Chapter Text
He desperately didn't want to face reality again, but the world was ruthless to Steven Universe. Frowning, the young diamond shifted on the bed. Is it his imagination, or is it too tight? His hand seemed to be hanging in the air and touching something hard and wooden, as well as his foot. He wasn't sure about the foot, he fell asleep fully clothed yesterday. Steven kind of just fell on the bed and passed out.
What could he say? Yesterday was not a very good, bad, absolutely terrible day. With a car accident, and he's just glad his dad wasn't hurt. But he wasn't going to talk to him for the next forever ever. Just no. Everybody told him it was “fine” but what can be fine when he just pulls the steering wheel out?
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The reality in front of him was blurred for a few moments.
Until it wasn’t. Steven kind of wished he hadn't decided to open his eyes today. Because right above him was a boy who was staring at him with his big brown eyes full of interest and wonder. Steven looked back at the boy in silence.
Brown eyes, curly hair, facial features that look like him so much that Steven could claim it was himself, but younger.
Was it?
The two Stevens stare at each other in silence for a while. Until the youngest of them smiles friendly and says:
“Hi! Are yo-” Well, he couldn't say much.
The eldest of them suddenly shouted back, terrified. He was clearly trying to get to his feet, but he stumbled and rolled awkwardly to the floor. Despite this, he quickly sits down on one knee, and puts his hand in front of him, summoning his shield for self-defense. He presses his back into the bed, ignoring the slight pain in his back from how hard he pressed into the wood.
The younger Steven also shouts back, jumping back a couple of steps, rather than just copying the other. While the adult gem is clearly scared, the young one screams with delight and with stars in his eyes when he sees a pink shield in the air.
They both stop screaming at the same time.
“Oh my God, was that a shield?! It looks so much like mom's!!! The crystal gems said that it was very pink and very big and shiny and- Wa-wa-wait, who are you? How did you get in here? And why do you look like my lost twin brother?” but the younger Steven wasted no time and spoke about five words per second, almost vibrating with delight. “Wait, do I have a- are you my twin brother, and dad just never told me about you?! What’s your name? I’m Steven. I just got back and found you here, sleeping on my bed. Oh, I mean, if you didn't have a place to sleep, then it's okay, but..."
How were the crystal gems around him when he was little? Steven smiled nervously, lost in the number of words of his younger version. All the words of the little ball of pure delight and energy seemed to become background noise for him. He slowly looks around the room, noting all the details. How little space there is. An old TV in the middle of the room, a bunch of toys scattered around it that he hadn't seen in a very long time, and posters that he also hid somewhere in the pile of trash in the Amethyst room. Hmm, he doesn't remember this place being so cramped before.
“...and you definitely will like crystal gems too. You need to get to know each other! Are you a gem too? I think they'll be glad for another cool gem." These words brought the adult Steven back to reality. He squinted at his shield and took a deep breath, calming down. It's okay, he doesn't need to defend himself from the friendliest kid on Earth.
And that's how his shield disappeared into thin air.
His younger version fell silent with admiration after this action, looking at him with stars in his eyes. And wasn't such pure admiration for his simplest actions simply embarrassing? Steven smiled sheepishly and coughed into his fist, looking into his own eyes. But something about them seemed to be something that no longer belonged to him .
So, what now? Steven has already been in a situation where he accidentally created several different timelines and an entire musical group with versions of himself. But this situation is different. Not only did all he did was fall asleep, but he also woke up in the past. How far is it? A year, two, three years ago? It's hard to say, especially since he kind of stopped growing from eight to fifteen years. Is this the past in his world? Or is he in another world?
Well, that sucks anyway.
"Hey, are you okay?" The ball of happiness in front of him asks, looking much more worried than energetic now. He's still smiling, but it's more of a soothing smile.
The completely confused older diamond just smiles uncertainly in response.
“Don't be afraid, everything is fine, whoever you are, I won't hurt you! And crystal gems too, they are good, you will like them.” Steven cautiously takes a couple of steps closer, holding out his hand to the elder.
Something is painfully squeezing in the chest of the eldest of them. He looks at the small hand extended to him. This palm is so small compared to his. And this kid really thinks Steven is afraid of him? That he need to be calmed down? Well, that's just ridiculous.
Especially considering that Steven is afraid.
Swallowing a sudden lump of bitterness in his throat, he forced out a wider smile in response, accepting the hand and only slightly squeezing it as he got to his feet. His younger version beamed at Steven's acceptance of his help. He doesn't remember smiling that much. Moreover, not out of politeness, but out of sincerity.
