Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello! Im opening up one-shots, mainly because im bored and inspiration to right has actually struck me for once.

please look at the tags and suggest a character and reader persona if wanted, if not, ill go with what would feel comfortable with the character.

if you want a different fandom, feel free to suggest it. if i dont know it, i might look it up, but dont hope on it

have a good day all! feel free to make random suggestions

Chapter Text

Over the recent time, asra had grown oddly distant. Now, for his dear apprentice, this was just plain old odd. Usually, he was a worrywort, all around their side and like a doting..well, they were not too sure what to put a name on their relationship. It had never really been talked about.

And well, if it had, they couldn't remember it at all. It was a vague awareness, but they were aware that they had died, and that's why they couldn't have their memories. Just thinking about it ever still gave them a pounding migraine where they could feel their heart in their head. It just wasn't a thing they were prepared to have explained just yet. 

Ironic, considering how often Asra’s dear old apprentice had been questioning about just why asra had done such a thing, why they weren't left dead, questions of the sort. All ending up with a crumpled on the floor apprentice, and asra absolutely losing his mind.

It hurt a lot, to see someone who he had been in love with just pass out. They had stopped going catatonic recently, which he was thankful for, but of course, it didn't really help that they were still passing out like a light flickering out.

The apprentice though? Oh they couldn't remember anything when they woke up, at least they couldn't remember just what they asked to leave them blacking out. And subconsciously, they didn't even want to. Passing Out was hard on the body as well, after all.

Valentine’s day was coming up. The lower scale holiday wasn't really a thing that asra would talk about much, he had reminded them about what the holiday was, and that was about it. It wasn't much like vesuvia really celebrated either. Sure, the married couples and the kids with crushes on each other will be going back and forth, and man it was fun for them to see. 

But there was never any real personal participation.

Frankly, they had wondered about it at this rate. What if they did something for asra? Maybe not romantically..well, they weren't even sure about that point. Feelings definitely weren't in the forefront of their mind, and they really didn't need to be anyways. None of it really mattered. The apprentice was technically supposed to be back at the palace to continue with proving doctor dvorak innocent to Nadia, but they had informed her a few days prior that they would be taking time off from investigating when Asra came home, just to spend a little time with him.

Platonically.

Was cuddling platonic? Yeah definitely. Absolutely platonic. There was nothing there, and there was nothing supposed to be there anyways. Absolutely not, asra was just their mentor. Who they lived with. And had been for at least three years that they could remember.

How tricky.

It definitely wasnt anything, they only cuddled because they liked cuddling. That was all!

Anyways, it was stupid to overthink it in a way. They were centered on the holiday today ,and thats what they had to be focused on. Besides, asra definitely wouldnt expect a surprise from his apprentice. Although...they did that most times any holidays came up. They would go out and grab Asra at least something, and on occassion get scolded for it later.

What they didnt know though, was that asra was thinking just about the same. To get his dear apprentice something for valentine’s day. Sure, they couldnt really remember the time before when they had much more fun times with the valentines and got ridiculous with it, but he could, and he swore he was going to up his game that year.

Which ended up in comissioning a huge custom teddy bear a few months early so that it would be ready, plenty of flowers of all sorts, and a load of different chocloates that he could get his hands on. Naturally, they went on some huge sale before hand, so he went nuts with it roughly a few days earlier, excusing it as some sort of short adventure that he was going on by himself.

So meeting up with the same exact plan was quite odd to say the very least. Asra got there first, setting up silently, using magic and naturally, faust to his advantage of course. The bigger things were set up along the bed, followed by the flowers completely spread across the entirety of the bedroom, living room, the tarot readings room, all around. 

And when the apprentice entered into the shop to see an outrageous number of flowers and rose petals covering the floor, carrying a bunch of treats, breads asra likes and stuffed animals out the ass along with silks and the first words out of their mouth, in stead of being surprised, instead of anything else, they had shouted 

“Oh youve got to be kidding me!!”

Which was immediately returned with loud laughter coming from the upstairs. Oh of course asra beat them to the punch! How positively awful! They were supposed to surprise him, not the other way around!

“Oh whatever do you mean?” asra calls from downstairs, still cracking out ever the much. 

“This was supposed to be my holiday for you !” The apprentice shouts, shaking their head as they practically ran upstairs with their own gifts for asra in their hands.

As they got upstairs to just meet asra holding his arms out to them, frankly amused and continuously cracking up and covering his mouth with one hand

“You really thought i wasnt going to get you anything? At all? My oh my, youve forgotten me, my dear, hm?”

“....dear?” they questioned, setting their things down as they just stared at asra

“We...havent gone through that before, have we?” he questions, somewhat akwardly, and then cleared his throat. “I- uh...i thought that we did”

“We...definitely didnt”

“Ah.” asra just fumbled for something to say before he sighs “then what do you think about that? Of me calling you dear?”

“I...dont see anything wrong with it.”

“Thats...good” asra stumbled over his words a bit, before he just smiles “i dont think you understand how much that means to me” before he simply steps forwards, cupping the apprentice’s cheeks in his hands

They just watch back at him. 

Well, yeah, now that they were thinking about it, they had found a liking towards asra for awhile. Obviously it was impartial to think that it was because they just had..and admiration for him, for just how strong he was, how firm in his thinking he was. It was amusing to think that now, he was being..well, now that htey thought about it, no different at all. This was how he acted usually as well, just..futher.

And he said something that somewhat shattered them, leaving them just a little bit shell shocked

“Can i kiss you?”

“I-uh- why..are you asking permission? Of-uh..course you can” they jsut laugh a small bit, before the gap was closed.

It was nice, having someone to be able to kiss and someone to be happy with

And they were sure that asra felt the exact same about that.

It was a good holiday, filled with more cuddling than usual, laughing about the fact that they had practically gotten eachother the same exact presents.

And none the less, plenty of kissing.

Thank god for valentine’s day.

Chapter Text

Earth was boring. Real boring. Extremely, terribly boring. Well, that was mainly because for the past few months while Steven and the crystal gems and the gems of little homeworld cleaned up spinel’s mess, she wasn't allowed to do too much. 

She still felt terrible about what she did, of course, but spinel just really didn't believe she needed this much restriction!

But alas, she didn't get much of a say about it. She tried to kill Steven, and although she was doing better now and still going through her trauma, Steven had to explain to her what the hell mental health was. Why? Because dear connie had mentioned something about spinel’s mental health while they were talking. Apparently, the teens were guessing she had something called ptsd..whatever the hell that meant.

But it was fine . She still had some responsibilities, and it made spinel feel worth something. She definitely wasn't just being pushed to the side, for the most part, but she was coping with the fact that Steven had a life, and couldn't be by her side all the time. That stood for most of the gems too, everyone had...jobs, and everyone had things to do on a day to day basis. 

It was fine, irritating, but fine .

Earlier in the day, she had been talking to Steven about what she could do to help. And of course, she was met with a rather stressed teenager. 

“Agh, i..ah, i don't know. Uh..you've apologized to us but you haven't apologized to the humans and gems'' he pauses, tapping at his own head “well, maybe you could go down and help make food for a bit or something?”

“Making...food? So I can't help but actually like...restoring the earth?”

“Spinel. Not right now, I'm dealing with so much on top of restoring the city. So to make up for it, I'm suggesting that you bring the gift of food. Everyone likes apology food, everyone ”

Spinel just stares at him. She felt the urge to fly off the handle immediately and just yell at him about how she wanted to actually help, not make food for the humans, but instead, spinel just takes a deep breath, forcing a grin. 

“Okay, yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Sorry for being a bother”

“You're never a bother spinel” Steven sighs, and within moments he was gone, just walking in a different direction. She suspected he was likely heading to a little homeworld. That was none of her concern though he had his own things to do.

Doesn't mean it didn't hurt to be told that she wasn't needed at the moment.

No, that isn't what he said at all, he just said he's a little busy, that's fine . There wasn't anything wrong with him being busy. She caused such a mess..

Spinel just wandered around the beach for a small bit, looking out to the ocean. It was a little better than when she had emptied the injector into the land, but the ocean was still a disgustingly purple color, filled with biotoxin. 

Which was still concerning to her. Spinel was learning plenty about earth, and the thing that worried her the most was, are the fish near it dead or mutated? Because then lord, would she feel absolutely terrible.

At this rate, the gem really figured that she couldn't make up for this at all. There wasn't any way to fix this huge error.

