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“Citrine.”
They perk up their head, smiling nervously “Yes, Sensei?”
Today, they were to present Sensei with their entomology notes for the first time so that he could see their progress.
“This…” He pauses for a few seconds, placing the papers on the table and rotating them so the gem can see the notes. “... is barely readable.”
Citrine blinks silently as they stare at the papers, picking them up and skimming over them one by one. It’s their own handwriting, and they can barely read it themselves… it would wince if it could.
“You did struggle with it a lot when I was teaching you if my memory serves me right. I should have taken it into account when giving you this task.”
Citrine ducks his head down, colour flooding his cheeks from the embarrassment “I apologise.”
In all honesty, he could have simply tried harder . Put more effort into it, you know? But either he was too distracted by the fluttering wings of the critters that would be brought to him… or talking to Opal…
Typically, Citrine could multitask without getting overwhelmed too quickly- they had years upon years of practice. But their beyond-terrible handwriting was just one of the things they couldn’t seem to conquer.
“It’s alright. We wouldn't have specific job roles if every gem was good at everything.” Sensei reassures the gem.
Citrine hums, “I guess that’s true.”
Sensei doesn’t waste time and moves forward before Citrine can think any more “I think the best course of action would be to get you an assistant to help you write your notes.”
The corners of Citrine’s lips twitch, but they still smile despite their lack of enthusiasm towards the idea “Is that really necessary?” No way , they think to themselves. This was the one part of the day where they had an almost guaranteed chance to be alone. The insect room itself had a lot of windows, so Citrine could easily allow the sunlight to recharge them. However, this was better done in peace.
“If your notes can’t be eligible, then yes”, Sensei replies matter-of-factly. “It’s only for writing, so you can still do everything else alone,” he adds.
“What about Opal, then?” Citrine suggests. Opal was someone they could actually decompress with. He was relatively calm and quiet, not very demanding unless he really wanted something. Plus, the two spent every day together since Citrine was “born”; if it weren’t evident that they were two different gem types, other gems might mistake them for twins.
Sensei shakes his head, letting out a sigh “Black Opal is a stupendous partner for you during patrols, but outside of that, the both of you can be easily distracted if left unsupervised.”
Citrine feels their body sinking through the floor, their expression strains, but it doesn’t budge “I’ll have to agree with that.” ( He disagrees with that, even though it’s partially true. )
Sensei sighs for a second time; He was rather lively today, for whatever reason “I’ll ask Lapis to help you, as they would be best for something like this.”
Ah...
“If you think that’s best, then I am not one to argue.” The golden gem responds, bowing its head politely.
“You’ll both start tomorrow then. Just get them to rewrite what you’ve written so far.”
“Yes, thank you, Sensei.” Citrine expresses their gratitude before exiting, their mood lifting a little when they spot Black Opal waiting for them outside the room.
He snaps out of whatever train of thought he had to look at his friend “What did he say, then?” Opal asks curiously.
Citrine sighs softly, moving a strand of hair out of their face “I’ll tell you later, alright?”
“So, what happened?” Opal asks as they place down a card “You said earlier that you would tell me.”
It’s late into the evening now, and both Opal and Citrine are in their sleepwear, ready for sleep anytime soon. But they stayed up for a little longer, playing card games.
Citrine responds, their face flushed from embarrassment as they think about their next move “Sensei told me that my notes aren't legible…”
“Ah…” Opal says this with a blank face as they watch the yellow gem place their next card “Your handwriting hasn’t improved since Sensei taught the both of us.” He says matter-of-factly.
“…Yeah.” Citrine sighs. “He’s going to assign someone to write my notes for me.” they cringe internally at the thought.
“Oh?”
Citrine mimics playfully, “ Oh? ”
Black Opal simply smiles at this. “Has he picked anyone specific?” They place down another card.
“Yeah.”
Another card is placed down.
“Oh?” The black gem shuffled through their cards “Who?” They speak after not receiving a reply.
Citrine huffs “Lapis.”
“Huh.” Opal hums. “Lapis? They’re an interesting one.”
What do you mean by that?
“He didn’t assign you to me because we get distracted when we’re together, apparently.” Citrine shrugs.
“Hey, what! That’s not-“ Opal pauses for a second before placing down a card “…Maybe he’s a little bit right. But still…” it says quietly, as it furrows its brows.
Citrine chuckles, shuffling through his cards mindlessly “I just don’t understand why Lapis specifically. He was so quick to pick them.”
Opal pauses, looking up from their cards, quirking a brow “Do you not like Lapis or something?”
“Don’t be silly, Opal.” Citrine rolls their eyes “You know there is no one here that I dislike.”
Opal says in a teasing tone, “Everyone has someone they like least.”
“Well, not me. I like everyone equally.”
Opal shoots Citrine a look, eyes squinted “Okay, now you’re just lying to me.” they look offended; it’s a bit difficult to tell if it’s genuine or a playful act.
“Come on-“ Citrine shakes his head rapidly “You know you’re not part of ‘everyone’!”
“I know. I was just testing you.”
“Uh-huh.” Citrine’s smile widens a little.
Opal hums “Well, now that you think about it, haven’t the Lunarians been a little more aggressive lately? They’re appearing way more often than usual.”
The dark gem does make a point. The Lunarians have been appearing at least every two weeks at a minimum now; it was rather strange.
“And because of that, the patrol schedules have become tighter. So everyone is busy resting or patrolling.” Opal places down a card “I mean, there is Rutile, but Rutile is just as hopeless as you when it comes to writing, in all honesty.”
Hopeless? Wowwww… What a lovely way to put it.
Although it did sting a little, Citrine also found the statement funny.
“So that leaves only Lapis, right?”
Citrine hums, “Right.”
“Yeah, and he’s a librarian. So doesn’t this seem like something that would be suitable for his job role?”
“Maybe…” Citrine says
Opal smiles as he places down another card “I win.”
Citrine sighs softly “It seems like you do.” He immediately cleans up the cards, gathering them all in one big pile and using his hands to form them into a stack. He picks them up once he successfully compresses the stack, getting up and placing the cards on a nearby table that all gems had in their private rooms.
“You have to start trying harder, or I’ll get bored.” Opal teases
The yellow gem sighs mentally, biting the inside of their mouth “Alright.” It’s more like he hadn’t been trying hard at all, but if Opal complained about it, he’d have to comply with what he wanted.
Opal wasn’t bad at the game by any means; in fact, he was very good and a challenging competitor. However, it never hurt Citrine to let others win to boost their ego.
Citrine crawls into bed, sliding into the half that faces the wall. They cover a large portion of their body with a blanket, tucking themselves in. They still wore their socks and gloves, too, It was all simply a precaution. Opal and Citrine had a hardness difference of 1.5, with Opal being the lower one out of the two. Unlike the twins, if they touched each other with barely anything between their bare selves, Opal would shatter from a mere touch.
Unfortunately, keeping the both of them apart was out of the question. So they simply accommodated- both of them had beds that were slightly wider than the other gems’ beds to provide more room and decrease dangerous collisions (this looked a little awkward and out of place, but function over aesthetics, right?), along with separate pillows and blankets. It seemed to work pretty well, though they weren’t free of Opal occasionally waking up and missing something.
Opal lays down beside them, covering themselves with a blanket “Goodnight.” they mumble as their head slumps into their pillow.
“Goodnight.” Citrine echoes back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Citrine wipes down the obsidian part of their scythe with a thin rag, taking care of each side of the blade and making more effort at the part where there is a small gap between the base of the obsidian and the wooden handle.
