#it's a MIRACLE I'VE FINISHED NOT ONE BUT TWO FICS THIS WEEKEND

[rosieofcorona]

i did it you guys. i finished one

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: General Audiences Words: ~7.3K Summary: “Connie, can we talk?” When a much needed moonlight conversation with his best friend turns into an attempted (and failed) "spring break” from all his responsibilities as a half-Gem, Steven finally comes to terms with the full truth of his heritage and all six thousand years of its consequences. Takes place between The Question and Made of Honor.

It's been five long years, but I've finally finished the second chunk of this old ass Steven Universe wip. See, this is why you can't discount the possibility of a fic author coming back after goddamn years, HAH. Because sometimes we sneak up on 'ya. Anyways, enjoy!

__

Chapter 2

Steven scales the sand covered steps with a hop and a skip, the mere possibility of getting to spend the night at Connie’s enough to make him float across the boards, his toes barely touching the surface. Finally, a real, legit Jam Buds sleepover! Where they can play games and muse over deep philosophical topics and laugh over stupid nonsense until the whispers of dawn, and then sleep in until noon the next day— the promise of blueberry pancakes wafting into the room to awaken them from their slumber like a golden fried miracle. In their almost two years of being best friends, somehow they’ve never had a real one. At least, not a real one in his books. He doesn’t count their weekend stay on that jungle moon because they were fused the whole time. And then the one other occasion he slept at her house, during that blizzard a year ago, they were sequestered to different rooms and barely got to hang out at all.

This time, though… this time things will be different. That is, if her parents even allow it. The fate of their sleepover is still sadly riding on a big ‘if.’

But he has high hopes tonight! Tonight Dr. Maheswaran allowed Connie to come over to Beach City on Lion even though it was past her normal curfew. Adding to that, she’s been getting more and more lenient about her daughter’s involvement in Gem stuff as of late. Her frantic demand for texted updates every half hour has since softened into a far more palatable brand of motherly concern. At this point, she only asks that she send a quick notification right before she leaves his house via bus, Lion, or warp pad.

He swings the front door open, entering the very beach house in question. Or— put more specifically— his own ‘room,’ just external to those held in the heart of the temple. Beyond the wide mouth of the attached cavern, two out of five of the gems on the temple door are alight. Pearl and Amethyst’s. He smiles, glad that they’re all finally seeking the rest they deserve. Now, as for the others… Though he doesn’t boast any clairvoyance of his own and thus can never know for sure, he likes to believe Ruby and Sapphire warped away on a romantic walk.

Absentmindedly humming the melody from that song he was working on earlier, he slips his phone out of his pocket. He needs to text his dad where he’s going before he completely forgets in his excitement. (A common occurrence, really.) Even if he doesn’t live with him in the van anymore and goes on a whole bunch of dangerous missions across the planet all the time, he knows Dad still appreciates knowing if he’s planning on being outside Beach City overnight. Ease of mind, and all that. His fingers blaze across the keys.

hey just so u kno im headed to connie’s for the night

He presses send, and watches his message pop up in a blue bubble on the screen. After a brief pause, he quickly adds:

love u dad!!!

Steven garnishes the text with a colorful slurry of heart emojis, so frequently used that they all show up on the very first page of his emoji keyboard as suggestions. There, perfect. Send!

He sets his phone down and begins gathering necessities for the night. Out comes his cheeseburger backpack and a fresh change of clothes. His phone charger too, can’t forget that. Next he swipes his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb from the bathroom. (Although upon second thought, he decides to forego the comb.) A few bags of Chaaps go into the bag, along with his GameKid, in case Connie wants to pass that go-kart racing game she likes back and forth and compete for the fastest time trial. That just leaves one more essential item to track down. Oh pajamas, where are you in a young man’s time of need?

As he scours the loft for the missing clothes item, he hears the tell-tale sign of the temple door opening. His head spins around at record pace.

The laughter clues him off before he even sees their faces. The two Gems exiting the temple are nearly buried under an assortment of burlap bags and tools, among which include shovels, rakes, and handheld garden hoes. He can just barely distinguish the word ‘fertilizer’ printed in faded ink on one of the four bags.

“Oh ho, we’ve got to get you some cheesecake sometime,” Amethyst says to the green Gem next to her with a peel of laughter. “Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve felt that custardy goop sloshin’ around inside.” She drops the stack of fertilizer bags, which hit the floorboards with a resounding thud. “Oh hey, look who’s back!”

He grins wide, waving from his loft.

“Hey Amethyst! Hey Peridot!”

“Good timing, we were totally just gossiping about you.”

Peridot pokes her head up over the mass of metal tools she carries, eyes blown wide under her visor with her usual untamable enthusiasm. “She was telling me how you’ve really been the progeny of Pink Diamond this whole time. Hah! I guess this means on technicality I never rebelled against the Great Diamond Authority after all!”

Steven’s smile falls flat, his grip on the backpack growing taut at the sudden mention of his mo- of Pink Diamond in this context.

Thankfully Amethyst is quick to sense the tense shift in atmosphere and steps in. “Nah, believe me, ya’ still did, ya’ nerd.”

“Oh. Well!” She presses her lips into a thin line and lets the tools fall out of her arms, mentally directing them to hover just before they hit the floor to minimize the clatter. “Never mind then! I…” Her cheeks flush with hardening light. “I think I need to step aside for a moment.”

The two youngest Crystal Gems watch in silence as Peridot hurriedly toddles back through the open temple door, disappearing beyond a mini mountain of junk in the vast trash heap that is Amethyst’s room. He glances down at his hands, still clenched tight around the straps with a white knuckled grip.

Amethyst noisily clears her throat. In an instant his attention shoots back up, meeting her sympathetic gaze. “Sorry ‘bout that,” she says. “I don’t think she really gets how big a deal all this is, yet.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he replies with a small shrug, the tension that once wracked his body slowly easing. “She’s still learning. I bet the news is pretty confusing for her, coming from Homeworld.”

