A Room for Roses
"Project F.L.O.G.? That's golf backwards!" He says, approaching the mysterious door.
He opens the door to a cold room, with some kind of pod inside.
"What is this...?" He asks himself, before wiping some condensation off the pod.
"June 9th 2014...?" He says, perplexed. "But that was the day he disappeared..."
Steven was just excitedly watching this. Truth be told, after the last time he tried to play it, and got his TV screen cracked, he sorta blotted the game out of his mind, especially after he thought he saw the secret ending.
But, as he learned over the years, Rose's Room tends to only show you what you know, or what you want to see. So it showed an idealized, perfect ending in his mind. This time was different, more dramatic, and most importantly of all... This time, there were no distractions.
"He told me about these things... I never really listened but... is this what he meant all along...?"
"I'm just a bit... worried for him." Pearl confesses, wiping some grime off of her spear.
"I kinda am too." Amethyst also confessed, picking out some gunk from her hair. "But... I dunno, I kinda like it?"
"Steven has matured much sooner than anticipated." Garnet admits, wiping her gloves. "But, it has been rather beneficial to us overall, for him and us."
"But, that's not the Steven we know, that I know." Pearl says, almost like a plea. "I miss Steven, the sweet and considerate and... only occasionally obnoxious one."
"Like, I get where you're comin' from P, I liked it more when he was all goofy. But..." Amethyst shrugs, seeming uncertain.
"Steven has made much progress in the last few months, and has been of great service to us." Garnet comments.
And then, she put a hand on Pearl's shoulder, looking at her directly. "However, if you worry about Steven, then talk to him. Be honest with yourselves, you care for him, so show it to him."
...she sighed, giving a small nod. "I'll... I'll try and see what I can do."
As Steven finished the last of his sandwich, the warp pad lit up as the Gems had returned.
"Hey Steven!" Pearl hollers with a more peppy tone. "We're back!"
"Oh, hey guys." He waves at them, going over to wash his dishes.
"Wanna hear about where we've been?" Amethyst asks enthusiastically, sitting on a stool.
"Steven! Look at this." Garnet then says, carrying a large, gold accented stone of which Immediately sets off Steven's fight or flight response!
"It's the Wailing Stone we found!" Amethyst excitedly states.
"It's the Wailing Stone I found." Garnet clarifies.
"Isn't it neat? It uses high-frequency sound waves as a message relay between two fixed points at the same time!" Pearl explained, before suddenly being cut off.
"You just have to push This!" Amethyst slaps the button on top, causing the Entire House to shake with a whirring, screeching sound!
It was thankfully short lived as Steven quickly pushed it and turned it off.
"Amethyst, I told you not to turn it on in the house!" Pearl shouts to her, annoyed.
Amethyst just laughs it off. "Chill out, P. It's not like anyone got hurt, and Steven loved it. Right... Steven?"
She seemed to slow down as they saw Steven breathing heavily, with his hand still pressed against the button, as though he was afraid it would go off again.
And after a moment of breathing, and letting his body calm down, he starts to walk towards the pad.
"Can you guys just... Stop?" He says, rather sternly too as he looks at them. "Like, I love you guys, but sometimes you're just... Too much. Isn't it enough that my room is out in the open?"
They seemed a bit... concerned, seeing Steven get so worked up.
"I... S-Steven, we didn't mean to upset you..." Pearl began to say, to which Steven merely sighed.
"...It's just... Sometimes... Sometimes I wish I had a room with some privacy is all." He muttered.
And as he said that, his Gem began to glow, and the temple door began to glow as well?
"Rose's Door." Pearl exclaims in surprise as they approach said door. "Steven, your Gem is opening your Mother's room!'
The door faded in a pink glow as he saw a room of endless clouds. As he slowly approached it, the other Gems suddenly panicked.
"Steven wait! Don't go in there!" They all essentially yelled, much to his annoyance.
"It was my Mom's room and now it's Mine. So deal with it, and give me some space!" He uncharacteristically shouts before jumping through.
"Steven!" They shout as the door closes behind him, leaving them locked out.
...he took a few deep breaths as he looked around, seeing the endless sky that was her room.
"...Calm down Steven, you're better than this. Yelling doesn't fix everything." He tells himself as he thinks of what to do.
"...I'd really like a bed." He says as a bed much like his own appears.
"...Scratch that. Make my future room in its entirety." He corrects as instead, his room from the near future appears.
Oh man, he forgot how much he liked it. Though there was no scenic view of the beach, everything else was here. His wider bed, a Sadie killer poster, his TV and Dolphin console, the Moon Goddess statue, and the most important thing of all. A series of framed photos, from his Rose and Greg one, to the Crystal Gems one, and even one of young (current) and older (future) Connie.
He spent a while just relaxing, laying down on his bed, letting his mind wander as he thought about things...
...why was this room so... strange? What was its purpose? He never really sat down to think about that, and as he did... his mind began to... wander back towards certain... memories...
