Crazy trouble with love part 9
Aquamarine and Steven
Series: Steven Universe
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Steven smiled as he was strumming his guitar on the porch of the house with the day looking around the afternoon with the sun slowly setting. Amethyst was laying on her back a little bit away while snoring. Pearl and Garnet had gone off somewhere on the warp pad to check up on a few things, just leaving the two of them alone to chill out.
Steven was wanting to try and see if he could come up with a new song while Amethyst chose to pass out and sleep the day away. Everything was perfect... until a blue object came crashing out of the guy and slammed into the house. It shook the ground and roused Amethyst from her sleep with a snort.
"Huh? Is it dinner?"
"No, something came down." Steven jumped up and saw the smoke coming from the hole and frowned. "Come on Amethyst, we gotta check it out."
"Ugh, do we gotta?" She groaned as she got up.
"Yes, now come on!"
"Fine fine." She groaned as they made their way to the house. They saw something smoking in a small crater where the kitchen was making the gem groan. "Aw man, my snacks were crushed."
"Amethyst, I think we have a bigger problem than that, what is this?" Asked Steven walking over to the object and brought his shield out when he saw a small shape sticking out of the floor which looked like a pair of small and dainty legs. "Um... I think it might be a gem?" He moved over and reached out and poked one leg, but got no response. "Help me get them out, they might be hurt."
"Eh, I dunno, it could be a corrupted one, I say we poof her." Amethyst remarked walking over while Steven grabbed the legs and tried pulling.
"Nnnng... it's stuck! Amethyst, help!" He grunted unable to pry the gem out.
Amethyst sighed before walking over. "Fine, but if they try to eat us, I'm gonna say I told you so."
Both of them grunted as they pulled together with the gem slowly coming up, but ever so slowly making them dig their feet in the ground and give one big yank before stumbling back when the gem came flying out and went flying over their heads and landed on the coffee table.
Groaning, there was a very short blue colored girl with short hair, small dress and blue tear shaped gem.
"Aquamarine?!" spoke Steven and Amethyst together with Amethyst getting her whip out at the ready while the short blue gem looked like she had swirls in her eyes.
"Aaahh... so swirly..."
"Great, we gotta deal with her again." grumbled Amethyst moving over with Steven following with his shield as she looked down at the gem who shook her head. "So, trying to sneak attack us? Well you stink at it. Crashing into the kitchen? Oh mama needs her snacks, and you just messed them up."
"Ow... I'm... where am I?" Groaned the gem before seeing Amethyst over her while brandishing her whip making the blue gem yelp and back up and fall over the other side of the table. "Ow!"
"Um, Amethyst? I think somethings wrong." Spoke Steven as they saw the gem looking scared.
"P-Please don't hurt me!"
"Ok... do you know who you are?" Steven asked slowly as he began to approach her.
She looked at Steven who put his shield away with her trying to rack her mind, but came up with nothing. "I...I...I don't. Who am I? Who are you two?"
"I'm Steven, and you're Aquamarine, we're crystal gems."
"Crystal...gems?" She said as Amethyst frowned.
"We are, you aren't."
"I'm not?"
"No, you're just a gem, so anyway, what's your evil plan?"
"Evil plan?" she looked more lost while tilting her head.
"Yeah, the one to take Steven back to homeworld!"
"What's Homeworld?"
Amethyst groaned and held her head. "How long are you gonna keep up this charade? It's not gonna work!"
"What's a charade?"
"I... I don't think she's faking it." Spoke Steven who moved closer.
"Steven wait!" Amethyst stopped him. "This could be some kind of trick she's putting up. Pretending to not have a clue and then try something. I saw it on TV one time."
"Not everything on tv is real, and she might be hurt."
"Oh come on, just look at her, she's fine." She said with a frown. "I say we poof her!"
"Poof?" spoke Aquamarine nervously seeing the whip and backed up. "W-What's that?"
"I'm gonna hurt you until you disappear into your gem, then bubble you so you can't reform!" She spoke about to let loose, only for Aquamarine to yelp and dart for the door. "Steven grab her!"
"Wait Amethyst! Maybe we could-" he saw his friend chase after Aquamarine and try hitting her with the whip with the smaller gem jumping and running through the destroyed kitchen before following. "Please wait!"
"No, we gotta poof this little twerp!"
As they ran the warp pad lit up with Garnet and Pearl appearing.
"Phew, that was hard." sighed Pearl wiping at her head.
"You said it. At least we're-" Garnet was cut off when she felt something dart behind her legs and saw Amethyst and Steven run over and stop. "home."
"Poof the brat!"
"Pearl nooo! Don't let her!" Spoke Steven before the two turned and saw Aquamarine, tensed up, and saw she was shaking in fear.
"I-I-I don't want to be poofed!"
Garnet and Pearl blinked in surprise before Garnet reached down and picked the gem up by her clothes and held her to her face.
"Tell me. Do you know who I am?"
"N-no, s-should I?"
Garnet took her shades off and squinted her eyes with Aquamarine blinking. "You sure about that?"
"Wow, how come you have three eyes?"
"...she has amnesia, she truly doesn't remember who she is or who we are." Revealed Garnet with Amethyst groaning and put her whip away.
"Dang, I thought she was fibbing."
"Amnesia? But how?" Pearl turned to the two. "When did she get here?"
"Well, she kind of fell out of the sky and through the roof." Remarked Steven pointing to the hole making Pearl go wide eyed and dropped her jaw while Garnet looked at Aquamarine and her gem, noticing there was a crack.
"Her gem is cracked, that might explain the amnesia."
"If it's a crack I could fix it." Steven offered.
"I don't know if you should yet." Garnet said as Steven licked his hand.
"Wait what?" spoke Amethyst confused.
"We're not prepared to fight her if she goes back to how she was before immediately." She spoke putting the gem down. "Not to mention we don't know if she came back with reinforcements or not."
"So what do we do then?" Pearl asked as Aquamarine looked around nervously.
"We can't just keep her here, what if she suddenly remembers when we're asleep at night?"
"Well... let's try fixing her now and see what happens." Steven offered.
"And then kick her butt." Amethyst spoke up.
"Or help her if her memory is still gone."
"Steven, go ahead."
He nodded as he began to slowly approach her. "Hey, umm... listen, I want to help you, is it ok if I touch your gem?"
"My what?"
"The one on the side of your faces, it's cracked."
She reached up and felt the gem before Steven put his moist hand on it. "Ewww!" She cried as she pulled away and tried to wipe it off her face. "Gross gross gross!"
"Ha!" laughed Amethyst.
"Is it working, do you feel any different?"
"No, but I feel violated." She shuddered with a frown. "Wasn't there any other way to have done that?!"
"He could have kissed you." Chuckled Amethyst making Steven and Pearl blush with the small gem lost.
"Kiss?"
