Backstage Protection

A Steven Universe Fanfiction

Chapter 14

A/N: Okay, this is the last chapter before the epilogue and very, gloriously late. OH AND I Know Lapis technically already has her weapons (the water wings) but I wanted some dramatic effect that cannot be gathered with some flight mechanics.

Peridot was about ninety-nine percent sure she had never felt so pressured in her entire life. With the screen in front of her and one of the Crystal Gems occasionally coming to stare over her shoulder, not to mention the endless presence of the Steven sitting in the corner and watching her carefully, she was incredibly stressed out and exhausted.

Her sole finger worked tirelessly to code and send test messages, gnawing her bottom lip relentlessly as her eyelids grew heavier. She didn't need sleep, but oh lord, did she want it. She wanted it from the forced productivity in her mind to the coldness and soreness that came with holding her arm up for extended periods of time.

"Do you have it yet?" Pearl asked, peeking over her shoulder and unintentionally causing the stress levels to skyrocket. Peridot knew the gems were impatient and worried, but this was nerve-wracking enough as is.

She grit her teeth a little. "No. I don't. And I don't think I'm very close either, so don't ask that." The pale gem glanced at her apologetically before practically prancing off to check on Steven.

Peridot continued working, her performance dropping ever so slightly with her exhaustion. She was a tad surprised when small arms wrapped around her from behind and the very familiar feeling of Lapis's cheek pressed against her back came to her.

Relaxation set in almost embarrassingly quickly. "I asked them to leave while you work," the ocean gem explained softly. "I could tell they were stressing you out. I... I should go too, actually. Less pressure the better."

She was about to stand, but stopped when the response was a whine from the other gem. So she returned to her position.

"No. You're helping keep me relax. And I think you're reminding me of why I'm doing this." Peridot spoke, continuing to work on her screen. She seemed to be closer with every passing moment.

Lapis remained silent for a time, just resting against the working technician. She supposed this was a bad time to be asking such a question as the one pressing in her throat, but hey, if they were going to die soon enough it wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Peridot... do you still have feelings for me?"

The green gem tensed and hesitated before clucking her tongue and answering, trying to sound smooth but unable to hide the undertones of embarrassment in her voice. "You'll have to be more specific, Lapis. There are many kinds of feelings."

"Like in a... romantical sort of way."

Well, there was no hiding the blush that spread from her face to her neck. She briefly considered lying, but decided against it.

"Yes. That's the honest answer. However, you made it clear that you do not return my affections, and so I have not pushed it."

She swore she could feel Lapis smile against her back. "Being honest, Peri, I do return the feelings, but my brain told me it was wrong because of what happened back on Homeworld. But now you're doing this, and I guess it makes me feel like you may be worth loving again."

Oh, the odd sense of relief that washed over Peridot was like a blissful dip into the rivers of Heaven above. "Maybe, if we both get out of this alive, we can give it another shot." She spoke, unable to disguise the hope in her voice.

"When this is over and we're both alive, we're giving it another shot." Lapis replied sternly, poking the green gem's back lightly and playfully.

She continued working, but with a smile on her face instead of that half-dead and exhausted expression. She had been coding for hours – maybe days – and would likely be stuck there quite a while longer unless she caught a lucky break.

Having Lapis in such close contact with her, however, helped.

As for the ocean gem herself, she was rather happy indeed. She tightened her grip around Peridot slightly with a tiny sigh, almost in a bliss.

She fell asleep a couple of times while leaning against the working gem, and was startled out of one of these sleeps by a sudden cry of victory.

"I'VE GOT IT!"

She fell to the ground with a slight thud as the other gem jumped up and immediately started a call. Lapis knew right then to just shut up and stay laying where she was; the camera would not be able to hit her at her current level, and Peridot wouldn't lose any shred of how convincing she was.

She watched from the ground as the face of Yellow Diamond appeared on Peridot's finger screen. The ocean gem listened in on the conversation with her breath held.

"Ah. Peridot. Jasper has told me you had a sudden change of heart, and I have been assuming this is true."

"It most certainly is not, ma'am. She is lying; she wants myself and Lapis Lazuli dead. Unfortunately, I lost my comrade whilst running to escape Jasper. Fortunately, I seem to have found an abandoned human home and made my base there."

