#skinny bullying lapis was entertaining to write tbh

[introvert-celeste]

This is for @littlelarimar!

I lost his original ask, but it’s basically the Betas being protective of Jasper around Lapis/the Betas meeting Lapis for the first time. Although a good half of this is just Jasper spending time with her fam bc I can’t resist ^.^

It was getting kind of long so I ended it pretty abruptly, sorry about that.

How is any of this real?

Jasper felt like she was surrounded by ghosts, or mere figments of her fevered mind, and in a moment they would disappear and she would be alone again, with nothing but her grief and her anger.

This entire interaction felt wrong. How could she possibly be here among gems she always assumed were dead—and better off for it—in this place, so close to traitors she despised, but ones who’d helped her at her lowest point? How could they be here, smiling and relaxed (as much as one could expect from the Beta gems), when the last time they’d been together they’re very existences were on the line? How could they exist outside of the war that had taken everything from her?

And most importantly, how could she accept this affection, after how terrible she’d been all these millennia?

The question must have been clear on her face, as she felt a smaller gem tackle her from the side, thin arms clinging to her neck and face pressed forcefully against her own. Barely able to control her own emotions anymore, Jasper blushed furiously and tried to pull away, but to no avail. The gem was stronger than she seemed, and as stubbornly persistent as herself, laughing carelessly. She knew Jasper wouldn’t hurt her.

“Agh! Okay, okay! Get off!” Jasper shouted, falling back as she was finally subdued by the affection, the other Betas snickering around her.

This can’t be real.

Satisfied, Skinny finally pulled away, grinning cheekily at Jasper’s flustered glare. “What’s your problem?” Jasper demanded, as if she hadn’t just been brooding.

“You had this look on your face and I couldn’t resist,” Skinny replied matter-of-factly, her expression softening. “Come on, just lighten up for a few minutes. The war is over, Muscles.”

Agreements all around, though not as enthusiastic as one would expect from a group of gems who’d been through hell multiple times over. Of course, how could anyone expect them to let their guards down completely while they were, quite literally, on their enemy’s doorstep. Until the Crystal Gems were convinced that the Betas were trustworthy, especially when it came to interactions with Jasper, all meetings had to be held within plain sight of the temple, and someone had to be around to watch. That someone was normally Amethyst, who rarely ever paid attention, except to converse with Carnelian.

At that moment, the little traitor was positively buzzing with excitement, listing off all the things Amethyst told her in the hour that they talked that day and recapping everything from the past week. The triplets listened in amused silence, stopping her every once in a while as her excitement got to be too much, sparks flying off of her dangerously close to the wooden remains of Steven’s house.

Jasper couldn’t help but smile. At the very least, it made her happy seeing her favorite little runt happy.

“Aw, there you go!” Cleft cried, mussing up Jasper’s hair from behind. “Muscles finally cracked!”

“Would you two stop calling me that?!” Jasper retorted, embarrassed at the constant use of her old nickname. Skinny and Cleft, the two survivors who emerged closest to Jasper and who pretty much counted as column mates at this point, were the worst when it came to this. She was convinced they did it on purpose, but she didn’t actually mind it.

This was the best she’d felt in a long time, actually. Even in such close proximity to the Crystal Gems, being indebted to them and at the same time policed by them at every turn, she could say with certainty that that she’d never felt so happy. There was no war, there was no expectations, there were no rules dictating how one must live and the consequences of going against that order. At that moment, it was only her and her kindergarten mates. If this was a delusion, she never wanted to be sane again.

After another round of harassment from Cleft and Skinny, with Carnelian interrupting at intervals join the fun, she allowed herself to relax and joke with them. It was something she rarely allowed herself to do back during the war, but now there was nothing to stop her.

She didn’t notice a commotion from within the house until the conversation abruptly stopped, the door swinging open to reveal an apparently unwelcomed sight. Lapis. Amethyst was standing behind her in the doorway, obviously torn between wanting to pull her back inside and fearful of what sort of reaction that would evoke, now that Lapis had seen and been seen.

The Betas grew very still and quiet, glaring up at the blue gem wearily while casting sidelong glances at Jasper. As she stood to greet Lapis, she felt Skinny grasp her shoulder tightly, protectively, flanking her from one side while Cleft stood on the other side, arms crossed. Carnelian bolted toward her and barreling into her shin with enough force to almost knock her over, refusing to let go.