“Earth sucks” she murmurs, kicking a rock into form, skipping across the water before sinking to the bottom, and she just watches.

But fine, Steven was right. She had made it up to some of the gems, but not to all the humans, who really would have died if she had gotten her original way. The more she thought about it, the worse it felt. 

Time to ignore it completely and make up for her mistakes. Steven would probably say that ignoring it was bad for her, but she knew him enough to figure that he was quite the hypocrite to say that.

So..it was more boring and even less engaging than she had originally thought. Though, what she had learned was how to bake donuts and cupcakes. Interesting, but it wasn't any real thing spinel wanted to do. 

But she definitely had to admit to herself, watching the batter rise was very entertaining. Considering she had to sit there and wait for anyone to come in. 

Outside,she had tried to write out to come get apology pastries, but writing? Oh spinel couldn't write. Had no idea how. She just stared at the letter for a while and then figured it out on her own. 

Needless to say, it looked like a 5 year old wrote it. And she drew herself, figuring it would be cute enough to lure people in.

Spinel was absolutely wrong. Yes, some people came in, she would give them a cupcake or donut, apologize for what she did (and yes, it was a very embarrassing feeling) and they would walk out.

It was a little different when ____ walked in. now, spinel wouldn't know, but they were from out of town, did not live in beach city, but the odd writing and cute drawing had drawn them in, intrigued as hell to see what even happened. Yes, they had an idea, the beach looked...odd. But it hasn't spread past the beach city too far, so it was a total mystery!

It was just a coincidence that they liked mysteries.

“Cupcake or donut?” spinel questions, back turned as the bell atop of the door rang.

“Ah, cupcakes”

“Okay, should be done in a few. Lucky I put new ones in.”

“Can I ask something?”

“Hm?” spinel turns, and just stares at ____.

Originally, they found it a bit weird how she stared. Spinel had a stare like she was just glaring into someone’s soul. Quite scary at first

“What are you cosplaying as?”

“What?”

“What are you cosplaying as?”

“What the hell is cosplay?”

“Oh my god, you poor soul. Who are you dressed as?” ____ coos. They...still hadn't caught on to the fact spinel was just spinel. No face paint, no fancy costumes, just herself

“My…..self?”

“What?”

“I'm dressed as myself? What..do you even mean?”

“Why are you pink? Are you a punk?”

“That's..my color?? What's punk?”

“Oh my god, I have to educate you.”

“Apparently I have to educate you as well '' spinel just blinks, still staring dead at this person, as ____ sits down, spinel hops up onto the glass counter separating them and listens as they just start explaining cosplay and punk. Apparently aesthetic was supposed to mean something, and they were even more shocked when spinel looked confused with a good amount of what they were talking about.

And ____ was floored when they paused as a timer went off. Spinel turns, doesn't get off of the counter, and she just stretches her arm , grabs the cupcake tray, and sets it on the oven, turning back around and folding her hands back in her lap, staring at them again. 

“Holy shit”

“What?”

“ How did you do that!?”

“Do what?”

“That! With your arm! How!?”

“I can...do that? It's not hard.”

“Are you human?”

“Am I human? Damn, dollie, that's flattering you thought I was. No? Is..is that why you were asking about cosplay?”

“ You aren't human!??”

“No?”

“What are you then!?” They were standing by this point, and were quite invading spinel’s personal space. If she wasn't a clingy gem, she would probably be uncomfortable. Lucky for them, she supposed. 

“A gem?”

“ A gem?? Like a gemstone??”

“....yes?? Do you still want a cupcake?”

“Yes.” they pause “ you have to tell me everything about yourself now”

“You sure are forward, aren't you, dollie?”

“Why are you calling me that?”

“Cuz.” Spinel spun around again, grabbing one of the cupcakes from the tray, swung back around and set it on the human’s head “I can.”

She then snorts “i don't even know your name and you don't know mine, and you already want to dive into my backstory , ain't that fun?”

“Is it? Yeah.. i guess introductions are in order then, Im ______”

“Nice to meet you then dollie, Im spinel”

“Spinel? Like the gem?”

“Didn't we just go over this?”

“Yeah, but still! This is amazing! A real alien” they sigh, almost dreamily, and spinel just cocks a brow

“Yeah..and?”

“I thought aliens would be all creepy and disformed! Not gorgeous! ”

“Uh..wow, geez, you really are trying to flatter me, aren't you?” spinel just stammers. It was a little bit surprising “you really aren't from here if you're shocked by me , aren't you?”

“Oh, well of course. No trouble in being forwards, right?”

“I guess not”

The two continued talking while Spinel hands out donuts and cupcakes as people walk in, take them and walk out. And naturally, it begged the new question from ______

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Ohhh, that's a tough subject, haha. I sorta...kinda, tried to destroy the earth?” 

To this, they just looked a bit confused, and continued on with the flattery, stating “you? Destroy the earth? Spinel, you look like you wouldn't hurt a fly!”

“That's sweet of you, but i tried to kill a 16 year old”

“Oh, damn. What'd he do?”

“His mother abandoned me when i was..well, to you, i'd be considered a kid or something when she left me” Spinel just frowns. 

It must have been hard to talk about, but ____ was pressing. Hell ,even they looked a bit pissed off hearing about it. Frankly, it felt like validation, and spinel truly enjoyed it.

“Oh nothing, just around 6,000 years” spinel sighs. She just, deflated a little bit, and ____ frowns.

“6,000 years? No wonder you were so pissed.”

“Yeah….but i tried to destroy the earth..kill all lifeforms and stuff.”

“Ptsd”

“Why the hell does everyone say that?”

“Cuz, that's what it is. What drew you over here then?”

“A broadcast with her kid on it, announcing something. I was so mad I could barely tell what he was saying.”

“No wonder” they just kept repeating that, and after another hour of talking, and handing out sweets, with _____ even helping Spinel with the task, she had decided she wanted to close up, getting bored of making the sweets.

“You're closing up?”

“Yeah, i want to go… ‘home’” she quotes it, and _____ snorts.

“What, you don't have a home?”

“I'd say not technically. It's still being built. Kinda being held off until the earth is all healed, regrown and stuff.”

“Do you want to stay with me?”

“You..don't live here though?”

“Well, yeah, but i'm visiting. My relative lives here, so i've got a place for a few months if you want to stay?”

“That's...really forward again”

The connotations were a little bit obvious, but spinel didn't really notice what any other person would get through their head of someone that obviously considers you to be attractive inviting you to stay with them

“It's better than basically being homeless”

“I guess.”

“So you'll come?”

“Sure.”

And that started a new thing. That night, spinel started spending the night in a hotel where ______ was staying, and to be fair, it was quite awkward at first.

“Are you going to hurt me?”

“Why would i?”

“Because i don't know you, and just told you i tried to destroy your planet?”

“Yeah, but that's just trauma. I don't have any reason to hurt you”

“Okay..good.” spinel clears her throat

And it was quiet again, _____ on their phone while the background of the tv played, a bit of news coverage in the city. 

Which was fun enough, if it wasn't coverage of all the damage she had caused.

“Can I turn it off?”

“Why?”

“Can you even hear it? Are you even paying attention to it?”

“I was on my-..oh” ____ clears their throat, before turning the tv off.

The quiet was a little better, right up until spinel got bored. And cold..apparently. She wasn't completely sure what the hell an air conditioner was, but ____ had said it was just to keep the room cooler, and well, it was definitely working. Annoyingly so.

So what else to do other than sit next to them, peering over their shoulder to see what they were looking at.

“Who's that?” spinel asks, pointing at a picture of a group of people

“Just some people i know”

“Why are they posting that”

“Because they can”

Earth customs were really fucking weird, that was the only thing spinel was really understanding. All very confusing. Then again, she had seen steven taking pictures of others posing before, so it wasn't just a native thing, technically.

“Can you turn off the air conditioner? Its cold”

“Nope, the room doesn't have a thermostat”

“A thermo-what?”

“Uh..basically a thing to change the temperature.”

“Then what am i supposed to do?”

“Get under the covers, that's what” they just shrugged, gesturing to the blankets they were under. “Trust me, if I could turn it off, I definitely would.”

Again, weird. Why make the room cold if you can't make it warmer. It defeated the entire purpose in Spinel's mind. When it is cold outside, you just go inside. It should have definitely been something similar for the cold room. 

But complaining and bitching would've gotten annoying, and there was that starting twinge of fear that ____ would just leave if she got too annoying. Spinel just ket her mouth shut and laid under the covers. 

