Chapter Two - Silent Reading

While searching the barn for supplies for the drill, Peridot had found an old roll of wallpaper and put it aside in case she ever needed it. Now she dug it out of a box, unfurled it and was thoroughly absorbed in her plans when she heard the soft whoosh of wings behind her. She turned around and watched warily as the other gem approached her with one arm behind her back, half expecting her to snatch the paper away and tear it up.

Lapis took a deep breath and whipped her arm out. Peridot flinched, but relaxed a little when she realised the other gem was holding out a leafy branch. "I'm sorry I lashed out at you earlier," Lapis said, trying to sound sincere. "I've been thinking, and if Steven and the Crystal Gems trust you, I need to accept that you have earned that trust."

"Oh." Peridot sat back on her heels, relieved. "Well, then I accept your apology." She glanced at the branch Lapis continued to hold out and wondered what its purpose was for.

Lapis followed her glance and then laughed slightly. "Ah, this is for you. Steven showed me trees and leaves and I thought they were fascinating. I thought you might like some."

"Wow, thanks!" Peridot exclaimed and reached out to take the branch. The leaves were shiny green and prickly and she winced as they scratched her arm. Lapis fought back a smirk as Peridot struggled to find a way to hold it comfortably; she'd deliberately sought out the most unpleasant plant she could find.

"So… what are you doing?" Lapis asked, trying to decipher the younger gem's untidy handwriting.

"I was just making a few plans for the barn's repairs," Peridot explained, placing the branch to one side. She pointed to one side of the sketch. "I haven't got much yet, just a kitchen and bathroom for if Steven wants to visit. For preparing food and expelling it," she added at Lapis's blank expression. "And I left your side of the plans blank. I thought you might like to design that yourself."

Lapis glanced over the line on the floor to the other side of the barn. "Yeah, I guess so," she said vaguely. "I suppose we ought to start by fixing that hole. How did that happen anyway?"

"Ah. That was actually my fault." Peridot blushed slightly. "I… stole a diamond communicator, ran off in a giant robot and tried to contact Yellow Diamond. That was when I called her a clod," she clarified as Lapis turned to look at her in bewilderment. "I don't mind switching sides if it bothers you, but I thought you might like to keep some of it? You could use it to fly in and out."

Lapis considered that for a moment and then nodded. "All right, that would be nice."

Peridot quickly sketched in a window, high up on the wall, and filled in the rest of the space. "Anything else?" she asked, looking expectant.

Lapis shrugged. She hadn't really thought much about what she wanted for her side of the barn yet and quite honestly, she didn't know enough about the Earth to decide right now. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it," she admitted.

Peridot nodded. "All right. Well, in that case, would you like to do something else?" she asked hopefully. "A bonding activity?"

"Like what?" Lapis asked cautiously.

Peridot thought for a moment, trying to think of something Lapis might like instead of what she wanted. "What about bird watching?" she suggested.

"Bird watching?" Lapis repeated.

"Well, birds are creatures that fly - like you," Peridot explained. She jumped to her feet and rummaged in a box for a moment, drawing out an object that was unfamiliar to Lapis's eyes. "Steven's dad gave me this book after I pushed him off of the roof," she explained, flicking through the pages. "See, they come in many subspecies and exhibit a fascinating array of behaviours, so apparently, humans enjoy observing them to see how many different ones they can identify. Ah ha, waterfowl!" She stopped and held up the book so that Lapis could see. "This one is a swan. It can break a man's arm."

Lapis frowned. She hated being reliant on Peridot for information, but even ignorant as she was, she was pretty sure that couldn't be right. "I don't believe you."

"No, really, it's true!" Peridot insisted. "I didn't believe it myself either, but Pearl assures me it's possible. Amethyst also says they can blow up a house. They're owned by the Queen of England," she added. "So I have deduced that she employs them as her bodyguards."

"May I have a look at that?" Lapis said suspiciously. "I just mean, I'd like to know a little more about birds before I go looking for them," she added as Peridot hesitated.

"…All right," Peridot said reluctantly. She didn't really want to hand over another one of her treasured gifts to Lapis, but if they were going to be friends, she was going to have try and trust her.

As soon as the book was in her hands, Lapis flew up towards the top of the barn, perched on one of the beams and began reading.

Peridot watched her for a moment, then sighed, realising she'd abandoned. Still, she had to admit Lapis had a point; they could hardly go bird watching if Lapis couldn't identify a bird. In the meantime, she'd get back to work on the plans.

"Hey, Peridot?" Lapis asked half an hour later.

"Yes?" Peridot asked eagerly, bouncing to her feet in anticipation.

"Do you have any more of these book things?"

xXxXx

Three days later, Lapis was still reading. She'd devoured every book in the barn, including several encyclopaedias (B, K, N-P and Y), all the newspapers from thirty years ago and a Crying Breakfast Friends companion guide Steven had left behind. The anticipated bird watching activity had failed to materialise and Peridot was bored and lonely. She'd made several attempts to entertain herself, from beginning repairs to sorting through the boxes of junk to watching television, but Lapis had asked her to keep the noise down each time, and each time she'd stopped what she was doing in an attempt to be accommodating.

Finally Lapis closed the book she was holding, stood up, stretched and jumped off of the beam, gliding easily back down to ground level. "Is there anything else to read?"

"No," Peridot said shortly. "You read everything."

"I enjoyed it," Lapis said simply. "I think I'd like some books on my side of the barn. Oh, here's your bird book back," she added. "It was very interesting. I hope you don't mind that I folded down the corners on the ones I wanted to find most."

Peridot did mind, but she kept her mouth shut. "Do you want to go bird watching now?" she asked instead.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'm going to fly over to the temple and give Steven his breakfast book back," Lapis said sweetly, enjoying the other gem's growing frustration.

"But-"

"We'll go bird watching when I get back, bye!" Lapis sang, and flew away. She didn't bother mentioning that she didn't intend to return any time soon.

xXxXx

"Lapis!"

Lapis grinned at the boy and ruffled his hair. "Hi. You left this at the barn. Peridot said it was one of your favourites."

Steven gasped and grabbed the book out of her hands and clutched it to his chest. "My baby!" Unlike Peridot's bird book, Lapis had taken care to keep it in good condition. "Come on in," he offered, standing aside so that she could enter.

Once inside, Lapis looked swiftly around the room, taking in the scene. The Crystal Gems were standing by the warp pad, looking expectantly at Steven, who had a bag at his feet. "Are you going on a mission?" she asked, unable to believe her luck.

"You got it," Amethyst said cheerfully. "G reckons there's a corrupted gem in the desert, so we're gonna go and kick its butt."

"May I come too?"

"Of course." Garnet adjusted her shades. "I was hoping you'd be here for this."

Lapis smiled and joined the gems on the warp pad. Then she frowned as Steven made no motion to join them. "Wait-"

"Bye Steven!" Pearl trilled. "Don't forget to brush your teeth and go to bed on time!" And before Lapis could ask what was going on, they were gone.

xXx

Amethyst watches too many movies. And even then, the swan was innocent.

Also, you know what's worse than somebody folding down the corners of your books? Somebody taking off the dustjackets and leaving them on the floor to be stepped on *cough*Blue*cough*.