This is just a compilation of one-shots (does that make it a multi-shot? I dunno,) about Peridot and Lapis making the barn their home together. I intend to complete the story with a fluffy ending - after the few one-shots entailing their perils in fixing the barn are done, heh. There's definitely some funny stuff that probably went down in my headcanon and I'm excited to put it to words.
Disclaimer, I do not own any characters used in this fiction.
The green technician paced calculatingly about the curved marge of the silo. Her eyes moved up to survey the rounded tip of the cylindrical structure, squinting as though performing mental measurements of the thing. Lapis watched, eyes half-lidded but mouth quirked in curiosity.
"Yes. This will do." Peridot suddenly confirmed, clapping her hands together and flashing Lapis a glad, if not deviant, smile.
"Do for what?" Inquired Lapis, giving the human structure a dubious glance before shifting attention back onto the smaller gem cackling at the foot of the silo.
Peridot answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the star system. "Fixing the hole in the barn wall, of course!"
Lapis still didn't find herself land on any logical way as to how a silo could combat the ragged hole torn into the barn. "How?"
"Its circumference is accurate to the general size of the rift!" Explained the other, waving her hands dismissively before raising them experimentally and aiming them near the middle of the tall construction. "I say that with some extra work of human hammers, nails, glues, duct tape, and wood planks we can literally. . . seal its fate," she finished with a quip of cackles.
"O-kay," acknowledged Lapis, still finding enough doubt in her tone to evaporate a whole sea of hopes. "Then how will we get it to the barn? There's not enough water in the pool to pick it up when it's stretched this far. I don't even think it can extend this far, actually."
Her voiced concerns were met with dismissive laughter. "Easily said and done, Lapis! Just. . watch. . . this!"
The petite gem fluttered down onto the metal tip of the silo, coming quickly into a cross-legged sitting position as she watched Peridot with amusement, chin resting in her open palm. The Peridot in question was staring intensely at the metal staves lining the edge of the silo. With hands raised and extended towards said staves, she seemed to be exuding more mental effort than anything to try and move the barn. Lapis squinted and mused, what is she trying to do?
She had seen Peridot shift around small objects, like spoons or emptied soup cans. She doubted the small gem could move an entire silo, of all things.
The shift was slight. Imperceptible if one didn't have the heightened senses gems bore. But Lapis felt it.
She stared briefly down at the shining metal beneath her, catching a glimpse of her slurred blue reflection in the sun-baked steel before another quiver shook the silo. She leaned up on her arms and stared down at Peridot again, this time with newfound-albeit, cautious-interest.
While from up on the top she couldn't quite hear the fullness of Peridot's words, she didn't have to focus to hear triumphant cackling rising from the ground. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"
No longer feeling safe on the silo she quickly took flight and propelled herself to the side, taking in the sight before her with wide blue eyes.
The silo was moving. Centimetre by centimetre, it rose above the earth and left a messy bed of soil that hadn't seen sun in many years.
And, apparently, it was all due to Peridot's recently discovered abilities of moving metal with her mind.
Lapis could only watch with undisguised astonishment as the silo shifted, partially blind and deaf to practically everything going on around her. Because, honestl-
Her mental tirade was chipped into by the sound of metal groaning as the silo lifted and finally left the earth, gravitating on its own with only Peridot's strength to keep it raised. Even from their distance she could tell the strain it was putting on the young gem was anything but healthy.
Just when Peridot looked ready to collapse into a pile of quivering limbs and dull gem shards Lapis soared down and hovered minutely beside Peridot, landing a hand supportively on her shoulder. "Try to see if you can move it closer to the pool. I'll see if I can help in moving it!" She instructed before receding and gliding towards the small body of water.
Several minutes and two accidental drops later, the silo was just close enough for Lapis to have enough water present and enough density to support the weight of the construct. As soon as she was able to intercept it, she saved Peridot of her mental grief by hoisting thick swathes of water out of the pool in the form of two arms mimicking her own. She reached out for the silo and helped alleviate the pressure on Peridot's behalf, who was now smiling elatedly at their teamwork.
Lapis had to peer away so she wouldn't grow a darker shade of blue from the feelings that smile gave her.
So, she focused on moving the silo towards the barn with careful, delicate maneuvers. The wrists of the corporeal water would pivot and twist, tilting the silo until its open bottom was aligned with the hole in the wall.
Peridot abandoned her efforts now that the task could properly be shifted unto Lapis, who she hurriedly ran over to in unbridled excitement. Briefly Lapis fretted over the fact of being left in charge of the operation, but was consoled when her barnmate rushed up with stars in her eyes. "I'm gonna go inside and see what kind of angle will best fit the hole!" Peridot panted, brushing past Lapis who absently hummed her consent.
She watched Peridot through the corners of her vision vanish behind the cloth they had draped over the barn entrance, catching her in her rambling of, "realistically speaking, there are going to be extra staves on the inside of the barn regardless of how we place it, but with the tools the Crystal Gems introduced it'll be easy to shave them off!"
