A/N: So, this is another story I want to give some focus. It probably won't be as angsty as my other stories (Iridescent) but it may have some moments here and there. This one is going to be mostly fluff, I'm hoping. Enjoy everyone!

Another thing to note, the full title is supposed to be Lessons for Life (and Death and Love and Birth and Peace and War) on the Planet Earth. FF wouldn't let me fit the whole thing, so I just wanted to clarify.

Status Update: 1/30/2017 - Made some minor edits and grammar corrections. I also edited the interactions between Steven and Peridot towards the end of the chapter. I dunno, rereading it, Peridot came across as a bit... infantilized to me, so I made some changes in order to fix that because I really try to avoid that sort of thing. I'll also be doing the same thing for the second chapter.

Chapter Summary: In which Peridot learns about a favorite nightly ritual of human beings, and is unfortunate enough to experience one of its more unpleasant aspects.

"I don't understand how you can deal with having to go into stasis like this every night." Peridot stated as she observed her half-Gem companion from atop his television set. Steven was currently busying himself with fluffing a few extra pillows. He had already changed into his 'banana pajamas,' at least that was what Peridot seemed to remember him calling them. Some sort of sleepwear, though she could not quite understand the logic behind having apparel reserved specifically for the purpose of… well, nothing really. Steven glanced back to her, a warm smile on his face.

"Sleeping is great though! You get all bundled up and comfortable in bed, turn out the lights, close your eyes, and then just sort of let yourself drift off until morning."

He reached up onto one of the shelves near his sleeping area, pulling down a folded blanket before spreading it out over the bed. "Come on, Dot. I promise you'll love it if you just give it a try!" He stated in a cheerful, singsong voice.

Peridot raised a brow at the other. She had her doubts about that. The boy's description of the sleeping process sounded startling to a Gem who had never done such a thing. That and sleep was not exactly a luxury that was commonly granted to a lowly Peridot. It had always struck her more as something befitting a Quartz soldier on her downtime.

"Hmm, I might consider it." Peridot folded her arms as she continued to glance down at the boy, her legs dangling over the front of the television. She smirked at the starry-eyed look he gave her in response. "But only if you tell me where the remaining video tapes of Camp Pining Hearts are." She quickly added, a smug expression crossing her features as she waited for the child's reaction. Steven deflated almost immediately.

"But I thought I told you there weren't any more episodes!" Peridot hopped down from her spot atop the television, regarding Steven with a suspicious gaze.

"That is indeed what you told me. But that's not what Amethyst had to say." She muttered, her hands resting on her hips. "She stated that there were multiple episodes that she herself had previously taped, all in chronological order, might I add."

'Ugh, Amethyst...' Steven should have expected this. The purple Gem had always been one for becoming rather obsessive over human media, and Peridot unfortunately seemed to be following her example. He had tried to prevent it but it was clear by now that his plan was not going to work.

"Okay fine, but I'll only tell you after you give sleeping a try." Steven stated simply. He may have been unable to prevent furthering her obsession but he was not about to let her get out of sleeping. The green Gem rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed groan.

"Very well, I will concede." Peridot hopped up onto the plush surface, immediately planting her face into Steven's pillow despite the fact that he had brought extras up for the occasion. She lay there for a few moments, her face buried in the comfortable material. "Now what?"

Steven gave a small laugh at her antics. "Peridot, that's not how you're supposed to sleep. You lay your head on the pillow, not bury your face in it."

Peridot lifted her head up. "You stated earlier that in order for humans to sleep it is preferable for it to be dark and for your eyes to be closed. Why wouldn't it make sense to sleep like this?"

"Because we humans still need to be able to breathe." Steven answered lightheartedly. "Try lying on your back or side. It's a lot more comfortable."

"Hmm, I'll be the judge of that." Peridot replied, flipping herself over so that her gaze focused on the ceiling. "Is this adequate?"

"Yep!"

"I don't like it." The green Gem glanced over to her companion. "I feel…exposed. I'm not fond of the idea of being out in the open if I'm going to be leaving myself in such a vulnerable position."

Steven moved next to her, prodding at her a bit to get her to move. When she silently refused like the stubborn Gem she was, he went for playfully shoving her off the edge of the bed, a startled yelp escaping her in the process.

"That was uncalled for!" Peridot immediately screeched from her newfound position on the floor. Steven only let out a playful laugh.

"Sorry, Dot. Had to get you to move somehow." The young boy answered. He made a few adjustments to the blanket he had placed on the bed a short time ago.

"You could have politely asked at least…" Peridot muttered, dusting herself off before abruptly jumping back up onto the plush mattress in a way that might remind one of a stubborn cat that had been shooed away from its hiding place a few too many time. She only received a shrug and a small smile in response. Not even an apology. Humph.

