Home World (Steven Universe AU)

Summary:

In which puzzle pieces may finally align.

"I watched the leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz, shatter Pink Diamond," a one-eyed Ruby states venomously, pointing her light towards Pink Diamond's mural.

"I'm sorry, Bismuth, but it's not right," 14-year-old Steven tells his friend, struggling to use the Breaking Point to shatter simple pumice dummies.

"WHAT LEADER DOESN'T GIVE HER ARMY THE BEST CHANCE TO WIN?!" Bismuth shouts, attacking Steven, mistaking him for Rose because he refused to shatter a diamond like Rose had.

"You should've shattered me back then," Bismuth shudders tearfully, Rose's sword embedded in her form.

"I'll tell them everything," Steven says.

He flinches back to reality when a warm hand grips his now-cold ones. In front of him is no longer Ruby or Bismuth but Blue, his girlfriend.

"What?" he breathes in disbelief at what she just told him.

"I don't think your creator shattered Pink," Blue repeats.

But that doesn't make sense. First, Steven learned that Rose refused to shatter a diamond when Bismuth offered her the chance. Then, he believed she had no choice but to shatter a diamond, resulting in the corruption of nearly every gem on Earth's surface. The new revelation leaves Steven dizzy, and he wobbles away, slumping down on the couch to think.

Why would Blue think his mom is innocent? Surely, she has evidence that supports Pink's demise.

"Ruby saw my mom shatter Pink Diamond," he says, his voice quivering with confusion as he looks up at Blue with a hopeless expression. He had spent years accepting one story, only to now learn it might not be true. What is he supposed to think?

Blue gives him a pitiful look and approaches her distraught partner. "Yes, the files confirmed there are witnesses," she admits, taking a seat next to him.

"But how was she shattered?" Blue asks. Perhaps Steven knows something not included in the files. Anything is better than nothing, right?

"I—I don't know. T-the Breaking Point, I guess?" It's the only weapon he knows of that could shatter a gem, let alone a diamond.

Blue knits her brows. "What's that?" she questions. She has never heard of such a weapon.

Steven opens his mouth to answer but realizes he doesn't know how to describe it. He can't call it a sword, because it wasn't. He can't call it a gauntlet, because it wasn't that either. How could he describe such a weapon? What was it even called, if not just the Breaking Point?

Unable to find the words, Steven leans over to the coffee table, opens a drawer, and retrieves a random notebook no one seemed to use, along with a loose pen. After uncapping the pen and swirling for ink in the corner of a page, he begins to draw. He tries his best to replicate both his memory and the weapon's shape.

It takes some effort, but eventually, he gets the drawing as close to his recollection as possible. Still, it doesn't feel like enough.

"That's not a sword," Blue bluntly states, standing back up. "In the files, the sword Connie uses is listed as the weapon that shattered Pink."

She steps away from the couch and table, intending to return to her ship to retrieve the files. But she stops abruptly, realizing Steven wouldn't be able to read the gem alphabet. Blue herself struggles with the human alphabet and only learned to speak the human language because her male creator's tongue required it, and her Pearl deemed it necessary for her to speak both languages. As it stands, it seems Steven hasn't been given a similar education.

Steven stares at her in confusion. "Bismuth said the sword can only slice through the form, not the gem," he says, standing on shaky legs. The weight of conflicting information is too much to bear.

Blue pauses, her gaze shifting up to Rose's portrait again. What does this mean? Steven says one weapon could shatter a diamond, yet the weapon on file—the one witnesses claim was used—could not.

Pink's shattering doesn't make sense. Blue, along with Zircon, had already come to the conclusion that someone might have shapeshifted into Rose to frame a gem who otherwise had no business being near Pink. But if the Breaking Point was the real weapon, why isn't it in the records? And why didn't Rose use it to shatter her diamond?

Another troubling question surfaces: why didn't Rose do it in secret? Why stage a spectacle in front of Pink's entire entourage? A few days ago, Blue had realized her mistake—there were no Rose Quartz soldiers under Pink Diamond's command at the time of her shattering, nor in her guard. She'd assumed that, like Jaspers and Amethysts, Rose Quartz gems would also be soldiers. But since that wasn't the case, it would have been nearly impossible for Steven's "mother" to have shattered Pink.

