Steven laid in bed only just beginning to doze off, exhausted from his 350th day of attempting to heal the earth with his kisses. He tossed himself to one side trying to get more comfortable, throwing off his blankets in the midst of the struggle.
His thoughts drifted away into the endless depths of what one would imagine just moments before sleep, Connie raving about how much fun space camp had been, despite actually being to space, Amethysts latest hijinks with Peridot that unfortunately involved wrecking three buildings in New Homeworld, Pearl frantically sewing a patch in his organic jacket,while simultaneously juggling the plans for repairs in beach city. All these things were soft in his mind, fading as he began drifting finally, to sleep.
His dream began, first quiet and slow, very far away, as if he were floating in the sky watching whatever occurred unfold, he peered at the waves below him washing over the sparkling moonlit sands of beach city, and looked up to the stars as their twinkling light turned into long streaks across the sky.
He entered the blackness surrounding him, suddenly the true frozen nature of space pierced his skin and he gazed down at the garden. Steven began to panic, the sweat of his brow turning to tiny icicles on his forehead.
Darting his eyes around the garden from his high place, he saw a small pink thing floating in the center of it, it rotated just two or so feet above the ground, bouncing in the air softly.
"Spinel?" He whispered to himself, allowing gravity to take him lightly back to the rotten and decrepit place. He pressed his feet into the sullen earth, the dried dirt causing puffs of clouds to erupt around his toes.
He hadn't thought of Spinel for a while, aside from an occasional twinge of guilt at sending her off with the diamonds. She is fine, he thought to himself, if she wasn't, she'd say something..right?

He stepped toward the small rotating gem, almost expecting it to take form into his short lived companion. It simply continued bobbing in the air, rotating still.
With great hesitance, Steven lifted his hand to touch the heart shaped gem, but before he could, a sharp crack echoed from the heart.
Taken aback, Steven paused, recoiling as if he had caused it to crack. The heart shaped gem continued to crack, the quick and sharp noises deafening in the silence of the dead garden.
The heart began to shatter, the tiny pieces clicking on top of one another as they fell to the ground.
Steven watched helplessly as the shattered gem crumbled to the ground, tears began forming in his eyes as he frantically started picking up the pieces and mushing them together, trying to force them to resemble its previous cut.

"No, no, no no, NO!" Tears now rolled down his face, as he tried to reconnect the broken pieces of the gem, guilt panging him deep in his stomach as he felt he caused such a horrible thing to happen, but as he sat crumpled to the ground trying to fix the gem, his body began lifting in the air, the garden began dropping from beneath him and in all his fear and anxiety and terror he called out to the tiny broken shards,
"Wait, I can fix it, please! Come back! I can fix it..."

Suddenly Steven sat upright in his bed, his blankets on the floor beside him, his brow covered in sweat, fear struck his face as he tried to imagine what the dream meant at all. Spinel is in danger! He thought, whipping himself out of bed and forcing the doors to the portal room open in a frantic attempt to warp to homeworld.
But as he pushed himself into the small room he was forcefully stopped by a sight that shook him to his core, and proved that somehow, he knew something really was wrong.

Spinel stood shocked at Steven's bursting into the room, her hand held defensively up to her cheek as if waiting to be hurt, but the shock of her face quickly turned into guilt and sorrow, she grabbed her pig tail, yanking on it lightly and averted her eyes.

"I know you..probably don't want to see me after what I did but-"

"Spinel!" Her attempted apology was cut short as Steven wrapped his arms around her, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, he loosened his grip, but still held her waist as he searched her gem for cracks, desperately hoping not to see any, his hopes were granted, the heart was as perfect as it had ever been, he let out a sigh of relief and finally let go of her.
Spinel had not been prepared for such a heartfelt and frankly, odd greeting, especially given that she had arrived at the wee hours of the morning before any of the humans or gems were really active.
She was, in all intention, hoping to slip in silently and come around once they had woken up, and once she had figured out a way to explain her arrival in the first place.
She slinked away from Steven by extending her arms to push him a few more inches away, trying to gather her composure and to somehow understand why he had been awake in the first place.

"Why are you awake?" She asked, stepping away hesitantly. Steven let out a relieved laugh, scratching his head as he tried to find the answer,

"I had a dream about you, well, not you, your gem and it woke me up I was going to go to homeworld to check on-"

"No!" Spinel snapped, "Uhm..no need!" quickly turning face and attempting to laugh off the fear that exuded from her voice,

"I just really needed a vacation, you know? All that affection is swell and all but I need time away too, ha." She smiled, rubbing her neck as her eyes drifted off and she let out an unconvinced groan, suddenly Spinel snapped herself into a more lively demeanor and wrapped her arms three-fold around Steven, holding him just above her head.

"You should get back to bed, I hear humans require eight hours of sleep, seems like a waste, but, what do I know!" She laughed, carrying the boy out of the warp room into his own bedroom, and flipping him down on his bed, even taking the time to pick up the blankets and tuck the sixteen year old in nice and neatly, she retracted her arms back to her side from where she stood at the stairs and waved goodbye to Steven.

