WARNING: YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BLUSH SEVERE AMOUNTS IN THIS CHAPTER.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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ꀷꍏ꓄ꏂ: May 27
꓄ꀤꎭꏂ: 11:13 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꎇꋪꂦꎭ: Unknown User
ꌚꏂꈤ꓄: May 27 - 6:00 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꓄ꂦ: Spinel
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[] Loading Message. . . []

Hey, Spinel, it's me. Sorry for making you wait so long for a message or call from me, I've been. . . busy. . .

Anyways, about that explanation that I owe you. Do you. . . remember how I tried to destroy the Earth and kill. . . kill. . . Ahem. I mean, that's a stupid question; of course you remember, it's kinda hard to forget. Well, after the whole incident, you left and. . . well. . .

Spinel I ran away. From everything. From all of them. From him. I left Lunar in the Crystal Gems' care. . . I know he will be better off with them, anyway.

. . . It hurts, Spinel. The guilt — it's eating at me. All of my fear, my sadness, my anger — it's like a nightmare looming over me and taunting me. It's like I can't forget. Nothing will let me. I want to forget. I want to be better. But the fact that it seems like my past and all of my mistakes are literally haunting me makes it basically impossible.

It won't go away. The pain won't go away, and it hurts.

I want it to stop so badly.

But then again, I deserve it after everything I had done, don't I?

. . .

Hey, um. . . how are they? You know, The Crystal Gems and. . . Lunar, and. . . and Steven. . .

Hehe. . . I. . . I bet they're glad that I'm gone. . .

. . .

I've gotta go now, Spinel. I'll message you again later. I would call you, but I don't want to risk anyone seeing you talking to me through your gem and get any ideas; sorry.

I'm sorry. Really, really sorry.

I love you, sis. Take care and. . . um. . . check on Lunar for me, will you?

[] Message Ended []
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ꀷꍏ꓄ꏂ: May 30
꓄ꀤꎭꏂ: 4:00 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꎇꋪꂦꎭ: Unknown User
ꌚꏂꈤ꓄: May 30 - 3:59 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꓄ꂦ: Spinel
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[] Loading Message. . . []

Spinel, did you know that there are apparently clones of Steven made out of. . . watermelon. . .? At least, that's what I think the humans call it — I'm not sure.

Aside from that, I just want to thank you for checking on Lunar for me. It makes me happy knowing that the gems are taking care of him well. Be sure to try to tell them that he likes his milk really warm, though. And try to make it seem like it was your discovery to make it seem less suspicious.

Oh! And also, I'm happy to report that my gem is actually doing well. I still can't fly, though, and that's gonna make it quite the problem for when I try to get off of this island. Though I will admit, I am going to miss the. . . Watermelon Steven. . . they're very sweet and have actually been helping me find my way around the island by walking, so that's good.

It's weird, though. There's this one area in the island that I never visit for. . . reasons, yet everytime I walk around it the Watermelon Steven's suddenly start pushing me towards it! It's rather odd and it makes me question what they're motives are. Why do they want me to get on the warp pad so bad? Do they not want me here? It's rather. . . confusing.

Anyways, that's all for now. But just to let you know, I might not be able to answer any messages you send me for the next couple days nor send anything to you. I promised to help the Watermelon Steven's build some new houses on the hillside.

It was great writing to you, sis. I love you and I hope you're doing well.

[] Message Ended []
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ꀷꍏ꓄ꏂ: June 2
꓄ꀤꎭꏂ: 4:56 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꎇꋪꂦꎭ: Spinel
ꌚꏂꈤ꓄: June 2 - 4:47 PM
ꎭꏂꌚꌚꍏꁅꏂ ꓄ꂦ: Unknown User
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[] Loading Message. . . []

Heya, sis! It's me, Spinel!! Just wanted to message you and let you know that Lunar is doing A-OKAY! He's a little ball of joy, that's for sure ♡♡♡!

