Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.

Chapter 1: Breaks Over

S&DS&DS&DS&D

Steven stared through the glass with utmost concentration, he only had one chance to get this right. But there were so many choices! How could he possibly make the right one?

"Give me a... chocolate."

"Are you sure this time Steven?" Sadie asked, leaning on the counter and smiling at him. "The fate of the world may depend on this decision."

"What!?" Steven went bug-eyed and pressed his face against the glass, redoubling his examination of the baked treats within. "I'm gonna need another minute."

"Steven, I was joking."

"I know." Steven grinned. "So was I. I'll take five chocolate donuts please." One for him, one for Amethyst, and one for Garnet, with two left over to attempt to entice Lapis and Peridot. Pearl would eat one if he asked her to, but he knew she wouldn't want to.

"Coming right up." Sadie pulled out a bag, taking time to pick only the best looking donuts for her favorite customer.

"Hey Sadie, where's Lars? Is he skipping again?" Steven asked looking around for his bestest of buddies.

"Hmmm? Oh no." sadie shook her head. "He has the day off due to an injury, and yes, he's actually hurt this time. I checked. Twice."

"Oh no! What happened to him?"

"He tripped while setting up the wet floor sign, then fell into a rack of donuts, which fell on him. He was pretty upset, but he should be fine."

"That's too bad." Steven took the bag and looked inside, five perfectly glazed rings of chocolate dough stared back at him. he took a deep whiff. Ah, perfection.

"So what are you up to today?" Sadie asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't think anything is planned yet. But I bet it's something awesome."

"Well then, don't let me keep you." Sadie waved him off. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

Steven skipped along the sandy path up to the temple. He couldn't wait to see what was in store for today. The boy broke into a run, dashing up the steps and throwing open the screen door. To his delight all three of the Gems were already there. Garnet was sitting at the counter looking cool as ever, while Pearl was busy cleaning the dishes beside her, and Amethyst was lounging on the couch, boredom painted across her face.

"Hey guys!"

"Welcome back Steven."

"Sup' dude."

"'ello Steven."

"I brought donuts!"

"Oooh! Gimme!"

"Nope." Steven ducked, letting Amethyst fly over his head and out the door; he stuck his head back outside and wagged a finger at her. "Sharing is caring, Amethyst."

"Yeah, But I don't care." She replied, climbing back up the steps and making to grab the bag.

"But I do." He laughed, pulling out a chocolate one and throwing it her way. "You can have any that are left over. So what are you guys doing today?"

"Well." Pearl began, "Now that we've taken care of the cluster and Malachite, it's time to resume our normal duties of dealing with gem monsters and defending the earth."

"Oh yeah, I was wondering about that." Said Steven, placing a hand against his chin to aid his train of thought "We haven't really dealt with any of those recently, have they just not been causing trouble?"

"That's right." Pearl nodded, "The gem beasts have been laying low recently. Ever since we started focusing on the cluster, now that I think about it." she finished thoughtfully.

"That was nice of them."

"I doubt manners had anything to do with it." Pearl shook her head, drying the last of the dishes and setting them out to dry.

"I bet they were just too scared of the cluster and were all hiding," said Amethyst, swallowing the remains of her donut and letting out a belch.

"Do you really think that's what happened?"

"Dunno, probably."

Steven shrugged, it didn't really matter why the corrupt gems had been quiet. He offered Garnet a donut, she took it, but didn't eat it. She hummed to herself, staring off into space with a look of concentration.

"I sense no beast on a rampage that must be dealt with immediately." she said at last. "However, I have become aware of several places that warrant further investigation. Would you like to join us Steven?"

"You know it!" Investigating mysterious gem places sounded like a lot of fun. At the very least it would be a nice break from dealing with giant monsters that could wreck the world. There had been far too many of those recently. "Actually… I was wondering something."

"Yes?"

"Could I invite Peridot and Lapis to come along?"

The gems shared a look, he knew those looks. They usually meant he was about to be told no, and the gems were just deciding who should do it.

"Steven." Said Pearl, her tone gentle. "I'm not certain that's such a good idea. Peridot doesn't have anyway to defend herself should the need arise and I hardly think Lapis will want anything to do with us."

"But we're not searching for monsters, Garnet said so, and if there is old gem stuff I bet Peridot would be a big help!" Steven insisted. He had to admit, Pearl probably had a point about them not wanting to go, but he wouldn't know for sure unless he asked!

"Eh, if they wanna, let 'em come." Amethyst said. "He's got a point about P-dot, and it's not like we can't keep her safe. We kept Steven in one piece after all."

"And there were far too many close calls!" Pearl huffed.

"There weren't that many."

"There were dozens!"

"Name one."

