Chapter Twelve: Raspberry Cheesecake Shake

It was Monday, June 19th, and the weather truly couldn't be lovelier. It had been raining earlier. But now the sun had come out, a vivid rainbow stretching across the sky.

Sapphire was admiring it when the bell above the door chimed. She tore her gaze away from the rainbow, straightening. She'd expected it was Steven and Connie arriving at their usual time.

But it wasn't just them.

There was a tall, lovely person behind them, looking mildly perplexed, before they allowed their friends to pull them over to the counter. Sapphire was pretty sure she didn't know them, personally, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they'd met before.

And that was unusual.

Steven and Connie were ordering their usual hot chocolates, while the newcomer was debating whether to do the same.

"Oh, I guess it doesn't really matter," they sighed to the cashier. "I'll have a hot chocolate too. But extra whip and chocolate sauce, please, Sadie."

"Connie, Steven!" Sapphire greeted, pulling the pair into a hug. "And who's your friend?"

"Stevonnie." They stuck out their hand, and then realizing how much higher it was than Sapphire's head, crouched down a little. Stifling a giggle, Sapphire gave it a shake. Stevonnie flushed a little as they got out of the crouch, clearly a little embarrassed, but it didn't stop them from saying, "You're… Sapphire, right? I think we must've had class together before, or something."

"Perhaps," Sapphire agreed, trying her best not to stare. There was no shaking how familiar Stevonnie seemed— the way their eyes burned and sparkled like stars, or perhaps how their shoulders made them seem relaxed and alert at the same time... or maybe it was just their entire bearing altogether.

Sapphire thought it would be prudent to get to know them better. Ah, what was the correct human protocol for that?

"Want to grab a drink with me?" she asked.

Stevonnie grinned. "Sure!"

"Uhh..." There was a slight cough from Steven. He was holding hands with Connie, the pair of them blushing furiously.

Of course. Their date.

"Oh, right. Sorry guys. You go do your thing." Stevonnie waved them off with a smile.

"Yes, don't let us keep you." Sapphire smiled after the young couple, who were so busy making doe-eyes at each other that they almost walked into a nearby table. Best to leave them to it.

She redirected her attention to the barista to order. "Hmm... I'm not sure what I should..." she trailed off. She didn't know much about this kind of thing. "Are there any... red drinks?"

The barista smiled widely at her, but said nothing.

"Huh," Stevonnie muttered. "You could try something with strawberry in it— like a smoothie, or a milkshake, or— Oooh! Rooibos tea!"

"Tea sounds lovely," said Sapphire. "Thank you."

There was a short wait for their drinks. Sapphire quickly caught Ruby's eye, just to show her she wouldn't be joining them. Ruby didn't seem to mind. She, Garnet, and Amethyst were all piled around Pearl's table, driving the poor woman to distraction. Given Pearl had been running herself ragged over her essay, it was probably for the best.

"Your friends?" Stevonnie asked.

"Yes."

Stevonnie nodded, smiling, but there was a preoccupied look on their face. "They all look… really familiar to me too," they said. "Garnet, Ruby, Amethyst, and Pearl, right?"

"Exactly," said Sapphire. "You must have had classes with all of us."

"...I guess."

Their drinks arrived. The two of them thanked the barista and made their way to a nearby table. A thoughtful silence descended between them. Neither seemed quite sure what to say next. Somehow, Sapphire felt their conversation was a kind of maze— and that the way through it would have been obvious, if only she had the correct perspective. She kept trying to peer ahead, to figure out what would be the right thing to say, but every time she tried—

— dizzying, twisting pain and—

Sapphire flinched and rubbed her eye.

"Are you okay?" Stevonnie said.

"I'm fine," Sapphire said. "Everything's fine. Just headaches."

Stevonnie grimaced in sympathy. "Maybe you're thirsty? Try getting some water."

"I have tea," Sapphire pointed out, taking a sip of the drink. Hot and sweet and positively perfect.

"Oh. Yeah," Stevonnie said, but they didn't stop grimacing. They took a sip of their own hot chocolate, and stared at it for a long, long time.

Sapphire wondered if they were okay. Close up, there seemed something ever so slightly off about Stevonnie. A paleness beneath their tan skin, darker circles under their eyes... and they kept stifling the occasional yawn. Ruby had been saying for ages that there was a flu or something going around. And while Sapphire had repeatedly assured her worried friend that she was certain neither Garnet or herself had caught it, that didn't mean no one had. She ached with sympathy and the desire to reach out to Stevonnie, to ask how they were really feeling...

But they had only just met, and Stevonnie would surely just brush her concern off. Besides, everything was fine.

"You're friends with Steven and Connie then," Sapphire said, instead.

"Huh?" Stevonnie blinked, startled out of whatever they'd been thinking about. "Oh, yeah. We go way back."

