Steven was lost. Like, really lost. Garnet was standing there with her gauntlets summoned, but he wasn't focused on her at all, really. "At least that's my way of doing it." She says, letting the magical fists dissipate back into light.

This was going nowhere. Pearl had told him to learn how to dance like a tree (or something, she seemed really pleased with herself and he didn't want to ruin her mood by asking what she meant) and Amethyst told him not to try at all, but how was he supposed to get his weapon if he didn't try! 'Maybe… maybe Dan will know!' He thinks, a smile growing on his face. "Thanks Garnet!" The small, brown haired boy ran down the sloped side of the cliff, disappearing from the boxy headed gem's view.

"He's Dan, he's the man!" Steven sung as he ran across the hill outside the front of his home. "He's Dr. Dan the Doctor man!" His feet carry him past the stairs leading up to his front door, to a little shack just a bit further along. "It's Uncle Dan!" He finishes, throwing the door open.

Inside, an older caucasian man sits behind a table, folding his newspaper at Stevens loud entrance. He loosely wears a labcoat over a simple jeans and t-shirt getup, and a pair of goggles keep his messy, short grey hair from falling down his forehead. A grin spreads to his face, the slight wrinkles near his eyes growing more defined as he looks down at the boy. "What's up, kid?" He says, opening the news again, although he keeps it low enough to gaze at Steven over the top of the paper.

Steven throws his arms up into the air. "Daaan! How do I summon my weapon!" The boy whines as he enters, the door gently closing itself behind him.

Dan raises an eyebrow, glancing up from the page for a moment. "Why are you asking me? I'm not a gem."

"But you know all kinds of cool gem stuff!" There was no chair opposite to the lanky man, so Steven instead climbs up onto the table. He pulls down at the top of the paper, once again grabbing the attention of the graying man. "Aren't you the expert on gems?" His childlike gaze holds a starry fascination, but it doesn't faze the man.

He pulls his paper from Stevens grip, huffing as he straightens the now wrinkled page. "Obviously. I'm the best. But why would you think I know so much about your gem. And get off the table!"

Steven slides back onto the ground, his mouth pursed in a line. "My gem? What does that have to do with it?"

That seemed to get a reaction from the seemingly uncaring man. He folds and places his paper onto the table, setting his elbows on it and resting his chin on his hands. "Everything. How's about you start from the beginning."

"Well no wonder you're having problems." Dan says, shrugging. "Stop trying to copy the other gems."

Steven blinks. Then he blinks again. "What do you mean!" He shouts. "They know how to summon weapons!"

"They know how to summon their weapons. Steven…" He pauses, rubbing his chin a few times. "Explain to me how to breath. Explain it to me like I've never taken in air before."

Steven thinks for a second, his eyebrows furrowing. "I, uh, start by… uh… well my lungs get big as I take in air!"

Dan shakes his head. "No, that's what happens while you're breathing. Get the point? It's not so easy all the time to explain how you do what you do." Steven nods, but a frown is present on his face, and his eyes are downcast. "C'mon, lighten up. If you aren't ready, you aren't ready. There's a reason why kids don't drive."

There's a long pause. "...Because they'd crash?" Steven's response to his rhetorical statement makes Dan's eyebrow twitch a little.

"Because they're tiny idiots and they don't know how to pace themselves. So what if you can't get your weapon, you haven't even finished growing yet!" Dan lifts a hand to thump it on his chest. "Anyway, I don't have a gem weapon and I'm still awesome." He nods to himself a few times, before grabbing and returning to his paper.

But Steven wasn't paying attention at that point. His mind was back when his gem glowed, with the cookie cats and the gems, replaying the moment in time. "Thanks Dan!" Dan... hadn't really been much help either, but now he had a plan on recreating that moment.

It wasn't working. "Why isn't it working!" The cookie cat was delicious, but he wasn't focused on that. He was more focused on the giant, acid spitting monster screeching at him. If only he'd listened and stayed inside! The gems were busy fighting the tail of the beast, too busy to save him. Barely, he manages to escape, rolling to the side, but the monster goes in for a second attack. Steven yells as the creature dives for him, shielding his eyes.

