"Hm… 14 candles exactly. You did well managing the space available to you to fit them on this giant confection. But how do you make this work as the age value continuously rises?"

"Well, we haven't crossed that road yet," Pearl explained to Peridot. "We've only done this for Steven until today. I imagine we'll have to improvise with numbered candles in a few years…"

"Or we could just make a bigger cake," Amethyst eagerly suggested. "Can't ever have enough of that stuff, y'know?"

Pearl grunted and rolled her eyes. "You would propose that. Unfortunately, if the turnout is going to remain as big as it is now, I may actually have to resort to that just to have enough to offer anyone a piece."

"You say that assuming we'll eat anything in the first place," another Peridot quipped. Nearly identical to the Peridot of the Crystal Gems (albeit in the standard uniform), Facet-2F5L Cut-5XF was also a guest of honor by virtue that this was also her "birthday", being only six seconds older than her sister.

It was quite apparent 5XF was not enjoying her time here; she remained rigidly in one spot since she arrived and there was nary a hint of joy or any kind of positive emotion in her expressions at all.

"Because frankly, I don't see the point," 5XF finished. She looked over to her fellow birthday gem with a cross expression.

"Don't you look at me like that," Peridot warned; she had been dealing with 5XF's attitude off-and-on all day. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be here. I knew you wouldn't appreciate it, and I don't care to share my annual day of spotlight and celebration. If you wanna point fingers, Steven's the one who insisted on letting you clods in. All because he felt bad that you all spied on his birthday party the other week ago when he readily would have invited you."

Steven smiled nervously and waved to 5XF. "S-sorry; I thought maybe you and the other gems might like some kind of entertainment after all the courses you've been taking to adapt to Earth. It really hasn't been easy for either side here, y'know…"

"Oh, I'm sure some of them wanted to see what all the fuss was about," 5XF agreed. "But just know this stunt of yours isn't winning anyone over, Crystal Gems. This looks innocent enough – I'll give you that – but we have our reasons to question your motives."

"If that's how ya feel, you're free to leave anytime!" Bismuth interjected. "C'mon; I understand you're still confused and don't know what's what around here yet. I was brought back from stasis not long before you, y'know. Some stuff on Earth still confuses me, too. I get it. But this is supposed to be a happy day where we celebrate someone we love – there ain't no other motive to it! If you're just gonna stand around and bring down the mood, I recommend y'all head back to where you were assigned before and mind your own Bismuth!"

That effectively silenced 5XF and left the other refugees stunned with silence. No gem dared to utter a word.

The Crystal Gems, on the other hand, all were overjoyed to see their blacksmith shut down this disruption before it could truly start. Peridot in particular looked very proud of her teammate.

"You're a natural usher, Bismuth," she commended. "Thank you very much for that; it was needed."

Peridot's pointed look to 5XF startled her fellow kin as she watched a large number of the refugees behind her start to disperse and return to their posts. She didn't follow along, and a few gems were bold enough to remain with her.

"Happy to serve, Peri," Bismuth cheerfully called back. "We really need a day off after all this work."

Her look shifted over towards 5XF and the much smaller group of gems behind her. "I'll commend y'all for bein' bold enough to stand your ground after that," she told them. "But mind what I said: there might be some consequences for disruptin' our day any more. We clear on that?"

The remaining refugees silently nodded, though 5XF did so very begrudgingly. Since she was the first refugee released (at least a week before any others), 5XF had a bit of an advantage over her fellow Homeworld immigrants when it came to adapting to Earth and trying to figure out what to make of the Crystal Gems. Consequently, she gained some followers for standing out more so than any of the others – her close relation to 5XG and disdain for her sister made her even more popular with the refugees.

"Alright, then! We all ready for lighting the cake and the song part of all this?" Bismuth asked as she turned to her friends.

"Looks like we're all here and accounted for, so I'd say we are," Pearl confirmed as she lit each candle on the cake. Peridot reflexively leaned away once they were all lit, but was mesmerized by the visual. She had seen this a couple of weeks ago with Steven's cake, but this one was hers. And she even decided to eat the cake as it was made in honor of her.

While the rest of the Crystal Gems sang Happy Birthday to Peridot, the birthday gem herself couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. She did love having all of this attention, but normally it was after accomplishing something; a task, or outdoing a teammate in some sort of feat. Today, she was being adored just for being here.

She blushed as she caught Steven never breaking sight from her during the entire song. Instantly, what they had done three-quarters of the day ago came to mind. It turned out to be a good idea to have relieved some of their lascivious tension, as it was beginning to return with a vengeance by this point in the evening. Thankfully, this party wasn't scheduled to last much longer. The second the festivities ended was the second Peridot and Steven would spend the rest of the night together in complete and total privacy.

"You remember what Steven did after we finished the song, right?" Pearl asked the birthday gem.

"–Oh, of course," Peridot sharply answered after a moment's silence of Pearl's voice breaking her concentration. "Blowing out all of these candles."

"You gotta be sure to make a wish before ya do it," Amethyst reminded her. "And for it to come true, you gotta make sure you take all the candles out in one go and don't tell anyone what you wished for!"

Peridot was puzzled by this, but not for the reason anyone first expected.

"… I can already do that," she said. "Making wishes come true, that is."

That brought about a period of awkward silence as her friends remembered that this was no exaggeration. Since ascending to become the Diamond of Will, Peridot just needed to want something badly enough to make it happen.

"Um… I think I have an idea," Connie spoke up. "Peridot, you do still have limitations on what you can make happen with your willpower, right?"

Peridot flinched a bit when she thought back on what she couldn't do. It would always indirectly remind her that her own willpower couldn't save Pumpkin's life. Luckily Iridescent Diamond could pick up the slack in that regard, but it did annoy Peridot that she couldn't pull off great feats like that on her own. There were quite a few other concepts that limited her abilities, now that she thought about it…

"W-well, yes," Peridot confirmed. "Right away what comes to mind is my inability to take on the abilities of others if I don't understand them, or if I can't visualize them."

She looked across her circle of friends to cite examples. "Powers like Lapis' control over water – that's a very simple concept to understand and visualize, so I can replicate it. But then there's Steven's powers... I still can't understand them, much less picture the concept in my head. Thusly, I can't take on his powers. There are other limitations beyond that, but I think you get the idea, Connie. Not much has really changed since I first ascended in that regard."

Connie nodded in understanding. "Got it. So, with that in mind… you can make your birthday wish something you want that's beyond even your power! That's the magic of it, you see?"

"That makes sense… in theory," Peridot acknowledged. The very concept of a birthday wish having that kind of power sounded completely absurd and completely illogical…

… Then again, the same could be said for her own identity as a Diamond hybrid science experiment that enabled her to shift between two legitimate forms of her body. Simultaneously, Peridot was the lowest and highest of gem society – on paper, that sounded roughly as ridiculous as a birthday wish with no limits to what it could grant.

"Very well, then. I'll put my best efforts into making this process successful."

For the diminutive Peridot, though, the task of taking out 14 candles in a single blow was daunting. She thought to ask if using her willpower to blow air indefinitely would be considered cheating, but decided not to speak up on the matter. If she was discrete with it, no one would think she was using her power at all.

"You got this, Dot!" an enthusiastic Steven cheered on. "After everything we've been through, this oughta be a piece of cake, right?"

Some of his friends chuckled at his choice of wording. After a few moments, Steven realized what he did and laughed along with them. Peridot, unsurprisingly, was perplexed.

"It's not a piece of cake, Steven," she pointed out. "It's an entire cake that has yet to be sliced. Unless you're implying the entirety of the cake is a "piece", but I think only Amethyst would regard it that way…"

That made her friends laugh even harder.

"It's totally just a phrase, P-Dot!" Amethyst sputtered out amidst her laughter. "Just another way of sayin' "it's easy", y'know?"

"Oh." Peridot stared down at the cake and back to her friends and cracked a smile. "I get it… the choice of words being apropos for the context of this scenario. Steven, did you use that phrase intentionally?"

"N-nope!" Steven laughed out as he started to calm down. "Total coincidence. Just a really funny one. We believe in you, Peridot! Take out those candles!"

Peridot couldn't avoid blushing at her boyfriend's support. Well before they had a properly-defined relationship… even before the technician entertained the idea of feeling this way for Steven, really, his words of encouragement would always give her strength. She could never figure out how, but at this point it really didn't matter. Just a picture of the boy was enough to keep Peridot steady for the mission that led to the Era 3 life they now currently lived. His physical presence would fill her with energy and determination… and his words always made Peridot feel like she could do anything.

She sharply nodded to Steven and shifted her focus back to her cake. The gem eyed her target while taking a deep breath. Luckily she didn't need to breathe, so there was no danger of asphyxiating herself in this effort. But her little chest could only hold in so much air. Peridot's ascension may have notably altered her body to the point where she could surpass Amethyst's height, but she was still very much considered a tiny individual. Steven's growth spurt made him easily surpass Peridot in height, so despite the changes, she still remained to be the third-smallest member of the Crystal Gems behind Connie and Amethyst… the same placement she was in prior to her ascension.

