Peridot had spent a whole night watching scary movies with Sadie, but the human had left early in the morning to go to work. She thought about what her next action should be. It was apparent that Lapis didn't like her romantically but then again...she had made a move to kiss her. Peridot hadn't been the one to instigate it. The blue gem was still an unsolvable mystery to her, much like the Earth. Whenever she thought of this planet, the first image that reached her mind was the ocean, and then Lapis. The two were almost synonymous with each other. She had been the reason why she'd come to Earth in the first place.

These thoughts inside her head faded away into nothingness, like the dust particles that were shimmering in the sunlight. The window was open. The storm had ended.

She wanted to go back to the barn, but at the same time, she didn't. The eventual confrontation with Lapis was inevitable, but she wanted to prolong it for as long as she could. A sudden knocking on the door made her flinch, and look up at the ceiling with annoyance. She scampered up the stairs and flung the door open to find Steven sitting on the porch. Steven looked up, and his face lit up at the sight of the green gem.

"Hey, Peridot."

"Steven? What are you doing here?" Peridot asked, still holding the door open.

"Just wanted to check up on you," Steven replied, picking himself up from the floor.

"Wow. Thanks," Peridot muttered in a cheerless tone, moving back into the house. Steven frowned, but followed her path into the living room.

"Peridot, can I ask you something?" He dropped onto the couch that faced the fireplace, and Peridot was left standing near the brightly lit window. She nodded and didn't say anything.

"What happened with Lapis on that mission?"

Peridot whipped her head, and shot a look of surprise at Steven, before turning towards the window again.

"A corrupted gem attacked her," Peridot began. "Luckily, I got there in time and managed to defeat it but...Lapis was screaming. Then, it was like she was in shock, even when I took her to the barn."

A raw silence sat in the room, like an unwelcome guest, before Peridot opened her mouth again.

"I've never seen her like that before," Peridot mumbled. "It scared me."

"Is that why you were upset yesterday?"

"Yes, but more than that. This morning, when I told her about it, she wanted me to brush it off and act as if nothing had happened. Can you believe that?" Peridot decided not to mention the kiss. Telling Sadie was already enough.

"And did you?"

"No!" Peridot whirled around, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"She can't keep avoiding this. Before she left, I made sure never to mention anything related to the war, and look where that got us!"

Peridot huffed and sat down next to Steven. Her eyes were red around the rim, and her chest was heaving as if she'd just run a marathon.

"Just because things are never mentioned, that doesn't mean that they're not there." She said in a subdued tone. She rested her chin on an open palm.

Steven stared at the gem's profile, waiting for her to elaborate.

"She blames herself for not fighting back. The corrupted gem, I mean. She feels like she's a liability to me."

"What? Lapis isn't a liability!"

"I want her to realise how much she means-" Peridot stopped herself in time, and then started from the beginning.

"I want to help her with this, but I don't know how. I was made after the rebellion ended, so it's not like I can relate to what she's going through."

"Well, maybe she can talk to Pearl or Garnet?"

Peridot snickered and turned to Steven with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, right. Can you imagine her talking to Pearl?"

Steven shrugged. "She talks to you."

"Not about this," Peridot said, her smile fading.

'Not about anything.' Peridot didn't know anything about Lapis. Not really. She didn't know why she'd been on Earth, and what she did on Homeworld. She didn't know whether she'd had any friends or any enemies in her life. They made sure to avoid mentioning their past lives on Homeworld, even though this was an experience that bound them together, a unique one which served as the foundation of their relationship. Despite this, Peridot and Lapis were completely different. They had both managed to get along in a close space, for many months now. Maybe not mentioning their past lives was for the better. The only important thing was now. The green gem pondered this for a moment longer.

"Peridot...I don't know how to help you with this." Steven admitted while wearing a nervous smile.

"That's okay, Steven."

"But...Amethyst did tell me that she's going to a wrestling match later. You can come if you want to. Maybe it can distract you for a while?''

Peridot sighed. ''Amethyst and I had a fight."

"What?! About what?" He asked incredulously.

''She thinks that I'm in love with Lapis,'' Peridot muttered under her breath with gritted teeth.

''Oh.''

Peridot raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. ''What do you mean, Oh?''

''Nothing!'' Steven looked away, and he put his hands on his lap.

Peridot narrowed her eyes at him, before turning her head away to look out the window.

