Some time after the business with Homeworld had been settled, the Crystal Gems gained three powerful allies. Two of them were their former enemies, Peridot and Jasper, who eventually turned traitor on Yellow Diamond and fought for the autonomy of all gems. Jasper had returned to Homeworld after the last battle, looking to rehabilitate the gems victimized by the kindergartens, while Peridot chose to come back to earth with Pearl. (The other Crystal Gems too, but mostly for Pearl.)

The third, however, preferred to live by herself. She made her home in a small, humble cave by the ocean, where the floor was just high enough that the water would lap at her toes during high tide. She could have easily controlled the ebb and flow of the ocean at her own will, but preferred to welcome it. This was Lapis Lazuli, the Ocean Gem. Lapis did not fight against Homeworld for any noble cause - not justice, not the protection of earth, not even love. Lapis Lazuli had fought off Homeworld for simple revenge against what she had been put through by gems over and over again. She could not bring herself to go back to Homeworld, and she could not bring herself to live with the Crystal Gems. As much as she loved and cared about her one good friend, Steven, living with any more gems was... Well, it just wasn't going to happen.

At least the others had peacefully agreed with that, and Steven made sure to let her know that if she ever needed anything, she would be welcome to stay. Lapis appreciated the boy's offer, but she couldn't see herself walking up to that house anytime soon.

She and Steven still remained in close contact. Every Friday afternoon they would be sure to meet up in her cave, at 2:30 on the dot, and talk about the week's events over a lunch Steven packed. Being a gem, Lapis had no need to eat, but the feeling brought a small comfort, and Steven clearly worked so hard on it every time, it would be rude not to try it. Lapis never had much to say. All of her days were uneventful, just the way she liked them, but she loved hearing Steven talk excitedly about all the missions the Crystal Gems went on, and all his funny human adventures.

And so it went. A simple, quiet week passing by with nobody around until Fridays at 2:30. It was a strict routine, and she liked it that way.

One day, however, there was a disruption to that routine.

In the beach house, Steven laid in his bed. It was nearly 2:30. His stomach was in knots and his skin was white as a sheet. Every time he tried to get up, he was dizzy and faint. "Oh, Lapis is gonna kill me," he moaned, hovering over the trash can Garnet had placed next to his bed. "I'm too sick to make it to lunch with her... Ugh, I didn't even get to pack anything."

Peridot loomed over him, using her scanners to identify his illness, while Pearl straightened his covers. "You're probably not going to be getting any better for another week," Peridot said in her quiet, raspy voice. "You've got symptoms similar to the human disease influenza. We should watch them to make sure they don't get any worse, and they're going to get worse if you push yourself too hard."

"That means," Pearl interjected, "no missions, no school, no visiting Connie, no riding on Lion all across town, nothing."

Steven groaned. "Nothing? I'm gonna be trapped here for a whole week?"

"You'll be in this bed for a thousand years if you keep up that whining," Garnet said. Her tone was flat, as usual, but she reached down and affectionately rubbed Steven's head as she spoke to let him know that she was teasing. "Listen to Pearl and Peridot and be sure to get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water. Don't stay up late watching TV or playing video games if we're gone on a mission at night."

The boy sighed, curling up under the covers. "Yes, Garnet." He was too tired and sick to argue. In a few short moments, exhaustion lulled him into a deep sleep, broken only by coughing fits.

Pearl was the first to speak, looking at Garnet. "So who's going to tell Lapis that Steven's not coming?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Well, I'm not going back there," Peridot interjected. "She'll probably try to pull my arms off. Again."

"I'll go," Garnet said.

Pearl flinched. "Garnet, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, Lapis is sensitive, and you're, well... a little..."

"You're too blunt for Lapis," Peridot said, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder and pulling her close, making Pearl flush a bright teal. "Besides, she hates you both for putting her in the mirror."

"Fair enough." Garnet cracked her knuckles. "I'll get Amethyst. She can take the message over."

"Amethyst?!" Pearl crowed. "Are you sure? She's... she's so..."

