I do not own Steven Universe; hence the fan-fiction. -sorrowXdarkness
Steven Universe- Roommates
Chapter 11: The Gift
oooOOOooo
I wanted to be part of the play. I really do. I read it three times over and each one left me tingling inside. The excitement. It was not the typical love story I expected. It was different and interesting. It must have been its novelty that got its approval by the mayor.
So while we were helping Jamie in passing on the message of the play and the auditions, Steven, along with Connie, was secretly helping me. Like me, they got a copy of the play ahead of time and read it in one sitting. After I expressed my desire to act the role of the main heroine, they agreed to help me. Between them, they decided that the first step I should take was to memorized her entire line.
It actually wasn't as hard as they made it out to be. Even before they suggested it, I memorized some of my favorite lines from her. Once I was confident in that, we moved into acting it out. Simply speaking the lines was not enough to captivate the audience. The moving of the body accordingly, the tone of the voice, and the passion of the soul were required. I read that from a book I got from Connie. She borrowed it from her local library for me. I made sure I read a chapter before going to bed, unless it was movie night with Jamie (there was no way I would miss that).
Did I mention that Jamie and I were dating? Because we were. It happened so quickly. I wasn't sure how it happened. I guessed I confessed while I took my anger out at Garnet. It somehow came out. Once it did, there was no way to take it back, much less forget it. Honestly, I was glad I did (even though it could have been more romantic). He felt the same, but was scared to come forth to me. From what I gathered, he got hurt. Real hurt. I was so close to re-direct my attention on Garnet, but he stopped me. He kept his grip of my body firmly as he dropped his head on my shoulders.
It wasn't Garnet... Was all he said.
So there was another. Another person that captured his attention. Someone that did more harm to him and his precious heart than Garnet. I tightened my grip, pressing my hands against his back. I wanted him to forget about her. I wanted to say that clearly to him, but something within me stopped me. It bothered me that I couldn't speak those lines. Something about "forget" actually brought my gem to shutter. I knew the feeling, but I could not pinpoint its origin.
Either way, I held Jamie firmly into me. There was no way I would hurt Jamie. The mere thought left a sour sensation in my mind.
What felt like forever, was actually a few minutes by the time we pulled away. The only thing that connected us were our hands. We didn't want to let go just yet.
"Lapis... I want to be clear with you..."
"Lapis Lazuli!"
I turned my attention to what was in front of me. Peridot stood there, hands on her hips, annoyed.
"Uh...yes?"
"Did you hear anything I said to you?" She seemed a bit frustrated. Maybe it was because of the technology she was dealing with to help Jamie with the props. She wouldn't shut up about how annoying their "primitive and obsolete" props were. She spent a lot of time to make sure they worked to her standards. I found out that her standards went beyond what Jamie expected.
"YYYeeee-no." I confessed. That really got her ticked out as she dropped everything and ranted out loud how annoying it was working there. It didn't bother me. I knew the truth. She enjoyed doing it. Since she agreed to help Jamie with his play, she couldn't stop herself from working all night in some of the machinery. "Peridot...Peridot!" I shouted to get her attention. "Look, I'm sorry... I was thinking about something and before I knew it, I got sucked into it."
I hoped she didn't notice the darker shade of blue across my cheeks. She already teased me once about my feelings...approach... The last thing I want is a repeat of that; especially when it came from her. The look of her face began to change as she began to see me more critically. Did she notice something?
"Is it something to do with Jamie?"
X hits the spot. "Um...no." I turned away.
"Did you already hit a bump in your relationship with him?"
"No! Of course not. We're good. More than good, we're great." I realized that I sounded a lot like a commercial that Steven showed me.
"Heh, whatever. What's going on with you and your boyfriend is purely between you two." From there, Peridot returned to working on the prop on hand.
"W-Wait! What? You already know? About us?"
"Do you want me to answer all your questions?"
"Who told you?"
"Jamie. He needed my opinion on a gift for yo-" Peridot quickly covered her mouth with both of her hands.
"Jamie's getting me a gift?" I sounded surprise, but strangely happy. I wondered what sort of gift was he getting for me. Would Peridot tell me? At least a hint?
"F-FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!" She cried before returning to her work.
No number of approaches I did could get Peridot to talk to me. She wouldn't even look at me. She was so firm in not doing both, that I eventually gave up. Still, I knew now that Jamie was getting me something. That alone made me excited the next time I saw him. Wait, when is he giving it to me?
oooOOOooo
Jamie sighed. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. Still, why should he be? He knew it was perfect the moment his eyes gazed over it. It reminded him of her, and he liked the colors. So what was the problem? What should he be worried about? She was going to love it, he repeated told himself. He held the trinket in his hand. It was small and perhaps fragile, but the elastic band kept everything together. Mr. Roger insisted that, despite its apparent fragility, it was pretty durable for day-to-day activities.
Jamie wasn't sure if that was part of being a salesman or a friend (perhaps both), but he took his word for it as he gave his money in exchange for the small trinket. Aside from its durability, he really hoped that Lapis would like it. If not, would she accept something else? Would she give him another chance to make it up if she didn't like it? Was he overthinking it?
"I'm terrible..." He said finally, turning his attention to the sea. He had been sitting in that same spot since this morning. For what? A small gift he was planning to give to Lapis. "I should be focusing on the production of my play. Time is of the essence...but this is equally important." He muttered that last part in despair. "I'm so pathetic..."
"Who's so pathetic?"
"H-Huh!" He quickly turned around. Behind him, was Lapis. She looked down at him from where she stood. In her hand were a pair of sandals. A few days ago, she received a pair of shoes from Connie. It was a surprise from Connie as she explained that it must have been difficult for her to walk around barefoot all the time. Lapis shrugged, but tried it on anyway. Miraculously, they fitted her perfectly as she began to walk around with them. Everyone commented how lovely it looked on her, Jamie being one of them so Lapis began to wear them. They matched Lapis' pigments.
