Chapter Three

Spinel fiddled anxiously with her glove, pulling it up higher, tucking it in carefully under the sleeve of her sweater. Steven had let her pick the clothes out. They were warm and soft, in complimentary purples, and much more comfortable than the rough uniform she'd always been forced to wear in the lab. Nonetheless, she was uncomfortably aware of it rubbing against her skin. She couldn't help but wonder if it was going to be enough.

"Don't worry, they're gonna think you're great," Steven said, as he lead her off the warp pad and towards the 'barn'. It was an odd looking building- but then, every building on the planet seemed odd to her.

Steven went up to the door, knocked on it loudly.

"Lapis! Peridot! I'm here!" he called. "And I brought someone for you to meet!"

"Coming!" someone called from inside.

A moment later, the door opened. Spinel was presented with a tiny green Gem. It took Spinel a moment to recognise her for what she was: a Peridot. A really, really small Peridot.

"LAPIS!" the Peridot screamed. "WE HAVE GUESTS!"

"I heard," the Lapis said, sweeping into view. "I was coming. Hi Steven! Er. Who's your friend?"

"Yes. Who are you?" The Peridot's expression was critical, scrutinizing. "Are you a human?"

"No. I'm a Gem. Spinel."

"Cool," said Lapis Lazuli.

"I don't know of any 'Spinels'," said the Peridot. "And I'm a certified Kindergartener. I know of every Gem model ever created."

"Peridot..." There was some warning in Lapis Lazuli's voice.

Spinel offered a hesitant smile. "It's alright. I think I was kept… pretty under wraps."

The Peridot's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't need to tell you," Spinel said, because she didn't. She didn't need to tell anyone anything, least of all a Peridot .

Steven laid a soft hand on her arm, the touch felt even through the layer of fabric. "It's okay," he said. "Spinel was created back during the war. She was kept captive for a long time, but Garnet and I found her and freed her."

Lapis Lazuli nodded. Her expression was odd. Curious. But she didn't ask anything.

"Hmm," the Peridot murmured. She didn't ask anything either, but Spinel got the strong impression that she wanted to. Instead she said, "Well, come in!"

So Spinel did.

The barn was interesting, if nothing else. A little cramped for her taste, but with all kinds of strange new smells and dynamic shapes to hold her interest. The building is covered in all sorts of decoration, like the 'art' in Steven's home. Lapis Lazuli and the Peridot did not call it art, though- they preferred the term meep morps. Spinel wondered if there was a difference, and was tempted to ask, but she didn't want to show off her ignorance in front of the Peridot.

Spinel had indulged in a lot of art, the last few days. It came in all sorts of forms, and Steven was been eager to show her all of it— books, TV, drawings, music, video games. It had almost been too much for her. Too many new words, too many new things, too many new ideas— a huge part of Spinel had just wanted to retreat back into the safety of stasis. Or, at the very least, close her eyes and hide under a blanket.

But knowledge was power. Spinel refused to go back into stasis, so this was the world she lived in now and she was determined to learn as much about it as she could.

So she smiled and listened to Steven and Lapis Lazuli and the Peridot ramble on about 'baseball' and 'Camp Pining Hearts' and 'sculptures' and 'communicative properties' and a dozen other things. She figured out what she could from context, and drew up a mental list of questions to ask Steven once they were back 'home'.

"Thank you," Spinel said once the tour was finished. Steven beamed in approval. Lapis Lazuli and the Peridot smiled too. It made Spinel feel… nice.

"So, we all ready for the trip to Beach City?" Steven asked.

"If you are," said Lapis Lazuli, a little quietly.

"I am!" said Steven. "I think it'll be good for you guys. I'm glad you're so happy here at the barn, but I want you both to see all the other awesome stuff Earth has to offer too. And Spinel has barely seen anything yet!"

(Coming from anyone else, those words would be discouraging, degrading even. But from Steven, they just sounded inviting.)

"We already agreed Steven. Further convincing is not required," said the Peridot. "So let's go!"

They warped back to the Temple which was the Crystal Gem's main base. The outer room was empty, aside from Garnet, who was sitting on the couch. She didn't seem to be doing anything. Except sitting there. Waiting .

Garnet hadn't wanted Spinel leaving the base at all. She still didn't want it. It was only after a great deal of begging on Steven's part that she had relented. It seemed as though Steven could convince Garnet to do practically anything.

"Hello," Garnet said, and was met with a return chorus of greetings.

"Are you coming with us, Garnet?" Surprisingly, it was not Steven who asked— but rather the Peridot.

