Steven Universe X Reader

Both of you sat in silence together. What was there to do now? You thought Steven should tell everyone so they could spent time with him before the corruption took over, but that just felt so... wrong. You didn't want to sit back and do nothing. There has to be a way to fix this!

"...I just don't understand... Why did the healing bath not work? Everyone was healed, why not you?" You pondered out loud. It just didn't make sense.

"Well, it did actually work, the first time that is. But it appeared again later." Steven corrected you. So the bath does work, you concluded. Steven just got corrupted again?

"So you were perfectly fine when you got out, but later you re-corrupted?" You wanted to make sure you were right about this. It's not the bath. Steven nodded solemnly.

"How did you get corrupted in the first place? I thought only diamonds could do that damage on others." You questioned again, crossing your arms. Steven fidgeted with his hands.

"Well, I guess since I am a diamond.. maybe I corrupted myself? Im not sure. "

"Okay.. well what did you do after the bath healed you the first time?"

Steven looked at the ground and shrugged, "just what I did before. Taking care of the plants, desperately trying to sleep, stressing out about everyone leaving me..." He mumbled that last part but you heard it nonetheless.

"That's it. That why you're still corrupted." You stated. You have an idea.

Steven yawned, "what do you mean?"

Getting excited about a possible solution, you explained quickly- "you got corrupted by being stressed, sleep deprived, and worried. The bath does work! But when you got out, you must've stressed yourself again, back to the corrupted state. If the healing bath didn't work while you were in it, you must've have been too stressed for it to even take affect!" You took in a breathe after all that babbling.

Steven stared at you, confused and exasperated. "You lost me."

You giggled a bit, despite the situation. Putting a hand on his shoulder you summarized it-

"You're gonna take a stress- relieving bath this time."

Steven slowly stood up, "alright then, I guess I'll try again." He wobbled towards the bathroom, weak from stress and little sleep. You waited for him outside the bathroom, listening to the water running in the tub. You heard him get it.

" It's not working! " He yelled out through the door.

"You need to calm down, Steven." You leaned up against the bathroom door so you wouldn't have to yell too loud. Big noises certainly won't help right now.

"It's a little hard to, when I can see it not working!!" You could tell by his voice that he didn't believe this would work.

"You have to try, did you take off your clothes? Maybe dunk your head in to get rid of the horns?" You suggested, and heard a splash.

" Doesn't work. " Steven said, defeated.

"Can I come in?" You stood up. Maybe you could help calm him down.

"What? No? I'm kinda naked in here! " He quickly replied.

"Just.. put your boxers on, and.. do you have bubble bath soap?"

"Pshh. Of course I do." You giggled at his smart remark. Why'd you even ask, this is Steven we're talking about.

Steven understood your idea and filled the bath with bubbles, covering himself waist down, so nothing could be seen below. Embarrassment can be a form of stress, so it was best to avoid that department as well. It was a cool sight, the bubbles. Since the Diamonds' essence made the water almost rainbow like, the bubbles were colorful as well.

".. ok you can come in now, I guess." You did so, and opened the door to see him awkwardly sitting in the tub. " What are you planning to do anyway?"

"I'm gonna wash your hair. When my mom did it for me as a kid, it was the most relaxing thing." You said, walking up calmly and grabbing the shampoo by the shower head. Steven sat in silence.

With his shirt off, you could see way more corruption spots on his back and shoulders. There were even little nubs, sprouting down his back; they would probably grow into horns as well. You grazed a finger over one, seeing the skin around it was red and slightly puffy.

" Does.. does it hurt?" You asked, noticing the pointy nubs seemed to pierce through his skin. He nodded but gave no verbal answer. You started rubbing the shampoo in his thick hair, your nails gently scratching his head. If anything, you knew getting your head scratched feels amazing. Steven started to hum in contentment as you had hoped. Working your fingers through his soapy hair, you watched in awe as the smaller purple-pinkish spots slowly vanished. You had a huge grin on your face and leaned around to see Steven's face at peace.

"Steven." You whispered, watching as the sprouting horns on his back disappeared.

"Mm?"

"They're going away. All of them, only the horns on your head are left. " You observed, excitedly. You grabbed the shower hose and rinsed his hair with warm water. As you put hair conditioner on his head, you tried to get rid of the last two horns, but they wouldn't budge.

"The horns aren't leaving... What else makes you super relaxed?" You asked softly.

"... Can you sing?" Steven said, hushed.

"Sing?"

"I like your voice. It's nice. "

You blushed, embarrassed from the compliment, but did what you had to. You started to hum a tune, and began singing a random melody you've always remembered. Steven was slowly swaying back and forth as you worked the conditioner intro his hair. He was practically falling asleep, which finally allowed the horns to disappear. You were happy to see he had no scars from the corruption like other gems did; perhaps scars only happen when you were fully corrupted. Steven only seemed to suffer from sores on his skin, but they also healed as the water ran over them when you rinsed his hair. You tapper his shoulder, waking him from his trance.

"Hey I'm done, can you just finish up? Then you should go to bed. No stressing once you get out of this tub, okay?" Steven nodded and you left the bathroom to let him get out.

You went up to his room and started making his bed, finding that it was in shambles. Someone must've been tossing and turning in nightmares.. when you finished, you dug through his drawers to find clothes that seemed like pajamas, and quickly threw them in the bathroom for Steven to change into. You sat on the couch waiting. Steven eventually dragged himself out of the bathroom.

" I made your bed, you should probably catch up on sleep." You suggested. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah.. about that. Sleeping might stress me out. Y'know... Nightmares." Just as you thought, that's why he can't sleep.

"Well I can take a nap with you. We can snuggle." You giggled seeing his face turn pink. Steven laughed lightly as well.

"Yeah I'd like that."

You both slipped under the covers of his newly made bed, and you scooted your way closer to him.

"Hey Steven," you whispered as your foreheads touched lightly, one of your hands holding his, " please let me know when you need help, okay? I care about you and will gladly do anything to make sure you're ok. " Steven kept his gaze down but nodded. You smiled at his agreement and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

"Hehe I can see you smiling." You smirked, as he turned pink again, trying to avoid your eyes.

"How can I not?" He said as you pulled him closer to yourself, and gave him another kiss on the forehead. He giggled and sighed, snuggling up to you.

" You're the one with healing kisses." He mumbled, before slowly falling asleep in your arms. You soon followed.

Thanks for reading! I'm glad to get this angst out of the way now, lol. Looking forward to the next chapter- it's gonna cuuuute. 👋