Huh. Apparently, blankets were heavy. Well, spinel was at least taking it as an opportunity to learn more about earth. That was fine.

Somewhere between laying down and mentally complaining about heavy covers and the sun going down, ___ had fallen asleep, partially laying on spinel, which she found was equally as concerning and uncomfortable. Concerning because while she was well aware what sleeping was, ____ looked completely dead. Screw covers and ___ laying on their side. It practically hid the fact that they were breathing.

The gem just stayed as solid as a stick for a while, just watching them sleep. In the dark. She really didn't have any idea why they had to turn off the light and only leave the light from outside entering the room, but really, what was she going to complain about? It wasn't like she was going to poof from the loss of light in the room. That wasn't possible anyways.

Eventually, spinel loosened up while watching the human, and just listening to their quiet breathing. Oddly to her, it was calming to hear the fact that she was fine. There was anymore pink to worry about. Yes, she had done terrible things to her kid and his planet, but there wasn't much she could do about that. But this was safe, a very safe feeling, and she enjoyed it. 

And when light finally entered the room at sunrise, or a little thereafter, ____ had started stirring. And wouldn't you know it, had woken up to find an out cold spinel they had been laying on, and very rubbery arms wrapped around their midbody way too many times to be normal. 

Well, thank god they were not a drinker. Or there would've been a question of if they had a one night stand with some alien they didn't know. Thank god for that.

Trying to unwrap the arms was definitely useless, but at least they could still breathe, and spinel wasn't too much of a bother. Hell, she didn't really seem to be breathing, completely silent, and it made them wonder if she even needed to breathe. Maybe that was just some sort of alien thing. It was interesting enough.

And the cycle of going on their phone and going between a few apps continued on, up until there was the sound of harsh breathing right behind them. Odd enough, a hologram passed out dimly away from spinel’s gem, showing a bit of a sad scene. A different looking version of spinel bawling her eyes out and destroying things around her, and mixing in with some flashes of some giant pink lady. Must have been the person she had been talking about then. It went on for about 30 seconds after ____ noticed before they shifted, shaking spinel in an attempt to get her awake.

And it worked, just maybe not in the way that they would have expected. Spinel’s eyes burst open, her arms retracted and she shrieked, absolutely frightened.

“Shit! Shit, im sorry, shouldn't have done that!” they backed up maybe a little, before taking a breath, and practically pulling spinel over to them.

“Just breathe.” and spinel was doing as told, before barely muttering

“You'll leave”

“You don't know that, you don't know me”

“That's the point! I don't know you!”

Well, spinel was calmer. Still upset but she wasn't screaming and didn't look like her eyes were bulging out of her damn head. ____ just stayed still, a comfortable hold over spinel as they spoke

“ My point is that you don't know that id leave. Hell, i, i'm really not sure who would leave you, other than her. That just proves how bad she was, don't you think?”

“Maybe.” spinel sighly, deflating a bit in the others arms.

It was quiet, and once again, safer. Maybe she would mention that.eventually, anyways.

Hell, maybe earth wasn't as terrible as she thought. There are better people in there, and while she felt even worse for trying to destroy the earth, there was a feeling of having an anchor now. She needed someone to ground her.

“You thought earth was terrible? I'm your anchor? ” ____ piped up, and spinel blinked.

“I..said that outloud?”

“Yeah. yeah you did” they laughed, and oh gosh, it was embarrassing. Spinel really thought that she was in her own head.

“Mmh, that's fine. I'll be your anchor, and you'll be mine then”

“Sounds fine with me” Spinel breathes, just staring at the arms now wrapped around her.

“We’ll see where it goes” ____ chuckles

“I guess we will.” the gem sighs. How odd. Feelings were very odd.

Earth wasn't terrible, and the calming feeling of warmth, followed by a rather well received kiss on the head of spinel was proof enough of that.

Chapter Text

Night terrors were not new to them. At all. It was awful. Always waking up with a start and waking up covered in their own sweat and tears. Sometimes, they couldn't even remember when the crying started. 

But once ____ powered through it for a few hours and calmed down, it was fine. Somewhat, anyways. It was never fun to have the thought of the terror running through the back of their mind throughout the day. It always seemed that that was the only one that stuck. Only the nightmares, never the dreams. Never the sweet dreams, not even once. Suppose that's due to trauma. How fun even was that?

In the past few months or so, _____ had met a few people, after taking the long move from their childhood home to moominvalley. Everyone was much nicer here, which was such an extreme change that it was almost odd, and made them feel a small bit outcast. Not much, considering that their new friends included them in everything.

Moominvalley was a little bit too nice of a town. Sure, on occasion, little my would taunt with the idea of there being some real terrible people out to get them, but once heavy breathing started the first time, she seemed quite shocked and knocked it off after that. ____ definitely suspected that someone scolded her for her taunting. Or maybe ___ freaking out had spooked her. Maybe she never saw anything like that. _____ wouldt really know, but that was their suspicion.

Too nice of a town, and too nice of people, it was such a wild change. It was like moving to an entirely new world, but may oh my was it warmly welcomed by them. 

“You’re sure to be out of the house late. Moomintroll and little my sat outside your house for a good hour or two” And, the mumrik was waiting outside their house still, just sitting on their porch, twirling a pipe in his hand.

“Were they throwing stuff at the windows?”

“Little my was.”

“The explains why i heard huge, huge bangs in my dreams”

“Mhm” snufkin rather simply takes a long drag from the pipe, prompting another few questions

“Are you smoking pot? Also, why are you still here then snufkin?”

“Maybe I am, maybe i’m not. That's for me to know and you to wonder. All ill say about it is moomintroll is no longer allowed to smoke with me”

“So it is pot. Anyways, again, why are you outside my home?”

“Well, if you absolutely must know, I came with moomin and My. they left, i didn't. Figured you'd wake up soon enough. Apparently 2 hours is soon enough now” Snufkin just laughs as the other shaked their head a bit.

“So you waited..outside of my home...for three hours...just waiting for when I woke up? That's honestly equally endearing and terrifying. Makes me reconsider letting you and moomin know where i live”

“Oh? You're joking then? Figured you'd be one of the ‘get out on the wrong side of the bed’ types.”

“Occasionally, and pray for yourself when you see it.”

“Pray for yourself in autumn, moomin’s going to throw a fit”

“What do you mean?”

“Ohhh-hohoh, no one told you yet? What a trick”

What a puzzle that one was, and ____ just wore a completely confused expression as snufkin explains. 

“In the winter, or late autumn usually, I travel.”

“You go abroad? Where?”

“Essentially, and where I go doesn't matter. I know how to get back here and I'm usually not a day late. Have been before, and man, moomintroll is pleasant but he is horrendous when I'm late or when I'm leaving.”

“Huh. why do you leave?”

“It's a mumrik thing.”

“How so?” well, at least your curiosity was piqued. And snufkin made a joke out of it

“Don't you know curiosity killed the cat? Anyways, mumriks are isolated species. Don't really feel comfy with a bunch of people”

“So...for three season a year, you put your literal nature behind for your friends?”

“That, and for mischief”

“Makes enough sense.”

“Do you want to go join the others?”

“Not yet, in a bit” 

Snufkin doesn't ask why, just moving to sit down on the banister around the porch. Well, he didn't exactly ask, but just the very odd therapist like feeling had them talking

“Night terrors”

“Ah, i used to have those. Was it bad?”

“Well, yeah.” there was a pause, and snufkin was just staring at them for a rather uncomfortable amount of time.

“Do they ever go away”____ questions him, and he shrugs “sometimes they do, most of the time they dont. Gets worse under stress, that kind of thing”

“You sound like a therapist”

“Oh? Well isn't that funny. Maybe i'll be your therapist then” it was a joke, and something to laugh at for sure, but they just shrugged 

“Maybe you should be. You'd be good at it”

“You'd think that, right? Then the therapist holds eeeeeveryones trauma. I got my own things to take care of” he laughs.

“Yeah,yeah that's true i guess” 

and well, eventually it came down to inviting snufkin inside of the house, mainly so you two could sit down and talk like normal people and not just in the front yard where anyone could hear the practical criminal talking. That was a funny joke anyhow, snufkin being a criminal. If anything, they saw him more of a stoner who liked messing with people, and considering he was pretty much just some young teen, it made waaay too much sense to see him that way.

