Seraphine was enchanting to everyone she met. From the day she first looked up at Steven with pink eyes and gave him a gassy smile, he knew she was going to be a total sweetheart.

Now she was a 15 year old cheerleader, Varsity Speech Captain, and Student Government President. Every time she came home with another award, or he saw her perform Dramatic Interpretation during Speech Meets, or she performed incredibly dangerous tricks as a flyer for the schools cheerleading team, he was amazed.

Her grades were passable due to her slow learning pace, they'd had to find out what exactly was keeping information from absorbing and eventually chalked it up to some gem form of ADHD. They put her on a learning plan and they'd tutor with one of the other parents depending on the subject so she could continue to do the things she loved. He saw incredible potential in his eldest twin daughter.

Sometimes she was a little snotty or entitled because of her strict schedule she kept on the daily. They were working on that. That teen was so much like Connie he'd never be able to tell the difference if not for the eyes.

And Celine, his tall, ultra friendly daughter. Seraphine was 5'1, Celine was 5'9, it probably had something to do with them being fraternal twins and getting more of Steven's genes. She was the only child he had that didn't have a preference for music. She could sing, she was a strong alto, but she preferred sports.

When she'd first approached him in the seventh grade with a permission slip for after school activities, he was baffled.

*

Steven skimmed over the sheet once and started to talk but paused. He read it again, and then one more time. Connie handed him his fake readers off of commons so he could squint at it. "You want to be in football?"

Celine nodded apprehensively. "I don't wanna do theatre this year, I wanna play football."

He wished he'd never done it because she did remember it forever, but he laughed at first. Not because he thought she wouldn't be able to but because he was so shocked. It was a quick bark of laughter and an immediate hand over his mouth.

Celine burst into tears but he gently pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, no I wasn't laughing at you, Celine! I'm laughing with you!"

He cringed when she whimpered, "I wasn't laughing."

He glanced up at the other parents silently judging him with shaking heads (including his wife), thumbs down and silent boo'ing. He accidentally chuckled again. "Celine, do you want to start playing catch after school with me?"

She wiped away her tears with wide eyes. "But that's for boys. And I guess... I can't do those things."

"Who told you that?" He whispered sharply. "I don't want you talking to them anymore. I'm serious. There's no such thing as boy things and girl things. Cosmo wore a skirt to school today and Z wore suits for every formal function."

"I don't ever really feel like a girl anyways," Celine sighed exhaustedly. "It's so confusing. Can we play catch after dinner?"

Steven opened his mouth but Connie cleared her throat loudly. "Steven, a moment? We'll be right back, Celine. Football's gonna be fun."

He patted her head and jogged a bit away with Connie. "What's up?"

She smiled at him with all the love in the world. "You don't know how to throw a football, Steven."

He looked back to see the other dads and Jasmin waving with smirks because they knew that too, and it had clearly never crossed his mind that it might be hard. "Oh my god, that's so embarrassing." Connie reached up to pat his cheek adoringly. "How old am I?"

Connie winked at him. "50-something."

"This might be an all dad activity," He confessed to Celine awkwardly. "Your very supportive mother just reminded me that I don't actually know much about sports."

Celine lit up anyways. "Ha! I get to play with the dads!"

Steven stared at Adam but he suddenly became absolutely enamored with the floor. He hesitated to ever wonder about his children's orientation or gender status but stars, Celine had always been like this. She refused to go shopping, she sincerely hated girl clothes in a way even Azalea couldn't match. He wanted to ask Adam what to do but every time he looked toward him for guidance he'd find fascination with anything but whatever he was seeing.

*

Now he was headed to the school to talk about his 15 year old Celine with the football coach, but no details were given.

Celine was fidgeting next to him quietly, so he forced himself to say, "What do you think it's about? Anything we need to put out there?"

His daughter looked even more heartbroken. "Just please don't be embarrassed of me."

He couldn't even reply. He'd thought he'd gotten so much better with scolding his children for their magic. Celine didn't seem to have any powers, but she could play a damn good game of football with the girls. He could never be embarrassed of his baby.

When they got there, he realized the other PTA members were there, along with the principal and another person he didn't recognize, but looked serious. He threw on a charming smile that diffused a little tension. "Thanks for making the time to talk with me. We really appreciate it."

Principal Steinbrenner avoided eye contact when they shook hands and they all turned to him. "Steven, Celine is an excellent student. We greatly appreciate her talents, and respect her spot on our girls football team."

He tilted his head and stared him down. The friendliness in his tone was no more, if he was cutting to the chase with no small talk then he needed to spit it out. "That's very kind of you to say. We're all very proud of her."