...those thoughts, swirling like a storm in his head, he found it hard to stay still and eventually stood back up, looking at... what should be a comforting replica of his room.
It was all... Here...
...so why did it feel... like a lie...?
...
...her...
...she sat there, at the edge of the bed. Though she seemed a bit too big for it, she made herself comfortable in her little spot.
"...no no nonono... R-Room? I don't want this." He said, and she poofed into clouds... but then she reformed.
...that puffy hair... that... pink dress...
"Room? This isn't a request. I don't want to see her here." He said more firmly as she poofed again... but the clouds refused to leave.
"...no no no, this is Connie all over again!" He says in panic as he poofs the bedroom away, but all it does is make her stand up.
"...What's wrong, Steven?" She asked, her eyes hard to glimpse.
"No! You don't exist! Y-You're just... My imagination!" He shouts, but she starts walking closer.
"Don't you love me, Steven? I did everything for you." She said as... she became shorter, more... human-like, with curled hair.
"Everything? You did nothing but Hurt people! And I had to stick around and fix your mistakes!" He keeps trying to poof her, taking steps back, but she won't go away!
"I did what I had to. The Diamonds wouldn't listen, but they listened to Rose. They listened to Me." She pulls out her sword and summons her shield, the clouds around them growing darker as thunder rumbled in the distance.
"You're wrong! I thought long and hard about that, ever since I left home, ever since I got here, and ever since I saw your Face again!" He shouts, starting to tear up.
"You could've led the rebellion as a Diamond! You could've showed the people you were willing to change Gem society, and fight for their freedoms as yourself! Not as some.. Quartz soldier who never even existed!"
It started to get cold, the wind blowing past him as he shivered, before seeing... a taller figure looming over the shorter one.
"And not to mention, you never fought for Gem kind. You fought for Earth! you fought for humans! You brought us peace, but at what cost? The lives of millions of Gems?!"
No matter how hard he tried, they wouldn't go away, as the Quartz and the Diamond surrounded him, staring at him with piercing gazes.
"I called you a liar once, and I'll call you one again! You hurt the Crystal Gems! You hid the truth from them! You forced Pearl into silence, and kept Dad in the dark. Why would I Ever want to call you my Mom?!" He shouts, his voice trembling as he finally falls to his knees, crying and sobbing as he can't take it anymore...
...but it was then, that he heard a poof, and the Diamond was gone, shattered by the Quartz who remained...
...she approached Steven, gently wiping his eyes as the storm... faded into a light mist...
"...everything I ever did, I did it because I thought it was right." She confessed, getting down to his level.
"...everything I ever did... hurt everyone I ever cared for..." She began to... cry?
"...everything I ever did... all of it amounted to you." And finally, she pulled him into a hug as she sobbed...
"...I-I'm... Awful... and... I-I spent my whole life... r-running from that fact... I-I'm sorry I put all of this on you..."
...he clutched her in his arms, trembling, crying as she did as well, holding on to him with care...
"...I became someone... worth... loving... but my biggest regret... is never becoming someone... worth forgiving..."
...she poofed, one last time, fading into the clouds, leaving Steven to cry alone...
"He could be doing Anything in there." Pearl warns, to which Garnet shakes her head.
"He will be fine, in fact, here he comes." Garnet replies as the door opens, revealing Steven, who's eyes were a bit red from crying.
"Thank goodness you're okay, Steven!" Pearl quickly said, though she politely kept his distance.
"Hey guys... I'm... sorry for yelling. I just... get mad sometimes, but you didn't mean to bother me." He said, sounding a bit ashamed.
"Oh, Steven, we're sorry too." Pearl replies, with Amethyst nodding in agreement.
"We only want what's best for you, Steven, but we aren't perfect." Garnet explains. "Still, we are free for now. And if you wish to hang out, we are willing."
Steven... smiles at that. "Thanks guys. If... it's okay with you guys, I just wanna watch a movie together."
And so, they end the day watching "Golf Quest Mini: The Putter of Destiny" together, with the night sky falling over them.
As the rest of the Gems waved goodbye and headed to their respective rooms, Pearl stayed behind to tuck him into bed.
"Goodnight Steven, sleep well." She says, putting his teddy next to him.
"...hey Pearl?" He says, causing her to pause. "...those monsters we fight... are they Gems as well...?"
She... hesitated for a moment, before sitting down on the bed. "Oh, how do I put this?"
"...All Gems aren't necessarily... Good." She starts to explain. "The monsters we fight... they were once Gems like us. But they've become corrupted and broken."
"We have to take care of them, subdue them, contain them." She keeps explaining, sighing at the thought. "It's the best we can do for them for now. If we don't, then..."
...she goes silent at that last bit, looking at the ground, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry for the abrupt explanation, but it's the truth. I just hope it doesn't... make you too sad."
Though Steven did have a slight frown, he still shook his head. "No no, I understand. Thank you for being honest with me, Pearl."
She smiles, gently petting his hair, before standing up. "Good Night Steven, sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow."