(See the end of the chapter for notes .)

Chapter Text

“Connie, are you alright?”

Connie looked up from her breakfast to see her mother, who was sitting next to Connie at the dinner table with a furrowed brow.

Connie shook her head. She must have been more lost in thought than she realized. She had to snap out of this.

Connie smiled as wide as she could.

“Oh ... yeah! Of course, mom,” Connie said. “Everything’s great!”

“Oh.” Mom frowned. “I was just worried since you’ve been picking at your eggs for almost twenty minutes.”

“Oh,” Connie said, twisting the fork in her hand. “I’m just still tired, I guess. That’s--” Connie sighed and placed the fork down. “Okay ... t-there is something.”

Mom straightened up in her chair and rested her hands in her lap. Her full attention was on Connie.

“Alright,” Mom said.

“I’m--” Connie bit her lip. “Okay, I’m not quite sure how to say this ...”

“Connie,” Mom said softly, “we talked about this. You can tell me anything.”

“I know, mom,” said Connie. “I know.”

The incident at the hospital was still fresh in Connie’s mind and, to be completely fair, her mom had made good on her promise; she’d been much more lenient and understanding since that day, much easier to talk to. And Connie had fulfilled her end of the promise as well. She had been letting her mother know what was going on, even telling her about her new friendship with Peridot. And her mom hadn’t been opposed to it at all; in fact, she told Connie she was proud she was helping her new friend learn to read. Everything with her mom had been going great. Connie even found herself almost looking forward to letting her mom know what was going on because she trusted her mom would handle it well ...

Except for this recent development ...

Connie took a deep breath. She couldn’t just hide this from her mom because there would be no point. She’d find out soon enough. Besides, Connie didn’t want to lie to her anymore, not after seeing how hard she was trying.

“Okay ...” Connie said. “Please just ... promise me you won’t be mad.”

Mom frowned.

“Well, I can’t promise that until I know what’s going on,” her mom said. Her voice filled with concern. “You’re not in some kind of danger, are--”

“No no, it’s nothing like that,” Connie said. “It’s just ...” Connie closed her eyes.

Mom reached across the table and touched Connie’s hand.

“Connie ... please,” Mom said. “Just tell me.”

Feeling her mom’s touch somehow sent Connie over the edge. She felt her eyes sting as she blurted it out.

“I kissed Steven the other day!” Connie yelled.

Her mom’s eyes went wide.

“And I really liked it!” Connie said. “And I guess we’re a couple now and I’m like ... super happy and terrified at the same time because I was just-- I was so afraid to tell you and dad and that you’d never want me to see him again and--”

Her mom put her hand to her mouth.

“You ... had your first kiss?” Mom said.

“Yes!” Connie said. “And--”

Mom’s eyes filled with tears.

“You had your first kiss ... and you actually told me about it?” Mom said, her voice cracking. “Even though you were afraid to?”

Connie stopped, stunned by her mom’s reaction.

“Well ... yeah,” Connie whispered. “You’re my mom.”

Even though there were tears in her eyes, her mom smiled brightly. She slid from her chair, knelt down in front of Connie, and wrapped her arms around her. Connie was in a state of shock as her mother’s long dark hair brushed against her face.

Okay, this is different than what I expected, Connie thought.

Mom patted Connie’s back as they embraced.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve such an amazing daughter,” her mother whispered.

The words tugged at Connie’s heart, so much so that she wasn’t sure what to say. After her mother held her for a long time, Connie finally managed a nervous laugh.

“So um ... I guess this means I’m not in trouble then?” Connie said.

“Actually you’re grounded for a month,” Mom said.



“WHAT?!”

Her mom pulled back and looked at Connie, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was grinning.

“I’m joking, Connie,” Mom said.

“Oh,” Connie said. Her heart was pounding like a jackhammer. “That wasn’t funny,” she said, trying not to smile and failing.

Mom laughed.

“Connie, it was just a kiss,” Mom said. “You’re almost thirteen. You’re becoming a young woman. You don’t have to be afraid to tell me these things.” She paused. “You only have to be afraid to tell your father these things.”

Connie froze.

“Oh gosh,” she muttered, clutching her forehead. “I hadn’t even thought about that ...”

Mom closed her eyes and smiled.

“You let me worry about telling your father,” she said. “That sound good?”

“That sounds wonderful, yes.” Connie breathed a sigh of relief. “Wow ... I can’t believe you’re being so cool about this.”

Mom fixed her gaze directly in Connie’s eyes.

“Connie, all I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy,” Mom said. “I’m just glad you trusted me enough to tell me. I’m glad you don’t feel like you have to hide things anymore.”

The last sentence felt like it stabbed Connie’s heart. Her smile dropped for an instant, but she forced herself to perk up again.

“Y-yeah!” Connie said, hoping her voice didn’t sound too shaky.

Thankfully, Mom didn’t notice. She smiled and stood up.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Connie,” Mom said. “Are you done with your breakfast?”

“Yeah,” said Connie, hardly listening.

Mom took Connie’s plate and walked to the sink.

“You know, maybe we could invite Steven over for dinner after I tell your father,” said Mom as she turned on the garbage disposal. She raised her voice so Connie could hear over the grinding noise. “As an apology for our last outing. Maybe this time would be a lot more relaxing for everyone.”

Connie stared straight ahead, her thoughts a thousand miles away. Her mom’s words echoed in her head.

