We arrived at the mall, and began to walk towards Factory Edge to get my tattoo. "Do you have something in mind yet?" Lapis asked, walking beside me. "I'm actually not too sure..." I muttered in reply, looking down at the floor. "I wanna get something that I won't regret for the rest of my life, that's for sure." I added. "Well...it could really be anything. You could do your zodiac sign, your birthstone, a meaningful quote, a symbolic design...the list really goes on." Pearl explained. "Well, I'm a Leo...buuut maybe I could get something that represents my role in the gang?" I suggested.

"Hm...maybe." Lapis thought out loud. We arrived at the small shop in the corner, and there stood a heavily tattooed man behind the counter. "What can I do for you girls today?" his raspy voice boomed as he leaned over the counter. "We're gettin' a tattoo for this gal right here!" Amethyst exclaimed, pushing me to the front. "Alrighty, come to the back, miss." the man said, walking around the counter and towards the back. I followed, and the rest followed closely behind me. I nervously fidgeted with my fingers, and bit my lip. 

"You okay?" I suddenly heard Lapis whisper to me. "E-ehm, y-yeah. Just...a lil' nervous is all..." I muttered in reply. Lapis then planted a kiss on my cheek, and intertwined her fingers with mine softly. "Don't worry, it won't hurt that bad. Just pinches, you know?" she said, and I arched an eyebrow. "Depending on where you get it, of course." Garnet chimed in. Lapis then looked over at Garnet, and I could tell the expression probably wasn't very pleasant. "What? I'm just warning her..." Garnet muttered, crossing her arms. "I actually kind of have an idea of where I'm gonna put it. I might actually want more than one..." I added, and Lapis looked back over at me. "Oh nice. Where do you have in mind?" she asked. 

"My wrist, probably. And maybe my neck...or shoulder." I explained, tracing my finger along my forearm. "Either one will look awesome." Lapis replied with a smile. I nervously smiled back, and took a deep breath as we arrived to the area where the guy does the inking. "Okay, what's your name, sweetheart?" he asked, signaling for me to sit in the chair. I hesitantly sat in the large chair, and cleared my throat a bit. "Peridot..." I murmured. "Okay, Peridot. You know what you want?" he asked, leaning over a counter, preparing things. "Hm..." I thought for a moment, making sure I fully made my decision. 

Something then beeped, and it was coming from Lapis. The bluenette perked up, and looked down at her pocket with furrowed eyebrows. She pulled out her phone, and looked at it. She stared at it for a few seconds, stopped the beeping, and shoved it back into her pocket. "Ugh, I gotta go...do something. This of all times." she groaned, giving me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, love. Good luck with the tattoos, and I'm hyped to see what they look like." Lapis said in a soft tone of voice, kissing my forehead. "Don't worry about it, Laz. I'll be fiiiiine. It's just a tattoo." I insisted casually, shrugging my shoulders. I was trembling inside, but I of course didn't show it. "Okay. I love youuuuu!!" she called, jogging out of the store. "Love you too!" I called after her, slumping in my chair. 

"I know what I want." I stated, looking up at the tattoo artist. "Perfect. Let's hear it." he replied. "You do?" Pearl asked. "Yeah...I-I..." I stammered, a little embarrassed to say it aloud. "Spit it out, P-dot!" Amethyst shouted. "Ugh...I want...Lapis Lazuli in cursive tattooed on my forearm." I muttered under my breath. The Crystal Gems stared at me for a moment in silence, before Steven awed loudly. "You...really want her name to be printed onto your skin forever?" Pearl asked with a small smile, raising her eyebrows high. "Dude...you don't know if you guys will stay together forever, though! What if you regret this?" Amethyst protested. 

"I won't regret it, because even if we did break up...she still had a huge impact on my life...and I would never want to forget her." I replied, looking to the floor. "Even if she hurt you?" Garnet asked. "...yeah. I'll just remember that she really was one of the closest people to me, and I wouldn't wanna disregard that, you know?" I explained. "Deep." Garnet deadpanned, looking impressed. "Any others?" the guy then asked, pulling the needle out. "I-I also wanted some pretty design on my shoulder...something green..." I said, thinking deeply. "Maybe some vines? Or flowers, or...?" the guy suggested, and I hummed. 

