Do You Even Care?
By TheOneAndOnly1993
Another average day in Beach City.
Another boring day, more like, thought Steven as he stepped out onto the balcony. He saw the waves ahead, lapping and foaming against the soft sandy shore. The sun was beginning to make its slow decent behind the ocean horizon, rendering it a sheet of beaten copper. It made him think of Lapis. Looking out upon it, smelling the salty air that always blew in from the sea, a little smile played across Steven's lips.
"Boring isn't so bad," he thought optimistically. "We need a break after what happened with Lapis." Steven sank into the cushioned seat to his left, and kicked his feet up against the railing. "Wonder how she's getting along with Peridot..."
"Hey Steven!"
The boy was given a start, then he turned to find Amethyst standing in the doorway. "Hey, Amethyst!" he said, waving. "What's up?"
The Gem coolly leaned against the doorway, folding her thick arms. "Not much," she replied, all sly-like. "Just thinking..."
Oh, no! he thought. She's talking in that way that makes me want to know more! Steven leaned in closer, grinning wide. "About...?"
Amethyst allowed herself a wolfish smile; she always knew how to play Steven, not that the boy in question particularly cared. "About those sick moves you did the other day!" she explained. "The way you were able to just summon your shield like that was so cool." Steven blushed at the praise, thinking back to the fight with Lapis. He didn't even know what he was doing, truth be told. He just wanted to protect Connie and, well, the shield just sort of happened.
"So that got me thinking," Amethyst continued. "And after a lot of thought, I think you're ready..."
Steven's fingers dug into his palms. "Yes...?" he whispered loudly.
"To..."
"To...?" Steven echoed, elation rising in tandem to the lingering tension.
Amethyst stood straight, hands behind her back, and uttered one, simple, magic word: "Fuse."
Steven's jaw would have hit the floor if it could. "You mean it!?" he gasped. The Gem gave a smile that would've turned water to ice, and nodded. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you Amethyst!" Steven shot up from his seat to pull her into a tight hug.
"Okay buddy," Amethyst laughed awkwardly, pushing Steven away. "That's enough hugging. Come on! Let's get down to the beach."
A fair distance away from the beach house was where Steven and Amethyst decided to train. Steven took a wide stance, his face etched with a poor attempt at being serious that was betrayed by his great enthusiasm, and thus, a dopey looking smile was glued to the twelve-year-old's face. The waves ebbed in and out, licking his bare feet. Amethyst stood adjacent to him, though she kept her white boots on herself.
"Okay, Am!" hollered Steven. "So who are we forming? What's the dance? Is she as awesome as Sugilite?"
Amethyst snickered at the barrage of questions she was receiving. "One at a time, cowboy! We're forming Topaz." she explained. "She's what your mom and I Fused into."
A pink glow grew in Steven's cheeks. "M-My mom?" he murmured, right arm moving up his belly and gripping his shirt tight.
"Yep! And she's pretty cool, I guess. Not as cool as Sig, of course, but she's still pretty rad."
Hearing this, Steven's entire body trembled with excitement. He just couldn't believe it. Today, to-day, he was going to fuse! And with Amethyst, the coolest cat in Beach City to boot! "So what's the dance?" he almost screamed.
Amethyst couldn't help but grin from ear-to-ear at the boy's enthusiasm. He's really into this, she thought. It actually made the brash Gem feel a tad honored. Initially, Amethyst was only doing this to get under Pearl's skin (how, well, that's coming up in a minute), but now she felt that something like this, Steven's first crack at Fusing, should be really special.
"Alright Steven, no jokes!" she hollered, now completely honest (though Steven was blissfully unaware that this started out as a little joke). "I'll show you the dance first, then you copy, and then we'll try it together. Ready?"
"Ready!"
Before starting, Amethyst's last thought before losing herself to the dance was, Man, now I kinda wish we set up a little farther away from the beach house.
The Gem shook the thought out of her head, clearing her mind of the world around her so the only thing that was real was the steady thump-thump of an electronic bass hammering away in her head. Then she got down. Amethyst's eyes flittered shut, put her hands on her knees, and began to roll her hips. She did it slow, methodically, lovingly in a way, like she were right up against a partner at the local night club; every rotation of her rear synced perfectly with the rhythm of the music blaring in her head. Then Amethyst brought her feet together, pretending her own whip had them lassoed so they wouldn't come apart. Amethyst rose her hands above her head, clasping them together, and began to slowly rock her hips side to side. She could feel it, in her core: her gem, she could feel its energy growing, pulsing, the pulses that she hadn't felt since she last did this with Rose Quartz, almost thirteen years ago. It was ready, she sensed, but it still needed a partner. It needed -
"Steven Universe!"
