AN: Four things! The song used at the end of the chapter is the Waiting in the Wings Reprise from Tangled the series, I fixed the fanart link on chapter 43, and here is a link to fanart done for chapter 46. post/622318125861535744/shadow-light19-i-drew-your-boy-bc-your-fic-is

Finally, I uploaded two chapters today! Chapters 48 and 49.

"Why are you here, Bismuth? You know you are supposed to wait for us to deem you as someone safe to be around Steven and Twoie." Garnet stalked forward, so she was blocking Steven from view.

Bismuth awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck at the show of hostility from her old friend. She knew it was probably going to be a while before she gained the trust of her friends back, but it still hurt. Speaking of friends, her expression morphed into one of concern. "Yeah, I know, but I just wanted to ask about Twoie. He looks so different now!" Everyone else perked up in surprise and confusion. Bismuth didn't notice as she rambled on about Twoie. "I mean, he looked different from normal humans when I met him, but man, he's changed since then. Oh, and another thing, he also mentioned something about you guys getting in an argument?" Steven's eyes widened in realization while the gems exchanged horrified looks. "It must be some kind of misunderstanding, right?" She chuckled as she looked at the gems. "I mean, you guys fought me to protect him. There's no way whatever actually happened was so bad that he ran away. So, what's really going on? I want to help him." At their silence, Bismuth's smile dropped. "Guys? You're worrying me. What happened between you all and Twoie?"

Steven pushed his way past Garnet and Amethyst, running forward to stand in front of Bismuth. Garnet reacted quickly though, grabbing Steven's wrist as he passed. "Steven, wait. We don't know if she knows you're not Rose."

The blacksmith cleared her throat. "Actually, I do know they're different people. While I was staying in the forge, I did some reading up on humans." She faced Steven, clear sincerity in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand before. I know I really hurt Twoie and you, since you had to see him that way. I already apologized to him."

That was enough for Garnet to loosen her grip, and Steven pulled his hand out of hers. "You talked with Twoie? Did he visit you?" Bismuth knelt and placed a hand on Steven's head. Ignoring Amethyst's quiet growl, she brushed her hand through his hair in an attempt to soothe him.

She could see that he was about to start crying, and Bismuth didn't think she could bear to see the little meatball upset. "Yeah. He came to the forge, asking for a place to stay, but I had to tell Twoie that he couldn't since the forge is too warm for humans. I could tell he was upset about something, so I didn't press him about whatever caused it." She looked over at the gems. Her eyes narrowed slightly in her worry for Twoie. "Now, I think that I should've." She stood up while keeping her hand comfortingly on Steven's hair. "I really want to know what happened? I want to help." Pearl looked over at Amethyst and Garnet since they were around for what started it.

The two gems retold all of the events that led to Twoie's abrupt decision to leave the house. Bismuth listened quietly, but the longer the story went on, the more her face pinched in anger. Once the story finished, Bismuth took a deep breath. "And I just let him go. Man, I knew something was wrong. I just knew it, but I thought I'd hurt him if I tried to ask." The blacksmith glanced at Steven in concern. She could see the red eyes with the shadow of bags underneath them. The kid looked exhausted, and Bismuth knew it was because he was stressed and worried. Steven didn't need anything else to weigh on him. Bismuth knelt next to Steven again. "Hey, buddy, why don't you go for a walk? I want to talk to the others about this corruption theory of theirs, and I have a feeling that you've been through enough stress today."

Steven blinked, surprised that Bismuth was giving him the opportunity to leave before the talk became heavy. "O-okay. That does sound nice. I'm gonna go back to the garden, actually. I just want some time to myself." He turned to his dad and the gems. "I have my phone, so call me if you need me, okay?" Once they nodded, Steven grabbed his pink hoodie and walked out the door.

As Steven walked down the steps, he could hear Bismuth asking about some of her old friends. Although the gems had talked about some of their old comrades in the past, they never talked about them in-depth. Steven was glad that he didn't have to be around for that conversation. The gems were probably going to have a really stressful discussion and that always seemed to end badly for him or Twoie. With a sigh, the kid made his way through town and headed towards the forest.

