Layers of Rose
Steven had had a fun day with his dad. They'd run around a lot with the hoses. He'd sat and listened while his dad had played a few of his favourite tunes. Now here they were, sitting on the top of his van while eating hot dogs. It was times like this that Steven Universe was glad that every pork chop wasn't perfect.
He munched hungrily on his dog while his dad was telling him the story again of how he'd met his mom, Rose Quartz.
"And I said, 'that's gonna be a problem. You're everything I want!' We were together ever since," he said proudly.
"I know, dad," laughed Steven.
"You still like me telling you though." He sighed happily. "Your mom really changed my life that day, Steven. Then you came along and changed it again. In the best possible way, of course."
"Aw, thanks dad." He hugged him.
"You're always welcome. You know, Steven, it wasn't just me she had that effect on. She had a pretty big impact on the Crystal Gems too," his dad said.
Steven's eyes went wide. "Wow, really?"
"Oh yeah. Before they met her, they…" He stopped and smiled. "Hey, here's a better idea. Why don't you go ask them yourself? I'm sure they'd have some interesting stories to tell you."
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" agreed Steven. "Thanks, dad!" He hugged him tightly before running off back to the temple.
Anticipation fuelled Steven as he sprinted across the sands as fast as his little legs would go. The Gems had talked about his mom a few times if she came up as the subject of a mission or something. But he'd never once thought to ask them directly about her.
He saw one of his Gem guardians in front of the house. A demure, frail looking woman who sat in front of the ocean as the waves that should have been soaking her gently moved around her without even touching her. Her blue gem embedded in her back sparkled like the sea in the moonlight, surrounded by the yellow star they all wore with a larger one on the front of her clothes. Everything about her being only reinforced that she was a part of it, from her cyan skin to her deep blue dress.
Lapis Lazuli might look weak, but Steven had seen her power in action. He watched her as she slowly raised a hand. As she did, so did some little droplets of water like little sparkling jewels. Her fingers moved delicately, bringing the droplets together into one large ball. He stared while she moulded it into different shapes and forms before bringing it back together as an orb. Then, she splayed her hand and it burst into droplets again which fell back into the ocean.
"Whoa…" whispered Steven, then louder, "That was so pretty."
Lapis jumped and whirled around. As she did, the waves around her moved as well, moving a little further up the beach than before.
"Steven! You gave me a fright!"
"Sorry," he said at once. "I just didn't want to disturb you while you were doing your thing."
"No, don't worry about it," she said with a smile. "I was a little surprised, that's all."
"That's okay. I'm sorry I surprised you." He paused. "Was I a good surprise?"
She smiled happily. "Yes, Steven. You're always a good surprise. Here, come have a seat. I promise you won't get wet."
"Thanks. I don't mind if I do, though," he said, plonking himself next to her. "I can just pretend it's a big watery hug from you."
"Aw, you sweet little thing. How long were you there for?" she asked.
"Not long," he admitted. "I just showed up and found you doing that with the water. Making it all come together, then making it move and pop like a water balloon like that. It's really pretty, like every time you use it."
"It means a lot to me to hear you think so, Steven." A smile came to her face. "Hey, do you remember I promised not to get you wet?"
"Yeah?" Steven jumped up when cold water suddenly splashed him from behind. He looked to see three levitating orbs rising up.
"I lied," laughed Lapis.
Steven shielded his face as another one zoomed to him. "Hey! Lapis! That's not fair!"
"Yes it is!" she countered. "This is me getting you back for sneaking up on me."
Steven ducked under the next ball as it flew straight for him. He saw Lapis laughing away as she prepared more. Steven grinned as well.
"Alright then, you asked for it!"
He scooped up some water and splashed it at her. Though she could have easily stopped it, she let it hit her.
"A shot has been returned. It's war!" she declared.
"And I'm gonna win!" proclaimed Steven, crouching down for another.
"I'd like to see you try!" returned Lapis.
For the second time that day, Steven got soaked. He didn't mind it though. He always loved seeing Lapis's fun side. They ran around in the shallows for a long while, Steven shovelling as much water as he could at her while she returned fire in kind using her powers.
Finally, Steven collapsed from exhaustion, feeling the soft sand on his back as it clung to his wet skin. He looked up at Lapis, who stood over him triumphantly.
"You give up?" she asked.
"Yeah…" he panted, still grinning. "You're… master… of the sea."
"And don't you forget it," she said smugly, tapping his nose and settling down next to him.
