It was a vast expanse of grassland. That's what Steven thought, except that it was all pink. He had no idea where he was, but it felt somehow familiar. He was neck-deep in the tall, soft grass that was blown about by the soft, warm wind. He thought could see an acacia tree in the distance, as pink as the rest of his surroundings.
He also found that he couldn't breathe! He tried to get some air into his lungs, only to find that his nose and mouth were completely blocked, refusing to take in anything. He struggled and squirmed, only to find that he couldn't move either. He suddenly fell through the grass on something soft, bouncing a little. He rubbed his eyes and sat up to take a look around. He was back in his bedroom in his beach house, and sitting on his bed across from him was a large animal of some kind in the darkness. When his vision adjusted, he saw that it was none other than Lion.
Of course. He had dreamt about being in a pink, grassy landscape because Lion was lying on top of him in his sleep. It felt so real, as if he really were transported to another realm, but what other explanation was there?
"Lion?" Steven stifled a yawn. "What are you doing? I made you your own bed from the couch cushions." He gestured downstairs to the couch cushions on the floor covered by a blanket with a couple of pillows. "I should probably get you a real bed. Anyway, you should go to your own bed. Go." He tried to push his large pet off of his bed, to find that the feline wouldn't budge. "Lion, I'm not playing around here. Come on now." He tried pushing him again, but he still wouldn't move an inch.
Lion just stared at him with those big eyes of his.
Steven smiled at him. "Aww, how can I say no to that face? Okay, but just for tonight. And no more smothering, okay?" Steven lay his head back on his pillow, and Lion lay down at the foot of the bed.
"Goodnight, Lion." Steven closed his eyes as he drifted off back to Dreamland...
Before Lion rolled over on top of him, smothering him again. Steven was trapped underneath a big, heavy mass of pink fur. His muffled shouting and patting Lion's side did nothing to get the cat off of him.
"Oh my goodness, Steven! Steven, I got you! Don't worry, I'll- Lion, get off of him!" Steven felt someone grab his arm and pull on him, freeing him from underneath his pet before gravity did its thing and he fell to the ground floor of the beach house, Lion's makeshift bed breaking his fall.
"Huh?" Steven rubbed his eyes and looked up at who pulled him free. "Pearl? What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep in your room."
"I don't sleep every night, Steven. Unlike humans, we don't need to get eight hours of sleep each night. Gems sleep whenever it's really necessary, and most of the energy we get is from sunlight."
"Oh. So, then what do you usually do at night when you're not sleeping?"
"Well, I like to take some time to organize my belongings, read, do some tidying up around the house, sometimes I go on missions with the other Gems when something relating to Gems or Gemworld comes up, and..." Pearl started to cast her eyes nervously at the far wall. "I... also occasionally like to watch you sleep. I worry sometimes, that's all. Anyway, why was Lion lying on top of you?"
"I don't know. Maybe because he loves me." As if on cue, Lion padded down the stairs and walked over to the young half-Gem to pull his face into his mane with one of his front paws. "See?" Steven yawned. "Okay, time for Steven to go back to bed. Growing boys need their rest, especially Crystal Gem boys." He freed himself from his pet's hold and walked up the stairs back to his room.
"Are you sure you don't want me to watch after you?"
"No thanks."
"Oh. Well, okay. Good night." Pearl walked back to her room in the Temple, seeming a bit disappointed.
He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, but the thought of being watched in his sleep creeped him out. He snuggled into his pillow and closed his eyes again, only to open them back up when he felt a pair of eyes on him. "Pearl, I said I don't want-" He realized he was talking to Lion, who was staring him down, probably waiting for him to fall asleep so he can lie on him again. "Lion, I don't want you watching me sleep either."
Lion then promptly climbed up onto Steven's bed and lay on top of him again, smothering the poor boy's face in his thick mane. For a moment, Steven thought he was back in the pink field from his dream. He pushed himself free and fell to the loft floor. "Lion, what is up with you lately?"
