Hey guys! I just wanna apologize for not posting the next chapter in a while. Writing it is taking longer than I expected, and I've been facing some serious writer's block. However, since school is finally out, I have more time for writing, and that's good, right?

But aside from that, I decided to make this chapter as an apology for the long wait. I hope you all enjoy!

(And, also, this chapter is based off of an AU where Rose/Pink Diamond returns to The Garden for Spinel and (Y/n) and brings them with her to Earth; where they become Crystal Gems.)
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(Y/n) and Spinel walked along the shores of the beach side by side. Spinel walked with a skip in her step, and (Y/n) walked as casually as she always did. With her hand stuffed in the pocket of her light hoodie (which she had found abandoned on the fence her and the rest of the Gems had put up around the beach to keep humans out), she used her other one to hold the book she was reading.

"Oh!" (Y/n) stopped and glanced in Spinel's direction, raising a brow as the pink gem pointed forward. "Look, it's a human!"

(Y/n) followed Spinel's finger, and low and behold, a human with long, brown hair was standing on the other side of the fence. (Y/n) would have walked up to him and asked him what the heck he was doing, but she stopped herself to facepalm when she saw Amethyst — who was shape-shifted into an owl — scare the poor guy before flying away and landing atop of Spinel's head.

"Amethyst," the said gem looked over to (Y/n) and grinned. (Y/n) deadpanned. "Was that really necessary? You could have just told him to leave or something."

Amethyst hummed in thought for a moment, but then laughed and shook her head. "Nah! Scaring him was way more fun!" (Y/n) sighed and slammed her book shut. "Of course it was. . ." she muttered under her breath.

"Um, guys?" Spinel pointed back over to the fence again, "The human just climbed over the fence."

(Y/n) nearly choked on her own saliva and snapped her head over to the said human, who had indeed climbed over the fence and was now dusting his clothes off. "Shoot," (Y/n) sent Amethyst a look, and then quickly ran over to the human's side and helped him up.

"Hey, you okay? Sorry for my 'owl' friend over there. She's a bird brain," (Y/n) told, earning a loud 'HEY!' from Amethyst, but the (H/c)ette ignored it.

The human glancef between the two gems, clearly confused, but then he looked back over to (Y/n) and chuckled; scratching the back of his head. "Oh, it's cool—"

"(Y/N)!" suddenly, (Y/n) found herself being lifted into the air by a certain gem with a square afro. The (E/c) female blinked, surprised, but her stoic expression remained as Pearl ran up to her.

"You shouldn't touch him, (Y/n)! You don't know where he's been!" the pale gem exclaimed as Garnet set (Y/n) back down on the sandy floor of the beach. (Y/n) narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Pearl, I don't think it's that big of a deal—"

"State your purpose."

(Y/n) and the others looked over to see Garnet leaning down and looking the male human in the eyes. He seemed to flinch at the sight of his reflection in her visors, but he didn't run — which surprised (Y/n), but also made her a bit curious.

"U-uh. . ." the human gulped, "I was kinda looking for the mysterious pink lady?" The human made some gesture with his hands, "Kind of really tall? With lots of big, curly hair?"

"Oh!" Spinel snapped her fingers and grinned widely, "You must be talking about Ro—" Pearl clamped her hand over the pink gems mouth before she could continue. Spinel blinked.

"Garnet," Pearl whispered, glancing up to the said gem, "how do we make him go away?"

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at the question. He's only a human. He isn't going to do much harm—

"I'll just throw him back over the fence."

(Y/n)'s eyes went wide and she whirled around to face the taller gem, who had grabbed the human and was beginning to lift him up into the air.

"W-whoa! Garnet," (Y/n) stepped in front of her and held her arms out, all while also summoning her wings. "Isn't this a bit excessive? We could just ask him to leave, you know—"

"Excellent idea!" Pearl pressed her hand again (Y/n)'s face and pushed the gem to the side, making (Y/n) groan in aggravation as the pale gem continued.

"Humans should stay on the other side of the fence like the sign says!" Pearl said in a matter-of-factly tone as (Y/n) tried to push her hand away.

The human began to squirm in Garnet's hold. "Wait!" he cried out, "Please, don't do it!"