Honestly, it scared Lapis a little how good Peridot was at lying.

Yellow Diamond seemed to consider this answer, weighing the credibility of two of her most loyal gems. She seemed to choose Peridot's word over Jasper's, luckily.

"Do you require someone to come and collect you?"

"No, ma'am, I-"

Lapis didn't catch the rest of the conversation, because she was distracted by yelling outside. As the green gem kept talking to the leader, the ocean gem quickly crabwalked out of the house and ran to the edge of the porch to see what was going on.

Fuck.

Jasper was there, and she was fighting the Crystal Gems. Pearl seemed to have already been beat, considering she was nowhere to be found, and Steven...

Steven was completely vulnerable and open to attack.

Lapis found herself jumping off the porch without a moment's thought and sprinting between Jasper and the Gems, several tendrils of saltwater coming from the ocean to pool around her feet. The brute seemed to be caught off guard momentarily before moving a fist forward in an attempt to hit the ocean gem.

"You dirty little traitor, I can't believe you're siding with the ones that kept you prisoner -"

Jasper was caught off guard when Lapis caught her wrist with a single hand of water; this seemed to be all too familiar to the catlike gem, so she was distracted with trying to free herself enough that she didn't notice that the ocean gem had just pulled something completely knew from the gem in her back.

Even the Crystal Gems seemed surprised. Nobody had thought she had a weapon, what with her hydrokinesis and water wings. But there stood Lapis, a magestic trident clutched in both of her hands.

She lunged forward and made a stab at Jasper's middle, but her target quickly moved out of the way, and so she attempted a swipe downward which also missed. Lapis seemed to have never used her trident before; her movements were clumsy, uncoordinated, and about as far from professional as one could get. She swallowed thickly before moving forward again, getting a little neater with the jabs she made at the brute before her, though she missed much of the time.

She took a deep breath, in her nose and out her mouth. She needed to figure out a way to take Jasper down, and fast. The hand wouldn't hold her forever, after all, and she had to make sure she could protect Steven... not to mention something within her wanted to impress anyone watching. This was the first time in Lapis's memory where she was on center stage willingly instead of being forced into it or trying to blend into the background.

Time seemed to slow for her as she matched her breathing with the ocean waves beside her, and the idea came as quickly as any idea could come. The hand released the brute, and the Crystal Gems made a sort of collective gasp of shock and horror as Jasper lunged forward at Lapis.

What nobody seemed to be expecting, however, was for several tendrils of water to snake out from the puddle at Lapis's feet and trip the much larger gem, forcing her to the ground. With a quick thrust downward, the ocean gem's trident pierced through the general's back and forced her to poof into her gem.

The shocked silence was deafening for a moment, and Garnet was the one to break it as she walked forward and quickly bubbled Jasper's gem, causing it to disappear.

Lapis put her weapon away, and squeaked in surprise when Steven rushed forward to hug her. "That was awesome!" The boy practically yelled. "You were so amazing! And your weapon is so cool, wow, I really didn't think you had one!"

The ocean gem snorted a bit and patted the mass of curls on his head. "Thanks." She responded, feeling strangely pleased with herself. She had just fulfilled her new mission. Wow, that was nice. But what was she supposed to do now?

Finally, she remembered Peridot. Before she could rush back to the house to check, however, the technician had rushed out the door. "They aren't coming! The planet is safe, and they have instructed me to try and 'keep you in line.'"

Cheers and whoops of victory came from Amethyst, who rushed over to Steven and completely lifted him off the ground and over her head, starting to run around in her joy. Lapis rushed up the porch steps and practically threw herself at Peridot, the two – lovers now, they supposed – embracing happily.

The leader of the Crystal Gems let some celebration time pass before approaching the two Homeworld gems. "What are you going to do now?" The fusion asked casually, looking at the much-shorter pair.

Lapis shrugged. "We don't really have a plan, I don't think. We're figuring things out as we go along. I just know we're not going back home."

Garnet nodded, her face stoic with thought. Both gems really wished they could see what her eyes looked like behind those shades. Then they might be able to tell a little easier – oh, who were they kidding. The fusion was like a puzzle piece, an eternal internal conversation going on that nobody else knew how to work.

"... Well, if you're willing to consider it, there's always room for you among the Crystal Gems."