"Hmmmm." There was another one of those abnormally long silences that Garnet often fell into. Then, "Sure. I'll come."

"What? Awesome!' cried Steven.

"Yes, 'awesome'," the Peridot agreed. "It shall be good to spend some 'quality time' with you, Garnet."

Garnet smiled. It was odd to see. Spinel hadn't known her face could make that expression.

Lapis Lazuli said nothing. Neither did Spinel. Truthfully, she had been rather looking forward to a little time away from Garnet's ever-present, watchful gaze. She wondered if Garnet really did have any interest in the excursion, or if it was all just an excuse to make sure she behaved.

(Probably the latter.)

Together, they headed off— Steven, Garnet, Peridot and Lapis forming a loose pack, Spinel walking off to the side. She had gotten pretty good at walking, now that she'd had some practice, but sand proved to be a fair bit trickier to master. It shifts underfoot with the slightest of moves.

"Keep your legs spread out," Steven suggested.

"Or walk on all fours," said the Peridot. "I find that people generally underestimate the efficiency of using all four limbs."

"I think I'll stick to two," said Spinel. She was getting the hang of it now. Nonetheless, she was rather thankful when they reached the solid ground of the 'board walk'.

The first place Steven took them was 'The Big Donut', which was markedly different from both Steven's house or the barn in that its front walls were transparent. Even though Spinel could see inside, she could not tell what the building's function is. There appeared to be seating areas like in Steven's house, but it also had things on display— perhaps another meep morp/art gallery?

A bell chimed as they pushed the door open . It startled Spinel a little, but she tried not to let it show.

"Hey, Steven," someone said when they entered. "Oh, wow. Brought the whole gang with you today, huh?"

"Almost!" said Steven.

Spinel completely missed whatever exchange that followed because she was too busy staring at the humans . She'd heard the term thrown around by the scientists, but she'd only first learned what it meant after being freed. Humans feature prominently in almost all of Steven's art— apparently they were the ones who made it all. She's watched videos of them on the television, seen pictures and drawings. She'd known what to expect— roughly Gem-shaped beings, who could walk around, use tools, and even speak— yet somehow she hadn't been prepared for the real deal. She'd been rather offended when Lapis had mistaken her for one earlier, but now she couldn't quite fault her for it.

The two humans there looked very different from one another. The one who greeted them was short and stock, built a little like a Ruby, but with a pale, whitish complexion similar to Steven's. The other was tall and thin, his skin a warm brown. His most striking feature was his ears, with their huge holes in the bottom half.

"Are you... cold?" the thin human asked her.

Spinel blinked at him. "What?"

"Your sweater and gloves," he said. "I mean, they're really pretty! But are you cold? Because I can go... turn up the heat if you like?"

"Uhhh," Spinel began.

But the human was already pushing away from the counter, rushing towards a back door out of the room. "I'll go do that!"

"It's not even September yet!" the other human called after him, but he didn't even falter. She sighed as he vanished.

"Uh. What was that?" asked Spinel.

"I think he was flirting with you," said Lapis Lazuli.

"If that was flirting, it was very poor technique," said the Peridot. Lapis Lazuli snorted. The human put her head in her hand.

Spinel was still confused. "What's 'flirting'?"

"It is a way that humans— and Gems— can display romantic affection through vocal communication," explained the Peridot.

"He thought you were pretty," Lapis clarified.

Pretty. Spinel's eyes fell towards the glass cabinet spread before her. She could just about make her reflection in it. It wasn't as clear as it had been in Steven's bathroom mirror, where she saw herself for the first time, but it was enough to remind Spinel of her physical appearance. A thin body, with petite features, from her short hair to her nonexistent muscles, all in shades of red and pink. Was that pretty?

"Sorry about that," said the short human. Spinel noted that she appeared to have gone through a slight colour change, her face taking on a distinct red shade. "Lars… isn't always the best at showing affection. Anyway, my name's Sadie."

"Sadie." Spinel tasted the word. "I'm Spinel."

"Lapis," said Lapis.

The Peridot puffed out her chest. "Peridot!"

"Garnet and I are showing them around Beach City," Steven said.

(All Garnet did was nod.)

"Nice to meet you! Can I get you anything?" Sadie waved her hands towards the glass display case, filled with strange rings and discs.

Everyone except Steven declined Sadie's offer. Spinel did consider asking for something for herself— the rings came in an attractive array of colours— but she did not know their function, and thought better of it. When Steven ended up giving little metal disks to Sadie in exchange for a box of the rings, Spinel was relieved for her choice. She did not know any of the details of this exchange ritual, and anyway, had nothing to offer herself.