This realization meant someone had likely shapeshifted into Rose and staged a dramatic scene. But why? Why use a weapon incapable of shattering a diamond instead of the Breaking Point?

Unless…

What if Pink was never shattered?

If someone staged an elaborate performance using a weapon incapable of actually shattering a diamond, why approach Pink at all?

Blue's mind races as she processes this new angle. Slowly, she turns back toward Steven, who has collapsed back onto the couch, overwhelmed by the whirlwind of revelations. Blue walks toward him, gently moving the table aside to kneel in front of him. Without hesitation, she lifts his shirt, revealing his gem.

Steven tenses. "Um, Blue?" he stammers, startled by the sudden gesture.

She doesn't respond, staring intently at his gem.

All this time, she'd felt inexplicably drawn to him from the moment she set eyes on him. At first, she didn't understand why—she only knew she wanted to be near him. As she got to know him, her affection grew beyond the initial, mysterious pull. But now, staring at his gem, the question resurfaces: why did she feel drawn to him in the first place?

Every Diamond has a unique aura, one that resonates with those close to them. From stories and dreams, Blue knows that Blue and Pink Diamond were once very close.

What if Steven has Pink's gem?

What if the aura she felt—the one that initially pulled her to him—was a remnant of Pink's essence? Could her connection to him stem from the fact that she is the offspring of the original Blue Diamond, making her naturally attuned to Pink's presence?

Blue reaches out a hand, her fingers just barely grazing the surface of Steven's gem. A familiar spike of energy shoots through her being, and she yanks her hand back as if burned. Steven flinches too, hastily yanking his shirt down. His cheeks flush with heat, but confusion dominates his expression.

Blue knows this aura. She undoubtedly knows it.

"You're a diamond too," she whispers, straightening up and placing a hand over her own gem.

Everything suddenly clicks into place. No Quartz could have approached a Diamond with a weapon incapable of shattering gems—unless it was to stage a shattering. That would also explain why Steven can heal, much like herself.

And also…

Blue's gaze shifts toward the temple door. Where had Pink Diamond's Pearl been when her Diamond was supposedly shattered? Could Pink have enlisted her Pearl's help to shapeshift and stage the entire event?

"It all makes sense," Blue murmurs, turning her focus back to Steven.

But her train of thought halts when she sees him. His face is pale, his expression distraught. His mind is clearly racing from one question to the next. How could this be possible? How did Blue come to this conclusion? Did the other gems know the truth? And if they did, why would they have kept it from him for so many years?

Steven wraps his arms around himself, trembling, his breathing quick and shallow.

Blue looks around in a mild panic, unsure of how to help her mate. What could she do to ease his turmoil? Oh! An idea strikes her. She brings her palms together, rubbing them briefly, then blows gently between them. A small, soft cloud forms in the space where she was blowing, and she waves it toward Steven.

The cloud hovers close before settling on his forehead. It's cool but not icy, and as its calming energy seeps into his mind, Steven's breathing begins to slow. Little by little, the soothing sensation spreads through his anxiety-ridden thoughts, steadying him. Eventually, he leans back against the couch, holding the fluffy cloud in his arms like a comforting pillow. His eyes close as the gentle calmness overtakes him.

"How do you feel now?" Blue asks softly.

Steven peeks open a tired eye, then lets out a small smile. "Better than before," he answers.

Blue smiles back, relieved, and takes a seat on the table in front of him. Steven sits up straighter on the couch, still holding the cloud. While it doesn't completely erase his anxiety, it calms him enough to think more clearly. No longer stuck in a loop of racing thoughts, he can finally ask, "What makes you think that?"

He starts piecing things together himself. Blue had said only a Diamond could heal corrupted gems, and that the files on Rose Quartz seemed suspiciously incomplete. Her earlier mention of Quartz gems possibly inheriting healing powers from their Diamonds felt shaky at best—and now even less believable.

Blue dips her head, as if reading his mind. "A Quartz having healing powers from their Diamond was just a guess on my part," she admits. "I had nothing else to go by."

Steven sighs, nodding. "Yeah, that checks out." At this point, he's hardly surprised.