Lion picked his head up and looked at his owner.
Steven sighed through his nose. "Alright, fine. You can sleep in my bed tonight and I'll take your bed. How about that?" He walked down the stairs and went to lie down on the couch cushions on the floor. He covered himself with the blanket and promptly went to sleep.
Soon, though, Lion came down and smothered Steven again. Steven grabbed a pillow and swatted him with it, forcing him off of him. "Lion! I told you no more smothering! Come on, let's go." Steven got to his feet and went to open the front door of the beach house. "You're going to sit outside and think about what you've done." Lion walked over to the doorway and looked at it for a few seconds, then looked at Steven, purring sadly with pitiful eyes. That look was almost enough to get Steven to change his mind, but he quickly came to his senses before he could fall for the pink feline's psychological trick. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Sorry, Lion, but I'm not taking any more chances tonight." He pushed him out the door and closed it.
Steven padded up the stairs back to his bed, huddled up under the covers, and tried to fall back asleep. Tried to. He was kept awake by Lion scratching at the door. Steven groaned and covered his ears with his pillow to try and block out the sound, but it was no use. Steven then went back down and opened the door. "Alright, Lion. You can come back inside if you promise you won't try to lay on me again." Lion walked past him back inside and sat at the bottom of the stairs, which Steven climbed to go back to bed, before Lion lay on top of him again. Steven was too tired to fight him at this point.
Steven was sitting at the kitchen island, groggily eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He hadn't really slept too well last night on account of Lion, who was sitting on the floor next to him grooming himself, trying to smother him all night.
Ruby warped in. "Hey, kid! You wanna come do some more sparring at the Solar Spire today?"
Steven let out a yawn. "No thanks. I didn't sleep too great last night."
The red Gem just snorted. "Come on, don't let that get you down! I only sleep a few times a month and look at me."
"Humans still need to sleep every night, Ruby. I know it kinda sucks, but that's just how the human body works."
Ruby stepped off the Warp Pad and walked up to him. "So, what's wrong? Why didn't you sleep well?"
"Lion kept laying on my face when I was trying to sleep. I think he's just trying to give me love the same way I give him love." Steven pet the pink feline sitting next to him.
Ruby raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Steve, I don't think animals can feel love."
"Sure they can!" Lion promptly pushed Steven onto the floor with his muzzle and lay down on top of him, the young boy then pushing himself free. "See? He loves me!"
"Cute. Well, don't let it happen again. We can't have you missing out on sleep if it's that important to you."
"You're absolutely right." Steven yawned and stretched as he got up from his chair. "I'm gonna go take a nap."
"Good idea."
Steven lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. Soon enough, he drifted off to sleep.
Steven was on an island playing music with the Crying Breakfast Friends. He was strumming a soft tune on his ukulele, humming as he played. Instead of playing their instruments, all of the anthropomorphic food items just bawled their eyes out.
"Hey, don't cry! Come on, we're supposed to be playing music."
"Your music is just so beautiful!" Wailing Waffle wailed.
"It touches my heart in ways I can't explain!" Sad Apple cried.
"You're so talented, Steven!" Spilled Milk moaned from their spot on the ground.
"Aww, thanks, you guys." Just then, Steven felt the island shaking under his feet. The Crying Breakfast Friends started crying again, this time from fear and panic instead of being touched by Steven's tune. "What's happening?!"
"We're doomed!" "It's the end of the world!" "I'm not ready to die yet!"
The island crumbled away and all of the Crying Breakfast Friends and their instruments disappeared, and Steven soon found himself falling into a pink void. Falling, falling, falling until he found himself surrounded by tall, pink grass. He stood to his feet and took in his surroundings. He was back in the pink landscape from his dream last night. This time, he could see the tree in the distance more clearly. Its branches were crooked, and its bark was a very dark, almost purple-looking shade of pink. The tree sat on top of a small hill, surrounded by various objects. He found himself unable to get closer since he couldn't breathe, just like last time.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw that he was lying back on the couch, and Lion was looming over him.