They huff in frustration.
“You need help?” Opal offers
“I can handle this-” Citrine shoots their partner a quick look, smiling “Thank you.”
They return to it, eventually getting most of the dust and residue off their blade. They grab the obsidian file beside them, place the scythe's edge against their thigh and start to file the sharp end at a 30-degree angle.
Typically, a gem would lay their weapon on a flat surface, as using their thigh or leg- or frankly, any body part as a surface for sharpening their weapon could result in them dropping the weapon, making a mistake or damaging themselves or another gem.
Citrine had been at this for so many years it wasn’t difficult. There was the occasional slip-up, but it was rare, and the damage was always minor, something they could fix themselves very easily, so it wasn’t an inconvenience to anyone but themselves.
They finish eventually, putting the obsidian file back down and scanning over each side of their scythe. They didn’t over-file their weapon, which meant they had successfully sharpened it.
“Here-” Opal offers, but instead of waiting for an answer, they take the file and Citrine’s scythe. “I’ll put these away for you; you take your notes.”
“Thank you,” Citrine says to be polite, even though they would have preferred to do it themselves “I guess I’ll go, then.” They stood up; one of their long strands of hair that they had pushed to the back to keep out of the way had made its way back to the front as they stood up. They flick the other one to the front with their hand.
Before they can say anything else, Opal has already run off in the opposite direction. Citrine sighs, their lips tugging upwards.
Either they’re really eager to help them out, or there is something they really want to do…
Citrine blinks a few times before straightening their posture and walking to where they are supposed to be: the insect room (or the butterfly room, alternatively.)
It’s not a very creative name, but it is simple and straightforward.
The air around them becomes slightly heavier as they get closer and closer to their destination. They’re nervous for some reason. They’re unsure why- handling gems isn’t that difficult; keeping them content is easy.
Before they know it, they’re standing in front of the door frame to the insect room, staring at it as if it owed them something. They shake their head a little and shift their jaw before they step in. Sure enough, the gem they expected to see was there. They had made themselves comfortable, sitting on the floor with their legs folded. They had a clipboard with a pencil sitting on their lap, their hands resting on top of it.
They look up when Citrine enters the room, smiling once they see them “Hello.” He pats the spot beside him, moving his hair out of the way to make more room for the golden-yellow gem.
Citrine nods as he walks over, sitting beside them “Hello.” He echoes back; they already knew each other's names, so an introduction wasn’t necessary.
Lapis picks up his clipboard, letting the back of it rest on his forearm. “Well then, just tell me anything important, and I’ll write it down. Then I’ll condense it into something more proper later.”
Well, at least they got straight to the point.
“Right, um…” Citrine pauses, quickly becoming flustered. They’ve magically, somehow, managed to forget everything.
Lapis quirks a brow “Don’t you have your original notes to reference? You can go get them if you need them.”
“Um…well…” Citrine’s face becomes red when they know they must face their incompetence; they press their fisted hands into their thighs as they look down, begrudgingly confessing, “I can’t read them either…”
After a few seconds of silence from both gems, Lapis scoffs playfully, a few muffled giggles following shortly after. They’re trying to spare Citrine’s pride, but alas, they fail.
No need to be so mean about it.
“Alright, then.” Lapis re-adjusts their posture, their smile seeming a little wider than before. “Just say whatever comes to mind, and I’ll write it down. Sensei has a soft spot for you, so you don’t have a hard deadline.”
Citrine nods, blinking when a butterfly decides that it finds their eyelashes are a comfortable place to land. They reach their hand up and gently nudge it onto their finger, holding their hand out so that they can inspect it. Still healthy and happy.
“Well… The Yellow Butterflies have four different stages in their lives. They start off from these little eggs-” Citrine points at a potted flower to their right, but once they realise it’s too far away, they get up to retrieve it, coming back to show Lapis the tiny eggs up close “-they grow inside until they become too big and have to leave. They tend to do this after a specific amount of time, but I haven’t managed to pinpoint it yet.” They pause for a little bit to give Lapis time to write everything down, but they’ve been keeping up this entire time.
“Right,” Lapis says, cueing the other gem to keep talking.
“Then they become caterpillars. They eat a lot at this stage, but their diet mainly consists of leaves; I haven’t seen them eat anything else. They shed their skin a few times because they become too big for it. They can get tremendously big compared to their original size.”
Citrine briefly looks away from their hand and onto the clipboard. Lapis is writing so fast and so clearly at the same time. He finds himself feeling a little envious.
“Then, they find a safe and comfortable space and make this silk sack around themselves. I think it’s to protect themselves while they transform. After a while, they emerge; their wings are oddly wrinkly and wet, but after some time, they dry up, and the butterflies can fly. They feed off the nectar of flowers and find a partner butterfly to make more eggs with, and then they die.”
Lapis hums “I see.” They finish writing the last few sentences, handing the clipboard to Citrine “I need you to look at this to check if I made any mistakes before we continue.”
Citrine nods and takes the clipboard into their free hand, still holding the yellow butterfly in their other hand, letting it crawl around as it pleases; there were about five more on their head.
Citrine finishes reading quickly- they had no problems with reading, unlike with writing “You wrote down everything I said word for word.” He says the way he spoke gave away that he was impressed.
“Perfect.” Lapis responds, taking back the clipboard without waiting for Citrine to offer it back “Anything else?”
Citrine thinks for a bit, and then they get up again, picking up a jar isolated in the corner of the room. They come back and open it, tipping it to the side, a few dead mayflies landing in their palm “These keep dying shortly after they’re brought to me, but I can’t seem to figure out why yet.”
“I see,” Lapis responds absent-mindedly “Anything else?”
Citrine spent a handful of more minutes blabbering whatever came to mind. Lapis would write it down immediately, giving the occasional nod or “uh-huh” to show they were paying attention, despite the fact the sound of their pencil on the paper was more than enough.
Once Citrine runs out of things to say, Lapis simply stops writing, gets up, gives Citrine a farewell and leaves.
It was way more straightforward and boring than they thought it would be. Lapis was utterly clear and just got the work done. Maybe Citrine did something to intimidate them? Surely not- they were nervous but did their best to appear friendly as usual.
Citrine can’t really think of anything that makes sense. They scooped the small horde of yellow butterflies resting on them, ensuring they all had a comfortable leaf or flower to sit on while they did some quick maintenance on the room.
The evening had come again, and it was time for card games. Only this time, Opal and Citrine weren’t alone. They sat with three other gems, Euclase, Jade and Diamond. While playing, the three of them discussed their days. Opal and Jade are less talkative than the rest, but that’s normal.
“So, Cinnabar won’t be joining us tonight?” Citrine asks.
“Ah, no…” Diamond replies, “They said they wanted to sleep early today.”
“I see, that’s a shame…” Citrine responds, resting their hand on their face, “Maybe next time, then…”
Nobody seems interested in this topic. Euclase and Diamond start chattering about something else, with the other three occasionally giving their own input.
“So, how was today for you, Citrine?” Jade asks, redirecting the conversation.
Citrine snaps back into reality, having zoned off for a few seconds just now “Oh, well, pretty normal.” They say, listing things that have happened today, “The patrol was fine… and the insect room is fine too…” They bring a finger to their chin.
“Lapis has started working with you for your job, haven’t they?” Jade brings up absentmindedly, placing down a card.
“Huh?” Euclase’s and Diamond's heads perk up in interest, and Jade frowns, realising what they started.
“Oh yeah… It’s just to write my notes for me, that’s all…” They were seriously never gonna get a break from this for a while, weren’t they?...
