Steven was driving down the block, looking for the house.

Mrs. Proud was right. It did take him quite a bit of time for him to get to the house. The highway was backed up and it took him a little more than two hours to get out of it.

He'd never experienced a backup like that. Even throughout all of his driving he'd never came across anything like that. Not even when he'd driven through New York or even Chicago.

And apparently this '405' highway was worse?

He slowed the car down as he neared the number on the address, until he came across the house that was in the picture.

He took the phone off of the magnet and typed in her number. It rang out a few times and he saw someone pull back the curtain.

"Hello, Mrs. Proud. I'm here."

"I see you." she waved behind the window. "Park your car in the driveway."

There was a faint, "Trudy, who you talking to?"

She turned around with a quirk of her eyebrow and an upturn of her top lip. "The person who. we. are. hosting. Remember, Oscar?"

Steven turned up into their driveway and parked next to a black Jeep that looked like something straight out of a nineteen thirties heist movie. "Okay, I'll get my things."

He heard the door unlock and open and he saw a woman in her night clothes. She stepped onto the porch in her slippers. "Did you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just bringing in one bag. When you're a traveler like me, you learn very quickly on how to travel light."

Also, he could simply call Lion and store stuff in his fur and get it back later.

Though he didn't tell her that.

And he was trying to be a bit more "human" and use his magical, portal making Lion less anyway.

Also, he didn't want to work Lion.

Also.. Lion wasn't the most reliable cat ever..

"Alright." she said. "I'll see you inside."

Steven turned the car off and got out. During the long bumper to bumper wait at one point on the highway, he'd used that time to start making up his bag.

He picked it up from the backseat, closed the door and tucked it under his arm. He fished the car keys out of his pocket, locked the car and started his walk up to the house.

"Oscar, stop your whining." he heard an older woman say sternly.

"I'm just saying, I don't want no, free loading, unhygienic person in this house."

"Oscar, stop." then he heard her shout out. "Penny, what are you doing up there? I told you to come down! Our guest is here!"

"Uh, yeah mama! I'm coming!"

Steven walked up the porch and saw Mrs. Proud and what he'd assumed was her husband who looked completely shocked. Like he'd just been bitten by a sea shrimp. And right behind him was a hefty, older looking woman with white hair and wearing a pink moo moo.

"Hey, Steven." Mrs. Trudy held out her arms. "Come in, don't be shy."

He stepped in.

"T, Trudy." the man glared at Steven and he froze. "what is this.." he gestured his hand out at the boy holding his hotdog backpack.

She looked from Steven, giving her husband a glare of her own. "Oscar, don't be rude."

"WHY is there a boy in my house?!"

"Your house?"

"Yes, 'my house'. I am the man of this household."

"Last time I checked, I was the one paying these bills."

He folded his arms. "Well last time I checked, I was the one who FOUND this house for us."

Steven kept looking from one to the other as they squabbled back and forth.

"..first down payment!" she countered.

"Okay, okay, look." he stopped her abruptly. "We can talk about legalities later. But what I WANT to know, is why there is a TEENAGE boy in this house!"

She was walking slowly over towards the frightened boy. "He's the one who we're hosting. Oscar." she placed a gently shoulder on his arm and he flinched.

He actually FLINCHED!

That probably didn't look good to them.

Trudy let go.

"See! I don't trust him, Trudy."

"Oh SHUT up, Oscar." his mother yelled. "You don't trust nobody."

Trudy slowly closed the door behind him. "It's no wonder why he's scared. You're all, yelling your head off like that."

"Trudy, we have specifically. said that we would NOT be hosting any boys!"

"Noooo." she walked up to him. "You said that Oscar. Nobody had a problem about that BUT you."

"Well excuse me, for trying to protect our baby girl, from hormonal, lusty teenage boys who only have one thing on their mind." he glared at Steven.

And somehow the man made him feel guilty. He wasn't even doing stuff like that and that was far away from his mind. Yet, he felt as if he'd committed such an act already.

"You can't assume every boy is like that." she turned to him. "Steven honey," there was a spark that he couldn't pinpoint with that motherly pet name. "don't you worry about this old fool." she nudged the man hard in his rib and he yelped. "You're welcomed here."