He needs to get this nonsense out of his head. So Steven continues to inspect the room. He walks to the edge of the room, looking down at the ground floor of the house. He couldn't help but smile with nostalgia at the sight.
Only to flinch in surprise when his younger version grabbed his arm. He dragged him down the stairs, chirping something about how they would become friends and how he wanted to show him everything right now. The elder gem sighed but allowed himself to be dragged further around the house. It seems that he can't get rid of a little excursion.
The younger Steven continues to speak, talking about where and which room is and what it is for. He lets go of the older gem's hand only when he stops somewhere to show the location of each room. There aren't many places to look, so they quickly return to the exit. Of course, there were more comments about the shield "just like mom's" and “hey, I know only gems can summon cool stuff from nowhere, but you look just like a human! Wow, hold on, can humans do magic too?"
Nope. They’re not getting there.
“You know, you said something about showing me the city? I want to look at it now, what do you say? Along the way, we'll talk about this whole... woke up in your bedroom situation.” The elder Steven said, getting down on one knee in front of the younger him to look him directly in the eyes with a soft smile.
As expected, this proposal was accepted immediately. The younger gem grabbed the older one by the hand again and led him out, promising that he would really like Beach City, it’s cozy and nice.
Oh, how adult Steven doesn't want to face crystal gems right now. He has no idea how they would have reacted in the past, and besides, he could do with a better understanding of the situation himself.
As they both walk along the shore, the younger's chatter again becomes a noise in the background for the elder, merging with the wind and the sounds of the waves.
The more buildings they saw, the longer they walked around the city, and the more people they saw, the more convinced Steven became that he was in the past. He still needs time to come to terms with the fact that, it seems, he will not learn more about where he got to without help. He's still not even sure how long ago in the past he is now.
Eventually, they stop in front of the Big Donut shop. The younger diamond declares that he must show this mystical twin of his to Lars and Sadie. And grab donuts of course.
Oh. No, that's not good.
The older Steven freezes in place and his younger version is forced to stop too. Because, wow, he absolutely can't budge his "lost twin”. And he tried. No matter how hard he pulled the gem by the hand, only the youngest of them moved. Mini Steven was sweating from the exertion.
“It sounds great, but I can wait for you here. I don't want donuts right now, there's too much sugar for me. But you can go, no problem.” says the adult Steven, looking with ill-concealed amusement at his younger self, who burned him with a displeased look.
"You don't have to eat donuts if you don't want to. Even if I don't understand how you can not want to eat donuts... But at least I could introduce you to Lars and Sadie, come on!" the kid whines, looking at Steven with pleading eyes.
Oh, man, now he kind of understands Garnet. The power of those pleading eyes is great, but Steven is not going to give up on them now. He shakes his head and says that he would like to just explore the city to begin with, without much talking to people. In the end, the youngest of them goes to buy donuts and Steven leans back against the wall at the entrance to the shop, staring at the sky.
It had been a long time since he had simply admired the sky.
Anyway, it seems like no matter how he gets here, he needs to get out of here before he has to face the local version of his family. He loves them, but honestly, he doesn't want to listen to their restless lectures. Especially Pearl. Oh, Pearl here will so lose it and panic twice as much as his Pearl, won't she? They've all changed a lot in that time and he's not talking to the past crystal gems, damn it.
Not when he had been avoiding talking to his gems for weeks.
Besides, he doesn't want to repeat the situation he got into as a child, with all these other Stevens and other timelines. If he does something wrong, won't his future be changed by it? He wasn't sure, considering that he hadn't gotten into the past with the help of some kind of hourglass. And how could he now, without this artifact? Well, obviously he managed, but it doesn't make sense.
Steven didn't know what to do, or what would happen if he told someone that he was from the future. So, he set two goals for himself: to return as soon as possible and try to interfere as little as he could with the local timeline. If he could, he would even accept the role of some kind of lost twin, rather than say who he really is.
It's not going to work, is it?
He unconsciously clutched his T-shirt on his stomach, where his stupid diamond was hidden. He wanted the opportunity to just be alone lately, but now? He wished Garnet and the others were here with him. So that they can take him away from here, and solve his problems for him. As it was... Was there ever such a thing?
Mini Steven left the store with three doughnuts in a bag. The third one is in case the eldest will want to try.
And wasn’t that just touching? The older gem couldn’t help but smile warmly at this kid.