“I see.” Euclase hums.
“How did it go?” Diamond asks, placing their card down before he leans forward slightly, seeming intrigued.
“It was good.” It was boring and awkward. “They did a perfect job; they’re so efficient.” Citrine praises, wanting this conversation to end already.
“They are very smart, so I don’t doubt that.” Euclases gives Citrine a worrying smile, warning them as they place a card “But it might be in your best interest to be wary.”
“Eh?” Citrine hums, tilting their head at Euclase as a curious smile overcomes their face “How come?”
“They just tend to use their intelligence for their own benefit instead of others,” Euclase explains, with Jade nodding in agreement with their partner “I don’t think a gem as friendly as you would take well to something like that.”
Citrine grimaces on the inside. This is a very ironic statement . They would laugh if they could.
They already knew the information that Euclase had relayed to them. Still, Citrine kept smiling anyway, their mouth opening before they could even finish thinking, “Thank you, that’s very sweet of you- to think of me!” They say, their eyes softening, “I’ll take what you’ve said into consideration for the future.”
Euclase smiles flusteredly at this, seeming happy at the fact that they were able to help out. The group conversation quickly moves along, although Diamond gives Citrine the occasional odd glance that they dismiss.
“Oh!” Citrine flinches, almost dropping the small wooden box in their hands.
Lapis turns to look at Citrine with a blank face, which shortly changes to a sly smile “Oh, Citrine, hello.” They’re crouched in the middle of the room, a butterfly sitting calmly on one of their hands.
“You startled me…” Citrine smiles back meekly, stating the obvious as they step into the room “I don’t think you were supposed to be here today?” maybe Citrine forgot when the two were next meant to work together.
“You are right,” Lapis confirms; they then add, “I’m not here for work. I am merely here to indulge in my own curiosity. I hope that doesn’t disrupt your work.”
“I see…” Citrine says, kneeling on the ground “You can stay as long as you want to.” they say, wishing that the other gem would leave soon.
“Thank you.” Lapis says, continuing to observe the transparent-winged butterfly on their palm, though when Citrine places the small box on the ground, their attention is briefly stolen “What do you have there?”
Citrine takes out a black pair of half-moon glasses, putting them on before they slowly open the box “Beetles.” he replies blankly, starting to provide some context as he takes one out “I think they’re a solution to my problem with the Mayflies.”
“Yeah?” Lapis tilts his head, seeming interested in this “How so?”
“Well, on my past patrols, I saw multiple mayflies with these little beetles hooked onto their tails. So I think maybe they need each other to function. Though, I’m not sure why.” with a couple of beetles crawling all over his hands, Citrine walks over to a plant, gently placing the beetles on separate leaves.
Lapis tilts their head again, but to the other side this time “So they have a symbiotic relationship?”
“Yeah.” Citrine responds, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” The yellow gem repeats themselves, stepping back and sitting down so they can simply observe.
Lapis returns to inspecting the butterfly in its palm, curiously poking at its wings. No response.
They delicately reach over, taking both of the butterfly's wings between their fingers and pinching them. Still nothing.
“Wait!” Citrine suddenly appears, most likely having crawled over when Lapis hadn’t been paying attention “You can’t do that!” Citrine scolds gently, their hands hesitantly hovering near Lapis’s, as if they wanted to take the butterfly but couldn’t.
Lapis’s eyes widened momentarily in surprise “Why not?” They ask, un-pinching their fingers and allowing the butterfly to move its wings again.
“Their wings are really thin, soft and delicate.” Citrine explains, speaking quickly “And our fingers are hard. Applying pressure like that can cause damage and make them lose the ability to fly.”
Lapis nods, gently placing the butterfly in Citrine’s palm “I see.”
Citrine gently shakes their hand up and down gently to encourage the butterfly to fly, but its little legs stay stuck to their gloved hand. Even when it finally comes off, it falls straight to the ground. Citrine lets out a small sigh, picking the butterfly off the floor “Poor thing…” they mutter under their breath.
“Can’t you fix it?” Lapis asks
“No.”
“‘No’ as in you can’t, or ‘no’ as in you won’t?”
Citrine looks up at Lapis “I can’t. Even if it is possible, I have no clue what the solution would be.”
Lapis doesn’t say anything and just watches as the golden yellow gem stands up and walks over to a different plant, gently placing the butterfly on one of the leaves.
Citrine looks over to the plant where they placed the beetles, their smile widening when they realise their little plan has worked. They walk over close to the plant, leaning over to look. The mayflies and beetles were interacting, the beetles hooking onto the tails of the mayflies... Hopefully, this will work out.
“Looks like you were right,” Lapis says, slowly getting up from where they were sitting.
“Yeah,” Citrine says, seeming very happy with themselves.
Citrine flinches when they notice that Lapis is suddenly near them. Why did nobody bother to warn them that Lapis was so sneaky? That would have been useful.
“Can I ask you something?” The blue gem tilts its head.
Citrine nods, readjusting their glasses “Go ahead.”
“Why do you care so much about the wings being damaged? It’s still alive- and if it expires, you can always get another one.” It’s difficult to tell if this question comes from a place of genuine curiosity or if it’s being asked for taunting.
Either way, Citrine answers, deciding to ignore the last thing that Lapis had mentioned “Because taking away their ability to fly is like taking away their freedom. I personally find it to be cruel and unfair, considering how short their time here already is.” the gems lips begin moving again before they even realise “But you didn’t know- so it’s okay.”
They didn’t really mean that, but okay.
“I see,” Lapis pauses for a bit, going quiet while looking at Citrine “Interesting…”
This is weird. Was what Citrine said that outlandish to them?
“I apologise for ruining the wings of one of your specimens. Even if it didn’t matter, it’s still rather rude, considering you allowed me to be here.”
Eh? Citrine blinks An apology? And it seems genuine as well.
“Well, you didn’t know.” Citrine responds, accepting the apology “Just be careful next time, and it’ll be okay.”
Lapis simply smiles “I’ll take my leave now, I don’t have a reason to be here for longer.”
“Oh, okay,” Citrine feels relieved upon hearing this “I hope you have a nice day.”
Lapis walks away even before Citrine speaks, pausing as they place their hand on the doorway frame and look back at the yellow gem “The same goes for you.”
And they leave.
Well, that was… interesting?
“What is it that you need again?” Citrine asks, smiling meekly “I forgot…”
“Oh, I just wanted to read.” Opal says, holding the yellow gem's hand as they walk together to the library.
“Ah, I see, okay!” So Opal actually only needed company. That was a relatively easy and mindless request, so Citrine didn’t mind. They looked forward to it, even.
Both gems step into the library. It’s relatively small, so Opal is easily able to find what he’s looking for, walking to the exact shelf and quickly spotting the book he wants to read, taking it off the shelf, checking the front and back, and cracking it open to skim the page, as if the cover wasn’t enough to tell him it was the right book. Citrine stands patiently beside their partner, letting them ‘do their thing.’
Eventually, they settle down together on a table, Opal silently reading their book as Citrine sits beside them, completely still as they absentmindedly tap their fingers on the table. Accompanying Opal like this was nice because they got to do literally nothing but sit beside their favourite gem.
Though, they did feel a bit restless from doing nothing; probably just a byproduct of their behaviours over the past years.
“Hello.”
Citrine flinches, their fingers subconsciously digging into the table as they turn to Black Opal, only to realise that they weren’t the one calling out. They turn to look behind them and notice familiar deep blue hair- it’s Lapis again, with Ghost Quartz standing silently behind them. You could say they are… ghosting.
