Hey everyone, and welcome back to Don't Even Bother. For the last time...

Usually, authors are supposed to give special thanks to specific people right about now, but I can't. And the reason for that is because there's too many of you. If you've reviewed (and I've read every review I've ever gotten), favorited, followed, or even just read the story, I can't possibly begin to thank you enough. I know all this may sound cliche, but I swear I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I love you all.

Well, I guess there's nowhere left to go but forward. And so, for the final time in Don't Even Bother, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe. Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar.

Present

"Thoughts"/Recordings

Author's Note

Flashback

"Wow, this... this is great! Think about it, Peridot! We can all go on big adventures, and then to the movies or out for pizza or something, we can do whatever we want! And now that we're all friends, there doesn't have to be anymore fighting..."

"Steven... that sounds wonderful."

"It will be wonderful, Peridot... now that you're a Crystal Gem..."

Three months later...

"Steven, I'm fairly... no, completely certain we've seen this one before."

"Aw, come on, Peri! Even if it is a rerun, it's still a classic. Just one more and then we'll watch something else, I promise."

Peridot shook her head and rolled her eyes, careful to make sure Steven didn't notice either gesture. With a heavy sigh dragging her down, she turned her attention back to the television, for yet another episode of Crying Breakfast Friends. "Steven really seems to like this show, but I don't see the appeal in it... I wonder if she does, either?"

"Hey, Amethyst?"

"Yeah?"

"Question. Do you like this human cartoon show Steven's so fond of?"

"Crying Breakfast Friends?" yelled Amethyst from downstairs, after a moment of silence. "Nah, not really. Why?"

"Oh... no reason," grinned Peridot. Her opinion now confirmed in her mind, she turned her attention back to the TV, expecting to see more of the same: the crying waffle, the crying pear, the crying, well, everyone. And she was right.

"Peridot, are you even watching?" said Steven, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"Yes, Steven, I'm watching." With another small sigh, she wrapped her arm around Steven's shoulder, a gesture he happily reciprocated as he leaned into her side. Her eyelids began to droop. "I'm watching..."

"HEH HEY!"

As the eardrum shattering shattering yell set in, Peridot practically flew to the wall of Steven's room, her voice stuck in her throat from shock. Both Amethyst and Steven began to laugh as she shapeshifted back to her normal form.

"AMETHYST! Why'd you have to startle me like that?" said Peridot, after allowing herself a moment to catch her breath.

"Sorry, Peridot, but it was too perfect to resist. You looked like you were about to fall asleep."

"That's because I was..." she mumbled as she crawled back to her spot next to Steven, her back still lightly trembling from the surprise. Amethyst shrugged and reached into the popcorn bowl.

Just then, the front door to the house rattled open, the sound of what they knew to be Pearl's feet echoing throughout. Peridot stood up and glanced down to the floor below, a smile bursting forth almost at once.

"Pearl, did Greg have one?"

"I'm sorry, Peridot, but he didn't. And if there wasn't one in that gigantic barn of his, there probably isn't one anywhere in Beach City."

Peridot's face went crestfallen. Her knees began to wobble as she sank to the floor. Without missing a beat, she scrunched herself into a ball, burying her face in her arms and gently rocking herself back and forth. Steven put a reassuring hand on her back.

"Peridot? Hey, it's okay!"

"No it's not, Steven!" Her voice was rather muffled through her limb enhancers, and she made no attempt to clarify. "You know how badly I wanted to build you that miniature hover car for your birthday. But if Greg doesn't have a combustible twin turbine engine in the forty watt range..."

"Peri, you don't need to be sad about it. I'm sorry you won't be able to finish it, but I'll be okay. Promise."

Peridot glanced at the child from the corner of her eye. A smile was firmly etched on his face, with both his hands suspended slightly higher than normal. She could already tell what he was planning to do next.

"... Thank you, Steven."

With no more needed to be said, Peridot leaned forward and took Steven in her arms. And just like so many times before, the same infectious smile spread across her as she felt his tiny hands gently rub her back, deeply wrapped in their embrace. Neither whispered a sound to each other. They didn't have to.

Pearl and Amethyst glanced at each other and smiled. They had both seen this picture countless times in the past few months, but it never got old.

Never.

Finally, after another minute or two, Steven gently sighed and wiggled out of her grasp. Nevertheless, she remained in a kneeling position, keeping herself eye to eye with him. They both smiled once again, almost simultaneously.

"Again, thank you Steven. But I'm still sorry about the hover car. I know how much you liked it in that movie."