"Well, if you don't want to feel exposed, why don't you try going under the blanket?" Steven suggested, lifting the edge of the comforter up for her. Peridot regarded the elevated bedspread in much the same way she did with most unfamiliar items, narrowing her eyes at the dark space.

"How can I be so sure that you're not going to trap me underneath it as some sort of prank?"

Steven rolled his shoulders in a shrug before situating himself under the comforter instead. "Well alright, you can just sleep on top of it. All exposed to the open air."

Peridot glared at him, silently observing the way he used the large blanket to cover himself. "I would prefer not to." She murmured, glancing away from him. Steven smiled at her, once again lifting a portion of the bedspread up for her. Peridot hesitated, glancing around the room before abruptly diving underneath, burrowing under it. The curious child watched the new lump attempt to maneuver its way under his comforter, amusement shining in his eyes.

"Normally you at least poke your head out of the top, Peridot. That's sort of what the pillows are there for." He lifted the cover up again, catching a glimpse of familiar green eyes staring back at him. The technician stuck her tongue out at him, copying the way she had seen him do it in the past whenever he teased her.

"Put it down, pebble." She commanded, impatiently waiting for him to comply with her demands. "I'll be content with sleeping under here."

"Do you want a pillow at least?" Steven tried asking, still holding the edge of the comforter in his hand. "You can rest your head on it. It'll make it a lot more comfortable for you." The small Gem thought it over for a moment before settling her gaze on him once again.

"I suppose I could make use of one." Peridot found herself engulfed by darkness for a brief moment as Steven let go of the cover. She squinted her eyes as light penetrated her hiding place again, the child handing her one of the softest pillows he could find in the small pile on his bed.

"Wow, thanks." She offered in return.

"No problem!" He situated himself into a more comfortable position, making sure not to accidentally kick the other Gem currently taking refuge under the covers. "Goodnight, Peridot!"

The green Gem in question remained silent, instead simply choosing to rest her head on the pillow as Steven had instructed her to. She curled up into a small ball, drawing her knees up to her torso. Steven had stated that closing one's eyes was the best way for one to fall asleep, so Peridot did just that. Feeling warm, safe, and secure in her current surroundings, Peridot found herself drifting easily.

When Peridot opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that her surroundings were completely different. Instead of being on Steven's bed, under the soft, warm covers, she was on a hard, cold, tile floor. Bright green hues overtook her field of vision as she took in the emerald-colored walls now encaging her. The sight of the golden force field in front of her did only added to the fear she could feel growing in the pit of her stomach. It droned quietly with a constant hum, daring any Gem to try to bypass its marked boundary.

A containment cell. One that was clearly of Homeworld make.

The technician sat up abruptly as panic immediately surged through her form. Peridot could feel small beads of sweat dampening her forehead. How did she end up here? Had Homeworld somehow taken her away while her guard was down?

No. Oh, no this was not good… She was a traitor here! She had directly aided in helping the Crystal Gems neutralize the threat of the Cluster, a project Yellow Diamond herself had been allowing to incubate for several millennia.

What punishment would they have planned for her? Public execution? Exile to another galaxy?

Another Gem, a pale-yellow Orthoclase, slowly approached her cell, interrupting Peridot's frantic thoughts. The other regarded her with a look of disinterest, a small hologram hovering in front of her.

"Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG?" The Orthoclase inquired in a reserved, detached tone of voice, her piercing golden eyes flicking from the screen to the imprisoned Gem before her. Her stance and professional attitude gave Peridot the impression that she was a manager of some sort.

The smaller technician flinched slightly at the designation, not even having used it since being with Steven and the Crystal Gems. "I… Yes, that's me."

The Orthoclase made a small noise of acknowledgement, her eyes glancing back down to the holographic screen. Her fingers moved a few items around on the display before bringing up a file. Peridot recognized it as her own; the record that Homeworld kept on her to track her status on projects or missions. It was standard protocol for all Homeworld Gems.

Peridot anxiously observed the yellow Gem as she hovered over the "Status" section of her file. Currently, it read "Active." The Orthoclase tapped on the word, flipping through a small menu of other various terms used to describe the status of a particular Gem.

Active. Banished. Displaced. Executed. Missing in Action. Unknown. Those were a few that Peridot was able to glance.

The pale-yellow Gem flicked past these before backtracking slightly and stopping on one that made Peridot's metaphorical blood run cold.

Harvested.

The technician immediately retreated to the back of her cell. They were going to harvest her. They were going to harvest her! No… No, surely not…

The Orthoclase called over two other Gems; tall, imposing soldiers much larger than the Orthoclase herself. One appeared to be a Topaz. The other, in some sick twist of fate, was a Jasper… Not the one Peridot was familiar with, given that her gemstone was on the palm of her left hand, but it was a cruel irony nonetheless. They both made their way over as the yellow Gem deactivated the force field on Peridot's cell.

