Thursday morning, The Barnyard

"Okay, I think we've both gone too far with this. You were right, I was being stubborn and we should go. I'll go to the temple, just please put the truck down." Lapis pleaded with Peridot from inside the confines of the high floating truck.

"Pfft," Peridot rolled her eyes at Lapis' plea. "I remember hearing you say that at some point before and yet, look where we are now. I'm not letting you down until Steven arrives. Although, I might be more inclined to drop the truck if you weren't threatening me with the whole darn lake!" Peridot exclaimed, noting the shimmering nature of the shadows in front of her that towered over her own solid disruption of the sun's light.

She was painfully aware that Lapis could at any point in time drop the entire mass on her with the weight of several tons. She was also painfully aware that if Lapis was really thinking right now, she'd have just flown out of the truck, crushed Peridot, and moved on with her day. On the bright side though, Lapis wasn't taking that course of action and that was good enough for Peridot.

Lapis on the other hand was in total turmoil at the moment. She scrunched up her face as she tried to recollect how her and Peridot had ended up using their powers against each other.


Earlier that morning…

Lapis wasn't feeling very well that morning. She was feeling anxious about seeing the gems again and it was beginning to affect her physical form. Not only was she feeling an odd need to pace about, but there was a tight knot forming in the pit of her stomach and she didn't like it.

It was all stemming from this meeting with the Crystal Gems and the closer it got to the time to call Steven, the tighter the knot in her stomach became. The tighter the knot became, the more she doubted that this would all work out. It was just a vicious cycle of anxiety and doubt.

"Who am I kidding? Peridot's right. It's been literal ages since the last time I've had the chance to talk with another Gem and just have a conversation. I'd just screw the whole thing up. Besides, I'm confident they don't really want to talk to me either, considering I've tried to kill them three times now.Not to mention bringing Homeworld back with me. I nearly got Steven killed and this is the worst idea ever. They're gonna destabilize and bubble me and then that'll be the end of Lapis. They hate me. I hate m-" She was just turning in circles in her own head now.

"Lapis!" Lapis was snapped out of her thoughts as Peridot grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lapis lied, more to herself than to Peridot. "I just… I-I don't want to go anymore Peridot." Lapis let the words slowly fall out of her mouth. She wasn't completely there yet and she knew it was showing on her face, but she couldn't just slip on the bored mask that she was so used to wearing now.

Peridot didn't look surprised. She did look worried though. She looked Lapis right in the eyes as she spoke slowly and carefully as if Lapis was made of glass and her words might shatter her very being. "Lapis. You are going through something that I have never encountered before. Provided, I'm a very young gem, but I would think I would hear something like this at the Kindergarten. Nonetheless, because of this, I lack the knowledge and capability to help correct whatever is affecting you. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst are much older and are more capable of assisting you through sheer experience, than I am capable of on my own. Even Steven, as short lived as he is, is far more capable of comforting you than I am. Are you following me?" Lapis nodded numbly. "Good. So we're going to go to the temple. You're going to talk to them. They will think of a way to help you. Once they figure something out, you'll be able to go on missions and even help them with their problems. Now, I'm going to alert Steven and the others that we're prepared to go. Okay?"

Lapis wanted to believe Peridot. She really wanted to think that the other Gems could help her. She wanted to think that it would all be okay. But there was no way any of them could help her. You simply don't cure a fear of heights by throwing someone off of a balcony. Similarly, you couldn't solve a fear of social interaction by locking a person in a room with several people who that person barely knew.

"No. I'm not going to the temple. I don't want to talk to Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, or even Steven. They can't help me and they're only going to make it worse." Lapis said with steel in her voice.

