1001 Nights In Their Garden

The Second Day- Garden Stroll

Authors Note- How does Spinel feel? Well…

-Spinel-

My name is Spinel, and I've taken Steven Universe in payment for your worthless, miserable lives… for now. Things used to be so dull around here, a rotten place falling to dust as I waited for an old friend that broke the only promise that ever mattered to me.

Should I be grateful? No.

Should I be happy? No.

Should I just kill loser and see his planet melted into slag while everyone watches in horror, unable to stop it? Well, its not off the table, not by a long shot.

Its nice to see the sun again, even if it is just as fake as this garden. The garden itself is coming to life again, and not in the same way as before. He's only been here for a day and the grass is growing again. Already flowers are starting to bloom and the water is flowing crystal clear.

Yet still I tear my hair out as the garden builds what it thinks its owner wants, statues of those closest to him and bushes bursting with bright pink flowers. It'll be days before that's finished. I sigh at the thought that it was always hers, and there I was, part of her court. Ha, no not her court, that pearl… she was, I was never more than a piece of the furniture.

No, in the end I wasn't even that, I was a toy discarded, and forgotten. I'm not a toy any more.

Of course you did come back. Why did you wait too long? Did I mean that little to you? Did you forget me?

"Well joke's on me Pink! Joke's on me!" I said to no one in particular. Steven didn't move an inch.

"Maybe you should run. At least then the decision would be made for me."

I walked through the maze out of boredom. Last night his story was… wonderful. I've never left this place, and I meant something to Pink there!

Suddenly enraged by my own admission of vulnerability. I kicked a rock in my path out of frustration. That wasn't enough, so I tore at the greenery and bashed the statues under construction. As always, it did no good. In old times I could laugh and play, it was so good to see her smile. Those days were gone though!

I tried to concern myself with the path of destruction I was making, but even that was no good. In a grand stretch I Pulled a fountain from its base sending water gushing all over the ground. It was shattered in to a mass of unidentifiable metal and plaster.

"How about you huh?" I shook my fist at the garden now. "Do you feel pain? Maybe I should rip your bleeding heart out with my injector. Hehehahahaha! Yeah what a great idea just Pink's little whelp, and me going down with this miserable, stinking abyss!"

I'd threatened to do it often in the three years since he first sent that stupid, stupid, stupid message to the universe. Rather than blow the horn, and just get on with the thing, I laughed, and I cried, pulled on my pig-tails and punched myself until I ran out of energy.

Falling into a heap of outstretched limbs, at last I gave up on the rant. That's when I heard his footsteps. "Here comes Steven Universe, maybe he's finally figured out what's missing, haha…" I thought to myself.

He could've kicked me. I might've even enjoyed that. Instead he placed a hand on my shoulder, "Spinel, I heard all the noise, are you okay?"

Pulling my head up slowly I looked him in the eye, "I really hate you." Suddenly I felt something warm and wet on my back. Confused, I shrank back to the ruins of the fountain, which was still spitting out water.

There was a look of worry on his face. I hated the sympathy I saw in the dark haired halfling's eyes. Something in me relented though. It sounded shy, weak, and helpless. "Magic tears?"

He smiled and offered me his hand, "Not exactly, but hey I guess my powers are coming back." I knocked his hand away. Stars, I could knock him out right now.

Steven surprised me when rather than being angry. He sat down next to me, letting the water splash all over him. Looking around, he whistled low, "Wow."

-Steven-

After a relatively pleasant night's sleep I was greeted by the soothing noises of Spinel having an episode. Not the first time I've had to deal with someone doing this in my time with the Diamond's. Yellow's lead general actually tore her flag ship apart bare handed before she took a nap and her early retirement.

That's how I find myself in an impromptu shower cradling my captor in my arms. She was practically weightless in that state. I moved her to a grassy and sunny part of the garden, before having a look around.

Simply put, I was hungry. The warp pad was certainly tempting. She looked so harmless while she was sleeping. Of course, she had also just pitched a fountain like a tennis ball.

It was in a small corner that noticed a familiar sight. How strawberries got there I'll never know. I attempted to bubble a lot of them, but to it was no good. Did my spit even do anything to Spinel, I thought so, but who knows?

Eventually I just had to stuff them in my jacket. By the time that I found my way back she was pacing again. "I, um found some food."

"Does it surprise you, this garden was designed like everything else, to give Pink whatever she wanted or needed. Thanks for moving me to someplace dry."

"No worries, want a strawberry?"

"For what?"

"They taste good."

She cautiously sat down and ate a few of them. Her eyes went wide at the taste. "Yeah, so when are you gonna finish your story?"

"One second." I spent a few more minutes eating. After that we settled back into the depths of our minds as we sailed straight of a cliff in a powerful storm…

-Back in the Jungle—

What happened next was a bungee jump courtesy of my pink friend. We rolled into a cliff side cave. She giggled, "There I go saving you again Pink! Pink? Pink!"

Next Time- Spinel's Treasure Part 3

Author's Note:

Conclusion to Spinel's Treasure next week. Thanks for reading!