Chapter Text
The football sailed through the orange-tinted sky, whistling slightly as it cut through the cooling air. It arced perfectly and spun as it descended towards the beach, but, just as it nearly hit the sand, a short figure suddenly slid into its path and caught it securely in their arms.
“You thought!” Amethyst whooped in triumph, holding the ball over her head like a trophy.
Across the beach, Steven snapped his fingers in faux disappointment. “Darn, almost had you.”
“Nah, you really didn’t,” the purple gem teased. She then turned to Pearl, who was standing at a relatively safe distance away from the action. “Hey P, think fast!”
Pearl let out an undignified shriek, just barely having the reflexes to catch the football as it was suddenly bunted in her direction. “Amethyst!” she scolded, but she was laughing all the same as she lightly tossed it to Garnet next, who smirked in silent challenge.
“Ready?” she asked; Steven could feel her intense stare boring into him even with her shades on.
“Uh...yeah?” he replied nervously, knowing full-well that he was, in fact, not ready. Around him, the others subconsciously took a few steps away from him.
Garnet cracked her neck and cranked back the arm holding the football, the other pointed straight out for accuracy. Steven planted his flip flops in the sand, held up his arms and braced himself, ready to have the wind knocked out of him from the sheer force of the throw.
He paused, realizing that Garnet had barely tossed the ball a few feet, it landing dejectedly in the sand with a small “poof” noise. Realizing that he had been tricked, his shoulders slumped. “Garnet, not fair,” he complained, although he smiled as the others cracked up around him.
“One more for Garnet,” Connie remarked from her spot near the cliffside, adding another tally to Garnet’s section of her personal whiteboard. “That puts her in the lead. Sorry, Amethyst.”
“Not for long,” Amethyst grinned, stretching the muscles in her legs.
Steven laughed, watching the purple gem scoop up the ball and begin lightheartedly taunting the fusion, who appeared rather proud of her feinted throw. He had originally intended to teach Connie and the Gems how to play football, determined to spend as much time with his family as possible to make up for the long hours he spent re-growing the grass where the bio-poison had burned it away. He had quickly learned, however, that any attempts to properly teach them the sport were in vain, and soon they had settled on simply tossing the ball back and forth and gauging points based on how many times it hit the ground. Not that he minded; any form of relaxation was a blessing.
Even if some of them got a little too into it.
They tossed the football around for a few more minutes until the cheerful sound of a horn honking made them pause. Steven grinned upon seeing his dad’s van pull up to them on the shoreline, skidding slightly in the sand before coming to a halt.
“Hey, Dad!” the teenager exclaimed, running up to the van.
Greg opened the driver’s side door and stepped out. He was holding a couple of thin cardboard boxes that emanated a rather pleasant smell. “Hey, Schtu-ball!”
“Sweet, you brought pizza!” Amethyst cheered, racing up to the van and eyeing the boxes hungrily.
“One vegetarian and two cheese, as requested.” Greg held the boxes just out of Amethyst’s reach, knowing the catastrophe that would occur if she got her hands on them first. “How’s football going?”
“About as well as you’d expect,” Steven admitted with a chuckle. “Probably for the best. I’ll admit, I was a little scared to teach them how to tackle.”
Greg opened the back door of his van and set the pizzas on the carpeted floor. Steam rose into the air once the box was opened. “Well, hopefully you guys worked up an appetite anyway.”
The group gathered around the pizzas and dug in happily; well, Pearl only took a slice and refused to actually eat it, but the others, even Garnet, were glad to help finish the rest. As they ate, they joked and laughed and caught up with each other. Connie was eager to discuss what she had been doing in school and in space camp, the latter the Gems were quite interested in, and Steven was happy to announce that the damage the bio-poison had done was officially cleaned up entirely. This was met with many cheers and smiling faces; he had been so busy lately that he hadn’t really had time to relax, so more time spent together was a blessing.
At one point, Steven could have sworn he heard the chime of the warp pad, but when he turned back to the glass dome, it was stagnant. He watched the entrance for a little while, but no one came out, so he deemed it as him seeing things and paid no mind to it.
