Summary: Love is always something too complex to compute
Garnet watched as the children chatted formally with one another. "I'm confused." Pearl stated. "I thought the Blood Moon was a six hundred year event?"
"No, this is the silver bell ball, and it's a yearly event." Moon explained as the parents of all the children were sitting off to the side. "Once a year, all the children from every royal family gather together in the spirit of peace and comradery."
"Because nothing brings people together than parents watching their kids be cute dancing while pretending not to be embarrassed." A man with several oversized bug bites over his face continued. "Although one family in particular is quite, infamous this year." He gestured to the Butterfly family. "What with all the lies and omissions."
"You're just salty because everyone else lives in places where they don't have to get bitten by bugs." Amethyst deadpanned. "Like seriously, have you thought about bug spray at least, or an exterminator."
"I'll have you know that it's tradition for everyone in our kingdom to be bitten at least once in their lives." The Queen of the Spiderbite kingdom said, though she scratched her boil ridden arms as she did.
"Yes, because being in constant agony from insects is a much better tradition with a lot more honor than anything any other kingdom could come up with." Lapis sarcastically spoke. "It makes less sense to live there than the Ponyhead race in general."
"I can't deny that. I still get nightmares about the very thought of my existence to this day." King Pony Head shuddered. "I'm also still baffled by the fact the Rose Guard had a kid at all, let alone that they've been under our noses. My great grandfather had a fling with that woman, so weird to think about."
"It's been a struggle for us as well to comprehend." Garnet said. "But Rose was happy, so we didn't question the physics of it too much." Honestly she was just glad it was a boy … she didn't want to comprehend the thought process of twins.
"Aww, but he's such a cutie." The Spiderbite Queen cooed. "And I think my little darling has a crush on him." She gestured to the blushing girl in the corner with lots of bite marks on her face.
"But isn't he dating.." Moon stopped her husband from saying anything else.
"Hush, there's enough drama at these events without that. This is the first year after Star broke up with prince Lucitor." Moon clarified.
"So tonight is going to be filled with various awkward moments of romantic tension?" Pearl asked Garnet.
"I can see it coming a mile away… and I haven't even used my future vision yet." It was just that obvious. "Amethyst, you're on emotional support, Pearl, edicate control, Lapis … just stay on standby for anyone too unruly."
"So drown the Lucitors when they start getting mad, got it." Lapis summed up.
"That sounds about right." River nodded, before a growl cut him off, turning to see a man staring at him viciously, next to a very tall and red woman … the Lucitors. "No offense, good sir, madam."
"Rrrrrrrrgh." The Lucitor matriarch roared out.
" Coo!" A…pigeon sitting on a pair of what looked like human legs cried out in what sounded like agreement.
"It's been a while since I've frequently visited…" Garnet spoke. "But why do pigeons have their own kingdom?"
"Money." Every native answered simultaneously.
"Ah, I see some things have remained the same, even if they're more open about it." Pearl spoke with a frown. "At least we can get to see Steven dress up for something formal this time around." Yes. Things have certainly improved from how they were a year ago.
"The first year he wanted to match Star, so he came in a dress." River stated. "Other kids picked on him for his choice, so Star stole a battle ax and violently brawled with them … oh the good old days of youth."
"Nice." Amethyst gave a thumbs up. "Now that there's a chance for blood, I'm totally invested. Bring on the pain, Star!" Great, now they had to calm down Amethyst.
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Princess Spider Bite gazed at the boy from her corner of the room. Quartz Butterfly … now known as 'Steven Quartz DaMayo Universe Butterfly'. A bit of a mouthful, but it fit him for some strange reason. A lot of things did, like that warm smile, the sparkling eyes, the melodious laugh.
He was pretty bold in almost everything he did. The spontaneous music numbers, the earnestness about 'peace' with monsters, and that one year he wore a dress. Such a collection of quirks that only drew her to him even more.
Though all of that was almost completely disregarded by one of the main talking points of the night: He was the son of the Rose Guard! The defender of Mewni, the immortal warrior, the healer of all. Legend even told that his mom healed the first king spider-bite of his bug bite! She could hardly hold herself back!
