it is to have your cyompany this fien meorning, accyompanied with such a fanciful meal! I must say! Voulez-vous, magnifique!"
Steven giggled and tried his best French impression. "Wee-wee! Mon-sir Universe! The pleasyure is all mine! And I also moos say! I moos say, I tell yoo! I moos say that nyothing is byetta than sharing dyo-fast with your beloved cyompany!"
"Steven. My feelings enteirely. And this cuisine..." Greg plucked up an éclair and smelled it like a cigar. "I lohve it." He took a bite. "It sets my seoul on feire. It is not... just a leetle spyark... it is a flame... A big roaring flame!... I can feel it now..." He placed a hand on his chest and gazed out the storefront to the morning sun. "Burning... burning... burning. Deep in my hearte... Thees is pyassion." Greg looked at his son and smiled charmingly. "Thees... is living..."
Steven's heart bubbled because of his father, and he couldn't contain himself. He exclaimed, "Bravo! Bravo!" Sadie was clapping, also, and Greg even got a chuckle out of Lars.
Then Greg got somewhat bashful. "Thanks," he said.
Steven started with his sprinkled donut, because-oh!-he was saving the best for last! By the time he had finished it, his dad had long finished his éclairs and was sipping on his coffee and watching his son.
At the moment Steven took his first bite of gooey, doughy, sugar-heaven, he received a video call. It was from an unknown number. Greg especially didn't trust it, so Steven declined it.
With every bite of his donut gone, he received a video call again, then again from the same unknown number. Steven declined it each time.
Finally he got a text.
"Answer the call clod"
Steven gasped and promptly forgot about his jelly-filled dreamboat. Nothing would stop him from answering the next call, not even the END OF THE WORLD!
Peridot was sweating and frustrated under the desert sun. She brightened when she saw Steven, and Steven her. She saluted him.
"Hello, you beautiful thing, you! I haven't seen you in a month! How are you doing?"
"Superb! I finally got the phone tower working..." Peridot aimed the camera briefly at a a very tall-at least 20 Peridots tall-triangular tower with antennas and a satellite dish at its peak. Cables ran down it to a big, metal box at its base. "Earth reception is garbage." She turned her phone back to herself. "But, now I've gotten the signal strong enough to be picked up by your archaic satellites."
"That's amazing!" bolstered Steven. "I'm so proud of you! I'm here at the Big Donut with my dad. Say hi!" He faced his phone toward his father.
"Hello, Steven's father."
"H-hey. Good to see ya," replied Greg.
Steven turned his phone back to himself, then said, confidently, "We're havin' do-fast. Oh!" He tilted the camera. "And there's Sadie and Lars back there."
"Are they more family?" inquired Peridot.
"Aw, you've met Lars and Sadie before. Remember when you tried your force-feeding experiment?"
"It was an experiment to analyze what would happen to the human body if it over-ingested simple sugars. I also remember you preventing me from gathering sufficient data. Regardless, are they more family?"
"They're my friends."
"Then they are inconsequential to me."
Steven centered his phone back on himself. Steven was bubbling again, seeing Peridot's lovely little livid face. Not a day went by that he didn't think of her. But, those bubbles in his heart didn't take long to fall into a brooding simmer.
"So, uh... how's... Topaz?"
Peridot rolled her eyes. "Sulky as ever. She's right here." She twisted her phone to her left and Topaz was on Steven's screen, looking up at Peridot's tower with her hands on her hips.
Topaz looked down, and boiled Steven when she saw him. She became cross and said, "Don't put me in frame." She pushed the phone back at Peridot.
Peridot stuck out her tongue.
"So," said Steven. "You guys are ok?"
Peridot raised an eyebrow. "The standard definition for the state of being OK differs per individual, and I understand that your standard is significantly lower than mine, but to adjust my answer for the sake of your question: Yes. We are ok."
She moved her phone closer to her face. "Although, I would prefer a change in scenery. The desert is altogether unpleasant. But, you know of Topaz's stubbornness..." She looked over to her left. "I can only wonder, however, if you know the extent..."
Then Peridot snatched her phone to the side, swirling the image on Steven's screen, and exclaimed, "I'm not done speaking to him!" The picture stilled, showing Peridot holding her phone out at arm's reach, the sand, and Topaz's legs. Topaz then snatched up Peridot entirely, which made her drop her phone in the sand.
Peridot wriggled under Topaz's arm, kicking and shoving a hand in her face. Topaz stooped down toward Steven's screen.
"Agh! Steven! I'll call you back later! Remember the great Peridot!" Topaz jabbed her finger into Peridot's phone and Steven's screen went dark and the call ended.
Steven felt sort of dizzy afterward, as if he stood up too fast.
"She seems... well," Greg commented.
It took Steven a moment to hear his father and then to ask his question. "Do you think they're ok?"
Greg thought warily. "Well... if they've been staying with each other for a little over a month, and so closely from what you've told me, I'm sure they would've had a push-comes-to-shove moment by now... Several, probably, based on their characters... So, they must be working it out someway. But, that's only what I think. I can't say for sure."
Greg took the last sip of his coffee. "Relationships are a tricky thing. But, I'm sure that if Peridot is ever having real trouble, she'd let us know somehow."
Steven thought. "You don't think she'd try and hide it, like before?"
Greg sighed. "It's hard to hide something like that. You lose a part of yourself, really, when you do that."
Steven and his dad went ahead and cleaned their table of their trash and crumbs, even, and they headed out the door.
...