Notes:
I don't own Steven Universe and I don't make anything out of my writing work.
And here we are, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to my very first Steven Universe FanFiction! This is a story about the most beautiful Quartz in the universe, Jasper, and her greatest challenge yet: social activities that is not punching and grunting. This story was suggested to me by a pen pal I've talked to on this platform and as we talked, he gave me plenty of interesting ideas that I needed to turn into a proper story. So Adam, if you're reading this, I'll have you know none of this would be possible without your contribution, so whatever comes out of this, I hope you'll like it, as well as the rest of my followers
Anyways, hope you're all ready, and have a nice read!~
Around the forest near Beach City…
"I told you, Lappy!", Amethyst exclaimed after she took a long sip from her straw while she and Lapis descended a downhill between the tall trees: "I have two lessons tomorrow morning and the next one"
"Yeah, sure~", Lapis snorted a laughter crossing her arms. "And those lessons are all about the importance of Gems doing whatever they want with their free time, which has no limits?"
"Ah ah, you get me!", Amethyst winked before she took the empty cup and swallowed it. Lapis looked at her with eyes wide open:
"How do you even do that?"
"Practice, sis. Just all practice~", Amethyst licked each of her fingers. "But whatever, we'll hang out this weekend, I promise!"
"But I promised Peridot I'd take her and the class to visit the Amazon Forest to study the secular sequoia". Lapis looked a little sad. Amethyst then bumped her in her butt and giggled:
"Then I'll come with you too! You know I looove large trees!"
Lapis laughted once again tilting her head backwards. For whatever reason, Amethyst's company made her laugh like never before in her life. How could she have avoided her for all those years?:
"Yeah, because you're totally a "tree lover"... Uh?".
Lapis stopped laughing when she saw something up in the sky approaching them. It was closer and closer and it looked just like…:
"Amethyst! Watch out!"
"Wha-AOUOAAAAAAAGH!~". Amethyst was picked up by Lapis and dragged upward in the air just in time to see the flying tree crushing in their path's direction and snapping more trees in its track. Many small animals flew away terrorized and the birds left their destroyed homes chirping in fear:
"What the- Since when trees fly all over the place?!", Amethyst asked:
"Where did that thing come from?". Lapis, who was carrying Amethyst by the armpits looked around alarmed to see where that tree came from and then she saw a large cloud of dust lifting up from a specific spot near the heart of the forest:
"There! It came from over there!", Lapis pointed with her water wing. Amethyst looked in Lapis' direction:
"Mmmh, that place is where… Oh bumper!"
"What's that?". Lapis asked worried. Amethyst looked upward and said one single word:
"Jasper…"
Point of impact in the forest …
"Mhmhmh… not bad!", Jasper said to herself whiping some dust from her face. Her amber eyes were staring eagerly at Steven whose body was glowing all pink. He looked unlike he has ever been since then and Jasper liked it. She liked when her adversaries gave some bites instead of just barks. Steven then formed two small bubbles around his fists like boxing gloves and charged at Jasper who fully got up from the crater she was sent into and charged one of her fists too. Their punches collided with a huge impact and when the dust cleared, Steven was holding Jasper's fist with one hand:
"Hah, nice catch!"
"You shoul see my throw!", Steven shouted grabbing Jasper's hand and throwing her up into the air. He then dashed upward to strike her with his bubble fists and then summoning his shields and use them as platforms to jump back and forth to hit Jasper again and again. The Gem was laughing in amusement; she wasn't having so much fun in a long time:
"STOP! LAUGHING!", Steven shouted irritated by Jasper's laughter. He hovered above her and sent her flying towards the ground with a double-handed fist. The impact created another large crater but Jasper got up unfazed. She cleaned dust from her shoulders while Steven landed behind her, his new pink shade fading away as well as his unnatural aggressivness:
"Heh, looks like you're not the pushover I used to know!", Jasper exclaimed with a large smug smile on her face:
"Jasper, I-I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry!", Steven said with his usual gentle voice:
"Ugh, don't apologize!", Jasper rolled her eyes seeing how her adversaries had just reverted to its goody goody self. Just like when she thought she was starting to have fun in a long time, it was over already:
"You know what, Jasper?", Steven said after he took a look at his hands. "Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you don't have to-Uh?"