Amethyst actually yelped a little, she was so lost in her own little world and yanked back into reality. Reality was no fun at all; there was sand everywhere, and ocean water soaking her boots, and Pearl of course stomping her way across the beach with murderous intent in her icy-blue eyes.
"Oh, boy." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Here comes the Officer Killjoy." When she looked to Steven, the boy had a disheartened look on his face. She frowned, pitying the poor kid, which in turn sparked a little anger at Pearl, for both ruining her buzz and Steven's too.
"What do you think you are doing, Amethyst?" Pearl seethed, skinny arms folded over her skinny chest.
Hands on her hips, Amethyst replied with her usual sass, "Uh, teaching Little Monster here how to Fuse into Topaz. What else?"
Pearl's face turned to blue it may have been ice. "Topaz!?" she screeched like a hawk. Heh, a bird, mused Amethyst's wandering mind, though outwardly she actualy flinched under the grating harshness of Pearl's voice. "I thought we agreed, Amethyst, that if we were to ever teach Steven how to Fuse it wouldn't be until he's much, much older! The mental strength it takes to Fuse is well beyond that of a twelve-year-old boy. And even if he was ready, that dance is - ! Is...!"
Okie, I'm tuning out now. Amethyst proceeded to simply watch Pearl's flapping lips with a glazed look in her eye, but hearing only static come out of those flappers. It's like watching two slugs do it, mused the Gem.
But after listening to the static for longer than she endure, Amethyst gave Pearl the most bitter of scowls she could form and muttered amidst her rambling, "Rose never had a problem doing it."
Pearl's face turned completely teal, looking ready to explode right then and there. "Did Steven actually see how it ends?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Did you show him what his mother did every time she wanted to form Topaz?"
"No," the stockier Gem replied flatly. "You stopped me before I could. Besides, what's the big deal? All's we do is get close, I get my trunk up in his ju - oh, wait..." Amethyst stopped herself, rubbing her chin in thought as she worked out the rest of the Fusion in her head. Picturing it, Amethyst actually started to understand what has Pearl so upset. But even so... "Well that shouldn't matter anyway!" she proclaimed. "We didn't go through with it, P. And even if we did, why is that such a bad thing? He's too young to know what we'd be doing! To him it's...it'd be like another hug!"
Pearl's mouth dropped open, followed by her throwing her head back, and a loud groan bursting from her lips. She moved two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "The fact that you're actually trying to rationalize this..."
"He wouldn't have gotten hurt or anything," Amethyst insisted, turning away from the taller Gem so she was facing Steven; the poor kid wasn't even listening, he was just sitting there in the sand, building a muddy sandcastle. I'm gonna knock that over and then we'll have a sand fight! she fantasized. In her mind, this conflict with Pearl was already dead and buried.
But that nagging witch just had to have her claws in her. "It's not just that, Amethyst!" She grabbed her by the shoulder. "It's the constant disregard for Steven's well-being! You're always doing stuff that could make him - "
I'm done with this. "Into what?" she snapped. "A man? He's a big kid, and you can't mother him forever, Mother Hen!"
Pearl's hand moved to stifle a ladylike gasp. "Are you making fun of my nose?"
"Maybe I am!" snarled Amethyst, aggressively taking a step forward.
Pearl did the same, fists forward. "You are just the - "
"Guys! Guys! We've got big problems!"
Both Amethyst and Pearl ceased their bickering to look in the direction of the voice. There they saw Garnet standing at the balcony, just a red-and-black speck in the distance.
Steven ran past, running as quickly as his little boy legs would allow. "Coming Garnet!"
Amethyst was about to race him, but before she could take even one step forward she felt Pearl's iron grip latch around her wrist. She glared at her through the bangs of her silver hair. "We're continuing this conversation when we get back," Pearl said in a disciplinary tone.
"Fine. Now let me go!" Amethyst tugged at her arm, but Pearl had the hold of, well, an overprotective mother.
"All of us," she finished. With that, Pearl let go and began to make her way to the beach house, her long, thin legs making long strides across the powdered earth. Amethyst followed slow a fair distance away, dreading the "Family Meeting" as Pearl liked to call them that would follow up the mission.
For Steven and Amethyst trying to form Topaz, I buy into the theory, at least for this story, that Steven himself will make unique Gems when fused. So Smoky Quartz doesn't contradict the beginning of this story too badly.
