Late night shenanigans

by

Silver-Eyed Rukia

Rated: T (language)

Pairing: Lapidot (hinted, very very obviously hinted you can't possibly miss it)

Note: Please ignore any mistakes. Or point them out and correct me, whatever you prefer.

The rhythmic tapping of a mechanical pencil connecting with a wooden surface rang surprisingly loud through the small office room, sound accompanied by the faint thumping of a techno beat coming from the custom painted, bright neon green and dark blue coloured Beats headphones draped over the blonde locks of the only occupant currently in the room. The moment Peridot realized she was smacking a big part of her latest paycheck against her worn desk she stopped and flicked her tongue in annoyance at herself before putting the drawing utensil down, but not before checking if she broke the lead. A few clicks and a relieved sigh later she slipped her headphones off her ears and ran her hands through the blonde mess she called her hair before folding them behind her head, green eyes intently staring at the sketch laying on the furniture in front of her.

The idea had struck her at random shortly before closing time at the tattoo parlor today and she had decided to cancel her date with her PlayStation 4 and the all-nighter consisting of playing nothing but FPS games online to try and get unto paper what had manifested itself inside her mind already. Only problem being that her brain and her hands seemed to have a disagreement of sorts because everything she had sketched down so far had either been erased or tossed entirely after all the lead had smudged both the paper and her hands. Several balls of scrunched up paper were scattered all over her desk, framed by an equal amount of several different energy drinks that ranged from Redbull to Venom and Monster and back, almost as if she was trying to get a taste of every flavor there was. Granted, the mango one tasted pretty good. She lifted the can containing said liquid up to her lips and emptied the few remaining drops almost longingly upon realizing that a) her can was now completely empty and b) she would have to go out and get more if she wanted to get the sketch done before opening hours tomorrow. Her eyes flicked over to the clock and she groaned. 'More like today.' The flaming skull clock was ticking away, bone-shaped hands eagerly pointing at the numbers that declared it being almost 2 in the morning.

She took a few seconds to mull over her two options consisting of either trying to draw more before going out, or going out now to get her fix. The question was quickly answered for her when a yawn hit her, one so intense it nearly gave her lockjaw. Peridot rubbed her now throbbing jaw and gave her cheeks a quick massage before unlocking her phone and turning off the remix of Imagine Dragon's Radioactive that had just started playing. The headphones were carefully placed next to her unfinished sketch, her phone was stuffed into her pocket and her keys were grabbed from the drawer closest to her before her small, only in a shirt and jeans clad frame exited the parlor and locked it tight. A refreshing gust of wind greeted her as she made her way down the stairs and around the house to unlock her car, an old BMW her best friend Jasper had polished up for her after she had purchased it, before she slipped in and turned the key. She reveled in the deep droning from the engine as she kicked the vehicle into first gear and quickly made her way down towards the nearest convenience store.

The dark yellow-ish, almost orange glow from the street lamps gave Peridot a nostalgic feeling of her college years when she and her friends would go out on random late night shopping trips, like the one time where Jasper had stated that she wanted self-made waffles at 9 PM and her, Peridot, Amethyst and even Pearl had driven all the way out to a Target to get a waffle iron. Pearl had ended up making the waffles when they had returned at around 10 but damn those waffles had been great and definitely worth the trip. The memory made her stomach growl and Peridot wondered if the store would carry waffles or donuts this early because even with as many energy drinks as she could drink, they weren't exactly very filling. Or nutritious. Pearl's nagging voice about her eating habits rang in her ears and she quickly added an apple or something equally healthy to her shopping list if only to rid herself of her guilty conscience. Damn bird-nosed beanpole of a woman and her good effect on everyone's otherwise horrible diet.

Green eyes spotted the store's brightly illuminated sign and she slowed down to pull into the completely empty parking lot, picking a rather specific spot three free spaces away from the entrance out of sheer habit. It had been that exact spot she had chosen the very first time her midnightly habits had brought her to this very store after her first insanely busy day as a tattoo artist had come to a close and now every time she came out here to grab something, she would pick her favourite spot. Not that she had to fight for it or anything, rarely anyone was ever out here at this time a day. The recently turned 24-year old killed the engine and pulled the handbrake before exiting her car, quickly grabbing the hoodie from the backseat as a rather chilling wind swept through the parking lot that sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine. She really loved this city but she could really do without that goddamn wind nearly all year around. Lucky for her the amount of time and care she put into perfectly styling her hair every day paid off since not a single strand separated when another gust hit her, seemingly out of spite, before she hurried inside after her car gave her a satisfying beep to show it closed properly. She barely caught the "Help wanted" sign gone from the window that had been up there until a couple days back before a merry jingle from the doorbell above brought her attention back to the task at hand.

