Hey guys, I know having Jasper around and being unrealistically friendly around the other Gems is weird, and I don't blame you. But it's cool if you don't like it. It's my AU, I wanna change things up a bit. ^^
Pearl pressed the folding bone over the paper, commenting "This folding bone is so nice! Who knew that planning a wedding could be so fun?"
"I did," said Steven, letting Spinel stamp the card and slid it to the couple.
Now that Ruby proposed to Sapphire, the Gems concluded to make their own wedding. Spinel felt so delighted to be a part of it, even though she had never been to one. All she knew about it was that it was meant to unite a couple officially, and now this was Ruby and Sapphire's choice to stay as Garnet without... Pink's say-so lightened her mood.
Ruby and Sapphire signed the paper and handed it over to Peridot, who groaned out, "We've been stuffing these envelopes all day!" Sticking the card in the envelope, she handed it to Amethyst, "How many does that make?"
"Lapis and I finished stacking up the chairs," Jasper told them, standing in between the slightly open door.
Spinel gave her a thumbs-up of approval as Amethyst licked and sealed the envelope, "That makes... TEN!" She slapped it onto the stack of envelopes.
"Oh... just... ten..." Sapphire mumbled, catching Steven's attention.
Amethyst grinned as she was planning to knock over the chairs, but was chased away by a flying Lapis who splashed water on her face and flew after her. Jasper and Pearl both shook their heads in amusement as Steven read the script to the others.
"So," Steven began, "my Dad will finish playing the music, and then next you'll do the "I do"s. And then I'll say... 'I now pronounce you Garnet.' And then you fuse! Everyone'll cheer!"
"That sounds amazing, sweetie!" Spinel smiled.
"Everyone... who survived," Sapphire spoke.
Ruby turned to her, "Huh?"
"Oh, it's just- There's so many old friends who won't be able to come. All the Crystal Gems who were corrupted and bubbled in the basement."
"Maybe we could bring the bubbles up here?"
"No, no. It's not safe. We can't risk them getting out."
Ruby pulled her lover in for a hug, and Steven thought of what he can do. When he ran back into the beach house, that caught Spinel's attention as she brought in a box of decorations.
Steven sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the placement cards. Of course, he had written Connie's name, hoping she'd still come to the wedding even if she said they were taking a break. But he was thinking of someone else too...
"Steven?"
The boy yelped as Spinel stepped towards him and asked, "You okay, buddy?"
"S-Spinel? O-Oh, yeah, I'm just writing for the people coming to the wedding."
Spinel read the cards and her eyes shone with approval, "They all sound good, but who else are you thinking?"
Steven bit his lip, but made up his mind as he wrote another name on another card, shocking Spinel and he headed to the Burning Room with the pink Gem trailing just behind him.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Spinel asked him warily.
Steven gave her a silent 'yes', and unbubbled the gem, stepping back as it glowed pink and floated upwards, the Gem reforming and landing on the floor. Spinel held onto Steven's shoulders, ready to defend him if things went horribly wrong.
Bismuth groaned and got up, "Uh... Hm? I'm back?!"
Spinel tensed as the boy nervously greeted, "Hey Bismuth! Long time, no see..."
"Rose..." Bismuth rasped before correcting herself, "I mean, Steven..."
"Oh... there's a third option now-"
"Hey Spinel?" They heard and saw Jasper near the entrance, "Pearl told me to fetch you for-" The orange Gem paused when she saw Bismuth.
Bismuth grimaced, "W-Wha... What's a Homeworld Gem doing here?!"
"W-Wait!" Spinel tried to reason with her, "She's-"
The gray Gem then looked up, becoming more horrified to see the bubbled Gems, "Oh my stars… Did Rose do this?! Did she bubble everyone who disagreed with her?!" She frantically searched through the gemstones and found one, "Ohh... Biggs!"
"Uh," Jasper jumped down to join the pink Gem and boy's side, "What's going-"
"You'll never take us alive!" Bismuth exclaimed angrily as she leapt up and grabbed Biggs' bubble, "I got cha, buddy!"
Jasper panicked, "Wuh-Wait! I wouldn't do that!"
"Bismuth! Stop!" Spinel and Steven yelled out to her.
But it was too late as the gray Gem popped the bubble, releasing the Gem, "Come on, Biggs, we got an Homeworld Gem- ... Biggs?"
Now reformed, the corrupted Biggs snarled at her and raised its fist up as Steven and Spinel cried, "Bismuth!" They ran under Bismuth's legs and the boy formed a protective bubble from the monster.
Just as Biggs was about to slam its fists on them, Jasper slammed onto it, pinning it to the floor. She grinned maliciously, ready to strike it down...
