Just a small fanfic to start the school year :)
Steven Universe and all affiliated chracters © Rebecca Sugar
Steven snickered quietly as he led a blindfolded Centi around the broad side of the barn, covering his mouth to make sure she couldn't hear. The mostly uncorrupted gem had no idea what the youngest member of the team had in store for her. It's gonna be so great! Steven thought. Just a few more steps and…
"SURPRISE!" Peridot shouted just a little too early, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY-DAY-THAT-STEVEN-PICKED-FOR-YOU!"
"Peridot, we haven't reached the party yet," Steven groaned. Peridot's grin switched into a slight frown as she lowered her arms.
"What did I do wrong? You instructed us to hide and 'pop up' when we see her."
"You were supposed to hide at the party," Steven explained, "That's why it's called a surprise party. Now Centi won't be surprised!" The gem in question, still blindfolded, placed a hand on Steven's shoulder.
"I can still act surprised if you like," she said… or at least sounded like what she said. Steven's face was again alight with a smile. "Really?" he asked excitedly. Centi nodded, and the three kept going.
Centi's party was easy to plan, at least in comparison to the other gems. All Centi needed to be happy were Chaps, art supplies, and a few friends… and of course Steven's present. The more he thought about it, the happier he felt and the happier he felt, the faster he pulled Centi along, until they finally reached the site of the party. Peridot ran ahead of Centi and Steven to rejoin the rest of the gems, Connie, and Greg, while Steven pulled Centi to a halt.
"Three…" Steven began the countdown, his voice high-pitched with excitement, "Two… one… SURPRISE!" He pulled Centi's blindfold off and jumped just to the side of the party to present it to her.
Centi stumbled up to the center table, almost in disbelief. On it, Steven had laid out Chaps, ice cream, pizza, and cookies around a large center cake. On a smaller table next to it were art supplies, including the crayons Steven gave her when she first started uncorrupting; and a small distance away from that was Garnet, holding a brightly colored donkey on a stick and a baseball bat (Steven introduced it as a Piñata). Centi pointed to the "Piñata" as if to ask what to do with it.
"Oh!" Steven exclaimed, then ran over to it, "You're supposed to hit it and break it open!" Centi gasped. Why would anyone want to ruin such a pretty object? Especially one with such a cute face! She pulled the cardboard donkey off the string and pulled it back from the baseball bat protectively. Steven's face fell a little.
"I guess you can keep it," he said, "just don't forget about the candy, okay?" Centi smiled and nodded. Her still-corrupted crew would love it, even if they didn't understand it. Maybe she could even bring them some of the cake, and the chaps; it seemed that all gems of her type liked them.
Amethyst pulled open the first bag of chaps, pulled out a fistful, and popped them in her mouth. "If we're not gonna hit the piñata, let's eat," she said as soon as she'd swallowed. Greg and Connie grabbed a plate each and filled them with chaps and cookies.
"Great idea, Amethyst!" Steven said happily, as he jogged over to the cake table. He picked up the cake knife, and was about to cut into it, when he suddenly stopped and turned to Centi.
"I think the Birthday Gem should cut her own cake," he said, "Then it's more special! Then you can decide how much you want, and you can get the best slice!" Centi smiled a little and joined Steven at the cake. She glanced over the cake, looking for the best corner to start with, ultimately deciding on a frosting-heavy chocolate corner. She cut a (very) generous piece and put it on the top plate, then handed it to Steven.
"Oh, yeah, I can hold that for you," Steven said, but Centi just nudged it a little closer to him. "That's for you," she tried to say. Steven put the slice on the table and tackled her in a hug. Everyone who wanted a slice of cake got one, and finally, Centi got her own slice.
As everyone ate, Steven noticed the lull in the conversation and decided then would be a good time for present— not that there were all that many to begin with. It seemed like only Amethyst, Steven and Peridot got her anything: Steven because he knew her best and Amethyst and Peridot just because.
"You can start with Amethyst and finish with mine!" Steven said, handing Centi the first bag. Amethyst had put an extra-large bag of jalapeño-flavored Chaps inside of an ornate gift bag. Centi squeaked with delight, then turned and squeaked at Amethyst.
Peridot's gift came in a small box– about half the size of the journal Centi liked to draw in– and was wrapped in bright green alien wrapping paper. Peridot giggled as Centi opened the box. Inside it, she found another, smaller black box with the words "Camp Pining Hearts" scrawled on it; she had no idea what to do with the smaller black box. Centi smiled awkwardly to Peridot, who was still giggling, and set the smaller black box next to the bag of Chaps.
Centi knew Steven had a reason for him to ask her to open his present last. Just like Peridot, Steven could barely contain his excitement. He jumped up and down in his seat as he passed Centi his present. The wrapping, unlike Peridot and Amethyst's presents, was simple: just a brown paper bag with her name written in purple crayon on the front. She pulled the handles of the bag aside and removed a rectangular piece of wood wrapped in tissue paper.
Centi glanced up at Steven as she tore the wrapping paper aside, then looked down. It was a bulky wooden frame painted black and green and covered in shiny foam star stickers. Bright pink foam letters spelled out the words "Captain Centi" across the top of the frame. The other gems only caught a glimpse of the back of the gift and seemed worried that the gift might not be good enough, but they didn't see what was inside the frame. A hand-drawn picture of Centi and her crew, as Steven guessed they might have appeared before corruption, smiled in front of a spaceship. Centi passed her hand over the picture, just to make sure it was real. No one had ever given her anything like it. She flipped it over; she wanted to know every inch of it by heart. On the back, there were four magnets (so she could place it on the side of the spaceship) and some more writing: Love, Steven.
"Do you like it?" he asked with a cautious smile. Centi could do nothing but grin ear-to-ear as she jumped from her chair and wrapped Steven in the hardest hug possible. I love it.
This story comes from my sister's theory that Steven assigned birthday days to all the crystal gems.
Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is always welcome!
~Flutepiccy