A day has passed since I've arrived here. In this universe..dimension..world or whatever. At this point, honestly, I've pretty much accepted it. Any delusions of this being a dream have been flushed down the drain when I woke up In Steven's bed this morning. Now, I was just hanging around the house, pretty bored.

I made breakfast, some pancakes and eggs, and had casual conversations with the gems. By the way, that's still very much awesome. Currently, I need a plan. What am I going to do now that I'm Steven? Just wait and laze around until each episode passes? That's definitely not how I want to spend my time.

Now that I'm here, I don't want to have any regrets. I want to do what I want when I want to. So! For starters let's plan a workout routine. Technically, as someone who is part gem, I don't have to worry about stunting my growth from working out. Wait, would I even have to worry about that anyway? I mean, I am thirteen, is that something teenagers even have to worry over?

Oh who cares, focus on what's important. Steven is actually stronger than normal humans, he has super strength that isn't really shown much because the kid is a pacifist. If I was a full gem, I would worry about if working out would even help my baseline stats at all. Gems bodies are just a physical projection after all, but since I'm half human, that means I should be able to get even stronger the old fashion way. Which is a good thing, while normal gems are probably much stronger than me at the moment, I have the potential to surpass all of them simply for the fact that I can improve myself.

So far, I'm thinking of starting off small. So, around 50 pushups in the morning after waking up and 50 at night before sleep. After the push ups, I will proceed to do 50 sit ups. At noon I will try running a mile to increase my stamina and lose some of this chubbiness. While in the future, hopefully soon into the future, I will just be able to change my form, my base form and stats should always be as good as possible. After a 30 minute break I'll try having Pearl train me.

She has those holographic projections that she will use to train Connie. Though, I should be careful, being half human comes with its own disadvantages too. Mainly that I can't reform if my body takes too much damage to sustain itself. AKA if I die I can't just revive. With no extra lives, I'll have to be careful in this one. I don't know if I'm gonna get another reincarnation chance. This may be my last stop.

I first begin with the push ups. Counting out loud, at around 30 Amethyst comes into the living room with a confused look on her face as she watches. Before she even says anything, I tell her to wait and that I'm almost done with this segment. After finishing them off, I realised something. Easy. It was too easy. I didn't stop or falter a single time. I don't know the limits of this body but I shouldn't push any further than not. At least not right now.

"I'm working out." I explain while getting off the floor. "Humans can get stronger from repetition of certain actions. We break down our muscle fibers and when they repair and heal themselves that become stronger than they were before."

"Oh that's so cool! So if I play on the floor too will I also get stronger?" she asks while eating an ice cream she got from...somewhere. Where the hell did she get that? I know it wasn't in her hand when she came in, and she didn't move an inch while watching me work out. Does she have a supply of ice cream in her gem?

"Eh, I don't think it will work for you Amethyst. Your bodies technically aren't real. Since they are just projections and the real you is actually your gem, I'm pretty this would just be a waste of time for any of you guys."

"Awww that's so lame. Well hey, want to go hit each other again like yesterday? It was super fun right? Even though you lost. Not everyone can be as awesome as I am." she asks with a hopeful voice.

"Sure, I don't mind, we can head out after I'm done with my workout, and we can train to get better together. I kind of want to talk to you anyways. We can't spar for too long though. I have to talk to Pearl about something later."

"Alright, just hurry up. I'm in the mood to make you eat dirt again." she smirks while my eye twitches in slight annoyance. She wins one time and she's already bragging. It's frustrating, but I can't imagine myself beating her too soon. She just has a much higher dexterity stat than me, able to bounce and jump around me and my attacks at will.

I do my 50 sit ups without too much effort and stand up to see her with an impatient look. Noticing that I'm off the floor and finally done, she grins and rushes out of the front door with me on her tail. We arrived on the beach when I finally spoke up about what I wanted to talk about.

"You know…I've noticed something Amethyst." I say with a bit of reservation. I honestly still wasn't sure if I wanted to do this, but I've already started. Besides, cannon is already fucked up after what happened yesterday with Pearl. Not to mention that whole 'dream' thing I made up on the spot. I might as well be all in.

"What is it? Don't try to stall Steven. Sure we both know the outcome but take it like a man." she sassed. God I can't wait until I can kick her ass. This is embarrassing. How the hell did I lose to her again? It must have been luck. Yes, I must have simply Crit Failed that say in my luck roll.

