A/N: Oh, you're still here! I swear I'm not one to usually black-mail, honest. I think that based on the chapter title, you can figure out what's going on in this chapter. I forget if this is the longest chapter or another one is. This one is also one of my favorites, for obvious reasons. Enough of me rambling, let's get to the good stuff! Remember to smile! :D

(I don't own Steven Universe)


IV: Epiphany

"Well," Steven began unsurely, eyeing the sizable slash in Amethyst's Gem. It'd appeared that he didn't heal her at all, much to his dismay. The cut in her Gem was as worryingly large as always, and yet instead of some backwards speech or minor bodily disassembling, Amethyst suffered no ill effects beyond the oddness of not suffering any ill effects. "That's what my spit does, right? Heal things?"

Steven's rhetorical question fell on deaf ears as Garnet and Pearl looked at the same wound. Despite his attempt to restore the part of Amethyst's Gem that had been cut away, the cat's (or whatever it'd been; calling it a "cat" no longer seemed logical nor warranted) attack still displayed itself prominently on the shiny surface. That fact was plenty alarming on its own, but the contradictory effect gave bizarre fascination in tandem with concern to the Gems. Amethyst, being the curious Gem that she was, tentatively put a hand on her wound, feeling the sharp break in the stone with a mixture of unease and interest.

Even in the dim yellow glow of the cave's more luminescent stones, Amethyst had no problem discerning the gash in her Gem. A jagged cut weaved its way across the purple surface, giving off pale refractions that looked almost too much like wispy phantoms. The worse part was that there didn't seem to be any actual consequences of having such damage.

Steven would've agreed, finding a conflict in being either happy or worried. On the one hand, Amethyst looked far better than she'd been just moments before, save for her Gem. No longer was she lying still on the ground, her features colorless and empty. Now she sat upright, her eyes full of a new fascination with how she could still see and have a damaged Gem simultaneously. On the other hand, Amethyst still had a damaged Gem. While it didn't appear to have much of an effect on her vitality post-spit, it still faced a state one usually associated with grievances.

"How is that possible?" Pearl questioned aloud, voicing one of the many concerns shared by the others. She squinted at the purple stone, as if the large gash was nothing more than a blur in her vision. Unfortunately, it wasn't. "In all my years, I've never seen… that."

The tall Gem took a tentative step towards Amethyst, but still stood unsurely. If she was being honest, Pearl was waiting for something terrible to transpire. Not necessarily a suspense she wanted, but rather a suspense she wanted to be over with. Ideally, Steven's spit should've just had a major delay, closing up the wound and returning it to its pristine condition after a lengthy pause, but nothing "ideal" seemed to happen since they first entered the caves. Heck, the concept of something going in Pearl's favor seemed to be taunting her, what with how perfectly fine her friend now appeared. "There's… something wrong," she said, trying in vain to discern the problem.

Although it wasn't the most specific statement of confusion, Pearl's disbelief was worded about as well as anyone could currently get. Even Steven could tell that a functioning Gem (the person) with a damaged Gem (the jewel) was a rare anomaly. He might've found some comfort in being fortunate enough to see Amethyst experience this anomaly, were the current surroundings less ominous. Something about being surrounded by an unnaturally dark fog deep underground as mysterious yellow stones pulsated made Amethyst's condition a little unnerving. As if there was more to her restored state than met the eye.

"Did I do that?" Steven inquired with a sudden frown. His healing ability had proven to be inconsistent before; what if this was some kind of half-functioning effect? The surroundings could probably be enough to mess with Steven's head, as had happened before. Instead of perfectly restoring something to its original state or just being a usually unwelcome substance, what if his spit had met in the middle, so to speak? Amethyst's energy had been healed back up, sure; her panicked scrambling away from Steven showed enough of that on its own. But at the same time, somehow, the physical damage of Amethyst's, well, amethyst was still there, jarringly prominent as always.

Suddenly, Steven gasped. "What if I made her a Gem zombie!?"

A short pause followed Steven's worried outburst. Pearl hummed. For the first time in his life, Steven heard Garnet cough. It didn't sound very authentic.

"Rude," Amethyst huffed in response. "We zombies prefer the term 'mortally challenged'."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Pearl quickly stated, hoping to put an end to that theory before it could get too seriously considered. It was more important to do so than initially assumed, considering both Steven and Amethyst's… like-minded mentalities. "I'm certain that Amethyst's condition isn't entirely of your doing, Steven."

Steven, somewhat disappointed that he had to cross "magical evil scientist" off his potential career options, felt that he was still responsible for a large majority of Amethyst's current state. That brought about as much relief as guilt to him. Still worried, Steven looked at Garnet, who'd fallen into a thoughtful silence. Steven noted how the only reason her silence seemed more conspicuous than usual was the environment before speaking up. "But… did I actually heal her? Like, really really?"