"It's fine, Peridot! I can always settle for one of those gimmicky ones that don't actually fly."

Peridot smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Before she could even open her mouth to reply, however, they were all cut off by a bout of laughter from Amethyst, from the end of Steven's bed. She hopped off walked over to Peridot, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"Still as big a softie as ever, huh Peri?"

"Softie? Why do you say that?"

"Because, well..." Amethyst's gaze flickered to Steven, the same content smile from a moment ago still frozen on his face. "You sure like giving big hugs to Steven a lot, and I mean a lot. And me, and Pearl and Garnet, and Greg and Connie too."

"So I've grown fond of the human tradition." Try as she might, Peridot couldn't help but allow a sly grin to emerge. "Is there a problem with that?"

Amethyst said nothing in response; there was no need to. She didn't need words to express herself as she wrapped her other arm around Peridot, pulling her into the very same hug she joked about a moment ago. Peridot certainly didn't complain.

And then she finally heard her whisper. "Not at all..."

As she felt the warp stream around her fade, Garnet opened her eyes. She blinked.

"Peridot, thank you for the..."

As she glanced over the living room of the house, the fused gem's voice tapered off. Unlike just a few short hours ago, nobody seemed to be around. "Strange... did they go somewhere? I didn't see this happening in my-"

"GROUP HUG!"

As the excited shout echoed throughout the house, Garnet's normal stoic expression gave way to a light fit of laughter. Steven's exclamation gave away both where they were, and what they were about to do. And she knew, from quite a bit of experience in the past three months, that it was one of his favorite things to do.

Careful to make her steps as quiet as possible, Garnet walked into the foyer and glanced up to the boy's room. From what she could tell above the stairs, he, Peridot, Amethyst, and Pearl were all indeed wrapped in a tight embrace. Her lips curled upwards.

Garnet approached the foot of the stairs. She slowly ascended up to his room, her three eyes carefully scanning the other Crystal Gems. None of them seemed to be aware of her presence. Not for long.

"Did you forget me?"

Before any of the others had a chance to look, Garnet kneeled down and grabbed the four in her arms, joining the group embrace. She still had no idea why or for what they were hugging for, but it didn't really matter.

It was a group hug, simple as that. A team hug. And they were a team, after all.

They were the Crystal Gems.

Pearl's eyes snapped open. She just remembered.

"Oh... Steven?"

Much to the annoyance of the other four, Pearl removed her arms from their group hug and stood up, serving to break it up. She wasn't particularly happy about ending the team embrace, but somebody had to do it. And what she had to say was rather important.

After Amethyst and Garnet both moved away, the child's familiar red shirt was found buried in Peridot's arms. He turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

"I spoke to Greg down at the barn. He said he needed your help at the car wash. Something about a big job with someone's new car."

"Oh, it must be the mayor's new limousine! I promised dad to help wash it when he told me about it, I gotta go!" With his eyes wide and shining brightly, Steven hopped out of Peridot's arms and ran down the stairs, swiping his jacket from the nearby coat pegs and yanking the door open. "Bye guys!" he yelled as he ran out to the front porch.

She knew he couldn't see her, but Peridot waved goodbye anyways. Garnet glanced over and smiled.

"Peridot, as I was planning to say, I want to thank you. That new global satellite scanner for gems you invented is proving to be invaluable; without it, that corrupted monster probably would've slipped by us undetected."

"Oh, that old thing? It's nothing," chuckled Peridot, rubbing her fingers behind her head. "Anything to help the team. Consider it my apology for my incompetence at field work."

"Hey, don't say that!" exclaimed Pearl. "You know as well as we do you're getting stronger every day. You've become quite the shot with your arm cannon."

Peridot glanced at Pearl, and vice versa. They both smiled.

For the next few moments, the room fell silent. It wasn't awkward or forced, however; rather, it was quite the opposite. They had no qualms in just quietly enjoying each other's company, something they had learned to do very well in recent months.

At least, until Peridot looked down to the open front door and sighed. Amethyst lightly frowned and walked over to her friend, having a seat next to her.

"Hey... are you okay?"

"Yes, Amethyst, I'm fine," said Peridot, her eyes unmoving. "I'm just... thinking."

"Oh. Well..." Amethyst looked to the far wall of the house, avoiding eye contact just as she was. "You want to talk about it?"

Peridot tore her gaze away from the door and looked around Steven's room, at each occupant. Pearl looked at her with her arms crossed, her eyes creased with concern. She couldn't tell what was going on with Garnet behind her shades, but it almost felt to her like she was similar. And of course, Amethyst looked on with a mixture of worry and anticipation.