The older gentlemen, the serious one, stepped forward and flashed a government badge. "May I ask to see your ID, Steven Universe?"

His eye twitched but he stood, dug it out and flashed it back. Steven had an extra-specialized government ID, it could open any place he wanted, so long as he called ahead for clearance. This man, Ken apparently, hadn't seemed to know that. His demeanor didn't change but Steven was an energy sensing master, he felt his sudden nervousness. "I don't like to play games, not about my children. What's going on?"

Celine started sobbing. "They said I tackle too hard and can't be on the team anymore because of my powers!" Steven whirled to her and brought her to a hug, sending a vicious glare over his shoulder. "I don't even have any powers yet."

"That's impossible," Her coach said heatedly. "Every girl she tackles complains about pulled muscles and bruises. She hits them too hard!"

Steven took a deep breath and rested the bridge of his nose against his fingers for a moment. "And what would you suggest she do in a sport where you're supposed to do exactly that?"

"Well," Head of the PTA Suzella (yes really) pleasantly started, reaching to place a hand over his forearm. "Us other parents thought it would be less of a problem and more fair if perhaps she was... suppressed."

A nuclear bomb of fury went off inside of him but he held it back with every bit of might he had. He picked up her hand and gently placed it off of his body, he swore the other moms were so touchy and manipulative. "My daughter. Is not a threat. To your children. This conversation is dangerously close to ending."

"She's injuring other players," Steinbrenner pointed out.

"It's football and not on purpose!" He shot back with venom. Celine grabbed his arm and he slackened, she was clearly already destroyed. She had accepted that she was losing the one thing she really felt she was good at. "My polycule and I will decide on this and get back to you." He patted Celine's shoulder warmly. "Let's go get you a protein shake, kiddo."

They began to depart but were stopped by Steinbrenner again. "And Mr. De Mayo-Maheswaren?" He paused. "It's with great sadness that Celine is suspended from the team until further notice. I'm terribly sorry, she will be dearly missed."

Went they got home Celine stormed off into her bedroom and slammed the door to their house while Steven leaned against the commons front door.

He didn't feel like crying, just like laying on the floor and doing nothing until his body decayed off the bone, so he did. He was so exhausted with this already, and it was just beginning. With Azalea they'd not had to worry about their powers making them an "unfair opponent" however he did have to break their habit of showing off.

But Celine was powerless as far as they knew. She couldn't even glow. She was just bigger than the other girls, and they decided to try and drug her over nothing. And all of it was his fault. These poor kids didn't deserve all of these restrictions on their lives.

Connie got up to crouch in front of him. "Bad talk?"

"I have to go check on Celine," He muttered, pushing himself up and gripping his head. He couldn't even meet her eye. "...I don't want to talk to anyone about it."

They exchanged a concerned look and Connie though hurt, grabbed her keys and grabbed Hazel, Jacob and Jasmin. "We still might be able to catch wind of what's going on. The rest of you are politely asked to make sure nothing goes wrong. Here's a warp whistle." She pulled it out of her bra and Adam caught it with a triumphant grin. "And you call yourself gay," She teased as she sailed out the door.

"It's been really up for debate for two decades!" He called after her.

The reason she'd brought Jacob was the fact that he was an incredibly as close to Steven as she could get, but with a different set of trauma that made him protective in a different way. With his humor and boyish aura, he was a less intimidating than Steven could be in these affairs, but still just as lenient (which was not at all).

She grabbed Jasmin because she was a Momma Bear, and if Jasmin sensed any disrespect or violation of rights, it was essentially a game over. But it took her a minute to get there, because Jasmin listened to everything. Everything, everything, and she noticed everything. That's what made her a dangerous person to argue with (as Connie had learned many, many times when fighting over one of the boys) and so she was a thick, dripping with sexy puma ready to strike. Connie also liked to look at her.

Hazel was the resident defuser, he gave off heavy vibes of sympathy and understanding even if he was putting his foot down. He was more likely to offer a clever compromise that ended up saving the day a good majority of the time. He was their sexy superman, with a sweet smile that made everyone flustered.

And Connie was the diplomat and order. When she happened into the principals office with her posse, the principal had just opened the door. "Mr. Steinbrenner, I was wondering if we could have a chat, too? I don't really know what's going on."

The thing about Connie was she varied wildly with her outfits. With public outings for paparazzi, school affairs, interviews, she often appeared in a vaguely lawyer like outfit that made her look powerful enough to suffocate a room. Steven was constantly telling anyone who would listen how much he loved her, and not only that but showing it without fail, so people seemed to think that she had him wrapped around her finger and was as a result all powerful. When she felt confident, people tended to be hyper vigilant to her requests.

