Chapter Text
When Stephen arrived in the main hall there were already about 200 gems gathered and it looked like more were arriving by the minute. The main hall had been cleared out of any wandering gems that came to sightsee, and as he passed the main desk, he saw that tours were closed for the next couple Earth days-about a whole Homeworld day. After he was done looking around, he made his way to the former throne stage to greet the diamonds.
“Hey guys!” he said, walking up as he carefully looked around at the gems gathered. He didn’t recognize any of them personally yet, which was good. Most gems he recognized were those who had attempted to harm him in the past. There were a great deal of Peridots and even guards like Amethysts and Rose Quartz. The last gem type made him worry just a little bit. It meant having to introduce the past members to the Rose Quartz who were free now. He also caught a few different Agate groups amidst them all.
The diamonds smiled down at Stephen.
“Oh, Stephen! There you are. I was getting worried.” White said, stopping herself from immediately picking him up as she impatiently waited for permission. Yellow looked fed up with the scene and sighed. Stephen assumed that she had probably spent the whole time convincing White that Stephen would join as soon as humanly possible.
Stephen sighed and begrudgingly gave White permission to pick him up. After he was standing on her right hand, the other diamonds spoke up.
“Welcome back Stephen. Did you rest okay? Is Steven doing alright?” Blue asked him.
Yellow did roll her eyes this time but let Stephen speak for himself.
“Yes, I slept fine. Steven is staying with Spinel until I can be sure the gems who came today don’t mean any harm.” He told Blue and sent a smile at Yellow. It was surprising but he had a closer connection with Yellow out of the three. Yellow and he did occasionally clash with each other, but Yellow was always more likely to treat him equally over the other two. Blue always wanted to coddle him and dote on him, while White could be condescending sometimes when she used his age and human side against him. That didn’t mean Yellow couldn’t fall prey to thinking he was too young or naïve to handle certain things, but it was far less likely to happen with her.
“Still with this paranoia?” White asked him. “Do you really think any gem would be so idiotic?”
Stephen rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Yes. Yes, I do. There have been a few incidents already.” He told her.
White scoffed. “That was on Earth , not here.” She told him as if that answered everything. “No gem would dare pull anything like that on Homeworld and they won’t try to pull anything like that when we go to Earth either.”
Stephen went to retort, but paused he took in everything she had just said. “Wait… what do you mean when we go to Earth?”
White blinked at him, “Well, I mean when us four go to Earth with the gems who are going to help, of course!” She told him slowly, unsure why he was so confused.
Stephen could feel the anxiety and anger building but was cut off when he heard Dewdrop yell at them from a few feet away. Dewdrop’s yell shook him out of the building anxiety attack for the moment as he focused down on her.
“I’m here to help Stephen!” She yelled up to him, smiling.
White frowned and scoffed, “Why do we need her here…” she muttered.
Stephen sent White a warning glare before he turned and waved at Dewdrop. “She’s here because she’s been around the same gems I have and can help me pick out any problem gems.” He said, somewhat harshly. He jumped out of her hand and floated down to Dewdrop.
White pouted, looking hurt. However, he couldn’t bring himself to care as the other two diamonds looked worriedly between the two of them. When White noticed her act wasn’t getting the attention she wanted, she huffed and turned to talk to a few gems walking by. The gems excitedly greeted her and she took in their affection like a sponge.
If Stephen noticed, he didn’t comment on it. He was too busy greeting Dewdrop as she came up to him.
Dewdrop hesitated for a moment before sweeping Stephen in for a hug. He smiled and hugged her back before letting go and looking around at all the gems.
“Ready to get to work?” he asked.
Dewdrop nodded. She was determined to do her best to help him; the talk about Stephen with the other pearls still fresh in her mind. She hadn’t realized just how much she had stepped back from his life after he got through to White Diamond. Speaking of… she glanced up at the diamonds and wasn’t too surprised to find White Diamond frowning at her. She looked away and paid attention as Stephen started to explain his plans. White Diamond had been hostile towards her as soon as she had been pinpointed as the main ‘mother-figure’ of the group, for lack of a Homeworld word. Garnet was close up on the list but she was still the one who had taken care of all Stephen’s needs.
White turned away once more in a huff when it became clear that Stephen wouldn’t take the time to include the Diamonds in his plan sharing unless they were already listening in.
