AN: Hey, guys! So I'm back with the first official continuation of Templeschool! This two-parter is going to be based on Monster Reunion. As you will read, I took the liberty to make some changes to this world, the main one being some changes to the beach house since Greg is now putting in more effort to be there for his sons. Another change is that the house will look a little more like the house in Future, except with a third-story room above Steven's room for Twoie (those parts haven't been built yet though). This chapter is mostly world-building, and then we'll be getting to the actual part of Monster Reunion next chapter. I hope you guys like it! :D
This is what the house will look like once the renovations on the brothers' bedrooms are done. (Not fully completed but a decent reference)
"Psst." Twoie grumbled, lightly swiping at whoever was shaking him awake. The Maheswarans' had moved back to Beach City yesterday, and Twoie had gone over with Steven to help them. It had been amazing to see their mom again, and the two had fun getting to know Doug better. Steven also got the chance to chat with Connie about everything that happened, thankfully away from where Twoie could hear them. Once they unpacked the moving truck and Doug had returned it to the renters, the Maheswarans invited them to stay for dinner. Which is why they accidentally left the house at 3 am instead of 10 pm like Twoie had planned. Upon returning home, both brothers immediately collapsed into bed. That's why Twoie groaned in annoyance when the shaking returned. "Twoie, I know you're tired, but I need your help! Come on, son, wake up!" The young man blearily cracked open his eyes.
"Fine, I'm up." Twoie sighed heavily while he slowly propped himself up on his elbows. "Dad… What are you wearing?" His dad grinned and posed.
"What do you think? I look like a yacht owner, right?" Greg was wearing a green turtleneck sweater with grey ripped shorts and a brown coat. Honestly, Twoie wouldn't think of a yacht owner if he saw someone dressed like that. Wait… yacht? The time traveler's eyes widened, and he sat up, fully awake.
"Wait, Dad! Did you already rent the boat?" Greg stared at him in surprise.
"Not yet. I wanted to ask you to come with me, but I'm starting to worry about this trip now that you look so panicked. Not a good idea, Schtu-ball?" Twoie sighed in relief and shook his head. Both men froze when Steven shifted in bed. After a moment, the kid began softly snoring again. Greg motioned for Twoie to follow him, so they could talk without disturbing Steven.
They quietly made their way out of the house and onto the front porch. "Sorry, Dad." Twoie looked out over the porch rail to stare at the ocean. Greg recognized the contemplative look like one that his eldest son wore when he was planning a way to fix the future. "When you decided to rent the boat, Steven thought it'd be a great idea to bring Lapis along since she was so stressed about everything that happened with Malachite. We did have fun, but the trip was ruined by Jasper showing up. The boat ended up being destroyed, and Lapis had to relive some trauma. I don't want any of you guys to experience that if I can help it." Greg nodded, placing a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.
"That sounds like an awful way for a fun trip to end. We can wait for another day, and hopefully, things will be different." His dad shrugged his jacket off and started walking down the porch stairs. "I guess I'll open the car wash today after all. Do you want to go get a donut before I go? I just need to change real quick." Twoie looked down, realizing he was still in his clothes from last night.
"Yeah, I'll meet you out here. I need to change too." The young man walked back inside the house. He looked around the house, noting some of the recent additions with a soft smile.
Things had changed after Twoie reverted from his corruption. One of the first changes had been family dinners. The gems made an effort to be at every dinner, regardless of whether they would actually eat. The dishrack was now always full of drying dishes.
Another welcome change involved their dad. Greg was usually busy at work during the day, but he no longer slept in his van at the car wash. Bismuth offered to fix up the house, and the gems readily agreed. The tiny hallway that led to the bathroom now included a stairwell leading to the new basement. Bismuth had built a room in the space underneath the house, which was now Greg's room. Steven and Twoie loved having their father around all of the time, and it really improved the strain in Twoie's and Greg's relationship from the family road trip.
There were also more pictures and knickknacks in the living room. Some pictures of Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot lined the shelves behind the couch, and Twoie chuckled at a group photo with him, his family, and the gems as he climbed the stairs.
The gems planned to continue renovating the rest of the house during the weekend. When they had found out what Twoie's house looked like, they'd been all for making it larger. Pearl loved the thought of an observatory and garden, so Bismuth promised to draw up some blueprints and get back to them. He crept over to Steven's dresser and grabbed a new change of clothes. Soon, Twoie wouldn't have to worry about waking Steven up as often. He'd be getting his own room as well. Although the older brother enjoyed sharing a room with Steven, the room was just too small for the both of them. Twoie glanced at Steven before heading downstairs. The kid was still sleeping soundly, and Twoie decided against waking him. He would just bring his younger brother a donut from the store instead. The young man headed downstairs and quickly changed. He tossed his old clothes into the dirty basket, grabbed his jacket, and headed outside.