Peridot's face shifted several times from pained, into fear, and after a moment, determination. "Lapis, you have to do this. How else are you going to learn to trust the gems? Sitting here, watching TV and making meep morps with me might be fun but it can't help you. What I'm trying to do is help you. "

Lapis moved and brought her hands to Peridot's and removed them from her shoulders before wrapping Peridot in a hug. Before Peridot could complain about the sudden contact, Lapis summoned her wings prompting Peridot to squeal in alarm but relax when she felt the familiar pattern of Lapis looping to the truck. She and Peridot simply sat down looking at the TV. If it weren't for the circumstances prior to this, it might have been normal. Lapis wasn't looking at Peridot though and she made an active act of keeping her face out of view while simultaneously looking up at the clouds.

"Peridot. I know you want to help me, but helping is easier if we just sit here and enjoy the things we do here on Earth. Together. Like when we watch 'Camp Pining Hearts' or make meep morps." Lapis stated. "It's not that I don't want your help or anything, I just don't wanna face up to the gems." Lapis stated forlornly.

"Are we done with this little game of yours?" Peridot asked Lapis tentatively. It was clear she wouldn't be having any of Lapis' distraction techniques.

"Yeah. I think I got the whole anxiety thing out of my system." Lapis was really telling the truth. She felt much better now after just talking with Peridot and she was ready to go to the temple and talk about her problems and deal with all this shmaltz. The feeling didn't last though and about five minutes later they were playing the same game they were before. Lapis would tell Peridot she didn't want to go anymore and Peridot and would tell her she needed to go anyways. A short period of time later, Lapis would tell Peridot that she was okay and the cycle would begin again.

After awhile though, both of them were tired of the little game and were ready to poof the other to just get it over with.

"Lapis, come on! This isn't funny anymore! You promised me that you would speak to the Crystal Gems!" Peridot tugged at Lapis with all her might but unfortunately, Lapis was built with more strength than Peridot. A fact that Lapis was remorselessly exploiting at the moment.

"No! I said no! I don't want to go anymore! Why the hell don't you care about how I feel about all of this!?" Lapis shouted at Peridot. She was clearly anxious and more than somewhat scared but Peridot didn't seem to have any intentions on letting her go.

"I don't care about what you want, Lapis. I care about what you need! And right now you need to attempt to interact with the other Crystal Gems! Whether you like it or not!" With every sentence she tugged harder and harder at Lapis who had just water-shackled her entire torso to the truck.

"Peridot I'm not going anymore." Lapis simply said firmly.

"Arrgh! Fine if you want to play this game, I'll make sure to prove my superiority!" Peridot exclaimed throwing up her hands and extending the palms towards the truck. Lapis was struck by the sudden inclination that maybe she should sit inside of the truck instead of in the truck bed. No sooner than she had somehow managed to crawl her way into the cockpit of the truck, it began to rattle. As she watched Peridot scrunch up her brow in concentration, Lapis idly wondered if Peridot would actually manage to pick up the whole truck. She wasn't very good with her powers yet and she wasn't sure that Peridot wou-

"Whoa!" Lapis shouted as the truck shook free from it's hazardous location in the barn.

"Now, if I really need to I'll just take the whole truck!" Peridot exclaimed. It was taking most of her concentration but Peridot actually managed to hold the entire truck about twenty feet in the air. Lapis was completely furious the little green gem actually thought it might be okay to threaten her and so she summoned her own ultimatum for Peridot. A massive hand appeared out of the water of the pond behind Peridot. It was pretty clear to Lapis the Peridot realized it was there because Peridot's gaze was directed towards the shadow displayed by the water. It was right about then, as they were squaring off against each others powers, that Lapis realized that this was stupid and they didn't need to come to violence to reconcile this. Peridot had been right all along, There was something wrong with her…

"Okay, I think we've both gone too far with this..."


"Fine, fine, fine." Lapis motioned with her hands and Peridot was happy to hear a squelching sound behind her and the retreat of the shadow-play in front of her.

