Steven Universe fic

Pt2 Chapter Two: A Cereal Story

Steven rolled over on his side, discontent to get out of bed despite the sun being well over halfway in the sky. The previous day was physically exhausting, and the night that followed was mentally so. He didn't want to get out of bed, let alone deal with a clingy gem that could easily throw off all his plans for the day.
He had called Connie and apologized for his rancid behavior at their picnic, and requested her presence and advice shortly after Spinel had been poofed, but he didn't tell her the whole story.

The increasingly annoying squeaking of Spinel's shoes forced him to rise earlier than he would have liked. He sleepily looked around the room, noticing that the squeaking had been coming from just outside his door.
Steven sat up and pushed his blankets aside, groggily making his way to the door.
He opened the door and peered down at the giddy gem, who was very much, wide awake.
Steven rubbed the sleep from his eyes and let out a yawn, stretching and patting the gem on her head before making his way downstairs. Spinel followed suit, bouncing excitedly as she did so.

"Morning, Spinel, morning, Pearl, Garnet." Steven sighed, pulling out a box of cereal from the cabinet, and setting it on the table. He climbed up onto a stool and began pouring himself a bowl.

"Morning, Steven." Pearl chimed.

"Good Morning." Garnet said, bringing in a large plank of wood to repair the hole Spinel had created a few days prior.
Spinel set her hands on the island where Steven was eating his cereal, resting her chin on her hands as she watched.

"Connie is coming over today, we're gonna try and have our picnic again."

"What is that?" Spinel questioned softly, eyeing Steven's cereal, the tired boy looked down at his breakfast confusedly.

"Oh, it's cereal." He answered.

The gem edged closer, intrigued by the food.

"Can I have some?" She whispered, as if it were a forbidden thing. Steven looked at the gem for a moment, then smiled a sleepy smile.

"Uh, sure, let me get you a bowl." Steven smiled as he said the words, hopping off his stool to grab an extra bowl from the cabinet. Spinel climbed onto the stool next to him and eagerly watched as he poured cereal and milk into her bowl and handed her a spoon.
She eyed the spoon, turning it in her fingers, making a quick glance at Steven as he used his to scoop up cereal and eat.
She followed suit, thrusting her spoon into the bowl and scooping up a large spoonful of cereal and subsequently shoving it in her mouth.

Steven chuckled as he watched the gem awkwardly chew before swallowing, her eyes brightening as she did so.

He thought her pursuits were sweet, as she voraciously consumed the meal, she reminded him of someone like a little sister.

"Steven!" Connie's voice sounded from the doorway as she unlatched the door, she paused for a moment, watching Steven as he stared at Spinel devouring her cereal with a content smile on his face.
His eyes drifted toward her and he stammered to speak.

"Connie! Sorry I'm not dressed, it's been a long night." Connie nodded, her eyes moving toward Spinel. Steven laughed nervously as she began to put the pieces together.

"Let me get dressed and we can be on our way." Steven smiled, hopping up the stairs to change clothes. Spinel paused, and lowered her spoon as she turned her head to face Connie.

"Hi, Spinel." Connie said nervously, providing a small wave to the gem. Spinel hopped off her stool and bounced toward her, grabbing her hand.

"You know me?" She questioned, cocking her head slightly to one side. Connie retracted her hand from the gem's grip and gave a nervous smile.

"Um, yeah, I do."

A grin split across Spinel's face as she began to bounce excitedly, "Are you a crystal gem too? It's our friend name! Like a club!"

Connie couldn't find the words to say, but luckily Steven had returned from upstairs, pulling on his newly patched pink jacket.

"Okay, I'm ready now." He laughed, taking Connie's hand. Spinel looked at the two of them curiously.

"Where are you going?" She said, concern leaking through her words. Steven turned back toward the gem as she grabbed his hand to prevent him from leaving.

"We're going on a picnic." The two shared a concerned look as Spinel stood forlorn at the words. Steven paused, this could trigger her to remember his mother leaving her. If he left her here, maybe she'd get her memories back.
But, he thought, she is so happy..and he didn't want to subject her to more loneliness.

"You can come too." He said gently, causing Spinel to perk up at the thought. Connie shot the boy a concerned look before resigning herself to the third companion. She had wanted to talk to him about her, but with her constantly hanging around him, it would be difficult