The scintillant rays of a new dawn filtered through the shuttered blinds of the beach abode.
"Yawwnnn…hmmmm" Steven was the first to rouse from his tranquil slumber. He tried to stretch out, but the exertion from last night's medical crisis reminded him that that wasn't such a good idea right now.
Even so, the euphoric feeling of knowing that everyone he cherished felt the same way about him caused a huge grin to present itself. No aching muscles were going to bring him down; and his gleaming gem responded to his positive vibes. "'Morning mom" he mumbled to himself.
His eyes adjusted to light; the minuscule dust particles were dancing in the sunlight like the diamond molecules that appear whenever the gems manifest their powers. He delicately propped himself on his non-punctured arm so he could sit up and locate the rest of his family. He didn't have to look far.
Garnet was leaning against the window pane with Pearl curled up and resting her head on her muscular legs. Amethyst was curled up on the foot of the bed with her wild hair creating a makeshift throw. He turned to his right and saw Lapis with her upper body resting on the side of the bed.
On surface it appeared as though they were exhausted from the harrowing ordeal, but upon closer inspection Steven's heart went out to them.
He noticed Amethyst coiling herself in her flowing white locks, shielding herself from whatever maleficent presence in her mind.
Pearl subtly ran her hands through her hair while her eyes were furrowed shut, failing miserably to try and come up with a tactical plan even in her resting state.
Garnet's stoicism couldn't conceal her trembling hands as they nervously grasped Pearl's ballerina-like frame, willing herself not to fail as a protector again.
Lapis was a bit easier to read; her tear-stained face was an obvious clue to her discombobulated mindset. I mean, being a prisoner of war on a foreign planet then to be used as pawn for your non-recognizable home world? It's kind of a surprise she didn't break down a long time ago.
He pondered the situation. "How do I make them feel better?" he thought.
Putting his hand on them and just waking them up would be a no go. That would startle them and that's the worst way to wake up. He closed his eyes and tried to formulate a plan. What usually made him feel better when he was upset, besides food?
"Hmmm…Got it!" he exclaimed inside his head.
He meticulously made his way off the left side of the bed so he wouldn't disturb Amethyst or Lapis; his pajamas felt baggy against his slightly leaner frame.
He stealthily tiptoed over to Garnet, just like a ninja from the new ninja squad. Getting close to her heavyhearted face, he planted a small kiss to her cheek – completely unaware that little diamond sparkles manifested themselves around the point of contact. Immediately, her shoulders relaxed as if she were melting into a pool of ooey-goodness. Her grip on Pearl's upper body loosened up and her whole vibe went from stressed to serene.
Steven gave himself a mental fist pump after witnessing the results of his considerate gesture and went down to Pearl.
Being mindful not to brush up against Garnet's thighs, he tactfully placed another kiss right on her gem…even if his body looked like it was playing twister. He didn't mind the soreness at all when he observed the air around Pearl do a complete one eighty. Her hair went back to her original, pointy style and her breathing was evening out. A content smile revealed itself on her face and matched Steven's giddy grin.
He conscientiously rose his contorted body up, ignoring silent screams of millions of inflamed muscle cells and made his over to Amethyst.
He furrowed his brow in deep thought; this one was going to be tricky. She was curled up pretty tight so there wasn't any opening on her face and he didn't want to risk freaking her out by moving her hair out the way. His thought process was interrupted when he heard mumblings from the purple being.
"…runt…Am not!...no…" he could discern those words, but it didn't make any sense to him; all he knew was that he needed to help his friend quickly.
An opportunity presented itself when she tossed onto her back. Unfortunately it wasn't the countenance he was accustomed to seeing.
Her eyes were closed tight, as if she was trying to dam the oncoming river. Her hands were clenched as if wanting to fight an enemy but couldn't for whatever reason. Steven didn't waste another single minute and delivered a kiss right on her nose. Immediately the tight, troubled coil inside of her released itself and her carefree attitude revealed itself as she resumed her loud snoring.
