"So... What was that thing you were going to show me yesterday?" Connie asked.

"Oh, um..." Steven chuckled slightly. "I don't really remember." Truthfully, it had only been an excuse to spend time with her, but it had escalated into something extreme. Which was good, in a way, since he hadn't had to make up something stupid to cover it up.

"Maybe we could go back down the beach and look for it." Connie suggested. "It might help you remember." Truly, she had the same motive Steven had, although she didn't know of his.

Steven shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" He grinned nervously, butterflies in his stomach. He stood up and walked down the stairs, calling out to Pearl and Garnet. "We're going for a walk! We'll be back later!"

"You mind if we tag along?" Garnet asked, gazing at Pearl and taking her hand.

"Yeah, sure." He answered.

"What do you say?" Garnet asked, searching her expression for approval.

"Sure." Pearl agreed, blushing slightly. "That'd be nice."

Steven and Connie ran out the door, Pearl and Garnet following them. They gave them their space, still keeping an eye on them. They weren't close enough to hear any conversation, but didn't let the gap between them get too far.

"How long do you think it'll be before they get together?" Garnet wondered aloud.

"Not too long." Pearl responded. "Their attraction to each other is so obvious, I'm shocked they don't see it."

Garnet chuckled softly, a few moments of comfortable silence following as they walked along the sand, hands intertwined. The facets of Garnet's gem pressed into Pearl's palm, but she didn't mind. All that mattered was that they were together.

"I love you." The white gem murmured, a smile spread over her lips, her eyes raised to Garnet's height.

"I love you too." She echoed, smiling down upon her lover.

"I love you more." She teased, nudging her side gently.

"Impossible." Garnet laughed softly, placing a gentle kiss atop her head.

"Oh, really?" Pearl countered, moving so she stood in front of her. "Maybe this will change your mind." She pressed her lips against hers, wrapping her arms around Garnet's neck, leaning closer to her, gem shining. Garnet rested her hands on Pearl's hips, her gems glowing dimly, red light reflecting off the water ever so slightly. Fireworks crackled between them, lighting them up inside as they shared their passionate embrace.

"There really wasn't anything I wanted to show you..." Steven admitted after awhile.

"I know." Connie confessed, chuckling slightly. "If it was that important, you wouldn't have forgotten. Besides, it's good that we got out. If we hadn't, who knows what would have happened to Julianna.."

She shivered slightly at the thought, but quickly snapped out of it.

"We saved a life." Steven agreed, a smile stretching across his face.

"And that's what matters." Connie brushed her hand against his, blushing intensely when Steven gently grasped it.

"Should I not have done that? Steven asked quietly, noticing her reddened cheeks.

"No, it's okay..." She smiled nervously, her heart pounding. They continued along, the sky slowly darkening, until the sun had disappeared almost completely.

"We're almost to the city... Should I just take you home? I don't want you to get in trouble for missing curfew.."

"That would be nice, if you wouldn't mind."

Steven nodded. "Yeah, of course." He turned to tell Garnet and Pearl, but saw that they were standing near the water, their lips pressed together. "Um... Okay." He blushed profusely and turned back the other way.

"What was that about?" Connie asked, referring to his reddened face.

"They're, um.. yeah."

Connie chuckled in understanding. "Oh, okay."

About a block away from Connie's apartment, Connie regretfully let go of Steven's hand, biting her bottom lip.

Steven nodded in understanding, knowing that her parents likely would not approve. "It's okay." He smiled at her, chuckling softly at the light blush under her glasses.

"Thank you for walking me home." Connie dug through her pockets for her keys. "Sorry I left my stuff in your room."

"That's okay. Goodnight, Connie." He looked to make sure no one saw, then quickly and gently kissed her forehead before heading back towards his house, heart in his throat.

Steven opened the door and tiptoed inside, being careful not to wake anyone. The lights were all turned off, and he wasn't quite sure if Pearl and Garnet were home yet. He walked up to his room, surprised to find Pearl standing by the window.

"Oh. Hi, Pearl." He smiled at her.

"Hello, Steven." She smiled back, her face slightly blue. "Look, um, about earlier.." She chuckled softly. "I don't know how much you saw..."