He backed up and they sat again. A silence stretched for an amount of time that told her it wouldn't stop until she said something.

Thankfully she and Jacob were on the same wavelength. "If I may," He started with his accent. "I have a feeling this might be about Celine on the gridiron?" They blinked at him. "Your football team."

A woman with a PTA pin on tilted her head at him, it must be her first time seeing Jacob step in as the father because she was certainly enjoying staring at him. "She's too strong, she keeps hurting other children when she tackles them."

"But what was the problem?" Jacob pressed gently. "We're not here to make anyone uncomfortable, we'd just like to know."

A man Connie recognized instantly as a government agent from the fact he was staring her down flashed his ID. "Do you mind showing me your ID's? Just a quick flash."

Hazel summoned his in a reverse bubble on instinct. He'd found it when Adam found it and got distracted like a kitten with the way it reflected light so he'd bubbled it. The tension was heightened more when Connie summoned hers from her magic that connected to Steven's gem and brought hers shimmering into existence between her fore finger and middle finger.

Jacob just pulled his and Jasmin's out of his wallet with a quiet chuckle. What a bunch of show offs. "Second question: Am I to believe you brought a government official in a room with a teenager to intimidate them?"

"My name is Ken, I was asked to attend for record." The agent explained, but a cop was a cop. "We suggested putting Celine on a magic suppressant, and your husband was clearly very against it."

Jasmin hummed as if she thought that were cute. "No, no, we won't be putting a child on experimental magic suppressants. Everyone was so against puberty blockers, we feel the same way about this blatant rights violation."

"You weren't there when we signed the treaty," He seethed quietly. "This child is clearly a source of peril."

Hazel inhaled and shook his head. "This child is a child, Ken. You're making stuff up, and we don't like to play pretend. What if we put her on the boys team? She's always been advanced since she started, I don't understand why it's suddenly a problem now."

The coach considered that. "But she's a girl. I'm worried the boys would crush her."

"But you know within your heart of hearts that it's wrong to drug a child so they're more convenient," Hazel protested cleverly. And that was Connie's number one reason: the way he redefined unfairness into exactly what they were doing and light shed on it. He pulled out a whammy like that to stun them into shutting up. "You guys do know that, right?" No one would make eye contact so he dealt the finishing blow with a nod from Jacob. "I can't help feel like this is less about magic (especially in a child who has shown no signs of power), and more about race. Steven's Celine was born on Earth and is at most, a quarter extraterrestrial. But she is still just a child, and when I walked in I saw your No Gem Left Behind decal on the door. Celine is one quarter of them and the rest is one of you. I know you know this isn't fair."

Another silence fell over the room and Connie nodded to Hazel. He pulled out her chair and gave her his bicep to hold. "We appreciate you taking the time to talk with us."

They left not knowing how eerie it was that Steven and Connie had almost said the same thing.

*

The situation escalated when Celine cut her hair and flew into a complete crisis. She didn't want to be touched, she was screaming something incoherently, and as usual there was no glow. Celine hadn't shown any signs of powers, they wondered if she was fully human sometimes because a meltdown this big usually resulted in something with the other kids.

Steven broke down with her and grabbed the scissors because he was so afraid his little girl was going to try to kill herself over this. He wondered if she was experiencing depression in the last four weeks she couldn't play. She'd missed six games so far and with every one that passed, when she came home from school it was hard to get her to talk much or smile.

He decided he wasn't going to play games with his kids like he'd said, so this time he stumbled into the Johansson-Tabb household to beg Adam on his knees, "Please save my babygirl, I don't know what's wrong with her!"

Adam pulled him up and had him lead him to her with a reassuring kiss to his forehead. Upon seeing the hair on the floor he couldn't help but snort under his breath. He remembered this moment, he had lived it before. "Hey, Celine. Mind if I join you?"

She hiccuped a few times but eventually froze as it set in. "Wh-Why did he pick you?"

He smiled weakly and rubbed Steven's back. "Well, are you holding some stuff in, Celine?"

"What do you mean?"

He let himself think for a moment. "Well, I used to bottle up my emotions when I was your age. It took me until ten years ago for me to really figure out how to stop." Celine peeked at him and he smiled bigger. "And I'm like, a million years old."

She giggled a little and scratched at her head. Sniffling, she looked around with a grimace. "Wow, I really lost it, huh? I totally ruined my hair. I-I've just wanted it short so bad."