Steven nodded in satisfaction and went over to Lapis. A fresh set of tears rehydrated the stains that he saw earlier. Quiet whimpers matched her blue mood. Steven remedied that by placing a kiss on her exposed cheek and delicately wiped the tears from one eye.
But nothing about her demeanor changed; if anything she appeared confused.
Steven tried to figure out what went wrong until a blue light emanated from Lapis' gem.
"What the?!" he thought as he turned to look at the rest of his family. And sure enough, all of their gems were glowing and with increasing intensity.
He had to shield his eyes from the brightness. The light was beginning to fade and he quickly scrambled back into bed, which still wasn't a good idea. Just as he laid his head on the fluffy down pillow, the gems started to stir from their slumber.
"Yawwwn…hmmm" Amethyst was the first one to awaken and the first thing she saw was Pearl on Garnet's lap. She snickered to herself when Pearl finally woke up.
"Comfy P?" she laughed, even though Pearl was thoroughly confused at her mirth.
That is until she looked up and saw her reflection in Garnet's shades and realized what she was lying on.
"Good morning Pearl" the leader calmly spoke.
Pearl's cheeks turned bluer than Lapis as she immediately got up and stuttered, "Yes! Uh…Good morning Garnet! Yes…I mean uh"
Amethyst cackled like a hyena and Pearl shot her a death glare.
Lapis stirred due to the noise of their antics and fluttered her eyes open. When she lifted her head, she saw Steven with a big grin on his face as he watched the gems' interact with each other.
"Steven" she said with relief.
That caused everyone else to stop their comedic antics and look at their little brother.
"STEVEN!" they exclaimed.
"Good morning guys!" he said as enthusiastically as he could, all things considered.
Pearl rushed to him and placed her hand on his forehead. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Do you need anything?" she rapidly asked.
"I feel okay, just really sore…and thirsty" he said.
"No surprise there, little guy. You went through a lot last night" Amethyst said as she sat next to him.
"Indeed. Connie's mother instructed that you should rest for five days and that your diet consist of soft foods and soup until your throat has healed" said Pearl.
"Like chocolate pudding?" asked Steven with big, pleading eyes.
Pearl smiled at the boy and said, "Of course. After everything you went through…you can have as much pudding as you want."
Steven smiled at the prospect of eating a mountain of chocolate vanilla swirl pudding, but then realized something. "Wait, you said instructed. Dr. Maheswaran and Connie aren't here? What about dad?"
"No, Connie had to go to tennis practice then school. She said that she'll see you this afternoon. And your father said he had to go check on the car wash and get this whole episode out of his system" explained Pearl.
He slowly sat up and looked down at the living room. Sure enough the ornate bed was gone and everything was put back into its proper place. "Oh…" he responded.
"Don't worry dude, you'll have your girlfriend taking care of you soon enough" Amethyst snickered.
Steven blushed and said, "Uh…I love everyone remember?" Garnet and Pearl chuckled at this, even though Pearl tried to reprimand Amethyst for her comment but it fell on deaf ears.
Lapis just watched the interaction between them; this whole "love" concept was just so…weird to her. "This is love? There's definitely nothing like that on Home World. And what was that tingling sensation earlier?" she thought to herself.
A sudden coughing fit wrought her out of her musings.
"What's wrong Steven?!" asked Pearl.
"My throat…is dry…that's all" he answered.
Pearl dashed downstairs and grabbed one of the electrolyte infused water bottles that Dr. Maheswaran left for him and a red plastic cup. She ran back up and said, "Here" as she filled the cup to the brim.
Amethyst helped him sit up while he drank. "Shoot, you weren't kidding when you said you were thirsty" she commented when he finished all two liters of water. She laid him back down on the bed.
"Well…his cells were bound to be hypertonic after last night" concluded Pearl.
"Uh, wanna speak normal?" asked Amethyst.
"It means that his body was shriveled up" said Garnet.