. . . Uh. . . listen, sis. . .

I, um — I was wondering. . . do you think that maybe you could come by the Crystal Temple some time? Steven's been rather. . . sad lately, and I'm pretty sure it's because he misses you. . .

* * * * *

You slammed your hand down on the power button to your transmitter and walked away from it as it turned off; its glitchy, holographic screen fading away quickly.

You couldn't go back. Not now. Not ever.

You missed him, though. That, you had to admit. Yet. . . there was no point in going back. After everything you had done to the Earth, to the gems — to him. . .

You sighed and sat down against the caves walls. Pulling your legs up to your chest, you wrapped your arms around them and blew a strand of hair out of your face as a few tears left the corners of your eyes.

It was currently the middle of the night. The stars twinkled from above as usual, and the moon gave off its usual bright glow from above you through the large, round hole that sat in the center of the caves roof. Picking up a stick, you poked it into the lake that sat before you, causing the water to ripple. You sighed again and threw the stick to the side as you let yourself slowly lean back and lay down on the caves mossy floor.

God, you were so tired.

Again, you blew a strand of your hair out of your face before running your hand through your (F/c) locks of hair; pushing your bangs back in the process. A yawn soon escaped your lips, and you found your eyelids beginning to droop until they shut fully.

A few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt, right?

* * * * *

"Alright, Lunar," Steven kissed the baby's head and set him down in his crib. "Time for bed." He chuckled and watched the baby attempt to sit up, only for him to fall back into the little mattress of his crib and snuggle into his pillow. Lunar yawned and grabbed his stuffed bear and hugged it close before turning to his side and shutting his eyes, finally drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

Steven sighed with relief and threw his jacket off before hopping onto his bed and pulling his covers up over his body. He closed his eyes, and. . .

. . . he still couldn't sleep.

The gem-hybrid groaned and grabbed his pillow before shoving it into his face to let out a low, agitated scream; using the pillow to muffle the sound as to not awaken Lunar.

"Why can't I just sleep??" He threw his pillow off towards the wall in front of his bed and sat up; crossing his arms and looking down with narrowed eyes in thought. He then sighed and threw his blankets off before swinging his legs over his bed and standing up.

A glass of warm milk would help.

Yeah. That always works.

Nodding to himself, Steven walked out of his room and quickly made his way down the stairs and over to the kitchen. Pulling the fridge door open, he rummaged through the shelves until he finally found what he was looking for: the milk jug. The teenage boy smiled slightly and grabbed the milk jug before closing the fridge and walking over to the counter. After he set the jug down, he walked over to one of the cabinets and got out a small glass before walking back over to the jug of milk, opening it, and pouring himself a full glass and chugging it down.

When he pulled his cup away, a milk mustache sat just above his mouth.

The hybrid frowned when he didn't feel any different. In fact, he now felt more awake then ever. He groaned and washed his cup and put it back up before throwing the now-empty jug of milk away and burying his face into his hands, resting his elbows on the counter.

"I just want to sleep, is that too much to ask?!" Steven said, rubbing his eyes as he began to pace around the room with his arms crossed; his figure slouched over as he stuck his bottom lip out in a small pout. He then groaned and plopped onto the couch, allowing his arms to spread out a across it and take up as much room as they could. It had been like this for awhile now, and Steven didn't have a clue why.

No. Wait. That was a lie. He knew exactly why, but he didn't wanna say. He didn't wanna say her name.

Well, not until he got her back, at least.

. . . If he got her back, at least. . .

Steven sighed and looked around, blinking his eyes tiredly. Had. . . Had the living room always looked this blurry? Why did his eyes feel glossy all of a sudden? He wasn't crying again, was he? He was sure he would know by now. . .

A yawn escaped Steven's lips and he shifted around on the sofa until he was now in a laying position with his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling tiredly, not realizing that his eyes were beginning to slowly close.

