Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe

Title: Friends and Strangers

Summary: Amethyst has someone new to study; Peridot has a whole new life to accustom herself to.

...

When you've been with someone for five thousand years, you tend to get to know them.

Of course, to gems, five thousand years is child's play. Amethyst doesn't know the exact numbers, but she's certain Garnet and Pearl out-age her by a landslide.

But that's a gem thing. Amethyst has always related more towards her earthing roots than her alien ones, and she says that five thousand years is forever.

("You have a bad understanding of the term 'forever'," Pearl had chided her once. "No one lives forever; we can live for billions of years, but that isn't forever. We all die.")

Either way, she's been around the bend, at least long enough to get her feet under her. She knows some things. She knows Pearl and Garnet. Not as well as she'd sometimes like, but she does.

It's not like she's been stalking them or anything, eyeing their every movement and reaction. That's just excessive. But when you've been around the same group of gems for five thousand years, you notice things. The solidness of Garnet's shoulders as she gives a command; the bend in Pearl's limbs as she follows it, determined to be useful. The rapid flickering of color on Garnet's shades as she argues with herself (actually, that one is new), the resolution as Pearl charges into battle, ready to make it her last if she has to. (That one isn't.)

And it's not like she's stupid enough to believe they haven't done the same to her. They probably see things about her that even she doesn't, because she's a simple thing by nature, and prone to being ignorant when it came to matters of herself.

She's just... not that interesting, is all. Don't look too far into that.

It's not boring to know someone that well, because, at the end of the day, she doesn't know them. Sometimes, she looks at them and finds she's trying to read the minds of strangers. She doesn't know who they are or what they're thinking. Not really.

(She had a day like that recently, actually. Her mind had been reeling, suddenly incredibly aware of her size- or lack thereof-, and all she could do was stare as the wall and wonder what else they hadn't told her about herself.)

Even still, Peridot is like a breath of fresh air. New and untested, wild yet cold if you aren't expecting it. She's just as delighted by her presence as the others- she'd been told since she was found that she may very well be the last to join- but it's more than just padding numbers. Amethyst doesn't always know how her body twitches when she's panicking or how her voice will hitch when she's nervous. The way her eyes shift are a mystery. How certain words will sound coming from her lips has yet to be investigated.

A blank slate. One that isn't human. (No fear of her dying right after the blink of an eye.)

Of course, they don't have the thousands of years to figure each other out like they did before, or so the dark looks Garnet and Pearl have been giving each other say. They honestly don't seem to expect to survive, should Homeworld deem them invasion-worthy.

Fine, then. Amethyst hadn't planned on living to her first million anyway. So long as they go out swinging, she's down.

Peridot is equal parts horrified and delighted when Amethyst offers her a place in their group during one of their 'breaks.'

On one hand, however, there's the cluster. On the other hand; Homeworld. If one doesn't destroy the world, the other is bound to. She isn't sure how they all can be so calm about this, relax and enjoy themselves; habitual laziness? A lack of fear for the unknown?

She both envies them and dreads their mindset. That could be her, someday. Does she want that level of familiarity with the short-term kind of life the earth seems to have?

(Well, it's a bit too late to back out now. Where else could she go? The moon? Not on that animal, she's not.)

Garnet calls Amethyst's name and nods to the crest of a hill before strutting away. Peridot admires the confidence the fusion possessed; it was never an over bloated thing, just the knowledge that she mattered and everyone else knew it. On Homeworld, such an emotion didn't exist outside one's particular level in the caste system.

Earth, she's found, is very different in that regard.

Amethyst twirls her; they hadn't been dancing, just bumping shoulders, but she tends to show off in front of Garnet, Peridot's noticed. She tends to show off in front of anyone, really. Her self-worth seems permanently hinged to how others perceive her.

Peridot can understand that, but she still squeaks and jerks away. Fusion isn't the most comfortable thing for her yet; and, as horrible as this may sound, she'd prefer it to not be someone as unpredictable as Amethyst for her first fuse.

(Who knows? Maybe it'd be best, that way. Only time will tell.)

"Come on." Amethyst jerks her thumb behind her. "There's always room for more."

A regular quartz would have snorted and stomped past her, hardly sparing her a look, knowing she would never be able to join. Amethyst isn't a normal quartz by any means, and Peridot realizes she's coming to prefer defectiveness over uniform.

When she doesn't reply, she shrugs. "It's cool if you don't want to."

Peridot shifts awkwardly, aware of every which way her limbs moved. How did normal gems stand having everything connected; all those sensations blasting them, full-force? It's all so overwhelming. "Would I be welcomed?"

Amethyst laughs. It reminds Peridot of that 'hiccups' Steven had a few cycles prior. It's not a bad sound. A small hand slaps her back in a manner she supposes is friendly. She tenses without stopping to consider it, but, if she notices, she doesn't mention it. "Of course! You're one of us, right?"

