It's a Wash

Things were pretty good after the dinner thing. Connie's parents lived up to their agreement, allowing Connie to hang out with Steven. Jason ended up going to the mayor, where he acquired the permit to build his house atop and within the cliff.

While certain land had to be forgone for the lighthouse, he still would have space for everything he was planning to have constructed. Also, he'd still be close to the gems in case something happens and be able to watch over the city. Naturally, the mayor wasn't on board at first.

While Jason could have used his status to get his way, he simply dropped a sizable chunk of change. With that much money, Dewy agreed to write it out. Soon, the army would be sending a whole crew over. Right now, the Crystal Gems were dealing with something different.

"While this is odd, but it lines up with what I've been seeing since I arrived." Jason stated plainly.

Still, this was a lot of watermelons that looked like Steven.

"This is impressive." Garnet commented.

"I suppose…" Pearl stated. "Steven, your mother had the power to grow sentient plant life to act as her defenders."

"Again, that checks out from the few plants of Rose's around." Jason commented. "Still Steven, your mom was something else." He picked up one of the watermelons. "Healing tears, General of the Crystal Gem army, and the ability to make her own army at a moment's notice."

"But Rose's plants moved and stuff." Amethyst commented. "These guys don't do anything."

She picked up a smaller Melon Steven when compared to the rest.

"Amethyst, be careful." Steven took that watermelon from her. "This one's just a baby." He began cuddling it. "Aww! Look at him. So precious."

"Ugh…" Greg ended up stepping in a Watermelon Steven. "This is weird. What are we going to do with all of them?"

Steven let out a gasp as an idea formed in his head. "I've got it!"

Unfortunately, Steven proceeded to be vague on the subject and decided to just pick up his creations. After the kid left, Jason decided he might as well start examining his vehicles. He started with his SUV, taking it into Beach City proper for a nice change of pace.

Beach City

"Whoa!"

Jason turned at that only to see who he assumed were the cool kids Steven hung out with. "Are you Jenny, Buck, and Sour Cream?"

"Yeah, that's us." Jenny stated. "That must make you Jason. Steven has mentioned you the few times we've seen him."

She and the others began to examine his ride.

"This vehicle looks like it's well taken care of." Buck commented.

"Yeah man." Sour Cream added. "Nice ride."

"Thanks." Jason closed the hood. "I like to take care of my vehicles."

"That's a good outlook." Sour Cream stated.

"Where'd you get it?" Buck asked.

"My dad's a high-ranking member of the military." Jason shrugged, deciding to go with a partial truth. "He has access to a lot of vehicles and tends to use me to store a few. If I keep up their maintenance, he lets me drive anything I'm keeping for him."

"That's pretty cool." Buck commented.

"Do you think he'd ever be willing to sell one suited for a civilian?" Sour Cream asked.

"I don't think so, but you can sit in it if you want." Jason offered as he used his keys just to unlock the car part."

"Woo-hoo!" Sour Cream yelled happily.

He got in through the passenger door while Buck got in the driver's side.

"By the way, that card you gave my dad to fix up our shop really paid off." Jenny commented.

"If I'd caused that damage, I'd have paid for it." Jason shrugged. "As things stood, I knew my dad would send some people over to handle it."

"Well, you didn't really need to do that, but it makes you alright in my books." Jenny stated. "It seems you're pretty alright in those guy's books by letting them sit in there, so if you need anything, come find us."

"I appreciate it." At that moment, there was a honk from the vehicle. "Alright you two, I think that's enough time in my ride." The boys got out, looking a little dejected. "Now, you should get going." The super soldier popped the hood again. "I'd love to hang, but I've work to do.

"Alright, it was fun hanging with you for a moment there." Sour Cream stated as he began to walk away.

"Don't be a stranger." Buck added.

"I'll try." Jason replied.

"Remember, if you need anything, think about contacting us." Jenny stated. "Steven should have our numbers, so get them from him."

"I will, and I'll text you all my number later." Jason assured.

Later…

As Jason was finishing his ride, he heard someone running. "Hm?" When he looked up, he saw it was Steven running towards him. "What's got him in such a hurry?" Something tapped his leg, so he looked down to see an alive Watermelon Steven. "Yeah, that tracks."

