(See the end of the chapter for more notes .)

Focus is less on the meeting, but more on the fluff. (Because who doesn’t LOVE fluff?)

Chapter Text

On one of the few Friday afternoons she managed to get home ‘early’, Priyanka arrived to find an empty house – no Connie, no note, nothing.

Like most things, Steven probably had something to do with it; so she immediately headed for the beach house to investigate. She didn’t actually have a problem with them hanging out, seeing as she always said yes; however, Connie would always leave a note or message…

For whatever reason though, today was different.

When Priyanka opened the door to the beach house, she saw not Connie and Steven, but somebody different, yet familiar at the same time. As she took in their every feature, wide eyed and already connecting the dots, Stevonnie was anything but coherent when they tried to blubber out an explanation.

The doctor remained composed and open as the fusion finally managed to explain themselves coherently. Priyanka could only stand there incredulously as Stevonnie explained everything (about themselves and fusion – minus some of their more exciting adventures of course). She really believed everything, but there was still the surprise and reaction…

Stevonnie couldn’t stop once they started, they wanted to tell her everything; part of them felt immense relief, another mounting fear as the secret was no more. It had to happen eventually, however…

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“Is that it?” Priyanka asked after their explanation.

“Yeah…” Stevonnie replied, rubbing their neck sheepishly.

Stevonnie was rather surprised when Dr Maheswaran simply walked forward and enveloped them in a hug.

“Don’t ever do that again, please. Remember what Connie promised? You can’t expect us not to worry when you go without saying anything.”

“Sorry Dr Momheswaran,” Stevonnie apologised, “I… Connie just…”

“Shh, honey; no need to explain, you’re here and that’s all I need. However…”

“I… Connie’s grounded isn’t she?” They asked, disappointed.

“No,” Priyanka laughed, “Why’d you think that? I’d never do that to you. But… I’m inviting you over for a sleepover, and attendance is mandatory. We’ve got to get to know you better; make up for lost time!”

“OH NO!” Stevonnie ‘protested’ as they shared a laugh.

“Think of it as punishment for hiding your beautiful, gorgeous, amazing self from us,” Priyanka said as she brushed Stevonnie’s seemingly magical hair and admired their wonderful features.

“MOM!”

“It’s true! Look, you’re blushing!”

“I… called you mom… is that…”

“Totally fine, I love you sweetie,” Priyanka replied, kissing their cheek, “That goes for you too Steven, in case you thought otherwise.”

“I love you too, mom. You’re the best!” Stevonnie squeed and returned the kiss.

There was a slight sparkle as their healing spit worked its magic, and immediately Priyanka could feel the difference. Her skin had never felt better and she could tell it was quite remarkable from the stars in Stevonnie’s eyes.

“OH MY GOSH mom, sorry I didn’t mean… BUT OH WOW, you look fantastic!”

Taking out a mirror and looking at her reflection, the doctor supposed their reaction was justified. Her creases and blemishes were all gone, and her skin as smooth as ever; sure, it didn’t turn back the clock, but it was pretty much the same thing.

“And to think I spend all that money on face creams, when all I needed was you!”

Stevonnie simply deepened their hug, feeling the comforting warmth of their mother. They were beautiful beyond words, someone greater than their parts, and a surprise sure; but Priyanka was also happy to be a part of it all, and glad that they’re able to experience fusion together.

As the hug continued, Priyanka’s amusement only increased – it was something so simple, yet they seemed to crave so very much. ‘They really like hugs, don’t they?’

“Hugs are the best!”

“That’s enough you rascal, we can’t be here all day,” the doctor said jokingly, pulling back after a few minutes, and pinched the fusion’s cheeks, “You’re lucky you’re so cute and ADORABLE!”

“Mom…” Stevonnie mumbled.

“What is that?” The woman replied, playing with their cheeks, “I am the best mom?”

“Yep!” Stevonnie replied, poking Priyanka in the cheeks.

She retaliated by deploying more mom hijinks, with them returning in kind.

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“So can I drive home?” Stevonnie asked after they finished playing around.

“Sure, why not?” Mom replied casually.

“YAY!”

