Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar.
Steven came home from hanging out with Connie.
"Hi Pearl!" he greeted as he walked in the door. Pearl put away the last of the clothes she was folding and looked up.
"Hello Steven."
"Pearl, are you okay?" Steven asked, noticing the tone in Pearl's voice.
"Hm? Oh, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind," she sighed, opening the door to her room. Steven didn't like it when his friends were sad. Something was definitely bothering Pearl, but he didn't know what. There must be something that would her happy.
...
Earlier that morning, Greg had given Steven some of his old music videos to watch. After lunch, Steven watched one that his mother had starred in. Captivated, he watched as Rose Quartz and Pearl fused into Rainbow Quartz. Steven clutched his gem. Maybe... maybe that could be just the thing to make Pearl smile.
...
Later that day, Steven had asked his dad to move his van onto the beach. Steven wanted more space to practice his dance moves. He carefully studied the video and tried to copy Pearl's movements; however, like his father before him Steven's short stumpy legs couldn't match her long slender ones. Steven knew he wasn't a graceful boy, not in the slightest, but the least he do was try. He was standing on one leg, when Amethyst called out to him.
"Yo Steven! Watcha' up to?" Startled by the sudden noise, Steven fell over.
"Amethyst! You scared me! And what I'm doing is none of none you business!" he snapped. Amethyst was taken aback by Steven's sudden outburst.
"Whoa, sorry dude." She retreated back inside. Steven figured he should apologise for being rude to her, but he was determined to finish this dance. He looked at the screen from his upside-position and understood what he had been doing wrong. He had been coping Pearl's moves. Steven should be copying Rose's. He didn't have his mother's height, so he couldn't twirl or dip Pearl the same way Rose could so he would have to make up his own steps. Steven practiced his dance over and over again until he had perfected it. By the time he was done, it was time to go inside.
...
The next morning, Steven worked up the nerve to ask Pearl. He wanted to... but he was shy. Steven like fusing with Connie, but this was different. He had never made a Gem fusion before. Steven swallowed his nerves and approached her.
"Hey Pearl?"
"Yes Steven?"
"I... wanna ask you something." He was interrupted by Garnet announcing a new mission. Steven was kind of relieved and rushed to the warp pad.
"Wait, what did you want to ask me?"
"Never mind. This is more important."
...
Throughout the mission, Steven continued to glance at Pearl, biting back the question he desperately wanted to ask her. When the mission was over, Steven dashed as fast he could but Pearl caught his shoulder.
"Steven, I can see something is troubling you. You can tell me," Pearl said kindly. There was no escaping it now. Steven inhaled deeply.
"I WANNA FORM RAINBOW QUARTZ WITH YOU!" he blurted out. Steven blushed but at least he had said it. The other Gems turned around shocked.
"Steven..." she was so touched by he said.
"Please Pearl? I've been practicing so hard. I just thought since I had mom's gem..." Pearl could see the heart behind his words.
"Alright," she smiled gently.
...
Steven and Pearl stood on the beach, while Amethyst and Garnet watched on. Garnet was really hoping this would work. The two began dancing, which was awkward, giving the difference in height. Pearl would knee Steven in the face or he would let go of her hand or drop her. After the fifth attempt, Pearl asked Steven if he wanted to stop.
"No! I know can do this. One more try," he said holding his hand out. This obviously meant a lot to Steven. Pearl realised that she hadn't been putting her whole self into the dance. She accepted his hand and gave it one more attempt. Finally, they began to glow. Her body and clothes were slightly altered, as were her colours, but this was certainly Rainbow Quartz.
"It worked? Of course it worked I'm back!" She at her body and ran her hands down her face. Rainbow Quartz burst into tears. Her form suddenly destabilised and split once again into Steven and Pearl.
"Pearl? Did I do something wrong?" Pearl sunk to her knees and threw her arms around Steven, embracing him tightly.
"Thank you Steven. Thank you so much," she said as tears streamed down her face. This sweet, thoughtful boy had no idea that he had given her, a way to once again be close to the woman she loved.
Meanwhile, the remaining Gems continued to watch on. Amethyst gripped the railing of the deck, open-mouthed.
"It actually worked?!" she squawked. Garnet just grinned.
"Of course it worked. Steven has Rose's gem."
"So what does this mean?" Amethyst asked, turning to her.
"It means that Steven is a lot stronger than we thought. One day, he might be stronger than even Rose Quartz."