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Summary:

Lapis is a master of words, a virtuoso at the art of tailoring what they say on a need-to-know basis.

Euclase is a silent observer, a versatile and dutiful worker behind the scenes.

There is no gem like Lapis that provokes Euclase’s curiosity so much.

Notes:

a rarepair I thought had a lot of potential - sharp intellectual types with different approaches and outlooks on life.

inspired by all the gorgeous art I've seen of them together:
- this piece specifically
- and this one as well
[EDIT 1/8/18]
- ANOTHER WONDERFUL PIECE, it seems like JP fandom really likes the idea of this pair, and I'm glad
[EDIT 2/11/18]
- yet another awesome Euclase/Lapis drawing
- there is also cosplay as well, bless
[EDIT 3/30/18]
-the gift that keeps giving

contains manga spoilers up to chapter 62.

Work Text:

Lapis is a master of words, a virtuoso at the art of tailoring what they say on a need-to-know basis. One who understands the power of vast knowledge and how to selectively command attention and sway hearts with it.

They’re sly, but that word is too simple to capture the nuances of their charisma. They’re not a trickster for the sake of being one; every move is keen and calculated, as if to accomplish a certain objective. For what, none of the gems would ever be sure of, as Lapis is a mysterious one and all the more magnetic for it.

The library is their favorite hangout; reading calms them down, helps them re-focus. It’s the only thing predictable about them. More often than not, Euclase finds them there long after the others have gone to sleep. They proffer a deck of cards (or sometimes a board game) with a gentle smile. But they both know it’s a challenge.

----

Euclase is a silent observer, a versatile and dutiful worker behind the scenes. A serious and kind secretary, in more than just title. Not a gem of many words but one that knows the effectiveness of a few.

They’re a natural peacekeeper and satisfied with maintaining the harmony and quietly watching the seasons change, watching living things come and go, their lives flickering bright and quick like a candle flame. They’re prone to a little sentimentality about the passage of time, but not overtly concerned about it.

Strategy has always been Euclase’s hobby - like Red Beryl and fashion or Rutile and science - and it’s one they fully indulge in, whether it’s wagering things over a quick round of poker or soundly trouncing Bort again in a game of chess. When those were exhausted, they invented their own games on their days off. They’re still rather partial to the human-made ones (with rules set by Sensei); it’s like experiencing a fragment of history, and feels strangely nostalgic.

Lapis is a formidable opponent, a fast learner with whatever game-of-the-day Euclase throws at them with the ability to mask their emotions while reading others'. It’s not uncommon for them to go head-to-head for an entire night. Euclase emerges victorious from most of their matches, but there are many draws; Yellow recounts that the longest game lasted for four days, and would have gone on longer if not for a Lunarian attack.

----

There is no gem like Lapis that provokes Euclase’s curiosity so much.

Beneath that calm exterior is a restless mind, teeming with theories and searching for answers. Aren’t you curious?  Lapis had asked them with a teasing smile once. Curious about the Lunarians, about their origins and their motives, about any greater meaning behind them. About the truth. Euclase had been content just to take everything in, to sit back and watch over it, but now they’re undoubtedly fascinated. (And as they’ll never admit, more so about Lapis and their desire to find that knowledge than the knowledge itself)

For a time, Euclase is the only one privy to all the cryptic hints about the search that Lapis drops every now and then. Whether or not they came closer to uncovering the truth about the Lunarians, Euclase didn’t really care. The conspiratorial smiles, the late nights sparring over games... those were times they both cherished. Even if meant casting doubt on the world they both knew. Euclase could never be sure if Lapis ever truly trusted them (or any gem for that matter), but these midnight meetings seemed to be their way of saying, we are similar, you and I.

For Lapis, it seemed that finding someone that could keep up, could understand, was the closest to an expression of intimacy.

The day Lapis was taken by the Lunarians was a day they’d never forget. It happened so suddenly, so quickly, too easily. Ghost Quartz was inconsolable, the rest of the gems went still in shock, and Sensei’s anger resounded throughout the entire hall. Euclase took the chess set out by the jellyfish pond and retraced some of their old games wistfully. Lapis wasn’t one for self-sacrifice, so Euclase couldn’t help but wonder if it was intentional. Perhaps they were sending some sort of message. It was useless carrying on about this, so they entrusted Lapis’s head to Ghost Quartz for safekeeping, and went on with their days bleeding into months into years into centuries.

----

When all’s said and done, it seemed like Lapis never intended to truly leave. Euclase doesn’t know if they’re being overly sentimental and seeing what they want to, but sometimes they can’t tell if Phos is still Phos or if Lapis is in there somehow. Well, it’s only natural to expect that Lapis’s inclusions would influence Phos’s personality, but sometimes the resemblance is a bit too uncanny. Cairngorm notices this and insists that it’s just that idiot Phos and that they both would know otherwise. Euclase is suspicious all the same, because second-guessing Lapis is the only way to play their game.

As they watch Phos carefully after their return from the moon, Euclase promises that they aren’t going to lose this one.