I’m glad you don’t feel like you have to hide things anymore.

“... yeah,” Connie whispered.

“Okay ...” Peridot said after Connie had finished her story. Peridot sat on Steven’s bed, the book she had been reading closed in her lap. “Perhaps this is simply because my understanding of Earth life is limited, but everything about that story sounded like positive news. What are you so worried about?”

Connie and Steven sat on the edge of the bed. Connie’s eyes were focused downward. Steven stared at Connie wearing a nervous frown.

“It’s ... complicated,” Connie said. She cleared her throat. “Why don’t you finish your book first and I’ll tell you. You were almost done anyway.”

“Wha- oh! Yes!” Peridot lifted the tiny book from her lap and flipped to the last page. It showed a picture of the character Concerned Clementine in bed surrounded by the other Crying Breakfast Friends, who were all sobbing. Peridot read the words out loud slowly and carefully, just as Connie had instructed.

“‘They all sat around and cried with Concerned Clementine, sorry they had not considered her feelings,’” read Peridot aloud. “‘Sad Waffle asked if she could ever forgive them.’

“‘Concerned Clementine said no and told them to go away. Everyone cried harder and everyone went to bed sad. The end.’”

Peridot closed the book.

“... I should be proud I read that on my own, but I’m mostly just perplexed what the point of that was,” Peridot said.

Steven glanced at Peridot.

“I uh ... I think it’s supposed to mean that sometimes things just don’t work out,” Steven said.

“And this is literature intended to educate recently-emerged Earth life with limited knowledge of the universe?”

“On Earth they’re called children, but yeah.”

Peridot held the book in front of her, wincing.

“I see,” Peridot said. “Then I have to assume the author of this book despised children and engineered this as a psychological torture device.”

“That’s a ... pretty strong critique, but yeah, the licensed books of Crying Breakfast Friends are pretty hit or miss.”

“Clearly the one responsible for this should have been hit with something, rather than missed.” Peridot tossed the book on the bed with a flick of her hand, as if she were discarding trash (which she was, in a way).

“Well, at least their video game is pretty good though.” Steven turned back to Connie and gently touched her hand resting on the bed. “So come on, what’s up?”

Peridot focused her attention on Connie. She had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. Usually Peridot could at least get a chuckle or two out of her, but she had just seemed troubled during her and Steven’s entire exchange.

Connie sighed and put her hand over her face.

“Well, it’s just that ...” Connie said. “Well, my mom’s trying. She’s trying really hard and she’s doing great. And she seemed so happy I’ve been telling her the truth about stuff. And I really have been telling her the truth about everything and she’s been handling it great!” She lowered her head and scratched at Steven’s bedding. “I just feel really guilty because ... well ... there’s one tiny thing I never told her about.”

“Well ... what’s that?” asked Steven.

Connie raised her head and looked Steven in the eyes.

“Stevonnie,” she said.

Steven’s eyes grew huge.

“... oooooh,” Steven said, blushing. “Right.”

Peridot raised an eyebrow.

“Who’s Stevonnie?” Peridot asked.

Connie and Steven caught eyes with one another, then looked back at Peridot. Connie’s face turned faintly red.

“It’s ... Steven and me fused together,” Connie said.

Peridot went pale as her eyes darted from Steven to Connie.

“You two ... fused?” Peridot said slowly.

“Uh huh ...” Connie said, bashfully.

“You and Steven? You fused together?”

Connie nodded slowly, unwilling to look Peridot in the eye.

Peridot was silent for just a moment ... before she started to snicker.

“Pffft, haha!” Peridot exclaimed. “Oh, I get it! Wow, you actually had me fooled for a second!” Her eyes began to water. “I mean, the idea of organic life being capable of fusion is so impossible, it’s just--” Peridot clutched her torso as she laughed, rolling on the bed.

She finally managed to force her eyes back open as she laughed. But her laughter faded when she saw Connie and Steven’s expressions were unchanged. Steven scratched his shoulder awkwardly and Connie’s eyes were still downcast.

Peridot stopped laughing. She slowly sat up.

“You’re not joking,” Peridot said as she wiped the liquid from her vision spheres. She stared straight at them. “You’re serious?”

Steven nodded.

“B-b-but that’s impossible!” Peridot stammered. She clutched her hair with one hand. “Organic life can’t fuse!” She pointed at Steven. “Your organic half should make it so you can’t even--” She grunted. “Gah, how are you even able to do that?”

Steven shrugged.

“I’m ... awesome?” he said hesitantly.

“Gyah!” Peridot said, her mind racing with a thousand possible reasons why fusion of organic life defied the laws of physics. “It’s like this planet delights in violating all rules that exist!” She grimaced and waggled her fingers, suddenly feeling unclean. “Even if that is SOMEHOW physically possible, the idea of fusion itself is just so--”

Connie glanced up at Peridot. When she spoke, her voice sounded quiet, almost hurt.

“So ... what?” Connie whispered.

Peridot felt a lump in her throat.

“Um. Well...” said Peridot.

Steven gently gripped Connie’s hand as he fixed his eyes on Peridot. He didn’t look angry so much as he appeared to be cautiously waiting for whatever Peridot was about to say.

And honestly, Peridot wasn’t sure what she was about to say herself. Peridot thought of a thousand things she could have said in the heat of the moment to describe fusion: Lewd. Illogical. Pointless. Inappropriate. Indecent. Unnatural.