Amethyst looked up from her Gem momentarily. "I wanna say yeah," she tried encouraging, but fell short upon further thought. Much as she would've loved to ignore how severe the damage in her Gem appeared, something about how literally broken the jewel was made that a difficult task. More so when she noticed one of the pulsing rocks nearer to her held a disconcerting crack in it. Combined with how cold the inside of her Gem felt, Amethyst believed a little worry at her potential state was still warranted. "But… I- or, at least, it doesn't feel right."

Steven turned his worried gaze back to her, feeling a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. It didn't do much to alleviate his troubled expression. Garnet moved her head just a handful of degrees towards the hopeful boy, choosing her words carefully.

"Technically…" the fusion began before trailing off, looking uncertain. A few seconds after her single word, each Gem snapped their gazes to her with a newly found unease. When Garnet appeared at a loss, there was definitely cause to worry. She hummed, still looking at Amethyst in a way that probably wasn't intended to be nosy, but was still felt in that regard. "Yes and no. She appears restored, but her Gem is still damaged."

Amethyst, attempting to shake off the accusing feeling from Garnet's gaze, frowned at the dark woman. Even after remembering the more Sapphire-like qualities she tended to utilize in dire situations, Amethyst couldn't fully erase an odd, almost paranoid guilt. "Yeah, we kinda already knew that," she shakily affirmed, hand still feeling the oddly cool edges inside her Gem. "Thanks."

Garnet placidly shrugged, then suddenly stiffened, remembering something important. As she turned back towards the remains of the cat-like Gem creature they'd searched for in the first place, Steven returned his face towards Amethyst.

"You feel fine?" he questioned, hoping to make sure there wasn't some monstrous internal effect that'd gone unnoticed from Amethyst's revitalization. It'd seemed more scarily realistic when Steven had some trouble discerning her uneasy expression directed towards Garnet. "No… backwards thoughts, or *kzzrrt*-ing, or… extreme tiredness?"

Amethyst gave the boy an unamused expression. "'Tiredness?'" she stated, deadpan. Steven shrugged. Regardless, Amethyst shrugged back at him with a sigh, looking back down at her damaged Gem. "Nah, nothing like that. Feelin' peachy-keen. Ish."

"So, the same as you always do," Pearl ratified. She nodded her head in affirmation, but still appeared confused. Evidently, she couldn't tell much about the current situation, leaving her somewhat inexperienced and subsequently at a loss as to what should be done. Pearl's confusion was further evidenced when she continued after a hefty delay with a an unsure "…correct?"

Before Amethyst could answer, Steven made to stand up from the ground he'd been pushed to not too long ago. The troubled expression adorning his features shifted to a new kind of conviction, still maintaining its direction towards Amethyst in a way that felt anything but nosy. "Here, maybe I should try again-"

"Wait," Garnet abruptly spoke up, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. She seemingly appeared from nowhere, now holding a filled bubble in her other hand. Mysteriously always being where she was needed made her sudden return a little less surprising, but Amethyst was surprised regardless. "Perhaps it's best if we do something we… know more about."

"Like what?" Amethyst asked for Steven, somewhat cautiously. Even though she knew that it was just some kind of odd paranoia, Amethyst found herself believing Garnet knew something she didn't. Whatever it was, she couldn't tell.

Garnet looked to Pearl for a moment, like she was attempting to convey something important without speaking. Amethyst didn't really get why she remained silent, though knowing Garnet, it could've been for simple dramatic effect. Pearl was about to mimic Amethyst's question before the idea had reached her. She snapped suddenly, almost grinning like the solution was right before them the whole time.

"The fountain!" the tall woman said with questionably justifiable energy. Her smile seemed somewhat unnerving in the dim yellow light to Amethyst, but then again, it was the kind of smile that never looked right in any kind of light. Even Steven appeared a little put off by it. Given that there was really only one "fountain" that could've feasibly been relevant to the current situation, Steven didn't take long to figure out which one Pearl (and probably Garnet) had implied.

"Mom's fountain?" he asked curiously. Pearl nodded. Not that he could see, but Garnet seemed to do the same for just a brief moment, convincing Amethyst that the fusion's odd pause was for dramatic effect. Weirdly, Garnet's less dire approach to Amethyst's restoration eased up the feeling of danger while also strengthening the feeling of suspicion. Suffice to say, the glowing stones of the cave seemed more irritating than frightening now. That seemed just a little familiar.

"Would that be different than me?" Steven asked as a follow up question. He imagined that his mother's tears and his spit had identical effects, albeit with varied accessibility. While he could see why his saliva could be less consistent than the tears of his mother when the latter had existed for multiple millennia, Steven didn't think that they induced very different results. Garnet's basic expression told him a similar story.