Steven interrupted his phrase when he noticed a shadow falling over him and Jasper who also turned around to see what that was about. What the two saw were Amethyst and Lapis descending from the sky at high speed:
"CAVALRY IS HERE!", the two girls shouted in unison. They landed on the ground readying their weapons, Amethyst's whip crackling with electricity and Lapis' wings reshaped as giant fists:
"What's going on down here?!", Lapis asked clenching her fists. "Jasper, what did you do to Steven?!"
"L-Lapis?! Amethyst? What are you doing here?!", Steven asked surprised.
Jasper lifted an eyebrow and her eyes moved from Steven to the two newcomers. Then, a suspect assailed her:
"Oh, I see". She chuckled cracking her knuckles. "I forgot how you do it, Rose. You knew you couldn't beat me on your own so you sent enforcements. Is that it?"
"W-What?! No, no, Jasper! It's not what you think at all!", Steven shaked his arms. Jasper didn't even listen to him and directly turned to face Amethyst and Lapis:
"Whatever. You can send me two, ten, a hundred enemies. It doesn't make a difference! You gave me some fun, Rose, but I still want some more, and these two twerps are just what I need to vent some frustration!"
"Hah, you think you can handle us, Big J?", Amethyst smirked. "You may find out we've been learning some tricks in your absence!"
Lapis nodded to her and readied her water fists and in the same instant Jasper lunged forward with her fists charged. But before the three clashed, Steven moved between them and lifted two large shields to separate them:
"Stop any fighting!".
Lapis and Amethyst got their faces squashed over the first shield while Jasper's punch made a crack over the second. Steven pushed the shields to further move the three Gems away. He sighed tiredly from the effort and told Amethyst and Lapis:
"Guys, please. Don't attack Jasper. *Anf* Let me explain…"
Steven then told Amethyst and Lapis everything that happened between him and Jasper and how he was about to reach an agreement with her when their fight concluded, while also omitting the fact that he suddenly turned all pink for some reason; that was a whole other can of worms he prefered to keep close for the time being. Jasper on the other hand had to use every inch of her patience not to jump straight into battle once again. Steven had already spoiled all the fun so she sat away from the three Crystal Gems crossing her arms and overlapping her legs:
"You mean to tell me", Amethyst said once Steven had concluded his speech: "I've been telling you to forget about Jasper, to leave her on her own, and you still choose to meet her?!". She slapped her face with a hand. "Ugh, you're so incorrigible".
"Well, he wouldn't be Steven if he weren't so stubborn about helping everyone, am I right?", Lapis said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "But, you could have at least let us help you with this! What if you two went too far and hurt each other badly?"
"I… I didn't thought about it", Steven scratched his head looking embarassed. "I believed I could handle it on my own. I mean, it always worked before"
"Steven, you should know Jasper", Amethyst sat putting her elbows on her knees. "She hates you - I mean, she hates all of us, and it's pretty understandable"
"But she can't just keep living here on her own!", Steven waved his arm in Jasper's direction, who shouted angrily:
"You know I can still hear you, right?!"
Steven smiled nervously so he whispered to Amethyst and Lapis:
"I can see she's suffering. She just doesn't want to admit it"
"Look, Steven", Lapis mimicked Amethyst's face palm move. "I know you're all generous and thoughtful, but remember what I went through and how I didn't want anyone to help me? I was just like Jasper is right now, and forcing her to join Little Homeschool against her will is not going to be beneficial to her at all"
"Lappy's got a point, Stev-o", Amethyst pointed at Lapis. "Don't get me wrong, though. I understand what she must be going on and I don't want her to feel so down. Maybe she just needs some more time on her own, even though it's been already two years… or maybe…". Amethyst's eyes widened looking at Lapis who noticed her changing expression:
"Maybe what, Amethyst?", Steven asked curious himself:
"Maybe we aren't looking at the bigger picture. Maybe Jasper needs another kind of experience instead of Little Homeschool"
"And what is that?", Steven and even Lapis asked together. A large grin appeared on Amethyst's mouth as she got up and pointed her finger in the sky:
"We're gonna give Jasper her own Beach Episode!".