That’s what she had been taught on Homeworld, anyway. Those were the things drilled into her since emergence. Fusion was a desperation tactic, nothing more; doing so in any other situation simply was an admission the Gem was desperate, weak, not able to deal with life on their own ... and who wanted to admit feeling like that?

Except ... this wasn’t just any Gems fusing. This was Connie and Steven. If there were two creatures Peridot thought were the exact opposite of weak and desperate, it would be them. Connie, the first human friend she ever had, the one who had helped her learn about Earth, who liked Peridot even when she didn’t like herself. And Steven ... the only one who had always believed in her, had never given up on her, even when he had every reason to ...

Peridot couldn’t think of a fusion between the two as being a desperate act. It almost seemed ... special.

Peridot realized Connie and Steven were still waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“Oh, um ... it’s just so ... unexpected!” Peridot said, with a nervous laugh. She scratched the back of her neck. “That’s ... that’s all I was going to say.”

Steven smiled at Peridot, apparently satisfied. Connie sighed, clearly relieved.

Peridot cleared her throat.

“So, um, anyway,” Peridot said, “Why not simply tell this ‘mom’ that you’ve fused? What’s stopping you? I didn’t think humans had any opinions on fusion.”

Connie rested her hands in her lap and shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

“Well, that’s kind of the problem,” Connie said. “I’m afraid my mom won’t really understand what fusion even is. She’s been open-minded about a lot of stuff now, but before she was very strict, so I have no idea how she’ll react. And ...” Connie’s cheeks turned red. “To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t help that to the average person, fusion might sound like ... well, something else.”

Peridot tilted her head.

“What do you mean?” Peridot said.

Connie’s face got redder. Steven went pale and looked breathless.

“Just ...” Connie said slowly. “Something different. That huma-- adults can do on Earth ... sometimes.”

Peridot blinked.

“... I don’t follow,” Peridot said.

For whatever reason, Connie seemed to have trouble making eye contact with Peridot or Steven.

“It’s um--” Connie started, before Steven interrupted.

“Hey, would--” Steven’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Hey, would you look at that, I have to ... go over here now! I’m gonna do that!”

Steven got up from the bed and stood in the corner of his room, doing nothing but staring at a wall out of earshot from Connie and Peridot.

“Is he alright?” Peridot said.

“Um ... yeah,” Connie said. “It’s okay. So--” Connie’s eyes darted back and forth before she chuckled nervously. “You know, I’m extremely uncomfortable talking about this. Why don’t we talk about it another time? At another later time?”

Peridot thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Very well,” Peridot said. “I certainly don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Connie exhaled.

“Yes,” Connie said. “Good.” Connie turned towards Steven and raised her voice. “It’s okay, Steven, you can come back now.”

“Is it safe?” Steven said, still in the corner.

“Yes, it’s safe,” Connie said with a laugh.

Steven walked back over to the bed and sat back down. He was blushing. Connie patted his back, which seemed to make him less tense.

Peridot remained perplexed at what exactly that was about.

Earthlings are strange sometimes, Peridot thought.

Connie traced her finger along the bed sheets.

“I wish I just knew how to tell her,” Connie said.

“Hm ...” Peridot said, rubbing her chin. “Why not ask the permafusion? This seems like her department anyway.”

Steven gave a huge smile and put his hands up.

“Of course! It’s so obvious!” Steven said. “If there’s anyone who’d could help, it’d be Garnet!” He immediately got back off the bed. “I’m gonna go ask Pearl where she is, we’ll get this taken care of in no time.”

Connie closed her eyes and smiled.

“Thanks, honey,” Connie said.

Steven got a ridiculously huge grin and giggled before he ran down the stairs.

Peridot’s eyes darted back to Connie, who was now staring at her. Peridot frowned.

“Is everything alright?” Peridot said.

“Hm?” Connie said. She nodded. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just nervous about everything, I guess. I was just ...” Connie rubbed her left elbow with her right hand, fidgeting. She sighed. “You don’t ... think differently of me or Steven now, do you?”

“What?!” Peridot said, taken aback.

“I mean, I’m mostly nervous about telling my mom and everything but ... I dunno, I was also a little scared to tell you too.” Connie’s eyes fell down. “I mean, Steven said it seemed like Gems from Homeworld don’t think much of fusion, so I thought--”

“Well, you thought wrong!” Peridot blurted out.

“But--”

“No, there’s no ‘but’ anything!” Peridot said. “Any information that dictates I should think less of you two is clearly bad information and that’s all there is to it!”

Connie appeared stunned.

“You ... really mean that?” Connie said.

Peridot threw her hands in front of her, clutching the air.

“Yes, of course!” Peridot said. “I know you two and that’s ...” Peridot lowered her voice. “That’s just all I need to know concerning how to feel about this. If ... that makes sense.”

Connie’s eyes seemed to moisten as she leaned forward and gave Peridot a hug, her arms swinging around the back of Peridot’s neck.

“Hey!” Peridot said, still getting used to this entire “being touched” thing.

“Sorry,” Connie said, with a laugh, her head on Peridot’s shoulder. “Just ... thank you.”

Peridot’s eyes fell to the floor. She cleared her throat.

“Just don’t tell Garnet I said any of that,” Peridot whispered. “I’d never heard the end of it if she’s learned I said that about fusion.”

Connie chuckled.

