Disclaimer: Before this chapter begins, I would like to remind everyone that this IS a romance between Spinel and Steven. Even if the romance does not occur until Steven is nearly 17yrs of age, I am aware that some people may have a problem with it. If thats the case, you'd best find a different story to read. Again, if you have a problem with Stevinel, this story is not for you.
Chapter One: It starts with a Box
"It's done!" Shouted a joyous Spinel as she held up a carefully wrapped sky blue box tied with pink ribbon and pinned with a star. She turned her gaze to Pearl whom was sitting at the counter of the kitchen, watching as she celebrated.
"Thanks for helping me to wrap it."
"Of course," replied Pearl with a smile. "I'm sure Steven will love it."
"I hope so," Spinel whispered happily as she hugged the gift box close to her chest. "I'll go and look for him. I want to give him his present as soon as possible." With a wave from Pearl, Spinel swiftly left the house and made her way down to the beach. It was already getting dark. Finishing up her gift had taken all day long.
As Spinel walked along the beach slowly, hugging the gift carefully to herself, she thought about the events that had brought her here today.
Like Pearl, Spinel belonged to Pink Diamond. However, she wasn't a servant as Pearl was. Spinel was created to be Pinks playmate, to entertain and accompany her when she was sad. Spinel of course, was happy to do this. A garden had been created for just the two of them and Pink would visit quite often at first, but once she was given a Colony, Pink, Pearl, and Spinel left for earth.
Spinel was excited at the thought of a new place to play, but Pink insisted on trying to be serious so that she could prove her worth as a Diamond. Thus, Spinel would keep her silly antics to a minimum when they were around others and Pearl was put in charge of helping Spinel to behave. Because of this, Spinel began to find herself depending on Pearl for many things. She became something like a big sister.
When Pink decided to rebel as Rose Quartz, Pearl and Spinel followed behind her. To Spinel, she was still doing what she was made for, helping her friend. Even when she and Pearl were sworn to secrecy, Spinel felt like everything would be okay so long as Pink was happy. That was her job after all, to make Pink happy.
She didn't like fighting Gems and she certainly grieved when the war ended with the diamonds final attack, but in the end, Pink was okay and that's all that mattered. Wasn't it?
As long as Pink was happy, Spinel felt she was doing her job. However, it was never enough. Pink never seemed truly happy, at least not until she decided to have a child. Pearl was beside herself, but Spinel didn't truly understand what it meant to have a baby. Not until Steven was born did she realize that her friend, her entire reason for being, was gone forever.
It changed her. Her gem turned upside down and her grief was permanently scarred on her face. Her personality even seemed to shift. She could no longer cover everything with a smile and a laugh. It was harder to smile and the color seemed to drain from her world. Everything was so dark.
That is...until she finally met Steven. She had refused to see him with the others on their first visit, but when she came around and went to meet him, something else changed.
When she held Steven for the very first time and saw his smile, a warmth rushed over her and the light flooded back into her world. This wasn't Rose, but it was her Gem. This meant that Spinel had a purpose again. It meant that Spinel had a reason to exist once more. That day, she promised Steven in tears that she would never allow anything to make him sad. She would be his friend forever and never leave his side. It was this day that Spinel was celebrating.
There was no way that Steven would remember this, but Spinel held that day very dear. It was the day that she regained something precious and ever since, Steven had become the most important person in her life. He was her favorite person on Earth and everything she did was for his sake. As long as he was smiling, Spinel was content.
With a happy sigh, Spinel thought of Stevens smile, hoping she would see it again once he saw what she had made for him. It wasn't until she heard familiar laughter that Spinel was shaken from thoughts. It was Steven for sure.
"Oh! ST—-" just as Spinel was about to call out to her friend, she caught sight of Steven, but he wasn't alone. Standing beside him and laughing along was his friend Connie. The sight of this stopped Spinel cold.
It's not as if she hated Connie, but something about the girl rubbed Spinel the wrong way. Ever since Steven met the girl, Spinel had been uncomfortable around her.
"Spinel?" Steven called out after spotting the Gem from the corner of his eye.
Spinel gasped and quickly hid behind a large rock. How long had she been standing there staring at them and why was she hiding now? She just wanted to give Steven his gift. Connie being there shouldn't stop her from doing that, right?
It's just...seeing Steven laughing with Connie, more and more recently it made Spinel feel...uneasy.
"Gotcha!" Shouted Steven, peeking from behind the rock and shocking Spinel from her inner thoughts, causing the Gem to drop the gift she had been holding so tenderly.
"You dropped something," Connie said apologetically as she leaned down to grab the gift box.
"Don't touch that!" Spinel shouted angrily.
Unfortunately for Spinel, her abrupt outburst had startled Connie as she was leaning down to retrieve the package. Connie flinched and attempted to back up, but her heel dig into the sand due to her shift in weight and Connie toppled over, her left knee landing firmly on top of the box, a noticeable crunch being echoed in everyone's ears.
