- Youth — Daughter -

An hour's drive away, in the south side of Chicago, there was a crumbling thrift store in a row of other crumbling walls. Each of the stores wore weatherworn hats, hats of patchwork brick, boarded windows, and laundry that would never be clean. There were three working streetlights on the row. The one in front of the thrift store flickered.

From the left second story window, the light was like a blinking eye, staring you down wherever you were in the apartment beyond — and Malachite hated it. Originally, she'd taped an old tarp over the window to block it, but the tarp kept falling. It had come down about an hour ago. She couldn't move her mattress — there was nowhere to move it to other than the far wall, but that one had leaks and she didn't like waking up wet. So, for that hour, she lay in the wavering ochre light, covering her eyes with the sleeve of the stolen sweatshirt it was too hot to wear.

But even then she tossed and turned. There was the headache again. The distant howl of police sirens. On the floor above her, an argument in Spanish. The humidity from the broken AC. The chafing of her clothes against her scars (fuck it, she just wouldn't wear clothes then).

Eventually — she didn't know how long later, it was when she started to think — she pulled herself from the dirty mattress, fumbled at the lights, and opened the tiny fridge. Not that it had much in it, just the remains of a Happy Meal and a glass bottle on its side. She went for the bottle. At the rusty stool she called a kitchen table, there was also half of a joint in the ashtray, her favorite lighter conveniently at its side. Marijuana in one hand and stolen vodka in the other, that's how Malachite Lazuli spent most of her sleepless nights — alone. Repressing.

An old fly orbited the lightbulb, bumping into it over, and over, and over.

She couldn't remember if she passed out (she'd abandoned the joint and finished the bottle. Probably.) but at some point, someone began knocking at her head. No, her door. The headache was back. Outside the window, it was still mostly dark, except kinda lavender too; sunrise. Somewhere she recognized she should put on clothes. Managed the tank top, not the pants, but in her mind, that wasn't her problem. Dragging her hand through her unbrushed red hair, she opened the door a crack and squinted at the shrieking hinges.

"Fuck off," she managed to say, but found herself looking at darkness. Then she lowered her gaze.

It was the kid, the rich kid who wanted to be trans or some shit. He had a big backpack and a tiny can of pepper spray, and his eyes darted around like someone was watching him.

"Malachite?" he said. Like a question.

"Yeah," she replied, rubbing her eyes. Fuck, she was tired. "You're that...that kid."

What was his name? Something to do with volcanoes. "Y...yeah. Yeah, it's me, Obsidian," whispered the kid (Obsidian. Great). "Listen. I, uh, I got into some trouble at home. An' I don't have any other friends. Jade's with me and she got trouble too. You, you know, uh, the fake ID you said you got…we need your help to get some."

It took a good five extra seconds for all that to register in Malachite's brain. When it did, she laughed. "You," she cackled, "gettin' fakes? You can't e'en pass as your own age, fuck off."

"N- not to get alcohol or anything! Just other things!" Obsidian waved his hands in a gesture Malachite couldn't quite decrypt, then he continued way too fast, "I just need your help right now, okay? I need you to come with me. It's complicated."

"I'm fucking drunk . I'm not wearin' pants," Malachite drawled. "Y'really think I can do complicated?"

Obsidian was clearly aware of the lack of pants. He turned his back. "Just put something on and get out here," he snapped. Malachite lowkey wanted to hit him with the empty vodka bottle, but didn't. Going with the kid was something to do and she needed some of that. Maybe he'd even pay her again.

So she pulled on some shorts, spent way too long looking for a flip flop she was already wearing, and reached for her joint again. On second thought, she shoved her switchblade into her back pocket.

Obsidian let Malachite lead him out, as she knew the building and Obsidian jumped at every dark shadow. He told her he came in from the side entrance. They navigated through a narrow hall of thrift store trash, out into the blinking streetlight eye, and to a silver car underneath.

"That where Neph is?" Malachite asked. Obsidian frowned, then shook his head.

"Jade, you mean."

"Right."

"Y...yeah. C- can you get in the car?"

Malachite glared at him. "Hell no," she replied. Even she knew better. "If your girl wants to talk, we do it outside."

Obsidian stared at her for a few seconds before he shrugged and said, "'Kay. Wait here."

She did, leaning against the trunk of the car and fingering her now-stubby joint. To amuse herself, she tried blowing a smoke ring. Came out more like a smoke orb. She was so fixated on it, watching it dissipate in the amber light and cool dawn air, that she hardly heard the hushed conversation behind her, didn't notice the opening car door or the tall shadow that appeared in her peripheral vision. Too tall to be that tiny Jade girl, and Obsidian had returned to her side. His backpack was gone; he only held the pepper spray. It was uncapped.

"Okay," he said, "she said you need to get in the car."

That was when the shadow moved, when Malachite recognized it for what it was. A woman, a little taller than Malachite, her head covered in a teal hijab, with something long balanced on her shoulder.

"You!" Malachite jerked back, dropping her joint. Frantic, she grasped in her back jeans pocket for her pocketknife, but it wasn't there — and she turned to see Obsidian holding it by two fingers, smirking. On the other side, the shadow took another step forward.