Blue bites her lip, carefully choosing her next words. She didn't want to overwhelm Steven further after just dropping the revelation that he might be the offspring of Pink Diamond.

"I should've known, honestly," Steven says, breaking the silence.

Blue blinks, taken aback by his words. Her surprise deepens when she hears his humorless laugh. The bitterness in it feels all too familiar—she'd sensed the same self-pity in Yellow before.

"For 6,000 years, no one on Homeworld knew. There's no reason for you to have known either," she says softly, moving to sit beside him.

Blue rests her hand gently on his cheek. "I never knew," she admits. "I never had the mindset to ask the right questions until recently. And yet, I'm the one with resources you don't have."

Steven tilts his head, leaning into her touch. It felt strangely familiar, comforting in a way he couldn't quite place. "I sometimes have diamond dreams… I guess now I know why."

He places a hand over his gem, his thoughts swirling with even more questions. How did Pink fake her shattering? Why did she do it? Did the gems know and choose to keep it from him?

Blue's face twists into a grimace. The dream she had of Pink begging for a colony—it must have been a shared memory, something she might have unknowingly glimpsed through Steven.

"When I first saw you, before I fell in love, I was drawn to you without knowing why," Blue confesses, looking away.

Steven snorts, letting go of the little cloud and shifting to face her. "An unexplainable pull, like you knew me before actually getting to know me?"

He felt it too, ever since he first saw her at Sadie's concert.

Blue offers him a bittersweet smile and nods. "From the stories I've been told, Blue and Pink were very close. I suppose that's part of why I wanted to see you so much."

It all made sense now—why she risked so much just to meet him, why she was willing to be with him despite the trouble it could cause. The same pull explained why Steven's diamond dreams became more frequent after meeting her, why he could sense her presence nearby, why he felt so drawn to her even before they'd spoken. They'd both chalked it up to chemistry, never stopping to question if something deeper tied them together.

Steven leaned his forehead against hers, the closeness grounding him. In the end, it didn't matter why they were drawn to each other. They were lovers now, deeply in love. Whatever closeness their "mothers" shared was irrelevant to who they were as individuals.

"I guess that should've been my first clue that I might actually be a Diamond," Steven says with a half-hearted laugh.

Blue chuckles softly. "I—"

Her words are cut short as the warp pad lights up. The two hybrids pull apart, turning to see who's arriving.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl appear, all soaked and visibly exhausted.

"We're home," they say in unison, their voices tired.

Oh. Right. The gems had gone out to retrieve corrupted gems. Steven and Blue had completely forgotten about that—and about lunch, still sitting cold on the kitchen bar.

"Were you successful?" Blue asks, standing up, her expression hopeful.

"Yeah, we got the gems," Amethyst answers, pulling her hair to the side and twisting it to wring out water.

Pearl steps forward but almost hides behind Garnet as she looks between the hybrids. "Were you two able to heal your gem?"

Before either of them could respond, Amethyst gives up trying to be civil and shakes herself like a dog, sending water droplets flying everywhere and making a mess.

Blue and Steven exchanged a glance before turning back to the elder gems.

"Not the Lapis Lazuli. We went to see Centipeetle," Steven admitted, his voice soft. But then, deciding to brighten the mood, he added with a grin, "We got so close, she actually talked."

Garnet's expression remained neutral, but her frown deepened. "It didn't stick," she stated bluntly.

Steven ducked his head, guilt evident in his posture. "It didn't stick," he confirmed, even though she hadn't asked.

"As I suspected. We do need all the Diamonds," Blue concluded ruefully, her tone laced with frustration.

"But Yellow won't listen," Steven added, reaching for Blue's hand.

Garnet remained silent, adjusting her visors as she observed the two. She had suspected the attempt might fail when they hadn't returned with a fully healed Centipeetle. Still, a small part of her had hoped to be proven wrong.

"Sorry," Steven murmured, glancing away.

Garnet shook her head and patted his curls. "You tried, and that's what matters," she said before turning and heading toward her room in the temple.

Steven grimaced, feeling the weight of her words. Before Pearl or Amethyst could chime in, he turned abruptly, tugging Blue by the hand. They hurried out of the house, leaving the Crystal Gems behind.