So the walk continued. People, of course, cast glances, and Steven from the future suddenly felt awkward. He felt trapped among people, in a city where he had known almost everyone since childhood. The youngest of them, however, did not notice all these things. He was just glad to have a sudden friend and someone to spend time with while the gems were somewhere on another adventure. When you find yourself on your own in the house, waiting for the gems to return for days, it can get lonely. So much so that you even grab onto those who should seem very suspicious.
"Wait, I forgot! I need to introduce you to my dad! We could do it right now, he's always at the car wash." the youngest of them suddenly says.
“NO!” Steven shouted back, freezing in place and staring fearfully in the direction that led to the car wash. Of course, he knew for sure where it was. And there's no way he's seeing his dad. His cheeks turned pink, shining bright and no human-like. He felt a rapidly spreading wave of power coursing through his veins.
Oh, no. No-no-no, inhale, exhale, he needs to calm down right now.
Fortunately for him, Steven returned to normal pretty quickly. He smiled awkwardly, meeting the gaze of his younger self, who had been watching him with frightening intentness and silence all this time.
“Look, I, uh, I think we should go back to your house for now? I mean, I don't know how I got here. I was kind of just sleeping in my room, and then I woke up in yours. Did you say something about crystal gems being able to help with these magical things? I think we should go back and wait for them to return, let's go!” The elder gem spoke quickly.
Steven had no idea if the younger diamond was saying such things or not, he missed most of his chatter. But he put his hand on the younger Steven's shoulder anyway and gently but insistently turned him the other way. Now he was leading them back to the house at a brisk pace, hoping that they would not find the crystal gems when they returned.
“Oke-e-ey, sure, why not. But are you okay?” Looking uncertainly and anxiously at the older one, the younger one asked.
"Yes, of course, I'm fine, why? Why don't we just hurry back to my- to your house?" Steven almost shouts back with a strained smile, and the volume of his voice jumps.
That's how they come back. Then, when they had already approached their house, the younger diamond was completely exhausted and asked to wait and stop for a while in front of the stairs leading to their house. He definitely wasn't used to physical exertion, and he hadn't walked at such a fast pace for so long.
But Steven didn’t know how soon the crystal gems would return. He can't wait. So, he simply picked up the younger one in his arms and went upstairs, putting mini Steven to the floor only when they entered the house.
Gems aren’t here yet, thank God.
“Wow, you're a fast walker. That's cool, but why hurry? Did you like my house that much?” Mini Steven muttered, gulping air and wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand.
The eldest of them didn't listen again. He concentrated on the warp pad, thinking hard. After a moment of hesitation, he took a few steps towards the warp, deciding to try his luck and teleport.
Is this going to work? He has no idea, he doesn't even know where he's going to teleport to if the warp isn't able to carry him that far. And he is more than sure that this thing is not capable. But he can't be here anymore anyway.
What was he thinking, wanting to walk around the city? He could get out of control again, he could destroy something with his scream. He was just lucky that it didn't happen that time. He could harm this naive child, in whom he no longer sees the reflection of his own eyes. He didn't want to put anyone in danger. He'll figure it out on his own, they're unlikely to be able to help him anyway. Garnet can see a possible future, but not teleport to different timelines.
However, before he reaches the warp pad, all three gems return in front of him: Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet. Both Stevens freeze in front of them.
“Hey, Ste-e-e-even, we’re ba-a-” Amethyst faltered and fell silent, staring wide-eyed at the two boys in front of her. Pearl inhaled noisily, covering her mouth with her hand, and looked at them in shock, while Garnet calmly adjusted her visor.
There was a brief moment of silence.
Until the younger Steven ran out in front of his frozen "twin", holding his arms out to the sides in a kind of protective manner. He stared at the gems with a smile and stars in his eyes, waving his arms up and down.
“Gu-guys-guys!! Look, I've found a new friend! And he can summon cool shields and glow pink, and he's probably a gem too!! And I think you will become friends!!” Mini Steven stated positively and naively as always.
Sighing in defeat and closing his eyes for a moment, the eldest of the diamonds tried to drown out the thoughts that the world hates him, with his rotten luck. After he raised his hand to awkwardly wave his palm, and timidly look at each of the gems, his gaze lingered on Pearl as he said softly:
“Hey, guys.”
“Steven? It’s you?” Pearl asked quietly, and now the adult Steven was staring at her in shock.
Did she just recognize him in, what, a few seconds?