"We're going to need to get more, as well as soft, nutritious foods for him. Steven, are you well enough to eat?" asked Pearl. Steven nodded and his grumbling tummy extenuated his answer. "Alright, I'm going to the store. I'll be right back."
Steven cringed when she said that. The last time Pearl went shopping alone, she brought back a lot of vegetables and some weird mushy stuff called hummus. He turned over to face Amethyst and his pleading look was enough.
"Way ahead of you bud. Hey Pearl, I'm coming too!"
"Oh no you're not! You'll inhale the whole store."
"That's not true! I'd only inhale the cake section. Plus someone's gotta make sure you don't get any nasty stuff" she countered.
"What? I never get nasty stuff!" she replied.
"Says the gem that doesn't even like to eat!"
"Enough" commanded Garnet. "Both of you go and hurry back. We'll look after him" she said and they complied, Pearl a bit more begrudgingly than Amethyst.
Before leaving, Pearl placed a kiss on his forehead and Amethyst kissed him on the nose. "Don't starve on us bud" Amethyst said as she ruffled his hair. It may have been a joke, but the small crack in her voice when she said it didn't go unnoticed by the gems and spoke of the severity of the situation still at hand. They exited the beach house and went on their way.
After they left, Steven realized that they kissed him in the same areas he did to them. Garnet noticed the cogs turning in his brain and said with a loving tone, "Yes, Steven. We noticed."
He was slightly disappointed, partly because he wanted to be all stealth-like and mostly because he didn't want any credit for it, he just wanted to make them feel better.
He was brought out of his deprecating thoughts when Garnet kissed him on the cheek. He giggled at that and she said, "Thank you Steven. Putting your own welfare aside to make us feel better…we don't deserve that kind of love."
"That's not true! You-"
Garnet put a finger to his lips and shushed him. "I know. But we're still grateful for it." Steven smiled at that.
He looked over at Lapis and frowned a little. She was staring at the floor, with her eyes looking every which way as if she was trying to process what she just heard.
"Lapis?" She regained her focus and looked at the bed-ridden boy.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes Steven, I'm fine. Just…thinking" she replied.
Steven didn't press any further about her cognitive processes but asked Garnet, "Hey Garnet? Why were yours, Amethyst's, Lapis' and Pearl's gems glowing after I kissed you guys?"
Lapis was thinking the exact same thing; she never felt anything like that before.
Garnet blushed a little and cleared her throat. "There's no way Pearl would be able to explain this…" she thought before she began. "Steven, when gems feel an immense surge of happiness, our gems glow to signify that."
"Like how when Ruby and Sapphire were glowing when they fused? Or how I was happy when you guys got me those Cookie Cats?" he asked.
"Exactly" she stated.
"What about when you guys fuse? Your gems glow then" he pointed out.
"That's different. All we need to synchronize is a common objective. For example, Pearl and Amethyst only fused in order to save you from that bird monster. Except in my case or yours and Connie's case…" she finished with a deeper blush.
"So wait…does that mean you guys aren't happy? I didn't see your gems glowing like this before until now."
The room hung heavy with this observant statement. Steven wished he could take back the question. After everything that they went through with the war and whatever else, of course it would be hard for them to be happy.
"Steven, it's not that were not happy. It's just that…we aren't used to expressing ourselves that way." Garnet explained then quickly followed it up with, "And don't you dare think for one second that it has anything to do with you. In fact, you're our greatest source of pleasure. Haven't you noticed how often Pearl blushes around you or how Amethyst always laughs when you're around? And I'm so proud of you that my gems are always faintly glowing."
"But why do you hide it?" he asked.
"Because that how it was on home world" Lapis sadly said. Now she remembered why she never felt this sensation…
"She's right. Back on home world, showing that kind of affection openly was considered taboo. I guess it's still ingrained in us to some degree. But your mother relished that kind of display and encouraged it. Heh, I remember some nights our gems would glow so bright that it would light up the sky."
