~Steven's P.O.V~

"Steven, what are you doing with the gem?" I heard Amethyst ask, looking over my shoulder. We'd made it back to the temple a couple of hours ago, and it was already 5:30. Since we'd gone on the mission at seven in the morning, it'd been 11 hours and 30 minutes, but he still wasn't back yet. I slightly fluffed the pillow I'd put the precious stone on before setting it on the edge of my bed, and turned to face her. "I want the gem to be comfy, just in case he can feel anything from the outside world in there," I replied. "After all, he is a couple years younger than me, right? He's probably terrified in there. So, he should feel comfy. Get what I'm saying?" Amethyst shrugged. "Nope," she replied as she walked down the staircase from my room and into the kitchen. "And Steven," she continued as she reached up and grabbed a big bag of chips from the cupboard, "we can't feel anything from the outside world when we retreat into our gems."

I nodded, but left Black Jasper's gem on the pillow anyway. "So, what do you want to do while we wait?" I asked Amethyst. "Oh, how about we watch some Crying Breakfast Friends?" Amethyst shook her head. "I'm going to go rearrange some stuff in my room," she replied casually. We both stared at each other before we both burst into laughter. "Yeah right!" I exclaimed. She ran back up the stairs and sat down next to me on the circular carpet that sat in front of the TV. The new episode depicted a new breakfast friend, a burnt piece of toast. At first, he was depicted as 'not being a good egg' by Pear, Spoon, Waffle, and Bacon, but was later accepted. "Hey, that's just like us and Black Jasper!" Amethyst yelled at the TV. We looked at his gem, before Garnet and Pearl warped into the temple. "No luck on finding Peridot yet," Pearl said glumly as she and Garnet stepped off the warp pad. "Has Black Jasper reformed yet?" Amethyst and I shook our heads, but then his gem began to float.

"Everyone stand back," she said to us. Amethyst and I ran down that stairs and stood behind them. Black Jasper's gem was first seen, then his silhouette and long hair. And then he slowly landed down in the middle of my bed, completely reformed. It was then I realized his gem was on the back of his neck. He turned to face us, and fear shown in his eyes before he jumped off my bed and onto the couch, running to the warp pad. "Please don't poof me again!" he screamed as he stepped onto it. I ran after him, and completely got onto the warp pad just as he activated it. We warped into(or rather, onto) the washing room, where he ran off again. He was a lot more fearless than me; he ran down the temple's closest arm and continued down the rest of them until he reached the beach, then ran toward the boardwalk. I warped back into the temple, then ran outside.

"C'mon you guys, we have to catch him!" I yelled behind me as I ran down the stairs and across the beach after him. When he realized we were behind him, he sped up his pace, running inside the Big Donut. When I walked in, Sadie and Lars ere just doing their normal thing, but Black Jasper wasn't anywhere to be found. "Um, did you guys see a charcoal colored gem? With long black hair, and raven eyes?" Lars and Sadie looked at one another before nervously looking back at me. "No, haven't seen 'em," Lars and Sadie said together. The two shared a second glance before leaned over the counter towards me. "But why do you want to know anyway?" Lars asked, irritation dripping from his voice. "Do you and the gems have something against him?" Sadie angrily elbowed him, looking away. I shook my head. "No, I just...have to make things right with him," I replied sadly. "We misjudged him when we first met on a mission we went on earlier today. And we poofed him when we weren't supposed to. I just wanted him to know that me and the other gems wanted to apologize, that's all."

Sadie looked towards the Employee's Only door, then at Lars, who nodded. She walked around to the door, then came back moments later, hand in hand with Black Jasper. He had tears in his eyes, like he'd just been crying. "He had run inside frantic and told us you were chasing him," Sadie told me. "I just thought the two of you had been playing hide and seek. So we told him to go back there and wait for us to go get him after you'd left." She lead him around the counter, then put his hand in mine. "You tell the gems that he gets extremely scared around new things, okay?" Sadie yelled behind me as we exited the donut shop. When I had closed the door, I looked at one of the tables set up nearby. The rest of the Crystal Gems were there, waiting for us. "Oh, there he is!" Pearl yelled as they all got up and ran over. She frowned, her eyebrows knitting in thought. "But why is he crying?" she asked. I looked up at her. "He was scared of us," I answered. "He thought we were going to poof him again, remember?" Garnet nodded before scooping Black Jasper up in her arms.

~Pearl's P.O.V~

There's never been a quieter time with all the Crystal Gems in the same place other than the walk back to the temple. Black Jasper had gone quiet after a bit of sobbing into Garnet's right shoulder; surprisingly, neither Ruby nor Sapphire showed any disgust towards this. When we finally got to the stairs, Steve and Amethyst ran up them two at a time. "Guys, we're going to set up a spot for him," Amethyst said, a smile spreading across her face. "So, just set him on the couch for now." Garnet carried him inside, plopping down onto the sofa and putting Black Jasper next to her. He looked up at her before staring down at his silver boots. "I'm sorry I ran away," he mumbled. Garnet put her gigantic hand on his slender shoulder. "It's okay," she replied. "You didn't know what we'd do yet." She brushed the hair out of his eyes, and dried away his tears. 'Looks like Sapphire has control,' I thought to myself as I looked at Amethyst and Steven's progress. The two had done a good job on where he'd sleep; they must have pulled one of Greg's mattresses from Amethyst's room while I wasn't looking.

When Garnet picked him up around the waist, he just looked at me nervously before looking back at Garnet. She carried him up to Steven's room and put him down on the mattress, where he began to run his fingers through his hair, almost combing it. When he realized I was looking at him, he began to turn a shade of black cherry. Turning a shade of sky blue, I turned back to Garnet. "So, Black Jasper will be okay with Steven?" I asked. She nodded, showing a slight smile before heading to her room. "Those two'll be peas in a pod in no time," Amethyst said as she exited Steven's room to go to her own. Black Jasper gave me a small wave before I too walked to my room. I returned the wave just as the door to my room closed.

~Black Jasper's P.O.V~

"So, you're really a half-gem?" I asked Steven after he turned off the TV. He nodded. "My mom was Rose Quartz, but my dad was a human," he explained. "I'm actually the first ever half gem, and probably the last." I shrugged. "Maybe, but you never know," I replied. We'd just finished watching a three hour special of Crying Breakfast Friends, a TV show Steven always watches. I really didn't understand it; they all cried over absolutely nothing! "So, what's it like to be the first full gem that's also a boy?" Steven asked me. I glanced toward the temple door, then back at him. "It's pretty normal, I guess," I answered with a shrug. "I don't feel any different from another gem, I've never exactly had a form before this one." I put my head down onto the mattress they gave me and bundled myself up in blankets. "I think we should get some rest," I murmured. I heard hi let out a groan before he climbed into bed. "You know Steven," I said, "I do't know what would've happened if you and the gems hadn't found me in the Kindergarten. But I' glad you did." And before I knew it, I was asleep.