... Only to simply twist the gemstone on its chest, making Biggs retreat into its gem. Jasper bubbled the gem in her hand, sighing, "That was a close call."
Steven's bubble dissipated as the pink Gem walked over to her, nodding her approval, "Great timing there."
Bismuth stood there, still overwhelmed as Steven looked up at her, "I'm sorry, Bismuth, that wasn't the Biggs you knew before. So much has changed while you were gone… in both ways."
The gray Gem let out a breath, "... Only a Diamond could do that kind of damage. It was Pink, wasn't it?"
Spinel and Jasper glanced at each-other awkwardly as Steven bit his lip, "Well… Actually, Pink and Rose… were the same person."
"... What...?"
"And that's all that happened," Steven finished, "While you were gone." Spinel and Jasper sat beside him.
Bismuth... just nodded.
"A-Are... you okay?"
Bismuth nodded again, "Yeah. Give me a sec."
Much to Steven, Spinel, and Jasper's confusion, Bismuth walked over to the pool of lava and… dunked her face in and screamed for a long moment until she lifted her head, "OH MY GOSH! It all makes sense now!"
"Yep..." Spinel laughed a bit, "Wild ride, huh?"
Bismuth let out another sigh, "And that explains why you came, Spinel." She sat at the edge of the pool and placed her feet into the lava, "Ahhh... that's nice. Hey, come join me, the lava's great."
Spinel held Steven up, and over her head, placing him on her shoulders, "Well, Steven's not lava-proof." She and Jasper walked over, sat down and dipped their feet into the lava, the orange Gem sighing in relaxation.
The gray Gem chuckled a bit, "I was so excited to show Rose the Breaking Point. Can you imagine? 'Hey Rose! Check out this cool weapon I made, I'm gonna shatter you with it'!" She let out a sigh, "I really thought all of our problems would disappear if we could just shatter a Diamond ... Guess she ended up taking my advice."
"In a way, she did." Spinel agreed before hanging her head in shame, "And Pearl and I couldn't say a word about it. Until a few days ago."
"I'm... mighty sorry to hear that. That must've been pretty tough to admit it, huh?"
She nodded, "I did it to save Steven's life. I could never let that Gem take Steven away to the Diamonds to kill him. I had to tell the truth, even if it meant costing my own life."
"That's..." Bismuth was taken aback by the pink Gem's words, "That's pretty brave, Spinel. You're one brave Gem."
Silently agreeing with the gray Gem, Jasper then remembered something, "Oh wait! Spinel, Pearl needed you for something!"
"She did?" Spinel gently placed Steven down, away from the lava, "Jeez, we lost track of time, didn't we?"
The orange Gem stood up, "Let's not keep her waiting any more."
Spinel nodded, then looked over to Bismuth, "It's great to have you back, Bismuth." Then over to Steven, "Will you be alright without me?"
"I will!" Steven told her.
The two Gems left the Burning Room, leaving Bismuth and Steven alone.
As Spinel sipped her soda, she wondered what Steven and Bismuth were doing now. Did Bismuth want to come back, or did she need more time in the bubble? She didn't like the latter, but what else was there? She sighed to herself as she sat next to Jasper and talked to Ruby about their wedding plans, not hearing the warp activate.
"Hey everyone."
They all turned to see... Bismuth standing with Steven holding her hand.
"Did you guys... Bi-miss-uth me?" She nervously asked.
Stunned, Pearl, Sapphire, and Amethyst dropped their drinks, except for Ruby (who didn't have one), Spinel, Jasper, Lapis, and Peridot.
"Ha! I win!" Peridot cheered before she looked over to the Gems who didn't drop their drinks and she laughed nervously, "W-Well, less importantly, who are you?"
Lapis shrugged in agreement, still toying with her water powers on the soda.
"I invited Bismuth!" said Steven with a smile, "I hope that's okay with you guys!"
Spinel and Jasper glanced at each-other as the other Gems stood up in front of Bismuth, Sapphire stepping forward, "... Bismuth..."
Everything became silent with tensity... but it lifted as Sapphire, Ruby, and Pearl all embraced Bismuth happily, relishing upon her return. Spinel and Jasper high-fived as Peridot and Lapis asked who they were, but Amethyst told them to give them some space.
But just as Bismuth showed Ruby and Sapphire the rings she made for them, Spinel felt a tug on her dress.
Steven pulled out a letter, his frown trembling as he gave it for her, "P-Please deliver it to her."
Spinel was at first confused who he meant, but seeing his friend's name, she nods. "I will. But for now, let's think about love, huh?"