They broke into a genuine smile, warm and bright, and the paleness of their face seemed to fade away.

Sapphire smiled into her teacup. "I suppose you met before college."

"I— yeah. Yeah! Definitely. At the beach. It's kind of a funny story, actually." Stevonnie shook their head, chuckling. "Connie was reading, right? And Steven had this red bike he wanted to show off. So he tried to ride it on the sand . When he fell off, he just ran away screaming."

"That sounds like Steven," Sapphire agreed. She could almost picture the incident in her head.

"He was so embarrassed he almost didn't go back," Stevonnie said. "Thank goodness he did."

"Yes. Just look where they are now."

The two of them did, risking a glance at the table where Connie and Steven sat, clasping hands and staring into each other's eyes. "It was only a matter of time," Sapphire added.

Stevonnie giggled a little, and said in a low voice, "I know, right? Total lovebirds."

Even though they had been whispering from across the crowded cafe, Steven and Connie both ducked their heads, as if they had heard perfectly.

"Kinda reminds me of another couple I know," Stevonnie added, raising their eyebrows knowingly. At Sapphire's blank look, their expression turned doubtful. "Uh, you and Ruby?"

"I—" Sapphire shook her head. "No, no— Ruby and I are just friends. Close friends."

"Oh, sorry! Sorry! I didn't— I didn't mean to assume!"

Automatically, Sapphire glanced over to where Ruby sat. She was laughing with Amethyst, so hard that there were tears in her eyes. Then she suddenly looked up and met Sapphire's gaze, as if she'd felt its weight on her.

And then, Ruby smiled.

A strange heat flooded to Sapphire's face, forcing her to look away quickly.

"It's quite alright," Sapphire assured Stevonnie. "An easy mistake to make."

And it was. The two of them had been practically joined at the hip for as long as Sapphire could remember, probably ever since they first bumped into each other at the Court of the Sky Arena—

Food court.

—in the Sky Arena Food Court, yes. A random pearl had stumbled, spilling a trayful of drinks. Sapphire hadn't noticed because it'd occurred on her blindspot. But Ruby, brave and strong, had dashed to her rescue, stepping in front of her in the nick of time and saving her from the slushie that would have totally ruined her outfit.

There had been an instant connection between them then— something cool and soothing, something blazing with passion, something...

Something electric.

So why did I never notice this before...? Sapphire wondered, trying very hard not to think about the twinkle in Ruby's eyes, the little twitch her lips would make just before she smiled, the relaxed but sturdy way she carried herself...

Sapphire's hands tightly clenched around her teacup as tried to get ahold of herself, to hold back the sudden and unexpected desire bubbling up from her chest.

Yes, the relationship she had with Ruby was special, there was no denying. That was why she couldn't risk ruining it. Their friendship meant too much for that.

"Sapphire?" Stevonnie was saying. "Did I... upset you? I really am sorry—"

"I'm not upset," Sapphire ground out.

Yes, you are, said a deep and familiar voice resounding in her head. This isn't right.

Garnet.

And then Sapphire saw herself, as if from afar, a tiny blue figure, hunched over the table, clutching her face—

And then Sapphire looked up, looking past Stevonnie's shoulder, and saw Garnet staring at her, visor off, all three eyes open, gaze piercing—

And then she saw both images, at the same time. She was Sapphire, staring at Garnet; and she was Garnet, staring at Sapphire. She was both of them, and they were her— seamlessly interwoven. Endless. A single person standing between two mirrors, the images reflecting infinitely... except the mirrors weren't reflections, they were reality. Everything else was false—

And there was a third perspective, watching the two of them.

Ruby.

The three of them. They were together, always.

One and the same.

"—pphire?" cried a voice, but it seemed to come from so far away... "Sapphire! "

Stevonnie.

They were staring at Sapphire, confusion and panic and uncertainty creasing their face. Their familiar face. Of course it was familiar— from the eyes to the nose to the mouth to the hair— Sapphire had seen these features before, on two different faces...

Stevonnie was an amalgam— a fusion .

Just like them.

"Stevonnie," they all said, together, through Sapphire's mouth, using Sapphire's hand to take Stevonnie's. "This isn't real."

"I know, I know," Stevonnie said. Their hand was trembling. Their whole body was trembling. "But we keep forgetting! Garnet, what do we do?"

Garnet didn't know; none of them did. There was no guidance to be found. Future Vision didn't work here, in this system of endless repeats.

But it wasn't truly endless. Stevonnie was new. This was new. This was progress.

Garnet was talking to Amethyst and Pearl, and Ruby was running to get Peridot and Lapis, and Sapphire was gripping Stevonnie's hand as tight as they could.

"Just hold on," she told them. "Hold on, and try to remember..."