It was a hot day in mid-June. The sun beat down on Beach City and covered the small city in a smothering of heat and humidity. This caused tourists and locals alike to cower away in their air-conditioned homes and restaurants. Even the arcade was closed for the day.

The car wash was open, though.

Greg Universe, the owner of the local car wash, sprawled out in a lawn chair in front of his business like normal. The alternative was to sit in his stuffy oven of a van, and he had figured long ago that sitting in the sun was better than a slow, sufficating death. He had a bucket of ice by his side, which was gradually melting.

He sighed and took another gulp of his soda. It had been a rather uneventful day. Not that he was complaining, really. It was rare that a day passed without much action or adventure or anything like that.

The sun slowly sunk down in the sky, and he finally closed the wash for the day. Maybe, if it wasn't as hot the next day, there would be more customers. Business was spotty in the summer weather; if it wasn't raining, they were in a drought. Both were bad for business.

He remembered with a smile that he and Steven were set to hang out that evening. Just him, his son, and a couple of guitars. Nothing better than that, in his opinion.

He slowly and calmly walked to his van while he strummed an air guitar. He had a killer new tune he wanted to run by Steven, and see if he could help with it. He loved the fact that Steven hadn't grown up to be as distant as most teenagers. At fifteen, Steven still thought it was 'cool' to hang out with his old man. Greg knew full well that could change, though. Not because of him, necessarily, but because that was how teens and young adults were. Everyone had to grow, and it would be shame on Greg if he went against that.

He hoped that time didn't come too soon, though.

As the sun began to set he drove along the edge of the beach. It hadn't changed too much, in all the years he had seen it. There was once a fence, but the beach was since free for anyone to use. And besides, with someone as friendly as Steven, it wasn't like a fence would do any good anyways. The boy was a generous spirit, just like his mother, something that brought joy and pain into his heart.

At least Steven had finally begun to understand that the others didn't hate him. There had been a rough patch a few years back, when Steven was still figuring out gem stuff. Greg hadn't known how to help a whole lot, something that always infuriated him. But Steven was a tough kid, and he had figured out most of his problems on his own. Those that he hadn't, he had gotten friends and family to help with.

Still, there was a lot that both Steven and Greg didn't know about when it came to gems. Powers, appearances, history, it all was lost to them. Well, particularly to Greg.

Greg chuckled at his own thoughts and slowed the van to a stop. He kicked open his door and climbed out with a smile on his face. He turned to the house and began to walk up the front steps. The gems were out for the evening, so it would be just him and Steven. The gems had grown fonder of him as time went on, or at least he thought they did. They no longer seemed to see him as a simple human, at the very least, and that was really all he could hope for. He wasn't very smart, but he had still managed to drive his van into their hearts.

"Hey, Steven, you in there?" Greg pulled the screen door open and stepped into the house. A sound in the kitchen made him turn, and what he saw made him freeze in his steps.

Steven was his child. One half of his DNA-theoretically. He was also half space-rock, though, something that Greg never forgot. He was a boy with a big grin and an even bigger heart. On and on the list went, and Greg assured himself of all of the things he knew Steven to be. His heart beat weirdly in his chest, and he gazed at the scene in front of him with conflict in his heart.

In front of him stood, well, danced, a young woman. Her curly hair was brown and had pink streaks in it, and she was just a bit shorter than Steven usually was. Her hair was slightly tapered down by overly large headphones, which he could hear blasting... Pat Benatar? Nice.

The person in front of him turned, and immediately halted her dancing. Her-his?-face lit up a bright red, and she sputtered once before taking off the head phones quickly.

"D-Dad!" Her forceful and sudden actions knocked a plate off of the counter, and it landed with a loud crash. She winced and turned to him, a fearful and guilty look on her face. Over the plate, or... the other thing, he didn't really know. And that kind of hurt him.

He didn't know why Steven looked like that. If it was a mission, a game, an experiment, he just didn't know. But he hoped that Steven would tell him, and that he would be included in the things that went on in his life. He began to doubt just how close they really were, and if this was a regular thing that he just didn't know about. A ball of hot-white resentment bubbled up in his chest, but he squashed it down.

"Steven? That really is you, isn't it?" Greg chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. His son had turned into a girl? Greg had long ago learned that Steven could shape-shift, and the boy had gotten good at it in the past two years especially, but he had never seen him... her...? "That's... new."

"Uh, yeah..." Steven cringed and glanced around the room nervously. He quickly shifted back to his 'normal' form, and glanced at the clock. Greg watched, mesmerized, as the woman in front of him slowly melted back into the familiar shape of his son's body. "Wow, haha, must have lost track of time!" Steven gave his dad an awkward grin and rubbed the back of his head.

"Must have, the sun just set. How long have you been jammin'?"

"Since lunch, I think."

"I see."

The two stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments. Steven began to sweat a bit, and Greg felt like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth.

"What were you-"

"I was just-"

They stopped as the both realized that the other also wanted to talk. They shared a nervous chuckle. Greg realized that their current position was far too confrontational, and that they should go somewhere else to talk.