“So, run me through your night terror, what happened in it?”

Explaining it was harder to think about, but rather easy to just keep talking. They explained that they felt like they had been drowning and that they kept seeing flashes of black like they were suffocating. Snufkin was just quiet, letting them talk and letting them get a harder time breathing.

“Hey, hey, you're okay. Nothing is happening right now, you're not drowning. You don't like the water then?”

“Hate it, honestly” they sighed, shrugging, and he nods.

Afterwards, it was a little bit weird, because he had just handed them his pipe and told them to take a puff of it, explaining in a few words that it wasn't exactly pot but it was a relaxant.

And it definitely worked as hell, and they were laying back comfortably against the couch and breathing rather lazily. 

“Damn. i guess i'll have to get you one then”

“Maybe you should.” they sighed, standing up from the couch, albeit a little bit wobbly  as they clapped their hands together
“Alright, i'm all good, lets go annoy moomin and my”

“You mean you're going to annoy em. That'll be really fun” he laughs while he stands up, linking arms with him while you drag him out of the door.

“Well, you sure took your time, ____” Little my was definitely complaining about it, but not as much as you would have expected or really cared to think about.

“How come you took so long? Are you okay? Were you in, god forbid, danger? ” well, moomin was more worried than upset that ____ and snufkin had taken their time. 

“Don't worry, it was just a sleeping in day. Just..dont throw things at my windows anymore. Please?”

“I make absolutely no promises. It's fun ” well, that's just how little my acted.

Apparently, the plan for the day was to head out to the beach, and go collect shells and stones. Uncomfortable for ____ typically, but right now they felt rather happy to do it. And they were picking up practically anything around them once down at the beach. It was noticeable that snufkin was keeping an eye on ____, moomin and little my. Just to make sure no one gets trapped in the water and that they didn't freak out about the water once the calming wore off. They were high for the moment, but it was natural that at some point, it would wear off and they would lose their shit about being near the water. 

And it was like a spell. Once it wore off, they were just staring rather blankly at the water. Not really confused as to why they were there, but it was sure enough that they started backing up, wandering off with their shells  back over to snufkin.

“So, you know I'm scared of the water and now we’re out here?”

“You insisted .” 

“I did? Doesn't sound like me” they accused him, and he held his hands up a bit 

“It was moomin and little my’s idea, not mine.”

“Well, fine” and with a small thud, they set down the shells and sat down, just breathing

“ Are you okay? You look a little pale” and well, he wasn't lying. As ___ looked down at their arms, it was much paler than what they normally looked like. That was weird. Then again, they didn't go to the water often since the night terrors started.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?”

All it really took was a nod for snufkin to get up and go talk to moomin about it, and explain that he was going to go talk to them for a little bit. 

Sitting in the forest was much better. It gave them the chance to breathe, and the hand around their shoulder just gently just rubbing their shoulder did help even more.

“Just breathe, you're alright” he sighed, and continued on “i'll make sure that the next time, won't be anywhere near the water, alright?”

And they were just nodding, staying for the most part quiet. 

When they finally felt better and went home later in the night after talking to moomin about the fear of the water, it was a much better feeling. 

And who was on the porch? None other than the lovely mumrik, snufkin, turning his head to stare at them with a grin.

“Why...are you here?”

“I wanted to make sure that you're okay”

“Well i mean, that's okay but how long have you been waiting for me?”

“Just a little bit, don't worry.” he laughs.

“Well then, I'm okay, why else are you here?”

“Well” he shrugs, trying to think of a way to say it rather simply

“I'm gonna be staying at your house tonight”

“Sorry, what?”

“Im inviting myself in, dear” he snickers when met with a pretty blank expression

“Huh. fine, but you're staying on my couch”

“Ah, well that's fair enough.”

And he let himself inside of your house, sitting down on the couch as they wandered off to the kitchen to make food for themself. 

After food, it pretty much led to sitting on the couch and smoking while snufkin talked about his own night terrors, and how it was ironic that it was about a fear of abandonment. Definitely not a fun thing, but the smoking made the both of them feel better.

“I have a new topic”

“Yeah? Spill it then” snufkin was laughing again while he smoked. ____ was definitely a small bit more..fun when high as shit. Tootally a newer smoker, for sure.

“What if i said i liked you?”

“I would say it may be too soon considering we don't talk that much, but i would probably say that i like you too” he shrugs, passing the pipe back to them as they took a smaller puff. 

“What would you say if i said i wanted to kiss you?”

“Is this how you ask someone for consent?”

“Now it is”

“Well, id say thats a funny way to do it” he snickers,and when given back to pipe, he continues 

“And, id tell you to come a bit closer” as he gestures as such

“And after that?”

“I'd say get prepared for smoke?” he says a bit questionably while taking a puff, but not blowing it out

“I dont get what you mean.”

Well, now they did, for sure. Just the matter of having another pair of lips against their own was weird enough on its own, but to also have smoke blown into their mouth throughout it was odd enough.

“I'm sorry, what's that ?”

“Shotgunning”

“Is that a thing?”

“It is, for smokers. And apparently, that's what we’re going to be for a bit”

“Can you do that again?”

“Of course” snufkin practically blew up in laughter before taking another breath of smoke and another small kiss.

If this was the way the two of them were going to be dealing with night terrors, ____ was definitely happy about that.

Chapter Text

Life was definitely better for ‘defective’ gems since that steven kid had some agreement with the diamonds to end the colonies. For the most part anyways. It didn't stop gem production or anything, but it stopped the separations, shattering of defectives, and pretty much ended the matter of gems needing to hide when something happened.

Plus, gems now had a genuine choice of where they wanted to go, whether it was one planet that was conquered or another, they got the option to go to one place or another. It was certainly fun to have some free reign over it.

So, after hearing plenty about how it was nicer on earth, that's where ____ had chosen to go. Easy travels, and plenty of people to meet, including both humans and other gems that they hadn't met before.

Humans, what a new topic. Though, they had not exactly tried to talk to them...or realistically try to interact with humans. Just..watching, and they realized pretty quickly that it likely looked quite odd, but there were no comments made. Hell, some would just write it off as one of those ‘they are new here’, and that was certainly comfortable. 

But oh boy, interacting with plant life or the animal life on earth was so much more interesting! Mimicking the sounds they made and watching the colors, along with collecting whatever they could get their hands on was lovely! Besides, it was something they could (for the most part) be taller than. 

Though, wow, at a point there were very loud crashes and wind whistling like a damn near bomb through the trees, and it was definitely a ‘get the hell out of there before you get killed’ moment, and ____ had hightailed it out of there at full speed, however fast that realistically was didn't matter, but it felt fast, and that was all that mattered.

Apparently, running and not really paying attention to where they were going was the first mistake. The second mistake was seeing some large looking red building and going running towards it. Why, just because it was much larger than them and they figured it would be some form of protection.

Which yes, it was protection but maybe it should have been thought of that it wasn't EMPTY, that was the third mistake.

Within a few moments of slamming into the back wall of the barn and sitting down immediately, someone who sounded to be right above them shouted “ WHAT WAS THAT!? ” before loud amounts of clamouring. Oh. oh boy, they really hadn't considered how someone might have been inhabiting there. Was it going to be a human? Oh boy that'd be weird. Really odd to explain. ‘Oh yeah, i heard bangs in the forest so i ran into your home’. Not a good ice breaker, not really.

Huh, what a moment of going out of focus, and how fun, note the sarcasm, it was to come face the face with not only some sort of metal an inch or two from their eyes, but to a….very small peridot. Or rather, maybe she just looked small, but ____ wasnt willing to fuck with a peridot who seemed to be pretty angry, or scared. They couldn't tell, and did not ask

“Who are you? WHY are you at my barn!?”

Completely silence, and the peridot squints, and seemed a little offended with the complete and total silence from ____.

“Are you just not going to answer me?”

Again, silence up until they shook their head “can you..ah, move the…”

“Not until you state who you are. You might be a threat”

Felt like an understatement, realistically, ____ was likely terrified, let alone from the fact that  there was a piece of metal in front of their face, likely to stab them in the peridot lost her shit. 

“Do i have to say my cut number?”

“Your...wh….oh. You're new ”

“Is that bad?”

“Depends.” she rolled her eyes, dropping the metal at the other’s feet. “Grab it and watch what'll happen”

“That's really mean.”

