“So, Peridot, are you going to name them?” Steven’s cheery voice brought her attention to the young boy, and she glanced up from the geodes. She had brought them out of the temple at his request, so he could see them. She hadn’t minded too much, really, though it was a minor inconvenience to move the five tiny young outside. The lamp was reflecting on their shells, still bright and shiny, and the detectors were still showing signs of life. It left her giddy and excited, knowing they still had a chance at least, unless her equipment was malfunctioning, and if it was, there was no way she was going to be able to fix it. Not without the Homeworld tech needed to repair it.
“Huh?” she asked in confusion, and he glanced to the little ones again, drawing her attention back to them. She wished that there had been more of the jaspers that had made it, but at least there was one, even if it was a runt. It wasn’t a complete failure, as long a that one made it. There were the four peridots, but they weren’t nearly as important when they needed more soldiers. Hopefully they would be strong like their sire and they would be worth it, but even if they weren’t, she’d love them anyways. She didn’t want the little ones to be too weak to even crack their shells, and part of her was screaming that they would be fine anyways, here on Earth were there was no superiors to decided they needed smashing because they were too weak.“The gemlings. Are you going to name them?” Confusion flooded her, and she could feel it displaying clearly on her features. What did he mean, naming them? They had names, didn’t they? They would be peridots like herself, and a little jasper, like Jasper.“Name them? What do you mean?” He looked flabbergasted, as if that was the worst possible thing in the world, her not knowing what she meant by naming them, and his hands rose to his cheeks, pressing against them in what she assumed was an exclamation of shock. She had been getting better at understanding the half-human boy in the past month.
“You don’t know what naming is? It’s like, your name is Peridot, my name is Steven, Lion’s name is Lion, Pearl’s name is Pearl–” She cut him off with a wave of her hand before he could continue listing off the names of the other’s. She understand what names were, but didn’t understand why she would name them. They already had names, didn’t they? Their names would have been their gem types, just like everyone else’s.
“I know what a name is. I don’t understand why I would name them. The four of them peridots like me, and the runt is a jasper like their sire.” His confusion was as evident as her own must have been seconds ago, and he put his hands down, tilting his head curiously. She had forgot that he was still so young mentally, even if he was older than her, and he didn’t have the extensive knowledge she did herself.
“What’s sire mean?”
“A sire is… Uh…” She had to stop and think about it, unless she said something the other gems wouldn’t like. They seemed to think her little one were worth saving so far, but if she said something they didn’t like, wouldn’t they still kill her? She was on thin ice as far as she could tell, and didn’t want to not be able to even see her little ones hatch because she had messed up. She tried to think of an analogy that he would understand, and it clicked. “Oh! Your father, Greg, that’s your sire.”
“Oh! Wait, does that mean Jasper is their dad?” She hesitated, and he looked concerned in the time it took her to reply. What was she supposed to tell him? That wasn’t really the right term, but at the same time, it was. She sucked on her bottom lip as she tried to think of what she should say to him.
“Yes. Jasper is their dad,” she eventually settled on, and his eyes sparkled, like he had just discovered the meaning of life. She ran a hand through her hair, and she could see the questions running through his head. “I know you want to ask questions, but I’m not going to answer all of them. I’ll answer some, so go ahead and fire away.”
“Does that mean that you’re in love with her? Do you miss her? Is she going to help you name them? Are they going to call her Dad and you Mom? Or are do gems have other names for their parents? Are–”
“Whoa, whoa, one at a time! You have to give me time to answer them, Steven. I… No, me and Jasper aren’t in love. It… It’s complicated, but I don’t really… I mean, I like her, I guess, but, not really enough to say I love her. I do kind of miss her, but nothing major, and I’m not even sure I’m going to name them. I don’t know what they’ll call us, or if they’ll call us anything besides our gem types.”
“But you have to name them! If you don’t name them, then we’ll have five Peridots running around, and that’s going to be hard to call just one of you. Plus, you have to have some kind of name for yourself. They’re your kids!” She stared at him for a moment before looking back to the little ones. Maybe he was right. They at least needed nicknames or something, and maybe them calling her mom wouldn’t be too far a stretch.
