Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm home," Someone called.

Like every other day, it was met with a simple murmur in response. The noise came from the secluded room, off to the side of the Empire City apartment that towered over so many buildings; and with a balcony like the one in Apartment 89, you'd think to sit outside every night and listen to the whirring hum of vehicles down below, admiring what you could see of the somewhat obscured by light pollution skies, letting the colours of night life flash and shimmer over you as it sneaked up on surrounding skyscrapers alike; but that wasn't Peridot.

The only light that gave way in the room was from the monitor before her. Her fingers typed hastily, no, daringly, no, hastily again, upon her keyboard, the woman entirely focused and absorbed into her work and what interested her on the screen. An empty cup of noodles tipped itself off of the desk, but nothing could catch her attention. Through the headphones hugging her slender neck, bass and drum in a consistent rhythm vibrated through to her shoulders. 

"Oh, my stars, not again." Her hands stopped typing and instead began punching. "I don't understand. Sixteen gigabytes of random access memory, a powerful central processing unit, and still, you manage to freeze right in the middle of my work." She grit her teeth, waiting patiently. "Must be the browser."

"Please stop calling your blog 'work'," A voice snapped from the hallway, as her room mate threw her satchel onto a nearby counter. "That's just embarrassing. You don't even have a real job."

"The amount of time I have invested into this work of art, I treat it as none other than a job." Peridot retaliated to her blue-haired acquaintance. "And remind me to close my bedroom door next time you come home."

Lapis and Peridot had quite a complicated relationship, and when anyone came to visit them, they would be able to see why. They simply lived together for convenience. Lapis, herself, was kind at heart, yet only to people she liked, and she could not say with complete confidence that she liked Peridot. Their personalities clashed with each other, as Lapis was laid back and appreciated the nature of earth, Peridot was stubborn and too excitable for her roomie's tastes. Peridot preferred to hide away from the real world, only emerging from her room (which Lapis had resorted to calling a 'man cave') if it was absolutely necessary. Their past was not so sweet as it was sour, which contributed a lot to Lapis' behaviour toward the messy introvert as she tended to hold a grudge to the grave.

Peridot adjusted the shirt that pooled around her lap in numerous folds. She liked to buy things a few sizes bigger as a baggy shirt was far more comfortable than a tight one. Taking a break from her blog, she stretched out a few cracks in her arms and lower back, and blinked her bright eyes a few times, adjusting to the darkness of the room after switching the monitor off. Although she needed glasses, contacts were preferred more often than not. Peridot's eyes were the only things she really liked about herself, as they looked like multiple shades of green dancing in the pattern around her iris, and accompanied by a darker green rim. Her paranoia sometimes convinced her in the mornings when she looked in the mirror that the rim was growing bigger, and soon would engulf her entire eye. 

Running a hand through her tuft of dried out, bleached blonde locks, which stuck out in odd places; sometimes looking like a wonky star or a triangle, but that's how she liked it; she decided that she'd come out to show her face, only to get a bagel from the bread bin, though. Stomach grumbles can't be ignored after all. 

The apartment was dimly lit, and it didn't need much light, seeing as it was nearing sunset and lights were beginning to come alive in the city below. Anyone would adore this kind of home, as it was so modernly furnished and stylish, in the center of all attraction, and by God, did it look expensive; yet Peridot's parents and Lapis with a well-paid job were able to cover the price, even leaving Peridot herself with a good wad of cash for more video games and whatever she pleased. It was a blessing and a curse, as her parents were well off, yet couldn't wait to get Peridot out of their hair forever, even if it meant they still had to pay for her to survive in the meantime. She had no intentions of talking to them, anyway, and was only given updates on family life through e-mail. Evidently, this kind of treatment with not needing to make any money for herself had only made her lifestyle ultimately lazy.

Her body passed the large window aside the kitchen, and she grumbled at her reflection. Her hair was messier than usual, but not because she didn't brush it, because she kept her hygiene surprisingly well, but the amount of times she ruffled it when she got frustrated with technology failing her. Her slightly olive-tainted skin, peppered with freckles across her nose and arms, did not even look greasy. In fact, the last of her acne had cleared up a week ago. The worst flaw of her face (in her opinion) was the pointed nose in the middle. Though there was a blunt stop at the tip, sometimes she regarded it reminiscent of a sharp dagger.

"Wow, has the Queen arrived?" Lapis had a tinge of monotone in her voice that made everything she said blatantly sarcastic. It was hard to know what she meant seriously and what as a joke. Peridot didn't care enough to ponder the answer.

"I do not appreciate your snide remarks. I'm just hungry." She could see Lapis mocking her in her peripheral vision, but didn't pay any mind to it. Avoiding conflict was a priority in Peridot's life, no matter who it was with. She would not, ever, find herself wrapped up in a fight. If it was online, she would simply rotate her schedule to indulging herself in video games rather than talking to someone who was not worth her time. The attitude had most likely risen from a childhood kept awake by arguments. Alas, the only exception was Lapis, for when Peridot annoyed her enough, she felt a sense of pride.

There was a cool, calming breeze washing in from the open window above her, and she sighed in relief. She didn't realize how warm it was in her room until she came out of it. She sunk her teeth into the fruity bread, the blueberry flavour sparking her tongue and satisfying the small peckish hunger that she had. "What are you staring at?"

"It's like seeing an animal come out of hibernation."

"Hilarious attempt at humour, Lazuli, as always." Peridot's sour tone didn't get to Lapis, and it never did. They knew that they had a sort of disdain for one another, but Peridot was a lot more into teasing insults. This was one of the reasons why Lapis found Peridot too excitable; when Peridot thought she was getting to her, she'd start to get heavily invested. Lapis didn't put too much blame on Peridot, though, because she barely ever left the house, and so social interaction was at a minimal. For a while, Lapis had actually began to grow concern for the arrogant blonde living in her room, wasting her life away on junk; and it was what formed the idea in her head a few days ago to drag Peridot into the open world. There was no bad side; if Peridot enjoyed herself, then Lapis made her life a bit better. If Peridot hated every second, then Lapis could relish in the victory of ruining Peridot's day. See? Complicated relationship. Nonetheless, Lapis decided to give it a shot. She didn't want to look like she had no friends.

"I'm taking you out," was all Lapis said, showing no worry in her voice that Peridot would (definitely) reject, flipping a page in the book she was reading, the pages such a creamy beige that it appeared terribly old. "You've had dinner, right? Go and get ready."

"Lazuli, I'm thoroughly flattered, but I do not see you in that way."

"Wow, I'm glad. No, I didn't mean a date. I have two tickets to a match and Jasper flunked... again."

"Hah!" Peridot couldn't help herself, and she'd already snorted in the other's face after bouncing onto the couch cushions, though keeping her distance from Lapis, because, ew, people. She continued to stuff the blueberry bagel into her mouth before continuing on, and Lapis watched with a raised brow and an oncoming scowl. "I knew it. Why do you still engage in a platonic relationship with that reckless, inconsiderate beast? I've only seen her once, and even then, she was extremely tiring and overwhelming for my liking."

"I feel like you just use long words to sound smart, to hide the fact that you're really not." Lapis was rummaging in her satchel for something. Peridot was taken aback, her heart jumping into her throat at the comment, and trying to keep her cool, she coughed out the anxiety and carried on.

"I am not a fan of these usually-televised activities of sport. Which one is it? Football?"

"It's wrestling."

There was a stunned silence looming over them, and Lapis noticed it before looking at Peridot's astonishment. "You? You are a fan of wrestling? You? Lapis Lazuli? Nature freak?"

"Oh, don't be so surprised, obviously Jasper was the one who wanted to go in the first place. But I bought the tickets, and I don't mind some wrestling now and again. It's exciting to see people try and push each other over." Lapis removed the tickets from her satchel; they reflected the lights shining in from their window, and were covered in colour and cluttered with text.

"Well, you're just a bundle of joy, aren't you?" Peridot scrunched her face at the idea, but shrugged nonetheless. "Go by yourself, or just don't go. It's not a big deal; or certainly it's not in my opinion. I'm not going to be one to leave the house, anyway."

Yet, here she was; Peridot was leaving the house anyway. After a lot of persuading, blackmailing and bribing, and eventually getting promised a lot of soda, manga, and basically everything that made up the very existence of Peridot, she'd been forced into her trench coat and pushed into the busy city, growling at every person who dared to come near her. Peridot had to make trips to the mall every now and then for different things, and this was no different. As soon as I get back inside, the better, the thought ran over and over in her mind in a wheel. "Where is this... wrestling place? Is it professional?" She asked Lapis in a bitter manner. It was the blackmail that got to Peridot the most. Even though Peridot was a grouch of a human being, she still had a heart, after all, and it seemed like Lapis really wanted to go from what she could tell with the limited facial expressions Lapis could show. Peridot could relate to the anxiety of showing up somewhere busy when you're alone, too.

"Nah, just a local thing. The tickets were five bucks each."

Peridot choked up a little. "You explained you were only attending so as not to waste your money! I came outside for five bucks?!" Her voice was raspy and squeaky at the betrayal.

Lapis shrugged. "A little fresh air won't hurt you."

"It's hurting me." Peridot released a tired exhale. She longed so much to have her trusty controllers in her hands, or her bedspread covered with books about any and all fictional universes; but she was looking forward to typing an outraged entry for her blog after the events of today took place. She was a little popular on several blogging sites due to uploading her art online, but sometimes her paranoia and full-blown anxiety would force her to take it down if it didn't get a lot of attention within the first ten minutes of being on display. 