“Nicer than you're used to, i'm sure”

Couldn't really argue with that. The diamond they served under was….unique. That was to say the very least, but hey, they never really had to personally talk to her, so they had no real complaints, other than a few other gems. Agates weren't too nice, usually, and it sucked for sure. 

“You're like a sapphire”

“Why do you say that”

“Dead silent” peridot bluntly speaks, shaking her head a little bit. “Stand up, you look like a leaf”

“A what?”

“Doesn't matter. Shaky” she explains, and offers no help. That was fair enough, they were a stranger, let alone someone who likely left a dent in the wall.

“I'm sorry about the..” they gestured behind them before standing up. And peridot squints for a few moments, before bursting out in laughter, definitely frightening ____.

“You're shorter than me! Hah! Finally!”

“Does that matter?”

“Oh of course it does, now I can stick it to amethyst!”

“To who?”

“A very rude friend of mine” she's still practically cackling about it. 

“Is she mean?”

“Ehhhh...not really, but she has a thing about heights. Hah!”

“Why is it so important??”

She paused, thinking and then shrugged. Then the questioning turned back onto the other “you don't get to ask the questions here, i do! Why are you in my barn.”

“Uh...loud noises in the forest” 

“You were scared...of a noise… so you ran into a barn?”

“I..thought it was empty”

“Well, it wasn't”

“Clearly”

She rolls her eyes, but is staring up by looking up at the ceiling. There's some sort of noise coming from upstairs, and it was definitely intrigued. Very dramatic sounding, that was for sure.

“What is that?”

“A tv show that I'm rewatching.”

“A what? That you're huh?”

“Drama”

When greeted with a still blank expression, completely confused, Peridot just groans, grabbing their arm and dragging them along with her, only to be met with a “what are- what are you doing??”

“I'm going to make you watch my show. Might as well make you learn something about earth.” cue another eye roll. This peridot was mighty confusing, and a small bit rude.

It was a little endearing, but equally frightening as she sat them down in a bean bag chair, which was very, very squishy. Odd as hell, just like everything else around, and they shifted a little bit as she pulled over another bean bag chair, and selected the first episode, and then started explaining the basics of the show.

“How come you're..re-watching it”

“Im waiting for the reboot to come out”

She pauses “just pretend you know what i'm talking about”

“Okay”

And lord, it was honestly interesting. Peridot may have been ranting and raving to them about the facts about the characters, but they were quite a bit invested after the first episode.

“What do you think??”

“It's..dramatic, interesting” they blinked,and realized that huh, they haven't blinked the entire time while watching the episode, just not wanting to miss a single detail of the drama.

“Oh, it gets better”

“Does it?”

“Yes” she's grinning, and looks a little bit odd with a smile. All the peridots they had seen never, ever smiled. What a change. But when they were given access to the remote, they paused the show, to ask some questions finally. Feeling a little more comfortable to talk more freely, since it was one on one.

“What's earth like? I've heard just..so much praise”

“Well, the humans are annoying.”

“Are they?”

“Some of them. It's like the show, they're all so different it's annoying”

“Different seems to be more fun”

“I can see it that way, but have you talked to any humans?”

“Well..no”

“Then you have no experience”

That was definitely more fair, but they frowned regardless.

“I have another question”

“What is it? I want to continue to show” she complains, leaning back in the beanbag so far, just to look as exaggeratedly annoyed.

“Where am i supposed to stay?”

“Probably little homeworld, why are you asking me ?”

“Is it like homeworld there?”

“Yeah mostly. Except there's no diamonds to control you there” she laughs “life without the diamonds is definitely positive”

“Oh. well, could i stay here?”

That got her to sit up, and just stare at them, and for once, she appeared quite confused “here? Why here? ”

“Because, you're the only other person here.”

“Ohh, isolation then.”

“Uh..kinda”

“What, you don't like other gems or something?”

“I..don't really want to answer that”

“Ehh, fine. You can stay here until you warm up to other gems. But, but ,but, you have to, absolutely have to make sure to talk to Steven about it.”

“Stee-ven? Isn't that pink diamond’s-”

“-kid? Yeah, don't worry, he's nicer than i hear she used to be. I wouldn't know though, but he's pretty annoying too. He's the one that introduced me to the show though, so eh. Friendshiiiip” she makes an exaggerated hand motion, and ___ laughs.

“Is that funny?”

“Very!” they giggled. 

“Good. but yeah, i guess you can stay here until you break out of a shell, shortcake. Oh!! I've always wanted to use that insult! HAH!!”

“Is that an insult? It doesn't..sound like it”

“Oh i'm certain it is.” spoiler alert, it really wasn't one of those. It just sounded mean how she said it ,but they still laughed regardless, unpausing the show to watch it.

---------------------------------------

_____ had been staying with Peridot and sometimes Lapis when she hung around before heading to go do work on finishing homeworld and realistically..whatever it was she did, and it was very nice and comfortable. The new camp pining hearts reboot had come out, and Peridot was outraged when watching it at separate times with them and steven. 

“Hey! Just calm down, it's just a show!”

“It isn't just a show! It's practically my life!”

“Well, yeha, but still, maybe we can fix it?”

“Damn right we can. We can film a whole new season if we wanted to. Including the gems as actresses” peridot scoffs, leaning back on the chair again, just as exaggerated as she was the first time they had met.

It would be easy to lie and say that ____ hadn't really bonded with Peridot, but they had, and often related their relationship with her, at least in their mind, to a coupe of the couples in the show. Were they really that aware of what they actually meant by that? Of course not, but Peridot, ever the shipper after cph, was absolutely aware of the implication. 

And the thought of someone liking her was definitely an ego booster to the skies.

“I have a new question”

“Hmm?”

“Can i just..stay here. I feel more comfortable here and i don't really want to leave you and i feel really awkward there and-”

“Jeez! Obviously you can, just shut up about it!” peridot has started laughing again, and they nodded

“So..that's a yes?”

“No, that's obviously a no, get out.”

They were about to get up and leave, before she grabbed their hands, and pretty much threw them back into the seat, snickering “im joking ! You take everything I say so seriously! It's cute!”

“It is? Is that a good thing?”

“Obviously, oblivious”

“That's a tongue twister”

“Could be, i guess”

“Thank for letting me stay here”

“Of course, shortcake”

“I thought you found out it wasn't an insult?”

“I dont mean it as an insult”

“Oh. so...you like me back?”

“Obviously, oblivious.”

Chapter Text

Ah, migraines. Life’s true pain, want that for sure. _____ had the special type of condition where she often got these strong headaches to the point where she could see stars and damn near point out the constellations. Absolutely terrible, and it was one of those types where over the counter medications didn't actually help much other than dulling the pain. 

All she could really do during those days was stay home and get through it like it was a period. Often, but not every day, so that was at least the positive thing that came out of everything, and it was better than nothing. She still got to hang out with her lovely boyfriend and mutual friends. Moomin definitely spoiled her once he actually got it through his head that she was often in pain and used to force herself to come outside to go hang out with him. Once that moment had passed and they finally bonded better, she would take days at a time, just staying home and making sure she could actually recover.

Apparently, in a drunken stupor of sorts, she had been talking and hanging out with snufkin. Did Not happen as often as hanging out with the group, but sometimes they would just talk. Moomin had been with snufkin romantically for awhile, but then again he’d also been with snorkmaiden before, so when ____ had to, had to go to someone for advice on subjects, it was those two that she'd talk to. Snufkin was just a little less snarky about it. Sometimes that was a lie, but his comments about the situation were more funny. 

“Oh boy, i'm probably not gonna be outside tomorrow”

“What do you mean?” the mumrik questions her as she just continues on to drink with a laugh

“Shouldn't be drinking. Give myself these big old headaches, they're terrible”

“Can you take advil?”

“Mmh, nope. Does Not help, makes it worse more like. Alcohol definitely makes it worse but realistically, what is one gonna do?”

“Well then ___, have you told moomintroll yet? Or you leavin’ him in the dark about it?”

“Oh, well..ah” well no, she hadn't. Didn't really feel like she could just yet, wanting to not worry him 

“Well, he gets real worried, and he talks my ear off like you're going to die when you stay home, and lord, nothing can and nothing will convince him otherwise.”

“Well, i won't be able to tell him anyways, send him over to my house or something” she laughs, before shaking her head “actually no, no, don't do that. I think he'd have a heart attack to see me in pain”

“Well, we’ll see”

Apparently, snufkin must have been sober enough to remember that she had jokingly suggested. Right on cue, a headache washed over her once she woke up. Only to hear the ‘blissful’ noise of someone knocking on her front door, and gosh it was a pain in the ass. Not only because of the headache, but because it was just barely 7 in the morning, and absolutely no one had any right to be knocking at the door at the crack of dawn.