"When he puts his lips against yours or your gem, here it's a sign of affection." Garnet said bluntly.
That made the gem grimace as Garnet set her down. "I don't know why, but that sounds gross."
"It can be sometimes, also your gem is fixed."
She touched it while Steven held a mirror up to look at it. "I-Is that how I look?"
"Yup."
"I'm so...blue, and short." She said as her head sagged. "I thought I was taller... I'm so tiny!"
"If it helps, I'm taller." spoke Amethyst with a chuckle.
"It doesn't at all!" She cried out as she crossed her arms in annoyance.
"So... now what?" Amethyst asked as she scratched her head. "Does she remember being, you know... her old self?"
All of them looked at the gem who felt bashful and shook her head.
"Look, I don't know who I am, where I am, or what happened. All I do remember is being in some place small, dark, and my head feeling all wonky." she frowned. "And I'm lost on the whole 'gems' and 'crystal gems' stuff. Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Of course we will, and by us I mean Steven, he'll tell you everything and show you around town."
"What?" spoke the boy in surprise.
"Huh?! He put his wet hand on my face though!"
"Yes, but Steven here knows more about Earth and Beach City than you." frowned Pearl with her arms crossed. "That's why while you're here, he'll show you where things are."
"B-bu-"
"Or we could poof you, your choice."
She stiffened up while Amethyst gave a smirk with a wink making her gulp and shook her head. "I'll take the gross child."
"Hey." huffed Steven.
"Good choice. Steven, we want you to show her around Beach City and tell her all about it, but keep on guard in case she remembers."
"You got it Garnet." he gave a thumbs up and walked to the door with Aquamarine following.
"So… we're totally following them, right?" Amethyst asked as the two left the house.
"Of course. We can't take the chance." Spoke Pearl firmly.
"Plus this will help us see Aquamarine's true colors." Garnet said as we cut to said gem and Steven. The former of course looking around as they went down the stairs.
"So….where are we exactly? Is this Beach City?"
"Nope, just my house. Beach City's over there." He pointed to the town in the distance as they began to make their way across the sand.
"But why is your house far away from it? Why not just live there?"
"Well, the gem temple is here, and sometimes monsters attack so it's good we're not in the middle of town." He answered with a smile. "Plus it's always been like that. Pearl told me they had it set up way before I was around because they wanted privacy from the other people. Of course this was back in the day before my mom met my dad."
"Mom? What is that?" Aquamarine asked in confusion.
"Well, my mom use to be the leader of the Crystal Gems, but she's not around anymore. Or at least, not like the others." he admitted while touching his stomach.
"But just what are the 'Crystal Gems'? Are you one of them? Because you don't seem like them, what with the odd skin color."
"Oh! Well I am part of them, but the reason with our skin color is because they're fully Gems." He said as he poked his arm. "I'm half human, so I'm only half gem, but you're a full gem like them."
"So… would that make me a Crystal Gem then?"
"Well….not exactly." he replied with her tilting her head.
"But you just said they're full gems, and if I'm one too, why wouldn't I be one?"
"Well, you're a gem, and so are they, but that's who you are, the Crystal Gems are more like a group that fought against evil gems."
"Oh! I think I get it….just what exactly ARE gems?"
"Um… I think they're aliens? You're technically just your gem, and your body is projected from said gem?" Steven said with uncertainty.
Aquamarine was confused and touched the teardrop shaped gem. "So what I look like now isn't real?"
"Well, it kind of is?" Steven said nervously. "I uh, I'm not completely sure when it comes to gem stuff."
"And yet you're half a gem." She said as they began to approach the big donut.
"Well, yeah, but it's complicated, I wasn't just...made, like a normal gem, I was a baby and I have to learn as I grow up." Steven explained as he rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of have gem powers, but I still have to learn how to use them."
"Does this mean I have gem powers too?"
"Um… I think so? I'm not completely sure, I only saw you once in the past and you used some kind of gem weapon… oh! You could fly before!"
"Fly?" she looked intrigued and looked at her back. "But how? I don't have any wings."
"I think you made them form out of water." He said as her eyes widened in shock.
"That sounds….silly." She remarked bluntly as they reached the big donut. "How could that even work?"
"I don't know, but it worked for Lapis that's for sure." He said as they entered the building. "C'mon, let's get you some food." He said Sadie perked up.
"Oh, hey Steven, how are you d-" She started only to stop mid sentence when she saw Aquamarine. "AH! THE EVIL BLUE GREMLIN!"
Aquamarine and Steven saw Sadie duck down behind the counter, confusing the first with the second one feeling silly.
"Wait Sadie, there's no reason to be scared."
"She took Lars! She's back to kidnap me again! Run Steven, run!" Sadie called as Aquamarine rolled her eyes.
"This lady is being silly, and rude for calling me a gremlin, whatever that is."
"Let's just say you kinda did some stuff before." he replied before walking over to the counter. "Relax Sadie, she's not gonna hurt or kidnap anyone."
"Steven, how can you say that?" She asked slowly poking her head out.
"Well ya see, she has amnesia." He whispered. "She doesn't remember what happened or who she is."
"So… she's harmless? Then why haven't you done that gem thing and put them in an orb?" She whispered back in confusion.
"Well Garnet thinks it'll be alright to leave her like she is right now. You know, show her around and see if her memory comes back. I mean right now she's kinda defenseless, and it'd be kinda wrong to poof her like this."
"Steven… she tried to kidnap all of us and threatened to kill us, I think you're allowed to be a bit mean." she pointed out while Aquamarine looked around the store with curiosity. "What'll you do if she does remember?"
"Then I'll handle it." He spoke with a serious expression. "It's my job to keep an eye on her, and if she does anything, I'll take full responsibility."
"But what about her tall yellow bodyguard?"
"You mean Topaz? Aquamarine crashed at the temple all on her own, so it's just her."
"Oh….and her little wand thingy?"
"That was also gone."
"Oh...so she's harmless?"
"Yup."
"Huh… neat." She said as she stood back up. "So what can I get ya?"
"Two donuts."
"Ok." She said as Aquamarine tilted her head in confusion.
"What exactly is a donut?"
"It's amazing." Smiled Steven with a shine in his eyes. "It's one of the best things ever in life, so good that once you taste it, you'll never stop at just one."
"Really?" She asked as Sadie handed Steven the donuts. "Those things are that good?"
"Yup, try one." he insisted while holding one out to her.
"Ok…. and what do I do with it?"
"You eat it!"
"E-at? What is that?"
"It's where you chew it up with your mouth, like this." he bit into his own donut with a hum, chewed it, then swallowed it. "See?"
"...disgusting." She said with a shudder. "I'll skip on this whole 'eat' thing."
"Aw come on, you're really missing out!"
"I doubt it." She remarked waving her hand. "Show me what else is around this city."
"Ok, how about the boardwalk?" Steven said as he took her donut.
