Summary:
Life is swell, for the most part
Moon looked at the recently constructed temple home. "I must say, it's coming along nicely." She noted. "As soon as you install indoor plumbing, I would actually allow Steven and Star to spend a night here."
"You heard her Amethyst, double down on the pipes!" Pearl shouted with a smile.
"Keep your pie-hole down, I'm hammering as fast as I can here!" The short purple gem shouted back as she banged on the pipes, which were probably getting dented rather than installed.
"Ah, now this is life." River said as he carried loads of lumber into the semi form structure. "It may not be the woods, but nothing beats a hard days labor out in the sun with your family!"
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Steven asked, wearing swim trunks.
"It's fine." Garnet responded, carrying enough loads to crush any man to paste. "You deserve a day off; we can handle the …" She paused. "Amethyst, your room is so cluttered there's literally a corrupt gem in there."
"I thought we got rid of the splinker when we fixed that popped bubble incident?!" Pearl said.
"…"Garnet turned to Amethyst and Pearl. "Steven, do you have anything to say about a … 'popped bubble incident'?"
"They came to me with gem shards and asked for a pink bubble." Her son shrugged, not noticing the looks on the other gems. "Oh, Star's calling. Gotta go!"
"Have a fun time, Steven." She called out, before turning to Garnet. "So before you attack them, do you have any insights into good job investments?"
"Nothing in particular. We've been alive for thousands of years without need for physical sustenance, and Amethyst usually takes whatever she wants." Garnet adjusted her visor. "The only place around town that would suit your particular skill set would be the donut shop."
"A place full of packaged sweets and manufactured byproducts no doubt." Moon felt almost insulted by the suggestion. "I could make something a dozen times better with my own two hands."
"You could always try it." Pearl suggested. "Marco taught me the art of cooking, you could make a lot of it selling it to people that actually devour the food … and the income for groceries would be nice."
"My very own bakery…hmm." Moon dwelled on the thought for a second. "The idea does have a lot of potential. It would be nice to actually use the skills my mother taught me in a more productive way now that I'm not Queen."
"Then you might want to go to Greg to help get your started. He has enough money for you to invest in to get started." Pearl went on, before humming. "Wait, should we add more room for him and his current partner?"
"They have their own house, it'll be fine for now. At the most, add a guest room for when Luz visits." Garnet stated. "Why don't we take a break? … I feel we have much to discuss on 'why' Steven needed to bubble a gem that Sapphire never got around to doing so."
Moon decided to let the three ancient guardians of earth discuss their differences alone as she took a moment to breathe in the fresh and salty beach air that flowed everywhere. It was peaceful and serene…one could just get lost in the serenity of the calm and quiet moments of the day.
"I can see why you chose Earth, Rose." Moon said to herself as she laid down in the sand, for once not caring if the sand was getting everywhere. "It already feels like home."
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Steven remembered one of the few reasons he hated Chad back in the day. One of them being it always made him feel like a third wheel … case in point, now.
His sister and Marco kissing under an umbrella, as he looked away, only to see another kissing couple of … was that Oskar and Sour Cream? That wasn't a sight he never expected to see…or even think about seeing at all.
"Aggh, when did this become a couples beach?" He groaned. If he wanted to be in the middle of awkward romantic situations, he would've decided to hang out with Rosie (not the most creative name he could give A Rose Quartz, but it was the best he could think of on short notice).
"Maybe I should hang out with Tom or Jana … nope, they're probably going to be awkwardly romantic too." He realized, walking along the beach. "And out of my friend group that just leaves … nobody in Beach Creek."
He could see Lapis and vent, but she was at the barn now, and that was where the aforementioned Rosie was. He could try Ponyhead, but she was currently trying to break the brainwashing out of her ex, so that was a no go too.
He could always make a new friend, but who would want to add him to their friend group on such short no-lost in his thoughts, Steven bumped into a girl … who was fully dressed with a sunhat, and dropped a large pile of books. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She said in a panic, grabbing the texts.
"No, that was my bad, I didn't see where I was going, quickly apologizing as he knelt down to help her. "Hm..Dogcopter?" He scanned one of the titles. "I didn't know it was a book first."