Warm air was blowing into her face from the A/C located somewhere above the door as she silently scanned the rather small store. A few shelves and items had been relocated since her last trip which resulted in the interior now looking much more organized and well kempt than before. The flickering lights from two of the refrigerators had been fixed also, a detail she greatly appreciated since they had almost been nauseating enough to make her dizzy, or at least give her a headache. Peridot barely caught a shock of short, dark hair that she didn't recognize behind the counter as she made her way over to the cooler before the shelves blocked her field of view due to her rather petite frame, causing her to direct her gaze to the sheer endless variety of refreshing beverages piled up in front of her. It took her a few moments and a well thought out list of pros and cons before she grabbed another mango flavoured drink and a regular Monster, quickly grabbing a dozen pre-packaged powdered donuts as well as she passed them by before making it over to the counter. She put her items down, added a green apple from a basket located near the counter and blinked in confusion when she realized that no one was there.

"Could've sworn I just saw someone too", she mumbled before leaning over the wooden counter to peer into the employees only area only to reel back and nearly fall flat on her ass in surprise when that same shock of dark hair from earlier suddenly popped up right in front of her, accompanied by a pair of dazzling sapphires so deep that for a good moment Peridot did nothing but stare with an expression that could only be described as jaw-dropping wonder.

"Shut your mouth, there's a bus coming."

The voice belonging to the yet nameless stranger brought Peridot back into the plain of existence and upon arriving there, her usual snarky attitude kicked into high-gear almost like a self-defense mechanism. She'd never admit that it was a tick she'd picked up to hide her nervousness all the way back in her school days.

"That's a darn rude way to greet a customer, you know?"

Blue eyes rolled in both annoyance and amusement as the girl started picking up the few items and scanned them before stuffing them into a plastic bag, all while looking at the rather flustered blonde opposite from her. The image brought a smirk to her face.

"Coming from the chick that leaned over the counter to look into the employee's room. What if I had been changing, perv?"

"Should have locked the door then. And don't call me chick!" Peridot narrowed her eyes and scanned the woman's shirt for a name tag, only to raise an eyebrow once she actually found it.

"Lapis Lazuli?"

"Make a joke and lose your glasses, nerd. No N7 hoodie will save your bony white ass if you do."

This girl kept adding more points to the growing list of things Peridot was both intrigued and annoyed by the longer they talked and quite honestly, it was driving her utterly nuts. Not only was she referencing video games, she also called her chick, nerd and she was being an utter dick to a total stranger. Yet that behaviour was exactly what raised a burning curiosity inside the tattoo artist and she was suddenly very eager to exploit that feeling.

"Bony white ass, hm? How can you tell, been staring at it?"

The sudden lack of a cocky reply and increase of blood circulating through Lapis' cheeks was answer enough and it was Peridot's turn to smirk, confidence rising slightly.

"It's the middle of the freaking night and the battery of my PSP died, can't blame a girl for checking out a nice backside. What are you doing out here this late anyways?"

Peridot's eyes almost twinkled in delight at the fact that this rather attractive girl had been checking her out and she used her ever growing confidence to take a good look at the cashier in return. Lapis' beautiful, navy blue eyes were framed by a seemingly flawless complexion, not a trace of imperfections on her tanned skin. Barely visible freckles were sprinkled over her collarbone and cheeks and her undercut revealed two small, yet cute looking ears dotted with several different piercings ranging from simple rings to gages and even a helix. Formerly mentioned undercut consisted of the shaved part being pitch black, her natural hair colour Peridot assumed, and the longer part atop her head being a colour very similar to the shade of her eyes. Overall, judging by what she could see, Lapis was one very attractive individual. And her staring had apparently taken way too long because Lapis was now staring back with an amused smile on her face.

"Is this payback for me looking at your ass, nerd?"

Black painted nails ran through perfectly styled blonde hair as Peridot flicked her tongue and exhaled noisily in fake irritation, mouth turning into a grin when she noticed Lapis checking out her now slightly revealed sleeve.