"Lead the way." She said as they left the big donut. "So… what is a boardwalk?"
"It's this big piece of wood that extends out that has tons of great spots to grab a bite to eat or even the arcade."
"Gross, more eating? And what is this 'arcade' you speak of?"
"It's a place where you can play all sorts of fun games."
"Oh? That sounds like fun." She said as she perked up a bit.
"It is, I promise you."
(Boardwalk)
"Here we are!" Steven said as he showed her the boardwalk.
"Oh...it's...nice?" She remarked, awkwardly while not that impressed.
"Come on, let's go play some games!" He said excitedly as he took her hand and began to lead her to one of the booths.
'These games should be somewhat good if they get him this excited.' She thought as he took her to the ring toss booth that was being manned by a tired Mr. Smiley.
"Hey Mr. Smiley."
"Huh? Oh, hey Steven, tiny blue girl, are you ready to play the game?" He asked as Steven pulled out some money.
"Yeah, I wanna show her how fun the games here are." He said as Mr. Smiley took the cash and handed him ten rings.
"Ok, well you know how the game goes, get the rings on the bottles to win a prize."
"That's it? How is that fun?" asked Aquamarine.
"Well, just try it, I promise it's fun." Steven said as he handed her some of the rings.
"Oh alright." she accepted them and held one at the ready and squinted her eyes to take aim at the bottles. She threw the ring with all her might… only for it to bounce off the bottle. "What?"
"Oof, better luck next time Shorty." Mr. Smiley chuckled as Aquamarine grabbed another and threw it, only to miss the bottles completely.
"What?" She frowned and grabbed another one, tossed it, and wound up missing again. "Gah! I hate this game! Give me another ring!"
"Here, try mine." Spoke Steven handing her his.
She took it and threw it, only to miss once more. "No! Why is this so hard?!"
"I know a trick to this if you want to hear it." Steven offered as he watched her quickly begin to throw the rest of her rings.
"What?! And you wait until now to tell me?!" She fumed while stamping her foot.
"Well I wanted to see how you did on your own." He said before she grabbed him and began to shake him.
"Tell me your secrets!"
"W-W-Woah!" He let out from the shaking. "P-P-Please stop shaking me and I'll say it!"
"Then do it, say it!" She shouted crazily as she stopped shaking him.
'Ok, so she hates not being able to do something, I'll have to remember that.' He thought while holding his head to keep from getting dizzy. "Well, the trick is to try and keep your wrist flexible. If it's too stiff, you'll put too much force in it and it'll go where you don't want it to. Just try to relax and give a softer toss."
"Ok, like this?" She asked as she tossed her last ring, trying to do what he described. She watched it go to a closer bottle and bit her lip, but saw it manage to land on the bottle, making her eyes widen. "I-I did it? Yes! I did it, I won!" She laughed happily. "I'm the best, I'm a winner! Now worship me!"
"Well, here ya go." Mr. Smiley said as he gave her a tiny finger puppet.
"..." She looked at the tiny toy. "I don't want this, I want a real reward!"
"Sorry little lady, the bigger prizes go for the rings landing on the bottles in the way back." Mr. Smiley said as he shook his head. "You're free to try again, that is if you pay."
She growled hearing that and turned to Steven with a fire in her eyes. "Steven?"
"I gotcha, we'll pay for another game Mr. Smiley." Steven said as he reached into his pocket, only to realize he was out of money. "Um...can I put it on my tab?"
"Well….ordinarly I would say no, but I think I can make an exception this once." He said with a shrug as he handed them the rings. "Have fun." He said as she grabbed the rings.
"This time I WILL win." She said as she began to toss the rings like Steven taught her, landing most of them, except for a few. But this time she did do a whole lot better than when she began. "Yes, yes, yes, bow before my awesomeness!"
"Way to go." Smiled Steven while clapping.
"Alright, you won yourself a medium prize, congrats."
"Medium?! Are you crazy?! That was perfect!"
"You missed two of them."
"So what? Two is nothing compared to the ones I got!"
"Sorry, you want the big prize you gotta get ten, but don't worry, you still get a prize." he said as he handed her a prize. This being a plush pink bear that actually almost looked as big as herself.
"No! Let me try again, I can get it this time!"
"Sorry, but you don't have any money, so you can't play again."
"Nooo!" She cried out to the sky with horror, with Steven moving over with a nervous chuckle.
"I better show her around to the other stuff, see ya around Mr. Smiley."
"See ya Steven." he called as Steven pulled Aquamarine away, who was clutching her prizes.
"I-I wasn't the best!"
"Oh sure you were. You managed to get a whole lot better after just one try. When I got started I had to try a hundred times." He said as he patted her on the back. "And you're not bad, you got a prize, right?"
"But I didn't get a large one…" She muttered looking down at the bear with a frown. "I don't even get how this is a prize."
"It's meant to be something soft and fluffy you can hug. Plus it's kinda neat seeing how big it is compared to you." He said as she pouted.
"I don't need something like that!"
"Then why are you still holding onto it?"
She noticed she was hugging it close to her and blushed. "I-I-I'm just...holding onto it so I can get rid of it somewhere else."
"It's ok if you want it you know, and if it helps it makes you look cute." He said he blushed.
"What's….cute?"
"Well, its uh… it's when something looks nice, and you like it."
"So….that's me?" She asked as he nodded. "Huh… thanks?"
"You're welcome."
"Wait, something just occurred to me. If you don't have any more money, what else is there to show me?"
"Um…. I could show you my dad's car wash? That was kind of everything there was to do at beach city…"
Aquamarine stared at Steven and rubbed her head. "My dad….my dad….that sounds familiar."
"Huh, I wonder-" Steven started, only to remember that when she was evil she had been after his dad, thinking his name was 'my dad'. "Uh….no reason."
"Must be my imagination, or is it related to my memories?" She wondered as Steven sweated nervously.
"L-Let's just go back to the temple, I can show you some video games!" He grabbed her hand and started dragging her.
"Huh? Uh… ok, if you say so." She said, still feeling lost. 'Why did that feel so familiar?'
"Wow, this whole time we could have been at home watching a movie." Whispered Amethyst to Pearl and Garnet, all three poking their heads out from a nearby alley.
"We had to make sure Steven was safe, who knows what would have happened if Aquamarine regained her memories!" frowned Pearl.
"She came real close to it if Steven didn't change subjects." remarked Garnet. "I saw many futures, a few where she regained her memories and Steven was seriously hurt."
"Well then we need to hurry back there before he realizes we're gone!" Amethyst said as they all raced back to the temple.
(Later)
"Come on, come on, come on! Go faster!" Growled Aquamarine tapping on her controller as fast as possible while she and Steven played a racing game. "I will win this time!"
"Are you sure? You haven't won once yet." Amethyst said as she watched her and Steven play.
"I know I will!"
