By Your Side: Steven Universe x Reader

💎Episode 3: Part 1💎

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
Enjoy the chapter!!

-(Y/n)'s POV-

"All right, Mom. Where should you go?" Steven asked the painting of a Rose Quartz.

From my vantage point on the stairs, I sent him a puzzled look, "That painting doesn't look anything like Pink Diamond. It looks like a Rose Quartz."

Steven was only half-listening to me as he took the portrait off the wall and moved it above the temple door, giving me the summarized version of Pink Diamond's circumstances in a distracted tone. "Yeah!" Steven exclaimed proudly, interrupting his explanation. However, a look of discontent soon took over his face as he stared up at his mom. "Hmm."

He, then, tried the greenhouse, the laundry hand (it wasn't a room it was clearly a hand), his room, the outside of the house, and the bathtub, but none of those places seemed to satisfy Steven. In the end, the portrait was put back in its original place. Realizing what he just did, Steven let out a groan and roughly ran his fingers through his curly black hair in frustration before moving to pick the painting up once more. I was still confused about Pink Diamond but didn't dwell on it. She wasn't the person I wanted to understand.

"Yo, Shtuball!" A voice called from behind Steven causing him to freeze his hold on the picture's frame and look at the people behind him. Normally, I would have been on my feet already, assessing the potential danger, but the man with long, wavy brown hair that seemed to avoid the top of his head who was beside Amethyst was someone I recognized. "Still looking for a place to hang that painting of your mom?" The man asked Steven.

The teen holding said painting let out a sigh and hung it back onto the wall, "Yeah. After everything that's happened, I don't know if I still want her hanging over us, you know?" My gaze focused itself on Steven at his confession.

      He often talks about feelings but never his own. When everything around him is a whirlpool of feelings, he is steady in his loving support. With no way to be anything but that. I know I'm not enough to be the one Steven opens up to nor did I deserve to so I just kept my eyes on his face while he spoke. It was basic etiquette in communication, but it was all I could do to tell him I was willing listening to him and what he was feeling. Even if he wasn't facing me.

"I'm telling you, man, it's not the placement," Amethyst responded. "It's the frame."

     Noticing my presence, the man gave me an awkward smile, "Hi, you must be new. I'm Steven's dad, Greg Universe, but you can just call me Greg."

     I stood up to properly address him and extended my hand to Mr. Universe. "I'm (Y/n). Nice to meet you." And it was. Mr. Universe was the kind of person who made you feel relaxed, and I could tell right away what a great dad he was to Steven. That being said, it was hard to keep the overflowing sincerity out of my voice. I didn't need to broadcast my feelings all over the place. Especially around other gems. In the corner of my eye, Amethyst watched me shake hands with Mr. Universe.

Just as Steven's dad and I ended our introduction, the sky began to darken at an abnormally fast rate. "Is it me, or is it getting kind of ominous outside?" Mr. Universe asked, voicing all of our thoughts as we looked out the windows.

     We all headed out the door to investigate the cause and were met with a ginormous Gem ship hovering over the beach. "Woah!" The others exclaimed as they tried to take in the sight. I fought the urge to flinch at the sight of Pink Diamond's ship and the memories it brought with it. If I had a heart, it would be thundering at 210 mph right now. The tenseness in my body was the only sign of my inner turmoil as it struggled between fighting and running away.