"There's a possibility it would not," the dark woman admitted with another shrug. It was a little unnerving with how often she had shrugged in the past half hour. Garnet momentarily adjusted her sunglasses, moving her gaze to Amethyst. For some reason she could hazily discern, the two Gems shared eye contact for a brief couple of seconds before Amethyst turned away, suddenly interested in her damaged Gem once more. Garnet continued after another Garnet-scaled hesitation. "But it's worth a shot."

"Yeah," Steven agreed, finding more satisfaction in Amethyst's potential recovery than his abilities being on-par with his mother's. As undamaged as Amethyst appeared in her static-devoid form, Steven would rest a whole lot better knowing that she was completely restored over seemingly partially.

"Sounds good to me," Amethyst admitted with a shrug. Steven was glad to have her agree, though his conviction wouldn't have been much altered either way. Tempting the fates and assuming the normally heavy hinderance to her Gem was fine was not something he bothered to consider. Especially in Amethyst's case.

"I do hope it works," he heard Pearl mutter under her breath, as though saying it softly reduced the cut's severity. To be honest, that was part of why Steven didn't say anything at all. Whatever the scar in Amethyst's Gem would do, it couldn't be all that pretty. She didn't seem too troubled by the potentially inevitable, according to how she picked at it in a similar fashion to how one subconsciously picks their teeth, though Steven didn't really want to incite any reason for something to actually happen. He tried to make a conscious effort to avoid telling Amethyst she should stop fiddling with her Gem, but his worry wouldn't let him. Thankfully, Pearl spoke up right before Steven could, subsequently taking the words right out of his mouth.

"Amethyst, stop fiddling with your Gem," she told her with the same distaste she usually used when reprimanding Amethyst's more rude habits. Evidently, Pearl's worry at what further effects could befall Amethyst had diminished alongside Garnet's, unlike Steven's. It was a little reassuring to have both admittedly more… professional Gem's act as she was fine. Not to say their concern wasn't there, but Pearl certainly didn't try to imitate the troubled frown of Steven. Amethyst honestly would've assumed the opposite occurrence.

"Oh, chill, P," Amethyst waved off after some moments possibly including taking in Steven's obvious concern. "Ain't gonna do anything. Just got a junked-up Gem. Look." With a shrug, Amethyst set her hands on the ground, shifting her weight more towards the appendages. To emphasize her point of only having a "junked-up Gem", Amethyst swept her legs inwards and propelled herself to a standing position in a confident, controlled manner.

Or, at least, she tried to.

It being as dark as it was in the cavern, no one could really blame her for not seeing the rock she accidentally ended up kicking instead of stepping on. Amethyst still didn't see it, though, meaning that her body's assumed trajectory was a little off, and subsequently her center of gravity. Whatever feelings of exceptional condition she attempted to convey probably didn't hit their mark as her boot slipped backwards in an all-too-familiar way. All Amethyst could do was silence her curse for Steven's sake before falling back to the earth she was so eager to leave.

*thump*

"Huh," Amethyst thought, eyes shut tight. She would've assumed a harsh thud over a softened thump, finding the latter an odd noise for rock to make. After a couple seconds, though, she could tell something was a little off beyond the depressingly usual feeling of free fall. Her second thought, right after "maybe I don't deserve my leg privileges," was the stone being a lot more cushiony and warm than she remembered. Almost comfortable. Curious, Amethyst opened her eyes from bracing, and was met with a worried face rather than dark gloom above her.

She and Steven briefly stared at each other, subconsciously noting the similarity between the current and previous unknown aspects that caused such a bout of staring. More silence followed, filled with curious frowning in a way not all that reminiscent of being upset. About the opposite, in fact. An indistinguishable feeling, but definitely not any form of discomfort. Then Amethyst spoke up after recognizing exactly what occurred.

"Nice, uh, catch."

Steven, noticing how Amethyst's expression didn't really match how deadpan she might've attempted to be, found his frown changing into a nearly embarrassed grin. He gave a bashful shrug, inadvertently bringing his face closer to Amethyst for a brief moment. It's not that he intended to think of her as needing any kind of help, but Steven didn't exactly have a whole lot of time to think before catching her. And in the span of only a few moments, instinct usually won over thought. Not that his decision would've been much different otherwise. Still, Steven didn't let Amethyst's potential loss of dignity bother him too much.

