Steven Universe x corrupt gemling reader

~New Den~

"Here you go. Nice and cozy."

Steven smiled as he gently set you down gently into a substantially big sized cardboard box. The softest, most squishy cushions he could find aligning the ground of the enclosure, and bright, colorful plushies from around his room set up in the corners, almost like guards watching you. He set his hands on his hips, looking quite pleased with his handiwork.

After a moment of hesitancy, you slowly started to sniff curiously at your new nest, not used to such a colorful looking bedding, or such a plush texture beneath your paws. Unlike your damp, mildly lumpy and rough grounds of your forest den, this was soft, dry and smooth. And you had to admit, as foreign as this felt, it was quite a welcome change compared.

But of course, you couldn't forget the moss, feathers, and grass tufts that your mother would collect and align the ground with, in an effort to make things more comfortable for you. She always tried to make you feel as comfy as possible... But of course, the best place you could ever sleep in, was her soft mane of smooth (color) fur running down her back.

It was so soft... so warm...

You always felt so secure and safe with her...

And now...

You paused as your mother's face flashed in your mind. You wrinkled your muzzle as the feeling of tears started swimming in your eyes.

Mama...

...will I really ever see you again?

You whined slightly, and looked up at the boy who was knelt down beside the box, watching with an amused little smile of his face. Your teary but thankfully hidden eyes scanned his cheerful face, in sudden skepticism.

Can... can I really trust this boy and his gem guardians?

You must have looked more dismal than you thought, because after holding your stare for around a minute, the smile he had faltered slightly into a more sympathetic sneer. "Aw... don't worry.." He cooed gently, reaching in slowly and carefully itching you between your horns with a delicate finger. You instinctively shrank back at first in protest... but after feeling on how gentle he was, you relaxed slightly.

He smiled at the your ease in tension. "..You're in good hands, I promise. Both of you are." He sounded genuine. You grumbled lowly in response. Ugh... It's getting harder to doubt this boy... Absentmindedly, you lean towards his touch, moving your head so he'd be itching under your chin, making him giggle softly. "There we go." He then pulls his hand away, prompting you to look up at him, this time with a much more relaxed aura.

After ensuring your comfort, he directs his attention to the edge of his loft, listening in on the older gems' conversation between each other.

"Now, if we're going to do this, we'll need to do this properly." Pearl noted, pacing back and forth across the living room whilst the others watched, listening carefully. "While gemling care is quite similar to infant care, a gemling is much more vulnerable and fragile since they are much smaller than a human baby and more sensitive to sounds and touch." She pauses, narrowing her eyes in thought, bringing a hand to her chin in apprehension.

"But I'm not sure how easy it will be caring for one that's corrupted. I'm not even sure how her mother managed to keep her in such good condition despite her condition..." She pauses at her words. Her brows furrowed into a troubled expression, as she thought more on you and your mother. "...It... must've been terribly difficult for her, having to live in such a broken state of mind while at the same time having to provide for someone so delicate and in need of constant care..."

"And the gemling..." She slid her hand from her chin to her mouth, becoming more disheartened with each passing thought of the situation. "That poor thing... having been born into such horrid circumstances... and to witness the one she's cared about most just... disappear right before her eyes." Just when her eyes began to water, Garnet stepped up and set a hand onto pearl's back in comfort. "But she has us now. And we'll be sure to keep her just as safe as her mother did." the gem leader assured. "And someday, find a way to cure her and her mother."

Pearl stood there for a minute, shutting her eyes as she huffed softly through her nose, to steady her ruffled nerves. after another minute passed, she removed her hand from her mouth and sighed, wiping any tear remnants from her eyes. "Yes... right." After regaining her composure, she cleared her throat and turned to face her teammates, now looking thoughtful again. "Now... we're gonna need the right kind of supplies if we want her to be comfortable with us."

Steven's eyes lit up and pumped a fist onto the air. "Oh! Oh! She can use my old baby stuff!" he beamed excitedly. "And she can have some of my toys to!" Pearl raise her brow slightly, looking thoughtful at his offer. "Hmm... that... might actually work, actually." She said, talking more to herself. "Like I said before, caring for a gemling isn't any different from a human baby... if anything they just require different sources of nutrients..." She thought a bit more, then crossed her arms, looking more assured. "Yes, she should be fine..." a brief thought flashed in her head, and she narrowed her eyes "...We just need to keep a close eye on her."

Steven pumped his fists into the air in excitement. "Awesome! I'll make sure to call dad to see if he still knows where it is!" The older gems nod to each other in approval, then turn to look up at the smiling boy perched in his loft. "Speaking of which, where is the gemling now?"

Steven motioned to the gems up onto get up onto his loft, in which they all complied, going up as slowly and steadily as possible, to prevent making loud footsteps on the wooden stairs. once they were on the same platform as him, he crept over to the box, and knelt down beside it, briefly peering inside at you then looking back up at the pearl. "She's right here." He pointed into the box, where soft shuffling and faint grumbling was heard. pearl let out a soft sigh. "Okay." She huffed to herself, knelting down beside said box, and peering in apprehensively.

You were still sniffing at the cushions, starting to take a liking to sweet scent that clung to them. However you were brought out of your sniffing at the sound of a soft giggling voice. "I think she likes it in there."

What? Who?

With a confused grunt, you look up at the source, just in time to see two pale, thin hands reaching for you.

"Let's have a look at you."