As Steven began to glow and shrink, everyone moved to accommodate the change; Garnet returning to her usual size as everyone came to rest on the cluster's palm. Steven's illuminated form began to take the familiar outline of the boy they knew, getting smaller and smaller. And smaller? When it ended, and the light gave way, there was stunned silence.
Steven lay curled up on his side as if asleep, looking blessedly human but far too much the child he had been years previously.
Greg was the first to move, instinctively kneeling to check that his son was okay and to shield his exposed body. His hand shook and hesitated before cupping his boy's impossibly young face, his thumb catching the last stray tear as it slid down his pudgy cheek.
Behind him, there was movement as Pearl produced a soft blue blanket from her gem and wordlessly moved forward. Greg met her concerned and troubled gaze as he accepted the garment and wrapped it around Steven's body, pulling the boy onto his lap. It had been ages since he had been able to hold his son like this, not since the growth spurt Steven had gone through just a couple of years ago. Looking at his son's face now, it was as if those years never happened at all.
"What the heck!"
Amythest's exclamation broke the silence, and everyone seemed to come alive at once. What went wrong? Is Steven okay? Why did he look like this? Would he change back?
"Is this not what's supposed to happen?" Asked White, hardly understanding the sudden uproar.
Yellow crossed her arms, brow arched. "This is his original form, correct?"
"It certainly looks like it," Blue tilted her head. "Did he decide to change it back?"
"He's all cute and squishy now!" Spinel cooed, hands smooshed against her own cheeks.
"Of course this isn't what's suppose to happen! " Pearl snapped, voice high. "Humans don't just change their form, they grow, and they don't grow in reverse," she looked towards Greg and Steven again, brow knitting together.
"Or at least...they shouldn't."
"But Steven's done something like this before, right?" Amethyst jumped in, "Back on his fourteenth Birthday when he turned into a baby? Maybe he just stretched himself too far again."
"So, in theory, he should return to normal?" Peridot inquired, hand touching her chin.
Garnet adjusted her visor, lips turning down. "I'm...not sure."
Garnet's confession started another round of raised voices. To Greg, it was an indistinguishable murmur of concern and confusion and generally floundering all around. He had barely been listening anyway, too focused on Stevens's resting face. Despite the chaotic noises around him, the boy had not so much as stirred, face blank, and untroubled.
A hand on his shoulder caused him to turn as Connie crouched down beside him, her eyes also focused on the bundle in his arms. He realized that Connie had been the only one not joining in on the other's discussions.
"He's okay, right?" she asked, voice soft, eyes flickering toward him and then back to Steven.
Greg could not put into words how grateful he was that Steven had someone like her in his life. She had been the voice of reason through all this, despite any recent hardships between her and Steven.
"He's breathing alright and..well... human again." He offered a tired smile, "I think he's just sleeping."
Some of the tension left her shoulders, her eyes softened.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," one corner of her mouth quirked up, "He always could sleep through anything."
Greg chuckled, the weight in his chest easing as he looked back at the rest of the group.
"Hey, guys."
All eyes turned to him as he stood, legs popping from old age, Steven held against him.
"I think it's time we get our boy home."