Steven Universe
And Baby Makes… Five
The rainy day seemed oddly fitting for what Garnet saw coming. She knew that it would hurt the others but she had to let this one play out as it would. It was the only hope for Greg Universe to ever see his child again. She waited patiently while he made his way down the beach, she could see him long before he knew. Standing by the cave entrance she watched and waited until Greg appeared holding what could only be the son of Rose Quartz.
He was tiny and had a small amount of fluffy hair on his head. Greg held him so carefully that Garnet knew he was having second thoughts. She glanced toward him as if she had just noticed him when Greg made his approach more apparent.
"Garnet- I uh, are the rest of the gems here?" He asked nervously. Garnet looked him straight on, unblinking. She knew what was going to happen, but for once she hoped she was wrong.
"They're in the temple just now."
"Oh, um, good, because I kind of had something to say-" Greg finished lamely.
"You don't have to do this Greg." Garnet said softly. She knew it had to be difficult, especially for something as fragile as a human, but she wished she could convey the sense of importance she felt about Greg being a part of Steven's life. The child was after all half-human and he needed to learn about that just as much as he would need to learn about being a gem.
Greg sighed. His gaze cast on the rocky cave floor. Garnet nodded before opening the door to the temple. She went directly to Pearl's room and found both her and Amethyst sitting mutely together. "Greg's here." She said trying not to cry herself.
"Did he bring it with him?" Pearl asked icily. Amethyst glanced nervously between the two gems. She was still rather young and didn't quite understand the significance of Pearl's words.
"Steven is with him yes." Pearl looked like she might ignore Greg's arrival, but marched out of the temple, followed swiftly by the other two.
"So it's true?" Amethyst asked, her eyes shining with tears. Garnet nodded softly before making her way out of the temple.
"What are you doing here Greg? You got what you wanted didn't you? You got Rose to pick you over everything." Pearl's voice cracked as she tried to look intimidating, and above all look at the child.
"Pearl, I know you're upset but you've got to understand she didn't tell me that this would happen like this. She didn't tell me until she had already decided. This isn't how it's supposed to be you know. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but it's not." Greg glanced down at the bundle in his arms. He seemed to be sleeping. "Look here." Greg moved toward Pearl and guided his infant son into her arms. He braced her gently and reminded her to be careful with his head and watched as her eyes changed from anger to worry to something else entirely. He knew what he had to do.
"Pearl, I'm sorry." He said making his way back out of the cave. He kept his voice soothing but Pearl had noticed him backing away.
"What are you doing?" She asked suddenly alarmed. Steven woke up in her arms and started making gurgling noises.
"Pearl it's for his own good. I can't be a father to him by myself, I'm not good enough to raise someone who is obviously so important. I can't do this without- without Rose." He said before turning back to the human part of the beach and making his way away from the rocky hands of the temple.
"You don't have to do this Greg." Garnet whispered again. No one heard. Baby Steven started to whimper in Pearl's arms.
"Garnet I don't-" Pearl began rather panicky.
"And you think I do?" Garnet asked grabbing the child before Pearl could drop him and allowing the other gem to freak out. Amethyst looked on in curiosity at the scene, unusually quiet. The baby fussed more and the gems all looked at each other nervously.