And with that his attention slips back to the puzzling and peculiar mystery of his missing jammies. He presses his fist to his chin, humming a bemused note. They aren’t anywhere to be found on the floor, or in the hamper. Maybe they got stuck under his bed spread?

“Oh, Steven,” Amethyst says with a long sigh then. He watches from the corner of his eyes as she flops face first into the couch and props herself up on her side. “You care too much sometimes, y’know that?”

“Yeah, I know…” he murmurs softly, whisking his comforter completely off the bed. At that point he catches a glimmer of soft cottony blue— tucked tight in the tight space between the mattress and the wall— and his entire mood makes an abrupt heel turn right into joyous relief. His brow rises high. “Oh, hey! So that’s where my pajamas were hiding! Mystery solved!”

“Sometimes way more than people deserve,” she continues unhindered, lazily winding her fingers through her hair.

The pajamas go right into the cheeseburger backpack, joining everything else he’s packed for the night. Across the room, the temple door still stands ajar and waiting. Every once in a while the sound of clattering metal rings from within Amethyst’s room, accompanied by nasally yelps of frustration. Peridot. He imagines she’s attempting to harness greater control over her metal based telekinesis abilities, training hard in isolation as a means to cool herself down from embarrassment. To make up for what she sees as a social blunder, perhaps. Or… to impress the group with a show of what she’s truly capable of. The whole scenario is intimately familiar. About a year and a half ago— before Lapis, before the hand ship, before all the happenings that molded him into the person he is today— he stood directly in her place. The newbie. The proto Crystal Gem… with unreliable powers, low confidence, and little understanding of the truth. When all is said and done, this little spark of himself he recognizes within her makes him far more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt with her awkward phrasing.

“I don’t think she meant anything by it, if you’re still talking about… all that.”

“And you’re probably right, but. It’s okay to get… mad, y’know?”

Something in her voice gives him pause. Maybe it’s the measured hesitation in her words that clues him in, or the desperation lurking just beneath. In any case, he has the niggling sense that this is something she’d been thinking about for a while.

“Like, in general,” she continues. Even though Steven isn’t looking at her, he can nearly sense the intensity of her gaze through the little hairs rising at the nape of his neck. “Forget all of this— you’re allowed to get upset about stuff. To put yourself first for once. Just sayin’.”

His eyes narrow, more in prolonged exhaustion than anything. Just as he informed Connie, it seems that Amethyst is still on that ‘Operation: My Duty is to Make Steven Feel Better’ kick. And good grief, does he wish she wasn’t. He’s never once asked any of the Gems to spend their energy on him like that. In fact more often than not, it simply makes him concerned that she’s deliberately shirking her own self care in favor of supporting his.

Stars.

Amethyst deserves so much better.

His pocket buzzes, providing a well-timed escape from all these thoughts. A text! He grins as he pulls out his phone to catch a glimpse of it:

Stay safe and have fun, kiddo.

Dad’s message ends with a thumbs up emoji. Sweet, now to gather his stuff, ask Amethyst where everyone else is so he can say goodbye real quick, and hit the-

“Steven, Steven!” Peridot yells, barreling into his room at a full sprint. “Look what I can do now!”

He gasps and quickly scuttles down the stairs to meet her, happy that she’s no longer confining herself to the lonely isolation of the temple. “New metal ability?” he guesses, confirmed by her wide proud grin. “Show me, show me!”

Even Amethyst’s interest is piqued, the Gem casually kicking her feet over the side of the couch as she sits up with a groan.

Still running at them, Peridot flicks her hand in the air, motioning in a tight circle as a little gardening spade follows her telekinetic command and wildly swings around her head in a razor straight arc. “Look how much control I have now! I even- EEEUGH-!”

In an instant, her foot catches on the same pile of tools she dumped on the floor earlier.

Peridot must have lost mental control of the spade as she tripped, because suddenly it’s careening straight at Amethyst’s head. Without a second thought, Steven dives in front of her. He raises his arm in instinctive defense, but truthfully he hears the resonant clang of metal against hard light before he even consciously registers the fact that he’s summoned his shield. Another clang sounds, this time against the wall’s crystal. Amethyst yelps. Something dubiously aerodynamic zips over their heads at a thousand billion miles per hour as all three of them duck.

The window by the door shatters into oblivion. The tool to blame, however, is now insidiously nowhere to be seen.

Recovering, the three of them gawk blankly at the scene of their crime. Steven fidgets, absolutely at a loss for what to do next.

“Uhh…”

“Ooops,” Peridot mutters, spilled out face first on the floor.

Amethyst breaks out into raucous peals of laughter. “Dude, that was awesome!” she says as she holds up her hand to the other Gem for a high five. “I’ve never been almost poofed by gardening equipment before!”

She shakily raises her own hand to accept it, vision still clearly unfocused as she rides the shock of it all. “I, uh— you’re welcome?”

The temple door peels open again. Peridot scrambles to her feet in seconds, falling into line with the other two co-instigators. Out rushes Pearl, who practically crumbles to bits right then and there upon seeing their dumbfounded expressions and the shards of glass littering the floor.

“What on Earth happened?” Pearl screeches. “Is everyone okay? Why is the window broken, who—!?”

As quickly as it began, her fit halts. Steven figures that the sight of them uninjured is reassuring enough to quell the bulk of her panic. Still, there is the rather damning issue of all the damage they caused. Fearing their goose is cooked, none of them dare avert their eyes from the elder Gem. Pearl glances back and forth between their sheepish, guilt stricken faces and the busted window, pursing her lips.

Relenting, she crosses her arms and sighs heavily.

“I guess I’ll let Greg know it needs to be fixed. Again.” And with that she spins on her heels. She pulls her phone out of her pocket, swiping through her phone contacts. “Thank goodness he’s rich now…”

The moment she passes back through the doorway, Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot all gasp in relief. 