"Where. . . are. . . you. . .?" Steven muttered, not really having a clue on who exactly he was asking.

Another yawn escaped his lips, and his eyes finally closed.

To think he had somehow not noticed the soft, pink glow beginning to emit from his gem the whole time.

* * * * *

The first thing Steven saw when he opened his eyes was the stone walls of what seemed to be a cave. Though, for some odd reason, the walls seemed to be surrounded by a pink hue. . .?

Oh. Wait.

This was a dream.

Steven sighed and pushed himself up with his hands, looking around while doing so. As he took in his surroundings more, he suddenly realized something:

He had absolutely no clue where he was, yet the place somehow seemed sort of. . . familiar. . .?

"What. . . What is this place?" Steven stood up abruptly, dusting himself off as he continued to look around. "I don't think I've ever been here before," he muttered, beginning to tap his chin in thought. "So I'm either having a normal dream and I just thought this place up, or. . ."

He stopped, thinking; his eyes slowly widening in realization.

He was dreaming, but he wasn't the only one.

This was someone else's dream. But. . . whose?

Well, time to find out.

Steven placed his hands on his hips and once again looked around until he spotted an opening that lead further into the cave. He smiled slightly and nodded to himself before making his way over. Dragging his hand along the wall, he was honestly kind of surprised at how. . . how clean this cave seemed to be. Almost as if someone were caring for it.

Steven hummed and looked to the side, a thoughtful look on his face. This certainly couldn't be one of the gems' dreams. He didn't really recall any of them having a thing for, uh, caves. But then again, Jasper was currently living in a cave. . . sort of. Though, Steven didn't remember her cave being this big.

. . . Or this clean. . .

The teen chuckled slightly under his breath at the thought and shook his head, taking his hand away from the wall and then stuffing it into his jeans pocket.

Then, suddenly, he stopped; his body stiffening.

.

.

.

. . . Humming?

Steven's eyes widened slightly and he finally seemed to notice the arched entranceway way standing a few feet before him; vines hanging from the top of it with small, colorful flowers growing from them.

Steven stopped and stared, listening to the humming that seemed to be coming from the other side of the vines.

That humming. . . it seemed. . . familiar. . .

Steven's eyes narrowed slightly and he felt his shoulders grow tense. He lifted his foot up to take a step forward, to try to peek past the vines and see whoever was standing on the other side of them, when—

SNAP!

. . . He stepped on a twig and it broke in half.

Steven mentally cursed himself and looked down at the now-broken twig under his foot. He cringed slightly and lifted his foot up, stepping back and glancing up at the entranceway past the vines nervously as he awaited for something — anything to rush through them and possibly attack him.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

.

.

.

Silence.

Steven let out a sigh of relief, but was unfortunately too loud, apparently.

That was a mistake. Though it soon turned out to be a good one because. . .

"Who's there?"

.

.

.

Because Steven knew that voice.

Suddenly, Steven felt as if he could no longer breathe and his entire body went stiff. He looked down, noticing the shadow of a figure slowly appear from beneath the vines before him; the silhouette nearly reaching his toes. His eyes went wide and he looked back up at the vined entranceway, finally seeing the outline of a very familiar figure standing on the other side.

He ran over without thinking and suddenly tackled the figure into a hug.

A sharp gasp was heard and Steven immediately opened his eyes the moment he felt his body be engulfed in water. Instantly, the boy clamped his mouth shut and held his breath, looking around frantically until he suddenly felt a pair of hands grab onto his hand and pull him up to the surface. Once he knew that his head was no longer below the water, the brunette began to cough violently and he slowly blinked his eyes open; his vision a bit blurred due to the recent experience.

"I-Is someone here?" Steven questioned, turning around to examine the area.

He saw nothing for awhile.

But that was until he finally caught sight of the familiar gem now swimming in front of him, her eyes wide and her mouth agape as she stared at Steven in shock.

The two remained silent, taking in eachothers appearance.