"Oh, watch out, here comes another power up." smiled Steven as he swerved in front of her and caught it, making his driver suddenly turn into three which blocked her.
"Hey! That was mine!"
"All's fair in Marko cart!"
"Liar! You're cheating, you have to be!"
"Or you suck." Amethyst said as Aquamarine fumed. "If it helps, I'm way better at this game than Steven."
"Hmph! I can still win without-" She stopped when she accidentally turned her driver off the road and into a river, causing a game over and making her grit her teeth as Amethyst burst out laughing with Steven looking at her with sympathy. "Grrrrrrr."
"Um… we can play something else if you wa-"
"No! I MUST beat it, I have to be perfect!" She spoke up firmly with narrowed eyes as the game started over. "I'm going to ace this game in no time flat, even if it takes all night."
"Um, you do know it's ok if you aren't perfect, ri-"
"Wrong! I have to be perfect, I have too!" She shouted, beginning to hyperventilate. "I-I have to or...or….why...I-I can't remember why!"
Steven and Amethyst shared a look with Amethyst getting up and moved over to Aquamarine and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Listen shrimp, you ain't gonna get any better like that. If you wanna master this game, you're gonna need some tips from the master herself, this gal."
"I….but I-"
"It's like how I taught you how to throw the rings, you just let Amethyst help you, I'm going to get some juice." Steven said as he stood up.
"Now first things first, relax. Trust me, if you get too riled up you'll break the controller, and then Pearl's gonna throw a fit because I did the same thing, give or take more than one." Amethyst said as Steven made his way to the kitchen where Garnet was waiting.
"So, how is the video game lesson going?" She asked as Steven sighed.
"I think part of her is trying to come out, but it's causing her some problem. She's hooked on trying to be perfect and is taking it really serious."
"That doesn't surprise me." Garnet said as Steven looked at her in confusion. "Steven, she's from homeworld, a place run by the Diamonds, where everyone is created for a single purpose, and expected to be perfect, all gems there strive to be the perfect tool, a perfect cog in the gem world empire, and if you didn't fit in, or if you messed up too often…. It didn't end well. I imagine even without her memories the idea of being perfect is still ingrained in her subconsciousness."
"You mean, she'll wanna be perfect at just about anything?" Steven asked in confusion.
"Yes, and that may eventually become a problem when she finds something she can't be perfect at." Garnet said as Steven looked at Aquamarine sadly.
"That sounds like a hard life to live."
"To many gems, it's the only thing that matters in life." Garnet said before giving a small smile. "That is until a few met your mother and found out about the crystal gems."
"Yeah… is there anything I can do to help?"
"Simple. Try and help her see that there's more to life than being perfect. I have a feeling if you can do that before she remembers then she might relax and be willing to see there's more than just being perfect." Garnet said as he nodded. "Now go and keep her company, also we're out of juice."
"You got it." He said as he headed back to her. "So, how's it going Aquamarine?"
"You and me, rematch." she spoke firmly with a smug grin. "Thanks to a few tips, I'll be sure to make you taste defeat this time."
"Ok, let's do this." He said with a smile as Amethyst handed him the controller.
"Now just remember what I taught you little blue."
"Yes ma'am!" She said with a nod. "I'll win for sure this time!"
"Watch out Steven, she's not going easy on ya this time." smirked Amethyst before plopping back on the bed to watch. 'Oh this is gonna be good!'
"Alright, ready….set….go!"
Both of them went off down the street with Steven curious what Amethyst taught Aquamarine. 'She seems to be racing like she did before...wait, what if Amethyst was messing with her?'
'Just like Amethyst said, wait till we hit the rocky road and then strike.' Aquamarine thought as she watched her car race across a desert, heading towards a large mountain track. She made sure to stay beside Steven's car who was keeping an eye out for any power ups. 'Almost.. Almost ….
now!'
'Where is i-hey!' Steven found Aquamarine moving in front of his line of sight and blocking the screen. "Uh, Aquamarine?"
"Yes?"
"You're kinda blocking the screen."
"I'm just doing this to get a better look." smirked the gem, even if Steven couldn't see it.
"Uh, could you move please?"
"Sure." She said with a smirk as she moved back, only to sit on Steven's lap.
Said boy was caught off guard and almost let his driver go off the road, but quickly straightened it out with Aquamarine not losing focus. 'O-Ok, Amethyst definitely taught her some dirty tricks, but I won't lose!'
'Hehehe, oh things are gonna get good.' Thought Amethyst as both players were trying to get ahead of the other.
'Almost there, I'm gonna win!' She thought as the finish line began to get closer and closer. 'Which means I can do the next move.'
"You're good Aquamarine, but I'm gonna get there before you." Steven said with a grin.
"Oh? And what makes you think that?"
"Because I just got a powerup!" He spoke as his driver hit a crate and started to glow.
"Oh yeah? Well let's see you try and use it like this!" She spoke before ramming into the back of him, causing his driver to lose health and start swerving to the side.
"Nooo! That was a dirty move!"
"So what? A win is a win!" She declared as Steven groaned.
"Psst, Steven, how about you play dirty and push her off your lap?" Whispered Amethyst. "That'll even things out and make her lose her focus."
"Um… wouldn't that be mean?" He asked as Amethyst shook her head.
"Don't think of it as mean, think of it as evening the stakes." Amethyst said as Steven hesitantly nodded. "Besides, if you let her get away with cheating she'll never stop and you don't want that, do you?"
"No…."
"See? Then it's all fair." She said as Aquamarine got closer and closer to the finish line.
"Yes...finally, I'll be a win- ahh!" She let out, feeling herself falling forward and off Steven's lap, causing her to hit the wrong button which made her own driver swerve and bump into the side, causing her to lose speed as Steven's own driver flew past and across the finish. "NOOOOOO!"
"Yay, I win!"
"NO FAIR!" Aquamarine shouted as she threw down her controller. "YOU CHEATED! I-I WANTED TO WIN!"
"Well in my defense, you were the one who tried to block the screen, remember?"
"Amethyst told me too! Y-You cheated!" She said as her eyes began to water.
"Uh-oh, little blue is throwing a tantrum."
"I-I-I am not!" She said as she stomped her foot. "I-I just wanted to win! I wanted to win!"
"Well there's nothing wrong with that." Spoke up Steven with a smile before patting the side beside him. "Why don't you sit down and I'll tell you something?"
"W-Why, so you can cheat again?" She huffed with a sniff.
"No, so I can give you some advice. One that WON'T hurt." He spoke while glancing at Amethyst.
"Hey, my advice was fine, and fun to watch."
Steven shook his head as Aquamarine sat down. "Look, I can understand wanting to win, a lot. When I got into video games that's all I wanted, but when I didn't and got upset, I learned something. It's more fun to just enjoy the game and relax than it is to take it so seriously. I mean that's what video games are for, to have fun."
