Coffee Brews & Magic Runes

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three]

It was almost too quiet in the house for the little gem. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst had gone off to check up on someplace he was calling Little homeworld. Which left Garnet and Spinel alone for the time being, not that Spinel minded too much. She just wasn’t sure how to act around the fusion, as Garnet hardly ever spoke and when she did, it was typically to break up an argument between Amethyst and Pearl. So it left her with a half formed opinion on her. After they had bid the other three farewell, Garnet motioned for Spinel to follow her into the temple.

“Oh, um, a-are you sure you want me in there?” Spinel grew nervous, this was one of the places the crystal gems never took her, but Garnet was asking her to follow the taller gem inside. “I don’t want to break anything in there, heh, what with me being clumsy lately…’ She grabbed at her arm, she looked incredibly nervous.

“If I thought you would be a threat, I wouldn’t let you in,” Garnet spoke in a soft tone, a small smile on her face as she waits by the door. “Besides, we’re gonna need some peace and quiet in case they come back early.” She gave a thumbs up to Spinel, who returned it with a confused look.

“Oh, I… Why do we need to be in there for peace and quiet? Aren’t there other places that aren’t in there that would work instead?” Spinel had looked worried. Garnet, on the other hand, had walked over to her, placed a hand on the smaller gem’s shoulder and gave a smile.

“You’ll be fine, I promise,” she backed away, walking into the temple. Spinel blinked, for some reason, Garnet’s words had brought her some comfort. So she had walked in after the fusion, the door closing behind them.

There was a soft gasping sound that came from Spinel as she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes wide with awe as she gazed at the scene around her. It was vast, and open, much like if she had stood on the beach and stared out into the ocean. This room looked like it held no end, a sky that touches a floor that looked much like water, though there were no waves. Garnet stood not too far from Spinel, she waited for the other to take in the room they just entered. Then she proceeded to walk further in. Spinel caught sight of her movement and moved to catch up to the fusion. It had felt like they were walking for a long time before Garnet stopped at the edge of a raised platform. Spinel blinked, it didn’t look very tall, about a foot tall from what she could tell, and the sides looked like a waterfall, it made her think that they were standing on water. Garnet stepped onto the platform and sat down on one side of it. She waved a hand to the space across from her.

“Sit with me,” she spoke up, a soft smile on her face as she waited for Spinel. The smaller gem stepped up and sat herself down across from Garnet. She adjusted herself sit sit cross legged, her hands laid in her lap, fingers fidgeting as she stares and the reflective flooring beneath them.

“This is… it’s very pretty here,” Spinel spoke quietly, almost mumbling through her words.

“I come here when I need to think,” She started, her expression unreadable. Spinel blinked at her, it was hard to tell what the fusion was thinking half the time. “Or need to be alone.” Spinel blinked, then looked confused.

“But you’re never alone though.” She looked to the fusion. Garnet let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re right, I’m never alone, I will always have two minds, but I don’t think of myself as two separate people.” She smiled at the smaller gem. “When we fuse, our minds become one, in synced with each other. We may be able to speak and think separately when fused, but we don’t feel like we are apart from each other.” She lifted up a hand, lowering the glasses and giving Spinel a wink, before placing the shades back up in their original position.

“But… what happens when you’re not in sync with each other?” Spinel frowned, her hands lifting up to her chest, though she kept her gaze on the fusion.

“If the emotions between us is strong enough, we unfuse…” Garnet frowned a bit, adjusting her glasses when she didn’t need to. Spinel blinked and frowned, her hands had reached up to grip her gem. Garnet leaned over and placed a hand over Spinel’s hands. “There’s no need to feel sad, it happens to all of us.” She smiles at the smaller gem, who had blinked back, her hands loosen their grip on her gem.

“I… I’m not sure how to feel about myself…” Spinel started softly. Her gaze planted on the ground, focused on the reflection of the false clouds that float above them. “On the one hand, I feel sad… and angry… and I feel… betrayed? Abandoned?” She let out a faint chuckle, her hands tightened around her gem. “I feel lost… and unsure of what to do and…” Spinel’s breathing began to waver. “I’m… I’m angry a lot… and scared and I don’t… I don’t understand how you guys tolerate me when e-even a diamond couldn’t…” Tears ran down her face, her hands tightened around her gem even more, a familiar pain starting to take hold. Spinel had curled up a bit, a pained look on her face as she attempted to wipe the tears from her face. “I-I think Pearl w-wants me g-gone… A-Amethyst seems nice b-but, I-I feel like she tolerates me t-to be nice… and… S-Steven…” Spinel gives a choked laugh, “P-Pretty sure h-he is o-only d-doing this to be… t-to be nice too.” She curls up more, that pain in her chest growing the more she thinks about it. All the negativity that had been building inside. These thoughts that had been plaguing her for a while. Like a festering wound, her thoughts had been infecting her and hadn’t been able to voice them. It was when her form flickered, that she was pulled from her thoughts by an outside force.

“That’s not true,” Garnet had moved closer, a hand placed on Spinel’s hands, gripping them lightly. Her glasses had faded away to show her eyes, all three staring down at the small gem. A worried expression on her face. “Spinel, You may not realize it, but you have a lot more in common with most of us than you realize.”

