"Captain, we're approaching Earth" the Rutile twins called from the control panel. Lars looked out the window of the Sun Incinerator and could see the blue green orb of Earth growing larger by the minute.
Suddenly Lars felt a constriction in his chest, perhaps from anxiety, relief that he was home, or perhaps the homecomings that were awaiting him back on Earth. Removing a glove, he observed his pink hand with mild annoyance. 'How will I explain this, how will people react? How will she react?' He mused silently to himself.
Steven told him it's been 4 months since they were taken to Homeworld. He had managed to escape Emerald at every turn, partially due to the gem's obsession with this ship. Her attachment was easy enough to manipulate that they could avoid any major damage. Just outside of the Andromeda galaxy, they had gotten their big break and blasted away from Emerald and her damaged ship, making a bee-line for Earth, disabling the signal of the Nova Thrusters for a short while to at least make it more challenging for her to find them as they made their way to Earth.
As they flew into the atmosphere, he noticed the sun was just cresting over the ocean leading towards Beach City. 'Good, the less people see us, the better off we'll be.' Mostly he wanted to avoid any heartfelt reunions until he had gotten himself together and somewhat prepped for what he was sure would be some animated reactions to his new appearance.
But perhaps more selfishly, he wanted to prep for her, last time he had seen….Sadie, he had run and hid from Topaz. Sure during his travels through space, he had grown, he was no longer the old Lars, perhaps the pink magic in his hair and in his guts also ended up in his brain and gave him courage. During long stretches of travel, he had made up scenarios in his head for when he spoke to her, mostly involving him attempting to avoid the punch to the arm he knew was coming, followed by her screeching at him that he was a moron and so stupid.
He also knew she had been living her life since he left. Quitting the Big Donut, joining a band. Last time he saw Steven and Connie, he realized he was incredibly jealous, and sure that jealousy came out as he wanted to be the one to hang out with the Cool Kids, but the reality was he always wanted her to be that happy with him and knowing that she was so happy without him felt like a kick to the head. "Granted….after how I acted she deserves to be happy'
"Captian Lars! I just had the most wonderful vision!" Padparadscha exclaimed "We are approaching Earth!"
Beach City came into view, the water tower, the donut of the Big Donut, dark and unwelcoming, the boardwalk empty aside from few seagulls and perhaps a drunkard or two.
Lars directed the Rutiles towards the temple, he wanted to get the Off-Colors on the ground and in with Steven's weird mom's before they attracted too much attention.
When they touched down, sinking into the sand, Lars released a breath that he wasn't aware he was holding.
Opening the bay doors, the smell of ocean air hit him, and his eyes watered, a weight dropping off his shoulders, realizing he was finally home. He felt a hand on his shoulder, Rhodonite looked concerned "CAPTIAN LARS! ARE YOU OKAY, YOUR NOT DYING AGAIN?!" He rolled his eyes, that poor gem was even more neurotic than Sadie. "I'm fine Rhodonite….just….glad to be home, and glad you came back with me" He smiled up at her and she finally stopped wringing her hands together. "Come on….the sun is rising, it's….beautiful with seagulls and everything"
"That…sounds…marvelous.." Came a slow, monotone voice, Flourite making her way out of the cabin, the large gem had been cramped in the bottom portion of the Sun Incinerator for months. Lars wasn't sure if gems could get cramped necks, but he figured a change of scenery was desperately needed for his friends.
Standing by the water, Lars removed his cape and closed his eyes, the breeze caressed his face and he tried to bury the memories of the last time he was here. Before he was taken, trapped in Topaz and realizing Sadie was right there with him, the panic, the fear, it all crashed onto his soul like the waves on the beach.
"LARS!" came a young male voice from the home in front of the temple, Steven rushing out, sans shoes, his guardians following closely behind, weapons drawn. "HEY IT'S DONUT BOY! AND HE'S PINK!" screamed the purple one, her whip dissipating as quickly as it appeared. The red one was making eyes at Rhodenite and Flourite, her hands pressed together in front of her face, grinning like a mad woman. She rushed to the two fused gems and began speaking wildly, her accented voice raising with each word.