"B-But I want, and need to win! I always lose, even at that stupid ring toss thing I lost, I-I have to win, I have to be perfe-"
"No, you don't! I don't care if you're not perfect, no one is!" He spoke up firmly making her jump. "Even if you looked all over the world, all over the universe, no one is going to be perfect, and that's ok."
"B-But…" She started, feeling torn, confused, and….happy?
Steven smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know it sounds weird, but I learned something from video games. As long as you have fun, then you've already won. Sure I can't beat Amethyst, and she does tend to cheat, and distract me, and get salt all over her controller, and-"
"Hey, since when did this turn into an assault on me?! Focus on your girlfriend Steven!"
Steven blushed with Aquamarine confused before he shook his head. "M-My point is that even if I don't beat her, I still have fun playing with another person and enjoy the time we spend together. Everyone has their flaws, but that's what makes them, them."
"R-Really?" Aquamarine asked, feeling something strange, like she had been freed from some kind of burden. "So….even if I don't win, then what?"
"You keep trying, but do it because you want to, not because you need to. Believe me, it's way better to do things you want to, than doing them because you feel you have to."
"Then… can we try again?" She asked as she sat back up and moved back onto his lap.
Steven turned bright red with Amethyst snickering. "U-Uh, s-sure, we can go again."
"Great, and next time I'll win for sure!"
"B-But wouldn't you rather sit on something more comfy?"
"But you are comfy Steven." She said with a smile, which made him blush and Amethyst roar out laughing.
"Ahahahahaha! O-O-Oh man! Good one!" She chortled as Aquamarine just looked at them in confusion.
"What? What's wrong?"
"I-It's nothing, really." Steven said as he looked away.
"You sure Steven? I'll bet she'd LOVE to know." Snickered Amethyst while Steven gave her a silent glare.
"Yes, I'd like to know, what's so funny? And why are you red?"
"Uh….um…. G-Garnet can tell you!" He pointed to the fusion who was pouring herself some water.
"I can't, I'm on break."
"I….uh….P-Pearl!" He cried out, with said gem rushing out of her room.
"What's going on? What happened? Are we under attack?"
"A-Aquamarine has a question for you!"
Pearl looked serious and put her hands on her hips. "Does she now?"
"Yes, why is Amethyst laughing and Steven red?"
"Well what happened?"
"Well, I sat on Steven's lap and told him that I found it comfy, and then they turned red and started laughing." She explained.
Pearl looked shocked and even more pale than usual, with her jaw dropping. "I-I uh...a...gah...G-Garnet!"
"On break." she repeated while casually drinking the water.
"So, what's the problem?" She asked as she tilted her head.
"Uh….it's….um….Amethyst say something." Whispered Pearl through gritted teeth.
"Fine, fine." Sighed the purple alien. "So, it's wrong because Steven likes you and it has something to do with his human parts I think?" She said as Steven both paled and blushed at the same time. "He feels embarrassed to be so close to you, only couples are usually that close."
"What is a couple?"
"It's when humans are close, or… ah! Ok, for us, it would be Garnet." Spoke Amethyst pointing to said fusion.
"How?"
"Well since Garnet's a fusion, it's kinda like that. See when gems fuse, it's kinda like….holding hands for instance, but different. Garnet, do you mind unfusing for a sec?"
"No." Garnet said as she shook her head. "Look, fusing is about having a bond that is strong, something that is not just love, it can be close friendship, camaraderie, but for me, it is because Ruby and Sapphire love each other, so much they never want to be seperated."
"Wait… you're a fusion?"
"Yes." She said as Aquamarine's face began to heat up.
"O-Oh, ok, I uh… I just assumed...I didn't...I-I'm just going to look away now!" She quickly looked away with Amethyst snickering as the small blue gem got off Steven's lap quickly.
"It's alright, I'm used to it." Garnet said calmly.
"S-So, are you like that...all the time?" Aquamarine asked, her face as red as Steven's.
"Yes."
"O-oh...ok...uh….ok." Aquamarine said as she kept looking away.
"Aw, she's shy~" sang Amethyst, only for Pearl to clear her throat.
"It's getting pretty late, time for bed Steven."
"R-Right." Steven said as Aquamarine cleared her throat.
"Why does he have to go to bed if the sun is going down?"
"Humans need to get at least 8 hours of sleep each day. It lets their bodies rest and regain energy they've used."
"Huh?! That's dumb, that's so much time! Also, what exactly is sleep?"
"It's when you can lean back, close your eyes, and pass out. Trust me, it feels great." spoke Amethyst while Steven turned the game and tv off before getting into bed. "Plus I can drool all I want and have an excuse."
"Doesn't mean you can ignore cleaning anything you drool over." frowned Pearl.
"Yep, it's great." She chuckled as Aquamarine scratched her head.
"I don't get it, are you sure it feels good? Sounds boring."
"To humans, it can be what they need after a long long day." Piped up Garnet.
"Plus you sometimes get crazy dreams, right Pearl?" Amethyst asked with a chuckle.
"Amethyst!"
"Huh...maybe I should give it a try?"
"You can take the couch." suggested Garnet.
"Huh? Don't I have to be in a bed to do it?"
"Not really. As long as you can get comfy and relaxed, you can use other spots besides a bed." Garnet said as Aquamarine nodded in understanding.
"Oh...ok. I guess I can try that, night Steven."
"Good night Aquamarine."
(2 months later)
"Come on, is that all you can do?" Questioned Lapis, arms crossed and flapping her wings in the air while Aquamarine herself was trying to reach the same height with her own wings and struggling. "We've been at this for a week."
"I'm trying, alright?! It's just hard!" Aquamarine groaned.
"Hard? Oh it's hard? Try being stuck in a mirror for what feels like a life time and THEN we can talk about hard." She barked back while Steven and Peridot watched down below with Pumpkin in Peridot's arms.
"Wow, she really likes to bring up the mirror, huh?" Steven said nervously.
"Yeah, it's her thing. So… this Aquamarine knows nothing?" Asked Peridot.
"Nope."
"What about from Homeworld?"
"They haven't shown up, I don't think they're coming for her."
"Then it makes perfect sense to either poof her and hold her gem in stasis-"
"Which I already explained why we're not doing."
"Or continue doing what you've been doing and distract her by showing her the wonders of Earth." Peridot said with a shrug. "Worked for me and Lapis, but what are you gonna do when she does regain her memories eventually? Won't she go back to being a homeworld drone?"
"Well Garnet has said that if that happens, then we might have to poof her." remarked Steven as Aquamarine struggled to flap harder to get up to Lapis' level.
"Fly up!"
"I'm trying!"
"I said, fly up! You can learn to fly up more if you really want it!" Lapis demanded as she crossed her arms. "Do you want to go back into the silo of punishment?!"
"The wha-"
"She grabs the Aquamarine with her water and drags her through a whirlpool in the silo when she gets annoyed." Peridot explained.