"As I was saying, I told her that it was an utterly ridiculous concept and that she should stop bothering me about it. Then I left."

"I'm sure she forgot about it," Steven said, looking to her hopefully. "And even if she didn't, then you can still apologise to her."

"Ye- Wait a minute. Why should I apologise to her?"

"T-"

"I told her to stop mentioning that silly notion, but she wouldn't listen! That joke was just the icing on the cake, of course. Calling me a coward because, apparently, I'm too scared to tell Lapis that I have 'feelings' for her.'' Peridot used air quotes for the word, subsequentially rolling her eyes.

"So, that's why you were upset?"

"I wasn't ups- You know what? Perhaps, I was a little upset, but I had every right to be."

"Okay, so maybe you both need to apologise to each other, but..."

"But what?"

"Amethyst was just trying to help you. Yeah, she didn't do it in the best way, but sometimes the best intentions have the worst consequences."

"Did you get that off the internet?"

Steven had the decency to blush. "Yeah, actually. But, my point still stands."

Peridot drew a deep breath and then shot a serious look at Steven. "Alright, fine. I'll come with you, but I can't promise anything."

The air was musty and tasted of sweat, complimenting the rest of the atmosphere which was encumbered by rowdy humans, all waiting impatiently. Some were tapping their feet, and this made it seem like the room itself had a heartbeat pulsing underneath the grimy floorboards. Others had scowls painted onto their faces, much like Peridot, who was wrinkling her nose in distaste. She was being ushered between rows of humans, her face occasionally being smushed by flabby arms and heaving bellies. They finally reached a small room which was crammed with other wrestlers, all preparing for the fight. The purple gem stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the pale-skinned humans, her skin distinguishing her from the rest of the rabble.

"Amethyst!" Steven called.

Amethyst's head shot up, and her mouth widened into a conciliatory grin. It abruptly dropped at seeing the green gem stepping in behind him.

"What is she doing here?" Amethyst asked, pointing to the green gem as if she was a fly on the wall.

"I just wanted to apologise," Peridot started, her eyes shifting back and forth.

Amethyst crossed her arms, and cocked her head as if to say, 'Well, go on then.'

Peridot let out a deep breath, and clasped her hands behind her back, puffing her chest for that extra boost of confidence.

"I'm sorry for telling you to mind your own business, even though you were completely wrong about that thing that you said was true. I'm sorry for being offended that you called me a coward to my face. There." Peridot brought her arms back to her sides, and her eyes refocused on the gem in front of her.

Amethyst was wearing an unimpressed scowl.

"You call that an apology?"

"I'm not good at this." Peridot turned to Steven, who was rubbing his neck and looking at the ground.

"Yeah, no kidding," Amethyst muttered.

Peridot whirled back to Amethyst, her eyes shooting daggers towards her.

"I'm not even sure why I'm apologising to you in the first place! You're the one who's at fault here!"

Amethyst threw her head back and laughed. "Me? This is exactly what I was talking about-"

Peridot held up a hand. "Don't bother repeating what you said," She interjected. "You said it quite clearly on that mission. I'm too annoying to deal with, I run away when things get too hard, and I can't take a joke. That's what you said, right? Or did I forget something else?" Peridot stopped counting on her fingers and looked at Amethyst with a faux expression of curiosity, which complimented her sarcastic tone of voice very well.

"You forgot making everything about yourself." Amethyst quipped, lazily leaning a shoulder on the wall.

Peridot guffawed and looked away for a moment. "I don't even know why I bothered coming here." She mumbled under her breath.

Amethyst straightened and looked Peridot dead in the eye. "I don't know either."

She then shapeshifted into Purple Puma and marched out of the room, her steps making the room rattle and the other wrestlers whipped their head around in curiosity.

"Well, that went well."

"Amethyst isn't usually like this," Steven noted, his eyes still fixed to the doorway.

"I guess not," Peridot agreed.

Steven turned to her, and he crossed his arms.

"Did something else happen during that mission?" He asked, raising his eyebrows suspiciously. He liked to pretend that he was a detective during these moments of interrogation, and so he put a hand on his chin pensively.

"Not that I remember," Peridot said, staring back at Steven with a mirrored expression as if to poke fun at him.

Steven dropped his act and sighed.

"I think I know what's bothering her." He admitted.

