He stood frozen unsure of what to do. The two other occupants in the room had their eyes glued to his face, patiently awaiting his reaction. A glint of light that bounced off of something in the red girl's hand caught his attention.

He blinked. Was that a gemstone in her hand? If these two were gems then they could be dangerous. The last gem he met, Lapis, had stolen the earth's ocean in an attempt to go back home. Maybe these gems were also trying to get home.

He stole a glance at the temple door where he last saw Garnet go. He debated whether to call her for help, but decided not to when he recalled how angry she had been when he tried to free Lapis from the mirror. He didn't want her to attack these two gems; they didn't seem threatening at all. They were even around the same height as him! He could handle the situation himself.

With his mind made up he turned toward Sapphire. She was the more relaxed of the two and he already knew her name.

"Hi, I'm Steven." he offered her his hand, "But you already knew that?" he half stated, half asked.

An amused smile made its way onto her face as she shook his hand, "I'm Sapphire and she-" Sapphire gestured toward her angry companion who was seated on the floor with her back facing them, "-is Ruby."

He relaxed at her friendly behavior and beamed at her. His smile faltered slightly at Ruby's drooped shoulders and incoherent grumbling.

"Are you ok?" he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, but recoiled in pain when an intense sensation of heat shot through his hand. It was like touching a stove, "Hot! Hot!" he yelped as he blew on his stinging hand.

Ruby turned, eyes wide staring at the faint burn mark on the palm of his hand, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she sputtered as she stood and rushed to inspect his hand. She stopped herself when she noticed her still smoking skin.

He was taken aback by the genuine remorse on her face, "It's ok." he rushed to reassure her, "Nothing a little healing spit won't fix." he said as he licked the burn on his palm. He showed her his hand as his powers kicked him, "See? Nothing to worry about."

Relief washed over Ruby's face before she turned an even darker shade of red, "Don't look at me!" she shouted, turning away from him. "This is all wrong!" she pulled at her hair.

Steven looked to Sapphire for guidance, "Is she ok?" he asked.

A burst of light engulfed the room and interrupted whatever Sapphire was going to say. The light faded to reveal Twoie standing on top of the warp pad.

"You're back!" he shouted, rushing over to wrap him in a hug.

He frowned when Twoie tensed in their embrace and followed his concerned gaze over to where his two guests were standing, "Ruby?! Sapphire?! What's going on?"

"You know them?!"

"Stay away from him! You shatterer!" Ruby roared as she barreled toward them.

He was pulled behind Twoie who summoned his shield and took a defensive stance. His eyes widened when Ruby's fist crashed into the large shield. Smoke rose from the impact. For someone so small she was really strong.

"Hey! Stop!"

Twoie protests were ignored as Ruby continued to bang against the shield.

Her smoking fists crashed into the shield, each hit causing Twoie's arm to shake. She had literal smoke coming out of her ears and the floor under her was scorched black.

A firm voice cut through the chaos, "Ruby." Sapphire reprimanded.

Ruby paused her barrage of attacks for a brief moment and turned to look at Sapphire, "He's working for her! How can you just stand there when he's so close to Steven!"

His confusion grew at her statement. What did he have to do with any of this? He had never even met them before today.

Sapphire remained unfazed throughout all of her frantic shouting, "Ruby, we discussed this. You need to calm do-"

"Arggh!" Ruby interrupted her with a thunderous shout. She summoned gauntlets around her fists and pounded on the shield with renewed vigor, "How's this for calm?!"

Bang.

Crystals of ice formed under Sapphire and began to spread across the living room floor. He shivered when he felt the temperature of the room drop a few degrees. Did Sapphire have ice powers?

Bang.

"Why are you attacking me?!"

Bang.

"You know why!"

He gnawed his bottom lip. This was getting out of control. Ruby wasn't calming down and he was pretty sure the floor under her was on fire. Meanwhile Sapphire had completely checked out of the situation. She was now sitting on his partially frozen couch muttering something about the path of fate.

