Anyway, I got my mojo back! I'm writing like hell, cuz I don't know when it will leave me again. We're back to Thursday uploads, unless I forget, which I probably will, because I have inattentive ADHD, and it's really hard for me to remember to do anything.

So, a full month and 11 days after I said I would post, I've brought you one chapter. Writer's block is a bitch, huh. (It is long though. An app I have told me it will take at least 15 minutes to read, so there's that.)

Chapter Text

“Ow! Hey!”

Stevonnie lurched forward, bringing a displeased hiss from the mouth of the tailor.

“Don’t move!” the tailor repeated for what must have been the fortieth time that day.

“Well, maybe if you’d stop pricking me with the pins, I could stand still.” Stevonnie rolled their eyes.

The tailor harrumphed and stepped back. “I’m finished. I don’t need to whip up a whole new suit, I can alter something I already have. It’s less work for me, and cheaper for you.”

Pearl clapped her hands. “Stevonnie! Do you want a dress or a suit?”

“Um…” Stevonnie put a hand up to their chin. “Both?”

“Okay!” Pearl produced a wallet from her gem. “How much would it be for both a sky-blue sundress and a pinstripe suit?”

The tailor seemed unperturbed at Pearl’s summoning of the wallet. “Come with me to the register, ma’am.”

Stevonnie followed Pearl to the register. They stood awkwardly behind her as she negotiated with the tailor. Stevonnie’s eyes wandered. “Are you nervous?” they whispered. “A little. I don’t want my parents breaking us apart… They won’t. If they don’t like us, they can… No! I don’t want to cut them out of my life! I love them! Sorry! No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. We shouldn’t be afraid. They will probably like us.”

Pearl’s cough brought them out of their thoughts. “Stevonnie, is everything all right?”

“Yeah.” Stevonnie chuckled. “Sorry.”

Pearl smiled and waved it off. “It’s okay. Now, how long is this tailoring going to take?”

“I already have a dress in approximately her size –”

“Their,” Stevonnie corrected, not focused on the conversation.

“Sorry. I already have a dress in approximately their size. Just needs some pinning and re-stitching here and there. That should take less than an hour. The suit, I will need longer. I should finish tonight, though. Will we say, eight o’clock?”

“Okay!” Pearl agreed. “That will give us enough time to appease Amethyst at Aqua City.”

“Awesome!” Stevonnie clapped their hands and together with Pearl left the store. “This is going to be so cool! Should I wear the dress or the suit when we visit them tomorrow? I think the dress needs some accessories. Oh, yeah! A wide-brimmed hat, strappy sandals… we should be able to get those at Aqua Town Mall, right? And the suit needs a top hat and a cane… A cane? Nah, you’re right, that’s silly. A top hat, though, and some cool black shoes! Yeah!” Stevonnie climbed onto Lion’s back. Pearl followed suit, getting behind Stevonnie and wrapping her arms around Stevonnie’s waist.

“Okay, Lion!” Stevonnie exclaimed, burying their fingers in Stevonnie’s mane. “To Aqua Town Mall!”

Lion roared, creating a portal in the way that he did, and leapt through it. After a few seconds, Lion roared again and the three of them popped out through the other portal. They landed right next to where Amethyst was waiting in the carpark.

“Nice entrance,” Amethyst said, standing up from where she sat on the asphalt.

“Thanks,” Stevonnie replied, smiling. Pearl slid off Lion’s back and landed next to Amethyst. Stevonnie followed suit. “Ready?”

Amethyst squealed. “Oh, man, Stevonnie, I need to help you pick out an outfit too! Some cool clothes, not for you to wear to see your parents, because that would be bad or something. But, like, something awesome!”

“That’d be great, Amethyst!” Stevonnie did a thumbs up.

Pearl scowled and grunted, displeased. Amethyst smirked and started off towards the doors.

“See you, Pearl!” Stevonnie cried. “I’ll make sure we’re back at the temple at 4.”

Pearl nodded and handed Stevonnie the wallet she held earlier. “Don’t let Amethyst eat too much,” she advised, before leaping away.

Stevonnie turned around. “Hey, Amethyst! Wait up!”

Amethyst threw her fourth taco into her mouth, lips smacking and tongue licking. “These are the best tacos.”

Stevonnie bit into theirs, a small bite from the end. “They are pretty good. I don’t usually eat tacos. Why not? My mom says they’re unhealthy. I had a tofu taco once. But she thinks the shells are the bad part. That’s ridiculous! She just wants to keep me safe. She is a doctor! Yeah, but… You can’t just…” Stevonnie looked at the floor and sighed.

