This is the last batch update for this chapter. I uploaded chapters 56-58.
I just want to say thank you. Thank you all so much for reading this story. To think it's finally finished is bittersweet, and I can only hope I've created a satisfying ending for you all. I started this story because I was in love with Flynnaw00's Into the Universe on Archiveofourown. If you haven't read it, please go check it out! It's so good! There will be a sequel for this story that I will be posting soon.
Thank you for all of your support. For every review, every favorite, and every follow. I present to you, the epilogue of Templeschool.
Also, the song's melody is Della's Moon Lullaby from Ducktales.
The next several days were hard for Twoie. The ache in his muscles slowly went away, but Twoie had another problem that persisted. His scars. The young man was happy that most of his scars were on his back or covered by his hair, where he couldn't see them. However, he still had the two faded spike scars that looked almost like faint cartoony blushes on his cheeks. Steven had to help him out of a panic attack after he first saw them in the bathroom mirror. Which brought up something that his mom had wanted him to do before he'd corrupted. After their talk on his birthday, Priyanka had given him the contact information of a therapist that she was friends with. Twoie had saved the number but never made the call. He finally mustered the courage to schedule an appointment after waking up three nights in a row from nightmares. The guilt of waking Steven every time and making him cry that third night was enough for him to promise he'd call the next morning.
Twoie was happy to admit that it really did help. Dr. Tilly was a sweet woman who actually listened to him. She didn't act like he was bothering her, and she believed him when he told her how he felt. And Dr. Tilly didn't even look at him oddly because of his scars. It was nice. It was really nice. He felt like she cared, even though it was only his first session with her. They had decided that he should keep a journal where he could write about his feelings. 'Expressive writing' was what Twoie believed she called it. They had booked several appointments for the next couple of weeks, but the half-gem wasn't sure if he'd actually make it to all of them. Bismuth and Peridot had been making significant progress with fixing the hourglass. If they completed it soon, he might have to cancel some of them. Twoie sighed as he stepped out of the therapist's office. Steven perked up in the lobby's waiting room at the sound of the door.
When he realized Twoie was done, the kid ran up to him with a smile and grabbed his hand. "How'd it go?" Steven asked as they walked out of the building and into town.
Twoie held up the white journal Dr. Tilly had given him. His younger brother made a face at how plain it was. "She gave me this journal to write in. You'll probably get one when you see her tomorrow." Twoie let Steven inspect it. "She said she liked the completely plain ones because it gives her patients the ability to decorate the journal themselves. I have to write in it for several minutes a day about whatever is bothering me. It's supposed to help me come to terms with what I've dealt with, as well as help identify my triggers."
"Oh, that's so cool! I hope I get one tomorrow too!" Steven handed it back to him, and Twoie tucked it into his jacket. Once his hands were free, Steven immediately grabbed it again. The young man smiled fondly as they headed back to the Beach House. That was another thing Twoie was dealing with. The following morning after Twoie woke, the gems had informed them both about Bismuth's and Peridot's idea to work on the hourglass. 'No more secrets,' Garnet told them. Steven had been inseparable from him ever since. It would've been adorable if the underlying reason wasn't a fear of never seeing Twoie again. Honestly, Twoie didn't mind it. Steven was one of the few people who always took him seriously and tried to help him without prompting from someone else. He truly loved his little brother. That's why he was so conflicted about going back home. Back home, everyone had their own things to do. Things had changed considerably, and Twoie understood now that change was always going to happen. But Twoie still had no idea what his purpose could be. Even though he loved homeschooling Steven, he didn't feel like teaching was something he wanted to keep doing. He couldn't handle watching his students move on without him. So, what else could he do?
"Mom said she was going to help us with today's lesson, right?" Twoie blinked as Steven broke him out of his thoughts. Oh, yeah. Priyanka was on sick leave so she could help Twoie and Steven while they started therapy. She was helping out around the house and offered to help Twoie with some of his homeschooling lessons. Their mom said that she had an anatomical model of the human skeleton that she could borrow from the hospital for them to study. When the gems heard, they all wanted to sit in on the lesson to learn more about human anatomy. Twoie chuckled under his breath. This was going to be chaotically fun.
"Yeah, she's setting it up right now. We'll start the lesson once we get home. I think the gems are on their way as well." Both boys' eyes lit up when they caught sight of the beach house. The van and the sedan were parked out front, which meant their Dad had stopped by for lunch. "I'm glad Dad is visiting more often." Twoie smiled wistfully. "He still doesn't visit that often in my time." Steven frowned and tightened his hold on his brother's hand.
The young kid didn't like it when Twoie spoke about his time. It sounded so lonely and hard for him. It was also a harsh reminder that his older brother would be leaving soon. "You're the reason I have all of this." He stopped walking, making Twoie stop as well.