"Do you want to see it?"

"Fuck yes. I have a thing for tattoos."

Under normal circumstances Peridot would have been more self-conscious about showing off her tattoo like that but this was Lapis and ever since they had started interacting like five or ten minutes ago, it had been obvious that nothing about this woman was normal. And she realized that she really didn't mind. Peridot peeled off her hoodie and tied it around her waist before pulling up the sleeve of her T-shirt to fully reveal the entirety of her full-sleeve tattoo. She was still damn proud of it and it had been worth every cent it had cost her to get it.

"That is absolutely rad."

Before Peridot could do as much as reply, Lapis had already leaned over the counter to run a few fingers over the smooth, ink covered skin of the blonde's arm. Her fingertips left a cooling sensation wherever they traveled and it took every ounce of willpower Peridot possessed to suppress the goosebumps from breaking out all over her body. She willed her eyes away from the pair of lips she had been staring at and instead opted on looking down only to realize that she was now looking down Lapis' V-neck shirt. Luckily for her the girl was way too busy admiring her ink to notice the painfully obvious "I am seriously attracted to you" stares.

"The amount of detail on this is stunning, it must have taken a lot of sessions to get it like that", Lapis started as she leaned back, eyes travelling down the entire length of Peridot's arm before they came to rest on a pair of forest-green emeralds, "it's perfect. I love the biomechanical design."

"Thanks."

Peridot, now somewhat awkwardly flattered, pulled the sleeve of her shirt back down before putting the hoodie back on, pointing down at her left leg after doing so.

"It's the counterpart to the one on my leg", she said before she pulled up her pant leg slightly to reveal her prosthetic limb that had been painted to look like a robotic extension filled with gears and springs. "My best friend Jasper custom painted this for me, she calls this thing my "limb enhancer". Pretty lame, huh?"

"That's not lame, that's amazing. You're one brave nerd to just show it to me like that and I really appreciate it, you know?"

"It's Peridot."

Lapis blinked. "Huh?"

Emeralds bore deep into sapphires as Peridot kept her gaze fixed on the cashier, cheeks heating up under the intense stare of her opposite.

"You keep calling me nerd, but the name's Peridot. Guess I am kind of late to introduce myself but I left my name tag back at the parlor and yours is kinda hard to miss."

"Hold on a moment, are you saying you work at a tattoo parlor?"

Peridot almost flinched at the sudden increase of volume from the now very excited looking woman.

"Uh, yeah? I was working on a sketch when I ran out of drinks so I came down here to stock up. You know the parlor just up Main Street? Facet Five? It's barely a ten minute drive from here, that's why I always come down here to get my stuff but today's the first time I've seen you."

"I know the place, the bus drives by it every day on my way to work. And yeah, I just started here a few days ago, the last cashier was apparently involved in some illegal stuff behind the store so they fired him. The manager is rarely ever here so I have a lot of freedom during my night shifts, I even fixed some broken things and rearranged the horrible item compilation. Who puts toilet paper next to snacks? Urgh."

Peridot couldn't bite back the snort escaping her mouth and she immediately slapped a hand over her lips to cover it, embarrassment painting her pale cheeks a lovely shade of red before the melodious laughter of Lapis followed suit, successfully ridding her of her initial discomfort over her rather stupid sounding laughter.

"You don't have to hide it, I think it sounds cute."

"And you're so sweet you're gonna end up giving me cavities."

"Oh, great ass and smartass, hm? I'm the one selling you your fix, so better be nice or I'll keep these", she grinned, packed goods dangling from a lone finger as Lapis held up the plastic bag. "That's 6,39$ by the way."

Peridot grumbled something about "Blackmail is illegal" under her breath before she slapped a ten dollar bill into Lapis' outstretched hand, skillfully ignoring the shit-eating grin on her face and wordlessly shoving her change into her back pocket. She raised an eyebrow when Lapis only continued grinning and after a couple seconds Peridot only rolled her eyes, drawing out a somewhat annoyed "What?" at the silent staring contest.

"Can you show me your sketch?"

This time Peridot blinked. "What? No! It's not done yet!"

"Oh come on, I bet it looks awesome already. Maybe it'll give me inspiration for my next tattoo. Plus my shift ends in", she interrupted herself to look at the clock before returning her attention back to the artist, "approximately 7 minutes. Guess Lars is running late again. Lazy bum."

