#The warp pad has shined brightly ( answered. )

[bluelawyxr]

As punishment, you are being sent to live with the Quartz's in Pink Diamond's past human zoo facility. Your knew authortive figure is Holly Blue, have fun! -anon

“W-What?! That can’t be, I’m supposed to be a lawyer gem.” She shook her head.

“T-There must be some misunderstanding…”

[thevioletthread]

Give me your heart, and perhaps I'll give you mine (Comfort/Healing)

(Read on AO3!)

Lapis gasped, trying desperately to swallow, but she couldn’t.  The sharp sea water poured into her lungs, robbing her of breath.

She was pulled under by strong hands, griping at her legs.  Lapis tried one last time to scream, but then she was pulled into the icy depths.

Suddenly her eyes open.

Lapis sits straight up and she finds that her skin is covered in sweat.  Despite not needing to breath in the Earth’s oxygen she does, gasping in ragged breaths.  Lapis’s hands clutch at the fabric of the hammock that she was just asleep in.

Slowly she takes a deep breath.  Around her the barn is dark and empty.

It is only her.

Lapis exhales.  Suddenly there is a rustle outside.  Lapis instantly glances up.

“…Peridot?” she whispers softly.

There is no answer.  Lapis bites her lip, and then carefully slips out of her hammock, bare feet hitting the floor with two small thunks.  She creeps over to the barn door, which is hanging open just a crack.

“Peridot?  Is that you?” she asks again, as there is another rustle.  “Amethyst, this isn’t funny.”

Nothing but silence.

“Pearl?  Steven? Who is there?” she calls out, voice shaking with fear.

There is no answer to any of her questions.  Lapis takes a deep breath, and slowly opens the barn door.  When she pokes her head outside no one is there.

Over head storm clouds are churning, blowing in from the ocean.  It will be a bad storm.  She can feel it in her gut.

Lapis glances around, because surely someone will be there.  Suddenly a nearby bush rustles.  Lapis's skin chills.  She knows it is someone, it is her, she is certain of it.

The pool of water beside the barn tenses, ready to strike.

The bush rustles once more before something bursts forth-

Lapis sighs.  It is only a squirrel.

The tiny little creature takes one little sniff in her direction and then scampers away.  A knot inside her tightens.

She is now fully embarrassed, and is very glad that no one was present to see her so afraid over a….squirrel.  Her hands clench.

But it is too quiet.  And as she glances back inside the dark barn, she realizes that she doesn’t want to be alone.  So she scowls, angry at herself, and starts down the hill that leads to the temple.  

                                                                                                                              -:-

Once she has ventured the entire way, finally making her way onto the sandy beach,  the storm has worsened.  She is glad that she made it to the temple before the storm starts.  The old wooden boards that lead up to the house creak underneath her feet.

Lapis opens the door, not bothering to knock.  Inside it is dark.

All the lights are turned off.  No one is there.

She should be glad, and normally she would be.  But right now she feels a pang of sadness wash over her.  There is a little bit of fear, too.

Because she doesn’t know where anyone is.  

Everyone has disappeared, and she can’t find them.  Lapis takes a shaky breath.

This isn’t helping.

She has to stop thinking in this way.  Lapis crosses her arms, and, with a lack of anything else to do, begins to wander aimlessly around the house.  She wanders through Steven’s room, to the kitchen, the door to the temple that won’t open for her, although she didn’t bother to try, down the hall to the closet where Pearl keeps the cleaning supplies.

Then back to the sofa, which she stands in front of, arms hanging limply at her sides.

She stares at it.  Somehow, she doesn’t quite want to sit on it.

Lapis is still standing there, staring at the sofa, when the warp pad suddenly glows with a bright flood of light.  It fades away to reveal the tall, short haired Pearl.  She doesn’t seem to notice Lapis.

Her hands are filled with books, why, Lapis has no idea.  She is mumbling something to herself under her breath, as she gracefully hops off the warp pad.  Suddenly her eyes land on Lapis.

And then she jumps half a foot.

Miraculously, she manages to hold onto all her books but one.  It falls to the floor with a small thunk.  Lapis looks at it.  Then very slowly she bends over and picks it up, and silently puts it back on Pearl’s stack.

Pearl laughs breathlessly.  “Oh, thank you Lapis.  I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you standing there.”

She moves, still ever graceful, and sets her books down on the corner, before turning back to Lapis with a wide smile.  Lapis just stands there.  “I wasn’t expecting you to come down from the barn tonight.  Is everything all right?”

Lapis nods.

“Yeah.  Everything’s fine.”

They stand there, silent.  Lapis clears her throat. “You probably want to be alone.  I’ll just go.” She gestures to the door.

Lapis moves to leave,  but a slim hand reaches out to gently tug her back.  She turns around to meet Pearl’s piercing blue eyes.  “Are you certain nothing is wrong darling?”

