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Steven sighed as he fell back onto his bed. Lately, he’d been feeling more and more tired. Sad thoughts floated in his mind constantly, regardless of how much the gems tried to help. Nothing had been the same since he accidentally shattered Spinel. Things weighed more heavily on his mind. The stress had taken its toll on him, covering him in vestiges of his corruption. Even now, a year later, he still found himself flinching at his reflection.
He had hoped that after the injector had been destroyed, thank stars for the Diamonds, maybe the peace would help him feel better. Instead, it made him feel worse. Little Homeworld had become Little Homeschool, a paradise of freedom and learning for gemkind. Beach City became fully integrated with gems. Many now worked alongside the residents in the shop, and some had even started their own shops. The whole city was a tourist attraction for Delmarva.
But that meant there were no more problems. Steven wasn’t needed anymore. And that only fueled the dark thoughts that haunted him. He found himself teaching at Little Homeschool for a bit, but it wasn’t enough to fill the wound in his heart. Hanging out with friends had lost its charm. So many were moving on with their lives, it was easier to distance himself now since it would hurt less in the long run. Connie tried to keep in contact, but she was busy with school. It was all too easy to send a text every now and then, to assure her that he was fine. Once she wouldn’t be able to call often because of University, Steven wouldn’t feel the tear in his heart that he felt now. It was better this way.
A soft sound, almost like scratching, sounded in the room. Steven slowly sat up in bed. That was weird. Lion was out somewhere, and he was sure Cat Steven was hanging out in the observatory. The gems were at Little Homeschool, so what made that sound? The young man blearily brushed his hands through his hair. It had gotten longer over the years, now resting on his shoulders in a bundle of curls. His dad had remarked that a couple more inches and he’d look like a curly-haired version of him. The rustling sound snapped him out of his thought, and he quietly stood up. It sounded like it was coming from the shelf behind his bed.
Steven ducked down and peered over the corner of his bed. After a minute of waiting, he heard a soft thud. A little kid had climbed over the edge of the shelf. The tiny figure was dressed in a simple patchwork shirt and jean shorts, with what looked like tiny pink shoes. He was carefully making his way around his knickknacks. The half-gem rubbed his eyes, then looked back to the shelf. When Steven said little, he meant minuscule. The kid couldn’t be more than a couple of inches tall. Speaking of, the kid tossed a bent paperclip up at his tissue box. The bent end snagged the opening, and they climbed up a rope that was tied to the other end of the clip. Steven ducked again right before the kid looked around. A second later, Steven stuck his head out to see the kid pulling one of the tissues out. They stuffed it in a tiny knapsack and unhooked the paperclip. However, they overestimated the tissue box’s stability. Right as they went to jump off, the box tilted slightly, and the kid was thrown from the edge.
Steven lunged forward; hands cupped together to catch the falling figure. He let out a quiet “oof” as he smacked into the hardwood floor, but slumped in relief when he felt the small weight land in his hands. Thank stars… Steven shifted to his knees and looked at the child that he was holding. The kid had curled up tightly in fear. “Hey, I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m just glad that I managed to catch you. My name is Steven. What’s your name?” The figure in his palms only whimpered. Steven frowned and moved, so he was now sitting on the bed. “I won’t hurt you. I promise. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He carefully lifted one hand out from the other and gently patted the kid on the head with his finger.
That seemed to calm them down. Slowly, the kid uncurled. Bright, teary eyes peeked out from behind the knees covering their face. Steven’s eyes widened. The kid had relaxed a bit, revealing a little boy with curly hair, light pink horns on his head and face, and a darker pink tail. Steven was dumbfounded. Not only was this a real kid he was holding, but the kid looked startlingly similar to himself. The boy looked around, finally settling his gaze on Steven. Steven softly smiled, “See? You’re safe with me. Are you okay? That was quite the fall.”
The little one nodded. “You’re not gonna kill me? Or trap me in a jar and sell me?” Steven’s eyes widened in horror. How’d he come to that conclusion? As though the kid had read his mind, he continued, “Dad told me that humans don’t like borrowers. And that if I was ever seen or caught, the humans would do bad things to us.”
Steven shook his head. “I promise you I will never hurt you. I’ll make sure no one else hurts you either. You’re safe here. So you said you’re a borrower? I guess that means you’re not human” He patted the kid’s head again, smiling in relief when the little one laughed. “If it makes you feel better, I’m only half-human.” Bright eyes widened in awe. The little one quickly patted Steven’s palm in excitement.
