Steven Universe One-shots

For Steven [Lapis X Pearl]

Pearl held the silver mirror close as she watched Steven go. He had come to her requesting she teach him by mimicking a school environment, and when she had offered the handheld mirror to show him all about gems, they had discovered that it was busted. Pearl kept the mirror for herself so she could see if she could find a way to fix it, so Steven went off to wander around the boardwalk.
Pearl got to work putting everything away and when she was finished she retreated to her room. She leapt to the top of her highest waterfall pillar and settled there, balancing upon her her toe and holding up her other leg, so that she had to lean forward to keep her balance. She levitated the mirror, holding her hands inches underneath to keep it afloat. Pearl examined it carefully, observing the intensity of the crack along the blue gem and finding any other flaws in the silver surface.
During her appraisal, she caught glimpse of her own reflection in the smooth mirror face. Pearl paused and admired the beauty of the decorations around the mirror, and as she went to flip it over and take another look at the jewel, she let out a little gasp. Was that the face of another woman?
Pearl stared at the reflective glass and frowned with puzzlement. She could swore she saw the fleeting image of a pale blue girl there. But...perhaps it was just her own face, catching light in an odd way...
Still...
Pearl shook her head and turned the mirror around. She brushed her fingertips over the design on the back, breathing a sigh of awe. "Beautiful...its such a shame it's broken..." She murmured with disappointment. Pearl tsked and straightened, shaking her head sadly. She cast one more look upon the mirror before jumping from the pillar to land on the crystalline solid ground.
She hummed softly to herself and just opened her door when she heard a soft noise. Shutting her door quickly, she turned and looked around warily. "Hello?" Pearl called uneasily, very confused. Had someone somehow gotten into her room? But that's impossible, there's no w--
There was another quiet sound. Pearl realized it was coming from...the mirror?
She frowned and stared at the mirror. "I must be going crazy...mirrors can't talk..." Pearl grimaced, "r-right?"
"This is not happening. Steven?" She raised her head, calling again. "Garnet? Amethyst?"

"Not...crazy...mirror can--talk."

