Corrupted Heart - Steven Universe x Reader

"The bits! The bits! The bits! The bits! The bits! The bits! The bi--".

"Shut up!", I shouted, sending Steven a threatening glare so he would be quiet. He sent me an apologetic smile, glancing at the ground and chuckling restlessly. He had been repeating that stupid chant since we left the house and I was quite frankly getting sick of it! We finally reached Beach Citywalk Fries as Steven slammed his fists on the counter, frantically. It's literally just deep-fried chips, what's he getting so excited for? "Give me the--", before Steven could finish his sentence, the boy working in the shop pushed a bag of premade fry bits in front of him.

Steven was a little surprised but sent him a smile. "Eh, I saw you guys coming", the boy spoke, putting his elbow on the counter and using it to support his head. Steven took the bag as Greg paid for it. We all leave, Steven scoffing down the fry bits as we walked along the shore. Steven offered me a few, but I shook my head in rejection. Steven shrugged obliviously, "Oh! (Y/N)! Remember when Peridot was shooting huge robots here from space? And when you smash them, they explode into goo!", he giggled, retelling the story with a mouthful of fries. "That sounds scary", Greg frowned at me, "Are you sure your mother is ok with this?". I snorted, mockingly, attempting to imagine my mum's reacting if she found out what I've been doing with Steven. "Of course she isn't! I haven't told her. She'd kill me if she found out".

Greg's frown lowered as he rubbed the back of neck apprehensively, eyeing Steven. His visual contact looked intense, yet worrisome, but Steven didn't seem to notice. "You know, I'm not sure if...", Greg's voice trailed off before he continued, "Do you ever feel like this Gem stuff is too much for you?".

Steven raised a brow at his father, tilting his head slightly. Now that I think about it, Steven does do a lot of dangerous things for a kid. Before I met him, the most dangerous thing I ever did was plant a tac on my teacher's chair as a result of risky truth or dare game. On the other hand, Steven battles a bunch of gems from space like it's nothing. "What are you--".

Suddenly, the ground we were standing on seemed unstable, making a low rumbling sound. Then the unsteady feeling turned briskly into severe shaking, so drastic that Steven nearly got wobbled off his feet. Almost every local business place had their windows shattered by the impact of the quake as they all glanced up at the sky in utter disbelief. Greg, Steven and I all peeped up to see what everyone was gawking at. I squinted my eyes slightly, to make sure I wasn't seeing things. "Is that a...hand?", I asked, questionably as the giant, green object that was approaching us at a gradual and moderate pace. Steven sent a cautious glance at me, which I instantly returned. "You don't think...?".

Steven rushed me and Greg off the shore, heading towards the direction of his beach house. As we ran, I couldn't help but catch an agile glimpsed at the flying hand making its way to surface as its pace seemed to have gotten quicker. That means we'd have to be quicker too. I suddenly see the Gems, gathered at the edge of the shore, observe the thing in the sky through a telescope. The mouths either gritted with contempt or their eyes widening in terror. "Guys!", Steven called out to them, puffing as he dashed across the beach, "Did you see that thing in the sky?".

The Gems nodded, as the atmosphere around us began to get murkier and more ominous. I felt the air around us become thinner like it was being sucked away from us. "Care to explain why a giant hand is slowly coming towards us?", I asked, glimpsing up at Pearl who looked more anxious than ever.

"It's a ship", she explained, "We have to assume it's Peridot".

My hands clenched slightly. Why was that gem coming back? What did she want? I could see Garnet's agitation growing worse. "Lapis told us she'd be coming. With advanced weapons and reinforcements", she said. I arched a brow turning to face Steven. "Lapis? Who's that?", I asked him.