Hey everyone. The fluff and hugs master is back for more, lol.

I gotta admit, I've wanted to do a fic with a younger Steven (he's five years old here) for a while now, and this one certainly fits the bill. As always, I hope you enjoy.

(In case anyone brings it up, yes, I'm aware there was a line of dialogue in the show where Steven says it was his dad who helped him get over his fear of thunderstorms, not Amethyst. I didn't remember it until it was too late, and I really didn't want to scrap this, so here we are.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe. Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar.

Present

"Thoughts"

"Don't be scared, Steven, don't be scared... it's just a little storm, everything's going to be all right... everything'll be okay..."

It didn't matter how many times Steven told himself the same lie. It was never going to be true.

As the screaming winds and torrential rain beat all around the house, the five year old child sank further and further into his mattress. His bedsheets firmly shielded his crumpled, shaking form from the outside world, the light of his bedside lamp illuminating the darkness leaking through his rainy glass windows. His pillows lay stacked all around him like a fort.

He still didn't feel safe. Not even close.

"There's nothing to be afraid of..." he mumbled to himself, yet again. "No need to be scared, no need to be scared, no need to be-"

Steven's voice died in his throat as he saw it. A bright flash of light from outside overtook all other sights, the room plunging into darkness not even a moment later as his lamp went dead. The power went out.

And then came the thunder. The loud, booming clap of thunder.

The boy began to shake. His lungs forced him to take a deep breath, something he'd been holding for a while. He didn't wait long to use it.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Amethyst stepped out of the temple door and stretched her arms, her eyes blinking away the drowsiness from her power nap. The first thing she noticed was the darkness of the house; it seemed they were in the middle of a power outage. The flooding rain from outside the windows was probably the reason why.

"Whoa... I guess we're having a pretty bad storm. I hope Steven's okay, he doesn't really like these things..."

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Amethyst's eyes shot wide open. Her legs moving faster than her mind, she ran into the foyer of the house and came to a skidding stop in front of his stairs, her hand pressing against the wall to steady herself as she sprinted up to his room. Even in the darkness, her eyes immediately caught the bulging white bundle of blankets in the center of his mattress.

"Steven! Are you all right?"

Her inquiry wasn't met with words, but instead the sound of what she guessed to be... crying? Screaming? It was too muffled to tell. But whatever it was, she could tell he was having a full on anxiety attack. And Pearl and Garnet weren't around to sooth him like usual.

But she was more than ready.

"I can do this... I'm coming, Steven. Don't you worry."

Amethyst slowly tiptoed to the side of Steven's bed, her footsteps further muted by the wind outside. She took a seat along the edge and lifted his covers.

Steven's eyes shot open. His blankets were suddenly gone. And he wasn't the one who did it.

"AAAAAH! DON'T HURT ME, MR. STORM! I DIDN'T-"

"Steven, it's okay, it's okay! It's me, Amethyst!"

Steven's voice tapered off as her own registered in his ears. He quickly rubbed a few stray tears from his eyes, straining in the dark to make absolutely sure; it was indeed his caretaker, her long, white hair gleaming in the shadows to seal the deal. The faint glint of concern in her eyes already told him why she was here.

And he wasted no time.

Shooting up from his mattress, Steven blindly lunged forward, colliding head first with Amethyst's stomach. He closed his little arms closed around her as tightly as he could, his eyes tearing up once again as he buried his face in her shirt. He began to tremble again.

Amethyst gasped at the sudden contact. But it only took a moment for her surprise to give way to affection. She smiled.

"There there, Steven, it's all right... I'm here..." she whispered in his ear, her arms wrapping around him and pulling him close. She hadn't cuddled him like this since he was a baby.

And it felt wonderful.

Finally, after more than just a few minutes of each gem holding the other in a tight, quiet hug, Steven sniffled and turned his head, taking a deep breath. He looked up into her eyes.

"A-Amethyst, are we going to be okay?"

"Of course we're going to be okay," she whispered. "You don't need to be afraid..."

"B-but the storm... how do you know?"

Amethyst turned her eyes away from the child and to the windows of his room. Just like before, the rain continued to fall in bunches, the flashes of lightning and claps of thunder serving to break the monotonous noise. She couldn't help but smile.