"How about we go set up the van? We can talk more there." Greg offered as a means of neutral benefit. Steven nodded with a smile, and the two set out towards the vehicle, both panicking internally the whole way.

The walk there was silent, as was the setting up of the guitars. Greg watched Steven carefully out of the corner of his eye for a while, but the boy didn't seem to want to talk. Instead he sat there with a pensive look on his face. Greg wanted nothing more than to help, but once again he didn't know how. And it hurt him, to see his kid like that.

"So..." Greg smiled and tried to start the talk, "Pat Benatar, huh?"

For some reason, that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, and Steven sat up straight. He looked his dad in the eyes, and though his voice was shaky, it carried conviction.

"Gems don't have genders like most humans do. The ones on Homeworld are all the same, and not like on Earth where there are all kinds of genders. They all present feminine, though. That confused me for a long time, and it still does, but now it's like... I can kind of see why? Because when I think of feminine things I think of Pearl, and Garnet, and Mom, and Connie, and all kinds of others, and it just feels right."

His face burned red as he babbled on, and Greg did his best to keep up. So far he got the basic point, or at least he hoped so.

"I think of them as being strong and amazing. And most-most of the time, I feel like that as me, just Steven. But sometimes I just feel... Funny, being called a boy. I don't think it's wrong, but sometimes it just doesn't seem right. So... So earlier I shape-shifted-that's what you saw, of course-just... just to see what it would be like as a girl."

Steven laced his fingers together over the edge of the guitar. His face held worry and shame, and it made Greg's heart ache. He set a hand on Steven's shoulder in a comforting manner and gave the boy a small smile.

Greg didn't fully understand what his son was going through, but that didn't mean he didn't want to help. He didn't know a lot about gems, or gender, or anything like that, but he knew Steven. Or, at least, he thought he did.

"Steven, I may not know what you're going through, but I do know you. And if I know anything about you, it's that your're amazing at knowing right from wrong." They shared a small smile before Steven glanced away. "Now, c'mon, talk to me. Do you like being a girl better?"

Steven was quiet for a few moments. Greg sat patiently and waited for his son to speak, despite the nerves and doubts running through his head. He had never had anything against queer people; he knew it wasn't his place to judge someone based on their gender, or their orientation. But he knew that others didn't react the same way. People were cruel, and someone like Steven would be eaten alive in the wrong circumstances.

He worried for Steven. He knew Steven could handle something like his gender fine, but Greg didn't think the boy could handle the opinions of others. At least not at first. And just how far would that gender thing go? Would Steven want to always be a girl? Sometimes? Was it a one-time thing?

He had so many questions, but the look on Steven's face said the kid had questions, too. And Steven deserved the answers first.

"I don't know." Steven sighed, "I mean... I liked it today, but what if tomorrow I don't? What if I change too much, and people don't take me seriously?" He looked up at his father with large, sad eyes, and Greg was at a loss for words.

"Steven..." The older man said softly, "It doesn't matter what other people think. It's your gender-and your sex. It's not for other people to decide for you." He sighed and leaned back on his hands. He gazed up at the sky with a pensive look before he continued, "You're special, Steven, in so many ways. The ones that love you will understand that. And everyone else? Forget about them. As long as you're comfortable with yourself, I think that's the important part."

Despite his own words, Greg still worried for Steven. He wasn't about to tell him to stop, or how to act, but part of him wished the situation never happened. That Steven wasn't like that, because his life would be easier. He knew those thoughts were wrong, but he didn't want to lose his son... his child... like he had lost so many others.

"...Stevie..."

"Huh?"

"I like Stevie better." Stevie smiled, "It seems right, don't you think?"

Greg chuckled and ruffled Stevie's hair. "Sure does...?" He wanted to call Stevie 'son,' but suddenly that didn't seem to be the right thing to do.

"Hn..." Stevie hummed, "Well... I feel more... feminine?" Stevie cringed.

"Whatever you're comfortable with, kiddo." Greg said as he looped his arms around his child. He paused for a moment as something occurred to him. "Have you told Connie about this yet?"

"Uhhhhh noooooo..." Stevie blushed a bright red, and the two shared a small laugh. "I guess she's the next step."

"That would probably be the wisest choice." Greg chuckled, "Women hate being the last to know things."

"Especially Connie."

"Yeah." Greg kept an amuse look on his face as he realized Stevie was just all around queer, and yet he had still been surprised by the situation. Perhaps later, when he reflected on it, he will see it had been obvious. Or maybe it was never anything, that it was just something that happened. But for that moment, he just enjoyed the rest of the night with his kid.

Stevie loved showing off her female body, and was so proud and beautiful that it made Greg's heart soar. He realized that Stevie had plenty of friends and family that would protect her, should anyone give her trouble. And it made him feel a lot better knowing that she would be safe and happy as she was. He hoped that Connie would be understanding, and that the gems would give Stevie the support she would need.

He gazed up at the sky later that night, and remembered the first time he had met Rose Quartz. She had seemed like a wish come true, as had Stevie years later. He had a family; a small one, but a family none the less. And it made him happy.

When a star streaked by in the sky later that night, he didn't bother making a wish.

He had everything he wanted.