Just as they were about to end Steven's first fusion lesson, there was a quiet knock from the screen door. Steven ran to answer it and found a very excited Connie standing outside. She had called earlier that night and explained that one of her father's friends was hosting a party in town. Since this party was one of the of the more "adult" variety, her parents had begrudgingly decided to let her stay at Steven's house until it was over.

Connie told the gems that her mother was scheduled to pick her up sometime around midnight. The gems, deciding that Steven had done enough practice for the day, gave him permission to go play on the beach with his friend. Upon hearing this, the two children made a wild dash for the front door, buzzing with excitement.

"Don't be out too late!" Pearl called out after them.

"We won't!" Steven shouted back.

"And let us know if you run into any trouble!" Pearl added.

"We will!"

"And don't forget to-"

The screen door slammed shut behind Steven, cutting Pearl off before she could say another word. The two children dashed down the porch stairs, soon leaving the gems' sight completely. Their little beach house was now just a little too quiet.

Pearl smiled sheepishly and sat down on a stool behind the wrap-around counter. "Well, I'm sure they'll be alright."

Amethyst smirked from her seat on the edge of said counter. "Unless a gem monster tries to eat them again."

Pearl shot her a stern look and growled in frustration. Amethyst giggled in response. Garnet said nothing, instead choosing to stare out the window in the direction Steven had gone.

After a moment, Pearl's expression softened, and she shifted her attention to Garnet. "A corrupted gem isn't actually going to…?"

"No," Garnet replied. "They're safe."

At this, Pearl seemed to relax, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good, good. He deserves to have some play time with his friend. He made plenty of progress today."

Amethyst crossed her arms. "Would've been better if he actually fused with someone, but yeah. He's really coming around."

"He's picking up the technique remarkably quickly," Pearl continued. "Granted, he still has a long way to go, but humans are usually good with physical skills like this. I'd expect him to perfect the technique in…oh, eight to ten years."

Amethyst snorted. "He'll be all grown up by then." Her face gained a more thoughtful look. "Maybe? I don't know. He might pull another birthday party on us."

All three gems fell still. None of them liked talking about that day. Not just because of the terrifying memories, but because of all the unanswered questions it raised.

"…Okay, then," Amethyst spoke up again, breaking the tension. "I'm thinking he'll nail the fusion thing a lot sooner than that. He's got the right attitude."

Pearl narrowed his eyes. "You mean being silly and refusing to take the lesson seriously?"

"I mean not getting all worked up about it," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. "Fusion works a lot better if you just roll with it. Look at Sugilite."

"Not exactly the best of examples," Pearl muttered.

Amethyst shrugged. "Eh. It still doesn't change that Garnet picked me when we needed to break that tower down, not you."

Pearl growled and stood up out of her stool. Before she could launch herself into an angry tirade, however, Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I made a poor decision," Garnet said. "That's all."

Pearl looked at Garnet, then Amethyst, then Garnet again, before relenting and falling back onto her stool with a groan.

After a second of silence, Pearl raised her eyes to Garnet once more. "Why do we even have to cover fusion now? Steven isn't mature enough for magic like this."

"Steven can handle it," Garnet asserted. "He needs to learn."

"At this age?" Pearl asked. "This soon?"

Garnet nodded. "Yes. If we're unlucky, then Peridot was only the beginning."

Pearl went rigid. Amethyst tried to pretend that she didn't care, but her eyes widened regardless.

"He needs to be ready for anything," Garnet continued. "Learning about fusion is part of that."

Pearl nodded in understanding. "I agree. However, I'm concerned that teaching him about fusion might be a…waste of time, per se."

Amethyst gave her a flat look. "You don't think he can do it."

Pearl grimaced. "He's organic, at least partially. Even Rose was never able to fuse with any organic creatures."

"That we know of," Amethyst added.

Pearl shot her a stern look before continuing. "Organic creatures can't fuse with each other, and gems can only fuse with other gems. For all we know, Steven's fusion attempts will only lead to another cat-fingers incident."

