Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: The Little Things Matter

Summary: The gems get over Rose in their own time, and in their own ways. The same can be said with warming up to Steven.

Chapter Title: Amethyst

Warnings: Quite possibly O.O.C.; maybe a tad non-canon complaint?

...

Amethyst really didn't want to be the first one to go visit the kid, but it was starting to look unavoidable.

Well, no. It was unavoidable from the start. Garnet needed time to wrap her head around the fact that love can end the way it had, that not everyone was going to fit the way Ruby and Sapphire did (although she'd never admit it), so she was burying herself in her work while they worked it out.

And Pearl...

Whatever, Amethyst shook herself rather roughly and put her hand on her hip. She wasn't caught up like Garnet or afraid of contact like Pearl currently was. Pain and self-loathing was nothing new to her. She knew how to shoulder it and move on, ignoring the stabbing pain in her heart.

Amethyst wasn't here to mope. She was here to be a weapon; not to mention lighten the mood.

Let them wallow in pity, for all she cared. They hadn't let her do it before; why would she let herself do it now? (Not to mention that if she started now, she wouldn't be able to crawl back out, but whatever. Amethyst didn't want to think about it.)

Fine then. Greg was cool; he'd understand if she popped by for a second, right?

Right. That would work. Why wouldn't it work?

So she takes the long way to the car wash (not because she wanted to avoid the silence that brought on more and more thoughts that she didn't like to think about. Uh-uh. Nope. That wasn't it at all) and knocked on his van door. Greg opened it and blinked at her.

"'Sup. I'm here to see the kid."

"What the- oh, get in here already." He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her inside with a quick glance around. "Sorry. It's just... there's enough rumors floating around as it is. A weird purple woman appearing on my doorstep isn't going to help matters. I don't want Steven growing up like that, you know?"

"No." How could she know, anyway? "But I guess that makes sense."

Greg leaned against the nearest wall with a sigh. "Again, sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude." Like a little jerk on the shoulder could hurt her. He cleared his throat. "A-Anyway, you wanted to see Steven, right? Because that's cool. Come on."

For a split second, Amethyst almost blurts out that no, that wasn't it. That all she wanted right now was some Lil' Butler reruns and junk food to take her mind off things. But Greg stopped wanting to hang with her after he and Rose got together- and who could blame him, anyway? She'd never be nearly as amazing a gem as Rose was- so it wouldn't do her any good to say anything. It'd only lead to more heartbreak. "Lead on, dude."

As it turns out, baby humans (er, half-humans) get their own little spaces (or 'rooms', in the average household), which kinda makes sense. But Amethyst grew up in a hole, and then, later, the piles of junk she called her own, so she didn't really have much experience to compare though.

"Wait, is it in a mini-jail cell? Dude, that's so hardcore." Amethyst found herself grinning like an idiot at the wooden cage holding the tiniest human she's ever seen in her life because, come on, he's still part gem. It doesn't even have a roof. It'll never hold him. "What it'd do?"

"It's not a jail cell, Amethyst. It's a bed. The bars make it so he can't roll off."

She scanned the distance between the bed and the floor disinterestedly. "A fall like that wouldn't even leave a scratch on 'em."

"Babies are fragile, Amethyst. A fall like that could hurt one very easily." He gently picked the baby up, blanket and all, and held him out with a smile. "You wanna hold him?"

"Pfft. No." She'd crush him. If a fall like that could hurt him, being held by her would destroy him. Amethyst was sure of it.

Steven's tiny hands curled up in the blanket and pulled it up and over his gem. Amethyst was suddenly hyper-aware of a dirt stain on her shoe. "He do that often?"

Greg nodded sadly. "All the time. I guess it's for the best, though. He can't exactly go walking around with his gem hanging out."

She wants to disagree. Wants to rant and rave about how proud he should be, being part gem, being related to the gem his mother was, but he has a point. This wasn't Homeworld. Rules are different here. (Not that she knew what Homeworld was like personally, but whatever. That wasn't the point.) "Whatever."