"Yes," said Alexandrite simply, "me."

She swung the umbrella like a baseball bat. It would be the last thing Malachite saw for a while.

.

"I don't get it, Peri. Why is it when THEY forget about things, it's always 'oh Amethyst, you're so irresponsible, next time you should make sure that we know what you're talking about' but when they spring things on ME, like oh hey just so you know, we're letting two of your weirdest ex-teachers stay in the guest room next to you, we're not even gonna ask you if it's okay, and when I forget, it's my fault for not paying attention."

She sounded like she should be pacing, Peridot thought to herself. Except Amethyst didn't pace, she sat upside down in her egg chair, her impossibly long hair flowing over the edge and piling on the floor. It had been past her hips before and now it had to be at least touching her knees. Now Peridot had the insatiable urge to reach through her computer screen and run her hands through it — but, obviously, she couldn't do that.

"That's rough, buddy," was all Peridot could think to say. She moved her computer to the end of her bed and flipped onto her stomach. "I mean...if you want to stay the night here anytime, you can, I'm sure Vidalia would love to have you, and I mean I only have a twin-sized bed…"

Amethyst smiled wryly. "Like that's ever stopped us."

"More cuddles," Peridot suggested. That made Amethyst smile wider, her eyes squishing like they did. She's so pretty , dashed through Peridot's mind for the some-thousandth time. That probably wasn't an exaggeration, either — though her phone background was PercyxPierre fanart, her lock screen was any one of her favorite twelve pictures of Amethyst. (Currently it was one of her selfies from a time she'd experimented with Sapphire's eco-friendly eye makeup, highlighter, and rhinestones. She basically glittered.)

Now, Amethyst sat up and brought her phone closer to her face as she ran her fingers through her loose hair. "You always know what to say." She made an exaggerated kissy face. Then she sighed.

"It's just getting so ugly here though, and they've only been here three days. Like I don't know how it can get worse. Ruby won't talk to Garnet anymore, not even Sapphire can reason with her. Lion's gone completely and Steven's all sad. One of the dogs tracked in mud and Pearl had, like, an aneurysm. I couldn't sleep last night because Jasper and Lapis were arguing about whether or not they were putting a burden on us, then it turned into a yelling match about Malachite and the dogs and jobs and shit. Like, uh, you wouldn't be such a burden if you'd just shut up."

Peridot cringed. It wasn't hard to imagine. The clods of Foster Families Two and Five made that easy enough. "Yikes."

"Gets worse," added Amethyst, and dropped her voice down to a whisper. "When they wanna make up after fighting, they fuck — like, seriously hard. By the sounds of it, Lapis tops."

"Oh my."

"Yeah. Don't tell them I told you."

"No problem," murmured Peridot, trying to rein in her mental images. It was no mystery — at least not in the rumor-ridden high school hallways — that the young and attractive Lazulis had an active sex life, but there were details that she could've lived a nice life not knowing.

"But seriously," Peridot changed the subject, "if you need space, you can stay here."

Amethyst gave a grateful smile. "I'd like that. I dunno about tonight, though. Just ate this ginormous burrito for breakfast, all with extra frijoles y queso . Unless you're fine sleeping with a living Whoopee Cushion."

As hard as she tried, Peridot was never immune to potty humor. She snorted. "Psh, I hardly think I and these walls haven't endured worse. Example: Sour Cream's unwashed sock, three weeks old, found in the couch while searching for an SD card. Or fresh fish night. The doors of Le Casa Yellowtail are open to all sounds and smells, however foul."

Oh, she'd tried with the Spanish, but judging by Amethyst's face she'd failed miserably. "Heh. It's La Casa de los Yellowtails. But good guess."

"Ooh, I love it when you speak Spanish. It sounds so smooth and sexy. Say something else."

"Mmm…eheheh...a'ight. Las...manzanas son buenas para la salud, y Harambe hizo el once de septiembre. Me llamo Peridot y yo como lombrices."

Her silky voice and her sharp accents sent little shivers down Peridot's spine — especially in how Amethyst said her name (that was her name, right?), flicking the R, dropping the T, and stressing the O. It was beautiful. "That was sooooo good," Peridot fawned, but why was Amethyst smiling like that? Ah well. "What did you say?"

It was then that Amethyst's grin broke. She started to hoot with laughter, keeling over in her chair and nearly dropping her phone. "It means," she snorted, "apples are a healthy snack, Harambe did 9/11, and my name is Peridot and I eat worms."

Peridot didn't quite know how to respond to that. So she just kinda stared and thought until, suddenly, she heard Vidalia call her name.

"Wait, be right back," she told Amethyst (still a little puzzled at how easily she had been fooled), and hopped to the door. "Yeah?"

"Peridot, Alexandrite's here! She said she wants to talk to you!"

"Oh — alright! Be right down!" This was a bundle of issues as Peridot was 1.) in the middle of a conversation, 2.) still wearing pajamas, and 3.) missing her prosthetic. Where'd she put the muddy thing again…?