Amethyst snickered. "Yeah, that one really got Greg to freak out."

Pearl turned to Garnet. "I know you want to believe he can do it, but are you absolutely sure he…?"

"He can do it," Garnet answered. "I see it in many potential futures."

At this, Pearl looked a little taken aback, but she grew a hesitant smile of pleasant surprise. "Really? What are the overall chances, would you say?"

Garnet thought a moment, adjusting her glasses. "It's not just probable," she spoke. "It's inevitable."

"Oh, wonderful!" Pearl clasped her hands together in glee, and a joyful grin split her face. "I knew he took after his mother, but I never would have thought…"

Amethyst beamed, too. "Alright, Steven!"

Garnet crossed her arms. "The circumstances might not be…ideal."

"Who cares?" Amethyst answered. "He's been pumped for this for, like, ever. And hey, if the circumstances aren't 'ideal', it just means he uses it to get out of a tight spot. That's good, right?"

Garnet nodded. "True."

"So…" Pearl tapped her fingers together. "What is the time frame, would you say?"

Garnet didn't reply immediately. She stared in Pearl's direction for a little while, likely using her second sight to probe the future and look for answers. However, after about ten seconds of nothing but silence, the pressure began reaching uncomfortable levels.

"I don't know," Garnet finally said.

Pearl made a face. "What do you mean, you don't know? Are there any futures where he fuses before the end of this year?"

Garnet shifted slightly. "Tons."

"Alright," Pearl responded. "What about by the end of the month? That should be soon enough to counter any plans Peridot might have."

"It's likely to happen by the end of the month," Garnet answered.

Pearl's eyes lit up. A knowing smile crept onto her face. "If we have another lesson on fusion sometime tomorrow, how likely is it that he'll be able to do it then?"

Garnet stared at Pearl, not saying a word.

Pearl seemed to take this silence as the best possible answer, and she clapped her hands together in joy. "Oh, this is so exciting! I wonder which one of us he'll fuse with first."

"Not you," Amethyst replied.

"Unfortunately," Garnet added.

The smile slid off of Pearl's face. "Excuse me?"

"Steven doesn't get your dance style at all," Amethyst explained. "You're terrible at dancing with short people, and watching him try to keep up with you tonight was hilarious."

Pearl's face twisted into a sneer. "At least it was better than the laughter-festival you insisted on celebrating with him every time he missed a step."

"It's not just about the dancing," Garnet stated. "Your current relationship with him would not lead to a stable fusion."

Pearl raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And?"

"You're an authority figure," Garnet explained. "He'd only fuse to make you proud of him, and you wouldn't let yourself give up any control."

Pearl, unable to argue with Garnet's reasoning, closed her mouth and crossed her arms without making another word.

After a moment, Amethyst gave a shrug. "So, I'm guessing G-Squad's going to be the one to do it. She fuses like no one's business."

Garnet didn't say anything in response, instead choosing to give a thoughtful hum and stare out the window once more.

"It's kind of weird, since three-gem fusions are supposed to be really hard," Amethyst continued. "But I guess you know your stuff when it comes to fusing. I bet you'll go great together." She shot Garnet a sly grin. "Unless Ruby and Sapphire don't think they can handle Steven popping in for a visit?"

"I can handle it," Garnet asserted. "I could have done it."

Pearl's eyes suddenly narrowed. "'Could have'." She practically jumped out of her stool, facing Garnet with a heated expression. "You could have fused with him tonight?"

Garnet continued to look away. "If I tried."

"You didn't even try?" Pearl blurted in exasperation. "Garnet, you of all people know how important this is. If Homeworld gems are taking an interest in the Earth again, then we need to be prepared for this as soon as possible."

Garnet said nothing.

Pearl gave a frustrated huff, but she kept going. "Besides the threat of the Homeworld, Steven needs to make some progress. He needs to accomplish something. You remember what happened with his healing powers – he gained access to one of Rose's most celebrated abilities, and not one week later, a single period of doubt put an end to it. We can't afford to let that happen again."