“Well that just happened,” he says, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. He can’t help but laugh. The purple Gem boisterously joins in right behind him.

“I legit thought P was like, gonna implode for a second,” she chimes, so tickled by amusement she has to gasp for breath midway through. “I don’t think I’ve seen her so pale since— since that time you straight up sacrificed yourself to Homeworld!”

His mouth presses into a slight frown at the grim reminder, his own laughter cut short.

Peridot rolls her eyes. “Eh heh heh, yeah! Laughing at poor, humiliated Gems! How hilarious! I’ll have you two dirtbombs know that my technique was absolutely perfect when I was practicing by myself.”

“O-oh, sorry,” Steven cuts in quick. “We didn’t mean to sound like we were laughing at you. I honestly think it’s super cool, how much you’ve improved at all the metal stuff!”

She squints at him. “Hmmph.”

Crossing her arms, she drifts into the corner by the bathroom to sulk and lick her wounds.

Steven’s chest tightens as he climbs back to the loft to grab his backpack. Gosh, he hopes they didn’t hurt her feelings too bad. He slings the straps over his shoulders, the weight settling comfortably on his back. Watching from below, Amethyst serves him a mischievous, knowing smile.

“So, backpack man. I never asked. You and Connie. You’re bailing us for an extended breather too, huh?”

His brow raises. He leaps from the upper level, landing right beside her.

“Wait, you know about—?! Aww man, am I that predictable?”

“Nah, Sapphire just said earlier that you might go stay with her.”

“She predicted that,” he says, deadpan. “That’s literally what a prediction is.”

Peridot ambles back towards them as they banter, still looking a bit sullen but overall in higher spirits than before.

“But dude, chillax, I ain’t judgin’ or anything,” Amethyst says before his worries could wander too far. “Honestly, I think everyone needs a break after all the… well, you know.” Grinning, she loops her arm around the other Gem’s shoulders. “And hey, ol’ Peridactyl here and I are skipping town for a day too. We’re gonna go on a rampage!”

Ever the troublemaker, she gives her a noogie, loose fist flattening the meticulously maintained edge of her platinum hair. Peridot flushes dark green and squeaks, flapping her hands at her in a futile attempt to evade her attack. He can’t help but giggle at the sight. Nerds.

“We’re actually checking on the garden we cultivated at the southern edge of facet 3,” Peridot explains while fixing her hair. She runs her fingers through it, reshaping as needed. “Thus the shovels and fertilizer. But she also promised a duel to help me master my metal powers!”

“So we may be gone a while,” the quartz says with a wink, nodding towards the broken window.

“Hey! I’m not that bad all the time!”

“What can I say though, we shorties gotta stick together.”

“Woo, shorty squad!” Steven cheers, pumping his fists into the air. “You gotta show me this garden when I get back. I bet it’s real pretty.”

“It’s ultimately a work in progress,” Peridot says, puffing out her chest. “Just like my metallokinesis.”

Amethyst jabs a finger in the air. “Oh, and speakin’ of pretty. Before I forget…”

Mashing her lips together in concentration, she presses a hand to her chest, gemstone glowing as she pulls something from inside. He watches, enraptured as always, as a familiar half-moon shape emerges from within. Clusters of small, shimmering crystals catch the light, encased within a thick rind of stone. He lets out a gasp. The amethyst geode! The one they found together in that abandoned quarry while out on Ruby’s cowboy adventure! He completely forgot. Awww look, it’s like your little sister, he’d joked. He thought the way the glow of the sunset diffused through its complex faceting was really pretty, and so they decided to split it fifty fifty. Plus, something about that specific chunk of quartz simply resonated within him, to say the least. Like, in a deep “this should belong with me” sort of way. He’s not quite sure how else to explain it. He remembers his dad questioning with some measure of amusement why they, literal living Gems, would want to keep a geode of all things as a souvenir, but Amethyst merely shrugged and explained she was like, 99.9% sure it was inert.

Dude, she said, not every hunk of mineral you find is sentient. It’s not like it’s weird for you humans to collect dolls, or action figures or whatever. I just think it’s funky lookin’.

Standing before him in the present, she offers it for Steven to take. Peridot lets out an ‘oooo,’ dark irises glittering at the sight of the delicate purple crystals.

“Your half. I’m not carryin’ this for you any longer, man. Unlike ol’ P, I don’t make a good handbag.”

“Rude…” he says, taking the geode in one hand as he drops his backpack and unzips the hamburger patty pocket with the other.

“What? It’s true! She can store like, a thousand things in there indefinitely, but me? Go too long, and all I get is wicked indigestion.” Upon this declaration she belches, crude and unrestrained. This seems to tickle Peridot pink, who giggles something fierce. Amethyst gives her belly a pat. “Ahhh, that’s better.”

The geode nestles nicely between his pajamas and his spare underwear. Licking his lips with stubborn determination, he fusses with the zipper until the overstuffed bag is completely sealed. He doesn't need to pack this silly ol' hunk of rock, but… some stubborn part of him can’t bear the thought of leaving it behind, and anyways, he figures Connie will think it’s pre-

Oh… Oh shards! Connie! She’s been waiting on the beach this whole time!

“Oh shoot!” he cries, rushing to sling the bag over his shoulder again. “I, uh- I really gotta get going! D’ya know where Ruby and Sapphire went? I kinda wanted to say bye to everyone before I left…”

Peridot shrugs, and utters the wordless vocalization universally recognized as ‘I dunno.’

“Those two? They left to be all cute and gross like, half an hour ago,” Amethyst says. “I’ve no idea when they’re comin’ back.”

The moment those words leave her mouth, Steven hears the warp pad behind them activate. A wave of affection crests within him at the familiar sound of the Gem’s teleporter come to life- almost bell-like in its melodic resonance- and he swings around just in time to watch two of his most favorite people in the whole world take form from within the radiant blue glow of the warp stream. If there’s one thing constant exposure hasn’t dampened, it’s his fondness for that sound.