“Sure Peridot, whatever you say,” Connie said. She took a breath. “Maybe I’m worrying about my mom for no reason too, you know? I mean, if we’re talking about fusion and Garnet is helping, there’s probably nothing to worry about.”

Peridot nodded in agreement.

“Agreed,” she said. “In this situation, I’m positive there is nothing that could go wrong.”

“What do you mean Garnet’s not here?!” Steven exclaimed to Pearl as she folded Steven’s appearance modifiers (or “shirts”) in the floor of the living room.

Peridot and Connie stood behind him, having just come down the stairs. Both of their faces went pale.

Note to self, Peridot thought, never assume the universe operates in my favor. Ever.

Pearl, clearly not understanding the gravitas of the situation, continued folding as she spoke.

“She left a few hours ago,” Pearl said to Steven. “I only saw her briefly because she dropped off some of your laundry.” She turned her head to Steven. “You wouldn’t happen to know how a bunch of tools and some of your dirty clothes ended up bubbled in Garnet’s room, would you?”

A bead of sweat dripped down Steven’s forehead as he glanced away from Pearl.

“Noooooooo ...” Steven said, shuffling his foot back and forth.

Pearl gave a small smile.

“They were in your bubbles, Steven,” Pearl said softly.

Steven’s neck shrunk down into his shoulders. He appeared to be doing his best to look innocent.

“T-that’s an interesting mystery,” Steven said. He pounded his fist in his other hand. “That’s exactly the kind of job for Secret Team--”

“It’s a job for ‘putting your dirty clothes in the hamper next time,’ Steven,” Pearl said with a chuckle.

Peridot glanced at Connie, who despite these shenanigans, was still clearly preoccupied with her current situation. Peridot cleared her throat.

“Where exactly did the fusion go?” Peridot asked.

Pearl’s eyes flicked over to Peridot. She stopped folding the shirt she was holding.

“Well, what is it?” Peridot said.

Pearl hesitated.

“She was--” Pearl’s eyes fell away from Peridot. “She went into the ocean looking for Malachite again.”

“Who’s Mala--” Peridot started, before she remembered. “Oh. Oh right.”

Malachite was them.

Peridot felt a chill run down her Gem. She must have looked distressed or something, because Connie leaned over to her.

“Are you okay?” Connie whispered.

“I’m fine,” Peridot lied. “It’s fine.”

Steven and Pearl both looked at Peridot. They shared a glance for just a moment. Peridot was sure they knew it bothered her, even if she never talked about it. After all, neither of them were anything resembling stupid.

“Well, um,” Steven said with a cough. “That’s not good. Garnet’s been in the ocean for days doing this before! There’s no telling when she’ll be back!”

Connie frowned.

“Great,” said Connie. “So much for this being easy.”

“What do you two need Garnet for?” Pearl asked.

Steven chimed in.

“Connie wanted to tell her mom about the time we fused but was scared to, so we thought Garnet might help,” Steven said.

Pearl turned to Connie.

“You’re scared?” Pearl said.

Connie rubbed one elbow with her other hand.

“Yeah, kind of,” Connie said. “Kind of a lot.”

Pearl scooted closer to Connie and gently put her hand on Connie shoulder.

“It’s alright, Connie” Pearl said. “Remember what we talked about in training: deep, calming breaths.”

“There aren’t enough calming breaths in the world to make me not feel scared about this,” Connie said with a nervous laugh.

Peridot glanced over at Connie, still trying to shake off her own fear. She wished she had a better idea of what to say, but how could she even suggest a way to help Connie when Peridot was just as clueless about fusion as she was, when she was just as unable to handle her own fears?

Pearl, however, kept her tone calm the entire time. In a way, Peridot envied that. Poise seemed to come so natural to Pearl. She wondered if it was the same for all pearls or just this one. It was hard to tell. Peridot didn’t have much experience with pearls and, as Peridot learned during their confrontation while building the drill, this Pearl had long ago surpassed normal expectations.

“It’ll be alright, Connie,” Pearl continued. “If you really want Garnet’s help, you could always just wait until she comes back. A few days or weeks wait won’t hurt anything.”

“Yeah!” Steven said raising his arms in the air.

“No,” Connie said immediately.

“No?” Steven said, glancing over, his arms still raised.

Connie ran her hand through her hair, clutching her forehead.

“I’m not sure if I can wait that long,” Connie said. “This has been all I’ve been able to think about since this morning. It just feels like I’m lying to my mom all over again every second I’m not telling her. I can’t stand it! I just ...” Connie lowered her voice. “I don’t want to spend that long thinking about how I’m hurting her.”

Pearl was silent for a moment. Her eyes drifted to the floor before flicking back to meet Connie’s gaze, filled with determination.

“You won’t have to, Connie,” Pearl said. “Because we’re going to tell her tonight.”

Connie stared back at Pearl.

“We are?” she said.

Pearl nodded and gave a kind smile.

“And I’m going to help you,” Pearl said.

“You will?” Connie said.

Pearl nodded again.

Peridot, tired of allowing herself to feel useless in this situation, hesitantly placed a gentle hand on Connie’s back.

“I will ... try to assist as well,” Peridot said. “I’m not sure how much help I’d be, but I’ll do whatever I can.”

Connie smiled back at Peridot. Peridot felt a tingle in her Gem. Even after experiencing it often lately, Peridot was still amazed how good this sense of belonging with earthlings felt. She could hardly remember how she ever felt content before feeling this way.

Pearl stood up from the floor and began to pace back and forth, holding her chin.

