Blue is a Sleepy Colour

19- Snow is Made From Water

Greg hastily chucked another log into the fire.

The gems, along with Greg, sat in the living room, huddled closer to each other as the snow barrelled down outside. Despite being mid-November, an unexpected snow storm had trapped the four of them inside the temple. It was surprisingly peaceful- it was warm and cozy and Pearl had made everyone tea (well, Amethyst preferred eating the tea bags over the actual tea).

The absence of Steven made the room slightly melancholy, but they all enjoyed each other's company for the time being. Amethyst groaned obnoxiously.

"Ugh! Why are we still here when we should be out there looking for Steven and Jasper!" She frowned, crossing her arms.

"The ocean is too riled up from the storm for it to be safe to look for them. It's best we wait for the storm to pass before going back in the water." Spoke Garnet, calm and collected as ever, before taking another sip of her tea.

"As much as I want to agree with you, Amethyst, Garnet's right. It's simply too dangerous to go into the ocean in a storm like this one." Pearl reprimanded. Greg sighed.

"I wish he were here." He said flatly. The three gems glanced at each other sympathetically.

"I know it might seem hopeless now, but we're getting close. I can feel it." Garnet placed a hand on Greg's shoulder, and despite himself, he couldn't help but smile up at her.

"It just feels weird, y'know? I'm used to not having him around all the time but... this feels so much worse. Knowing he's out there, suffering... it's awful." He poked the fire with one of the longer kindling sticks. "You should've seen how excited he was to move in with you guys... feels like forever ago now."

***

Greg watched as his six year old son played with the strings of his ukelele, his bright blue eyes squinted and his brows furrowed in concentration. He chuckled as Steven grunted in frustration each time he struck a wrong chord.

"Hey, Schu-ball. How's that song coming along?" He said as he sat down next to the boy, the pair dangling their legs over the side of the van. Steven only sighed and placed the instrument down beside him, then slumped over to lean on his father's arm.

"This song's super hard." He huffed, causing Greg to laugh.

"I know what'll cheer you up." He ruffled his hair. "Wanna go for a fly?"

Steven immediately perked up, a wide gap-toothed grin on his face.

Moments later, Greg had lifted Steven high above his shoulders, swirling him around as he squealed in delight. Steven stuck his arms out like makeshift wings, shouting to go higher. Greg complied, his heart swelling at the sound of his son's laughter.

He knew it was moments like these that he would never forget.

***

The gems smiled at Greg's story, reminiscent of Steven's adolescence.

"Pfft. That's a nice story, but remember when Steven actually learned to fly?" Snorted Amethyst.

***

Steven, now thirteen years old, looked worriedly over the edge of the cliff side.

"I don't know about this, Amethyst..." His voice quivered. The purple gem scoffed before shapeshifting into an owl, cockily pruning her feathery wings.

"It's fine, Ste-man! You'll never learn if you don't take any risks." She hovered over the edge of the cliff. Steven glanced up at her before hastily summoning his wings. Amethyst couldn't help but falter slightly- she still wasn't used to the sight of his wings. He had only recently learned to summon them, but still had a lot to learn about flying.