Chapter Text
Steven had decided. He was going to tell the gems. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly while a dribble of sweat ran down his face. "Hey, my name is Steven and I'm a gem human hybrid." He slowly opened his eyes back up only to scowl at his own appearance in the mirror. "Ugh! What am I thinking?" He pushed his hand through the mop of curls that rested on his head. "Okay, Steven. If you're going to tell them, you just need to think of every possible question, every possible answer to that question, every explanation should something be misunderstood, and just generally any and everything else that could happen." He wore an alarmingly false smile as he looked back into the mirror.
"Hey, my name is Steven, and I'm a human gem hybrid!" He waved to himself at the end of his introduction. "Why am I saying my name? They already know my name." Steven rubbed his hand down his face in a grimace. "Is this what going insane feels like? Heh, if I ever tell them that I'm from an alternate universe, or the future, or whatever it is, then they'd really think I was a loon." He dropped his smile and sat on the ground while still gazing into the full-length mirror. It was a mirror that he had found in the back of the barn. It was covered in dirt, grime, and dust, but he could still see the reflections in it decently. He took in his overall appearance for the first time since looking into it. His face was covered in various discolorations of dirt, and his clothes had the same seemingly random spots of brown. He had been in this strange world for nearly a week now. He'd spent most of his time observing the gems patterns and fixing up the barn. The lack of proper clothing and bathing was beginning to show. The worst of it was the bottom of his jeans. They had collected mud on them whenever he went fishing and were beginning to feel stiff and oily. "I'm gonna need to figure out some way to wash off. Maybe I can wash off in the stream if I avoid all the mud spots?" He voiced his thoughts while running his fingers down his jacket.
"Whatever, I'll figure that out later. I need to focus," he reminded himself. "Okay, if they ask what gem my mom was: Easy, rose quartz. Mom was able to pass as a rose quartz the entire time she was on Earth. It shouldn't be too hard for me to do the same." He lifted his shirt slightly to consider the gem in his abdomen.
"Next: How was she not corrupted when all that jazz happened?" His mind seemed to have no shortage in supplying questions, but it seemed to stall on the answer. He sighed in thought a moment more before speaking back up. "Could I just answer with I don't know? I can just say that she never told my dad much about her life before meeting him. That's not even a lie."
"Alrighty, let's keep this train going. Where is my dad and why am I not with him now?" Steven had to hope that the questions wouldn't get to that; it did seem to be a personal thing to ask. However, he still wanted to be able to answer. "I wanted to learn more about gems. I was hoping to meet others... That seems reasonable enough? It even leaves room for me to ask them a bunch of questions so I can piece together what the heck is up with this world." He stared into his reflection for a few minutes more as his mind tried to add more questions.
"How much do I know about gems?" Steven leaned back into his hands as he contemplated the last question. "I'm going to have to act really clueless about everything if I want to avoid other questions about how my 'mom' got to earth and stayed alive. So, I guess I should say I know next to nothing. I only know about my own powers and that there's a place called 'Homeworld' ruled by a bunch of emotionally constipated diamonds." His mouth shifted into a slight smirk at his own wording. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't say it exactly like that."
His mind began to wander after mentioning the diamonds. What should he even do about them this time? When he was younger, he had wanted to help them with all his heart, to redeem them. He had never really given thought to the other planets that they had colonized, but now, that was all he could think about. Were they worth trying to save? "... Nope. Nuh-uh. I cannot think about that right now. Next question!"
He stared into the mirror for a considerable amount of time before concluding that he had run short. "Ugh, maybe I should focus on a bath now." He wrinkled his nose at the smell of sweat that wafted off of him at all times. As he was standing to walk down to the creek, his stomach growled loudly. "Actually, I think food will come first." At that, he made his way to the river to catch a meal.
Steven took a generous bite of the roasted fish. He sat close to the fire as he ate and watched the sky. Dark clouds covered the entire expanse. It was clear that rain would be coming; Steven just wanted to know when. If he played his cards right, he could use the rain as a chance to shower and wash his clothes without the worry of getting them muddied again. He easily finished off the rest of his fish. While waiting for the rain, he decided to begin trying out his pink state. He needed to get a grasp on it at some point, and he had been procrastinating it so far.