(Laugh at the author's joke everyone)
Citrine sighs mentally, their smile widening involuntarily at the sight of the two “Hello.”
“Hi.” Ghost murmurs, giving Citrine a meek smile and a small wave.
“May we sit here for a moment?” Lapis asks, gesturing towards the table.
Citrine nods “Of course, you are welcome to.” They’d scoot their chair closer to Opal, but they can’t. The two are already close, and their movement would arouse suspicion from all gems involved.
Their body buzzed with disapproval.
Lapis nods, placing some papers on the table. They don’t sit down and stayed standing, though their partner does “I have something for you,” they push the papers over to the golden-yellow gem, who looks at them curiously, picking one up and bringing it closer to their face “It’s to help you.”
It was a lined sheet of paper with letters of the alphabet written down but erased to make the letters faint. Citrine blinks a few times before looking at Lapis, who responds before they can even ask what it is that they’re holding: “It’s something to help you with your own writing. Just little exercises to do when you have time.”
At first, Citrine is a little confused about how to feel about this, though a “Thank you.” does slip past their lips almost immediately. This is the first time in a long time that someone has made something for them outside of obligation, so they should be pleased. That sounds about right. They look at Lapis “Thank you,” they repeat themselves again “I appreciate you putting your time into this.”
“You’re welcome,” Lapis nods. “Ah, don’t worry about it, I only did this when I had nothing better to do.”
Citrine falls quiet for a short while, realising they misunderstood Lapis completely. They notice Lapis’s lips twitch upwards in their silence a few times. Citrine wishes they could knock that expression off their face.
Despite their irritation, Citrine’s voice comes out monotone-ly calm as it usually does “In that case, I am glad to hear it didn’t take up too much of your time.”
Lapis nods, tucking some of their hair behind their ear with a smile “You can start now, seeing as you aren’t busy.”
Citrine almost immediately turns to look at Opal, hoping for them to do something at the very least.
“I don’t mind.” Opal says to Citrine, giving them a quick smile before returning to their book.
Oh, Opal. Citrine bites the inside of their mouth gently, mentally sighing at their predicament. They would be disappointed, but they struggle to find the energy to when their dearest brother smiles at them like that, all proud and understanding like Citrine deserved it.
Alright then. For Opal, they’re doing this for Opal. Strangely, that thought makes them feel better about this entire situation.
Citrine looks back to Lapis with a smile, “Alright, I guess I will do that then,” they look back down at the paper, and the realisation hits them: they have no pencil or glasses. Sure, they could pull this off without their glasses, but how exactly does a gem write without a pencil?
“I-“ just as Citrine announces that they’re about to get up and go fetch, Ghost seems to just whip a pencil, fresh, sharp and new, out of nowhere, presenting it to Citrine like it was nothing. The yellow gem delicately takes it out of the others' hands, smiling warmly at them as they place it down next to the papers, the placement neat and aligned “Oh, thank you so much, but-“
Citrine is hit with whiplash as they turn and see Lapis holding their glasses, their fingers pinching the bridge, presenting them to the yellow gem. They blink a few times as they process this, catching their mouth before it gapes open.
“What-“ the yellow gem sputters as they take the half-moon framed glasses out of the blue gem's hand “How did you-“
“I simply noticed that you left them behind the last time we worked together,” Lapis explains, tilting their head to the side with a small smile that only seemed to irritate Citrine (either this gem always looked sly, or Citrine’s inclusions were simply conjuring this expression out of nowhere) “so, I picked them up for you on my way to the library.”
Citrine always leaves their glasses in the insect room on purpose, as they don’t really use them anywhere else. That’s where they should be right now, but Lapis has just taken them without asking.
But Citrine’s face doesn’t move an inch, and they still smile, thanking the blue gem as they take the glasses from their hands as if they were honestly thankful for them being moved from where they should be.
Opal knows the gem well enough to know this and shoots Citrine a brief side-eye, looking back to his book once his brother doesn’t return his gaze.
If it weren’t for their inclusions blocking away their unacceptable thoughts and feelings, Citrine would have snapped the pencil that they had been given at some point.
“Hey,” Opal calls out, looking to Citrine, who has their hand around the jet-black gem's shoulder, keeping them near as they walk down the halls of the school to get to their respective rooms.
“Hm?” Citrine hums, snapping out of their current train of thought to look at Opal. They had already forgotten what they were thinking about, so it probably didn’t matter much anyway “Yes, what is it?”
“You leave your glasses behind all the time.”
Citrine hums again affirmatively as they nod.
“In the insect room.”
Citrine hums and nods again.
“ On purpose. ”
Citrine raises a brow, their smile turning into a confused grin from amusement at their brothers' scattered sentences “And?”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier then?” Opal begins “It would have been extremely inconvenient for you if we didn’t go to the library today; you would have had to go chase and just find them the next time you needed them.”
Citrine shrugs, a meek smile on their face as they turn away from their partner “They didn’t know,” the golden yellow gem justifies, flicking their free hand once as they spoke “There is no point in pointing it out when it was already done.”
Opal smiles back, nudging them with their shoulder “You could have told them not to pick them up next time.”
Citrine sighs, looking back at the other gem again “Yes, you are right, I could have done that.” the gem says, reaching out to pinch Opal’s rock-hard cheek, who shrinks away from the touch “Look at you, brother, so, so smart.” if Opal didn’t know the yellow gem any better, they would think Citrine was making fun of him.
All that Opal can do is chuckle in response, having nothing to say to that. But the gem still feels worried about its yellow, overly lenient counterpart.
To us human beings, time is fickle and valuable. We only have a few decades to live before our inevitable departure from the world of the living; those who are less fortunate or choose to end their lives prematurely have even less to spare. Time is precious, and once spent, it cannot be taken back.
To a gem, however, time is nothing . It can be tossed, given and taken away at a moment's notice, and in the grand scheme, it simply doesn’t matter because gems have all the time the universe has to offer. After all, gems cannot die. Gems will never depart from the world of the living and, thus, aren’t overly concerned with how they spend their time or their lack of usage.
About two… no, three years had passed now? About three years had passed since Lapis had been assigned as Citrine’s assistant. The deep blue gem had become a sort of inconsistent variable in his life, coming into the insect room unprompted at the most unexpected of times as they pleased. Luckily, other gems didn’t take this gem's behaviour as an example and did not come in when Citrine was working without reason. They were so, so very relieved by this.
Lapis would occasionally bug Citrine with questions about their specimens and their work. Still, despite how irritated the questions may have made the yellow gem initially feel, Citrine found themselves happily answering all of Lapis’s questions sooner or later, lost in their interest.
As much as the blue gem made Citrine anxious and annoyed, they appreciated that Lapis showed so much interest in their work, and over time grew to become somewhat fond of them. Though, they still kept their caution.
Things had, more or less, changed in the time that had passed. Multiple species of insects that Citrine was aware of had gone extinct. While it was upsetting, the yellow gem wasn’t particularly worried about it.
Just like how gems could be replaced by new versions of themselves, new species would appear to replace the vacant spot the lost species had left. New species meant that Citrine had something to study, too, so it wasn’t all that bad in the end.
Even if it meant they had to let go of species they were personally very fond of.
What had slipped through Citrine’s perception was that they, too, were being studied. Royal blue eyes watched them with a curious glint, ears listened to their dialogue with interest, which they merely brushed off, choosing to believe that it probably didn’t mean much.
They rationalised that it was perhaps the excitement that came with knowing a new gem- the two of them had known of each other for years, but there never was the opportunity to know each other. A new gem can bring excitement to gems in the same way that a new species of insect brings joy to Citrine. It’s something to look forward to when compared to the monotony of everyday life.