"Seriously, Lion? Again? Alright, how about we go outside and spend the day together? Would you like that? Blink if you'd like that."
Lion blinked at him.
"Okay! Let me go get dressed and we can get going."
Steven and Lion were out on the beach. "Okay, Lion, go get it!" Steven tossed the frisbee he was holding across the beach, but Lion didn't care enough to run after it. Instead he just wrapped a paw around his master and pulled his face into his chest. The child pushed himself away and gasped for breath. "Lion, no! You're supposed to go get the frisbee, not shove my face into your fur!" He then walked over to the frisbee he threw and picked it up off the sandy ground. "Let's try this again. Go get it!" He threw the frisbee again, the big cat once again ignoring it in favor of trotting over to Steven and shoving him to the sand with his muzzle and lying down on top of him. "Mmph! Lion!" Steven struggled and pushed himself free. "Lion, my body is not your bed," he scolded as he stood to his feet and dusted himself off. "Whatever. How about we go to the Big Donut and get a snack?" He climbed onto Lion's back and rode off to his favorite donut shop.
"We can see if they have any cat treats for you. I know how much you love tuna. Maybe they have something tuna-flavored you might like."
When they arrived, Steven climbed down and opened the door. "Good afternoon, Big Donut Employees! Your favorite customer is here."
"Hey, Steven!" Sadie greeted. "Want a donut?"
Steven walked into the store, Lion following close behind him. "Well, I could get a donut, but I always get donuts. Shouldn't I live my life to the fullest and try new things? So I'm thinking to get something else this time."
Lars, who was also sitting at the front counter, spat out his soda all over the place, getting a little bit on Sadie, to her annoyance. "What the hell is that thing?!"
Steven looked at the large pink feline behind him. "This is my pet lion, Lion. Well, he's kind of my pet. He likes to do his own thing a lot of the time. But what cat doesn't, am I right?"
"Yeah," Sadie said. "We all know how cats are. So, what'll it be? Spicy pretzels? A croissant? An everything bagel?"
"All of those options sound tasty. I think I'll take a look around and see what looks good." Steven walked around the Big Donut, looking to decide what he should get. Decisions, decisions. So many decisions. There were a lot of options to choose from, and they all looked pretty delicious. If Sapphire were here, he could ask her to use her future vision to see what the best option would be. But she wasn't here, so he had to make this decision on his own. Of course, he could ask Lion, but Lion couldn't really talk. He then came across the freezer that used to hold Cookie Cats, his favorite ice cream treat before they got discontinued.
"Oh, Cookie Cat." The boy put a hand against the cold glass door. "You will be missed dearly." Then Lion walked over and pressed his nose against the freezer door. "Oh, hey, Lion. Do you think I should get something from the ice cream freezer?"
Lion's eyes were clearly set on the Lion Lickers, those artificially-flavored banana popsicles that are shaped to barely look like lions. "Lion Lickers? No, Lion, those are gross. Nothing against you, but Lion Lickers don't even look like lions. I guess I'll go with the classic ice cream sandwich." Steven opened the door and took out one of the wrapped rectangular treats, then walked up to the counter to pay for it. "Oh, wait! Do you guys have any cat treats in stock?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Okay. Sorry, Lion." Steven stroked his pet's fur. "I guess you won't be getting anything." He then looked up and noticed the row of paper bags in the back with Sadie's name written on them. "Hey, Sadie, I didn't know there was a snack named after you."
"What?" The blonde girl looked over her shoulder. "Oh, no. Those are just some bagged lunches my mom made for me."
"Aww, that's nice! Does Lars' mom make bagged lunches for him too?"
"No way!" Lars insisted. "Bagged lunches are for babies and wusses. I eat whatever's in the back of the store."
Sadie shot him an annoyed glare. "Which is against the rules." The female employee turned back to their customer. "Anyway, it's pretty embarrassing. She's been doing it for years. I mean, I'm 17! I know how to feed myself!"