They were both quiet for a few moments, calmly watching the sea while Steven dried in the warm rays of the sun. Lapis also pulled some of the water from his clothes, placing it back in the sea. Once he got his breath back and his clothes felt a little less wet, he brought up what he'd sought her out to begin with.
Not that what just happened wasn't fun.
"Hey, Lapis? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Steven," she said kindly. "What's on your mind?"
"How did you meet my mom?"
She looked surprised at the question. "What brought this on?"
"I was talking to my dad and he said how she changed all your lives. I just wanna know what that means," he explained.
"I see." She looked away from him. "Well it's… not something I like to look back on fondly."
"Please, Lapis?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.
"Oh, I can never resist that look." She sighed. "Alright then, but you'll have to let me go at my own pace." She stared out at the ocean again. "This planet really is incredible. The sea is so vast and it's all teeming with life. I can't believe there was a time I never even considered it worth much."
"What? How could you think that?" asked Steven incredulously. "The earth is awesome! There's TV and pizza and donuts and arcades and everything!"
"They didn't have all of that when I first met your mother. It was much different back then, even though I didn't get to see much of it…" She seemed to have a hard time looking at Steven. "There was a war. A war I wanted no part in, but some others felt I should be. But I wasn't interested in either side. One of them though decided I was too dangerous to remain neutral because of my powers so… they put me somewhere I wouldn't cause any trouble."
"Where?" Steven asked.
"A terrible prison, Steven," she answered. A dark look clouded her face that made Steven shiver. "I was trapped for so long. I never thought I would escape, but I would have given anything to be free. Then suddenly, I was. I remember a lot of voices talking, one of them taking charge of them and the next thing I knew… I was free." She stared at one of her hands, like she still couldn't quite believe it. "The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes again was a beautiful Gem. I couldn't remember seeing anyone like her ever before or… ever since."
"My mom…" whispered Steven.
She nodded slowly. "I still didn't believe in earth at first. I just wanted to go home and be left alone. But your mother helped me see a different side. She told me she wouldn't make me fight if I didn't want to. But then she asked me if… if after being deprived of my freedom for so long, could I condemn this planet to the same fate at the hands of those who'd imprisoned me? She begged me to consider her offer, but she'd let me decide freely. And I… decided to stay.
"At first it was out of necessity, I told myself. If I went home, they'd just lock me away again. But then I got to know your mother. I saw the Gems she rallied under her cause and the true value of the planet they fought for. I saw the conviction and belief with which she fought. Her passion, her drive, her will despite how the rest of Homeworld calling her a traitor. She still chose to do what was right. Your mother was a true freedom fighter, Steven and… a true friend. One that I…"
She didn't finish. She cast her eyes down to the sand and her hair fell over her face, so Steven couldn't really make it out.
"Lapis? Are you okay?" he asked.
"Steven I… I'm sorry but… I need some time alone now…" she murmured.
"Lapis?" He reached out for her. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can…?"
"Steven, please." She gently but firmly pushed his hand away. "I really do just… need to be on my own."
"Oh. O-Okay," he stuttered. "See you."
She didn't reply. Steven got up and walked back towards the house. He looked back at her a few more times, watching her from the window when he was back inside. She stood up slowly, a pair of wings made of water emerging from her back. She crouched and took flight, leaving a trail of moisture behind her.
Needless to say, Steven felt awful. She'd warned she didn't like to think about what had happened to her and no wonder. Steven couldn't imagine why anyone would have locked up someone as nice as Lapis. Yet he'd gone and asked her to anyway. He didn't know if she was sad about that, angry at him or both. He'd have to try and make it up to her somehow.
He looked up when he heard the warp pad activate behind him. It shone with its brilliant light. When it faded, a large bulky form stood at its centre.
The leader of the Crystal Gems with skin as orange as a setting sun and a wild bushy mane of white hair. Her impressive muscles rippled under her pale red tank top and mahogany leggings. A mahogany V-neck decorated her partially exposed chest, a single golden star shining at its centre. A gem bubble levitated in her hand before she compressed it and it vanished.
She cricked her neck and rotated her shoulders, muttering to herself. Her expression of a grim battle mask softened into a grin when she saw Steven waiting for her.
"There's my little fighter," she said in her raspy voice. She knelt down on one knee and held out her arms. "Come on, try to take me down!"
Steven grinned too. With an exaggerated battle cry, he ran at Jasper and jumped the final distance into her chest. She deliberately fell backwards with Steven clamped to her chest. He couldn't even get his arms the whole way around her.