"The time he got eaten while retrieving the heaven beetle," Pearl started ticking off her fingers. "there was also the occasion when he almost aged himself to death, and how could we forget about the time where he almost froze in space.".

"I said one time, sheesh," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Nobody likes a try hard, P."

"Enough." Garnet cut in, silencing the bickering gems. "Why don't you go ahead and invite them Steven? I doubt it will cause any harm. Besides, don't you have something to give them?"

"Oh right! The donuts! don't want them getting cold. Be back in a bit, wait for me guys."

"Of course."

"Hey! If they don't want those donuts bring em back to me will ya?"

"You got it Amethyst." Steven turned and hurried out the door. He glanced around and… Yes! He was in luck. He could see Lion lounging at the bottom of the hill. Good thing too, the barn was a bit of a long walk away. But with Lion's help he'd be there in seconds, Lion would be happy to help for sure!

"Lion!" he called, running down the hill to the giant cat, it opened a single eye and stared at him, not bothering to raise its head. "Can you do me a favor?"

Lion blinked.

"Great!" Steven said, taking it as a yes, and clambered up onto the cat's back. "I need you to take me to the barn."

Lion yawned, stretching out his paws before settling himself more firmly against the ground.

"Oh come on! Please?"

Lion closed his eye.

"Would you do it for a Lion Licker?" Terrible though the treat might be, Lion liked those. At least, Steven thought he did. He'd seen the cat eat one once and not spit it up. Lion had done that once with one of the few precious remaining Cookie Cats. It had been heartbreaking.

Lion's eye cracked open again, but otherwise made no move.

"How about two Lion Lickers?"

Lion looked back at him, before yawning again and getting to his feet.

"Alright. Let's go!"

The giant cat opened its mouth and let out a lazy whine. A shimmering portal appeared in front of them and the cat shuffled through. Once through, Lion collapsed onto the ground and promptly fell asleep again.

Well, they were at the barn, so it was good enough. Steven got off the cat and hurried to the barn doors. He was about to hurry through the doors but checked himself, remembering to knock on the door first.

Manners were important. He was a civilified person after all.

"Peridot? Lapis? Are you in there?" he called, knocking against the door. He heard a yelp and a clattering noise, like a big metal spoon falling to the ground, followed by a bunch of other similarly sized cutlery. As well as the familiar muffled yelling.

"Peridot? I'm coming in. Is that alright?" hearing nothing to the contrary, he assumed it was and let himself in.

He glanced around, There was some kind of… something rigged up in the corner. It was a mishmash of tubing and metal with a pair of what looked like robot arms on either side.. More Importantly, it had a short shouty gem tangled in its midst. Peridot was stuck upside down, her legs waving uselessly in the air as she cursed at it.

"Peridot? are you okay?" The gem froze, glancing up at him before smiling a too wide smile.

"Yes Steven. Yes I am perfectly fine. I was just running an experiment when an unforeseeable mishap occurred. I must have used flawed earth materials, clearly my calculations could not have been wrong-"

"Okay," he interrupted, grinning. "But uh, do you need any help?"

"Of course not, I have the situation well in hand. I will be out in a moment." Peridot twisted her arm and pressed a button that by her head. With a sparking of electricity and a big popping sound, the two metal arms on the side folded inward and wrapped around Peridot's waist; pinning her even tighter against the rest frame.

"No! Curse you, you clodding excuse for an emergency pilot removal system!" Peridot hissed, her teeth gnashing as she struggled even harder. "This is the exact opposite of what an eject switch is supposed to do!"

Steven smiled, walking over to help. He pried away at the arms trapping the gem. "So what exactly is this doohickey thing?"

"This doohickey thing, as you call it, was an attempt to recreate a functional set of limb enhancers." Peridot huffed, wiggling out of the straps attaching her to the machine. Once she was free Steven let go the arm, which sprung back, slamming around the metal frame with a crash.

"Well that just doesn't look very safe."

"Nonsense." Peridot huffed, "It is perfectly safe. I just need to rewire several of the inner circuits to work out this tiny flaw in its operation systems." With a harsh metal screech like a car being choked to death, the arms compressed; crushing the outer frame and mangling the inner circuitry.

Then it caught fire.

Peridot's eye started to twitch. And continued to do so as Steven hurried over to the wall and grabbed a fire extinguisher.

Steven could feel the aggravation rolling off of Peridot as he sprayed the mangled remains with extinguisher foam. It really was a good thing his dad had insisted on keeping it the barn. The barn had been through a lot since the gems started using it, it didn't deserve to be burned down. Once the fire was out, he turned to Peridot, he could tell she was trying to withhold a tantrum. Luckily he had just the thing to help with that.

"Want a donut?"