As expected, Peridot could not easily blow out all 14 candles with her breath. Barely half were taken out by her own efforts.

Beyond wanting her wish to come true, Peridot didn't want to disappoint her audience who eagerly watched on. She was determined not to make herself look bad at her own party, so she continued blowing stubbornly even as it became apparent she had very little air left to offer. At that point, she willed herself a very subtle "second wind", so to speak, to eventually blow down the rest of the remaining tiny flames sitting atop her cake.

She weakly smiled when she was met with applause and not a single accusation that she cheated to achieve this.

Of course, most of the Crystal Gems could see plain as day that Peridot couldn't have possibly accomplished this entirely by her own efforts and probably did cheat, but none were inclined to call her out on it. Not even Lapis wanted to go out of her way to be catty to her former roommate.

A few days prior, Peridot was called on by her friends to do a taste test on what flavor of cake she would prefer. Pearl believed the young gem would best appreciate the traditional yellow cake, while Amethyst was firmly in the chocolate camp. Connie thought perhaps Peridot would be inclined to something more exotic like a fruit-flavored variety.

Unsurprisingly, Peridot's best friend picked the winning flavor. Thinking back on it, Pearl and Connie agreed it seemed fitting that Peridot would be a bit of a chocolate fiend if she actually ate on a regular basis.

Once Peridot tried her first bite of the cake, she was seriously considering following Amethyst's example and make eating an actual habit. While she had no need for this kind of sustenance, the flavor offered Peridot a unique sort of joy and sensation. And it did seem to aid her stamina, as Peridot felt very refreshed after finishing her first slice.

What Peridot didn't realize was that chocolate was the last thing she needed to consume while staving off her dire need to capture Steven here and now and escape to their private refuge on the Moon.

The moment this prospect of having a hiding place on the Moon away from everyone was discussed during Peridot and Steven's first date after returning to Earth, the technician was quick to make her desires a reality. Thankfully, she had a natural great talent for designing and construction (one of the few abilities Peridot could say she didn't owe to the small shard of Diamond embedded in her gemstone) and her enhanced abilities made this task much easier than it was initially projected to be.

With practice, Chartreuse Diamond could easily teleport herself and Steven safely to the old moon base, and eventually to where their small but lavish vacation dome was settled a good distance away from the base. They didn't want to be found in an area where they could easily be spotted by the likes of Ronaldo, but agreed the dark side of the Moon was far too frigid and dreary to settle in, so they settled for an area on the fringe of that border. Peridot even made sure to color their dome gray so that it would blend in with the Moon's landscape better – despite so badly wanting a nice pink and green design to it. She would have to settle for just having that for the dome's interior. And of course, Chartreuse's enhanced willpower was needed to keep their little haven full of oxygen for Steven's benefit and temperature controls.

They had only used their hiding spot a few times since it was established… usually when the pair knew they would be far too loud or conspicuous to risk being near anybody, or if they truly did just want to get away from absolutely everybody out of sheer stress.

While Peridot's mind was stuck on where she wished she could be at that moment, a nudge to her shoulder snapped the young gem out of it. She looked to see her friends offering her presents… and that was enough to bring out a wild smile from her.

"Ah, yes. Gifts for me," she acknowledged with a calm but clearly anxious tone. "Tributes to the Great and Lovable Peridot. I look forward to seeing the quality of your offerings, dear friends."

"Open this one first," Lapis urged as she offered her fellow tenant a modestly-sized dark green box decorated with yellow stars. "Bismuth and I collaborated to make something special for you."

Peridot happily nodded to Lapis and accepted her gift. "I cannot overstate how thrilled I am that you and Bismuth managed to become such good friends… and all that needed to be done was to trap you two in a narrow tube," she added with a laugh. "But honestly, Lapis… I'm actually proud of you. Not only did you agree to really stay with us this time, but you're branching out and making other friends in the process."

"It was a rough start, but it's been nothin' short of a pleasure to have her company," Bismuth proudly affirmed. "And I'm glad to have it. So I got you to thank for that, Peri."

"C-c'mon," Peridot stuttered as she waved her hand dismissively. "You two had to make it work by your own efforts… I didn't even see how it played out. It thrills me to see how well you're adjusting to Earth, Bismuth. I suppose it's not too surprising since you've lived here for such a long time, but you're still probably just as confused as Lapis when it comes to the changes. But you'll come to a full understanding very soon."

Peridot smirked as she looked down at her present and began to peel off the wrapping. "I did not expect a collaborative effort between you two for this… now I'm intrigued."

"Well, we had completely different ideas about what to get you separately," Lapis explained. "I wanted to get you an accessory because I think you could stand to be a bit more stylish. Especially since you're courting Steven now; you should start putting more effort into looking your best for him when you go out together."

"And I really wanted to find a way to use my abilities to get you somethin' practical to use in case we ever have to battle it out against any future blockheads thinkin' of invading us," Bismuth added. "But you and me – our specialties don't align all that well with your modern-day tech stuff and my traditional methods. So I had an idea – even though you're not stuck with Era 2 limitations no more, I've never seen you summon a weapon from your gemstone like all the others do. I wasn't sure if you never tried yet, or if for some reason you just can't."

Peridot nodded in agreement. She was a bit embarrassed about this subject, but she indulged her teammate.

"It's possible it's a little bit of both," she answered. "It's true; since it's been very peaceful for the most part since our Homeworld mission, I haven't really thought to try it."

There was the occasional stray corrupted gem that would still be discovered some where in the world, but Peridot was never available to participate. The Crystal Gems agreed it was more important for her to stay and continue teaching the refugees, with Garnet adding that it would be a logical move to keep one co-lead at the base just to be on the safe side.

"At the same time… I'm still a low-caste technician despite my ascension; an Era 2 to boot," she pointed out. "My kind was never meant to fight. Would it not be safe to assume we were all mandated to wear limb enhancers because we had no other means of summoning any kind of means of self-defense?"

"For what it's worth… I can say your assessment is correct," 5XF stated, casually intruding on the conversation. "I'm unsure about you, but I never saw any Peridot without limb enhancers once they were first equipped on the assembly line. We were equipped with weapons as well as tools because our gemstones are incapable of forming the weapons you often see the Era 1 gems incept from theirs. The weapons were purely for self-defense only. Even though your mutation has allowed you to bypass several of your inherent Era 2 limitations, 5XG, I don't believe your gemstone will be a changed aspect. Besides that, considering your current abilities, does it not seem pointless?"

Peridot managed a smile at 5XF. Her friends were also relieved to see the more aloof of the two Peridots could add to a conversation without needless antagonism.

"You indeed have a point, 5XF," Peridot warmly replied. "I can just will whatever kind of weapon I want into existence now; it would be redundant to have both abilities at once. Thank you for your input."

5XF nodded stiffly in return with a neutral hum of acknowledgement. It seemed despite her earlier statements, she did to some degree want to be closer to this group…

"So it's a good thing Lapis and I made this for you," Bismuth proudly realized. "It's not exactly a weapon per se – but it'll be handy to have if you're caught in a bind!"

Peridot finally pulled out what was inside the box. It was… a golden bracelet.

"It's just a gold finish," Bismuth was quick to point out. "Real gold wouldn't really be good for the utility I intended for it."

After a moment of analyzing it, Peridot cautiously slipped it around her right wrist.

"I suppose it makes me "flashier", as they say on Earth," Peridot mused. "So how am I to utilize this for practical purposes?"

"We know your metal power was just a little preview of the real power you have," Lapis explained. "But we've noticed you're still inclined to use that power more than anything else you're capable of now, so I figured we should give you something that lets you make use of that power anywhere at any time without having to summon something through sheer will."

Bismuth nodded in agreement. "You can use that power of yours to morph that bracelet into whatever you want. My idea was you makin' jagged edges to the side, so you can cut through any baddie or obstacle in close range."

"You can shape it into a conventional weapon or a projectile," Lapis added. "And with a power like yours, I'm sure you won't lose it. Once you're done, you can just morph it back to fit around your arm until you need it again. Beyond that, you'll look that much nicer for Steven when you go out. We put a spare in there for you, too. Just in case something happens to that one, or if you'd just like to have an even match. I insisted on the gold plating, because it's obviously your color more so than the rest."

"As I recall, you insisted on wantin' gold period till I told you that wouldn't be good fightin' material," Bismuth pointed out with a laugh.

Lapis rolled her eyes, but laughed along as she couldn't refute that. Meanwhile, Peridot slipped on the spare bracelet on her bare wrist and observed their appearance.