Lapis adjusted the angle of the silo per the numerous exclamations on Peridot's part. She would shout, "fifty-eight, no, seventy degrees!" with an assortment of different numbers before they finally decided that leaving it to lean at a generous six point seven degrees. She could hear Peridot planning to herself just above the sounds of crashing objects, and she assumed by the constant hammering on the inside of the barn walls that she was hard at work finding a suitable foundation for the silo to rest.
"Peridot, what are you planning to do?" She called in once the absence of communication between them became insufferable - even though it was appropriate, seeing as they both had their own individual tasks to focus on in tandem with each other.
"Simple! As said before, humans keep lots of materials just laying about. Totally lackluster in comparison to gem tech and materials, but, malleable enough. If I use the same- nyaaa-" she cut off, presumably struggling to lift something, metal or not. "Aaa-ha! If I use the same techniques that Greg human did on the roof of the barn a while ago, we can seal the silo in with just some measly wood and other substances!" A clatter rang out next, followed by an agitated bout of grumbling that made Lapis smile half-heartedly.
"Do you need me to keep the silo in place?" She questioned, turning her head away to peer into the entrance of the barn where she could see a green shape flitting to-and-fro among the dusty shadows.
"If we want the sealant to be strong, yeah! Otherwise it'll be flimsy and the silo will just, y'know, fall apart." She imagined Peridot shaking her hands for emphasis. "Or maybe the barn will. I don't really want either!"
Yeah, we don't want that, Lapis considered before fixing her shoulders and stilling the silo which had begun to shift ever so slightly beneath the relaxed grip of her powers.
With such an adroit technician at work it wasn't long before Lapis was told she could relinquish her powers. She did so, though kept a small swathe levitating in case the silo still needed support to remain at such an angle.
Thankfully, though, the metal did nothing more than give a small squeak before settling into its resting place. Lapis thoughtfully flew into the barn and watched Peridot admiring her swift handiwork: you could still see the inside of the silo, and its foot barged unwelcomed into the barn. Used equipment lay in a messy pile surrounded by wood chips that peeled off in the process of their planks being nailed to the barn wall. While impromptu, the work was clean.
"It's brilliant, isn't it!" Gawked Peridot who scrambled out of the shadows yielding some sort of metallic device. A metal mask sat on the ends of her hair, squashing it down and mussing its tetrahedral shape into an array of spikes atop her head.
"It's something," Lapis offered, retracting her wings as she grounded herself. While the answer was lackluster she sent Peridot a proud glimpse and a one-sided smile - before quickly regretting her decision when stars exploded in the green gem's eyes again.
"What are you going to do about the. . extra silo?" She questioned, pointing towards the intruding silo walls that surpassed the barn borders and curved into their barn, taking up more space than it was worth.
"Didn't I say before? Shave it off!" Peridot rose a hand to her forehead and brought down the metal mask-goggles with two slots presumably to view out of-and Lapis had to tighten her lips to stop a chuckle from spilling out the way Peridot's hair seemed to pop back into shape. "This acetylene torch will do just fine in cutting through the staves with the adjustments I made to it when we were creating the drill to defeat the Cluster!"
Lapis, sensing that dealing with raw metal was more of the other gem's department, simply shrugged with lax and murmured, "all right," before unfurling her wings and flying thoughtfully up to the loft above Peridot. They had stashed the television there for the time being, sitting unpowered against a stash of cardboard boxes and other assortments of unique trinkets they'd found lately.
She moved the television quickly away from the mountain of things, turning it on and letting it start up with a curt click of high-pitched frequency and a whrrrr before it finally turned a bright blue from lack of input.
The willowy gem crouched and sifted quietly through the rubble until finding the right box. In it, the numerous VHS tapes with all seasons - including the atrocious season five - laid with notes scribbled onto each cover.
"You'd better not be going through my Camp Pining Hearts box!" She heard Peridot cry in offense from down below, freezing in her efforts before a sly smirk befell her features.
She mentally reached for the swathe of water she had kept near the silo and swept it inside the barn, knowing her target had been reached when she heard the rapid pitter-patter of frightened footsteps and a squall, and finally, the satisfying splash of water sweeping over someone.
"Lazuli!" She heard Peridot indignantly grieve after a few exaggerated coughs.
Lapis snorted and peered over the edge of the loft, the smirk bold against her blue features. "Sorry."
A.N., and that's the first one-shot! Hope it was okay - it looks so short in editing mode! I'm thinking the next one will have to do with Camp Pining Hearts in some way and maybe, them pitching up that tent with the CPH flag? See ya in the next update! - Riley
Extra, actually, if you wanna watch a crack animatic video I made based on this idea, you can find it on my YouTube channel at KingRiles. x'D I cracked up while making it, I just couldn't keep it together.