Piece it back together [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 1: Grief

Steven POV

--WARP--

I stepped off of the Warp Pad, taking a deep breath of the countryside air. It had been a while since I had been out to the barn.

I slowly walked towards the Barn, carrying the wicker basket full of supplies in my hand. The barn always looked so lonely, recently.

It had been like that for a month now.

I finally reached the Barn door, before giving it a quick knock.

"Peridot! It's me, Steven! I brought some stuff for you!" I yelled.

No one responded.

"Peridot? I know you're in there. Can you unlock the Barn door for me?"

I heard some shuffling, and before long the Barn door unlocked.

"Thank you! I'm coming inside!" I said, before opening the door.

The inside of the barn was much dirtier than it was before. Dust had piled up in the corners, junk and scrap metal littered the floor, and it was very dark. The only light entering the Barn was from the open door.

I stepped inside, moving some stuff out of my way or that I could trip on. I already knew Peridot wouldn't be on the bottom floor.

I finally made my way to the ladder leading to the second floor loft. I climbed up, being extra careful not to drop my basket.

When I got to the top, I noticed that the TV was still turned on since last time I visited. It was still tuned to static, and the white noise filled the air. The couch placed in front of it was still dusty, and those new Limb Thingys Peridot made were propped up against them.

Like they had been for a month now.

I slowly walked over towards the couch, already knowing who I would find sitting on it.

Peridot.

She sat on the couch in the middle, completely still. She stared blankly at the TV, her expression was empty. She had dried tear marks on her cheeks, and her eyes were half-lidded. She was still pretty dirty. Her uniform (Which was still different than her Crystal Gem one) was ripped in a lot of different places, her visor was cracked, and her hand was still...

Bandaged.

The loft was also kind of a mess. There were papers filled with messy drawings and writing all over the couch. There was a blanket on the floor, one I had brought from one of my last visits. Used up pencils and erasers were scattered, and her tablet sat near the TV, powered off and cracked. And the shoebox, overflowing with images, sat close by the couch, untouched.

I sat on the couch next to her, placing the Basket in my lap.

"Hey, Peridot. I... I brought you some more stuff I thought you might like." I said, opening up the basket.

She scooted over a little, making a little more room for me to be comfortable.

"I brought some more paper and some pencils. I saw you started to run out of them, so I brought some more." I said, taking them out and placing them beside her.

Peridot seemed to react, moving her right hand to gloss over the art supplies.

I let out a small smile before reaching back into the basket again. "I also brought you one of my t-shirts and a pair of shorts. I figured that uniform might be a little uncomfortable, so you can change out of it if you like."

I placed the clothes on the ground in front of her feet. Peridot's eyes darted downwards, before going back up to the TV screen.

"I also brought some more 'Camp Pining Hearts' tapes for the TV, another portable charger for your battery, and a book that Connie brought me when the Gems were keeping me in bed! I thought it was too scary, but you might like it." I said, setting down each item at on the floor carefully.