"Seriously, how could you keep such a secret for so long." Spiderbite said to Star as they sat across from the boys, waiting for the dance to begin.
"To our credit, we didn't know until a couple of months ago." She answered. "From there it was just the threat of people wanting him dead that kept the secret closed." Why would anyone want such a sweet boy dead?
"I think it's incredible … such a kind boy who wants to be a knight came from the greatest knight to ever live." She swooned. "You have a dreamboat of a brother, you know that right?"
"Seriously, why do people feel the need to say all this mushy gunk to me?" Star grumbled with her arms crossed. "He has a girlfriend now, just FYI." He… he has what now?
"Except Kelly kind of flip-flops, doesn't she?" Ponyhead joined in on the conversation. "Not trying to ruin something good for Q-fly or anything, but Kelly has commitment issues, you know that right?"
"Oh come on, three years with Steven in the Neverzone has gotta fix that." Oh …
"So he's spent three years with another girl …" That kinda sucked. "Surprised she isn't here."
"She had a woolet party to go to." Star explained.
Prince Kelpbottom chuckled. "A woolet? I guess he picked up the savage side of the Rose Guard, didn't he?" He said arrogantly.
"You kidding me, the guy's about as delicate as a Rose, he obviously has the soft kindness of the healer." Princess Jax commented.
"Cooo!" Rich Pigeon cried out. Well that was a bit presumptuous of him.
"It is kind of a bit of both, but I'd like to think I'm my own person even if she is my Mom." Her currently unavailable crush answered with a sigh. "Tonight's literally one of the few things I've done in a while that has nothing to do with her, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"Yeah." Star stood up. "Would you care for tonight's dance, brother?"
"Why certainly, dear sister." The two bowed to each other and began the first dance of the night. Despite the guy having two left feet any other time, he seemed to be naturally in sync with his sister. The power of sibling bonding she guessed.
"Wow, girl's going straight for the club snubbing." Ponyhead snickered. "She's got it bad."
"What are you talking about?" Spider-bite asked.
"Duh, Star usually starts the Silver Bell Dance with Tom, this is where they first met." Ponyhead gestured to the demon himself, who looked in deep conversation with Rocks Johansson. "But the horn head hasn't even given B-fly a single look all night. It's a club-snub showdown for who can make who fall for the other first."
"Wait … didn't they break up?" She asked the floating creature.
"It's a complicated process." Ponyhead gave a shoulderless shrug. "Tom's been pinning for Star forever, and B-fly is in a slump when it comes to the dating scene. So the night is probably going to end in three ways. She either gets back with him, dates someone else out of spite, or punches him across the face. My money's on option three."
"I have a hundred spider fangs if you wanna match for option two." Spider-Bite offered.
"Triple that for option one for me." Princess Jax joined in. "I'm a sap for happy endings." At least one person here was. No one could be having worse luck with romance than her right now.
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"So you're heading to france?" Marco asked, both him and Jackie sitting at the edge of the beach as they gazed into the sunset ocean. "I would have … appreciated the heads up." He only figured that out over lunch today, so very sudden news.
"I've been thinking about it the entire summer, I've talked to Sadie, Steven, and Kelly about it." Jackie told him. "I would've brought you in more on the conversation, but you've been running off on missions and stuff more and more."
"Not all the time! There hasn't been THAT many corrupted gems running around." Marco tried to defend. "And I've taken maybe one or two trips back to the Neverzone…"
"And how many years are you there in that dimension?" Jackie questioned.
"Not years … just … a month or two." He admitted with a sigh.
"Diaz, you've grown." Jackie said to him. "I used to like the idea, you seemed to have such a cool badass hidden within that safe hood of yours." It felt nice to hear she believed in him. "But you've grown up way too fast."
"Not too much! I don't even have chest hair yet!" He covered his mouth.
"See, right there. You wouldn't even dare to get near revealing that kind of personal information." She laughed. "You've found who you are, what you like, and the truth is, that you've done most of it without me, and I can't keep up. I wanna have a chance to do some exploring on my own."