Garnet wasn't listening. The fusion now had him held high up into the air, and was beginning to thrust her arms forward to throw him out, when a new, yet familiar voice stopped her.

"Wait!"

Everyone stopped and turned to the leader of the rebellion: Rose Quartz.

Oh, wait. Should have I said Pink Diamond instead?

"Mr. Universe?"

The human smiled and stopped squirming almost instantly. "It's you," he said, staring at Rose with a light in his eyes. (Y/n) rose a brow and glanced between the two.

Another one?

Suddenly, a thump was heard, and (Y/n) blinked before looking down. There the human was: laying on the floor in front of her feet, with grains of sand now stuck to some strands of his brown hair. (Y/n) hummed and walked away from him before standing next to Spinel, who leaned her head on the (H/c)ette's shoulder.

"I told 'em the fence was a bad idea."

(Y/n) laughed and patted Spinel's shoulder. "I know, sis."

* * * * *

"Hey, Greg!" the said male looked up at his van and stumbled back with a surprised cry when he saw (Y/n) and Spinel staring down at him from the roof of his vehicle. (Y/n) offered him a small smile, and Spinel giggled as she jumped down.

"Is it true?" Greg blinked, before tilting his head to the side in confusion. "What?" he asked. Spinel giggled again as (Y/n) jumped down to join her at her side.

"She's asking if it's true that you wanna try and fuse with Rose," the (E/c) gem clarified. Greg's eyes widened for a moment, but returned back to normal as he let out a small, "Oh."

Spinel grinned and leaned closer to the male, holding her hands behind her back. "Sooooo. . .?" she trailed off.

Greg chuckled and looked away bashfully, strumming the strings to his guitar. "Um. . . yeah. . ." he answered slowly; almost sounding a little hesitant.

(Y/n) clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "This isn't because of what Pearl said to you, is it?"

(Y/n)'s question was already answered the moment Greg began to sputter, heat rising to his cheeks out of embarrassment.

(Y/n) internally signed. Get ready for a whole world of disappointment, pal, she thought to herself as she watched Spinel wrap her arms around Greg and tease him, earning a few cries of protest from the human.

* * * * *

"So you want to try out for a baby?" (Y/n) quirked a brow at 'Rose', who had just walked out of Garnet's room.

The taller gem in white jumped, surprised by (Y/n)'s voice. She then whirled around to face the (H/c) haired gem, who had a confused expression on her face.

Rose let out a sigh and slowly nodded. "Yes. . ."

A beat of silence passed between the two. But then, (Y/n) sighed and stepped away from the wall she was leaning against. "You do realize how upset this is going to make the others, right?" the Mariposa gem asked, looking up at Rose as the two walked out of the Temple.

Rose nodded. "I know, but it's just. . ." she stared at her hands silently for a moment, before rolling them into fists. "Humans are so. . . amazing, (Y/n)," she turned to the gem with stars in her eyes, which made (Y/n)'s own eyes widen slightly.

"They have an ability that I've never seen any other gem possess:" Rose smiled and looked up towards the night sky. "The ability to change."

(Y/n) was quite surprised at Rose's words, but that only caused her confusion to rise. "That's great and all, Rose. But. . . you would have to give up your physical form in order to do something like that. Giving birth? To a child both gem and human?"

(Y/n) shook her head and looked out to the ocean. "There could be some serious consequences to that. . ."

Rose remained silent; processing her friends words. She then huffed and looked over to (Y/n). The amount of determination in the Diamonds' eyes was enough to make (Y/n), once again, go wide-eyed.

"(Y/n), I don't want to have a child just because I don't want to deal with my own problems, you know." The (H/c)ette tensed. How did she. . .?

Rose suddenly grabbed (Y/n)'s shoulders and made the Mariposa gem face her; her eyes held a powerful firmness to them — something that (Y/n) wasn't quite used to.

"(Y/n), life here on Earth has taught me many things. Compassion, determination," Rose smiled gently and held (Y/n)'s hands in her own, "friendship."

(Y/n) blinked, her stoic expression beginning to fade as Rose continued. "(Y/n), I have learned of all sorts of relationships here on Earth. The good ones, the bad ones, the ones shared with family, and the one shared with lovers."