The struggle truly was to get off of bed, and get to the door without falling over. God, it made her head ring, and it honestly felt like her hands were going numb from the bloodrush back to her feet. But regardless, the door needed to be answered and there was no use in fucking around. The sooner she answered, the sooner she could close the door and sooner she could get back to sleeping the time away.

Huh.

Moomin was at the door, just standing there. ____ couldn't really tell whether he looked upset or pissed off, and it didn't make much of a difference 

“Im sorry moomin, i can't come out today”

“I know. Snufkin told me”

“He told you that he magically knew i wouldn't be out of the house today?”

“He told me about your headaches! You said yourself you wouldn't be coming today!”

“Oh. So I did. Curse snufkin for having such a great memory”

Then, the whining begins. Now normally, it wouldn't be so much of an annoyance, but  with this rager of a headache? Oh it was terrible to listen to.

“ How come you didn't tell me ? I'm your boyfriend, I should've known before snufkin!”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I know. Snufkin’s my venting buddy, and I know he's yours too.”

“Fine. but still!! I should've known before him!”

“And why is that? If i told you earlier, you would've been so sad, and you know i don't like seeing you cry”

“Well! I know now and i'm not crying! So how do you know that?”

“Because you burst into tears every time something is wrong with me”

Moomin figured that was fair enough, and decided all on his own that he was pretty much done talking, and wanted to take action. 

Action meaning getting his dearest the hell off her feet. If she was talking normally, that meant that she was probably just trying to fake it or something! And actually, that was close enough of an answer anyways.

So the little moomintroll picked her up,despite the complaining and bitching of “you really don't need to do that moomin! I can walk you know!”

Did that matter though? Of course not! Of course such a thing didn't matter like that! Moomin had dropped her down on her bed and laid right next to her with a grin on his face 

“Because like it or not! I'm going to lay with you and i am going to comfort you”

Well. couldn't really argue with that, now could she? Besides, arguing about it would likely just make it worse.

Not like being dropped onto a bed definitely made her head ring, but regardless, it was more comfortable this way.

“So you’re just gonna force yourself to be in here?”

“Yes”

“Even if your little buddies are doing something 1000 times more fun?”

“Yes”

“Fine” ___ laughs, giving up and wrapping her arms around moomintroll “but im not letting you spend the night”

“Why not?”

“You snore”

“ I do not! ”

“ You do! You snore like a giant !” All in the fun of teasing.

And it went back and forth, just on and on with teasing and making fun of eachother until ___ was half asleep again. 

“Guess i have to thank you for staying”

“You don't have to”

“I want to, because i'm pretty sure there were some big plans today”

“Well, maybe they were too big.”

“Either way, still. Thank you for staying, you really didn't need to, moomin”

“Of course i had to”

“Why?”

“Because migraines are no fun, and I love you. Like i'm gonna leave you to be in pain?”

“Fair enough. But you don't get to use that excuse all the time?”

“Oh? How so.”

“Because i'm not trapping you in my house when i have cramps so bad that i'm bent over”

“ Girls have cramps that bad!?”

“Maybe i shouldn't have told you.”

Chapter Text

Damn! im sorry i've been gone for so long! ive kinda been on a hiatus on everything writing wise lmao. but im back and feeling better than ever. im sorry to everyone whos waiting for requests to be filled, but i promise im gettin' them done now! thank you for being patient with me lmao;;

Chapter Text

Well, when Steven had told her that something happened and told her to come see for herself over the phone, ___ was suspicious. He sounded awfully tired. Did that boy ever sleep? Teenagers. Weird. Weird teenagers.

What she didn't expect was to be staring at a very defensive ruby constantly shifting around sapphire. Quite obviously, ____ had met the two counterparts of her girlfriend, but this seemed quite different than the sweet two she remembered meeting.

“What happened to them?” she murmurs, coming forwards to stand next to Steven, who just gestures at some new girl, shrouded in rather obnoxious pink, and gosh, the gem reminded her of some old timey cartoon. 

“Her? Really? Doesn’t look like she could hurt a fly”

“You should feel lucky that you don't know how she could be” steven sighs “my powers aren’t working because of her”

“Damn” she murmurs, just staring at her two girlfriends, before back to spinel “ she seriously did that? To garnet all gems?”

“Yup. Not only them, the rest of the crystal gems too”

“.. wow . To think jasper and lapis used to be the worst trouble you dealt with”

“Right? Never had to deal with this ” the teen sighs, shaking his head

“Any ideas on how to get them back?”

“Well, there was trying to get them to remember who they are.”

“And do you even think that'll work?”

“Hell if i know. But there just..really isn't much else we can try”

“Can i talk to them” ___ asks, glancing at the two gems again, before right back to the teenager 

“I mean, you can try ” he emphasises “doubt Ruby will let you too close though.”

She shrugs. Might as well give it some sort of try, if anything, she might be able to get the two of them to trust her again. 

All it takes is getting a few feet closer to them for Ruby to eye her, trying to be intimidating, and when she keeps walking forwards, staring at the small gems, the soldier calls “stop there. You've gotta stop! No closer ” and ___ raises her hands defensively, stopping in place. Sapphire is quiet until she is asked “Should i get rid of her?”

“No. no harm would be done by her.”

“You’re sure?” ruby mutters, before glaring at the girl again, who just sighs, standing and staring. She doesn't interrupt, not wanting to upset ruby. 

“Positively. Nothing will happen by her being here.”

“Do you know why she’s staring at us like that”

“No, my ruby. I can see plenty far, but I can't see that far. She doesn’t tell us.”

Oh, fat chance. ___ is now determined to bring it up at some point, just for her bluff being called
“Or perhaps not.” and the girl sighs again. Huh, wow, this is difficult. How did all the main characters deal with their amnesiac girlfriends in the movies? Dates? Yeah, ‘cause that would totally work. Take the girl and her bodyguard on a date to be glared at and muttered about the entire time. Somehow, that sounded like a highschool esque nightmare . 

After another few moments, teven comes quite wobbling up with something that looks like a fucking huge saw, and ___ stares at him like he was absolutely bonkers. He quickly explained “ wellwhentheyfirstmettheywereindanger so- ”

“Uh...huh.”

“Should i get him away” ruby is right back to muttering, staring harshly behind herself at sapphire, who simply shook her head “he’s not going to hurt me, nor you”

“ Gah! You’re right..i can't ” steven practically deflates, and turns back around, going ot set it down before the two of them are eying the two for another moment. 

Well, until there was actual danger through spinel starting up...whatever saw that was, and it went slamming through one rather large building, ruining scaffolding, ruining the foundation, and all she could do was just blankly stare at it.

Sapphire had started predicting things that would be happening such as barrels falling, two beings nearly being squashed,and ruby still seemed amazed. Well, obviously. It was plenty amazing. 

While things were falling, spinel was responsible for pulling ____ backwards with her stretchy arms, but hell, the gem obviously didn't mean to cause this type of mess. 

What ended up in disaster, and ruby and sapphire nearly getting shattered, ended up with a very fun,pretty looking pink and blue mix of garnet. Well, it is garnet, besides a whole other outfit. Definitely didn't look like anything she’d ‘wear’ typically. Is that really what she used to look like? How cute. 

But she still didn't have her memories, she still wasn't herself, she still didn't remember anything. So that sucked. Really sucked. 

However, since ____ could be trusted, Steven had her taking on Garnet, just so she could keep an eye on the ‘new’ fusion while he tries to single handedly bring the crystal gems back. That kid needs a day off at some point. Even if the past two years have been a tad calmer, he’s still been all over the place trying to help. 

Currently, ____ was laying on her couch while the cotton candy fusion wandered around the room, occasionally picking up picture frames of ____’s family, eying them, tending to ask ‘this was you??’ before putting it back. Yikes, to think baby pictures could get anymore embarrassing. 

But it was fine, and ____ could deal. Until the gem picked up a photo taken of herself and garnet a few months previous. ____ frowns, especially when asked ‘this was...us?’ 

“Yeah. it was”

She had just nodded, setting the photograph back down while the human stared at her hands, fiddling with her fingers. How long would it even take to get garnet back? Well, she's back in a way, it's not like she ever left, but this was just..very different. Very ‘50 first dates’ feeling, and ____ couldn’t tell if she loved the idea. 