"Remove those glasses, too. You look stupid. If there's anyone I know here who sees me with you looking silly, my image will be damaged." Peridot had taken the liberty to bring her shades along with her, even though sunset was causing orange and purple alike to pool into the sky and the streets were illuminated by lamplight. The glasses were tainted a bright neon green, which meant that she saw no colour other than such. She probably did look ridiculous, but it meant nobody could recognize her if she came back outside after this. The last place she'd want people associating her with, if anywhere, was a wrestling ring. 

They eventually neared a building which looked almost squashed between a casino and a family resturaunt. "I'm already regretting this. Actually, I was full of regret as soon as I parted from the building. Oh, sweet, safe, cozy building, we will be reunited once more." Lapis shook her head at the embarrassment that was Peridot, wondering why she bothered to bring her along initially. They stepped inside the red-bricked, warehouse-like monstrosity of a business, Peridot wiping off her boots at the door for politeness, and they approached the front desk. Already there were people filling up the area, making Peridot uncomfortable and shaky, bouncing on the spot impatiently waiting for Lapis to hand over the tickets. Some people looked normal, and others looked like they'd be participating in this wrestling tournament. 

"Want food or anything?" Lapis nudged Peridot as they started walking by the food stalls in the hall as they neared the arena. 

"I'm good." Peridot hissed. This place makes me want to throw up already. Peridot slipped off her shades, tucking them into the pocket of her coat, and as they took their seats (oh, front row, brilliant), Peridot shrunk as deep into the chair as she could possibly go. Lapis looked somewhat excited for the tournament, which was a surprise, since it was a rarity if Lapis showed much emotion at all in front of Peridot nowadays. 

"I put a bet on one of the wrestlers." Lapis twiddled her thumbs as the area began to fill up more and more with seconds ticking by. It was about to start.

"Why on Earth would you do that?" Peridot's voice was muffled by the collar of her coat, as she'd pulled it up as far as it could go to hide from anyone who looked at her. "What if you lose?"

"Then I lose." 

"Hmph. Ridiculous trends." Peridot puffed warm air into her collar, and on the decision that it was simply too hot to be wearing a coat inside, she reluctantly removed it, wrapping it around her waist which had her shirt layering over the thick sleeves of the coat. It was a pale, lemon-like yellow, with little green patterns dotted around it. Not one for style, but that was who she was. Why care about fashion when you never go out?

Her inner thoughts shattered in the instant where the lights switched off, cheers arose from the audience as there was a wave of excitement and anticipation, and Peridot was pushed to the side as everyone around her (including Lapis) jumped to their feet immediately. She darted her eyes around, panicking as the speakers releases a droning moan before a male voice was screaming non-comprehensible phrases in an ecstatic manner. Peridot's cheeks flushed, embarrassed by the sudden uproar and the fact that she was now the only one sitting down; but if she stood up, what would she do? Cheer? She was too awkward for these situations. She'd never been to a concert or... really anything that required tickets aside from the odd convention. 

"Don't worry!" Peridot heard Lazuli's voice over all of the deafening noise. "This is the final stage of the tournament, so there'll only be one match!"

Thank God, was all Peridot could think. She folded her arms, in a bitter embrace with herself, and waited for the horrible evening to end.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for coming to The Millionaire tonight, to see the final match between the two top competitors of Empire City!" Another uproar as two burly beings began to make their way to the ring, both looking quite angry on the screens that flashed and flickered at either side of the arena. "And what an amazing turn-out! I hope you've all placed a bet on one of our fine wrestlers, for one of them will become the champion of this year! It's been a long, long ride, and we're finally here, with the best wrestlers I've ever laid my eyes on!"

That was obviously an exaggeration. If this was just a local competition, then not only were they probably not the best wrestlers in the whole of Empire City, but Peridot had doubt that the lousy commentator would be telling the truth in the compliments he was throwing around. 

As the crowd cheered when both wrestlers were announced, Peridot noticed Lapis screaming in an aggressive way for the second that made their way to the ring, accompanied by the usual couple of people around them, either for morale support or technique revision. Peridot rose, almost on impulse, as the curiousity got too much for her to stay seated. "So you potentially wasted your money on the purple one?"

"She's called the Purple Puma, and she's amazing!" Lapis almost had stars flashing in her eyes as she leaned forward, her hands gripping the metal bar separating the audience. Peridot also stepped forward, mimicking her actions, trying her best to see the purple wrestler that Lapis had been ecstatic over.

From what she could see, it was a woman, with a short body build but plenty of muscle and bulk. Her face was obscured in a shade of purple paint like the rest of her body, along with a black mask that accompanied her fiendish grin, and a perfectly fitted black leotard. Honestly, why would you wear so much paint if you're only wrestling? Just for the fame, probably. Or maybe she was hiding her real identity?

The woman rose to her feet as the match came to a beginning, taking in both cheers and boos alike with her arms spread and relishing in the attention. Peridot found it almost annoying how she was so arrogant, but alas, she was no better. The huge, pale lavender mane that had a mind of its own, moving with any simple flick of the wrestler's shoulders, almost captivated Peridot; and the "Purple Puma" cracked her knuckles, ready to charge into the slightly-bigger-than-her male competitor. 

Throughout the duration of the match, Peridot felt herself flinch at every single thing that went on, much to the irritation of Lapis. Peridot was not one for busy public places, especially a show or a wrestling match which Peridot could not figure out was staged or not. Nonetheless, she found herself keeping her eye on the Purple Puma, as she hadn't asked any more questions on why Lapis had bet her money on this particular person and decided to find out for herself. The wrestler was aggressive, almost everything in her attempts at pinning the other down were fueled with rage; it was almost funny, as Peridot did not prefer to engage in this kind of combat, the woman concealed in purple acted like it was everything she had trained for, everything she had dreamed of, and when she won her victory from pinfall at the end of the match, her cheers seem to hold more emotion than most people could see. Peridot was fond of over-analyzing things, so, of course, Peridot could see. The smile was not one of rage, yet one of genuine happiness as the excitement for her becoming a champion seemed to give her a lot of joy. A confidence boost, even.

"Home now?" Peridot begged. Lapis nodded, though explaining that she had to collect her prize money and if Peridot could wait by herself for as little as five minutes then that would be great. She received a snarl in response, but a reluctant agreement was given anyway. 

Peridot leaned her back against the icy wall that lay behind her, sending pleasurable shivers down her body as she was almost sweating from the amount of people and intense action in the arena. She rubbed at her head, hoping that a headache wasn't oncoming as spending this long outdoors was unusual for her, and the paranoia that cycled over and over in her head was exhausting to deal with. The coat in her arms was pulled tightly against her chest, hoping Lapis would return quickly, as she was starting to get uncomfortable in the now empty and narrow hallway. After a while, she decided that it would be best if she waited outside in case a wrestler decided to throw themselves at her for practice (which would never happen).

When she straightened up to leave, however, a loud noise echoed through the corridor, along with a door opening and closing. The shock caused Peridot to let go of the coat, but she came back into focus in time; catching it before it hit the ground, along with a relieved exhale. It was at this point where she realized her view had gotten... more colourful than it had been a second ago. In the corner of her eye was a neon green flash, and she groaned at the fact of her glasses having fallen off her head and whoever had just come out the door would have seen her. 

Just pick them up and speed walk away, Peridot thought, as she furrowed her brows when she turned on her heel and reached for them. 

Except they weren't there.

"Hey dude, drop something?"

A velvety voice filled the sudden emptiness of the building, and Peridot rose at the culprit. The short, masked, purple-painted woman looked back with a lousy smirk on her face. She held the glasses between her thumb and finger, and she jerked them towards the stunned blonde to take them. 

Peridot could only stare. Much closer, she could determine now that they were of the same height. The woman had a perfectly round nose, full lips, and her eyes, which Peridot could not see before, were of a shimmering royal blue; coloured contacts, like Peridot's, and some of the paint had worn off the woman (probably due to action and sweat) so it was clear to see that she had a dark skin tone. Peridot would even go as far to regard her as aesthetically pleasing. It was almost mesmerizing to analyze her features, as Peridot was not used to being so close to someone; she had every corner of Lapis memorized to the number of freckles dotting her pale skin, as she was the only person she saw in close proximity. The woman was still a wrestler, though, and Peridot had no time to waste with such shenanigans, so she simply snatched the glasses and turned her back, gulping down any words that wanted to come out.

"Uhh, a 'thank you' would have been nice." Peridot hunched her shoulders in a flinch as the voice came back again. Her legs stopped walking on their own, and she could feel the nerves like pins across her skin, goosebumps rising and beads of sweat forming. As if on auto-pilot, she ran another hand through her uncontrollable mop of hair, resting said hand upon the opposing arm, and looked over her shoulder at the advancing Purple Puma. Before she could move her chapped lips to speak, however, the woman began approaching her, and Peridot found herself back away with every step she took. She would not, ever, find herself wrapped up in a fight.

"I-I-- than--" Peridot stammered. Why wouldn't the words come out? Maybe it was the intimidating demeanor of Purple Puma, or maybe her own social awkwardness had won her over. Talking to strangers was never a good idea, and she stuttered quite often when talking to cashiers, however it wasn't like this. There was such a lump in her throat, that if she swallowed, she felt her voice box would slither down with it. "T-thanks. Thanks... for... my glasses... f-for picking up my glasses."

"That's a bit better." There was a coat of sweetness draped over the woman's voice. "You see the match? Pretty neat, huh? I totally had him from the start, right?! Oh, wait, were you on his side? I mean, like, that's cool. That's cool. I don't judge."

Peridot nodded her head, however, there were a lot of questions needing answered, and so she knew she'd have to open her mouth to speak. "I watched it."

