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readyforevolution · 2 years

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Black History Facts!!!

#Happy90th

#NAACP

Born Myrlie Louise Beasley on March 17, 1933, in her maternal grandmother’s home in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was the daughter of James Van Dyke Beasley, a delivery man, and Mildred Washington Beasley, who was 16 years old. Myrlie’s parents separated when she was just a year old; her mother left Vicksburg but decided that Myrlie was too young to travel with her. Since her maternal grandmother worked all day in service, with no time to raise a child, Myrlie was raised by her paternal grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley, and an aunt, Myrlie Beasley Polk. Both women were respected school teachers and they inspired her to follow in their footsteps. Myrlie attended the Magnolia school, took piano lessons, and performed songs, piano pieces or recited poetry at school, in church, and at local clubs.

Myrlie graduated from Magnolia High School (Bowman High School) in 1950. During her years in high school, Myrlie was also a member of the Chansonettes, a girls’ vocal group from Mount Heroden Baptist Church in Vicksburg. In 1950, Myrlie enrolled at Alcorn A&M College, one of the few colleges in the state that accepted African American students, as an education major intending to minor in music. Myrlie is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On her first day of school Myrlie met and fell in love with Medgar Evers, a World War II veteran eight years her senior. The meeting changed her college plans, and the couple later married on Christmas Eve of 1951. They later moved to Mound Bayou, and had three children, Darrell Kenyatta, Reena Denise, and James Van Dyke. In Mound Bayou, Myrlie worked as a secretary at the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company.

When Medgar Evers became the Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1954, Myrlie worked alongside him. Myrlie became his secretary and together they organized voter registration drives and civil rights demonstrations. She assisted him as he struggled to end the practice of racial segregation in schools and other public facilities and as he campaigned for voting rights many African Americans were denied this right in the South. For more than a decade, the Everses fought for voting rights, equal access to public accommodations, the desegregation of the University of Mississippi, and for equal rights in general for Mississippi's African American population. As prominent civil rights leaders in Mississippi, the Everses became high-profile targets for pro-segregationist violence and terrorism.

In 1962, their home in Jackson, Mississippi, was firebombed in reaction to an organized boycott of downtown Jackson’s white merchants. The family had been threatened, and Evers targeted by the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1967, after Byron De La Beckwith's release in 1965, she moved with her children to Claremont, California, and emerged as a civil rights activist in her own right. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Pomona College. She spoke on behalf of the NAACP and in 1967 she co-wrote For Us, the Living, which chronicled her late husband's life and work. She also made two unsuccessful bids for U.S. Congress. From 1968 to 1970, Evers was the director of planning at the center for Educational Opportunity for the Claremont Colleges.

From 1973 to 1975, Evers was the vice-president for advertising and publicity at the New York-based advertising firm, Seligman and Lapz. In 1975, she moved to Los Angeles to become the national director for community affairs for the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). At ARCO she was responsible for developing and managing all the corporate programs. This included overseeing funding for community projects, outreach programs, public and private partnership programs and staff development. She helped secure money for many organizations such as the National Woman’s Educational Fund, and worked with a group that provided meals to the poor and homeless.

Myrlie Evers-Williams continued to explore ways to serve her community and to work with the NAACP. Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley appointed her to the Board of Public Works as a commissioner in 1987. Evers-Williams was the first black woman to serve as a commissioner on the board, a position she held for 8 years. Evers-Williams also joined the board of the NAACP. By the mid-1990s, the prestigious organization was going through a difficult period marked by scandal and economic problems. Evers-Williams decided that the best way to help the organization was to run for chairperson of the board of directors. She won the position in 1995, just after her second husband’s death due to prostate cancer. As chairperson of the NAACP, Evers-Williams worked to restore the tarnished image of the organization. She also helped improve its financial status, raising enough funds to eliminate its debt. Evers-Williams received many honors for her work, including being named Woman of the Year by Ms. Magazine. With the organization financially stable, she decided to not seek re-election as chairperson in 1998. In that same year, she was awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal.