Peridot visibly relaxed and slowly returned the truck to it's original placement in the barn. When the truck was returned to it's hazardous placement in the face of the barn, Lapis flew out from the truck and refused to look at Peridot. She knew she should apologize to her but honestly she didn't want to admit it and she didn't think it was her fault. Not the unprecedented use of powers anyways. That was all Peridot's doing. No, she was thinking about the fact that several times in the past few hours, she had to argue with Peridot about how much she was scared that these gems would worsen her current anxiety. She knew it was the only way to do this but she wouldn't dare admit that to Peridot. Not while she was sensible at least.

"Sooo… How soon can we leave before I get the chance to back out again?" Lapis asked, tentatively trying to avoid the subject of what just happened.

"Well, if you're done with all of your outbursts finally then we could leave now."

"Yeah… Let's do that..." Lapis had to force the words out of her mouth. She really didn't want to go but there was clearly something wrong with her and she'd had enough. It was gonna suck but she wanted to get this done and dusted so she go back to feeling like herself.

"Wait, isn't Steven supposed to be coming? Why would he come by if we could just use the warp pad?" Lapis questioned.

"Well, the point of Steven coming by and accompanying us was in the effort that you might feel less inclined to leave if he were nearby, as he was the person you were most familiar with." Peridot explained matter-of-factually.

Lapis simply stared at her hard for a moment before responding. "And with all that's happened this morning you honestly still believe that to be Steven?" Lapis knew Peridot could be dense when it came to the feelings of others, but she was really hoping that Peridot wasn't serious right now.

"Why wouldn't it be Steven? I would think that as the person who freed you from the mirror, his presence would be comforting. Also, you seem to associate with him almost effortlessly from what I've seen." Lapis simply took a deep breath. She really liked Peridot. Despite the interesting morning they'd had, she had actually come to enjoy Peridot's company because despite what one might think, she enjoyed the energy Peridot brought with her. The little green gem dove into anything with an almost unnatural fervor. Even when she was attempting to understand the feelings of others, which she always had trouble doing, she put in more effort than anyone should have the energy to do. It might actually be even easier to imagine this if you thought about how easily someone else might have just thrown the whole day when faced with Lapis' stubbornness. Besides that, she and Lapis had bonded strongly over the last month they'd spent together watching TV and making meep morps. They made an odd pair of roommates, but at the same time, it also made a lot of sense that the two gems would make good friends. They helped contrast one another in the same way that the sun breaking over a horizon helped to truly make an ocean view a spectacular sight.

Lapis fully believed that if there was anyone who was supposed to calm her, or make her feel comfortable it should have been Peridot. Not that she didn't like Steven or anything, the boy had given her life back and she would always be thankful for that. Not to mention he had helped her to learn that maybe Earth could be an interesting place. Lapis just wasn't sure how to feel about Peridot not knowing that she was important to her. No matter though. Peridot probably just over thought the situation.

"Hmm. I guess. But next time, I'd much rather just go with my favorite little Peridot." Lapis smirked at Peridot who had just turned a deeper shade of green.

"Hey Lapis, Peridot!" As if on cue, Steven came running from around the corner of the barn. As usual, he was dressed in his normal pink shirt with a star in the center and his casual blue jeans.

"Hey there Steven," Lapis replied with a slight smile on her face. "It's great to see you again!"

"Hello Steven! We should get going so that Lapis can get caught right up with the other gems." Peridot quickly stated, clearly trying to get going before Lapis could have another change of heart.

"Uh, sure?" Steven said, clearly confused at the obviously rushed greeting.

"Okay great let's go!" Peridot started tugging Lapis and simultaneously shoving Steven who didn't ask questions.

"Hold on, Peridot what's the rush? We've barely even said hi to each other." Steven halted his movement, barely resisting the still moving Peridot.

"Look, until five minutes ago, I was convincing Lapis not to cancel this planned meeting and honestly I feel she might try to cancel again so I would rather we proceed to the warp pad before she has another chance to change her mind.

"Uh, okay?" Steven was simply at a loss at this point and decided that they would just go.

They all stood on the warp pad and just before the pale light of the warp engulfed them Lapis had another pang of anxiety hit her right in the gut.