The white one with the big nose, eyed the Rutiles thoughtfully, Padapradsha finally making her way out of the ship "We landed safely" and made her way over to Rhodenite, making the large red gem with sunglasses grin even wider.
Suddenly Lars felt a weight on his legs, Steven was hugging him around the waist, his cheek squishing into his stomach, it had been a while since they had last seen each other, the last time, he and Connie almost dying on an unknown moon. Big fat tears rolled out of his eyes, snot leaking from his nose "LARSSSSSSSSSS" he screeched again and Lars knelt down, giving Steven a proper hug, tears again threatening to leave his eyes.
He pulled away and mussed up Steven's hair "how ya doing?" he quipped, wiping a tear from his eye.
"So good Lars! You're back! Ohmygosh we have to go tell Sadie! She'll be so happy, oh and your parents! Ohmygosh I'm so glad your back" Steven squealed, pulling up his phone digging for Sadie's number. Lars face dropped again and put his hand on Steven's phone, preventing him from dialing. "Wait dude….I can't, not yet, I'm…I'm not ready to see her, I'm not ready to get my ass handed to me"
Steven eyed him thoughtfully, 'I wish I could show you how much she missed you….how they all missed you.' He sighed heavily and relented his phone, shoving it back into his pocket, "well how about your parents? Maybe see them first and then we can work on Sadie?" Lars rubbed the back of his head "how much do they know"
"Not much, they knew you were in space, they knew you liked getting your jean care package…I may not have been able to break the news about your color change though…." Steven trailed off, looking at his toes. "that's okay Steven, you did more than I could have ever asked, I want to see them, but I wanted to leave the crew in good hands before I left to see them." He waved his hand back at the Off Colors and Crystal Gems, talking animatedly with each other and looked back at Steven. "Do you happen to have a sweatshirt or something? This outfit isn't exactly inconspicuous" Steven laughed and ran back to his house, finding a beanie and sweatshirt that had previously been Greg's and Steven was hoping to grow into, so far he hadn't. Thankfully, with the changing weather, the air carried a hint of chill, so his appearance wouldn't cause many strange looks. The beanie hid his head and hair fairly well, and in the direct light of the sun, he looked a bit more pale pink instead of a flaming neon.
"Oh Lars! We have a show tonight, Sadie Killer and the Suspects! Right on the beach by the boardwalk, Halloween is coming up so the town has been hosting a lot of fun events, you should come, I might even be able to get you backstage to meet the band" Steven wiggled his eyebrows and grinned wide.
Lars gulped, could he really see her that soon? "Maybe, look let me talk to my folks, I'll try to come okay? Tell everyone I'll be back later, help them get settled."
He looked back at the beach, more people were there than he had anticipated, it was probably approaching 6am. "Why are you people up so early, guess I gotta take the long way" he grumbled and ran on the backside of the temple, taking the long way to his house. His new pink powers allowed him to run a while without losing breath, and he was standing on his doorstep, shaking hand over the door. He took a few slow breaths, and gently knocked, hearing the rush of footsteps to the door.
Sadie had been up since 4. She was nervous about the gig tonight, they were debuting a few new songs, including one that wasn't anything like their current sound.
Tossing and turning she eventually gave up and walked up to the kitchen from her bedroom basement, pouring herself a bowl of cereal, and taking a seat at the kitchen table, eating slowly, and watching the sky begin it's fade from navy blue to purple and pink.
Something caught her eye, a very bright star in the sky, far more brilliant than it had any right to be at this time of night. To her shock she realized it was getting brighter and bigger, making it's descent towards Beach City. Her breath hitched, making out something in the light that looked more complicated than just a standard meteor.