Right as Twoie reached the end of the porch stairs, the basement door opened. His dad stepped out in his usual outfit. Greg smiled as he twirled his car keys on his finger. "Steven's not coming?" Twoie shook his head while they walked to the car.
"I'll let him sleep till I get back." His dad grinned and unlocked the door. They both climbed in, and Greg drove them to The Big Donut. They got their donuts, and Twoie waved as his dad drove to work, choosing to walk back to the house. That was another significant change in Twoie's life. He was no longer hiding from the rest of Beach City. Twoie dwelled on how nice it was to be friends with Sadie and the Cool Kids again as he walked up the beach to his house. His therapist had urged him to be more social, and Twoie was glad he listened to her. His old friends still remembered him as Steven's older brother from their introduction when he first arrived in the past.
The half-gem walked up the stairs and entered the house. Pearl looked up from the couch and waved at him. "Good morning, Twoie! I'm surprised you're up so early. I was sure you'd be asleep still, like Steven." She chuckled while she folded some clean laundry. Twoie set the bag of donuts down on the counter and grabbed some plates.
"Dad woke me up so we could rent a boat, but I told him it wouldn't be a good idea. We'll need to be on the watch for Jasper now." Pearl blinked before rising to her feet with a sigh. She fiddled with her ribbon as she walked to the temple door.
"I better go tell Garnet and Amethyst, so we'll be prepared. Speaking of, did you bring a donut for Amethyst? I can send her to you once we're done if you want?" She chimed while the door opened. Twoie smiled and nodded.
"That'd be great. Thanks, Pearl!" She disappeared into the temple, and Twoie set out a chocolate donut with sprinkles on two plates. He left the remaining couple of donuts in the bag. "Steven! Wake up! I've got donuts!" Twoie pulled out three glasses and filled them with milk. He heard Steven sleepily call out a greeting from upstairs, and he smiled as he set a plate and glass down on the bar counter for the kid. Twoie grabbed his own breakfast and chuckled as Steven pulled himself onto the barstool.
"Wha-, yawn, what are we doing today?" Steven nibbled on his donut while Twoie sat down next to him. The young man took a bite out of his donut and hummed in thought.
"Dad wanted to rent a boat, but I told him it'd end in a fight with Jasper, so we decided not to do that today." Steven perked up at Jasper's name. "I was thinking of other things that happened around this time, and it gave me an idea." Now more awake, his younger brother tilted his head curiously while he ate his donut. Twoie pointed at the temple door. "We can't cure her right now, but would you like to spend a little time with Centi?" Steven's eyes became starry, and he scarfed down his breakfast.
"Hurry up, Twoie! I want to see Centi again!" The kid hopped off the stool and dumped his dishes in the sink. Twoie snorted as he finished his own breakfast. "Come on! You're so slow!" Steven grabbed his brother's hand and dragged him off the stool. Right before they got to the temple door, the Crystal Gems stepped out.
Amethyst smiled and pulled the two into a group hug. "Morning! I heard that I've got a donut with my name on it?" Twoie wriggled his arm out of the hug and pointed to the counter.
"Your donuts are in the bag, and I poured you a glass of milk." She squealed in joy and ran off to the kitchen. Garnet and Pearl shook their heads fondly.
"Heading into the temple?" Garnet grinned as Steven ran behind Twoie and started pushing him through the door.
"Yeah! We're going to hang out with Centi!" Steven called out, still pushing Twoie forward. The other two gems frowned.
"We'll be fine! I promise!" Twoie added. Garnet and Pearl knew Twoie wouldn't let anything happen to Steven, so they smiled and told the brothers to have fun. The door closed behind them, and Steven scanned the bubbled gems for his friend. Spotting the corrupted nephrite, he cheered and ran over.
"Hold on, Steven!" The kid paused, looking over his shoulder at his brother. Twoie walked over to him. "Before we release Centi, I want to go over what will happen. She'll begin reforming in her bigger corrupted form, so we need to be ready to heal her when her gem is in reach. We can heal her slightly with our powers for several hours, but then she'll return to her corrupted form. I promise you, though, that we won't bubble her again after. She has some corrupted friends in a ship nearby that we can take her to. It'll make her really happy to see them again." Steven smiled and jumped for the bubble. Twoie felt a pang of sorrow at seeing the corrupted gem. The last time he'd seen her, she was practicing flying for air shows. He sighed and jumped, grabbing the bag of chaaps that had been floating beside her bubble.
"Don't forget these." Steven nodded happily at him as he popped the bubble. The brothers stood back as she began reforming to her larger state. Both boys licked their hands, and when Centipeetle kneeled on the ground, they touched her gem. Steven gasped as she reformed more gem-like, looking at them in confusion.