When the rain had finally stopped, Twoie knew it was best to leave. He was already starting to get a little dizzy from the heat of the forge, and he didn't want to outstay his welcome. The young man wasn't really lying when he assured Bismuth that he had somewhere else he could go. The garden was a place he could go to, but he knew she meant a place to stay. He didn't need her worrying about him, though. It wasn't hard for Twoie to trigger his pink powers, not with the turmoil in his mind. Although, he still didn't have the control to make his super-speed work for long which Twoie was reminded of when his power faded at the edge of the mountains. He angrily huffed as he began walking.

"At least I'm by Beach City. Thanks, stupid powers. You never work the way I want you to." He grumbled as he shoved his way past trees and bushes. Twoie sighed as he trekked to the garden. It was pretty dark in the forest, even with dapples of sunlight filtering through the leaves. Even weirder was the silence that reigned through the area. He strained his ears for any sound of rustling or chirping and was met with only the sound of his sandals crunching dirt and leaves. Twoie picked up the pace. He had seen enough movies to know that this was usually some sort of bad omen. It was as though the woods were waiting with bated breath for something to happen.

Twoie shifted into a jog and then a sprint until he burst into the clearing for the garden. The sunlight illuminated the grove, and Twoie sat down to catch his breath. "Ha, I've probably watched too many movies." He looked back through the leaves. The forest was still quiet and dark, making the garden seem like an oasis. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for the quiet. There's nothing to fear. You're all alone in the forest, Twoie." Alone. Twoie frowned and looked around. That's right. He was alone. Twoie didn't like being alone, but he was finding himself alone a lot more often now.

"Maybe that's why bad things happen to my friends when I'm around." He thought about how everyone was already leaving him back in his time, and how everyone was leaving him here too. Bismuth had the forge, and Peridot and Lapis had the barn. Priyanka had her own family, Steven had their dad and the gems, and the gems only kept him company because he was sick. "Maybe I'm supposed to be alone." Twoie had been alone for so long before Homeworld became a problem. And then, after he saved the universe, his family went back to doing other things. The gems were always busy working at the school, and his dad was busy with Sadie's band. His friends were all moving away, and Connie was too. He'd be alone in Beach City, just like he was as a kid. Everything was changing, but not for him.

"Guess by now, I oughta know my place." Twoie pushed himself to his feet. He put on a fake smile and stood like a butler. "Waiting to be helpful with a smile on my face." The young man sighed as he walked over to the flowers and picked one of the daisies. That was his life before he could use his powers. Staying at home and never being sought unless someone had a problem. And that was his life again after finally ending the war with Homeworld. "The gems know how much I love them. But they're always doing other things. And I'm left waiting in the wings." He held the flower out on his palms, and a slight breeze carried it away. The flower disappeared amongst the trees.

"I gave so much, and yet I kept on waiting." As a kid, Twoie had tried so many different ways to get Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to spend time with him. After stopping the diamonds, he thought he'd never worry about being alone again. He thought the gems' actions after that crazy snow day confirmed that. Then he quit working at Little Homeschool, and suddenly he felt just like a kid again. The gems were always too busy to spend time with him. And he was so lonely."One glance, one touch, that's why I kept on waiting." Even Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth were too busy to hang out. Twoie only spent time with them when it seemed like they needed his help for something, which was rarely. Twoie had always had to work hard to get his family to spend time with him; he didn't want to do that with his friends too.

"And when it came, it came with strings." Twoie glanced down at his clawed hands. Why did everything always happen to him? His mom was the one who started a war, but he had to fix all of her problems. He had to end the war. And sadly, that was the reason the gems spent so much time with him. There was nothing to fix in his time, but now he was back in the war. It was even worse in the past since the only one that stayed with Twoie was Steven. After everything was over, Twoie would go back home to where he wasn't needed. And then it would just be him, alone in that house. Waiting. "I'm back to waiting in the wings." Quiet sobs echoed in the forest, but no one was around to hear it.