A/N:
skjksjdf i LOVE this chapter it's just pure unadulterated fluff momnight is just as good as dadzawa (honestly i prefer it but that's just because there's less of it, y'know) and i require MORE
Chapter 6: in which steven and midnight bond over skirts
"Rise and shine, kiddos!"
A woman burst into the dorms, her greeting heard by no one but Steven.
Did everyone have to burst through those doors? Couldn't they just… open them normally?
Regardless, there was no one to bear witness to her entrance, because classes had started an hour ago. Steven, with the privilege of not having to go to school, took the time to sleep for an extra hour or two.
"You're like an hour late, I think," he called out. "Classes started an hour ago."
"Darn, I knew I was forgetting something," she muttered, just barely audible to Steven.
"Are you the one taking me shopping?" he asked, hopeful for a yes. Wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row was starting to get tiring, and he was looking forward to having options in the morning.
"Depends. Is your name Steven Universe?" she asked.
"I sure hope so," he got up and approached her, this being all the confirmation he needed.
The woman was a bit taller than him, with long, almost purple hair tied back into a ponytail. When he approached, she cooed at the sight of him.
"Well aren't you just the cutest," she teased, making him blush.
"I— well, uh," Steven stammered. "T-thank you?" His voice squeaked, which made his cheeks turn a deep pink— the normal, human kind of pink, thankfully.
Apparently, his fluster was funny to her, as she giggled. "It's nice to meet you, Universe. My name is Nemuri Kayama, but I'm also known as the pro hero Midnight."
"Wow," Steven's eyes widened in wonder. "Is everyone who works here a hero?"
"More or less," she tilted her hand from side to side. "Nedzu already told me about you. Seems like you're stuck here, huh?"
"Yep," he sighed, following the hero onto the grounds.
"Don't worry, kid. The principal's one of the smartest people in Japan. He'll figure out a way for you to return."
"Hopefully. Can we… not talk about that?"
Kayama was silent for a moment. "Of course. How are you liking Japan so far?" She changed the subject deftly, and Steven seized the opportunity like the lifeline it was.
"No opinion," he answered truthfully. "I haven't seen anything outside of the school yet."
"Really?" she said with shock. "Well, that's just unacceptable. Good thing I'm here to fix that!"
Steven laughed. Truth be told, he'd been so excited to go out that he had trouble sleeping. It was one thing to be told that he was almost two hundred years in the future, and he wanted to see how different the world was.
Although, it's not like he had a reference to compare it to— he'd never visited Japan, just a brief stint in Korea with Dad.
They boarded the train, and he had trouble keeping himself from smooshing his face into the glass, watching as they flew down the tracks, the world a blur below them.
"First time?" Kayama had asked, her smirk practically audible. Steven nodded, unwilling to tear his gaze away from the buildings.
They stepped out into a bustling city center, and Steven gaped at the sight. Sure, he'd been to Empire City, which was arguably a bigger city than Musutafu, but this was a completely different experience, enhanced by the knowledge that he was in the future.
And maybe, on the surface, it wasn't all that different-looking to the big cities back home. But as he stood there, he marveled at the sheer diversity. People of all kinds, with hair from the entire color spectrum, of all heights and sizes, and those that didn't even look human, at first glance. Steven was glad that one of his first experiences in this world was with Principal Nedzu, because it mostly desensitized him to the concept of mutations. Rather than stare, he just admired the sheer variety exhibited by this society.
"It's a lot, seeing it for the first time," Kayama agreed with his unspoken statement. "Let's go, Universe. You'll have time to gawk later," she hurried him, not unkindly.
"Steven," he corrected. She glanced at him, but agreed in the end.
"Alright then, Steven. The mall is a bit of a walk. Try to stay close."
He followed behind her, occasionally pointing out buildings or people than had to be heroes, and she took to the role of tour guide admirably. Kayama explained hero agencies as they passed by one, and she patiently answered every one of his questions.
Finally, they came to a stop in front of the biggest building so far. A sprawling shopping mall, not as tall as the skyscrapers he'd walked past, but taking up many times more space than the largest of them.
"Everything is so big," Steven observed as they entered the atrium, echoing and reverberating with the sound of hundreds of people walking from one store to another. "Beach City has a population of, like, fifty people at most. There's more people in one of those stores than in my entire hometown!"
Kayama whistled. "Damn. Must have been pretty peaceful there."
"Kinda the opposite, actually," he chuckled. "Hard to get peace and quiet when we have to deal with corrupted gems, and then Homeworld, and now we have a bunch of gems living in Little Homeworld."
She raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a lot, then. Homeworld?" she asked, leading him to one of the stores.
