Worriedly, you fumbled with the napkin you were holding, ten minutes having passed since the time the purple Gem told you it would take her to get there.

Though you were aware of her calm, perhaps laid-back character, the day before yesterday’s events had left you an anxious mess. You couldn’t stop thinking about scenarios similar to that one happening to her right at this moment.

Rip.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by a ripping noise, looking down to see you’d torn the napkin in half with how much you’d toyed around with it. Heaving out a breath to seek some calm, you looked at your watch again, noticing a few more minutes had gone by without her presence.

Not wanting to waste time any longer by worrying, you distracted yourself by going to the storage room to count the inventory, checking off what the store had enough of and which items needed to be replenished.

It wasn’t until you were halfway into marking things down that you heard the familiar chime of seashells, leading you to scramble out of the storage room, notebook being left abandoned on the floor while your eyes sparked with relief when seeing her behind the counter. She was on her usual mood today, the difference being her attention was focused on Steven, who stood next to her – engaged in their own conversation.

Thinking it would be best to wait for them to finish, you were about to wipe the counter when your name surged in the middle of their conversation.

“(Y/N)!” Steven called, holding a hand out for a high-five. “Thanks for helping us out.” He continued, once you returned his gesture with caution, unsure of just how much strength to use in spite of him being a Gem.

You glanced at Amethyst when hearing those words, regarding her with a look you hoped she would understand. In response, her lips turned into a tight line and her eyebrows furrowed, uncertainty replacing her usual expression.

It was at that moment you realized she hadn’t yet told Steven about the missions she was going on, and – for a moment – you debated whether or not it would be good to tell him about it.

Yet, you soon remembered the look she carried the moment you both sat down on your couch – the way her doubts showed through the masked tremble of her voice and the brief periods of tension emanating from her body.

“It’s nothing.” You dismissed, offering him a gentle smile. “It was already late, so it’s the least I could do.”

“Still, thanks, (Y/N)!” Amethyst chimed in, her gratitude over not letting that out yet showing through the tone of her voice. “Your place’s the best place I’ve ever crashed in – aside from Vidalia’s.”

Nodding at her words, you gave each of them a doughnut on the house before going on break to have a quick talk with them, avoiding Amethyst’s topic by asking Steven how his own missions had gone and what he had planned for his next day off.

“I was thinking we could go out of Beach City for a few days.” The boy told, smiling towards you as he offered you one of the durian juice pouches he was about to drink. “Dad’s been wanting to take us somewhere before our next mission, so I figured I’d invite you!”

“Thank you, Steven.” You spoke, returning his smile as you thanked him for both the juice box and his invitation. “I would love to go.”

Seconds after you said those words, the purple Gem trapped you in a bear hug, making you fall on your rear due to her strength.

 
“It’s a full house now!” She cheered, snatching the durian juice from your hands. “This is gonna be great!”
 

“Hey!” You laughed, throwing yourself over her in attempt at reaching out for the box she’d stolen from you. “Give that back!”

×××

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