She made up her mind.

"Hey, Garnet?"

"Yes?"

"Listen, if we're not needed for any missions in a while... would it be okay if I went for a walk?"

Ever since she had become acquainted with the Crystal Gems, Peridot's old Kindergarten habit had returned with a vengeance. Whether it be short or long, her walks always felt like a good way to clear her mind and help put whatever was troubling her behind, even if just for a little while. And she certainly had a lot to think about this time.

Garnet knew this well, as did the others. Considering they had all gone on one with her, at one point or another, she knew how beneficial it would be. How could she say no?

"Of course. We don't have any more mission work or training today. Take all the time you need."

Peridot nodded. Without a word to the others, she stood up and descended Steven's stairs, walking out the open front door and gently closing it behind her. Pearl looked to Garnet.

"... Garnet? Is she going to be okay?"

Garnet took off her shades and set them on top of the TV. She closed her eyes and focused.

It only took a few seconds for her to smile. Amethyst and Pearl did the same.

"She'll be fine, Pearl. She'll be just fine..."

Peridot eyes trickled down. The city below her beckoned.

Ever since she and Steven made their promise to each other on this hill, it had become one of her favorite places to go. The view below was fantastic; she could see every aspect of the city, from the beaches to the temple. And when she was at the very top, everything else just seemed so... small.

In a way, it gave her perspective. Being up here, looking down at everything below there were really beautiful sights to see. The sparkling ocean water, the sunlight skies above (or stars at night), the city and all its people...

When she came here, her mission was to destroy it. No longer.

"I'm a Crystal Gem..."

Without another word to herself, Peridot carefully walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down. She allowed her legs to dangle over the ledge, her eyes sucking in each and every detail of Beach City. Nothing was different from the last time she was here, or the time before that, or the time before that. But she didn't care. It was all still wondrous to look at.

Which reminded her.

With a heavy sigh, Peridot tore her eyes away from Beach City. Her gaze coming to rest on her right arm, her fingers instinctively whirled to form her screen. She saved her last digit to operate it; she wouldn't be using it to show funny movies to Steven like usual.

With bated breath, Peridot entered a command. She opened the log program.

The first sight to meet her eyes was the archive. Over time, she had saved many different logs from many different Homeworld gems, and had accumulated quite the collection. But those were the least of her worries.

With another swipe of her finger, Peridot opened her own archive. She scrolled down through the list; there were hundreds upon hundreds of logs she had recorded, almost each and every day of her life. But there had been nothing new for the past three and a half months.

Still, she was looking at these for a reason. And there were three logs in particular she wanted to hear.

Peridot once again scrolled to the top, the most recent logs she had recorded. The first one to catch her eye was Log 719. The day she met Steven in the Kindergarten. She still remembered every detail.

Her finger hovered over the screen. And then, she pressed play.

"Log 719. This is Peridot, updating status. Still stuck on the planet known as Earth. My mission to observe the Clusters has been compromised. My new primary objective is to find transportation back to Homeworld to alert Yellow Diamond of all that has... happened here."

Peridot closed her eyes.

The Clusters. Those hideous gem fusion experiments of her own creation. They used to be her pride and joy, her greatest accomplishment when compared to the other technological advancements made by Homeworld's forces.

It made her sick just thinking about it.

The log's replay completed, Peridot's finger traced to the next audio clip, Log 720. Recorded almost immediately after she encountered Steven for the second time. She pressed play once again.

"Log 720. This is Peridot, updating status. Still stuck on Earth, as always. Recent events have grown more interesting. I've nearly been captured by the Crystal Gems after an extended period of inactivity, and I have with 100% certainty been discovered by the Steven, who is mysteriously taking shelter in the Kindergarten. I can't imagine why. It doesn't seem like a threat, however. It seems... different, somehow."

This one brought a smile to her face.

Though she was careful not to show it in her recording, she could still remember the sense of concern she felt for him. After all, wasn't he always just some happy go lucky gem that looked like an undersized human? Why was he suddenly so different? And why was he hiding in the Kindergarten?

It would only take her a day to find out. Her finger clicked on the final log.

"Log 721. This is Peridot, updating status. Still... on planet Earth. I... I don't know what to do."

Though she didn't realize it until a little while later, Peridot was lying. She knew exactly what to do.