But still, even knowing this, Citrine didn’t feel particularly comfortable with being studied like an insect.
It was completely and utterly dark outside. Pitch black. An abyss, whatever poetic words a more elegant gem would use to describe the late night.
Any gem would scold Citrine, or at least show worry, for them being outside right now with their poor vision. But luckily for Citrine, everyone was asleep.
“What are you doing out here at this hour?”
Looks like they were wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.
Citrine whips their head around, opening their mouth to squeak, but no sound comes out. They can’t really make out who it is until the gem is basically right in their face. It’s Lapis Lazuli, of all gems. Because, of course, it is.
“... I could ask you the same,” Citrine says, turning away to look back at the grass field they were staring at earlier.
“Right.” Lapis moves to stand by Citrine’s side, keeping a small amount of distance between the two, enough to not feel as if they were intruding into the yellow gems' personal space.
“So,” Lapis moves again, Citrine can tell by the sound of moving fabric but can’t make out what exactly it is he is doing “Are you going to answer my que-”
The golden-yellow gem quips his head around to face Lapis, putting a finger up to his lips “ Shhh. ” He says sharply. In the pitch black dark, he can’t see what expression it is that Lapis makes very well, but the other gem falls into silence, and that’s all that Citrine needs.
Citrine glances back at the field again, watching and waiting as they did previously.
Small little glowing lights begin to appear, faintly lighting up the area that surrounds them. It’s a slow event, more and more lighting up, little by little. A small gasp emits from the blue gem beside them, but Citrine ignores it. They don’t want to miss this.
The little lights begin to rise up, a cascade of ultrasonic clicks making a song as they dance and sing through the midnight sky.
“Is this what you came out here for?” Lapis asks after a long silence between the both of them. Citrine, without even looking, can feel them smiling. It infuriates them a little bit for some reason.
“Why else would I be here?” He responds, knowing damn well it’s also because he couldn’t sleep.
“You came out here for glowing insects?” Lapis blinks at the other gem, asking this question despite their lack of surprise “... Yeah, that sounds like you.”
Silence again.
“So,” the deep blue gem gestures towards the glowing armada “what are these, exactly?”
Citrine hums with a shrug “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” If the yellow gem didn’t know any better, Lapis seemed a bit shocked at this response “What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Citrine sighs, clasping their hands together. Their cheeks start heating up from the embarrassment, but at least they have the dark to hide it “I can’t catch them to inspect them.” the yellow gem begins to explain “Every time I have tried, I have killed them without intending to. They are very soft and fragile, more so than most insects I have encountered.”
The memory of catching these insects with both hands, only to open their palms and reveal a squashed bug, flashes over their eyes. It makes them feel a tinge of guilt.
“Ah.” Lapis says simply in response “That’s a shame.”
“It is,” Citrine reaches out to one of their longer locks of hair, slipping a finger through the middle and beginning to absentmindedly twirl and twist “especially considering that they’ll go extinct soon, too, unless they find a way to adapt somehow.”
“Why?” The blue gem asks immediately after Citrine finishes speaking “Is it because they don’t have sustenance anymore or something?”
If Lapis had said something like this the first year that they got close, Citrine would be incredibly surprised and in awe. But Lapis’s intelligence and intuition has become something they’ve adjusted to pretty well after three years. How on point Lapis is sometimes barely phases the yellow gem anymore.
Citrine nods “Yes, the water lotus that the mature ones feed off of are going extinct,” they sigh, a bit of weight can be felt in the sound that they make “so if there isn’t anything else suitable for them, they will end up disappearing… and I can’t do anything because I can’t eve-”
Citrine is cut off when one of the glowing lights lands on their eyeball, a small gasp escaping them as they refuse to allow themselves to blink and possibly crush this creature. They turn when they hear a chuckle beside them, looking at Lapis, who too, had multiple of these creatures on them. They seemed to be really fond of the pyrite flecks in the blue gems' hair, shoving each other out of the way to get their turn sitting there.
“Are they not picky?…” Citrine hums, smiling a little as they, very, very gently, poke the little glowing critter on their eye, encouraging it to move. With a few small irritated clicks, it flies off, deciding that Citrine’s hair is a better place to sit instead.
Because so many of these critters had decided that Lapis was an appropriate pit stop for them, Citrine could finally see their face properly. They appeared to be very amused, their gaze slightly set off of the yellow gem's face. Citrine looks down at their longer locks of hair and realises that they have even more of these critters in their hair than the blue gem does.
Something like this has never happened before… either that or Citrine was so lost in the moment the previous times that they watched them, that they simply failed to notice.
It takes every ounce of control that Citrine has to not display the amount of excitement they feel in this moment. Hopefully, their pupils had not become the size of large beetles, they know how funny that looks ( Opal finds it hilarious )
Lapis only silently stares at the golden-yellow gem before them, an ominous smile that would send chills down their back fixed onto their face.
After a short silence, Citrine stammers out a “What?”
Lapis stays silent, either calculating what to say next or because, possibly , they knew Citrine was unsettled and found some form of amusement in it. It could also be both, and they didn’t know which variable it was yet. That’s how it was with Lapis, it felt like a frustrating game of cards.
“Do you have something to say or are you just tired?” Citrine speaks in a softer than before lighter voice, that somehow manages to be more firm as well “I can take you back t-“
“I know.” Lapis interrupts, their voice as smooth as a marble floor but also scratching in the yellow gems ears like nails on a chalkboard.
The silence between them is quick to be cut by Citrine, but it’s enough for Lapis to become firm in their beliefs.
“I’m not quite sure what you are talking about…?” Citrine whispers with a meek smile, seeming to not be bothered at all by the glowing creature crawling across their eye. They can’t even bite the inside of their mouth to abate the bad feeling.
Instead of directly answering, Lapis begins with an explanation “I always thought you were weak-willed… and perhaps, a little desperate,” Citrine can’t tell if Lapis is laughing at them or if it’s just a figment of their imagination, but they pray silently to themselves as everything around them shatters “but I’m afraid that I misjudged, didn’t I? Hm? ” Lapis hums, their arms tucked behind their back as they step forward, Citrine taking a step back as if in unison with the other gem. Citrine has no clue what to say to twist this in their favour, and their inclusions seem to be just as flustered as they are.
“I,” Citrine suddenly breaks into a stuttering fit, taking a second step back “I don’t know what you’re-”
“You’re defective, aren’t you?” It’s not really even a question, but more of a statement. The sudden crack that has formed itself across Citrine’s mouth confirms to Lapis that Citrine is a puzzle they have finally managed to put together, and my, is it so rewarding for them to realise that they are, indeed, correct! It was easy to tell just by looking at their unshifting expression that they found how Citrine’s smiling lips twitched with fear and shock, completely and utterly amusing, or that’s what Citrine had assumed at least.
It was very, very clear that Citrine had been cornered, and all they could do was pray for mercy.
“You can’t tell anyone!” Citrine lurches forward, grabbing the blue gem by the shoulders. They unsettle the little lights on them in the process, making some fly away, and now darkness is cast on them again.
Honestly, if any gem knew they don’t know what they’d do, they don’t even know why they feel so alert and terrified of the thought alone.
“If any gem finds out then- then- I-“
Lapis cuts the golden-yellow gem off by placing their hands on top of Citrine’s, removing them from their shoulders “Tell anyone,” they smile, lifting a brow in amusement “what would I get out of telling anyone?”