Steven tried for a smile.

"NO. He is NOT!"

Steven frowned again.

"Oscar, stop." , "WHAT is wrong with you son! I thought I raised more brains than that!" Trudy and his mom said over one another. The latter raising her cane in the air.

"He's. a boy. I will have NO boys. living. with us."

"Oscar!" she snarled.

"Heyy, sorry I'm late everyone. But Dijonay had to fill me in on this concert." Her parents turned around, looking up at the stairs.

And, as they leaned away.

..It was the sway of her ponytails..

..The way her light brown skin shown brightly under the light of the house..

..The cute little beauty mark just below her eye..

..And the pretty smile she was making as she made her way down the stairs..

His heart was beating a bit faster than usual.

Wow..

"When your mother tells you to come down, you come down at that time, young lady." her mother scolded.

"I know." she said casually. "Sorry, mom."

Her mother scowled at her and the casualness was gone. "Uh, yes ma'am. Won't happen again." she said timidly.

The scowl lasted for a few agonizing seconds for their daughter before her mother's expression softened as she gestured a gentle hand at Steven. "Penny, this is Steven." the girl looked at him and her smile grew wider. Her eyes directly on him. And maybe it was just Steven, but he thought something was there. "He'll be living with us for a couple of weeks."

"No, he's not. This. Steven. was just leaving."

"This. Steven will be staying with us. Penny, he'll need some help settling in. Why don't you show him to his room?"

"What?!"

"He's been on the road for awhile. I can't imagine how tired he must be."

"But Trudy!"

"CAN it, Oscar." she turned to Steven, beckoning him with her arm. "It's okay. He'll have to deal with it."

He shifted on his feet as he squeezed the strap of his bag a bit tighter in his nervous grip "Uh, are you.. sure? I mean.. I don't want to make anyone uneasy." he looked at the father.

"Don't worry about him, boy. He's just a sad, pathetic human. You don't have to worry about him one bit." his mother reassured him.

"That's how he is with a lot of guys. It's nothing against you." Trudy added softly.

"Yeah'uh. Heh. Correction. I do. have something. against you." he said matter of factly. "Because. you. are a boy. And therefore, can get. my daughter. pregnant."

"Daddy!" Penny whined.

Steven felt his cheeks practically turning a bright red. He could feel the blush trail to the tip of his ears.

"Oscar, where is your filter?!"

"Left it somewhere right along with his sense. HA!" his mother joined in.

"Trudy, he's a boy. You know what boys do?!" he pointed an accusing finger at him. "And I don't trust what he has in that bag!"

Steven shifted on his feet. He could feel his body trying to take over. His brain registering the man as a threat.. someone trying to hurt him.

He tried holding the instinct in. Hoping his cheeks weren't glowing amidst the blush.

"H, here." he took the bag off slowly and laid it down on the brown carpet. He raised his hands up. "You can check it if you want."

"Oh COME on Oscar, you're making it seem like he's in some kind of prison." she turned to Steven. "Please, put your hands down." she hesitated, then slowly reached over and gently touched one of his hands as he brought them both down.

"He's gonna BE in some prison if I see anything REMOTELY unusual and suspicious in this bag." he started taking out his night clothes, then his toiletries.

She rubbed at the scared looking boy's hand. "I'm sorry, Steven. This is completely unacceptable and I want to apologize on his behalf. He should NOT be acting like this-."

"Okay, everything seems to be pretty safe." he got up. "Now let me check you."

"Huh?" he squeaked.

"Oh, no. Now. Oscar you are just doing too much."

We waved her away. "Pipe down, Trudy. It'll only take a second. You want him to stay? Well I want to make sure he's safe." he started patting down his legs. "And maybe them I'll think about him sleeping in the garage. Somewhere far away from my baby girl's room."

His skin felt hot and with every second he could feel his pink side trying to take over.

He started counting quickly in his mind as the man pat the rest of his jeans, then up his chest and right as he started patting his sides, the gears of his brain raced.

He was about to touch his gem.

Then he would ask what it was..

