Note: This is meant to be set after the events of "Too Far". This is my first fanfiction I've had enough confidence to post online. I've also not been able to practice my creative writing skills for a while. It may be slow to start out but I promise it will get much better and very cute. Enjoy!

The sun set on the third day of working on the drill. The Crystal Gems and Peridot decided to call it a night and headed back to the temple. As the gems each retreated to their respective rooms, Peridot settled in her temporary bathroom home. She was no longer confined to it, but she did not really know where else to go. Plus, it wasn't really so bad. It was a small and private place for her to stay.

Peridot quietly shut and locked the door behind her. Crawling into the bathtub, she carefully closed the shower curtain around her. It had been an exhausting day. Not only physically, but mentally. Trying to understand the Earth and its customs, the concept of hurt feelings, and the difficult task of apology left her tired. Peridot sat down in a corner and fiddled with her tape recorder, attempted to process all that had happened.

The day had been going poorly until Steven and Amethyst accompanied her to the Kindergarten. Peridot was making Amethyst laugh, talking about the other Crystal Gems and their various defects.

But things started to go downhill once again when Peridot commented on how Amethyst was the only Crystal Gem who was actually a gem. At the time, Peridot saw no harm in the comment. She never imagined Amethyst would be upset just because she had remarked that the quartz gem had stayed in the ground too long and that's why she was small. She only wanted to make her laugh.

After that, Amethyst started ignoring her. This produced an awful feeling that Peridot could only describe as "small". It was a feeling she loathed and hoped to always avoid.

Steven told Peridot that she had hurt Amethyst's feelings and that she should apologize. Peridot still didn't understand, but she didn't like the idea of hurting Amethyst. She needed to see her laugh and smile again. It took all the courage she could muster, but Peridot managed to record a sincere apology for her on her tape recorder, which she played for Amethyst and Steven. When Amethyst smiled and thanked her, she felt so happy and relieved. Then Amethyst added that she was "still a nerd".

Peridot began to feel frustrated all over again. "What does that even mean?" she quietly grumbled to herself.

She pressed the red button on her tape recorder.

"Log date 7112. The Crystal Gems and their 'feelings' continue to confound me. Their preoccupation with 'feelings' are illogical and serve no useful function," she paused, a sense of being ashamed overcame her. "However, I fear I am beginning to succumb to their ways. Making the Amethyst laugh gave me …good feelings. Apologizing to her for my error made me feel big. Bigger than I have felt on this gem-forsaken planet so far."

Feeling a little self-conscious, Peridot hesitated for a moment. She reminded herself that these were her logs and she was free to record what she wanted. No one would hear them. She never let the tape recorder out of her sight for a second.

She sighed. "I am currently having recurring thoughts about her for no apparent reason," she continued, thinking about Amethyst and her smile again. "My temperature readings seem to elevate when I am in her presence. What is most peculiar is that I don't really want these feelings to stop."

Suddenly, she was interrupted by a small voice.

"Um, Peridot?"

Peridot jumped. Scrambling to hit the stop button on her tape recorder, she silently hoped no one had heard anything. Slowly, she peeked out from behind the shower curtain. At the bathroom sink stood a familiar little boy in his pajamas.

"What are you doing in here!?" she demanded.

"I have to brush my teeth," explained Steven.

Peridot was confused. She hadn't even heard him come in. "But…how did you even get in here?"

Steven set his toothbrush down. "Oh, I have my ways," he replied, simply. A smirk appeared on his face. "So, what was that about Amethyst?"

She panicked. How much had he heard? Peridot wished she could just disappear.

"It was nothing!" Peridot stammered. "Continue—whatever it is you were doing!"

"It's okay, Peridot," Steven said, stepping towards her. "You know, it's fine to feel that way about someone."

"What way?" Peridot demanded angrily, climbing out of the bathtub.

He grinned. "You like her."

"Like…?"

"You know," he said. "Having a crush on someone."

She was thoroughly confused now, and was getting more than a little anxious about where he was going with this. "Crush on her?" she laughed, nervously. "Why would I do such a thing? Didn't you see how I saved her from the drill today?"

"No, no," Steven laughed. "On Earth, we say you have a crush on someone when you like them a lot. But not just in a friendship way, in a romantic way. Like Ruby and Sapphire. Or my mom and dad."

Peridot's anxious smile disappeared. Her face flushed. She started to feel dizzy.

That can't be it. Can it?

She and Amethyst? She, a lowly peridot and a gem warrior? What a laughable concept. But if Peridot did like her, as Steven was hinting at, no one could ever know.

"Are you okay, Peridot?"

The small green gem snapped back to reality. Her immediate reaction was to grab Steven by the collar of his pajamas.

"Listen, you little clod! I may find Amethyst's qualities respectable, being that she is defective yet possesses the same capabilities of a normal quartz, but I do NOT…" Peridot shuddered, "…like her."

She kept her grip on Steven for a few more seconds before letting him go, his face now an expression of concern rather than amusement. For a few moments, there was silence between them. Peridot turned away, considering what she was feeling and knowing nothing but shame.

"I mean, it sounds to me like you might," Steven said gently. "What you were saying about you thinking about her all the time, and feeling warm, and how she makes you happy. That's sometimes what it means."

One part of the day in particular flashed into Peridot's mind: how she broke free from the leash Garnet had put on her just in time to save Amethyst from the runaway drill. Awkwardly enough, she had toppled onto Amethyst after the rescue. She thought about how uncomfortable the whole encounter was, but that feeling of Amethyst so close to her was...

The realization washed over her.

She would need to try her best to hide it.

Staring at the floor, Peridot walked back into the bathtub, closing the curtain behind her once again. She found her usual spot in the corner and curled up. "Well, I think you're mistaken," she said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

Steven silently shrugged his shoulders, and went back to brushing his teeth.