Citrine freezes, unsure of how to respond to this. They look down at Lapis’s hands holding theirs.
“Well, care to tell me?”
Still, Citrine has no answer to offer. Either they are too stunned to respond, or they cannot find an answer. They themselves don’t know.
Lapis sighs “I thought so…” they turn, letting go of Citrine’s hands in the process “Now let’s go get you patched up, bug lover.” The blue gem crouches and picks up a few yellow shards that have scattered around Citrine’s shoes. They chuckle “Rutile will have my head if he sees you like this.”
With Citrine’s shards in one hand and Citrine’s hand in the other, Lapis takes the perplexed yellow gem back to the school.
After that night, Citrine was on high alert. Their trust in Lapis had suddenly evaporated at the time.
This was evident when the two of them weren’t alone, and Lapis could feel the yellow gem eyes burning into them occasionally.
This paranoia and alertness would fade when Citrine finally realised that Lapis honestly had no intention of telling any gem their secret. They went as far as to report to Sensei that they knew with Citrine present, surprising Citrine once again. Lapis had proved to be more trustworthy than they initially believed.
When Citrine finally opened themselves up to Lapis again, the state of their relationship went back to normal.
“Lapis?” Citrine catches the attention of Dark Blue Gem, who’s organising the library's books despite the lack of visitors this month.
Lapis turns their head, their eyes widening a little in surprise. Citrine could be really sneaky when they wanted to be. It was amusing to Lapis how similar yet vastly different the two of them were.
“Yes?” They ask, quickly taking notice that both of Citrine’s hands were behind their back, probably holding something.
“...” Citrine stares at him for a few minutes, clearly already knowing that the other gem knows, but for whatever reason, decides to drag it out “How are you?”
Lapis shrugs. “I’m fine. I'm just sorting some things out here. Cleaning dust off and whatnot.” They smile at Citrine, playing along “And you?”
“Just a little tired, today’s been a long day, haha.” A severely watered-down explanation of their day, but that was just how Citrine spoke.
Silence follows. Lapis looks at Citrine with an amused smile while the others smile nervously.
Lapis tucks a strand of hair behind their ear “Well?” they smirk “I’m assuming you didn’t come here so that we could gaze into each other's eyes… but you’re welcome to, if that’s what you’d like.”
Citrine’s face gets quickly covered with a faint shade of pink “Oh, no, no!” They fumble “I mean- that’s not- your eyes are pretty- but that’s not what I came here for!”
“Alright.” Lapis pays no mind to the fact that Citrine just called his eyes pretty “What for, then?”
“Um…” Citrine finally reveals what’s behind their back, presenting a box frame “It’s for you.”
Lapis takes a look, immediately intrigued. Inside the frame is a large, see-through, iridescent butterfly intricately pinned to the inside to display its beauty. Lapis takes the frame out of Citrine’s hand, the corners of their lips slightly tugging upwards.
Lapis had noticed this exact butterfly about a week ago and found themselves utterly captivated by its beauty. They took a faint interest in the critters Citrine looked after, but never have they found themselves admiring the beauty of a creature like this .
And Citrine noticed. Of course, they noticed . It didn’t take a genius to notice how they stared at it like a new gem seeing the world around them for the first time.
Then they gave it to Lapis as a gift, just for them.
Lapis gently hugs the frame to his chest, his eyes warm as he looks at Citrine “Thank you… I love it.”
This is such an intimate moment, and Citrine recognises that their face stays flushed as they begin to twirl one of their longer strands of hair around their finger “I’m glad…”
Those wings are delicate and difficult to deal with… and they spent a lot of time wondering if Lapis would like it.
“Well, I should get going.” Citrine speaks again after a couple of seconds of silence, following through with their words and beginning to turn so that they could walk out of the library.
“You won’t stay?” Lapis asks, still smiling warmly at the other gem.
“Unless you need anything, I have to go escort Rutile, I already said I would.” Citrine explains. They think they would have stayed for a little, willingly, if they hadn't.
“Oh… go on. I don’t need any assistance right now.”
“Okay,” Citrine replies, giving Lapis a small wave as they begin to walk away “Have a nice day.”
Lapis waves back, still keeping the face of the frame pressed against their chest “Bye.”
After Citrine leaves, they take another glance at the beautiful creature inside the frame, subconsciously grinning to themselves. They weren’t sure if Citrine understood how meaningful this was to them. It wasn’t often that they received gifts, much less ones that they actually cared about. They can only recall when Ghost Quartz gifted them some materials for book covers.
They step away from the shelf they were just cleaning to put away the precious gift they were holding.
They wouldn’t forget it.
As the sun sets, the halls of the school building become quiet and dimly lit. The moon casts it glow through the pillars and windows, the stars twinkling in the starry night sky. Only a few gems remain awake, while the rest sleep peacefully in their rooms.
One of these gems is Citrine, who finds themselves wandering through the halls, unable to fall asleep. They have tried, but they only restlessly tossed and turned underneath their blanket, their body craving for something to do.
So here they were, dressed and patrolling the hallways of the school, fiddling with the ends of their hair as they scanned their mind endlessly for what they could have missed.
It felt like bugs were crawling all over their body but in an unpleasant way, their stomach and chest flaring with a disgusting warmth. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, and it was becoming increasingly frequent, though rather slowly.
They wish it wouldn’t happen… they are so tired , and then their sleep runs away from them. Sometimes it feels like the world itself was out to get them from the very beginning.
Citrine pauses in their tracks, snapping out of their thoughts when they realise they have walked so far that they have reached the entrance of the library. They ponder to themselves for a moment if they should enter, but their feet move before they can even finish, entering the room.
“Can’t sleep?” A hushed voice greets them as they get in line view of one of the desks. It’s a sight that once caused them discomfort… but not as much anymore.
They let out a small sigh “Yeah.” Citrine moves a misplaced strand of hair out of their face, adjusting their already straight posture “You too?”
“I didn’t feel like it.” Lapis responds plainly, going back to idly scribbling on the piece of paper in front of them, still keeping their eyes on the yellow gem “You can stay here if you would like to. I wouldn’t mind the company.” their eyes feel cold and warm at the same time.
Citrine nods, taking an unconventional seat and sitting on the window sill, their back leaning against the glass as they crane their head down, shutting their eyes for a little and allowing themselves to be somewhat comfortable.
Lapis keeps their eyes on Citrine for a little longer, before their pencil accidentally slips off their paper and lands on the table, leaving a mark. They rub at it a little with their finger, giving up once the mark doesn’t go away and going back to scribbling.
Citrine lifts their head and turns to look out the window. They have found something to do and feel calmer now, but that nagging feeling inside them lingers. They look at the moon. It’s full.
“What’s on your mind?” Lapis asks, ever so observant.
Citrine signs, their cheek pressing against the glass “I’m thinking about what you’re scribbling on that paper.”
Lapis smiles, turning to look at them again “You don’t have to lie to me.”
It takes Citrine a bit of effort to spit it out, but they manage to “...You know I can’t help it.” they chew on the inside of their cheek. They suddenly feel too tired for this, despite feeling so awake a mere second ago.
“Yes.” Lapis rolls the pencil in between their fingers, leaning back in their chair “Congratulations on being able to admit that.” Truly it was a victory that the gem didn’t deflect just now.
Citrine smiles weakly, closing their hand into a loose fist “Thank you.”
And then, they both fall back into silence.