Steven closed his eyes gently as he sat next to the flickering fire. What was he even supposed to do? Think pink? Well... He thought about the color pink for a few minutes, opened his eyes, and found that his skin was still the same color. "That was a stupid plan," he commented to no one in particular. He needed to think about this more. Whenever he went into that state, he was always worried, stressed, or angry about something. He didn't want to purposefully rile himself up, but there was no way he could learn how not to turn without first learning how to turn pink.
He sat in thought a moment more. What made him stressed? Maybe it was the thought that he'd never feel a sense of normalcy with any of the gems ever again? Maybe it was that he had done some pretty horrible stuff and was only willing to admit it during a breakdown? Maybe it was that he feared that he was turning into his mom? At that thought, his heart seemed to lurch. "Well, it seems as if I struck a chord..." Steven clenched his fists. He didn't want to explore that topic deeper, but he needed to get control of this power.
He really was turning into her, wasn't he? He had fully intended to hide everything from everyone. When the truth finally came out, it might as well have been against his own accord. Then, to top it all off, he ran away. He actually ran away twice if he counted his three-day camping trip with Jasper. Rose basically did all those same things, didn't she? She did something bad, and then ran away, and then hid it from everyone she cared about. He did all the same things.
Steven felt his breath quicken and tears prick at his eyes. Like mother, like son, he guessed. He had been mad at her for so long. Little did he know, he was going to turn out just like her. "I'm such a hypocrite..."
Steven broke out of his trance when he noticed bright glowing in the corner of his eyes. He looked down at his skin to see it glowing a bright pink. "... Mission accomplished?" He had gotten his powers to flare up, but how was he supposed to stop them? His heart was racing, his breaths were shallow, and his eyes felt swollen. He didn't feel at all like trying to figure out his powers anymore. He felt more like crying.
"No, Steven. Just chill out," he reminded himself with a small sigh. He then looked up to the dark sky and forced himself to start breathing deeper. For the first few minutes, he struggled to reign back in his breathing. Once he got that under control, his heartbeat seemed to follow suit. His eyes still felt heavy, but he wasn't sure that he could do anything about that. After a while of sitting in silence, he looked back down to his skin. It was a much paler color of pink, almost a normal shade. It didn't even glow. He sighed at the confirmation of his abilities. "So, I guess it really is tied to me being stressed out. Trying to get a mastery of it is going to be painful."
Steven's eyes dropped to the ground in defeat. He already felt exhausted and the day had hardly even begun. He sat by the dwindling fire until the first raindrops began to land on him. The rain started light, but almost instantaneously multiplied into a downpour. He stood up to avoid getting in the now muddied dirt but remained in the rain. Eventually, he ended up forgoing his clothes so that they could wash completely. He didn't have to worry about being exposed since there were no other houses or people in sight. He spent the next thirty minutes just standing in the rain trying to get completely clean. It was hard without hair wash or soap, but he was able to accomplish it with enough time. He then used the last bit of the shower to scrub down his clothes. By the time he was finished cleaning everything, the rain had come to an end.
Although he wanted to go into town to observe the gems some more, he decided showing up in sopping wet clothes probably wasn't the best choice. So, he worked on getting a fire started up for the rest of the day. It took a considerable amount of time and a lot of frustration due to the waterlogged state of everything. He was able to manage it eventually, though.
He sat by that fire into the night until himself and his clothes felt completely dry. Even if it was a long, cold, and damp process, he did feel clean for the first time since he came to this world. His shirt became wrinkled from the whole process, but thankfully, his jacket and jeans came out looking decent. He could always zip up the front of his jacket anyway.
After what felt like a long day, Steven decided that his makeshift bed was calling to him. As old and dingy as the couch looked, it felt like heaven when he laid down on it. Although thoughts about being similiar to his mom plagued his mind, he was soon fast asleep.
Before Steven was willing to let the gems know about anything, he wanted to get closer to them. He knew it was childish, but he wanted the gems to be interested in him. He didn't want them interested in gem hybrid Steven. That meant he would have to start pursuing interactions with them. He might even be able to get more information from them if he was successful enough.
Once he had reached Beach City, he zipped up his jacket to hide his wrinkled shirt. It was a vain desire, but he wanted to appear presentable. He walked through the small yet busy town casually. For a moment, he could pretend that nothing had changed. If he ignored the fact that no gems roamed the streets, that he couldn't see Little Homeworld in the distance, that there was a fence blocking off the Temple, he could imagine everything was the way it used to be. Despite his wishes, the charade was over as soon as he reached the aforementioned fence. He took a quick look around to see that no one was in sight.