"Do you trust me to help you fix your hair?" Adam asked carefully. "I... I think I know what you're going for. I've been cutting my own hair for years."

Steven nodded his consent and watched with bated breath as Adam got to snipping. He seemed to have an exact idea going and thankfully Celine had only cut her waist length hair to her shoulders before Steven had kicked down the door listening to her scream and cry.

When all was said and done, Steven started bawling. He hadn't cried this hard since The Original Cosmo died, but only because he'd never noticed how much Celine looked like Cosmo Jr with Steven's brown hair instead of Connie's black. At first she looked devastated but he hugged Celine and put every iota of love into it he could. She melted into his arms like she used to do when she was two after being upset, with a head resting on his shoulder and a hand fiddling with his hair. It made his heart so happy to see Celine smile the way she did when she saw the end result.

Then he let go and hugged Adam until he yelped. "Thank you. Thank you."

He was emotional for a few days, not the bad kind but any good he saw in the world just made him choke up with emotions that made him both guilty and happy.

Adam and Jasmin were sneaking back in from a date when he had broken down looking at The Wall of pictures of them over the years. It had moved his heart so monumentally he just started to cry.

Adam grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Talk to me."

"My daughter looks like my son," He choked out. "Is my daughter my son?" His stomach dropped as he said it. He'd never imagined himself to be emotional about one of his kids coming out but he was filled with pride and felt like he hadn't done enough to make his kid feel comfortable with expressing their transness to him. But most of all he was just so emotionally liberated at seeing his Celine smile so big when she saw the cut.

Adam shrugged as Steven dropped to his knees to nuzzle Jasmin's breasts for comfort. "Celine is the only one that can tell us that. But you know, Celine does have full medical freedom at your discretion. Be careful, but be open."

Jasmin kissed the top of his head. "You're a good dad, Steven. You're an incredible dad."

He dragged in a thankful breath. "I love you guys so much."

*

But there was still the problem of the suppressants. Steven was completely against it in every way, but Connie was iffy on it.

"I AM NOT PUTTING MY BABY ON SUPPRESSANTS!" He bellowed at her as Hazel came to pull him back. "Are you crazy? Don't you care about our child?"

Connie growled at him and stomped up to shove a finger in his face. "Watch your volume with me, Mister! You know I love Celine! But what else are we supposed to do?! If she wants to play we might have to comply."

Steven split into his parts and Jacob had to push back Diamond. "Whoa, there."

Diamond chuffed. "Don't make me take you to bed to remind you you're not stronger than me." He smirked a little tiny bit and it was so incredible Jacob blushed. "Not again."

Star gritted his teeth. "I just knew it. They were always going to do this to us. They were always going to restrict us."

He and Diamond fused into a red faced Steven. "I just... I'm hurt you'd consider hurting the twin daughter you had with me. We lost our first twins, the next ones were miracles. And Seraphine has so much going for her, colleges already want her and she's so talented at everything." He sat on the barstool and sighed. "Celine is good at this, it's the only thing she's ever shown interest in. I'd rather have them put her in with the boys than put our daughter on drugs so she's..." His skin lit up the room and cast bleak shadows over his face. "So she's less like me."

Connie clicked her tongue and gathered him into a hug. "That's a really good point.  Sometimes it feels like we have to comply or they'll call us dangerous and try to get rid of us. I'm being a slave to the system. I'm sorry."

He kissed her cheek. "I'm always the one freaking out about giving them a normal life."

With the help of Adam, Steven, Connie and Celine were able to have an honest talk about what this sport meant to her, and about her depressed attitude lately. She expressed sometimes she just felt wrong, but didn't know why. They didn't suggest or mention anything but Adam assured that he understood deeply the way she'd described it as "nothing looks right when I look in the mirror", and that if they ever had any questions or wanted to talk, he was open to it.

The school passed the motion but made Steven sign paperwork about if she got injured. As it turned out, Celine fit right in. Some of her friends were on the team and during her first game she scored her first touchdown. The entire polycule showed up to cheer with their warrior cries how proud they were.

Mr. Steinbrenner was seen with Adam chatting and then with Adam smirking at something he'd said. They talked a bit more intensely and Adam held up a finger to shut him up, nodding with understanding. He replied evenly as always and then met eyes with the polycule. He signed, "There. Now her spot is permanent."

* 7 Years Later *

Celine showed up at their house unannounced at 2 in the morning. She'd kept the cut but hadn't ever mentioned anything else, so Steven and Connie had shrugged.

