Chapter Twenty: Hazelnut Espresso, Lychee Pudding
It was Monday, June 19th. The weather was overcast. The ground was muddy. Steven trudged heavily through it, caking his shoes. Beside him, Connie nearly slipped. Steven just barely managed to catch her, half-carrying her into the cafe.
They didn't bother to go up to the counter. Instead, they headed immediately towards the nearest sofa, and collapsed there.
"Thanks," Connie said weakly.
"No prob, Bob," Steven answered. He leaned against her a little. She felt nice and warm.
He felt warm too. Really warm.
The weight of her head thudded into his shoulder. Her eyes closed, and she began to drift off to sleep. Steven was very tempted to join her. He wasn't sure why he'd been so tired lately. Maybe he was pushing himself too hard in classes.
He lay there, eyes closed but not quite asleep, listening to the soft, comfortable sounds of the cafe around him. Steam, typing, chatter, laughter… Distantly he thought he heard Lapis say his name, but couldn't quite manage to catch the rest of her words.
Steven felt someone poke his shoulder, and a weight settle in on his other side. He opened his eyes.
It was Amethyst.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"How ya doing?" she asked. Her lips were pursed with concern.
"Fine," said Steven. He licked his lips. "Thirsty. Hungry."
Everything is fine.
"Well, we are in a coffee shop. I can go grab you something. Maybe an espresso, get some caffeine into you? And they've got these new puddings…"
Steven's stomach growled, and his mouth would've watered if he wasn't so thirsty. But for some reason, he shook his head. It just… didn't sound appealing, somehow.
His eyes fell on Connie's dufflebag.
"Well, how about this, then?" Amethyst pulled something from behind her back. A water bottle. "Pretty sure it's Connie's, but it was over at Lapis's table for some reason."
"Huh," said Steven, not sure what to make of that.
He let Amethyst hold the bottle to his mouth, and help him drink. He gulped it down feverishly. It felt so good.
He just barely managed to stop himself from downing the whole thing. There wasn't a lot of water remaining. "Leave the rest for Connie."
"Okay…" said Amethyst. She capped the bottle, slipping it into Connie's duffle bag. She gave his knee a squeeze. He smiled at her, then closed his eyes. Listening to the steady rhythm of Connie's breathing, he began to drift off again.
He must've started dreaming then, because in his mind, he wasn't Steven anymore. He was Smoky Quartz.
Smoky was at the coffee shop too.
They were worried. Their palms were sweaty, and they had something in the pit of their stomach that felt like either hunger or fear. Or both.
They wanted to talk to someone. Amethyst already had Peridot and Lapis covered, and Smoky figured they'd go and track down Pearl or Garnet or someone. Their plan changed, however, when they spotted a couple new someones.
Sardonyx and Opal.
For some reason, Smoky wasn't that surprised to see Opal there. Or Sardonyx, really. They hurried over to corner of the cafe the pair had claimed, eyes crossing a little. Something about the dimensions made them feel kinda dizzy. Maybe since Smoky had to crane their head up so much to look up at the two, who were both so much taller than them.
"Oh, Smoky. Glad to see that you've arrived," Opal said, waving one of her hands. Another beckoned them closer. The bottom set were being wrung nervously.
"Hey guys," Smoky said, falling into a chair next to them. "Think I've been here for a while, technically."
"Yes," said Sardonyx, tipping the top hat she was wearing for some reason. "There does seem to be rather a lot of that going around, doesn't there? Still, it's lovely to see you."
She reached out and ruffled Smoky's hair. Smoky grinned, but the smile faded quickly. They drummed all fifteen of their fingers on the table.
"Look, I hate to be 'that guy'," they began, "but we seriously gotta pull ourselves together, if ya know what I mean."
Opal waved a pair of her arms in a gesture that encapsulated the entire table. "I think we have."
"Yeah. But it's not good enough. If we wait much longer, me and Steven and Connie are not gonna last."
Opal opened her mouth to say something, then stopped at the last moment. She looked down at the table, expression grim.
Sardonyx stood up briskly, and clapped her hands. "Alrighty then~!"
A massive hammer appeared in her hands.
Smoky grinned, but Opal looked uncertain. "What exactly are you going to do with that?"
"Well, my lovely little rabbit, I think it's safe to say we're all late to a very important date." Sardonyx winked. "So I'm going to try and smash the fourth wall, so to speak." She spun around a few times, winding herself up—
— there was a mighty CRACK!
And Steven's dreams were filled with pink.