"Cold Business" (Steven Universe, F/F, Amedot)

[snidterno]

Hello! This is my first sneezefic, and I hope I did it right. I dedicate this fic to Kalla and Starry_Screamer, who have written great Peridot SF that inspired me to write one myself!

Title: Cold Business

Fandom: Steven Universe

Characters: Peridot, Steven, Amethyst

Word Count: 3,100

Summary: After the events of "Too Far", Peridot comes down with a cold for the first time in her life, and Steven and Amethyst take care of her. Amedot.

---

Peridot knew something was amiss when she became aware of a scratchy feeling in her throat and in the back of her nose, but she didn't think much of it at first, assuming that it was just another change in the atmosphere and that it would pass soon. She still didn't understand very well how Earth worked, and she figured that if there were something dangerous in the air, the other Gems would have noticed it by now and would have said something.

A few hours later, however, the strange feeling didn't go away. In fact, it had evolved to a tickle in her nose. Again, she tried not to worry about it. It wasn't a big deal--a minor annoyance at worst, and it would temporarily pass if she pinched or rubbed her nose.

Another couple of hours and things started getting weird and harder to ignore. Her nose had started dripping an unidentified substance, and the tickle had spread to her throat, so that she had to keep clearing her throat.

She paused in her work to swipe her fingers under her nose and take a look at the wet substance. It was some sort of clear liquid, but it was definitely not water. It was slightly viscous. While she inspected her fingers, more of the liquid started oozing from her nose, and it felt very uncomfortable. She instinctively breathed in harshly so as to suck it back in, and it actually helped, but only for a few seconds. When it started dripping again, she let out a loud, exasperated groan. She wished she still had her limb enhancers so she could try to find out what was causing these reactions in her constructed body. This was getting very annoying, not to mention distracting, and she had work to do.

Moments later, Steven approached her, looking a little worried.

"Peridot? Are you crying?"

His question made her realize that she probably did look like she was weeping. Her eyes had even begun to water. Yet, she was quite certain that she wasn't crying.

"No," she said, a little taken aback by the sound of her own voice. It sounded raspier than usual, and her "no" came out sounding like "doe". She sniffed again and cleared her throat before trying to speak. "I think there's something wrong with my scent sponge," she admitted, if only because Steven was always so solicitous and kind.

"You mean your nose?" he asked, looking even more worried, but also confused. "What's wrong with it?"

"It keeps tickling and leaking," she replied, wiping her nose with her hand when sniffling didn't seem to suffice. "And my throat feels a little sore, too."

"Oh..." Steven looked just confused now, giving her a very odd look and tilting his head to the side. "Maybe... maybe you have a cold?"

"Negative," she said, shaking her head. "I don't feel cold. I suppose it was a little chilly last night, but the air temperature feels fine now."

"No, that's not what I meant," he said, with a little smile.

"Then what did you--" she was cut off when the tickle in her nose suddenly increased and became impossible to ignore. She tried rubbing her nose as she had been doing all morning, but this time it didn't help at all. Her breath hitched. "Heh... eh... heh-TSCHUUU!" She was alarmed by what had just happened. It had been a very harsh, involuntary exhale that had sprayed droplets of the clear substance in the air. Her nose was leaking fiercely now. "What was that?" she asked, her fearful voice almost a whisper, holding her nose with both hands, half-fearing it would fall off otherwise.

"Bless you!" said Steven, a little too cheerfully for Peridot's tastes. "That was just a sneeze. It happens a lot when you have a cold or allergies."

"What is--eh... hih... ihhh-KISHHH!" Another violent expulsion. Peridot didn't fully understand what a sneeze meant, but it didn't feel good. Her head was beginning to ache and it was impossible to breathe through her nose.

"Yep, definitely a cold," said Steven, with a knowing nod. "I didn't know Gems could catch colds."

Peridot was too busy trying to sniffle to say anything. Steven watched as she failed to breathe in because her nose was completely clogged and her face was quickly turning into a mess.

"Um, hold on, I think I have some tissues in my cheeseburger backpack!" he said and ran off into the barn. A minute later, he came back holding a small box with some thin, white material sticking out. "Here, you can use this to clean your face and blow your nose," he offered kindly.

