Rising Tides (Human!lapidot)

Chapter 29

Peridot sighed loudly. Loud enough for the small boy now standing at the foot of the staircase and the girl still on the second floor to hear. She raised from her sitting position, stretched tiredly, grabbed her bag and followed the excited boy up into his room. He looked happier than usual, and that was saying something. Peridot had never really talked to Steven before she met Lapis so she was kind of surprised when he agreed for her to come over and 'babysit'. The quotation marks because he was technically a teenager and could look after himself. But peridot was almost an adult.

Dropping her bag as soon as she entered the room, she sighed again, this time more quietly and sat back down on the carpeted floor, her back resting against Stevens bed. Peridot rubbed her eyes under her glasses, trying to get some much needed energy but it wasn't working. She was tired from her messed up sleep schedule, annoyed that Lapis had ignored her for the entire day, and hungry because she was always hungry. She wanted food but was too scared to ask. This house wasn't familiar to her, it'd be rude to just raid the kitchen for junk food. But her brain made her hesitate, made it seem as if Steven would just let her starve. But, of course, the wasn't the case. As if reading her mind, Steven threw over a a large bag of toffee popcorn for her, his trademark goofy grin on his round face.

"Thanks" Peridot was internally grateful. She popped open the bag and started nibbling on the pieces as Steven and Connie discussed things as they made their way though piles of disks. Connie had a bowl of doritos next to her and occasionally took a small handful when she stopped talking.

"No prob bob!" Steven looked up towards the blonde, his grin widening. Peridot, being the awkward teen she was, smiled back, but this smile was small and awkward. Steven laughed happily and turned back to Connie.

Peridot's heart was beating hard in her chest. That was awkward. She'd never smile again. Her usual scowl was good enough, it basically screamed 'get away from me unless you want to die' and was was okay with that.

The pale blonde haired girl sat in silence, except for the quiet crumple of the packet as she dug her hand in deeper to retrieve the delicious snacks, for what seemed like ages until Steven once again turned around, this time standing up and jumping onto his bed. He lay down on his belly, holding a disk in his hands. Peridot couldn't see what it was but she sure was curious.

"Hey peri~" said Steven, ignoring Peridot's flinch as he said the dreaded nickname. "Wanna play a game?"

"Depends what game" came her reply. Her voice was as deadpan as usual. She sounded bored, unimpressed by Stevens hospitality but secretly, she was curious, begging him in her mind to turn over the disk and throw her a controller.

"Mario kart!" He dragged out the words as he slowly turned the disk as dramatically as a fourteen year old boy could. "I know its super old, but it's still fun!"

"Okay" Peridot had to agree the game was fun but it also repeated stuff a lot and was too much like the DS game. Couldn't they make more new tracks? Maybe new controls?

Steven passed over a controller and turned on the Wii, slipping in the disk and selecting the game. Connie also joined in, clipping her remote into a steering wheel. Peridot preferred it without one, it was easier to control and you could easily check if your remote was upside down and access to the buttons was simpler. But nonetheless, it was Connie's choice and maybe she was really good at this game? Maybe she'd finally have competition instead of Lapis just running into the corners for fun.

They all selected their characters (Steven Mario, Connie Princess Peach, and Peridot Yoshi) and they were finally on the track options.

"Grand Prix?" The boy asked, looking up at Peridot who had moved onto the bed, her popcorn sat in her lap.

She nodded, her blonde hair bouncing as she moved her head. Connie quietly agreed too, she wasn't much of a talker but she was a good listener. Peridot wondered if she was any too at video games too.

The game started and Peridot shot to the front of the group, grinning as she collected the powerups and crossed the finish line.

- - -

The door opened and Stevens dad stepped in, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead and hanging his jacket on a hook beside the door. He looked around the small living room of the house for his son, and not find in him there, began the slow walk up the stairs.

"Hey Steven in home-" his voice trailed of ash opened the door to two figure wrapped in blankets playing on Stevens Wii. The lights were off and the room was almost pitch black except for the faint glow of the TV. Three big bowls of snacks were scattered around them, two empty, one half full.

At the sound of this door opening, Steven had paused the game and both had turned around. Greg had expected Lapis to be round but instead he was met with strangely familiar green eyes.

"Hey" she said casually, waving her hand a little.

"Peridot?" Greg asked slowly.

The green eyed girl stood up, letting the blankets fall from her body. She brushed the crumbs off of her hoodie and looked up at Greg. She was smaller than him, but barely. Steven looked up at the two, wide eyed.

"You know each other?" He asked happily.

"Yeah! I used to work for her mother before I met Rose" he shuddered slightly and Peridot winced too "I used to babysit her. Then they moved away for a bit and I dunno what happened next".

Peridot flicked on the lights and Steven tuned off the console. The blonde stretched tiredly and walked out of the room, saying her goodbyes before grabbing her bag and closing the door behind her.

Another filler chapter that's giving me ideas for even more flashback chapters in the future. I already have one faint idea so watch out for those :')

(Edited)