Peridot and Lapis had been living together at the barn for quite a long time and where getting bored with everyday life. They found themselves setting on their sofa chatting.
"So what do you think we should do? Do you wanna get a job?" Asked Lapis.
"Nah, that sounds to much like work." Peridot said.
"Well, we could try and find some human friends." Lapis said.
"Ehh, Steven is enough for me." Peridot replied.
"Well what do you think we should do?" Asked Lapis.
Peridot thought it over for a minute.
"Hey, when Steven and I went to the big donut the other day I saw an ad for an art class at the beach city civic center. That sounds like it could be a lot of fun." Peridot said with great enthusiasm.
"Hmm. I'll have to look over the details. May I borrow your tablet to look it up online?" Lapis asked.
"OK, but you better not scratch it." Peridot said with great worry.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. I know how much it means to you." Said Lapis.
Lapis looked up the details of the class online. She found out the class was on Monday's, Wednesdays, and Friday's for one month starting next week. Their was a 25$ per person (or Gem in this case) entry fee. The course would be going over art throughout the ages, but spent most of the time on modern art.
"Hmm, looks really interesting and fun, but theirs an entry fee. How will we get the money?" asked Lapis.
"Well, we could ask Steven." Said Peridot.
"I don't know about that Peri. It just doesnt feel right begging a friend for money." Lapis responded.
"What if we found a way to pay him back?" Asked Peridot.
"Hmm, I suppose. We'll head over to his house in the morning." Lapis said.
The two gems had been on earth a while now and found themselves growing fond of earth things like eating and sleeping. They made a bedroom out of a storage shed that was build onto the barn. It had a bed that Greg and Steven bought for them as a gift. It had a night stand that Peridot and Lapis carefully crafted with spare wood they found laying around the barn. It had a TV so they could watch "Camp pining hearts." It was a perfect bedroom for the couple.
Lapis asked Peridot "It's getting late, you wanna go to bed?"
"Sure." Peridot responded.
The two headed to their bedroom. Peridot laid down underneath the blue stripped sheets. Lapis laid down beside her. She put her hands around Peridot's waste and pulled her closer to her. Lapis kissed Peridot on her neck and said.
"I'm glad you mentioned the art class. I think it'll be really good for us."
The two fell asleep cuddling as they normally did. The next morning Peridot woke up early, Lapis was still asleep. She decided to make breakfast for Lapis to surprise her when she woke up. Although gems don't need to eat, her and Lapis did it anyway because they found it enjoyable and something to do together.
Peridot pulled up her stepping stool so she could reach the pancake mix in the cabinet. She pulled out a mixing bowl and went to town making the breakfast. It took her a few minutes to get the batter made as she wasn't the most experienced cook. She poured the batter into the pan and made the pancakes. About that time Lapis came stumbling into the kitchen.
"Hey Peri, what got you up so early?" She asked.
"I wanted to surprise you with breakfast." Peridot answered.
"Aww. That's really sweet of you." Lapis said.
"It was no big deal." Peridot blushed.
The two ate the breakfast while chatting about "Camp pining hearts" fan theories. After done eating, the couple helped each other with the dishes.
"Ready to head over to Steven's?" Lapis asked after they where done with said dishes.
"Sure!" Peridot answered.
The two headed out the barn door. Lapis picked Peridot up by her waist and took off flying towards Steven's houses. It took them about fifteen minutes to get there, but when they did they saw Steven sitting on the beach playing with his friend Connie. Lapis flew down and landed beside them.
"Hey guys!" Steven greeted them.
"We don't mean to interrupt you and your girlfriend Steven but we have a favor to ask of you." Peridot said.
Steven blushed because she called Connie his girlfriend.
"Oh stop teasing him about his girlfriend sweetie." Lapis added.
"Heheh, its no problem. So what favor do you need?" Asked Steven.
"Well you see Steven. Theirs this really cool art class their having at the Beach city civics center, but there's an entree fee and well, we're poor." Peridot said enthusiastically.
"I see. How much is the entry fee?" Asked Steven.
"Its 25$ per person." Said Lapis.
"Please Steven. This would mean the world to us." Peridot said while making puppy dog eye's.
Steven hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Sure, since it's for two good friends."
Lapis and Peridot where ecstatic.
Steven handed them the 50$. Peridot put it in her pocket. They stayed and hung out with Steven and Connie for a while. They played volley ball with them and went swimming with them. After their day of play they decided they should go sign up for the class. Lapis flew them to the civic center. They walked up to the counter and talked to the receptionist.
"Excuse me miss, We would like to sign up for the art class you are offering." Lapis said.
Peridot handed her the 50$.
"Alright, all I need now is your names." The receptionist said.