Peridot wasn't sure what exactly he meant by "blow your nose", but she was desperate to clean her face and accepted the so-called tissues.

"So, what is this 'cold' business?" she asked him while she wiped her nose. She quickly found out that one tissue wasn't nearly enough.

"It's a common disease on Earth. Don't worry; it'll go away in a few days!" he hurried to add when she froze and gave him a terrified look. "It's not serious, just a little bothersome," he said, smiling awkwardly and shrugging. "It'll be over faster if you get plenty of rest."

"There's no time to rest!" she snapped. "The Cluster could emerge at any moment! And you're right, this 'cold' is bothersome, but I'm still functional. If it's not serious, as you say, then I have nothing to worry about, right?"

"Well, I guess, but... if you push yourself too hard, you might get worse," he said, sounding worried again.

Peridot was still trying to breathe in through her nose. She had succeeded in cleaning her face, but she hadn't yet figured out how to clear her nose of the abhorrent liquid.

"Why don't you try blowing your nose?" Steven asked, noticing her struggle. "Just put the tissues over your nose and blow."

Peridot did as instructed and shuddered at the bubbly noise that her nose made as it expelled a tremendous amount of liquid. The wetness felt very unpleasant against her skin, and she had to get some more clean tissues. She really hoped the little box had an infinite supply of them, because it looked like she was going to need a lot more if this 'cold' was supposed to go on like this for days.

However, in the end, it did give her some relief, and she could finally breathe through her nose again.

"If this illness is common, there must be a cure for it, right?" she asked, although given her luck, she already knew the answer.

"Sorry," said Steven, shaking his head. "It doesn't have a cure. There's some meds to help with the symptoms, but like I said, it'll go away on its own if you just take it easy."

"Well, this job isn't that strenuous," she said dismissively, a small pile of tissues already accumulating at her feet. She sniffled and growled, annoyed that her nose was already running again. "This isn't the first time I've had to work in less than ideal conditions. I once had to fix a damaged ship while it hurtled through a meteorite belt! I'm sure I can handle a simple human disease, too!"

---

Hours later, Peridot wasn't so sure she could handle it anymore. Steven had kept close to her, answering more of her questions about colds, getting her a new box of tissues, some tea that she refused to drink, and a sweater that he absolutely insisted she wear when she mentioned it was getting a little cold outside.

"Pearl said she's not sure I should give you any cold medicine," Steven told her, looking sad. "She said she doesn't know if a Gem's body will react to it in the same way a human's would. I'm half-human, so I never had any problems because of it..."

Peridot could admit in the privacy of her mind that perhaps the Pearl had a point, but she would never say it out loud. Moreover, she didn't want to take human medicine. She didn't want to appear that weak.

"I don't need your primitive medicine. I'm fine!"

She didn't feel fine, though. Her sneezes had become more and more frequent, the throat-clearing had turned into full-on coughing fits, her head felt like her gem was cracked (it wasn't; she had Steven check), and she was feeling cold despite the sweater.

Also, she would have sounded more convincing if her voice hadn't sounded so weak and hoarse. And if she hadn't sounded so congested. And if she hadn't had a sneezing fit afterwards. "heh-KISHHH! heh-CHUSHH! ih... ih-CHSHHUU!" She sniffled when the tickle in her nose finally left her alone, although she knew it wouldn't be gone for long.

"We've run out of tissues," Steven informed her when she asked for more. "I really think you should lie down a little. I think you're running a fever. You're shivering and your face looks darker, as if you were blushing."

She tried to stop shivering to prove him wrong, but she couldn't. Yet, she was too stubborn to do as he said and stop working. She knew she was getting worse, just as he had warned, but she just wasn't ready to admit defeat yet.

Steven sighed sadly. "I wish I still had my healing powers. Maybe then I could cure you of your cold."

Peridot also wished Steven had his healing powers, but for a different reason. If only he had been able to fix the Homeworld warp pad, she wouldn't have to be enduring any of this. She would have been back home, safe, with her job and her limb enhancers and her logs and above all her dignity. The thought almost made her want to cry.

"Hey, Peridot! Steven said you had a cold. Is he serious?"

Amethyst.

Peridot had been feeling cold, but now she suddenly felt very warm. She wanted to crawl into a hole and spontaneously retreat into her gem.