"This one is ready to go." She began to set off down a corridor located to the left of the containment area. "You know where to take her." She added, far too ominously for Peridot's liking.

The technician's wide, panicked eyes refused to tear themselves away from the large Gems now approaching her.

"No, please… have mercy… Please, just let me speak with-"

"Quiet, traitor!" The Topaz cut her off immediately, roughly grabbing ahold of her right arm as the Jasper seized her left. Her significantly smaller stature left her legs dangling in the air. She tried to fight, attempting to loosen their grip as she struggled but they barely batted an eye at her resistance.

Peridot wasn't sure whether it seemed like time had slowed down to a crawl or if it had stopped altogether, but after passing through numerous corridors, all the same color as the containment cells, they reached the entrance to one of the most dreaded complexes on Homeworld.

The Refinery.

Peridot's struggling suddenly developed into frantic thrashing as the unmistakably metallic scent of melted gemstones reached her nose, the inside of the facility alight with reds and oranges emanating from the large pit in the center.

She had heard rumors about this place. It was not nearly as large as most of the spires and towers that were commonplace on Homeworld, as it was an area reserved only for Gems that committed the foulest crimes.

Peridot was well aware that treason was one of them.

She eyed the nearby pit fearfully, the lighting and heat emanating from it serving as a warning of the deadly, molten rock that rested at the bottom. One misstep would lead to an excruciating death for any Gem that lacked natural heat resistance.

The larger Gems moved over to a nearby warp pad, a smaller one meant for warping between different levels of the complex. When the warp stream dissipated around them, the group found themselves on the higher level, which seemed to consist of several walkways that all met at a center point just above the pit below.

For a moment, Peridot's wide eyes caught sight of the bubbled Gems floating not far above their current position, the many different hues seeming to blend and mix with the warmer colors emanating from the lava below them. The fates of these Gems were yet to be fully decided. It was likely most would be used as power sources, rather than being melted down and processed into useful resources.

The ones who would avoid a permanent, agonizing death. Honestly, Peridot envied them.

Her increasingly desperate thrashing was still proving to be futile. The quickly tiring Gem could only hope the two soldiers would just decide to destabilize her and shatter her. At least it would be quick… Homeworld probably figured they could get more use out of her shattered remains than they could with her still being active, living as a traitor.

Fate did not seem to be on her side. The Jasper and Topaz kept moving towards the center, where the walkway converged directly above the pool of molten rock.

They really were going to toss her in there…

Peridot suddenly became aware of tears that were now streaming down her face. The terror was indescribable, seeming to pulse through her in waves. Her frantic struggling continued, panic and survival instinct still driving her to fight no matter how hopeless the situation seemed.

The group finally came to a stop above the molten pool. The end of the line. Even from this height, Peridot could feel the heat rising up from the hellish pit below them.

"Wait!" The panicked Gem managed to screech out "You're not even going to destabilize me first?"

The Jasper was the one to answer her, adding on a few more seconds to her rapidly shortening lifespan. Her expression looked neither malicious nor troubled. To her, this was just another day on Homeworld. "Traitors are not granted that kind of mercy."

With that, the grip on the doomed Gem's arms suddenly disappeared and Peridot found herself plummeting into what would no doubt be a horrible end. Her shrieks reverberated throughout the complex and in her last moments, she could only think to call out for the one who had come to her aid so many times before.

"Steven!"

"Steven!"

The young boy's eyes shot open at the sound of Peridot's muffled, frantic voice. He sat up immediately, throwing the covers back to see his friend crying out for him in her sleep.

"Steven, please help!" He was especially startled to see tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes screwed shut in her distraught state. Steven frantically began trying to wake her from whatever horrid dream she was experiencing.

"Peridot!" He shook her trembling form. "Peridot, it's okay! I'm right here!"

Peridot's eyes finally opened, clouded over and unfocused. Her panic drove her to kick out at the child, too frantic to be able to distinguish friend from foe in her panicked state. She missed her target, instead slipping head first off the edge of the bed. This seemed to snap her out of her fear-induced stupor.

"Huh?" She glanced around the room from her spot on the floor, her breathing heavy. From her current view of her surroundings, she appeared to be upside down, her legs still partially on the bed. It was an uncomfortable position to be in, but no doubt paled in comparison to what she had nearly experienced just a few moments ago.

Wait, how was she back at the beach house again? Was it all some vivid hallucination? Everything had felt so real...

"Peridot!" She heard Steven call from up on the bed. He leaned his head over the edge, glancing down at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

The Gem in question locked eyes with him and before Steven even realized, a blur of green had launched itself at him. How Peridot could even move so fast from her unbecoming position on the floor was a mystery to the boy.

