Steven Universe Future: A Corrupted Identity

Chapter Eight: A Prickly Situation

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter about three weeks before the Cactus Steven episode aired. All of the similarities are pure coincidence!

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The sun was shining, Beach City was bustling on a busy Thursday and the gems just finished cleaning up what was left of the Sun Incinerator from the beach. Everyone was settled into their new jobs or off exploring the world. Everyone except for Steven, who was sitting in the warp room, tending to the pot of roses and pink hibiscuses.

For the first time in his life, he didn't have any responsibilities. There was no one to save, no one to change. Time was on his side and he could do whatever he wanted.

"Hmm," he said, looking around the room with a watering can in hand. "Maybe this room could use more green and less," he glanced over to the flowers next to him, "pink."

He went down to the temple and found Amethyst sitting at the bar top.

"Hey Amethyst," he said, walking over to her. "I'm thinking about redecorating the warp room. Got anything in your room you want to be displayed?"

Amethyst rubbed her chin. "Maybe? Let's look!"

The pair entered her room in the temple and looked over the monumental stacks of knick-knacks and old items.

"There's gotta be something here," Amethyst said. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Steven nodded. "Maybe something to replace the rose bush? Something that's more us, you know?"

Amethyst looked around. "Uhh, all I have is this cactus," she said. She summoned her whip and used it to pull over a small potted plant. "It's literally the only thing I've been able to keep alive," she laughed.

Steven took the small dingy plant from her and nodded. "It's resilient," he said. "I like it. Thanks, Amethyst."

"Sure," she said. "Need anything else?"

"Do you have a bigger pot for it?" Steven asked, looking down at the sorry little plant.

"I have everything, dude," Amethyst said.

Together, they picked out a good-sized pot for the cactus and Steven hefted it over his shoulder as they left the temple.

"Thanks, Amethyst!" he called before he climbed the stairs back to the warp room. The cactus was brown in some spots, but still had some green. It was small and collapsing in on itself.

Steven set the empty pot down and carefully scooped some of the dirt from the rose's pot into the empty one. He then uprooted the cactus and gently placed it in the pot before going for a little more dirt to cover its base.

"Ouch!" He retracted his hand from the base of the rose bush, shaking it.

He glared at the thorn before looking down at the small drop of blood left on the outside of his pointer finger. How fitting, he thought bitterly. The rose bush wouldn't let him get rid of it without a fight. He watched the little drop of blood roll down his hand before he kissed the injury away.

He looked back down to the small cactus and continued to re-pot it slowly. His mind wasn't on the dirt that was slipping through his fingers, though. It was on Volleyball and Pearl, who had been hurt by someone who hid its thorns, to his dad, who lost someone he never really knew, and to him, who carried the same thorns and refused to let them grow.

Steven sighed heavily, his hands resting on the edge of the pot. "How did she do it?" he asked no one, his eyes on the ceiling of the dome. "Lie and hurt them and then move on like nothing was wrong. Did she even realize she was going to hurt people?"