Emerald and Peridot were inseparable, especially at night.

At night, when almost everybody went to bed, they had all the time to themselves. No distractions, no interruptions, it was just the two of them. It was like a clear, starry blue sky and everything in the world was quiet. It was like a sweet and soft melody that played at the right volume. It was like a dress that slipped right in without getting caught on anything as it was being put on and it felt like a pile of clouds to wear.

Perfect.

That was what they'd call it. They lied beneath a tree and held each other close. Their tails were intertwined with one another. They tapped the ground as one tail. Emerald rested her head on Peridot's chest. It didn't matter if Peri's fur was covered, Em thought it was soft and comfortable to lie on. She could hear her heartbeat. It soothed like a gentle wave over the shore.

Peridot ran her fingers through her sister's short teal hair. She placed a gentle kiss on Em's forehead. A big, soft smile took its residence on Emerald's face as she buried her face even deeper into her chest. Peridot loved it when Emerald got like that. Em sometimes became so flustered over such simple things like that and she found it adorable. It was something she couldn't help but smile at. Everything she did was adorable in her eyes, not to mention how amazing the things she created were.

The feelings were mutual, Emerald thought she was beautiful and great at what she did. She was even wearing one of the dresses Peridot created at that moment. It was a sea foam green, complimenting her fur color. No matter how Peridot felt about her finished works, they always worked so well on Emerald. Peri didn't know if it was because it was her, or if Em just somehow knew how to make them look good.

She kissed her forehead again and pressed their foreheads together. Even with their optic lenses on, they could see everything of how they felt about one another in their eyes. Oh, she felt so close to taking them off to see Emerald's real eye color again. Instead, she simply cupped her face.

「 君のことが大好き。」Peridot whispered.

Emerald mouthed, "you too."

They closed their eyes. They could feel each other's breaths, every single heartfelt one that came out from the other. Emerald put her hand in Peridot's hair. Her fingers twirled, playing with parts of her hair. It made Peri's heart want to explode, yet it came close to doing so.

The moment was practically perfect. The whole night was. Only one more thing was needed to seal the deal, and that was-

Whoosh.

"Hey, girls!"

They jumped so hard that Emerald hid her face in Peridot's shoulder and tore her tail away from her. Her tail erected towards the ceiling. Peridot's eyes shot open and looked at the door. Their hearts pounded like their lives depended on it and it was all they could hear. Peridot saw it was Chiro there, standing at the doorway of the simulation room.

Chiro just snickered at how they jumped.

"Relax, it's just me." He started. "I just came to tell you two to not stay up too late. I don't mind it if you're night owls, but I don't want you to stay up until the sun rises."

A blush was painted across Peridot's face. Em didn't take her face out of her shoulder.

"Ye-Yeah, we got it, Uncle Chiro. Don't worry, we'll go to bed soon." She responded.

Chiro had a smile on his face as he rolled his eyes.

"Geez, you kids act like you got caught kissing. Goodnight," he walked away.

They sighed in relief in unison. It was best if they didn't fill Chiro in on that. Emerald pulled away from Peridot.

"Maybe we should just go to bed," Em started signing, "I'm not sure if I can handle another scare like that tonight."

"If that's what you want, Emmie, then we can do that."

Emerald nodded after a few seconds. Peridot got up and lifted Emerald in her arms. She headed over to the door and turned off the simulation with her tail. The forest disappeared in a blink of an eye. Peridot walked out the room and the lights turned off on their own. She walked over to their bedroom. She laid Emerald down and climbed in afterwards. Em held onto Peridot; her face rested on her chest. They didn't bother taking off their optic lenses that night.

Peridot threw the blanket over them. She gave her a little peck before resting her head on her hair.

"Night, Emmie." Peridot whispered.

"Night, Peri," Emerald muttered.

They fell asleep in each other's arms.