All three were stunned to silence for a moment before Steven quickly rushed forward and helped Connie up, taking the damaged box in his other hand and glancing at Spinel with sympathetic eyes.
"I-I'm SO sorry, Spinel!" Connie exclaimed nervously. "I-I didn't mean to—-I was just trying to—-"
Spinel said nothing. Her vision had gotten a bit blurry as she stared in shock at the gift in Stevens hand.
Rationally, Spinel knew Connie was not a bad person. Steven would never hold someone dear like that if they didn't have a good heart. Still, an anger was bubbling up inside of the Gem and she couldn't be bothered to hear an apology.
Holding out her hand, Spinel kept her gaze down at the sand, hoping to hide her expression from them. She didn't want to give Steven something broken like this.
Steven and Connie exchanged concerned glances before he handed the box back to his friend.
"...Spinel, I was just seeing Connie off. Will you wait for a second and I'll be right back?" Asked Steven hopefully.
Again, Spinel said nothing. A lump had formed in her throat and it was all she could do not to have another outburst. So instead, she nodded slowly and turned her back to the two of them.
It was awkward to leave like this and Connie tried quietly to convince Steven that she should stay and talk with Spinel, but Steven shook his head and reassured Connie that it would be best to speak with Spinel tomorrow. It was late after all and Connie would miss her curfew. At least, that was part of it. Steven also knew that Spinel always had a rough time with Connie, so some time to cool off would be better.
With a defeated sigh, Connie finally agreed to head home, giving Steven a hug goodbye and offering one more apology to Spinel before warping away on Lions back.
Once she was gone, the silence only felt heavier. Steven turned to Spinel now and placed his hand on her shoulder from behind, knowing she didn't want to be seen.
"She really is sorry. It was an accident."
"I know it was," muttered Spinel.
"...I can help you fix it," offered Steven.
Spinel flinched and turned around now, masking her unsettled feelings with a smile.
"No need. I can handle it myself. We should head back home though. ...it's dark out already."
"Are you sure? I can just use my healin—"
"—I'm sure," interrupted Spinel as she took Stevens hand and turned for the beach house to lead Steven home.
Clearly, Steven wasn't buying Spinels happy act. She had done this all his life. Though he had tried to bring it up before and make Spinel talk about what was bothering her, she always smiled and said nothing was wrong. He hated it.
However, he didn't want to upset her any further tonight. He simply squeezed her hand gently and sped up to match her pace so they were walking beside one another rather than Spinel pulling him along.
They walked in silence until they reached the door and Spinel swiftly stored the broken box inside of her Gem. She didn't want Pearl to see it like that. She would have most likely scolded her for being careless with it.
Luckily though, no one was waiting in the living room when they got inside, giving Spinel a moment of relief. Pearl must have gone to fetch Amethyst at Little Homeworld.
"I'm gonna change for bed," Steven informed Spinel as he slowly released her hand. "Call you up when I'm done?"
With that, the Gem felt lighter already. A genuine smile laced her lips and she nodded happily. "Of course!"
Spinel had made it a habit to sleep in Stevens bed since he was small. Even while he was living with Greg in that van. He was so small before, of course she was worried that something would happen to him while he slept. When he came to live with them here, she began to watch him sleep. Alongside Pearl of course. Though she would later just curl up beside him in his bed all the same.
As Steven was getting ready for bed, a chime rang out and a beam of light warped Amethyst and Pearl back into the living room. They seemed to be having a conversation, but once Pearl spotted Spinel, they stopped and the graceful Gem leapt towards Spinel with an anticipating smile.
"Spinel! Did Steven li-mph!?"
Spinel had extended her arm and clamped a hand over Pearls mouth with a 'shush.'
Keeping quiet, Spinel shook her head, hoping Pearl would understand that the gift had not been given just yet.
Though she was startled at first, Pearl nodded her head and waited patiently as Spinel reeled back her arm to herself.
"Steven is getting ready for bed. I'm just waiting until he's changed his clothes."
Pearl frowned.
"Now Spinel, you know I don't approve of you sleeping in Stevens bed much anymore."
"It's not every night. ...anymore." Finished Spinel with a blush across her cheeks. Pearl had seen to it that Spinel spend some nights in her own bedroom. For some reason, as Steven got older, Pearl got stricter about Spinel spending time with him. It was not something Spinel was happy about, but it was awfully hard to say no to Pearl. They had been together for so long after all.
"...it couldn't hurt to do it every once in a while, right?"
Pearl looked as though she wanted to argue this further, but simply exhaled in defeat. "Fine, but I don't want you two up all night again reading or playing that card game. Remember, Steven needs his sleep."