"Because of the movie right? Yeah, that's how it usually goes for most obscure literature like this." The spectacled girl said as she adjusted her hat. "People call you weird for reading a book about a cybernetic canine that's also a cop, but when it's on the big screen, suddenly it's the best thing ever."
"I'd read a book about it, I've seen weirder stuff in real life anyway." He smiled. "I'm Steven."
"Connie … so, you enjoying the sun I take it?"
"I'm trying to, but there always seems to be something that gets in the way." He admitted with a slight chuckle. "I've been coming to this beach for the past year, and I usually have it to myself, yet today's the one day everyone around me for some reason wants to get handsy with each other."
"Well you are on 'lovers coast'." The girl pointed at the sign. "Bad eyesight? Maybe I should lend you my glasses."
"Nah, it's just been a good minute since I've been here. My life's been kind of a rollercoaster for the longest time." He responded. "My family's still adjusting to moving and finding new jobs and such."
"Now that's a pain that I know all too well." Connie smiled back. "My dad works beach security and my mom's a doctor, so both jobs require a lot of transferring. I've been to four different schools in the past year."
"That sucks." He nodded. "I guess you missed a lot?"
"You have no idea." She groaned. "I went to a town that had a ninja AFTER the villain was defeated."
"A ninja?" He didn't know anything about a ninja running around.
"Yeah, a hero that's been around for eight hundred years, and the day I finally move in, the source of all the monsters gets destroyed and I barely see any signs of the guy afterwards when the whole school had at least talked to him once." The girl grumbled. "Probably for the best though, the town had a lot of weird lingo and slang, and it drove my mom crazy hearing everyone say 'Cheese' every five sentences."
"Oh corn, that does sound bad." He laughed.
"It even spread here!" Connie joined in.
"Stars, we need to contain it before everyone gets infected!" The two of them were both giggling like crazy. "So you don't mind seeing something weird?"
"Not really. It's better than having tennis practice every day." Connie said. "I've never even tasted a donut before."
"What kind of cruel and dystopian dimension do you live in?"
"One where my mom made plans for me to become president by the time I'm forty."
"Jeez, maybe the grass IS greener on the other side. All I get are conspiracy theories that make me hate my family."
"At least you'd have a good reason to. All I get from teachers, councilors, and therapists is that 'she's only looking out for me'."
"Well in my many travels across this vast universe, I've come to the undeniable conclusion that therapy is evil."
"That makes it sound like you needed it the most, you know that right?" She asked with a grin.
"That's how they get you. The more you try to fight it, the more people say you need it. Just another conspiracy I need to face." The new girl in town just kept laughing. Looks like he didn't need a fight to the death in order to make a new friend for once…that was immensely reassuring.
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Jana smiled, looking up at the giant woman. "Nice to meet you Mrs L." She could idly see Tom having a panic attack in the background. Sure, meeting the parents was a big step, but Jana thought she had this in the bag.
"Garrrrrrrrgg." The Lord of the underworld growled out, her arms crossed and her gaze stern with literal fire. Tough crowd.
"So, Tom tells me it's tough work ruling the underworld. You must be pretty good at your job." She complimented.
"Aggggghhhhhh." The large red demon rolled her eyes. "Baaaaarrrrrgh."
"Hey, I don't say that to just any old malevolent ruler of the damned. The fresh smell of sulfur in the air clearly shows off your dedication to making people suffer."
She gave a hum. "Baaaggggg?"
"We haven't gotten anywhere past pats on the back yet, but I hope to reach past there whenever your boy is ready." She shrugged.
"Taaaggh?"
"Yes, I even brought a knife just in case I need to make a blood oath." Jana pulled it out to show her. "I'm also down for selling half my soul if I need to; you never know when that will be handy."
She stared into the window of her soul for a moment, before turning to Tom. "Ageee." Oh yeah, upgraded to 'keeper'.
"I still don't know how you picked up ancient demon tongue so quickly. Star could only barely get a fifth of it down." Tom stood on the side in amazement.
