"AHHH HA!" The short green gem hops up and down on the couch cushions, brandishing her game controller proudly above her head before bringing it down gently onto Steven's soft hair. "It seems as though I have beaten you at your own game! Mmmm- AGAIN! NYEHEHEH!" Peridot exclaims jovially as she plops back down next to the young boy who exaggerates his defeat.
"Boy Peridot, you really are getting good at this game!" He smiles at her, setting the game back to the menu screen.
"Well of course I am Steven! Don't you know I've been practicing?" She states very matter of fact, holding her hand to her chest. A mess of blue hair emerges from behind a makeshift curtain.
"Are you guys done using the TV yet? I want to watch the new episode of-"
"LAZULI!" The blue gem straightens at the sudden loud exclamation followed by a green finger pointing in her direction. Peridot had perched herself on the back of the couch, a smug grin on her face. "Steven and I have commandeered the TV set for virtual combat battle training! My powerful battle robot has claimed victory over Steven's beefy flying man a total of FIVE TIMES!" She exclaims, very proud of her accomplishment as she holds out her fingers in order to emphasize just how important her victory had been. Lapis raises an eyebrow in return brushing a few stray hairs from her face.
"Oookay. So can I use the TV or not?" Peridot laughs maniacally in return.
"Fine. But… ONLY IF YOU CAN BEAT ME IN A GAME OF VIRTUAL COMBAT!" The blue gem shrugs, walking over to sit on the other side of Steven, who hands her his controller.
"How do I use this?" She turns to the boy in the middle of the couch who points to each button, explaining them individually to her.
"This one on the left side of the screen is you! If you press this button, he punches! This button does a kick and this stick here is how you move left to right on the screen! Your health bar is up in the top corner right there and if the bar is empty then Peridot wins. If Peridot's health bar is empty-"
"Which it won't be!" Peridot interjects smugly with a raised chin and a grin, making Steven chuckle.
"If her health bar is empty then she loses! So all you have to do is attack her character until the health bar is gone!" Lapis nods, studying the controller and the characters frozen on the screen.
"I… think I understand." She says, testing the buttons out as Steven had instructed her to. "Why aren't they moving yet?" The boy smiles again.
"We stopped the game so when you're both ready we can start a new battle! Peridot, are you ready?" The green gem scoffs arrogantly flicking her wrist.
"As the master of this virtual combat game I am very much ready." She states, gripping her controller and focusing on the screen in front of them. The young boy then turns to the blue gem on his other side, who was still clicking the numerous buttons and switches on the plastic hardware.
"Lapis?" The messy haired woman looks down at him, still playing with the new technology. "Are you ready?"
"I guess so." She shrugs and faces the screen as Steven crawls towards the console seated on the ground beneath the TV, pressing a small button to restart the game. The screen boots on, displaying the two fighting characters in their battle stances, determined eyes swaying back and forth with the rhythm of their pixelated bodies. An announcer voice sounds from the speaker.
"READY… FIGHT!" The two characters unfreeze from their perpetual swaying dance, finally moving to obey the orders of the two gems on the couch. A flurry of metal punches and kicks made their way across to the left side of the screen as Peridot intently pushed the buttons of her controller in rapid succession.
"PREPARE TO MEET YOUR METAL DEATH LAZULI!" The green gem exclaims confidently as her robot character whirls around the screen, approaching the tall bird man punching clumsily at the ground. As the robot draws near, the feathered man manages to grab onto the ankles of the metal box, swinging it around twice before tossing it into the air. A left uppercut, a right hook, and a final series of kicks to the face turn the robot into a pile of scraps, an announcer calling loudly on screen as Peridot's health bar hits 0.
"GAME!" Steven's hands slap against his cheeks in surprise, completely shocked at the blue gem's skill.
"Lapis! That was amazing!" He turns around, raising his arms cheerfully in the air to celebrate the spectacular performance. Lapis shrugs and hands the controller back to the boy before facing Peridot. The green gem was frozen in place, her hands limp against the controller, still staring at the screen with her jaw hanging open.
"Soooo can I use the TV now?" She asks cocking her head to the side in an attempt to get her roommate's attention. The controller drops from her green hands and she sits up straight, attempting to create a stoic expression on her face.