Steven hummed in thought. "Do any of them have tuna?"
"Yeah. Let me grab it for you." Sadie grabbed the lunch and placed it on the counter. "It'll be $1.99 for the ice cream sandwich. The bagged lunch is free."
"Thank you!" Steven and Lion left the store with their goodies. (Steven payed, of course)
Steven and Lion were sitting on the front porch of the beach house enjoying their treats. "Mmm. This ice cream sandwich is good. Though not as good as Cookie Cats were. How do you like your tuna sandwich, Lion?"
Lion was sniffing at the paper bag the sandwich originally came in, getting it stuck on his nose before he sneezed and blew it off onto Steven's face. "I'm gonna assume you like it a lot. 'Cause you're a cat, and cats like tuna."
Steven picked up the bag and looked at it. "I wonder what kind of lunch my mom would have made me. I wish I knew a bit more about her."
Lion looked at Steven with his head cocked to the side. The feline's owner looked back at him. "I mean, I know that the Gems all love and miss her, and Pearl really loves and misses her. But I really wanna know what she was like when she was still around."
The pink feline then rolled over on his back, still looking up at the boy.
"You want a belly rub, Lion?"
Lion gave a small purr in response, staring into his soul with his big kitty-cat eyes.
"You never let me touch your belly." Steven reached over to put a hand on his pet's soft, furry tummy...
Before Lion wrapped both of his front legs around the back of Steven's head and pulled him into his chest. Steven flailed his limbs in desperation for freedom. "Mmmph! Mmmph! It's a trap! An adorable, fluffy trap!" Steven struggled some more before finding himself back in the unbreathable pink field from his dreams. Now he knew that it was real. He was wide awake, and he was there, his surroundings as pink as he remembered. He still couldn't breathe, so he had to go back to his home dimension and get some air. Luckily, he felt Lion loosen his grip on him, so he was able to free himself more easily. He threw his head back and took in a deep breath of fresh air.
The half-Gem boy found himself staring back into his pet's eyes. He cast his eyes down to the light-colored fur on Lion's chest, then experimentally stuck his hand in it, to discover that the area around his wrist glowed a light pink as it sunk into the hair. He promptly pulled it out in surprise. This was unreal. He had no idea how it was possible. Well, magic, of course, but he didn't think there was an actual portal leading to a pocket dimension inside Lion's mane, but it sort of made a lot of sense. Lion did have a sword in there after all. He took in another deep breathe and held it, and plunged his head in. As he expected, he was back in the pink dimension. He set his eyes on the tree in the distance and made his way over to it. Now that he was closer to it, he could really get a good look at the items around and in it.
Leaned against the trunk of the tree was Rose Diamond's sword (this time in its scabbard), at its base sat a small, pink and gold treasure chest and a photo of her with Greg, and in its branches hung a black, XXL t-shirt with the Mr. Universe logo on it. On the other side of the tree, a tattered pink flag with the familiar rose symbol on the scabbard and Steven's shield was planted in the ground. There were also a lot of pink rocks of various sizes around the tree. Looking around, Steven didn't see a key to the chest, but he did find a yellowed-with-age piece of paper with something written on it. He didn't have time to read anything because he was running out of oxygen. He had to get back home soon. He tried exiting on the hill he was standing on, but found that it was no use. Maybe he had to be in the taller grass to exit. It made sense, as he entered this dimension there every time Lion smothered him. He ran as fast as he could back to ground level and ducked into the tall, pink grass, and before he knew it, he tumbled right out of his pet's mane back onto his porch. The boy took a long, deep breath of air, then got to his feet to tell the Gems about what he experienced.
"...which is why I need one of you to watch him for me." Pearl was talking to Ruby, Sapphire, and Amethyst, who were all sitting on the couch.
"Why do you watch Steven sleep anyway?" Amethyst questioned. "That's kinda creepy, innit?"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with being a little worried, is there?"