"I'm aware. ...but in my defense, it was a brand new game so it took us a little longer to learn the rules."
Pearl growled in her throat and frowned. Which Spinel usually took to mean that arguing would only make Pearl angry.
"Spinel! I'm ready for bed!" Called out Steven from his bedroom up the stairs.
"Goodnight, guys," Spinel said quickly before turning on her heel and dashing up the stairs like a puppy that had just been called to its master. There was just nothing Spinel liked more than being with Steven.
When she got up the stairs, she looked around the room, but found that Steven wasn't there. Confused at first, Spinel took a few more steps into the room until she was met with a something soft and sweet against the tip of her nose.
"Gotcha," Steven laughed, floating slowly back to the floor. He had been hovering just above Spinel to surprise her, hoping to cheer her up a little with one of her favorite treats. He had tapped the large marshmallow to the tip of her nose to get her attention.
Spinels eyes lit up and she opened her mouth expectedly. With another light laugh, Steven placed the marshmallow gently into her mouth, feeling a sense of relief as he watched Spinel enjoy her snack so cheerfully.
"Only one though." Steven insisted, knowing full well that she was sure to ask for more.
Looking slightly disappointed, Spinel swallowed her treat and nodded her head, "fine. Thank you, Steven."
Though Spinel was still upset that she couldn't give Steven his gift right away, the day hadn't been a total failure. After all, any time she got to spend with Steven was enough for her.
Steven smiled at Spinel before yawning a bit. He then turned for his bed and get himself under the blanket. He had spent most of the day out with Connie and was actually pretty tired.
Spinel closed her eyes for a moment and changed her attire in a flash of light. Now wearing a pink shirt and pajama pants, she was ready for bed as well. The Gem jumped onto the bed, causing Steven to bounce a little, warning a laugh from the both of them.
Steven watched as Spinel got herself under the blankets. He had gotten so used to Spinel sleeping beside him that it felt off whenever Pearl would make her sleep elsewhere. The bed was too big without her it seemed.
Once Spinel got comfortable beneath the blankets, she noticed Steven staring down at her and her heart thumped against her chest to her surprise.
"Wh...what is it?" She asked bashfully, more confused over the pang in her chest than his gaze on her.
It wasn't until Spinel spoke up that Steven even realized he had been staring. With a nervous flinch, he smiled awkwardly and looked away, feeling his cheeks begin to burn.
"N-nothing. Sorry. I was just uh...thinking about something."
An embarrassing silence fell between them now and Spinel didn't like it. This was supposed to be like any other night. Had she done something wrong? Perhaps Steven was still upset that she had raised her voice at Connie earlier.
"You should get to sleep," tried Spinel, holding out her arms with a smile.
Steven blushed even further, looking down at her as she waited for him to lean down into her arms.
"You know, I'm a lot bigger now..." he replied before clearing his throat a little.
Spinels smile faded quickly. Clearly dejected, she brought her arms back to herself and tried to smile as is if to shrug it off.
"Oh, of course. I just thought you might..."
As her voice trailed off Steven took in a deep breath and cleared his throat once more, holding out his arms this time, his eyes fixed on the blanket to keep from meeting Spinels gaze. This was a little embarrassing now that he wasn't so small.
Spinel perked up almost at once, leaning forward quickly and snuggling against Stevens chest with a smile. Perhaps he wasn't angry with her after all.
Seeing Spinel cheered up once again, Steven smiled and sighed in defeat. Spinels moods always shifted so quickly and everything showed on her face. He just couldn't win against her when she seemed disappointed or sad. Laying himself down a little more, he hugged her thin frame, resting his head just above hers on the pillow and closed his eyes.
"Goodnight Spinel..." breathed Steven quietly.
"Goodnight...Steven," Spinel whispered in reply. Today hadn't gone as planned at all. Hopefully she could get Stevens gift fixed quickly and try again. After all, it was something very special to her and she wanted him to have it. However, thinking about fixing the present brought her mind back to seeing Connie and Steven together. The image brought another strange feeling in her chest. More painful this time. It's not like she hadn't felt this before. The past year or so, it's how she always felt when Connie was around Steven. It's why being around the girl was so uncomfortable for her. She didn't like the pain in her gut and she began to find...that she didn't much like Steven smiling at Connie the way he did. These feelings...Spinel hated it. She wasn't supposed to be like this. Steven cared about Connie and Steven was her friend. So that meant that Spinel should like Connie as well, right? Spinel didn't want to be a bad friend.
Hoping to make the painful feeling disappear, Spinel snuggled in closer to Steven and closed her eyes tight. He always made her feel better. He always made everything heavy feel light again. Everything would be okay...so long as Steven was here with her. She was sure of it.
A/N: Thank you all for reading Chapter One. The next chapter will be out soon. You can follow the tag on tumblr or follow the story on
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