Amethyst chewed her taco. “Are you going to eat that?”

“Go ahead.” Stevonnie handed Amethyst their taco. Amethyst shoved it down her gullet.

“Ah, so good,” Amethyst sighed in pleasure. Then she sat up in her seat and grinned. “Okay!” She rubbed her hands together. “It’s time to go shopping!”

“Yeah!” Stevonnie stood. “Let’s do it!”

Stevonnie and Amethyst clambered onto Lion. They were laden down with a much lighter wallet and several overstuffed plastic bags. They wore their new strappy sandals and wide-brimmed straw hat. The bags were full of new pyjamas and two new ensembles. One was a purple and black flannel and black jeans. The other was a denim jacket, black shirt with a yellow star and khaki shorts. They had also bought a baseball cap, a pair of shiny black shoes, and some sneakers.

“Good trip, Amethyst,” Stevonnie said and leant forward into Lion’s mane.

“I know! We got some great stuff for you!” Amethyst twirled her new baseball cap around her finger and blew a strawberry gum bubble. She jumped onto Lion’s back.

“To the temple!” Stevonnie urged. Lion did as Stevonnie said.

Lion resurfaced on the beach, just in front of the lapping waves. Amethyst rolled off into the sand. Stevonnie followed suit, giggling a little as sand tossed through their hair. They took the bags from Amethyst and ran up the stairs. “Okay, Amethyst. You can go do whatever, I’m going to go drop these clothes in Steven’s... In my room, and then get Pearl and we’ll go back to Empire City.” Stevonnie put their hand on Lion’s head, rubbing his forehead. “One more go, big guy,” they assured. They ran up the stairs, waving at Amethyst, who pulled a taco out of her shirt and walked off down the beach.

Stevonnie walked through the door just as Pearl exited her room. “Hey, Pearl!” they cried, placing the bags down on the kitchen counter. “We’re back!”

“Excellent timing, Stevonnie.” Pearl smiled. “Where’s Amethyst?”

“She walked off down the beach,” Stevonnie recalled, “eating a taco.”

“Okay.” Pearl clapped her hands together. “Good. We won’t have her interrupting us on our trip.”

The pair warped to Empire City on Lion, who looked exhausted with all the warping. Stevonnie petted Lion on the head and clambered off. “Eight o’clock! New clothes!”

It wasn’t long before Stevonnie, Pearl, and Lion were back at the temple. Stevonnie sported the new blue sundress – much like one that Connie had at her house. They also wore their sunhat and sandals they’d bought at the mall earlier that day. “You look great!” Pearl gushed. “Oh, Stevonnie, that dress is just perfect! The shoes and hat might be a little… cheap, but –”

“Oh, who cares about that junk, Pearl?” Amethyst cried, pulling a packet of cheese balls from the pantry and tipping it into her mouth. “They look awesome!”

Pearl flushed and turned to Amethyst. “Amethyst, you know that if the shoes are bad, they might hurt their feet!”

“No! They’re fine!” Stevonnie smiled. “Thanks, you guys.”

The temple door phased open and Garnet strolled out, holding something in her right hand.

“Oh! Garnet!” Stevonnie skipped over to her, grinning like they were mad.

“Hello, Stevonnie.” Garnet let a smile slip past her lips. “You look nice. Also, Connie’s phone is here.” She tossed the phone in Stevonnie’s direction, who caught it, a little confused. “You received nineteen calls over the day.”

“What?” Their eyes dropped to the phone and they flipped it open. Their face fell. “Oh, crud. Mom and Dad!”

“What is it?” Pearl asked, stepping forward and looking worried.

Stevonnie buried a hand in their hair. “It’s my parents! They’ve been calling me all day! They must be worried sick! I – I have to get home, I…”

“Stevonnie, it’s night time,” Garnet replied. “Don’t worry. First thing in the morning, we can go to the Maheswaran house and explain all this.”

Stevonnie gulped, then sighed. “Okay.”

Stevonnie lay in Steven’s bed, staring at the ceiling. “You okay? Yeah. I’m just worried about tomorrow. I am too. Well, I mean, they can’t force us to be apart. We’ll just run away. Or stay with the Gems. I… I guess, but I don’t want to leave them forever; I still love them! Yeah, I know. Hey, speaking of parents, what would your dad think of all this? I… don’t know. I mean, he’s kind of used to all this magic stuff, but I’m not sure he’d approve of this forever-fusion thing. Well, at any rate, it will be easier to tell him, because we don’t have to explain all the magic-alien stuff.”

