Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe

Title: The First Five Days

Summary: (AU). Lapis regenerates in Steven's bathroom; the official main redemption hub. The waters been cut, so she has no weapons. Jasper is... classified. And her only company is her guard, an injured human girl with a sword by her side.

Chapter Title: Day Four

...

DarkHorseBlueSky- Classified is gem code for 'no clue.' =) I mentioned it in chapter 2 (I think?); Jasper forced her regeneration while the gems were busy collecting Lapis and escaped. That's why Connie was given the job in the first place; so more gems were free for the hunt.

Decepticionsniper- Thanks!

...

Human writings are strange.

Lapis tilts the book to the side, shrugs, and closes it. She was only halfway through, but it was too complicated to finish. She gingerly sets it on the floor.

It's not just their writings, she decides, standing up. Humans themselves are just strange. They act all weak and terrified, but then there's one with a sword flinging themselves at you like death is going out of style. Or at a stray mirror.

Climbing out of the bathtub- something she honestly enjoys sitting in because lingering moisture is everywhere, which makes her feel safe- Lapis heads for the door, pausing in front of the broken fixture in question. Its pieces are haphazardly scattered in the sink.

She remembers the girl drawing herself back with the same amount of disbelief she'd felt as she watched it happen the day before. She'd looked so... calm. Determined. This was her job, and she was going to do it, blood be darned. (She'd seen blood before, but had never known what to do with it. How much did a human have to loose, anyway? Drowning seemed like a much cleaner way to go.)

She'd even had the guts to challenge her, knowing she was outmatched. Knowing she was weak. And then she'd had the ability to gather her wits and walk out the door, head held high.

She hasn't been back since.

Lapis isn't above admitting she misses the company. Lack of conversation aside, company is still company, and she'd been the first person she could talk to since Jasper. (Where was Jasper, anyway?)

Speaking of company...

Lapis flings open the bathroom door, silencing the quiet voices she'd heard floating through the door. Peridot- tiny and helpless, she notices with satisfaction- squeaked pitifully and grabbed the purple gem's arm. They're sitting on the floor, so she probably felt even smaller than she already was. Good.

The purple gem allows the grip, chuckling as though she isn't a potentially deadly creature hovering over her. "Hey."

"I thought I heard voices." She says smugly, fixing the green gem a dark look.

"I'd just like to say that this wasn't my idea." Peridot splutters. "Blame the permifusion."

"Oh, please. Garnet just told you to try and get along with her. She didn't say anything about talking to each other." The other gem laughs. Peridot tries to wedge herself between her and the wall.

"Are you my guards?" She asks coldly, glaring at them. The purple one calmly pulls her ex-captor out from behind her and pats her shoulder.

"'Lax, Peri. There ain't any water around here for her to use." She smiles at her. "We're just temporary. No worries."

Peridot 'hmphs!' pointedly and jerks her arm towards the large ocean sitting just outside their doorstep.

"Alright, you got me there." She admits.

"You're not much of a guard." Lapis grunts. "The human is stronger than that one." She nods toward Peridot.

"Hey!" She jumps to her feet. "Just wait until I get my limb enhancers fully operational you-"

"Who says you're going to live that long!?" She snaps, voice rising. The purple gem pushes her way between them.

"Both of you, shut it! You're gonna wake Connie."

Lapis blinks at her, long and slow. "What's a... Connie?"

The purple gem snorts. "She guarded you for three days and you never bothered to learn her name? Nice. She's Connie, doofus."

She jerks her thumb towards the couch. The human girl is laying on it, flat on her back, eyes closed. She almost looks dead, but her chest is rising and falling slowly. There's newer, more professional grade bandages on her shoulder and other wounds.

"You're lucky she's exhausted. Otherwise, you would've been in big trouble. She might be human, but Connie can hold her own against a gem, 'specially when they don't have any weapons."

Lapis blinks at her still form. It was only a matter of time, she supposed, before the humans started giving themselves names. They'd discovered written and spoken language, after all. Even still, what kind of name is 'Connie'? "What is she doing?"

"Sleeping. It's a human way of recharging. Feels kinda nice, actually." She fixes her a scolding look. "If you're gonna try and kill each other, do it quietly, 'kay?"

Peridot squawks indignantly. "Amethyst!"

"Chill, Peridot. I'm just joking."