"Well, according to you, she's the best option we've got since Steven is out of commission. Wait here." Without another word, Garnet leapt over the balcony and strode over to the door. With gem magic, it opened to Amethyst's room, and Garnet walked in.

In a few moments, Pearl and Peridot both heard Amethyst's voice shout, "Augh, really, G? Do I have to?"

"Yes. You do. Maintaining a good relationship with Lapis is very important to keeping the Earth stable," Garnet said, dragging Amethyst out by the arm while the purple gem followed reluctantly. "It'll take five minutes."

Amethyst shrugged, straightening one of her black tank straps on her shoulder. "Fine, but I won't like it. I was in the middle of making a cool pile of my stuff!"

"Amethyst, go." Garnet waved her off, tapping her foot as the door to the gems' rooms closed. Amethyst groaned before marching out the door and onto the beach.

There was a short pause before Pearl leaned over the railing, looking down at Garnet. "So, why exactly did you send Amethyst over to see Lapis, anyway? We could have just left a note."

Garnet simply looked up and smirked.

Amethyst, unable to hear this short exchange, trod slowly on the white sand. She liked feeling the soft earth under her feet. It reminded her a little bit of the kindergarten where she had been born, and how after a heavy rainstorm, the loose earth at the bottom of the canyon would turn to silt. The young gems would have contests where they would see who could slide the furthest on the slippery dirt. Amethyst had never won, but she didn't mind because getting muddy was half the fun.

Not that she was able to bring this up to any of the other gems, of course. She wasn't allowed to speak positively of the kindergarten, and it was terribly frustrating. Amethyst knew as well as anyone how evil the purpose of the kindergarten was, how the Homeworld gems wanted to suck the earth dry... But it was her home. The gems she had grown up with, Bismuth and Pyrite and Obsidian and all the others - they were her family. She didn't think that it was fair that she had to give up her fond memories of them in order to be a "proper" gem. Amethyst kicked a piece of driftwood in frustration. Couldn't she be herself around anyone?

Whatever. There was no point in thinking about it anymore. Lapis's cave was in sight and she had a job to do. Amethyst sighed. She didn't dislike Lapis Lazuli; in fact, she respected her quite a lot. But there was something mysterious about the blue gem, something that she just couldn't quite put her finger on, and it made her distrustful. Instinct, really. Nothing personal. But Amethyst knew from Steven's excited reports every Friday evening that Lapis was nice enough and could be trusted. Steven was a loving, compassionate sort, but he wasn't the type to be friends with someone who would hurt or take advantage of him or anyone else he loved. He was good like that.

"Well, time to face the music," Amethyst grumbled. With a deep inhale, she straightened her back and walked straight to the cave's entrance. The cave was a wide, gaping mouth of violet stone. Soft, wet sand covering the floor made a squishing sound beneath Amethyst's white boots, and she dreaded the scolding she was bound to get from Pearl about getting her shoes dirty. Somewhere in the back of the cave, where it was dark, Amethyst could just begin to make out Lapis's thin frame in the darkness.

"Yo, Lapis," Amethyst called, smirking when the blue gem jumped up in surprise. Lapis's dark blue hair bounced as she turned to face Amethyst. Her expression turned from shock to disappointment in the blink of an eye.

"Hello, Amethyst," Lapis Lazuli said, trying to be cordial. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothin'. Just came by to let you know Steven's not coming today."

Lapis looked wounded, her jaw dropping. Not sure what to do with her hands, they fumbled in midair, almost as if she was trying to collect her thoughts like dust particles. "Wh- why not?" she finally stammered out. Her black eyes were wild with anxiety, and Amethyst began to feel sorry for her. She'd expected Lapis to be disappointed, but not... this.

"He's really sick," Amethyst replied, her voice softer than when she had first entered the cave. She dropped her hands from her hips and held her palms out to her sides as she spoke. "Like, really sick. Coughing, sneezing, throwing up, fever, the whole shebang."

"Is he dying? Sh- should I come and check on him?" Lapis had begun to quiver, and she looked ill herself.

