Chapter Text
Steven had never been fantastically concerned about what the past, future, or present would bring him. Taking every day as it came made it easier to treat every day like it was special; and it was! But lately, he couldn’t help being worried about what might happen next. Whenever he asked Garnet to look into the future for him, she would only adjust her shades and say “Nothing you can’t handle” with a confident smile. He wanted to believe her, but it was hard.
After enemies from Homeworld came crashing down to Beach City, poofed the other Crystal Gems, took him hostage, the way Lapis talked (the way he didn’t keep his promise) and, well, everything else that he hadn’t even really had time to think about, he was… scared.
For how much everyone talked about the past, there was so much of it he wasn’t allowed to know. At first it didn’t matter, he was just happy to finally be a part of the missions. But after a while, it did matter. After the other day, he could sorta see why they might not wanna talk about it, but even if the truth was scary, he at least wanted the chance to face it head on.
Garnet had always said something like that, about truth and honesty and love, but he’d never really understood what it meant until Connie forced him to talk with her face-to-face about what had happened. She was a really good friend, and he wanted the chance to be that for Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst too. Sometimes, it just felt like they didn’t want that for him.
Steven slumped in his seat on the couch. Even before discovering Lapis, he’d spent a lot of time thinking about the possibility of other, uncorrupted gems still being out there. The world was so big, and his adventures with the Crystal Gems and all the magical stuff he’d seen made him think there was no way they’d seen everything. He wanted to be there for those gems like he wanted to be there for Lapis, but how could he if he never even knew about them?
He almost never knew about Lapis. If he’d given up the mirror just a little sooner, or if he hadn’t figured out what to do… Well, he didn’t want to think about it. He was just happy she was free.
Sort of.
Steven shook his head and got up from the couch. Sitting around wasn’t going to get him anywhere.
Pearl was the only gem home right now, humming as she washed the dishes. Amethyst was out doing “nothing” with nineteen bags of chips (she saved one for him), a box of scrap-metal, and a gallon jug of glue, while Garnet was out looking for other warp pads that might not have been disabled yet. Steven walked into the kitchen, grabbed the step-stool, and climbed it to get the last bag of Chaaaaps in the pantry.
Pearl looked up from her work, apparently not having noticed him until now.
“Oh, Steven!” Her voice was pleasant, smile easy. “When Garnet and Amethyst return, perhaps we could play more of that ‘board game’ you showed us?” It was an unusual suggestion, coming from Pearl, but he was glad to hear it anyways.
“Hm, maybe later.” Steven hummed, climbing down the steps. “I think I’m gonna go out for a bit.”
“Oh.” Her smile waned, but he couldn’t guess why. “Well, promise you’ll be careful, okay? There’s still a lot of broken glass out there, and I’d hate to see you hurt.”
“Heh, I promise.” Steven reassured, then walked over to the warp pad. Apparently, that was not what Pearl had expected.
“Um, Steven, wouldn’t you rather tour Beach City instead?” Her smile was forced now, moving closer, the faucet left on. “I’m sure there are plenty of people who could use your help, and I’m sure all of them would be happy to have it!”
“Maybe later.” Steven repeated absently, starting to think about where he wanted to go.
Lately, he’d taken to visiting Rose’s Garden when he was thinking about her. It helped to have someone to talk to and sort things out with, even if it was just a statue.
“Well, at least let me help you get to where you’re going.” Pearl stepped onto the pad. “I… I know you can do it on your own now, but sometimes it can be tricky to get right, and--”
“I just want to be alone for a while.” Steven interrupted, smile dipping. “I’m… going to visit mom for a bit.”
Pearl looked away, a hand to her mouth. It looked like she was thinking about something, but when she turned again, her eyes were warm, and just a little wet. She pulled him into a hug and held on tight. “Just, be safe, okay? We love you.”
“Haha, I know that!” Steven returned the hug, smiling automatically. It was impossible not to. “I’ll be fine.” He said, and hoped it wasn’t a lie.
Pearl broke away, her smile soft, and much realer now. “I know.” Slowly, she backed away from the pad. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
Steven nodded, and spread his arms to focus. There was a pleasant ‘shing’ and Pearl disappeared from sight. As the light lifted him, he could feel weight disappearing. It was strange, the way the warp felt. Like floating, but not quite. It made it hard to adjust when gravity came back, but he did his best to prepared for the dismount anyways.
Only, the dismount never came. He was still traveling.
Steven blinked, and waited a little longer. Still nothing. After a deep breath, he dared to poke his head out from the beam. When he looked around, Earth was nowhere to be seen. Not even as a pale blue dot. He looked for a constellation, but didn’t recognize any. A spike of panic hit, and he ducked his head back inside.