"Strangely enough, it's only three keys off of melon steven tongue." Slightly disturbing, but still pretty fun. "It wasn't that hard to translate in the end."
"I don't know if that says more about you or the universe." The demon boy let out a light laugh. "So first trip to the underworld? Everything that nightmares said it was?"
"Yes and no. It's definitely got all the boiling pits and screams of agony that I've come to expect….."
"Aggggg! Why do you keep ripping out my eyeballs!? You've done it for fifty freaking years!" One such cry of pain echoed.
"But it's got this serene sense of comfort from being around people you can sympathize with." She stated. "Like you."
"Hey, just because this is hell, it doesn't mean we can't make it comfortable." Tom smirked right back. "The universe is crazy, so I like to think of the underworld as a summary of life as a whole. If you can find peace here, then anything's possible."
"I suppose that's true." She nodded. "In that case, there's only one thing to do."
"You mean..taking this to the next level?" The boy said with a glimmer in his eyes.
"That's one way to put it." Jana snorted. "Hey Mrs L, you wanna bring out the baby pictures?"
" Aoooeeeah!" Fifty thousand copies. There had to be prime blackmail material there.
"I trusted you!" He shouted, his body aflame.
"Oh relax." She waved it off. "We both know you're getting my eternal soul, I can't hide anything from you."
"I thought you wouldn't be so evil as to stoop this low though!"
"If I wasn't this evil, then we wouldn't be dating then, would we?" She giggled. "And if you're going to be running this place, then you need first hand experience in true torture."
"I'm a demon, and even I think this is diabolical diabolical."
"Then I'm surpassing expectations." So this was what it was like to date someone? No wonder her friends were so crazy about this stuff.
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"And the moment I arrive at Middleton, the invasion ends, and no super villains attack for a full month!" She shouted. "What kind of lucky magnet am I?" Connie sighed as she bit into the chocolate covered pastry. What her mom didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
"I'll trade you my danger magnet if you hate yours so much. You won't see my family complaining." Her new friend (hopefully that's what was happening here) Steven said under a snort as he bit into his pink frosted donut with sprinkles.
"Do you know a god that can shift luck? I'd take you up on that in a heartbeat." She paused. "Do you know a god that can do that?"
"Glossaryck is a genie, but he's a major jerkwad, and apparently there's a cat god, but we don't talk much." Steven said something so amazing like it was reading a newspaper. "And this might be a stretch, but there's a strong chance that a giant Koala is in control of all of them."
"That was the greatest sentence I've ever heard and it's barely the afternoon." Connie couldn't help but keep the smile on her face wide. "Your life just sounds so amazing!"
"Yeah, you say that, but then you get the family conspiracies, legacy of horrible acts, and a heap ton of prejudice like a lot of it …" He paused, sitting up. "Literally every major enemy I've come across is a racist." The boy groaned. "Why can't we just go back to Ludo?"
"The muppet from the labyrinth movie?"
"No, short bird guy with an inferiority complex. Tried to steal the wand multiple times when we were kids … younger kids. I wanna say the age of four to six."
"The most exciting thing that happened to me at four was getting signed up for violin lessons." Connie recalled. "Sure, I'm happy I can play Beethoven's fifth blindfolded, but that took so many hours of my life when everyone else was playing outside."
"Then tell them that." He answered off-handedly.
"You make it sound so easy." She replied with a snort.
"It kinda is. The one thing I learned through literally all the hell I go through is that family goes to big extremes for each other. Just tell your mom and dad you're not happy with your life, it's amazing how far that will get you."
"Really? And that works for you?"
"Most of the time." Steven nodded. "I know for a fact that keeping something hidden, whether it be a secret or feelings, is never good in the long run. I mean, you're talking to the kid whose mom hid the identity of his real mom for thirteen years, and that made things super messy for everyone."
"Wasn't that because your mom was such a big war criminal that the entire high council wanted you dead or something?" She asked, a bit fuzzy on the details.
