Lapidot one-shots

.:+ It's just me +:. ❌

A cold, unnerving wind wound it's way around Peridot, and she opened her tired eyes with a grunt. She was standing in an empty clearing, surrounded by all of the crystal gems. They all bore hostile faces, either glowering or merely smirking with disapproval. Confused, Peridot looked around with a befuddled gaze. "Guys?" She asked shakily. "What's going on?"

Steven was the first to respond. The tall, pale human-gem looked down at the much smaller gem with sharp brown eyes, sneering. "You failed the crystal gems! Don't you get it?!" Peridot was taken aback at once by her friend's unforgiving tone, wincing. "Wait! What-"

"Don't even start with that, Peridot." Bismuth chimed in, crossing her arms with a scowl.

"But what-" She started up again, almost instantly cut off by more voices.

"It's your fault!"

"You failed us!"

"Can't you see?!"

The chorus of voices was slowly becoming too much, the angry uproar eating away at her as she spiraled off into thoughts of chaos. What had she done?

"Look what you've done!"

"Absolutely useless and defective.."

"All your fault.."

Peridot felt the painful thudding in her chest disappear as the crystal gems went away, leaving her alone with one other being. "Lapis?.." She whimpered, rubbing her hands together nervously as she awaited the blue gem's response. She would tell her what was going on, right?

Lapis turned around with a cold glare, her eyes sharp with hatred as she eyed the little green gem. "You failed all of us," she hissed, "and you'll be shattered for this."

Claws of fear tore at her as she watched her partner form a giant water hand, raising it dauntingly above her. She squeaked in panic, and tried to run, but something seemed to be holding her in place. She watched in peril as the hand began to come down on her. Peridot didn't know what to think, or do.

She sank to her knees with a small sob, cupping her face as tears slid from her green eyes. She was confused, scared, and hurt. A a blasting wave of pain erupted from her gem as the giant water hand slammed down, beginning to dissipate her form. Mysterious shadows crept across her vision as she continued to cry, slowly corrupting her sight as a strange void swallowed her away, her form finally giving in. She could hear a distant, pleading voice from somewhere; but where? She couldn't tell. Hugging herself close, she closed her eyes and let the strange darkness take her away for good.

...

"Peri?! C'mon, get up!"

Peridot shot up with a gasp as something roughly shook her, her eyes still pooling with tears. She was in a dark, circular room and sitting in a damp hammock. The air felt humid and sticky as unsettling apprehension pricked along her skin, making her surroundings even more surreal. Lapis was knelled in front of her, her set of wide blue eyes focused intently on her shivering form. She looked over with aghast eyes to Lapis, stammering, "I- you-" She tried to speak, squirming away from her out of terror as she eyed her dream's demise. "Peridot, listen to me." Lapis started up, reaching out to place a soothing hand on her, but Peridot only flinched away with a whine. "I'm right here, ok? Calm down and we can talk, I promise it'll be okay." She cooed, flashing a dim smile from the dark as she placed both hands on the hammock edge, leaning close.

Peridot only turned away with another scared whimper, trembling madly. Lapis sighed, understanding the situation as she stood up and stalked away, tears of her own forming at the rims of her eyes. She sat in front of one of their many windows, gazing at the gathering of speckled white stars in the sky. She felt horrible for being the source of Peridot's nightmare, and as she thought on, she wondered if she was the right gem to be by her side. As she was star gazing, she remembered the countless times at the old barn when they would lay beneath the stars and admire the lovely view from earth. She remembered how they'd talk for hours in the night, sharing stories and gawking about camp pining hearts. She missed those days.

"Lapis.." Peridot finally cried, turned around from the hammock. "Yes?" Lapis echoed, spinning to meet her, furiously blinking away her tears. "Would you ever hurt me?"

The world seemed to stop for a minute.

"No," Lapis hurried, "I'd never hurt you, and I swear on my gem I wouldn't!" She added, looking away. "I promise, I'll never leave you again either. I care about you, ok?" She finished with a fading voice, another gush of tears brewing a storm in her eyes.

Peridot hesitantly looked up to meet Lapis' encouraging gaze. Lapis held her arms out, giving Peridot the choice to come over if she wanted to.

"It's just me Peri, I'm right here." Lapis' voice was barely above a gentle whisper.

Peridot's gaze flickered between Lapis' kind, blue eyes to the welcoming embrace she was offering. With a sob Peridot leapt off of the hammock and threw herself into Lapis' arms, burying her face into her chest as she continued to cry.

Lapis wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend at once, nuzzling her briskly as the little gem clung to her clothing, sniffing madly. "Lapis, what did I do?! What did I do wrong?! Tell me!" She demanded, squeezing her tighter as her anxiety threatened to sweep her away. Lapis shot to an explanation at once. "You didn't do anything! Just.. calm down, it.. it was just a nightmare.."

Lapis cradled the shivering gem in her arms, slowly rocking her back and forth as she continued to cry. At last, the little gem went limp in her arms, exhausted but still shuddering as she took deep, heaving breaths. Lapis stood, picking her up bridal style. Peridot squeezed her eyes shut, leaning into Lapis as she slipped into the hammock to lay down, pulling her into a tight snuggle as she began to stroke her pointed yellow hair as soothingly as possible. Peridot burrowed her face into Lapis chest, shivering uncontrollably as she muttered incoherent gibberish about her nightmare.

"Hey," Lapis began, "remember that I love you, ok? I promise that i'd never, ever hurt you like that." Peridot hardly managed a nod from within her sobbing, clutching tighter to her as she continued to cry. Lapis curled around her mess of a girlfriend protectively, searching for one of her hands to hold. She planted a series of kisses to her gem, sighing as she finally relaxed in her arms, squeaking as she nestled underneath her chin, nuzzling her.

Lapis sighed, clasping her hand with one of Peridot's as she strung her open arm further across her body, trailing it along her still form. Once she had realized the little gem had finally managed to fall asleep again, she too let herself doze off, sighing contently as she gave one last loving nudge into Peridot's fluffy yellow hair, adorned by its mechanical smell. She felt her breathing ease as sleep washed over her, and she soon drifted off, still tightly wrapped around Peridot as she did so.

A/N: Props to some amazing buds of mine on a discord for helping me write this!