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There it was again. The door opening, followed by the small-but-unmistakable squeak of Peridot trying to stifle a yawn. In any other circumstance Lapis might have found it cute.
When you had lived with someone for as long as Lapis had, you learned to recognise their behaviour patterns. For Peridot, this took many forms. But most prominent of them all was her tendency to overwork. Whether it was a new set of morps or technology for the farm, she had always thrown herself wholeheartedly into her projects, toiling all hours of the day and often late into the night. More than once she had worked for entire days at a time, until Lapis had been forced to literally drag her away and force her to rest. This seemed to be a holdover from her time serving Homeworld, where personal wellbeing was secondary to the needs of the Authority. Even with no deadlines or supervisors breathing down her neck, it had persisted.
This latest endeavour had been no different. Ever since the two of them had reformed, Bismuth had kept them hard at work on restoring the Diamonds’ ships to working order. It had been relatively straightforward at first: they had salvaged everything they could from the beach and the surrounding oceans, but were now shifting to proper reconstruction. And as the most tech-savvy Gem among them, Peridot had quickly found herself stretched thin. Not that that had done anything to deter her.
Still, Lapis was familiar with the warning signs.
‘Everything okay?’ She asked.
‘Yeah.’ Peridot said, rubbing her eyes. ‘Just… need a minute.’
Lapis got up from where she was sitting and went over to her. At the sight of her approach Peridot’s eyes widened, then turned downward as Lapis bent down to her level.
‘Hey,’ Lapis said softly, ‘Look at me.’
Reluctantly Peridot’s gaze rose to meet hers.
‘You don’t look okay.’
And she didn’t: dark bags hung under her eyes. Her usually perfectly angular hair was now a frizzled mess which barely retained its original shape. And while it was difficult to tell through the visor, Lapis could have sworn her eyes were bloodshot.
‘I told you, I’m fine.’ Peridot insisted.
‘I mean it. When did you last sleep?’
Peridot’s face took on a sour look. She cast her eyes down again and mumbled something unintelligible.
‘What?’
‘I said three weeks ago!’ Peridot snapped. ‘Just before you… you…’
The sentence hung in the air, unfinished. They both knew how it would end.
Lapis remembered that last night as though it were yesterday: a Wally Wombat Wacing tournament had taken up most of the afternoon, and once Peridot had gotten the obligatory gloating out of her system they had concluded the evening with a screening of the cinematic tour de force Camp Pining Hearts: When Summer Comes Again. A decidedly unremarkable night, all things considered. Neither had suspected that their worlds would be torn apart the next day.
Before Lapis could respond Bismuth’s voice drifted in from outside: ‘Peridot! What’s the holdup?’
‘Coming!’ Peridot replied, shrugging out of Lapis’ grip.
Lapis followed her outside. Bismuth was waiting for them by the shore.
‘Okay, just like we talked about.’ She said, ‘Entry point is in the palm and the gravity should be working again, so it’ll be a straight shot to the bridge. You got it?’
Peridot nodded. Judging by how tightly her mouth was shut, she was probably trying to stop another yawn from escaping.
‘Alright then. I’ll go see how that plating’s coming along. Call if you need me!’ Bismuth said, bounding away and out of sight.
The Diamond ships remained where they had crashed, having been far too heavy to move. They had done their best to work around that fact, filling in the worst of the damage with metal from Bismuth’s armoury, but there was only so much they could do with the ships in such a position. So they had concocted a plan. Peridot would activate the yellow vessel’s propulsion systems and manoeuvre it to further up the beach, in front of the temple. That would allow them to finish their patch job and finally get on their way.
Watery wings unfurled from Lapis’ gem. ‘Alright. C’mon.’ She opened her arms.
Peridot just stared at her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’ll fly you up.’
‘I can do it myself, thanks.’
Peridot had been carrying something on her back ever since they’d left the house. She unstrapped it now and set it on the ground. It appeared to be an ordinary trash can lid.
Lapis had been dreading this. She had seen Peridot playing around with her metallic powers a few times after their awakening in the Beta Kindergarten, though it usually amounted to her levitating a fork or spoon purely because she could. Whatever she had planned here seemed to be a bit more ambitious.
She stood atop the lid, feet apart.
‘Observe.’
Taking a deep breath, brow furrowed in concentration, Peridot thrust her arms outward. The lid began to vibrate, rumbling against the ground until she finally hovered shakily into the air. Peridot’s entire body trembled. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. She seemed to be holding it up through sheer force of will.
‘Mm. Yes. Very sturdy.’ Lapis’ voice dripped with sarcasm.
Peridot scowled. ‘Just shut up and let me work.’
’Whatever.’
Peridot continued her ascent, slowly but surely gaining altitude.
Lapis gazed up at where the yellow ship lay, wrist limp and palm outstretched. Plain grey metal interspersed among the yellow. It was funny; when you were able to fly, you tended to forget how high up things were. She recalled Steven’s story about Amethyst’s gem cracking after a nasty fall. There was no telling what could happen without his healing saliva handy.
That was another one of Peridot’s trademarks: stubbornness. She would rather risk her own life before letting someone else help her.
Looking up at it now, Lapis couldn’t help but wonder if Peridot was avoiding her. After the initial joy from their reunion had faded, they had barely gotten to speak to each other. At first Lapis had chalked it up to their workload, but then whenever they were alone in the same room Peridot was constantly just on her way out or suddenly remembering something elsewhere. It seemed a pointless exercise – they would have to sit down and talk it out eventually. This was just delaying the inevitable.
