So, college and life kept me from finishing this on time, but better late than never, right? Hopefully, I'll be able to finish Day 4 and Day 5 today and get caught up. In case you haven't realized, the chapter titles are the prompts. This one was Steven and Lion, but since Lion doesn't appear at all, I just titled the chapter "Steven". Enjoy!

Pearl walked out of her room to see Peridot bolting down the stairs, falling down the last couple in a panic. "Peridot, what's wrong?"

Peridot jumped to her feet and looked up, her eyes wide with fear. "Pearl! Thank the stars! You need to do something. Steven is malfunctioning!"

Immediately, Pearl started up the stairs, her heart pounding with worry. Was Steven sick? Had he caught some kind of parasite from the fusion experiments in the Kindergarten? When she got to Steven's room, she saw that he was thrashing around on the bed, making strained noises.

"See?" Peridot stood right behind Pearl. "He says random words and there is water leaking from his eyes. What's the procedure?!"

Pearl walked over to Steven, placing a hand on his forehead. Her shoulders relaxed a little, though she still hurried to sit down next to him, drawing him into her arms. She smiled when his trembling lessened. "He's not malfunctioning, Peridot. He's just having a nightmare."

Peridot climbed onto the end of the bed, still looking warily at Steven. "Is that an Earth sickness?"

"It's not a sickness." Pearl gently cradled Steven against her chest, stroking his hair. He mumbled something inaudible and gripped at her arm. "It's okay," she whispered, hugging him closer before turning back to Peridot. "Steven explained sleep to you, didn't he?"

"Yes. It's when organisms power down like machines." Peridot scooted closer, flinching back slightly when Steven's eyelids twitched.

"Well, sometimes people have dreams." Pearl thought back to how Steven had once explained it to her. "It's like your thoughts come together to play a movie in your head. Nightmares are when bad thoughts and scary images come together, like a scary movie. Remember the one you and Amethyst watched the other day?"

"As if I could forget! I will never go near a tree or a 'clown doll' for as long as I'm on this messed-up rock!" A shudder went through Peridot's frame at the memory. "Wait, you're telling me that Steven's being attacked by evil trees in his head?! We should wake him up!"

"Hold on." Pearl held up a hand as Peridot started to reach for Steven's shoulder. "With all that's been happening, he needs his sleep. I'd rather not wake him unless we really need to." She looked down at Steven, relieved to see that he was beginning to calm down. "See? The nightmare's going away already."

Peridot peered down at Steven. His face looked more relaxed and there was no more water leaking from his face. "Does this happen often?"

"It depends." Pearl kissed Steven's forehead before placing him back on the bed. He continued to grip her arm and she made no effort to move away. "He usually has them after something scares him. After what you told us about the Cluster, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he was dreaming about."

At this, Peridot's brows furrowed. "Are you saying that I gave him the nightmares?" She backed away from Steven guiltily.

"Not you specifically," Pearl hastened to explain. "Just thoughts of the Cluster, though he may not even be dreaming about that. He could be dreaming about zombies for all I know." She felt Steven finally release her arm. "I think he's fine now." She lifted the corner of his blanket, which he had crumpled while thrashing about, and pulled it over his shoulders.

"Okay." Peridot stared at Steven for a long moment before hesitantly moving closer again. Cautiously, she reached out and touched his hair, trying to imitate what Pearl had done. He stirred a little and muttered something about a "cookie cat".

There was an odd, warm sensation growing in Peridot's chest and the corners of her mouth were quirking upwards as she regarded this strange Gem. He looked… What was the word? Cute? She felt a sudden urge to go and invent a device that could just zap away Steven's "nightmares" before they could even manifest.

When she looked up, she saw that Pearl was watching her with an odd smile on her face. There was a strange softness in the other Gem's blue eyes. It was unfamiliar and made her feel a little uncomfortable and extremely confused. Her cheeks grew warm and she quickly looked away again.

Pearl's smile widened as she watched Peridot. The green Gem's mouth was set in a stubborn line now, similar to when Pearl had asked if she cared about Steven. This time though, Pearl was more aware of the dark green blush that was currently adorning her face. For some reason, she could feel her own cheeks heating up in response.

"Should we stay here to make sure he doesn't have another nightmare malfunction?" Peridot asked before mentally kicking herself.

Why did I say "we"?! Before, she would have said "I" or "you". No, she corrected herself. Before, I wouldn't have spoken to her at all.

"It couldn't hurt," Pearl replied, her blush deepening. She tried to will it away. She was only happy because she was being given an excuse to watch Steven sleep again. That was the only logical explanation.

Peridot nodded, moving back to sit down at the bottom of the bed again. She watched the steady rise and fall of Steven's chest with a small measure of fascination. What was it like to power down like a machine? Were there always dream-movies, or did people ever feel the blankness of an empty screen in their heads? Perhaps she would ask Steven about it in the morning.

Pearl also moved into a more comfortable sitting position. In the process, her arm brushed Peridot's and she felt the smaller Gem flinch instinctively. That made her feel oddly sad. Is she still scared of me? she wondered.

When she chanced a glance, she saw that Peridot was already looking up at her. She felt her cheeks flush, but didn't look away. There was something odd about Peridot's expression. It was very ponderous, as if she was trying to discern something specific by studying Pearl's face.

Peridot felt a now-familiar heat in her cheeks when Pearl looked at her. It was weird. When Pearl had brushed against her, her immediate reaction had been to move away. Now, however, she was feeling strangely regretful and very much wanted to move closer to her. This had certainly never happened before. Did Pearl potentially have a strange Earth disease that Peridot was now catching?

Well, she rationalized. If I've already caught it, I won't really suffer if I do this. Carefully, she moved sideways, closing the small amount of distance between her and Pearl. Her arm, side, and hip pressed lightly against hers and her face became even hotter. She was aware of a tingling sensation in her chest that was both unsettling and pleasant. Continuing to look at Pearl would only increase her confusion, so she elected to fix her gaze on the sleeping Steven once more.

Pearl could no longer deny the fact that she was blushing. What was wrong with her? Was she actually developing a crush on Peridot of all people? As was to be expected, her thoughts went immediately to Rose. This only confused her more, as she had a very vivid impression that, if Rose were there, she would be watching this scene with an approving smile.

Her pinky brushed against Peridot's and she looked down at their hands. Slowly, cautiously, she moved her hand until it was covering Peridot's. She felt another surge of warmth. Peridot's hand was so small that her own hand completely enveloped it. This made her feel strangely protective, even though there was no immediate danger.

Peridot was absolutely positive that her brain was short-circuiting. Was it normal for another individual's hand to feel so warm, soft, and…comforting? She felt her body move, as if of its own accord, until she was leaning into Pearl's side, her cheek pressed against the other Gem's shoulder.

This also felt comforting. Peridot realized only then that her lips had turned upward into a small smile that she couldn't will away, no matter how much she tried. Eventually, she just decided to close her eyes and enjoy the moment, even though she had no clue why she was enjoying it in the first place. Pearl rested her head on top of hers and she felt as if something in her chest was about to burst.

Yes, she decided as she felt herself being lulled into a more dormant state by Pearl's warmth and Steven's quiet breathing. I have definitely caught some kind of Earth disease.

In case you were wondering, the remaining prompts are Afraid/Kiss, Space/Archaic, Fusion/AU, Trust/Training, and Defective/Repair. So, there will be much more fluff in the upcoming chapters. Review, but don't flame. You know the drill.

Peace out!