"Okay, the heat's on!" the human Lars said, bursting back into the room.

"Thanks, Lars. But we were actually just about to head off. I'm gonna introduce these guys to my Dad over donuts."

Lars sagged. "Come on. You don't all have to go, right?"

He seemed to look at her when he said it. Spinel felt something in her shift.

"Is it alright if we stay a little longer?" she asked Steven in a low voice.

He looked surprised, but pleased. "Sure, Spinel. If you want."

"It's a good idea," Garnet agreed, seating herself firmly in a chair.

The conversation which followed was… odd. In one of the shows she'd watched, Spinel had heard the term 'small talk', and she believed it applied here. Almost everyone took a seat, except for Sadie, who opted to remain behind the counter, and Spinel, who felt is best if she remained standing to the side. Steven munched on a ring (apparently they were yet another kind of 'food') while everyone else spoke of trivial matters.

"So are you from out of town?" Sadie asked.

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that is the proper terminology. We are from 'out of town', yes," said the Peridot.

Did that mean out of this nearby region of Earth, Spinel wondered, or were they from Homeworld? Did that refer to just herself and Lapis, or the entirety of the Crystal Gems?

"How long are you staying?" Lars asked.

"Forever," said Lapis.

"Or until we can convince Homeworld to be nicer," said Steven in a tiny, hopeful voice.

"...most likely forever," said the Peridot. "But that's okay! Earth may be… small, and limited, and primitive, and entirely cut off from the culture of our species- but it is also an interesting and unique planet!"

Spinel felt something inside her sink. It wasn't that she'd ever harboured much hope of seeing Homeworld, but there had always been some… small desire, nonetheless. The scientists had talked constantly about how they couldn't wait for the war to end, so that they'd finally have a chance to leave. Spinel had wanted to leave with them.

Neither Sadie nor Lars seemed to know how to take this, either. "Well," said Lars, "If you want someone to show you around…"

He was smiling at her. Spinel tried smiling back.

Sadie rolled her eyes in irritation, but then, oddly enough, came to stand next to Lars. "Yeah. Beach City's pretty quiet, but we've got some cool stuff. You guys seen Funland yet?"

Lapis had not, but Peridot had, and proceeded to launch into a detailed and rather intense description of the place. None of it made much sense to Spinel, though the occasional additional explanation from Steven or one of the humans helped, a little. It appeared to be some sort of large area built purely for recreation, where people entertained themselves by riding high-speed vehicles, entering perception-altering mazes, or participating in skill-based challenges to earn prizes.

"Or not win them, as the case may be," Saide said, shooting Lars a dark look.

He crossed his arms. "Hey, I got you that teddy bear, didn't I?"

"It was a teddy bear key-chain. That hardly counts."

"Fine, then I'll take it back," Lars said. He turned, and began in the direction of the back-door. "It's hanging off your backpack, right?"

"No, Lars!" Sadie cried, her face reddening again as she pulled him back. Lars looked rather pleased with this reaction.

"Well, I won a life-sized alien!" the Peridot crowed. "And it is magnificent! Tell them, Lapis!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Lapis Lazuli agreed.

The discussion continued a little longer, wandering aimlessly, with no apparent end-goal. Occasionally, even Garnet would add a comment. It was… nice. Even if she didn't understand most of the things people talked about. Even if she felt she didn't have a lot to add. Even if Sadie started arguing with Lars about how he hadn't refilled the 'napkins'.

It was around that point that Steven rather quickly finished consuming a second of the food rings, stood up and announced that they really should get going.

"See you around?" Lars asked. Spinel wondered if he meant all of them, or just herself in particular.

"Sure," said Steven, and Spinel felt safe in nodding.

The group of Gems existed the building, and walked in silence for a few moments. Then Lapis Lazuli said, "They were strange."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"I couldn't tell if they liked each other or not," Lapis said. Her expression was distant. "They would insult each other, and fight, but act like they enjoyed it."

Steven scratched his head. "That's just… kind of how their relationship works? It's like… friendly bickering." He laughed a little. "Mostly friendly."

Lapis Lazuli didn't seem very reassured, but the Peridot brightened. "Ah, I see! Their dynamic is like the rivalry between the purple and orange cabins!"

Spinel did not know what that meant- but she did think she understood Lars and Sadie, a little. It was an act. A show. Like how one of the Peridots at the lab had acted like all the other scientists and technicians- professional and dutiful and clinical- until one of the rare chances when they were alone, and she'd give Spinel kind words. Apologies. Reassurances. Promises.

"I like them," Spinel said, so quietly that she thought that maybe only she could hear.