A harsh new sound interrupted her thoughts; the trash can lid had clattered to the ground. Lapis watched it spinning in place as her mind searched for something to connect it to.
Barely a moment later she had launched into the air to snatch a falling Peridot out of the sky, whirling around to cushion the impact. She must have passed out in midair. Whether it had been from lack of sleep or exertion from staying airborne was anyone’s guess.
The shock must have jostled her awake. Peridot met Lapis’ gaze and gave a sheepish grin.
Lapis didn’t return it. ‘Bed.’ She ordered. ‘Now.’
Lapis opened the door with her shoulder, carrying Peridot inside bridal-style. She didn’t trust the smaller Gem’s ability to walk right now.
The debris from Blue Diamond’s ship had left the house in complete disarray. That had been one of their first things addressed, leaving a gaping hole in the roof which they had covered with tarps until such a time when proper repairs could be made. Fortunately the bedroom alcove had survived intact. Lapis flew up the steps and gently laid Peridot down in Steven’s bed. It wasn’t like he was using it.
‘Lazuli, please. We don’t have time for this.’ Peridot protested. Complaining but not actually struggling. She didn’t seem to have the energy for that.
‘You have time to take a break. You’re exhausted.’
‘But Steven—‘
‘—Will be fine. We’re already ahead of schedule. You said so yourself.’ Lapis said, in a tone which indicated that was the end of the matter. She had learned it from watching Garnet; it was surprisingly effective.
Though still grumbling, Peridot begrudgingly allowed herself to be tucked in.
‘You comfy?’
Peridot made an irritated noise which sounded somewhat like a “yes.”
‘Well, call me if you need anything.’ Lapis said, turning to leave.
‘Wait!’
Lapis stopped, turned back around. Peridot was avoiding eye contact again, though this time it seemed to be out of embarrassment.
‘Could you… stay… with me?’ She asked.
For a moment Lapis hesitated.
Then: ‘Okay.’
She perched herself awkwardly on the edge of the bed.
Come on, she thought. This isn’t what she meant and you know it.
After a few seconds of silence Lapis kicked off her sandals (a new sensation, to be sure) and slid under the covers next to her. Peridot went beet red, but didn’t move away.
‘Is this okay?’ Lapis asked.
A pause. Then a nod.
Lapis opened her arms and Peridot moved into her like she always had, burying her face in the crook of her neck. One arm encircled Peridot’s waist and the other began brushing her hair. They seemed to fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle.
By the stars, she had missed this. The breeze on her skin. The familiar weight of the covers. The feeling of sharing a bed with another. And Peridot herself, glowing like a space heater against her chest, purring like a kitten. This was nice.
‘Hey, Lapis?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Did you get my letters?’
Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the one Lapis had been the least prepared for.
Lapis swallowed. ‘…Yeah.’
She waited for a reply for what seemed like an eternity.
Eventually Peridot nuzzled closer into her and simply murmured, 'Good.'
It had been just a few days after she’d left, seemingly for good. She had been lounging around the barn, trying to focus on one of the few books which had survived the trip, when something on the ceiling had caught her eye. A pale green bubble containing a neatly folded scrap of paper.
Curiosity had gotten the better of her. She popped the bubble, unfurled the note. And there, in Peridot’s familiar scrawl:
I’m sorry
I hope you’re doing okay
We miss you
Old emotional wounds, scars which she thought had finally scabbed over were suddenly reopened.
She hadn’t gotten much sleep that night, nor the night after that. Or at all. Day and night had blended together into a single continuous void. So she had laid awake, the letter clutched to her chest, occasionally permitting herself to read it again, studying every last curve of the handwriting.
The bubbles had continued appearing, sometimes as often as three or four times a day: letters, drawings, little nick-nacks which might have made for cool morps. It occurred to her now that Peridot had had no idea where they would end up, or if Lapis would even open them, but she had kept sending them regardless. They had helped to keep Lapis sane, giving her something to look forward to.
She thought of the wreckage of the barn strewn across the beach. If the notes hadn’t burned up on reentry, then being smashed into Blue Diamond’s stupid face had probably made up for it.
Lapis extracted her face from Peridot’s hair, turning her gaze forward. She looked past Peridot, past the window, past the beach and all the way to the stars. To the familiar constellation. Once it had never felt more distant. Now it had turned up right on their doorstep.
She wasn’t sure what would happen when they finally got back to Homeworld — Steven and the others had supposedly gone on peaceful terms but people usually didn’t send distress calls if things were going smoothly — let alone what she’d do afterwards. Maybe Peridot would want nothing more to do with her.
Or maybe… just maybe… things could go back to normal. The barn may be gone, but there was still Peridot and Pumpkin. She had barely dared to entertain the thought. It had seemed unrealistic. Some delusion brought on by longing and loneliness. But the possibility was there.
'Peridot?' Lapis whispered.
There was no response.
'Hey, Peridot,' she repeated, slightly louder this time.
Still nothing. Only some indistinct mumbling. Gingerly Lapis shifted Peridot over so her face was visible; she had already fallen asleep. Lapis' face softened. Whatever concerns she might have had faded just a little. There would be time for that later. For now she drew the blankets closer around them and, after a brief hesitation, placed a gentle kiss on Peridot's gem. As Peridot's head returned to its original position, Lapis thought she saw a small smile on the other Gem's face.
Soon Bismuth would probably be calling her. But this moment belonged to them. She focused on enjoying it.