The moment Steven opened his eyes, he discovered that he did not, in fact, know where he was, yet there was still a sense of . . . familiarity in his chest that seemed to linger, yet he hadn't a clue why.

"Where . . . am I?" the boy muttered to himself as he stepped off of the warp pad.

From behind him, Spinel appeared. "The garden," she answered simply, making Steven jump and whirl around at her sudden appearance.

"Spinel . . .!" the hybrid gasped. "The garden? This is really it . . .?" He turned around, eyes wide as he took in the sight of the big and small meteorites that littered the ground, along with the dead plants and crumbling statues that sat idly about the place.

Was this seriously the place he saw from his dream? But . . . it looked so different now! How could it . . .?

Steven was brought out of his thoughts when Spinel suddenly walked passed him, her shoes squeaking lightly as she made her way down the stone stairs.

"Spinel!" Steven followed after the gem and reached an arm out for her, only for him to lower it once the pink gem stopped moving, now standing directly in the center of the once beautiful garden she used to love oh-so much years ago.

"This was our garden, you know," she began, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears due to the cracks in her voice. "A special world . . . built just for me, Pink, and (Y/n) . . ."

{   •°☆°•   }

"On Homeworld, Pink was so lonely and sad, but not here!"

Running over to the floating pillars, Pink came to a stop and looked around for a certain heart-shaped gem; (Y/n) sitting atop the pillar said gem was hiding behind with her wings out as the two giggled.

Noticing (Y/n)'s presence, Pink grinned and looked up to the mariposa and sent her a playful glare, to which (Y/n) laughed at before flying off, just when Pink felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Here, we would play for hours!"

Blinking in surprise, the diamond looked over her shoulder, only to see no one there. Her brows rose in confusion, and she shrugged and turned back around before jumping back in surprise at the sight of Spinel, who had expanded her form to make her have a sillier appearance.

Pink laughed, clutching her stomach and nearly toppling over as tears filled the corners of her eyes.

Spinel could only clasp her hands and smile brightly as she watched, feeling a sense of accomplishment at her diamond's reaction.

{   •°☆°•   }

Standing in front of a fountain, Spinel juggled three bubbles in her hands, a wide grin on her face as both (Y/n) and Pink watched her; (Y/n)'s eyes filled with amazement and Pink's filled with . . . something unreadable.

"Everyday was so much fun!"

When Spinel finally finished juggling, she threw the bubbles up into the air, and they popped one at a time, leaving (Y/n) to laugh and clap her hands in amusement.

Pink, however, only forced a smile as she clapped, before releasing a tired sigh and looking down.

"At least . . ."

From beside her, (Y/n)'s brow creased with worry.

{   •°☆°•   }

". . .that's what we thought . . ."

Noticing Spinel's saddened tone, Steven frowned and his brows furrowed. "Did something happen . . .?" he asked.

Spinel paused, hesitating, before finally looking up to meet the boy's eyes.

"Pink wanted a colony. More than anything."

{   •°☆°•   }

"One day, her wish came true!"

Standing in front of the transmitter with her hands clasped together, Pink gasped happily at the news just given to her and bowed her head thankfully to the two other diamonds she was currently speaking to, clearly excited.

"Blue and Yellow gave Pink her very own planet: Earth!"

As the two diamonds talked and Pink listened, everything seemed to come to a sudden stop as Spinel began to bounce around joyously, making Pink grimace and frown out of embarrassment before looking up to Blue and Yellow again, trying to ignore the heart-shaped gem.

But it all proved to be in vain, because soon, (Y/n) appeared, and she smiled and clapped happily before patting Pink atop her head, like a mother would do to a child for getting a good grade at school.

"Oh, we were so excited! A brand new place to play!"

{   •°☆°•   }

"So . . . why didn't you guys go with her?" Steven asked slowly.

Pink inhaled sharply through her nose.

{   •°☆°•   }

"I'm afraid that I can't today. Like I said, I've been really busy with my planet recently, so—"

"Oh, well maybe you can take us with you, then!" (Y/n) suggested, her eyes sparkling with hope as Spinel gasped excitedly.

"Yes! Oh, please, please, please, please, please take us to your new planet, Pink!" the heart-shaped gem begged, dropping down onto her knees in a comedic way and giving the diamond her famous puppy dog eyes.

For a moment, Pink's eyes widened and she looked away from the two of them, looking as if she were thinking about something.

"I'm . . ." Spinel and (Y/n) perked up hopefully, "I'm sorry, you guys. But—" the two shorter gems' shoulders fell with disappointment. Pink seemed to wince "—I can't."

And with that, the diamond swirled around and began to walk away, but she was soon brought to a halt when (Y/n) went to go stand in front of her.

"Why are you leaving so soon, Pink?" the mariposa asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. "You just got here!"

"Yeah!" Spinel stretched one of her legs out over top the diamond and brought herself to stand next to (Y/n)'s side. "Stay a while longer, Pink! Play a game with us!"

Pink sighed and shook her head.

✿*:･ﾟﾟ･:*✿

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRS2ciJ5rOk

ﾟ･:*✿°✿*:･ﾟ

"Here in the garden," the diamond suddenly began, smiling down at the two before her, "let's play a game!" Spinel and (Y/n) perked up, "I'll show you how it's done . . ."

Pink kneeled down in front of them and booped Spinel's noise, making the pink gem giggle and causing (Y/n) to smile in amusement.

"Here in the garden, stand very still . . ."

(Y/n) and Spinel shared a look before grinning happily and saying, "This will be so much fun!"

{   •°☆°•   }

Taking a shaky breath, Spinel brought her arms around herself in a small hug.

"And then she smiled,

That's what we're after!

The smile in her eyes;

The sound of her laughter . . ."

Nearly stumbling forward and landing on her face, Spinel looked down and placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the small cry that had escaped her lips.

From behind her, Steven looked on in worry.

"Happy to listen,

Happy to play,

Happily watching her drift away . . ."

{   •°☆°•   }

Now standing alone in the garden, Spinel and (Y/n) stood beside eachother silently, until a yellow butterfly came over and landed atop Spinel's head, earning a surprised look from the pink gem as (Y/n) giggled beside her.

"Happily waiting,

All on our own,

Under the endless sky . . ."

After a short while, the butterfly flew off to land somewhere else; (Y/n) and Spinel watching it leave as it did so and smiling contently towards the small, yet beautiful, creature.

"Counting the seconds,

Standing alone,

As thousands of years go by . . ."

Spinel and (Y/n) still hadn't moved, yet their appearances had gotten messier. Spinel's heart-shaped buns had some strands of hair sticking out, and her normally bright palette of colors seemed to have gotten darker. The same could sort of be said for (Y/n), except . . .

Except she looked a lot more tired than she usually did, and her smile was on the verge of leaving completely.

Spinel exhaled through her nose and averted her attention to the ground, away from her (E/c)-eyed friend, whose eyes were now blank as she stared up towards the warp pad.

"Happily wondering,

Night after night,

'Is this how it works?

'Are we doing it right'?"

{   •°☆°•   }

Quickly regaining her composure before Steven could do anything, Spinel shook her head and rolled her gloved hands into fists, her expression slowly morphing into a blank one.

"Happy to listen,

Happy to stay,

Happily watching her drift away . . ."

Turning away from a familiar sight — where her and (Y/n) once stood — Spinel began to walk away, leaving Steven to quickly follow after her.

"You keep on turning pages, for people who don't care . . .

People who don't care about you . . ."

Picking up a dead flower from one of the garden's many decaying bushes, Spinel handed it over to Steven, who stared down at it for a moment before looking back up towards the pink gem, a sudden breeze beginning to flow past him and through his curly locks of hair.

"And still, it takes you ages, to see that no one's there . . .

See that no one's there . . .

See that no one's there . . .

Everyone's gone on . . . without you . . ."

Steven opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself; finally taking notice of the new shadow that sat in between his and Spinel's, and he looked up to see a familiar gem standing atop the dried out fountain, who stared down at him with a blank gaze.

Steven felt his breath catch itself in his throat, and he dropped the flower in his hand as the gem looked away to where a broken transmitter stood.

"Finally something," she spoke, "Finally news . . . about how the story ends . . ."

Hopping down from her perch, (Y/n) crossed her arms; attempting to block out the sound of meteors crashing into the ground as she watched a translucent figure of her past self run past, falling to her knees in front of the transmitter as the message played.

"She doesn't exist now,

Survived by her son,

And all of her brand new friends."

Chuckling bitterly, the (H/c)ette turned around to face Steven, who seemed to go tense under her gaze as she went on.

"Isn't that lovely?

Isn't that cool?

And isn't that cruel?

And weren't we fools to have . . ."

(Y/n) paused, her shoulders beginning to shake as she clenched her fists and turned away, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Happily listened,

Happily stayed,

Happily watching her drift . . ."

The mariposa choked back a sob, suddenly falling to her knees as Spinel quickly joined her side, bringing her into a side hug.

"Drift . . .

. . . away."

Listening to the gem's sobs, Steven clenched his fists and looked down, a sudden feeling of shame wash over him because—

"Spinel . . . (Y/n) . . ."

The gem seemed to freeze at her own name, and Steven inhaled sharply.

"I'm . . . I'm so sorry. I can't believe that mom did that to you—" The boy cut himself off, pausing for a brief moment, before frowning and looking away.

"Actually, I can totally believe that . . ." he muttered.

"But . . ." Slowly walking up to the two gems still sitting on the floor, Steven reached out to place his hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder, ". . . you guys aren't the only ones she hurt—"

"OH, AND YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!"

