16 is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. Special thanks to greentrickster/Tie-Dyed Trickster for suggesting Lazurite for Android 16's name!

Good ol' westcitypubliclibrary on Tumblr has some cool extra stuff!

Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoy it! I'm always open to feedback if you have any.


Summary: Lazurite from Maintenance has gone missing again, and Bulma sends Lapis to find him.


"IT Department, Lapis speaking."

"Lapis, where's Lazurite?"

Lapis sighed, absently twirling the phone cord around one finger. "When was the big guy supposed to be back from break?"

"Twenty minutes ago." Bulma's sigh echoed through the phone line. "He's supposed to be working on fixing the air conditioner; it's been on the fritz since last summer and we haven't needed it since then, but it's starting to get warm out. Can you go find him for me? You're the only one who ever seems to be able to get him to come back to work."

"Well..." Lapis pretended to be thinking about it.

"Lapis." Bulma's voice turned hard, and he remembered why she was in charge.

"Alright, alright. I'll go. I'm pretty sure I know where he is, anyway."

"Thanks. Tell him Bulma needs to see him when you find him." She hung up.

"No one ever says goodbye anymore," Lapis lamented, hanging up. He stood up and stretched. "I have to go get Lazurite," he said to his sister.

Lazuli looked up at him from her desk. "Did he go AWOL again?"

"Yep. I've got a pretty good idea where he is, though. Back in a few. Think you can handle our massive workload by yourself for a while?"

She glanced at her computer, where she'd been scrolling Facebook for the last hour and a half. "Gee, I don't know," she said flatly. "How will I ever manage."

He peeked over her shoulder. "You're not talking to your boyfriend on there, are you?"

"Go find Lazurite, you dick."

"That means yes," he called over his shoulder as he left their cramped office.

There was a lovely courtyard just behind the library. It had been built specifically for library use, and during the warmer months many library programs were held there. The book club met there on nicer days from April often right through September, the summer reading program in the children's department sometimes held outdoor events, and the annual barbeque fundraiser was put on there. It was paved with lovely slate grey squares and surrounded by gardens on three sides. There were benches and bike racks and it was generally just a nice place to spend time.

There was also a massive birdfeeder in one corner that was maintained by the library. Specifically, maintained by the maintenance department. The only employee thereof was sitting on the bench nearest the birdfeeder, absolutely stock still, with a cat on his lap and several birds perched on his shoulders and in his hair. Lazurite didn't have much hair, just a shock of red in the front, the rest he kept bald. Lapis thought it would look odd on most other people, but Lazurite made it work. Lazurite could make a lot of things work by sheer virtue of being taller than everyone else Lapis knew and built to match, with biceps the size of Lapis's head and thighs that could probably break him in two. Despite his hulking frame, Lazurite was the kindest soul Lapis had ever met: a lover of nature and animals (especially birds), he was the one who had suggested the birdfeeder in the first place and volunteered to keep it filled year-round.

Unfortunately, his gentle nature often meant he was beset upon by various animals whenever he was around them. Like right now, when he was petting a stray cat instead of working.

The birds sitting on Lazurite and eating at the feeder flew off as Lapis approached, but the cat stayed. It looked very comfortable, like it had been there for a while. At least twenty minutes by Lapis's guess, probably more.

"You're late, big guy," he said by way of greeting.

Lazurite looked from him to the cat on his lap. "There is a cat," he explained. Lazurite had a flat voice. Unlike Lazuli, who only said things flatly if she was being sarcastic, Lazurite's voice was flat all the time, leading people to think he was rude or uncaring. Lapis knew that wasn't the case, but his unexpressiveness coupled with his blunt tendencies made it difficult for Lazurite to get through to people. "It has been here for some time. I cannot move without disturbing it."

Lapis plopped down on the bench beside Lazurite, half hoping the movement would scare the cat away. It didn't. "Look, I get it, you don't want to move the cat. But Bulma's looking for you. You're supposed to be working on the air conditioner."

There was a short silence. "But there is a cat," Lazurite repeated.

"Okay, big guy," Lapis said, reaching for the cat, "if you won't move the cat I will."

An enormous hand swatted his. "No."

"Lazurite." Lapis was sounding dangerously like how Bulma had sounded on the phone earlier, but he didn't care.

Lazurite looked him steadily in the eyes. Lapis folded his arms and refused to back down. Lazurite had never won one of their staredowns and he wasn't about to start.

Finally Lazurite sighed and looked back down at the cat. "I am sorry," he murmured before gently nudging it so it would jump down. It did, rubbing against Lazurite's legs before wandering off. The two men watched it go silently.

"Dude," Lapis said, "why don't you have a job working with animals? You love them so much. More than humans, even."

"True," Lazurite said, standing up. "When I was young I wanted to be a veterinarian."

"So why did you go into maintenance instead?"

Lazurite shrugged. "I am good with my hands." He started to walk back towards the library.

"Yeah, but you're great with animals." Lapis stood and followed him, glad that at least he'd gotten him to head back to work. He didn't envy him the conversation he was probably about to have with Bulma, though. And Cell, he thought with a shudder. Yikes. "So why go for something you're only good at and sort of like instead of something you'd be great at and love?"

Lazurite stopped walking and looked down at Lapis. It had taken Lapis years, but he was able to easily distinguish between Lazurite's moods by studying very subtle changes in his face and body language. Lazurite had hitched one shoulder slightly higher than the other, set his jaw, and clenched one fist just a little tighter. He was also digging one thumbnail into the side of his finger. This was not a conversation Lazurite wanted to have, but he spoke up before Lapis could try to drop the subject.

"Veterinarians help animals when they are hurt." Lazurite spoke slowly, even slower than usual, clearly choosing his words carefully. Lapis could practically see the gears turning in his head. "Sometimes, the best way to help an animal is to..." He paused, eyes flicking away and then back to Lapis's as he tried to find the words to state his case properly. "Is to help them die," he finally stated. "I cannot do that. So I cannot be a veterinarian."

Lapis felt like he'd been slapped in the face. "Oh" was all he could say.

Lazurite turned away and started walking again. "So instead I decided to fix things. And feed hungry animals." He suddenly noticed Lapis wasn't with him and turned back to him. "Lapis?"

Lapis scratched his arm and kept his gaze away from Lazurite's. "Sorry, big guy. Didn't mean to bring up something painful like that."

"I do not understand."

"Well, I mean." He gestured vaguely. "Animal death, y'know. I know how you feel about that stuff."

"Lapis." One of Lazurite's enormous hands landed on Lapis's shoulder. "I am not going to get upset by talking to you. No matter the subject." He patted Lapis's shoulder. "We are friends."

Well, friends could royally piss each other off, Lapis knew, but he accepted Lazurite's gesture for what it was. "Whatever you say, big guy. Now go on, shoo. Bulma's gonna bite your head off if you're any later than you already are."

Lazurite nodded and started to head back towards the library, making sure Lapis was with him this time before he went. "Are we still going on our nature hike this weekend?"

Lapis flashed him a grin, glad the awkward, sad part of the conversation was over and seemingly forgotten. "You bet your ass."