Within half an hour, all three pizzas had completely vanished, dominated mostly by Steven and Amethyst, and they all took seats along the shoreline. The sun was starting to dip down towards the horizon, the sky now tinged with pretty yellows and oranges.
“I never get tired of watching the sunset,” Steven remarked, closing his eyes as the sun warmed his face. There was a soft murmur of agreement around him, nearly drowned out by the sound of the waves gently rolling.
As much as he had moved on from his perfect “happily ever after” mentality, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to just lie around with his family and not worry about anything sometimes. And in this moment, with only the ocean to hear and nothing on his mind, he was in heaven.
Steven opened his eyes again and craned his neck back towards the direction of the cliff, eager to take in the sky in its entirety as it transitioned from day to night, when something caught his eye. The something was pink, too small to be Lion and too dark to be Lars, and was sitting on the edge of the cliff. He squinted, trying to make out anything recognizable; they were turned away from him, so he couldn’t see their face.
Then the figure shifted slightly, and Steven saw the pair of untamed magenta pigtails that waved limply in the breeze.
“...Spinel?” The name formed on his lips before he could stop himself, alerting the others lounging beside him.
“Huh?” Connie grunted, appearing to have been snapped out of a daze.
Steven barely registered his friend’s comment; a million questions were already forming in his head. What was Spinel doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be with the Diamonds? There was no sign of their ship, so she must have come alone, but why? Did she need something?
Did something happen?
“Guys.” He pointed up the cliff to where the small gem sat. “Isn’t that Spinel?”
“Spinel?” Connie echoed, shielding her eyes from the sun in an attempt to see better.
Pearl’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “That is her.”
“What’s she doing here?” Amethyst voiced what they were all thinking.
Greg scratched his head, a little lost. “Spinel? Isn’t she the one who tried to destroy the Earth a while back?”
“Yeah, but...she went to stay with the Diamonds,” Steven explained. “I didn’t think she’d want to come back so soon, much less by herself.”
He stood up abruptly. “I’m gonna go talk to her. I’ll be right back.”
“Just be careful,” Pearl warned.
Steven gave her a thumbs-up and began making way around the cliff until the grassy side of the hill came into view. He rounded the crater that the injector caused (it was really just a small indentation in the earth now) and made it to the top after a few minutes. Sure enough, it was indeed Spinel that was sitting there, a little too close to the edge for his liking.
“...Spinel?” he called out cautiously, maintaining a safe distance in case she was aggressive. Although, now that he was getting a good look at her, he really didn’t need to. Her posture seemed almost...defeated, with the way she was curled in on herself, her arms wrapped around her knees multiple times and her face hidden from view.
Steven received no answer, so he edged forward slowly, ready to stop when she asked. She still didn’t respond to his presence, even when he took a seat beside her and called her name again. Yep, she was ignoring him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as gently as possible. He reached out a hand, but immediately pulled back when Spinel visibly flinched away. His brow furrowed in confusion; he didn’t know Spinel very well, but he knew that she wasn’t one to shy from physical contact.
“It’s not that I’m not happy to see you,” he continued, trying to appease her. “It’s just...you seemed sad, so I was wondering if-”
“Sorry.” Spinel’s voice broke halfway through the word.
Steven’s eyes widened. “No no, you don’t have to apologize! I just…” He faltered for a moment, trying to figure out how to voice what he wanted to say, then gave up and decided to be upfront. “Did something happen?”
There was a brief pause before Spinel answered. “No.”
Steven didn’t believe that for a second. “You can tell me. Whatever’s going on, I can help you work through it.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Spinel muttered bitterly.
Steven frowned. “Why not?”
“I just don’t, okay?” Spinel raised her head to snap at him, and Steven drew away at the sudden motion. Her eyes, even past all of her current frustration, were bloodshot and dull, as if any light behind them had been extinguished. She’d been crying.
“Spinel…” Steven breathed, shocked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m…” Spinel’s shoulders visibly slumped, shame crumpling her expression instantly. “I’m- I’m sorry, I-” She turned away from him and buried her face again. “Just leave me alone.”
