Note: Hey everyone! It's been a hectic few months, but things have finally died down now since it's summer. I'm very happy to be uploading again. I recently got a new device that allows me to write stories faster and easier. Plus, it gives me much more motivation to do so. Also, with that in mind, I'm trying to get use to my new keyboard so if i made any mistakes and somehow missed them while editing, I apologize. If you want to see what else i create go check out my SU Instagram @stoic_garnet.

"What happened with Steven and Connie?" Pearl asked Garnet secretly off to the side away from everyone.

"Kevin was bothering Stevonnie." Garnet answered simply. "I just scared him away."

"As long as they're okay." Pearl still had felt like something was off, but she couldn't quite make sense of it.

"They said they would come help clean up." Garnet realized.

"I had bumped into Steven earlier. He offered to help me, but I told him that I could handle it on my own." Peridot placed her arms on her hips feeling proud for being independent as she interrupted their conversation. "I told him to go towards the base." Peridot referred to The Temple.

"Thank you, Peridot." Pearl sighed with relief. She wouldn't have been able to handle if something bad had happened to him.

"It was nothing." Peridot smiled as she continued to put things back in place with her powers.

"Should we go check on him?" Pearl was still worried about him.

"He should be fine P. If he managed to save us from the Diamonds, I'm sure he can manage it on his own." Amethyst shrugged.

"You do have a point." Pearl almost hated to admit. Her and Amethyst were on way better terms than before, but their relationship with one another still had some work that needed to be done.

Everyone continued on with cleaning up the town. Even the citizen's joined. This process was going to take at least a few more days of work, but everyone began to settle down.

"I think we've accomplished more than enough today." Garnet smiled. She was happy that everyone came together to help fix this city.

"I agree." Amethyst panted. She had done a lot of the heavy lifting, her shapeshifting skills really helped.

"We should get back to Steven. He probably is hungry." Pearl laughed to herself.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Garnet smiled as everyone began to make their way towards The Temple.

"Hey, uh can I speak with you alone?" Lapis awkwardly whispered as she tapped Garnet on the shoulder. "It's about Steven."

"Sure." Garnet answered as the others still made their way to The Temple. "Is everything okay?"

"Well that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't know if this is my place to tell, but I feel the need to." Lapis looked down at the sand. "I'm not sure Steven is okay, I-"

"What do you mean?" Garnet interrupted as she thought Steven was physically injured.

"No. Not like that." Lapis quickly responded. "I mean, he seemed tired and weak. I had actually seen him sitting on the ground earlier."

"He was fused with Connie at the beach earlier." Garnet tried to give an explanation as to why he would have been weak. "He still is trying to balance his powers with his energy."

"Oh, maybe that is why." Lapis still felt like if it was something else.

"He has been through a lot lately." Garnet frowned a little. "He was meant to live like a normal human child. That's what Ros-Pink wanted."

"Well that clearly did not work out." Lapis stated the obvious.

"We tried our best to give him a normal human life. Greg took care of him for a long time and lived in his van, but that in itself wasn't very normal." Garnet sighed. "We had trouble being around him at first. It was hard to understand why Rose would give up her physical form for a human, but slowly we came to love him more than any words could ever describe." She smiled.

"He has touched many hearts." Blushed Lapis.

"Many." Garnet repeated.

"So, you think he is okay?" Lapis needed reassurance.

"I can't say for certain, but I would like to believe that he would come to us if anything was bothering him." Garnet nodded.

"Thanks for this." Lapis actually started to take a liking to The Crystal Gems.

"No, thank you for telling me your concerns." Garnet was very grateful.

"We should go see Steven now." Lapis started to walk towards the Temple with Garnet.

Steven had been sound asleep for quite some time before Pearl, Amethyst, and Peridot entered The Temple. They heard him snoring from outside the door so they knew to be quieter upon entry.

"He must still be tired from the past few days." Pearl stated as she still felt a little worried for him.

"Obviously. He barely got any sleep while we were in Homeworld." Amethyst tried her best to whisper.

"Can someone remind me why humans need sleep?" Peridot questioned.

"When they sleep, they get energy." Pearl explained in a simple manner.

"Oh, right!" Peridot shouted.

"Shh." Pearl sharply shushed her.

"Sorry." Peridot whispered, but it had already been too late. Steven began to stir in his bed.

"You woke him up." Amethyst sort of felt angry, but got over it quickly.