Garnet still said nothing.

"You say you want to help him," Pearl continued. "You've told me over and over how you want to get closer to him. Now, the opportunity falls right into your lap, and you don't make even one attempt to capitalize on it?"

Garnet, yet again, said nothing.

Pearl let out an exasperated cry. "I'm starting to believe that you don't even want to get any closer to Steven. You hide so many secrets from him. He's never been in your room under normal circumstances, you haven't told him about Ruby and Sapphire, and he still doesn't know about your ability to see different futures and their-"

"Woah, Pearl," Amethyst cut in. "I think you need to chill a bit."

Pearl rounded on Amethyst, frustration painted all over her face. "Chill!?"

Amethyst grimaced, but she held her ground. "Yeah. Chill. You're making Garnet super-uncomfortable."

Pearl's attention shifted back to Garnet. It was subtle, but the gem's usual stoicism had shifted into something closer to guilt. She didn't look unwilling to speak, but unable to.

Pearl put a hand to her mouth. "Garnet, I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay," Garnet said stiffly.

"No, it's not." She breathed a sigh and sat back down. "I know you have your reasons, Garnet, and they must all be well thought-out. But, if Steven really is capable of fusion, I don't think we should withhold it from him."

Garnet adjusted her glasses. "But I don't."

Pearl looked up. "What?"

"I don't have any good reasons for holding him back," Garnet explained. "I should fuse with him. It would be easy."

Pearl scrunched up her face, quizzical. "I don't understand."

"If we fuse, he'll learn everything I've ever kept from him," Garnet explained. "Everything."

Pearl glanced down at her hands and knit her fingers together. "True, and it might look a little…" Pearl paused to think. "Bad, at least to begin with, but surely you can help him understand that it was all for his own good. The best leaders will do anything to protect the ones they lead, even if it means keeping countless secrets from them."

"Pssh, her secrets aren't countless," Amethyst cut in. "She's only got about a thousand, tops."

"Amethyst," Pearl growled.

"I'm just saying," Amethyst continued. She scooted a little closer to the edge of the counter and looked up into Garnet's face. "Look, I know you've got this thing with walling people out, but if Steven's going to see you as anything other than a big scary pair of fists, you can't keep doing it."

"I know that," Garnet grumbled.

"Then why do you keep pretending like none of this future-seeing stuff exists whenever we're around him?" Amethyst asked. "It's like you're scared to let him know you're not normal."

"Excuse me?" Pearl cut in. "Garnet is perfectly normal."

"Hate to break it to you, Pearl, but none of us are 'normal'", Amethyst replied. "And sure, you may think you're the least 'human' out of the three of us, but Garnet's a future-seeing fusion with three eyes who can punch through walls, make lightning, and swim in lava. You're never gonna top that."

Pearl rolled her eyes, though she said nothing more.

Garnet didn't respond to any of this, at least not right away. She stared off into the distance, letting the conversation go silent. After what felt like an eternity of thinking things over, she finally spoke. "After his first fusion," she said. "I'll show him Ruby and Sapphire."

"Really?" Pearl replied, sounding a little concerned. "Are you sure?"

Garnet adjusted her glasses. "Yes."

"What, you're just going to walk up to him and go, 'Hey, look Steven, I'm a fusion'?" Amethyst asked. "You've gotta make it more impressive than that."

Garnet thought for a few seconds. "I'll do it on his birthday," she decided.

"His birthday?" Pearl responded. "Well, if you're positive."

Amethyst smirked. "Don't worry, Pearl. You don't have to be jealous. Who cares if Ruby and Sapphire are gonna overshadow the plane you built for Steven?"

Pearl gave her a flat look. "Who said anything about building a plane?"

Amethyst giggled for the umpteenth time that night. "No one said anything, but man, that lock on Greg's barn practically picked itself."

"Focus," Garnet gently warned.

"Yeah, yeah, Steven still needs to learn how to fuse with someone," Amethyst replied. "You're not doing it, and Pearl can't. I guess it's gonna be me." She cracked into a triumphant grin. "Do you think we'll make Morganite still, or is Steven going to make us into someone different?"

