A/N: you don't go to a butcher for cricket tips, likewise you don't come to me for relationship advice, BUT be very wary of poly relationships, know your worth and make sure the love your getting is healthy, etc, etc - keep an eye out for "unicorn hunters".

As always, if you like this, check out my music - just search "Red Robotix".

"No, please, no! No, no, we're all gonna be-"

"Yo, 4, you okay?" A fellow Nephrite asked her captain.

She appeared distant, her single eye-gem scanning across the airspace around Earth. Their ship, the Fleetfoot, was ready to return for a dry-dock, carrying assorted supplies and gifts from Homeworld. The supply run had become more ceremonial as of late, due to the lower number of Gem refugees. In the 4 years following the Diamond's peace with Earth, Gem and humankind had grown close. Mediated by none other than the Crystal Gems, dignitaries from either race met and granted citizenship and zones on the planet fit for gem habitation.

The first of these zones would grow into what later became known as "Little Homeworld", a sister-city to Beach City.

Nephrite, Facet-413, Cabochon-12, liked Little Homeworld. She and her crew had a little apartment there. It felt… Homely, as best she could describe it. Nephrite, called "4" (or "Captain", or "Cap!") by her crew, loved tending to her garden out front. It let people know it was the Nephrite's. More than that, inherently, she felt drawn to Earth's quiet chaos. No one day was ever truly the same on that rock - be it variations in patterns, weather events, or even just a simple wave from a friend.

She and her crew maintained a regular routine, even before The Rebellion; but that was always being toyed with, changed. It did upset them all for a time, but they grew used to it - adapted to it, and, in 4's case, learned to love it.

"I'm uh… Well, yeah, I'm okay. Just some bad memories is all," she replied, staunching the quiet chittering of her teeth. That was a thread of chaos she would have eschewed, if given the choice. Even amongst the Homeworld returners from Earth, they had to train themselves to be rid of habits from corruption.

Amongst the deep grinding of her jaw, 4 could still eat (and enjoy) food; though she had to keep her saliva production down to a minimum. The foundations of their original house did not forgive the acidic spray.

Though, Gems at large learnt to take a note from humans - adaptability, in particular. Tools, where they could use them, as well. To abstain from chittering, 4 took up chewing gum (strawberry was her favourite flavour), and to quell more primal instincts, she forced herself to focus on uncorrupted memories.

"FC5, prepare for landing. PX7, reduce thrust velocity. And FC7?" 4 directed her crew - two of her fellow Nephrites, and a Peridot. FC7, or "Lucky", as she liked to be called when off-mission, cranked her head back, hands at the communications of the Fleetfoot.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Call in some friends. How's a party sound?"

(...)

As night fell on Little Homeworld, so did the bass drop. The newest gem-soundsystem to grace Earth's atmosphere was installed in 4's house, bursting with both human and alien tunes. She kept her guests and crew entertained, serving out food and drink where needed, trying her best to get out of her own head. Her eye kept darting around however, praying that someone special would show up.

She remembered him, Steven. Her saviour, to put it lightly. The boy, now man, who adorned her gem with his spittle - granting her the ability to think once again. Nephrite found it hard to put into words, and harder to commit to the thought as well, but she knew she liked him. She honestly felt no need to classify it any deeper than that. The deeper she dug, the more she'd fret, the more she'd relapse into her chittering past. She also knew he was taken, to a certain degree, but that many other gems and humans had their stake in him as well.

She figured the festivities would draw him, whether as a mediator or as a party-goer. The open invite had already attracted members of the "original" Crystal Gems - Peridot and Garnet, who appeared to be in a heated, yet friendly debate.

She was in the midst of stuffing some CHAAAAPS! in her face as she began to fret, the tell-tale saliva in her mouth beginning to burn. She excused herself from her crewmates and hurried outside, spitting out the vile acid onto the dirt of their ground-floor garden, careful not to destroy her plants.

Nephrite chittered with anger as that spittle melted and mottled the ground beneath it, fading quickly as she raised her single, glowing eye up - to see Steven, of all people. He was wide-eyed back at her, showing clear concern, solo, it seemed.

