By Your Side: Steven Universe x Reader

💎Episode 3: Part 2💎

A/n: Here's a bit of clarification for those who need it!
(G/c)= gem color
(G/n)=gem name
(H/c)=hair color
(H/l)= hair length
(E/c)= eye color
(F/m)= favorite movie

Enjoy the chapter!!

"He's cutting one of those carrot things again!" H.R.Q. squealed. She had been narrating Steven's actions ever since she left the ship. I was half-tempted to gag her, but when I first suggested it to Steven, he told me that they were just really excited.  "Goooooooing~~ uuuup~ to~~ his~ mouth!" H.R.Q. exclaimed, dragging out her words as Steven lifted the carrot to his mouth and ate it. "Ah! And it's gone!"

She leaned close to his face, eyes wide and curious. Chewing his food, Steven turned to the rose quartz who was the only one at the dinner table who seemed unaffected by the tense atmosphere. Garnet looked composed as always, but her crossed arms and legs suggested she was not in the mood. Next to Steven, Pearl rested her head against her hand as if it was holding back a hurricane of a headache from H.R.Q.'s cheers. Even the other Rose Quartzes couldn't rally the same enthusiasm as their companion. In fact, they were also uncomfortable. "Wow! No one can eat a carrot-thing  like you!" H.R.Q. gushed, clasping her hands together.

I pocketed a towel from one of the kitchen drawers to be a gag if I needed one. Sorry, Steven, I thought. I'd like to keep my sanity.

"I have been doing this for 16 years now," Steven said with a smile. "I would hope that–"

"Hey, Shtuball!" Mr. Universe called, his sudden entrance drawing everyone's gaze towards the door. "Any idea how long the zoo-mans are gonna be around? I haven't had this many exes show up at once since–" His eyes widened and words failed him. He finally noticed they had company. Rose quartz company.

Ever the energetic one, H.R.Q. smiled wide and waved to Mr. Universe. "Hi! How are you?" He looked to Pearl for some sort of explanation, but she only glanced at S.R.Q. seated next to her and gave him a helpless shrug.

"I can feel the rest of my hair falling out!" Mr. Universe said. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, frozen in place but eyes desperate to flee.

Steven's chair screech across the hard wood floor when he suddenly stood up and extended a hand towards his dad. "Dad, wait! You wanna join us for dinner?" Steven asked, his voice sounding more awkward as he continued to speak.

"Nope!" Mr. Universe yelled, his voice cracking a bit, before he bolted out of the house faster than I thought he was able.

Steven lowered his hand and sighed, though I got the sense that he couldn't put it past his old man for leaving so quickly. And, based on the rough explanation Steven gave me this morning on the whole "Rose Quartz" situation, I couldn't either. Heck, if Steven wasn't set on meeting their expectations as a welcoming host, I would've swept him away just as fast.

"Aaaaaaaalright! Ha," H.R.Q. exclaimed. "Back to this eating thing!"

She just has to put her face so close to Steven's, I thought. Being a gem is no excuse to intrude on other lifeforms' personal space, especially it makes them uncomfortable!

"What was that, (Y/n)?" Pearl asked. I barely registered that she was talking to me since she was staring at the table.

Please tell me I didn't say that out loud, I thought.

"Hm?" Pearl said when I didn't respond.

"Oh! It's... nothing," I mumbled. Thankfully, I could put off curling up into my hoodie to die since Steven didn't hear me. He was occupied with watching H.R.Q. narrate the steps of eating like a human.