A deep silence followed Amethyst's words which left everyone speechless:
"C'mon Lapis, don't leave me alone here!", Amethyst whispered with her half mouth.
"A w-what?", Steven asked shocked.
"Excuse me… A beach-what?", Jasper asked equally confused as she got up. Lapis on the other hand took some time to get what Amethyst was trying to get into and she snorted a laughter squeezing her eyes:
"Really, Ame? A b-beach episode?!"
"A beach episode!", Amethyst winked clicking her fingers at Lapis:
"Can some of you explain to me what is going on here?", Steven asked exasperated.
"Yeah, I'm curious to see what you Crystal Germs are ploting against me!", Jasper joined the group looking daggers at the trio with her arms still crossed. Steven was looking nervous without saying anything but Amethyst and Lapis were laughing together slapping each other's backs:
"Oh my stars! That-that was a good one, Jasper!~. Crystal… Germs! Pfthahahahshahah!", Amethyst was holding her stomach with both arms while Lapis was supporting herself on Amethyst's head snorting with her eyes closed. Steven tried to mime the two to stop laughing, afraid of how Jasper would react and to his no surprise, she looked even more pissed off:
"What… are you laughing about? Are you making fun of me?! How dare you-"
"Ehehe, don't you realize what you just did?~", Lapis rubbed her eyes getting up from Amethyst who was still reeling for the laughters. "You just told a joke without even knowing it! W-We're laughing at it, not at you".
Steven was still unsure whether to intervene because Jasper was reflecting on that phrase. Her teeth were still grinding and the itch on her hands was still present:
"Me? Telling… a joke?"
"Yeah!", Amethyst recovered from her laughter and took a deep breath: "You told us something funny and we laughted because of it. That's what a joke is!".
Jasper was still unsure how to take that unexpected reaction, but at least they weren't making fun of her but just of what she told them… but still…:
"Okay okay, I think we should listen to what Amethyst and Lapis have to tell! Sounds good, right, Jasper?!~", Steven giggled nervously shaking his shoulders. Jasper looked at the Gems and knowing that they wouldn't have left if they didn't tell what they had to, she just gave up and huffed deeply:
"Ugh, fine. Go ahead and say what you have to. You know I'll just stand here and ignore all you will say, right?"
Amethyst and Lapis looked at each other and they didn't look displeased. If anything, they were smirking as if they were concocting something evil:
"Oh, is that so, Big Jay?~", Amethyst asked. Jasper lifted an eyebrow confused and was about to protest being called like that but Amethyst's phrase stopped her:
"Okay okay, here's the deal, Jasper. To put it lightly for you, things have changed around here in case you haven't noticed! We and Homeworld are all chill at this point and we should all get along!"
Jasper didn't answer. She kept her head turned to the side grunting with her arms crossed. Amethyst proceeded with her speech:
"As you already know, Steven-O here tried to convince you to join Little Homeschool-"
"Of which I don't want anything to do!", Jasper hissed annoyed.
"Right, sure, and that's totally fine!", Amethyst said with a smile. "You don't want to have anything to do with the Gems there because you think they're worthless and whatever other negative term you have in mind. So, my other proposal was that you instead get to know more about and hang out with… humans!". Amethyst concluded spreading her arms showing a big smile waiting for an answer. Lapis and Steven were surprised, especially Steven as it never went in his mind the idea of Jasper meeting humans, and he said so to her:
"Amethyst, that's… actually a clever idea! What better way to acclimatize than to know Earth's inhabitants?"