Steven liked that mental image and said, "Well you guys can glow around me or anyone else anytime you want! Well…except when I'm sleeping…"
Garnet gave him another kiss on the cheek and held her glowing gem hand to it. "We wouldn't have it any other way" she said.
Lapis was still uneasy about all this.
Garnet sensed that something was off with her and said, "I'm going to go out and start cleaning up the debris on the beach. Hopefully Pearl and Amethyst will back soon. Lapis, I'm trusting you with his care."
She nodded and for the time being pushed all of her insecurities aside for Steven's sake.
Garnet went downstairs and picked up three of the oranges that Dr. Maheswaran left for him and a couple of paper towels. "Steven, if you're up to it here are some oranges. Lapis can peel them for you."
He nodded but Lapis just stared at the spherical orange object. It's been eons since she held a piece of fruit.
With that Garnet took her leave and it was just him and her.
He sat up a little against his pillows and asked, "Lapis? Do you know how to peel an orange?"
She sighed and replied, "Truthfully, no. I don't even remember ever holding an orange."
"That's okay! Here, let me show you"
"But Steven, your body…"
"I'll be fine. Besides, now you can have some too!" Lapis reluctantly handed the orange to him and he proceeded to peel it with minimal discomfort. The process fascinated Lapis and the smell from the orange rind was simply delectable.
"Here, try one. I mean if you want. I know gems don't need food and all." He offered a singular curved wedge from his sticky fingers. Lapis took it and popped it in her mouth. Steven observed her with starry eyes as she swallowed the vitamin rich plant flesh.
"It's very refreshing" she concluded as she licked her fingers clean.
He smiled and asked, "Do you want some more?"
She smiled at his generosity and said, "No, thank you. You need this more than I do." He didn't need to be told twice and began to eat. Soon all three oranges were safely tucked away inside his tummy; no doubt all of his mitochondria were utilizing the energy wisely.
"Guess I'd better go wash up" he said as he looked at his citrus smelling hands and orange peel pieces surrounding him.
"No need" she said. Her gem began to glow and she pulled out a stream of water and split it in half. She manipulated the first half over his hands and cheeks, drawing all of the grime off of him. Once he was clean, she floated the murky water over the kitchen sink and dropped it down the drain. Then she bended the second half over the stained areas of his comforter and proceeded to wash it. She gathered all of the orange peel fragments and carried them and the muddy water sphere down to the kitchen, where she properly disposed of them.
When she got back up to his room, he was staring at her starry-eyed.
"So cooool…" he awed and she blushed at the simple complement. And not a moment later, her gem was blazing again with that same bright light.
"Hey, that means you're happy!" he exclaimed, but toned down his enthusiasm when he saw that her face didn't reflect her gem. "Or…are you using your powers again? Either way it's still awesome!"
"Thank you Steven, I'm just…confused more than anything. When you've been taught that feeling this way is wrong... it makes me feel like I'm a bad gem" she said with a downcast look.
"Do you…not like having your gem glow that way?" he asked.
"I love it! And that's what makes this so frustrating!" she exasperated as she ran her hands through her hair.
Steven hated seeing his friend like this, everyone should be able to show how happy they were. That's when he realized something. "Lapis, are we on home world?" he asked.
Lapis gave him a confused look and replied "Steven, you know we're on Earth."
"So since you don't live on home world anymore, that means you don't have to follow home world rules. You have to follow Earth rules! Well…technically you not a human so you don't have to follow our rules. But what I'm saying is that you're free to feel however you want, and no one can make you feel bad so long as you don't allow it."
Lapis marveled at his elementary, yet insightful conclusion. "I'm…free?" she asked still not believing it.
"Yep! So get rid of all of that stinkin' thinkin' and just be yourself!"
Lapis' gem started to glow again, the brightest it's ever been, but she was crying. Before Steven could ask what was wrong she said, "Steven, it's okay, I'm okay. More than okay! Thank you for helping me. I want to feel like this all the time." She wanted to give him a hug, but remembered his body's condition. So she settled on giving him a tender kiss on the other cheek, just like he had done for her.