"Whoa, he wasn't kidding!" said Amethyst when she took a good look at Peridot. "You look awful!"

Peridot didn't get a chance to reply, as the tickle had decided to tease her nose again. She rubbed it furiously, but it wouldn't go away, and her head snapped forward with another wet sneeze that sprayed a mist in the air. "ehh-CHSHHH!"

"Man, if you keep sneezing without covering your face like that, Pearl is going to have a fit when she sees you," said Amethyst.

"Why would I have to cover my face?" Peridot asked stuffily, sniffling. Steven hadn't mentioned anything about that.

"So you won't spread your germs and infect the rest of us, I guess," said Amethyst, with a shrug. She herself didn't seem particularly worried, but Peridot was quite alarmed.

"You mean this 'cold' is contagious?!" she shouted, which triggered a coughing fit.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, I forgot to mention that," said Steven sheepishly. "Pearl always tells me to sneeze into my... anti... cube... something... fossa... I think she means the crook of my elbow, but I always forget to."

"Who cares? Sneezes are funny," Amethyst remarked, punctuating it with a chuckle.

"I've been sneezing and coughing around Steven all day! Is he going to get sick, too?!"

"Don't worry about me," said Steven. "I don't get sick easily."

Peridot wanted to protest more, but her nose tickled again and this time she was careful to turn her head away from Steven and Amethyst when she sneezed. "hah-KISHHH! heh-SHOOU! huh-KISHUUU!" She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, since there were no more tissues.

Her running nose was the least of her problems right now, though. Her head was pounding with a vengeance and she felt dizzy. She must have been about to fall down, because she felt strong hands holding her steady by her thin shoulders. She opened her watering eyes to see that Amethyst was the one who had caught her. All traces of uncaring amusement were gone from her face, and she was looking at Peridot with a worried expression that mirrored Steven's.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Amethyst asked quietly. "You looked like you were going to pass out or something."

"I really think you should lie down, Peridot!" Steven insisted, and this time he looked like he wouldn't take no for an answer.

It wasn't like Peridot intended to refuse again, anyway. She was suddenly too tired to stand or walk without help. She really did feel awful. She shivered again as Amethyst guided her into the barn.

Steven had run ahead of them to prepare a makeshift bed. He had been spending the past nights in the barn, so he had a pillow and a blanket ready.

"Her fever is really high, Steven," she heard Amethyst whisper.

"Wow, I've never seen a cold get that bad so fast. She was just sniffling this morning."

"Maybe it's, like, a super mutant virus? Or maybe colds are actually deadly for Gems?"

All right, if they were trying to scare Peridot, they were succeeding! She tried to speak, but her voice was too weak and she just ended up having a coughing fit. She kept her eyes closed when it passed, too tired to open them. She felt a calloused hand on her face, the touch surprisingly gentle for a Quartz soldier. The hand felt cold against her overly warm face, soothing her.

---

She saw strange, confused images. Amethyst was laughing at something she had said, and she thought she could listen to that sound forever. Then, Amethyst was suddenly angry.

"I hate you! I don't want to see you anymore!" she said, and Peridot felt herself fall into an abyss.

She landed hard on a tiled floor. She was in Steven's bathroom. It was dark, and Garnet was pounding on the door, threatening to break it down and shatter her gem. She could hear rain and thunder outside.

Suddenly she was outside, in the cold rain. Steven was waving at her, telling her it was okay, but she could see that something was wrong. The earth was opening up behind him. The Cluster was emerging! She tried to shout a warning to Steven, but her voice was muted by thunder.

She was back on Homeworld, in Yellow Diamond's office. The powerful Gem was looking down at her in contempt.

"You're a disgrace, Peridot," she said, her voice cold and sharp. "You failed your mission, betrayed Homeworld by joining the Crystal Gems and disarming the Cluster, and you let a mere defective Pearl defeat you!"

"No! I defeated her!" Peridot said, but she couldn't deny the other accusations. She knew she was guilty of incompetence and high treason.

"You're going to be harvested along with that defective Amethyst!"

"No! No, anything but that! Amethyst! Amethyst!"

---

"Amethyst... Amethyst..."

"Peridot?"

She opened her eyes and sat up with a loud, frightened gasp. It triggered a coughing fit, but it wasn't as bad as the previous ones.