The blue gem sighs, eyes falling to the floor boards.  “It’s so stupid.”

“Tell me.” Pearl says, eyes soft.

Her hands linger on Lapis’s shoulders.  Lapis doesn’t want to answer.  So she chooses to stay silent, letting her face bury itself in Pearl’s chest.  Pearl makes a small hm.

“You do know that you can tell me things, right?”  she says softly.  Lapis shakes her head into Pearl’s chest.  “I don’t want to.” she mumbles, feeling like a child.

But Pearl simply nods, and doesn’t press any farther.  Her delicate hands rub gently against Lapis’s bare back, and Lapis lets her eyes shut, just for a moment.  Letting the peacefulness wash over her.

But then there is a loud crash of thunder outside, and Lapis jumps.

Quickly she shoves Pearl away, moving a few feet away from the other gem.  Her arms cross and she glares down at the floorboards.  Pearl stares at her, a unreadable emotion in her eyes.  Finally she seems to realize that Lapis isn’t going to say anymore.

Pearl exhales softly through her nose.  “I’m going to fix myself some tea and then read a bit.  It’s not often that the house is this quiet.” she declares.  Lapis glances sideways up at her.

Good for you, she wants to say with sarcasm, but something stops her.

Pearl glances over her shoulder.  “I know that you’d probably rather go back to the barn, but you’re welcome to join me.  If you’d like.” Pearl adds softly.  She waits a moment for Lapis to decide.

The blue gem is still for a long moment.  But then there is another loud crash of thunder outside.

And she darts quickly to the slender gem’s side.

Pearl smiles brightly down at her. Their hands tuck together and the action makes Lapis want to scowl and yank her hand away, but she also sort of likes the feeling.  She clings to Pearl’s hand.

Pearl putters around the kitchen, gracefully making tea, especially considering that Lapis is still clinging to one of her hands.  She hands Lapis her cup with a smile, and Lapis takes it, her eyes looking away.

Outside on the beach the waves are getting higher, as the wind continues to grow.

Pearl sits down with a little plop.  Lapis hesitates, but Pearl pats the cushion beside her, and she sits down with a grunt.  Lapis fully intends to remain in a bad mood.  But Pearl utterly refuses to let her sit there and pout.

As soon as they both sit down, Lapis sitting rigidly beside her, Pearl rolls her eyes and tugs her into her lap, making Lapis squeak.  “What are you-“ she stops, biting her lip. Pearl’s nose presses against her cheek.

“You are always so cold.”  Her blue eyes are piercing.  Lapis swallows.  “That’s just how I am.”

Pearl nods, making a soft hm in the back of her throat.  Her hands gently lace around Lapis’s slim waist, pulling her against her chest.  Lapis can feel her gem pressing into the fabric of Pearl’s blouse.

“This is stupid.” she says with a frown.  

“I know that something’s wrong.” Pearl says softly.  Lapis’s lips change to a scowl.  “I’m fine.”

Pearl sighs. “I’ll stop if you want me to.”

Her eyes study over Lapis’s face.  She is certain that she is flushed yellow now.  Because the truth is that, no matter how stupid she feels, she rather likes being cuddled up with Pearl.  And she isn’t going to protest.

So she just huffs and buries her face into Pearl��s chest.

Pearl laughs quietly.

“Oh, shut up.” Lapis mumbles through her shirt.

“All right.”  Pearl murmurs, laugh still apparent in her voice.

She takes out her book and begins to read, her other hand still pressing into Lapis’s waist.  The blue gem sighs, and, without fully realizing it, her eyes flutter shut once more.  

                                                                                                                          -

There is an awful smile.  Jasper’s glowing eyes, and the shining blood red marks all across her skin.  The sound of breaking glass.  And then Lapis screams.  

                                                                                                                         -

Suddenly her eyes snap open, instantly landing on the pale gem above her.  She stares at Pearl, wide-eyed and frozen.

Pearl’s pale eyes are filled with concern. “Lapis, are you all right? You were sleeping, and then you started screaming, and you wouldn’t wake up.”

She is vaguely aware of Pearl’s delicate hands gripping her wrist and shoulders.  Lapis doesn’t answer, can’t answer.  She’s simply frozen.  Wetness builds at the corners of her eyes, and then it over flows all in a rush.  She lets out a strangled sob, and then another.

Pearl is still for a half of a moment, and then, before Lapis can fully understand what’s happening, she’s been pulled tightly into Pearl’s arms, held close against her chest.  Her tears wet Pearl’s blouse, but she can’t be bothered to think that much anymore. Pearl rocks her back and forth, murmuring quiet things under her breath that Lapis can’t hear right now.

Her thin fingers comb through Lapis’s hair, smoothing with a gentle love that only makes Lapis want to cry harder.  Her hands clutch at Pearl’s waist, clutching like it’s the only thing keeping her alive.  She doesn’t know how long she cries like that.