"Uh… Hey, Cen-uh, Nephrite. Everything okay?" He asked, his baritone sing-song sweeping the gem off her light-formed feet, calming her instantly. She wiped her mouth, and blushed, as best a gem could, stuttering.

"Y-yeah, totally. Just… Spittin' in the garden. You know how it is, right?" She answered, clicking her fingers at him, sending a one-eyed wink his way. A short laugh had to force its way out from his throat, but he relented in questioning her, quickly realising he'd only make matters worse by doing so.

"Pfft, of course. Everyone knows how good garden spittin' is!" He joked, spitting in the gem's garden, a vibrant sunflower immediately sprouting from the burnt earth. That damned flower seemed to thicken their tension, somehow, openly and proudly displaying its petals as if to say "what now, chumps?"

Steven plucked the proud blossom from the ground, healed it's stem with more of his magic mouth-water, and delicately placed the freshly cut plant into the fold of 4's jacket.

"There; now it's a funflower, because you're tonnes of fun, Nephrite!"

She tried her hardest to laugh at the joke, but failed, squirming in her boots, desperately working the courage to ask him what she wanted to; whatever the hell that question was. To cut the crap. 'Wanna date?' 'Want to join me on my next trip off-planet?' 'Wanna meet the crew'-wait…

"You… Uh, you good if I join the party? Or do you not want me cramping your style?" He asked, casually rubbing the back of his head, showing the Captain a perfect view of his bicep.

"Yeah, I mean, no? Damn, uh… Just come in-do you want to meet my crew? I-I don't think I've introduced you yet!" She stammered out, fighting her stained gem's urge to salivate, to burn herself. Steven's smile perked up, practically beaming, calming her again.

"Sounds good. I brought some alcohol in case there were a few gems who wanted to try some…"

Their introductions, as brief as they were, went well. Steven felt bad that he hadn't got to see the crew sooner, but had found little time to visit as he did all those years ago, teaching wayward gems.

Soon he spoke of what he did for a living; having been officially contracted by the government to locate and rehabilitate corrupted gems, as few as there were now. He maintained steady music practice, and even had a few radio hits under his belt, following in the footsteps of his father.

The balance brought him joy and security, a chance to help others and to discover what else he wanted to for the rest of his life. The government ties would also help when Connie no doubt run for office, he joked. Steven wandered, spreading out with the core of the Crystal Gems at his side, as lovers, so he put it, occasionally meeting with friends, old and new.

Nephrite, on the other hand, told him of her routine back as a captain, a certain pirate party she'd ran into a few times, the marvels of space, and the freedoms of a 4-day work week. Hell, what a week was, in general.

She told him of the time she had to test, sample of Earth's bounties and quests, it's jobs and roles, and where she could see herself going as the years went on. Nephrite opened herself up about the existential dread of running out of things to do, as she and all gems were functionally immortal, but had her fears quickly settled again.

"I mean, suppose the world doesn't end in a couple billion years and you guys are still standing - what's still left is other worlds, hopefully other societies where our descendants could travel to, with you. Failing that, there's always talk… Conversations, sharing your experiences with everyone around you - so you have to multiply your years of life against the time it takes to talk it out," He rambled on, deep in thought, drink in hand. Nephrite hung off every word, staring at him unblinkingly.

"S-so what you're saying is that it's going to be a while before I run out of things to do here, huh?"

"In a way, yeah. I don't care how old you are, a billion years is a long time. So, don't fret over it. Time spent with friends, like now, is time enjoyed," he smiled to her, a hint of red dusting his cheeks. She felt that forest-green tint come back to hers as well, and averted her gaze, sipping idly.

They seemed more relaxed now in the presence of the other - sequestered in another room under the guise of getting party supplies. Steven's body was less tense, possibly sparked by his inebriation, but flowed funkier, all the same. Nephrite found herself laughing at more and more of his terrible puns, what she'd come to know as "dad" humour, and enjoying the ambient warmth he seemed to bring.

Despite this, she still felt something off about their conversation. As if he knew her, but failed to recognise what they'd been through together. As if he treated the corrupted entity he knew as "Centipeetle" as a different being altogether. Nephrite didn't like it, hated that feeling of being forgotten, but bit her tongue, already feeling her unease return.