"That out of the Crystal Gems, you were the weakest." I say with a grim expression. Her body stiffens and she looks at me with a complicated expression. There's a bit of awkward silence for a while before she responds.

"Yea, well I sure kicked your ass yesterday, so who's the weakest now huh?" was the retort while turning to the side and looking away. "Hey, you know what, I've changed my mind. I'm not in the mood anymore."

"Well I did say 'you were the weakest' didn't I? Now that I'm here, that spot belongs to me, for now anyway. I don't plan to stay in such a position for long. Soon, I'll be the strongest of the Crystal Gems. It's my fate." I say before she gets the chance to walk away.

"Oh really? Well good for you. You're so confident that you'll eventually beat me? How? Why? Do you think that I'm that weak? That after a few days of playing with a pink disc, you'll surpass me? Well good luck buddy. Because despite what people think, I'm a Crystal Gem too."

"I will surpass you." I say with confidence as I stare her down. "I'll become stronger than all of the Crystal Gems and use my 'Pink Disk' to protect everyone. No one will be able to stand in the way of my goals."

"And how do you know that?!" she yells. "How are you so sure that you'll become better than me? Than Pearl? Than Garnet?! She's probably stronger than both of us put together and you think you'll be able to beat her alone?"

"I do. I will beat you all. I told you already, it's my fate to become the strongest. To become the leader of the Crystal Gems." I say and sigh. "Look I didn't mean to offend you Amethyst. I wasn't trying to make fun of you or anything."

"Then what were you trying to do?!" she asks, now turning back towards me. I noticed that her eyes were becoming watery. "Bringing me out here, telling me that I'm weak right before a fight? Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I tell myself that everyday?"

"I'm trying to tell you that it doesn't have to be like this. I'm trying to tell you that things can change if you put in the work, time, and dedication. Finally, more than anything Amethyst, I'm trying to tell you that you're weak."

"I KNOW!" she screams at me, tears finally escaping. Her body shakes as she balls her fists and clenches her eyes shut. Honestly, the sight hurt me. To see my favorite character like this didn't make me feel the best, but this is the character development she needs.

"Then let's fix it!" I finally yell back, surprising her, causing her to open her eyes and look at me. "You're weak Amethyst! But so am I! And at some point, so was Pearl, and even Garnet. No one starts off strong. They have to work and train and get better. Get stronger!"

"It...it's not that simple. I can't just get stronger just because I want to. It doesn't work like that Steven." she says trying to wipe her tears away. She gives herself a pitiful smile as she grabs one arm with her hand and looks down.

"Yea, you're right, it's not that simple. But you're also wrong." I reply, confusing her. "It's true that it won't be easy, nothing worth anything is. But that doesn't change the fact that when it comes down to it, if you want to become stronger, all you have to do is work at it until you are."

"...You-you make it sound so easy. And it can't be. It just can't! How would I even start? Where would I even begin? I'm weak...and I want to be strong. Like Pearl. Like Garnet. I just don't know how."

"We start here. Right here on this beach. From now on, everyday we'll train around this time by sparring and fighting each other. Each time you win, I'll figure out how to beat you the next time. And everytime you beat me, you'll do the same. Getting strong isn't easy and it isn't quick. Day by day, step by step, we'll catch up to the rest. Do you understand?"

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Silence. She looks at me with her eyes wide and tears streaming down her cheeks. Her body began to shake again before she forced herself to stop, taking deep breaths in and out. She doesn't really need to breathe but I guess the action itself helps.

"Alright...alright I understand." she says, a determined look on her face as she takes out her whips and gets ready for battle. I smile at seeing the change. It's only the first step but it has to begin somewhere.

"Good!' I say summoning my Shield. "Now prepare yourself!"

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I lost...again. It's really all incredibly frustrating actually, I honestly thought that after the first battle I wouldn't have that much of a problem the next time we fought, but the way she can just jump around my attacks with a sort of grace makes it really impossible for my hits to land unless I do something sneaky.

She bragged about her victory...because of course she did, but I think our talk brought us closer. I decided to wait on training with Pearl until I can at least beat Amethyst a few times. When noon finally came, I did my mile run. What took me by surprise was how hard it was to finnish.

I guess I just assumed that since the sit ups and push ups were so easy that so would the run but I was wrong. Oh I was so very wrong. The mile run had me sweating buckets by the end of it and I wanted nothing more but to climb the stairs, drink a gallon of water, and fall asleep. And yes, I did mean climb the stairs. I could barely walk.