“Oh never mind, looks like they’re crashing our wild party right now,” the purple quartz amends. “Look lively!”

When the light fades, Ruby and Sapphire step off the warp pad side by side, pressed so inseparably close to one another they might as well have already been fused.

The backpack’s weight jostling as he moves, Steven dashes across his room and throws his arms around the pair, whooping in delight. “Ahhh, you’re here! You’re back! Just in time!”

“Steven!” Ruby cheers, reciprocating his hug in kind.

“Hello, Steven!”

Even with their faces currently obscured from his sight as he embraces them, he doesn’t require any visual to hear the smile evident in a familiar voice. Well, two familiar voices. But though they are currently apart, Steven knows Garnet is always there with them, kept alive within the spirit of their love. Love for one another, and for everyone else, too! In Sapphire’s voice, he recognizes tones of Garnet’s unconditional affection, as unyielding as the future stretching to the horizon before them. In Ruby’s, he finds an open playfulness, and a fierce passion running miles deep for every facet of life and experience she’s come to adore on Earth. In the end, Garnet is just as much a part of them as they are a part of her.

In a complete betrayal of her height’s assumed strength, the short red Gem lifts both him and Sapphire off the ground as they laugh, the weightlessness of the trio’s joy almost physically palpable between them.

“So, quick curiosity question,” Ruby asks soon enough, pointing at all the glass strewn across the wood flooring once she’s set them both back down. “What’s with the window?”

“That’s—” he glances towards Amethyst and Peridot, who are both shaking their heads vehemently, signaling for him to shush right this instant— “a very long story. Pearl said she’s gonna talk to Dad and get it fixed.”

Sapphire smiles, nuzzling into her partner’s side. “Don’t worry, love— it’ll be fixed well before our wedding.”

Steven’s expression folds into a nervous wince. He threads his fingers together, shifting on his feet awkwardly. “Oh hey, uh… about that… I know I promised to help y’all start on the planning tomorrow, but—”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Sapphire says, and holds up her gemless hand. “We understand you need some time apart from us, to reflect.”

Amid this conversation, out of the corner of his eye he catches view of Pearl exiting her temple room, phone in hand. An uncharacteristically dopey smile stretches wide across her face as she texts. From what little he’s aware of, she’s been meeting up with a few human women lately. He can’t help but wonder who the lucky someone is on the other side.

“Yeah!” Ruby eagerly chimes in response. “We can start all that whenever you’re ready. After roughing it in the wilderness with me, you deserve a break!”

“And Steven…” The clairvoyant Gem parts her bangs. Reflected in her singular ice blue iris is boundless love, and wisdom, and… and maybe, he realizes, maybe a whisper of sadness. “While we both acknowledge the importance of spending time away from loved ones to recollect oneself, please know that you will never be a burden to us. We’ll always be here to listen, if you want us to.”

“Thanks, that- that means a lot.”

Pearl strides across the warp pad to join their group.

“Good news! Greg has the new window on order,” she shares, lifting her phone to her gem and stashing it away in her headspace with a quick glimmer of light. “It won’t arrive until early next week, but that should give us more than enough time to replace it and clean up the house for the big day, don’t you think?” Her glance then passes to him, and she gestures at his backpack. “Oh, Steven! Are you going somewhere?”

“Just spending the night at Connie’s. I’ll probably be back sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

She crosses her arms, serving him a wide, knowing smile that would’ve had him rolling his eyes if he weren’t already in such a blissful mood about it. “Spending the night, that’s new!”

“Yeah,” he says, not able to help the slight nervous laugh that bubbles up from deep within the more he thinks about this turn of events. “Yeah! It’s gonna be so awesome.” He turns back towards Sapphire, threading his fingers together. “Hey, will I… do you think I’ll find what I’m looking for?”

The clairvoyant Gem hums for a moment, fingers pressed to her lips.

“Yes,” she ultimately responds. “But try to eat your ice cream quickly.”

“Wait, what?”

“And remember- we love you.”

“We love you a whole lot!” Ruby chimes.

“Yeah-ya,” Amethyst says, pumping her fist in the air. “Go take your break, little man. You deserve it.”

“And you’ve got to come visit our garden when you’re back!” Peridot adds, gently spinning a small bent nail she must’ve found on the floor in circles above her pointed finger.  

Steven laughs, pulling the straps of his backpack snug across his shoulders. “I’ll come check it out, I promise.”

The last person who steps closer to bid her goodbyes to him is Pearl. She strides forward to tuck a stray flyaway curl behind his ear, her hand then gliding down to rest against his cheek. He leans into her affectionate touch with glee, reveling in the knowledge that he’s wholly and relentlessly loved.

That he’s needed.

“Be safe, Steven,” she says.

“I’ll be fine. But please—” he wraps her in a tight hug— “don’t forget to take care of yourself too, okay? We’ve all been through a lot lately. And you for longer than most.”

Pearl gives a warm chuckle. “Look at you, always watching out for us. When did you grow up so fast?” They pull apart, and she briefly clasps both her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll be sure to let Greg know where you’re off to, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I already texted him.” Waving, Steven starts to shuffle his way to the exit. “Bye, everyone!”

An overlapping chorus of goodbyes sings back to him as he leaves. The very last voice he hears before emerging out into the brisk nighttime air is Amethyst’s:

“See ya’, Ste-man!”

The moment he closes the door he exhales deeply, allowing the weight of his Gem heritage and all the responsibilities and unspoken expectations that comes with it to slough from his mind like grains of sand between his fingers. No crises, no monsters, no more constantly holding his family together on his own. He’s only recently realized how much the others have relied on him for morale all his childhood. Thankfully, through every hard fought battle- be that literal or interpersonal- they’re getting better and better at taking care of themselves.