Garnet is just staring at her. She can feel the eyes burning in her head, and when the girl glances up, Garnet looks thoroughly confused. “You’re...going to tell us.. me something, aren't you?” she’s still getting used to referring to herself as one person then, huh?

____ breathes out, smiles a small bit, and nods “yeah. Future vision. I always forget.” she sits up, swinging her legs over the couch to sit cross legged, reaches over, and patted the seat next to her with her hand “come, sit real quick”

The fusion did as told, and copies ___, sitting sideways and cross legged, albeit with some difficulty.

“So..we’re dating. Were dating? Not sure how to explain it”

“What's..dating?”

“Uh..” the human pauses, just looking for a way to explain it. “Well uh..before, the two of us. Well, three of us, I guess, were in love with each other.” she’s still getting a confused look in return “Like..really cared for each other. Extremely. Even more than how much ruby cares about protecting sapphire.” that gets a slow nod in return as the fusion murmurs “i see..I think.”

“It’ll be fine.” she ighs “steven..or i, will find a way to get those memories back” she smiles at the thought while garnet just stares at her.

“Are you...still confused?” the human questions, actually staring right back.

“Oh.” the gem pauses “no. just..looking”

“It’s a little strange.”

“Is it? I can stop.”

“No. It's uh..it's fine. Just..reminds me of how you used to act” ___ scratches at the back of her head, before she sinks back against the couch, arms slowly crossed around her body.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I made it too cold”

Garnet just stares on, and the human can't look back anymore. Just the gaze reminds her that this isn't really her garnet. It's the one she loves, but she's just..not all there, and ___ can't stop reminding herself of that. The feeling sucked, as far as things went.

“Should i...hold you?”

That snapped her right out of going off in her own head, head snapping up to stare back at the fusion “W-what?”

“ Should i hold you? ” she repeats, just staring still. “Did i..not used to hold you?”

“N-no, you’ve uh.. You’ve held me before..its just-”

“It reminds you of the old me?”

“Yes..”

“Wouldn't that be a good thing? You seem upset about it..” she trails off, gaze directed at her hands while the human flounders for a reason not to be held by her partner. And well, there wasn't one that could be found. 

“I..yeah- yeah. I guess that’d be nice” ___ murmurs, staring at the fusion again, before she’s peering back, slowly scooting closer.

That is, before ____ is scooped up into the woman’s arms, two arms wrapped around her shoulders and stomach, a head placed atop hers, and garnet just sighs “this feels..”

“Normal?”

“I suppose. I was going to say good , but its definitely familiar , i think”

“I..hope it does”

Garnet just hums in return, relaxing while ___ just leans back against her partner, practically melting to the touch. 

“I..hope you get your memories back soon. I mean..i’ll love you either way, but it’s just-”

“Different” garnet answers for her, and ___ nodded, repeating her “different.”

“But. i’m sure we loved you.” garnet sighs, just holding the girl comfortably.

“I guess we’ll go with the flow. I guess i’l..teach you how to love me?”

“That sounds nice” garnet trails off, watching as the human relaxes further, nearly falling asleep in her girlfriend’s arms.

“Are you tired?”

“Quite”

“Do you want me to carry you to bed?”

“Only if you join me”

“Okay..”

Chapter Text

so essentially, for at least right now, until i get the requests that aren't done yet out, requests will be closed. Mainly because im not the fastest writer;; and i tend to take hella breaks and shit and whooo boy i cant keep up. but the requests yall send are SO sweet sounding. all of the ones that are currently posted WILL be finished, but any requests proceeding august 10th (right now) will be held off until the rest are done, and until i reopen requests! thank you for reading, and thank you for understanding lmao!

anyways, hope everyone is doing well! Drink water, take deep breaths, and cope with any of the bad stuff going on in our world in whatever way you need!

Chapter Text

School was just..hard. Everything was becoming hard for them to do. Even getting out of bed, finding the energy to stay clean and fresh, finding the energy to walk  to school, it was all just so tiring . Exhausting even. But ___ still did it, every morning, until it felt like a routine. They had to do these things if they wanted to fit in, if they wanted to have any standing in the social world, if they wanted friends .

It felt ridiculous at times. Wasn't there just some homeschool program they could sign up for? Be a shut-in, not have to think about what was happening in the world, what the newest controversy would be, what the new huge issue in the world would be, whether they’d be safe walking the streets alone?

Needless to say, the overthinking got to them at times. Overwhelmed them, and it usually ended in an emotional breakdown near their bed, curled tight into a ball, gripping onto a pillow like their life damn near depended on it.

It wasn't fun , and they couldn't stand the idea of such a..mental illness being pushed as if it were the newest trend. 

But it truly were besides the point to ponder over how stupid one had to be to flaunt depression like it was a shiny new bracelet for metaphorical brownie points.

Everything was difficult, and today? Well, ___ hadn't even wanted to get out of bed. They knew they were being called for, and they just laid there, motionless in bed. The covers were too warm, they just wanted to hide underneath them.

But they don't. Throwing the blanket off of themself, ___ groans as they sit up, arms outstretched as they stand off of the mattress, just staring around their room. It was a mess, but it was their mess, and they didn't really feel up to tidying, especially not before school. That would just be another way to start off the day worse.

They get dressed. There wasn't a school uniform, but at times, they certainly wished  there had been. Then they could get away with not putting the utmost effort into what they wore, since everyone would be dressed the exact same. But they get dressed in whatever clothes were available, and not laying in a pile on their bedroom floor. 

They should probably do laundry afterschool. They always get told that a clean room could give one serotonin, but for them? Never really felt that way. It would just be messy again in a week, so what was the point of hashing on another struggle to keep track of.

God.  they really needed to stop overthinking. Everything would be fine. There's not going to be some big deal made at school if they don't look their best. At the very worst, there would be some offhand comment by some blonde chick. 

Admittedly, they didn't bother keeping her name in their mind, even though she boasts it about. Maybe the bracelet for brownie points comment could certainly be about her?

Judging from how she acted at school? Probably.

Dressed and showered, dressed and clean, and their parents were already out the door off to work by the time they were downstairs, all on their own. At least the quiet was a little peaceful.

They didn't eat breakfast often, and especially not on weekdays, figuring it to be yet another waste of precious time in the morning. If they got to class earlier than later, they could keep their status as the teachers’ pet.

Shockingly, they actually liked that term.

It gave them a little bit more leeway with missing projects, or having their head down in the classroom. So they liked it. It gave ___ a chance to catch their breath when they felt like they were being strangled in a class.

Dressed,showered,bag ready, were they forgetting anything? Necklace? No, that was tied around a keychain at the bottom of their bag. It had been some birthday present from an old friend, whom they cherish quite a bit. It sucks that the two haven't been talking as often since highschool started and they were separated, but it would be fine. Maybe they should hit  that person up after school?

Anxiety says no. They'll wait instead.

The walk to school was just as peaceful, and they're almost thankful for it, if it wasn't a buzzy feeling type of silence.

Classes go on and on. In algebra, nothing really happened, besides ____ zoning out halfway through the lesson, staring at their paper, and they could've sworn they felt their eyes glaze over until next to them, from across the aisle, marinette had to tap them on the shoulder. Thankfully, she doesn't get reprimanded for almost being out of her seat, and ___’s little zoning out doesn't get noticed. They just murmured their thanks, before returning to the lesson.

Marinette. Now, that was just difficult to unpack. Frankly, they found her pretty, but they didn’t feel like they spoke to her often enough to really call her a friend. They’ve been to her family’s shop a few times for different pastries, but other than that, they didn't really talk too often. 

But they found her very pretty. They knew mainly from eavesdropping that she was plenty kind, and that she truly cared for a lot of people. It was nice to know that.

The rest of classes go off without a hit. Art class was merely fun, french, they just had to brush up on the language, since it wasn’t their first. History was interesting, but boring. The teacher was too monotone for them to be too interested, but regardless, the topic was fun.

The end of the day was when it went wrong, like most days do. Shockingly, or perhaps not as shocking, it wasn't due to their social energy running out, but instead due to an akuma.

Well, at least it wasn’t anyone from school. Why did people from school get ‘infected’ so often anyways? It really had to be the atmosphere, wasn't it?

