Pas de Deux (Spinel x Reader)

Chapter 3: Puzzle Pieces

"Don't be sad, your new best friend Spinel is here!"

Spinel has been trying to get Steven to smile for a minute now- the pink Gem cheers and dances for Steven, but his eyes look far away, lost in thought.

"Here we are in the future, and it's wrong..." Steven laments to himself. You can only look on sadly as he pulls out his phone, gazing at a selfie he took with the Gems earlier. "Happily ever after, there we were..."

You move to comfort him or talk to him, something to erase the morose look he has on his face. Seeing him like this hurts- he's been through so much and you hate to think what will happen if the Crystal Gems never remember him...or you, for that matter. You were part of this group too, even if you only visited during the summer.

Before you can say anything to your friend, Bismuth moves past you and extends a hand to Steven.
"When has it ever been easy? Hasn't it always been hard to be us? That's why we've got to have each other; we'll figure this out together! We are the Crystal Gems!"

You smile, and your eyes dart to Spinel, who is watching the exchange with wide eyes. You can't help but recall how different her eyes were just hours ago- flashing pink, wild with anger and clearly hurt about...something. Now they're shining and dark- innocent, joyful, but not vacant like earlier. She's observing everything that's going on happily, content to sit on the sidelines and let her "best friend" work through things. Other than the outburst a moment ago, she's been rather quiet the whole time you've been in Little Homeworld. She must really not be sure what to make of all of this...you couldn't imagine what it must be like for her. What it must be like for any gem, really- to wake up in a strange world, somehow knowing your life's purpose before you've ever lived a life. No wonder the Crystal Gems broke away from that régime; it sounds so suffocating to you.

You let your attention drift back to Steven and Bismuth, still worried for the boy but feeling rather uplifted by Bismuth's empowered words. She's reassuring him that they'll get the Gems back to how they were, even if it takes a thousand years.

"Believe me, Steven, I've known them longer- I've seen them get through worse and come back stronger!" She says enthusiastically, guiding him to the lift and motioning for everyone to follow. Next to you, Spinel's eyes light up and she grabs your arm, tugging you forward with her. You hold back a grin and rush towards the group, content with being led by the smaller pink Gem. Somehow, she has charmed you for the time being, and you aren't quite sure how that happened. But it gives you hope that if she eventually does remember her past, she might be more forgiving the next time around.

As the lift nears the ground, Bismuth leaps off to rush to one of the finer details you assume she's been working on- a mold of a star in the ground, surrounding the warp pad. She pulls a pot of bubbling gold over into the mold, and gestures to the golden star that's forming.

"We are the Crystal Gems! We'll never give up!"

Steven's eyes brighten and he nods along, as the rest of the group steps off the lift. You glance over at Spinel; she's still just watching and taking everything in. Idly you wonder why she's not joining in the encouragement- is she uncomfortable around all these new people? Although you suppose everyone is new to her. You can't help feeling sympathy for her in this situation, though. After all, you're staying to the sidelines as much as she is, mostly because you feel that the new CG's will know what to say more than you would. This sort of stuff is their whole life, after all. You're just along for the ride...

"Why do I keep getting so distracted thinking about her?" you wonder, "She's the reason we're in this mess. I really need to stop forgetting that..."

When you focus your attention back to the present, Lapis and Peridot have joined in with the encouragement.
"We'll find a way!"

Steven grins at his friends and claps his hands together once, looking much more confident and determined than earlier