Looking back, it was almost silly to think about, that night in the underground chamber. All they did was play with a Rubik's Cube and a deck of cards; how could something so simple cause such a dramatic shift in her mindset, going from a strong ambition to escape Earth to sudden hesitation? How was he able to change her so quickly?

Just like when she first recorded the log, she didn't have to take long to figure out why. It was because he made her happy. Being on Earth with Steven made her happy.

And she knew she wasn't going to leave him.

Her recollections complete, Peridot swiped her finger once again, moving the archives away. The audio software beckoned.

Without even stopping to think, she pressed record.

"Log 722. This is Peridot, updating status... and I do have a rather important change to record.

When I first arrived on Earth, my mission was to observe the Clusters. I failed. The Crystal Gems gave never ending chase to me from the second I landed here, leaving me stranded and unable to do my job. As you would put it, I was defective. However...

The more I think about it, the more I realize something. I can't possibly expect you to understand what I'm about to say. But... after all the wonderful things I've learned and experienced here on Earth, after making peace with Steven and the Crystal Gems, you can consider my mission complete. For good.

I am no longer Peridot Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XG, under the command of Yellow Diamond. I am Peridot of the Crystal Gems, the guardians of the planet Earth. As far as you're concerned, you can put me on the rebel list you made all those years ago. But I know you won't, because I don't matter to you. I never did...

But I matter to them. And that's all I need."

Peridot stopped the recording. Her fingers dissipated the screen and returned to their original positions at once.

She knew nobody aside from herself and maybe the Crystal Gems was ever going to hear that audio log. She had no way of submitting them to Yellow Diamond from Earth, and there was no conceivable way to relay the message to any other Homeworld gems. What she just recorded was created purely for herself.

It took her three months after she joined the gems. But in her mind, the book was finally closed. She had closure at last.

She wasn't a Homeworld gem. She was created there, but that wasn't who she was. She was an Earth gem.

And she would protect the planet that gave her so much.

Peridot took off her visor and placed it next to her. She didn't want it to interfere with what was coming next.

"PERIDOT? HEY, PERIDOT!"

His call echoed all around him, the hollow, biting wind his only reward. Undeterred with his search, Steven once again began to sprint up the hill, his lungs desperately fighting away the closing exhaustion.

"C'mon, Garnet said she'd be up here!" he thought. "Isn't she-"

Both Steven's mind and feet came to a halt. As the top of the hill came into view, his watery, unblinking eyes vaguely caught the familiar green sight of his friend, sitting along the edge of the cliff. It was almost the exact spot they made their pinky swear to each other.

Steven rubbed his eyes, blinking the water generated by the whipping wind away. As he looked up once again, he put his hand to his mouth.

Peridot's fingers obstructed her face, but he could tell she was crying, and rather furiously at that. Her chest heaved as she continually took deep breaths, an occasional gasp being the only breakup from the monotonous sobbing.

Steven had no idea why. But he needed to know. Now.

"Peridot?"

"Peridot?"

Beneath her obstructed face, Peridot couldn't help but grin. She had a feeling he would show up.

As she forced herself to slow her crying enough to speak legibly, Peridot lowered her arms and looked towards Steven, already in the process of running to her side. She could imagine how different she appeared to him, the red and puffy eyes standing out in particular.

"Hello, Steven..."

"Peridot, what happened to you? Did somebody hurt you? Are you-"

"Steven, I assure you, I'm fine. Nobody hurt me."

"Then why are you crying?" With paranoia taking priority over everything, Steven checked over his friend anyways; nothing about her, aside from her tear streaked face, seemed outwardly. What could be wrong? Why was she so sad?

Peridot gazed at him for a second, and vice versa. And then, without a warning, she leaned forward and brought him into her arms. She smiled as she felt his own wrap around her at once.

"I'm crying because I'm happy, Steven..."

"I'm crying because I'm happy, Steven..."

"... Because you're happy? About what?"

Peridot paused for a moment. Since she had just been recollecting her experiences on Earth, the truth was that there were a lot of things she could say she was happy about. The Earth itself. The Crystal Gems. Steven. How could she possibly list them all?

She couldn't. But she knew what to say anyways.

"I'm happy because of how lucky I am to have you, Steven... and the Earth, and everyone else..."

Steven felt a smile erupt. It was just like Garnet said.

"She probably recorded that audio log by now... I guess she's completely separated herself from Homeworld. Thank you, Peridot..."

For the next few moments, neither Peridot nor Steven moved an inch. They didn't have to. Both were perfectly content to stay in each other's arms, locked in the same hug they had done so many times before.