She looked back and forth between the faces of the other two gems. No one immediately replied. The longer they waited, however, the more oppressive Garnet's stare grew, and the more hesitant Pearl's expression became.

"Aw, c'mon!" Amethyst cried out. "What's wrong now?"

Pearl refused to make eye contact. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just not sure that fusing with you would be a…good experience for Steven."

Slowly, Amethyst's eyes narrowed. "Oh, oh no. This is not about the-"

"It has nothing to do with the Kindergarten," Garnet interrupted.

Amethyst ground her teeth together. "Then what is it about, huh? Do you think I can't do it?"

Pearl grimaced. "No, that's not it. It's…"

"Steven and I get along great together," Amethyst continued, voice rising in both pitch and volume. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to be Morganite again? Doing it with Rose was always so easy, and Steven's just like her!"

"Steven is not Rose," Pearl replied, voice hardening.

"Well, he's close enough!" Amethyst snapped back. "Who cares if he's got a little Greg mixed in?"

Pearl pressed both her hands against the countertop, fuming. "This kind of thinking is exactly why letting you fuse with him is a terrible idea."

Amethyst growled in frustration. "What's your problem?" She leaned into Pearl's space, baring her teeth. "What, are you jealous again?"

Pearl reeled backwards. "Jealous?" An angry blush came over her cheeks. "Again?"

"Yeah," Amethyst spat. "Jealous that no one ever wants to fuse with an uptight, hovering, squawking stick in the mud. Not me, not Garnet, not even Rose!"

Pearl went still. Gradually, her eyebrows furrowed into a deep V. "You don't know anything," she said through clenched teeth. "You will never have what I had with Rose."

"Oh yeah?" Amethyst snarled. "Maybe that's a good thing."

Before either of them could say anything more, Garnet's massive form cut between them. She placed a hand on each of their shoulders, forcing them apart. "Not now," she said bluntly. "Let it go."

Amethyst growled and gritted her teeth together, but after a moment, she glanced away.

Pearl pulled Garnet's hand off of her, huffing. "Did you even hear what she was trying to imply?"

"I heard her," Garnet confirmed. "She was angry. She said words. You were angry. You said words, too."

Pearl continued to glare at Garnet, though her expression softened considerably. "She does this on purpose, you know."

"Maybe," Garnet replied. "But remember what I said. There are no sides. We're all on the same team."

Pearl's eyes hit the floor. "I know."

Amethyst let out an annoyed sigh. "You can stop pretending like I don't exist now."

Garnet turned to face the smaller gem. "That goes for you too, Amethyst. Pearl is not an enemy. If we decide that letting you fuse with Steven is a bad idea, then it is not her fault."

Amethyst rolled her eyes and leaned back on her hands. "Yeah, yeah. Whatev.

Garnet's mouth pressed into a flat line, but she continued. "I don't think you can handle a fusion with Steven yet."

Amethyst gave a tired sigh. "Yeah, sure. Steven's ready to fuse with you and Pearl, but for some weird reason, he's still too young to do it with me. I get it."

"Steven is old enough. He's ready," Garnet said. "Are you?"

Amethyst froze for a second, and then expression abruptly lost all its aloofness. "Uh, what?"

"This won't be like fusing with Rose," Garnet pointed out. "Steven is inexperienced. He needs guidance and stability. Can you give it to him?"

Amethyst didn't speak. Her face went a little blank, and it gained a touch of hesitance. "I…think so?"

"Do you know so?" Garnet pressed.

Amethyst, apparently no longer able to handle the pressure, nervously slid herself down to the end of counter. She crossed her arms and refused to look Garnet in the eye.

Pearl pressed a few fingers to her forehead. "This would be Steven's first fusion," she began. "He's likely to be excited, confused, and a little nervous. Not good emotions for keeping a fusion under control. If this is going to work, then he'll need something to ground him." She stood up out of her stool and gave Amethyst an expectant look. "Can you manage that, Amethyst? Can you keep a level head for once?"