“H-Huh?” Spinel blinks, she had flinched away from the touch, but didn’t move away from Garnet herself. “Wh-what do you mean?” She wiped her face, then looked at Garnet with confusion.

“You and Pearl and the only ones out of us who have even dealt with Pink Diamond personally. The two of you know what she was like, and though your experiences with her were different, she’s hurt the both of you in a similar way.” Garnet had smiled, even though her eyes looked sad. This was the first time since interacting the the fusion that Spinel had ever seen her show so much emotion. Was she always like this?

“In a… similar way?” Spinel blinked, as she opened her mouth to ask more about it. Garnet held up a hand.

“It’s not my place to talk about it,” she gave a soft smile. “You will have to ask Pearl more about it, as I cannot speak for her. However, I will say that the experience affected most of us as well, but we each had our ways of dealing with it.” She raised a hand to her face, pushing up the shades that suddenly appeared on her face.

“I don’t know if she’d willingly talk to me now…” Spinel had curled up again, her face somewhat buried in her knees. “I feel like I messed up pretty bad with her…” She felt the tears start to form. She bit her bottom lip just to fight them back.

“Pearl will calm down, once the storm has passed, the two of you can talk. She may be disgruntled about it, but she will listen.” Garnet shifted a bit, placing her hands in her lap. For the time being, if you would like some help… I may be able to help you with your emotions.” Spinel perked up a little at that.

“Wha? How?” She shifted a little bit of childish curiosity showing as she shifted herself into a better sitting position. The fusion give a soft chuckle.

“Sit as I sit,” she started, her voice was calm. Spinel shifted into the same, or at the very least, a similar sitting position, legs crossed, hands in her lap. “Then takes a deep breath… in… and out,” she made gestures as she spoke, drawing in a deep breath and slowly exhaling. Spinel followed her actions. Then, much like the sound of a song, Garnet speaks again.

“Take a moment to think of just… flexibility, love, and trust.”

“Take a moment to think of just… flexibility, love, and trust.”

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Four]

She dug her feet into the sand, the sound of waves crashing in the distance as the breeze came in from the sea. Her eyes were half open, and she stared into what seemed like an endless horizon. Spinel had curled up, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked a bit frazzled, and it looked like she hadn’t actually taken proper care of herself in days. Spinel didn't want to see anyone, and was making a point to avoid everyone. The gem had managed to find an area on the beach where she was able to hide among the rocks. Large chunks of the temple that managed to place themselves just right to keep her out of immediate view. She uncurled herself and reached for an instrument that had been sitting in the sand beside her and began idly plucking at a banjo that rested in her arms. Ever since Greg and Steven offered to teach her, she hadn't set the instrument down. She wasn't nearly as good as either of them, but she was certainly enjoying the distraction. At least until it left her in moods such as this.

She let out a sigh, her eyes shifted slightly from the banjo to the water and back. From idly plucking at the strings, her hands had moved to her gem, gripping it slightly. Even when she was around people, she was still feeling alone. Spinel didn’t know what had happened or what was going on. She had been left out of all this.

“Hey,” Spinel let out a startled yell, she jumped up and had the banjo in a ready position to hit whoever had approached. When she saw it was Amethyst, she lowered the instrument and started to chuckle a bit.

“Ho boy! You sure did give me a scare!” Spinel wiped a hand over her face, chuckling a bit more before it faded. Amethyst was giving her a half smile by the time she had finished and was leaning against one of the boulders, arms folded.

“Sorry,” The gem responded back, watching as Spinel had gone back to sitting in the sand, banjo in hand. “I just… wanted to come check up on you. Everyone is worried and the vibe in the house right now is… yeesh.” Amethyst made a cringed expression. “Mind if I join you?” She pointed to an empty spot beside Spinel.

“I… I guess you can.” Spinel looked at the spot next to her before she laid the banjo down on the other side of her and curled up again. Her face was half buried in her knees. It took a moment of hesitation before Amethyst sat down, she let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Oh man, You should have seen them when you ran out of there!” Amethyst smiled wide, “Pearl looked like she was going to poof from shock alone!” She laughed, almost hard enough that she had to wipe away some tears that had formed.

“Is that all you came out here for? To make me feel worse?” Spinel had shifted again, her hands now gripping her gem as she went to staring at the sand. Amethyst had stopped laughing and watched as Spinel went silent. Spinel didn’t mean to blow up like she did, but Amethyst managed to strike a chord just now.

“What? No, of course not!” Amethyst rubbed her neck, “Everyone is super worried about you, I mean, Garnet had to straight up hold onto Pearl just to stop her from coming after you!” Amethyst looked a mixture of annoyed and worried. “Steven wanted to come find you,” She rubbed her neck some more, “But I figured he might come off a little… overbearing?” Amethyst wasn’t sure if that was the right word to use. She must have struck another chord with Spinel, as the little gem had begun to cry a little.

