Elastic Hearts

What the Heart Wants

~~ Later That Day... ~~

Steven's P.O.V

"You get a good night's rest, my dude!" Sour Cream calls after me.

I smile and turn my head to nod as I'm walking away from Sadie's house. I wish Sour Cream all the same and then, with a happy kick to my step, I soldier on ahead to who knows where. I'm not entirely sure that I want to head directly home, especially after what transpired this morning, but as far as backup options go, I'm running kinda short-handed. Gosh, if only Amethyst hadn't been so jealous of my personal feelings, then maybe I would've been at home eating Cookie Cat Crunch with her about ten hours ago. I guess time really does fly when you're enjoying yourself.

I kinda let my mind wander as I trudge off away from the city. Questions buzz around my head like a swarm of angry hornets. What if Spinel had stayed on Earth? Is she feeling the same way about me the same way I'm feeling about her? What would Pearl and Garnet think about our relationship? What kind of relationship would we have? Would we be friends? Would we be more? Sighing, I try to grasp onto the facts of the matter. Spinel left with the Diamonds. I feel sad that I can't have a face-to-face talk with her, or hug her for that instance. Connie doesn't like how I feel about Spinel. And I find out from Sadie's mom that my feelings mean that I'm crushing on Spinel. Wow, my life's going great these days.

I then look up and see that I've wandered into Little Homeworld. According to Bismuth, very minimal damage was done to the town, so, fortunately, there were no casualties among the gem residing here. The specific style, sharp and well-defined in tone and color, gives me nostalgia for Homeworld itself, though I find it hard to think that I'd actually miss the planet. I was previously scared to no end about going there, yet these feelings speak for themselves and aren't telling me anything different.

"Steven! Steven!" An eagerly, excited voice calls from ahead.

I look for the source of the voice and when my eyes settle across her, I know she's the one who spoke. Smiling, I break into a run, being mindful of the other gems parading around, and embrace the fusion with a hug. She squeezes back with equal, if not more, passion.

"It's so relieving to see you again" Lemon Jade exclaims.

"Well, you know" I keep it cool, rubbing my hands together, "It's just hard to stay away from here sometimes".

"Oh, you!" LJ teases, playfully hitting me on the shoulder, "So, what brings the 'Savior of all Earth' to our little faucet of the Kindergarten?"

"Just wandering around and all" I shrug, "Trying to work out everything that's happened since yesterday. I swear, a lot of things can happen so fast and even faster than you want it to!"

"Oh, I hear that" The green fusion levels with me, "You will not believe how hectic and crazy it gets here sometimes. I mean, only two hours ago, we nearly had a stampede, as you humans call it, to see who could get to the fighting rink first. Those clods are too darn competitive anymore!"

"..Still learning from Peridot, huh?" I remark, smiling at her word choice.

"As much as I can, Steven" Lemon Jade replies jokingly.

I sigh and shake my head while internally giggling. Lemon Jade has come so far since the first time we saw her. She was a new fusion that got poofed because of an accidental Stevonnie fusion with Connie. Now LJ has really come out of her shell and let herself be open to others, a very welcoming change indeed. I then notice that the sunlight is shining off the buildings in a very warm and visually stunning way, which makes me look at the Sun and also notice that it's descending in the sky again.