"Thanks," he said almost knowingly in response to Amethyst's incredulity, still wearing a grin. A small chuckle escaped his lips, telling Amethyst that he most definitely wasn't too perturbed by his opportunity to help. It wasn't as degrading as she thought it'd be, weirdly enough. Amethyst crossed her arms, nonetheless making a rather large deal out of blowing the hair out of her face as she did so. Oddly, though, she didn't have much to say for once. She seemed to mutter some kind of grudgingly impressed words at how fast Steven had managed to launch himself before stating she could be put down now. On her feet, mind. Standing. She put a special emphasis on the word "standing" before Steven suddenly shook his head.

"No can do, ma'am," he said, his voice falling back into the failingly gruff tone he'd used back at the start of the caves. While his features formed a frown of duty, he didn't appear all too professional; what his duty was, Amethyst couldn't tell. She was too busy being surprised at Steven's denial.

"S'cuse me?" Amethyst responded skeptically. About a second later, she remembered she was supposed to be accidentally insulted, and frowned in Steven's same dutiful manner. As much as she would've liked to believe she was more successful, Amethyst had a hard time thinking Steven would buy it regardless of how well she executed her expression.

Steven, face still adorned with a respectable attempt at seriousness, shook his head again. If Amethyst wasn't literally in his arms at that point, she might've made at least half an effort to escape them, ironically enough. Thankfully, Steven began to explain himself in his usual Steven-y way before Amethyst was forced to speak up. She didn't trust her mouth right now. Who knew what the "correct response" was in this situation.

"Oh, wait," she suddenly recalled, false vexation melting away. Whatever he was saying came to an unsure stop as he looked back at Amethyst, eyes curious. There wasn't much in her field of vision beyond him, but her gaze was drawn to him in a way that suggested anything else would've been considered irrelevant anyways. "Any kind. Right."

A couple familiar moments of silence took place before Steven cleared his throat and fell back into his dutiful role, not trying to pay any mind to the stare. At least, that's what he dubbed the odd pause he and Amethyst now consistently seemed to share. It was an apt name. If only naming the weird transaction was as easy as ignoring it.

"I don't think you're fully healed," Steven explained to Amethyst, having another go at professionalism. She could admire his determination, but austerity just didn't seem to be his forte. And as she noticed a few seconds after, actually paying attention to what he was saying wasn't Amethyst's forte, either. Still, she forced herself to listen to her friend, awarding her the next part of his statement just in time. "You could still be hurt, or there could be something we just don't know about… uh-" Steven coughed, dropping his voice an octave. "-Ma'am."

Amethyst's expression unconsciously softened as she took in his words. While she did let out a snort from Steven being "serious", it didn't reflect the resounding feeling more accurately conveyed in her face. Whether purposefully or not, Amethyst didn't give much mind to the sudden heat in her cheeks that resulted from Steven's concern, instead focusing on the words themselves. "Daw," she heard herself think, feeling almost like in a dream where one sees their self from the third person. A tad… floaty? "The guy really cares. Go figure."

Steven cleared his throat. "Uh, Amethyst?"

It was a while before Amethyst remembered Steven was actively looking at her, awaiting a comprehensible response. She gave a small "ahem", trying to do similar to Steven and revert to the unamused skepticism she tended to have with relying on others. According to Steven's persistently half-surfaced grin, she didn't perform too well. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment," Amethyst said after a cough. Even Garnet's was more realistic. "…like, a lot. But, ah, I can still walk. Y'know."

Steven considered this fact for a moment, then briefly looked past her at the ground, taking note of the interesting skid marks her boots had etched into the stone. "Um," he drew out unsurely, eyebrow raised. "See, I don't want to insult you or anything, but…"

Amethyst glanced back down at the same patch of white-streaked earth. "Just got up too fast," she muttered, the floaty feeling in her stomach diminishing. It wasn't her fault the cave was so tragically dark. "Y'all were tripping as much as me on the way."

"Fair point," Steven agreed, shrugging his arms once again. A couple moments passed, then Amethyst realized she still wasn't on the ground. She glanced at Steven, giving up at false irritation and instead giving him a genuinely curious expression. To be honest, she didn't entirely mind Steven's grasp (especially when she knew of his sympathetic motivation) but still felt as though he had more to say. Judging by the look on Steven's face, he did. Not exactly suspicious; more thoughtful than guilty. Admittedly, Amethyst could've shrugged it off, but after her and his rather personal talk, she felt like whatever he kept quiet about was at least worth hearing. Being inherently curious, Amethyst jokingly squinted her eyes at him, pretending to interrogate her friend.

Steven purposefully looked about before returning his eyes to Amethyst's. Upon noticing her gaze, he seemed to fidget a bit more; Amethyst could feel that much in his arms, right alongside the comfortable warmth that counteracted the deep underground's oppressive heat. Cozy at it might've been, Amethyst kept her look on him, hoping to coax out an explanation for exactly why he still kept her off the ground. She prompted him to help. "Still got me some legs."

