Promise Kept? (Lapidot)

Bonding

*Morning after "New Homestead"*
Peridot's POV
Start of Log 340
"I had awoken before Lapis and began the day. Lapis was soundly asleep while I walked around the barn. This gives me more than enough time to reflect on my current situation. I haven't felt so free in years. Being on Homeworld no longer. Makes me appreciate Earth. I guess I see why the Crystal Gems would protect this planet. From my time here, I've been fascinated by the organic life. The smallest animals to the largest all have similarities and differences. I guess what I mean is that Earth may be worth fighting for. Everything I've learned within a short time here would've taken decades to fully understand the information Homeworld provides about organic life."
End of Log
I've only been on Earth for a short amount of time, but I've already developed a connection with it. I feel at peace being able to feel free without worry or fear. I kicked my feet from atop of a boulder that I was sitting on, taking in the view that was given to me. Flowers were everywhere in sight, and many different colors and kinds of flowers were scattered around. Taking in a deep breath, I got off from the boulder and began walking. I walked into the fields of flowers, taking care not to step on any of them. I was in the middle of the field now, being surrounded by all types of flowers. I lowered myself till I was lying on my back looking towards the sky. It was more than peaceful it was perfect. At sudden, a small earth creature flew its way towards me and perched itself on my nose. Beautiful it was, I took in its features, noticing that the wings took most of its body. It stayed with me for a little while till a sudden disturbance caused it to fly away. I sat upwards to see what scared it off to see Lapis standing there. "Good morning, Lapis." I said. Lapis seemed startled by my sudden appearance, maybe not noticing me lying in the field. "I was looking for you, Peridot. I didn't know where you went." Lapis said. "I was just exploring the surroundings. Why don't you join me?" I asked. Lapis accepted my invitation by sitting down next to me. "Even if I've been around for a short amount of time, I've come to appreciate Earth. I mean, this view here is an example of the beauty of Earth. I wish Homeworld was like this." I said. Lapis simply hummed in agreement. It was quiet for a little bit afterward. Something caught my eye, and it was a beautiful blue flower. I got up from the ground and carefully made my way towards the flower. I carefully picked the flower from the ground without damaging the petals. I maneuvered my way back to Lapis as she stared curiously at me. I sat myself down this time, my body pointing towards her. I slowly reached towards Lapis and carefully planted the flower into her hair. Lapis smiled at me after I planted the flower into her hair. "Thank you, Peridot. That flower you picked was very beautiful." Lapis said. I smiled back at Lapis. "You said you were exploring? Why don't we go over there?" Lapis asked. Lapis pointed towards a group of trees that seemingly stretched on forever. I liked that idea. I got up from the ground and reached a hand out towards Lapis. Lapis took it and brought herself up from the ground as well. We began our journey towards the trees. "Ready to go in?" I asked. Lapis gave a nod in response. We entered and began walking forward into the endless trees. "Peridot? What was Homeworld like?" Lapis asked. "Busy. Being ERA 2, Homeworld has seen better times. New gems that are produced are weaker, and it's noticeable. Long working hours and little to no free time. But why are you asking? Wasn't Homeworld always busy?" I asked. "It was. But from how you described it sounds horrible. Did you ever have time to relax?" Lapis asked. "No. It's how Peridot's were produced. To always work. Efficiency and productivity were all that are important to Peridot's. That's why my robonoids exist. Even not on a shift, I was working on something." I said. "Homeworld wasn't always like that. Back then, it was a lot more free. You had a choice on what you wanted to do and had the choice on what you did." Lapis said. "I never thought about what I wanted to do. I was given an assignment and did it. I never questioned my superiors if I did. There were punishments following it." I said. "Punishments? What do you mean by punishments?" Lapis asked. "There's no laws protecting ERA 2s from ERA 1s. It was how brutal your superiors wanted it to be. Sometimes, you'd be sent into soiltary confinement, poofed or down right shattered." I said. Lapis seemed horrified by my statement and how casual I was by it. "That's horrible, Peridot. Why aren't you freaked out by their treatment?" Lapis asked. "It's how we were treated from the beginning. Nothing new to me and the others when we worked. Us Peridot's were produced for work and loyalty. We never questioned our superiors. We weren't fools. Yet it didn't matter. We were treated poorly by them anyway." I said. "I'm sorry, that's how you were treated by them, Peridot. No one deserves to be treated like that." Lapis said. Lapis stopped walking, and I took notice and stopped as well. Lapis quickly brought me into a hug. "You're free now. Homeworld can't hurt you now. If you ever want to talk about it. Please talk to me." Lapis said. I returned the hug and nodded. "I prefer it this way. I never felt free, but on Earth. It feels liberating." I said. A tear left my eye. It felt good to release my feelings about Homeworld. It felt freeing. Lapis quickly wiped my tears away with her hand. Lapis released me from the hug and motioned for me to follow her. I did as I was requested and stood next to Lapis and continued our walk. As we walked, we came upon a rushing river blocking over path. Lapis raised her hands and began to divert the river into two and reached out to take my hand with hers. I took it, and we began walking through the river. I saw aquatic creatures swimming trying to swim. "Lapis. Look at them, aren't they adorable?" I said. Lapis giggled at my antics. "Yes, Peridot. Do you know what type of sea creature this one is?" Lapis asked. I shook my head no, but I bet my enhancers did. I brought my hand and began scanning the animal. "It says here that's it's a 'trout' a common sea creature that is found on Earth." I said. Lapis nodded in understanding. Lapis began walking, dragging me along, and now reached the other side of the river. Lapis released my hand and brought up both of her hands to release the river and allow it to flow normally. I saw the trout began swimming downstream. "I wonder where they're going." I said. "Who knows? Maybe they'll try to swim forever." Lapis said. I turned my attention towards the colorful leaves that were on the trees and seeing how many of them had fallen onto the floor. I walked over and heard a crunch. I looked to see what I've stepped on to see the colorful leaves I've crushed. I moved my foot again and stepped on another couple of leaves. Again, hearing a crunch. A thought came to mind. 