But now she was glowing with tears in her eyes, with her boyfriend holding her hand still in pajamas at the front door. "Sorry if we're waking you guys up, Steven," Estelle, her boyfriend, apologized with a phone held up. "You got this, babe!" He was an enthusiastic kinda guy, Celine claimed they could wake him up at any hour and he'd be thrilled about it.

Celine smiled at the encouragement and sniffled. "Dad, I'm a boy."

Steven gathered his son into his arms to wipe away his tears. "Welcome to the world, son. I love you."

"Ugh, I love you too, Dad." He giggled at him. "I can't believe I lived with a trans man my entire childhood and it only hit me 20 minutes ago that I was also a trans man."

Connie shuffled out and rubbed at her eyes. "Hey, Estelle. My child who hasn't visited in months."

"Mom, I'm a boy."

She gasped and squealed, practically knocking over her son with the force of her hugs. "Oh, honey. I'm not very surprised, I'm sorry."

Celine laughed and looked past them toward the basement. "You guys smell like weed. Are you guys having a party?"

Steven crossed his arms. "Old people like to have fun, too."

They hesitated but after another quick squeeze from Estelle, they stood taller. "Could you grab Adam?"

"Adam!"

There was giggling downstairs, a few choice words and a very inappropriate joke before Adam stumbled up the stairs and fist bumped Steven and kissed Connie. "What's up, Puppy? You caught me before I got wasted."

Celine poked him. "You're also too old to be drinking, Adam."

He grinned and patted Celine's head. "Hey kiddo. Did that egg finally crack?"

Celine nodded, nervousness crossing over his face and then staying to settle deeply. "I... wanted to let you know I apparently pulled a cardinal sin."

He frowned. As a transmasc there weren't very many cardinal sins he could even think of. "You're better than this. Don't go by Axel."

Steven's son hugged him tight. "I took your name, I don't think I'd have survived if you hadn't helped out that night I cut my hair. I was... so close to hurting myself."

Adam's lip trembled and he turned to his parents with the most pitiful look while his heart imploded. He started to cry and kept going, the alcohol was not helping him out.

He'd never known what he was for but in that very moment he realized the reason he'd survived every suicide attempt and then was made to be immortal. He was meant to save this freshly hatched trans boy, the second son of the man he'd fallen in love with. "I'm so self absorbed," He sobbed as he pulled them into a fatherly hug. "I love it. Welcome to the world, Adam."

Everyone was crying and smiling, and when Adam and Estelle left, Steven hugged Adam again while he thanked him until he'd nearly lost his voice. He'd never been cheated out of a second son, he'd had one slowly blooming the whole time.

Seraphine "miraculously" happened to go into queer advocacy and had ended up a surgeon extensively trained toward transmasculine reassignment. Steven called her up one day and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Alright, lay it on me."

"For someone so queer you can hardly think straight I'm shocked you didn't pick up on it earlier," She laughed excitedly. "I have a brother! I always wanted a brother... Thank you, Dad. I was so scared he'd hurt himself but you guys saved him."

Steven felt a part of him heal.

By the time his Adam came out, Seraphine had already received three plaques for her phenomenal strides in top surgery with access to gem tech as well.

The day of his surgery, Seraphine chuckled down at him as she hooked on his anesthesia mask. "You're gonna look like yourself when you wake up, I promise."

His eyes rolled before he could smile and when he woke up, he was in pain but dizzy and disoriented. He could guess maybe he was in a hospital, and turned his head to look beside him.

He looked awful; his hair was a mess, his eyes had bags under them and his lips were parched, but he looked down and saw his chest was flat. So many feelings came with it and then he was crying, then trying not to because it hurt. "He lives!" He shouted joyously.

He heard cheering from the lobby and a few excited squeals as a doctor came in to check his wrap and help him out the door.

All his parents, all of his siblings and childhood friends had showed up to clap and cheer for him.

The Dads, even Alex, were broadly grinning and congratulating Steven on his second son that would pass on his legacy. Steven beamed the entire time with Connie next to him doing the same. He paused to kiss her and murmur something that seemed like she found funny. He smiled at her laughter and then they looked up to see his son in his bandages, looking lethargic but happy.

"I did it, Dad." Adam smiled up at him and he surged to kiss their forehead. "Thank you for letting me be home for recovery."

Connie kissed his cheek. "Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Adam greeted and thanked all of them until he was practically asleep as the pain meds kicked in.

Seraphine was only seen when he woke up again, this time with her scrubs on reading a magazine in their old room. He wished he could say thank you but he couldn't speak.

His sister looked down at him suddenly and rubbed his head. "You're welcome, little brother. Go back to sleep."