Right now, though, she was on the beach barefoot. The sand took the form of her feet as she left a trail behind her.
"L-Lapis...what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Did you finish your route for today?"
"Y-Yeah, about an hour ago..." Jamie turned away when he sensed her taking a seat beside him. His heart was returning to a state of panic. Was now a good time to give her the gift? His breathing slowly became rapid, and it felt like his chest was about to burst until suddenly it halted. His eyes were stunned by the silence, his heart no longer beating the battle drums and he could actually breathe normally. There, resting her head on his shoulder, was Lapis taking in the view of the ocean. The sunset was displayed before them, with the waves shaking their hands at them. The seagulls could be heard, but none could be seen. Jamie let out a sigh. "Lapis..." He turned, their faces were mere centimeters apart. He took hold of her hand, there was no resistance, and placed his gift inside her palm. "I got you this. It may not be much, but it made me think of you..."
Lapis, with her eyes cast down, could see the gift and all of its entirety. The band was simple and plain, but shared a dark hue of blue found in Lapis' attire. The 4 pieces hanging about were that of a star, conch, seashell, and teardrop. They were small, but rather detailed. Noticing the silence from Lapis' part, Jamie took the gift and Lapis follow suit as he slid the band through her left hand until it rested comfortably around her wrist.
Still, nothing from Lapis. Her eyes were solely on the trinket he got for her. Then he saw something brilliant shining from the corner of his eye. It was coming from Lapis' gem. Before he could point it out to her, he felt a sudden force pressing him backward until he fell off the log. On the sandy floor of the beach, Jamie shook his head in trying to bring clarity to his mind. The moment he did, he felt something soft pressing down his lips. All he could see was her eyelids.
"Thank you! I love it. I really do." Lapis chimed cheerfully. She moved above him so excitedly as Jamie realized that his worries were for not.
"I'm glad you do." All was well between him as he placed a small kiss on her forehead.
They held their position until the night came.
When they returned home, Lapis was in the midst of falling asleep. As Jamie helped her through the stairs, she commented on how it was all Jamie's fault she was sleepy. Heading to her room, Lapis dropped her sandals by the doorway as Jamie continued to offer his services. He pulled the blanket and put her to bed. As he tried to pull away, he found that he couldn't. Lapis had her arms around his neck.
"Lapis?"
"Come sleep here." She said tiredly.
"I really shouldn't..."
"Why not? We shared a bed before, why not now? Beside, I sort of like sleeping beside you." She let out a yawn. "Please?" Her eyes were now opened, looking up at his as she pleaded with her lips.
Jamie knew he could not turn down Lapis when she was making that face. Was it fair for her to have such a weapon at her disposal? Probably not, but then again, he liked seeing her make that face. "Alright."
oooOOOoo
Omake:
"Lapis!"
"Steven!"
Both of them decided to go exploring in the morning while Jamie was doing his delivery route for the day. Lapis went to Steven's house to pick him up before taking flight.
"So how everything with Jamie?"
"Honestly, I can't get enough."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I really like what I have with Jamie."
"That's good. I'm happy for you." They both shared a smile before Lapis picked up the pace. Today, they were going to Empire City to check out one of its play, Lamie. It would help Lapis for when she auditions for Jamie's play.
A few hours later, they were in the air on the way home. Lapis had a sour look on her face as she flown away from the metropolis. Steven could tell Lapis was not in a good mood. During the play, which was great, there was this guy that wouldn't stop harassing Lapis. At first, he asked for her name and she found no reason to refuse. "Lapis Lazuli? That's a pretty name. Pretty and unique."
"Thank you?"
He leaned his face a bit too close for her comfort. He asked if she wanted to check out some of the places nearby after the play. Lapis refused, saying that she was with Steven. The guy laughed and found it cute that she was hanging out with a boy. He continued with his proposal and eventually, Steven got involved. The man could not pick up the fact that Lapis was not interested; perhaps he did, but refused to give up. He told the man directly that Lapis was not interested and the guy pushed Steven back to his seat. "Hey, the grown-ups are talking here."
That did it. Lapis grabbed the man's wrist and forced him to take his seat as well. "Look, I'm trying to watch the play with MY FRIEND. Bother me again, and I'm going to take action." Lapis found no reason to withhold her powers as she displayed it in front of him. None of the Crystal Gems ever told her that their existence was a secret and that man was being an idiot. One could argue that rather than her display of powers, the man became fearful from the expression on her face; bleak and vacant. The man said not another word as he returned to watching the remainder of the play. He was a pale comparison of his former self, but at least he stopped tormenting Lapis.
"Steven, why was that man so persistent in getting me to go with him? I missed part of the play because of him."
"Well..." Steven began, almost pondering about it, but sort of knew why. "I think it's because you're so pretty Lapis. My dad told me before that some guys are like wolves when they see a pretty girl. They are like animals."
"Jamie's not like that." She quickly commented.
"I know. He's one of the good ones."
"Yeah..." A moment of silence occurred before Lapis added something else. "I want to see him. Now."
"We're almost there and he should've finish his route by now. So you can drop me off home."
"Thanks Steven."
"You're welcome Bob."
"My name is Lapis." She insisted, laughing along with Steven for the remainder of the trip.
-End of Omake
oooOOOooo
-End of Chapter 11
Author's Notes:
Well, I finally wrote a chapter 11 that I'm proud of. I now I have been delaying and delaying the actual auditions, but the next one should be it. Please let me know what you think. -sorrowXdarkness