Even if the akuma wasn't a student, the target was definitely one of the students. Apparently , some teenager outside of their highschool must’ve gotten mad at Chloe, because god, she was quite the target for akumas. Just in general, not even this one specifically ! How bad of a person do you have to be to be constantly targeted by ‘infected’ people.

____ didnt hide, since they werent a target, and hadnt decided to be dumb enough to get in the way of the akumatized teen, let alone saying any shitty choice words to them. What good would that have even done?

They were trying to make their way to a separate class as they had been told to do when they were grabbed by the shoulders, and whipped around rather violently in front of someone, with a shocked mutter of ‘the hell?’

“Take this one instead! Good enough replacement, right?” oh. Sabrina. They felt a little bad for Chloe's little lapdog, but this was just flat rude!

“Im sorry, replacement? ” they said, staring right down the barrel of some powered up gun. At least it looked enough like a gun that it sent a wild chill down their back, eyes wide in fear “what the hell is wrong with you!?” they had started shouting at sabrina, who had  decked out, and took off running like a bat out of hell out of a hallway.

The voice was quite monotone. “A replacement. How sad that is, Ms. Bigshot can’t even face her own problems”

“Uh. If i say i agree with you completely, will you.. not shoot me?”

“I’m afraid not. I still require a bargaining chip of sorts”

“Why not...ransack her home for valuables?”

“Like a lowly criminal? -” how ironic. “I think not.” The akuma sighs, almost sounding disappointed by the situation.

At least until there's an arm wrapped around ____’s throat, preventing them from leaving. Well, if they had even bothered to try. They didn't though, figuring that if they made too much movement, they would get shot by...whatever that weapon was supposed to be.

It all led to being quite physically dragged, and choked, which was incredibly unpleasant, to constantly feel like they were going to pass out, to the essential town square.

The akuma keeps going on about needing ladybug and chat noir to show up,in both hushed murmurs, and in yelling at some news  crew. Always count on the news crew to show up and report on the scene. And get their camera shot out immediately after the akuma was done speaking. 

And naturally, it doesn’t take much waiting for the superheroes to show up. Pretty much the moment that the akuma was distracted by wanting to go after the two heroes, ____ slips out of their grasp, and takes on in a different direction without hesitation. 

And just kept running, ignoring the charm that had fallen off of their bag in the process.

And just kept running, until they were home, and upstairs in the room. 

Yes, a cool expression was kept during the event, but as soon as they were safe, and as soon as they were in their room, the facade crumbled like magic. Hysterical breathing, holding onto their face, gripping at their hair. No cries, no sobs, just staggered breaths, and freaking out.

-

Ladybug was perched on the windowsill a necklace charm in hand, just watching quietly through the window. She couldn't really tell what the person inside was doing. They were laying in bed, but at such an angle she just couldn't see their face. Well..at least she had the right house to return it to. 

When ___ sat up, they brought their hands up to their hair, gripping it tightly, and ladybug could visibly see them breathing hard, just heaving before they stood up, pacing around their room, talking about.. something . She couldn't hear them, and didnt feel it would have been too right to eavesdrop on them. It wouldn't be fair for her to know the secrets that plagued ___’s mind, but she couldn't stop them from opening the large window, leaning out of it a little bit, staring down at the ground.

“God i can't believe i lost it. Can't believe i lost it! The one thing I have to remember about them! The last fucking thing they gave me before i moved! Goddamn it! ” they huffed, breathing harshly, tearing at their hair again as the left the window again, tearing up their room for the third time since they got home, just looking for that fucking charm! God they couldn't believe they lost it! All because they had to run!!

“Are you alright?” and the words made them turn on their heel, staring at the window, where the ladybug hero was perched rather awkwardly. She struggles a little bit to keep her balance, but it was obvious that she had something in her hand, and ___ just stares.

“Uh. why are you here”

“What?”

“You heard me” they muttered, standing away from the window

“I..think this is yours?” the bluenette says questionably, holding out the charm from the window, and ___ breathes out in utter relief 

“Oh thank god!” they mused, stumbling quickly forwards to grab the charm, immediately leaving the window after they took the charm out of her hand to go place it on their dresser. 

Ladybug stays perched on the window, and she was about to leave, or explain where she found it, before ___ was right back to the window, and there were two arms wrapped all too tight around the hero, causing her to fall forwards, taking ___ down with her as the two shriek immediately after hitting the ground, hard as hell. 

“Are you alright?” ladybug questions, but the woman can't get up, since the other hasn't let go of her, and just lets out a groan “ probably. It's really lucky you are not heavy” they murmured, letting go of her so that the hero could scramble backwards a bit. “Are you okay?” they question back, and she just nods a bit. The two just stare at each other for a few moments, an awkward silence in the air before ladybug breaks it

“Your..eyes are all puffy. Were you crying?” she almost sounds surprised by the fact.

“Yeah. people cry, miss” they mutter back in return, and ladybug waves her hands a little bit, in defense “oh no, i know! I didn't mean to be rude by that-``''-well it kinda was-” they interrupt, and ladybug frowns, before she finishes “What i meant to ask by that, was are you okay?”

“Why would i tell you?” they accuse. She’d tell someone she’d absolutely tell someone! Theres no fucking way they’d rant to her-

“Why would i tell anyone?” she questions “We all have hard times, right?”

“I guess” they're being pensive, and it takes a moment, but ladybug is up on her hands and knees, going to sit beside them, and they attempt to wrap a hand around ____’s shoulders, but they shy away from the touch. So she leaves it alone, keeping her hands to herself as she speaks

“We all get those moments. Where everything just feels like...like its tumbling to bits. Like- like deadlines coming too fast, or not feeling useful or-”

“-or feeling like there's not enough time in the day” they finish, taking on a monotone voice that makes the hero frown. 

“I suppose. But . that doesn't make you worthless,right? Just because you don’t finish everything doesnt mean its the end of the world”

“Are you calling me over-dramatic?”

“Absolutely not. All I'm saying is… we all go through it again. And like..sometimes it can take forever to get out of that frame of mind, but you will get better, you know?”

“I guess” ____ mutters, and this time, they shifted, laying a head onto the hero’s shoulder. The advice had them tearing up just a tad, and ladybug just keeps on going with the kind affirmations. It takes a few moments for the constant stream of kind comments to subside, and for her to just stare at the other, crying silently, and ladybug frowns, adjusting, and wrapping an arm around them, musing “Aww..i didn’t mean to make you cry” and they don’t respond, just leaned in to her touch, and just staring off, seeming to be thinking. 

Ladybug frowns, before she waves a hand in front of their face, getting ____’s attention back before she questions “Can i distract you?”

“What?”

“Just say yes or no”

“Uh..y...yes i guess?”

And then ladybug apparently decided that distraction would be revealing her actual identity, quietly musing ‘tikki, spots off’ and once the shimmering fades, ____ is staring. 

Ladybug is marinette? Ladybug is marinette??????????

Marinette smiles weakly, and explains “i..figure you’d like being comforted by someone you know, rather than some stranger that hopped through your window”

“You’re still pretty much that” the comment does make them chuckle though, and the girl’s expression brightens “i..guess i am.”

“But, we can take the chance to get to know eachother better, yeah?”

“Yes. i guess. I..guess i need it”

“You really do”

“Oh shove off” they drag

For the next hour, or at least ____ thinks it’s hours, the two are chattering back and forth. About what marinette’s have been through, in an effort to relate, they think, and ____ explaining back what they’ve been through. Let alone struggling not to cry. That was definitely a big part of it, but they wipe at their face, up until marinette holds their face in her hands, wiping the tears from their cheeks, and they just stare .

The pretty girl from class is talking to her, and she's holding their face, too. It really took an hour for that to set it, and like a rush, a pretty flush of red meets their cheeks, and marinette does take the chance to tease

“You’re really blushing over me wiping your tears?”

“I am not ! I was crying! My face is red because I was crying!” they lie straight through their teeth, and they keep that up. 

Until the girl’s smug looking face is right in front of their own, and it’s like quite the bloom of roses across their face “are you sure? You’re redder”

“....this isn't fair”

“Maybe not. But it’s cute”

And that doesn’t process at all. Neither does the action of ____ leaning in first, closing the gap between the two, and while they're scared for a moment that the girl would pull back, she instead leans forwards against them, and kisses back just as gently. 

When she does pull back, she does comment 

“You’re still blushing”

“Yeah but now so are you” ___ shoots back,a smug grin growing on their face before they’ve leaned forwards to get another kiss.