The fence may have been significantly taller than Steven, but it stood no chance against the half gem. Like every other time, he easily vaulted it then allowed himself to float back down to the sandy ground. As he approached the temple, he almost felt relief in the fact that no gems were out. He wasn't sure if he could approach any of them. His plan was to just sit on the beach, hope one of them shows up to run him off, and then start up a conversation. It was by no means a foolproof plan, but Steven didn't need anything brilliant to just talk to them. He had always been a social butterfly in his youth. He just needed to rekindle that skill.
Steven waited... and waited... and waited. A little over two hours had passed and nothing had happened, not that Steven minded it. On the contrary, he was quite grateful for some alone time to compose himself for any coming conversation. He sat there staring out at the rolling tides, and it was nice. It was relaxing.
"Oh, Steven? What are you doing out here?" A gentle-voice called out as it's owner drew closer. Steven looked back to see Rose walking towards him. As she got closer, Steven took notice of her appearance for the first time. Unlike the videos and pictures that he had seen of her, she no longer wore her layered flowing white dress. He wasn't sure if she ever did in this world. Now, she wore a single-layered dress that was in a similar design. It seemed like a simplified version of the one he remembered. It was a long white dress that had a slit starting on the side of her waist. Her gem was displayed in a pink-tinted star, much like the other one. "Hello, Steven?" Rose muffled a giggle at Steven's lack of a response.
"Huh? Sorry, I kinda zoned out. I was just admiring the beach," he mumbled and turned his gaze back to the waves. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a hard time looking her in the eyes. It was just so jarring to be talking to her.
"Mind if I join you?" Rose kept her distance, somewhat catching onto Steven's anxiety.
"Go ahead." Steven motioned to the sand next to himself. Rose's mouth twisted up into a smile as she took her spot beside him.
"You like this area of the beach, don't you?" Rose looked over to Steven with curiosity, and he nodded in response.
"It's secluded and has nice scenery," Steven responded simply.
"It reminds you of home?" Rose prompted Steven. Steven immediately blanched, remembering he had said those words to Garnet. An awkward silence filled the air before Steven finally mustered up a meager "mhm" in response.
"Sorry, I know it was a bit nosy of me to ask Garnet about you. You're just something curious, you know?" Rose took notice of Steven's earlier reluctance and felt a need to apologize.
"Nah, it's fine. Honestly, I should be apologizing. This area is supposed to be off-limits. Thanks for not making me leave," Steven mumbled back awkwardly.
"No, you're fine! Umm, just remember what I told you when we first met. This isn't the safest place." Rose chuckled as they both stumbled over responses but turned serious when she finished.
Steven felt obligated to act curious about the dangers of the beach. It would be weird if he wasn't, right? "Why's that?" He knew the answer of course. He just needed to keep up the charade until he was ready to tell the gems.
"There are dangerous beasts that lurk around here. They are mindless and powerful. If you happen to see one, you should run. Call for us if we're near." Rose's eyebrows pinched inwards in worry. Steven hummed back in acknowledgment. "So you said this place reminded you of home. Can I ask what part of it does?" She shifted to watch Steven as he pulled his knees into his chest.
"The beach," Steven piped up. "It's just like one I used to live on." His eyes lingered on the beach for some time before straying to the temple. The lack of his home between its hands reminded him of the current reality. Regardless of how similar this beach was to his own, it wasn't his home. It may never be again. That realization alone caused Steven to snap his gaze back to the beach in an attempt to ignore the longing and sadness that stung into him akin to a poisoned arrow.
"You used to live on the beach?" Rose pursed her lips in confusion. She had assumed that Steven thought the beach was familiar for entirely different reasons.
"Yeah, I lived on it with some friends, though they were closer to caretakers when I was young. My dad lived close by too. He would stop by and hang out pretty much every day." Despite his somber mood, a small smile sneaked its way onto Steven's face as he reminisced about his old life. Rose's eyes widened at him in some unspoken realization before returning to her normal soft expression.
"That sounds lovely." Suddenly, Steven noticed that Rose had closed the gap between them. She was only a hands width away from him now and was smiling down at him with compassion.
