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Peridot strolled among the tomato seeds, spraying the soil with water from the hose, making sure everything was covered evenly. There was something rather therapeutic about this, she thought; alone with nothing but the wind in her hair, the sun just beginning to set, and the gentle patter of water against the ground.
Then there was a new sound: the flapping of large wings growing rapidly closer. Peridot turned around to see Lapis landing behind her, wings withdrawing into her back.
‘You know, if you need help you can always just ask.’ She said.
Before Peridot could protest Lapis began to make large, sweeping motions with her arms. The hose began to vibrate violently in her hands until a jet of water shot out, the sheer force almost knocking Peridot over. Lapis’ movements became more delicate, separating the blast into multiple streams which then scattered into thousands of tiny droplets. Water showered down across the various vegetable plots, finishing the job in a matter of seconds.
‘There.’ Lapis said. ‘Much easier.’
‘That wasn’t necessary.’ Peridot grumbled.
‘Really?’ Lapis gestured to the rest of the farm. ‘The results beg to differ.’
‘That took me almost half the day!’
‘Come on. You have a roommate who can bend water to her will but you still use regular Earth technology?’ Lapis bent down to Peridot’s level. ‘Just say thank you.’
Peridot was outraged. ‘THANK you?!’
‘You’re welcome.’
Peridot muttered something under her breath which probably would’ve gotten her shattered back on Homeworld, and was about to when she felt a drop of water land right on her gem.
‘Was that you?’ Peridot asked.
Lapis looked up. ‘I don’t think so…’
Another drop fell, followed by two more, and then the rain started to come down in full force. The two Gems ran inside to the safety of the barn. They watched the storm from just within the threshold of the doorway, flinching at the occasional rumble of thunder or lightning bolt. Even with all the time they had spent on Earth, there were evidently some aspects they had yet to get used to.
‘So…’ Lapis asked. ‘What should we do now?’
Peridot thought for a moment. With the current weather conditions, their options were rather limited. Sure, there was always an umpteenth rewatch of Camp Pining Hearts or another session of Moondrop Crossing, but even they had grown stale after a while. That would be something they’d have to address for the future.
‘To be honest, I don’t really feel like doing anything.’ Peridot answered eventually.
Lapis stretched and yawned. ‘Yeah, me neither. You wanna take a nap?’
Peridot frowned. ‘A what?’
Lapis massaged the bridge of her nose. ‘Sleep, Peridot. I’m asking if you want to go to sleep.’ She spoke slowly, as she would to a child.
Suddenly a thunder crack erupted in the sky, nearly making Peridot jump out of her skin. She swore she could feel the whole building shake. Rain hammered down on the roof with growing intensity.
‘Sleep?’ She said, still shaking. ‘With that racket? Impossible. Besides,’ she straightened herself up. ‘I don’t require sleep.’
Lapis raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve never slept before?’
‘Of course not.’ Peridot replied. Then something occurred to her. ‘Actually, that might not be entirely true.’
‘What happened?’
‘It was back when I was on the run from those Crystal Clo– I mean, Gems. I had been mobile for almost three consecutive days when I realised that my form seemed to be malfunctioning.’ Her tone grew increasingly distressed. ‘I grew weak. I could barely stand. My strength was draining from me. The next thing I knew it was morning. I must have lost consciousness.’
Lapis rolled her eyes. ‘That’s called falling asleep.’
Peridot recoiled. ‘That’s terrifying. And to think that humans do it every day…’ She shuddered at the thought.
‘I think it’s supposed to be relaxing.’
‘Relaxing? Humans regularly lapse into unconsciousness when their bodies threaten to cease functioning and they find it relaxing?’ She ran her hands through her hair. ‘Just when this planet was beginning to make sense…’
‘You’re telling me.’ Lapis replied sarcastically. ‘Anyway, if you need anything, you know where to find me.’ With that, she sprouted her wings and flew up to the second floor, leaving Peridot alone.
Peridot scowled. ‘Sleep!’ She scoffed. ‘What a ridiculous concept!’
Once again, Peridot’s eyes snapped open. She tossed and turned in her hammock, trying to get comfortable. It felt as though she had been lying there for hours. Of course, the noise certainly wasn’t helping. She turned over on her side to look out of the window, watching the rain pound against the glass. Without warning her vision was flooded with light from another bolt of lightning. Peridot drew the blanket up over her head, completely covering herself.
From within the safety of the blankets, she tried to rationalise. It was a natural process, simply the result of hot and cold air combining to form a shockwave of rippling sound after a lightning strike, just as Steven had explained to her. And yet even with that knowledge in mind, the reality was no less unnerving.
She peeked out from beneath the blanket and looked over at Lapis, asleep in her own hammock in the corner. An idea began to take shape, but she dismissed it almost immediately. She could already imagine Lapis’ relentless taunting, her amused disbelief that a Gem so obsessed with science and reason was so easily scared by a simple natural phenomenon. She would never hear the end of it.
Another thunder crack shook the barn.
Peridot’s instincts took over. There were no thoughts, only her legs carrying her across the floor to Lapis’ hammock and jumping inside. The sudden force caused it to swing from side to side, jolting Lapis awake.
‘Peridot!’ She gasped. ‘What’s wrong?’
In answer to her question the lightning struck again, audibly closer. Peridot buried her face in Lapis’ chest, whimpering quietly and shaking all over. She knew how this would look, but at this point she didn’t care. She waited for that first snarky remark, or at least for Lapis to push her away.
The last thing she expected was to feel Lapis’ arms wrapping around her.
The gesture was rather awkward, obviously coming more from a need to do something rather than any natural affection, but Peridot appreciated it nonetheless. Hesitantly, she returned the embrace. More than anything, she was surprised at how warm Lapis was. Perhaps it was fitting that her own face was currently burning red. There was a strange warmth building in her chest, like nothing she had ever experienced. She was unable to put it into words.
A memory came to mind: she was outside the barn with Garnet, preparing to fuse for the very first time. The recollection made her cringe. She had felt ridiculous enough trying to balance on her homemade limb enhancers, but having the fusion so overwhelmingly close, and yet so casual about it… the joining of two forms into one… it had been too much for her to handle.
But somehow, this was different. It felt safer, warmer, more comfortable.
What is wrong with me?
Lapis spoke, interrupting her thoughts: ‘Peridot?’
Peridot looked up to make eye contact. ‘Yes?’
Lapis hesitated, choosing her words carefully. ‘This is… nice, isn’t it?’
Peridot nodded, a shaky but genuine smile spreading across her face.
Lapis returned the smile with one of her own and pulled Peridot in closer. The two Gems laid there as the storm raged on outside. Another thunderclap reared its ugly head and Peridot shook again. Lapis found herself running a hand through Peridot’s hair, brushing it gently.
Peridot thought back to those nights spent in orbit aboard her ship, nights which felt like another lifetime now. Sometimes, when there was no more work to be done, she would visit Lapis outside her cell. She would always be asleep by then, worn out from whatever interrogation they had subjected her to that day. That image had haunted her during Lapis’ first few weeks at the barn, even after they had softened to each other.
But now, for that same Gem to feel safe enough with her to be close to her like this, to let herself be vulnerable… it was better than Peridot could ever have imagined. Suddenly the storm didn’t seem quite so scary anymore. Her eyelids started to droop. She nuzzled into Lapis’ neck, focusing on the tender fingers caressing her scalp as sleep claimed her.
They remained in each other’s arms until morning. Both were taken aback when they awoke, but they found themselves reluctant to get up. As expected, neither of them mentioned it for the rest of the day.
But that didn’t stop Peridot from going back to Lapis on the next stormy night.