"So, um… How long do you think you'll be in town for?" She asked.

He furrowed his brow, smile slowly fading.

"Can't say for certain, but a few months, at the least. Mainly I'm here while Connie's studying for her finals, then going on her break. After that we'll be travelling the state to try and get her support as governor of Delmarva, and after that, presidency," he murmured, knowing off-hand that Amethyst was still on her round-the-world trip, and that Bismuth and Lapis were off in Japan somewhere.

Nephrite remained unfazed, trying to link back to where she'd heard the term "presidency" before.

"Why do you ask?"

She gulped, already feeling her melting saliva boiling at the back of her throat, and tried to settle herself.

"Um… Oh, it's I… krkrkrkr-I wanted to see if you'd like to-krkrkr-" She chittered and chattered, acid spit flying towards Steven. The corrosive green liquid scorched his cheek, and he reeled back in pain, cursing to himself, quickly lathering the wound with his own saliva. Embarrassed, shocked, and ashamed, Nephrite had a brief moment of regret that was overshadowed by the urge to escape this situation.

Hot tears streaking in her eye, she bolted out her back door, trying so very hard to stem the production of that putrid acid, hands covering her mouth. She was followed quick, those thunderous footfalls belonging to none other than the man she had her eyes on this night. Already losing ground to him, she just stopped in her tracks, closing her eye in defeat.

"Centi! Wait!" She heard him shout, the name bringing her straight back her corrupted memories. Of the hard times. She turned back to him, slowly, and he bit back a gasp, noticing the burns on her hands, and the slowly dying trail of neon-green spit, trailing to her. Without words, he licked his hands and slow clasped either side of the gem's face, staring away from her as to not make her uncomfortable.

"Ce-uh… Nephrite, is everything alright?"

She looked at him, got him to look at her, in her state, and held her arms open, as if to say "what do you think!?"

"R-right, sorry… I'm… I'm sorry if I… Made you do this," he apologised to her. The green gem couldn't help but tear up further at that - why the hell was he apologising? He had no idea why this happened, even though he was the indirect source of it. She took a moment to calm herself, the healing magic of Steven's saliva coursing through her gem.

It soothed her like nothing else, and soon, she spat the last of her spit onto the ground, finally mustering the courage to speak again.

"I'm sorry. I-I… krkr-" She stopped herself once more, cupping a hand over her mouth. Steven was quick this time, with another helping of healing spit to the gem's light-form. She calmed again, and sighed, the very words she wanted to utter poisoning her throat. Her mood changed quickly as she fumbled about in her pockets, finding her gem-made PDA, and hastily typing a message out for Steven.

He took the datapad from her, and chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry - still can't read gem-glyph!"

She laughed at him, realising the scribbles on the pad were just that to him - scribbles of a foreign language. They shared a quiet chuckle or two, and felt the tension rise from them, lifting their moods.

"I… Don't we know each other, Steven? Don't you… Remember me?"

It stung him, that question did. He immediately removed his arms from her, and looked down to the ground, crestfallen.

"Of course I do! It… I'm… I'm sorry, I've just had bad run-ins with gem's pasts before, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to trigger anything with you - I didn't want to upset you, Nephrite," he uttered, voice low, wracked with guilt. With the aide, 4 finally put the pieces together in her head, and sighed.

"Back when I was Centipeetle… S-Steven, I get it, and I really do appreciate it, but why bury everything? Why start fresh? My past still is, and will forever be my past. I can't escape from it - and I'm… I try, I try really, really hard to not let it hurt me," she spoke, putting her hands on his massive shoulders now, getting him to face her once more.

"Y'know, of all people, I should've been the first to realise it," he mumbled, "you're right - you can't ignore your past… I'm sorry. I really am, I… Well, let's put it to rest - what do you prefer to be called, then? I figured that Centipeetle would be out of the question, so what about Centi?"

She smiled at him, wiping the tears from her eye.