When they finally completed the warp, Lapis was greeted by the less familiar sight of the temple and it's regular occupants. Amethyst sat on the counter-top eating a bag of chips. She also seemed to have slightly modified her clothes. This time hew shirt was white and was her pants black. Her normally unruly hair also appeared to be tied back in a mid ponytail. Garnet and Pearl seemed to be both conversing on the couch but stopped when they saw the warp pad activate. Lion was lying nearby the doorway of the house, with one eye peeked open to observe those who had disturbed his slumber, but it was quickly closed upon identifying Steven. Lapis made a mental note to ask him what that creature was when she got the chance.

"Hello Steven, Peridot, Lapis." Garnet greeted them all with a nod.

"Sup Steven, P-dot, Lapis. How's it going" Amethyst greeted casually as if she talked to them every day.

"Oh, welcome back Steven. It's also nice to see you again Peridot…" Her face shifted almost imperceptibly when she looked at Lapis "… Hello Lapis." Pearl greeted awkwardly with that same unidentifiable look in her eyes. There it was again. That barely discernible trace of an unrecognizable emotion that Lapis had come to hate. She wasn't going to enjoy this scenario in any case but if she had to keep looking at that damned Pearl, she might gouge out those wide blue eyes of hers. Which would be a shame really.

"Hi." Was all she responded, not really trusting herself to deliver anything longer than that, for fear that she might squeak instead of speak due to the knot in her stomach. In all honesty, it was nowhere near as bad as she expected it to be but she didn't feel like she needed to invite the opportunity for it to grow to it's expected tension.

"Hello Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst." Peridot responded in a similar manner to Garnet, and proceeded to sit at one the bar stools with Amethyst.

"Hey guys." Steven responded to everyone, cheerfully stepping off the warp pad and sitting at one of the chairs positioned near the table.

Lapis was now the only one that hadn't taken a seat and she was deciding if she wanted to when Garnet spoke up.

"Well, now that everyone is here, let's get started." Garnet stated, standing up and walking towards Lapis but stopping a few steps away. "Lapis, Peridot has told me of your situation and your want to join the Crystal Gems on missions. To be honest, I can't allow an unstable gem as yourself to go on missions with us. At least, not until you've proven that you can get a firm grasp on that which is troubling you, and learn to keep calm. So, to that end, you will have a mentor of sorts. Someone who will be there for you when you are having trouble, and can assist you in moving forward. But first, I need to know from you exactly what those troubles are. I understand if you are uncomfortable sharing but unfortunately, we cannot make progress without information of what it is you're going through." Garnet set off straight to the point without any frills. Lapis appreciated that direct approach in the same way a convicted criminal appreciates a quick and painless death. She didn't want to speak but she understood that Garnet was trying to tell her that constantly running from this would only extend the duration of the process.

"Mhm..." Lapis scanned the room, idly buying time to compose her words, and walked towards the cushioned bench near the entrance. She sat down and was silent for some time, appearing to be in deep thought, which she was. But she didn't appear to be in self contained panic either, which she was.

"Damnit! I didn't expect her to have me explain myself right off the bat. There wasn't even enough time for me to think of anything. They're all staring at me! I wish they'd stop, it's making it worse! I need to think! I need to say something! What do I say? What did she even want… Why are they still… !" Lapis' brows began to furrow and she felt like she was gonna scream. Unfortunately, she wasn't in the state of mind to ignore her inclinations right now.

"STOP STARING AT ME!" Lapis shouted, her own troubled thoughts manifesting themselves in an angry shout. For a moment, everyone was shocked and Lapis was afraid she'd screwed up the whole thing. "Wait I'm sorry! I just… I'm… not comfortable with everyone staring at me like this. That's one of the things. I hate all this attention." Lapis started, realizing she could keep going but only if she didn't let this momentum stop.