His mind raced to find a way to end the conflict, but he wasn't even sure why Ruby was attacking them. He tried getting Ruby's attention, but she was completely focused on breaking through Twoie's defenses.

An idea struck him as he recalled how upset Ruby had been when she accidentally burned him. Could it be that she was only mad at Twoie? It made sense since she only started attacking when he arrived.

He took a deep breath before sprinting in front of Twoie, "Please, no more fighting!"

His eyes were shut as he braced himself for an attack. When no pain arrived he opened his eyes. Ruby's fist stood frozen mere inches away from his face. He was right! Ruby didn't want to hurt him.

"We don't have to fight, Ruby. Just tell us what's wrong and maybe we can help you."

Ruby stared at him before lowering her fists and putting away her gauntlets. She bit down on her fist and let out an enraged scream. She still had a scowl on her face as she glared daggers at Twoie, but had otherwise calmed down.

He slowly stepped away from Twoie who still held his shield in front of him. He relaxed when Ruby didn't immediately start attacking. His relief was short lived as she kicked Twoie in the shin a few moments later.

Twoie yelped in pain and rubbed at his injured leg "Ow! That hurt!"

"That's the point!" Ruby yelled as she continued to attack Twoie's exposed shins.

He moved to step in front of them again, but Twoie had other ideas.

"Alright that's it." Twoie said as he got rid of his shield.

He lifted up Ruby by the back of her shirt and held her at arm's length. She swung her limbs around in an attempt to hit Twoie.

"Put me down!"

Twoie ignored her angry shouts and encased her in a large pink bubble. Her muffled screams could still be heard as she pounded against the bubble.

"There, that should take care of her for a while."

"Why is she mad at us?" he asked.

"I don't know." he turned to Sapphire who was still seated on his couch. "What's going on Sapphire? Why did you unfuse?"

"Unfuse?" he asked.

"Oh! That's right you don't know about…"

"About what?"

Twoie hesitated, his eyes darted between Sapphire and Ruby, "I shouldn't be the one to tell you."

Frustration started to build up at yet another thing he wasn't allowed to know about, "Tell me what?!" he pleaded.

"Steven." Sapphire piped up. "Ruby and I are the two components that make up Garnet."

"Garnet is… a fusion?" He turned to Twoie to confirm this.

He nodded, "I would have told you sooner, but Garnet wanted to tell you on your birthday." he explained.

He gawked at Sapphire as his brain finally processed the information, "Garnet's a fusion!"

He flattered as he approached her. He knew Garnet, but he had never met Sapphire and he didn't know how to act around her.

"Uh… Hi. I… Did I make a good first impression?"

Sapphire's laugh was melodic, "Steven I already love you." she pulled him into a hug.

He chuckled and returned her embrace, feeling silly for ever hesitating. Even if Sapphire wasn't Garnet she was still a part of her. Of course Sapphire cared about him.

"Wait, Twoie how did you find out Garnet was a fusion? Did it happen on your birthday?"

Twoie's eyes glazed over and his cheeks flushed a vibrant pink. His mind flashed back to last night to a Twoie who had looked so defeated, "Please. Just leave." he had told him before kicking him out of the dream.

His voice betrayed his concern, "Twoie?"

Twoie blinked, his cheeks returning to their normal color. He let out a tired chuckle, "Yeah, something like that."

He wanted to ask him more, but decided to focus on Ruby who was still trapped in a bubble.

She had stopped punching it and was now seated inside of it, silently fuming. He was about to ask if they could let her out, but before he could the warp pad activated. Pearl and Amethyst had come home.

He opened his mouth to greet them but when they caught sight of Ruby and Sapphire they freaked out. There was a lot of shouting and confusion as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. Their attention immediately went to the bubble where Ruby was still trapped.

"What have you done to Garnet?!"

"Why'd you put Ruby in a bubble?!"

Steven tried to explain, but they kept shouting over him. Twoie barely even tried to defend himself. He stood patiently as they yelled accusations at him. His face was blank as he turned away from the gems and started to walk toward the door of the house.

"Dude, don't walk away from us!" Amethyst called after him, but Twoie ignored her and kept walking.