And then he would be forced to show them..

And then they would start freaking out and asking him questions.. and then he would start panicking because it would begin to be too much for him!! And then he would turn full on pink and PROBABLY turn into a huge, HUGE WINGLESS DRAGON AND CRASH THROUGH THEIR ROOF!! AND THEEEN THE GEMS AND THE DIAMONDS WOULD HAVE TO RESCUE HIM AND IT WOULD AAAALL BE OVER FOR HIM FOR GOOD THIS TIME!!!!

Oscar was touching the sides of stomach-

"Wait!" he jumped back, grabbing the man's hands. And Steven knew he could feel just how hot his skin was. He let go. "I.." the man looked at him, taken aback. Wait, was he glowing? He hoped that he wasn't. "I.. had surgery there. My.. stomach is still pretty sensitive."

"Then let me see the scar."

He trembled. Not wanting to. And he was one hundred percent sure his cheeks were glowing pink.

"Okay, Oscar." Trudy stepped in between them. "THAT is enough. Stop interrogating the boy."

"Trudy, did you SEE how he grabbed my hand?!"

"You were. PATTING him down like some kind of criminal, Oscar! What do you expect!"

"Look, I know that boy's hiding something." he pointed a finger at him and Steven backed up into the door.

"Look, Oscar, you're scaring him." she calmed her voice down. "This is not right and you know that."

"Trudy, I'm just trying to-Achk!!" his mother pulled him by the throat with the neck of her cane. "Oscar if you don't calm yourself right now, I'm gonna put the HURTIN' on ya."

"Momma!" he gagged. He tried pulling the camera from him.

Trudy turned to the hyperventilating boy. She slowly pulled him away from the door, rubbing his back. She looked at her daughter. "Penny, show him the bathroom. He needs to go somewhere quiet." she pulled him gently and grabbed the opened bag. She gave it to Penny. "Here, take him upstairs." she leaned towards him. "It's going to be okay."

Penny looked uneasy to be taking.. some extremely red, pink sweaty, hyperventilating stranger up the stairs of their house, but she didn't say anything to her mother otherwise.

She put the backpack on her back and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped. "It's okay." she told him.

Oscar grunted, trying to get the words out. "Achkk.. that boy.. you're not letting him go up there!" he yelled out hoarsely.

Penny quickened her steps up the stairs with Steven around her arm. They made it to the floor and down the hall. "The bathroom's right here." she opened the door for him. He walked in. "Did you need your bag?" he gave her a wordless shake of the head. "Okay. I'll be right out here." she closed the door and Steven looked at himself in the mirror. The pink had mixed in with the blush on his face. It was noticeable, but not as noticeable if he hadn't been blushing prior. And the glow had only reached his cheeks and to the bottom of his eyes.

He stared at himself. Completely chiding himself for being so easily spooked like that.

And in front a group of people he didn't even know!

They would definitely be telling him to leave..

WHY did he have to panic like that?

So what if they'd found out if he was a Gem?

He was planning on telling them eventually, so?

And if he was to be Steven, himself, then he would have to embrace BOTH his Gem side AND his human side.

So.. he shouldn't be scared or ashamed. This was who he was. A hybrid. And someone who still needed more time to adjust and to heal with everything that he'd been through.

He felt himself starting to calm down. And as he started listing off the things he saw in the bathroom and mixed it in with counting up to ten and from ten on down, he started calming down more. His skin felt less hot and when he eventually looked back in the mirror, the pink glow was gone.

He walked out the bathroom without the glow and without the blush coloring his face.

Penny was on the opposite wall, sitting down. She looked up at him. "Feeling better?"

"Uh, y, yeah." he felt a little silly. He scratched at his curly hair. "Sorry for that.. little show back there."

She got up, groaning. "Don't worry about it." she gave a roll of her eyes. "It was my dad making a fool out of himself again, like he always do and making us look bad."

"But.. I didn't act the best either."

"Maaan. My dad was the one feeling you up and throwing your stuff around in this bag. I'm actually surprised you didn't get even more mad actually."