Stephen, an expert at ignoring White’s behavior, continued to explain the plan and spoke up a little more when he noticed Blue and Yellow taking the time to listen in. He finished his explanation of the plan. Long story short:
- Meet with groups of the gems and make sure they weren’t hostile towards humans or Earth.
- Make sure none of the gems he drew were included.
Thankfully, the list of gems he had bad encounters with was actually quite small. That’s why the first part of the plan was so important. They had to make sure no gems who would cause ill will to humans joined the expedition. He trusted Yellow and maybe Blue to help, but White was a no-go. For one, he didn’t trust her to take this seriously, and two, most gems would sing lies to please White. So Dewdrop and he would be meeting with the gems instead. If the gems couldn’t hide their disgust at them then they were definitely not going. He would have Yellow and Blue look for any gems he had drawn while they were doing that. Now, he just needed a believable job for White so she wouldn’t throw a fit.
“Hey, White!” he called up to her.
White startled, deep in conversation with another gem who was likely singing her praises. “Oh! Yes, Stephen?” she asked him, turning towards him.
He smiled up at her, “Could you help sort the gems? You know, Amethysts, Peridots, etc. all in order so it’ll be easier to get through them. I know I can trust you to do it quickly and efficiently.” He explained.
White beamed at him, “Of course! That’s so simple.” She told him, laughing as she got to work.
Blue and Yellow watched the interaction, never getting tired of how easily Stephen could manipulate White sometimes. Yellow shook her head and sighed, it felt like it was becoming a habit in this new chapter of her life.
“Alright Stephen, we’ll get to work on looking for these gems.” She told him, holding up the list he had given them. “Remember, we can’t take too long doing this, I’m sure your past counterparts would like to be back home soon.”
“Of course, Yellow,” Stephen said, just barely leaving out his exasperation.
Stephen turned back to Dewdrop, “Alright! Let’s get to work!” he told her, smiling.
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Four hours of talking and sorting later, and Stephen wanted to collapse and sleep for an entire week. One thousand gems had shown up… and seven hundred fifteen had to be dismissed from the expedition. That still left two hundred seventy-five gems. He decided about half would come to Earth and the other half would stay on Homeworld. They would need gems researching and using Homeworld’s technology working alongside the gems on Earth who would be trying to reach the lab on Earth. Overall, it was still a lot of gems. He felt better but still overly worried about the gems finding out just who the ‘guests’ were that came from the past.
Of course, White was still unconcerned about the whole thing. Blue and Yellow were confused about his worry but still took it seriously and promised to support any of his decisions, within reason. He decided that when the gems learned about the guests, he would make it clear that anything that happened to them wouldn’t change anyone’s present here.
He knows that a few gems already saw Steven when they first got here, but they had been pretty isolated after that. Most gems wouldn’t know what to think if they saw a younger copy of himself. It would be easy to tell most of them that it was another gem shapeshifting or something like that. In fact, he was sure no gem would bat an eye if he said it was another Steven or that he made another Steven somehow. Most gems had a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that most humans looked different from one another.
After Dewdrop and Stephen got away from the diamonds and gems, Stephen took a moment to find a wall to sit against for a moment.
Dewdrop stared at him for a moment before joining him on the floor. “Everything okay?” she asked.
He let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes. “Yeah, just tired and worried….” He told her. He almost continued complaining but stopped himself. Complaining right now wouldn’t solve anything.
Dewdrop smiled, even though he wouldn’t see it. “Don’t worry. We’re getting there. Soon we’ll have plenty of gems researching and looking for a way back home for our past selves.” She explained.
Stephen smiled and opened his eyes, “I know… I’m just worried about them staying safe, ya know? More so with my younger self. I forgot…” he started to explain but trailed off.
Dewdrop looked over, confused. “You forgot what?” she asked.
He shook his head, “Nothing… nothing.” He told her before standing up and stretching. “Should we gather everyone up and head back before the diamonds somehow get us to stay a week?” he asked.
Dewdrop hurriedly stood, “Oh yes!” she exclaimed. It had been a relatively nice visit but it was still uncomfortable staying in the diamonds’ presence.
“Not that we won’t still have to deal with them.” He grumbled as they walked back to Volley’s room.
“What?” she asked him, following next to him.
“Oh,” he said surprised. He forgot she didn’t know. “White told me earlier that they planned to come back to Earth with us to… help .” He explained, rolling his eyes.
“Oh no…” Dewdrop fretted.