Rose took a step back and gently placed her hands on her gem. "Greg has shown me a sort of love that I've never quite experienced before," she grinned, "and I want everyone to know just how much I love him by having something that we've made together; someone that would get to experience the things that I could only dream of. . ."

Rose stepped up to (Y/n) and took her hand in hers. "(Y/n). . ." the pink-haired gem suddenly placed (Y/n)'s hand against her stomach. (Y/n)'s eyes widened.

"Meet Steven Universe."

* * * * *

"Please, make him stop!" Amethyst yelled as she covered her ears.

(Y/n) looked up from the book she was reading and held back a snicker. Greg had asked the Crystal Gems if they could babysit Steven today, and currently, the Gems were just now realizing how bad at the job they truly were.

Pearl was holding Steven in her arms; attempting to rock the babe to sleep. Amethyst was sitting on the floor, with her back leaning against the counter. She was cringing pretty badly, and had her hands over her ears in an attempt to muffle the sound of Steven's cries. Spinel was hanging from the fan in the ceiling, holding her hands over her ears as well. And Garnet. . .

Actually, where was Garnet?

Sitting up, (Y/n) looked around in confusion, but soon stopped when her eyes landed on a familiar pair of gems; sitting in the corner of the room, covering their ears.

It was so bad Garnet unfused, huh? (Y/n) chuckled and went back to reading her book. Funny.

"(Y-Y/n)!"

The sound of Pearl's voice made the (H/c)ette raise a brow and look over to the said gem, who was surprisingly holding Steven out to her.

"Do something!"

(Y/n) blinked, processing what was happening. She then slowly nodded and set her book down before holding her arms out to take the crying child.

"Um, right."

Pearl was quick to hand Steven over to the Mariposa gem. "Oh, thank goodness," the pearl turned around and began to walk to her room. "Forgive me, but I have a splitting headache and need some time to myself," the gem told.

And with that, Pearl was gone.

(Y/n) hummed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. So much for being a good baby sitter, the gem chuckled.

"Whoa. . ."

(Y/n) blinked and looked around, only for her to stumble back in surprise when she realized that it had now gone quiet and that the rest of the Gems were staring at her as if she had just won gold.

"What. . .?" (Y/n) looked down at the baby, and she once again blinked in surprise when she saw that he was staring up at her. His crying seemed to have ceased the moment he was placed into her arms, which was surprising.

"Um," (Y/n) offered him a smile, "hi?"

Steven blinked, but then suddenly began to giggle as he reached his little hands out to play play with (Y/n)'s hair. The Mariposa's smile seemed to grow.

"Oh, no fair!" Amethyst hopped up onto the couch and sat next to (Y/n).

"Why does he like you so much?"

* * * * *

"(Y/n), I got you a sweashwell!"

Looking up from the book she had in her hand, (Y/n) smiled as she watched Steven run over to her. His shirt — a hand-me-down from his dad — was a little bit too big for his small stature, so he tripped a few times (which nearly put (Y/n) into a panic), but always managed to catch himself before he could fall face-first into the sand.

(Y/n) hummed and shut her book before setting it to the side once the small boy finally made it to her. "Oh, really?" she rose a brow. Steven grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! Wanna see?" (Y/n) chuckled and nodded. "Of course I do."

Giggling, Steven pulled out a beautiful shell from behind his back. Grains of sand stuck to its sides due to the water, but that didn't stop the sunlight from reaching the seashell and adding a sort of shine to it and the different colors that it had adorned. (Y/n) awed slightly at the object, and gently took it into her hands.

"It's beautiful, Steven," the gem smiled up at the boy, "thank you."

Steven seemed to flush at her words and the little boy chuckled and looked away bashfully; holding his hands behind his back as he kicked up some sand.

"N-no pwobwem, (Y/n). . ."

The rest of the day was spent with Steven finding more shells and bringing them to (Y/n). No one was exactly sure why, but they figured that the small boy maybe liked it when the Mariposa thanked him for his little presents? It sure seemed like it.

It was now sunset. The rest of the Gems had headed inside, and Greg was yet to come over to pick Steven up and take him home. Now, it was only the little gem-hybrid and the (H/c)ette sitting on the beach, with Steven sitting in (Y/n)'s lap.

"Hey, (Y/n)?" the said gem hummed and rested her chin on Steven's head. "Yes, Steven?"

