#gemslash

kissing in a sunflower field? sounds about right

Ship:  Lapidot ( Lapis x Peridot - SU) 

Summary:  Lapis and Peridot sitting in a tree. Their favorite tree. Human AU

***TW for mentions of abuse and show-typical unhealthy Lapis

Lapis and Peridot sitting in a tree. Just sitting, silent and surreal.

       Peridot remembers a time she wasn’t “allowed” up here, as this specific tree held great significance to the other girl. It was the tallest in the park, with a gap in the branches that formed a near-perfect skylight. This high, the branches were weak, blowing easily with every breeze. It almost feels like flying, Lapis explained on more than one occasion. The words had felt weighed somehow, but that’s just how Lapis spoke: as though she knew all the secrets in the world. And as much as that excites Peridot, it frightens her equally.

       So even though Lapis had never specifically told her not to climb that tree, Peridot was surprised when she was first asked to accompany her to the top. To sit for a while. A long while. It seemed every visit they made outlasted the previous one.

Sometimes they spoke. Things were said in those branches that neither would admit on the ground.

Sometimes they didn’t. Just being comfortable in the same space was enough.

       They had their own spots. Lapis would sit on a single branch, legs hung on either side, back against bark. Peridot was less daring; she sprawled across multiple branches, slightly lower. It had taken multiple tries to find the perfect positioning. If she looked up, she could see directly out of the skylight. Or - as she often did - she could shift her gaze, just a bit, to observe Lapis. She never noted anything substantial, but she still enjoyed looking.

       This day is no different than any other. They climbed up in time to watch the sunset, and are now cast in the shadows of night. Peridot takes off her glasses; it’s nice to not have to focus on anything. Her thoughts, usually racing at top speed, are given a break. Right now her only focuses are the chirping of crickets and the way Lapis seems to glow in the moonlight.

“I’m leaving,” her burry friend says after some time. Her voice sounds tired. Always so tired.

       The words affect Peridot very little; she is long used to Lapis’s dramatic habit of dropping bombs. Instead of assaulting her with questions (no matter how curious she may be), she stays quiet, allowing the other girl room to continue at her own pace.

“Just for the summer. But still...the whole summer.”

       For a second, Peridot is almost hurt. All the plans they made, all the potential the break held for them - gone. Like it never even mattered. But no, as insecure as she may be, she knows Lapis wouldn't leave her without a serious reason. She is not being abandon. Not again, and never by Lapis.

“Mother wants me to reconnect with the family. She...she doesn’t understand.”

       Oh, but Peridot does. Dozens of stories rush to the front of her mind. Retold accounts of abuse, humiliation, and isolation confessed to her - in this very tree - through heartrending sobs. The thought of Lapis her Lapis who, as far as Peridot is concerned, has never done anything wrong in her life, returning to those miserable, wretched excuses for family members...it’s…it’s…

       “L-Lapis,” Peridot speaks, barely able to form words, “you don’t have to go. Don’t go. S-stay here with me, they...they won’t hurt you. I won’t have it. Please.” She quickly shoves her glasses back on, needing to see the other girl’s expression, needing to be reassured.

She’s not expecting to see a soft smile.

       “I have to go - it’s not an option. But you’re right Peridot, they won’t hurt me anymore. They can’t.” The eye contact between them is intense, and never breaking, even as Lapis slides down to be on the same level as Peridot. “Not when I have something to keep me going. Someone… to come home to.” And while it might not be a treehouse, no tree has ever felt more like a home than in this moment, with Lapis uttering those words and looking at Peridot as though she is her entire world.

       Though the declaration is not enough to sate Peridot’s worries of the future, Lapis has resolved to not waste another second of the present, pulling the blonde girl close.