"You don't have to be on your own! I have dimensional scissors." He brought them out to show off. "I can pop in and out of France whenever, and we can even see even more beyond what this world has…!"
"Marco." She said quietly. "Do you remember what you said at Truth or Punishment?"
That was so many years ago. "That … My favorite color was red? That I hated … Star's brownies? And … oh! That I like you!"
"No … the pedestal thing." Oh … "Do you still like me, the girl not going on missions with you? Just relaxing all the while with totally different interests and tastes?"
"I…I…" He searched deep within his head, within his heart and soul and tried to find a response..ANY response that wouldn't result in a break up. "You're still one of the coolest people I know…and…it's…alright relaxing with you…"
"But is that what you want to do all the time?" Jackie placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No." He admitted with a sigh. "I just … wanted one thing to stay the same." He looked up. "I came back to this old life and everything was so hard, now Star's gone, Steven and Kelly are gone … what does that leave me, what does that MAKE me?"
"I can't answer that for you. We're on two different paths now. It's not your fault, it's just how life decided to go for the two of us." Jackie smiled and left a small peck on his cheek. "But if you want to take my advice, then you should find what makes you truly happy, and stick by it. Do you feel more at home at your house, or with your friends?"
"I…I..can't..I can't just…"
"Don't stress about it, Marco. You can take all the time you need." Jackie sent him a piece sign before getting on her board. "Stay cool, Diaz. Change into the person you want to be."
Marco stared as she skated off, leaning back against the sand as he looked at the cloudy sky. "... Life sucks." He muttered.
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Tom marched up to Star, giving a polite bow. "May I speak with you privately, milady?" He asked.
"Of course, but I don't think of anything that needs to be said behind closed doors that can't be admitted here."
"I insist, it's something only two people, specifically the two of us, need to communicate about." He tried to gesture to the door. "And I'd rather not risk doing something we'll BOTH regret right in front of our parents.
"Both of us?" She tilted her head in a faux confused manner. "But i've done nothing wrong this whole night, i've simply been attending the ball with my brother, as his date couldn't attend."
"Star, seriously, I just want to have ONE decent conversation." Tom was having a hard time remembering his breathing exercises from therapy when Star insisted on making it difficult.
"We have decent conversations all the time, but if you're gonna get fussy about it, fine." She waved off her brother as she walked out the door. "First you ignored me all night, now you want to talk?"
"Ignore, ignore, Star, I've been trying to give you space!" Tom let his fire burst out the moment the doors were closed.
"That still doesn't give you an excuse to act like I don't exist!" She pointed to him accusedly.
"Oh look who's calling the kettle back! You've barely looked at me from the second I came here!" He wanted to set the castle on fire, but he restrained himself. There was no need for those negative thoughts now. "I was there on Song day. I realize now that you and Marco are a thing, so it gave me the wake up call I needed to back off."
"I'M NOT DATING MARCO!" Star shouted, taking her wand out and blasting a rainbow fist towards a random set of armor.
"... Really?" He asked. "Cause according to literally everyone, he's one of the main things you talk about."
"Well, maybe everyone is an idiot who doesn't know what they're talking about, did that ever occur to you!?" Star snapped back. "I swear, that Princess song is going to haunt me for the rest of my life."
"If that's the case, then why haven't you asked me to dance?" Tom questioned. "If you're up for it.."
"Because…Because I don't know what I want, alright!" Star shouted out with a deep groan. "Marco became happy with his own girlfriend, my brother came out of his own love triangle gaining a girlfriend and best friend, and I even helped two grown adult love rivals stuck in the past move on, and yet I'm still here, stuck in the mess I made trying to make sure I don't screw up again!"
Screw up? "I don't think you've screwed anything up." He shrugged. "Well, maybe my plan for the blood moon ball, but that was mostly Marco, and other than that nothing."
"Yeah, that night was a mess." Star managed to pull out that sweet smile that warmed the black abyss of his dead heart. "But no need to sugar coat it, I have Steven for that." Star sighed. "I've got to be a better Princess if I want nothing like Toffee to happen again."
"Star, Toffee was a bit of an extreme circumstance for generations." Tom told her. "Just be yourself, that's clearly good enough for everyone else."