"I'm Lapis. Lapis Lazuli." Lapis answered.
"And I'm Peridot!" Added Peridot.
"I'll need your last name sweetie." The receptionist said patronizingly to Peridot.
Peridot hesitated before saying.
"Uhh, Lazuli?"
"Thank you. The class starts next Monday." The receptionist said.
Lapis and Peridot walked out of the civic center. Once outside Lapis gave Peridot a high five.
"So, your last names Lazuli huh?" Lapis jokingly asked.
"I panicked." Peridot responded.
The two picked up a pizza for supper from Fish Stew Pizza on the way home. Peridot carried the Pizza while Lapis whisked them home. Once home they ate some pizza and decided to lay down watch some TV before going to sleep. They started watching "Camp Pining Hearts."
"Isn't Percy and Peier's relationship so romantic." Peridot said as she squeezed Lapis closer to her.
Lapis rolled onto of Peridot and started kissing her on the lips.
Peridot started caressing Lapis's lower back. Lapis ran her fingers through Peridot's hair. Lapis stopped kissing Peridot, looked deep into her eye's and said.
"I love you Peridot."
Peridot's heart was racing fast. She replied.
"I... I love you too Lapis."
The two fell asleep in each others arms.
The next morning Lapis woke up first, but Peridot had her arms around her so she had to wait for her to wake up. Peridot slept for another forty five minutes. Once she was awake she noticed Lapis was awake as well and said.
"Hey sweetie. What are you doing up?"
" Just laying here. I didn't want to wake you up if I moved around to much." Lapis replied.
The two got out of bed and fixed some breakfast. While eating their simple breakfast of orange slices and whole wheat toast with honey, they talked about what supplies they should get to prepare for the art class which started the next day. They decided that all they would need for the first class was a note pad and a pen for both of them. Peridot grabbed her pen and pad she uses to doodle her Camp Pining Hearts art. Lapis looked through their kitchen junk drawer. She found a spare note pad that Steven gave Peridot for when hers ran out of free paper, but she couldn't find a spare pen.
"Hey Peri, have you seen any spare pens? I can't find one." Lapis asked her girlfriend for help.
"No I haven't, but I'll help you look." Peridot answered.
They spent a half hour searching all over their quaint little barn home until Peridot reached beneath the couch cushions and found a pen.
"LAPIS! LAPIS! I FOUND A PEN FOR YOU!" Peridot said ecstatically.
Peridot handed her the pen.
"Aww thanks Peri, but why in the end of it all chewed up?" Asked Lapis.
"Well I uh... It may be the pen I lost a few months ago, and I may have just slightly sorta chewed the end of it up. BUT in my defense I was watching a really stressful episode of Camp Pining Hearts while I did it. Peridot explained.
Lapis giggled.
"Its no problem. I think its cute how invested you get in the things you like." Lapis reassured Peridot.
The two decided two spend their day at the Forrest that's near the outskirts of Beach City. They scouted out all the cool land formations. They went bird watching and went hiking. After the day of fun the two went home to rest up for the next day. Lapis cooked them a nice meal of rice and sushi with baked glazed apples for dessert.
"Your a super good cook!" Peridot said.
"I try my best." Lapis responded.
They finished their meal and Peridot done the dishes. They spend a half hour reading fan fiction of their favorite shows to each other before going to bed. They engaged in some pillow talk before they went to sleep.
"Hey Peridot, Tomorrows a big day for us. It'll be our first big leap into human society. What do you thinks in store" Asked Lapis.
"I don't know, but what ever it is I'm sure it will be awesome." Peridot responded.
"Do you think we will meet any new human friends?" Asked Peridot.
"I don't know. It might be nice to have some new friends though." Lapis answered.
"Are you as nervous as I am?" Asked Lapis.
"Yep. Don't know if I'll be able to get much sleep tonight." Peridot answered.
Lapis gave Peridot a goodnight kiss and they both drifted gently off to sleep. Despite Peridot's worries they both got a good nights sleep.
The next morning once they both had awoke the two made breakfast together. They ate their food quickly and where out the door. Lapis picked up Peridot by her waist and they flew to the civic center. They where a half an hour early for their art class, but that didn't bother them.
"Better early than late." Said Lapis.
The two killed time by messing around on Peridot's tablet. The time flew by and before they knew it the time had come to go to class. They walked in the classroom and sat down at ajacent desks. They had to wait for about five minutes before the teacher arrived. He was tall, had dark black hair and wore it in a pony tail. He looked to be in his mid 40s. He walked to the front of the class and introduced himself.
"Hello class. My name is Mr. Anderson and I will be your art teacher."