Then, there's a bang and something hits him. Hard. It knocks the wind out of him for sure, his eyes snapping open. But he's not inside the creature's mouth, or sliced in two, or dissolved to green muck, but about twenty feet to the side with a beanbag laying next to him, with his side stinging like nothing else.

"Get your filthy maw off my godson!"

Steven's eyes follow past the creature, towards the shack in the distance, it's door ajar with an angry old man posed as if he'd just kicked it open. He probably had, or shot it open with the strange gun in his hands. "Uncle Dan!" Steven shouts, but all that does is get the creature's attention. There's a second bang and the creature screeches as something impacts it's back, and it's lone eye turns to face the man.

Dan is fumbling with the weapon, pulling something out of his pocket, but it's hard to see from this distance. The green eye closes and acid begins dripping from it's mouth again, and it's clear to Steven that Dan won't be ready in time. His eyes dart around, eventually landing on the freezer. It takes only a moment's deliberation. "I'm sorry, cookie cat!" Steven yells, hefting the fridge above his head and hurling it at the monster.

The effect is immediate. The creatures eye snaps open and it's hair stands on end as electricity runs through it, stunning it as it convulses. "Gems, weapons!" Garnet calls, the warriors bursting through the stone hand they hid behind. "Let's do it!" Amethyst and Pearl nod, and they all burst into action.

It's over before Steven can even see them move, not that he's focused on them. His teary eyes are on the wrapper in his hand, the only one he ate. All the rest of them were in the freezer, smashed against the beast's thick hide.

"Cookie cat…" Slowly, he lowers the wrapper into a small hole he dug, covering it with loose soil. "Farewell sweet cookie cats…" He murmurs, biting back tears. "I'll always remember the time we spent together…" A single leaf marks the grave, his hands gently holding his side.

Dan approaches from behind, his gun left back at the house. "It's probably for the best." He says, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Those things were terrible for you."

Amethyst takes a squat next to the boy. "Are you crying?"

"ONLY A LITTLE!" He cries, Garnet and Pearl approaching from the sides.

The purple gem chuckles a little. "Well I guess your powers don't come from ice cream." She says, her tone quite amused.

"Of course they don't come from ice cream." Pearl says, sporting her own smile. It falls after a moment. "Don't worry Steven. I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem." She finishes with a smile again, and this time Steven is smiling with her.

"Yes." Even with her visor on, Steven can tell Garnets smile is genuine. "In your own, Steven-y way."

For a moment, all of them stood there in comfortable silence. "That bean bag really hurt." Steven eventually murmurs, rubbing his sore side.

Dan gives him another pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry kid. It wasn't strong enough to break bones… not your crazy bones anyway." The older man shrugs and walks off with a self satisfied smile.

"It still hurt."

"You'll live."

I'm not sure when this went from an idea in my head to something I actually considered writing. It was probably around the time I looked up what Connie's mom's first name was (it's Priyanka.) Yes, the Maheswarans will be a larger (somewhat) part of the story in this fic. I always liked the idea of normal dealing with supernatural, and I genuinely like the characters of the Maheswarans.

By the way, I've been rewatching the first few episodes of SU for this, and it's pretty jarring how… uncanny valley it can be if you pause at the wrong time. The art hadn't found itself yet, and takes at least until ep. 4~ish to do so, around frybo or catfingers.

Anyway, tell me how I did! I wasn't really sure where to start with this fic (I have most of it planned out, before SU the show chronologically starts, and after it at least partway through the second season,) So I decided to just start at the beginning, and reveal how Dan met the gems in flashbacks. Oh flashbacks, how convenient are thee.

That being said, I really didn't like how this chapter turned out. Whatever.

Don't worry, I don't plan on taking too long with it, but I have zero schedule for when the chapters will be released. Probably just gonna write until I burn myself out and then stop for a while.