Amethyst turned her head away, allowing her hair to come between Pearl's face and hers. "Maybe," she grumbled.

Pearl heaved a heavy sigh. "This isn't going to be easy," she muttered.

"We're not doing this because it's easy," Garnet spoke.

"Doesn't mean it has to be this hard," Amethyst spoke up, her voice hanging on a sour note. "Seriously, we've got no answer to this. Steven needs to fuse with someone, but none of us can do it. I guess we're going to have to wait until that 'not ideal' thing to forces him into it."

Pearl hesitated for a moment, her face a mixture of nervousness and concern. Then, she gently wrapped an arm about Amethyst's shoulders. "We'll figure something out," she assured. "It's like that song Steven made a while ago – 'We are the Crystal Gems, we'll always find a way.'"

Amethyst, somehow, made a tiny smile. She pulled Pearl's arm off from around her. "That's not how the song goes."

Pearl scoffed. "It's close enough."

Amethyst's face cracked with a smirk. "You don't actually remember the words, do you?"

Pearl gave a small pout. "Of course I do." She straightened her posture, closed her eyes, and cleared her throat. Then, her gentle voice began to sing. "We are the Crystal Gems, we'll always-"

Garnet loudly cleared her throat.

Pearl's voice choked off mid-syllable, and her face collapsed into a nervous smile. Amethyst made a quiet giggle.

"Point is," Garnet spoke up. "The more practice we give him, the more comfortable he will be when he finally fuses. We'll have a morning lesson, and we'll decide where to go from there."

Amethyst swung her legs back and forth. "Sounds like a plan."

"Yes, that sounds like the best course of action," Pearl agreed, nodding with the confirmation. "Do you know when Steven will be returning tonight?"

Garnet held one hand to the side of her head, obviously searching the future for the information. "He'll be back in…" She paused. "Ten seconds."

Pearl blanched. "What? He's coming back right now?"

"Maybe." Garnet grimaced slightly. "It's a little…"

To their surprise, the screen door flew open with a bang. All three of them spun towards the noise in shock. The new arrival called out to them with a gleeful, "Hey, guys, look at this!"

Standing in the doorway was a creature who was not quite Steven and not quite Connie. In the grin of this new arrival, however, Steven's unmistakable, infectious smile bled seamlessly into Connie's excited eyes. It was abundantly clear what must have happened.

Neither Garnet, Amethyst, nor Pearl said a word. In fact, none of them so much as moved of their own conscious accord.

"Pretty cool, right?" the new fusion spoke up again.

Pearl, whose face was the very picture of flustered, was the first to find her voice. "He fused," she gaped. "With his friend Connie?"

Then, a gleeful snicker tumbled out of Amethyst. "Hey, Pearl," she called quietly. "Look at Garnet."

Garnet's face was lit up by a huge, beaming smile.

Steven was a Crystal Gem, and Crystal Gems always found a way.

Just like my previous Steven Universe one-shot, "Mutual Undestanding", this entire fic was written, edited, and posted over the span of three days. I think I'm on some sort of plot bunny mafia's hit list.

This whole fic was born from a little detail I noticed while watching "Alone Together" to cope with some hiatus-induced Steven Universe withdrawal. Amethyst took a seat on the counter after Steven's fusion lesson. Later, when Stevonnie went inside, Amethyst was still sitting in that exact same spot. It got me thinking that the gems must have stayed in that room and had a talk about the lesson while Steven and Connie had their own little dance session out on the beach.

Anyways, this entire fic was mostly an exercise to help me nail down all of the gem's speaking patterns. Hence, it's almost cripplingly dialogue-heavy. I also wrote this fic to experiment with what I like to call the "third person camera" point of view, where the POV no access to any of the character's inner thoughts or feelings. Showing a character's emotions requires well-written dialogue and nonverbal framing. It's a challenge, but even a work as short as this one has helped me learn a lot.

I'm still in the process of putting together some longer SU fics. Keep looking out for those.