And starting tonight, he’ll commit to taking care of his own emotional well-being too, by taking some much deserved ‘me’ time.

Well, ‘me plus Connie’ time. He’s left her waiting long enough.

She sits on the beach right where he last saw her, leaning against Lion like he’s a big, soft, purring beanbag. He can’t help but grin. Lion himself may object, but as far as Steven is concerned, this is a pretty apt description.

Connie stands as he jogs those last steps towards her, and effortlessly slings herself on the magical creature’s back. Lion rises on his paws as well. “You ready?” she asks, offering her hand.

“Yup!” He gives the overstuffed cheeseburger on his back a pat. “All in here! Sorry I took so long.”

Their fingers connect. With a brief grunt of exertion Connie’s grip tightens around his wrist, and she pulls him up behind him. Truth be told, he doesn’t need help climbing on Lion’s back at all, with his floating ability. But his best friend is strong, and so thoughtful… and though he might burn to cinders if he ever admits it out loud, he’d give up anything for an excuse to hold her hand.

“It’s fine,” she says, scruffing the top of Lion’s head. He purs, leaning into her touch. “The two of us have just been stargazing out here."

“Hey, uh... your mom knows I’m coming over now, right?”

“Umm…”

The mild panic that flashes over her face says it all.

“You didn’t tell her?” he asks in shock, more surprised than anything else. Ever since the hospital incident, Connie and her mom have grown closer and become a lot more honest with each other. Or at least, so he thought.

“Well, I haven’t told her yet. It’s just- she already bent her rules to let me see you tonight. I’m kinda… worried that if I ask in advance over the phone she’ll say no. But I’m also worried she’ll just say no anyways... y’know? Aughh, maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.”

She groans, and buries her face in Lion’s cotton candy mane. Steven frowns. His heart thrumming with concern, he rests his palm on her shoulder.

“Hey. I’d love to have a sleepover with you, but only if you’re comfy with it. I’d hate for you to feel pressured into doing anything for my sake.”

“No, no… it’s not that I feel pressured,” she says, voice muffled and tiny. “I’m just… so scared of getting in trouble that it’s hard to even talk to her some days. I don’t even know why!” She lifts her head, revealing glossy eyes. He swallows. The sight of a friend on the edge of tears is always a punch to the gut. He’s seen far too much of that in recent days.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, she gazes towards the sky- towards the boundless cosmos they can’t reach on their own- as if she dreams she may find the answer she yearns for somewhere among those stars. “I love my parents,” she continues, “but it’s just- sometimes I feel like I can’t ask them for anything. That I still have no control of my life at all. I’ve come so far with them on that, on them not hovering over me 24/7, but then I just- just get so paranoid about things, and-! Gahhh!” she cries, gripping the hair at either side of her head. “Compared to everything you’re dealing with it’s dumb, I know.”

“It’s not dumb,” he says. “Everybody’s going through tricky stuff all the time. And just because some of it may seem less heavy compared to everything else, it doesn’t mean it’s less heavy for you.”

“Yeah…”

“And hey— worst case scenario, if she says no, I’ll just come over and see you tomorrow. No big deal!”

“Yeah,” she repeats, her countenance lightening ever so slightly. “I guess you’re right. What’s the harm in asking?”

“So… Jambuds night still on?”

“Oh, it’s on,” she grins. “But before we leave, one question—”

“Yeah?”

“A few minutes ago… Was that a gardening spade that flew out the window?”