But he knew they couldn't stay on this hill forever. It was time to move on.

"Peridot..." he whispered, pushing away from her. "I came up here to come get you. Garnet said you need to come back down to the city."

"Why?"

Steven grinned.

"Dad stopped by the house earlier. He said he found the engine you need in his old junk pile from the garage."

Peridot said nothing for a moment, her face frozen in thought. And then an ear to ear smile exploded.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? Steven, this is great! Now I can make you your gift!" With a great burst of adrenaline, Peridot picked up the child and spun him around, laughing all the way. He began to do the same.

"YES, YES! NOW YOU CAN-" Steven felt a wave of nausea envelop him, his former elation fading at once. "PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!"

Having learned from past experience, Peridot did so at once. Steven took a deep breath and wobbled for a moment from dizziness, before shaking his head and reorienting himself.

"Thank you. As I was saying, dad said he found a working twin turbine engine thingy lying around. I'm not sure where exactly he got it from, but he has it. He said he's dropping it off at the barn so we can work on the hover car without being interrupted."

Peridot nodded, placing a hand on her chin. "Understandable. But Steven, even though I'm very skilled at these sorts of projects, I can't do this alone. I was planning on asking for assistance from-"

"Don't even bother. Pearl and the others have already promised to help. Heck, I even called Connie and she said she'd be coming too. We're in this together, Peridot."

Peridot paused for a moment, her eyes carefully scanning over the smiling child in front of her. It didn't take her long to realize how right he was.

She wasn't alone in working on this hover car. And for that matter, she wasn't alone... at all. Not like on Homeworld.

They were all together. And she was happy.

"Yes, Steven. We are..."

The sun was just beginning to set when he saw it.

As they passed by a particularly large bush in the march down the hill, Steven couldn't help but absentmindedly glance at it. As his eyes caught something unusually bright, however, he stopped in his tracks. He quickly did a double take to confirm he saw correctly.

"Hey... Peridot, look at this!"

Steven ran over to the side of the bush and squatted down, Peridot following close behind. It was low to the ground, and obscured by the tall grass all around it, but they could still see it. It was impossible to miss something so striking.

"Steven, what is that?"

Steven's hand reached out to the stem of the flower, careful to avoid any thorns. With one great tug, he yanked it free. He held it up for her to see.

"It's a pink rose."

"A rose?"

"Yes. You know, the flower." Steven rolled the flower around his fingers, taking in every detail. "I don't think I've ever seen one growing around here before... isn't it pretty?"

Peridot walked next to the child and sat down, her eyes fixated on the flower. He held it out for her to take. She did.

"... It's lovely, Steven."

Steven smiled. He leaned into Peridot's side and wrapped his arms around her.

"You know, I remember my dad telling me... the rose was always my mom's favorite flower. He said she saw it as a symbol of elegance, and grace. But most importantly, of all the beauty on Earth. Of all the beauty of life."

"I see... would you like it back, Steven?"

Steven looked up at the flower in her fingers for a moment. He shook his head.

"Peridot... I want you to keep that flower. It's from me to you. And... I guess you could say it's from the Earth, too..."

Peridot allowed a smile to slowly emerge. Her eyes looked to the vivid sunset above.

"Thank you, Steven. I will..."

... It's really over, isn't it?

To be completely honest with you, this all just feels... weird. I mean, I've spent so much time the past five months planning what's coming next, proofreading, all that stuff. To put it all behind me... it's going to be strange. I've been preparing for a while now, but leaving Don't Even Bother behind is going to be a little tougher than I first thought.

But that's not the last message I want to leave with you all. What I want to say is this: if at any point in this story, I made you smile, frown, laugh, cry, get angry, whatever your emotions may be, then I accomplished my job as a writer. But with that being said, I truly do hope, out of everything else, I made you all smile at one point or another. There was a little sadness along the way, sure, but in the end, I always did have a happy ending planned. With plenty of hugs along the way, of course.

So... I guess that's the end of this adventure. But at the same time, I think we can also see this as the start of another. I can't wait to get started writing Into Oblivion; I've had many, many, many ideas swimming around for a while now, and the only reason I've held off on writing is to stay focused on the final chapters of Don't Even Bother. It'll take a while to finish, but when it's done, I'll start publishing it on a weekly basis. Until then, I have some other SU stories to wrap up, and I'm sure I'll have an occasional one shot or two to write, so keep an eye out for me.

Well... I suppose that's it. Don't just have a nice day, have a fantastic one. I'll see you all later.