Epilogue

Steven and Peridot sat once again on the roof of the barn, the Crystal Gems having left for the night. Peridot was lying down beside Steven, brushing her fingers against a flower that Steven had stuck in her hair earlier. At the moment, the two were indulging in an activity that Steven had called "stargazing". There were many stars in the sky that night, all shimmering in the black void of space. Peridot gave a small, content sigh. She had flown through space thousands of times, but not once in her life had she actually realized how beautiful it was. It's funny… she thought, Out of all the times I was up there, I never gave it a single thought.

Steven had taught Peridot a game that he and Connie loved to play- making up constellations. At the moment, Steven was pointing up into the sky, explaining his latest one to Peridot. "That one's Canis Helicopteris- do you see it up there? That circle makes the head, and those ones over there make a propeller on his back!" Steven had stolen that one from Connie, but he wasn't going to tell Peridot that. He crossed his arms and gave her a smug look. "Beat that, Peridot!"

Peridot sat up, accepting the challenge. "Ha! With ease!" she looked up into the sky, searching for stars she could use to form a shape using her imagination. Steven watched her, looking at the stars reflecting in her visor. Within a few moments, she had a constellation ready. She pointed up to the sky and began her explanation. "That one up there is…" she struggled to come up with a name. She made one up out of the first two words that came to her mind- and said words happened to be a certain gem she knew. "Tigris Eyeris. This constellation forms a shape similar to a creature known to humans as a "cat". Its key stars and galaxies include the Helix Nebula over there, and then-"

Peridot stopped as her finger landed on one individual galaxy, shining brighter than many of the others. She immediately recognized it- it was Homeworld's galaxy. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with complicated, bittersweet feelings and memories. Peridot lowered her hand and hugged her knees to her chest. Steven noticed this, and he also knew she only sat in that position when she was deep in thought, or feeling angry or sad. He glanced back up at the galaxy- and then recognized it as well. Garnet had pointed it out to him once, and he immediately understood why it bothered Peridot. He sat for a moment, unsure of what to do. He then scooted closer to the little green gem until his side pressed against hers. He put one hand on her shoulder as she raised her head. At the moment, he couldn't offer her anything more than the comfort of his presence. He mustered what encouraging words he could, and put them together in a small speech.

"Peridot, I'm sorry that you can never go back to Homeworld. I know it's difficult to leave those feelings behind, and that some things you just will never be able to fully forget." Peridot glanced up at him, and he noticed a single tear forming in her eye. He quickly continued.

"It's entirely our fault. You were right the night you yelled at me- if we had just left you alone, you wouldn't be here right now. You'd be back on Homeworld with Yellow Diamond. But, that isn't a bad thing. You said it yourself; here on Earth, you're free. Free to choose, free to try new things, free to be yourself. Yellow Diamond might consider you defective, but what she thinks doesn't matter, because it's not the truth. You can feel emotions now and try new things, something you were never able to do under her control. It'll take time for you to heal from this, I know. But if you ever need to talk about it, know that we're here for you. We all love you, Peridot, and you're one of us now- a Crystal Gem. And like a crystal, you shine brightly by being yourself- not by being an emotionless robot. I-I'm just sorry you can never go home."

Peridot stared for a moment, with Steven's words sinking in. Steven looked away, hoping he had gotten through. A moment later, Steven felt Peridot's arms wrap around his waist and drag him closer to her. Peridot rested her head on Steven's shoulder, and he could see that she was smiling. She squeezed him harder, and together they looked back up at the sky as Steven returned the hug. At that moment, a shooting star zoomed by above them, creating a perfect, beautiful scene.

"Oh, Steven… I already am home."

And that's a wrap, I guess.

IT'S OVER, ISNT IT? (ok I'm sorry I'll stop now)

Anyway, first off I would like to thank everybody who read this fanfic and I hope you enjoyed it. Reading all of your reviews made me so happy- there wasn't a single negative review throughout this whole journey.

And now the most pressing problem- now that this is over, I have nothing to do with my life anymore. I need to create a new idea for a major project like this one soon or I'll die of boredom. Of course, for my next major story I'm intending on making Peridot a center focus, but this time I hope to include Lapis as well since they're barn mates now. She is my favorite character alongside Peridot and I adore their relationship (although I'm not a Lapidot fan, I mean just as friends). So look forward to that, whenever it happens and I come up with a good enough idea.

In the meantime, while I think of something, I'll be writing multiple one-shot fanfictions to fill the void in my life. Most of them will focus around Peridot (obviously) and most likely will be a cinnamon roll thing related to discovering new things on Earth, or something that I want to happen in the show (cough cough Lapidot fusion). Anyway, keep your eye out for those on my account.

Thank you all again, and farewell for now.