Slowly, very slowly, Steven put himself out there.

It was a rather tedious process, he had to admit that. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were there to support him every step of the way, but Greg was the next one to go with him when he announced he wanted to venture into town again. There were still things he was struggling to remember, faces he couldn't put names to, visions and flashes of memories he didn't understand. He was careful with each step he took, each person he re-introduced himself to. The first one, after Peedee and Ronaldo, Sadie and Onion, was Onion's… older brother? Steven believed that was the term, but he wasn't entirely sure. He didn't get the chance to ask. It was a quick meeting; it happened so fast he wasn't entirely sure how to react to it. He and Greg were simply trailing down the boardwalk, Steven rolling an apple around in his hands.

Pearl had given it to him that morning, and although he hadn't taken more than a few bites, he most certainly intended to. One bite was all it took for him to realize how different it was compared to the other foods on Earth; the taste was tolerable, ranging from sweet to bitter with each bite he took. It didn't hurt his tongue, didn't make his throat burn. Something he could eat.

He was surprised, but delighted, when Onion ran up to him just as he had a few nights ago, and once again greeted the child by crouching down so that he could offer him a proper, warm hug.

"Hey, buddy," he chuckled, squeezing lightly, and pulled back to smile down at him.

Onion grinned at him, stepping back, then paused and swiveled his head around when a familiar voice called out. "Onion, you can't run off like that! Mom would kill me if I lost you…" The voice trailed for a second, and while Steven remained frozen for a second, more or less in surprise, he did slowly manage to snap his gaze up to see who was approaching them. He recognized the older boy walking up to them, but he couldn't put a name to his face just yet. He did, however, know two things; this was one of his old 'friends', and he was Onion's brother. "... again… Steven?" The boy sounded shocked, confused, worried. Steven was used to that.

"Ah… yes." Steven hesitated, managing a nervous smile toward the boy as he pulled away from Onion completely to stand up. Greg had paused beside him, and while he didn't seem tense or worried about the boy approaching, he did look a little nervous, concerned. That alone was enough to put him on guard somewhat, but he was still rather sure the human wasn't a threat.

"You look…" The boy didn't finish immediately, eyes flicking in Greg's direction. Steven understood, but he only tugged his lips into hesitant, knowing smile as he flicked his gaze back down to Onion. The younger boy simply shrugged at him, managing to look somewhat amused. Steven looked back up when the older boy finally managed to find his voice and continue, albeit with great reluctance. "Uh, different. Are you okay, dude?" He stepped forward, a little closer. Onion didn't move away from Steven yet, but he craned his neck to smile back at the older boy before he turned back to the hybrid, who managed another hesitant smile in response, nodding.

"I'm fine," he assured, pausing. Hesitating. "Um…"

Greg's hand on his shoulder halted his words, and thank the stars for that. The hybrid fell silent at once, relieved, while his father spoke gently, "Steven, this is Sour Cream. Remember?"

Steven furrowed his eyebrows, silent for a moment, while the boy - Sour Cream - visibly paused and snapped his gaze back toward Greg. It didn't take too long for the understanding, the realization to set in, but by that point, yes, Steven had remembered, somewhat. He remembered Sour Cream and the other kids, the… the Cool Kids. Jenny, Buck…? He thought. He remembered going to Sour Cream's house, sitting with Sadie and the others while they sang songs and something about 'potluck' and 'paper plates' and… and Lars was supposed to be there, but he wasn't there, he hadn't been there, he hadn't been there because of them, because that was when he'd gotten abducted, that was when the strange things happened.

That was when Steven had turned himself in. Yes, he remembered.

He brightened a little, though his excitement was tainted somewhat by the horrible memories of the night he'd been taken to Homeworld. "Sour Cream! Yeah, I remember you. And, um, Buck! And Jenny. The Cool Kids," he added quickly, and Sour Cream's expression lightened a little, but he still looked a little… anxious, to say the very least. Uneasy. Steven understood that - Peedee had been the same way at first. "Sorry, I- I've been having some, uh, memory issues."