"Hey guys." Steven yawned as he woke up. He must've fallen asleep again by accident after contacting Yellow Diamond through his dreams.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Peridot felt apologetic.

"It's alright." Steven smiled as he jumped out of bed trying to pretend like he had some sort of motivation.

"How are you?" Pearl asked as she rushed up to the loft where the bed was.

"I'm great! Never better!" He forced a convincing smile upon his face.

"I'm glad to hear." Pearl hugged him tightly.

"How is the cleaning up going? I'm sorry I wasn't able to accomplish much." Steven questioned.

"It's going pretty well my dude. I've lifted up so many things." Amethyst then explained how she used her shapeshifting skills.

"We still have more things to clean up tomorrow." Pearl added as Garnet and Lapis entered The Temple.

"Steven!" Garnet smiled as he hopped down the ladder to give her a high five. "You must be very tired."

"I think I am more hungrier than anything." He giggled as his stomach growled.

"What would you like me to make you?" Pearl questioned as she came down from the loft too. "Is there anything you want?"

"I'm not sure. I'm happy with whatever you choose to make." Steven stated. He didn't want to make Pearl go through so much trouble.

"A surprise it is." She smiled as she started to get busy in the kitchen.

"Thank you." Steven thanked Pearl. She always took care of him and made sure he had what he needed.

"Want to do anything tonight? We could play board games." Garnet suggested. They hadn't had "family time" in quite a while.

"I would love that." He forced another smile. He knew that they were trying their best to make things go back to as normal as possible, but things could never be the same. He learned too much. He figured out that his life had been a lie, but that wasn't even what was phasing him. His flashbacks of White Diamond were burned into his mind and took over his thoughts more than anything else could.

"Great! What game?" Garnet asked as she opened the game cabinet.

"I'm not sure." He yawned.

"Steven, it's okay if you're feeling too tired to play games tonight. We can reschedule." Garnet ruffled his hair.

"Are you sure?" He questioned feeling guilty about not playing games.

"Positive." Garnet smiled. "It might be better anyway. Connie and your dad would be able to attend."

"I guess you're right." He agreed. "I think I'm going to have a bath before dinner is ready if you don't mind." He looked over at Pearl whom was working in the kitchen.

"No worries Steven. Your food will be ready when you come out." Pearl smiled not thinking anything of it. Steven had occasional baths and showers.

Steven then proceeded to his bathroom as to where he turned on the tap to fill up his bathtub. He wanted a lukewarm bath that he could relax in and where he had privacy. As he waited for his tub to fill up he looked into the mirror at himself.

"Why do I have to cause so many issues with everyone. They're so happy with where they are now. Why would I want to ruin that." He whispered to himself as he took off his shirt. "They finally are free to be themselves."

Steven then turned off his water as the tub was a little over half full. He just couldn't wait to relax. This is all he had been looking forward to. He then proceeded to undress and get into him is bath.

"This is exactly what I need." He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Should I warn Steven that his food will be ready in 10 minutes?" Pearl questioned as she looked at everyone.

"I think it will be fine. He will come out when he is done." Garnet answered. She knew Steven was getting older and needed his own privacy.

"Okay, I guess he could just heat it up in the microwave if it becomes cold." Pearl responded. She was making him Spaghetti, one of his favorite meals.

Everyone except for Greg and Connie were just sitting around in the living room is silence waiting for Steven to come out and eat. He was truly the light of all their worlds. No matter what the situation was, he knew how to put a smile on your face. Without him, their lives would feel empty and not complete.

"What's taking him so long?" Amethyst groaned as she laid upside down on the couch. Steven had been in the bathroom for over half an hour now.

"He's been through a lot these past few weeks. I'm sure he is just taking his time and relaxing." Garnet stated.

"Maybe I should go knock on the door and check on him. He doesn't usually take this long." Pearl started to worry.

"Sure." Garnet stoically said.

Pearl then made her way over to the washroom. She almost hesitated to knock as knew he needed privacy, but she couldn't help but feel worried over him.

"Steven?" Pearl knocked gently. No one responded.

"Maybe he can't hear you." Lapis suggested.

"Steven?" Pearl knocked a little harder. No one answered.

"I'm sure he just fell asleep. He was tired before having a bath." Garnet stood up and walked over beside Pearl.

"Steven!" Pearl shouted as she knocked on the door really hard.

No one answered…

Thank you for reading!