The orange sky got darker with the streetlights in the neighborhood flickering into life. It was a long day for Steven to spend his time at the creek and even if it wasn't the best day of his life, he at the very least spent time with Craig and knew him better than he did himself. But tonight has finally come. He and Craig know that Craig's parents are at their house, possibly waiting for them to arrive. After coming out from the Creek, they walked up to Craig's house, while also remembering that Lion is still out in the open.
"We need to make sure we show them Lion, but not this way." Craig walked up to the front door.
"Maybe we can surprise them by not scaring them." Steven replied. "Lion, can you go to the backyard and wait?"
Lion agreed as he jumped on the roof, making his way to the backyard. "They will know it's not Santa Claus up there." Jessica commented.
"We should've told him to teleport to the backyard." Connie flinched.
"Let's go in…and hope for the best." Craig took out his house key as he unlocked the front door. The moment he opened the door, he saw his brother Bernard sitting on the steps.
"Hi Craig…and Steven." He waved. "How was your day?"
"Better than last night."
Bernard slowly stood up as Craig closed the front door. He still felt uncomfortable all day due to what happened last night. "Please tell me you're not gonna explode again."
"He won't, where's Mom and Dad?"
"They're in the living room…waiting." He then turned to the hallway with the TV on in the living room. "My girlfriend, Alexis, came over to check up on me. She agreed to be part of this meeting tonight."
"I don't need to know if you or her told them about last night." Steven replied.
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting any longer." Connie said.
"Well, here we go, let's do this." Craig spoked.
They made their way down the hallway with no food on the kitchen table nor in the kitchen itself. Craig may have had dinner two days ago, but by the looks of this, it's more serious. When they turn to the left, Duane, Nicole, and Alexis are sitting on the sofa. They heard the front door pushed open and footsteps, knowing they're skipping dinner after witnessing that Steven's van was in their driveway. Nicole turned off the TV with the remote, she, her husband and Bernard's girlfriend turned around to see Steven again.
"I thought yesterday would be the last time we would meet." Nicole stood up from the sofa. "But after what Bernard told us, we don't see you the same way as when you got here."
"You didn't think Bernard's making things up?"
"We wouldn't be good parents if we thought that."
Nicole and Duane walked up in front of the group, looking straight at Steven, while Alexis stood in place. "Steven, we heard about you…exploding with Benard in your old apartment yesterday."
"Did he tell you I have something hiding in my shirt?" Steven guessed.
"Yes and everything Craig told us a few days ago, we thought about him."
Steven and Craig decided to cut to the chase as they walked by the TV to show them the truth. "Three nights ago when I met him after leaving the Creek, I bumped into him where I felt…" Craig stopped himself as Steven filled in by lifting his shirt up.
"He felt my gem." He replied as Craig's parents witnessed his gem for the first time.
"Also." Jessica chimed in. "His shield was made out of magic."
Steven used his powers to have his shield reappear, catching the attention from Craig's parents. "Before you ask, I'm not a magician."
"Then who are you exactly?" Nicole placed her hands on her hips.
Steven lowered his head while giving her the answer. "A Crystal Gem."
With the words out in the open, Nicole and Duane knew there's tons of information, but they would be here all night. They can tell the term Crystal Gem is a lot more private than it looks. As if what he did during their family reunion was all a lie about his life.
"Steven, you better understand we live in a healthy and stable family life." Duane said.
"Having a gem in your belly button with…shields appearing out of thin air is the last thing people would expect." Nicole added. "And secondly," She walked up to him while looking down at her son. "We don't give guests special privileges."
"I wasn't gonna leave him out in the rain." Craig replied.
"That doesn't mean you can have him stay without our permission."
"Mr. and Mrs. Williams." Connie chimed in. "Not that I don't agree with you, but his life changed when he left Beach City three months ago."
"That doesn't change how he nearly harmed Benard." Alexis replied.
"It was an accident." Craig replied.
"I didn't mean to harm Benard yesterday, I just wanted to leave to protect my social profile." Steven said. "I'm not a terrible person because I have powers."
"That's the problem. We never saw you with your powers." Nicole retorted as she turned to Craig again. "Craig, what powers did he show you?"
"He can fight, but not in a bad way."
"Not helping." Steven awkwardly grinned.
"He can go faster on a bike in pink and, he can shrink himself to a kid like me."
"Anything else?"
Craig lowered his head while trying to stay on topic with his parents. "He gave me pink eye visions with his saliva."
"Really!?" Nicole reacted. "Stranger danger levels."
"I'm still a teen." Steven replied. "I was trying to make him feel happy when he used my shield, I didn't know his eyes turned pink."
"If you can control your powers, are you capable of fixing him?" Bernard asked.