Suddenly, (Y/n) whirled around to face Steven with a frustrated glare and flared her wings before throwing herself onto him, making the teenager cry out in surprise as his back met the ground; (Y/n)'s hands soon entrapping him beneath her as she snarled in his face.

"YEAH, YOU MUST KNOW ALL ABOUT HER LIFE WITHOUT US!" The mariposa began to lift a fist in the air, a growl threatening to leave her lips as Spinel cried out for her to stop from behind. "COULD YOU RUB IT IN ANYMORE?! ADD SOME SALT TO THE WOUND?!"

"No! It's not like that!" Before (Y/n)'s fist could collide with his face, Steven grabbed ahold of her wrist and stopped her, making her grit her teeth.

"What — what I meant was that you two deserve some better friends!"

(Y/n) stopped, hesitating for a moment as she looked down at Steven with something unreadable in her eyes. But then, her snarl returned, and just before Steven could brace himself for a punch to the face, (Y/n) let out an enraged cry and instead punched the ground next to him, panting soon after before slowly opening her wings and flying away; sitting herself down atop one of the many broken pillars around.

Steven pushed himself back up and shared a look with Spinel, who only shrugged at him before standing up and walking over to where her friend was sitting, Steven soon following after.

"(Y/n)," Steven held his hand out, almost as if he were asking the gem to take it, "come back and save the Earth with me. You and Spinel can start over there, make new friends . . ."

(Y/n) didn't respond. Instead, she turned her head away from Steven more, and let out a quiet huff.

Steven frowned, looking down at his hand for a moment before dropping it back down to his side, a tired sigh leaving his dry lips.

✿*:･ﾟﾟ･:*✿

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJz02OxFONI

ﾟ･:*✿°✿*:･ﾟ

"Someday,

Somewhere,

Somehow . . ."

Steven took a step forward and placed his hand against the pillar (Y/n) was perched atop of.

"You'll love again . . .

You just need to find someone . . ."

When (Y/n) still didn't give a response, Steven's frown seemed to deepen, and he took a step back, trying to think.

But then, out of nowhere, a pair of stretched out arms wrapped around him, and before he could do anything, he was thrown into (Y/n)'s arms, making them both cry out in surprise as they fell. Luckily for them, though, (Y/n) had wings for a reason, and she was quick to bring them out and slowly lower herself and Steven back to the ground; the hybrid gripping tightly onto her hand as he looked up at her.

Once the two of them had finally returned to the garden floor, Steven took (Y/n)'s other hand into his own, making the mariposa look up to meet his eyes.

They were just as captivating as they were when she first came, Steven couldn't help but think.

"Someday, somewhere, somehow . . ."

Beginning to walk in a circle, the two seemed to commence a dance with one another of the sorts, their eyes never breaking away from eachother.

"You'll love again . . ."
"We'll love again . . .?"

Hesitantly, Steven lifted one of his hands up and moved a strand of hair out of (Y/n)'s face and behind her ear.

"You just need to find someone . . ."
"We just need to find someone . . ."

Releasing her hand from his grasp, Steven awkwardly offered (Y/n) his arm. The gem blinked at this, surprised, but eventually looped her arm with his own, allowing him to lead her back to the warp pad, where Spinel was patiently waiting.

"Someone who treats you better . . ."
"Someone who treats us better . . ."

"Someone—"
"Someone—"

Picking up one of the dead flowers in a bush nearby, Steven placed a gentle kiss onto its petals, successfully bringing it back to life before placing it behind (Y/n)'s ear, once again surprising the gem and making her gently touch the beautiful plant, unaware of the amused eyes watching her with a hint of adoration in them.

She truly was beautiful when she wasn't trying to kill anyone.

"—who wants you around."
"—who wants us around . . ."

Finally stepping onto the warp pad, (Y/n) slowly released Steven's arm, and the boy took the chance to readjust the flower he had placed behind her ear.

Finding their eyes meeting again, Steven paused in his movements and went to cup (Y/n)'s face — almost as if he were in a trance.

But quickly, he snapped out of it and returned to reality; shoving his hand into his pocket and awkwardly looking away from the confused mariposa, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Someday, somewhere, somehow,

You're gonna feel found . . ."

The light of the warp pad surrounded them, and back to Earth they went.

* * * * *

NOTES !

sorry for not updating last wednesday, you guys! i was really busy and didn't really have the time to publish this chapter, so please forgive me for that :(

while we're on notes though, by the way, i just wanna make sure to clear up any possible confusion by saying that when (y/n) was singing with steven, her part of the lyrics had "we" in them because she was referring to both herself and spinel. so no, she wasn't talking about steven XD

on another note, however, it looks like for the first act for this story is almost done, which i'm honestly really happy about, because trust me when i say this, the second act of this story is gonna have a BUNCH more fluffy/romantic moments between (y/n) and steven, so i hope you're excited for that ;D

annnd that's all i wanted to say. see you guys in the next update!