Lapis had been nice to them for a while now. Citrine had expected blackmail, taunting and general cruelty, but they were pleasantly surprised by how (mostly) gentle Lapis was with them. They would congratulate and praise Citrine for the times when they managed to be somewhat honest, even if it was subtle or indirect. On occasion, they would go out of their way to make excuses for Citrine when they were asked for things, effortlessly lying that Citrine was elsewhere or claiming that they already asked Citrine for help.
It was nice to break from the exhaustion of being yourself ,and have someone else that cared for you. Though occasionally, they wondered if it was genuine. Maybe they were just being used, for all they knew. It wouldn’t be out of the question for someone like Lapis.
The Lapis Lazuli that Citrine was warned about definitely existed. They had seen it with their own eyes- but in their relationship, the yellow gem had a difficult time telling if this was the same person that Euclase had warned them about.
Lapis seems to have read Citrine like a book, because he is quick to talk “If you have something you want to say, I would suggest for you to speak.”
And so, Citrine speaks “Why are you so… unconditionally … kind to me as of late?” They say ‘unconditionally’ slowly, as if unsure if it’s the correct word to use “Surely, you have some sort of motive.”
Lapis let’s out a quiet laugh “Oh, you’ve got me. I do indeed have a motive.” They roll the pencil on the table “But it’s not quite as grand as you think it might be.”
Citrine tilts their head, waiting for Lapis to continue.
“To put it quite simply,” Lapis looks directly at Citrine “I am fond of you, and I want you to like me.” they only smile while Citrine looks at them with confusion “I hope the lack of a complicated answer doesn’t dissatisfy you.” They tease, still looking at Citrine while they wait for a response.
“…” Citrine still carries a look of confusion on their face. Lapis doesn’t seem to be lying but for some reason, they find themselves apprehensive anyways. Eventually they sigh, and shake their head playfully “No way.” They chuckle.
“Yes, way.” Lapis quips back, adamant on expressing themselves “I would go as far as to say that I love you dearly, my friend.”
Citrine becomes a little flushed, their mind knowing better, but their emotions still insisting otherwise “Not like how you love Ghost, I assume.” They say half-jokingly.
“Oh no, not at all.” Lapis replies, flicking their wrist “My feelings towards you are somewhat mysterious to me.”
Citrine tilts their head, a little amused by this “Oh?”
“Yes.” Lapis hums, their smile softening “It’s always something new with you, Citrine.”
For a moment, the feelings of doubt wash away, and Citrine returns Lapis’s expression, their inclusions buzzing with excitement.
After quite a bit of prolonged, albeit it comfortable, eye contact, Lapis turns away from Citrine. The yellow gem catches a hint of hue on their cheeks before they can completely hide.
Citrine also turns their head to look out the window again, nervously twirling one of the longer locks of their hair with their finger.
The doubt didn’t go away, but the excitement didn’t either.
“Then, what if…” Citrine tugs on their hair “… I stop showing you new things? What if I can’t find new things anymore.”
It’s going to happen eventually, whether the both of them like it or not.
“It doesn’t matter. The things that you have given me will be enough.” Lapis reassured, their face still turned away from Citrine “I’ll always cherish it, that won’t change.”
“…but what if it does?” Lapis couldn’t know that things wouldn’t change. What if they got into an argument? What if one of them did something that the other couldn’t stand? What if Lapis found someone more interesting to befriend? What if Lapis stopped feeling the same just for the sake of it?
Lapis chuckles “It won’t.” Insistent, this one “But if it does, that is for future Lapis Lazuli and Citrine to worry about. Not us, not now.”
Well, Lapis does make a compelling point “Yeah. I suppose that makes sense.” Citrine agrees, starting to swing their legs gently again.
From there on out, the subject is dropped, and the two go back to the occasional idle chatter, though it’s mostly just a shared, comfortable silence.
Almost all of Citrine’s nerves had been dissolved by their discussion. They found themselves feeling a lot less tense.
Eventually, the sun peaks through the horizon, the colour catching Citrine’s attention without fail.
“I should go back to bed.” They mumble, smiling at Lapis sheepishly “Don’t want Black Opal to ask where I’ve been.”
They left out that they felt a little bit sleepy now.
“Oh-ho” Lapis smirks “Keeping me a secret already? Scandalous.” Citrine doesn’t miss the fact that Lapis’s voice has a hint of Diamond in it.
“Maybe.” Citrine replies jokingly, hopping off of the window sill and making their way towards the library door “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah.” Lapis hums, looking back down at their paper “See you later.”
“Oh, and be careful on your way back. Rutile hasn’t slept all night, either.”
<hr>
It has been a few months now since their grand discussion. The topic hasn’t been brought up again unless in a lighthearted manner by Lapis, with Diamond usually being the butt of their jokes. Otherwise though, everything else was normal.
That didn’t mean that Citrine didn’t think about it frequently. It was one of the many times in their life when they were thankful that their anxiety about mind-reading gems was just what it was, anxiety. If Diamond actually found out, they think their head would explode into shards so fine even Lapis and Rutile couldn’t spot them.
There was one gem that knew, and it was Black Opal. A couple of days after Citrine had confided to their brother about the events of that night (without specifying the time of day) with extreme detail, and their feelings. Their messy, incomprehensible feelings.
Black Opal didn’t know what to tell their brother in the moment. He had never been in such a percuilair situation. Citrine noticed throughout the discussion that Opal had this odd look on their face, as if what Citrine was discussing was unsightly. It was similar to the expression that they would make when Diamond would say… odd things .
Citrine slowly went quiet because of this, but Opal insisted they continue despite their lack of interest.
Nothing ended up coming out of the conversation, other than Citrine feeling a little lighter now that they’ve shared it with another gem.
The next morning, Opal told them to simply think about it. Not exactly mindbreaking advice, but at least they tried.
“Citrine.” A giggly voice snaps them out of their thoughts, a finger pushing their glasses up for them.
The yellow gem snaps out of their thoughts, looking back at the other “Y-Yeah?”
“Did you not sleep last night?” Lapis smiles at other gem, their eyelashes twinkling in the sunlight “We’re doing bug-stuff and you’re spacing out.”
“No, I’m fine, I was just thinking about… stuff…” Citrine replies, forcing themselves to tear their eyes away from the other gems damned eyelashes. Right now, these glasses that they were generously gifted felt more like a curse.
“Uh-huh, stuff?” Lapis leans a little closer, clearly very amused “Tell me more! I’m listening.”
“Secret.” Citrine quickly squeaks out. They hadn’t told Lapis that they told Opal, and what Opal told them. They didn’t want to either, not when they weren’t done thinking and when they knew there would probably be teasing.
Lapis puts both of their hands up, backing away “Understood, boss.”
Citrine giggles. Not only was this gem a smooth talker, he was funny too. An abducting combo, honestly “That’s what I thought.” Citrine replies, playing along.
They draw their attention back to their subject. The glowing lights that him and Lapis had watched all that time ago, they finally caught one .
Well it wasn’t them exactly, it was Black Opal who spotted one missing it’s wing while on their solo walks, and put about half an hour making sure they got the critter safely into their hands without reducing it to dust. Citrine heavily appreciated the gesture.
Upon proper inspection, with glasses and the light of the sun, Citrine was able to identify it as a type of beetle. It used it’s glowing rear to communicate with others of its kind, and for reproduction. Sketching them out and documenting them with Lapis felt so thrilling.
They didn’t admit it, but a part of them did feel a little disappointed that they weren’t actually little floating lights. But this was cool too, so why complain?
Citrine gently picks up a small pair of tweezers, using it to carefully position this beetles last leg into positon on the background of the frame. Once pleased, they move on, selecting a few very, very thin pins that they requested for Obsidain to make just for this beetle.