Stevonnie rolled onto their side, curled up on Steven’s tiny bed. “I need a new bed,” Stevonnie muttered, shutting their eyes.

The next morning, Stevonnie twirled in their blue dress. “Will Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran prefer this dress or my suit?” they asked themself. “The suit. I like the suit.” They changed, all the while apprehensive about visiting Connie’s parents.

“Ready to go, Stevonnie?” Garnet asked, walking from the kitchen.

“I… I guess so.” Stevonnie’s mouth was dry. “Yeah.”

Lion was waiting on the beach, recovered from all the warping yesterday. Stevonnie climbed onto Lion’s back, but Garnet didn’t follow. “I’ll meet you there, Stevonnie,” she said, leaping into the distance.

“…Okay…” Stevonnie took in a deep breath. “Lion, take me home… uh, to the Maheswaran house, please.”

Lion dutifully brought Stevonnie to Connie’s parents’ house. Stevonnie stepped off his back and patted his mane. “You probably shouldn’t be here. My parents aren’t going to let me do all this magic stuff if, you know, they see a dangerous lion or something.” Stevonnie turned to the door. “Okay. Okay. You’re okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just breathe.”

They marched to the door and knocked.

The door swung open with a creak. Dr Maheswaran looked as though she hadn’t slept all night, with frizzy hair and grey bags under her eyes. She looked Stevonnie up and down, judging them in a second. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “Look, whatever you’re selling, I don’t want any.”

“We’re not… I’m not selling anything, doctor.” Stevonnie smiled. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

Dr Maheswaran looked over her shoulder. “Well, can it wait? You’re in a suit, so it’s probably bad news. We don’t need any bad news right now. Unless… Do you have information about her?”

“About who?” Stevonnie was taken aback for a moment. Then they composed themself. “The news concerns your daughter.”

Dr Maheswaran’s mouth dropped open, and she raised a hand to cover it. “Is she –”

“She’s fine.” Stevonnie was quick to reassure Connie’s mother. “She’s just… can I come inside? This is something both you and D… and your husband need to hear.”

Dr Maheswaran looked back into the lounge room, where her husband sat next to a phone, waiting from a call. A call from Connie, from the police, from someone. She nodded and waved them in. “Okay. Come on in.”

“Who’s this, dear?” Mr Maheswaran asked.

“This young lady says she has news about Connie,” Dr Maheswaran informed him. “She’s fine, but she needs to tell us both something.”

“Right.” Mr Maheswaran glared critically at Stevonnie. “Well?”

Stevonnie took in a deep breath. Should have worn the dress. They twirled on the spot, the gem on their stomach glowing with a bright pink light, engulfing their body until…

Steven and Connie stood in the centre of the living room. Their hands intertwined; their eyes squeezed shut. The suit fell to the floor behind them.

Connie was the first to open her eyes. A sheepish grin crept its way onto her face. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”

Steven opened his eyes as well. A similar smile spread over his lips. “Hello, Dr and Mr Maheswaran.”

Both of Connie’s parents had wide eyes and gaping mouths. They looked horrified.

Dr Maheswaran seemed to be the first to snap out of it. She breezed past Steven, completely ignoring him, and wrapped Connie in a tight embrace. “Connie! I’m so glad you’re safe!”

After a moment, she stepped back, and her gaze darkened as she turned it on Steven. “You. What have you been doing to my daughter? What sort of stunt was that, sending a glowing girl in and then appearing out of nowhere? Why did you keep my daughter from me?”

“Sorry I’m late.” A new voice drifted from the doorway. It was Garnet, with a smirk on her face suggesting that she wasn’t sorry at all.

“Sorry you’re – Who are you?” Dr Maheswaran seemed confused, until something clicked within her brain. “Wait, you’re one of the boy’s caregivers, aren’t you? What is the meaning of this?”

Garnet stood beside Steven and placed a hand on his head. “Go on, show them.”

Steven nodded and extended a hand to Connie. Connie took it. They knew they had to be quick. Steven twirled and dipped Connie, his gem glowing. Connie shut her eyes and leaned in, forehead brushing against Steven’s. Their noses touched as the light engulfed their bodies, and then Stevonnie was back.

A redness spread over their cheeks. “So, um...” They turned to Dr and Mr Maheswaran, who had regained their dumbstruck facial expressions. “I’m… Stevonnie.” They extended a hand. “Nice to, uh, make your acquaintance.”

