This is actually already posted on Ao3, and I realized that for whatever reason I had forgotten to put it here!

Guess what, it's a self indulgent fanfic that has lesbians, fluff, and some other things in it.

This idea just kinda came to me because i was tired but unable to sleep so... enjoy I guess. Maybe this will be passable. Anyway, hope that someone other than me can have some fun with this.

Chapter One

It was Connie's idea, at first; Living on earth was all well and good, but there were a surprising number of Gems who wanted to learn about the humans that had occupied the planet in the Gempire's absence. While Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl had the most experience of gems interacting with humans, in truth, for many of the thousands of years they had spent on earth they had avoided general interaction with the organic population of the planet. Steven was on his road trip, and Connie was too busy with college prep. Peridot had offered, professing her "intimate knowledge of humanity's workings'' but that had been vetoed when it was clear her "intimate knowledge" meant "I watched lots of sitcoms''.

So, it was decided to find a human to teach gems about humanity. Beach City didn't exactly have any volunteers, but news quickly spread. While it was tucked away and avoided the greater tourism of Beach City proper, Little Homeworld was becoming somewhat famous for its existence, so it wasn't too hard to send out a job search.

There were a few options, but eventually, an application arrived that looked especially good. A young woman who had taught social studies and was currently studying sociology. She was a bit inexperienced, but her excitement at the prospect of teaching a class to gems, and general demeanor helped. Pearl had said she had a good feeling about her after a phone interview.

That'd be me. Ying DeLacour. I know the name is weird. I had a weird family, and I'm kind of a weird person. When you think about it, that's probably not surprising. Not many people are up for dropping everything and moving to some tiny city (it felt more like a town than a city really) on the coast of Delmarva. But when you don't have much to begin with, grabbing a bag and a few other personal effects, selling everything else, and hopping on the first bus out of Keystone really doesn't sound all that bad.

And besides, I was super fascinated about the idea of actually getting to teach aliens about humans. Pearl was teaching some more specific stuff- technology, day to day survival, safety around humans (we're pretty fragile after all!) and so on. But there were more gems that were curious about things like our culture, our society, about us.

There were almost no gems outside of Delmarva yet, but there was a chance that more and more would start spreading outward- there were a few in Empire State, (specifically Empire City) but many of them hadn't even left Little Homeworld yet.

There wasn't exactly bus service that went that far, though, and so it was that I was jarred awake by the nice old lady I'd been sitting next to, who gently shook me.

"This is your stop, isn't it dearie?" She asked, pointing. I looked and perked up in realization, seeing that we were approaching the Beach City bus stop.

"Oh! Y-yeah!" I sat up, grabbing my backpack from under the seat in front of me. "Thank you so much, I nearly slept right through it…"

The cool old lady just chuckled and gave me a thumbs up. She reminded me of a rad grandma. As soon as the bus pulled to a stop I stood, grabbing my things from the little compartment above us. (It was a pretty nice bus. Kind of reminded me of a train, almost.) With a final nod to my seatmate, I headed for the exit, hopping off the bus along with a handful of tourists. I was instantly blasted with summer heat and the smell of salt and fish. Right. Ocean. Good thing I've got like fifty things of sunscreen in my bag and a giant sunhat. I cook in less than ten minutes in direct sunlight. I hopped into some shade to smear some sunscreen on, getting a good look at the town below.

The bus stop I hopped off at is atop a hill, overlooking Beach City. It's definitely a gorgeous location; the sparkling ocean sending light dancing across the town, and a soft ocean breeze keeps the temperature bearable. There's a decent-sized suburb, which stands before the boardwalk. There's a small amusement park (heck yeah!), a nice long pier and public beachfront to walk along, and then on the other side, a high cliff looming above the town, topped with a lighthouse. The cliff looks like it had seen better days though- like something had smashed into it in the past, and was filled in somewhat haphazardly. But it was what lay past the cliff that had my attention.

I could just make out a large stone hand from the angle I was standing. That must be it. The Temple. Pearl had told me that was where I should head to meet her and the other Crystal Gems. With a grunt, I shouldered my bags, and began heading into town.

As I approached the boardwalk, I started to see gems. They were like people, but more colorful, with shining stones embedded in their bodies, and some truly wild hairstyles too. They came in all shapes and sizes. I'd been familiarizing myself with some, using the meticulously crafted guide Pearl had made, though I wasn't even halfway through it. The thing was a tome . Thankfully the girl who had suggested hiring a human teacher, Connie, had made a digital version so I didn't have to carry it everywhere.