"No, no, he'll be okay," Amethyst said. "Don't worry. He'll be fine in a week according to Pearl and Peridot as long as he stays in bed and rests. This kind of thing happens to humans a lot. He was so upset when he realized he wasn't gonna be well enough to come visit today. He even felt bad that he couldn't pack a lunch for you." At least her gift of eavesdropping came in handy for once.

"Oh... oh." Lapis let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging. "That's... well, that's not good, but..."

"Yeah, not as bad as it could have been. I get it." There was a moment of silence. Amethyst felt awkward. She had intended to just drop the news and leave, but now there was something tugging at her not to go. "So, uh... I'm not as good of a talker as Steven is or anything, but do you, like... wanna hang out with me, maybe?" Amethyst scratched the back of her neck, feeling a faint violet flush rise to her cheeks. This was too weird. Part of her hoped that Lapis would say no and they could forget this ever happened, and Steven would be better next week and everything would be back to normal.

Lapis clutched her bicep loosely, biting her lip. She didn't look at Amethyst right away. Amethyst decided not to push her. After a few moments of staring at the cave wall, Lapis turned to Amethyst again and nodded. "Sure, I guess."

"Cool," Amethyst said, but internally, she screamed, "Oh God why is this happening what did I do how did I get myself into this I suddenly don't know how to function, augh!"

"Steven usually helps me check on all the tide pools on Fridays," Lapis offered. "You can come with me, if you want. I guess I could use a little more varied company." She flinched. "S-sorry, that might have sounded rude."

"Nah," Amethyst said, holding her hands behind her head and stretching, trying to regain her confidence. "Trust me, if there's anyone you don't gotta worry about being rude to, it's me. Pearl says I have no tact, I just tell her I've got a thick skin."

Lapis gave a tiny smirk. "I'll keep that in mind."

The gems walked out of the cave as a pair. Amethyst was glad to have the warm, summer sun on her skin once more, while she could tell that Lapis didn't feel exactly the same way. She looked nervously from left to right, almost like a deer checking the meadow for hunters.

"There's nothin' to worry about," Amethyst said.

"I know," Lapis replied, shaking her head. "Come on, they're over this way."

"You da boss." Amethyst followed as Lapis began to walk to the right, straight down the shoreline.

It was an unusually quiet day. No surfers, maybe just a small handful of kids playing in their flowery bathing suits in the sand, that one weird guy who always sunbathed with that metal thing in an unflattering Speedo. Amethyst came out to bum around the beach often. Sometimes she would soak up some sun, other times she would strike up random conversations with people, other times she would turn into a cute animal for the kids to play with. But she couldn't remember ever just walking, taking in her surroundings. Her mind was always so busy.

Lapis was a pro at this. She was so involved checking the sands and the sea that she hardly even seemed to notice Amethyst behind her. She looked so at peace. Amethyst found herself envying that about her.

A short walk brought them to an outcropping of stone where water collected amongst the wet sand. "This is the first of them," Lapis said. Kneeling down in the dirt, she began to place a hand in one of the small pools. "Hi, guys. How are you doing?"

"Oh, cool, you don't mind getting dirty!" Amethyst responded, eagerly kneeling in the mud beside Lapis, but when Lapis turned and shushed her, Amethyst flinched. "Oh, shoot, I-I'm sorry. How come we have to be quiet?"

"These animals have really small ears," Lapis said, holding a tiny crab in the palm of her hand. "They can be really sensitive to loud noises."

Amethyst blinked. "Aren't you afraid that's gonna bite you?"

Lapis giggled softly. "Well, crabs don't really bite. They pinch with their claws."

"Okay, aren't you afraid it's gonna pinch you?"

"Well, no. I come here so often that they recognize my hands, so they're not threatened as long as I don't do anything threatening." The red crab danced in Lapis's blue palm, moving in a silly sidestep that made Amethyst giggle. Lapis looked up at her, a small smile on her face. "You can hold him, if you want."

Amethyst blinked, her eyes wide as saucers. "You sure?"

"Mmhmm," Lapis replied, nodding. "Hold your hand out flat and try not to move your fingers."

