Chapter Text
In a small, cozy neighborhood in a bright, sunny city in Pittsburgh laid a quaint, yellow house with a well trimmed lawn, luscious greenery and a mountain looming high behind it.
As per usual, a kind gentleman would step into the house with a gentle smile and with eyes full of sympathy and wisdom.
He would always be so eager to teach the people he loved of so many new things. Some were fascinating topics, some were funny and some, were a bit unhappy or would shed light on harder to swallow themes.
And as always, he was always happy to be, our neighbor.
A smiling man with short, gray hair walks into his humbled home and closes the door behind him. He's grinning from ear to ear and has a warm, cordial smile on his face. He has on a well ironed light blue shirt with a tie and a tan suit jacket with khackis and his dress shoes.
He places his hands on the banister of a one square gate.
"It's. a beautiful day in this neighborhood." he sings as he walks from the gate and down two small steps that lead into the living room floor. Just by the base of the steps is a well watered plant, a small painting above it and a closet door beside it. "A beautiful day, for a neighbor. Would you be mine?" he smiles. He opens the closet door and continues to sing, "Could you be mine?"
He takes off his suit jacket. "It's. a neighborly day in this beau.ty wood, a neighborly day for a beauty." he reaches for a hanger in between a red sweeter and a purple one. He takes the hanger off and begins gingerly placing the jacket across the hanger. "Would you be mine?" he places the jacket inside of the closet and reaches for his signature red sweater. "Could you be mine?"
He takes the sweater off of the hanger and turns back around and closes the door behind him as he keeps the cordial, warm smile on his face. "I have always wanted to have a neighbor," he swings the sweater behind him and puts it on. "just. like. you." he walks farther into his living room.
"I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood," and looks down to fasten the zipper on the sweater. "with. yoou, so" he zips his jacket towards the collar before zippering it back down near halfway. "let's make the most of this beauu.tiful daay." he walks over to a light blue bench and sits down. Beside him is a large board. Inside it are five small doors. Two at the top, one in the middle and two at the bottom. The designs on the colorful doors are small diamonds.
He throws a leg over one knee and slips his shoe off easily. He throws it from one hand to the next. "Since we're together we miight as well saay." he grabs a light blue shoe behind him on the bench. "Would you be mine? Could you be mine?" he puts the shoe on his foot. "Won't you be. my neighbor?" and begins to tie the shoe. "Won't you please? Won't you please?" he slides his leg off his knee and lifts the other leg up and takes the next shoe off. "Please, won't you be" he throws the shoe in a big arc, playfully and catches it in his other hand. He chuckles as he smiles at the little gesture. He leans down and puts the shoe on the floor. "my neighbor?" he ends the song on that friendly suggestion.
He picks up the shoe and puts it on his foot. "Hello, neighbor." his voice is calm and friendly. "It's so good to see here again today." he ties the shoe on his foot and places it back on the carpet. He shifts to his side in the chair as he brings his hand on the large board. "Did you happen to see the-" he picks up the board and places it down beside him. He looks at it. "the special thing I brought in to show you?" he leans the cardboard against the gate behind him. "It's called a picture board because" he began to point at each door. "behind each one of these colorful, little doors here is a picture of someone."
He looks down at a blue door with small diamonds on it and reaches for the small knob. He opens the door revealing a headshot of a friendly looking lady with a smile. She has long, beautiful brunette hair and light makeup and earrings, with the top of her flower dress shown.
"Lady Aberlin. Such a nice lady. Mhm."
"Let's see who's behind this door. Who could it be?" he reaches for the knob of the small, white door with shining diamonds. He opened it.
A headshot picture of a puppet king with his crown and white mustache and beard with just the top of his uniform shown. "Oh, why that's King Friday the thirteenth, with his crown and his mustache and his beard." he closes the door and passes the middle door mottled in white, pink, yellow and blue and to the one at the top. A yellow door with tiny diamonds on it. "And who might this be behind this door?" he opened it.
A headshot picture of a mailman with blond hair under his cap and thin framed glasses on his face, and a small bowtie around his neck. "And, that's our friendly mailman, Mr. McFeely. He always say, 'Speedy Delivery', doesn't he?" he closes the door back and brings a leg over his other and puts both hands folded on his knee. "I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine. His name is Steven Universe."
The kind-hearted man moves back to the board as he slides his leg off of the other. He reaches for a pink door with tiny diamonds on it. He opens it revealing an overly large teenaged boy in what looks to be in a hospital room. His bare, pink glowing skin is against the ceiling and the walls. He has tears in his eyes and his face is full of pain and sorrow.
In the bottom right hand corner is a tiny triangle inside of a circle. It's pointing to the right.
"This, is a special kind of picture. This one, is a short, thirty second video." he goes to say softly, "Why don't we click on the video and see what happens?" he presses on the triangle icon.
The video plays as the boy talks to a middle aged man with short brown hair along the back of his head and a brown beard. He has on a blue sweater and jeans and comfortable shoes.
The half of the tiles on the ceiling above them and the window behind them are cracked. There's so much pain in the boy's voice. How tired he sounds and the faint quiver in his tone.
"My body.. it's reacting like it's the end of the world." his eyes clenched before opening back up. "I think I've seen the world almost end so many times now that-" he looks over at the man. "everything that goes wrong feels that- that extreme!" tears begin to well up in his eyes as he looks away. "I should be feeling so good these days. The Earth is safe, it's Era 3-" he screws his eyes shut as his face contorts. He opens his eyes back. "But I'm swelling up over these third-era problems." tears fall down his face as tears fall down the man's face as well. "What do I do?" his breath hitches. "How do I move on from all the stuff I've been through?" his voice cracks as he asks through his sobs, "How do I live life if it always feels like I'm about to die?" the video stops at the picture from before. The tears of hardship in his eyes and the tension in his clenched teeth.
"My friend Steven is really, really sad.. and in pain." the man says softly. "He's having a hard time living his life after the many battles he's faced during his childhood." there's a pause as he puts his leg over the other and places his hands folded on his knee as he'd done before. He begins shortly after. "Do you- do you know what it means for those suffering from, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" he asks gently before answering, "It's when those who have suffered trauma in their life may develop an apprehension or this, this worry towards what could be seen as normal, everyday things in life."
He shifts in his chair slightly forward. "PTSD is a disorder in which a person has troubles or difficulty recovering after having experienced or even witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event. Perhaps, they could, think more negatively of themselves or the people or the environment around them. They could, feel negative emotions like fear or anger. They could be blaming themselves or others for how they are feeling or for the event or events that have occurred." there was a slight pause and he continued. "There are people all across the world who deal with post traumatic stress disorder and they each experience it in a different way." there's another pause before he says, "This disorder can last for months or years. These friends of ours may suffer from triggers where certain things can bring back those painful memories of their trauma, which can result in intense, overwhelming emotional and physical reactions."
He looks back at the picture beside him. He has a sad smile on his face. "This, is what my friend Steven is going through.. right now." he says gently. "Mhm." his voice is almost a sad whisper. "That's.. that's what he's experiencing. Pain and, so much pent up, overwhelming emotion from his trauma.." he nods and says softly. "Yeah.." he stares at the picture for a few long seconds before he looks away and a happier smile comes to his face as he straightens up in his chair. "Let's say hello, to my new friend Steven." he gets up from his bench and walks up the two stairs to the door. "Shall we?" the smile is as bright as the future he envisions for Steven.
He opens the door and steps out of his humbled abode.