Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: Meeting Up

Summary: Padparadscha meets her sister, Sapphire, for the very first time.

Author's Note: blind Padparadscha is a thing here, aye. =) (Also Human AU)

...

Padparadscha had heard stories as a child about Sapphire. The mystery. The enigma. How she up and left one day, chasing a dream and a lover, whom, as far as anyone knew, she was still with. She was polite and kind, but it was hard to know what she was thinking; no one expected her to leave like she did. She wore dresses and gloves like she did, and bringing up that fact usually had her parents go off into a long-winded story about her. Padparadscha knew they missed her and was patient, knowing she'd be noticed again eventually.

Padparadscha had spent most of her life waiting. Waiting to be noticed, waiting to be spoken to, waiting for the chance to get out of the house. She was okay with that. She had accepted that. She had moved on from that. Moved on from them.

She checked the time on her phone, holding it close to her ear so the general sounds didn't drown out the robotic voice. Perhaps she wasn't as patient as she pretended to be.

Lars stood beside her, hooking an arm around her's, loose enough to break from easily. He didn't speak, but Padparadscha could hear his slight breathing. He had been a sick child, and even now had proven to be very frail. She had been told that his skin was patchy all over, like parts of his body refused to get better, but all she knew was the sags and folds, especially around his right eye, and how they felt to the touch. She hoped he wouldn't need to sit down soon; she didn't think she was able to be still for any period of time. "Has the plane landed yet?"

"You'll know it when you hear it, Paddie," he told her quietly. "Just relax."

Padparadscha doubted that. She'd never heard a plane before. At least, not up close. "Oh, what if she doesn't like me? It's been years since she left; she doesn't have a reason to come back now."

"If she starts trouble, we'll leave," Lars responded. "Unless you wanna go now? We can go now. We can always tell her we couldn't get a cab."

That wouldn't be polite. Padparadscha shook her head, and they lapsed back into silence. Lars might not have been her best choice in guides- if she were being honest with herself, she probably should've brought Grandma Flo, who is neither her grandma nor named Flo- but she was grateful for his presence nonetheless. For all his complaining, he's one of the bravest people she knows.

They end up having to leave to grab some food from one of the small restaurants in the terminal, and when they return the plane has landed. Padparadscha had to cover her ears as people milled by, as loud as ever. Lars tells her Sapphire is coming with a quiet squeeze to the arm, and she nods. He raises his voice. "Hey! Uh, over here!"

She doesn't hear them approach over the hubbub, but she hears Sapphire's voice. "Hello. It's nice to finally meet you."

Padparadscha's shoulders tense without meaning to. Her voice is so pretty. It must run in the family. She wondered how much they looked alike, if at all. "Hi."

"You're shorter than I expected," Sapphire said, then hesitated. "I'm sorry. That was mean. It just came out."

"That's okay." Padparadscha didn't mind. "You sound farther away than I expected."

Wait. No. That doesn't make sense, does it? The sentence itself. She hadn't expected anything out of Sapphire. Still, the woman awkwardly laughs.

A quiet voice near Sapphire murmurs. "Babe? Should I go on ahead?"

"I'd rather you stay," Sapphire answers, and the woman doesn't respond verbally. "This is my lover, Ruby. She's a bit shy when it comes to meeting new people."

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Heya," Lars added, like he was a bit worried they'd forgotten him. "I'm Lars. I'm here to make Paddie look even cooler."

"That is not why you're here," she scolded him, shaking his arm. It feels cold and a bit clammy. "I won't hear that kind of talk."

"Sorry, Paddie. I won't do it again."

Footsteps. A gentle hand on her arm. "If it's okay, I think we should go someplace less crowded. We're getting in the way more than we're talking."

Padparadscha takes a step closer, opens her mouth, then closes it. She has so many questions, but she also has just as many doubts. Would Sapphire really be willing to answer her questions? Would it offend her to even bring it up? "That sounds good. We could get lunch."

"Lunch sounds nice."

They all agreed on McDonald's, too wired for something as fancy as a sit-down restaurant. They'd rented a less than stellar pick-up, for which they used the bed of as a place to eat. It was quiet. Awkward.

"I don't know how much mom told you about me," she started finally, sucking some salt off her fingers.

"All around, or what happened to make you leave?"

"Either one."

"Ah." Padparadscha set her big mac down thoughtfully. "I've heard plenty of stories, but they were all about you as a kid. We weren't supposed to talk about present you."

"That sounds like them," the older woman agreed. "I left to become an actor, cliche as that might sound. Ruby- well, she inspired me to stretch my wings, so to speak."

"I didn't do anything as grand as that," Ruby rebuffed, sounding embarrassed. "I just provided the car."

"You're selling yourself short."

"I mean, it's the only size I come in."

"Babe."

"Sorry, sorry. I'll go back to eating my nuggets now."

There was a small hand on her's, touching but not gripping. "It wasn't easy. I won't say I was always happy- because I wasn't- and I won't say I never thought about going back- because I did. I was never happy in that house. I'm happy now."

It wasn't enough. It never would be. But they both knew it was all she could give. "I'm happy for you, if that means anything."

"It does. A lot."

"I'm glad."

"And you? Are you happy?"

Padparadscha hesitantly nodded. "I'm living in a big house with lots of railings and that tub you can sit in. There's a couple of us living there- Lars included- and one of us, Granny Flo, she's from a rich family, so most of our expenses are covered. I'm very lucky to have found the family I have now."

"I'm glad."

"We're repeating ourselves."

Sapphire laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? We've got the whole world to discuss and we're repeating the same words over and over again."

"I think that's pretty normal," she said, shifting a bit. "Still. It's nice to have you here. You're... a lot nicer than I originally expected."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Lars hasn't spoken in a while, and, as such, Padparadscha reached out in search of his hand. The murky summer air had warmed it to an uncomfortable sweating consistency, but the teenager hadn't complained once. Maybe he was so used to it around this time of year he'd forgotten to notice. "I'll have to check first, but I wouldn't mind if you came by to visit sometime."

"I'd enjoy that," she confessed, voice becoming a bit hushed. "I'd enjoy that very much."

Author's Note: This was another commission! It's a thing, it's done, here we go. =)

-Mandaree1