Something Peridot has noticed, under very, very careful observation, an incredibly important fact that she will never ever ever forget because she wants to be a good friend and she's pretty sure that Good Friends need to remember things about their friends: Lapis Lazuli is afraid of rainstorms.
"I'm not afraid," Lapis sounds offended when Peridot shares her observation, "I'm just... just cautious."
"It's okay," Peridot says because she wants to be helpful, "Rain is just water that goes up to the sky and comes down again. It can't hurt you."
"I know that," Lapis snaps.
"And the noise is just thunder," Peridot steps into the rain to show Lapis, "It can't hurt you. See?"
"I know, I just..." Lapis holds out a hand and flinches back when rain hits the palm of her hand. "Come back in, Peridot. I don't want to be out in the rain."
And Peridot wants to bring Lapis out. Wants to show her how beautiful the Earth is and how amazing rain is and wants to tell her that whenever it rains, Peridot thinks of Lapis because it's water coming from the sky and she thinks that it's beautiful, but she can't, because Lapis doesn't like rain, so instead she says, "That's okay. Let's watch more Camp Pining Hearts and wait for the rain to stop."
"Okay," A relieved smile crosses Lapis' face and Peridot comes back in and she takes Lapis' hand and pulls away when Lapis flinches but Lapis takes her hand back of her own free will so maybe it's okay.
Peridot wants so badly to take Lapis into the rain. To laugh as it falls on her and marvel at the wonder of Earth and how it's so strange and beautiful.
But she can't, not yet, at least, so she presses her head against Lapis' shoulder instead as they rewatch Season 2 of Camp Pining Hearts.
"Okay," she whispers, and maybe it is. (Maybe it can be better than okay.)
They're out in the garden, harvesting the vegetables and laughing as Pumpkin circles around them when thunder cracks, lightning flashing out of nowhere and rain starting to trickle down.
Peridot laughs and holds out her hand. "Lapis, look, it's raining!" She giggles and twirls and beams as she lifts her face to the sky and...
"We have to get inside," Lapis says, grabs Peridot's hand and squeezes and the reminder comes back with startling clarity, Lapis is afraid of rainstorms.
"Okay," Peridot says in a small voice as Lapis begins pulling her into the barn. And it is. Really. She understands that Lapis is afraid, and she's alright with not being in the rain. She just wishes that she could make Lapis happy instead of scared. "Want to sleep?"
Lapis smiles, relieved that Peridot's not arguing, "Sleeping is still such a weird concept," she giggles, "Like seriously, why do we do it?"
"So that we don't get bored, of course," Peridot answers confidently.
"Oh? And here I was thinking that life was never boring with you." Lapis smiles, smug and fond and soft all at the same time.
Peridot quickly waves her free hand in the air, an affronted frown on her lips, "Of course it's not! I, the great Peridot, am an incredibly captivating and phenomenal gen!"
"Of course you are," Lapis giggles as they finally reach the barn. "And what captivating and phenomenal activity do you have planned for us today?"
"Urgh..." Peridot scratches her nose, "...sleep."
"Alright," Lapis laughs and wipes all the water off of them, "Sleep it is."
This must be what friendship is, Peridot reflects. Peridot not really caring that she won't feel the rain as much, and Lapis laughing about the strange sleep, and it's okay and fantastic because they have each other, and if they have each other, then nothing else really matters, right?
They are far from any shelter the next time that it rains, out in a forest, looking at flowers and picking at strange blobs of colour on the forest floor.
It comes harsh and suddenly, and Lapis's hand is quick to wrap around Peridot's tight and afraid, her nails digging into the palm of Peridot's hand as she shrieks, "We need to get out of the rain, we need to go to find some shelter, we need, we need..."
She's afraid, Peridot realizes, but not in the way that she was before. Before she at least knew that she could get to shelter, knew that they would be safe but now, now there's no shelter, they're out in the forest with nothing to hide behind or under or...
"There's nowhere to go," Peridot says, honest and truthful and this is good, right, so surely she'll be rewarded for being good?
Lapis's breath hitches and her grip on Peridot's fingers tighten. "No. No. There's got to be... there's got to be somewhere. Something. There has to be, there must be.." She presses the heel of her hand against her face, her palm digging into the bridge of her nose. "I can't, I can't,"
"It's okay," Peridot says, because, hey, telling the truth didn't work and so surely lying would make Lapis feel better? "I'm here, I'm here, it's okay, it will be okay."
Lapis is getting soaked, water dripping down her chin and spilling over her shoulders, and she shakes her head. "I can't... I can't..."
"You can," Peridot squeezes Lapis's hand and takes Lapis's other hand into her own so that she's holding both of Lapis's hands. "And if you can't do it yourself, you don't need to. You've got me, yeah? We can do this."
Lapis shakes her head, crying, "This is so stupid. There's nothing there, there's nothing there and I'm still so freaked out, I'm still so..."
"I know," Peridot is at a bit of a loss for what to do here so she just keeps holding Lapis's hands, like some sort of idiot. "I'm such a clod," she mumbles, "There were some clouds in the sky. It was going to rain. I should have known that it was going to rain."
"It's not your fault," Lapis mumbles, still crying. "It's me being so stupid about the rain and..."
"It's not stupid," Peridot says, "It's not. It's not."
Lapis just keeps shaking her head, and Peridot wonders what they're going to do, the two of them.
A traitor to homeworld, and someone who has no home.
The next time it happens, Lapis stares at the rain for a long, long time, as though trying to remember something that she's long since forgotten. No matter what Peridot says or how much she tries, she can't move Lapis. It's scary, as though she's not even there.
Finally, finally, Lapis takes Peridot's hand. Doesn't say anything. Doesn't explain. Just holds her hand.
And Peridot, Peridot wants more. Wants to do more, wants to help more, but she's not sure how so she just holds Lapis' hand and stands there.
Maybe, just then, it's enough.
And after that, Lapis sticks out a hand. Flinches back. Puts the hand back out.
It's progress, and when Peridot tells her so, Lapis just gets that look as though she's angry. At Peridot or herself, Peridot really can't tell.
(She holds Peridot's hand the entire time.)
Lapis keeps trying. Tries again and again and each time, Peridot can see the frustration in her face, sees her being so angry and harsh, and Peridot says, "Lapis, the rain doesn't ever need to touch you."
"I feel weak," Lapis mutters.
"It's not weak to be afraid," Peridot says.
"Jasper wasn't afraid of anything," Lapis looks away, "Jasper said that I was weak."
"I'm not Jasper," Peridot answers.
Lapis frowns like she's thinking hard about something.
The next time that it rains, Lapis vanishes. And the time after that. And another time. Peridot is afraid she's done something wrong.
Then, finally, finally, Lapis emerges and holds out her hand to Peridot.
"I'm going to take you flying," she declares, bold and excited.
"Okay," Peridot says because it doesn't make sense but she likes Lapis smiling like that so she wants Lapis to keep that smile. "But it's raining?"
"That's okay," Lapis beams, "I don't need to get wet."
"Okay," Peridot repeats.
Lapis takes them outside, and as they step out, the rain stops a few centimetres above their heads, like an invisible umbrella is being drawn out on top of them.
And they fly, and Peridot thinks, yes, I like this.
(And after that, Lapis isn't afraid of thunderstorms anymore.)