"Ha-ha! Got you!" he shouted triumphantly.
"Aw no! I'm pinned!" she cried. "You're too strong, mighty one! I give up, I give up!"
"I am mighty, but I am also merciful," replied Steven in his best official tone. He clambered off her. "Stand, great warrior. Your efforts were noble indeed."
"Thank you. Such praise is precious to me coming from you." She got up and rubbed his hair. "Seriously, when you're big enough, I'm gonna show you how to spar properly."
"Really?" Steven's eyes lit up. "That'd be so cool! I can't wait to be as strong as you are, Jasper!"
"I'd say you're on the way already," she said, lightly gripping one of his arms. "Oh yeah, that's some serious muscle going on there. Be great to have a decent sparring partner again."
"You think I'd be good?" he asked her.
"No question of it, little fighter," she said confidently. "Hey, wanna come oversee my workout in my room? Can't do it without my coach."
Steven managed a grin. Until Lapis came back, maybe having some fun with Jasper would help take his mind off it. Perhaps he could talk to her about it too. He ran to grab his cap, whistle and megaphone from his room before following her through the temple door.
All the Crystal Gems had unique rooms. Lapis's was like a massive lake with lots of various sized smooth-surfaced blue islands dotted about. Peridot had a plain, clean looking jade crystal space with her robonoids wandering about. Jasper's was a lot like a maze of caves of dull orange stone. It had a large space when you came in that branched off into loads of tunnels that led to smaller rooms, along with the other Gem's rooms, as Jasper had told him.
"Alright!" Jasper flexed her muscles and jogged on the spot. "We gonna get started, coach?"
"I already started!" yelled Steven into his megaphone. "Now, drop and gimme thirty!"
"Thirty?! Is that all?!" Jasper fell onto her hands and started pumping away with determination. "I can do this in my sleep!"
"Oh yeah?!" Steven jumped on her back. "Do it one handed and make it one hundred!"
"That's more like it!" she proclaimed, putting one hand behind her back and pushing more vigorously.
They continued with exercises like this, some of which Steven joined in with. Push ups, star jumps, sit ups, jogging on the spot, running laps around the tunnels. They performed fighting exercises. Jabbing, left hook, right hook, sweep kick, high kick, head-butt, spin dash, all of those moves in a sequence or mixing them in different sequences. Jasper was so absorbed in it all, Steven sometimes wondered if she was properly registering his coaching.
He checked his watch. It was the end of the time Jasper usually designated for their routines together and even though he wasn't the one working, watching her was exhausting in itself. Plus, his voice needed a rest.
"Okay, that's an hour!" he called. To his slight relief, she actually stopped.
Occasionally, there were times she carried on, even when Steven said the time had been reached. They didn't happen often, but sometimes if she wasn't in a good mood or something…
"Whew, already?" she asked. "Time sure does fly." She sounded faintly disappointed.
"You did great, you always do," praised Steven. "It's like if Teens of Rage just jumped out of the arcade and into the real world!"
"Not really sure what that means, but thanks." She frowned for a moment, quickly covering it with a smile. "Hey, wanna go get some ice cream?" she offered. "I think we both earned it."
Steven beamed. "Do you even need to ask?"
"Good point." They left Jasper's room, heading back to town. "Too bad the kind you like isn't around anymore."
"Meh, I'm over that now," he shrugged. "Cookie Cat may have been the best, but no matter its shape or form, there is never denying the rich, delicious purity that is ice cream."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," chuckled Jasper.
They got their favourite kinds. For Steven, an ice cream sandwich between two chocolate biscuits that reminded him of his long lost Cookie Cat. For Jasper, a cone of… everything. With extra scoops.
"Mmm, I love this stuff!" she professed passionately, wolfing down four at a time. "So good! Especially when it gives you that tingling in your head!"
"Uh… you mean brain freeze?" asked Steven.
"Yeah, that." She gobbled down five more and shuddered. "Oh yeah, there it is!"
Steven laughed. "We should bring some back. I'll bet Lapis would…" He trailed off when he remembered what had happened before.
Jasper didn't miss it. She swallowed some more scoops and asked, "Hey, what's up?"
"It's fine," said Steven sadly. "Just that Lapis got sad earlier. She flew off somewhere."
"Eh, she'll be fine," dismissed Jasper. "How come she did?"
"Well…" Steven hesitated for a bit before saying, "I asked her how she met mom."
"Oh. Right." Her smile reduced a little. "Suppose I can't blame you for wanting to know. Your mom was a great leader and a great friend. I really looked up to her."