Sources:

Padgett, John. "MWP: Myrlie Evers-Williams". University of Mississippi. Retrieved October 20, 2011

Goldsworthy, Joan. "Gale - Free Resources - Black History - Biographies - Myrlie Evers-Williams". Gale. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Myrlie Evers-Williams Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com". Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Davis, Merlene. "Merlene Davis: Myrlie Evers-Williams doesn't want us to forget". Kentucky.com. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Jessie Carney Smith; VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft (1996). Notable Black American Women: book II. p. 208.

University of Virginia (June 24, 2013). "Speakers and Guests Bios". virginia.edu. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013.

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niigoki · 8 years

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STEVEN UNIVERSE Title: Never Knows Best - Chapter 28 Rated: M Link to Ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7848907/chapters/22479179 Link to FF.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12115868/28/Never-Knows-Best

The first thing Lapis felt upon waking up was warmth. Her arms and legs were tangled in something – someone – and her heart instinctively jumpstarted. The shock subdued immediately when she realized that the limbs were too thin to be Jasper’s, and that’s when she remembered she’d been sharing her bed with someone else last night.

Finally daring to open her eyes, Lapis let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when she saw Peridot’s face close. A smile slipped into her features easily and she took a moment to stare at her friend.

No, girlfriend now.

Lapis’ cheeks reddened at the thought and she let out a chuckle. It was so silly, that just a simple word could make her whole body tingle with such an amazing feeling. The butterflies went loose on her stomach as soon as she looked down at their position in the bed; Peri had her nose buried on Lapis’ neck, while an arm draped across her waist, holding her close. Their legs were perfectly wrapped up around each other and the bartender snored softly and blissfully. It was a sound Lapis would love to get used to.

This thought surprised her.

She wasn’t one to plan for the future with another person, but with Peridot it just felt… natural. Like she knew she would be there for her tomorrow, and the day after that, and for another month.

Dwelling on such thoughts so early in the morning was a bit suffocating, so Lapis started to move.

“Mornin’…” Peri exhaled against her neck and Lapis halted.

“Hey,” She smiled down at her tiny girlfriend. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t…” The bartender yawned and pressed herself closer. “I wasn’t really asleep.”

Lapis shifted so she could get comfortable again and brought a hand to Peri’s hair, scratching there lightly. “You sure? You were snoring quite deeply.”

“Hmm… did that bother you?”

“Not at all,” Lapis’ eyes softened and she couldn’t hold herself back. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to Peri’s forehead. “Nothing you do could ever bother me.”

Peri just grunted at the words and hugged her tightly. Lapis could feel her skin burn hotly against her own and laughed lightly. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be okay once you are too,” The words flowed without previous thought and Lapis stopped her ministrations in her hair. Peridot had a momentarily delay and then opened her eyes nervously when she realized what she’d said. “W-wait, I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s… it’s ok.” Lapis knew that she shouldn’t take it personally but her insecurities gnawed at the back of her head. In the span of a second the usual dark cloud of thoughts resurfaced and she wondered if she was being a burden to Peridot after all. Maybe she shouldn’t have told her about Malachite, maybe she should have come on this trip with Jasper alone, maybe—

“What I meant was,” Peri finally removed herself from the hug to look at her in the eyes. “I’ll be with you every step of the way today, and I can’t wait for this woman to be out of your life so I can make you happy.” She bit her bottom lip and searched for Lapis’ hand under the covers. “And I promise I will.”

Lapis stared at her for a bit and felt the tears prickling the sides of her eyes. She didn’t want to wake up crying today, but Peridot’s selfless devotion always made it hard to keep it together. So she did what she was able to do at that moment and captured the girl’s lips with her own in a morning kiss. Peri brought her hand to her sides instinctively and stopped when she realized that Lapis was shirtless under the sheets.

“Oh!” She gasped surprised after breaking the kiss. “Right! Clothes!”

“Huh?” Lapis frowned, confused.

“I forgot you were… I mean, that we had…” Peri stuttered, blushing like a school girl near a crush.

“Oh, that’s right…” Lapis looked down and shot her a devious smile. “Wait, why are you wearing clothes?”

“I… kinda woke up I the middle of the night.”

“Hmm, yeah?” Lapis’ eyes softened and she started to move forward to plant a kiss on the girl’s jawline.