"Hey, guys!" The four Gems turned their heads to see Steven standing in the door. "I just found a portal to a pocket dimension in Lion's mane!"
"That's nice, Steven," Pearl said. "Wait, what?"
"It's true! I was just there and it was all pink and there was a tree on a hill with a bunch of Mom's stuff around it."
"Rose's belongings were in there?" Pearl's voice was just barely above a whisper.
"At first I thought it was a dream because of Lion sleeping on my face last night. I don't even know how all of that stuff could fit in his mane anyway. I can show you if you want!"
As if on cue, Lion walked in and sat down on his haunches.
The Gems all stared at the feline for a bit before Pearl slowly walked up to him and put a hand to his mane, only to jump back when Lion growled at her.
"Lion." Steven snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor. "Down, boy."
Lion blinked at him, then walked up and rubbed his face against his head. Steven chuckled and pet him in response.
"Does anyone wanna go first? Pearl?"
"Me? Well..."
Steven put a hand in Lion's mane, and held out the other for the Gem to take.
Pearl looked back at his hand, and after a bit of hesitation, decided to take it.
"Make sure to hold your breath. There's no oxygen."
"Well, that's not going to be a problem for me as Gems don't need oxygen to breathe."
"That's cool." Steven inhaled deeply and held his breath, and with that, he made his way into Lion's mane dimension with Pearl in tow.
They immediately arrived in the realm inside Lion's mane, as pink as the large feline himself. Steven pulled on Pearl's arm and pointed to the acacia tree in the distance. She looked at where he was pointing, and then looked back at him as they advanced towards the hill the tree was standing on.
They climbed up the hill, still holding hands, and stopped at the foot of the tree. Steven looked up at Pearl and gestured at what was in front of them.
Pearl let go of Steven's hand and walked over to Rose's sword, caressing the scabbard fondly with her fingers. Then she turned her head to look at the flag that was planted in the ground near it. "So, he really was Rose's lion, wasn't he?" The pale Gem knelt down and picked up the photograph of Rose and Greg. "I still don't understand why she couldn't tell me about him."
Steven walked over to her and showed her the piece of paper that was in there. Curious, Pearl took it from him. "What's this?" She read the paper up and down. "This is a poem that Rose wrote a long time ago."
Steven looked up at her, but his face was starting to turn red. He was running out of air.
"Steven!"
The boy grabbed Pearl's hand and rushed to lower ground so they could exit.
Steven and Pearl tumbled out of Lion's mane right onto the floor of the beach house, Pearl hugging Steven tightly to break his fall. The half-Gem boy inhaled sharply as he took in some air as the two of them stood to their feet.
"So, how was it?" Ruby asked. "Did you see anything interesting?"
"What's this?" Amethyst took the piece of paper out of Pearl's hands, only for her to take it back.
"Be careful with it, Amethyst! It's a poem that was written by Rose before she left us."
"I didn't know Rose wrote a poem," Ruby remarked to Sapphire.
"What's it say?" Amethyst asked.
"Everyone sit down and I'll read it to you."
The Gems and Steven all sat down on the couch as Pearl began to read:
"If I could begin to be,
"Half of what you think of me,
"I could do about anything.
"I could even learn how to love.
"When I see the way you look,
"Shaken by how long it took,
"I could do about anything.
"I could even learn how to love.
"I always thought I might be bad,
"Now I'm sure that it's true,
"Because I think you're so good,
"And I'm nothing like you.
"Look at you go, I just adore you,
"I wish that I knew,
"What makes you think I'm so special.
"If I could begin to do,
"Something that does right by you,
"I would do about anything.
"I would even learn how to love like you.
"Love me like you."
"That's what she wrote," Pearl half-whispered as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"That was beautiful," Steven said. "Who did she write it for?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that she wrote it for someone she loved very much."
"Like me!"
Pearl smiled softly. "Yeah. Like you."
Lion then walked up to Steven and licked him on the cheek, stifling a giggle from him. "Thank you, Lion," he said as he gave him a hug. "I love you."
