Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: Idiosyncrasy

Summary: When Smoky is injured on a solo mission, the entire team gets a lesson on what it means to be human and Gem.

Chapter Title: Hot Springs

...

Amethyst hopped into the spring with a hoot, phasing her clothes off halfway into the swing. Pearl hovered until she popped out, then slid in as well, breathing a sigh of relief.

She laughed a little. "You act like I'm gonna disappear, P."

Her hand shot out, rumpling her wet locks. "Don't even joke about that!"

Garnet didn't so much as sink as she walked into the hot spring, stiff as a board. To the fusion, the water felt lukewarm at best. "It was a scary time," she noted. "We were all worried."

Amethyst blew a raspberry. "Smoky's tougher'n some calamari."

The fusion reached out and poked her belly, face blank. "That little line says otherwise."

"Oh, you noticed that too?" Pearl prompted. "I thought it was a fitting little tribute, personally."

The Quartz's eyes darted between the two of them. "'Scuse me?"

"Don't play coy," the thin Gem scolded, tapping her nose playfully. "That mark on your stomach."

"Huh?" Amethyst pulled herself out onto the side of the hot spring, splashing water everywhere. Her long hair stuck to her arms as she inspected her belly. Sure enough, just above the overhanging lip of fat, a jagged purple line cut across where a belly button would normally be on a human. "What the fu-"

"Amethyst! Language!"

Light overtook the small Gem's form as she tried to shapeshift it away. It didn't work. Increasingly panicked, Amethyst stared at Garnet almost desperately. "G, I-I didn't do this. I swear I didn't." She dug her elbow into the area, as if it were grime to be brushed away. Her voice began to crack. "It won't come off!"

Garnet grabbed her wrist. "Don't do that! You'll hurt yourself."

Amethyst bit down on her lip, scared. "What's wrong with me? Am I corrupting?"

"Corruption doesn't work like that. This is just... what's the word..." Pearl racked her brains. "Oh, I know! A scar. Humans call them scars."

"Gems don't scar, Pearl."

She crossed her arms to protect herself from the scorn in the Quartz's voice. "Well, you weren't exactly a Gem when you were healed, now, were you?"

"I mean, yeah, but..." Amethyst ran her index finger over it, frowning. She didn't mind having a different look- a shapeshifter by nature, Amethyst was happiest when she could try new things and break away from being herself for a bit. But there had never been a time when those changes were outside her control. Cracking her Gem the first time had scrambled her, but once it was fixed up she hadn't had any issues. A scar was something permanent- or, at least, something long-lasting, depending on how deep it was, and the kraken had stabbed clean through. "That's not how we're supposed to work."

"It's not," Garnet agreed, putting a supportive hand on her arm. "But Steven is different. You're different. Neither of you are bound by typical Gem standards."

Pearl raised her index finger. "It's not like we hadn't expected some drawbacks to fusing with a half-human. If weird lines are the worst of it, that doesn't sound so bad, does it?"

She slowly lifted her hand away, frowning. "I guess not."

When they get home, Amethyst shows it off. Steven waits until Pearl and Garnet have left the room to lift his shirt slightly and display his, edging ever-so-close to his gemstone. The smile on his face is an odd mix of proud, ashamed, and a little wigged out. Amethyst mirrors it.

Author's Note: I finally got around to finishing this! =) But, hey, Amethyst's is the first Gem with a scar! That's pretty neat.

Not a lot changed in this story, actually. I did originally intend for Smoky to be more volatile when Connie found them, but it didn't quite work out.

-Mandaree1