"She was a criminal, but that was only on homeworld. On Mewni, she was a strong hero, but she also never listened to anybody, so it was more like protecting me from being a weapon, but that also led to Star being mad at her for almost a year, time not really trusting the gems, and so on and so forth." He chuckled again. "Well now my whole family is living on earth now without Mewman baggage, so that's something to look forward to."
"Hopefully you bring some of that weirdness around me." She muttered.
"You sure? I've been told it's contagious." The boy snickered. "Once you go weirdo, you never go back-o."
"It'd be worth it for the wordplay alone." She smiled , before getting a beep on her phone. "That's my folks, I have to head home before curfew."
"Curfews, a word often spoken around the castle yet I have yet to understand such a strange and forign sounding word."
"I'll say this. I've never met anyone that's tried to make me laugh this hard...ever." She let out a small snort. "Tell you what." She pulled out a glow bracelet, cracking it. "For good luck." And handed it to Steven.
"A glow stick…and it's not magic or radioactive." He placed it on his wrist. "I'll cherish it forever."
"I hope you do!" She waved, skipping away. Today, out of every day she's ever lived, was a definite win in her books. "See you some other time, Steven Quartz Demayo Universe Butterfly!" Best name ever.
"You too, Connie … whatever your last name is!"
"Maheswaran! Connie Maheswaran!" She shouted one last time before turning around. Connie could have sworn that she heard someone choking as she did….eh, it was probably fine.
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Star pov first official date with Marco
Star leaned into Marco's lap, gazing at the starry night. "This is nice." She said, "No craziness, no life and death, just enjoying the night sky with wonder." Eclipsa was right, she needed a breather.
"Tell me about it. I know I've had this danger kick for a while, but I'd almost give up every skill I have if I could have more days like this with you." Marco petted her head like she would for Steven Jr, and it was pure bliss.
"I've had this crush for ages and it's finally nice to just exist in the moment." She muttered. "No drama, just us, together … Did we forget Steven was here?" She asked, eyes wide open.
"I think we did." Marco said as he looked around, seeing no trace of her brother anywhere. "So this is what it's like to be on the other side of the third wheel…feels nice."
"Hey, I was once a third wheel too." She said with a pout. "Back when you were with Jackie."
"Oh yeah. Then I was one when you dated Tom. Steven was one too when he was handing with Kelly and Tad…it just switches between all of us, doesn't it?"
"Yep, now it's back to him … shoot, now I feel bad." She groaned. Her brother was handling the break up with Kelly fairly well, and Star didn't want him to start feeling like crap again and go all monster or super clingy.
She idly sat up, looking around and seeing … a shocked Steven walking by. "... The multiverse stuff is real … I just spent the day with Connie …" He muttered, walking away.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up bro." Star jumped right in front of her brother and stopped him. "Whatcha talking about?"
"You know that girl the yellow me is always hanging around? I just met her counterpart. She is nice, and funny, and we get along well…but it freaks me out." Steven stared right into her eyes. "Is destiny solid? Are the people we meet in life predetermined? Do we have a choice in the matter…?"
"No, don't be crazy." She waved off. "Remember, there was a whole universe where you and Meteora were siblings, right? No amount of fate could have prepared anyone for that."
"Right….it's not like I regret meeting the friends I've made. It's not wrong to talk to and have fun with them." He shook his head. "Thanks Star, I needed that reality check."
"That's what I'm here for, bro. You can always count on that." Star hugged Steven. "I'm just glad it looks like you had a good day."
"Yeah, and I'm glad that you …" He paused. "... You may want to magic up a sweater."
"What for?" She asked.
"Well we're both living with mom again." He said slowly.
"... Annnnd?" She asked, not getting what he was going for.
The boy created a shiny bubble, one which she could see her reflection in. Her shiny face, lovely hearts, the hickey on her neck, the blond hai-.... "Oh crap, how far did we go?"
"Far enough for me to give Marco the 'big bro' talk now before anything else." Steven nodded before covering the bubble in spikes and heading towards the red hooded boy. "Hey Marco, let's have a nice guy chat."
"Sure thing." He spoke, oblivious to the situation at hand. "Hey, what do you have in the bubb-AAAHHHH!!" This was her life now … And she was fine with it.