Chapter Text
Lapis and Steven were best friends. This was mostly because they loved each other dearly, but also because Steven didn’t have very many friends, and because Lapis refused to make any more friends. The two of them did most of the day to day work of the co-op coffee shop, with the other three owners typically being far too busy being heroes to actually bother doing the shop running. Though, one of them had quite the talent for seeing the future, which meant neither of them ever had to worry about ordering.
The most common thing Lapis Lazuli had to worry about were guys hitting on her, which happened frequently because she was twenty-seven, pretty, and a very femme lesbian. She had gotten pretty good at dealing with them, though, and it wasn’t something she needed to be concerned about now as she looked around the empty shop.
It was around eleven, a little before the lunch rush and after the morning commute hell. The little square shop hosted a few tables clustered around a stage in the left corner. To the right was a bar that boxed her in, the counter able to flip up in one spot for easy in and out, though she preferred to hop it. In the middle of it all was a bunch of empty tables. To the side was a very comfy empty couch.
It should have been perfect. Lapis didn’t have to do her job at all, the shop had wifi, she had a fully charged phone… But she wasn’t good at dealing with the fact that her twenty year old best friend appeared to have hit puberty in the past few weeks.
“Is that girl you’re creeping on back on the beach?” Lapis asked him. “Or are you actually looking out for gem monsters for once?”
“It can be both,” Steven mumbled, his fingers tracing shapes along the previously cleaned windows, just under the Now Hiring sign.
It was not an uncommon sight at Rose’s Fountain Cafe for the 6’2, husky boy Steven to be pressed against the front glass like a linebacker struggling with the concept of clear walls. He had lazily looked through the windows plenty of times before the girl had shown up, usually scoping out the beach for the monsters that terrorized their shop and occasionally killed them, which was very inconvenient.
“You’d get a better view outside,” Lapis pointed out.
“I’m working,” he mumbled.
She looked around at their clean, empty shop. “Are you?”
His eyes slid sadly to the floor. “And she might see me if I go outside.”
“There it is.” She scoffed. “Seriously, Steven, you can’t even talk to a girl? What kind of Bard are you?”
“Not that kind of-” Steven cut his groan off with a bright smile as someone approached the door, switching into cheery customer service mode. “Good morning! Welcome to Rose’s Fountain Cafe!”
The customer in question was a short blond with bright green eyes and wild, messy hair. Every line in her face was deep with exhaustion as stumbled through the door and stared at him. “Terrible morning. I just died.”
Cute. The girl had good proportions, a cute face, an emotional voice. Not exactly Lapis’s usual type, but she wasn’t the kind of girl to limit her options. Lapis took the cutie’s hand and lead her to the counter. “Yeah, we get that a lot. We’re next door to the respawn point. We’ve even got a revive special - four shots of espresso and heavy cream, plus one shot of whatever flavor you’re in the mood for. Caffeine to get you through the day, calories to help your body. Eight bucks. Our bard can make it magic for another five.”
“You’re an angel,” she whispered, flopping over the counter. “No magic. Vanilla, please.”
“Perfect. I wasn’t in the mood to sing harmony anyway,” Lapis said, punching in the order.
The woman sighed, continuing in her scratchy voice, “Today was supposed to be relaxing, you know. I went on a boat ride.”
“Cool. Name?” Lapis held her fingers poised above the keyboard.
“Uh, Peridot.” She looked around the small, completely empty coffee shop. “Is that really necessary? No one’s here.”
“I don’t think hard enough about my job to adapt to new situations,” Lapis said flatly.
Peridot swiped her card, and watched as Lapis strolled off towards the grinder. “So, uh, I went on a boat ride this morning. It was supposed to be a break from my job. You know, enjoy the new town, appreciate the ocean. But some giant worm smashed it and me in one hit.”
Lapis smirked, pouring cream into the cup. “Wow. Must be a real tanky class, huh?”
“I’m a Hacker. Noncombat class, but it’s still pretty useful. What about you?” Even without the coffee in her hands, Peridot was looking much more awake - getting up on her tiptoes to watch Lapis as she worked. The grin only widened as she caught the nametag. “Lapis! That’s a nice name.”
She tamped down the grounds and ran two double shots on separate machines. “I’m a Water Witch, and you’re pretty chatty for a girl who was just taken out by an overgrown sea slug.”
“I’d rather be taken out by-” Peridot began, then stopped with a blush. “Uh, sorry. Don’t mean to hit on you while you’re at work. I’m very tired. Disoriented. I mentioned I just died, right?”
Lapis poured the four shots into one tall cup. A single shot of vanilla syrup, a little swirl, and a quick scribbling on the side finished it up. She slid it across the counter with a grin, delighting in watching as Peridot’s cheeks darken as she squeaked, “Wow!”
“You should call that number as soon as you’re feeling better.” Lapis leaned across the counter to get on eye level with the much shorter girl. “I like a girl who knows when she’s being rude.”
“Lapis! We’ve got trouble!” Steven shouted. He rushed from the shop, a shining pink shield flaring to being in his hand.
Lapis followed, albeit much slower. “Duty calls. I’m going to lock you in, alright? Be back in ten.” She hopped lazily over the counter, soaring over Peridot’s astonished head.