"Steven... I've been here on Earth for hundreds of years, and I've seen thousands of storms in my life. And I'm still here, aren't I?" Amethyst gently poked Steven in the stomach, earning a few small giggles from the child as he snuggled further into her chest. "But you know, there was once a time I was just like you... I used to be really scared of thunderstorms, too."

"Really? But you're not scared of anything!"

"Well, I was certainly was of storms. Why, I remember once..." Amethyst closed her eyes. She gently tapped her fingers along the top of Steven's head, her mind vividly running through each and every detail.

"Steven, during a mission a few years before you were born, I got separated from the others. It was after a big battle with a gem monster, and I was near the bottom of a mountain. And then I saw these dark clouds, forming overhead..."

"What did you do?" Steven pulled up his legs from the edge of the bed and sat cross-legged in her lap, his eyes wide with anticipation for her story. The storm outside seemed a lot quieter than before.

"I started to run. The only shelter nearby was this big cave, and I couldn't see anything inside. But it was either that or the storm, and it didn't take me long to pick.

When I got inside, I didn't really bother to explore it. I guess I was too on edge to think about it. And the rain was really coming down by then, with lightning and thunder everywhere."

"Kind of like how it is right now..."

"Yes, Steven, like how it is now," whispered Amethyst. She ran a hand through the child's hair and bounced him on her knee, another bout of laughter her reward. She couldn't help but gently laugh with him.

"But I would say that storm was even worse..." she continued, after allowing herself a moment. "The wind was howling all the time, and it got really dark. I'd say just as much as it is now."

"Now? But it's nighttime! When did this storm happen?"

"It was right around noon. And because it was so dark outside, I had a hard time seeing anything out of the cave. But there was stuff flying everywhere. Some of it came really close and almost hit me."

"Wow..." Steven gazed up at his caretaker, stars filling his eyes as his mouth fell agape. "That must have been REALLY scary..."

"It sure was. But you don't need to worry, it had a happy ending."

"... And that was?"

Amethyst turned her eyes from Steven and to the windows of his room. She couldn't help but smile at the sight; the thunder and lightning had all but ceased, and the downpour of rain had been replaced with a tiny drizzle. A patch of stray moonbeams broke through the cloud cover, brightly lighting parts of the beach.

And he hadn't even noticed yet.

"Well... I remember I sat along the mouth of the cave, curled in a ball." Amethyst leaned closer to his ear, quickly glancing around the room. Her voice barely went above a whisper. "If you promise not to tell Pearl and Garnet... I was crying."

"No way... really? But you never cry!"

"We all do sometimes, Steven... but that's not the point. Actually, it's because I didn't see her coming that made what happened next so wonderful."

Amethyst closed her eyes yet again. She gave herself one final moment to think.

"... Steven, when I finally looked up... I saw your mother, standing over me. I wasn't sure how long she had been there; it might have been for minutes, or even hours. But she was smiling... even through the storm, she came back for me."

Steven's eyes grew wide, but didn't make a sound. His dad has always told him lots of wonderful stories about his mom, but to hear one from Amethyst would be just as exciting. He didn't want to miss a single word.

"When I saw her, I kind of just froze. And then we both just looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds."

"... And then what?"

Amethyst looked down at Steven, and him up at her. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I jumped up and ran to her. And she kneeled and grabbed me in a hug..." Amethyst used her right hand to quietly wipe away a few stray fast-forming tears, the other firmly wrapped around Steven's shoulders. "And she kissed me on the forehead..."

Steven took a deep breath. "Like you just did with me... and did she also-"

"She did. She rocked me back and forth, and told me it was okay, and t-that... I d-didn't need to be sc-"

Amethyst couldn't say any more.

With a loud gasp of breath, Amethyst wrapped both her arms tight around Steven and brought him close, the tears flooding his shoulder not even a moment later. Her hands were trembling as she gently rubbed circles on his back.

Steven sighed, a smile spreading across his face as snuggled into her chest. But not before one last hug.

The lights flickered on. Steven and Amethyst didn't move.

For however long it was they stayed in that spot, in each other's arms, they would never know. But it wasn't until he finally shifted his eyes to the right, after what felt to him like a blissful eternity, that he noticed the change.

