Steven Universe: Mom Swap AU

Malachite

The warp stream disappeared as Lapis and Jasper checked out their surroundings. The alien planet was full of thick vegetation and the sky was clear as could be. The air, although they did not breath it in, was fresh and warm, slightly humid but not overwhelmingly so. It was like a Spring day after a drizzle as they stepped off the warp and looked around.

A massive explosion was heard in the distance, causing Lapis to flinch as a dust cloud covers the area. Jasper quickly shields her friend. The ground shakes for a moment and settles. As the duo look around they see the area is a thick, blue-green jungle from which living plants emerge and approach.

"Aw these are adorable!" Lapis exclaimed picking one up which bloomed into a pink flower.

Jasper reminded the blue Gem as she looked around, patting one of the creatures, "Remember we're here to find the rouge Gems."

"You didn't tell Steven did you?" Lapis inquired as she turned to face the Quartz.

"Oh Heavens no," Jasper replied as she stepped off the warp, "Kid has enough on his plate if you ask me. Now where are those-"

There was a torrent of water that blasted away a grove of trees behind the two Gems as they turned to see two Lapis Gems flying, gleeful in their destruction as they laughed.

"Hey!" Jasper yelled.

The two rouge Gems froze to look down and see Jasper and Lapis, flying down to greet them, "Oh you are the ones who raised that half and half freak right?"

Jasper was already ready to poof the both of them as she cracked her knuckles and growled, "Say that again..."

"Easy Jasper," Lapis interjected stepping in front of her before she addressed the rouge Lapis Gems, "We're here on behalf of the Diamonds. You do know you guys are supposed to stop terraforming... right?"

"Right," the taller of the duo laughed, "What are we gonna take orders from a Jasper who despite posing as sane is still a corrupted freak and a Lapis who's only way to make friends was to give her so called son Stockholm Syndrome?"

Jasper growled at the duo, "How do you even know that term?"

"Oh like we haven't seen one of these mental health pamphlets," the taller Lapis laughed as she threw it into the water mockingly, "They've been sent all over the cosmos. We are free to do what we want? Well we want to terraform. Right?"

The shorter Lapis, with freckles protested, grabbing the wet pamphlet from the water, "I dunno Aqua, this school does look promising."

Aqua slapped the shorter Lapis, "Shut up Freckles!"

"Hey you can't treat your friends like that!" Jasper protested.

"What are you gonna do?" Aqua laughed, "I can hit her if I wanna she won't fight back."

The rage that Lapis and Jasper felt could know no words. Language did not have words to describe this rage.

Lapis glared, stepping forward, "Friendship, family, and so on, are all based in some form of love. If you truly love someone you would not strike them nor harm them emotionally for personal gain. That is not friendship. That's abuse."

"I've had enough of your prattle!" Aqua yelled, "Freckles! Let's fuse and shatter them!"

Freckles stepped away, fear in her eyes as she pleaded, "I don't like to-"

Again Aqua struck and yelled, "I'm in charge of this mission! You do as I say!"

The duo fused into a larger, malformed Gem with four arms and several legs which were shapped like arms, towering over the duo of Gems beneath them. In another time, mayhaps this is what a fusion between Lapis and Jasper would have looked like, only sea green instead of the deep blue the monstrous Gem before them formed.

Realizing they were in trouble the two exchanged a silent look and in an unspoken but understood agreement, fused.

But this Malachite, mirroring the more healthy and loving relationship between the duo, is not a monster, it is instead taller, standing on two legs with four arms, keeping its four eyes and green color that one would be familiar with, hints of issues with the fusion that the duo would discuss as they charged their opponent.

As the two titans fought outside, deep within their own minds, in a green, endless pool of water Jasper and Lapis stood, discussing the fusion they had formed.

"So this is fusion?" Lapis asked.

Jasper nodded, "It's usually more concrete than this, or, it was with Sea. Kinda like how Garnet is but, wouldn't wanna be fused with Sea all the time."

"Yeah can I be honest?" Lapis asked.

Jasper nodded as she stepped forward on, the wet sounds echoing as her feet clicked on the thin layer of green water in the empty void.

"I don't like this," Lapis admitted, "I don't think fusion is for me. Not that I have a problem with you it's just..."

Jasper sighed with relief, "Oh thank God, I felt kinda off about this too but didn't wanna say anything."

"Why not?" Lapis inquired, confused by Jasper's sudden lack of confidence.

Jasper sighed and sat down, "You know how most humans have their parents like, together? I kinda worried since like, Steven sees us as his moms does that mean it's better for him for us to be together? I personally see you as more of a sister so the idea is... pretty gross to me."

"Nah Jasper," Lapis shook her head, "We don't have to do that. Like, what would be worse, a child with separate parents or a child with parents who clearly hate each other? I do love you as well, but more as a sister. "

"So..." Jasper asked, "Let's not fuse again then yeah?"

Lapis nodded in agreement as the duo sat back to back and Lapis continued, almost as if she was speaking for the person writing this story as well as herself, "I don't know enough to say a lot about separated parents, I'm pretty uneducated on the matter otherwise I would say more about it, but I do know that we shouldn't force ourselves into a relationship because a kid sees us as parental figures. Family is love. Family is fluid, but romantic love is a separate matter. Yknow?"

Jasper nodded in understanding, "Yeah."

With that there was a loud explosion sound that echoed in the void. Jasper stood up and smiled, "Well that sounds like we poofed them. Let's unfuse."

Malachite unfused for the duo to see Aqua glaring at Freckles, who now hid behind Jasper and Lapis who instinctively protected her.

Aqua growled, "You're not even worth it. I'm out of here."

Aqua began to fly away only to be grabbed by a chain made of water as Lapis smirked, "No. We're not letting you leave to hurt someone else. You're going in a bubble. Where you belong."

With a slam into the ground, Aqua was poofed and bubbled by Lapis.

Jasper then spoke to Freckles as the trio prepared to warp away, "You OK?"

Freckles nodded.

"You'll love Earth," Jasper assured her, "I recommend therapy though, given your situation with Aqua and..."

With that the trio warped away, ending the mission...