Twoie stopped at the door, "I didn't do anything, but I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable by being here. I'm going to go." he opened the door and left.


Twoie sat on the beach near where he first met Connie. It was his favorite spot on the beach and the only place that popped into his head when he decided to leave the house.

He felt suffocated in his own home. It was fine when it was just him and Steven, but now the gems rarely left them alone together. There was always someone around, watching him like he was some sort of criminal and every time anything went wrong he was always the one they blamed.

He wasn't sure of the exact reason for why Garnet had split, but he assumed it had something to do with him. Sapphire seemed to tolerate him, but Ruby absolutely hated him. She had called him a shatterer and attacked him. Their mixed feelings on him must have been enough to cause them to unfuse.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and browsed some of his photos. He missed his family. The gems in the house looked like his family, but they didn't act like it. It hurt when they spoke poorly of him, but it hurt even more when they ignored him. He had barely spent any time with them because they would just avoid any kind of interaction with him. They only talked to him because it made Steven happy.

"Twoie!" Steven collected his breath before continuing, "Twoie, I'm sorry th-"

"You don't have to apologize, Steven. I just wanted some fresh air."

"But the gems were being mean to you again."

He stayed silent as he didn't know how to respond. He knew that Steven wanted them to get along, but he couldn't control how the gems felt about him. He sighed and turned his attention back to his phone.

It was a while before Steven took a seat on the sand next to him, "Are you looking at pictures?" he asked.

He hesitated, looking at the picture on his screen. It was taken in Little Homeworld, but it was difficult to make out any buildings so he figured it was safe to show Steven. He tilted the screen to give Steven a better view. It was a group photo with him and all the gems. They were all flashing large smiles at the camera, except for Amethyst who had her tongue out in a goofy expression.

Stars appeared in Steven's eyes, "We all look super cool!"

Before he could stop him Steven had swiped to the next picture.

"Is that Connie?"

It was a picture of him blushing madly, his free hand covered his face in embarrassment and his head was turned away from the camera. Connie was kneeling down in front of him, gently holding his hand and pressing her lips against it.

He had forgotten who took the picture only remembering how embarrassed he was after. Connie called him 'My Diamond' in front of the other Diamonds and liked to make a big show out of being his knight. She was joking when she did so, but the Diamonds loved her displays of loyalty and they were surprisingly effective at getting the Diamonds to warm up to Connie.

He quickly swiped to the next picture.

It was another one of Connie. She stood proudly next to Pearl, gripping a large pink sword. They both wore large grins.

"Is that a sword?! Can you use a sword?!" he asked, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"I can but I'm not as good as Connie. I prefer to avoid fighting if I can."

Steven swiped to the next picture, "Who is that?" He pointed at Peridot who was dressed in a red bowtie and was posing in front of one of her meep morps.

He fumbled with his phone as he rushed to turn off the screen, "Nobody! I…. It's just a friend."

He put his phone away and took in the view of the ocean. Steven noticed his reluctance to talk about the future and thankfully did not ask any more questions about Peridot.

"Do you miss them?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, a lot." he confessed. "It's weird I'm home, but I feel homesick."

A grin made its way to Steven's face, "I just had a great idea!" he exclaimed.


Running a car wash in somewhere as small as Beach City was not the most interesting of professions. Even on days where he had a lot of business he would still have hours where nothing happened. Greg didn't mind the lack of work. In fact, he actually enjoyed it because it gave him ample time to work on his music.

When he wasn't working on his music he took long naps under the warmth of the sun. It was during one of these peaceful naps that he was shaken awake.

"-ake up! Dad!"

He yawned, "I'm up. I'm up." he mumbled.

He opened his bleary eyes and blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sun. His mood lifted at his son's presence. He loved his naps, but he loved spending time with his son even more.

"Hey, Stchu-ball. Come to visit your old man?"

"Dad! Dad!" Steven shouted, bouncing up and down.

"I'm not that far away Steven."

"I want to introduce you to someone!" Steven said not lowering his volume in the slightest.