"Fine. Do what you want. This game is stupid anyway." Peridot stands up and stomps off, brushing past the ragged curtain Lapis had emerged from earlier and towards the left loft of the barn. A silence hangs in the air as the blue gem looks to Steven.
"Is she okay?" The boy rubs his chin in thought, trying to assess the situation to evaluate what might have caused the distress in the shorter gem.
"I'm sure she's okay. I think maybe you beating her at that game so easily must have made her kinda frustrated? I'm gonna go talk-" A blue hand rests on Steven's shoulder before he can stand up. Lapis stares at the curtain door and nods to the boy.
"I'll talk to her. We're roommates. It's… important. I don't want her to feel upset." A big smile crosses the fluffy haired boy's face as Lapis makes her way toward the messy fabric door.
"Alright! I have to go eat dinner soon so let me know if she's feeling better!" The blue haired gem smiles and flashes him a thumbs up as the boy scampers down the loft ladder and out the large doors, closing them shut behind him. The two gems had expertly planned out their living space, establishing that the ground level of the barn was intended for the display of various collected junk they had constructed into what Lapis so fondly referred to as 'meep morp'. Their loft had been divided into two sections, the left side acting as their TV watching spot where they had watched every released season of Camp Pinning Hearts too many times to count. The ladder leading up to the right section of the loft had, turned into it's own creative sculpture so the two gems had constructed a small hallway between the two lofts towards the back of the barn, concealed by what could have once been a shower curtain. Lapis walks across the wooden boards, pulling back the second curtain door and stepping into what had turned into their own personal rooms. Their rooms had previously been the two separate loft areas before the roommates had started to grow closer to each other, after which they combined forces to make the coolest barn in the entire galaxy, thus maximizing the room capacity of every section in their new home. Peridot had gone to quite the extreme in order to create a proper place for herself to reside. She had constructed a make shift bed out of old cushions and any sort of alien related merchandise she had ever come across, with the large green plush she had won serving as a center piece for the amassed collection of tiny green men. The blue gem's room was rather plain in comparison, though the wooden floor was a challenge to locate under the various magazines, books and other interesting trinkets Lapis herself had collected over time.
"Peridot?" Her voice was soft and concerned, a genuine worry about her as she found her roommate curled up with her beloved alien plush toy. "Are you alright…?" A quiet groan emerged from the gem's mouth, muffled by the plush fabric pressed against her face.
"I thought you were going to use the TV? Or did you come to gloat in your lucky victory?" Lapis rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, sitting down next to her roommate on the small green bed.
"No, and the episode can wait. Besides, I'd rather watch it with you anyway." The triangular haired gem raised her head curiously from behind the plush, looking over at her partner with a raised brow.
"Then why are you sitting on my designated sleeping cushions?" She perked up a bit in confusion, perhaps trying to mathematically solve the answer herself the more she stared at the back of Lapis's hair. A soft sigh escapes the blue gem's lips as she stares at her own two feet resting on the floorboards beneath her.
"Peridot?" The gem in question scoots forward closer to her friend, the large alien plush still held tightly against her chest.
"Yes Lazuli?" Lapis fidgets with her skirt in her hands, not really having planned out this whole conversation beforehand, something she was regretting pretty hard at the moment.
"We should um… maybe we could go to that arcade you really like? I saw they have some new laser game and I think it has a lot of those little green people you really seem to like." The blue gem turns her head towards her roommate who's eyes were already lighting up with excitement and energy.
"Well then what are we waiting for!?" She exclaims, raising her hands and letting her toy fall onto the sheets behind her. Lapis smiled happily. It was nice to know she could restore the boundless energy back into her best friend. She'd never admit it out loud again, as Peridot would go into a very long lecture to prove her wrong, but it was still really cute when she was so excited. "Do you think we should invite Steven and the other gems?" The green gem questions as she brushes some dust off of her uniform, planting her feet on the floor of her room.
"Oh c'mon let's just go you and me. After all, Perl will probably give us a huge list of reasons why we shouldn't go while we could already be there." She smiles, walking into her section of the room to grab a new jacket she had recently acquired, letting her arms slip into the sleeves. Peridot snickers and grabs a bright green coat she had also picked out on their last outing, sliding into it.
"You're so right Lapis she would do that! The crystal gems have nothing on our awesome team!" The two share a laugh, clad in their new wear and both equally excited for the outing they were about to partake in.