When she was done, she realized it was very dark, but quiet. She was in the barn, lying on Steven's makeshift bed, with a blanket now covering her just her legs. She clung to it, breathing hard from her mouth. She was still congested, her nose stuffed up, but she didn't feel cold anymore, despite the cool night temperature.

And there was Amethyst staring at her in confusion.

"Amethyst..." Peridot rasped, flooded with relief. "I believe I just had a severe hallucination."

"Nah, I think it was just a bad dream," replied Amethyst, with a smile. Peridot felt a rush of joy at seeing that smile, though she tried not to make it obvious. "It looked messed up, though. I'm glad you woke up before those bad Gems 'harvested' us." Her shoulders shook with hushed laughter.

Peridot, on the other hand, wasn't amused in the least. She suddenly felt chilled to the core.

"Wait, what...? How did you...?" she stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence. Nevertheless, Amethyst got the gist of it.

"Your gem makes a projection of your dream, so I could see and hear it," she explained, pointing at Peridot's gem. "Pearl did that once, too. It was hilarious! I'll have to tell you all about it later." More suppressed laughter.

"Wait, how much of that did you see?" Peridot asked, half-burying herself under the blanket, her eyes wide.

"Not much, I guess," answered Amethyst, causing another wave of relief to wash over Peridot. "Just something about harvesting the both of us? I don't know; I was sleeping, too. I woke up when you started calling my name. I thought you needed me to get you something."

"I... see..." Peridot had another small coughing fit.

"Anyway, your fever broke," said Amethyst. "I guess colds really just get a faster cycle in Gems. Just keep resting and you'll be all better before you know it."

"G-good... ih... heh... heh-SHOOOU! hah-CHOOO!" She sneezed and groaned, feeling her nose start running again.

"You're probably still going to keep sneezing for a while, though," Amethyst added and picked up something that had been lying on the floor next to her. "Here, I got you more tissues."

"Thanks," said Peridot, truly grateful for something to help keep her face clean and her nose relatively cleared up without soiling her hands or Steven's sweater. She immediately pulled a coupled of tissues and blew her nose loudly. Unfortunately, it triggered a few more sneezes. "uh-KSHHUU! heh-KISSHHH!"

"Peridot?" a quiet, sleepy voice was heard. Steven appeared next to Amethyst, rubbing his eyes. "Are you feeling better?" His question was followed by a yawn.

"A little," she said, her voice muffled by the tissues covering her nose and mouth.

"I'm glad," he said, still keeping his voice down and managing a smile despite how tired he looked. "I'm going back to sleep now. Pearl doesn't want me to come near you 'cause she thinks I might catch your cold. Good night!" With that, he left her side on his tiptoes. Peridot sighed and lay back down as well, pulling the blanket up to her neck. She wasn't cold, but it felt reassuring somehow.

"I think I'll go back to sleep, too, if that's okay with you," Amethyst told her. "If you need anything or start feeling worse again, just call me." Then, in an almost inaudible whisper, "And don't worry, I don't hate you."

"What was that?" Peridot asked, but Amethyst was already gone from her sight and she didn't get an answer. She frowned. She had the slight impression that Amethyst had seen and heard more of her dream than she had let on.

As she fell asleep again, she thought she could hear a muffled sneeze coming from the direction Amethyst had disappeared to.

The End

[Kalla]

I swear to God, some supernatural force made me read this story as I had a sudden desire to check the fanfiction section of the forum when I haven't been here in days.

This. Was. AMAZING!!! I had such a great time reading it, and then every time I decided the story was A++ material it reached a new high and kept getting better.

I love how you handled Peridot coming down with a cold, and played up the novelty aspect for her. And she tries to deny it and play it off like it's nothing and *melts into pile of goo*

The amedot was just the icing on delicious cake of all my favorite cold symptoms, elegantly expressed. I loved all the coughing and sneezing and Amethyst taking care of her and worried about her and dammit this is going to be one of those incoherent reviews when I just say how how much I love it.

The very end... is that Amethyst coming down with Peridot's cold? I would love to see a sequel!

[SexyGodlikeHair]

Super cute! I love how it's written, with just the backhanded sweetness that amythest would totally do

[Kshu]

Fantastic!