“How is this…” Mr Maheswaran turned to his wife, a hand buried in his hair. He looked to Stevonnie and Garnet in turn. “What is going on here? How is this possible?”

“It’s called fusion,” Stevonnie explained. “It’s when the physical forms of two gems merge and then become a whole new gem! Only, I’m only, what, 25% gem? Steven is a special case, because he’s half-gem, half-human. He can fuse with Connie because of his human side.”

“But… what?” Mr Maheswaran buried his face in his hands. “I’m so lost.”

“What is a “gem”?” Dr Maheswaran asked. “I mean; I assume it would be some kind of code. I know what a gemstone is, of course, but you aren’t talking about those. Are they… science experiments?”

“They’re aliens, I think.” Stevonnie looked back at Garnet, who nodded. “And no, I’m referring to gemstones. They’re magical gems from outer space. Garnet, here, is a gem.”

“My body is a projection of light from the power of my gem,” Garnet explained. “My gem is a garnet, hence my name. Because our bodies are projections of light, we can merge our lights together to make a new body. Imagine… a red torch, and a blue torch. When you shine just the red torch onto a single spot on the wall, it's red. But when you add the blue to the red light, you get purple.” Garnet chuckled at something nobody else in the room understood. “That’s something I’ll have to change. Anyway, you don’t get a reddish blue or a blueish red. You get a new colour that is like both of its parts, but at the same time, neither of them.

“Fusion works on the same principle. You take one gem’s light and add another gem’s light to it. Instead of one gem being dominant over the other, you get a completely new gem who is similar to their parts. Yet, they are still their own person.”

“But… wait.” Dr Maheswaran seemed to be following rather well. “Connie’s human. Her body is matter, not light.”

“Ah, now here we have a mystery I only partially know the answer to.” Garnet put a hand up to her visor. “You see, Steven’s mother was a gem, a Rose Quartz. But she shapeshifted a human reproductive system so she could carry him to term. She gave up her physical form to bring Steven to life, giving him her gem in the process. Having a human father, this means Steven is a half-gem, half-human. This has never been seen before, in the history of gems. He can do things full gems cannot, and I assume that fusing with humans is one of them. How, I’m not quite sure.”

Stevonnie ran a hand through their hair. “Even I’m not sure, to be quite honest.”

Dr Maheswaran nodded. “This all makes sense, or as much sense as it can make to someone who has never considered any of this to be possible. But, just one question – what does this have to do with my daughter? Why are Steven and Connie fused? For what purpose?”

Garnet placed a hand on Stevonnie’s shoulder. “Steven and Connie fused for the first time two nights ago. They love the feeling of closeness and friendship in the fusion, and do not wish to be separated.”

Friendship? Stevonnie knew it was more than that. Did no-one notice how Connie had almost kissed Steven, right before they fused? But they remained quiet, sure that Garnet had a reason for saying what she did.

“We just…” Stevonnie twisted a strand of hair in their fingers. “We want to know if you’d let Connie and Steven stay like this. We want this for each other, we do, but if you don’t like it…” Stevonnie stared at the floor. “I, uh, guess we can stop.”

“This is all… so sudden,” Mr Maheswaran remarked. “I mean, the only reason I’m believing it is because it’s happening right in front of us!”

“Connie, how long have you known about this magic?” Dr Maheswaran asked.

“Connie’s not here right now,” Garnet corrected.

“Well can I see her?” Dr Maheswaran demanded. “I know they like doing this, but I want to see my daughter.”

“That’s their choice,” Garnet said, turning her head to Stevonnie.

Stevonnie nodded. “Yeah, no, of course.” They twirled once more, glowing and leaning out of the fusion. Once more, Steven and Connie stood in front of everyone in the room.

“Connie. How long?” Dr Maheswaran repeated harshly.

“Since we first met,” she mumbled. “Steven… saved my life.”

“How? What happened?” A worried tone had crept its way into Dr Maheswaran’s voice.

“I was sitting on the beach by a cliff, reading a book,” Connie began. “And Steven was…” She giggled. “Riding his bike through the sand. And he came towards me and started talking to me, but then he fell over and ran away. Then he came back, and was introducing himself to me, when there was, like, a mini earthquake. Some rocks fell from the cliff. He… dove at me, and his gem summoned a bubble shield. The rocks didn’t touch us because they bounced off the shield, and he told me about all the magic stuff.”

“I… have a question,” Mr Maheswaran said after a moment of silence. “Connie, where are your glasses?”