With growing mortification, Jasper realized: they know. Oh stars, they know.

Jasper wasn’t there when the Betas first arrived. They never mentioned what Steven told them—if they had even allowed him to speak to them in the first place—but Jasper was determined to put off stories of her antics until all this had died down. Malachite was at the very bottom of the list of things she planned to one day tell them, right below the abuse she dealt and received on Homeworld. She didn’t want pity.

Did that brat Steven tell them everything? Even the time Jasper begged on her knees to fuse with Lapis again, only for Lapis to bunce her across the ocean like she was a mere pebble? Whatever was said, now they were poised to protect her. Her! The very gem who saved their butts from certain death time and time again, now brought down so low that she needed protection from defective—

Jasper stopped this train of thought abruptly, guilt permeating through her. She should’ve been grateful that she had gems who cared enough to look out for her, even after all this time. For the first time in a long time, she had gems who were genuinely on her side, who knew what she was really about and what she went through, who she shared those experiences with. But while they were all ready to go, Jasper found that there was no fight left in her, nothing to fight for. She certainly wasn’t worth the effort.

“So, this is your…what does Steven call it? Family?” Lapis’ voice trembled, nervously smiling as she shrank from the Betas’ hostility.

“What do you want?” Jasper asked gruffly, shrugging the others way and squaring her shoulders, making it clear that she wasn’t bothered even as her face burned and her palms began to sweat.

Her smile wavered, but remained pinned in place. “I just…I heard everyone was out here, and I wanted to say that I’m happy for you, all of you. And…and I’m sorry, again.”

Jasper was about to dismiss her, when Skinny suddenly draped her arm over Jasper’s shoulders, leaning towards Lapis with thinly veiled derision. She asked, voice dripping with sweetness, “well, you don’t look like the type to mess a gem like her. What could you possibly be sorry for, huh?”

Lapis pursed her lips uncomfortably, no longer able to maintain eye-contact.

“What was that? I can’t hear you.”

This was almost difficult to watch. “I fused with her…” Lapis replied, barely audible.

“Louder for the gems in the back, Lazuli!”

“I fused with her!” Lapis shouted. “I trapped her in a fusion for months so I could have control over something, and I took everything out on her! I tortured her! I tortured the both of us. It was awful, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done in my entire existence. There’s nothing I can do to make up for this, but the least I can do is apologize. You forgive me, don’t you?”

She looked up at Jasper imploringly, but Jasper felt nothing. No anger, no gratitude, nothing. Truth be told, she still harbored that feeling deep within her that she deserved what she got and worse, so any apology from Lapis seemed unwarranted. It was like warden apologizing to a criminal for keeping her locked up, right? Jasper was awful, and she knew it, and that lingering sense of longing she still felt around Lapis only solidified this.

“Of course she doesn’t, you dumb clod!” Carnelian snapped before Jasper could answer. Thankfully, her hold never loosened from Jasper’s leg, or else she would have certainly torn into Lapis without mercy. As awkward and unnecessary as this altercation was, she had to admit it made her a little choked up to have her tiny companion defending her against a gem who could shatter her without a second thought. Jasper shushed her, laying a hand on her head placatingly.

Skinny released her grip on Jasper and moved dangerously close to Lapis, towering over her.

“Look at me.” She demanded. When Lapis resisted, she grabbed her chin and wrenched her head upwards. “Stay away from her, or else. Understand?”

Lapis nodded.

“Just because we occupy the same planet doesn’t make us friends, and it definitely doesn’t make us Crystal gems, so don’t think that it does. Got it?”

She nodded again, struggling against Skinny’s grip.

“And you’re going to go back in that house like the good little traitor you are and leave us alone. Okay?”

“Mmmph…yes, okay.” Lapis agreed tensely.

“Good.”

To her credit, Skinny let her go gently, giving a warning look to the other Betas to keep them from hurling more abuse her way. She wasn’t the bullying type, but she was by no means a novice. With only a tentative glance over her shoulder, Lapis made her way back up to the house. Amethyst held the door open for her, wide eyed.