The woman smiled a little, more hair than normal falling over her left eye as she cocked her head to the side. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

"I-- n-no." Peridot's voice was squeakier than normal. She had always grimaced at the sound of her when she spoke, as it sounded like she needed a glass of water all the time. It was raspy, and the only way Peridot could seem to describe it was 'as if chalk had a voice'.

"Well, hey, I do a lot of matches around here. If you were interested in this one, you could... maybe come to another?" 

Oh no. She wanted a response to this. Peridot had no way out.

"I mean, you caught me in a good mood. I could give you two half price tickets!"

Speak, Peridot. Speak. Confound it, just open your mouth!

"Well--"

"Look, man, it's okay if you don't want to. No hard feelings. You look like you're about to cry." Peridot let out a small laugh, obviously forced and shrouded in anxiety, and her grip on her glasses tightened as the grinning woman came even closer. She found herself backed against the wall as the wrestler passed her, as if she didn't want to come into contact with her; which was true. Touching people? No. Never. It would never even happen by accident, because Peridot had some sense. "See ya."

"B-bye, uh, Purple... Puma." Peridot croaked. There was a soft giggle from the woman, and some tension in Peridot's shoulders loosened.

"It's Amethyst."

Amethyst.

The wrestler-- er, Amethyst-- looked Peridot straight in the eye as she parted from her. "This is the part where you tell me your name."

"P-Peridot." 

"Alright, nice to meet you, P-Peridot." Amethyst mocked, and with that, she continued walking towards the other dressing rooms (Peridot assumed) to get out of her attire and probably knock down a few drinks in the city. Isn't that what everyone who wasn't Peridot did?

It seemed like an eternity before Lapis appeared, and only then did Peridot realize she was still holding onto the wall for dear life, her hands so sweaty they were sticking to it. She'd been breathing irregularly, going over the events of what happened, and by stars, her face was as red as a beet. She tried to keep her cool, but only worried that Lapis was staring straight through her facade. 

"W-what are you looking at?" 

"Uh... you? Are you coming home?"

"Y-yes! Yes. Yes. I am. Yes." Peridot walked ahead of Lapis, her head hung low and her walk stiffer than it usually was. Her coat dragged limply along the floor behind her.

"Look at all of this cash, though." Lapis whined behind her, the sound of paper slapping against itself following. Peridot didn't care. She just needed to get home, and forget any of this ever happened. Ever. This night never happened. This never happened. Amethyst never happened.

...Amethyst was a pretty name.

Chapter Text

Blog Update, 0422-2019;

Words simply cannot describe my overflowing anger at the events of last night, confound it. There has been a lack of activity, and I am deeply apologetic for such, but you can thank my inconsiderate and strangely very persuasive room mate. I have been taken advantage of. I have been given VALUE! What is such value, you may ask? Only as much as five dollars, because, apparently, that's all I'm worth! I was dragged from my comfort zone, FORCED into the outside world where any types of bacteria could brush against me, any trap I could fall into! Manholes are called manholes for a reason, I tell you, and not just to fit a human being though it - no, they will swallow me up if I ever step foot outside again! Not to mention, I was taken to the worst place imaginable, full of sweaty, loud... oh, gah, completely obnoxious people! The worst people ever to exist in Empire City! I had to sit in the front row of a WRESTLING match simply to accompany someone, and it was a wonder I didn't faint throughout the duration of the situation! I would have simply given her the five dollars if I'd have had a little more smarts and asked her about the price.

And the worst, oh, the WORST part, was that I had to engage in idle and ridiculous conversation with a complete stranger! A complete stranger! And a wrestler, at that! A big, thick, beefy lady, intimidating me, ready to attack me; I thought I wasn't getting out of there alive! Oh, the fear! The absolute horror surging through my veins. 

Peridot paused.

However... I am not one usually to admire someone's physique and appearance; but I do feel it is only polite to admit that she had very symmetrical proportions. On the chubby side, but it definitely suited her. Flawlessly round, and her face seemed to fit perfectly, everything being the right size. Following my blog, the reader should be aware of my liking to patterns and things that are pleasing to the eye, and after close analysis as she approached me, I did conclude that she was very appealing to the eye. If others may not notice, then so be it. They're wrong, though.

Alien#5XG, end update.

Posted.

She exhaled, having ripped her anger out of her chest and thrown it online with the use of her quick-typing fingers. Falling back onto her bed, her laptop slouching off her leg and lying on its side, she simply stared at the ceiling through her thick-rimmed glasses. Her intentions were originally to update the blog the night before; however, when she came home, all she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep away the worries and intruding thoughts in her head. What a terrible night. What a truly, terrible night. Ruffling her hair, eager to forget that any of the events ever happened, she swung her legs over the edge of the sheets, ready to grab some breakfast and retreat to her comfortable desk chair. The time was exactly 8:37AM, after waking up 7 minutes before. Lapis would almost definitely still be asleep. 

As Peridot rummaged through the cupboard that had been left open above the sink, trying to find a cereal bar of any kind, images of the night before continued to flash in her head. Especially... her. It was unusual for Peridot to think about someone at all, when usually her thoughts only consisted of problems, logic to solve those problems, and the next word to type. At the moment, it was carefully contemplating where the cereal bar in question might have ran off to (if it wasn't Lazuli's greedy mouth). Yet - every glimpse of purple in the room only brought that grinning face back to mind. Truly torturous to Peridot, which had her angrily snatching a protein shake out of the fridge and storming back into her man cave.

"Nice to meet you, P-Peridot." Peridot mocked Amethyst's voice quietly, her face of disgust as she took her laptop back into her arms and placed it onto her desk. "Honestly, her attitude was just revolting. Why am I obsessing over it? Why?"

Peridot's question was never answered. She honestly did not have any logic to this problem, for once. "She calls herself an Amethyst, when really, she's nothing but a lump sticking out of the earth." She navigated to another tab. "A clod."

She bit her lip, pushing away the smile that was trying to form at her own hilarious insults, ones that Amethyst would never hear. She decided to take the time out of her day to monitor her other social media accounts before spending the rest of it advancing in new games she had purchased. Already planning out her schedule in her head, the words moving on their own in her mind, she decided that Facebook would be a good start. The notifications were of the usual; some online friends liking her status, a comment here and there. Even a like on her profile picture from a person she spoke to occasionally when she still attended high school. The picture was nothing special; at first, she had only the peridot gem as her picture, as she had a dislike of showing her face online, however, her family were quick to complain, and she was forced to change it to the only picture of her face that she owned; a surprise picture taken by Lazuli. Unfortunately, yet as expected, people were able to find her easier this way. Good thing she didn't know any people well enough to want to contact her on it; Lapis was honestly the closest thing Peridot probably had to a friend. 

Before she had lost focus on the page, though, she noticed something else. A friend request.

Seriously? Peridot hovered the cursor over the small icon. She was hesitant to click; hesitant to see who it was. An image flashed in her mind, flooding the colour purple into her thoughts again. Something sparked in her chest, a strange, heavy feeling of anticipation. "Would it... really be...?"

Click.

Oh. No, it wasn't Amethyst. It was another very distant relative who had most likely only created their page, and were eager to make as many of these 'friends' as possible, and Peridot was on their list of adds. She felt... confused. Why was her first thought on who the person might have been... Amethyst? Her fingers crawled to the back of her neck, scratching at an itch as she accepted the request from yet another 'friend' she would not engage in conversation with.

Why would it have been her, anyway? Peridot's inner thoughts were in a row.You barely even said anything to each other. You are clearly obsessing over this because someone else in Empire City aside from Lazuli knows who you are. 

Yet, Peridot's identity was strangely something she held very dear to herself. She was used to remaining anonymous online; where people know her personality, yet not her face. And in the open, people knew her face, yet not her personality. "Maybe this Amethyst lady and myself have something in common." Peridot tapped her index finger lightly on the right click button. Amethyst was very into hiding her identity as the Purple Puma; so why did she find it so easy to tell Peridot her real name?

She was aimlessly scrolling through the feed for a while, running over things in her head. Look her up. No, don't look her up. You're creepy if you look her up. Seriously, don't look her up; but you want to look her up.

Before Peridot could manage to stop herself, the fingers were typing again, and out came the A, m, e, t... bingo.

Only so much as three results down was a familiar face, and without the paint concealing her features, she was indeed aesthetically pleasing, like Peridot had voiced before. It was not an opinion that the woman was attractive, merely a fact. Anyone who said otherwise was, obviously, wrong. She had already clicked on the profile as soon as it had appeared in the results. Peridot's eyes glazed over when she full-screened the profile picture. It was a so-called 'selfie' of Amethyst, and she had a tongue out, with an eye closed. Her hair was absolutely wild, and she was lying on the floor; on grass, actually; with the beautifully dyed lavender hair that faded into a gorgeous deep purple tangled and twisted around her head. Her make-up was perfectly symmetrical (as was her face). Peridot gulped down a growing lump in her throat, her cheeks burning from an unknown cause. She wanted to scroll down; to see what lurked in the rest of the page. Her hand lightly rested on her head, burning with a blush. She knew she wanted to send a request. But why? Just to see more of what made Amethyst's profile? Or did she want to... speak to her? These feelings were confusing - Peridot both did, and didn't, want to contact this lady, and even if she did, what would be the purpose of it? 

"Questions, questions, questions, questions, questions!" Peridot snapped at herself, downing a mouthful of her breakfast. "Why is my life an indecisive mess?!"

Looking past the denial, Peridot knew the truth was that she wanted to add the woman, and for her to speak first. 

