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“Spinel… not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing in my bedroom?”
Spinel jumped down from Steven’s bed, striking a perfect gymnast landing when she touched down on the floor.
“There you are! I was wondering when you would get back!”
With only the slightest hint of anticipation, Spinel pounced. Tangling Steven up in a to-tight hug before he could finish taking in his next breath.
“Sp-Spinel, personal space?”
“Ooh right!” Spinel took a few steps back, but her arms stayed wrapped around Steven’s entire body.
“Betta?”
Steven looked skyward and pursed his lips. “Spinel. Did you need me for something?”
“Who, me? Nha. It’s your turn dis time!” Spinel enthused, bouncing a little on her toes. “Ah! Who could have imagined it, the grweat and pwowerful Steven Universe needin' my help?”
“I do?” Steven asked, deciding to ignore the sarcasm.
“Yuparoonie-doodle! In-fact your best friend Spinel might be the only one who can help…” Spinel’s cherry tone curled into a purr near the end of her sentence, sending an uneasy shiver down Steven’s back. “A little birdie told me that someone’s been looking a little pink around the gills lately.”
“W-what? Who told you that?”
“Pearl grapevine. Word of advice; never say anything around a Pearl that you wouldn’t want every other Pearl to know. Those gems are awful gossips.” Spinel leaned close to whisper that last bit, then snapped back into place, turning a wide-toothed grin on him.
“Anyhoo! I’m on a special mission from the Diamonds to keep an eye on their precious beanbag until you get over this little ‘phase’ ”
Steven stared at her. Spinel kept smiling.
“Yeah. This is not happening.”
“It isn’t? Spinel asked, tilting her head to the side. A long moment passed where neither moved.
“...Steven, it’s still happening.”
“Get off of me!”
Bright Pink light flushed over Steven’s body, his light straining at the confines of his physical form.
“Whoop! There it is!” Spinel trilled.
Steven’s fingers clenched into fists. He fought to lift his arms up, fighting against the coils of Spinel’s arms.
“Ahahahaaaaaa!”
Spinel’s joyous giggles lit a fire in Steven’s belly, he poured all his strength into it. He slowly gained ground, stretching her arms back. Every inch he got made her grip even tighter, the elastic tension building and building until Steven finally had enough leverage…
Twang!
Crunch.
Wood fragments rained down around Steven’s feet. He looked up to find the main support beam that held up the roof split in two by the force of Spinel’s form colliding with it. Her elongated limbs were tangled around the splintered wood, hanging her limply from it. Spinel’s eyes rolling back and her pigtails drooping.
“No! Spinel!”
The pink colour instantly vanished as panic set in. Steven braced to leap up to her, but before he could, Spinel snapped herself back into from and jumped down instead, her smile firmly in place.
“Woo! Again, again, again! Let’s go again!” She cheered leaping back over to Steven and trapped him in another hug.
A slow creaking prompted Steven to summon his bubble, the pink barrier popping up to protect them just in time for the support beam to come crashing down.
Spinel blinked as she watched the wood splinters and plaster dust settle.
“Maybe outside this time?”
Steven stared down at the pinkish liquid that filled his decorative china cup, counting two loose rosehip buds that had settled into the bottom along with the tea leaves. Spinel sipped happily at her own, still holding the spoon she had used to add half the sugar bowl to her cup.
Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst sat in a semi-circle around them. Volleyball née Pink Pearl, or VB for short, leaned on Pearl’s shoulders and rested her chin on her head.
Steven waited until Spinel had drained her cup dry and placed it down on the saucer with a click, before asking the question that had been haunting him for months.
“So, what exactly is this?”
Spinel shrugged. “I’dunno.”
Steven felt the colour rising in his cheeks, but he managed to stamp it back down.
“I thought you said you knew the most about it.”
“Yup. I was top of the class! But I was also the only student. All I got is what Pink told me and what she told me was mostly complaining about how much it stunk.”
Steven looked over at Pearl for help, but she just gave her head a little shake. She had never seen that side of Pink Diamond.
“Alright, I understand. Could you just tell us everything you do know, then?” Steven asked.
Spinel nodded and held up a hand, counting things off on her fingers. “Well, first, it’s a Diamond thing. Pink used to go on and on about how unfair it was that Yellow and Blue wouldn’t tell her what they went through. Only that she would grow out of it eventually; like they did. Second, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, and third… actually, that’s kinda all I got. Sorry.” Spinel tucked her third finger back and folded her hands in her lap.
Steven put his untouched tea down and cradled his head in his hands. “Alright… great, that’s just… great. And what exactly are you supposed to do about it?”
Spinel pulled her legs up and crossed them in front of her.
“Simple. I follow you around, then when the big bad Pink comes a-knocking, I keep the damage to a minimum by getting between you and everything else. Other gems, valuable machinery, walls… that sort of thing.”
Spinel held out an arm, extending it over to Steven and draping it around his shoulders. “You didn’t think my stretching was just for show, didya?”
Steven looked up between his fingers just in time to see Spinel wink at him. Steven gingerly took her hand and moved it off his shoulders.
“Okay, Spinel. While I appreciate your offer, I think I’m going to have to pass on it. I’m sure there’s got to be some way to fix this if… we…”
Steven trailed off when he felt the combined gaze of his family set on him.
“Why… Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Steven…” Pearl begin.
“You… You don’t think I can handle this?”
Steven shot to his feet, fingers balling into fits.
“You don’t think I can handle this!? Me?! The person who stopped you all from falling to pieces for four years! You don’t think I can handle this!”
Pink hue swallowed him up, tinting even his vision as everything melted into a pink haze.