She snatched her coat off the hook, slipping on her sneakers, she was supposed to meet Jenny, Buck, and Steven at Sour Cream's house for a quick session and band bonding before the show in a few hours. 'just a peek, I'm sure it's nothing'.
Sadie would be lying to herself if she said her heart wasn't pounding a mile a minute at the thought of her and Lars sharing the same atmosphere again. Racing out the door, she made the 10 minute commute to the Big Donut and past it. As she round the cliff, she saw what was indeed a spaceship parked in front of Steven's house, as well as an odd collection of gems gathered around Steven, including a giant one that looked like a caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. She didn't see him though. She sighed "guess they are more refugees from Homeworld or whatever that place is" she muttered bitterly to herself. Shuffling, she made a slow walk back to her house, pouring out the now mushy cereal and collecting her things for tonight.
Lars sighed heavily as he stepped under the running water in the shower, despite not really needing to shower since his transformation, the feeling of cleaning off any residue of that terrible planet was incredibly therapeutic.
Upon his return home, his parents sobbed, he sobbed, they spoke, they sobbed some more, there was some screaming about him dying, and eventually, his parents hugging him and saying "Pink looks nice on you"
As he scrubbed his skin he thought back to Sadie, and put his hand to his heart feeling a slight uptick in it's rhythm at the thought of her. 'come on dude, you're a badass space pirate, you stole ships, you have an arch enemy, you can talk to her'
He could feel the ache in his chest when he thought about seeing her again, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from her for too much longer. Should he go the direct route, just walk right up to her, take the beating he knew was heading his way, he could be coy, do it in private.
Turning off the shower, he eyed himself in the mirror. He gingerly touched the scar on his face as though it would hurt, but it never did, not since he came back. He never hurt now, no headaches, no tired legs, hell he hadn't slept in weeks but never felt tired.
He heard a knock on the front door, his dad speaking to someone on the other side, then he heard the distinct sound of flip flops up the stairs, Steven crashing through the door, a determined look on his face.
"You're coming tonight." He looked ready to argue about this, but Lars had already decided to go tonight "Okay, you win" Lars replied sarcastically "If you must twist my arm." Steven's face broke out into a huge grin and handed Lars a lanyard with a badge emblazoned with the name "Sadie Killer- Backstage Pass"
"We've gotten really popular actually, that we need real roadies and stuff, you can see Sadie before the show if you wanted." Lars rubbed his pink hair nervously "I'll go back after if that's okay, don't want to ruin her concentration, and I need more time to plan what I'm going to say…." He trailed off
"Tell her you love her" Lars's felt his face heat up and he shot a look at Steven.
"Oh yes, Sadie I love you and I abandoned you and I died and I've been a terrible friend, she'll love that" Lars snapped, flopping back onto his bed, one arm draped over his eyes.
Steven sighed and lightly hit him in the gut "you know she will…because she loves you too…" Lars felt the bed shift as Steven got off the corner of the bed. "The show starts at 9, please don't flake out, there are rumors about at ship landing on the beach already, she'll start asking and she'll be so hurt if you don't try to talk to her soon."
Lars stayed back on the bed until he heard Steven say his goodbyes and shut the front door. Lars looked at the clock, 3:30 in the afternoon. His breath hitched again as he thought about what he would say to Sadie. Going to his desk, he grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, he needed to write this out.
At 8:00 Lars was throwing apart his whole closet trying to find something to wear for this show, he managed to find an old pair of black jeans, ripped like they always had been, his pink skin shone a bit to brightly in the holes, but he hoped that folks would just assume he was really into Halloween and painted his skin for the occasion.
After 20 more minutes of frustrated digging he eventually dug up an old leather jacket and settled on wearing his red turtleneck. He popped his skull gages into his ears and yanked on his boots. Looking in the mirror he regarded his pink hair and pulled on the beanie Steven had given him earlier, it hid his skin a bit more and he hoped would make him look aloof enough no one would speak to him.