“Am I… going to Homeworld?” He looked instinctively to the gem exposed on his belly. Suddenly, he felt very heavy. “No way! Garnet broke all of those, didn’t she? So, where the heck am I gooiiiiing!?”
The light faded only a moment later. Steven landed with an unceremonious ‘oof’ and rose quickly. When he thought of Homeworld, he thought about shiny metal and weird gems with weird weapons. But the place around him was about as far from that as possible. He was in a garden, alright, but it definitely wasn’t his mom’s, and it wasn’t very alive, either.
“Maybe I’m… not on Homeworld?”
From atop a plateau of pink stone, Steven could see everything. Anywhere where the stone hadn’t been touched yet, it was cracked, or grown over with moss, or had massive roots breaking through. At first, he thought it had to be night time wherever he was, but when he looked up, that obviously wasn’t the case. Around everything was a sorta-clear bubble, like the ones that kept water out of the underwater temples. The sky was filled with planets he didn’t recognize, a broken moon, and maybe more stars than he’d ever seen in his life.
“Woah…”
Fear forgotten, Steven moved down the steps. He marveled at the floating columns, chipped and broken, but still hovering. The way the vines and flowers grew, petals scattered. The fountain, no less impressive for not working. And, probably his favorite part, the short, pink, eyes-closed statue with a crystal heart. It was sort of faded looking, a little chipped in some places, but just as weirdly pretty as the rest of the-- Wait, did its mouth just move?
“Nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-two, nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-three~”
Steven blanched, and quickly hid behind the fountain.
A gem! Another, real-life, actual, not-corrupted gem! But, is she more like Jasper, or like Lapis?
“Ten thousand!” The gem declared, laughing shakily to herself. “That makes thirty! Haha, maybe I’ll hit the record today. Sixty thousand, here I come!” There was a silent pause. It stretched for so long that Steven began to worry he’d been found, but it only ended with a sigh, as the gem began to count from one.
Like Lapis, he decided right then. Steven stepped out from behind the fountain, put on his best smile, and waved.
“Hi, my name’s--”
“Pink!” She interrupted, eyes shooting open. Her smile, wider than he’d ever seen on anyone, broke instantly. It sort of hurt, even if he didn’t think it was his fault. “Oh...”
“Uh, I guess I’m pink?” Steven looked himself over. “But, no, my name’s Steven. What’s yours?”
“... Spinel.” She looked down to her meshed hands in frustration. “I, uh, can’t salute right now, but, you’re part of Pink’s court, right?” His eyes narrowed in confusion. Spinel flashed a nervous smile. “What’s that look for?”
Steven stuck a hand in his hair, apologetic. “I-I’m sorry, I guess I don’t know who this ‘Pink’ is? Maybe you could help me out.”
“Y-You know?” Her smile became as shaky as her voice. “Pink-- Pink Diamond! She’s s-sort of small, very bright? Has a great smile?”
A ‘diamond’. That sounded familiar, sorta. Jasper said something about a diamond, didn’t she? Or, no, maybe that was Peridot. What color did they say again? He blinked, and realized she was staring at him pretty hard.
“Uh, no, I guess I don’t really know a ‘Pink Diamond’. Sorry.” Her expression became distraught. “I mean, if it’s any consolation, I pretty much only know like, eight gems total. Or, maybe nine now?” He hadn’t really met them met them, but Ruby and Sapphire definitely counted as their own gems. “Oh, ten, if I’m counting you!”
“Only know--” Her mouth hung open. “How’s that… possible? What, happened? What happened to Earth? Do you know Earth?” Spinel added, quietly. “Please…”
“Earth.” He smiled. Then paused. Considering what happened last time, was it smart to say anything? Wondering gave him time to look down, and notice the roots growing over and around her legs. His eyes shrank. “How, long have you been here?”
“Oh, only six-thousand, one hundred years, fourteen days, nineteen hours, three minutes, twenty seconds and counting!” Spinel laughed. He laughed too, nervously. If Pearl had told him the truth, that meant Spinel wasn’t even part of the war. Maybe she doesn’t even know there was a war…
“Hey, why don’t you come with me?” Steven stepped back, offering a hand. “I know someone super smart who can do a way better job of answering your questions.”
Spinel looked to the hand, and for the first time he could remember, shifted. But her hands stayed together, and she only frowned. “I… can’t.”
“Well, why not?” He did his best to be encouraging.
“Because… I have to wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“Pink Diamond.” She looked down again, eyes a little smaller. “I have to… stand very still. She’ll be back soon.” He wondered if those roots hurt, and did his best not to frown.