"Why do I get the feeling that even if I continued saying no you would just tag along anyways?"

"Cause you're smart? Or at least your glasses make you look smart."

"I give up. Fine, you can come, just don't tell Jasper about it. She doesn't like civilians in the parlor and she'll get there pretty early today."

Lapis disappeared into the employee's room to change out of her work clothes while Peridot checked her phone for messages, grinning when she found a snapchat of Jasper and Amethyst drinking their self-made beer with the caption "First batch: HORRIBLE!" written across it. A muffled "Is she military or what?" reached her ears and she yelled back her response while snapping a picture of her bag and sending it back to her best friend, caption reading "Overtime better get paid!".

"Used to. Honorably discharged cause of medical issues. She just refers to people she doesn't know as civilians. Usually filthy civilians."

Just when the blonde was putting her phone back into her pocket a shock of blue hair popped out from around the corner, followed by the rest of Lapis' now in casual clothes clad body. A wine-red coloured crop top hugged her lean midsection perfectly, showing off her toned abs nicely before she covered up with a leather jacket. A pair of blue skinny jeans tucked into a pair of dark brown boots topped off the overall rather stylish outfit, giving the cashier a sense of fashion that Peridot didn't expect her to have.

"Well then, I'm good to go Peri."

"I've known you for maybe an hour and you're already calling me Peri. Next thing I know you'll know my exact order at the local coffee shop."

They both exited the store just in time to see a redheaded boy climbing out of his beat-up truck, only to watch him disappear into the store wordlessly when Lapis handed him the key mere seconds later. She shrugged when curious emeralds connected with her own eyes before they climbed into the BMW after unlocking it, quickly taking off into the direction of the parlor. The short ride was spent in comfortable silence and the occasional side-glance from Peridot, every one of them directed at the so oddly intriguing yet somewhat irritating blue-haired enigma of a woman sitting next to her.

The gravel covering the small parking area behind the parlor scrunched beneath the tires as Peridot pulled into it. She turned off the engine, grabbed her bag and exited the car while Lapis did the same, both still shrouding themselves in silence that was starting to unsettle the smaller of the two, if only for the fact that she didn't really know if Lapis was usually a more quiet person or not. Her first impression of the girl definitely didn't support that thought. The usually brightly illuminated "open" sign was as dark as the night as they passed it by on their way inside, keys jingling as they turned the lock around and allowed the pair access into the small shop. While the blonde was heading straight for her desk after flipping on the lights, Lapis started staring at the entirely in concept art and finished tattoo designs covered walls in dumbstruck awe.

"Holy shit, are all of these yours?"

Peridot pushed a black painted nail against the power button of her bluetooth speaker before choosing a random song from her playlist and turning around to face both the wall and the person currently examining it.

"Some of them are, but not all. I only recently started working here after my friend got me the job. Actually, most of the designs you can see on there are hers." She walked a few steps, grabbed a can from her bag and took a sip before coming to a stand right next to Lapis. "My best friend Jasper, you remember? I told you about her earlier. She works here too, on the weekends only though. Rest of the week she's busy running her and her girlfriend's auto shop which leaves me alone with our desk lady who can't ink worth crap but hey, she organizes everything so I really can't complain."

Lapis nodded wordlessly as she ran a finger over one of the framed pictures, of a Japanese cherry blossom tree tattoo covering someone's entire right shoulder and part of their back, a smile so serenely sincere smile spreading across her lips at the motion that caused an explosion of warmth to spread through Peridot's stomach the moment she noticed it. The cherry blossom tree was her design and seeing someone being so affectionate towards it despite it not even being painted on them made her feel both validated and appreciated as an artist, especially since she knew Lapis also found her physically appealing. She couldn't wait to brag about it to Jasper, finally she could shove the fact that someone liked her into her smug face.

"Uh, Peridot?"

"Hm?"

"Wow you've been spacing out real bad. I just asked if I could see your sketch and you just kinda stared at me with that half-grin plastered all over your face."

Embarrassed at being caught the smaller tried hiding the rising heat in her cheeks behind another sip of her drink before she strolled over to her desk, pulled another chair up from beneath it and plopped down on the other all the while motioning for the dark-skinned girl to follow her with a single wave of a finger. Said girl grinned at the obvious embarrassment before her eyes settled onto the small A4 paper that was followed by an audible gasp of pure amazement once she actually saw what Peridot had been working on.

