Lapis and Peridot

I promise.

[Lapis' POV]

Time passed.  How long it was before Peridot came back, I can't tell you. But come she did, after half an eternity, with a shiny timepiece held between two of her fingers. I dropped the water when I heard her footsteps in the corridor and jumped to my feet, relieved. Peridot was coming! My boredom would be cured, if only for a while.

"Peridot!" I smiled when she came into view. She half-smiled back at me, holding up the shiny circular object that was clutched in her fingers.

"I built a timepiece for you," she told me, opening the electric barrier of my cell. "Here you go. It runs on Earth time."

"You built it? For me?"

"Yes...?"

"Thank you!" Forgetting myself for a moment, I hopped forward and gave her a hug. Peridot froze. Even once I realized my mistake, after five seconds or so, and jumped back into my cell, Peridot still didn't move. Her eyes were wide and startled, skin pale. "Sorry sorry sorry... Peridot? I'm sorry... Are you alright?"

Peridot blinked. She blushed, then blanched, then blushed again.

"Peridot!" The green gem didn't react to my call. "Peridot, are you okay? Answer me! Peridot! Peri!"

"...I..." Peridot spoke as if in a dream. Her cheeks had settled on a dark green shade. "...I... I think I'm... fine."

"Are you sure? Because you... Uh..." I hesitated, feeling the awkwardness in the air. Peridot turned her head and looked at me. Her blush didn't fade.

"You– you touched me." Her tone wasn't accusing or emotional, just monotonous and factual. "You hugged me. And you called me by my nickname."

Now it was me who was blushing. "Yeah, sorry, I forgot myself for a moment, it's just that nobody's made anything for me in millennia and–"

"It's... fine," Peridot replied slowly. I blinked at her in surprise. That was not the reply I expected.
"...Here's your timepiece. I'll come back in three or four hours."

And then she was gone, closing the barrier as she left. She had never even entered

~~

It was three hours, ten minutes, and fifty-four seconds later when Peridot returned. She stayed for half an hour and we just chatted: about Jasper, about Homeworld, about Earth. Once again we carefully avoided the subject of the future and present.

After Peridot left, I sat against the wall for a long time, thinking. Just thinking.

~~

The next time Peridot came, almost five hours later, I asked her what she thought would happen in the future. She looked sad and replied that she didn't know, but it was in a tone which implied she did. I didn't ask any more, though. Take it slowly, I reminded myself. I changed the subject and talked about the ocean.

~~

What does she do when she's not here? I wondered. I didn't want to ask her though. I had found early on that if I let Peridot start talking about mechanics and technology, she'd chatter on and on and not stop. It was apparently something she really enjoyed talking about.

My thoughts wandered, as thoughts are prone to do.

~~

When Peridot came again, I was in a mischievous mood. She came into view and hesitated for a moment when she spotted me leaning casually against the wall of my cell. I was giving her a – okay, I admit it – slightly flirtatious look.

"What are you doing?" She asked, opening her fingerscreen as if to remove the barrier but not doing so yet.

"Teasing," I replied, grinning.

"...uh. Why?"

"'Cause it's way too easy to tease you."

Peridot opened the barrier, looking confused. The moment she stepped into the cell and closed the wall behind her, I reached out and snatched one of her fingers.

"Hey!" Peridot jumped back against the wall in surprise (luckily, not the electric one). "Hey! Give that back!"

I smiled and held on to the little green cylinder as it tried to pull away. "Hmmm..." I replied. "I don't feel like it."

"Lapis!"

"Why should I give it back?"

"Because it's mine!"

"So?"

"...so give it to me!"

I grinned and closed my fist. "Can you feel with the finger?" I asked.

"Yes," Peridot replied impatiently. "It's electrically engineered to send sensations to my feeling-system– What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I was twirling the cylinder around in my fingers, observing.

Peridot growled something and stepped towards me, reaching out for the finger. Instead of giving it to her as she was wordlessly requesting, I grabbed onto her metallic limb. Peridot's eyes widened in surprise and horror and embarrassment as something gave a little click and the metal piece fell to the ground.

The good news? She didn't try to hurt me. The bad news? She gathered up her fingers and limb-thing, stomped out of the cell, and vowed never to return.

[Peridot's POV]

How dare she? How DARE she? I fumed. She humiliated me! She took off my limb enhancer! It must have been an accident that she hit the button in just the right way to make it come off, but all the same... How dare she? I told her not to touch me! I told her! And then she stole my touch stump – and played with it – and touched my limb enhancer– Lapis, no, LAZULI was calling after me as I walked away from her cell.

"Peridot! Peridot I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I didn't know!" I turned my head just to give her a final glare before I turned the corner. She looked positively desperate, I noticed. Who cares what she feels? Who cares about her anyway? I don't, that's for sure. She hurt my feelings. I won't let her do it again. I WON'T. 

I collapsed into my seat in the control room and closed my eyes, overcome with conflicting thoughts. My limb enhancer was dropped next to my seat. Without it, my hand felt bare. It was strange, but somehow I also felt... free. I could actually move my fingers. It was a very peculiar feeling. I wasn't sure I liked it.

It only took me about two minutes to get my limb enhancer back on and working, and from then the first thing I did was open my touchscreen and see what Lazuli was doing. She was huddled on the ground in the corner of her cell, and when I turned audio on, I heard her muffled sobs. There were words mixed in with the crying too, though...

"I hope Peridot will forgive me... I shouldn't have teased her... Oh my stars, I'm such an idiot..." Her words dissolved into quiet wails. "I d–don't d–d–deserve to exiiist..."

I was right. Emotions did make one weak.

...so why did I allow my feelings to make me want to forgive Lazuli?