“Fire in da hole! Everybuddy down!” Spinel shouted, her voice easily carrying over Steven’s screaming. She tackled Steven from the side, using both her arms and legs to wrap him up completely.
“I shouldn’t even have to deal with this! Mom passed on her problems, and the people she hurt, and a galactic war! And now on top of all that! I have to deal with her fucking mood swings?!”
Steven tried to kick Spinel from him, but she was coming from all directions he screamed loud enough to make the lights shake and flicker. Spinel shoved her whole hand into his mouth. Reflexively Steven bit down, but Spinel’s giggles and whoops of delight didn’t falter.
When the pink haze finally lifted, Steven found himself face down on the floor. Wrapped head to toe in Spinel like a tied pig. The gem in question sat pretty on his lower back. Seeing he was back to normal; Spinel pulled her hand out of his mouth and begin to unwind. Steven pushed himself up once his arms were free and surveyed the damage. The coffee table was laying up-ended next to the fridge. Pearl’s favourite tea-pot had been blasted to smitheries, the china pieces rested in a shallow pool of brownish pink. Garnet had managed to save the teacups by catching two in her hands and three on her head, while Amethyst had climbed up onto the sofa to brace the bookshelves.
Spinel tumbled off Steven’s back and onto the floor.
“Hoo, doggie! That was a wild ride,” She exclaimed. “Anyone got a smoke?”
Steven got up on unsteady feet and looked around. Pearl and VB were nowhere to be seen.
“Gee, I was only kidding.” Spinel muttered, dusting herself off as she stood. “Talk aboutta tough room.”
“Where is…”
“Pearl had to take VB outside,” Garnet explained as she put the cups down one at a time on the kitchen table.
Steven nodded and looked down at his hands. They looked just the same as always, but in an instant, they, and the rest of him, could turn.
“Spinel...”
At the sound of her name, Spinel appeared behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Reconsidering my offer, Mistah Universe?”
Steven Spent a long while staring at himself in the bathroom mirror that night. By the time he finally slunk up the stairs, teeth brushed and in his PJ’s on, he was so deeply lost in thought that he fell right into bed and curled up under the duvet.
A few moments later, the door leading in from the balcony slid silently open. The fresh ocean breeze roused Steven from his slumber just enough that he absolutely noticed the rustling of the covers and the slight dip in the mattress as the weight of another body fell in beside him.
“Spinel.”
“Yeah?”
Steven caught his breath as the pink Gem shifted closer and pressed her form against his back.
“You… you don’t need to… I won’t be going pink in my sleep.”
Spinel draped an arm over his hip, her fingers curving up toward his middle.
“Really? Are-ya sure? How do you know if you’re not awake for it?”
Steven’s fisted a handful of the sheets.
“I’m pretty damn sure, Spinel!” he shouted. The moment the words left his mouth, he clapped both hands down over it.
No. Not again. Not three times in one day.
Spinel giggled and nuzzled into the back of his neck. The smile faded when Spinel noticed Steven trembling. He dropped his hands, gasping for a breath that became a desperate sob.
“Steven?”
“It’s… it’s not fair… I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone. I don’t understand. Why here? Why now? Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why can’t I control this? I’m fine! I was fine! then…this.”
“You weren’t fine.”
Steven blinked. He started to sit up but a hand on his shoulder and eased him down onto his back. He looked up at Spinel. She was laying on her side, half under the covers, propping herself up on one arm. Moonlight streamed in from the glass balcony door, backlighting her with a soft glow. Steven caught his breath. Spinel’s pigtails fell loosely behind her shoulders, falling like they would if she were human. In the dark, he couldn’t tell her skin was pink, that the curve between her hips and chest didn’t mean there was more underneath, or that what he was seeing was a projection of light.
For that moment, she was just a girl, a girl who was laying in his bed next to him. Looking at him with a fondness that made his chest tighten up.
“Steven, I haven’t known yuh as long as some of the othuhs, but if dere’s one thing I can spot; it’s somebody who’s one cage-rattle away from goin' on a trip fer biscuits.”
“Wh…What?”
Spinel grinned and reached over to pat him on the head.
“Now I ain't gonna write you a book here and don’t flap your wings at me, cuz I’m just calling it as I see it. But you’ve been tryna fix everybody so dang hard, I think you’re starting to crack up like a leftover birthday cake. Now, call me a kookie kitten, but I think it’s high time somebody took care of ya for once.”
Steven gazed up at her with star-filled eyes, his mouth hanging open.
Spinel winked at him and delivered the line that finally broke the dam.
“Right-o, daddio?”
Steven broke laughing. He hugged himself and rolled from one side to the other. He wasn’t sure if it was Spinel’s phrasing, or the situation, or the fact it was her having to be the one to tell him this, but it was probably all at once.
“You made all that up!” Steven snapped. Despite the bite in his tone, he was far too busy laughing too really be annoyed with her.
“Oh yeah? What’s it to you, bird-dog?” Spinel teased, sticking out her tongue and pulling down the bottom lid of her right eye. Steven closed his eyes and tried to calm himself back down, breathing deeply until he could see straight again. He brushed the tears off his cheeks, mixing the ones shed from laugher and anxiety.
“Betta?”
“Yeah...”
“Can’t be angry and bust a gut, can you?”
“Not in the way I hope that you mean that. No...”
“I told ya I was made for this.”
“I guess you were… you were made to keep my mother from...”
Spinel shushed him with a finger to his lips.
“Can it, you. That stuff ain’t your problem right now. That universe-” Spinel pointed out the window at the stars and waxing moon “-can wait. This Universe,” Spinel brought the finger back and pointed at his chest “can’t.”
“Thanks, Spinel.
“I owe you one. Come to think of it, I owe you several ones. Just don’t go cashing them all in at once.”