"Jason, the Watermelon Stevens came alive and are attacking people!" Steven exclaimed.

"Look Steven." Jason put a hand on him. "I…" He stopped as suddenly they were surrounded by a whole army of Watermelon Stevens, which did not seem to like the super soldier putting his hands on the boy. "That was fast." He pushed Steven through the watermelons. "Get the gems."

The watermelons hissed at him, so the super soldier summoned his swords. He then grasped two himself and sent the other three tearing through the horde before fighting himself. Jason also began maneuvering them to the beach.

Beach House

"Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst!" Steven yelled as he ran into the house. "My watermelons came to life and were attacking people! Now I think they're attacking Jason!"

"What!?" They all asked in surprise at the news.

The four of them ran outside to see Jason sprinting onto the beach while fending off the Watermelon Stevens. Just by looking at them, there was a literal army chasing him.

"Wow." Amethyst stated in awe.

"Rose's plants lived to fight." Garnet explained. "We have to help."

"Wait!" Pearl immediately stopped the gems from jumping.

"What!?" Amethyst shouted.

Pearl stared at the large army of melon warriors. While individually they weren't strong enough to overwhelm Jason, their sheer numbers sure seemed to be getting to him.

"I have an idea…" Pearl offered.

Jason was slicing, dicing, and thrusting through the army; however, for everyone he destroyed, five more took their place. It just seemed like a never-ending army. Still, there had to be an end, and the super soldier was determined to find it.

Suddenly, a loud sound pierced the air as the nearest melon splattered. Before he could question what was going on, more melons were decimated. The cause was revealed to be Garnet and Amethyst who were fighting to get to him. When they arrived, the former held a crate.

"Sup." Amethyst commented.

"Hey." Jason answered back. "Glad you could join me. What's in the box?"

"Presents for you." Garnet answered as she put the crate down.

Inside were a collection of his weapons from the Sky Arena.

"Pearl thought these would be useful." Garnet explained.

Jason smiled as he let his swords join back with the rest in fending off the army. "Of course, she did. Wait, where is she?"

Another shot rang out nailing a melon that managed to get a little too close.

"She's around." Garnet stated smugly.

Jason managed to spot her on the roof of the house with a sniper rifle. She fired off more shots, taking out more of the melons.

"Get ready." Garnet declared.

The maroon gem moved back-to-back with Amethyst while Jason dug into the crate. He took out twin pistols with the largest ammo capacity before joining the pair. By now, the melons had readjusted to the new circumstances and were advancing.

"Gems." Garnet declared. "Do your thing."

The two gems jumped away to begin engaging the horde while Pearl kept firing. Jason took to running through the horde, taking his own shots. Any melon that got too close were knocked away by a pistol to their bodies hard enough to break them.

His swords continued to mow through them just as well as before. He noticed a group of them were trying to get into his crate, so the super soldier ran over while gunning them down. At this point, he'd ran out of ammo, so he grabbed an assault rifle before getting back to work.

Suddenly, they froze prompting Jason to stop firing in confusion. Following their line of sight, he saw several of them fly into the air and fall to the ground like missiles to their target. Jason spotted Steven standing in the general direction of where they were going.

Upon looking closely, it wasn't him they were after but another melon. It was the 'baby melon' that Steven first picked up when they found them. He's standing there with his arms stretched out and eyes closed like he was waiting for something.

The melons landed on the baby one smashing it into the ground hard as sand was kicked up into a smoke cloud. Suddenly, all the Melon Stevens rushed over to the sight with Steven pushing through the crowd.

"B-Baby Melon." Steven stated somberly. "I understand…You stopped the watermelons from fighting everyone else…by making them fight you." Steven picked up the remains before looking at what remained of the horde in anger.

"Look at what you've done! You think I wanted this! You should all be ashamed! He knew this is what it would take to calm your rage! He understood true loyalty!" There was a momentary silence following his anger. "Go and don't come back until you understand what he did!"

The melons were still for a second until they understood and walked away. Jason joined Steven, along with the rest of the gems, as they watched Melon Stevens walk into the ocean. One unfortunate soul was grabbed by a passing seagull and taken away.