"Since this is the first class I would like for everyone to introduce themselves." Mr. Anderson said to the class.
The first to introduce themselves was a girl, between eighteen and twenty years old. She had red hair and a face full of freckles. Her name was Heather.
The next person to introduce themselves was an older lady, probably in her 60's. She had Grey hair and her name was Betty.
The next person to introduce themselves was a boy named Jason. He had blond hair, blue eyes and wore a beanie. He was twenty five years old.
The next person to introduce themselves was a girl with dark hair with a big blue streak in her hair. She was Mexican in heritage and her name was Laura.
Next up was Lapis. She raised her voice and said.
"Hello, My name is Lapis. Lapis Lazuli. I live here in beach city with my lovely girlfriend Peridot. We have a wonderful watermelon dog for a pet. I enjoy going to the beach and visiting my friends."
Peridot was the final one to introduce herself. She was nervous but finally managed to say.
"Hello, uh my names Peridot and as you can see I'm eh green and I live with my girlfriend Lapis."
Peridot's answer was awkward, but she got it out.
That was the whole class introduced. It was a small class, but a pretty respectable one for Beach City. Mr. Anderson started the lesson. Today's lesson was a quick overview of art throughout history. They started with cave paintings. Lapis and Peridot found this Interesting as they knew very little of early human life. They made sure to take lots of notes. They talked about the bronze age. They talked about art in the Roman empire. They talked about art in ancient Asia. They talked about art in the dark ages and they spent a long time talking about art during the Renaissance. By the end of the class they had covered briefly every era of art up to the 21st century.
After class Lapis and Peridot noticed the other students standing around outside talking about the class. They both wanted to go over but where to nervous too, so they headed over to Fryman's shack and got some fry's to eat on the way home.
They headed inside, gave their leftover fries to their Pumpkin dog. They sat on the couch and discussed their day.
"So, What did you think?" Asked Lapis.
"I loved it! I really thought the part about the Roman empire was super interesting" Peridot answered.
"Yeah I did two, I just have one regret." Lapis said.
"Whats that sweetie?" Asked Peridot.
"That we didn't stay and meet the other students." Lapis answered.
"Yeah I'm kind of bummed about that to." Peridot answered.
"Social anxiety sucks huh." Said Lapis.
"And how." Answered Peridot.
"So how do you think we should try and talk to Wednesday?" Asked Peridot.
Lapis thought for a moment before answering "How about Laura she seemed nice."
"you just like her because of her blue hair streak, don't you?" Peridot jokingly asked.
"That's not the only reason." Lapis answered.
They both giggled.
It was decided. Tomorrow they would introduce themselves to Laura. The two played with their pumpkin dog until it was time for bed.
The following Wednesday at the civic center, Peridot and Lapis where waiting outside for the center to open. They where just standing around chatting when they saw someone walking up to them. It was Laura.
"Hey. Aren't you two in the art class?" She asked.
"Yes, yes we are." Lapis answered.
"Your names Laura isn't it?" Added Peridot.
"Yeah it is. So how are you guy's liking the class so far." Laura asked.
"IT'S GREAT!." Peridot said over enthusiastically. She was eager to make a new friend, so she was humiliated when she let her over excitement slip out.
"Lively one aren't you." Laura said jokingly.
"I think its pretty great too." She added.
"So we're kinda new in town and we where looking in to meeting some friends. Would you be interested?" Lapis asked awkwardly.
"Sure! There's this new seafood place in town. Would you two like to met me and my boyfriend their for supper tomorrow?" Laura asked.
"We'd love that." Lapis answered.
"So, are you two dating or are you just close friends?" Laura asked.
"We're together." Peridot said.
"Are friend Steven introduced us. We didn't get along a first, but now we're inseparable." Lapis added.
"Aww, that's so sweet." Laura said.
"We should probably get to class." Lapis said.
They all agreed and headed inside.
Class begun for the day. Mr. Anderson told the class their introduction to modern art would begin today. Peridot found a blank page in her notebook and took as many notes as she could. Lapis tried to focus on the class, but her mind was drifting away with thoughts of the dinner with Laura and her boyfriend.
"What are we gonna talk about?"
"What if she just agreed to dinner to be nice?"
"What if her boyfriend thinks we're weird?"
Those where just a few of the thoughts she was having. Peridot noticed a worried expression on Lapis's face and gave her a nudge with her foot to git her attention. Once Lapis turned her head and looked at her, Peridot gave her a smile and a thumbs up to reassure her. That really calmed Lapis down and she was able to focus on the class. The rest of the class flew by. Lapis and Peridot decided to head home and get some rest for their big dinner tomorrow. They skipped supper and went straight to bed. The pair quickly fell asleep.