"It's… a bit much," Steven grimaced.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Kayama rushed to clarify, "but we have the whole day and I'd say I'm a pretty good listener."
He considered it, and ultimately decided that there was no harm. Kayama seemed nice enough— a bit like the maternal parts of Pearl and the more energetic parts of Amethyst combined. She'd done nothing but be friendly, and Steven was a good judge of character, if nothing else.
"Yeah, sure," he exhaled for a bit, trying to find the words. "So, uh, a bit of background. The Gems are basically precious gemstones given sentience and the ability to control light…"
"I mean, sure, the Diamonds were basically tyrannical dictators, but they're like my clingy aunts now."
"I'm sure it was your charming good looks and lovable personality."
"Aww, thanks! And yeah, basically. So they finally let Pink…"
"And my mom, Rose Quartz, loves the Earth so much, she starts this whole rebellion against Homeworld to protect it."
"Sounds like my kind of woman."
"..."
"And they turn everyone except for Rose, Garnet, and Pearl into these mindless corrupted gems."
"That's some dark shit, kid."
"It was rough, but they're all better now at least. Do you think this skirt looks good on me?"
"Steven, honey, it looks fabulous."
"And my dad is playing this concert, and she's the only one to show up."
"That's so cute!"
"I know, right? So anyways, Dad starts hanging around the Crystal Gems more…"
"...Do I need to worry about how much I take?"
"Nah, Nedzu can cover it. U.A.'s budget is so huge it's honestly a joke."
"And I didn't find out for a while, but he didn't think he could raise me well enough, not with my gem and all of that, so that's why I moved in with the Gems."
"I may not be a mom, but that doesn't seem like very good parenting."
"It worked out, and we came to an understanding not too long ago."
"You play instruments?"
"So many. I got my first ukulele when I was, like, three years old."
"Ooh, once we get your clothes, we should totally check out the guitar store here!"
"There's a guitar store here?"
"Oh, yeah. I have a feeling you'll like it, little guy."
"I can shapeshift to be taller than you."
"Please don't."
"...so then I basically get kidnapped—"
"I'm not keeping track here or anything, but it sounds like you got kidnapped a lot."
"Looking back, yes, I got kidnapped an above-average amount."
"Did— have you gotten therapy?"
"Mm-hmm! Pretty sure I'm missing my appointment right now, actually."
"..."
"I'm not sure we'll be able to carry all of this."
"Don't worry, I'll have it delivered to the school later today."
"Or I could just take less clothes."
"Hush. Here, try on these jeans."
"And that's how I found out that mom was actually Pink Diamond."
"Holy sh—"
"And that's how I saved the galaxy, the end," Steven finished the epic retelling of his life story with a sigh of relief. He'd recounted bits and pieces of his life to his therapist, but never had he just been allowed to rant for so many hours.
"That sounds like a lot on your plate, kiddo," Kayama looked at him, concern evident in her gaze, but not a trace of pity, for which he was thankful. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Not really, but it's getting better. I'm trying to take it easy, and I was on a road trip to see the country and find myself, but then I got sent here."
"Well, I think you're dealing with everything pretty well," she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "I think we have all the clothes you could possibly need. Did you want to check out that guitar store?"
"Please," Steven practically begged. He was itching to play any instrument, even just a single strum on a dinky acoustic.
Kayama cackled at his enthusiasm. "Hah! I love your energy. Here, it's this way." She gestured in a direction, and they walked side by side, both holding a variety of bags.
"Do you play anything, Kayama-san?"
"Pfft, no," she snorted. "The closest I get to musically inclined is when 'Zashi and I decide that no one else at the karaoke bar needs their hearing."
"That sounds awful," he grimaced. "Why would you do that to those poor, innocent civilians?"
"Ah, but the look on Shouta's face makes it all worth it," she grinned.
"Shouta?" he said. "Like, Shouta Aizawa? Do you two know each other?"
"Oh yeah," her evil smile softened as they turned the corner. "We go way back. Don't let him know I'm saying this, but he's really a big softie."
Steven snickered. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Knew I could trust you." They came to a stop, and she pushed open a glass door. "Welcome to Manic Music! Never been here, but Zashi apparently gets audio stuff for his radio station here, and he has nothing but praise."
"Wow, okay, I'm just…" He stepped into the store and took it all in. The place was huge, and not only was one of the walls covered in electric guitars, but there was an entirely separate room for acoustics.
A bounce in his step, he carefully weaved in between the shoppers towards that room, Kayama following close behind with an amused smirk on her face.
Setting his bags down in the corner, Steven gravitated towards the wall of instruments. So many types, brands both new and familiar, surrounded him. He wasn't able to find any Taylin guitars, which was what his dad's (now his) was, but he delicately picked one from a brand called Taylor.