His older brother looked at Steven in surprise. "Hey, Sunshine. What's wrong?" Steven wouldn't meet his gaze, so Twoie knelt in front of him. "Steven?"
"It's not fair!" Twoie's eyes widened in surprise. Steven clenched his fists as angry tears welled in his eyes. "You went through so much, and even though you changed it here, it's not fair that you still had to go through it!" Twoie pulled his younger brother into a hug, and the kid weakly gripped Twoie's shirt. "And I'm so grateful that you fixed things here. You helped the gems realize they were hurting me. You made my dad start visiting more. You even helped me find a mom in Dr. Maheswaran!" Twoie brushed his hand through Steven's hair to comfort him. "I've always wanted to feel more like we were a family, and that never would've happened without you. You're my family too, but you'll be leaving soon! And I don't want you to go, Starbright!"
"Steven…" Twoie sighed, hugging Steven tightly as the kid began crying. "I think of you all as my family too. And it's not fair, but that's just how life is. You could be the nicest person in the world, and bad things will happen to you anyway." He wiped the tears away from his younger brother's eyes. "I wasn't really happy before I arrived here, Steven. I was struggling, but even though bad things happened to me, I found another family here. And you guys helped me be happy again. I may not know when I'll be able to go home or what will happen when I do, but I want you to remember," Twoie gave Steven a noogie, making the kid laugh. "I love you guys so much. And I always will." The young man hefted his younger brother into the air. "You're my favorite little brother."
Steven laughed harder as Twoie maneuvered him, so the kid was now sitting on his shoulders. "I'm your only little brother." Steven leaned over and gently bopped his brother on the nose. "I love you too, Twoie." The young kid held on to Twoie's hair. "Now come on! We've got a lesson to get to!" Twoie chuckled as he began walking to the house again, ignoring the anxiety stirring in his heart at the idea of leaving.
The day passed by quickly. The lesson was as chaotic as Twoie had predicted, with Peridot asking weird questions and Amethyst trying to prove them right. Pearl and Greg took the opportunity to share embarrassing stories of the brothers, which ended with Twoie and Steven lunging to quiet them and breaking the coffee table. Priyanka had doubled over from laughing so hard, and they had eventually ended the lesson a couple of hours later.
As the sun began to set, Twoie and Steven were surprised to see the warp pad light up again. They paused the video game they were playing to see who was visiting. Bismuth and Peridot cautiously stepped into the living room, looking anxious. "Bismuth? Peridot? Did you forget something when you were here earlier?" Twoie started walking downstairs when he noticed Bismuth hiding something behind her back. The two jumped slightly when he addressed them.
"Twoie!" Peridot burst into tears as she darted forward and threw herself at him. Twoie went down with a startled yelp, and Steven would've laughed if Peridot wasn't so upset.
Bismuth sighed sadly while picking the young man up and setting him down on his feet."Hey, Twoie. Sorry to barge in like this, but I thought you should know that…" Twoie felt his heart sink into his stomach as Bismuth revealed the object she was hiding. It was the timepiece. The janky hourglass looked even better than it did previously, and Twoie did not doubt that it would work. That was the problem. "We finished the hourglass, and theoretically, it should take you back to your timeline as long as you think about it when you turn it over. Now, it's up to you to decide when to use it."
The blacksmith held the hourglass out, but Twoie backed away from it. "Sorry, just-! C-can you just set it down on the shelf behind the couch? I don't want to touch it until I know I'm ready to go back. There are things I still need to do first." Twoie hugged Peridot in discomfort as Bismuth set it down on the shelf. Peridot was still clinging to him, and the half-gem didn't have the heart to peel her off of him.
"Alright, Twoie. If you're not going to use it right now, then I'll let you think about what you need to do. Just let us know before you leave, okay?" Bismuth pulled Twoie and Peridot into a hug. "You're a great friend, Twoie. Thank you for everything you've done for me." She wiped a tear from her eye as she gestured to Peridot. "Oh, and for helping me meet Peri and Lapis. They're the best, and I've loved getting to know them. We make a pretty good team."
Twoie chuckled as he hugged back. "Yeah, you guys are best friends in my time. I'm glad you got the chance to become friends even sooner."
Peridot finally looked up at him with watery eyes. She stifled her sobs so she could talk. "Twoie! Bismuth is incredibly intelligent, and she's so nice! Lapis, Bismuth, and I chatted a lot when we took breaks while working on the hourglass, and I can't believe how amazing everything is!" The technician let go of Twoie so she could pace around the living room. "As an era 2 peridot, I never would've imagined my life the way it is on earth. I'm so ecstatic that you helped us become friends, but I'm gonna miss you, Twoie!" She turned to face him with wide watery eyes. "You were my first friend, and I loved hanging out with you and Steven. I promise that I'll continue visiting Steven, but I'm going to miss you so much!"
