Chapter Text
The gems take rotation with Steven. They were still unfamiliar with him. She was just here… now she's this. Sensitive in an extreme way, small but growing at a rapid almost scary rate. It's only been a week and sh-- he is already twice the size.
It was Garnet's shift. She took two nights in a row on usual schedule, Steven seemed to favor her calmness and natural body warmth more than the other two. With Greg he would sleep decently but temperamentally… Greg would try to move in and boy would he cry louder than a wailing stone.
Amethyst got to watch Steven more often in the morning, she was better at playing with the silly boy than relaxing by him or letting him sleep on her. Pearl rarely did either, they knew she cared but she still had difficulty holding him affectionately. She liked doing chores that surrounded him rather than being seen cuddling him. She would watch him.
Garnet settled by the crib, baby Steven's eyes were closed. Breathing properly. Gem slightly glowing. She knows humans dream, but do babies…? He must have the most carefree dreams in the world. He needs a diaper change in a few minutes.
Sapphire split their form. Her footsteps weren't nearly as heavy as Ruby's. The other half watched him quietly. Future vision warily working still… what if the satellite really does crash. Is the house satellite proof?
Sapphire put the diaper down near the crib and kissed her long time love's cheek. “Ruby… stop scowling, you'll scare him even more.” She kissed her cheek. Ruby warmed up in embarrassment.
“Sorry, Sapphy… just he's small still it worries me… how long will she… he be small for?” She whispered. Sapphire frowned slightly. While she agrees they shouldn't spiral about it.
“I'm sure he'll be big before we know it… plus his life span will be so much shorter compared to ours, we shouldn't rush him into becoming the next stage of a human being. There's a chance his first word will be Garnet…” Sapphire rambled quietly.
The two refuse. Garnet waited for him to wake up. Longer than she expected but babies are unpredictable. She got him changed no fuss and sleeping on her chest, his cheek smooshed slightly. He's definitely the cutest human. Very unbiased in Garnet's opinion.
Greg is at the car wash. Amethyst and Garnet on a mission. Pearl is on the baby watching duty. She has it all scheduled. Four hours between bottles. Play time, or rather tummy time on that play mat thing for a completely monitored time entertained for his developing human programing.
Should he be in his crib? It seems wrong to have him just laying there… it's almost time to feed him again. Greg feeds him closer to every two hours should she do that... seems excessive… Why did Rose choose to become such a complicated life form?
Oh stars, he's crying. Why is he crying? She shook the rattle by him. He hit it away.
“That's very rude, Steven.” She mumbled and checked his face. Is he uncomfortable? Is this the tooth thing? He stares at her. She thinks… Greg says babies this young don't really look at anything. He's still crying. She awkwardly picked him up.
She's so bad at this, pearls aren't equipped to care for babies! She rested him against her legs. Supporting his head. He looks comfortable. “You're not hurt… I think. I don't see blood.” She talked to him. He blinked and made a face, almost like a smile.
She scrunched her nose. “Was that your diaper?” She cringed as she checked. No, not a diaper thing. Babies cry when gassy. Noted.
“Here… hold him like this…” Vidalia whispered as she shifted Steven “support his head… and there you go. He's good.” She smiled at Amethyst. Amethyst looked at baby Steven's. Damn that's insane.
“He didn't wake up.” Amethyst said shocked. The woman smiled at her.
“Exactly, he won't if you move him right. Trust me, Sour Cream was the most difficult baby to hold. One shift and that shit head was awake for 12 hours.” She joked.
Amethyst snorted, then Steven woke up, luckily not fitfully. “Well at least I know how to get him off the baby pad when he clocks out on it. Pearl got on my ass hard last time I didn't move him.”
Vidalia rolled her eyes “my mom did the same thing, there is a reason why I don't call her for advice, I figured it out by myself.” She drank some coffee “if they fall asleep there let them. It's not gonna hurt them. If they're cold you'll know. I'm sure Greg said the same thing.”
Amethyst nodded. She watched baby ste-man grab Vidalia's ring finger.
“Dang that's a pretty ring, dude.” Amethyst mumbled.
“Thanks. My fiancee fished it up. Think it's a real diamond.” she shrugged. Amethyst pursed her lips a little.
“Intergalactic overlord ring.” She mumbled to Steven, obviously the baby didn't understand and just tapped her face with his little hand. “Thanks, Steven.” She kissed the hand softly. Is it an instinct of all life forms to kiss a baby's hand? “but you'll hurt your hand before you disrupt my form.”
Amethyst glanced at Vidalia's watch.
“Shoot, it's thirty minutes past bottle time.” She said getting up with him. Vidalia snorted.
“He's obviously wasting away. When did Pearl put on that stupid schedule?” She mumbled while checking. Amethyst shrugged, squinting unnecessarily at the knobs on the stove to boil the water for the milk bottle.
“Amy. You're thirty-five minutes early… sorry, one hour and thirty-five minutes.” Vidalia called her.
“Oh well! I don't know how to read those things… I'll just leave it till it's time!” Usually Amethyst just microwaves the bottle in thirty seconds increments, but Sour Cream broke it the other day by (some fucking how) burning two microwave oven pizzas to a crisp. So Vidalia doesn't have a working microwave.
“Then it will scald and be too hot.” Vidalia was playing with Steven's hands, he looked really silly.
Amethyst responded to the mature response. With blowing a raspberry and turning off the stove. Stupid science chemistry things. Amethyst sat down in front of the couch. She reformed with longer hair a little bit ago. She's been having fun with it.
Especially tickling baby Steven's nose and watching him giggle and kick his feet. She's shit at the parenting thing with Steven, she knows Garnet can cover a “mom” ish role. But her, nope, she's the cool whatever the fuck like Vidalia. Pearl fits a weird “mom” role but not like “mom”.
“You want my tea bag?”
“Yeah… hand it over.”