Apparently, Steven had some trouble hearing her words, as he leaned in closer with a confused expression. To be honest, Amethyst didn't remember whispering. Then, seeing as how Steven really didn't seem to get what she said, Amethyst realized she did whisper; who knew why?

"I mean, I really can walk," she tried recovering, hoping her words would overlap the brief second of total befuddlement. "It's sweet—" was that word really in her vocabulary? "—and all, but c'mon, I ain't a damsel."

"I know you can probably walk," Steven finally said, looking equal parts concerned and sheepish. His own expression changed to a more apologetic one, as if he was about to ask Amethyst to please not be upset. She honestly had a hard time thinking of any feasible way Steven could make her. Not that she'd admit it out loud. That being said, Amethyst allowed herself to admit that fact to herself, which was welcome information.

"Heh," Amethyst thought to herself. He never did seem to be any kind of bother as of late, did he? Sure, there were times when Amethyst would prefer to be left alone, but if Steven was the one to accompany her, there always seemed to be a convenient exception just for him. If she bothered to pay much mind outside her currently contained world, Amethyst would've felt another grin plaster itself on her lips. One she would often define as more than a little dumb if she saw it anyone else.

"Amethyst?" the Gem suddenly heard, her own name breaking her thoughts. Ripped back to reality, Amethyst blinked several times, clearing away the rest of her daydream. If she wasn't as distracted as she was, she might've given Steven one of her now patented looks of surprise a whole lot sooner.

"Distracted?" Amethyst thought after another moment, having trouble realizing that was an accurate description. Attempting to juggle her thoughts, Amethyst gave a half-coherent "Huhwah?" to her friend.

Steven snorted at her confused words, but an odd rosiness accompanied his smile. His whole expression now emanated a feeling of nervousness with perfect clarity; but why? Amethyst assumed he knew he would have trouble making her upset at him. Worried, she gave Steven a patient smile, already forgetting that she completely missed whatever he said before (because of him, ironically enough).

"'S'matter, guy?" she tried again, hoping to put the young Gem at ease. It was probably more than obvious that she wasn't exactly furious that Steven continued holding her, but Steven being Steven, he seemed to have trouble realizing this. "You know I'm pretty much zen right now. Kinda."

"I, uh, said…" Steven tried again, his voice perfectly matching his expression. He was definitely anxious about something, but Amethyst still couldn't find what for the life of her. After another lengthy pause, she found her answer. "I kinda want to carry you. I… it's, y'know, important."

Normally, this would be the part where Amethyst would ask why, for several reasons. As it was just proven, she did have her energy back. The only problem she suffered before was literally a rock she didn't see, not being paralyzed from the waist down. And it's not as though the crack in her Gem would magically grow. From a purely analytical point of view, there wasn't much reason for Steven to carry her. But somehow, looking around the shadowy environment, Amethyst didn't think a scientific approach conveyed the whole story.

"How important?" Amethyst asked for clarification, not a shred of skepticism or sarcasm in her voice. She looked at Steven with a curious, almost eager expression. He looked back, lips pulled into a sheepish grin.

"Y'know, just in case," he tried saying casually. Like his earlier seriousness, it wasn't executed very well. "Just… it's really important."

To Amethyst, that was more than a sufficient answer. Her understanding might've had something to do with their earlier conversation, because reading him seemed far easier than it should've been. She could practically hear him say the last two words despite his mouth ceasing movement; "to me."

For just a second, Amethyst could've sworn she heard her own heartbeat.

"…psh, heh." she said after a pause comparable to that of the stare. Now she appeared bashful, doing about as well of a job at hiding it as Steven had been serious. Assuming Steven wouldn't have noticed and most likely being wrong, Amethyst relaxed almost instinctively, trusting her companion's grasp to a degree she wasn't that used to. She kind of wanted to be used to it. "Okay."

Steven seemed to take note of how pressed in to his arms Amethyst hoped she wasn't (while Steven diminished the importance of a reputation to Amethyst, dignity was still something she valued), then shook his head like he was mentally rebooting.

"Okay?" Steven said, evidently not expecting an answer that quickly nor that agreeing. His surprise only lasted for a moment before his back confidently straightened, reinforced with the general positivity Amethyst's simple answer seemed to give him. Whatever apprehension he felt from wanting to carry her now seemed silly in Amethyst's eyes, and admittedly a bit cute, in… some kind of way. Amethyst had as much trouble trying to categorize Steven's adorability as she did remembering a time when he appeared this happy. Not wanting to focus on definitions nor the exact reasons she chose such words to describe him, Amethyst gave her companion an agreeing smile. "Okay! L'es go!"

