Steven's crystal gems

Jasper

This is an AU chapter. It mentions the same characters, but they're all human. They also retain their normal appearances.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"You sure you have to go?" asked Steven with a sad face.

"Now Steven, your father and I need some us time." Rose said looking through her purse. "Like when you want to spend time with Connie and your aunts Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are always spying on you."

"Ok." he relented with a sigh.

"In the meantime we found someone to watch you while we're out."

"Who?" Steven asked. "Oh, wait don't tell me, I want to guess. Is it aunt Lapis?"

"No, she and your aunt Peridot are still on their honeymoon in Keystone."

"Well then is it aunt Sapphire?"

"She and Ruby are still trying for a baby, so 'fraid not kiddo."

Steven crossed his arms as he tried anyone else. "Aunt Amethyst?"

"No, she and the others agreed to help yellowtail until his leg heals from his... accident out at sea."

"Well who is it then?"

"Hey, Rose!" a gruff voice called from outside.

"Ah, there she is." smiled Rose putting her purse over her shoulder. "Come on in Jasper."

The door opened to reveal a woman as tall as Rose with a mane of white hair, orange skin with a red shirt on and blue jeans.

"Aunt Jasper." Steven squeaked.

"I'm happy you could come by and watch Steven." smile Rose.

"Got nothing better to do with Peri and Lapis gone. The up side: no more hearing them make their bed creak at night."

"Jasper please. Not in front of Steven." chastised Rose.

"Alright."

"Now Steven. Be good and listen to Jasper, alright?" she spoke crouching down in front of her son. Steven could only gulp. "Take care you two." she waved goodbye before leaving the two alone.

Steven's mom had many lady friends the he saw as aunts, but Jasper was one of the few that scared him. She owned a gym and tended to take working out to an extreme.

"So small fry, anything to do around here?

"Well, watching tv, play games..." listed off Steven.

"Are you kidding, no wonder you're still a butter ball. We gotta whip you into shape."

'Oh no.' thought Steven.

"Go change into your swim trunks and meet me outside."

Steven nodded and sighed as Jasper walked outside.

On the beach Jasper and steven approached the water. "Alright, now I want to do thirty laps from this rock to my Jeep over there."

Steven sighed and tried swimming the distance. After only one lap Steven was panting.

"Come on. It wasn't that far." spoke Jasper with her arms crossed.

"I think my lungs stopped working."

"Fine. Take a moment to breath and then we'll try some jumping jacks."

Steven groaned in dismay.

"After that, fifty push-ups should help."

"Why are you so obsessed with exercise?"

"Because without exercise, you can't be strong." Jasper said with her arms at her waist. "The stronger you are, the longer you live."

"But don't you think there are other things to do in life?"

"Like what?"

"Like video games. Come on, we can stop by the arcade."

Jasper let out a groan. She reluctantly followed as Steven bounded down towards the town.

"What a waste of time and brain cells."

"Ah come on. It's really fun." he smiled running over and starting a game.

"Yes, standing around and pressing buttons. Oh the joy." replied Jasper with sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"Here try, Beat the Meat." Steven showed her a game and handed her two pieces of meat-shaped controllers. "Aunt Garnet holds the high score."

"Pfff, if she has the high score, this'll be easy."

"That's hers up at the top of the scoreboard."

"Alright, it's on. How do I play this stupid game?"

"Just move the meat with the lights when they come on the screen."

"Easy." Jasper stood in front of the screen as it started. "This is a cake walk." Then it started going faster. "Okay this is getting interesting."

Jasper managed to keep up and watched it start to get really fast. "No way am I letting a game get the better of me."

She was getting more into the game as her stamina and endurance were paying off. "Come on body don't quit on me now.

Steven smiled as she eager to beat Garnet's score. "Go Jasper, beat that meat!"

(We writers on Fanfiction do not urge minors to repeat that. We do however find that line funny.)

Jasper caught his words. "Don't talk like that."

[Game Over]

"Gah!" groaned Jasper as she looked at the score. She beat Garnet by one. "Hah! I can't wait to rub this in her face!" she laughed.

*grumble* Steven looked down to his belly. "It's getting close to lunch time."

"Perfect. We can go home and put some real food in you instead of junk." Jasper reached and picked Steven up and propped him on her shoulders before walking out of the arcade.

They went back to the house where Jasper pulled a weird looking blender from her Jeep.

"What's that?"

"It's called a nutribullet. This baby will blend anything into a drinkable meal."

"Like what?"

"Fish, carrots, broccoli, asparagus."

Steven turned green as Jasper started blending them.

"Trust me, this is just what you need." Jasper poured the stuff into a glass and set it in front of Steven. "Drink up."

Steven took the glass and looked down to his stomach. "Forgive me." He gulped it down as best as he could with a grimace. "It tastes like Aunt Ruby smells."

"That means it's working."

"Need something sweet." Steven went over to the fridge for a special treat. "Need cookie cat."

"What are you getting?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Cookie Cat!" cheered steven pulling out his favorite treat.

"Ice cream for lunch? We are definitely jogging after this."

"It's dessert." smiled Steven before taking a bite out of the treat. "You should try one."

"No thanks. Too many trans fats."

"You sure? They're really good."

"The dairy I deal with, but trust me kid if you want to live a long life you need to be smart about your life choices."

"Why are you worried about living a long life?"

Jasper let out a sigh. "Steven, do you know what happens to a person after they die?"

"No." he replied.

"Exactly, no one knows what happens after death."

"But with how much you exercise, how is one ice cream treat gonna affect you?"

"The thing is, I'm not as fearless as everyone might think. The one thing that scares me is dying so I keep myself in peak physical condition so that I stay alive as long as humanly possible. That's why I avoid junk food. I can't stand the thought of cutting my life down by even a single second."

"Well, what about me?"

"What?"

"Look at me. I eat junk food, but I also run and play which burns the extra fat away. I'm still learning from my parents about life, but they taught me that worrying about the future can sometimes be too stressful. There's worrying, and then there's obsession. As long as you know your limitations and don't push beyond them, you can improve just a little each time."

"Hah, you sound just like your mother. Back when we were in the army together, I respected her tactical planning as well as her ability to rally others to her side. Guess that's why we became friends in the first place." Jasper walked over and ruffled his hair.

"So…?" steven held the frozen treat out to her.

"Oh alright." relented Jasper. She took the ice cream and took a bite. "Hmm, not bad."

"Woohoo!" cheered Steven.

Later

Rose returned to the house and walked up the steps.

"It's quiet, too quiet." she unlocked the door and walked in. "Aww."

There resting on the couch was Jasper with Steven cuddling on her side. "I knew he could get through to you."