He sat down on a cushion next to his bags, Kayama across from him and observing him (although he didn't actually notice— so absorbed he was in the guitar).
Plucking the low E string, he tuned it by ear, the rest following in short order. Settling the guitar on his thigh, he strummed a C chord and breathed out in relief.
It sounded like his dad's— maybe newer, and definitely a brighter tone, but it was unmistakably reminiscent of the instrument he'd spent many sleepless nights softly playing, gazing at the starry sky.
Oblivious to his surroundings, he began to softly sing.
"Wherever you may go I said that
I would always follow.
The lights, they fade, but still you stayed
That's why I feel so hollow,
Now, I'm stuck without you.
And now, It's like I'm split in two."
He stared at the ground after the final chord, eyes burning. With a hasty apology and an "I need to go to the bathroom," Steven hurried off to find an isolated place to get a moment to himself.
Nemuri watched as Steven ran off, her mouth agape. Yeah, it hadn't taken her long to realize that the kid was something special, and she was expecting that to extend to his musicianship, but that was next-level. He'd already said that he wasn't here to buy any guitars, but just because he wasn't doesn't mean she couldn't.
In a hurry to finish before he returned, she got up and grabbed the guitar he'd taken, bringing it with her to the counter.
"Listen, I don't have much time. I'd like this guitar, and if I could have it delivered to U.A. today?"
"I'm afraid that it would not be—"
"Let's say I paid extra?"
"Certainly, ma'am. The total will come out to…"
Nemuri paid with the card she'd gotten from the principal, leaving the guitar behind the counter to be packaged and sent off to the school. Nedzu wanted the boy to meet with someone, but if she was lucky then the delivery would come before he returned to the dorms.
It would make a nice surprise for someone who wasn't going through the best times, at the very least.
Before she met Steven, she was hell bent on doing her usual scandalous routine, to get him flustered at every turn. But then she actually saw him, and he was so precious. She didn't like to fawn over students since it made her feel old (which she wasn't, and everyone would do well to remember that) but she just couldn't help it, and it wasn't helped by his unfortunate circumstances.
Nemuri was glad that he'd trusted her enough to say so much personal junk. She was sure that Nedzu didn't know about most of it, or else he'd have given her a more complete briefing. And, considering that, she wasn't sure she would tell him about any of it. Not only would that be a breach of trust, but the rat would probably use the information to manipulate Steven to his advantage— he might not, but she knew he wasn't above such tactics..
With the order finalized, she grabbed all of the bags and carried them outside the store. Steven returned a minute later, eyes red. She didn't mention it, letting him broach the subject if he was comfortable.
"We should be getting back now," she said apologetically. "Nedzu wanted you to meet someone, and if we want to get back in time then we should leave now."
"Oh. Alright," his gaze drifted back to the guitars, and only the fact that she had just placed an order for the guitar he played stopped her from giving in and letting him go back in. He reached for a few bags, and she handed them over.
"Sorry about all that," Steven spoke, clearly embarrassed. "I didn't, it was—"
"Don't worry about it, kid," Nemuri saved him from his stammering. "It happens. Your song was very lovely. Is it about anyone you know?"
"You heard that?" He reddened. "Um, yeah, it is, I suppose. I was thinking of my girlfriend, Connie— although I guess she might be my future wife?"
"Fiancée? Please, tell me more!"
Steven giggled, a softer blush rising on his face that had nothing to do with embarrassment. "I already told you about her, but I was in a pretty bad place a few months ago and I kinda got this idea into my head that I should propose, even though I was only sixteen. Instead of just outright rejecting me, she said 'not yet', and I think that's a good sign."
"Oh, yeah. She's got it bad for you," Nemuri confirmed. Ah, was there anything more pure than teenage romance? "How'd you two get together?"
"So, and this was all a few months ago…" They set off towards the exit, stars in Steven's eyes as he waxed poetic about his girlfriend. She ruffled his hair, and he blushed, stuttering in the middle of his tale as she cackled.
This felt right, she thought.
End Notes:
again, momnight supremacy
I recorded the little song he sang, the link is soundcloud()/blobertthebob/to-connie/s-NvRiU3aOsB5 (replace the parentheses with .com)
i experimented a little bit with the format because i know nothing about fashion and i wasn't about to write out a summary of the SU plot, so instead we have some funny dialogue!
the guitar mentioned is a real guitar (Taylor 214ce Deluxe)! I don't own it, cus... money
updates might slow down because i need to work on college apps, but then again, i might just procrastinate on those ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Add me on Discord at blobertthebob#3284 — just let me know what fic you're coming from!