Greg gently set him back in the jail-bed, pulling the blanket up and tucking it under his chin. "There." He patted his stomach soothingly. "Much better."

"I... just don't know what to do anymore, Amethyst." He sighed, running a hand across his head in frustration. "What am I gonna do? I can't enroll him in school like this, or give him a normal childhood like I'd hoped to. I just... how do I raise him all on my own?"

He's asking the wrong gem. Amethyst wasn't 'raised'. She was made. And not even in the good way, like Garnet and Pearl. They'd know what to do. At least, normally they would. Now wasn't exactly the best time.

She put a hand on her hip- force of habit- and looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Her bangs fell over her eye. She let them. "Raise 'em however you want." She said with a shrug. "He's your kid, after all."

Greg was quiet for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just wish she was here to help me, is all." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, did you find what you were looking for?"

A temporary distraction from the angst and pain floating around the temple? Yes. Peace of mind? Never. Thousands of years worth of support and love couldn't make her feel whole again. Not that she ever was. "Sure. let's go with that."

Before Rose, Greg would've asked her what was wrong. But those times are gone now, so he merely nods his head. "I'll show you the door."

Amethyst goes to follow, but a tugging stops her. It's not nearly enough to actually hurt her, obviously, but the sting of hair being pulled still annoys the crud out of her.

"Ow. What the-"

At some point during their exchange Amethyst stepped to close to the jail-bed and Steven, awake and surprisingly mobile, has a tiny hand knotted in her long hair, the blanket draped across his back.

She glares at the baby over her shoulder but didn't move to untangle the hand. "Okay. I'll bite. Why is he pulling my hair?"

"I dunno." Greg raised his hands in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. "'Cause he wants to?"

And if that wasn't her life motto in a single sentence. Amethyst found herself laughing like a loon while she ever so gently removed his fingers from her hair. "I think we're gonna get along just fine, little dude." She winced as he grabbed one of her fingers and squeezed it as hard as he could. "As long as you stop doing stuff like that, that is."

"I know that feel, dude."

Amethyst paced the floor in front of the baby currently perched on the counter. She pulled open the fridge in search of food.

"I mean, you don't know I know that feel yet, and you don't know you know that feel yet, but you will. One of these days, when you're older, you'll realize that people and gems both will hear your story and pity you because of it. Or hate your guts. It depends, I guess."

She shrugged and pulled out a bowl of food that crunched when she put a handful of it in her mouth and chewed even though it probably wasn't supposed to. She swallowed.

"Anyway, those guys are gonna try and put you down because of who you are and where you come from, and you can't let 'em do that, you hear me? Ever. Because, once they get to you, you can't dig yourself back out. You're stuck that way until you can get yourself out of that rut." How did a person dig themselves out, anyway? 'Cause Amethyst could certainly use a couple of tips.

Not that she was speaking from personal experience or anything. Nope. Amethyst was a wall; nobody could break through except for herself.

"So if somebody starts trying to put you down, don't listen to 'em. Just knock 'em out cold." Which Amethyst personally considers to be pretty solid advice, but, as this is Rose Quartz's son, she's suddenly aware of the fact that chances are he's going to be a lover, not a fighter. "Or just call me. I mean, I'm always for a little extra fun in my day." And if it made it possible for one less ball of angst to be wandering around, then all the better.

"Having fun?"

Amethyst has the decency to jump despite not being all that surprised. Garnet has a habit of appearing wherever there was trouble. Or, if no trouble was present, then wherever she felt like appearing. Finding her standing in the doorway while she did her best to rip her heart open without actually ripping it open wasn't anything all that surprising.

"Hey, he's never to young for his first pep-talk."

Garnet tilted her head towards her in silent recognition but otherwise didn't comment. "Why is he here, anyway?"

"Greg decided to give babysitting a try." She shrugged. "Apparently some humans let other humans- or gems- take care of their offspring sometimes, and he seemed to think I'd be a good candidate."

