It was a fine morning in the Anteiku Café, the ghouls are serving the customers peacefully and doubting there might be incoming trouble unlike before. Even things got compromised between them and Homeworld Aogiri, the manager do not want the staff to keep their guard down incase rogue ghouls will invade their safehouse soon.

Meanwhile, Steven placed two cups of brown coffee on the table where the couple sits by. They give Steven a grateful 'thank you' and the boy bowed his head as a sign of 'your welcome', he walk back to the counter to set his tray back for others to use incase there are incoming services.

He looked at the station and see Opal brewing coffee with ease, knowing that she's been working in this café for years. After she pours the froth milk to the coffee drink, she sets the coffee to the tray and suddenly a taller woman walks by in her barista outfit to claim the order and serves it.

The brown-skinned barista has a short, neatly combed apricot hair and her eyes were covered by a thin oval sunglass. She moves quickly but gracefully through the tables until she reached by the balcony and sets the tray to the table where a businessman who's busy on his laptop.

"Another giant woman?" Steven asks to Opal, who is cleaning the frother, "I haven't seen her before, but she's quick!"

"Oh, Sardonyx. She's here unattended?" Opal questions while looking to the barista and the customer talking outside, noticed that Sardonyx shakes her head with a disapproved look on her face, "As usual, she keeps entering in her shift without letting us the staff know that she already checks in. Maybe except the manager."

For a few seconds later, Sardonyx walks out from the café and walks by the counter to set the tray down. "Damn, he's quite picky for your froth Opal.", she exclaims while resting her arm on the counter.

'She also has a gap on the middle of her teeth!', Steven thoughts.

"Does he need more than enough?" Opal chuckles, "Besides, I like the look on your face like you swallow something awful."

Sardonyx clicks her mouth as she looks by the businessman whose working by his laptop, "Entitled people like him has no place for me."

As Opal hums from that response, Sardonyx just noticed Steven's presence and awes in surprise, "Is that Rose's boy?"

"Yep, he works here so he could learn more what it is to be in the environment with humans and ghouls alike.", Opal responds with a quieter tone, and Sardonyx squishes Steven's cheeks with her palms.

"Is that so? What a sweet little boy you are, and it saddens me that you are learning all this to survive, are you?", Sardonyx lets go of her hands and her expression frowns.

"Maybe that is one of the reasons?", Steven shrugs and looks at the customers by the tables, "And learning more about the outside world would be a fun experience for me!"

Sardonyx laughs in amusement, "Wow, never thought an innocent boy would be so adorable in my eyes."

The boy happily sighs, 'As usual, things happening in Beach City are peaceful as it should be,' he thought, 'I hope Connie come over this morning since her Thursday classes starts somewhere ten o'clock..'

"…the only thing I'm worried about is he might be involved when something happened to the café, Sardonyx.", Opal sighs, "But we can protect Steven as much as we can."

Sardonyx acknowledges a nod to Opal, then the entrance door opens and reveals a brown-skinned girl with long curly hair and a round eyeglasses. Even with a slight taller height from Steven, she was able to hold a shoulder bag with bunch of textbooks popping out.

"Oh!", the girl exclaims as she found Steven staring, "Steven!"

"Connie!", Steven tilted his head sideways while walking towards her, "You're um, early."

Connie chuckles, "You sound so excited last night when I said I'll come over if my parents allow me." her cheeks flushes red, "This is my way to not make you disappointed."

The boy felt the same way as Connie's, but in embarrassment instead, "Never thought about that in the first place, but I appreciate it!"

Steven heard a fake cough from the counter and turn his head around to see Opal, who is watching over them, "Your friend, Steven?"

"Yep!" Steven clears his throat, "And um, sorry for stopping my work-"

"It's fine." Opal interrupts with a smile, "How about bring your friend in a vacant table and make a drink just for two of you?"

"So that means I'm having a break?" Steven asks in surprise, "But what about extra hands in serving and so?"

Sardonyx giggles, "Don't worry about it, boy. I can handle everything while you're having a good time with your friend."

Opal smirks, "And the break time is until your friend leaves even she's late."

Steven jumps joyfully and escorts Connie to the vacant table with two chairs at the corner then he proceeds to the station to make hot chocolates. He used a regular cocoa powder in a mug and pours down lukewarm water for Connie. Steven saw a special cocoa for himself and he thoughts about it.

He sighs in defeat, 'I don't want to barf from hot chocolate in front of Connie.'

After steering up the drinks, he brought the drinks to the table with Connie and sets the mugs down to each other. Steven sits down in front of Connie, who is carefully smelling the mug.

"Don't worry," he chuckles, grabbing his mug, "it's just hot chocolate."

Connie pleasingly awes and takes a cautious sip, then she lowers the mug.

"Wow, it tastes good!" she says excitedly, "Of course it's from a café, but wow!"

Steven looks at his drink, darker than milk chocolate with it is thin whirlpool from his faint stirring.

"Anyways Steven," she proclaims, "Last night during dinner, my parents asked some stuff about you Steven."