That's when he noticed the stranger standing closely behind Steven almost as if he was trying to hide which was comical because he towered over Steven. He blinked as he took in the strangers outfit. Were those his old clothes?

Steven must have noticed his stares because he pushed the stranger in front of him, "C'mon, Twoie!"

Twoie stood stiff and refused to meet his eyes. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, but his voice caught in his throat when he got a good look at his face. The mop of curly black hair, his eyes that almost seemed to sparkle, that awkward but familiar smile.

His eyes darted back and forth between Twoie and Steven. It couldn't be! He rubbed his eyes, but that did not change the fact that he was looking at his son. Even if he was much taller and older than he was used to.

"Steven?!" he sputtered. "Is this some sort of prank? Amethyst is that you?"

Shape shifting was something that he was uncomfortable with, but he knew that Amethyst enjoyed doing it. It was easy to tell if it was her because she was always some shade of purple, but the person standing in front of him wasn't purple in the slightest. He was definitely human.

Steven's grin grew, "Twoie is me from the future! Isn't that awesome!"

Greg liked to consider himself an open minded person. He was used to strange things. You had to be when you were in love with someone like Rose, but even he could not hide the shock on his face at the realization that his teenage son from the future was standing right in front of him.

"How did you get so tall?!"

Twoie chuckled his tense posture relaxing a bit, "That's the first thing you ask?"

It was the first time Greg had heard him speak. His voice was deep and calming.

"This is unbelievable!" He rose from his chair and moved to inspect his future son, "You really are Steven!"

Relief washed over the teenager's face, something which he found odd, but he didn't question it as he was still reeling at his presence.

"Yeah, that's me. I go by Twoie now though."

"Twoie?"

"It's short for Steven two." his younger son piped up, "I'm Steven one and he's-" he pointed at his older self. "-is Steven two or Twoie." he explained.

"I… How are you even here?"

He shrugged, "Gem stuff."

He nodded, grateful for the simple explanation. He wasn't the smartest of people and events surrounding the gems tended to be complicated.

"Look at you! You're all grown up Stchu-ball."

He engulfed his older son into a hug and frowned when he felt Twoie stiffen in his embrace. It wasn't like Steven to shy away from hugs. He was a very affectionate child. As if to prove his point Steven hugged both of them.

"Group hug!" he exclaimed.


Steven thought that spending time with his dad would make him feel less homesick. Twoie had been against the idea because he didn't want to make his dad uncomfortable. Steven insisted that his dad would be thrilled to see him and he eventually agreed to go because he also missed his dad.

Being away from Ruby and Sapphire was also something he was grateful for. When he and Steven went to inform the gems of their plans Ruby had freaked out again. Pearl and Amethyst had to restrain her while Sapphire attempted to calm her down.

It took Steven talking to Ruby for her to finally calm down. Steven looked almost hesitant to leave them behind. He couldn't tell if it was because he was worried about them or if he just liked spending time around Ruby and Sapphire.

He strummed the guitar his dad lent him. He had to tune it and it was a bit old, but it worked just fine. Playing music with his dad and Steven was something that he didn't know he needed. When he was with his dad he could almost pretend that he was back in his time.

"And I really like the ones that shoot up kind of spirally with the long tails. What about you, Twoie?" Steven asked.

"What?"

"Which fireworks are your favorite?"

"Oh. Uh, I don't know. I haven't really been to the New Years fireworks in a while."

"Really?" his dad looked surprised. "But they're your favorite part of New Years."

He plucked a few guitar strings. He had been off planet for a few years with only brief visits to Beach City and when he finally did come back he had been so busy he hadn't had time to go watch fireworks. Did he even like fireworks anymore?

"I've just been busy with… future stuff."

"How is the future?" his dad asked.

He hadn't asked him about the future before even though Twoie could tell that he was really curious. He didn't want to worry his dad about gem related events. He grinned as he thought of something he could reveal.

"Well… it's pretty great actually. Especially for you."

Steven gasped, "What happens to dad? Does he get really famous?"