"That sounds kinda….mean."
"I like to think of it as an incentive. See? She just got twenty feet higher in the air." Smiled Peridot as Pumpkin barked. "I even tried helping by making a punishment where she has to count every bit of corn we have growing right now."
Steven turned to the cornfield and how much was planted, making him shiver and look back up as Aquamarine panted and was getting closer to Lapis.
"A-Almost...there..." She groaned as she frantically flapped her tiny wings.
"Come on, ten more feet maggot!"
Aquamarine groaned from the concentration and inched up more and more, but right when she got near Lapis' head, she gasped and lost it, causing her wings to vanish and her to go falling. "Ahhhhh!"
"Aquamarine!" Steven cried as Lapis sighed and summoned a large hand made of water to catch the gem.
"Into the silo you go."
"Noooo!"
"Um, Lapis? Can you skip the silo?" Steven called out nervously.
"No Steven. She didn't make it, and she needs it to help motivate her." Lapis said as she shook her head.
"C-Couldn't she just do pushups or something like that?"
"Push ups won't help her when it comes to flying." Lapis said as Aquamarine struggled to get free. "This way she gets closer to water and can hopefully find it in her to escape the silo on her own, it's how she learned to fly the first time."
"Wait… why was she in the silo then if she didn't know how to fly yet?"
"She was bugging me and insulted Peridot."
Steven looked befuddled with Peridot frowning.
"Saying my corn didn't look appetizing and saying my voice was grating, this is retribution on her!" She shook her fist.
"I stand by what I said!" Aquamarine shouted defiantly.
"No, only I get to insult Peridot." Lapis growled in annoyance.
"Steven, help me!"
"Steven don't help her." spoke up Peridot. "This is for her own good."
"Liar! You just like watching me go round and round! You even put in a window so you could watch!"
"Purely for scientific curiosity."
"Um… maybe this is a bad idea." Steven said as Aquamarine quickly nodded. "I mean, she got really really close that time. Maybe she just needs a break and she can get it next time."
"Steven, trust me, this method works."
"Um… if you just let her try again uh… I'll make you another vegetable pet?"
"What?!" Peridot looked at him with wide eyes with Pumpkin perking up. "You mean make a companion for Pumpkin who can keep him from feeling lonely when we're busy?"
"Um...yes?"
"DEAL!" Peridot said before turning to Lapis. "Put the tiny angry gem down, let her try again, I have to go find some seeds!"
"Peridot." deadpanned Lapis. "We don't need another pet, and she needs the silo treatment."
"But think of the possibilities? All the different sorts of vegetables to be made into a tiny friend for Pumpkin." She said as she rubbed her hands together. "Think of the babies!"
"Peridot, we get enough trouble keeping an eye on Pumpkin."
Peridot narrowed her eyes and held Pumpkin up to look Lapis in the eyes with said vegetable making a whimpering sound. "You look him in the eyes and you tell him why he can't have a friend, do it!"
Lapis kept up her expression, but the more Pumpkin whimpered made her bite her lip and look away.
"Look at him! Be the one to crush his feelings."
"Peridot, that's a low blow." Spoke Lapis who closed her eyes, but groaned and threw her hands up with a sigh. "Fine."
"Yes! Come on, let the blue gem fail again, then we can go find the perfect seed for Pumpkin's new friend!"
"Hey!" She cried, before the water hand was dispersed, making her fall down on her butt. "Oof!"
"Ok, you can do this Aquamarine, I believe in you!" Steven called as the gem stood up. "Just relax and let your powers come to you."
"Alright...alright, I got this, I got this!" She said to herself, pumping her up.
"Just look at the sky and imagine yourself like you can reach out and touch it." Steven called as she closed her eyes and focused, making the small water wings reappear on her back.
'Come on Aquamarine, you can do it. You just need to really concentrate.' she thought as the gem's wings began to flap as she began to lift off the ground. She gritted her teeth and didn't open her eyes and instead rely on the winds.
"You're doing it, you got this, just a bit more!" Steven called out.
"Hurry up and fall!" called Peridot.
"Peridot! Don't cheer against her! That won't help!"
"I'm all for it." remarked Lapis bluntly.
"Lapis!" Steven cried out as Aquamarine rose higher and higher in the sky. "Keep going! You're doing great!"
"You got it Steven!" Aquamarine called as she rose higher and higher, soon she was only a foot below Lapis. 'Come on, Steven believes in you, so show this Lapis what you can do!' She thought as she furiously flapped her wings, rising higher and higher, now only inches away from her goal.
'Wow, she's actually making progress.' Lapis thought, mildly impressed. 'Maybe she'll actually make it.'
"You're almost there!" Steven called out happily. "I believe in you Aquamarine!" He shouted, making said gem smile.
'He believes in me!' She started to flap her wings faster, which was easier than before, causing her to not only reach up to Lapis' height, but keep on going. 'If he believes in me, then I can do it!'
"Huh, she actually did it… I guess no silo then." Muttered Lapis with Steven pumping his fists up and cheering.
"Yes, you did it, you did it! Congrats!" He called out as the gem soared through the air, laughing happily.
"How much higher is she going to go?" asked Peridot.
"I dunno… eventually she'll either realize how high she is and come down… or lose control." Lapis said with a shrug.
"Aquamarine! You can stop flying!" Steven called out. Unfortunately he was too far away for her to hear him, so she just kept flying. "Um, Lapis? Can you go get her?"
"You sure? I kinda wanna see how far she can go." She remarked holding her chin.
"Lapis, she could get hurt!"
"Yes, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make."
Steven groaned before taking a deep breath, crouched down, and propelled himself up into the air. "Aquamarine!"
"I'm doing I'm...wait, Steven?! You can fly?!" She spoke looking down.
"It's hard to explain, but you can stop flying, you already passed."
"Wait, I did?" She said as she looked down, only to realize how high she was. Her eyes widened, wings disappeared, and she went falling down, causing Steven to quickly grab her, but with both of them going down.
"WAAAAAHHHH!" They both cried out as Aquamarine clung to Steven.
"Wah! Lapis catch them!" Peridot cried out as Lapis nodded.
"I'm on it." She said as she summoned a large hand of water. She swung it up and managed to catch them before lowering them onto the ground. "Steven, are you ok?!"
"Yeah, w-we're both fine." He spoke while sighing in relief as he moved to stand while noting Aquamarine still clinging to him. "Um… Aquamarine, we're on the ground now, you can let go."
"No way! Not taking the chance." She said as she shook her head frantically.
"Aquamarine, let go of him, you're safe." Peridot said as she poked the small gem.
"Nuh uh." She said stubbornly. "Not gonna!"
"Let me." Lapis moved over and grabbed the back of the gem and started pulling, which made Aquamarine grip Steven tightly.
"Noooo!" She cried as she tried to keep her grip on Steven.
"Let go of him!"