"Maybe it's because of her appearance," Peridot reassured herself. "It would provoke a sense of pride within me if an attractive woman took the time out of her day to send a few words my way, wouldn't it...?"

Running out of excuses for herself, she had clicked the Add Friend button before she changed her mind, and immediately recoiled into her seat as feelings of paranoia and doubt washed over her body, giving a cold chill down her spine.

An open manga book caught her eye, lying lazily at the side of the desk beside yet another empty noodle pot. For the first time in her life, she didn't grab for it like it was her only possession. She didn't reach for it, she didn't want to pay attention to it, she didn't even double glance. All she could think about was the virtual profile that mocked her on her computer screen. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her head was buried almost entirely in her legs, sparing her eyes so they could peer over them to her notifications bar. It's quite early in the morning... maybe she isn't awake yet. Maybe she doesn't remember me. 

After a few minutes of waiting and wasting time, Peridot decided that she had better things to do than wait for the acceptance of her request (and drown herself in the intrusive thoughts that tried convincing her that she was being a creep). The following hours consisted of aggressive gaming, eating, and trying to concentrate on books while her mind wandered elsewhere. Back to the night before. The expressions that Amethyst showed. The gestures, the forwardness; why was it so easy to recall it all? As if it were the single defining moment of Peridot's life, where nothing else mattered but this? Was it because she had never encountered a stranger who wanted to talk to her before since she left school? 

Amethyst De Mayo has accepted your friend request.

"Oh my stars, oh my stars, oh my stars, she actually did it, I'm, I can't, I, I," Her fingers clutched her hair, the pieces reaching out between the gaps of her hands. Peridot made strange and panicky noises as she squirmed in her chair, unsure of what to do with herself. There was low background noise of JPOP, from the speakers that connected to her phone, but she had no motivation to figure out what song was filling the air. "What do I do?! What do I--"

> hey

Peridot almost fell out of her chair, her head too close to smashing off the desk before her as she scrambled forward to gape at the screen. Amethyst had sent the message first! Great! Now Peridot had nothing to worry about. Or else, she wished she had nothing to worry about. She exhaled deeply, trying to collect herself, as she typed back a simple reply.

> Hello.

Nerves simply gobbling her up, Peridot straightened herself, awaiting a reply. She didn't want to seem too needy, so she clicked off the chat box, as if she had better things to do and Amethyst would in turn not see the read receipt when she sent her next message.

> thanks for the add

> You're welcome.

Silence. Blunt replies, and then silence. Peridot had already mucked it up, she was talking too little, but what was she supposed to say?

> you never answered me last night btw. who were you cheering for at the match?

It seemed Amethyst was comfortable being forward like this with people when messaging them online. Peridot hadn't realized before, but as she was typing a response, her hands were trembling. 

> Oh.

Peridot had already hit enter, which pressured her to type more.

> I, uh, well, to be honest, I only went with my room mate to save her from going alone. However, she did support you.

> you use a lot of commas

She felt a small smile curve at the corners of her lips. It turned into a bashful grin as she scratched at her head before responding.

> Thanks. I guess. It's hard not. To use them. When typing out. Long sentences.

> haha, okay, i get it. you're funny :))

"She thinks I'm funny..." Peridot reminded herself as if she didn't believe it. She felt her heart rate grow in speed at the compliment. "Nobody has ever said that I'm funny."

Her hands were clenched loosely above the keyboard, trying to determine what to respond with. She was flustered, and flattered, and utterly clueless on where to go from here. She analyzed the message thoroughly, noticing the emoticon Amethyst used. She was well aware of these combinations of symbols that people used to express themselves, but Peridot chose not to use them herself.

> Thanks. Congratulations for your victory last night.

> omg ty i just, i didnt know if i would because the guy i was up against was super good and id seen him in a match before im actually a fan of him, i was so ecstatic that i won i felt like i was gonna cry!

Peridot found Amethyst's comfort for talking to strangers almost inspirational. On a regular day, Peridot herself would not even wish to converse with a stranger, but Amethyst had been making the moves which encouraged Peridot to participate. 

> I could tell. You seemed very happy.

To Peridot's amazement, the duo swiftly were sending messages back and forth for the next half hour. They had migrated from the topic of the wrestling match to why Amethyst got into wrestling (liked it since young, followed her fathers footsteps, likes to feel powerful) to Amethyst becoming apologetic for startling and confronting Peridot, which caused Peridot to reluctantly inform the girl about her awkwardness and lack of social interaction in general. 

> it was somehow obvious that you didnt get out much tbh haha

Peridot groaned a little. Of course it was obvious.

After a few more minutes of aimless chatter (and though Peridot was in full denial, she couldn't help but enjoy conversing with someone for a change), Amethyst unfortunately had to explain that she had work in an hour and needed to start getting ready.

> Okay. Have fun at work. 

"Have fun at work?! Why did I say that? Nobody has fun at work!"

> hahaha, thanks, i'll try!

"Oh, alright, she took that well."

And although Amethyst had presumably logged off to start going about her daily routine, Peridot twiddled her thumbs as if waiting for her to return immediately, overjoyed that her workplace had suddenly exploded and they would talk some more. Of course, this wouldn't happen; but the blonde haired mess got too lost in her daydreams to care about real life possibilities.

Chapter Text

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Peridot launched her anger at the television screen displaying the monstrosity before her. Making numerous, furious noises of argument, she watched as two characters leaned in for a kiss. "Why?! This is stupid! Outrageous! They're with the incorrect person... my... my notes! My notes prove otherwise! W-where are they..."

She scrambled, wrapped up in a mess of frustration, to rummage through the pile of papers that were lying on her desk, on her bed, on the floor, over the chair, anywhere. Camp Pining Hearts was one program that Peridot could never miss. Every morning there was a new episode, she would be awake exactly five minutes before it started so she wouldn't have to wait, and she would watch it in bed. Breakfast was delayed for a good cause.

There was a problem with Peridot as she watched these kinds of programs, though, and that was her stubborn belief that she was always right - so when two characters she hadn't placed together began moving towards each other for romantic intent, it caused a malfunction in her head. Percy was meant to be with Pierre. Not Paulette. There was no argument. Peridot was right. "Absurd!"

"Stop screaming, God!" Lazuli's voice was muffled through the tightly shut door of Peridot's room. She had probably woken her up, actually; but no matter. That wasn't the issue right now.

"Don't you understand?! Years of my life I've invested in this show, and they dare air this... this... stupidity! This is the worst day of my life!"

"Oh, boo-hoo." The blue-haired grouch sounded further away, showing complete disinterest in Peridot's frantic cries. It only raged Peridot further that Lazuli had no care about it, and although Peridot wouldn't allow herself to become angered by Lapis on a usual day, she was already buried in a heap of distress. Collapsing onto the bed behind her, she still clutched some of the pieces of paper that had seemingly meaningless information scrawled in byro pen between her fingers. This is definitely going on my blog.

Pop.

Peridot's laptop made a familiar sound. Her heart skipped a beat as she immediately had the lid flipped open fully to reveal a message on Facebook.

Who else could it be? Of course, it was Amethyst.

> DUDE DID YOU SEE

Peridot and Amethyst had been sending casual messages back and forth to each other for a week or two, now, and Peridot still got the butterflies when Amethyst had went out of her way to send one. She believed that day when they first messaged each other would be the end of it, and they would go on with their daily lives, but, no; Amethyst had messaged Peridot every day after that. Peridot never began the conversation, though - she wasn't ready for something like that. She wasn't ready to even have a regular routine of talking to someone at all, for it had been years since she'd gotten herself into such a scenario. She wouldn't even call Amethyst a 'friend' yet; however, it did slip somehow that Peridot was a fan of Camp Pining Hearts, and Amethyst had swiftly gotten into a rant about events within the show. At least they had one thing in common.

Peridot cracked her knuckles and, sucking in a deep inhale, began to type back.

> You mean CPH? Yes. I did. Honestly, I have to say, it was... shocking.

She had to admit, she refrained from expressing a lot of emotion deliberately over digital messaging. She didn't want to... scare Amethyst off. And she didn't understand why she didn't want to scare Amethyst off. Peridot didn't rely on social interaction to live; in fact, she would much rather do without it. With Amethyst, it was... different. It was strange. It was unusual.

> PERCY AND PAULETTE THOUGH LIKE WHAT THE ACTUAL. LIKE. I DONT UNDERSTAND

> WHY PAULETTE? WHY NOT SOMEONE ELSE

> PAULETTE IS A PSYCHO

> WHY PAULETTE

Peridot found it somewhat amusing that Amethyst was into sending multiple messages at once instead of keeping it clean and sending the one message. There were small times where Peridot would have to sit and wait until she was certain Amethyst was done, only to be interrupted as she was typing by another message. Though, this time, it sparked a fire in Peridot's mind. Although she had a blog, nobody would talk to her about the pairings she wished would become official in the show, so to have someone like the same pairing as her almost made her lose her cool.

> I know! I don't get it either. Percy and Pierre are much more suited for each other.

The big moment was coming; she would either have offended Amethyst by mentioning another pair she doesn't like, or have excited Amethyst as they find something new in common!

> who's pierre

Oh, er, well, that counts.

> He has only appeared in a few episodes, but if you analyse his personality well enough, he and Percy are the most compatible in the entire show. They would have the best relationship.

> what you like them together just because they'd fit even though they've barely even spoken

> Yes.

> mind if i dish out an opinion on that dude?? or

> Go ahead.

> sorry if this seems really mean or anything

> I don't mind. 

Peridot adjusted her glasses as she read Amethyst's reply.

