Steven Universe awoke with a special start to the day. He didn't know what made him do it but he got up with a little song and pep in his step. That was good. Was it not? Skipping down the stairs he had even found his whole family waiting for him! Sure, they looked a bit different but that didn't matter. Family was family!
Pearl's colors were a bit softer and muted, her jacket's sleeves were rounded and puffy instead of the slightly sharpened ones she normally had, and the ends of her jacket tapered off on the bottom with two tails as well. Her shirt was still sleeveless but it was a dark seafoam green and around it was a forest green sash with golden stars. Other than that she looked the same.
Amethyst's hair had been cut to end just above her shoulders. It was still as wild as ever despite the differences made. Her joints also had dark purple lines tracing them just like when she had been rejuvenated… Steven decided it was probably rude to stare at them. On her face was a look of dumb glee instead of the michevious smirk he had always seen before.
Garnet wasn't even there. Instead Ruby and Sapphire had been chatting gleefully near the kitchen. Sapphire's dress was pure white with multiple layers that became a darker blue the farther you went in along with a blue trench coat on top and her signature pointed shoulder pads added. Ruby's headband was missing. Instead the same material manifested as durable brass arm guards on both arms. Her pants had a slight poof to them as well.
"Well if it isn't Steven Universe! I'm delighted to see you, Steven." Pearl fawned over him as the young hybrid made his way down the stairs. She even bowed for him.
"Oh, hey Pearl!" He waved as he sat down next to Sapphire on one of the stools in the kitchen. "So, what's everyone doing here? I thought you all were teaching at Little Homeschool today." Sapphire giggled at the thought though she quickly stopped.
"We were waiting for you. Duh!" Amethyst exclaimed as she pulled Steven into a hug. It almost threw him off the chair.
"Amethyst you let go of him this instant!" Pearl squawked in a panic on reflex. Amethyst squinted her eyes at Pearl and stuck her tongue out like a bratty kid that didn't get their way as she reluctantly let go. Steven smiled sheepishly as he got back on the stool. It turned ever so slightly as he did so… perhaps he should get Bismuth to retighten the bolts on it. Steven was pulled from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. "Steven? You're alright. Are you not?" Pearl frowned. "Don't worry I'll-"
"What? No! Pearl, I'm fine. Amethyst just surprised me." Steven immediately shook his hands nervously in front of him. Pearl grimaced as she looked him up and down.
"...If you say so Steven." The prim gem rubbed her temples as she turned around. "Steven I'm afraid we must be going soon. I believe you have a meeting with your Lapis Lazuli and Peridot today in a few minutes. I wouldn't want you to be late." Steven's eyes lit up.
"Really? Do you mean it Pearl?" Steven stood straight up and out of his seat to ask this question. He hadn't seen Lapis since they confronted those two other Lapis Lazulis and gosh, he hadn't seen Peridot since they tried to reboot Camp Pining Hearts! This was great! Pearl looked taken aback by his sudden demanding question.
"Yes Steven, I'm sure. Now if you could please, we need to leave now." At that Steven jumped up and gleefully floated up and over to the door.
"Come on!" Steven dashed across the sand faster than Pearl could have ever dreamed of, kicking up diamond sized dust clouds in the process. Sure enough at the end of the beach Lapis and Peridot stood patiently.
Lapis's star patterned top was still there, it was just now traced with gold trimming while instead of her puffy vibrant blue pants she now had a long skirt with a mirror of the star shape on the top around the waist topped with dark blue leggings.
Peridot's suit now had lime green chest, thighs, and knee high boots dotted with gold stars while her sharp shoulder pads, waist, and knees sported a lush forest green. Her normally soft yellow hair was frizzled and only hinted at a true tetrahedron but now it looked as if she had bathed herself in hair gel. Not a single hair stood out of place.
"Steven!" Lapis cooed. She grasped the small Peridot's hand and ran towards the hybrid swiftly. "There you are! We've been so excited to see you!"
"Very." Peridot smiled in conformation. She re-adjusted her star styled visor. Steven welcomed the rush of happiness he gained from the gem's warm welcomes. He felt happy. He felt important.
Politely Steven then asked, "So, what do you guys wanna do?" At that a mischievous smirk spread across the blue gem's face. Turning around her blue and gold speckled gem quickly produced dozens upon dozens of water droplets. As the liquid formed it floated up and one watery wing formed, and then the other.
"Wanna go for a ride?" Steven's mind immediately went back to the night the two had soared over the bold lights of Empire City. The clear night sky accompanied with the rushing crisp wind flowing through his thick brown curls… Steven would've done many things to do that again.
