#ler!greg

Steven looked back at the ukulele, playing the chord again, and then switched to a G major chord, and then played the two in rapid succession before resolving on one last G major chord in a triumphant manner.

Greg clapped excitedly and pulled Steven into a hug. “Steven, that was awesome! Someday you might even write a better song than your old man, eh?”

Steven giggled in response, leaning into his Dad’s hold. “I’m gonna write a song about the Crystal Gems!”

The ex-rockstar tousled his hair again, chuckling at Steven’s antics. “You’re not gonna write a song about your Dad’s music career? And I thought I was bein’ a good influence!” He dug his fingers that were previously wrapped around Steven’s torso into his belly, causing the latter to squeal and dissolve into squeaky giggles.

“Dahahahad!” Steven wriggled about, his tiny hands shooting down and weakly pushing at the attacking fingers much larger than his own. “Nohot thehehere!”

“Not here?” Greg inquired. “Well then, how about here? That better?” He wormed his hands under Steven’s arms, scribbling into the sensitive hollows.

“Nohoho! Nohot- snrk- behehehetter!” The toddler drummed his heels against the van as he giggled his little heart out. Greg held back a coo in adoration of his son’s reactions. Stars, this kid was gonna wrap all four of them around his finger pretty soon without even knowing it.

In all his squirming, Steven had inadvertently caused the hem of his shirt to ride up and bunch under his ribs, exposing the edge of his gem. Greg took that in stride almost immediately.

“You sure about that, Schtu-ball? Seems to me you’re only giving me more spots to tickle.” He moved one arm to wrap around Steven’s upper torso and lightly scratch his ribs, while the other went to town on his bare belly, tap-tap-tapping against his gem.

“DAHAHAHAHAD! NOHO- PLEHEHEHEASE!”

Steven’s squirming increased tenfold, his giggles turning into laughter peppered with hiccups that Greg was almost positive could stop a world war.

With one final swipe across his gem, Greg ceased his attack on the boy, releasing him from the hold. Steven flopped onto the floor of the van, curling in on himself as his giggles finally slowed down.

“Y’know, it really seems like you weren’t trying to get away all that much.”

The remark from Greg made Steven look up, a tinge of red making its way onto the toddler’s face.

“Ihis thahat… bad?”

“No, no, not at all!” Greg was quick to assure him, a soft, genuine smile confirming he wasn’t judging. “It’s just that… most people don’t like it. It’s okay if you do, though.”

Steven stared into space for a moment, processing the information.

“Um… yeah, I do.”

--------------------

Steven hummed to himself, happily munching on the remains of a Cookie Cat as he wandered the house.

Wait.

The house usually wasn’t this quiet. Not when the gems were home. Sure, they’d be in their rooms for most of the day, but that was a different kind of quiet.

“Amethyst?”

He called out for the purple gem, suspecting one of her antics, but no response came.

He probably should’ve suspected as such, anyway.

Steven tiptoed through the house in an attempt to catch her in the act, whipping his head around multiple times, but no sign of Amethyst.

“Amethyst, I know you’re here!” He called out again, carrying a hint of annoyance. He popped his head to look behind the kitchen peninsula. Nothing.

That was odd, Amethyst wasn’t usually this sneaky-

“Gotcha, Steve-O!”

“AH! Amethyst?!”

The gem in question laughed at her victory, hugging Steven close as the two tumbled onto the ground. “Sorry, Ste-Man, I had to!”

Steven only gave a light-hearted grumble in response, to which Amethyst let out an offended gasp.

“Steven! How dare you reject my hugs! That’s it, you’re gettin’ it.”

“Wait, wait, Amehethyst, it was a johoke- Nohohohoho!”

Amethyst grinned, her fingers digging into the hybrid’s sides, gently but mercilessly. Steven flailed his limbs, only briefly attempting to pry her offending hands off, before giving up entirely, throwing his head back and laughing.

“What’s goin’ on, little man? You’re gettin’ pretty giggly down there…”

“Ihi- Ehehehehe- Ahamethyst!” He whined, scuffing his sandals on the floor.

“Yeah?”

“Whihihihihiy?”

Amethyst chuckled, switching tactics to scribbling into his tummy. “’Cuz I was bored! Besides, it’s not like you don’t like it, right?”

At the teasy inquiry, Steven covered his face with his hands as his laughter became ever squeakier.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t hide that happy face from me!” Amethyst briefly dragged a finger across his gem, causing his hands to shoot down and weakly push at her own, accompanied by screech followed by rapid-fire giggles.

“NohOho! Nohot fAHahaIR!”

“There’s that smile~”

“Ahahamethyhyst!”

“What?”

“St- Noho-” At this point Steven had given up on forming a coherent sentence. He buried his head into Amethyst’s chest and just let it happen.

Amethyst, on the other hand, was having none of it.

“Hey- No thank you, what did I just say?” She focused her attack directly on his gem, eliciting a shriek that rivaled a Wailing Stone before throwing his head back in hiccup-filled laughter.