“Yeah, t-then I was a bit cold, so I searched for my pajamas.” The kisses slowly moved to her neck. “Which were q-quite far away, by the way. It’s really hard to search for anything properly in the dark, you know.”

“I bet…” Lapis bit her collarbone softly and Peri brought both hands to her hair.

“S-so yeah that’s why— ah,” She arched her back upon feeling Lapis’ fingertips digging the inside of her thigh. “I’m wearing clothes.”

“I see.” Lapis moved up and whispered in her ear. “We should do something about that.”

It took a few seconds of pondering, but inevitably Peridot stopped talking and turned her head so she could steal another heated kiss.

Breakfast could wait.

---

“Are we all here? Let’s take attendance. Amethyst? Oh, that’s me! I’m here. Alright, next. Peridot?”

“You’re awfully cheerful,” Peri rubbed her eyes and yawned, leaning against Lapis. After meeting up at the hotel lobby, the group decided that they would go out and have breakfast together before facing the big thing no one was really looking forward to.

“Alright, grumpy Peridot is here. Lapis?”

“Here.” She decided to humor Amethyst and answered simply, smiling down at the tiny bartender who was still tired from their morning activities.

“See, Lapz knows how to behave nicely. Take some notes, Peridot.”

“Jesus Christ, can’t we just go? I’m starving.”

“Pearl?” Ame ignored her and turned around pretending to look for her boss, who was right behind her.

“Right here,” The woman responded with an affectionate smile, despite rolling her eyes.

“I know, you’re hard to miss.” Amethyst winked at her playfully and received a blush in return. Peridot and Lapis raised their eyebrows and eyed each other, but decided to ask later.

“Now… Jasper?”

“Yeah.” The tallest member of the group mumbled, clearly not in the mood for jokes.

“You’re definitely hard to miss,” Ame whispered to herself, then finally called out the last person missing. “And Bismuth!”

“Yes, we’re all here, now let’s eat before you face something you wish you hadn’t.”

“Like what?”

“Like two starving rugby players,” Jasper pretty much growled, and everyone suddenly clammed their mouths and just nodded.

The restaurant they picked was pretty much empty and there was no line to order food. In a silent consensus, the group made way for Jasper and Bismuth to order first, then sat down. As soon as there was enough food in both player’s stomachs, they relaxed considerably. Bismuth even cracked a smile and started making jokes back to Amethyst, who was surprised at how fun she was.

Lapis and Pearl talked casually about nothing in particular. Pearl just wanted to take the girl’s thoughts away from her mother for as long as she could, so she made up topics quickly and effectively. Peridot inevitably started arguing with Amethyst at some point, and Bismuth joined in the teasing. Even Jasper snickered once or twice, and when Lapis heard the joyous sound coming from her, she blinked surprised.

The fact that they were both smiling moments before facing their worst nightmare again was surreal. Lapis looked around, taking in every detail of the faces of the people who were accompanying her, and felt inexplicably light.

Amethyst’s plump lips and purple streaks in her hair;

Pearl’s tattoos and sophisticated demeanor;

Bismuth’s rainbow-colored dreads and honest smile;

Jasper’s scars, tattoo, and sculptured muscles;

Peridot’s… everything.

Lapis realized that she hardly knew anything about these people, and yet they knew her entire life – that was the sole reason they were even there. A warm feeling rose to her chest and she tried to stop it, but the smile on her face was too genuine to hold back.

She felt someone squeezing her hand and looked down to see Peridot looking at her with a knowing expression.

“Thank you,” Lapis mouthed the words so no one would listen.

“You’re welcome.” Peridot mouthed back.

That was probably what having breakfast with your family felt like.

---

The hospital came into view as soon as they crossed the street, and the weight of the realization was jarring, to say the least.

Malachite was inside that building somewhere, waiting for them.

Lapis and Jasper immediately stopped walking as the building became visible, and the group looked back at them, worried. Bismuth walked over to her teammate and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, asking her if she was okay. Peridot did the same with Lapis, intertwining their fingers in a lovely gesture. Lapis was sure she was having an out of body experience for a second, because her girlfriend’s touch was barely recognizable. She bit her lip and smiled crookedly down to Peridot, then moved her gaze towards Amethyst, as if asking for something.