He chortled and thought, "I knew giving kisses would make'em feel better. That's what they always do to me when I feel down." Then his gem started to glow, creating a beautiful light show with their combined auroras. "Whoaaaa…so this is what Garnet meant" he awed. Even Lapis had diamonds in her eyes as she marveled the scene before her.
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed much to their chagrin.
"Hey Lapis?" asked Steven.
"Yes? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I was just thinking…what are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, I know you're not fond of Earth because of everything that happened to you. If you wanted to leave, then that's your choice."
Her shoulders tensed up when he said that. "Are you…kicking me out?" she asked on the verge of more tears.
Steven quickly backtracked. "No! That's not it! I just want you to be happy. If it were up to me I would want you to stay here with us so I could show you all the good things, like fry bits or the arcade! But it's not and like I said you're free and well…yeah..."
She put her hand on the cheek she bestowed with a kiss and said, "Steven…being with you makes me happy. Thank you for being so thoughtful. I don't know if I could be a crystal gem though…"
Steven couldn't believe that his family would do something like that though. He asked, "Were Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl really the ones who put you in the mirror? Like for real? Because Pearl said she found you at the galaxy warp."
Lapis contemplated for a few minutes, trying to sift through all of her memories over the ages. "Honestly, I don't know. I just know it was during the war and someone from the crystal gem army put me in there as a prisoner. Heh, I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I didn't get destroyed" she bitterly laughed.
Steven noticed the scowl appear her face; it didn't look good on her. He was about to apologize but Lapis beat him to the punch. "You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything. You weren't even there. I guess…in hindsight if your friends were captured by the home world side…they would've experienced the same fate. Why would they let an enemy out of their prison?" she realized.
Steven sighed. "I just wish everyone could love each other and be friends. All fighting does is hurt yourself and others."
Lapis took in what he said. It was naïve, but then again not impossible. I mean, he's friends with humans and gems. She's even his friend.
"Well…I think you're making a good start" she fondly stated.
They reveled in the blissful moment, then Steven asked, "Lapis? Can you do the thing?"
Meanwhile
"I can't believe you actually did that!" grumbled Pearl as she trudged through the sand carrying four bags in each hand.
"What?! That lady said it was free samples!" countered Amethyst as she was trailing the irate gem with her own load.
"Not the whole tray of cookies! Why did you even eat ten bags?!"
"Well SOR-RY! I eat when I'm stressed! Besides, you can generate money out of your gem so what the problem is? Steven's probably wasted away by now because you took ten minutes to decide between steel cut oatmeal and one-minute oatmeal even though they're the same thing!"
"Don't even jo-" Pearl didn't get to finish her comeback, Amethyst had left her in the dust…literally.
"There's no way I'm letting her blame me for being so late!" she declared as she sprinted back to the house. She was able to catch up with the greedy gem due to having longer legs, but they still reached the base of the house at the same time.
"You're late" echoed an imposing voice.
Amethyst and Pearl finally took notice of their surroundings and saw little piles of the spacecraft scattered around the immediate area. Garnet hopped off the biggest pile and walked over to them.
"It's not my fault! She-" they said simultaneously but Garnet held her hand up and stopped their futile explanation.
"I don't care what happened. Let's hurry up and make Steven something to eat. I doubt those oranges will keep him satisfied for much longer" she stated.
The both grumbled in defeat, but Pearl asked "Wait…if you're out here…who's taking care of Steven?"
"Lapis obviously" she answered.
"What?! You can't be serious! How could you leave her alone with him?! What if she tries to brainwash him into thinking we're the bad gems?!" she panicked.
"Pearl, you're being ridiculous. She isn't a threat. If Lapis chooses to be a part of this team, we have to show we can trust her" Garnet explained.