"No, it's cool, man. I mean, not cool, but… it's cool." Sour Cream paused, making a face at himself, and Steven couldn't help but laugh a little. Even Onion giggled slightly, ducking his head with a sigh and shaking his head in mock disappointment, prompting Sour Cream to reach down and scoop him into his arms. "Oh, hush. I know, it's funny, you're less socially awkward."

"Muh!"

"Yeah, only around Steven."

Steven couldn't help but smile at that, a little softer this time. He glanced back over at his father, who merely offered him a gentle smile before he turned back to the other two, excusing them both and keeping his hand on Steven's shoulder as he led the hybrid back down the boardwalk. Steven followed happily, grateful, honestly, to be able to get away right then. It was pretty anxiety inducing, especially considering he hadn't really known Sour Cream all that well, and the guy didn't really seem all too comfortable around him either yet. He knew why, he understood. He was different. This whole situation was different. Nobody really knew how to react to it yet. Not even Steven himself. The hybrid sighed, sinking sideways against his father. "That went…"

"Pretty well," Greg chided, and Steven nodded faintly, though he still couldn't shake the feeling that it maybe could have gone a little better. "Hey, don't worry about it, kiddo. It's gonna take some time for you to readjust… for everyone to readjust," his father added quietly, sighing. "Everyone missed you, you know. The whole town. Just let them get used to you again, huh?" Steven offered nothing more than a hum of agreement, and Greg ruffled his hair. "It's okay."

"I know, Dad." He leaned into the touch and smiled, taking another bite of his apple. "I know."

Next, came the whole Pizza family - which wasn't fun.

He'd gone with Amethyst to pick up a 'pizza', which he didn't intend on eating, but he'd wanted to come out to the town anyway. It was so quiet that day, quieter than usual, but he couldn't complain. He followed the purple gem into the shop, chuckling as Amethyst messed up his hair. Right, his hair - it was getting long again, he needed to cut it again soon. He made a mental note to do so as he followed Amethyst over to the counter, glancing around the shop briefly. This, he recognized. He recognized the smell, too, the food they were cooking, the pizza. He used to come in here all the time and eat, just like the donut shop. Now, however, his nose instinctively scrunched up at the smell, and he had to refrain from covering his face to stifle it.

A gasp drew his attention away, however, and it didn't take him long to swivel around to the source. His gem pulsed, a bright, brief, vibrant glow of pink, but he didn't summon his scythe. And that was a good thing, because they weren't in danger - quite the opposite, in fact. The moment his gaze rested on the girl on the other side of the counter, the memories flooded in. Memories of pizza, and dreams, nightmares, falling asleep, helping Kiki with her issues with her sister - Jenny, Jenny was her sister - he remembered things, snippets, visions. He remembered.

"Steven!" Kiki exclaimed, wasting no time in stepping around the counter and running over to him. Steven couldn't react quick enough to open his arms and hug her, so when she reached him and managed to embrace him, he mostly ended up with his arms pinned at his sides. He winced as she squeezed him, though it didn't quite hurt. Uncomfortable? A little, but no pain.

"Hi Kiki," he breathed, a little shaken, "don't squish me please-"

"Sorry!" Kiki gasped, pulling back again. She paused to look him over, but continued speaking rapidly, quickly. "Sorry! I- wow! Look at you, you're- you look bad! What happened to your face?"

Despite himself, Steven couldn't help but laugh. He winced a little again as he rolled his shoulders back, trying to fend off the stiffness in his muscles. He knew Kiki, trusted Kiki. And he loved being hugged. Of course, he loved being hugged when he could consent to being hugged - and he'd had very little time to react, much less consent to that - but it was fine. The lingering feeling dissolved quickly enough, his discomfort rapidly fading into excitement. "Wow, thanks."

Kiki paused, blinked, and winced apologetically. "Ooh, sorry. You know what I mean…"

"I know," Steven assured, sighing, and shook his head. "I know. It's okay. You're not wrong." He lifted a hand, somewhat unconsciously, to feel the scar on his face, then dropped it with a shrug. "You know… lots of stuff happened. I'm okay," he promised. "I mean, I'm back now. On Earth."

