#002. lars

ah jeez -- he was really doing this, wasn’t he? --- they’d had a brief encounter, with ronaldo critiquing everything about his space pirate attire, but other than that.. lars had tried to keep his distance. he was still.. re-adjusting, but he wanted to make things better. he wanted to BE better. but this was.. a big ol’ can of worms he hadn’t touched in a long while. sucking in a deep breath, lars moved up to the window of the fry shop, looking down at peedee, scratching the back of his neck, awkwardly. 

             perhaps once upon a time --- when things in his life had been simpler, when all he cared about was befriending the cool kids and not looking dorky, lars may have balked at the sight of a green boy -- assuming them to be one of steven’s weird friends. now -- given his own... unique circumstances. lars didn’t bat an eye as he stepped up to the green stranger, setting a hand on his hip. 

beach city.. felt like it’d been forever since he’d been back home, and even being back felt.. odd somehow. he was a totally different person. he looked around, rubbing at his arm, before he noticed he was being watched. he turned slightly, blinking at the stranger for a moment. 

“heh - well look who’s back for more humiliation - you must really like losing, huh, emerald?” 

leaning back in his captain’s chair, lars felt a small grin appear on his lips as he stared at the screen in front of him. riling up emerald was one of his major forms of entertainment in the deepest depths of space. there wasn’t much else to do other than pilot the off-colors and try to guide them with his leadership.. but antagonizing emerald? oh, this was fun. 

he’d faced terrifying gems, been to several planets and seen incredible and awful things.. he’d literally died and then come back to life, and yet.. the prospect of coming face to face with the cool kids again still... terrified him. but now, as he was just getting used to being back home.. and he saw buck up ahead.. his body froze up. it’s okay, lars.. it’s okay. be yourself. that’s.. enough. 

with everything he’d been through, he just needed to cling onto those lessons. learn to grow.