.

.

.

"Steven?"

Steven couldn't hold back anymore. Now snapped out of his stunned, emotional state, Steven grinned and once again lunged forward and brought the (F/c)ette into his arms; pulling her into his chest and laughing. Laughing and crying. It didn't really matter.

She was in his arms again.

"(Y/n)!"

* * * * *

You had absolutely no clue what was happening. One minute you were standing by yourself, questioning why your 'dream' somehow felt so. . . so real. And then the next, the guy you had fallen for months ago lunged at you and was now hugging you tightly. And the two of you were in water while this was happening, by the way.

But that didn't matter to you at the moment.

Steven Universe — he was hugging you and was actually happy to see you for some reason?

Yeah. This had to be a dream. Nothing but a figment of your imagination.

"Okay, this is a pretty weird dream, I'll admit," you said aloud, pushing Dream Steven (that's what you decided to call him) away with a heavy frown on your face.

Dream Steven blinked, seemingly surprised, and then tilted his head to the side (adorably, mind you). "What? But, (Y/n). . ." He took your hand in his and brought it to his chest, lacing your fingers together. "This isn't a dream—" he cut himself off and looked away for a moment, before sighing and scratching the back of his head. "Well, yeah, it actually kind of is. But that doesn't matter right now." He told, his grin from before returning to his face as he used his other hand to cup your cheek and tilt your face up to meet his eyes.

"You're here now, and I know you're okay. So that's good." He said, nodding as he looked around. He hummed and looked back down at you. "(Y/n)?"

". . . Yeah?" This wasn't the real Steven. It couldn't be. But. . . then again. . .

"Where are we?"

If this IS the real Steven, then I can't tell him anything or him and the Crystal Gems will know where to find me. . . You thought to yourself as you averted your gaze from his and swam away, heading back to shore.

Steven blinked, surprised at your actions, but then frowned and quickly began to swim after you. "(Y/n)!" He grabbed your wrist before you could walk away once he joined you on the shore. He noticed your freeze for a second, but you quickly relaxed yourself and sighed.

"Steven, you need to leave. Leave me be." You muttered, not bothering to meet his gaze.

Steven's eyes widened. "What? No! I can't do that!" He said, taking your other hand with his and turning you around to face him.

You looked up at him with a firm stare. "Yes, you can." You pulled away with a sudden new-found strength and pushed some of the vines of the entranceway from before out of the way before walking out, leaving Steven to stand by himself — stunned.

His stunned state didn't last long, though.

Shaking his head, Steven huffed and quickly followed after you, watching you as you took your locks of hair and began to twist and turn them; getting the water out.

He hummed and quickened his pace to where he was now walking next to you. You sent him a quick glance from the corner of your eye, but then returned your attention to the front.

. . . Wait. . . is she trying to. . . ignore me?

"(Y/n)." He took your hand in his and pulled on it, making you stumble backwards into his chest with a surprised yelp. "Steven, what—" you cut yourself off when he suddenly wrapped his arms around you from behind and rested his chin on your shoulder. You tensed slightly and froze in your spot as your eyes widened; a red hue beginning to dust your cheeks.

You frowned and stuck your bottom lip out as you turned your head to try to look away from him. It was kind of hard considering the fact that his head was on your shoulder, though.

"(Y/n)~!" Steven began in a whinny voice. "Pay attention to me!" You heard him huff and you had to hold back a snort.

"You sound like a child," you stated, lifting your arms up to try to fold them over your chest. Once Steven noticed your movement, however, he hummed and suddenly took ahold of your hands and laced his fingers with yours, making you blink and go wide-eyed in surprise.

"Your hands are so. . . small. . ." You heard him mutter as he began to rub his thumb across your knuckles.

You gulped and tried to calm down the heat rising to your cheeks, only to fail miserably.

(The 'Ol Universe Charm: Got'em!)

"(Y/n)." Steven's voice was more firm this time and you felt yourself stiffen. "Look at me."