"Someone in public could see him if he had pink eyes." Duane said.
"We're working on it, this is the first time I've experienced this." Steven sighed.
"This isn't like how he helped me with my eyes." Connie added.
"Do you expect me to believe you're willing to fix him? If a doctor can't give him eye drops to fix his eyes, I don't believe you will." Nicole crossed her arms.
Steven and Craig wanted to find the positives, but from the way Craig's parents are catching on, they won't allow Steven to sleep over for a week. "You don't have to believe me but please, I wasn't gonna leave and have him have pink eyes forever." Steven said.
"Steven, we're not allowing you to stay."
"This isn't a neighborhood from where you live if you actually expect them to have you stay." Alexis commented.
"Plus…you're not family." Duane added. "Cold, but it's the truth."
When Steven turned to the backyard, it was the only option he had left to prove to Craig's parents on how his life's privacy shows he needs to set things straight by any means necessary. "You're right." Steven crossed his arms while heading by the patio door. "But I've always helped people's problems from Beach City."
"Every problem doesn't center around you." Nicole replied.
"But what we're dealing with right now…is his and my problem." Craig said.
Steven then opened the patio door, catching everyone's attention. "My girlfriend Connie didn't come by vehicle."
Nicole and Duane looked at each other while Bernard and Alexis did the same. "I was wondering how your girlfriend got here." Bernard spoked.
"I'm thinking of that more than being happy to see her." Alexis added.
"Please, I want to show you this." Steven got out of the living room.
"This better be a good example." Nicole follows Steven. Everyone got out with the sky officially turning nighttime. Steven went down on the backyard porch as he turned around, next to Lion who was waiting patiently. Craig's parents shook the moment they saw a lion in their backyard. Nicole almost screamed, but she covered her mouth while she and Duane went down the porch.
"That's…a Lion!?" Bernard reacted while Jessica and Connie shushed him.
"Not so loud." Connie replied.
"Sorry."
Nicole and Duane slowly make their way to Lion, but they're afraid he might jump and attack them. "He might eat us for dinner." Duane shooked. "Then we won't have dinner tonight."
"He's not gonna eat you." Steven filled in.
"He's not a predator." Craig added.
"Whatever he is, I'm still not coming down." Bernard stood by the patio door.
Nicole got close to Lion as it stood in place. Soon the presence of the big animal didn't alarm her since he's not causing any problems. "Was this the reason we heard stomps from the roof?" She asked.
"Yes." Connie answered while following from behind. "Lion's the reason I'm here is because he can teleport…and when Garnet told me that Steven needed support."
Jessica walked up to Lion, eventually standing right next to him. "He's really friendly and not scary, we can also jump into his mane."
Nicole and Duane took their daughter's words as they placed their arms through Lion's mane, causing it to glow. "You came out from his mane?" Nicole turned to Connie.
"No, it's not that type of teleportation." Connie answered.
"Trust me, we had to hold our breath in there." Craig filled in.
"Steven may not be family but Craig got curious about his gem powers."
"Two nights ago and this morning, he told me what his life is and I couldn't help myself, he's like the only Crystal Gem we're ever gonna meet." Craig said while lowering his head. "Also, we had a good time hanging out in the creek. We didn't do everything but we want to do more."
Craig's parents turned to Steven as he placed his hands in his pockets. "It's not a good excuse to stay but I'll do anything, I can pay for rent if you need it."
Nicole and Duane took their time to process Craig's relationship with Steven. They hope he can fix Craig's eye problems before he leaves but if it requires more time, they have no choice but to keep him for a long time.
"Steven." Nicole responded. "We're gonna have you stay."
"For one week?" Steven caught on.
"Maybe more than a week, but under a few conditions. You don't have to pay rent however, at the very least, make a friend that's your age in Herkleton."
"Just one friend. Bernard can help you, starting tomorrow." Duane turned around to see Bernard still next to the patio door. "It's also important to work out your issues with him."
"From the way I saw him today, he needs more time until he wants to be your friend again."
"They can work on it as long as they need, me and my friends can help also." Alexis replied.
"You want me to find a friend at my age tomorrow?" Steven replied. "Which means-"
"You're not going to the creek tomorrow, you can do it the day after tomorrow." Nicole answered. Steven wished he could come back to the creek and he will but not like this. "We're not doing this for you. We're doing this for Craig."
Craig knew his mother was right. She wouldn't do it any other way. However, he'll have to let his friends know Steven won't be around tomorrow. "Okay, I accept." Craig responded.
"Also after every dinner from here on out, starting tonight, we want to hear about your life as a Crystal Gem."
"If Craig believes you, then we might do the same." Duane added.
"We won't judge, but if you're that different out in the open, maybe we might protect you if something bad happens."