> ok so that's great and all but like, sometimes you don't need to match perfectly with someone to love them, like, i don't like paulette and percy because paulette needs to sort her ass out but love isn't about being perfect for each other, it's just about... loving each other in my opinion??? am i saying this right? 

She only replied with the truth;

> I don't understand.

It took a little longer than usual for Amethyst to reply.

> thats ok look it doesn't matter 

> Did I anger you?

Peridot felt her heart jump to her throat. Her fingers began to shake again, and her breathing was becoming shallow. Did I anger her? Is she angry at me? Did I say something wrong? The freckled introvert realized at this point that she was not used to managing a person's feelings. It was completely alien to her.

> no no! you're good man

Peridot outstretched her fingers to respond, but stopped.

> so listen, i was wondering like its a nice day and im off work and none of my friends are free, did you wanna maybe hang out?? meet up and get ice cream or something i dont know

Peridot's body had completely locked up; she froze. She ran over the message over and over, as if there was something between the lines, something she was missing, something that meant the opposite of what was said. Peridot tugged at her hair in panic.

"W... w... w... what?!" Peridot glanced at her window, then back to the laptop screen before her as if Amethyst was watching. "Outside?! M-me?! Go o-outside?! Talk to someone in person?! Go outside?! Not be inside?! W-what?!"

She didn't know what to do. Aside from Lazuli, nobody had ever asked her to go out - no - 'hang out', before. What would she wear? What would they do? What if they don't have anything to talk about and it gets awkward? What if it gets awkward as soon as they see each other? What if they don't recognize each other? What if this isn't the real Amethyst and it's a catfish using Amethyst's details to try and get Peridot to meet up with them? Flashbacks of their first meeting came rolling into her mind, the anxiety, the cold wall soaked in Peridot's sweat, everything. 

> Really?

Peridot's fingers had a mind of their own as they instantly typed out the response. It was a true expression; Amethyst wanted to hang out with me? Though Peridot was the one with the famous blog, it was Amethyst who seemed to come off as the celebrity. 

> yeah! dude it'll be fun we can eat stuff and walk around and eat more stuff and like, chill out

"I... I guess it couldn't hurt, right? I mean, worst comes to worst, I hide in my man cave again for the rest of my life, which was already the plan." Peridot scratched at her cheek as she pondered the possible outcomes of meeting up with the beautiful woman on the other side of the screen. Despite having this long-lasting resentment for the outside world, she didn't know why Amethyst was one to change her mind. She could always type no - actually, she SHOULD type no - but something was... stopping her. "I mean, she's quite a forward person, I bet all I'd have to do is sit and listen... and I've been outside before, and although it's absolutely terrible, it's only one day... and I don't know how to say no to someone who isn't Lazuli, anyway..." Peridot's trembling fingers hovered over the keys. She had learnt to type without looking at the keyboard years ago, but for some reason, she needed to look at each letter carefully before pressing it.

> Okay, where should we meet?

> just meet at the wrestling place and we'll see what happens, be there as soon as you can because i am hella bored ok

> I'll see you there.

> see ya soon!

Peridot closed her laptop lid calmly.

And screamed.

"What have I just agreed to?!" She had to take a minute to contain herself. Her worries were off the charts, and she needed a drink of water. Gulping down a mouthful from the bottle lying on its side from the floor, she caught a glimpse of her messy self in the mirror, instantly remembering the situation at hand. "I - I need to get ready! I can't even remember the way to that stupid place! Oh, confound it! Confound it all!" 

Her rushing only made her jab herself in the eye accidentally as she tried to place her contacts in steadily, as well as get washed, changed, and have her hair look presentable for the outside world. The only thing left in the way was... Lapis. As Peridot entered the hallway, there was a low hum of a television, so Lapis was definitely in the living room - right in front of the door. Growling under her breath, Peridot swiftly made her way to her shoes kicked lazily beside the coats, pulling on the boots in a hurried fashion.

"And where are you going?" Lazuli's dark tone creeped up on Peridot like a spider. She turned, coughed, and answered simply.

"Out."

"We're not out of food yet, you don't need to go out." She held the remote in her frail, bony hand, waiting to see if the program currently showing was worth staying on the channel or not. 

"I'm... I'm seeing someone."

Lapis almost kicked the coffee table onto its side as she bounced upright, the remote falling out of her grip in the shock and crashing onto the floor. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm meeting up with someone." Peridot spoke, almost a whisper as she prepared for the mocking from Lazuli.

"You?! You," Lapis snorted back some laughter. "You're going on a date?!"

"I-i-it's not a date!" Peridot could feel her face flush immediately, and there was no hiding it; although her skin was of a light olive shade, her cheeks could still emit a bashful glow, unfortunately. "I swear! I'm just seeing someone!"

"Uh-huh, yeah, whatever you say!" Lazuli grinned. Peridot grumbled as she threw on a loose, fern-coloured jacket, and slammed the door behind her, beginning the journey to her not-a-date with Amethyst.

"Oh my stars, what if she doesn't show up?" Peridot could see that run-down, red-bricked building from a mile away, and yet, nobody lingered around it. Peridot knew that the area would only get busy around the evening time, however, the deserted picture before her had her chest heavy. No Amethyst. Her feet carried her forward, as close as she could get before feeling the unsettling churn in her stomach. Her back pressed against a casino wall - another deserted area that only picked up business at nightfall in the glorious Empire City - and shoved her hands deep into her pockets, as if burying the anxiety trying to scream within. "I can't believe - I - I bet she won't even show up."

The bustling people who passed Peridot time to time made her shake and try to sink into the wall. "Why did I agree to this?"

"Agree to what?"

The same sugar-coated voice sounded almost too close to Peridot's ear, making her jump and stumble backwards - something she seemed to do too often nowadays.

"H-hello! I'm P-- y-you know my name. It is nice to meet you - again. Nice to meet you again. Sorry." It all came out in one breath, and throughout the duration, Peridot carefully analyzed the situation - or, the person - in front of her. Amethyst's hair, for starters, was neater than the first night they met, probably because she hadn't just been performing the absurd 'sport' of wrestling. Her lips were still as plump and her eyes sparkled with that royal blue shade in contacts; almost even prettier now that they were reflecting off non-artificial lighting. Her skin was a deep brown, finally rid of all that paint. Peridot gulped, hoping Amethyst didn't notice her eyes scanning her over. Amethyst's grip got a little tighter on the shoulder bag thrown over her thin, white tank. 

"Yeah, I know ya. P-Peridot." Amethyst smiled, and Peridot could see her teeth were perfectly aligned. 

"A-any chance of that joke getting old?" Peridot bit her lip, attempting humour for the first time in front of a complete stranger. To her amazement, Amethyst gave a low, brief, and throaty laugh in response.

"Probably not." 

The quickening pace of Peridot's heart was impossible to ignore, and she almost thought Amethyst herself could hear it through her chest. She felt as if she was about to faint - what now? What does she say now? What was the next step?

"Where did you wanna hang out, then? As long as there's food there, then I'm all good, homegirl."

Homegirl?

"I-I don't know. To be honest, I'm not too knowledgeable on Empire City. I don't..." Peridot trailed off, stopping herself from revealing a painful and embarrassing truth. I don't go outside.

"Don't what?" 

"Nothing, nevermind." Peridot turned, perhaps to run her eyes over the street and pick a place to go.

"No, tell me! C'mon!" Amethyst ended with a laugh, pushing on Peridot's shoulder, which made the poor blonde jump and let out a surprised 'gyah!' before taking a step back (again). "Oh, uh, I'm sorry dude... guess you're not the touchy type."

"I... suppose not. I'm s-sorry." This is a disaster. I knew it would all go to heck. Why did I think this would work?

"Hey, no biggie, I've learnt something about you already, right? That's the whole point of this! Let's just go for a walk, and see where things take us. You dig?"

"Yes!" Peridot replied, too quickly. "I mean - yeah. Sure. Okay." She could feel her face getting hot, and before Amethyst could see, had turned her head away. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip as she exhaled, and Amethyst's hair brushed Peridot's scrunched up, pointy nose as she made her way to the other direction.

"This way. There's a park down here... uh, I think. That's a chill place to start." She ran a hand through her eye-catching, extremely bright lavender hair; reminding Peridot of her own habit of doing the same thing. "I'm sick of looking at this place." She gestured to the building, to which Peridot swiftly agreed (despite this only being her second time). 

Peridot noticed in the small silence that ensued as they continued on their way that they had very different walks. Amethyst took long strides, her body seemed free, and loose, as if she had no worries or tensions holding her back - she had a bounce in her step and her face was resting as a smile; though Peridot's stride was short, her body stiff, wary of anything and everything. Yes, very different indeed. It was intriguing to see two different types of personalities portrayed in only a simple action that humans do every day.

"So," Peridot began, clearing her throat, and taking a deep breath. Just say anything. "A question that has p-plagued me for a while, is why you paint yourself for your matches."

"Oh, it's my persona!" Amethyst was more than eager to answer questions about wrestling, not to Peridot's surprise. "Purple Puma is purple, obviously, so it just makes sense that I go all out and look my best. It's how people know me. It's an identity." Her nonchalant behaviour about it fascinated Peridot. Having a separate identity usually means that you are unhappy with the one you currently hold, right? Or was that just nonsense that she had been fed from television?

"You sweat - a lot. Most of it comes off by the time you're finished. T-there's no reason for it, right? Other than to hide your identity and--"

"--to be really cool?" Amethyst whipped a good handful of hair over her shoulder and away from her face, probably to be a little cooler as the sun was scorching. "Pretty much."

