Peridot nervously swung open the door to the temple, frowning slightly when she saw it was empty. What's going on? Steven said she would be here. "Hello? Is anybody here?" She stepped inside, eyes scanning around the room. "Amethyst? Garnet? Pearl? Steven?"

"Oh, hey Peri. It's just us again tonight. I guess Garnet and Pearl went on a date, but I dunno where Steven went. Probably off with Connie." She sat on the counter, spraying whipped cream into her mouth. "But I kinda like it this way."

Something about the way she does that is so alluring. Focus, Peridot! "Really?" Peridot attempted to climb up the bar stool, making Amethyst laugh and hold out her hand to help her up onto the counter. Oh my stars, she touched my hand. I feel like I'm gonna die.

"Yeah. It gives us a chance to bond. Plus, Pearl and Garnet can be all over each other sometimes, and like, they're cute together and all but it makes me a little jealous. And then you've got Steven and Connie together all the time and I just wanna pick them up and shake them and be like, 'Dude, just kiss already!' You know what I mean?"

"I haven't seen any of that," Peridot admitted. "I'm not really around here much."

"You should come around more. We're missing a third of our Shortie Squad without you."

"You... want me here more?"

"Of course I do. You're basically one of us now. I like having you around."

"I didn't think that you liked me all that much. Because of all the things I said about you because of your Kindergarten." Peridot looked down at the floor, swinging her legs back and forth over the edge of the counter. "I'm sorry. Your Earth culture is so different. I didn't know how different things were here."

"It's okay, Peri. You've changed. Learning how to be a Crystal Gem was hard for me, too. Sometimes I still feel like I'm getting it all wrong."

"I meant what I said though. About you being the best Crystal Gem. You're different. You stand out, and... I really like that." Peridot blushed slightly, scanning Amethyst's face for any sign of how she felt.

"I think that's the sweetest thing anybody's ever said about me, Peridot. Thank you." Amethyst looked at her, a devious grin forming on her face.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

Amethyst snickered as she lifted the canister of whipped cream, spraying some across Peridot's face. "Sweetening you up."

"Agh! What is this?!"

"It's whipped cream. You eat it. Like this." She swooped some off of Peridot's face with her finger and licked it off. "You should try it."

Oh, my stars. She touched me. "If you say so," She cautiously wiped some of the whipped cream on her face and tried it. "I've never had human food before. It's peculiar, but not bad. I kinda like it."

"You look ridiculous." She grabbed a towel and gently patted the rest of the sugar off her face, still chuckling at her bewildered expression. "Aw, some of it melted. You must be flustered."

"No, I'm not!"

"Okay, Peri, whatever you say. But your face says otherwise." She studied her face a moment. "You know, you're kinda cute when you blush."

Holy shit. She stared at her for a moment, eyes wide and mouth open, too stunned to speak. Is she flirting back with me?

"Uh, hello? Earth to Peridot?" Amethyst waved her hand in front of her face. "Did I break you?"

I'd let you. "No, you did not. I am still perfectly functional. You just caught me off guard, is all."

"Why's that?"

Peridot hesitated for a moment. "Well, it's not every day that a hot girl sprays whipped cream on my face."

Amethyst busted out laughing. "Damn, Peri. You must have read all of that book I lent you already, huh?"

"I did. You have peculiar tastes in literature."

"Ha. That's pretty tame, actually. You should see the rest of it."

"Is that sarcasm or an invitation?"

"Either or. Whatever you wanna do."

"Well, I did bring you back Passions of Xanxor already."

"Alright then, I'll bring you back to my room and we can find you another one." Amethyst jumped off the counter, reaching up a hand to help Peridot down. "I sort of have a collection."

She relished the brief feeling of her hand in hers, sad that the moment had ended almost as quickly as it began. "I didn't think you'd be the type to read romance novels," Peridot admitted.

"Oh, that's not why I read them. I borrowed a few from Pearl. She reads it for the gushy stuff and skips the good parts, but when I borrow them, I highlight the juicy bits and give it back to her." Amethyst chuckled, opening the door to her bedroom. "She got so mad the first time I did it! But then I decided that I liked reading them, so I started getting my own that she wouldn't read. The kind where I'd highlight almost the whole thing if you catch my drift."

"But why read it all? It's not like you're gonna use any of the knowledge from them."

"You don't know that. You might learn something beneficial in there too."

Okay, she has to be flirting with me now. "Perhaps. But I'm more of a tactical learner."

Amethyst snickered. "Trust me, P. You read these, and you'll impress the hell out of somebody someday." She passed her another few books, putting Passions of Xanxor back on its shelf, then flopped down on her bed, patting the spot next to her for Peridot to join her.

She's inviting me to her bed. What do I do?! Peridot swallowed nervously and took the books, growing serious for a moment. "Can I ask you something, Amethyst?"

"Sure thing. What's up?"

"I mean, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but... have you ever been romantically involved with anybody?"

"Kinda." She answered, shifting to her side to look at her. "I had a few little things here and there, but the rebellion kinda overshadowed all of that. Vidalia and I were really close, and I could tell she had a thing for me, but she's a human, you know? It'd just feel weird. I've never had anything anywhere close to what Ruby and Sapphire have, or Garnet and Pearl. The romance train kinda missed my station, y'know?"

Peridot nodded, sitting cross-legged on the bed beside her. "I know how that is. I never had time for anything like that on Homeworld. I don't know the first thing about romance."

"I don't think anybody really knows anything until it happens."

Peridot nodded in agreement. She stayed quiet for a moment, enjoying the closeness between them. "Amethyst?"

"Yeah?"

"I think Vidalia really missed out."