"You all make me uncomfortable and It's not because of the stares, just thinking about you all makes me uncomfortable because we haven't exactly interacted under the best circumstances as a matter of fact I've tried to kill everyone in this room at least once and I don't get how you can all be so calm right now and not try to poof and bubble me on the spot and that's just as weird as you all trying to kill me or the other way around." She took a moment to take a deep breath and restock her lungs. There was a small hitch as she breathed though and she knew this wasn't going to last much longer. "And the real truth is that you all scare me," Her eyes were starting to water now.

"but at the same time I hate all of you," she was starting to shiver now,

"You all kept me in that stupid mirror like I wasn't a gem too!" Now the tears were rolling but she couldn't stop or she'd never get the words out.

"I just wanted to get out and then you just wanted to shove me back like I'm some plaything for your fucking amusement!" Now she stood up, her sadness roiling within her and mixing with the fury she thought she had forgotten until now.

"I barely even remember who I was because of all of this!" Lapis was shouting now, but the words came out in angry garbled sobs like she couldn't decide which emotion she felt more.

"And the worst of it all is that I still wanna be friends but I just DON'T! KNOW! HOW!" Each of her last words were accentuated with a defeated looking flail. At this point she broke down and simply slumped to the floor, sobbing and holding herself and shivering.

She felt strong arms wrap around her and she fell into them. Under normal circumstances, Lapis might have shoved them away, but right now she felt incredibly vulnerable and just didn't care. She wrapped her arms right back around the small frame and continued to cry, and after some time, she felt sobs that weren't even her own. She heard the other person weep out a single "I'm sorry" And then they cried together, sharing her pain. She never even opened her eyes, she just continued to cry against the other person and eventually she had exhausted herself into hiccups, and from there sniffled whines. By that time, she felt physically and emotionally exhausted and there was an odd tug at the back of her mind. It was accompanied by the dimming of her senses. She was compelled to simply give in to them, just because it was so compelling to just stop and rest. Just this once… maybe she'd indulge in sleep… It was just so… Warm. Comfortable… Safe.

Then she slept. A contented, dreamless sleep fueled by the warmth and safety of her partner's arms.


Lapis awoke groggily and to the sight of distorted wooden panels. She was lying on her back and she was on something cushy. After a very brief observation of her surroundings, she decided she was back at the temple and she was in Steven's bed. She couldn't exactly remember what she was here for though, which was weird. Was she on Steven's bed before? Why was she at the temple anyways? Her throat felt funny and her limbs heavy.

"If this is what happens every time humans fall asleep, they live a cursed life." Lapis mused. Suddenly she remembered that she had slept. "Well there's one piece of the-OH MY STARS I BROKE DOWN IN FRONT OF THE OTHER GEMS." It all came back all at once like a deluge. Lapis was supposed to just tell the gems what was wrong but instead of calmly telling them, or even shouting at them, she had to shout and then have a mental breakdown. She remembered someone crying with her and then falling asleep with them but she was in such a state she didn't know who it was. She was inclined to believe it was Peridot though. She quickly shook that idea from her head. That person had actually cried with her. Peridot might do a lot of things in that situation, but cry was not one of them. Steven maybe? No, the frame was a bit too small to be Steven. The boy was small, but he was built more solidly than the person she held. Maybe it really was Peridot? The other gems certainly weren't about to do it. Huh, she'd have to make it up to Peridot somehow because Peridot was bound to be reeling after a scene spent crying with Lapis.

"Now I need to get up. But I'm just so… heavy? Why do all my limbs feel so heavy and slow? Seriously it was nice at first, but now it's just impeding my progress." Lapis slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her action was rewarded by the sound of an all too familiar high strung voice that startled the poor blue gem.

"Oh! Lapis, you're awake." Lapis turned to see Pearl sitting on the same cushioned bench that Lapis had been sitting on previously. Pearl stood up but then she looked conflicted before tentatively taking steps towards Lapis.

"Pearl. Where are the others?" Lapis asked, not wanting to be trapped alone with Pearl. She managed to swing her legs over the bed but she just wasn't used to the stupor of sleep and was still figuring out how to shake it off.