“Yup,” he says with a nervous laugh, wrapping his arms around her midsection as Lion begins to sprint across the shore. “That was Peridot. Don’t ask, I don’t really understand how it happened either.”

~~~

Steven and Connie give a sharp yelp of glee as Lion exits his portal and skids to a rapid halt right in front of her parents’ home.

“Man, I don’t know if I’m ever gonna get used to that,” Steven quips, sliding off the feline’s back and holding out his arm to help his friend down. “It’s just like the roller coaster at Funland, except three times more awesome!”

“And more scary,” Connie adds, accepting his offered aid as she hops to the ground as well. “‘Cause like, at least the Thunderbird has a lap bar.”

Lion serves the two of them a dull grumble, his tail flitting around every which way as he stalks his way across the quiet neighborhood street towards the Maheswaran residence.

“Aw, no!” he says, rushing forwards towards the curb and running an apologetic hand through his fur. “I’m sorry, bud. We didn’t mean it like that— you’re perfect just the way you are, lap bar or not.”

But before he can move one more footstep up the path to their front door, Connie stops him by the shoulder.

“Wait—”

He fixes his gaze square on her, barely even breathing as he watches his friend’s anxious glance shift from Lion, to him, to the homey glow of the living room window. Hmm. It seems Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran are still awake, even at this late of an hour.

“Let me handle things in there… okay?” she requests. “I don’t want any of my silly nonsense becoming your burden, too.”

Steven nods, and pantomimes zipping up his lips. An extra flick of the wrist is all it takes to lock them up and throw away the key.

She gives a faint sigh of relief at his agreement, and lowers her hold on his shoulder until the very tip of her pinkie is dancing along the outer ridge of his hand. Clueing in to her silent ask, he interlaces their fingers together, squeezing tight as a show of camaraderie and reassurance. He hums, and tilts his head towards the doorway.

“Shall we?”

Connie fishes her own key (a real one, not metaphorical) out of her back pocket. “Well… here goes nothing,” she says, interlaced with a soft, nervous laugh.

She unlocks the front door and pushes her way in, tugging him along. (Yawning, Lion plops himself down on the front lawn, apparently holding zero interest in facing what comes next.) Steven can’t help but sweat as he steps through the frame and promptly matches eyes with her two very not thrilled parents sitting side-by-side on the couch. Of the pair, her mother— with her arms crossed and expression taut— seems the most irked. He swallows, tugging at the collar of his shirt. Oh geeze, this can’t be good. The last thing he wanted when he called up his friend tonight was to get her in trouble!

Connie doesn’t even match eyes with them as she scurries on past, instead leading him straight towards the stairs.

“Hey Mom, hey Dad, I’m back!” she blurts out in a flustered hurry. “I brought Steven with me and he’s gonna stay for the night I hope that’s okay with you, I promise I’ll leave my door open, okay, goodnight!��

Dr. Maheswaran springs to her feet, expression blown wide with frustration.

“Connie. Connie Varana Maheswaran, get back here this instant!”

Steven stops in his tracks right along with her like he, too, were sitting in the hot seat. The hairs at the back of his neck prickle with nauseating dread as his friend lets go of his hand and— despondent, gaze wholly fixed upon a segment of carpet that’s fraying at the joint right where it meets the hard wood floors of their entryway— steps forward to accept her fate. Her mother continues, tone softening with a weighty dose of parental concern.

“When you texted you’d be back in ‘a few minutes,’ your father and I expected that to mean five. Maybe ten, at most. Not almost thirty. Connie, we were worried sick that something happened to you out there. You have to keep us in the loop if you’re going to be out so late.”

Her father nods in agreement, still perched on the edge of the couch. He leans forward as he prepares to add his ten cents, clasping his hands together with his elbows perched atop his knees.

“If you want us to continue to loosen up your curfew like you’ve asked,” he says, “you’ll need to prove to us that you can be responsible.”

“And this?” Dr. Maheswaran throws her arms out. “Was not it.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Connie cries, gripping even tighter at the strap of her baldric as she makes her case. “I really, truly thought it was only gonna be a few minutes! But then Steven was trying to pack some stuff, and I completely lost track of the time, and I—”

Her mother serves him a sharp gesture, brows threading tight. “And why exactly is he here so late in the first place? You know we have a strict rule against boys sleeping over.”

Steven swallows, feeling for all the world like his flip-flops are glued to the floorboards amidst his deep embarrassment at this mess. Yep. There it is, just as she predicted earlier. Oh boy. He almost wonders what the odds are of him spontaneously developing some sort of super-boosted diamond invisibility power out of nowhere, because right now he craves nothing more than to phase through the walls and disappear from this whole confrontation entirely. Stupid, stupid, stupid… he should’ve never agreed to come here tonight in the first place.

Connie, however, doesn’t seem so easily deterred from their mission.

“Mom, please listen,” she says, tone soaked with desperation. “Some crazy Gem stuff happened the past few days and he says he really needs some time away from his home right now, so I thought that maybe we could—”

“Absolutely not.”

“But it’s not like he hasn’t spent the night before! Remember the last—”

“The last time was just an exception because we were snowed in.”

“Yeah, but- a snowstorm’s not the only reason someone might need a different place to stay!”

Dr. Maheswaran plants her hands upon her hips, voice raising in volume. “Young lady, I’ve already bent the rules enough for you tonight. When I say no, I mean no.”

Biting at the inside of his lip, Steven resolves to just see himself out. After everything he’s witnessed within his own family unit the past few days, he really, really doesn’t want to watch this argument unfold any longer than it has to. He reaches forward to tap at her shoulder, inhaling shakily through his nose.

“Uh, Connie, I—”

“Oh come on, please?” she outright begs, smashing her hands together as if in prayer. “Just one night, just one more exception to your rules for Steven’s sake, that’s all I’m asking. One!”

The two of them proceed stare at each other with iron cored intent, both scrying the other’s features for any exploitable weaknesses, both daring the other to bend to the other’s resolve. Steven clenches his jaw tight as he glances back and forth, watching this silent showdown unfold like it’s some sort of abstract, emotion-based tennis match.

And then— a true blessing— Connie’s father (who he’s starting to suspect is the natural balance to her mom’s strict rules) finally steps in.

“Honey,” he says while rising to his feet, voice as calm as the midnight tide. “Remember that night in San Carlos…”

At his side, Connie visibly cringes.

He has absolutely no idea what the significance of this ‘San Carlos’ place is to Dr. Maheswaran and the others, but the mere reminder of it seems to be enough to bring them all to a state of heavy pause. Her mother clenches her fist tight at her side, squeezing her eyes shut as she reflects upon all the (unknown) relevance of her husband’s timely comment.

Then, all that tension snapping like an over-stretched rubber band:

“Fine. Fine,” she relents, lifting a finger to rub at her temple. “But… not in your room. We’ll set up the couch instead. Now, go get in bed. I expect to see lights out in five, all right?”

A surge of palpable relief courses across his friend’s features.

“Yes, Mom. Goodnight. Love you.”

She steps forward for a quick hug and kiss, which her mother returns in kind.

“Love you too,” she hums, clutching her safe and close for just a beat longer than usual. “Even when you do drive me crazy sometimes…”

Connie moves on to embrace her dad, who presses an affectionate smooch to her forehead, before crossing over to him. She wraps her arms around him tight, nestling her chin against the crook of his neck as she— no longer weighed down by the intimidating burden of a thousand nebulous what-ifs— softly exhales all that pent-up stress and anxiety against his ear.

“Well,” she whispers, “it’s not exactly the sleepover we hoped for, but- you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, your couch is real comfy!” he says, making his voice as chipper as he can muster despite his slight disappointment. Pulling away from her hug, he reaches up to adjust the slipping strap of his backpack on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll just be downstairs, and we can still have tons of fun tomorrow. Anyways… nighty night.”

A slight smile creeps its way upon her lips as she slings him her rhyming response. “Don’t let the robonoids bite?”

“You betcha!” he chirps, throwing up a pair of finger guns.

Connie giggles bright and clear before spinning on her heels and twaddling on up the stairs, pausing for the briefest of moments at the landing to glance back at him with a grin and a slight blush. He waves her off.

And then… as she disappears around the corner to get ready for bed… there were three.

Not super sure what the proper etiquette is when one enters a friend’s house totally unprompted and pressures their parents to adjust their rules on the fly, Steven flashes them a nervous, closed-mouth smile.

“So…” he begins, shuffling upon his feet.

But thankfully, he’s not forced to think of a continuation to this utterance, because Dr. Maheswaran sees fit to take the reins of conversation for him. She visibly deflates, pressing a hand to her temple as she vents air through her lips.

“I’m sorry you had to watch all that,” she apologizes, sliding her glance between him and her husband. “It’s just that… this isn’t something we normally allow. But I suppose, as with everything, that sometimes making the best decisions as a parent means growing with the times and adapting your own rules.”

Steven gives a wholehearted nod. “I understand. Thank you,” he says in earnest, “for letting me stay here tonight.”

“Anyways… I’ll go find some blankets for you,” she hums, and strides down the hall with renewed purpose.

The living room plunges into complete silence as she travels upstairs, leaving him alone with no one for momentary entertainment but Connie’s dad, who he admittedly hasn’t interacted with much on his own and thus isn’t sure how to make casual small-talk with yet.

Mr. Maheswaran clears his throat, noisily and awkwardly. “So… it’s been a rough couple of days for you, eh sport?”

Rapping his fingertips against the worn straps of his backpack, he rocks back and forth upon his heels. “Yeah, you could say that…”