"Um, you and Garnet were kissing... I was going to tell you that I was bringing Connie home, and I turned around to that."

Pearl nodded, blushing deeper. "Sorry if we broke apart the group."

"It's alright. No worries." He yawned softly, opening his dresser and pulling out a pair of pajamas.

"Night, Pearl." He murmured sleepily, making his way down the hall.

"Goodnight, Steven."

"Where'd everyone else go?" Julianna asked, following Amethyst out of her room, only to find an empty house.

"I'm not sure." Amethyst shrugged. "It can't have been too important. They'll be back soon... Are you hungry?"

Julianna was confused for a moment, but nodded her head. She had to keep her human disguise believable. "A little bit."

"Okay." She opened up the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover spaghetti from the night before and stuck it in the microwave, getting out plates for them both. Once the microwave went off, she divided it onto the plates and handed one to Julianna, along with a fork.

"Thank you." She smiled a little and sat next to Amethyst at the counter, glancing at the odd metal object in her hands.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Amethyst laughed slightly. "Have you not seen a fork before?"

"Um, no?" She blushed faintly, feeling incredibly stupid. She copied Amethyst's actions as she started eating, somehow managing it. She'd never taken part in any human customs, aside from sleep, so this was very new to her.

"Yeah, like that." Amethyst said through a mouth full of noodles, bearing no shame in her lack of manners.

The sky had darkened, and everyone had gone to sleep. Rain started to fall, droplets plinking softly against the windows. Amethyst lay awake, Juliane curled up against her side, sleeping peacefully. She absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair, watching through her window as the rain increased, falling in sheets over the darkened terrain. The sky flashed with lightning and cracked with thunder, making Julianna jump up from her sleep.

Amethyst chuckled. "It's just thunder, Julianna. Nothing to worry about."

"I know." She murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I was just startled."

"Are you gonna go back to sleep?"

"Mm hmm." She laid her head on Amethyst's shoulder and fell asleep just as quickly as she'd awoken.

Amethyst's face heated up, colored with violet. As much as she might have hated to admit it, Julianna looked cute nestled up to her like that; her pink lips pursed gently in thought, blonde hair tousled partially over her face.

"Amethyst, you can't think like that!" Her rational mind screamed to her. "She's a human!"

Her stomach twisted. She'd never thought of that before, and it was too late now.

A bright flash encased her vision, thunderous booming echoing in her ears. She'd had no idea what had just happened, blacking out as she made contact with the nearby wall.

Upon her awakening, she shakily stood, brushing crumbles of concrete off of her legs and torso, groaning softly as she ran her hand over bruised flesh. She lifted her shirt a few inches, wincing at the large purple spot on her abdomen, one that would surely last awhile. Her eardrums warbled, high pitched ringing filling her head. She ignored it, forcing her way out of the building's remnants with her dwindling strength. A single thought pushed her onward, giving her the strength she lacked. With staggering footsteps and heaving breath, she trudged out of the old training center, glancing back upon it's misery. It was now only the dust of it's former glory, ruined and forgotten.

"Peridot!" She searched the area for her leader in despair, her heart wrenching when her gaze fell upon her. She ran to her, ignoring the burning in her legs and lungs, much too insignificant to even hardly consider.

The green gem lay motionless on the ground among a pile of fine dust brick, limb enhancers gone, A small crack had taken place in the top point of her triangular gem, it's thin lines spreading across the surface slowly. Her time had run short.

"PERIDOT!" She knelt down beside her, gently shaking her shoulders, but to no avail. "No no no no no no!" Her eyes spilled over, a suppressed sob coming forth from her lips. "Don't leave me!" She pressed her lips against hers in vain attempt to revive her, only to feel the last of the green gem's warmth seep from her body. She broke the embrace from her cold lips, trembling fearfully as she faded away.

Julianna's dream faded away, the cold of realization sinking into her, gentle tears falling from closed eyes

She was gone too.

Amethyst laid awake, watching hesitantly as Julianna slept. Something wasn't right, she could tell, but what was she to do? Her heart wrenched as she saw her start to cry. She murmured under her breath for several minutes, only one word distinguishable.

Peridot.