"Well, Garnet, Amethyst and Peridot went on a mission. I figured Peridot should stay here with you but Garnet demanded Peridot participate. Steven was whisked away by Connie a few hours ago but they should be back soon. Right now it's just us." Pearl said as she continued to slowly take more steps towards Lapis while fidgeting. She was at the stairs now.

"Okay…" Lapis noted that Pearl was still climbing the stairs. Slowly, clearly conflicted about every step she took. "Pearl. I… um." She had to force herself to avoid Pearl's eyes. If she looked into them, Lapis knew she would be rooted in place and wouldn't be able to look away. Then, there would be no escape at all. She forced herself to keep looking at her prim ballet flats. Lapis didn't know what to say and her mind only blanched whiter and whiter as Pearl took those slow, painstaking steps up the stairs. Every step she took, Lapis' knot grew tighter. She couldn't speak at this point. She didn't want to break down again. Not like this, so she simply let Pearl continue her advance.

"Lapis I'm sorry." Pearl said. She had reached the top of stairs and was now standing over Lapis and fidgeting with her fingers. "I… I knew you probably didn't think too fondly of me or the other gems. I just… I thought it was all over now. I thought that maybe with the little that we had been through, you had forgiven us. Clearly, I was wrong. I just hope that you can forgive us. I hope that you can forgive me."

"W-well… I… I accept your apology. But I don't forgive you." Lapis then focused all her willpower into forcing herself to stand up. She was still not totally in control of herself though because when she tried to step past Pearl she stumbled.

"Ah!" Lapis screamed but couldn't right herself. Her limbs still felt like lead, and she was about to fall down the stairs. She would have too, if it wasn't for Pearl, who caught her and pulled her back into an upright position. Unfortunately, Pearl was just cruel enough to pull Lapis into a position where she was forced to look her full in the face, and by consequence, into her eyes.

They were so wide, they were normally large but they were even wider now due to Pearl's concern over the fall. Just like before, Lapis thought it was such a shame eyes like those were on someone she hated so much. In those eyes she saw an emotion. But today it was different. It wasn't that unidentifiable negative quality that she normally saw. It honestly wasn't even anything she wasn't expecting. It was just concern. Plain and simple. She was concerned because Lapis might have hurt herself.

"Lapis, are you hurt?" Pearl asked, and then she realized just how close she and Pearl were. Lapis was practically cradled in Pearl's hands with one hand on her back to stop the fall and the other clasping Lapis' wrist for control. Lapis could feel the warmth from Pearl's hands and it would have been comforting if not for the fact that it was coming from Pearl. Neither of them said anything until the warp pad activated at which point both of them blushed shades of blue and parted. Lapis nearly stumbled again, but the odd interaction had helped her wake up and she was quickly able to regain her balance this time.

"Well, I see you two are getting to know one another. Which is good." Garnet spoke when she observed them for a moment. "Because as I have decided, Pearl will be your mentor until you are prepared to go on missions. And possibly after that to train you as well."

"WHAT!?" Both Lapis and Pearl both shouted at the same time.

"Why her!?" Lapis asked in indignation.

"Garnet you're making a mistake! I think that out of all of us, you would be more qualified for this!" Pearl shouted.

"Because she is more capable of dealing with your emotional ranges than Amethyst or myself. I may understand the emotions of others, but I lack the ability to correctly project my feelings. Amethyst on the other hand, can also understand feelings, but she can be rude and crass and even ignore those feeling. You, Pearl, are an excellent conversationalist capable of interpreting and expressing your feelings. Combined with your motherly nature, you are simply the most logical choice to shepherd Lapis until she is capable of controlling her emotions on her own. This is my final decision on the matter." Garnet then began to walk back into her section of the temple but was interrupted by Lapis.

"Hold on, why not Steven or Peridot? Why not anyone else who I actually want to hang out with!?" Lapis shouted. She didn't want to have to hang out with Pearl. How was Pearl supposed to help her? She didn't even like Pearl.