He eyed the notepad on his bed, pages and pages ripped and crumpled around the floor. He thought he had finally come up with the perfect thing to say to her, he just needed to remove his guts out of his throat. He gingerly folded the paper and placed it in the hidden pocket of the leather jacket.
He regarded the clock, 8:45, if he left now he should be there after most of the crowd was there. Taking his steps 2 at a time he greeted his parents in the living room, telling them he was going to the beach concert. His parents regarded each other "you know…you're friend Sadie plays in that band…have you spoken to her…?" their voices died a little and Lars blushed at the expectant gazes they gave him.
"I am….after the show…."
Lars's mother approached him, and brushed his hair to the side, eyeing the scar on his face. "Have fun and just speak from the heart"
She pecked his cheek. The old Lars would have freaked out and shoved her away, but after 4 months of space travel and his throughts, he wanted to absorb any love his parents gave him, to help make up for lost time.
He smiled and hugged her, grabbing the lanyard Steven gave him and opened the front door, waving goodbye to his parents, telling them not to wait up.
Sadie brought the lipstick around her eyes, painting them red and pulling on her purple leather jacket, covered in zippers over her shoulders. She adjusted the waistband of her high-waisted pants, picking off fuzzies from the rips in the knees and adjusting her black and white striped crop top.
She eyed her green high tops thoughtfully. After Lars disappeared, she bought them on a whim, because they reminded her of him, and they ended up as part of her Sadie Killer ensemble.
She popped the collar of her jacket and turned to face the group. Jenny gave a whistle, praising how cute she looked, Buck and Sour Cream nodded approvingly and Steven just greeted her with his very enthusiastic compliments.
She had already heard the rumors. Early this morning a spaceship had landed on the beach in front of Steven's house, one item of information that struck her was the mention of what appeared to be a young man with the strange group, wearing a flowing cape, his hair pink as cotton candy.
No one got a good look at him, as soon as they landed he had just disappeared, so perhaps they had just seen another gem instead, or maybe that wasn't him at all. She willed her heart to stop thrashing about in her chest. 'He's not here, that's insane" she muttered to herself. The lights on stage dimmed.
It was show time.
Lars got to the beach and was thankful the crowd was clustered up at the stage, he stood back, hands shoved in his pockets and saw the lights dim. The show was about the start, he fiddled with the lanyard around his neck and realized that in this light he seemed to be glowing, grimacing he scooted a little closer towards the stage to hopefully minimize the glow.
Suddenly in the light he saw a familiar blob of blonde hair, striding across the stage, her eyes panted red. He liked the ripped jeans and black and white striped shirt she looked… hot.
His breath caught as she asked Beach City if they were ready to join the Suspects. The crowd cheered in unison, Lars stood in awe, he loved Sadie before this whole thing happened, he always had, yet watching her now, he felt butterflies kicking into overdrive, she looked…happy, and at peace and like she was meant to do this.
For 2.5 hours, Lars was enraptured with the performance, the Cool Kids sounded great too, the perfect band, with great chemistry.
Towards the end of the show, the lights focused on the center of the stage, two stools sitting underneath the blinding bulbs as well as two microphones.
Sadie and Steven took a seat, and Sadie regarded the crowd "So we have one more song for you tonight, it's new, and it's a bit different. Written for…" Sadie's voice faltered for a moment, Steven chiming in "for a special friend who we can't wait to see again…."
Why was it suddenly so hot? Lars' jaw hung open, as Steven began strumming the guitar, Sadie pausing before her small voice flew over the hushed crowd.
~~"There's a whole other conversation going on
In a parallel universe
Where nothing breaks and nothing hurts
There's a waltz playing frozen in time
Blades of grass on tiny bare feet
I look at you and you're looking at me
Could you beam me up,
Give me a minute, I don't know what I'd say in it
Probably just stare, happy just to be there holding your face
Beam me up,
Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter, I think,
A minute's enough,
Just beam me up." ~~
Lars felt tears well in his eyes as the song came to a close, his heart aching watching Sadie's expression change, recognizing, even after all these months, the sparkle in her eyes as she held back her own tears.