Lapis stares at her a long moment- aren't Amethysts supposed to be a lot bigger than this?- before finally saying; "I don't get it. The last time I saw you, you looked like you wanted to kill somebody. Now you're joking with me."

Amethyst shrugs and holds up fingers. "One; I wanted to kill Jasper, not you. Two; I'm actually pretty cool, so long as you don't hurt the little man. Then we got problems. That's why I wanted to kill Jasper; she hurt the little man."

'The little man', she guesses, is Steven, remembering how protectively the gems had held him. "Why does everyone assume-"

Amethyst raises her hands in a 'don't shoot' gesture. "I'm not assuming nothin'. Steven's the one guy you don't want to hurt, or so it seems. So we're cool."

Peridot eyes Connie. "Should we wake her up?"

"Why? Can't feel safe without a human around to protect you?" She sneers.

"Connie is a knight- a protector." She replied coolly. "That is her placement. She should do her job, so I can go do mine."

"You can play tech nerd later." Amethyst dismisses the idea. "Humans need to recharge."

"A truly mind-boggling shortcoming. How can they be expected to fulfill their roles if they have to stop every few hours and-" She shudders. "Digest things?"

"Eh. They've lived this long, so it must work. That's about all I can tell you."

"You're defective, aren't you?" She asks suddenly. Amethyst's head whips to her, eyes flashing with hurt. Peridot's shoulders bunch.

"I hardly see how that's any business of yours, you smelly water clod!"

"Cool it, Peri." Amethyst bars her from stepping forward. "It's kinda obvious. Dunno why I didn't realize it sooner." She fixes her a look that's decidedly more somber than anything she's seen on the gem's face before. She almost feels guilty. "Why're you asking?"

"I was trying to figure out why they made you my temporary guard. The human, while weaker than us, is still capable of taking care of herself and standing her ground. You're decidedly less... mature."

"Thanks." She grunts.

"She's still loyal." Peridot snaps, crossing her arms. "She can still fulfill her role. That's what matters, isn't it?"

Lapis ignores her. "The human is recharging and Steven can't be trusted to do it, so they chose the least-threatening of them to guard me; so I didn't have a reason to pick a fight."

Peridot is still ranting angrily. Amethyst eyes her, posture oddly stiff, before nodding. "Probably."

The technician seems to choke on air. "What? You're going to let her get away with that?"

The kindergarten gem stares her down. Lapis half-expects her to draw her weapon, but she doesn't. Peridot awkwardly glances between the two of them.

"Put the human back on duty once she's recharged." She snapped, returning from whence she came. She slams the door behind her. Peridot winces; Connie twitches and rolls over.

"Man, she's dead to the world." Amethyst hums quietly. Peridot glares at her.

"So it's okay if she does it, but not me?"

"You were trying to befriend me. She was trying to intimidate me. Big difference."

"I ought to order the knight to chop her limbs off once she's done resting." Peridot grumbles. It's no secret that she prefers the human's company on missions and around dangerous things like Lapis Lazuli; she's the only one of them that 'fits into their placement and can successfully take orders', in her opinion. "After three days in there, she'd probably do it, so long as her master hasn't forbidden combat."

Amethyst puts a hand on each of her shoulder and draws her away from the door. "Peri, don't pick fights with the enemy when you can't win."

"She's my informant!"

"She's the gem who'll squish you like a bug if she has the chance. Get over it."

Peridot grumbles and retrieves her tool box before sitting down, resolving to not put off repairs any longer, even if they aren't safe right outside the blue gem's door. "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't win."

"That's exactly why you can't win. You don't know how to use the power of the short to your advantage."

Author's Note: Actually, Amethyst volunteered to take on the temp duty. She figured Pearl would freak out, and Garnet, as leader, had better things to do with her time, so why not? Peridot just sorta... hovered over at some point.

I have so many random little Peridot headcanons. Like she hides behind Amethyst when she's in trouble; or that, once the confusion wore off, she enjoyed Connie's company, as she's the only character who doesn't jump so far out of their boundaries (human warriors may be laughable in gem eyes, but they're still a thing they know of) and is always trying to drag her along on missions for protection.

Also, I believe the current phrase for this chapter is 'shots fired.' Remember folks; Lapis may not have any quarrel with humans, but she isn't a fan of the Crystal Gems.

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