"I like Centi. Really, anything that isn't Nephrite," she giggled, sighing again. Immediately, Steven could sense there was something else, something the once corrupted gem wanted to speak about.

"I also… Wanted to know about… I wanted to… What's, uh…" She stammered out, cursing quietly, an ungodly heat rising to her cheeks.

"Do you wanna go somewhere else?" He asked her, 4 responding with naught but a nod.

She directed him back to her place, up to her bedroom's balcony, and had him leap up with her in his arms. There they sat against the walls, staring up to the starry sky, Nephrite holding a potted plant between her legs. The dull thuds of the music below aided in settling them both, and it wasn't long before they felt comfortable speaking again.

"It hasn't been easy on either of us, has it?" Centi spoke, tracing errant circles in the dirt of her pot. Steven sighed, and wrapped a hand 'round her shoulder, hugging her close to himself.

"No. It hasn't. It's gotten better, and with more experience, it's gotten easier to deal with the bad things. I'm… Just kinda surprised I made it through 16, y'know?" He confessed to Centi, not looking down to see her blushing at their contact. With her shining eye, she gulped, staring up at him.

"How do you mean?"

"Had a rough year, that year. The war finished, but I still had to deal with mom's problems. I still had to clean up after every little mistake she made, still had to take care of my friends. Or, I felt like I did, at least. It… Put a strain on just about every relationship I had, and put me in a very, very dark place," he continued, voice low, thinking back on his all-but-shattered psyche.

"How… How did you get through it?" She asked.

"It was… Roughly about the point where Connie and I were close to breaking up. I'd gone berserk, went pink, and… Said some awful things, some hurtful things that I don't ever want to repeat… We went on break, and I got counselling. I was just lucky enough to have a support group that made sure I went to my sessions, helping me when I relapsed, and…"

He smiled, looking back down at Centi.

"I… Made it out alive. And now the majority of my support group is my big, weird, happy family," he chuckled, his gem glowing with emotion. 4 stared down at the shimmering gem of the Diamond, and blinked in awe, staring back up at him.

"W-Well, I-I'm glad. And I'm glad that you're here, Steven."

"Thanks, Centi. So, have you got anyone special in your life?" He questioned, almost teasing.

The captain sunk further, kicking her feet out to the balcony's fencing, grunting.

"Not really. Tried something with a couple of different people over the last few years but… Couldn't really connect with anyone. Kept some as friends though, which is nice - I think you might know a Ronnie? They're nice… B-but… Yeah, no one at the moment," she answered, darting her gaze around as she relayed her experience, finally landing her eye back on him.

"Ah, sorry to hear. Don't worry though, there's someone out there for you! I mean you're cute, you've got a nice voice, and you always seem to find wherever the fun's at, which is pretty cool!" He cheered her up, making her blush again.

"You think I'm cute, huh?"

"Of course I do. Anybody with sight would think that, too," he confessed, smiling, as if it were nothing. She sighed again, mustering the courage to speak, and gently clasped the pot between her legs, stroking the leaves of a mint bush, a prostanthera.

"I mean… Funny you should mention that, I threw this whole she-bang together to ask you out."

He snapped his gaze back to her, eyes wide in shock. He was taken aback by the forwardness of the gem, and her horrible pronunciation of "shebang" - stammering a while before he could come up with a proper response.

"I… Listen, Centi, we go through a… Weird process before we let people join our… Our thing... I'd love for us to get to know each other better, but it's gotta go through everyone else first," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, whipping his phone out to text their group chat.

Her heart leapt in her chest, not believing the young human's words.

"Wh-You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course! Just so you're aware though, it's… I mean, everyone's kinda… With everyone; I'm just letting you know now so you know what's up, and no one's going to think less of you if you decide it's not your fit," He explained, being as clear and as gentle as he could, beaming.

Nephrite examined who she already knew was part of their clique, and furrowed her brow, deep in thought.

"Well… Who else is in this thing?"

Bonus:

10:52PM - Garnet

Yes.

10:53PM - Steven

Hey guys - Nephrite's asked me out

Going to slowly introduce her to this if she wants, if not, no pressure

Y/N?

10:53PM - Steven

Dang it Garnet