Chapter Text
Lapis woke from a night terror, feeling as if she were still Malachite. The sense of panic and willingness to protect Steven was overwhelming in her chest and on her mind. She was sitting up straight on the white sectional sofa. Lapis instinctively glanced up at Steven's loft area. She rose to her feet, her wings sprayed out behind her and she drifted up next to Steven's bed. He was sleeping peacefully, unharmed, safe. Lapis kept weary eyes on the sea as well, thinking about Malachite and Jasper, two things that she couldn't get off her conscience these days. She looked back at Steven, his voice echoing in her head, Beach summer fun buddies! A small smile graced her lips, something very rare
Pearl kept stress-dancing on her suspended pools of water. Whenever she was alone, she'd alievate her mental tension by dancing, surrounded by her tranquil infinity pools. A healthy review of the vast sword collection helped too. But she yearned for one thing, Steven. Pirouettes across the water turned into pacing and Pearl fighting the urge to burst out through her magic door and watch Steven like she usually does. But, alas, Lapis. Pearl was not bitter,(though she was bitter that she couldn't watch Steven in his sleep) she was sympethetic, she knew what it was like to be a tool. She knew she needed to tread carefully around Lapis because she knew, that she had used Lapis. Did she really know the mirror was sentient? Pearl kept asking herself that. But this was not a pertinent matter at the time, for someone was imposing on her time to watch Steven in the darkest hours of the night. One of her most favorite past times.
Amethyst was rummaging around in the kitchen at a strange hour. The sun was beating down on Steven's sleeping face. Lapis was drifting in and out of sleep a bit, but heard the noise of movement and was about to literally fly out of the window. She made a loud oof, while unceremoniously falling off of the window sill. "Woah, broski! Chill, just looking for some engine oil." Pearl came storming out of Amethyst's room holding up a container of engine oil saying, "Amethyst, how many times have I told you to clean your poor excuse for a room?! You wouldn't have this problem if you organized your junk once in a while." Pearl stopped and stared at the pair of blue eyes looking down from the loft area. Amethyst ran by Pearl quickly swiping the can from her hands shouting a "Thanks, P" over her shoulder ftom inside her room. "Uh, ok." Pearl stood in the kitchen and stared back at Lapis. Both gems didn't really have any social relation practice so they stood. Watching each other, more or less. Pearl did look like she wanted to say something at one point. But Steven woke up to the sound of Garnet warping to the temple. He scrambled out of bed in his pajamas, "Hey Lapis! Oh Pearl were you watching me sleep Again? Garnet! Where did you go! Tell me about your mission! I wanna know!" Steven talked a mile of minute, seemingly snapping the gems out of their deadlock stare. Pearl slightly blushed and informed Steven that she was in fact, not watching him sleep, again. Lapis drifted down from the loft area, still unused to stairs. She started making her makeshift bed the way Steven had told her was "normal", even though Pearl made his bed most of the time. Lapis was not surprised by this, since last time she was on homeworld, pearls were mere servants. Interaction between herself and the gems was minimal, to say the least, besides Steven, of course. He tried to show her modern things and human customs that she was not familiar with at all.