"They do fit well," Peridot commended. She was fairly certain Lapis was familiar enough with the size and circumference of her tiny wrists to know exactly what specs to give Bismuth while they were made. "And I acknowledge these could be quite an asset; I do have to spare time to think and visualize anything I wish to have, and in combat, you must be constantly ready and never vulnerable. It's not exactly the best environment for concentration, either."

She smiled to the pair in approval. "So, for all I know, these might save me from being shattered in the future. Thank you very much, Bismuth and Lapis! As expected of my core teammates, you knew your leader well enough to bring a fantastic offering to honor her anniversary of existing."

Lapis and Bismuth were touched by Peridot's kind words. They were moved to see how well Peridot took to their gift, and very relieved that it was praised so heavily.

This was only one of several wonderful presents Peridot would receive that evening.

---

After Connie's gift of copies of her schoolbooks for the imminent new school year that would start next week, sheet music from Greg, a bonnet from Pearl, and a set of new outfits for various occasions from Amethyst, it was down to two remaining gift-givers: Garnet, who had been almost entirely silent the entire time, and Steven.

"We would do well to have a reliable means to keep in touch should our group ever split apart," Garnet said in a neutral tone. "Which has been happening lately with the corrupted gems and our various schedules with our new citizens of Earth. We cannot constantly rely on Steven's abilities, as they will be of no use when he isn't around."

Peridot looked down at the star-shaped device that she held tenderly in her hands. It looked like some sort of electronic device, but its decorative casing made it difficult for the technician to tell right away what it was. "So you're saying… this is some sort of long-range communication device?"

Garnet stiffly nodded. "I only had time to collaborate with Pearl to make one for you and myself, but I will have others made for everyone else soon enough. It felt appropriate that the first one should be given to you; it will be a great advantage to have the two of us able to directly communicate with each other at any given time."

"I… see." Peridot wondered why it took the Crystal Gems so long to think of something like this. If she had time to think between her seemingly endless rounds of courses with the refugees, obviously she would have thought to make something like this a long time ago.

She looked up to Garnet and smiled, but Peridot couldn't help but feel some degree of intimidation towards the stoic leader who hadn't said a word until this point. "A very useful device, indeed. I would be more than happy to assist in mass-producing these, but…"

"I know," Garnet cut in. "Your schedule; nothing should take priority over it at this stage. We've all had a hand in helping adjust the immigrants from Homeworld to Earth, but unfortunately, as I'm certain you're aware, they only truly consider our lessons when you and Steven are there to endorse our words."

Peridot huffed in resignation of this sad, sad truth. "And they don't even like either of us that much because we don't match up to the previous Diamonds," she muttered. "They're completely stuck in the past. It's like talking to a wall most days, to be honest…"

"Don't worry; we know how that feels," Lapis cut in. She said no more than that, but the implication was clear she was referring to Peridot's own insufferably stubborn nature.

"One more thing," Garnet added, giving Peridot a relatively small black box tied with a maroon string. "This… I would like you to hold on to, until only your eyes can see the contents. You'll know what to do with said contents when the time is right."

Peridot frowned and scrutinized the box. "I should have seen this coming… Garnet giving me a cryptic gift. Of course."

"It will be worth the wait; that much I promise," Garnet said with something that resembled a faint smile before stepping back to indicate that her turn was over.

Garnet's behavior this entire day had been perplexing for Peridot, and this only added to her confusion. She felt much like she did when she and the Crystal Gems were working on the drill to deal with the Cluster, back when the technician was just starting to learn who each Crystal Gem truly was. Out of everyone, Garnet was by far the hardest to read… and for a gem who had a pet peeve of being unable to comprehend something, it rattled Peridot fiercely that she had no idea what to make of Garnet at first.

It was different now… but it still felt the same. Garnet had been coming off unusually cold and stiff this entire time, and until her final words, the calm and caring empathy in the fusion's tone was replaced with a neutral; more professional voice.

True, Peridot had been paranoid of Garnet finding out about her and Steven's escapades on the fringe of where their promise was kept and where it would be broken. But as Steven told her, Garnet would have already confronted them if she had a problem with what they were doing.

Then again, Peridot was using her willpower to blind Garnet's future vision when it came to anything about her or Steven every time there was an opportunity to indulge in her beloved.

"Guess that leaves me, then! Happy birthday, Peridot!"

Peridot turned her attention to the familiar voice of her beloved. "I presume your offering will blow the rest of them out of the water, right?"

"Well, here's hoping," Steven said with a slightly nervous grin. He too had been a bit offset by Garnet's unusual behavior today, but he was doing his best to keep a low profile. He handed over a green box with a pink ribbon tied around it.

Wasting no time, Peridot opened the box to find an odd accessory that seemed somewhat familiar. "A bow? Steven, this is what you decorate your gift boxes with."

"It's more than that, I promise!" Steven assured. He took the sparkling light green bow out and clipped it to Peridot's hair. "Remember the day I gave you your tablet? I kinda put the bow from the present on your hair and it stuck for a while. I was just doin' it to mess around, but the more I saw you with it on before you took it off, the cuter you looked!"

"'Ey, I remember that!" Amethyst shouted out. "I'm in agreement with the Ste-man, here. The bow was a really good look on you. I was thinkin' in the back of my head that we really need to get you some cute hair accessories and I totally forgot!"

"I presume it was because you were preoccupied getting me multiple ensembles to wear," Peridot speculated. "I admit, I do find it odd how most of you gave me fashion accessories as birthday gifts. Connie, Papa, and Garnet were the only ones who deviated from that trend. Are you all trying to send me a subliminal message here…?"

The others looked to each other in confusion.

"For the most part, none of us knew what present anyone else was set to give you," said a sheepish Connie. "I think the real issue is your power, Peridot."

Peridot blinked at the human, unsure what she meant by that. "What are you saying, exactly?"

"I'd call you dense, but this is your birthday so I'll be nice just this once to make this clear to you," Lapis cut in. "She's saying your power is problematic because you can get almost anything you want just by desire alone. That makes it tricky for the rest of us because it means it's probably a waste getting you something we know you'd be interested in."

"So we gotta get creative and think to ourselves, "what are things Peri might enjoy but probably won't ever think to get on her own?"… turns out, most of us were thikin' fashion.

Steven shrugged. "I just wanted to see Peridot wear a cute ribbon again; didn't realize it was that tricky for the rest of you."

Peridot thought it over and ultimately accepted this explanation. "Very well; fair enough. You all did very well considering your choices were based on guesswork. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, and I guarantee in my downtime, I will… try some of these things out. "

Everyone looked relieved to hear that.

"Oh! I almost forgot 5XF!" Steven realized and in a panic ran over to the elder of the 5X Peridots. "I got you sort of a birthday present like that too. It's not the same, though. I hope you like it!"

5XF had no words for this. She simply opened her box and scrutinized the contents. She picked up one of the accessories from the box and held it out. "Explain this to me then, human."

"Ah, that's a barrette!" Steven cheerfully pointed out. "Here, I'll show you how ya put one on."

While 5XF was very apprehensive of letting this creature mess with her hair, she was fairly sure 5XG wouldn't let him do anything too catastrophic and did not attempt resisting when Steven clipped a barrette close to where her straight-and-narrow side fringe started.

"There! You're cuter already!"

"D-did you just say cuter?!" 5XF barked out defensively. Peridot couldn't be even remotely jealous about this; it was just too humorous that she wasn't the only one who took being "cute" as an offense.

"Aw, man… you, too?"

"Wh-what are you babbling about?!" 5XF did not like that smirk she saw on her sister's face.

"Your little sis got mad when I first called her cute, too," Steven cheekily pointed out. "She slapped me like a dozen times for that."

5XF immediately reconsidered any hostile actions she had in mind. The last thing she wanted was to be compared to 5XG. "Oh… I see, then. Well, I know not to follow such a juvenile example. I-I… humbly accept your offering."

She had no idea what she was going to do with these accessories.

"Alright, alright, so gift time is over and I ate my cake," Peridot acknowledged as she looked up at the darkening evening sky. "As this is my day of celebration, I would like to have some actual alone time with my significant other. The rest of you can go do whatever you want; my party is just like my awesome Citystate: anarchy. So just… literally, do whatever you want, so long as it's not bothering myself or Steven."

"I trust you two will behave yourselves?" Pearl asked, because of course she would be the gem most paranoid about this.

"We're not little kids anymore, Pearl," Steven said with a bit of a forced laugh. "It's not our first date; we know what to do and not do."

Peridot waved to the crowd as Steven ran over to join his girlfriend. "Thanks for the celebration of my emergence, everyone! Garnet, especially thanks must go to you for allowing me to have this reprieve in the first place!"

"You've worked hard enough to earn it," Garnet assured her; her tone was notably warmer now, so it seemed perhaps Peridot was just being a little overly paranoid. "Have a good night, you two. We'll see you in the morning."

As the pair ran up a hill and soon out of of sight, Amethyst jumped on the table and howled out.

"YAAY-YUH! Let's burn this sucker to the ground!"

