Here we are in the future
Steven indicated as he pulled over on the roadside, just outside of beach city next to the town sign. His trusty Dondai Supremo had carried him so far over the past six years. It was well overdue a break. A break it would get soon.
Removing himself from the drivers seat, he took a deep breath as he looked over the towns distant street lights flickering to life as the sun set behind the pink horizon. It was a stark contrast to little Homeworld, he mused, as he noted the sounds and lights coming from the not so distant town.
Six years had passed and he wasn't afraid to admit he was a little bit apprehensive about suddenly turning up again. No one knew he had even left out to come back to beach city. Not the crystal gems, not his dad. Nobody.
'It's better this way' he thought as he saw some of the last house lights give way to darkness in the town. It had been a great growing experience the last six years but it also brought with it a unique set of problems.
After leaving to find himself and most importantly help himself for a change, things had gone surprisingly well which suited him just fine. It was nice not to have to constantly expect a life or universe threatening event for once in his life. Or be constantly compared to his mom, for that matter.
'Okay so maybe I didn't escape that entirely' he thought as he idly played with the diamond communicator in his pocket.
His fellow diamonds had kept in contact over the years which was annoying at first, especially when they frequently found themselves referring to him as 'Pink'. As time went on though he found himself more accepting and almost eager to hear from them and hear how they and Homeworld were doing in the new Era 3. That wouldn't have been the case though without his therapist.
He had arrived at his new therapy sessions still full of anger and self loathing that was gradually chipped away at as Steven began to understand himself more and more. He learnt about his desire to help others stemmed from a need to mask his own pain and learnt to accept that his parents were flawed beings just like himself, doing what they thought best at the time. It wasn't his fault he had to deal with the fallout but he had learned to cope and discuss his problems as opposed to bottling them up.
Most importantly however, he had learnt about what he wanted. Not what others had imprinted on him through years of expectations and comparisons to his mom and others.
Which led him here, back to where it all started.
He glanced at his watch before letting out another breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding, before getting back in the Dondai Supremo and pulling off. He really hadn't meant to stand around contemplating that long.
Pulling up on the sand at the temple, Steven was surprised to see a silhouette of Garnet on the wooden balcony looking down at him.
'Maybe I shouldn't be surprised actually, she can see the future after all' he thought as he took off his seatbelt and mentally prepared himself for the first face to face conversation he would have with a gem since he left. Sure, video calls were a thing and he'd kept in touch with everyone just to let them know he was doing okay. This was different though, especially with Garnet who probably knew why he was here in the first place. He couldn't exactly postpone it though, so he swung open the car door and stepped out.
"Steven."
The man in question almost astral projected himself out of his body in sheer fright. The years of peace had clearly dulled his senses as standing about two feet from him was Garnet, wearing the smallest hint of a grin at his reaction.
"Garnet! Please don't do that, I'm still half human you know?!"
Garnet took in Steven half scared to death leaning on the door of his car and gave him a small breather, making a small heart shape with her hands. It had the effect she knew it would as Steven smiled and made the same gesture back before enveloping her in a hug which she fervently returned.
"We've all missed you, Steven. I've missed you."
Steven pulled back from the hug to look at Garnet directly.
"I know. I've missed you too. You already know why I'm here though, rig-"
A finger to the lips stopped him mid sentence and he took note of the small tear track on her face.
"We can talk about that in a while. For now, how about we live in the moment?"
He nodded and leaned back into one of his oldest friends before breaking off the hug again as they started to walk up to the place he once called home.
"Is everyone else up?"
Garnet nodded. "Your dad is there, too. You already know he's been stopping by now and then, so you picked a good day to drop in."
A smile settled in place as Steven thought about his dad. "That's nice to know. At least I can get this all out of the way in one go."
They reached the door and stopped short as Garnet let Steven in first, following close behind.
Inside, Steven let himself be immersed in the familiarity and warmth for the brief moment of silence that preceded the words he knew he had wanted to hear in person for so long.
"Schtu-ball!"
If it wasn't for his gem half Steven was sure he would've been knocked clean off his feet but he stood his ground as Greg Universe crashed into him with a bear hug.
"You're here! You're actually here! Garnet said you would be but I didn't really believe it! This is all so sudden, how come you didn't call or let us know you were coming? Are you okay? Did anything happen?"
Steven laughed as he returned the bear hug, listening to his dads rambling questions. Nothing quite beat hearing it all in person. He laughed and pulled back from the hug before responding. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry dad. I didn't let anyone know because- well, it's probably better if I actually say hi to everyone first before I say why."
Greg nodded. "Okay kid, that's fine by me."