Since Lapis was kind of confined by the Crystal Gems to the beach area, she wandered around the tall hill overlooking the ocean directly above the temple. The night sky twinkled with stars, which reminded Lapis of Homeworld. Not the ugly Homeworld she had seen, not the one that imprisoned her. The Homeworld of old, where her partial memories lay. Lapis was torn between wanting to assimilate into the Crystal Gems, tethered to Earth and wanting to drift off to Homeworld, again. Lapis sat down on the grass that was illuminated by the moon. She chuckled, thinking of the moon and how humans claim that it controls the tides and such. She thought of the comfort that earth's oceans brought her and then stopped thinking of this because of what was in the ocean. Who was in the ocean. Lapis squeezed her eyes shut. This alone time was both necessary and harmful to Lapis, it was at these times that she contemplated her life choices. Where she was reminded of all the evil and hardship in her life. At least there's Steven. A cause, a purpose. A cool sunmer breeze caressed Lapis and ruffeled her dress. It felt good and carried roses with it. Lapis enjoyed the small things earth had to offer. She looked closer though, seeing that the flowers were all one color and appeared to be semi-translucent. Curious, she went to touch one and it phased out. Her hand recoiled very fast and she turned around to see a dancing Pearl. Pearl's back was to Lapis but she could tell that the flowers were being generated by Pearl. Lapis just observed for a moment before collecting her thoughts and approaching the graceful gem. Pearl turned around, noticing Lapis coming near and stopped the holo-flowers from flitting in the night air and stopped dancing. Before Pearl could begin her sentence, Lapis decided to be direct and blurt out a question, "How can you dance so well? As a pearl, one who doesn't usually fuse?" Pearl blushed, clearly taken aback. Then she quickly changed face to one of stiffness, "I...like to dance," Pearl said slowly, she didn't entirely trust Lapis or understand her, but she did sympathize with her. "...I like to fuse and dancing doesn't always need to be a means to an end, neither does fusion." Lapis sighed, "Is this what gems do? Use. Just use and use until there is nothing left?" Lapis wasn't using an accusatory tone, she was calm and sad about this. Pearl looked at Lapis, not used to being so tongue tied, she continued, "You used me, as a mirror, as a tool." Pearl was about to interject, before she could Lapis held up a hand as to silence her so she could say what she needed to say. "I used Jasper to save Steven, Homeworld used me to get to you Crystal Gems. I can't take it anymore! I feel like it's no different here than on Homeworld! I'm in a preverbal jail cell where ever I go, there's no escaping!" Her voice had crescendoed into a wavering shout that sounded hopeless. Pearl having no idea what to say to this strange confession. Obviously she couldn't solve all of Lapis's problems. Pearl stepped closer to the trapped gem and noticed the height difference substantially. Pearl dare not lay a hand on Lapis's shoulder. Actually, she dares. Lapis flinched at the gentlenes of the hand. "May I have this dance?" Lapis looked bewildered but her misery washed away to confusion. She accepted Pearl's hand and Pearl lead. They wordlessly danced, Pearl kept a slow rythem, but Lapis outwardly intended to get on with a fusion dance. Pearl smiled down at Lapis, "Don't rush, just feel." Pearl forced the dance to be even slower, Lapis looked frustrated now, "What am I supposed to be feeling?" Lapis was not as fired up now. "Freedom. Don't fuse if you don't want to, it's your choice," Peal said this as she swiftly switched hands and footing, making Lapis the lead. Even though she was the shorter gem, she lead and she tried to by habit, possibly, to create a fusion. Each attempt was shot down by Pearl. The dance was fast now, a mix of tango and fox trot if there ever was one. Lapis stopped finally when she wasn't getting fusion results from Pearl. "Why won't you fuse with me? I don't understand why we are dancing if you don't intend to fuse! You initiated the fusion dance too!" Lapis said in a high pitched voice. "You still obviously don't understand. Humans dance, and yet they can't fuse. They still dance, though. They enjoy it, why can't we enjoy dancing?" Pearl offered her hand politely to Lapis. She took it, this time determined to get a fusion out of this. They moved beautifully together, Lapis tried this "enjoying" thing out and melded perfectly into Pearl's lucid flow. The gems began to glow and Lapis blushed a bright yellow when they finally fused. She understood now, the pleasure of fusing when both parties eased into a concent filled harmonious joining of bodies and consciousness. They had faith in each other, rather than conventional trust, they trusted blindly. Such is faith.
A flash, some smoke and poof, a new gem, unique in personality, is a reality. A tall, winged beauty stood with four arms, two legs and four eyes. Rainbow Moonstone shone brilliantly against the dark night sky. She continued to dance by herself and laugh. A full satisfied laugh. Rainbow Moonstone hugged herself tightly and laid on the soft grass, she sighed and looked up at the night sky without longing. "Thank you."
The gems split apart all too soon. "Could we...maybe do this again sometime? Just dance?" Lapis asked bashfully. "As you wish." Pearl answered with a smile.