"Gotta go," she explained to Amethyst as she strapped on her foot and brushed her hair at the same time. "Alexandrite's over."

That was clearly news to Amethyst. "For what?"

"Knowing her, it could be literally anything," Peridot said, and it was true. She honestly couldn't conjure up a single possibility for what the woman could want. The last time she had seen her was the fiasco with Obsidian and Malachite. She hadn't left anything or she'd have noticed by now; she couldn't recall anything she had asked for, or anything Alexandrite had requested either.

She said goodbye to Amethyst, put a sports bra under her homemade Camp Pining Hearts t-shirt, and threw on some jean capris. Vidalia, already covered in paint despite it being only 10:30 in the morning, met her at the door and passed off the conversation with that ever-present smile. Predictably, Alexandrite stood in the door, one hand in her pocket and the other holding her infamous umbrella. She looked really hot, and not in the good way, because she was dressed head to toe (was that just a religious thing or what?).

"Hello, Peridot," she said, as if there was nothing unusual about showing up spontaneously on your neighbor's doorstep, holding an umbrella despite it being 85 degrees and sunny. Peridot would have frowned, but found that she was doing so already.

"Hell...oooo…" replied Peridot warily. It was then she noted Alexandrite was holding a bundle of papers in between her fingers and the umbrella, and asked, "Is that our mail?"

Alexandrite looked down at the papers. "Maybe," she said. "It had your name on it."

"So you didn't give it to Vidalia. Ohh...kay." Peridot took the mail — sure enough, the top letter was addressed Peridot Sun, 4663 Valley St., Beach City, IL. The return address was Max Albus from the high school. Huh. She looked slowly back up at Alexandrite. "And you took them out why, pray tell?"

"Oh. I ran into your mailbox."

"What?"

"It was Malachite's fault. She kicked my seat."

Peridot gaped at her, then repeated, louder, "WHAT?!"

A minute later, Peridot stood on the driveway next to a crooked mailbox, Alexandrite's car, and a proud-looking Obsidian. Inside the car, Malachite was slumped in the middle seat, her mouth gagged and hands tied behind her back with what looked like duct tape. The sunshields had been pulled down, probably to hide passing glances of what looked to be a textbook kidnapping, but Peridot could still see Malachite glaring at her. She stared, in turn, at Alexandrite, then Obsidian. As usual, he was doing most of the talking.

"So we tracked her down," Obsidian was saying, "And I was the first to find her room. Since I had inside information and all. I lured her out, and when her guard was down — "

"She was hungover," Alexandrite put in.

"Yeah, okay. Anyway, when Malachite wasn't looking, I stole her giant cleaver — "

"Pocketknife."

"WHATEVER! So anyway, then I told her, 'You've lost. We've come to put you to justice and take you back to where you belong', and pulled out the knife and a gun, and while she was all scared of me, Alexandrite knocked her out and put her in the trunk."

"Pepper spray, not gun, and she didn't stay in the trunk."

Obsidian did not seem to appreciate Alexandrite's edits on his story. "Obviously," he grumbled. "But...yeah. You're welcome and all that."

At some point, Peridot's mouth had fallen open.

"And you did this all yourself, instead of notifying the police," she said, " why?"

" 'Cuz Malachite doesn't like cops, duh," Obsidian rolled his eyes. It was kind of obvious, but it didn't excuse anything.

"She clearly doesn't like you, either." Peridot folded her arms. "If anything, you could've at least brought her to the police, instead of dropping her on my doorstep. What, exactly, were you two trying to achieve by this?"

Obsidian and Alexandrite exchanged glances and made a few indecipherable yet somehow communicative gestures. Then Alexandrite sighed. "Peridot, I am an autistic Muslim woman. How well do you think the police would respond to me — "

"And me," Obsidian cut in, "I generally look real shifty" which was true.

"To us showing up at the Chicago Police Department, carrying a missing person in the back of my car?"

"No one cares about her, Peridot," Obsidian scowled. "Jasper and Mrs. Lazuli reported her missing, but it wasn't even publicized, which is why no one looked for her down in Chicago. No one would'a known who she was. And even worse, they don't care about us. They don't care that we're tryin' to get her back home in a way that works, if they saw us get her like that, they're gonna see two brown people kidnapping a white girl. Hell, they might even we were the ones to steal her away in the first place. So...so you gotta help us. Seriously."

"Help you with what? You think I know what to do?" Peridot ran her hand through her hair. She was even starting to pace — and ugh, she could see Malachite staring at her foot. This time, she met Malachite's eyes and glared right back. Malachite jerked away like a mouse caught in a spotlight.

"We couldn't find the Lazulis," Alexandrite replied. "I found their address in Obsidian's school directory, but the apartment was rented out."

"They...don't live there anymore," Peridot told her carefully. Though Amethyst was rather open with other people's business, Peridot didn't feel right straight out telling people that the Lazulis had been evicted.

"Well," asked Obsidian, folding his arms, "where did they go?"