"Oh I. try not to get mad." ..he wouldn't want to shatter the whole house like the time he was in the clam.. or.. at the house.. or.. the time when his Pink other half-

NO... no. Were not going down that road. Remember what your therapist told you, Steven.

"Well, you're better than me." she stopped at a door. "This is your room." she opened it and she walked in. He walked in behind her, looking at the room he'd already saw in the picture and was now so surreal to him.

Penny placed his bag on the bed. "Make yourself at home." he looked at her. "T, thanks."

"Hey, it's no problem." she walked pass him and towards the door. Then she thought of something and turned around. "Also, Stephan. Don't worry about my dad. Like, heh, seriously. That's just how he acts towards EVERY guy. Not just you. He even did the same to this, talking peanut." she scoffed. "Didn't trust him around me either."

Talking.. peanut?

Wha?

"Okay, well I'll let you get situated. I ain't gonna, be all on your back or anything. I know how you travelers want your space."

And boy how wrong she was..

Or at least with him..

He wanted nothing more than to be with people.

Well.. apart from her father, that is..

She grabbed the doorknob. "Night, Stephan." she smiled.

And that smile melted his heart. He raised his hand, waving at her. Not bothering to correct her. "Night, Penny."

To him, he thought something was there. How she showed her teeth when she smiled and how her eyes were practically twinkling with beauty. The moment lasted up until she finally turned and closed the door.

And he was alone in his new room.

He shuffled his way to the bed and sat down by his bag.

So this was it. He'd finally arrived at another destination and already he had an enemy. Though he couldn't feel too bad about it. It was how he reacted to "teenage boys" as the father and Penny said.. And at least the rest of the family really seemed nice.

He still had a pretty good feeling about this place and the city, so he definitely wasn't going to let that deter him from staying.

His phone started ringing and he slid the device out of his pocket.

And his mood jumped up to eleven upon seeing the name.

"Hey, dad!" he cheesed.

"Hey there, son. Sorry for calling. You're probably all busy touring the world and, being your own person and whatnot, but.. your old man was missing you a bit too much." he tried to lessen the embarrassment through a chuckle. "I haven't spoken to you in two weeks."

He slid up in the bed and leaned his back on the wall. "Dad." he chortled. "You never have to say sorry for calling me. I always love talking to you."

"Aeeehhh, ya knooooow." he drawled. "I don't want to annoy you."

"Never." he smiled. He felt his throat tighten. "And I missed you too dad. I miss everyone back at Beach City."

There was a full two seconds of silence. "And.. we miss you too, Steven." he heard a short inhale of a breath. "We all miss you. soo. much." he heard him clear his throat. "So." he went for a deeper, "less emotional" voice. "How's everything? How's the car? Did you find anything interesting on your travels?"

"Everything's going great. Slowly but surely. I'm still talking to my therapist and I haven't been having too many outbursts or turning pink." say for the two times I did today.. "And no, nothing too interesting. Museums and fast food places are more or less the same in every state."

"You wouldn't be saying the same thing about L.A! I heard there's nothing like it."

"No, I think you're talking about New York." he snorted.

"Oh.. well maybe I am."

"And I'm still planning on going there. I just reached Wizville, CA and I plan on staying here for a bit."

"Wizvill, CA, huh? Never heard of it. Must be some small part of California somewhere."

"Yeah, it's pretty small, but it's a nice area."

"Good. Good... -So, uh.. you're safe right? I mean I know you're playing things safe, of course you are, you're my son and you know how to live your life."

"Heheh, yes, dad. I am."

"I know you are. I shouldn't even had to ask that question."

"What do you expect? You're a kind, loving father who's worrying about his son. Of course you'll have questions like that."

There was a knock at the door.

He was started for a second, but still let out a choked out. "Come in."

"Oh! Steven, am I intruding on something?"

Trudy opened the door slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've called back later."

"Uh, it's fine, dad. I wanted to talk to you."

Trudy stopped just in front of the door holding a saucer in her hand. On top of it was a small steaming mug.

"But.. I am glad that we could have even just a little talk."

"Of course. Anytime."

"I guess I'll let you go."

"Take care, son. I love you."

"I love you too."

