"I can't believe you broke another one of my machines!" Peridot yelled, fingers pointing at Jasper rudely. Anger was already boiling inside her from every day she had spent it with the brute, and it all came out today. One of her more advanced robots had been crushed underfoot by none other than Jasper, and she had none of the supplies necessary to rebuild or replace it while they were on the spaceship.
"This was one of the droids that was going to help us annihilate them, and you completely ruined it by not watching where you were going." She snapped, pressing her hand against her temple. "How will we tell Yellow Diamond our plan was totally destroyed and our hostages escaped?" Jasper huffed.
"It's not really that big of a deal. You got like a million of those on board, right?" A sharp look sent her way made her continue quickly. "And it's not like I couldn't take them all on myself, you know. I wasn't sent as an escort for nothing."
Peridot just groaned.
"That still doesn't change the fact that's it's busted. Unless you have another hidden somewhere in your ridiculous cape, we're still out one." A hologram suddenly lit up from her hand, plotting points on a chart and labels that Jasper's mind couldn't understand.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" It was getting a little annoying, she thought, the gem constantly blowing up at her for every little thing she's done wrong. Just yesterday, she had left her shoes laying in her room and Peridot made a fuss about how they would trip someone.
"'Sorry' doesn't take over civilizations." She just replied. "Now, if we're going to be able to find a spare for this, we need a-"
"Would you just take your mind off of work for a second?" Jasper interrupted, fully fed up with the meticulous gem. "It's all you ever talk about and frankly, it's annoying."
Peridot could suddenly feel her face heating up, and she just bit back, "Well that's what I'm supposed to be doing: work. It'd be a lot easier if you would do your job instead of flaking out every time something other than cracking skulls comes up!"
"At least I can fend for myself." Jasper retorted, staring down the smaller, who was thoroughly undone, to her joy. "A computer nerd that can do nothing but recite numbers is useless in the real world."
"Maybe you're just not living in the real world then. This world needs more people that can actively advance our culture and ourselves, we don't need 'warriors' anymore. You're outdated, and you're outnumbered. There's no place for people like you anymore."
"You wouldn't know what it's like, anyway," Jasper gritted out, eyes like a predator's. "You wouldn't know what it's like to fight tooth and nail, for what? Another planet we don't need, another side for a war we're not fighting? I've seen greater gems than you fall like rocks, while your kind sits behind a screen and pretend to not even notice the tragedies going on all around them."
Peridot's sharp tongue suddenly dulled, and she could find nothing to say after that than 'whatever' as she retreated back to her own room. She didn't think that conversation would take such a personal turn, but it still hit her like a rock. Wondering if she was in the wrong or not, she just thought about what Jasper had said. In all honesty, it was the most open thing the other gem had said to her, but also one of the most disturbing. It hadn't really occurred to her that Jasper was a war veteran of who knows how many battles, not just some dumb brute. She had probably directed troops, made battle plans, and fought to keep her head. For what? For centuries later a gem to treat them like a stupid beast? Nothing else would help this situation now, except for an apology. And maybe, just maybe. So, hours later, when Peridot had swallowed back her pride, she approached the larger gem. Jasper refused to even look at her as she entered the control room, where she was manning the ship, and Peridot just hoped it would be enough.
"I'm sorry." Came the soft apology, not wanting to say it any louder as she fiddled with her fingers. When Jasper remained silent, however, she sighed.
"I'm sorry." She repeated, a bit louder this time. Amber eyes stared at her from the side, not even bothering to move her head. She huffed.
"I'm sorry for being rude and selfish, and I hope you can forgive me." Jasper just smirked, and reached out a hand to ruffle Peridot's hair, mussing it into a complete mess.
"I heard you the first time."