But Pearl wasn't having any of it. She knew she left her alone last night with him, but that was because they were within earshot of anything possibly happening. Garnet was outside! Without a second thought she left the groceries on the shore and catapulted herself onto the beach house deck. She slammed the screen door open (she'll swallow her medicine about not slamming doors from Steven later) and the first thing she heard was moaning.
"Oh no! That witch!" she thought as she ran up the stairs preparing to smite the traitor. When she reached the apex of the steps, she was caught off guard by the intense radiance of their gems. And the sound of Steven's laughter.
"Wha?" she simply said as she beheld the scene in front of her.
"Lapis, no more! My sides hurts!" he squealed as she continued to make those fart noises that were clearly entertaining him. He wrapped his hands around his waist to stifle his vocal gaiety. Once he caught his breath, he opened his eyes that were full of joyful tears and noticed Pearl standing behind Lapis.
"Pearl, you're back!"
Lapis quickly turned around, shocked that she didn't notice her presence.
"Uh" Pearl tried to form coherent words through her gaping mouth until Amethyst barged in the living room and yelled, "Yo Pearl! What's the big idea leaving the stuff behind?!"
"You…you two were glowing" she finally said.
Garnet heard that as she was putting the groceries away and smiled. She saw this as one of the possible outcomes; she'll wait to tell Pearl "I told you so" later.
"Yeah! Isn't it awesome?! Garnet told me when you guys are happy, your gem glows like that! I saw yours and Amethyst's gem glow before you woke up! I'm glad I could make you happy!" he explained.
Pearl just turned blue, and a deep blue at that. "I-I'm going to make you breakfast now. H-how does oatmeal and applesauce s-sound?" she stammered.
"With cinnamon and sugar?" he asked.
"O-of course" she answered and quickly ran downstairs with her arms at her side. She entered the kitchen and took out the necessary supplies.
"Make me some too! Carrying your load was exhausting" said Amethyst as she hopped onto a bar stool.
But Pearl paid her no mind.
"Uh, Earth to P. Did you hear me?" she asked but was still ignored.
Pearl was filling the pot with water, but her mind wasn't concentrating on the water level.
"Steven saw me glow…he saw me glow!" she thought but a firm hand on her shoulder brought her back to her senses.
"I think it's full" Garnet observed.
"Wha? Oh!" she turned off the faucet and poured the excess water out.
"Pearl, it's nothing to be ashamed of, you know that. This isn't home world." Garnet said.
"I know… I'm just so embarrassed. Do have any idea how hard it is not to do…that…when he's around?" she asked while her shoulders slumped.
"I know, but he doesn't see it as something to be embarrassed about. You heard the excitement in voice, he's thrilled by it" Garnet assured.
"…Just like Rose" she softly said with a smile.
"Wanna let me in on the secret?" an annoyed Amethyst asked.
"It's nothing, just enjoying the pleasant light show" Garnet said and Amethyst immediately understood.
"Oh! Well yea, that's always good. What'd be even better is having some OATMEAL IN MY MOUTH" she loudly stated so Pearl wouldn't miss it this time.
"I heard you the first time" she huffed.
It didn't take long for breakfast to be done since she got the one-minute oats and the applesauce was in an individual package.
Pearl combine the hot contents with milk and poured it into a tan ceramic bowl. She placed the bowl on a large plate and put the applesauce next to it.
"Hey! What about mine?" Amethyst asked.
"Fix your own bowl. I'm sure you'd want to add something more to it" she sharply replied.
Amethyst groaned but did as she was told.
Pearl proceeded to carefully walk up the stairs so as to not drop his meal. She placed it on his lap and he said, "Thanks Pearl, it smells great!"
"You're welcome" she said, feeling proud of herself. She, Lapis and Garnet sat around the bed and watched the boy eat like a caterpillar.
"Slow down Steven" chided Garnet but it fell on deaf ears. Understandably so.
"Ah…that hit the spot" he exhaled as he patted his belly.
"Are you sure you don't want anymore?" asked Pearl.
"I'm good, thank you though" he replied.
