"This brings back memories," Tracker mused as Steven looked around the basement of the castle.

"What would we find here, though?" The Princess frowned at him.

"Hold up, hold up," Steven looked around. "Yellow, are you sure it's here?"

"Quite positive, Steven," the Diamond confirmed.

"What's here?" Everest asked the curly-haired male, who didn't reply before an "AHA!" Led him to pull something out of the mess.

"A sword?" Rosie blinked.

"Not just any sword," he grinned. "A sword from Homeworld."

"I remember that sword," the Duke looked surprised. "It was found in the winter, and we found no use for it, so we put it here."

Steven quickly pressed a small button on the side, making it glow pink as he tested it out for himself.

"And it works as amazingly as always. Thanks Yellow!"

"No problem, Steven," he could sense the smile from the other end. "Now go save your man."

"H-He's not my man!" Steven yelped.

"But you like him, right?" Wild Cat blinked.

His face went red, while the new additions smirked.

Layla ruffled his hair affectionately, "You two deserve each other. I don't know what you've been through, but Ryder deserves love, and I'm sure you'll be able to provide that for him."

The rest of them nodded, sharing grins.

"Plus, it was obvious from day one that you liked him," Tuck and Ella grinned.

"W-WHAT?!" His face turned into a spectrum of red in the course of a few seconds. Was it... really that obvious?

"We just joined up and even we can tell it's there," Taeyang snickered.

"I-Is it that clear?" Steven covered his face. Oh God, it wasn't this bad with Connie! Why was he a total mess when people teased him with Ryder?!

"Very much so," Pilseung shrugged. "You don't actually hide it very well."

"He's an open book," the Princess joked.

The rest burst out laughing, and Steven could only mumble weak protests.

"Alright, everyone, let's get going now," Carlos cut in. "Get into the Paw Patroller now. I need to talk with Steven for a while if it's okay."

The others shared a glance, but nodded before they slowly filed out, leaving the two there.

Carlos then turned to Steven, eyes sad as he started off, "Look, Steven... I can see that Ryder's really happy with you."

"H-Huh?" He blinked. Where was this coming from?

"Ever since you showed up, he's been really happy. When he talks about you, everyone can feel how happy he is with you. I..." he inhaled. "I'm happy for him, honestly."

"I get that, but why mention it to me?" He asked.

"Because, well... Ryder and I used to have mutual crushes."

"... Wait what?" He blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. But his parents— no, birthgivers found out, and they beat me up horribly while pinning it on Ryder..."

He covered his mouth. What the...? Were Ryder's parents even human at this rate?

"Ever since then, he's been keeping his distance. We all know that he could have made space for all the members in the Lookout, but he chose not to because he's scared. He doesn't want anyone to get too close and get hurt because of him..."

"But ever since you came around... I started to see the Ryder I fell in love with. From the chains his parents had put him in, he was slowly coming out of his shell... So... I'm glad you came. Sure it hurts that my crush was unrequited, but Ryder's happiness matters to me. You give him that, Steven."

Carlos placed a hand on his shoulder, "That's why... Please save him, Steven. Please save my best friend, Ryder."

Steven could only stare at Carlos. He had just met the guy, but he could tell just how deep his feelings for Ryder were.

He... he couldn't let him down. Not him, not any of his friends, and not Ryder. Never Ryder.

"You can count on me then," he swung the sword as a warm-up before smiling at Carlos. "I'll get him back, no matter what."

Carlos gave a grin back, "Great. Time to head to the North Pole then."

"You got it," Steven grinned, and the two soon sprinted off to the Paw Patroller, ready to get their friend back, no matter what.