Looking past his dad, Steve noticed the scene that had unfolded while he was occupied. Pearl had almost gone into a complete meltdown, crying on Amethyst while she blubbered what sounded like 'my baby' and 'he's back'.
Amethyst for one was taking it quite well and just flashed a simple thumbs up along with a massive grin. "Hey Steven! What's good? Long time no see, huh!"
He chuckled and made his way over. "Hey Amethyst! Yeah, I guess it's been a while. Is… Pearl gonna be okay?"
The purple gem looked down at the distorted face of the referred to Pearl and unceremoniously dropped her from her shoulder before walking over and commencing the secret handshake Steven and herself had come up with all those years ago. "Yeah, she's good."
Steven shook his head and walked to where Pearl was sitting before he was again wrapped in hug. This time with a very emotional gem.
Slowly the tears subsided and Pearl pulled herself away, looking only slightly dishevelled. For someone who was made out of solid light, that is. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, Steven. I know I've talked to you and even seen you on video call but seeing you actually here-"
She cut off as Steven practically picked her up in one of his own bear hugs. "I get it, Pearl. It's amazing to see you too!"
Setting her down they all took a space on the couch before Greg spoke again. "So what brought you back? You've been gone for so long, I thought for sure that you'd settle down somewhere else!"
Steven looked up, humming in thought, thinking on his words a little before responding. "I've finally decided what I want to do with my life. Not what I thought I wanted through my mom's legacy. What I want."
Greg and the gems, except Garnet, leaned in slightly in anticipation and Amethyst couldn't contain herself. "So? What is it? What do you want to do?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Steven wasn't exactly sure how to word what he was about to say. It wasn't exactly going to be what they expected and his hesitance was showing.
"No matter what Steven, we'll support you in whatever you want to do." Pearl said as she smiled reassuringly at him.
'Thanks' thought Steven as he prepared to speak 'but I'm pretty sure you're about to have another breakdown instead'.
He sighed and spoke.
"I'm going to take my place in the great diamond authority"
Silence ensued.
Silence that was only broken as Garnet adjusted her glasses. "Knew it."
Everyone else turned to her, mouths already open in shock as they formulated a response to what they had just heard. Then it all came out at once.
"WHAT?"
Steven braced himself for more words but instead was just greeted with an expectant pause. He'd really thought he was going to have to fight his corner over this, but maybe that wouldn't be the case.
Pearl was the first to ask. "I don't understand, Steven. Why would you want to do that? Wasn't that one of the things you wanted to avoid doing the most?"
Greg followed suit. "She's got a point schtu-ball. I know you wanted to avoid your Mom's problems, isn't this doing the opposite?"
Steven looked at Amethyst next, who just shrugged when she noticed. "Hey don't look at me, I'm just waiting for you to tell us why you're going."
He smiled before focusing on them all as a group and explaining why he was going back to Homeworld in the first place.
"You're right dad, it is the opposite of what I've been doing. Being away and getting therapy gave me a new view on it all though and helped me cope with the… problems I had, especially what it came to my mom and what I'd been through because of her."
He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"I'm not going to Homeworld for my mom or to fill the gap she left. I'm going there to be myself and because it's what I want."
Garnet looked proud.
"I know I can inspire and help people. I also know I did it to mask my own problems before but this time I want to do it out of choice."
Amethyst looked impressed.
"My mom didn't want to be a diamond, not only because she was looked down on but also because at the time she really was too immature to properly be a part of the diamond authority at the time. I have the pink diamond now, so if I can use my status to help others, it's what I'd like to do."
Pearl looked happy and sad at the same time. "I understand, Steven. If you want to make a difference and go against what Rose did, it makes sense to do what she couldn't."
"Thanks, Pearl."
"I believe in you, kid." Greg said as he put a hand on his sons shoulder. "When are you going?"
Steven stood up "As soon as I can, really. I already told the diamonds I was coming so they wouldn't have to deal with the surprise."
Greg's face fell and Steven hurried to finish his thought.
"Don't worry though, remember this time I'll only be a warp away. I'll make sure if anyone visits that you can come straight to me."
"Thanks schtu-ball. Hope you don't mind your old man dropping by every now and then huh?"
Steven narrowly avoided an elbow to the side from his dad and laughed. "Wouldn't mind at all!"
He suddenly paused and thought for a moment, a sense of realisation dawning on him.
"Pearl? What exactly does a diamond need?"
Pearl perked up. This was her specialty after all. "Well if you want to be on the great diamond authority you're going to need a court, guards, a pearl, basic history knowledge of Homeworld and.."
Steven tuned out as Pearl got into listing all the things he'd need to know in order to best prepare himself for the responsibility he would be putting on himself.
He really should've thought about this beforehand.