"How long have you been working on this?"

The tattoo artist hummed before she checked the time on her phone, shrugging as she replied with "maybe for about 5 hours or so. It's not completely finished yet and I probably went through at least 10 pages of my sketchbook trying to get it to look like that."

"Are you going to add colour to it?", Lapis asked as she pointed at some of the drops coming off the pencil sketch of the skull Peridot had drawn, "I bet giving it a watercolour look would add a whole new layer of depth to it."

"Jasper is the expert on watercolour style but...," Peridot started at she eyed her sketch from a new perspective, fingers already twitching in anticipation to transform the new idea, "I could definitely try and see how it looks." She looked over at Lapis and gave her an honest, grateful smile.

"Thanks, I've been trying to think of what was missing here all night, hence why I eventually ran out of energy drinks."

Lapis ran a hand through her blue-ish locks before an expression that Peridot could only describe as something akin to shyness spread across her face before it was quickly replaced by her usual, cocky attitude.

"Well if it hadn't been for that we wouldn't have met today and that would have sucked, big time."

Laughter erupted inside the small parlor as both women starting giggling and chuckling at their really weird but also really awesome interaction and this time Peridot didn't cover her mouth to hide her snort-filled mirth. Instead, once they both had calmed down, she decided to offer her new-found friend a beer from the fridge that was gladly accepted before she finally asked the question that had been burning at the back of her mind for a while now.

"You seem to know an awful lot about tattoos but I don't really see any on you, what's up with that?"

Peridot could almost feel the mood shift to something more serious and she wished she could take the question back. And as if Lapis had just heard that thought she shook her head and tore her eyes away from the sketch to settle them on the shining emeralds of the smaller girl next to her, expression soft and not at all offended like Peridot had anticipated.

"I don't talk about my tattoo very often because it usually results in a huge pity party and I absolutely hate that." Lapis stood and took off her jacket, placing it on the backrest of her chair before stripping off her crop top also which left her standing in front of Peridot in nothing but her jeans and bra. Before the sudden wanna-be strip tease session could turn awkward she turned around to show her exposed back and this time it was Peridot's turn to gasp in amazement.

The dark-skinned girl's back was entirely covered by a colourful tattoo of a blue phoenix spreading its wings in an act that looked like it was ascending from its own ashes, bright and vibrant colours creating a beautiful contrast against the tanned skin. Before she knew what she was doing the blonde had gotten up from her chair to run a few fingers over the masterpiece of a tattoo that lay before her, appreciating every little detail and every second of hard work that had been poured into it. But even though this was the first time she had seen this specific tattoo, something about it still struck her with a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen something like that before or at least something in the same style.

"Having fun back there? You're being oddly quiet, nerd."

The sheer amusement audible in her voice was enough to let Peridot know that she hadn't crossed any boundaries since she had just touched someone's back rather intimately without asking for permission first. With a last glance at the marvelous piece of art on the girl's back, Peridot cleared her throat and politely averted her gaze when Lapis put her clothes back on.

"Sorry, I was honestly captivated by your ink. It looks absolutely stunning but also way out of my league, I am not that good with watercolour." She had jokingly added the last part to take the edge off what she was about to say next, cautious eyes glancing up at the blue-haired cashier in almost fearful anticipation.

"You don't have to share the story, you know? I can appreciate art without knowing its background."

"It's alright", Lapis replied after she sat back down, this time without her jacket, "I don't really take you for the pity type of gal, you strike me more like a "honest to a painful degree" person." She gave a crooked smile before she emptied her beer, expression growing almost achingly nostalgic as she recalled the origin behind her tattoo.

"I was born and raised in Hawaii, by my dad. My mum passed away when I was still really young so I don't remember her much but dad never failed to tell me all their romantic lovey-dovey stories about how they met and all that. We'd go out to the beach every day we could to surf and go diving, I think I actually learned how to swim faster than I could ride a bike." She laughed at the in doubt raised eyebrow from her opposite before she continued.

"No seriously! I would always fall over or head straight into a bush but swimming? I would dive to the bottom and collect seashells no problem. Anyways, I grew up around a lot of water. When other girls my age would play tea party with their dolls I would try to dive down as deep as possible, when their parents picked them up from school I would race down to the beach on my bike so I could help my dad with work. He was a tourist guide, owned his own shack by the shore and even a small boat that could carry a couple people each ride."