So, that's exactly what I did. I woke up from my nap around 3 hours later, feeling much better and ready to continue on with my day but nothing more actually happened. I started training with powers again to see if I can unlock my bubble or something but unfortunately no luck.

Since that was a dead end I began working on my shield. My goal was to not only keep my shield out for the rest of the day but to also try to push my five feet range limit out some more. Despite not accomplishing said goal, it all wasn't pointless. While I was trying, I put all of my concentration on moving out of my limit. Not long afterwards, a headache formed that seemed to hurt more with each passing second that I continued.

But after a while of pushing, I felt something, almost like the wall indenting a little. Just an inch, a tiny inch, but it was there. And when I brought it back to try again, the inch was still there, much easier to access. It'll take awhile, I'm forcing my powers to evolve instead of waiting for them to come slowly like Steven, but I'll become much more powerful for it. I'm sure.

At around 6 o'clock, the headache came back from having my shield out for too long. I could only last around 30 more minutes before the pain became too much and I had to put it away. Before bed, I did the rest of my work out and went to sleep. 2 hours and 30 minutes.

A sort of routine formed. An entire week had passed and everyday I would do the exact same thing. I kept my interactions with the Beach City citizens to a minimum for now and focused on training.

While I've been talking to all of the Crystal Gems, me and Amethyst have become the closest. She even started joining me for my morning and night workouts and even my runs. I still haven't beat her once yet, but I've been working on attacking with my shield while moving instead of being frozen in once place the entire time.

All and all everything has been going good. The second episode hasn't arrived yet, but it's only a matter of time. I say that but at this point I don't even know if the second episode will happen. And if it does, what if I miss it or something? It's useless to worry about so I try not to think about it but my anxiety pops up every now and then.

I am also now able to push my shield out 6 feet around me without me losing control of it. Training my fitness with the thing, I've been trying to bounce it off multiple stuff and come back to me but I still haven't been very successful.

I've also been training to the speed of my control, having my shield fly around my in circles as fast as it can without it flying off somewhere or crashing into something. In my fist fight with Amethyst, if I could have gotten my shield back to me in time then I wouldn't have lost. Or, at least I wouldn't have lost so easily.

I can also push my time of having my shield out by a full hour, letting me keep it for about 3 hours before I even feel the headache. All in all, things were going pretty good. Hanging out with the gems in my free time has been awesome and no baddies came up that we needed to fight.

One night I was having a weird dream. You see, after spending a full week, 24 hours a day, being animated I've kind of gotten used to it. No doubt, it was still a bit weird, but after a while, it just wasn't something I focused on anymore. That's why when I fell asleep and suddenly found myself in the real world, I was pretty shocked.

The real, non-animated world. For just a split second, I thought everything up until now had been some strangely realistic dream. I was in bed alone, back in my old room. Immediately I got on my phone to see what day and time and was. Turning it on, my background was still the same, an Air Gear picture of Ikki.

When looking at the time however, it showed 00:00. Getting out of my bed I exit my room to find someone. To talk to someone. Heading downstairs, I could smell the scent of bacon and sausages being made in the kitchen.

"Mom!" I yelled running into the kitchen. Her back was turned to me as she was slaving over the stove but I gave her a hug anyway. I laughed as I thought about everything I thought happened the past week and squeezed her. "I know I don't say this enough, but I love you."

"Aww honey~. What in the world has gotten into you? Well know that mother loves you too" she says before freeing herself from my embrace and turning around slowly. I backed away in fear at what I saw. There she was, my mother, but instead of her face there was some type of blur covering her entire head. Like a censor following her head movements.

And that was it. I woke up in my bed. Everything was animated again. Everything was back to 'normal', and honestly, I didn't know if I'm relieved or saddened. I don't particularly hate this life, or want to leave it. But is that only because I can't remember my family?/ My friends? My life?

Sitting up to get me some water from the kitchen, there right by the tv was a dark figure sitting there. Staring at me. Obviously, I jumped back in fright before my eyes eventually adapted to the darkness and I realised it was just Pearl.

"Pearl...with all due respect hun, what in the hell are you doing?! You scared the crap out of me! Why are you just sitting there?!" I asked confused and a little irritated. I didn't know what time it was but what I did know was that I just woke up. Which means it's still too early for this shit.

