Peridot stared at the piece of paper that she held above her, now covered in black ink. A proud grin spread across her face as her eyes scanned the words she had written down in the past two hours.
She cackled as her pupils landed on the last word.
"Finally, after hours of working through continuity errors, plot holes and character flanderization, I've finally completed writing my theory on what happened to the original leader of the red team!" she exclaimed, stars sparkling in her eyes. "Lazuli said she had abandoned the camp, but that's just ridiculous." She threw herself off of the couch and onto the floor, holding her essay tightly. "I mean, there's just so much evidence that she's merely in disguise! Most likely that side character that shows up once or twice every season."
She clambered down the ladder and treaded aimlessly towards the barn's exit, almost bumping into her 'meep morp' as she did so, as her green eyes were glued to the page.
"Surely I can correct Lapis' views by showing her this." She grinned widely, before dashing out of the barn and scanning the area for any sign of the blue gem.
"Lapis? Lapis!" She called into the night, surprised to see that the blue sky had already been replaced by the black, sparkling sheet that would appear once the sun was out of view. Just how long had she been writing for?
Her eyes soon landed on the barn roof, where she saw the rim of the gem's electric blue hair. She took a few steps backwards, until she could see most of her body that had originally been covered by the building. She smiled, excited to share her theory with her.
"Hey, Lapis!" She yelled louder this time, trying to catch the attention of her roommate. However, the blue gem didn't show any sign that she even heard her voice. Peridot cupped her chin with her finger and thumb, curious to how she didn't notice her, considering she was by far the loudest being for miles. All she could hear was a gentle breeze maneuvering through gaps between the blades of grass, along with the occasional chirping of what she had come to know as a cricket.
"Maybe I should go check on her?" She wondered out loud, already gazing into the barn in search for a suitable metal object for her to balance on while she would carry herself up to the roof of the barn. The thought that the gem was in need of comfort immediately popped into mind, since she was sitting up there alone, not replying to her when she called. She scampered back into the barn, trying to pick out a usable piece of metal material. She placed her essay beside her 'Wow, thanks' meep morp, then proceeded to dig in the pile of rubble until she could find a silver shiny surface. After removing a tennis racket, a table leg and some bubble wrap, her fingers finally latched onto a cold, smooth surface. She yanked it out of the pile, causing her to topple over onto her back, with a wheel now on top of her.
She muttered her frustrations under her breath, before shoving the round appendage off of her body and getting herself back onto her feet. She dragged the wheel outside, then dropped it on the ground so that she could sit on it, crossing her legs rightly so that no part of her was tipping over the edge. Her hands stretched out in front of her, the little gem commanded the wheel to lift from the ground. At first, nothing happened, but after a few moments of straining, the wheel shifted from its original position and began floating. She smirked obnoxiously as she lifted herself above the earth, slowly but surely ascending to the roof's height.
Once the wheel met where she wanted it to be, she carefully shifting her position so that she was kneeling, then cautiously stood up, until she was standing on the appendage while holding her hands out in front of her to keep it still. The roof's edge was a few inches away, so she bent down, building up her strength, then leaped onto the barn, the wheel dropping as soon as she left the shiny surface.
She grunted as she hit the wooden surface, her lower body below her hips hanging off the edge. Her fingers grappled the dents in the brown material, dragging herself up. Once she was finally kneeling on the roof, she looked ahead, seeing Lapis with her knees tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs. She seemed to be staring at the sky, her body hardly, if at all, moving.
Peridot stood up, then walked the few steps towards the gem and plopped down beside her.
"Hey, Lapis?" She leaned forward to see if the gem had reacted to her presence.
"Hello, Peridot," she greeted her dryly, not tearing her eyes from the sky. Peridot pouted, unsure what to say.
"So, uh… you doing okay?"
Lapis' mouth twitched. "Mhmm…" She pulled her knees in tighter. "I was just thinking…"
Peridot blinked. "About what?"
Lapis nodded her head towards something above them, what it was Peridot wasn't quite sure.
"I can still see Homeworld's galaxy…" she murmured, almost so quietly that Peridot couldn't hear. The younger gem shuffled over to her, then leaned back on her hands. Her eyes scanned the twinkling blanket that was the night sky, until she finally found the bright light burning in the distance that was known as their original star system.
"Oh, yeah! I mean, there's no reason why you wouldn't still see it - it's probably been in a similar position for years."
"It has," Lapis replied. Peridot turned to look at the gem, who continued. "I used to see it every night… back when I was still in the mirror."
"O-oh…" The green gem twiddled her fingers nervously. "For that long?"
