In the secluded semi-darkness of the hay loft, Lapis Lazuli leaned onto her hands, cupping her cheeks in her palms to better situate herself in front of the television. The glowing cube's screen danced with images of the humans whose stories in which she had become deeply interested. The weeks of awkward camaraderie in the barn with Peridot had been smoothed by Camp Pining Hearts. They both enjoyed it immensely, although Lapis figured that what they got out of it was very different. The show gave Peridot something to analyze, to work through her mind with unhindered enthusiasm and focus. It gave Lapis an escape.
And even after watching all five seasons in two weeks, she hated being interrupted while watching it. The fact that it was always Peridot interrupting her- that shrill little voice, those quick-paced, mousy mannerisms -didn't make it any easier to meter her irritation. But when she heard the green gem scamper into the barn howling her name, she didn't snap at her.
Leaning sideways to peer down the ladder chute she saw Peridot grinning up at her. "What?" she asked, pausing the episode.
"I have to show you something!" Peridot cried, balling her hands into excited fists. "Come down here! It'll be really great!"
"I'm in the middle of something."
"But- Wait!"
To Lapis' chagrin, averting her eyes from the green gem only enticed her to come up the ladder. Peridot was standing beside her before she could get her full attention back onto Camp Pining Hearts. Nonetheless, she glared at the TV while Peridot prattled on beside her, tantalizingly close to the edge of the ladder chute. "There is going to be a rare astronomical event today! It's happening any minute! You have to come see it!"
"Not interested," she replied.
Peridot deflated. But like a sail in the wind, she puffed up a moment later and kept on going. "I heard stories about it happening on Homeworld centuries ago, but shifts in our solar system have made it impossible to experience it there anymore. Earth, on the other hand, is positioned in precisely the right way that-"
"I said I'm not interested." She picked up the remote and increased the volume.
But Peridot would not be shut out so easily. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, pleadingly, into the air beside the blue gem's head. "Please, Lapis! I know if you saw it you'd really like it and it's REALLY SPECIAL!"
The grating, shrieking voice was more than she could bare. Lapis turned off the TV as Peridot reached her exclamatory climax, leaving her voice echoing off the barn walls without any competition. She rose to her feet in one smooth motion. "Fine. Just lower your voice."
Peridot's eyes sparkled behind a visor dusted in sawdust. She hopped down the ladder, landed at a squat, and scurried out the barn. With a heavy sigh Lapis left from the second story porch. She floated to the ground, and as soon as her feet found it Peridot was off again, zig-zagging across the open field like a seeker gem. Lapis plodded after her, slowly catching up to her disarrayed course by cutting a straight line through it. They stopped at the height of the hill that made up the area around the barn. Making its way across the grey-blue sky at a crawl was a dark disc. The sun, sitting low on the sky, seemed still as the darkness slowly edged toward it.
"Look!" Peridot cried, her hand shooting up to point at the dark migrant. "Do you see?"
"It's the moon," Lapis replied, languid. She already missed her TV, and her patience was ebbing. The Earth moon excited her just about as much as Peridot's antics, and while it did look different today, the change was not enough to warrant this interruption as far as she was concerned.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "The Earth's only satellite has aligned with the path of the sun today! Soon, their paths will overlap, creating an extremely rare astronomical event known as a 'Solar Eclipse!'"
"Right." She knew of the concept, although it had been mostly anecdotal in the terms she remembered it being used. It didn't excite her. "So, what about it?"
"We're going to witness it!" Peridot cried. "This event is so rare that even in Homeworld's multiple galaxies, most Era Two gems have no chance to experience it! Well, at least not like this!" She made a grand gesture to the area around them.
Lapis assumed that the rarity of this event had more to do with them having the luxury to laze around and watch it than the probability of it actually happening, which was something she could respect. With nothing to do but laze around now, appreciating watching things was a necessity. But this wasn't the thing that she had chosen to watch, and she wasn't interested. Camp Pining Hearts was still paused in the hay loft. "How long is this going to take?"
"It's already begun!" She made another exaggerated gesture to the sky. The moon had grown to a pitch darkness as it neared the sun, and now it was crossing in front of it, causing the dazzling light of the glowing orb to grow dimmer and brighter at the same time. But the two orbs hung low in the sky, partially hidden behind the treeline. Upon coming to the realization, Peridot let out a dismayed yelp. "No! We're not high enough!" She looked around frantically, rolling on her toes so she was ready to dart. "Lapis, our vantage point is too low! We won't be able to see it!"
Despite the impatience that had been simmering in her chest until now, there was something transfixing about watching the satellite swallow the moon. Lapis could only stare, overcome with a feeling of urgent anxiety that clashed with a gentle peace. Peridot's yowling took a moment to register, and by then, the moon had crawled much farther across the sun's belly. She looked around briefly, and as Peridot scurried past her put a hand on her head. It stopped her in her tracks. Lapis hooked her hands under the little green arms, and with a flap of her wings propelled the two into the air. Peridot only managed a startled squeak, and she hung like a rag in Lapis' arms as the two glided upwards. She set the smaller gem on the top of the water tower before landing there herself, her legs neatly folded under her. The trees that had blocked the eclipse were far below it now; the clashing celestial bodies dominated the sky.
Lapis couldn't control or name the pleasant unease she felt as the moon continued to overtake the sun. The massive ball of light seemed to shrink and writhe under its smaller companion, until finally the hot whiteness was reduced to only short tendrils of red-orange light crowning the moon. The only sound Peridot made as they watched was an awed gasp; a reaction that, for once, Lapis could respect. They stared unblinkingly while the moon wore the sun as a crown, and then, placing it aside, continued through the sky like a wise traveler. Slowly the sun emerged again, shrinking and writhing like it had when the moon had come, until it was restored to its previous glory, a self-righteous ball of light in the evening sky.
Peridot sighed into the breeze. "Wow."
To her own surprise, Lapis found herself smiling. She didn't look away from the moon as it continued to edge across the sky. Her smile faltered when she felt a tentative hand land on hers. Looking down, she saw that Peridot had edged closer. "What are you doing?"
"I am showing my gratitude." She smiled at the sky. "Steven says that there are multiple says to say 'Wow, thanks' besides actually saying, 'Wow. Thanks.' Physical forms of intimacy are one of them." Her eyes trailed to Lapis' face, and upon seeing that the blue gem's smile had faded, hers did as well. "Of course," she went on, pulling her hand to herself, "I should use the more conventional method. Wow. Thanks."
Her smile was wry, but genuine. "You're welcome. This was actually nice." She looked back to the sky; now that the show was over, things seemed normal now. The Earth didn't seem to take notice of what was going on just outside its atmosphere. "I'm glad you got me." She extended her hand and turned it palm-up.
Peridot eyed it cautiously. Then, with a growing grin, she placed hers on on top of it, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It is quite a celestial phenomenon, on top of being really... good."
"It's beautiful," Lapis agreed. "Thanks."
Peridot's fingers danced across the back of her hand. Her voice was smooth, soft. "You're welcome."