"Fine by me." Steven agreed. "I haven't eaten all day."
"I would've taken you to The Creek's Kitchen, but there were too many places, I forgot about lunch." Craig's stomach groaned. "I really got side tracked."
"Okay then. I'm gonna make dinner for all of us, including Steven Universe." Nicole smiled. "I still wouldn't leave a guest starving."
"Thanks Mrs. Williams." Steven smiled.
"Well, I'm gonna leave, I still have college tomorrow." Connie climbing on top of Lion. "I'll come back for Kelsey's book club if I have the chance."
"Okay, but you better appear in our backyard, nowhere else." Nicole demanded. "We don't want anyone to know we have a lion here."
"They might see him as a predator, unlike us." Bernard added. "And I'm sure they don't want to ride on him unlike kids from the creek."
Lion groaned which caused Bernard to flinch. "He heard that." Connie called. "But sure, we'll only appear in the backyard. Hope things work out for you Steven." Lion roared beams from his mouth as a portal appeared in front of him. He and Connie jumped through the portal and disappeared.
"Okay, maybe the backyard isn't the best idea if the lion's gonna roar like that." Nicole picked her ear plug.
"Let's just have dinner and I'll tell you a bit about myself. I'll call Connie to work on that problem." Steven replied.
Steven, Alexis, and Craig's family head inside as they have dinner tonight. Soon after that, Steven had a private meeting with Nicole and Duane, but Craig isn't allowed to take part. He brushed his teeth while getting into his pajamas, heading inside his bedroom. With Jessica and Bernard in their bedrooms and Alexis leaving, he couldn't get to sleep. He sat on his bed waiting if Steven did come up to his room before he headed to bed. It took longer than he thought, even more when he showed him his gem two nights ago. His parents really need to know him all the while trusting him enough to stay.
After thirty minutes, he heard his door pushed open, revealing Steven himself in his pajamas with a blanket and pillow. "So how did it go?" He asked.
"Not bad, but not good either." Steven replied. "I also want to point out that I have to sleep in your room instead of on the sofa in the living room."
"That's fine, my top bunk bed isn't big, but it's better than sleeping on the ground."
Steven smiled as he sat next to Craig. "It is better, I was actually happy your Mom allowed me to sleep in here."
"Did you tell them about Ruby and Aquamarine?"
"No, I didn't want them to be in a panicked mood, they don't deserve it."
"True, but at least they don't know where you're sleeping."
Steven knows he's safe from Ruby and Aquamarine with them not knowing his whereabouts, but even by finding a friend tomorrow, he'll keep an eye out for them. "You know when we met Maya by the waterfall, you know they might be paired with Xavier?"
"It's a possibility, but I haven't seen Xavier since the Capture The Flag war." Craig then took a deep breath, knowing he won't be around Steven tomorrow. "I don't think I'm gonna protect myself if they find me in the creek."
"Well I know they could be with Xavier, but on the other hand, I don't know where he lives."
"I know he has a brother and sister, and his house but I don't have a picture of it."
"We're worry about that the day after tomorrow. If Ruby and Sapphire find you, head straight home. You will be safe. Or you can go to your friend's house, J.P. or Kelsey's. I know they won't break in when they get caught."
"Good idea." Craig crawled on his bed as Steven got off. "I don't think I'll have a chance against them."
"No one will, believe me." Steven turned off the bedroom light as he got on top of Craig's bunk bed with his blanket and pillow. "And Craig." He laid his head on his pillow. "Maybe if I can, I might have you meet Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst through my phone. It's the least we can do if you want to meet them."
Craig wouldn't pass the opportunity but he doesn't know what to say. Especially Steven might also include the other Crystal Gems like Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth. "I would wait if we needed more time. I'm still bummed they won't come over to meet me face to face."
"I would love to have them come over Craig…but it's better to keep things simple." Steven yawned while closing his eyes. "I still need to work things out with your parents."
"I know." Craig also yawned.
"Good night."
"Good night."
The two fell asleep in slumber with their day officially over. They won't be together tomorrow, but they'll take it until the following day. They're thankful they'll be friends for a little longer while there's a lot more in the creek to see, including the other side.
Outside of Craig's curtain and window, Aquamarine and Ruby were eavesdropping from the outside, hearing everything from Steven and Craig's conversation. "Oh Steven, we're always a step ahead from you." Aquamarine whispered.
"We'll make sure Craig doesn't find sanctuary when we keep him occupied." Ruby added. Aquamarine flew away while carrying Ruby. They will tell Xavier about what they're gonna do tomorrow, and continue more on their alliance, all the while giving Steven a really great friend of his age. They know Steven will meet Xavier soon, but they're sure he won't find out about their plan and what they're gonna do next.