Peridot was about to say it, but then stopped. It would be her civic duty to return Malachite to her moms, but her moms lived at Rosewood — and according to Amethyst, it was bad enough already. She couldn't just turn Malachite, Alexandrite, and Obsidian away. But Amethyst hated Malachite. If Alexandrite and Obsidian dropped Malachite off on Rosewood's front porch, saying, "Oh, by the way, Peridot sent us" — what would Amethyst think?

"Fine," Peridot said finally, "I'll tell you. On one condition."

.

The door to the garage opened. Or Vidalia assumed it did, as that was the sound the door made, though she couldn't see past the tarp walls of her art studio.

"Vidalia?" That was Peridot.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go help Alexandrite and Obsidian bring a felon back to her moms. If something happens, tell my case worker that all my savings go to you. And all my stuff goes to Amethyst."

"Okay," Vidalia called back. "Don't plan on dying, though! It's Chinese takeout tonight. I'm ordering extra egg fried rice for you."

"Sounds great, thank you!"

"Love you!"

"Love you too!"

.

Amethyst had been dogwalking when the car came.

For creatures who were only interested in eating and sleeping on Pearl's fancy Indian rugs, Jasper's dogs — Biggs the Newfoundland, Ocean the Old English shepherd, each of them larger than Amethyst — were very high-maintenance. They went out in the yard four times a day. They emptied a bulk package of dog food in a few days. They needed two long walks a day, one in the morning and one after dinner, rain or shine.

Thankfully, Jasper didn't expect anyone besides herself to care for the dogs, especially as Lapis seemed to despise them. But that didn't stop Garnet from encouraging everyone else to help. Steven jumped into it, offering to play with and feed the dogs. Pearl cleaned (which she would have done anyway, but which she did now with some bitterness. Apparently, she wasn't too enthused about their boarders either). Garnet walked with Jasper and the dogs when she wasn't at the fire department. But when she was on duty or busy, dog walking fell to Amethyst.

She couldn't say she hated either the dogs or Jasper. Though crude, Jasper was nice enough to her, and they were able to make some conversation about wrestling and the Quartz Bikers (motorcycle season was back and Amethyst was missing out again). Amethyst was honestly more of a cat person, but the dogs weren't bad. Because she was smaller and less experienced, she got to walk Biggs, who was older and gentler. The walk was still strenuous, as Jasper kept to a brisk jog most the time, and relatively awkward. Why not.

For at least the third time yet, the awkward had come from Lapis.

"I don't care what I said in high school," Lapis had yelled after Jasper, half-shoving her out the garage door. "You don't HAVE to be with me! Divorce papers aren't hard to get! If you hate me so much, then LEAVE already, GOD!"

Amethyst wasn't sure what it meant that she was getting used to this. Even more, it was the first part she'd been most curious about.

After stewing a little, kicking over garbage cans, Jasper began suiting up her dogs for their walk and Pearl sent Amethyst out while she and Steven talked with Lapis. Surprisingly enough, Steven was the only one who Lapis really trusted, despite being limited by his innocence. Jasper didn't trust anyone except her dogs. But Pearl insisted, so Amethyst tied her running shoes and her hair up in a ponytail and prepared herself for the worst.

For the first few hundred feet of the walk, Jasper was about as conversational as a stone column. Amethyst didn't know how to break it. Well, she knew how, but it didn't apply to adults. With Peridot or Jenny or someone, she might hip-bump the other girl and blow a raspberry. Or straight up hold her hands and sit her down to talk it out somewhere.

But Jasper was an adult. Even worse, Jasper was a teacher. It was like going to the store just to see your former geometry teacher slumped against a fridge in the wine section, bawling her eyes out as a store employee attempted to pry a bottle of whiskey from her snot-covered hand. (Why couldn't she get any normal teachers, Amethyst sometimes asked herself.)

But fortunately — maybe unfortunately, she wasn't sure — she didn't have to break it. When Ocean stopped to pee, Jasper folded her arms and glared down at Amethyst out of the corner of her eye.

"If you're gonna be nosy, it's better sooner than later," Jasper told Amethyst. Her dog finished peeing and they began jogging again.

"You were in high school together?" Amethyst asked.

Clearly, it wasn't the question Jasper had been expecting. Her eyes widened, then she gave a barking laugh. "Hah! You never heard that story from Allnatt, did you? Figures. I get the feeling she wanted to forget us forever."

Allnatt Diamond. Amethyst was quiet for a couple seconds before she said, "Hear what?"

Jasper passed her a wry glance. "How Lapis and I met."

Part of Amethyst instantly thought oh, gross, please don't tell me about that and part of Amethyst replied, "I never heard it."

"She was in town, staying with that rich aunt who hates me, because her stepmom couldn't stand her. So she got sent to Beach City High as a senior, and happened to be my lab partner in AP bio. With Allnatt, by the way, it was her first year. I...heh...I was kind of a perfectionist back then, I didn't really care much for my stepmom or her family, but I always felt like I had to make them proud. So I pushed Lapis the wrong way. She didn't want to work, but I did, and I told her if she didn't, I'd make her pay."

A cat stalked across a driveway. Ocean jumped at it; Biggs just kept lumbering on as if she didn't see anything out of the ordinary (she likely did not, as her fur flopped over her eyes). Jasper pulled Ocean back onto the sidewalk and continued.

