He was worried.

Yes, the gems didn't always get along. But they never had an argument like this, at least as far as he knew. If they did, they hid it well. Or they could have fought before he was born. He wasn't sure.

And when they did fight, he was there to help them see each other's point of view. There was that time Amethyst secretly wrestled. Garnet and Pearl were upset with her until he intervened. Then he helped Amethyst and Pearl fuse into Opal. He would help Amethyst again later when she showed him where she came from. He had helped Pearl, too, and was sometimes helpful to Garnet.

But this was different. He watched Pearl attempt to make up to Garnet, only to get ignored by the fusion. He had seen Garnet mad before and had even been on the receiving end of her anger. This silent fury frightened him. He couldn't imagine how scared and sorry Pearl must be.

He knew Pearl wasn't guiltless, though. She shouldn't have tricked Garnet. Garnet had every right to be upset.

The pale geml tried so hard to make it up to Garnet. He'd watch her from his bed sometimes. She'd disappear and reappear, occasionally crossing paths with Garnet. Pearl would try to talk. Garnet wouldn't respond.

For a while, Amethyst watched these exchanges with him. Whereas he remained hopeful that Garnet would eventually answer Pearl, Amethyst simply watched the tension quietly. He and Amethyst had fallen asleep one night watching Crying Breakfast Friends. When he woke, he found that the purple gem had left him.

His video games and cartoons kept him occupied as they weren't going on any missions, but they weren't enough to keep his mind off the gems. He tried to read some of the books Connie loaned him. He was sure they would be great if he could just pay attention long enough to get through one. Nothing could hold his focus.

He wanted his family back.

One time he waited for Garnet and Pearl to cross paths again. It took a while, but Pearl came out of her room just as Garnet reappeared on the warp pad. He jumped to his feet and scrambled down the steps, shouting both of their names. For a few brief moments, he held their attention. They looked at him without fear or anger. They were his protectors again, his guardians.

The illusion faded fast, however. When they figured out he didn't actually have anything to say to them, they went their separate ways. Pearl stared as Garnet retreated into her room without a word. She gave Steven a sad smile before taking the warp pad.

What could he do? He had stopped the Crystal Gems' conflicts before, but Pearl and Garnet barely acknowledged him. He knew they had to work things out on their own. How could they, though, if they wouldn't just talk to each other? He didn't know what else to do.

He was helpless.


And so this concludes this short idea I had! I'll be back to work on Rose Petals. Thank you all for reading!