“I didn’t m-mean to yell a-at her, I just…” Spinel wiped away some of the tears, but it did nothing to stop the flow. “I-I don’t understand m-much of this, I-I know sh-she’s t-trying to help, b-but… I d-don’t know wh-what I’m supposed t-to do. “ she was finding it a bit harder to breathe, and her hands had started gripping her gem tighter. That pained feeling she felt back in the garden had started creeping back. Amethyst watched her break down, she shifted a bit closer and placed her hands on Spinel’s hands. Spinel flinched, and immediately looked at the other as her hands were given a small squeeze.

“It’s okay to be angry,” Amethyst gave her a soft smile. Her hands didn’t move from where they were placed. “Pearl and I used to fight all the time, especially after Rose had left us.” She pulled her hands away, which made Spinel gasp a little through the sniffling she was doing. Spinel instinctively reached out to grasp Amethyst’s hand. Then let go and pulled it back up to her chest. She shifted away from Amethyst and curled up on herself again. Amethyst blinked, surprised at the gesture, but smiled a bit more. Maybe she was getting through to her? “It’s okay to feel sad too, I get that way sometimes.” She let out a chuckle. “I have the tendency to act like it doesn’t bother me, but it does.” Spinel blinked, turning her head to look at Amethyst, then she looked to the water, then the sand. She looked like she was searching for something. “You know, I wasn’t there for most of it, the war I mean.” Amethyst kept her gaze on the water. “I came out of the ground way late, by the time Rose had found me, Pearl, Garnet, and her had already been through the war and on earth for some time.” Her smile had faded a bit. Spinel stared at Amethyst for a good few minutes. “So I kind of get how you feel.”

“Amethyst… I’m sorry…” she spoke softly, still having to wipe away tears. If she was being honest, hearing that made her feel a little better about her situation. At least she wasn’t the only one that was left out of something.

“Nah man, don’t be, honestly it sounds like it’s better this way, not knowing.” She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. Spinel stayed quiet for a good while. Eventually, she had uncurled herself and relaxed a bit.

“I guess… I spent such a long time in the garden… waiting for Pink to come back,” Spinel started, she had to pause for a moment, it seemed she was trying to find words. “I never expected anything like this,” she motioned to the surrounding area, though she was trying to signify the entire situation. “All these things that were once taboo, all these changes, everything that you guys had done,” she felt the tears coming again. “I don’t know how I feel right now,” Spinel gripped at her gem. “I feel angry… and sad… for what Pink did to me.” She gripped it tighter, Amethyst thought for a moment that Spinel might poof herself. Then her grip loosened, and her hands rested over the gem instead. “But I also feel… relieved?” She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I’m glad I was found,” Spinel had gone silent for a moment, she looked thoughtful. Then she heard Amethyst shifting next to her, standing up. She held out a hand to Spinel.

“We should head back,” Amethyst smiled at the other gem, “I can only imagine Pearl is having a worry fit over the amount of time we’ve spent out here.” She chuckled, knowing all too well just how overbearing Pearl can get. “Best to not keep everyone waiting.” Spinel hesitated before she reached out a hand to take Amethyst’s own hand. When Amethyst helped her up, she had to dust some of the sand off herself. Then she went to grab her banjo, swung it over her shoulder by the strap. Amethyst had motioned for her to follow, and the two made their way towards the house.

They had made it up the steps and to the door. Amethyst opened it, though she took note of Spinel’s hesitation as the gem had grown nervous about entering the home. What was Pearl going to do with her? She was surely going to be punished for lashing out.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Amethyst had placed a hand on Spinel’s shoulder, the gesture pulling her from her thoughts. She nodded, letting Amethyst lead her inside, where Steven, Garnet, and Pearl were sitting in the main room. They seemed to have been talking, as Pearl had immediately stood up and opened her mouth to say something. Though it had been cut off, when Spinel held up a hand.

“I wanted to apologize,” Spinel had spoken up, she gave a nervous smile, which had then turned to a frown. Then it had softened and she looked thoughtful. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you the way I did, I ju-” She was immediately interrupted by a sudden gesture. Pearl had wrapped her arms around the gem, and gave her a gentle squeeze.

“I should be the one apologizing to you,” Pearl gave another gentle squeeze. “I should have been more understanding of your feelings. It’s not your fault that things turned out the way they did,” Pearl had pulled away from Spinel a bit. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like you didn’t belong and I know you’re trying,” she gave Spinel a worried smile. Spinel wrapped her arms around Pearl and gave a good squeeze, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you… for giving me a chance.” Spinel unwrapped herself from Pearl, then took a step back. She looked a bit timid, her hands clasped behind her and her gaze averted to the floor. Pearl gave a soft smile to Spinel, then looked to the banjo strapped to her shoulder.

“Would you play something for us?” Pearl smiled. Spinel blinked and looked between everyone. Steven and Amethyst were both smiling at her, though Steven looked as though he had stars in his eyes. Garnet was leaning against the kitchen counter, she gave a thumbs up, but otherwise, said nothing.

“Oh, uh, I’m not… very good at it,” Spinel gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her neck a bit. “I only just started learning a couple weeks ago.”

“That’s alright,” Pearl held her smile, she took Spinel by the hand and led her to the couch. “You could show us what you’ve been learning.”