"How 'bout both!" Amethyst piped up, and I looked over at her for a moment. "Hm...that actually sounds...pretty cool! I'll get some vines...and maybe sunflower-type designs on my shoulder...kinda trailing down to about my elbow maybe? Or a little higher, actually." I explained, making motions with my fingers as I demonstrated how I wanted the ink to go. "Sunflowers?" Steven asked with a little grin. "Yeah...they're my favorite." I said. "Alright, I think I know what you're lookin' for." the tattoo artist said, nodding his head. He then began to sketch out the designs, and I talked to the Crystal Gems while I was waiting.

. . . .

"OH MY GOD IT HUUURTSSSS THAT WAS PAINFUL YOU ALL WERE WRONG!!!" I sobbed, holding onto the bandages on my right arm tightly. "I wasn't." Garnet stated quietly. "Peridot, you didn't think it was gonna be completely painless, did you?" Pearl asked, looking over at me. "No...but I didn't think it would be thIS PAINFUL!!" I growled, then whimpered. "Well, we should walk around for a while, get your mind off the pain." Steven said. "Where's Lapis been?" I asked. "No idea." Garnet replied briefly. "Yeah, she didn't really tell us where she was going." Amethyst said, shrugging her shoulders. 

"Should I call her?" I asked, looking back and forth at everyone. "She's probably busy." Steven answered. "Yeah, she's probably doin' another surprise for you." Pumpkin said, giggling. I looked at everyone, and they looked at each other. "...most likely." Pearl admitted with a shrug. "Mmm. Sooo it would probably be a bad idea to call her..." I muttered, putting my hands in my pockets. "Probably." Garnet said. "Well, in the meantime, let's go to Dream Land!" Pumpkin shouted happily, pointing to a cartoonish fantasy store on the next corner of the mall. I giggled and nodded at her, taking her small hand into mine.

. . . .

"It has been 3 and a half hours, and the guy said I could've taken my bandages off like 30 minutes ago. Can I pleeeease go do that?" I asked tiredly, trudging past Hot Topic for probably the seventeenth time. "Alright, we'll take you to the bathroom. Garnet, can you take Steven and Pumpkin to get some food then meet us back here?" Pearl asked, looking over at the tall woman. Garnet nodded in response, and put her hand on the kids' backs. "Come on, guys." she muttered, walking towards the food court. We walked to the bathroom, and I stood in front of the mirror, the lights shining directly on me. "Ooooo let's see itttt!" Amethyst squealed, hopping up and down. 

"Now be careful, Peridot. He did say you could take the bandages off within three hours, but it will still be very tender, and you need to be gentle with them." Pearl explained in a motherly tone. I rolled my eyes and chuckled, reaching my hand up to my shoulder first. "Alright, alright." I murmured in reply. It was a bit sore as I gently unwrapped the bandages, but it wasn't too bad. It slowly revealed these beautiful vines and sunflowers, with bold black linings bordering each design. I gasped, dropping the bandages onto the counter and looking at the tattoos more closely. "He did soooo gooood!!" I squealed with a big grin. "Dude, that looks badass!" Ame beamed. "These designs are beautiful, Peridot." Pearl said, studying them a bit closer. "Wow, thanks! The green is so pretty..." I said, SOFTLY tracing my finger over the ink. 

"Let's see the other one." Amethyst said, looking down at my wrist. "Oh! Yeah!" I reached down and slowly did the same with the bandages down on my wrist. I dropped them next to the other bandages, and my mouth gaped as I spotted the writing across my forearm. "Lapis Lazuli" was written in sleek black cursive, and it looked so precise. "They're a good look for you, Peri." Amethyst claimed, placing her hands on her hips. "Wow...this writing is phenomenal." Pearl said in a cheery tone of voice. "Th-thanks guys! This birthday has been awesome so far! I can't wait to show Lapis." I said, staring down at my wrist tattoo. I threw the bandages away, and we exited the restroom quickly. I looked around, and found Garnet sitting at a table with Steven and Pumpkin. The two were eating fast food, and we walked up to them. 