“What are you then? I didn’t know there were more than humans and borrowers!” Steven chuckled and lifted his shirt, showing off his pink gem. The little kid tilted his head curiously at it. He could even see his reflection in the gem’s facets.
“I’m also half gem. The gem I am specifically is Pink Diamond. I live here with other gems, and they’re really nice people. I’ll have to introduce you later.” That’s when Steven realized that he still didn’t know the kid’s name or how to reunite him with his family. “What’s your name? And where is your Dad?” The tiny child frowned, tears welling in his eyes again.
“My name is Steven, too! I don’t know where Dad is. We were living in this house, and my dad was found by the ladies that lived there. The mean one in the white dress found our home and tried to pull us out. The mean one in the yellow shirt went to grab the killing mist can, and the sad one in the blue dress was trying to stop them.” Steven covered his mouth in horror as Little Steven continued. “Dad told me that Mom had left us a special thing in case we were ever found. He gave it to me right before the mean one in the white dress grabbed him with her long nails. I don’t know what happened to him because the thing brought me here.” Little Steven was sobbing as he finished his story.
Steven shushed him softly, hoping to calm him down. The poor thing had gone through so much. In sounded like his mom had been gone for a long time, and then he probably saw his dad-. Steven took a deep breath. Another thing that bothered him was the ladies that lived in Little Steven’s old home. But he didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that they sounded a lot like the Diamonds. He’d think about the similarities after the kid stopped crying. “It’s okay. I’m sorry that happened to you. I don’t know if I could ever get you home, but you’re welcome to stay with me!” The child looked at him in wonder. “I’ll make a little bed for you, and you don’t have to worry about finding supplies or food. I’ll provide you with whatever you need. How does that sound?” Steven sighed in relief as the kid gazed at him with starry eyes. Little Steven pushed himself to his feet and hugged his hand.
“Yeah! That sounds like lots of fun! Your house doesn’t have many places for me to sneak through. And I’ve always wanted to see how some of your stuff works! It was too dangerous to go out unless we had to at the other house.” Steven smiled and moved his hand to his shoulder.
“We’re going to have to think of something in regards to our names. I think we’ll both get confused if we keep calling each other Steven.” Little Steven crawled off the edge of Steven’s hand and sat down on the older boy’s shoulder. The child scooted over to Steven’s hair and plopped down on it. It was super fluffy and warm. The child instantly felt safe with his new friend. Steven snorted at the kid and made his way carefully downstairs. “How long have you been here?”
The kid hummed as looked around as Steven walked into the kitchen. The room seemed so much bigger from his current standpoint, and the house felt cozy and inviting. Nothing like his old home. Sunlight bathed the room in a warm glow. Especially the pretty yellow flowers sitting in a vase on the coffee table. “I’ve been making little tallies in the temple! I think it’s been…” He counted on his fingers. “Seven months now! I’m supposed to turn nine soon!”
So, Little Steven had been alone for a while. And it seemed like he just happened to arrive a little after the house was rebuilt. Steven was thankful the little kid was able to survive this long. ‘At least I can help care for him,’ he thought as he grabbed an apple and a cutting board. Steven began cutting up half of the apple into tiny pieces. Little Steven turned while on Steven’s shoulder so he could see the flowers again. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them. “Whatcha looking at?” Little Steven blinked as his friend snapped him out of his trance.
“Oh, I was looking at those flowers. I’ve never seen them before, and they’re so pretty!” Steven set the bite-sized pieces onto a plate before looking up. He smiled at the vase of sunflowers.
“Those are called sunflowers, Steven.” He snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. “Hey, would you like that as your new nickname?” Sunflower gasped in awe and snuggled close to Steven.
“Yes! I love it!” Steven chuckled as Sunflower cheered his new name over and over. He finished cutting the other half of the apple into slices and added them to the plate. A moment later, the two were sitting together on Steven’s bed. Sunflower’s tail wagged in joy as he scarfed down the apple pieces. He’d never had apples before. They were so crisp and juicy!
Steven chuckled as the kid snatched another apple piece. Even though Sunflower had only been with him for several minutes, the kid’s sunny disposition was infectious. Steven had laughed and smiled more in those few moments than he had in weeks. Maybe this was what he had been missing. Someone to care for. And as the kid babbled about some cartoon playing on the TV, Steven felt the wound in his heart begin to heal.