"Amethyst, don't you dare!" Shockingly, that cry came from Pearl.

"Whaaaat?" Amethyst deflated while she held up a candle she re-lit. "She did say we could do whatever we want…"

---

"Oh, man… back here again. Feels like it was just yesterday…"

"It's been twelve days, Steven," Peridot impatiently stated as she paced around their lunar safe haven the moment their feet touched the floor. "Look, don't get me wrong… I really enjoyed having the anniversary of my existence celebrated and glorified. But I just couldn't wait to leave."

Steven smiled at his girlfriend, though he felt awkward about this already. "Guess it's a good thing you insisted on getting us both taken care of earlier, huh? I could kinda tell you were anxious to get here. I guess it makes sense you're not up for taking it slow, now that we've got at least an idea of what we're doing here."

Peridot solemnly nodded in agreement. "We were both nervous last time. I don't know about you now, but I'm too eager, Steven!"

"Y-you realize that's just gonna make me more nervous about how well I do," Steven noted with a hollow laugh. "I really don't wanna disappoint you, Peri."

That caused the gem to pause and consider her next choice of words.

"You're right," she sighed out. "I'm just putting a lot of pressure on you needlessly. I'm sorry, Steven… but for what it's worth, I don't think you can screw up something like this. You'll have it much easier than me, if you think about it. I won't have to worry about asphyxiating you with a giant phallus, at least…"

That last statement made Steven laugh out in earnest this time. "Okay, true! I'm just gonna count on you to tell me what I'm doing right and wrong, and where to focus. I guess I'll just let my instinct take over from there… I swear, it's like my body acts on its own sometimes."

"I wouldn't know, but perhaps that is the nature of human puberty," Peridot mused. "In any case… since it's my birthday still, it's my wish to see you nude. I understand we're focusing on me tonight, but there's no point in hiding your lovely body now."

She thoughtfully looked out a window to view the Earth outside. "Not here. We need to take every advantage we can get; there's no telling when we'll get our next opportunity to use this place. I wanna know how it feels when our bare bodies make contact. We've always been equals, Steven… that's how it should be with our intimacy from now on."

The moment the technician turned around, she smiled to see a now bare-chested Steven fiddling with his jeans while kicking off his sandals.

"Well, consider the wish granted," Steven said as he pulled down his pants and underwear simultaneously. Just like that, he was fully in the nude and already visibly in the early stages of hardening. "Getting to see you as naked as me is kinda like a late birthday present, when I think about it…"

"Is that a fact?" Peridot playfully asked as she stepped out of her boots. "You say that, but you know you're going to be heavily aroused the moment you see me without my clothes on," she pointed out while unzipping her lower leotard and peeled it down to reveal her much of her bare body from her upper abdomen to, eventually, her feet.

All that covered her now besides her shades over her eyes was the Steven-Starred pine top, which was all she had on after her insanely explosive orgasm that drenched the rest of her outfit. For hours, Peridot happily clung to Steven in their slumber, but she barely remembered how wonderful it felt to have her bare bottom half mingle with his under the sheets.

Both were legitimately exhausted, so there was no conscious foreplay going on at any point.

"The good news for you, Steven, is that for the sake of my birthday, I would also enjoy pleasuring you orally tonight," Peridot happily informed him. "We can finally be equals in this department. And I would like to see if my technique has improved any since my first attempt."

That not only made Steven blush, but greatly rouse his erection. "W-well, I'm definitely not gonna say no to that…"

Steven's eyes were glued to Peridot's nearly-nude form. For the first time he was really seeing her naturally toned calves, the wide curves of her hips that complimented her firm, thick glutes, and the plump, damp slit between her legs.

He was fairly certain Peridot's body didn't look nearly this nice prior to her ascension. It made Steven wonder why her base form permanently changed this way in the first place, though given that no other ascended gems existed in history (and likely never would again), the hybrid figured this could be a natural side-effect for all he knew.

All this young man knew was that he was not about to complain. He would have happily taken Peridot even without the enhancements made to her body, but in a twisted way that made Steven feel rather guilty for being so selfish, in this moment he was grateful White Diamond managed to make his girlfriend ascend… because it left behind some beautiful results in more ways than one.

"I suppose I would be a hypocrite to chastise you for staring," Peridot teased. "Then again, I don't suppose you've ever seen any females of your species like this, have you?"

Steven shook his head silently as he watched his lover take a seat on their bed and purposefully spread her legs a bit to show off her genitalia in more detail. He knew this was definitely going to be nothing like Peridot's trial in delivering oral stimulation.

"You got me there," he chuckled nervously. "So… nothing's gonna pop out from there, right?"

Peridot inspected herself curiously. "Mm… nope. Not unless you want me to. I haven't really put that into practice, though… I'm still getting used to the fact I can shapeshift at all these days."

"Ah, that brings back memories…" Steven sighed out. Back to the day when Peridot first realized her ability to manipulate metal objects, when life was much simpler… "But, we've got no time to focus on that. It's all about the here and now, right?"

His eyes were so glued to Peridot, Steven hadn't really recognized he already had a hand wrapped around his cock, hard at work on making it erect.

Peridot noticed, of course. She just smirked as she looked down at her remaining article of clothing that just barely covered her breasts. Her fingers pinched the edges of the fabric with the intent of slowly pulling up the shirt.

"I recently reached an epiphany, Steven," she calmly said. "I often wondered why my base physical form experienced a permanent change since I ascended. It isn't really that much of a difference, but this isn't something that should ever happen to a gem. But I believe I have a very plausible theory for how I can bless you with my current assets…"

"Uh huh?" Steven was stunned, as he had wondered about this exact detail just minutes ago. Still hard at work pumping his meat, he decided to hear out this theory. "So… h-how do you think it happened?"

"After White Diamond used her mind games to seal away that part of myself that could tell her "no", she took her time to convince me why I should allow myself to ascend," Peridot recalled. "I was much more insecure and gullible at that point, so I was much easier to convince to see her side of things. I had just accepted that I would never be rescued and would be stuck on Homeworld for the remainder of my existence, after all. Every time I tried to think about whether or not it was right to give in, my mind kept going to where my trapped self was…"

Peridot paused and smirked devilishly at her boyfriend. "And I believe I told you this during our vacation, but Imaginary You and I were very deeply in the midst of passionate coitus - which I badly needed to relax after the exhaustion that came from a week's worth of resistance."

It pleased Peridot to see Steven look visibly worked up about this. At least it helped him grow harder much faster now.

"I couldn't very well indulge in those thoughts with White Diamond right in front of me, so I had to make my own poorly-made decisions that led me to being where I am now. But…"

Peridot sighed as she looked down where her shirt was lifted; by this point revealing her hardened nipples. "I could think of only one thing to ask White Diamond before I conceded to her. Based on what I saw in my head… I asked her if I would no longer have to deal with the body of a tiny, bratty child. Clearly with the implication that I could have a developed body as a Diamond, which White Diamond affirmed. And so… that's how I became Chartreuse Diamond."

"Y-you're all about willpower," Steven recalled. "A-and we never saw you with your original b-body type again when Chartreuse turned back into… well, you. So… I guess your power made your form change without needing to regenerate. You, uh… didn't realize you were so insecure about your appearance that you'd do anything to change it. That's what I'm gathering."

"Yeah…" Peridot sighed; upon reflection, she felt if that was how this truly happened, then she really was far more weak-minded than she would admit to being - and how absurd it was that someone like her, who embodied logic and rational thinking, would end up doing this to herself over a silly sentimental insecurity.

"I… I can read how you're feeling," Steven cautiously informed her. "And I think you need to keep in mind I can relate, kinda. The way I age isn't like how it is for other humans; I've been stuck as a teen in a little kid's body way longer than I should've been. So, even though my life got even more messed up for it and it's not a good time dealing with the hormones and stuff, I'm grateful that you were able to help my body catch up where my age is. I know that was totally accidental, but… you need to know it definitely hasn't been all bad having to be like this from now on."

Peridot smiled at the young man before her as she lifted her top high enough to reveal her breasts in full. She was going to do this anyway, of course, but in this moment she wanted to "reward" Steven for once more taking the time to console her about her problems and insecurities, even in spite of their mutual burning desire to tangle their bodies together.

Steven paused to take in the sight of his girlfriend's full breasts as said girlfriend struggled to pull her top off over her head, which proved to be a bit of a challenge given the intrusive size and shape of her thick hair.

Even post-ascension, Peridot's body frame was basically the same as it was since the day she emerged 14 years ago: very slender arms and torso, with thick, curved hips and an equally thick bust size given her stature. The ascension only exaggerated these features; Peridot was obviously desperate to have a more "mature-looking" form like the rest of her fellow gems. Even Amethyst, who she surpassed in height, had a much more mature and developed body. It was no small wonder why so many of the Beach City residents regarded her as a child like Steven, even though none of them had a clue how old she was. They weren't wrong in their assumptions, but Peridot would still bear that appearance even if she had been thousands of years old like her friends. She knew that, and that was why she desired at least a small change to her physique.

