Smile

"Lapis Lazuli!"

"Mm?" Lapis looked up at the half-gem who'd called her name, her eyes half-lidded as they permanently were these days.

"I'm going to get you to smile again!" Steven declared with a grin.

"Why?" asked Lapis. "There's nothing to smile about. Home isn't home anymore. I went there. I was imprisoned. Again. And then, the second I got free, Jasper imprisoned me in that fusion. And then I had to imprison myself." She looked down at her clenched fists, remembering the power she'd had to hold over the ocean. The power that she was still recovering from now.

"Well, yeah, that was awful," said Steven. "But bad stuff happens to everyone. You can't let it get you down." Lapis sighed. He really didn't understand. He was still so naïve. Even after the fight with Peridot and Jasper. Even after the fight with Malachite. He just never seemed to lose that starry-eyed optimism. She'd been like that once. How stupid of her.

"Oh, really? And I'm sure the other gems are just little rays of sunshine all the time too," said Lapis.

"Well, no. Not all the time," said Steven. "I get sad because I can't be my mum. Dad gets sad because he misses mum. So does Pearl. Amethyst gets sad talking about her past. And Garnet... well, I guess she gets sad when she sees two people being made fun of for loving each other. But she mostly shows it as anger."

"Most of that was a long time ago, Steven," said Lapis. "They've had time to get over it. I've only been free for a few weeks."

"Aww, c'mon, what happened to that funny Lapis who was making fart jokes with me at Mayor Dewey's beach thing?" asked Steven.

"She died at the bottom of your ocean," said Lapis, her voice deadpan. Steven blinked at her.

"O-kay," said Steven. "Well, I'm still not giving up on you, Lapis! We're gonna get a smile out of you yet."

"We?" Lapis repeated, now a little more alert at the possibility of one of the gems interfering with her again.

"Mm-hm!" Steven nodded proudly. He drew in breath to call her. Oh no. Please no. Not her. Anyone but- "Amethyst!"

And just like that, the small purple gem was standing next to Steven, grinning with a fiendish glint in her eyes. Lapis groaned.

Somehow, after much pleading and some light threats, the two smaller gems managed to get Lapis to trail along after them. They held her by the hands, but Lapis still dragged her feet. Of course, the wings currently spraying them with water could easily take her away from them, but it just wasn't worth the effort. They'd just drag her back out. No matter where she went. Steven was stubborn, and Amethyst just liked to cause trouble.

"What are we doing here?" asked Lapis, looking up at the sign.

"It's a joke shop," said Steven. A small human walked out of the store, looking around shiftily and carrying something in a bag clutched to his chest. Steven grinned at him, though, and waved. "Hey, Onion!" The smaller boy squinted his eyes at Steven, made an 'I'm watching you' motion, and slowly backed away, never taking his eyes off Steven.

"Steven, I have no idea what you see in that kid," said Amethyst.

"Eh, Onion's cool," said Steven with a shrug. Lapis was confused, but Steven took the opportunity to pull her inside the joke store. Now she was even more confused. Silly putty in small toilets, itching powder, fake wounds, fake blood, fake vomit, containers of nuts... well, she didn't share Pearl's aversion to eating, and she did like the sound of nuts.

"Steven, could I have those?" asked Lapis, pointing to the nuts.

"Oh, I'll get them for you," said Amethyst. Lapis had no idea why the two were grinning. They snickered when she took the container, and she frowned in confusion.