“Let me just pack some clothes…”

Raising her eyebrow, she thought to herself, ‘And they already have a wardrobe? Neat; totally saw that coming…’

Out of nowhere, some small Pebbles appeared, greeting Stevonnie and handing them some ‘magic' clothes – produced seemingly from thin air.

“Hey you go Stevonnie.”

“Have fun!”

“Hi!” One of them waved to the woman.

“Hi?” She waved back.

“It’s nice meeting you.”

“See you later, bye!”

“Alright Zabble, show me what you’ve been working on…” One of them whispered as they disappeared in a hurry.

After writing a note for the gems, Stevonnie and Priyanka left the house, and began walking back to the car.

They shook the dirt off their feet as they got in the driver’s seat and buckled up.

“Don’t need shoes for this,” Stevonnie explained to mom as they set off.

“So you’re always just barefoot? What about clothes?”

“Yeah, shoes just don’t work when we fuse. Well… except for those floating ball shoes Steven had on at the ball that ended up working for me.” Stevonnie elucidated, “As for clothes… well, our clothes just fuse and we’ve never really needed anything more. Honestly, I don’t mind it; but it just makes sense to pack something for me if I have to change.”

“Personal hygiene is important.”

“Yep. In case you were wondering, those are the only clothes which fit both Stevonnie and Steven and Connie individually. Apart from that prom outfit anyway, which Pearl apparently ‘tailored’ so we wouldn’t have an ‘accident’…”

“Should’ve worn a dress,” Mom commented.

“Maybe next time,” Stevonnie grinned.

Priyanka was impressed at the uneventful drive home, Stevonnie driving as if they’ve done so many times before. They parked up once they were home, headed inside, and had some more bonding time together (after Stevonnie finished homework).

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It was a good week for Doug Maheswaran as he finished his last shift of the week and prepared for the drive home. Even the traffic was usually calm and light – a rare sight on a Friday at a time like this –; however, he didn’t give it much thought as it only meant he would be home sooner and be able to spend more time with his precious daughter.

When he opened the door though, his attention immediately focused on the ‘stranger’ in their house. Connie wasn’t here, but Doug just couldn’t shake a sense of familiarity about them. The person had longish dark hair much like Connie; but slightly lighter skin, well-toned muscles, a pink gem in their stomach, gorgeous features, a cute round face somehow reminiscent of both Steven and Connie, and perhaps most importantly, their nose. It was like Connie’s but much less pronounced; he could already put two and two together as the fusion of Steven and Connie’s features added up in his mind.

Thankfully, noticing the situation, Priyanka quickly whispered an explanation to her husband before Stevonnie could get embarrassed again – even if it’s really cute when then blush. His expression went from partially confused frowning, to relief, and finally joyous grinning as the doctor finished her explanation.

“Welcome to the family, Stevonnie.” He said, extending his arms.

Immediately, the fusion tackled him into a firm hug.

“I love you Doug-Dad… ops I mean…”

“Love you too gorgeous. We’ll work out names later,” He reassured them as he enjoyed the amazing hug, “But first, let me take a closer look at you!”

Taking a step back and spinning them around, Doug was in awe.

“Just look at you, you look FANTASTIC! I bet everyone goes crazy for you!”

“Doug!”

“What? I know Steven and Connie you know… but…”

“OKAYMAYBEPEOPLEGOCRAZYFORMECANWETALKABOUTSOMETHINGELSE.” Stevonnie blurted, blushing bright red.

Doug chuckled and replied, “Okay, just remember we’re here if you ever need to talk about things. I’m sure you’ll make daddy proud one day.”

“Yeah… I‘ll keep it in mind.”

“Stevonnie, dinner is in an hour. Go clean up while I have a talk with your dad.” Priyanka called from the couch.

With that, they rushed upstairs, leaving the two Maheswarans to discuss things; things like Steven and Connie’s relationship, Stevonnie, and what it might mean for all of them. It was new territory for everyone, but seeing them in person had them convinced – they were definitely a thing, even if they wouldn’t admit it… yet…

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Stevonnie stared at the assortment of (healthy) food before them, eyes wide and mouths threatening to drool everywhere.

“You made all THIS?!”