“AmeHE- hic- NAHAHAHA!” was all Steven managed to say before all words were turned into helpless babbling in between bouts of hiccups and happy laughter, lighting up the room brighter than any lamp.

Dang, this kid really was making her soft.

Not thirty seconds passed of Amethyst relentlessly tormenting the nine-year-old’s death spot before someone cleared their throat.

Garnet was looking at the two of them, a barely noticeable expression of fondness adorning her face. Immediately the tickling paused, replaced with an arm rubbing the phantom sensations away as Steven’s laughter calmed until it was quiet titters, along with a smile he couldn’t seem to wipe off his face.

“I know you two are having fun, but I think Steven’s a bit worn out.”

As if responding to her statement, Steven slumped down onto the floor, his breathing still slowing down.

“Also, Amethyst, we’ve got a mission, and we need you.”

“Aw, what? C’mon, just two more minutes?” Amethyst complained.

“Amethyst.”

“Fine…” The purple gem gently tousled Steven’s hair, standing up and making her way towards the warp pad.

Before she could take more than three steps, a familiar embrace caught her from the back, and her expression immediately softened as she turned around and returned the hug.

“No prob, Ste-Man. Glad I could make ya happy.”

--------------------

Amongst his other odd habits, Lion had taken to simply laying on top of or cuddling Steven whenever the thirteen-year-old was on the floor for whatever reason.

Or, in this case, when he was sad.

Steven was flopped face up on his bed, game controller in one hand and the other balled into a fist.

“No! Why does this one level have to be so much harder than the rest?!”

Lion yawned, padding up the stairs and giving a questioning huff. Steven turned to him, arm stretching out to scratch behind his ear.

“Hi, Lion… I’m just stuck on this one level of Golf Quest Mini! The last few levels have been so easy, so why is this one so hard all of a sudden?”

Lion only chuffed in response, but laid down behind him on the bed, a singular paw snaking around and pulling Steven into what could only be described as a cuddle pile. He dropped the controller in surprise, but then snuggled right into the pink beast’s fur.

“Awe, thanks, Lion… Maybe I do need to just take a break from the game.” He smiled, sitting up in an attempt to make his way down to the kitchen.

Before he could, though, the paw around his torso tightened, as if to say “You’re not going anywhere.” Steven yelped, flopping back onto Lion’s body and wriggling around.

“Lion! Let me go!” He complained, pushing at the paw pinning him down. Lion only gave an offended but light-hearted growl, pressing his nose into the hybrid's neck and breathing into it.

Steven immediately scrunched his shoulders up before shooting them right back down to avoid hurting the feline, slapping a hand over his mouth to muffle the giggles that threatened to spill.

Unfortunately, he still sucked at hiding his reactions. But Lion still seemed displeased, letting out another chuff and switching to snuffling the side of his jaw. The brunet squealed, shaking his head in an attempt not to squish the attacking nose, placing his free hand on Lion’s mane in order to stabilize himself; which ended up being a poorly thought out plan, only succeeding at spreading the sensations to his palm.

The dam broke, a stream of giggles pouring out of the boy as he refrained from moving his upper body at all, resorting to drumming his heels on the wooden floor. “Lihihiohon! Thahat tihihi- nohohoho!”

Lion only gave a pleased grunt, pressing his nose further into Steven’s neck and jaw. The snuffling and nuzzling from the big cat drew giggles generously seasoned with snorts from the teen, and despite the friendly attack coming out of absolutely nowhere, Steven found himself relishing in the affection.

Feeling a little more playful, Lion brought his massive paw into the mix, gently pressing his claws into Steven’s torso, Just enough to tickle but not so much as to cause pain. In response, the gem hybrid squealed, curling in on himself and batting at the offending paw.

“LihiHIon! CuhuhUT- snrk- CuHUt it OHohoUT!”

Now, for once, Lion actually paused the onslaught, almost as if he were thinking. Then, he let out a quiet growl, and Steven was sure he’d just heard the feline say “...Nah,” before he was thrown back into the tickle attack, cackling as his neck and torso were nuzzled and clawed with zero room for relief.

“LIHI- LIHIHIOHON! NOHO- snrk- hic- STAHAHAHA!”

Unable to contain his squirming anymore, Steven twisted around until his face was almost entirely buried in Lion’s fur. Lion took that as a sign to slow down, a low rumble building in his throat as he held his half-human friend close. The paw stayed firmly planted on the boy’s torso, claws gently pressing into his tummy to keep him giggling softly, careful not to overwhelm him.

Steven looked up tiredly at the fluffy companion, mumbling a quiet “Thahank you…” before closing his eyes, falling asleep with a smile plastered on his face.

He couldn’t have asked for a better animal friend.

--------------------

“Steven?”

Connie gently knocked on the sixteen-year-old’s bedroom door, hearing the shifting of bedsheets followed by a strained “Come in.”