~~"Just beam me up,
Give me a minute, I don't know what I'd say in it
Probably just stare, happy just to be there, holding your face
Beam me up,
Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter, I think,
A minute's enough,
Beam me up
Beam me up
Beam me up
Could you beam me up"~~
A deafening silence followed as the last notes floated off into the night sky, for a moment there was no sound, before a thunderous applause broke through the crowd as Lars ran towards the stage, he couldn't hide anymore, not after that.
He shoved his way through the crowd as the group began to make their way backstage, Lars was a few feet from the stage. Ripped off the beanie, his pink hair glowing as he shouted through the crowd "SADIE MILLER, SADIE MILLER, SADES, LOOK AT ME SADIE, I'M BACK"
For a moment he feared she couldn't hear her through the crowd, but he saw Steven hold her back for a moment as she turned back. Her eyes settled on him. He saw the confusion as she scanned his face, the pink hair, the pink skin, the whole thing, before she sprinted across the stage, screaming his name. Jumping to the sand and shoving her way to the fence that kept the crowd in line with the stage. Grabbing his hands, she yanked him over the dividers, tears trailing down her face, "LARS…Lars….lars…" her voice cracking as she threw her arms around him in a vice-grip hug.
Lars released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding and reached under her hair, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. He didn't even get a moment to breathe before she closed the space between them, her salty lips meeting his in a kiss that sent electric shocks down his spine.
Sadie finished their last song of the night.
~~"Beam me up
Beam me up
Beam me up
Could you beam me up"~~
Her breathe held as she looked out at the crowd, fear clutched her heart before the applause came. She felt the weight of the concern they wouldn't like their new song drop away and she took a bow with Steven and the others on stage.
She turned to leave the stage when a voice caught her attention "SADIE MILL~~~~"She shook her head, "I must be tired, my brain is playing tricks on me." Suddenly the voice came through again, stronger, more sure, it sounded just like…..
Steven put a hand on her shoulder and she turned back to the crowd, eyeing the pink head in the crowd. Sound suddenly dropped away, there was a void, containing just herself and….Lars.
For a moment she thought of just turning back around, ignoring him, but her legs began to move on their own, taking her to him. As she pulled him over the dividers she had a million of thoughts about what to do next, yell at him, hit him, sob; instead as he turned his head up to look at him, the only thing she wanted to do was kiss him.
So she did.
As they pulled away, tears streaming down their cheeks, Lars pulled Sadie into a hug, lifting her off the ground, burying his face into the crook of her neck.
"I'm so sorry Sadie, for not helping, for hiding, for letting myself get taken away, for leaving you behind, you're my best friend and…" His voice trailed off, he wasn't sure how to word those feelings. How in his weak moments in space, when Emerald cut them off, when he was stuck in the core of Homeworld or whenever things became too dark in his own head, she provided a light to reach toward.
As he set her down, ignoring the noise of the crowd just a few feet away, his lips hovering close to her ear.
"I love you Sadie Miller…"
After what felt like hours, he pulled away meeting her gaze.
"Lars…..you're an idiot…and….I love you….."
His face flashed dark pink as Sadie took his hand, leading him backstage, needed to move away from the noise and the crowd.
Behind the stage, Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream cheered as they came around the corner. Sadie wiped her face, squeaking as she realized she was still wearing her makeup, red lipstick smeared all over her face and blushing harder when she realized Lars had red all over his nose and cheeks.
Rushing for a towel to wipe off her face, Lars greeted the Cool Kids, still nervous as always, but accepting warm hugs from all 3 of them. Sadie scrubbed her face and approached the group, blushing madly as she cleaned off the red from his face.
Finally she quietly asked "what happened? Why are you pink, why do you have that scar…?"
He knew this was coming, but that didn't' mean he wanted to explain it to her. He didn't want to see her look at him any differently.