Pearl yelped, nearly throwing the mirror in her surprise. She stared at the mirror again. "No..no way! It's...not suppose to talk is it? I thought this thing was just supposed to show images, to mimic scenes it has seen before."
"Not...just...mimic..."
Pearl let out another gasp. As the mirror "spoke," it showed Pearl's reflection. This lead Pearl to believe that the mirror was communicating using spliced bits of Pearl's dialogue to form sentences.
"Oh, dear...I-I have to tell Garnet!" Pearl spun around frantically.
"No no no no no."
Pearl blinked, "No?"
She paused.
"Wait, why am I listening to a mirror?!" Pearl shook her head quickly.
"No...Garnet...no...Amethyst...no...Steven...."
Pearl hesitated. Why was it so scared? And better yet, why was she still listening to this thing? It wasn't a person--
--or was it?
"Are you...alive?"
"Alive."
"Are you like me?" Pearl inquired.
"Like...you."
Pearl's eyes widened. A gem--with a personality--that was capable of intelligence, trapped inside this small, silver handheld mirror. This was unheard of...but then again, this was a piece of gem technology they knew very little about. No one is quite sure what to expect when it comes to things like this. And what if it had not even meant to turn out like this? What if, over time, the gem that powered the mirror had absorbed a personality, maybe from everything it had seen and recorded?
Pearl gazed at the mirror thoughtfully. She turned it over and peered at the gem on the back again. Perhaps there was a way she could fix it...would the mirror loose its emotions and revert to its true purpose? To take orders and display whatever event was demanded of it?
She quickly made an internal decision.
"You. Stay quite, alright?" Pearl whispered, looking around warily. For some reason, she didn't think the others would quite like what she was about to do. "I'm going to try and repair your gem, but you have to stay quite in order for me to do so. Can I trust you?"
"Can--trust."
Pearl smiled and nodded. She clutched the artifact close to her chest as she exited her room. She moved toward the warp pad when Steven burst into the house, grinning and panting like he had been running. Pearl startled, jumping and hiding the mirror awkwardly behind her.
"Pearl!" Steven wheezed, "Pearl, look what I found!" He jogged over but had to stop and lean against the fridge first. Steven almost absent-mindedly reached into the freezer and grabbed a Cookie Cat. He tore it open and ate a few bites before remembering he had something to show Pearl and running to her side.
Pearl smiled uncomfortably and carefully backed up. "Y-Yes, Steven?"
"Look it!" Steven pulled something out of his pocket. He handed it to Pearl. It was a fully intact, sun bleached sand dollar. Steven was grinned from ear to ear.
"Oh...this is nice." Pearl nodded.
"I've never seen a whole sand dollar before! Their always broken into...quarters!" Steven snickered at his own pun and Pearl rolled her eyes affectionately. He was always such a goober.
"Did you think of that the whole time you were a running here?" Pearl raised an eyebrow and handed the sand dollar back to Steven, shifting her hand to her hip.
"No way! And how did you know I ran?"
"Steven, you're panting and you look worn out."
"It's hot out there!" He huffed defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Perhaps you should go rest?" Pearl suggested. "Or maybe Amethyst would play in the ocean with you. You might find more sand dollars as well..."
Steven nodded and ran off to find Amethyst.
Good, Pearl thought, now can I get going.
She turned to the warp pad and imagined Rose's fountain. In a flash of blinding light, the warp pad activated. Pearl stepped off of the platform and looked around. Garnet and herself had unclogged the fountain just days before, and there was still some lingering brambles on the ground, forming snarling tangles of dangerous thorns. Pearl grimaced and turned her head in disgust at the pathetic vines, strolling past them with her chin raised arrogantly and the mirror at her side, golden sunlight glinting off the silver surface. The sun was just beginning to set, casting pale vermillion color against Pearl's skin.
She reached Rose's fountain and paused. Pearl worried at the end of the ribbon tied around her waist anxiously. She felt her throat tighten with the threat of tears at the mere sight of the fountain. Memories of the time she had spent with Rose, of the time before Steven, flooded into her mind. She shook them away and padded over to the edge of the fountain. She sat there and looked down at the mirror, and at her own reflection.
"You can talk now," Pearl murmured.
"Pearl...beautiful..."
Pearl blinked and giggled. "Thank you."
"...what...no--w..."
Pearl glanced over her shoulder and idly reached back to touch the water pooling in the fountain base. She was silent for a moment before answering the other gem.
"I'm going to dip you in the fountain waters...hopefully, this will heal your gem. But...what will happen once your gem is fixed? Do you know?"
"No."
Pearl sighed. "Well. I guess we'll find out, then."
She stood and took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she knelt by the edge of the fountain and set the mirror face-down on the stone lip of the fountain. Pearl cupped her hands and got a handful of water. It was cold to the touch, which felt good on her skin. She carefully dripped the water into the cracks on the blue gem. It began to smooth over, filling the cracks and restoring the jewel to its former beauty. She then sat back, waiting for a reaction.
After moments of inactivity, Pearl frowned and flipped the mirror over. "Hello?" She tapped the glass of the mirror. "Are you still there?'
There was no response. Pearl growled softly and raised her hand, aiming to smash the stupid mirror to pieces, when she heard her own voice cry in protest. Pearl breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the mirror again. This time there was an blurry image there. It was Pearl, taking the gem from its set place in the back of the mirror and throwing in in the fountain.
Pearl's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You want me to take our your gem? Why?"
"Trust...me."
Pearl hesitated, lowering her head. She had no idea what would happen if she did what the mirror asked. What if the gem powering it was evil? It would be all her fault if some harmful bei was released...
She worried the hem of her ribbon again and looked up at the statue of Rose Quartz uneasily. "What would Rose do?"
She contemplated for a moment before rising and setting her jaw with determination. Rose would release this poor trapped gem without giving it a second thought. She would never allow something to be caged and contained like this.
Pearl latched her fingertips onto the gem, trying to get her nails in any opening to try and find leverage. She finally worked out a spot, and pulled with all her might. For a second, she was sure her fingers would slip off the smooth surface, but her grip stuck and the gem popped out of place. The reflective glass in the face of the mirror shattered and Pearl drew back, shielding her face from the glass shards. She dropped the silver frame of the mirror with a clattering noise and took a stumbling step back.
A figure materialized in front of her, the figure of a girl with wide wings made of water. She dropped to her knees with a quiet cry, hanging her head and gasping for air. Pearl knew it was just a reflex. Gems didn't need to breathe.
She edge closer, holding out a hand. The gem turned around quickly, slowly and shakily standing, her legs trembling like a newborn deer. Pearl squeaked when she grabbed her hand, supporting herself on Pearl. Their eyes met and Pearl inhaled sharply. The girl's eyes were a pale blue, but underlying their color, they were like mirrors.
"Thank you," she whispered, "for healing my gem, and freeing me. I thought the Crystal Gems were..." She shook her head, trailing off. "It's Pearl, right?" Pearl nodded, completely speechless. "I'm Lapis. Lapis Lazuli."
Pearl cleared her throat, and broke from her bewildered daze. "You were trapped in that mirror this whole time?"
"Yes," lapis dipped her head, her wings dripping behind her, forming a small puddle with her water along with Rose's healing essence.
"I thought you were just a mindless...thing, programmed to take orders and nothing else."
Lapis sighed. "No...I'm just glad you freed me. Now, I can go home."
Pearl frowned. "Home? You mean...homeworld?"
Lapis nodded and smiled, her wings fluttering excitedly. Little droplets flung into Pearl's skin, but she didn't even notice. All she could think of was homeworld.
"Lapis, please, y-you--you have to take me with yo--"