“I’ll field that one,” Steven replied. “I have healing saliva, and –”

“You WHAT?” Dr Maheswaran cried. “What did you do to my daughter?”

“He was drinking a juice box, and then I had a sip of it.” Connie sent a pointed glare towards Steven. “Accidentally. I thought it was mine.”

“Y… Yeah.” Steven chuckled. “Sorry, I could have worded that better. Anyway, when Connie had a sip of my juice, she was wearing her glasses. Then she got a bad headache, and we looked down at the straw, and it was sparkling with magic sparkles.”

“Of course.” Dr Maheswaran put a hand on her forehead. “Why not?”

“Is there anything else you want to tell us?” Mr Maheswaran asked.

“Nope!” Connie exclaimed. “Do you have any more questions?”

“Where will… Stevonnie… be staying?” Dr Maheswaran asked. “I would prefer to have at least some contact with my daughter, or someone who is partly my daughter.”

“Wait… does that mean you’ll be letting us stay together?” Connie asked.

Dr and Mr Maheswaran shared a look. “I suppose… We will need to have a talk about it, but until then, yes.”

Steven and Connie whooped with joy at the same moment, and then jumped into a hug. In an instant, a fused Stevonnie stood in front of the two adults and Garnet. Then they turned to Garnet. “Yeah, Garnet, where will I be staying?”

“I think we should work something out,” Garnet said. “We must train Stevonnie's powers, but you are right, they should still spend some time here.”

Dr Maheswaran did a double take. “Wait. Stevonnie has powers now?”

“Yeah…” Stevonnie looked back at Garnet. “I don’t think we mentioned that, Garnet.”

“What are these… powers?” Mr Maheswaran asked. “Are they dangerous?”

“If left unharnessed, yes,” Garnet answered. “But the other Gems and I have similar powers. We can train Stevonnie to control their powers.”

“I have every power Steven has!” Stevonnie added. “I can float…” To prove it, they jumped up, touched the high ceiling, and then landed after a few seconds. “I can summon a shield…” They shut their eyes and attempted to summon their shield. “Sorry, I can’t always summon that. But I can summon my bubble!” They shut their eyes and, true to their word, the pink bubble bloomed around them. “And I have healing spit, too!”

“…These powers all seem to be acting in the way of defense.” Dr Maheswaran had a hand resting on her chin. “Is there any reason why Stevonnie would need to use these?”

“I cannot say.” Garnet took off her visor – revealing her three eyes, which both Dr and Mr Maheswaran stepped back at. “But I must let you know that Pearl, Amethyst and I will do everything in our power to protect Stevonnie. No harm will come to them.”

“…Then I suppose she –”

“They,” Stevonnie interrupted. “My pronouns are they, because I’m not a boy or a girl, but I’m both.”

“…Right. Then I suppose they should spend most of their time with you, should they not?” Mr Maheswaran suggested.

“That would be wise, yes,” Garnet agreed. “But it’s up to you. They are made up of your child, after all.”

“I agree.” Dr Maheswaran nodded. “I would not want any mishaps to happen with Stevonnie’s powers while they are here. So will we work on a 1:5 ratio of months? You take them for 10 months, and we can have custody for two months each year.”

“Is that enough?” Stevonnie asked. “I mean, it is up to you guys.”

“I think this will be enough,” Mr Maheswaran said. “If we find that we aren’t seeing them enough, we can re-negotiate.”

Stevonnie nodded. “Okay! That sounds awesome!”

“I’ll bring them to you next month,” Garnet replied. “That way you can get to know each other sooner rather than later.”

Dr Maheswaran nodded. “Thank you so much. Stevonnie, tell Connie that we love her.”

Stevonnie smiled. “She loves you guys too.”

Garnet waved and walked out of the living room. Stevonnie waved and followed.

Dr Maheswaran turned to her husband, and promptly collapsed on the floor. “What did we just agree to?”

“Did we just negotiate to never see our daughter again?” Mr Maheswaran sat down next to her, staring at the wall with a blank expression.

“That other one, Garnet, she just made it seem like such a good idea. I got caught up in the moment…” Dr Maheswaran appeared as though she was holding back tears.

“But dear, we must remember…” Mr Maheswaran placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

“I know.” Dr Maheswaran sniffled. “It is Connie’s choice. And I’m sure Stevonnie is a lovely person.”

“Me too.” Mr Maheswaran gave a wry smile. “After all, they are – sort of – our daughter.”