Chapter Text
The events of the night before didn’t register in Steven’s mind until he found their new guest asleep on his couch. Despite having been kept up late the night before, the child was still up at the crack of dawn, long before anyone else. Climbing down from his loft bedroom, he almost slipped down the ladder when he was startled by a sudden, loud snore from below.
Seeing Lapis crashing on the living room couch, he suddenly recalled the trip to pick her up the night before. Still in her clothes from last night, with her bags thrown carelessly up against the couch, the woman looked incredibly out of place.
Not to say that she was the only thing that seemed out of place in the Quartz-Universe household, however.
Steven descended to the ground and tip-toed across the cold floor to the kitchen. Gathering a box of cereal and all its necessities in his arms, he made his way back to the living room and plopped down on the rug to watch cartoons.
When the television popped on the volume blasted at a high volume. Steven fumbled with the remote, turning the noise down to a much quieter level, but not in time to keep their houseguest from stirring. Lapis rolled over and her eyes slowly blinked open.
“Oh, sorry,” Steven said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
Lapis sat up and rubbed at her face. “‘s okay.”
“Are you hungry?” Steven asked. He filled his bowl with cereal and passed it to Lapis. “Here, have mine. I can get another bowl.”
Lapis accepted the bowl with mild confusion. “Uh, thanks,” she said, holding it steady as Steven poured milk for her. He handed her a spoon before running back to the kitchen for a new bowl.
“What’re we watchin’?” Lapis asked around a mouthful of Fruit Loops.
“Crying Breakfast Friends,” Steven replied excitedly, joining her back in front of the television and quickly filling his own bowl, “the perfect breakfast-time cartoon!”
“So, what is it that they’re crying about?”
“Oh, lots ‘a stuff,” Steven explained. “I think this is the episode where Bitter Bran Flakes tries to confess their feelings to Weeping Eggcup, but then they have their big fight.” He stirred his cereal a bit apprehensively. “Ya’ know, I wish Bran Flakes was in more episodes, but it always feels wrong to eat this while watching episodes about her.” He stared thoughtfully at his food for another moment, then he shrugged and plunged another spoonful into his mouth.
“Is this show supposed to be funny or sad?” Lapis wondered aloud a minute later.
“Eh, it’s both, but this episode is mostly sad. Just watch!” Steven said, waving his free hand at the screen.
After the episode concluded, Steven gathered up the breakfast mess and took everything back to the kitchen. When he returned, he brought with him a big, fluffy cat, tucked underneath his arm.
Lapis blinked, staring at what she was sure must be some sort of very realistic toy.
It blinked back.
“What the- what’s wrong with your cat?” she asked incredulously.
“Huh?” Steven checked the cat over with concern. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He… he’s pink.”
“Oh, yeah!” Steven said with a laugh. “He used to be white, but then that Kool-Aid thing happened, and now he’s pink.” Steven sat down next to Lapis on the couch, settling the cat in his lap. “He doesn’t seem to mind it though. His name’s Lion; you can pet him if you want!”
The cat sniffed the newcomer curiously, and then he flopped down in Steven’s lap and allowed Lapis to scratch him behind the ears.
“Cute,” she commented, before pulling her hand away to reach for her backpack. She pulled out a cell phone and checked the time. “Do you have a shower that I could use?”
“Yeah, it’s down the hallway,” Steven told her. He raised his arm to point it out for her, which allowed Lion to wriggle from his grasp and sprint from the room. “Aw, man.”
“Thanks.” Lapis zipped open her bag and dug through her clothes.
“So, why are you here, exactly?” Steven asked, kneeling on the floor beside her.
“I’m just here for a visit,” she stated bluntly.
“But, Pearl’s never mentioned you before,” Steven pondered, “and she always tells me when we’re having visitors over.”
Lapis paused for a moment, hovering with a small heap of clothes in her lap. “I had a fight with my girlfriend,” she admitted, yanking her bag closed again, “so I left, and I needed somewhere to stay for awhile.” She gathered up her clothes and started down the hall.
“And no,” Lapis continued, pausing as she had an afterthought, “I wouldn’t say that Pearl and I are friends.”