Hearing a cough from behind them, they saw the Cool Kids and Steven grinning. Jenny spoke up "I mean we do have that after party to go to….but maybe Sadie you should stay, get reacquainted….ya know." Jenny winked at Sadie and she felt heat rise in her cheeks. Looking to Lars, she took his hand "if you want to go to the party we can.."
The old Lars would have dropped everything for a chance to hang out with the Cool Kids at a cool after party, but he pulled Sadie's hand closer to his chest, putting her right at his side…."honestly….I just want to talk to you…..can we walk on the beach….? I want to tell you everything, and….I have some friends for you to meet."
They walked down the beach in comfortable silence, the gentle crash of the tides their only company.
Sitting on the darkened beach, Lars told Sadie everything, from when he was taken away, to dying, getting off Homeworld, and eventually how he made it back to Beach City.
Threading his fingers through hers, he pulled her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles. He felt her shiver and looked at her face, nose pink from the cool sea breeze. Shrugging out of his coat, he draped it over her shoulders "Since the change…..a coat is just a decoration" he grinned at her as she protested the gesture.
Suddenly he was aware of her staring, the red turtleneck he wore clung to his lean frame and he realized she never had seen him like this when he had been alive.
He's not sure what happened next, suddenly he was on his back, Sadie straddling his hips, his mouth lost in a kiss. In a moment his brain faded away, his hands gingerly traced the thin track of skin that showed as her shirt rose up slightly. He's not sure how far it would have gone before Rhodonite's voice squeaked through the night "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OUR CAPTAIN?! ARE YOU FUSING!?"
Sadie's head shot up and she scuttled back and away from Lars, her eyes huge.
"WOAHWOAHWOAH!" Lars's hands shot up as he faced his crew. "It's fine, it's fine….this is Sadie" he sputtered, pulling her up to meet him, his chest heaved slightly, feeling a mild annoyance that they were interrupted.
Padparadscha waved her hands around wildly "Lars is returning! And he has a fellow human with him"
Lars saw the look on Sadie's face, confusion and mild fear. He squeezed her hand gently, giving her a reassuring smile as he lead her to his crew, introducing her to the gems that had made it possible for him to make it back home.
After an hour, Sadie began to yawn, it was well past midnight, and she had been up for almost 24 hours.
Lars and the Off-Colors had been talking animatedly about their days, and Sadie had gotten up to try and collect her things, hoping to sneak out the door so as not to disturb the happy group.
She got as far as the porch before Lars shot out the door after her, grabbing her hand and turning her to face him.
"Hey! The last time one of us left without saying goodbye, someone died and had to become a space pirate to get home."
"Sorry…..it's just…" Sadie's voice trailed off, "I just didn't want to disturb you all. You all seemed so excited to talk about your days, I just didn't want to ruin…..' her voice faltered, knowing her insecurity sounded dumb, but she couldn't help it.
Lars lifted her face to look at him "wait here….I'll walk you home" He returned to the house to let the gems know he was walking Sadie home and was back at her side within a minute of leaving. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in closer to his side, her hand wrapped around his waist, fingertips resting in one of the loops of his jeans.
They shared more stories about their time apart and were soon standing in front of Sadie's home.
Lars rubbed the back of his head and looked down at her, a smirk on his lips.
"So…..do you think…maybe we could pick up where we were left off at the beach, before we were so rudely interrupted.." Sadie giggled, and gently took his hand "maybe we should just talk some more….." her cheeks flaming as she lead him into the empty house.
"Whatever you say P2."
Thanks for reading!
I do not own Steven Universe, I just like to borrow the characters to fulfill my head-canons
I do not own the song Beam Me Up by Pink, I highly recommend you listen to the song, I felt like it really fit in will with this new dynamic of Larsadie
My OTP is Larsadie, don't me about it ;P
Please feel free to leave me a note,
I do have another version of this story with a different ending, that I will post once I get it put together. In the meantime, enjoy!