"Steven?" Pearl's sweet voice brought him out of his thoughts rather swiftly.
"Hm?"
"Are you ok Steven? You weren't responding to Lapis Lazuli's question." Lapis Lazuli? Since when did Pearl call Lapis by her full name? The young hybrid shrugged it off, an action he had grown quite used to these days.
"Oh, I was just thinking. Ya know, spaced out for a bit." He smiled awkwardly and pursed his lips. He said the wrong thing, he just knew it. Despite his inner conflict the gem's expressions never wavered. They were always parading around with clean cut sparkling smiles. It was unsettling. He saw unease settle onto Pearl's face.
"…If you say so Steven." Peridot must've run off at some point because she was gliding in at full speed on a pristine Diamond shaped platform made of silver, or more likely, the alien equivalent.
"I'm back!" She sang full of pride as she landed. With a smirk on her face the small green gem planted the board in the sand, sending the small particles flying. Steven let out a light cough in response. Pearl in response gave the gem a stern warning. Peridot shrank into herself.
"Are you ready to go yet Steven?" Pearl spoke up.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Steven gave a fragile laugh. "How 'bout we get going, huh?" Lapis nodded.
"Of course!" Gracefully Steven hopped onto Lapis' back and held on tightly to her shoulders. Steven didn't know why though, it wasn't like his beach summer fun buddy would dare drop him, plus, he was on the ground. They hadn't even flown away yet. Despite all logical protests the sinking feeling in his stomach stayed. It felt like we would fall.
"Be careful Steven!" Pearl happily chimed in.
"Don't worry Pearl, I will!" Steven flashed a toothy grin before soaring away. As he was leaving he saw a small purple figure dart out of the beach house. As they flew the skies fluctuated between bright highlighter-inspired cyans and calmer sky blues as they speedly dodged clouds all while speeding under the radiant sun. Peridot, who had been holding the edges of her metal plate finally stood up.
Pumping two fists triumphantly the small gem proclaimed, "I rule the skies!" Steven, glancing over at Peridot couldn't stifle the giggle that rose from his throat. Looking back out Steven saw the biggest, puffiest, most outstanding cloud he had ever seen. He looked ahead, purely starstruck. Suddenly, a question came to mind.
"Hey Lapis, why have we been avoiding the clouds this entire time?" Lapis paused for a split second.
"I'm sorry Steven, I wasn't thinking about it. Do you want to go through the one up ahead?"
"Yeah!" Steven let his request sink in for a second. He bit his lip. "Only if you guys are comfortable with it of course."
"Oh, certainly!" Peridot exclaimed. "I could use it to learn more about Earth's atmosphere!" Lapis nodded, determination lacing her eyes. They took a deep dive down and the small town of Beach City was starting to appear to be more than just dots. Oh gosh, they were going to crash! They were going to crash and it was his fault for requesting something so silly. Suddenly time stood still as he was forced upwards again. With a sudden burst of energy Steven took in his surroundings. A barely visible, light mist floated mindlessly around the three. Looking farther the mist got thicker and thicker, looking just like the cloud had from the outside. "Outstanding!" Peridot giggled. Standing out and jumping in a spontaneous giggling fit she took the scene in. Lapis on the other hand, floated idly as her wings kept a soft and consistent flapping pace.
"Wh… where'd the cloud go…?" She was baffled.
"Oh, oh! I think I know why!" All eyes turned to Peridot.
"Really?" Steven and Lapis asked in sync.
"Yes! Or at least, I have a hypothesis… if you're ok with that Steven," Steven squinted his eyes. Why did everyone feel like they needed his permission to do anything? Ultimately he sighed and nodded. "Well, you're in luck because I'm pretty sure that I am absolutely correct! Because of Earth only having a limited supply of water it reuses it. In this cycle water vapor clumps together in the sky and forms what human's call 'clouds'. Eventually they collect a surplus of water and it falls back down to Earth. That's why we can't see it now, because it's only vapor! You can't see the vapor!"
"But then why can we see it far away?" Lapis raised an eyebrow. Peridot shrunk in on herself.
"I… um… I'm still working on that part."
"I think it's great!" The small green technician turned to the hybrid.
"Huh?"
"I said it's great! Even if it's wrong I bet we could ask Connie later. I'm sure she'll know!" Peridot seemed to regain a bit of her confidence from such a statement.