The next morning Peridot awoke early at six thirty A.M , but she noticed that Lapis was not in bed. Peridot got out of bed to look for her girlfriend. She found Lapis sitting in their living room area watching TV.
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing up?" Asked Peridot.
"Oh hey Peri. I just couldn't sleep so I came out here." Lapis answered.
"You nervous about the dinner?" Peridot asked as she took a seat next to Lapis on the couch.
"Yeah." Lapis answered.
"Well don't feel alone, I am too." Peridot said reassuring Lapis.
"It's just we don't know very much about human life. The most we know is from Steven, But is that enough to make other human friends?" Asked Lapis.
"I don't know, but we'll never know until we try." Peridot replied.
Lapis grabbed a blanket off the floor and covered up her and Peridot. Lapis put her arms around Peridot's stomach and squeezed her tight against her body. Lapis gave Peridot a kiss on the neck and the two fell asleep sitting on the couch.
The following afternoon Lapis and Peridot began to prepare for the evenings dinner. Peridot put on the tuxedo that Steven had got for her as a present. Lapis just wore her standard dress but out a ribbon in her hair. The two killed the time by discussing what they could talk about during the dinner. They decided when they needed something to talk about at dinner they could talk about their adventures as Crystal Gems.
An hour later it was time to head out. Peridot climbed onto Lapis's back and the two took off to the restaurant. They landed at the new seafood restaurant and they saw Laura and her boyfriend waiting. They where sitting on a bench in front of the restaurant.
"Oh no. We kept them waiting." Lapis worriedly thought.
They landed and walked up to them.
"Hey, sorry we kept you waiting." Lapis said.
"Oh it's not your fault, we're just early" Laura reassured Lapis.
She introduced Lapis and Peridot to her boyfriend.
"This is my boyfriend Tom."
"Hey! Its nice to meet you." Tom greeted Lapis and Peridot.
Lapis and Peridot introduced themselves to Tom. The four where getting hungry and agreed to head inside and get a table. They poured over the menu. Lapis eventually decided on the steak and lobster and a glass of red wine. Peridot took a few more minutes to decide. She finally ordered the crab legs and a glass of soda. Laura and Tom both got the shrimp and soda. They chatted while they waited on their food.
"So what made you guys want to take an art class?" Asked Laura.
"We were bored with everyday life and wanted to make new friends." Answered Lapis.
"So what do you guys do other than take art classes?" Tom asked.
"Well we are a member of the crystal gems and help save the world from all kinds of monsters!" Peridot answered with great enthusiasm.
"Rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt." Tom said with doubt in his voice.
"Tom don't be rude, they're nice people, er gems." Laura scolded her boyfriend.
"Oh its quite alright. I'll be the first to admit that what we do is really unusual." Lapis reassured Laura.
"So where did you two meet?" Asked Peridot.
"We met on an online dating 'site. It was love at first sight." Tom said.
"Well I don't know about that." Laura jokingly added.
"So where do you guys work?" Asked Lapis.
"I work as an I.T guy at a local company." Said Tom.
"I work at a local coffee shop, but I hope to go to college one day when I'm ready." Laura responded.
The waiter brought their food.
"I've never eaten crab before." Peridot said.
"I enjoy it,but it does taste kinda plain." Tom told Peridot.
They started to eat their food. Peridot was having trouble getting the hang of getting the meat out of the crab legs until Tom showed her how.
"So, earlier you said something about saving the world, whats that all about?" Asked Tom.
"Well with the help of our friends we help defend the earth from harm from foes big and small." Lapis told him.
"Like this one time My friend Steven and I drilled a whole to the center of the earth to stop this thing called the cluster which was made up of thousands of body parts from shattered gems. Long story short we saved the earth and we're kind of a big deal." Peridot added.
"Now Peri, what have I told you about modesty" Lapis said.
"That I should try it sometime." Peridot shamefully answered.
"I think its good she enjoys what she does so much." Laura said.
"See, she thinks it fine." Peridot told Lapis in a smug tone.
The group laughed.
They finished their meals, paid, and headed outside.
"So do you guys want to hang out again sometime?" Laura asked.
Lapis and Peridot where in shock. They both thought that the dinner went well, but had no idea that it went THAT well.
"S...Sure, how about this weekend?" Lapis stuttered.
"Sounds good to me. Do you wanna come over to our place and just hangout or play some video games?" Laura asked.
"Sounds like a plan." Peridot answered.
The group parted ways as Laura and Tom got in their car and headed home and Lapis picked
Peridot up and flew her home.
The two headed inside. They gave each other a hug and a kiss. Without saying a word the two knew they had taken the first big steps in integrating into human society.