“Let’s see,” said Pearl. “I think the best way to go about this would be to invite your mother over for tea or dinner, something like that. Then after everything’s settled and we’ve made the dinner a pleasant experience, we calmly broach this subject in terms that will be easy for her to understand.”

Peridot stifled a chuckle.

“So essentially you’re proposing we lure her into a false sense of security and then strike?” Peridot said.

Pearl folded her arms.

“Well, sneak attacks were my specialty during the war,” Pearl said. “The only difference is that this time it will be much more pleasant and nobody will die.” Pearl paused then added. “Hopefully.”

Connie gulped.

Pearl smiled.

“That was a joke,” she said.

Steven grinned.

“Yeah! Hurray for plans with no murder!” said Steven, way too enthusiastically.

Connie smiled weakly, then sighed.

“You’re sure we’ll be alright without Garnet helping?” Connie asked.

Steven chimed in before anyone else had a chance to answer.

“We’ll be fine,” Steven said. He waved a hand at Pearl and Peridot. “Actually, Peridot and Pearl are perfect for this!”

Pearl raised an eyebrow while Peridot stared in disbelief.

“... I’m flattered, but I’m not sure I follow your logic,” Peridot said.

Steven grinned confidently.

“Think about it!” said Steven. “Peridot, you’re logical and scientific, just like Connie’s mom. And you’re used to being surrounded by things you don’t understand, so if Dr. Maheswaran feels confused, you’d be the perfect Gem to relate to her!”

Peridot thought for a moment.

“Hm, fair point,” Peridot said.

Steven then gestured to Pearl.

“And Pearl, you’re perfect for this too. Dr. Maheswaran is a concerned mom and you’re like a mom, so hearing this from you might mean a lot to her.”

Pearl gazed directly into Steven’s eyes, astonished.

“Did you--” Pearl’s voice cracked for just an instant. “Did you just say I was like a mom?”

Steven dropped his grin, then looked up, as if unsure he had actually said that.

“Oh ... well, um, yeah, I guess I did,” Steven said. “Why is that a bad--”

“No,” Pearl whispered, a smile forming on her face. For some reason Peridot didn’t understand, her eyes began to fill with moisture. “No, that’s not bad at all.”

“Okay,” Steven said. “So we have a plan now! And I feel confident saying this plan is so good nothing can possibly go wrong, at all, for all time! Let’s see ... I think Amethyst is at Vidalia’s now. Should I call her, Pearl?” There was no reply. “Pearl?”

Pearl was silent, her eyes still watery. She hadn’t moved.

Peridot put her palm to her face.

“Great, we broke Pearl!” Peridot said. “She’ll be no help now.”

“Huh?” Pearl said, shaking her head. “Oh. Um ...” Pearl tented her fingers together. “Well, this operation will require a lot of tact and restraint ... so it would be best Amethyst stays as far away from it as possible.”

Peridot narrowed her eyes.

“That’s a rather rude thing to say,” Peridot said, irritated.

Pearl’s cheeks blushed bluish.

“I wouldn’t say ... rude, exactly,” Pearl said. “More like accurate.”

Steven put his hands on his hips.

“Pearl,” Steven said.

Pearl sighed.

“Alright, fine,” Pearl said. “Call Amethyst and at least let her know what's going on. I suppose letting her know nothing would be even more dangerous if she just happened to come home while Connie’s mother was here.”

Steven smiled broadly.

“Great! You guys can start cooking and I’ll call Vidalia’s house and let Amethyst know what’s up!” Steven said.

“Right,” Pearl said, nodding.

Connie smiled weakly at Steven.

“Okay! I’ll call my mom and tell her Pearl invited her over for dinner around five,” said Connie. She took a deep breath. “Okay ... okay, this could actually work.”

Pearl clasped her hands together.

“Don’t worry, Connie,” said Pearl. “You can count on us.”

Connie grinned and pulled out her primitive flip communicator. She walked towards the front door while Steven ran up the stairs, quickly dialing on his phone as well.

Peridot stood there alone with Pearl. Pearl had her eyes closed and wore a confident smile on her face. Peridot looked up at Pearl.

“Pearl?” Peridot said.

Just quiet enough Peridot could barely hear, Pearl whispered, “He said I was like a mom ...”

“Pearl!”

“Hm!” Pearl looked down. “Oh ... yes Peridot?”

“Exactly what food are we preparing for this ‘dinner' ritual anyway?” Peridot said.

Pearl’s smile remained on her face, but she opened her eyes and her cheeks turned slightly blue.

“I have no idea,” Pearl said in a strained voice.

Within fifteen minutes, Peridot was sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter as Pearl threw what appeared to be random items into a circular container and stuck it into the house’s primitive heating unit they called a stove.

“Let’s see,” Pearl said to herself as she turned a dial on the machine. “It’s been a while since I did this. I ... think that’s what the heat was supposed to be set to ... yes, that’s it! Okay.” She took a breath then put her hands to her face. “I can’t believe I didn’t think ahead, this is ridiculous, what is wrong with me?” she muttered.

Peridot frowned. It was actually hard to watch Pearl get so nervous. It reminded Peridot too much of herself.

“So what exactly is that thing you’re preparing?” Peridot asked Pearl.

“It’s called a pie,” Pearl said, turning away from the stove. “It’s a human dessert that most of them seem to enjoy ... and more importantly, it’s one of the only things I know how to make. That and some tea should be adequate, I believe.”

