Fusions - A Steven Universe AU Story

3

Almost two months after the incident with the fusions, Gold was at her end. She went from sitting in silence during dark periods to using the wide open space for venting off her anger. This individual form of hers was covered in burn and scorch marks from throwing fire around. The tips of her hair were singed. By the end of every night, the floor was always blackened and smoking.

Then, almost three months following the incident, as she sat down to rest for the remainder of the darkness, a voice called out. A voice she had hoped to never hear again, yet still felt happy to hear for reasons she couldn't explain.

"Don't go!" The person came over and sat beside her. She didn't look at him. She didn't have to. She could feel his worried expression drilling into her. "I haven't seen you in a long time. We've all been so scared for you. Sardonyx, Smoky, and myself."

This got her to glance over. There was no sign of the burn that had been there last time she saw him. She looked back down, and he did as well.

"I see you've been... Busy." He remarked, rubbing a finger on the ground, then staring at the black residue from the fires. He sighed and looked back at her. "Are you... Okay?"

"Leave me alone, Rainbow Quartz." Gold growled at him. She crossed her arms and held back the tears that stung her eyes. "I don't know why you're not mad at me, but I don't want to hurt you again."

"You didn't hurt me, though." Rainbow responded instantly. Gold looked up in surprise. All four of his eyes were focused on her. "Is that what this is all about? You can't get hurt here, even if someone directly hits you. I'm not even upset. I shouldn't have come near you when you were upset, knowing you're uncomfortable with close contact even on a good day."

"I'm... I'm still sorry." Gold admitted. She glared at the burn marks on the ground. "I was... Seeing things. I wasn't trying to hit you, I was going after the thing I was seeing. It was a wrong place, wrong time scenario. I was in the wrong place, you were there at the wrong time."

"Not... Exactly how that expression works, but I understand." Rainbow Quartz told her. He stood up and held out a hand to her. He was smiling, as usual. "Why don't we get away from here and keep talking? I can't stand a mess, and this is one I can't clean up."

He glanced over the burns. Gold stared at his hand, then got up on her own. He started walking off, and she reluctantly followed.

"You could have just spoken to me if... What happened was bothering you." Rainbow Quartz murmured. Gold crossed her arms, and he sighed. "I'm not sure what you were seeing, but it's not unheard of for fusions to hallucinate when something particularly upsets them."

"I was scared that you would be mad at me." Gold hissed through her teeth. A small butterfly flew up, and landed on her hand when she held her finger out. "I just... I haven't exactly had it good, and that speaker brought back some memories."

"Why would I be mad? Things happen, and as I said, you were jumpy to begin with." Rainbow waved the butterfly away as he spoke, then attempted to slap another one away when it came too close. He smiled at Gold. "Let's put that behind us. I hardly know anything about you! Why don't we just talk for a while?"

"You don't want to know anything about me." Gold muttered. Rainbow seemed to panic a little when three more butterflies showed up. He started walking faster, and Gold had to jog to keep up. "But what about you? What's your life like?"

"I don't get to leave here very often, but there is a very nice child that I watch sometimes." He said happily. A butterfly flew right into Gold's eyes, but he got it away before she could freak out too much. In the instant the pretty insect was there, Gold saw a flash of her past. She tried to shake it off. "Um... Do you like it here?"