“Well, hey, don’t worry about it! It’ll be a little harder to bring Pearl here, but…” He found it hard to make the promise. What if he failed again? What if Pearl couldn’t be convinced? Or worse, what if she wanted to hurt Spinel instead? But, when Spinel’s eyes met his, and she looked away, like she was the one who had to apologize, the words came automatically. “I’ll be back for you!” He forced himself to say it. “I promise.”
To that, she said nothing. He took a step back, and a strangled noise came from the back of her throat. “No, wait, wait. Please. Can’t you… Stay a little longer? At least… for a few hours?”
Steven thought on that for a minute. He really wanted to get her moving. Getting Pearl to come here would be easy, but convincing her to stay would be harder. Suddenly, he had an idea. “Okay, sure, but, if I’m gonna be here for a while, let’s play some games.”
“Games?” She smiled, tearing up.
“Yeah, games!” He returned the smile, even if he wasn’t totally sure it was a happy one. “Like, have you ever played I Spy?”
“Never heard of it.”
“Okay, it’s super simple.” He looked around, and spotted some pale-white flowers. “I say ‘I spy with my little eye, something white!’ And then, you try to guess what I was looking at.”
Spinel looked as well, humming. “The white part in the fountain?”
“Nope!”
“Oh.” She seemed disappointed. “Guess I lose, huh?”
“No way!” Steven grinned. “You get to keep playing until you win! So just keep guessing.”
“Oh…” Spinel’s smile split wider. “Is it the stars?”
“Nope~”
She was excited now. “Is it the walls out there? The little details on the temple? Oh, oh, is it me!?”
“Haha, no! But that would’ve been pretty smart. Come on, you can do it!”
“Oh, is it… Is it the flowers?”
“Yeah!” He pumped a fist. “You did it! You won!”
“I… won?” She started to laugh. “I won!” It was like a dam had burst open. Her laughter came in peals, and bounced off all the empty space. It was loud, and free, and contagious. But when it died down, her expression became somber again. “... Those flowers used to be pink, you know?” He hesitated to say something, but she smiled again all on her own. “It’s been a looong time since I played a good game. What’s next?”
Steven was happy to hear her enthusiasm. “Next it’s your turn, but before that, why don’t we celebrate?”
“Celebrate?”
“Yeah!” He raised a hand, palm out. “It’s called a high-five. You know what that is?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“It’s when two people clap their hands together.” He clapped his own together to demonstrate. “Like that! It means, ‘nice job!’”
She looked to her hands, still meshed, and slowly, slowly, peeled them apart. Her hand raised, and met his. It wasn’t exactly a clap, and her hand sorta lingered, but it was a good step. Every achievement, no matter how small, was worth celebrating.
“Awesome!” Steven praised. “Okay, now it’s your turn.”
Spinel looked to her hands one more time, like she’d only just realized they were hers. “My turn, huh?” She smiled, wider, realer, and brought a hand to her eye, the other closed. Her hand morphed and expanded, without the tell-tale glow of shape-shifting he was used to, until it became a comically long pink spyglass. Steven gasped, stars in his eyes, as Spinel turned it on him, one bright eye blinking through the tube. “I spy, with my little eye, something pink and cute!”
“Is it me?” Steven laughed.
“Ya got it in one!”
They both laughed. Through a few tears, Steven managed to continue the game. “Okay, okay. I spy, with my little eye, something black!”
“Something black?” Spinel looked around, to the dead vines and all the roots tearing through the place. Not quite black, she seemed to decide, and looked up. “Space, right?”
“Yeah!” Steven declared. “Out there, somewhere, my friends are waiting for me to get back. I can bring them here, but it’ll be easier if you come with me.” He offered his hand again. “What do you say?”
At first, she said nothing. Only stared. But her smile, which hadn’t disappeared yet, quivered. “I say…”
There was a tearing sound as her feet lifted. The brittle, soft snap of the vines as they came undone around her. And then, a brilliant flash of light. Pure white, shining brighter than the stars. Her entire form retreated into her gem mid-step, and came down before the next. She wasn’t dirty any more. Not bruised, or scraped, or dull. She was bright, maybe a little darker in color than she’d been originally, but not by much. Everything about her was a little sharper, her shoes a little taller, her shoulder-pads sorta long instead of poofy. And her hair, once two heart-shaped buns, was now one long, poofy pony-tail that curled in at the end, pulled back tight, but bouncing with every step. The entire process was instant, in a way he’d never seen, and maybe never would again.
“I say… Thank you, Steven.” And her big gloved hand met his.
And the pair walked off.
When they reached the top, Spinel stared out to the garden, pensive. Steven squeezed her hand a little, and she looked down to him with a fond smile, humming a tune.
"Some day. Somewhere. Somehow. I already feel… found."
The warp pad ‘shing’d, and they were gone.