…
Greg woke up when a burning beam of sunlight slipped past the corner of the car wash's sign and landed squarely on his face. He rolled over off his foldable chair with a groan, sitting up while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned powerfully, smacking his lips and patting his grumbling belly. He checked the clock in his office and gasped.
"Ah man, I'm supposed to be eating dinner with Steven tonight!"
Greg quickly rushed a less stained tank top on and hurried up to the house. Evening had settled kindly upon Beach City, a cool breeze had replaced the earlier heat and helped dissipate the sweat on his sunburned temples.
He was about to walk up the stairs, his hand against the sturdy rail when he paused. He lifted his hand, watching with a grimace as a sticky line of goop lifted with him. Drool? Amethyst tended to drool a lot when she slept, but looking up along the rest of the rail, he noticed every inch of the wood covered in the substance. He reluctantly smelled it and flinched as the acrid smell burned his nostrils.
Hand sanitizer. Someone had lathered the rail in hand sanitizer. And now that he was paying attention, his senses returning to him as his mind wandered from getting to his son in time - the stairs smelled like bleach. He walked up the rest of the stairway, noticing the plastic film covering the chairs on the deck, on the door and windows, and awning of the roof. He opened the door slowly, the door's strange squeak gone.
The house smelled powerfully of hand sanitizer and cleaner. Not too strong, but strong enough to make his nose tickle. The furniture was covered in plastic, Steven's crib included, and he could see a bottle of spray-disinfectant sitting on the coffee table.
"Hi Daddy!"
Greg flinched as from behind the kitchen counter, Steven waddled over. He was wearing only his diaper, a pair of oversized gloves, goggles, mask and plastic socks.
"Hey, buddy. Whatcha wearing there?" Greg asked, picking Steven up with a quiet huff.
"I's wearin' flu 'potection'." Steven explained, shoving his yellow latex gloves in Greg's face.
"Flu protection?"
"Greg! Put Steven down!" Pearl's voice snapped like a whip, she had appeared from the bathroom, her own pale hands covered in suds. She walked over and took Steven with a glare. "Wash your hands before you touch him. After you do that, help me with his bath."
Pearl stormed off, hurrying into the bathroom with a complacent Steven. Greg stood confused for a second before washing his hands quickly and joining Pearl in Steven's small bathroom. The bathroom, always the cleanest place in the house, was somehow even cleaner by Pearl's perfect standards. Steven stood on the rug, stark naked now, waiting with his hands outstretched towards Pearl. Pearl was wiping all of his toys with a towel before handing them to Steven - who would toss them in the bath.
"Um…Pearl? I-I-Is everything alright?" Greg asked, creeping towards the bathtub and noticing the steam fogging up the clean porcelain and the metal faucets. He stuck in his finger and flinched at the scalding heat.
"Yes, everything's fine." Pearl said, replacing Steven's empty toy box back onto the shelf.
"Did Steven eat already?" Greg asked. Pearl usually reserved bath time after dinner - mostly because Steven managed to get dinner everywhere but his mouth. It wouldn't be the first time Greg had come up to the house to eat with Steven and found Pearl already setting him up for bed (if you didn't follow the schedule you were left behind).
"No, no he hasn't." Pearl said, preparing to lift Steven into the tub.
"Uhm-Pearl!" Greg said, guiding Steven into his own arms. "That water is way too hot for him."
"It is?" Pearl dipped her hand into the water and not even flinching when the burning water lapped at her skin. "Hmm, perhaps it's a bit too hot."
"Daddy, do you wanna wear my mask?" Steven asked, rubbing his little palms along Greg's faithful scruff.
"Uh, no thanks buddy. Why were you wearing a mask?"
"Cause of da flu."
"The flu?"
"Greg, is the temperature better?" Pearl asked, having drained half of the bath and refilled it back with cold water. Greg nodded, glad to see the lack of steam billowing from the tub.
"Are you scared of the flu or something?" Greg asked.
"No, but Pearl is. She says dat we haff to be careful."
Well that explained the explosion of plastic and bleach currently occupying the outside of the house.
"He's right Greg. I saw a commercial on the television that reminded me of the dangers of human disease. Steven might get sick, so I think he should just live inside the house forever."
"Forever!" Steven shouted happily.
"Forever?" Greg groaned, regretting buying the TV. He hadn't expected Pearl to even watch TV; she didn't like idly sitting and doing nothing, much less staring at a box for an undetermined amount of time. "Pearl he can't do that!"
"And why not?" Pearl asked, lowering Steven into the warm water and beginning to lather his washcloth with strawberry scented soap.
"Because humans aren't supposed to just live in their house forever! Especially little kids like Steven, he needs to go outside and make friends and go see the world!" Greg exclaimed.
"Making friends means getting sick!" Pearl growled. "He doesn't need friends! He needs to be healthy!"
"Pearl, kids get sick! It happens sometimes, it's inevitable." Greg snapped.
"It doesn't have to! We can keep him safe!" Pearl yelled, standing up now.