"Of course! I'm sure we can get Pearl to schedule such a meeting with your friend." Suddenly a loud and certainly jarring beep was let loose. Seeming annoyed Peridot combed a hand through her hair until pulling out a small device from her bright yellow hair.
Covering his ears with his hands Steven demanded, "What is that?!" Peridot sighed.
"It's our alarm. We have five minutes to go to the beach and drop you off." Lapis explained curtly. Steven frowned.
"Why? I'm sure if we ask we could stay out for a bit longer!" He pleaded. Peridot shook her head solemnly.
"Not a chance. The diamonds will be onto us in an instant. Plus, you have that celebration to go to! You can't possibly miss an event as important as the first full year in era three!" Steven nodded curtly. He never remembered doing that… had era three arrived later in his dream or was he younger? He decided not to dwell on it. Dreams were weird after all. The flight back to the beach was quiet. Despite that tension Steven let himself unwind. He focused on the soft sound of the ocean waves, seagulls eagerly squawking, most likely trying to get a fry or two, and the persistent chatter of Beach City's citizens. Everything was so… normal. There were no problems, no angry gems out of his life, no neon pink coated outbursts, just happy townspeople and gems learning to live together.
"Oh Steven, you're back. You're even right on time!" An all too familiar voice brought him out of his daydreams. The young teen slid off of Lapis' back. "Thank you for returning him on time." Both Lapis and Peridot nodded uncomfortably. Looking at Pearl he noticed that Volleyball was patiently standing next to her.
She didn't look too different other than the fact that her sleeves were no longer skin tight. Instead they were puffy, mimicking his jacket. Her magenta tights had also become thigh high socks to accompany a pair of shorts the same color as her top paired with magenta slip on shoes. The crack on her face also had grown in length. He couldn't help but stare at how the thin grey lines had begun trickling down her neck.
Why had they gotten worse? How much worse could they get before they hurt her gem? Could they hurt her gem? Would they disrupt her physical form? He went stiff as Pearl placed a spare hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for the conversation but we really must get Steven prepared for the celebration. Ta ta!" She called sweetly before moving Steven along. Volleyball followed in a quick pursuit while still keeping her distance. Leading him up to his room and closing the door Pearl clapped her hands together.
"Alright, time to get to work," the two sang in unison. They had then spent what felt like hours chattering between themselves for makeup ideas, outfits, and around the town gossip. It was considerably draining. On top of that they demanded that he keep his eyes closed the entire time. So it was both draining and nerve wracking!"
"Alrighty, you can open your eyes now!" Volleyball informed Steven as she booped his nose. Now in front of him was a lavish full body mirror. Where in the world had they gotten it?! Steven surely didn't remember owning one. Perhaps Pearl had in her gem. She had everything in there. Slowly opening his eyes he let his brain register his appearance. A soft pink lace dress with multiple layers and short sleeves fit comfortably around him as it was tied with a saturated pink ribbon. The gloves on his hands were the same color. It was adorable! He would definitely keep it. Coming to his face he felt all the color drain from it. Those weren't his eyes. They were hers. And since when did he get pastel pink horns sticking out from under his hair?They were perfectly polished and as smooth, and sharp, as glass. He tugged on them. They didn't budge. Steven felt the pink rush to his face…
and screamed.
The windows around him cracked under the pressure of his voice and the two pearl's form's dissipated. Whipping around he caught their gems as they fell. Investigating their status he spotted spiderweb cracks crawling all around the outside. He felt as if he was about to throw up, pass out, and die all at once. In a hasty fit of emotions the two's gems were thrown onto the bed. Then looking back at the now splintered mirror and saw bits and pieces of three very distinct people.
Steven Universe.
Rose Quartz.
Pink Diamond.
Steven Universe.
Rose Quartz.
Pink Diamond.
Steven Universe.
Rose Quartz.
Pink Diamond.
Author's note: Thank you so much for reading! I sure hope this chapter makes up for the super short chapter I gave y'all last time. This one was actually made out of the idea I had for a SU AU. The story was when Spinel rejuvenated the gems it was permanent, not only did she get to the main CGs but she also got Lapis, Peridot, and Volleyball. I never fleshed it out because I already have two I'm working on and I wanted to get those started. I did explore this more as a nightmare Steven has though. Why, what wouldn't scare our Steven more than his entire family treating him as a diamond and fitting into a more Era-1/2 styled family? Also, thank you TRAE HIGHNIGHT for the review! It warms my heart to know that you enjoyed my work. I hope this chapter was of quality as well.
Next Chapter: Overgrowth