Short, squat, red . Rubies. I thought, identifying them in my head. Human-sized, different colors, but a little uptight looking. Zircon. Large and broad. Different types of Quartzes. I was so wrapped up in this that I was missing the people around too.

They seemed pretty at ease with all the gems around. I could even see gems doing jobs around the town- There was a gem using some kind of ice powers to make blocks of ice, while another sliced them wildly with sharp limbs to create shaved ice. There was one I caught a glimpse of helping fix an arcade machine, and I could see a few on the beach, laughing and playing with humans.

Maybe they don't need me as much as they think . I thought, a bit wearily. They seem to be getting along well. Still, I'd come too far to give up, and I was not riding a bus for six hours back to Keystone. Instead, I continued along the boardwalk, until I reached a spot where the path began winding around the cliffside. I shuffled around in my pockets, biting back curses.

Why do people think that "lady's clothing" means "no pockets?"

Eventually I managed to yank my phone out, as I rounded the corner in case this somehow was the wrong place. The sun was beginning to lower a little, starting to turn the sky from blue to an orangy-yellow, so I picked up the pace a bit, and began rounding the corner more.

"Whoa." I couldn't help it. Now that I was seeing the statue from the front, it was… well, it was massive. A tremendous, many-armed woman. It vaguely reminded me of artwork of Hindu gods- though I couldn't for the life of me remember which ones. I'd have to look it up later, because right at the moment I was too busy being awestruck by the size of that thing. It was kind of intimidating, but also sort of majestic. And below, tucked under the statue, was a small, cute looking stilted house with a stairway leading up to the deck. I began trudging up the steps, slowing down as I approached the door.

"Okay Ying." I murmured to myself. "You are a cool, professional teacher about to accept a job where she educates an alien lifeform that has only vaguely been aware of humanity for nearly six thousand years and has opened the floodgates on interaction and coexistence. So if something goes catastrophically wrong, the whole world will probably blame you. No pressure."

I raised my hand and knocked on the door, pushing my hat back a little so my face was in full sight, hoping I didn't look like I was about to throw myself into the ocean at the first sign of trouble.

I was a little surprised when, instead of a gem, a pudgy, older guy with long hair growing just slightly past his shoulders opened the door.

"Oh, hey!" He greeted me jovially. "You must be Ying. Pearl will be back in just a minute. Want to come in and wait?"

"Oh, uh… Yeah, that's right. I'm Ying. And uh... Sure thing!" I offered a grin, sheepishly. He stepped back to let me in and I removed the hat. "Thanks… Nice place."

"It's better now, since Bismuth remodeled it." He chuckled, rubbing the top of his head. "I'd say me and the gems did a decent job the first time, but I don't think anyone could compete with Bismuth's stuff." He paused, then stuck his hand out. "Greg Universe!"

Universe. That was a name I'd heard. I smiled, and took his hand. His friendly demeanor was definitely helping with putting me at ease. "Pleased to meetcha. I heard some people mention a Steven Universe once or eight times. Any relation?"

"You could say that." The man chuckled a bit. "I'm his dad."

"Ah." I nodded. "I only heard he did a lot and is kind of responsible for this whole "Little Homeworld" thing being a thing at all? So I guess I got the cliff notes."

"Yeah. He's out traveling." Greg had a wistful look in his eye for a moment, smiling. It was a bittersweet smile. "But he comes by to visit now and then. You'll probably meet him when he comes by again."

I nodded again, a bit at a loss for words, instead opting to remain standing. "Well, hope so! Still, have to say, I like this place. A bit sunnier than I'm used to, but nice."

"Well, I haven't met many people who don't like Beach City!" Greg laughed. "Hm, but uh, are you going to be okay with all the sun? You sure look awful pale."

"Oh, that? Genetic thing." I shrugged. "Albinism. I burn so fast that I gotta wear a lot of skin protection. I've got like three layers of sunscreen on me right now. And the hat."

"Oh, so that's your hair's natural color?" He blinked, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah. It's kinda cool, but that's about the only cool thing about it." I laughed nervously. I had to explain my condition a lot through my life, so it didn't bother me too much, but it still was awkward. Fortunately, there was a bright flash and a loud noise, which prevented things from actually becoming any more awkward.

Standing in the back of the room was a tall, slender gem- her gem was in her forehead, round and oval-shaped. I hadn't seen her before, but I recognized her voice the moment she spoke up.