"Hah, again, you're a lot funnier than I remember you being. Thanks Tom." Star peaked out the door, and saw water and fire being flung everywhere. "Ooof, and Mom was worried I'd be the one causing a mess tonight."
"Rgggggggh!" Oh great, his mom was getting over emotional as usual.
"I'm gonna go toe to toe with the queen of the underworld!" A purple figure with a whip began hurling chairs at his mom.
"Great … Amethyst is on the hunt." Star sighed. "On the bright side, I can say it's not my fault."
"Yeah, Mom's been a bit sensitive since our break up. Takes things too far and blames everyone else for 'not being good enough'." Tom snorted.
"I'd take that Mom drama over my own anyday." Star smiled. "The night's not over yet. I say there's still room for one more dance."
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"RAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!" Queen Lucitor roared out, setting the place on fire.
"Amethyst, stop punching a queen!" Steven shouted.
"She's the one rampaging here!" Yeah, but the gem wasn't helping.
"She jumped in before I could suffocate the woman." … Or maybe she was, if Lapis's comment was any concern.
"My daughter is a delicate flower, don't you dare insult her!" Dad got in on the fighting as he got the cannon balls ready.
"So we're probably going to wake up tomorrow with our kingdoms at war." Princess Spider-bite muttered as they turned to each other. "Any regrets you'd like to get out now?"
"In all my time spent through the space time continuum … I never met the inventor of the Cookie Cat." With all the life and death situations, it literally became his only regret at this point. "What about you?"
"There's a boy I've been crushing on, just learned he had a girlfriend."
"Hey, I was crushing on someone who had a boyfriend." He patted her back. "Don't let it get you down, just be patient."
"Oh really? That's good to know." The smile she sent him was pretty weird, but was nice all the same, even with the spider bite… wait.
"Hey, uh, this might be a bit weird, but with the magic fritz gone, I'd like to see if my healing powers are back." Steven licked his palm. "I know it's tradition for you guys to have Spider bites and all…"
"No no, it was said that the Rose Guard healed the first king." Her eyes sparkled. "I'd be honored to be the first one for the second."
"Thanks, and sorry if this feels gross." He placed his hand calmly on the massive red lump on her head… and sparkles soon surrounded it as the swelling went down until her skin was no longer covered in bites.
"Finally… FINALLY!" Princess Spider-bite cheered as she now rubbed her smooth skin. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had no spider-bites on me?! Ten freaking years! This is the best!"
"Wow … that's a long while." Steven advocated all life, but those guys really needed an exterminator. "Honestly I'm just happy it's working … maybe I can use it on Centipeetle."
"Corn knows we're probably all going to need it if the fighting keeps going on." Prince Kelpbottom pointed to the fighting parents and gems, magic and spears flying everywhere. "We might all end up taking our thrones early at this rate."
"To think there's so much destruction and Star and Tom AREN'T the cause of it." He looked around. "Where are they anyway?"
"Hey everyone, check it out!" Ponyhead whistled and got everyone's attention to the middle of the hall. "The Club Snubbing is over!" Everyone turned…and saw Star and Tom finally dance for the first time in the night.
The dance was a slow but graceful one. The two held onto each other, passionately and as equals. Trails of magic butterflies and ethereal fire followed their every footstep, actually allowing them to dance on air. There was a strange distaste and rageful spite between them, but it was mixed in with care and comprehension.
"They're pretty good." Spider-bite commented as they watched his sister and ex boyfriend dance with one another.
"Yeah…they have good chemistry." He had to admit. Tom was the LAST person Steven wanted to see her sister with, especially given all the trouble she went through when they broke up…but Star needed to move on from Marco. And if Tom was serious about changing…
"Those two are on fire." Ponyhead commented. "... I'm gonna lose the bet, aren't I?"
"Ponyhead, I thought you would have learned…" Steven smiled. "Never bet against us." If there was one lesson Steven learned in all this time, it was to believe in the weird and wild.
"RAAAGGHH!" And now Queen Lucetor was crying in joy while squeezing onto Amethyst hard enough that her eyes went like a squeaky toy.