"Spoken like a true king." Garnet stated.

"They don't need a king." Steven commented. "They're their own melons now."

"Nice words." Jason complimented as he patted the kid's shoulder. "By the way Steven, never again lick more seeds or spit them out unless you're certain you'll wash them off."

Beach House: Days Later, Night…

Things could have been a lot worse than just cleaning the beach of Melon Stevens and bullet casings. Ultimately, it didn't take long, and life continued as it always does. Jason was returning home for bed when he heard Steven.

"…That's mine too!" Steven was on his bed with Lion sitting in front of him, his bear in the animal's mouth. "And Sir Bearington." Lion obeyed and opened his mouth dropping the stuffed bear into the kid's hand before he curled up. "'Night Lion!"

He curled up on a makeshift bed that Steven apparently made. Jason just smiled at this before taking his place on the couch.

Later…

It wasn't long before the super soldier was awoken by Pearl calling out a name. "Steven! Steven!" The super soldier sat up and looked around frantically. "Steven! Steven!" He looked up to see Pearl near Steven's bed. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Hang on! I got you!"

"Pearl, what's going on?" Jason asked.

He made it up to the next level where he saw Pearl struggling to move Steven out from under Lion. "Jason, help me with Steven!"

Seeing and hearing that was all the super soldier needed to grab the kid's legs, along with Pearl, and heave him free. Steven went flying out from under the animal's stomach, sending Pearl and Jason rolling back.

"What happened?" Steven asked.

"That's what I want to know." Jason managed.

"Steven, are you alright?" Pearl asked concerned. "Why was Lion sleeping on top of you?"

"I don't know. He's being a little clingy today, but that's because I'm his favorite!" Lion pulled Steven's face into his mane. "See?" He pulled back. "Wait…Why are you here, Pearl? For that matter, why are you here Jason?"

"I'm here because someone was calling out your name, so I woke up to help." Jason explained.

"Oh, me? Nothing." Pearl responded quickly, but neither hybrid was buying it. "I was just uh…I like to watch you sleep sometimes, and by that, I mean often."

"Pearl, that's creepy." Jason commented bluntly as he moved on back to the couch.

"Okay, it's time for everyone to leave Steven alone." Steven declared. "I'm a growing boy, and I need my rest." He flopped back onto his bed; however, Lion wasn't dissuaded from watching. "Lion, that means you too." He closed his eyes for a second but opened them to see Pearl had joined in. "Rah! Rah!" He shooed them off with a pillow and went back to sleep. "Night Jason."

"'Night Steven." Jason returned.

Later…

Once again, the super soldier would be awoken. "What is going on tonight?" He got up and looked at Steven who was climbing the stairs while Lion yowled from outside. "What happened?"

"Lion wouldn't stop, so I put him outside as punishment." Steven explained only for Lion to yowl again. "Hmph!" He tried to ignore Lion, but he yowled once more, getting his attention before blinking. "He loves me! Aww, I just can't stay mad at you!" He went out on the porch to let Lion back inside. "You're a wonderful pink, human being. Except you're not. 'Cause you're a lion."

Jason just shook his head with an amused smile before seeing a glow coming from Lion's mane. "What?" He panicked as the boy was slowly sucked in. "Steven!" He jumped off the couch, ran over, and pulled him out. "Steven, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Steven reassured, though seemed confused as he stared at Lion's mane. "I think…" He put his hand on it, and the mane glowed again. "No, I must go back in."

"Be careful." Jason warned.

Steven nodded before inhaling deeply and going back in with just his head. The super soldier kept his hands near the kid's shoulder just in case. This led to awkwardness between him and Lion as it looked like the animal didn't want him to interfere.

Steven eventually pulled his head out and breathed in more air. Before Jason could ask a question, he went right back in before coming out repeatedly, much to the annoyance of the two beings out of the mane. Lions growled out at his action.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Steven apologized before looking at his fellow hybrid. "You got to see this."

"Wait, Steven!" Jason tried as the boy grabbed his wrist.

"Deep breath." Steven warned.