“Sure did, only the best for our best.” Priyanka smiled.

“Thank you guys,” They said with watery starry eyes.

“Go ahead, dig in, and just remember your table manners!”

They nodded and immediately went to town sampling everything.

“OMG, THIS IS DELICIOUS!”

“I’ve got to get the recipe!”

“Amethyst would LOVE this. But she would also eat all the plates. And leave nothing for us! Oh well…”

By the end of it, Stevonnie was visibly exhausted, every plate devoid of food.

“Do you always eat this much?” Doug asked.

“No, not really; this food was just so delicious I had to eat it all. Sorry, just eating for two, hehe. Don’t worry, Stevonnie always burns it off.”

After the Maheswarans finished laughing, Stevonnie volunteered to do the dishes (despite their ‘discomfort’), impressing them with their manners. Once they were finished, their parents called from the lounge, reminding them about game night.

Surprisingly, the Maheswarans had a much better collection of board games than Steven did – an unexpected surprise really, given their musical collection –; however, Stevonnie was just glad to play something with rules that everyone understood.

Once they picked out a few games that they liked, they took turns playing each one with their parents. For games like Connect 4 and Battleship, Stevonnie took one side while Mom and Dad alternated on the other. Expectedly, they were practically unbeatable, their grin widening with each victory. Part of them felt a little bad about it, but it was all in good fun; besides, they just loved the rush!

“I win again! YAY!”

“Good work honey,” Priyanka complimented, “How about we up the stakes?”

“If you can handle it,” Stevonnie smirked as they packed away the two player games.

“We’ll just have to see won’t we?” Doug returned, “They don’t call be the Doug-inator for nothing!”

Stevonnie and Priyanka just shrugged since neither had heard him mention it before…

With more players, the victories were distributed a little more evenly; however, Stevonnie still won most of the time when they played one piece.

“Stevonnie, do you want to play another piece?”

“Sure,” They replied to themselves, “It could be fun!”

It had made things slightly more confusing, but with Stevonnie playing two pieces, the games were much less ‘one-sided’. Mom and Dad won a lot more as Stevonnie had more fun playing against and with themselves.

“I win and lose, YAY!”

“Oh no, I lost; good game Stevonnie.”

Before long, they had gotten through all the games they picked and it was already bedtime.

“I love you…” Stevonnie yawned as they hugged their parents after the game.

“Well, looks like someone’s tired.”

“Yeah mom…”

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Returning to their room after changing into their pyjamas, Stevonnie found mom and dad waiting by the side, holding Connie’s favourite childhood storybook.

“Thought we’d bring it out again,”

“And read it to you,”

Immediately, Stevonnie jumped into bed and settled down. The plot or characters of the story didn’t matter as they listened to the soothing voices of their parents narrating and acting along. With each page, sleep was a step closer – their eyes slowly lowering and smile growing. The Maheswarans couldn’t help but smile along as they finished the last page, taking in the sight of their almost asleep child.

“Goodnight Stevonnie,” Doug whispered as he kissed Stevonnie, “Sweet Dreams.”

“Love you too,” Stevonnie whispered as they returned a sleepy kiss, “Night daddy, night mommy.”

“Night Sweetie, I love you,” Priyanka whispered as she gave them a final hug and kiss goodnight.

Stevonnie only hummed in response before they fell asleep, emitting gentle purrs and snores.

“Aren’t they wonderful?” Priyanka asked Doug as they quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.

“Yeah, and then some,” Doug replied as he kissed his wife, “A surprise sure, but I’m glad we met them darling.”

“Me too… I love you Doug.”

“It’s amazing isn’t it, what love can do.”

“It is.”

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Stevonnie’s dreams continued through the whole night, empowered by the feeling and power of love. Priyanka had an extra hard time waking them up that Saturday morning…

Upon entering the room, Priyanka’s heart immediately softened. Stevonnie was sprawled out on the bed, still very much asleep and making sleepy noises. Unable to resist, the woman immediately took out her phone for pictures and maybe just a video or two – it was just too adorable to miss. Rays of sunlight shore through the window, illuminating their smiling face, the woman admired her child for another few moments before returning to the task.

