Finding My Universe (Steven Universe Future x Gravity Falls)

1

Steven Universe spent a week with Connie in a small town in Northern California before she would be completely out of touch for the rest of the summer, as her college summer camp did not allow cellphones. On his way back to Beach City, he decided to drive through all the west coast states he had not yet been, which were Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado. His closest stop was Oregon, where he'd planned to drive through the whole state and then stop to rest in Idaho. But that plan was cut short when his car broke down in the middle of nowhere Oregon. He had not seen a gas station for miles, or any sign of human activity for that matter, so his only option was to pull over and call for help. But he ran into another problem there. No service. He groaned and grabbed his wallet and keys and set off on a journey to find a human being. 

The forest intrigued him. The sun shining through the trees and leaving little pools of light on the floor made him feel so warm inside. It was much different from where he'd grown up. He must've walked for two miles before finding a small shack off the forest, seemingly on the edge of the town. It looked run down- yet he noticed people lined up at attractions outside of it, which was interesting, to say the least.

He approached the shack and opened the door to see a redhead behind the counter, and a teen with brown hair sweeping the floor, humming along to the song playing over the speakers.

"Um, hello, my name is Steven and I-"

"Oh thank god, you're here for the job? We've been looking for new-" The redhead said but was caught off guard by Steven laughing and correcting her.

"Oh, no, actually my car broke down a few miles from here and I was wondering where the nearest shop is," he said.

"Oh man, it's pretty far from here. But Soos is a repairman so maybe we can get him to go take a look at it," the kid said. "Where did you leave it?"

Steven groaned. "Like, two miles away maybe?"

"You're sure you don't want a job?" The redhead asked. 

"Leave him alone," the kid said underneath his breath to her.

Steven looked around awkwardly. "I mean, I kind of do need a summer job..."

"Please, dude. I can't do all this work alone anymore," she said.

The kid raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't do any work. It's all me here."

"I am the manager!" She argued.

"Please, like you do any managing," he retorted. 

Steven awkwardly interrupted them. "So, is your friend Soos around?"

"Oh, um," the girl said and stood up, walking to the window. "He's giving a tour right now. But at four he should be free."

Steven looked at his watch; it was only 2:30. "Okay, thanks. So what is this place?"

"This is the Mystery Shack," the girl said. "I'm Wendy by the way. Ever been to Gravity Falls before?"

Steven shook his head. "I'm from Beach City. Down East. I was just visiting my girlfriend in NorCal and wanted to stop through some of the states up here before going back."

"Yeah, well this isn't exactly the best place to be when your car breaks down," the boy joked. "There's not another town for another fifty miles. I'm Dipper."

"Nice to meet you," Steven said. "So what would this job entail?"

Wendy exhaled and thought for a moment. She obviously had no idea what her job was. "Um, Dip, you wanna take this one?"

Dipper groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's basically cleaning, polishing the items, ringing up customers, and sitting on your ass all day like Wendy."

"Hey, screw you dude!" She said, not even looking up from her phone.

"Okay, I want to apply for the job," Steven said confidently. "I've worked retail before- I'm great with people, I'm dedica-"

"You got the job," Wendy said quickly. "We'll get your car fixed soon."

Steven stared at her for a second, confused. "Um, okay. I need to find a place to stay."

"If you need, there's a spare room in the basement here," Dipper offered.

"I barely know you!" Steven said.

Dipper shrugged. "You seem like a nice enough guy. What are you, seventeen? Eighteen?"

"Um, I'll be seventeen next month," Steven answered.

"Ooh, Dip and Mabel are sixteen too," Wendy said. "You'll all get along fine."

"Where is Mabel anyways?" Dipper asked.

And right on cue, a girl who Steven assumed to be Mabel slid down the staircase. "You called?"

"Hey, Mabel. This is Steven, he's working here now," Dipper said.

Steven smiled and stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Mabel skipped shaking hands and went straight in for a hug. "It's great to have someone new around here. Dips and I have been dealing with tourists alone all month long!"

"You have not dealt with shit, Mabel!" Dipper replied.

Steven smirked. He knew at that moment that it was going to be a fun summer. He asked to step outside for a moment to make a few phone calls. He dialed Pearl's cell number and she didn't pick up. He left a voicemail.

"Hey, Pearl. It's Steven. I'm just calling to let you know that I found this really cool town up in Oregon and I'm gonna stay for a little while. It really seems like an awesome town and I think this could really help in my journey of, um, self discovery I guess. I got a job and everything so there's no need to worry about me! But if you could tell dad and everyone that I'm not coming back for a little longer than expected I'd really appreciate it... and you know I'm here and you can still call me anytime! I miss you all. I'll be home in September. I promise. Bye bye."

Steven hung up and pocketed his phone. He breathed in the fresh pine air, and smiled. Something about this environment put him at peace.