"Something's wrong?" Steven asks while sniffing his drink.

"Well, I told them that we first meet at the beach and we get along pretty well." She looks down, "But I didn't tell them about the part where you protected me from a hungry ghoul on that day."

Steven slouches, "You still remember that day…"

"Don't worry about it! It was the day that I realize there are good ghouls like you who are still out there." Connie added, "Even I told my parents about you as you are just a normal kid like me, they still don't believe me... And…" she trails off, leaving Steven hanging.

"You can spit it out, jam bud.", the boy muffles from his mug.

"My parents, well," Connie laughs nervously, "Wants to know more about you by seeing you and your parents in person."

Steven humorously gags his drink.

"Wait," he pulls away and wipes away the chocolate from his lips, "Am I hearing it right that your parents are going to meet me and my parents?"

"Yeah," Connie frowns and takes a sip.

"That would be hard…" the boy swallows, "My dad is the only one whose around, but Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst are also a part of my family!"

"I forgot to tell them about that! I'm sorry, Steven." Connie lowers her mug a bit to look at Steven with panic, "I should've been honest about it-"

"It's okay, though." the boy giggles, "I just hoped everyone would get along without letting all the ghoul stuff in our way."

"I hope so too." Connie sighs, "I even keep persuading them that you're not a ghoul and there's nothing to worry about, they still don't believe me."

Steven slouches on his seat ever further.

"Their cautiousness or, paranoia is getting overwhelmed." Connie gives a pity eye contact to Steven, "I guess they just wanted to gain your trust by knowing more about my best friend."

"Come on," Steven takes another sip on his drink, "Not all ghouls are evil..."

"I thought so too!" Connie huffs, "Their defense on 'all ghouls are evil' is just ghouls eat humans, so they're bad."

"That's how nature gave us," Steven grunts, "I mean, the customers here in the café are mixed with humans and ghouls, living in harmony."

Connie nods, "All the bad stuff happened in the news is just a small fraction of bad ghouls with a whole population of ghouls."

"I heard those ghouls hate the CCG with passion…"

"Yeah, that's why I worry so much to my parents."

Steven hums in thought, "What do they do in CCG, by the way?"

"My dad is an agent, where he has this weapon that can easily attack the ghoul. And mom is in a medical ward, just a doctor."

Eventually, an awkward silence starts between them. Connie continues to drink her hot chocolate, which it is in room temperature.

"Sooooo," Steven cuts off the silence and finishes off his hot chocolate, "when are we gonna let our parents see each other?"

"They said its on Saturday." the girl responds, "I'm going to text you as soon as my parents reserved a place, it's going to be a dinner table or something."

Steven nods enthusiastically then Connie's phone vibrates, and she sets the mug on the table. She opens her phone and her expression went into a shock.

"Oh gosh, my parents are telling me to go to school already even it's way too early.", Connie frowns and picks up her school bag, "But that doesn't make me forget this amazing morning, Steven. Thank you for the free drink."

Steven's frowns but his cheeks redden, "Alrighty then, we can still text and call sometime."

Connie give him a smile, "Only on lunch breaks and dismissals."

It was late afternoon; Opal make Steven end his shift earlier because the staff in the café is full so she lets him go home. He is walking home by himself, his mind was occupied with meeting Connie's parents, which it is on upcoming Saturday.

Then his phone vibrates.

Steven pulls out his phone and it reveals a text message from Connie.

Hey Steven, the family meeting is gonna take place by the seafood restaurant in Beach City. (I don't remember the name but it's bonkers, right?)

Anywho, let us cross our fingers and hope nothing bad happens!

Steven sighs, "Oh man."


"W-Wait," Pearl stutters, "Connie's parents are...ghoul investigators?!"

"Yeah," Steven added, "we also have to meet them this Saturday."

"Oh man, this is bad." Amethyst complains, "Is it going to be a dinner table? Because I'm gonna be pissed off if it is."

"Well," Steven chuckles nervously, "Were going to be in a dinner table meeting."

"Welp," Amethyst tosses her arms to the air then facepalms, "Were screwed."

"This is getting stressful," Pearl mutters, "What if Connie's parents figured out were ghouls?! They're going to arrest or kill us with their quinques-"

"Were going to be fine.", Garnet jumped into the conversation, "Let us just settle down."

"Settle down?!" Pearl nags, "How can we settle down if those CCG Investigators are right in front of us on Saturday!"

"Maaaaaybe," Amethyst pouted, "we shouldn't come, only Greg. That will solve our problem."

"No.", Garnet said.

"What?!", the two ghouls turned their heads to Garnet.

"We can just blend ourselves as regular human beings." Garnet convinces, "Let's just act like normal humans, and remember how Alexandrite taught us how to correctly eat the human food."

Garnet walks to Steven and pats his head, "Come on, we'll go on Saturday for Steven. To gain the trust to these investigators"

Pearl and Amethyst went speechless and cannot argue against Garnet because she was right. While that, Steven was happy.


A.N: Reviews and criticism is appreciated, and it also help me to keep motivated and improve my writing.