She grabbed the dishes from him and walked down to the kitchen. When she passed by Amethyst she was stunned at the concoction she created.
"What is that?!" she exclaimed as she stared at the food that could double as a science experiment.
"The Amethyst Special! Wanna try some?" she asked holding a spoonful of the multicolored goop.
"I'll pass" she said as she quickly placed the dishes in the sink and ran back up to Steven's room before she could shove some into her mouth as a sick joke.
"Your loss" she said as she dug in.
Back in Steven's room, everyone was just staring at him. "Uh, guys? I'm okay now, really. You don't need to sit and stare at me" he said.
"Oh, right" blushed Pearl.
"He is right. There's still plenty left to clean up. People will be coming back soon" Garnet stated. "Once Amethyst is done, we'll continue where I left off. Lapis-"
"Wait" she interrupted. "I-I want to help clean up too. I want to help protect Steven's home. So…I know we didn't start off on a good note, but that's in the past and the only way the past won't see today is if I let it go. I want to start a new life here on Earth, and I want to do that by being a member of your team…if you'll have me."
Steven had stars and diamonds in his eyes. Pearl was shocked into silence and Amethyst stopped eating when she heard her little speech.
But Garnet merely smiled and said, "Actually, I was going to ask if you could lend a hand."
She stood up and Lapis followed suite. Garnet extended Sapphire's gem embedded hand out and said, "Welcome to the Crystal Gems, Lapis" Lapis took the hand and shook it. It'll take some time for her to get used to that, but there was no turning back. She finally had a place that she could call home and where she could be free.
"Alright Lapis!" said the young gem hybrid as he gave her a tight hug, then immediately recoiled in pain.
"Steven!" they all said.
"Yeah…still can't do that. But don't worry, I'll have something planned out for your official coronation!" They all smiled at his joyful declaration. "But first things first. You need a star on your outfit! It's our lucky symbol!"
Lapis did as she was told and morphed the dark blue diamond on her dress into a dark blue star, with three points on the top half of her dress and two points on the bottom half.
"It looks great!" Steven exclaimed.
"Thank you Steven" she replied with a smile.
"Hey, I just thought of something. Since I technically regenerated, can I get a new outfit too?" he asked.
"No" everyone said in unison.
His face drooped when they said that. "Why?" he asked.
"It's just…oh I don't know how to say it" Pearl struggled to find the right words, so Garnet jumped in.
"Steven, I don't know if you noticed but every time we regenerate, our outfits show were we got hurt. Pearl's sash covers where she was stabbed and my new jumpsuit reveals where I got hit with that destabilizer. We're used to seeing those kind of changes on us, but not on you. We…don't want to be reminded of what happened to you yesterday every time we look at your outfit."
Steven understood, but then countered, "Well…what if you remember the good things that happened. Like Lapis joining our team or having our gems show how happy we are. Plus, that kind of traumatic event will stick to anybody, regardless if I'm wearing my old outfit."
"He has a point" Amethyst said as she swallowed the last of her meal.
Garnet mulled it over and said, "Alright. Once you're all better we'll go look for a new outfit for you."
"YES! Family shopping trip!" His infectious merry attitude once again ignited a fire inside their gemstones, causing them to glow. And no one stopped it. It created a dazzling aurora that rivaled the northern lights.
They say home is where the heart is, and theirs all belonged to Steven, illusion or not. And they wouldn't have it any other way.
Lapis is now an official member of the team! With lots of fluffiness to boot! Who doesn't love kisses? I figured it's time for a break from all the anguish and heart stopping anxiety, so let's keep this love train going! Stay tuned.
I figured if Steven's healing powers could heal physical injuries, maybe he could heal mental ones as well depending on what he's trying to achieve, such as making them feel better. Just a thought.
Well, this is now my longest chapter. I hope you guys are ok with the length. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and a big shout out to all our service men and women putting their lives on the line to preserve our freedom so we can read, write and enjoy these stories. Thanks so much!
Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network, the only thing I own are my imaginative capabilities.