WARM HEART

     Lapis frowns. Thanks for callin’ me dumb, Amethyst. “It’s…a little more complicated than that, Amethyst.” She sighs. “I know that I should move on—it’s not like I’m ever going back. And it’s not really the people that I miss. It’s the place. I couldn’t care less about the other gems from back home—they never did anything but hurt me.” She waves a hand through the air, focusing on it instead of the stars. They’re making her too sad.

     “I’ll find a new home soon enough. Maybe.” And this ‘pile a’trash’ might just be it.

     Lapis looks at her incredulously. Does Amethyst not believe her? She watches Amethyst climb up onto the roof. “No, really. I’m just looking at the stars. They’re…really pretty from here.” She sighs and looks back at the sky. “It’s not like I want to go back. I do miss it, but…it’s not as nice as Earth. You’re right to say that it’s full of crazy gems…because, I guess, it is.” And I’m one of them. “It’s my home, though, so I suppose that’s why I’m so…homesick.”

     “That’s kinda dumb, you know.” Amethyst swings her legs. Her fingers dig holes into the shingles of the roof. “I get it--it’s your home. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth goin’ back to!” She throws her hands in the air. “I mean, a lotta places call themselves that. Cheap places, not cheap places... they all think they got a right to the word!” She hangs her head. “Ughhhh... I’m no good at this mushy junk, but... if y’ask me, I think you should just move on, dude. ‘Cause, like, that place ain’t worth it. And it’s the people you’re cryin’ over, right? But... think about it. Are crazy gems really crying-over material?” She doesn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll tell you what--they’re not. So... why don’t you just grab a ni--ce pile a’trash and make yourself a new home, huh? That’s what I did.”

     Lapis jumps a little at the sound of Amethyst. She’s been focused on the stars, and wondering how long it would take for her to fly back home—or, more importantly, how long it would take for home to come to her. Not that that’s what she wants, or anything. But, when she finds herself startled by Amethyst, she snaps out of that thought train.

     “Oh, hello, Amethyst…” she sighs, shuffling and refusing to meet Amethyst’s eyes. “I-I’m just, uh…looking at the stars, y’know?”

     Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “Yeeaaaah. Whatever, man.” Hopping onto the roof, she takes a seat on the edge. And then she peers up at the stars. “I dunno why you’d miss that stupid place anyway,” she says. “I mean, what’s so great about it? A whole planet full of crazy gems... it sounds like a pain in the butt.”

∞ purplegemmy ∞

     Lapis finds herself drawn to the deck of the house at night. She rests her hands on the banister and looks up to the stars, the desire to fly away just itching at the back of her brain. But she never does. None of the other Crystal Gems have ever noticed this, and she’s glad. She never gets alone time much anymore. But it seems that one certain Gem has noticed, finally…and she’s not exactly alone anymore.

     Amethyst has been rummaging around in the fridge for the past ten minutes, looking for a snack. But her patience is wearing thing and, in the end, she suffices for a handful of leftover fries. Shoving them in her mouth, she shuts the door to the fridge and then heads back to her room. But before she passes through the door, she notices something.

       “…Because I said so.” What other reason would there be?

purplegemmy started following you

       “Give me back my fingers…now.”

     “Maybe,” Garnet echoed, clear disappointment in her tone, though it was quickly countered by a pat on Amethyst’s head. The last thing she wanted to do was upset the other Gem with her scolding, after all; that had been a problem in the past, and not one she wanted to repeat. Then, shrugging, she lifted the discarded pieces of couch and a good section of the shattered table to start the haul into Amethyst’s room. “Just remember that the ‘living room’ is Steven’s room. We should be careful to respect that he needs… human stability, in his space.” 

     Amethyst waves Garnet’s hand away. “Knock it off,” she says. “I’m not a kid, yanno!” But in her heart, she appreciates the gesture. And on her face, a blush appears.

     Dropping to her knees, Amethyst gathers a pile of trash in her arms. “Dude,” she breathes, “this stuff’ll look great in my junk pile! I knew this idea wasn’t total garbage--!”

     When Steven comes into the picture, she comes off her junk high. “Oh, um... right.” Running into her room, he throws the pile of trash onto another, bigger pile of trash before running back out into the living room. From there, it’s rinse and repeat. Pretty soon, the floor of Steven’s room is visible.

     Curiosity quirked his brow, but it was soon erased by utter disbelief – and alpaca spit. Shivers rattled his spine, the slick saliva making his whole body cringe. ❝  What the hell was that?  ❞ 

      For a second, his figure was too rigid with disgust to move or wipe his face. Though once he found the strength and his palm was coated in nasty alpaca mouth gunk, he slapped it atop the girl’s head with a grin fit for the Greatest Asshole of the Year. ❝  Oh, look. It’s perfect as hair gel.  ❞

     “C’mon, dude! Don’t be such a spoilsport--it was just a little payback. So... no hard feelings, right~?” 

    “Why did you feel the need to wreck the living room in the first place?” Garnet sighed, bending to pick up what remained of the table. “…We toss it all. Into your room, maybe. Say we’re… redecorating. Pearl likes decorating.” 

     Well, no one could say he didn’t try. So as far as he was concerned, she deserved to be the Alpaca Glazed doughnut she became. ❝  You kinda asked for it. You really shoulda seen that one coming.  ❞

      By dusk, there was no doubt in his mind everything would be doused in spit de la alpaca.

     “Oh, yeah? Well you shoulda seen this one coming!” Amethyst drags her hand down her front. It gets covered in the spit that had been soaking her clothes. And then, after she runs up to Kichiro, she slathers it all over his face. 

      “Mmm… Not really.” Garnet wandered over to a pile of rubble and nudged it with her foot, only for the pile to crumble even further. “…Hm.” 

     ❝  Eeehhh…  ❞ Scrutinizing side-eye intensifies. ❝  That’s questionable.  ❞ Especially when the situation involves a pack of god-knows-how-many loose alpacas who’ll probably coat the entire town in saliva by the end of the day.

     “Good thing this ain’t science class then, huh?” Amethyst is perfectly content with going back to sleep and leaving this conversation in the dust. However, right after she closes her eyes, an alpaca comes up to her and slobbers her with spit.