All she knows is that once she’s finally managed to stop, her eyes are puffy and sore from all the tears, and she feels rather ill in her stomach.

Lapis sniffles, wiping at her eyes and nose with the back of her hand.  Pearl is staring at her, and she can’t meet her eyes.  This was so embarrassing.  She was behaving like a baby.

Lapis tries to tug herself away from Pearl’s arms, but her grip is like iron.

“Lapis. What’s happened? What did you see?” she asks, both her hands moving to cup Lapis’s cheeks.  They are cool against Lapis’s skin.  “I-I….”

“Tell me Lapis.  Please.” Her light colored eyes are big and pleading, and Lapis can’t tell her no.

“I-“

There is a loud crash of thunder from the outside storm, and Lapis jumps in shock. Her hands are trembling.   Pearl takes them in her own, cradling them carefully.  Her eyes never leave Lapis’s.

Slowly Lapis swallows around the painful lump in her throat.  “I had a dream.  You were there.  All of you.  Garnet and Amethyst and Peridot…and Steven and you. Jasper…she came.”

Lapis exhales shakily, subconsciously gripping tighter onto Pearl’s thin fingers.  “….she killed you. She took all of your gems and…she smashed them, into shards.  I could hear them cracking.  Just cracking, over and over, and it-it wouldn’t stop…You were all in pieces, and I just watched. And Jasper, she just kept laughing, and it sounded like breaking glass…Pearl, it-“

She stops, her voice shaking too much to continue.  She can’t look up at Pearl. She doesn’t want to.  But finally she does.

Pearl’s expression is unreadable.  Lapis’s breath hitches in her throat.  Finally the pale gem speaks.

“…it was a dream.  Dreams are not real. No matter how they feel.”  she says gently.

“I know.  But I can’t stop thinking about you-you shattered.  Shattered in pieces on the ground.” she says a little desperately.  Pearl is still for a moment, thinking.

“Look.”  she says, taking Lapis’s small blue hand in her pale one.  She squeezes it gently, and then places it over the pearl imbedded in the very centre of her forehead.

The stone is smoothest thing Lapis can imagine, and it pulses with life under Lapis’s fingertips.  It is the source of everything that is in front of her now.  All the comfort, all the love, it all is coming from this perfectly smooth thing.

Lapis runs her fingers over the flawless surface.

There are no cracks.

Suddenly she feels overwhelmed.  Pearl is giving her so much trust.  She is trusting Lapis with the very core of her being.  She is trusting Lapis not to hurt her in any way, even though she easily could.

Lapis’s throat tightens with emotion.

Then, very very slowly, she leans forward.  With the most care she can give, she presses her lips against the perfectly smooth surface of Pearl’s gem. The pale gem lets out a soft gasp at her action.

When she pulls back, Pearl’s gem is glowing faintly.  It casts the room in a faint, hazy light.

Pearl’s eyes stare at her own.  The slender gem is still, waiting for Lapis to take the next action.  Lapis just stares at her, realizing not for the first time how beautiful Pearl is.  She finds herself leaning into her, pressing close without even trying.  Their noses brush one another’s, and Lapis’s eyelids flutter half shut.

“I-is this right?  Is this the right thing?” she asks, her voice barely a whisper.  Pearl’s eyes pour into her own.  “Is it something you want?”

Lapis nods, her hands sliding to rest at the curve of Pearl’s neck.  Pearl gives her a barely perceptible nod.  And then, with a fear that is entirely warranted, Lapis lets their lips meet.

The kiss is a ghost of the action, Lapis’s lips barely brushing Pearl’s.  They pull back, eyes meeting once more.  And then they move together, kissing again with silent agreement.

Lapis’s hands wrap around Pearl’s neck, twisting into her short hair.  Pearl’s hands rest on the bare strip of skin at her hips.  Pearl’s lips are soft. Kissing her is like a breath of clean air, after years of toxicity.

She tastes of strawberries.

There is no hurry in their kiss.  After all, both of them are immortal; there is no rush.  All they want is comfort.  Comfort that, perhaps after all their miserable suffering, they don’t have to be alone.

Lapis sighs softly, and kisses her a little harder.

They kiss for a long while.

By the time they finish, finally tired, the rain and thunder have stopped.  The first early rays of sun are poking through the window, making patterns on the floor.

Wordlessly, with a gentle smile, Pearl tugs her up, and they both go outside, onto the porch.  Lapis stares at the new world, after the storm.  There are bits of debris scattered over the sandy beach, but the air is fresh-smelling and the sky is sunny and clear.  The ocean waters sparkle as they shift in the bright morning light.

Pearl smiles when Lapis looks over at her, light gleaming in her eyes.  Lapis returns it.  They lean against the railing, fingers laced together, and, for the first time in a long while, Lapis feels as though she will be all right.