"One day I had it, my stepmom was a police officer so I stole a pair of her handcuffs, and I took Lapis to the lab and locked our wrists together. I told her that we'd finish our project and we'd get a good grade, and then I'd unlock us. But then before I knew it, she started making out with me and dropped the key down the sink and...well...uh. I don't actually know how that happened."

Jasper's story fizzled out with pressed lips and a face that just screamed regrets. She rubbed the back of her neck and huffed. Amethyst half wanted to gag, half couldn't help but grin. Any story that made Miss Diamond uncomfortable was pretty funny when it came down to it.

"And you've been in love ever since?"

"Hah! Hell no," Jasper said brusquely. "Thought I was. Turns out I was just horny. Lapis and I...I mean, we fight a lot. An' I know it's put a lot of pressure on you guys. But it's just how it works after a while. We got married right after graduating high school and before I went off to the military, then one of our neighbors got arrested and Lapis wanted to adopt her kid, and before I knew it, I was a mom and I couldn't leave. Wish I could say we were ever in love. But if you think that's how marriage works, you're in for a sad life, kid. Lapis...I love her, but we're not in love. I stay with her 'cuz what we have, it works. If I didn't have her, I wouldn't be able to put a roof over my own head. I couldn't keep Biggs and Ocean. I'd probably spend my nights hopping bars. Without her, I'd be nothing."

Amethyst's smile had long since faded. By itself, it didn't sound too bad; fatalistic, sure, but not harmful. Except that she couldn't help but feel uneasy. And the story of how they had met now made more sense. "Did...did she tell you that?"

"Damn right she did. Meeting Lapis…it was like she'd opened my eyes."

Jasper smiled, but her light brown eyes were somehow hollow. Like she'd only been fed the god, Jasper, I love you and wiped of the you disgusting brute, you can't do anything right. It made something clench up in Amethyst's stomach, something familiar, and it made her sick.

But before she could say anything, her phone began to vibrate. It was Pearl and she didn't sound happy.

"Amethyst," she said, "can you put me on speaker?"

Amethyst frowned. "Uh...sure, P. What's up?"

"Is Jasper with you? She wasn't answering her phone."

"I'm here," Jasper put in. "Lapis took my phone, sorry."

There was a brief pause, during which Amethyst felt like she and Pearl were thinking the exact same thing — okay, that's lowkey weird. Then Pearl coughed. " Ah...alright. Well. I need both of you to come back now. There's someone…there's…ah…Malachite is here."

They practically ran back to Rosewood — well, Jasper did; Amethyst just followed and tried not to get dragged by the dogs. Because of the excitement, Biggs stopped to poop; Jasper said leave it and got running again. Amethyst hoped Jasper planned to pick it up later, since that particular neighbor on whose lawn the bomb had been planted did not like the inhabitants of Rosewood mansion as a whole. Jasper suggested no such idea.

"That little shit," she cackled as she jogged, a toothy smile splitting her face. "Ohhh, she better be in one piece, or I'll have a word with her! You think she still got that trashy bleach job on her hair? God, maybe Lapis'll forgive me — we've got the family back together!"

Hey. Maybe it WILL work out, Amethyst thought. Maybe they'll leave, maybe things'll actually be okay…

She began to run a little faster.

Then they entered Rosewood's gates and the hopes began to shrivel.

There was an unfamiliar silver car on the lawn, next to a row of crushed rosebushes. No one was to be seen; it was eerily quiet.

Then the front door flew open and a half-naked girl tumbled down the stairs. The wild red hair told Amethyst and Jasper all — Malachite was in good enough condition, and bad enough mood, to run like hell. She started like a cornered when she saw them in the gate, and then she turned and ran the other way. Biggs almost yanked Amethyst's arm off.

"Let her go," Jasper snapped. Amethyst got the picture.

"No problem," she grunted, releasing the leash. Both dogs tore after their owner's daughter, tails wagging, tongues and ears flapping. Malachite took one look over her shoulder, and only managed a shriek before being taken down in two masses of fluff. Hah.

Then Jasper stepped forward, long decided strides towards the struggling teen on the ground with all the command of a military officer heading to discipline a rowdy private. Her hair was already up in its ponytail but she reached back and tightened it. To keep up, Amethyst had to jog, though she stayed a good five feet behind Jasper just in case. She still wasn't sure what to think about Malachite — mainly she just wanted to see her get what she deserved. Which was a good ass-whooping.

"Biggs, off," Jasper barked, and just as she'd done for Amethyst, wrapped her arms around Ocean and set her aside. "Ocean, Biggs, inside." The dogs did not go inside. They just lingered back, sniffing towards Malachite but not struggling, and Jasper handed Amethyst the leashes.

As soon as the dogs were off her, Malachite scrambled back to her feet, but quick as a whip Jasper grabbed her wrist and spun her around. For a second, mother and daughter stared each other down. Jasper smirked. Malachite struggled, and then took her free hand back into a fist.

