Under our Universe

Thanks Puberty.

Recap:

She only managed to seem a quarter way to confident when she'd finished her sentence. Being firm wasn't really easy when she got nervous- well, this nervous. She hardly ever got this nervous... unless it was something to with with either Mom, the gem war, or homeworld.
He'd apparently said that last sentence out loud.
"Uhmmm... it's...All three...?"

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Steven couldn't believe his ears, hadn't they sorted everything out with homeworld? But if it also involved the gem war, he supposed that naturally homeworld- and therefore his mother (Pink Diamond/ Rose Quartz) would also have had something to do with it. But he should know what Pearl was so worried about by now... Surely there were no more cats left to jump out the bag. No more secrets left to tell, not after everything they'd been through together. Not after they-

If that was the case, I would know exactly why Pearl is acting as helpless as Peridot was when she first joined us.

She's hiding something.

The pessimistic voice was back. Steven wasn't in the mood to question it though.
"Pearl...what- what...no, why would the gem war have you so worked up now, when it ended thousands of years ago?" Pearl looked a bit startled at that- probably recalling some horrific shattering she'd seen.
Steven shuddered at the thought, slightly understanding why Pearl didn't like talking about... those times.
Steven wiped sweat from his forehead, not only the heat, but the tension had caught up with him. Pearl was unsure of how to respond, it seemed, because her response wasn't as thought out as her sentences usually were.

"Well... uh- Don't worry! This development shouldn't have you worried in the slightest!, you'll be perfectly safe... if we take necessary precautions."
Pearl mumbled on, whispering to herself and trying to reassure her frantic mind. It was pretty hectic in there- Steven knew that from experience.
"Look, Pearl. Whatever it is you're worried about, I can handle it- we dealt with Homeworld after all... I even got through to WHITE. If I can do that much, this so called 'development' shouldn't affect me at all."
He spoke confidently, reminding his guardian that they had faced many troubles together- trying to remind himself that they shoul- DO trust each other enough to keep everyone in the loop.
"Really, Steven.... you don't need to-"
"Aargh- JUST TELL ME, PEARL!"
"Steven! Don't raise your voice at me, young man!" Pearl shot back at him, her motherly instincts intensifying by the second. His little outburst hadn't gone past her- despite being a frantic mess.

She's hiding something from me.

She is, definitely.

She doesn't trust me- she isn't going to treat me with respect...

She's going to baby me like she always has...!

The pessimist in Steven's head was growing louder, calling him out on his insecurities- things he'd rather not think about at this current point in time. He was at his boiling point, anger and hormones raging inside of him and tempting to spill out as easily as Blue's tears. Tears. Yes, he was almost at the point of crying. He'd gotten worked up to easily, felt too emotional about secrets being kept from him despite-

"WE FUSED PEARL!!! WE TRUSTED EACH OTHER- WE SAVED EACH OTHER!! EVEN AFTER THAT WHY CANT....why can't.... why can't you trust me now..." Steven trailed off, his voice lowering as tears pricked his eyes with a stinging pain.

"Steven...." Pearl looked devastated- hurt by the fact that she'd caused her baby boy to feel as though their fusing meant nothing. She didn't really know what to say, in all honesty. She knew that after dealing with homeworld, Steven's mindset would mature enough for his body to alter in accordance. Yes! That's it- Hormones! He was worked up for no reason, just silly hormones.
"Steven, I understand that you feel... left out in this particular, erm... event. But, you're only getting worked up because of horm-"
Steven cut her off again. Speaking in a voice so low, that Pearl could barely hear him.
"We're supposed to trust each other... we're not supposed to keep secrets from each other.." his voice trembled. He knew where Pearl was coming from, but she still wasn't giving him the answers he wanted. She was still keeping secrets.
"Steven...." Pearl lifted his chin up gently to meet her gaze, a sort of worry and pain you'd only see in a mother's eyes glinting in her own.
"We... I...don't mean to hurt you... But this- this is something not even I have much knowledge on... if I don't understand it- I can't protect you."
"But... you'll only be babying me, treating me like the way you treated me back then... I don't want that Pearl...."
They were both crying a little now. Steven knew exactly what Pearl was going to say next and he didn't need future vision to know that he wasn't going to like it. Not one bit.
"I know Steven, but it's for your own good."
He stood up straight startling Pearl and causing her to tumble softly onto her bottom. He glared at her through tears, he'd had enough of this. He didn't want to be sad anymore, and he didn't like being angry either. It was time to take a walk. A walk to where Pearl wouldn't follow him, not for a while at least. He dashed over to the warp pad, hastily.
Seeing this Pearl reached out in an attempt to seize the hem of his jeans. But she was too late, he'd already reached the warp.
"STEVEN! DON'T-" a bright beam of light filled the room. He had already warped away, and Pearl couldn't hope to think of where...