Naturally, her breasts weren't as prominent as Chartreuse Diamond's, but they were full and firm. Steven almost felt hypnotized as he took in the view; her dark turquoise nipples stuck out like sore thumbs, just waiting to be touched by something other than hands this time around. They bobbed about and jiggled as Peridot continued to fight with removing her top.

It took every ounce of Steven's self-restraint to not jump Peridot then and there. He felt he waited far too long for this. Even on his birthday, when Peridot was absolutely devoted to servicing his dick, she kept her breasts covered when she practiced sliding that length between them. It felt wonderful for Steven then but he knew it would've felt even better to have the gem's bare mounds cushioning his cock… he finally had an opportunity for that, and so much more.

Steven's urges were mildly tempered when he heard Peridot growl comically as she gradually pulled her top up; it was also getting caught up over her face, and her body's shaking became erratic.

Finally, she roared and hissed out as the technician assisted herself with some extra power to fiercely yank the top fully off her head and throw it to the floor in sheer frustration. In that struggle, the top took Peridot's shades with it, exposing her heterochromatic eyes.

After letting out another scream of frustration at the discarded article of clothing on the floor, Peridot barely had time to settle down from that frustration before she felt the touch of her beloved, who looked possibly… turned on by all of this?

"Might wanna stick to just phasing off the clothes from now on," Steven laughed out. "You gonna be okay?"

In a moment, Peridot fully took in her current positioning and her frustration. With the gentle, loving Steven coming over to soothe her woes as he's always done, the ascended gem swooned in his presence and reached over to latch onto whatever part of Steven's body she could first touch.

"I'll be okay when you hurry up and ravish me already," she said breathlessly. "Make me feel better than how I've ever felt in my entire period of existence, Steven…"

If that wasn't a call to action, Steven didn't know what was. When it came to natural strength, Steven overpowered his girlfriend easily and had a size advantage over her that he previously didn't possess.

So he used that power to hook an arm around Peridot's waist and another to rest against the back of her neck and head to move the pair closer to the center of the bed. Once properly positioned, Steven finally dove in to shower Peridot with kisses over her lips, although that quickly escalated to making out fiercely with their tongues locked into what felt like an eternal dance of two perfect halves becoming one.

His hands wasted no time claiming one breast each. Going by what he learned from their past experiences, Steven knew Peridot had always been very sensitive when it came to even resting a hand over her left mound, let alone actively stimulating it. Doing so earned Steven a moan in his mouth from his girlfriend that vibrated in every part of his oral cavity.

Their bodies began to find a rhythm as they rutted against each other while the couple's mouths were nigh-on inseparable, besides the factor of Steven's human limitations of needing oxygen. Once Steven broke out for a breath (though that wasn't very easy to do as his nude form instinctively rubbed against the soft, tender body of his girlfriend), Peridot also took a moment to recharge in spite of her body never truly stopping the entire time.

"-Always… always like this fr-from now on," Peridot weakly declared. "Mm, Steven… wh-when you regain your breath -aaaaaah~ … o-other parts of me would app… appreciate…"

While Peridot winced and tried to keep herself steady, Steven silently agreed and his lips went to her neck. Thankfully, he didn't linger for long (and Peridot's neck was rather thin; there was only so much room to mark her… not that Steven wanted to do that) as he traveled down to her collarbone, and in less than a minute, Steven's face was smothered against Peridot's bare bosom for a change.

Peridot couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of Steven's actions, but her gentle, happy expression soon turned to one of shock and overwhelmed pleasure as a wet set of lips found their way to her left nipple. Steven kept a hold on that breast as his mouth took in as much as he could.

He kept quiet to enjoy Peridot's joyous sensual panic while he relentlessly sucked her tit, His free hand, of course, was doing its best to stimulate the neglected mammary construct, and while Peridot did react favorably to it, Steven knew that wasn't what was making his girlfriend cry out random garbled words. He hummed against the soft mount of flesh, alternating between a few rounds of hard sucking and a tongue mercilessly circling around her trapped nipple.

This had to be some kind of specific pleasure point for Peridot, Steven realized. If that was the case, he certainly found it in a very odd way.

Steven believed this because he felt his lower abdomen getting slick, and it wasn't from his precum. Just from sucking a single tit, Steven was already making Peridot incredibly wet in that sweet spot Steven desperately wanted to explore soon.

He didn't need to worry about conserving energy with Peridot; her stamina was fully recharged after their escapade several hours ago and the party involved no strenuous activity.

"Th-the way I felt…" Peridot suddenly said out loud in a lazy, drunken tone. "Wh-when you… helped m-my masturbation sessionnn… I wanna do th-that, Steven. I wanna do it a lot. I-I'm equipped to handle multiple orgasms, just l-like any other human f-female, okay? B-but, y'know, even better!"

Peridot's breast popped out of Steven's mouth as he wanted to give her a real answer. "O-okay, Peri. I feel you down there already… y-you're sure you wanna start out like this?"

To that, Peridot smirked wickedly. "I need to make myself delectable and full of juice down there f-for you, Steven. P-put your mouth back down where it belongs, n-now!"

Steven had no desire to argue about this whatsoever. His head dipped down to suckle his girlfriend's left tit.

He was never raised by breastfeeding, obviously, with Rose's immediate exit from this mortal coil the moment Steven was born and all. Yet somehow, something felt right and comforting about it. Peridot felt the same way; once she had a moment of sobriety from her pleasure trip, the gem could've sworn every time she looked down at Steven practically feeding off her breast, she fell even more in love with him.

She didn't even know how that was possible. But Peridot wasn't about to question it despite her curious nature. Locked in sheer orgasmic rapture with Steven would prevent the technician from needlessly interrupting their first time together like this.

It warmed Peridot's heart as much as it heated her inner core, as the gem felt a familiar knot in her stomach while her body started to seize up the longer Steven devoted himself to her left breast.

"St-Steven, I… I- GYAAH!"

Peridot's hands were frantically planted on each size of Steven's head as she held the boy down to make sure her breast would never lose its hot, silky-smooth habitat within Steven's mouth, Her hips harshly bucked upwards as she came for the first time this session.

As Peridot panted while pacing her body perfectly in time with each surge of pure ectsacy, Steven was fairly certain of one aspect of his beloved gem: she was quite the squirter. It wasn't as massive as her last showing, but it did leave behind a very saturated wet spot on the sheets. Steven wasn't even concerned by it any longer; his dick had been rubbing fiercely against Peridot's belly this entire time and it certainly felt no less aroused when much of his shaft was doused in her sticky fluids.

"Oh… ohmystars, that was amazing," Peridot whimpered. Steven removed his mouth from the left breast as soon as he heard Peridot speak and promptly moved up to give her an appreciative kiss.

"I-I'm so glad you're letting us both do this tonight," Steven breathed out. "Y-you've already got me aching down there…"

"A-and I think this is a good enough time to conduct an experiment," a shaky Peridot proposed, speaking in her normal tone as best as she could fresh off an orgasm.

Naturally, this both confused and concerned Steven. "Peri, what're you talking about?"

Peridot weakly smirked at her boyfriend. "I'm just gonna use a very minuscule bit of willpower to delay your ejaculation," she said. "Th-the volume of your reproductive component varies, a-and… that interests me greatly. I'm being completely honest with you when I say your amount of discharge twelve days ago completely filled my corporeal cavity. The output was massive. Earlier today, it was no more than a handful of weak shots."

"Well, uh… I was really sleepy…"

"My theory is that you held back an insurmountable amount of discharge from years of repression, being trapped in your younger form and only being granted limited relief from me until recently," Peridot explained. "The longer you hold back, the more you will ejaculate! Is that not a plausible theory?!"

Steven nodded nervously. It made sense to him, but he really didn't expect something like this. He figured he'd be hurting like hell for a while soon enough, but the eventual release would make up for it.

"I-I hear ya," he answered. "So… sure, hold me back until you think the time's right; I-I'm sure I can take it."

"Marvelous that you're being so compliant," Peridot commended him. "Then again, it is my birthday. This is just the illusion of choice… but I can tell you're more than ready to resume our, ah…"

She struggled to find the right wording since it wasn't really sex… yet.

Steven was beyond the point of caring, though. He pinned Peridot to the bed, took a moment to look at the dreamy look on her face, then went in to make out with her again and resumed their grinding. It was a much shorter session, that Peridot actually interrupted before Steven could lose his breath again.

"I l-love you too, Steven," she panted. "B-but I'd rather your mouth be elsewhere on my b-body, okay…? Save your breath for that instead."

Peridot had enough foreplay. She was already sopping wet down below; she wanted what she gave Steven two weeks ago and she wanted it now.