Ame understood immediately, and walked towards her. “Okay, close your eyes.” She looked at Jasper. “You too.”

“What?” The athlete asked, a bit too briskly.

“Do it.” Lapis’ tone was serious, and Jasper sighed before complying.

“Good. Now breathe in slowly, and count to three…”

Pearl was stunned by how soothing Amethyst’s voice suddenly became and Peridot grinned proudly.

“Now exhale…” The two women followed the instructions. “That’s it. Now say your name out loud.”

“Lapis.”

“…Jasper.”

“What’s your name?”

“Lapis Lazuli.”

“Jasper.”

“And who are the people around you right now?”

“Amethyst, Peridot, Pearl, Bismuth and Jasper,” Lapis recited their names slowly and Jasper did the same after a hesitant pause, just replacing her name with Lapis’.

“And where are you right now? What is this place to you?”

“My home town.” Both sisters said at the same time.

“Good. Now breathe in and breathe out once more.” They did and Amethyst smiled. “Now open your eyes.”

Lapis felt the effects of the small meditation immediately and thanked the girl. She looked at Jasper, who mumbled something about that being a waste of time, but noticed how much more relaxed she was. Bismuth and Pearl looked at each other confused by what just happened, but Peridot quickly explained.

“It’s something Amethyst came up with to calm me down when I have panic attacks,” Her voice was sheepish. “It helps me get a grip on the world around me again, for some reason. I think it helped them, too.”

Lapis and Jasper exhaled again and started moving once more. Soon the group was inside the hospital and then paused, looking for someone to talk to. The lobby was filled with sick people, nurses and doctors rushing from one hall to another, never stopping and always with worried expressions in their faces. Some of them were a lot calmer and helped elderly people into their wheel chairs, or talked to children in an upbeat manner; there was a lot of contrasting actions going on in one place.

Pearl noticed that Lapis and Jasper didn’t want to ask for directions, so she stepped forward and took the role in their behalf. “Excuse me? We’re looking for a patient.”

“Oh, please talk to the receptionist over there,” The nurse pointed with her head and Pearl thanked her, taking the lead.

“Good morning, can I help you?” The receptionist was a lovely young girl with glasses way too big for her face, and greeted them with a beaming smile.

“Yes, we’re here to visit a patient.”

“Of course, what’s their name?”

Pearl looked over her shoulder and was about to ask when Lapis and Jasper stepped forward.

“Mala— Merga Lazuli.” Lapis nearly forgot her real name. She was visibly shivering, and the receptionist gave her a sympathetic look as she searched for the name on her computer.

“Oh, there she is. Miss Lazuli has requested that only two relatives visit her at a time. Which one of you wish to go?”

“We will.” Jasper answered, her voice nearly faltering.

“Very well. May I see your IDs?”

Both women grabbed their documents from their wallets in robotic movements and barely acknowledged the bureaucratic steps that would eventually lead them to the witch.

“May I ask what’s your relationship with the patient?”

“We’re her d-daughters.” Lapis couldn’t even say it without stuttering; it just sounded terribly wrong in her mouth.

“Alright, everything is clear. She will be on Room 404, just at the end of the hall on the 4th floor.”

“Thank you.”

Jasper and Lapis looked back once more, and the whole group smiled and waved, saying words of encouragement. Lapis couldn’t hold herself back and stepped forward, placing a kiss on Peri’s lips before walking away. “For luck.”

“We’ll be right here.” Peri whispered against her mouth and caressed Lapis’ face with the utmost affection. With a nod, the smoker finally turned around to see Jasper and Bismuth finishing their embrace with strong pats on each other’s backs.

“You got this, champion.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Bis.”

And with their goodbyes over, they entered the elevator, going up.

The elevator ride was silent and quick, but it felt terribly slow. Once the door opened and they stepped out, Lapis’ legs seemed to freeze on the spot. It was like her bones were suddenly rusted, and not even the world’s best oil would be able to make them work properly at the current situation. She bit her lip and looked over at Jasper, who was clearly feeling the same. She breathed deeply and forced herself to take the lead and get this over with.