"How do you stway with someone forever?"

The Mariposa seemed surprised by the question. She blinked and looked down at the boy, who had turned around to face her, but still remained seated in her lap.

(Y/n) clicked her tongue. "Well. . ." she held her hand up to her chin and looked up to the peach-colored sky in thought.

You could always try fusion, I suppose. But I don't think Steven could do that, so that's crossed off the list. Maybe. . .

"Ask them to marry you?"

Steven tilted his head to the side at the (E/c)-eyed female. "What's that?" he asked.

(Y/n) was, once again, at a loss for words. However, she still did her best to try and explain to him what it was.

"Marriage is. . . what two people who love eachother do. They, um. . ." (Y/n) moved a strand of hair out of her face and bit her bottom lip out of habit.

"I don't really get it, exactly, but I do know that marriage is technically a promise." The (H/c)ette finally answered after a moment of silence.

Steven's eyes seemed to light up. "A pwomise?"

(Y/n) nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Yeah. A promise to stay together," the gem rested her forehead against Steven's and closed her eyes in content, "forever."

Steven's eyes widened as he stared up at the female. Together. . . forever? The boy beamed at the thought and suddenly wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s neck. This action caught the gem off guard, and she ended up falling backwards into the sand with a surprised cry.

"Steven, what—" she was cut off by the little boy's laughter.

"I wanna marry (Y/n)!"

* * * * *

"(Y/n)?" Steven whispered the gems name as he walked out the door. She was leaning against the wall outside the house, staring out into the sea with her arms crossed. Her expression was stoic, though Steven could see hints of fear and sadness in her eyes.

The boy hesitated, but then walked up to her. The Mariposa gem seemed to have gone tense at the action. Steven took a deep breath.

"D-did you know?" Steven's eyes began to well up with tears. "Did you know that mom was Pink Diamond?"

(Y/n) didn't say anything for a while. She just continued to stare out into the ocean.

Steven frowned, a sense of frustration beginning to rise in him. "Answer me!" he yelled, rolling his hands into fists.

(Y/n) made no movement. She glanced down at the boy, who seemed to flinch under her stare. It didn't hold the same warmth that he was used to. Instead it was hurt, sad, and guilty.

"Yeah. . ." (Y/n) nodded, "I knew."

Steven's breath was heavy. But then, after a moment, the boys' shoulders slumped, and he let out a tired sigh before walking up to (Y/n) and wrapping his arms around her waist; seeing as how she was a bit taller than him.

"Why. . . didn't you tell me?" Steven asked, a single tear running down his face.

(Y/n) sighed. "Honestly?" she kneeled down and wrapped her arms around Steven, who was quick to return her hug.

"I just felt that telling you would only add to your pain."

* * * * *

(Y/n)'s gem was falling. Steven was trying ever so desperately to catch her. He had already saved the other Gems, and now they were also running around in a panic; not wanting their other member to die.

"(Y/n)!" Steven called out her name as he jumped and caught the butterfly-shaped gem in his grasp. He grinned, but it disappeared as soon as it came when he suddenly felt his stomach hit the ground. He slid across the cold floor for a moment, but was eventually stopped thanks to Garnet catching him.

Steven sighed with relief and smiled up at the fusion. "Thanks, Garnet." Garnet smiled and nodded before setting the boy down.

Steven inhaled deeply once his feet met the floor, and he looked down at (Y/n)'s gem. He gently caressed the edges of it; his eyes only focusing on the beautiful glow that shown in the middle of it.

(Y/n) was in there. Steven needed to get her out.

"(Y/n)?" Steven whispered, getting down on his knees and placing the Mariposa gem down in front of him. He didn't receive an answer. He was beginning to grow worried.

"(Y/n), please," Steven placed his hand on the (H/c)ette's gem and closed his eyes. All that he had memorized about her flashed through his mind: her (Long/Short) (H/c) hair, which flowed gently through the night breeze; her shining (E/c) eyes, her soft smile, and her beautiful wings.

"Come on, (Y/n)," Steven picked the gem up into his hands once more and felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, "please."

The boy brought the Mariposa gem into a tight embrace and held her close. "I love you."

Before anyone knew it, a bright light had consumed the entire area, and Steven suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him and bring him in close.

"I love you too, Steven."