“I… I suppose you’re right. They do need to call me something, and I suppose mom would be acceptable… I… How about you help me name them? I’ve never had to name anything before, and I’m not entirely sure what I should go with.” His eyes took on that shine that she knew meant he was excited with her asking for his help, and she could have almost worn their were stars in his eyes.
“Okay! How about… Hmmm… How about Streak for this one?” he asked after a moment, pointing at the green geode with dark stripes. She was relieved that he hadn’t touched them like she had asked, and took a moment to consider what he had said. Streak seemed fine, considering her stripes, and she nodded slowly, knowing that it would be easy for the little one to use it as a nickname when she got older if she had to. “Um, how about we name the other stripped one Smudge? Cause it kinda looks like smudges on her shell, and that seems like it’d be a good one.”
“That’s acceptable. I think I will call the little jasper Runt.” His face fell and his bottom lip stuck out, his arms moving to a pleading position, and she knew his begging was coming.
“Aw, come on, Peridot, you gotta come up with an actual name! Oh, oh, what about Dottie for one of the other peridot gemlings? I mean, Dottie is still close to Peridot, right?” She could only nod again, because it was a nice one compared to her attempt at naming the runt, but she didn’t want the little one to be hurt by the name she was sure to be called if they ever left this stupid planet. But would they? The chances were so slim, why would they risk it for her, Jasper, and the gemlings they were supposed to have? Maybe they could actually have life on this planet after all.
“Dottie, Streak, and Smudge. Okay, I will try to remember that, but you’ll have to help me remember, okay?” He nods energetically, an she smiles, watching the little boy bounce slightly in his seat at the bar. She was glad they weren’t on the couch like he wanted originally, or his bouncing could have harmed the little geodes she found herself so protective of. The other two needed names, and she had to think of something, but she wasn’t sure what. Maybe she could get the others to stop calling her Peri, and name the little one that? No, that wouldn’t work. Jasper preferred to call her Peri, and she wouldn’t stop.
What about Byte for the runt? That seemed like the best one, since she was going to be so small, and since she didn’t have to worry about the gemlings going to Homeworld, it would be a good name for the little one. Byte, Streak, Smudge, Dottie, and… What else? The little green shell seemed to taunt her as she tried to think of what to call it. She reached out and ran her fingers over the shells, feeling how smooth they were. What to call her?
“Byte and Data. Byte for the runt, and Data for the other peridot.” He smiled, nodding happily at her, and she couldn’t help smiling back. His smile was contagious, impossible not to love, and she couldn’t deny the fact that she cared for him. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else, the door to the temple slid open and they turned, Sapphire stepping outside. She glanced around before looking to Steven, Ruby running out behind her before the door could shut all the way.
“Sapphire, come on! You gotta let me go on the mission! I don’t want to stay here, and what if you get hurt? I want to be there with you, please!” She watched the blue gem glance to her before shaking her head, pressing a gloved hand to the other’s stomach. What was going on? Were they going on a mission? Was Sapphire not allowing Ruby to go? It was understandable, since the other was carrying their geodes, and she glanced to her own, knowing the danger that would come with it, and remembering the ones she had lost.
“You have to stay here, Ruby. You’re so close to laying, I don’t want you to get hurt. What if you ended up losing them because you got hurt?” She looked back at the others, watching Ruby deflate. Her arms wrapped around herself, holding her stomach, and Peridot watched the other embrace her. “I know you want to be there to protect me, but you need protecting right now. The mission will go fine without you.”
“I… Okay. Fine, I’ll stay,” she mumbled, pressing closer to her significant other, and the green gem looked away when they leaned in to kiss, turning to stroke the shell of her little ones. She didn’t want to spy in on their private moment, especially with something so intimate.
“Steven! Come on, we have a mission,” Sapphire called, and the little boy hopped down from his stool, Peridot turning to watch him run over. She watched him hop on the warp pad, smiling as he stood next to the small gem next to him. Ruby stood off to the side, her arms crossed slightly as she pouted. Apparently she didn’t like not being able to go on the mission if her mood was anything to go by. From what the technician could tell, anyway.