"You know that day that you found Sadie and me in the Big Donut?"

"Yes..." Peridot drawled, her eyes scouring his expression with sudden interest.

"Well, it's true that the electricity was out, but I was actually there because I was hiding."

"Hiding..." Peridot repeated dumbly. "From what?"

"From...the gems. The atmosphere in the house has been so awkward since that last mission. Amethyst is barely even in the house, Garnet is always busy with some mission and so that leaves Pearl. She's always either moping on the couch or cleaning like a maniac."

Steven frowned, and sat down on the grimy floor, his feet sticking out.

"I don't know what to do."

Peridot groaned and lowered herself onto the floorboards. "Okay, fine," she said. "I'll find another way to apologise to Amethyst if that will make you happy."

"That's only part of the problem," Steven grumbled, and Peridot was reminded that he was still a child.

"And...I'll watch crying breakfast friends with you," Peridot mumbled, her lips set in a straight line.

Steven said nothing, but he raised his head a bit.

Peridot huffed and sat up on her heels. "I'll convince Lapis to watch it too."

"Really?!" Steven leapt up, and his eyes were filled to the brim with excitement as if this was an extraordinary feat. Well, it was to Peridot, especially since she needed to convince Lapis as well.

"Yes," Peridot replied, her slight smile morphing into a wince as Steven gripped her in a tight hug.

They walked out of the room side by side, and their ears were bombarded with swearing and shouting. The match had started, and Purple Puma was in the ring, fighting off a heavy-set man with a handlebar moustache. Sounds of encouragement and booing ricocheted off the walls, making it seem like an ongoing argument was going on. Steven led them closer, and Peridot reluctantly followed him, somehow managing not to trip on the multitude of items that were littered on the floor.

"Look at her go! It seems that Purple Puma has grown even stronger since her retirement!" A fat balding man was holding a microphone in his sweaty hands, and his forehead glistened in the shaky light. Peridot felt a flair of recognition and then realised that it was the same man who managed the rides at Funland.

Purple Puma then proceded to throw the wrestler out of the ring, and he groaned in pain as he smashed a chair into splinters. The crowd went wild, and Purple Puma lifted her hands up in victory.

"Who's next?" The announcer asked in a sickeningly exciting voice. His eyes roamed the audience, scanning for worthy competitors and then they landed on Peridot.

"How about you?"

Peridot swiftly backed away, but a flabby stomach prevented her from moving any further, and so all eyes turned on her. She acted as if she hadn't heard him, by shifting her eyes towards the floor, but then a grubby hand clutched at her arm and pulled her onto the ring. Her eyes flitted back to Steven, who was wearing an apologetic smile. She mouthed, "Help me," and tried to stare him down with her desperation, but Steven shrugged.

Amethyst crossed her arms when Peridot was brought into the ring. "I'm not going to fight you," She said, and then proceeded to throw her legs over the ropes, landing on the floor with a heavy thump.

"It seems that Purple Puma has decided not to fight!" The announcer stated, and the crowd looked at each other with confused frowns. Others started yelling at the purple gem. Suddenly, a burly man hopped into the ring, making the ground shake. Peridot's hands floundered, but she managed to hold onto the rope, still staring at the strange human with wary eyes.

The man cracked his knuckles, and then let out a bellowing laugh, his remaining teeth creating a yellow contrast when compared to his pale face.

"Is this who I am supposed to fight?" He mockingly gestured to her, looking at the announcer with a raised brow. He then coughed and spat on the floor.

"I didn't know they let kids in nowadays-"

"I'm not a child!" Peridot interrupted, which made the man sneer at her.

"Oh! She speaks!" He turned to the audience and chuckled derisively once more.

"So you're not a kid then?" He asked.

"No," Peridot grumbled.

He put his hand on his chin, looking deep in thought and then he turned to Peridot again.

"Then why do I have to bend over to talk to you?"

"Okay. Listen up, you clod-"

"Listen up, everybody!"

"Wha-"

"Can someone get a stepladder for this kid? I'm afraid that I'll lose track of her during the fight, and I'll just be fighting air the whole time."

Peridot began fuming, and her eyes were burrowing through the man's shoulders. She wasn't a naturally violent gem, but this person was really testing her limits. She wasn't even that short. Was she? She tried to levitate some metal chairs that were in the corner of the room, but her power was drained out like a heavy force was blocking her from controlling the metal. Her eyes went to the audience, and everyone was laughing and pointing towards her like she was a performance piece. Her forehead was beginning to sweat, and her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth.

