7. "I don't remember volunteering to babysit you."
The blue gem loathed the idea of sharing the barn with Peridot, even after saving her life, and spending little time with her, Lapis Lazuli still found the idea invasive and uncomfortable. It seemed that anywhere she went, there was nothing that was just hers, and now, it seemed she was going to have to stay in the same living quarters as someone else, and even after Steven's reassurance, she doubted this was going to be a good stay.
Lapis hid herself in the loft of the barn. There wasn't much for her to do entertainment wise, so she spent most of her time trying to relax. And by trying, she meant trying to ignore Peridot's constant ramblings to herself. The Green nuisance didn't seem to know how to entertain herself quietly.
"Just because I no longer have my tape recorder, does not mean that I should stop all log dates from here on, it just means I need to turn to a bit more, archaic forms of records." Peridot said, seeming to be unbothered by the presence of another gem as she got to work writing out her day on paper given to her by Steven. She had been so good with her Camp Pining Heart's articles, he had decided to supply Peridot with more, just to ensure that she had something to do.
"Today was the first day that Lapis Lazuli and I spent at the barn without the supervision of Steven. It has been rather uneventful, since she has decided to board herself in the hanging floor of the barn." Though Peridot often spoke aloud when doing her logdates, she made it apparent by the tone of her voice that she wanted Lapis to know that she was, in fact, no happy that the water gem had kept herself from Peridot. She wasn't asking for much interaction, but simply showing Peridot some hospitality didn't seem too difficult.
But Lapis was still uninterested, and she rolled her eyes, making no noise to indicate to Peridot that she cared. The smaller gem grew frustrated, and began to write more, still speaking out loud.
"Though we are sharing these living quarters, it seems that Lapis is content to stay as far away from me, and continue to ignore me, all in an effort to distance the fact that we are, in fact, roommates." She said. Lapis got a kick out of that one that. Peridot talked as if Lapis was only doing this in an effort to annoy Peridot, and though that was not what she had in mind, the fact that it was happening was pretty entertaining as well.
But Peridot didn't enjoy it one bit, and after her second attempt to make Lapis acknowledge her failed, she groaned in frustration and spoke to Lapis directly.
"Why won't you talk to me or something?" The green gem demanded to know, storming over to the foot of the ladder that lead up to the loft, starring up at it, hoping to be looked back at, but Lapis made no effort to do so.
"Don't wanna." She responded,the first words she had spoken to Peridot without Steven around. Peridot only grew more irritated by the answer though, and her whining furthered.
"Come on! You told Steven you would try and get along with me!" She said, before looking at the ladder, debating with herself whether or not she should climb it and meet Lapis up there.
The blue gem thought a moment, before looking over the side of the loft. "I've decided the best way to get along with you is to not talk to you." She said, before pulling back, a small smile pulling on her face, knowing that the little green gremlin would only grow more irritated, and her assumption proved to be true as Peridot began to throw a minor tantrum, hating that Lapis wasn't at least trying to get along with her.
"That's not fair Lazuli!" She said, sighing, before beginning to try and climb the ladder to full on face her. Peridot continued on with why she thought Lapis should get to know her and hang out with her, all the while Lapis was fully enjoying ignoring her, until suddenly Peridot's head popped up from the side of the loft, making Lapis jump a bit,not having expected seeing the triangle of hair come out of nowhere.
"Come on, why don't we just have our own separate lives, like we've been doing?" Lapis suggested, crossing her arms and looking Peridot over. After all, the only reason they know each other was because Peridot had taken her as a prisoner. That wasn't exactly good friendship material.
But still Peridot fought on, wanting to be a part of Lapis's life. "No! I want to be your friend, I've changed, and I want to change how I treated you." She said, which shocked Lapis a bit, though Peridot had spewed this speech before, it was strange hearing how nice people could be to her, considering how cruel the last thousands of years had been. But still, she didn't want to be friends with Peridot, and she didn't want to be a part of each other's life more than they already were.
"Just give it up." She said, before rolling onto her side so she didn't have to face Peridot. Peridot looked at Lapis a moment, before shaking her head.
"If Steven had given up on me, I don't think I would be here right now." Peridot explained, her voice growing a bit quiet as she spoke, the only way she felt like she could reach Lapis was through Steven. "He gave me a chance." She said, before looking at the ground, then back at Lapis.
"If we don't have anything else in common, we at least both know that Steven has seen something good in us, in me. Doesn't that count for anything?" She asked. Lapis was silent, and from Peridot's point of view, it seemed like she was still being cold and distant. But Lapis really was thinking about that. Steven believed in everyone, even in a talking mirror. Without Steven, she wouldn't be here either. She sighed, and looked back, only to see that Peridot was climbing down, seemingly giving up.
"Peridot-" Lapis started, but was cut off by Peridot's sudden excitement, which was also cut short as she missed her step, and was suddenly falling.
Peridot let out a yelp as she slipped, waiting to hit the ground, but was suddenly stopped. Lapis had yelled out her name as she fell, watching her lose her footing, but acted quickly, and grabbed Peridot's hand, holding her as she dangled in the air. Peridot yelped again and begged to be pulled up, which Lapis obliged, pulling her into the loft, her strength surprising her a bit, but Peridot was also pretty small.
Once Peridot was safe on sturdy ground again, and both of the recovered from that small spook,Peridot smiled widely at Lapis.
"You saved me again!" She said excitedly, since it was obvious evidence that the water gem did actually care about her, even if it was only a fraction of a bit.
Once more taken off guard, Lapis blushed a bit, but this time, a small smile formed on her face, and she rolled her eyes in teasing. "I didn't sign up to be your babysitter." She pointed out, but continued to smile as the two gems sat in the loft. Neither of them should have been there, but yet here they were, watching over each other.