“What about Pearl and Amethyst? Are they coming?” he asked after a moment, glancing around for the missing members of the Crystal Gems. She couldn’t help but be curious about them as well, since it seemed unlikely that they would go on a mission with just the two of them. She hadn’t actually seen any of the gems go on a mission with Steven by themselves during the time that she had been here, as it was always the entire group. Or at least, it had been until Ruby got farther along like now, unable to go anymore.
“They’re on their way. Give them about ten seconds.” Seconds later- as the other predicted, with scary accuracy- the other two members of the Crystal Gems stepped from the temple onto the warping pad, and the four of them warped out without another word. All that was left then was her, the red gem, and her geodes. An awkward glance was shared between them before she turned back to her little ones. Her detached fingers ran over them, feeling how smooth their shells were. Beautiful, shiny little ones, and they had their own names now. Hopefully, they would hatch.
“Hey.” The other’s voice flooded her ears and she glanced to the red gem as she sat on the stool Steven had occupied moments before. She looked to her, swallowing dryly. It was so awkward to be around her, and the only one she even felt comfortable being around was Steven. The rest of them were hard to be around, especially since they had found her laying her geodes after chasing her for so long. She chewed the inside of her lip before offering the other a small wave.
“Hello,” she said awkwardly, more interested in her little shiny shelled geodes rather than the other gem attempting to hold a conversation with her. She supposed that she should have said something else to her, but she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say, especially with how things had been since she had been caught. They had almost killed her before, and since then the only one that really conversed with her for the past month on this miserable month had been Steven. Occasionally, Pearl would attempt, but it was always so awkward and weird between them, though she did appreciate the effort. She had gave her the heat lamp for the little ones, thankfully, and helped her take care of them, teaching her what she needed to know about them.
“So, uh, how have you been doing?” the little red gem asked, and she glanced to her, trying to come up with how she should have respond. She wasn’t bad, considering the fact that she could have been trapped in a bubble, or lost all of her little ones instead of most, or worse.
“I’m… I’m okay. How about you?” She turned to the red gem, hoping that this line of conversation was what the other wanted. It seemed to be, as she shrugged and put her head on one hand, leaning on the counter.
“I’m alright.” She paused, staring at her geodes, and the technician looked back at them, stroking their shiny shells with her floating fingers. They were so small and she couldn’t believe they were so close to finally hatching. “Have you been turning them? If you don’t, they could stick to the shells.”
“Yes. Pearl taught me how to properly take care of them. She’s actually the one that gave me the heat lamp. She said that it would be best to keep their temperatures as constant as possible and that it would help to have the lamp on them. I’m very grateful she’s been helping me,” she told the other, and she nodded slowly, putting one hand over her stomach. She watched her hand squeeze slightly, and furrowed her brows in worry as she watched her. Was she okay? “Are… Are you in pain?”
“A little bit,” the other admitted, swallowing. She looked to her stomach then, sucking on her bottom lip. “Didn’t want to tell Sapphire and worry her though, since it’s not too bad. Not labour bad or anything.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want you laying while they’re out. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know where they went, so I can’t get them for you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I know what that feels like, and not that. Mostly just my skin stretching, I guess.”
“Alright…” The silence that fell was awkward, and she picked up the runt, holding it close and feeling the shell. It was heavier than it had been when she laid it, and she assumed that meant the gemling inside was developing. They were due to hatch any day now, and she couldn’t wait to hold them all for the first time. She glanced up, seeing the other staring, and hesitated for a second before offering the orange little geode. “Do you uh, want to hold it?”
“R-really? You’d be okay with that?” She swallowed and nodded, because the other had held her girls before, and held her own defunct ones for years, so she didn’t see a problem with her holding it. She took it from her slowly, cautiously, and the green gem gave her a shaky smile. Her hands would be better than Peridot’s fingers, because she at least had palms to hold them with, and she watched the other smile and hold it close. "It’s… It’s heavier than it was before. That’s good.“
"Yeah.” She nodded slowly, looking back to her other four. Streak, Smudge, Data, and Dottie. She couldn’t hide her smile, because they meant the world to her when she had nothing else, and she noticed then that the silence was much less awkward, comfortable even, in the moments together with Ruby and her geodes. She didn’t bother saying anything, and Ruby didn’t either, enjoying each other’s company.