Being Human

Bed and Breakfast Part 2

HEY EVERYBODY! STARSAREJOEY HERE AND THIS IS CHAPTER TWO OF BEING HUMAN! REMEMBER TO LEAVE ANY STORY SUGGESTIONS DOWN IN THE COMMENTS! I'D APPRECIATE IF YOU WOULD TAKE A MINUTE TO RECOMMEND THIS STORY TO A FRIEND OR TWO... REMEMBER THERE WILL BE A NEW CHAPTER EVERY SATURDAY AT AROUND 12:00! TAKE A LOOK AT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL "STARSAREEVERYTHING" WHERE I HAVE SIMPLE ANIMATIONS, THEORIES AND MORE SOON! HOPE YOU ENJOY!

     Steven opened his eyes slowly to the shift of Connie's head against his abdomen. She sighed softly and mumbled incoherently to Steven't amusement. He glanced at Lion as he purred rhythmically at their feet, careful not to stir Connie awake.

     Soon enough, his chest began to feel tight and he struggled to keep his breathing even. As to avoid waking the others on the bed, he cautiously and quietly removed himself and stood still beside them. After convincing himself they were still fast asleep he rushed to the bathroom. With each step he took, flashes of Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond appeared before his eyes. He closed the door with Connie is mind and he turned to see Rose Quartz standing before him.

     White butterflies fluttered into sight, coming from behind the being before him. Fear began to drown him as the insects floated towards him before landing on him. As they settled on his person, he felt the tears, those currently useless salty tears form. 

     Air became scarce for the boy, he clutched at his shirt above his chest. The pink woman with large curls blinked at him curiously. Under her stare, he began to feel his heart race painfully and standing was becoming increasingly difficult. 

"It's not real Steven..." Dr. Galen's muffled voice reached his ears as he sunk to the floor, staring at his mother as she stepped closer. Her eyes were filled with concern, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she took in his appearance. "It's normal for you to experience hallucinations. I understand that it can be frightening, but you have to remind yourself it isn't there."

"You... You aren't... You aren't real," Steven whispered harshly to Rose. The former diamond paused, flinching slightly at the  faint growl in Steven's tone. A piercing feeling reached his head and he groaned in pain. He clutched his hair near the feeling, eyes shutting tightly before he glared at her once more.

"You're still angry," Rose said softly. Her eyes softened and a pang of guilt reached her features as she sat across from him.

     As this was not the first time he started to focus on his breathing. He ignored Rose as she reached for the hand clutching his  shirt, instead inhaling for 5 seconds and exhaling for 5 seconds. He repeated even after he flinched at Rose's gentle touch. In 5 seconds, out 5 seconds. Her hand wrapped around his and she brought it between them, she placed her other hand atop the dorsal of his hand. Steven's breath hitched but he forced himself to breath steadily, his heart slowing, his headache dampening. Rose rubbed his hand lovingly, a hum reached his ears and the butterflies faded one by one.

"Keep it going Steven. In 5 seconds, out 5 seconds. Steady now." The boy could feel his anger lessen, but still present and he shut his eyes as he listened to her hum. To his surprise, she began to sing the tune, 

"I don't need you to respect me, I respect me

I don't need you to love me, I love me

But I want you to know you could know me

If you change your mind

If you change your mind

If you change your mind

Change your mind..."

Dr. Galen's features sharpened slightly, tone becoming stern, "It seems you have mixed feelings about your mother... Though mentioning her no longer triggers you to become pink, your panic attacks seem to summon her from your subconscious, hence the hallucinations. As for the butterflies, you mentioned you've seen them before. I believe they symbolize your burdens, am I correct?" Steven remembered nodding at the man. He opened his eyes to find no butterflies in sight and Pink Diamond wiping the tears from his cheeks before placing a kiss on his hand,

"I love you Steven... No matter what, don't you ever forget that..." Roses began to sprout over every inch of her form before disappearing.

     Steven brought a fist to his heart and released his hair. It was over. She finally left him alone, no, she was never there to begin with. Just a figment of his imagination, or so he though.

"Once you resolve your feelings towards your mother, I believe the hallucinations will occur less frequently." the therapist pondered out loud.

A soft knock intruded his thoughts and echoed in the bathroom. "Hey, Steven... AHH!"

Steven's eyes widened and he rushed out the bathroom, "Connie!? Are you okay!?"

Connie spun to face him in surprise before apologizing, "Yeah, sorry... It's just, Lion just coughed up a hair ball at my feet" she gestured to the pink ball of hair and saliva sitting just a foot away. "I was about to ask if you were ready to go when Lion came up to me and spit that out... Ew..."

"Hehe, give me a minute to clean that up, then we'll head downstairs to eat...," he said in defeat. 

*****Minutes Later******

     A plate of waffles with whipped cream, syrup, caramel, and a few strawberries was placed before him. Steven forced a smile as a memory resurfaced,

"I made you to bring us together... not to tear us apart!!!"

Lion rubbed his head against Steven's side as he sat up and ate a plate of scrambled eggs and Connie said, "It's missing the popcorn and I know you've been putting off sugar, but you deserve something sweet."

"Thanks Connie. You know, this thing almost killed me once..." a butterfly landed on the meal set before him.

"Oh, I'm sorry... It's just you mentioned it to me when we were debating what was the sweetest food. You just told me you made it and never got to try it so I figured you could finally taste it...," she said as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and worry.

The butterfly faded and Steven gave a genuine smile, "It's okay, I actually really want to know what it tastes like. It's all in the past anyway. Do you maybe want to split it with me though, I named it "Together Breakfast" for a reason?"

Connie's blush lessened and she took a fork from the table, "Yeah, I'd love to."

     They each took a slice, making sure a little piece of every element would be present in their first bite. They both placed it in their mouth and hummed in delight. The sweetness of the strawberry, the fluffiness of the waffle, the richness of the syrup, the thickness of the caramel left their taste buds in awe. Lion licked what ever egg that was left on his plate, leaving it clean and looked at Steven and Connie as they took yet another forkful of Together Breakfast. He placed a paw on Steven's lap and he turned to see the biggest pair of kitty eyes on Lion. Lion blinked, hoping Steven would get the message.

Connie turned to see what had caught Steven's attention when she saw Lion blink slowly, "Aww, he loves you...!"

Steven chuckled, a grin plastered on his face and cut a large slice of Together Breakfast to place on Lion's plate, "There you go Leo!"

     Lion sniffed the food before taking a single bite. He purred happily, tail swinging side to side. Connie and Steven beamed in pride before finishing up. 

YAY! THIS CHAPTER IS LONGER THAN THE LAST ONE! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT PINK DIAMOND/ROSE QUARTZ MAKING AN APPEARANCE ? I FELT THAT SINCE THEY ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER, THEN ROSE WOULD FEEL THE NEED TO INTERACT WITH HIM IN ORDER TO HELP HIM HEAL PROPERLY. ALSO DR. GALEN WASN'T RANDOM, APPARENTLY GALEN IS DERIVED FROM GREEK AND MEANS CALM OR HEALER. AS HE IS A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, I FELT HIS NAME SHOULD BE MEANINGFUL, NO PUN INTENDED.