“Come on. We’ll be quick.”

“No, we won’t.” Jasper replied with a tired expression. “There are a lot of things I want to tell her. Don’t you?”

“I… guess.” Lapis hadn’t even thought about what she wanted to tell the witch. Honestly, if she could help it, she’d rather not see her face ever again. “I don’t know.”

They were still standing in the hallway, and soon someone would probably show up and ask them if they were lost, so Lapis started moving. Jasper followed her helplessly and tried to calm her beating heart, to no avail. Malachite’s room was at the exact end of the hall, the number floating menacingly above their heads, and none of them wanted to open that door.

Lapis’ bottom lip was nearly bleeding from how much she’d been biting it in the past few minutes, so she licked it clean. “Okay… this is it.”

“…Wait,” Jasper reached for her wrist gently before she touched the door handle and Lapis stopped. “I need to tell you something. Before we go in.”

“What is it?”

“I…” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “I love you.”

A silent pause hanged in the air for a couple of seconds before Lapis frowned. “What?”

“Yeah, I know, I could have said that better. Your girlfriend gave me this idea,” Jasper was actually blushing over how bad she was at expressing genuine feelings, and if Lapis didn’t know better, she would’ve thought that it was cute. “But I meant it.”

“Why do you always pick the worst possible moments to declare your feelings for me?” Lapis looked away, too awkward to face the athlete directly.

“N-no, not that type of love, idiot!” Jasper’s cheeks were officially red. “I meant as a—” She caught her tongue, not wanting to say it.

“Sister?” Lapis finished the sentence, looking down.

“…Yes,” She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “And I know that you hate that word, but that’s really how I feel about you. You can pretend we’re cousins, or anything else, as long as you’re aware that… that you’re family to me.” Jasper scratched her neck in a weird angle, and stared directly into Lapis’ eyes. “You’re the only one who’s always been there, always. Sure, I have my team to back me up, but when it comes down to it, no one has been through the same bullshit I have. No one else in the world can relate to these things but you. So I just wanted to let you know, before we face her. That I love you. And that all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy.”

With a sharp sigh, Jasper finally felt her shoulders relaxing. It was like taking a weight out of her chest, and even if Lapis didn’t care much for what she was saying, at least she managed to spill it in a truthful way. She would have to thank Peridot later.

Lapis reached out for Jasper’s tattooed arm and caressed the scar gently. Then she slowly brought the hand up to her face and left it hanging in the air, waiting for permission. Jasper blinked twice then closed her eyes, allowing Lapis’ calloused fingers to gently trace the scar’s pattern. Once she was finished, Lapis cupped Jasper’s cheek in the most affectionate way she’s ever had.

“I’m sorry for scarring you.”

Despite having apologized many times, it had never felt as genuine as in this moment.

“I forgive you.” Jasper smiled. The moment was so fragile that it felt like glass, and Lapis finally removed her hand from the scar and placed it on the door handle.

“Let’s go, sis.”

Jasper felt like she could cry.

Then both of them opened the door together.

----

The air was chilling. That was the first thing that hit them – the coldness of the room. Lapis wasn’t sure that such temperature was appropriate for a sick old woman, but she had other things to worry about. Once the door was closed, someone shifted from their position on the bed.

Then they saw her.

“Well…” Her voice sounded shriveled. “I wasn’t expecting an actual response.”

Her slow sentence fit well with the environment, since everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

Malachite was there. In front of them.

And even looking like a decaying corpse, she was still as terrifying as she’s always been.

Perhaps even more.

“Mother.” Lapis and Jasper said in unison, and hated themselves for it. Calling her by this title was such a reflex that they felt like getting therapy the moment their mouths pronounced that word.

“My wonderful… wonderful daughters. You’ve grown so much.” Malachite tried to lift her arms to ask for a hug, but the tubes hanging from it prevented her from doing so. “Come closer.”

Lapis and Jasper exchanged looks before approaching carefully, barely even taking three steps.

“A bit more.”

“We can hear you from here,” Lapis was surprised at her own voice. She held onto Jasper’s arm for support, and received a subtle squeeze on her hand.