"Interesting." Peridot's gaze lingered on Amethyst for a little too long. Accidentally catching the eye of the attractive woman, Peridot, as flustered as usual, shifted her stare to straight ahead, and sure enough, a park littered with trees, benches and little dirt-paths was visible at the bottom of the high road they were walking on. Peridot decided to switch the conversation topic so as not to further interrogate Amethyst on her lifestyle. "Oh, l-look, you were right. Is that the park you were thinking of?"

"Heck yeah, I was right! That's it! Aw, it looks so nice. We'll take a little tour around, have you been here before? Eh, it doesn't matter, it's still a nice place to hang out." Amethyst's pace was speeding up a little. "Come on, Peri! I wonder if they sell snacks down here..."

Peri... Peri... Peri...

She... she gave me a nickname.

Peridot couldn't hide it as the biggest, silliest smile stretched across her flushing cheeks, and she hurried along after Amethyst.

Chapter Text

"Hello there!" A young, female voice had spoken, much to Peridot's surprise as she flinched. "Would you like to try some coconut water?"

Peridot didn't even look back before she mumbled, "N-no thanks, we're--"

"Is it free?" Amethyst had a completely different idea, as she stopped walking to analyze the stall. There were small, dainty cartons with endearing patterns decorating them, and little plastic cups of what Peridot assumed had the water in them.

"Yes, absolutely!"

"Then, here we go!" Amethyst had necked the glass before anyone could change their minds. The woman running the stall seemed a little exhausted; who knows how long she had been standing here, being ignored by the people of Empire City as they went about their day in the magnificent park they had just stepped into. All kinds of trees were growing tall, providing some well-deserved shade to by-passers, and the path they were walking along was leading to an extremely open area littered with people and animals alike. Dogs ran excitedly, hopping over picnics; kids flew their kites; couples sat on dates. Dates.

As Amethyst made casual chat with the woman at the stall (it seemed that Amethyst couldn't help but be a friend to anyone), Peridot let herself wonder, again, a question that had weighed down her thoughts since they began their walk. Is this a date? No... it couldn't be. It's just two people, hanging out with each other... getting to know each other... probably going to eat some sort of food, soon... and one of them blushes at anything the other does. Peridot swallowed a lump in her throat as Amethyst caught her eye and quickly waved off the dark-skinned girl (her name badge reading 'Connie', Peridot observed) so they could continue on with their... their... oh, stars. 

I don't even have... 'feelings' for Amethyst. Although she may be attractive, we've only been speaking for a short amount of time, and... and this is the first time we've spent time together that wasn't a first awkward encounter... are we even friends? Amethyst seems to warm up to people fairly quickly, so this may be normal for her, but going outside with anyone is entirely absurd for me. So why do I find it difficult to tell her what I really am? An introvert who locks herself indoors?

"Uh, dude, you okay?" Amethyst was visibly trying to hold back laughter as she eyed Peridot. "You've been staring into space for the past minute or so."

"Oh! I-I'm fine! Yes, absolutely fine. Yes. I'm fine." Peridot exhaled as she finished, knowing immediately that Amethyst would start laughing again (and so she did), to Peridot's embarrassment. When she finally died down, they'd reached the grassy area where they were planning to rest and... well, talk, Peridot assumed. 

"Do you mind finding a space for us to sit while I get us some ice-cream from the truck?" Amethyst threw her bag at Peridot, to which Peridot wished she'd caught, but instead had completely missed and watched in defeat as it flopped to the floor.

"U-uh, sure, okay," Peridot replied as she scrambled to pick it up. She noticed a smile on Amethyst's cheeks and felt her own grow hot.

"What flavour do you want?"

"Any. I'll get what you get." Peridot was scanning the area for a place to sit, which was moderately far away from other people. She didn't want to be too near anybody. In fact, even trying to walk past people to get to the spot was going to be a challenge for Peridot whether she liked it or not. Amethyst noted that she'd be right back, and Peridot set off in the other direction. The sun beat down, and to avoid sweating excessively, Peridot felt it best to remove her jacket, swinging it over her shoulder. 

She'd sat almost ten minutes (after continuously checking her watch) before she could see Amethyst's outline in the distance. Peridot was too awkward to shout, or wave, so she tried to make eye contact with the confused woman who was seeking her; yet to no avail. Peridot began to shake as she lifted a hand and attempted to wave her down; she noticed some eyes look her way, and she began to blush. People are looking at me. Stop looking at me. To her visible relief, Amethyst spotted her, and jogged towards Peridot after giving a wide smile. Peridot noticed how her body moved when she ran, and immediately forced herself to stop looking for fear of becoming even redder than she'd already gotten that day. 

"I hope you like chocolate ice-cream with chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate flake, my dude." 

"S-something tells me you're a fan of chocolate." Even the cone had been dipped in chocolate. Despite the obvious over-usage of the flavour chocolate, it still looked very sweet and delicious. Peridot didn't tend to eat ice-cream much, and so when she gave a lick to the frozen treat, her body almost collapsed in shivers.

"So, P-Peridot, tell me about yourself." Amethyst had devoured half of her own cone of ice-cream already, probably while she was looking for Peridot among the sea of grass and humans. 

"There's not much to tell." The truth was told. There was not much to Peridot. "You already know what my favourite TV Show is, so."

"Don't you like anything else? Do anything? What about your friends, and your family?"

"W-well, I mean, I run a blog." Peridot found this the only answer appropriate. "And I... I guess I watch a lot of anime. I read a lot of manga."

"Woah, you'd like my little brother. He loves all that junk." Amethyst licked her ice-cream again, and whipped her bright lavender fringe out of her eye. "Anima, mango, er, what's it called?"

Peridot gave a genuine laugh, catching Amethyst's attention. "Anime, and manga. Yeah, I've been interested in it for years now. I very much like the morals and messages they convey in their episodes. I find the situations humorous, the plots fascinating, and the characters unique and individual; not like some cartoons displayed nowadays where they all may as well be a piece of cardboard." She coughed out her nerves after she'd finished. "S-sorry, I didn't m-mean to ramble."

"Don't worry about it. I think I caught a glimpse of the real you, there." Amethyst's voice was softer, and she seemed a lot more attentive to Peridot than she had before. Of course, this only made Peridot flustered and stammer like a babbling idiot.

"I-I-I, w-well," Another cough; nervous habit. "What other things are you into, then?"

"Music, really." Amethyst finished her dessert. "I like gardening with the family, too. I used to skate. And, obviously, you know about my passion for wrestling. I kinda wish I could get somewhere with it, like, as a career, but right now I just work in a convenience store. You got a job?"

"N-no, I don't have one." Peridot almost gagged at the thought of working. She already got an allowance, why would she bother getting a job when she can spend her time at home doing things she actually wanted to do?

"Wow, an adult without a job, I never thought I'd see the day!" Amethyst had clearly went to nudge Peridot again, but remembered her personal space issues, and lowered her hand again, pretending she didn't do anything. Peridot noticed.

"I don't need one." The ice-cream was melting down Peridot's fingers now, and she tried to lick it off before it hardened into a sticky mess. She realised she was looking unattractive, though she cared about hygiene a lot more than her appearance. 

"You don't need money?"

"I get money from my parents."

"Ahhh, a rich kid!" Amethyst grinned. "Lend me a buck?"

"No?"

"C'monnn!"

"N-no!"

"Just a dollar!" The girl was clearly messing around as she was giggling and bouncing with excitement from the teasing, but Peridot let out her temper quicker than she could stop herself.

"NO! Gyah, why are you so--"

Amethyst's smile was rapidly vanishing, her eyebrows raised and her laughter cut short. Her voice wasn't shaky, but it wasn't far off it. "So what?"

Oh, Peridot, you've done it now. Why can't you control your random outbursts? Now, she'll hate you. Say something, something that will make her smile! Confound it, say anything!

"...Pretty?"

Anything except for that!

As much as Peridot inhaled, she couldn't suck the words out of the air and back into her mouth. They were already out there, floating around, waiting for an answer. It was just the first thing that came to her mind, and she had to resist smacking herself in the face for being an imbecile. When she finally managed to force her eyes to look at the woman she had just generously complimented, there was a very satisfied smile on her face and even a hint of nervousness.

"Oh!" Her nerves quickly vanished as she gave a smirk Peridot's way. She was really in for it now. "Flirting with me? I didn't realize this was a date."

"Oh, my stars..." Peridot muttered through her teeth as Amethyst laughed so hard she practically fell onto her stomach beside the extremely bright red girl. Her hand went running through her hair, as usual, with a few extra scratches as she tried to escape the nervous tension she was feeling. Amethyst was enjoying it, though, so Peridot couldn't help but smile. "It's not a date."

"I know, I know, I'm teasing ya," She rested her chin upon her knuckles and looked up to Peridot. "So, do you really think I'm pretty?"

Peridot swallowed before answering. "Y-you... a-are... aesthetically pleasing."

"Aesthetically pleasing." Amethyst imitated Peridot's vocabulary; and even her voice, as she'd pinched her nose to give a nasally and squeaky feel to her words. 

"I-I do not sound like that!" Peridot only disproved her own opinion as her voice was extra nasally and extra squeaky in her cry. She still hated her voice, and she didn't need Amethyst to copy it. 

"I do not sound like that!" Amethyst echoed.

"You sure do like mockery, don't you?"

"I mean, I dunno!" She'd rolled over to lie on the grass, peering up at the clouds and locking her fingers together over her stomach. Peridot still sat in the stiff cross-legged position she started off with. "I've never met anyone who talks like you. It's fun to copy. I think I'm gonna call it, "peri-phrasing". Eh? See what I did there?"

"Very funny." Peridot squinted down to Amethyst, who was stretching a cheesy smile across her face in an attempt to appeal. 