She slowly opened the door, peeking in and seeing Steven curled in on himself, shaking slightly. Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, she slowly reached a hand out towards his spine. Steven batted it away before it could get close, a sharp inhale accompanying it. Connie looked a little surprised, then simply brought it back.

“Steven, what’s going on?”

The teen took a breath, as if he were about to say something, but it died in his throat before he tried again.

“The Gems… They tried to tickle me.”

“And? I thought you loved being tickled,” Connie pressed gently.

“I-” He paused, mentally preparing himself. “I- I thought I did too,” He admitted, for what was probably the first time since he was five or six. “But then I started thinking about White Diamond, and what happened back at the start of Era 3, and when she removed my gem. And suddenly, I was here, and I was shaking, and-”

“Whoa, hey,” Connie interrupted his ramble, sensing the beginning of what was probably not the first spiral of the night. “It’s okay that you didn’t feel comfortable at that moment. That’s super valid. What White Diamond put you through wasn’t okay at all, and it makes sense that you were reminded of the incident.”

Steven didn’t speak, even after Connie had finished. The latter gave a gentle smile, before looking down at her hand.

“May I…?” She lifted her hand, and Steven watched anxiously, but saw no twitchy fingers.

Just his best friend Connie.

He took a deep breath.

“Don’t go anywhere near my gem,” he stated firmly.

“Noted.” Connie slowly moved her hand back towards his spine, keeping it in his view for as long as she could. It touched down right in the middle of the boy’s spine. Steven stiffened briefly, before letting himself relax into the touch.

Taking it as a good sign, Connie trailed a single finger up and down slowly, watching for any signs of discomfort. Steven let out a contented hum, closing his eyes for just a moment. Keeping her touch as gentle as ever, Connie let her fingers wander slightly, mindlessly tracing shapes as she monitored Steven’s reaction.

The instant a single digit made its way to his side, Steven stiffened again and Connie immediately retracted her hand.

“Shoot, did I hit a bad spot?” She asked, voice holding a hint of worry.

“...Yes and no.”

“Can you elaborate?”

The hybrid hummed to himself.

“You can try again. We’ll see.”

Connie nodded, reaching out her hand again and placing it directly on Steven’s side. He stiffened again at the touch, but didn’t move from his position. Connie traced a few more, smaller shapes on his side, watching as a wobbly smile made its way onto his face. She let out an amused chuckle.

“Do you want me to keep going?”

At the genuine question, Steven pondered. Somehow the traces were slowly fizzling away most of his anxiety, and so he nodded.

“Just- be gehentle.” A titter escaped his lips before he could stop it, and Connie smiled.

“Of course.” She switched tactics, shaping her hand into a claw and dragging it up and down his side, occasionally giving it a small scratch that drew out a squeaky giggle, but Steven never showed any sign of true discomfort.

Time to test the waters again.

“May I try getting closer to your gem?” Connie asked, freezing her hand in place.

Steven froze in place, as if hesitant to allow it at all, but then relaxed again.

“Go ahead.”

Connie gave an acknowledging hum, slowly inching her hand inward. She scribbled her hand into the side of his belly, laughing to herself as he spasmed at the sudden contact. Steven barked out a laugh, before weakly pushing at the offending hand and finally releasing the pent-up stream of giggles.

“Cohohonnie!”

“Hm? What’s up, Steven?” She smiled, before looking at her other hand that had since been laying dormant. “Do you want me to tickle the other side, too?”

“Sh- Shuhuhut uhup!” Steven covered his face in his hands, squirming slightly, although he still didn’t show any sign of being uncomfortable.

“I’m not hearing a no~” Connie sing-songed, bringing her other hand into the mix. Steven squealed, his hands shooting down to bat at her own.

“Yohohou suhuhuhuhuck!” He grabbed her wrists, shaking with the force of his laughter. Connie only laughed in response, still worming her hand closer to his gem.

The moment she grazed the edge of his gem, Steven’s body took a screenshot and he gripped her wrists ever tighter. Connie paused, taking a moment to check up. “You okay with this?”

Steven’s only verbal response was a whine, but he managed to get a shaky but genuine nod out. Connie nodded in acknowledgement, before her thumbs and index fingers started scribbling away at his gem. He screeched, bucking his hips before crashing down in a fit of squeaky cackles broken by many hiccups.

“COHOHOHONNIE- hic- THAHAT- AEHE- hic- NAHAHAHAHA!” He gave up on talking, simply pushing at her wrists that refused to budge.

For the first time in a long while, Steven felt his worries being flushed away, replaced with the pure joy and giddiness that came with moments like these.

Just him and his family, having fun.

Connie slowed her attack once she heard the snort-hiccups entering his laughter, rubbing the phantom tickles away with one arm and toying with Steven’s hair with the other.

Steven took a minute to slow his breathing to a comfortable pace, smiling and staring at the ceiling. It was only when Connie spoke up when he focused back on the present moment.

“Did you have fun?”

Steven paused, the butterflies in his stomach slowly returning, but the sigh he let out wasn’t embarrassed at all. Actually, it was rather content.