Stephen let out a sharp laugh, “You can say that again…” he muttered. “I’m thinking of a way to get White and Blue to stay while Yellow comes. Yellow would be the easiest to deal with on Earth and it would help to have another diamond.” He told her.
Dewdrop nodded, “That would be ideal.” She said as they came up to Volley’s door.
The noise coming from the room could be heard all the way down the hall and Dewdrop was sure that if she were human she would have a headache.
As it was, Stephen sighed but smiled as they opened the door. The noise increased exponentially.
Spinel and the Amethysts were entertaining Steven while Volley laughed from the sidelines and kept Pearl from worrying too much.
“Okay, okay! Time to calm down and get ready to go.” Dewdrop told them all.
“Awww” Steven whined and fell back onto the floor.
Spinel bounced over to him and poked him in the stomach. “Don’t be sad! We’ll hang out again soon. Right, Stephen?” she asked looking over at the two by the door.
Stephen smiled, “Of course. For now, we gotta take some gems back to Earth so they can start figuring out a way to get you guys home.” He told them.
“Okayyy….” Steven said, rolling on the floor for a moment before standing.
Ame gave Steven a noogie on the way to the door, making him laugh.
After some shenanigans from Spinel and Amethyst, the group left Spinel and Volley behind and made their way back to the diamonds. Stephen filled them in on their dilemma with the diamonds wanting to come to Earth and told them his plan.
“Good, hopefully, it works. White diamond still creeps me out.” Ame responded, crossing her arms.
Amethyst nodded her head in agreement while Volley and Pearl just listened.
Steven listened to the conversation, concerned. White Diamond didn’t seem that bad. She just needed help learning how to make friends and being kind to those friends. The other two diamonds seemed fine too. Yellow Diamond looked really strict and scary at first but she was funny in her own way. Blue Diamond was very nice and had a kind smile. Steven wanted to speak up but he realized he didn’t know the diamonds like the future gems did. He needed to learn more about what happened between Stephen and the Diamonds, especially if it was his future.
The group reached the main room again and started walking up to the diamonds.
Stephen noticed all the gems were gone and he looked at the diamonds. Yellow nodded her head at him and he smiled gratefully.
“Oh look, they’re back!” Blue exclaimed, reaching down to pick up Steven when they got close enough. Steven laughed on his way up, grabbing onto her pointer finger to stay steady.
White went to reach down and grab Stephen but he gave her a look. She straightened back up and pouted before glaring at Blue.
Stephen noticed White’s look and grabbed her attention before she could try and argue for the right to hold Steven. “So, I was thinking about what you said the other day.” He started.
“Oh?” White asked, looking back at Stephen and giving him her full attention.
Stephen smiled, “Yeah, it seems only fair that two diamonds stay here and one diamond comes with me. After all, we need someone to keep an eye on the gems working from Homeworld.”
White thought it over but frowned. “How do we choose who stays and goes then?”
“Well, I was thinking that you and Blue could stay,” he started and quickly continued before he could be interrupted, “Afterall, you would be a great moral for the gems and Blue could help you keep an eye on all of them and check in on different departments’ progress.”
White frowned, upset. “But Stev- Stephen, I wanted to help you on Earth. You’ve been so busy lately. We miss you…”
Stephen sighed, he had a feeling that wouldn’t work. “What if you guys take turns. Maybe stay on Earth for one week, then go back to Homeworld and have a different diamond come visit? I do believe that Yellow would be the best one to come first. She’s always been best at helping gems set up base. You need to be here on Homeworld for at least the first week to make sure gems are doing everything correctly.” He hoped feeding into her ego would help a little.
White smiled, pleased. “Of course, I’ll make sure the gems here are working hard!” she told him, smiling. “I guess I can wait a week before visiting…”
Stephen gave her a strained smile. At least he had a week before she joined them on Earth. “Okay, then! So, Yellow you can join us back on Earth for a week, and then White will trade places with you. After White’s week, it’ll be Blue’s turn. Sound good?” he asked.
Everyone gave an affirmative answer and he visibly relaxed. That was one thing taken care of.
“Alright! Let’s get to Earth then!” Stephen told everyone. “Yellow, will you oversee the gems that are going to be going to Earth? White and Blue, will you go help the gems who are staying set up?” he asked
Yellow nodded and walked away. Blue put down Steven and gave a soft affirmative before leaving.