They continued their mindless banter and chit chat, and eventually, clouds rolled over the sun and began to cast shade across the city. The puffy white clouds Peridot was expecting actually appeared gloomy and dark, and it was apparent to many people that it was likely to rain any moment as picnics were packed away and kites were pulled down. "Oh, looks like the weather is about to change."

"Damn, I really didn't think it was gonna rain today." 

They got themselves together and made way for the exit before it began to pour down. They passed the coconut water girl, Connie, who was worriedly watching the clouds. Amethyst had another swig and persuaded Peridot to try some, to which she swallowed with a disgusted expression and shook her head in regret; much to the joy of Amethyst who laughed it off and gave Peridot some regular water from her bag. 

"D-Did you have a nice time today?" Peridot asked, which was quickly followed by a low crack of thunder in the distance. Small droplets were beginning to fall and dot across the pavement. 

"Yeah, I had a nice time! We should do it again. You and I are really different, and I like that." Amethyst ruffled her hair as she bore a somewhat bashful smile. Peridot smiled back in relief. They reached a crossroads, which was where they parted ways to go home. "I'll message you when I get home. I think there's a video I found really funny that I think you might like."

"Alright, I look forward to it."

The rain got heavier and Amethyst squeaked. "Right, gotta dash. Seeya, Peri!"

"Goodbye."

She watched Amethyst run through the rain, soaking her through as she avoided oncoming people doing the same thing. Any other day, Peridot would have hissed and immediately broke into a sprint for home if even a drop of rain landed on her, but as she became drenched she found herself frozen in place, stuck to the ground, almost in disbelief as Amethyst became only a spec before she turned a corner, out of sight.

Chapter Text

"I... I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

It had been a week since their first, er, not-a-date. Peridot had taken to calling it a simple meet-up. A play date. Just two gals being pals. They'd continued their usual chit-chat through Facebook, reminiscing about their days, Amethyst complaining about work, Peridot relaying her notes on Pierre and Percy to Amethyst (who still couldn't really put her finger on who exactly Pierre was without having to use Google). It was a routine that Peridot had become quickly adjusted to. Waking up at 8:30AM, brushing her teeth, turning on her computer... and messaging Amethyst. Yes, first thing in the morning, Peridot would send a message, usually of the first thing that came to her head. For someone who absolutely despised human contact, no matter which way it came, she really enjoyed talking to the girl at the other side of the screen. A lot.

"She just never told me."

"You mean you didn't ask." Lapis threw her book down to her lap and her arms crossed in a single motion. Peridot let a confused smile wash over her face as she continued her attempt at the pancake mix, following a recipe that you-know-who had sent to her not too long ago. 

"O-Okay, so I don't know if she's single. Why should I? And why is it bothering you so much, Lazuli?" The blonde-haired bedhead was focused on pouring the mix carefully into the pan, no mess made. Cleaning was one of Peridot's least favourite chores.

"You guys talk, like, every day. Every day. More than friends probably do..." Lapis trailed off. Peridot raised an eyebrow, tearing her eyes away from the bubbling batter in the pan to a groggy looking Lazuli, who was now nursing a half-empty coffee cup in her hands. It was unusually early for her housemate to be awake to begin with. Surely she wasn't up at this hour to read a book of all things. Lapis met eyes with Peridot over the kitchen counter, who still had a spatula raised in case the pancake began to crawl out of the pan while her back was turned.

"Do you think her and I are... more?" Peridot almost whispered the last word, but she kept an inquisitive tone to her voice nonetheless. She adjusted her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, trying to analyze the facial expressions of the other.

"Oh come on, Peridot." Lapis' change of tone almost shocked her. "You're making conversation with me at 9 in the morning of all things, and do you remember how this conversation started? 'Oh my gosh, Lazuli, Amethyst said this really funny thing last night!'."

"I don't understand." Peridot flipped the pancake, her heart starting to quicken. She knew where this was going.

"It's starting to tick me off how deep you're buried in denial."

"Of?"

"Of the fact you have a crush on Ameth--"

"I DO NOT!" Peridot swung around, almost knocking the boiling hot pan onto the floor. Her face was already flushing hot red, yet she made every ounce of her mind ignore the fact. Lapis immediately burst into a throaty laughter, leaning forward to rest her cup on the coffee table. "I'm so glad I amuse you." Peridot bit her lip in a rush of rage as she threw the pancake onto a plate, pouring the batter in for another. "Don't think you're getting any of these."

"Aw, what!"

Triumphantly, Peridot made the rest of her stack and headed to her room, leaving behind a hungry, groaning Lazuli to make her own breakfast. Peridot never usually made an effort for breakfast, so she was already proud of having put in the time to make a presumably delicious one. She loaded up her laptop, and began to type.

Blog update, 0501-2019.

Good morning, hungry organisms! Why do I begin with this otherworldly statement? Because, my loyal followers, I am in an exceptional mood on this fine morning. I have made pancakes! That's right! It's not all doritos and mountain dew in this den - although that's still a harmful stereotype, and you should all be ashamed. 

Peridot chuckled at herself; why must she be so hilarious? Both a blessing and a curse.

I will attach the link below for the recipe, although I assume most people will know how to make them already. So I am here to deliver a message from the goblins living within my stomach; eat some pancakes today. It is a good day. 

Alien#5XG, end update.

Peridot's blog had become somewhat of a treasure to her. She had gained a decent following over the years - although that may appear as somewhat of an understatement. She updated it constantly with gaming news, videos, and text posts like so. She had been contacted before about selling merchandise, though she always refused; it was too risky to show her identity to the world. She preferred it this way, where nobody knew who she really was. People had asked before, but they never received; rumours surfaced time and time again of people suspecting another famous identity on the web to be her in disguise, yet were always disproven. Even Lazuli didn't know the blog, she just knew it existed somewhere, and never cared enough to search for it. Peridot's blog was regarded as famous over the web. She didn't let it get to her head (too much).

The comments were rolling in quickly, as per usual, yet one in particular stood out to her, making her stomach churn even with the pancakes coated in lemon and sugar having just been gorged.

> No update on A today?

Peridot talked about Amethyst on her blog a regular amount - and it had indeed caught the attention of her readers, for whatever reason. She had nicknamed her 'A', in order to keep her anonymity. 

Another comment replied within seconds.

> I KNOWWW JUST GIVE US AN UPDATE OR SOMETHING LET MY SHIP SAIL

Ship. Peridot knew what that meant. Her cheeks started to heat up yet again, and she clicked off the page to try and avoid seeing more comments of the same. It happened a lot - people were even creating their own designs of 5XG and A together. Peridot tried not to notice, but she did. And it drove her crazy.

"Romance? Confound it." She pushed the chair away from the desk and buried her face into her hands. Was she romantically interested in Amethyst? How could one tell? Like a natural nerd, she had googled before about the side effects of love and how to know when you were infatuated with others, but she never paid much mind - it was only something to laugh at. "I have no need for such feelings." She reassured herself. She wished to survive without love, without having to think about it - never mind having a mindless crush to deal with. It wasn't something that contributed in any way to her life, or at least, that was her logic.

She was fair on herself. Amethyst was the first actual friend she was able to make in years. It didn't seem strange at all to Peridot that she was thinking about her constantly, about the way she smiled on the day they were together, how her laughter was almost like a song, how her eyes reflected the sunlight beautifully like forgotten crystals begging to be discovered - oh, stars.

"Oh no." She stumbled to the bathroom and locked the door. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Oh no. No." She replaced her glasses with contacts, without the usual fumbling around this time - she had entered a manic episode. Splashing freezing water onto her face to snap her out of whatever thoughts were chaining her to the walls of her mind, she shook her head in embarrassment. She did not like Amethyst. It was only normal to recognize when someone looked aesthetically pleasing, wasn't it?

"Aesthetically pleasing." Peridot mouthed to herself in the mirror, remembering the way Amethyst had mocked her only a week prior. Why could she remember the day so vividly?

Her room went off in the other room. She took a deep breath, and headed toward the sound. It was the girl who'd been plaguing her mind.

> morning!! did u sleep well?

> I did, very much so. I can't remember the dreams I had, as always, so please don't ask.

> hahaha well id tell u about mine but i actually couldnt get to sleep very well

> Why not?

Peridot herself could see how mind-numbingly boring she was over text. It actually made her not want to speak, if not for the fact it was Amethyst.

> just my bro having an all-night gaming sesh, something about a 24 hour challenge u g h

> but hey i was wondering, i was gonna go by myself but i figured i wanted to hang with u again,, do u wanna go get coffee?

Twang. Peridot's heart raged against her chest and her breath hitched. Another meet-up. She re-read the message, over and over again, trying to find something between the lines that didn't exist. No, it was real. She wanted to see Peridot again. Both panicking and ecstatic, she grinned and typed out her reply.

> That sounds great.

It sounds absolutely fantastic. She recorded the address of the place on Google maps - after all, Peridot didn't know anywhere in the city except for the grocery store and the wrestling arena - and got ready to head out; but not before checking something first. She tapped on Amethyst's icon, her happy-go-lucky looking profile picture still making the corners of Peridot's mouth twitch as if Amethyst was really sticking her tongue out at her. She checked the tab where Amethyst's details would be.

No relationships to show.