Once they stopped in front of Blue's ship, Steven exhaled sharply, glancing back at the house to ensure no one followed.

"I take it you don't want to tell them?" Blue asked, her voice calm yet curious.

Steven shook his head. "No, I… I want to figure this out first. Specifically, who helped Pink Diamond fake her shattering." His eyes burned with determination. "If Pink wasn't shattered, someone had to help her. Staging something like this isn't a one-person job."

Blue closed her eyes, her mind racing. Almost instantly, someone came to mind. "Who did Pearl belong to?" she asked.

Steven's eyes widened as the realization struck him. He smacked his forehead in disbelief. "Of course," he muttered.

It made perfect sense. Pearl would know something—perhaps everything. She might have even been the one to shapeshift into Rose Quartz to stage the event. Witnesses had reportedly seen Rose shatter Pink, and Pearl's refusal to shapeshift in the present day suddenly took on a new, haunting significance. What if the last time she shapeshifted was to carry out this elaborate deception?

From what Steven knew about Pearls—especially after visiting the zoo—they were fiercely loyal to their Diamonds. If Pearl had once belonged to Pink, it was entirely possible she had been involved.

"Should we talk to her?" Blue asked, reading the mixture of frustration and uncertainty in Steven's expression. His earlier head smack had been a strong indicator that her theory might be correct.

Steven hesitated. "How… do you even bring that up?" He gestured vaguely. "It's not like we can just go up to her and ask if she helped fake Pink Diamond's shattering."

Blue tilted her head thoughtfully. "I think being straightforward is best," she said, gently squeezing his hand.

Steven sighed, nodding. She was right—there was no delicate way to address something this monumental.

Blue turned her gaze toward the house, her mind swirling with questions. Pearls were loyal to their Diamonds, but would this Pearl reveal the truth? Or would she fabricate a story to protect Pink?

"Hey, Blue," Steven said, pulling her attention back to him.

She hummed in acknowledgment.

"What made you decide to start looking into this? Into Pink's shattering—or, well, not shattering?" He tilted his head, genuinely curious. She had said she hadn't thought much about it until recently, but why had she changed her mind?

Blue's expression softened as she considered his question. "It started with my frustration over my inability to heal corrupted gems. I kept wondering why the war began, why a Rose Quartz—your mother—would do something so drastic as to shatter a Diamond. It didn't add up. So I had my Zircon look into the files, and together we tried to piece things together." She paused, her tone becoming more thoughtful. "But all we ended up with were theories."

Steven nodded, his mind racing again. "Well, it's time we get some answers," he said firmly, his grip tightening on her hand.

Blue smiled faintly. "Let's hope Pearl is ready to give them."

Steven looks down at their joined hands. "Until now," he mentally adds. He wouldn't fault her for resenting his mom for all of this, especially since she's the reason corrupted gems exist. There were times he resented his mom too—actually, he kind of still does. It feels like she had him just to dump her consequences on him. That's what he's dealing with now, anyway.

The video she left him, the stories his dads shared—they might contradict those feelings, but they don't make them go away. Maybe they never will. And that's okay, because he isn't alone.

"Do you still want to talk to Pearl?"

He looks back up at her and nods.

"Yeah." He has to, before he loses his nerve.

With an encouraging squeeze, Blue pulls him back toward the house. Inside, they find Amethyst sprawled on the couch playing video games. Judging by the sound effects, she just turned it on. Steven is about 98% sure she'd been watching them from the window before they came back, but he ignores it and walks toward Pearl, who's in the middle of cleaning up his mess from lunch. The leftovers are now neatly wrapped in plastic.

"Oh, Steven, Blue," Pearl greets them, still sounding slightly wary of Blue. "Would you like me to warm up your lunch?" She's been trying to be better about accepting Blue since Garnet does, but it's clearly still a work in progress.

"Maybe later. I, um… we need to ask you something. It's important." Steven sits down at the bar, Blue following his lead.

Behind them, Amethyst lowers the volume on her game, fiddling with the controller. Pearl raises an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Um… okay?" She sets the pot and soapy sponge aside, giving them her full attention.