He felt his friend wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace, holding on to him as if he was her lifeline. Steven also took notice of a wetness on his shirt as Peridot buried her face against into his torso, small whimpers escaping her as she shook against his form.

"S-Steven…" She managed to squeak out, sobs racking her body. "Oh, Steven… thank the stars you're here…" Her voice came out muffled but he could easily make out her words in the nighttime silence.

The young child glanced down to his friend in confusion, taken aback by her actions. Peridot clinging to him as she was now was not a common occurrence. "I've been right here next to you the whole time you've been asleep." He returned her embrace after getting over his initial shock. "Where else would I be?" Peridot, still in great distress, did not seem to acknowledge his words.

"I… I was back on Homeworld."

Steven froze at her words. Oh no, he should have considered the possibility of Peridot having a nightmare…

"Yeah…? What happened?"

"They… they were going to destroy me… for betraying Homeworld…" Steven could feel his friend trembling in his arms.

"Oh." He whispered in response, a bit at a loss of what to say. "You mean like, shatter you?" Peridot shook her head.

"Much worse than that…" Steven's concern only grew at her response. "There… was this pit of lava and they were going to… The boy's eyes widened, immediately understanding where this was going.

"Peridot… You know we would never let anyone do something like that to you, especially not Homeworld." The technician went silent for a few moments, seeming hesitant about her next choice of words.

"I-I was terrified." Her grip on the boy tightened. She inwardly cringed for allowing herself to show this kind of weakness, but she loved and trusted Steven. If anyone had to see her like this, she preferred it to be him. "I… I…" She could barely keep herself together at this point.

"Peridot…"

"I didn't know what to do… so I called out for you." She removed her face from his chest, moving her head to rest comfortably on his shoulder. "I've just always associated you with a feeling of safety… and familiarity…" Steven rubbed small circles on his distraught friend's back in an attempt to console her, a small smile on his face at her words.

"It's alright now… You had a nightmare." He took her silence as a sign of confusion. "It's something that happens sometimes when you sleep, especially when you've got a lot on your mind."

"But… it felt so real." She murmured to him, her grip on him remaining strong.

"They can feel pretty real. Those ones are the scariest." Steven shifted slightly so that the small Gem would remove her head from his shoulder and look at him head on. Her eyes shimmered in the darkness. "But it's okay because they're not real. And you usually forget about them by morning."

Peridot was not so sure about that. This nightmare, as Steven called it, would probably haunt her for a while longer than that.

"I-I don't want to have to experience that again." She whispered. Her voice was becoming steadier but she would still let out an occasional sniffle now and then.

Steven let go of her, much to her dismay. He got under the covers again, pulling part of it back. The boy patted the spot beside him, gesturing for his friend to try sleeping directly beside him, as opposed to underneath the covers.

"A lot of people who have nightmares are able to fall back asleep if they're close to someone they care about." He glanced out the large window to his left, his eyes observing the peaceful night sky. "My dad used to let me sleep next to him whenever I had really bad nightmares. It always helped me fall back asleep."

Peridot was reluctant to try sleeping again, worried that she would have to experience the same nightmare. Of course, just as she was about to turn him down, her eyes caught his warm, loving gaze. The one that could make any Gem seemingly bend to his will. She sighed, giving in to the boy. Perhaps sleeping directly beside someone would help put her at ease.

The green Gem situated herself under the covers just next to Steven. She was somewhat surprised when her friend lightly wrapped his arms around her in a protective hold, though she found herself deeply touched by his affection. Deciding to humor him, and trying to find the most comfortable position, Peridot rolled onto her side so that she could rest her head against the boy's chest.

"Goodnight, Steven." She mumbled. Her eyes were already slipping closed as she relaxed considerably in his gentle hold. Given her nightmare, it would probably be a while longer before she actually fell asleep but she felt significantly safer in her friend's embrace.

"Goodnight, Peridot." Steven replied, beginning to drift off himself. "Love you." He added sleepily. Peridot lifted her gaze up to him in surprise before settling back against him, a smile on her face.

"Wow, thanks."

After a while, Peridot could feel Steven's breathing even out, a sure sign that he had fallen back into unconsciousness. She shifted her position slightly so that she could silently observe her friend. She could hear some sort of rhythmic… beating in his chest. It was an odd phenomenon, but also a pleasant one. The predictable pattern of it left her feeling drowsy and content.

The green Gem felt her eyes begin to close again, the sound having an almost hypnotizing effect on her. Peridot allowed a small smile to cross her features. She felt warm, safe, and secure for the second time that night.

This time, she was certain her nightmare would not return.

A/N: More Hurt/Comfort than Angst in this chapter, and that's how I'm expecting it to generally be in this story.