Steven Universe fic

part 13 Chapter Six: Gentle Terror

Spinel stood frozen at the window, unable to move as she stared down at Blue Diamond. Her thoughts ran wild and her breath caught in her throat as she attempted to wrap her mind around why the diamond had arrived.
She watched as Steven lowered his sheild, as he spoke to her, as he left her to return to his home.

He opened the door, catching sight of the entirely still gem as she stood, still staring out the window. Her head slowly turned to face him and he could see the terror in her eyes.

"Spinel, it's okay, she isn't here to hurt you." He said gently, though he fully understood why the gem didn't seem to register his words. Steven stepped closer to her, grabbing her hands and holding them to his chest to show her he was there.

"I won't let her hurt you, I promise." He whispered. Spinel's eyes drifted to her hands, hovering on them for a few moments before she finally met his gaze. Her lips twitched as she fought against herself to speak. Only a small whimper was uttered.
Steven nodded, providing the gem a warm and sincere smile as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her toward the stairs.
Her steps were merely small shuffles, but she followed him to his room where he let her sit on his bed.
She was incredibly tense, so much so that all the elasticity had completely left her and she was stiffened with fear and apprehension.
Two diamond in two days was likely far more than the petrified gem could handle.
And he recognized that.
Even more so, he recognized the exact way she seemed to freeze like terrified prey in the face of her fears. It was the same way Pink Zirconia froze in front of White Diamond.
The same way Spinel froze in front of the apparitions in Rose's room, he knew it all too well.

"She won't hurt you, she just wants to talk- you don't have to if you're not ready." He murmured, squeezing her hands as she stared at the floor.

"Hhhhemmrrr." Whatever words Spinel was trying to say only made an awkward wheezing noise as they escaped her lips. If Steven didn't know the cause of her fumbling, he would have laughed, but he couldn't.
He smiled instead, grabbing his blanket and wrapping it around her, then pulling all his stuffed toys from his shelves to tuck in her arms.
The gem was entirely cocooned, though it didn't seem to alleviate her fear.

"I gotta go, you can stay here right? I'll be right back." He smiled, kissing her forehead just before leaving out the balcony door. Spinel blinked, he did it again.
It must have been a human thing. Perhaps to provide comfort? It did, ever so slightly.

Steven hoped down from his balcony and drifted effortlessly to the sand where Blue Diamond sat waiting for his words.

"She doesn't really want to talk right now. Maybe later?" He called up to the diamond. Blue nodded, raising her head to peer through the windows into his room.

Spinel felt the Diamond's eyes on her back and sat completely still, hoping she wouldn't see her.

Blue looked down at Steven and let out a discontent sigh, remissed that the pink gem had refused to speak. She had never done so prior.
Granted, the moments of which Spinel acted out of turn were promptly followed by punishment.

"What am I to do?" The diamond questioned, hoping Steven could provide an answer to her. He shrugged, not feeling particularly up to the task of helping her reconcile with Spinel.

"You guys really hurt her, she isn't obligated to talk to you- or forgive you."
His words seemed harsh, but he had directed them at not just Blue, but himself as well.

Blue groaned in malcompliance at his response, they had done far worse in the past. But this was the future, and Steven didn't tolerate such behavior.
Blue did care for Spinel, despite what she may have told Steven.
She truly did love her like Pink.
She was so much like Pink though, and it let them slip back into their old actions without a second thought.

"What should I do in the mean time?" She asked, she couldn't very well go back to the kindergarten yet. She had informed White that she was going on a diplomatic trip to curate gems who had intended to stay with the Diamond authority, she even had falsified documents and reports to provide an alibi. She couldn't return so quickly.

"You can...." Steven tried to think of a place Blue could be without attracting his enemies. "Stay on the moon?"

Blue looked up, her eyes focusing on the moon that orbited the planet. She smiled, pressing her fingers together at the idea.

"That's a wonderful idea, Steven!" She exclaimed, standing up and moving closer to her ship. "Tell Spinel that when she is ready, I would like to apologize."

Steven nodded, though he didn't imagine the pink gem would ever be ready to speak to the diamond.
He turned, leaping into the air to land on his balcony once more.
He stepped into his room, gently setting his hand on the still cocooned gem's shoulder as he rounded the bed.

"She's gone now, but she said she wants to say sorry." He explained to the still silent gem.

Spinel's face turned up and tears began to form as her lips trembled before she spoke. "I don't wanna."

Steven took a step back, caught off guard by the childish whimper of her voice.

"You don't have to- only if you want to, and only when you're ready." He sat down next to her on his bed, leaning back until he lay flat on the mattress.

"But I have to figure out where to put her gems-" he glanced at Spinel, she didn't look as though she was listening, she fiddled with one of his stuffed toys. "That's why she came."