Now that she's focused on him, Steven suddenly feels a lump rise in his throat. His words stick. No. Now isn't the time to get cold feet.

A warm hand on his makes him glance at Blue. Her smile is gentle but encouraging, giving him the push he needs.

He swallows hard and presses forward.

"Blue thinks Pink Diamond faked her shattering. And… we think you know something about it because you once belonged to her."

A pin dropping could have been heard in the silence that followed Steven's statement—though, in this case, it was a game controller hitting the floor, accompanied by Amethyst's jaw.

Pearl? She was frozen in place, her already pale skin going even paler as cold sweat formed on her brow. She couldn't speak, her mind racing from one thought to another. Slowly, one trembling hand moved up to cover her mouth, followed by the other. Then, as if summoning her will, she turned away, her entire body shaking.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked, half-standing in concern.

Pearl shook her head, still unable to find her voice.

Blue tilted her head, her own eyes narrowing in thought. Surely, they were right—what else could explain such a panicked reaction? Then, it hit her.

Pearls were made to serve. Yes, her own Pearl was more like family, and Steven's Pearl was essentially family to him, but their origins couldn't be ignored. They were designed to obey orders. If this Pearl had belonged to Pink, and if Pink had faked her shattering, then perhaps…

"You cannot speak, can you?" Blue said softly, her voice tinged with realization. She placed a hand on her cheek, stunned by the implications. If Pink had staged her own shattering and ordered Pearl to keep silent, then no matter what, Pearl couldn't reveal the truth.

All eyes turned to Blue, even the panicking elder gem, who glanced back at her with wide, trembling eyes.

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, his brows furrowed.

Blue turned to him, her expression grave. "A Diamond's word is law. If Pearl belonged to Pink and helped stage the entire thing… perhaps Pink ordered her to stay silent."

Steven's face twisted in confusion and frustration. "Then how are we supposed to find out the truth?" he asked, looking to Blue as though she held all the answers. But even as he asked, it was clear they were both second-guessing themselves. Maybe it wasn't Pearl who helped stage it. Maybe it was someone else. But Blue's own Pearl had once said Pink's Pearl was fiercely loyal, and the records contained no mention of any Pearl at the scene of the shattering.

"MY PHONE!"

Pearl's sudden outburst startled everyone. Steven and Blue flinched, while Amethyst almost fell off the couch.

They all turned to her, bewildered by her loud and seemingly random statement.

"I—I lost my phone," Pearl stammered, clearly flustered. "I—it's in my gem."

Steven blinked, utterly lost. Sure, they could help her find her phone, but what did that have to do with the mystery they were trying to unravel?

Before he could voice his thoughts, Pearl darted across the bar, nearly knocking over the covered food in her rush.

"There are things I cannot tell you," she said, her voice strained, "but what I can say is that I need my phone."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Amethyst snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation. To her, this felt like a soap opera abruptly cutting to a commercial just as the big reveal was about to happen.

Steven felt the same confusion and frustration Amethyst voiced, but then Pearl's words clicked in his mind. The cloudy uncertainty in his eyes cleared, replaced by sudden realization.

"Okay," he agreed firmly.

"Steven?" Blue called his name, her voice tinged with concern.

He turned to her, his face set with determination. "I promise we're going to find out the truth. Let me help Pearl real quick."

His big brown eyes shone with sincerity, and there it was again—that look. The one that made her belly flutter. The one that made her yield to him every single time.

"Very well," she relented, trying not to smile. Stars, he was too persuasive.

Steven's face lit up with gratitude, and he leaned over to press a quick kiss to her cheek. Blue's resolve melted a little more as she watched him turn to Pearl, all confidence and focus.

Pearl stepped out from behind the bar, her movements deliberate as she came to stand in front of her godchild. "You can text your phone with mine once you find it," she said seriously, handing him her device.

Steven nodded, then handed his phone to her in return. Blue released his hand, her eyes following him as he took Pearl's instead.

The gem on Pearl's forehead began to glow, casting an otherworldly light across the room. Steven hovered for a moment, suspended between worlds, before being drawn into her gem with a sudden pull.

Now, all they could do was wait—for him to return with the truth.