"No! Steven is safe, everything else on this planet is a deathtrap!"
"That's not true, isn't that right Pumpkin?"
"Arf arf!"
"Just. Let. Go!" Lapis grunted as she kept yanking.
"NO!"
"Um, Aquamarine? It's safe now, you can let go, please?"
"...but I don't wanna." She muttered with a pout, which made it hard to say no to.
"Um….well… if I let you stay on for five more minutes then will you let go?"
"...maybe." She said as Steven smiled and patted her head.
"Alright, then you can hold onto me for a bit longer, ok?"
"Thank you." She said as Lapis rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, you spoil her too much Steven."
"Hey, Lapis, let's go find a good seed for our new pet!" Peridot spoke up happily.
"Alright, but I'm choosing." She said with a sigh.
(Three months later)
Steven ran across the sand and dodged several blue beams that almost got him, which just grabbed at the sand before he formed his shield and threw behind him at Aquamarine in the air who flew over it, holding her ribbon which was in it's wand form.
"Ha ha! You missed me~" she sang.
"Gah! Well just you wait, I'm not done!" He declared as he formed another shield and tossed it again.
Aquamarine smirked and flew at it, twirling past it, and tried sending another beam at Steven. Unfortunately before she could, the second shield Steven threw hit the first one, sending it back at her, hitting her on the head. She went crashing down onto the sand and groaned while dropping her wand.
Steven rushed over and quickly grabbed said wand before jumping on her, and pinning her to the sand. "Ha, I win!"
"Oooh, no fair." She pouted.
"Says you, you have wings AND a magic wand!"
"Well you can make as many shields you want, I only have one wand and two wings." She pouted.
"Yeah, except if you hit me I instantly lose! C'mon, just say I won fair and square."
"No way, not gonna happen." She huffed. "Now let me up, it's rude to keep a lady pinned like this!"
"No way. Just say I won and I'll get up."
"Never!" she spoke turning her head away with a huff.
"Then I guess we'll be stuck like this until you do." He said as Aquamarine groaned. "And I guess you won't get your ribbon back either, huh?"
"Steven, when did you get so mean?!"
"I'm not being mean, I'm being firm and forward." He smirked with pride. "Garnet says it's something I needed to work on."
"Well I don't like it! I like the old Steven, this one is mean!"
"Well you've been getting really cocky lately. I could say the same about you." He said as he shook his head. 'She's kind of acting like she did when she still had her memories and worked for homeworld.'
"Can you blame me? I've got the hang of flying down and finding my wand is all kinds of useful." She said smugly.
"Didn't it take you four months to realize it COULD do anything and wasn't just for decoration?"
"S-Shut up! That could happen to anyone and you know it!" She denied as her face heated up.
"Sure, sure, now are you ready to admit defeat?" He smirked with her narrowing her eyes. "If you don't, I might just have to get some help from Amethyst."
"No! Not her, she'll make it embarrassing!" She groaned. "Alright, I concede. You….won."
"There, was that so hard?" He asked as he stopped pinning her.
"To me it was." She grumbled.
"Hey, come on, it could have been worse." He said as he patted her back. "Why don't we go get some fry bits? It's getting close to lunch and I'm getting hungry."
"Fine, but I'm still not eating any!"
"I know, I know, you don't have to, but why not try some soda? I mean sure you still take something in, but it's not like you have to chew it up."
"No! Eating and drinking is gross!" She shuddered. "Disgusting!"
"Alright alright, it's your choice." He said with a shrug. "You don't have to come if you don't wanna eat anything."
"Fine, I'll just go back to the temple and have fun messing with Pearl instead." She said as she made her wings appear and flew away.
Steven smiled and headed off while Aquamarine herself glanced at him before looking away and crossed her arms as she flew.
"Humans never make any sense to me. Why eat or drink just to get energy back? Just sleep all day and you'll be fine. Sounds sensible to me." She said as she shook her head, lost in her thoughts, unaware of the figure on top of the cliff above the temple. "Oh well, I wonder what I can do to rile up Pearl this time." She wondered, unaware of the figure raising up a microwave before hurling it off the cliff.
Onion looked down and watched the microwave plummet, and was about to walk away, but spotted something flying under the electronic and didn't flinch when he saw it hit the something, sending it crashing into the ground. He watched the figure lying on the ground, groaning before taking out a camera, taking a picture and walking away.
Aquamarine felt her head spinning and in pain, her vision whirling around while closing her eyes and held the spot. "Ow...what….hit me?" She groaned, her head killing her before a flurry of images began to assault her mind. She slowly sat up while her eyes widened as she started to recall images of her and Topaz collecting humans, getting the orders, coming to earth, and of course arriving on Homeworld with Steven and Lars, but the one that really stuck out was her on her ship, flying through an asteroid field before it exploded and she went falling into space without any direction. "I….I…." she raised her hand and clenched it before getting a serious look. "I see, now I remember what happened."
She slowly stood up and dusted herself off and looked up at the gem temple. "I came here on some silly scouting assignment, back to this annoying planet full of organics, and wound up crashing here like some stupid Ruby. To think I'd lose my memories and have to rely on that Steven and Crystal Gems just to get around." She growled as she dusted herself off. "Ugh, that was humiliating! Well no more of that, now I have my memories back, now I can serve my Diamond!"
With that she flew towards the temple while inside Pearl was trying to work on making beef stew.
"Really, I don't get why Steven wants this, there's so much….stuff in this, and he wants to eat it?' She groaned as she looked at the recipe. "Well if humans can enjoy this, I might as well try and make it." She muttered as Aquamarine flew in through an open window.
Said gem narrowed her eyes and slowly held her wand up. "Oh Pearl~"
"Hmmm? Oh, hello Aquamarine, how was your sparring with Steven?"
"Just dandy." She spoke before capturing Pearl with the beam, making her drop the spoon. "In fact, I learned a little something on the way back."
'Oh no, she got her memories back!' Thought Pearl as Aquamarine floated over with a frown.
"I remember. Everything. Like how you found me, how you showed pity on me, and how I'm going to ensure this whole planet, and every single organic life is crushed when I call Blue Diamond. Now tell me where your communications are, now."
"They're destroyed, and have been for almost a year." Spoke Pearl with a calm tone.
"You think I'll fall for that?" Aquamarine moved her wand, swinging Pearl up and spun her around, making her cry out before slamming her against the floor. "I know for a fact you Crystal Gems have enough technology in this temple to reach Homeworld when push comes to shove."
"I doubt that, but why would you want to go back? They don't care about you." Pearl spit back.
"No, they do! I was Blue diamond's favorite, she gave me this wand personally! She-"
"Never even send a squad of Rubies to find you!" spoke up Pearl firmly with a frown. "You've been here on Earth for several months. If you were really her favorite, then explain why a squadron, or even a ship, hasn't shown up to rescue you yet."