"Pearl!"
Pearl gasped and spun around, tears in her eyes. Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven stood there. Garnet and Amethyst had their weapons ready, and Steven was wearing a confused expression.
"Pearl?" He whispered. "Who is that?"
"It's the mirror gem!" Amethyst cried.
"Pearl," Garnet murmured in a warning tone. Pearl shook her head and opened her mouth to speak when Lapis interrupted her.
"You all left me there, in that mirror..." Lapis pressed her hand to her chest, bowing her head. "No one helped me but her." She pointed to Pearl with hopeful eyes. "Didn't you even care? Do you know how hard it was?"
Everyone stayed silent, except for Garnet's grunt of indecision.
"Pearl," she said at last, "don't do this. It's not safe, and you know Rosr would have wanted you to stay. For Steven, Pearl. Stay for Steven."
Steven had tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away before they could spill. Seeing this made Pearl begin to cry. Lapis put her hand on Pearl's shoulder and looked her in the eye.
"I'm going home--"
Pearl grabbed her hand desperately, her eyes wide and pleading. "Lapis, Lapis please! Take me with you! I need to see...I miss it so much!"
"Pearl, no!" Amethyst cried, her voice cracking. "Don't go!"
Steven began to sob, and he ran over, holding out his arms. He latched onto her leg, holding her tight in hopes of keeping her there, rooted to the ground, to Earth. Pearl struggled, letting Lapis go and putting her hands on Steven's shoulders.
"You don't understand!" Pearl sobbed, weakly attempting to disentangle Steven.
"I'm sorry, Pearl." Lapis murmured, her voice heavy with regret. There was the sudden sound of water splashing and Pearl gasped, looking over her shoulder hopelessly.
Lapis was gone, nothing but a puddle and drops of water spattering on them from above to show she was ever there.
Pearl let out a broken cry, and slumped over, holding Steven and crying into his shirt. She felt Garnet and Amethyst's familiar warmth gather around her, and her crying stopped. Pearl gazed at each of them, her face hot with shame and disappointment and joy. Even though she couldn't got home, she knew Garnet was right. It's was dangerous, and she had to stay. For Steven. And for everyone she knew and loved: Garnet, Amethyst, Steven, even Greg...
It was what Rose would have wanted.