“Hm,” Peridot said.

Pearl walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a small tin of green powder. Peridot watched silently as Pearl brewed some water in a small pitcher and mixed in the powder. She took a cup from the cabinet and poured in the liquid. Steam came from the top. Pearl took a whiff.

“There we go,” Pearl said holding the cup. “Nice and calming matcha tea. Perfect.” Pearl glanced up at Peridot and put the cup on the counter. “Would you like some?”

Peridot flinched, flashing back to the last time she’d ingested a cup of anything. The aftermath had not been pleasant. She looked into the cup.

“Is this ... safe?” Peridot asked.

“Of course,” Pearl said. “It’s just a human tea. Perfectly harmless.”

Peridot’s eyes didn’t leave the cup.

“... it’s green,” she said.

Pearl smiled.

“So are you,” Pearl said.

“... good point.” Peridot thumped her fingers on the counter. “Alright, how about this?” She scooted the cup towards Pearl with two fingers. “You drink it first.”

Pearl’s already-large eyes widened. She grimaced and flicked her eyes down at the tea.

“Oh ... well ...” Pearl coughed. “I’m ... not necessarily a fan of eating and drinking so-”

“Well, I’m definitely not drinking that now!” Peridot exclaimed.

“Honestly, it’s good for you.”

“Then why don’t you want to drink-- why would you even know to make these things if you didn’t want to ingest them?”

“I enjoy the process!”

“It’s poison, isn’t it?” said Peridot.

“Why would I give you poison?!” said Pearl, raising her voice.

“I don’t know, why would you?!”

Pearl’s eye twitched and she dragged one hand across her face.

“Alright ...” Pearl muttered. She stiffly walked back into the kitchen. She pulled another cup from the cupboard and poured more of the green liquid into it. She stepped back to the counter and slammed the cup onto it. “If I drink this with you, will you at least try it?”

Peridot tapped her finger on the side of the cup.

“I suppose that’s ... fair ...” Peridot said.

“Alright then.” Pearl lifted the cup, her pinkie finger extended. She held it in front of her, cringing as if revolted.

In response, Peridot shakily reached for her own teacup. She tried to extend her touch stump just like Pearl, but nearly lost her grip altogether, so she quickly abandoned that idea. She held the cup in front of her face just like Pearl.

“On three,” Pearl said. “One ... two ... three!”

Pearl sipped on her tea while Peridot gulped her own into her mouth. Shockingly, it didn’t taste unpleasant.

But she still had no intention of swallowing it.

Peridot stared at Pearl, whose eyes were fixated on her while her lips pursed together. Peridot held the liquid in her mouth.

“You didn’t swallow ...” Pearl said from the corner of her mouth.

“Neither did you,” Peridot said from the corner of her mouth as well.

“That’s beside the point--”

“Poison!”

Pearl’s cheeks turned a faint blue.

“... fine,” Pearl said. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed the liquid.

Peridot reluctantly let the tea slide down her throat. She steadied herself on the counter, waiting for a wave a nausea to wash over her like the last time she drank ... but it never did. She straightened up.

“Hm. That was ... not excruciating,” Peridot said.

“You see?” Pearl said, who herself appeared green all of a sudden. “Perfectly fine.”

Peridot raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you look green?” Peridot said.

“Because anything passing through my body makes me just slightly ...” Pearl gulped. “Uncomfortable.”

“Oh. Hm ...” Peridot said. “Sorry.”

Pearl smiled weakly, color returning to her face.

“It’s fine,” Pearl said. “I can’t exactly blame you for being hesitant to drink that when I was too.”

Peridot picked up the cup and took another sip.

“This ... tastes fairly enjoyable,” Peridot said slowly. “Thank you for making it.”

Pearl smiled wider.

“Thanks,” she said. She chuckled. “You’ve certainly come a long way from not wanting to have anything to do with me.”

Peridot frowned, thinking back to the situation with the robot competition, one of her many regrets before she truly changed. Thinking all the awful words she said to Pearl then made her nauseous, even if the tea itself didn’t.

Pearl seemed to notice this and spoke softly.

“Sorry,” Pearl said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about that--”

“No, it’s fine,” Peridot said. “I know I did not conduct myself well back then. I’m sorry.”

Pearl was still for a moment, then reached out and touched Peridot’s hand with the tips of her finger.

“Peridot ... the important thing is that you’re one of us now,” Pearl said. “It doesn’t matter what you were before.”

Peridot gave a weak smile back.

“Thanks,” Peridot said. “That ... means a lot.” She stared into the green liquid and sighed. “I hope I’m adequately able to assist with this operation. It would be ... extremely upsetting for me to see Connie and Steven upset.”

“You really care about them, don’t you?” Pearl said warmly.

Peridot flicked her eyes up at Pearl. She shrunk down in the stool, suddenly bashful.

“It appears difficult to not care about them,” Peridot said.

Pearl chuckled.

“You’re certainly not wrong,” she said.

Peridot fidgeted with her hands, deep in thought. It occurred to her if she truly wanted to help Connie and Steven during this meeting, there was some more information she needed.

“... what’s it feel like?” Peridot said.

Pearl furrowed her brow, confused.

“Pardon?” Pearl said.

“Fusion,” Peridot said. “What does it feel like? I’ve ... never attempted it before.” She glanced away. “If I’m going to help explain fusion, it would help if my information was accurate.”