"Welp, night!" She quickly said, shutting the door before Steven could even find the words to speak. He simply lay dumbfounded in his bed, tucked, and despite worry racking his brain, he decided that Spinel's arrival wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
He untucked the bed and wormed his way to his side, facing the night sky view in his window and closed his eyes. Trying to forget the dream.

Spinel stood with her back against the bedroom door, and exhaled an exhausted sigh, her arms and legs relaxing into a coiled puddle of extended limbs around her, she wasn't prepared for this. She didn't know how to deal with it.
She couldn't comprehend why she thought going to Steven was even a good idea.
But she's here, and she can't go back now.

The night lasted much shorter than Spinel had initially thought, she had awoken to crunching noises coming from the floor below. She froze, trying to come up with a preconceived excuse, anything that would explain her arrival. Before she could, the door she had been leaning against fell out from behind her and she lay on the ground facing Steven who, with sleep in his eyes suddenly realised that her arrival wasn't a part of a dream, but a reality.

"Pearl?!" Steven looked up, his voice filled with confusion and concern, Pearl's light footsteps sounded from below,

"What is it Steven?" She said, her eyes turned down at the folded pair of clothes in her hands, her eyes drifted upward but stopped and met Spinel's who peered up from the floor. Spinel drew a look of complete embarrassment, she quickly retracted her limbs and darted through Steven's legs, standing behind him, gripping his shoulder.

"Spinel?!" Pearl gasped, her head turning from Steven to her continuously as her mouth hung agape in utter confusion. Spinel felt her heart sink as she watched Pearl go through what seemed to be the eight stages of grief before finally composing herself with a clearing of her throat.

"Spinel, it's..nice to see you. I didn't expect you to be back so soon." She looked the pink gem up and down, she had retained her darker form, but seemed to cower behind Steven like a small scared child, her face contorted in fear and embarrassment. Pearl's eyes softened as she looked at the gem, who seemed far more concerned than she needed to be.

Spinel, noticing Pearl's once-over quickly snapped back into a more friendly composure, she rubbed her head and smiled disingenuously,

"Aw, well, I didn't want you to just forget about me" she laughed, trailing off at the levity of the statement, "anyways, I just wanted a change of scenery, homeworld can get a bit..old" pearl stared at spinel for a moment before cracking a small smile.

"Uh-huh, well, since you're staying for a bit make yourself at home." Pearl waved her hand at the air, before setting Steven's clothing on a dresser and walking back down the stairs to her pile of other clothes.

Steven turned to Spinel with a soft smile,
"You don't have to be scared, we know you're okay now, so it's fine to be here." He gestured for Spinel to follow him down the stairs into the kitchen and living area, she hesitated, glancing at his hand and then back at his tired, but still caring eyes, before following him down the steps.
On the bottom floor, Pearl stood at the kitchen island folding shirts and pants, while Amethyst sat on the counter munching on Chaaps. Her eyes widened at the sight of Spinel coming down the stairs and her chewing slowed to a standstill before she jumped off the counter to greet the familiar face.

"Yo! Spinel! I didn't think you'd come back after your whole, 'destroy the earth and Steven thing' you doing okay?" Amethyst waited for Spinel's response, but she simply laughed and scratched her head,

"Yeah, I, uh, changed my mind about the whole starting fresh stuff. Didn't really work out" her gaze drifted to Steven hoping for some kind of approval. Spinel lowered her head and began rocking on her feet as if to prepare herself for the words she planned to say.

"Is..is it okay if I stay here a while?" She pressed her fingers together in anticipation, hoping for a yes, but silently expecting a no. Steven turned to her with a huge smile across his face.

"Of course! You can live in New Homeworld I'm sure Peridot and Lapis can find-"

"I mean..here..with you guys?" Her voice became soft and she averted her eyes from their faces, clasping her hands together nervously.

"She can stay here." The deep voice entered the room with its owner from the front porch, Garnet came in carrying a small boogie board. She rested her hand on Spinel's shoulder reassuringly.

"Spinel needs people she knows to be around. Peridot and Lapis probably won't be ready for her." At these words, Spinel lifted her head, looking confusedly at the fusion, her third eye winking at her, causing a sudden shiver of simultaneous fear and comfort to run up her spine.
Garnet stepped past the gems toward the door to their rooms, "She can take Steven's room" she said with a smile before the seemingly magic door opened to her own.
The other gems and Steven exchanged a look of confusion before realization dawned on their faces, or, all but Spinel's at least.

"She means my moms magic room, you can use it while you stay. Here, I'll show you." Steven grabbed Spinel's hand and pulled her to his side as he stood at the door to the infinity room, the top circle began to glow and the door unfolded itself to reveal a soft pillowy room filled with pink clouds. He exchanged a glance with Spinel, a smile on his face before leading her into the room.
She made a concerned glance backward at the door before going through with following him.