~~~

Deep within the folds of his overstuffed bag, that amethyst geode he socked away earlier pulses with a quick burst of energy. It manifests in the form of a low level frequency too high for human ears to pick up on— just one chime, at first. Then two.

Three.

Four.

Steven, even with his Gem heightened senses, doesn’t pick up on it. Perhaps it’s because he’s deep asleep, or perhaps it’s because his body is too organic in build to properly intercept the signal. But either way, it doesn’t matter. The consequence is still the same.

This geode— unbeknownst to him or Amethyst an old rebellion tool intended to aid in luring unsuspecting Gems into traps with its irresistible song— continues chiming for hours and hours, its piercing melody calling out to the lonely night in perpetual harmony.

And far, far in the distance… hundreds of miles away… something lurking within the folds of the inky darkness calls back:

Mine.

[theredofoctober]

Hello hello

I'm deeply apologize if my question sounds a bit rude but still I can't help but ask:

Have you considered planning to continue more fanfic for Hannigram x reader in the future? It's a miracle to see an author like you didn't give up after 2, 3 chapters. The way you writing is making my heart fluttered so well that I could feel Hannibal is whispering beside my ears.

It's totally fine if you are not. I just wanted to show my admiration to you and how you built your world. It's a shame and I wouldn't mind admitting I'm staying (stalking sounds a little too grue) at your feed more than usual.

Hope you have a great day/night.

Hi there!

I fully intend to finish Manna! It's not abandoned, I work in 3 week cycles, sometimes 4 depending on busy periods as I'm self employed so I feel I'm rarely switched off, I'm also out most weekends and write outside fics (I've dropped two short horror stories on reddit in a week so I'm super busy).

So we're generally looking at one update a month— each chapter is around 4000 words but my schedule is packed and I need enough time to simply do nothing as well 😂

After Manna ends I'll likely take a long break from writing for Hannibal. I don't think I'll take on any more longfics for a while as I have several shorter fics to conclude, and I want to properly start my novel in the new year so I'm going to be locked in for the foreseeable future.

In short I'm busy but still writing!

[ofdemonsandangels]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 🤍

I love this! Thanks for dropping this in my inbox, I always appreciate doing things like this. I can luckily play this game since I have SIX WHOLE fics published.

say me, wight in the brom

I really love this fic, and it's probably my second favorite fic that I've written at the moment. I feel like I really pushed myself with this fic, especially the premise, which I was very unsure about going about. But it was because of my wonderful beta reader and art inspiration from the amazing @shiroyamaberserk that I was able to pull through and start and finish this fic within the span of a week, the fastest I've ever written a fic. Writing from Locus' pov was really fun and I liked describing Griffith from his perspective, it's something that just gradually came to me that continued to be built as more and more words appeared on my doc.

Take Me to the Poppy Field

This was the second fic I ever wrote so I was coming off the high of publishing my first and diving right into not only a different fandom but a ship with the most minuscule community. Cross Marian is an absolute enigma and it's a miracle that I was able to type up 2.2k words of his pov because having reread the D.Gray-Man manga recently, I can't fathom how I thought that I had the capability of writing from inside his mind. I'm really proud of my dialogue with this fic in particular, I tried really hard to write more dialogue instead of description and for what it is, I think I did good.

Encompassing Lust

Encompassing Lust my beloved, where do I even begin? This was the first fic I ever wrote and the only fic I have so far that has any kind of sexual content. I don't really remember what compelled me to make this fic, only that I was feeling very strongly about Slan and Danann kissing each other because I thought they'd look good together. It took me a while to scrape together something for my fantastic beta reader @beansterpie to work with and even after I published it, I ended up completely revising it three months later because of how unsatisfied I was. I was able to develop a much stronger voice for Dannan during that time and I changed her and Slan's interactions to interactions that I didn't deem too ooc. I say this like it's not the most random Berserk crackship to exist. As I look back on the fic over a year later, all I can say is "Yeah, I did that". I turned the sex demon into an even hornier sapphic for the skeleton man's fairy girlfriend.

One of Heart, One of Mind

As of now, this fic is my favorite fic I've ever written. Yulma is a ship that I feel so strongly about and they're the first ship that I've consistently shipped for years, so writing this fic was a very daunting task. I really wanted to do them right, and being the perfectionist that I am, I was bugging @shiroganeryo for months about my ideas, anxieties, and overall love for Kanda and Alma. In rereading/rewatching the Artificial Exorcist arc multiple times to familiarize myself with their canon selves again, I gained a newfound appreciation for Hoshino's storytelling abilities. She really knows how to make a girl cry. I feel like this fic is very reflective of the writer that I am now and I can only hope that I continue to grow. Comparing this to Encompassing Lust makes me feel so many things, all positive of course.