"Up until I was found, yeah," she sighed, her head tilting forward and her eyes closing. "I couldn't even look away…"
Peridot furrowed her brow, awkwardly leaning over to rest her hand on the gem's back, followed by her other arm reach out to touch her arm.
"Uhm… well, you don't need to do that anymore, I mean… you're not in a mirror anymore…" She stumbled over her own words.
"I know," Lapis said, lifting her head up slightly and opening her eyes again. "It's just… looking at it now, I could go back any time I like…" Her eyes flickered to the galaxy shining billions of miles away. "But I know I can't."
The thought of her, still wearing her limb enhancers, dragging her onto the ship and flying them, as well as Jasper, back to Earth flashed in her mind. She frowned.
"I'm sorry," was all she could muster up.
Lapis' eyes found hers. Peridot bit her lip as each second went by with no words, until she saw a corner of her mouth pick up.
"Don't worry about it," she uttered. "I can't imagine you planned any of this to happen."
Peridot gave an amused huff. "No, quite frankly I didn't." She drew her hands back from her back and arm. "That's not to say I'm unhappy that any of this happened…" She leaned back again, staring at the night sky in search for Homeworld once again. "I mean… I've enjoyed my experience on Earth so far, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so."
From the corner of her eye, she saw the blue gem shuffle closer to her.
"But… do you ever miss it?"
Peridot looked at her, green eyes locking with blue.
"Homeworld?"
"Yeah."
Peridot let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course I do." She bit the inside of her cheek, as memories about her life on Homeworld flooded through her head. "I mean… It's just really bizarre. It was only a few moon cycles ago that I was all the way over there," she held her hand out in front of them both, making it look like she was holding their old home in her palm. "All that distance away. Different technology, different rules… different everything."
She withdrew her arm, resting it on her thigh. "But there's just nothing to feel. I already knew my purpose ever since I was made. I had no goal, other than to impress Yellow Diamond."
"...I get you," she heard Lapis mutter. "And if I were to go back, I wouldn't even have that. I could hardly understand the technology on Homeworld…" Her eyes trailed along the wooden planks of the roof.
Peridot gave her a pitiful look. "Well… no use thinking about what could've been, right?"
Lapis snorted, giving her a lopsided smile. "I know… it's just hard."
"Yeah…" Peridot's mouth wrinkled up. "But I imagine we'd miss Earth if we went back to Homeworld, right?"
Lapis blinked, then glanced around her; she looked at the hills, the barn, their modifications of the barn, Beach City in the distance, the moon staring down at them, until finally her eyes landed on her. She smiled.
"You're right… I would." She shuffled closer to Peridot until her arm lightly touched hers, triggering a hot flash to flush through the little gem's body.
"It's not very often that I'm wrong," she boasted. "I am smarter than the average Peridot, after all." She grinned proudly, which earned a laugh from the blue gem. Her response to her joke was somehow contagious, thus she couldn't help giggling along with her.
Once her laughs faded, Lapis smiled at her again.
"The first thing I wanted to do once I got out of that mirror was to go home…" she said, her eyes looking like they were reflecting a memory. "But when I finally could… I still felt out of place." Her hair rustled as the gentle breeze brushed over it. "I still wasn't happy. But…" Her gaze flickered to Peridot's lime-green eyes. "I am now."
The shorter gem stared back at her, a little taken aback, but smiled in response. "Yeah? So do I, just your luck."
Lapis chuckled again.
"What I'm trying to say is… I feel like I belong," she professed. "Even if it's not some huge organization like Homeworld… I feel like I have somewhere to stay."
The statement made Peridot feel warm inside, as did the smile that accompanied it.
"You're welcome."
Lapis arched a brow. "I didn't even say thank you."
Peridot scoffed, arrogantly smirking. "You didn't need to."
The ocean gem stifled a giggle, before letting her head fall to the side until it landed on Peridot's shoulder. The tickling of her bangs as well as her warmth being shared with her twisted something inside of the younger gem's chest. She sat there, frozen for a moment, before sheepishly smiling, leaning back against the other gem.
"Thank you…" she heard her whisper.
"You too…" Peridot murmured back. "Also… do you want to read my most recent Camp Pining Hearts essay later?"
"Pfft…" She snorted. "Yeah, okay."
They didn't say a single word after that. They simply gazed at the night sky, admiring how different the placement of the stars were compared to Homeworld, as well as enjoying each other's company, for that's all they could really do for the rest of their existence.
And it's all thanks to Peridot messing up the most simplest of missions.