“Oh… I see.” She sounded so sad and disappointed. Lapis dug her nails onto Jasper’s tattoo, because she knew what was going through her head as well.

“You don’t want to disappoint mother, do you?”

She refused to let this sentence control this meeting.

“We’re here.” Jasper was the one who talked this time. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Must you be so brute with your sick mother?” Malachite was still so good with her manipulations that Jasper almost laughed.

Seeing her from up close like this now was honestly disturbing. This woman had always been the face of their nightmares for a decade, but now she looked… weak. For their whole lives, Malachite’s presence towered above them like a storm that never seemed to truly go away. They’ve been picturing her as the same woman of their childhood for such a long time; like an eternal deity sitting on her throne, timeless and immortal.

But now?

She looked human.

And the more Lapis and Jasper stared at her, the more details they captured from her wrinkled, pale face, and the less scared they became.

“You should be thankful that we are even talking to you right now,” Lapis felt a surge of confidence and anger mixed up together. She felt angry at Malachite for playing her games on Jasper, and she felt angry at herself for being so afraid of a person that was too weak to even lift her arms. She knew that her mother’s greatest weapon was her silver tongue, but Lapis was not going to fall for anything today. And not ever again.

“I do not wish to argue,” Malachite gave up trying to discipline her daughter. “I just wanted to make up for lost time.”

“There is no lost time. We only started to truly live when we left.”

“On the streets, you mean?” The woman frowned. “Away from the warmth and safety of your home? It’s really a good thing that I found you and fixed your lives for you. And yet, the first thing you do when we meet again is to be rude. I have yet to hear a ‘thank you’.”

“That is the last thing you’re going to hear from us,” Jasper stepped forward, baring her teeth. All the hesitation and uneasiness vanished, and now there were just 10 years of pent up anger. “You didn’t fix anything, Merga, you’re the reason we are broken. You’re the reason we had to sleep on the streets, you’re the reason we’ve had constant nightmares about faceless crowds chanting our names, and you’re the reason I’ve spent twenty years of my life unable to have a healthy relationship with the only person in this world who ever mattered to me!”

The witch’s face took on a somber glint. “I am Malachi—”

“Malachite is the monster you made up to haunt us and make us afraid of ever leaving.” Lapis interrupted, nearly spitting on her face. “And I don’t give a shit if you created this persona to cope with something else, because you molded us into people we never wanted to be for your own sick profit. You’re not our mother, and you should consider yourself lucky for not being in jail.”

The silence cut deep as Malachite gaped at the words. It was like she wasn’t expecting her perfect little experiments to turn on her like this. With not another word, she sunk deeply into the mattress, looking up at the ceiling. The sounds of the machines by her side were clear for the first time since the two girls entered the room, and it looked like her heartbeat rate had gone up.

“You think I’m a monster.”

This caught Lapis off guard. All of her fury dissipated in the air and she took a step back. She had no idea why that sentence had messed with her head like it did; maybe it was the completely defeated tone that the woman had mumbled that. With a tired sigh, Lapis saw two chairs on the side of her bed and walked over to sit down. Jasper followed her, a bit confused, but didn’t question it. They were now eye-level with the witch, but there was no fear or anger in their bodies anymore.

“…I think you are a bad person.” Lapis’ voice tone was quiet and simple.

“I see,” Malachite turned her head and looked at Jasper. “You too?”

“Yes.” Jasper replied.

The witch’s eyes were downcast and she closed them for a long time. Lapis couldn’t stop looking at her; that was the closer she’s ever willingly been to her face, and it was funny realizing that she was a flawed human being like the rest of the world. Merga was just a bitter, twisted old woman at the end of her life now. There wasn’t much she could do to hurt them anymore.

“Do you wish me to apologize?” She asked finally.

Lapis pondered for a bit, but ultimately, she knew the answer. “No. I wouldn’t forgive you, anyway.”

“Jasper?” Malachite’s throat was dry.

“I’m the same.”

“…Very well.” She sighed. “May I ask you a harmless favor?”

“It depends.”

“Could you pass me the cup of water next to you?”

