Steven Universe fic

pt7 Chapter Five: Back Together

Spinel finally released her grip on her friends, wiping the tears from her eyes and she sniffled, letting out a relieved laugh. Steven and Connie sat in front of her, smiling too.

A loud crash sounded from outside the palace, drawing them from their fleeting joy. Steven turned around, seeing a crowd of white quartz soldiers march outside, striking any Citrine in sight, the near emotionless gems cleaved Aquamarine's armies in half, poofing them without a second thought.
The gem's eyes widened as they watched the soldiers effortlessly destroy Aquamarine's rebellion. Spinel stood now, gripped by fear, she glanced back at Steven, her mouth twitching as she struggled to speak.

"We need to go." The gem whispered, she glanced back at the scythe, then at Aquamarine's gem that had yet to reform.
Steven stood, grabbing the scythe while Amethyst raced to Aquamarine's gem, clasping it in her hands before returning to her friends.

"The ship!" Steven called, making a break for the rubies ship that sat at the edge of the crumbling steps, the rest followed, leaping into the ship before the quartz soldiers arrived. Pearl set the coordinate to earth and the ship rose into the air, allowing the crystal gems to see the siege of the planet by White Diamond's elite soldiers. The fires of Honeworld raged onward, and now the screams belong to the Citrine soldiers and dissenters of the empire.

The ship shot off into the sky, leaving the wreckage behind.

Steven turned away from the window, facing Spinel who seemed lost in thought as she pressed her fingers into her arm, checking to see if she might leak again. Her eyes drifted toward Bismuth's scythe, it lay on the ground, a shiver ran down her spine as she looked at it.

"I missed you." Steven's words pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up, the boy stood in front of her, smiling. He glanced at the scythe, still not entirely sure of what it could do.

"You're not mad at me?" Spinel asked, blinking in confusion. Steven nervously laughed, scratching his head, unsure of how to explain himself.
The last time they talked he didn't really  seem keen on listening.

"Aquamarine lied, and I was dumb and believed her." He casually remarked, though, to Spinel it was nothing near casual. She nervously laughed in response, not terribly excited to think about Aquamarine or her nasty plan.

"What happened to you?" Steven's voice was riddled with guilt as he spoke, Spinel lowered her head, grabbing her arm to comfort herself.

"I..I don't know?" She answered, now looking at the scythe. "I got lost?"

Steven nodded, he didn't want to pry, Spinel had only just rejoined them and she likely needed time to process whatever went on without them. Steven didn't want to hinder that by drudging up her experiences.
He pulled in a breath, holding for a moment before exhaling and grabbing the gem's hand.

"I'm sorry." He didn't look at her, and half expected her to pull away in anger. She didn't. The gem stared at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, I should have trusted you."

The gem relaxed her tightened shoulders, letting out a breath and slinking down the side of the ship.

"I don't blame you." She replied, "I've done a lot of bad things...it was only a matter of time before you found out."

The gem closed her eyes in resignation. Steven sat down next to her, brushing his arm against hers, causing her to open her eyes.

"You've come a long way though." Steven leaned toward his friend, resting his head on his knees, a soft smile on his face. "You really are a good friend, Spinel."

His words made Spinel blush, she couldn't quite believe him though. She didn't think of herself as good at all, more like a mess.
She was a mess, she couldn't quite understand why Steven was apologizing to her, and even less at why he had healed her. Her eyes drifted from her feet toward the other gems who stood at the control panels, as the ship zoomed through space, Connie waved to her, opening a book and reading while she waited.

"I'm really not." She replied dejectedly, sinking further into her unhealthy thoughts. Steven let out a laugh, causing her to stare at him in disbelief.

"Sure you are," he offered her a smile, "you waited for me, and believed in me, even though I didn't believe in you."

The boy wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close in a short embrace.

"So don't ever tell me that isn't being a good friend." He said softly, letting the gem go. He stood looking back at her with a gentle smile.

"You're a great friend, the best."