"Hah, I know. The thoughts of a genius~", Amethyst smirked holding her chin, while Lapis looked unsure about what to think of this idea, but Jasper more than knew what to do with this idea. She laughted loudly like Amethyst did just a moment ago but with much less entertained emphasis and with a much different purpouse. Her sudden unexpected reaction caught the three friends off guard:
"Ahahah, was that supposed to be a joke?~. Because, it's very funny!". Jasper was still laughing and rubbed her eyes like Lapis did before, but she quickly regained her usual arrogant grin and put her hands on the hips: "I seriously hope you were joking! I mean, I knew you were defective, but I never expected your nonsense matched you being a nature joke! Hah!"
"Jasper!", Steven snarled indigned. "How dare you insult Amethyst?!"
"Mh? What was that? Did you hear that, Lappy?~", Amethyst scratched her ear area looking bored:
"Hear what? I didn't hear anything~", Lapis smirked looking distractingly upward. Jasper was taken aback by that reaction, or rather lack of reaction. Steven too saw how his friend was acting like nothing happened and was amused to say the least:
"Wha-... What is that face supposed to mean? Are you trying to make a fool of me?!"
"Nah", Amethyst mimicked herself removing some earwax without looking at Jasper. "I think you're doing it to yourself"
"What did you say?", Jasper's eyes twitched. "How dare you, you insignificant, half-made-"
"Stop insulting Amethyst!", Steven shouted angrily standing between the two. That bubbling rage that consumed him when he fought Jasper was coming back to him. "Or else-"
"Cut some slack, Steven", Amethyst said shaking her hand. "There's nothing Jasper can say that can hurt me".
Steven turned around to see Amethyst's face and saw how she truly looked like her usual unmoved self. Jasper on the other hand was beyond indigned. How was that possible that her words weren't making the same effect they did in the past? That lack of answering was making Jasper feel more uneasy than she ever felt:
"I-I just told you how you!", Jasper pointed her finger at Amethyst. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be that the same Amethyst was not reacting to her words: "How you are a half-made-"
"Yeah yeah, I get it, I get it, Jasper", Amethyst said listlessly yawning. "I know what your opinion about me is. So what? Were you expecting me to get all angry? Charge at you like a bull so that you could kick my butt and then brag about because you beat a defective Gem? Nah, charging head-first is not my style anymore~".
Jasper was speechless. How dared this wretched excuse of a traitorous Quartz soldier display this kind of bravado and self-confidence to her, the perfect Gem, the Perfect Quartz Soldier?!
"Like I told you, things have changed around here, Jasper. I have changed, Steven had changed, even Lapis had changed!". Lapis blushed slightly covering her cheeks. "The only one left behind… is you, and nobody else forced you to do so but yourself. Deal with it, Jasper. You need to have something different in your life, and standing here throwing rocks or mow the lawn by hand is not a healthy way of living. I can help you, and so can Steven and Lapis. You just need to chill~". Amethyst ended her speech doing a smooth move with her arms, to which Lapis giggled covering her mouth. Jasper felt like words had stuck in her mouth. Nobody had ever talked to her like that and she never found herself unable to answer back in the moment. How was that possible? Could it be that she was getting weaker? Unable to respond? When did she ever have to face confrontation like that?...
Never. She never had the chance to talk to someone without punching them. Her punches did all the talk and she never delved into any confrontation because she thought words made people weak and her words used to make people weak beneath her. But now, was it happening to her? That the words of someone else were making her feel… smaller?
Even though she was physically unable to do so, Jasper would have sweated in that situation, but she was still unwilling to let Amethyst get the win, anything but that:
"Tsk, listen to yourself. You all feel the need to tell everyone how they should live, but you don't care about what those people need themselves. What if I don't need to 'socialize' with anybody? When did I ever show the need of anyone but myself only?!"
"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you before we fought, Jasper!", Steven exclaimed exasperated. "Don't you see it? You think you don't need anyone, but you know what? That's exactly what White Diamond herself thought when I got to meet her!"
"White… Of all the people who could have met her, you got that luxury?! You?!", Jasper exclaimed, her eyes wide open:
"Yes!", Lapis said annoyed herself. "You would know if you cared to stick around for more than a day after Steven and the Diamonds healed all the corrupted Gems in the healing pool!"