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A momentary flash of light sparkled in an battlefield with gargantuan weaponry and strawberries strewn about, and not a sign of human life. Tales of strife and suffering, of pain and hurt that stained the earth.
But what fear was once felt, had melted away; all that was left of the Great Gem war was a field of hopes and dreams.    
Steven sat sulking, sitting on the trunk of a falling tree. His mind was so full of thoughts about what was keeping Pearl worked up, but the rest of him just felt... empty. Hollow.

She doesn't trust me.

His internal voice spoke out in a cold and hateful tone.
"N-no, she does, it's just this new thing is dangerous and-"

Going on missions used to be dangerous. They let me anyway. Why protect me from death now? She even let me fall that one time...

"She was upset, she wasn't thinking properly, and she even tried to save me-"

She was saving Rose.
Pink.
Her leader.
She doesn't want me around. Even now, she still wants Rose back. The person she knows so much and yet so little about.

"Stop it. Just stop thinking like that- like this...
We've grown and changed, Pearl may have seen it like that before, but now she doesn't. We are a family and we love each other for who we are no matter what, and we face our problems together!"

Then why don't I even know what the problem is?

Because they won't tell me.... because they're afraid of-
Me getting in the way.

"NO!" Steven shouted out in frustration, he hated arguing with himself.
The thoughts he so passionately fought against and simultaneously believed in threw themselves around his head like an orchestration of pure chaos. Before long, he found himself with an uninvited headache and with his tears rolling down his cheeks almost as much as Blue's did. He pulled his knees up to his head and sobbed silently for a very long while. His eyes had become red and puffy, his nose running and his lips trembling- he'd lost control of his emotions.
Thank puberty for that. |:T
He didn't like the situation he'd put himself into, and silently regretted bothering with it in the first place. Like the stupid teenager he was, he'd made a mess of everything again.
"BUT IF THINKING LIKE THAT ISNT GOING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, WHY THINK LIKE THAT AT ALL, SMALL HUMAN?" Steven jolted up, stumbling of off his crying stump and onto his feet in the blink of an eye. He frantically looked around for any sign of life, only to see nothing but long grassy fields and a skeleton leaning against a giant strawberry. Wearing a shirt that read out 'COOL DUDE' in bold red letters.
He blinked at the skeleton a few times, before deciding to sit back down on the stump. He stared at his feet, realizing he had neglected to put shoes on.
He was officially questioning his sanity...
Maybe his last adventure into space had finally knocked the screws in his head?
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"HUMAN? DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ME, PERHAPS?" His head jolted up to stare into the endless voids of black that were a skeletons eye sockets.
He screamed, naturally.

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Yeah, so Lag4123 and I have been rather uninspired lately... but for what has been done, we've tried our best.
We're not too fixed on what happens next, but expect some puns. ;)

As always, creative criticism is appreciated and will most likely be applied, depending on the amount of input.
Comment what thoughts you have, predictions and maybe even requests for future 'special' one off chapters? (Like valentines, Good Friday and what not...)

Until the gracious twist of fate allows our paths to intertwine once more,
I bid farewell to you, dear readers.