"Not exactly, but he does get really rich."

His grin widened when his dad sputtered in shock, "Rich? Are you serious?"

"Yup, one of your old songs is going to get used in a commercial and you're going to get a lot of money because of it."

Steven's eyes sparkled, "Woah! Dad, you're going to be rich soon! We can go to a fancy hotel and get tuxedos."

"I can't believe it! Wait, what song was it?"

"Hmm… I don't remember the name. It was the one you sang to mom when you first met."

"Comet?!"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's it!"

"Comet? I never heard you sing that song before dad."

His dad rubbed his neck, "It's been a while since I last played it."

"Can you play it now?" Steven eagerly asked.

"I don't really remember all of the lyrics, but I should still have some of my old CDs in my storage unit."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Steven urged tugging them both away from the carwash. "Let's go find it."

Upon opening the storage unit an avalanche of junk fell on top of them. Twoie was slightly impressed at his dad's ability to pack so much stuff in such a small space. When Steven realized how bad the situation was he ran off and came back with back up in the form of Amethyst.

Sifting through his dad's old stuff was more fun than he expected it to be even with Amethyst constantly sending him suspicious looks. Steven had called it a 'dad museum' a term which made sense when you got a good look at the items stored there. There were boxes of things you would expect to find in a storage unit like old clothes, books, and furniture. The deeper he went into the unit the stranger the items became. T-shirt cannons, new golf clubs, climbing equipment, and other things that he knew his dad would never use.

He stumbled over something hard. He reached down to inspect the object. It was a dusty VHS tape of 'Lil' Butler', the sitcom that his dad was once obsessed with. There was a box full of them. He looked around for somewhere to hide them before Amethyst or his dad saw them, but he wasn't fast enough.

Amethyst snatched the VHS out of his hands, "This definitely doesn't belong with all this junk."

He winced when she showed the tape to his dad, whose eyes lit up in excitement. There was no way he would convince them to not watch the show.

"Is that... 'Li'l Butler'? Oh, where have you been all these years?!"

Amethyst was beaming with excitement as she explained the show to Steven. She ran over to an old VHS player that was sitting in the corner of the storage unit. She convinced his dad to watch the show with her.

"Okay, but just one." he said.

Twoie sighed knowing how untrue that statement would become.


"Happy New Year, Steven! How's my volume?"

The cool breeze tickled his skin. He pulled the sweater that Steven had gotten from the storage unit on tighter and watched as Steven showed Pearl how to make noise using pots and pans. She wasn't very good at it. He could barely hear her and he was sitting next to her, but Steven seemed happy at her attempts.

It was a beautiful night, but he had trouble enjoying it due to a certain fusions absence. Steven was excited to spend time around Ruby and Sapphire. They both enjoyed his company, but would still not talk to each other. It was worse when he was around so he had been avoiding being in the house all day. He had hoped that Garnet would be back by now, but they had still not fused and it was starting to worry him. He didn't know the exact timeframe, but he knew that Jasper would be arriving soon.

He chewed the inside of his cheek. The last time she arrived she had mistaken him for his mother and beaten him to a pulp.

"I don't get what you're planning, Rose. But look?! Your base is taken. Your armies are ruined. You have failed!"

He woke up hours later in a prison cell, headed for Homeworld. The only reason they managed to escape was because Garnet defeated Jasper allowing them to take control of the ship, but if she wasn't here then there was no telling what would happen.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Steven, "I'm going to go look for dad." he said, moving to stand up.

"Why don't you stay here with Pearl and I'll go get him." he offered.

He knew that they were still watching 'Lil' Butler' and that they had lost track of time. He hoped that Amethyst wouldn't shapeshift into Rose like she had in his time, but he didn't want Steven to come in case she did.

"Ok, but come back soon."

He nodded and took off toward the direction of the storage unit. His footsteps slowed the closer he got to his destination. He hovered near the entrance and hesitated in going inside.

The faint glow from the television illuminated the room. He could make out the sound of their muffled voices. He took a deep breath before heading inside.

His eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. Amethyst hadn't shape shifted, but she was shouting at his dad.

His dad's voice, usually warm and playful, was now deep and stern, "Don't do this, Amethyst. Seriously."

"I bet you'd stay for her."

"You wouldn't."

"What? Do this?"

It was like watching a train wreck. He wanted to look away, but his eyes refused to listen. Her whole body was engulfed in a bright light. He could make out curls on the top of her head as she grew in height. When the light faded Amethyst stood in a dress and with a familiar gem on her stomach.

The horror on his dad's face reflected his own feelings. His dad squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from Amethyst. He wanted to do the same, but he stood frozen, wishing that he was somewhere else.

"Hey, Greg. Turn around. Check it out!" Amethyst taunted.

"I know you're doing it! I want to be friends again. I really do. But I can't let you do this to me again!"

The TV flickered to static.

"Amethyst. Stop."

She pulled her attention away from his dad, but still held her new form, "Ugh, it's you. Why don't you mind your own business?" she snarked.

His fists shook at his sides and he could tell by the faint light around him that he was starting to turn Pink. He needed to calm down.

"Amethyst. That's enough." he spat through gritted teeth.

She eyed his glowing body with disgust, "What's wrong don't you like my new look?" she mocked, batting her eyelashes at him.

He grinded his teeth together and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. His blood boiled, but he couldn't lose control.

"I'm warning you. Stop."

She opened her arms mockingly, "C'mon, don't you wanna give mommy a hug?"

Something inside him snapped. Even without looking he knew that his whole body was now Pink. All of the rage and frustration that he had been trying to suppress broke free.

"That's enough!" He roared, his fist colliding with her body.

She disappeared in a puff of smoke. The sound of the purple gemstone clattering onto the ground echoed throughout the storage unit.

A soft, "T… Twoie?" caused his heart to drop.

It was Steven.

His gaze was fixed on the shattered screen of the television. He didn't dare turn around. He couldn't bear to see the look of fear that he knew must be plastered on Steven's face.

His dad who had witnessed everything eyed Amethysts gem that lay still on the floor in shock. The room felt too small. Air entered his lungs, but it felt like he was drowning.

His pink hand shook in the empty space where Amethyst once stood. He needed to get away. So, he did the only thing that he could. He ran.

He heard voices calling out to him, but he didn't stop. He pumped his legs harder and harder, willing them to take him far away.

He kept running.


Steven's eyes scanned the same sentence for what felt like the hundredth time. No matter how many times he read it his mind refused to process the words.

He gave up on trying to distract himself and closed the book shut. His gaze wandered to the front door. He had hoped Twoie would come back after a few hours, but that had been over a week ago.

After the incident in the storage unit. Twoie had run off and no one had seen him since. Amethyst took three days to reform and when she finally did she refused to talk about what had happened.

The only good thing that had come of the situation was Garnet. Ruby and Sapphire had fused a few hours after Twoie had gone missing. Garnet was more relaxed now that Twoie was gone. Pearl and Amethyst almost seemed relieved that he was gone. He and his dad were the only ones who seemed to care about Twoie. The gems would deny it and claim that they cared too, but he could tell that they weren't being honest.

The warp pad activated and brought in all three of the crystal gems. His spirits fell at the lack of Twoie's presence. He had been so sure that they would find him today.

"Steven, why are you still awake? We sent you home hours ago." Pearl asked him.

He ignored her question, "Did you find him?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

It was silent as his three guardians shared concerned looks. They were worried about him. That fact would have warmed his heart a week ago, but now he couldn't help but resent them for it. He was fine. Twoie was the one who was missing! They should have been worried about him.

Garnet took a seat on the couch next to him, "Steven, I know you're worried about Twoie, but you need to rest."

He wanted to protest and stay up in hopes that Twoie would come home, but he knew he would only worry the gems more.

His shoulders drooped in defeat, "Ok," he conceded. "But you have to keep looking for him."

"We will."

He nodded satisfied with her answer and headed to his bedroom.

"Y'know…" Amethyst said, he paused mid step, "Maybe we could figure out where he went if we looked at his phone."

