We Aren't the Crystal Gems Without You

You're Here Now

     There he was. It was Steven Quartz Universe. He was here, back to his normal self. Well, almost.
     His hair was streaked pink from the tears of Rose Quartz. He looked an inch or two taller. On his hand and knees, his eyes went wide. He sat up, gaping in pure astonishment. He was really back.
     But something wasn't right. The gems were crowded around Pearl. Well except for Peridot and Connie. They were staring at him, their mouths hanging open. "Steven..." Connie whispered, amazed. "Steven!" She ran to Steven, throwing her arms around him. Her back shook with sobs. "You're okay!" she sniffled.
     He held her in his arms, his loneliness ebbing away. "I-" he began to say, but he was cut off by shouting from across the room.
     "Steven!" Amethyst and Garnet gave frantic cries. Steven pulled away from Connie, stepping forward.
     "P-Pearl?" he asked, his voice shaking. She looked up at Steven and smiled.
"Finally..." she murmured. Her hair was abnormally spiked and her form kept flickering. Her left eye had grown smaller than the other and had gone eerily blank. The crack in her gem was jagged and spiked out in three directions, threateningly close to the edge of the pearl.
"Pearl!" he cried out, falling to his knees. "What happened?" Obvious concern showed in his strained voice.
"It doesn't matter, you're here now," Garnet said.
"It's okay, I can heal you," he reassured Pearl. He licked his hand, producing a sparkling healing wad of spit. He pressed his wet hand against Pearl's gem. She shrunk back, then shuddered. Her gem started to glow steadily, and the crack began to close. Her form went back to normal.
"Thank you, Ro- I mean, Steven," she blushed. Steven looked around at the gems and Connie. He was home. He was back. He was happy, relieved.
Simultaneously, everyone began to cry with relief. The gems and Connie enveloped him in an embrace. Their arms tightened around him and he had never felt more missed or loved in his life.
Suddenly, the screen door burst open. "Hello?! We came as fast as we could, we heard a-" It was Lapis Lazuli, her dress flapping in the wind behind her. Her wings were retracting. Per haps she had been in flight. Panting behind her was Greg. "Oh- oh. Steven!" Lapis ran to the group of huggers, grinning widely.
Greg stood frozen in the doorway, his mouth agape. He took in the appearance of his son. Steven was back. And he had changed. His hair was striped pink and he was a couple inches taller. And his hair was curlier. Almost forming like the curly spirals of Rose Quartz. He shouted is son's name and included himself in the reunion.
     There were so many questions. "Are you okay?!" Pearl exclaimed, pulling him closer to her.
     "I'm fine, Pearl." Steven said, his voice muffled by her shirt.
     "What took so long?" Greg asked, his voice masked with worry.
     "I wish I knew..." Steven mumbled. It had been a painful time inside his gem. If only he had known that everything would turn out okay.
     "Dude, what happened to your hair?" Amethyst pulled on one of his pink streaked spiral curls, giggling as it bounced back when she let it go.
     "Uh, I think the pink is from mom's healing tears... and I think the curls are, well, also from mom?" He shrugged, pulling away from the embrace. He stood up and was face to face with Connie. Something was off. They were the same height... "Woah!" Steven looked Connie over. "Connie, did you shrink or did I..." Steven looked himself over and gasped. "Oh boy! I grew?! Wait. Is that supposed to happen?"
     Amethyst gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Hey, that makes you as tall as me, now, too! We're still the shorty squad, though."
     "Haha, yeah." Steven shrugged and rubbed the back of his head.
"I guess you can grow after all!" Connie explained. "I think? I guess? I don't know. I've found it too complicated to think about this gem stuff in the end. But, Steven, oh my gosh, I can't believe you're back!" Connie smiled big and grasped Steven's hand. He beamed and squeezed it in return.
     "Hey! Don't forget about me!" Peridot faced them, hands on her hips. She cleared her throat. "In case you've forgotten, I was the gem to repair your energizer. Without me, you probably wouldn't even be here! If you feel the need to express gratitude, then by all means, now would be the time to do so."
     "Oh, Peridot," Steven laughed. "It's good to see you, too!" Peridot smiled. At this time it was a pure, genuine smile, that Peridot didn't usually express freely. She gave a quick hug to Steven and then stepped away as Garnet came forward.
      Garnet placed a hand on the top of Steven's head. "It's good to have you back, kiddo." She beamed at him and took her glasses off, revealing three bright eyes that shone with love.
     Steven finally began to cry. He didn't know whether he was happy or sad, but it was a good feeling. He was home, he was with the ones he loved, and he was loved. In that moment, he felt peace around him with the ones he loved, with the ones who loved him.
     So perhaps it was true. Nothing was worth more than peace and love on the planet earth...