Before she left the apartment complex, she'd ran into the godforsaken Jasper, Lazuli's friend-but-not-friend, which would explain why she was awake so early this morning. It took everything in her body not to let seeing Jasper's stupid face ruin her day. Peridot wrapped her olive trench coat around her even tighter as she made her way through the intertwining streets of the city's alleyways. It was a chilly day, the wind running straight through her slim physique, and she spotted the dainty-looking cafe in the distance hiding behind some blooming trees. It actually looked rather endearing; maybe she could take a picture for her blog? No, no, then it would point out that she lives in Empire City. Too dangerous. Regardless, she did a quick jog to the place, eager to get out of the cold and into the warm, cozy building. She avoided other people as she ran, still disgusted at the thought of accidentally brushing up amongst one of them. The cafe had a chalkboard out the front, detailing the specials of the month. Peridot observed one of them so she had an order to place immediately. Anything not to talk to a stranger for too long.

A tiny bell gave off a small ring as she entered. It was relatively busy, but a few tables were still available. Scanning for the girl she was looking for, her shoulders started to shake - even though she was no longer cold. Her stomach began to feel sick. She was extremely nervous to see her again, a fact that Peridot desperately could not ignore.

However, it looked like Amethyst hadn't arrived yet. Peridot hastily checked her phone for the time - 11:01AM, only one minute behind schedule. She released a shaky breath. The thought of getting stood up almost made tears prick at her eyes, but she re-assured herself for being illogical. It was only one minute. She'll be here. Just order your caffeine and sit down. 

"W-White Chocolate M...mocha, please." Peridot refused to make eye contact with the barista, instead staring at the machines whirring busily behind her. She paid using her card, entirely ready to have the interaction over with.

"Sitting in?" The woman smiled at her. Peridot raised her head to look before quickly darting her eyes away, nodding her head. "Okay! Just sit anywhere, we'll bring it right over to you."

Peridot muttered a thank-you before scurrying away - she noticed the name on the barista's name tag before she made her escape, however. Pearl. She had the most pale complexion Peridot had ever seen, with a cute tuft of pink hair that fell gracefully over her face. Her manner was reminiscent to that of a mother's. She almost felt bad for not being nicer to her. Taking a seat at the table furthest from other people, she stared at the mahogany, wondering again if Amethyst was really going to show. Tracing a pattern of the wood on the table, she hadn't even realized that another person had taken the seat opposite to her at the table.

"Hey, stranger."

That wonderful voice. Peridot looked up, alarmed, having not prepared anything to say to Amethyst once she had arrived. Like a reflex, her hands shot up to her hair, trying to tame the mess that it was, before clearing her throat and trying to smile away the nerves.

"H--"

"Two white chocolate mochas!" A boy, this time, bringing the coffees over in a delightful manner. Peridot and Amethyst both looked surprised at each other as they were gently set down before them. They thanked him, before blinking at each other.

"We--"

"We ordered the same thing." Amethyst was smiling now. It was a certainly cheesy grin, and it made Peridot bashfully return a grin of her own. Amethyst had two dimples that made her face even more hypnotizing when she was smiling. "That's cute, dog!"

"Y...yes." She took a small sip of the frothy liquid, licking the foam off of her lip. She met eyes again with the woman. She had her hair in a ponytail today, and wore an adorable tartan scarf with an oversized jumper that was a little too long at the arms. Her make-up was perfect. Maybe Peridot should try make-up sometime? Imagining a vision where Amethyst was decorating Peridot's face with make-up, both giggling and happy to be in each other's company, had Peridot subtly shake her head to try and rid of it before it was obvious what she was thinking.

"Man, this is great! It just tastes like sugar!" Amethyst had almost finished her drink, whereas Peridot had barely started hers. "Guess that's what ya expect from a family business."

"F-family business?" 

"Heck yeah, my mom started this place up! Look," she turned on her seat, making Peridot lean to the left to peer past her. "That's my sister Pearl at the counter! She's a real drag a lot of the time, but y'know, still love her and all that shiz." She was chuckling to herself as she spoke. Peridot couldn't help but let her eyes gaze back to Amethyst instead of inspecting her supposed sister taking orders. It was the way she moved, how she looked at things as if they were made of pure gold, how her voice raised and lowered with every sentence... it was captivating. At least when Amethyst was turned away, she was able to stare without her noticing. When she swivelled around again, Peridot quickly switched her glare to the foam that was slowly dissolving into her coffee. She took a swig, trying to get some of it down before it went cold (though it would still be a while yet). 

"You have a big family then." She actually wanted to know more, surprisingly.

"Kinda! Rose, my mom, really loves kids. Actually, my little brother Steven is the only one that's her own. The rest of us are adopted."

"O-oh." The crispiness of Peridot's voice had her almost squeak the word.

"Nah, don't be like that! We don't care. I love my family to pieces. My dad's the coolest!" She finished off the coffee. A small dot of foam caught on her top lip, and Peridot began to focus on it as she continued to talk. "After my older sister Garnet, of course. Yeah, we're all one big team, fighting off anything that comes our way! It's pretty neat."

The foam wasn't budging. Amethyst had definitely noticed at this point, as she lowered her head to meet her eyes.

"Earth to Peri?"

I want to lick it off.

"Woah, what!" Peridot exclaimed at the thought that had forced its way to the front of her mind - and accidentally, out loud. She thought Amethyst would be more shocked, but it seemed she was already used to her strange demeanor. "S-sorry, sorry, I was... caught up in my own world."

"Pahaha, you're a weird one, Per." She dug a finger into one of her many pastel curls, and began to twirl it around. "What about your family and friends, oh mysterious one?" Peridot was still trying to get over what she'd just had to deal with, her cheeks a light pink but hoping that Amethyst wouldn't notice.

"U-uh... well, I don't talk to my family much, at all... and my housemate Lapis is, I guess, my closest friend. She enjoys making me suffer." Peridot's shoulders hunched. "My life isn't really as interesting as yours." 'I want to lick it off', oh stars, what on earth...

"Well, good thing you're pretty interesting to make up for it." Amethyst wore a peculiar smile. It was a compliment, but the way she was looking at her... is she flirting?

Peridot gulped down any sort of reply she could think of, instead giving off a giggle she'd never heard herself make before. Her ears were burning. She may be inexperienced in the field of romance, but it was almost certainly obvious that she was flirting. Did that mean... was this a...?

"Oh, dude, I forgot!" She leaned forward in excitement, breaking any of the romantic tension that was lingering in the air in that moment. "I have something for you."

She started rummaging in her backpack for something, and the act alone was piquing Peridot's interest. Who in their right mind would get her anything? She wasn't important enough for gifts. Yet, her curiousity got the best of her. Amethyst made a noise of victory as she revealed a colourful book and almost slammed it onto the table. "Ta-da! Remember when you told me you couldn't find volume 3 of this weird manga thing you liked?"

Peridot almost stood up in amazement. "Oh my stars, you didn't..."

"Steven finished this series a thousand years ago, he didn't mind me borrowing it for a few days. It's yours, dude!"

"I-- thank you so much!" There it was! Volume 3 of Kagerou Daze. Of course, she knew she could have read it online, but that was illegal and against any morals Peridot had. Empire City was big enough to have a huge selection of manga to fulfil her needs, however this was one that she simply could never find. She was itching to get on with this series, and had nearly succumbed to reading a bad translation online just to get it over with. Her smile must have been ridiculously wide, as Amethyst looked in awe at the excitable mess before her, flicking through the pages and revelling at the artwork she had oh so missed. "Amethyst! This is incredible. Thank you. Oh wow."

"It's nothing dude. Hey, you should meet my brother sometime, I think you guys would have tons to talk about."

Peridot couldn't stop herself from launching into a ramble about how much she enjoyed the series. She kept pausing to ask if she was bothering Amethyst, to which Amethyst immediately always responded 'no way' and let Peridot continue on.

"It's adorable how passionate you are about this stuff, man." She spoke up after a while of intently listening. There it was again - the look in her eye, the twirling of the hair - it almost seemed like she had scanned her over when she said it. No... checked her out. Amethyst was checking Peridot out.

Okay, Peridot. This is your chance - think of a comeback, confound it.

"Not as adorable as you..." she caught her breath in a moment of panic. "...r scarf."

Darnit. Flirting wasn't quite in Peridot's comfort zone yet.

"Oh, thanks! My mom made it for me." She snuggled her face into the warm cotton. Peridot was too busy kicking herself under the table for fumbling her attempt at making a move to notice. "It even smells like her."

After an hour of chatting and discovering more about each other - Amethyst has started to grow hydrangeas in her garden, Peridot wasted money on another terrible game on Steam over the weekend - it was time to pack it in.

"I promised Steven I would help with his homework later, and then I got wrestling training after that, or I would have hung out some more," she was throwing on her rucksack as Peridot walked her to the doors of the cafe. 

"It's fine. I had a nice time with you." They entered the cold outside, which seemed even colder than it previously had been, and turned to face each other for their parting. "Well, goodbye."

"'Well, goodbye'? Is that all I get? C'mon, bring it in, sister!" Amethyst opened her arms and Peridot looked onward in confusion before realizing what she meant. A hug, right. I guess it's only polite. She didn't even mind the fact she had to touch her. It didn't revolt her as much as it would if it were anyone else.

She moved forward and Amethyst took her into her arms. Her hair smelt of coconut, and as she nervously put her own arms around her, she couldn't help herself but press her nose into the woman's mane. Peridot was noticeably trembling, as she hadn't had to hug anyone for a very long time - or maybe it was just the cold - but it didn't seem so bad after all. Amethyst's grip tightened for a split second, before letting her go. 

"I'll catch ya later! Text me!" She threw a peace sign before bouncing away. Peridot watched her go, trying to keep the memory of the smell of her hair for just a little bit longer. Her heart racing, her hands clammy, her mind filled with only one face, she inhaled deeply through her nose and inwardly apologized to whomever may be listening in the skies.

"Shit."