"You did?" It was hard for Steven to imagine Jasper, one of the strongest people he knew, having an idol.
"Sure did. Her tactics, her skill in battle, the way she could command and inspire so many to follow her…" She gazed off wistfully. "She never liked me calling her by any kind of honorific. You know, sir or ma'am. She always told me, 'Jasper, we're not in the Homeworld Corps. I'm your friend, not your general'. To me, she was both. I owed her a lot."
"Really? How?" Now that she was telling him, his curiosity was piqued.
She shifted uncomfortably, but continued. "She helped get me back on my feet. Gave me something worth fighting for. All I wanted, really but she gave me a lot more than that. I didn't think anyone, especially not someone like her, to do anything for me after…"
"After what?" persisted Steven. "What happened?"
Her voice was bordering on a whisper. "I… I got beaten badly."
"How? By who?"
"What does it matter?!" She tossed aside the rest of her ice cream into a trash can. "I'm gonna go train some more."
"But we already finished," reminded Steven quickly. "You don't have to go."
"I know but… there's some stuff I didn't get finished," she said stiffly. She started to walk away.
Steven got up quickly too. "I'll come with you too. I can coach you!"
"No!" she said sharply. "I mean… I'll be fine on my own. You can just… go get a donut or something. Here's some money." She shoved some notes into his hand without looking at him and hurried off.
"Jasper…" Steven stared after her. She didn't look back.
Just like with Lapis. As soon as the conversation turned to his mom and their past with her, both she and Jasper wanted to be alone. Away from him. Before they'd been perfectly fine. They'd been having fun. Then Steven went and asked then they got… sad. Though they didn't say it explicitly to him, they wanted him to go.
A question started to form in his mind. A fitting one for what was happening, despite how much he didn't want to think it. He pushed it aside for now, figuring that maybe he'd feel better if he got himself a donut. Maybe seeing Lars and Sadie would make things better too.
Steven was a little surprised at who he found in the Big Donut. Someone with green skin and yellowish green hair shaped like those triangular chips. The rest of her outfit was a mostly green, sleeveless V-neck body suit and a large pair of boots. The knees of these and the centre of her V-neck were decorated with the yellow star of the Crystal Gems. A light green visor covered half her face, though Steven could see her squinting at the donut she held in her fingers, which were levitating where her palms should be.
She stroked her chin thoughtfully with one hand while continuing to examine the donut with the other. From behind the counter, Lars and Sadie were watching her unsurely.
"Uh… are you actually gonna eat that?" Sadie asked her.
"Unlikely," she muttered in her nasally, monotone voice. "Though I don't need nutritional intake, it is very important that understand the composition of this food stuff to accurately surmise its overall value. I'm sure that makes my intentions perfectly clear."
"Yeah… sure…" Lars saw Steven and jerked his head. "A little help here."
Steven only smiled. Just like Peridot, he thought walking up to her.
"Hey, Peridot."
"Hello, Steven," she returned, glancing up for a moment. "If your intention is to procure more of these… donuts, I may ask you to reconsider for a moment."
"Huh?" Steven was confused. "Is there something wrong with them? Sadie, I thought you told me you guys don't make your donuts fresh."
"We don't speak of that!" Lars yelled across the counter.
"I don't imagine that any fresh donuts would be much better than this." Some of her fingers hovered into a square shape, forming her holo-touch screen. "Trans fats. High levels of sugar. Artificial preservatives. You might only be half human, but you should still be mindful of what you put into your human half."
"Oh." Steven rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess donuts aren't the healthiest foods."
"Then why insist on eating them?" asked Peridot.
"Because they're so tasty!" he declared. "Plus uh, coming in here means I'm supporting one of the town's local businesses and I get to say hi to my friends. Hi Lars! Hi Sadie!" he added with a wave and a grin.
"Hey, Steven," greeted Sadie.
Lars just rolled his eyes, but Steven knew he was happy to see him really. He was just smiling on the inside.
Peridot frowned thoughtfully. She looked at Lars and Sadie, the former of whom gave an uneasy smile while the latter looked away from her piercing gaze. She looked at the donut, then back at Steven.
"Very well," she finally said. "Here, you can have this. Just be careful with how many you eat."
"Yay!" He took the donut eagerly and chomped on it. "Thanks Peridot. You wanna bite?"
Peridot grimaced in disgust. "Steven, you know how I feel about… eating."
He laughed. "Okay, but if you change your mind, your one's on me. Then you'll see what you're missing out on."