"Oh Steven, why did you suddenly wake up like that. Was there something wrong?" she questions with a weird look. She gets up and sits next to me on the bed and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, I just had this really weird dream about...things. Do you know what dreams are? They're kind of hard to explain. It's like…." I explain before I stop. "Wait hold on, don't try avoiding the question. Pearl, what the heck were doing sitting right there?"

"I uh... I like to watch you sleep sometimes." she says while trying not to look me in the eyes. "And by sometimes I mean often. Not every night of course, sometimes I have errands to attend to. But when I don't…It's just to make sure you're safe at all times. I promise!"

For a while, I just stare at her as she starts to fidget in embarrassment. There's even a small blue blush that adorns her cute little cheeks. I forgot that Peal did that in the show, the moment passes by so quickly that after the quick chuckles it left my mind. But when it's happening to me, it's mega creepy. Still though, it's also kind of cute in its own yandere type way.

"Pearl you don't need to watch me. I'm not going anywhere you know? I'm not going to just up and disappear one day. We'll always be together." I say to try and reassure her. Even if I did leave, it wouldn't be anytime soon. I'd have to at least get to the Steven Universe: Future timeline.

"You did before…" she replies, looking down in sadness before realising what she said. "I mean, Rose did. Not you. It's just, one day she was there and the next she wasn't. And you were in her place. With her gem. And for a long time, I had this hope that one day she would just come back. Back into our lives. Back to me. And she never did. And she never will. "

"...Hey. Pearl do you want to try something?" I ask hesitantly. I didn't know if I wanted to go this far so soon, but I have the opportunity right here and I just can't miss it. I'm a bad person, taking advantage of someone important to me in a vulnerable moment. I know. But...still, I scoot closer to her.

"Try what?" she asks, confused.

"Well, do you know what kissing is?"

"Kissing? Yes I believe so. Rose and your father used to do it alot. Though I never quite understood why. It never seemed to serve any purpose."

"Do you want to try? Kissing I mean? It'll probably help cheer you up."

"Oh? I didn't know kissing could do such a thing. So it makes people feel happier?"

"Well yes but it only works with someone you really love. And you can't do it with anyone else without my permission! Once you kiss someone, you're swearing to be together forever, and to never kiss someone other than that person."

"I see….yes. Yes I would like to try this kissing."

"Alright...lie down on the bed and close your eyes." I order, my heart pounding so loud in my chest that I wouldn't be surprised if the entire house could hear it. She does what I say without complaint and I climb on top of her. As I gaze into those beautiful blue eyes, I feel something stir within me.

"Alright Steven, what no-" I interrupt her by locking our lips. My eyes close as I begin slowly kissing her. Unmoving at first, after a while, she begins to match her movements with mine. I'm surprised to feel her hands wrap around my neck as we continue.

Once I feel she is comfortable enough with regular kissing, I force my tongue into her mouth, knowing that asking for entry would be pointless. She gasps in surprise as the rhythm picks up and I battle my tongue with hers. This time, taking much less time to adapt, she begins to do the same.

I'm shocked once again when I hear small moans coming from the body under me and her body begins to shake. Quickly losing control, my hands travel under her shirt, squeezing her small breasts.

Her body arches and I open my eyes slightly to see her reaction. Her eyes widen in what I'm assuming to be her first time feeling pleasure like this. Or maybe even feeling pleasure at all. I continue fondling her small breasts as I rock my body back and forth to generate a little friction for my cock.

After around 3 minutes of fondling and kissing, she suddenly stops as her body quakes, a silent scream forming in her throat. The tremors lasts for a couple of seconds before she lies back down on the bed, panting and face flushed blue.

My own breathing is irregular, but that simply because I actually need to breath and Pearl didn't seem to want to let me get air for more than a couple of seconds.

"S-steven...What in the world was that?" she asks after gathering her bearings.

"You just came I think. It's called an orgasm. When the body feels pleasure for long enough, that happens. It's one of the ways humans show how much they love each other, by making them feel really good."

"I-I see. Did you orgasm also?"

"Uh well no." I say with a small chuckle. "I didn't really. But that's okay for now. Are you feeling better? Still sad?"

"No...No I'm not!" she says with a smile. "In fact, I feel amazing!"

"Good...that's good Pearl. I know you're worried about me leaving and never coming back, but now that we've done that, it means I have to. We'll never be separated for long and I'll never just up and leave you. I love you."

"I...I love you too Steven." she says clenching my shirt with tears in her eyes. "Do you promise to never leave me?"

"Of course. I promise."