". . ."

You heard a sigh and you quirked a brow when you felt Steven release you. You looked down at your hands, frowning slightly now that his warmth was gone. Suddenly, though, Steven grabbed your arm and spun you around to face him. You stumbled forward, surprised and a bit dizzy, and Steven caught you. As you slowly began to blink the blurriness in your vision away, you felt Steven grab your chin and tilt your head upwards to look at him.

Okay. Your face was officially on fire by this point.

The fact that he was leaning in didn't really help either.

With widening eyes, you quickly pushed yourself away and turned around; wrapping your arms around yourself as you looked down at the ground nervously. Your entire face was practically red, and you both hated it and loved it at the same time.

". . ."

Silence now filled the air. You didn't move, nor did Steven. You could practically feel his intense gaze burning holes through the back of your head, though, and you bit your lip nervously and began to rub your arms up and down anxiously.

.

.

.

.

.

You know I want you,

Your eyes widened and your back straightened. You heard the sound of someone taking a step forward, and your shoulders grew tenser than before.

It's not a secret I try to hide,

You looked down once you saw Steven walking around you at the corner of your eye. Licking your dry lips, you watched as he slowly took your hand and brought it to his lips; placing a gentle kiss upon your knuckles.

I know you want me,

I'm sorry, did he just smirk at you?

So don't keep saying our hands are tied

You frowned slightly and quickly pulled your hand away and turned around, walking away from him with a red face as you ran your fingers across the very knuckle he had just kissed.

You claim it's not in your cards,

But fate is pulling you miles away,

And out of reach from me,

Steven was quick to run in front of you. Taking both of your hands, he smiled and laced your fingers together.

But you're here in my heart,

So who can stop me if I decide. . .

That you're my destiny?

Your eyes widened when Steven suddenly took your hand and spun you away from him, a large grin appearing on his face as you watched in awe while both the floor and walls suddenly became some sort of reflective mirror; capturing the stars, planets and moon in all there glory. It almost seemed as if the two of you were walking through space.

You couldn't help the small smile beginning to tug on your lips.

What if we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine,

Steven seemed to tighten his grip on your hand a small bit and he pulled you back to him, wrapping his other hand around your waist as he had you place your other hand on his shoulder.

He chuckled when he saw how flustered you had truly become. It was adorable, honestly.

Nothing could keep us apart,

You'd be the one I was meant to find,

Steven smiled softly and placed his forehead against yours.

It's up to you, and it's up to me,

No one can say what we get to be,

Steven shut his eyes, not noticing the frown that began to now tug onto your lips. You could go back, but. . . how would the other residents of Beach City react to you? You tried to kill them all and destroy their PLANET, you didn't think that there was going to be a welcoming party for you of all gems. Especially now.

You internally sighed and looked away from Steven.

This was just a dream.

So why don't we rewrite the stars?

Steven grinned at you and held both of your hands in his, stars practically in his eyes.

Maybe the world could be ours. . .

He started to lean into you again and he began to slowly shut his eyes.

Tonight

You placed your finger against his lips and stopped him, making him blink and look down at you in surprise.

You sighed and looked away, frowning deeply.

You think it's easy. . .

You stepped back and crossed your arms, looking away from him.

You think I don't wanna run to you?

You turned around and began to walk away. Pushing past the vines that lead to the part of the cave you had fallen asleep in, you turned back to face Steven from over your shoulder.

But there are mountains~

You looked away again, not wanting to see the sad/confused look on his face as he watched you.

And there are doors that we can't walk through. . .

You walked past the vines and they fell, shielding you from Steven's sight. The boys' eyes widened and he quickly followed after you, only to see you had somehow disappeared.

"Wha. . ." Steven came to a loss of words once he saw your silhouette on the wall across from him.

I know you're wondering why,

Because we're able to be,

Just you and me,

Within these walls,

But when we go outside,

You're going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all. . .