This was it. Once they did this, it would be almost two years of waiting before they could go any further without dealing with the guilt and the shame. It was unfortunate, as every time Peridot got a look at Steven's cock, she felt an ever-growing ache of need within her vaginal folds.

It was so easy. They could easily go along with that and never tell anyone. But the ever-moral Steven would never comply with covering up their transgression.

Peridot just had to hope and pray to somebody that the cunnilingus she was about to receive would be mind-blowing enough for her to just forget about it.

But for Steven, this was a giant tease. Now he was face-to-face with the very spot he wanted to thrust his dick into... but instead was tasked to use his tongue and mouth instead. Still, this was at least something he had been interested in trying and went out of his way to do research just to be sure no mistakes were made tonight. While Steven was infinitely forgiving of poor performances, Peridot... she was not nearly as flexible in that regard.

"G-go on, Steven! J-just smash your face in there, before I smash it for you!"

That was definitely Steven's cue to stop worrying and eat his girlfriend out.

A loud gasp escaped Peridot's lips the moment she felt that familiar hot mouth over her most sensitive spot - one she had spent more time than she'd care to admit independently researching it. Finally, someone else was touching it; her beloved center of gravity, no less.

She panted on reflex as she couldn't get a good view of what Steven was truly doing to her. She wanted to know; she wanted to see and understand it. But after one particularly strong suck on her folds and the discovery of her clitoris soon following that, Peridot abandoned that desire and squealed with pure delight.

Why did it feel so much better when someone else touched her there? Peridot didn't care. Once her clit was being regularly teased, her mind could no longer register anything but the intense shocks of passion.

Yes, Steven made sure to learn about the clitoris. He found it to be an amusing little organ, but the hybrid clearly saw how what kind of effect it could have on people; how sensitive it was.

Steven had no idea what to make of the flavor of what he was tasting, but be was a bit too preoccupied to dwell on it. Regardless of its taste, there was a certain element of muskiness to it as well… and just a short period of inhaling what had to have been pheromones, Steven was absolutely driven to please his lover.

Peridot always cried the loudest when Steven sucked her clit, but her words were incomprehensible. But she reacted very strongly to Steven's tongue when it shifted to slide between her folds and enter her properly.

The gem was already secreting extremely sticky fluid that covered her boyfriend's hair, face, and mouth. It wouldn't take much effort to finish her off at all, but Steven felt it was far too anticlimactic to end all of this on such a note.

Steven finally got the idea to use his hands to tend to the clit while he mastered the art of tongue-fucking. He was very surprised just how far in his tongue could reach within her. As his tongue gathered and soaked in her nectar, once again the thought of "that could be my dick in there" popped up in his mind.

But he was too sexually charged by the pheromones to question anything at this point.

"Unngh! Oh, stars…! Th-this is too good!" Peridot wailed. She reached over to Steven's head just to push him harder against her cunt. Her hips were bucking again as well and another climax was on the horizon. "Th-this is surprisingly bold of you, Steven! Y-you're already doing it so fast and hard…!"

She wasn't wrong. Steven, normally gentle and slow to start as that was his nature to everything in life, wasn't bothering with building up slowly this time. Most likely it was the consequence of being highly stimulated by the musk. Then of course his own forcibly held-back load was a factor… the more this bloated his cock, the harder it became for Steven to think of anything at all and just letting his body do everything it needed to do.

Peridot was reduced to a whining, writhing mess, reduced to crying out Steven's name in rapid succession over and over again, gradually getting louder as she neared her peak. The heat building inside her, the internal knot, the welling up of something on the verge of bursting - it was all on a much higher level this time.

The gem squeaked with surprised as she found Steven adjusting her position all of a sudden. One hand firmly grabbed her ass while the other took hold of her leg right behind her knee. Steven's tongue never left his partner's cunt, but his hands were hard at work angling Peridot's body to elevate its lower half in his direction.

In a flash, Peridot went from lying flat on the bed to her legs resting over Steven's shoulders while her body from her midsection down was elevated up towards her lover. Once the position was set, Steven's ferocity in eating out his girlfriend raised greatly while one hand roughly rubbed her clit. The other hand opted to slide an index finger between the gem's sodden and tender folds and attempt to poke its way fully inside to join the tongue, who was very well acquainted with this particular pussy by now.

It was harder for Peridot to buck into Steven's face at this angle and it was impossible for her to reach up and forced his head down, but she quickly had the idea of using her elevated feet resting near his head to substitute for the action. Steven was admittedly not expecting Peridot to be quite this crafty when it came to taking control of… whatever this was. But he wasn't complaining, either. Steven could feel Peridot's inner walls closing in to squeeze his prehensile muscle and finger and trap them inside, so it was obvious she wouldn't be lasting much longer.

"I-I… I don't understand h-how an elevated position increases my pleasure, but by the stars, it's so much better this way!" an enraptured Peridot screeched. "Oh stars, don't you dare stop!"

Steven had no intention of doing so, of course. His tongue and finger thrust inside as much as Peridot's contracting walls would allow them to, and her clit was already rendered raw from the heavy pressing and rubbing. All he could smell was his Peridot at this point, with his face pressed hard against her sex. But that only served for him to focus all the harder on his work as he moaned deeply; the vibrations of his voice spread from his lips to the tongue plunging into the depths of his girlfriend, tingling the nerves of her vaginal walls.

That seemed to finally break the floodgates: Peridot screamed as she climaxed, unable to control the amount of fluid gushing and squirting that largely went all over Steven's face, hair… even parts of his torso. The elevated position also allowed the ejaculatory fluids to stream down Peridot's side and pooled just underneath her breasts. She felt droplets of her own spray, but she was far too into her orgasmic nirvana to even register that. The diminutive gem's thick hips bucked with every wave that coursed through her body, still pushing her pussy against Steven's drenched face.

Steven was forced to back up because he very nearly drowned after taking the brunt of the first torrent of Peridot's essence. He only took a short moment to regain his breath, as he thoughtlessly threw his face right back in to suck in everything his girlfriend secreted. Only then did he realize the pheromones that made him act this primal were coming from these fluids.

He got riled up just smelling the fumes of Peridot's first orgasm, which died down quite a while ago by the time Steven shoved his face up her cunt. Now not only was the orgasmic fluid fresh, but he was consuming it thoughtlessly and it was completely all over him at this point.

Of course, Peridot had no idea anything like that was happening. She did think Steven was being unusually quiet, but then again, his mouth was pretty busy… she was just now beginning to regain her conscious thinking after coming off such a fantastic orgasmic high.

"Woooooooow… thanks."

Steven gently lowered Peridot's legs down on the mattress, looking more hot and bothered than ever before. He wasn't sure what to make of anything, now. He was in a dire internal battle with his greatly empowered hormonal urges. The strain of his cock was becoming unpleasantly painful now; he couldn't put this off much longer.

Peridot would be lying if she said after all this, she didn't still have a nagging need to consummate this relationship. Fresh off the best pleasure ride she ever had, the technician was still greedy enough to want more after this. She just had no idea Steven was probably with her in that desire even more so.

As both parties caught their breath, they stared at each other in silence, just taking in each other's appearances. This session was already several times greater than their previous one on Steven's birthday. But without a single word being said, Peridot and Steven could read each other. Steven even had his aura ability to double-check the impression he was getting.

They both desperately wanted to go all the way. Tonight.

"Y-you've been unusually quiet, Steven," Peridot observed, deciding to break the ice here. "You're okay, right? Y-you can tell me if you're… not."

A few beats of silence later, Steven responded.

"Why does this feel so right, Peri…?"

He sounded lost. Confused. Out of it. Definitely not okay.

In her heart, Peridot knew what the issue was. She was still unaware just how badly Steven became aroused just from her scent, but to be fair, this was something they've both been struggling with for a while now.

"You're… referring to the concept of… the two of us engaging in proper intercourse. Coitus. Am I right…?"

As much as he honestly didn't want to, Steven was becoming more and more of a slave to his body's urges as he crawled over in Peridot's direction.

"We both know we can't. Or we… shouldn't." Steven didn't bother directly answering the question; they both knew what the issue was here. "For… all these reasons that just feel so… so stupid now!"

Peridot nodded, but was clearly at unease with Steven's resolve. "I-I completely agree; this is highly unfair to us. M-maybe if I could calm down your aroused phallus orally… or let you ejaculate now-"

"No! That's not how it's gonna end tonight!" a very resolved Steven barked out. "P-Peri, this is the only place we've got where they'll never, ever catch us! And we don't know when we'll be able to even come back here! It could be months or years from now for all we know!"

"I… I know," Peridot sullenly acknowledged. "Believe me; all that's crossed my mind several times already. Y-you did such a wonderful job pleasing me, Steven… I can't believe I forgot to praise you for your efforts until now. I'm… ashamed to admit my first feeling after coming down from that sensational high was… how badly I wanted your tongue and your finger to have been…"

"I'm the one who had to look at your crotch constantly and not use what was meant to be put inside there!" Steven cried out. "I-I liked pleasing you; don't get me wrong! But having that… right in front of my face all this time… what am I supposed to do about that?"