Malachite jerked forward in a clumsy punch to Jasper's face, but again Jasper snapped to it and grabbed her wrist. And in a few steps too fast for Amethyst to catch, Malachite went up and over Jasper's leg and down on the ground — her arm pinned behind her back with just one of Jasper's powerful hands. An MMA move if Amethyst had ever seen one.

"Don't hit me," Jasper said. Malachite grunted and writhed under Jasper's grip, but the larger woman held steady until she stopped. Then, like that, Jasper released Malachite, helped her up, and stood with her hands on Malachite's shoulders.

"You've been drinking," Jasper said softly. Malachite glared right back, her chest heaving. Her voice was slurred.

"Why d' you care?"

Now that she wasn't moving as much, Amethyst could see how bad of a condition Malachite was in. Her face looked like someone had mistaken it for a punching bag and then she had tried to fix it by driving more holes in it — she had two new piercings, one on her left eyebrow, the other on her upper lip; on top of it, three visible bruises. Her makeup was probably several days old. Her hair actually resembled a bird's nest. There was a piece of duct tape stuck to her stained tank top and her knees were all scabbed over. Her movements, disjointed and reckless.

Jasper opened her mouth, but before she could speak, footsteps pounded behind them. Amethyst and Jasper turned to see Alexandrite, Pearl, and Lapis run around the house towards them, then Steven jogging behind. "Steven, get back in the house with Obsidian," Pearl warned. As if on cue, Obsidian Talwar appeared out of nowhere.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here."

Pearl gave him the "mother-glare". "You're not helping."

"Yeah, fuck off," Malachite put in, only to be caught on Jasper's glare.

"Hey — watch your damn language, those are kids," Jasper snapped.

Then Lapis stalked forward, arms folded. Her head was tilted down, hidden from Amethyst. She didn't lash out, barely even moved aside from walking towards Jasper and Malachite, but both of Jasper's dogs whined. Ocean's tail was down; Biggs lowered her head.

"Jasper," was all Lapis said.

"What?"

"Let go of my daughter."

Jasper let go of only one of Malachite's shoulders — and likely only to gesticulate with her free hand. "If I let our daughter go," Jasper said slowly, each word scraping with tension, "she's gonna run off, get drunk and high, and ruin her life all over again. Is that what you want?"

Lapis didn't respond. Maybe because Jasper didn't give her time to, maybe not.

"Because that's what we let her do. Lapis, listen. Let me handle this. You said it yourself, I got us into this mess. It's my fault. And it'll be better this time, I can help Malachite, I'm the only one who can handle her when she gets like this. Just let me do this for you, I can prove that — "

"UGH!" Malachite screamed, her voice cracking, but silencing Jasper. "Jasper, just SHUT UP! I can't TAKE this! I — WON'T! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!"

With one jerk, Malachite broke free of Jasper's hold and stumbled back. But she didn't run. Instead, she cried, big ugly angry cries that began to dribble down her cheeks.

"You — " She pointed at Jasper, her hand trembling. "You can't FIX me! You ALWAYS act like you can MAKE me be the perfect daughter, all just to make her — " to Lapis " — to make her happy, but GUESS WHAT? I'm NOT! And I'm DONE being used by you two in your fights all the time, 'cause guess what, I'm not a fuckin' bargaining chip! I don't CARE about family, I'd — I'd rather live with Alexandrite than live with either of you!"

Her voice echoed off the stone, cold and sharp. Pearl had put her hands over Steven's ears, but both of them watched with wide eyes. Biggs had her hackles up. Alexandrite didn't visibly respond past folding her arms.

"Okay," she said, and everyone turned to her.

"And how do you know my daughter?" asked Lapis, her expression listless.

Alexandrite shrugged. "She pulled off my hijab in middle school."

"Malachite!" Jasper scolded.

"It was six years ago ," Malachite shot back, but Alexandrite held up a hand before it could escalate.

"I've forgotten. But I am Pearl's niece. If it's too difficult for my family or yours to foster Malachite, my house is always open. I have a guest room."

"Thanks for the offer, Alexandrite, but no," Lapis said. "We can't just force our daughter on a stranger. Malachite stays with us."

" Malachite is a legal adult and can do whatever the fuck she wants," said Malachite, then grinned petulantly when Lapis and Jasper stared at her. "Hah! I was right. You forgot again. My birthday was March sixteenth, assholes."

"Just because you're eighteen doesn't mean you can disregard the law," replied Jasper. "You're still technically missing. And we're not changing that until we know you're safe. You are going to finish high school, you will drop the drinking and the drugs and whatever the hell you think you're doing to your body, and you'll stop wasting your life on self pity."

"She can still do that."

Obsidian stepped into the conversation, puffing out his chest. "If Malachite stays with Alexandrite as a roommate, nothing really changes. My brother did something like it, he lived at a friend's house, and Dad was still able to micromanage his life — "

"Obsidian," Alexandrite said suddenly, "what are you doing?"

"Helping you," he answered, as if it was obvious.

"Huh. Never would've thought."