"Oh, hello there! Would you be Ying?" Pearl offered a smile, striding up to me. She was a fair bit taller than me, which… to be fair isn't exactly saying much, I'm like five foot even.

"Yes! And you… by your voice, you sound like Pearl?" I smiled, a bit more nervously, straightening a little. "Pleased to meet you. Hopefully I can do a good enough job at this…"

Pearl's smile had a bit of a worried edge. "Well, I can't say I know you well enough to tell, but I think you'll be just fine. Although I should probably warn you, a lot of the gems in Little Homeworld can be a bit wild and rambunctious."

"I can live with that." I shrugged. "My plan for this class is to keep it somewhat casual. From what you told me, it'd be the best way to handle this…"

"Hmm, we do tend to keep things casual." Pearl nodded. "Well, shall I show you around Little Homeworld? I think a tour will be the best thing to show you what you'll be dealing with. You'll be the first human living there, after all."

"Sounds like a plan…" I picked my hat up, as Pearl led me to a circular pad in the back of the room.

"Nice meeting ya Ying!" Greg called. I gave him a wave, though it slowed as Pearl had me stand on the pad.

"Uh-?" Before I could ask, there was a flash. It was… not exactly pleasant. A Warp Pad. I'd heard about these too, but no one had mentioned the sudden rush in your gut, and the feeling like you were about to violently expel your lunch, although I managed to hold it in as the lights flew past and finally I was dumped out in the center of Little Homeworld.

The first thing I did there was promptly keel over onto the grass in a heap, sending my glasses flying off my face. "Ah. Ah hell." I mumbled, trying to locate them. "Um, Pearl, sorry to trouble you, but I… literally cannot see. Did you see where they landed…?"

"Uh… These yours?" I raised my head, seeing a pink blob, holding something out. I squinted a bit, and was able to make out her shape, and the shape of the thick corrective lenses too.

"Ah, yeah…" I smiled, relieved. "Thanks. I'm blind without these…" I gratefully took the glasses from the pink blur, and put them neatly back on my face, blinking and able to see the world once more.

And the pink gem who had handed them to me and I have to admit, this one surprised me. She was pink, obviously, very pink. With a somewhat odd look to her- she looked sort of… punk? Pigtailed hair, black lines along her cheeks. A pink, inverted, heart-shaped gem. I pushed myself to my feet, feeling jittery. And not the "stranger!" jitters, the "oh jeez help pretty girl" jitters.

"Yer welcome…" She offered, a little cautiously, but giving me a very real smile. She seemed kind of nervous, but from what I could tell it was not the same sort of nervousness I felt. Like she was worried about something more specific.

"Oh, ah…" Pearl cleared her throat. "Ying, this is Spinel, a gem who… started living here recently. She's been to earth plenty of times before though…" She gestured. "Spinel, this is Ying. She's the teacher who'll be living here."

"Oh!" Spinel perked a little, grinning a bit. "Yeah, the uh, the one teachin' the human class thing. I got curious 'bout that so I uh… signed up actually."

"Umh, well, I look forward to seeing you there!" I offered, keeping my nerves down.

Keep it together. I thought firmly. You can be a disaster lesbian later, do not get a crush on the alien girl.

"Uh… Likewise?" Spinel didn't sound entirely sure, but she was trying, I could tell. Pearl seemed eager to get on with the tour, so I started following her.

"See you there." I nodded to Spinel. Pearl began to lead me away, towards a decent-sized building.

"She's a little delicate right now." Pearl said, once out of earshot. "I can't imagine the alternative, but… be patient with her, please? She's much better than she was, once. But she's had a tough time recently."

I couldn't help but wince a bit. Yeah, that definitely was relatable. "Well, there's a feeling I know. I'll keep that in mind." I had to wonder what Spinel's story was, but then again, everyone has a story. It's just that not everyone is a cute pink punk alien.

Hellfire. Stop. Crushing. On. Aliens. You don't even know if she'd like a human and you're not here for that.

Pearl showed me around Little Homeworld. First to the apartment buildings, and to my own apartment. Most of them were apparently custom-made to suit the gem; mine had been made to suit a human- shower, kitchen, bedroom, it was pretty much perfect for me. Plus, I had a chance to finally drop all my bags off. Next, Pearl showed me around; there was an outdoor area where apparently another Gem named Garnet gave mindfulness classes (definitely something I'd have to check out), as well as Pearl's "Life on earth" classes, and some "choosing what you want to do" classes taught by an Amethyst.