With that, Steven hiked up his arms, inadvertently jumping Amethyst before his grip strengthened. He evidently had a theme when it came to holding people, because his sudden increase in tightness was akin to his hand holding from earlier; secure, not uncomfortable. And like it was proven to herself before, Amethyst was more appreciative than insulted. While that definitely contributed to the sudden increase in comfort she felt emanating from Steven, it didn't really justify the extent she received. This deep underground in such an eerie environment, nothing really could've justified Amethyst's sudden relaxation, and yet it was experienced anyways.

Steven didn't seem to catch on to Amethyst's slack trust, and according to his wide grin, she guessed he was too busy being plain happy at her answer. It was honestly kind of flattering. The young Gem took three confident steps forward, carrying his equally content friend, then stopped. He briefly looked at Amethyst, appearing nonplussed. Then he turned around, prepared to ask exactly where they were supposed to go.

His question transformed into a confused "What?" at Garnet's grin.

Amethyst surveyed the other Gems' expressions alongside Steven, at as much of a loss as he was at. Garnet stood smirking, arms crossed like she knew something no one else did. Granted, that was par for the course, but it was in a certain manner that seemed downright bizarre. Like she was trying to make it even more obvious that she held some esoteric info, despite that being obvious enough on its own. The feeling of danger to Amethyst evaporated entirely as an effect, but the scarred Gem wasn't feeling particularly relieved at the moment.

Pearl, thankfully, looked a bit less knowledgeable. Ironic enough as that was, she still appeared to be more aware of Garnet's hidden secret than anyone else, in a more curious regard. The tall woman eyed Steven and Amethyst curiously, like she was trying to find the difference between two seemingly identical photos. A bit more invasive than Garnet had felt to have been earlier, but at least Pearl was open about. Probably not on purpose, but Amethyst would take what she could get. Plus, it was an excuse for Amethyst to snuggle herself just a little bit further into Steven's arms, pretending to shy away from the tall Gem's gaze.

Hey, it was what he wanted, anyways. More or less. Probably. Maybe.

Keeping a mental note to maintain suspicions towards the other Gems no matter how cozy she felt, Amethyst rose an eyebrow. A few seconds as compensation for her obvious movement into Steven sped by much faster than a couple of seconds would have, and she moved her eyes back to him in the hope that he might offer some kind of reasoning for the odd combination of their companions' countenances. If his mirrored expression told her anything, Steven didn't know any more than she did. Hopefully his knowledge didn't include exactly how greedily Amethyst took up his offer.

"Uh, guys?" Amethyst questioned, eyeing back at the two Gems uneasily. Call her thin-skinned, but she didn't really like when people stared at her. More so while she was in a more personal moment with her friend. When it was her other friends, Amethyst tended to be more tolerable, but given the recently odd events and even more odd and recent internal feelings, an exception felt perfectly reasonable. "What'cha thinking?"

Garnet laughed exactly one time; a static "heh" with a single bounce of her shoulders. Her smirk seemed to expand too, though it was difficult to tell. The fusion continued grinning in that knowing way as she turned to Pearl for a moment. Steven cocked his head to one side, whispering to Amethyst that he wished he could read people's minds. For the sake of her dignity, Amethyst wished otherwise, but obviously didn't tell Steven that. Just as the youthful Gem opened his mouth to repeat Amethyst's question, Garnet turned back towards them.

"Oh, nothing," she replied, telling everyone that she was definitely thinking something. Garnet was always thinking something; that much was learned a long time ago. Still smiling, the fusion spun on her heel and waved for the others to follow her. "Pad's this way."

The three others looked at her, confused for various reasons. Pearl, still appearing curious, followed closely after, asking "But what do you mean?" as she trailed behind. Not wanting to lose his other companions to the unknown darkness of the caves, Steven made an effort to quickly resume walking behind them. He pointed his confused expression back at Amethyst, wondering exactly what they'd been talking about.

"Beats me," Amethyst shrugged, managing to answer a question Steven never voiced. As true as her answer was, Amethyst could only give a subconscious one. She was too busy trusting Steven's grasp to pay much mind to anything even if she wanted to. Which, to be honest, she didn't. Besides, she didn't assume it to be that pressing of a matter to find out exactly what the other Gems' vague conversation was.

"Wait…" Amethyst thought, frowning for a moment. Her priorities certainly should've been stacked differently, and probably been less hazy, too. "That… can't be right."

After a pause neither she nor Steven decided to fill, Amethyst shrugged again. The action accidentally pressed herself further into Steven, to the point of feeling his heartbeat. Without really knowing why, she became more aware of her own as a result. Doing her best to think of it as a trivial detail, Amethyst continued after another brief pause, trying to appear more confused as an effect from Garnet and Pearl rather than Steven. "Who knows what they're talking about."