Just like last time, the walls and the floor seemed to be replaced with a sort of reflective mirror filled with the stars, planets, and the moon. You stood in the center of it all, your back turned to him, and your hair flowing with the nightly breeze.

Was. . . Was that a crack on your gem?

You looked over to Steven, and he went wide-eyed and took a step towards you, only for you to sigh and look away, taking a step back in response.

No one can rewrite the stars,

How can you say you'll be mine?

You glanced over to Steven and narrowed your eyes. Once you did this, he gasped and ran over to you. He tried to embrace you, but you disappeared once again just before he could wrap his arms around your form.

Everything keeps us apart~

And I'm not the one you were meant to find,

You now stood behind Steven and you sighed, drawing his attention to you and making him whirl around to face you. Once he saw the sad look on your face, he frowned and took your hand in his, gripping it tightly.

You responded to this by pulling your hand away and turning your head to look anywhere but him.

It's not up to you,

It's not up to me,

When everyone tells us what we can be,

You clenched your fists and grinded your teeth. These actions didn't go unnoticed by Steven, and he frowned deeply and stepped towards you again, though you didn't notice this time.

How can we rewrite the stars?

Say that the world can be ours. . .

Tonight—

You were cut off by Steven, who had grabbed your arms and pulled you into a tight embrace. You could feel his body shake in your arms as you hesitantly wrapped your arms around him as well, sighing again as he snuggled into your shoulder.

"(Y/n), listen," Steven pulled away, but still held you firmly in his arms. "I don't care what others say. Okay? You did some pretty bad things, yes, but the thing is. . ." He groaned and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly glaring at nothing. "You're not the only one."

Your eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, well. . ." Steven sighed and scratched his temple. "All of the gems. . . good or bad. . . they've done some pretty terrible things, too."

You frowned. "Not as terrible as me, though—"

"The Diamonds tried to destroy the Earth, too, (Y/n)!" Steven cut you off quickly and gripped your shoulders, narrowing his eyes. You gasped and blinked repeatedly, surprised at his little outburst. Steven, having realized that he had just raised his voice at you, went wide-eyed and quickly released you and took a step away. "S-Sorry. . ."

You looked away, rubbing your arm. "It's. . . It's fine, Steven. . ." You looked back to face him and opened your mouth to ask him what he meant ealier, only for a gasp to escape your lips instead. "Steven!" He rose a brow, blinking in confusion as you pointed at him, eyes wide. "You're — You're disappearing!"

Steven's eyes went wide again and he looked down, his mouth gaping once he saw that he was beginning to fade away. He gulped and looked back up at you, frowning once he saw that you were beginning to fade, as well.

You were both waking up.

"(Y/n)!" You looked up, eyes still wide with both shock and fear. "Y-Yes, Steven?" The boy grabbed your shoulders and looked you in the eyes. "Where are you right now?" The question made your eyes widen even more. "W-What—"

"(Y/n)," Steven gave you a pleading look and held your hands in his tightly. "Please." God, he sounded so desperate.

". . ." You stayed silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to tell him or not. As you took in his features, though, you began to see the bags under his eyes, as well as the way his figure slouched slightly. And — wait, were those tear stains?

"Mask Island." The words left your lips before you could even think about it.

The last thing you saw before you woke back up in the real world, was Steven's grinning face.

* * * * *

Words: 4741

Am I tired? Yes. Yes I am.

Do my hands hurt? Yes. Yes they do.

Is my brain in pain? Most definitely. Totally.

Do I think this chapter is cheesy? Absolutely.

Hope this EXTRA LONG chapter makes up for all of the late updates! Love you all, I hope you enjoyed!

(Also, I was gonna do the WHOLE 'Rewrite the Stars' song for this chapter, but I kind of lost inspiration for what to do for the next part of the lyrics, so I just stopped halfway through. It turned out better than I expected it to, still, though!)

~☆