He waited until he heard a click at the end. He powered the phone back down and looked up at the hostess.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your talk with your father." she walked towards him. "I wanted to give you something." she leaned the cup towards him. "I thought you'd like to have some tea. To calm your nerves."

He grabbed the saucer and the cup with the other hand. "Thank you."

"I also wanted to apologize again with how my husband reacted."

He set the saucer down on his lap.

"Oscar can get a bit animated at times, but that doesn't give him the right to treat you like that. And then I saw how you were reacting to him. And, that honesty made me a bit worried." she went straight to the point. "Steven, are you okay?"

Good thing he wasn't drinking just then, otherwise he would've choked on the tea. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"I mean." she placed a hand on her chest. "I'm not a psychiatrist, nor am I a therapist. But I couldn't help but notice the little ways you were reacting."

"Y,yeah." he brought the cup up to his mouth. "I just.. got a little scared." he said behind the cup. "that's all."

"Hmm." the lady hummed. Though he didn't know what that meant. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure." she said tenderly.

Steven took a few sips of the tea to prevent him from saying anymore.

Uuhg.. WHY was he so awkward around people but not.. GEMS?! WHY was talking to people, (aside from when he's trying to help them) that much harder to talk to?!

"If you need anything, Steven, our room is just down the hall to the left." she walked back to the door.

"Okay." he took a few more sips and smiled. "And thanks for the tea, Mrs. Proud. It's delicious."

"You're welcome, Steven. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She closed the door.

That was nice of her. She didn't have to apologize again or give him tea. But she did.

He spent a few minutes drinking the hot tea and he placed the empty mug on the dresser.

Then he got ready for bed. Like Mrs. Proud had said, he was pretty tired from travelling all day. And now, he just wanted to sleep.

He took out his toiletries and went to the bathroom. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, polished his gem and headed back to the room.

He put his toiletries out on the dresser and got in bed. The mattress feeling extremely soft and comfy. He pulled back the top cover and pulled it down to the foot of the bed. It was too hot for that, but he didn't mind the thin blanket laying underneath of it.

He took out his phone and went to his home screen, looking at the photo of he and the Gems when they were on top of a crystal pad during the construction of Little Homeworld.

Wow. He sure has changed since then. No outbursts. No glowing pink.

But, there was no use of sulking too much about it. He was trying to move forward from his trauma, not take any steps back.

He stared at the picture longer than he intended to.. Pearl, Garnet.. Amethyst. His family behind him.

This picture.

It showed how far they came. And also how far he came from after dismantling the empire. But it also showed right before his first crack from something that was slowing building up inside of him. And in this picture, it'd been long brewing. Even before the Diamonds had came to Earth.

But again, he shouldn't be focusing on the negativie aspects of it. He should be moving forward.

"Goodnight Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst." a tear slid down his face and onto the pillow. He locked his screen and placed his phone down beside him. "Goodnight Dad, Connie, Lion... and the townies of Beach City."

He turned over on his side, getting comfortable. He wiped the tear from his eye. He was going to continue striving to be happy and to find himself. He'd made a new step in coming to Wizville, CA and by extension, Los Angeles and he was not going to brood and mope. He was going to better himself, to be cheerful, adventurous, enthusiast, passionate! He was going to make the most of his stay in this new city.

~~~~~~~~~~

Posted another chapter for you guys! _ Chapter two!!

..aaaand already I'm tired of this website. Hard to navigate and edit/post stories and I can't italicize or bold my words for emphasis. I'll see how this goes but I'll probably just stop posting on here and keep writing on ao3.

In the meantime, if you have an ao3 account, feel free to read more of this. White Chocolate by OneCoolCat.

I'm also writing a very, VERY dark, crime drama of Steven Universe called The Road to Beach City. (Though minors/youngsters and people who get squeamish shouldn't read this.)

I even have a MHA and SU crossover called M.H.A. Universe: Gems Rising. Go ahead, give em a read. Feel free to like and comment ;)

Also, for those who have messaged me under my stories, I'm not ignoring you, I just have no idea how to reply back. Again, this site is pretty confusing to use.

Peace