"I'll bear that in mind," she said with a small smile before walking out with him. "Good afternoon, Lars, Sadie. Continue your tasks of ensuring obesity in the townsfolk."
"Uh, sure," Steven heard Sadie say as the door closed. He looked up at Peridot reproachfully.
"What?" she asked. "That is what they're doing."
"Never mind," he sighed, licking his fingers sadly.
Running into Peridot and a free donut had done a little to lift his spirits, but now they were down again when he remembered Jasper and Lapis after talking to them. It was why he hadn't brought up the subject of his mom with Peridot yet. Part of him didn't think he should at all. The technical Gem, however, hadn't missed his dip in mood.
"You look troubled, Steven," remarked Peridot in her habit of calling it as she saw it.
"Well uh…" He thought about just keeping quiet, but Peridot wouldn't let it drop if there was something she didn't know and wanted to know. "I think I upset Lapis and Jasper."
She cocked her head. "How?"
"I don't wanna say, I might upset you too," he said, shaking his head.
"Steven." She gave him a wry smile, led him to the edge of the wooden seaboard and sat down. She motioned for him to join her. "Try me."
Steven considered. If Peridot knew there was something wrong with him, she wouldn't stop until she found out what it was to see if she could fix it. He still felt hesitant about it, but he knew she'd still find a way to get it out of him.
He shuffled next to her. She folded her hands across her lap and waited patiently for him to speak.
"I… I was kinda asking them… about my mom…" he murmured.
"Ah. I see." Her thoughtful frown came back. "I can see why that would be the case then."
"I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "I didn't mean to make them sad! I just wanted to know about my mom!"
"Perfectly understandable, Steven," she replied. "Your mother was a… very unique Gem. A truly remarkable person." Her fingers traced idly on the wood. "Until I met her, I never could have predicted…"
Steven panicked when he saw the look on her face. "Y-You don't have to talk about it if it makes you sad!"
"No, no, I'm fine, Steven," she insisted quickly. "I look back very fondly on Rose and my memories of her. One in particular." She turned her eyes away from Steven. "A long, long time ago I was… well, let's just say that I'd done some things I'm not proud of now. Things that stopped the day I first met your mother."
Steven wanted to ask what things, but he stopped himself. Despite what Peridot said, he didn't want to upset her too by nosing into her business.
"She took me into a field. Nothing special about it, I thought. I didn't know what she was going to do. Then… she smiled at me and asked me what I thought of it. The field." She laughed a little. "I wasn't expecting that. I thought she was tricking me somehow. But she just goes on. She told me how she thought it was so beautiful. I asked her why. Then, she just takes a blade of grass. Just one. She holds it up to me and she says…" Peridot's eyes were staring, as if she was being shown that blade right now. "'Look at it. It's alive. Everything here is. Isn't that… so wonderful?' I had no idea what to say to that.
"She took to all sorts of places across the planet, but we'd always go back to that field too. But everywhere she took me, I started to understand what she was telling me. That everything on this planet is alive and it's always giving birth to new life every day. That was what she was fighting for and from that day, so was I. Your mother was incredible, Steven. I was privileged to have met her and I'm sorry that… well… "
Though Peridot was smiling, it looked like to Steven that, in some way, she was hurting too. Just like Lapis and Jasper had. Watching her, remembering them, a question that had been crawling up from the depths of Steven's mind from before found its way out.
"Do you… do you guys… well… blame me because mom is… you know… gone?"
"Wha-?!" Peridot's head whipped to face him, her eyes wide in shock. "Steven! Why in the world would you ask that?!"
"Sorry, I'm sorry!" he cried. "Just you all keep saying how great mom is and you all got sad when you talk about her and want me to leave you alone and just…"
Steven trailed off. He buried his face in his arms and pulled his legs toward his chest. He didn't want Peridot to answer and he immediately regretted asking her that. Everything he and the Crystal Gems had done together. Randomly calling Peridot on the communicator ball she'd given him. Jasper demonstrating how to throw a proper punch. Lapis teaching him how to swim. He didn't want to remember all of those times with his friends, his family as them… tolerating him.
It was somehow even worse when Peridot didn't respond. When Steven peeked through a gap between his arm and his leg, he could see her screwing up her face in an expression she always got when she was trying to solve a complex problem. He shut his eyes again until she next spoke in her kindest voice.
"Steven, can you wait here for me please?" she asked. "I'll answer your question, I promise. I just need to properly prepare some things first. You understand?"