“Stevonnie, it’s time to wake up...” She called as she shook them, their strong muscles currently relaxed and not giving any resistance.

“Five more minutes… It’s so early, mom…” They mumbled as they sleepily grabbed Dr Maheswaran, “Come here, sleep for you too…”

“Sweetie…” Mom laughed as she was spooned by a cute sleepy Stevonnie, “It’s 9 am, and I made your favourite…”

“Pancakes?” They replied, a little more alert.

“Mm-hm. Don’t let them get cold now,”

“If you don’t wake up… I’ll just have to do this!” Mom added as she tickled Stevonnie, poking and prodding their adorable face.

“It ticklessss…”

“Stttoooooppp…”

“You know what you have to do.”

“Fine…” They huffed jokingly as they sat up and kissed the woman, “Love you mom.”

“Love you too sweetie,” She returned as she hugged them, “We’ve got actual syrup!”

“OH BOY!” Stevonnie exclaimed as they left the embrace, dashing to the bathroom to prepare for breakfast.

Although the pancakes actually tasted no different to Steven’s usual stuff, being with mom and dad made it feel extra special and tasty. In a parallel universe, Stevonnie would be thinking back on the horrible (and unfortunately poisonous) syrup their parents normally use, however, actual syrup in this case just meant real maple instead of healthy generic stuff. Like dinner, their eyes lit up as soon as they saw the goods. They sampled all the toppings and sauces, but settled on maple syrup in the end.

“Can’t beat the original,” Stevonnie told their parents, putting syrup onto yet another pancake.

“Agreed,” Doug nodded in approval, “Just like Vanilla, right?”

“Mm-hm, you just know it when you’ve got good Vanilla,”

“But topics and flavours are fun too…”

“THIS IS SO YUM!” Stevonnie said as they stuffed down one of their final pancakes.

“Slow down honey, it’s not gonna…”

“Oh, right…”

“I’m over it, it’s alright,” Stevonnie reassured as they finished.

After Stevonnie did the washing up once again, they spent the rest of the morning and afternoon retelling some of their most noteworthy tales. Some were about their experiences as a fusion, their many thoughts and feelings as they navigated the world, while others were about their components or just background gem stuff in general.

The Maheswarans listened with renewed interest as Stevonnie ‘retold’ each story in their voice, making it new and exciting all over again. There were a few embarrassing ones, but they managed to get through them too.

Stevonnie didn’t even notice how many hours had gone by as they finished the last of their stories, acting along and gesturing animatedly the whole time.

A Saturday evening filled with hugs, kisses, and fluff later, Stevonnie was once again getting ready for bed, however…

Walking into the bathroom, Doug was surprised to find it wasn’t empty. Normally, everyone would lock the door; however, Stevonnie had felt comfortable enough to leave it unlocked. He looked on, unable to say a word, as Stevonnie continued peeing standing up. They continued doing their business as they turned around, noticing the speechless man.

“Oh Hi Mr Dadheswaran, don’t mind me; I’m just finishing up before bed,” Stevonnie replied in their usual cheery tone, as if this was completely routine (it was for them).

The man simply blinked awkwardly as he put on a reassuring smile; although he didn’t want to think about it, it pretty much made total sense.

Finishing up, Stevonnie did a little shake, wiped, pulled up their underwear, but stopped short of their pants as they realised something important.

“Ops, almost forgot my pad,” They explained as they got out a pad, “Connie’s period should be right about now; don’t want to have an accident now do we?”

Doug swallowed and replied, “No, I guess not…”

Stevonnie didn’t mind their father looking at all, as they pulled their underwear down and tried to figure out what to do with the pad, given that they…

“Now how do we…”

“Hmm…”

He watched on as they manipulated the pad, angling and adjusting it, until they felt it was comfortable and functional.

Once that was done, they pulled up their pants, washed their hands, and headed for their bedroom, leaving Doug alone with his thoughts. Although they didn’t care about that side of things now, he supposed that they’d probably need to have that talk someday – on top of whatever else with just Steven and Connie…

None of that mattered right now, however; as Stevonnie drifted off into another night of pleasant beauty sleep, dreaming of adventures and fun.