'Maybe I should put all of these leaves into a pile.' I bent down and began collecting leaves. "What are you doing, Peridot?" Lapis asked. "I wanted to see what would happen if I put all these leaves into a pile." I said. Lapis understood and began collecting leaves herself and began adding them to a pile I've been making. "What's your master plan after making this pile Peridot?" Lapis asked. "There'd be too many for me to crush with my feet, so I was thinking about jumping into the pile." I said. Lapis had a smile on her face after finding out what I wanted to do. We continued building the pile, and after a little bit of time, the pile was huge. "That's pretty good, Peridot. Why don't we jump into it together?" Lapis asked. I nodded in agreement and reached a hand towards Lapis. Lapis took ahold of my hand. "3,2,1 GO!" I said. I jumped into the pile and lost my hold on Lapis. I sat up from the pile and looked for Lapis. "Lapis? Where did yo-." A force behind me dragged me down and forced a yelp out of me. A snort of laughter was heard behind as I looked to see who my attacker was. "You've should have seen your face, Peridot. It was priceless." Lapis said. A fit of laughter was followed after by me and Lapis. After we settled down, I sat up once more to see Lapis was now covered in leaves. Lapis looked up as well, and we stared at each other for a moment. Before Lapis broke into small giggles. "What? What's so funny now?" I asked. I looked around to see what could be making Lapis laugh so much. "It's you, Peridot. This day has been so fun because you're here spending it with me." Lapis said. I felt a bit of blush making its way towards my face and quickly wiped my face with my hand. I looked back at Lapis as she got up from the floor and reached a hand towards me. I took it and held onto it as we began walking once more. It wasn't long before we made another pit stop. "Why did we stop Lapis?" I asked. I was worried because anything could have caused us to stop. Lapis pointed towards a clearing. Their stood another earth animal. This animal had antlers and stood proudly. Its fur was tinted brown and stood on four legs. I brought my hand up to begin a scan. "It says here that this animal is called 'deer', which is a very common animal found on Earth." I said. "It's beautiful, isn't it? It makes me regret terraforming planets. How much beauty I've destroyed." Lapis said. I placed a hand on her shoulder, and Lapis looked at me. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing." I said. I wanted to reassure Lapis because we've all had our bad experiences with what Homeworld made us do. "You're right. It's best to start caring now, then never. I just wish I could go back and fix what I've done." Lapis said. I understand that Lapis is feeling regret for what she was made to do. But at least now she realizes her mistakes and will attempt to fix them. "It's getting kind of late. Why don't I fly us back to the barn?" Lapis asked. I hummed in agreement. Lapis released her wings and bent down for me to climb onto her back. I did what Lapis wanted, and we took off. "I've always wondered what the ground looked like from here. It's really beautiful to see all the colors and animals from up here." I said. "That's why I like to fly so much. It's peaceful. It's like second nature to me. It's just a way to have time for myself to think." Lapis said. The barn soon came into view as we flew ever closer. "Peridot? Doesn't your enhancers allow you to fly?" Lapis asked. "They do, but they're more used for getting around obstacles and not for long distances." I said. Lapis began heading towards the ground and gracefully landed with me on her back. I successfully hopped off without making a fool of myself and firmly planted both feet onto the ground. "That was really fun, Peridot. I was glad we were able to do that." Lapis said. I nodded in agreement and turned towards the sun to see the sun slowly setting. "It's getting late. Should we go to sleep?" I asked. "There's one more thing, Peridot. I wanted to apologize for what I did to you while on the ship. I know it's a lot to ask but would you like to dance with me?" Lapis asked. I thought to myself for a moment. I nodded and reached a hand out towards Lapis. Lapis took hold of my hand, and we began to dance. Slowly but surely made our way around the barn enjoying our dance. After sometime of dancing we slowly released one another from our grasp and stared at each other. Lapis didn't move a muscle as she continued to stare into my eyes. "Cou- could I kiss you, Lapis?" I asked. Lapis slowly leaned in, and I closed the gap between the two of us. Our lips meeting. It felt passionate and loving. Things I've never felt before. Lapis slowly parted and stared at me, which made me feel like I was going to burst out of joy. "Tha- that was nice Lapis." I said. Lapis smiled at me. "We should get to bed. Today's been long. But I really enjoyed our time together, Peridot." Lapis said. "Agreeed." I said. Lapis flew upstairs while I climbed the ladder. Lapis was already in bed as I climbed in.
"Good night, Peri."
"Good night, Lapis."

A/N (There we have it. Chapter 23 completed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As it had some actual fluff, which some of yall were probably waiting for. As always, love you guys ❤️)