"And you... agreed?"

"Meh. Why not? I can be responsible when I gotta be." Wait, no. That'd sounded better in her head. "Hey, did you know that babies can't eat most stuff when their little? It kinda sucks; I was really looking forward to showing him some food his dad doesn't have."

Garnet seems to read what she's thinking, rather than what she's saying, and nods her head. "It has been rather... quiet around here. A change in routine might be just the thing we need."

Amethyst goes to reply, but the fusion's head is cocked to the side, listening to voices that are in no one's head but her own. "Hey... Is everything okay?"

Garnet slowly nods her head. "We... are trying to work things out."

"Wait. Ruby and Sapphire? Having an argument?" She scoffed. "I don't believe it."

"We don't argue." She defends. "Not exactly. We have different opinions, sometimes. We talk them out. It's that simple. But it's givin' me a headache; dealin' with two completely different conversations at once."

"Then don't." Amethyst shrugs. Sometimes she feels a bit envious of Garnet- she's never going to have to feel alone; is never forced to go through the same pain Amethyst does without any help- but now is not one of those times. "Go find a quiet room somewhere and work it out. The world won't end if you do." Hopefully. Amethyst wasn't the future-seer here.

"You... might have a point. You gonna be okay alone with the kid?"

Amethyst put a hand on her hip. "Hey. Give me some credit." She wouldn't kill off Rose Quartz's only offspring- accidentally or otherwise. Did Garnet not trust her? Of course she didn't trust her; she was the irresponsible not-gem that needed to learn how to 'act like a proper gem'. That was one lecture she'd heard plenty of times before.

Garnet didn't say as much, but Amethyst could feel something of the sort hovering in the air. Maybe it was just her. Maybe it wasn't. It probably wasn't, though. "Alright. Don't go running off without myself or Pearl, you hear me? He's too small for anything just yet."

Then, with a hand to her head, massaging the bridge of her nose, she slowly trailed out of the room. Steven made a noise that she recognized as that 'baby talk' thing Greg had warned her about.

"Eh. Don't worry 'bout it. Garnet usually has a better head on her shoulders. She'll be back to normal in a coupla days."

She picked him up as gently as possible and cradled him to her chest. "In the meantime, I'll just have to settle with introducing you to the wonders of TV. You'll thank me when you're older."

Amethyst flopped on the couch and slung an arm around the back. She grabbed the remote. "Now, what to watch..."

She powered the TV on and started searching the channels at an annoyingly low volume rather than prod the moping beast when a soft snore made her glance to the right.

Steven was curled against her side, head on her thigh, snoring quietly. Amethyst crossed her arms. "If this is your way of saying I bored you to sleep, it's not funny."

The baby made a noise relatively close to a 'snrk'. Amethyst eyed him, shrugged, then flopped down on the couch next to him. "A nap sounds pretty good, actually."

She stared at the ceiling a few minutes, then tilted her head back to stare at the back of his head. "I'm not gonna lie, little man. Kinda want you to be like her. But, at the same time, nobody could ever be as awesome as she was."

Steven curled his tiny fist in a blotch of hair that had fallen over him by accident. Amethyst closed her eyes and did her best to try and fall asleep.

Author's Note: So... my first Steven Universe 'fic.

I'm fairly sure Garnet's O.O.C., but I'm trying. Amethyst isn't as wacky as she normally is, but I guess Rose can count as an excuse for that? I dunno.

Not going to lie, I'm going a bit out of my comfort zone here. Normally I leave fandoms like Steven Universe alone because I'm not nearly as well-versed in the intricacies as the more hardcore, older fans. Keep that in mind, please.

This is going to be a three chapter thing, by the way. Expect more in the future.

A few months ago I would look at the commercials for new episodes and think the show was so sugary that I wouldn't be able to stand it. Now I'm writing a fluffy, slightly angst-y 'fic and am incredibly aware of the fact that it's probably not angst-y enough. It's funny how that works.

No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!