Peridot bit her lip as she realized she really didn't help in that regard. She took every opportunity to smash Steven's face right into her pussy and kept him trapped there for the majority of the segment.

Just then, she oddly thought back to her time leading the Crystal Gems before Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl regenerated. She though of moments after that point as well… every time she was forced to make a hard call. Decisions that were bound to upset some friends, but only when there was no way to make everyone happy.

Peridot probably hated that more than anything else she had to deal with as a responsible authority figure. But more and more, this moment - this dilemma - felt very much like one of those times.

Deny what her heart is saying, deny Steven's as well, disregard their desperate needs, and go their separate ways just to please Garnet (and the rest of the Crystal Gems, no doubt).

Or disregard Garnet's wishes despite the many favors she granted the young gem and Steven for their sake, and consequently make most of their friends ashamed of them both. There was no way Peridot would be able to convince anyone that she alone should take the heat for a decision like this. It was a decision that would forever change everything about the couple and how they would be perceived by their friends and loved ones. There would be no going back.

"Peridot… can you answer me?"

Peridot sadly looked to Steven, trying her best not to cry. She answered his question with another question.

"Steven… is your heart really telling you we should do this? It's not just your hormonal urges?"

"I'll admit I'm kinda flared up right now," a saddened Steven replied. "B-but I'm still clear-minded enough to talk to you, right? Nothing's controlling me… I-I'd feel like this no matter what, Peridot. And my heart's saying…"

He gulped. Steven was just as aware how dire the consequences would be depending on his answer… but no matter what, he answered honestly. "My heart's telling me we need to finish this. Like a real couple would… especially a couple tossed around and messed with by everyone, and now… our calling is linked together. Don't you feel that... we're destined to stay together? I know you usually don't believe in that…"

"A manufactured destiny, but a destiny nonetheless," Peridot surprisingly agreed. "By virtue of being the "lucky" one chosen for the craziest experiment in all creation before the double-diamond concept. But, disregarding that… you already know the extent of my devotion to you, Steven."

The pair inched closer together on the bed.

"How many times have I said you're responsible for me existing at all?" Peridot asked him. "That you basically created me, because there's no way I would have been able to rebuild my identity on my own? You gave me freedom… the power to choose what I wanted for myself. But before that… I had to know what it was I even wanted. And you helped me find the answer, Steven. I could never ever, ever ever ever ever leave you under any circumstance. Not out of feeling indebted, but… desire. What I wanted in my life? I just wanted you in it, Steven. Then I'd figure out the rest from there."

Hearing this calmed Steven down greatly. Now he was the one trying to resist shedding a tear. Unfortunately, those words made him all the more unwilling to say "no" to what they were desperately trying to avoid.

"So, Peridot… what's your heart saying?"

Peridot just looked at Steven; a lost, hopeless expression was on her face before she stopped crawling and finally just flung herself at Steven, who expertly caught her.

"You're really gonna make me say it…?" she cried out with a sniffle. "You know full well what my heart's saying, you aura-cheating clod!"

Well, Peridot had him there. Steven could read traces of her desire to just throw caution to the wind and go all the way with him ever since they first arrived.

"Yeah… we both want it. Real bad," he confirmed. "And I'm always one for following what my heart says. But I get why that might be a bad idea, but…" Steven winced. He could only undermine the pain of his own erection for so long.

And Peridot only just now remembered this. "Steven-! Oh, please, we need to take care of you before we mull over this any more! You poor thing; I've been torturing you this entire time!"

Steven grabbed her right arm firmly and looked her dead in the eye. "We need to break the vow, then. I'm not getting rid of this any other way."

Peridot sort of understood why Steven was insisting on this, but… "Y-you don't want me to just consume it like I did before…?"

Steven shook his head. "We've already gone over that one. I know you said you wanted to do it again for your birthday, but…" He fought off another horrible sting coursing through his member. "B-be honest with me: if you had to choose between that and… really coming together, which would you pick?"

"A stupid question from a stupid idiot," Peridot muttered as she quickly wiped a tear from her eye. "I was fine with what we did on your birthday, but… there is no comparison whatsoever, and you know that, Steven."

Steven nodded in understanding. "So… what's next? What do we do from here?"

After a final moment of fierce internal debating, Peridot's squinted eyes opened up; the ascended gem's determined look alone told Steven all he needed to know. Peridot crawled off the bed and stood up to summon her birthday present from Garnet: the long-range communicator. Peridot honestly had no idea if its range was enough to transmit from the Moon to Earth, but it wouldn't stop her from trying. Only two of these gadgets currently existed: the one Peridot held in her hands, and the one owned by Garnet. No one else would accidentally overhear what Peridot had to say.

"W-wait, are you calling her?!" Steven recognized that star-shaped device and panicked. "Right now?!"

"Calm down, Steven," Peridot grimly ordered. "This'll only take a second. If we're gonna do this… then I'll at least be dignified and not do it behind her back."

"Peri…" Steven hadn't thought of that. He kept underestimating just how much his beloved gem had grown since becoming part of his family.

Peridot switched on the device and hit the transmittal button; then she held the communicator close to her as she spoke softly. "Garnet… I just wanted to let you know I've broken the vow. And I'm very sorry for having done so."

Peridot stopped transmitting after that statement and immediately headed for the airlock.

Steven was understandably apprehensive about what she was doing. "Peridot…"

"Steven, I don't deserve this; you know full well I don't if this is how I treat someone who's done nothing but show me respect and give us space when no one else would. You'd do the same thing."

With that, Peridot shoved the communicator into the airlock and sent it out; the plastic-cased golden star careening across the Moon until it was no longer in sight.

"We've made our figurative… and literal bed now," Peridot realized as she turned around. "All that's left to do is lie in it."

"You're sure about this?" Steven felt awful now… and if he hadn't been suffering under an agonizing erection this entire time, he probably would have strongly reconsidered the direction he chose to take here.

"All I'm ever sure about anymore is you, Steven," Peridot somberly told him as she returned to their bed. "Just like I'm certain I might accidentally kill you if I let your injector phallus stay that way any longer. I'm no better, honestly…"

She flopped onto her back on the mattress and spread her legs as she tried to relax. "This is the only way I'd want to take something of that size, anyway. I'm… ready when you are. Take me."

Steven sighed as he made his way over to position himself. He smiled down at the lovely, if depressed gem below him. "Try and cheer up, okay? I don't think it'd be a good idea to be all mopey for our first time."

Peridot couldn't help but smile back. "You're no less depressed than I am; don't you even try lying to me, Steven Universe. We're gonna quickly forget our sadness the moment we get this underway. Pretty sure I'm still well lubricated…"

Steven stuck a finger into her just to check for himself; he smirked when that drew out a surprised squeak from Peridot. When he pulled his finger out, he found it… well coated in thick, viscous secretions. "Yeah… still plenty wet. Lemme just get myself prepared real quick."

Peridot smiled as she knew what he meant. No matter how well lubricated Peridot was, Steven was far too kind and considerate to go in raw. Of course, Steven was going to be economical about this and "borrow" from Peridot to slick his member from tip to base. Every time he poked a finger inside her soon-to-be taken hole, he elicited a cute aroused noise from his girlfriend. That, in turn, was helping her to relax and lighten her mood. No matter what she had to sacrifice to make it here, Peridot at least wanted to enjoy her first time.

"Almost d-done over there?" she asked in the midst of her panting.

"Yep, all ready," Steven confirmed as casually as he could, though he was repressing a load of aggravation and stress by this point. He carefully held his dick while slowly guiding it where it was meant to be.

"I'll go ahead and take off that will-based delayer, then," Peridot informed him and did so just by silently demanding it be done, and so it was.

Steven was now much more in a hurry to align himself now that is was entirely on him to hold his own orgasm back. He started to push in and heard a sharp gasp and cry from Peridot. He stopped immediately to check on her. "Y-you okay?!"

"Uh-huh!" Peridot nodded vigorously; on the contrary, she was knocked for a look when she felt herself be stretched so far. Steven's length was perhaps average for his age; his girth was another story. Consequently, it would take more effort to fit inside, but the pleasure was sure to send them both to another plane of existence of pure bliss. Peridot was feeling bits of that already as her walls instinctively clamped down and tried to impede the cock's progress.

However, there was a bit of a major problem with the way this was all set up.

Namely that this was their first time.

And Steven was not strong enough to maintain his hard-on even under normal circumstances as a first-timer.

This not only wasn't a normal circumstance, but Peridot herself found herself so overwhelmed by how much her walls were being stretched to accommodate her lover's cock that she choked out a gasp as she felt all of her inner muscles clamp down hard on the thickness inside her, and much to her surprise, Peridot found herself in the midst of her third orgasm of the night (fourth if counting the session just after midnight) and completely lost herself.