Jasper looked daggers at Lapis clenching her fists. So even her had the guts to talk like that to her?!
"Hah, it's pretty funny to hear it from you of all people, Lapis. Last time I saw you, you couldn't even stand next to me without trembling. All because of your-"
"My mistake for having tricked you to stay fused with me for months and get you trapped at the bottom of the ocean?", Lapis asked narrowing her eyes. "I don't need you to remind me of that mistake. It was cruel, I know, and I… I apologize for all of that".
Silence descended over the group while the birds chirped happily now that the forest regained its usual tranquility:
"You… you are apologizing. To me?"
"I would have told you long ago!", Lapis said and her voice sounded more emotional. "But, we never got a chance to talk because you were corrupted, and that happened because you desperately needed to win… just like you did with me"
"N-No! You're wrong!", Jasper shouted louder. "You're all wrong! You're all just messing with me!"
"But it's the truth, Jasper", Lapis said while approaching the tall Gem. "Steven told me when you got corrupted because of fusing with that Gem. That must have been terrible, all because you didn't want to lose. Don't you see that, despite all the pain you've caused to us, we still care about you?"
"B-But why though?!", Jasper asked at to her shock, her foot moved backwards on its own. Now she was growing more panicked - how could this be?! "And what is that nonesense you were talking about White Diamond, Rose?!"
"Again, Jasper. I'm Steven, not Rose", Steven said sighing. "And it's not nonesense. White Diamond believed everything was beneath her and that nobody could ever compare to her splendor"
"Pretty lame, to be honest~", Amethyst said casually tilting her head on the side:
"Hey! Watch your mouth, you twerp!", Jasper shouted before she realized her back was touching the tree behind her. She had been walking backwards without her even knowing it - what was going on in her?! Lapis and Steven were now very close to her:
"But guess what? When I realized that I've always been me this whole time - not Pink, not Rose, but me, Steven - White freaked out and found out that she too had emotions, despite believing she didn't need any of those. Have you ever seen White smiling back in your old time?".
Jasper was looking down on the right. She remembered the time she re-emerged from the healing pool and when she was about to throw hands again, she saw the Diamonds and Steven talking joyfully to each other, and then White Diamond looking as happy as she's ever been. To believe she had been created with the purpouse of being perfect and strong, strong enough to be able to win every fight, perfect to not let any emotions get in the way. But when she thought about it, when was the last time she won? Before she met the Crystal Gems, a bunch of imperfect Gems. And when was the last time she let her emotions get the better of her? When she lost to the Crystal Gems working together as a Fusion, and even when she fused she still lost. Was she really all that "perfect" after thinking about that? Meamwhile, Amethyst reached her friends and she had her hands on her hips like Jasper before her:
"You know, a dear friend of mine once told me: 'If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs'".
"... What does… what does that even mean?", Jasper asked, still lost in her stream of self-consciousness:
"You'll get it in due time, if you decide to move on and accept our proposal", Amethyst said, not a trace of her previous sarcasm in her voice. "At least give it a try. It won't hurt you as much as your current situation does!"
Jasper looked down at the three friends, their faces showing no trace of intimidation whatsoever. From Amethyst, who she belitted to the extreme, to Lapis, the hypocrite who found the courage to apologize to her, to Steven, the whole reason why her older life was wiped out for good. A life where everything that counted was to fight and win, always and only fight and win. But now, she wanted to fight but there was no one left to fight. She wanted to win, but everyone there ended up outclassing her:
"And if I chose to refuse even after all of this?", Jasper asked, her tone sounding less angry than before but not any less irritated. Amethyst, Lapis and Steven looked at each other and for a moment they thought it was all but a lost cause. Steven didn't say anything but Amethyst decided to bump Lapis on her arm before saying:
"Oh well, I guess we're done here"
"What?". Not only Jasper but Steven too asked surprised:
"Yeah, I know a lost cause when I see one. Right, Lappy my dear bub?~", Amethyst said, and was it just her or Jasper noticed how the Gem was doing that same expression as if they were concocting something evil:
"Rigth, Amethyst. There's really no way Jasper is going to come with us to the beach and have some fun~. She's too cool for that!".