"Wow, Peridot your tattoos look amazing!" Steven said excitedly, and I could almost see stars in his eyes. "Whoop, Lapis just texted me." Pearl said, looking down at her phone. "What'd she say?" I asked eagerly. "She said that since it's gonna be dark soon, we should probably head home. She'll be there." she explained. "Oh okay!" I replied, putting my hands in my pockets. "She also said to make sure to go through the exit near the JCPenney's." Pearl added, and I nodded. We began to walk to the exit near said store, and I couldn't wait to show Lapis my new ink. Everyone slowed down a bit, so I walked ahead of them to get a move on, and I pushed open the double doors to feel the fresh breeze hit me. The sun was setting, and I immediately froze as soon as I saw what was actually in front of me. 

There stood a figure standing next to a table, with fancy lit candles sitting on top of it. An expensive-looking chair sat on either side of the table, each having balloons tied to them neatly. This fucking amazing food was also served on the table, and I couldn't help but feel my mouth water as the smell lingered under my nose. I then felt a huge blush spread across my face as soon as I spotted who the figure was. It was Lapis standing there, in a tux, with her hands in her pockets. She had a shy look on her face, and she shifted from one foot to the other. "L-Lapis....?" I squeaked, looking around as I spotted everyone else was gone. They must still be inside, or just booked it. "H-hey Peri." Lapis said quietly, giving me a half-smile. OH MY GOD. "Y-you...wh...you look...oh my...y-you...a-all for me? Th-this?" I stuttered, still not believing my eyes. 

Lapis walked up to me slowly, and planted a soft kiss on my lips. "You like it?" she asked, giving me a hopeful expression. "Th-this is...I can't...what?!" I stammered, wanting to laugh and cry and scream at the same time. "This is beautiful, Lapis! Lapis Lazuli I-I don't know what to say!" I said anxiously. "You don't need to say anything. Love your tattoo, by the way~" she purred, smirking at my shoulder. "A-actually, I also got something else..." I muttered, turning my wrist to where my forearm was exposed. Lapis tilted her head, pulling her hands out of her pockets and touching my arm sensitively. "Lemme see." she said, looking eager. 

I lifted my arm a bit to show her, and as soon as she read it, her smile faded, and her eyebrows shot up. Her face was beet red, and her mouth opened a little in awe. "Y-you...p-put my name?" she asked barely above a whisper. "Y-yeah...I-I was worried it'd be a bit much but...I did it anyways..." I explained, scratching the back of my neck with my free hand. She stared at it for a long moment, then stared up at me. "I love it, Peridot." she said with a sincerity in her tone that I hadn't ever heard before. "I love you. You look great too..." I said, giggling. 

Lapis then looked down at her clothes, and pulled her hands away from my arm to adjust her tie a little. "O-oh, heh i-it's not too much?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Of course not. But this definitely is above and beyond...I love it." I said as I looked her over, then at the table. "Sorry I took so long. I had to rent out the patio, that's why I had you come out this exit." the bluenette explained, folding her hands together and looking down. "I got us food!" she then said in a more upbeat tone, gesturing to the table. "WOO! LET'S EAT!!" I shouted, giggling loudly. We sat down, and ate while talking about random things, and my horrible excruciating pain during the tattoo process. 

I finished eating, and Lapis had been done for a few minutes before. "Ugh, that was fucking delicious." I said, staring at my empty plate. "I know right?! It was expensive so it better have been good or I'm getting a refund and cutting some chef." Lapis said, giggling. "Definitely was. I feel awesome having this tattoo now." I said, placing my hand over my tattoos. "You were always awesome, Peri." the bluenette remarked, chuckling. "Hmph, I was a nerd. I still AM." I argued, trying not to smile. "You're an awesome nerd. You took punches like a fucking champ even when we were little." Lapis said, leaning over the table slightly, smirking. "Hehe, yeah I guess..." I muttered, looking down.

There was a sudden silence for almost a whole minute, except for the running fountain in the back. Lapis looked very fidgety all of a sudden, and looked up at me with big eyes. "S-so uhm...I have one more surprise for you..." she murmured quietly, and I arched an eyebrow. "Hm?" I leaned forward a bit, growing more curious. Lapis the stood up and walked over to me. She took me to the fountain, and kissed me very slowly. When she pulled away, her pupils were bigger, and her eyebrows scrunched a little, and it almost looked like a puppy face. "Close your eyeesssss~" she said in a soft tone of voice, and I bit my lip. I closed them, and waited excitedly. It was taking a while, and my curiosity was eating away at me. "Come onnnn, what is it??" I whined, bouncing up and down. "Okay, open 'em." she said, and I did just that.