"What's a donut?"

"It's a ring made of dough thats been baked and is delicious." He held out the bag to Peridot. She glanced inside it.

"Oh. It's one of those carbon based energy packets you need to consume." Peridot leaned away from the bag, a queasy expression on her face. "No thanks."

"Are you sure? They're really good!" Steven shook the bag slightly in the hope that it would entice her.

"No thank you." Peridot snorted, "I have no interest in attempting to consume your earthly… food. Not after the last time."

"Aw come on, Amethyst said she was sorry."

"And I accepted her apology. Nonetheless, that did not change the fact that I had been completely uniformed about the necessity of a digestion system, nor the… end result of such a system." Peridot's face turned even greener, "You organic life forms are absolutely vile, no offense."

"…Some taken, but I understand. Pearl feels the same way." Steven shrugged, that just meant more donuts for him, Amethyst need never know.

"Was that all you came down here for?"

"Oh right! I forgot. Peridot, there was something I wanted to ask you?"

The gem raised a brow at him, "Yes?"

"Well, now that nothing is about to make the earth explode and the ocean isn't being boiled by hatred, the other gems decided that it is time to resume doing what we normally do."

"And that is?"

"You know: fight monsters, explore gem ruins, retrieve artifacts. Crystal gem stuff!"

"And you are telling me this because?"

"Because I want to know if you want to come with us!" Peridot went still.

"Uh, Peridot?"

"Steven." her voice had gone weird; soft and wobbly. "A-are asking me... to be a crystal gem?"

Steven blinked, that sounded a lot like a loaded question, "Um… aren't you already one? I mean, you already helped saved the earth once."

Peridot just stared at him, stars in her eyes. She turned around abruptly, sniffling wildly.

"…Peridot? are you crying?" Oh no! he hadn't been trying to make that happen at all!

"I'm not crying!" Peridot snapped. "I just… got some of your earth dirt in my vision spheres."

"But you wear a visor."

"It must have been some kind of super invasive dirt! No doubt your planet has all kind of insidious things like that."

"Awww." Steven wrapped his arms around Peridot in a hug, accidentally lifting her off her feet.

"Betrayal!" she squawked. "Unhand me."

"No, it's hug time. And it's okay to cry Peridot. Literally everyone I know does it… like, a lot."

"And that's all well and good, but get your hands off me!"

Steven let her go, a smile wide on his face as he watched her pull herself together. It took her a few minutes.

"Soooooo, do you wanna come on the mission or not?"

"I would… be happy to." Peridot sniffed. "Is there any equipment you require me to bring?"

Steven shrugged.

"Very well," Peridot recovered. "What kind of environment are we headed to?"

"I don't know."

"Of course not." Peridot deadpanned. "Well it will hardly be the first time I have been put into an assignment with a poor quality briefing. Can you at least tell me when we are scheduled for departure?"

"Well, we were planning to leave once everyone was at the temple, but first I gotta find Lapis, do you know where she is?"

"You're inviting Lazuli as well?" Peridot scoffed. "I find myself doubting her ability to act as a team player, especially with me leading the mission."

"… I'm just going to ignore that last bit, but that's why I want to ask her. I know she'll get along great with everyone if she just gives them a chance!"

"Fine, it's your time to waste as you please. She is most likely on top of the barn tower, same as usual. She likes it up there for some unfathomable reason."

"Thanks." Steven smiled, heading out the door. "I'll be back in awhile."

"Yes, yes," Peridot waved him off. "That will give me time to prepare some essential equipment for the mission."

Lapis sighed, closing her eyes and feeling the wind blow through her hair.

She was back on top of the, what had Steven called it? A grain silo? Something like that… Whatever it was, she liked it up here. It was the highest point around where she could lie down and rest. It was high enough that most sounds were muffled.

Lapis enjoyed the quiet, she'd had precious little of it the last few months. Jasper had not been a very considerate fusion partner, always yelling and struggling; constant screams of rage did not a soothing ambience make. That was probably one of the main reasons she found Peridot's presence so grating. The smaller gem truly loved the sound of her own voice.

Her high-pitched, irritating, screechy voice.

Honestly, Peridot couldn't even keep her thoughts quiet! She was constantly saying whatever popped into her head into that recorder, only to play them back again and make more comments about the things she'd said.

It was maddening.

Luckily, Peridot was busy tinkering with that contraption of hers, whatever it was. She'd rambled something about it being a way to reassert her former glory, whatever that meant. Lapis hadn't really been paying attention, nor did she care.

As long as she got to enjoy some peace and quiet.