Twoie couldn't stop his own tears from brimming in his eyes. His breath hitched slightly as he flashed her a bright smile. "Thanks, Peri. That means a lot to me. You're one of my best friends, and I'm going to miss you too. I'm not leaving yet, though. I need to figure some things out regarding events with Homeworld that haven't happened yet."
Peridot sniffed, wiping her eyes away. She blushed as she realized he wasn't actually leaving yet. "Y-yes, but still!" She looked away in embarrassment. "I just wanted you to know that anyway."
Twoie laughed and turned to joke about it with Steven, except Steven wasn't in the room. He blinked and started looking around. Steven wasn't anywhere in the house, and the front door was slightly open. Twoie turned and thanked Bismuth and Peridot for their help, waving as they bid their goodbyes before disappearing into the warp. Once they were gone, he walked outside to look for Steven. He knew his younger brother was struggling with the idea that Twoie would be leaving, but even Twoie didn't think it'd be this soon. The gems were out with Priyanka and Greg, getting to know each other better, so regardless, Twoie wasn't leaving that night. He'd have time to decide how to instruct Steven and the gems about dealing with stuff in the future. Steven was his priority.
Stars were already appearing in the sky when Twoie came across Steven, sitting at the edge of the shore. The kid was sitting, hands holding his legs tucked together. Twoie sighed when Steven continued staring at the waves as he sat beside him. They watched the waves together for a couple of moments.
"Am I bad for wishing you didn't have to leave? Is that selfish of me?" Steven quietly asked, still looking at the ocean.
Twoie pulled Steven into a side hug, and the kid leaned into his hold. "No, Steven. You're not a bad kid for wishing that someone you care about could stay. And if it is selfish, you're allowed to be a little selfish." Twoie took a deep breath of salty ocean air. "We've been through a lot, huh." Steven nodded against him. "Honestly, I want to stay too. It's just hard to say it out loud. I'm worried about what will happen to you when I'm gone. Things will only get worse, and while you have more people you can rely on than I did, I'm worried about how things will turn out." The young man sighed and let himself fall back onto the sand. He could see the glittering stars and felt a small amount of comfort in their presence.
Steven laid down beside him. "How much worse will they be?" Steven felt nervous at Twoie's silence. "Twoie? That bad?"
His older brother sighed. "Yeah. It's gonna be even tougher than what you've been through. And I don't know if any instructions I leave for you will be enough to help. Things have changed for you, and that means certain events could be better or worse." They laid in the cool sand and just took comfort in each other's company. Neither could think of something to say. There was no way they could give each other any assurance that things would be better. Steven scooted closer so he could hug Twoie's arm. Twoie smiled fondly at Steven's clinginess, shifting so he could wrap his arm around the kid instead. It was sweet, and Twoie wasn't going to object since Steven's constant presence was its own comfort. He didn't like being alone, something his little brother seemed determined to prevent. Soon, Steven began to nod off. He was tired from worrying about his brother, and the warmth of his brother staving off the cool ocean breeze made him feel secure.
"Look to the stars, my favorite little bro." Steven smiled at the sound of his brother's voice. He snuggled a little closer; his eyes cracked open to stare at the sky. "Life is strange and vast. Full of wonder and woe." Twoie brushed a hand through his younger brother's hair. The young man remembered how easily he fell asleep when their dad would sing to him in the van. It did not surprise him that Steven could still be lulled to sleep this way. "Face each new sun with eyes clear and true. Unafraid of the unknown, because I'll face it all with you."
Steven's eyes snapped wide open. He shot up into a sitting position and stared at Twoie. "Wait, do you-… Do you mean it?"
Twoie smiled as he sat up. "Yeah, I do. I think I'll stick around for a while longer. Now that the hourglass is fixed, I can go home whenever I want to. I want to make sure everything ends up okay here before I do."
Steven lunged at Twoie, knocking him down onto the sand. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Steven's eyes shown with stars as he scrambled off of his brother and pulled on his arm. "Come on! We've gotta go tell the others! And this calls for a together dinner! And dessert!" Twoie laughed as Steven dragged him back towards the house. He missed his family and friends, but they were living in a peaceful world. There was no threat of shattering or death by Homeworld. There was no oppression by the Diamond Authority. However, this world did have those dangers. And with the uncertainty of the future due to the changes he'd made, Twoie would make sure Steven and the rest of their family would be okay. He would go home eventually, but not right now. He wanted to be there for Steven.