Amethyst obeyed, and the crab moved effortlessly from Lapis's hand to hers. She giggled at the feeling of its tiny feet tickling her palm. "So cool. I've shapeshifted into these guys so many times, but I've never been this close to a real one before."

"They're neat. I call that one Mercury." Lapis picked up a second crab from the tide pool, this one a duller brown color. "And this one's Peanut." She giggled. "Steven named her. He tried so hard to get me to call the other one 'Jelly.'"

"Sounds like Steven." Amethyst ran the tip of her index finger from her free hand down Mercury's back, pulling back when he lifted his pincers up at her. "Is there anything else in the tide pool?"

"Oh, sure. Oh, but you should put him back in - he doesn't like to be out of the water for long." Lapis dipped Peanut back in the water, and Amethyst followed gingerly with Mercury. "See that little starfish? You can pick it up, it's okay."

Amethyst lifted the brown creature out of the water just a bit, giggling at its spiny texture in her hands. "So cool!"

"Mmhmm, that's Amber. It's been through a lot. It got one of its arms bitten off by a seagull when I first got here." Lapis's eyes lit up excitedly, and Amethyst gently placed the starfish back in the tide pool to watch Lapis talk. "But now you can't even tell, it's healed so well."

"That's really cool," Amethyst said. "You know, I actually can't believe you and I haven't hung out before. You're a really cool person, Lapis."

Lapis blinked. "Really?"

"Totally! You remind me a little bit of-" Amethyst couldn't bring herself to finish the statement. "Of someone I knew who really loved animals."

Lapis paused. "You mean Rose Quartz?"

Amethyst nodded, running a finger over the starfish's twitching arms. "Sorry. It's - it's still hard to talk about. And I know it must be hard for you to hear, considering, well..."

Lapis shrugged, looking away. "You weren't even around when it happened. Considering how you knew her, I take it as a compliment. But thanks for considering my feelings. That means a lot." She looked at Amethyst, holding her in a sympathetic gaze. "And I'm really sorry for your loss."

"Tch." Amethyst shrugged back. "It's hard, but I've come to think of it like this: if Rose hadn't given up her physical form to have Steven, I wouldn't have him in my life, and I wouldn't have done a lot of the really cool stuff I have now."

Lapis nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good way to look at it."

"I think so." Amethyst wagged her finger in the water, jumping and squealing when something silvery and slippery bumped against it. "Oh my gosh, there's tiny fish in here!"

"Oh, yeah!" Lapis exclaimed. "Those are minnows, they're my favorite. But, oh, try not to touch them if you can help it. They have really sensitive gills."

The gems spent the next few hours going from tide pool to tide pool, talking all the time. It was therapeutic. Lapis's knowledge of every little animal made the journey all the more exciting. By the time they had circled back to Lapis's cave, they were walking side by side, still engaged in conversation, usually looping back to silly Steven stories.

"And get this," Amethyst said as they walked into Lapis's cave."He still hasn't eaten all those Cookie Cats!"

"Now that takes discipline," Lapis replied, a deep laugh coming straight from her gut.

The sun had begun to set to a deep orange color. Amethyst blinked. Had it really been that long? "Aw, shoot, it's getting late," she groaned. "Pearl and Garnet are gonna kill me."

"That's all right," Lapis replied. "If you need to get home, then you should. I don't wanna hold you back."

"I'm really sorry," Amethyst said. "It was really fun hanging out with you today!"

"You too," Lapis replied with a small smile. "Do you think maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Sure!" A wide grin broke across Amethyst's face. "How about tomorrow?"

"Works for me."

"Awesome! I'll get here at noon." Amethyst held her hand up for a high five, and after a short pause, Lapis returned it with enthusiasm. "Sick! All right, I'll see you tomorrow then!" She ran toward the cave entrance, waving at Lapis. "Bye!"

"See you tomorrow!" Lapis called back, waving.

Amethyst then bolted back to the beach house, suddenly not even caring about how dirty her shoes were. She was too excited for the next day.