A Familiar Canvas

A Familiar Canvas is my fic of all fics. It's my most kudo'd, most commented, and second-highest hit counted fics. It's a fic that I had come up on the fly for GriffGuts Weekend 2022 and the first fic I've written that had a "due date". I learned a lot about myself during the nearly two and a half months I took to write this fic. One, I'm awful at writing on a time crunch, and two, I really like writing Griffith's dialogue. He was actually easier to write than Guts if you could believe it. It's usually the other way around for my friends. I don't know how it got so much traction over the months but I welcome it all.

[ptw30]

Hey there! I've just seen that you're taking prompts. And I was wondering if I could ask one for Kagakuro? Like how would be their third year in HS? How they feel about their last Winter Cup? How would be their relationship with Seirin members (formers and new years) and GOM? What are they planning to do the next years? Anything that comes to your mind, 'cause I'm always up for one of you Kagakuro fics. (CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR SON'S PRESIDENT AU!)

I want to apologize. This is not fluffy, and I really wanted to be fluffy. But you gave me the perfect excuse to tackle all my feels after Last Game, so that is when this is set - after the movie. (Disclaimer: I have not seen the movie, so this is based on all the reviews I’ve read.)

On the plus side - the first part of the PM Son AU should be up within the next day or two, and that’s pretty fluffy! 

Thank you for wanting me to write some Kagakuro, and sorry again. I hope you still enjoy!

Taiga returned to America during their second year in highschool.

Tetsuya resolved not to let the distance separate them. Theyemailed, texted, and skyped almost every day. Taiga sent updates about his fallleague games, and Tetsuya sent him stories about the Generation of Miracles.

(“Daiki-kun missed the bus and had to run to Seirin. Wealmost won, but he showed up in the third quarter.”)

Seirin suffered, of course. They battled into the InterHighTournament and won their division, but they lost during the championship roundto Yosen. Though Tetsuya became the first-string point guard before the SummerTournament, the team couldn’t beat Shutoku without a strong inside, missingboth Taiga and Kiyoshi. The Winter Cup proved to be their best showing of the year;Seirin clawed their way to a respectful fourth place finish.

Though demoralized, Tetsuya endured, thanks to Taiga’smessages, which encouraged, teased, and were constant.

Until they weren’t.

As Taiga’s basketball schedule amped up after Thanksgiving,when the American high school season began, his messages became ill-frequentand erratic. He missed skype conversations or fell asleep during them. And asTetsuya managed to get up early to accommodate Taiga’s schedule, he at leastwanted to see Taiga awake.

As January rolled into February and into March, Tetsuyaeventually stopped initializing all their conversations. If Taiga wanted theirrelationship to continue, then he needed to put in some effort. But he didn’t.Instead, the texts stopped. The Skype remained dark, and Tetsuya chastisedhimself.

First loves were just that – first. No one really marriedtheir high school sweethearts. That was a terrible fairy tale portrayed byrom-coms and manga.

Daiki and Satsuki came over most nights, sometimes Shintarouwith Kazunari, other times Ryouta or even Tatsuya. A few weekends, Tetsuya wentto see Seijuro in Kyoto, and he wasn’t surprised to see Chihiro visit.

“I thought you’d bring your shadow,” theuniversity freshman admitted starkly in the middle of the current novel debate.

Tetsuya blinked. “I do not have a shadow,Chihiro-san.”

“How did you miss him? Big oaf, has a name that soundslike a big cat, snarls like one, too.”

Anguish tugged Tetsuya down like a strong undertow. “Hewas my light.”

“Really? Because it seemed like he always was in yourshadow. Without you, he would have been nothing.”

Tetsuya hummed in thought, ready to rebuff, but Chihirowaved a hand. “Take the compliment, will you? You placed him on the samelevel as the Miracles.”

“But Chihiro-san – ”

“He shouldn’t have let you go.”

Tetsuya sighed, eyes skimming but not reading his book. Hecouldn’t look Chihiro in the eyes. “We-We never broke up. We just…parted.”

“Hm.”

“Hm?” Tetsuya’seyes lifted and glowered. “That’s all you have to say now?”

Chihiro shrugged. “You know what happens to shadowswithout their light?”

“They cease to exist.”

“Exactly.”

Chihiro reverted to their previous conversation about books,and Tetsuya let him. He thought more about their conversation, not sure what tomake of it, but forgot about it as the new school year came.

With the third years retiring and not one of the would-besecond years having the gift of talent, Tetsuya assumed the role of captainwith the knowledge his team wouldn’t be the powerhouse it once was.

As the new teammates lined up, Tetsuya kept Riko’s traditionof making the newbies take off their shirts. He (and Nigou) evaluated them asRiko taught him, stopping in front of a tall player with numbers – abs! – thatwere off the charts.

Nigou barked. Tetsuya dropped his clipboard.

Taiga scratched the back of his head before smilingsheepishly. “I-It was bad out there. I didn’t see any light, Tetsu. It wasso dark.”

“And-And now…?”

“You’re shining.” Taiga smiled, cheeks blooming with adelightful blush. “Will you – Will you take me back?”

“We didn’t break up, Taiga-kun. Perhaps you just faded for abit, but I’m glad you found your glow again.”

“Of course. I have you.”

Tetsuya jumped. Nigou barked. Taiga shone.

Needless to say, they swept the tournaments that year.

The End

Reminder: Prompts are still closed (this was submitted in April); however, if you have sent me a request, I still have it! And all previously submitted prompts will be honored! (Blade!Shiro prompts and three-story prompts are still open, and I will be creating a page for prompts soon. Also, the 500-follower giveaway is coming in a few weeks!)  Thanks!