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Peridot began snoring again. A habit she picked up from Amethyst, probably. Steven groaned as he opened the door, flicking on the switch to use the bathroom. It was the middle of the night, and Steven sometimes forgot the green gem occupied his bathtub again. Sometimes her odd shape scared him when he came into the bathroom late at night, blundering to find the switch and thinking there was a home intruder.
Steven shut the shower curtain over Peridot before opening the toilet seat and sitting down. It wasn't that he cared if Peridot saw him using the bathroom, but he liked to have at least a little privacy. Although he aimed to be as quiet as he could, the loud flush echoed and woke the sleepy gem up.
"Wha-Who's there?!" She couldn't help but kick into defense mode, jumping up and hitting her head on the shower nozzle.She then yanked on the shower curtain, de-railing it yet again.
"It's just me, Peridot.." Steven mumbled, too tired to reply with his usual gusto. His mind was full of questions and he seemed ready to burst. After Lapis left and took the barn, and after what he had learnt about his mom from Garnet, he got the feeling that Pearl wasn't telling him something... Regardless, he cleared his mind and washed his hands.
"Oh, it's you. Hello, Steven." He quickly dried his hands and yawned.
"Hi Peridot. You holding up okay in here?" She sat up in the bathtub with a low quality shrug.
"I suppose." As desperate as Steven was to go back to his warm, comfortable, gem free bed, he knew something was wrong with Peridot. She wasn't even looking in his direction and was fidgeting more than normal.
"Are you okay?" He then asked in a caring voice, taking a seat on the bath rug to keep him from touching the cold tiles. Peridot shrugged again, bowing her head.
"Peridot. You should tell me. I can't have you moping in my bath forever - I wash in there! Nobody wants stinky Steven!" The green gem sighed and dropped her chin over the lip of the bath, looking hazily in Steven's direction.
"...I miss the barn. I miss my meep morphs. I even miss Lapis. Even though she hurt my feelings." Steven nodded and offered her a sad smile. He was glad to finally get her opening up. She had a habit of locking herself away for long periods of time when she got upset, and he didn't want it happening again after last time.
"Yeah, she seemed pretty irrational back there." Peridot raised her arms in anger, before throwing them down in defeat.
"She was mad because I lied. And then I told the truth and she got madder! What is this logic, Steven? Humans are supposed to be the complicated ones. I thought I understood gemkind. It was the one thing I know more than you all about!" Steven tapped his chin.
"Well, she does have a point about the war. Last time she got cracked and was stuck in a mirror for a while. That must mess someone up." Peridot let out an annoyed gargle and sunk further into the tub.
"But what about /my/ feelings? I made sure to never upset her, or be too mean to her because I knew she got upset. But she is perfectly fine with making me upset! Taking my barn!" Steven interjected.
"Actually it's my dad's barn really."
"Still!" It was quiet for a few moments before muffled sniffs came from inside the bath.
"I was happy, Steven. I had a family. And a pet. And friends who loved me. But Lapis had to disrupt it. She didn't even want to fight for this planet..." Steven silently offered a ball of toilet paper and a hand came up from the bathtub to take it. Peridot paused for a moment as she dabbed her eyes, and her voice cracked slightly.
"Steven, why do the people we love hurt us the most?" The boy gripped his stomach, a gem reflex by this point, and let out a tormented sigh.
"I don't know Peridot. I think it's because...they're trying to protect us. But they're too busy thinking about us that they're not...thinking /about/ us...If you get what I mean." Peridot's monotonous voice rang out from the bath.
"I suppose." Her head poked back out from the bath and she stuck a leg over, before flopping onto the floor besides Steven.
"I want ice cream."
"It's two a.m, everywhere's closed."
"I've read studies that ice cream can help with function and emotional problems." She replied blankly. Steven figured she got eating off of Amethyst too. She wasn't the best influence.
"We might have some in the freezer. I don't know though. Lately Amethyst keeps emptying the fridge directly into her room and throwing the fridge back in place. Garnet told her to stop but now she does it when she's on a mission." Steven rubbed his belly with a sigh. It was getting hard to explain to his dad why he was going food shopping three times a week.
"Let's check." Peridot, instead of standing, wormed and slid her way to the door before pulling herself up by the handle. Steven followed behind her, walking normally of course as they headed to the kitchen. Using a step stool, Peridot clawed herself halfway into the freezer before pulling out a tub of cookie cat ice cream (a limited edition tub that was out for the release of the new 'Double Stuffed Cookie Cat - It's ameowsing!' product). Steven grabbed two spoons from the drawer and glanced through the window.
"We could go outside to eat. The weather is nice." Peridot shrugged and followed Steven out as they took a seat down the stairs of the porch. She took off the lid and grabbed a massive spoonful, immediately shoving it in her mouth.
"Oh, careful Peridot you might get br-"
"MY GEM!" Peridot flailed her arms (nearly knocking a tooth out of Steven's with the spoon) and gripped her forehead with her free hand. Steven couldn't help but laugh as he took a spoonful of ice cream too, eating it slowly.
"Yeah, that happens when you eat cold stuff too fast. One time Lars dared me - well he didn't actually dare me, but I like to think he hinted it - to drink a full slushie in one go. I did it, but it /really/ hurt. Lars was so worried he burst into nervous laughter! Then Sadie hit him with a mop." Once Peridot's brainfreeze had calmed down she looked hesitant to eat another scoop. But it tasted good so she sacrificed herself. They ate in silence for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the waves crash against the shore.
"You know, this 'ice cream' is pretty good. When it's not attacking my cerebrum, that is." He smiled in response and rested back on his hands, closing his eyes.
"Do you think the diamonds will invade Earth?" The boy asked absentmindedly. Peridot tensed next to him, before allowing herself a second to breathe.
"Maybe. Well, probably. They think the 'villainous Rose Quartz' is still alive and want her dead. And I guess this planet is rubbing salt into the wound of Pink Diamond too. Since this was /her/ colony that was overtaken by rebels."
"Oh." Steven replied solemnly.
"...But I like to think they'll leave us alone. This planet is nice. They should try it here. Give it a chance." Peridot's mind flashed back to Lapis and her spooned hand formed a fist, nearly bending the utensil in response. Steven agreed with her answer though. It was a stark contrast from the Peridot he originally knew, who would happily have killed him without a moment's hesitation.
"I agree. The Earth is my home. I have to fight for it, because if it blows up I'll be homeless." Peridot took a second to interpret what he said, before bursting out into giggles.
"I get it! It's like me. I'm homeless. Because my home, the barn, is gone. But the bathtub is a temporary home. Just how Homeworld was my home, and now the Earth is. Yes, I see now." Steven glanced at her with a flash of confusion, but let her ramble on.
"You feeling any better now?"
"Yes, much. Although I think I ate too much ice cream." She held her stomach for a moment before her eyes widened, suddenly heading back to the bathroom with urgency. With a yawn, Steven decided to call it a night. He headed back up to bed and snuggled down into his covers, muffling the sounds of Peridot groaning in the bathroom.
"Goodnight everybody..."