There was a greenhouse garden, a small gemmade lake, a forge… The place was a small hive of activity, gems all over doing different tasks. Some seemed curious at my presence, but others didn't even seem to notice me.

Eventually, though, the sun began dipping below the horizon, and I think Pearl noticed me yawning, because she began somewhat pointedly leading the tour back towards the apartments. She walked me back up the stairs and through the halls. She sure could talk a lot. I had been a lot more focused earlier but it had been a long day and Pearl's words were beginning to blend together a little. Finally though, we arrived, and I unlocked the door with the key Pearl had given me.

"I'll let you get settled in, but if you ever need help, feel free to contact me or one of the other Crystal Gems; We'll happily lend a hand if we're not busy. If you need to head into town, just ask any gem near the warp pad if they can warp you to the temple." Pearl pointed at a counter. "I've left a whole bunch of information on that packet there, in case you need any kind of assistance or have an emergency."

"Thanks." I smiled, genuinely, but a bit wearily. "You're so organized, it's impressive."

I'm pretty sure Pearl was fighting tooth and nail not to seem smug. "Well, thank you very much… have a good first night, Ying. You start teaching in just three days, so here's hoping it all goes well." She gave a last little wave, and then shut the door behind her.

I began setting up. I didn't have much. Mostly just my computer and my clothes to unpack. Once I had my laptop set up on the desk in my bedroom, I turned it on. Once I found the wifi password in Pearl's packet (It was thankfully a lot less dense than her gem guide), I was able to log into the chatroom I shared with my friends.

sunnysideup: i mean that's normal isn't it, to occasionally just feel the desire to wreak havoc for no reason

TechWizard: You scare me sometimes.

Jezzz: She's your WIFE

TechWizard: And she scares me sometimes.

byeBi: Sounds like typical bottom talk to me

Psychopopmagi is online

Psychopopmagi: I see nothing's changed with you idiots.

Jezzz: Ying!

sunnysideup: Yiiiiiiing!

sunnysideup: you live! How's beach city?

Psychopopmagi: It's nice! The bus ride was pretty long but I had this badass old lady to chat with.

Downsouth: How badass we talkin here

Psychopopmagi: well she chatted my ear off for about two hours about how cool the world is, then when i started to fall asleep she told me to take a nap, then woke me up when the bus hit the city. So pretty cool. Little Homeworld is also neat. Gems everywhere. I'm the only human here right now.

byeBi: Meet any cool gems?

Psychopopmagi: A few. Pearl I had chatted with before on VC for my interviews and stuff

Psychopopmagi: apparently i was the only serious applicant, which is weird to think about, but other than her i met a pretty nice one, Spinel. She's gonna be in my classes, so that's cool?

Jezzz: pretty nice huh

Psychopopmagi: No Jez I know what you're about to say and no

Jezzz: Pretty nice or Pretty and nice.

Psychopopmagi: Both I guess.

TechWizard: You better not have moved to an entirely new state to meet pretty girls.

Psychopopmagi: That isn't why i moved

sunnysideup: It's why she'll stay tho I bet. Eyyyyy.

Psychopopmagi: She's an alien so even if that were the case…

byeBi: couldn't get a human girlfriend so she's goin for aliens now

Psychopopmagi: piss off

byeBi: 3

Server Admin Techwizard has changed Psychopopmagi's name to "Useless Lesbian"

Useless Lesbian: You guys sure know how to suck all the drama out of interspecies relations.

Downsouth: Interspecies relationship

Useless Lesbian: well ok I'm goin to bed now, you guys can all go throw yourselves into the ocean for all i care

Techwizard: You're the only one close to the ocean right now.

Techwizard: Also, gonna send you a sample of Tex's drum bit for that new song we're makin so you can tell me if it works with the guitar. No rush, get settled n make sure you've got free time before ya do.

byeBi: Go get sleep! Remember, we tease ya cause we love ya!

Jezzz: we'll harass you about your new crush later.

sunnysideup: Byeeeeeeee

Downsouth: g'night dork

Useless Lesbian: Love ya, idiots.

I sighed. They're about as incorrigible as ever. Still, it was nice to chat with them all, even if it did lead to the inevitable teasing. I closed my computer down. Dinner, shower, pjs, brush teeth

then bed. That was all I had left in my agenda for now. So, with a yawn and a sigh, I went to finish my night up. I'd be teaching a class in a few days. I get the distinct feeling this is gonna be a wild ride.

It might take me a while to catch up, I have like sixteen chapters posted on Ao3, so I'll try to get em up here relatively quickly!

Goodnight Everybody!