The room was warm, not like earth warm, it made her gem feel inexplicably cozy when she stepped into the softness of the infinite cloudy domain. Steven turned his head and smiled,

"The room can make anything you want, look," he looked off into the dead space, "can I have a tiny floating whale?" Suddenly a miniature whale poofed into existence by Steven's head, letting out a high pitched squeal of joy.

"Haha, see? Just, be careful what you ask for, sometimes it's too much." He laughed. Spinel wore a look of both awe and confusion at the room, this was nothing like anything she had seen before, even the diamonds didn't have such a unique place. The room suddenly shifted to a darker shade as her thoughts went on, the clouds growing darker and more ominous before Spinel snapped herself out of them.

"Gee, you didn't have to do this, I was fine with a couch or something." Spinel chuckled, her embarrassment showing in blush on her face, it was a large gift, at least for her. Even if it was temporary.
Steven grinned blissfully before recalling an important note.
"Oh, and if you ever need to leave and I'm not around to open the door, you can ask the room to take you to the bubble room."

"The bubble room?" Spinel echoed, Steven smiled.

"Yeah, we used to keep corrupted gems down there but now I mostly keep snacks."
Steven jumped and began plummeting through what Spinel perceived to be the floor, before he latched his hand around her arm and pulled her with him.
They gently floated to the floor of the bubble room, the lava pool in the center casting a crimson glow on the walls.
Steven hadn't been lying, there were at least fifty different kinds of snacks floating in his pink bubbles in the air.
Spinel gazed around the red room before looking back at Steven whose face lost its smile as he began to think about the nightmare he had the previous night.
He paused, not looking at Spinel before speaking.

"Spinel, is everything okay?"

Spinel's heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat, unable to make anything but an odd whimpering sound. Steven continued,

"I had..a dream that I went to the garden and your gem was there," he hesitated, "but not you..and, and it shattered." He slowly turned his head, not looking in her eyes.
Spinel held her breath, trying to brush it off as a joke.
"Nah, I'm fine, you need to lighten up Steven!" She laughed, giving the boy a noogie until he dropped his solemn act and began to chuckle at her antics. This was good. This is what she wanted. For him to be happy. To see him happy.

After a few moments of Steven playfully telling her to stop, Spinel let go of his head and glanced once more around the room, before following Steven out of the infinity door.

Pearl and Amethyst stood in the kitchen still, munching and folding clothes respectively as the two exited the infinity rooms, Steven held Spinel's hand, who hadn't looked up from her shuffling feet.

"I'm going to New Homeworld to help rebuild! Spinel, do you want to come with me?" He turned to her expecting a fervent yes. After all, this is a gem he knew would likely be inseparable from him for the time being. Spinel glanced at Steven before looking down at the floor again.

"Um, I'll stay here for a bit." She mumbled half heartedly, desperately wanting to say yes. Steven looked genuinely confused at her words.

"Really? Okay, well I'll see you there?" He said, hoping for a yes, thinking Spinel wouldn't even be able to say no. She gave him a small smile,

"Yeah, I'll catch up."

Steven hesitantly released his grip on her hand, his fingers dragging along hers as he moved away toward the warp pad upstairs.

"Okay, see you later." He said, halfheartedly forcing a smile. But his fear and anxiety bore down on him far greater than before.
Steven made his way to the warp pad and then to New Homeworld, he couldn't shake the thought that something was severely wrong.
It's not like Spinel to want to be alone, and it is not like her to come back so unannounced. She seemed afraid. Like she wanted, or had to hide. He didn't like the idea, despite only knowing her for a short while, this was nothing like the way she normally acted.

Spinel walked sullenly up the stairs to Steven's bedroom and exhausted, slumped onto his bed, every photon in her being ached and she could barely hold it in, she began to relax, letting her limbs sink to the floor in a hose like mess as she forced her gem to orient itself to its correct facet. She stared down at it, placing a hand on the heart and running it down its center, following a large crack in the gem that cut nearly to its core.

"You should tell him." Garnet's voice was particularly soft. Like she had witnessed the gem in her intimacy. Spinel jerked backward but winced in pain, unable to lift her noodle like arms. Time was running out.

"Garnet?!" Spinel squealed before dropping to a whisper.
"I can't..I don't want to drag him into it."

Garnet sat next to Spinel on the bed, resting her hand on the pink gem's shoulder and looking off into the free space of the room.

"Steven is a good kid. He will understand, and he can fix it. There are some times when you're too afraid to ask for help because you think no one will answer, but if you never ask, you will never get that answer." Garnet's gaze turned to Spinel,
"You can trust your friends here."

The fusion stood, and without looking back, spoke softly.

"I won't tell him. But he deserves to know." She left the room. Spinel sat helplessly on the bed, trying to maintain the little energy she had left. Trying to think of what to do. A little longer. A little more time, she thought.
And then I'll go.