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At first he thinks he is imagining it.
It's right at the very back of Steven's head, stays there even after they reach the surface. He doesn't even notice it for the first few hours, too wound up from everything that has happened. Peridot's hug is too tight; Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl too relieved; Lapis too close and herself again to spare any thought for it.
He can't acknowledge it when they all collapse onto the dry grass to talk about the types of day they have had. The gems don't show exhaustion often but its clear in all of their faces now, the kind of exhilarated tiredness of a job well done. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl speak at length about their fight with Malachite, Steven chiming in occasionally to inform Peridot of the intricacies of watermelon-person society.
Their voices grow quieter as they explain how Mask Island crumbled into pieces, worried looks cast back towards where Lapis has been placed on the springy mattress. The suggestion of Jasper hangs in the air around her, but none of them dare voice it. It's a question too big for today, and no-one is keen to shatter the relief that was so hard won.
Peridot switches the topic quickly, without finesse, to what happened in the Earth's crust. She goes into great detail as to how well her drill worked, mentions with gusto the gem mutants that attacked them and how having a blaster built into it was oh so handy. Pearl pointedly looks away, grumbling, and the rest of them can't help but laugh.
Peridot grows more somber as she continues, describing the scale of the Cluster as she first saw it, its colours, its shapes. Garnet keeps her closed fists tightly by her sides, head lowered, still as a statue. Peridot's speech begins to slow down, grow uncertain. When she reaches the moment where Steven fainted, she turns to him wordless.
He takes up the story from there, trying as best as he can to explain his experience. He feels like he can't quite get it across just right, but the gems don't interrupt as he tells them about his conversation with the Cluster. When he mentions how horrified they were at the thought that they might kill the planet, Garnet and Pearl exchange a look. They share a smile, a little surprised and touched with grief.
No-one seems to be surprised at Steven's actions however, offering a hand, preaching hope, where there seemed to be none. He is very pleased at the thought of gaining that kind of reputation.
By the time everyone has run out of words, the sun has just vanished over the horizon and Steven yawns so widely he almost falls over. The physical and emotional weight of the day crashes over him like a wave and his eyelids feel like stones. Garnet brushes a hand through his hair and instructs him to rest. The gems all congratulate him for his work as they bid him goodnight, pride ringing clear in their voices, before they turn to put away the drill and figure out how to fill in the hole in the ground that it made.
Steven lays down on the mattress, careful not to jostle Lapis. He is getting used to sleeping outside, he thinks, the Summer air still balmy enough to be comfortable. He is still looking forward to being reacquainted with his own bed regardless.
Sleepiness hits him immediately. It is here, in the twilight between awake and asleep, that he finally hears it properly.
The sound doesn't seem real at first, a figment rather than reality, but when he turns his mind to it, directs it towards the noise, he can take it in fully.
It's a tiny sound, so far below him, drifting in and out of his ears. It starts as a uniform hum, but if he strains, he can make out mumbles, mutterings, a whisper, the rare shout and, just once, a tinkling laugh.
He hears the emotions behind them, not with his ears but with something tucked away deep inside him, halfway between the gem in his stomach and the heart in his chest. There's confusion mostly, anger, of course, fear, pain. There a surprising amount of happiness, for all that that is worth.
Steven lets the noise pass through his mind, lets it wash over him. As he relaxes further into this in-between state of being, he begins to hear other sounds, far smaller but far closer.
There is the sound most similar to the one beneath him. It's two together, it's the one they make, it's the three coalescing into a harmony. The sound is strong, immeasurably so, and full of a warmth and comfort that there is only one answer for.
There is the sound next to it. Bright, sharp, delicate. It's high and keening, almost brittle. It's discordant in places but the flat notes sing of practice, dedication, of the healing that follows hurt.
There is the sound closer to the earth. Heavy, thumping bass clashing with taut string. Power and confidence intertwined with snapping tension. Steady, solid, rife with passion.
There is the sound that is newest. High again, but more rigid, regimented. Creaking almost, unsure. An undercurrent lies between growing louder, a hum of rapport.
There is the sound laying right next to him. So quiet, its almost non-existent. Cresting and retreating like the tide, slow and secretive. Its very presence reassures.
Steven may have stayed frozen like that for the rest of the night, barely breathing as he sinks further into his own head-space but a slight breeze blows over the barn and a blade of grass brushes against his bare foot. He nearly jumps out of his own skin, wide awake for one startling instant.
He freezes where he lies, eyes and ears completely open.
He hears nothing.
Instinct tells him that forcing his ears to listen for the sounds would be a waste of what little energy he has.
Instead he turns onto his side. The breeze has blown some of Lapis' hair across her eyes. He reaches out to fix it, before shutting his eyes and giving sleep another chance to take him.
He will pass the night undisturbed, his slumber dreamless. In the back of his head, unconsciously treasured, the sound below thrums like a heartbeat.