Steven Universe x Reader

Chapter Seven - The Crystal Gems

Y/N's POV:

it turned out steven was actually a really nice guy, and i was not looking forward to my father returning home.

more so than usual, at least.

i considered what Jasper had said, about running away. could i? where would i even go? steven was my only friend -my only friend that didn't live in the woods-, and we weren't exactly at the 'let's move in together' level of friendship.

we were both sitting in his room, him on the bed and me on the floor, watching a cheesy movie.

he was hanging his head close to mine over the mattress, watching upside down.

"hey, (Y/N)?" he looked over to me.

"hm?" i kept my eyes on the tv.

"why... don't you laugh?"

i turned to him in surprise, brows pinching. "what?"

"you never laugh. and you barely smile. why?" he stared at me, his expression so sincere that i couldn't even be upset by the question.

i looked away and lowered my voice to a whisper, "i'm not supposed to."

a loud chime echoed through the house, and steven sat up. "we- uh, we'll talk about this later, okay? didn't you want to meet the gems?"

i nodded quickly in an attempt to hide my anxiety and and followed him down the stairs.

three gems stood casually on the warp pad, chatting about a mission of some sort. they were all polar opposites, one small and purple, one thin and poised, one giant and square.

"that's amethyst, pearl, and garnet." he murmured to me. "hey, guys!" he waved happily at them.

"oh, steven! who's your friend?" the thin one, pearl, took a few steps towards me.

"(Y/N)."

their eyes widened with an embarrassing sort of recognition at the sound of my name. the purple one -amethyst- ran towards me happily. "you got her to be your friend?" she studied my clothes and hair with light tugs, circling me.

"just for a few days." steven clarified.

"why a few days?" pearl asked.

"her father doesn't want them to be friends." the tallest one, garnet, answered for us.

"well, we-" pearl looked out the window and became quickly distracted, "cranes!"

steven and i turned to look at the now four cranes staring through the front window intently. my face heated up and i took a step back.

"there's more?! why are they here?" steven glanced at me, sending a skeptical look.

"who knows, maybe they're finding a new place to live." amethyst shrugged.

pearl, determined to change the subject, sat down on the couch, "so, (Y/N), do you live in beach city?"

"yeah."

"what do your parents do?"

"um, my dad is a firefighter. my mom... passed away when i was young." i blurted the last part out awkwardly.

"oh, mine too. sort of." steven chimed in. "she gave up her form to have me." he lifted up his shirt to show the pink gem embedded into his navel.

i had definitely seen it before, on tv and such, but not so closely. he was like me.

"i'm very sorry." pearl said.

"oh, it's no big deal." i dismissed. "i don't remember much about her."

-.-.-.-.
Steven's POV:

after directly (Y/N) to the bathroom, i sat down next to pearl and waited awkwardly for her inevitable opinion.

"i don't know about her, she's very quiet." pearl whispered to me quite loudly.

"she's my friend. if anything, i don't know about her dad. he's pretty creepy." i thought back to the night on the beach when she talked to him; how scared she seemed.

"you should investigate." amethyst suggested.

"no. respect her privacy." pearl countered, sending amethyst a pointed glare.

"it's your decision." garnet said simply. "do what you think is right."

(Y/N) emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, a frown on her face. "i have to go home." she muttered.

"you don't sound happy about that." i noted lightly. "do you want a ride?"

"no, it's alright. i'm gonna walk." she waved goodbye to the gems and strolled out the door.

i watched her leave, turning to garnet in hopes she would support my desire to follow her.

she just shrugged, "whatever you want."

i took off after her.

[ACTUALLY edited] (i cut out like a quarter of this chapter 😭 this story somehow needs logic)