He inhaled deeply before climbing in and tugging on the super soldier. Jason took his own deep breath before following.

Lion's Mane

They both ended up in a furry mess. Steven let go of his hand, and the soldier found himself in awe. It was a large, wide-open field. In the distance there was a small hill with a tree on it. Steven tapped on him and pointed to the hill. Jason nodded and Steven led the way.

Steven suddenly stopped and seemed to be struggling with something. When he plunged his head out, it was plain to see that something was air. The super soldier had lung capacity to last, but it would still be a good idea to see if he could leave.

He crouched down and put his hand on the ground only for nothing to happen. Steven brought himself back up before looking at the soldier and pointing down. Jason now knew he needed Steven to get out; however, he shook his head because he didn't need to leave.

Steven nodded, and they continued to the hill. As they closed in on it, the pair saw a bunch of objects around the tree. There was a flag with Rose's symbol on it, a bubbled gem, a beautiful sword, T-shirt with the words 'Mr. Universe', a chest, a picture of Rose and Greg, and a tape.

Steven grabbed the tape only to see 'For Steven' on it. He looked at it expectantly and seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, Steven began to get red in the face, so the soldier grabbed him before leaping off the hill. He put Steven on the fur, and it glowed.

Beach House

Both hybrids needed breath now.

"You good?" Jason asked.

"Yeah." Steven replied before looking at the tape.

"What do you think is on it?" Jason asked.

"I don't…" Steven began.

He was interrupted by the sound of the temple's door opening. Jason quickly grabbed Steven and pulled him away from the door.

"...and he keeps sleeping on Steven's face!" Pearl's voice rang out. "But Steven doesn't want me watching anymore, so one of you two has to do it."

Steven stared at the tape, so Jason tapped him on the head before whispering, "Steven, your mom left that for your, so take it somewhere you can watch it. I'll cover for you."

"Thanks Jason." Steven whispered before climbing onto Lion's back. "Let's go Lion."

Without a sound, the animal bounded down the stairs.

"Where are they?" Garnet asked.

"I don't know." Pearl replied. "They were sleeping before I left."

"Maybe they got kidnapped." Amethyst proposed.

"What!?" Pearl exclaimed worried.

"C'mon Amethyst." Jason walked on in. "Do you really think I would have let myself get captured again?"

"Eh, I guess not." She resigned with a shoulder shrug.

"Thank you." Jason stated.

"Jason, where is Steven?" Pearl asked.

"We woke up, and Steven wanted to see his dad." Jason shrugged casually. "Since it was early, I decided to drive him over."

"I guess that's an option." Pearl stated with a hand under her chin.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading out for some early training." Jason stated.

"See ya later." Amethyst responded.

Jason walked down the stairs. "Alright, Steven needed to go somewhere where there is a VCR. Where would that be?" He walked out past the rocks and spotted the city. "In all honestly, his dad could have been…"

He spotted Lion at the Big Donut. "Despite what she did with Lars and Steven, Sadie is still reasonable enough, I suppose." The soldier made his way on over only to see Steven walking out of the store. "Hey Steven, what did you…"

He trailed off upon seeing the boy hug Lion lovingly. Upon getting closer, Jason saw tears in the boy's eyes. Looking inside the store, he could see Sadie talking on her phone with tears in her eyes.

Then, Steven spotted and hugged the soldier. "Our moms were the best Jason."

"Oh, I can kind of guess what you learned." Jason crouched down and hugged the boy back. "Yeah, they really were."

"Don't forget about our moms…okay, Jason?" Steven questioned.

"Steven, I never will." Jason smiled. "They sacrificed so much to let us be here now. With everything this life has given me, I never could forget them."

He sniffled and pulled back. "Thanks Jason."

Jason stood up and patted his back. "Since we're out, why don't we get some breakfast…just the two of us."

Steven smiled. "I'd like that."


I would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote as you guys have spoken. To the people pulling for Steven's mom to just be Rose Quartz, I'm sorry to say she will be Pink Diamond who shape shifted into Rose. Perhaps one day in the future, sometime after this story concludes, I'll do an alternative story to give you the Rose Quartz version.


dindagangleader14: Thank you.