If Peridot couldn't hold it in, neither could Steven.

He cried out and unloaded within his beloved. Steven did have the strength to at least attempt pulling out while he was in the midst of his orgasm, but Peridot's inner muscles were as stubborn as their host, and were very hard at work milking Steven's cock for all it was worth.

That was when Steven realized something even more embarrassing than the fact that neither of them lasted beyond a minute for their first time.

Hardly any of himself actually made it inside Peridot. All that went through was the tip… not even a fourth of his length. Although his cum was shooting straight up where it would have gone had Steven been fully inside, he wondered why it felt like they hadn't truly done the deed yet.

Peridot was too busy reveling in her most recent orgasm to even acknowledge any of these matters. She was experiencing a new sensation beyond her walls being stretched, after all: a warm fullness in her belly.

It turned out there was some merit to her theory: delaying the orgasm can and will result in something bigger when it finally does happen. Her inner walls had Steven completely trapped inside until he emptied out. Only then did he soften and shrink enough to finally pop free from those hot, tight confines.

Steven couldn't really be too happy with himself for any of this; he enjoyed what little he felt of the penetration, and he was beyond relieved to finally rid himself of the surplus of semen built up inside him all night.

But… that was all he really got out of it. He was a bit concerned with how much he unloaded inside poor Peridot, but Steven opted to wait until she was fully conscious to bring it up. It did take a while for her euphoric zen to finally fade away.

Steven turned to face Peridot when he heard her grunt much more coherently and soon found her propping herself up with her elbows.

"G-geez, am I still in the midst of orgasm?" she wondered out loud as she got her bearings. "Gh-guhhhn. I feel so… bloated…"

"Uhh, that's not you leaking out," Steven gently informed her. "That's, er, my stuff. And you probably feel bloated… also 'cause of that. S-sorry, 'bout that, Dot."

"Wha.." Peridot was stunned to find out Steven was right on both counts. With caution, she put a hand over her belly and rubbed it gently. "Oh, wow. -Ahem. Yes, Steven, I already willed my body to not reproduce. No need to worry about that."

"I kinda suspected as much," Steven honestly told her. "I think deep down we both knew it was gonna end up like this no matter what. -I mean, not this-this, but… end with us… doing this."

Peridot tried not to look too worried about the pudgy belly of hers sticking out like a sore thumb in her otherwise super-thin frame. If she was being honest with herself, she did still feel a bit of pleasure with the fullness inside her, but this really stood out too much for her to stand. At least it was leaking out of her… albeit very slowly.

"I barely remember what we even did," Peridot admitted with both shock and shame. "Is… is that normal for a first time?"

"You don't remember anything because barely anything happened," Steven solemnly informed her. "I dunno if it's better or worse when both partners can't last a minute in their first time, honestly. There's a lot of TV stuff that kinda… depicts this scenario, but usually it's just one person who finishes up too quick."

Peridot's eyes widened at this revelation. "Y-you mean we both prematurely-?!"

Steven glumly nodded. "As if that wasn't bad enough, I barely got inside you at all before you peaked and locked me out. Once that happened, I went off, too. Only this much actually got inside you, Peri," he said as he held his flaccid member up and pointed out the head. "Just that part."

"Ohmystars, I'm such a defect! How can that-"

"No no no no no no no," Steven reached over and grabbed Peridot by the shoulders. "Nope, you are not gonna put yourself down tonight. Not after what we went through just to do this, and not on your birthday!"

It always calmed Peridot when Steven supported her like this, though that didn't exactly change the fact that both of them were soon to face major consequences for something they only kind-of-barely-but-not-really did.

Then again, given their intent, they both independently realized the end result wasn't exactly what they were being punished for.

"Steven, you're so good to me," Peridot pouted as she leaned against his shoulder. "We're not gonna be like this forever, are we?"

"I don't think so," Steven said in a soothing tone as he brushed his fingers through Peridot's rather frazzled hair. "It's just a newbie thing, y'know? And I gotta admit… I've never heard or seen it play out where both people in the couple have that problem. Guess we really are meant for each other!"

That made Peridot crack a smile, at least. "That's a ridiculous and baseless hypothesis, but it's funny when you put it that way… so I'll give you a pass just this one time."

When Steven leaned over to kiss Peridot directly over her gemstone, it made her shiver with glee, but nothing beyond that. She was definitely spent for the night, as was Steven.

"I'll be honest; I'm kinda scared about trying this again anytime soon," Steven sheepishly admitted. "We're gonna be in the doghouse for a looooong time over this…"

"Doghouse?" Peridot didn't follow. "I think I know what you're referring to, but I'm fairly certain there's no doghouse that could contain both of us… even if we hadn't had weird growth spurts."

"O-oh, it's an expression!" Steven laughed; he didn't realize there were still some phrases and terms that Peridot had yet to learn about.

That cheered him up, oddly enough. It was a reminder that there would never be a shortage of things to teach Peridot… considering that was what founded their relationship, it was very reassuring.

"It's, uh, another way to say you're not exactly the most popular gem around because you did something to make them all mad at you," he explained. "They'll forgive us eventually… it's just, this is a big no-no we did. So it might take longer than usual before we're in everyone's good graces again… or if one of the others screws up even worse than we did. We set the bar pretty high, though."

Peridot rolled her eyes. It made her sick just thinking about what she'd come back home to. "You… think they're gonna separate us?"

"I probably won't be allowed in your room past a certain time, and probably not without supervision," Steven told her. "And I can see them keeping us apart during downtime… but they really can't do anything about the stuff we do together at work. They'll make a load of enemies in the refugees if they try to make our punishment public to them."

"Nyrrrgh… okay, maybe we need to stop thinking about what we're in for," Peridot suggested. "I believe we're spending the night here, Steven. We may as well enjoy our alone time together while we still have it. Besides…" She winced and looked down at herself. "I am not going back to Earth looking like this."

"You can't just will it out of your body?" Steven asked.

Peridot looked down at her still-overstuffed belly. "I could, I guess… but I think this is my punishment, so I should ride it out. I'll just think of it as training for… all the punishment the others are gonna dish out on me tomorrow."

She flinched at the thought. "Rrgh, I really don't wanna know what Lapis is gonna have in mind for me… I think Pearl's definitely gonna skewer me… o-okay, I really need to stop thinking about tomorrow!"

"Once we get the bed cleaned, let's just… think about nice things before we fall asleep. Or I fall asleep; depends on how you're feeling," Steven suggested.

Peridot snapped her fingers and smirked at Steven, "Are you implying our bed is filthy, Steven?"

Steven laughed; he didn't eve need to look back at the bed to know his girlfriend just willed it clean. "Not anymore! What about clothes?"

"I don't know about you, but it may be a long time before we're permitted to see each other like this again, Steven," Peridot reminded him. "I'd prefer to just stay like this. I imagine we're both spent by now, anyway…"

"This is our first time together like this," Steven thoughtfully admitted. "And you are very nice to look at this way, I'll admit."

"I'll just think of it as a preview to our future several years from now," Peridot decided. "Hopefully, we'll be a little less stupid and a lot less idiotic."

Steven looked to Peridot curiously as they settled into their bed under the sheets, looking up at the sea of stars above them to just casually enjoy their time left together.

"Aren't those the same thing?" he asked her. "Come to think of it, "stupid idiot" is kind of a silly thing to call people, Peri… it's just a little redundant."

Peridot huffed out in annoyance. "It's not redundancy, clod. It's emphasis."

Steven blinked. "I'm… not following."

"Some people can be stupid; others are idiots… but it takes a special kind of clod mentality to achieve the level of stupid idiot, Steven. When I say you're a stupid idiot, I mean you're an idiot even by idiot standards, get it?" Peridot scoffed, clearly thinking this should've been obvious to everyone.

"Oh! That, uh… yeah, I guess it kinda makes sense." Steven smiled and shrugged. "Leave it to my Peri to invent new meanings to foreign words. That's only one of so many reasons why I love you so much, y'know?"

Peridot blushed almost immediately. "Ahaha… well, yes, naturally there are so many things about me to love!" It almost sounded like she wasn't buying her own hype at this point… but considering what happened, perhaps that was sensible. "I bet I have more reasons to love you than you have to love me, though. Not because less reasons exist, but because you're too much of a clod to realize all of the reasons why I'm so amazing. But I'm a genius, so naturally I've found every single solitary reason in the world to love you."

"I'll take up that challenge," Steven said with a grin. "I've got a bigger love-you list than you have a love-me list!"

Well, Peridot mostly said that in jest, but now she wouldn't let herself back down.

"Very well." She willed a couple of notepads and pens to land nearby them. "The race is on. At least it won't be the stupidest thing we've done tonight…"

Steven couldn't help but let out a laugh at that and gave Peridot a loving hug before rolling back to start his list.

"We've still got a couple of hours left to have some fun on your birthday… let's make the most of it!"