"Hey... the power's back!"

Amethyst said nothing. From what he could tell, her crying had slowed quite a while ago, and her eyes lay closed as she rested her chin on top of Steven's head. But not even a moment later, she slowly outstretched her arms and pushed him away from her. She opened her eyes.

"Steven... do you know why I just told you all of this?"

Steven put a hand to his chin and glanced around the house. He didn't have to think for very long, though; the answer was very close by. Specifically, above the front door of the house. His eyes shot to the painting of his mom.

"... Is it because of everything she told you?"

Amethyst swiveled around and faced the edge of his bead. She nodded her head and dodged eye contact, honing in on the floor.

"Steven... ever since that day, I've never been scared of thunderstorms. Your mother helped me overcome my fear... and now every time I see a thunderstorm, I think of that day. And I was hoping that maybe I helped you feel the same..."

Steven stared straight at Amethyst for a brief moment, a gentle sigh escaping her lips as she slouched and rested her head in her hands. And then his eyes flickered to the front door below, the window splattered with rainwater.

He grinned.

"Amethyst... let's go outside."

She turned to him and squinted her eyebrows. "Now? But the storm-"

"The storm's over. See, you can barely hear the wind now!" The child fell silent for a moment to prove his point; indeed, the ferociousgusts from not even a few minutes ago were all but gone, the quiet pitter patter of a gentle rain taking its place. "And besides, it's just..."

"... It's just what?"

Steven tore his gaze away from the door and to Amethyst. He looked her in the eyes.

"It's just like what you did with my mom, right? You faced your fear with her, and I think it's time I did the same. And I know she's not here, but... maybe you can come with me? Please?"

It only took Amethyst a second to decide.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, an ear to ear grin split across her face as she stood up from the edge of his bead. Without missing a beat, she swooped over and grabbed Steven in her arms, quickly setting him back down on the ground as they both began to laugh. She then kneeled and gave him a smile, one he returned wholeheartedly.

"Oh, Steven... of course I'll come with you. You don't even have to ask."

"I know... but thanks anyways."

Amethyst nodded. She softly groaned as she once again stood up straight, stretching her back and arms. She glanced down at the child and smiled.

"Ready?"

"You bet."

Amethyst smiled. She held out her hand for the five year old. "Then let's go."

Steven nodded. And without any hint of hesitation, he grabbed her hand and began to march down the stairs.

She was with him every step of the way.

Steven and Amethyst stopped just before they reached the door. She knelt and came eye-to-eye with him.

"So, where do you want to go first, little guy?"

"The Big Donut!"

"The Big Donut?" she laughed. "I guess... if they're still open."

"They're open all the time now! At least, that's what I saw on the sign. Now let's go!"

"All right, all right! We're going, hold your horses."

Amethyst smiled as she stood up and opened the door, holding it for him to walk through first. Taking the gesture in stride, Steven ran out to the front porch, his grip on her hand all but dragging her outside as well. The faint sound of laughter echoed throughout the room just before the door fell shut on its own, carried by the gentle wind.

They weren't afraid.

Pearl and Garnet stepped off the warp pad and into the living room. They quickly exchanged glances.

"... Did you just hear all that?"

"Of course I did, Pearl. And so did you, just as well as myself."

"I-I know, but... I just wasn't expecting it. I mean, Amethyst doesn't typically do stuff like that with him. Usually she just likes to mess around."

Garnet said nothing for a moment, the foyer of the house falling silent accordingly. And then, as the thought crossed her mind, she slowly began to smile. She sat down on the couch and looked Pearl in the eyes.

"You know, I think you're selling Amethyst short. You know she can be very sweet with him when she wants to be."

Pearl turned to the front door. And as she did so, she couldn't stop herself from smiling as well.

"Yes... I suppose you're right."

If you're a regular reader of my stories, I'd like to give a quick update on Into Oblivion: I started working on it a few weeks ago (I admit I took a quick break, lol) and I'm now a couple chapters in. I expect to start releasing in late April/early May, but it might be a little later than that. It's still too early in the process to pinpoint an exact time.

Well, that's about it. Have a nice day.