Steven raised his head slightly, wiping his eyes. He nodded.
"Promise me you'll wait?"
"I will," he said quietly.
"Good boy." She patted his head and stood up. "Now remember, wait here. I'll call you in a bit but remember one thing: we hold no resentment towards you for Rose's passing. I can assure you of that."
With that, she raised her hand to the sky while her levitating fingers began to spin. After a few seconds, they were whirling like a helicopter that carried her into the air and back towards the temple. Steven still found it really neat when she did that. Like Dogcopter. Maybe she could be his sidekick.
He pulled out the small, lime green orb from his pocket and gripped it tightly while he stared at it. He could see his face strangely warped on its surface. What was it that Peridot had to prepare? Was it actually just an excuse to get him to leave her alone, like what Jasper and Lapis had done? He didn't want to think about that, but she'd told him they didn't blame him. One thing Peridot never did was, like she said, distort the facts.
Steven sat there, his eyes never leaving the communication ball. He wasn't sure how long he ended up sat there for, only that the sun had completely set before long. The sky was painted with a deep blue as stars began to twinkle in the sky with the moon shining brightly above him. He had a random thought of what would happen if Jasper punched the moon when the ball started to vibrate.
He squeezed its side at once and Peridot's face was holographically projected out of it.
"Come on back to the Temple, Steven. We're ready for you now."
"Okay," was all he said. He stood up and bolted towards the Temple. The arms of the statue towering above seemed to be open in welcome to the house that lay beneath it.
He came in through the door. The three Crystal Gems were waiting for him, but Lapis hurried forward at once and pulled him into a hug. Steven returned it tightly.
"Oh Steven, I'm so, so sorry," she said gently. "If I had any idea, I would have… I'm sorry."
"It's okay," replied Steven.
"No, it's not." Jasper looked angry, but not at him it seemed. "We got so wrapped up in our own heads that we didn't think about what might have been going on in yours. We shouldn't have let that happen."
"But Steven, believe us when we tell you this." Lapis placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him right in the eye. "None of us blame you for what happened to your mother."
"You really don't?" he asked, beginning to smile again.
"No, Steven." Peridot stepped forward. "It is true that we do miss your mother. She was our leader and our friend. It's also true that she had a significant effect on all of our lives. But most important is that the most significant effect of all was the day you were born to us through her."
Steven was amazed by this. "Really…?"
"Really," Peridot nodded. "Rose was the one who showed me the constant birth of new life on this planet. Every day that I see you is a reminder of that fact and how truly unique it can be."
"Yeah." Jasper clenched a fist and grinned. "She gave me something that was worth fighting for. You gave me something worth protecting."
Lapis' eyes never left him. "She gave me back my freedom, Steven. Now, I have the gift of watching over you. A free spirit who takes so much joy out of life and living. You are precious to us, Steven. We will always be here for you, no matter what."
"I will always dedicate every resource I can to your care and safety," vowed Peridot.
"Just let anyone try and stop us," put in Jasper with a bold grin.
Steven looked around at them all. He already knew they cared, but to hear things like this from them banished those thoughts he'd been having before. It was enough to make him throw his arms around Lapis in another hug.
"Now wait just a minute." Both of them were lifted off their feet by Jasper in her beefy arms. "No way you're leaving me out of this."
"Yeah, group hug!" cheered Steven. "Come on Peridot, you too!"
Peridot shifted uncomfortably on the spot, clearly not into the idea. But that didn't stop Jasper.
"Come on, egghead. You're not getting out of this." Before Peridot could make a move, Jasper crossed the room in four powerful strides and knelt down so that Lapis and Steven could wrap their arms around her.
"Yeah, group hug!" repeated Steven.
"We got you, Peri," giggled Lapis.
"Yes. You got me," deadpanned Peridot. But Steven could see the smallest of smiles tug at the corners of her mouth.
From where they were, Steven had a perfect view of his mother's portrait hanging above the door of the house. A peaceful, serene expression forever captured on her beautiful face. She might just be an image, but she had given him his family. For that, there was only really one thing to say.
"Thanks, mom," he said quietly and lost himself in their collective embrace.
This is a birthday present for my little sister. We both love Steven Universe and we both talked at length about the concept of an alternate universe where the Homeworld Gems take the place of the Crystal Gems. I know it's not an original concept, others have done it. Just wanted to bring that idea to life, to show it inspires me as much as she does. Happy birthday, sis.
For everyone else who came across this and read it, I hope you enjoyed it too.