Conflicts Occur (Human Steven x Human Spinel Gang AU)

Chp 28 (reassurance with tears)

"Alright Steven, follow my finger" Peridot commanded, slowly moving her small pale finger from the left to the right. Steven, currently holding an ice pack directly onto the bump on his head, watched Peridot's fingers move from right to left since he was facing her directly. His tired brown eyes followed Peridot's fingers at the same pace as she moved her fingers, showing no discomfort whatsoever. "Hmm.... No discomfort I assume, you MAY still be getting over a concussion. Sleeping in a pile of garbage didn't seem to help with your headache, that and being dehydrated and starved is also effecting your headache." Peridot explained, adjusting her glasses, her emerald color eyes studying Steven. Steven sighed a bit, after showering and basically eating their whole stash of apples and Lapis cooking him several eggs, he felt ready to sleep again. After Greg helped Steven to Lapis and Peridot's apartment door, tears of relief were shed, many extremely strong hugs almost killed him, and a long hot shower took a lot out of him, but he still needed to talk to his dad about something important. "I think after cleaning up your lip, and some rest, you should be functional by tomorrow" Peridot stated, her attention turning to see the orange tabby named "Pumpkin" purring in Greg's lap. "Thanks Peridot, I'm glad Steven has such great friends to help him out....then again he WAS basically missing for a few days...." Greg mumbled that last part, realizing that maybe it wasn't the right moment to talk about that. "Speaking of friends, you may want to CALL them Steven, every one of them" Lapis stated as she flicked her hands in the sink, shaking off whatever water she had on her hands from washing dishes, and then grabbing at a clean dish towel to dry off her hands. Steven sighed as he nodded, "I will, I promise but....I need to talk to Dad first..... alone" Steven explained, putting more emphasis on the word "alone". "Very well, come on Peridot let's let them have their father son time" Lapis stated as she smiled softly, using her left hand to grip onto Peridot's right hand, and helping the short blonde woman up to her feet.

"What's up Schtuball?" Greg asked as soon as Peridot and Lapis Lazuli was out of earshot, Pumpkin continued to doze away on his lap. "Dad?......I think I'm going completely batty...." Steven sighed in defeat, if anyone knew what Steven was feeling, his dad would be his best bet in helping him figure out his thoughts and doubts. "Well after being kidnapped, stalked, and almost killed, I wouldn't be surprised if it's effecting you" Greg replied, petting the orange tabby on his lap as he focused his attention on his only child. "N-No dad....I don't know anymore if I'm in love or just plain obsessively crazy....." Steven sighed, running his fingers through his hair, paying mind to not touch the sensitive lump on his head. "Well who's the lucky lady that caught your eye?" Greg asked, knowing that his son was always a sap for romance, especially with others he can see having a future together, but it was extremely rare for Steven to be romantically attracted to any person. "Her name is Spinel.....and she's crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. A dangerous, beautiful, sexy maniac of a girl.... She's the right hand woman of The Diamonds, she can make you quiver where you stand when she even looks at you. Spinel isn't afraid to throw punches when you piss her off, not to mention she can knock you flat by a single kick to your stomach, she's crazy strong and won't be afraid to stomp your face in." Steven explained, pointing at the scar on his cheek "and she's NOT afraid to slice you open with her knife, or toy with your mentality". Greg listened intently to his son's description of Spinel, cringing the whole way through the summary, "dang kiddo...." was all he could muster up in response. "But.....she's angry for so many reasons, crazy because what she's had to do to survive in this FUCKED up City we live in, and in so much pain for because of what's happened to her in the past. Spinel seems so cold and maniacal because that's how she was raised, but she has emotions dad! I've heard her many different versions of her laugh, sexy, hopeless, tired, and happy.....I've held her when she cried many times before. It makes my heart feel so heavy to see her in so much pain, whether it's physical, mental, and emotional. But Spinel makes my heart skip a beat whenever I see her genuinely smile, her jokes make me crack up hard, and her teasing makes me so damn flustered to the pint my whole body feels like it's on fire. I've gotten to know Spinel more and more everytime we hang out, I could listen to her sing for a long time even though I've only heard her sing once when we went to a karaoke bar in Empire City.... I'm so confused dad....am I just lusting after her? Or am I in love?!...." Steven relayed his thoughts to his dad, Feeling a weight lift off his shoulders, but a guilty anchor weighing in his mind. Was it just his head injuries muddling with his thoughts? Or was it a repression of doubts he's been hiding for the past few months? "Steven you know what you sound like?" Greg asked, watching his son's attention focus from his lap to his own father's bearded face. "What do I sound like dad?" Steven asked, his heart pounding in his chest due to his anxiety spiking, and he hoped his father wouldn't say he was just plain crazy. However, Greg's face turned soft, his smile reassuring as he spoke the following words "you sound just like me after I met your mom" he chuckled, which shocked Steven to his core. ""After being with your mom for a while, I started to question whether I was just scared of dying because of Rose, or I was so in love that I didn't want to leave her. Was I stupid or was I crazy? In the end I came to the conclusion that, well, I was crazily, stupidly in love with your mother. I put her ahead of my own safety, she made me feel.....found. I was in a bad place at your age Steven, and Rose helped me out of that hole I couldn't get out of....." Greg chuckled softly, reminiscing about his time with Rose Quartz, the leader of The Crystal Gems.