"It really was. They were all so amazing, and they always looked after me no matter what I did." Steven remained nondescript in his wording. His mind drifted to the weight of what he did, but he had to ignore it. This was a new chance for a better world. Steven just had to keep telling himself that, and he'd be out of his depressed moods in no time. He still couldn't help but wonder why everything hurt so bad even though this was all for the best.
"So why are you here then, Steven? Why aren't you with your family?" Steven bit his lip as he thought about it. He didn't know why. He assumed that he reached this world through some weird power of his that he had yet to discover, but he wasn't sure what. If he activated it once, did that mean he might be able to activate it again? Could he go home? Did he even want to go home? Steven pulled his knees tighter to himself at the sudden onslaught of new thoughts. His eyes drifted back to Rose when he realized that he had never answered her.
"Can't," Steven was ready to leave it at that, but something about the way Rose looked at him inspired him to continue. "Even if I could, they wouldn't... heh," Steven laughed humorlessly. "They wouldn't want me around anymore." He uncurled from his hunched position over his legs and used his arms as supports to lean back.
"I'm sure that's not true! If they cared for you as much as you say they did, surely you just need to go talk it over with them." Rose was quick to reassure Steven, but her kind words fell on deaf ears.
"Can't," Steven repeated his earlier statement while avoiding all eye contact with Rose. His heart lurched into action at the sudden turn of their conversation. He wasn't ready to give up any of his secrets yet, and the way this conversation was going... Well, Steven wouldn't be surprised if his secrets gave themselves away soon. His heart was racing, and his breathing hitched. He had to focus on not turning pink.
"... I'm sorry. I'm pushing you, aren't I?" Rose apologized for the second time that day. Steven wasn't too sure how to respond to that, so he settled for a nod. Honestly, part of him had always hoped that Rose would turn out to be a horribly mean person. At least he could say he wasn't exactly like her then. But now, she was so nice. She just wanted to help him. She was so much like him. He felt mixed emotions about their shared similarities. "Why Beach City of all places?" She changed the topic of the conversation only slightly, but Steven could tell that it wasn't a prying question this time.
Steven shrugged before vaguely repeating, "It reminds me of home." Rose seemed to take the hint that he wasn't planning on explaining any further.
"So," Rose attempted to keep up the conversation, "What's your favorite food?" From there, their conversation only got lighter and easier to endure.
"Have you ever had a cookie cat?" Steven questioned Rose then looked over to see her nod her head.
"Yes, Greg has given me those on occasion. They're very good!" Rose replied back with enthusiasm.
"Those things are awesome." He paused a second more then looked up to her with a starry expression. "Have you ever heard the theme song for them? The theme song is as good as the treat itself." She thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"Ohhhhhhhh!" Steven began the theme song with clear joy on his face. He felt a little silly performing the theme song now that he was so much older, but it was a happy silly. Rose seemed to jump a bit, not expecting the sudden burst into song. "He's a frozen treat with an all new taste! 'Cause he came to this planet from outer space!" Once Rose caught on, she hid her giggling behind her hand to keep from interrupting the song.
"A refugee of an interstellar war
But now he's at your local grocery store!
Cookie cat
He's a pet for your tummy
Cookie cat
He's super duper yummy
Cookie cat
He left his family behind
Cookie caaaaaaat!... Now available at Gurgens off Route 109."
When Steven finished his little performance, Rose burst out into a hearty laugh. "Steven, that was amazing!" Steven blushed slightly at the praise.
"Heh, thanks. Too bad that they're- Wait, I wonder." Steven cut himself off as he thought about the Cookie Cats. Was there a chance that they were still being sold in this world? "It's of vital importance that we go check the Big Donut." Steven stood up and waited for Rose to follow suit.
"Why's that?" She asked curiously while standing with him. As soon as she was up, Steven bolted in the direction of the Big Donut.
"Not much time to explain! I need to know!" Steven expressed his urgency. Rose easily caught back up with him and kept pace. Her laughing only seemed to increase more at his sudden antics. Once the two reach the fence, Steven had to climb over it instead of jumping like he usually would. Rose did jump over it. Once the two were on the other side, Steven picked back up his pace. A moment later, the two were bursting into the door of the big donut.
"Can we help- Oh... It's you again." Lars remarked from behind the cash register. Steven ignored him for a moment in favor of running to the Cookie Cat freezer and looking inside.
"There are still some here!" Steven looked back to Rose with a huge smile once he saw all the frozen treats in it. He then ran over to the counter that Lars stood behind. "Are the Cookie Cats still being made, or are these the last few?"