Lapis shifted her gaze to the desk by her side and nodded. She grabbed the glass and waited for Malachite to press the button on the bed that allowed her to sit up. Her arms struggled to even move up, and Lapis sighed. “Here.”

She got up and pressed the cup against the woman’s lips, helping her to drink.

Malachite was truly dying.

“Thank you.” After finishing swallowing she lay back down. “…I doubt I’ll live to see tomorrow. I may not have any right to ask that of you, but… it would please me immensely if you’d tell me how your lives have been going. Jobs, relationships, anything you wish.”

The sisters exchanged looks, wondering if they should.

In the end, they knew that those were probably going to be the last words Malachite was going to hear.

So they complied.

“I’ll go first, then.” Lapis started.

And the first thing she told her, was about Peridot.

---

Peridot’s leg was shaking up and down as she waited in the hospital lobby. Lapis had been gone for almost an hour now, and she was starting to get worried. Oh, who was she kidding, she was worried from the moment the girl vanished into that elevator.

“Want some?” Amethyst offered her a healthy snack protein bar and Peri ate the whole thing in pretty much one bite. “Wow, slow down Speedy Gonzales.”

“Shouldn’t they be back already? I thought they didn’t want to talk to her. What if she ate them??”

“What.”

“She’s a witch, she might’ve gobbled them up or something!” Peri started biting her nails and Amethyst rolled her eyes, grabbing her hands before she bit through raw skin.

“Peridot, they’re talking to a sick old woman who’s got a terminal disease. She did not eat them.”

“You don’t understand how frightening this woman is,” Her brain had been playing Lapis’ story about her life and Malachite in a loop for the past hour, and she was sure she was going to go insane any moment now. “She might have a trick up her sleeve, or—”

Before she could finish the sentence, Lapis and Jasper came into view. Peridot got up and ran towards them with a happy yelp, diving into her girlfriend’s arms without a second thought. “You’re back!”

“We’re back,” Lapis was smiling, which was a good sign. She saw the rest of the group surrounding them and could pretty much see the question hanging from everyone’s minds. “It was… intense. But I think… I think we can finally close this chapter once and for all.”

Jasper nodded in agreement, and Bismuth got worried. “Is she…?”

“She slept in the middle of our conversation,” The athlete replied. “The machine was still counting her heartbeat, so she was still okay when we left.”

“Oh, thank goodness…” Pearl didn’t know how to react accordingly, but she never wished for anyone’s death.

“Yeah, well… that was that.” Lapis shifted uncomfortably. “We can get out of here now.”

Peridot smiled at her and nodded, pulling her hand with intertwined fingers. “Let’s go home.”

That word filled Lapis with an enormous sense of warmth, and she couldn’t help a grin. “Yeah… home.”

After leaving the hospital, Jasper guided everyone back to the station so they could buy bus tickets to return. Peridot stopped for a bit, letting the others walk in front of them, and turned to Lapis. “Um, I just wanted to say that I’m really proud of you.”

The blue-haired girl blinked and smiled. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I—” Peri was about to say that she didn’t do anything special, but she knew that she had. Lapis valued her as someone incredibly important in her life, and she didn’t want to invalidate these feelings. “I’m happy to help.”

“You did more than just help, Peridot. You… you changed my whole life. And I’m not even saying that to be cheesy,” She blushed and hugged the tiny bartender, burying her nose into her hair. “One day I’ll be able to do this properly.”

“Do what?” Peri hugged her back, inhaling her scent.

“The whole… demonstrating feelings thing.”

Peridot chuckled lightly against her chest. “You already do. Oh! I just remembered something.”

She pulled back and got on her tiptoes to kiss her. Lapis melted against her mouth, digging her fingers through the bartender’s messy locks and pulling her closer. Peridot broke the kiss for a second to whisper.

“I forgot to tell you,” And touched foreheads with her. “I love you.”

Lapis inhaled deeply and tried not to spill any tears, but failed. She laughed and kissed her again, and again, and they only stopped kissing when Amethyst yelled at them from the other side of the road.

She felt…

Free.

#lapidot #steven universe #su #my fic #lapis lazuli #peridot

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