"He can be safe outside!" Greg insisted.
"No he can't! What if he goes outside, gets sick, and dies! He's just a baby, Rose told us to protect him and that's what I plan on doing!" Pearl yelled, lifting a soapy Steven into her arms and shielding him from Greg.
"Imma bif boy now, Pearl." Steven said with his face mushed against her chest.
"Steven, buddy, Daddy needs to talk with Pearl." Greg grabbed Steven's towel and wrapped Steven up as soon as he wriggled out of Pearl's grip. Steven stomped out happily into the living room, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere that had darkened the room.
Pearl looked like she wanted to protest but when Greg closed the bathroom door, she didn't move.
"Pearl, you can't talk like that around him," Greg pleaded. "You're going to scare him."
"M-maybe he should be scared!" Pearl hissed. "Humans are so delicate! The human influenza virus destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives. Human children are incredibly perceptible!"
"Pearl, times have changed. We have vaccinations and medicine and better health care than we had back then."
"That's what you always say." Pearl snapped. "I've lived long enough on this Earth to know that you always think you're better than the dying generation after you. In truth, you are not! Simply because it's slightly better than it was ten years ago or one hundred years ago doesn't mean that bad things still can't happen!"
"Bad things happen Pearl!" Greg yelled in frustration. "As you said, you've lived long enough to know that they do. Of all the gems, I thought you would understand that!"
Pearl froze, her entire body suddenly radiating tension. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Rose talked so highly of you, about how you always could roll with the changing tides of the war. When bad things happen, you just picked yourself back up and kept going."
Pearl was quiet, looking down at her feet.
"I know it's scary, trust me I worry about that stuff too." Greg released a heavy sigh and then tension in his stance. "The world keeps going though Pearl, bad stuff or not. What type of guardians would we be if we taught Steven to be afraid and to not want to face bad stuff?"
"Not the guardians Rose would've wanted." Pearl whispered, her voice nearly inaudible.
Greg was right (however much she loathed to even think that). Rose would have been upset if Pearl had kept Steven hidden away from the Earth. Rose had been so ridiculously excited for Steven to join them, to explore with them and grow with them.
She was about to speak when the bathroom door slammed open, making both her and Greg jump.
"Pearl!" Steven yelled, stark naked and now with a pot on his head. "Towel's in the microwave and it make da fire."
"What?!" Pearl ran out of the bathroom. "Oh my stars! How did you get that in the microwave? There's soap everywhere! How did you get soap on top of the fridge?!"
Greg sighed, scooping Steven into his arms. "Hey buddy."
"Hi, daddy." Steven pointed to the tub. "Can bath now?"
"Uh, yeah." After removing the pot, Steven was allowed to swim around. "Hey, um…Steven are you scared of the flu? Do you want to stay inside forever?"
Steven paused his playing and frowned. "I want…if Pearl wants. I's not really scared, but I don't wan' Pearl to be scare. I do it for Pearl"
Greg grinned, patting Steven's damp hair. "You really love Pearl, huh?"
"I love everybody. I love you, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Mommy, um…cookie cats, the mayor, Peedee, fry bits, and uhm….oh yeah and-."
Greg was relieved that Pearl's anxiety hadn't bothered Steven. Steven despite his years was still rather sensitive to the grown-ups around him. Sometimes too perceptive for his own good.
After bath, they had dinner. Pearl had been delicately perched on top of the fridge, grumbling quietly about toddler tornadoes, but smiling nevertheless. Putting Steven to bed had been a breeze – a quick story and a rubbed belly and Steven was out for the count.
"Do you need any help?" Greg asked, standing awkwardly at the end of the stairs, watching Pearl begin to clean. On top of Steven's usual messy highchair, there was all the plastic drapes, masks and gloves littering the floor.
"No, it's fine." Pearl paused as he headed towards the door. "Greg…"
"Yes, Pearl."
"Thank you." Pearl stuttered, fiddling with the sheet in her hand.
"You really don't need to thank me." Greg mumbled. "I don't know how many times all this magic stuff scares the heck out of me. If it weren't for you, Garnet, or Amethyst, I don't know where I'd be. It's fine if occasionally you guys get scared by human stuff."
"Magic, I understand. Steven I do not. Steven is part magic and part human, something entirely new." Pearl mused; looking up fondly at Steven's sleeping form. "This isn't anything I've ever dealt with before, I-I just wanted to keep him safe."
"We all do and I get why you did it." Greg picked up a giant jug of bleach near the door, crossing towards her. "Anything to keep him safe. We promised."
"Perhaps…perhaps tomorrow, you can tell me more about these vaccinations?" Pearl smiled awkwardly, patting Greg's arm gently.
"Whatever you need Pearl. Whatever you need."
A/N: Spring Break is here! Hopefully we get some info on future episodes, cause this hiatus is pretty horrible. Finally finished this arc, now to try to finish the rest of them! Thanks for your favorites, follows and awesome reviews.