Steven was torn. He wanted to comfort her, but it seemed like no matter what he said, it didn’t seem to help the situation. He was so used to being able to talk down anyone with just the right words, so he felt completely powerless here, when everything he said was either taken the wrong way or disregarded entirely. It wasn’t her fault, of course, but he felt awful knowing that he really had no way to help her.
Ultimately, the last thing he wanted was to make her feel even worse, so, with a heavy sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and gave her some space. He trudged past the lighthouse and was briefly surprised to see that the others were waiting for him, looking at him expectantly.
“She doesn’t want to talk about it,” Steven reported, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I know something’s wrong. The last time she was like this was when…” He shook away the memory of her drained, broken gaze as she collapsed into a pile of limbs among the withered bushes of the garden. He had managed to gain her trust back then, but now it seemed as though her defenses were twice as heavy.
Perhaps Spinel was still hung up on what had happened a few months ago, and that was why she didn’t want to talk to him. He had thought the awkwardness between them had diminished since then, but maybe it was different for her. If that was the case, there were other people here that she didn’t know, so maybe she would be less guarded around them.
“Maybe one of you can talk to her,” he suggested. “Garnet? Will that work?”
The tall fusion hummed to herself, adjusting her shades as she checked her future vision. “...There are many paths that split off from this point. It’s too difficult to tell which one we will take, but it’s worth a shot.”
It was better than nothing. “Ok, who wants to go first?” Steven asked.
“I can,” Connie offered, raising her hand. “I’m not a gem, so maybe she’ll warm up to me faster.”
The others agreed with that notion and sent Connie off. The teenager wrapped her sweater tighter around herself as she approached the edge and sat down next to Spinel, making sure to leave some distance between them. Steven remained hidden behind the lighthouse with everyone else, but pressed himself against the wall and edged as close as he dared, hoping to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“Hi,” Connie began awkwardly. “It’s Spinel, right?”
Steven just barely heard a “Yeah” in reply from the gem in question. She had at least recognized Connie’s presence, so that was a good sign.
“I’m Connie, I live here in Beach City, although I’m sure you already know that,” Connie said with a forced laugh, swinging her dangling legs. “I haven’t seen you around in a while.”
“I’m not here to try and destroy your planet again, if that’s what you’re trying to ask,” Spinel hissed, still not looking at the human in the eyes.
“I’m not,” Connie insisted with a smile. “I saw you leave with the Diamonds, so I was wondering if you were here to visit.”
“No.”
“Oh…” Connie faltered, and Steven silently willed that this conversation would turn a little less one-sided. “Are you okay?”
“What?”
“You seem down.”
“Why do you care?”
Connie blinked. “Why would I not?”
“Gee, I don’t know.” Spinel’s voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. “Maybe because I tried to kill you and destroy your planet? Last I checked, that’s when most people stop caring.”
“That’s all water under the bridge, Spinel.” Connie was starting to sound slightly desperate, mirroring Steven’s thoughts. Spinel was closing herself off further, and they both knew that.
“It shouldn’t be,” Spinel said. It sounded as though she was trying to convince herself this.
“But-”
“Please leave me alone.” The gem’s voice was strained.
Connie paused, appearing just as emotionally conflicted as Steven had been a few minutes before. She too made the decision to bite her tongue and leave, retreating back to the lighthouse in defeat.
“Nothing?” Steven asked. He had listened to the entire conversation, but he wanted so desperately to hear that he had overheard incorrectly.
“Nothing,” Connie confirmed sadly.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Pearl announced. “One gem to another.”
As the minutes dragged by, however, it was clear that Spinel was unwilling to have any sort of interaction with anyone. Pearl tried to appeal to her feelings, stating that she wasn’t alone in her abandonment, but was shut down just as quickly as Steven and Connie had been. Having nothing more to say and too awkward to try and give comfort, the lithe gem returned empty-handed.