"Why don't you run along and-"

That's it. Peridot ran up to the human, while his back was still turned, and clobbered him on the back with her fists. He span around and shot a look of disdain at her, before grabbing her by the wrist and throwing her against the railing. Her head crashed against the post, and she heard a resounding crack. She quickly scrambled up the railing, but the man tugged on her leg, which made her land on her stomach. She swiftly turned to face the ceiling and saw that the man's meaty fist was raised up, ready to strike her. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her hands flew up to guard her body out of instinct, but then she heard a raspy shout.

"Hey!"

The man froze, and craned his neck to look behind him. Purple Puma was standing there, with her hands on her hips.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The man faltered, and his mouth opened a bit, but he didn't get a chance to say anything back. Purple Puma surged in and sent a kick towards his mid-section. He staggered back with a painful groan and held his stomach. His face took on a deadly expression, and as he came forward, Peridot felt a switch flip inside her head. She lurched from the floor and leapt onto the man's shoulders, subsequently slapping on his head.

"Hey, kid! Get off me!" He yelled.

"I-"

Slap.

"Am-"

Slap.

"Not-"

Slap.

"A-"

The man was whirling around, trying to wrench Peridot off his shoulders but his vision was blinded by her hands.

"Kid!" She finished. His bald head was turning red and it reminded her of the plump tomatoes at the farm.

Purple Puma watched this with amusement in her eyes, and when she finally got tired of circling around the duo, she swung at the man's jaw, felling him in one swoop. His face hit the ground, and Peridot was certain that a tooth had been dislodged. She rose up, and the crowd was cheering. Others were standing with their arms crossed in disappointment, but Peridot didn't care.

Amethyst was idling in the middle of the ring, trying to avoid her eyes. Peridot inched closer to her and poked the other gem on the shoulder.

Peridot shot a smile at Amethyst, and the other gem hesitated, before returning a full grin.

Steven and Peridot were lurking outside the abandoned warehouse, waiting for Amethyst to show up.

"That was so cool how you guys beat him up like that!" Steven said, his eyes radiating with excitement.

"Yeah," Peridot muttered.

"And when Amethyst kicked him in the stomach!"

"Very cool," She mumbled, gazing at the ground.

Steven paused and looked at Peridot, his hands dropping.

"You don't sound excited..." Steven noted.

Peridot sighed. "It's not that."

"Then, what is it?"

She studied Steven's frowning face for a moment.

"Didn't you notice it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"Notice what?"

"My powers," Peridot whispered, with a cupped hand around her mouth. "They didn't work."

Steven's frown dropped and his mouth widened.

"Ohhhh..."

Peridot turned away from him and shamefully hid her face with her hand.

"Peridot, it's okay!" He rushed to gently wring her hand away from her face, but she was still blushing.

"My powers don't always work either," He admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"But...I'm a crystal gem now. What if something like that happens during a mission? If I'm not good enough to beat a human-" Peridot shot a conciliatory look at Steven, but he shrugged.

"Then...how can I even manage to beat Homeworld gems if they come to attack Earth?"

"But you did beat him," Steven interjected.

Peridot's mouth twisted. "Not really. It was mostly Amethyst who did the work. I just..." Peridot held up her skinny arms. "Slapped his head." She finished awkwardly.

Steven tilted his head at her. "But you still fought."

Peridot's mouth opened, but Steven's hand flew up to silence her.

"Yeah, I know. You might not have won. But...you fought him anyway. That's brave. That's what being a crystal gem means."

Her mouth snapped shut, but before she could say anything else, the door to the warehouse slammed open, and Amethyst emerged. They both looked at each other for a moment.

Amethyst sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Look, I didn't mean to call you a coward to your face, okay? And for the other thing. I wasn't wrong about it, but I'll stop mentioning that if you feel uncomfortable. You're my only friend besides Steven, and maybe Vidalia. Pearl too. But... we're the shorty squad! It isn't the same without you."

"Fine." Peridot relented, an easy smile forming on her face." I forgive you, and I am sorry about what I said, despite my poor attempt at conveying it.''

''Awww! Group hug!" Steven cooed, enveloping them in a tight hug.

"Ow! Steven!"