♡Worth The Wait♡ Spinel x Gem reader (Gender Neutral!!)

~part 17: give it a try..?~

Time slowed to a stop as her words dully echoed in her head. "You... I... s-she... w-what..?" Pink pearl hugged you tightly again, smiling. "Yes! That's why she's been acting off! She's an active carrier of gemlings! Oh, congratulations, my (gem)!"

Your eyes stretched wide open at the revelation. She's carrying... gemlings...? That word itself hasn't even been used in diamonds know how long. And you didn't think you'd ever hear it. Let alone be the one to sire them!

Your mouth hung open as you stared at nothing in particular. I'm... gonna rear a clutch of... gemlings..? "W-Well... I... uh... wasn't... prepared.... for that..." you hear Steven awkwardly state, as he rubbed the back of his neck. You don't move for a good while before you finally found your voice. "Can... I see her...?" pink pearl stepped back, still smiling, oblivious to the tension. "Of course you may! She wanted to see you as well." you slowly nodded ans clapped a hand to Steven's shoulder. "Stay here." He nods silently, stepping back a bit. Shaking off your shock, you force yourself to move forward, and peek in the room.

There, you see spinel sitting in the middle of the bed, hugging her legs to her chest, looking down at her knees, with the look of utter, slightly horrified shock on her face. You swallow a knot of unease in your throat and step in slowly, the door shutting behind you. "Spinel...?" Your voice was tiny, but her head almost immediately snaps up as soon as she heard it. Her eyes were glazed and tired, but she seemed quite tense. "(Name)." She mutters, her voice low with an undefinable emotion.

You slowly walk over to her and sit on the bed beside her. A tense, awkward silence came between the two of you as you both just sat on the bed, staring down at yourselves. Say something. You mentally yelled to yourself. Anything! You finally decided to break the silence. "So uh... I guess we're gonna be parents now, huh..?" Spinel didn't look up. "But... how..." She whispered. "How... did this happen..?" You sighed softly, rubbing the back of your neck, thinking back on how geodes were produced. "Perhaps it was from... the relationship we have, spins." You concluded. She steals a side glance, looking curious. "Yeah..?" She asked.

"Yeah. And... when two gems that... really love each other touch gemstones together... there is a chance of a geode happening." Spinel mulls your words over in her head for a minute. It seemed like a silly conclusion, but the more she thought about it, the more the dots connected. As you and her built up your relationship during the many months on homeworld, she couldn't deny that she'd feel a particularly potent warmth flare up in her gem everytime it brushed yours, typically whenever you both were intimate. Most notably when you'd hug upon returning from an assignment and snuggle each other when you'd want to sleep. And there was a lot of snuggles over the few months.

Blushing, spinel releases a small snicker, rubbing her arm. "Yeah.. that... that makes sense." She chuckled. She then hugged herself tighter, suddenly looking incredibly worried. "But... what about me?" She whimpered. You tip your head to the side. "...what about you...?" She looks down and sighs sadly, tracing little shapes on the bed beside her with her finger. "Well... you saw how I am... remember when we first met?" Her eyes shut, her face burning in what looked like embarrassment. "What I tried to do... even now... I still have my... lows." She looked up at you, guilt filling her eyes. "..what.. what kind of mother will I be?"

You smiled softly. "One that won't make the same mistakes a certain diamond made." Spinel blinked, taken aback from your bluntness. "At least everything you had done is resolved and will remain that way in the long run. I mean, unless, of course, you'd want to run off and start an involuntary war with your homeworld?" spinel scoffed flippantly. "Why would I want to do that?" you repressed a snicker, amused at how defensive she got and continued.

"Then you have nothing to worry about, spinz." Spinel furrowed her brow, growling in dissatisfaction. "...and what if they hear about what I tried to do to big galaxy savior, Steven Universe in the past?" You huffed, shaking your head at her persistence. "And what if they hear about what I've done as a raging beast in the past. And about how the diamonds caused it." Spinel grunted at your flat voice and tried to add another quip, but you quickly press your finger into her lips. "Spinsy, we could do this all day." She growls indignantly and grabs your wrist. "Okay, wise-guy, but bottomline is, are WE prepared for this?" You smiled softly and wrapped your arm around her. "Only if you want to give it a chance."

Spinel stared at you for a moment then looked down to herself, mulling your words over in her head. Raising a litter of gemlings? It sounded daunting almost. Could she really handle such a big responsibility? Especially when she was still recovering from the past? Could she really go through with such a life-changing decision while STILL carrying such a heavy weight on her shoulders?

...but then again, she really wouldn't be... alone anymore, now would she? She'd be busy providing endless entertainment for little spinels and (gems). Not only that, but she'll be doing it with the one that cares more about her than pink ever did. She'd be a better mother than she ever was. And maybe... just maybe... they'd help with her recovery.

Yet, she didn't know that.. both of you didn't.. for all you knew, this decision might cause tension between you both... and stars only know how the diamonds will take it!

And what kind of gems would they grow up to be??

So much can happen with one choice. It could turn out good or go bad.

So, how could you know if you never tried?

Spinel huffed, and looked up at you. "...only if you're ready to handle a bunch of little spinels running around." you snort in amusement and wrap both your arms around her. "not if the little (gems) keep them in check." spinel giggles softly and buries her face into your chest, letting a few tears leak from her eyes. you hug her tightly, tears of your own leaking from your eyes. "The decision is final, then."

Spinel pressed her cheek against your chest.

"We'll see how their stories unfold."
~~~~~~

outside the room, Steven sniffles, smiling while pearl watched you both, beaming in elation. "I guess I... better spread the word, huh?" Steven asked, prompting a nod from Pink pearl. "certainly."