"Those are the last few. Apparently, they're not being made anymore." Steven deflated at Lars's words but looked back to the Cookie Cat freezer with hope.
"Is there any chance that you guys would be willing to give them away?" Steven walked back over to the freezer and looked at it longingly.
"Uhhhmmm? No? This is a store, not a charity. If you can't buy anything, just leave." Lars rolled his eyes with his blunt response. Steven looked back to Rose with an awkward expression and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry for making you run all the way here. These sold out where I'm from. I was wondering if this place had any, but looks like it doesn't matter anyway." Rose squinted her eyes in thought as Steven spoke. She remained quiet for a few seconds before her eyes opened back up wide.
"Actually!" She interjected and reached into her gem. Within the second, she was pulling out bills. "I'd like to buy all the Cookie Cats you have!" She turned to Lars with a large smile then looked over to Steven and winked.
"Wait, Rose! You don't have to spend your money on buying me a bunch of these things! I feel uncomfortable using your money," Steven stated seriously.
"Well, I'm going to buy them for myself, but I think it'd be hard to eat them all before they melt. Soooooo," Rose drew out the word with a mischievous glint in her eye, "you may have to help me." Steven looked at her quizically.
"If I'm helping you, I guess it's okay." He regarded Rose with suspicion. Lars raised a single brow at the twos' interactions but said nothing. He rang up the total, and Rose gave many more bills than were necessary. After the Rose and Lars sorted out the change, he waved his hand back to the freezer.
"Go ahead and take that bulky thing if you want. It'll save me the trouble of throwing it in the dumpster out back." Rose gave Steven a thumbs up as he picked up the freezer full of snacks off the counter. Both walked out of the convenient store and back toward the beach with wide smiles. Once they were back to their previous position by the water's edge, Steven set down the freezer and sat by it. He waited for Rose to pull out the first bag before he was willing to grab his own. Once he bit into it, he felt unadulterated bliss take him over.
"I haven't had one of these in forever! Not the real ones, anyway. " Steven practically moaned out with his mouth full of the treat. When he thought about it, he hadn't had anything but fish for the past week or so. The Cookie Cats were a welcome change from his usual eating routine. Rose seemed amused by Steven's reactions.
"I'm glad I had you were here to help me then. It would've been a shame for these to go to waste." Steven nodded in agreement with Rose as he finished off the treat. He went to grab another but hesitated when he remembered he had not bought them. "Go ahead!" Rose encouraged as she nibbled on her first one. At Rose's permission, Steven grabbed another and bit into it.
"How did the song go again?" Rose asked Steven while taking the last bite of her own treat. Unlike Steven, she did not move to get a second. Steven then spent the next few minutes teaching Rose the Cookie Cat song. She was a quick learner. Before long, she had convinced Steven into singing it with her.
"Ohhhhhh!
He's a frozen treat with an all new taste!
'Cause he came to this planet from outer space!
A refugee of an interstellar war
But now he's at your local grocery store!
Cookie cat
He's a pet for your tummy
Cookie cat
He's super duper yummy
Cookie cat
He left his family behind
Cookie caaaaaaaaaaat!"
The two sang it in synchronization. Steven split off at the end to add on, "now available at Gurgens off Route 109," which served to amuse Rose even more.
"That was so fun!" Rose clapped happily as she laughed.
"It was, wasn't it?" Steven finished off what had to have been his fourth Cookie Cat. "Ugh, I don't think I can eat anymore. What are you going to do with the rest of them?" Steven looked into the freezer to see that three remained. Rose considered the freezer and treats.
"Well, I'm supposed to be heading over to Greg's soon. I suppose I can take them with me and get him to store them." Steven had to hold back a frown when he realized the conversation was coming to an end.
"Oh, sounds like a plan. I'll be seeing you around?" He gave Rose a hopeful look.
"Of course! I'll need someone to eat the rest of these," Rose spoke like it was obvious.
"Rose, you bought these, not me. I've already eaten way more than I should have." Steven fixed Rose with a slight grimace focused not on her but on his own actions. "They're yours, not mine." Rose simply shrugged at him while maintaining her smile. As the two split paths, Steven gave a small wave, and Rose waved back in farewell.
"I'll be seeing you around, Steven!" Rose once again confirmed Steven's earlier question as she toted the small freezer with her.