Lapis leaned back and ran a hand through her soft, shaved hair before she looked at Peridot with eyes that were filled with so much pain that the blonde thought someone had just slammed a knife into her chest.

"I was 10 when he died. A mother had been distracted by taking pictures during the tour and didn't notice her son trying to catch some of the fish passing by their boat. The currents are very dangerous in some areas and by the time someone noticed the poor boy had been dragged halfway out into the ocean. My dad was the best swimmer I have ever seen, strong arms and back and a seemingly limitless supply of oxygen whenever we went diving, but no amount of experience could have saved him from the currents. He managed to get the boy close enough to the boat that another man could swim up to him without getting caught too, but my dad..."

Silence, only broken by the radio playing in the background settled between them, thick with tension as Lapis took a shaky, calming breath before she continued.

"I ended up moving to America to live with my aunt, my mum's sister, after he passed away. My entire life the ocean had been like my home, my refuge, my sanctuary. But once I had seen my dad's body as they lifted it out the sea, blue and purple and bloated from being in the water for days, it had become my worst nightmare. It wasn't until years later, during my high school years, that I managed to overcome my fear of the depths, reminding myself that albeit the ocean had taken my most beloved person, it had also given me comfort and strength and reminded me of all the days of my wonderful childhood that I got to share with my dad. And the phoenix is there to remind me of those days, new hope born from the ashes of fear."

To her it almost sounded like a well rehearsed script or a stage play and the urge to end the almost depressing story with a witty remark completely left her once she realized that the sound coming from Peridot wasn't a chuckle but sniffles. In fact, the blonde's shoulders were shaking from sheer effort not to burst into sobs that it would have looked almost comical if it hadn't been for the tears staining her freckles cheeks.

"Oh my god I meant to tell you about my tattoo, not make you cry! Please, don't cry I suck at comforting people and you'll make me cry too."

She hated how her voice sounded more pleading than reassuring and she immediately felt even worse until Peridot looked up at her, tears glistening in the pale light from above as her stunningly green eyes stared into her own blue ones so intensely that every thought about leaving and never coming back left her mind.

"Well gee thank you, that's one way to make me feel better about being an overly emotional crybaby. I wasn't expecting this level of fucked up when you said pity party, next time give me a heads up! And a box of Kleenex while you're at it cause I smudged up my glasses."

Not two seconds later they fell into comfortable laughter as Lapis realized the humorous sarcasm in Peridot's voice and she rubbed her trimmed hair awkwardly once they had calmed down enough to talk, guilt over making her new friend cry on their first day almost gone entirely. She handed the tattoo artist a clean tissue from her pocket and used the short distraction to look at Peridot's now uncovered face.

"Minus the puffy eyes and all, you look really cute without your glasses, you now? Freckles suit you, they give at least some colour to your pale complexion."

"I swear to the heavens I will pierce your mouth shut if you don't stop, Lazuli."

"Lazuli?"

Peridot let out a satisfied "hmpf" as she put her glasses back on. "Yeah, Lazuli. You call me Peri, you get a fancy nickname too. You made me cry, you don't get to complain."

"Wow, way to make me feel even worse", Lapis replied with as much hurt as she could put behind her words with the shit-eating grin covering her face, which ended up not being a whole lot and they both returned to a moment of comfortable silence before it was broken by the blonde, curiosity obvious in her voice.

"Where did you get the design? I don't know why but it strikes me as something I have seen before, something similar to it."

"I actually saw it being drawn life on an art convention I went to last year in Kansas City. The client had already paid upfront for the design but he either changed his mind or didn't like how it turned out because he never came to pick it up. I was standing at that tiny booth for hours while I watched this from head to toe in tattoos covered hulk of a woman paint it, from the first brush stroke to the last. She admired my patience and ability to stand for hours on end and gave it to me for free and I shit you not, I was so happy I cried, okay? Don't judge me. It just felt so...right, so perfect. It was as if that booth had called me towards it just so I could see the making of this one of a kind painting that is now covering my entire back. It took me a while to actually find a tattoo artist skilled enough to replicate it and I used a good chunk of my savings getting it done but every painful minute was worth it."

When Lapis noticed the look of sheer disbelief on Peridot's face she wondered if she had said something wrong but before she could say anything, the woman had beaten her to it.

