Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe

Title: The First Five Days

Summary: (AU). Lapis regenerates in Steven's bathroom; the official main redemption hub. The waters been cut, so she has no weapons. Jasper is... classified. And her only company is her guard, an injured human girl with a sword by her side

Chapter Title: Day Three

Warnings: Injuries and blood. Connie is done with her life right now.

...

Three days in; still no food, water, sleep, or interesting conversations.

Connie desperately wished Steven was here, even if it would only bring on yet another plethora of problems. He's fun and easy to talk to; a constant reminder of why she swore to be a knight in the first place. At times like these, it's only her self-control and nagging anxiety that serve as her metaphorical reminders.

She knew there was nothing to be anxious about. What could Lapis do- kill her? Every enemy they came across wanted to do that. The fear had faded, mostly thanks to Pearl's tireless training. People who joined The Crystal Gems had to put the Earth first and themselves last. It was an important part of the code they abide by, a code she- admittedly- was planning on being properly sworn into once she was a bit older, a bit more useful. And maybe get a star tattoo afterwards- as the insignia was almost as important as the code itself. Jewelry can get lost easily, and her clothes aren't something she can repair with magic like the gems. A tattoo was the simplest solution.

(Sorry. She tends to ramble a bit when she's tired.)

But, still. The knowledge that a foreign enemy is only a few feet away and capable of taking her out with her pinkie finger should it happen to rain puts her on edge. And, sure, Lapis hasn't left the bathtub since she emerged, so she's probably just as interested in keeping the peace as she is, but her mind constantly went back to her presence and what happened the last time they'd met. She didn't dare mess with her sword for fear of putting the gem on edge, but itched to grab the familiar handle and see the sharp steel shine in the florescent lighting.

So she did the next best thing; she cracked open the book Peridot brought her and started to read.

That doesn't help very much, honestly, but it gave her tired eyes something to focus on as the night slowly became day once again.

I hope they realize I can't keep this up forever... She thinks, then shakes her head and straightens her shoulder. I'll do it as long as I need to. They trust me to carry out orders, and I can't let them down.

"What are you doing?"

Connie looks up from her book. "Reading." She answers dryly. "We humans may be a bit behind the times, relatively speaking, but we have discovered written language."

"Obviously." Lapis dismisses, eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't speak as well as you do otherwise."

She feels a slight twinge of irritation, but forces herself to ignore it. "On Earth, we make up stories and write them down. It's not all reports and cave drawings here."

"Why?" She asks bluntly, blinking in confusion.

"Why what?"

"Why write things that aren't true? It's just a bunch of lies, then. Useless."

Connie is well aware that gems are a very literal species, to the point they probably wouldn't be able to comprehend the point of using ones imagination on a daily basis, if they even know what that is, so she spares those details and tells her what she told the others when they asked. "It's a good time waster. Being entertained is an important thing here, and reading is one way we entertain ourselves."

She still doesn't look convinced. Connie holds the book out. "Do you want to give it a try?"

Lapis reaches for it, then hesitates and snatches her hand back. Connie blinks at her; she's not been the best company, true, but she hasn't given Lapis any reason to be afraid of her. The gems, yes, but not her. The blue gem had seemed fully aware of the fact that she was a human, and therefore, by Homeworld's standards, a lesser being.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

She gives her a disgusted look. "Of course not. You're weak and small." She spits the words, obviously angry and scared, but Connie doesn't take any offense. She heard worse from Peridot when they'd first met.

"Then what's wrong?"

Lapis holds her gaze, obviously too prideful to admit what's bothering her- a concept Connie is admittedly familiar with-, but she catches her glancing at the sink out of the corner of her eye.

Connie blinks but doesn't say anything. It's just a sink; all the combs and such have been put away, so there's no way for her to assume there's any weapons within grabbing distance perched there. Not unless you counted the mirror.

"Oh." Duh.

Well, she can't have that, can she? Connie slowly gets to her feet, ignoring the stab of dizziness she feels from the lack of food. Right- she's gonna have Peridot take a shift later so she can snooze on the couch and maybe get a bite to eat. A tired and hungry soldier, after all, isn't a soldier at all.

Lapis tenses when she reaches for her sword, so she gently slips it out and sets it on the floor, giving her a warning look that tells her not to touch. She probably didn't know how to handle such a weapon- seeing how her main form of attack was elemental- and Connie isn't interested in having her get stabbed by accident. Blood or no blood, a wound is still a wound, and very much her responsibility.

Connie slowly makes her way over to the mirror, rears her arm back, and calmly smashes it with her elbow. She grunts, but otherwise holds in any other exclamations of pain.

Lapis let out a cry of alarm. "What are you doing?"

She calmly ignores the stabbing pain and pulls out the remaining pieces of the mirror. She hasn't critically injured herself, although digging the shards out of her arm later is going to hurt. "You didn't trust me with my sword." She explains, dropping the leftover shards into the sink. "This was the easiest way."

Lapis stares at the red lines trailing down her injured arm, which she leaves hanging rather than make the wound worse. She repeats her earlier statement; "I thought humans died from losing blood."

"It takes losing a lot more than this to kill someone." She says firmly. She grabs the sink to avoid swaying on her feet.

"But... why?"

"Because I'm here to guard you, Lapis. Not to torture you, interrogate you, or hurt you; just to guard you. Not just from outside forces, but inside forces as well. It's a two-way street."

"Thank-" She pauses. "Wait, outside forces?"

Connie swallows heavily to fight off throwing up. "Anything and everything." She says, injecting fake lightness into her tone.

Lapis stares at her long and hard. "You don't know where she is, do you?"

Too late to fess up now. "I do."

She gets to her feet, no longer hindered by the invisible boundary line the mirror had set. "Then where is she?" She demands.

"Classified."

"I'm so sick of getting that!" She balls her fists menacingly. Connie has no doubt that she could draw water from the very Earth itself if she feels like she has to.

She goes to grab her sword, stumbling on her feet. She slams into the wall, but doesn't make a sound. Lapis hesitates.

"Are you... dying?"

She's never seen a human die non-violently before, she remembers. She's bound to be curious about what it looks like. "Not yet."

"Oh. Then... what's wrong?"

To heck with it. "Humans need food, water, and sleep." Connie grunts, leaning against the wall. "And I haven't had any of which for three days now."

"On a regular basis?"

She nods. "At least once a day is typically recommended." She grabs her weapon and sways on her feet, suddenly realizing that the battle has been lost already. "I'm gonna... go. Someone else will be here to guard you."

She stumbles out the door and shuts it tightly behind her. It's all she can take not to bemoan the loss of her pride.

Author's Note: Connie is so done right now. =) Lapis'll be back next chapter.

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