"Alex, really," said Pearl, "that's very kind of you, but Garnet and I made our own agreement with Mrs. and Mrs. Lazuli. We'll be fine. I'll just have Amethyst pick up her shifts at the bakery again, and the income will be more than enough to support a seventh member of the house…"

"Can you guys stop talkin' about me like I'm not in the fuckin' room? God!" Malachite yelled, leaving Steven to clap his hands over his ears for the umpteenth time. Pearl looked between him and Malachite before turning back to Alexandrite. Her lips were pressed together.

"Actually, Alex dear, Auntie Pearl changed her mind. Please take Malachite."

Jasper's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I wasn't serious," Malachite scoffed, and kicked at a dandelion with her sandaled foot. From behind the rainbow sunglasses, Alexandrite stared at her.

"Yes," she replied, "but I was. Now do you want to go with your mums or not?"

"Hell no," Malachite said. Again, Jasper glared at her.

"That's not your choice to make."

"Actually — " Lapis stepped forward, putting her hand on Jasper's arm, " — it… is her choice. And we've already made so much trouble for Pearl and Garnet. If Alexandrite's offering to take Malachite in, and if it's what she wants, I'm not going to stop her."

"I don't want to go with her, either," Malachite grumbled.

Lapis shrugged. "Lesser of two evils."

For once, Malachite had no response, only kept her bitter-bitch face and looked away. Which, as Lapis would later explain to Amethyst, was her equivalent of a smile.

"Fine," Malachite spat finally, "but if you still wanna micromanage my life, don't send her."

She pointed to Jasper, who recoiled like someone had slapped her. Lapis just inclined her chin.

"That's fair. Well, we kept most of your stuff in the eviction; they're in the garage with our other boxes. You can't miss them. Be good, sunshine. Alexandrite, call us if you have any issues. Malachite can tell you my number."

And with that — as soon as she'd come — Malachite met Lapis's eyes, glared for a second, and pushed between both of her moms. Alexandrite took her to the car in the middle of the rosebushes and helped Malachite bring some boxes from the garage. Obsidian sat on the hood and tapped on his phone. Just like that, Malachite was leaving like she always did — with a bad taste in everyone else's mouth. Amethyst didn't know what to think. The entire situation, to her, had felt rather surreal and dreamlike.

Pearl summed it up pretty accurately: "Well."

"We're going to have a talk, Lapis," Jasper grumbled. Without waiting for a response, she stomped over to Amethyst and took the two very patient dogs from her. "I'm just gonna go walk alone."

" Jasper," Lapis shot back, but Jasper wasn't listening. She left the backyard with her dogs and clenched fists.

"ALONE, Lapis." After a second she stopped at a hedge on the corner of the house. "And Peridot — quit eavesdropping behind foliage. It's rude."

Correction — the situation felt surreal and dreamlike until that moment, which was more like being splashed in the face with a bucket of ice water. That moment, when Jasper reached behind the corner hedge and yanked up none other than a squirming Peridot, dangling her by the scruff of her neck before dropping her on the grass. Dazed and wide-eyed, Peridot sat there wiping her glasses and brushing leaves off her clothes.

"Peridot?" said Amethyst, confused. Glancing back nervously at Jasper, who was leaving, Peridot scrambled up.

"Oh! Uh...Amethyst. Greetings. I have an explanation. You see, um, when Alexandrite came over, she had Malachite with her, and…ahh…"

"I'm going in," Lapis announced loudly and suddenly. Steven trailed after her, and Pearl went to Alexandrite's car to help them pack Malachite's stuff. Peridot watched each of them go, as hapless as a lifeboat-stranded person watching the paddles drift away.

"I...ah...hmm."

She looked at Amethyst. Amethyst hadn't noticed, but she had been clutching her stomach.

"Amethyst? Are you...okay?"

Amethyst shifted her weight and looked at her shoes. "Yeah. I'm fine. 'S just weird. And kinda...I dunno...anticlimatic? Like I thought maybe the fighting would stop but it just got worse. And…"

She hesitated, unsure if she should mention this, but Peridot had noticed it and it was too late. Peridot frowned. "What?"

"I'm worried about Jasper," Amethyst admitted, glancing around to make sure the former gym teacher was gone. "When we were walking the dogs, she was talking about stuff that Lapis tells her. And it's...I guess...it's familiar. Not with you. As in, it sounds like stuff Sugilite used to tell me."

"Oh." Peridot deflated. "I mean...maybe it's just how they get along. From what I've seen, sure, they fight, but clearly they're infatuated with each other as well. Lapis has two lockets with pictures of Jasper in them.

"I guess." But that didn't mean anything, Amethyst knew. Or at least, she tried to tell herself that. Because she thought of Sugilite, of the pictures Amethyst sent every night, of the praise and the flattery and the infatuation. Peridot wouldn't know, she hadn't met Amethyst back then — but everyone knew Amethyst had Sugilite wrapped around her finger. Garnet told her that it was a cover-up for the abuse Amethyst had experienced. It was just hard to remember.

"It just sucks," Amethyst said instead.

Behind them, a horn honked, causing Peridot to jump. "Hey! Peridot! You coming?" Obsidian hollered out the window of Alexandrite's car.

