Chapter Text
Garnet returned a few hours later, having enjoyed a quick gem hunt, to Amethyst still laying face down on the couch. Garnet did her best to quietly sneak back into her room. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to comfort her friend, but Garnet could see that Amethyst was having self-esteem issues, and that wasn’t an area Garnet felt confident helping. She knew there was a slim chance that she would be able to make it into the temple unnoticed.
“Garnet,” Amethyst’s muffled voice called from the couch.
“Yes?” Garnet said, taking another slow step towards the door. Garnet was torn between a few different emotions. She didn’t want Amethyst to feel abandoned, but she also didn’t want to make things worse.
“What do you do when all the things you thought you needed for fusion are there, but nothing happens anyway?”
The question caught Garnet slightly off guard. There were a few things Amethyst would have said, but she didn’t expect the most direct question. Before she could answer, Amethyst sat up to look at her. While she saw in advanced what Amethyst would look like, to see her friend in the moment broke her heart a little. Tears and snot messed Amethyst’s face. The desire to help won out.
Garnet sat down and wrapped an arm around Amethyst. While at first a little unsure how to take the gesture, Amethyst leaned into her friend and let out a few more sobs. Garnet waited for Amethyst to calm down before speaking. Mostly to formulate her thoughts and choose the best way to answer Amethyst, which wasn’t an easy task since future vision was weak against emotional situations.
“Are you feeling better?” Garnet asked as Amethyst’s sobs began to dry up. Amethyst responded with a nod. “Good. Now, what is this about exactly?”
“A little while ago, Peridot came over wanting to know more about fusion.”
“That’s excellent.”
“Yeah. Anyway, since no one else was here, she said she wanted to try fusing with me.”
“It didn’t work?”
“No, and I don’t know why. When it’s with you and me or me and Pearl, when things work, it feels simple. When things become complicated, that’s when it never works. But it felt simple, like, things were moving as they should…”
“But they didn’t move.” Garnet finished.
“Maybe I was feeling things wrong. When we were dancing, it felt good, right, and there was some other feeling. I don’t know. I think I messed something up, but I can’t figure out what. Peridot thinks it’s her fault, but she was doing everything right too. It’s not like we both didn’t want to fuse, but…” Amethyst trailed off, her mind running in too many circles for her mouth to keep up.
“What was the feeling like?”
“I don’t know. Warm I guess, right in my gem. Like when I’m hugging Steven or fused with you, only different.”
A small smile cracked at the corner of Garnet’s lips. While her glasses hid most of her expression, there was no missing her emotions. “I used to have that problem too. Did it make you feel nervous?”
“I don’t know. I guess.” Amethyst finally decided to dry her face with the heel of her hand. “I’m not even sure why this made me this sad. I mean, it’s just Peridot. Sure, she’s funny, such a nerd, passionate, weird in the right way, and my friend, but just because you really like someone doesn’t mean that… doesn’t mean… Okay, I really did want to fuse with her, and I thought she wanted to fuse with me too. But maybe it was me that was wrong. Maybe she really didn’t want to fuse with me. She was asking for you first, but since you weren’t here, I was the second choice. But, since you’re here, maybe you could help her. She went back to the barn.”
“You want me to fuse with her?”
“Yes. No. She wants to fuse with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am. Just go over there and show her how it’s done. I’m just going to stay here.” Amethyst laid down on the couch, facing the cushions.
“Feeling sorry for yourself.”
“Hey, it’s what I do best. Now go, your date is waiting.” Amethyst waved her off.
“Alright, if you insist.” Garnet said. She got off the couch and walked to the warp pad. As she was lifted into the warp, she could hear Amethyst’s moan of sadness.
Meanwhile, Peridot was pacing a hole through the barn floor. “She must think I’m an idiot! Oh, look at me dance.” Peridot wobbled back and forth in a mockery of her previous dancing. “No wonder nothing happened. I should have tried harder. I could have tried harder. Why didn’t I try harder!”
“Hey, keep it down. I’m trying to finish this episode.” Lapis grumbled.