"Yeah, I heard those aliens took you…" Kiki began, only to be cut off.

"Is that Steven?"

"Steven?!"

"Steven!"

One, two, three; Steven startled, and rightfully so, as he caught sight of the people rapidly flooding the room from the doorway on the other side of the counter. Amethyst grimaced, threw him an apologetic look and shrugged, not even attempting to stop any of them as they filed around the counter and headed over to where Kiki and Steven were. The hybrid found himself stepping a little closer to the girl, but it didn't save him from the others. He recognized Jenny and the girls' father - but he couldn't remember his name - but he also recognized Nanafua. Ah, her, he knew. He hesitated, pulling his lips into a nervous smile, then sucked in a gasp when Nanafua suddenly stepped forward to grab him by the arms, pulling him into a very tight hug.

"You're back!" She exclaimed. "We thought you were-"

"Dead," Jenny and Kiki's father interrupted, sounding shocked.

"I-" Steven stumbled over his words, stammering as he fought to spit them out, while Nanafua pushed him back a little but kept a steady grip on his arms, looking him up and down.

"Look at you, you're skin and bone!"

The hybrid swallowed, chest tightening, fighting to stave off the anxiety seizing his gut. "I-"

"Hey, don't crowd him," Amethyst warned. "He-"

They drowned her voice out until even Steven couldn't hear her anymore, until all he could hear was the four of them, crowding him, surrounding him, trapping him. Nanafua's grip on his arms suddenly felt tighter than it was, he felt cornered, this was wrong, he didn't feel safe right now-

"Mo-o-om, of course he's skin and bone! He got taken by those gem aliens, they don't eat!"

Steven took in a breath, exhaling shakily. "Um, can you…"

"Oh god, Dad, you think they starved him?!"

"I mean, he's alive-"

"I just need some space-" Steven mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

"What's that?"

"He said 'space'. They took him to space. What kind of food do you think they have in space?"

"It doesn't matter," Nanafua interrupted, "he clearly needs-"

"Just-!" Nerves frayed, tension building, anxiety at its peak, Steven couldn't take it anymore. He jerked sharply against Nanafua's grip, resisting the urge to summon his shield or his bubble to fight her off. He knew this wasn't a fight, wasn't an attack, but his heart was racing and his adrenaline was so fucking high and everyone was so close to him and he couldn't think, couldn't breathe, and Steven couldn't take it. He couldn't deal with that. He didn't like this. "Let me go!"

Stunned silence followed as the four retreated, and it didn't take long for Amethyst to reach his side, as if she'd been trying to get to him the whole time, just waiting for an opening. He was grateful that she didn't try to touch him right then - everything was buzzing, his skin was tingling and it was too overwhelming for him to be able to focus - but she got close enough to him for her voice to be able to break through the panicked static that had engulfed his mind right then. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay, calm down, you're safe," she soothed, and the hybrid shook his head - not in disagreement, just an attempt to shake away some of the tension - and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could. "You're okay, little man. Don't worry." To the others, she added, "you guys don't worry either, you just overwhelmed him. He's okay. Just… be careful."

"I'm sorry," Steven breathed, eyes still shut, and winced a little when the four of them immediately rushed to reassure him; 'No, it's okay!' 'We get it!' 'We didn't mean to-'

"Enough," Kofi silenced them, "you're making it worse. See?"

The hybrid ducked his head, digging his nails into his palms, and took another shaky breath to steady himself before finally forcing his eyes open. He looked at Amethyst first, meeting the purple gem's watchful, intense gaze, and offered a faint nod to let her know that he was okay. Well, not 'okay', but he wasn't dying or anything, he wasn't hurt, he was just… stressed out. Really, really stressed out. Amethyst took that as a cue to finally move close enough to touch, reaching out to wrap a gentle hand around his arm, and the hybrid hesitantly relaxed into her.