"Wait, one second!" Peridot called back, then turned to Amethyst. Hesitantly, she reached out and clasped their hands together, looking Amethyst in the eye.

"Amethyst. I know it's hard here. Come with me."

She made it sound like she would be leaving forever. Well, she said a lot of things dramatically, so that didn't necessarily mean anything, but it still wasn't appealing for some reason. "Per, I dunno…"

"I can tell them to wait while you get your overnight bag," continued Peridot excitedly, "and explain to Pearl for you if you'd like. And we can put Malachite in the trunk again so you don't have to sit near her! Vidalia's getting Chinese takeout for tonight, I know you love egg fried rice too, I'll just tell her to order double extras, and I'm sure Vidalia would let you stay longer than just tonight if you need — "

"I'm just not feeling good." It wasn't a fake excuse. Most of the time, the only thing she needed to cheer herself up was a cuddle session and time with friends. But today, after all that… she didn't want to stay in the house, she didn't want to talk to people she knew, she just wanted to be out by herself and alone. Or at least with someone who didn't know about the Lazulis. She didn't care. She felt like she might regret rejecting Peridot's offer, but she didn't know if she could handle it if she accepted. So she said, "I...I don't want to go. Sorry."

Peridot's face fell. The bad part of Amethyst expected her to get mad, but she didn't — just said "Oh. Okay. That's fine."

She moved to let go of Amethyst's hand, but the dejection on her face was too much to handle. Amethyst did not let go. Instead she pulled Peridot closer and kissed her, soft and drawn out like their first. Just like their first, Peridot melted into it, and ran one hand through Amethyst's hair. When they pulled apart, Amethyst offered a small smile.

"Hey. I'm not mad at you," she told Peri. "You did what you had to with Malachite. I just...I need some space. Like that one silly shirt you left here, like, three months ago," she added with a wide grin. "Take it home already."

"I keep forgetting," Peridot whined. "I'll get it today. Do you know where it is?"

Amethyst paused, thought, then shrugged. "Nah."

Peridot snorted. "Oh my stars."

They fell quiet. Peridot touched Amethyst's face. "Just...take care of yourself," she said, and kissed Amethyst again.

Then she left with Alexandrite, Malachite, and Obsidian, leaving Amethyst on the front lawn alone.

"I'm going out," Amethyst told Pearl, who was already at work fixing the flowerbeds.

Pearl pushed back her sunhat. "Where?"

"Out," Amethyst repeated tersely.

She took the pink Volkswagen for a change, and parked on a side street just off of downtown. She got lunch at the Pizza family's pizzeria, but had to repeat the "I'm just here for alone time" to Jenny and Kiki. Then she wandered the downtown, headphones in, indie rock layered over the sounds of Beach City on a hot Midwest afternoon.

As she waited at an intersection, a trio of motorcycles puttered to a stop next to her. Sure enough, it was some of the Quartz Bikers, marked by the glittering rhinestones on their helmets. At the head was Aventurine, with Poemä latched to the back of her leather jacket. Praisolite was there too, and Agate was apparently back from Miami — with a ferocious new bike too, complete with red-and-gold flames. They waved to her and she waved back. If only she had a bike of her own...but with Lapis, Jasper, and the dogs to feed, not to mention the neverending repairs needed to keep Rosewood Mansion still standing, there wasn't money for gifts anymore. (Briefly that hell called college nagged over her shoulder, but she pushed it away.) No, if she wanted a bike, she'd have to get it herself.

Then, she stopped walking. Slowly, she turned to her left, to the small, familiar bakery nestled at the end of Main Street. Her reflection in the glass fell on an old purple sign reading Now Hiring, Inquire Within — in Amethyst's bubbly handwriting.

The bell above the door tinkled when she pushed it open, and the glorious smells of sugar and fresh dough filled her nose — just like they always did. The girl at the counter turned around, her blond curls bobbing. When she recognized Amethyst, her face lit up.

"Hey! Long time no see, Ammy," said Sadie. "What can I do for you?"

Amethyst jerked her head back to the Now Hiring sign. "Some sign said y'all hiring," she replied, smiling awkwardly. "I've got experience."

Sadie's grin widened. "Welcome back."

A/N

- yes Alexandrite dresses head to toe even in the summer because she is Muslim. Peridot wasn't sure because she lived in the conservative rural south for like 90% of her life

- i don't know what Malachite was doing in Chicago. I think it's best not to think too hard about it.

- about Lapis and Jasper: BAD ROLE MODELS. and likely subject to much discussion in the future. their situation IS important and it runs along the lines of a convincing theory i saw on tumblr.

- TO LAPIS FANS: if you were deterred by any of this, rest assure that we're going to see lapis's and malachite's side of the story soon, and that i will try my damnest to not alter lapis's characterization from canon. i believe her story as told in canon is an important one and want to see if i can jump ahead and complete it within the context and themes of this story.

- ****this is not going to become a Jaspis story i have a plan****

- I dont like how so much of this was different from my normal style either but the chapter is HERE and as much subplot as this was, it WILL be important just chill fam