“Pierre wins the pie eating contest because Paulette shoves Jean.”
Lapis let out a long, tired groan before pausing the show. Flying down, Lapis landed and leaned against the doorway. Her arms crossed as she glared at Peridot. “Alright. You’ve been ranting since you got back. What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? Oh, just that I can’t seem to do what is considered the most basic of gem actions. That I humiliated myself in front of Amethyst. That I can’t even do what Steven, who isn’t even fully a gem, has done on several occasions. Other than that. Nothing is wrong. Nothing at all.”
“What are you talking about?”
Peridot took a deep breath to calm herself. “I went to the temple to see if one of the crystal gems could show me how to fuse. When I got there, Amethyst was waiting like she knew I was coming. No one else was there; we were alone. She held out her hand, we danced, and… NOTHING! Everything was warm and glowing and magic and something should have happened, but it didn’t. Maybe it needed more time, but like the idiot I am, I stop it too soon and MAYBE if I was better at this sort of thing, I wouldn’t be in this situation, but here I am, no closer to understanding than before.” Peridot had worked herself up to the point of tears. “And the worst part is that Amethyst thinks it’s her fault. How could it be? She’s the one who has had success with this sort of thing. Sure, she might not have formed correctly, but every part of her functions much better than mine. She was built with resources I didn’t have. She has strength I don’t. But she still felt like she failed and that I want to fuse with Garnet. Garnet is nice, don’t get me wrong, but she’s already a fusion. I want my first time to be with a single gem that I really like. Something simpler and more comfortable, you know?”
“You tried to fuse with Amethyst?”
“Yes! But it didn’t work. I don’t know if it was something I did wrong or if it was something wrong with me. All I know is that Amethyst probably hates me now.”
“I see.” The two of them fell into uncomfortable silence. “So… is this something I’m suppose to offer advice on? Because I don’t have the best experience when it comes to fusion.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could just offer some warm company. Like that scene in episode three, season four of Camp Pining Hearts, A Slippery Knot.”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“Oh well you see…”
Lapis lifted up her hand to quiet Peridot. “No spoilers please.”
“Okay.”
“How about we just finish watching the DVD, and then we figure out all the touchy-feely stuff.”
“Okay.”
Lapis grabbed Peridot’s hand and flew them up to the truck in-bedded in the barn, where they had set up a television. Lapis hit play and they began finishing the last of the episode mostly in silence beyond Lapis grumbling about how the ending was spoiled.
“Peridot, you up there?” Garnet called up.
Peridot stood up in a panic. Not sure if she wanted to run away or towards Garnet, her feet ended up doing both at once and she fell over the side of the truck bed, landing chin first onto the ground. Garnet watched in her usual stoic fashion as the awkward gem got back up to her feet. Lapis paused the television to watch the clearly more amusing scene below her.
“Oh, hi Garnet, what brings you here?” Peridot asked, trying to act casual to compensate for her clumsy moment earlier.
“Amethyst said you wanted to fuse with me.”
“Yeah, well, I assume she’s told you what happened?”
“I heard her part of the story, yes.”
“And what story is that exactly?”
“That you came over looking for me and decided to fuse with her instead.”
“Yeah… well… uh….” Peridot murmured, wanting to correct Garnet, but to embarrassed to do so.
“When it didn’t work, you left.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of what happened. So, do we start this now?” Peridot asked.
“That depends. Do you really want to fuse with me?”
“Yes,” Peridot said half convincingly, but something about Garnet’s silence brought out the truth. “Well, not really. I only asked about you because I wanted to make sure we were alone. I mean, you’re a nice gem…s? and all, but Amethyst is…”
“Amethyst is?” Garnet pressed.
“She’s great. I mean, she’s strong, and funny, and cool. Everything around her seems simpler. She was the first one of you, other than Steven, who actually cared about me, so I guess it made sense that she would be the first I fused with.”
“Then you should tell Amethyst that.” Garnet said, her voice not betraying the excitement she felt as she turned towards the warp pad and gestured for Peridot to follow.