“Oh. Well um ...” Pearl said. A faint smile appeared on her face. “It’s hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it. It’s ...” Pearl waved her hand out. “It’s as if you fade away and someone who is the best parts of both Gems is there instead. But it doesn’t feel like you’re gone, necessarily. It feels as if you were always just half of that being and now you’re whole.” Pearl clasped her hands together. “Does that make sense?”

“I ... think I understand,” Peridot said. “In all honesty, it’s always seemed frightening to me.” Peridot stammered. “N-not that I’ve ever had a desire to do that anyway! It’s just ...” Peridot lowered her voice. “The idea of your consciousness, everything you are disappearing and changing into something else is very ... distressing to me.” Peridot gave a single laugh. “I imagine to you that opinion seems quite ... strange.”

Pearl shook her head.

“N-no, it’s quite alright!” Pearl said. “Fusion takes a lot of trust. It’s okay for it to seem frightening at first. It’s about all choice and even choosing not to fuse at all is fine. It’s nothing to be taken lightly. I--” Pearl frowned and traced her finger on the kitchen counter. “I’m in a position to know that more than most.”

“Huh?” Peridot said.

Pearl sighed and hugged her chest.

“... would you like to know one of the reasons I wanted to help Connie and Steven?” Pearl said.

“Al...right...” Peridot said, not sure where this was going.

Pearl took a breath.

“Before you joined us, I did something ... bad to Garnet,” Pearl said, her voice heavy. “I essentially lied ... no, not essentially, I did lie. I tricked her into fusing under false pretenses. Garnet felt betrayed ... and honestly I can’t blame her.”

Peridot continued listening. She wished she could have thought of something to say to comfort Pearl, but fusing was so foreign to her she couldn’t think of anything.

“She’s since forgiven me,” Pearl continued, “and things have gotten better ... but the fact remains it was a truly terrible thing to do. I was so ... caught up in how I wanted to feel that I didn’t even think how about how she would feel. Fusion is something that requires a lot of trust when it's done the right way ... and it was so easy for me at the time to forget that.

“But the thing is, Connie and Steven have somehow managed to do everything right. They trust each other, they care about each other, and they’ve never abused fusion ... which is something I can’t even say about myself.” Pearl clenched her fist. “And I’m not going to allow either one of them to feel guilty about fusing the right way and doing nothing wrong if there’s something I can do about it! They deserve better than that!”

Pearl paused, then unclenched her fist. She grasped her teacup with both hands.

“That’s how I feel, at least,” Pearl said softly.

Peridot was speechless for a moment. They sat in awkward silence until Peridot finally spoke.

“It seems quite ... noble, I suppose, to think such a way,” Peridot said.

Pearl shook her head and gave a strained smile.

“Thank you, but I’m not noble,” Pearl said. “I never was. I’m just ... trying to correct my own mistakes, I guess.”

Peridot nodded.

“Well then,” Peridot said. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Then that just means we have something else in common ...”

Pearl stared at Peridot. She bit her lip.

“May I ... ask you a personal question?” Pearl said.

“I suppose,” Peridot said.

Pearl took one finger and traced it along the rim of the teacup.

“I um ... I couldn’t help but notice earlier when I mentioned Malachite, you seemed to get rather ... quiet,” Pearl said. She tilted her head down, her eyes still set on Peridot. “Is there ... something about that troubling you?”

Peridot felt a lump in her throat. Her contruct began to tingle all over. Up until now, she had done her best to distance herself from that ... situation. Somehow, she managed to curve the corner of her mouth upward.

“The fact there’s a fusion under the ocean that can control water on a planet mostly covered in it isn’t enough of a reason to be apprehensive about it?”

“Well ... no, that’s certainly a good point,” Pearl said. “Is that the only reason?”

Peridot blinked, then sighed.

“No, it’s not,” Peridot said, sinking down in her seat. She suddenly found it hard to look Pearl in the eye when she spoke. After a moment, she took a breath. “I feel ... responsible for them.”

“You mean Jasper and Lapis?” Pearl said.

Peridot nodded slowly.

“Yes ...” Peridot said. “If it wasn’t for my mission ... neither one of them would be on this planet. Neither one of them would be ... trapped.”

“Oh ... I see,” Pearl said. She appeared to be struggling to find something reassuring to say. “I didn’t know you were ... close with either of them.”

“I wasn’t,” Peridot said. “I never liked Jasper much, but when I knew her, she was simply trying to do the job she was assigned to do. Even if her methods were somewhat ... questionable at times.” Peridot exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “But in all honesty ... the Lazuli’s situation I find much more troubling ...”

“Were you two ... friends or--”

Peridot couldn’t help but start laughing nervously.

“What’s so funny?” Pearl said.

Despite herself, Peridot was laughing so hard tears rolled down her cheeks. She doubled over, her head hitting the counter.

“No, no,” Peridot said between breaths. “No, I’m sorry, that question is just hilarious.”

“Why?” Pearl asked.

“Because there’s not a strong enough word that’s the opposite of friend to describe how she thinks of me now.” Peridot continued laughing. “I-I’m positive she hates me so much she’ll likely want to kill me the moment she sees me.”

Pearl frowned.

“That ... doesn’t sound too funny,” Pearl said.

“It’s not!” Peridot said, her nervously laughter finally slowing down as she tried to regain her composure. After all, she didn’t want to seem like she was losing it, even though she certainly was.