Apparently, she is. She still needs to work through the placement of her star(s). "Well... one break, so far into construction, should leave us refreshed and capable for later..."

Amethyst's face turns vaguely serious. "You don't need to make excuses to have fun, Peri."

Peridot ignores that sentiment- she still has plenty of adapting to do, and that thought is still a bit of a doozy to consider- and crouches down to begin putting her tools away. If Steven falls and hurts himself on them, it's her gem that'll be turned to dust. (Only not really, as they haven't seen or had to crush a gem in thousands of years. Another peculiar thought, although it can easily attributed to their lack of numbers.)

Amethyst leads her to them, holding her hand so she doesn't trip over something in the dark. Sunrise is coming; they'd been forced to remain quiet most of the night, in order for their youngest member to 'sleep.'

Peridot has seen Amethyst 'sleep.' She has no theory as to how or why they assume being silent has anything to do with it. She's easily the loudest of them all, what with her 'snoring.'

(Privately, she wonders if being raised on earth, as well as being defective, has led to a form of psychological need for Amethyst to eat and sleep. Perhaps, after so long, she's forgotten how to go without it.)

(She'd never tell her that, however. She becomes eerily silent when such things are brought to her attention; Peridot prefers her as she is.)

"Hey." Garnet, legs crossed, hums, voice hushed. Pearl is on her right, limbs tucked under her. She gives them a shy wave, gaze half towards the horizon.

"Hey." She echoes, flopping down. Peridot wonders- as she always has with quartz's- how she can function without fear of pulling hair. At least hers is kept neatly in the air and out of the way; she's literally sitting on hers.

She shifts her feet. A purple hand grabs her wrists and pulls her down. Peridot finds herself under the assumption that she can pull away at any time if she wants to, but finds she doesn't want to. She trusts them not to hurt her, within reason.

Small hands drape over her shoulders, chin pressed against her hair. Amethyst smiles down at her.

"Dude, you'll totally flip when you get to see fireflies."

"Fire-what?" She blinks up at her. "Are we setting something on fire?"

"Nah." She giggled at the thought.

"She might've already seen them." Garnet comments. "On the run, and all that."

The lack of negativity in her tone makes her body warm. They don't mind that her worst flaws were on display for some time now; their lack of a long-term grudge is refreshing.

"Still." Amethyst insists.

"Fireflies are incredibly interesting to study." Pearl admits, then fell silent.

The sensation of a thudding at her back keeps her from fully relaxing into the gem's hold. "What is that?"

"A heart. S' a human thing." She shrugs, shifting a bit to get more comfortable. "I like it."

Peridot presses her small hand- stars, she misses her limb enhancers- to her chest. It feels oddly empty, now that she actually had time to think about it. Her physical construct was barren of any internal features. Perhaps she should experiment with that, someday.

"C'mere, you two." A solid hand grabbed her back and lifted her up with ease. Amethyst thrashes, but doesn't argue when she's set down in front of Pearl. Peridot finds herself in Garnet's lap. The thudding returns with a vengeance. "That's better."

Huh. She hadn't noticed they'd been sitting slightly apart.

She's not the only one new to all of this.

"Seesh, G. Ask a girl next time."

Garnet chuckles dryly. "I wasn't holdin' tight."

True. Even Peridot could've pulled free from her grip.

"Still." She repeats, voice oddly flat. "You cool, Peri?"

"I'm... in decent condition." She replies. Fingers card through her hair. It's both intimate and not; she's certain she does the same thing to Steven.

"Cool." Amethyst shifts and leans back, placated by her words. Pearl hums a quiet tune and interlocks their fingers, splayed across her- admittedly comfortable- stomach.

Now, that? That is intimate.

It's only natural, she supposes. Peridot's the new recruit on the ship; the others are seasoned veterans. She can only imagine what it was like; being the only stones in a rushing river.

(There's a space metaphor here, but she's not invested enough to bring it to mind.)

They would always know each other best. She would always be the stranger. They're not going to live long enough for it to be any other way.

Huh. Maybe there is something to short-term thinking. It's a lot less depressing, if anything.

"This is... comfortable."

"Yup." Garnet's voice is almost a rumble this close. The vibrations are soothing.

"I... I'm new to this. What are we supposed to do now?"

There's a wide smile on the fusion's lips. "We wait and watch."

Peridot falls silent and makes herself comfy. She can see why they enjoy these breaks- if it's always like this- and she's not stupid enough to believe Garnet was just talking about the sunrise.

Still. They have work to do. They're going to have to cut this short.

It's the prettiest sunrise she's ever seen. It's the first one she's ever bothered to sit back and look at, honestly.

Hopefully, not the last.

Author's Note: Just wanted to mess with Peridot and Amethyst before the new episodes air and a whole new gem enters the scene. =) It's nice to know plot things are gonna start happening eventually. We've been making a drill for like six episodes now.

This was polygems, at first, but now it's more like snuggly friends? You can see it either way, I guess. Whatever works.

-Mandaree1