They were silent as they walked through the field where the warp pad sat. They warped back to the temple to the surprise of Amethyst who was still laying on the couch feeling sorry for herself. Garnet placed a hand on Peridot’s back and pushed her forward. Once she got close enough to Amethyst, she moved them so that they were facing each other. Both gems slightly confused as to what Garnet intended them to do.
“I think you both have a lot to talk about.”
“Talk about what?” Peridot asked.
“Amethyst, what do you think about Peridot?”
“She’s great.”
“No… well, I am.”
“Peridot, I love how passionate you are for everything.”
“I love your passion too.”
“Nah, I’m lazy.”
“Well, you are, but when you’re not, you throw yourself into everything. Sometimes literally throwing yourself. You even put your all into napping.”
“It is one of my better skills.”
“See, you’re so cool. You have so much energy that you can hardly keep your form still. You try everything you come across and you were the first one to treat me like a friend.”
“No, that was Steven.”
“Pshh, Steven doesn’t count. I saw him make friends with a pigeon.”
“Dude, I think that was a seagull.”
They laughed.
“I’m sorry I messed up our attempt at fusion.” Peridot said.
“What, no, you didn’t…” Peridot silenced Amethyst with a raised hand.
“Yes, I did. I wanted to, but at the same time I was scared. If we were fused, what would we be? What could someone like me add to the fusion?” Peridot’s head hung down like her gem had tripled in weight.
Amethyst set one hand on Peridot’s shoulder and the other hand went under Peridot’s chin to lift up her gaze. They both stared into each other’s eyes. Amethyst’s eyes were full of joy and forgiveness. Tears began waving at the edge of Peridot’s vision as the happiness and relief she felt was almost overwhelming.
Amethyst let go of Peridot’s chin and rested it on the other shoulder. Peridot lifted her hands and set them on Amethyst’s waist and they began rocking back and forth like they did before. Peridot moved forward to pull Amethyst into a tight hug, but instead of feeling the soft form of Amethyst’s torso against her own, she was feeling it all around her and feeling it as herself as well.
The new gem stood awkwardly in the living room. She stood just a foot higher than Garnet, who was giving herself a mental high five. She rocked back and forth to try and keep her balance, uncertain about this new size and the proximity of the couch and coffee table, which didn’t offer her much room to move.
“How do you feel?” Garnet asked.
“It feels…” The new gem tried to say as she took a step forward to steady herself again, but her shin finally hit the coffee table, sending her tumbling down. The drop shook the two gems out of the fusion. Peridot landed, sprawled out on the floor and Amethyst belly flopped onto the table itself.
“Great.” Amethyst finished, giving a thumb’s up, which took on a more sarcastic gesture given the scene.
Peridot pushed herself up. “That was… Interesting. Does that usually happen?”
“If you’re not ready to hold yourself together.” Amethyst said.
“Okay. Then I guess we’ll have to try again sometime.” Peridot got to her feet and started moving towards the warp pad. Amethyst followed to show her out. “Thanks. It was nice,” Peridot said.
“No problem.”
“I’m glad we were able to do it. You’re a good friend Amethyst.” Peridot held out a hand to shake goodbye.
“You too buddy.” Amethyst pulled her into a tight hug.
Peridot squeezed her back and left the temple with a small wave. Amethyst just about skipped back to the couch and laid down, ready to continue the day of lazing she had planned.
Garnet stood there silently before saying. “That’s it?”
“What else were you expecting?” Amethyst asked, “I’m gonna take my time with this.”
“Is that so?” Garnet’s eyebrow was raised so high it almost peaked over her glasses.
“Yeah. Sometimes you just got to savor the taste. Speaking of taste. Steven still has some Cheese Wiz, right?”
“Behind the pickles.” Garnet said, letting the conversation drop as she went back into the temple.
Pearl, Steven and Connie warped in a few minutes later, all tired and happy from the training. Amethyst gave them a friendly wave hello, her hand still stuck in the jar.
“Hey, Pearl, we need to go shopping again."