[snidterno]

I swear to God, some supernatural force made me read this story as I had a sudden desire to check the fanfiction section of the forum when I haven't been here in days.

This. Was. AMAZING!!! I had such a great time reading it, and then every time I decided the story was A++ material it reached a new high and kept getting better.

I love how you handled Peridot coming down with a cold, and played up the novelty aspect for her. And she tries to deny it and play it off like it's nothing and *melts into pile of goo*

The amedot was just the icing on delicious cake of all my favorite cold symptoms, elegantly expressed. I loved all the coughing and sneezing and Amethyst taking care of her and worried about her and dammit this is going to be one of those incoherent reviews when I just say how how much I love it.

The very end... is that Amethyst coming down with Peridot's cold? I would love to see a sequel!

THANK YOU! I'm glad you read and enjoyed my fic! I really like the idea of a character not knowing what a cold is, and I also love the initial stages of a cold in fic, so I just had to include those elements in mine, although I also love your idea that Peridot actually gets sick easily. And yeah, that was a sequel hook, in case I decide to write a little more Amedot. XD

[snidterno]

Super cute! I love how it's written, with just the backhanded sweetness that amythest would totally do

Thank you! I'm glad you like my fic, and yeah, Amethyst really cares, but she also tries to play it cool, haha. XD

Fantastic!

Thanks!!

[ringsofsaturn]

awwww, this was super cute, and really well-written!

[snidterno]

awwww, this was super cute, and really well-written!

Thanks!!

[Mybabysitteravampirefan]

You should make a sequel, with all the new Peridot developments it could be great.

[snidterno]

You should make a sequel, with all the new Peridot developments it could be great.

I will! Eventually. XD

[NorthernLady]

I literally just started Steven Universe a week ago, binge watched until the very last episode and I'm so having Peridot feels right now. Very well written and that 'scent sponge' just about killed me.

[SneezyPony]

THIS IS PERFECT. SCREAM. AHHHHH. HOW ARE YOU SO TALENTED?!

[snidterno]

I literally just started Steven Universe a week ago, binge watched until the very last episode and I'm so having Peridot feels right now. Very well written and that 'scent sponge' just about killed me.

Thank you!! Oh, that's great that you just got into this show! I'm relatively new to it myself, only started watching it 6 months ago. I loved Peridot even before her redemption arc.

THIS IS PERFECT. SCREAM. AHHHHH. HOW ARE YOU SO TALENTED?!

Aww, thanks!! *blush* I'm glad you enjoyed the fic! :3

[hugmebrotha]

This is so adorable! It's well-written and Peridot's denail is so funny! Great job!

[LP]

Wow, that was a real nice story! I liked it a lot

I really do hope there's a sequel! While I'm not to big on Amedot, I'd love to see more of this.

[snidterno]

This is so adorable! It's well-written and Peridot's denail is so funny! Great job!

Thank you! Peridot is denial is so much fun!

Wow, that was a real nice story! I liked it a lot

I really do hope there's a sequel! While I'm not to big on Amedot, I'd love to see more of this.

Thanks! I do plan on writing a sequel in the near future. What Peridot pairing do you prefer? Personally, I'm okay with pairing her up with any Gem.

[LP]

Thanks! I do plan on writing a sequel in the near future. What Peridot pairing do you prefer? Personally, I'm okay with pairing her up with any Gem.

[LP]

Thanks! I do plan on writing a sequel in the near future. What Peridot pairing do you prefer? Personally, I'm okay with pairing her up with any Gem.

(Whoa, sorry for the double post, my phone did a weird thing and posted the comment before I finished typing anything. Sorry. Anyway...)

You're welcome I look forward to seeing a sequel! Amethyst sneezies can be pretty cute sometimes.

Hm... I don't really think I pair Peridot with any other gem. I'm odd, I know haha. While Amedot it cute to read at times, it tends to irk me when they're ooc for the sake of the plot. But you did a nice job here, they all seemed really in character and stuff.

[Vanilla]

I'm not usually into female sneezing, but I love this! Peridot's confusion is priceless, and the chance that Amethyst might get sick too makes it even better!

[LetsFangirl567]

I loved this! Plus it has Amedot, so it just adds to the fun!