Amethyst came relatively the closest to getting Spinel to crack. She tried to make the other gem laugh by telling jokes and even pulling out her phone to show off a couple memes she had saved. Unfortunately, her efforts had fallen flat too.
Garnet remained stoic and calm as ever. She approached Spinel and crouched down beside her, whispering something Steven couldn’t hear. Spinel’s reply was short and abrupt, and soon Garnet, appearing rather disappointed in the answer, admitted defeat and drew away.
“She’s not telling us anything.” Steven put his head in his hands, groaning in frustration, not at Spinel but at himself. He wanted to help her, and they were no closer to figuring out what had happened. He wished he had taken more time to get to know Spinel so he wouldn’t have to probe for answers. “Ugh, nothing’s working!”
“Maybe we should just leave her be, Steven,” Connie said, although the look in her eye suggested the fact that she herself didn’t like the idea.
“But I don’t want to just leave her there,” Steven protested. “I want her to know that she doesn’t have to be alone anymore.”
“Well…” Garnet put her hands on her hips. “There’s one person who hasn’t approached her yet.”
Everyone’s eyes instantly snapped over to Greg, who jumped at the sudden shift in attention over to him. “Wha- me?” he stammered.
Steven grinned. His dad was relaxed and reassuring, something that he himself had taken comfort in while growing up. In fact, Greg had managed to make friends with Blue Diamond in the span of five minutes, so maybe, just maybe, Spinel could warm up to him. “C’mon, Dad; if there’s anyone that can help, it’s you.”
“You certainly won’t be any worse off than the rest of us,” Pearl remarked.
Greg rubbed the back of his neck. He still looked a little unsure, but the encouraging words seemed to have helped. “I guess I could try?”
“Yeah, you got this, Greg!” Amethyst cheered, thankfully remembering to keep her voice lowered so Spinel couldn’t hear them.
They waited around for a while before sending Greg out, just to give Spinel time to herself. Steven wouldn't have been surprised if he was more nervous than Greg was. He knew he didn’t have to deal with all the after-effects of his mother’s decisions, but he still felt obligated to want to help Spinel. Maybe it was because he felt bad for her, or because he resonated with her feelings of abandonment (although not to such an extent).
Greg’s long hair blew softly as he stepped out from the front of the lighthouse and made the trek they had all done prior. He didn’t look nervous anymore, Steven noticed. The boy couldn’t help but watch the interaction this time and just barely peeked out from around curved wall, the gems and Connie following suit.
“Hey.” Greg sat down beside her, looking her over a little. Steven saw his eyes soften as he took in her defensive posture.
Spinel visibly tensed. “He didn’t send you, did he?”
“Who?”
“Steven.”
Steven felt a bead of sweat forming on his brow.
“Nope,” Greg lied smoothly. “Just figured you’d like some company up here.”
Surprisingly, the response seemed to have defused Spinel for the time being, and her hair fell from its spiked, alert form. “Sorry.” She sounded ashamed.
“Don’t be.” Greg smiled, warm and genuine. “Your name’s Spinel, right?”
“Mhm.” A magenta eye peeked up at him and scanned him warily. “...Is it Umgreg?”
Greg snorted a little. “Actually, it’s just Greg.”
“Oh.”
“Appreciate you remembering me, though.” Greg leaned back, bracing himself with his arms. “The sunset’s nice, isn’t it?”
Spinel raised her head a little more, gazing out towards the ocean. The sun had sunk towards the horizon now, and the sky had deepened into bright reds and oranges. “Yeah.”
“It’s one of the best nights to see it. No clouds, good temperature, and this is one of the best views you can get. Can’t go wrong.”
Pearl let out a slight huff. “This is taking longer than I thought,” she muttered a little impatiently, but was quickly shushed by Amethyst.
“It’s real pretty,” Spinel spoke up suddenly. Her voice didn’t portray anger or sadness or any noticeable emotion at all. “Homeworld’s sky is only one color all the time.”
“Bet it gets boring,” Greg remarked.
“Sometimes.” She turned to look at him rather curiously. “You’ve never been?”
“Space isn’t really my thing,” Greg chuckled. “Besides, a human like me wouldn’t really belong there.”