"Steven may be charismatic, but he lacks the experience to actually do anything more than make you feel better at times. That is not what you need. You will need someone who can walk you through the steps required to calm yourself down to levels in which you can perform coherent thought. Peridot, in a similar fashion, will only be able to bring those emotions out and then you will have a lengthy recovery time as you will have to experience emotions that Peridot does not familiarize herself with. I am truly sorry about this morning Lapis, and I didn't mean to cause you so much distress by placing you at the forefront of conversation so immediately. I only wanted you to be able to relieve yourself of your grievances with us. It was a gamble that I took at your expense and I'm sorry for that. I promise I only want to help you in this situation. This morning was a perfect example of what I don't want you to have to endure for long periods of time. I understand that you may not enjoy the arrangements right now, but eventually when you're more stable you may be able to see that I was only performing the best of my and the other gem's abilities. Now, I have an extremely dangerous artifact to burn. So if you'll excuse me." Garnet continued walking towards the temple door and into the burning room.

"Arrgh!" Lapis screamed at simply everyone and stared at Pearl.

"I-I'm sorry Lapis, I don't know what to do… well I guess I'll have plenty more time to make it up to you now right?" Pearl smiled meekly, clearly at a loss of anything else to do.

"Make it u-" Lapis and the rest of the gems turned to see Steven and Connie rush into the door with concern on their face. Well, Steven had concern on his face, Connie seemed a little shocked to finally have seen the same person who tried to drown her at some earlier point in time.

"I'm going home now. Peridot are you coming with me back to the barn?" Lapis demanded.

"Uh, yeah" Peridot said.

"Uh, I'm just going to head back to my room soooo… seeyalaterbye!" Amethyst then deigned it appropriate to beat it out of there as fast as she could.

"Okay, Peridot let's… let's just go home." Lapis said tiredly as she activated the warp pad.

When Lapis and Peridot got back to the Barn, Lapis was was mentally burned out and she had an inclination to sleep again. She didn't want to sleep if Peridot wouldn't hold her though, so she would have to be a bit careful about how she asked her. Peridot wasn't known for her love of physical contact.

"So, Peridot… I uh… I wanna say thanks. For today." Lapis started.

Peridot truly looked confused. "I mean, I was just being a great friend. You fought me most of today but now you're thanking me, the great and lovable Peridot. Why am I not surprised? But you're welcome." Peridot said as she snuggled into her portion of the truck and yawned "I'm thinking of sleeping again tonight. I would ask if you would join me but I assume that you're already well rested from...earlier." Peridot stated in tired tone.

"Well, yeah. I am pretty well rested, but it was… 'nice' to sleep earlier today and I was wondering if you might uuhh… hold me like you did earlier until I fall asleep again." Lapis rushed out the last few words in a futile attempt to try to hide her obvious embarrassment.

Peridot opened her eyes and gave Lapis a confused look. "What?"

"W-well, when I was crying earlier I felt you, felt me hug you, I mean you hug me and-and it was just kinda nice and it was the reason I was able to fall asleep and I kinda want you to do it again because I uh, I thought sleeping like that was nice." Lapis tried to get the words out as quickly as possible, hoping Peridot wouldn't simply laugh at her. She would at least be ready for that. She wasn't ready for this.

"Lapis, I didn't hug you when you were crying. Pearl did."


A/N: Dxzstar here, uhh. I didn't plan for this. Seriously the hugging thing was not in the plan and what little plans I had are now blown asunder… um. I'll get on working this into a decent plot. Anyways, other than that I am satisfied. Other than the fact that this was the second time I had to go back and edit a chapter immediately after publishing it. I'll try to be better about that from now on. It's just that I was so tired when I finished, I think I missed some of the less obvious errors. Also, typing out Lapis' little nervousness was hard and hopefully it makes sense but the way it is there is pretty much the only way I can see it making sense. So yeah. So, ladies and gentleman lemme know what you think in the reviews and have a great night.