“Have you thought of a name for them yet?” Lapis asks as they watch Citrine gently insert the first pin into the beetle’s upper abdomen.
“I have a few in mind…” Citrine says, keeping most of their focus on pinning the beetle “I was thinking, maybe starfly, sunfly… maybe firefly? I’m not sure.” Delicately, they pin one of its legs “What do you think?”
Lapis doesn’t respond immediately, seemingly taking a couple of seconds to think about their reply “… I think you should name them fireflies,” the deep blue gem finally speaks “I already have a sun bug next to me. It would get confusing if they both shared a name.”
Citrine catches onto what Lapis is saying as quickly as grass catches fire, their face flaming up quickly as they let out a shaky sigh “Lapis…”
The blue gem only lets out a short chuckle, clearly proud of themselves.
Citrine finally finds it in them to speak again after a short while “If I’m a sun bug, then you are an ocean bug.”
“Why?” Lapis asks, resting their head on one of their hands “Because I’m sooo deep and mysterious?” They coo, getting closer to Citrine. God forbid Citrine gets to focus on what they’re doing for a minute.
“No,” Citrine quips back “because you’re full of salt and you scare gems.”
The atmosphere suddenly drops, and Lapis stumbles back a little, looking at the yellow gem with a shocked face, their mouth slightly agape.
Upon realising the sick burn they just dropped, Citrine drops the pin in between their fingers, snapping their head quickly to look at Lapis “I so sorry! I didn’t mean it in a mean way,” they start frantically explaining upon seeing how the other gem reacted “I was just-“
Then, Lapis bursts into laughter, leaving Citrine completely and utterly stunned. When they see’s Citrine’s expression, they only start laughing harder, seemingly unable to stop.
“U-um…” Citrine stammers, completely and utterly stumped on how to approach this situation, letting out an awkward laugh with them.
“Oh… Citrine…” Lapis says in between laughs “You should speak like that more often, it’s absolutely outrageous !” more laughter “Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard that I could feel it ringing through my stomach!”
“You’re not upset?” Citrine asks, locking their own fingers together nervously.
“Upset?” Lapis laughs, starting to calm down “No, no. That was too funny.” Slowly, their laughter calms “Even if it wasn’t absolutely hilarious, I’d still be proud of you.”
“Proud?…” Citrine asks.
“Yes.” Lapis laughs one last time “I’ve never heard you say something like that to another gem before, it’s a wonderful development.”
“Oh!” Citrine is a little surprised, but it makes sense. Lapis has always wanted something like this from them “Um… thank you.” All they can do is thank them.
“Of course.” Lapis beams at them “Don’t mind me anymore, I’ll give you peace for now.”
Citrine nods, eargerly getting back to pinning the beetle.
Or at least, they would have gotten back to it. But there was a noise down the hall.
“Citrine!!! Citrine are you in there!?” Red Beryl. Citrine couldn’t mistake that voice for anyone else.
Their arms twitch a little as they place them down on the table, their back straightening as their body instinctively gets itself prephared to serve.
But, of course, Lapis simply couldn’t let it slide.
However, their approach to helping Citrine avoid having to play resident yes-man was very different next time.
Because Lapis grabs Citrine’s hand and drags them out of the insect room before they can say anything, hiding behind one of the few pillars. Citrine goes to say something but Lapis clasps a gloved hand around their mouth, silencing them.
Red Beryl, unsuspectingly walks past and Lapis continues to drag Citrine behind them, making a swift dash towards the stairs. Once they both reach the ground floor, Lapis gets the yellow gem to follow them as they climb out of the building through one of the windows.
“Lapis,” Citrine speaks up finally as they are a slight distance from the school building “Red Beryl probably needed me for something.”
“Oh, come on.” Lapis tuts, keeping a tight grip on Citrine’s hand with their own “We both know you don’t like being a statue for Beryl.”
Citrine has no actual argument against this, but tries to argue anyways “But-“
Lapis cuts them off before they can get another word in “What I want to do with you is much more important than whatever Beryl would ask for, so hush, bug.”
Okayyy…. So nicknames was just a thing now…
“What is it that you want to do then?” Citrine asks, complying with Lapis’s demands for them to ‘hush’ about the topic of Beryl.
“Spend time with you. What else?” Lapis scoffs.
That… was so selfish. Citrine blinks, looking at the hand holding theirs. It was so unapologeticically selfish. It was supposed to be a bad thing, but Citrine found themselves envying this more than anything, sometimes.
Citrine laughs meekly “Of course. What else.” They repeat.
It only takes a little while for Lapis to take Citrine to the beach. They wouldn’t come here during their spare time, only during patrols. For good reason, too. Gems and water aren’t a good mix, and sand is unnecessaryily messy; spend one patrol at the beach, and you’ll find random grains of sand a day or two later!
But Citrine couldn’t lie, when he and Lapis sat down, the view was pretty nice. It was pretty late in the day now, and the sun highlighted the ocean wonderfully.
Speaking of the sun…
“You know, we shouldn’t stay here for long.” Citrine says worriedly “The Lunarians could come out at any moment when we’re just sitting here with no weapons.” Not to toot their own horn, but Citrine was a gem that was considered somewhat valuable to Lunarians, and here they were, sitting defencelessly.
“No, it’s fine.” Lapis hums, leaning back a little as they sit “I come out here like this all the time and I haven’t been attacked once.”
“What- Lapis!” The yellow gem exclaims, looking at the other gem with worry “That’s so risky, you could get abducted!”
“Well, I’ve done it multiple times and I haven’t been abducted.” Lapis flicks their hand dismissively “Guess I’m not shiny enough for those Lunarians.”
That was true. Lapis Lazuli was considered a more common gem, and Citrine remembers when Red Beryl had once made an entire blue line of uniforms from harvested Lapis Lazuli ore.
“Plus,” Lapis adds, a sly smile on their face “you’ll protect me if they come after us, right?”
Citrine shoots Lapis a meek expression, feeling like a deer in the headlights “H-How am I supposed to pull that off?” they stammer. Seriously, what were they meant to do? Punch them???
Lapis shrugs “You managed to defend Padparadscha from an entire fleet by yourself and only lost some hair,” they wink “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“…” Citrine doesn’t find this all that funny “Very funny, Lapis.”
“Sorry.” The blue gem shrugs “I’ll stop now.”
Feeling a little uneasy, Citrine scoots closer to Lapis.
And then they continue watching the sun slowly set in the distance, along with the ocean. Despite the guilt, Citrine felt happy. This was way better than helping Beryl again.
Occasionally, the golden yellow gem finds themselves glancing at their blue friend, soaking in the presence of them.
They had yet to say anything back, and it was simply because they weren’t sure. They weren’t sure of how Lapis felt exactly, and if they felt the same way. So they thought about it, a lot.
Like, a lot.
Usually, if it came to a situation similar to this, they would reciprocate, agree immediately, even if they weren’t certain. Because disappointment was always more scary than the guilt of lying. It was always worse, and they didn’t want to face the consequences that the truth came with.
But with this, Citrine hasn’t replied. Citrine had been thinking, and looking at Lapis, they knew why.
For once in their life, lying had felt more terrifying than disappointment.
“What?” Lapis asks, the glances not getting past them.
So, Citrine just blurts it out “I love you.”
Lapis flinches, almost seeming a little surprised. Their face softens, and Citrine could swear their eyes became shinier “I know.”
And after that, they don’t say much else. The only significant difference is Citrine’s hand resting atop of the other gems as they continue their watch on the beach.