Spinel lowered her gaze, and Steven caught a flash of pain in her dull eyes as she huddled into herself once more, resting her chin on her knees. “I don’t either.”
Greg, ever the empath, visibly saddened at the comment as well. “You came up here to reflect, huh?”
Spinel nodded.
“A lot on your mind, I bet,” said Greg. When he smiled again, Steven recognized the care behind it from all the times his dad had helped him get back on his feet again. “It’s okay if you want to get anything off your chest.”
With a sudden guttural cry, Spinel’s hands reached up and began tugging violently at her pigtails, much to everyone’s horror. Pink strands fell around her as she ripped and clawed ferally at her hair. The distressed wails she made nearly sent Steven out of hiding; he managed to come to his senses and stay put, but the sounds still tugged painfully on his heartstrings.
Greg was quick to react, gently but firmly grabbing her hands and holding them in place to prevent Spinel from continuing. It wasn’t until he was met with no resistance when he carefully untangled her fingers and let go. Spinel didn’t try again, but she did resort to tearing at the grass as a sort of catharsis.
“I’m- I’m sorry,” she muttered, sounding almost panicked. “That was stupid, that was really stupid. I didn’t- I…”
Greg carefully placed a hand on her back and held it there, a small but reassuring form of comfort. “It’s okay, just take it easy. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, you didn’t. It’s just…” Spinel took a deep breath. “I want to talk about it, but at the same time I don’t, but not talking about it just makes me feel worse and worse and worse. It’s stupid.”
“That’s not stupid.” Greg’s voice was gentle. “It’s hard to face things like that: things that make us feel bad. Maybe it’s even terrifying. It’s perfectly normal to be afraid of it now, but there will be a point later on when you won’t be.”
“It sure doesn’t feel like it,” Spinel muttered.
“Well, what does it feel like?” Greg asked.
Spinel was silent for a moment, her head bowed and her fingers, having finished with their destruction of the grass around her, twisted in her lap. “...Empty. Like I’m broken.”
“No one’s broken forever.”
“But there’s so much wrong with me. I don’t know how to...how to help myself. I try and be better, but every time I always end up right where I started, except it’s worse because I know I’m not getting better.”
“No one expects you to recover all by yourself. It’s okay to ask for help.”
But Spinel shook her head. “No, I can’t. That’s...that’s bad. That hurts other people, I can’t-”
“Spinel.” The fuchsia gem timidly glanced up into Greg’s eyes, then appeared to relax slightly from the sheer empathy he showed towards her. As if it was enough to alleviate her worries even for a few seconds.
“I’m going to make you an offer. If you’re not ready to accept it just yet, I’m not going to force you to, but I want you to know that it’ll always be up in the air if you ever need it.
“If you want to, you can crash with me for a little while. It can be for as long as you want: a couple weeks, a few months, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to help you.”
Spinel’s eyes widened. “Why would...but, I’m awful; I’m unstable and I’m all messed up and I’m just going to freak out like I always do.”
“And that’s okay. We can work on that together.”
Spinel opened and closed her mouth multiple times, for once unable to form any more arguments. It was clear that, even beyond her doubtful exterior, she was considering it.
“Just know that I’m not leaving you out here all alone without anywhere to go, no matter what you decide.” Greg stood up and silently offered his hand down to her, his smile refusing to waver in the slightest.
Steven had been in complete shock throughout the entire conversation. Not only had Greg managed to get Spinel to talk to him, but also spill some of the feelings that were sure to be overwhelming her. He was still left in the dark as to why she was here, but at that point he didn’t really care anymore; if Spinel accepted, she was going to be in great hands, and maybe she would be able to recover.
Spinel stared at the outstretched hand, a million emotions flashing in her eyes. She fumbled with her own hands, clasping them to her gem. Her teeth chewed on her bottom lip. She was hesitant, but she was weighing her options. The air was still.
Finally, with a soft sigh, she reached out and accepted the gesture, allowing Greg to gently pull her to her feet and lead her away from the edge.