Another thing that had changed with Twoie's absences was the gems obsession with his phone. Twoie had accidentally left his phone when he went to go retrieve his dad that night. He had hid it in his room when he caught Pearl trying to unlock it. This had led to them pestering him about the phone almost daily. He wasn't sure why they wanted it, but he was certain that it didn't involve finding Twoie.

"I told you I'm not unlocking it." he grumbled as he entered his room and crawled into his bed.

This time it was Pearl who spoke to him, "Steven, I know you do not want to invade Twoie's privacy, but It could give us information of his whereabo-"

"I said no!" he snapped, wrapping himself up in his comforter.

She let out a sigh, "Goodnight, Steven."

He didn't answer.


The soft orange of the sunset bounced off of the brightly colored van. She was flooded with relief at the sight of the Twoie. Steven fluctuated between being irritable and depressed the whole time he had been missing. Hopefully he would return to normal when she brought Twoie back.

She suppressed her frustration when she caught sight of Greg. He should have told them that he had found Twoie. She pushed her feelings aside and focused on bringing Twoie back.

He was seated next to Greg on the edge of a cliff that overlooked all of beach city. A box of half eaten pizza lay between them along with dozens of comic books strewn across the grass. Her pace slowed as she approached them

"Twoie." she said when she was a feet feet behind them.

They both turned at the sound of her voice. Greg patted Twoie on the back before standing to leave.

"Well, I better get back to the carwash. I'm sure you guys have a lot to talk about." Her face must have betrayed the confusion that she was feeling because Greg continued, "Twoie here has something he wants to tell you. Isn't that right?" he asked while turning to look at the nervous teenager.

Twoie grabbed Greg's hand, "Dad, wait. Don-"

Greg chuckled before kneeling down in front of his son, "You'll be fine Stchu-ball." he reassured.

Twoie's shoulders sagged, but he nodded and let his father leave. They both watched in silence as he got into his van and drove away. The sounds of the van faded into the distance as she drifted over to where he was seated.

Her movements were calm and slow as not to startle him. Twoie looked ready to run and she suspected the only reason he hadn't was because of what Greg had told him. She took a seat on the soft grass next to him.

It was quiet for a while as she waited for him to speak. Minutes ticked by with Twoie saying nothing.

"Steven has been worried about you." She said breaking the tense silence.

He let out a humorless chuckle, "Just Steven, huh?" he murmured, his gaze fixed on the stunning view of the horizon.

She blanched when she realized her mistake, "We were all worried about you." she rushed to correct herself.

"Steven isn't here, you can stop pretending you care about me."

"I… w-what are you talking about?"

He turned toward her, his eyes boring into hers, "I know you guys all hate me."

"N-no that's not… why would-"

"You guys don't think I'm Steven."

Her hand gripped the grass next to her as she struggled to come up with a response.

"You probably think I'm a spy sent by Homeworld or something."

Her body tensed, "Are you?" she asked, preparing herself for a fight.

"No, I'm not." he sighed, turning his intense gaze back to the sunset, "I'm such an idiot. I should have known that showing up dressed like that… What was I thinking?! Now Steven and Amethyst probably hate me. Garnet unfused and even if she was here she wouldn't want to be around me."

"What is the real reason you were dressed like-" her hands had made their way up to her throat and she had to force them away from her mouth. "-... her."

She wanted to believe that she really was talking to an older Steven and not some soldier sent by Homeworld, but she couldn't get the image of him dressed like Pink out of her head.

"I'm sorry." he surprised her by apologizing, "I wanted to say something sooner, but I didn't want to risk weakening the team. Especially with what's about to come…" he laughed bitterly, "I guess I couldn't even do that right. Garnet unfused because of me."

"What are you talk-"

"I'm not making any sense am I?" he interrupted, his eyes once again met hers, "I guess there's no point in lying now. I know the truth about Rose. Who she really was."

"I…" her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Rose Quartz, the leader of the Crystal Gem rebellion and Pink Diamond were the same person."