The sound of creaking made Lapis' eyes snap open. Someone was climbing the ladder. Idly she thought about who it might be. They weren't talking, so it couldn't be Peridot, and she doubted any of the Crystal Gems would want to visit her, which only left Steven…

"Hey Bob!" and there he was.

"It's Lapis." she corrected, more out of habit than anything else.

"I know, but it's kind of our thing now."

"What if I don't want to be Bob?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Too late, you're Bob forever."

"Oh no. Whatever should I do?" Steven shot her a grin and she couldn't help but smile back. She didn't know what it was about him, but Steven's mood was always infectious. "So Steven, what brings you all the way up here?"

"Well I wanted to ask you something."

"Well, here I am."

"Okay, so here's the thing…"

Lapis could feel the smile slipping off her face as Steven explained the situation. He wanted her to join him and the rest of the gems on a mission of some sort...great. When he finished he just looked at her, like he could barely contain his excitement for her answer.

"No."

"What?" he looked completely taken aback at her dismissal, like he honestly hadn't expected her to outright refuse him. But she wasn't going to let that sway her.

She cared about Steven, she really did. The problem was the other gems. Peridot… the two of them had come to an understanding that they were both stuck here, so they'd agreed to live with each other. But still, Lapis could remember how Peridot had acted when they first met: apathetic and loaded with advanced technology, the technician had looked at Lapis as nothing more than a source of information… she might as well have still been stuck in the mirror for all the difference it would have made. It was weird to have to wrap her mind around the fact that the strange and impatient technician that had interrogated her was now this short and overly-enthusiastic ball of noise she had for a roommate. But still… Peridot had stuck in Lapis' mind as a symbol of all that had changed on Homeworld.

And the Crystal Gems…

By the stars, she hated them.

Well… no, not them personally. But she had been trapped in that mirror on suspicion of being one of them. All those years she'd spent in that mirror she'd had little to do but blame the Crystal Gems. If they hadn't existed, she wouldn't have been imprisoned. Then when they found her… they hadn't even tried to let her out.

Lapis knew she wasn't being fair. Of course Peridot hadn't shown her any regard beyond what her assignment demanded of her. The Crystal Gems hadn't put her in the mirror, and they hadn't realized that she had still been conscious. It was widely believed that a gem that had been turned into a power source like that did not retain their sense of self. The sheer horror of the alternative drove them to disbelieve it. Of course they hadn't even questioned that she was alive inside the mirror.

Lapis understood all of that.

The problem was that understanding didn't make the resentment go away.

But she didn't know how to explain all of that to Steven, nor did she want to. She didn't need to bother him with her thousands of years of bitterness. She would try to put as much of those feeling behind her as she could.

She would do it for him.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it just yet, not if she didn't have to.

"I said no, Steven. I don't want to go."

"Well, why not? It would probably be really fun!"

"It's not you Steven. I just really don't want to spend time with other gems right now."

"Oh." He looked so sad, she could practically feel it radiating off him. It made something inside her chest ache.

"I'm sorry." she really was.

"What? Oh! No! No! No!" Steven backpedaled, his head snapping back up to look at her with eyes wide, he raised his hand and waving them to ward off her apology. "It's okay! Really! I get it. You want to spend some time alone. It's okay. Don't worry about it"

Lapis just stared at him, before closing her eyes and shaking her head ruefully. Why was he so nice? She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it. Oh! Before I go, there was one more thing I forgot to ask. Do you want a donut?"

"Uh… a donut?" Steven held up a bag and shook it in front of her face. Reaching inside he took out a large, brownish-black ring.

"A donut. You eat them, they taste really good!" he handed her the donut.

Hmmm. Eating… she was familiar with the concept. She'd seen more than a few fish eat each other in the ocean. She back looked at Steven, who merely nodded at her eagerly.

Lapis shrugged, why not? And took a bite. It was… strange, not bad, but weird. It made her tongue tingle a bit, like some tiny creature was doing a dance on it.

"It's… good?"

"Great! I'm glad you like it." Steven was beaming at her now. It felt nice. "Anyway, I'd better get going. I'll see you later?"

"Of course." The donut in her mouth muffled her words, but Steven understood. He grinned and started climbing down the ladder.

Even once he had departed, Lapis could still feel Steven's presence, his cheerful mood lingering in the air like dust. She smiled to herself, eyeing what was left of the donut in her hand. He really was one of a kind.

She took another bite. It tasted sweet.

S&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&D

Well, that brings us to the end of chapter one. Here comes the part where I beseech you lovely readers for reviews.

Here's the thing: When I write fanfiction, I believe the single most important thing is that the characters be in-character. That is the number one thing that I strive for, (Being hilarious or awesome is a close second). So if you think I did a good job at portraying Peridot, Lapis or Steven, please let me know.

And if you made it this far, thank you for reading.