"Say, did that woman have long hair? Like, really long. And dyed white?"

"Yeah, how do you...oh. Oh! Oh my god, don't tell me-", Lapis started but was interrupted when Peridot jumped out of her chair, raced into the next room as quickly as her prosthesis would allow her to, only to return a few seconds later with two pictures in her hands.

"It's Jasper's design, of course, how could I not recognize it! Look", she said, showing the tanned girl a picture of Jasper posing right next to Peridot herself in front of the parlor and another painting of a Chinese dragon, entirely painted in watercolors. "I knew I had seen that style somewhere." She grinned when her eyes met Lapis', evidence from the emotional outburst from earlier nearly entirely gone from her face and she leaned close to whisper something into the other girl's ear.

"Don't tell her about this though, she'll cut down on my paycheck if she finds out I can't recognize her work."

Lapis grinned and turned her head to reply before she realized that Peridot hadn't taken her head back yet and that they were now staring at each other from such close proximity that she could feel the other's hot breath on her suddenly very dry lips. The urge to close the gap was sending an army of butterflies flying around her stomach like Mary Poppins in a hurricane before Peridot's face suddenly distanced itself from hers, leaving her mouth hanging open slightly in both shock and surprise caused by both their behaviours.

"At least buy me dinner first, jerk", Peridot joked to hide her nervousness at the "almost contact" as she put her own sketch and the other two pictures back into their designated drawers. She turned off the radio, stuffed her phone into her pocket and placed her headphones around her neck before turning around, only to nearly yelp in surprise when she found Lapis now standing right in front of her with an expression on her face that looked way more determined than someone's face should look like at 6 in the morning.

"I usually work around dinner time so how about breakfast? There's an awesome little dinner a few blocks from here, my treat. That way the next time you dare come so close you won't have an excuse to pull back."

Peridot blinked when Lapis didn't even wait for her to say yes and instead only grabbed her jacket and went over to the door, opening it and holding it ajar for the blonde to follow.

"Are you asking me out, Lazuli?"

"You told me to buy you dinner, I'll buy you breakfast. Come on Peri, it usually starts filling up with coffee junkies this time around and I promise you they have omelet that is to die for there."

Peridot shook her head in amused disbelief before she grabbed her keys and followed the girl outside, locking the door to the parlor tight before heading down towards her car again. The first rays of the sun were slowly starting to peek over the horizon, colouring it a beautiful variety of reds and oranges that immediately reminded her of Lapis' tattoo, a thought that brought a smile to her face as she and the girl both sat down in her car.

"So, how exactly did you lose a leg?"

Peridot groaned and swatted at Lapis' arm in fake annoyance.

"You're asking this now, really?"

Lapis in turn just shrugged and turned on the radio, grinning when she heard the first few notes of Linkin Park's Numb filter through the loudspeakers.

"I shared my tearjerker of a story, now it's your turn. Plus, I have to start somewhere and find out more about you if I want to ask you out."

Weird. That was the one word Peridot would use to describe this entire night with. Weird. She had initially just wanted to get a drink and a few snacks and now she was going out on her first date type of thing at 6 in the morning with a girl that she felt so comfortable around as if they had known each other for years and not only just a couple hours. But when she heard Lapis sing along to the music, hands air-drumming along to the beat and visuals of their talk from earlier still vivid in her mind she realized one thing.

She really didn't mind. Not at all. She was actually kinda looking forward to it.

Kicking off the end of my mini-hiatus with this long ass one-shot, I hope you peeps enjoyed it :) It wasn't actually supposed to be so long but alas, it still ended up like that. I don't really mind because I feel I keep improving with these longer stories to produce more quality content in the same time. Okay, senseless rambling aside, I am GLAD TO BE BACK so prepare for more Lapidot and SU stuff! Stay beautiful and until my next story, bye bye!

PS: This story was inspired my my fiancée's brother getting a tattoo while I was in America and I went with him cause everyone else was at work. He and the tattoo artist are like best buds and it was awesome to see the exchange and everything. Peridot's design in this story is based on dement09's human Peridot design (look her up on tumblr her Lapidot art is awesome!)

Phrase of the Day

I don't think I've had love at first sight. But, I've definitely had moments where I've seen a person, and I'm like, 'Wow, there is something different about you, and I really want to get to know you.'

~Josh Hutcherson

If you liked it, please REVIEW.

No flaming please.