"Uhm, what are you two-", Steven started to ask but Amethyst silenced him, while she struggled to keep herself from laughing:
"Perhaps we underestimated Jasper. She can pulverize mountains with her beef but she cannot even talk to humans because she's too cool for that!~", Amethyst chanted spinning on her tiptoes. Lapis, who was trying not to laugh herself, joined in the spinning and said:
"She's gonna miss all the good stuff. The ice cream, sand between her toes, the big splashes in the sea, the bright sun - how sad indeed~"
"Are you… are you two making fun of me again?", Jasper asked confused. She didn't know what to make of them. Just a moment ago they were talking so deeply about her issues and now they were talking like she was some sort of whim?:
"Well, I guess we'll have all the fun for ourselves, Jasper!~", Amethyst said while she locked Lapis' arm and the two walked away from her, leaving Jasper and Steven both speechless - although Steven was starting to understand where the two were going for: "You can stay here and play with rocks. They're dumber than me so it should be Ok for you!~".
"Bye bye!~. We'll come back tomorrow to give it another try!", Lapis said, her legs taking long but slow strides:
"Wait!", Jasper extended an arm confused. "What do you mean 'tomorrow'?"
"Oh yeah!", Amethyst facepalmed and said while she slowly kept walking away. "You said earlier you were going to ignore us? Well, too bad for you because we're not going to give up on you! We'll keep returning again, and again, and again to… bother you!". Amethyst concluded with a spooky-kind of voice while Lapis was on the verge of crying for the laughters:
"Bother… me?", Jasper asked. "I don't get if you're messing with me, but I won't let you-"
"And you better believe me!", Lapis said. "Amethyst can be both the best and the worst kind of company to have! She can be so funny and yet so annoying when she wants to get on yournerves!~"
"Lappy, you're exagerating… mostly", Amethyst smiled. "But you're rigth! See you around, Jasper! Be prepared for a loooooooooooong week of annoyance. And then another one. And then a month. And another. And another. Aaaaaand anot-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!".
In the blink of an eye, Jasper jumped in front of Amethyst and Lapis lifting a large cloud of dust. Her expression was terrible and her fists itched to punch those Gems' stupid faces. Steven was worried his friends might have went too far and he was ready to separate them once again, but Jasper, instead of attacking, spoke to the two chatty friends pointing her finger towards them:
"Listen up you two! I think you're crossing a dangerous line! You think you can just talk to me like that without any consequences?!"
Amethyst and Lapis were unmoved while holding their hands:
"Who do you think you're talking to?! I may have grown slightly softer these days, but I am still Jasper, the Perfect Quartz Soldier, and everything you lame excuses of a Gem can do, I can do it too, a 1.000 times better even! So don't you dare talk to me like that!".
The air around the three Gems was vibrating to Jasper's powerful voice:
"You think I'm not able to do such a thing as talking to those humans?! Well, I'll prove it to you that I am better at interacting with humans than you can!"
Jasper didn't know how but those words flew out of her mouth on their own. Was she really thinking about those words or was it a byproduct of her feeling of being cornered? But if that was the case, could it be another defeat on her side? Choosing to agree with the Crystal Gems' way of living? At those words, a big smile appeared over Amethyst's and Lapis' faces, with the first one saying:
"Whoa, that worked better than expected! Did you see, Lappy?"
Lapis nodded while Jasper looked and felt confused again, one of the things she hated about herself, being confused about what happened around herself:
"What do you mean 'It worked'?"
"Our improv, of course!~", Amethyst exclaimed proudly pointed at her chest, with Lapis doing the same with a serious frown:
"Improv? What is this, another human term?! Ugh, I hate to hear these names!"
"It's short for improvisation by the way", Lapis said acting strikingly similar to Pearl. "All thanks to our dear improv and acting teacher, Jamie. You should try it out one day - just, try not to scare him or eat him. He's a very sensitive and kind guy".