“Why would she want to kill you?” Pearl asked.

Peridot’s eyes drew down to the counter.

“Well,” Peridot said, “aside from the obvious point that she was a prisoner and wouldn’t be back on this planet if it wasn’t for me ...” Peridot stopped, trying to find the right words. “Well, I suppose it’s similar to the situation you described with Garnet ...” Peridot lowered her head. “I ... lied about ... things.”

“What kind of things?” Peridot said.

Peridot thought about just dropping the subject all together. Just speaking about this was making feel numb all over ... but at the same time, there was a strange sense of relief stating this outloud. Maybe it was because Pearl seemed so similar to Peridot that it was just easier for her to open up about this. She opened her mouth to speak ...

But before Peridot could say anything, she sniffed the air.

“What smells like smoke?” Peridot said.

“Hm?” Pearl looked back at the stove. “Oh, that’s probably just the pie finishing. I remember sometimes if it’s in a bit too long, it can smell slightly burned. That’s all. It’s normal.”

Pearl took a step towards the stove when black smoke began to billow from the seams of the stove door. The smell got even stronger.

Peridot remained frozen in her stool. Pearl simply stood there, looking pale as black smoke wafted in the air.

“Is um ... is that normal as well?” Peridot said.

“No ... no it isn’t ...” Pearl said quietly.

As if a switch in both of their minds had been flicked at the same time, Peridot and Pearl both panicked.

“FIRE!” Pearl shouted.

“OH STARS!” Peridot clutched her hair and jumped from the stool. “WHY IS IT ON FIRE?!”

“I dunno, I-I thought I set the heat right--”

“WELL, OBVIOUSLY NOT!” Peridot scanned the kitchen ceiling. “W-WHERE’S THE AUTOMATED FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM?!”

“We don’t have one!”

“ENGINEER ONE!”

“THERE’S NO TIME!” Pearl clawed her face with her hand, all the while more smoke poured out. “Uh- uh- OKAY! I’ll turn the stove off, yo-you find a pot and fill it with water from the sink!”

“Okay ...” Peridot clenched her fists, composing herself to take action. “... what’s a pot?”

“JUST FIND ANYTHING TO FILL WITH WATER!”

“Okay, okay!”

Pearl ran to the stove and started pressing buttons. Peridot frantically looked on the bottom cabinets underneath the sink, seeing nothing but piping and chemical cleaner.

“I can’t find anything!” Peridot shouted.

“Um,” Pearl said waving away some black smoke. She opened the stove door. Peridot saw a brief glimpse of orange flames before Pearl slammed it back shut. “Um ... I-I think some pots are in the top cabinet!”

“OH GREAT, RIGHT WHERE I CAN’T REACH!” Peridot said, gesturing towards her short legs. “THIS IS SO OPTIMAL!”

“Nevermind, I’ll--”

Just at that moment, the front door swung opened as Amethyst walked in, holding a square glass container of some sort.

“Hey nerds, what’s--” Amethyst stopped as soon she saw the smoke-filled kitchen. “WHOA!”

“AMET-” said Peridot, but ended up coughing as she inhaled smoke.

“PERIDOT!” Amethyst said. She threw the container to the ground and ran into the kitchen. Amethyst shoved Pearl out of the way and opened the stove. Small embers crackled inside it.

Amethyst held her hand out. There was a flash of white light as her hand shifted into a large circular fan. Her fan-hand spun rapidly as she aimed it at the inside of the stove, which pushed the flames back and blew the smoke around the room. After a few moments, the flames died down into nothing.

Amethyst took a deep breath as her hand glowed and changed back into normal. Pearl and Peridot both stared as the smoke dissipated.

“Oh wow ... thank you, Amethyst,” Pearl said.

“Don’t mention it,” said Amethyst. She turned to Peridot. “You okay, Peri?”

“Oh. Yes. Thanks,” Peridot said. Her eyes were bright. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious that she was in awe of just how cool Amethyst was, taking charge of the situation the way she did.

Amethyst smiled and walked back to the living room, picking up the dish she had thrown on the floor. Amazingly, it was still intact. Peridot could now see it held some cheese-covered food inside.

“So um, Vidalia made some chicken and broccoli thing for our dinner,” Amethyst said. “I guess we could serve that with the, um ...”

Pearl pulled the pie tin out of the stove, which was charred back and still smoking. The ingredients Pearl had thrown together had all but evaporated. Pearl turned it upside down and caused some black chunks inside it to fall to the floor.

“Serve that with the nothing that you guys made,” Amethyst finished.

Pearl bit her lip, looking embarrassed.

“I ... think your dish should be sufficient for our dinner party,” Pearl said. “Connie’s mom should be here in a couple hours.”

“Uh huh, awesome,” said Amethyst dryly. “I expect a perfect party with zero mistakes after how well the cooking went.”

Peridot looked down at the floor, her mind racing with fears of all the terrible events that could occur in this operation. She glanced up at Pearl, who picked at the scorched pie tin. Peridot could tell Pearl was just as worried as she was. She had no idea what they were going to do ...

As all these thoughts ran through her mind, Amethyst’s eyes fell on the pie tin in Pearl’s hand.

“Hey, you gonna eat that?” Amethyst said.

Without even looking at Amethyst, Pearl handed the tin to Amethyst who chomped down on it. She scrunched her mouth up, then shrugged.

“Eh, tastes a little undercooked ...” Amethyst said.