"I'm sorry, Steven," Nanafua said immediately. "I didn't realize…"

"It's okay," the hybrid whispered, shaking his head slightly. "It's okay. I know."

"Let's just get the pizza and go home, 'kay?" Amethyst reached around to rub his back lightly, and the hybrid was too exhausted to argue, too worn out by his own sudden outburst and the completely overwhelming emotions and helplessness that had engulfed him. So he merely nodded, as Amethyst turned away to tell them what kind of pizza she wanted, and the other four dispersed with hesitant glances back at him. Later, he'd come back, he'd explain things.

Right now, though, he needed to get away.

Baby steps.

And, eventually, with baby steps, he finally managed to settle again.

It took a few weeks, almost a whole month, before he could force himself to venture out into the city again. He went back to the pizza shop, cleared things up there. He met Buck, who didn't say much, and Steven couldn't really see his eyes when he looked at him because of his sunglasses, but he did actually compliment the scar, saying it was 'cool' and 'chicks dig them', and Steven couldn't help but laugh a little despite himself. But he took the compliment graciously and pushed further onwards, because that was all he could do. Just keep going. Baby steps, of course; a few citizens at a time, he immersed himself back into the human world, back into Beach City. He met Mr. Smiley again. Suitcase Sam. He tried to stay away from Ronaldo for the most part, but he was happy to let Peedee re-introduce him to Mr. Fryman too.

It was a slow process, a delicate process. Everything was so different in Beach City - or maybe it was just him that was different, he wasn't sure. Everyone looked at him funny now, looked at him like they didn't really know him, and he couldn't say he blamed them. He wasn't the same. Whatever, whoever he was before Homeworld, he wasn't the same. He couldn't make himself try to be; he couldn't force himself to try to be what they knew him as. He just hoped that, in time, they'd get used to the new him. And that he could get used to everything else again too.

He learned some new things about the town, too.

Like how Nanafua was the mayor of Beach City now. Mayor Dewey - well, more fittingly now, 'Bill' - had lost the election to her not too long after Steven had been taken. He learned that she'd started drilling the whole town, preparing for more invasions, practicing what to do in case the gems ever came back. To be completely honest, he was impressed with that in particular. He knew it was bound to come in handy someday, and probably someday soon at that.

And he wasn't the only one getting settled. Once he became a little more comfortable with the town again, Berry started joining him out and about on his routine walks around the town. Funland fascinated her, and while she never played any of the games there, Lemon Lime and Candy were happy to take time off of training to come and relax. Berry more so preferred to spend her time simply observing the humans. She and Nanafua got along pretty well; Berry didn't seem to like the Cool Kids all that much - at the very least she just wasn't interested - but she also took somewhat of a liking to Kiki (but she and Kofi butted heads more often than not.)

Lemon Lime became a town favorite pretty quickly. The Cool Kids practically took an immediate liking to him - which was why Steven figured Berry eventually stopped glaring at them so much.

Candy seemed more intrigued with Jamie. Steven had recognized him immediately, one of the humans that had been there the night he'd been taken. He was… kind of fun, actually. Dramatic, but fun. At one point, Lemon Lime, the Cool Kids, Candy and Jamie started making plans for some sort of 'talent show/welcome back/welcome to Earth party', which Steven stayed out of. He was getting there. A party sounded overwhelming, but he wouldn't pass it up either.

Tangerine and Clementine were slower to put themselves out there, but once they did, they both formed an immediate attachment to the Pizza family. Tangerine stuck with Nanafua for the most part, seeming absolutely fascinated by the smaller, older human. Clementine and Jenny got along - but as much as Clementine liked the Pizzas, she liked Onion's family even more. She'd come with Steven whenever the hybrid went to visit Onion, and she'd help Vidalia run errands while the hybrid stayed behind to babysit. It was nice to see the Jaspers somewhat happy again, nice to see the gems putting themselves out there. It was nice watching two different worlds collide, and adapt without a second thought. It was nice. It made him… hopeful.

Finally, he was ready to greet the town with open arms. And the town welcomed him back all the same.

(And each day served to remind him why he chose to stay on that ship.)