"I-I don't eat humans, for stars' sake! And what is this improv thing? Were you… were you tricking me to say those words?!", Jasper shouted, her face turning slightly red. Steven didn't say anything and let the girls handle the situation. Jasper huffed looking away. "Pfth, well played, you runts. Veeeery well played...":
"Alright alright. Chill out now, girl. You've made up your mind then. You're going to join our little company for a day out to know new human people?"
Jasper grinded her teeth, almost regreting her decision. Why did she even agree in the first place? Where did her old way of solving things go? When something was in the way, punch it or squash it. Was she really getting softer like she slightly implied? She took a deep sigh and said:
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm signing up to this, but… fine, I'll hang out with you and do the all 'socializing' thing with the humans".
"Yeah! High five!", Amethyst told Lapis and their hands clapped in midair:
"I'm not done yet, Amethyst, Lapis!", Jasper added pointing her finger. "Just so you know, I'm agreeing to fulfill this duty only because the idea of you runts coming here everyday makes me want to break my head on the hardest rock, and unfortunately all the rocks here are too soft for that purpouse, so that's why I chose to come with you-Why are you laughing again?!"
Jasper saw Amethyst and Lapis letting out another loud laughter holding their stomachs and even Steven let out a chuckle:
"T-The jokes you make without even aknowledging them are pure gold!~", Amethyst said recovering from the laughter and so did Lapis. "And that's a very good thing. Your being funny will be very appreciated, because people like those who can make them laugh".
"T-That wasn't my intention!", Jasper said, her face blushing again. Were humans really fond of such a thing as humor? But even then, did Jasper even had a sense of humor that wasn't insulting to the other ones beside her?. "A-And second thing! When all of this is done, you're finally gonna leave me alone for good, and never come back to propose anything that has to do with this planet, ever again! Is, that, clear?!". Jasper uttered those words as venomously as she could.
A few moments of silence permeated the forest, broken only by the cheerful chirping birds, before Amethyst smiled and extended her hand to Jasper:
"Agreed. We'll do like you asked and leave you alone for good as you want. Here, take and shake my hand. It's a common gesture among humans".
Jasper hesitated for a moment. The last time she "touched" Amethyst was when she humiliated her through a battle, and now she was really going to agree being "guided" by her? What did her life lead her to at this point? To lower herself to the scums' level. However, when she thought about it, all the Diamonds agreed to this whole peaceful arrangment… well, all but one. Pink Diamond. Her Diamond. The one who was revealed to be the enemy she hated for all those thousands of years. The one who started all the chain of events that would have shaken the galaxy to its fundations in the future. The one who would then turn into that Steven who somehow managed to convince the Diamonds through "compassion and love", the same motto of Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems since the time of war. Was this really what Pink Diamond wanted all this time? A planet free from the Diamonds where frail, weird and weak creatures like humans could live and love and all those things so alien to her? None of that made any sense, but she had to be strong. She had to fight. She had to be better to make everything better. And what did all her efforts lead to?
Nothing. A whole bunch of nothing but a planet where humans and Gems got to live in harmony. But Jasper wasn't in harmony with anyone but one person she loved more than anything, Pink Diamond, who was also her worst enemy as well. Now she was gone, but Jasper was still there. Alone. Worthless. With no friends to speak of. Was she any better than Amethyst, a Gem that shouldn't even have existed because of her imperfection, and there she was, her hand still waiting for her's.
She didn't know why but that kind of feeling felt heavy on her chest, where it was said that humans had their "heart". Jasper seemed to remember when was the last time she felt that feeling: when she was in the desert, alone, while imprisoning corrupted Gems for her "army". That idea made her laugh nowadays. Then, Gems like Amethyst, Lapis, and still Steven, were all willing not to leave her behind. Did they really care about her that much?
"Ehm, c'mon! Don't leave me hanging here!", Amethyst exclaimed jazzing her hand.
Jasper was brought back from her long inner journey. She looked at the hand and hastly squeezed it so hard Amethyst let out a sharp painful cry:
"Owie!~. N-Not this strong, Jasper! I may be tough, but humans aren't!".
