Take My Hand

Caring

Note: This is my first fanfiction. Thank you for reading.
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Every evening and night Lapis would sit in front of the vast ocean gazing amongst the stars. Sometimes, Pearl would watch through the window, wondering what the Gem was thinking about. She reminds me of myself sometimes, Pearl would think to herself.
It reminded her of when she'd gaze upon the stars after she came to Earth, thousands of years earlier. She knew Lapis missed home, but they all knew that home wasn't what they remembered it as. The place their army rebelled against. The place they could never return to.
As she peered into the night sky, she could see the slight twinkle of Homeworld. She then saw Lapis, sitting where she always would. Pearl remembered that Lapis hadn't said a word all day, not even to Steven. I wonder what's wrong with her. Maybe I should see, Pearl thought. She walked to the door, turned around to make sure Steven was asleep, and walked out into the moonlit field of sand. There, just a couple of inches in front of the tides of the ocean, sat Lapis Lazuli. She was somewhat hugging her legs as she sat, making it seem she was sad about something. Sure enough, she was. Mostly. "Lapis? It's me, Pearl. I know we don't really...communicate with each other, but I just want to know why you've been so quiet. You're not even responding to Steven or Amethyst. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
A swift response.
"I just want to know..."
"What do you care? I'm not a Crystal Gem."
"I know. You saved us from Jasper. Why wouldn't I care?"
This made Lapis feel slightly surprised and puzzled. Why would Pearl, out of all of the Gems, care about how she felt? She nearly killed all of them trying to get home.
"I wasn't protecting you or the other two. I was protecting Steven."
"I know that. You care about him, don't you?"
Lapis paused for a moment, then nodded.
Pearl looked up. "I still want to know what's wrong."
Lapis looked at Pearl for just a second, and looked away.
"I don't feel like this is home. I never believed in this planet, nor do I now. But I feel like something is keeping me from leaving."
"Steven?"
"Mostly."
Pearl smiled.
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