Steven's features told her he was in the same boat she tried to be in, appearing contorted in a persistently perplexed manner. "To be honest…" he unsurely stated, half-consciously maneuvering around the various stones and bones that dotted the caves as he walked, "I kinda… forgot about them. That they were there, I mean."

"Huh," Amethyst stated in reply, eyes now fixated on Garnet. Focusing on the square block of hair helped her ignore the near-intoxicating coziness of Steven Amethyst reluctantly recognized, if only for a little bit. Whatever information the fusion kept to herself seemed increasingly important, in a more closure-fulfilling way than dire. It was more than a little obvious that whatever she withheld was all too relevant to something, most likely to something rather recent. Thinking it was something to do with herself felt equal parts paranoid and realistic to Amethyst. "You too?"

Straining his ears to catch the rest of Pearl's mysterious questions, Steven hummed in affirmation. Carrying Amethyst obviously wasn't too usual for him to do (the Gem in question could attest to that), but he didn't seem at all awkward about it. If he thought anything about Amethyst's borderline cuddling was odd, he sure as heck didn't show it. He might've been confused by Garnet's conspicuous nature, but some content from his friend seemed to linger. As an effect, the subtle floaty feeling returned to Amethyst's mind, somewhat muddling her thoughts. Flattered didn't really describe the surprisingly agreeable haze; some feeling that almost persuaded Amethyst to actually cuddle him.

"Don't be weird, me," Amethyst reminded herself.

In her defense, it was mostly Steven's fault she was feeling more "buddy-buddy" with him. When the amount of people she could so thoroughly enjoy the care of amounted to one, she tended to appreciate that one just a little bit more. As would anyone. Plus, this was a "Steven" case, which certainly meant it was special in it's own right. He was.

Looking at him, Amethyst almost bothered to analyze how close her statement was to home before realizing Steven was looking back. Again, that whole "paying attention to Steven" thing was proving to be a bit more difficult as of late, especially in the reaction department. Amethyst was about to offer a cool nod as compensation for that usual pause before a thought occurred to her.

Silently, Amethyst continued looking up at the boy carrying her, a new kind of expression adorning her features. Steven looked back up from her, facing forward while using a cough to diffuse the awkward silence that reigned. He seemed almost thankful that he had an actual objective to use as an excuse for keeping busy. Or, at least, that he had something to reliably focus his efforts on. Whatever the case, Amethyst was thankful for the opportunity to continue looking at him without his noticing, if only to think on her thoughts.

Exciting as that task might've been, Amethyst assumed it to have some correlation to Garnet's hidden info. That, and… that feeling. While she was unable to tell exactly what her own expression was supposed to convey, Amethyst could tell it was tied to the cozy feeling she felt in Steven's arms. The same feeling that distracted her from wondering how literal that coziness was. It was… new, but familiar. Had she not been within such a close proximity to Steven at the moment, Amethyst would've bothered to ponder on the odd sense. Instead, she resorted to her usual mentality of living in the moment.

"It's your fault," Amethyst suddenly concluded, looking pleased with her deductive skills.

"Wha?" Steven questioned back, obviously not understanding. He momentarily switched his outward expression to a nonchalant one when he noticed Pearl looking back towards him and Amethyst in that studious way. Admittedly, it helped Amethyst ignore just a portion of the new feeling, though she wasn't too pleased about it. "What's my fault?"

The total lack of skepticism or defense from Steven was probably why Amethyst laughed like she did. Lightly, and if she was feeling particularly easygoing and honest, borderline softly. Her gaze was directed back to the boy carrying her, somewhat reflecting the ease with which she relaxed in his arms. "'S your fault," she said again, poking his chest in a manner she had trouble describing. Jokingly? "…that we forgot. 'Bout them. Too distracting for your own good."

Evidently, Steven had a hard time categorizing the sudden touch to his sternum as well. "What?" he repeated with an uncertain laugh. Not necessarily unsure, but rather… unknown. Like the poke to his chest, all Amethyst could identify was the general positivity to his voice. Curious as she should've been, though, Amethyst found herself shrugging off the importance of an exact definition. Besides, if there was anything she learned from talking to him earlier, it was that an exact definition wasn't always necessary.

"How'd you figure?" Steven asked her, wearing a grin similar to Amethyst's. For a moment, his pace seemed to slow down, though he sped back up upon noticing how quickly Pearl's form was disappearing into the gloom of the cave. It didn't seem as dark as it was when Amethyst entered the cave. Unconsciously waving a stray bang of hair from her eye, Amethyst opened her mouth to answer Steven. Then her jaw froze in place as she realized that she didn't really have an answer.