Jasper let her hand go and Amethyst blew over the now deep purple pumping hand:
"First rule: never be too rough with humans. They're fragile and soft. You can seriously hurt them if you go too hard on them".
Jasper huffed and nodded. Lapis joined in and flipped two fingers:
"Second rule: humans don't take kindly grumpy faces. They welcome smiles more than anything".
"Well said, Lappy", Amethyst said. "Come on, show us your smile!"
Jasper followed that specific command after a moment of hesitation and embarassment and her mouth contorted in a large smile, although her expression was that of a deranged feral tiger. Amethyst grimaced uncertain and said:
"Eeeeh, better than nothing at least~"
"What? What's wrong with my smile?", Jasper asked still with her teeth grinding.
"T-Try to look a little less threatening~", Lapis said, halfway between being scared and wanting to laugh. Jasper tried a couple of times but every time she did so, her face was more deformed and unnatural:
"Tsk tsk, you still got a long way to go, girl!", Amethyst shaked her head. "But don't worry, 'cause me and Lapis are gonna teach you everything you need to know on how to be decently acceptable! Come on, follow me!"
With that said, Amethyst incited a grunting Jasper to walk the path of the forest leading to the beach, with Lapis and Steven following them in toe. Throughout the whole thing, Steven didn't say a thing and was shocked to see how everything seemed to have gone well, at least for now. Who knew what kind of things might happen when Jasper was finally brought to the beach for the very first proper group date with acquaintances. It was still a long way before she called them anything but "friends", but at the end, every journey starts from somewhere, and either if it's a brief of a long way to start, every journey leads to a whole new horizon of possibilities.
Jasper herself, as she begrudgingly followed Amethyst through the forest with Lapis walking just next to her, didn't know what to make of all of this. Her thoughts about how everything about Rose Quartz felt like a joke at this point were unbearable and she didn't know why she got to think about all of that only at this point after his confrontation with Amethyst and Lapis. Perhaps, at the end of the day, she wasn't as flawless as she always thought she was, which was something that should have brought her down to her knees… but not today. Even though she might be having a series of doubts about herself, that wasn't the time nor the place to think about such things. She had a duty to fulfill and after that day, everything would be returning to normal, as if nothing had happened. This is what Jasper was telling herself the whole time - she, the Perfect Quartz Soldier, who can do anything other Gems do a 1,000 times better! Whatever awaited her at this "beach" wasn't going to scare her at all:
"Alright boys' n girls!", Amethyst exclaimed as she made it over a nearby cliff and jumped in the air. "Let's have a great Beach Episode!"
Jasper saw Amethyst slowly rising from the ground and asked:
"Excuse me, I still don't get it… What even is a beach episode?!"
To Be Continued…
There you have it, folks! The first chapter of my new Jasper-centered story! Hope you enjoyed it - I especially hope my dear pen friend Adam enjoyed it. I certainly had lots of fun to write the characters' interactions, even those of Amethyst and Lapis. You might be surprised to see them getting along so good with each other, but personally, thinking back to SU Future, for how good the overal series was, I thought it still had tons of wasted potential material to be used, like unique interesting characters' interactions. In this reimagining of the first episode, I brought one of my personal most wasted potentials, that being Amethyst and Lapis getting along. I never understood why they never interacted throughout the whole OG series and it's a real shame we didn't see anything like that in the show. Hope you enjoyed it, and also seeing Jasper acting all tsundere/tough girl. Steven is mostly background voice but he's not the focus on this story, so I hope that doesn't bother you.
In the next chapter, we'll get to the good stuff and my OC, my very first OC will appear. Maybe I'll put the backstory I thought for him in the end notes of the second chapter or not. I hope you'll enjoy what I and my friend Adam brought together because none of this would have been possible without his contribution. Go check his profile on FanFiction, his name is EpicMusicLover.
I don't know when the second chapter is coming out but I've got the drabbles ready so it's only a matter of time and effort. See you around!~
SPOILERS:
Feet are coming…