Steven was already down by the beach while Lapis was flipping the sign from open to closed. By the time she had looked back to them, a gem monster had risen from the waves - long and transparent down to its reddish core. It screamed, as gem monsters were wont to do, and dove for the girl Steven had been gawking at for the past few weeks. Who, Lapis noted smugly, was apparently too wrapped up in her book to pay attention to her surroundings. Looked like she wasn’t exactly a combatant either.
The scream did catch her attention, though, and the dark skinned girl scrambled out of the way. Her hand barely managed to grab her bag in time before the monster dove into the sand, sending up a spray that hid most of the beach from view. Lapis noted there wasn’t a scream from the girl, and moved her pace up to a jog. Maybe she had been knocked out with some kind of invisible attack?
By the time the sand cleared, she saw Steven standing between the worm and its victim, his shield taking the blows from the angry monster. “Lapis!” he called out. “I could use a little offense!”
She smirked. “What, you can’t talk it down?”
Lapis called to the ocean, and it answered, the harmony of her and the sea buzzed through her bones, rattling through her skull. The ocean whipped out in ropes of water, swirling and twisting over the gem monster’s body. It screamed and struggled, and she felt every yank at the slowly tightening chains as a tug at lungs, making it hard to breathe. If she kept it up for much longer, it would start to feel like drowning.
Her fingers snapped closed into a fist, and the water crashed down, slicing through the monster’s form like wire through clay. The segments fell, some turning into smoke before the hit the ground and some sending up a wave of sand before they vanished. She released her water, and it sunk down slowly into the sand, leaving dunes and a gem as the only reminder of the fight.
“And you thought there’d be…” She grinned at Steven, but he was already by the downed nerd to her feet. Lapis scowled. “Trouble.”
The girl had looked so small on the ground, but upright she even had a few inches over Steven - lanky and thin compared to his sturdy frame. Steven gawked and the girl gave an eager smile and said, “Hello, I’m Connie. I’m six four.”
“What?” he blinked, still gawking.
“Everyone always asks how tall I am. Easier just to say it upfront. I’m six four. I’m a Swordfighter. I’m Connie Maheswaran.” She stuck out one hand for him to shake and used her other hand to sling her duffel bag up over her shoulder. Steven took it, shaking it in slow awe. “Thanks for saving me out there. I was caught up in my book and didn’t see it until the last second. With you two around I didn’t even get the chance to pull my sword.”
He beamed. “Y-Yeah! No problem! I’m Steven Universe. I’m a Bard, but I’ve got a lot of weird class stuff going on. Have I met you before? Your name sounds really-”
Lapis frowned. “Steven? Want to bubble it before it reforms, or do I have to take this thing out twice?”
He flushed, kneeling by the gem in the sand. “You could’ve bubbled it, Lapis.”
She had already turned to the nerd. She crossed her arms as she looked her up and down. Loose clothes, a big t-shirt, sweatpants…and what Lapis could see seemed slender and curveless. She said skeptically, “You don’t look like a Swordfighter. Aren’t people in your class built a little more… stocky?”
“Depends on the style. I’m more focused on mobility than power.” Connie shrugged, but continued on eagerly, “You were amazing! I’ve never seen water magic like that before! Is that your skill? Were you-?”
“And a Swordfighter should really have better situational awareness,” Lapis continued on. “That gem monster was nearly on you before you dodged. Beach City is a hotbed for this stuff. You can’t completely zone out and read a book on the beach unless you have someone else keeping watch.”
Connie cleared her throat. “I’m, uh, new in town. Just started at Ocean Town University. Living here for the cheaper rent. There’s a housing shortage there. You know, from those ruby monsters last year?”
“There was so much fire,” Steven whispered, remembering the horror now that the worm monster was safely bubbled and sent to the shop. “Anyway, don’t worry about us saving you. It’s kind of our job to watch this section of the beach. Not, you know, paying jobs or anything. More like a responsibility? Anyway, we were happy to protect you.”
“We should go back to the coffee shop, Steven,” Lapis said, taking his hand and giving it a tug. “Come on. We’ve got a customer in there I just gave my number to. It’s weird to leave her there for long.”
He slipped his hand out of hers, frowning slightly. “Then you go talk to her. Won’t I just get in the way of you getting a date?”
She crossed her arms. He wasn’t coming and she couldn’t just leave him alone on the beach with Connie. Steven wasn’t supposed to like girls. Steven wasn’t supposed to want to spend time with people more than her. And he definitely shouldn’t do it just because some nerdy college student with a cute face decided to give him the time of day.
“So, it’s a break?” she asked. “I should clock you out?”
He rolled his eyes. At her. Lapis felt her rage spike, magic starting to buzz at her bones as he said, “Okay, yeah. Clock me out for talking to a person we just saved like I talk to every person we save. You…” He stopped, all the annoyance vanishing in an instant. “Lapis, are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry. You’re clearly in the middle of something.” Connie laughed nervously. “But, uh, you guys aren’t talking about Rose’s Fountain, are you? The one just over there?”
Steven perked up. “Yeah! Why, do you want a drink? We make some great ones.”
“That’d be nice, but…” She dug into her duffel bag and held out a resume. “I’ve done barista work before. I was actually wondering if I could apply for the job?”
Lapis felt her lungs suddenly choke for air. Steven and Connie squealed with shock as rain droplets came down on them both, as her uncontrolled magic churned up the ocean behind her. Despite all that, Lapis kept her voice quite steady as she said, “Leave your resume. We’ll call you.”