"Well… y'know…" she tried stalling, suddenly a bit more self-conscious. Of course, this resulted in her noticing the sudden heat in her face without really preventing it. How convenient. Amethyst attempted to get her thoughts in order, but found that any answer that explained why Steven was distracting was about as accurate as a shotgun. Steven just… was. Distracting, in his own Steven-y way. Sure, that wasn't all too specific, but it was the furthest extent Amethyst knew with certainty.

"I'ma be honest," she began confessing. She briefly paused after those three words, causing Steven to hold onto his equally happy and confused expression for just a little while longer. Thinking, Amethyst knit her eyebrows, attempting to find a way to tell Steven her lack of specifics in the most fitting way. If there was anything she learned from him by now, it was that Steven seemed to understand her more than anyone else, so she bet on that.

Wordlessly, Amethyst rose up her arms and proceeded to wrap them around Steven's neck. She suddenly held herself close to him, burying her head into his shoulder tightly, but not forcefully. "I dunno, man," she said honestly, her voice somewhat muffled. "Ya just are."

Amethyst could feel Steven stop walking, but didn't think it that important to focus on as… well, him. As physically awkward the act of hugging the same person that was carrying her was, nothing felt more natural in Amethyst's long, long life. For what might've been five seconds or five years, she simply kept herself there, embracing her friend, being close to Steven. Being… with him.

"*GASP*"

"Steven!" a voice suddenly called, shattering Amethyst's thoughts. The violet Gem very nearly broke her own neck whipping her head around, instinctively turning towards the noise. It seemed to belong to the barely visible speck on the edge of the gloom. A small triangle peeked out from the fog before Amethyst recognized it as the end of Pearl's nose, subsequently telling her who'd just called her friend's name. "Come on, we don't want you getting lost."

"Oh!" Steven exclaimed in response. Amethyst turned back to him in the same speedy and abrupt way, finding him appearing rather surprised. His cheeks also seemed to gain some more color recently. The boy hummed thoughtfully; a kind of short tune usually attributed to mock busywork. Amethyst could visibly see the moment he recalled walking behind Pearl before he resumed doing just that, with a bit more stiffness in his steps. As logical as it was to see Steven looking back at her, Amethyst was surprised anyways.

Now that he continued his walking, Steven focused his mental efforts back on his friend. At least, it felt that way to Amethyst. It might've had something to do with how her arms were still intertwined behind his back, still technically leaving her in a hug with him.

"Not that I'm complaining," an errant thought resounded through her mind.

"H-hey," she uncertainly stuttered, subsequently cursing herself for stuttering. As a result, Amethyst could feel her face grow warm and most likely darken in color. She tried to save whatever dignity she had left, and hoped her excuse would be sufficient. Ironically, the one of the few things she could be completely certain about since entering the caverns was that her excuse wasn't at all sufficient. "You wanted to be the hero."

Steven muttered some affirmation, or maybe he said it clearly. Maybe Steven didn't say anything at all. Amethyst couldn't tell any which way. There was only one thing she could tell, and it was with the kind of clarity that came with recognizing what sleep or food or TV was. Something about hugging him cleared up a lot of what she now could call confusion as much as denial. It felt way more than right, and yet it was such a simple action. Heck, she's hugged Steven countless times before, but never did they seem to carry the impact as the one Amethyst was still technically engaged in. Suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place; Amethyst clearly figured out how Steven was so distracting. How she seemed to trust him so much, how he never seemed to make her upset even if she tried. How she could bring herself to be so diametrically opposed to her normal demeanor when it came to people.

With three different sources of heat in the same vicinity, Amethyst still shivered.

Quietly, Amethyst looked up at Steven. He currently wasn't facing her, but considering what she just realized, he might as well have unbroken access to her mind regardless. Which made the fact that much more daunting. Suddenly, despite what Amethyst felt might've implied on paper, an awful feeling emanated alongside the "buddy-buddy" feeling she described rather poorly. Awful because it was good; more than good. Great, and very unique.

Dense was also a word that came to mind. No wonder he was the one that she could open up so easily around. How couldn't she have realized it before? Sure, hindsight was 20/20, but looking back, it seemed painfully obvious as to why Amethyst did what she did. Heck, she could look right now and know why being carried by Steven wasn't degrading in the slightest. Moreover, why she was enjoying his grasp.

She was in love with the guy.

"Welp," she thought, about in shock. "I'm goin' to jail."


A/N: Whoo, baby, it only took about 30,000 words! Don't worry, Amethyst isn't actually going to jail; after all, this story is all about justifying this ship in the first place, and gol-darn-it I'll justify the HECK out of this thing if it's the last thing I do. Just go ahead and see for yourself!