White stared down at Stephen for a moment, seemingly debating something. Finally, she carefully bent down and ran her fingers gently over the top of Stephen’s head, “Of course, Starlight.” She told him before standing and leaving.
Stephen stood still during the whole interaction. His body didn’t seem to know how to react but he knew everyone was watching him, including his younger self. He took a breath before turning to face them. “Alright, let’s go.” He told them. He tried to ignore the concerned looks but it seemed to get harder every time he noticed them.
The group transported themselves back to the beach house on Earth where Crimson and Garnet waited for them.
“I received a vision that told me you would be reappearing soon with news,” Crimson told them.
“You don’t waste any time,” Stephen teased her, smiling.
Crimson grinned and they all reconvened to go over the plan together. In the end, Crimson and Garnet sat quietly. Whether they were thinking it over or receiving a vision, it was unclear.
“You did great Stephen, the odds are high with your plan succeeding and our past selves getting to go home within a few weeks,” Crimson told him. Garnet nodded in agreement.
Stephen breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, hopefully, it’s before White Diamond's second visit.” He told them, causing most of the gems to nod in agreement.
Steven twitched uncomfortably before finally blurting out the question that had been on his mind since learning about the diamonds. “I still don’t really understand why you don’t like the Diamonds, especially White Diamond.”
The gems and Stephen sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Stephen sighed and faced Steven. They had sat next to each other earlier to go over the plan so they were already pretty close to one another.
Stephen’s whole body was tense and honestly the thought of even answering made it feel as though his throat was closing up on him. He felt himself getting hotter and it felt like his clothes were restricting him. He panicked for a moment and glanced down to make sure he wasn’t pink; he wasn’t. He took a deep breath and, after glancing at the other gems he decided to keep the answer simple. In other words, he decided to only include information that the future gems knew.
“They are a lot better. I can admit that… But back when I first met them… it… it wasn’t a good time. They couldn’t get over the fact that I wasn’t somehow my mom hiding in my organic body. Not to mention the fact that mom hid as a rebel gem who they wanted to kill. So, first I dealt with them wanting to kill me for being the gem who killed Pink Diamond. Then after they found out my mom was Pink Diamond, I had to deal with them thinking I was mom hiding from them. It was uncomfortable and made me question… well, a lot.” Stephen paused to see how Steven was handling this.
Steven glanced at the floor and looked at the gems behind him. His family looked panicked at the news while Stephen’s family had a strange look on their faces. It was an emotion he couldn’t quite pinpoint. “I see… I…. I don’t know how I would feel… I’ve always wanted to live up to mom’s image. To be like her and be ….” Steven trailed off before whispering just to Stephen, “be good enough…”
Stephen smiled sadly, he was kind of glad Steven had said that last part so softly. He felt like the gems might already know but it wasn’t something they had ever talked about. He had talked to them about how he wanted to be his own person and not be compared to his mom. He’s sure they think it’s due to the whole diamond incident and not because of any feelings from before. Part of him hates himself for not giving Steven the courage to say those words to the gems, but how can he give his past self courage when he still hasn’t had the courage to talk about it?
“I get that.” He said, and his eyes lingered back to where the gems had been and were surprised to see they had all split up and some had disappeared from view. Even though he was sure most of them could still hear the conversation, he was grateful for the privacy they tried to create for the two boys. “I honestly still feel that way sometimes. It’s hard because that was our goal for so long Steven. I had to learn to live to be myself and be my own person and… to be okay with that. It’s okay to want to be yourself and to not want to live up to wildly impossible expectations. We aren’t Mom, and that’s okay.” He said all of this softly in hopes that most of the conversation would not be overheard. These were ideas he still struggled with. He had lived so long trying to be someone he wasn’t and then being told he was that someone. It was hard for even him to realize he could be his own person and that would be enough. Heck, he was s till trying to figure out who he was and how he fit into everyone’s lives. He hoped that maybe the words he longed to hear as a kid reached this younger Steven in time and saved him from a lot of grief down the road. He hoped it would give his younger self courage and strength.
Steven looked up at his older self with tears in his eyes and threw himself into the other’s arms to give him a big hug.
Stephen smiled and let out a small laugh as he let his younger self dictate the length of the hug. Once his younger self was done and pulled away he smiled and stood up, stretching. “Alright, I guess it’s time to get to work. Yellow Diamond will be here before we know it!” he told Steven.