"W-Well I'm sure they're coming any moment n-"
"A ship came to rescue Jasper in little under a month when we first beat her, and you've been here for almost half a year, if they wanted to find you, they would have been here by now." Pearl cut her off with the blue gem looking caught off guard, but shook her head and returned her glare.
"They're probably just busy with other matters. I wouldn't be surprised if they encountered a black hole, or decided to remove the coordinates to this puny planet since it has no use for them. And if I can't get in touch with them here, then maybe I'll get to that Peridot and make her make one."
"And then what? You failed your mission here, and you probably destroyed your ship too, huh? Why would they want back a gem who has failed so miserably? They care more about a single Jasper made on earth than they do you."
"S-Shut up!" spoke Aquamarine while stuttering a little. "They….They um…."
'I just have to keep her distracted until Garnet or Amethyst show up.' "Besides, I'm pretty sure Blue Diamond's own Pearl would be her favorite. There are tons more other Aquamarines after all, so why would they use so much resources on you?"
"I….but...I….I was her soldier….I was alway…" She said as she began to realize that there was no rescue coming, that she had been abandoned. "I….I…." She let out, the beam from the wand dispersing as she dropped it and fell to the floor on her knees with a shattered look in her eyes. "I…..they…..they don't…..care…."
"They really don't." Pearl said as she stood up. 'Should I poof her now?'
Aquamarine held her head while trying to get it together and tell herself this was plainly obvious, but all she got was memories of her time here, spending it with the Crystal Gems and Steven, with them showing her the wonders of being your own gem, which conflicted with what she was used to. "I….I don't…..what now?" She muttered as she began to remember all the fun she had with Steven, how he seemed to actually enjoy his time with her and paid attention to her, and how Blue Diamond had never given her full attention, never truly listening to her.
Pearl began to slowly and discretely pull her spear out and moved behind Aquamarine and aimed it at her back, but held off on striking since the smaller gem wasn't making a move to attack, or even noticed she had left the Crystal Gem open and free. 'It would be so easy….no, I can't, Steven would never forgive me.'
'What am I supposed to do? I remember everything, and I should be focusing on crushing these traitors, but….I feel guilty just thinking about it. Have I been corrupted in another way? I was raised to follow one thing, and one thing only, and yet….' She thought as she looked around the temple, reminiscing on how much fun she had with Steven, how he has been nothing but supportive and helpful the entire time. 'I….can't do it.'
Pearl lowered her spear as she saw Aquamarine turn to her slowly, and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
"What….What am I good for now?" She got out as tears began to roll down her face. "I...I have nothing….but a group of traitors and….and Steven…"
Pearl let out a sigh and crouched down near the gem and surprised her by pulling her into a hug. "Believe me, I know how it feels. The feeling of change, of being exposed to things you were never told about before, and it's scary at first, but it's possible to change for the better."
"But….did anything I ever do even matter?"
"I can't speak for what you did after being created, I was never there so I can't say for that, but what I can say is that ever since you got here, it's been….interesting to see you and Steven spend time together. Believe me, I've been on guard in case you did anything, but you showed another side to you I never imagined. Steven did quite the job of showing you the perks to being on Earth." Pearl said with a small chuckle. "He's kind of like his mother in that regard to be honest. So, I take it you're here to stay?"
Aquamarine looked down in silence, but what made them turn was the door opening to show Steven with fry bits.
"I'm back, hey A...hey, what's wrong?" he asked, noticing Pearl and Aquamarine with the latter looking like she had been crying. "Aquamarine? What's wrong?"
"Steven… she regained her memories." Pearl said as his eyes widened.
"She did?" he replied, a little bit nervous now.
"Yes, and she decided she's going to be staying, and renouncing homeworld."
Steven went wide eyed and dropped the fry bits, while Aquamarine slowly stood up and wiped away her tears before frowning and flew up with her wings with her arms crossed.
"Seeing as I have no other option, I'm forced to go along with this, but make no mistake, I'll only be living here until I find a way off for some other planet. After all, a gem like me can't be seen with traitors." She said with a huff as she looked away.
"Oh….so you don't want to play video games like we planned?"
She stiffened up and looked at him with a light blush before looking away with a huff. "I-I never said we wouldn't. It'd be wrong to just ignore a planned schedule."
"Really? Great! I call being player one!" He said as he raced to his room.
"Hey! I was already going to be player one!" She called as she flew after him.
(Later)
Amethyst scarfed down several bags of chips while sitting on the couch, with Garnet making some coffee and Aquamarine herself sitting on top of the fridge while looking annoyed.
"Must you scarf all those down so loud? I swear I could hear that across the town."
"Yes, I do, that's half the fun of eating!" She said as she tried to make even more noise as she ate.
Aquamarine stuck her tongue out and looked down at Garnet who poured herself a cup. "How can you bear with that stuff? The Amethyst I can somewhat understand, but you?"
"I've been here for over six thousand years, I got used to it over time." She remarked taking a brief sip. "You get to enjoy it when you don't think about it."
"Yuck! Well forget it, you won't see me ever eating anything!"
"You won't be saying that in the next ten seconds."
"Huh? Why?" She asked in confusion. "What would make me suddenly be ok with eating food?"
"Guys! Guys!" Steven barged in with a large bag. "You'll never believe it, but there was a HUGE sale on limited edition, brand new, cookie cat ice cream cakes!"
"Really? I thought they stopped making them?" Amethyst said in confusion.
"I know, me too!" He smiled while not seeing a nail sticking up from the floor as he rushed inside, tripping over it and sending the bag through the air, with the cakes flying out. "Whoa! Wait, nooooo!" He cried as he held his hand out in horror. "Cookie caaaat!"
Aquamarine's eyes widened seeing an extra large one coming at her, and opened her mouth in surprise, only to get knocked off the fridge when it hit her head with some getting in her mouth. "Bwah?!" She cried out as Steven's eyes widened as he got up and rushed forward to catch her.
"Watch out!" He cried before they collided, with them ending up in a heap on the floor. "Oof, are you alright?"
"Mhm." She groaned before realizing the frozen treat is still in her mouth. Her eyes widened as she wound up tasting it. 'It….it's good?'
"Oh, hey, you caught my cookie cat!" Steven said happily before leaning in and taking a small bite of the treat. He smiled at the taste with Aquamarine going wide eyed and turning dark blue.
"Just like I predicted." Garnet said with a small smile.
Steven got off Aquamarine who did the same, but with a dazed look on her face. "Thanks for the treat, how about we pick up the others and see if we can save any more of them."
"Uh...uh...uhh...s-sure." She said, feeling dazed as she tried to process everything that had happened. She watched him get to work on picking up the sweets while Amethyst watched with a smirk.
"Looks like someone's got it bad, huh Garnet?"
"I wouldn't say that. At least not unless they go with the path that involves more cake, then we might wanna look for a place around here that rents tuxedos."